Effect of dietary supplementation with seaweed and polyphenols mixture on antioxidant status, concentration and motility of rabbit spermatozoa

In recent years, many studies have been focused on natural substances that could have effect on health of animals. We investigated effect of extract consisting mainly of polyphenols, brown algae and plant polysaccharides on the reproduction potential of male rabbits (New Zealand white breed) during 60 days long dietary experiment. The rabbits were divided into three groups. Control was fed a basal diet, whereas the second and third group were supplemented with seaweed and polyphenols mixture: T1 = 0.3% and T2 = 0.6% respectively. We observed that sperm concentration in both experimental groups increased in comparison to the control group. Results of the CASA analysis showed enhanced motility (C = 85.09±7.53%, T1 = 87.21±8.25%, T2 = 89.38±8.02%) and progressive motility (C = 74.28±12.6%, T1 = 79.07±13.89%, T2 = 81.28±11.37%) in experimental groups supplemented with combination of algae and polyphenols in comparison with the control group. While monitoring ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), we found the highest value in T1 group, changes were insignificat. An increase in GPx activity was measured in experimental groups in comparison with the control group with major difference in T1 group. In experimental groups, we determined an increase in activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in comparison with control group, the difference was significant in T2 group (C = 0.26±0.11 U/mg TP; T2 = 0.31±0.09 U/mg TP). In conclusion, our studies suggest that dietary supplementation with brown seaweed and plant polyphenols mixture may be potentially useful for enhancement of sperm motility and protection against oxidative stress

Comparison of semen characteristics and histological structure of the testis from transgenic and non-transgenic rabbits

[EN] The aim of this study was to compare semen characteristics including sperm quantity, quality, and abnormalities, as well as histological structure of the testis of three-year old transgenic (human clotting factor, hFVIII, gene) and nontransgenic rabbits. For the experiment, 10 transgenic rabbits of F2 and F3 generations and 10 randomly selected non-transgenic males of the same breed and age were used as controls. All males were housed in individual cages, under a the same environmental conditions: photoperiod (14L:10D), temperature (18-20°C), and humidity (65-70%). Semen samples, collected once a week for 20 wk from each control and transgenic male, were analyzed by computer assited semen analysis within a few minutes following natural ejaculation into an artificial vagina. Concentration of spermatozoa was higher in the transgenic than in the non-transgenic group (P<0.001; 316.6±148.8 and 126.7±64.4¿106/ mL, respectively). Significant differences (P<0.1) between transgenic and non-transgenic males were observed also in spermatozoa motility (63.08 vs. 32.60%). Significantly higher (P<0.05) relative volume (8.08±2.89%) and diameter of testicular lumen (36.89±23.11 ¿m) were found in the transgenic animals compared to control animals (16.69±4.70%, 53.89±25.42 ¿m). Our results show that spermatozoa parameters and histological structure of the testis can be used for the characterization of male reproductive traits of older transgenic rabbits.This work was supported by the grant No: 2003 SP51/028 09 00/028 09 03 coordinated by the Slovak Academy of Science and by the grant of Ministry of Agriculture Slovak Republic (RÚVV 07-012). All experiments were approved according to ethical permission No. SK P 28004. We are grateful to Dr. Shoubadeep Roychoudhury for the English correction.Lukac, N.; Massanyi, P.; Flesarova, S.; Danko, J.; Makarevich, A.; Chrenek, P. (2009). Comparison of semen characteristics and histological structure of the testis from transgenic and non-transgenic rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 17(4):221-226. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2009.64722122617

Endocrine Disruption by Heavy Metals on Steroidogenesis in Model Systems

In this study human adrenocortical carcinoma cell line NCI-H295R was used as an in vitro biological model to study the effect of heavy metals on steroidogenesis. The cell cultures were exposed to different concentrations of cadmium (1.90; 3.90; 7.80; 15.60; 31.20; 62.50 μM of CdCl2), mercury (1.0; 5.0; 25; 50; 100 μM of HgCl2), nickel (3.90; 7.80; 15.60; 31.20; 62.50; 125; 250; 500 μM of NiCl2) and compared to control. Cell viability was measured by the metabolic activity (MTT) assay for estimation of mitochondria structural integrity. Quantification of sexual steroid production directly from aliquots of the medium was performed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cadmium decreased the release of progesterone and testosterone already at a very low concentration (1.90 μM) of CdCl2, while the cell viability remained relatively high (> 75%) up to 7.80 μM of CdCl2 and significantly (P<0.01) decreased at 15.60 μM and higher concentrations of CdCl2. Concentration-dependent depression in testosterone production was detected particularly for higher concentration of HgCl2. Progesterone production was also decreased, but at the lower concentrations (1.0 and 5.0 μM) of HgCl2 this decline was lower compared to depression of testosterone. The cell viability significantly decreased at 25 μM and higher concentration of HgCl2. Results of the our study indicate dose dependent decreases in both sexual steroid hormones by NCI-H295R cell culture following a 48 h in vitro NiCl2 exposure. The lowest concentration of progesterone was significantly (P<0.01) detected in groups with the higher doses (≥ 500 μM) of NiCl2, which elicited significant cytotoxic effect. The testosterone production was decreased as well, but this decline was more pronounced compared to depression of progesterone. These results suggest that heavy metals have detrimental effects on steroid hormone synthesis even at very low concentrations and consecutively on reproductive physiology

Phenotypic and genetic analysis of carcass quality of different breeds’ fatlings

Dissection and quantitative-genetic analysis of carcass quality was performed on 318 fatlings of 5 different pig breeds: German, Dutch and Belgian Landrace, Yorkshire and Hampshire. Significant fixed effects (sex and genotype) and regression effects (age and body weight at slaughter) were fitted in the statistical model. Genetic parameters were estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) procedure based on an animal model with multivariate analyses. Heritability estimates for carcass traits were moderate to high except for back weight and neck weight. Among most of the carcass quality traits, the midrange strong and very strong positive genetic and phenotypic correlations were established. The traits that were analyzed showed sufficient genetic variation, indicating that their improvement is possible through genetic selection. Genetic variability was stable and expressed and justified further genetic changes in the desired direction

From Artifacts to Aggregations: Modeling Scientific Life Cycles on the Semantic Web

In the process of scientific research, many information objects are generated, all of which may remain valuable indefinitely. However, artifacts such as instrument data and associated calibration information may have little value in isolation; their meaning is derived from their relationships to each other. Individual artifacts are best represented as components of a life cycle that is specific to a scientific research domain or project. Current cataloging practices do not describe objects at a sufficient level of granularity nor do they offer the globally persistent identifiers necessary to discover and manage scholarly products with World Wide Web standards. The Open Archives Initiative's Object Reuse and Exchange data model (OAI-ORE) meets these requirements. We demonstrate a conceptual implementation of OAI-ORE to represent the scientific life cycles of embedded networked sensor applications in seismology and environmental sciences. By establishing relationships between publications, data, and contextual research information, we illustrate how to obtain a richer and more realistic view of scientific practices. That view can facilitate new forms of scientific research and learning. Our analysis is framed by studies of scientific practices in a large, multi-disciplinary, multi-university science and engineering research center, the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS).Comment: 28 pages. To appear in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (JASIST

Bio-energy retains its mitigation potential under elevated CO2

Background If biofuels are to be a viable substitute for fossil fuels, it is essential that they retain their potential to mitigate climate change under future atmospheric conditions. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration [CO2] stimulates plant biomass production; however, the beneficial effects of increased production may be offset by higher energy costs in crop management. Methodology/Main findings We maintained full size poplar short rotation coppice (SRC) systems under both current ambient and future elevated [CO2] (550 ppm) and estimated their net energy and greenhouse gas balance. We show that a poplar SRC system is energy efficient and produces more energy than required for coppice management. Even more, elevated [CO2] will increase the net energy production and greenhouse gas balance of a SRC system with 18%. Managing the trees in shorter rotation cycles (i.e. 2 year cycles instead of 3 year cycles) will further enhance the benefits from elevated [CO2] on both the net energy and greenhouse gas balance. Conclusions/significance Adapting coppice management to the future atmospheric [CO2] is necessary to fully benefit from the climate mitigation potential of bio-energy systems. Further, a future increase in potential biomass production due to elevated [CO2] outweighs the increased production costs resulting in a northward extension of the area where SRC is greenhouse gas neutral. Currently, the main part of the European terrestrial carbon sink is found in forest biomass and attributed to harvesting less than the annual growth in wood. Because SRC is intensively managed, with a higher turnover in wood production than conventional forest, northward expansion of SRC is likely to erode the European terrestrial carbon sink

Biotic carbon feedbacks in a materially-closed soil-vegetation-atmosphere system

The magnitude and direction of the coupled feedbacks between the biotic and abiotic components of the terrestrial carbon cycle is a major source of uncertainty in coupled climate–carbon-cycle models1, 2, 3. Materially closed, energetically open biological systems continuously and simultaneously allow the two-way feedback loop between the biotic and abiotic components to take place4, 5, 6, 7, but so far have not been used to their full potential in ecological research, owing to the challenge of achieving sustainable model systems6, 7. We show that using materially closed soil–vegetation–atmosphere systems with pro rata carbon amounts for the main terrestrial carbon pools enables the establishment of conditions that balance plant carbon assimilation, and autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration fluxes over periods suitable to investigate short-term biotic carbon feedbacks. Using this approach, we tested an alternative way of assessing the impact of increased CO2 and temperature on biotic carbon feedbacks. The results show that without nutrient and water limitations, the short-term biotic responses could potentially buffer a temperature increase of 2.3 °C without significant positive feedbacks to atmospheric CO2. We argue that such closed-system research represents an important test-bed platform for model validation and parameterization of plant and soil biotic responses to environmental changes

High-dimensional analysis of the aging immune system: verification of age-associated differences in immune signaling responses in healthy donors.

BACKGROUND Single-cell network profiling (SCNP) is a multiparametric flow cytometry-based approach that simultaneously measures evoked signaling in multiple cell subsets. Previously, using the SCNP approach, age-associated immune signaling responses were identified in a cohort of 60 healthy donors. METHODS In the current study, a high-dimensional analysis of intracellular signaling was performed by measuring 24 signaling nodes in 7 distinct immune cell subsets within PBMCs in an independent cohort of 174 healthy donors [144 elderly (>65 yrs); 30 young (25-40 yrs)]. RESULTS Associations between age and 9 immune signaling responses identified in the previously published 60 donor cohort were confirmed in the current study. Furthermore, within the current study cohort, 48 additional immune signaling responses differed significantly between young and elderly donors. These associations spanned all profiled modulators and immune cell subsets. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that SCNP, a systems-based approach, can capture the complexity of the cellular mechanisms underlying immunological aging. Further, the confirmation of age associations in an independent donor cohort supports the use of SCNP as a tool for identifying reproducible predictive biomarkers in areas such as vaccine response and response to cancer immunotherapies

Molecular characterization of extended spectrum β -lactamases enterobacteriaceae causing lower urinary tract infection among pediatric population.

The β-lactam antibiotics have traditionally been the main treatment of Enterobacteriaceae infections, nonetheless, the emergence of species producing β- Lactamases has rendered this class of antibiotics largely ineffective. There are no published data on etiology of urinary tract infections (UTI) and antimicrobial resistance profile of uropathogens among children in Qatar. The aim of this study is to determine the phenotypic and genotypic profiles of antimicrobial resistant Enterobacteriaceae among children with UTI in Qatar. Bacteria were isolated from 727 urine positive cultures, collected from children with UTI between February and June 2017 at the Pediatric Emergency Center, Doha, Qatar. Isolated bacteria were tested for antibiotic susceptibility against sixteen clinically relevant antibiotics using phoenix and Double Disc Synergy Test (DDST) for confirmation of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production. Existence of genes encoding ESBL production were identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Statistical analysis was done using non-parametric Kappa statistics, Pearson chi-square test and Jacquard's coefficient. 201 (31.7%) of samples were confirmed as Extended Spectrum β -Lactamases (ESBL) Producing Enterobacteriaceae. The most dominant pathogen was 166 (83%) followed by 22 (11%). Resistance was mostly encoded by CTX-M (59%) genes, primarily CTX-MG1 (89.2%) followed by CTX-MG9 (7.7%). 37% of isolated bacteria were harboring multiple genes (2 genes or more). isolates were categorized into 11 clusters, while were grouped into five clonal clusters according to the presence and absence of seven genes namely TEM, SHV, CTX-MG1, CTX-MG2, CTX-MG8 CTX-MG9 CTX-MG25. Our data indicates an escalated problem of ESBL in pediatrics with UTI, which mandates implementation of regulatory programs to reduce the spread of ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae in the community. The use of cephalosporins, aminoglycosides (gentamicin) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole is compromised in Qatar among pediatric population with UTI, leaving carbapenems and amikacin as the therapeutic option for severe infections caused by ESBL producers