Dynamic changes in salivation,salivary composition,and rumen fermentation associated with duration of high-grain feeding in cows

Salivary secretions are essential for the regulation of digestive processes, as well as rumen and cow health. This research evaluated the effects of the duration of high-grain feeding, and of the time relative to a meal, on salivation, saliva properties, feed bolus characteristics, chewing activity, ruminal and reticular volatile fatty acids, as well as salivary and ruminal pH. Nine nonlactating cannulated Holstein cows were sampled at 1 and 23 d after transition to a 65% grain diet (short term and long term, respectively). Both before and after a controlled meal (2.5 kg of dry matter, offered over 4 h), unstimulated saliva was taken orally for composition analysis. Stimulated salivation and feed boli characteristics were evaluated by collection of ingesta from cardia during 30 min. Chewing and ruminal pH were measured during the controlled meal and for a total of 6 h thereafter. Results from unstimulated saliva showed no effect of the duration of high-grain feeding on bicarbonate, phosphate, total proteins, mucins, lysozyme, and buffer capacity, but increased osmolality at the long term. Lysozyme activity did not differ with high-grain feeding duration, but tended to be lower after the meal. In contrast to short-term-fed cows, the long-term-fed cows increased both meal consumption and feed bolus size, but decreased chewing and feed ensalivation (5.2 vs. 4.6 ± 0.50 g of saliva/g of dry matter), and had lower pH of the stimulated saliva (7.00 vs. 6.67 ± 0.076). These cows also had decreased chewing index (66.5 vs. 45.4 min/kg of neutral detergent fiber), and despite the increase in stimulated saliva buffer capacity (0.027 vs. 0.039 ± 0.006), mean ruminal pH decreased (6.31 vs. 6.11 ± 0.065) during ad libitum feeding. Both in the rumen and reticulum, the concentration of total volatile fatty acids was lower and propionate proportion was higher at the long term. Linear regression analyses revealed a positive influence of the flow rates of salivary bicarbonate and phosphate on ruminal pH during the short term. For every 1-mol increment in the flow of bicarbonate or phosphate, ruminal pH increased by 0.062 or 0.439 units, respectively. Overall, salivary buffers are key determinants of ruminal pH regulation, especially during short-term grain feeding. However, in the long term, ruminal pH drop during ad libitum feeding was stronger, and this effect seems to be exacerbated by increased feed bolus size, accompanied by reductions in feed ensalivation, stimulated saliva pH, and chewing index.     

Colloidal stability and interactions of milk-protein-stabilized emulsions in an artificial saliva

Oil-in-water emulsions (20 wt% soy oil) with lactoferrin or β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) as the interfacial layer were prepared using a two-stage valve homogenizer. At pH 6.8, lactoferrin produces a stable cationic emulsion whereas β-lg forms an anionic emulsion. These emulsions were mixed with an artificial saliva that contained a range of mucin concentrations and salts. Negatively charged mucin was shown to interact readily with the positively charged lactoferrin-stabilized emulsion droplets to provide a mucin coverage of approximately 1 mg/m². As expected, the negatively charged β-lg-stabilized emulsion droplets had lower mucin coverage (0.6 mg/m² surface load) under the same conditions. The β-lg-stabilized emulsions were stable but showed depletion flocculation at higher mucin levels (≥1.0 wt%). In contrast, lactoferrin-stabilized emulsion droplets showed considerable aggregation in the presence of salts but in the absence of mucin. This salt-induced aggregation was reduced in the presence of mucin, possibly because of its binding to the positively charged lactoferrin-stabilized emulsion droplets and thus a reduction in the positive charge at the lactoferrin-coated droplet surface. However, at higher mucin concentration (≥2.0 wt%), lactoferrin-stabilized emulsions also showed droplet aggregation.     

Novel β-TCP scaffold production using NaCl as a porogen for bone tissue applications

There are numerous methods for producing scaffolds to be applied in bone tissue engineering. However, the best method of scaffold production is essential to consider, with respect to their chemical composition and mechanical and structural properties, so that debris is not produced when the scaffolds are evaluated in vitro or in vivo.The primary aim of the present investigation was to produce six novel β-TCP scaffold compositions, using sodium chloride as a porogen, with two different particle sizes, measuring 1–2 mm and 750 mm-1mm, and at varied concentrations (30, 50, and 70 wt %). Physical, chemical, mechanical, and in vitro characterizations were then performed on each scaffold composition, using artificial saliva, for 7 and 14 days, with promising results. The XRD diffractograms showed the formation of two new crystalline phases (NaCaPO₄ and Ca₅[PO₄]₃Cl) in the scaffolds, after their production. In addition, scaffold porosity, Young's modulus, and the maximum resistance of compression values were in the trabecular bone range and the in vitro test, using artificial saliva, was favorable in relation to scaffold bioactivity.     

口腔癌患者唾液中一种标记物的高效液相色谱荧光检测法及诊断价值研究

本文利用高效液相色谱荧光检测技术研究了口腔癌患者唾液中的肿瘤标记物,在所使用的色谱条件下,首次在患者唾液样品中检出一种荧光性标记物,其激发波长为442nm,发射波长为512nm。通过对24例非口腔癌患者和37例口腔癌患者唾液的HPLC-FL分析,其含量在非癌症患者中较高,而在癌症患者中却很低甚至未检出。通过采用非参数检验（Mann-Whitney U检验）,该物质含量在非癌症患者中与癌症患者中存在显著性差异（P<0.01）。数据分析表明,其特异性为94.6%,敏感度为95.8%,ROC曲线下面积为0.980,该模型具有很高的诊断价值,能够用于口腔癌的辅助诊断。