Investigating Potential Additive Effects of Formic Acid and Glycerol Monolaurate in Nursery Pig Diets

A total of 350 weanling pigs (200 × 400, DNA; initially, 12.5 ± 0.3 lb BW) were used in a 42-d study with 5 pigs per pen and 14 replicate pens per treatment. At weaning, pigs were allotted to pens in a completely randomized design and pens of pigs were randomly assigned to one of five dietary treatments: 1) negative control (standard nursery diet with no additives); 2) control diet with 3,000 ppm ZnO included in phase 1 and 2,000 ppm ZnO included in phase 2; 3) control diet with 0.7% formic acid (Amasil NA, BASF, Florham, NJ); 4) control diet with 0.18% glycerol monolaurate (Natural Biologics GML, Natural Biologics, Newfield, NY); and 5) control diet with a 1.0% blend of formic acid, sodium diformate, and glycerol monolaurate (FORMI 3G, ADDCON GmbH, Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany). Pigs were fed treatment diets from d 0 to d 28 and were then fed a common diet from d 28 to d 42. This allowed diets to be fed as part of a standard 3-phase nursery program. From d 0 to d 7, pigs fed a diet containing ZnO or the 1.0% blend of formic acid, sodium diformate, and glycerol monolaurate had significantly increased (P = 0.03) ADG compared to pigs fed the control. Feed intake did not differ (P \u3e 0.05) during this period. Overall, pigs fed GML had reduced ADG compared to their counterparts fed the negative control, ZnO, or FORMI diets. Feed intake was also not impacted (P = 0.233) by dietary treatments. Fecal DM was evaluated from d 7 to d 28 and there was a significant treatment × day interaction (P = 0.035). Pigs fed GML had significantly lower fecal DM % on d 7, but a higher fecal DM % on d 14 and 21. There was no evidence of difference between treatments for fecal DM by d 28. In summary, there is potential for a blend of formic acid and GML to improve growth performance immediately post-weaning without negatively impacting fecal consistency. Further research is warranted to determine the mode of action of these acids and elucidate their efficacy as alternative feed ingredients to combat post-weaning challenges in swine production

Baseline Psychological Traits Contribute to Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness Score at High Altitude

Talks, Benjamin James, Catherine Campbell, Stephanie J. Larcombe, Lucy Marlow, Sarah L. Finnegan, Christopher T. Lewis, Samuel J.E. Lucas, Olivia K. Harrison, and Kyle T.S. Pattinson. Baseline psychological traits contribute to Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness score at high altitude. High Alt Med Biol. 23:69-77, 2022. Background: Interoception refers to an individual's ability to sense their internal bodily sensations. Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is a common feature of ascent to high altitude that is only partially explained by measures of peripheral physiology. We hypothesized that interoceptive ability may explain the disconnect between measures of physiology and symptom experience in AMS. Methods: Two groups of 18 participants were recruited to complete a respiratory interoceptive task three times at 2-week intervals. The control group remained in Birmingham (140 m altitude) for all three tests. The altitude group completed test 1 in Birmingham, test 2 the day after arrival at 2,624 m, and test 3 at 2,728 m after an 11-day trek at high altitude (up to 4,800 m). Results: By measuring changes to metacognitive performance, we showed that acute ascent to altitude neither presented an interoceptive challenge, nor acted as interoceptive training. However, AMS symptom burden throughout the trek was found to relate to sea level measures of anxiety, agoraphobia, and neuroticism. Conclusions: This suggests that the Lake Louise AMS score is not solely a reflection of physiological changes on ascent to high altitude, despite often being used as such by researchers and commercial trekking companies alike. Keywords: acute mountain sickness; altitude; breathlessness; exercise; filter detection task; interoceptio

Evaluation of Biosecurity Measures on a Commercial Swine Operation Using Glo Germ Powder as a Visible Learning Aid

Glo germ, a fluorescent powder, was used to determine the efficacy of common biosecurity practices to prevent the powder from spreading to other areas within a commercial swine farm. The areas tested included an entry bench, the shower where all incoming personnel are required to shower upon farm entry and exit, the clean area following the shower, and inside the barn, which acted as the control with no biosecurity procedures in place given it is fully contained within the broader biosecurity measures of the facility. Pictures, from a standard iPhone, were taken before and after student and personnel movement to observe any differences in Glo Germ coverage. The percentage of Glo Germ coverage in the before and after pictures was evaluated once by 47 untrained panelists and averaged for each location and time point. The control area with no biosecurity measures in the barn had significantly more Glo Germ coverage than the other three locations (P \u3c 0.0001). There was no evidence of a difference in Glo Germ coverage between the entry bench, shower floor, or clean side of shower (P \u3e 0.05). In conclusion, the use of Glo Germ was successfully able to emulate disease entry into the farm and can be used as a learning aid to demonstrate the efficacy of entry benches, clean/dirty lines, and showers

The effect of d-cycloserine on brain processing of breathlessness over pulmonary rehabilitation: an experimental medicine study

Research questionPulmonary rehabilitation is the best treatment for chronic breathlessness in COPD but there remains an unmet need to improve efficacy. Pulmonary rehabilitation has strong parallels with exposure-based cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT), both clinically and in terms of brain activity patterns. The partial N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor agonistd-cycloserine has shown promising results in enhancing efficacy of CBT, thus we hypothesised that it would similarly augment the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in the brain. Positive findings would support further development in phase 3 clinical trials.Methods72 participants with mild-to-moderate COPD were recruited to a double-blind pre-registered (ClinicalTrials.govidentifier:NCT01985750) experimental medicine study running parallel to a pulmonary rehabilitation course. Participants were randomised to 250 mgd-cycloserine or placebo, administered immediately prior to the first four sessions of pulmonary rehabilitation. Primary outcome measures were differences betweend-cycloserine and placebo in brain activity in the anterior insula, posterior insula, anterior cingulate cortices, amygdala and hippocampus following completion of pulmonary rehabilitation. Secondary outcomes included the same measures at an intermediate time point and voxel-wise difference across wider brain regions. An exploratory analysis determined the interaction with breathlessness anxiety.ResultsNo difference betweend-cycloserine and placebo groups was observed across the primary or secondary outcome measures.d-cycloserine was shown instead to interact with changes in breathlessness anxiety to dampen reactivity to breathlessness cues. Questionnaire and measures of respiratory function showed no group difference. This is the first study testing brain-active drugs in pulmonary rehabilitation. Rigorous trial methodology and validated surrogate end-points maximised statistical power.ConclusionAlthough increasing evidence supports therapeutic modulation of NMDA pathways to treat symptoms, we conclude that a phase 3 clinical trial ofd-cycloserine would not be worthwhile

Inoculation of Weaned Pigs by Feed, Water, and Airborne Transmission of Salmonella enterica Serotype 4,[5],12:i:-

Salmonella enterica serotype 4,[5],12:i:- (STM) has become an increasing problem for food safety and has been often detected in pork products. For this study, weanling pigs were exposed to STM-contaminated feed, water, or air to determine possible STM transmission routes. An uninoculated control group of pigs was included. The STM was monitored daily in feces and rectal and nasal swabs. The STM colonization was most prevalent in tissues from tonsil, lower intestine, and mesenteric lymph nodes. No differences in lesion severity were observed between inoculated and control pigs. Contaminated feed, water, and aerosolized particles caused infection in weaned pigs; however, no STM colonization was observed in skeletal muscle destined for human consumption. Based on the results from this study, STM contamination in pork products most likely results from cross-contamination of meat by digesta or lymph node tissue during processing

Inoculation of Weaned Pigs by Feed, Water, and Airborne Transmission of Salmonella enterica Serotype 4,[5],12:i:-

Salmonella enterica serotype 4,[5],12:i:- (STM) has become an increasing problem for food safety and has been often detected in pork products. For this study, weanling pigs were exposed to STM-contaminated feed, water, or air to determine possible STM transmission routes. An uninoculated control group of pigs was included. The STM was monitored daily in feces and rectal and nasal swabs. The STM colonization was most prevalent in tissues from tonsil, lower intestine, and mesenteric lymph nodes. No differences in lesion severity were observed between inoculated and control pigs. Contaminated feed, water, and aerosolized particles caused infection in weaned pigs; however, no STM colonization was observed in skeletal muscle destined for human consumption. Based on the results from this study, STM contamination in pork products most likely results from cross-contamination of meat by digesta or lymph node tissue during processing

Evaluating the Impact of Presence of Organic Matter on Environmental Samples and Sample Processing Technique on RNA Detection of PEDV

Environmental sampling has become a commonly accepted diagnostic sampling technique for a means of identifying breaks in biosecurity. However, environmental samples have yet to be validated for reverse transcriptase real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis and there is no standardization for environmental sample processing. Therefore, the objective of this project was to evaluate different types of environmental samples, and whether processing the samples prior to qRT-PCR analysis would impact results. Steel coupons were inoculated with PEDV in different types of environmental conditions, then were environmentally swabbed using cotton gauze. Treatments were arranged as a 5 × 4 factorial with five treatments for the different types of contamination and four treatments for the types of sample processing. Samples were processed in four different ways: no pre-qRT-PCR processing, centrifuging, syringe filtering, and centrifuging then syringe filtering to determine if pre-sample processing impacted the cycle threshold (Ct) value. Once samples were processed, they were submitted for PEDV qRT-PCR analysis. Results were reported as proportion of qRT-PCR positive and the resulting Ct value. If samples had no detectable RNA, they were assigned a Ct value of 45. For the Ct values, there was an inoculated surface × sample processing (P \u3c 0.0001) interaction indicating that the type of environmental sample and the way the sample was processed impacted the Ct value of the sample. For pure virus and virus with PBS, there was no difference in Ct values between different sample processing techniques (PP \u3c 0.05). For virus and fecal contamination, samples that were not processed or samples that were processed with centrifuging only had greater amounts of PEDV RNA detected compared to syringe filtered samples or centrifuged and syringe filtered samples (P \u3c 0.05). For virus and organic matter contamination, samples that were centrifuged had greater amounts of PEDV RNA detected compared to all other sample processing techniques (P \u3c 0.05). Main effects of inoculated surface (P \u3c 0.0001) and sample processing (P \u3c 0.0001) were also significant. For surface inoculation type, pure virus inoculation and virus with PBS inoculation had greater amounts of PEDV RNA compared to virus with feces inoculation or virus with organic matter inoculation, while virus with dirt was intermediate. For sample processing type, centrifuged samples had the greatest amount of PEDV RNA compared to syringe filtered and centrifuged then syringe filtered samples with unprocessed samples being intermediate. In summary, if environmental samples are particularly dirty, processing prior to qRT-PCR analysis will impact the results

Illegal Substance Use among Italian High School Students: Trends over 11 Years (1999–2009)

Purpose: To monitor changes in habits in drug use among Italian high school students. Methods: Cross-sectional European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) carried out in Italy annually for 11 years (1999-2009) with representative samples of youth attending high school. The sample size considered ranges from 15,752 to 41,365 students and response rate ranged from 85.5% to 98.6%. Data were analyzed to obtain measures of life-time prevalence (LT), use in the last year (LY), use in the last 30 days (LM), frequent use. Comparisons utilized difference in proportion tests. Tests for linear trends in proportion were performed using the Royston p trend test. Results: When the time-averaged value was considered, cannabis (30% LT) was the most, and heroin the least (2%) frequently used, with cocaine (5%), hallucinogens (2%) and stimulants (2%) in between. A clear gender gap is evident for all drugs, more obvious for hallucinogens (average M/F LY prevalence ratio 2, range 1.7-2.4, p,0.05), less for cannabis (average M/F LY prevalence ratio 1.3, range 1.2-1.5, p,0.05). Data shows a change in trend between 2005 and 2008; in 2006 the trend for cannabis use and availability dropped and the price rose, while from 2005 cocaine and stimulant use prevalence showed a substantial increase and the price went down. After 2008 use of all substances seems to have decreased. Conclusions: Drug use is widespread among students in Italy, with cannabis being the most and heroin the least prevalent. Girls are less vulnerable than boys to illegal drug use. In recent years, a decrease in heroin use is overbalanced by a marked rise in hallucinogen and stimulant use.-

Evaluating a Dry vs. Wet Disinfection in Boot Baths on Detection of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus RNA

Maintaining biosecurity between swine barns is challenging, and boot baths are an easily implementable option some utilize to limit pathogen spread. However, there are concerns regarding their efficacy, especially when comparing wet or dry disinfectants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of boot baths in reducing the quantity of detectable porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) genetic material using wet or dry disinfectants. Treatments included 1) control; 2) dry chlorine powder (Traffic C.O.P., PSP, LLC, Rainsville, AL); and 3) wet quaternary ammonium/glutaraldehyde liquid (1:256 Synergize, Neogen, Lexington, KY). Prior to disinfection, rubber boots were inoculated with 1 mL of co-inoculants of PRRSV (1×105TCID50/mL) and PEDV (1×105 TCID50/mL) and dried for 15 min. After the drying period, a researcher placed the boot on the right foot and stepped directly on a stainless steel coupon (control). Alternatively, the researcher stepped first into a boot bath containing either the wet or dry sanitizer, stood for 3 s, and then stepped onto a steel coupon. After one min, an environmental swab was then collected and processed from each boot and steel coupon. The procedure was replicated 12 times per disinfectant treatment. Samples were analyzed using a duplex qPCR at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Cycle threshold values, which indicate the presence or absence of the inoculants and their relative concentrations when present, were analyzed using SAS GLIMMIX (v. 9.4, SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). There was no evidence of a disinfectant × surface × virus interaction (P \u3e 0.10). An interaction between disinfectant × surface impacted (P \u3c 0.05) the quantity of detectable viral RNA. As expected, the quantity of the viruses on the coupon were greatest in the control, indicating that a contaminated boot has the ability to transfer viruses from a contaminated surface to a clean surface. Comparatively, the dry disinfectant treatment resulted in no detectable viral RNA on either the boot or subsequent coupon. The wet disinfectant treatment had statistically similar (P \u3e 0.05) viral contamination to the control on the boot, but less viral contamination compared to the control on the metal coupon. In this experiment, a boot bath with dry powder was the most efficacious in reducing the detectable viral RNA on both boots and subsequent surfaces

Evaluating a Dry vs. Wet Disinfection in Boot Baths on Detection of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus RNA

Maintaining biosecurity between swine barns is challenging, and boot baths are an easily implementable option some utilize to limit pathogen spread. However, there are concerns regarding their efficacy, especially when comparing wet or dry disinfectants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of boot baths in reducing the quantity of detectable porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) genetic material using wet or dry disinfectants. Treatments included 1) control; 2) dry chlorine powder (Traffic C.O.P., PSP, LLC, Rainsville, AL); and 3) wet quaternary ammonium/glutaraldehyde liquid (1:256 Synergize, Neogen, Lexington, KY). Prior to disinfection, rubber boots were inoculated with 1 mL of co-inoculants of PRRSV (1×105TCID50/mL) and PEDV (1×105 TCID50/mL) and dried for 15 min. After the drying period, a researcher placed the boot on the right foot and stepped directly on a stainless steel coupon (control). Alternatively, the researcher stepped first into a boot bath containing either the wet or dry sanitizer, stood for 3 s, and then stepped onto a steel coupon. After one min, an environmental swab was then collected and processed from each boot and steel coupon. The procedure was replicated 12 times per disinfectant treatment. Samples were analyzed using a duplex qPCR at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Cycle threshold values, which indicate the presence or absence of the inoculants and their relative concentrations when present, were analyzed using SAS GLIMMIX (v. 9.4, SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). There was no evidence of a disinfectant × surface × virus interaction (P \u3e 0.10). An interaction between disinfectant × surface impacted (P \u3c 0.05) the quantity of detectable viral RNA. As expected, the quantity of the viruses on the coupon were greatest in the control, indicating that a contaminated boot has the ability to transfer viruses from a contaminated surface to a clean surface. Comparatively, the dry disinfectant treatment resulted in no detectable viral RNA on either the boot or subsequent coupon. The wet disinfectant treatment had statistically similar (P \u3e 0.05) viral contamination to the control on the boot, but less viral contamination compared to the control on the metal coupon. In this experiment, a boot bath with dry powder was the most efficacious in reducing the detectable viral RNA on both boots and subsequent surfaces