The gut microbiome has been linked to fear extinction learning in animal models. Here, we aimed to explore the gut microbiome and memory domains according to obesity status. A specific microbiome ...profile associated with short-term memory, working memory, and the volume of the hippocampus and frontal regions of the brain differentially in human subjects with and without obesity. Plasma and fecal levels of aromatic amino acids, their catabolites, and vegetable-derived compounds were longitudinally associated with short-term and working memory. Functionally, microbiota transplantation from human subjects with obesity led to decreased memory scores in mice, aligning this trait from humans with that of recipient mice. RNA sequencing of the medial prefrontal cortex of mice revealed that short-term memory associated with aromatic amino acid pathways, inflammatory genes, and clusters of bacterial species. These results highlight the potential therapeutic value of targeting the gut microbiota for memory impairment, specifically in subjects with obesity.
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•Metagenomic data associate AAA and 1-C metabolism with memory and brain region volumes•Memory scores are associated with altered plasma levels of AAA and betaine•Obesity modulates these relationships and is associated with impaired memory•FMTs from obese subjects lead to decreased memory scores in recipient mice
Learning and memory have recently been associated with specific microorganisms and metabolites. Here, Arnoriaga-Rodríguez et al. reveal a unique microbiota profile associated with memory through pathways involving aromatic amino acid and one-carbon metabolism. Importantly, these relationships are modulated by obesity; fecal microbiota transplantation from human subjects with obesity decreases the memory score of recipient mice.
Aims
To investigate the interactions among fecal and plasma glutamate levels, insulin resistance cognition and gut microbiota composition in obese and non-obese subjects.
Methods
Gut microbiota ...composition (shotgun) and plasma and fecal glutamate, glutamine and acetate (NMR) were analyzed in a pilot study of obese and non-obese subjects (
n
= 35). Neuropsychological tests Trail making test A (TMT-A) and Trail making test B (TMT-B) scores measured cognitive information about processing speed, mental flexibility and executive function.
Results
Trail-making test score was significantly altered in obese compared with non-obese subjects. Fecal glutamate and glutamate/glutamine ratio tended to be lower among obese subjects while fecal glutamate/acetate ratio was negatively associated with BMI and TMT-A scores. Plasma glutamate/acetate ratio was negatively associated with TMT-B. The relative abundance (RA) of some bacterial families influenced glutamate levels, given the positive association of fecal glutamate/glutamine ratio with Corynebacteriaceae, Coriobacteriaceae and Burkholderiaceae RA. In contrast, Streptococaceae RA, that was significantly higher in obese subjects, negatively correlated with fecal glutamate/glutamine ratio. To close the circle, Coriobacteriaceae/Streptococaceae ratio and Corynebacteriaceae/Streptococaceae ratio were associated both with TMT-A scores and fecal glutamate/glutamine ratio.
Conclusions
Gut microbiota composition is associated with processing speed and mental flexibility in part through changes in fecal and plasma glutamate metabolism.
The Colombian geochronological database (CGD) Rodriguez-Corcho, Andres F.; Rojas-Agramonte, Yamirka; Barrera-Gonzalez, Johana A. ...
International geology review,
07/2022, Volume:
64, Issue:
12
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Geochronological databases are powerful tools for characterizing the crustal evolution and the age spectra of a region and allow comparison with other areas at a regional scale. In this contribution, ...we present the Colombian Geochronological Database (CGD), which contains a curated compilation of ca. 67,406 individual published U-Th-Pb, K-Ar, Ar-Ar, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf, Fission-track, U-Th-He, and Re-Os mineral and whole rock ages that are reported in the published literature. Each date includes geographic coordinates, geological setting, petrologic and chemical information extracted from the respective publications. The structure of the database provides a powerful interface for constructing queries and allows searching and extracting information on geographic domains, provinces, stratigraphic units, isotopic systems, date interpretations, references, etc. This information establishes a framework for regional and global geological interpretations with geochronological, stratigraphic, structural and palaeogeographic implications.
With the present effort we present to the geoscience community a clear insight, from a regional perspective, to the geology and tectonics of Colombia since Precambrian times. The comparison of all (detrital and magmatic) single zircon U-Pb dates from the Colombian (Gondwana sourced) geochronological database with the Global and North American (Laurentia sourced) databases provides a temporal constraint on the evolution of the South American continent. U-Pb zircon ages in Colombia define 13 peak clusters centred at 1767, 1530, 1325, 1178, 1007, 605,540, 468, 271, 237, 182, 76 and 10 Ma but of those, only few have a good correlation in all three databases: 1007 (Grenvillian/Orinoquian/Putumayo Orogeny), 605 (Braziliano/Pan-African Orogeny), 468 (Famatinian/Taconic Orogeny), and 182 Ma (Break-up of Pangea) zircon peaks. This correlation suggests that some tectonic events in Colombia are global and might represent crustal production and preservation while the other peaks might just represent local arc magmatic events.
This article presents a dataset of thermographic images of terrain with antipersonnel mines to identify the presence or absence of these artifacts using machine learning and artificial vision ...techniques. The dataset has 2700 thermographic images acquired at different heights, using a Zenmuse XT infrared camera (7-13 µm), embedded in the DJI Matrice 100 drone. The data acquisition experiment consists of capturing aerial infrared images of a terrain where elements with characteristics similar to antipersonnel mines type legbreaker were buried. The mines were planted in the ground between 0 cm and 10 cm deep and were spread over an area of 10 m x 10 m. The drone used a flight protocol that set the trajectory, the time of the flight, the acquisition height, and the image sampling frequency. This dataset was used in “Detection of “legbreaker” antipersonnel landmines by analysis of aerial thermographic images of the soil” 7.
An automatic detection methodology for “legbreaker” Antipersonnel Landmines (APL) was developed based on digital image processing techniques and pattern recognition, applied to thermal images ...acquired by means of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with a thermal camera. The images were acquired from the inspection of a natural terrain with sparse vegetation and under uncontrolled conditions, in which prototypes of “legbreaker” APL were buried at different depths. Remarkable results were obtained using a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) classifier, reaching average percentages of success in detecting suspicious areas with the presence of these artifacts about 97.1 % for images acquired at 1 m from the ground and 88.8 % at higher altitudes.
Vascular grafts (VGs) are medical devices intended to replace the function of a blood vessel. Available VGs in the market present low patency rates for small diameter applications setting the VG ...failure. This event arises from the inadequate response of the cells interacting with the biomaterial in the context of operative conditions generating chronic inflammation and a lack of regenerative signals where stenosis or aneurysms can occur. Tissue Engineered Vascular grafts (TEVGs) aim to induce the regeneration of the native vessel to overcome these limitations. Besides the biochemical stimuli, the biomaterial and the particular micro and macrostructure of the graft will determine the specific behavior under pulsatile pressure. The TEVG must support blood flow withstanding the exerted pressure, allowing the proper compliance required for the biomechanical stimulation needed for regeneration. Although the international standards outline the specific requirements to evaluate vascular grafts, the challenge remains in choosing the proper biomaterial and manufacturing TEVGs with good quality features to perform satisfactorily. In this review, we aim to recognize the best strategies to reach suitable mechanical properties in cell-free TEVGs according to the reported success of different approaches in clinical trials and pre-clinical trials.
The Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (MMVB) in Colombia has a long history of conventional hydrocarbon exploration and production, with a cumulative production of 2.75 billion barrels of oil as of ...December 2021. Recent interest has been directed towards unconventional hydrocarbon plays within the basin due to the fine-grained nature of its Cretaceous source rocks and their mineralogy and mechanical properties. This study presents a three-dimensional basin model for three Upper Cretaceous source rocks, known as the “La Luna Formation,” within the MMVB. The model was developed using new data from five outcrops, 7,640 km of 2D seismic lines, and forty-one boreholes, as well as additional data sets such as X-ray diffraction analyses, pyrolysis analyses, well-log correlations, facies analysis, fracture pattern prediction, pore pressure analysis, heat flow estimations, and petrophysical data. The model estimates total retained oil and gas volumes to be 7.95 billion barrels and 4.21 trillion cubic feet in most probable scenarios, after a 15% recovery factor. Seismic interpretation reveals pre-Eocene structures beneath Paleogene and Neogene sediments, and the thickness variation of the source rocks from south to north of the basin. Petrophysical modeling shows effective porosities ranging from 2%–12% and organic porosities lower than 0.1%, with parts of the succession that might correspond to a carrier bed play. From a geomechanical perspective, we identified several brittle strata based on the higher concentrations of carbonates and quartz, and the areas with a higher probability of occurrence of natural fractures. Pore pressure analysis of multiple wells shows that wells in which the Middle Eocene unconformity has beveled the source rocks have no sealing capacity, becoming a risk for the play. The results suggest potential for unconventional hydrocarbon plays in the MMVB, with sweet spot areas being primarily controlled by porosity, thermal maturity, gas-oil ratios, and retained oil and gas volumes, as well as to a lesser degree, the probability of natural fractures and pore pressure conditions. However, further exploration is needed to constrain uncertainties regarding facies and source rock quality, particularly within the depocenters of the basin, in order to prove the economic feasibility of these unconventional plays.
El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo comparar los resultados citológicos endometriales obtenidos mediante el citocepillo y el lavado de bajo volumen en yeguas criollas colombianas. Se trabajó con ...90 yeguas con historia clínica de endometritis. Los resultados de las muestras citológicas fueron comparados bajo las variables de identificación de la reacción leucocitaria, tipo de reacción leucocitaria, presentación de células polimorfonucleares y mononucleares, presentación de bacterias, hifas y cambios celulares. Se encontró reacción leucocitaria en el 100% (90/90) de los casos con el citocepillo y de 93.9% (79/90) para el lavado de bajo volumen (p=0.0031). El resultado de la presentación de células polimorfonucleares fue similar entre las dos técnicas; sin embargo, la presencia de células mononucleares fue más efectiva con la técnica del lavado de bajo volumen. El hallazgo de hifas fue de 5.4% (6/90) con la técnica de citocepillo y de 3.6 (4/90) por medio de la técnica de lavado de bajo volumen (p=0.515). No hubo diferencias significativas para el caso de las bacterias (p=0.2574). Se encontraron cambios celulares en el 2.22% (4/90) de las muestras con la técnica del citocepillo y ninguna con la técnica de lavado uterino (p=0.0431).
