Combined effects of exogenous enzymes and probiotic on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) growth, intestinal morphology and microbiome

A study was carried out to investigate the combined effect of exogenous enzymes and probiotic supplementation on tilapia growth, intestinal morphology and microbiome composition. Tilapia (34.56 ± 0.05 g) were fed one of four diets (35% protein, 5% lipid); one of which was a control and the remaining three diets were supplemented with either enzymes (containing phytase, protease and xylanase), probiotic (containing Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus pumilus) or enz-pro (the combination of the enzymes and probiotic). Tilapia fed diet supplemented with enz-pro performed better (P < 0.05) than tilapia fed the control and probiotic supplemented diets in terms of final body weight (FBW), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER). The dietary treatments did not affect somatic indices. The serum lysozyme activity was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in tilapia fed the probiotic supplemented diet than of those fed the remaining experimental diets. The intestinal perimeter ratio was higher (P < 0.05) in tilapia fed enz-pro supplemented diet when compared to those fed with the control and probiotic supplemented diets. Goblet cells abundance, microvilli diameter and total enterocyte absorptive surface was higher (P < 0.05) in tilapia fed diet supplemented with enz-pro than those fed the control diet. High-throughput sequencing revealed that majority of reads derived from the tilapia digesta belonged to members of Fusobacteria (predominantly Cetobacterium) distantly followed by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. The alpha and beta diversities did not differ among dietary treatments indicating that the overall microbial community was not modified to a large extent by dietary treatment. In conclusion, supplementation of the diet with a combination of enzymes and probiotic is capable of improving tilapia growth and intestinal morphology without deleterious effect on the intestinal microbial composition

Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension: Trend from population-based surveys conducted in a low-middle income country

Aim: To estimate and determine temporal trends for awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in adults from the urban area in Colombia. Methods: We conducted two population-based surveys (years 2010 and 2015) in the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga-Santander, Colombia, using the WHO STEPwise approach. Participants were asked to provide demographic, socioeconomic and cardiovascular risk factors data. Blood pressure (BP) was measured twice using an automated device. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP≥140 mmHg, a diastolic BP≥90 mmHg or self-reported antihypertensive treatment. We estimated age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES) adjusted prevalence ratios (PR), with 2010 as the reference survey, using poisson regression and correcting standard errors by clustering. Results: We evaluated 1,136 (mean age: 35.7 years; 43% male) and 872 (mean age:37.7 years; 41% male) adults from the 2010 and 2015 surveys, respectively. There were a larger proportion of individuals sampled from low SES in the 2015 as compared to the 2010 survey (93.6% vs. 70.9%). Overall, prevalence of hypertension was 16.4% (95%CI: 14.8 – 17.9): It increased significantly with age (from 2.4% among individuals 15-19 years old to 41.1% among individuals 50 years and older; p-trend&lt;0.001) but did not differed by sex (17.8% in men vs. 15.4% in women) or year (16.1% vs. 16.6% in 2010 and 2015, respectively). Overall, prevalence of awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were 65.0%, 84.1%, and 62.2%, respectively. Although awareness and control increased from 2010 to 2015 (PR=1.05 and PR=1.12, respectively), only the prevalence of treatment showed a statistically significant increment of 11% (PR=1.11; 95%IC: 1.01 – 1.24). Implication: The STEPwise is a suitable surveillance strategy to estimate the burden of cardiovascular risk factors in low-middle income countries. Our results are consistent with national data from urban areas and show for the first time a short-time improvement in antihypertensive coverage

Rinozigomicosis y zigomicosis subcutánea en equinos, 2.Tratamiento con yoduro de potasio o acetonida de triamcinolona

In the department of Caqueta, Colombia, 31 horses affected of rhinozigomycosis (nasal granuloma) and 13 affected of zigomycosis were selected in order to evaluate the curative effect of potassium iodide (1K) and of acetonide of triamcinolone (VetalogR. In a first group, consisting of 18 animals affected of rhinozigomycosis and 4 of dermal zigomycosis, curative responses were found on 5 and 2 animals respectively, when 1K was applied intravenously (55-490 g distributed between 11 to 28 dosages). Group two, that consisted of 15 animals affected of rhinozigomycosis (include 3 non-responsive of group one) and 6 affected of dermal zigomycosis, were treated with acetonide of triamcinolone (30-150 mg, dividend on 1-3 dosages at 3 to 10 days interval, IM). Curative responses were observed on 13 and 3 animals respectively. 1K was able to produce healing of dermal and nasal cases but the success rate was low. Due to the long term treatment under field conditions there were 9 yugular extravasation causing interruption of treatments and/or death of animals. Although acetonide of triamcinolone showed a high number of curative responses at the beginning, 7 cases of rhinozigomycosis showed recurrence at 120 to 490 days after treatment. These recurrences were mainly observed on animals receiving low dosages. Triamcinolone should be used with caution, avoiding its application on pregnant or milking mares or in old or weak animals.En el departamento del Caquetá, Colombia, fueron seleccionados 31 equinos afectados de rinozigomicosis (granuloma nasal) y 13 de zigomicosis (espundia), con el fin de evaluar por separado la eficacia curativa del yoduro de potasio (IK) y de la acetonida de triamcinolona (R). En un primer grupo, de 18 animales con rinozigomicosis y 4 con zigomicosis dérmica, se obtuvieron 5 y 2 curaciones respectivamente, aplicándoles vía intravenosa, entre 55 y 490 gr de yoduro de potasio distribuidos entre 11 y 28 dosis. En un segundo grupo de 15 animales con rinozigomicosis (incluidos 3 que no curaron del primer grupo) y 6 con zigomicosis dérmica, se obtuvieron 13 y 3 curaciones respectivamente, aplicándoles vía intramuscular de 30 y 150 mgr de acetonida de triamcinolona distribuidas entre 1 y 3 dosis con intervalos de 3 a 10 días. El yoduro de potasio puede curar casos de rinozigomicosis, aunque el número de casos exitosos es bajo, por lo prolongado del tratamiento y por las condiciones de campo, se presentaron 9 extravasaciones que hicieron suspender las aplicaciones y/o causaron la muerte de los animales. Con la acetonida de triamcinolona, aunque el número de curaciones inicialmente es elevado, hubo recidiva en 7 de los casos curados de rinozigomicosis, entre los 120 y 490 días posteriores al tratamiento, presentándose esta recidiva principalmente en los animales con dosificaciones bajas. La acetonida de triamcinolona debe ser utilizada cuidadosamente, evitando aplicarla en yeguas preñadas o lactantes y en animales viejos o muy débiles.Equinos-Caballo - caballo

A High Fundamental Frequency (HFF)-based QCM Immunosensor for Tuberculosis Detection

Tuberculosis, one of the oldest diseases affecting human beings, is still considered as a world public health problem by the World Health Organization. Therefore, there is a need for new and more powerful analytical methods for early illness diagnosis. With this idea in mind, the development of a High Fundamental Frequency (HFF) piezoelectric immunosensor for the sensitive detection of tuberculosis was undertaken. A 38 kDa protein secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis was first selected as the target biomarker. Then, specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were obtained. Myc-31 MAb, which showed the highest affinity to the analyte, was employed to set up a reference enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a limit of detection of 14 ng mL-1 of 38 kDa antigen. For the development of the HFF piezoelectric immunosensor, 100 MHz quartz crystals were used as transducer elements. The gold electrode surface was functionalized by covalent immobilization of the target biomarker through mixed self-assembled monolayers (mSAM) of carboxylic alkane thiols. A competitive immunoassay based on Myc-31 MAb was integrated with the transducer as sensing bio-recognition event. Reliable assay signals were obtained using low concentrations of antigen for functionalization and MAb for the competitive immunoassay. Under optimized conditions, the HFF immunosensor calibration curve for 38 kDa determination showed a limit of detection as low as 11 ng mL-1 of the biomarker. The high detectability attained by this immunosensor, in the picomolar range, makes it a promising tool for the easy, direct and sensitive detection of the tuberculosis biomarker in biological fluids such as sputum.This study was supported by COLCIENCIAS (Colombia), Project no. 13335212865) and by AWSensors (Valencia, Spain). All of the authors: A. Montoya, C. March, Y.J. Montagut, M.J. Moreno, J.J. Manclus, A. Arnau, Y. Jimenez, M. Jaramillo, P. A. Marin and R.A. Torres declare that they have no conflict of interest.Montoya Baides, Á.; March Iborra, MDC.; Montagut Ferizzola, YJ.; Moreno Tamarit, MJ.; Manclus Ciscar, JJ.; Arnau Vives, A.; Jiménez Jiménez, Y.... (2017). A High Fundamental Frequency (HFF)-based QCM Immunosensor for Tuberculosis Detection. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry. 17(14):1623-1630. https://doi.org/10.2174/1568026617666161104105210S16231630171

Influence of Dietary Supplementation of Probiotic Pediococcus acidilactici MA18/5M During the Transition From Freshwater to Seawater on Intestinal Health and Microbiota of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.)

publishedVersio

Congenital leptin deficiency and leptin gene missense mutation found in two colombian sisters with severe obesity

Background: Congenital leptin deficiency is a recessive genetic disorder associated with severe early-onset obesity. It is caused by mutations in the leptin (LEP) gene, which encodes the protein product leptin. These mutations may cause nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, defective secretion or the phenomenon of biologically inactive leptin, but typically lead to an absence of circulating leptin, resulting in a rare type of monogenic extreme obesity with intense hyperphagia, and serious metabolic abnormalities. Methods: We present two severely obese sisters from Colombia, members of the same lineal consanguinity. Their serum leptin was measured by MicroELISA. DNA sequencing was performed on MiSeq equipment (Illumina) of a next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel involving genes related to severe obesity, including LEP. Results: Direct sequencing of the coding region of LEP gene in the sisters revealed a novel homozygous missense mutation in exon 3 [NM_002303.3], C350G>T [p.C117F]. Detailed information and clinical measurements of these sisters were also collected. Their serum leptin levels were undetectable despite their markedly elevated fat mass. Conclusions: The mutation of LEP, absence of detectable leptin, and the severe obesity found in these sisters provide the first evidence of monogenic leptin deficiency reported in the continents of North and South America. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Un viaje al Cosmos en 52 semanas

230 p.Este libro se plantea como una serie de artículos que dibujan un recorrido por el Universo, desde lo más cercano a lo más distante. Constituye una herramienta útil y actualizada para los interesados en la astronomía, y combina el conocimiento básico con los resultados científicos más novedosos. La astrofísica constituye una ciencia viva y en permanente avance por ello nos encontramos con un Plutón que ya no es considerado planeta; con nuevos datos sobre la posible presencia de agua en Marte; con géiseres en Encelado, un pequeño satélite de Saturno que se creía geológicamente inactivo; con una miríada de nuevos planetas girando alrededor de otras estrellas; con, quizá, un nuevo tipo de agujero negro y fascinantes resultados sobre las explosiones cortas de rayos gamma, uno de los eventos más energéticos del Universo y, hasta hace poco, también uno de los más desconocidos; con la mision COROT, y otras, como BepiColombo, que ya se encuentran en su fase de desarrollo instrumental.Peer reviewe

Inactivation of [Fe-S] Metalloproteins Mediates Nitric Oxide-Dependent Killing of Burkholderia mallei

BACKGROUND: Much remains to be known about the mechanisms by which O(2)-dependent host defenses mediate broad antimicrobial activity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We show herein that reactive nitrogen species (RNS) generated by inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) account for the anti-Burkholderia mallei activity of IFNgamma-primed macrophages. Inducible NOS-mediated intracellular killing may represent direct bactericidal activity, because B. mallei showed an exquisite sensitivity to NO generated chemically. Exposure of B. mallei to sublethal concentrations of NO upregulated transcription of [Fe-S] cluster repair genes, while damaging the enzymatic activity of the [Fe-S] protein aconitase. To test whether [Fe-S] clusters are critical targets for RNS-dependent killing of B. mallei, a mutation was constructed in the NO-induced, [Fe-S] cluster repair regulator iscR. Not only was the iscR mutant hypersusceptible to iNOS-mediated killing, but its aconitase pool was readily oxidized by NO donors as compared to wild-type controls. Although killed by authentic H(2)O(2), which also oxidizes [Fe-S] clusters, B. mallei appear to be resilient to NADPH oxidase-mediated cytotoxicity. The poor respiratory burst elicited by this bacterium likely explains why the NADPH oxidase is nonessential to the killing of B. mallei while it is still confined within phagosomes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Collectively, these findings have revealed a disparate role for NADPH oxidase and iNOS in the innate macrophage response against the strict aerobe B. mallei. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first instance in which disruption of [Fe-S] clusters is demonstrated as cause of the bactericidal activity of NO congeners