Finding biomarkers of experience in animals

At a time when there is a growing public interest in animal welfare,it is critical to have objective means to assess the way that an animal experiences a situation.Objectivity is critical to ensure appropriate animal welfare outcomes.Existing behavioural,physiological,and neurobiological indicators that are used to assess animal welfare can verify the absence of extremely negative outcomes.But welfare is more than an absence of negative outcomes and an appropriate indicator should reflect the full spectrum of experience of an animal,from negative to positive.In this review,we draw from the knowledge of human biomedical science to propose a list of candidate biological markers(biomarkers)that should reflect the experiential state of non-human animals.The proposed biomarkers can be classified on their main function as endocrine,oxidative stress,non-coding molecular,and thermobiological markers.We also discuss practical challenges that must be addressed before any of these biomarkers can become useful to assess the experience of an animal in real-life.

Effects of Quercetin on Blood Pressure in Animals:A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

[Objectives] To make a systematic evaluation of the efficacy and safety of quercetin on animal blood pressure.[Methods] The CNKI,Wan Fang,VIP,CBM,Pubmed,and Cochrane Library databases were searched for the literature about the effects of quercetin on blood pressure in the period from the creation of databases to April 2018.Two researchers separately screened literature and extracted data.Meta-analysis was carried out with the aid of Rev Men 5.3 software.[Results]A total of 10 articles were included,involving 288 animals.All animals were rodents.Meta-analysis results showed that there was a statistically significant difference in Systolic Blood Pressure(SBP) between the quercetin group and the control group.MD =-21.43,95% CI(-28.99,-13.86),P < 0.000 01;subgroup analysis,hypertensive animal group,MD =-29.52,95% CI(-36.05,-22.98),P < 0.000 01;the ability of quercetin group in lowering blood pressure was better than that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant;in the normal blood pressure group,MD =-0.49,95% CI(-3.74,2.77),P = 0.77,the quercetin group was basically the same as the control group,the difference was not statistically significant.[Conclusions] Compared with the blank control group,quercetin can effectively reduce the blood pressure of hypertensive animals,but it has little effect on the blood pressure of normal animals.Besides,further study is needed on the safety of quercetin.

A Train Adventure of Wild Animals

An empty goods train was speedingthrough a jungle. Up front, in the engire,was the driver and at the back, in the lastcompartment, was the guard, Apart fromthem, the entire train was empty.A goods train carries goods like logs ofwood, or boxes of chocolate and even carsand jeeps. But this train had been carryingcoal, After unloading all the coal, the emptytrain was going back to get more coal.

Blood biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease:important considerations for use in clinical practice

Introduction:Fluid and positron emission tomography(PET)biomarkers that enable the detection of the hallmark proteins of Alzheimer’s disease(AD)(amyloid and tau)have revolutionized our approach to the diagnosis of AD.The evolution of AD diagnostic criteria to include biological characterization(Alzheimer’s Association Working Group,2023)provides an appropriate framework to reduce levels of clinico-pathologic mismatch and improve in-vivo diagnostic accuracy.As the therapeutic landscape for neurodegenerative disease evolves,it is increasingly incumbent on clinicians to provide timely,and pathologically precise diagnoses for patients.However,the expensive and invasive nature of these tests limits their scalability.

Beyond wrecking a wall:revisiting the concept of blood–brain barrier breakdown in ischemic stroke

The blood–brain barrier constitutes a dynamic and interactive boundary separating the central nervous system and the peripheral circulation.It tightly modulates the ion transport and nutrient influx,while restricting the entry of harmful factors,and selectively limiting the migration of immune cells,thereby maintaining brain homeostasis.Despite the well-established association between blood–brain barrier disruption and most neurodegenerative/neuroinflammatory diseases,much remains unknown about the factors influencing its physiology and the mechanisms underlying its breakdown.Moreover,the role of blood–brain barrier breakdown in the translational failure underlying therapies for brain disorders is just starting to be understood.This review aims to revisit this concept of“blood–brain barrier breakdown,”delving into the most controversial aspects,prevalent challenges,and knowledge gaps concerning the lack of blood–brain barrier integrity.By moving beyond the oversimplistic dichotomy of an“open”/“bad”or a“closed”/“good”barrier,our objective is to provide a more comprehensive insight into blood–brain barrier dynamics,to identify novel targets and/or therapeutic approaches aimed at mitigating blood–brain barrier dysfunction.Furthermore,in this review,we advocate for considering the diverse time-and location-dependent alterations in the blood–brain barrier,which go beyond tight-junction disruption or brain endothelial cell breakdown,illustrated through the dynamics of ischemic stroke as a case study.Through this exploration,we seek to underscore the complexity of blood–brain barrier dysfunction and its implications for the pathogenesis and therapy of brain diseases.

Refractory lipoatrophy treated with autologous whole blood injection:A case report

BACKGROUND Intramuscular corticosteroid injection may cause adverse effects such as dermal and/or subcutaneous atrophy,alopecia,hypopigmentation,and hyperpigmentation.Although cutaneous atrophy can spontaneously resolve,several treatment options have been suggested for this condition.CASE SUMMARY In this paper,we report a case of corticosteroid injection induced lipoatrophy treated with autologous whole blood(AWB)injection,as the condition had been unresponsive to fractional laser therapy.A 29-year-old female patient visited the dermatology clinic complaining of skin depression on her right buttock area,which had appeared six months earlier.There had been only subtle improvement at the margins after fractional CO2 laser treatment;therefore,after obtaining informed consent from the patient,AWB treatment was initiated.One month after the first AWB injection,the size and depth of the lesion had noticeably improved,and a slight improvement was also observed in discoloration.CONCLUSION Close observation is the initial treatment of choice for steroid induced skin atrophy;however,for patients in need of immediate cosmetic improvement,AWB injection may be a safe and cost-effective alternative.

Blood diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a devastating neurodegenerative disease for which the current treatment approaches remain severely limited.The principal pathological alterations of the disease include the selective degeneration of motor neurons in the brain,brainstem,and spinal cord,as well as abnormal protein deposition in the cytoplasm of neurons and glial cells.The biological markers under extensive scrutiny are predominantly located in the cerebrospinal fluid,blood,and even urine.Among these biomarke rs,neurofilament proteins and glial fibrillary acidic protein most accurately reflect the pathologic changes in the central nervous system,while creatinine and creatine kinase mainly indicate pathological alterations in the peripheral nerves and muscles.Neurofilament light chain levels serve as an indicator of neuronal axonal injury that remain stable throughout disease progression and are a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker with high specificity and sensitivity.However,there are challenges in using neurofilament light chain to diffe rentiate amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from other central nervous system diseases with axonal injury.Glial fibrillary acidic protein predominantly reflects the degree of neuronal demyelination and is linked to non-motor symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis such as cognitive impairment,oxygen saturation,and the glomerular filtration rate.TAR DNA-binding protein 43,a pathological protein associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,is emerging as a promising biomarker,particularly with advancements in exosome-related research.Evidence is currently lacking for the value of creatinine and creatine kinase as diagnostic markers;however,they show potential in predicting disease prognosis.Despite the vigorous progress made in the identification of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis biomarkers in recent years,the quest for definitive diagnostic and prognostic biomarke rs remains a formidable challenge.This review summarizes the latest research achievements concerning blood biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that can provide a more direct basis for the differential diagnosis and prognostic assessment of the disease beyond a reliance on clinical manifestations and electromyography findings.

Peripheral blood RNA biomarkers can predict lesion severity in degenerative cervical myelopathy

Degenerative cervical myelopathy is a common cause of spinal cord injury,with longer symptom duration and higher myelopathy severity indicating a worse prognosis.While numerous studies have investigated serological biomarkers for acute spinal cord injury,few studies have explored such biomarkers for diagnosing degenerative cervical myelopathy.This study involved 30 patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy(51.3±7.3 years old,12 women and 18 men),seven healthy controls(25.7±1.7 years old,one woman and six men),and nine patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy(51.9±8.6 years old,three women and six men).Analysis of blood samples from the three groups showed clear differences in transcriptomic characteristics.Enrichment analysis identified 128 differentially expressed genes that were enriched in patients with neurological disabilities.Using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analysis,we constructed a five-gene model(TBCD,TPM2,PNKD,EIF4G2,and AP5Z1)to diagnose degenerative cervical myelopathy with an accuracy of 93.5%.One-gene models(TCAP and SDHA)identified mild and severe degenerative cervical myelopathy with accuracies of 83.3%and 76.7%,respectively.Signatures of two immune cell types(memory B cells and memory-activated CD4^(+)T cells)predicted levels of lesions in degenerative cervical myelopathy with 80%accuracy.Our results suggest that peripheral blood RNA biomarkers could be used to predict lesion severity in degenerative cervical myelopathy.

Synaptic and blood-brain barrier structural changes in a rat epilepsy model induced by coriaria lacton Replication experiment with animals

BACKGROUND： Structural and functional synaptic changes, as well as blood-brain barrier （BBB） changes, affect the micro-environment of nervous tissue and excitation, both of which play an important role in epilepsy. OBJECTIVE： To observe synaptic and BBB ultrastructural changes in the motor cortex of a rat epilepsy model induced by coriaria lacton, and to investigate the synaptic and BBB effects on the mechanism of epilepsy. DESIGN： A randomized controlled animal experiment. SETTING： Department of Histology and Embryology, Luzhou Medical College; and Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Luzhou Medical College. MATERIALS： Twenty healthy male Sprague Dawley rats, aged 8 weeks, were chosen for this study. The rats weighed （280 ± 50） g and were supplied by the Experimental Animal Center of Luzhou Medical College. Experimentation was performed in accordance with the ethical guidelines for the use and care of animals. The animals were randomly divided into a control group and an epilepsy group, with 10 rats in each group. METHODS： This study was performed at the Department of Histology and Embryology, and Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Luzhou Medical College between February and December 2006. According to the protocol, the epilepsy group was injected with 10 μ L/100 g coriaria lacton into the lateral ventricles to establish an epileptic model. The control group rats were not administered anything. Eight days after the model was established, all rats were anesthetized with ether. The motor cortex was removed and sectioned into ultrathin sections. Synaptic and BBB ultrastructural changes were observed by electron microscopy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： （1）Structural changes of three different parts of the synapses, synaptic cleft width, postsynaptic density thickness, proportion of perforation synapses, curvature of synaptic interface, and length of active zones. （2）Capillary and BBB changes （endothelium, basement membrane, pericyte, and the astrocyte endfeet）. RESULTS： （1）Curvature of synaptic interface, length of active zones, thickness of postsynaptic density, and percentage of perforation synapses increased significantly. （2）There was significant edema in the endothelium, basement membrane, and the pericyte of the epilepsy group; the electron density of the basement membrane was reduced. CONCLUSION： （1） The coriaria lacton treatment altered synaptic ultrastructure, as well as BBB characteristics, in the epileptic rat model, and also improved synaptic transmission efficiency, as well as BBB permeability; （2）Synaptic and BBB ultrastructural changes might play an important role in the mechanism of epilepsy.

Nature,Characteristics and Uitrastructure Observation of Fibers of Seven Kinds of Special Animals

[Objective]Aimed to study the nature,characteristics and ultrastructure of fibers of Ovis aries and several kinds of special animals.[Method]Wool,cashmere,alpaca,Bactrian camel hairs,rabbit hair,mohair and yak hair were used as the experimental materials,and scanning electron microscopy was used to observe their scale structure.[Result]The rake angle of wool was large with an average of 33.2°,the scale density was 16.2-34.9 scales/mm,the average height of scale was 12.95 μm,and the average thickness was 0.63 μm;the rake angle of cashmere was smaller than wool with an average of 20.6°,the scale density was of 10.3-15.6 scales/mm,the scale distance was large,the average height of scale was 16.09 μm,and the average thickness was 0.46 μm;the average rake angle of alpaca was 34.6°,with the average scale height of 5.85 μm,and average thickness of 0.33 μm;the average rake angle of camel hair was 33.5°,with the average scale height of 11.30 μm and average thickness of 0.37 μm;the average rake angle of rabbit hair was 31.2°,with average scale height of 7.03 μm and average thickness of 0.36 μm;the rake angle value of mohair was between wool and cashmere,and the average of which was 23.7°,the scale density value was also between the wool and cashmere,with the average scale height of 15.82 μm and average thickness of 0.61 μm;the average rake angle yak hair was 33.2°,with the average height of 9.08 μm and average thickness of 0.46 μm.[Conclusion]The results of this study could provide a basis for the identification of different fiber types.

Study on animals' femur blood flow alteration under inadequate decompression with ^(133)Xe isotope washout method

Animals’ regional femur blood (F) alteration was studied under an inadequate decompression by using the inhaled isotope 133Xe washout method. Results showed that the average F on left and right side of minipigs’ femur decreased from 15.4±1.8 and 16 .9±2.0 ml/ (100 g.min) (before exposure) to 10±1.8 and 11.1±1.6 ml/(100mg.min) (after expposure for 1.5 h under the pressure of 0.5 MPa and then decompression to normal with the rate of 0.03~0.04MPa/min), respectively; the blood flow of hematopoietic marrow tissues (f1)on both sides also decreased from 19.3±2.0 and 22.1±1.9 ml/(100mg.min) to 13.9±1.4 and 13.8±1.0 ml/(100 mg.min). The exact same alteration also happened in the experiment on New Zealand rabbits. It indicates that inadequate decompression in hyperbaric exposure can give rise to decrease animals’ bone blood flow and insufficient bone blood supply serves as one of the reasons for causing decompressive osteonecrosis.

A Contrastive Study on Folk Custom Semantics of Chinese and English Words of Plants and Animals

This paper attempts to make a comparison of folk custom semantics on Chinese and English words of plants and animals.

Symbolic Images of Colors, Animals and Machines in The Red Badge of Courage

Abstract:Stephen Crane was an outstanding American novelist,poet,and journalist.He achieved great success in his literary works during his brief career.Crane’s most well-known work,The Red Badge of Courage,is commonly believed to be the first great novel of the American Civil War,largely because of its vivid and detailed description of the experience of warfare.This paper analyzes the images of color,animal and machine,which convey Crane’s thoughts of war:war is full of chaos,brutality,and confusion,without any romantic elements or heroism.

Potential role of N-carbamoyl glutamate in biosynthesis of arginine and its significance in production of ruminant animals

Arginine （ARG） exerts many beneficial effects on animal body and enhanced angiogenesis, lactogenesis, which finally leads to the improvement in nitrogen （N） metabolism, reproduction, lactation, immunity and growth. Unfortunately, unprotected ARG will be degraded in the rumen and its price is high, thus feeding rumen-protected ARG seems to be uneconomical. Alternatively, N-carbamoyl glutamate （NCG） is structural analogue of N-acetyl glutamate, cofactor of cabamoyl phosphate synthetasel, is lower in rumen degradation compared to ARG. Additionally, rumen epithelial and duodenal cells have potentially utilized the NCG for ureagenesis. Supplementation of NCG to high yielding dairy cows increased plasma concentration of ARG and nitric oxide, decreased the plasma ammonia N and improved lactation performance and N utilization. Supplementation of NCG enhanced pregnancy rates in rats, improved litter size and fetal survival rate, thereby improved the reproductive performance of sows. Oral NCG supplementation increases plasma ARG and somatotropin levels, and increased growth rate and muscle protein synthesis in nursing piglets. The NCG is potential a relatively cheaper source of feed additive to offer vital compensation over oral administration of ARG, resulting in improved ruminant animal health and production. In this article, we reviewed the mechanism of AfiG biosynthesis by NCG and their significance in growth, reproduction, milk production and N utilization in ruminant animals.

Protection and Construction Measures of Wild Animals' Habitats in Ecological Green Land Design in Town-and-City Concentration Areas of China

Town-and-city concentration area is confronted with ecological degeneration due to the expansion of urbanization,and enriching urban bio-diversity is conducive to the improvement of ecological function of urban green system.The paper has studied how to increase urban bio-diversity by making use of urban green lands for protection and construction of wild animals' habitats,and proposed the significance and theoretical idea for protection and construction of wild animals' habitats.By taking ecological green lands design in Qinglongchang of Chengdu City for example,it has analyzed the current situation of animals' diversity;proposed to plan corridor,construct biological channel and provide multiporous habitats;listed plants' selection and collocation mode;and finally illustrated how to set artificial facilities for attraction of animals.It hopes to provide a reference for the design of ecological green lands in cities advocating the harmonious development of living environment and natural environment.

Penile rehabilitation with a vacuum erectile device in an animal model is related to an antihypoxic mechanism： blood gas evidence

Our previous study showed that vacuum erectile device （VED） therapy has improved erectile function in rats with bilateral cavernous nerve crush （BCNC） injuries. This study was designed to explore the mechanism of VED in penile rehabilitation by analyzing cavernous oxygen saturation （SO2） and to examine the effect of VED therapy on preventing penile shrinkage after BCNC. Thirty adult Sprague- Dawley rats were randomly assigned into three groups： group 1, sham surgery; group 2, BCNC; and group 3, BCNC＋VED. Penile length and diameter were measured on a weekly basis. After 4 weeks of therapy, the penile blood was extracted by three methods for blood gas analysis （BGA）： method 1, cavernous blood was aspirated at the flaccid state; method 2, cavernous blood was aspirated at the traction state; and method 3, cavernous blood was aspirated immediately after applying VED. SO2 values were tested by the blood gas analyzer. The results showed that VED therapy is effective in preventing penile shrinkage induced by BCNC （Penile shortening： BCNC group 1.9±1.1 mm; VED group 0.3±1.0 mm; P〈0.01. Penile diameter reduction： BCNC group 0.28±0.14 mm; VED group 0.04±0.14 mm; P〈0.01）. The mean SO2±s.d. values were increased by VED application （88.25%±4.94%） compared to the flaccid （76.53%±4.16%） or traction groups （78.93%±2.56%） （P〈0.05）. The calculated blood constructs in the corpus cavernosum right after VED application were 62% arterial and 38% venous blood. These findings suggest that VED therapy can effectively preserve penile size in rats with BCNC injury. The beneficial effect of VED therapy is related to antihypoxia by increasing cavernous blood SO2.

Cellular reprogramming in farm animals： an overview of iPSC generation in the mammalian farm animal species

Establishment of embryonic stem cell （ESC） lines has been successful in mouse and human, but not in farm animals. Development of direct reprogramming technology offers an alternative approach for generation of pluripotent stem cells, applicable also in farm animals. Induced pluripotent stem cells （iPSCs） represent practically limitless, ethically acceptable, individuum-specific source of pluripotent cells that can be generated from different types of somatic cells, iPSCs can differentiate to all cell types of an organism＇s body and have a tremendous potential for numerous applications in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. However, molecular mechanisms behind the reprogramming process remain largely unknown and hamper generation of bona fide iPSCs and their use in human clinical practice. Large animal models are essential to expand the knowledge obtained on rodents and facilitate development and validation of transplantation therapies in preclinical studies. Additionally, transgenic animals with special traits could be generated from genetically modified pluripotent cells, using advanced reproduction techniques. Despite their applicative potential, it seems that iPSCs in farm animals haven＇t received the deserved attention. The aim of this review was to provide a systematic overview on iPSC generation in the most important mammalian farm animal species （cattle, pig, horse, sheep, goat, and rabbit）, compare protein sequence similarity of pluripotency-related transcription factors in different species, and discuss potential uses of farm animal iPSCs. Literature mining revealed 32 studies, describing iPSC generation in pig （13 studies）, cattle （5） horse （5）, sheep （4）, goat （3）, and rabbit （2） that are summarized in a concise, tabular format.

ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL ANIMALS IN BROAD-LEAVED PINE FORESTS IN SOUTHERN SLOPE OF XIAO HINGGAN MOUNTAINS

This paper studied the soil animals of four type forests of broad leaved pine forests in the southern slope of the Xiao Hinggan Mountains. The samples were extracted from four forest types in every first week of June, August, October, and every forest type was chosen out three plots. Since there are different soil animals in different depths, every plot was divided into four partitions with the same vertical distance: litter, 0－ 10 cm, 10－ 20 cm, 20－ 30 cm. Using hand sorting out large soil animals, Tullgren method (to middle and small soil animals) and Baermann method (to moist soil animals) to collect soil animals. Among the four type forests, insecta has the largest amount of groups of 54. Oribatida has the most number of individual, which is 1547, occupying 21.73 percent of total collectings. There are 81 groups of soil animals, totalling 7118 belonging to 8 Class 24 Order 57 Family, in which there are 54 groups of big sized soil animals totalling 2370, 41 groups of middle and small sized soil animals totalling 4808. Among all the soil animals,their dominant group is 3 ones, usual growp is 14 ones, and rare group is 64 ones. The results show that among the four type forests, the groups of soil animal in Tilia pine forest are much more than the others, with the highest variety index, and the individual number of the soil animals is also very large. The numbers of group and individual in Picea Abies Pine forest are both small.Among the four forest types, the soil animals in Tilia pine forest are most similar to Betula costata pine forest. There is so little similarity between the soil animals in Picea Abies pine forest and in the other three forest types.

Analysis of the Impact of Climate Change on the Phenology of Animals

Using linear regression and correlation analysis method,the variation trend characteristics of average temperature,sunshine,precipitation and the phenology of five kinds of animals(Barn Swallows,Frogs,Cryptotympana atra,Crickets,Indian Cuckoo) in Huimin County during 1980-2008 were analyzed.On this basis,the relationship between the phenological phases of various animals and monthly temperature,sunshine and precipitation was analyzed.And the reasons that the phenological phases of various animals adapted to the climatic factors were also discussed.

Induced pluripotent stem cells: Mechanisms, achievements and perspectives in farm animals

Pluripotent stem cells are unspecialized cells withunlimited self-renewal, and they can be triggered to differentiate into desired specialized cell types. These features provide the basis for an unlimited cell source for innovative cell therapies. Pluripotent cells also allow to study developmental pathways, and to employ them or their differentiated cell derivatives in pharmaceutical testing and biotechnological applications. Via blastocyst complementation, pluripotent cells are a favoured tool for the generation of genetically modified mice. The recently established technology to generate an induced pluripotency status by ectopic co-expression of the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc allows to extending these applications to farm animal species, for which the derivation of genuine embryonic stem cells was not successful so far. Most induced pluripotent stem(i PS) cells are generated by retroviral or lentiviral transduction of reprogramming factors. Multiple viral integrations into the genome may cause insertional mutagenesis and may increase the risk of tumour formation. Non-integration methods have been reported to overcome the safety concerns associated with retro and lentiviral-derived i PS cells, such as transient expression of the reprogramming factors using episomal plasmids, and direct delivery of reprogramming m RNAs or proteins. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms of cellular reprogramming and current methods used to induce pluripotency. We also highlight problems associated with the generation of i PS cells. An increased understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying pluripotency and refining the methodology of i PS cell generation will have a profound impact on future development and application in regenerative medicine and reproductive biotechnology of farm animals.