Quantitative morphology of peracute pulmonary lesions in swine induced by Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae

Twenty-seven six-week-old cesarean-derived, colostrum-deprived pigs were inoculated intratracheally with an isolate of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae serotype 5 (principles) of high virulence (I-200) or low virulence (B-8) or phosphate buffered saline (controls). Pigs given I-200 had severe serofibrinous pleuropneumonia at three hours after inoculation; two of three pigs were dead by 24 hours after inoculation. Interalveolar septa in the caudal lung lobes were 41% thicker than septa from control pigs at three hours after inoculation and 79% thicker by 24 hours after inoculation. Interalveolar septal capillaries in caudal lung lobes were 10.2% larger than control capillaries at three hours after inoculation and 25.6% larger by 24 hours after inoculation. Interalveolar septal capillary platelet volume was greater than the platelet volume of controls; 70% of these platelets were aggregated. There was severe diffuse alveolar, interalveolar septal, and interlobular septal edema at three hours after inoculation with fibrin, neutrophils, and macrophages present in later samples. Thirty-three percent of the lung parenchyma was necrotic at 24 hours after inoculation. Endothelial cell degeneration was generally mild, but necrotic in regions of pulmonary infarction. Pigs inoculated with the B-8 isolate did not develop marked macroscopic lesions at any sampling time. Interalveolar septa were 18% thicker than controls nine hours after inoculation and 5% thicker at six and 24 hours after inoculation. Capillary platelet volume was greatest at nine hours after inoculation with 50% of these platelets aggregated; 30% of the platelet volume was aggregated at the 24-hour sample period. Moderate diffuse pulmonary and interlobular septal edema was present at three, six, and nine hours after inoculation, but absent 24 hours after inoculation. Intravascular macrophages were present in the six, nine, and 24-hour lung samples in both B-8 and I-200 inoculated pigs. These cells were adherent to interalveolar septal capillary endothelial cells and contained phagocytized cellular debris and fibrin. These results indicate the early effects of H. pleuropneumoniae infection involve macrophage and platelet activation, and a marked increase in interalveolar septal capillary permeability.     

The renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system and its suppression

Chronic activation of the renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system (RAAS) promotes and perpetuates the syndromes of congestive heart failure, systemic hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. Excessive circulating and tissue angiotensin II (AngII) and aldosterone levels lead to a pro‐fibrotic, ‐inflammatory, and ‐hypertrophic milieu that causes remodeling and dysfunction in cardiovascular and renal tissues. Understanding of the role of the RAAS in this abnormal pathologic remodeling has grown over the past few decades and numerous medical therapies aimed at suppressing the RAAS have been developed. Despite this, morbidity from these diseases remains high. Continued investigation into the complexities of the RAAS should help clinicians modulate (suppress or enhance) components of this system and improve quality of life and survival. This review focuses on updates in our understanding of the RAAS and the pathophysiology of AngII and aldosterone excess, reviewing what is known about its suppression in cardiovascular and renal diseases, especially in the cat and dog.     

Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/nuclear magnetic resonance as complementary analytical techniques for unambiguous identification of polymethoxylated flavones in residues from molecular distillation of orange peel oils (Citrus sinensis)

Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/nuclear magnetic resonance techniques with ultraviolet/diode array detection were used as complementary analytical tools for the reliable identification of polymethoxylated flavones in residues from molecular distillation of cold-pressed peel oils of Citrus sinensis. After development of a liquid chromatographic separation procedure, the presence of several polymethoxy flavones such as sinensetin, nobiletin, tangeretin, quercetogetin, heptamethoxyflavone, and other derivatives was unambiguously confirmed. In addition, proceranone, an acetylated tetranortriterpenoid with limonoid structure, was identified for the first time in citrus.     

Synthesis of lipophilic clovamide derivatives and their antioxidative potential against lipid peroxidation

Some N-(hydroxycinnamoyl)-L-tyrosine and L-DOPA alkyl esters were synthesized and evaluated as a variation of the clovamide (N-caffeoyl-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) structure, a known antioxidant found in red clover. The amides were prepared in good yields starting from methyl and dodecylesters of L-tyrosine and L-DOPA by reacting with the N-hydroxysuccinimidyl esters of ferulic, sinapic, and acetyl-protected caffeic acid, respectively. In the DPPH* (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and superoxide radical quencher assays they showed radical scavenging activity equal to or higher than those of the standard antioxidants ascorbic acid and tocopherol. The antioxidative potentials of the clovamide derivatives against bulk lipid oxidation, as determined by the accelerated autoxidation of oils, were equal to or higher than those of the standard antioxidants; some of the compounds were able to protect an emulsion of linoleic acid/beta-carotene against oxidation. N-Caffeoyl L-tyrosine methyl ester and the N-cinnamoyl L-DOPA alkyl esters especially were potent antioxidants in bulk lipids and moderate protectants in emulsions.     

New bitter-masking compounds: hydroxylated benzoic acid amides of aromatic amines as structural analogues of homoeriodictyol

Starting from the known bitter-masking flavanones eriodictyol and homoeriodictyol from herba santa some structurally related hydroxybenzoic acid amides of benzylamines were synthesized and evaluated as masking agents toward bitterness of caffeine by sensory methods. The closest structural relatives of homoeriodictyol, the hydroxybenzoic acid vanillylamides 5-9, were the most active and were able to reduce the bitterness of a 500 mg L(-1) caffeine solution by about 30% at a concentration of 100 mg L(-1). 2,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid vanillylamide 7 showed a clear dose-dependent activity as inhibitor of the bitter taste of caffein between 5 and 500 mg L(-1). Additionally, it was possible to reduce the bitterness of quinine and salicine but not of the bitter peptide N-l-leucyl-l-tryptophan. Combinations of homoeriodictyol and amide 7 showed no synergistic or antagonistic changes in activity. The results for model compound 7 suggested that the hitherto unknown masking mechanism is probably the same for flavanones and the new amides. In the future, the new amides may be alternatives for the expensive flavanones to create flavor solutions to mask bitterness of pharmaceuticals or foodstuffs.     

Effect of soil moisture and bovine urine on microbial stress

While many studies have examined the cycling of urinary nutrients, few have focused on the effects ruminant urine might have on the soil microbial community. Urine application can cause microbial communities to become stressed, potentially changing community composition and microbial function with subsequent effects on nutrient dynamics. Identification of the factors that stress microbes may assist in explaining ruminant urine effects on nutrient cycling. In this laboratory study bovine urine, with either a high (15.0 g K⁺ l^?1) or low (10.4 g K⁺ l^?1) salt concentration, was added to repacked soil cores maintained at high or low soil moisture contents (70 or 35% water-filled pore space, respectively). Control cores did not receive urine. Microbial stress was measured using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarker ratios. Urine addition increased stress as indicated by a decrease in the iso15:0/anteiso15:0 PLFA ratio from >1.35 to <0.95 in both wet and dry soils and by an increase in the 18:1ω9trans/18:1ω9cis PLFA ratio from 1.4 to 1.9 from day 8 onwards in wet soils. Higher stress was indicated by a lower Gram-positive/Gram-negative PLFA ratio in the urine treatments than in the control treatments on day 29 and this may have been a response to the reduction in substrate availability as the experiment progressed. The PLFA biomarkers showed that the salt treatments did not induce stress. Stress induced by urine addition and wet soil treatments was also indicated by principal component analyses and the metabolic quotient for CO₂, respectively. Thus microbial stress was induced by both urine addition and high soil moisture content, but not specifically by increasing the urinary salt concentration.     

Short-term consequences of spatial heterogeneity in soil nitrogen concentrations caused by urine patches of different sizes

The scale of spatial heterogeneity in soil nitrogen (N) concentrations varies considerably in grazed systems, because grazers vary in the volume of urine they excrete. This could affect how urine-N is processed, and subsequently how much N is lost from the system, as diffusion and plant effects on soil nutrient concentrations can be scale-dependent. Two field experiments were performed; one measured the impact of urine patch size (small, medium or large) on soil inorganic N pools and fluxes over time, and the other assessed whether urine patch size affected plant responses and system N retention even if the same total amount of urine was applied. Soil from inside small urine patches retained inorganic N for shorter amounts of time, resulting in lower plant biomass and N uptake than that inside larger patches. Although system nitrogen retention was not affected by patch size, it appeared that larger patches had a greater potential to lose N due to the longer period over which soil inorganic N concentrations remained high. This suggests that systems grazed by larger organisms are more prone to lose N through patch size effects than those grazed by smaller ones.     

Post-mortem changes in porcine M. longissimus studied by solid-state 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Solid-state (13)C cross-polarization (CP) magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are carried out for the first time on rapidly frozen muscle biopsies taken in M. longissimus in vivo and at 1 min, 45 min, and 24 h post-mortem from three pigs. Two of the pigs were CO(2)-stunned (control animals), and one was pre-slaughter-stressed (treadmill exercise) followed by electrical stunning to induce difference in metabolism post-mortem. (13)C resonance signals from saturated and unsaturated carbons in fatty acids, carboxylic carbons, and carbons in lactate and glycogen are identified in the solid-state NMR spectra. The (13)C CP MAS spectra obtained for post-mortem samples of the stressed, electrically stunned pig differ significantly from the post-mortem control samples, as the intensity of a resonance line appearing at 30 ppm, assigned to carbons of the methylene chains, is reduced for the stressed pig. This spectral difference is probably due to changes in lipid mobility and indicates altered membrane properties in the muscle of the stressed/electrically stunned animal when compared with the control animals already 1 min post-mortem. In addition, the post-mortem period changes in glycogen carbons can be estimated from the (13)C CP MAS spectra, yielding a correlation of r = 0.74 to subsequent biochemical determination of the glycogen content.     

Water distribution and microstructure in enhanced pork

Water characteristics and meat microstructure of NaHCO3-enhanced pork were compared with NaCl- and Na4O7P2-enhanced pork using low-field proton NMR relaxometry, advanced microscopy techniques, and traditional meat quality measurements. Porcine samples were enhanced at 4 degrees C for 48 h with sodium salts individually and in the following combinations: (i) 5% NaCl, (ii) 5% Na4O7P2, (iii) 3% NaHCO3, (iv) 5% NaCl and 5% Na4O7P2, (v) 5% NaCl and 3% NaHCO3, (vi) 5% Na4O7P2 and 3% NaHCO3, and (vii) 5% NaCl, 5% Na4O7P2, and 3% NaHCO3. Independently of the marinade used, the water-binding capacity was improved, cooking loss was reduced, and the yield was enhanced compared with nonmarinated pork samples. This was also reflected in the water mobility within the samples measured by proton NMR relaxometry. Visualization of samples by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) revealed salt-dependent microstructural changes in the green pork samples treated with NaHCO3, giving rise to nearly complete disintegration of overall structures. High-resolution visualization by atomic force microscopy (AFM) further suggested that a higher cooking loss in sodium chloride-enhanced samples could be ascribed to less solubilization and higher heat-induced protein denaturation compared with phosphate- and bicarbonate-enhanced samples.