Effect of Cadmium on Rat Leydig Cell Testosterone Production and DNA Integrity in vitro

Cadmium （Cd） is an elemental heavy metal with widely recognized toxicity. Its long-term use in industrial processes and daily activities has caused alarming levels of Cd contamination in the natural environment. According to the estimates by the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in the US, 25 000 to 30 000 metric tons of Cd is annually released to the environment . Results of previous studies have demonstrated that several organs are targets of Cd, but the most important of these targeted organs may be the testes.

Motility of Stallion Spermatozoa after Centrifugation and Cooling in INRA96 or Walworth Extender

A total of 18 ejaculates were collected, once per week, from six fertile stallions for three consecutive weeks in October and November, to compare motility over time between extenders using four semen processing treatments. Four total aliquots of semen were used. Two aliquots of each semen collection were extended in either INRA96 or an experimental proprietary milk-based extender Walworth （WW） extender, and each was designed for multi-day storage of fresh chilled semen. Each aliquot was divided again, and either centrifuged at 600 μg for 10 min without cushion, or not centrifuged and extended to a final concentration of 25 × 10^6 spermatozoa/mL. The treatments evaluated were INRA96 without centrifugation （INRA-NC） or with centrifugation （INRA-C）, and Walworth extender without centrifugation （WW-NC） or with centrifugation （WW-C）. Total and progressive motility were measured using Sperm Vision~ CASA at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h post-collection. Samples were stored at 4 ℃. No differences were found between extenders in progressive （P = 0.13） or total motility （P = 0.14） over the four different time points without centrifugation. However, ejaculates processed in INRA-C group had the greater total and progressive motility （P 〈 0.05） over the four time points than ejaculates in the WW-C group. It was found that centrifugation and re-suspension of stallion semen in INRA96 improved the longevity of fresh chilled semen. However, when not using centrifugation, the Walworth extender proved to be as effective for maintaining spermatozoa motility across all time points as 1NRA96 , and may be an alternative for use in the equine breeding industry.

Review of immunological responses to porcine coronaviruses and implications on population based control strategies in epidemic and endemic infections

Five major porcine coronaviruses （COVs） have been identifed which cause severe gastrointestinal （GI） and respiratory disease in pigs. They include transmissiblegastroenteritis （TGEV）, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus （PEDV）, porcine deltacoronavirus, porcine respiratory coronavirus, and porcine hemagglutinating encephalo-myelitis. These diseases, especially TGEV and PEDV, have caused epidemics in Europe, Asia, and the Ameri-cas over the past 50 years, causing signifcant economic losses to swine producers. As pigs are a major protein source worldwide there is great interest in understanding, controlling, and preventing these diseases. These disea-ses have no cure, and current vaccines are not fully protective. On-farm prevention and biosecurity are difficult to enforce and have not stopped the spread of these diseases between herds. Recent advances in the immunology of porcine COVs has revealed that the immune response to porcine COVs shares many similarities with the response to human COVs, leading to increased interest in pigs as models for human disease. Highlights of these advances include the key role of local antigen presenting cells in the gastrointestinal tract in stimulating a protective immune response. This understanding has lead to new proposed vaccines. Advances in the understanding of the ways the viruses evade and degrade the host immune system have also lead to novel proposed therapies. Many of these therapies are in the early development stages, as resear-chers attempt to create effcacious, cost-effective, and practical therapies for these diseases.

Quercetin Alleviates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Cardiac Inflammation via Inhibiting Autophagy and Programmed Cell Death

Objective The aim of this study is to explore the potential modulatory role of quercetin against Endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide(LPS)induced septic cardiac dysfunction.Methods Specific pathogen-free chicken embryos(n=120)were allocated untreated control,phosphate buffer solution(PBS)vehicle,PBS with ethanol vehicle,LPS(500 ng/egg),LPS with quercetin treatment(10,20,or 40 nmol/egg,respectively),Quercetin groups(10,20,or 40 nmol/egg).Fifteenday-old embryonated eggs were inoculated with abovementioned solutions via the allantoic cavity.At embryonic day 19,the hearts of the embryos were collected for histopathological examination,RNA extraction,real-time polymerase chain reaction,immunohistochemical investigations,and Western blotting.Results They demonstrated that the heart presented inflammatory responses after LPS induction.The LPS-induced higher mRNA expressions of inflammation-related factors(TLR4,TNFα,MYD88,NF-κB1,IFNγ,IL-1β,IL-8,IL-6,IL-10,p38,MMP3,and MMP9)were blocked by quercetin with three dosages.Quercetin significantly decreased immunopositivity to TLR4 and MMP9 in the treatment group when compared with the LPS group.Quercetin significantly decreased protein expressions of TLR4,IFNγ,MMP3,and MMP9 when compared with the LPS group.Quercetin treatment prevented LPS-induced increase in the mRNA expression of Claudin 1 and ZO-1,and significantly decreased protein expression of claudin 1 when compared with the LPS group.Quercetin significantly downregulated autophagyrelated gene expressions(PPARα,SGLT1,APOA4,AMPKα1,AMPKα2,ATG5,ATG7,Beclin-1,and LC3B)and programmed cell death(Fas,Bcl-2,CASP1,CASP12,CASP3,and RIPK1)after LPS induction.Quercetin significantly decreased immunopositivity to APOA4,AMPKα2,and LC3-II/LC3-I in the treatment group when compared with the LPS group.Quercetin significantly decreased protein expressions of AMPKα1,LC3-I,and LC3-II.Quercetin significantly decreased the protein expression to CASP1 and CASP3 by immunohistochemical investigation or Western blotting in treatment group when compared with LPS group.Conclusion Quercetin alleviates cardiac inflammation induced by LPS through modulating autophagy,programmed cell death,and myocardiocytes permeability.

Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance Pattern among the Mastitis Causing Microorganisms

Mastitis is one of the most commonly occurring diseases of dairy animals. It is the most important cause of economic losses to the dairy industry in India and throughout the world. In the present study prevalence of microorganisms isolated from mastitic milk and their antibiotic resistance was studied. A total of sixty nine milk samples from mastitic animals (clinical and subclinical) were tested using sodium lauryl sulphate test and those positive were selected and transported to the laboratory for isolation and identification of the causative agent. Out of these samples fifty samples yielded bacterial growth when tested on selective/non selective medium. Of these fifty samples, seven samples had single bacterial growth whereas rest of the 43 samples had mixed growth. Among the bacterial isolates it was found that the highest prevalence was of Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus followed by E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Antibiotic sensitivity test revealed that Streptococcus agalactiae revealed the highest sensitivity to ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and resistance to amoxicillin and doxycycline;Staphylococcus aureus revealed the highest sensitivity to ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, azithromycin and sparfloxacin and resistance to amoxycillin and gentamicin. Similarly, E. coli revealed the highest sensitivity to azithromycin and chloramphenicol and resistance to amoxicillin and teicoplanin, and Klebsiella pneumoniae revealed highest sensitivity to azithromycin, gentamicin and resistance to amoxicillin, teicoplanin and erythromycin. Thus, from the present study it could be concluded that Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most frequently isolated organisms from mastitic animals and azithromycin and the third generation fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin and ofloxacin) were the most sensitive drugs.

Feed Form Affects Growth and Stomach Ulcers in Yearling Horses

Fourteen yearling standardbred horses were used to test the hypothesis that hay and grain fed as a complete total mixed ration （TMR） cube diet （C） would result in greater average daily gain （ADG）, feed efficiency （gain to feed ratio, G/F） and apparent digestibility in horses on the TMR diet compared to horses fed the same weight and proportion of hay cubes and grain fed separately （diet HG）. Both diets consisted of 75% forage and 25% ground oats. The forage in both the plain hay cubes and the complete cubes was 80% alfalfa and 20% endophyte-free tall rescue. An additional hypothesis that stomach ulceration would not differ between horses fed either of the two diet treatments was also tested by comparing upper gastric endoscopies before and after 70 days of feeding the experimental diets. Horses fed diet C had greater ADG （P 〈 0.046） while G/F between the two treatments was not significantly different （P 〉 0.065） but showed a trend to be higher in the horses consuming diet C. Apparent digestibility of dry matter and crude protein was not different between the diet treatments, and no major gastric ulceration was found in horses consuming either diet treatment. The results of this study found that a complete cubed diet of 75% hay and 25% oats did not cause stomach ulceration while achieving an acceptable growth rate in yearling horses.

Genomic variation,origin tracing,and vaccine development of SARS-CoV-2:A systematic review

COVID-19 has spread globally to over 200 countries with more than 40 million confirmed cases and one million deaths as of November 1,2020.The SARS-CoV-2 virus,leading to COVID-19,shows extremely high rates of infectivity and replication,and can result in pneumonia,acute respiratory distress,or even mortality.SARS-CoV-2 has been found to continue to rapidly evolve,with several genomic variants emerging in different regions throughout the world.In addition,despite intensive study of the spike protein,its origin,and molecular mechanisms in mediating host invasion are still only partially resolved.Finally,the repertoire of drugs for COVID-19 treatment is still limited,with several candidates still under clinical trial and no effective therapeutic yet reported.Although vaccines based on either DNA/mRNA or protein have been deployed,their efficacy against emerging variants requires ongoing study,with multivalent vaccines supplanting the first-generation vaccines due to their low efficacy against new strains.Here,we provide a systematic review of studies on the epidemiology,immunological pathogenesis,molecular mechanisms,and structural biology,as well as approaches for drug or vaccine development for SARSCoV-2.

Resection of orthotopic murine brain glioma

Glioma is a malignant brain tumor with a poor prognosis.Surgical resection is usually the first line of treatment.However,animal models of glioma do not include surgical resection and tumors are typically treated before they become advanced.This report demonstrates the feasibility of surgical resection of advanced gliomas in mice.The described technique establishes a murine model which could be used for the development of immunotherapy for advanced glioma after surgical resection.Use of surgical resection in murine models could increase the probability that therapies developed in mice will translate to human patients.

Nano oxygen chamber by cascade reaction for hypoxia mitigation and reactive oxygen species scavenging in wound healing

Hypoxia,excessive reactive oxygen species(ROS),and impaired angiogenesis are prominent obstacles to wound healing following trauma and surgical procedures,often leading to the development of keloids and hypertrophic scars.To address these challenges,a novel approach has been proposed,involving the development of a cascade enzymatic reaction-based nanocarriers-laden wound dressing.This advanced technology incorporates superoxide dismutase modified oxygen nanobubbles and catalase modified oxygen nanobubbles within an alginate hydrogel matrix.The oxygen nano chamber functions through a cascade reaction between superoxide dismutase and catalase,wherein excessive superoxide in the wound environment is enzymatically decomposed into hydrogen peroxide,and this hydrogen peroxide is subsequently converted into oxygen by catalase.This enzymatic cascade effectively controls wound inflammation and hypoxia,mitigating the risk of keloid formation.Concurrently,the oxygen nanobubbles release oxygen continuously,thus providing a sustained supply of oxygen to the wound site.The oxygen release from this dynamic system stimulates fibroblast proliferation,fosters the formation of new blood vessels,and contributes to the overall wound healing process.In the rat full-thickness wound model,the cascade reaction-based nano oxygen chamber displayed a notable capacity to expedite wound healing without scarring.Furthermore,in the pilot study of porcine full-thickness wound healing,a notable acceleration of tissue repair was observed in the conceived cascade reaction-based gel treated group within the 3 days post-surgery,which represents the proliferation stage of healing process.These achievements hold significant importance in ensuring the complete functional recovery of tissues,thereby highlighting its potential as a promising approach for enhancing wound healing outcomes.