This study was conducted to determine the effects of biophoton treatment during in vitro maturation (IVM) and/or in vitro culture (IVC) on oocyte maturation and embryonic development in pigs. An apparatus capable of generating homogeneous biophoton energy emissions was placed in an incubator. Initially, immature pig oocytes were matured in the biophoton-equipped incubator in medium 199 supplemented with cysteine, epidermal growth factor, insulin, and gonadotrophic hormones for 22 h, after which they were matured in hormone-free medium for an additional 22 hr. Next, IVM oocytes were induced for parthenogenesis (PA) or provided as cytoplasts for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Treatment of oocytes with biophoton energy during IVM did not improve cumulus cell expansion, nuclear maturation, intraoocyte glutathione content, or mitochondrial distribution of oocytes. However, biophoton-treated oocytes showed higher (p less than 0.05) blastocyst formation after PA than that in untreated oocytes (50.7% vs. 42.7%). In an additional experiment, SCNT embryos produced from biophoton-treated oocytes showed a greater (p less than 0.05) number of cells in blastocysts (52.6 vs. 43.9) than that in untreated oocytes. Taken together, our results demonstrate that biophoton treatment during IVM improves developmental competence of PA- and SCNT-derived embryos.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been investigated for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. This study was conducted to determine the distributions of HA nanoparticles (NPs; size 350-400 nm) and larger HA polymers in mice at intervals after application. 177Lutetium (Lu)-labeled HA-NPs or HA polymers were intravenously injected (5 mg/ kg) into male ICR mice, and radioactivity levels in blood and target organs were measured from 0.25 h to 28 days post-injection. In blood, the radioactivities of HA-NPs and HA polymer peaked at 0.5 h after injection but were remarkably decreased at 2 h; subsequently, they maintained a constant level until 6 days post-injection. HA-NPs and HA polymers were observed in the liver, spleen, lung, kidney, and heart (in ascending order) but were seldom observed in other organs. After 3 days, both the HA-NP and HA polymer levels showed similar steady decreases in lung, kidney, and heart. However, in liver and spleen, the HA-NP levels tended to decrease gradually after 1 day and both were very low after 14 days, whereas the HA polymer level accumulated for 28 days. The results indicate that HA-NPs, with their faster clearance pattern, may act as a better drug delivery system than HA polymers, especially in the liver and spleen.

Intercostal abdominal hernia in the 11th intercostal space was identified in a leopard cat. Although mild leukopenia was found in laboratory examinations, no remarkable abnormality was revealed in medical imaging. To investigate abdominal organs, diagnostic laparoscopy was performed after hernia repair. In laparoscopic view, closure of the herniation site and a lesion with whitish discoloration in the liver (left medial lobe) were observed. Subsequently, laparoscopic liver biopsy was performed against the affected hepatic tissue. Histologically, the sample was diagnosed as mild hepatic lipidosis. Laparoscopy is considered useful for abdominal visceral examination and liver biopsy in a leopard cat patient.

An 8-year-old castrated male Shih Tzu dog (weighing 7.0 kg) presented with anemia and lethargy. Initial diagnosis indicated immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. During therapy, a secondary urinary infection, probably due to the immune suppressive therapy, was diagnosed. Subsequent diagnostic tests, including urinalysis and urine culture, indicated candidal cystitis. Despite ketoconazole therapy for candidal cystitis, the dog died suddenly. A Candida albicans infection was confirmed upon postmortem evaluation. Prolonged immunosuppressive therapy might be the cause of this infection. This is the first case report describing a Candida albicans urinary tract infection accompanied by hemolytic anemia in a dog in Korea.

The present study was performed to evaluate the hangover relieving effect of germinated buckwheat (GB) and Sanghwang mushroom mycelium cultured in GB (SGB). Both GB and SGB showed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities and significantly increased (p less than 0.001) aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activities; up to 140% increase at concentrations of 16 μL/mL. Locomotor activity test results from alcohol-SGB and alcohol-GB groups showed improved motor activities over that of the alcohol-water group at 90 min post-administration. Both alcoholGB and alcohol-SGB groups had significantly reduced (p less than 0.001) alcoholand aldehyde concentrations in blood compared to those in the alcohol-water group at 90 min post-administration. Based on cDNA microarray analysis, expressions of ALDH genes ALDH1a7 and ALDH18a1 and cytochrome P450 (CY450) gene CYP4a30b were upregulated in the alcohol-GB and alcohol-SGB groups compared to levels in the control group. Overall, the results suggest that both GB and SGB have hangover relieving effects by reducing blood acetaldehyde levels. The molecular mechanisms may involve ALDH activation and upregulated expression of alcohol metabolism-related genes such as ALDH and CYP450.

Surgical castration performed to reduce male-associated problems results in pain and microbial infections in male animals. Therefore, immunocontraception, which is mediated by the animal's own antibodies against reproductive hormones, has been recommended as an alternative to surgical castration when considering the animal's welfare. In this study, a new immunocontraceptive vaccine composed of six tandem copies of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) fused to rat granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was developed, and its efficacy was evaluated in male rats. Three different doses (10, 50, and 100 μg) of recombinant GM-CSF-GnRH protein were injected three times at intervals of two weeks into male rats. The rats vaccinated with three doses of GM-CSF-GnRH produced a significantly higher level of antibodies against GnRH than that in the negative control rats. Severe atrophy of gonads was observed in rats vaccinated with three doses of GM-CSF-GnRH but not in the negative control rats. The results reveal that the new GnRH vaccine conjugated with rat GM-CSF induces efficient immunocontraception in male rats. This formulation of the immunocontraceptive vaccine would be applicable to both domestic and pet male animals.

Antihypertensive effects of ethanol extracts of Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem. (AE) were investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). SHR aged 14 weeks were treated for 8 weeks with AE (10 or 50 mg/kg/day) or amlodipine besylate (Am; 10 mg/kg/day) orally. Hypertension results in injury to several organs and can produce a significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content as a result of lipid peroxidation and endothelial dysfunction. In this study, oral administration of AE and Am significantly reduced systolic blood pressure, organ weight index, and MDA content in tissues but increased significantly the plasma nitrite and nitrate concentrations. The endothelium-dependent relaxant activities of acetylcholine in norepinephrine (NE)-precontracted aorta were increased in AE- and Amtreated rats. Particularly strong endothelium-dependent relaxant activities were observed in AE-treated (50 mg/kg) rats. The endothelium-independent relaxant activities of sodium nitroprusside in NE-precontracted aorta were not changed. The results of this study suggest that AE has both antihypertensive and end-organ protective effects in SHR.

This study evaluated the effect of a combination of acetaminophen and vitamin C (CAV) on reducing serum cortisol and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) concentrations in piglets vaccinated with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine. Piglets were vaccinated with FMD vaccine and treated with CAV at concentrations of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kg/ton feed (P-CON, AD-1, AD-2, and AD-3, groups, respectively) for 5 days post-vaccination. Cortisol and TNF-alpha levels at 5 days post-treatment in the AD-1-3 groups were significantly lower than that in the P-CON group (p less than 0.05). There were no significant differences between AD-2 and AD-3 groups and non-vaccinated, non-CAV-treated piglets.

Temporal and subcellular distributions of hyaluronic acid (HA) as a degradable nanoparticle (NP) in animals were investigated to determine if HA-NP could be utilized as an appropriate drug delivery system. After mice were intravenously injected with 5 mg/kg of Cy5.5-labeled HA-NP sized 350-400 nm or larger HA-polymers, the fluorescence intensity was measured in all homogenized organs from 0.5 h to 28 days. HA-NP was greatly detected in spleen, liver and kidney until day 28, while it was maintained at low levels in other organs. HA-polymer was observed at low levels in all organs. HA-NP quantities in spleen and liver were reduced until day 3, but increased sharply between days 3 and 7, then decreased again, while their HA-polymers were maintained at low levels until day 28. In kidneys, both HA-NP and HA-polymer showed high levels after 0.5 h of administration, but steadily decreased until day 28. According to ultrastructural analyses, HA-NP was engulfed in Kupffer cells of liver and macrophages of spleen and kidney at day 1 and was accumulated in the cytoplasm of kidney tubular cells at day 7. Overall, these findings suggest that HA-NP could be considered a desirable drug carrier in the liver, kidney, or spleen.

Salmonella (S.) Typhimurium is highly contagious, and its infection may rapidly spread within pig populations of herd. According to the survey (1,191 pigs) from 2003 to 2012, 155 pigs (13.0%) were diagnosed as salmonellosis in Jeju. Major porcine salmonellosis cases (88.4%) were concentrated in 4- to 12-week-old weaned pigs, but 6 pigs (3.9%) under 4 weeks old were also diagnosed. Based on the histopathologic examinations, ulcerative enteritis (63.9%) in the large intestine and/or paratyphoid nodules formation (57.4%) in the liver were most prevalent lesions in porcine salmonellosis. Single infection of S. Typhimurium and mixed infection with more than 2 pathogens were detected in 38 (24.5%) and 117 (75.5%) in pigs, respectively. Co-infections of Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and Porcine circovirus type 2 were very common in porcine salmonellosis in Jeju and detected in 84 (54.2%) and 59 (38.1%) pigs, respectively. Based on the serotyping tests using 41 bacterial isolates, S. Typhimurium and S. Rissen were confirmed in 39 (95.1%) and 2 (4.9%) cases, respectively.