Growth-promoting effects of sustained swimming in fingerlings of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.)

Fish growth is strongly influenced by environmental and nutritional factors and changing culture conditions can help optimize it. The importance of early-life experience on the muscle phenotype later in life is well known. Here, we study the effects of 5 weeks of moderate and sustained swimming activity (5 BL s) in gilthead sea bream during early development. We analysed growth and body indexes, plasma IGF-I and GH levels, feed conversion, composition [proximate and isotopic (N/C)] and metabolic key enzymes (COX, CS, LDH, HOAD, HK, ALAT, ASAT) of white muscle. Moderate and continuous exercise in fingerlings of gilthead sea bream increased plasma IGF-I, whereas it reduced plasma GH. Under these conditions, growth rate improved without any modification to feed intake through an increase in muscle mass and a reduction in mesenteric fat deposits. There were no changes in the content and turnover of muscle proteins and lipid reserves. Glycogen stores were maintained, but glycogen turnover was higher in white muscle of exercised fish. A lower LDH/CS ratio demonstrated an improvement in the aerobic capacity of white muscle, while a reduction in the COX/CS ratio possibly indicated a functional adaptation of mitochondria to adjust to the tissue-specific energy demand and metabolic fuel availability in exercised fish. We discuss the synergistic effects of dietary nutrients and sustained exercise on the different mitochondrial responses.A.M.C and E.J.V. are supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (MICINN) and A.M.P. by a fellowship from the University of Barcelona (APIF-2012). This study was supported by the projects from the MICINN AGL2012-39768, and the “Xarxa de Refèrencia d’R+D+I en Aqüicultura” and the SGR2009-00402 from the “Generalitat de Catalunya”.Peer Reviewe

Synthesis and Leishmanicidal Activity of Novel Urea, Thiourea, and Selenourea Derivatives of Diselenides

A novel series of thirty-one N-substituted urea, thiourea, and selenourea derivatives containing diphenyldiselenide entities were synthesized, fully characterized by spectroscopic and analytical methods, and screened for their in vitro leishmanicidal activities. The cytotoxic activity of these derivatives was tested against Leishmania infantum axenic amastigotes, and selectivity was assessed in human THP-1 cells. Thirteen of the synthesized compounds showed a significant antileishmanial activity, with 50% effective concentration (EC50) values lower than that for the reference drug miltefosine (EC50, 2.84¿¿M). In addition, the derivatives 9, 11, 42, and 47, with EC50 between 1.1 and 1.95¿¿M, also displayed excellent selectivity (selectivity index ranged from 12.4 to 22.7) and were tested against infected macrophages. Compound 11, a derivative with a cyclohexyl chain, exhibited the highest activity against intracellular amastigotes, with EC50 values similar to those observed for the standard drug edelfosine. Structure-activity relationship analyses revealed that N-aliphatic substitution in urea and selenourea is recommended for the leishmanicidal activity of these analogs. Preliminary studies of the mechanism of action for the hit compounds was carried out by measuring their ability to inhibit trypanothione reductase. Even though the obtained results suggest that this enzyme is not the target for most of these derivatives, their activity comparable to that of the standards and lack of toxicity in THP-1 cells highlight the potential of these compounds to be optimized for leishmaniasis treatment.Comunidad de MadridMinisterio de Economía y CompetitividadFoundation for Applied Medical Investigatio

Monitorización de la frecuencia cardíaca en las labores de extinción de incendios forestales, para la prevención de riesgos laborales

P. 6-26Ante la previsión de aumento de incendios forestales en la zona meditarránea,TRAGSA y la Fraternidad Muprespa analizan los aspectos derivados de la frecuencia cardiaca en las labores de extinción de incendios forestales. El trabajo físico del personal especialista en extinción de incendios forestales durante la extinción de incendios se realiza a una intensidad de esfuerzo que es lo suficientemente alta como para conllevar un elevado coste energético, y que se corresponde a una carga de trabajo que requiere y exige una buena condición física para afrontarla con las suficientes garantías y con el menor riesgo para la salud.N

Tissue-Specific Orchestration of Gilthead Sea Bream Resilience to Hypoxia and High Stocking Density

Two different O-2 levels (normoxia: 75-85% O-2 saturation; moderate hypoxia: 42-43% O-2 saturation) and stocking densities (LD: 9.5, and HD: 19 kg/m(3)) were assessed on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) in a 3-week feeding trial. Reduced O-2 availability had a negative impact on feed intake and growth rates, which was exacerbated by HD despite of the improvement in feed efficiency. Blood physiological hallmarks disclosed the enhancement in O-2-carrying capacity in fish maintained under moderate hypoxia. This feature was related to a hypo-metabolic state to cope with a chronic and widespread environmental O-2 reduction, which was accompanied by a differential regulation of circulating cortisol and growth hormone levels. Customized PCR-arrays were used for the simultaneous gene expression profiling of 34-44 selected stress and metabolic markers in liver, white skeletal muscle, heart, and blood cells. The number of differentially expressed genes ranged between 22 and 19 in liver, heart, and white skeletal muscle to 5 in total blood cells. Partial Least-Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) explained [R2Y(cum)] and predicted [Q2Y(cum)] up to 95 and 65% of total variance, respectively. The first component (R2Y = 0.2889) gathered fish on the basis of O-2 availability, and liver and cardiac genes on the category of energy sensing and oxidative metabolism (cs, hif-1 alpha, pgc1 alpha, pgc1 beta, sirts 1-2-4-5-6-7), antioxidant defense and tissue repair (prdx5, sod2, mortalin, gpx4, gr, grp-170, and prdx3) and oxidative phosphorylation (nd2, nd5, and coxi) highly contributed to this separation. The second component (R2Y = 0.2927) differentiated normoxic fish at different stocking densities, and the white muscle clearly promoted this separation by a high over-representation of genes related to GH/IGF system (ghr-i, igfbp6b, igfbp5b, insr, igfbp3, and igf-i). The third component (R2Y = 0.2542) discriminated the effect of stocking density in fish exposed to moderate hypoxia by means of hepatic fatty acid desaturases (fads2, scd1a, and scd1b) and muscle markers of fatty acid oxidation (cpt1a). All these findings disclose the different contribution of analyzed tissues (liver >= heart > muscle > blood) and specific genes to the hypoxic- and crowding stress-mediated responses. This study will contribute to better explain and understand the different stress resilience of farmed fish across individuals and species

El fenómeno del dopaje desde la perspectiva de las ciencias sociales. V.2

El volumen recoge una selección de las comunicaciones presentadas al 5º Congreso Internacional "Deporte, Dopaje y Sociedad", organizado conjuntamente por la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid y por la Agencia Española de Protección de la Salud en el Deporte (AEPSAD)

Low stocking density negatively affects growth, metabolism and stress pathways in juvenile specimens of meagre (Argyrosomus regius, Asso 1801)

The influence of culture density on growth, stress system and metabolism has been assessed in A. regius juveniles submitted to different initial stocking densities (3, 7, 10 and 13 g L− 1) for 40 days. On days 0, 12, 27 and 40 of the experiment, biometric parameters were measured. In addition, plasma, liver and muscle samples were taken for biochemical analysis at the end of experimental time. Our results showed better growth rates and feed utilization in those specimens held at high stocking densities when compared to those under low stocking densities. In addition, higher plasma cortisol, glucose and triglycerides levels found in the lowest stocking density tested suggest an activation of the stress system in fish held at this condition. Moreover, no changes in hepatic metabolites were observed, while values of muscle triglycerides, amino acids and lactate enhanced when stocking density increased. In conclusion, the culture of juvenile A. regius at higher initial densities (at least 13 g L− 1) ensures better growth and the optimization of the existing facilities, improving welfare of this species in aquaculture systems.Study funded by project AGL2013-48835-C2-1-R (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain) awarded to J.M.M.Peer reviewe

Aplicability of sustained swimming for gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) fingerlings farming

Trabajo presentado en Aquaculture Europe 2014, celebrado en San Sebastián (España) del 4 al 17 de octubre de 2014Fish growth is strongly influenced by environmental and nutritional factors. So, the optimization of culture conditions can help maximize fish growth, particularly with regards to their skeletal muscle. Moderate and sustained activity has been used to improve growth rate and feed conversion efficiencies in fish. In many fish species, swimming activity changes the amount and proportion of nutrients used as energy source and the aerobic capacity of the swimming muscles. Both aspects, diet composition and dynamic muscle metabolism, were determinants of the growth improvement observed in gilthead sea bream submitted to moderate activity (Martin-Pérez et al., 2012; Felip et al., 2013). The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of five weeks of sustained activity on growth parameters, muscle metabolism and regulatory factors in the early period of gilthead sea bream farming.Peer reviewe

Growth-promoting effects of sustained swimming in fingerlings of glithead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.)

Fish growth is strongly influenced by environmental and nutritional factors and changing culture conditions can help optimize it. The importance of early-life experience on the muscle phenotype later in life is well known. Here, we study the effects of 5 weeks of moderate and sustained swimming activity (5 BL s−1) in gilthead sea bream during early development. We analysed growth and body indexes, plasma IGF-I and GH levels, feed conversion, composition [proximate and isotopic (15N/13C)] and metabolic key enzymes (COX, CS, LDH, HOAD, HK, ALAT, ASAT) of white muscle. Moderate and continuous exercise in fingerlings of gilthead sea bream increased plasma IGF-I, whereas it reduced plasma GH. Under these conditions, growth rate improved without any modification to feed intake through an increase in muscle mass and a reduction in mesenteric fat deposits. There were no changes in the content and turnover of muscle proteins and lipid reserves. Glycogen stores were maintained, but glycogen turnover was higher in white muscle of exercised fish. A lower LDH/CS ratio demonstrated an improvement in the aerobic capacity of white muscle, while a reduction in the COX/CS ratio possibly indicated a functional adaptation of mitochondria to adjust to the tissue-specific energy demand and metabolic fuel availability in exercised fish. We discuss the synergistic effects of dietary nutrients and sustained exercise on the different mitochondrial responses

Effects of sustained exercise on GH-IGFs axis in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata)

The endocrine system regulates growth mainly through the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) axis and, although exercise promotes growth, little is known about its modulation of these factors. The aim of this work was to characterize the effects of 5 wk of moderate sustained swimming on the GH-IGFs axis in gilthead sea bream fingerlings. Plasma IGF-I/GH ratio and tissue gene expression of total IGF-I and three splice variants, IGF-II, three IGF binding proteins, two GH receptors, two IGF-I receptors, and the downstream molecules were analyzed. Fish under exercise (EX) grew more than control fish (CT), had a higher plasma IGF-I/GH ratio, and showed increased hepatic IGF-I expression (mainly IGF-Ia). Total IGF-I expression levels were similar in the anterior and caudal muscles; however, IGF-Ic expression increased with exercise, suggesting that this splice variant may be the most sensitive to mechanical action. Moreover, IGFBP-5b and IGF-II increased in the anterior and caudal muscles, respectively, supporting enhanced muscle growth. Furthermore, in EX fish, hepatic IGF-IRb was reduced together with both GHRs; GHR-II was also reduced in anterior muscle, while GHR-I showed higher expression in the two muscle regions, indicating tissue-dependent differences and responses to exercise. Exercise also increased gene and protein expression of target of rapamycin (TOR), suggesting enhanced muscle protein synthesis. Altogether, these data demonstrate that moderate sustained activity may be used to increase the plasma IGF-I/GH ratio and to potentiate growth in farmed gilthead sea bream, modulating the gene expression of different members of the GH-IGFs axis (i.e., IGF-Ic, IGF-II, IGFBP-5b, GHR-I, and TOR).E. J. Vélez and A. Millán-Cubillo are supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). This study was supported by the projects from the MICINN AGL2009-12427 and AGL2012-39768 to J. Gutiérrez, and the Xarxa de Refèrencia d’R+D+I en Aqüicultura and the SGR2009-00402 from the Generalitat de CatalunyaPeer reviewe