PhenoBR: a model to phenotype body condition dynamics in meat sheep.

In situations of negative energy balance (NEB) due to feed scarcity or high physiological demands, body energy reserves (BRs), mainly stored in adipose tissues, become the main sources of energy for ruminants. The capacity to mobilise and restore such BRs in response to different challenges is of major concern in the current context of breeding for resilience. Body condition score (BCS) is a common, practical indicator of BR variations throughout successive productive cycles, and quantitative tools for characterising such dynamics at the individual level are still lacking. The main objective of this work was to characterise body condition dynamics in terms of BR mobilisation and accretion capacities of meat sheep during their productive lifespan through a modelling approach, using BCS measurements. The animal model used in this work was the reproductive meat ewe (n = 1 478) reared in extensive rangeland. Regular measurements of BCS for each productive cycle were used as the indicator of BR variations. A hybrid mathematical model and a web interface, called PhenoBR, were developed to characterise ewes' BCS variations through four synthetic and biologically meaningful parameters for each productive cycle i: BR accretion rate (kbi), BR mobilisation rate (kpi), plus the time of onset and the duration of the BR mobilisation, tbi and ΔTi, respectively. The model PhenoBR converged for all the ewes included in the analysis. Estimation of the parameters indicated the inter-individual variability for BR accretion and mobilisation rates, and the length of the mobilisation period. The present study is a proof of concept that the combination of data-driven and concept-driven models is required for the estimation of biologically meaningful parameters that describe body reserve dynamics through consecutive productive cycles. Individual characterisation of animals by these parameters makes it possible to rank them for their efficiency in the use of body reserves when facing NEB challenges. Such parameters could contribute to better management and decision-making by farmers and advisors, e.g. by adapting feeding systems to the individual characteristics of BR dynamics, or by geneticists as criteria to develop future animal breeding programmes including BR dynamics for more robust and resilient animals.

Cavernous venous malformation of the lacrimal gland.

BACKGROUND: Cavernous venous malformation (CVM) is a common benign vascular lesion of the orbit. It was previously known as "orbital cavernous hemangioma". Localization within the lacrimal gland is extremely rare. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 76-year-old man with an asymptomatic CVM of the left lacrimal gland incidentally discovered on a routine MRI. A curative and diagnostic en bloc surgical resection was performed, allowing for histological diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: CVM of the lacrimal gland is extremely rare and usually asymptomatic. Proptosis is the main symptom. On MRI, the lesion appears hypointense with heterogeneous enhancement after Gadolinium injection on T1-weighted imaging and hyperintense on T2 STIR-weighted imaging. Histological examination is mandatory for the diagnosis. Surgical resection is usually performed.

An extremely rare case of a displaced third molar into the infratemporal fossa associated with a textiloma.

BACKGROUND: Third molar extraction is one of the most common procedures performed by oral surgeons, however with rare complications. The accidental displacement of a maxillary third molar into the infratemporal fossa (ITF) is a rare complication that can occur even with experienced surgeons. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 17-year-old patient whose right upper third molar was accidentally pushed to the ITF associated with a cellulitis and the late discovery of a textiloma (a surgical gauze). CONCLUSIONS: Extraction of third molars is a safe surgical procedure when performed in appropriate conditions. The diagnosis of textiloma following a maxillo-facial surgery is extremely rare. It is important to take into account this possibility in order to avoid delaying treatment when it occurs.

Intra-flock variability in the body reserve dynamics of meat sheep by analyzing BW and body condition score variations over multiple production cycles.

Breeding for resilience requires a better understanding of intra-flock variability and the related mechanisms responsible for robustness traits. Among such traits, the animals' ability to cope with feed fluctuations by mobilizing or restoring body reserves (BR) is a key mechanism in ruminants. The objective of this work was to characterize individual variability in BR dynamics in productive Romane ewes reared in extensive conditions. The BR dynamics profiles were characterized by combining individual longitudinal measurements of BW and body condition scores (BCS) over several production cycles. Historical data, including up to 2628 records per trait distributed in 1146 ewes, underwent cluster analysis. Two to four trajectories were observed for BW depending on the cycle, while three trajectories were found for BCS, whatever the cycle. Most trajectories suggested that BR dynamics were similar but the level of BR may differ between ewes. Nevertheless, some trajectories suggested that both BR dynamics and levels were different for a proportion of ewes. Clustering on BW and BCS profiles adjusted for individual level trends, resulted in differences only in the level of BW or BCS, rather than differences in trajectories. Thus, the overall shape of trajectories was not changed considering or not the individual level trend across cycles. In addition to individual variability, the ewe's age at first lambing and litter size contributed to the distribution of the ewes between the trajectories. Regarding the entire productive life, three trajectories were observed for BW and BCS changes over three productive cycles. Increase in BW at each cycle suggested that ewes kept growing up until 3 to 4 years old in our conditions. Similar alternation of BCS gains and losses across cycles suggested BR dynamics might be repeatable. Many individual trajectories remained the same throughout a ewe's life, whatever the age at first lambing, parity or litter size. Our results demonstrate the relevance of using BW and BCS changes for characterizing the diversity of BR mobilization-accretion profiles in sheep in a long timespan perspective.

ß-Sitosterol modulates TLR4 receptor expression and intracellular MyD88-dependent pathway activation in J774A.1 murine macrophages.

Recent evidence has shown that dietary phytosterols (PS) possess anti-inflammatory properties both in vivo and in vitro. Our previous work shows that PS ß-Sitosterol (SIT), may function by down-regulating pro-inflammatory transcription factors NF-kB and STAT1 in response to LPS stimulation, possibly through modulation of the TLR4 pathway. The objective in this study was to determine the effects of SIT on TLR4 surface expression and localization into lipid rafts, as well as to investigate its effects on intracellular MyD88 dependent pathway activation. J774A.1 macrophages were pre-treated with cyclodextrin vehicle loaded with cholesterol or SIT, then stimulated with LPS (100 ng/ml) for 30 min. ImageStream cytometry demonstrated that SIT down-regulates TLR4 expression without affecting lipid raft distribution. Western blot demonstrated that SIT down-regulated the adaptor protein MyD88 and the activity of IRAK1 but increased SOCS3 expression. Together, these results provide evidence that SIT may indeed elicit anti-inflammatory properties by down-regulating some components of the TLR4 pathway.

A new certified reference material for benzene measurement in air on a sorbent tube: development and proficiency testing.

A certified matrix reference material (CRM) for the measurement of benzene in ambient air has been developed at Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d'Essais. The production of these CRMs was conducted using a gravimetric method fully traceable to the International System of Units. The CRMs were prepared by sampling an accurate mass of a gaseous primary reference material of benzene, using a high-precision laminar flowmeter and a mass flow controller, with a PerkinElmer sampler filled with Carbopack™ X sorbent. The relative standard deviations obtained for the preparation of a batch of 20 tubes loaded with 500 ng of benzene were below 0.2%. Each CRM is considered independent from the others and with its own certified value and an expanded uncertainty estimated to be within 0.5%, lower than the uncertainties of benzene CRMs already available worldwide. The stability of these materials was also established up to 12 months. These CRMs were implemented during proficiency testing, to evaluate the analytical performances of seven French laboratories involved in benzene air monitoring.

Parentage and relatedness in polyandrous comb-crested jacanas using ISSRs.

In this article we present the first analysis of parentage and relatedness in a natural vertebrate population, using Intersimple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. Thus, 28 ISSR markers were used in a study of a sex-role reversed, simultaneously polyandrous shorebird from northeastern Australia, the comb-crested jacana (Irediparra gallinacea). Assessment of parentage was based on comparison of field observations, novel bands, individual-specific bands found in 7/9 males and 4/6 females, and a 99% CI exclusion criteria. Integrating results from these approaches resulted in confirmation of paternity in all 36 chicks. In only one case (2.8% of chicks) was a co-mate assigned paternity. Thus, comb-crested jacanas appear to be genetically monogamous. These results showed resemblance to sequentially polyandrous birds but differed from the simultaneously polyandrous wattled jacana ( Jacana jacana; Emlen et al. 1998). A significant relationship between relatedness and ISSR similarity resulted in recognition that 14/15 adults sampled may be related to at least one other adult by 0.25 or more. Lack of dispersal may be explained by physical limitations and adequate regional habitat. ISSRs proved to be simple and helpful in resolving these issues.

Effects of severe hypoxemia on mesenteric blood flow in neonatal piglets.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this work was to determine the effects of hypoxemia on systemic hemodynamic variables and regional conduit arterial blood flows in neonatal piglets. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using transit time blood flow probes, cardiac output and cranial mesenteric artery blood flow were monitored in groups of prematurely delivered (90% of term gestational age) and 2-week-old piglets prior to, during, and after exposure to a 30-min hypoxic (FIO2 = 0.12) challenge. RESULTS: The documented alterations in systemic mean arterial pressure and cardiac output pressure during hypoxia and reoxygenation were consistent with the maturational age of the animals. In response to hypoxia, all animals demonstrated significant reductions in mesenteric blood flow, with returns to baseline levels during the 30-min reoxygenation phase. In still other prematurely delivered piglets, nutrient mesenteric arterial blood flows were measured using in vivo videomicroscopy. The marked hypoxemia-induced decline in mucosal blood flow was reversed by reoxygenation. CONCLUSIONS: The physiologic mechanisms responsible for neonatal mesenteric vasoactive responsiveness are present in conduit and in nutrient vessels well prior to birth and can be activated by a significant perturbation. These observations are germane insofar as they provide a stable, age-matched acute animal model to study neonatal intestinal ischemic diseases, including necrotizing enterocolitis.

Dopexamine maintains mesenteric blood flow during systemic hypoxemia in the neonatal piglet.

In adults, dopexamine is a specific dopaminergic and Beta2-adrenergic agonist; its effects in neonates are unknown. Ultrasonic flow probes were placed around the ascending and descending aorta and cranial mesenteric artery of 0- to 2-day-old and 2-week-old piglets. Animals of each age group (9 to 14 per group) were subjected to (1) dopexamine infusion (5 microg/kg/min); (2) 30 minutes of hypoxia (inspired oxygen content 0.12) followed by 30 minutes of reoxygenation; and (3) dopexamine infusion during hypoxia and reoxygenation. In both age groups dopexamine alone increased ascending aorta blood flow (cardiac output minus coronary artery blood flow), mildly decreased mean arterial pressure, and increased cranial mesenteric artery blood flow. Compared to baseline values, 30 minutes of hypoxia produced significant (P <0.05, analysis of variance) decreases in cranial mesenteric artery blood flow in 0- to 2-day-old (58 +/- 13 ml/min vs. 30 +/- 8 ml/min) and 2-week-old (125 +/- 18 ml/min vs. 60 +/- 11 ml/min) piglets. In all cases blood flow returned to baseline values after reoxygenation. In both animal groups treated with dopexamine before hypoxia, the decreases in cranial mesenteric artery blood flow were eliminated (47 +/- 5 ml/min vs. 44 +/- 6 ml/min in 0- to 2-day-old piglets; 140 +/- 27 ml/min vs. 117 +/- 18 ml/min in 2-week-old piglets). Dopexamine may prove to be of clinical benefit when neonates are threatened by hypoxemia-induced decreases in intestinal blood flow.

Pruritus in psoriasis. A prospective study of some psychiatric and dermatologic correlates.

Among 82 inpatients with psoriasis, 67% (55 patients) reported moderate or severe pruritus. The degree of depressive psychopathology discriminated between the mild, moderate, and severe pruritus groups at admission. Prospectively, the change in depression scores correlated with the change in pruritus pretreatment to posttreatment. Pruritus severity did not correlate significantly with stress due to life events, age at onset, ethyl duration of psoriasis, age, sex, marital status, and average reported daily alcohol (ethanol) consumption. Among the objective dermatologic measures, including extent and severity of lesions, only the degree of perilesional irritation discriminated between the mild, moderate, and severe pruritus groups at admission, and prospectively, change in this measure correlated with the change in pruritus pretreatment to posttreatment. This finding was most likely related to the self-excoriation associated with pruritus. Intrapsychic factors (eg, the severity of depression) rather than external psychosocial or well-defined dermatologic factors, were the most significant correlates of pruritus in psoriasis.

Lesions in mink (Mustela vison) infected with giant kidney worm (Dioctophyma renale).

Adult Dioctophyma renale occupied the enlarged renal pelvis of the right kidney of naturally infected mink. Lesions in the kidney parenchyma consisted of connective tissue proliferation in the interstitial tissue, tubular atrophy and fibrosis, and periglomerular fibrosis. The luminal surface of the renal pelvis wall was formed of numerous papillae covered with transitional epithelium. The nematodes in the lumen were bathed in an albuminous fluid containing red blood cells, epithelial cells and D. renale eggs. The left (uninfected) kidney was 60% larger than the left kidney of normal mink.