Multiparameter growth-performance monitoring of Holstein dairy heifers fed on moderate- or high-energy feeding plans from birth to puberty.

Today, dairy cattle farmers are seeking to optimize expenditure and productivity throughout the lives of their animals by focusing on efficiency at all levels. One strategy for bringing forward the start of a dairy cow's profitability phase is to advance the onset of puberty and reduce the animal's age at their first calving. Thus, one objective of this study was to feed two groups of Holstein dairy heifers the same diet but in different quantities, with the aim of generating a growth differential of at least 200 g/day between the two groups.

Sheep (Ovis aries) training protocol for voluntary awake and unrestrained structural brain MRI acquisitions.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive technique that requires the participant to be completely motionless. To date, MRI in awake and unrestrained animals has only been achieved with humans and dogs. For other species, alternative techniques such as anesthesia, restraint and/or sedation have been necessary.

Characterization of intestinal mononuclear phagocyte subsets in young ruminants at homeostasis and during infection.

Introduction: Cryptosporidiosis is a poorly controlled zoonosis caused by an intestinal parasite, , with a high prevalence in livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats). Young animals are particularly susceptible to this infection due to the immaturity of their intestinal immune system. In a neonatal mouse model, we previously demonstrated the importance of the innate immunity and particularly of type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1) among mononuclear phagocytes (MPs) in controlling the acute phase of infection.

Interactions between avian viruses and skin in farm birds.

This article reviews the avian viruses that infect the skin of domestic farm birds of primary economic importance: chicken, duck, turkey, and goose. Many avian viruses (e.g.

Exploring type I interferon pathway: virulent vs. attenuated strain of African swine fever virus revealing a novel function carried by MGF505-4R.

African swine fever virus represents a significant reemerging threat to livestock populations, as its incidence and geographic distribution have surged over the past decade in Europe, Asia, and Caribbean, resulting in substantial socio-economic burdens and adverse effects on animal health and welfare. In a previous report, we described the protective properties of our newly thermo-attenuated strain (ASFV-989) in pigs against an experimental infection of its parental Georgia 2007/1 virulent strain. In this new study, our objective was to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying the attenuation of ASFV-989.

Multiparametric MR Evaluation of the Photoperiodic Regulation of Hypothalamic Structures in Sheep.

Most organisms on earth, humans included, have developed strategies to cope with environmental day-night and seasonal cycles to survive. For most of them, their physiological and behavioral functions, including the reproductive function, are synchronized with the annual changes of day length, to ensure winter survival and subsequent reproductive success in the following spring. Sheep are sensitive to photoperiod, which also regulates natural adult neurogenesis in their hypothalamus.

Evaluation of a Lateral Flow Immunochromatography Assay (LFIA) for Diagnosis and Surveillance of Brucellosis in French Alpine Ibex ().

France has been officially free of bovine brucellosis since 2005. Nevertheless, in 2012, as the source of two human cases, a bovine outbreak due to biovar 3 was confirmed in the French Alpine Bargy massif, due to a spillover from wild, protected Alpine ibex (). In order to reduce high prevalence in the local ibex population, successive management strategies have been implemented.

Neural stem cell self-renewal stimulation by store-operated calcium entries in adult mouse area postrema: influence of leptin.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) persist in specific brain germinative niches and sustain neurogenesis throughout life in adult mammals. In addition to the two major stem cell niches in the subventricular zone and the hippocampal dentate gyrus, the area postrema located in the brainstem has been identified as a neurogenic zone as well. NSCs are regulated by signals from the microenvironment that adjust stem cell response to the needs of the organism.

New Insights in the Interplay Between African Swine Fever Virus and Innate Immunity and Its Impact on Viral Pathogenicity.

The continuous spread of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in Europe and Asia represents a major threat to livestock health, with billions of dollars of income losses and major perturbations of the global pig industry. One striking feature of African swine fever (ASF) is the existence of different forms of the disease, ranging from acute with mortality rates approaching 100% to chronic, with mild clinical manifestations. These differences in pathogenicity have been linked to genomic alterations present in attenuated ASFV strains (and absent in virulent ones) and differences in the immune response of infected animals.

The avermectin/milbemycin receptors of parasitic nematodes.

Glutamate-gated chloride channels are the most important target of ivermectin and related compounds in parasitic nematodes. A small family of genes encode subunits of these channels, allowing the assembly of multiple channel subtypes; the subunit composition of most of the native receptors is unknown. The members of the gene family vary between species, making extrapolation from C.

Pharmacogenetic excitation of the median raphe region affects social and depressive-like behavior and core body temperature in male mice.

Aims: Median raphe region (MRR) is an important bottom-up regulatory center for various behaviors as well as vegetative functions, but detailed descriptions and links between the two are still largely unexplored.

Methods: Pharmacogenetics was used to study the role of MRR in social (sociability, social interaction, resident intruder test) and emotional behavior (forced swim test) parallel with some vegetative changes (biotelemetry: core body temperature). Additionally, to validate pharmacogenetics, the effect of clozapine-N-oxide (CNO), the ligand of the artificial receptor, was studied by measuring (i) serum and brainstem concentrations of CNO and clozapine; (ii) MRR stimulation induced neurotransmitter release in hippocampus; (iii) CNO induced changes in body temperature and locomotor activity.

A Comparative Study on the Efficiency of Two subsp. (MAP)-Derived Lipopeptides of L3P and L5P as Capture Antigens in an In-House Milk ELISA Test.

subsp. (MAP) surface-exposed lipopeptides could be specific capture-antigen molecules targeting antibodies against MAP, in milk, through ELISA. Previous studies have revealed that MAP strains, isolated from sheep (S) or cow (C), could produce specific lipopeptides, L3P or L5P, respectively.

Establishment of a Newborn Lamb Gut-Loop Model to Evaluate New Methods of Enteric Disease Control and Reduce Experimental Animal Use.

Enteric infectious diseases are not all well controlled, which leads to animal suffering and sometimes death in the most severe cases, in addition to economic losses for farmers. Typical symptoms of enteric infections include watery diarrhea, stomach cramps or pain, dehydration, nausea, vomiting, fever and weight loss. Evaluation of new control methods against enteric infections requires the use of many animals.

Evaluation of the in vitro susceptibility of various filarial nematodes to emodepside.

Filariae are vector-borne nematodes responsible for an enormous burden of disease. Human lymphatic filariasis, caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori, and onchocerciasis (caused by Onchocerca volvulus) are neglected parasitic diseases of major public health significance in tropical regions. To date, therapeutic efforts to eliminate human filariasis have been hampered by the lack of a drug with sufficient macrofilaricidal and/or long-term sterilizing effects that is suitable for use in mass drug administration (MDA) programs, particularly in areas co-endemic with Loa loa, the causative agent of loiasis.

Vaspin, a novel adipokine in woman granulosa cells physiology and PCOS pathogenesis?

Vaspin is a novel adipokine mainly expressed in visceral adipose tissue and closely related to obesity and insulin-resistance. Currently, data about its ovarian expression are limited to animal models and its role in human reproduction is largely unexplored. Our study's aims were then to characterise vaspin expression in the human ovary and to study in vitro its effects on granulosa cells physiology.

The Vagal Autonomic Pathway of COVID-19 at the Crossroad of Alzheimer's Disease and Aging: A Review of Knowledge.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-triggered mortality is significantly higher in older than in younger populations worldwide. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is related to aging and was recently reported to be among the major risk factors for COVID-19 mortality in older people. The symptomatology of COVID-19 indicates that lethal outcomes of infection rely on neurogenic mechanisms.

The skeletome of the red coral Corallium rubrum indicates an independent evolution of biomineralization process in octocorals.

Background: The process of calcium carbonate biomineralization has arisen multiple times during metazoan evolution. In the phylum Cnidaria, biomineralization has mostly been studied in the subclass Hexacorallia (i.e.