Impact of selection for birth weight variability on reproductive longevity: A mice model.

Uniformity, understood as a similar performance in relevant livestock traits, such as birth weight within the litter, is being included as one of the selection objectives in breeding programmes, especially for polytocous livestock species. A divergent selection experiment for birth weight within-litter variability in mice during 23 generations showed that homogeneous animals were better for litter size, survival and feed efficiency but less heavy than heterogeneous animals. The aim of this study was to compare the reproductive longevity in both divergent lines as time to the end of the reproductive period. Two generations from both lines with an initial number of 43 females and 43 males were mated one to one and stayed together to have consecutive parturitions until the end of the reproductive life. Females were discarded when the time elapsed from the last parturition was longer than 63 days. The time to the end of the reproductive period between both lines was compared by fitting a Cox proportional hazard regression model adjusting for line, generation and its interaction. The rate of parturitions in both lines was also compared using a Prentice-Williams-Peterson model adjusted for the same effects. The low variability line was associated with a higher parturition rate, e.g., adjusted hazard ratio was 2.93 (95% CI 2.17-3.94). The Cox model showed that the low variability females also presented benefits of time to the end of the reproductive period, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.26 (95% CI 0.16-0.41). The median of reproductive days was 55.50 in the high variability line whilst the median was 252.50 days for the low variability females. The homogeneous line presented important reproductive advantages suggesting higher robustness and animal welfare. Further research should confirm whether the findings presented here of a better performance in the low variability line could be properly applied to some livestock species.

Ovine Mannheimia haemolytica isolates from lungs with and without pneumonic lesions belong to similar genotypes.

This study investigated the genetic characteristics of 121 ovine Mannheimia haemolytica isolates from lungs with (n = 75) and without pneumonic lesions (n = 46) using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), virulence-associated gene typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Twelve STs were identified with most isolates (81%) belonged to ST16, ST28 and ST8. Analysis of the M. haemolytica MLST Database indicate a wide distribution of these genotypes in small ruminants, never reported in bovine isolates. This could suggest the adaptation of certain genetic lineages of M. haemolytica to small ruminants. e-BURST analysis grouped most STs into three clonal complexes (CC2, CC8 and CC28), consistent with a clonal population structure of M. haemolytica. Virulence-associated gene typing identified five virulence profiles in 64% and 65.1% of the M. haemolytica isolates from lungs with and without pneumonic lesions, respectively. These data suggest that M. haemolytica isolates from the lungs with and without pneumonic lesions are genetically homogeneous. By PGFE analysis a high level of genetic diversity was observed not only within isolates from lungs without pneumonic lesions but also among isolates from pneumonic lesions (GD 0.69 and GD 0.66, respectively; P > 0.05). These results indicate that multiple strains of M. haemolytica may be associated with individual cases of pneumonia in sheep.

Characterization of Pasteurella multocida associated with ovine pneumonia using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and virulence-associated gene profile analysis and comparison with porcine isolates.

Pasteurella multocida is a pathogen causing disease in a wide range of hosts including sheep and pigs. Isolates from ovine pneumonia were characterized by MLST (Multi-host and RIRDC databases) and virulence-associated gene (VAG) typing and compared with porcine isolates. Ovine and porcine isolates did not share any STs as determined by both schemes and exhibited different VAG profiles. With the Multi-host database, sixteen STs were identified among 43 sheep isolates with two STs (ST50 and ST19) comprising 53.5% of the isolates, and seven MLST genotypes (ST3, ST11 and ST62 included 75% of the isolates) among the 48 pig isolates. The most frequent VAG profile among sheep isolates was tbpA+/toxA+ (69.8% of isolates) and pfhA+ (62.5%) and hgbB+ (33.3%) among pig isolates. Representative ovine and porcine isolates of those STs identified by the Multi-host scheme were further typed using the RIRDC scheme. Seven STs were identified among the ovine isolates (ST95RIRDC, ST131RIRDC, ST203RIRDC, ST320RIRDC, ST324RIRDC, ST321RIRDC, and ST323RIRDC), with the latter four sequence types being new STs identified in this study, and six STs (ST9RIRDC, ST13RIRDC, ST27RIRDC, ST50RIRDC, and ST74RIRDC and a new sequence type ST322RIRDC) among the porcine isolates. STs identified among ovine isolates have been detected exclusively in small ruminants, suggesting an adaptation to these hosts, while the genotypes identified among pig isolates have been previously identified in multiple hosts and therefore they are not restricted to pigs. The differences in genotypes and VAG profiles between ovine and pig isolates suggest they could represent different subpopulations of P. multocida.

An ST11 clone of Pasteurella multocida, widely spread among farmed rabbits in the Iberian Peninsula, demonstrates respiratory niche association.

Pasteurella multocida is a veterinary pathogen causing diseases with considerable economic repercussions in a wide range of animal hosts. In rabbits, P. multocida infections cause a variety of clinical manifestations including rhinitis, pneumonia, septicemia, abscesses, mastitis, and pyometra. In this study, 100 P. multocida isolates from different commercial rabbit farms located throughout the Iberian Peninsula were molecularly characterized by capsular typing, detection of four virulence-associated genes (tbpA, toxA, hgbB, and pfhA), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Rabbit P. multocida isolates belonged to three different capsular types: A (47.0%), D (28.0%), and F (25.0%). One group of P. multocida isolates of capsular type D and positive for the hgbB gene was significantly associated with the clinical presentation of respiratory disease (OR 5.91; 95%CI, 1.63-21.38). These isolates belonged to same sequence type, ST11, in the P. multocida Multi-host MLST database. The ST11 clone also includes isolates from porcine and avian pneumonia. This clonal group of epidemiologically unrelated P. multocida isolates could be a virulent clone with some degree of specificity for respiratory disease. These findings could be relevant in the development of vaccines for pasteurellosis prevention, especially respiratory disease.

Salud mental en el profesional psicosocial / Mental health in the psychosocial professional

Objetivo: reconocer las situaciones que en contexto le generan ansiedad y depresión al profesional psicosocial, y comprender la importancia de ocuparse del bienestar físico y mental. Método: por la naturaleza de la investigación fue utilizado un enfoque cualitativo desde una perspectiva hermenéutica, bajo la modalidad del estado del arte, accediendo a un rastreo de la bibliografía relacionada con el tema a desarrollar, a partir de un rango de tiempo de veinte (20) años. Resultados y conclusiones: hubo importantes hallazgos como la falta de cuidado, especialmente en la salud mental de los profesionales psicosociales; también se encontró que la institucionalidad es un factor de riesgo importante en el desarrollo de enfermedades, tales como ansiedad y depresión, debido a la presión ejercida en los cargos ocupados; así mismo, se patentiza que el síndrome de burnout es el principal favorecedor de problemas de ansiedad, depresión y, en algunos casos, la muerte. Se concluye el artículo con una mirada holística de los factores que influyen en la obtención de enfermedades mentales y físicas de los profesionales psicosociales y su análisis.

Objective: to recognize situations that in context generate anxiety and depression to the psychosocial professional, and to understand the importance of dealing with physical and mental well-being. Method: by the nature of the research a qualitative approach was used from a hermeneutic perspective, under the modality of the state of art, accessing a trace of the literature related to the subject to be developed, from a time range of twenty (20) years. Results and conclusions: there were important findings such as lack of care, especially in the mental health of psychosocial professionals; institutionality was also found to be a major risk factor in the development of diseases, such as anxiety and depression, due to pressure on the occupied positions; Burnout syndrome is also patented as the main flatterer of anxiety problems, depression and, in some cases, death. The article concludes with a holistic look at the factors that influence the obtaining of mental and physical illnesses of psychosocial professionals and their analysis.