Biotechnological production and application of fructooligosaccharides

Currently, prebiotics are all carbohydrates of relatively short chain length. An important group is the fructooligosaccharides, which are a special kind of prebiotics associated to their selective stimulation of the activity of certain groups of colonic bacteria that have a positive and beneficial effect on intestinal microbiota, reducing incidence of gastrointestinal infections, respiratory and also possessing a recognized bifidogenic effect. Traditionally, these prebiotic compounds have been obtained through extraction processes from some plants, as well as through enzymatic hydrolysis of sucrose. However, different fermentative methods have also been proposed for the production of fructooligosaccharides, such as solid-state fermentation utilizing various agroindustrial by-products. By optimizing the culture parameters, fructooligosaccharides yields and productivity can be improved. The use of immobilized enzymes and cells has also been proposed as being an effective and economic method for large-scale production of fructooligosaccharides. This paper is an overview on the results of recent studies on fructooligosacharides biosynthesis, physicochemical properties, sources, biotechnological production and applications.The authors thank the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT) for funding this study. D. A. Flores-Maltos thank the CONACYT for the financial support provided for her postgraduate studies in the Food Science and Technology Program, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, Mexico

Pneumomediastinum as a complication of emphysematous cholecystitis: Case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Emphysematous cholecystitis is a variant of acute cholecystitis which is generally caused by gas-forming organisms. Emphysematous cholecystitis may cause gas spreading within the subcutaneous tissue, peritoneal cavity and retroperitoneum.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present a case of emphysematous cholecystitis in a middle-aged diabetic patient who, postoperatively, presented edema in both flanks and left chest crepitation on palpation, associated with hemodynamic worsening. Computed tomography scan of the chest and abdomen revealed a large pneumomediastinum, pneumoretroperitoneum, gas in subcutaneous tissue and flank abscesses. In both blood and surgical wound exudate cultures, <it>Escherichia coli </it>was found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Emphysematous cholecystitis should be considered as a possible cause of pneumomediastinum.</p

Genetic Isolation between the Western and Eastern Pacific Populations of Pronghorn Spiny Lobster Panulirus penicillatus

The pronghorn spiny lobster, Panulirus penicillatus, is a circumtropical species which has the widest global distribution among all the species of spiny lobster, ranging throughout the entire Indo-Pacific region. Partial nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA COI (1,142–1,207 bp) and 16S rDNA (535–546 bp) regions were determined for adult and phyllosoma larval samples collected from the Eastern Pacific (EP)(Galápagos Islands and its adjacent water), Central Pacific (CP)(Hawaii and Tuamotu) and the Western Pacific (WP)(Japan, Indonesia, Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia). Phylogenetic analyses revealed two distinct large clades corresponding to the geographic origin of samples (EP and CP+WP). No haplotype was shared between the two regional samples, and average nucleotide sequence divergence (Kimura's two parameter distance) between EP and CP+WP samples was 3.8±0.5% for COI and 1.0±0.4% for 16S rDNA, both of which were much larger than those within samples. The present results indicate that the Pacific population of the pronghorn spiny lobster is subdivided into two distinct populations (Eastern Pacific and Central to Western Pacific), with no gene flow between them. Although the pronghorn spiny lobster have long-lived teleplanic larvae, the vast expanse of Pacific Ocean with no islands and no shallow substrate which is known as the East Pacific Barrier appears to have isolated these two populations for a long time (c.a. 1MY)

Prevalence of emergency contraceptive pill use among Spanish adolescent girls and their family and psychological profiles

The Author(s). 2018 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background:Adolescent girls’ family context and psychological characteristics play important roles in their sexual behavior, including the use of the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP). This study aims to (1) determine the prevalence of ECP use among girls who have had sexual intercourse and (2) comparatively analyze their family and psychological profiles according to whether they have used ECPs. Methods:The sample of 1735 Spanish girls aged 15 to 18 came from a representative sample of the 2014 edition of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Of this sample, 398 girls had sexual intercourse and reported their ECP use. Data collection for the HBSC study was performed through an online questionnaire to which adolescents responded anonymously in school. Data analyses were descriptive and bivariate and were performed with the statistical program IBM SPSS Statistics 23.Results:The results demonstrated that 30.65% of girls who had sexual intercourse used ECPs. Noticeable differences in paternal knowledge and communication with the father were observed between girls who used the ECP at least once and those who did not use it. In contrast, differences between girls who used the ECP once and those who used it twice or more were pronounced with regard to parental knowledge, communication with parents, maternal affection,life satisfaction, sense of coherence and depression. Conclusions:This work demonstrates a high prevalence of ECP use and a more positive family and psychological profile for girls who used ECP once compared with those who used it twice or more.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors Associated to Mycobacterium bovis in Wild Artiodactyl Species from Southern Spain, 2006–2010

The control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is at a critical point in the last stage of eradication in livestock. Wildlife species recently have emerged infected with TB in Europe, particularly ungulates in the Iberian Peninsula. Epidemiological information regarding TB in wild ungulates including affected species, prevalence, associated risk factors and appropriate diagnostic methods need to be obtained in these countries

Transcriptomal profiling of the cellular response to DNA damage mediated by Slug (Snai2)

Snai2-deficient cells are radiosensitive to DNA damage. The function of Snai2 in response to DNA damage seems to be critical for its function in normal development and cancer. Here, we applied a functional genomics approach that combined gene-expression profiling and computational molecular network analysis to obtain global dissection of the Snai2-dependent transcriptional response to DNA damage in primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), which undergo p53-dependent growth arrest in response to DNA damage. Although examination of the response showed that overall expression of p53 target gene expression patterns was similarly altered in both control and Snai2-deficient cells, we have identified and validated candidate Snai2 target genes linked to Snai2 gene function in response to DNA damage. This work defines for the first time the effect of Snai2 on p53 target genes in cells undergoing growth arrest, elucidates the Snai2-dependent molecular network induced by DNA damage, points to novel putative Snai2 targets, and suggest a mechanistic model, which has implications for cancer management

Jak3 Is Involved in Dendritic Cell Maturation and CCR7-Dependent Migration

BACKGROUND: CCR7-mediated signalling is important for dendritic cell maturation and homing to the lymph nodes. We have previously demonstrated that Jak3 participates in the signalling pathway of CCR7 in T lymphocytes. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we used Jak3(-/-) mice to analyze the role of Jak3 in CCR7-mediated dendritic cells migration and function. First, we found no differences in the generation of DCs from Jak3(-/-) bone marrow progenitors, when compared to wild type cells. However, phenotypic analysis of the bone marrow derived DCs obtained from Jak3(-/-) mice showed reduced expression of co-stimulatory molecules compared to wild type (Jak3(+/+)). In addition, when we analyzed the migration of Jak3(-/-) and Jak3(+/+) mature DCs in response to CCL19 and CCL21 chemokines, we found that the absence of Jak3 results in impaired chemotactic responses both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, lymphocyte proliferation and contact hypersensitivity experiments showed that DC-mediated T lymphocyte activation is reduced in the absence of Jak3. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Altogether, our data provide strong evidence that Jak3 is important for DC maturation, migration and function, through a CCR7-mediated signalling pathway