Citrus Flavonoids Supplementation as an Alternative to Replace Zinc Oxide in Weanling Pigs’ Diets Minimizing the Use of Antibiotics

Since citrus flavonoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it was hypothesized that these compounds would become a suitable alternative to the use of therapeutic doses of zinc oxide at weaning. A total of 252 weaned pigs ([LargeWhite × Landrace] × Pietrain) were distributed according to BW (5.7 kg ± 0.76) into 18 pens (6 pens per diet, 14 pigs/pen). Three experimental diets for the prestarter (0–14 d postweaning) and starter (15–35 d postweaning) period were prepared: (i) a nonmedicated (CON) diet, (ii) a CON diet supplemented with zinc oxide at 2500 mg/kg, amoxicillin at 0.3 mg/kg and apramycin at 0.1 mg/kg (ZnO), and (iii) CON diet with the addition of a commercial citrus flavonoid extract at 0.3 mg/kg and amoxicillin at 0.3 mg/kg (FLAV). Pig BW, ADG, ADFI, and FCR were assessed on d7, d14, and d35. Samples of intestinal tissue, cecal content, and serum were collected on day seven (18 piglets). FLAV treatment achieved greater BW and ADG during the starter and for the entire experimental period compared with the CON diet (p < 0.05), whereas ZnO pigs evidenced intermediate results. Jejunum tissue analysis showed that pigs fed the FLAV diet overexpressed genes related to barrier function, digestive enzymes, and nutrient transport compared to those pigs fed the CON diet (p < 0.05). An increase in the abundance of bacterial genera such as Succinivibrio, Turicibacter, and Mitsuokella (p < 0.05) was observed in the FLAV compared with the CON and ZnO piglets. ZnO and FLAV increased the expression of TAS2R39, while ZnO pigs also expressed greater TAS2R16 than CON (p < 0.05) in the intestine. FLAV treatment improved the gut function, possibly explaining a higher performance at the end of the nursery period. Consequently, citrus flavonoids supplementation, together with amoxicillin, is a promising alternative to the use of zinc oxide plus amoxicillin and apramycin in weanling pigs, minimizing the use of antibiotics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The increase in phosphorylation levels of serine residues of protein HSP70 during holding at 17ºC is concomitant with a higher cryotolerance of boar spermatozoa

Boar-sperm cryopreservation is not usually performed immediately after semen collection, but rather a holding time (HT) of 4 h-30 h at 17 u C is spent before starting this procedure. Taking this into account, the aim of this study was to go further in- depth into the mechanisms underlying the improving effects of HT at 17 u C on boar-sperm cryotolerance by evaluating the effects of two different HTs (3 h and 24 h) on overall boar-sperm function and survival before and after cryopreservation. Given that phospho/dephosphorylation mechanisms are of utmost importance in the overall regulation of sperm function, the phosphorylation levels of serine residues (pSer) in 30 different sperm proteins after a 3 h- or 24 h-HT period were also assessed. We found that a HT of 24 h contributed to a higher sperm resistance to freeze-thawing procedures, whereas mini-array protein analyses showed that a HT of 24 h induced a significant (P,0.05) increase in pSer (from 100.06 1.8 arbitrary units in HT 3 h to 150.2 65.1 arbitrary units in HT 24 h) of HSP70 and, to a lesser extent, in protein kinases GSK3 and total TRK and in the cell-cycle regulatory protein CDC2/CDK1. In the case of HSP70, this increase was confirmed through immunoprecipation analyses. Principal component and multiple regression analyses indicated that a component explaining a percentage of variance higher than 50% in sperm cryotolerance was significantly correlated with pSer levels in HSP70. In addition, from all the parameters evaluated before freeze-thawing, only pSer levels in HSP70 resulted to be able to predict sperm cryotolerance. In conclusion, our results suggest that boar spermatozoa modulate its function during HT, at least partially, by changes in pSer levels of proteins like HSP70, and this is related to a higher cryotoleranc

Usefulness of 18F-FDG PET-CT for assessing large-vessel involvement in patients with suspected giant cell arteritis and negative temporal artery biopsy

Objective: To investigate the usefulness of F-18-FDG PET-CT for assessing large-vessel (LV) involvement in patients with suspected giant cell arteritis (GCA) and a negative temporal artery biopsy (TAB).Methods: A retrospective review of our hospital databases was conducted to identify patients with suspected GCA and negative TAB who underwent an F-18-FDG PET-CT in an attempt to confirm the diagnosis. The gold standard for GCA diagnosis was clinical confirmation after a follow-up period of at least 12 months.Results: Out of the 127 patients included in the study, 73 were diagnosed with GCA after a detailed review of their medical records. Of the 73 patients finally diagnosed with GCA, F-18-FDG PET-CT was considered positive in 61 cases (83.5%). Among the 54 patients without GCA, F-18-FDG PET-CT was considered positive in only eight cases (14.8%), which included 1 case of Erdheim-Chester disease, 3 cases of IgG4-related disease, 1 case of sarcoidosis, and 3 cases of isolated aortitis. Overall, the diagnostic performance of F-18-FDG PET-CT for assessing LV involvement in patients finally diagnosed with GCA and negative TAB yielded a sensitivity of 83.5%, specificity of 85.1%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 84% with an area under the ROC curve of 0.844 (95% CI: 0.752 to 0.936). The sensitivity was 89% in occult systemic GCA and 100% in extracranial LV-GCA.Conclusion: Our study confirms the utility of F-18-FDG PET-CT in patients presenting with suspected GCA and a negative TAB by demonstrating the presence of LV involvement across different subsets of the disease

Eficacia del soporte social sobre el síndrome metabólico en mujeres de área rural de Chiapas, México

[EN] Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess a social support intervention among rural women from Chiapas and its ability to change lifestyles, self-concept, and Metabolic Syndrome (MS). Methods: A convenience sample was conducted among older than 16 yo women from a marginalized rural community from central Chiapas. Two questionnaires were used, a self-concept questionnaire and a healthy lifestyle profile. Criteria for components of MS used were those of the International Diabetes Federation. The intervention was conducted over a three month period and divided into 13 sessions that concentrated on social support and were complemented by nutrition education modules. Results: Five hundred eighty six participants met inclusion criteria for the study. At basal time 47% had MS; abdominal obesity, 69%; high levels of glucose, 27%; triglycerides, 56%; systolic blood pressure, 17%; diastolic blood pressure, 15%; and low levels of HDLcholesterol, 55%. After the intervention, 38% had MS and significant differences were observed in all of the components of MS. The pre and post-intervention dimension scores on the self-concept form 5 (AF5), or selfconcept questionnaire, and the Pender Health Promotion and Lifestyle Questionnaire (PETS-1) also yielded significant differences. Conclusions: After a three month social support and nutrition education intervention, significant changes were observed in several dimensions of the AF5 and PETS-1, as well as in MS and its components.[ES] Introducción: El propósito de este estudio fue valorar una intervención de soporte social entre mujeres rurales de Chiapas, sobre los cambios en el estilo de vida, el autoconcepto, y el síndrome metabólico (MS). Métodos: Se realizó una muestra de conveniencia entre todas la mayores de 16 años de una población rural marginada del centro de Chiapas. Se utilizaron dos cuestionarios. Uno sobre el auto-concepto de salud y el otro sobre el perfil de estilos saludables. Los componentes del MS se valoraron de acuerdo a los criterios de la Federación Internacional de Diabetes. La intervención se realizó durante un período de tres meses y se dividió en 13 sesiones que incluían soporte social (SS) y educación nutricional (EN). Resultados: Cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión, 586 mujeres. Al inicio del estudio 47% tenían MS; obesidad abdominal, 69%; altos niveles de glucosa, 27%; de triglicéridos, 56%; de presión arterial sistólica, 17%; de presión arterial diastólica, 15%; y bajos niveles de colesterol- HDL, 55%. Después de la intervención 38% presentaron MS y se observó una reducción de todos los componentes del MS. Al final del estudio se observaron cambios significativos en AF5, PETS-1 y algunos componentes del SM. Conclusiones: Después de una intervención de SS y EN, se observaron cambios significativos en varias dimensiones del AF5 y del PETS-1, así como en SM y todos los componentes del SM.S

Tomato UDP-glucose sterol glycosyltransferases: A family of developmental and stress regulated genes that encode cytosolic and membrane-associated forms of the enzyme

Sterol glycosyltransferases (SGTs) catalyze the glycosylation of the free hydroxyl group at C-3 position of sterols to produce sterol glycosides. Glycosylated sterols and free sterols are primarily located in cell membranes where in combination with other membrane-bound lipids play a key role in modulating their properties and functioning. In contrast to most plant species, those of the genus Solanum contain very high levels of glycosylated sterols, which in the case of tomato may account for more than 85% of the total sterol content. In this study, we report the identification and functional characterization of the four members of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom) SGT gene family. Expression of recombinant SlSGT proteins in E. coli cells and N. benthamiana leaves demonstrated the ability of the four enzymes to glycosylate different sterol species including cholesterol, brassicasterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol, which is consistent with the occurrence in their primary structure of the putative steroid-binding domain found in steroid UDP-glucuronosyltransferases and the UDP-sugar binding domain characteristic for a superfamily of nucleoside diphosphosugar glycosyltransferases. Subcellular localization studies based on fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and cell fractionation analyses revealed that the four tomato SGTs, like the Arabidopsis SGTs UGT80A2 and UGT80B1, localize into the cytosol and the PM, although there are clear differences in their relative distribution between these two cell fractions. The SlSGT genes have specialized but still largely overlapping expression patterns in different organs of tomato plants and throughout the different stages of fruit development and ripening. Moreover, they are differentially regulated in response to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. SlSGT4 expression increases markedly in response to osmotic, salt, and cold stress, as well as upon treatment with abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate

Nerolidol production in agroinfiltrated tobacco: Impact of protein stability and membrane targeting of strawberry (Fragraria ananassa) NEROLIDOL SYNTHASE1

The sesquiterpene alcohol nerolidol, synthesized from farnesyl diphosphate (FDP), mediates plant-insect inter- actions across multiple trophic levels with major implications for pest management in agriculture. We compared nerolidol engineering strategies in tobacco using agroinfiltration to transiently express strawberry (Fragraria ananassa) linalool/nerolidol synthase (FaNES1) either at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or in the cytosol as a soluble protein. Using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GCMS), we have determined that FaNES1 directed to the ER via fusion to the transmembrane domain of squalene synthase or hydroxymethylglutaryl - CoA reductase displayed significant improvements in terms of transcript levels, protein accumulation, and volatile production when compared to its cytosolic form. However, the highest levels of nerolidol production were observed when FaNES1 was fused to GFP and expressed in the cytosol. This SPME-GCMS method afforded a limit of detection and quantification of 1.54 and 5.13 pg, respectively. Nerolidol production levels, which ranged from 0.5 to 3.0 μg/g F.W., correlated more strongly to the accumulation of recombinant protein than transcript level, the former being highest in FaNES-GFP transfected plants. These results indicate that while the ER may represent an enriched source of FDP that can be exploited in metabolic engineering, protein accumulation is a better predictor of sesquiterpene production