Dry food affects the oxidative/antioxidant profile of dogs.

Background: Including adequate concentrations of antioxidants in dog diets has been recommended to reduce their vulnerability to the action of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative stress in dogs has been associated with a wide range of diseases and disorders, as well as with ageing. There are few reports about the influence of diet on dog's antioxidant profile and oxidative stress.

Calf's sex, parity and the hour of harvest after calving affect colostrum quality of dairy cows grazing under high tropical conditions.

High-quality colostrum is an important factor influencing neonatal calf health, and quality assessment is essential to obtain good health results. This research evaluated the effects of the calf's sex, the parity of the cow and the hour of colostrum harvest after parity on the fat, nonfat solids, protein and Ig contents in Holstein colostrum for cows under high grazing conditions in the tropics. The effects of the calf's sex and parity on somatic cell count (SCC) at the first milking postpartum were determined.

A polymorphism in the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene is associated with tuberculosis.

iNOS or NOS2 is a molecule that plays a key role in the immunological control of a broad spectrum of infectious agents. Investigation is hampered by difficulty in estimating in vivo production of nitric oxide (NO), but genetic studies provide a potential means of examining the relation between NO production and disease outcome. To better characterize the host genetic factors determining the susceptibility to TB, we evaluated the influence of two polymorphisms in the NOS2A gene on the risk of developing pulmonary TB in a Northwestern Colombian population, which is a moderately-high endemic area.

Th1/Th2 cytokines in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: is tumor necrosis factor alpha protective?

Objectives: To determine the circulating levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to elucidate their association with disease activity and autoimmune response.

Methods: We included 52 patients and 25 healthy controls. Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, interferon (IFN) gamma, interleukin (IL)-12p70, IL-10, and IL-4, as well as anti-DNA, -Ro, -La, -RNP, and -Sm antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.