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Abstract: Sulfurtransferases (Str) comprise a group of enzymes widely distributed in archaea, eubacteria, and eukaryota which catalyse the transfer of a sulfur atom from suitable sulfur donors to nucleophilic sulfur acceptors. Neither the in vivo sulfur donors nor the acceptors of Str could be clearly identified in any of the organisms investigated so far. In Arabidopsis thaliana 20 Str proteins have been identified and grouped according to sequence homology. To investigate their respective in vivo function, Arabidopsis plants were grown in sterile hydroponic cultures at different sulfate (50, 500, and 1500μM) and phosphate (0.1 and 1mM) concentrations, and in medium supplemented with 1mM thiosulfate. Northern blot analysis revealed the differential expression of the Str investigated. Thiosulfate Str activity was significantly increased at low sulfate concentrations in the medium. The Str mRNA levels were highly dependent on the developmental stage of the Arabidopsis plants. The expression of most Str analysed increased with progressing plant age in parallel with increasing 3-mercaptopyruvate and thiosulfate Str activities. The Str investigated were differentially expressed in a light/dark cycle whereas Str enzyme activities were not affected by the light conditions. The results indicate that each Str is regulated in a different way and plays an individual specific role in the plant metabolism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sulfurtransferases/rhodaneses (Str) are enzymes widely distributed in archaea, prokaryota and eukaryota, and catalyze the transfer of sulfur from a donor molecule to a thiophilic acceptor substrate. In this reaction, Str cycles between the sulfur-free and the sulfur-substituted form. Two-domain Str consist of two globular domains of nearly identical size and conformation connected by a short linker sequence, which is elongated in plant two-domain Str proteins compared to Str in other organisms. The two-domain Arabidopsis thaliana Str1 protein (At1g79230) was expressed in Escherichia coli as a mature protein, as a variant without the elongated linker sequence, and as AtStr1C332S and AtStr1C339V. The persulfuration state of the purified recombinant proteins was investigated in the presence and absence of sulfur donors by fluorescence spectroscopy. The secondary structure was analyzed by circular dichroism (CD) in the far-UV range, while overall changes in tertiary structure were determined by CD in the near-UV range. Finally, protein stability was analyzed by tryptic digestion. The elongated linker sequence is essential for correct conformation and stability, and thereby affects the catalytic activity of AtStr1. Replacement of the catalytic cysteine residue C332 leads to higher rigidity of the molecule, whereas replacement of C339 does not lead to any conformational changes, providing evidence of the direct involvement of C339 in catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neuroinflammatory diseases are progressive leading to loss of function and disability. Although palliative care (PC) utilization has increased globally, it has scarcely increased in neurology. Objectives: To explore PC attitudes and knowledge among patients with neuroinflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease. Methods: A cross-sectional 1-year study was conducted using the Palliative Care Knowledge Scale (PaCKS) and the PC Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Murray's transition theory guided this study, which integrates palliative services including decision making, communication, and coordinated care. Results: The majority of study patients were female (69%) (N = 86) and White (79%). Forty-two percent indicated that they had never heard about PC, 46% said that they knew a little bit about PC, and 12% said that they knew a lot about PC. Fifty percent of patients knew the goals of PC and had knowledge about PC services. Forty-four percent to 60% agreed that PC goals include helping friends and family to cope with a patient's illness, offering social and emotional support, and managing pain and other symptoms. Patients who self-reported being familiar with PC performed significantly better on the PaCKS than those unfamiliar with PC (p < 0.001), and those who self-reported moderate or severe memory loss performed significantly worse on the PaCKS than those with mild memory loss (p = 0.027). There was an association between higher education and PC knowledge and between patients' PaCKS scores and their self-reported HINTS PC knowledge. Conclusions: Patients have partial PC knowledge. Patients require education about PC early in their disease along their illness trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selection for indirect genetic effects (IGE), i.e. the genetic effect of an individual on a trait of another individual, is a promising avenue to increase trait values in plant and animal breeding. Studies in livestock suggest that selection for IGE for growth (IGEg) might increase animals’ capacity to tolerate stress. We assessed the effect of a stressful phase (weaning) on the behaviour and performance of pigs (n = 480) divergently selected for high or low IGEg. High IGEg pigs were significantly slower to explore the feed and gained less weight than low IGEg pigs in the days after weaning. In line with previous findings, high IGEg animals may have prioritized the formation of social ranks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fermentation of resistant starch might prolong satiety, and, therefore, positively affect behaviour and welfare of restrictedly-fed pigs. The impact of a potentially satiating diet likely depends on housing conditions, such as the availability of rooting material which may serve as a substrate for foraging behaviour. We investigated effects of resistant starch on behaviour of growing pigs in barren housing (B) or on straw bedding (S) in a 2×2 factorial arrangement. Thirty-two groups of eight pigs (approximately 25kg) were assigned to either B- or S-housing, and to native, resistant (NS) or highly digestible pregelatinised starch (PS) in the diet. Pigs were fed at 2.5 times energy requirements for maintenance in two daily meals. Behaviour was recorded in week 3 for five 1-h periods using 2-min instantaneous scan sampling. On day 23, six pigs per group were relocated to respiration chambers. Activity over the 24-h cycle was scored in week 5 using 9-min instantaneous scan sampling. S-housed pigs on the PS-diet were more active over the 24-h cycle than S-housed pigs on the NS-diet, whereas effects of starch type on activity patterns were less obvious in B-housing (starch type×housing interaction, P =0.05). In the morning, when fresh straw was supplied, behaviour was strongly affected by housing, whereas effects of dietary starch were most obvious around the second, afternoon, meal. S-housed pigs were more active, showed more exploration and less oral manipulation of pen mates and fixtures than B-housed pigs. The PS-diet resulted in more aggression over the day than the NS-diet in B-housed pigs, whereas levels of aggression were similar for S-housed pigs on both diets (starch type×housing interaction, P <0.10). Before their second meal, NS-fed pigs showed less locomotion, aggression (P <0.05) and manipulation of pen mates (P <0.10) than PS-fed pigs, which likely reflects reduced restlessness due to enhanced inter-meal satiety in the NS-fed pigs. After the afternoon meal, NS-fed pigs showed less activity, exploration and manipulation of pen fixtures (P <0.05) than PS-fed pigs. In conclusion, dietary resistant starch affected behaviour patterns of restrictedly-fed growing pigs. The decreased activity and reduced preprandial restlessness suggest that fermentable starch enhances interprandial satiety in pigs, and therefore may improve their welfare. Even though effects of resistant starch on activity levels were more obvious in enriched housing, the welfare benefits of fermentable starch may be more pronounced in barren housed pigs as these animals lack an outlet for their increased foraging motivation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Maternal obesity and perinatal high-fat diets are known to affect cognitive development. We examined the effects of late prenatal and/or early postnatal exposure to aWestern-type diet, high in both fat and refined sugar, on the cognition of pigs (Sus scrofa) in the absence of obesity. Thirty-six sows and their offspring were assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with 8 wk prenatal and 8 wk postnatal exposure to aWestern diet (enriched in fat, sucrose, and cholesterol) or control diets as factors. Compared to controls, piglets exposed to the prenatalWestern diet showed enhancedworking and referencememory during the acquisition and reversal phases of a spatial hole-board task. Mothers fed the prenatalWestern diet had higher prepartumblood cholesterol and free fatty acid levels. Postnatal exposure to the Western diet did not affect piglet cognitive performance, but it did increase postpartum maternal and postweaning piglet cholesterol levels. The Westerndiethadno effect onmaternal or offspring insulin sensitivity or leptin levels. In conclusion, a prenatalWestern diet improved memory function in pigs, which was pairedwith changes in prepartummaternal blood cholesterol levels. These findings highlight the key role of late fetal nutrition for long-term programming of cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in cognitive research in pigs is increasing, but little is known about the impact of environmental conditions on pigs' cognitive capabilities. The present study investigated the effect of environmental enrichment on cognitive performance of pigs in a holeboard spatial task, in which they had to discriminate four baited buckets out of 16. Pigs ( n = 32) were either housed in stimulus-poor, barren pens, or in larger pens enriched with rooting substrates. Pigs were subjected to 30 holeboard trials. Both working memory (WM), that is, the ratio (baited visits/total number of (re)visits to baited buckets), and reference memory (RM), that is, the ratio ((re)visits to baited buckets/total number of visits to all buckets), improved over trials. WM scores were higher in pigs from enriched pens than in pigs from barren pens. Housing did not affect RM scores. Personality type of the pigs, as assessed early in life using a backtest, did not affect WM or RM. In conclusion, housing conditions of pigs did not affect reference memory, but environmental enrichment improved working memory of pigs in a spatial discrimination task. Based on the findings of this study, we suggest that cognitive functioning of pigs may be impaired under commonly used housing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]