Background: The cosmetic appearance of skin is substantially influenced by the organization of connective fibers and underlying subcutaneous tissue. It has been previously documented that radiofrequency and pressure energies alone are able to improve skin appearance; however, detailed histological evaluation should be done to determine their synergistic effect. Aims: This histological study investigates the difference between simultaneous and consecutive application of monopolar radiofrequency with targeted pressure energy on porcine skin. Methods: In a total of four weekly abdominal treatments, simultaneous emission of the energies was applied to two pigs (12 minutes per session); additionally, two pigs were treated consecutively (12 + 12 minutes per session). The 5th pig served as a control subject. Biopsies were obtained at baseline, after the 4th treatment, and at 1-month follow-up. Primary outcomes were to document changes of dermal and hypodermal tissues. Results: In the treated subjects, the amount of collagen and elastin fibers increased significantly (P < .001). At follow-up, simultaneous application showed a significantly higher increase in collagen and elastin fibers (by 59% and 64%, respectively), when compared to consecutive. Thickness of the dermis increased more in the pigs treated simultaneously (+848.8 µm/50.17%; P < .001). Treated tissue also showed the upper part of dermis to be rich in blood vessels and better organized interlobular septa in hypodermis. No significant change was observed in the control subject. Conclusion: Simultaneous application produces significantly more profound changes, when compared to consecutive treatment. Further research is needed but our findings represent a new potential treatment of various skin conditions like cellulite or laxity. K E Y W O R D S collagen, dermis, elastin, radiofrequency, targeted pressure energy This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

The aim of the survey was to determine the prevalence of all types of lesions associated with contact dermatitis in commercial broiler chickens using pathomorphological methods. Contact dermatitis in commercial broiler chickens was monitored for a period of one year. The samples were taken from a fattening Ross 308 hybrid farm. The annual production cycle was 696,000 birds. The investigations were performed by clinical examination of chickens which showed obvious signs of contact dermatitis on their carcasses in the slaughterhouse. The number and type of contact dermatitis lesions in the different flocks were determined through a meat inspection process. In addition to the gross examination, a histological study on a predetermined proportion of tissue samples was conducted. The total number of contact dermatitis lesions was 152,215 (21.87%). The occurrence was most prevalent during the winter-spring and autumn seasons -88,932 (12.77%), as opposed to 63,283 (9.1%) during the summer period. Lesions on the plantar skin surface of the foot were predominant -109,272 (15.7%). This was followed by contact dermatitis lesions on the breast, affecting the sternal bursa -36,888 (5.3%). The contact dermatitis lesions in the tarsometatarsal joint region were the least prevalent -6,055 (0.87%). ARTICLE HISTORY

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Clinical and morphological examinations were carried out in two broiler flocks with twenty thousand chickens each. The morbidity and mortality were followed on the basis of clinical signs and gross pathological examinations. Blood samples of affected chickens were obtained for the determination of blood sugar levels. Our results showed low morbidity, high mortality and a markedly depressed growth

Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites of moulds from the genus Aspergillus (Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus being the main producers). The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 on bursa of Fabricius morphology. Also, the possibility for prevention of toxic effects of AFB1 by feed supplementation of a mycosorbent (Mycotox NB) was studied. Experiments were carried out with sixty 7-day-old female turkey broilers (meat TM strain) divided into one control and five treatment groups (n=10). Groups were as followed: Group I – control (fed standard feed according to the species and age of birds); Group II – experimental, whose feed was supplemented with 0.5 g/kg Mycotox NG, Group III– experimental, whose feed contained 0.2 mg/kg aflatoxin B1, Group IV – experimental, whose feed contained 0.4 mg/kg aflatoxin B1, Group V – experimental, supplemented with 0.2 mg/kg aflatoxin B1 and 0.5 g/kg Mycotox NG and Group VI – experimental, supplemented with 0.4 mg/kg aflatoxin B1 and 0.5 g/kg Mycotox NG. The duration of the experiments was 42 days. The changes in bursal morphology in control and treated groups were followed out after the end of the study. In birds from experimental groups ІІI and IV, atrophy and degenerative changes have occurred in the bursa of Fabricius: reduction of lymphoid cell - populations in lymphoid follicles along with dystrophy. Feed supplementation with the tested toxin binder (Groups V and VI) resulted in partial neutralisation of deleterious effects of AFB1 on severity of histological lesions: interfollicular oedema, considerably lower lymphoid follicle rarefaction.

Over the last 2 decades, magnetic hyperthermia (MH) has been recognized as a promising concept for efficient cancer treatment. Recently, it has been receiving increased attention because of its procedure simplicity, noninvasive nature, and effective solid tumor heating with minimal damage to healthy surrounding normal tissues. In this paper, we report about the development of theranostic superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoclusters, demonstrating efficient heating in hyperthermia and good response under a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Multiple cores of 25 ± 2 nm superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles and paraffin wax based on 24-hydrocarbon chains (tetracosane), used as a phase change material, were coencapsulated in an interior core of a self-assembled PEO−PPO− PEO polymer and subsequently covalently coated by 20 kDa branched poly(ethylene glycol), resulting in 135 ± 10 nm hydrodynamic diameter nanoclusters. The synthesized nanoclusters were found to have good stability in phosphate-buffered saline. The physicochemical and magnetic properties of the nanoclusters exhibit an efficient magnetic-to-thermal energy conversion with self-regulation of the hyperthermia temperature. Under irradiation to an alternating magnetic field (AMF) of 33 kA/m at a frequency of 300 kHz, the nanoclusters demonstrate a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 475 ± 17 W/g. The nanoclusters also exhibit a high transverse relaxivity of 68 (mM s) −1 at 1.5 T MRI. In preclinical studies, nanoclusters were intravenously injected to mice bearing 4T1 triple negative breast carcinoma lung metastases. Mice were irradiated by an AMF to demonstrate the antitumor efficacy, with 66% reduction in the number of metastases, which pave the route for the application of effective hyperthermia treatment for a metastatic cancer model.

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