Diámetro del cuerpo lúteo y niveles de progesterona sérica, durante el ciclo estral en yeguas criollas colombianas

Objetivo. Determinar el diámetro del cuerpo lúteo (CL) y los niveles séricos de progesterona (P4) durante el ciclo estral (CE) en yeguas Criollas Colombianas (CC). Materiales y métodos. Se utilizaron 30 yeguas entre 4 a 14 años de edad, ubicadas en Pereira (Colombia). Se realizó ultrasonografía transrectal diariamente, desde la ovulación (día cero), durante dos CE para evaluar el diámetro del CL. Se tomaron muestras de sangre cada 48 horas entre una ovulación y la siguiente para cuantificar niveles séricos de P4 por la técnica de radioinmunoanálisis (RIA). Los datos fueron analizados con estadística descriptiva, desviación estándar, t de Student para determinar diferencias entre los CE y una prueba de correlación entre el diámetro del CL y P4. Resultados. El tamaño del CL durante el CE fue 18.3 ± 5.9 mm (promedio ± desviación estándar). El diámetro el día cero fue 25.1±4.5 mm y el tamaño final del CL 8.5±0.9 mm el día 20 del CE. El mayor diámetro se encontró el día 2 postovulación (26.4±5.0 mm). Los niveles máximos de P4 se encontraron al día 6 postovulación (10.7±4.3 rango 2.51 a 18.8 ng/ml). La concentración de P4 durante el diestro fue 6.6±3.6 (1.15 a 10.7 ng/ml) y durante el estro 0.25±0.3 (0.01m a 0.86 ng/ml). Conclusiones. La yegua CC presenta una dinámica del CL similar a la reportada en la literatura. Los valores aquí reportados pueden ser el punto de partida para establecer valores de referencia de utilidad clínica

Evaluación de tres metodologías de recuperación de embriones en caninos utilizando un modelo post-mortem

Objetivo. Evaluar tres técnicas de recuperación de embriones, utilizando como modelos de simulación oocitos desnudos introducidos en úteros recuperados post–mortem. Materiales y métodos. Se introdujeron 10 oocitos en el extremo ovárico de cada cuerno. El tratamiento 1 (T1) consistió en realizar una punción a nivel del extremo ovárico de cada cuerno para introducir el medio de lavado. Se incidió la base de cada cuerno para ubicar un catéter TOMCAT 8-Fr, recuperando el medio en una caja de petri. En el tratamiento 2 (T2) se realizó una punción en el extremo ovárico de cada cuerno pero la recuperación de los oocitos se realizó con un catéter de 56 cm de longitud que se pasó transcervicalmente hasta la base de cada cuerno. En el tratamiento 3 (T3) se utilizó el mismo tipo de catéter por vía transcervical y el lavado y la recuperación se realizó a través del mismo catéter. Resultados. El número de estructuras recuperadas fue de 7.3 ± 2.4 (73%) para el T1; 8.5 ± 1.9 (85%) para el T2 y de 5.8±2.2 (58%) para el T3. La tasa de recuperación fue similar para T1 y T2, pero significativamente mayores que para el T3 (p>0.01). Conclusiones. Las técnicas que se proponen son menos invasivas y tienen resultados comparables a otros estudios donde realizan histerectomía y laparotomía. Con este tipo de técnicas, se disminuye el trauma generado por incisiones quirúrgicas y la posible generación de adherencias. Adicionalmente permitirían realizar recuperaciones de embriones no quirúrgicas en caninos

General Theory and Good Practices in Ecological Niche Modeling: A Basic Guide

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) and species distribution modeling (SDM) are sets of tools that allow the estimation of distributional areas on the basis of establishing relationships among known occurrences and environmental variables. These tools have a wide range of applications, particularly in biogeography, macroecology, and conservation biology, granting prediction of species potential distributional patterns in the present and dynamics of these areas in different periods or scenarios. Due to their relevance and practical applications, the usage of these methodologies has significantly increased throughout the years. Here, we provide a manual with the basic routines used in this field and a practical example of its implementation to promote good practices and guidance for new users

rangemap: An R Package to Explore Species' Geographic Ranges

Data exploration is a critical step in understanding patterns and biases in information about species’ geographic distributions. We present rangemap, an R package that implements tools to explore species’ ranges based on simple analyses and visualizations. The rangemap package uses species occurrence coordinates, spatial polygons, and raster layers as input data. Its analysis tools help to generate simple spatial polygons summarizing ranges based on distinct approaches, including spatial buffers, convex and concave (alpha) hulls, trend-surface analysis, and raster reclassification. Visualization tools included in the package help to produce simple, high-quality representations of occurrence data and figures summarizing resulting ranges in geographic and environmental spaces. Functions that create ranges also allow generating extents of occurrence (using convex hulls) and areas of occupancy according to IUCN criteria. A broad community of researchers and students could find in rangemap an interesting means by which to explore species’ geographic distributions

rangemap: An R Package to Explore Species' Geographic Ranges

Data exploration is a critical step in understanding patterns and biases in information about species’ geographic distributions. We present rangemap, an R package that implements tools to explore species’ ranges based on simple analyses and visualizations. The rangemap package uses species occurrence coordinates, spatial polygons, and raster layers as input data. Its analysis tools help to generate simple spatial polygons summarizing ranges based on distinct approaches, including spatial buffers, convex and concave (alpha) hulls, trend-surface analysis, and raster reclassification. Visualization tools included in the package help to produce simple, high-quality representations of occurrence data and figures summarizing resulting ranges in geographic and environmental spaces. Functions that create ranges also allow generating extents of occurrence (using convex hulls) and areas of occupancy according to IUCN criteria. A broad community of researchers and students could find in rangemap an interesting means by which to explore species’ geographic distributions

Possible Role of Nrf2 in Oxidative and Inflammatory Processes During Menopause

The increase in life expectancy leads to the possibility of development chronic diseases, from special physiological conditions as occurs in the menopause, which is defined as the permanent cessation of ovulation, marked by the end of menstruation. It has been related to decreased ovarian function that occurs around an age of 45 years. This event involves the reduction in estrogen production and may contribute to the development of chronic-degenerative diseases. Many diseases developed during menopause have been associated with oxidative stress, such as osteoporosis, hot flushes, cognitive impairment, insulin resistance, dry skin, obesity, and cardiovascular events. The knowledge about the participation of Nrf2 in diseases that occur during menopause is very limited. Here, only diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and dry skin, which are present during menopause and its later stages have been described. The Nrf2 pathway involves the participation of PI3K/Akt, MAPK, and eNOS, which act as mediators for cytoprotection and antioxidation. Compounds such as equol, fitoestrogens, alkyl cathecols, or curcumin could be offered as options to antioxidant treatment, added the fact that they are present in fruits and vegetables which are rich in vitamins, minerals and calcium, thus including all the required nutrients for an adequate nutrition

Morfometría folicular y luteal, concentración de progesterona y éxito de la gestación en vacas Holstein (Bos Taurus) en el trópico alto (Colombia)

Objetivo. Evaluar la relación entre el diámetro del folículo ovulatorio (FO), el volumen del cuerpo lúteo (CL), los niveles séricos de progesterona (P4) con el éxito de la gestación. Materiales y métodos. En 19 vacas Holstein de 2 a 6 partos ubicadas en Bogotá, se evaluaron dos fases consecutivas a partir del día 40 postparto, la primera correspondió al ciclo estral y la segunda correspondió a la gestación temprana o repetición de celo. En cada fase se detectó el celo, se realizó ultrasonografía para evaluar el diámetro del FO, confirmar ovulación, y el volumen del CL los días 6, 9, 12 y 15; en estos días también se evaluó los niveles séricos de P4. En la segunda fase se realizó inseminación artificial (IA) y se diagnosticó la gestación 30 días post-IA. Resultados. El 47.36% de las vacas se diagnosticaron como gestantes y el 52.63% como no gestantes. Las gestantes presentaron diámetros de FO menores 17.85±2.39 mm al de las no gestantes (21.10±2.86 mm; p<0.05). Las vacas que presentaron diámetros de FO más pequeños tuvieron mayor posibilidad de quedar gestantes (OR=0.624, IC=95% (0.4-0.9) (p<0.05). Los animales gestantes y no gestantes presentaron similares volúmenes de CL (p=0.10) y niveles séricos de P4 (p=0.39) los días 6, 9, 12 y 15. Conclusiones. Se estableció una relación entre la probabilidad de gestación y el tamaño del FO. Vacas con FO de menor diámetro tuvieron mayor probabilidad de gestación. Otras variables como CL y niveles de P4 no fueron predictivos del éxito de la gestación

Risk factors for ovarian postpartum resumption in Holstein cows, under high tropical conditions

ABSTRACT Objective. To evaluate the factors associated with postpartum ovarian resumption and follicular dynamics in Holstein cows under high altitude conditions (2,600 masl). Materials and methods. Forty-five Holstein cows were studied between 14 days before and 120 days after calving. Uterine involution, follicular dynamics, serum progesterone and peripartum pathologies were evaluated; additionally, body condition (BC), calving type, milk yield, were also evaluated. According to hormonal and reproductive findings, cows were classified into two groups: early ovarian resumption (EOR) or delayed ovarian resumption (DOR). Results. The occurrence of the first follicular for EOR animals (n=31) was produced on average 9.58±3.45 days postpartum and was similar to the DOR group (n=10) [10.8±4.83 days; p>0.05)]. The first postpartum ovulation occurred at 21.55±5.90 days (EOR) and was significantly delayed (48.7±27.85 days) for DOR animals (p<0.05). Thirty-six point five percent of the cows (n=f) had normal estrus cycles (18 to 24 days), while 63.5% (n=26) showed dysciclia. The factors associated with ovarian resumption and cyclicity were the loss of BC [OR=3.3, CI 95% (1.2-13.3) (p<0.05)] and lameness [OR= 9.0, CI 95% (1.2-13.3) (p<0.05)]. Conclusions. Although the emergence of postpartum follicular waves was observed early, under the experimental conditions of this study there are factors that may affect the first ovulation favoring the occurrence of anovulatory conditions. The determinant factors were low body condition and lameness

Effects of cytomegalovirus infection in human neural precursor cells depend on their differentiation state

© 2015, Journal of NeuroVirology, Inc. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection in developed countries and a major cause of neurological disability in children. Although CMV can affect multiple organs, the most important sequelae of intrauterine infection are related to lesions of the central nervous system. However, little is known about the pathogenesis and the cellular events responsible for neuronal damage in infants with congenital infection. Some studies have demonstrated that neural precursor cells (NPCs) show the greatest susceptibility to CMV infection in the developing brain. We sought to establish an in vitro model of CMV infection of the developing brain in order to analyze the cellular events associated with invasion by this virus. To this end, we employed two cell lines as a permanent source of NPC, avoiding the continuous use of human fetal tissue, the human SK-N-MC neuroblastoma cell line, and an immortalized cell line of human fetal neural origin, hNS-1. We also investigated the effect of the differentiation stage in relation to the susceptibility of these cell lines by comparing the neuroblastoma cell line with the multipotent cell line hNS-1. We found that the effects of the virus were more severe in the neuroblastoma cell line. Additionally, we induced hNS-1 to differentiate and evaluated the effect of CMV in these differentiated cells. Like SK-N-MC cells, hNS-1-differentiated cells were also susceptible to infection. Viability of differentiated hNS-1 cells decreased after CMV infection in contrast to undifferentiated cells. In addition, differentiated hNS-1 cells showed an extensive cytopathic effect whereas the effect was scarce in undifferentiated cells. We describe some of the effects of CMV in neural stem cells, and our observations suggest that the degree of differentiation is important in the acquisition of susceptibility.CONACYT (CB16782 and #120452), PROMEP (103.5/10/7697), and FAI-UASLP (C12-FAI-03-62.62).Peer Reviewe

Plants with potential use on obesity and its complications

Obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disease and a growing public health problem worldwide. This disease is a causal component of the metabolic syndrome related with abnormalities, including hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, inflammation, among others. There are anti-obesity drugs, affecting the fundamental processes of the weight regulation; however they have shown serious side effects, which outweigh their beneficial effects. Most recent studies on the treatment of obesity and its complications have focused on the potential role of different plants preparation that can exert a positive effect on the mechanisms involved in this pathology. For instance, anti-obesity effects of green tea and its isolated active principles have been reported in both in vitro (cell cultures) and in vivo (animal models) that possess healthy effects, decreasing adipose tissue through reduction of adipocytes differentiation and proliferation. A positive effect in lipid profile, and lipid and carbohydrates metabolisms were demonstrated as well. In addition, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities were studied. However, the consumption of green tea and its products is not that common in Western countries, where other plants with similar bioactivity predominate; nevertheless, the effect extension has not been analyzed in depth, despite of their potential as alternative treatment for obesity. In this review the anti-obesity potential and reported mechanisms of action of diverse plants such as: Camellia sinensis, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Hypericum perforatum, Persea americana, Phaseolus vulgaris, Capsicum annuum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Ilex paraguariensis, Citrus paradisi, Citrus limon, Punica granatum, Aloe vera, Taraxacum officinale and Arachis hypogaea is summarized. We consider the potential of these plants as natural alternative treatments of some metabolic alterations associated with obesity