Trilostane Treatment of Canine Alopecia X in an American Pit Bull Terrier

This paper describes the case of a one-year-old female American Pit Bull Terrier, presented with the history of progressive baldness. The initial clinical signs were demonstrated by symmetric, primarily non-pruritic alopecia that began in the perineal, genital, and ventral abdominal regions and propagated cranially to the thorax and to the neck. Based on physical and dermatological examination, laboratory findings, and results of skin biopsy, a hormone-responsive dermatosis was diagnosed. Once hypothyroidism and hyperadrenocorticism were ruled out, with the help of hormonal tests, the diagnosis was specified as alopecia X. The first treatment option recommended for the patient and subsequently completed was ovariohysterectomy. After three months, the owner reported improvement; the dog was almost covered with hair. The patient was presented again six months later, showing almost the same dermatological symptoms, which, however, were of a more striking character than before ovariohysterectomy. Again a series of hormonal tests was carried out. Considering the elevated basal and post-adrenocorticothropin stimulation progesterone concentrations, the final aetiology of the disease was determined as an adrenal sex hormone imbalance. Therefore trilostan therapy was initiated. The trilostan dosage of 8 mg/kg/day was divided and given 2 times daily. This treatment led to complete hair regrowth in the dog within four months. No adverse effects associated with trilostane were recognized

Baking quality prediction of spelt wheat based on rheological and mixolab parameters

The aim of this work was to test the potential of Mixolab II in the baking quality prediction of five Triticum spelta L. cultivars grown during growing periods with different climate conditions. Spelt cultivars varied in flour and dough properties examined by indirect baking qualm- indicators (wet gluten content. Falling number. Zelenv sedimentation, farinograph rheological properties, Mixolab parameters) and direct baking test, strong effect of climatic conditions was determined. Results showed significant differences in protein and starch – amylase part of Mixolab II curve, indicating the genotype and climatic effect. Spelt cultivars were characterised by high protein weakening (C2=0.32 Nm), speed of protein network weakening at the level of α= −0.07 Nm min−1, starch gelatinisation (C3=1.61 Nm), amylolytic activity (C4=1.35 Nm), and starch retrogradation (C5=1.98 Nm). Significant correlations between indirect baking properties, farinograph and Mixolab II parameters, and direct baking test were found. Slope a of Mixolab curve was a promising parameter in estimation of direct baking parameter – specific bread volume, together with indirect indicator – Zeleny sedimentation

Ultrashort Bradycardic Effect of Newly Synthesized Compounds

Changes in the heart rate induced by four different doses of two newly synthesized potential ultrashort-action antagonists of beta adrenergic receptors were tested in 90 male laboratory Wistar rats. The isoprenaline-induced tachycardia model was used. Their effects were compared with those of esmolol. In the second part of the study, approximate electro-physiological measurements were made in vitro to assess the influence of the compounds tested on ion membrane currents in isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes. Both compounds demonstrated significant bradycardic effects in all concentrations tested compared with the control group, but they differed in the time of the onset of their action. Both newly synthesized compounds induced blockade of the fast sodium current (INa) and potassium currents (Ito, IK1, IK,end)

Evolutionary Analysis of Cystatins of Early-Emerging Metazoans Reveals a Novel Subtype in Parasitic Cnidarians

© 2021 by the authors.The evolutionary aspects of cystatins are greatly underexplored in early-emerging metazoans. Thus, we surveyed the gene organization, protein architecture, and phylogeny of cystatin homologues mined from 110 genomes and the transcriptomes of 58 basal metazoan species, encompassing free-living and parasite taxa of Porifera, Placozoa, Cnidaria (including Myxozoa), and Ctenophora. We found that the cystatin gene repertoire significantly differs among phyla, with stefins present in most of the investigated lineages but with type 2 cystatins missing in several basal metazoan groups. Similar to liver and intestinal flukes, myxozoan parasites possess atypical stefins with chimeric structure that combine motifs of classical stefins and type 2 cystatins. Other early metazoan taxa regardless of lifestyle have only the classical representation of cystatins and lack multi-domain ones. Our comprehensive phylogenetic analyses revealed that stefins and type 2 cystatins clustered into taxonomically defined clades with multiple independent paralogous groups, which probably arose due to gene duplications. The stefin clade split between the subclades of classical stefins and the atypical stefins of myxozoans and flukes. Atypical stefins represent key evolutionary innovations of the two parasite groups for which their origin might have been linked with ancestral gene chimerization, obligate parasitism, life cycle complexity, genome reduction, and host immunity.This research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic, grant number LTAUSA17201; by the European Commission under the H2020 Programme—ParaFishControl, grant number 634429; by the Czech Science Foundation, grant number 19-28399X (to A. S. Holzer, G. Alama-Bermejo, and J. Kyslík) and 21-16565S and by the Czech Academy of Sciences and Hungarian Academy of Sciences, grant number MTA 19-07. This publication reflects the views of the authors only; the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

Lipolytic and Hypolipidemic Properties of Newly Synthesized Aryloxypropanolamine Derivatives

In this study, the lipolytic effect of two newly synthesized potential β3-adrenergic agonists A482 and B496 in active acid forms was tested using isolated sliced epididymal adipose tissue of Wistar rats, and compared with Isoprenaline and BRL37344. Furthermore, effects of an eight-week oral administration of the newly synthesized substances on serum cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, adiponectin, resistin and weight gain were studied in C57Bl/6J mice that were fed high energy diet. The newly synthesized substance A482 (4-(2-{[2-hydroxy-3-(4-methyl-carbamoylphenoxy) propyl]amino}ethyl)phenoxy-acetic acid hydrochloride) was able to produce almost full lipolysis at a 1 × 10-7 M concentration, and its effect on the rat epididymal adipose tissue was similar to the specific β3-adrenergic agonist BRL37344. Ethyl ester of this substance significantly lowered plasma total cholesterol (p p p p p 3-adrenergic agonists. Our results suggest that the newly synthesised substance A482 may represent a potent β3-adrenergic agonist

Evolutionary Analysis of Cystatins of Early-Emerging Metazoans Reveals a Novel Subtype in Parasitic Cnidarians

Acknowledgments: We thank to Baveesh Pudhuvai (BC CAS, Budweis, Czech Republic) for help in the PCR verification of Buddenbrockia stefin. We also thank Ivan Fiala (BC CAS, Budweis, Czech Republic) for providing suggestions to improve the manuscript and for sharing M. lieberkuehni and N. pickii transcriptomic data. We are grateful to Hanna Hartikainen (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) for sharing T. bryosalmonae genome data. Funding: This research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic, grant number LTAUSA17201; by the European Commission under the H2020 Programme— ParaFishControl, grant number 634429; by the Czech Science Foundation, grant number 19-28399X (to A. S. Holzer, G. Alama-Bermejo, and J. Kyslík) and 21-16565S and by the Czech Academy of Sciences and Hungarian Academy of Sciences, grant number MTA 19-07. This publication reflects the views of the authors only; the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Częstość występowania mikotoksyn z rodziny Fusarium a plonowanie pszenicy w rolnictwie integrowanym i ekologicznym

Agriculture is faced with a context of increasing policy requirements to use inputs efficiently and growing demand for "green" produce with potential health and environmental benefits. Possible options to address these issues include ecological and other low input farming systems such as integrated ones. A long-term trial comparing ecological and integrated farming systems was carried out in western Slovakia. Yield of winter wheat, 1000 grain weight, Fusarium mycotoxins, namely deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) are reported here. Greater productivity of the integrated system was achieved with significantly lower nutrient efficiency for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium inputs. The concentration of DON in ecological system was significantly lower as compared with integrated. The results indicate increased concentration of DON under fertilized variants and significant pre-crop effect. Concentration of ZON was influenced by wheather conditions.Rolnictwo staje wobec szeregu wyzwań związanych ze wzrastającymi wymaganiami politycznym i dotyczącymi zwiększenia efektywności nakładów i wzrastającym zapotrzebowaniem na ekologiczną produkcję, przynoszącą potencjalne korzyści dla zdrowia ludzi i środowiska. Jednym ze sposobów rozwiązania tych problemów jest rolnictwo ekologiczne i inne niskonakładowe systemy np. systemy integrowane. W zachodniej Słowacji przeprowadzono długoterminowy eksperyment porównujący rolnicze systemy ekologiczne i integrowane. Przedmiotem był plon pszenicy ozimej o masie 1000 ziaren oraz mikotoksyny z rodziny Fusarium, mianowicie deoksyniwalenol (DON) oraz zearalenon (ZON). Większą produktywność uzyskiwano w systemie integrowanym przy znacząco niższej efektywności odżywczej zastosowanego nakładu azotu, fosforu i potasu. Stężenie DON w systemie ekologicznym było znacznie niższe w porównaniu z integrowanym. Wyniki wskazują na wzrost stężenia DON w wariantach z nawożeniem, jak również na znaczne występowanie efektu przedplonu. Stężenie ZON uzależnione było od warunków atmosferycznych