A noninvasive method for measuring mammary apoptosis and epithelial cell activation in dairy animals using microparticles extracted from milk

AbstractMilk production from dairy animals has been described in terms of 3 processes: the increase in secretory cell numbers in late pregnancy and early lactation, secretion rate of milk per cell, and the decline in cell numbers as lactation progresses. This latter process is thought to be determined by the level of programmed cell death (apoptosis) found in the animal. Until now, apoptosis has been measured by taking udder biopsies, using magnetic resonance imaging scans, or using animals postmortem. This paper describes an alternative, noninvasive method for estimating apoptosis by measuring microparticles in milk samples. Microparticles are the product of several processes in dairy animals, including apoptosis. Milk samples from 12 Holstein cows, at or past peak lactation, were collected at 5 monthly samplings. The samples (n=57) were used to measure the number of microparticles and calculate microparticle density for 4 metrics: annexin V positive and merocyanine 540 dye positive, for both and total particles, in both whole milk (WM) and spun milk. Various measures of milk production were also recorded for the 12 cows, including daily milk yield, fat and protein percentage in the milk, somatic cell count, and the days in milk when the samples were taken. A high correlation was found between the 4 WM microparticle densities and days in milk (0.46 to 0.64), and a moderate correlation between WM microparticle densities and daily milk yield (−0.33 to −0.44). No significant relationships were found involving spun milk samples, somatic cell count, or fat and protein percentage. General linear model analyses revealed differences between cows for both level of microparticle density and its rate of change in late lactation. Persistency of lactation was also found to be correlated with the WM microparticle traits (−0.65 to −0.32). As apoptosis is likely to be the major contributor to microparticle numbers in late lactation, this work found a noninvasive method for estimating apoptosis that gave promising results. Further investigation is required to find out the factors affecting microparticle production and how it changes throughout lactation

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: The Long Argument: English Puritanism and the Shaping of New England Culture, 1570-1700 by Stephen Foster; The Salem Witch Crisis by Larry Gragg; A Home for Everyman: The Greek Revival and Maine Domestic Architecture by Joyce K. Bibber; The Gunpowder Mills of Maine by Maurice W. Hitten; In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain And The American Civil War by Alice Rains Trulock; Hurricane Island: The Town That Disappeared by Eleanor Motley Richardson; Home Front On Penobscot Bay: Rockland During The War Years, 1940-1945by Paul G. Merriam, Thomas J. Molloy, and Theodore W. Sylvester, Jr.; The History of Broadcasting in Maine: The First Fifty Yearsby Ellie Thompson; New Compass Points by Roy P. Fairfiel

Doppler cooling of Ca+ ions in a Penning trap

Published versio

Phenotypic Characterization and Comparison of Cystic Fibrosis Rat Models Generated Using CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing

Animal models of cystic fibrosis (CF) are essential for investigating disease mechanisms and trialing potential therapeutics. This study generated two CF rat models using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats–associated protein 9 gene editing. One rat model carries the common human Phe508del (ΔF508) CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutation, whereas the second is a CFTR knockout model. Phenotype was characterized using a range of functional and histologic assessments, including nasal potential difference to measure electrophysiological function in the upper airways, RNAscope in situ hybridization and quantitative PCR to assess CFTR mRNA expression in the lungs, immunohistochemistry to localize CFTR protein in the airways, and histopathologic assessments in a range of tissues. Both rat models revealed a range of CF manifestations, including reduced survival, intestinal obstruction, bioelectric defects in the nasal epithelium, histopathologic changes in the trachea, large intestine, and pancreas, and abnormalities in the development of the male reproductive tract. The CF rat models presented herein will prove useful for longitudinal assessments of pathophysiology and therapeutics

Association of the gut microbiome with kidney function and damage in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

Background: The gut microbiome is altered in chronic kidney disease (CKD), potentially contributing to CKD progression and co-morbidities, but population-based studies of the gut microbiome across a wide range of kidney function and damage are lacking. Methods: In the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, gut microbiome was assessed by shotgun sequencing of stool (n = 2,438; 292 with suspected CKD). We examined cross-sectional associations of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urinary albumin:creatinine (UAC) ratio, and CKD with gut microbiome features. Kidney trait-related microbiome features were interrogated for correlation with serum metabolites (n = 700), and associations of microbiome-related serum metabolites with kidney trait progression were examined in a prospective analysis (n = 3,635). Results: Higher eGFR was associated with overall gut microbiome composition, greater abundance of species from Prevotella, Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Eubacterium, and microbial functions related to synthesis of long-chain fatty acids and carbamoyl-phosphate. Higher UAC ratio and CKD were related to lower gut microbiome diversity and altered overall microbiome composition only in participants without diabetes. Microbiome features related to better kidney health were associated with many serum metabolites (e.g., higher indolepropionate, beta-cryptoxanthin; lower imidazole propionate, deoxycholic acids, p-cresol glucuronide). Imidazole propionate, deoxycholic acid metabolites, and p-cresol glucuronide were associated with prospective reductions in eGFR and/or increases in UAC ratio over ~6 y. Conclusions: Kidney function is a significant correlate of the gut microbiome, while the relationship of kidney damage with the gut microbiome depends on diabetes status. Gut microbiome metabolites may contribute to CKD progression

Stuart Warren (24 Dec 1938–22 Mar 2020)

Celebrating the life of Stuart Warren

History of Stepped Channels and Spillways: a Rediscovery of the 'Wheel'

Recently, spillways with a stepped profile have regained interest and favor among design engineers to pass flood waters over the dams. The stepped geometry enhances the energy dissipation above the spillway and reduces the size of a downstream stilling basin. In this paper, the author shows that the technique of stepped channels has been developed since Antiquity. Spillways and irrigation channels with stepped profiles were developed by several civilisations around the Mediterranean sea and in America. The main characteristics of the stepped spillways along the ages suggest a regular evolution rather than a revolution. Present stepped spillways are designed to pass similar discharges as two hundred years ago

The change in productivity of Chinese state enterprises, 1983–1987

This study estimates the change in productivity of Chinese state enterprises during 1983–1987 using a panel data set of 403 firms. A new approach to productivity measurement is used. Under this approach, the production functions can differ arbitrarily across firms, important given the heterogeneity of the sample. The resulting coefficients estimate the marginal products of each factor as well as overall productivity growth. The results suggest Chinese productivity increased by 4.6% per year, with about half of this growth due to the rapidly improving education of the labor force.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47564/1/11123_2005_Article_BF01073492.pd