The effects of feeding sows at onset of farrowing supplemental energy (blend of carbohydrates and glycerol) on farrowing kinetics and piglet vitality.

Delivering piglets is one of the most energy-demanding activities sows undergo in their lifetime. Sows can have myometrial contractions from 2 to 12 h before the first piglet is expelled as well as a nest-building behavior. Thus, when the first piglet is delivered, the female has already used part of her energy supply. When the sow gets exhausted due to lack of energy, the farrowing process can be interrupted, causing damage to the viability and vitality of the piglets. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of feeding sows an energy supplement at the onset of farrowing on farrowing kinetics and piglet vitality. The energy supplement consisted of a blend of carbohydrates and glycerol which provides 439 kJ of metabolizable energy per kg of metabolic weight. A total of 180 sows were used. At the onset of farrowing, sows were assigned to one of the following treatments: sows that were not supplied energy at the onset of farrowing, serving as controls (CON, n = 85); sows fed the energy supplement at the onset of farrowing (ESP, n = 95). Farrowing kinetics, blood glucose concentration, and piglet vitality were recorded for each sow. Blood glucose concentration was assessed by puncturing the auricular vein and using a portable glucometer at four different time points: after the birth of the 1st piglet (T0), and at 20 (T20), 40 (T40), 80 (T80), and 180 (T180) min after the birth of the 1st piglet. The vitality of the 1st, 6th, 12th, 17th, and 20th piglet born was evaluated using the Apgar score. Piglet birth weight and average colostrum intake were measured. The farrowing duration was 20 min shorter (P < 0.05) for ESP sows in comparison with CON sows. Sows from ESP treatment had higher (P ≤ 0.05) blood glucose concentration at T20 and T40 compared to the CON sows. The inter-piglet birth interval was shortened (P < 0.05) by 14 min between the 1st and 2nd piglet for the ESP treatment. The 17th and 20th piglets born from ESP sows had higher (P < 0.05) Apgar score compared to piglets of the same birth order from CON sows. Colostrum intake was higher (P < 0.01) for piglets born from ESP sows. Litter growth performance did not differ (P > 0.05). In conclusion, feeding a blend of carbohydrates and glycerol as an energy supplement for farrowing sows improved farrowing kinetics and piglet vitality score.

The dual role of CTLA-4 in Leishmania infection.

The role of CTLA-4 in inducing the production of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) from T cells during a Leishmania infection has only recently been recognized. However, CTLA-4 and TGF-beta affect T helper cells differently, depending on the maturation. This review discusses the data obtained from different experimental models and demonstrates that CTLA-4 is a target molecule for vaccination and therapy against leishmaniasis.

Unresponsive CD4+ T lymphocytes from Leishmania chagasi-infected mice increase cytokine production and mediate parasite killing after blockade of B7-1/CTLA-4 molecular pathway.

Infection of BALB/c mice with Leishmania chagasi results in progressive increase of parasite burden in spleen, in spite of extensive T cell activation in situ. Explanted splenic CD4+ T cells showed decreased proliferation to anti-CD3, compared with controls, and no response to L. chagasi recombinant antigen Lcr1. Blockade of the negative costimulatory receptor CTLA-4 restored responses to anti-CD3 and induced vigorous responses to Lcr1. Blockade of B7-1, but not B7-2, also enhanced T cell responsiveness. CTLA-4 blockade completely restored activation-induced interleukin-2 secretion and increased interferon-gamma production. The effect, however, was not restricted to Th1 responses, since CTLA-4 blockade also enhanced antigen-induced interleukin-4 secretion. CTLA-4 blockade induced almost complete elimination of parasite burden in splenocyte cultures activated with anti-CD3 or Lcr1. These results indicate that CTLA-4 engagement by B7-1 plays an important role in maintaining unresponsiveness in CD4+ T cells in this model of chronic visceral leishmaniasis.

Early in vitro priming of distinct T(h) cell subsets determines polarized growth of visceralizing Leishmania in macrophages.

An in vitro priming system of murine naive splenocytes was established to investigate early immune responses to Leishmania chagasi, the agent of visceral leishmaniasis in the New World. Priming of splenocytes from resistant C3H and CBA or susceptible BALB and B10 mice with L. chagasi resulted in blast transformation and in proliferating parasite-specific CD4(+) T cells secreting a differential complement of cytokines (IFN-gamma and low IL-10 levels for resistant T cells; IFN-gamma, IL-4 and high IL-10 levels for susceptible T cells). After priming, intracellular parasite load was much higher in susceptible than in resistant-type splenocyte cultures. On the other hand, infection of purified splenic macrophages from either resistant or susceptible mice with live L. chagasi promastigotes, resulted in comparable parasite loads. Moreover, when early CD4(+) T cell priming in splenocyte cultures was disrupted with anti-CD4 mAb, polarized parasite growth was abolished, becoming comparable in resistant and susceptible cultures. Neutralizing IL-4 activity during splenocyte priming did not affect the final parasite load in susceptible cultures. However, neutralizing IL-10 activity markedly decreased parasite load in susceptible, but not in resistant splenic macrophages. These results suggest that IL-10 plays an important role in L. chagasi infection in susceptible hosts. The results also indicate that innate control of growth of a visceralizing Leishmania in splenic macrophages results from the ability to activate different CD4(+) T cell subsets.

Down-regulation of T lymphocyte activation in vitro and in vivo induced by glycoinositolphospholipids from Trypanosoma cruzi. Assignment of the T cell-suppressive determinant to the ceramide domain.

The major surface glycoinositolphospholipid (GIPL) from Trypanosoma cruzi was purified and assessed in mouse T cell function assays. Purified GIPLs from T. cruzi strains Y and G, but not from a plant trypanosomatid (Phytomonas serpens), markedly blocked in vitro CD4+ and CD8+ T cell mitogenesis induced by bacterial superantigen and anti-TCR;CD3 Abs. Secretion of IL-2, but not of IL-4, bioactivity, was reduced by GIPLs. T. cruzi, but not P. serpens, GIPL also blocked recall cellular responses to T. cruiz. GIPLs from T. cruzi, but not from P. serpens, blocked in vivo regional lymph node T cell activation induced by anti-CD3 mAb. Blockage led to loss of IL-2 responsiveness, with inhibition of CD25 expression on both CD4+ and CD8+ subsets. Isolated phosphoinositol oligosaccharides from GIPLs had no effect on in vitro CD4+ T cell mitogenesis. Isolated ceramide from T. cruzi GIPLs contained mainly N-lignoceroyldihydrosphingosine and blocked CD4+ T cell activation in vitro with the same potency as the intact GIPL. Standard N-palmitoylsphingosine, but not N-palmitoyldihydrosphingosine, blocked CD4+ T cell mitogenesis. A longer fatty acid chain, such as in standard N-lignoceroyldihydrosphingosine, or in the natural trypanosomal GIPL-derived ceramide, however, conferred full inhibitory effects on CD4+ T cells. These results demonstrate that T. cruzi GIPL has T cell immunomodulatory activity in vitro and in vivo, and that this novel activity maps to the ceramide domain. These findings could have implications for immunologic disturbances induced in the host by the causative agent of Chagas' disease.

TGF-beta mediates CTLA-4 suppression of cellular immunity in murine kalaazar.

Recent studies indicate important roles for CTLA-4 engagement in T cells, and for TGF-beta production in the immunopathogenesis of murine kalaazar or visceral leishmaniasis, but a functional link between these two pathways in helping intracellular parasite growth is unknown. Here we report that Ag or anti-CD3 activation of splenic CD4+ T cells from visceral leishmaniasis leads to intense CTLA-4-mediated TGF-beta1 production, as assessed either by CTLA-4 blockade or by direct CTLA-4 cross-linkage. Production of TGF-beta1 accounted for the reciprocal regulation of IFN-gamma production by CTLA-4 engagement. Following CD4+ T cell activation, intracellular growth of Leishmania chagasi in cocultured splenic macrophages required both CTLA-4 function and TGF-beta1 secretion. Cross-linkage of CTLA-4 markedly increased L. chagasi replication in cocultures of infected macrophages and activated CD4+ T cells, and parasite growth could be completely blocked with neutralizing anti-TGF-beta1 Ab. Exogenous addition of rTGF-beta1 restored parasite growth in cultures protected from parasitism by CTLA-4 blockade. These results indicate that the negative costimulatory receptor CTLA-4 is critically involved in TGF-beta production and in intracellular parasite replication seen in murine kalaazar.

Efeitos da idade da matriz leve e do período de armazenamento de ovos incubáveis no rendimento de incubação / Effects of ages of light breeder hens and storage period of hatchable eggs on the incubation efficiency

Avaliaram-se os efeitos da idade das matrizes leves e do período de armazenamento dos ovos sobre o rendimento de incubação. Foram utilizados 7.224 ovos da linhagem Dekalb, distribuídos de acordo com delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, sendo a altura de bandeja uma covariável. Os tratamentos foram definidos pelas idades das matrizes (32 e 57 semanas de idade) e o período de armazenamento dos ovos (três, cinco e sete dias), totalizando seis tratamentos com 14 repetições. A idade das aves influenciou o peso do ovo. Houve aumento na perda de peso dos ovos das matrizes de 32 e 57 semanas de idade, durante o armazenamento (10,48 e 14,16 por cento, respectivamente) e na transferência (10,40 e 12,07 por cento, respectivamente). Verificou-se maior taxa de eclosão (86,90 por cento) em ovos produzidos pelas matrizes novas. Independentemente da idade da matriz, à medida que aumentou o período de armazenamento, houve diminuição na taxa de eclosão dos ovos férteis (86,06 e 82,39 por cento, para as matrizes de 32 e 57 semanas de idade, respectivamente). As matrizes com 57 semanas de idade produziram pintos mais pesados e com menor relação peso do pinto/peso do ovo.

The effects of ages of light breeder hens and storage period of hatchabe eggs on the incubation efficiency were evaluated. A total of 7,224 Dekalb hatching eggs were assigned according to the sample random design, and the hatching tray height was considered a co-variable. The treatments were defined according to the breeder hens ages (32 and 57-week-old) and the period of storage of eggs (three, five, and seven days), with 14 replications. The age of the hen affected the weight of the eggs. There was loss of weight of the eggs of 32 and 57-week-old breeder hens during storage (10.48 and 14.16 percent, respectively) and transference (10.40 and 12.07 percent, respectively) according to the aging of the breeder hen. Eggs produced by the younger breeder hens had a higher hatching rate; however, no matter the age of the breeder hen, there was a decrease of the hatching rate of fertile eggs (86.06 and 82.39 percent, for the 32 and 57-week-old breeder hens, respectively) whenever the storage period was increased. The 57-weekold breeder hens produced heavier chicks and lower chick/egg weight coefficient.

Uso del agente espamolitico otilonio bromuro (spamonen) en endoscopia digestiva: estudio prospectivo en 63 pacientes / Use of spasmolytic agent otilonium bromide in digestive endoscopy: a prospective study in 63 patients

El otilonio bromuro es un antagonista del calcio con un efecto miolítico directo, el cual está indicado en estados espásticos y disguinesias funcionales del aparato gastroentérico (sindrome del intestino irritable) y como premedicación para procedimientos endoscópicos gastrointestinales. El presente estudio evaluó el otilonio bromuro 40 mg PO la noche anterior y 40 mg PO la mañana de 49 fibroscopías bajas en 63 pacientes, para determinar la presencia o ausencia de peristalsis y relajación del píloro. No se observaron efectos colaterales debido a la medicación. En 46 (93.8 por ciento) endoscopías altas se observó marcada relajación del tracto gastrointestinal y del píloro. En 13 (92.8 por ciento) endoscopías bajas también se observó marcada relajación del tracto colónico. Todos los pacientes toleraron bien las endoscopías. El otilonio bromuro fue útil como premedicación para facilitar las exploraciones endoscópicas altas y bajas, debido a su efecto espasmolítico.

Uso del agente espamolitico otilonio bromuro (spamonen) en endoscopia digestiva: estudio prospectivo en 63 pacientes / Use of spasmolytic agent otilonium bromide in digestive endoscopy: a prospective study in 63 patients

El otilonio bromuro es un antagonista del calcio con un efecto miolítico directo, el cual está indicado en estados espásticos y disguinesias funcionales del aparato gastroentérico (sindrome del intestino irritable) y como premedicación para procedimientos endoscópicos gastrointestinales. El presente estudio evaluó el otilonio bromuro 40 mg PO la noche anterior y 40 mg PO la mañana de 49 fibroscopías bajas en 63 pacientes, para determinar la presencia o ausencia de peristalsis y relajación del píloro. No se observaron efectos colaterales debido a la medicación. En 46 (93.8 por ciento) endoscopías altas se observó marcada relajación del tracto gastrointestinal y del píloro. En 13 (92.8 por ciento) endoscopías bajas también se observó marcada relajación del tracto colónico. Todos los pacientes toleraron bien las endoscopías. El otilonio bromuro fue útil como premedicación para facilitar las exploraciones endoscópicas altas y bajas, debido a su efecto espasmolítico. (AU)

Papiloma escamoso de esofago (PEE): reporte de un caso y revision de literatura / Esophageal squamous papilloma: a case report and literature revision

Se relata un caso de Papiloma Escamoso de Esófago (PEE) en una paciente de 90 años. Esta patología es de carácter benigno y por lo general es un hallazgo endoscópico. Sólo existen 150 casos relatados en la literaura médica mundial. Su tratamiento consiste en resección endoscópica con asa diatérmica o un tratamiento conservador de observación más control endoscópico periódico de acuerdo al tipo de paciente.

Papiloma escamoso de esofago (PEE): reporte de un caso y revision de literatura / Esophageal squamous papilloma: a case report and literature revision

Se relata un caso de Papiloma Escamoso de Esófago (PEE) en una paciente de 90 años. Esta patología es de carácter benigno y por lo general es un hallazgo endoscópico. Sólo existen 150 casos relatados en la literaura médica mundial. Su tratamiento consiste en resección endoscópica con asa diatérmica o un tratamiento conservador de observación más control endoscópico periódico de acuerdo al tipo de paciente. (AU)

Gastrostomía endoscópica percutánea (GEP): Dispositivo diseñado reutilizable (NAGEP) en técnica endoscópica de un tiempo. Estudio experimental en perros / Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (GEP): designed reusable device (NAGEP) for one time endoscopic technique. Experimental study in dogs

INTRODUCTION: This aim of our experimental study was to demonstrate the versatility of our designed reusable decive for PEG and its future application in humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 20 mongrel dogs received enteral nutrition by a Foley tube placed by a single endoscopic technique using a reusable stainless steel designed decive, three reusable stainless steel designed decive, three reusable stainless steel dilators, an Olympus XQ20 video gastrointestinal endoscope, basic surgical equipment and surgical material. RESULTS: The procedure was successfully performed in all dogs under general anaesthesia. The duration of the whole procedure ranged from 10 to 18 min. The complications regardless by the PEG procedure were minimal. The Foley tube was retained by 15 days. CONCLUSIONS: The application of the stainless steel reusable designed decive for the PEG is safe, and presents several advantages. This technique for PEG placement could be used in the future due the characteristics of the designed device: durable and reusable for unlimited number of procedures.

Gastrostomía endoscópica percutánea (GEP): Dispositivo diseñado reutilizable (NAGEP) en técnica endoscópica de un tiempo. Estudio experimental en perros / Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (GEP): designed reusable device (NAGEP) for one time endoscopic technique. Experimental study in dogs

INTRODUCTION: This aim of our experimental study was to demonstrate the versatility of our designed reusable decive for PEG and its future application in humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 20 mongrel dogs received enteral nutrition by a Foley tube placed by a single endoscopic technique using a reusable stainless steel designed decive, three reusable stainless steel designed decive, three reusable stainless steel dilators, an Olympus XQ20 video gastrointestinal endoscope, basic surgical equipment and surgical material. RESULTS: The procedure was successfully performed in all dogs under general anaesthesia. The duration of the whole procedure ranged from 10 to 18 min. The complications regardless by the PEG procedure were minimal. The Foley tube was retained by 15 days. CONCLUSIONS: The application of the stainless steel reusable designed decive for the PEG is safe, and presents several advantages. This technique for PEG placement could be used in the future due the characteristics of the designed device: durable and reusable for unlimited number of procedures. (Au)