Acute effects of intravenous nisoldipine on left ventricular function and coronary hemodynamics

The hemodynamic effects of nisoldipine were investigated in 16 patients with suspected coronary artery disease who underwent routine cardiac catheterization. Nisoldipine was given intravenously in a dose of 6 micrograms/kg over 3 minutes and measurements made before and after drug administration during spontaneous and matched atrial paced heart rate. During sinus rhythm, nisoldipine produced a significant increase in heart rate (19%, p less than 10(-5]. Left ventricular systolic pressure decreased 28% (p less than 10(-6) and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure did not change significantly (5%, difference not significant). Coronary sinus and great cardiac vein blood flow increased by 21% (p less than 0.02) and 25% (p less than 0.005), respectively, after nisoldipine administration. Simultaneously, mean aortic pressure decreased 33% (p less than 10(-6]; consequently, the global and regional coronary vascular resistances decreased by 50% (p less than 10(-4]. The decreases in global (-8%) and regional (-4%) myocardial oxygen consumption did not reach statistical significance. A 6% (not significant) increase in end-diastolic volume and an 11% (p less than 0.002) decrease in end-systolic volume resulted in an increase of 21% in stroke volume (p less than 10(-4] with a consistent increase in ejection fraction (+16%, p less than 10(-5]. Total systemic vascular resistance was reduced by 30% (p less than 0.0002). During spontaneous heart rate and matched atrial pacing, the time constant of isovolumic relaxation as assessed by a biexponential model, was significantly shortened.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

Acute effects of intravenous nisoldipine on left ventricular function and coronary hemodynamics

The hemodynamic effects of nisoldipine were investigated in 16 patients with suspected coronary artery disease who underwent routine cardiac catheterization. Nisoldipine was given intravenously in a dose of 6 micrograms/kg over 3 minutes and measurements made before and after drug administration during spontaneous and matched atrial paced heart rate. During sinus rhythm, nisoldipine produced a significant increase in heart rate (19%, p less than 10(-5]. Left ventricular systolic pressure decreased 28% (p less than 10(-6) and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure did not change significantly (5%, difference not significant). Coronary sinus and great cardiac vein blood flow increased by 21% (p less than 0.02) and 25% (p less than 0.005), respectively, after nisoldipine administration. Simultaneously, mean aortic pressure decreased 33% (p less than 10(-6]; consequently, the global and regional coronary vascular resistances decreased by 50% (p less than 10(-4]. The decreases in global (-8%) and regional (-4%) myocardial oxygen consumption did not reach statistical significance. A 6% (not significant) increase in end-diastolic volume and an 11% (p less than 0.002) decrease in end-systolic volume resulted in an increase of 21% in stroke volume (p less than 10(-4] with a consistent increase in ejection fraction (+16%, p less than 10(-5]. Total systemic vascular resistance was reduced by 30% (p less than 0.0002). During spontaneous heart rate and matched atrial pacing, the time constant of isovolumic relaxation as assessed by a biexponential model, was significantly shortened.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

Welfare in farmed decapod crustaceans, with particular reference to Penaeus vannamei

The farming of decapod crustaceans is a key economic driver in many countries, with production reaching around 9.4 million tonnes (USD 69.3 billion) in 2018. These efforts are currently dominated by the farming of Pacific whiteleg shrimp, Penaeus vannamei, which translates into approximately 167 billion farmed P. vannamei being harvested annually. Further production growth is expected in the future and hence the need for more research into its health and welfare is required. Herein, from an extensive survey of the available literature, we scrutinise farming practices and the challenges associated with the production of P. vannamei from an animal-centric welfare perspective (1), we propose potential welfare indicators (2) and we critically review current scientific evidence of sentience in penaeid shrimp among other commercially important decapods (3), since it is plausible that in the near future not only the largest, but in fact all decapod crustaceans will receive welfare protection. This review highlights that despite the wide knowledge on crustacean stress physiology and immunology as well as disease control, still little is known about some key parameters related to the five welfare dimensions. We recommend that further research should focus on developing a systematic integrated welfare assessment encompassing all the different aspects of the crustaceans farming and life cycle up to slaughter. Furthermore, direct and indirect species-specific operational welfare indicators should be developed for all decapod crustaceans currently farmed, similar to the ones suggested in this review for P. vannamei

Transcriptomic differences in MSA clinical variants

Background: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare oligodendroglial synucleinopathy of unknown etiopathogenesis including two major clinical variants with predominant parkinsonism (MSA-P) or cerebellar dysfunction (MSA-C). Objective: To identify novel disease mechanisms we performed a blood transcriptomic study investigating differential gene expression changes and biological process alterations in MSA and its clinical subtypes. Methods: We compared the transcriptome from rigorously gender and age-balanced groups of 10 probable MSA-P, 10 probable MSA-C cases, 10 controls from the Catalan MSA Registry (CMSAR), and 10 Parkinson Disease (PD) patients. Results: Gene set enrichment analyses showed prominent positive enrichment in processes related to immunity and inflammation in all groups, and a negative enrichment in cell differentiation and development of the nervous system in both MSA-P and PD, in contrast to protein translation and processing in MSA-C. Gene set enrichment analysis using expression patterns in different brain regions as a reference also showed distinct results between the different synucleinopathies. Conclusions: In line with the two major phenotypes described in the clinic, our data suggest that gene expression and biological processes might be differentially affected in MSA-P and MSA-C. Future studies using larger sample sizes are warranted to confirm these results

Circadian rhythm of preferred temperature in fish: Behavioural thermoregulation linked to daily photocycles in zebrafish and Nile tilapia

Ectothermic vertebrates, e.g. fish, maintain their body temperature within a specific physiological range mainly through behavioural thermoregulation. Here, we characterise the presence of daily rhythms of thermal preference in two phylogenetically distant and well-studied fish species: the zebrafish (Danio rerio), an experimental model, and the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), an aquaculture species. We created a non-continuous temperature gradient using multichambered tanks according to the natural environmental range for each species. Each species was allowed to freely choose their preferred temperature during the 24h cycle over a long-term period. Both species displayed strikingly consistent temporal daily rhythms of thermal preference with higher temperatures being selected during the second half of the light phase and lower temperatures at the end of the dark phase, with mean acrophases at Zeitgeber Time (ZT) 5.37 h (zebrafish) and ZT 12.5 h (tilapia). Interestingly, when moved to the experimental tank, only tilapia displayed consistent preference for higher temperatures and took longer time to establish the thermal rhythms. Our findings highlight the importance of integrating both light-driven daily rhythm and thermal choice to refine our understanding of fish biology and improve the management and welfare of the diversity of fish species used in research and food production

Effects of simulated motion frequency related to road quality on the welfare and recovery of transported largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Farmed fish are commonly transported between various facilities by road vehicles, resulting in inevitable exposure to uncontrolled and oscillatory movements, likely exacerbated by poor road conditions. The effect of road quality on livestock has been studied during live transport, but research into the impact of motion has been rarely examined with fish. This study investigated the effects of different motion frequencies related to road quality on the welfare and recovery of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Three motion frequencies were examined in this study using a non-transported control, a simulated “rough” transport treatment, and a simulated “smooth” transport treatment. Live transport was carried out for 3 h using a motion simulation platform with a movement frequency of 1.0 and 1.8 Hz for the smooth and rough treatment, respectively. Control fish were kept in static tanks for the same duration to obtain basal physiology, behaviour, and flesh quality. Water parameters were measured before and immediately after simulated transport in all groups. Behavioural, physiological, and muscle parameters were measured before simulated transport, as well as 0 h and 24 h post-transport. Total ammonia nitrogen levels increased in all treatments over time (p < 0.001), with significantly higher values observed in transported groups. Non-transported fish displayed increased biting (p = 0.025), chasing (p = 0.010), and threatening (p = 0.003) behaviour over time, suggesting potential fasting and confinement stress. During the post-transport period, a significant main effect of treatment and timepoint on freezing and thigmotaxis behaviour was found, with an increase in these behaviours over time and significantly higher levels between control and smooth transported groups. Nevertheless, aggressive behaviours were affected only by timepoint, with an increase observed between 0 h and 24 h post-transport. Neither plasma biochemical indicators nor flesh quality differed between treatments, while a significant effect of timepoint was found for plasma glucose (p = 0.045), plasma lactate (p = 0.021), and muscle pH (p < 0.001). Our study consequently did not find rough transport to impact fish physiology and flesh quality more than smooth transport, but behavioural results suggest there was a strong combined effect of fasting, exposure to a novel environment, and confinement over time. Future research would be valuable to study these effects on the welfare of transported bass, allowing for a longer recovery time and the use of potential mitigation options such as environmental enrichment

Sleep Problems Are Related to a Worse Quality of Life and a Greater Non-Motor Symptoms Burden in Parkinson’s Disease

COPPADIS Study Group.[Introduction] The aim of the present study was to examine the frequency of self-reported sleep problems and their associated factors in a large cohort of PD patients.[Methods] PD patients and controls, recruited from 35 centers of Spain from the COPPADIS cohort were included in this cross-sectional study. Sleep problems were assessed by the Spanish version of the Parkinson’s disease Sleep Scale version 1 (PDSS-1). An overall score below 82 or a score below 5 on at least 1 item was defined as sleep problems.[Results] The frequency of sleep problems was nearly double in PD patients compared to controls: 65.8% (448/681) vs 33.5% (65/206) (p < 0.0001). Mean total PDSS score was lower in PD patients than controls: 114.9 ± 28.8 vs 132.8 ± 16.3 (p < 0.0001). Quality of life (QoL) was worse in PD patients with sleep problems compared to those without: PDQ-39SI, 19.3 ± 14 vs 13 ± 11.6 (p < 0.0001); EUROHIS-QoL8, 3.7 ± 0.5 vs 3.9 ± 0.5 (p < 0.0001). Non-motor symptoms burden (NMSS; OR = 1.029; 95%CI 1.015–1.043; p < 0.0001) and impulse control behaviors (QUIP-RS; OR = 1.054; 95%CI 1.009–1.101; p = 0.018) were associated with sleep problems after adjustment for age, gender, disease duration, daily equivalent levodopa dose, H&Y, UPDRS-III, UPDRS-IV, PD-CRS, BDI-II, NPI, VAS-Pain, VAFS, FOGQ, and total number of non-antiparkinsonian treatments.[Conclusion] Sleep problems were frequent in PD patients and were related to both a worse QoL and a greater non-motor symptoms burden in PD. These findings call for increased awareness of sleep problems in PD patients.Peer reviewe

Addressing the welfare needs of farmed lumpfish: knowledge gaps, challenges and solutions

Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L.) are increasingly being used as cleaner fish to control parasitic sea lice, one of the most important threats to salmon farming. However, lumpfish cannot survive feeding solely on sea lice, and their mortality in salmon net pens can be high, which has welfare, ethical and economic implications. The industry is under increasing pressure to improve the welfare of lumpfish, but little guidance exists on how this can be achieved. We undertook a knowledge gap and prioritisa tion exercise using a Delphi approach with participants from the fish farming sector, animal welfare, academia and regulators to assess consensus on the main challenges and potential solutions for improving lumpfish welfare. Consensus among participants on the utility of 5 behavioural and 12 physical welfare indicators was high (87–89%), reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79, 95CI = 0.69–0.92) and independent of participant background. Participants highlighted fin erosion and body damage as the most use ful and practical operational welfare indicators, and blood parameters and behav ioural indicators as the least practical. Species profiling revealed profound differences between Atlantic salmon and lumpfish in relation to behaviour, habitat preferences, nutritional needs and response to stress, suggesting that applying a common set of welfare standards to both species cohabiting in salmon net-pens may not work well for lumpfish. Our study offers 16 practical solutions for improving the welfare of lumpfish and illustrates the merits of the Delphi approach for achieving consensus among stakeholders on welfare needs, targeting research where is most needed and generating workable solutions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio