Influ?ncia de Azteca chartifex (formicidae) na microbiota foliar de Byrsonima sericea.

Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Ecologia de Biomas Tropicais. Departamento de Biodiversidade, Evolu??o e Meio Ambiente, Instituto de Ci?ncias Exatas e Biol?gicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto.A intera??o entre formigas e microrganismos na superf?cie foliar de plantas hospedeiras ? um aspecto negligenciado da ecologia. H? evid?ncias de que a elevada densidade de formigas em um dado habitat foliar pode afetar substancialmente a microbiota, e a rela??o desta com a planta. A quest?o fundamental deste trabalho ? determinar, ainda que de forma preliminar, at? que ponto a microbiota associada a formigas dominantes e abundantes no dossel florestal poderia atuar na inibi??o de grupos microbianos invasivos e potencialmente entomopat?genos. Para tal, foi verificada a influ?ncia das intera??es entre a formiga Azteca chartifex, plantas da esp?cie Byrsonima sericea e bact?rias Gram-positivas e Gram-negativas dos corpos das oper?rias e da superf?cie das folhas. Um ensaio do efeito inibit?rio das pr?prias bact?rias e dos compostos extra?dos de A. chartifex sobre Xanthomonas citri subsp. Citri (XAC 306), Staphyloccocus aureus e S. epidermidis foi realizado. Em acr?scimo, foi verificado o efeito inibit?rio direto de bact?rias mutual?sticas associadas ao exoesqueleto das formigas contra bact?rias das superf?cies foliares de B. sericea. Finalmente, foi avaliado se as bact?rias mutual?sticas com as formigas e com maior potencial inibit?rio seriam Gram-negativas, devido ?s vantagens adaptativas das duas membranas deste tipo de bact?ria para ocupa??o de ambientes extremos. Verificamos que os compostos extra?dos de A. chartifex n?o tiveram efeito inibit?rio contra S. aureus e X. citri subsp. Citri. Ao contr?rio, os tratamentos contendo o extrato das formigas obtiveram maiores taxas de crescimento destas bact?rias. Por outro lado, foi encontrado que bact?rias associadas ? A. chartifex tiveram maior taxa de crescimento sobre bact?rias Gram-positivas associadas ?s folhas de B. sericeae que n?o possuem intera??o com essas formigas, portanto sugerindo potencial de inibi??o. Tamb?m foi detectado que a maior taxa de crescimento foi de bact?rias de formigas provenientes do ninho matriz em rela??o aos ninhos sat?lites. Os filos mais representativos dos isolados das formigas foram Proteobacteria, Firmicutes e Actinobacteria. Houve maior porcentagem de Gram-negativas nos tr?s grupos de amostras. Portanto, as formigas carregam bact?rias capazes de inibir microrganismos ex?genos ? microbiota associada ? A. chartifex, bact?rias Gram-negativas seriam mais competitivas que Gram-positivas, e h? um maior investimento em defesa dentro de col?nias onde h? maior densidade de indiv?duos, que seleciona isolados mais agressivas na inibi??o de bact?rias ex?genas ao sistema

Imbalance of p75(NTR)/TrkB protein expression in Huntington's disease: implication for neuroprotective therapies

Neuroprotective therapies based on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) administration have been proposed forHuntington's disease (HD) treatment. However, our group has recently reported reduced levels of TrkB in HD mouse models andHD human brain suggesting that besides a decrease on BDNF levels a reduction of TrkB expression could also contribute todiminished neurotrophic support in HD. BDNF can also bind to p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) modulating TrkB signaling.Therefore, in this study we have analyzed the levels of p75NTRin several HD models, as well as in HD human brain. Our datademonstrates a p75NTR/TrkB imbalance in the striatum of two different HD mouse models,HdhQ111/111homozygous knockin miceand R6/1 mice that was also manifested in the putamen of HD patients. The imbalance between TrkB and p75NTRlevels in a HDcellular model did not affect BDNF-mediated TrkB activation of prosurvival pathways but induced activation of apoptoticcascades as demonstrated by increased JNK phosphorylation. Moreover, BDNF failed to protect mutant huntingtin striatal cellstransfected with p75NTRagainst NMDA-mediated excitotoxicity, which was associated with decreased Akt phosphorylation.Interestingly, lack of Akt activation following BDNF and NMDA treatment correlated with increased PP1 levels. Accordingly,pharmacological inhibition of PP1 by okadaic acid (OA) prevented mutant huntingtin striatal cell death induced by NMDA andBDNF. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that the p75NTR/TrkB imbalance induced by mutant huntingtin in striatal cellsassociated with the aberrant activity of PP1 disturbs BDNF neuroprotection likely contributing to increasing striatal vulnerabilityin HD. On the basis of this data we hypothesize that normalization of p75NTRand/or TrkB expression or their signaling willimprove BDNF neuroprotective therapies in HD

Gender Differences in Prevalence and Patterns of Dietary Supplement Use in Elite Athletes.

Purpose: Dietary supplement use by athletes has been the topic of previous research; however, the lack of homogeneity among published studies makes it difficult to analyze the differences, if any, in the patterns of use between male and female athletes. The aim of this study was to determine gender differences in the patterns of dietary supplement use by elite athletes. Methods: A total of 504 elite athletes (329 males and 175 females) participating in individual and team sports completed a validated questionnaire on dietary supplement use during the preceding season. The dietary supplements were categorized according to the latest IOC consensus statement. Results: A higher proportion of male versus female athletes (65.3 versus 56.5%, p < .05) consumed dietary supplements. Both male and female athletes reported a similar mean consumption of dietary supplements (3.2 ± 2.1 versus 3.4 ± 2.3 supplements/season, respectively; p = .45). Protein supplements were the most commonly consumed supplements in male athletes (49.8%) and their prevalence was higher than in female athletes (29.3%, p < .01). In females, multivitamins (39.4%) and branched-chain amino acids (39.4%) were the most commonly consumed supplements and iron supplementation was more prevalent than in males (22.2% versus 10.2%, p = .01). A higher proportion of male athletes relied on themselves to plan dietary supplements use (48.0%), while female appeared to rely more on doctors (34.0%, p < .01). Conclusion: In summary, male athletes had a slightly higher prevalence in the use of supplements than their female counterparts, specifically regarding protein supplements, and were more involved in the self-prescription of supplements.pre-print1459 K

Prevalence and patterns of dietary supplement use in elite Spanish athletes.

Background: Dietary supplementation is a common strategy to achieve a specific health status or performance benefit. Several investigations have focused on the prevalence of dietary supplement use by athletes. However, information on how athletes manage the use and purchase of dietary supplements is scarce. Methods: Five hundred and twenty-seven high-performance athletes (346 males and 181 females), participating in individual and team sports, completed a validated questionnaire about use and purchase patterns of dietary supplements. The dietary supplements were categorized according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus. Results: Sixty four percent of the athletes (n = 337) used dietary supplements (median = 3; range 1 to 12). Age, sex, type of sport, level of competition, and professionalism influenced the prevalence of dietary supplement use (all p < 0.05). The most prevalent dietary supplement consumed was proteins (41%; n = 137), followed by amino acids/BCAA-based supplements (37%; n = 124). Additionally, as per group of supplements according to IOC consensus, 18% of the supplements were rated as having a low level of scientific evidence (e.g., glutamine, HMB, L-carnitine, etc). Most athletes (45%, n = 152) purchased dietary supplements in a store and 24% (n = 81) obtained them from a sponsor. Most athletes also (42%, n = 141) reported a self-organization of supplementation and did not consult with any professional. Last, 81% (n = 273) of athletes consuming supplements did not know any platform to check supplement safety/quality. For those who do not use dietary supplements (36% of the total sample, n = 190), most reported that they do not consider supplements necessary (72%, n = 137). Conclusion: Dietary supplementation appears to be widely used in sport with a considerable proportion of athletes consuming supplements with low level of scientific evidence. Additionally, athletes seem to rely on inadequate sources of information and may be largely unaware of sources to detect supplement contamination.post-print795 K

Neurotrophin receptor p75NTR mediates Huntington's disease-associated synaptic and memory dysfunction

Learning and memory deficits are early clinical manifestations of Huntington's disease (HD). These cognitive impairments have been mainly associated with frontostriatal HD pathology; however, compelling evidence provided by several HD murine models suggests that the hippocampus may contribute to synaptic deficits and memory dysfunction in HD. The neurotrophin receptor p75(NTR) negatively regulates spine density, which is associated with learning and memory; therefore, we explored whether disturbed p75(NTR) function in the hippocampus could contribute to synaptic dysfunction and memory deficits in HD. Here, we determined that levels of p75(NTR) are markedly increased in the hippocampus of 2 distinct mouse models of HD and in HD patients. Normalization of p75(NTR) levels in HD mutant mice heterozygous for p75(NTR) prevented memory and synaptic plasticity deficits and ameliorated dendritic spine abnormalities, likely through normalization of the activity of the GTPase RhoA. Moreover, viral-mediated overexpression of p75(NTR) in the hippocampus of WT mice reproduced HD learning and memory deficits, while knockdown of p75(NTR) in the hippocampus of HD mice prevented cognitive decline. Together, these findings provide evidence of hippocampus-associated memory deficits in HD and demonstrate that p75(NTR) mediates synaptic, learning, and memory dysfunction in HD

Effect of the inclusion of citrus pulp in the diet of goats on cheeses characteristics

The differences between the physicochemical (water content, water activity, pH, NaCl, fat, color, and texture) and sensory (descriptive analysis and consumer test) characteristics of cheeses made from the milk of goats fed on a typical control diet and goats fed on a diet incorporating orange pulp were compared. The addition of orange pulp leads to obtain cheeses(i) with a lower pH and water activity, but with a higher fat content, (ii) that are lighter and with a more yellowish-green hue and (iii) higher in color purity, hardness and adhesiveness, although they are less elastic and cohesive. Thus, the incorporation of orange pulp into the goat's diet affected not only the presence of holes in the cheese, but also its hardness, goat taste and salty taste, which were associated with a higher score of consumer acceptance. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors thank the panel of assessors for making themselves available and the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for the financial support given throughout the Project PAID-05-12, SP20120723.Salvador Alcaraz, A.; Igual Ramo, M.; Contreras Monzón, CI.; Martínez Navarrete, N.; Camacho Vidal, MM. (2014). Effect of the inclusion of citrus pulp in the diet of goats on cheeses characteristics. Small Ruminant Research. 121(2-3):361-367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2014.06.012S3613671212-

A Unified Framework for Neuroscience Morphological Data Visualization

The complexity of the human brain makes its understanding one of the biggest challenges that science is currently confronting. Due to its complexity, the brain has been studied at many different levels and from many disciplines and points of view, using a diversity of techniques for getting meaningful data at each specific level and perspective, producing sometimes data that are difficult to integrate. In order to advance understanding of the brain, scientists need new tools that can speed up this analysis process and that can facilitate integrating research results from different disciplines and techniques. Visualization has proved to be useful in the analysis of complex data, and this paper focuses on the design of visualization solutions adapted to the specific problems posed by brain research. In this paper, we propose a unified framework that allows the integration of specific tools to work together in a coordinated manner in a multiview environment, displaying information at different levels of abstraction and combining schematic and realistic representations. The two use cases presented here illustrate the capability of this approach for providing a visual environment that supports the exploration of the brain at all its organizational levels