Evaluation of Moringa oleifera and corn starch as feed for seed production of the pearl oyster Pteria sterna (Gould,1851)

In the search for complementary diets to improve performance in bivalve farming, the use of terrestrial plants with nutritional and nutraceutical properties has been proposed as an alternative. The effectiveness of moringa leaf meal Moringa oleifera (Mo) was evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions (30 days), as a dietary supplement during the pre-growth stage of Pteria sterna seeds (7.2 ± 0.59 mm), as well as its combinations with microalgae and corn starch (Co), on growth and survival in the laboratory and its subsequent initial suspended culture in the sea. Diets were formulated with a mixture of the microalgae Tetraselmis suecica and Chaetoceros gracilis (M), diet M; M and 5% Mo (M + Mo); diet M and 5% corn starch (M + Co); 100% moringa leaf meal (Mo); 100% corn starch (Co), and diet M with 2.5% Mo and 2,5% Co (M + Mo + Co). The Mo diet did not provide preseed sustainability, resulting in 100% mortality at 30 days. From the rest of the diets, M obtained the lowest oyster survival, while M + Mo and M + Mo + Co showed the highest growth rates. At the end of the laboratory bioassay, the seeds were sown in a culture system in the open sea (50 days), where the highest growth occurred in the juveniles previously fed with M + Mo + Co. The results suggest that, in the nursery, P. sterna pre-seeds can be maintained with a diet of 100% corn starch, but not with 100% moringa flour, probably due to its poor digestibility. However, moringa used as an additive to the microalgae diet provided a higher yield in the oyster, which is reflected in a higher yield in the initial culture outdoors.Universidade de Vigo/CISUGCYTEDUniversidad Técnica de Manabí, Ecuador | Ref. PYTBEC408-2018-FCV001

Combining Metabolic Engineering and Electrocatalysis: Application to the Production of Polyamides from Sugar

Biorefineries aim to convert biomass to a spectrum of products ranging from biofuels to specialty chemicals. To achieve economically sustainable conversion it is crucial to streamline the catalytic and downstream processing steps. Here we report a route that integrates bio- and chemical catalysis to convert glucose into bio-based unsaturated nylon 6,6. An engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with the highest reported muconic acid titer of 559.5 mg L-1 in yeast, was used as the initial biocatalyst to convert glucose into muconic acid. Without any separation, muconic acid was further electrocatalytically hydrogenated to 3-hexenedioic acid with 94% yield, despite the presence of all the biogenic impurities. Bio-based unsaturated nylon 6,6 (unsaturated polyamide 6,6) was finally obtained by polymerization of 3-hexenedioic acid with hexamethylenediamine, demonstrating the integrated design of bio-based polyamides from glucose

Intermittent PI3Ko inhibition sustains anti-tumor immunity and curbs irAEs

YesPhosphoinositide 3-kinase δ (PI3Kδ) has a key role in lymphocytes, and inhibitors that target this PI3K have been approved for treatment of B cell malignancies1–3. Although studies in mouse models of solid tumours have demonstrated that PI3Kδ inhibitors (PI3Kδi) can induce anti-tumour immunity4,5, its effect on solid tumours in humans remains unclear. Here we assessed the effects of the PI3Kδi AMG319 in human patients with head and neck cancer in a neoadjuvant, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized phase II trial (EudraCT no. 2014-004388-20). PI3Kδ inhibition decreased the number of tumour-infiltrating regulatory T (Treg) cells and enhanced the cytotoxic potential of tumour-infiltrating T cells. At the tested doses of AMG319, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) required treatment to be discontinued in 12 out of 21 of patients treated with AMG319, suggestive of systemic effects on Treg cells. Accordingly, in mouse models, PI3Kδi decreased the number of Treg cells systemically and caused colitis. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed a PI3Kδi-driven loss of tissue-resident colonic ST2 Treg cells, accompanied by expansion of pathogenic T helper 17 (TH17) and type 17 CD8+ T (TC17) cells, which probably contributed to toxicity; this points towards a specific mode of action for the emergence of irAEs. A modified treatment regimen with intermittent dosing of PI3Kδi in mouse models led to a significant decrease in tumour growth without inducing pathogenic T cells in colonic tissue, indicating that alternative dosing regimens might limit toxicity

Late Albian ammonites from the carbonate cover of the Teloloapan arc volcanic rocks (Guerrero State, Mexico)

In the Guerrero province of Mexico, the calc-alcaline lavas of the Teloloapan volcanic arc unit are overlain by carbonates with reworked neritic faunas of Aptian–Albian age (La Evolucion Geologica y la Metalogénesis del Noroccidente de Guerrero. Universidad Autonoma de Guerrero, Serie Técnico-Cientifica, 1 (1979) 84). The discovery of an ammonite fauna at the top of the Teloloapan limestone provides a latest Albian age assignment for that horizon. The fauna includes: Pervinquieria rostrata, P. gr. inflata, Turrilitoides hugardianus, Stoliczkaia cf. blancheti, S. cf. tenuis, Desmoceras latidorsatum, Oxytropidoceras cf. cantianum, Puzosia aff. mayoriana, Lechites moreti, Hamites cf. gardneri, H. cf. maximus, and Falciferella campae n. sp. A pelagic microfauna is associated with the ammonites and contains Hedbergella sp. and Colomiella recta. The fossiliferous horizon may thus be restricted to the Inflatum and lower Dispar zones. The overlying flysch contains Hamites sp. gr. intermedius near the base. Therefore, volcanism in the Teloloapan arc ceased before the end of the Early Cretaceous, while flysch deposition began in latest Albian times

Primary cilia and SHH signaling impairments in human and mouse models of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) as a progressive neurodegenerative disorder arises from multiple genetic and environmental factors. However, underlying pathological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using multiplexed single-cell transcriptomics, we analyze human neural precursor cells (hNPCs) from sporadic PD (sPD) patients. Alterations in gene expression appear in pathways related to primary cilia (PC). Accordingly, in these hiPSC-derived hNPCs and neurons, we observe a shortening of PC. Additionally, we detect a shortening of PC in PINK1-deficient human cellular and mouse models of familial PD. Furthermore, in sPD models, the shortening of PC is accompanied by increased Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signal transduction. Inhibition of this pathway rescues the alterations in PC morphology and mitochondrial dysfunction. Thus, increased SHH activity due to ciliary dysfunction may be required for the development of pathoetiological phenotypes observed in sPD like mitochondrial dysfunction. Inhibiting overactive SHH signaling may be a potential neuroprotective therapy for sPD. Here, the authors reveal using single-cell RNA sequencing that Parkinson's disease (PD) patient-derived neuronal cells show altered primary cilia morphology and signaling suggesting cilia dysfunction may underlie PD pathogenesis