Parity and housing effects on the behavioural and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses of pregnant ewes.

It is common in many countries for sheep to be housed during winter from mid-gestation until lambing to protect ewes and lambs from adverse conditions and improve late gestation nutritional management. Keeping ewes indoors, however, has its own challenges as the animals may be mixed with unfamiliar conspecifics, have limited floor and feeding space, experience changes to their diet and increased handling by humans. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of variation in housing management (space allowance and social stability) on the behaviour and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses of pregnant ewes from mid-to-late gestation (weeks 11-18 of pregnancy). Seventy-seven ewes (41 primiparous, 36 multiparous) were divided into two groups: 'Control' and 'Restricted space and mixed' (RS-Mix), where RS-Mix ewes were allocated half the amount of space (1.27 vs 2.5 m2 for RS-Mix and Control, respectively) and feedface (concentrate feeder space) allowance (36 vs 71 cm per ewe) given to the Control group and were also subjected to two social mixing events. Aggressive behaviour at the feedface and time spent standing, lying, walking, feeding and ruminating were recorded and faecal samples were collected for assessment of faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations. Higher aggression was observed in RS-Mix ewes during the first week of observation (P = 0.044), which gradually declined to the same level as Control ewes by the end of the study (P = 0.045). RS-Mix ewes were significantly less likely to be able to freely join the feedface compared to Controls (P = 0.022). No other significant treatment effects on aggressive behaviour or FGM during gestation were found. RS-Mix ewes displayed significantly higher ruminating behaviour at week 18 of gestation compared to Control ewes (P < 0.001), but no other effects were seen on general pen behaviour. However, the effect of indoor housing had a significant impact on primiparous ewes, who had lower weight gain (P = 0.015) and higher FGM concentrations (P = 0.014) compared to multiparous ewes regardless of treatment group. The data suggest that, although no sustained effects on behaviour or HPA axis responses were seen with the differences in space and feeder allowance or social stability at the levels used in this study, inexperienced (primiparous) ewes may find indoor housing more stressful; and are less able to adapt compared to multiparous ewes. These effects may influence the behaviour of the ewe at lambing time, and her offspring.

Laboratory-Based Gait Variability and Habitual Gait Entropy Do Not Differentiate Community-Dwelling Older Adults from Those with Subjective Memory Complaints.

BACKGROUND: Age-related cognitive decline may be delayed with appropriate interventions if those at high risk can be identified prior to clinical symptoms arising. Gait variability assessment has emerged as a promising candidate prognostic indicator, however, it remains unclear how sensitive gait variability is to early changes in cognitive abilities. RESEARCH QUESTION: Do community-dwelling adults over 65 years of age with subjective memory complaints differ from those with no subjective memory concerns in terms of laboratory-measured or free-living gait variability? METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 24 (age = 73.5(SD 6.4) years) community-dwelling people with subjective memory complaints and twenty seven (age = 70.9(4.3) years) individuals with no subjective memory concerns. A sample of 9 individuals with diagnosed mild dementia were also assessed (age = 86.5(7.0) years). Gait variability was assessed in a laboratory during walking at preferred pace (single-task) and while counting backward by seven (dual-task). Sixteen passes over a 4.88 m walkway in each condition were recorded and step length and duration variability was analysed. Free-living gait was assessed with a waist-worn accelerometer by identifying gait bouts of at least one min duration, and the mean multiscale sample entropy in one mins non-overlapping epochs is reported. Statistical inferences were based on analysis of variance using sex and group as the factors. RESULTS: No difference between those with subjective memory complaints and those without were observed in either laboratory- or free-living gait variability estimates. Both laboratory- and free-living gait variability were higher in those with mild dementia compared to the other groups. SIGNIFICANCE: Assuming that subjective memory complaints are on the pathway from cognitively intact to cognitively frail, the findings raise the hypothesis that subjective memory complaints occur earlier in the pathophysiology than measurable changes in laboratory or free living gait. Alternatively the gait variability assessments utilised may have been too insensitive.

Initial renal histology and early response predict outcomes of Brazilian lupus nephritis patients.

OBJECTIVE: We analyzed baseline and follow-up characteristics related to poorer renal outcomes in a Brazilian cohort of admixture race patients with lupus nephritis. METHODS: Overall, 280 outpatients with a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus and previous kidney biopsy of lupus nephritis were recruited from August 2015 to December 2018 and had baseline laboratory and histologic data retrospectively analyzed; patients were then followed-up and data were recorded. The main outcome measure was the estimated glomerular filtration rate at last follow-up. Secondary analyses assessed the impact of initial kidney histology and treatment in long-term kidney survival. RESULTS: Median duration of lupus nephritis was 60 months (interquartile range: 27-120); 40 (14.3%) patients presented progressive chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 and ≥10 ml/min/1.73 m2) or end-stage kidney disease at last visit. Adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that class IV lupus nephritis (odds ratio 14.91; 95% confidence interval 1.77-125.99; p = 0.01) and interstitial fibrosis ≥25% at initial biopsy (odds ratio 5.87; 95% confidence interval 1.32-26.16; p = 0.02), lack of complete or partial response at 12 months (odds ratio 16.3; 95% confidence interval 3.74-71.43; p < 0.001), and a second renal flare (odds ratio 4.49; 95% confidence interval 1.10-18.44; p = 0.04) were predictors of progressive chronic kidney disease. In a Kaplan-Meier survival curve we found that class IV lupus nephritis and interstitial fibrosis ≥25% were significantly associated with end-stage kidney disease throughout follow-up (hazard ratio 2.96; 95% confidence interval 1.3-7.0; p = 0.036 and hazard ratio 4.96; 95% confidence interval 1.9-12.9; p < 0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSION: In this large cohort of admixture race patients, class IV lupus nephritis and chronic interstitial damage at initial renal biopsy together with non-response after 1 year of therapy and relapse were associated with worse long-term renal outcomes.

Updating Neuroimmune Targets in Central Nervous System Dysfunction.

Disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) have many etiologies compounded by limited options for treatment. The lack of successful treatments for these disorders stems from the difficulty of gaining effective access to the CNS through the blood-brain barrier, and the irreplaceable nature of neurons. Here, we review recent advances in the field of neuroimmunology and discuss novel strategies for targeting microglia, meningeal lymphatics, and the peripheral immune system that may lead to successful treatment of a broad range of CNS disorders. In the future, it will be important to continue to explore the vast communications between the CNS and the immune system to map out dysfunctions that attribute to diseases such as chronic neuroinflammation, autoimmunity, CNS injury, and more.

Physiopathological responses of sole (Solea senegalensis) subjected to bacterial infection and handling stress after probiotic treatment with autochthonous bacteria.

This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of four autochthonous bacteria isolated from juvenile sole (Solea senegalensis) intestine as dietary probiotic supplement against bacterial pathogen infection and handling/transport stressors. Growth performance and immune responses were evaluated after 85 days of feeding trial. Sole (IBW = 16.07 ±â€¯0.11 g) were fed six experimental diets, a control diet (CTRL, without the dietary probiotic supplementation), and five diets supplemented with probiotic bacteria: PB1 (Shewanella hafniensis), PB2 (Enterococcus raffinosus), PB3 (Shewanella hafniensis + Arthrobacter soli), PB4 (Pseudomonas protegens + Arthrobacter soli) and PB5 (Shewanella hafniensis + Arthrobacter soli + Enterococcus raffinosus). All bacteria were selected based on their in vitro antimicrobial activity. After the growth trial, fish were submitted to a stress factor (transport) and then each dietary group was divided in two additional groups: non-infected (placebo) and infected with Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida. Immune and antioxidant responses were evaluated at day 10 post-infection. In infection trial A, fish were infected on the same day of transport, whereas in trial B fish were infected after a 7-day recovery from the transport stress. At the end of the feeding trial, fish fed with PB2 and PB4 showed lower final body weight when compared with the other dietary groups. Respiratory burst activity and nitric oxide production were not affected by probiotic supplementation. Fish fed with PB5 presented lower peroxidase activity compared to CTRL. Lysozyme and alternative complement pathway activity (ACH50) showed no significant differences between treatments. The innate immune responses were significantly affected after handling stress and bacterial infection. In trial A, the ACH50 levels of infected fish were significantly lower than the placebo groups. On the other hand, in trial B fish infected with Pdp demonstrated higher ACH50 levels when compared to placebos. Peroxidase levels were strongly modulated by bacterial infection and handling stress. In trials A and B, infection had a clear downgrade effect in peroxidase levels. Lipid peroxidation, catalase, glutathione S-transferase and glutathione reductase were altered by both bacterial infection and transport. Overall, dietary probiotic supplementation did not influence growth performance of sole. The immune and oxidative defenses of sole responded differently to infection depending on the probiotic and the synergy between pathogen infection and transport.

Annual assessment of the sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) humoral innate immune status: Tales from the north Portuguese coast.

Innate immune status of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus population from two different rocky shore beaches in the northern Portuguese coast was evaluated for a period of one year. Although some ecological studies regarding the effect of toxics on the immune parameters of the sea urchin were made in Portuguese waters, there is a current lack of knowledge concerning their immune status all over the year. In perspective of a changing ecosystem in these waters due to global warming and colonization of new species, it is important to assess the status of the major species living in the area. In this way, immune parameters such as total protein content, nitric oxide concentration, haemolytic activity, protease activity, lysozyme concentration and bactericidal activity were evaluated in the perivisceral coelomic fluid, and were correlated with the gonadal index of the population and water parameters. Also, the spawning period can upset some immune status parameters, and others such as haemolytic activity and bactericidal activity against Vibrio anguillarum, showed a clear correlation with the gonad maturation status. The knowledge of the basal immune status of the species could serve as ecological indicator of some stress agent or contaminant into the field; also, coelomic fluid is suggested as good quality marker to assess the immune status of sea urchins.

Is the diversification of Mediterranean Basin plant lineages coupled to karyotypic changes?

The Mediterranean Basin region, home to 25,000 plant species, is included in the worldwide list of hotspots of biodiversity. Despite the indisputably important role of chromosome transitions in plant evolution and diversification, no reference study to date has dealt with the possible relationship between chromosome evolution and lineage diversification in the Mediterranean Basin. Here we study patterns of diversification, patterns of chromosome number transition (either polyploidy or dysploidy) and the relationship between the two for 14 Mediterranean Basin angiosperm lineages using previously published phylogenies. We found a mixed pattern, with half of the lineages displaying a change in chromosome transition rates after the onset of the Mediterranean climate (six increases, one decrease) and the other half (six) experiencing constant rates of chromosome transitions through time. We have also found a heterogeneous pattern regarding diversification rates, with lineages exhibiting moderate (five phylogenies) or low (six) initial diversification rates that either increased (six) or declined (five) through time. Our results reveal no clear link between diversification rates and chromosome number transition rates. By promoting the formation of new habitats and driving the extinction of many species, the Mediterranean onset and the posterior Quaternary climatic oscillations could have been key for the establishment of new chromosomal variants in some plant phylogenies but not in others. While the biodiversity of the Mediterranean Basin may be partly influenced by the chromosomal diversity of its lineages, this study concludes that lineage diversification in the region is largely decoupled from karyotypic evolution.

The natural history of prehypertension. A 20-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: According to the JNC7 report, prehypertension category includes subjects with systolic blood pressure between 120 and 139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure between 80 and 89 mmHg that would be at risk for developing hypertension and its untoward sequelae as myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular disease. Moreover, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring made it possible to detect subjects with masked hypertension, who are at risk of greater target organ damage than those with normal ambulatory or home blood pressure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of cardiac, cerebral and vascular events in a group of prehypertensive subjects, with and without masked hypertension. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 204 consecutive asymptomatic prehypertensive subjects without history and signs of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. All the subjects underwent clinical evaluation, electrocardiogram, routine laboratory tests and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. They were followed-up for a maximum of 237 months or until a cardiovascular event occurred. RESULTS: Twenty-seven cardiovascular events (13.2%) occurred, including 4 abdominal aortic aneurysms. Age (p<0.0001), total cholesterol (p=0.004), smoking (p=0.03) and clinically overt hypertension development (p=0.011) were related to cardiovascular events. Prognosis was not related to masked hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that, in subjects with prehypertension, followed for 20 years, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and development of clinically overt hypertension could be more relevant than ambulatory hypertension in the prediction of an adverse outcome.

Tenacibaculosis induction in the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) and studies of Tenacibaculum maritimum survival against host mucus and plasma.

Tenacibaculum maritimum, the aetiological agent for marine tenacibaculosis, is one of the most significant pathogens that threaten Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis (Kaup), aquaculture. Because no immersion challenge with T. maritimum has been reported previously for this flatfish species, this study aimed to optimize bacterial yields as well as to establish a challenge model for tenacibaculosis induction. Several approaches were performed to optimize bacterial culture conditions, including treatment with non-ionic surfactants, detergents, cellulase hydrolysis and strong shaking. A prolonged bath challenge was performed for 24 h under two different temperatures, 16 and 23 °C. Moreover, mucus and plasma bactericidal activities against T. maritimum were also assessed. Culturing bacteria with strong shaking and continuous shaking provided suitable culture conditions to obtain higher bacterial yields without aggregation and fluctuation, contrary to most other treatments that showed a huge amount of bacterial aggregates. A prolonged bath method for 24 h, without skin or gill scarification, was considered suitable for disease induction with high mortality rates. Moreover, data regarding mucus and plasma bactericidal activities suggested that there is a lack of host innate immune response against T. maritimum or that this particular pathogen presents evading strategies against Senegalese sole.

Innate immune response, intestinal morphology and microbiota changes in Senegalese sole fed plant protein diets with probiotics or autolysed yeast.

The effects of using plant ingredients in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) diet on immune competence and intestine morphology and microbial ecology are still controversial. Probiotics or immunostimulants can potentially alter the intestinal microbiota in a way that protects fish against pathogens. The current study aimed to examine the intestine histology and microbiota and humoral innate immune response in juvenile sole fed diets with low (35 %) or high (72 %) content of plant protein (PP) ingredients supplemented with a multispecies probiotic bacteria or autolysed yeast. Fish fed the probiotic diet had lower growth performance. Lysozyme and complement activities were significantly higher in fish fed PP72 diets than in their counterparts fed PP35 diets after 17 and 38 days of feeding. At 2 days of feeding, fish fed unsupplemented PP72 showed larger intestine section area and longer villus than fish fed unsupplemented PP35. At 17 days of feeding, fish fed unsupplemented PP72 showed more goblet cells than the other dietary groups, except the group fed yeast supplemented PP35 diet. High dietary PP level, acutely stimulate fish innate immune defence of the fish after 2 and 17 days of feeding. However, this effect does not occur after 73 days of feeding, suggesting a habituation to dietary treatments and/or immunosuppression, with a reduction in the number of the goblet cells. Fish fed for 38 days with diets supplemented with autolysed yeast showed longer intestinal villus. The predominant bacteria found in sole intestine were Vibrio sp. and dietary probiotic supplementation caused a reduction in Vibrio content, regardless of the PP level.

Combined loss of PUMA and p21 accelerates c-MYC-driven lymphoma development considerably less than loss of one allele of p53.

The tumor suppressor p53 is mutated in ~50% of human cancers. P53 is activated by a range of stimuli and regulates several cellular processes, including apoptotic cell death, cell cycle arrest, senescence and DNA repair. P53 induces apoptosis via transcriptional induction of the BH3-only proteins PUMA (p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis) and NOXA, and cell cycle arrest via p21. Induction of these processes was proposed to be critical for p53-mediated tumor suppression. It is therefore surprising that mice lacking PUMA, NOXA and p21, as well as mice bearing mutations in p53 that impair the transcriptional activation of these genes, are not tumor prone, unlike mice lacking p53 function, which spontaneously develop tumors with 100% incidence. These p53 target genes and the processes they regulate may, however, impact differently on tumor development depending on the oncogenic drivers. For example, loss of PUMA enhances c-MYC-driven lymphoma development in mice, but, interestingly, the acceleration was less impressive compared with that caused by the loss of even a single p53 allele. Different studies have reported that loss of p21 can accelerate, delay or have no impact on tumorigenesis. In an attempt to resolve this controversy, we examined whether loss of p21-mediated cell cycle arrest cooperates with PUMA deficiency in accelerating lymphoma development in Eµ-Myc mice (overexpressing c-MYC in B-lymphoid cells). We found that Eµ-Myc mice lacking both p21 and PUMA (Eµ-Myc;Puma(-/-);p21(-/-)) developed lymphoma at a rate comparable to Eµ-Myc;Puma(-/-) animals, notably with considerably longer latency than Eµ-Myc;p53(+/-)mice. Loss of p21 had no impact on the numbers, cycling or survival of pre-leukemic Eµ-Myc B-lymphoid cells, even when PUMA was lost concomitantly. These results demonstrate that even in the context of deregulated c-MYC expression, p53 must suppress tumor development by activating processes apart from, or in addition to, PUMA-mediated apoptosis and p21-induced cell cycle arrest.

Cardiovascular risk associated with celecoxib or etoricoxib: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials which adopted comparison with placebo or naproxen.

AIM: The present meta-analysis attempted to assess whether an unfavourable cardiovascular risk profile could be identified in the case of two COX2 selective inhibitors (COXIBs), namely celecoxib and etoricoxib. Based on the data from the literature, our meta-analysis aimed to assess the probability of major cardiovascular events reported with the use of celecoxib or etoricoxib and compare this with the results seen in patients assigned to the placebo group. Furthermore, the risk of cardiovascular events found by using celecoxib or etoricoxib was also compared with that associated with the use of naproxen, a nonselective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) chosen as our reference drug. METHODS: The studies had to be randomized controlled trials with at least 4-week duration. Studies were included if they compared celecoxib or etoricoxib against placebo or naproxen. Moreover, the selected studies had to have determined the risk, odds or incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death. For the comparisons versus placebo, the endpoints of interest were "serious vascular events", "non-fatal myocardial infarction", "non-fatal stroke" and "death from cardiovascular causes", whereas "myocardial infarction" and "stroke" were the endpoints of interest concerning the comparison versus naproxen. RESULTS: From the evaluation of 41 studies comparing celecoxib with placebo, we found a significantly higher incidence of serious vascular events in the celecoxib group compared to controls treated with placebo (rate ratio 1.598, 95% CI: 1.048 to 2.438; P=0.029). Furthermore, in patients allocated to treatment with celecoxib, we found an incidence rate of non-fatal acute myocardial infarction that was three times higher compared with the placebo group (rate ratio 3.074, 95% CI: 1.375-6.873, P=0.006). In contrast, we did not find any significant difference with regard to the incidence of nonfatal stroke and that of death from cardiovascular causes by comparing celecoxib and placebo. In addition, by examining cardiovascular outcomes that emerged from the 17 trials which compared etoricoxib with placebo, it was not possible to demonstrate statistically significant differences in incidence for each of the explored endpoints. With regard to the comparison of each coxib with the non-selective COX2 inhibitor naproxen, we did not find any significant difference for either the odds of myocardial infarction or that of stroke. CONCLUSION: On the basis of our meta-analysis, we can state that symptomatic benefits induced by the prolonged administration of celecoxib may be partially invalidated by a concomitant increase in vascular risk, particularly the increased risk of myocardial infarction found in celecoxib-treated patients, compared to controls taking placebo. In contrast, treatment with etoricoxib proved not to result in an increased risk of serious vascular events when compared with both the placebo and naproxen. Our meta-analysis also denotes that the alternative to COXIBs, represented by naproxen, does not show significant benefit in terms of reduced cardiovascular risk. Therefore, considering that the increase in incidence rate of cardiovascular events associated with treatment with celecoxib is small in absolute terms, it is reasonable to state that celecoxib is still a drug whose benefits outweigh the potential adverse effects on the cardiovascular system.

Effect of two experimental diets (protein and lipid vegetable oil blends) on the volatile profile of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858) muscle.

The aim of this study was to determine differences among volatile compounds composition of Senegalese sole muscle fed with extruded diets containing different plant protein (PP) and vegetable oil (VO) sources. Two set of experiments were performed on growing sole. One growth trial used a control diet containing fish meal (FM) as the main protein source and different PP-based diets. Another growth trial compared a control diet containing fish oil (FO) as the main lipid source and different VO-based diets; after a period, all sole were fed with the FO diet. Results showed that the incorporation of PP sources up to 75% allowed the production of a similar content of major volatile compounds to the control diet. In VO-based diets, some significant differences were found in the levels of some volatile compounds in sole muscle; however, no significant differences were obtained through sensory evaluation.

Management of Anthracnose in Common Bean by Foliar Sprays of Potassium Silicate, Sodium Molybdate, and Fungicide.

This study aimed to determine whether foliar sprays of potassium silicate (KSi), sodium molybdate (NaMo), or a combination of both (KSi + NaMo), with or without the fungicide azoxystrobin (Azox), could reduce anthracnose symptoms and, consequently increase yield. Two two-by-four factorial experiments, consisting of untreated or fungicide treated, as well as sprays of KSi, NaMo, KSi + NaMo, and no spray (control), were arranged in a randomized block design with three replications. Treatments were as follows: treatment 1, KSi spray; treatment 2, NaMo spray; treatment 3, KSi + NaMo spray; treatment 4, Azox spray; treatment 5, Azox + KSi spray; treatment 6, Azox + NaMo spray, treatment 7, Azox + KSi + NaMo spray; and treatment 8, control (no KSi, NaMo, or Azox). The KSi, NaMo, and Azox treatments were sprayed at the rates of 35 g/liter, 90 g/ha, and 120 g a.i./ha, respectively. The KSi was applied at 20, 27, 40, and 55 days after sowing (das). The NaMo was sprayed only at 27 das whereas the fungicide was sprayed at 27, 40, and 55 das. Plants were inoculated with Colletotrichum lindemuthianum at 23 das. Azox reduced the mean area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) by 63% and mean yield was increased by 150%. Similarly, the mean AUDPC was reduced by 29, 14, and 41% with KSi, NaMo, and KSi + NaMo sprays, respectively, while mean yield increased by 13, 20, and 47%, with KSi, NaMo, or KSi + NaMo sprays, respectively. The variables leaf area index (LAI), leaf area index duration (LAD), healthy leaf area duration (HAD), and radiation intercepted (RI) were not affected by KSi spray. The values for the variables LAI, healthy leaf area index (HLAI), LAD, HAD, RI, intercepted radiation of the healthy leaf area, and healthy leaf area absorption were significantly increased as a result of NaMo spray. The results of the present study support the novel possibility of using a foliar spray of KSi in association with NaMo to decrease anthracnose symptoms in bean plants and, consequently, achieve greater yield.

Effect of storage time and heat processing on the volatile profile of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858) muscle.

The effect of heat treatment and the presence or absence of fish skin on the volatile composition of Senegalese sole muscle was studied. The volatile profile of Senegalese sole at different storage periods was also evaluated. All samples were analysed by HS-SPME-GC-IT/MS and subjected to sensory evaluation. As expected, cooking enhanced the production/liberation of volatile compounds. Fish with the skin present, after cooking, had higher levels of sulphur compounds, 2-nonanone, ethyl octanoate and lower contents of hexanol and heptanol than skinned fish; moreover, the samples with the skin had a better overall sensory acceptability. During storage, changes on the volatile composition of Senegalese sole samples were found. The major differences were obtained after 2 weeks of storage. Compounds such as hexanal, heptanal, octanal, decanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-decen-1-al, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, benzaldehyde, 4-ethyl-benzaldehyde, 1-penten-3-ol, heptanol and (E)-2-octen-1-ol decreased after 2 weeks of storage, and other compounds, such as 3-methyl-1-butanal, 2-methyl-1-butanal, 2-heptanone, dimethyl trisulphide, dimethyl tetrasulphide and 2-methyltetrahydrothiophen-3-one increased. These differences were confirmed by sensory evaluation. Principal component analysis was applied to the chemical data.

Effect of cytokines and ovarian steroids on equine endometrial function: an in vitro study.

Regulation of immune-endocrine interactions in the equine endometrium is not fully understood. The aims of the present study were to: (1) investigate the presence of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF), interferon gamma (IFNG), Fas ligand (FASLG) and their receptors in the mare endometrium throughout the oestrous cycle; and (2) assess endometrial secretory function (prostaglandins), angiogenic activity and cell viability in response to TNF, oestradiol (E2), progesterone (P4) and oxytocin (OXT). Transcription of TNF and FASLG mRNA increased during the early and late luteal phase (LP), whereas IFNG mRNA increased in late LP. Transcription of the mRNA of both TNF receptors was highest in the mid-LP. All cytokines and receptors were expressed in surface and glandular epithelium, as well as in the stroma. Expression of TNF and its receptor TNFRSF1A increased during the follicular phase (FP) and mid-LP. IFNG was expressed in the mid-LP, whereas its receptor IFNR1 was expressed in the in mid- and late LP. The highest expression of FASLG and FAS occurred during the late LP. OXT increased the secretion of prostaglandin (PG) E2 and PGF2α in the FP and mid-LP. In the mid-LP, E2 and P4+E2 stimulated PGF2α secretion, whereas TNF and P4 increased cell viability. All treatments, with the exception of P4, increased nitric oxide and angiogenic activity in both phases. The coordinated action of cytokines and ovarian hormones may regulate secretory, angiogenic and proliferative functions in the equine endometrium.

A multi-center comparison of diagnostic methods for the biochemical evaluation of suspected mitochondrial disorders.

A multicenter comparison of mitochondrial respiratory chain and complex V enzyme activity tests was performed. The average reproducibility of the enzyme assays is 16% in human muscle samples. In a blinded diagnostic accuracy test in patient fibroblasts and SURF1 knock-out mouse muscle, each lab made the correct diagnosis except for two complex I results. We recommend that enzyme activities be evaluated based on ratios, e.g. with complex IV or citrate synthase activity. In spite of large variations in observed enzyme activities, we show that inter-laboratory comparison of patient sample test results is possible by using normalization against a control sample.

Rhabdomyolysis: risk factors and incidence in polytrauma patients in the absence of major disasters.

PURPOSE: Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome caused by musculoskeletal tissue damage that leads to the release of large amounts of intracellular elements, which particularly affect renal function. The most common causes are severe trauma, ischemia, surgical procedures, and drug abuse. We aimed to determine the incidence of rhabdomyolysis by measuring muscle injury markers (CK, myoglobin), to identify pre/post-admission as well as iatrogenic risk factors for rhabdomyolysis in severe polytrauma, to clarify the relevance of orthopedic injuries and surgical treatment in the onset/worsening of rhabdomyolysis, and to correlate risk factors with its main complication-acute renal failure (ARF). METHODS: Prospective study of severe polytrauma patients (Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15), with CK and myoglobin values measured at admission and after 24, 48, and 72 h. Peak values, variations between admission and peak, and variations between admission and day 3 were all determined. The correlations of those values with the onset of ARF and other negative outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 57 consecutive patients with a median ISS of 29 were included. ARF was present in 20 patients (38 %). CK-0 level was correlated with male gender (p < 0.027) and ISS (0.014); Mb-0 level was correlated with hypovolemic shock (0.003) and skeletal fracture (p < 0.043). CK-max was correlated with surgery (p < 0.038) and surgery duration (p < 0.014); Mb-max was correlated with surgery (p < 0.002) and anesthesia duration (p < 0.005). Δ-CK was correlated with surgery (p < 0.01) and surgery duration (p < 0.017), and Δ0-3-CK was correlated with surgery (p < 0.042). Logistic regression analysis found relationships between Δ0-3-CK and both ICU admission (p < 0.003) and MODS (p < 0.012), and between Mb-max and ARF (p < 0.034). CONCLUSION: We found that a large number of factors are implicated in CK and Mb variations. Rhabdomyolysis is a very frequent complication, but increase in CK marker alone does not seem to be correlated with the incidence of ARF. Therefore, Mb level should be considered in this group of patients.