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Ceramides, one of the major lipid components in the stratum corneum, have been increasingly used in several topical applications of cosmetic and medical products, and the balanced use of ceramides has been shown to be critical to their stability. In this work, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of monolayer and bilayer structures composed of varying compositions of ceramide IIIb and a surfactant (c16‐alkyl glucosides). The monolayer was simulated in the interface between water and an oily phase composed of capric triglycerides and the bilayer was in explicit water. We investigated the effect of ceramide IIIb composition on the structural stability of monolayers and bilayers by calculating the area per lipid and the equilibrium structures by observing simulation snapshots and analyzing density profiles along the direction perpendicular to the layers. The results showed that the monolayers in the interface and the bilayers in water reached equilibrium within simulation duration of 100 ns and the layer structures were more ordered at higher ceramide contents. The composition‐dependent difference in the order of lipid molecules was interpreted in terms of the difference in the numbers of lipid tails in ceramides and surfactants and, hence, the difference in the spatial volume occupied by head and tail groups of both lipids. The differential volume occupation also resulted in different vertical arrangements of both lipid molecules.

Background: The Philippines is one of the major endemic countries for canine rabies in Southeast Asia. However, detailed description and analysis of laboratory-confirmed animal rabies are limited. Highly accurate surveillance requires a thorough understanding of the target area-specific problems and obstacles. Therefore, we aim to describe and analyze the rabies suspect animals in Central Luzon, Philippines, to clarify the characteristics of management and clinical signs by conducting interviews with the owners. Methods: We prospectively collected information on the rabies suspect animals submitted to the Regional animal laboratory in Central Luzon through passive laboratory-based rabies surveillance between 1st April 2019 and 30th September 2020. We performed active interviews directly or telephonically with the owner. The direct fluorescent antibody test was performed on the hippocampus, brain stem, and cerebellum for laboratory confirmation. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the number of rabies cases according to management methods and characteristics of suspected animals during the observation period. Clinical symptoms of suspected rabid animals were analyzed by univariate logistic regression analysis. Results: There were 292 sample submissions during the study period. Of these, 160 were positive for dFAT. Samples of pet animals (85.3%) provided by owners or their acquaintances (59.2%) accounted for the majority of laboratory confirmed cases. Case mapping showed that more rabies-suspected cases were sent from areas near the regional laboratory than from those far from the laboratory, despite the incidence of rabies being high in these areas. The management and clinical symptoms of 227 animal cases showed that most owners were managing their animals at home and were allowing them to roam outside (69.6%) and be unvaccinated (78.9%). Rabid animals were more likely to manifest aimless running, restlessness, and agitation. Conclusions: Our study provided some features of animals with laboratory-confirmed rabies in Central Luzon. However, most of the samples were submitted from areas near the rabies diagnosis laboratory, and the number of samples submitted from remote areas was low. To improve the surveillance capacity, it is necessary to increase sample submissions from remote areas.

Severe hemorrhage at multiple organs is frequently observed in chickens infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A viruses. In this study we examined whether HPAI virus infection leads to coagulation disorder in chickens. Pathological examinations showed that the fibrin thrombi were formed in arterioles at the lung, associated with the viral antigens in endothelial cells of chickens infected intravenously with HPAI virus. Hematological analyses of peripheral blood collected from the chickens revealed that coagulopathy was initiated at early stage of infection when viral antigens were detected only in the endothelial cells and monocytes/macrophages. Furthermore, gene expression of the tissue factor, the main initiator of blood coagulation, was upregulated in the spleen, lung, and brain of HPAI virus‐infected chickens. These results suggest that dysfunction of endothelial cells and monocytes/macrophages upon HPAI virus infection may induce hemostasis abnormalities represented by the excessive blood coagulation and consumptive coagulopathy in chickens.

Seroepidemiological surveillance of influenza in Caspian seals (Phoca caspica) was conducted. Antibodies to influenza A virus were detected in 54% (7/13), 57% (4/7), 40% (6/15) and 26% (11/42) of the serum samples collected in 1993, 1997, 1998 and 2000 by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In an hemagglutination‐inhibition (HI) test using H1‐H15 reference influenza A viruses as antigens, more than half of the examined ELISA‐positive sera reacted with an H3N2 prototype strain A/Aichi/2/68. These sera were then examined by HI test with a series of naturally occurring antigenic variants of human H3N2 virus, and H3 viruses of swine, duck, and equine origin. The sera reacted strongly with the A/Bangkok/1/79 (H3N2) strain, which was prevalent in humans in 1979–1981. The present results indicate that human A/Bangkok/1/79‐like virus was transmitted to Caspian seals probably in the early 1980s, and was circulated in the population. Antibodies to influenza B virus were detected by ELISA in 14% (1/7) and 10% (4/42) serum samples collected from Caspian seals in 1997 and 2000, respectively. Our findings indicate that seal might be a reservoir of both influenza A and B viruses originated from humans.

The aim of this study was to compare the histochemical and meat quality characteristics between the normal and white-striping (WS) pectoralis majormuscles. Additionally, this study investigated the effects of oven cooking (OV) and sous-vide (SV) cooking methods on objective texture parameters and sensory quality characteristics of the normal and WS chicken breast meats. Results showed that the WS condition broilers had higher body and breast weights (P< 0.001), and a greater area of muscle fiber than the normal broilers (P< 0.001). The WS fresh fillets exhibited a lower preference of visual appearance compared to the normal fillets (P< 0.05), although no differences were detected in the characteristics of meat quality between the groups (P> 0.05). After cooking, there were greater cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force, and texture parameter analysis-hardness values for breast fillets cooked by OV treatment at 180°C for reached core temperature to 71°C compared to the fillets cooked by SV treatment at 60°C for 2 h (P< 0.05), whereas the normal and WS groups were exhibited similar values within each cooking methods (P> 0.05). Regarding sensory quality characteristics, WS breast fillets cooked by SV (SV+WS) were rated as tenderer and juicier, and given a higher overall acceptability score compared to normal and WS fillets cooked by OV (P< 0.05). However, owing to a lesser developed flavor in SV+WS fillets, the panelists assigned a lower overall acceptability rating in these fillets compared to SV+Normal fillets (P< 0.05). Overall, the SV cooking can be an effective method for improving the sensory quality characteristics of WS and normal chicken breast.

The compounds (V) and (IX) are evaluated of their PARP‐1 inhibitory activity.

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