A. Tolver

Programming of glucose–insulin homoeostasis: long‐term consequences of pre‐natal versus early post‐natal nutrition insults. Evidence from a sheep model

AIM Exposure to adverse intra-uterine conditions can predispose for metabolic disorders later in life. By using a sheep model, we studied (i) how programming of glucose-insulin homoeostasis during late gestation is manifested later in life depending on the early post-natal dietary exposure and (ii) whether dietary alteration in obese individuals can prevent adverse outcomes of early life programming. METHODS During late gestation, twin-pregnant sheep were fed 100% (NORM) or 50% (LOW) of energy and protein requirements. After birth, offspring were exposed to a moderate (CONV) or high-carbohydrate-high-fat (HCHF) diet until around puberty. Offspring remaining thereafter (exclusively females) were fed a moderate diet until young adulthood. RESULTS LOW lambs had increased insulin secretory responses during intravenous glucose tolerance tests indicative of reduced insulin sensitivity. HCHF lambs were hypertriglyceridaemic, 75% had mild pancreatic collagen infiltration, and their acute insulin secretory response and insulin clearance during intravenous glucose and insulin tolerance tests, respectively, were reduced. However, NORM-HCHF in contrast to LOW-HCHF lambs had normal glucose tolerance, indicating that later health outcomes are highly influenced by pre-natal nutrition. Dietary alteration normalized glucose-insulin homoeostasis in adult HCHF females, whereas late-gestation undernutrition (LOW) permanently depressed insulin sensitivity. CONCLUSION Maintenance of glucose tolerance in sheep exposed to pre-natal undernutrition relied on pancreatic hypersecretion of insulin to compensate for reduced insulin sensitivity. A mismatching high-fat diet in early post-natal life interfered with this pancreatic hypersecretion resulting in reduced glucose tolerance. Early post-natal, but not late pre-natal, impacts on glucose-insulin homoeostasis could be reversed by dietary correction later in life.

Comparison of four echocardiographic methods to determine left atrial size in dogs

OBJECTIVES To compare a linear and three volume-based two-dimensional echocardiographic methods for measuring LA size: left atrium to aorta ratio (LA/Ao ratio), biplane area-length, biplane modified Simpson and monoplane area-length. ANIMALS One hundred seventy-six client-owned dogs of different breeds, 88 healthy dogs and 88 dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease of different disease severity. METHODS The left apical four- and two-chamber views were used to measure LA volumes. The right parasternal short-axis view at the level of the heart base was used to measure the LA/Ao ratio. RESULTS The biplane area-length method yielded 2.8% larger values than those of the biplane modified Simpson method, consistent across the full range of LA volumes. The monoplane area-length method derived on average 5.8% larger values of LA volume than the biplane area-length method. The difference between these two methods was most pronounced at larger LA volumes. The relation between the LA/Ao ratio and LA volume was curvilinear and with increasing LA size these two methods derived very dissimilar values. CONCLUSIONS All methods showed good feasibility and reproducibility, with the volume-based methods having the most favourable intra- and inter-observer variabilities. The LA/Ao ratio underestimates at higher values of LA size compared to the biplane area-length method. LA volume methods may be superior to the LA/Ao ratio in quantification of LA size. The biplane area-length method and biplane modified Simpson method can be used interchangeably. The monoplane area-length measurement may be used as a quick and reliable method for assessment of LA size in clinical practice.

Mucosal Vaccination with Heterologous Viral Vectored Vaccine Targeting Subdominant SIV Accessory Antigens Strongly Inhibits Early Viral Replication

Conventional HIV T cell vaccine strategies have not been successful in containing acute peak viremia, nor in providing long-term control. We immunized rhesus macaques intramuscularly and rectally using a heterologous adenovirus vectored SIV vaccine regimen encoding normally weakly immunogenic tat, vif, rev and vpr antigens fused to the MHC class II associated invariant chain. Immunizations induced broad T cell responses in all vaccinees. Following up to 10 repeated low-dose intrarectal challenges, vaccinees suppressed early viral replication (P = 0.01) and prevented the peak viremia in 5/6 animals. Despite consistently undetectable viremia in 2 out of 6 vaccinees, all animals showed evidence of infection induced immune responses indicating that infection had taken place. Vaccinees, with and without detectable viremia better preserved their rectal CD4 + T cell population and had reduced immune hyperactivation as measured by naïve T cell depletion, Ki-67 and PD-1 expression on T cells. These results indicate that vaccination towards SIV accessory antigens vaccine can provide a level of acute control of SIV replication with a suggestion of beneficial immunological consequences in infected animals of unknown long-term significance. In conclusion, our studies demonstrate that a vaccine encoding subdominant antigens not normally associated with virus control can exert a significant impact on acute peak viremia.

Repeated measurements of blood lactate concentration as a prognostic marker in horses with acute colitis evaluated with classification and regression trees (CART) and random forest analysis

The objective of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of single and repeated measurements of blood l-lactate (Lac) and ionised calcium (iCa) concentrations, packed cell volume (PCV) and plasma total protein (TP) concentration in horses with acute colitis. A total of 66 adult horses admitted with acute colitis (<24 h) to a referral hospital in the 2002-2011 period were included. The prognostic value of Lac, iCa, PCV and TP recorded at admission and 6 h post admission was analysed with univariate analysis, logistic regression, classification and regression trees, as well as random forest analysis. Ponies and Icelandic horses made up 59% of the population, whilst the remaining 41% were horses. Blood lactate concentration at admission was the only individual parameter significantly associated with probability of survival to discharge (P < 0.001). In a training sample, a Lac cut-off value of 7 mmol/L had a sensitivity of 0.66 and a specificity of 0.92 in predicting survival. In independent test data, the sensitivity was 0.69 and the specificity was 0.76. At the observed survival rate (38%), the optimal decision tree identified horses as non-survivors when the Lac at admission was ≥4.3 mmol/L and the Lac 6 h post admission stayed at >2 mmol/L (sensitivity, 0.72; specificity, 0.8). In conclusion, blood lactate concentration measured at admission and repeated 6 h later aided the prognostic evaluation of horses with acute colitis in this population with a very high mortality rate. This should allow clinicians to give a more reliable prognosis for the horse.

Development and Initial Validation of the Volition in Exercise Questionnaire (VEQ)

ABSTRACT The present study describes the development and validation of an instrument to measure volition in the exercise context. Volition describes an individual’s self-regulatory mental processes that are responsible for taking and maintaining a desirable action (e.g., exercising regularly). The scale structure was developed in an exploratory factor analysis which resulted in a reliable structure of the following six factors: Volitional Inhibition—Reasons, Volitional Inhibition—Postponing Training, Volitional Facilitation—Self-Confidence, Volitional Inhibition—Unrelated Thoughts, Volitional Inhibition—Approval From Others, and Volitional Facilitation—Coping with Failure. A sound theoretical explanation for these six factors is based on the Personal System Interaction Theory. This six-factor structure was also confirmed in a new sample in a confirmatory factor analysis, delivering an 18-item questionnaire with strong model fit and good internal consistency. In addition, the Volition in Exercise Questionnaire showed convergent validity because it was able to predict exercise participation. It showed incremental validity by explaining additional variance to the Sport Motivation Scale’s well-established predictors of exercise participation.