Hematological ratios and indices in canine large B-cell lymphoma

Background: canine lymphoma is the most common hematopoietic cancer in dogs. Numerous studies have evaluated the prognostic value of hematological abnormalities and ratios in both humans and dogs with lymphoma. Aim: to compare hematological parameters and complete blood count ratios between a population of dogs affected by lymphoma and healthy dogs to identify potential prognostic markers for lymphoma Methods: this retrospective case-control study compares hematological parameters and complete blood count ratios between a population of 114 dogs affected by Multicentric Large B-Cell Lymphoma (LBCL) and 60 healthy dogs. Results: the study found several statistically significant differences between the hematological indices of LBCL dogs and healthy dogs, but no correlation between these parameters and the survival times of 78 dogs treated with chemotherapy Madison Wisconsin Protocol. Additionally, hematological alterations were evaluated such as anemia, leukocytosis, and thrombocytopenia Conclusion: hematological ratios have been suggested as potential prognostic markers for canine LBCL but their real prognostic value remains controversial and requires future investigation

Second-Hand Smoke Increases Bronchial Hyperreactivity and Eosinophilia in a Murine Model of Allergic Aspergillosis

Involuntary inhalation of tobacco smoke has been shown to aggravate the allergic response. Antibodies to fungal antigens such as Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) cause an allergic lung disease in humans. This study was carried out to determine the effect of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on a murine model of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). BALB/c mice were exposed to aged and diluted sidestream cigarette smoke to simulate 'second-hand smoke'. The concentration was consistent with that achieved in enclosed public areas or households where multiple people smoke. During exposure, mice were sensitized to Af antigen intranasally. Mice that were sensitized to Af antigen and exposed to ETS developed significantly greater airway hyperreactivity than did mice similarly sensitized to Af but housed in ambient air. The effective concentration of aerosolized acetylcholine needed to double pulmonary flow resistance was significantly lower in Af + ETS mice compared to the Af + AIR mice. Immunological data that supports this exacerbation of airway hyperresponsiveness being mediated by an enhanced type 1 hypersensitivity response include: eosinophilia in peripheral blood and lung sections. All Af sensitized mice produced elevated levels of IL4, IL5 and IL10 but no IFN-γ indicating a polarized Th2 response. Thus, ETS can cause exacerbation of asthma in ABPA as demonstrated by functional airway hyperresponsiveness and elevated levels of blood eosinophilia

The polyamine “multiverse” and stress mitigation in crops: A case study with seed priming in quinoa

The importance of polyamines (PAs) in plant growth and development was recognised several decades ago and, since then, their role in cell proliferation, embryogenesis, organogenesis, flowering, fruit development and ripening, etc. has been investigated to a great extent. In more recent years, most of the attention on PAs has been focussed on their functions in biotic and, especially, abiotic stress responses. Exogenous application, transgenic plants over- or under-expressing PA biosynthetic genes, and mutants have been used to unveil their essential contribution to plant tolerance to salinity, drought, chilling, and heavy metal stresses, among others. In parallel, knowledge on their mechanisms of action has increased greatly and it is today evident that PA functions depend upon their ability to (a) bind electrostatically or covalently to numerous compounds thereby modulating membrane, cell wall, nucleic acid, and protein structure and functions, (b) produce hydrogen peroxide via their catabolic pathways, (c) interact with the biosynthetic and signaling pathways of practically all known phyto hormones, and (d) interact with nitric oxide. In this review, a state-of-the-art overview of PA functions in plants and their possible applications in mitigating stress in crop plants is provided. The potential of seed priming with PAs as an economically and environmentally valid approach for enhancing plant tolerance to adverse environmental conditions is discussed and some results from our study on quinoa and salt stress are presented

Correlates of In-home Smoking Behavior of Parents with Newborns

Secondhand smoke has been shown to have adverse health effects on young children. It is associated with various health effects such as respiratory infections, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and asthma. Because of the dangers secondhand smoke poses to young children, there is a need for educating parents about the dangers of secondhand smoke as well as determining factors associated with secondhand smoke exposure among children. Understanding these factors may be first step toward developing strategies to reduce ETS exposure. The study examined correlates of in-home smoking behavior of parents with newborns by analyzing 657 respondents who filled out the New Mom Secondhand Smoke Survey collected at the Riverside County Tobacco Free Families Program. These surveys were collected as a part of referral process to recruit eligible clients for the Tobacco Free Families Program. The survey contained 14 questions asking for demographic and secondhand smoke information on mothers who delivered a baby at five collaborating hospitals. Only 9.7% of all respondents reported someone smoking in their house. Smoking inside the house was significantly associated with having both mother and father as smokers as compared to having fathers as sole smokers (odds ratio: 4.16; 95% Cl: 1.34- 12.88). Mothers who believed that secondhand smoke was very dangerous for their baby’s health were less likely to report that someone smoked inside the house as compared to those who believed it was somewhat or not very dangerous, (odds ratio: .163; 95% Cl: .048-.551). Hispanic ethnicity had a weak negative association with smoking inside the house (odds ratio: .473; 95% Cl: 0.22, 1.02). The results of the study indicate that it may be important to target households where both mother and father smoke and educate them on the dangers of secondhand smoke. Furthermore, when attempting to educate young couples with newborns to reduce or eliminate secondhand smoke exposure, it may be important to incorporate a message on the negative health consequences of secondhand smoke on their baby

The effects of passive smoking on respiratory illness in early childhood in Shanghai, P.R.China

The effects of household exposure to cigarette smoke on the incidence of respiratory illness were examined among 1007 18 month old children at Lu-wan District, Shanghai City, People's Republic China. The passive smoking quantity was estimated by summing the total daily cigarette consumption of family members. No mothers who smoked were found. A significant dose-response relationship of passive smoking to hospitalization for respiratory illness during the children's first 18 months of life was found, for which no confounding factors were discovered. The relative risk was 2.4 for children living in families including people who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day compared with those living in nonsmoking families. The children who were boys or artificially (bottle) fed were more affected than those who were girls or breast fed. The cumulative incidence of bronchitis and pneumonia increased significantly with increasing cigarette smoking of family members, that did not change when sex, birth weight, type of feeding, coal for cooking, or parental education were taken into account. Family smoking status was not found to be significantly associated with the cumulative incidence of asthma, whooping cough, sinusitis or measles

In Vivo Effects of Einkorn Wheat (Triticum monococcum) Bread on the Intestinal Microbiota, Metabolome, and on the Glycemic and Insulinemic Response in the Pig Model

Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) is characterized by high content of proteins, bioactive compounds, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, fructans, tocols, carotenoids, alkylresorcinols, and phytosterols, and lower α-, β-amylase and lipoxygenase activities compared to polyploid wheat. These features make einkorn flour a good candidate to provide healthier foods. In the present study, we investigated the effects of einkorn bread (EB) on the intestinal physiology and metabolism of the pig model by characterizing the glycemic and insulinemic response, and the microbiota and metabolome profiles. Sixteen commercial hybrid pigs were enrolled in the study; four pigs were used to characterize postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses and twelve pigs underwent a 30-day dietary intervention to assess microbiota and metabolome changes after EB or standard wheat bread (WB) consumption. The postprandial insulin rise after an EB meal was characterized by a lower absolute level, and, as also observed for glucose, by a biphasic shape in contrast to that in response to a WB meal. The consumption of EB led to enrichment in short-chain fatty acid producers (e.g., Blautia, Faecalibacterium, and Oscillospira) in the gut microbiota and to higher metabolic diversity with lower content of succinate, probably related to improved absorption and therefore promoting intestinal gluconeogenesis. The observed changes, at both a compositional and metabolic scale, strongly suggest that EB consumption may support a health-promoting configuration of the intestinal ecosystem

Seasonal and allergen dependent variation of total and allergen specific Immunoglobuline E in man

Ziel dieser Untersuchung war es, saisonale Schwankungen des IgE und den Zusammenhang zwischen Pollenexposition und der entsprechenden spezifischen IgE-Konzentration zu charakterisieren. Es kommt zu einem schon in der Literatur beschriebenen postsaisonalen Anstieg der spezifischen Serum-IgE Antikörper. Hier konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Anstieg des Allergenspezifischen IgE nicht direkt in der Saison erfolgt, sondern mit einem Abstand von 2-3 Monaten nach der Pollensaison. Über den Mechanismus dieses Verlaufes kann zur Zeit nur spekuliert werden.Object of this survey was to characterize as well the seasonal variations of IgE as the correlation between pollen exposure and the corresponding specific IgE concentration. The in the literature described post seasonal rise of the specific serum IgE antibodies was observed. It could be shown that the rise of allergen specific IgE does not take place within the pollen season, but follows with an intervall of 2-3 month. The mechanism of this course is object of speculation

RNAi-Untersuchungen und Überexpression von Genen der Rosmarinsäurebiosynthese

Die Rosmarinsäurebiosynthese ist an Zellkulturen von Coleus blumei (Lamiaceae) aufgeklärt worden. Die beteiligten Enzyme sind bekannt und wurden charakterisiert und die meisten entsprechenden Gene kloniert. Unter diesen Enzymen befinden sich die Hydroxyphenylpyruvat Reduktase (HPPR) und die Rosmarinsäure Synthase (RAS), von denen vermutet wird, dass sie spezifisch für Rosmarinsäurebiosynthese sind. Um dies abzuklären und eventuell regulatorische Mechanismen festzustellen, sollten diese beiden Enzyme durch die Technik der RNAi herunterreguliert und der Effekt auf die Rosmarinsäureakkumulation beobachtet werden. Zusätzlich sollte durch die jeweilige Überexpression der Gene geklärt werden, ob sich der Rosmarinsäuregehalt dadurch steigern lässt. Zur Klonierung der RNAi- bzw. Überexpressionskonstrukte wurde der pHANNIBAL-Vektor in Kombination mit dem binären Vektor pART27 verwendet. Die RNAi- und die Überexpressions-Konstrukte in pART27 wurden durch die Transformation von sterilem Pflanzenmaterial mit Agrobacterium rhizogenes stabil in das Genom von Coleus blumei eingebracht. Die Untersuchungen wurden an den durch die Transformation mit Agrobacterium rhizogenes erhaltenen Hairy Roots in Flüssigkultur durchgeführt. Da verschiedene sterile Pflanzenkulturen und verschiedene Agrobacterium rhizogenes-Stämme zur Verfügung standen, wurde zuerst eine Testtransformation mit verschiedenen Coleus blumei/Agrobacterium rhizogenes-Kombinationen durchgeführt. Dazu wurden Kontroll-Transformationen mit Agrobakterien ohne zusätzliche Plasmid-DNA gemacht und Transformationen mit HPPR-RNAi-Konstrukt transformierten Agrobakterien. Als beste Kombination stellte sich die Pflanzenlinie ColV1 mit dem Agrobacterium rhizogenes-Stamm LBA15834 heraus. Sie lieferte die vitalsten Wurzeln und zeigte einen akzeptablen Rosmarinsäuregehalt von etwa 1,5 % im Trockengewicht der Hairy Roots. Zusätzlich zeigten die daraus gewonnen Hairy Root-Kulturen den deutlichsten RNAi-Effekt. Diese Pflanzen/Agrobakterien-Kombination wurde für die Transformation der Pflanzen mit den HPPR- und RAS-RNAi- und Überexpressionskonstrukten und den entsprechenden Kontrollplasmiden verwendet. Für die Kontrollen wurde Pflanzenmaterial mit Agrobakterien mit Expressionsvektor ohne Fremd-DNA oder ohne Vektor transformiert. Die gewonnenen Hairy Root-Flüssigkulturen wurden molekularbiologisch untersucht und auf die Anwesenheit der Konstrukte, die Abwesenheit von Agrobakterien, die Anwesenheit der Agrobakterien-Gene rolA, rolB und rolC und die mRNA-Gehalte von RAS und HPPR getestet. Zur Bestimmung der Anzahl der Transformationsereignisse wurden Southern Blots durchgeführt. Dazu wurden einmal 35S Promotor des pHANNIBAL und einmal das nptII-Gen des pART27 mit einer entsprechenden Sonde nachgewiesen. Es lagen jeweils mehrere Transformationsereignisse vor. Für diese Untersuchungen wurde der Rosmarinsäuregehalt bestimmt und die Aktivitäten der Enzyme Tyrosin Aminotransferase (TAT), Phenylalanin Ammoniak-Lyase (PAL), HPPR und RAS bestimmt. Die Auswirkungen der RNAi und Überexpression machten sich vor allem in den Rosmarinsäuregehalten bemerkbar. Die RNAi-Linien zeigten einen deutlich verringerten Gehalt, die HPPR-Überexpressionslinien einen erhöhten Gehalt. Die Enzymaktivitäten aus Proteinrohextrakte zeigten bei den RNAi-Linien keine Reduktion, bei den Überexpressionslinien hingegen konnte bei HPPR eine deutlich höhere Aktivität gemessen werden. Die RAS-Überexpressionslinien zeigten Cosuppression und verhielten sich ähnlich wie die RAS-RNAi-Linien oder die Kontrollen. Die Hairy Root-Linien wurden auf eine Akkumulation von Zwischenprodukten der Rosmarinsäurebiosynthese hin untersucht, es konnte jedoch nur Kaffeesäure nachgewiesen werden, die jedoch in keinem Bezug zur verminderten oder erhöhten Rosmarinsäureakkumulation stand. L-Tyrosin und L-Phenylalanin sind die Ausgangsverbindungen der Rosmarinsäurebiosynthese. Bei Supplementationsversuchen wurde dem Kulturmedien von Kontroll-Linien ohne Vektor und Überexpressionslinien von HPPR und RAS die Aminosäuren L-Tyrosin und L-Phenylalanin zugesetzt. Die supplementierten Kulturen zeigten jedoch gegenüber den unsupplementierten Kontrollen keine vermehrte Rosmarinsäureakkumulation. Da die HPPR aus Coleus blumei sehr nah mit der Hydroxypyruvat Reduktase (HPR2) aus Arabidopsis thaliana verwandt ist, wurde das bereits in einem Expressionsvektor vorliegende Enzym in Escherichia. coli exprimiert und charakterisiert. Die gewonnen Daten wurden mit den vorhandenen Daten der heterolog exprimierten HPPR und der nativen HPPR aus Coleus blumei verglichen