Respuesta humoral y consecuencias reproductivas en ovejas desafiadas con Brucella ovis al final de la gestación

La brucelosis ovina por Brucella ovis es una enfermedad de prevalencia alta en Argentina. Para evaluar la patogenicidad de B. ovis y la respuesta serológica durante el último mes de gestación, 6 ovejas se distribuyeron en dos grupos: G1, ovejas preñadas, n = 4 y G2, ovejas no preñadas, n = 2. Tres ovejas del G1 (15 días preparto) y una del G2 fueron inoculadas con B. ovis. Se analizaron muestras de suero mediante diferentes pruebas serológicas. Se realizó aislamiento y PCR a partir de mucus cérvico-vaginal (mcv), placenta y leche. En las muestras de placenta se realizó histopatología. Las hembras del G1 parieron corderos vivos; se detectaron anticuerpos en las ovejas desafiadas del G1 a partir de los 5 días posinoculación. El mcv de las ovejas desafiadas resultó negativo al aislamiento en ambos grupos. Las muestras de leche del G1 fueron positivas por cultivo y PCR a B. ovis. La técnica de PCR resultó positiva en las placentas de las ovejas desafiadas del G1. La histopatología reveló una placentitis necrótica supurativa en una de las ovejas desafiadas. El desafío con B. ovis preparto resultó en la invasión de la placenta y de la glándula mamaria, con la consecuente excreción de la bacteria por leche. La infección con B. ovis indujo una respuesta humoral temprana en las ovejas. La colonización de la placenta por B. ovis y la excreción de la bacteria por la leche sugieren un potencial riesgo de infección activa para los corderos y la posibilidad de que estos se comporten como portadores latentes de la infección.Ovine brucellosis by Brucella ovis is a highly prevalent disease in Argentina. This study aimed to evaluate the pathogenicity of B. ovis and the serological response in ewes during late pregnancy and in their offspring. Six adult ewes were distributed in two groupsG1 (pregnant females, n = 4) and G2 (nonpregnant females, n = 2). Three pregnant ewes at 15 days prepartum and one nonpregnant eve were inoculated with B. ovis. Sera of sheep and their offspring were analyzed by different serological tests. Samples of cervicovaginal mucus, placenta and milk were studied by bacteriology. A Brucella genus-specific PCR assay was carried out in placenta and milk samples. Placenta samples were hystopathologically processed. G1 females gave birth to live lambs, but one died hours postpartum. Serological techniques employed detected antibodies in serum of inoculated pregnant animal 5 days postchallenge. Sera of female controls G1 and G2 remained negative throughout the study. Cervicovaginal mucus of infected ewes in G1 and G2 yielded negative results to bacteriology, but B. ovis was isolated from milk. The PCR assay was positive for the placenta and milk from inoculated pregnant ewes. Histopathology revealed necrotic suppurative placentitis in one placenta. However, although results demonstrated that B. ovis can invade the placenta and mammary gland, this bacterium did not cause abortion when it was inoculated intravenously at 15 days prepartum. B. ovis infection induced an early humoral response in pregnant ewes, but their lambs remained seronegative, indicating that there was no transfer of antibodies in infancy. Placenta colonization and milk excretion of B. ovis involves a potential source of infection for lambs, which could play a role as latent carriers of infection

Influence of free fatty acid content and degree of fat saturation in laying hen diets on egg quality, yolk fatty acid profile, and cholesterol content

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of dietary free fatty acid (FFA) content and the degree of saturation on egg quality, yolk fatty acid (FA) profile, and yolk cholesterol content. For a 15-wk period, a total of 144 laying hens (19-wk-old) were randomly assigned to 8 treatments arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial design, with 2 sources of crude oil (soybean oil and palm oil) and 4 levels of FFA (10, 20, 30, and 45%). The dietary treatments were achieved by progressively substituting the original oils with equivalent amounts of their corresponding acid oils (soybean acid oil and palm fatty acid distillate, respectively). No differences in ADFI or egg mass were found. However, dietary FFA reduced egg production (linear, P 0.05). The saturation degree had a significant effect on all the analyzed yolk FA (P < 0.001) except for arachidonic acid (C20:4 n-6), whereas increasing the FFA content did not affect to a great extent. These results show that varying dietary FFA level did not affect egg quality and yolk composition as much as the dietary fat source did, supporting the use of acid oils and fatty acid distillates as fat ingredients for feed

Post-COVID-19 syndrome and diabetes mellitus: a propensity-matched analysis of the International HOPE-II COVID-19 Registry

SARS-CoV-2; Reinfection; Respiratory complicationsSARS-CoV-2; Reinfección; Complicaciones respiratoriasSARS-CoV-2; Reinfecció; Complicacions respiratòriesBackground: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most frequent comorbidities in patients suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with a higher rate of severe course of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, data about post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) in patients with DM are limited. Methods: This multicenter, propensity score-matched study compared long-term follow-up data about cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and other symptoms in 8,719 patients with DM to those without DM. The 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) according to age and sex resulted in 1,548 matched pairs. Results: Diabetics and nondiabetics had a mean age of 72.6 ± 12.7 years old. At follow-up, cardiovascular symptoms such as dyspnea and increased resting heart rate occurred less in patients with DM (13.2% vs. 16.4%; p = 0.01) than those without DM (2.8% vs. 5.6%; p = 0.05), respectively. The incidence of newly diagnosed arterial hypertension was slightly lower in DM patients as compared to non-DM patients (0.5% vs. 1.6%; p = 0.18). Abnormal spirometry was observed more in patients with DM than those without DM (18.8% vs. 13; p = 0.24). Paranoia was diagnosed more frequently in patients with DM than in non-DM patients at follow-up time (4% vs. 1.2%; p = 0.009). The incidence of newly diagnosed renal insufficiency was higher in patients suffering from DM as compared to patients without DM (4.8% vs. 2.6%; p = 0.09). The rate of readmission was comparable in patients with and without DM (19.7% vs. 18.3%; p = 0.61). The reinfection rate with COVID-19 was comparable in both groups (2.9% in diabetics vs. 2.3% in nondiabetics; p = 0.55). Long-term mortality was higher in DM patients than in non-DM patients (33.9% vs. 29.1%; p = 0.005). Conclusions: The mortality rate was higher in patients with DM type II as compared to those without DM. Readmission and reinfection rates with COVID-19 were comparable in both groups. The incidence of cardiovascular symptoms was higher in patients without DM

Aprovechamiento de Residuos de la Industria Oleaginosa para la Recuperación de Ácidos Grasos Utilizando la Tecnología de Destilación Molecular

El objetivo del presente trabajo es determinar las variables operativas óptimas de la recuperación de ácidos grasos libres en el destilado de oleínas vegetales de mezcla de soja y girasol, mediante el proceso de destilación molecular. La oleína vegetal utilizada como materia prima proviene de una mezcla de residuos de la industria oleaginosa de soja y girasol, y el porcentaje de ácidos grasos libres que se determinó es de alrededor del 70%. Las variables operativas que se manipularon en la destilación molecular fueron temperatura y presión del destilador y flujo de alimentación, cuyos rangos experimentales fueron: temperatura entre 120°C y 180°C, presión entre 10 mtorr y 50 mtorr y flujo entre 1 ml/min y 3 ml/min. El diseño experimental adoptado corresponde a un diseño factorial D-Optimas y se ajustó a un modelo matemático cuadrático con la interacción de las variables operativas. Los valores de porcentaje de ácidos grasos libres en el destilado no presentaron diferencias significativas a diferencia de la recuperación de ácidos grasos medida como una fracción másica de ácidos grasos libres en el destilado respecto del total de la muestra

Post-COVID-19 Symptoms and Heart Disease: Incidence, Prognostic Factors, Outcomes and Vaccination: Results from a Multi-Center International Prospective Registry (HOPE 2)

COVID-19; Heart disease; PersistentCOVID 19; Malaltia cardíaca; PersistentCOVID-19; Enfermedad cardíaca; PersistenteBackground: Heart disease is linked to worse acute outcomes after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), although long-term outcomes and prognostic factor data are lacking. We aim to characterize the outcomes and the impact of underlying heart diseases after surviving COVID-19 hospitalization. Methods: We conducted an analysis of the prospective registry HOPE-2 (Health Outcome Predictive Evaluation for COVID-19-2, NCT04778020). We selected patients discharged alive and considered the primary end-point all-cause mortality during follow-up. As secondary main end-points, we included any readmission or any post-COVID-19 symptom. Clinical features and follow-up events are compared between those with and without cardiovascular disease. Factors with p < 0.05 in the univariate analysis were entered into the multivariate analysis to determine independent prognostic factors. Results: HOPE-2 closed on 31 December 2021, with 9299 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and 1805 died during this acute phase. Finally, 7014 patients with heart disease data were included in the present analysis, from 56 centers in 8 countries. Heart disease (+) patients were older (73 vs. 58 years old), more frequently male (63 vs. 56%), had more comorbidities than their counterparts, and suffered more frequently from post-COVID-19 complications and higher mortality (OR heart disease: 2.63, 95% CI: 1.81–3.84). Vaccination was found to be an independent protector factor (HR all-cause death: 0.09; 95% CI: 0.04–0.19). Conclusions: After surviving the acute phase, patients with underlying heart disease continue to present a more complex clinical profile and worse outcomes including increased mortality. The COVID-19 vaccine could benefit survival in patients with heart disease during follow-up.Non-conditioned grant (Fundación Interhospitalaria para la Investigación cardiovascular, FIC. Madrid, Spain). This nonprofit institution had no role in the study design; collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; nor in the decision to submit the paper for publication

Friction during earthquakes: 25 years of experimental studies

Notas: Export Date: 21 March 2022Dynamic fault strength (rock friction in the broad sense) and its evolution with seismic slip and slip rate are among the most relevant parameters in earthquake mechanics. Given the large slip rate (1 m s-1 on average), displacement (up to tens of meters), effective stress (tens of MPa), typical of seismic faulting at depth, thermo-mechanical effects become outstanding: dynamic fault strength is severely affected by fluid and rock phase changes, extreme grain size reduction, and the production of amorphous and unstable materials in the slipping zone. Here, first we will summarize the most relevant findings about dynamic fault strength during seismic slip mainly obtained thanks to the exploitation of dedicated experimental machines (i.e., rotary shear apparatus). However, the interpretation of this experimental dataset remains debated because of technical limitations which impede us to measure fundamental parameters such as temperature, strain rate, pore fluid pressure and grain size in the slipping zone. Without a sound estimate of these physical parameters, any constitutive law proposed to describe the evolution of dynamic fault strength during simulated seismic slip remains speculative. Then, we will discuss the results of some recent experiments which exploit new technical approaches to overcome the main limitations of the previous studies. The experimental approach, together with field studies of the geometry and architecture of exhumed faults and modelling, remains our most powerful tool to investigate seismic-related deformation mechanisms in both natural and human-induced earthquakes

Clinical Profile and Determinants of Mortality in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease Admitted for COVID-19

COVID-19; Interstitial lung diseases; MortalityCOVID-19; Malalties pulmonars intersticials; MortalitatCOVID-19; Enfermedades pulmonares intersticiales; MortalidadBackground: Concern has risen about the effects of COVID-19 in interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients. The aim of our study was to determine clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of ILD patients admitted for COVID-19. Methods: Ancillary analysis of an international, multicenter COVID-19 registry (HOPE: Health Outcome Predictive Evaluation) was performed. The subgroup of ILD patients was selected and compared with the rest of the cohort. Results: A total of 114 patients with ILDs were evaluated. Mean ± SD age was 72.4 ± 13.6 years, and 65.8% were men. ILD patients were older, had more comorbidities, received more home oxygen therapy and more frequently had respiratory failure upon admission than non-ILD patients (all p < 0.05). In laboratory findings, ILD patients more frequently had elevated LDH, C-reactive protein, and D-dimer levels (all p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis showed that chronic kidney disease and respiratory insufficiency on admission were predictors of ventilatory support, and that older age, kidney disease and elevated LDH were predictors of death. Conclusions: Our data show that ILD patients admitted for COVID-19 are older, have more comorbidities, more frequently require ventilatory support and have higher mortality than those without ILDs. Older age, kidney disease and LDH were independent predictors of mortality in this population

A generalized Hill-Wheeler ansatz

The Hill-Wheeler ansatz for the total wave function, within the Generator Coordinate Method framework, is generalized by recourse to the theory of distributions. The ensuing approach allows one to obtain a basis that spans the collective subspace, without having to deal explicitly with the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the overlap kernel. Applications to an exactly soluble model and anharmonic vibrations illustrate the present treatment.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

COVID-19: información sobre plataformas de vacunas

Todas las vacunas tienen como objetivo exponer al cuerpo a un antígeno que en sí mismo no cause la enfermedad, pero que provoque una respuesta inmunitaria eficaz que pueda bloquear o eliminar al agente patógeno (virus o bacteria) si una persona se infecta. Luego de varios meses del descubrimiento del SARS-CoV-2, hay diferentes vacunas en desarrollo: la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) presentan informes periódicos con las diferentes alternativas en estudio. Una vacuna ideal para la COVID-19 debería reunir los siguientes requisitos: ● Efectividad con una o dos dosis. ● Protección en los grupos poblacionales prioritarios: edad mayor de 65 años, personas con comorbilidades e inmunodeprimidos. ● Duración de la protección de, al menos, 6 meses. ● Capacidad de reducir la transmisión comunitaria de la infección. ● Seguridad: eventos adversos leves y de baja frecuencia. ● Susceptible de ser producida en gran escala a un costo asequible y en un tiempo breve. El desarrollo de ensayos, así como la generación de información son vertiginosos, el informe de la OMS del día 29 de diciembre de 2020 muestra que hay 60 vacunas en ensayos clínicos y 172 en estudios de fase preclínica. Muchos de estos desarrollos son plataformas novedosas con pocos datos preexistentes sobre seguridad y eficacia en humanos.Fil: Nuñez Montoya, Susana C. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Centro de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Nuñez Montoya, Susana C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Rocha, María Teresa. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Centro de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Federación Médica de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Información de Medicamentos Farmacéutico; Argentina.Fil: Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Vigilancia y Seguridad de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Centro de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Centro de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad de la Provincia de Córdoba. Servicio de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Colegio de Farmacéuticos de Entre Ríos. Servicio de Información de Medicamentos y Actualización Profesional; Argentina.Fil: Universidad Juan Agustín Maza. Centro de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Universidad Católica de Cuyo. Centro de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Centro de Información de Medicamentos-Farmacia; Argentina.Fil: Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Santa Fe, 1ª Circunscripción. Sistema de Información de Medicamentos; Argentina.Fil: Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Medicina. Centro Regional de Farmacovigilancia; Argentina.Fil: Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química Bioquímica y Farmacia. Unidad de Farmacovigilancia; Farmacología; Argentina

Oxysterol-induced soluble endoglin release and its involvement in hypertension

[Background]: Ischemia in the placenta is considered the base of the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, a pregnancy-specific syndrome in which soluble endoglin (sEng) is a prognostic marker and plays a pathogenic role. Here, we investigated the effects of hypoxia and the downstream pathways in the release of sEng. [Methods and Results]: Under hypoxic conditions, the trophoblast-like cell line JAR showed an increase in sEng parallel to an elevated formation of reactive oxygen species. Because reactive oxygen species are related to the formation of oxysterols, we assessed the effect of 22-(R)-hydroxycholesterol, a natural ligand of the liver X receptor (LXR), and the LXR synthetic agonist T0901317. Treatment of JAR cells or human placental explants with 22-(R)-hydroxycholesterol or T0901317 resulted in a clear increase in sEng that was dependent on LXR. These LXR agonists induced an increased matrix metalloproteinase-14 expression and activity and a significant reduction of its endogenous inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3. In addition, mice treated with LXR agonists underwent an increase in the plasma sEng levels, concomitant with an increase in arterial pressure. Moreover, transgenic mice overexpressing sEng displayed high blood pressure. Finally, administration of an endoglin peptide containing the consensus matrix metalloproteinase-14 cleavage site G-L prevented the oxysterol-dependent increase in arterial pressure and sEng levels in mice. [Conclusions]: These studies provide a clue to the involvement of the LXR pathway in sEng release and its pathogenic role in vascular disorders such as preeclampsia. © 2012 American Heart Association, Inc.This work was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain (SAF2010-61827 to Dr Bernabeu, SAF2011-29244 to Dr Castrillo, and SAF2010-15881 to Dr Lopez-Novoa), Genoma España (MEICA; Dr Bernabeu), Instituto Reina Sofía de Investigación Nefrológica (FRIAT; Dr Lopez-Novoa), Junta de Castilla and Leon (Excellence Group Grant GR-100 to Dr Lopez-Novoa), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER; Dr Bernabeu), and Red de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Renales (REDINREN; Dr Lopez-Novoa). CIBERER and REDINREN are initiatives of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III of Spain supported by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER). The cardiovascular phenotyping unit, including the telemetry equipment, has been acquired with the support of FEDER. Dr Llano is recipient of a Ramón y Cajal Research contract.Peer Reviewe