Granulomatous tracheitis and dermatitis due to Curvularia sp. in a horse: case report / [Traqueíte e dermatite granulomatosas associadas a Curvularia sp. em um equino: relato de caso]

Tracheal fungal infections in horses are rare. This case report describes surgical and clinical management of a filly with a Curvularia sp. infection within the trachea and skin that caused severe intraluminal granulomas and cutaneous nodules, respectively. The patient was successfully treated with itraconazole and surgical excision.(AU)

Infecções fúngicas traqueais em equinos são raras. Este relato de caso descreve condutas clínicas e cirúrgicas em uma égua com infecção por Curvularia sp. na traqueia e na pele, causando granulomas intraluminais severos e nódulos cutâneos, respectivamente. O animal foi tratado com sucesso com itraconazol e exérese cirúrgica.(AU)

X-ray diffraction Fourier fingerprint of Farina Ferrum / 中草药

Objective: To establish the Fourier transform X-ray diffraction (XRD) fingerprint of Farina Ferrum and to explore the effect of different processing methods on the quality of medicinal materials. Methods: The technology of powder XRD was used for analyzing Farina Ferrum, and the XRD Fourier fingerprints were also determined. Then the XRD Fourier patterns of six kinds of processed products were compared by superimposed way, and the K value method was used to determine the content of Fe3O4 in different processed products. Results: XRD characteristic fingerprint of 11 batches of Farina Ferrum was established. Ten common peaks were characterized, in which the third and sixth peaks were from Fe3O4 and FeO, respectively. There were some differences in the number and intensity of peaks among raw materials and six kinds of processed products, which were consistent with the variation of mass fraction of Fe3O4. Conclusion: The XRD fingerprint could be used for the appraisal and the analysis of Farina Ferrum, and the basis could be provided for the quality evaluation of Farina Ferrum and the option of processing methods.

Daily anticipatory rhythms of behavior and body temperature in response to glucose availability in rats

When food is available recurrently at a particular time of day, several species increase their locomotion in the hours that precede food delivery, a phenomenon called food anticipatory activity (FAA). In mammals, many studies have shown that FAA is driven by a food-entrained circadian oscillator (FEO) that is distinct from the light-entrained pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus. Few studies have investigated the effect of sugar ingestion on food anticipatory rhythms and the FEO. We aimed to extend the understanding of the role of glucose on the emergence of food anticipatory rhythms by investigating whether glucose ingestion is sufficient to produce daily food anticipation, reflected by motor activity and core body temperature rhythms. Under a 12 h/12 h light/dark cycle, chow-deprived rats had glucose solution available between Zeitgeber Time (ZT) 6 and ZT 9 for 10 days (glucose restriction group), whereas control animals had chow available within the same time window (chow restriction group). Animals in both groups exhibited anticipatory motor activity and body temperature around the fourth day of the scheduled food restriction. Glucose-fed rats ingested ~15 kcal on the days immediately before FAA emergence and reached an intake of ~20 kcal/day, whereas chow-fed rats ingested ~40 kcal/day. The glucose restriction group exhibited a pattern of food anticipation (activity and temperature) that was extremely similar to that observed in the chow restriction group. We conclude that glucose ingestion is a sufficient temporal cue to produce recurrent food anticipation, reflected by activity and temperature rhythms, in rats.