Determination of Acaricide Resistance in Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) Field Populations of Argentina, South Africa, and Australia With the Larval Tarsal Test

Infestations with ticks have an important economic impact on the cattle industry worldwide and resistance to acaricides has become a widespread phenomenon. To optimize their treatment strategy, farmers need to know if and against which classes potential acaricide-resistance does occur. Bioassays are used to assess the resistance level and pattern of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus populations. The objective of the current study was to assess the susceptibility of field populations originating from Argentina (8), South Africa (3), and Australia (2) using the Larval Tarsal Test. Nine acaricidal compounds from five major classes were tested: organosphosphates, synthetic pyrethroids (SP), macrocyclic lactones, phenylpyrazols, and amidines. The resistance ratios at concentrations inducing 50 and 90% mortality were used to detect established and emerging resistance. This study confirmed the newly reported presence of amitraz resistance in populations from Argentina. In addition, resistance to SP appeared to be widespread (88%) in the Argentinean farms, which had been selected based on the observation of lack of treatment efficacy by farmers. In South Africa one of the three populations was found to be resistant to SP and to a phenylpyrazol compound (pyriprol). Furthermore, resistance to organosphosphates and SP was observed in Australia. Finally, the Larval Tarsal Test proved to be a suitable test to evaluate the susceptibility of R. microplus field populations to the most relevant acaricidal classe

In Vitro Digestion of Chestnut and Quebracho Tannin Extracts : Antimicrobial Effect, Antioxidant Capacity and Cytomodulatory Activity in Swine Intestinal IPEC-J2 Cells

Quebracho (Qu) and chestnut (Ch) are natural sources of tannins and they are currently used in animal nutrition as feed ingredients. However, to date the bio-accessibility, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and intestinal epithelial cell stimulatory doses of Qu and Ch have not been determined. Our study investigates the antioxidant and E. coli F4+ and F18+ growth inhibitory activity of Qu, Ch, and their combinations after solubilization in water (to evaluate the already bio-accessible molecules) and after simulated gastro-intestinal digestion in vitro. The effect of an in vitro digested Ch and Qu combination was also tested on intestinal epithelial IPEC-J2 cells experimentally stressed with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Dextran Sodium Sulfate (DSS). The results showed that undigested Qu and Ch alone, and in combination, exerted a valuable antioxidant capacity and E. coli F4+ and F18+ growth inhibitory activity. The concentration of 1200 \u3bcg/mL exhibited the highest E. coli growth inhibitory activity for all the samples tested. In addition, after in vitro digestion, Qu and Qu50%\u2013Ch50% maintained E. coli growth inhibitory activity and a modest antioxidant capacity. Three hours pre-treatment with in vitro digested Qu50%\u2013Ch50% counteracted the H2O2 and DSS experimentally-induced stress in the intestinal IPEC-J2 cells. Ch and Qu tannin extracts, particularly when combined, may exert E. coli F4+ and F18+ growth inhibitory activity and valuable antioxidant and cell viability modulation activities

Mobility recorded by wearable devices and gold standards: the Mobilise-D procedure for data standardization

Wearable devices are used in movement analysis and physical activity research to extract clinically relevant information about an individual’s mobility. Still, heterogeneity in protocols, sensor characteristics, data formats, and gold standards represent a barrier for data sharing, reproducibility, and external validation. In this study, we aim at providing an example of how movement data (from the real-world and the laboratory) recorded from different wearables and gold standard technologies can be organized, integrated, and stored. We leveraged on our experience from a large multi-centric study (Mobilise-D) to provide guidelines that can prove useful to access, understand, and re-use the data that will be made available from the study. These guidelines highlight the encountered challenges and the adopted solutions with the final aim of supporting standardization and integration of data in other studies and, in turn, to increase and facilitate comparison of data recorded in the scientific community. We also provide samples of standardized data, so that both the structure of the data and the procedure can be easily understood and reproduced

Local Salmonella immunostimulation recruits vaccine-specific CD8 T cells and increases regression of bladder tumor.

The efficacy of antitumoral responses can be increased using combinatorial vaccine strategies. We recently showed that vaccination could be optimized by local administration of diverse molecular or bacterial agents to target and augment antitumoral CD8 T cells in the genital mucosa (GM) and increase regression of cervical cancer in an animal model. Non muscle-invasive bladder cancer is another disease that is easily amenable to local therapies. In contrast to data obtained in the GM, in this study we show that intravesical (IVES) instillation of synthetic toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists only modestly induced recruitment of CD8 T cells to the bladder. However, IVES administration of Ty21a, a live bacterial vaccine against typhoid fever, was much more effective and increased the number of total and vaccine-specific CD8 T cells in the bladder approximately 10 fold. Comparison of chemokines induced in the bladder by either CpG (a TLR-9 agonist) or Ty21a highlighted the preferential increase in complement component 5a, CXCL5, CXCL2, CCL8, and CCL5 by Ty21a, suggesting their involvement in the attraction of T cells to the bladder. IVES treatment with Ty21a after vaccination also significantly increased tumor regression compared to vaccination alone, resulting in 90% survival in an orthotopic murine model of bladder cancer expressing a prototype tumor antigen. Our data demonstrate that combining vaccination with local immunostimulation may be an effective treatment strategy for different types of cancer and also highlight the great potential of the Ty21a vaccine, which is routinely used worldwide, in such combinatorial therapies

Evaluation of leonardite as a feed additive on lipid metabolism and growth of weaned piglets

We evaluated the effects of leonardite supplementation, mainly composed of humic acids (HAs), as a functional feed additive in weaned piglets. One hundred and twenty piglets (Large Withe 7 Landrace) were weaned at 28\ub12 days, and randomly divided into two groups (6 pens per group, 10 piglets per pen). After one week of adaptation, for 40 days groups were fed a control diet (CTRL) and an HA enriched diet (0.25% of leonardite; HAG). Body weight (BW), average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured throughout the experimental period. On the last day of the trial four piglets per pen were randomly selected and the blood was collected to evaluate the serum metabolic profile and diamine oxidase content. Chemical analyses showed that leonardite was characterized by a high content of ash 23.27% (as-fed basis), polyphenolic content of 35.18\ub13.91 mg TAEq/g, and an antioxidant capacity of 73.31\ub18.22 \u3bcmol TroloxEq/g. The HAG group showed an increase in BW, ADG and ADFI (P<0.01) compared to the CTRL group during the experimental period. In terms of the serum metabolic profile, the HAG group showed a significant increase in total protein content (P<0.001), albumin (P<0.001), albumin/globulin ratio (P<0.01), phosphatase alkaline (P<0.01), calcium, phosphorus and magnesium (P<0.05) compared to the CTRL group. A modulation in the serum lipid profile was recorded. The HAG group showed a decrease in total triglycerides (P<0.05) with higher total cholesterol (P<0.05), however only high-density lipoprotein showed a significant increase (P<0.001) compared to the CTRL group. No significant differences in the amount of diamine oxidase were found between groups. In conclusion, leonardite inclusion in the diet at 0.25% was shown to have a positive effect on the serum lipid profile and animal growth. This thus suggests that leonardite can be considered as a new feed additive, which improves the health and performance of weaned piglets

Open Data as Open Educational Resources: Case studies of emerging practice

This collection presents the stories of our contributors’ experiences and insights, in order to demonstrate the enormous potential for openly-licensed and accessible datasets (Open Data) to be used as Open Educational Resources (OER). Open Data is an umbrella term describing openly-licensed, interoperable, and reusable datasets which have been created and made available to the public by national or local governments, academic researchers, or other organisations. These datasets can be accessed, used and shared without restrictions other than attribution of the intellectual property of their creators1.While there are various definitions of OER, these are generally understood as openly-licensed digital resources that can be used in teaching and learning. On the basis of these definitions, it is reasonable to assert that while Open Data is not always OER, it certainly becomes OER when used within pedagogical contexts. Yet while the question may appear already settled at the level of definition, the potential and actual pedagogical uses of Open Data appear to have been under-discussed. As open education researchers who take a wider interest in the various open ‘movements’, we have observed that linkages between them are not always strong, in spite of shared and interconnecting values. So, Open Data tends to be discussed primarily in relation to its production, storage, licensing and accessibility, but less often in relation to its practical subsequent uses. And, in spite of widespread understanding that use of the term ‘OER’ is actually context-dependent, and, therefore, could be almost all-encompassing, the focus of OER practice and research has tended to be on educator-produced learning materials. The search for relevant research literature in the early stages of this project turned up sources which discuss the benefits of opening data, and others advocating improving student engagement with data3, but on the topic of Open Data as an educational resource specifically, there appeared to be something of a gap

Oral administration of tobacco seeds expressing antigenic proteins in mice Balb-C : a model of edible vaccines for oedema disease

The aim of this study was the evaluation of immunogenic activity of tobacco seeds as edbile vaccine against oedema disease in mice

Protective effect of oral administration of transgenic tobacco seeds against verocytotoxic Escherichia coli strain in piglets

The use of transgenic plants as delivery system for antigenic proteins is attractive for its simplicity and increases likelihood for local immune response at sites of infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of oral administration of tobacco seeds, expressing the FedA, the major protein of the F18 adhesive fimbriae, and B subunit of verocytotoxin, against verocytotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC) strain in piglets. Forty-three early weaned piglets, were randomly divided into 4 experimental groups: 3 test groups and a control. Treatment groups orally received a bolus, with different dose of tobacco seeds on 0, 1, 2, 14 days post primary administration. After challenge, with 1*1010 CFU of O138 Escherichia coli strain, piglets showed clinical scores significantly higher in the control group compared to orally immunized groups (P<0.05) and the latter showed a faster recovery than in CG. In conclusion, oral administration of recombinant tobacco seeds expressing antigenic proteins against VTEC strains can induce a protective effect against challenger strain in piglets

Expression of vaccine antigens to edema disease in tobacco seeds and evaluation of immunogenicity on mouse model

Plant-derived vaccines present many potential advantages related to the management in intensive livestock. They could be administered without restraint of the animals, with low stress and without labour costs related to multiple injections of traditional vaccines. The aim of this study was the construction and subsequent evaluation in mouse model of transgenic tobacco seeds as edible vaccines for swine Edema disease. We focalized our attention on Verocitotoxic Escherichia coli strains (O138, O139, O141), responsible of Edema disease, that occurs in pigs approximately one week after weaning and is characterized by edema in various sites and by damages to vascular endothelium. The adhesion of bacterial strains is related to different fimbriae and Shiga-like toxins (VT2e), that play an important role in the pathogenesis. Structural parts of F18 fimbriae and B-subunit of VT2e genes were inserted in expression vectors, under control of GLOB promoter to obtain specific seed accumulation of heterologous proteins, and transformed in tobacco by agroinfection. We obtained two stable lines of transformed tobacco expressing the proteins in the seed: one included F18 gene (F18+) and another one included B-subunit of Vt2e gene (VT2e-B+). Tobacco lines were characterized by molecular and immunoenzymatic techniques for the expression of F18 and VT2e-b proteins. The amount of transgenic proteins was estimated at around 10ug/g of seeds. 14 Balb-c mice were divided randomly in two groups Control (CG) and Treatment (TG), with 7 mice each. Treatment diet, prepared as pellet to avoid different feed intakes in animals, contained 10% of tobacco seeds from F18+ and 10% of tobacco seeds from VT2e-b+. CG received a diet containing 20% of not-transgenic tobacco seeds. Treatments were administered on days 0,5,8,14,19,23. TG revealed an increment of fecal IgA at day 26, while CG at the same period decreased. The histometric data of the small intestine showed that TG crypts of the duodenum were significantly deeper than those of the CG. Immunostaining of the intestine showed that administration of transgenic tobacco seeds promotes a significant increase in the IgA-positive plasma cells production of the tonaca propria if compared to control group. In conclusion our findings suggest that tobacco seeds might be a potential source of oral vaccines

Small-Molecule Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitor of Oncogenic Rho Signaling

Uncontrolled activation of Rho signaling by RhoGEFs, in particular AKAP13 (Lbc) and its close homologs, is&nbsp;implicated in a number of human tumors with poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. Structure predictions and alanine scanning mutagenesis of Lbc identified a circumscribed hot region for RhoA recognition and activation. Virtual screening targeting that region led to the discovery of an inhibitor of Lbc-RhoA interaction inside cells. By interacting with the DH domain, the compound inhibits the catalytic activity of Lbc, halts cellular responses to activation of oncogenic Lbc pathways, and reverses a number of prostate cancer cell phenotypes such as&nbsp;proliferation, migration, and invasiveness. This study provides insights into the structural determinants of Lbc-RhoA recognition. This is a successful example of structure-based discovery of a small protein-protein interaction inhibitor able to halt oncogenic Rho signaling in&nbsp;cancer cells with therapeutic implications