No abstract

Neutrophils participate in innate immunity as the first line of host defence against microorganisms. However, persistent neutrophil activity and delayed apoptosis can be harmful to surrounding tissues; this problem occurs in diverse inflammatory diseases, including asthma‐affected horses. Previous studies in horses with acute lung inflammation indicated that treatment with tamoxifen (TX), a selective oestrogen receptor modulator, produces a significant decrease in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) neutrophil content. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tamoxifen and its metabolites (N‐desmethyltamoxifen and endoxifen) on the mitochondrial membrane potential assay by flow cytometry, and the activation of effector caspase‐3 through immunoblotting, in peripheral blood neutrophils obtained from healthy horses (n = 5). Results show that tamoxifen, N‐desmethyltamoxifen and endoxifen depolarize the mitochondrial membrane and activate caspase‐3 in healthy equine neutrophils in vitro. These findings suggest that tamoxifen and its metabolites may activate the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in equine neutrophils. However, more studies are necessary to further explore the signalling pathways of these drugs in the induction of apoptosis.

ABSTRACT. The present study reports a case of tuberculosis in a juvenile Chilean hawk (Accipiter chilensis). Granulomas were identified in the liver, intestine and mesentery. Several of these granulomas contained acid-fast bacilli suggesting a mycobacterial infection through ingestion. Molecular diagnosis detected Mycobacterium bovis as etiological agent. Whether M. bovis infection in this Chilean hawk represents a risk for other wildlife, livestock or humans remains to be determined.

Neutrophils display an array of biological functions including the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), web-like structures specialized in trapping, neutralizing, killing and preventing microbial dissemination within the host. However, NETs contribute to a number of inflammatory pathologies, including severe equine asthma. Tamoxifen (TX) is a selective estrogen receptor modulator which belongs to the triphenylethyllenes group of molecules, and which is used as a treatment in all stages of estrogen-positive human breast cancer. Our previous results suggest that tamoxifen can modulate neutrophil functionality and promote resolution of inflammation; this would partly explain the clinical beneficial effect of this drug in horses with airway inflammation. Enhanced NETs production has been reported with tamoxifen use in humans, but minimal data exists regarding the drug's effect on NETs in horses. The aim of this study is to assess the in vitro effect of TX on NETs formation from peripheral blood of healthy horses. Five clinically healthy mixed-breed adult horses were enrolled in the study. For this, cellular free DNA quantification, immunofluorescence for the visualization of NETs, assessment of different types of NETs, and detection of mitochondrial superoxide. TX induced NETs formation at a concentration of 10 uM. Our results show that only two types of NETs were induced by TX: 95% spread NETs (sprNETs) and 5% aggregated NETs (aggNETs). Furthermore, induction of these NETs could be influenced by mitochondrial ROS. Future research should involve an In vivo study of horses with severe asthma and TX treatment, to evaluate BALF neutrophil NET formation. In conclusion, this in vitro study suggests that the resolution of inflammation by TX in horses with airway inflammation is due to inhibition of other neutrophilic functions but not to NET formation.

This article assembles and summarises the main ideas presented in the doctoral thesis entitled ‘Voice and Poetry as Inspiration and Material in Acousmatic Music’ by the author and describes his idiosyncratic method for acousmatic composition based on Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro’s aesthetic theory, which is a system that aims at creating artistic works by taking materials from reality and combining them in unexpected ways. The objective of this combination is an equilibrium between rationality and intuition in order to obtain a poem independent of the real world, in the sense of a poetic outcome which avoids traditional mimesis. This creative system, known as Creacionismo, has a central role between various other theoretical, artistic and mainly poetic sources informing the author’s creative process. Huidobro’s creative system has been applied by the author to acousmatic composition procedures generating the notion of acousmatic-creationist as a nomenclature for the process. This particular creative strategy balances rationality and intuition within acousmatic composition and places poetry as a driving force in the use of voice, merging artistic practice and theory in a recursive action.