Welfare parameters in dairy cows reared in tie-stall and open-stall farming systems: pilot study

ABSTRACT. Animals can experience pain or distress as a result of widely accepted management practices. In dairy cattle, housing system can affect animal welfare. The assessment of animal welfare requires the use of multiple indicators in order to analyse the heterogeneity of the aspects involved. The aim of this study was to compare the welfare of dairy cows reared in a tie-stall (TS) and open-stall (OS) system by metabolic, immunological and stress related parameters. The study involved 80 pluriparous lactating cows belonging to eight dairy farms located in the area of Mugello (Florence, Italy) reared in TS and OS systems. Ten blood samples were collected at morning time to measure alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), creatinine (Creat), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), total proteins (TP), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), serum lisozyme (SL), bactericidal activity (SBA), haptoglobin (Hp), oxygen free radicals (OFR), and hair cortisol levels. At the same time a body condition score (BCS) was recorded. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA. The experiment was carried out in accordance with European Commission regulations (Directive 2010/63/EC and Directive 98/58/EC). The results showed that the housing system affected various parameters such as ALT, BHBA, OFR, cortisol (P≤0.01) and AST, BUN (P≤0.05). Most of these parameters showed mean values within the range of reference without revealing any signs of suffering. An interesting outcome regarded the OFR levels, which was higher in the OS system (68.2±34.51 U.Carr. vs 36.1±21.39 U.Carr.), probably as a consequence of the high productive effort. In conclusion, it is possible to state that TS did not show a comparable overall situation with serious signs of welfare impairment

Welfare parameters in dairy cows reared in tie-stall and open-stall farming systems: pilot study

ΔΕΝ ΥΠΑΡΧΕΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗAnimals can experience pain or distress as a result of widely accepted management practices. In dairy cattle, housing system can affect animal welfare. The assessment of animal welfare requires the use of multiple indicators in order to analyse the heterogeneity of the aspects involved. The aim of this study was to compare the welfare of dairy cows reared in a tie-stall (TS) and open-stall (OS) system by metabolic, immunological and stress related parameters. The study involved 80 pluriparous lactating cows belonging to eight dairy farms located in the area of Mugello (Florence, Italy) reared in TS and OS systems. Ten blood samples were collected at morning time to measure alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), creatinine (Creat), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), total proteins (TP), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), serum lisozyme (SL), bactericidal activity (SBA), haptoglobin (Hp), oxygen free radicals (OFR), and hair cortisol levels. At the same time a body condition score (BCS) was recorded. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA. The experiment was carried out in accordance with European Commission regulations (Directive 2010/63/EC and Directive 98/58/EC). The results showed that the housing system affected various parameters such as ALT, BHBA, OFR, cortisol (P≤0.01) and AST, BUN (P≤0.05). Most of these parameters showed mean values within the range of reference without revealing any signs of suffering. An interesting outcome regarded the OFR levels, which was higher in the OS system (68.2±34.51 U.Carr. vs 36.1±21.39 U.Carr.), probably as a consequence of the high productive effort. In conclusion, it is possible to state that TS did not show a comparable overall situation with serious signs of welfare impairment

MR imaging diagnosis of diencephalic-mesencephalic junction dysplasia in fetuses with developmental ventriculomegaly

SUMMARY: Diencephalic-mesencephalic junction dysplasia is a rare malformation characterized by a poorly defined junction between the diencephalon and the mesencephalon, associated with a characteristic butterfly-like contour of the midbrain (butterfly sign). This condition may be variably associated with other brain malformations, including callosal abnormalities and supratentorial ventricular dilation, and is a potential cause of developmental hydrocephalus. Here, we have reported 13 fetuses with second-trimester obstructive ventriculomegaly and MR features of diencephalic-mesencephalic junction dysplasia, correlating the fetal imaging with available pathology and/or postnatal data. The butterfly sign can be clearly detected on axial images on fetal MR imaging, thus allowing for the prenatal diagnosis of diencephalic-mesencephalic junction dysplasia, with possible implications for the surgical management of hydrocephalus and parental counseling

MR Imaging Diagnosis of Diencephalic-Mesencephalic Junction Dysplasia in Fetuses with Developmental Ventriculomegaly

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Hyperventilation and seizures in an adolescent female

A 16 year-old girl was admitted after suffering from recurrent episodes of dyspnea and stridor, cyanosis, loss of contact, stiffening of all four limbs, clenching of the jaw and eye retroversion that lasted for a few seconds to a minute, followed by slow recovery of consciousness without any loss of sphincter control. These symptoms began at the age of 11 and worsened over time. Prolonged rate corrected QT intervals was observed with an ECG. Two cardio-respiratory monitorings were performed (one during daytime hours while the patient was awake, and one at night time while the patient slept). Daytime recordings showed 17 central apnoeas and 97 central hypopneas, with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 13.2 events/hour, that were associated with severe oxyhemoglobin desaturation. In contrast, night time recordings were normal (AHI=1.1 events/hour). The patient underwent diurnal monitoring of transcutaneous pCO2(PtcCO2), transcutaneous O2(PtcO2), SpO2 and end tidal CO2 (PETCO2), with simultaneous monitoring of regional cerebral oxymetry (rSO2) which showed values of PtcCO2 between 8 and 15 mmHg, suggesting several episodes of marked hyperventilation. Twenty-nine episodes of severe arterial desaturation (SpO2<50%) were registered, all after the same number of apnea events, with ascent of PtcO2 up to 28 mmHg at the end of apnea. During the final phase of apnea, the patient showed cyanosis, contact disturbance, grimaces, oral movements of rhyme, and, on three occasions, partial seizures. A mask was packaged and applied daytime to the face of the patient during episodes of hyperventilation to prevent, together with a psychiatric follow up, rapid falls of PaCO2 levels determining central apnoeas

Supplemental UV-B Exposure Influences the Biomass and the Content of Bioactive Compounds in Linum usitatissimum L. Sprouts and Microgreens

The interest in the pre-harvest ultraviolet-B (UV-B) exposure of crops in indoor cultivation has grown consistently, though very little is known about its influence on the nutraceutical quality of microgreens. Flaxseeds constitute a valuable oilseed species, mostly appreciated for their nutritional properties and the presence of health-promoting compounds. Therefore, although scarcely studied, flaxseed sprouts and microgreens might constitute a high-quality food product to be included in a healthy diet. This study aims to unravel the effects of pre-harvest ultraviolet-B irradiation on the nutritional and nutraceutical quality of flaxseed sprouts and microgreens grown under artificial conditions. The UV-B irradiation decreased the biomass and stem length of microgreens. However, the content of total phenolics and flavonoids and the antioxidant capacity were strongly enhanced by the UV-B treatment in both sprouts and microgreens. Among photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll a, violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, and lutein in sprouts were reduced by the treatment, while chlorophyll b increased in microgreens. In conclusion, our results showed that growing flaxseed sprouts and microgreens in controlled conditions with supplemental UV-B exposure might increase their nutritional and nutraceutical quality, as well as their antioxidant capacity, making them high-quality functional foods

Novel bioprinted 3D model to human fibrosis investigation

Fibrosis is shared in multiple diseases with progressive tissue stiffening, organ failure and limited therapeutic options. This unmet need is also due to the lack of adequate pre-clinical models to mimic fibrosis and to be challenged novel by anti-fibrotic therapeutic venues. Here using bioprinting, we designed a novel 3D model where normal human healthy fibroblasts have been encapsulated in type I collagen. After stimulation by Transforming Growth factor beta (TGFβ), embedded cells differentiated into myofibroblasts and enhanced the contractile activity, as confirmed by the high level of α − smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and F-actin expression. As functional assays, SEM analysis revealed that after TGFβ stimulus the 3D microarchitecture of the scaffold was dramatically remolded with an increased fibronectin deposition with an abnormal collagen fibrillar pattern. Picrius Sirius Red staining additionally revealed that TGFβ stimulation enhanced of two logarithm the collagen fibrils neoformation in comparison with control. These data indicate that by bioprinting technology, it is possible to generate a reproducible and functional 3D platform to mimic fibrosis as key tool for drug discovery and impacting on animal experimentation and reducing costs and time in addressing fibrosis

Predicting microRNA modulation in human prostate cancer using a simple String IDentifier (SID1.0).

To make faster and efficient the identification of mRNA targets common to more than one miRNA, and to identify new miRNAs modulated in specific pathways, a computer program identified as SID1.0 (simple String IDentifier) was developed and successfully applied in the identification of deregulated miRNAs in prostate cancer cells. This computationally inexpensive Fortran program is based on the strategy of exhaustive search and specifically designed to screen shared data (target genes, miRNAs and pathways) available from PicTar and DIANA-MicroT 3.0 databases. As far as we know this is the first software designed to filter data retrieved from available miRNA databases. SID1.0 takes advantage of the standard Fortran intrinsic functions for manipulating text strings and requires ASCII input files. In order to demonstrate SID1.0 applicability, some miRNAs expected from the literature to associate with cancerogenesis (miR-125b, miR-148a and miR-141), were randomly identified as main entries for SID1.0 to explore matching sequences of mRNA targets and also to explore KEGG pathways for the presence of ID codes of targeted genes. Besides genes and pathways already described in the literature, SID1.0 has proven to useful for predicting other genes involved in prostate carcinoma. These latter were used to identify new deregulated miRNAs: miR-141, miR-148a, miR-19a and miR-19b. Prediction data were preliminary confirmed by expression analysis of the identified miRNAs in androgen-dependent (LNCaP) and independent (PC3) prostate carcinoma cell lines and in normal prostatic epithelial cells (PrEC)