Insects in Aquaculture Nutrition: An Emerging Eco-Friendly Approach or Commercial Reality?

Animal-origin food production presents an accelerated growth worldwide due to an increase in human demand. The aquaculture sector is one of the major players in terms of volume of animal protein production, and the availability of feedstuff to supply aquaculture feed (aquafeed) chain will be one of the main challenges for the next decades. Aquafeeds are mostly based on cereals, oilseeds, and marine-origin ingredients. The competition for feedstuff from the terrestrial animal industries such as pet, poultry, and swine challenges the profitability of aquafeeds, and complimentary ingredients need to be found. Many studies have focused on alternative protein sources, but the benefits of plant proteins, microorganisms-based, and diverse animal by-products are still under intense investigation to address some constraints including antinutritional factors and unbalanced nutrient profile. In this sense, the use of insects on the nutrition of aquatic animals could be an alternative. This chapter was elaborated to be an introductory reading for both academic and private sector and will discuss (i) the benefits of insects in animal nutrition, (ii) elucidate the nutritional aspects of different insect meals, (iii) bring some practical developments on aquatic nutrition, and finally (iv) discourse about constraints on insect use and its future perspectives

Development of New Tuberculosis Vaccines: A Global Perspective on Regulatory Issues

What are the regulatory challenges for testing and introducing investigative TB vaccines into countries where the disease is endemic

Closed Strings and Moduli in AdS3/CFT2

String theory on AdS3×S3×T4 has 20 moduli. We investigate how the perturbative closed string spectrum changes as we move around this moduli space in both the RR and NSNS flux backgrounds. We find that, at weak string coupling, only four of the moduli affect the energies. In the RR background the only effect of these moduli is to change the radius of curvature of the background. On the other hand, in the NSNS background, the moduli introduce worldsheet interactions which enable the use of integrability methods to solve the spectral problem. Our results show that the worldsheet theory is integrable across the 20 dimensional moduli space

Sistema VDD com cabo-eletrodo único: resultados clínico-cirúrgicos

A fim de avaliar o comportamento de sistemas VDD,C com único cabo-eletrodo quanto à eficiência, as condiçoes de manuseio e ao grau de segurança , foram estudados 13 pacientes. Sete eram do sexo masculino e a idade média foi de 57,5 anos. A indicaçao de implante foi bloqueio atrioventricular (BAV) total em 7 e BAV do tipo II em 6. Os exames realizados foram: teste de atropina, Holter de 24h, teste ergométrico e avaliaçao eletrônica dos sistemas. 0 seguimento variou de 2 a 8 meses (media =5,1). Nenhum dos pacientes teve perda definitiva de comando do marcapasso: os dois casos de aumento do limiar de estimulaçao foram corrigidos por reprogramaçao. Em 4 pacientes ocorreu perda da sensibilidade atrial: em um deles a correçao se fez por reprogramaçao e em outro por cirurgia; dois casos persistiram com undersensing atrial intermitente. Ocorreu ainda um caso de perda de sensibilidade ventricular, também corrigida por reprogramaçao. Concluimos que o sistema VDD,C com único cabo-elétrodo em seguimento a curto prazo demonstrou: 1- eficiência quanto ao modo básico de operaçao em todos os casos; 2- fácil manuseio, pois na maioria dos casos as complicaçoes puderam ser corrigidas através de reprogramaçao; 3- segurança, pois nao ocorreram complicaçoes que pusessem em risco a vida dos pacientes

Sistema VDD com cabo-eletrodo único: resultados clínico-cirúrgicos

A fim de avaliar o comportamento de sistemas VDD,C com único cabo-eletrodo quanto à eficiência, as condiçoes de manuseio e ao grau de segurança , foram estudados 13 pacientes. Sete eram do sexo masculino e a idade média foi de 57,5 anos. A indicaçao de implante foi bloqueio atrioventricular (BAV) total em 7 e BAV do tipo II em 6. Os exames realizados foram: teste de atropina, Holter de 24h, teste ergométrico e avaliaçao eletrônica dos sistemas. 0 seguimento variou de 2 a 8 meses (media =5,1). Nenhum dos pacientes teve perda definitiva de comando do marcapasso: os dois casos de aumento do limiar de estimulaçao foram corrigidos por reprogramaçao. Em 4 pacientes ocorreu perda da sensibilidade atrial: em um deles a correçao se fez por reprogramaçao e em outro por cirurgia; dois casos persistiram com undersensing atrial intermitente. Ocorreu ainda um caso de perda de sensibilidade ventricular, também corrigida por reprogramaçao. Concluimos que o sistema VDD,C com único cabo-elétrodo em seguimento a curto prazo demonstrou: 1- eficiência quanto ao modo básico de operaçao em todos os casos; 2- fácil manuseio, pois na maioria dos casos as complicaçoes puderam ser corrigidas através de reprogramaçao; 3- segurança, pois nao ocorreram complicaçoes que pusessem em risco a vida dos pacientes

When to update COVID-19 vaccine composition

Vaccines against different SARS-CoV-2 variants have been approved, but continued surveillance is needed to determine when the antigen composition of vaccines should be updated, together with clinical studies to assess vaccine efficacy

Indicação de cardioversor desfibrilador implantável após morte súbita por fibrilação ventricular em pré-operatório de catarata: relato de caso

Introdução: A fibrilação ventricular (FV) é um evento grave e fatal na maioria dos pacientes. Neste relato, descrevemos um caso de parada cardíaca durante pré-operatório de cirurgia de catarata em um paciente, com indicação subsequente de cardioversor desfibrilador implantável (CDI) para prevenção secundária de morte súbita cardíaca (MSC). Trata-se de um homem, 72 anos de idade, admitido para cirurgia de catarata com cardiomiopatia dilatada de etiologia desconhecida (DCM). O paciente apresentava hipertensão arterial, diabetes mellitus, hipotireoidismo e dislipidemia. Durante o período pré-operatório foi administrado, para realização de facectomia, colírio de tropicamida, fenilefrina e proximetacaína e, na sequência, o paciente desenvolveu FV e parada cardíaca. A parada foi revertida após 13 minutos de manobras de reanimação. O paciente foi encaminhado à Unidade de Estimulação Cardíaca de nossa instituição para avaliação. A ressonância magnética cardíaca não mostrou fibrose miocárdica e a coronariografia foi normal. Conclusão: Descrevemos um caso de FV intra-hospitalar, que acometeu paciente com DCM sem substrato anatômico arritmogênico. O mecanismo mais provável da arritmia ventricular foi hiperautomatismo induzido por estresse pré-operatório. O implante de CDI foi indicado para prevenção secundária de MSC, e afastadas causas reversíveis ou controláveis.Introduction: Ventricular fibrillation is a potentially fatal event. We describe herein a case of cardiac arrest during preoperative of cataract surgery in a patient, referred to implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) afterwards. A 72-year-old man was admitted for cataract surgery with dilated cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology (DCM). The patient presented hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism and dyslipidemia. Preoperative medication consisted of eyedrops of phenylephyne, proximetacaine and tropicamide. The patient developed ventricular fibrillation (VF) and cardiac arrest right after the administration of the eyedrops. which was reverted after 13 minutes of reanimate maneuvers. The patient was referred to the Cardiac Pacing Unit of our institution for evaluation. Cardiac MRI showed no myocardial fibrosis and coronary angiography was normal. Conclusion: We describe a case of in-hospital VF, in a patient without arrhythmogenic anatomical substrate. The most likely mechanism of ventricular arrhythmia was hyper automatism induced by preoperative stress. The ICD was implanted for secondary prevention SCD, considering controllable or reversible causes were ruled out

Pregnancy as a risk factor for severe influenza infection: an individual participant data meta-analysis

Background: WHO identifies pregnant women to be at increased risk for severe outcomes from influenza virus infections and recommends that they be prioritized for influenza vaccination. The evidence supporting this, however, is inconsistent. Ecologic studies in particular suggest more severe outcomes from influenza infection during pregnancy than studies based on individual patient data. Individual studies however may be underpowered and, as reported in a previous systematic review, confounding factors could not be adjusted for. We therefore conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis to assess the risk for severe outcomes of influenza infection in pregnant women while adjusting for other prognostic factors. Methods: We contacted authors of studies included in a recently published systematic review. We pooled the individual participant data of women of reproductive age and laboratory confirmation of influenza virus infection. We used a generalized linear mixed model and reported odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: A total of 33 datasets with data on 186,656 individuals were available, including 36,498 eligible women of reproductive age and known pregnancy status. In the multivariable model, pregnancy was associated with a 7 times higher risk of hospital admission (OR 6.80, 95%CI 6.02–7.68), among patients receiving medical care as in- or outpatients, pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of admission to intensive care units (ICU; OR 0.57, 95%CI 0.48–0.69), and was not significantly associated with death (OR 1.00, 95%CI 0.75–1.34). Conclusions: Our study found a higher risk of influenza associated hospitalization among pregnant women as compared to non-pregnant women. We did not find a higher mortality rate or higher likelihood of ICU admission among pregnant women who sought medical care. However, this study did not address whether a true community based cohort of pregnant women is at higher risk of influenza associated complications.Fil: Mertz, Dominik. Mc Master University; CanadáFil: Lo, Calvin Ka Fung. Mc Master University; CanadáFil: Lytvyn, Lyubov. Mc Master University; CanadáFil: Ortiz, Justin R.. Organizacion Mundial de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Loeb, Mark. Mc Master University; CanadáFil: Ang, Li Wei. Ministry of Health; SingapurFil: Anlikumar, Mehta Asmita. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham; IndiaFil: Bonmarin, Isabelle. Santé publique; FranciaFil: Borja Aburto, Victor Hugo. Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social; MéxicoFil: Burgmann, Heinz. Medical University Vienna; AustriaFil: Carratalà, Jordi. Universidad de Barcelona; España. Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Bellvitge; España. Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases; EspañaFil: Chowell, Gerardo. Georgia State University; Estados Unidos. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Cilloniz, Catia. Universidad de Barcelona; España. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer; EspañaFil: Cohen, Jessica. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados UnidosFil: Cutter, Jeffery. Ministry of Health; SingapurFil: Filleul, Laurent. Santé publique; Francia. French National Public Health Agency; FranciaFil: Garg, Shikha. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados UnidosFil: Geis, Steffen. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Reino UnidoFil: Helferty, Melissa. Public Health Agency; CanadáFil: Huang, Wan Ting. Taiwan Centers for Disease Control; ChinaFil: Jain, Seema. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Estados UnidosFil: Sevic, Biljana Joves. Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina; SerbiaFil: Kelly, Paul. Australian Capital Territory Health Directorate; Australia. Australian National University Medical School; AustraliaFil: Kusznierz, Gabriela. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Instituto de Salud "Dr. C. G. Malbran". Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias; ArgentinaFil: Lehners, Nicola. Ruprecht Karls Universitat Heidelberg; AlemaniaFil: Lenzi, Luana. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Ling, Ivan T.. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital; AustraliaFil: Mitchell, Robyn. Public Health Agency; CanadáFil: Mulrennan, Siobhain A.. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital; Canadá. University of Western Australia; AustraliaFil: Nishioka, Sergio A.. Ministerio de Salud de Brasil; BrasilFil: Norton, Robert. Townsville Hospital; AustraliaFil: Oh, Won Sup. Kangwon National University School of Medicine; Corea del SurFil: Orellano, Pablo Wenceslao. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Islet expression of the DNA repair enzyme 8-oxoguanosine DNA glycosylase (Ogg1) in human type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: It has become increasingly clear that β-cell failure plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Free-radical mediated β-cell damage has been intensively studied in type 1 diabetes, but not in human type 2 diabetes. Therefore, we studied the protein expression of the DNA repair enzyme Ogg1 in pancreases from type 2 diabetics. Ogg1 was studied because it is the major enzyme involved in repairing 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanosine DNA adducts, a lesion previously observed in a rat model of type 2 diabetes. Moreover, in a gene expression screen, Ogg1 was over-expressed in islets from a human type 2 diabetic. METHODS: Immunofluorescent staining of Ogg1 was performed on pancreatic specimens from healthy controls and patients with diabetes for 2–23 years. The intensity and islet area stained for Ogg1 was evaluated by semi-quantitative scoring. RESULTS: Both the intensity and the area of islet Ogg1 staining were significantly increased in islets from the type 2 diabetic subjects compared to the healthy controls. A correlation between increased Ogg1 fluorescent staining intensity and duration of diabetes was also found. Most of the staining observed was cytoplasmic, suggesting that mitochondrial Ogg1 accounts primarily for the increased Ogg1 expression. CONCLUSION: We conclude that oxidative stress related DNA damage may be a novel important factor in the pathogenesis of human type 2 diabetes. An increase of Ogg1 in islet cell mitochondria is consistent with a model in which hyperglycemia and consequent increased β-cell oxidative metabolism lead to DNA damage and the induction of Ogg1 expression