Effect of Dietary Zinc Oxide on Morphological Characteristics, Mucin Composition and Gene Expression in the Colon of Weaned Piglets

The trace element zinc is often used in the diet of weaned piglets, as high doses have resulted in positive effects on intestinal health. However, the majority of previous studies evaluated zinc supplementations for a short period only and focused on the small intestine. The hypothesis of the present study was that low, medium and high levels of dietary zinc (57, 164 and 2,425 mg Zn/kg from zinc oxide) would affect colonic morphology and innate host defense mechanisms across 4 weeks post-weaning. Histological examinations were conducted regarding the colonic morphology and neutral, acidic, sialylated and sulphated mucins. The mRNA expression levels of mucin (MUC) 1, 2, 13, 20, toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, 4, interleukin (IL)-1β, 8, 10, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) were also measured. The colonic crypt area increased in an age-depending manner, and the greatest area was found with medium concentration of dietary zinc. With the high concentration of dietary zinc, the number of goblet cells containing mixed neutral-acidic mucins and total mucins increased. Sialomucin containing goblet cells increased age-dependently. The expression of MUC2 increased with age and reached the highest level at 47 days of age. The expression levels of TLR2 and 4 decreased with age. The mRNA expression of TLR4 and the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 were down-regulated with high dietary zinc treatment, while piglets fed with medium dietary zinc had the highest expression. It is concluded that dietary zinc level had a clear impact on colonic morphology, mucin profiles and immunological traits in piglets after weaning. Those changes might support local defense mechanisms and affect colonic physiology and contribute to the reported reduction of post-weaning diarrhea

Side-to-Side Superficial Temporal Artery to Middle Cerebral Artery Bypass Technique: Application of Fourth Generation Bypass in a Case of Adult Moyamoya Disease.

BACKGROUND: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare cause of cerebral hemorrhage and ischemia. Spontaneous development of collateral supply from the external carotid artery (ECA) may limit the use of donor arteries used in standard direct bypass techniques. OBJECTIVE: To identify the technical feasibility of side-to-side (S-S) superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass and demonstrate the application of fourth generational bypass techniques in the treatment of MMD. METHODS: S-S bypass was performed in order to maintain distal outflow in the donor STA. Fourth generation bypass techniques, including atypical anastomosis construction and intraluminal suturing were utilized. RESULTS: The novel S-S STA-MCA bypass was performed, with patent flow in both recipient MCA and endogenous ECA-ICA collaterals supplied by the distal STA. Technical nuances, including proper alignment of donor vessel, tension reduction, and S-S anastomosis construction with intraluminal suturing technique are essential for successful bypass. Unique flow properties of this bypass were identified, resulting in flow augmentation to the recipient territory compared to standard end-to-side (E-S) techniques. CONCLUSION: Fourth generational bypass techniques can be successfully applied to MMD, allowing for novel bypass construction. S-S anastomosis can result in potentially beneficial flow properties compared to standard E-S constructions