Workload of official contests, net cost of transport, and metabolic power of Mangalarga Marchador horses of marcha batida or picada gaits.

This study aimed to characterize the maximum heart rate (HR) and the intensity of official marcha contests (OMC) and to compare the cost of transport (COT) and metabolic power (Pmet) of Mangalarga Marchador (MM) horses of marcha batida (MB) and marcha picada (MP) gaits. Twenty-two MM horses participated in this study. The experiment was conducted in 3 phases: 1) maximum effort test (MET), 2) OMC, and 3) standardized marcha test (SMT). To characterize the HR, 19 horses (14 MB and 5 MP) underwent a MET. Of those, 13 (9 MB and 4 MP) were monitored during the OMC, which consisted of 4 stages: marcha, walk, functional trial, and rest. The average heart rate (HR) in each stage of the OMC was related to the HR to determine their relative intensity. The SMT was performed with 14 horses (9 MB and 5 MP), of which 11 had already participated in the previous stages. The COT and Pmet were calculated from the HR values obtained during the SMT. Blood samples were collected to analyze plasma lactate concentration ([Lac]). One-way ANOVA or 1-way repeated-measures ANOVA followed by the Tukey's test ( < 0.05) were used to analyze the results. The average HR was 211 ± 11 and 214 ± 11 beats/min (bpm) for the MB and MP groups, respectively, with no difference ( = 0.7066) between them. The [Lac] increased as a result of the MET ( < 0.05), with no difference between groups ( > 0.05). This indicated that horses of both groups had the same physical fitness levels. The OMC stages defined in our study differed ( < 0.05) regarding the relative intensity of the HR, except for the walk and standing stages, which were similar ( = 0.0875). The MP group presented greater COT ( = 0.0247) and Pmet ( = 0.0193). It can be concluded that the mean HR of MM horses (MB and MP) is 212 ± 11 bpm. The OMC of the MM breed can be characterized as an effort of intermittent and submaximal intensity. In addition, the locomotion of the MB horses is probably more energetically efficient than that of MP horses.

Melittin induces in vitro death of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum by triggering the cellular innate immune response

Background: Apis mellifera venom, which has already been recommended as an alternative anti-inflammatory treatment, may be also considered an important source of candidate molecules for biotechnological and biomedical uses, such as the treatment of parasitic diseases. Methods: Africanized honeybee venom from Apis mellifera was fractionated by RP-C18-HPLC and the obtained melittin was incubated with promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania (L.) infantum. Cytotoxicity to mice peritoneal macrophages was evaluated through mitochondrial oxidative activity. The production of anti-and pro-inflammatory cytokines, NO and H2O2 by macrophages was determined. Results: Promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes were susceptible to melittin (IC50 28.3 mu g.mL(-1) and 1.4 mu g.mL(-1), respectively), but also showed mammalian cell cytotoxicity with an IC50 value of 5.7 mu g.mL(-1). Uninfected macrophages treated with melittin increased the production of IL-10, TNF-alpha, NO and H2O2. Infected melittin-treated macrophages increased IL-12 production, but decreased the levels of IL-10, TNF-alpha, NO and H2O2. Conclusions: The results showed that melittin acts in vitro against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania (L.) infantum. Furthermore, they can act indirectly on intracellular amastigotes through a macrophage immunomodulatory effect

Early postoperative bridging anticoagulation after mechanical heart valve replacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating anticoagulation during the early postoperative period following mechanical heart valve implantation. METHODS: Five literature databases were searched to assess the rates of bleeding and thromboembolic events among patients receiving oral anticoagulation (OAC), both with and without bridging anticoagulation therapy with unfractionated heparin (UFH) or subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). The studies' results were pooled via a mixed effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity (I(2) ) and publication bias were both evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies including 9534 patients were included. The bleeding rates were 1.8% (95% confidence interval CI 1.0-3.3) in the group receiving OAC, 2.2% (95% CI 0.9-5.3) in the OAC + UFH group, and 5.5% (95% CI 2.9-10.4) in the OAC + LMWH group (P = 0.042). The thromboembolic event rate was 2.1% (95% CI 1.5-2.9) in the group receiving OAC, as compared with 1.1% (95% CI 0.7-1.8) when the bridging therapy groups were combined as follows: OAC + UFH and OAC + LMWH (P = 0.035). Most of the analyses showed moderate heterogeneity and negative test results for publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: Bridging therapy following cardiac valve surgery was associated with a lower thromboembolic event rate, although the difference was small, with considerable overlap of the CIs. Direct comparisons are missing. Bridging therapy with UFH appears to be safe; however, this observation has a risk of bias. Early bridging therapy with LMWH appears to be associated with consistently high bleeding rates across multiple analyses. On the basis of the quality of the included studies, more trials are necessary to establish the clinical relevance of bridging therapy and the safety of LMWH.

Immunosuppressants and calcineurin inhibitors, cyclosporin A and FK506, reversibly inhibit epileptogenesis in amygdaloid kindled rat.

Calcineurin (CaN) immunoreactivity and content increased markedly in kindled rat brain, and this increment was due to CaN in the membrane fraction. Investigation of the effects of cyclosporin A and FK506 (immunosuppressants which inhibit CaN activity in T lymphocytes) in the kindling phenomena showed that the kindling stage progression was reversibly blocked by these drugs. These findings suggest that calcineurin may play an essential role in acquiring epileptogenesis in kindling.