Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) develops following joint injury and involves inflammatory processes, including signaling by damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Standardized non-invasive PTOA induction protocols for rats remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate a newly developed, patented cyclic-loading device for non-invasive PTOA induction and to characterize joint alterations using imaging, histopathology, and serum DAMP measurements. Sixteen female Wistar albino rats (280–300 g) were assigned to control and PTOA groups (n=8/group). Under anesthesia, the left stifle of PTOA rats underwent 20 N cyclic loading in three sets of 40 cycles (120 cycles per session), three days per week for three weeks. The right hind limb served as an unloaded contralateral control. Gait, radiographic, and ultrasonographic assessments were performed in the third week. Serum high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), serum amyloid A (SAA), S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8), and S100A9 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and joint tissues were examined histopathologically (n=4/group). Radiography and ultrasonography (USG) demonstrated irregular joint margins and narrowed joint spaces in loaded stifles. USG also indicated increased echogenicity in the joint cavity. Kellgren-Lawrence grades were significantly higher in the PTOA group (p<0.001). Gait parameters did not differ significantly between groups after multiple-comparison correction, although reluctance to walk and facial expressions suggestive of discomfort were qualitatively observed. Histopathology showed chondrocyte vacuolar degeneration in the PTOA group, with cartilage thinning, erosion, matrix fibrillation, or capsular thickening and inflammatory infiltration in some cases. SAA and S100A8 levels were higher in the PTOA group (unadjusted p=0.033 and 0.016), but neither difference remained significant after Holm–Šidák correction (adjusted p=0.095 and 0.063). HMGB1 and S100A9 levels were also higher, but not significantly. Imaging and histopathological findings suggest the patented device induced joint changes consistent with PTOA without surgical intervention, but longitudinal and mechanistic studies are needed to clarify the serum DAMP response.
The increasing resistance of gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) to conventional anthelmintics has intensified the search for sustainable alternatives methods to avoid anthelmintic resistance in small ruminants. Several options have been proposed to control GINs, including the use of secondary compounds of plants with relevant pharmacological properties, such as essential oils (EOs) derived from several aromatic plants, including oregano (Calamintha potosina W. Schaffn and Lippia graveolens Kunth). The present study evaluated the in vitro anthelmintic efficacy of oregano EOs and their hydrolates in egg hatch inhibition (EHI) and larval mortality (LM) of caprine GINs. The EOs and hydrolates were obtained by steam distillation and evaluated individually at 16 and 20 serial dilutions for EHI and LM, respectively, ranging from 50 to 0.0001 mg mL-1 of concentration. The essential oil of C. potosina achieved nearly 100% egg hatch inhibition and larval mortality at concentrations >0.003 mg mL-1, at 0.0015 mg mL-1 EHI was 95% and 55.6% of larval mortality at 0.0001 mg mL-1. The essential oil of L. graveolens showed high efficacy in the EHI with a value of 81.1% observed at a dose of 0.0015 mg mL-1. In contrast, the hydrolates derived from both essential oils exhibited significantly lower efficacy, requiring higher concentrations to achieve comparable anthelmintic effects. These results suggest that oregano essential oils may constitute a promising natural alternative for the control of caprine GINs, particularly to limit the increasing resistance to conventional anthelmintics.
This study investigated whether dry and water-bath thawing protocols affect rooster sperm head morphology using a landmark-based geometric morphometric approach. Ten frozen semen straws were divided equally between the two protocols, and all straws were thawed at 37°C for 30 s. From each straw, ten morphologically intact spermatozoa were selected, giving a total of 100 sperm heads. Twelve landmarks were digitized on each sperm head. The resulting data were evaluated using generalized Procrustes analysis, Procrustes ANOVA, multivariate regression, principal component analysis, and discriminant function analysis. Significant differences between the thawing groups were found for both centroid size (F=4.43, P=0.0380) and sperm-head shape (F=8.21, P<0.0001). Centroid size, however, was not significantly related to shape variation (P=0.1256). The first three principal components explained 32.09%, 25.32%, and 20.53% of the total shape variation, respectively. Most of this variation was observed in the acrosomal region. The overall cross-validated classification reliability obtained from discriminant function analysis was approximately 70%, suggesting moderate differentiation between the groups. The results show measurable differences in rooster sperm-head geometry between the two thawing protocols. Geometric morphometrics detected subtle protocol-associated variation in post-thaw sperm-head geometry. The biological importance of these differences is still unclear because the study did not include fresh-semen controls, independent biological replicates, or functional and fertility measurements.
Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) is a transborder viral infection with high morbidity and mortality in small ruminant populations, threatening the global livestock economy. The risk of transient immunosuppression and the lack of divergence (DIVA) between naturally infected and vaccinated animals in current live attenuated vaccines necessitate the development of next-generation prophylactic strategies. This highlights the need for safer, alternative vaccine platforms. Here, a multi-epitope mRNA vaccine candidate potentially compatible with a DIVA strategy was designed, targeting the structural F, H, and N proteins of PPRV. By analyzing global consensus sequences, 15 cytotoxic and 6 helper T lymphocyte epitopes that proved to be antigenic, non-toxic, and non-allergenic were selected. To boost mucosal immune responses, ovine beta-defensin-3 (sBD-3) was integrated as an adjuvant, connecting the components with appropriate rigid and flexible linkers. Codons were optimized for ovine expression systems, yielding a 1.680-nucleotide mRNA construct. This optimized sequence showed high translational potential (CAI: 0.916) and strong intracellular stability (MFE: -716.700 kcal/mol). Structural predictions and subsequent validation indicated an intrinsically disordered architecture for the protein backbone. Molecular docking demonstrated that the vaccine construct interacts effectively with the ovine TLR4/CD14 complex and the CD150/SLAM receptor. Following this, 100 ns all-atom molecular dynamics simulations verified that the sBD-3 adjuvant forms a highly stable complex at the ovine TLR4 interface. Computational immune simulations suggested that a standard three-dose vaccination protocol could trigger humoral and cellular immunogenic profiles, characterized by Th1 polarization and long-lasting memory. Overall, this bioinformatic study proposes an mRNA-based alternative that bypasses the biosafety issues of conventional PPRV vaccines, offering a solid basis for future in vivo and in vitro experimental validation.
This research applies advanced time series techniques to analyze instability patterns, develop modeling approaches, and forecast egg production trends across five leading producer countries. China was the worlds top egg producer, with the largest mean output (17,164.63 thousand metric tons, TMT) but the most variability (SD = standard deviation, SD = 9,381.40 TMT), while Indonesia showed the most drastic relative change. Trend analysis showed China followed a quadratic pattern, Mexico and the USA cubic growth, India exponential growth, and Indonesia a cubic trend. Instability analysis using the adjusted-R²-based Cuddy-Della Valle coefficient indicated Indonesia was highly unstable (coefficient of variation, CV = 124.35%; trend-adjusted CV, CVt = 34.56%), whereas the other four countries showed low trend-adjusted instability (CVt < 8%). BATS (Box-Cox transformation, autoregressive moving average errors, trend and seasonal components) and ARIMA (autoregressive integrated moving average) were compared against genuine out-of-sample data (2018-2023) and a naive benchmark: BATS performed better for China and the USA, ARIMA for India and Indonesia, and Mexico was metric-dependent; for Indonesia and the USA, at least one model failed to beat the naive benchmark, indicating limited absolute forecasting skill for these series. Forecasts to 2030 showed continued growth for China (35,289-35,651 TMT) and India (10,645-11,693 TMT), a wide uncertain range for Indonesia (9,174-12,036 TMT), modest Mexican growth, and diverging USA projections (ARIMA: decline; BATS: flat). Targeted policy actions -particularly in Indonesia, where the identified instability warrants attention subject to verification of its underlying data- could help stabilise egg production in the least stable of the markets studied, offering guidance for strategic planning in the global poultry industry.
