Clinical presentation, auscultation recordings, ultrasonographic findings and treatment response of 12 adult cattle with chronic suppurative pneumonia: case study

Auscultation is considered the critical component of the veterinary clinical examination for the diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease but the accuracy with which adventitious sounds reflect underlying lung pathology remains largely unproven. Modern portable ultrasound machines provide the veterinary practitioner with an inexpensive, non-invasive tool with which to examine the pleural surfaces and superficial lung parenchyma. Simultaneous recording of sounds overlying normal lung and defined pathology allows critical assessment of auscultated sounds in the same animal removing confounding factors such as respiratory rate and thickness of the chest wall (body condition). Twelve cows, referred to the University of Edinburgh Veterinary School, were diagnosed with chronic suppurative pneumonia and enrolled into this prospective study to record and monitor lung sounds, ultrasonographic findings, and response to a standardised antibiotic treatment regimen. Most cows (8/12) had a normal rectal temperature on presentation but all cows had received antibiotic therapy at some time in the previous two weeks and six animals were receiving antibiotic treatment upon admission. All cattle were tachypnoeic (>40 breaths per minute) with frequent and productive coughing, halitosis, and a purulent nasal discharge most noticeable when the head was lowered. Ultrasonographic examination of the chest readily identified pathological changes consistent with severe lung pathology subsequently confirmed as chronic suppurative pneumonia in four cows at necropsy; eight cows recovered well after antibiotic treatment and were discharged two to six weeks after admission. It proved difficult to differentiate increased audibility of normal lung sounds due to tachypnoea from wheezes; coarse crackles were not commonly heard. In general, sounds were reduced in volume over consolidated lung relative to normal lung tissue situated dorsally. Rumen contraction sounds were commonly transmitted over areas of lung pathology. Trueperella (formerly Arcanobacterium) pyogenes was isolated from three of four lung tissue samples at necrospy. Treatment with procaine penicillin for 42 consecutive days resulted in marked improvement with return to normal appetite and improvement in body condition in 8 of 12 cows (67%) where lesions did not extend more than 10-15 cm above the level of the olecranon on both sides of the chest

Promoting mobility and healthy aging in men: a narrative review

Maintaining mobility is an important aspect of health and well-being in older men. This literature review describes several modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors impacting bone, muscle, and joint health. Exercise and nutritional interventions may help to prevent the progressive deterioration in bones, muscles, and joints impacting mobility in later life. Limitations in mobility are increasingly recognized as a major public health problem due to an aging population and growing number of older individuals affected by disabling comorbidities. Despite increasing numbers and debilitating consequences, there are no guidelines providing recommendations on strategies to maintain mobility for healthy aging among older men. This narrative review aims to fill this literature gap. PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched using predefined search terms. Primary studies, exploratory analyses, cross-sectional surveys, meta-analyses, evidence-based clinical reviews, and guidelines from nationally recognized societies focusing on mobility in older men and key elements including bone, muscle and joint health, and balance were selected. Several modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors have been reported in the literature that impact bone, muscle, and joint health and predispose older men to falls and fractures. The most common conditions impacting bones, muscles, and joints are osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and osteoarthritis, respectively. In addition to being key contributors to disability in the elderly, these conditions are all associated with a higher mortality risk. Although more studies are required, current evidence supports the use of various nonpharmacological (mainly exercise and nutrition) and/or pharmacological treatment modalities to help prevent and/or reverse these conditions. Incorporating lifestyle interventions involving exercise and nutrition at a younger age can help prevent the age-related, progressive deterioration in bones, muscles, and joints that can reduce mobility in later life. Established barriers to physical activities (e.g., poor health, social isolation) in men are important to consider for optimizing outcomes

Determination of the cyanobacterial toxin cylindrospermopsin in algal food supplements

For the analysis of blue–green algal food supplements for cylindrospermopsin (CYN), a C18 solid-phase extraction column and a polygraphitized carbon solid-phase extraction column in series was an effective procedure for the clean-up of extracts. Determination of CYN was by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet light detection. At extract spiking levels of CYN equivalent to 25–500 μg g−1, blue–green algal supplement recoveries were in the range 70–90%. CYN was not detected in ten samples of food supplements and one chocolate product, all containing blue–green algae. The limit of detection for the method was 16 μg g−1, and the limit of quantification was 52 μg g−1

Novel Bayesian Networks for Genomic Prediction of Developmental Traits in Biomass Sorghum.

The ability to connect genetic information between traits over time allow Bayesian networks to offer a powerful probabilistic framework to construct genomic prediction models. In this study, we phenotyped a diversity panel of 869 biomass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) lines, which had been genotyped with 100,435 SNP markers, for plant height (PH) with biweekly measurements from 30 to 120 days after planting (DAP) and for end-of-season dry biomass yield (DBY) in four environments. We evaluated five genomic prediction models: Bayesian network (BN), Pleiotropic Bayesian network (PBN), Dynamic Bayesian network (DBN), multi-trait GBLUP (MTr-GBLUP), and multi-time GBLUP (MTi-GBLUP) models. In fivefold cross-validation, prediction accuracies ranged from 0.46 (PBN) to 0.49 (MTr-GBLUP) for DBY and from 0.47 (DBN, DAP120) to 0.75 (MTi-GBLUP, DAP60) for PH. Forward-chaining cross-validation further improved prediction accuracies of the DBN, MTi-GBLUP and MTr-GBLUP models for PH (training slice: 30-45 DAP) by 36.4-52.4% relative to the BN and PBN models. Coincidence indices (target: biomass, secondary: PH) and a coincidence index based on lines (PH time series) showed that the ranking of lines by PH changed minimally after 45 DAP. These results suggest a two-level indirect selection method for PH at harvest (first-level target trait) and DBY (second-level target trait) could be conducted earlier in the season based on ranking of lines by PH at 45 DAP (secondary trait). With the advance of high-throughput phenotyping technologies, our proposed two-level indirect selection framework could be valuable for enhancing genetic gain per unit of time when selecting on developmental traits

Efficacy of nonselective optogenetic control of the medial septum over hippocampal oscillations: the influence of speed and implications for cognitive enhancement

Optogenetics holds great promise for both the dissection of neural circuits and the evaluation of theories centered on the temporal organizing properties of oscillations that underpin cognition. To date, no studies have examined the efficacy of optogenetic stimulation for altering hippocampal oscillations in freely moving wild-type rats, or how these alterations would affect performance on behavioral tasks. Here, we used an AAV virus to express ChR2 in the medial septum (MS) of wild-type rats, and optically stimulated septal neurons at 6 Hz and 30 Hz. We measured the corresponding effects of these stimulations on the oscillations of the MS and hippocampal subfields CA1 and CA3 in three different contexts: (1) With minimal movement while the rats sat in a confined chamber; (2) Explored a novel open field; and (3) Learned and performed a T-maze behavioral task. While control yellow light stimulation did not affect oscillations, 6-Hz blue light septal stimulations altered hippocampal theta oscillations in a manner that depended on the animal's mobility and speed. While the 30 Hz blue light septal stimulations only altered theta frequency in CA1 while the rat had limited mobility, it robustly increased the amplitude of hippocampal signals at 30 Hz in both regions in all three recording contexts. We found that animals were more likely to make a correct choice during Day 1 of T-maze training during both MS stimulation protocols than during control stimulation, and that improved performance was independent of theta frequency alterations

Radiographic assessment of the skeletons of Dolly and other clones finds no abnormal osteoarthritis

Our recent report detailing the health status of cloned sheep concluded that the animals had aged normally. This is in stark contrast to reports on Dolly (first animal cloned from adult cells) whose diagnoses of osteoarthritis (OA) at 5½ years of age led to considerable scientific concern and media debate over the possibility of early-onset age-related diseases in cloned animals. Our study included four 8-year old ewes derived from the cell line that gave rise to Dolly, yet none of our aged sheep showed clinical signs of OA, and they had radiographic evidence of only mild or, in one case, moderate OA. Given that the only formal record of OA in Dolly is a brief mention of a single joint in a conference abstract, this led us to question whether the original concerns about Dolly’s OA were justified. As none of the original clinical or radiographic records were preserved, we undertook radiographic examination of the skeletons of Dolly and her contemporary clones. We report a prevalence and distribution of radiographic-OA similar to that observed in naturally conceived sheep, and our healthy aged cloned sheep. We conclude that the original concerns that cloning had caused early-onset OA in Dolly were unfounded

Utilization of a deoxynucleoside diphosphate substrate by HIV reverse transcriptase

Background: Deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) are the normal substrates for DNA sysnthesis is catalyzed by polymerases such as HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT). However, substantial amounts of deoxynucleoside diphosphates (dNDPs) are also present in the cell. Use of dNDPs in HIV-1 DNA sysnthesis could have significant implications for the efficacy of nucleoside RT inhibitors such as AZT which are first line therapeutics fro treatment of HIV infection. Our earlier work on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) suggested that the interaction between the γ phosphate of the incoming dNTP and RT residue K65 in the active site is not essential for dNTP insertion, implying that this polymerase may be able to insert dNPs in addition to dNTPs. Methodology/Principal Findings: We examined the ability of recombinant wild type (wt) and mutant RTs with substitutions at residue K65 to utilize a dNDP substrate in primer extension reactions. We found that wild type HIV-1 RT indeed catalyzes incorporation of dNDP substrates whereas RT with mutations of residue K645 were unable to catalyze this reaction. Wild type HIV-1 RT also catalyzed the reverse reaction, inorganic phosphate-dependent phosphorolysis. Nucleotide-mediated phosphorolytic removal of chain-terminating 3′-terminal nucleoside inhibitors such as AZT forms the basis of HIV-1 resistance to such drugs, and this removal is enhanced by thymidine analog mutations (TAMs). We found that both wt and TAM-containing RTs were able to catalyze Pi-mediated phosphorolysis of 3′-terminal AZT at physiological levels of Pi with an efficacy similar to that for ATP-dependent AZT-excision. Conclusion: We have identified two new catalytic function of HIV-1 RT, the use of dNDPs as substrates for DNA synthesis, and the use of Pi as substrate for phosphorolytic removal of primer 3′-terminal nucleotides. The ability to insert dNDPs has been documented for only one other DNA polymerase The RB69 DNA polymerase and the reverse reaction employing inorganic phosphate has not been documented for any DNA polymerase. Importantly, our results show that Pi-mediated phosphorolysis can contribute to AZT resistance and indicates that factors that influence HIV resistance to AZT are more complex than previously appreciated. © 2008 Garforth et al