Browsing by Author "Ilgazs, Agris"

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    The amount of ghrelin-immunoreactive cells in the abomasum and intestines of 13-14-week-old calves supplemented with Jerusalem artichoke flour alone or in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast
    (2022-04-26) Jonova, Sintija; Ilgaza, Aija; Ilgazs, Agris; Zolovs, Maksims; Gatina, Linda; Statistics Unit
    Background and Aim: The use of antibiotics in animals for disease prevention and productivity has been banned in the European Union since 2006. Possible alternatives can be used prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics. These compounds can improve feed digestion and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract with identical nutrient uptake, while imparting the feeling of satiety, which reduces the activity of ghrelin-immunoreactive (IR) cells. The number of studies performed on the activity of ghrelin-IR cells in ruminants is insufficient. In particular, there are few such studies in calves during the transition period from being a relatively monogastric animal to a ruminant. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Jerusalem artichoke flour (containing ∼50% prebiotic inulin) and a new, commercially unavailable synbiotic (combination of Jerusalem artichoke flour and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain 1026) on the amount of ghrelin-IR cells in the abomasum and intestines of 13-14-week-old calves. Materials and Methods: Fifteen crossbreed, Holstein Friesian and Red Holstein calves (Bos taurus) (32±4 days, 72.1±11.34 kg) were used. Calves were allocated into three groups: Control group (CoG, n=5) received the standard diet, prebiotic group (PreG, n=5) received 12 g of flour of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) per head containing 6 g of prebiotic inulin in addition to the standard diet, and synbiotic group (SynG, n=5) received a synbiotic in addition to the standard diet which consisted of two different products: 12 g of flour of Jerusalem artichoke per head containing 6 g of prebiotic inulin and probiotic 5 g of a yeast S. cerevisiae strain 1026. Feed additives were added to the concentrate once a day for 56 days. On days 1, 28, and 56, the live weight of the calves was determined. On day 56 of the experiment, three calves from each group were slaughtered. Histological samples were collected from the two parts of each calf abomasum: Pars pylorica and pars fundalis and the middle part of the duodenum and jejunum. Immunohistochemical tissue staining methods were used to detect ghrelin-IR cells. Results: The live weight of the slaughtered calves on day 56 was 115.3±21.73 kg in CoG, 130.0±17.32 kg in PreG, and 119.0±7.94 kg in SynG. Ghrelin-IR cells were more abundantly localized in the cytoplasm of the abomasum muscle gland cells in pars fundalis and pars pylorica, and to a lesser extent in the duodenum and jejunum. The number of ghrelin-IR cells in the abomasal fundic gland area was significantly higher in the CoG, than in the PreG and SynG (p=0.0001), while the difference between the PreG and SynG was not significant (p=0.700). Conclusion: The addition of Jerusalem artichoke flour and its combination with the yeast S.cerevisiae stain 1026 in calves resulted in a lower number of ghrelin-IR cells in the abomasum, duodenum, and jejunum and, although insignificantly, increased live weight (p=0.491), suggesting that calves in these groups with the same feed intake as the CoG had a better breakdown of nutrients, thus having a longer feeling of satiety.
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    Changes in intraocular pressure and horizontal pupil diameter during use of topical mydriatics in the canine eye
    (2017) Kovalcuka, Liga; Ilgazs, Agris; Bandere, Dace; Williams, David L.; Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
    The objective of this study was to determine the effects of topical 0.5% tropicamide, 1% atropine sulphate and 10% phenylephrine hydrochloride ophthalmic solutions on intraocular pressure (IOP) and horizontal pupil diameter (HPD) in the dog during the first hour after treatment. Forty clinically and ophthalmologically normal canine patients (between the ages of 2 and 6 years) of varying breed and sex were used in this study. Animals were randomly divided into four groups of ten and given one drop of tropicamide, atropine, phenylephrine or saline into one eye. IOP and HPD were measured in both eyes every 5 minutes for 60 minutes. Tropicamide increased IOP by 8.8±4.0 mmHg 35 minutes post-treatment compared to pre-treatment (P<0.01) only in treated eye. IOP in the contralateral eye did not increase. With atropine the maximum increase in IOP was 2.6±2.8 mmHg at 20 minutes post treatment in the treated eye (P<0.01). IOP in the contralateral eye did not increase. Phenylephrine increased IOP by 2.3±2.1 mmHg (P<0.05) 10 minutes after treatment. Also in the untreated eye IOP increased by 2.3±2.1 mmHg, 20 minutes post-treatment. Maximum HPD in eyes treated with tropicamide occurred at 55 minutes and with atropine at 60 minutes. There were no HPD changes in the contralateral, untreated eye. Topical 10% phenylephrine showed maximal pupil dilation 60 minutes after treatment, but the HPD of the – untreated eye slightly decreased at 15 minutes, but this change only reached statistical significance at 40 min post- treatment (P<0.05). Normal saline showed no influence on IOP or HPD. The drugs investigated here show a significant increase in IOP after mydriatics.