The effects of prostaglandin E-2 treatment on the secretory function of mare corpus luteum depends on the site of application : an in vivo study

Research Areas: Veterinary SciencesWe examined the effect of prostaglandin (PG) E2 on the secretory function of equine corpus luteum (CL), according to the application site: intra-CL injection vs. an intrauterine (intra-U) administration. Moreover, the effect of intra-CL injection vs. intra-U administration of both luteotropic factors: PGE2 and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) as a positive control, on CL function was additionally compared. Mares were assigned to the groups (n = 6 per group): (1) an intra-CL saline injection (control); (2) an intra-CL injection of PGE2 (5 mg/ml); (3) an intra-CL injection of hCG (1,500 IU/ml); (4) an intra-U saline administration (control); (5) an intra-U administration of PGE2 (5 mg/5 ml); (6) an intra-U administration of hCG (1,500 IU/5 ml). Progesterone (P4) and PGE2 concentrations were measured in blood plasma samples collected at −2, −1, and 0 (pre-treatment), and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 24 h after treatments. Moreover, effects of different doses of PGE2 application on the concentration of total PGF2α (PGF2α and its main metabolite 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2α– PGFM) was determined. The time point of PGE2, hCG, or saline administration was defined as hour “0” of the experiment. An intra-CL injection of PGE2 increased P4 and PGE2 concentrations between 3 and 4 h or at 3 and 12 h, respectively (p < 0.05). While intra-U administration of PGE2 elevated P4 concentrations between 8 and 24 h, PGE2 was upregulated at 1 h and between 3 and 4 h (p < 0.05). An intra-CL injection of hCG increased P4 concentrations at 1, 6, and 12 h (p < 0.05), while its intra-U administration enhanced P4 and PGE2 concentrations between 1 and 12 h or at 3 h and between 6 and 10 h, respectively (p < 0.05). An application of PGE2, dependently on the dose, supports equine CL function, regardless of the application site, consequently leading to differences in both P4 and PGE2 concentrations in blood plasmainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Quantifying the impact of novel metastatic cancer therapies on health inequalities in survival outcomes

Background: Novel therapies in metastatic cancers have contributed to improvements in survival outcomes, yet real-world data suggest that improvements may be mainly driven by those patient groups who already had the highest survival outcomes. This study aimed to develop and apply a framework for quantifying the impact of novel metastatic cancer therapies on health inequalities in survival outcomes based on published aggregate data.Methods: Nine (N = 9) novel therapies for metastatic breast cancer (mBC), metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) were identified, 3 for each cancer type. Individual patient data (IPD) for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were replicated from published Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves. For each cancer type, data were pooled for the novel therapies and comparators separately and weighted based on sample size to ensure equal contribution of each therapy in the analyses. Parametric (mixture) distributions were fitted to the weighted data to model and extrapolate survival. The inequality in survival was defined by the absolute difference between groups with the highest and lowest survival for 2 stratifications: one for which survival was stratified into 2 groups and one using 5 groups. Additionally, a linear regression model was fitted to survival estimates for the 5 groups, with the regression coefficient or slope considered as the inequality gradient (IG). The impact of the pooled novel therapies was subsequently defined as the change in survival inequality relative to the pooled comparator therapies. A probabilistic analysis was performed to quantify parameter uncertainty.Results: The analyses found that novel therapies were associated with significant increases in inequalities in survival outcomes relative to their comparators, except in terms of OS for mNSCLC. For mBC, the inequalities in OS increased by 13.9 (95% CI: 1.4; 26.6) months, or 25.0%, if OS was stratified in 5 groups. The IG for mBC increased by 3.2 (0.3; 6.1) months, or 24.7%. For mCRC, inequalities increased by 6.7 (3.0; 10.5) months, or 40.4%, for stratification based on 5 groups; the IG increased by 1.6 (0.7; 2.4) months, or 40.2%. For mNSCLC, inequalities decreased by 14.9 (−84.5; 19.0) months, or 12.2%, for the 5-group stratification; the IG decreased by 2.0 (−16.1; 5.1) months, or 5.5%. Results for the stratification based on 2 groups demonstrated significant increases in OS inequality for all cancer types. In terms of PFS, the increases in survival inequalities were larger in a relative sense compared with OS. For mBC, PFS inequalities increased by 8.7 (5.9; 11.6) months, or 71.7%, for stratification based on 5 groups; the IG increased by 2.0 (1.3; 2.6) months, or 67.6%. For mCRC, PFS inequalities increased by 5.4 (4.2; 6.6) months, or 147.6%, for the same stratification. The IG increased by 1.3 (1.1; 1.6) months, or 172.7%. For mNSCLC, inequalities increased by 18.2 (12.5; 24.4) months, or 93.8%, for the 5-group stratification; the IG increased by 4.0 (2.8; 5.4) months, or 88.1%. Results from the stratification based on 2 groups were similar.Conclusion: Novel therapies for mBC, mCRC, and mNSCLC are generally associated with significant increases in survival inequalities relative to their comparators in randomized controlled trials, though inequalities in OS for mNSCLC decreased nonsignificantly when stratified based on 5 groups. Although further research using real-world IPD is warranted to assess how, for example, social determinants of health affect the impact of therapies on health inequalities among patient groups, the proposed framework can provide important insights in the absence of such data

Wpływ plazmogenów na produktywność morfogenezy u truskawki (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.)

Plasmogenes are largely located in mitochondria or plastids and they can infl uence the inheritance of many plant characteristics. This phenomenon is called cytoplasmic inheritance and can be detected on the basis of the expression of a trait in progeny F1 obtained from single and reciprocal crosses. The aim of this study was to examine the cytoplasmic inheritance of in vitro productivity of morphogenesis in three genotypes of Fragaria x ananassa Duch., i.e. the cultivars ‘Dukat’, ‘Teresa’ and the breeding clone no. 590. Single and reciprocal crosses were done according to Griffi ng’s method 3. The value of general combining ability (GCA) indicated cv. ‘Teresa’ as the best maternal component for crossing and ‘Dukat’ as the worst. The negative reciprocal cross effects (rij) revealed the cytoplasmic inheritance for cv. ‘Dukat’ as maternal form and positive rij for the breeding clone no. 590 indicated the nuclear inheritance of morphogenetic ability. Cv. ‘Teresa’, as maternal component, showed nuclear inheritance of that trait in crossing with cv. ‘Dukat’ and with 590 cytoplasmic inheritance. The productivity of morphogenesis in strawberry depended on the parental combination and the direction of crossing.Plazmogeny zlokalizowane są głównie w mitochondriach oraz plastydach i mogą wpływać na dziedziczenie wielu cech u roślin. Zjawisko to określa się mianem dziedziczenia cytoplazmatycznego, wykrywanego na podstawie ekspresji danej cechy w pokoleniu F1, uzyskanym z krzyżowań prostych i odwrotnych. Celem badań było określenie wpływu dziedziczenia cytoplazmatycznego na produktywność morfogenezy in vitro trzech genotypów Fragaria x ananasa Duch. tj. odmiany ‘Dukat’, ‘Teresa’ i klonu hodowlanego nr 590. Proste i odwrotne krzyżowania wykonano według trzeciej metody Griffi ng’a. Najlepszym komponentem matecznym określonym na podstawie ogólnej zdolności kombinacyjnej (GCA) była odmiana ‘Teresa’, natomiast najsłabszym odmiana ‘Dukat’. Negatywny efekt krzyżowań odwrotnych (rij) wskazał na cytoplazmatyczne dziedziczenie zdolności morfogenetycznych u odmiany ‘Dukat’ jako formy matecznej, natomiast pozytywny rij na dziedziczenie jądrowe u klonu hodowlanego nr 590. U odmiany ‘Teresa’ jako komponentu matecznego, w krzyżowaniu z odmianą ‘Dukat’, stwierdzono dziedziczenie jądrowe danej cechy a cytoplazmatyczne w krzyżowaniu z klonem hodowlanym nr 590. Produktywność morfogenezy badanych odmian i klonu truskawki zależała od kombinacji rodzicielskiej oraz kierunku krzyżowania

Okreslenie wartosci wypelnieniowej siana lakowego wedlug systemu INRA

Na jałówkach ncb i skopach polskiej owcy nizinnej określono wartość wypełnieniową (JWB i JWO) I-ego pokosu siana łąkowego zebranego w fazie kłoszenia, suszonego do 10 dni na polu, z deszczem oraz siana koszonego w okresie kwitnienia, suszonego na polu, bez deszczu. Oznaczona wartość JWB siana wcześniej zebranego (JWB=1,32) była o 2% większa niż wg tabel INRA (1,29), siana nieco później zebranego (JWB=1,46), mimo lepszych warunków suszenia, przekraczała tę wartość (1,31) o 11%. Wartość wypełnieniowa (JWO) siana zbieranego w okresie kłoszenia (JWO = 1,94) była o 15% większa niż podana w tabelach INRA (JWO = 1,69). Siano zbierane w okresie kwitnienia (JWO=2,14) miało o 27% większą wartość wypełnieniową niż w tabelach INRA.Polish Lowland wethers and Lowland Black-and-White heifers were used to determine the fill value (CFU and SFU) of the first cut meadow hay harvested in the head emergence stage, dried 10 days in the field (without rain) and hay harvested in the flowering stage, dried in the field (without rain). The CFU value of hay harvested earlier (CFU=1.32) was by 2% higher than in the INRA tables (1.29), the hay harvested somewhat later (CFU=1.46), despite better drying conditions, exceeded this value (1.31) by 11%. The fill value (SFU) of hay harvested during head emergence (SFU=1.94) was by 15% higher than that given in INRA tables (SFU=1.69). The hay harvested at flowering stage (SFU=2.14) showed 27% higher fill value than given in the INRA tables

Wplyw obnizenia poziomu bialka w dawce na wyniki odchowu i tuczu jagniat polskiej owcy nizinnej

Cztery grupy tryczków ssących dokarmiano sianem łąkowym i mieszanką treściwą z jęczmieniem zawierającą: 10,3; 13,6 lub 16,3% białka ogólnego (BO) w suchej masie (s.m.) - grupy „N”, „S” i „W”, odpowiednio, bądź mieszanką z owsem zawierającą 13,8% BO w suchej masie - grupa kontrolna. Od 28 dnia życia do odsądzenia (w 89 - 93 dniu życia) jagnięta przyrastały średnio po 152ᴬ, 122ᴮ, 141ᴬᴮ i 160ᴬ g (SEM=7,6; P0,05) w grupach I, II i III, odpowiednio. Nie stwierdzono wpływu ograniczenia poziomu białka w okresie odchowu na wyniki tuczu.Four groups of nursing rams were additionally fed meadow hay and a concentrate with barley containing: 10.3; 13.6 or 16.3% crude protein (CP) in dry matter (DM), groups „N”, „S” and „W”, respectively, or a mixture with oats containing 13.8% CP in DM, group K. From 28 day of life to weaning (89 - 93 days old) the lambs gained 152ᴬ, 122ᴮ, 141ᴬᴮ and 160ᴬ g (SEM=7.6; P0.05) in groups I, II and III, respectively. No effect of reducing the protein level on performance during fattening was observed