Tics are caused by alterations in prefrontal areas, thalamus and putamen, while changes in the cingulate gyrus reflect secondary compensatory mechanisms

BACKGROUND: Despite strong evidence that the pathophysiology of Tourette syndrome (TS) involves structural and functional disturbances of the basal ganglia and cortical frontal areas, findings from in vivo imaging studies have provided conflicting results. In this study we used whole brain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the microstructural integrity of white matter pathways and brain tissue in 19 unmedicated, adult, male patients with TS “only” (without comorbid psychiatric disorders) and 20 age- and sex-matched control subjects. RESULTS: Compared to normal controls, TS patients showed a decrease in the fractional anisotropy index (FA) bilaterally in the medial frontal gyrus, the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus, the middle occipital gyrus, the right cingulate gyrus, and the medial premotor cortex. Increased apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were detected in the left cingulate gyrus, prefrontal areas, left precentral gyrus, and left putamen. There was a negative correlation between tic severity and FA values in the left superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus bilaterally, cingulate gyrus bilaterally, and ventral posterior lateral nucleus of the right thalamus, and a positive correlation in the body of the corpus callosum, left thalamus, right superior temporal gyrus, and left parahippocampal gyrus. There was also a positive correlation between regional ADC values and tic severity in the left cingulate gyrus, putamen bilaterally, medial frontal gyrus bilaterally, left precentral gyrus, and ventral anterior nucleus of the left thalamus. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm prior studies suggesting that tics are caused by alterations in prefrontal areas, thalamus and putamen, while changes in the cingulate gyrus seem to reflect secondary compensatory mechanisms. Due to the study design, influences from comorbidities, gender, medication and age can be excluded

Anomalous Origin and Retropulmonary Course of an Atherosclerotic Stenosed Left Circumflex Coronary Artery

We here present the case of a rarely seen anomalous origin and retropulmonary course of the left circumflex artery from the proximal right coronary artery. The patient suffered from coronary ischemia due to stenotic lesions both in the aberrant circumflex coronary artery and in the first and second diagonal branches. Coronary bypass operation was performed

Unsteady Thick Airfoil Aerodynamics: Experiments, Computation, and Theory

An experimental, computational and theoretical investigation was carried out to study the aerodynamic loads acting on a relatively thick NACA 0018 airfoil when subjected to pitching and surging, individually and synchronously. Both pre-stall and post-stall angles of attack were considered. Experiments were carried out in a dedicated unsteady wind tunnel, with large surge amplitudes, and airfoil loads were estimated by means of unsteady surface mounted pressure measurements. Theoretical predictions were based on Theodorsen's and Isaacs' results as well as on the relatively recent generalizations of van der Wall. Both two- and three-dimensional computations were performed on structured grids employing unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS). For pure surging at pre-stall angles of attack, the correspondence between experiments and theory was satisfactory; this served as a validation of Isaacs theory. Discrepancies were traced to dynamic trailing-edge separation, even at low angles of attack. Excellent correspondence was found between experiments and theory for airfoil pitching as well as combined pitching and surging; the latter appears to be the first clear validation of van der Wall's theoretical results. Although qualitatively similar to experiment at low angles of attack, two-dimensional URANS computations yielded notable errors in the unsteady load effects of pitching, surging and their synchronous combination. The main reason is believed to be that the URANS equations do not resolve wake vorticity (explicitly modeled in the theory) or the resulting rolled-up un- steady flow structures because high values of eddy viscosity tend to \smear" the wake. At post-stall angles, three-dimensional computations illustrated the importance of modeling the tunnel side walls

Freezing Strip Loin and Top Round Steaks Improves Warner-Bratzler Shear Force

Postmortem aging of steaks is a common practice used to improve tenderness of beef steaks. The impact of proteolysis and improvement in tenderness due to aging varies among muscles. When designing research protocols, samples for Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) are often frozen for later analysis because of convenience and time limitations. Freezing stops postmortem aging and allows for storage until meat can be cooked for WBSF and/or sensory analysis. However freezing meat may cause damage to cell membranes resulting in lower Warner-Bratzler shear force (improved mechanical tenderness), lower water holding capacity, and greater moisture loss during cooking. Several researchers have indicated that freezing strip loin (Longissimus muscle) steaks may lower Warner-Bratzler shear force (improve tenderness) compared with those not previously frozen and sheared fresh. However, these results have been inconclusive for steaks from other muscles. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of postmortem aging time and freezing on Warner-Bratzler shear force of six muscles from the beef hindquarter

A supplement containing multiple types of gluconeogenic substrates alters intake but not productivity of heat-stressed Afshari lambs

Citation: Mahjoubi, E., Amanlou, H., Yazdi, M. H., Aghaziarati, N., Noori, G. R., Vahl, C. I., . . . Baumgard, L. H. (2016). A supplement containing multiple types of gluconeogenic substrates alters intake but not productivity of heat-stressed Afshari lambs. Journal of Animal Science, 94(6), 2497-2505. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9697Thirty-two Afshari lambs were used in a completely randomized design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments to evaluate a nutritional supplement designed to provide multiple gluconeogenic precursors during heat stress (HS). Lambs were housed in thermal neutral (TN) conditions and fed ad libitum for 8 d to obtain covariate data (period 1 [P1]) for the subsequent experimental period (period 2 [P2]). During P2, which lasted 9 d, half of the lambs were subjected to HS and the other 16 lambs were maintained in TN conditions but pair fed (PFTN) to the HS lambs. Half of the lambs in each thermal regime were fed (top-dressed) 100 g/d of a feed supplement designed to provide gluconeogenic precursors (8 lambs in HS [heat stress with Glukosa {HSG}] and 8 lambs in PFTN [pair-fed thermal neutral with Glukosa]) and the other lambs in both thermal regimes were fed only the basal control diet (HS without Glukosa [HSC] and pair-fed thermal neutral without Glukosa). Heat stress decreased DMI (14%) and by design there were no differences between the thermal treatments, but HSG lambs had increased DMI (7.5%; P < 0.05) compared with the HSC lambs. Compared with PFTN lambs, rectal temperature and skin temperature at the rump, shoulder, and legs of HS lambs were increased (P < 0.05) at 0700 and 1400 h. Rectal temperature at 1400 h decreased for HSG lambs (0.15 +/- 0.03 degrees C; P < 0.05) compared with HSC lambs. Despite similar DMI between thermal treatments, ADG for HS and PFTN lambs in P2 was decreased 55 and 85%, respectively, compared with lambs in P1 (P < 0.01). Although the prefeeding glucose concentration was not affected by thermal treatment or diet, HSG lambs had increased postfeeding glucose concentration compared with HSC lambs (P < 0.05). In contrast to the glucose responses, circulating insulin was influenced only by thermal treatment; HS lambs had increased insulin concentration (P < 0.01) before feeding and decreased concentration (P < 0.05) after feeding compared with PFTN lambs. Heat-stressed lambs had decreased NEFA concentration before feeding (P < 0.01) but not after feeding relative to PFTN lambs. Although this nutritional strategy did not affect ADG, the lower rectal temperature in HSG lambs indicates that dietary inclusion of a mixture of glucogenic precursors can potentially benefit animal health during HS

Interaction between nutrition and Eimeria acervulina infection in broilers chickens: Development of an experimental infection

In three experiments broiler chickens were inoculated with sporulated Eimeria acervulina oocysts at 18 d of age. Feed intake, body-weight gain, brush-border enzyme activities, fat digestion, protein digestion and protein retention were measured. Body-weight gain was reduced during the acute phase of the infection and increased during the recovery phase of the infection. Feed intake was decreased on day 4 and day 5 postinfection (PI) and increased from day 7 to day 11 PI. Maltase (EC 3.2.1.20) and sucrase (EC 3.2.1.48) activities were decreased on day 5 PI in all intestinal segments. In Expts 2 and 3, however, maltase activity was increased in the ileum. Fat digestion was decreased from day 2 to day 11 PI. N digestion and retention were decreased from day 2 to day 11 PI. Poultry: Coccidiosis: Infection made1 Coccidiosis in chickens is an intestinal infection caused by protozoa that invade the mucosal epithelium. Coccidiosis is characterized by reduced body-weight gain of the host and malabsorption of ingested nutrients Morphological changes in the affected area include shortened or flattened villi, decreased villous surface and elongated crypts The aim of the present study was to obtain an experimental infection model in broiler chickens in order to examine effects that an infection, that merely affects duodenum and part of the jejunum, can have on digestion and absorptive capacities. In three experiments the effects of an Eimeria acervulina infection on feed intake, body-weight gain, disaccharidase activities, fat digestion, protein digestion and protein retention were measured. Expt 1 was used as a pilot experiment. The highest level of infection of Expt 1 was rounded up in Expt 2, in which a pair-fed control was used in order to eliminate effects of reduced feed intake. In Expt 3 lower levels of infections were chosen in order to follow dose-response effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS Animals and diet Female, Ross broiler chickens were obtained as 1-d-old birds, from a commercial hatchery. Chickens were kept in groups on electrically heated wire-floored batteries under constant lighting. Unmedicated feed and water were available ad libitum, unless stated otherwise. All * For reprints

Effects of Limit Feeding Cold Stressed Growing Calves in the Morning Versus the Evening, as well as Bunk Line Sharing on Performance

Objective: To determine the response of cold stressed growing calves to being fed in the evening instead of morning hours, as well as the effect of bunk line sharing. Study Description: Crossbred steers (n = 360) of Texas, Oklahoma, and Idaho origin were blocked by weight into four size groups and randomly assigned to pens, which were randomly allocated to one of five treatments. All steers received a diet formulated to provide 60 Mcal net energy for gain/100 lb of dry matter and were limit fed with a target of 2.0% of their body weight in dry matter intake. Treatments consisted of being fed in the morning (AM), in the evening (PM), fed half of their feed in the morning and half in the evening (50/50), and two treatments that allowed cattle to be fed in the same pen yet were rotated twice daily utilizing a holding pen, allowing for half of the calves to be fed in the morning (Shuttle AM) and half to be fed in the evening (Shuttle PM), doubling the use of the pen and bunk line. The steers were fed for 77 days and individual animal weights were taken on day -1 (allocation), day 0 (initial processing), day 64/65 (blood sampling), and day 77 (final weights). Plasma glucose was obtained individually on day 64 and 65, and pen weights were collected on days 0, 21, 28, 35, 56, 63, 70, and 77. The Bottom Line: When limit feeding cold stressed growing calves, neither shifting from morning feed delivery to evening feed delivery, nor bunk line sharing signifi­cantly improves the efficiency of feed conversion

High Energy Digestible Fiber-based Diets Improve Efficiency in Growing Heifers

An inherent challenge of long hauled, highly stressed calves is decreased feed intake upon destination arrival. Highly stressed, newly received stocker calves not consuming adequate amounts of energy are prone to a variety of disorders such as Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex and decreased performance throughout the feeding period. One mechanism that can be used to increase energy intake upon arrival is to make the diet more energy dense. Often times, this is accomplished by the addition of cereal grains high in fermentable carbohydrate including starch. Unfortunately, this has also been linked to increasing morbidity due to metabolic disorders. The goal of this study was to analyze the effects of limit-fed diets containing increasing amounts of energy from highly digestible fiber in by-product feeds on health and performance of newly received stocker calves

CD28 between tolerance and autoimmunity: The side effects of animal models [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

Regulation of immune responses is critical for ensuring pathogen clearance and for preventing reaction against self-antigens. Failure or breakdown of immunological tolerance results in autoimmunity. CD28 is an important co-stimulatory receptor expressed on T cells that, upon specific ligand binding, delivers signals essential for full T-cell activation and for the development and homeostasis of suppressive regulatory T cells. Many in vivo mouse models have been used for understanding the role of CD28 in the maintenance of immune homeostasis, thus leading to the development of CD28 signaling modulators that have been approved for the treatment of some autoimmune diseases. Despite all of this progress, a deeper understanding of the differences between the mouse and human receptor is required to allow a safe translation of pre-clinical studies in efficient therapies. In this review, we discuss the role of CD28 in tolerance and autoimmunity and the clinical efficacy of drugs that block or enhance CD28 signaling, by highlighting the success and failure of pre-clinical studies, when translated to humans