Anti-inflammatory treatments in calving dairy cows: effects on haematological and metabolic profiles

High yielding dairy cows are particularly vulnerable during the transition period to any event able to stimulate immune system. In contrast, response to these events is easily controlled in other stages of lactation

Change of digesta passage rate in dairy cows after different acute stress situations

Six dairy cows received 3 treatments after morning meal, in a double Latin square design. Treatments were ACTH challenge (SYN), hoof trimming (TRIM) and saline (CTR). Measurements included: plasma cortisol and metabolic profile during the 24 h after treatments; the rate of digesta passage, faecal dry matter and pH. Both acute stress situations vs CTR caused a rapid and similar rise in plasma cortisol (P<0.001), while plasma glucose increased only in response to TRIM. Plasma concentrations of urea and BHB were increased for several hours after both stress situations. Most importantly, the transit time of digesta was reduced with SYN and TRIM (P<0.05). Our data demonstrate a reduced forestomach motility during acute stress and confirm a possible negative linkage between stress and gut functions, perhaps independent of diet composition. The mechanism seems linked to increased ACTH or cortisol rather than corticotrophin-releasing factor

Blood inflammatory indices in goats around kidding

AbstractThe transition period of goats is often characterized by serious metabolic problems, mainly before parturition. These troubles are related to negative energy balance status, however all causes are not totally defined. To improve the knowledge about pathogenesis in this phase we have monitored the changes of some blood indices of lipomobilization and inflammation. Six blood samples were collected from 10 primiparous and 25 multiparous "Camosciata delle Alpi" goats after morning milking. Samples were collected around 20 and 7 days before parturition and on days 0, 3, 6 and 12 of lactation. Albumin, total protein, haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, total cholesterol, NEFA, β-OH-butyrate (BHB), Ca, Mg and Zn were determined. Goats were grouped according to their BHB level before parturition: low (≤0.6 mmol/l; LOB), average (0.6÷1.09; AVB) and high (≥1.09 mmol/l; HIB) level. Furthermore, the AVB group was divided according to plasma haptoglobin level before parturition: low (<0.5 g/l) or high. The statistical..

Evaluation of carcass quality, body and pulmonary lesions detected at the abattoir in heavy pigs subjected or not to tail docking

BackgroundNowadays, body and tail lesions and respiratory disease are some of the greatest problems affecting the health and welfare of pigs. The aim of the study was to measure the prevalence of pleurisy, bronchopneumonia (enzootic pneumonia like lesions) and lesions on tail and body of heavy pigs subjected or not to tail docking through the inspection in Italian abattoirs. Additionally, the effect of tail docking and season was investigated on carcass quality (weight, % of lean meat, and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) classification). For this purpose, a total 17.256 carcasses belonging to 171 batches from 103 farms were inspected in an Italian abattoir between 2019 and 2022. Enzootic pneumonia (EP) like lesions were scored according to the Madec and Derrien method, while pleurisy was scored using the Italian Slaughterhouse pleuritic evaluation system (SPES). For the tail and body, the lesions were scored according to Welfare Quality. The lesion score index (LSI) was calculated for each area. Data were analysed using a general linear model (GLM) including tail caudectomy, season and distance of the farm from the abattoir.ResultsThe warm season increased the percentage of lesions in carcasses in all parts of the body observed (P &lt; 0.0001). The presence of undocked tail increased the LSI of the tail (P &lt; 0.0001). The percentage of limbs lesions with score 2 and limbs LSI increase with increasing duration of transport (coef. = 0.003, P &lt; 0.001; coef. = 0.008, P &lt; 0.001; respectively). The hot carcass weight and the percentage of carcasses included in the PDO were higher in batches with docked tails (P = 0.027; P &lt; 0.001, respectively), while the percentage of lean meat was higher in batches with undocked tails (P &lt; 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the percentage of carcasses included in PDO and the LSI of tail (r = - 0.422; P &lt; 0.001).ConclusionsIn conclusion, the presence of the undocked tail and the warm season can be considered risk factors for the prevalence of tail lesions, while long transport can increase limb lesions. Furthermore, the carcass weight and meat quality were negatively influenced by tail lesions

The effect of a single, early-life administration of a probiotic on piglet growth performance and faecal microbiota until weaning

The establishment and maintenance of a balanced gut microbiota in early life play a pivotal role in pigs. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the administration of a single early-life probiotic on piglet faecal microbiota and growth performance until weaning. Forty-eight hours after birth (d0), 820 piglets were allocated into 4 groups (205 piglets/16 litters/group) and orally inoculated as follows: 1) Control (CO: 4 mL of pure water); 2) Saccharomyces (SA: 4 mL containing a total of 1 × 1010 CFU of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM-1079; 3) Enterococcus (EF: 4 mL containing a total of 1 × 1010 CFU of Enterococcus faecium lactiferm WS200); 4) a mix of the two probiotics at the same doses (SAEF). At d7 and d18, the piglets were weighed, and faeces from the piglets (18 piglets/group from 6 sows/group) and their mothers were analysed for a microbial profile by sequencing the v3-v4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Data were arranged in a 2x2 factorial design. The probiotic supplement improved piglet ADG in the periods d7-d18 (p &lt;.0001) and d0-d18 (p &lt;.05). From d7 to d18, the SA group tended to have lower mortality than the CO group (p =.08). The probiotic supplement significantly affected the microbial beta diversity at d7 (p &lt;.05). The SA probiotic favoured the colonisation of Erysipelatoclostridium and Christensenella, and the EF probiotic the colonisation of Lachnospiraceae. These results highlighted that the administration of a single early-life probiotic supplement could improve piglet performance and shape the faecal microbial profile.Highlights A single dose of E. faecium or S. cerevisiae improved piglet performance in the pre-weaning period. The early administration of probiotics shaped the faecal microbial profile of the piglets and contributed to improved growth performance

Prevalencia, severidad y nesecidad no satisfechas del tratamiento de los trastornos de ansiedad, relacionados con sustancias, del estado de ánimo y del control de los impulsos en adultos según el Estudio Nacional de Salud Mental, Colombia, 2003

ResumenContexto: Poco se conoce de la severidad y de los correlatos de transtornos mentales sin tratamiento en Colombia.[Posada JA, Trevisi C. Prevalencia, severidad y nesecidad no satisfechas del tratamiento de los trastornos de ansiedad, relacionados con sustancias, del estado de ánimo y del control de los impulsos en adultos según el Estudio Nacional de Salud Mental, Colombia, 2003. MedUNAB 2004; 7:65-72].Palbras clave: trastornos mentales, epidemiologÍa, estudio nacional de salud mental

Correction to: Assessment of Biolog Ecoplate™ method for functional metabolic diversity of aerotolerant pig fecal microbiota

Correction to: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, (2021), 105, 14-15, (6033-6045), 10.1007/s00253-021-11449-

High performance platinum contacts on high-flux CdZnTe detectors

The need for direct X-ray detection under high photon flux with moderate or high energies (30–100&nbsp;keV range) has strongly increased with the rise of the 4th Generation Synchrotron Light Sources, characterised by extremely brilliant beamlines, and of other applications such as spectral computed tomography in medicine and non-destructive tests for industry. The novel Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) developed by Redlen Technologies can be considered the reference material for high-flux applications (HF-CZT). The enhanced charge transport properties of the holes allow the mitigation of the effects of radiation induced polarization phenomena, typically observed in standard CZT materials (LF-CZT) under high photon flux. However, standard LF-CZT electrical contacts led to inacceptable high dark leakage currents on HF-CZT devices. In this work, a detailed study on the characteristics of new optimized sputtered platinum electrical contacts on HF-CZT detectors is reported. The results from electrical and spectroscopic investigations, showed the best performances on HF-CZT detectors with platinum anode, coupled with both platinum or gold cathode. The morphology, structure, and composition of Pt/CZT contact have been analysed by means of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) on microscopic lamellas obtained by Focused Ion Beam (FIB), highlighting the presence of CdTeO3 oxide at the metal semiconductor interface