Spatial and temporal distribution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex infection in Eurasian badger (Meles meles) and cattle in Asturias, Spain

Trabajo presentado al: 69th Wildlife Disease Association and 14th European Wildlife Disease Association Conference. Cuenca, Spain. p. 66. 31 agosto-2 septiembre

Proyecto de investigación INVISO: industrialización de viviendas sostenibles

The singular and strategic INVISO (Spanish acronym for "industrialization of sustainable housing") project begun in 2006 aims to optimize housing production by industrializing construction processes, furthering the design of new materials and systems and formulating design and management tools to facilitate this process.El proyecto singular y estratégico INVISO (Industrialización de viviendas sostenibles), que comenzó en el año 2006, pretende optimizar la producción de viviendas por medio de la industrialización de los procesos constructivos, generando el diseño de nuevos materiales y sistemas y elaborando herramientas de diseño y gestión que faciliten este proceso

The expression level of BAALC -associated microRNA miR-3151 is an independent prognostic factor in younger patients with cytogenetic intermediate-risk acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease whose prognosis is mainly related to the biological risk conferred by cytogenetics and molecular profiling. In elderly patients (⩾60 years) with normal karyotype AML miR-3151 have been identified as a prognostic factor. However, miR-3151 prognostic value has not been examined in younger AML patients. In the present work, we have studied miR-3151 alone and in combination with BAALC, its host gene, in a cohort of 181 younger intermediate-risk AML (IR-AML) patients. Patients with higher expression of miR-3151 had shorter overall survival (P =0.0025), shorter leukemia-free survival (P =0.026) and higher cumulative incidence of relapse (P =0.082). Moreover, in the multivariate analysis miR-3151 emerged as independent prognostic marker in both the overall series and within the unfavorable molecular prognostic category. Interestingly, the combined determination of both miR-3151 and BAALC improved this prognostic stratification, with patients with low levels of both parameters showing a better outcome compared with those patients harboring increased levels of one or both markers (P =0.003). In addition, we studied the microRNA expression profile associated with miR-3151 identifying a six-microRNA signature. In conclusion, the analysis of miR-3151 and BAALC expression may well contribute to an improved prognostic stratification of younger patients with IR-AML

Use of ATP-Binding Cassette Subfamily A Member 13 (ABCA13) for Sensitive Detection of Focal Pathological Forms of Subclinical Bovine Paratuberculosis

[EN] Bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic enteritis caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) that causes a heavy economic impact worldwide. Map infected animals can remain asymptomatic for years while transmitting the mycobacteria to other members of the herd. Therefore, accurate detection of subclinically infected animals is crucial for disease control. In a previous RNA-Seq study, we identified several mRNAs that were overexpressed in whole blood of cows with different PTB-associated histological lesions compared with control animals without detected lesions. The proteins encoded by two of these mRNAs, ATP binding cassette subfamily A member 13 (ABCA13) and Matrix Metallopeptidase 8 (MMP8) were significantly overexpressed in whole blood of animals with focal histological lesions, the most frequent pathological form in the subclinical stages of the disease. In the current study, the potential of sensitive early diagnostic tools of commercial ELISAs, based on the detection of these two biomarkers, was evaluated in serum samples of 704 Holstein Friesian cows (566 infected animals and 138 control animals from PTB-free farms). For this evaluation, infected animals were classified into three groups, according to the type of histological lesions present in their gut tissues: focal (n = 447), multifocal (n = 59), and diffuse (n = 60). The ELISA based on the detection of ABCA13 was successfully validated showing good discriminatory power between animals with focal lesions and control animals (sensitivity 82.99% and specificity 80.43%). Conversely, the MMP8-based ELISA showed a poor discriminatory power between the different histological groups and non-infected controls. The ABCA13-based ELISA showed a higher diagnostic value (0.822) than the IDEXX ELISA (0.517), the fecal bacterial isolation (0.523) and the real-time PCR (0.531) for the detection of animals with focal lesions. Overall, our results indicate that this ABCA13 ELISA greatly improves the identification of subclinically infected animals with focal lesions that are undetectable using current diagnostic methodsSIThis study was part of the I+D+i project (RTI2018- 094192-R-C22) and was funded by the Spanish MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ Ministry of Science, Innovation and the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa) and by the Gobierno del Principado de Asturias, Regional funds PCTI 2021– 2023 (GRUPIN: IDI2021-000102) co-funded by FEDER. We acknowledge the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) for the scholarships of CB-V (Ayuda CPD2016-0142 financiada por MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 y FSE El FSE invierte en tu future) and M

Applications of Polynomial Chaos-Based Cokriging to Aerodynamic Design Optimization Benchmark Problems

In this work, the polynomial chaos-based Cokriging (PC-Cokriging) is applied to a benchmark aerodynamic design optimization problem. The aim is to perform fast design optimization using this multifidelity metamodel. Multifidelity metamodels use information at multiple levels of fidelity to make accurate and fast predictions. Higher amount of lower fidelity data can provide important information on the trends to a limited amount of high-fidelity (HF) data. The PC-Cokriging metamodel is a multivariate version of the polynomial chaos-based Kriging (PC-Kriging) metamodel and its construction is similar to Cokriging. It combines the advantages of the interpolation-based Kriging metamodel and the regression-based polynomial chaos expansions (PCE). In the work the PC-Cokriging model is compared to other metamodels namely PCE, Kriging, PC-Kriging and Cokriging. These metamodel are first compared in terms of global accuracy, measured by root mean squared error (RMSE) and normalized RMSE (NRMSE) for different sample sets, each with an increasing number of HF samples. These metamodels are then used to find the optimum. Once the optimum design is found computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are rerun and the results are compared to each other. In this study a drag reduction of 73.1 counts was achieved. The multifidelity metamodels required 19 HF samples along with 1,055 low-fidelity to converge to the optimum drag value of 129 counts, while the single fidelity models required 155 HF samples to do the same

Selenium and impaired physical function in US and Spanish older adults

Background: Selenium (Se) is a trace element with a narrow safety margin. Objectives: To evaluate the cross-sectional and longitudinal dose-response association between Se exposure and measures of impaired physical function and disability in older adults. Design: NHANES 2011–2014 cross-sectional (US, n = 1733, age ≥60 years) and Seniors-ENRICA-2 2017–2019 cross-sectional and longitudinal (Spain, n = 2548 and 1741, respectively, age ≥65 years) data were analyzed. Whole blood and serum Se levels were measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Lowerextremity performance was assessed with the Short Physical Performance Battery, and muscle weakness with a dynamometer. Incident mobility and agility limitations, and disability in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were ascertained with standardized questionnaires. Analyses were adjusted for relevant confounders, including physical activity. Results across studies were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: Meta-analyzed odds ratios (95% confidence interval) per log2 increase in whole blood Se were 0.54 (0.32; 0.76) for weakness, 0.59 (0.34; 0.83) for impaired lower-extremity performance, 0.48 (0.31; 0.68) for mobility limitations, 0.71 (0.45; 0.97) for agility limitations, and 0.34 (0.12; 0.56) for disability in at least one IADL. Analyses for serum Se in NHANES showed similar results. Findings suggest the inverse association with grip strength is progressive below 140 μg/L (p-value for non-linear trend in the Seniors-ENRICA-2 study = 0.13), and above 140 μg/L (p-value for non-linear trend in NHANES = 0.11). In the Seniors-ENRICA-2 cohort, with a 2.2 year follow-up period, a doubling in baseline Se levels were associated with a lower incidence of weakness [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.45 (0.22; 0.91)], impaired lower-extremity performance [0.63 (0.32; 1.23)], mobility [0.43 (0.21; 0.91)] and agility [0.38 (0.18; 0.78)] limitations. Discussion: In US and Spanish older adults, Se concentrations were inversely associated with physical function limitations. Further studies are needed to elucidate underlying mechanisms.Instituto de Salud Carlos III European Commission PI18/287 16/609State Secretary of R + D + I PID2019-108973RB-C21/C22European Social Fund (ESF) European Commissio

Use of ATP-Binding cassette Subfamily A Member 13 (ABCA13) for sensitive detection of focal pathological forms of subclinical bovine paratuberculosis

14 páginas, 4 tablas, 3 figuras.Bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) is a chronic enteritis caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) that causes a heavy economic impact worldwide. Map infected animals can remain asymptomatic for years while transmitting the mycobacteria to other members of the herd. Therefore, accurate detection of subclinically infected animals is crucial for disease control. In a previous RNA-Seq study, we identified several mRNAs that were overexpressed in whole blood of cows with different PTB-associated histological lesions compared with control animals without detected lesions. The proteins encoded by two of these mRNAs, ATP binding cassette subfamily A member 13 (ABCA13) and Matrix Metallopeptidase 8 (MMP8) were significantly overexpressed in whole blood of animals with focal histological lesions, the most frequent pathological form in the subclinical stages of the disease. In the current study, the potential of sensitive early diagnostic tools of commercial ELISAs, based on the detection of these two biomarkers, was evaluated in serum samples of 704 Holstein Friesian cows (566 infected animals and 138 control animals from PTB-free farms). For this evaluation, infected animals were classified into three groups, according to the type of histological lesions present in their gut tissues: focal (n = 447), multifocal (n = 59), and diffuse (n = 60). The ELISA based on the detection of ABCA13 was successfully validated showing good discriminatory power between animals with focal lesions and control animals (sensitivity 82.99% and specificity 80.43%). Conversely, the MMP8-based ELISA showed a poor discriminatory power between the different histological groups and non-infected controls. The ABCA13-based ELISA showed a higher diagnostic value (0.822) than the IDEXX ELISA (0.517), the fecal bacterial isolation (0.523) and the real-time PCR (0.531) for the detection of animals with focal lesions. Overall, our results indicate that this ABCA13 ELISA greatly improves the identification of subclinically infected animals with focal lesions that are undetectable using current diagnostic methods.This study was part of the I+D+i project (RTI2018- 094192-R-C22) and was funded by the Spanish MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ Ministry of Science, Innovation and the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa) and by the Gobierno del Principado de Asturias, Regional funds PCTI 2021– 2023 (GRUPIN: IDI2021-000102) co-funded by FEDER. We acknowledge the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) for the scholarships of CB-V (Ayuda CPD2016-0142 financiada por MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 y FSE El FSE invierte en tu future) and MC.Peer reviewe