Paslahepevirus balayani (formerly known as hepatitis E virus) is an emerging cause of foodborne disease in Europe, transmitted mainly by the consumption of raw or undercooked pork. Since little is ...known about the presence of the virus in several pork products that are eaten uncooked, our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of Paslahepevirus balayani in groups of commercial pork products intended for human consumption subjected to different processing techniques. A total of 1265 samples of pork products from Spain were divided into four groups and tested for the presence of Paslahepevirus balayani RNA: unprocessed pig and wild boar meat frozen at −20 °C (n = 389), dry-cured pork products (n = 391), dry-cured and salted pork products (n = 219), and boiled products (n = 266) (none of these products contained pork liver). Five samples were positive for Paslahepevirus balayani RNA (overall prevalence: 0.4%; 95% CI: 0.17% - 0.92%). All positive samples were from unprocessed meat stored at −20 °C, with a prevalence in this group of 1.3% (95% CI: 0.42–3.44); two samples came from pigs (1.1%; 95% CI: 0.13–3.81) and three from wild boar (1.5%; 95% CI: 0.31–4.28). None of the pork samples in the other groups was positive. In conclusion, Paslahepevirus balayani was found in unprocessed swine products form Spain, but not in processed products intended to be consumed undercooked, demonstrating that transmission of this zoonotic virus by eating these pork products should be more seriously considered.
•Analysis of Paslahepevirus balayani RNA in raw meat and processed pork products.•Absence of viral detection in cured, salted and cured, or boiled pork products.•Consumption of unprocessed pork products implies risk of transmission of P. balayani.•Future studies to determine the viability and infectivity of the virus in unprocessed pork products.
This work explores the possibility of manufacturing dense and nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) large monoliths by spark plasma extrusion (SPE). This method combines uniaxial mechanical ...compression, high temperature, and electromagnetic field to promote the extrusion and sintering of HA powder in one single step. The results show that the binder-free extrusion of pre-compacted HA powder is feasible at a temperature similar to the temperature at which nanocrystalline HA shows superplastic behavior. The extrusion continues throughout the sliding and rotation of the particles, and also due to the grain boundary sliding, up to the point where no more material is available, thus producing monoliths of nearly 30 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter. The dehydration and smooth surface of the powder appear as paramount factors to facilitate the HA extrusion without additives. The extruded HA preserved the stoichiometry and nanometric grain size and exhibited preferential microstructural alignment in the direction of extrusion. The material experiences local thermal and pressure gradients during extrusion, producing different densification and hardness along its length. The SPE of HA will benefit the healthcare field by offering new processing approaches of bone substitutes and osteosynthesis devices.
Abstract Introduction and objectives: Hemodynamically unstable patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) are eligible for systemic thrombolysis (ST). However, catheter-directed therapy (CDT) and ...surgical thrombectomy (SUT) can also be considered with less clinical evidence. Limited information exists regarding the best reperfusion therapy in this setting. Our objective was to perform a descriptive analysis of different reperfusion therapies in acute pulmonary embolism and determine their safety and efficacy profile. Methods: Retrospective analysis from a prospective single-centre registry of patients admitted with a diagnosis of PE from 2006 through 2021 who required reperfusion therapy. We analyzed the in-hospital outcomes and at 14-day follow up. Results: A total of 50 out of 399 patients admitted with a diagnosis of PE received reperfusion therapies and were included in our analysis. Mean age, 64.5 (53-72), 46% female. This was the reperfusion strategy applied: ST (44%), CDT (42%) and SUT (14%). All patients had right ventricular dilatation and high troponin levels. The overall in-hospital mortality was 18%. Major and minor bleeding rates among the different reperfusion methods were 9.0% vs 4.7% vs 57.4%; P = .001), and 18.1% vs 9.5% vs 14.2%; P = NS), respectively. The 14-day follow-up showed that only CDT and SUT reduced the pulmonary artery systolic pressure while ST and CDT were associated with a reduced right ventricular diameter and an improved right ventricular function. Conclusions: High mortality rates were found in this population with acute PE. No differences were seen regarding effectiveness seen among the different reperfusion strategies used. CDT and SUT may be considered as alternative reperfusion methods especially if ST is contraindicated.
Rhodnius prolixus not only has served as a model organism for the study of insect physiology, but also is a major vector of Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately seven million people ...worldwide. We sequenced the genome of R. prolixus, generated assembled sequences covering 95% of the genome (∼ 702 Mb), including 15,456 putative protein-coding genes, and completed comprehensive genomic analyses of this obligate blood-feeding insect. Although immune-deficiency (IMD)-mediated immune responses were observed, R. prolixus putatively lacks key components of the IMD pathway, suggesting a reorganization of the canonical immune signaling network. Although both Toll and IMD effectors controlled intestinal microbiota, neither affected Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, implying the existence of evasion or tolerance mechanisms. R. prolixus has experienced an extensive loss of selenoprotein genes, with its repertoire reduced to only two proteins, one of which is a selenocysteine-based glutathione peroxidase, the first found in insects. The genome contained actively transcribed, horizontally transferred genes from Wolbachia sp., which showed evidence of codon use evolution toward the insect use pattern. Comparative protein analyses revealed many lineage-specific expansions and putative gene absences in R. prolixus, including tandem expansions of genes related to chemoreception, feeding, and digestion that possibly contributed to the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle. The genome assembly and these associated analyses provide critical information on the physiology and evolution of this important vector species and should be instrumental for the development of innovative disease control methods.
•Elevated CO2 improved carbon assimilation balance regardless of watering.•Elevated CO2 decreased photorespiration rates and oxidative pressure under drought.•Improved growth under elevated CO2 was ...more evident under drought than under full irrigation.•Elevated CO2 led to more biomass partitioning towards roots with greater root length under drought.•Growth changes at elevated CO2 were unrelated to altered hormonal pools, but rather with shifts on carbon fluxes.
Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is an important global commodity grown in tropical areas where increased drought severity and frequency are believed to become progressively important due to climate changes. Nonetheless, elevated air CO2 is thought to be able to mitigate heat and drought stresses. In this study, we tested how carbon assimilation and use are affected by elevated CO2 in combination with a progressive drought, and how this could impact shifts on biomass accumulation and partitioning. For that, we cultivated coffee plants in open top chambers under greenhouse conditions. Plants grown in 12-L pots were then submitted to ambient (386 ± 20 ppm) or elevated (723 ± 83 ppm) CO2 during approximately seven months, as well as to varying soil water availabilities (100, 50, 37.5, 25 or 20 % of soil field capacity). Our results demonstrate that elevated CO2 improved carbon assimilation rates (>60 %) with unaltered stomatal conductance and no signs of photosynthetic downregulation. This was accompanied by increases in water-use efficiency, respiration rates and biomass accumulation regardless of watering, and decreased photorespiration rates and oxidative pressure under drought. Improved growth under elevated CO2 was more evident under drought than under full irrigation, and was unlikely to have been associated with global changes on hormonal pools, but rather with shifts on carbon fluxes. Finally, elevated CO2 promoted key allometric adjustments linked to drought tolerance, e.g., more biomass partitioning towards roots with greater root length. Collectively, our results offer novel and timely information on the mitigating ability of elevated CO2 on the photosynthetic performance and growth of coffee plants under drought conditions.
Purpose: To investigate epithelial cell adhesion and proliferation on a newly developed elastin-like polymer (ELP) that mimics the functional characteristics of extracellular matrices. Materials and ...Methods: A genetically engineered ELP with cell attachment sequences was adsorbed onto glass coverslips as 1, 2, or 3 molecular films. Conjunctival epithelial cells from a human cell line and human skin fibroblast cells (as controls) were plated onto coverslips with three different substrata: plain glass, Thermanox®, and ELP-coated. Cells (104) were plated after EDTA- or trypsin-based detachment. To test adhesion, epithelial and fibroblast cells were incubated for 4 hr, stained with hematoxylin, and counted. To study proliferation, Ki-67-positive epithelial cells were counted after 1, 3, and 5 days in culture. Immunostaining for conjunctival and adhesion markers was performed. Results: Epithelial cell, but not fibroblast, adhesion on ELP was significantly enhanced compared to that of control substrata. Epithelial cells detached with EDTA alone adhered significantly better than those detached with trypsin. By day 5, epithelial cell proliferation on ELP was significantly greater than that on plain glass. Epithelial cells grown on ELP expressed conjunctival and adhesion markers. Conclusions: The recombinant ELP resembling the ocular surface extracellular matrix was a suitable substratum to sustain epithelial cell attachment and growth. This type of polymer may be suitable for tissue engineering to restore vision by reconstructing the ocular surface.
ABSTRACT Objective. Determine the best non-linear model to fit the growth curve of local turkeys managed under confinement in Michoacan, Mexico. Material and methods. Twenty-four and 43 female and ...male turkeys, reared under commercial conditions were given commercial feed. Birds were weighed weekly from hatch to 29 weeks of age. The Gompertz, Brody, Richards, von Bertalanffy and Logistic models were chosen to describe the age-weight relationship. Results. The best fitting model was selected based on the multiple determination coefficient (R2), the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and visual analysis of the observed and predicted curves. In both female and male, von Bertalanffy was the best model. The highest estimates of parameter A (mature weight) for both females and males were obtained with the von Bertalanffy model followed by the Gompertz and Logistic. The estimates of A were higher for males than for females. The highest estimates of parameter k (rate of maturity) for both females and males were, in decreasing order, for the Logistic, Gompertz, and von Bertalanffy models. k values for female turkeys was higher than for males. The age at the point of inflection (ti) and body weight at the age of point of inflection (WI) varied with the model used. The largest values of TI and WI corresponded to the Logistic model. Between sexes, the largest TI and WI values corresponded to males. Conclusions. The best models to describe turkey growth was the von Bertalanffy because it present the highest R2 and lowest AIC values.
To evaluate the applicability, internal consistency and validity of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) when used in primary care, compared with the Short Form-36 (SF-36) ...health survey.
The two questionnaires were administered to 589 patients with chronic heart failure who were registered with 97 primary care physicians. The applicability, internal consistency and validity of the MLHFQ were evaluated and comparisons were made with the SF-36.
More than 90% of patients completed the questionnaires. The percentage of uncompleted items was low. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.79 to 0.94 for the various MLHFQ dimensions. Exploratory factorial analysis identified two factors that explained 65.8% of the variance. Moderate to good correlations were observed between similar dimensions of the MLHFQ and SF-36 (correlation coefficient -0.43 to -0.73). There were significant associations between scores on the MLHFQ and clinical measures of disease severity.
When used in primary care, the MLHFQ had a high level of acceptability and good psychometric properties compared with the SF-36. Consequently, it would be useful for assessing health-related quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure.
Rhodnius prolixusnot only has served as a model organism for the study of insect physiology, but also is a major vector of Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately seven million people ...worldwide. We sequenced the genome ofR. prolixus,generated assembled sequences covering 95% of the genome (∼702 Mb), including 15,456 putative protein-coding genes, and completed comprehensive genomic analyses of this obligate blood-feeding insect. Although immunedeficiency (IMD)-mediated immune responses were observed,R. prolixusputatively lacks key components of the IMD pathway, suggesting a reorganization of the canonical immune signaling network. Although both Toll and IMD effectors controlled intestinal microbiota, neither affectedTrypanosoma cruzi,the causal agent of Chagas disease, implying the existence of evasion or tolerance mechanisms.R. prolixushas experienced an extensive loss of selenoprotein genes, with its repertoire reduced to only two proteins, one of which is a selenocysteine-based glutathione peroxidase, the first found in insects. The genome contained actively transcribed, horizontally transferred genes fromWolbachiasp., which showed evidence of codon use evolution toward the insect use pattern. Comparative protein analyses revealed many lineage-specific expansions and putative gene absences inR. prolixus,including tandem expansions of genes related to chemoreception, feeding, and digestion that possibly contributed to the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle. The genome assembly and these associated analyses provide critical information on the physiology and evolution of this important vector species and should be instrumental for the development of innovative disease control methods.
Objetivo. Determinar el modelo no lineal que mejor ajuste la curva de crecimiento de pavos locales criados en confinamiento. Material y métodos. Veinticuatro y 43 pavos hembras y machos, ...respectivamente, criados en confinamiento fueron alimentados con dietas comerciales. Cada animal se pesó desde el nacimiento hasta la semana 29 de edad. Los modelos de Gompertz, Brody, Richards, von Bertalanffy y Logístico fueron elegidos para describir la relación edad-peso. El mejor modelo se seleccionó con base en el coeficiente de determinación (R2), el criterio de información de Akaike (AIC) y el análisis visual de las curvas observadas y predichas. Resultados. El mejor ajuste (machos y hembras) correspondió al modelo von Bertalanffy. El más alto valor del parámetro A (edad a la madurez), para hembras y machos correspondió al modelo von Bertalanffy, seguido de Gompertz y Logístico. El estimador A fue mayor para machos que hembras. El mayor valor del parámetro k (tasa de madurez), para hembras y machos, variaron según el modelo utilizado. Los valores de k fueron más altos para hembras que para machos. La edad al punto de inflexión (TI) y peso vivo al punto de inflexión (WI) también variaron de un modelo a otro. Los valores más altos de TI y WI correspondieron al modelo Logístico. Entre sexos, los valores mayores de TI y WI correspondieron a los machos. Conclusiones. El mejor modelo que describió la curva de crecimiento de los pavos locales fue el de von Bertalanffy.
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![Elevated air [CO2] improves...](http://api.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/image/issn/XR4PS5YY4K/0098-8472/small "Elevated air [CO2] improves photosynthetic performance and alters biomass accumulation and partitioning in drought-stressed coffee plants")
