Cow’s milk is considered a complete food, providing high-quality protein and essential micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals. For medical reasons or as a lifestyle choice, consumers are replacing cow’s milk with plant-based milk alternatives (PBMA); some perceive them as healthier alternatives to cow’s milk due to their low saturated fatty acid content and no cholesterol content. However, the nutritional composition of PBMA is quite variable between different types and even within, which makes a comparison with cow’s milk a complex issue. Furthermore, the consumption of PBMA has been associated with the development of some diseases in infants and children. Meanwhile, the consumption of cow’s milk in human health is a controversial issue since it has been associated with a favorable effect in some diseases (such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s) and a negative effect in others (such as prostate cancer risk and Parkinson’s disease); while in some diseases, there is no consensus in the cow’s milk consumption effect. The aim of this review is to make a nutritional comparison of cow’s milk with PBMA and to clarify the potential health issues related to their consumption.

Bovine ocular squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the second most common cause of rejection due to neoplasia in slaughterhouses on Sao Miguel Island, Azores, and accounts for significant economic losses. To obtain a better insight into the genesis and neoplastic transformation process of bovine OSCC, abnormal protein expression and proliferation index were assessed by the immunohistochemical evaluation of p53 and Ki67, respectively. OSCC samples were collected from 15 bovines and were classified histologically according to the degree of differentiation into three categories: poorly, moderately, and well differentiated. Immunohis-tochemistry using polyclonal anti-human p53 antibody and polyclonal anti-human Ki67 antibody was performed. Ten of 15 tumors tested were immunoreactive for p53. Twelve tumors demonstrated Ki67 expression. As in human squamous cell carcinoma, p53 overexpression is frequent in bovine OSCC, providing support for a possible role of the protein in the pathogenesis of this neoplasia. No correlation between the percentage of p53 stained nuclei and the degree of differentiation was observed, although different patterns of staining were seen according to the degree of keratinization of the tumor cells. With the exception of the moderately differentiated OSCC group, Ki67 index showed significant correlation with the histologic pattern, increased proliferation being found in poorly differentiated OSCC ( P = 0.013).

The prevalence of Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) was determined by evaluating its presence in faecal samples from 155 heifers, and 254 dairy cows in 21 farms at North of Portugal sampled between December 2017 and June 2019. The prevalence of STEC in heifers (45%) was significantly higher than in lactating cows (16%) (p<0.05, Fisher exact test statistic value is <0.00001). A total of 133 STEC were isolated, 24 (13.8%) carried Shiga-toxin 1 (stx1) genes, 69 (39.7%) carried Shiga-toxin 2 (stx2) genes, and 40 (23%) carried both stx1 and stx2. Intimin (eae) virulence gene was detected in 29 (21.8%) of the isolates. STEC isolates belonged to 72 different O:H serotypes, comprising 40 O serogroups and 23 H types. The most frequent serotypes were O29:H12 (15%) and O113:H21 (5.2%), found in a large number of farms. Two isolates belonged to the highly virulent serotypes associated with human disease O157:H7 and O26:H11. Many other bovine STEC serotypes founded in this work belonged to serotypes previously described as pathogenic to humans. Thus, this study highlights the need for control strategies that can reduce STEC prevalence at the farm level and, thus, prevent food and environmental contamination.

Outbreaks of pithomycotoxicosis (facial eczema), a hepatogenous photosensitisation caused by the mycotoxin sporidesmin, have affected ruminants in the Azores Islands of Portugal after warm, humid periods during late summer and autumn. Twenty‐two outbreaks were recorded in cattle between 1999 and 2001, affecting 11·4 per cent of the animals in the affected herds, and in 2000 there was an outbreak in one sheep flock in which more than 20 per cent of the sheep died. The clinical signs included decreases in milk production, weight loss, photosensitisation and its sequelae, including death. The animals had high activities of gamma glutamyltransferase in their serum, and icterus and severe liver disease, including biliary hyperplasia and fibrosis, were found postmortem. The characteristic spores of the toxigenic saprophytic fungus Pithomyces chartarum were found on grass; all 381 isolates of the fungus were toxigenic for sporidesmin by ELISA , and the results were confirmed by high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis. Cattle from farms at greatest risk of pithomycotoxicosis were protected by supplementing their concentrate feed with zinc oxide, or using a slow‐release intraruminal zinc bolus.

Background: In humans, muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is highly aggressive and associated with a poor prognosis. With a high mutation load and large number of altered genes, strategies to delineate key driver events are necessary. Dogs and cats develop urothelial carcinoma (UC) with histological and clinical similarities to human MIBC. Cattle that graze on bracken fern also develop UC, associated with exposure to the carcinogen ptaquiloside. These species may represent relevant animal models of spontaneous and carcinogen-induced UC that can provide insight into human MIBC.Results: Whole-exome sequencing of domestic canine (n = 87) and feline (n = 23) UC, and comparative analysis with human MIBC reveals a lower mutation rate in animal cases and the absence of APOBEC mutational signatures. A convergence of driver genes (ARID1A, KDM6A, TP53,FAT1, andNRAS) is discovered, along with common focally amplified and deleted genes involved in regulation of the cell cycle and chromatin remodelling. We identify mismatch repair deficiency in a subset of canine and feline UCs with biallelic inactivation ofMSH2. Bovine UC (n = 8) is distinctly different; we identify novel mutational signatures which are recapitulated in vitro in human urinary bladder UC cells treated with bracken fern extracts or purified ptaquiloside.Conclusion: Canine and feline urinary bladder UC represent relevant models of MIBC in humans, and cross-species analysis can identify evolutionarily conserved driver genes. We characterize mutational signatures in bovine UC associated with bracken fern and ptaquiloside exposure, a human-linked cancer exposure. Our work demonstrates the relevance of cross-species comparative analysis in understanding both human and animal UC.