Comparison of sheep and goat preferences for different forms of stoned olive cake.

The objectives of this experiment were to investigate voluntary intake of stoned olive cake (SOC) in sheep and goats. The feeding experiment was carried out with a total of 10 animals consisting of five Karya yearlings and five Saanen goats (28.0 ± 2.0 and 37.0 ± 2.1 kg initial body weight (BW), respectively). Three feeds were offered as free-choice: alfalfa hay-maize silage mix (40:60 in dry matter basis), pelleted SOC, and ensiled SOC. Goats had higher (P < 0.001) dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intakes than sheep, although digestible DM and NDF intakes were similar. Goats consumed more (P < 0.05) pelleted SOC and ensiled SOC than sheep as a percentage of total intake (29.2 and 22.4%, respectively). Both sheep and goats preferred (P < 0.001) the silage form of SOC compared to the pelleted form of SOC.

The effects of ration particle size and live yeast supplementation on dairy cows performance under heat stress conditions.

The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate the effects of ration particle size and dietary supplementation of live yeast (LY; Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on dry matter intake, milk yield and milk quality, apparent nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation parameters, and ruminal volatile fatty acids in dairy cattle under heat stress condition. Four multiparous Holstein dairy cattle in midlactation were fed 4 diets: high particle size (HPS), high particle size with 1 g/d/cow LY (Levucell® Sc 10 ME Titan® CNCM I-1077 (10 × 109 cfu/g) (HPS + LY), short particle size (SPS), short particle size with 1 g/d/cow LY (Levucell® Sc 10 ME Titan® CNCM I-1077 (10 × 109 cfu/g) (SPS + LY). Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial within a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Decreasing ration particle size increased intakes of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (P < 0.05) but decreased peNDF intake (P < 0.0001). Milk production and milk fat percentage were similar in cows. Cows fed SPS had lower milk protein percentage (P < 0.05). No treatments had any significant effect on apparent nutrient digestibility. Ruminal pH was higher in cows supplemented LY (P < 0.05). The ruminal total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration and percentage of VFAs were not significantly affected by ration particle size or dietary LY supplementing. Rectal temperature (oC) and respiratory rate (breaths/min) were similar between the groups. In conclusion, it may be concluded that decreasing ration particle size increased DM, and NDF intakes, without affecting milk yield or feed efficiency in cows exposed moderate heat stress.

Near-infrared off-on fluorescence probe activated by NTR for in vivo hypoxia imaging.

Selective and efficient detection and imaging of nitroreductase (NTR) overexpressed in hypoxic tissues is of great importance for better understanding its biological functions. The effective optical probes equipped for NTR detection in vivo is still lacking, so we developed an innovative near infrared (NIR) fluorescent on-off probe (Cy-NO2) composed of fluorescence reporting unit (an aminocyaine dye) and recognition unit (p-nitrobenzylcarbamate group). The response and mechanism of the NTR activated reduction of Cy-NO2 were evaluated in vitro through kinetic optical studies, mass spectra analysis and docking calculations. The results demonstrated that Cy-NO2 could rapidly recognize NTR with high selectivity and sensitivity. The efficient NTR detection ability of Cy7-NO2 was further validated by fluorescence imaging of hypoxic cells (A549, PC-12 and HUVEC cell). Furthermore, the in vivo hypoxia imaging by Cy-NO2 were evaluated on tumor-bearing mouse, cerebral ischemia (CIS) and deep vein thrombosis models. The results indicated a rapid and distinct enhancement of its NIR fluorescence highly appropriate for in vivomonitoring of NTR in all of the three animal models, which revealed aspiring clinical value of this NIR fluorescent hypoxia probe.

GSH-Activated Light-Up Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe with High Affinity to αvß3 Integrin for Precise Early Tumor Identification.

The development of tumor-associated, stimuli-driven, turn-on near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores requires urgent attention because of their potential in selective and precise tumor diagnosis. Herein, we describe a NIR fluorescent probe (CyA-cRGD) comprised of a fluorescence reporting unit (a cyanine dye) linked with a GSH-responsive unit (nitroazo aryl ether group) and a tumor-targeting unit (cRGD). The NIR fluorescence of CyA-cRGD with sensitive and selective response to GSH can act as a direct off-on signal reporter for GSH monitoring. Notably, CyA-cRGD possesses improved biocompatibility compared with CyA, which is highly desirable for in vivo fluorescence tracking of cancer. Confocal fluorescence imaging confirmed the tumor-targeting capability and GSH detection ability of CyA-cRGD in tumor cells, normal cells, and coincubated tumor /normal cells and in the three-dimensional multicellular tumor spheroid. Furthermore, it was validated that CyA-cRGD could detect tumor precisely in GSH and integrin αvß 3 high-expressed tumor-bearing mouse models. Importantly, it was confirmed that CyA-cRGD possessed high efficiency for early-stage tumor imaging in mouse models with tumor cells implanted within 72 h. This method provided significant advances toward more in-depth understanding and exploration of tumor imaging, which may potentially be applied for clinical early tumor diagnosis.

Methionine-Decorated Near Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Prolonged Tumor Imaging.

Methionine (Met) is one of the essential amino acids of which the transport system L is overexpressed in various tumor cells. In this study, a near-infrared fluorescent dye (IR-780) and methionine were conjugated through a piperazin-polyamines linker to form Cy-Met. The successful synthesis of Cy-Met was validated by optical characterization, NMR, and MS spectra. The absorption peak of Cy-Met was at 680 nm, and the fluorescence peak was at 790 nm. The cytotoxicity assay and cell imaging studies indicated that Cy-Met had good biocompatibility and specific affinity to tumor cells. The dynamic distribution and clearance investigations showed that Cy-Met was eliminated by the liver-intestine pathway. Notably, Cy-Met displayed tumor-targeting ability in U87, H22, and EAC tumor-bearing mice with an evident long circulation time. The results implied that Cy-Met could act as a promising fluorescence probe specialized for long-term tumor monitoring.

Biocompatible CuS-based nanoplatforms for efficient photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in vivo.

Near-infrared (NIR) photothermal therapy (PTT) is a new approach to ablate cancer without affecting normal tissues. A pivotal concern of PPT is to develop photo-responsive agents with high biocompatibility as well as effective photothermal conversion efficiency. Copper sulfide (CuS) nanoparticles prepared are characterized by their low synthesis cost, wide NIR absorption range, good biocompatibility and favorable NIR photothermal conversion efficiency. CuS nanoparticles were then coated with mesoporous silicon dioxide (SiO2) by the Stober method, and further loaded with anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The nanocomposites obtained were named CuS@MSN-DOX. The infrared thermal imaging of CuS@MSN-DOX demonstrated its favorable photothermal efficacy. The potential of CuS@MSN-DOX utilized as a multifunctional platform for combined PPT and chemotherapy was exploited both at the cell level and in a mice model. The result demonstrated that CuS@MSN-DOX was endowed with the synergistic effect of chemo-photothermal therapy, which confirmed that it is a promising candidate for combined therapy of cancer.