Profiles of some clinical chemical parameters in growing dwarf and landrace kids.
Plasma creatinine, urea, bilirubin, glucose, cholesterol, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, inorganic phosphorus and total serum proteins were analyzed in kids of Dwarf and Danish Landrace breeds from birth to 12 months of age. The purpose was to determine the reference ranges, age profiles and the influence of other factors. Comparisons between parametric (mean +/- standard deviation) and the corresponding nonparametric (5th and 95th percentile, median) values were calculated for each parameter, the results of which indicated no apparent differences. The levels were very much dependent on age. Creatinine, urea and total serum protein levels increased gradually with age. Glucose and cholesterol levels were high at birth and then decreased with age. The electrolyte concentrations were maintained within narrow limits. Significant differences were observed between kids of different ages (within the breeds), breeds (within similar age) and herds (within the same age and breed). Differences between female and male Landrace kids of the same ages were observed in plasma urea, creatinine, glucose and total serum proteins. It is concluded that age has a major influence on the clinical chemical reference values in young goats, followed by herd and breed, but the influence of sex was small and is negligible in most parameters.
Clinical chemical values and variations in Rasa Aragonesa ewes and lambs
Reference values of biochemical parameters in serum of Rasa Aragonesa ewes and their physiological variations were determined. Total proteins were 53.0–80.0 g/l, glucose 2.17–5.13 mmol/l, cholesterol 0.83–2.31 mmol/l, total bilirubin 1.85–6.49 μmol/l, urea 3.15–10.39 mmol/l, GGT 36–93 U/l (37°C), ALAT 11–33 U/l (37°C) and ASAT 71–209 U/l (37°C). Ewes were divided into three groups: A, 1- and 2-year-old ewes; B, ewes 3 and 4 years old; C, older ewes. Age had significant influence (P<0.05) on ASAT only during pregnancy, with higher levels for younger ewes. Blood parameters in lambs were determined at 5–10 d of life (nursing), 25 to 30 d of life receiving their mother's milk and 80–90 g of feed; and 45 to 50 d of life, weaned, receiving only solid feed. Serum urea and ALAT tended to increase with age, whereas total protein, globulins, cholesterol and GGT decreased with age. These values are of practical importance in the diagnosis of diseases and metabolic disorders in Rasa Aragonesa ewes and lambs under field conditions.
An anionic shell shields a cationic core allowing for uptake and release of polyelectrolytes within core-shell responsive microgels.
To realize carriers for drug delivery, cationic containers are required for anionic guests. Nevertheless, the toxicity of cationic carriers limits their practical use. In this study, we investigate a model system of polyampholyte N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM)-based microgels with a cationic core and an anionic shell to study whether the presence of a negative shell allows the cationic core to be shielded while still enabling the uptake and release of the anionic guest polyelectrolytes. These microgels are loaded with polystyrene sulfonate of different molecular weights to investigate the influence of their chain length on the uptake and release process. By means of small-angle neutron scattering, we evaluate the spatial distribution of polystyrene sulfonate within the microgels. The guest molecules are located in different parts of the core-shell microgels depending on their size. By combining these scattering results with UV-vis spectroscopy, electrophoretic mobility and potentiometric titrations we gain complementary results to investigate the uptake and release process of polyelectrolytes in polyampholyte core-shell microgels. Moreover, Brownian molecular dynamic simulations are performed to compare the experimental and theoretical results of this model. Our findings demonstrate that the presence of a shell still enables efficient uptake of guest molecules into the cationic core. These anionic guest molecules can be released through an anionic shell. Furthermore, the presence of a shell enhances the stability of the microgel-polyelectrolyte complexes with respect to the cationic precursor microgel alone.