Transabdominal ultrasonographic measurement of caudal vena cava to aorta derived ratios in clinically healthy neonatal foals

Background: Ultrasonographic measurement of the vena cava and aorta (Ao) diameters and their ratios have been suggested to be a reliable way of quantifying hypovolemia. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of an ultrasonographic technique for measurement of Ao and caudal vena cava (CVC) and derived ratios using three different acoustic windows in a population of healthy neonatal foals. Correlation between Ao and CVC measurements and ratios and foals' age or bodyweight were also investigated. Methods: In 14 healthy foals aged less than 7 days, the diameters of the Ao and of the CVC in long and short axis were measured by two observers from images obtained using three different ultrasonographic imaging planes (left dorsal, left ventral and right views). The Ao and CVC cross-sectional area and the CVC/Ao diameter and area ratios were calculated. Image quality was subjectively assessed. Intraobserver and interobserver reliabilities for image quality scores and measurements were evaluated between the two observers. Simple linear regression models were used to identify correlations between the CVC/Ao measurements and ratios and the age and bodyweight of the foals. Results: The left ventral view showed the highest reliability. A correlation between bodyweight and the short axis measurement of the CVC was found (R2 = 0.385; p = 0.018). Age was positively correlated with the long axis of measurement of the CVC (R2 = 0.426; p = 0.011) and CVC/Ao diameter ratio (R2 = 0.625; p = 0.001). Conclusions: The left ventral view allows the Ao and CVC cross sections to be easily visualized and measured in neonatal foals in right lateral recumbency

Changes in the fecal microbiota associated with a broad‐spectrum antimicrobial administration in hospitalized neonatal foals with probiotics supplementation

There is a wide array of evidence across species that exposure to antibiotics is associated with dysbiosis, and due to their widespread use, this also raises concerns also in medicine. The study aimed to determine the changes on the fecal microbiota in hospitalized neonatal foals administered with broad‐spectrum antimicrobials and supplemented probiotics. Fecal samples were collected at hospital admission (Ta), at the end of the antimicrobial treatment (Te) and at discharge (Td). Feces were analysed by next‐generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene on Illumina MiSeq. Seven foals treated with IV ampicillin and amikacin/gentamicin were included. The mean age at Ta was 19 h, the mean treatment length was 7 days and the mean time between Te and Td was 4.3 days. Seven phyla were identified: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, TM7 and Verrucomicrobia. At Ta, Firmicutes (48.19%) and Proteobacteria (31.56%) were dominant. The alpha diversity decreased from Ta to Te, but it was the highest at Td. The beta diversity was higher at Ta than at Te and higher at Td than at Te. An increase in Akkermansia over time was detected. The results suggest that the intestinal microbiota of neonatal foals rapidly returns to a high diversity after treatment. It is possible that in foals, the effect of antimicrobials is strongly influenced or overshadowed by the time‐dependent changes in the developing gut microbiota

Hair Cortisol and DHEA-S in Foals and Mares as a Retrospective Picture of Feto-Maternal Relationship under Physiological and Pathological Conditions

Equine fetal hair starts to grow at around 270 days of pregnancy, and hair collected at birth reflects hormones of the last third of pregnancy. The study aimed to evaluate cortisol (CORT) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations and their ratio in the trichological matrix of foals and mares in relation to their clinical parameters; the clinical condition of the neonate (study 1); the housing place at parturition (study 2). In study 1, 107 mare-foal pairs were divided into healthy (group H; n = 56) and sick (group S; n = 51) foals, whereas in study 2, group H was divided into hospital (n = 30) and breeding farm (n = 26) parturition. Steroids from hair were measured using a solid-phase microtiter radioimmunoassay. In study 1, hair CORT concentrations measured in foals did not differ between groups and did not appear to be influenced by clinical parameters. A correlation between foal and mare hair CORT concentrations (p = 0.019; r = 0.312, group H; p = 0.006; r = 0.349, group S) and between CORT and DHEA-S concentrations in foals (p = 0.018; r = 0.282, group H; p < 0.001; r = 0.44, group S) and mares (p = 0.006; r = 0.361, group H; p = 0.027; r = 0.271, group S) exists in both groups. Increased hair DHEA-S concentrations (p = 0.033) and decreased CORT/DHEA-S ratio (p < 0.001) appear to be potential biomarkers of chronic stress in the final third of pregnancy, as well as a potential sign of resilience and allostatic load in sick foals, and deserve further attention in the evaluation of prenatal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in the equine species. In study 2, hormone concentrations in the hair of mares hospitalized for attended parturition did not differ from those that were foaled at the breeding farm. This result could be related to a too brief period of hospitalization to cause significant changes in steroid deposition in the mare’s hair

Influence of vineyard inter-row management and clone on 'Sauvignon Blanc' performance in Friuli Venezia Giulia (north-eastern Italy)

The vineyard inter-row management affects grapevine vegetative and bunch health status, as well as yield and grape quality parameters. Several studies assessed that cover-cropped inter-row in place of soil tillage often reduced plant vigour and yield but positively contributed to vineyard ecosystem services and, to a lower extent, to grape quality. In 2013 and 2014, two inter-row management strategies, i.e. soil tillage and mowing of spontaneous cover crops, were compared in an organic vineyard in north-eastern Italy and cultivated with 'Sauvignon Blanc' (Vitis vinifera L.), clones R3 and 297. In particular, the effects of tillage and mowing treatments on grapevine vegetative and bunch health status, yield and grape quality were evaluated. The vegetative parameters were lower in the mowing treatment than in the tillage one and in clone R3 compared to 297. The incidence of Botrytis cinerea was higher in the tillage treatment than in the mowing one and in clone 297 compared to R3. A significant reduction of the yield and bunch weight was ascertained in the mowing treatment, and these parameters were higher for clone 297 compared to clone R3. Titratable acidity was significantly higher in the tillage treatment than in the mowing one and in clone 297 compared to R3. Moreover, hue of berry skin was qualitatively better in the tillage treatment than in the mowing one. In the pedo-climatic conditions of Friuli Venezia Giulia (north-eastern Italy), the management of the vineyard inter-row with spontaneous cover crops proved to be effective to manage grapevine vigour, reducing yield and improving quality of the grapes during maturation

Dyads of G-Quadruplex Ligands Triggering DNA Damage Response and Tumour Cell Growth Inhibition at Subnanomolar Concentration

Naphthalene diimide (NDI) dyads exhibiting a different substitution pattern and linker length have been synthesised and evaluated as G-quadruplex (G4) ligands, by investigating their cytotoxicity in selected cell lines. The dyads with the long C7 linker exhibit extremely low IC50 values, below 10\u2005nm, on different cancer cell lines. Contrary, the dyads with the shorter C4 linker were much less effective, with IC values increasing up to 1\u2005\u3bcm. Among the three dyads with the longest linker, small differences in the IC50 values emerge, suggesting that the linker length plays a more important role than the substitution pattern. We have further shown that the dyads are able to induce cellular DNA damage response, which is not limited to the telomeric regions and is likely the origin of their cytotoxicity. Both absorption titration and dynamic light scattering of the most cytotoxic dyads in the presence of hTel22 highlight their ability to induce effective G4 aggregation, acting as non-covalent cross-linking agents

Efficacy and Safety of a Commercial Fresh-Frozen Hyperimmune Plasma in Foals With Failure of Passive Transfer of Immunity

In foals more than 12 hours old, the only effective therapy for the treatment of failure of passive transfer (FPT) of immunity is transfusion of equine plasma. Use and efficacy of equine plasma for prophylaxis and treatment of sepsis, a condition primarily associated with FPT, are widely reported. However, plasma- and recipient-related factors associated with extent of IgG transfer and catabolism are not completely defined. Efficacy and safety of transfusion of a commercial fresh-frozen hyperimmune plasma were evaluated in hospitalized foals younger than 7 days of age with total or partial FPT. Sixty-two foals, classified as affected by FPT only, septic (infection plus systemic inflammatory response syndrome [SIRS]), and nonseptic sick, were included, and serum IgG concentration was measured at admission and 24 hours after plasma transfusion. In 25/62 foals, IgG level after 72 hours was also determined. The impact of different classification criteria for septic foals on IgG transfer was evaluated. Serum IgG measured 24 hours and 72 hours after plasma transfusion was significantly greater than at admission, but no significant difference was found in transfer efficacy (TE) between FPT, FPT septic, and FPT nonseptic foals and no significant difference was found in IgG concentration comparing foals with total and partial FPT or survivors and nonsurvivors. No significant difference was found comparing IgG concentration between bacteremic and nonbacteremic foals and foals with or without SIRS. No foal experienced adverse reactions to plasma transfusion. IgG TE and catabolism did not result significantly affected by the presence of sepsis or illness or by the outcome

Clinical use of a commercial hyperimmune plasma in hospitalized foals with FPT

Aim of the study: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the administration of a commercial hyperimmune plasma in septic and non-septic foals with failure of passive transfer (FPT). Materials and methods: Fifty-two hospitalized foals <7 day-old admitted with FPT were included and all treated with hyperimmune plasma infusion. A complete clinical examination was performed upon admission, including blood count and biochemical exam, the determination of the IgG (if the foal was at least 18 hours old), and blood culture. Foals with a positive blood culture were classified as septic (25/52). Complete FPT was defined as a serum IgG concentration <400 mg/dL and partial FPT between 400 and 800 mg/dL at 24 hours of life [1]. Serum IgG concentration was measured before (IgG0) and 24 hours after the end of plasma administration (IgGp) [2], using an immunoturbidimetric method (DVM Rapid TestTM - Value Diagnostics, USA) [3]. For foals that had not ingested colostrum before admission the serum IgG concentration was considered to be equal to 0. PlasmaLife\uae (Societ\ue0 Il Ceppo, Siena, Italy), was administered to all foals according to the literature guidelines for the administration of hyperimmune equine plasma [1]. The occurrence of any adverse reactions by the foals was monitored throughout the hospitalization period. The following data were collected: IgG0, IgGp, volume of plasma administered, increase in IgG (\u394IgG), IgG transfer efficacy (TE), blood culture, diagnosis, and outcome. The TE was calculated for each foal by the formula \u394IgG/Lplasma/kg of body weight. \u394IgG is the difference between IgGp and IgG0. The Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate the \u394IgG. The Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate the difference (p<0,05) in TE between septic and non-septic foals. Results: Twenty-nine/52 foals (56%) had complete FPT and 23/52 (44%) had partial FPT. The mean value of IgG0 was 375 \ub1279 mg/dL. Of the 52 foals, 25 were classified as septic, and the remaining 27 as non-septic. The mean volume of PlasmaLife\uae administered was 1.3 \ub10.5 L, therefore 1.3 \ub10.6 units of plasma. The mean value of IgGp was 1025 \ub1410 mg/dL. Considering all of the foals, the mean \u394IgG was 650 \ub1439 mg/dL and the mean TE was 13 \ub1 11 mg/dL/L/kg . In the 25 septicemic foals, the mean \u394IgG was 603 \ub1692mg/dL and the mean TE was 11 \ub18 mg/dL/L/kg; in the 27 non-septicemic foals \u394IgG was 694 \ub1481mg/dL and the mean TE was 15 \ub113mg/dL/L/kg. According to PlasmaLife\uae characteristics, a minimum quantity of IgG content equal to 2400 mg/dL, should lead to an increase of serum IgG of 400-800 mg/dL in non-septic foal [1]. TE fell within a very wide range, which may depend on various factors, like a state of septicemia or a difference between partial or complete FPT [4]. IgGp was significantly higher than IgG0 (p <0.05). No significant difference was found in TE among the group of septic foals and non-septic foals. Althought not statistically different in our study, TE in septic foals was less than that in non-septic foals. Independently of the presence of septicemia, the seriousness of the disease itself may also influence IgG catabolism. None of the 52 foal included in our study experienced adverse reactions during or after the plasma administration, despite the transfusion reaction incidence of 9.7% reported by other authors in foals <7 day-old [5]. This may be at least partially related to PlasmaLife\uae charateristics, as it\u2019s produced using a 0.2 \ub5m plasma filter followed by sterilizing filtration at 0.1 \ub5m and thus doesn\u2019t contain blood corpuscular elements, which most frequently cause adverse reactions [16]. 34/52 foals survived, so the percentage of survival was 65% (also considering as non surviving the foals euthanized for compassionate reasons). Conclusions: The results of the study clearly show that the administration of PlasmaLife\uae was effective and safe in correcting FPT in foals included in this study