In vitro acidification potential and fermentation pattern of cereal grains incubated with inoculum from animals given forage or concentrate based diets

This work aimed to study the acidification and fermentation pattern of maize (M1, M2, M3), barley (B1, B2, B3) and sorghum (S1, S2, S3) varieties depending on the rumen environment (inoculum from forage or concentrate diets, FI or CI), in 10 h incubation series with a low buffered medium. With CI, gas volume from barley was similar to maize (P > 0.05) except at 4 and 6 h, when M2 and M1 were lower. Barley or maize varieties did not differ in gas production (P > 0.05). After 10 h, barley and maize produced on average 82.5 and 73.0 mL/g organic matter (OM), whereas S1, S2 and S3 rendered 68.4, 31.1 and 39.7 mL/g. With FI, differences between barley and maize were detected after 6 h (61.0, 35.3 and 14.1 mL/g OM at 10 h for barley, maize and sorghum). Among inocula, pH with CI was lower than with FI (P < 0.001). Incubation pH at 10 h was 5.51, 5.21 and 5.00 with CI, and 5.52, 5.85 and 5.91 with FI, for sorghum, maize and barley varieties. Gas production and total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration were higher (P < 0.001) with CI than FI (67.3 vs 36.8 mL/g and 31.0 vs 19.9 mmol/L at 10 and 8 h). Butyrate and valerate proportions were higher with CI (P < 0.001), whereas acetate and branched chain VFA were lower (P < 0.001). Fermentative activity against vitreous starch such as maize or sorghum was lower for forage than concentrate inoculum. Study of fermentation of starch-rich substrates in a low buffered medium gives a more realistic picture than conventionally buffered conditions

Immunohistochemistry studies on bovine squamous cell carcinoma morphological characterization of epidermal cell proliferation and differentiation markers and characterization of cytokeratins

Bovine Ocular Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is a general designation for a group of primary neoplasias of keratinocytes arising from ocular tissues, especially the lids and particularly the third eye lid. OSCC has been diagnosed all over the world with high prevalence, being the most common bovine tumour and the one causing the most significant economic losses (Hamir & Parry, 1980; Dennis et al., 1985, Heeney & Valli, 1985; Wilcock, 1993). In Portugal, the frequency of these tumours is particularly high in the Azores, where in S. Miguel Island a large number of cattle affected with OSCC is rejected for consumption at slaughter. OSCC is the second most frequent neoplasia after urinary bladder tumours, representing 21% of all cases of rejection due to neoplasia (Pinto et al, 1996). Several reasons have been advanced to explain this situation namely the fact that animals stay in pasture all year around, with a prolonged exposition to day light and benefiting from few shelters. The ingestion of toxic plants present the pasture could also give rise to photosensitazation problems, either primary or due to hepatic toxicity, that could generate predisposing conditions to the development of OSCC

Effect of the feed presentation form on the intake pattern, productive traits and rumen pH of beef cattle fed high concentrate diets

Nutritional disorders like ruminal acidosis are common in Spanish beef production system, in which animals are fed diets with a high content in starch. This experiment studied the effect of feed presentation form (concentrate and straw offered separately, CD, or mixed in form of briquettes, BR) on the pattern of intake, growth and rumen pH of beef cattle fed high concentrate diets. The experiment was performed with 40 Holstein male calves, 32 of them for determining feed intake pattern and productive rates, and the remaining 8, which were previously provided with a ruminal cannula, to monitor rumen pH in two 21-day consecutive periods following a change-over design. Animals fed BR reduced feed intake rate during the first hour after feeding (18.6 vs. 24.0% of daily intake p<0.001), but this diet promoted a lower rumen pH at all sampling times compared with CD (daily average of 5.98 vs. 6.33; p<0.001) and tended to promote a lower total feed intake (7.08 vs. 9.77 kg DM d–1; p<0.001) and daily weight gain (1.43 vs. 1.76 kg d–1; p=0.056). Offering the concentrate and the straw mixed in form of briquettes is not useful to prevent ruminal acidosis and improve growth, probably due to both a reduced particle size of straw and avoided self-regulation of straw intake along the day. Additional key words: fee

Beak and Feather Disease en psitácidas (P.B.F.D.)

En este artículo presentamos dos casos del síndrome PB.ED. (Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease), que podríamos denominar en castellano «Enfermedad del Pico y de las Plumas de las Psitácidas». Este proceso se caracteriza por una progresiva deformación y caída de las plumas y una alteración en el crecimiento del pico. El primer caso se detectó en una Cacatúa de Cresta Amarilla (Cacatua sulphurea) procedente de un lote de animales decomisados por contrabando, y retenido provisionalmente en el lazareto del Parque Zoológico de Barcelona; el segundo se observó en una Cacatúa de las Mohrcas (Cacatua moluccensis) del Parque Zoológico de ]érez de la Frontera (Cádiz). En los dos casos se confirmó la sospecha de este proceso mediante el estudio histopatológico de una biopsia cútanea.Two cases of Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (P.B.P.D.) are presented in this paper. The first one was diagnosed in a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) at the Zoological Gardens in Barcelona, coming from a batch of illegally imported exotic birds. The second one was recognised in a Molucan Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) of the Zoological Gardens of Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz). In the two cases we confirmed the diagnosis by means of histopathological study of a skin biopsy

Silver nanoparticles-clays nanocomposites as feed additives: Characterization of silver species released during in vitro digestions. Effects on silver retention in pigs

Two different clay nanocomposites, as sepiolite-Ag and kaolinite-Ag, are studied as carriers for silver nano particles (AgNPs) oral administration as antimicrobial agent in additives for animal feed. A three-step digestibility assay, corresponding to stomach, small and large intestine simulations, has been followed. Ultrafiltration and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) coupled to UV-Vis absorption and ICPMS detectors have been used for size characterisation of the silver species released during the in vitro digestibility assays. Less than 1% of the total silver is released in the stomach simulation step, probably due to the formation of silver chloride on the nanocomposite surface. In the case of the intestine simulation, silver released increases and tends to form complexes with the enzymes present in the media. A larger amount of silver was released from kaolinite-Ag compared to sepiolite-Ag (17 vs. 7%), probably due to a higher retention rate of silver shown by sepiolite, justified by its sorption capacity and fibrous structure. No evidences were found about a significant release of silver nanoparticles along the in vitro assay from any of the two nanocomposites studied. These results have been compared to the silver levels found in liver and faeces from weaned pigs fed with these supplements for 35 days and followed by basal diet free of silver for 4 weeks in an in vivo assay. Piglets fed with kaolinite-Ag retained more silver in liver than those receiving sepiolite-Ag, and the opposite was observed in faeces, although differences were not statistically significant. Silver levels found in muscles were below the limit of detection (0.009 mu g Ag g(-1)) in all cases

European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) Consensus Statement on Outcome Measures in Liver Transplantation According to Value-Based Health Care

Liver transplantation is a highly complex, life-saving, treatment for many patients with advanced liver disease. Liver transplantation requires multidisciplinary teams, system-wide adaptations and significant investment, as well as being an expensive treatment. Several metrics have been proposed to monitor processes and outcomes, however these lack patient focus and do not capture all aspects of the process. Most of the reported outcomes do not capture those outcomes that matter to the patients. Adopting the principles of Value-Based Health Care (VBHC), may provide an opportunity to develop those metrics that matter to patients. In this article, we present a Consensus Statement on Outcome Measures in Liver Transplantation following the principles of VBHC, developed by a dedicated panel of experts under the auspices of the European Society of Organ Transplantation (ESOT) Guidelines' Taskforce. The overarching goal is to provide a framework to facilitate the development of outcome measures as an initial step to apply the VMC paradigm to liver transplantation

An elevated C-reactive protein concentration, prior to surgery, predicts poor cancer-specific survival in patients undergoing resection for gastro-oesophageal cancer

There is increasing evidence that the presence of an ongoing systemic inflammatory response is associated with poor outcome in patients undergoing resection for a variety of tumours. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between clinico-pathological status, preoperative C-reactive protein concentration and cancer-specific survival in patients undergoing resection for gastro-oesophageal cancer. One hundred and twenty patients attending the upper gastrointestinal surgical unit in the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, who were selected for potentially curative surgery, were included in the study. Laboratory measurements of haemoglobin, white cell, lymphocyte and platelet counts, albumin and C-reactive protein were carried out at the time of diagnosis. All patients underwent en-bloc resection with lymphadenectomy and survived at least 30 days following surgery. On multivariate analysis, only the positive to total lymph node ratio (hazard ratio (HR) 2.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44–2.84, P<0.001) and preoperative C-reactive protein concentration (HR 3.53, 95% CI 1.88–6.64, P<0.001) were independent predictors of cancer-specific survival. The patient group with no evidence of a preoperative systemic inflammatory response (C-reactive protein ⩽10 mg l−1) had a median survival of 79 months compared with 19 months in the elevated systemic inflammatory response group (P<0.001). The results of the present study indicate that in patients selected to undergo potentially curative resection for gastro-oesophageal cancer, the presence of an elevated preoperative C-reactive protein concentration is an independent predictor of poor cancer-specific survival

Non-invasive detection of ischemic vascular damage in a pig model of liver donation after circulatory death

Background and Aims: Liver graft quality is evaluated by visual inspection prior to transplantation, a process highly dependent on the surgeon's experience. We present an objective, noninvasive, quantitative way of assessing liver quality in real time using Raman spectroscopy, a laser-based tool for analyzing biomolecular composition. Approach and Results: A porcine model of donation after circulatory death (DCD) with normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) allowed assessment of liver quality premortem, during warm ischemia (WI) and post-NRP. Ten percent of circulating blood volume was removed in half of experiments to simulate blood recovery for DCD heart removal. Left median lobe biopsies were obtained before circulatory arrest, after 45 minutes of WI, and after 2 hours of NRP and analyzed using spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, stimulated Raman spectroscopy (SRS), and staining. Measurements were also taken in situ from the porcine liver using a handheld Raman spectrometer at these time points from left median and right lateral lobes. Raman microspectroscopy detected congestion during WI by measurement of the intrinsic Raman signal of hemoglobin in red blood cells (RBCs), eliminating the need for exogenous labels. Critically, this microvascular damage was not observed during WI when 10% of circulating blood was removed before cardiac arrest. Two hours of NRP effectively cleared RBCs from congested livers. Intact RBCs were visualized rapidly at high resolution using SRS. Optical properties of ischemic livers were significantly different from preischemic and post-NRP livers as measured using a handheld Raman spectrometer. Conclusions: Raman spectroscopy is an effective tool for detecting microvascular damage which could assist the decision to use marginal livers for transplantation. Reducing the volume of circulating blood before circulatory arrest in DCD may help reduce microvascular damage