A High-Energy Diet and Spirulina Supplementation during Pre-Gestation, Gestation, and Lactation do Not Affect the Reproductive and Lactational Performance of Primiparous Sows.

Feeding high-energy (HED) or high-fat diets during gestation and lactation to pigs may help cover the energy requirements of high-prolific sows but may also adversely affect their reproductive performance. The microalga (Sp), rich in bioactive compounds, has been described to exert beneficial health effects. The present study investigated the effects of HED and Sp intake during gestation and lactation in pigs.

Methane emission, metabolism, and performance of Holstein dairy cows with low, medium, and high lymphocyte proliferation during transition.

This study aimed to identify interactions between state of lactation (dry or early lactating) and immune responder group (low, medium, or high) for energy metabolism traits as well as metabolic and immunological traits in dairy cows. In early lactation, when the energy priority of cows shifts toward the mammary gland, the energy available to be partitioned toward the immune system may differ among individuals. The equilibrium between energy supply from feed, digestion, and body reserve mobilization and energy expenditure with milk, immune system, methane, and heat production is delicate in this stage.

Ontology-based specification and generation of search queries for post-market surveillance.

Background: The vigilant observation of medical devices during post-market surveillance (PMS) for identifying safety-relevant incidents is a non-trivial task. A wide range of sources has to be monitored in order to integrate all accessible data about the safety and performance of a medical device. PMS needs to be supported by an efficient search strategy and the possibility to create complex search queries by domain experts.

Effect of immune modulators on in vitro activation and proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from multiparous Holstein cows peripartum.

This in vitro study examined the ability of important immune modulators [β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), cortisol, prolactin, isoproterenol and insulin] to influence the responsiveness of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from multiparous dairy cows 29 ± 2 days before and 14 ± 3 days after calving. The activation and proliferation of PBMC in response to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin was estimated by the oxygen consumption rate after 24 hr and the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) method after 72 hr respectively. In early lactation, the presence of 2 compared to 0.

Activity-Dependent Phosphorylation by CaMKIIδ Alters the Ca Affinity of the Multi-C-Domain Protein Otoferlin.

Otoferlin is essential for fast Ca-triggered transmitter release from auditory inner hair cells (IHCs), playing key roles in synaptic vesicle release, replenishment and retrieval. Dysfunction of otoferlin results in profound prelingual deafness. Despite its crucial role in cochlear synaptic processes, mechanisms regulating otoferlin activity have not been studied to date.

Ca-binding protein 2 inhibits Ca-channel inactivation in mouse inner hair cells.

Ca-binding protein 2 (CaBP2) inhibits the inactivation of heterologously expressed voltage-gated Ca channels of type 1.3 (Ca1.3) and is defective in human autosomal-recessive deafness 93 (DFNB93).

Disruption of adaptor protein 2μ (AP-2μ) in cochlear hair cells impairs vesicle reloading of synaptic release sites and hearing.

Active zones (AZs) of inner hair cells (IHCs) indefatigably release hundreds of vesicles per second, requiring each release site to reload vesicles at tens per second. Here, we report that the endocytic adaptor protein 2μ (AP-2μ) is required for release site replenishment and hearing. We show that hair cell-specific disruption of AP-2μ slows IHC exocytosis immediately after fusion of the readily releasable pool of vesicles, despite normal abundance of membrane-proximal vesicles and intact endocytic membrane retrieval.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 polymorphism 1562 C > T (rs3918242) associated with protection against placental malaria.

Phagocytosis of malaria pigment (hemozoin) induces increased activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, an endopeptidase involved in cytokine regulation. In this study, we examined whether a common functional MMP-9 promoter polymorphism (rs3918242) affects Plasmodium falciparum infection in pregnancy. Eighteen percent of Ghanaian primiparae carried the minor T allele.

High prevalence of anaemia among African migrants in Germany persists after exclusion of iron deficiency and erythrocyte polymorphisms.

Objectives: Haematological parameters differ between individuals of African and European ancestry. However, respective data of first-generation African migrants are virtually absent. We assessed these in Ghanaian migrants living in Berlin, compared them with reference data from Germany and Ghana, and estimated the role of iron deficiency (ID) and erythrocyte polymorphisms in anaemia.

Reduced prevalence of placental malaria in primiparae with blood group O.

Background: Blood group O protects African children against severe malaria and has reached high prevalence in malarious regions. However, its role in malaria in pregnancy is ambiguous. In 839 delivering Ghanaian women, associations of ABO blood groups with Plasmodium falciparum infection were examined.

No association of the p53 codon 72 polymorphism with malaria in Ghanaian primiparae and Rwandan children.

The p53 protein is a key cell-signaling mediator integrating host responses to various types of stress. A common polymorphism of the encoding TP53 gene (codon 72, Pro > Arg, rs1042522) is associated with susceptibility to virus-related and other cancers. The p53 has also been shown to be central for successful Plasmodium liver stage infection.

An ATP2B4 polymorphism protects against malaria in pregnancy.

Polymorphisms of ATP2B4 encoding an ubiquitous Ca(2+) pump protect against severe childhood malaria. We assessed the influence of a main polymorphism (rs10900585) on malaria among 834 delivering Ghanaian women. In homozygous primiparae, the odds of placental Plasmodium falciparum infection were reduced by 64%.

Expression of interleukin-6 family receptors in NK92 cells is regulated by cytokines and not through direct interaction with Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes.

A balanced proinflammatory cytokine response to Plasmodium ssp. infection is crucial to control the disease outcome. To elucidate the effect of cytokines and Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes on the regulation of interleukin (IL)-6 receptor (IL-6R), ciliary neurotrophic factor alpha (CNTFR-α) and glycoprotein (gp)130 in natural killer (NK) cells in the context of malaria, we assessed their gene expression and surface expression in NK92 cells.

Interplay of host and infectious agents.

In this group we would like to answer the question why people show a different response against certain pathogens. In many infections the course of the disease can range from asymptomatic carriage to the severest forms even death. In the past we have analysed candidate genes and their role in the course of malaria and could detect some polymorphisms influencing infectious diseases in the genes encoding NOS2, MBL2, IFNa, FCN2, and receptors for IFNg and IFNa.