The list of standard abbreviations for JDS is available at adsa.org/jds-abbreviations-24. Nonstandard abbreviations are available in the Notes.
Automated milk feeders (AMF) allow farmers to raise ...calves in groups while generating individual records on milk consumption, drinking speed, and frequency of visits. Calves raised in groups benefit from social interaction, which facilitates learning and adapting to novelty. However, calves in large groups (>12 calves/feeder) experience a higher risk of disease transmission and competition than those housed individually or in smaller groups. Therefore, if group size, grouping strategy, and disease detection are not optimal, the health and performance of calves can be compromised. The objectives of this narrative literature review, from publications available as of February 2023, are to (1) describe the use of AMF in group housing systems for calves and the associated feeding behavior variables they automatically collect, (2) linking feeding behavior collected from AMF to disease risk in calves, (3) describe research on social behavior in AMF systems, and (4) introduce social networks as a promising tool for the study of social behavior and disease transmission in group-housed AMF-fed calves. Existing research suggests that feeding behavior measures from AMF can assist in detecting bovine respiratory disease and enteric disease, which are common causes of morbidity and mortality for preweaning dairy heifers. Automated milk feeder records show reduced milk intake, drinking speed, or frequency of visits when calves are sick. However, discrepancies exist among published research about the sensitivity of feeding behavior measures as indicators of sickness, likely due to differences in feeding plans and disease-detection protocols. Therefore, considering the influence of milk allowance, group density, and individual variation on the analysis of AMF data is essential to derive meaningful information used to inform management decisions. Research using dynamic social networks derived from precision data show potential for the use of social network analysis to understand disease transmission and the effect of disease on social behavior of group-housed calves.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are osteoblasts progenitors and a variety of studies suggest that they may play an important role for the health in the field of bone regeneration. Magnesium ...supplementation is gaining importance as adjuvant treatment to improve osteogenesis, although the mechanisms involving this process are not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of magnesium on MSC differentiation. Here we show that in rat bone marrow MSC, magnesium chloride increases MSC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner promoting osteogenic differentiation and mineralization. These effects are reduced by 2-APB administration, an inhibitor of magnesium channel TRPM7. Of note, magnesium supplementation did not increase the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway, although it promoted the activation of Notch1 signaling, which was also decreased by addition of 2-APB. Electron microscopy showed higher proliferation, organization and maturation of osteoblasts in bone decellularized scaffolds after magnesium addition. In summary, our results demonstrate that magnesium chloride enhances MSC proliferation by Notch1 signaling activation and induces osteogenic differentiation, shedding light on the understanding of the role of magnesium during bone regeneration.
The number of dairy farms adopting automatic milking systems (AMS) has considerably increased around the world aiming to reduce labor costs, improve cow welfare, increase overall performance, and ...generate a large amount of daily data, including production, behavior, health, and milk quality records. In this context, this study aimed to (1) estimate genomic-based variance components for milkability traits derived from AMS in North American Holstein cattle based on random regression models; and (2) derive and estimate genetic parameters for novel behavioral indicators based on AMS-derived data. A total of 1,752,713 daily records collected using 36 milking robot stations and 70,958 test-day records from 4,118 genotyped Holstein cows were used in this study. A total of 57,600 SNP remained after quality control. The daily-measured traits evaluated were milk yield (MY, kg), somatic cell score (SCS, score unit), milk electrical conductivity (EC, mS), milking efficiency (ME, kg/min), average milk flow rate (FR, kg/min), maximum milk flow rate (FRM, kg/min), milking time (MT, min), milking failures (MFAIL), and milking refusals (MREF). Variance components and genetic parameters for MY, SCS, ME, FR, FRM, MT, and EC were estimated using the AIREMLF90 software under a random regression model fitting a third-order Legendre orthogonal polynomial. A threshold Bayesian model using the THRGIBBS1F90 software was used for genetically evaluating MFAIL and MREF. The daily heritability estimates across days in milk (DIM) ranged from 0.07 to 0.28 for MY, 0.02 to 0.08 for SCS, 0.38 to 0.49 for EC, 0.45 to 0.56 for ME, 0.43 to 0.52 for FR, 0.47 to 0.58 for FRM, and 0.22 to 0.28 for MT. The estimates of heritability (± SD) for MFAIL and MREF were 0.02 ± 0.01 and 0.09 ± 0.01, respectively. Slight differences in the genetic correlations were observed across DIM for each trait. Strong and positive genetic correlations were observed among ME, FR, and FRM, with estimates ranging from 0.94 to 0.99. Also, moderate to high and negative genetic correlations (ranging from −0.48 to −0.86) were observed between MT and other traits such as SCS, ME, FR, and FRM. The genetic correlation (± SD) between MFAIL and MREF was 0.25 ± 0.02, indicating that both traits are influenced by different sets of genes. High and negative genetic correlations were observed between MFAIL and FR (−0.58 ± 0.02) and MFAIL and FRM (−0.56 ± 0.02), indicating that cows with more MFAIL are those with lower FR. The use of random regression models is a useful alternative for genetically evaluating AMS-derived traits measured throughout the lactation. All the milkability traits evaluated in this study are heritable and have demonstrated selective potential, suggesting that their use in dairy cattle breeding programs can improve dairy production efficiency in AMS.
Precision livestock farming technologies, such as automatic milk feeding machines, have increased the availability of on-farm data collected from dairy operations. We analyzed feeding records from ...automatic milk feeding machines to evaluate the genetic background of milk feeding traits and bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in North American Holstein calves. Data from 10,076 preweaning female Holstein calves were collected daily over a period of 6 yr (3 yr included per-visit data), and daily milk consumption (DMC), per-visit milk consumption (PVMC), daily sum of drinking duration (DSDD), drinking duration per-visit, daily number of rewarded visits (DNRV), and total number of visits per day were recorded over a 60-d preweaning period. Additional traits were derived from these variables, including total consumption and duration variance (TCV and TDV), feeding interval, drinking speed (DS), and preweaning stayability. A single BRD-related trait was evaluated, which was the number of times a calf was treated for BRD (NTT). The NTT was determined by counting the number of BRD incidences before 60 d of age. All traits were analyzed using single-step genomic BLUP mixed-model equations and fitting either repeatability or random regression models in the BLUPF90+ suite of programs. A total of 10,076 calves with phenotypic records and genotypic information for 57,019 SNP after the quality control were included in the analyses. Feeding traits had low heritability estimates based on repeatability models (0.006 ± 0.0009 to 0.08 ± 0.004). However, total variance traits using an animal model had greater heritabilities of 0.21 ± 0.023 and 0.23 ± 0.024, for TCV and TDV, respectively. The heritability estimates increased with the repeatability model when using only the first 32 d preweaning (e.g., PVMC = 0.040 ± 0.003, DMC = 0.090 ± 0.009, DSDD = 0.100 ± 0.005, DS = 0.150 ± 0.007, DNRV = 0.020 ± 0.002). When fitting random regression models (RRM) using the full dataset (60-d period), greater heritability estimates were obtained (e.g., PVMC = 0.070 range: 0.020, 0.110, DMC = 0.460 range: 0.050, 0.680, DSDD = 0.180 range: 0.010, 0.340, DS = 0.19 range: 0.070, 0.430, DNRV = 0.120 range: 0.030, 0.450) for the majority of the traits, suggesting that RRM capture more genetic variability than the repeatability model with better fit being found for RRM. Moderate negative genetic correlations of −0.59 between DMC and NTT were observed, suggesting that automatic milk feeding machines records have the potential to be used for genetically improving disease resilience in Holstein calves. The results from this study provide key insights of the genetic background of early in-life traits in dairy cattle, which can be used for selecting animals with improved health outcomes and performance.
In chronic kidney disease patients, high phosphate (HP) levels are associated with cardiovascular disease, the major cause of morbidity and mortality. Since serum phosphate has been independently ...correlated with inflammation, the present study aimed to investigate an independent direct effect of HP as a pro-inflammatory factor in VSMCs. A possible modulatory effect of vitamin D (VitD) was also investigated. The study was performed in an
model of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs). Incubation of cells in an HP (3.3 mM) medium caused an increased expression of the pro-inflammatory mediators intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), interleukins (ILs) IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) (not corroborated at the protein levels for ICAM-1), as well as an increase in reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) production. This was accompanied by the activation of nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signalling as demonstrated by the increase in the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells protein 65 (p65-NF-κΒ) assessed by Western blotting and confocal microscopy. Since all these events were attenuated by an antioxidant pre-incubation with the radical scavenger Mn(III)tetrakis (4-benzoic acid) porphyrin (MnTBAP), it is suggested that the inflammatory response is upstream mediated by the ROS/RNS-induced activation of NF-κΒ. Addition of paricalcitol (PC) 3·10
M to cells in HP prevented the phosphate induced ROS/RNS increase, the activation of NF-κΒ and the cytokine up-regulation. A bimodal effect was observed, however, for different calcitriol (CTR) concentrations, 10
and 10
M attenuated but 10
M stimulated this phosphate induced pro-oxidative and pro-inflammatory response. Therefore, these findings provide novel mechanisms whereby HP may directly favour vascular dysfunctions and new insights into the protective effects exerted by VitD derivatives.
The evidence indicates that risk factors other than smoking are important in the development of COPD. It has been postulated that less traditional risk factors (eg, exposure to coal and/or biomass ...smoke) may interact with smoking to further increase COPD risk. This analysis evaluated the effect of exposure to biomass and smoking on COPD risk in a primary care setting in Latin America.
Subjects attending routine primary care visits, ≥40 y old, who were current or former smokers or were exposed to biomass smoke, completed a questionnaire and performed spirometry. COPD was defined as post-bronchodilator FEV
/FVC < 0.70 and the lower limit of normal. Smoking was defined by pack-years (≤ 20, 20-30, or > 30), and biomass exposure was defined as an exposure to coal or wood (for heating, cooking, or both) for ≥ 10 y.
One thousand seven hundred forty-three individuals completed the questionnaire, and 1,540 performed spirometry. Irrespective of COPD definition, approximately 40% of COPD subjects reported exposure to biomass versus 30% of those without COPD. A higher proportion of COPD subjects (post-bronchodilator FEV
/FVC < 0.70) than those without COPD smoked > 30 pack-years (66% vs 39%); similar results were found with the lower limit of normal definition. Analysis of exposure to biomass > 10 y plus smoking > 20 pack-years (reference was no exposure) found that tobacco smoking (crude odds ratio OR 4.50, 95% CI 2.73-7.41; adjusted OR 3.30, 95% CI 1.93-5.63) and biomass exposure (crude OR 3.66, 95% CI 2.00-6.73; adjusted OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.18-4.41) were risk factors for COPD, with smoking a possible confounder for the association between biomass and COPD (post-bronchodilator FEV
/FVC < 0.70); similar results were found with the lower limit of normal definition.
Subjects with COPD from primary care had a higher exposure to biomass and smoking compared with non-COPD subjects. Smoking and biomass are both risk factors for COPD, but they do not appear to have an additive effect.
Here, we report a retrospective series of 47 EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma associated with advanced age. Histopathology allowed to the identification of different histological patterns: ...cases with polymorphic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (29 cases), Hodgkin-like (8 cases) and polymorphic lymphoproliferative disorder-like (9 cases) patterns. One case was purely monomorphic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. We show that this lymphoma type is a neoplasm with prominent classical and alternative nuclear factor-kB pathway activation in neoplastic cells (79% of the cases showed nuclear staining for p105/p50, 74% for p100/p52 and 63% for both proteins), with higher frequency than that observed in a control series of EBV-negative diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (χ2 <0.001). Most cases showed an activated phenotype (95% non-germinal center (Hans algorithm); 78% activated B cell (Choi algorithm)). Clonality testing demonstrated IgH and/or K/Kde/L monoclonal rearrangements in 64% of cases and clonal T-cell populations in 24% of cases. C-MYC (1 case), BCL6 (2 cases) or IgH (3 cases) translocations were detected by FISH in 18% cases. These tumors had a poor overall survival and progression-free survival (the estimated 2-year overall survival was 40±10% and the estimated 2-year progression-free survival was 36±9%). Thus, alternative therapies, based on the tumor biology, need to be tested in patients with EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the elderly.
The present study investigates the differential effect of two vitamin D receptor agonists, calcitriol and paricalcitol, on human aortic smooth muscle cells calcification in vitro. Human vascular ...smooth muscle cells were incubated in a high phosphate (HP) medium alone or supplemented with either calcitriol 10(-8)M (HP + CTR) or paricalcitol 3·10(-8) M (HP + PC). HP medium induced calcification, which was associated with the upregulation of mRNA expression of osteogenic factors such as bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), Runx2/Cbfa1, Msx2, and osteocalcin. In these cells, activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling was evidenced by the translocation of β-catenin into the nucleus and the increase in the expression of direct target genes as cyclin D1, axin 2, and VCAN/versican. Addition of calcitriol to HP medium (HP + CTR) further increased calcification and also enhanced the expression of osteogenic factors together with a significant elevation of nuclear β-catenin levels and the expression of cyclin D1, axin 2, and VCAN. By contrast, the addition of paricalcitol (HP + PC) not only reduced calcification but also downregulated the expression of BMP2 and other osteoblastic phenotype markers as well as the levels of nuclear β-catenin and the expression of its target genes. The role of Wnt/β-catenin on phosphate- and calcitriol-induced calcification was further demonstrated by the inhibition of calcification after addition of Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK-1), a specific natural antagonist of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In conclusion, the differential effect of calcitriol and paricalcitol on vascular calcification appears to be mediated by a distinct regulation of the BMP and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways.
Objective
To determine the effect of subclinical synovitis on the progression of joint disease in a cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus over a mean follow-up of 10 years.
Methods
A ...longitudinal follow-up of 96 patients diagnosed with lupus was performed. All patients were considered clinically free of joint disease or with minimal joint impairment at baseline and were studied through ultrasound study of their dominant hand to assess the prevalence of subclinical synovitis. Now, over 10 years after we contacted them and reviewed their evolution to determine the impact of had or had not been diagnosed with subclinical synovitis in their current joint condition.
Results
Thirty-one of the 91 reached patients developed clinical progression in their joint manifestations (at least one ordinal degree of worsening). Of these, 23 (74,9%) had demonstrated subclinical synovitis at baseline. In the group of patients who did not progress clinically, 46 (76,6%) did not have this finding at the start of follow-up (p < .01, OR 9,44 95%CI 3,46–25,74). The patients in whom clinical progression was demonstrated had worse combined ultrasound scores than the rest of the patients: 6,41 SD 1,45 vs. 1,15 SD 0,97 (p < .01).
Conclusions
The finding of subclinical synovitis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with the development of joint disease progression both clinically and ultrasonographically.
PDF
