29 research outputs found
From imaging to simulation: a framework applied to simulate the blood flow in the carotids
In this work we present a methodology to extract
information from medical imaging and use it for hemodynamical
simulation in arteries. Based on in-vivo magnetic resonance images
(MRI), the velocity of the blood flow has been measured at different
positions and times. Also, the anatomy of the vessel has been
converted into a volume mesh suitable for numerical modeling. This
data has been used to solve computationally the dynamics of the fluid
inside the artery in healthy and pathologic cases. As an application,
we have developed a computational model within the carotids. The
next step in the pipeline will be to extend the simulation to fluidstructure
interaction (FSI) to find the parameters in an
atherosclerotic plaque that could lead to rupture.Peer Reviewe
Pre-calving intravaginal administration of lactic acid bacteria reduces metritis prevalence and regulates blood neutrophil gene expression after calving in dairy cattle
Metritis affects up to 40% of dairy cows and it is usually treated with antibiotics. In
spite of their advantages, there is an increased concern about antibiotic resistance
leading to the research of alternative methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate
the effects of a combination of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the prevalence of metritis
and modulation of endometrial and neutrophil inflammatory markers in dairy cows. One
hundred and thirty-five cows were enrolled 3 week before calving and randomly assigned
to three treatments. Treatment groups were: (1) two intravaginal doses of LAB/wk during
3 week pre-calving (vaginal, n = 45); (2) an intra-uterine dose, once 1 d after calving
(uterine, n = 44); and (3) no intervention (CTRL, n = 45). Metritis was defined as body
temperature > 39.5â—¦C and purulent vaginal discharge (> 50% pus), and diagnosed
6 d after calving. Blood samples were taken at d −14, −10, −7, −4, +1, +3, +6,
and +14 relative to calving for non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) analysis. At d −10,
+1, +3, and +6 neutrophils were isolated from blood for gene expression analysis
by RT-qPCR. Endometrium biopsies were taken from 30 cows, 15 from CTRL and 15
from the uterine group at d +1, +3, and +6 after calving for pro-inflammatory markers
analysis by NanoString®. Vaginal treatment reduced metritis prevalence (6/45) up to
58% compared with CTRL group (14/45), but there was no difference between the
uterine and CTRL group. Uterine and vaginal treatments reduced blood neutrophil gene
expression. Expression of pro-inflammatory markers in the endometrium did not differ
between uterine and CTRL cows. Metritic cows expressed more C-X-C motif chemokine
ligand 8 (CXCL8) and interleukin 1 beta (IL1B) at d 3 than healthy cows, whereas healthy
cows expressed more CXCL8 at d 1 relative to calving in the endometrium. This study
shows a promising potential of LAB probiotics as a preventive treatment against metritis
in dairy cows.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Potential of MMP-9 based nanoparticles at optimizing the cow dry period: pulling apart the effects of MMP-9 and nanoparticles
The cow dry period is a non-milking interval where the mammary gland involutes and regenerates
to guarantee an optimal milk production in the subsequent lactation. Important bottlenecks such
as the high risk of intramammary infections complicate the process. Antibiotics have been routinely
used as a preventive treatment but the concerns about potential antibiotic resistance open a new
scenario in which alternative strategies have to be developed. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is
an enzyme able to degrade the extracellular matrix, triggering the involution and immune function of
cow mammary gland. We have studied the infusion into the mammary gland of MMP-9 inclusion bodies
as protein-based nanoparticles, demonstrating that 1.2 mg of MMP-9 enhanced the involution and
immune function of the cow mammary gland. However, the comparison of the efects triggered by the
administration of an active and an inactive form of MMP-9 led to conclude that the response observed
in the bovine mammary gland was mainly due to the protein format but not to the biological activity of
the MMP-9 embedded in the inclusion body. This study provides relevant information on the future use
of protein inclusion bodies in cow mammary gland and the role of MMP-9 at dry-of.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Pre-calving Intravaginal Administration of Lactic Acid Bacteria Reduces Metritis Prevalence and Regulates Blood Neutrophil Gene Expression After Calving in Dairy Cattle
Metritis affects up to 40% of dairy cows and it is usually treated with antibiotics. In spite of their advantages, there is an increased concern about antibiotic resistance leading to the research of alternative methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a combination of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the prevalence of metritis and modulation of endometrial and neutrophil inflammatory markers in dairy cows. One hundred and thirty-five cows were enrolled 3 week before calving and randomly assigned to three treatments. Treatment groups were: (1) two intravaginal doses of LAB/wk during 3 week pre-calving (vaginal, n = 45); (2) an intra-uterine dose, once 1 d after calving (uterine, n = 44); and (3) no intervention (CTRL, n = 45). Metritis was defined as body temperature > 39.5°C and purulent vaginal discharge (> 50% pus), and diagnosed 6 d after calving. Blood samples were taken at d −14, −10, −7, −4, +1, +3, +6, and +14 relative to calving for non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) analysis. At d −10, +1, +3, and +6 neutrophils were isolated from blood for gene expression analysis by RT-qPCR. Endometrium biopsies were taken from 30 cows, 15 from CTRL and 15 from the uterine group at d +1, +3, and +6 after calving for pro-inflammatory markers analysis by NanoString®. Vaginal treatment reduced metritis prevalence (6/45) up to 58% compared with CTRL group (14/45), but there was no difference between the uterine and CTRL group. Uterine and vaginal treatments reduced blood neutrophil gene expression. Expression of pro-inflammatory markers in the endometrium did not differ between uterine and CTRL cows. Metritic cows expressed more C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8) and interleukin 1 beta (IL1B) at d 3 than healthy cows, whereas healthy cows expressed more CXCL8 at d 1 relative to calving in the endometrium. This study shows a promising potential of LAB probiotics as a preventive treatment against metritis in dairy cows
A new approach to obtain pure and active proteins from Lactococcus lactis protein aggregates
The production of pure and soluble proteins is a complex, protein-dependent and time-consuming
process, in particular for those prone-to-aggregate and/or difcult-to-purify. Although Escherichia coli is
widely used for protein production, recombinant products must be co-purifed through costly processes
to remove lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and minimize adverse efects in the target organism. Interestingly,
Lactococcus lactis, which does not contain LPS, could be a promising alternative for the production
of relevant proteins. However, to date, there is no universal strategy to produce and purify any
recombinant protein, being still a protein-specifc process. In this context and considering that L. lactis
is also able to form functional protein aggregates under overproduction conditions, we explored the use
of these aggregates as an alternative source of soluble proteins. In this study, we developed a widely
applicable and economically afordable protocol to extract functional proteins from these nanoclusters.
For that, two model proteins were used: mammary serum amyloid A3 (M-SAA3) and metalloproteinase
9 (MMP-9), a difcult-to-purify and a prone-to-aggregate protein, respectively. The results show that
it is possible to obtain highly pure, soluble, LPS-free and active recombinant proteins from L. lactis
aggregates through a cost-efective and simple protocol with special relevance for difcult-to-purify or
highly aggregated proteins.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Short communication: The biological value of transition milk: analyses of immunoglobulin G, IGF-I and lactoferrin in primiparous and multiparous dairy cows
Colostrum (the first mammary gland secretion after calving) is known to contain high concentrations of nutrients as well as bioactive substances (including immunoglobulins, growth factors, and antimicrobial factors) to ensure neonatal survival. Due to its immunomodulatory, antibacterial, and antiviral activities, bovine colostrum has been used not only in calves but also in the prevention and treatment of human gastrointestinal and respiratory infections. Transition milk is the mammary secretion from the second milking to the sixth, which may contain these bioactive compounds to a lesser extent. The objective of the present study was to measure IGF-I, immunoglobulin G (IgG), and lactoferrin (LTF) concentrations in colostrum and transition milk of primiparous and multiparous cows to further assess its potential use in veterinary and nutraceutical applications. The results demonstrated that the concentrations of these three bioactive molecules decrease from the first milking to the tenth. Concentrations of IGF-I and LTF were greater in multiparous than in primiparous cows. Also, lactation number interacted with milking number in IGF-I, since primiparous cows had a smoother decline of IGF-I concentrations than multiparous ones. Overall, transition milk from the second milking showed a 46% decrease in the analysed colostrum bioactive molecules. Therefore, further studies are needed to apply this knowledge in neonate farm management practices or in developing pharmaceutical supplements from farm surpluses
Influence of fiber connectivity in simulations of cardiac biomechanics
Purpose: Personalized computational simulations of the heart could open up new improved approaches to diagnosis and surgery assistance systems. While it is fully recognized that myocardial fiber orientation is central for the construction of realistic computational models of cardiac electromechanics, the role of its overall architecture and connectivity remains unclear. Morphological studies show that the distribution of cardiac muscular fibers at the basal ring connects epicardium and endocardium. However, computational models simplify their distribution and disregard the basal loop. This work explores the influence in computational simulations of fiber distribution at different short-axis cuts. Methods: We have used a highly parallelized computational solver to test different fiber models of ventricular muscular connectivity. We have considered two rule-based mathematical models and an own-designed method preserving basal connectivity as observed in experimental data. Simulated cardiac functional scores (rotation, torsion and longitudinal shortening) were compared to experimental healthy ranges using generalized models (rotation) and Mahalanobis distances (shortening, torsion). Results: The probability of rotation was significantly lower for ruled-based models [95% CI (0.13, 0.20)] in comparison with experimental data [95% CI (0.23, 0.31)]. The Mahalanobis distance for experimental data was in the edge of the region enclosing 99% of the healthy population. Conclusions: Cardiac electromechanical simulations of the heart with fibers extracted from experimental data produce functional scores closer to healthy ranges than rule-based models disregarding architecture connectivity.This work was funded by Spanish Projects DPI2015- 430 65286-R, 2017-SGR-1624, the CERCA Programme, the Serra Hunter Programme and the grant BES-2016-078042.Peer reviewe