Jugular versus Mammary Vein Acid-Base Balance, Blood Gases, Hematobiochemical Profiles and Inflammation Biomarkers in Goats with Acute Mastitis
The objectives of this study was to investigate the acid-base balance, blood gases, hematobiochemical profiles and the inflammation biomarkers fibrinogen, serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin (Hp) in the mammary and jugular veins of goats with mastitis. Blood samples were collected from the jugular and mammary veins from 26 goats with mastitis and from 10 healthy lactating goats. In diseased goats, the affected quarter had a remarkable degree of swelling, hard and sore to touch; the milk was bloody. In the jugular vein of diseased goats, the values of PCO2, PO2, base excess (BE), HCO3 and TCO2 were significantly lower than in the jugular vein of controls. In the mammary vein, the pH was significantly lower than in controls and the values of PCO2, BE, HCO3 and TCO2 were significantly lower than in the controls. In contrast, the PO2, lactic acid and anion gap values were significantly higher in the mammary vein than in controls. The RBCs was significantly lower in the jugular and mammary veins than in controls. In the jugular and mammary veins, albumin concentration was significantly lower than controls. The serum concentrations of calcium and phosphorus were significantly lower in the jugular vein than controls. The serum concentration of fibrinogen did not differ significantly in the jugular and mammary veins compared to healthy controls. In the jugular and mammary veins, the serum concentrations of SAA and Hp were significantly higher than controls. In diseased animals, the serum concentrations of SAA were significantly higher in the mammary veins than in jugular vein. In conclusion, the blood gases, acid-base, hematobiochemical profiles and inflammation biomarkers in the mammary vein goats with acute mastitis could be used as by veterinarians and researchers as reference values for investigation of goats with mastitis and healthy lactating goats.
Short communication: acute phase proteins in Holstein cows diagnosed with uterine infection.
The aim of this work was to monitor the pattern of serum acute phase proteins [paraoxonase (PON), haptoglobin (Hp) and albumin] during the peripartum period of normal healthy cows (n=16) compared to that in cows diagnosed with uterine infection (n=15). Albumin concentrations were lower at 21 days before expected calving in cows subsequently diagnosed with uterine infection and predicted the occurrence of uterine infection with an accuracy of 79.3%. Cows diagnosed with uterine infection had a postpartum reduction in serum PON activity and the concentration of Hp increased at 7 DIM for multiparous uterine infected cows. In conclusion, cows diagnosed with uterine infection had reduced serum albumin concentration 21 days before calving, lower PON activity at 7 days after calving, and increased Hp in multiparous cows at 7 DIM compared to healthy cows.
Modelling of Mooney viscosity relaxation in natural rubber
Abstract Better assessment of natural rubber (NR) quality and processability, through the identification of new attributes, is still a major challenge. With this scope, 12 model samples of natural polyisoprene and two of synthetic polyisoprene were characterized in terms of Mooney torque relaxation, using the standardized ISO289 method (ML(1+4)100, explained later in the Section 1 ). The main purpose of this study was to identify a model that gave a better fit for the experimental decay of Mooney torque over time (ML(t)=f(t)) than the usual power law model used before (Y=at−b, [G.M. Bristow, A.G. Sears, The use of novel parameters in the assessment of natural rubber processability, NR Technol. 18 (1987); H.G. Burhin, W. Spreutels, J.M. Campbell, MV2000 Mooney viscometer: Mooney relaxation measurements on raw polymers and compounded rubber stocks, Kautsch. Gummi Kunstst. 43 (1990) 431]). The results showed that a generalized Maxwell model, and the Wu–Abbott empirical model ( Y = 1 − a Ln ( t ) − ( b t / ( c + t ) ) ) [T. Wu, J.A. Abbott, Firmness and force relaxation characteristics of tomatoes stored intact or as slices, Postharvest Biol. Technol. 24 (2002) 59–68], recently used for describing stress relaxation of tomato flesh, allowed a better description of the relaxation curve for the samples studied than the power law or stretched exponential traditionally used. Moreover, the total relaxation time (τm) given by the generalized Maxwell model showed good correlation with the total gel content of the samples studied.