Copper slag is a by-product obtained during smelting and refining of copper. Copper smelting slag typically contains about 1 wt.% copper and 40 wt.% iron depending upon the initial ore quality and the furnace type. Main components of copper slag are iron oxide and silica. These exist in copper slag mainly in the form of fayalite (2FeO ·SiO2). This study was intended to recover pig iron from the copper smelting slag by reduction smelting method. At the reaction temperature of below 1400°С the whole copper smelting slag was not smelted, and some agglomerated, showing a mass in a sponge form. The recovery behavior of pig iron from copper smelting slag increases with increasing smelting temperature and duration. The recovery rate of pig iron varied greatly depending on the reaction temperature.
Culture gas atmosphere is one of the most important factors affecting embryo development in vitro. The main objective of this study was to compare the effects of CO concentration on the subsequent pre-implantation developmental capacity of pig embryos in vitro, including embryos obtained via parthenogenesis, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Pig embryos were developed in four different CO2 concentrations in air: 3%, 5%, 10%, or 15%. The cleavage rate of pig parthenogenetic, IVF, or ICSI embryos developed in CO2 concen- trations under 5% was the highest. There were no significant differences in the oocyte cleavage rate in ICSI embryos in CO2 concentrations under 3% and 5% (p>0.05). However, as CO2 levels increased (up to 15%) the blastocyst output on day 7, from parthenogenetic, IVF, and ICSI em- bryos, decreased to 0%. These findings demonstrate that CO2 positively affects the developmen- tal capacity of pig embryos. However, high or low CO2 levels do not significantly improve the developmental capacity of pig embryos. The best results were obtained for all of the pig embryos at a 5% CO2 concentration.
This study analysed the influence of montelukast (MON; 10-8 - 10-4 M), a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLTR1) antagonist, on the contractility of the porcine uterine smooth muscle in the luteal phase of the oesterous cycle (n=8) and in early pregnancy (n=8). Stimulation of uterine strips in the luteal phase with MON has been shown to significantly reduce the amplitude of con- tractions, but not to affect the tension or frequency of contractions. A statistically significant tension increase and decrease in the frequency and amplitude of contractions was observed in pigs in early pregnancy. This suggests that MON has a different effect on the parameters under study in cyclic and pregnant pigs.
From the regulatory point of view a strong link between an animal model and human pharmacodynamics of biological drugs is very important to qualify the model as “relevant”. Consistent changes in cell population between human physiology and animal model gain value of this model which then can be pharmacodynamically “relevant” from the regulatory point of view. Consequently, the aim of this study was to determine how similar to human observations is the effect of selected biological drugs on blood cells in a pig model. The study was to carry out a comparative analysis of the variability of selected biochemical and hematological parameters of the blood after administration of five different human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) after a single subcutaneous (SC) dose in breeding pigs. The tested drugs were siltuximab (Syl- vant®), omalizumab (Xolair®), infliximab (Inflectra®), pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), and vedoli- zumab (Entyvio®) given in a single 1 mg/kg SC injection. Each of the tested drugs exerted a sig- nificant effect on at least two of the tested parameters three weeks after the administration. Siltuximab significantly influenced 9 of the analyzed parameters. Vedolizumab significantly influenced 8 of the analyzed parameters. Infliximab had the lowest impact of all the tested drugs, as it significantly influenced only two of the analyzed parameters. The study has proved that the impact of mAbs on the analyzed parameters can be significantly extended over time. This requires the monitoring of hematological parameters in the pig model even many weeks af- ter administration of a drug in a relatively small dose.
Tight junction proteins are important for the maintenance and repair of the intestinal mucosal barrier. The present study investigated relationships among tight junction protein gene expres- sion, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) infection, and intestinal mucosal morphology in piglets. We compared the expression of six tight junction proteins (ZO-1, ZO-2, Occludin, Claudin-1, Claudin-4, and Claudin-5) between seven-day-old piglets infected with PEDV and normal piglets, as well as in PEDV-infected porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). We also evaluated differences in mucosal morphology between PEDV-infected and normal piglets. The expression of six tight junction protein genes was lower in PEDV-infected piglets than in the normal animals. The expression of ZO-1, ZO-2, Occludin, and Claudin-4 in the intestine tissue was significantly lower (p<0.05) in PEDV-infected than in normal piglets. The expression of Claudin-5 in the jejunum was significantly lower in PEDV-infected piglets than in the normal animals (p<0.01). The expression of Claudin-1 and Claudin-5 genes in the ileum was signifi- cantly higher in PEDV-infected piglets than in normal piglets (p<0.01). Morphologically, the intestinal mucosa in PEDV-infected piglets exhibited clear pathological changes, including breakage and shedding of intestinal villi. In PEDV-infected IPEC-J2 cells, the mRNA expression of the six tight junction proteins showed a downward trend; in particular, the expression of the Occludin and Claudin-4 genes was significantly lower (p<0.01). These data suggest that the expression of these six tight junction proteins, especially Occludin and Claudin-4, plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier and resistance to PEDV infection in piglets.
The present study was undertaken to highlight the influence of simvastatin administration on hepatocyte morphology, proliferation, and apoptosis. The study included 48 gilts aged 3 months (weighing ca. 30 kg) divided into groups I (control; n=24) and II, receiving 40 mg/animal simvas- tatin orally (simavastatin; n=24) for 29 days. The animals were euthanized on days subsequent to the experiment. The livers were sampled, fixed, and processed routinely for histopathology, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry (for proliferating cell nuclear antigen, Bcl-2, and caspase-3). Apoptosis was visualized by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL). Simvastatin administration caused acute hepatocyte swelling, glycogen de- pletion, hyperaemia, multifocal hepatocyte proliferation with occasional pseudoacinar formation, connective tissue hyperplasia, eosinophil infiltration, and interface hepatitis. The proliferating cell nuclear antigen index, mean diameter of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions, and Bcl-2 immunoexpression were lower compared to control, and mean caspase-3 immunoexpression was higher in group II compared to control. On day 25 and 29 single hepatocytes in the simvasta- tin-treated group were TUNEL-positive. Simvastatin caused morphological alteration which became more intense over time. The results from the present study suggest that simvastatin treat- ment may cause glycogen, lipid metabolism and cell membrane permeability distortion, fibrosis, interface hepatitis, reduction in hepatocyte proliferation and transcriptional activity, and enhanced vulnerability to apoptosis. Summing up the results, it can be concluded that simvastatin caused liver damage with similar morphological changes seen in autoimmune-like liver injury, which may indicate that simvastatin may induce autoimmune-like drug induced liver injury.
The aim was to explore the feasibility of using bamboo vinegar powder as an antibiotics substitute in weaning piglets. Forty-five healthy Duroc × Landrance × Yorshire piglets (weight 6.74 ± 0.17 kg; age 31 days) were randomly divided into the control group (basic diet), ANT group (basic diet + 0.12% compound antibiotics), BV1 group (basic diet + 0.1% bamboo vinegar powder), BV5 group (basic diet + 0.5% bamboo vinegar powder) and BV10 group (basic diet + 1% bamboo vinegar powder). MyD88 and CD14 expression in immune tissues was examined using real-time PCR. MyD88 expression in the control group were significantly lower than that in other groups in all tissues (p<0.05), while CD14 expression showed the opposite trend. MyD88 expression was significantly higher in the BV10 group than in other groups in lung tissue (P<0.05), significantly higher in the ANT group than in the BV1 group in the kidneys (P<0.05), significantly higher in the BV10 group than in the BV1 group in the thymus (P<0.05), and signifi- cantly higher in the BV1 group than in the BV10 group in the lymphatic tissue (P<0.05). These differences between experimental groups were not observed for the CD14 gene (P>0.05). Thus, adding bamboo vinegar powder to the basic diet of weaning piglets had immune effects similar to antibiotics and the effect was dose-dependent. Moreover, the MyD88 and CD14 genes appear to play a role in these immune effects
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