The diagnostic methods for granting and maintenance of the official tuberculosis-free (OTF) status and for intra-Community movement of cattle are the tuberculin skin tests (single or comparative) and the interferon-γ (IFN-γ) release assay (IGRA). However, until now, IGRAs have been primarily applied in infected farms in parallel to the skin test to maximize the number of infected animals detected. Therefore, an evaluation of the performance of IGRAs in OTF herds to assess whether if their specificity is equal to or higher than that of the skin tests is needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLocal livestock breeds are pivotal to ensure sustainable agriculture and represent a real genetic resource in the context of genetic variability reduction. This study aimed at broadening the knowledge about hematological values in female Verzaschese and Camosciata delle Alpi goats (an Italian local and a cosmopolitan goat breed, respectively) and investigating factors affecting them (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleotides are essential for the development of the gastrointestinal tract and immune function, but their intake with milk by piglets could be insufficient. The effect of nucleotides on growth and health was tested on 98 piglets divided into two groups: NU, orally administrated with 4 mL of a nucleotide-based product (SwineMOD) at 10, 15, 18, 21, 27 days, or not (CO). Blood and feces were sampled at weaning (26 d, T1), and at 38 d (T2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a worldwide zoonosis that affects many species of domestic and wild animals. is the main cause of infection in water buffalo () and bovines and is of great concern for human health and for buffalo producers in Italy. The bTB eradication programme is based on slaughterhouse surveillance and intradermal skin tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigated the effects of a galactooligosaccharide (GOS) prebiotic injected on intestinal transcriptome and plasma immune parameters of broiler chickens kept under thermoneutral (TN) or heat stress (HS) conditions. Fertilized Ross 308 eggs were injected with 0.2 mL physiological saline without (control, CON) or with 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Probiosis is considered a potential strategy to reduce antibiotics use and prevent post-weaning diarrhea (PWD). This study investigated the effect of DSM25840 or DSM25841 supplementation on growth, health, immunity, intestinal functionality and microbial profile of post-weaning pigs after enterotoxigenic (ETEC) F4 challenge.
Methods: Sixty-four post-weaning piglets (7748 g ± 643 g) were randomly allocated to four groups: control basal diet (CO); CO + 1.
7-Hydroxymatairesinol (7-HMR) is a plant lignan abundant in various concentrations in plant foods. The objective of this study was to test HMRLignan™, a purified form of 7-HMR, and the corresponding Picea abies extract (total extract P. abies; TEP) as dietary supplements on a background of a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic syndrome in mice and in the 3T3-L1 adipogenesis model.
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