Publikationen

Untargeted lipidomics reveals unique lipid signatures of extracellular vesicles from porcine colostrum and milk

2025-11-13T11:15:18Z

Untargeted lipidomics reveals unique lipid signatures of extracellular vesicles from porcine colostrum and milk Furioso Ferreira, Rafaela; Ghaffari, Morteza H.; Ceciliani, Fabrizio; Fontana, Manuela; Caruso, Donatella; Audano, Matteo; Savoini, Giovanni; Agazzi, Alessandro; Mrljak, Vladimir; Sauerwein, Helga Extracellular vesicles (EV) are membranous vesicles considered as significant players in cell-to-cell communication. Milk provides adequate nutrition, transfers immunity, and promotes neonatal development, and milk EV are suggested to play a crucial role in these processes. Milk samples were obtained on days 0, 7, and 14 after parturition from sows receiving either a standard diet (ω-6:ω-3 = 13:1) or a test diet enriched in ω-3 (ω-6:ω-3 = 4:1). EV were isolated using ultracentrifugation coupled with size exclusion chromatography, and characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and assessment of EV markers via Western blotting. The lipidome was determined following a liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry approach. Here, we show that different stages of lactation (colostrum vs mature milk) have a distinct extracellular vesicle lipidomic profile. The distinct lipid content can be further explored to understand and regulate milk EV functionalities and primordial for enabling their diagnostic and therapeutic potential.

Development of a novel app-based system for the digital color read out of time-temperature-indicators and to monitor shelf life along the chain

2025-02-21T14:49:11Z

Development of a novel app-based system for the digital color read out of time-temperature-indicators and to monitor shelf life along the chain Waldhans, Claudia; Ibald, Rolf; Albrecht, Antonia; Wollenweber, Dirk; Sy, Su-Jen; Kreyenschmidt, Judith The aim of this study was the development of an app-based system for the digital read-out of Time-Temperature-Indicators (TTI) and the shelf life prediction of perishable products. The study was subdivided into four parts: development of a color measurement app for TTIs, investigation of the influence of different environmental and technical parameters on measurement accuracy, development of a kinetic shelf life model for the TTIs by app measurement and the integration of the model and a QR code scanner in the app for shelf life prediction. The study revealed the possibility to perform accurate color measurements by app. Measurement accuracy could be enhanced by white balance correction. Shelf life modeling using the Logistic and Arrhenius models resulted in activation energies from 107.49 to 111.55 kJ/mol for different charging times (1800–500 ms). The app is a promising system for stakeholders to perform temperature monitoring and shelf life prediction along the supply chain.

Growth performance and economic impact of Simmental fattening bulls fed dry or corn silage-based total mixed rations

2025-02-11T14:38:07Z

Growth performance and economic impact of Simmental fattening bulls fed dry or corn silage-based total mixed rations Koch, Christian; Schönleben, Manfred; Mentschel, Joachim; Göres, Norbert; Fissore, Paolo; Cohrs, Imke; Sauerwein, Helga; Ghaffari, Morteza Bull-fattening diets in Europe and most developed countries around the world have traditionally been based on corn silage, starch-rich, and high-energy/ high-protein supplemental feeds. The impact of climate change on crop yields feed availability, and price volatility, requires new and adapted feeding strategies, including for fattening bulls. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the growth performance and economic impact of a representative, conventional corn silage-based (CONVL) total mixed ration, and a dry (DRY) total mixed ration (TMR) fed to Simmental bulls. For nine months (272 days), 24 bulls (215 ± 10 kg BW) were randomly assigned to one of two TMR feeding groups (n = 12 per group). The DRY–TMR was primarily characterised by the nutrient fibre source, exclusively based on straw and other by-products. The diets were formulated and balanced based on the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System. After 272 days of fattening, bulls were slaughtered. Feed intake, average daily gain (ADG)/DM intake (DMI) ratio, and nutrient intake were affected by treatment, time, and their interaction (P < 0.05). The treatment affected neither acid detergent lignin intake nor starch intake. Compared with CONVL bulls, animals fed DRY–TMR consumed more non-fibre carbohydrates and rumen undegradable neutral detergent fibre, showing lesser dry and fresh matter intake and less metabolisable energy and physically effective neutral detergent fibre intake. Despite differences in nutrient intake (P < 0.05), particle size distribution between the two diets and growth performance were not different (P = 0.45). Simmental bulls in both treatment groups reached target weight in a shorter time due to high ADG of 1.87 kg (DRY–TMR) and 1.84 kg (CONVL). Both treatments achieved a positive profit margin (598 ± 28 €/bull). While total income per bull and dressing percentage did not differ between treatments, the substantially higher feed costs (P < 0.01) of the DRY–TMR resulted in a higher (P = 0.04) income over feed cost in favour of the CONVL treatment group. Despite the higher feed cost of DRY compared with CONVL diets, the better ADG/DMI ratio (P < 0.01) of DRY–TMR contributed to lower absolute feed quantity requirements during the fattening period. Due to the positive profit margin and high ADG results, DRY–TMR solutions for fattening bulls based on straw and by-products can be considered a promising alternative feeding strategy.

Glucocorticoids in relation to behavior, morphology, and physiology as proxy indicators for the assessment of animal welfare

2023-05-02T08:15:19Z

Glucocorticoids in relation to behavior, morphology, and physiology as proxy indicators for the assessment of animal welfare Tiemann, Inga; Fijn, Lisa; Bagaria, Marc; Langen, Esther; van der Staay, F. Josef; Arndt, Saskia; Leenaars, Cathalijn; Goerlich, Vivian Translating theoretical concepts of animal welfare into quantitative assessment protocols is an ongoing challenge. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are frequently used as physiological measure in welfare assessment. The interpretation of levels of GCs and especially their relation to welfare, however, is not as straightforward, questioning the informative power of GCs. The aim of this systematic mapping review was therefore to provide an overview of the relevant literature to identify global patterns in studies using GCs as proxy for the assessment of welfare of vertebrate species. Following a systematic protocol and a-priory inclusion criteria, 509 studies with 517 experiments were selected for data extraction. The outcome of the experiments was categorized based on whether the intervention significantly affected levels of GCs, and whether these effects were accompanied by changes in behavior, morphology and physiology. Additional information, such as animal species, type of intervention, experimental set up and sample type used for GC determination was extracted, as well. Given the broad scope and large variation in included experiments, meta-analyses were not performed, but outcomes are presented to encourage further, in-depth analyses of the data set. The interventions did not consistently lead to changes in GCs with respect to the original authors hypothesis. Changes in GCs were not consistently paralleled by changes in additional assessment parameter on behavior, morphology and physiology. The minority of experiment quantified GCs in less invasive sample matrices compared to blood. Interventions showed a large variability, and species such as fish were underrepresented, especially in the assessment of behavior. The inconclusive effects on GCs and additional assessment parameter urges for further validation of techniques and welfare proxies. Several conceptual and technical challenges need to be met to create standardized and robust welfare assessment protocols and to determine the role of GCs herein.