Nutritional Modulation of the Proliferation and Activation of Blood Lymphocyte Subsets from Milk Replacer-Fed Calves

Feeding greater quantities of protein and energy to neonatal calves was associated with a reduction in proliferative responses of T lymphocyte subsets to in vitro polyclonal stimulation. Feeding an intensified diet was also associated with altered in vitro expression of activation molecules, CD25, CD44, and CD62L. These data suggest that plane of nutrition during the neonatal period influences lymphocyte-activities essential for the development of a normal immune response

Neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease responsive to interleukin-1 beta inhibition

BACKGROUND:Neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease is characterized by fever, urticarial rash, aseptic meningitis, deforming arthropathy, hearing loss, and mental retardation. Many patients have mutations in the cold-induced autoinflammatory syndrome 1 (CIAS1) gene, encoding cryopyrin, a protein that regulates inflammation.METHODS:We selected 18 patients with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (12 with identifiable CIAS1 mutations) to receive anakinra, an interleukin-1-receptor antagonist (1 to 2 mg per kilogram of body weight per day subcutaneously). In 11 patients, anakinra was withdrawn at three months until a flare occurred. The primary end points included changes in scores in a daily diary of symptoms, serum levels of amyloid A and C-reactive protein, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate from baseline to month 3 and from month 3 until a disease flare.RESULTS:All 18 patients had a rapid response to anakinra, with disappearance of rash. Diary scores improved (P<0.001) and serum amyloid A (from a median of 174 mg to 8 mg per liter), C-reactive protein (from a median of 5.29 mg to 0.34 mg per deciliter), and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate decreased at month 3 (all P<0.001), and remained low at month 6. Magnetic resonance imaging showed improvement in cochlear and leptomeningeal lesions as compared with baseline. Withdrawal of anakinra uniformly resulted in relapse within days; retreatment led to rapid improvement. There were no drug-related serious adverse events.CONCLUSIONS:Daily injections of anakinra markedly improved clinical and laboratory manifestations in patients with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease, with or without CIAS1 mutations

An archaeology of borders: qualitative political theory as a tool in addressing moral distance

Interviews, field observations and other qualitative methods increasingly are being used to inform the construction of arguments in normative political theory. This article works to demonstrate the strong salience of some kinds of qualitative material for cosmopolitan arguments to extend distributive boundaries. The incorporation of interviews and related qualitative material can make the moral claims of excluded others more vivid and possibly more difficult to dismiss by advocates of strong priority to compatriots in distributions. Further, it may help to promote the kind of perspective taking that has been associated with actually motivating a willingness to aid by individuals. Illustrative findings are presented from field work conducted for a normative project on global citizenship, including interviews with unauthorized immigrants and the analysis of artifacts left behind on heavily used migrant trails

Regulation of Periparturient Milk Composition in Jersey Cattle

The composition of milk from dairy cows varies more in the colostral period than in other periods of lactation. The objective of this study was to determine which factors influence milk composition of Jersey cows during the colostral period. Composite milk samples were collected from 21 lactating Jersey cows of the Iowa State University Teaching Herd between February and July at 0, 12, 24, 30, 38, 46, 54, 62, 80, and 88 hours postpartum. The milk samples were analyzed for total fat, lactose, and protein content by infrared spectroscopy, for total protein nitrogen, non-casein nitrogen, and non-protein nitrogen content by Kjeldahl analyses, and for αS1–casein, β-casein, κ-casein, αS2-casein, α-lactalbumin, and β–lactoglobulin concentrations by reversed-phase HPLC. Milk composition changed during the first 4 days after parturition and was influenced by calving season, length of gestation, and parity; and all had significant interactions with time postpartum (all P \u3c 0.01). Colostrum matured to normal milk in the first two days after parturition. The maturation of colostrum was associated with an increase in lactose content and a decrease in protein content, in particular of whey proteins other than α–lactalbumin. The colostrum of cows that calved between February and April had a lower lactose and a greater protein content, in particular of whey proteins other than α–lactalbumin and β–lactoglobulin, than did colostrum of cows that calved in May and June. The colostrum of multiparous cows was higher in protein content than was the colostrum of heifers because of higher concentrations of whey proteins. During the colostral period, milk of cows that calved before the predicted calving date had greater protein concentrations than did milk from cows that calved at or after the predicted calving date, which was the result of higher concentrations of whey proteins other than α–lactalbumin and β–lactoglobulin. We conclude that time postpartum, calving season, length of gestation, and parity affect the composition of milk in the early secretory period in lactating Jersey cows

High (but Not Low) Urinary Iodine Excretion Is Predicted by Iodine Excretion Levels from Five Years Ago

Background: It has not been investigated whether there are associations between urinary iodine (UI) excretion measurements some years apart, nor whether such an association remains after adjustment for nutritional habits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between iodine-creatinine ratio (ICR) at two measuring points 5 years apart. Methods: Data from 2,659 individuals from the Study of Health in Pomerania were analyzed. Analysis of covariance and Poisson regressions were used to associate baseline with follow-up ICR. Results: Baseline ICR was associated with follow-up ICR. Particularly, baseline ICR >300 mu g/g was related to an ICR >300 mu g/g at follow-up (relative risk, RR: 2.20; p < 0.001). The association was stronger in males (RR: 2.64; p < 0.001) than in females (RR: 1.64; p = 0.007). In contrast, baseline ICR <100 mu g/g was only associated with an ICR <100 mu g/g at follow-up in males when considering unadjusted ICR. Conclusions: We detected only a weak correlation with respect to low ICR. Studies assessing iodine status in a population should take into account that an individual with a low UI excretion in one measurement is not necessarily permanently iodine deficient. On the other hand, current high ICR could have been predicted by high ICR 5 years ago. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Pentamidine Is Not a Permeant but a Nanomolar Inhibitor of the Trypanosoma brucei Aquaglyceroporin-2

The chemotherapeutic arsenal against human African trypanosomiasis, sleeping sickness, is limited and can cause severe, often fatal, side effects. One of the classic and most widely used drugs is pentamidine, an aromatic diamidine compound introduced in the 1940s. Recently, a genome-wide loss-of-function screen and a subsequently generated trypanosome knockout strain revealed a specific aquaglyceroporin, TbAQP2, to be required for high-affinity uptake of pentamidine. Yet, the underlying mechanism remained unclear. Here, we show that TbAQP2 is not a direct transporter for the di-basic, positively charged pentamidine. Even though one of the two common cation filters of aquaglyceroporins, i.e. the aromatic/arginine selectivity filter, is unconventional in TbAQP2, positively charged compounds are still excluded from passing the channel. We found, instead, that the unique selectivity filter layout renders pentamidine a nanomolar inhibitor of TbAQP2 glycerol permeability. Full, non-covalent inhibition of an aqua(glycero)porin in the nanomolar range has not been achieved before. The remarkable affinity derives from an electrostatic interaction with Asp265 and shielding from water as shown by structure-function evaluation and point mutation of Asp265. Exchange of the preceding Leu264 to arginine abolished pentamidine-binding and parasites expressing this mutant were pentamidine-resistant. Our results indicate that TbAQP2 is a high-affinity receptor for pentamidine. Taken together with localization of TbAQP2 in the flagellar pocket of bloodstream trypanosomes, we propose that pentamidine uptake is by endocytosis

Osteopontin Expression in Periparturient Dairy Cows Naturally Infected with Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis

Twenty-five multiparous Holstein cows were grouped according to infection status with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), the causative microorganism of Johne’s disease (JD). Osteopontin (Opn) was characterized at both the level of gene and protein expression. Results of this study indicate that in dairy cows, expression of Opn is modulated by natural infection with MAP and by the periparturient period

Redesigning Pork by Type and Amount of Dietary Fat for Bet- ter Human Nutrition

An experiment to modify pork by supplementa- tion of dietary lipids yielded the following conclusions: 1) Supplementation of pig diets with high levels of lipids did improve feed conversion without affecting other growth performance characteristics. 2) Feeding of choice white grease increased the content of monounsaturated fatty acids in skeletal muscle and adipose tissues of pigs. 3) Feeding soybean oil, increased the content of polyunsatu- rated fatty acids in skeletal muscle and adipose tissues of pigs

Parturition Invokes Changes in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Populations in Holstein Dairy Cows Naturally Infected with Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis

Twenty-one multiparous and two primiparous Holstein cows were grouped according to infection status with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), the causative microorganism for Johne’s disease (JD). The effect of parturition and infection on the percentages of CD4 + , CD8 + , and T-cells, B-cells, and monocytes in the peripheral blood were monitored. The data suggest that changes in the percentages of lymphocyte subsets and monocytes are modulated by both infection status and the periparturient period