Experimental and computational studies of fatty acid distribution networks

[Abstract] Unbalanced uptake of Omega 6/Omega 3 (ω-6/ω-3) ratios could increase chronic disease occurrences, such as inflammation, atherosclerosis, or tumor proliferation, and methylation methods for measuring the ruminal microbiome fatty acid (FA) composition/distribution play a vital role in discovering the contribution of food components to ruminant products (e.g., meat and milk) when pursuing a healthy diet. Hansch's models based on Linear Free Energy Relationships (LFERs) using physicochemical parameters, such as partition coefficients, molar refractivity, and polarizability, as input variables (Vk) are advocated. In this work, a new combined experimental and theoretical strategy was proposed to study the effect of ω-6/ω-3 ratios, FA chemical structure, and other factors over FA distribution networks in the ruminal microbiome. In step 1, experiments were carried out to measure long chain fatty acid (LCFA) profiles in the rumen microbiome (bacterial and protozoan), and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in fermentation media. In step 2, the proportions and physicochemical parameter values of LCFAs and VFAs were calculated under different boundary conditions (cj) like c1 = acid and/or base methylation treatments, c2 = with/without fermentation, c3 = FA distribution phase (media, bacterial, or protozoan microbiome), etc. In step 3, Perturbation Theory (PT) and LFER ideas were combined to develop a PT-LFER model of a FA distribution network using physicochemical parameters (Vk), the corresponding Box–Jenkins (ΔVkj) and PT operators (ΔΔVkj) in statistical analysis. The best PT-LFER model found predicted the effects of perturbations over the FA distribution network with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy > 80% for 407[thin space (1/6-em)]655 cases in training + external validation series. In step 4, alternative PT-LFER and PT-NLFER models were tested for training Linear and Non-Linear Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). PT-NLFER models based on ANNs presented better performance but are more complicated than the PT-LFER model. Last, in step 5, the PT-LFER model based on LDA was used to reconstruct the complex networks of perturbations in the FA distribution and compared the giant components of the observed and predicted networks with random Erdős–Rényi network models. In short, our new PT-LFER model is a useful tool for predicting a distribution network in terms of specific fatty acid distribution.Red Gallega de Investigación y Desarrollo de Medicamentos; Ref. R2014/039Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI13/00280Red Gallega de Investigación y Desarrollo de Medicamentos; R2014/02

Effect of exogenous enzymes and Salix babylonica extract or their combination on haematological parameters in growing lambs

The aim of this study was to compare the use of exogenous enzyme preparations (EZ) and/or Salix babylonica extract (SB) or their combination as feed additives on some haematological parameters in growing lambs. Twenty Suffolk lambs of 6 to 8-months-old with 24±0.3 kg body weight were used in the study. Lambs were divided into 4 groups of 5 animals each in a completely randomized design and the treatments were: 1.control: fed a basal diet of concentrate (30%) and maize silage (70%); 2. EZ: fed the basal diet plus 10 g of enzyme; 3. SB: fed the basal diet plus 30 ml of S. babylonica extract, and 4. EZSB: fed the basal diet plus 10 g enzyme and 30 ml of S. babylonica extract. Lambs were housed in individual cages and the experiment was conducted for 60 days. The SB was given orally while the EZ was mixed with a small amount of the concentrate and maize silage and was offered ad libitum. Blood samples were collected from each animal on days 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 of experiment and analysed for haematological parameters. The treatments of EZ, SB or EZSB did not affect any of the measured blood parameters. Day of sampling modified concentrations of red blood cells (P=0.001; linear effect), haematocrit (P=0.01; quadratic effect), haemoglobin (P=0.01; linear effect), mean corpuscular volume (P=0.01; linear effect), monocytes (P=0.004; quadratic effect) and plasma protein (P=0.0002; linear effect). It could be concluded that Salix babylonica extract, exogenous enzymes and their combination as feed additives had not a negative effects on the blood parameters measured and therefore on the health of the lambs

Effects of Exogenous Enzymes and Salix babylonica L. Extract on Cellular Immune Response and its Correlation with Average Daily Weight Gain in Growing Lambs

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of exogenous enzyme (EZ) and Salix babylonica L. (SB) extract on cellular immune response, and its correlation with average daily weight gain (ADG). Twenty Suffolk lambs, 6-8 months of age and average live weight of 24±0.3 kg, were used in a trial which lasted 60 days. The lambs were distributed into 4 groups of 5 lambs each and housed in individual 1.5x1.5 m cages in a completely randomized design. The treatments were: (i) Control; lambs consuming basal diet (BD) only; (ii) EZ; lambs consuming BD plus 10g of EZ (ZADO®); (iii) SB; lambs consuming BD plus 30 mL of SB, and (iv) EZSB; lambs consuming BD plus 10g EZ and 30 mL of SB. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 and analysed for helper T lymphocytes, cytotoxic T limphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes by flow cytometry. Treatments had no effect on parameters measured, but day of sampling had linear and cubic effects on helper T lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes (P<0.01) and cubic effects on cytotoxic T lymphocytes (P<0.01). The results suggest that EZ and SB have immunosuppressant effects in the first 15 days, after this effect were immunosuppressive on cytotoxic T lymphocytes and granulocytes, for monocytes the effect was immunostimulant. No there were correlation between ADG and cellular immune response in this experiment

Effects of exogenous enzymes on in vitro gas production kinetics and ruminal fermentation of four fibrous feeds

This study was conducted to investigate effects of increasing doses: 0 (control), 6 (low), 12 (medium) and 24 (high) mg/g DM of ZADO® enzyme preparation mixture (ENZ) on in vitro gas production (GP) and some ruminal fermentation parameters of the fibrous feeds Saccharum officinarum (leaves), Andropogon gayanus (leaves), Pennisetum purpureum (leaves) and Sorghum vulgare (straw). Rumen liquor was obtained from two Brown Swiss cows fitted with permanent rumen cannulae fed a total mixed ration of a 500:500 commercial concentrate and alfalfa hay ad libitum. The GP was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of incubation. After 96 h, the incubation was stopped and the pH of the mixture was determined and filtrate used to determine dry matter degradability (DMD), partitioning factor (PF96), gas yield (GY24), in vitro organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME), short chain fatty acids (SCFA), and microbial crude protien production (MCP). In general, the crude protein (CP) content of the fibrous feeds was low and ranged from 23 g/kg DM (S. officinarum) to 44 (A. gayanus). The fibre contents (i.e., NDFom and ADFom) were highest (P<0.05) in S. officinarum. Increasing ENZ dose linearly increased (P<0.05) GP of all fibrous feeds and had a quadratically increased (P<0.05) asymptotic gas production in P. purpureum and S. vulgare and rate of gas production in S. officinarum and S. vulgare. Addition of ENZ also quadratically increased (P<0.05) GP at all incubation times in S. officinarum and S. vulgare, and A. gayanus, but only at 72 h in A. gayanus. The parameters of ruminal fermentation of OMD, ME, GY24 and SCFA linearly increased (P<0.05) and MCP linearly decreased (P<0.05) with the ENZ addition. Addition of enzyme affected ruminal fermentation of our feeds differently, mainly dependent on their fibre content, although dosage of enzyme was also important as impacts generally increased at higher dosages of ENZ

Model for High-Throughput Screening of drug immunotoxicity - study of the antimicrobial G1 over peritoneal macrophages using flow cytometry

Modelos matematicos y citometriaQuantitative Structure-Activity (mt-QSAR) techniques may become an important tool for prediction of cytotoxicity and High-throughput Screening (HTS) of drugs to rationalize drug discovery process. In this work, we train and validate by the first time mt-QSAR model using TOPS-MODE approach to calculate drug molecular descriptors and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) function. This model correctly classifies 8,258 out of 9,000 (Accuracy = 91.76%) multiplexing assay endpoints of 7903 drugs (including both train and validation series). Each endpoint correspond to one out of 1418 assays, 36 molecular and cellular targets, 46 standard type measures, in two possible organisms (human and mouse). After that, we determined experimentally, by the first time, the values of EC50 = 21.58 μg/mL and Cytotoxicity = 23.6 % for the anti-microbial / antiparasite drug G1 over Balb/C mouse peritoneal macrophages using flow cytometry. In addition, the model predicts for G1 only 7 positive endpoints out 1,251 cytotoxicity assays (0.56% of probability of cytotoxicity in multiple assays). The results obtained complement the toxicological studies of this important drug. This work adds a new tool to the existing pool of few methods useful for multi-target HTS of ChEMBL and other libraries of compounds towards drug discovery.Conacy

Desempeño productivo y costos de granjas porcinas con diferentes protocolos de vacunación al virus del PRRS

Con el objetivo de evaluar el desempeño productivo y los costos de producción por lechón destetado y cerdo finalizado en granjas porcinas con diferentes protocolos de vacunación al virus del PRRS en condiciones de campo, se analizaron los indicadores total de lechones nacidos, nacidos vivos, mortinatos, destetados, pesos al nacimiento y al destete, días de engorda y peso final así como, los costos por lechón destetado y cerdo finalizado, de dos granjas en régimen de semitecnificación: a) Protocolo 1 (P1), granja con vacunación a reproductoras y a lechones; y b) Protocolo 2 (P2), vacunación únicamente a cerdas reproductoras. Los indicadores productivos hasta el destete se evaluaron con un Diseño de Medidas repetidas en el tiempo y los de engorda con un Análisis de varianza con comparación de medias. Los costos se determinaron utilizando la fórmula general de costos. Fue posible observar diferencias en los lechones nacidos totales y momias (P<0.05) a favor del P2, de lechones destetados, pesos al nacimiento y al destete a favor del P1 y sin diferencia en el resto de variables. Los cerdos finalizados en P1 tuvieron 12 días más de engorda y un peso final de 3.13 kg más que P2. Los costos por lechón destetado fueron de $389.55 y$424.25 Pesos Mexicanos, y el costo medio por día de engorda fueron de $10.01 y$11.43, respectivamente

Immune protection against Trypanosoma cruzi induced by TcVac4 in a canine model

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic in southern parts of the American continent. Herein, we have tested the protective efficacy of a DNA-prime/T. rangeli-boost (TcVac4) vaccine in a dog (Canis familiaris) model. Dogs were immunized with two-doses of DNA vaccine (pcDNA3.1 encoding TcG1, TcG2, and TcG4 antigens plus IL-12- and GMCSF- encoding plasmids) followed by two doses of glutaraldehyde-inactivated T. rangeli epimastigotes (TrIE); and challenged with highly pathogenic T. cruzi (SylvioX10/4) isolate. Dogs given TrIE or empty pcDNA3.1 were used as controls. We monitored post-vaccination and post-challenge infection antibody response by an ELISA, parasitemia by blood analysis and xenodiagnosis, and heart function by electrocardiography. Post-mortem anatomic and pathologic evaluation of the heart was conducted. TcVac4 induced a strong IgG response (IgG2>IgG1) that was significantly expanded post-infection, and moved to a nearly balanced IgG2/IgG1 response in chronic phase. In comparison, dogs given TrIE or empty plasmid DNA only developed high IgG titers with IgG2 predominance in response to T. cruzi infection. Blood parasitemia, tissue parasite foci, parasite transmission to triatomines, electrocardiographic abnormalities were significantly lower in TcVac4-vaccinated dogs than was observed in dogs given TrIE or empty plasmid DNA only. Macroscopic and microscopic alterations, the hallmarks of chronic Chagas disease, were significantly decreased in the myocardium of TcVac4-vaccinated dogs.We conclude that TcVac4 induced immunity was beneficial in providing resistance to T. cruzi infection, evidenced by control of chronic pathology of the heart and preservation of cardiac function in dogs. Additionally, TcVac4 vaccination decreased the transmission of parasites from vaccinated/infected animals to triatomines.CONACYT PROY No. 156701 UAEM PROY No. 2381/2006U National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases http://www.niaid.nih.gov/Pages/ default.aspx GRANT NUMBER (AI072538) NJG; American Heart Association http://www.heart.org/ HEARTORG/ GRANT NUMBER (0855059F) to NJG

Evaluación serológica y clínico patológica a través de las pruebas de IGDA y ELISA en carneros inoculados experimentalmente con Brucella ovis

El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar los hallazgos patológicos y su relación con los resultados clínicos y serológicos en carneros infectados experimentalmente (IE) con Brucella ovis. Se utilizaron 18 carneros de 1 a 4 años y libres de B. ovis; que se distribuyeron en tres grupos: Grupo 1 (n= 6): inoculación en mucosas (B. ovis); Grupo 2 (n= 6), inoculación vía intravenosa y Grupo 3 (n= 6) Control. Se llevó a cabo el seguimiento de un carnero-1 grupo-1 durante 189 días (d) post-IE. Se obtuvieron muestras de 2 mL de suero sanguíneo y semen entre los días 0 y 189 post-IE para realizar pruebas serológicas de Inmunodifusión en Gel de Agar (IGDA) y ELISA. El semen se procesó por la técnica de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa PCR. El análisis estadístico se realizó mediante modelos categóricos y mediciones repetidas. ELISA mostró mayor sensibilidad (P<0,05) para la detección de carneros seropositivos (CS) a partir del d 3 post-IE, a los 21 d post-IE, alcanzó su máxima detección de CS (100%) en ambos grupos IE (P<0,05). En el d 56 post-IE, la tasa de CS comenzó a descender (P<0,05). En 83% de los CS no se logró el aislamiento de B. ovis por cultivo bacteriano ni PCR. Se presentaron lesiones induradas: 50% en testículo derecho y 33,3% en testículo izquierdo, en carneros con IE vía endovenosa. En este grupo, el 16,6% de CS presentaron adherencias y granulomas en cabeza, cuerpo y cola del epidídimo derecho. La utilización de la prueba de IGDA, la cual es la establecida por la Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM-041-ZOO-1995) imposibilitaría la detección temprana de animales seropositivos lo que restaría eficacia a los programas de control de la enfermedad

Aprendizajes y trayectorias del sector agroalimentario mexicano durante el TLCAN

Ante la firma del Tratado México, Estados Unidos y Canadá (T-MEC), es importante hacer un balance de los efectos que dejó tras de sí el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN) en el sector agropecuario. Por ello, connotados especialistas analizan factores socioeconómicos del sistema agroalimentario mexicano en el contexto de las relaciones comerciales con Estados Unidos y Canadá. Los 10 estudios que contiene el libro Aprendizajes y trayectorias del sector agroalimentario mexicano durante el TLCAN son de gran valía para la obtención de conocimiento especializado para comprender críticamente las lógicas, trayectorias, evolución y comportamientos de las cadenas productivas a la luz de la firma de los tratados comerciales de América del Norte, así como sus efectos en el campo mexicano, territorios rurales y consumidoresFinanciación del Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura en colaboración con autore

Migración terapeútica de la quimiotaxis de células T CD4+ y T CD8+ mediante el uso de FTY720 / Claudia Giovanna Peñuelas Rivas; director, Antonio Muñoz Luna.

Tesis-Universidad de Murcia.Consulte la tesis en: BCA. GENERAL. ARCHIVO UNIVERSITARIO. T.M. 2966.Consulte la tesis en: BCA. GENERAL. Fac. Veterinaria. Departamentos. E002B Tesis 117.Consulte la tesis en: BCA. GENERAL. Fac. Veterinaria. Sala de estudio. Tesis-V 213