Influence of lipoproteins at dry-off on metabolism of dairy cows during transition period and on postpartum reproductive outcomes

High-yielding dairy cows are metabolically challenged during transition, when intense mobilization and hepatic oxidation of lipids is achieved, thus leading to fatty infiltration, ketosis and generalized inflammation. The condition is associated to periparturient diseases and poor fertility. The aim of this study was to assess whether serum lipoprotein concentrations in the dry period could influence the occurrence of postpartum diseases and reproductive performance in dairy cows. The study was carried out on 30 multiparous Holstein Friesian cows. Blood samples were collected at dry-off ( 1260 days), 30 days after dry-off and within 12 h after parturition for biochemical and serum lipoprotein assays. From 10 to 60 days after parturition milk was collected twice weekly after feeding, for milk whey progesterone assay. The Optimal Cutpoint package identified a threshold of 89% for serum High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) concentration at the beginning of the dry period with 95% of confidence interval. Cows with serum HDL greater than 89% (High group, n = 10) showed better reproductive performance when compared to those with low values (Low group, n = 18). The odds ratio for reproductive disorders in High group was 0.6875, however, differences were not significant probably due to both the reduced number of animals per group and overall low incidence of postpartum reproductive disease. First postpartum luteal activity occurred around day 23, while the second one between days 40 and 48. The average calving to first AI interval was 64.00 \ub1 3.95 days and 94.50 \ub1 12.32 days in High and Low group, respectively (P 89% at dry-off could be suggestive of improved liver adaptation to the transition, and probably of enhanced fertility in High group

Protective effects of platelet-rich plasma against lidocaine cytotoxicity on canine articular chondrocytes

Abstract Background Lidocaine (LD) is one of the most commonly used local anesthetics for performing arthroscopic surgery and managing of osteoarthritic pain in both human and veterinary medicine. However, over the last years, several studies have focused on the chondrotoxic effects of LD. In order to ensure that intra-articular lidocaine is safe to use, treatments aimed at mitigating chondrocyte death have recently been investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible protective effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) against LD cytotoxicity on canine articular chondrocytes. Results Articular canine chondrocytes, were exposed to 1% or 1.8% LD alone or in co-presence with 10% PRP for 30 min. In order to evaluate the effects of PRP pre-treatments, experiments were carried out on cells cultured in serum-free medium-or in medium supplemented with 10% PRP or 10% fetal bovine serum. Cell viability was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay and cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry using annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide. The results showed that LD significantly reduced canine chondrocytes viability, probably due to apoptosis induction. Pre-treatment or the co-presence of PRP in the media restored the number of viable chondrocytes. The PRP also seemed to protect the cells from LD-induced apoptosis. Conclusions Pre-treatments and/or the simultaneous administration of PRP reduced LD-induced cytotoxicity in canine chondrocytes. Further in vivo studies are required to determine whether PRP can be used as a save protective treatment for dogs receiving intra-articular LD injections

Co-operative Aesthetics. A Quasi-Manifesto for the 21st Century

The idea of co-operativity underlying this book runs on a spectrum spanning the dynamics typically found in elementary – but complex, institutive – structures of experience, and those informing current practices of organization of reality that are also oriented by a humanistic, ecological and socially engaged impulse. This kind of co-operativity both recognizes an anti-isolationist foundation to experience and implements this same principle in situations where it seems to be lacking or not sufficiently perspicuous. This book gathers some of the most relevant contemporary voices, both of “theorists” and of “operators” of a co-operativity that, in a very broad sense, can be characterized as an aesthetic dimension of experience or that, in turn, somehow co-operates with it. Without claiming to be exhaustive, this quasi-manifesto simply lays out the beginning of a path that, hopefully, will involve more and more fields. Co-operativity is, by its very nature, polyphonic. And polyphony typically preserves the specificity of individual voices, which converge but do not necessarily coincide. Co-operativity, therefore, will be addressed from various perspectives and with different approaches, within this field community, by professionals involved in the drafting of this “quasi-manifesto