Use of Limpograss as an Alternative Feed During the Fall Forage Gap in Beef and Dairy Systems in Central and North Florida

In central and North Florida, the use of limpograss [Hemarthria altissima (Poir.) Stapf & C. E. Hubb.] for beef and dairy operations is limited and its potential use is not well documented. Two on-farm projects have been conducted in Central and North Florida to explore the use of limpograss as an alternative conserved forage during late fall and winter. The potential use of this forage as baleage for dairy farmers and as stockpiling for livestock producers would offer another alternative to reduce feed costs and fill the forage gap in the area when typical warm-season forages go dormant. In addition, the on-farm limpograss establishment would serve as dissemination for the limpograss planting material. Four dairy farms in Central and North Florida were enrolled in the study to evaluate two cultivars of limpograss for their potential when conserved as baleage. Four 0.2 ha strips were planted per farm, two for each variety (‘Kenhy’ and ‘Gibtuck’). The strips were arranged in a randomized complete block design, with two replicates in each location. Before wrapping the harvested forage for baleage, samples were taken to evaluate crude protein (CP) and in vitro digestible organic matter concentration (IVDOM). In addition, samples of fresh baleage at 60 and 90 d were analyzed for fermentation profile (pH, organic acids, and ammonia). Four beef cattle farms in North Florida allowed us to plant 1 ha of ‘Gibtuck’ for stockpiling evaluating the nutritive value at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. Each plot was replicated four times and allocated in a randomized complete block design. The fermentation profile from the bales does not show differences between cultivars (P \u3e 0.05) and the pH is lower than 5 indicating that the fermentation process was successful. The CP and IVDOM of the stockpiling limpograss were different among the treatments (P \u3c 0.001)

Antiproliferative activity of synthetic fatty acid amides from renewable resources

AbstractIn the work, the in vitro antiproliferative activity of a series of synthetic fatty acid amides were investigated in seven cancer cell lines. The study revealed that most of the compounds showed antiproliferative activity against tested tumor cell lines, mainly on human glioma cells (U251) and human ovarian cancer cells with a multiple drug-resistant phenotype (NCI-ADR/RES). In addition, the fatty methyl benzylamide derived from ricinoleic acid (with the fatty acid obtained from castor oil, a renewable resource) showed a high selectivity with potent growth inhibition and cell death for the glioma cell line—the most aggressive CNS cancer

A Pliocene-Pleistocene continental biota from Venezuela

The Pliocene-Pleistocene transition in the Neotropics is poorly understood despite the major climatic changes that occurred at the onset of the Quaternary. The San Gregorio Formation, the younger unit of the Urumaco Sequence, preserves a fauna that documents this critical transition. We report stingrays, freshwater bony fishes, amphibians, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, aquatic and terrestrial turtles, and mammals. A total of 49 taxa are reported from the Vergel Member (late Pliocene) and nine taxa from the Cocuiza Member (Early Pleistocene), with 28 and 18 taxa reported for the first time in the Urumaco sequence and Venezuela, respectively. Our findings include the first fossil record of the freshwater fishes Megaleporinus, Schizodon, Amblydoras, Scorpiodoras, and the pipesnake Anilius scytale, all from Pliocene strata. The late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene ages proposed here for the Vergel and Cocuiza members, respectively, are supported by their stratigraphic position, palynology, nannoplankton, and 86 Sr/ 88 Sr dating. Mammals from the Vergel Member are associated with the first major pulse of the Great American Biotic Interchange. In contrast to the dry conditions prevailing today, the San Gregorio Formation documents mixed open grassland/forest areas surrounding permanent freshwater systems, following the isolation of the northern South American basin from western Amazonia. These findings support the hypothesis that range contraction of many taxa to their current distribution in northern South America occurred rapidly during at least the last 1.5 million years

Serological reactivity against T. cruzi-derived antigens: Evaluation of their suitability for the assessment of response to treatment in chronic Chagas disease.

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, affects more than 6 million people worldwide. Following a mostly asymptomatic acute phase, the disease progresses to a long-lasting chronic phase throughout which life-threatening disorders to the heart and/or gastrointestinal tract will manifest in about 30% of those chronically infected. During the chronic phase, the parasitemia is low and intermittent, while a high level of anti-T. cruzi antibodies persist for years. These two features hamper post-chemotherapeutic follow-up of patients with the tools available. The lack of biomarkers for timely assessment of therapeutic response discourages a greater use of the two available anti-parasitic drugs, and complicates the evaluation of new drugs in clinical trials. Herein, we investigated in a blinded case-control study the serological reactivity over time of a group of parasite-derived antigens to potentially address follow up of T. cruzi chronically infected subjects after treatment. We tested PFR2, KMP11, HSP70, 3973, F29 and the InfYnity multiplexed antigenic array, by means of serological assays on a multi-national retrospective collection of samples. Some of the antigens exhibited promising results, underscoring the need for further studies to determine their potential role as treatment response biomarkers.We thank Dr. A. Egui, Dr A. Fernández-Villegas and A. López-Barajas from IPBLNsingle bondCSIC (Granada, Spain), Carme Subirá from ISGlobal (Barcelona, Spain), and Suelene B. N. Tavares from Hospital das Clínicas (Goiás, Brazil) for their technical assistance. We also want to thank Dr. B. Carrilero from Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca (Murcia, Spain), Dr. Dayse E.C. de Oliveira from Hospital das Clínicas (Goiás, Brazil), and Dr. Raúl Chadi from Hospital General de Agudos “Dr. I. Pirovano” for their clinical follow up of patients. ISGlobal authors thanks the support by the Departament d'Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain (AGAUR; 2017SGR00924), funding by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III project PI18/01054 and RICET Network for Cooperative Research in Tropical Diseases (RD12/0018/0010) and FEDER, and the support to ISGlobal from the Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019–2023″ Program (CEX2018–000806-S), and from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. IPBLN work was financially supported by grants SAF2016–81003-R and SAF2016–80998-R from the Programa Estatal I + D + i (MINECO) and ISCIII RICET (RD16/0027/0005) and FEDER. MJP research is supported by the Ministry of Health, Government of Catalunya (PERIS 2016–2010 SLT008/18/00132). TAJ thanks the support of Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Tecnologico (CNPq/ 313011/2018–4) and Fundação Oswaldo Cruz/MS (25380.001603/2017–89). Authors also thank Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and Fundacion Mundo Sano for financial support. For this project, DNDi received financial support from the following donors: UK Aid, UK; Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS), The Netherlands; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland; Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), International. The donors had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Enamel Formation Genes Influence Enamel Microhardness Before and After Cariogenic Challenge

Abstract There is evidence for a genetic component in caries susceptibility, and studies in humans have suggested that variation in enamel formation genes may contribute to caries. For the present study, we used DNA samples collected from 1,831 individuals from various population data sets. Single nucleotide polymorphism markers were genotyped in selected genes (ameloblastin, amelogenin, enamelin, tuftelin, and tuftelin interacting protein 11) that influence enamel formation. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between groups with distinct caries experience. Associations with caries experience can be detected but they are not necessarily replicated in all population groups and the most expressive results was for a marker in AMELX (p = 0.0007). To help interpret these results, we evaluated if enamel microhardness changes under simulated cariogenic challenges are associated with genetic variations in these same genes. After creating an artificial caries lesion, associations could be seen between genetic variation in TUFT1 (p = 0.006) and TUIP11 (p = 0.0006) with enamel microhardness. Our results suggest that the influence of genetic variation of enamel formation genes may influence the dynamic interactions between the enamel surface and the oral cavity

A transcriptomic analysis of gene expression in the venom gland of the snake Bothrops alternatus (urutu)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genus <it>Bothrops </it>is widespread throughout Central and South America and is the principal cause of snakebite in these regions. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies have examined the venom composition of several species in this genus, but many others remain to be studied. In this work, we used a transcriptomic approach to examine the venom gland genes of <it>Bothrops alternatus</it>, a clinically important species found in southeastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, northern Argentina and eastern Paraguay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A cDNA library of 5,350 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was produced and assembled into 838 contigs and 4512 singletons. BLAST searches of relevant databases showed 30% hits and 70% no-hits, with toxin-related transcripts accounting for 23% and 78% of the total transcripts and hits, respectively. Gene ontology analysis identified non-toxin genes related to general metabolism, transcription and translation, processing and sorting, (polypeptide) degradation, structural functions and cell regulation. The major groups of toxin transcripts identified were metalloproteinases (81%), bradykinin-potentiating peptides/C-type natriuretic peptides (8.8%), phospholipases A₂(5.6%), serine proteinases (1.9%) and C-type lectins (1.5%). Metalloproteinases were almost exclusively type PIII proteins, with few type PII and no type PI proteins. Phospholipases A₂were essentially acidic; no basic PLA₂were detected. Minor toxin transcripts were related to L-amino acid oxidase, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, dipeptidylpeptidase IV, hyaluronidase, three-finger toxins and ohanin. Two non-toxic proteins, thioredoxin and double-specificity phosphatase Dusp6, showed high sequence identity to similar proteins from other snakes. In addition to the above features, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites, transposable elements and inverted repeats that could contribute to toxin diversity were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Bothrops alternatus </it>venom gland contains the major toxin classes described for other <it>Bothrops </it>venoms based on trancriptomic and proteomic studies. The predominance of type PIII metalloproteinases agrees with the well-known hemorrhagic activity of this venom, whereas the lower content of serine proteases and C-type lectins could contribute to less marked coagulopathy following envenoming by this species. The lack of basic PLA₂agrees with the lower myotoxicity of this venom compared to other <it>Bothrops </it>species with these toxins. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of the physiopathology of envenoming by this species.</p