Search

Nine mature Katahdin wethers (70 ± 1.5 kg initial BW) were used in a crossover experiment to evaluate effects on digestion and energy utilization of levels of feed intake being used in studies addressing the maintenance energy requirement with limited nutrient intake. A 50% concentrate pelleted diet composed of 20.0% ground alfalfa, 29.1% cottonseed hulls, 9.0% cottonseed meal, 20.0% ground corn, 13.0% wheat middlings, 5.0% pelleting agent, and 3.9% other ingredients was fed near the ME requirement for maintenance (Control; 44.4 g/kg BW0.75 DMI) and at 55% of this level (Restricted; 24.4 g/kg BW0.75 DMI). Periods were 4 wk in length, with 3 wk for adaptation, measures in the final week when situated in metabolism cages, and 2 d for gas exchange measurement via a head-box respiration calorimetry system. Apparent total tract digestibilities of DM (65.8 and 73.9% [SEM 1.92]), OM (76.3 and 81.7% [SEM 1.48]), CP (72.1 and 78.5% [SEM 1.70]), NDF (32.3 and 49.0% [SEM 3.34]), and GE (64.7 and 73.0% [SEM 1.97]) were greater (P < 0.05) for Restricted intake than for Control intake. Expressed in megajoules per day, quantities of energy in urine (0.94 and 0.72 [SEM 0.320]) and ruminally emitted methane (1.02 and 0.76 [SEM 0.085]) were greater for Control vs. Restricted intake (P < 0.05), but as a percentage of DE, they tended to be greater for Restricted intake (8.1 and 10.8% [SEM 3.52; P = 0.056] in urine and 9.0 and 11.1% [SEM 0.75; P = 0.096] in methane for Control and Restricted intake, respectively). As a consequence, ME intake as a percentage of GE intake did not differ (P = 0.301) between treatments (53.5 and 57.3% [SEM 2.88] for Control and Restricted intake, respectively). The difference in heat energy (447 and 379 [SEM 15.1]) was less than that in ME intake (395 and 225 kJ/kg BW0.75 [SEM 21.4] for Control and Restricted intake, respectively). In conclusion, restricted feed intake had marked influences on digestibility, although effect on metabolizability was tempered by changes in urinary and methane energy, the former presumably impacted by lean tissue mobilization. Based on the magnitude of difference between ME intake and heat energy with restricted intake, lower heat energy and less tissue mobilization would be expected with longer periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty-seven Dorper (DOR), 35 Katahdin (KAT), and 31 St. Croix (STC) ewes (57, 58, and 44 kg [SEM 2.2]) from 45 commercial farms in the Midwest (MW), Northwest (NW), Southeast (SE), and central Texas (TX), between 2.2 and 3.4 yr of age, were used to evaluate responses to high heat load index (HLI) conditions. There were 4 sequential 2-wk periods (8 wk total) with target HLI during day/nighttime of 70/70, 85/70, 90/77, and 95/81, with weekly measures at 0700 (before increased daytime HLI), 1300, and 1700 h (preceding lower nighttime HLI). Rectal temperature (RT; °C) was affected (P = 0.003) by breed × time (38.58, 38.92, and 39.07 for DOR, 38.67, 38.92, and 39.05 for KAT, and 38.45, 38.69, and 38.85 for STC at 0700, 1300, and 1700 h, respectively [SEM 0.034]). There were interactions between week and time (P < 0.001) in respiration rate (RR; breaths/min; 52, 72, 66, and 85 at 0700 h; 120, 130, 151, and 144 at 1300 h; and 116, 123, 141, and 142 at 1700 h [SEM 3.1]) and panting score (0-4; 0.05, 0.03, 0.11, and 0.28 at 0700 h; 0.48, 0.86, 1.61, and 1.47 at 1300 h; and 0.76, 0.91, 1.54, and 1.51 at 1700 h in wk 5, 6, 7, and 8, respectively [SEM 0.042]). Breed × time RR (P = 0.008) means were 57, 107, and 103 for DOR, 55, 101, and 96 for KAT, and 47, 88, and 90 for STC at 0700, 1300, and 1700 h, respectively (SEM 3.1); however, there was an interaction (P = 0.007) among breed, region, and time (57, 110, and 101 for MW DOR; 59, 110, and 108 for MW KAT; 43, 89, and 88 for MW STC; 65, 113, and 111 for NW DOR; 54, 104, and 96 for NW KAT; 56, 92, and 94 for NW STC; 49, 93, and 96 for SE DOR; 52, 105, and 96 for SE KAT; 45, 79, and 87 for SE STC; 57, 110, and 104 for TX DOR; 54, 83, and 84 for TX KAT; and 46, 91, and 89 for TX STC at 0700, 1300, and 1700 h, respectively [SEM 6.1]). In conclusion, RT of STC was low at all times compared with DOR and KAT, even with lower RR. There appeared to be considerable adaptation from wk 1 to 2 during the 2 highest HLI periods via evening respiration. Region effects varied with breed, such as relatively high RR by STC from the NW to maintain low RT, lower RR of DOR from the SE than other regions, and a smaller difference among times in RR of KAT from TX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-four Dorper (DOR; 60 ± 2.8 kg initial BW), 23 Katahdin (KAT; 63 ± 2.6 kg BW), and 21 St. Croix (STC; 40 ± 2.7 kg BW) female sheep (0.9-8.9 yr) from 45 commercial farms in the Midwest, Northwest, Southeast, and central Texas were used to evaluate resilience to water restriction. Animals were housed and fed a 15% CP, 50% concentrate pelleted diet at 160% of the ME requirement for maintenance. In period 1, 2 wk in duration, ad libitum water intake was determined followed by 25 and 50% decreases in water availability in periods 2 and 3, which were 2 and 5 wk in duration, respectively. Water was offered at 0700 h and blood was sampled at 0800 and 1400 h on the last 2 d of each week. Data presented are means of values within periods, with breed and region means separated by LSD and linear and quadratic contrasts addressing period effects. There were no effects of or interactions involving region for the variables analyzed. During the baseline period, water intake was 3.59, 3.79, and 3.00 kg/d for DOR, KAT, and STC, respectively (SEM 0.140), and DMI averaged 58.6 ± 0.98 g/kg BW0.75. There were linear decreases (P < 0.01) in DMI from period 1 to 3 of similar magnitude for DOR and KAT (134 and 153 g/d, respectively), whereas there was no change for STC (P = 0.52; 27 g/d [pooled SEM 41.5]). Plasma osmolality (mOsmol/kg) was 301, 307, and 303 for DOR; 302, 307, and 305 for KAT; and 306, 308, and 307 for STC in periods 1, 2, and 3, respectively (SEM 1.4), with a quadratic effect of advancing period for DOR (P < 0.01) and linear and quadratic effects (P < 0.05) for KAT. There were no effects on packed cell volume (P > 0.05). Serum protein concentration quadratically changed (P < 0.001) as period advanced for each breed (7.1, 6.0, and 7.2 g/dL in periods 1, 2, and 3, respectively [SEM 0.11]). In conclusion, there were no indications of influences of region on resilience to water restriction based on period means, and the lack of change in DMI by STC with limited water availability suggests relatively high resilience for this breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty-seven Dorper, 35 Katahdin, and 31 St. Croix ewes (57, 58, and 44 kg [SEM 2.2]) from 45 commercial farms in the Midwest (MW), Northwest (NW), Southeast (SE), and central Texas (TX), between 2.2 and 3.4 yr of age, were used to evaluate responses to high heat load index (HLI) conditions. There were 4 sequential 2-wk periods with target HLI during day/nighttime of 70/70, 85/70, 90/77, and 95/81. A 15% CP and 50% concentrate pelleted diet was fed at 120% of the ME requirement for maintenance, and water was offered free choice. Body weight was measured 3 times each week, and blood was sampled at 1300 h on the last day of each period. There was an interaction (P < 0.001) between period and week within period in BW, with slightly greater values in wk 2 vs. 1 of periods 3 and 4 and a greater difference between period 1 and 4 values in wk 2 than 1 (53.1, 54.1, 54.9, and 55.4 kg in wk 1, and 53.0, 54.2, 55.4, and 56.1 kg in wk 2 in periods 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively [SEM 0.85]). There was an interaction (P = 0.037) in DMI (g/kg BW0.75) among region, period, and week, with values generally similar between weeks in periods 1 and 2 relative to those in periods 3 and 4 (51.0, 52.4, 51.0, and 51.2 in period 3 and wk 1; 49.5, 52.1, 50.8, and 51.6 in period 3 and wk 2; 49.6, 52.1, 50.6, and 49.4 in period 4 and wk 1; and 48.9, 52.0, 49.7, and 46.3 in period 4 and wk 2 for MW, NW, SE, and TX, respectively [SEM 1.09]). Neither blood glucose nor lactate concentration was affected by breed (P > 0.05), but there were breed differences (P < 0.02) in serum concentrations of creatinine (0.91, 0.81, and 0.77 mg/dL [SEM 0.023]), total protein (6.13, 6.42, and 6.81 g/dL [SEM 0.156]), and urea N (17.4, 18.0, and 20.0 mg/dL [SEM 0.54] for Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix, respectively). In conclusion, some blood constituent levels suggest breed differences in resilience to high HLI. Differences among periods and weeks in BW presumably relate to increased water consumption with high HLI. The interaction in DMI may reflect differences among regions in rate of adaptation to high HLI and the contribution of decreased feed intake to coping with high HLI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fumarate hydratase (FH) mutated papillary renal cell carcinoma is an aggressive variant of kidney cancer that poorly responds to conventional targeted therapies and immunotherapy. Here, we present the 10-year follow-up of a heavily pre-treated patient with several lines of therapy, achieving a remarkable complete response to anti-PD-1 rechallenge. In addition, we highlight a common immune-related adverse event of anti-PD-1, eosinophilia, as a possible biomarker of response and using TCGA data analysis, provide proof-of-concept for tumor expression of the eosinophil-related gene SIGLEC8, as a promising powerful predictor of prognosis for papillary renal cell carcinoma patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used in the pharmaceutical field to treat various human disorders. Among these, lipid-based NPs (LNPs), including solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), are favored for drug/bioactive delivery due to their high stability, biocompatibility, encapsulation efficiency, and sustained/controlled release. These properties make them particularly suitable as carriers of compounds derived from plant sources., Areas Covered: This study comprehensively explores updated literature knowledge on SLN and NLC, focusing on their composition and production methods for the specific delivery of drug/bioactive compounds derived from plant sources of interest in pharmaceutical and biomedical fields., Expert Opinion: SLN and NLC facilitate the development of more effective natural product-based therapies, aiming to reduce dosage and minimize side effects. These delivery systems align with the consumer demands for safer and more sustainable products, as there are also based on biocompatible and biodegradable raw materials, thereby posing minimal toxicological risks while also meeting regulatory guidelines.

Introduction: Numerous purified bioactive compounds, crude extracts, and essential oils have demonstrated potent antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties, particularly in vitro or in silico; however, their in vivo applications are hindered by inadequate absorption and distribution in the organism. The incorporation of these phytochemicals into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) or nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) has demonstrated significant advancements and represents a viable approach to improve their bioavailability through different administration routes., Areas Covered: This review discusses the potential applications of SLN and NLC, loading bioactive compounds sourced from plants for the treatment of several diseases. An overview of the preclinical developments on the use of these lipid nanoparticles is also provided as well as the requisites to be launched on the market., Expert Opinion: Medicinal plants have gained even more value for the pharmaceutical industries and their customers, leading to many studies exploring their therapeutic potential. Several bioactives derived from plants with antiviral, anticancer, neuroprotective, antioxidant, and antiaging properties have been proposed and loaded into lipid nanoparticles. In vitro and invivo studies corroborate the added value of SLN/NLC to improve the bioavailability of several bioactives. Surface modification to increase their stability and target delivery should be considering.

Analysis on spatial-temporal data has several benefits that range from an improved traffic network in a city to increased earnings for drivers and ridesharing companies. A common analysis technique is clustering. However, most clustering techniques consider a constrained representation of clusters that is limited to a single timestamp. Evolving clusters exist through several timestamps and interact with other spatial-temporal objects or clusters, having cluster relationships. When many evolving clusters exist for analysis, a graph can be used to represent cluster evolution. In this article, we propose a framework for graph-based cluster evolution representation and analysis. The framework represents cluster structure and relationships as well as provides a graph representation of cluster evolution for analysis. Evaluation is done in three case studies with spatial-temporal data about taxis that can identify important phenomena or trends in movements in a city for traffic improvement., (© 2024. The Author(s).)