Effects of an Oral Rehydration Solution with Added Bovine Serum Proteins on Small Intestinal Absorptive Capacity

Young calves commonly become infected with viruses and bacteria that damage the intestinal lining. To enhance recovery of small intestinal function following a coronavirus challenge, bovine serum proteins, containing IgG, TGF-β and other growth factors, were added to an oral rehydration solution (ORS) for 32 Holstein and Jersey calves. Calves were housed individually and offered water ad libitum and milk replacer at 10% of BW daily. Control calves were fed a control ORS (CON). The treated calves were fed an ORS that consisted of CON with added bovine serum proteins (GFR). After a 2 d adjustment, calves were orally challenged with a moderately virulent bovine coronavirus isolate. Xylose (0.5 g/kg of BW) was administered orally once daily for 6 d to assess small intestinal recovery. Hematocrits, fecal dry matter, rectal temperatures, attitude scores and dehydration scores were recorded once daily. Concentrations of serum xylose increased with time postdosing, but did not vary by treatment. Hematocrits and other clinical scores were not significantly different (P \u3e0.05) between treatments. In this model, bovine serum proteins did not appear to enhance intestinal recovery from a coronavirus challenge when added to ORS

Effect of Various Levels of Forage and Form of Diet on Rumen Development and Growth in Calves

The effect of form of starter grain (coarse versus ground) and inclusion of various levels of hay on rumen development was evaluated. Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of form of diet and forage inclusion on intake, growth, feed efficiency and weaning age in dairy calves. Diets consisted of commercial coarse starter (C), ground starter (G), coarse starter with 7.5% bromegrass hay of consistent particle size (8 - 19 mm) (H1), and coarse starter with 15% hay (H2). In experiment 1, intake was held constant across treatments until weaning, when feed was offered ad libitum. Calves receiving H1 and H2 were heavier, had greater body weight gain and greater feed efficiency than calves receiving C. There were no differences in intake. Total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations were higher and the proportion of acetate was lower for calves fed G versus C. In experiment 2, calves (n = 56) were offered diets on an ad libitum basis and weaned according to intake. There were no differences in body weight gain, average daily gain, feed efficiency and age at weaning with respect to treatment. Starter and total dry matter intake tended to be greater in calves fed H1 and H2 versus C. Addition of controlled particle size hay to diets of young calves appears to favorably alter rumen environment resulting in increased intake and improved feed efficiency. Forage of a consistent particle size can be successfully utilized in starter rations of young calves

Characterization of a Colostrum Replacer Containing IgG Concentrate and Growth Factors

The objective of this study was to characterize absorption of colostrum replacer (CR) or supplement (CS) containing fractions of bovine plasma. Immunoglobulin concentrate (IGC) was prepared from abattoir blood to a final purity of approximately 90% IgG. Blood was also processed to produce a fraction containing elevated concentrations of IGF-I and TGF-β (GF). Both IGC and GF were spray-dried and blended with other ingredients to produce CR (30% IgG) or CS (15% IgG) containing 0 or 5% GF. Forty Holstein bull calves were assigned to one of five treatments: 1) Pooled colostrum (MC) - 1.9 L of pooled colostrum at 1 and 8 h of age; 2) Low supplement (LC) - 1.9 L of CS at 1 and 8 h of age to provide 150 g of IgG; 3) Low supplement + GF (LG) - 1.9 L of a CS with GF at 1 and 8 h of age to provide 150 g of IgG; 4) High supplement (HC) - 1.9 L of CR at 1 h of age to provide 150 g of IgG and 1.9 L of a commercial milk replacer (MR) at 8 h of age; and 5) High supplement + GF (HG) - 1.9 L of a CR with GF at 1 h of age to provide 150 g of IgG and 1.9 L of a commercial MR at 8 h of age. Apparent efficiency of IgG absorption was higher for calves fed HC and HG compared to those fed LC and LG and was lower for calves fed LG and HG compared to those fed LC and HC. IgG concentrations at 24 h were highest in calves fed MC compared to other calves and were higher in calves fed HC and HG compared to LC and LG. Calves fed LG and HG had lower IgG concentrations at 24 h of age compared to those fed LC and HC. Xylose absorption was not influenced by treatment in calves fed HG, HC, and MC. These results indicate that 150 g of IgG provided in one dose soon after birth is superior to 150 g of IgG fed in two doses 7 h apart. Also, addition of a fraction of bovine plasma containing elevated concentrations of IGF-I and TGF-β to the CS and CR formulation decreased IgG absorption in the neonatal calf

The Use of Bovine Serum Protein as an Oral Support Therapy Following Coronavirus Challenge in Calves

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of feeding a supplemental bovine serum protein blend to calves challenged with virulent coronavirus. Twelve Holstein bull calves were orally challenged with 1 x 107 PFU of virulent coronavirus isolate. Infection was allowed to progress for a period of 24 h prior to the initiation of treatment. On d 1, treated calves began receiving 160 g of a blood serum protein blend (16 g IgG) mixed into milk replacer powder (67 g) at both the AM and PM feedings. Control calves received only milk replacer powder (227) at both feedings. Response to coronavirus challenge and dietary treatment was monitored prior to AM and PM feeding by the collection of multiple clinical measures. Fecal consistency was decreased (P\u3c0.01) by coronavirus challenge, but was not affected by dietary treatment. Mean daily rectal temperature and heart rate were not affected by dietary treatment. Average packed cell volume was higher (P\u3c0.01) in rreated calves compared to control (35.0 and 27.0 %). Coronavirus challenge resulted in an immediate increase in respiration rate, decreasing by d 7. Control calves tended to have a greater (P=0.06) average respiration rate compared to treated (28.7 vs. 26.8 breaths / min.). Treated calves had a higher (P=0.02) average feed intake versus control (0.57 vs. 0.44 kg/d). These data suggest that bovine serum supplemented milk replacer may decrease the severity of disease in young calves exposed to coronavirus. The ability of a dietary treatment to potentially alleviate symptoms of a viral enteric disease is of great importance to the dairy industry

Emerging Infectious Disease leads to Rapid Population Decline of Common British Birds

Emerging infectious diseases are increasingly cited as threats to wildlife, livestock and humans alike. They can threaten geographically isolated or critically endangered wildlife populations; however, relatively few studies have clearly demonstrated the extent to which emerging diseases can impact populations of common wildlife species. Here, we report the impact of an emerging protozoal disease on British populations of greenfinch Carduelis chloris and chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, two of the most common birds in Britain. Morphological and molecular analyses showed this to be due to Trichomonas gallinae. Trichomonosis emerged as a novel fatal disease of finches in Britain in 2005 and rapidly became epidemic within greenfinch, and to a lesser extent chaffinch, populations in 2006. By 2007, breeding populations of greenfinches and chaffinches in the geographic region of highest disease incidence had decreased by 35% and 21% respectively, representing mortality in excess of half a million birds. In contrast, declines were less pronounced or absent in these species in regions where the disease was found in intermediate or low incidence. Also, populations of dunnock Prunella modularis, which similarly feeds in gardens, but in which T. gallinae was rarely recorded, did not decline. This is the first trichomonosis epidemic reported in the scientific literature to negatively impact populations of free-ranging non-columbiform species, and such levels of mortality and decline due to an emerging infectious disease are unprecedented in British wild bird populations. This disease emergence event demonstrates the potential for a protozoan parasite to jump avian host taxonomic groups with dramatic effect over a short time period

A water cycle for the Anthropocene

International audienceHumor us for a minute and do an online image search of the water cycle. How many diagrams do you have to scroll through before seeing any sign of humans? What about water pollution or climate change—two of the main drivers of the global water crisis? In a recent analysis of more than 450 water cycle diagrams, we found that 85% showed no human interaction with the water cycle and 98% omitted any sign of climate change or waterpollution (Abbott et al., 2019). Additionally, 92% of diagrams depicted verdant, temperate ecosystems with abundant freshwater and 95% showed only a single river basin. It did not matter if the diagrams came from textbooks, scientific articles, or the internet, nor if they were old or new; most showed an undisturbed water cycle, free from human interference. These depictions contrast starkly with the state of the water cycle in the Anthropocene, when land conversion, human water use, and climate change affect nearly every water pool and flux (Wurtsbaugh et al., 2017; Falkenmark et al., 2019; Wine and Davison, 2019). The dimensions and scale of human interference with water are manifest in failing fossil aquifersin the world’s great agricultural regions (Famiglietti, 2014), accelerating ice discharge from the Arctic (Box et al., 2018), and instability in atmospheric rivers that support continental rainfall (Paul et al., 2016).We believe that incorrect water cycle diagrams are a symptom of a much deeper and widespread problem about how humanity relates to water on Earth. Society does not understand how the water cycle works nor how humans fit into it (Attari, 2014; Linton, 2014; Abbott et al., 2019). In response to this crisis of understanding, we call on researchers, educators, journalists, lawyers, and policy makers to change how we conceptualize and present the global water cycle. Specifically, we must teach where water comes from, what determines its availability, and how many individuals and ecosystems are in crisis because of water mismanagement, climate change, and land conversion. Because the drivers of the global water crisis are truly global, ensuring adequate water for humans and ecosystems will require coordinated efforts that extend beyond geopolitical borders and outlast the tenure of individual administrations (Keys et al., 2017; Adler, 2019). This level of coordination and holistic thinking requires widespread understanding of the water cycle and the global water crisis. Making the causes and consequences of the water crisis visible in our diagrams is atractable and important step towards the goal of a sustainable relationship with water that includes ecosystems and society

Rules for Growth: Promoting Innovation and Growth Through Legal Reform

The United States economy is struggling to recover from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. After several huge doses of conventional macroeconomic stimulus - deficit-spending and monetary stimulus - policymakers are understandably eager to find innovative no-cost ways of sustaining growth both in the short and long runs. In response to this challenge, the Kauffman Foundation convened a number of America’s leading legal scholars and social scientists during the summer of 2010 to present and discuss their ideas for changing legal rules and policies to promote innovation and accelerate U.S. economic growth. This meeting led to the publication of Rules for Growth: Promoting Innovation and Growth Through Legal Reform, a comprehensive and groundbreaking volume of essays prescribing a new set of growth-promoting policies for policymakers, legal scholars, economists, and business men and women. Some of the top Rules include: • Reforming U.S. immigration laws so that more high-skilled immigrants can launch businesses in the United States. • Improving university technology licensing practices so university-generated innovation is more quickly and efficiently commercialized. • Moving away from taxes on income that penalize risk-taking, innovation, and employment while shifting toward a more consumption-based tax system that encourages saving that funds investment. In addition, the research tax credit should be redesigned and made permanent. • Overhauling local zoning rules to facilitate the formation of innovative companies. • Urging judges to take a more expansive view of flexible business contracts that are increasingly used by innovative firms. • Urging antitrust enforcers and courts to define markets more in global terms to reflect contemporary realities, resist antitrust enforcement from countries with less sound antitrust regimes, and prohibit industry trade protection and subsidies. • Reforming the intellectual property system to allow for a post-grant opposition process and address the large patent application backlog by allowing applicants to pay for more rapid patent reviews. • Authorizing corporate entities to form digitally and use software as a means for setting out agreements and bylaws governing corporate activities. The collective essays in the book propose a new way of thinking about the legal system that should be of interest to policymakers and academic scholars alike. Moreover, the ideas presented here, if embodied in law, would augment a sustained increase in U.S. economic growth, improving living standards for U.S. residents and for many in the rest of the world

To Be or Not to Be a Flatworm: The Acoel Controversy

Since first described, acoels were considered members of the flatworms (Platyhelminthes). However, no clear synapomorphies among the three large flatworm taxa - the Catenulida, the Acoelomorpha and the Rhabditophora - have been characterized to date. Molecular phylogenies, on the other hand, commonly positioned acoels separate from other flatworms. Accordingly, our own multi-locus phylogenetic analysis using 43 genes and 23 animal species places the acoel flatworm Isodiametra pulchra at the base of all Bilateria, distant from other flatworms. By contrast, novel data on the distribution and proliferation of stem cells and the specific mode of epidermal replacement constitute a strong synapomorphy for the Acoela plus the major group of flatworms, the Rhabditophora. The expression of a piwi-like gene not only in gonadal, but also in adult somatic stem cells is another unique feature among bilaterians. These two independent stem-cell-related characters put the Acoela into the Platyhelminthes-Lophotrochozoa clade and account for the most parsimonious evolutionary explanation of epidermal cell renewal in the Bilateria. Most available multigene analyses produce conflicting results regarding the position of the acoels in the tree of life. Given these phylogenomic conflicts and the contradiction of developmental and morphological data with phylogenomic results, the monophyly of the phylum Platyhelminthes and the position of the Acoela remain unresolved. By these data, both the inclusion of Acoela within Platyhelminthes, and their separation from flatworms as basal bilaterians are well-supported alternatives

Determinants of Bacteriophage 933W Repressor DNA Binding Specificity

We reported previously that 933W repressor apparently does not cooperatively bind to adjacent sites on DNA and that the relative affinities of 933W repressor for its operators differ significantly from that of any other lambdoid bacteriophage. These findings indicate that the operational details of the lysis-lysogeny switch of bacteriophage 933W are unique among lambdoid bacteriophages. Since the functioning of the lysis-lysogeny switch in 933W bacteriophage uniquely and solely depends on the order of preference of 933W repressor for its operators, we examined the details of how 933W repressor recognizes its DNA sites. To identify the specificity determinants, we first created a molecular model of the 933W repressor-DNA complex and tested the predicted protein-DNA interactions. These results of these studies provide a picture of how 933W repressor recognizes its DNA sites. We also show that, opposite of what is normally observed for lambdoid phages, 933W operator sequences have evolved in such a way that the presence of the most commonly found base sequences at particular operator positions serves to decrease, rather than increase, the affinity of the protein for the site. This finding cautions against assuming that a consensus sequence derived from sequence analysis defines the optimal, highest affinity DNA binding site for a protein

Challenges and Pitfalls in the Management of Parathyroid Carcinoma: 17-Year Follow-Up of a Case and Review of the Literature

A 29-year-old man presented to his primary care physician with nausea, severe weight loss and muscle weakness. He had a hard, fixed neck swelling. He was severely hypercalcaemic with 10-fold increased parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations. A diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism was established and the patient was referred for parathyroidectomy. At neck exploration, an enlarged parathyroid gland with invasive growth into the thyroid gland was found and removed, lymph nodes were cleared and hemithyroidectomy was performed. A suspected diagnosis of parathyroid carcinoma was confirmed histologically. Serum calcium and PTH levels normalised post-operatively, but hyperparathyroidism recurred within 3 years of surgery. Over the following 17 years, control of hypercalcaemia represented the most difficult challenge despite variable success achieved with repeated surgical interventions, embolisations, radiofrequency ablation of metastases and treatment with calcimimetics, bisphosphonates and haemodialysis using low-dialysate calcium. In this paper, we report the challenges and pitfalls we encountered in the management of our patient over nearly two decades of follow-up and review recent literature on the topic