Comparative analysis of the ileal bacterial composition of post-weaned pigs fed different high-quality protein sources.

To further understand the contribution of feedstuff ingredients to gut health in swine, gut histology and intestinal bacterial profiles associated with the use of two high-quality protein sources, microbially enhanced soybean meal (MSBM) and Menhaden fishmeal (FM) were assessed. Weaned pigs were fed one of three experimental diets: (1) basic diet containing corn and soybean meal (Negative Control (NEG)), (2) basic diet + fishmeal (FM; Positive Control (POS)) and (3) basic diet + MSBM (MSBM). Phase I POS and MSBM diets (d 0 to d 7 post-wean) included FM or MSBM at 7.5%, while Phase II POS and MSBM diets (d 8 to d 21) included FM or MSBM at 5.0%. Gastrointestinal tissue and ileal digesta were collected from euthanised pigs at d 21 (eight pigs/diet) to assess gut histology and intestinal bacterial profiles, respectively. Data were analysed using Proc Mixed in SAS, with pig as the experimental unit and pig (treatment) as the random effect. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses of stomach and small intestinal tissue using haematoxylin-eosin, Periodic Acid Schiff/Alcian blue and inflammatory cell staining did not reveal detectable differences in host response to dietary treatment. Ileal bacterial composition profiles were obtained from next-generation sequencing of PCR generated amplicons targeting the V1 to V3 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Lactobacillus-affiliated sequences were found to be the most highly represented across treatments, with an average relative abundance of 64.0%, 59.9% and 41.80% in samples from pigs fed the NEG, POS and MSBM diets, respectively. Accordingly, the three most abundant Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) were affiliated to Lactobacillus, showing a distinct abundance pattern relative to dietary treatment. One OTU (SD_Ssd_00001), most closely related to Lactobacillus amylovorus, was found to be more abundant in NEG and POS samples compared to MSBM (23.5% and 35.0% v. 9.2%). Another OTU (SD_Ssd_00002), closely related to Lactobacillus johnsonii, was more highly represented in POS and MSBM samples compared to NEG (14.0% and 15.8% v. 0.1%). Finally, OTU Sd_Ssd-00011, highest sequence identity to Lactobacillus delbrueckii, was found in highest abundance in ileal samples from MSBM-fed pigs (1.9% and 3.3% v. 11.3, in POS, NEG and MSBM, respectively). There was no effect of protein source on bacterial taxa to the genus level or diversity based on principal component analysis. Dietary protein source may provide opportunity to enhance presence of specific members of Lactobacillus genus that are associated with immune-modulating properties without altering overall intestinal bacterial diversity.

The effect of perceived length on visuomotor localization.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this experiment was to study visuomotor localization in the presence of either a horizontal array of equally spaced dots or a thin horizontal line. METHODS: Pointing behavior was used to assess directional localization. In experiment 1, subjects were made myopic using a contact lens and then corrected with a spectacle lens. Subjects were tested in the presence and absence of a regularly spaced, horizontal array of dots with and without the contact lens/spectacle combination. In experiment 2, subjects wore the contact lens/spectacle in all cases. Some subjects were tested in the presence and then in the absence of a regularly spaced, horizontal array of dots while the order of conditions was reversed for other subjects. In experiments 3 and 4, subjects were tested without the contact lens/spectacle combination. In experiment 3, subjects were tested in the absence and then in the presence of a regularly spaced, horizontal arrays of dots. In experiment 4, subjects were tested in the absence and then in the presence of a thin horizontal line. RESULTS: In experiment 1, in the absence of the array of dots, subjects undershot targets with the contact lens/spectacle combination. When the array was present, pointing with the contact lens/spectacle combination was accurate. In experiment 2, subjects undershot targets in the absence of the array of dots if this condition was performed first. If the array was present in the initial condition, the pointing undershoot in the second condition (array absent) was reduced. In all cases, the pointing undershoot was reduced in the presence of the array. In experiments 3 and 4, a pointing overshoot was found in the presence of an array of dots or a thin line. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that extraretinal eye position information is not the primary determinant of visuomotor localization in the presence of a horizontal contour. The overshoot produced by a horizontal contour may be related to a length illusion brought about by spatial filtering in the visual system or inaccurate distance judgments.

The experimental production of Renaut bodies.

Renaut bodies are loosely-textured whorled, cell-sparse structures found in the subperineurial space of peripheral nerves. Although described in 1881, their significance is still debated. Rats were placed in wire-mesh cages for 4 days to 6 weeks and the lateral and medial plantar nerves were sequentially removed. The initial change was the presence of endoneurial edema which dissected and displaced nerve fibers producing an endoneurial cleft. With the influx of fibroblasts, these clefts became discretely separated by circumferentially oriented processes. Over time the clefts enlarged and became filled with loosely-textured amorphous and fibrillar material as well as collagen. The Renaut bodies ranged from 15 to 80 microns in diameter. In this model the Renaut bodies formed at the maximum site of compression of the lateral plantar nerve. The fibroblasts appeared to be derived from the endoneurial connective tissue and were not the result of degenerating endoneurial structures. Renaut body formation was independent of axonal degeneration. The present study strongly suggests that Renaut bodies are a response to repeated mechanical stress.

Radiobiological effects of 131I and 125I on the DNA of the rat thyroid. I. Comparative study with emphasis on the postradiation hypothyroidism occurrence.

One of the major disadvantages of the use of 131I in the treatment of thyrotoxicosis is the development of hypothyroidism. Alternatively, 125I has been proposed for thyrotoxicosis therapy, and was thought to be preferable to 131I because of the short range of its emitted soft electrons. Several studies have shown 125I to be as effective as 131I in the treatment of thyrotoxicosis, and equally likely to produce hypothyroidism. This work compared the radiobiological effects of 131I and 125I given in doses to deliver the same amount of radiation to the rat thyroid gland. These effects were studied by in vivo determination of single-strand DNA breaks by alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation using the DABA fluorescent technique to detect the DNA. Serum T4 and TSH concentrations and percentage T3 uptake were determined by RIA. The incidence of hypothyroidism following 131I and 125I therapy was found to be the same (10% in each group). The extent of DNA damage following 125I therapy was greater than the damage induced by a larger dose of 131I.