Metabolomic changes in lactating multiparous naturally MAP-infected Holstein-Friesian dairy cows suggest changes in mitochondrial energy pathways.

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is the causative organism of Johne's Disease, a chronic intestinal infection of ruminants. Infected cows begin shedding MAP within the asymptomatic, subclinical stage of infection before clinical signs, such as weight loss, diarrhoea and reduced milk yields develop within the clinical stages of disease. Herein, we examine the milk metabolomic profiles of naturally MAP-infected Holstein-Friesian cows. The study used biobanked milk samples which were collected 73.4 ± 3.79 (early lactation) and 143 ± 3.79 (mean ± SE) (mid-lactation) days post-calving from 5 MAP-infected and 5 control multiparous cows. The milk metabolome was assessed using flow infusion electrospray high-resolution mass spectrometry (FIE-HRMS) for sensitive, non-targeted metabolite fingerprinting. Metabolite fingerprinting assessments using partial least squares discriminate analyses (PLS-DA) indicated that lactation stage was a larger source of variation than MAP status. Examining each lactation stage separately for changes associated to MAP-infection status identified 45 metabolites, 33 in early lactation and 12 in mid-lactation, but only 6 metabolites were targeted in both stages of lactation. Pathway enrichment analysis suggested that MAP affected the malate-aspartate shuffle during early lactation. Pearson's correlation analysis indicated relationships between milk lactose concentrations in mid-lactation and 6 metabolites that were tentatively linked to MAP-infection status. The targeted metabolites were suggestive of wider changes in the bioenergetic metabolism that appear to be an acceleration of the effects of progressing lactation in healthy cows. Additionally, milk lactose concentrations suggest that MAP reduces the availability of lactose derivatives.

A comparative study of the mannose-resistant and mannose-sensitive haemagglutinins of Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infections.

The distribution of mannose-resistant (MRHA) and mannose-sensitive (MSHA) fimbrial haemagglutinins was examined in 482 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from 390 adult women and 45 pregnant mothers with a variety of urinary tract infections (UTI), and from 47 healthy controls. The proportion of MRHA strains was significantly higher in patients with symptomatic UTI (75%) than in women with non-significant bacteriuria (30%, p less than 0.001), pregnant women with asymptomatic UTI (34%, p less than 0.0001) and healthy controls (0%). The proportion of MSHA strains was significantly lower in patients with symptomatic UTI (22%) than in women with non-significant bacteriuria (46%, p less than 0.001) and pregnant women with asymptomatic UTI (52%, p less than 0.01). Only 17% of the strains from healthy controls had MSHA activity. In pregnant women with UTI, whether this was symptomatic or asymptomatic, there was a significant association between infection with MRHA strains of E. coli and a past history of UTI. Thus, in a pregnant woman with an infection and a past history of UTI there is a seven-fold greater chance that this infection is due to an MRHA-bearing organism than in pregnant women without such a history. There was also a significant association between MRHA organisms and symptomatic infection. The risk of symptomatic patients having an infection with an MRHA strain is six times greater than that for a patient with a covert infection.

Haematological indices of the mother and baby during labour.

Haematological indices were obtained by Coulter Counter analysis from 325 women in the first stage of labour, and from the cord blood of their newborn babies. The mean maternal haemoglobin concentration was 12.49 g/dl and the mean cord haemoglobin 16.18 g/dl. The mean corpuscular volume measured directly was 89.00 fl from maternal blood and 106.73 fl from the cord blood; the two ranges barely overlapped and it should be possible by automated analysis to differentiate between fetal and maternal blood obtained at amniocentesis or artificial rupture of the membranes at term.

Effect of disintegrant type upon the relationship between compressional pressure and dissolution efficiency.

Four tablet disintegrants: a relatively insoluble sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, casein formaldehyde, calcium carboxymethyl cellulose and a cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone have been evaluated. Three widely used disintegrants, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium starch glycolate and a cation exchange resin were included for comparison. The effect of compressional pressure on the disintegration and dissolution behaviours of a soluble and an insoluble system containing different disintegrants were examined. The results show that disintegrant type can have a pronounced effect upon the relationship between compressional pressure and dissolution efficiency. The significance of this relationship is discussed in terms of the properties of disintegrants and the differing mechanisms by which they act.