Correspondence: The One Health concept applied to dirofilariasis-a zoonotic disease

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Linkage disequilibrium, persistence of phase and effective population size estimates in Hereford and Braford cattle.

The objective of this study was to estimate LD levels, persistence of phase and effective population size in Hereford and Braford cattle populations sampled in Brazil.Article 32

Use of CPAP to Reduce Arterial Stiffness in Moderate-to-Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, Without Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (STIFFSLEEP): an Observational Cohort Study Protocol

INTRODUCTION: Sleepiness is a cardinal symptom in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) but most patients have unspecific symptoms. Arterial stiffness, evaluated by pulse wave velocity (PWV), is related to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular (CV) risk. Arterial stiffness was reported to be higher in patients with OSA, improving after treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This study aims to assess whether the same effect occurs in patients with OSA and without sleepiness. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This observational study assesses the CV effect of CPAP therapy on a cohort of patients with moderate-to-severe OSA; the effect on the subcohorts of sleepy and non-sleepy patients will be compared. A systematic and consecutive sample of patients advised CPAP therapy will be recruited from a single outpatient sleep clinic (Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central-CHLC, Portugal). Eligible patients are male, younger than 65 years, with confirmed moderate-to-severe OSA and apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI) above 15/hour. Other sleep disorders, diabetes or any CV disease other than hypertension are exclusion criteria. Clinical evaluation at baseline includes Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and sleepiness is defined as ESS above 10. OSA will be confirmed by polygraphic study (cardiorespiratory, level 3). Participants are advised to undertake an assessment of carotid-femoral PWV (cf-PWV) and 24 hours evaluation of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), at baseline and after 4 months of CPAP therapy. Compliance and effectiveness of CPAP will be assessed. The main outcome is the variation of cf-PWV over time

Estimation of linkage disequilibrium, persistence of phase and effective population size of Brazilian Hereford and Braford breeds.

A set of 41,241 SNP genotypes from 2,435 Hereford (HH) and Braford (BO) bovines were analyzed to estimate linkage disequilibrium (LD) levels, persistence of phase and effective population size of these populations. LD levels were estimated using the squared correlation of alleles at two loci (r2) at varying distances. Average r2 between adjacent SNP was 0.21 for HH and 0.16 for BO. Average inter-marker distance was 61 kb in both breeds. Useful LD values (r2>0.2) were observed at 0-60 kb bins in HH and 0-20 kb bins in BO. Breeds demonstrated moderate to strong persistence of phase at all distances (range=0.53- 0.97). The greatest phase correlations (r>0.9) were found in 0-50 kb bins. LD estimates decreased rapidly with increasing distances between SNPs, however, useful LD was observed in genomic regions spanning up to ~50 kb

Genome-wide semi-automated annotation of transporter systems

Usually, transport reactions are added to genome-scale metabolic models (GSMMs) based on experimental data and literature. This approach does not allow associating specific genes with transport reactions, which impairs the ability of the model to predict effects of gene deletions. Novel methods for systematic genome-wide transporter functional annotation and their integration into GSMMs are therefore necessary. In this work, an automatic system to detect and classify all potential membrane transport proteins for a given genome and integrate the related reactions into GSMMs is proposed, based on the identification and classification of genes that encode transmembrane proteins. The Transport Reactions Annotation and Generation (TRIAGE) tool identifies the metabolites transported by each transmembrane protein and its transporter family. The localization of the carriers is also predicted and, consequently, their action is confined to a given membrane. The integration of the data provided by TRIAGE with highly curated models allowed the identification of new transport reactions. TRIAGE is included in the new release of merlin, a software tool previously developed by the authors, which expedites the GSMM reconstruction processes.This work was partially supported by a PhD grant (SFRH /BD/47307/2008) and by the ERDF—European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme (operational programme for competitiveness), and National Funds through the FCT within the projects FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009707 (HeliSysBio—molecular Systems Biology in Helicobacter pylori) and PTDC/EIAEIA/115176/2009. The authors would also like to thank the FCT Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013 and the Projects “BioInd - Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes”, REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028 and “PEM – Metabolic Engineering Platform”, project number 23060 , both cofunded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Goodness of fit comparisons among five bayesian models in genome-wide association of tick resistance in brazilian Hereford and Braford beef cattle.

This study aimed to compare five models fitness and top effect SNPs obtained with three different Bayesian GWAS methods applied to cattle tick resistance in Braford and Hereford

Endophytic fungi community in eremanthus erythropappus tree from anthropogenic and natural areas of Minas Gerais.

It is know that many plants live in symbiosis with microorganisms that can be found on their interior, the endophytes. Environment and tissue type are modulating factors of this community, in which most of these microorganisms produce important antimicrobial molecules and they may be powerful biocontrol agents in agriculture. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the community of Endophytic fungi from Eremanthus erythropappus in anthropogenic and natural areas (with human interaction, natural habitat and planned planting) of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, through cultivation-based approach and verify their antimicrobial activity against phytopathogenic fungal and pathogenic bacteria. The endophytic fungi isolated were identified by sequencing of the ITS region and subjected an in vitro antagonism test. The antagonisms that show antibiosis were submitted to tests on split plates to verify the volatile compound production. In the pairing testes, the endophytic fungi of the genera Cryptosporiopsis, Diaporthe, Xylaria, Paraconiothyrium and Camarosporium presented antibiosis against phytopathogenic fungi by releasing compounds in the medium. To our knowledge, this paper is the first report on the isolation of twelve genera fungi in E. erythropappus besides verifying their antagonist capacity, which opens the way for discovery of bioactive substances produced by endophytic fungi that inhibit pathogens