The Implementation of a Doula Grant Program Directed at Families from Economically Vulnerable Backgrounds: A Process Evaluation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the process and overall feasibility of a doula grant program for expectant families from economically vulnerable backgrounds.

Design: A mixed-methods process evaluation framework was utilized to examine program feasibility and focused on constructs related to fidelity, dose delivered/dose received, reach, program satisfaction, and limited efficacy testing.

Measures: Evaluation constructs were measured using a program tracking document.

Differential somatic cell count in milk before, during, and after lipopolysaccharide- and lipoteichoic-acid-induced mastitis in dairy cows.

Intramammary infections induce the initiation of the inflammatory response, resulting in an increase in somatic cell count (SCC) in milk. The SCC includes several different types of cells but does not differentiate between them. On the contrary, the new differential somatic cell count (DSCC) parameter allows for the differentiation between 2 groups of cells: polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and lymphocytes versus macrophages.

Experimentally induced subclinical mastitis: are lipopolysaccharide and lipoteichoic acid eliciting similar pain responses?

Background: Pain accompanying mastitis has gained attention recently as a relevant welfare compromising aspect of disease. Adequate pain recognition and therapy are necessary in the context of a modern and ethically acceptable dairy care. For research purposes mastitis is often induced by intramammary infusion of immunogenic bacterial cell wall components.

Supraphysiological oxytocin increases the transfer of immunoglobulins and other blood components to milk during lipopolysaccharide- and lipoteichoic acid-induced mastitis in dairy cows.

Bacterial mastitis causes pathogen-dependent changes of the blood-milk barrier, and these changes can influence the differential transfer of blood components to milk. It is well known that gram-negative pathogens such as Escherichia coli can cause a greater activation of the immune system and thus a more comprehensive transfer of blood components including IgG than gram-positive pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus. Supraphysiological doses of oxytocin (OT) have been shown to increase the permeability of the blood-milk barrier; however, the effect of OT during experimentally induced mastitis has not been investigated.

Differential glucocorticoid-induced closure of the blood-milk barrier during lipopolysaccharide- and lipoteichoic acid-induced mastitis in dairy cows.

Bacteria invading the mammary gland can cause pathogen-dependent differences in the permeability of the blood-milk barrier leading to the differential paracellular transfer of blood and milk components. Glucocorticoids such as prednisolone (PRED) are known to increase the integrity of the blood-milk barrier and quickly restore the decreased milk quality associated with mastitis. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of intramammary PRED on the differential permeability of the blood-milk barrier during mastitis induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Escherichia coli or lipoteichoic acid (LTA) from Staphylococcus aureus.

Operational Changes in a Shared Resource Laboratory with the Use of a Product Lifecycle Management Approach: A Case Study.

Shared Resource Laboratories (SRLs) provide investigators access to necessary scientific and resource expertise to leverage complex technologies fully for advancing high-quality biomedical research in a cost-effective manner. At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the Flow Cytometry Research Facility (FCRF) offered access to exceptional technology, but the methods of operation were outdated and unsustainable. Whereas technology has advanced and the institute has expanded, the operations at the facility remained unchanged for 35 yr.

Blood-derived proteins in milk at start of lactation: Indicators of active or passive transfer.

Colostrum has a different composition compared with milk in established lactation. This difference is in part due to the partially open blood-milk barrier, which, when closed, is designed to prevent the interdiffusion of blood and milk components. In the first days of lactation, α-lactalbumin (α-LA), a milk protein, is typically present in blood and several blood-derived proteins are also present in milk, such as IgG1, IgG2, serum albumin (SA), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH).

Changes in milk L-lactate, lactate dehydrogenase, serum albumin, and IgG during milk ejection and their association with somatic cell count.

In both conventional and automatic milking systems (AMS), sensitive and reliable mastitis detection is important for profitable milk production. Mastitis detection parameters must be able to detect mastitis when the somatic cell count (SCC) is only slightly elevated. Owing to the pre-milking teat cleaning process in AMS, sampling cannot take place before the occurrence of alveolar milk ejection and importantly, this can affect the ability of parameters to detect mastitis.

Effect of intramammary administration of prednisolone on the blood-milk barrier during the immune response of the mammary gland to lipopolysaccharide.

Objective: To investigate effects of intramammary administration of prednisolone on the immune response of mammary glands in cows.

Animals: 5 lactating Red Holsteins.

Procedures: Cows received a different intramammary infusion in each mammary gland (10 mg of prednisolone, 100 μg of lipopolysaccharide [LPS], 100 μg of LPS and 10 mg of prednisolone, or saline [0.

Development of an anti-Salmonella phage cocktail with increased host range.

Salmonella shedding in many livestock species can increase significantly after transport and lairage. Preprocessing increases in shedding can amplify the amount of Salmonella that enters the processing facility and the likelihood of end-product contamination. We previously produced an anti-Salmonella phage cocktail that reduced colonization in swine when the pigs were exposed to an environment heavily contaminated with Salmonella, similar to what might be seen in a transport trailer or processing facility holding pen.

Contamination rates and antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from "grass-fed" labeled beef products.

Grass-fed and organic beef products make up a growing share of the beef market in the United States. While processing, animal handling, and farm management play large roles in determining the safety of final beef products, grass-fed beef products are often marketed as safer alternatives to grain-finished beef products based on the potential effects of all-forage diets on host microbiota. We conducted a series of experiments examining bacterial contamination rates in 50 beef products labeled as "grass-fed" versus 50 conventionally raised retail beef products.

Phage therapy to reduce preprocessing Salmonella infections in market-weight swine.

Contamination of meat products with food-borne pathogens usually results from the carcass coming in contact with the feces of an infected animal during processing. In the case of Salmonella, pigs can become colonized with the organism during transport and lairage from contaminated trailers and holding pens, resulting in increased pathogen shedding just prior to processing. Increased shedding, in turn, amplifies the likelihood of carcass contamination by magnifying the amount of bacteria that enters the processing facility.