Microbiome network analysis in skin and gills of Sparus aurata fed with Nannochloropsis gaditana microalgae

1416 and 694 ASVs in gills and skin respectively were preserved in the taxonomic analysis after filtering. The predominant phylum in gills was Proteobacteria (~50%) in the control and hydrolyzed groups and reached 70.58% in the raw diet. The Bacteroidota phylum was the most represented and Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were close to 3% in all treatments in this tissue. However, in all three different treatments, the phyla abundance was similar in skin samples, ~90% of which corresponded to Proteobacteria. Bateroidota (5.5%–5.9%), Firmicutes (1.8%–2%) and Actinobacteria (<1%) constitute the other phyla. In gills, 13 significantly higher ASVs were obtained in the control (such as Achromobacter, Acidobacter) versus 4 whose abundance was higher in the hydrolyzed diet. The number of ASVs that differed significantly between the gill microbiota in the control vs. raw group amounted to 70, most of them being ASVs corresponding to the genus Shewanella (43) higher in the raw diet. Nevertheless, in the skin samples, Control group showed a significant increase of abundance related to Acinetobacter, Achromobacter, Pseudomonas, Shewanella, Vibrio and Sphingomonas among others. In the hydrolyzed group, the most significant abundance was associated with the genus Pseudomonas, Vibrio, Pseudoalteromonas, Ralstonia o Cutibacterium. In the case of the skin raw samples, there were ASVs corresponding to the genus Acinetobacter, Streptococcus or Pseudoalteromonas that were significantly different respect of control. Taking ASV abundance matrix for each diet and tissue, 6 co-occurrence networks were constructed. In all treatments in gills, Acinetobacter was a central genus in the network, and exhibited a negative correlation with Polaribacter. Besides, in the raw group, Polaribacter also showed negative correlation with Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Francisellacea. This work shows that Acinetobacter has a key role in the balance of mucosa microbiota and was in co-exclusion with Polaribacter.This work was funded by research projects for young researchers, CEIMAR 2019 (Evaluation of hydrolysates of Nannochloropsis gaditana for use in high value-added finishing feed for farmed gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) (NAN2BREAM))

Evaluation of progressive visual dysfunction and retinal degeneration in patients with parkinson’s disease

PURPOSE. To quantify changes in visual function parameters and in the retinal nerve fiber layer and macular thickness over a 5-year period in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). METHODS. Thirty patients with PD and 30 healthy subjects underwent a complete ophthalmic evaluation, including assessment of visual acuity, contrast sensitivity vision, color vision, and retinal evaluation with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). All subjects were reevaluated after 5 years to quantify changes in visual function parameters, the retinal nerve fiber layer, and macular thickness. Association between progressive ophthalmologic changes and disease progression was analyzed. RESULTS. Changes were detected in visual function parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in patients compared with controls. Greater changes were found during the follow-up in the PD group than healthy subjects in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, Lanthony color test (P < 0.016), in superotemporal and temporal retinal nerve fiber layer sectors (P < 0.001), and in macular thickness (all sectors except inner superior and inner inferior sectors, P < 0.001). Progressive changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer were associated with disease progression (r = 0.389, P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS. Progressive visual dysfunction, macular thinning, and axonal loss can be detected in PD. Analysis of the macular thickness and the retinal nerve fiber layer by SD-OCT can be useful for evaluating Parkinson’s disease progression

Optical Coherence Tomography as a Biomarker for Diagnosis, Progression, and Prognosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases present a current challenge for accurate diagnosis and for providing precise prognostic information. Developing imaging biomarkers for multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson disease (PD), and Alzheimer''s disease (AD) will improve the clinical management of these patients and may be useful for monitoring treatment effectiveness. Recent research using optical coherence tomography (OCT) has demonstrated that parameters provided by this technology may be used as potential biomarkers for MS, PD, and AD. Retinal thinning has been observed in these patients and new segmentation software for the analysis of the different retinal layers may provide accurate information on disease progression and prognosis. In this review we analyze the application of retinal evaluation using OCT technology to provide better understanding of the possible role of the retinal layers thickness as biomarker for the detection of these neurodegenerative pathologies. Current OCT analysis of the retinal nerve fiber layer and, specially, the ganglion cell layer thickness may be considered as a good biomarker for disease diagnosis, severity, and progression

Desarrollo de una herramienta informática de análisis y clasificación de textos auxiliar de investigaciones sobre procesos de alfabetizacion

El proyecto en su plan original se proponía desarrollar una herramienta informática auxiliar de actividades de investigación vinculadas con los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje de lectoescritura. La propuesta se encuadraba, en el marco del llamado “desarrollo experimental” consistiendo en la realización de trabajos sistemáticos para la producción de un nuevo producto basado en conocimientos existentes y disponibles. Elemento fundamental en la concepción del proyecto es la permanente interacción con los potenciales usuarios: grupos de investigación dedicados a la lectoescritura, dado que el objetivo principal es que las realizaciones sean útiles a la comunidad. Este proceso de realimentación positiva, hizo que los objetivos iniciales se fueran modificando a la luz de las observaciones y solicitudes. Así, actualmente se están desarrollando dos módulos, uno capaz de analizar un texto simple ( que debe ser incorporado con un mínimo de preprocesamiento por parte del investigador) produciendo un texto asociado donde cada unidad de análisis va acompañada de renglones informativos y otro módulo que permitirá estudios estadísticos vinculados con los temas a investigar determinados por el operador. Se contará con una amigable interfase y será desarrollado para diversos sistemas operativos, con una amplia gama de procesadores de texto. Se realiza bajo los criterios del software libre, tanto en las herramientas a utilizar, como a la disponibilidad pública de los resultados. Se propone experimentar con una modalidad de producción, mediante una página web actualizada según avances, permitiendo aportes externos, tanto en la construcción del código como en la definición de las especificaciones de los productos.Eje: Tecnología informática aplicada en educaciónRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet

BACKGROUND: Observational cohort studies and a secondary prevention trial have shown an inverse association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular risk. We conducted a randomized trial of this diet pattern for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events. METHODS: In a multicenter trial in Spain, we randomly assigned participants who were at high cardiovascular risk, but with no cardiovascular disease at enrollment, to one of three diets: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts, or a control diet (advice to reduce dietary fat). Participants received quarterly individual and group educational sessions and, depending on group assignment, free provision of extra-virgin olive oil, mixed nuts, or small nonfood gifts. The primary end point was the rate of major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes). On the basis of the results of an interim analysis, the trial was stopped after a median follow-up of 4.8 years. RESULTS: A total of 7447 persons were enrolled (age range, 55 to 80 years); 57% were women. The two Mediterranean-diet groups had good adherence to the intervention, according to self-reported intake and biomarker analyses. A primary end-point event occurred in 288 participants. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to 0.92) and 0.72 (95% CI, 0.54 to 0.96) for the group assigned to a Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil (96 events) and the group assigned to a Mediterranean diet with nuts (83 events), respectively, versus the control group (109 events). No diet-related adverse effects were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Among persons at high cardiovascular risk, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events

Opsin evolution in the Ambulacraria

Opsins - G-protein coupled receptors involved in photoreception - have been extensively studied in the animal kingdom. The present work provides new insights into opsin-based photoreception and photoreceptor cell evolution with a first analysis of opsin sequence data for a major deuterostome clade, the Ambulacraria. Systematic data analysis, including for the first time hemichordate opsin sequences and an expanded echinoderm dataset, led to a robust opsin phylogeny for this cornerstone superphylum. Multiple genomic and transcriptomic resources were surveyed to cover each class of Hemichordata and Echinodermata. In total, 119 ambulacrarian opsin sequences were found, 22 new sequences in hemichordates and 97 in echinoderms (including 67 new sequences). We framed the ambulacrarian opsin repertoire within eumetazoan diversity by including selected reference opsins from non-ambulacrarians. Our findings corroborate the presence of all major ancestral bilaterian opsin groups in Ambulacraria. Furthermore, we identified two opsin groups specific to echinoderms. In conclusion, a molecular phylogenetic framework for investigating light-perception and photobiological behaviors in marine deuterostomes has been obtained

Mediterranean dietary pattern and depression: the PREDIMED randomized trial

BACKGROUND: A few observational studies have found an inverse association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and the risk of depression. Randomized trials with an intervention based on this dietary pattern could provide the most definitive answer to the findings reported by observational studies. The aim of this study was to compare in a randomized trial the effects of two Mediterranean diets versus a low-fat diet on depression risk after at least 3 years of intervention. METHODS: This was a multicenter, randomized, primary prevention field trial of cardiovascular disease (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED Study)) based on community-dwelling men aged 55 to 80 years and women aged 60 to 80 years at high risk of cardiovascular disease (51% of them had type 2 diabetes; DM2) attending primary care centers affiliated with 11 Spanish teaching hospitals. Primary analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Cox regression models were used to assess the relationship between the nutritional intervention groups and the incidence of depression. RESULTS: We identified 224 new cases of depression during follow-up. There was an inverse association with depression for participants assigned to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts (multivariate hazard ratio (HR) 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55 to 1.10) compared with participants assigned to the control group, although this was not significant. However, when the analysis was restricted to participants with DM2, the magnitude of the effect of the intervention with the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts did reach statistical significance (multivariate HR = 0.59; 95% CI 0.36 to 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: The result suggest that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts could exert a beneficial effect on the risk of depression in patients with DM2. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial has been registered in the Current Controlled Trials with the number ISRCTN 35739639

Alcohol intake, wine consumption and the development of depression: the PREDIMED study

Alcoholic beverages are widely consumed. Depression, the most prevalent mental disorder worldwide, has been related to alcohol intake. We aimed to prospectively assess the association between alcohol intake and incident depression using repeated measurements of alcohol intake. METHODS: We followed-up 5,505 high-risk men and women (55 to 80 y) of the PREDIMED Trial for up to seven years. Participants were initially free of depression or a history of depression, and did not have any history of alcohol-related problems. A 137-item validated food frequency questionnaire administered by a dietician was repeated annually to assess alcohol intake. Participants were classified as incident cases of depression when they reported a new clinical diagnosis of depression, and/or initiated the use of antidepressant drugs. Cox regression analyses were fitted over 23,655 person-years. RESULTS: Moderate alcohol intake within the range of 5 to 15 g/day was significantly associated with lower risk of incident depression (hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.72 (0.53 to 0.98) versus abstainers). Specifically, wine consumption in the range of two to seven drinks/week was significantly associated with lower rates of depression (HR (95% CI) = 0.68 (0.47 to 0.98)). CONCLUSIONS: Moderate consumption of wine may reduce the incidence of depression, while heavy drinkers seem to be at higher risk