Dynamics of Snoring Sounds and Its Connection with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Snoring is extremely common in the general population and when irregular may indicate the presence of obstructive sleep apnea. We analyze the overnight sequence of wave packets --- the snore sound --- recorded during full polysomnography in patients referred to the sleep laboratory due to suspected obstructive sleep apnea. We hypothesize that irregular snore, with duration in the range between 10 and 100 seconds, correlates with respiratory obstructive events. We find that the number of irregular snores --- easily accessible, and quantified by what we call the snore time interval index (STII) --- is in good agreement with the well-known apnea-hypopnea index, which expresses the severity of obstructive sleep apnea and is extracted only from polysomnography. In addition, the Hurst analysis of the snore sound itself, which calculates the fluctuations in the signal as a function of time interval, is used to build a classifier that is able to distinguish between patients with no or mild apnea and patients with moderate or severe apnea

Genomic analysis and immune response in a murine mastitis model of vB_EcoM-UFV13, a potential biocontrol agent for use in dairy cows

Bovine mastitis remains the main cause of economic losses for dairy farmers. Mammary pathogenic Escherichia coli (MPEC) is related to an acute mastitis and its treatment is still based on the use of antibiotics. In the era of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) present as an efficient treatment or prophylactic option. However, this makes it essential that its genetic structure, stability and interaction with the host immune system be thoroughly characterized. The present study analyzed a novel, broad host-range anti-mastitis agent, the T4virus vB-EcoM-UFV13 in genomic terms, and its activity against a MPEC strain in an experimental E. coli-induced mastitis mouse model. 4,975 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were assigned between vB-EcoM-UFV13 and E. coli phage T4 genomes with high impact on coding sequences (CDS) (37.60%) for virion proteins. Phylogenetic trees and genome analysis supported a recent infection mix between vB-EcoM-UFV13 and Shigella phage Shfl2. After a viral stability evaluation (e.g pH and temperature), intramammary administration (MOI 10) resulted in a 10-fold reduction in bacterial load. Furthermore, pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6 and TNF-\u3b1, were observed after viral treatment. This work brings the whole characterization and immune response to vB-EcoM-UFV13, a biocontrol candidate for bovine mastitis

Frequência de polimorfismos responsáveis pela resistência a benzimidazóis em populações de Haemonchus contortus do Ceará.

Haemonchus contortus é o nematóide de maior prevalência em pequenos ruminantes no Brasil. O seu controle tem sido realizado de forma indiscriminada com a utilização de anti-helmínticos de amplo espectro, o que inevitavelmente acelerou o desenvolvimento de resistência anti-helmíntica (RAH). Os benzimidazóis são uma das classes mais utilizadas no estado do Ceará, região Nordeste. Para diagnóstico de RAH tem sido utilizados apenas métodos fenotípicos que apresentam baixa sensibilidade. Embora existam algumas técnicas moleculares altamente sensíveis de RAH, a maioria delas é aplicável apenas quando os polimorfismos de nucleotídeo único (SNP) responsáveis pela resistência a benzimidazóis são conhecidos. Dessa forma, o objetivo desse trabalho foi identificar e determinar a frequência dos SNP responsáveis pela resistência a benzimidazóis em populações de H. contortus isoladas no Ceará. Para tanto, foram coletadas fezes em 19 propriedades de ovinos, uma por município, de modo que fossem contempladas todas as mesorregiões do estado. Para extração de DNA foram utilizados em média 10.000 ovos, obtidos por técnica de recuperação por meio de tamises. A identificação e quantificação da frequência alélica dos SNP F167Y, E198A e F200Y do gene codificante para ?-tubulina foram realizadas por meio de PCR em tempo real quantitativa (qPCR) utilizando SYBR Green. As frequências de alelos resistentes médias para os SNP F167Y, E198A, F200Y foram de 62,31%, 0,02% e 33,65%, respectivamente. Os resultados sugerem que os SNP F167Y e F200Y são importantes para a resistência a benzimidazóis nas populações estudadas e devem ser incluídos no diagnóstico molecular de RAH no Ceará. Além disso, o uso de ovos para o diagnóstico molecular pode ser uma boa ferramenta para uso em campo

The BINGO Project IV: Simulations for mission performance assessment and preliminary component separation steps

The large-scale distribution of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the Universe is luminous through its 21 cm emission. The goal of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations -- BINGO -- radio telescope is to detect baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) at radio frequencies through 21 cm intensity mapping (IM). The telescope will span the redshift range 0.127 $< z <$ 0.449 with an instantaneous field-of-view of $14.75^{\circ} \times 6.0^{\circ}$. In this work we investigate different constructive and operational scenarios of the instrument by generating sky maps as they would be produced by the instrument. In doing this we use a set of end-to-end IM mission simulations. The maps will additionally be used to evaluate the efficiency of a component separation method (GNILC). We have simulated the kind of data that would be produced in a single-dish IM experiment such as BINGO. According to the results obtained, we have optimized the focal plane design of the telescope. In addition, the application of the GNILC method on simulated data shows that it is feasible to extract the cosmological signal across a wide range of multipoles and redshifts. The results are comparable with the standard principal component analysis method.Comment: 16 pages. Version to appear in A&

New records and detailed distribution and abundance of selected arthropod species collected between 1999 and 2011 in Azorean native forests.

Of the total 286 species identified, 81% were captured between 1999 and 2000, a period during which only 39% of all the samples were collected. On average, arthropod richness for each island increased by 10% during the time frame of these projects. The classes Arachnida, Chilopoda and Diplopoda represent the most remarkable cases of new island records, with more than 30% of the records being novelties. This study stresses the need to expand the approaches applied in these projects to other habitats in the Azores, and more importantly to other less surveyed taxonomic groups (e.g. Diptera and Hymenoptera). These steps are fundamental for getting a more accurate assessment of biodiversity in the archipelago

Imidazole propionate is increased in diabetes and associated with dietary patterns and altered microbial ecology

Microbiota-host-diet interactions contribute to the development of metabolic diseases. Imidazole propionate is a novel microbially produced metabolite from histidine, which impairs glucose metabolism. Here, we show that subjects with prediabetes and diabetes in the MetaCardis cohort from three European countries have elevated serum imidazole propionate levels. Furthermore, imidazole propionate levels were increased in subjects with low bacterial gene richness and Bacteroides 2 enterotype, which have previously been associated with obesity. The Bacteroides 2 enterotype was also associated with increased abundance of the genes involved in imidazole propionate biosynthesis from dietary histidine. Since patients and controls did not differ in their histidine dietary intake, the elevated levels of imidazole propionate in type 2 diabetes likely reflects altered microbial metabolism of histidine, rather than histidine intake per se. Thus the microbiota may contribute to type 2 diabetes by generating imidazole propionate that can modulate host inflammation and metabolism