Nursery pig performance in response to meal and pelleted diets fed with irradiated or non-irradiated spray-dried animal plasma

Swine research, 2005 is known as Swine day, 2005A 25-d trial was conducted to determine the effects of feeding meal and pelleted diets, with or without irradiated spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP; AP 920), on the growth performance in nursery pigs. A total of 192 pigs (initially 13.2 ± 1.9 lb and 21 ± 3 d of age) were used, with 6 pigs per pen and 6 pens per treatment. Pigs were randomly allotted in a 2 × 2 factorial to pens, blocked by weight, and randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments. The main effects were diet form, meal or pellet, and either irradiated SDAP or nonirradiated SDAP. The experimental treatments consisted of a single diet that was fed in either meal or pelleted form, with or without irradiation of SDAP for Phase 1 (d 0 to 11), and a common diet for Phase 2 (d 11 to 25). Pig fed pelleted diets from d 0 to 3 had a greater ADG, ADFI, and improved F/G (P<0.03) than did pigs fed meal diets. Irradiation of SDAP had no effect on performance from d 0 to 3; for d 3 to 11, however, there was a diet form × SDAP irradiation interaction (P < 0.01), and for d 0 to 11 there was interaction for ADG and F/G (P<0.07). Pigs fed irradiated SDAP in meal form had similar growth performance to those fed pelleted treatments. For producers that manufacture their own Phase 1 diet in meal form, use of irradiated SDAP can result in performance equal to that of nursery pigs fed a pelleted diet

Influence of L-carnitine on litter characteristics from gilts harvested at day 40, 55, and 70 of gestation

Swine research, 2005 is known as Swine day, 2005A total of 59 gilts were used to determine the effects of supplemental L-carnitine on reproductive performance. Experimental treatments were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial with main effects of L-carnitine (0 or 50 ppm) and day of gestation (40, 55, or 70). All gilts received a constant feed allowance of 3.86 lb/day and a top-dress containing either 0 or 88 mg of L-carnitine, starting on the first day of breeding and continuing until the day of harvest. Total litter size, total litter weight, and crown-to-rump length of fetuses were not different (P>0.10) between treatments at any gestation length. By d 70 of gestation, average fetus weight was heavier (P = 0.06) for fetuses from gilts fed L-carnitine, compared with fetuses from gilts fed the control diet. In addition, at d 70, fetal insulin-like growth factor- II (IGF-II) concentrations were lower (P = 0.09) for fetuses from gilts fed L-carnitine than for fetuses from gilts fed the control diet. Feeding L-carnitine may have decreased fetal IGF-II, therefore increasing cell proliferation and delaying cell differentiation. These results show that providing supplemental Lcarnitine to gestating gilts has beneficial effects on average fetal weight, possibly observed because of its ability to reduce fetal IGF-II concentrations

Genetic and phenotypic characterization of indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders of the gastrointestinal tract are rare clonal T-cell diseases that more commonly occur in the intestines and have a protracted clinical course. Different immunophenotypic subsets have been described, but the molecular pathogenesis and cell of origin of these lymphocytic proliferations is poorly understood. Hence, we performed targeted next-generation sequencing and comprehensive immunophenotypic analysis of ten indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, which comprised CD4 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; (n=4), CD8 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; (n=4), CD4 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; /CD8 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; (n=1) and CD4 &lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt; /CD8 &lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt; (n=1) cases. Genetic alterations, including recurrent mutations and novel rearrangements, were identified in 8/10 (80%) of these lymphoproliferative disorders. The CD4 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; , CD4 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; /CD8 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; , and CD4 &lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt; /CD8 &lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt; cases harbored frequent alterations of JAK-STAT pathway genes (5/6, 82%); STAT3 mutations (n=3), SOCS1 deletion (n=1) and STAT3-JAK2 rearrangement (n=1), and 4/6 (67%) had concomitant mutations in epigenetic modifier genes (TET2, DNMT3A, KMT2D). Conversely, 2/4 (50%) of the CD8 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; cases exhibited structural alterations involving the 3' untranslated region of the IL2 gene. Longitudinal genetic analysis revealed stable mutational profiles in 4/5 (80%) cases and acquisition of mutations in one case was a harbinger of disease transformation. The CD4 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; and CD4 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; /CD8 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; lymphoproliferative disorders displayed heterogeneous Th1 (T-bet &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; ), Th2 (GATA3 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; ) or hybrid Th1/Th2 (T-bet &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; /GATA3 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; ) profiles, while the majority of CD8 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; disorders and the CD4 &lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt; /CD8 &lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt; disease showed a type-2 polarized (GATA3 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; ) effector T-cell (Tc2) phenotype. Additionally, CD103 expression was noted in 2/4 CD8 &lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; cases. Our findings provide insights into the pathogenetic bases of indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and confirm the heterogeneous nature of these diseases. Detection of shared and distinct genetic alterations of the JAK-STAT pathway in certain immunophenotypic subsets warrants further mechanistic studies to determine whether therapeutic targeting of this signaling cascade is efficacious for a proportion of patients with these recalcitrant diseases

Views of care at end of life: a secondary analysis of online feedback using care opinion

Although there are studies on the use of social media and palliative and end-of-life care (PEOLC), there are no studies specifically investigating the content of online public feedback about PEOLC services. This study sought to understand experiences of end-of-life care provided in hospitals in the West of Scotland by exploring the main themes within the content of stories posted on a nationally endorsed nonprofit feedback online platform, Care Opinion, within a 2-year period. We used “Appreciative Inquiry” as a theoretical framework for this study to determine what works well in end-of-life care, while also identifying areas for further improvement. Of the 1428 stories published on “Care Opinion” from March 2019 to 2021 regarding hospitals in the West of Scotland, 48 (3.36%) were related to end-of-life care, of which all were included in data analysis. Using the software package NVivo and thematic analysis, we identified 4 key themes. We found that people overwhelmingly posted positive feedback about their experiences with end-of-life care. People reported positively about staff professionalism in providing compassionate and person-centered care to meet their loved ones needs at end of life. Other experiences of care related to challenges facing healthcare services, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quality appraisal of staff responses highlighted areas for improving feedback. This study can add to the aim of improving staff response to people’s concerns about end-of-life care. This study has provided a novel perspective of patients’ experiences of end-of-life care in hospitals in the West of Scotland. Novel insights were the appreciation of quality of care, staff professionalism, effective communication, and meeting patient’s needs at end-of-life particularly by nursing staff

Induction of T Lymphocytes Specific for Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Calves with Maternal Antibody

Passive antibody to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) acquired through colostrum intake may interfere with the development of a protective immune response by calves to this virus. The objective of this study was to determine if calves, with a high level of maternal antibody to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), develop CD4+, CD8+, or γδ T lymphocyte responses to BVDV in the absence of a measurable humoral immune response. Colostrum or milk replacer fed calves were challenged with virulent BVDV at 2-5 weeks of age and/or after maternal antibody had waned. Calves exposed to BVDV while passive antibody levels were high did not mount a measurable humoral immune response to BVDV. However, compared to nonexposed animals, these animals had CD4+, CD8+, and γδ T lymphocytes that were activated by BVDV after exposure to in vitro BVDV. The production of IFNγ by lymphocytes after in vitro BVDV exposure was also much greater in lymphocytes from calves exposed to BVDV in the presence of maternal antibody compared to the nonexposed calves. These data indicate that calves exposed to BVDV while maternal antibody levels are high can develop antigen specific CD4+, CD8+, and γδ T lymphocytes in the absence of an active antibody response. A manuscript presented separately demonstrates that the calves with T lymphocytes specific for BVDV in this study were also protected from virulent BVDV genotype 2 challenge after maternal antibody became undetectable

Seasonal drought limits tree species across the Neotropics

Within the tropics, the species richness of tree communities is strongly and positively associated with precipitation. Previous research has suggested that this macroecological pattern is driven by the negative effect of water-stress on the physiological processes of most tree species. This process implies that the range limits of taxa are defined by their ability to occur under dry conditions, and thus in terms of species distributions it predicts a nested pattern of taxa distribution from wet to dry areas. However, this ‘dry-tolerance’ hypothesis has yet to be adequately tested at large spatial and taxonomic scales. Here, using a dataset of 531 inventory plots of closed canopy forest distributed across the Western Neotropics we investigated how precipitation, evaluated both as mean annual precipitation and as the maximum climatological water deficit, influences the distribution of tropical tree species, genera and families. We find that the distributions of tree taxa are indeed nested along precipitation gradients in the western Neotropics. Taxa tolerant to seasonal drought are disproportionally widespread across the precipitation gradient, with most reaching even the wettest climates sampled; however, most taxa analysed are restricted to wet areas. Our results suggest that the ‘dry tolerance’ hypothesis has broad applicability in the world's most species-rich forests. In addition, the large number of species restricted to wetter conditions strongly indicates that an increased frequency of drought could severely threaten biodiversity in this region. Overall, this study establishes a baseline for exploring how tropical forest tree composition may change in response to current and future environmental changes in this region

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors