Humans may inevitably be exposed to nanoplastics (NPls) through ingestion. The size of NPls significantly influences their absorption efficiency, so understanding behaviors of NPls during digestion is vital for risk assessment. In this study, fluorescent polystyrene (PS) and melamine-formaldehyde resin (MF) NPls were characterized by different techniques after the in vitro digestion process both with and without a standard food model, or with and without pH adjustment in the absence of the proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: YKL-40, a secretory glycoprotein, is involved in tumor cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis in human cancers. Its overexpression has been correlated with unfavorable prognosis in many human cancers. In veterinary medicine, elevated YKL-40 levels in the serum of canine cutaneous mast cell tumors (cMCTs) were observed in our previous study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Porcine pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli), the globally recognized important pathogen, causes significant economic loss in the field. Enterotoxigenic E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsulinoma-associated protein 1 (INSM1), a recently identified neuroendocrine marker, is a transcriptional regulator with highly conserved INSM1 homologues in various species. This study investigated the immunohistochemical reactivity of the INSM1 antibody in 20 normal canine neuroendocrine tissues from various anatomical locations, 87 hyperplastic or neoplastic tissues of neuroendocrine origin, and 62 non-neuroendocrine neoplasms and compared the results with those of chromogranin A and synaptophysin in neuroendocrine neoplasms. Western blot was performed on fresh canine pituitary glands and canine parathyroid glands to confirm the specificity of the anti-INSM1 antibody.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a fatal illness caused by a mutated feline coronavirus (FCoV). This disease is characterized by its complexity, resulting from systemic infection, antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), and challenges in accessing effective therapeutics. Extract derived from (L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPigeon paramyxovirus-1 (PPMV-1), a genetic variant of avian paramyxovirus-1 (APMV-1), has been identified in Columbiformes and is the primary cause of diseases in captive and free-ranging pigeons. However, it has also been reported that PPMV-1 can infect chickens naturally and experimentally, thus posing a potential threat to the poultry industry. This study investigated a lethal outbreak of paramyxovirus infection that occurred among 16 oriental turtle doves (Streptopelia orientalis) in a walk-in aviary at a zoo from March to April 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper, we propose an inductive line tunneling FET using Epitaxial Tunnel Layer with Ge-Source and Charge Enhancement Insulation (CEI ETL GS-iTFET). The CEI ETL GS-iTFET allows full overlap between the gate and source regions, thereby enhancing the line tunneling. In addition, a germanium layer is introduced on the source side to form a heterojunction, effectively improving the device's conduction current.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFeline injection-site sarcomas (FISSs) are highly invasive malignant mesenchymal neoplasms that arise from injection sites in cats. Although the tumorigenesis of FISSs is still uncertain, there is a consensus that FISS is associated with chronic inflammation caused by irritation of injection-related trauma and foreign chemical substances. Chronic inflammation can provide a proper microenvironment for tumour development, which has been known as one of the risk factors of tumorigenesis in many tumours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClassical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious swine disease caused by the classical swine fever virus (CSFV), wreaking havoc on global swine production. The virus is divided into three genotypes, each comprising 4-7 sub-genotypes. The major envelope glycoprotein E2 of CSFV plays an essential role in cell attachment, eliciting immune responses, and vaccine development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBaculovirus penaei (BP), the causative agent of tetrahedral baculovirosis, causes the death of penaeid genera at the larval and post-larval stages. BP has been reported in the Western Pacific, South-East Atlantic, and the State of Hawaii, but never in Asia. The clinical features of BP infection are non-specific, and diagnosis relies on histological and molecular methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhether parental psychiatric disorders are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring has remained inconclusive. We examined the associations of parental psychiatric disorders with ASD in offspring. This population-based case-control study used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to identify a cohort of children born from 2004 to 2017 and their parents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF-fermented products (BLFP) are probiotics with antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties that can improve growth performance. This study aimed to compare the fecal microbiota of diarrheal cats with chronic diarrhea ( = 8) with that of healthy cats ( = 4) from the same household using next-generation sequencing, and evaluate the effectiveness of oral administration of BLFP in relieving clinical signs and altering the intestinal microbiota in diarrheal cats. Six out of eight diarrheal cats showed clinical improvement after BLFP administration for 7 days, and the stool condition of the other two was normal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPorcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a highly contagious swine disease caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). PED causes enteric disorders with an exceptionally high fatality in neonates, bringing substantial economic losses in the pork industry. The trimeric spike (S) glycoprotein of PEDV is responsible for virus-host recognition, membrane fusion, and is the main target for vaccine development and antigenic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Feline injection-site sarcomas (FISSs) are malignant mesenchymal tumors of different histotypes. The pathogenesis of FISS has been correlated with chronic inflammation, resulting in neoplastic transformation. Activation of the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) have been demonstrated to play a critical role in tumor development by regulating signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, survival, metastasis, and angiogenesis in human medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxoplasmosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii affects both conservation and public health efforts. In the Taipei Zoo, toxoplasmosis was diagnosed in ring-tailed lemurs and a meerkat in 2019 while a freeze-thaw meat strategy had been applied to carnivores before the event. To investigate the possible risk factors associated with T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV) and Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) are emerging and reemerging pathogens in shrimps. In the present study, a novel genotype of HPV concurrently infected with EHP in Penaeus vannamei in Taiwan leading to severe atrophy and damage of hepatopancreas were confirmed by histopathology, in situ hybridization, and PCR. The novel genotype of HPV exhibited 66%-69.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeing one of the renal replacement therapies, peritoneal dialysis (PD) maintains around 15% of end-stage kidney disease patients' lives; however, complications such as peritoneal fibrosis and ultrafiltration failure during long-term PD compromise its application. Previously, we established a sodium hypochlorite (NaClO)-induced peritoneal fibrosis porcine model, which helped to bridge the rodent model toward pre-clinical human peritoneal fibrosis research. In this study, the peritoneal equilibration test (PET) was established to evaluate instant functional changes in the peritoneum in the pig model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of the genotype (G) 2 and re-emergence of the G1 porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has caused severe economic impacts in the past decade. Developments of efficient vaccines against new variants of PEDV have been challenging, not least because of the difficulties in eliciting mucosal and lactogenic immunity. A single-chain fragment variable (scFv) capable of efficient antigen recognition is an alternative to vaccination and treatment of a viral infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the spring, an outbreak of sudden death involving 58 birds occurred in a zoo. Histopathological examinations revealed variable numbers of intracytoplasmic basophilic microorganisms in the macrophages, hepatocytes, and renal epithelium of most birds, along with occasional botryoid intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies within histiocytes in the bursa of Fabricius. Based on the results of histopathological examinations, immunohistochemical staining, transmission electron microscopy, and polymerase chain reactions, genotype B infection concurrent with pigeon circovirus (PiCV) was diagnosed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: The adverse effects from the long-term use of oral corticosteroids are known, but, to our knowledge, few studies have reported the risk of corticosteroid bursts, particularly among children.
Objective: To quantify the associations of corticosteroid bursts with severe adverse events, including gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, sepsis, pneumonia, and glaucoma, in children.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This study used data derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017, on children younger than 18 years of age and used a self-controlled case series design.
Generation of a safe, economical, and effective vaccine capable of inducing mucosal immunity is critical for the development of vaccines against enteric viral diseases. In the current study, virus-like particles (VLPs) containing the spike (S), membrane (M), and envelope (E) structural proteins of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) expressed by the novel polycistronic baculovirus expression vector were generated. The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the PEDV VLPs formulated with or without mucosal adjuvants of CCL25 and CCL28 (CCL25/28) were evaluated in post-weaning pigs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of liver disease due to lipid accumulation in the hepatocyte. Diet, especially a high-fat diet, is one risk factor that leads to NAFLD. Many natural compounds such as isoflavones have antiobesity effects.
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