Simulation of feed restriction and fasting: Effects on animal recovery and gastrointestinal permeability in unweaned Angus-Holstein calves

Feed restriction and fasting experienced during commercial production negatively affect unweaned calves' behavior and health status. Transportation and stays at assembly centers are the main factors generating these disorders. For this study, 20 unweaned Angus-Holstein bull calves [44.1 ± 2.04 kg of body weight (BW) and 14.7 ± 0.63 d of age (± standard error)] were used to evaluate the effects of feed restriction and fasting on performance, energy status [serum concentration of glucose, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and nonesterified fatty acids], and gastrointestinal permeability [serum concentration of citrulline, chromium (Cr)-EDTA, lactulose, and d-mannitol]. Calves were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments that simulated the feed restrictions of an assembly center situation on one hand, and the fasting hours during transportation on the other. Treatments were as follows. Control (CT): from d −4 to −1, calves were fed 2.5 L of milk replacer (MR) twice daily; concentrate and straw were offered ad libitum. Mild (MD): calves were fed only MR (d −4 to −1) as described for CT, and on d −1 calves were subjected to a 9-h feed withdrawal. Moderate (MO): calves were fed only MR (d −4 to −1) as described for CT and on d −1 subjected to a 19-h feed withdrawal. Severe (SV): calves were fed only 2.5 L of a rehydrating solution twice daily (d −4 to −1) and on d −1 subjected to a 19-h feed withdrawal. From d 0 to d 42 (weaning) all calves were fed the same feeding program (MR, concentrate, and straw ad libitum). Results showed that BW was greater for the CT treatment compared with the others from d 0 to d 7, whereas BW of SV was lesser compared with the others from d −1 to d 7. No differences among treatments were observed at weaning. At d 2 concentrate intakes of MD, MO, and SV were lesser compared with CT. By d 4, concentrate intake of SV was similar to that for CT and greater than MD and MO. Similarly to BW, no differences in concentrate intake among treatments were observed at weaning on d 42 of the study. At d −1 for SV and d 0 in all restricted calves, serum glucose concentration was lesser compared with CT. At d −1 and 0, nonesterified fatty acids and BHB serum concentrations were greater in the SV calves compared with the other treatments. By d 2, serum concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids, BHB, and glucose were restored to CT levels. At d −1 serum citrulline concentration was lesser in SV and greater in MD calves. The CT calves had lower serum concentrations of Cr-EDTA (d −1 and d 0), lactulose (d 0), and d-mannitol (d 0) compared with the other restricted calves. Results showed that degree of dietary restriction, type of liquid diet (MR or rehydrating solution), and fasting hours (9 vs. 19 h) affected calves' BW, concentrate intake, and serum concentration of markers indicative of energy status and gastrointestinal permeability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Drinking water chlorination in dairy beef fattening bulls: water quality, potential hazards, apparent total tract digestibility, and growth performance

The first study aimed to evaluate the effect of drinking water disinfection (chlorination: NaClO 15%) and conditioning (acidification: H3PO4 diluted 1:5 in water) on water quality, water and feed consumption, apparent total tract digestibility, and its potential hazardous effects on Holstein bulls fed high-concentrate diets. Twenty-four animals (221 ± 20.9 kg of BW, and 184 ± 9.9 days of age) were individually assigned to one of four treatments according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: conditioning (with or without acidification) and disinfection (with or without chlorination). The entire study lasted 210 days. Physicochemical and microbiological water quality, water and feed consumption, haematological and biochemical blood parameters, and apparent total tract digestibility were measured; data were analysed via a mixed-effects model. Chlorination and acidification increased (P = 0.02) free residual chlorine in water, and chlorination reduced (P = 0.01) total coliform and Clostridium perfringens counts in water. Treatment did not affect water consumption, total DM intake, or blood parameters. At the beginning of the study, NDF digestibility decreased (P = 0.04) with acidification, however, this was restored at the end of the study. The second study evaluated the potential benefit of drinking water chlorination and acidification on the performance of crossbred Holstein bulls fed high-concentrate diets under commercial conditions. Ninety-six animals (322 ± 35.0 kg of BW, and 220 ± 14.2 days of age) were allocated into six pens assigned to one of the two treatments: untreated drinking water or drinking water treated with chlorination and acidification for a total of 112 days. Physicochemical and microbiological water quality, water and concentrate consumption, eating behaviour, growth performance, and carcass quality were analysed via a mixed-effects model. Water conditioning and disinfection increased (P = 0.01) free residual chlorine concentration and reduced (P = 0.04) total coliform count in water. Although water consumption and eating behaviour were similar between treatments, water conditioning and disinfection increased average daily weight gain (P = 0.03), BW before slaughter (P = 0.01), and hot carcass weight (P = 0.01). In conclusion, drinking water chlorination and acidification in fattening dairy beef bulls is recommended as it improves growth performance without any detrimental side effects on health or nutrient digestibility.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aplicaciones de la termografia infrarroja y la espectrorradiometría en el estudio del deterioro del patrimonio arquitectónico nacional

It is well known the problems in ancient monumental buildings caused by atmospheric agents. Besides of natural causes, the rise in the atmospheric contamination levels has played an important role in the deterioration of the stones of our national heritage art. Regrettably the partial scientific knowledge of the causes that produced the called "stone disease", has taken to inappropriate restorations that far from solving the problem, they have increased the deterioration process. The need of finding quick and efficient diagnostic methods, specially non-destructive analysis techniques, has originated the use of Infrared Thermography and Spectroradiometry as support tools in the study of the deterioration of monumental stones. The first results are presented in this work.Son conocidos los problemas que la acción de los agentes atmosféricos causa a nuestro patrimonio monumental. Sin duda, el aumento de la contaminación atmosférica contribuye a aumentar las causas naturales del deterioro de las piedras que constituyen nuestro legado histórico. Lamentablemente, el conocimiento científico parcial de las causas que producen el denominado "mal de piedra", ha conllevado a restauraciones inapropiadas que, en no pocas ocasiones, lejos de solucionar el problema, han incrementado el proceso de deterioro o degradación. La necesidad de encontrar métodos de diagnóstico rápidos y eficientes, especialmente los denominados como técnicas de análisis no destructivos, ha dado lugar a la aplicación de la Termografía Infrarroja (TIR) y la Espectrorradiometría (ER) como herramientas de apoyo al estudio del deterioro de las piedras monumentales y cuyos primeros resultados presentamos en este trabajo

Effects of flavonoids extracted from Citrus aurantium on performance, eating and animal behavior, rumen health, and carcass quality in Holstein bulls fed high-concentrate diets

The effects of flavonoids extracted from Citrus aurantium (Bioflavex® CA) on eating pattern, performance, carcass quality, and rumen wall health of Holstein bulls fed on a single feeder were studied. One hundred ninety-eight bulls (195.3 ± 19.6 kg of body weight and 149 ± 6.8 d of age) were used in a complete block randomized design. Groups of animals with the same mean and coefficient of variation of body weight (replicates) were randomly allocated in 1 of 6 pens (20 animals per pen), and each pen was assigned to one of 6 pens and assigned to a Control (C) diet or to a diet supplemented with flavonoids (Bioflavex® CA, Interquim S.L., Spain) (BF, 0.4 kg per ton of concentrate of Bioflavex® CA) in two consecutive fattening cycles. Concentrate intake was recorded daily, and BW fortnightly. Animal behavior was monitored by visual scan procedure every fourteen days. Animals were slaughtered after 168 d of study, hot carcass weight and carcass quality were recorded, and internal rumen wall was examined. Concentrate intake was higher (P < 0.05) in C than in BF bulls; however, ADG and concentrate efficiency were not affected by treatments. The final BW tended (P = 0.06) to be higher in C than in BF bulls, but this difference disappeared for carcass weight. In the finishing phase, the proportion of meal size values above 750 g was higher (P < 0.05) in C compared with BF bulls. Throughout the study exhibited more displacements and fighting than C bulls, whilst C bulls performed more (P < 0.05) oral behaviors. During the finishing phase, sexual behaviors such as flehmen and complete mounts were higher (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) in C bulls as well, and C bulls tended (P = 0.10) to perform more attempted mounts compared with BF bulls. In the slaughterhouse, color of rumen wall tended (P = 0.06) to be lighter for BF compared with C bulls, and presence of baldness areas in the rumen was lesser (P = 0.01) in BF animals. In conclusion, when bulls were supplemented with Bioflavex® CA, feed intake was reduced. Flavonoids supplementation increased time eating straw, reduced agonistic behaviors throughout the study and sexual interactions during the finishing phase, potentially improving animal welfare. Rumen wall parameters analyzed were indicative of a better rumen health in BF than in C bulls, which maybe due to the reduction of large meal sizes.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A new approach to obtain pure and active proteins from Lactococcus lactis protein aggregates

The production of pure and soluble proteins is a complex, protein-dependent and time-consuming process, in particular for those prone-to-aggregate and/or difficult-to-purify. Although Escherichia coli is widely used for protein production, recombinant products must be co-purified through costly processes to remove lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and minimize adverse effects in the target organism. Interestingly, Lactococcus lactis, which does not contain LPS, could be a promising alternative for the production of relevant proteins. However, to date, there is no universal strategy to produce and purify any recombinant protein, being still a protein-specific process. In this context and considering that L. lactis is also able to form functional protein aggregates under overproduction conditions, we explored the use of these aggregates as an alternative source of soluble proteins. In this study, we developed a widely applicable and economically affordable protocol to extract functional proteins from these nanoclusters. For that, two model proteins were used: mammary serum amyloid A3 (M-SAA3) and metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), a difficult-to-purify and a prone-to-aggregate protein, respectively. The results show that it is possible to obtain highly pure, soluble, LPS-free and active recombinant proteins from L. lactis aggregates through a cost-effective and simple protocol with special relevance for difficult-to-purify or highly aggregated proteins

Assembly defects of human tRNA splicing endonuclease contribute to impaired pre-tRNA processing in pontocerebellar hypoplasia

Mutations within subunits of the tRNA splicing endonuclease complex (TSEN) are associated with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH). Here the authors show that tRNA intron excision is catalyzed by tetrameric TSEN assembled from inactive heterodimers, and provide evidence that modulation of TSEN stability may contribute to PCH phenotypes.Introns of human transfer RNA precursors (pre-tRNAs) are excised by the tRNA splicing endonuclease TSEN in complex with the RNA kinase CLP1. Mutations in TSEN/CLP1 occur in patients with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH), however, their role in the disease is unclear. Here, we show that intron excision is catalyzed by tetrameric TSEN assembled from inactive heterodimers independently of CLP1. Splice site recognition involves the mature domain and the anticodon-intron base pair of pre-tRNAs. The 2.1-angstrom resolution X-ray crystal structure of a TSEN15-34 heterodimer and differential scanning fluorimetry analyses show that PCH mutations cause thermal destabilization. While endonuclease activity in recombinant mutant TSEN is unaltered, we observe assembly defects and reduced pre-tRNA cleavage activity resulting in an imbalanced pre-tRNA pool in PCH patient-derived fibroblasts. Our work defines the molecular principles of intron excision in humans and provides evidence that modulation of TSEN stability may contribute to PCH phenotypes.Genetics of disease, diagnosis and treatmen

A method to determine the ability of drugs to diffuse through the blood-brain barrier.

A method has been devised for predicting the ability of drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier. The criteria depend on the amphiphilic properties of a drug as reflected in its surface activity. The assessment was made with various drugs that either penetrate or do not penetrate the blood-brain barrier. The surface activity of these drugs was quantified by their Gibbs adsorption isotherms in terms of three parameters: (i) the onset of surface activity, (ii) the critical micelle concentration, and (iii) the surface area requirement of the drug at the air/water interface. A calibration diagram is proposed in which the critical micelle concentration is plotted against the concentration required for the onset of surface activity. Three different regions are easily distinguished in this diagram: a region of very hydrophobic drugs which fail to enter the central nervous system because they remain adsorbed to the membrane, a central area of less hydrophobic drugs which can cross the blood-brain barrier, and a region of relatively hydrophilic drugs which do not cross the blood-brain barrier unless applied at high concentrations. This diagram can be used to predict reliably the central nervous system permeability of an unknown compound from a simple measurement of its Gibbs adsorption isotherm