Do the low molecular weight heparins improve efficacy and safety of the treatment of deep venous thrombosis? A meta-analysis

We compared the efficacy and safety of low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) and unfractionated heparin (UFH) in the treatement of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). A comparison between two daily subcutaneous injections of LMWH against a single injection was also performed. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study was performed by a meta-analysis. Clot improvement in venography, recurrency, total mortality and major hemorrhages were assessed in 4,472 patients with DVT from 21 studies treated with subcutaneous LMWH or UFH. RESULTS: An improvement in clot reduction (odds ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 0.90, p = 0.004), a decrease in total mortality (0. 68, 0.50 to 0.91, p = 0.012) and a lower incidence of hemorrhage (0. 65, 0.43 to 0.98, p = 0.047) were observed in LMWH treated patients. There were no differences in recurrences (0.78, 0.59 to 1.04, p = 0. 10). A single dose of LMWH was better than two in reducing major bleeding (c2 = 4.99, p = 0.025); however, the two dose regimen was more effective in clot reduction (c2 = 8.56, p = 0.004). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: LMWH is superior to UFH in terms of safety and efficacy. A single daily dose of LMWH dose is a suitable therapeutic regimen and could facilitate the outpatient treatment of venous thromboembolism

The c.-1639G > A polymorphism of the VKORC1 gene is a major determinant of the response to acenocoumarol in anticoagulated patients

Much of the variability in the sensitivity to warfarin in anticoagulated patients is associated with the c.-1639G > A polymorphism of the vitamin K-epoxide reductase (VKORC1) gene. However, its association with the acenocoumarol dose in patients under anticoagulant therapy has not been studied. The c.-1639G > A genotype of VKORC1 was determined in 113 patients on stable anticoagulation requiring low (n = 42), medium (n = 42) or high (n = 21) acenocoumarol doses. To evaluate the association between acenocoumarol requirements and the c.-1639G > A variant, multivariate logistic regression models were fitted, adjusting for age, gender, and the c.430C > T and c.1075A > C variants of cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9). A total of 90.5% of the patients in the low acenocoumarol dose group carried the A allele of VKORC1:c.-1639G > A. The A allele independently increased the odds of requiring a low acenocoumarol dose [odds ratio (OR) 9.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-46.4; P = 0.006], especially when the homozygous form was present (OR 44.2; 95% CI 5.5-354.6; P A polymorphism of VKORC1 is therefore associated with a low-dose requirement for acenocoumarol in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy

Effects of different doses of Salix babylonica extract on growth performance and diet in vitro gas production in Pelibuey growing lambs

Twenty Pelibuey 3-4 month old and 23.7±3.3 kg body weight male lambs were used in a randomised design to study the effects of daily oral administration of Salix babylonica (SB) extract on dry matter (DM), water intake, average daily gain (ADG), and feed efficiency for 72 days. Animals were divided into four groups fed the same total mixed ration with different doses of SB: 0 (Control), 20 (SB20), 40 (SB40) and 60 (SB60) mL/lamb/d. In vitro gas production (GP) of the same diet fed to lambs as a substrate was measured with different doses of SB (0, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0 mL/g DM). Daily administration of SB to lambs had no effects (P=0.05) on growth performance and DMI (linear effect, P=0.2805; quadratic effect, P=0.3747). Both low and moderate doses of SB (SB40>SB20) tended to increase (linear effect, P=0.4010; quadratic effect, P=0.9166) ADG. The asymptotic GP quadratically increased (PSB20) tended to increase (linear effect, P=0.4010; quadratic effect, P=0.9166) ADG. The asymptotic GP quadratically increased (PSB20) tended to increase (linear effect, P=0.4010; quadratic effect, P=0.9166) ADG. The asymptotic GP quadratically increased (P<0.001) with decreased GP rate and with increasing SB extract doses. In vitro GP increased (P<0.05) with advancing of incubation time in all SB doses. During the first 24 h of incubation, 0.3 mL SB/g DM had the highest GP, whereas 1.0 mL SB/g DM quadratically increased (P<0.001) GP. The low dose of SB extract increased ME (linear effect, P=0.024) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) (linear effect, P=0.023). However, the highest dose quadratically decreased (P=0.02) DM degradability. In conclusion, administration of SB extract at 40 mL/lamb/d tended to increase DM intake, improve daily weight gain in growing lambs with increasing asymptotic in vitro ruminal GP and SB dose

Identificación morfológica y molecular de Cysticercus fasciolaris aislado de un roedor (Rattus norvegicus) de la provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina).

En un estudio exploratorio de roedores de la especie Rattus norvegicus de la provincia de Buenos Aires, se observó que ciertos metacestodos de tenias se encontraban enquis- tados en el hígado del hospedador. Nuestro objetivo fue identificar esta forma larval, basándonos en estudios morfológicos y moleculares. Para la caracterización molecular del parásito, se amplificó y secuenció el ADN ribosomal (28S) y mitocondrial (COI). Sobre la base de los datos tanto morfológicos como moleculares, y utilizando herramientas bio- informáticas, el metacestodo se identificó como Cysticercus fasciolaris. La forma adulta (Taenia taeniaeformis) comúnmente infecta hospedadores mamíferos félidos y cánidos. Esta es la primera vez que se caracteriza molecularmente este helminto, aislado de roe- dores de la provincia de Buenos Aires.Fil: Martinez, Mara Leila. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Inv. Agropecuarias. Centro de Invest.de Cs.veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Patobiologia; Argentina;Fil: Dominguez, Mariana Gabriela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Inv. Agropecuarias. Centro de Invest.de Cs.veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Patobiologia; Argentina;Fil: Morici, Gabriel E.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Inv. Agropecuarias. Centro de Invest.de Cs.veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Patobiologia; Argentina;Fil: Cavia, Regino. Consejo Nacional de Invest. Científ.y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Bs. As; Argentina; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecologia, Genetica y Evolución; Argentina;Fil: Montes de Oca, Daniela Paula. INSTITUTO DE ECOLOGIA, GENETICA Y EVOLUCION DE BS. AS; ecologia;Fil: Lovera, Rosario. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecologia, Genetica y Evolución; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Invest. Científ.y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Bs. As; Argentina;Fil: Schapiro, Javier Hernan. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Inv. Agropecuarias. Centro de Invest.de Cs.veterinarias y Agronomicas. Instituto de Patobiologia; Argentina;Fil: Caracostantogolo, Jorge Luis. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Ultraestructura, Microanalisis y Espectroscopia; Arggentina

Subtle alterations in cerebrovascular reactivity in mild cognitive impairment detected by graph theoretical analysis and not by the standard approach.

There is growing support that cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) in response to a vasodilatory challenge, also defined as the cerebrovascular reserve, is reduced in Alzheimer's disease dementia. However, this is less clear in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The current standard analysis may not reflect subtle abnormalities in CVR. In this study, we aimed to investigate vasodilatory-induced changes in the topology of the cerebral blood flow correlation (CBF javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@6894b36 ) network to study possible network-related CVR abnormalities in MCI. For this purpose, four CBF javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@389286d6 networks were constructed: two using CBF SPECT data at baseline and under the vasodilatory challenge of acetazolamide (ACZ), obtained from a group of 26 MCI patients; and two equivalent networks from a group of 26 matched cognitively normal controls. The mean strength of association ( javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@58a7138c ) and clustering coefficient ( javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@5f56d60d ) were used to evaluate ACZ-induced changes on the topology of CBF javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@13cae62a networks. We found that cognitively normal adults and MCI patients show different patterns of javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@3fc266b3 and javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@5f9929b4 changes. The observed differences included the medial prefrontal cortices and inferior parietal lobe, which represent areas involved in MCI's cognitive dysfunction. In contrast, no substantial differences were detected by standard CVR analysis. These results suggest that graph theoretical analysis of ACZ-induced changes in the topology of the CBF javax.xml.bind.JAXBElement@36167af4 networks allows the identification of subtle network-related CVR alterations in MCI, which couldn't be detected by the standard approach

Changes in plasma fatty acid composition are associated with improvements in obesity and related metabolic disorders: A therapeutic approach to overweight adolescents

Background & aims: In recent years, obesity has reached alarming levels among children and adolescents. The study of plasma fatty acid (FA) composition, as a reflection of diet, and its associations with other parameters, that are closely linked to obesity and the cardiometabolic profile, may be useful for setting nutritional goals for obesity treatment and prevention. This study explored the relationship between plasma FA levels and body fat and cardiometabolic risk markers, in overweight adolescents. Methods: A multidisciplinary weight loss program was followed by 127 overweight and obese adolescents aged 12-17 years old. Plasma FA composition, anthropometric indicators of adiposity and biochemical parameters were analyzed at baseline, two months (the end of the intensive intervention phase) and six months (the end of the extensive phase). Results: While saturated fatty acid (SFA) and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels decreased significantly during the intervention, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and n-3 PUFA showed the opposite trend. The decrease in SFA C14:0 was associated with a reduction in total and LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and insulin. The increase in MUFAs, especially C18:1n-9, was related to a reduction in weight, fat mass, fat mass index and glucose. Regarding PUFAs, changes in the n-3 series were not associated with any of the parameters studied, whereas the reduction in n-6 PUFA5 was directly related to weight, fat mass, total and HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein Al, glucose and insulin, and inversely associated with diastolic blood pressure. The adolescents with greater weight loss presented significant changes in MUFAs, n-6 PUFA5 and C14:0. Conclusions: Modifications in plasma FA composition were associated with adiposity reduction and cardiometabolic profile improvement in an anti-obesity program aimed at adolescents. The changes observed in FA composition were related to the success of the treatment, since the individuals most affected by these variations were those who presented the greatest weight loss

Ovine fertility by artificial insemination in the breeding season could be affected by intraseasonal variations in ram sperm proteomic profile

[EN] It is important to note that seasonality could affect ram reproductive parameters, and therefore, fertility results after artificial insemination. In this work, 1) we assessed fertility rates after cervical artificial insemination of 11,805 ewes at the beginning (June 21st to July 20th) and at the end (November 20th to December 21st) of the reproductive season in the Assaf breed for the last four years, and 2) we aimed to identify male factors influencing the different reproductive success obtained depending on the time at the mating season in which ovine artificial insemination was performed. For this purpose, we evaluated certain ram reproductive and ultrasonographical parameters as well as we performed a multiparametric and proteomic sperm analysis of 6–19 rams at two very distant points in the mating season (July as Early Breeding Season –EBS– and November as Late Breeding Season –LBS–). Rutinary assessments carried out in the ovine reproduction centers (testicular volume, libido, sperm production and mass motility) showed non-significant differences (P ≥ 0.05) between both studied times, as well as the ram ultrasonographic evaluation (Resistive and Pulsatility Index as Doppler parameters; and pixels mean gray level, and hypoechoic areas percentage and density as echotexture parameters). However, at level of sperm functionality, although sperm quality appeared non-significantly lower (P ≥ 0.05) in the EBS, we identified a significantly different (P 4, a P = 2.40e-07, and a q = 2.23e-06: Fibrous Sheath-Interacting Protein 2, Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase Domain-Containing Protein 20-like, Phosphoinositide-Specific Phospholipase C, Tektin 5, Armadillo Repeat-Containing Protein 12 Isoform X3, Solute Carrier Family 9B1, Radial Spoke Head Protein 3 Homolog, Pro-Interleukin-16, NADH Dehydrogenase [Ubiquinone] 1 Alpha Subcomplex Subunit 8, Testis, Prostate and Placenta-Expressed Protein, and Acyl Carrier Protein Mitochondrial. In conclusion, while our basic analyses on male and sperm quality showed similar results between the beginning and the end of the breeding season, on a proteomic level we detected a lower expression of sperm proteins linked to the energy metabolism, sperm-oocyte interactions, and flagellum structure in the EBS. Probably, this different protein expression could be related to the lower fertility rate of Assaf ewes after cervical artificial insemination at this time. More importantly, sperm proteins can be used as highly effective molecular markers in predicting sperm fertilization ability related to intraseasonal variations.S