Postbiotic feed additives may aid foodborne pathogen reduction during poultry rearing. The study objective was to evaluate a postbiotic additive in parallel to an industry control diet and the subsequent associated burden of Salmonella enterica on a single, commercial broiler farm in Honduras. Twelve houses were matched and assigned the standard diet (CON) or standard diet plus postbiotic (SCFP). New litter was placed in each house and retained across flock cycles with sampling prior to each chick placement and three consecutive rearing cycles. At ~33–34 days, 25 ceca were collected on-farm from each house, treatment, and cycle. Salmonella prevalence in litter for CON (30.6%) and SCFP (27.8%) were equivalent; however, Salmonella load within positive samples was lower (p = 0.04) for SCFP (3.81 log₁₀ MPN/swab) compared to CON (5.53 log10 MPN/swab). Cecal prevalence of Salmonella was lower (p = 0.0006) in broilers fed SCFP (3.4%) compared to CON (12.2%). Salmonella load within positive ceca were numerically reduced (p = 0.121) by 1.45 log₁₀ MPN/g for SCFP (2.41 log₁₀ MPN/g) over CON (3.86 log₁₀ MPN/g). Estimated burden was lower (p = 0.003) for SCFP flocks (3.80 log₁₀ MPN) compared to CON (7.31 log₁₀ MPN). These data demonstrate the preharvest intervention potential of postbiotics to reduce Salmonella enterica in broiler chickens.

Objectives. We aimed to demonstrate the potential of precision medicine to describe the inflammatory landscape present in children with suspected appendicitis. Our primary objective was to determine levels of seven inflammatory protein mediators previously associated with intra-abdominal inflammation (C-reactive protein—CRP, procalcitonin—PCT, interleukin-6 (IL), IL-8, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1—MCP-1, and serum amyloid A—SAA) in a cohort of children with suspected appendicitis. Subsequently, using a multiplex proteomics approach, we examined an expansive array of novel candidate cytokine and chemokines within this population.Methods. We performed a secondary analysis of targeted proteomics data from Alberta Sepsis Network studies. Plasma mediator levels, analyzed by Luminex multiplex assays, were evaluated in children aged 5-17 years with nonappendicitis abdominal pain (NAAP), acute appendicitis (AA), and nonappendicitis sepsis (NAS). We used multivariate regression analysis to evaluate the seven target proteins, followed by decision tree and heat mapping analyses for all proteins evaluated.Results. 185 children were included: 83 with NAAP, 79 AA, and 23 NAS. Plasma levels of IL-6, CRP, MCP-1, PCT, and SAA were significantly different in children with AA compared to those with NAAP (p<0.001). Expansive proteomic analysis demonstrated 6 patterns in inflammatory mediator profiles based on severity of illness. A decision tree incorporating the proteins CRP, ferritin, SAA, regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG), and PCT demonstrated excellent specificity (0.920) and negative predictive value (0.882) for children with appendicitis.Conclusions. Multiplex proteomic analyses described the inflammatory landscape of children presenting to the ED with suspected appendicitis. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach to identify potential novel candidate cytokines/chemokine patterns associated with a specific illness (appendicitis) amongst those with a broad ED presentation (abdominal pain). This approach can be modelled for future research initiatives in pediatric emergency medicine.

Escherichia coliis a major udder pathogen causing clinical mastitis in dairy cattle and its heat stable endotoxin in powdered infant formula milk is a potential risk factor in neonatal infections. Cephalosporins are frequently used for treatment of mastitis caused by mastitis; however, use of these antimicrobials may induce antimicrobial resistance inE. coli. The objective of this study was to explore thein vitroeffect of subminimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MIC) of cefalotin (CF) and ceftazidime (CAZ) on the morphology, antimicrobial resistance, and endotoxin releasing characteristics of 3E. coliisolates recovered from bovine clinical mastitis. The parentE. coliisolates, which were susceptible to CF and CAZ, were exposed to CF or CAZ separately at sub-MIC levels to produce 9 generations of induced isolates. Colonies of the CAZ-induced isolates from all 3 parentE. coliwere smaller on blood agar and the bacteria became filamentous, whereas the CF-induced isolates did not demonstrate prominent morphological changes. After induction by CF or CAZ, many induced isolates showed resistance to cefoxitin, CAZ, CF, kanamycin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid while their parent isolates were susceptible to these antimicrobials. Notably, 5 CAZ-induced isolates from the same parent isolate were found to produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) though none of the tested ESBL related genes could be detected. All CAZ-induced isolates released more endotoxin with a higher release rate, whereas endotoxin release of CF-inducedE. coliisolates was not different from parent isolates. The exposure of cephalosporins at sub-MIC levels induced resistantEscherichia coli.We inferred that cephalosporins, especially CAZ, should be used prudently for treatment of clinicalE. colimastitis.

Subsequent malignancies (SMs) present a significant burden of morbidity and are a common cause of late mortality in survivors of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT). Previous studies have described total body irradiation (TBI) as a risk factor for the development of SMs in allo-HCT survivors. However, most studies of the association between TBI and SM have examined high-dose TBI regimens (typically ≥600 cGy), and thus little is known about the association between low-dose TBI regimens and risk of SMs. Our goal, therefore, was to compare the cumulative incidence of SMs in patients of Alberta, Canada, who received busulfan/fludarabine alone vs busulfan/fludarabine plus 400 cGy TBI. Of the 674 included patients, 49 developed a total of 56 malignancies at a median of 5.9 years’ posttransplant. The cumulative incidence of SMs at 15 years’ post-HCT in the entire cohort was 11.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.5-15.6): 13.4% (95% CI, 9.1-19.3) in the no-TBI group and 10.8% (95% CI, 6.6-17.4) in the TBI group. In the multivariable model, TBI was not associated with SMs, whereas there was an association with number of pre-HCT cycles of chemotherapy. The standardized incidence ratio for the entire cohort, compared with the age-, sex-, and calendar year–matched general population, was 1.75. allo-HCT conditioning that includes low-dose TBI does not seem to increase risk of SMs compared with chemotherapy-alone conditioning.

This study evaluated the effects of adding a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (SCFP) to adult cat diets on palatability, intestinal health, nutrient digestibility, immune parameters, and the fecal microbiome over 42 days. Sixty-three healthy Domestic Short-hair cats were randomized to three diets: a control diet (CD) without SCFP, or the same diet containing 1.0% or 2.0% SCFP, targeting daily intakes of 150 or 300 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Body weight and blood parameters remained within reference ranges across all groups. Stool quality was largely not affected, although compared with controls, SCFP-supplemented cats had slightly firmer stools at day 21, and increased fecal pH. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed that microbiome diversity remained steady in SCFP-fed cats, whereas diversity in the control group declined over time. Fecal immunoglobulin A concentrations were lower in cats supplemented with SCFP at 150 mg/kg BW by the end of the study, and positive shifts in the circulatory leukocyte profile were observed at both inclusion levels. Apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility did not differ among groups. Palatability tests showed diets with SCFP were generally preferred, indicating a potential benefit for commercial feline feeds, particularly at the 150 mg/kg BW level, which was preferred over 300 mg/kg BW. Overall, these findings suggest that SCFP can act as a functional ingredient in feline nutrition to maintain microbial diversity and enhance diet acceptance without compromising digestibility.