Effect of different chilling rates on the quality parameters of mule duck fatty liver

The aim of this experiment was to study the effect of chilling rates on the quality features of fatty livers. Three different chilling rates were applied: ultra-fast (UF), fast (FA), and slow (SL). Technological and proteomic results were compared at time T1 when the internal temperature of livers reached 10°C and at time T2 = 24 h post mortem. Samples from the UF group reached the T1 temperature at 50 min post mortem and had the least hard livers and the lowest cooking loss percentage (25 ± 9%) at time T2 = 24 h post mortem (P-value of < 0.01). The FA and SL groups reached the T1 temperature after 120 and 210 min post mortem and presented higher melting (36 ± 9 and 41 ± 9%, respectively, at time T2) and harder livers compared to the UF group. In parallel, we conducted semi-quantifications of proteins by electrophoresis and proteolytic activities by mono-dimensional zymography for three families of proteases: Matrix metalloproteases (MMP), Cathepsins, and Calpains. The proteomic assays revealed less modified proteolytic activities in samples from the UF group, and less associated proteins degradations than in samples from the FA and the SL groups. Effects of the different chilling rates were mainly significant at time T2 (24 h post mortem). As a conclusion we were able to highlight an indirect positive relation between proteolysis and melting yield in ducks' fatty liver

Integrating GWAS and Transcriptomics to Identify the Molecular Underpinnings of Thermal Stress Responses in \u3cem\u3eDrosophila melanogaster\u3c/em\u3e

Thermal tolerance of an organism depends on both the ability to dynamically adjust to a thermal stress and preparatory developmental processes that enhance thermal resistance. However, the extent to which standing genetic variation in thermal tolerance alleles influence dynamic stress responses vs. preparatory processes is unknown. Here, using the model species Drosophila melanogaster, we used a combination of Genome Wide Association mapping (GWAS) and transcriptomic profiling to characterize whether genes associated with thermal tolerance are primarily involved in dynamic stress responses or preparatory processes that influence physiological condition at the time of thermal stress. To test our hypotheses, we measured the critical thermal minimum (CTmin) and critical thermal maximum (CTmax) of 100 lines of the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) and used GWAS to identify loci that explain variation in thermal limits. We observed greater variation in lower thermal limits, with CTmin ranging from 1.81 to 8.60°C, while CTmax ranged from 38.74 to 40.64°C. We identified 151 and 99 distinct genes associated with CTmin and CTmax, respectively, and there was strong support that these genes are involved in both dynamic responses to thermal stress and preparatory processes that increase thermal resistance. Many of the genes identified by GWAS were involved in the direct transcriptional response to thermal stress (72/151 for cold; 59/99 for heat), and overall GWAS candidates were more likely to be differentially expressed than other genes. Further, several GWAS candidates were regulatory genes that may participate in the regulation of stress responses, and gene ontologies related to development and morphogenesis were enriched, suggesting many of these genes influence thermal tolerance through effects on development and physiological status. Overall, our results suggest that thermal tolerance alleles can influence both dynamic plastic responses to thermal stress and preparatory processes that improve thermal resistance. These results also have utility for directly comparing GWAS and transcriptomic approaches for identifying candidate genes associated with thermal tolerance

Controlled-Release Oxycodone and Naloxone in the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Study

BACKGROUND: For Canadian regulatory purposes, an analgesic study was required to complement previously completed, pivotal studies on bowel effects and analgesia associated with controlled-release (CR) oxycodone/CR naloxone