Drinking water chlorination in dairy beef fattening bulls: water quality, potential hazards, apparent total tract digestibility, and growth performance

The first study aimed to evaluate the effect of drinking water disinfection (chlorination: NaClO 15%) and conditioning (acidification: H3PO4 diluted 1:5 in water) on water quality, water and feed consumption, apparent total tract digestibility, and its potential hazardous effects on Holstein bulls fed high-concentrate diets. Twenty-four animals (221 ± 20.9 kg of BW, and 184 ± 9.9 days of age) were individually assigned to one of four treatments according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: conditioning (with or without acidification) and disinfection (with or without chlorination). The entire study lasted 210 days. Physicochemical and microbiological water quality, water and feed consumption, haematological and biochemical blood parameters, and apparent total tract digestibility were measured; data were analysed via a mixed-effects model. Chlorination and acidification increased (P = 0.02) free residual chlorine in water, and chlorination reduced (P = 0.01) total coliform and Clostridium perfringens counts in water. Treatment did not affect water consumption, total DM intake, or blood parameters. At the beginning of the study, NDF digestibility decreased (P = 0.04) with acidification, however, this was restored at the end of the study. The second study evaluated the potential benefit of drinking water chlorination and acidification on the performance of crossbred Holstein bulls fed high-concentrate diets under commercial conditions. Ninety-six animals (322 ± 35.0 kg of BW, and 220 ± 14.2 days of age) were allocated into six pens assigned to one of the two treatments: untreated drinking water or drinking water treated with chlorination and acidification for a total of 112 days. Physicochemical and microbiological water quality, water and concentrate consumption, eating behaviour, growth performance, and carcass quality were analysed via a mixed-effects model. Water conditioning and disinfection increased (P = 0.01) free residual chlorine concentration and reduced (P = 0.04) total coliform count in water. Although water consumption and eating behaviour were similar between treatments, water conditioning and disinfection increased average daily weight gain (P = 0.03), BW before slaughter (P = 0.01), and hot carcass weight (P = 0.01). In conclusion, drinking water chlorination and acidification in fattening dairy beef bulls is recommended as it improves growth performance without any detrimental side effects on health or nutrient digestibility.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study

Until recently, polar night constituted truly a “mare incognitum” of our times. Yet, the first records from this very little-explored period showcased a surprisingly rich and active ecosystem. This investigation aims to reveal the level of scavenger activity during both Arctic polar night and day. It compares the shallow-water scavenging fauna observed during two contrasting seasons (winter vs. summer) in a high Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, 79° N, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago). In each of January and July 2015, two different bait types – Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and a bird carcass (chicken meat) were deployed at a depth of 12 m. Fauna were monitored remotely using time-lapse cameras equipped with bait traps, with photographs taken every 15 min over a period of 4 days. Thirty taxa were recorded at baits, dominated by lysianassid amphipods (Onisimus sp. 88%, Anonyx sp. 2%, but only during winter), and buccinid gastropods (B. undatum 5%, B. glaciale 1%, Buccinum sp. 3%, in both seasons). In most cases, buccinids were the first animals to appear at bait. The total number of recorded taxa, mean species richness per sampling unit, total abundance and associations among taxa were higher, on average, in winter than in summer deployments, while Pielou’s evenness index showed the opposite pattern. Scavenger assemblages differed significantly between the two seasons and also in response to the two different bait types, with seasonal effects being strongest. Contrary to expectations, bait consumption rates differed very little between the two seasons, being slow in general and only slightly faster in summer (0.05 g of cod bait consumed in 1 min) compared to winter (0.04 g min–1), yielding novel insights into ecological interactions and functions in shallow marine ecosystems during Arctic polar nights

Drug Screen Targeted at Plasmodium Liver Stages Identifies a Potent Multistage Antimalarial Drug

Plasmodium parasites undergo a clinically silent and obligatory developmental phase in the host’s liver cells before they are able to infect erythrocytes and cause malaria symptoms. To overcome the scarcity of compounds targeting the liver stage of malaria, we screened a library of 1037 existing drugs for their ability to inhibit Plasmodium hepatic development. Decoquinate emerged as the strongest inhibitor of Plasmodium liver stages, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, decoquinate kills the parasite’s replicative blood stages and is active against developing gametocytes, the forms responsible for transmission. The drug acts by selectively and specifically inhibiting the parasite’s mitochondrial $bc_1$ complex, with little cross-resistance with the antimalarial drug atovaquone. Oral administration of a single dose of decoquinate effectively prevents the appearance of disease, warranting its exploitation as a potent antimalarial compound

A single FLOTAC is more sensitive than triplicate Kato-Katz for the diagnosis of low-intensity soil-transmitted helminth infections

Accurate diagnostic tools are pivotal for patient management and surveillance of helminth control programmes, particularly in the current era of preventive chemotherapy. Three consecutive stool samples were obtained from 279 schoolchildren from Zanzibar, an island where anthelminthic drugs have been administered on a large scale for more than a decade. All stool samples were examined with the Kato-Katz method. Additionally, one sample per child was preserved in sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin solution, and examined with the FLOTAC technique. Considering the pooled results of both methods as diagnostic ‘gold' standard, the observed prevalences of Trichuris trichiura, hookworm and Ascaris lumbricoides were 63.4, 35.8 and 22.9%, respectively. The sensitivity of examining a single stool sample by FLOTAC for diagnosing T. trichiura, hookworm and A. lumbricoides was 88.7, 83.0 and 82.8%, respectively. Lower sensitivities were observed for Kato-Katz even after examining three stool samples: 71.8, 46.0 and 70.3%, respectively. Kato-Katz revealed considerably higher infection intensities than FLOTAC. The κ agreement between a single FLOTAC and triplicate Kato-Katz was 0.63 for diagnosing A. lumbricoides and 0.50 for T. trichiura, but only 0.30 for hookworm. The high sensitivity of FLOTAC holds promise for patient management, monitoring soil-transmitted helminth transmission and endpoint(s) of control at the population leve

Drug Screen Targeted at Plasmodium Liver Stages Identifies a Potent Multistage Antimalarial Drug

Plasmodium parasites undergo a clinically silent and obligatory developmental phase in the host's liver cells before they are able to infect erythrocytes and cause malaria symptoms. To overcome the scarcity of compounds targeting the liver stage of malaria, we screened a library of 1037 existing drugs for their ability to inhibit Plasmodium hepatic development. Decoquinate emerged as the strongest inhibitor of Plasmodium liver stages, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, decoquinate kills the parasite's replicative blood stages and is active against developing gametocytes, the forms responsible for transmission. The drug acts by selectively and specifically inhibiting the parasite's mitochondrial bc1 complex, with little cross-resistance with the antimalarial drug atovaquone. Oral administration of a single dose of decoquinate effectively prevents the appearance of disease, warranting its exploitation as a potent antimalarial compoun

The pathogenicity determinant of \u3ci\u3eCitrus tristeza virus\u3c/i\u3e causing the seedling yellows syndrome maps at the 3′-terminal region of the viral genome

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) (genus Closterovirus, family Closteroviridae) causes some of the more important viral diseases of citrus worldwide. The ability to map disease-inducing determinants of CTV is needed to develop better diagnostic and disease control procedures. A distinctive phenotype of some isolates of CTV is the ability to induce seedling yellows (SY) in sour orange, lemon and grapefruit seedlings. In Florida, the decline isolate of CTV, T36, induces SY, whereas a widely distributed mild isolate, T30, does not. To delimit the viral sequences associated with the SY syndrome, we created a number of T36/T30 hybrids by substituting T30 sequences into different regions of the 3′ half of the genome of an infectious cDNA of T36. Eleven T36/T30 hybrids replicated in Nicotiana benthamiana protoplasts. Five of these hybrids formed viable virions that were mechanically transmitted to Citrus macrophylla, a permissive host for CTV. All induced systemic infections, similar to that of the parental T36 clone. Tissues from these C. macrophylla source plants were then used to graft inoculate sour orange and grapefruit seedlings. Inoculation with three of the T30/T36 hybrid constructs induced SY symptoms identical to those of T36; however, two hybrids with T30 substitutions in the p23-3′ nontranslated region (NTR) (nucleotides 18 394–19 296) failed to induce SY. Sour orange seedlings infected with a recombinant non-SY p23-3′ NTR hybrid also remained symptomless when challenged with the parental virus (T36), demonstrating the potential feasibility of using engineered constructs of CTV to mitigate disease.mp

The pathogenicity determinant of \u3ci\u3eCitrus tristeza virus\u3c/i\u3e causing the seedling yellows syndrome maps at the 3′-terminal region of the viral genome

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) (genus Closterovirus, family Closteroviridae) causes some of the more important viral diseases of citrus worldwide. The ability to map disease-inducing determinants of CTV is needed to develop better diagnostic and disease control procedures. A distinctive phenotype of some isolates of CTV is the ability to induce seedling yellows (SY) in sour orange, lemon and grapefruit seedlings. In Florida, the decline isolate of CTV, T36, induces SY, whereas a widely distributed mild isolate, T30, does not. To delimit the viral sequences associated with the SY syndrome, we created a number of T36/T30 hybrids by substituting T30 sequences into different regions of the 3′ half of the genome of an infectious cDNA of T36. Eleven T36/T30 hybrids replicated in Nicotiana benthamiana protoplasts. Five of these hybrids formed viable virions that were mechanically transmitted to Citrus macrophylla, a permissive host for CTV. All induced systemic infections, similar to that of the parental T36 clone. Tissues from these C. macrophylla source plants were then used to graft inoculate sour orange and grapefruit seedlings. Inoculation with three of the T30/T36 hybrid constructs induced SY symptoms identical to those of T36; however, two hybrids with T30 substitutions in the p23-3′ nontranslated region (NTR) (nucleotides 18 394–19 296) failed to induce SY. Sour orange seedlings infected with a recombinant non-SY p23-3′ NTR hybrid also remained symptomless when challenged with the parental virus (T36), demonstrating the potential feasibility of using engineered constructs of CTV to mitigate disease.mp

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 1F is caused by a microdeletion in the transportin 3 gene

In 2001, we reported linkage of an autosomal dominant form of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 1F, to chromosome 7q32.1-32.2, but the identity of the mutant gene was elusive. Here, using a whole genome sequencing strategy, we identified the causative mutation of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 1F, a heterozygous single nucleotide deletion (c.2771del) in the termination codon of transportin 3 (TNPO3). This gene is situated within the chromosomal region linked to the disease and encodes a nuclear membrane protein belonging to the importin beta family. TNPO3 transports serine/arginine-rich proteins into the nucleus, and has been identified as a key factor in the HIV-import process into the nucleus. The mutation is predicted to generate a 15-amino acid extension of the C-terminus of the protein, segregates with the clinical phenotype, and is absent in genomic sequence databases and a set of >200 control alleles. In skeletal muscle of affected individuals, expression of the mutant messenger RNA and histological abnormalities of nuclei and TNPO3 indicate altered TNPO3 function. Our results demonstrate that the TNPO3 mutation is the cause of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 1F, expand our knowledge of the molecular basis of muscular dystrophies and bolster the importance of defects of nuclear envelope proteins as causes of inherited myopathies

Sleep-disordered breathing, circulating exosomes, and insulin sensitivity in adipocytes

Background: Sleep-disordered-breathing (SDB), which is characterized by chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) and sleep fragmentation (SF), is a prevalent condition that promotes metabolic dysfunction, particularly among patients suffering from obstructive hypoventilation syndrome (OHS). Exosomes are generated ubiquitously, are readily present in the circulation, and their cargo may exert substantial functional cellular alterations in both physiological and pathological conditions. However, the effects of plasma exosomes on adipocyte metabolism in patients with OHS or in mice subjected to IH or SF mimicking SDB are unclear. Methods: Exosomes from fasting morning plasma samples from obese adults with polysomnographically-confirmed OSA before and after 3 months of adherent CPAP therapy were assayed. In addition, C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to (1) sleep control (SC), (2) sleep fragmentation (SF), and (3) intermittent hypoxia (HI) for 6 weeks, and plasma exosomes were isolated. Equivalent exosome amounts were added to differentiated adipocytes in culture, after which insulin sensitivity was assessed using 0 nM and 5 nM insulin-induced pAKT/AKT expression changes by western blotting. Results: When plasma exosomes were co-cultured and internalized by human naive adipocytes, significant reductions emerged in Akt phosphorylation responses to insulin when compared to exosomes obtained after 24 months of adherent CPAP treatment (n = 24; p < 0.001), while no such changes occur in untreated patients (n = 8). In addition, OHS exosomes induced significant increases in adipocyte lipolysis that were attenuated after CPAP, but did not alter pre-adipocyte differentiation. Similarly, exosomes from SF- and IH-exposed mice induced attenuated p-AKT/total AKT responses to exogenous insulin and increased glycerol content in naive murine adipocytes, without altering pre-adipocyte differentiation. Conclusions: Using in vitro adipocyte-based functional reporter assays, alterations in plasma exosomal cargo occur in SDB, and appear to contribute to adipocyte metabolic dysfunction. Further exploration of exosomal miRNA signatures in either human subjects or animal models and their putative organ and cell targets appears warranted