Short communication: A milk replacer aversion model in calves to test flavour-masking effects

This study aimed to evaluate the availability of two sensory additives (SAs) to masque non-palatable ingredients commonly present in milk replacers (MRs). Both SAs were based on a synergistic mixture of non-nutritive flavouring substances with four taste categories (sweet, umami, sour, and salty); the only difference between them was the inclusion of polyols, which were not included in SA2. Two experiments were conducted for this purpose. In Experiment 1, an MR aversion model was developed using 24 Holstein male calves (7 ± 0.9 d of age and 43.3 ± 1.39 kg of body weight [BW]). In the first two weeks of the study, calves were fed increasing amounts of MRs until the animals were able to consume 8 L/d at 15% dry matter (DM) concentration for two feedings per day. Thereafter, MR aversion was induced in half of the calves by adding a mixture of bitter taste feed additives (Bittermix) from days 14 to 22 of the study (aversion week). The daily MR intake and eating rate were recorded from the two previous days of the challenge and during the aversion week. In Experiment 2, the same model was used with 37 Holstein male calves (6 ± 0.9 d of age and 40.2 ± 1.40 kg of BW). Owing to health issues in this experiment, the aversion week was postponed at 38.5 ± 1.12 d of age until the animals were able to consume at least 90% of 8 L/d at 12.5% DM concentration. The aversion test was performed as follows: no supplementation (CTRL), Bittermix at 30 g/kg of dry MR (BM), BM plus SA1 at 2 g/kg of dry MR (SA1), and BM plus SA2 at 2 g/kg of dry MR (SA2). Data were analysed with a generalised mixed model that accounts for the fixed effects of MR supplementation, the meals during the aversion week, the interaction of the MR supplementation and meals, and a calf as a random effect. In the aversion test of Experiment 1, calves that were fed Bittermix showed an increase in the incidence and amount of MR refusals (P < 0.05) compared with CTRL calves. In Experiment 2, the incidence of refusal and time devoted to consuming MR were similar in all treatments. However, the eating rates were greater (P < 0.01) in CTRL and SA2 than in BM and SA1. Adding a mixture of bitter tasting feed additives in the MR changed the feed intake parameters of the calves. The addition of a specific sensory additive, namely, SA2, reversed the negative effects caused by the bitter products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Riociguat treatment in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Final safety data from the EXPERT registry

Objective: The soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator riociguat is approved for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and inoperable or persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) following Phase

Valutazione delle concentrazioni di procalcitonina nel latte e nel plasma di bovine sane in lattazione

La mastite bovina è uno dei più importanti problemi economici e di benessere animale nell’allevamento delle bovine da latte. Frequentemente il rilevamento della mastite si basa solamente sulla conta delle cellule somatiche nel latte, il quale è un metodo rapido ma scarsamente specifico per le infezioni batteriche. La procalcitonina (PCT) è stata studiata come biomarcatore plasmatico di infezioni batteriche nell’uomo e in molte specie di interesse veterinario. Nell’uomo le concentrazioni di PCT sono state valutate, oltre che nel plasma, anche nel latte. Lo scopo di questo studio è stato di valutare le concentrazioni di PCT in plasma e latte di bovine sane con un kit ELISA quantitativo per l’uomo. Ventisette bovine sane sono state incluse nello studio. È stato calcolato l’indice di Pearson per valutare la correlazione tra le concentrazioni di PCT osservate rispettivamente nel plasma e nel latte. La validazione del kit ELISA è stata realizzata utilizzando campioni di plasma e latte proveniente da animali settici; è stata calcolata la sensibilità con il limite di rilevabilità (LOD), la precisione con il coefficiente di variazione (CV) intra-assay e inter-assay e la linearità con il recupero. I valori medi e di deviazione standard delle concentrazioni di PCT plasmatica e nel latte sono stati 1545,1 ± 3100,0 pg/ml e 518,1 ± 748,7 pg/ml, rispettivamente. Il LOD rilevato è di 20 pg/ml. Questo studio supporta l’ipotesi che la PCT plasmatica possa essere misurata con kit ELISA per la PCT umana, in quanto mostra un CV intra- e inter-assay inferiore al 20% e un recupero adeguato, ma non mostra la stessa funzionalità per l’analisi dei campioni di latte. Mastitis is one of the major economic and animal welfare problems on dairy farms. The diagnosis of mastitis is often based on somatic cells count in milk, which represents a quick test with a low sensitivity for bacterial infection. Procalcitonin (PCT) has been investigated as plasmatic biomarker of bacterial infection in human and veterinary medicine. In humans, PCT concentration has also been evaluated in milk in addition to plasma. The aim of this study was to evaluate plasma and milk PCT concentrations in healthy cattle with a quantitative ELISA kit for human use. Twenty-seven healthy cattle were included in this study. The correlation between PCT concentration in plasma and milk has been calculated with Pearson index. Validation of ELISA kit was performed by using plasma and milk samples from septic cattle; sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD), precision, coefficient of variation (CV) intra-assay and inter-assay, linearity and recovery were calculated. Mean and standard deviation were estimated as 1545,1 ± 3100,0 pg/ml in plasma and 518,1 ± 748,7 pg/ml in milk. The LOD has been calculated as 20 pg/ml. This study supports the hypothesis that human PCT ELISA kit can be used to measure bovine PCT in plasma samples, showing an intra-assay and inter-assay CV less than 20% and adequate recovery, but do not support the use of the same kit to analyze milk samples

Can Procalcitonin Be Dosed in Bovine Milk Using a Commercial ELISA Kit?

The aim was to evaluate the use of a bovine procalcitonin (PCT) ELISA kit (Cusabio, China) for assessing PCT in bovine milk samples. Validation was performed by using 10 plasma and corresponding milk samples from mastitic cows. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated. The coefficient of variation (CV%) of the readings of five plasma samples measured five times in the same plate (intra-assay) and the CV% of the same five samples read five times in three separate plates was evaluated. Parallelism was determined by serial twofold dilutions of five plasma and corresponding milk samples. Milk samples were analyzed with and without centrifugation. Regarding plasma PCT, the method presented an inter- and intra-CV &lt; 23.7% and parallelism had very good recovery values. The ELISA kit studied can measure bovine plasma PCT concentrations. The kit antibodies fail in binding PCT in milk samples because all centrifuged milk samples showed a lower LOD than blank samples. Only three uncentrifuged milk samples showed measurable PCT concentrations. Due to these results, the commercial ELISA kit investigated could not be employed for the detection of PCT in milk samples

Popolo e potere nel mondo antico. Atti del convegno internazionale, Cividale del Friuli, 23-25 settembre 2004

Il convegno studia l'idea di democrazia e di potere popolare nel mondo greco e nel mondo romano, analizzando il concetto di "demos" negli storici, nel teatro, nelle iscrizioni dei Greci, e i concetti di "populus" e "plebs" nella storia, nell'oratoria, nel diritto di Roma dalla repubblica al tardo antico

Venous thromboembolism and COVID-19: a single center experience from an academic tertiary referral hospital of Northern Italy

Preliminary evidence supports the notion that COVID-19 patients may have an increased susceptibility to develop venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, the magnitude of this association still needs to be defined. Furthermore, clinical predictors of thrombogenesis, and the relationship with the inflammatory status are currently unknown. On this basis, we conducted a retrospective, observational study on 259 consecutive COVID-19 patients admitted to an academic tertiary referral hospital in Northern Italy between March 19th and April 6th, 2020. Records of COVID-19 patients with a definite VTE event were reviewed for demographic information, co-morbidities, risk factors for VTE, laboratory tests, and anticoagulation treatment. Twenty-five cases among 259 COVID-19 patients developed VTE (9.6%), all of them having a Padua score > 4, although being under standard anticoagulation prophylaxis since hospital admission. In the VTE subcohort, we found a significant positive correlation between platelet count (PLT) and either C reactive protein (CRP) (p < 0.0001) or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (p = 0.0013), while a significant inverse correlation was observed between PLT and mean platelet volume (p < 0.0001). Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio significantly correlated with CRP (p < 0.0001). The majority of VTE patients was male and younger compared to non-VTE patients (p = 0.002 and p = 0.005, respectively). No significant difference was found in d-dimer levels between VTE and non VTE patients, while significantly higher levels of LDH (p = 0.04) and IL-6 (p = 0.04) were observed in VTE patients in comparison to non-VTE patients. In conclusion, our findings showed a quite high prevalence of VTE in COVID-19 patients. Raised inflammatory indexes and increased serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines should raise the clinical suspicion of VTE

Riociguat treatment in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: Final safety data from the EXPERT registry

International audienc

Riociguat treatment in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Final safety data from the EXPERT registry

Objective: The soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator riociguat is approved for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and inoperable or persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) following Phase 3 randomized trials. The EXPosurE Registry RiociguaT in patients with pulmonary hypertension (EXPERT) study was designed to monitor the long-term safety of riociguat in clinical practice. Methods: EXPERT was an international, multicenter, prospective, uncontrolled, non-interventional cohort study of patients treated with riociguat. Patients were followed for at least 1 year and up to 4 years from enrollment or until 30 days after stopping riociguat treatment. Primary safety outcomes were adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs) coded using Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities preferred terms and System Organ Classes version 21.0, collected during routine clinic visits and collated via case report forms. Results: In total, 956 patients with CTEPH were included in the analysis. The most common AEs in these patients were peripheral edema/edema (11.7%), dizziness (7.5%), right ventricular (RV)/cardiac failure (7.7%), and pneumonia (5.0%). The most common SAEs were RV/cardiac failure (7.4%), pneumonia (4.1%), dyspnea (3.6%), and syncope (2.5%). Exposure-adjusted rates of hemoptysis/pulmonary hemorrhage and hypotension were low and comparable to those in the long-term extension study of riociguat (Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Soluble Guanylate Cyclase-Stimulator Trial [CHEST-2]). Conclusion: Data from EXPERT show that in patients with CTEPH, the safety of riociguat in routine practice was consistent with the known safety profile of the drug, and no new safety concerns were identified