The Bio-Functional Properties of Pigmented Cereals may Involve Synergies among Different Bioactive Species

This study was aimed at characterizing the anthocyanins and phenolics profile in different varieties of pigmented corn and wheat and in some of their milling fractions. Acid/ethanol extracts were used to assess total anthocyanins, overall antioxidant activity, the overall polyphenol profile, and for evaluating the inhibition of pancreatic α-amylase and of intestinal α-glucosidase. Both enzymes were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by all extracts, but individual extracts had specific effects on each enzyme. Anti-inflammatory response was evaluated by using acid-free extracts and Caco-2 cells transiently transfected with a luciferase reporter gene responding to cytokine stimulation. The immune response of interleukin-stimulated cells decreased significantly in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of 20–50 μM/l anthocyanins from all grains extracts, again with a different efficiency. The inhibitory ability and the anti-inflammatory capability of these extracts are in most cases higher than in similar extracts from other sources, suggesting that activities in each extract may imply specific synergies between anthocyanins and other phenolics.

     

Pharmacokinetics of levosulpiride after single‐dose administration in goats (Capra hircus) by different routes of administration

Levosulpiride (LSP) is the l‐enantiomer of sulpiride, and LSP recently replacing sulpiride in several EU countries. Several studies about LSP in humans are present in the literature, but neither pharmacodynamic nor pharmacokinetic data of LSP is present for veterinary species. The aim of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetic profile of LSP after intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM), and oral (PO) administration in goats. Animals (n = 6) were treated with 50 mg LSP by IV, IM, and PO routes according to a randomized cross‐over design (3 × 3 Latin‐square). Blood samples were collected prior and up to 24 hr after LSP administration and quantified using a validated HPLC method with fluorescence detection. IV and IM administration gave similar concentration versus time curve profiles. The IM mean bioavailability was 66.97%. After PO administration, the drug plasma concentrations were detectable only in the time range 1.5–4 hr, and the bioavailability (4.73%) was low. When the AUC was related to the administered dose in mg/kg, there was a good correlation in the IV and IM groups, but very low correlation for the PO route. In conclusion, the IM and IV administrations result in very similar plasma concentrations. Oral dosing of LSP in goats is probably not viable as its oral bioavailability was very low.     

Length–mass allometries in amphibians

Body mass is rarely recorded in amphibians, and other body measurements (e.g. snout to vent length, SVL) are generally collected instead. However, length measurements, when used as proxies of body mass in comparative analyses, are problematic if different taxa and morphotypes are included. We developed allometric relationships to derive body mass from SVL measurements. We fitted phylogenetic generalized least square models for frogs (Anura) and salamanders (Caudata) and for several families separately. We tested whether allometric relationships differed between species with different habitat preferences and between morphs in salamanders. Models were fitted with SVL–mass measurements for 88 frog and 42 salamander species. We assessed the predictive performance of the models by cross‐validation. Overall, the models showed high explained variance and low forecasting errors. Models differed among semi‐aquatic, terrestrial and arboreal frogs, and between paedomorphic and non‐paedomorphic salamanders. Body mass estimates derived from our models allow for comparability of studies on multiple taxa and can be used for testing theories built upon evolutionary and ecological processes which are directly related to body mass.     

Genotyping canine distemper virus (CDV) by a hemi-nested multiplex PCR provides a rapid approach for investigation of CDV outbreaks

CDV is a highly contagious viral pathogen causing a lethal systemic disease in dogs and other carnivores. Several lineages or genotypes of CDV exist that are variously distributed throughout several continents. Legal or uncontrolled trading of animals may modify the epidemiology of CDV, introducing novel strains in CDV-na?ve areas or accounting for the resurgence of CDV in areas where vaccine prophylaxis was effective and successful to control the disease. A hemi-nested PCR system was developed to genotype strains of the major CDV lineages, America-1, Europe, Asia-1, Asia-2 and Arctic. The assay was tested using a collection of 27 laboratory and vaccine strains and of 36 field CDV strains. Distinct lineages could be differentiated by specific primers targeted to the H gene. The method could be useful for molecular epidemiological studies of CDV, providing a tool for large-scale studies, and for the diagnosis of vaccine-related disease.     

Fatty acid pattern, oxidation product development, and antioxidant loss in muscle tissue of rainbow trout and Dicentrarchus labrax during growth

The levels of hydrophilic, lipophilic, and enzymatic antioxidants, the oxidative damage to lipids and proteins, and the fatty acid patterns of triglyceride and phospholipid fractions were assayed in fresh muscle tissue of rainbow trouts (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and sea basses (Dicentrarchus labrax) during aging, to investigate the correlation between oxidative stress and aging processes in fish. The present studies suggests that lipid peroxidation and accumulation of oxidized proteins during in vivo aging are most likely to be linked with an age-dependent decline of lipophilic antioxidants (CoQH(2), CoQ, and vitamin E) and vitamin C contents in muscle tissue, whereas fish aging is not linked to a decline in antioxidant enzymes and reduced glutathione levels. Lipophilic antioxidant and vitamin C levels represent a reliable marker of oxidative stress during aging, and their determination might be useful for the assessment of fish age.     

The high biodiversity and vulnerability of two Mediterranean bathyal seamounts support the need for creating offshore protected areas

1. Seamounts host some of the most important deep-sea ecosystems. The unique environmental characteristics of seamounts sustain rich biological hot spots, which, in recent times, have suffered the effects of intense fishing pressure.
2. Biodiversity and vulnerability data are extremely scarce for Mediterranean seamounts, and this, in addition to the complex socio-economic and juridical status of offshore sites, results in difficulty in identifying the best management strategies.
3. An extensive remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey was used to characterize the megabenthic assemblages of the summits of two upper bathyal seamounts, Ulisse and Penelope (Ligurian Sea, north-west Mediterranean Sea). The biogeographic implications of these findings and the possible environmental factors favouring the occurrence of these communities are discussed.
4. High densities of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (mainly longlines) and a reduction in the average size of the fragile and slow-growing habitat-forming gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata indicate the occurrence of high levels of anthropogenic impacts on the summit regions, which are fishing grounds for artisanal and recreational fishers.
5. The recovery of fishing data describing the first catches in the 1970s proved to be useful in inferring the short- and long-term effects of fishing practices in these previously unexploited offshore areas. In particular, the local extinction of demersal top predators, subjected to exceptional catches nearly 50 years ago, highlights the slow recovery rate of such species.
6. Criteria defining vulnerability are discussed for the two study areas, and specific conservation actions, including the creation of regulated protected areas, are proposed.

     

Systolic time intervals assessed by 2-D echocardiography and spectral Doppler in the horse

In the present study, the ‘acoustic windows’ for the measurement of the left ventricular systolic time intervals is studied by means of 2‐D echocardiography and cardiac Doppler ultrasonography, and the normal values in the horse (n = 112) are determined. The left ventricular isovolumetric contraction time, the pre‐ejection period (PEP), as well as the left ventricular ejection time (LVET) have been measured, and the values of the left ventricular total electromechanical systole (LVTES) and the PEP‐to‐LVET ratio have been calculated. It has been established that the most suitable window for the measurement of the aforementioned indices in 2‐D echocardiography is the right parasternal window in a view in short axis at the level of the cardiac base to measure the aortogram. In Doppler ultrasonography, the preferred window is the left parasternal using the five chambers apical view. The following values have been acquired: PEP = 0.071 ± 0.01 s; LVET = 0.532 ± 0.097 s; LVTES = 0.6 ± 0.1 s and PEP‐to‐LVET = 0.138 ± 0.025 measured by 2‐D echocardiography and PEP = 0.068 ± 0.009 s; LVET = 0.527 ± 0.076 s; LVTES = 0.598 ± 0.098 s and PEP‐to‐LVET = 0.131 ± 0.01 measured by Doppler ultrasonography.