CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMUR AND HUMERUS IN TUROPOLJE PIG – AN AUTOCHTHONOUS CROATIAN BREED

Since 1996, Turopolje pig breed–autochthonous Croatian breed has been in the state of renewal and protection. The size of breeding population was 137 sows and 13 boars in 2006. The aim of this study was to present some bones characteristics of femur and humerus (weight, length, circumference, diameters of diaphysis and epiphysis proximalis and distalis) of the hogs of Turopolje pig breed (T) in comparison to selected pigs, Swedish Landrace breed (SL) and Hypor (Hy) pigs. The hogs T (n=19, live weight 100.3±4.9 kg) were produced by traditional Croatian technologies of low feed input in outdoor system. The selected hogs (SL and Hy, n=62 and 53, live weight 103.3±5.3 and 104±5.8 kg) were produced by conventional technologies of fattening in large farm. Characteristics of femur and humerus at hogs T were as follows: weights 271.4 and 256.6 g, length 202.0 and 194.9 mm, diameters of epiphysis proximalis 58.3 and 67.9 mm, and epiphysis distalis 49.0 and 42.0 mm, the minimum and maximum diameters of diaphysis 19.0 and 18.9 mm and 23.0 and 25.8 mm and circumference of diaphysis 78.1 and 77.0 mm. Significantly higher values for all traits of femur and humerus except for length and circumference of diaphysis were found in hogs SL and Hy. The length of both femur and humerus were significantly higher in T than in SL and Hy pigs. The results should be the contribution to explanation of carcass composition and distribution of tissues in the carcass of Turopolje pig breed

INFLUENCE OF FINISHING DIET ON FATTY ACID PROFILE OF LONGISSIMUS MUSCLE OF BLACK SLAVONIAN PIGS

Regarding nutritional recommendations for humans, pork in general has too high ratio of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The n-6/n-3 index is particularly high if animals were intensively fed concentrate feeds, because the cereals like corn are rich in linoleic acid (C18:2 n-6). Traditional Black Slavonian pig production is an outdoor grazing system, which includes utilization of the natural resources of pasture and oak woodland with supplement of small amounts of corn or some other grains. However, fattening with corn-based concentrate mixtures before slaughter is common. In this study, the influence of finishing diet of acorn or corn-based mixture on fatty acid profile of longissimus muscle of Black Slavonian pigs was investigated. The indication of beneficial effects of acorn was found when Black Slavonian pigs were fed acorn instead of concentrate feed during pre-slaughter fattening. Feeding acorn ad libitum for a period of three weeks prior slaughter significantly increased the content of alpha linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3) in the longissimus muscle in comparison to concentrate fed pigs (0.37 vs. 0.12, respectively; expressed as % of total fatty acid methyl esters, P ≤ 0.01). As a consequence, the n-6/n-3 ratio in the muscle of acorn finishing pigs was nearly threefold lower than in concentrate finishing pigs (24.1 vs. 69.3, P ≤ 0.01)

EFFECT OF MC4R POLYMORPHISM ON PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS RESPONSE IN PIGS

Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is a G-protein coupled receptor predominantly expressed in hypothalamic regions which are known for their roles in feeding behavior, energy homeostasis and HPA axis regulation. In this study, we analyzed the effect of a missense mutation (Asp298Asn) in the porcine MC4R gene on physiological stress response and carcass composition in pigs of two crosses: A (♀Duroc x ♂Swedish Landrace) x ♂Pietrain (n=25) and B (♀Swedish Landrace x ♂Large White) x ♂Pietrain (n=21). All pigs included in this study were heterozygous (Nn) for the stress syndrome gen. Blood samples were collected before loading and at exsanguinations to measure cortisol, lactate, glucose, serum enzymes activity and some haematological parameters. Because only one pig with AA genotype was observed, there was no indicated effect of this genotype on investigated parameters. The heterozygous (AG) pigs showed a lower increase (P<0.05) in CK and AST activity after exsanguinations as well as trend towards lower increase (P<0.10) in cortisol and lactate levels and higher increase (P<0.10) in RBC and haemoglobin content. Higher increase (P<0.05) in LDH activity was observed in GG homozygous pigs from group B, but not in pigs from group A. In addition, the heterozygous (AG) pigs had a higher backfat thickness and lower estimated lean (P<0.05) than homozygous (GG) pigs. These results may support a possible role of the MC4R Asp298Asn polymorphism in the genetic basis of stress response and economically important traits in pigs

Toksikokinetika prometrina u mozgu miševa

Prometryne is a methylthio-s-triazine herbicide. Signifi cant trace amounts are found in the environment, mainly in water, soil, and food plants. The aim of this study was to establish brain and blood prometryne levels after single oral dose (1 g kg-1) in adult male and female mice. Prometryne was measured using the GC/MS assay at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h after prometryne administration. Peak brain and blood prometryne values were observed 1 h after administration and they decreased in a time-dependent manner. Male mice had consistently higher brain and blood prometryne levels than female mice. The observed prometryne kinetics was similar to that reported for the structurally related herbicide atrazine.Prometrin je metiltio-s-triazinski herbicid. Značajne količine prometrina zaostaju u tragovima u okolišu, poglavito u vodi, tlu i biljkama koje rabimo za prehranu. Cilj je rada izmjeriti količinu prometrina koja se apsorbira u mozgu i krvi nakon primijenjene akutne oralne doze (1 g kg-1 tjelesne mase) u odraslih miševa obaju spolova. Razine prometrina u mozgu i krvi izmjerene su GC/MS-om tijekom 1., 2., 4., 8. i 24. sata nakon izlaganja. Utvrđeno je da je udio prometrina koji se zadržava u živčanom tkivu relativno nizak ali detektabilan u odnosu na koncentraciju u krvi i koncentraciju primijenjene doze. Najviše koncentracije u krvi i maseni udjeli u mozgu zabilježeni su tijekom 1. sata nakon izlaganja, a s vremenom izmjerene vrijednosti značajno opadaju. Uočena je značajna razlika između mužjaka i ženki pri čemu mužjaci imaju značajno više razine prometrina u mozgu i krvi nego ženke. Opisana toksikokinetika prometrina pokazuje sličnosti s otprije opisanom i poznatom toksikokinetikom strukturalno sličnog herbicida atrazina

Development of ADPribosyl ubiquitin analogues to study enzymes involved in Legionella infection

Legionnaires’ disease is caused by infection with the intracellularly replicating Gram‐negative bacterium Legionella pneumophila. This pathogen uses an unconventional way of ubiquitinating host proteins by generating a phosphoribosyl linkage between substrate proteins and ubiquitin by making use of an ADPribosylated ubiquitin (UbADPr) intermediate. The family of SidE effector enzymes that catalyze this reaction is counteracted by Legionella hydrolases, which are called Dups. This unusual ubiquitination process is important for Legionella proliferation and understanding these processes on a molecular level might prove invaluable in finding new treatments. Herein, a modular approach is used for the synthesis of triazole‐linked UbADPr, and analogues thereof, and their affinity towards the hydrolase DupA is determined and hydrolysis rates are compared to natively linked UbADPr. The inhibitory effects of modified Ub on the canonical eukaryotic E1‐enzyme Uba1 are investigated and rationalized in the context of a high‐resolution crystal structure reported herein. Finally, it is shown that synthetic UbADPr analogues can be used to effectively pull‐down overexpressed DupA from cell lysate.Macromolecular Biochemistr

The effect of sex and DGAT1 gene polymorphism on fat deposition traits in simmental beef cattle

This study investigated diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) gene K232A mutation in Simmental cattle and its effects on fat deposition traits. The sample (n=26) consisted of yearling bulls and beef heifers from an intensive rearing system in Croatia. Carcass fatness was assessed by total dissection method, whereas intramuscular fat (m. longissimus dorsi) content was determined using Soxhlet extraction with hydrolysis. Intramuscular fatty acid composition was determined by gas liquid chromatography using in situ transesterification. The muscle DNA was extracted and Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCRRFLP) analysis of the 411 bp fragment of DGAT1 gene was applied. The DGAT1 K allele was less frequent in heifers than in bulls, with the overall allelic frequency of 17% K allele. Only KA and AA genotypes were obtained, without deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Heifers showed a higher degree of carcass and muscle fattening with more unsaturated intramuscular fat than bulls; however, there was no interaction between sex and DGAT1 gene. Generally, no significant difference between DGAT1 AA and KA animals was observed for any of the examined traits, except the slightly higher carcass share of the fattest beef category and higher intramuscular C14:0 desaturation index in KA heterozygous

Electromechanical left atrial function in patients with varying degrees of hypertension

Atrial arrhythmias are an often and common problem in patients with arterial hypertension. Some recent studies have shown that the electrical pulse delay estimated by echocardiography is prolonged in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation compared to healthy persons. To assess the electromechanical function of the left atrium in patients with various degrees of hypertension compared to healthy persons. The study has included 103 patients with artery hypertension, who were divided into four groups according to the degree of arterial hypertension and 46 healthy persons as a control. The volumes of the left atrium were measured by echocardiography using the disk, active and passive emptying volumes of left atrium and the fractions were calculated. Electrical delay within the left atrium and between the two atria were measured using the tissue Doppler. The values of passive left atrial emptying fraction were highest in patients in the control group and in patients with prehypertension they have significantly declined with the increased degree of hypertension (12.8 vs 12.6 vs 11.2 vs .10.2 vs 9.9%, p<0.001). The values of the active emptying fractions left atrium were higher in patients in the control group and with prehypertension threy have significantly declined as increased degree of arterial hypertension (28 vs 23 vs 40 vs 40 vs 39%). Electrical delay within the left atrium was significantly lower in patients in the control group and it has been significantly increased as a growing belonging to a group with higher levels of arterial hypertension (6 ... 9 ... 15 ... 23 ... 31 ms, p<0.001). Patients with prehypertension had significantly higher values of electrical delays within the left atrium compared to the patients in the control group. Electrical delay between the two atria grew significantly as a growing belonging to the group with a higher degree of hypertension (15.6 ... 25.3 ... 35.2 ... 50.2 ... 67.4ms, p<0.001). The study showed that even patients with regulated arterial hypertension have disturbed electromechanical function of the left atrium. Electrical delay in the atrium between the two atria is extended to the increasing degree of arterial hypertension, which can be explained by the higher risk for atrial arrhythmias in these patients

Changes in plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels during exercise stress echocardiography tests in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy with or without preserved left ventricular contractile reserve

Introduction: The study of importance of left ventricular contractile reserve presence and changes plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels (BNP) during exercise in patinets with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is very popular today, but these two parametres have rarely been interconnected. The study of response BNP during echocardiography stress tests in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy with or without preserved left ventricular contractile reserve. We studied 55 consecutive patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (mean age 54.98 ± 9.84, 49 (89.1%) male) treated in the outpatient clinic for heart failure at the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases 'Dedinje'. All the patients underwent the echocardiography stress test. Contractile reserve was assessed by measuring of the changes of the left ventricle ejection fraction basally and in the first minute after the strongest stress. Level of BPN was measured at rest, in the first minute and after 20 minutes of maximal exercise stress. Following the kinetics of BNP level during stress testing, we find that in patients with preserved left ventricular contractile reserve BNP level is rising at maximum load achieved (Mediana (IQR) - 59 (22-113) vs. 91 (37-135) vs. 78 (30-159) ng/L, p<0.001), whereas in patients without preserved left ventricular contractile reserve BNP level does not change significantly (Mediana (IQR) - 89 (50-322) vs. 119.5 (61.3-321.8) vs. 136 (72- 281), p=0.102). The increase in BNP in the peak load compared to its value at rest was positively correlated with preserved contractile reserve (r=0.38, p=0.009), better WMSI at rest (r=-0.28, p=0.04), greater difference in the double product (r=0.40, p=0.002), as well as the work accomplished on the test (r = 0.47, p <0.001), and longer duration of the test (r = 0.43, p = 0.001). The increase in BNP during physical exercise in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy suggests a preserved contractile reserve of the left ventricle

The effects of prometryne on subchronically treated mice evaluated by SCGE assay

Prometryne is a methylthio-s-triazine herbicide used to control annual broadleaf and grass weeds in many cultivated plants. Significant traces are documented in environment, mainly water, soil and plants used for human and domestic animal nutrition. Data on the toxic effects of prometryne and other methylthios-triazine have scorcely been published. The goal of this study was to investigate if prometryne, applied orally, could induce DNA damage in mouse leukocytes, in subchronical in vivo experimental design. Three different doses of prometryne were applied per os repeatedly every 48 hours. After the 7th dose (day 14) and the 14th dose (day 28) blood leucocytes were analyzed by alkaline Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis (Comet) assay. The results of three different comet parameters showed general increase in Olive tail moment, tail length and tail intensity values in treated groups of animals. The increase in measured values was almost proportional to the dose received and the time of exposure. We conclude that prometryne or its metabolic residues have the potential to induce processes that cause genotoxic effects on leukocytes on mice in in vivo repeated exposure