Control biológico de parasitismos gastrointestinales en caballos

Para el control de los principales parasitismos en caballos que afectan al tracto gastrointestinal, se precisan medidas que actúen sobre los equinos. También son necesarias estrategias que contribuyan a disminuir la viabilidad de las formas patógenas que se encuentran en el suelo, reduciendo de este modo el riesgo de infección. Se demostró que la incorporación de esporas de los hongos parasiticidas Mucor circinelloides (ovicida) y Duddingtonia flagrans (larvicida) durante la fabricación de pellets nutricionales, limitaba la infección por estrongílidos en caballos en pastoreo. Ante la ausencia de efectos adversos sobre la salud de los equinos, y en vista de los resultados obtenidos, se recomienda su empleo en programas de control integrado frente a parásitos gastrointestinales

Paper pulp delignification using laccase and natural mediators

aCentro de Investigaciones Biológicas, CSIC, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, E-28040 Madrid, Spain; bCentro de Investigación y Tecnología, ENCE, Carretera de Campañó, Ribeiro Vao, E-36157 Pontevedra, Spain; cInstituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, CSIC, PO Box 1052,E-41080, Seville, Spain; E-mail address: [email protected] (A.T. Martínez)Three plant phenols, namely acetosyringone syringaldehyde and p-coumaric acid, were selected as laccase redox mediators to investigate the enzymatic delignification of paper pulp (obtained from kraft cooking of eucalypt wood) in combination with peroxide bleaching. The effects of these natural mediators were compared with those obtained using the synthetic mediator 1-hydroxybenzotriazole. p-Coumaric acid only caused minor increase of pulp brightness and did not lowered its kappa number (a rough estimation of the lignin content), whereas the use of acetosyringone or syringaldehyde as laccase mediators enabled over 15 % increase of final brightness and a similar decrease of final kappa number. Pulp delignification by laccase in the presence of the two latter natural mediators was demonstrated by analytical pyrolysis, which does not suffer from interferences by other pulp constituents as kappa number does, showing a preferential removal of lignin marker compounds compared with carbohydrate markers (up to 25% decrease of the corresponding ratio). This technique also revealed a modification of the residual lignin composition in terms of phenylpropane units after the laccase-mediator treatment. The use of laccase in combination with natural mediators, widely available from plant materials and pulping liquors, represents a promising alternative for environmentally-friendly delignification of paper pulp.This study has been funded by two ENCE-CSIC contracts, the Spanish projects AGL2005-01748, CTQ2005-8925-CO2-02/PPQ and BIO2005-2224, and the CSIC project 2006-4-0I-039. Marcel Asther from INRA (Marseille, France) is acknowledged for the P. cinnabarinus strain, and Beldem (Andenne, Belgium) is acknowledged for laccase production. S.C. thanks a R&C contract of the Spanish MEC, and D.I. thanks a I3P Fellowship of the Spanish CSIC.Peer reviewe

Determining the influence of eucalypt lignin composition in paper pulp yield using Py-GC/MS

1)Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, P.O. Box 1052, 41080-Seville, Spain; 2)ENCE-CIT, Ctra. Campañó, Ribeiro-Vao, 36157 Pontevedra, Spain; 3)Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, E-28040 Madrid, Spain. E-mail address: [email protected] (J.C. del Río)A set of Eucalyptus globulus woods from different origins and growth conditions, giving a wide range of pulp yields (from 40% to 60%) upon kraft cooking, was analyzed using Py-GC/MS. The carbohydrate-derived compounds and the compounds derived from syringyl (S) and guaiacyl (G) lignin units were analyzed and the lignin/carbohydrate and S/G ratios determined. Eucalypt woods giving higher pulp yield released higher amounts of S-type compounds upon Py-GC/MS. A significant correlation was observed between pulp yield and the lignin composition in terms of the S/G ratio. By contrast, the lignin/carbohydrate ratio obtained by Py-GC/MS, did not show a significant correlation with the pulp yield. This indicates that the lignin composition is a more important parameter influencing pulp yield than the lignin content.This study has been supported by Grupo Empresarial ENCE S.A. and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (MCyT) (project AGL2002-00393). A.G. acknowledges a "Ramón y Cajal" contract of the Spanish MCyT.Peer reviewe

Towards industrially-feasible delignification and pitch removal by treating paper pulp with Myceliophthora thermophila laccase and a phenolic mediator

The ability of two natural phenols to act as mediators of the recombinant Myceliophthora thermophila laccase (MtL) in eucalypt-pulp delignification was investigated. After alkaline peroxide extraction, the properties of the enzymatically-treated pulps improved with respect to the control. The pulp brightness increased (3.1 points) after the enzymatic treatment with MtL alone, but the highest improvements were obtained after the MtL treatment using syringaldehyde (4.7 points) and especially methyl syringate (8.3 points) as mediators. Likewise, a decrease in kappa number up to 2.7 points was obtained after the MtL–methyl syringate treatment, followed by decreases of 1.4 and 0.9 points after the treatments with MtL–syringaldehyde and MtL alone, respectively. On the other hand, removal of the main lipophilic extractives present in eucalypt pulp was observed after the above laccase–mediator treatments. Finally, the doses of both MtL and methyl syringate were reduced, and results compatible with industrial implementation were obtained.This study was funded by the BIORENEW and LIGNODECO EU projects (NMP2-CT-2006-026456 and KBBE-2009-3-244362, respectively) and the ELLE and RAPERO Spanish MICINN (co-financed by FEDER funds) projects AGL2008-00709 and BIO2008-01533, respectively).Peer reviewe

Findings and interobserver agreement in radiography and ultrasonography of the vertebral column of a large population of normally performing horses

Diagnostic imaging is a mainstay in the investigation of equine neck and back pain, but interpretation of radiographic and ultrasonographic findings in the spinal column of horses is not straightforward for a variety of reasons including individual anatomical variations, progressive degenerative nature of most pathologies and superimposition as well as technical limits. These issues are even more relevant in the context of examinations of apparently sound horses with absent, mild or unclear complaints, like it is often the case in pre-purchase examinations or cases of failure to meet expected performance. The first aim was to report on the spectrum, degree and location of first-line imaging findings in the spine of a large population of normally performing horses. Limited data is available about agreement of interpretation of equine vertebral column imaging by radiologists. The second aim of this prospective study was to determine interobserver agreement on radiographic and ultrasonographic diagnostic imaging findings in the vertebral column of the same population between multiple observers with longstanding experience in equine diagnostic imaging at two different institutions. Seventy-one horses randomly selected from a larger population of 250 normally performing horses participating in a swiss project on equine back health were examined at one referral center. Radiographic and ultrasonographic examinations were performed in a standardized fashion and images graded separately by two experienced radiologists at two different institutions. Focus was placed on osteoarthrosis of the synovial intervertebral articulations (SIVAs), impinging and overriding of the spinous processes (SPs) and spondylosis. Cohen’s weighted kappa was calculated for each pathology, location and segment in each modality. Interobserver agreement was calculated for findings at specific locations, single pathologies and single grades. Most horses showed no changes and were allocated grades 0 at most locations. Few abnormalities were found throughout the vertebral column, with clusters of abnormalities of the SIVAs in the caudal cervical segment and cranial lumbar segment as well as a cumulation of changes at the dorsal spinous processes in the caudal thoracic segment. These coincide with previously reported predilection sites of imaging findings in symptomatic populations. Overall mean value of agreement for imaging findings was moderate (k= 0.7). Agreement was moderate for imaging findings regarding the synovial intervertebral articulations of the thoracolumbar spine in radiography (k=0.66) but weak in ultrasonography (k=0.58). There was moderate agreement in the imaging findings of the cervical spine in ultrasonography (k=0.61) as well as radiography (k=0.62). Strong agreement was found in the radiographic assessment of changes of the thoracolumbar spinous processes (k=0.80). Almost perfect agreement was found in the radiographic assessment of thoracolumbar spondylosis (k=0.95). Agreement between radiologists in detection and grading of pathologies of the equine vertebral column is weak to almost perfect depending on pathology and location. Our results confirm findings about distribution of specific pathologies found in other studies and support the importance of interpreting imaging findings along with clinical findings for definitive case management and decision making. Additional studies are needed for determination of the correlation of imaging findings among different modalities and correlation of diagnostic imaging with clinical findings

Chemical characterization of residual lignins from eucalypt paper pulps

aCentro de Investigaciones Biológicas, CSIC, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, E-28040 Madrid, Spain bInstituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología, CSIC, PO Box 1042, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain cENCE, CIT, Carretera de Campañó s/n, E-36157 Pontevedra, SpainResidual lignins were isolated from eucalypt kraft pulps by enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose followed by purification using a combination of proteinase hydrolysis and solvent extraction. The residual lignins isolated from brown (unbleached) and totally chlorine free (TCF) bleached pulps were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), and compared with eucalypt milled-wood lignin and kraft lignin. The lignin in eucalypt wood and pulps showed a strong predominance of syringyl (S) over guaiacyl (G) units. The strongest lignin modification was observed in the kraft lignin recovered from the alkaline pulping liquor. The chemical composition of the residual lignin from pulp was closer to milled-wood lignin than to the kraft lignin, indicating that most of the lignin modified during pulping was released to the cooking liquor. During TCF bleaching of pulp, which included oxygen delignification and peroxide stages, modifications of lignin were produced resulting in increased amount of non-conjugated carbonyl groups. We concluded that residual lignin in eucalypt kraft pulp reflects native lignin moieties entrapped into the cellulosic network thus partially avoiding their attack by chemical reagents, although different modifications are produced during the bleaching stages.This study has been supported by ENCE, the EU-Contract QLK5-99-1357, and the Spanish project AGL2002-00393.Peer reviewe

AT1 receptor autoantibodies mediate effects of metabolic syndrome on dopaminergic vulnerability

The metabolic syndrome has been associated to chronic peripheral inflammation and related with neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, including Parkinson’s disease. However, the responsible mechanisms are unclear. Previous studies have involved the brain renin-angiotensin system in progression of Parkinson’s disease and the angiotensin receptor type 1 (AT1) has been recently revealed as a major marker of dopaminergic vulnerability in humans. Dysregulation of tissue renin-angiotensin system is a key common mechanism for all major components of metabolic syndrome. Circulating AT1 agonistic autoantibodies have been observed in several inflammation-related peripheral processes, and activation of AT1 receptors of endothelial cells, dopaminergic neurons and glial cells have been observed to disrupt endothelial blood -brain barrier and induce neurodegeneration, respectively. Using a rat model, we observed that metabolic syndrome induces overactivity of nigral pro-inflammatory renin-angiotensin system axis, leading to increase in oxidative stress and neuroinflammation and enhancing dopaminergic neurodegeneration, which was inhibited by treatment with AT1 receptor blockers (ARBs)S

Autosomal recessive hyposegmentation of granulocytes in Australian Shepherd Dogs indicates a role for LMBR1L in myeloid leukocytes

Pelger-Huët anomaly (PHA) in humans is an autosomal dominant hematological phenotype without major clinical consequences. PHA involves a characteristic hyposegmentation of granulocytes (HG). Human PHA is caused by heterozygous loss of function variants in the LBR gene encoding lamin receptor B. Bi-allelic variants and complete deficiency of LBR cause the much more severe Greenberg skeletal dysplasia which is lethal in utero and characterized by massive skeletal malformation and gross fetal hydrops. HG phenotypes have also been described in domestic animals and homology to human PHA has been claimed in the literature. We studied a litter of Australian Shepherd Dogs with four stillborn puppies in which both parents had an HG phenotype. Linkage analysis excluded LBR as responsible gene for the stillborn puppies. We then investigated the HG phenotype in Australian Shepherd Dogs independently of the prenatal lethality. Genome-wide association mapped the HG locus to chromosome 27 and established an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Whole genome sequencing identified a splice site variant in LMBR1L, c.191+1G>A, as most likely causal variant for the HG phenotype. The mutant allele abrogates the expression of the longer X2 isoform but does not affect transcripts encoding the shorter X1 isoform of the LMBR1L protein. The homozygous mutant LMBR1L genotype associated with HG is common in Australian Shepherd Dogs and was found in 39 of 300 genotyped dogs (13%). Our results point to a previously unsuspected function of LMBR1L in the myeloid lineage of leukocytes

Haemogram in sheep with antibodies against <i>Oestrus ovis</i>

The main goal in this study was to analyze the haemogram in sheep with antibodies against L2 O. ovis excretory/secretory antigens. This investigation was carried out in Galicia (NW Spain), a European region with Atlantie clima te where warmer summers occur

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected