Protective effect of glutathione on Escherichia coli cells upon lethal heat stress

Heat treatments are widely used by the food industry to obtain safe and stable products, therefore a deeper knowledge of its mode of action on microorganisms would allow a better profit of this technology. Heat shows a multitarget mechanism of action on bacteria, affecting various cellular structures, and causing unbalances in several homeostatic parameters. The aim of this work was to study the effect of glutathione on bacterial survival against heat treatments, in order to acquire knowledge about the mode of action of heat on bacterial cells. Cells were treated in presence or absence of added glutathione and the level of inactivation, soluble protein concentration, enzymatic activities, intracellular ROS level and membrane damages were studied. Results showed that glutathione protected microorganisms against heat inactivation. Moreover, glutathione in the treatment medium preserved intracellular enzyme activity, membrane structure and reduced ROS detection. Besides, glutathione decreased sublethal injury in E. coli. Data presented in this work add new knowledge about bacterial inactivation and survival by heat

Avaliação de genótipos de grão de bico em cultivo de sequeiro nas condições de cerrado.

O presente trabalho teve o objetivo de estimar o potencial de cultivo de grão de bico quando submetido a regime de baixa umidade no solo (sequeiro) e identificar genótipos com melhores características morfoagronômicas e de rendimento

Control of parameters of a porcine artificial insemination center

El uso de la inseminación artificial en España ha experimentado un gran crecimiento en estos últimos años. Conjuntamente ha crecido el número de centros de inseminación artificial (CIA) independientes o adosados a las explotaciones. Para rentabilizar al máximo dichos centros, se hace imprescindible una buena gestión, para el control de las condiciones ambientales donde se alojan los verracos, el estatus sanitario de los mismos, así como un seguimiento de la producción y calidad del semen. Con el fin de obtener dosis seminales con calidad y concentración adecuadas se pueden aplicar factores de corrección, en base a los diferentes parámetros espermáticos posibles de evaluar en un CIA, y así obtener un número adecuado de dosis inseminantes de cada verraco Así mismo, se hace necesario -realizar la programación del trabajo diario y maximizar la rentabilidad, controlando el ritmo de extracción de semen y optimizando el balance de dosis producidas, vendidas y desechadas. Cabe remarcar que la buena gestión de un CIA se facilita con el uso de programas informáticos.Artificial insemination has greatly developed in Spain in the past years. At the same time the number of artificial insemination centres (MC) has increased within the farms and independently. Good management is essential to render these centres profitable. Important factors are: environmental control, housing of the animals, health status and production and quality of semen. In order to get semen of high quality, correction factors based on the parameters which can be applied to semen evaluation in an AIC may be used. It is advisable tu establish a daily routine tu maximize rentability, control the collection rate and tu optimize the balance between semen obtained sold and wasted. Informatization of the AIC makes a good management easier.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Control of parameters of a porcine artificial insemination center

El uso de la inseminación artificial en España ha experimentado un gran crecimiento en estos últimos años. Conjuntamente ha crecido el número de centros de inseminación artificial (CIA) independientes o adosados a las explotaciones. Para rentabilizar al máximo dichos centros, se hace imprescindible una buena gestión, para el control de las condiciones ambientales donde se alojan los verracos, el estatus sanitario de los mismos, así como un seguimiento de la producción y calidad del semen. Con el fin de obtener dosis seminales con calidad y concentración adecuadas se pueden aplicar factores de corrección, en base a los diferentes parámetros espermáticos posibles de evaluar en un CIA, y así obtener un número adecuado de dosis inseminantes de cada verraco Así mismo, se hace necesario -realizar la programación del trabajo diario y maximizar la rentabilidad, controlando el ritmo de extracción de semen y optimizando el balance de dosis producidas, vendidas y desechadas. Cabe remarcar que la buena gestión de un CIA se facilita con el uso de programas informáticos.Artificial insemination has greatly developed in Spain in the past years. At the same time the number of artificial insemination centres (MC) has increased within the farms and independently. Good management is essential to render these centres profitable. Important factors are: environmental control, housing of the animals, health status and production and quality of semen. In order to get semen of high quality, correction factors based on the parameters which can be applied to semen evaluation in an AIC may be used. It is advisable tu establish a daily routine tu maximize rentability, control the collection rate and tu optimize the balance between semen obtained sold and wasted. Informatization of the AIC makes a good management easier.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Functions, organization and etiology. A reply to Artiga and Martinez

International audienceWe reply to Artiga and Martinez's claim according to which the organizational account of cross-generation functions implies a backward looking interpretation of etiology, just as standard etiological theories of function do. We argue that Artiga and Martinez's claim stems from a fundamental misunderstanding about the notion of " closure " , on which the organizational account relies. In particular, they incorrectly assume that the system, which is relevant for ascribing cross-generation organizational function, is the lineage. In contrast, we recall that organizational closure refers to a relational description of a network of mutual dependencies, abstracted from time, in which production relations are irrelevant. From an organizational perspective, ascribing a function to an entity means locating it in the abstract system that realizes closure. In particular, the position of each entity within the relational system conveys an etiological explanation of its existence, because of its dependence on the effects exerted by other entities subject to closure. Because of the abstract relational nature of closure, we maintain that the organizational account of functions does not endorse a backward looking interpretation of etiology. As a consequence, it does not fall prey of epiphenomenalism

The Organizational Account of Function is an Etiological Account of Function

The debate on the notion of function has been historically dominated by dispositional and etiological accounts, but recently a third contender has gained prominence: the organizational account. This original theory of function is intended to offer an alternative account based on the notion of self-maintaining system. However, there is a set of cases where organizational accounts seem to generate counterintuitive results. These cases involve cross-generational traits, that is, traits that do not contribute in any relevant way to the self-maintenance of the organism carrying them, but instead have very important effects on organisms that belong to the next generation. We argue that any plausible solution to the problem of cross-generational traits shows that the organizational account just is a version of the etiological theory and, furthermore, that it does not provide any substantive advantage over standard etiological theories of function

OPTIMIZATION OF TISSUE SAMPLES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF DISEASE BIOMARKERS: THE OPTIMARK PROJECT

Europe Biobank Week, Sept 13-16, 2016. Vienna, AustriaS

Hyperspectral phasor analysis enables multiplexed 5D in vivo imaging

Time-lapse imaging of multiple labels is challenging for biological imaging as noise, photobleaching and phototoxicity compromise signal quality, while throughput can be limited by processing time. Here, we report software called Hyper-Spectral Phasors (HySP) for denoising and unmixing multiple spectrally overlapping fluorophores in a low signal-to-noise regime with fast analysis. We show that HySP enables unmixing of seven signals in time-lapse imaging of living zebrafish embryos

Compensating control participants when the intervention is of significant value: experience in Guatemala, India, Peru and Rwanda.

The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial is a randomised controlled trial in Guatemala, India, Peru and Rwanda to assess the health impact of a clean cooking intervention in households using solid biomass for cooking. The HAPIN intervention-a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove and 18-month supply of LPG-has significant value in these communities, irrespective of potential health benefits. For control households, it was necessary to develop a compensation strategy that would be comparable across four settings and would address concerns about differential loss to follow-up, fairness and potential effects on household economics. Each site developed slightly different, contextually appropriate compensation packages by combining a set of uniform principles with local community input. In Guatemala, control compensation consists of coupons equivalent to the LPG stove's value that can be redeemed for the participant's choice of household items, which could include an LPG stove. In Peru, control households receive several small items during the trial, plus the intervention stove and 1 month of fuel at the trial's conclusion. Rwandan participants are given small items during the trial and a choice of a solar kit, LPG stove and four fuel refills, or cash equivalent at the end. India is the only setting in which control participants receive the intervention (LPG stove and 18 months of fuel) at the trial's end while also being compensated for their time during the trial, in accordance with local ethics committee requirements. The approaches presented here could inform compensation strategy development in future multi-country trials