European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) immune status and disease resistance are impaired by arginine dietary supplementation

Infectious diseases and fish feeds management are probably the major expenses in the aquaculture business. Hence, it is a priority to define sustainable strategies which simultaneously avoid therapeutic procedures and reinforce fish immunity. Currently, one preferred approach is the use of immunostimulants which can be supplemented to the fish diets. Arginine is a versatile amino acid with important mechanisms closely related to the immune response. Aiming at finding out how arginine affects the innate immune status or improve disease resistance of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) against vibriosis, fish were fed two arginine-supplemented diets (1% and 2% arginine supplementation). A third diet meeting arginine requirement level for seabass served as control diet. Following 15 or 29 days of feeding, fish were sampled for blood, spleen and gut to assess cell-mediated immune parameters and immune-related gene expression. At the same time, fish from each dietary group were challenged against Vibrio anguillarum and survival was monitored. Cell-mediated immune parameters such as the extracellular superoxide and nitric oxide decreased in fish fed arginine-supplemented diets. Interleukins and immune-cell marker transcripts were down-regulated by the highest supplementation level. Disease resistance data were in accordance with a generally depressed immune status, with increased susceptibility to vibriosis in fish fed arginine supplemented diets. Altogether, these results suggest a general inhibitory effect of arginine on the immune defences and disease resistance of European seabass. Still, further research will certainly clarify arginine immunomodulation pathways thereby allowing the validation of its potential as a prophylactic strategy.European Union's Seventh Framework Programme AQUAEXCEL (Aquaculture Infrastructures for Excellence in European Fish Research) [262336]; AQUAIMPROV [NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000038]; North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON. 2 - O Novo Norte) , under the National Strategic Reference Framework, through the European Regional Development Fund; North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON. 2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework through the COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/89457/2012, SFRH/BPD/77210/2011]; Generalitat Valenciana through the project REVIDPAQUA [ISIC/2012/003]; [PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013]; [UID/Multi/04423/2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anti-inflammatory Components from Functional Foods for Obesity

Obesity, defined as excessive fat accumulation that may impair health, has been described throughout human history, but it has now reached epidemic proportions with the WHO estimating that 39% of the world’s adults over 18 years of age were overweight or obese in 2016. Obesity is a chronic low-grade inflammatory state leading to organ damage with an increased risk of common diseases including cardiovascular and metabolic disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteo-arthritis and some cancers. This inflammatory state may be influenced by adipose tissue hypoxia and changes in the gut microbiota. There has been an increasing focus on functional foods and nutraceuticals as treatment options for obesity as drug treatments are limited in efficacy. This chapter summarises the importance of anthocyanin-containing fruits and vegetables, coffee and its components, tropical fruit and food waste as sources of phytochemicals for obesity treatment. We emphasise that preclinical studies can form the basis for clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of these treatments in humans

Changing perspectives on the internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises: a review of the literature

Internationalization of R&D and innovation by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) has undergone a gradual and comprehensive change in perspective over the past 50 years. From sporadic works in the late 1950s and in the 1960s, it became a systematically analysed topic in the 1970s, starting with pioneering reports and “foundation texts”. Our review unfolds the theoretical and empirical evolution of the literature from dyadic interpretations of centralization versus decentralization of R&D by MNEs to more comprehensive frameworks, wherein established MNEs from Advanced Economies still play a pivotal role, but new players and places also emerge in the global generation and diffusion of knowledge. Hence views of R&D internationalization increasingly rely on concepts, ideas and methods from IB and other related disciplines such as industrial organization, international economics and economic geography. Two main findings are highlighted. First, scholarly research pays an increasing attention to the network-like characteristics of international R&D activities. Second, different streams of literature have emphasized the role of location- specific factors in R&D internationalization. The increasing emphasis on these aspects has created new research opportunities in some key areas, including inter alia: cross-border knowledge sourcing strategies, changes in the geography of R&D and innovation, and the international fragmentation of production and R&D activities