Influence of dietary supplementation with an amino acid mixture on inflammatory markers, immune status and serum proteome in lps-challenged weaned piglets

In order to investigate the effect of a dietary amino acid mixture supplementation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged weaned piglets, twenty-seven 28-day-old (8.2 ± 1.0 kg) newly weaned piglets were randomly allocated to one of three experimental treatments for five weeks. Diet 1: a CTRL treatment. Diet 2: an LPS treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS (25 µg/kg) on day 7. Diet 3: an LPS+MIX treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS on day 7 and fed a diet supplemented with a mixture of 0.3% of arginine, branched-chain amino acids (leucine, valine, and isoleucine), and cystine (MIX). Blood samples were drawn on day 10 and day 35, and serum was analysed for selected chemical parameters and proteomics. The LPS and LPS+MIX groups exhibited an increase in haptoglobin concentrations on day 10. The LPS group showed an increased cortisol concentration, while this concentration was reduced in the LPS+MIX group compared to the control group. Similarly, the LPS+MIX group showed a decreased haptoglobin concentration on day 35 compared to the two other groups. Immunoglobulin concentrations were affected by treatments. Indeed, on day 10, the concentrations of IgG and IgM were decreased by the LPS challenge, as illustrated by the lower concentrations of these two immunoglobulins in the LPS group compared to the control group. In addition, the supplementation with the amino acid mixture in the LPS+MIX further decreased IgG and increased IgM concentrations compared to the LPS group. Although a proteomics approach did not reveal important alterations in the protein profile in response to treatments, LPS-challenged piglets had an increase in proteins linked to the immune response, when compared to piglets supplemented with the amino acid mixture. Overall, data indicate that LPS-challenged piglets supplemented with this amino acid mixture are more protected against the detrimental effects of LPS.This study was supported by Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition Europe, by Indukern Portugal, Lda., and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Lisbon, Portugal) through projects UIDB/CVT/00276/2020 to CIISA and PEST/UID/AGR/4129/2020 to LEAF. It was also supported by national funds, through FCT Stimulus of Scientific Employment Program to author P.A.L. (DL57/2016/CP1438/CT0007) and a Ph.D. grant (SFRH/BD/143992/2019) to author D.M.R. This work had the support from the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Net-work, integrated in the National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures of Strategic Relevance (ROTEIRO/0028/2013; LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022125)

Aspergillus niger beta-Glucosidase Has a Cellulase-like Tadpole Molecular Shape INSIGHTS INTO GLYCOSIDE HYDROLASE FAMILY 3 (GH3) beta-GLUCOSIDASE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Background: -Glucosidase completes cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis by releasing glucose from cellobiose. Results: SAXS experiments revealed that Aspergillus niger -glucosidase has a cellulase-like tadpole molecular shape, uncommon to enzymes that act on the soluble substrates. Conclusion: We show that AnBgl1 N- and C-terminal domains are linked by a long extended linker. Significance: Understanding AnBgl1 architecture is useful for comprehension of the enzyme-cell wall interaction and the process of biomass saccharification. Aspergillus niger is known to secrete large amounts of -glucosidases, which have a variety of biotechnological and industrial applications. Here, we purified an A. niger -glucosidase (AnBgl1) and conducted its biochemical and biophysical analyses. Purified enzyme with an apparent molecular mass of 116 kDa forms monomers in solution as judged by native gel electrophoresis and has a pI value of 4.55, as found for most of the fungi of -glucosidases. Surprisingly, the small angle x-ray experiments reveal that AnBgl1 has a tadpole-like structure, with the N-terminal catalytic domain and C-terminal fibronectin III-like domain (FnIII) connected by the long linker peptide (approximate to 100 amino acid residues) in an extended conformation. This molecular organization resembles the one adopted by other cellulases (such as cellobiohydrolases, for example) that frequently contain a catalytic domain linked to the cellulose-binding module that mediates their binding to insoluble and polymeric cellulose. The reasons why AnBgl1, which acts on the small soluble substrates, has a tadpole molecular shape are not entirely clear. However, our enzyme pulldown assays with different polymeric substrates suggest that AnBgl1 has little or no capacity to bind to and to adsorb cellulose, xylan, and starch, but it has high affinity to lignin. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that clusters of residues located in the C-terminal FnIII domain interact strongly with lignin fragments. The simulations showed that numerous arginine residues scattered throughout the FnIII surface play an important role in the interaction with lignin by means of cation- stacking with the lignin aromatic rings. These results indicate that the C-terminal FnIII domain could be operational for immobilization of the enzyme on the cell wall and for the prevention of unproductive binding of cellulase to the biomass lignin.288463299133005Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Instituto Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia do BioetanolFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)FAPESP [08/56255-9, 09/54035-4, 10/16542-9]CNPq [490022/2009-0

Significados das hierarquias no trabalho em hospitais públicos brasileiros a partir de estudos empíricos

OBJETIVO: Compreender como as estruturas hierárquicas presentes na cultura organizacional de hospitais públicos brasileiros significam no trabalho hospitalar. MÉTODOS: O corpus da pesquisa originou-se em quatro teses e seis dissertações e foi organizado, analisado e interpretado sob a perspectiva da antropologia simbólica-interpretativa. RESULTADOS: Hospitais estão calcados na burocracia profissional e mecanicista, e as hierarquias, decorrentes dessas estruturas, produzem significados que interpretados indicam fragmentação das relações, disputas profissionais e distanciamentos, bem como conflitos e comportamentos subversivos no trabalho, respectivamente. CONCLUSÃO: As hierarquias em cada uma das burocracias encaminham diferentes enfrentamentos que desestabilizam os trabalhadores e seus processos de trabalho. Estratégias de reorientação e conscientização dos limites hierárquicos devem ser equacionadas, para que o trabalho seja otimizado.Objective: Understand the meaning, in hospital work, of hierarchical structures present in the organizational culture of Brazilian public hospitals. Methods: The corpus of research was originated in four theses and six dissertations, and was organized, analyzed and interpreted from the perspective of symbolic anthropology interpretation. Results: Hospitals copied the professional mechanistic bureaucracy and hierarchies, from these structures, produce meanings that indicate a fragmentation of relationships, professional disputes and separations, as well as conflicts and subversive behavior at work. Conclusion: The hierarchies in each of the bureaucracies created several clashes that disrupt the workers and their work processes. Reorientation strategies and awareness of the hierarchical boundaries should be studied so that the work is optimized.Objetivo: Comprender que significan, en el trabajo hospitalario, las estructuras jerárquicas presentes en la cultura organizacional de hospitales públicos brasileños. Métodos: El corpus de la investigación se originó en cuatro tesis y seis disertaciones y fue organizado, analizado y interpretado bajo la perspectiva de la antropología simbólica interpretativa. Resultados: Los Hospitales copian la burocracia profesional y mecanicista, y las jerarquías, provenientes de esas estructuras, producen significados que indican una fragmentación de las relaciones, disputas profesionales y distanciamientos, así como conflictos y comportamientos subversivos en el trabajo. Conclusión: Las jerarquías en cada una de las burocracias crean diferentes enfrentamientos que desestabilizan a los trabajadores y a sus procesos de trabajo. Estrategias de reorientación y concientización de los límites jerárquicos deben ser estudiadas, para que el trabajo sea optimizado

Gestão do desempenho humano: um estudo de caso em um Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (CE) Administration of the human acting: a case study in a General Hospital of Fortaleza, Ceará State

A temática deste trabalho apresenta questões sobre a prática da avaliação de desempenho funcional em uma organização pública de saúde. Este eixo de análise ganha destaque a partir das dificuldades de desenvolvimento de sistemas de avaliação com alianças entre políticas de concessão de incentivos financeiros, em um contexto cultural peculiar. Nesse sentido, é necessário admitir os limites dessa ferramenta gerencial. A partir de uma pesquisa qualitativa, utilizou-se um roteiro semiestruturado de perguntas aplicado aos servidores de um hospital geral público do Estado do Ceará. Obteve-se a caracterização do sistema de avaliação de desempenho utilizado pela instituição, podendo-se verificar sua adequação aos modelos propostos na literatura e a pertinência de seus propósitos com as percepções e expectativas dos servidores pesquisados.<br>The thematic of this work presents questions on the practice of the Evaluation of functional performance in an organization of public health. This axle of analysis gains importance from the difficulties of developing evaluation systems with alliances between policies of concession of financial incentives, in a specific cultural context. In this direction, it is necessary to admit the limits of this management tool. From a qualitative research, a semi-structured questionnaire was applied to the staff (public servers) of a public general hospital of Ceará State. It was observed the characterization of the performance evaluation system used in the institution, being able to verify its adequacy to the models proposed in the literature and the relevancy of its intentions with the perceptions and expectations of the searched servers