Zearalenone (ZEN) metabolism and residue concentrations in physiological specimens of dairy cows exposed long-term to ZEN-contaminated diets differing in concentrate feed proportions.

A long-term feeding experiment with dairy cows was performed to investigate the effects of feeding a Fusarium toxin contaminated (FUS) and a background-contaminated control (CON) ration with a mean concentrate feed proportion of 50% during the first 11 weeks after parturition (Groups FUS-50, CON-50, Period 1), and with concentrate feed proportions of 30% or 60% during the remaining 17 weeks (Groups CON-30, CON-60, FUS-30 and FUS-60, Period 2), on zearalenone (ZEN) residue levels in blood serum, milk, urine and bile. ZEN, α-zearalenol (α-ZEL) and β-zearalenol (β-ZEL), zearalanone (ZAL), α-zearalanol (α-ZAL) and β-zearalanol (β-ZAL) were determined by HPLC with fluorescence detection. The ZEN concentrations of the rations fed to Groups CON-50, FUS-50 (Period 1), CON-30, CON-60, FUS-30 and FUS-60 (Period 2) amounted to 53.

Genetic and non-genetic long-term trends of 12 different crops in German official variety performance trials and on-farm yield trends.

Yield progress in major German crops is generated mostly due to genetic improvement over the last 30 years. Comparison of trial-station with on-farm yield reveals considerable gaps that are widening over time. Yield progress of newly released varieties for 12 crops from official German trials over the period 1983 until 2012 was analysed to assess their value for cultivation and use (VCU).

Combined impact of negative lifestyle factors on cardiovascular risk in children: a randomized prospective study.

Purpose: Negative lifestyle factors are known to be associated with increased cardiovascular risk (CVR) in children, but research on their combined impact on a general population of children is sparse. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the combined impact of easily assessable negative lifestyle factors on the CVR scores of randomly selected children after 4 years.

Methods: Of the 540 randomly selected 6- to 13-year-old children, 502 children participated in a baseline health assessment, and 64% were assessed again after 4 years.

Using rumen probes to examine effects of conjugated linoleic acids and dietary concentrate proportion on rumen pH and rumen temperature of periparturient dairy cows.

The study aimed to examine the influence of supplemented conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) to periparturient cows receiving different concentrate proportions antepartum on rumen pH (RpH) and rumen temperature (RT). Twenty pregnant German Holstein cows were equipped with rumen probes for continuous RpH and RT measurement in a frequency of 15 min to investigate effects of dietary concentrate and CLA around parturition and the impact of parturition itself on RpH and RT. Cows had ad libitum access to partial mixed rations, 3 weeks prior to calving until day 7 post-partum.

Impact of mild heat stress on dry matter intake, milk yield and milk composition in mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows in a temperate climate.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of summer temperatures in a temperate climate on mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows. Therefore, a data set was examined comprising five trials with dairy cows conducted at the experimental station of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute in Braunschweig, Germany. The temperature-humidity index (THI) was calculated using temperature and humidity data from the barns recorded between January 2010 and July 2012.

Neonatal levels of inflammatory markers and later risk of schizophrenia.

Background: There is a long-standing interest in investigating the impact of early-life immune abnormalities on later onset of psychosis. The aim of this study was to assess inflammatory marker levels in neonatal dried blood spots and their association with later risk of schizophrenia.

Methods: This nested case-control study included 995 cases and 980 control subjects.

Cross-sectional study of 168 patients with hepatorenal tyrosinaemia and implications for clinical practice.

Background: Hepatorenal tyrosinaemia (Tyr 1) is a rare inborn error of tyrosine metabolism. Without treatment, patients are at high risk of developing acute liver failure, renal dysfunction and in the long run hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of our study was to collect cross-sectional data.

Effect of ambient temperature on nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance in sheep fed brown-midrib maize silage.

The aim of the experiment was to determine the impact of heat stress on nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance in sheep fed silages differing in fibre quality. The digestibility trial was conducted at three different ambient temperatures (15°C, 25°C and 35°C for 24 h/d). The tested brown-midrib maize (Bm) silage had a higher nutrient digestibility, except for ether extract (EE) and a higher metabolisable energy (ME) content than the control maize (Con) silage.

Human cytochrome P450 epoxygenases: variability in expression and role in inflammation-related disorders.

Beyond their contribution to the metabolism of xenobiotics, cytochrome P450 (CYP) epoxygenases are actively involved in the metabolism of endogenous substances, like arachidonic acid (AA). The main human CYP epoxygenases, i.e.

Single and combined effects of prenatal immune activation and peripubertal stress on parvalbumin and reelin expression in the hippocampal formation.

Exposure to prenatal infection and traumatizing experiences in peripubertal life are two environmental risk factors for developmental neuropsychiatric disorders. Modeling the cumulative neuronal impact of these factors in a translational animal model has led to the recent identification of pathological interactions between these environmental adversities in the development of adult brain dysfunctions. The present study explored the consequences of combined prenatal immune challenge and peripubertal stress on discrete cellular abnormalities in the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system of the hippocampus.

Gut vagal afferents differentially modulate innate anxiety and learned fear.

Vagal afferents are an important neuronal component of the gut-brain axis allowing bottom-up information flow from the viscera to the CNS. In addition to its role in ingestive behavior, vagal afferent signaling has been implicated modulating mood and affect, including distinct forms of anxiety and fear. Here, we used a rat model of subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentation (SDA), the most complete and selective vagal deafferentation method existing to date, to study the consequences of complete disconnection of abdominal vagal afferents on innate anxiety, conditioned fear, and neurochemical parameters in the limbic system.

Treatment of arginase deficiency revisited: guanidinoacetate as a therapeutic target and biomarker for therapeutic monitoring.

Hyperargininaemia is a disorder of the last step of the urea cycle. It is an autosomal recessive disease caused by deficiency of liver arginase-1 and usually presents later in childhood with progressive neurological symptoms including marked spasticity. In contrast with other urea cycle disorders, hyperammonaemia is not usually present but can be a feature.

Lysine-Restricted Diet as Adjunct Therapy for Pyridoxine-Dependent Epilepsy: The PDE Consortium Consensus Recommendations.

Background: Seventy-five percent of patients with pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) due to Antiquitin (ATQ) deficiency suffer from developmental delay and/or intellectual disability (IQ < 70) despite seizure control. An observational study showed that adjunct treatment with a lysine-restricted diet is safe, results in partial normalization of lysine intermediates in body fluids, and may have beneficial effects on seizure control and psychomotor development.

Methods: In analogy to the NICE guideline process, the international PDE Consortium, an open platform uniting scientists and clinicians working in the field of this metabolic epilepsy, during four workshops (2010-2013) developed a recommendation for a lysine-restricted diet in PDE, with the aim of standardizing its implementation and monitoring of patients.

The Roots of Autism and ADHD Twin Study in Sweden (RATSS).

Neurodevelopmental disorders affect a substantial minority of the general population. Their origins are still largely unknown, but a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors causing disturbances of the central nervous system's maturation and a variety of higher cognitive skills is presumed. Only limited research of rather small sample size and narrow scope has been conducted in neurodevelopmental disorders using a twin-differences design.

Digestibility, ruminal fermentation, ingesta kinetics and nitrogen utilisation in dairy cows fed diets based on silage of a brown midrib or a standard maize hybrid.

The aim of the present experiment was to investigate an experimental brown midrib (Bm) maize hybrid in comparison with a control (Con) non-Bm maize hybrid on ruminal and total tract digestibility, ruminal fermentation, ruminal ingesta kinetics, nitrogen (N) utilisation and microbial efficiency. A total of six ruminally and duodenally cannulated German Holstein cows were used. Animals were fed diets of either 11.

Early changes in bone density, microarchitecture, bone resorption, and inflammation predict the clinical outcome 12 weeks after conservatively treated distal radius fractures: an exploratory study.

Fracture healing is an active process with early changes in bone and inflammation. We performed an exploratory study evaluating the association between early changes in densitometric, structural, biomechanical, and biochemical bone parameters during the first weeks of fracture healing and wrist-specific pain and disability at 12 weeks in postmenopausal women with a conservatively treated distal radius fracture. Eighteen patients (aged 64 ± 8 years) were evaluated at 1 to 2 and 3 to 4 weeks postfracture, using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT), micro-finite element analysis, serum procollagen type-I N-terminal propeptide (P1NP), carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP).

Analysis of putative protomer crosstalk in the trimeric transporter BetP: The heterotrimer approach.

The homotrimeric, secondary active betaine carrier BetP from Corynebacterium glutamicum is a model system for stress-regulated transport in bacteria. Its activity responds to hyperosmotic stress and it harbors two different functions, transport catalysis (betaine uptake) and stimulus sensing, resp. activity regulation.

Effects of prepartal body condition score and peripartal energy supply of dairy cows on postpartal lipolysis, energy balance and ketogenesis: an animal model to investigate subclinical ketosis.

Subclinical ketosis is a metabolic disorder which often goes undiagnosed and leads to constricted performance and an impairment of general condition. In the current study subclinical ketosis was characterised by a β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration of >1·2 mmol/l in blood serum. To generate this metabolic situation, an animal model was created.

Dissecting genetic and non-genetic sources of long-term yield trend in German official variety trials.

Long-term yield trends have genetic and non-genetic components which may be dissected by a linear mixed model with regression terms. Disease-resistance breakdown must be accounted for in the interpretation. Long-term yield trends of crop varieties may be studied to identify a genetic trend component due to breeding efforts and a non-genetic trend component due to advances in agronomic practices.

Long-term effect of a school-based physical activity program (KISS) on fitness and adiposity in children: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: School-based intervention studies promoting a healthy lifestyle have shown favorable immediate health effects. However, there is a striking paucity on long-term follow-ups. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the 3 yr-follow-up of a cluster-randomized controlled school-based physical activity program over nine month with beneficial immediate effects on body fat, aerobic fitness and physical activity.

Microscopic examination of the intestinal wall and selected organs of minipigs orally supplemented with humic acids.

Humic acids are used to prophylactically treat intestinal diseases in a wide number of species, yet the mechanism of action remains unknown. The general assumption has been that humic acids act locally; however studies using young piglets show orally supplemented humic acids can penetrate the intestinal wall, and thus potentially act systemically. The objective of this study was to determine if humic acids could also cross the intestinal barrier in adult pigs and be detected in other organs.

Residues of zearalenone (ZEN), deoxynivalenol (DON) and their metabolites in plasma of dairy cows fed Fusarium contaminated maize and their relationships to performance parameters.

A feeding trial with dairy cows fed graded proportions of a Fusarium toxin contaminated maize containing mainly deoxynivalenol (DON) was carried out to relate the plasma levels of DON, zearalenone (ZEN) and their metabolites to the performance. German Holstein cows (n=30) were divided into three groups (n=10 in each): CON (0.02mgZEN and 0.

Effects of fumaric acid on rumen fermentation, milk composition and metabolic parameters in lactating cows.

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of fumaric acid (FA) on ruminal fermentation and its effects on the acid-base balance of seven ruminally and duodenally fistulated multiparous German Holstein cows. The experiment was conducted in a change-over design with three periods in which the animals were randomly arranged in one of three treatments: Control (C; without FA), 300 or 600 g FA per day. The diets consisted of 7.

Dietary habits and metabolic control in adolescents and young adults with phenylketonuria: self-imposed protein restriction may be harmful.

Background: In untreated patients, phenylketonuria (PKU) results in severe encephalopathy with mental retardation. A protein-restricted diet is recommended which can be relaxed in adolescence/adulthood.

Methods: We contacted all 72 adult/adolescent PKU patients who had been treated in our center during early childhood.