ZNAČAJKE PARAMETARA ENERGETSKOG METABOLIZMA U PASMINI SVINJA MANGALICA

In our work selected parameters of energetic metabolism in blood serum of pigs of Mangalica breed in two age categories: piglets (28–30 days old) and mature sows (14–18 months old) were evaluated. Based on the considering of the results of biochemical examinations different values in sucklings in comparison to mature sows were found, namely the total lipids (5,01 and 5,50 g/l), total cholesterol (1,64 and 1,42 mmol/l), HDL-cholesterol (0,92 and 1,00 mmol/l), triglycerids (0,71 and 0,42 mmol/l), and glucose levels (7,63 and 6,33 mmol/l). Our results corresponds with the values mentioned by other authors in mature sows. Provided examinations will help for identification of blood serum metabolites in pigs of different age categories and for specification of reference interval.U našem su radu ocijenjeni odabrani parametri energetskog metabolizma u serumu krvi svinja pasmine Mangalica u dvije dobne kategorije: praščići (28-30 dana starosti) i odrasle krmače (stare 14-18 mjeseci). Na temelju rezultata biokemijskih ispitivanja nađene su različite vrijednosti u sisajućim praščićima u usporedbi s odraslim krmačama, naime ukupni lipidi 5,01 i 5,50 g/l,u ukupnom kolesterolu (1,64 i 1,42 mol/l), HDL-kolesterolu (0,92 i 1,00mmol/l), trigliceridima (0,71 i 0,42 mmol/l) i razinama glukoze (7,63 i 6,33 mmol/l). Naši rezultati odgovaraju vrijednostima drugih autora u odraslih krmača. Ta će ispitivanja pomoći u identificiranju metabolita u krvnom serumu svinja različitih dobnih kategorija i u specifikaciji referentnog intervala

Heat-Induced Structural Changes Affect OVA-Antigen Processing and Reduce Allergic Response in Mouse Model of Food Allergy

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The egg protein ovalbumin (OVA) belongs to six most frequent food allergens. We investigated how thermal processing influences its ability to induce allergic symptoms and immune responses in mouse model of food allergy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Effect of increased temperature (70°C and 95°C) on OVA secondary structure was characterized by circular dichroism and by the kinetics of pepsin digestion with subsequent HPLC. BALB/c mice were sensitized intraperitoneally and challenged with repeated gavages of OVA or OVA heated to 70°C (h-OVA). Levels of allergen-specific serum antibodies were determined by ELISA (IgA and IgGs) or by β-hexosaminidase release test (IgE). Specific activities of digestive enzymes were determined in brush border membrane vesicles of jejunal enterocytes. Cytokine production and changes in regulatory T cells in mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen were assessed by ELISA and FACS. Heating of OVA to 70°C caused mild irreversible changes in secondary structure compared to boiling to 95°C (b-OVA), but both OVA treatments led to markedly different digestion kinetics and Tregs induction ability in vitro, compared to native OVA. Heating of OVA significantly decreased clinical symptoms (allergic diarrhea) and immune allergic response on the level of IgE, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13. Furthermore, h-OVA induced lower activities of serum mast cell protease-1 and enterocyte brush border membrane alkaline phosphatase as compared to native OVA. On the other hand h-OVA stimulated higher IgG2a in sera and IFN-γ secretion by splenocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Minor irreversible changes in OVA secondary structure caused by thermal processing changes both its digestion and antigenic epitopes formation, which leads to activation of different T cell subpopulations, induces shift towards Th1 response and ultimately reduces its allergenicity

Design of experiment for measurement of Langevin function

The presented study focuses on a confrontation of the theory of regression models and theory of experiment with the real situation of determining properties of magnetic (nano)materials. Their magnetic properties can be deduced by measuring their magnetization, being the fundamental magnetic quantity of an arbitrary (nano)material. The results of the magnetization measurements determine the unknown parameters of a known nonlinear function that characterizes the (nano)material under investigation. Knowledge of the values of the unknown parameters enables to decide whether the (nano)material is suitable or not for a particular application. Thus, in this work, we present a possible approach how to estimate the unknown parameters of the nonlinear function by the regression models, taking into account a relevant linearization criterion. Then, we suggest an appropriate design for the measurement to get better estimators of the parameters

Level of in vitro storage of the European catfish (Silurus glanis L.) eggs at different temperatures.

European catfish (Silurus glanis) is a commercially important freshwater fish originating from Eastern Europe. The objective of this study was to examine the short-term storage of its eggs especially in relation to maintaining a low level of malformation in newly hatched fry. The eggs from freshly spawned individuals were stored separately in cell incubators at 17 and 22 degrees C under aerobic conditions. Changes in fertilization, hatching, and malformation were examined in eggs stored at 1, 3, 5, and 7 h post-stripping. The sperm used for fertilization showed very good motility rates (84-90%) and curvilinear velocity (110-125 mu m/s), and straight-line velocity did not drop below 77 mu m/s. For all females, a temperature of 17 degrees C was better than 22 degrees C for egg storage in vitro. Egg fertilization and total hatching decreased rapidly after 7 h storage at 17 degrees C. The storage time of eggs in vitro to fertilization should therefore not exceed 5 h at 17 degrees C. In all females, there was no difference in the total number of eggs hatching between 1 and 3 h of egg storage at 17 degrees C. The storage time of eggs did not correlate with the level of malformations of the fry. However, the level of hatching and malformations was clearly affected by the storage temperature of eggs when it was > 17 degrees C. Analysis showed that the storage time of eggs, temperature of storage, and individual females had a significant influence on fertilization and total hatching rates. Regression analysis confirmed a low correlation of fertilization and hatching rates with storage time of eggs