Does lifting female piglets by one hind leg increase the risk of umbilical and hind leg lesions?

Background: Umbilical lesions in pigs have a negative impact on animal welfare and productivity. It has been suggested that lifting young piglets by one hind leg may be a risk factor for developing omphalitis and umbilical hernia. However, the hypothesis that lifting piglets by one hind leg should stretch the umbilical wall and impede the healing of the umbilicus has not yet been investigated.

Beneficial effects of exercise initiated before development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in genotype-positive mice.

The effect of exercise on disease development in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) genotype-positive individuals is unresolved. Our objective was to test the effect of exercise training initiated before phenotype development on cardiac fibrosis, morphology, and function in a mouse model of HCM. Genotype-positive R403Q mice exposed to cyclosporine A (CsA) for induction of HCM (HCM mice) were allocated to high-intensity interval treadmill running or sedentary behavior for 6 wk.

Exercise Training Stabilizes RyR2-Dependent Ca Release in Post-infarction Heart Failure.

Dysfunction of the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) is an almost ubiquitous finding in animal models of heart failure (HF) and results in abnormal Ca release in cardiomyocytes that contributes to contractile impairment and arrhythmias. We tested whether exercise training (ET), as recommended by current guidelines, had the potential to stabilize RyR2-dependent Ca release in rats with post-myocardial infarction HF. We subjected male Wistar rats to left coronary artery ligation or sham operations.

Cytoplasmic Citrate Flux Modulates the Immune Stimulatory NKG2D Ligand MICA in Cancer Cells.

Immune surveillance of cancer cells is facilitated by the Natural Killer Group 2D (NKG2D) receptor expressed by different lymphocyte subsets. It recognizes NKG2D ligands that are rarely expressed on healthy cells, but upregulated by tumorigenesis, presenting a target for immunological clearance. The molecular mechanisms responsible for NKG2D ligand regulation remain complex.

β-catenin promotes endothelial survival by regulating eNOS activity and flow-dependent anti-apoptotic gene expression.

Increased endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis is associated with the development of atherosclerotic plaques that develop predominantly at sites exposed to disturbed flow (DF). Strategies to promote EC survival may therefore represent a novel therapeutic approach in cardiovascular disease. Nitric oxide (NO) and β-catenin have both been shown to promote cell survival and they interact in ECs as we previously demonstrated.