Rendimiento productivo y morfometría intestinal del pollo de engorde sometido a dietas con inclusión de espirulina (Arthrospira platensis)

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) on productive performance (WG: weight gain, FI: feed intake, FCR: feed conversion ratio, EPEI: European productive efficiency index) and intestinal morphometry (VL: villus length,  VW: villus width, CD: crypt depth) in broilers. In total, 240 one-day-old male chicks from the Cobb 500 line were used, distributed into four treatments with six replicates of 10 chicks each. The treatments were: T0: base diet without spirulina (control), T1: base diet with 0.25% spirulina, T2: base diet with 0.5% spirulina, T3: base diet with 1% spirulina. A completely randomized block design was used. The effect of increasing levels of spirulina was evaluated by linear and quadratic polynomial orthogonal contrasts. The WG and FI variables showed quadratic trend while FCR and EPEI showed linear trend. The optimal level of spirulina that maximizes weight gain was 0.68% with a predictive value of 3330 g. The increasing levels of spirulina did not affect the morphometric measurements of VL and VW at the level of duodenum, jejunum and ileum; therefore, significant linear responses were obtained in CD and VL/CD in jejunum and in VL/CD in ileum as a response to the increasing levels of spirulina in the diet. It was concluded that the increasing levels of spirulina influence the productive performance under experimental conditions while they were not conclusive for intestinal morphometry in Cobb 500 chicks at 42 days of age.El objetivo del estudio fue determinar el efecto de la espirulina (Arthrospira platensis) sobre el rendimiento productivo (GP: ganancia de peso, CA: conversión alimenticia, ICA: índice de conversión alimenticia, IEPE: índice de eficiencia productiva europeo) y la morfometría intestinal (LV: longitud de vellosidad, AV: ancho de vellosidad, PC: profundidad de cripta y LV/PC: relación longitud de vellosidad/profundidad de cripta) en pollos de engorde. Se emplearon 240 pollos machos de un día de edad de la línea Cobb 500, distribuidos en cuatro tratamientos con seis réplicas de 10 pollos cada uno. Los tratamientos fueron: T0: dieta base sin espirulina (control), T1: dieta base con 0.25% de espirulina, T2: dieta base con 0.5% de espirulina, T3: dieta base con 1% de espirulina. Se empleó un diseño de bloques completamente al azar. El efecto de los niveles crecientes de espirulina se evaluó por contrastes ortogonales polinómicos de tipo lineal y cuadrático. Las variables GP y CA presentaron un comportamiento cuadrático mientras que el ICA e IEPE mostraron un comportamiento lineal. El nivel óptimo de espirulina que maximiza la ganancia de peso fue de 0.68% con un valor predictivo de 3330 g. Los niveles crecientes de espirulina no afectaron las medidas morfométricas de LV y AV a nivel de duodeno, yeyuno e íleon; en tanto, se obtuvieron respuestas lineal significativas en la PC y LV/PC en yeyuno y en LV/PC en íleon como respuesta a los niveles crecientes de espirulina en la dieta. Se concluye que los niveles crecientes de espirulina influyen sobre el rendimiento productivo en condiciones experimentales, mientras que no fueron concluyentes para la morfometría intestinal en pollos Cobb 500 a los 42 días de edad

Estimación y mapeo de dengue y chicungunya en Honduras 2015 utilizando sistemas de información geográfica

Como parte del control y el riesgo para el dengue y chikungunya se trabaja en conjunto para analizar las implicaciones epidemiológicas de estas enfermedades a una escala regional y nacional. El objetivo fue estimar las tasas de incidencia de dengue y chikungunya en 2015 para Honduras y sus departamentos y desarrollar mapas epidemiológicos basados en SIG. Se realizó un estudio observacional retrospectivo tomando casos de dengue y chikungunya confirmados por clí­nica y laboratorio del sistema de vigilancia nacional para el año 2015 de 298 municipios, para estimaciones de tasas de incidencia anuales. Se utilizó el software de Microsoft Access® y Kosmo 3.0. Se reportaron 19,289 casos de dengue y 85,386 de chikungunya en Honduras. La mayorí­a de casos se registraron en las semanas epidemiológicas 25 y 27 respectivamente. Los mapas basados en SIG muestran que la incidencia del dengue es mayor en el sur, y chikungunya mayor en el centro-norte. Valle tiene la tasa más alta de incidencia de dengue (634 casos/100,000 habitantes); Francisco Morazán tiene 38.4% del total de chikungunya (2,111 caso/100,000 habitantes). En los últimos dos años, las enfermedades por arbovirus han aumentado globalmente, especialmente en América Latina. Herramientas de salud pública para los análisis detallados, como el uso de mapas epidemiológicos basados en GIS permiten integrar las estrategias preventivas, así­ como polí­ticas en salud pública, para el control conjunto de estas enfermedades transmitidas por vectores en Honduras

Mathematical modeling of the dynamic storage of iron in ferritin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Iron is essential for the maintenance of basic cellular processes. In the regulation of its cellular levels, ferritin acts as the main intracellular iron storage protein. In this work we present a mathematical model for the dynamics of iron storage in ferritin during the process of intestinal iron absorption. A set of differential equations were established considering kinetic expressions for the main reactions and mass balances for ferritin, iron and a discrete population of ferritin species defined by their respective iron content.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Simulation results showing the evolution of ferritin iron content following a pulse of iron were compared with experimental data for ferritin iron distribution obtained with purified ferritin incubated <it>in vitro </it>with different iron levels. Distinctive features observed experimentally were successfully captured by the model, namely the distribution pattern of iron into ferritin protein nanocages with different iron content and the role of ferritin as a controller of the cytosolic labile iron pool (cLIP). Ferritin stabilizes the cLIP for a wide range of total intracellular iron concentrations, but the model predicts an exponential increment of the cLIP at an iron content > 2,500 Fe/ferritin protein cage, when the storage capacity of ferritin is exceeded.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results presented support the role of ferritin as an iron buffer in a cellular system. Moreover, the model predicts desirable characteristics for a buffer protein such as effective removal of excess iron, which keeps intracellular cLIP levels approximately constant even when large perturbations are introduced, and a freely available source of iron under iron starvation. In addition, the simulated dynamics of the iron removal process are extremely fast, with ferritin acting as a first defense against dangerous iron fluctuations and providing the time required by the cell to activate slower transcriptional regulation mechanisms and adapt to iron stress conditions. In summary, the model captures the complexity of the iron-ferritin equilibrium, and can be used for further theoretical exploration of the role of ferritin in the regulation of intracellular labile iron levels and, in particular, as a relevant regulator of transepithelial iron transport during the process of intestinal iron absorption.</p

An Enriched European Eel Transcriptome Sheds Light upon Host-Pathogen Interactions with Vibrio vulnificus

Infectious diseases are one of the principal bottlenecks for the European eel recovery. The aim of this study was to develop a new molecular tool to be used in host-pathogen interaction experiments in the eel. To this end, we first stimulated adult eels with different pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), extracted RNA from the immune-related tissues and sequenced the transcriptome. We obtained more than 2 x 10(6) reads that were assembled and annotated into 45,067 new descriptions with a notable representation of novel transcripts related with pathogen recognition, signal transduction and the immune response. Then, we designed a DNA-microarray that was used to analyze the early immune response against Vibrio vulnificus, a septicemic pathogen that uses the gills as the portal of entry into the blood, as well as the role of the main toxin of this species (RtxA13) on this early interaction. The gill transcriptomic profiles obtained after bath infecting eels with the wild type strain or with a mutant deficient in rtxA13 were analyzed and compared. Results demonstrate that eels react rapidly and locally against the pathogen and that this immune-response is rtxA13-dependent as transcripts related with cell destruction were highly up-regulated only in the gills from eels infected with the wild-type strain. Furthermore, significant differences in the immune response against the wild type and the mutant strain also suggest that host survival after V. vulnificus infection could depend on an efficient local phagocytic activity. Finally, we also found evidence of the presence of an interbranchial lymphoid tissue in European eel gills although further experiments will be necessary to identify such tissue

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

Adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Globally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10–24 years during the past three decades. Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 Study, we analysed mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to transport and unintentional injuries for adolescents in 204 countries. Burden is reported in absolute numbers and age-standardised rates per 100 000 population by sex, age group (10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years), and sociodemographic index (SDI) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We report percentage changes in deaths and DALYs between 1990 and 2019. Findings: In 2019, 369 061 deaths (of which 214 337 [58%] were transport related) and 31·1 million DALYs (of which 16·2 million [52%] were transport related) among adolescents aged 10–24 years were caused by transport and unintentional injuries combined. If compared with other causes, transport and unintentional injuries combined accounted for 25% of deaths and 14% of DALYs in 2019, and showed little improvement from 1990 when such injuries accounted for 26% of adolescent deaths and 17% of adolescent DALYs. Throughout adolescence, transport and unintentional injury fatality rates increased by age group. The unintentional injury burden was higher among males than females for all injury types, except for injuries related to fire, heat, and hot substances, or to adverse effects of medical treatment. From 1990 to 2019, global mortality rates declined by 34·4% (from 17·5 to 11·5 per 100 000) for transport injuries, and by 47·7% (from 15·9 to 8·3 per 100 000) for unintentional injuries. However, in low-SDI nations the absolute number of deaths increased (by 80·5% to 42 774 for transport injuries and by 39·4% to 31 961 for unintentional injuries). In the high-SDI quintile in 2010–19, the rate per 100 000 of transport injury DALYs was reduced by 16·7%, from 838 in 2010 to 699 in 2019. This was a substantially slower pace of reduction compared with the 48·5% reduction between 1990 and 2010, from 1626 per 100 000 in 1990 to 838 per 100 000 in 2010. Between 2010 and 2019, the rate of unintentional injury DALYs per 100 000 also remained largely unchanged in high-SDI countries (555 in 2010 vs 554 in 2019; 0·2% reduction). The number and rate of adolescent deaths and DALYs owing to environmental heat and cold exposure increased for the high-SDI quintile during 2010–19. Interpretation: As other causes of mortality are addressed, inadequate progress in reducing transport and unintentional injury mortality as a proportion of adolescent deaths becomes apparent. The relative shift in the burden of injury from high-SDI countries to low and low–middle-SDI countries necessitates focused action, including global donor, government, and industry investment in injury prevention. The persisting burden of DALYs related to transport and unintentional injuries indicates a need to prioritise innovative measures for the primary prevention of adolescent injury. Funding: Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation

Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Funding: F Carvalho and E Fernandes acknowledge support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), in the scope of the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy i4HB; FCT/MCTES through the project UIDB/50006/2020. J Conde acknowledges the European Research Council Starting Grant (ERC-StG-2019-848325). V M Costa acknowledges the grant SFRH/BHD/110001/2015, received by Portuguese national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), IP, under the Norma Transitória DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006.proofepub_ahead_of_prin

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality