Donkey milk is known for some nutritional and nutraceutical peculiarities compared to the milks traditionally used for human nutrition. Moreover although the number of studies on donkey milk ...production has increased the asinine species still remains little investigated. This is the first study providing a multiple assessment approach in order to extend the knowledge on the production of donkey milk, on the haematological and milk cytological parameters during the whole span of lactation. Furthermore, this study characterised the LYZ and OXT genes. Twenty two individual milk and blood samples from Amiatina donkey were taken at one, six and ten months after parturition. Milk total proteins and caseins and ash were significantly higher at the 1 month of lactation while the urea was lower (1.88% 0.95%, 0.41% and 26.08 mg/mL respectively). Whereas lactose and fat did not significantly changed and showed average values of 6.84 ± 0.145% and 0.67 ± 0.546% respectively. pH and titratable acidity were respectively higher (7.20) and lower (0.10 g/l of lactic acid) at 10th month. The mean values of somatic cell count/mL and of milk macrophages were low with maximum value at tenth month. The haematological parameters were stable during lactation except for mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and platelet count with maximum at sixth month (respectively 20.22 pg, 36.1 g/dl, 281.16 x 10
9
/l). This study also provides for the first time a characterisation of the LYZ gene in the Amiata donkey and describes a first polymorphism at the promoter level.
Highlights
This study extends the knowledge on the production of donkey milk, on the haematological and milk cytological parameters during the whole span of lactation.
The results may have economic, health and social impacts since donkey milk is primarily targeted at sensitive consumers.
Lysozyme polymorphisms could have association with anti-bacterial activity in milk and the inflammatory response in the mammary gland.
•Sudden cardiac death (SCD), especially in young athletes, should be avoided.•Current pre-sports screening is based on history/physical exam (insufficient).•ECG is an excellent test for electrically ...induced SCD but requires expert review.•Screening MRI is the best tool for identifying myocardiopathies/coronary anomalies.•Results of a preliminary population-based study confirm the value of screening MRI.
Preventing sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes is a primary duty of sports cardiologists. Current recommendations for detecting high-risk cardiovascular conditions (hr-CVCs) are history and physical examination (H&P)-based. We discuss the effectiveness of H&P-based screening versus more-modern and accurate methods. In this position paper, we review current authoritative statements and suggest a novel alternative: screening MRI (s-MRI), supported by evidence from a preliminary population-based study (completed in 2018), and a prospective, controlled study in military recruits (in development).
We present: 1. Literature-Based Comparisons (for diagnosing hr-CVCs): Two recent studies using traditional methods to identify hr-CVCs in >3,000 young athletes are compared with our s-MRI-based study of 5,169 adolescents. 2. Critical Review of Previous Results: The reported incidence of SCD in athletes is presently based on retrospective, observational, and incomplete studies. H&P’s screening value seems minimal for structural heart disease, versus echocardiography (which improves diagnosis for high-risk cardiomyopathies) and s-MRI (which also identifies high-risk coronary artery anomalies). Electrocardiography is valuable in screening for potentially high-risk electrophysiological anomalies. 3. Proposed Project: We propose a prospective, controlled study (2 comparable large cohorts: one historical, one prospective) to compare: (1) diagnostic accuracy and resulting mortality-prevention performance of traditional screening methods versus questionnaire/electrocardiography/s-MRI, during 2-month periods of intense, structured exercise (in military recruits, in advanced state of preparation); (2) global costs and cost/efficiency between these two methods. This study should contribute significantly toward a comprehensive understanding of the incidence and causes of exercise-related mortality (including establishing a definition of hr-CVCs) while aiming to reduce mortality.
We recently described the use of ion exchange chromatography for analysis and the industrial scale preparation of pools of oligosaccharides of intermediate chain length from polysaccharides of
...Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and
Neisseria meningitidis groups A and C. These negatively charged “sized” oligosaccharides are activated and conjugated to the carrier protein (CRM
197) to prepare the corresponding glycoconjugate vaccines. Characterization and accurate determination of the degree of polymerization (DP) of the pool of oligosaccharides is essential for the consistent production of these conjugate vaccines. This paper describes the colorimetric assays used for determination of the average DP of the Hib and meningococcal oligosaccharides, and the qualification of these assays achieved by size characterization of the respective oligosaccharides by use of physicochemical methods, including liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry (ionspray) and NMR spectroscopy.
We have developed a chromatographic method suitable for the fractionation of polysaccharides having a negatively charged group. The method permits the removal of all those polysaccharide fragments ...having a short sequence and which are likely unsuitable for conjugate vaccine construction. The selected polysaccharide fragments can be used to produce glycoconjugate vaccines containing a restricted saccharide polydispersion. We have applied this chromatographic method to three different antigens,
Haemophilus influenzae type b and
Neisseria meningitidis group A and group C polysaccharides. The method is easily adapted for manufacturing purposes.
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