Behavioural changes in weaned piglets orally challenged with Escherichia coli F4 and supplemented with in-feed protected acid salts

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABImprovement of the intestinal health of piglets at weaning is a principal objective in pig farming in terms of performance and welfare benefits. Early indicators of disease are indispensable for evaluating animal health and the efficacy of interventions such as feed additive supplementation. This study evaluates behavioural changes in weaned piglets that are orally challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4, and which receive or not two different in-feed additives. Two independent trials were performed with early-weaned piglets in pens of three animals, which were fed a plain diet (N = 32) or one supplemented with sodium butyrate (N = 16; Trial 1) or sodium heptanoate (N = 16; Trial 2) and protected with coconut distillates. After one week of adaptation, piglets were challenged with a single oral dose of E. coli F4 (minimum 1.4 x109 cfu). Scan-sampling was used to evaluate individual behaviour (location in the pen, postures, contact with pen mates, and activities) on the day before (d-1) and two days post-inoculation (d+2 and d+3) at 2-min intervals. Behaviours were recorded in mornings (8 am to 10 am) and afternoons (4 pm to 6 pm). Faecal consistency was also recorded for each animal. Diarrhoea peaked at d+ 2. Regarding behaviour, on d+ 2 there was greater frequency of the animals lying inactively under the heat lamp, in contrast to d-1 when they were more frequently present in the feeder, standing and active (P < 0.05). Around the feeder, standing and active behaviour increased at d+ 3, especially in the afternoon (PDayxTime of day < 0.05). Piglets fed sodium heptanoate spent less time around the feeder (P < 0.05). The weight of the animal at weaning was also observed to have an impact on the effect of time or diet on behaviour. Medium size piglets spent more time lying with pen mates in the afternoon (PSizexTime of day < 0.01) and the smallest piglets increased their feeding behaviour when receiving the supplemented diets (PSizexDiet < 0.05). In conclusion, a lethargic response among piglets after the E. coli F4 challenge was evidenced, this response being slightly modified by the supplementation of in-feed additives and the size of the animals. These results are evidence of the potential of behavioural indicators as a useful tool to assess the health status of piglets at weaning and their responses to in-feed supplementation, but they should be regarded with caution before any transfer to farm conditions due to the limitations of experimental models

Tecnificació intel·ligent i rendible de les granges catalanes : el projecte "SMARTFARM"

El Servei de Nutrició i Benestar Animal de la UAB (SNiBA) lidera el projecte SMARTFARM per a la millora de l'eficiència de les granges catalanes. El projecte proposa la tecnificació dels processos productius, per a la identificació, monitorització i validació d'aquells paràmetres clau per a les necessitats actuals de la ramaderia, que ha de trobar un equilibri entre el cost de producció i la salut i el benestar animal.El Servicio de Nutrición y Bienestar Animal de la UAB (SNiBA) lidera el proyecto SMARTFARM para la mejora de la eficiencia de las granjas catalanas. El proyecto propone la tecnificación de los procesos productivos, para la identificación, monitorización y validación de aquellos parámetros clave para las necesidades actuales de la ganadería, que ha de hallar un equilibrio entre el coste de producción y la salud y el bienestar animal

Arbovirus surveillance: first dengue virus detection in local Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in Europe, Catalonia, Spain, 2015

Dengue has emerged as the most important viral mosquito-borne disease globally. The current risk of dengue outbreaks in Europe appeared with the introduction of the vector Aedes albopictus mosquito in Mediterranean countries. Considering the increasing frequency of dengue epidemics worldwide and the movement of viraemic hosts, it is expected that new autochthonous cases will occur in the future in Europe. Arbovirus surveillance started in Catalonia in 2015 to monitor imported cases and detect possible local arboviral transmission. During 2015, 131 patients with a recent travel history to endemic countries were tested for dengue virus (DENV) and 65 dengue cases were detected. Twenty-eight patients with a febrile illness were viraemic, as demonstrated by a positive real-time RT-PCR test for DENV in serum samples. Entomological investigations around the viraemic cases led to the detection of DENV in a pool of local Ae. albopictus captured in the residency of one case. The sequence of the DENV envelope gene detected in the mosquito pool was identical to that detected in the patient. Our results show how entomological surveillance conducted around viraemic travellers can be effective for early detection of DENV in mosquitoes and thus might help to prevent possible autochthonous transmission

PDA-Based Glyconanomicelles for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells Active Targeting Via Mannose and Asialoglycoprotein Receptors

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common neoplasia and the fourth most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Sorafenib is the first-line molecular therapy for patients in an advanced stage of HCC. However, the recommended clinical dose of Sorafenib is associated with several complications, which derive from its lack of cell specificity and its very low water solubility. To circumvent these drawbacks, in the present study we developed two sugar-coated polydiacetylene-based nanomicelles-Sorafenib carriers targeting mannose and asialoglycoprotein receptors (MR and ASGPR, respectively). The strategies allowed the inducement of apoptosis and reduction of cell proliferation at a nanomolar, instead of micromolar, range in liver cancer cells. The study showed that, contrary to literature data, Sorafenib included into the pMicMan (Man = mannose) vector (targeting MR) is more efficient than pMicGal (Gal = galactose) (targeting ASGPR). Indeed, pMicMan increased the endosomal incorporation with an increased intracellular Sorafenib concentration that induced apoptosis and reduced cell proliferation at a low concentration range (10-20 nM).Financial support was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CTQ2016-78580-C2-1-R to N.K.) and the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII) (PI13/00021, PI16/00090, and PI19/01266 to J.M.) both cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) from FEDER and the European Social Fund (ESF), as well by the Andalusian Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation (P07-FQM-2774 to N.K., CV20-04221 to N.K. P20_00882 to N.K. and CTS-6264 to J.M.), the PAIDI Program from the Andalusian Government (FQM-313 to N.K., CV20-04221 to N.K., P20_00882 to N.K., P20_00882 to N.K., and CTS-0664 to J.M.), the Andalusian Ministry of Health (PI-00025-2013, and PI-0198-2016 to J.M.), and the CSIC (CSIC–COV19-047). We thank the Biomedical Research Network Center for Liver and Digestive Diseases founded by the ISCIII and cofinanced by FEDER “A way to achieve Europe” and ERDF for their financial support. The COST action CA-18132 “Functional Glyconanomaterials for the Development of Diagnostic and Targeted Therapeutic Probe” is also acknowledged. E.R.B., C.C.A., and P. de la C.-O. were supported by FPU predoctoral fellowship (FPU15/04267, FPU17/00190, and FPU17/00026) from Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. E.N.-V. was supported by the predoctoral i-PFIS IIS-enterprise contract in science and technologies in health (IFI18/00014) from ISCiii.Peer reviewe

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020

[EN] Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3,4,5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes.S

Ethnic inequalities in the incidence of diagnosis of severe mental illness in England: a systematic review and new meta-analyses for non-affective and affective psychoses.

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01758-yPURPOSE: Although excess risks particularly for a diagnosis of schizophrenia have been identified for ethnic minority people in England and other contexts, we sought to identify and synthesise up-to-date evidence (2018) for affective in addition to non-affective psychoses by specific ethnic groups in England. METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis of ethnic differences in diagnosed incidence of psychoses in England, searching nine databases for reviews (citing relevant studies up to 2009) and an updated search in three databases for studies between 2010 and 2018. Studies from both searches were combined in meta-analyses allowing coverage of more specific ethnic groups than previously. RESULTS: We included 28 primary studies. Relative to the majority population, significantly higher risks of diagnosed schizophrenia were found in Black African (Relative risk, RR 5.72, 95% CI 3.87-8.46, n = 9); Black Caribbean (RR 5.20, 95% CI 4.33-6.24, n = 21); South Asian (RR 2.27, 95% CI 1.63-3.16, n = 14); White Other (RR 2.24, 95% CI 1.59-3.14, n = 9); and Mixed Ethnicity people (RR 2.24, 95% CI 1.32-3.80, n = 4). Significantly higher risks for diagnosed affective psychoses were also revealed: Black African (RR 4.07, 95% CI 2.27-7.28, n = 5); Black Caribbean (RR 2.91, 95% CI 1.78-4.74, n = 16); South Asian (RR 1.71, 95% CI 1.07-2.72, n = 8); White Other (RR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32-1.83, n = 5); Mixed Ethnicity (RR 6.16, 95% CI 3.99-9.52, n = 4). CONCLUSIONS: The risk for a diagnosis of non-affective and affective psychoses is particularly elevated for Black ethnic groups, but is higher for all ethnic minority groups including those previously not assessed through meta-analyses (White Other, Mixed Ethnicity). This calls for further research on broader disadvantages affecting ethnic minority people.Lankelly Chase Foundatio

Perovskites as Catalysts in Advanced Oxidation Processes for Wastewater Treatment

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), based on the formation of highly reactive radicals are able to degrade many organic contaminants present in effluent water. In the heterogeneous AOPS the presence of a solid which acts as catalyst in combination with other systems (O3, H2O2, light) is required. Among the different materials that can catalyse these processes, perovskites are found to be very promising, because they are highly stable and exhibit a high mobility of network oxygen with the possibility of forming vacancies and to stabilize unusual oxidation states of metals. In this review, we show the fundaments of different kinds of AOPs and the application of perovskite type oxides in them, classified attending to the oxidant used, ozone, H2O2 or peroxymonosulfate, alone or in combination with other systems. The photocatalytic oxidation, consisting in the activation of the perovskite by irradiation with ultraviolet or visible light is also revised

Impacts of compost bedded pack barns on the welfare and comfort of dairy cows

Three loose housing systems for lactating cows (compost bedded pack, CBP; conventional bedded pack, BP; and freestalls, FS) were assessed on one farm in terms of cow behavior and welfare. An on-farm welfare assessment based on the Welfare Quality protocols was used four times every three months on 757 cows. Video recordings taken twice over four days were used to assess behavior patterns at resting areas. Cows in CBP and BP were dirtier than those in FS (p < 0.0001). Fewer integument alterations were recorded for CBP and BP than FS (p < 0.001). Cows in BP were quicker to lie down and stand up compared to those in CBP or FS (p < 0.001). Percentages of cows needing more attempts before rising were higher for FS (p < 0.01). However, a higher frequency of kneeling was observed in CBP (p = 0.033). A lower percentage of cows lying in the resting area was recorded for FS (56%) than CBP or BP (97 or 84%, respectively, p < 0.05). Overall, in this study, cows kept in bedded pack barns were dirtier but had fewer integument alterations and spent more time lying down in the resting area than cows housed in freestalls

Innovative approaches to sustainable ammonia synthesis under mild conditions

6 figures, 2 tables.Ammonia is one of the most important chemicals in the world because it is a feedstock for fertilizer production and, moreover, it has been proposed as a convenient storage media for renewable H2. Currently, it is produced by Haber-Bosch process, which entails harsh operation conditions and a high carbon footprint, rendering the process difficult to be run by renewable energy. Therefore, substituting the conventional Haber-Bosch process by other approach less energy-intensive and carbon-free is an urgent need. A milder process for ammonia synthesis will enable the implementation of smaller distributed plants more aligned with renewable energies. For this reason, there is a plethora of current research focusing on the development of suitable catalysts with higher activity and selectivity for nitrogen reduction and processes that will work under less severe operating conditions or even at ambient conditions. Some of the most relevant research approaches are here revised and compared.The Financial support from Spanish Investigation Agency (projects PID2020-119160RB−C21 and -C22), Gobierno de Aragón (Grupo Reconocido Gobierno de Aragón T03_20R), and associated EU Regional Development Funds are gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewe