Rendimiento productivo de pollos parrilleros alimentados con harina de yuca (Manihot esculenta) como reemplazo del maíz

The aim of this study was to determine the productive performance of broilers fed cassava meal (Manihot esculenta) as partial replacement of maize in the finishing stage. A total of 96 broiler chickens of the 21-day-old Cobb line were used, distributed in 12 experimental pens corresponding to three treatments with four repetitions. The substitution levels of maize for cassava meal were 0, 10 and 20%, which represented the treatments T0 (control), T1 and T2, respectively. Each treatment had 32 chickens and each repetition eight chickens. The effect of cassava flour on feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion, mortality and productive efficiency index was evaluated. No significant differences were found between treatments in the evaluated indicators, indicating that cassava meal can effectively replace up to 20% in broiler maize-based diets.El ensayo tuvo por objetivo determinar el rendimiento productivo de pollos parrilleros alimentados con harina de yuca (Manihot esculenta) en reemplazo parcial del maíz en la etapa de acabado. Se utilizaron 96 pollos parrilleros de la línea Cobb de 21 días de edad, distribuidos en 12 corrales experimentales correspondientes a tres tratamientos con cuatro repeticiones. Los niveles de sustitución del maíz por harina de yuca fueron de 0, 10 y 20%, los que representaron a los tratamientos T0 (testigo), T1 y T2, respectivamente. Cada tratamiento tuvo 32 pollos y cada repetición ocho pollos. Se evaluó el efecto de la harina de yuca en el consumo de alimento, incremento de peso, conversión alimenticia, mortalidad e índice de eficiencia productivo. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre tratamientos en los indicadores evaluados, lo que indica que la harina de yuca puede reemplazar eficazmente hasta un 20% en las dietas basadas en el maíz para pollos de engord

Central pancreatectomy without anastomosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Central pancreatectomy has a unique application for lesions in the neck of the pancreas. It preserves the distal pancreas and its endocrine functions. It also preserves the spleen.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a retrospective review of 10 patients who underwent central pancreatectomy without pancreatico-enteric anastomosis between October 2005 and May 2009. The surgical indications, operative outcomes, and pathologic findings were analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All 10 lesions were in the neck of the pancreas and included: 2 branch intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), a mucinous cyst, a lymphoid cyst, 5 neuroendocrine tumors, and a clear cell adenoma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Central pancreatectomy without pancreatico-enteric anastomosis for lesions in the neck and proximal pancreas is a safe and effective procedure. Morbidity is low because there is no anastomosis. Long term endocrine and exocrine function has been maintained.</p

Testing for association between exonic glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor mutation with physical and brain health traits in UK Biobank

No abstract available

Dose-response association between device-measured physical activity and incident dementia: a prospective study from UK Biobank

Background: Previous cohort studies have investigated the relationship between self-reported physical activity (PA) and dementia. Evidence from objective device-measured PA data is lacking. This study aimed to explore the association of device-measured PA with the risk of dementia incidence and common subtypes (Alzheimer’s disease [AD] and vascular dementia) using the UK Biobank study. Methods: 84,854 participants (55.8% women), invited to participate in the device-measured PA between 2013 and 2015, were included in this prospective cohort study. Wrist accelerometers were used to measure light, moderate, vigorous, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and total PA intensity and duration (MET/min/week). Incident dementia (fatal and non-fatal) was extracted from hospital episodes records for incidence and death register for mortality. Incidence follow-up was carried out until the end of March 2021in England and Scotland and the end of March 2018 in Wales. Mortality data were available until February 2021. Nonlinear associations were first investigated using penalised cubic splines fitted in the Cox proportional hazard models. In addition, using MVPA, five categories were created. Associations of these categories with the outcomes were investigated using Cox proportional hazard models. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle and health-related factors. Results: After a median follow-up of 6.3 years, 678 individuals were diagnosed with dementia. Evidence of nonlinearity was observed for all PA modes and all-cause dementia. For categories of MVPA, there was a significant trend towards a low risk of overall dementia when higher levels of MVPA were achieved (HRtrend 0.66 [95% CI 0.62 to 0.70]. The lowest risk was identified in individuals who performed more than 1200 MET/min/week, those who had 84% (95% CI 0.12 to 0.21) lower risk of incident dementia compared to those who performed &lt; 300 MET/min/week. Conclusions: Participants with higher PA levels had a lower risk of incident dementia than those less active, independently of sociodemographic, lifestyle factors and comorbidity. Considering that the majority of previous studies have reported this association using self-reported data, our findings highlight the strong inverse association between PA objectively measured and incident dementia

Association of gamma-glutamyltransferase levels with total mortality, liver-related, and cardiovascular outcomes: a prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank

Background: Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels in the blood can be a sensitive marker of liver injury but the extent to which they give insight into risk across multiple outcomes in a clinically useful way remains uncertain. Methods: Using data from 293,667 UK Biobank participants, the relationship of GGT concentrations to self-reported alcohol intake and adiposity markers were investigated. We next investigated whether GGT predicted liver-related, cardiovascular (CV) or all-cause mortality, and potentially improved CV risk prediction. Findings: Higher alcohol intake and greater waist circumference (WC) were associated with higher GGT; the association was stronger for alcohol with evidence of a synergistic effect of WC. Higher GGT concentrations were associated with multiple outcomes. Compared to a GGT of 14.5 U/L (lowest decile), values of 48 U/L for women and 60 U/L for men (common upper limits of ‘normal’) had hazard ratios (HRs) for liver-related mortality of 1.83 (95% CI 1.60–2.11) and 3.25 (95% CI 2.38–4.42) respectively, for CV mortality of 1.21 (95% CI 1.14–1.28) and 1.43 (95% CI 1.27–1.60) and for all-cause mortality of 1.15 (95% CI 1.12–1.18) and 1.31 (95% CI 1.24–1.38). Adding GGT to a risk algorithm for CV mortality reclassified an additional 1.24% (95% CI 0.14–2.34) of participants across a binary 5% 10-year risk threshold. Interpretation: Our study suggests that a modest elevation in GGT levels should trigger a discussion with the individual to review diet and lifestyle including alcohol intake and consideration of formal liver disease and CV risk assessment if not previously done. Funding: British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence Grant (grant number RE/18/6/34217), NHS Research Scotland (grant number SCAF/15/02), the Medical Research Council (grant number MC_UU_00022/2); and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (grant number SPHSU17)

Integrating data types to estimate spatial patterns of avian migration across the Western Hemisphere

For many avian species, spatial migration patterns remain largely undescribed, especially across hemispheric extents. Recent advancements in tracking technologies and high-resolution species distribution models (i.e., eBird Status and Trends products) provide new insights into migratory bird movements and offer a promising opportunity for integrating independent data sources to describe avian migration. Here, we present a three-stage modeling framework for estimating spatial patterns of avian migration. First, we integrate tracking and band re-encounter data to quantify migratory connectivity, defined as the relative proportions of individuals migrating between breeding and nonbreeding regions. Next, we use estimated connectivity proportions along with eBird occurrence probabilities to produce probabilistic least-cost path (LCP) indices. In a final step, we use generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) both to evaluate the ability of LCP indices to accurately predict (i.e., as a covariate) observed locations derived from tracking and band re-encounter data sets versus pseudo-absence locations during migratory periods and to create a fully integrated (i.e., eBird occurrence, LCP, and tracking/band re-encounter data) spatial prediction index for mapping species-specific seasonal migrations. To illustrate this approach, we apply this framework to describe seasonal migrations of 12 bird species across the Western Hemisphere during pre- and postbreeding migratory periods (i.e., spring and fall, respectively). We found that including LCP indices with eBird occurrence in GAMMs generally improved the ability to accurately predict observed migratory locations compared to models with eBird occurrence alone. Using three performance metrics, the eBird + LCP model demonstrated equivalent or superior fit relative to the eBird-only model for 22 of 24 species–season GAMMs. In particular, the integrated index filled in spatial gaps for species with over-water movements and those that migrated over land where there were few eBird sightings and, thus, low predictive ability of eBird occurrence probabilities (e.g., Amazonian rainforest in South America). This methodology of combining individual-based seasonal movement data with temporally dynamic species distribution models provides a comprehensive approach to integrating multiple data types to describe broad-scale spatial patterns of animal movement. Further development and customization of this approach will continue to advance knowledge about the full annual cycle and conservation of migratory birds

Beyond humanization and de-immunization: tolerization as a method for reducing the immunogenicity of biologics

Immune responses to some monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and biologic proteins interfere with their efficacy due to the development of anti-drug antibodies (ADA). In the case of mAbs, most ADA target ‘foreign’ sequences present in the complementarity determining regions (CDRs). Humanization of the mAb sequence is one approach that has been used to render biologics less foreign to the human immune system. However, fully human mAbs can also drive immunogenicity. De-immunization (removing epitopes) has been used to reduce biologic protein immunogenicity. Here, we discuss a third approach to reducing the immunogenicity of biologics: introduction of Treg epitopes that stimulate Treg function and induce tolerance to the biologic protein. Supplementing humanization (replacing xenosequences with human) and de-immunization (reducing T effector epitopes) with tolerization (introducing Treg epitopes) where feasible, as a means of improving biologics ‘quality by design’, may lead to the development of ever more clinically effective, but less immunogenic, biologics

The calcareous brown alga Padina pavonica in southern Britain: population change and tenacity over 300 years

Understanding long-term persistence and variability in species populations can help to predict future survival, growth and distribution; however, sustained observations are exceedingly rare. We examine and interpret a remarkable record of the calcareous brown alga Padina pavonica (Phaeophyceae) at its northern limit on the south coast of England (50°N, 1–3°W) from 1680 to 2014, which is probably the longest compilation and review of any marine algal species. Over this period, which extends from the middle of the Little Ice Age to the present, there has been considerable variability in temperature and storminess. We identified a significant number of site extinctions in the second half of the nineteenth century, which coincided with cooler conditions and stormier weather. To interpret thesechanges, we measured recruitment, growth and production of tetraspores at sheltered and exposed sites in 2012–2014, years which had low and high spring temperatures. Potential spore production was greater at the sheltered site due to a longer growing period and survival of larger fronds. Delayed growth in the cooler spring resulted in smaller fronds and lower potential production of tetraspores by early summer. Yet in the warmer year, rapid initial growth caused higher sensitivity to damage and dislodgement by summer storms, which also limited potential spore production. Antagonistic responses to multiple stressors and disturbances make future predictions of survival and distribution difficult. Fronds of Padina pavonica are sensitive to both temperature and physical disturbances, yet vegetative perennation appears to have enabled population persistence and explained the longevity of remaining populations

Fusarium: more than a node or a foot-shaped basal cell

Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae. Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distinct genera in Nectriaceae based on morphology, biology, and phylogeny is disregarded. A DNA phylogeny based on 19 orthologous protein-coding genes was presented to support a very broad concept of Fusarium at the F1 node in Nectriaceae. Here, we demonstrate that re-analyses of this dataset show that all 19 genes support the F3 node that represents Fusarium sensu stricto as defined by F. sambucinum (sexual morph synonym Gibberella pulicaris). The backbone of the phylogeny is resolved by the concatenated alignment, but only six of the 19 genes fully support the F1 node, representing the broad circumscription of Fusarium. Furthermore, a re-analysis of the concatenated dataset revealed alternate topologies in different phylogenetic algorithms, highlighting the deep divergence and unresolved placement of various Nectriaceae lineages proposed as members of Fusarium. Species of Fusarium s. str. are characterised by Gibberella sexual morphs, asexual morphs with thin- or thick-walled macroconidia that have variously shaped apical and basal cells, and trichothecene mycotoxin production, which separates them from other fusarioid genera. Here we show that the Wollenweber concept of Fusarium presently accounts for 20 segregate genera with clear-cut synapomorphic traits, and that fusarioid macroconidia represent a character that has been gained or lost multiple times throughout Nectriaceae. Thus, the very broad circumscription of Fusarium is blurry and without apparent synapomorphies, and does not include all genera with fusarium-like macroconidia, which are spread throughout Nectriaceae (e.g., Cosmosporella, Macroconia, Microcera). In this study four new genera are introduced, along with 18 new species and 16 new combinations. These names convey information about relationships, morphology, and ecological preference that would otherwise be lost in a broader definition of Fusarium. To assist users to correctly identify fusarioid genera and species, we introduce a new online identification database, Fusarioid-ID, accessible at www.fusarium.org. The database comprises partial sequences from multiple genes commonly used to identify fusarioid taxa (act1, CaM, his3, rpb1, rpb2, tef1, tub2, ITS, and LSU). In this paper, we also present a nomenclator of names that have been introduced in Fusarium up to January 2021 as well as their current status, types, and diagnostic DNA barcode data. In this study, researchers from 46 countries, representing taxonomists, plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, and students, strongly support the application and use of a more precisely delimited Fusarium (= Gibberella) concept to accommodate taxa from the robust monophyletic node F3 on the basis of a well-defined and unique combination of morphological and biochemical features. This F3 node includes, among others, species of the F. fujikuroi, F. incarnatum-equiseti, F. oxysporum, and F. sambucinum species complexes, but not species of Bisifusarium [F. dimerum species complex (SC)], Cyanonectria (F. buxicola SC), Geejayessia (F. staphyleae SC), Neocosmospora (F. solani SC) or Rectifusarium (F. ventricosum SC). The present study represents the first step to generating a new online monograph of Fusarium and allied fusarioid genera (www.fusarium.org)