Swim Bladder of Farmed Totoaba macdonaldi: A Source of Value-Added Collagen.

Finding strategies to use the swim bladder of farmed totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) is of the utmost need to reduce waste. Fish swim bladders are rich in collagen; hence, extracting collagen is a promising alternative with benefits for aquaculture of totoaba and the environment. The elemental biochemical composition of totoaba swim bladders, including their proximate and amino acid compositions, was determined. Pepsin-soluble collagen (PSC) was used to extract collagen from swim bladders, and its characteristics were analyzed. Alcalase and papain were used for the preparation of collagen hydrolysates. Swim bladders contained 95% protein, 2.4% fat, and 0.8% ash (on a dry basis). The essential amino acid content was low, but the functional amino acid content was high. The PSC yield was high, at 68% (dry weight). The amino acid composition profile, electrophoretic pattern, and structural integrity analyses of the isolated collagen suggested it is a typical type-I collagen with high purity. The denaturalization temperature was 32.5 °C, probably attributable to the imino acid content (205 residues/1000 residues). Papain-hydrolysates (≤3 kDa) of this collagen exhibited higher radical scavenging activity than Alcalase-hydrolysates. The swim bladder from the farmed totoaba could be an ideal source to produce high-quality type I collagen and may be considered an alternative to conventional collagen sources or bioactive peptides.

Comparative Transcriptomes of the Body Wall of Wild and Farmed Sea Cucumber Isostichopus badionotus.

Overfishing of sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus from Yucatan has led to a major population decline. They are being captured as an alternative to traditional species despite a paucity of information about their health-promoting properties. The transcriptome of the body wall of wild and farmed I. badionotus has now been studied for the first time by an RNA-Seq approach. The functional profile of wild I. badionotus was comparable with data in the literature for other regularly captured species. In contrast, the metabolism of first generation farmed I. badionotus was impaired. This had multiple possible causes including a sub-optimal growth environment and impaired nutrient utilization. Several key metabolic pathways that are important in effective handling and accretion of nutrients and energy, or clearance of harmful cellular metabolites, were disrupted or dysregulated. For instance, collagen mRNAs were greatly reduced and deposition of collagen proteins impaired. Wild I. badionotus is, therefore, a suitable alternative to other widely used species but, at present, the potential of farmed I. badionotus is unclear. The environmental or nutritional factors responsible for their impaired function in culture remain unknown, but the present data gives useful pointers to the underlying problems associated with their aquaculture.

Effect of the addition of Enterolobium cyclocarpum pods and Gliricidia sepium forage to Brachiaria brizantha on dry matter degradation, volatile fatty acid concentration, and in vitro methane production.

The purpose of this study was to determine the in vitro fermentation and methane (CH4) production in the grass Brachiaria brizantha (B) alone or when mixed with Gliricidia sepium forage (G) and/or Enterolobium cyclocarpum pods (E). Theses substrates were incubated in the following proportions: B100 (B100%), B85E15 (B85% + E15%), B85G15 (B85% + G15%), B85GE15 (B85% + G7.5% + E7.5%), and B70GE30 (B70% + G15% + E15%). Dry matter degradation (DMD), volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration, and CH4 production were measured at 12, 24, and 48 h of incubation. Experimental design was a randomized complete block. At 48-h incubation, DMD ranged between 46.5 and 51.2% (P = 0.0015). The lowest cumulative gas production (CGP) was observed in B85E15 and B85G15 (160 mL CGP/g organic matter, on average). At 48 h, B85G15 and B100 produced 28.8 and 30.2 mg CH4/g DMD, respectively, while B85E15 or the mixtures, 33.5 mg CH4/g DMD, on average (P ≤ 0.05). B85E15 and B70G30 had the highest concentration of total VFA (P ≤ 0.05). Results showed that B85E15 and B70GE30 favor DMD and increased total production of VFA and CH4 at 48 h. Supplementing livestock feed with legume forages and pods allows improves the nutritional quality of the diet and the fermentation patterns.

Hospitalization and death among patients with influenza, Guatemala, 2008-2012.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is a major cause of respiratory illness resulting in 3-5 million severe cases and 291,243-645,832 deaths annually. Substantial health and financial burden may be averted by annual influenza vaccine application, especially for high risk groups. METHODS: We used an active facility-based surveillance platform for acute respiratory diseases in three hospitals in Guatemala, Central America, to estimate the incidence of laboratory-confirmed hospitalized influenza cases and identify risk factors associated with severe disease (defined as admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) or death). We enrolled patients presenting with signs and symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and obtained naso- and oropharyngeal samples for real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We used multivariable logistic regression to identify risk factors for ICU admission or death, adjusted for age and sex. RESULTS: From May 2008 to July 2012, among 6326 hospitalized ARI cases, 446 (7%) were positive for influenza: of those, 362 (81%) had influenza A and 84 (18%) had influenza B. Fifty nine percent of patients were aged ≤ 5 years, and 10% were aged ≥ 65 years. The median length of hospitalization was 5 days (interquartile range: 5). Eighty of 446 (18%) were admitted to the ICU and 28 (6%) died. Among the 28 deaths, 7% were aged ≤ 6 months, 39% 7-60 months, 21% 5-50 years, and 32% ≥ 50 years. Children aged ≤ 6 months comprised 19% of cases and 22% of ICU admissions. Women of child-bearing age comprised 6% of cases (2 admitted to ICU; 1 death). In multivariable analyses, Santa Rosa site (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 10, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2-50), indigenous ethnicity (aOR = 4, 95% CI = 2-13, and radiologically-confirmed pneumonia (aOR = 5, 95% CI = 3-11) were independently associated with severe disease. Adjusted for hospital utilization rate, annual incidence of hospitalized laboratory-confirmed influenza was 24/100,000 overall, 93/100,000 for children aged < 5 years and 50/100,000 for those ≥ 65 years. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza is a major contributor of hospitalization and death due to respiratory diseases in Guatemala. Further application of proven influenza prevention and treatment strategies is warranted.

Distribution of influenza virus types by age using case-based global surveillance data from twenty-nine countries, 1999-2014.

BACKGROUND: Influenza disease burden varies by age and this has important public health implications. We compared the proportional distribution of different influenza virus types within age strata using surveillance data from twenty-nine countries during 1999-2014 (N=358,796 influenza cases). METHODS: For each virus, we calculated a Relative Illness Ratio (defined as the ratio of the percentage of cases in an age group to the percentage of the country population in the same age group) for young children (0-4 years), older children (5-17 years), young adults (18-39 years), older adults (40-64 years), and the elderly (65+ years). We used random-effects meta-analysis models to obtain summary relative illness ratios (sRIRs), and conducted meta-regression and sub-group analyses to explore causes of between-estimates heterogeneity. RESULTS: The influenza virus with highest sRIR was A(H1N1) for young children, B for older children, A(H1N1)pdm2009 for adults, and (A(H3N2) for the elderly. As expected, considering the diverse nature of the national surveillance datasets included in our analysis, between-estimates heterogeneity was high (I2>90%) for most sRIRs. The variations of countries' geographic, demographic and economic characteristics and the proportion of outpatients among reported influenza cases explained only part of the heterogeneity, suggesting that multiple factors were at play. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the importance of presenting burden of disease estimates by age group and virus (sub)type.

Production and performance evaluation of chitosan/collagen/honey nanofibrous membranes for wound dressing applications.

Persistent bacterial infections are the leading risk factor that complicates the healing of chronic wounds. In this work, we formulate mixtures of polyvinyl alcohol (P), chitosan (CH), collagen (C), and honey (H) to produce nanofibrous membranes with healing properties. The honey effect at concentrations of 0 % (PCH and PCHC), 5 % (PCHC-5H), 10 % (PCHC-10H), and 15 % (PCHC-15H) on the physicochemical, antibacterial, and biological properties of the developed nanofibers was investigated. Morphological analysis by SEM demonstrated that PCH and PCHC nanofibers had a uniform and homogeneous distribution on their surfaces. However, the increase in honey content increased the fiber diameter (118.11-420.10) and drastically reduced the porosity of the membranes (15.79-92.62 nm). The addition of honey reduces the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and the adsorption properties of the membranes. Mechanical tests revealed that nanofibers were more flexible and elastic when honey was added, specifically the PCHC-15H nanofibers with the lowest modulus of elasticity (15 MPa) and the highest elongation at break (220 %). Also, honey significantly improved the antibacterial efficiency of the nanofibers, mainly PCHC-15H nanofibers, which presented the best bacterial reduction rates against Staphylococcus aureus (59.84 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (47.27 %), Escherichia coli (65.07 %), and Listeria monocytogenes (49.58 %). In vitro tests with cell cultures suggest that nanofibers were not cytotoxic and exhibited excellent biocompatibility with human fibroblasts (HFb) and keratinocytes (HaCaT), since all treatments showed higher or similar cell viability as opposed to the cell control. Based on the findings, PVA-chitosan-collagen-honey nanofibrous membranes have promise as an antibacterial dressing substitute.

Impact of resident duty hour limits on safety in the intensive care unit: a national survey of pediatric and neonatal intensivists.

OBJECTIVE: Resident duty-hour regulations potentially shift the workload from resident to attending physicians. We sought to understand how current or future regulatory changes might impact safety in academic pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. DESIGN: Web-based survey. SETTING: U.S. academic pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. SUBJECTS: Attending pediatric and neonatal intensivists. INTERVENTIONS: We evaluated perceptions on four intensive care unit safety-related risk measures potentially affected by current duty-hour regulations: 1) attending physician and resident fatigue; 2) attending physician workload; 3) errors (self-reported rates by attending physicians or perceived resident error rates); and 4) safety culture. We also evaluated perceptions of how these risks would change with further duty-hour restrictions. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We administered our survey between February and April 2010 to 688 eligible physicians, of whom 360 (52.3%) responded. Most believed that resident error rates were unchanged or worse (91.9%) and safety culture was unchanged or worse (84.4%) with current duty-hour regulations. Of respondents, 61.9% believed their own work-hours providing direct patient care increased and 55.8% believed they were more fatigued while providing direct patient care. Most (85.3%) perceived no increase in their own error rates currently, but in the scenario of further reduction in resident duty-hours, over half (53.3%) believed that safety culture would worsen and a significant proportion (40.3%) believed that their own error rates would increase. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric intensivists do not perceive improved patient safety from current resident duty-hour restrictions. Policies to further restrict resident duty-hours should consider unintended consequences of worsening certain aspects of intensive care unit safety.

Disease belief, medication belief and adherence to treatment in patients with high blood pressure / Creencias de enfermedad, creencias de medicación y adherencia al tratamiento en pacientes con hipertensión arterial

Objective: Compare disease beliefs and medication beliefs with adherence to treatment in patients with hypertension without diabetes mellitus. Method: Comparative transverse design in hypertensive population, a group of 137 adherent patients and a group of 129 non-adherent patients. The beliefs of the disease and beliefs about the medication were evaluated. The statistical analysis included chi squared, odds ratio and confidence interval for odds ratio. Results: In the group of adherent patients, 71.5% have an adequate belief of the disease and in the group of non-adherent patients, 43.4% also have an adequate belief of the disease (p = 0.000). When the belief of the disease and beliefs about the medication are grouped, there is an association with adherence to treatment in hypertensive patients. Conclusions: There is an association between beliefs about the disease and medication with adherence to antihypertensive treatment.

Objetivo: Comparar las creencias de enfermedad y las creencias de medicación con la adherencia al tratamiento en pacientes con hipertensión arterial. Método: Diseño transversal comparativo en población hipertensa sin diabetes mellitus, grupo de 137 pacientes adherentes y grupo de 129 pacientes no adherentes. Se evaluaron las creencias de la enfermedad y las creencias de la medicación. El análisis estadístico incluyó prueba de ji al cuadrado, razón de momios e intervalo de confianza para razón de momios. Resultados: En el grupo de pacientes adherentes, el 71.5% tienen creencias adecuadas de la enfermedad, y en el grupo de pacientes no adherentes el 43.4% también tienen creencias adecuadas de la enfermedad (p = 0.000). Cuando se agrupan las creencias de la enfermedad y las creencias sobre la medicación existe una asociación con la adherencia al tratamiento en los pacientes hipertensos. Conclusiones: Existe asociación entre las creencias de la enfermedad y las creencias de la medicación con la adherencia al tratamiento antihipertensivo.

Enteral arginase II provides ornithine for citrulline synthesis.

The synthesis of citrulline from arginine in the small intestine depends on the provision of ornithine. To test the hypothesis that arginase II plays a central role in the supply of ornithine for citrulline synthesis, the contribution of dietary arginine, glutamine, and proline was determined by utilizing multitracer stable isotope protocols in arginase II knockout (AII(-/-)) and wild-type (WT) mice. The lack of arginase II resulted in a lower citrulline rate of appearance (121 vs. 137 µmol·kg(-1)·h(-1)) due to a reduced availability of ornithine; ornithine supplementation was able to restore the rate of citrulline production in AII(-/-) to levels comparable with WT mice. There were significant differences in the utilization of dietary citrulline precursors. The contribution of dietary arginine to the synthesis of citrulline was reduced from 45 to 10 µmol·kg(-1)·h(-1) due to the lack of arginase II. No enteral utilization of arginine was observed in AII(-/-) mice (WT = 25 µmol·kg(-1)·h(-1)), and the contribution of dietary arginine through plasma ornithine was reduced in the transgenic mice (20 vs. 13 µmol·kg(-1)·h(-1)). Dietary glutamine and proline utilization were greater in AII(-/-) than in WT mice (20 vs. 13 and 1.4 vs. 3.7 µmol·kg(-1)·h(-1), respectively). Most of the contribution of glutamine and proline was enteral rather than through plasma ornithine. The arginase isoform present in the small intestinal mucosa has the role of providing ornithine for citrulline synthesis. The lack of arginase II results in a greater contribution of plasma ornithine and dietary glutamine and proline to the synthesis of citrulline.

Current recommended parenteral protein intakes do not support protein synthesis in critically ill septic, insulin-resistant adolescents with tight glucose control.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of insulin infusion and increased parenteral amino acid intakes on whole body protein balance, glucose kinetics, and lipolysis in critically ill, insulin-resistant, septic adolescents. DESIGN: A single-center, randomized, crossover study. SETTING: A medicosurgical intensive care unit in a tertiary university hospital. PATIENTS: Nine critically ill, septic adolescents (age 15.0 ± 1.2 yrs, body mass index 20 ± 4 kg m(-2)) receiving total parenteral nutrition. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received total parenteral nutrition with standard (1.5 g · kg(-1) · day(-1)) and high (3.0 g · kg(-1) · day(-1)) amino acid intakes in a 2-day crossover setting, randomized to the order in which they received it. On both study days, we conducted a primed, constant, 7-hr stable isotope tracer infusion with [1-(13)C]leucine, [6,6-(2)H(2)]glucose, and [1,1,2,3,3-(2)H(5)]glycerol, in combination with a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp during the last 3 hrs. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Insulin decreased protein synthesis at standard amino acid and high amino acid intakes (p < .01), while protein breakdown decreased with insulin at standard amino acid intake (p < .05) but not with the high amino acid intake. High amino acid intake improved protein balance (p < .05), but insulin did not have an additive effect. There was significant insulin resistance with an M value of ~3 (mg · kg(-1) · min(-1))/(mU · mL(-1)) which was 30% of reported normal values. At high amino acid intake, endogenous glucose production was not suppressed by insulin and lipolysis rates increased. CONCLUSION: The current recommended parenteral amino acid intakes are insufficient to maintain protein balance in insulin-resistant patients during tight glucose control. During sepsis, insulin decreases protein synthesis and breakdown, and while high amino acid intake improves protein balance, its beneficial effects may be offset by enhanced endogenous glucose production and lipolysis, raising concerns that insulin resistance may have been exacerbated and that gluconeogenesis may have been favored by high amino acid intakes. Dose-response studies on the effect of the level of amino acid intakes (protein) on energy metabolism are needed.

Insulin resistance in critical illness.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to describe current concepts on inflammation, immunity and insulin resistance. Metabolic and immune systems are closely involved in inflammation and significantly contribute to the pathology seen in the pediatric intensive care unit. The ability of insulin to decrease hepatic glucose production, suppress adipose tissue lipolytic rate, stimulate skeletal muscle glucose uptake, suppress protein breakdown and increase protein synthesis is critical to maintain metabolic function. Hence, a better understanding of these regulatory mechanisms and the alterations leading to dysfunction will set the basis for a better metabolic and immune support of critically ill patients. RECENT FINDINGS: Inflammation can be elicited by infection (sepsis) through pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) or through danger associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) as a response to an insult (systemic inflammatory response syndrome; SIRS) in the absence of infection. Mitochondrial DAMPs and PAMPs share the same pattern recognition receptors. These receptors act also as nutrient sensors, and in the presence of fatty acids will induce an inflammatory cascade that affects insulin signaling with development of insulin resistance. Lipotoxicity is emerging as a significant contributor to the development of insulin resistance. SUMMARY: Insulin resistance is an adaptive mechanism that prioritizes utilization of energy for immune response in the presence of infection or injury. A better understanding of the complex interactions between metabolism, inflammation and immunity in critically ill children will lead to appropriate metabolic and immune support of these patients.

Rainfall decrease and red deer rutting behaviour: Weaker and delayed rutting activity though higher opportunity for sexual selection.

In the last decades, climate change has caused an increase in mean temperatures and a reduction in average rainfall in southern Europe, which is expected to reduce resource availability for herbivores. Resource availability can influence animals' physical condition and population growth. However, much less is known on its effects on reproductive performance and sexual selection. In this study, we assessed the impact of three environmental factors related to climate change (rainfall, temperature and vegetation index) on Iberian red deer Cervus elaphus hispanicus reproductive timing and sexual behaviour, and their effects on the opportunity for sexual selection in the population. We measured rutting phenology as rut peak date, the intensity of male rutting activity as roaring rate, and the opportunity for sexual selection from the distribution of females among harem holding males in Doñana Biological Reserve (Southwest Spain), from data of daily observations collected during the rut over a period of 25 years. For this study period, we found a trend for less raining and hence poorer environmental conditions, which associated with delayed rutting season and decreased rutting intensity, but that appeared to favour a higher degree of polygyny and opportunity for sexual selection, all these relationships being modulated by population density and sex ratio. This study highlights how climate change (mainly rainfall reduction in this area) can alter the conditions for mating and the opportunity for sexual selection in a large terrestrial mammal.

Comparison of collagen characteristic from the skin and swim bladder of Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus).

Collagens extracted from different tissues and fish species display different physicochemical properties, thus novel sources require characterization. Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus) is processed industrially for food. Of the by-products, the swim bladder is used for fish maw, but other tissues are treated as waste. In the present study, pepsin-soluble collagen from Gulf corvina skin and swim bladder was extracted and characterized. Skin produced a higher collagen yield (82 ± 1.53 %) than swim bladder (69 ± 1.60 %). Both collagens exhibited electrophoresis bands corresponding to ([α1(I)]2α2(I)) and ß chains, all characteristic of type I collagen. Spectra analysis showed the collagens to maintain their triple-helix structure. The skin collagen had a lower denaturation temperature (29.8 °C) than the swim bladder collagen (32.5 °C), due to its relatively low imino acid content (168 vs. 190 /1000 residues, respectively). Both collagens were highly soluble in acidic pH ranges; Zeta potential values were 5.5 for the skin collagen and 6.2 for the swim bladder collagen. Gulf corvina skin and swim bladder are excellent sources of type I collagen with similar physicochemical properties.

Chronic feeding with 3% dried raw blueberries (V. corymbosum) reduces apomorphine-induced rotations and striatal dopaminergic loss in hemiparkinsonian rats.

Blueberries (BB) are rich in antioxidant polyphenols, and their intake could prevent Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we assessed whether rats chronically fed dried raw BB develop resistance to dopaminergic denervation and motor disorders caused by unilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a dopaminergic neurotoxin acting mainly by inducing oxidative stress. Male rats were fed either with LabDiet® alone or supplemented with 3% lyophilized raw BB for 2 weeks before and 3 weeks after injecting 6-OHDA (day 0) or vehicle (mock lesion) into the right striatum. The cylinder test was performed on days -14, -7, -1, +7, +14, and +21; the percentage of ipsilateral forepaw (IF) use asymmetry was determined by counting the wall contacts made with either forepaw or with both. Apomorphine (0.25 mg/kg, s.c.)-induced rotation was performed on days -1, +7, +14, and +21. Full contralateral rotations were counted in 3-min periods, every 15 min, up to 90 min. Striatal slices were immunostained for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and the ionized calcium-binding protein-1 adapter (Iba1) [immunoreactive area or microglia count in right striatum expressed as % of the left striatum]. Antioxidants in BB methanolic extracts neutralized the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl in a concentration-dependent manner. Anthocyanins have been reported as the most abundant polyphenols in BB. Using the pH differential method, the total anthocyanin content (malvidin-3-glucoside equivalents) in raw BB averaged 21.04 mg/g dry weight. The range of anthocyanin intake by rats throughout the study varied from 37.7 to 72.2 mg/kg body weight. The time and food type factors, as well as their interaction were significant according to two-way RM-ANOVA in both the apomorphine-induced rotations and the cylinder test. Compared with LabDiet® alone, chronic supplementation with 3% dried raw BB decreased apomorphine-induced rotations on days +14 and +21 (p < 0.001) and produced a 46% reduction in total rotations post-surgery (p < 0.05), but only caused a partial, non-significant, decrease of IF asymmetry. BB supplementation reduced TH loss in the striatum (p < 0.05) but did not attenuate the increase of Iba1+ microglia. The consumption of 3% dried raw blueberries attenuates dopaminergic denervation and partially reverses motor disorders in the 6-OHDA-induced PD model in rats. The phytochemicals of raw blueberries that contribute to the observed neuroprotective effect are yet to be identified.

Glutamine: precursor or nitrogen donor for citrulline synthesis?

Although glutamine is considered the main precursor for citrulline synthesis, the current literature does not differentiate between the contribution of glutamine carbon skeleton vs. nonspecific nitrogen (i.e., ammonia) and carbon derived from glutamine oxidation. To elucidate the role of glutamine and nonspecific nitrogen in the synthesis of citrulline, l-[2-(15)N]- and l-[5-(15)N]glutamine and (15)N-ammonium acetate were infused intragastrically in mice. The amino group of glutamine labeled the three nitrogen groups of citrulline almost equally. The amido group and ammonium acetate labeled the ureido and amino groups of citrulline, but not the delta-nitrogen. D(5)-glutamine also infused in this arm of the study, which traces the carbon skeleton of glutamine, was utilized poorly, accounting for only 0.2-0.4% of the circulating citrulline. Dietary glutamine nitrogen (both N groups) incorporation was 25-fold higher than the incorporation of its carbon skeleton into citrulline. To investigate the relative contributions of the carbon skeleton and nonspecific carbon of glutamine, arginine, and proline to citrulline synthesis, U-(13)C(n) tracers of these amino acids were infused intragastrically. Dietary arginine was the main precursor for citrulline synthesis, accounting for approximately 40% of the circulating citrulline. Proline contribution was minor (3.4%), and glutamine was negligible (0.4%). However, the glutamine tracer resulted in a higher enrichment in the ureido group, indicating incorporation of nonspecific carbon from glutamine oxidation into carbamylphosphate used for citrulline synthesis. In conclusion, dietary glutamine is a poor carbon skeleton precursor for the synthesis of citrulline, although it contributes both nonspecific nitrogen and carbon to citrulline synthesis.

Plasma arginine and ornithine are the main citrulline precursors in mice infused with arginine-free diets.

Dietary arginine is the main dietary precursor for citrulline synthesis, but it is not known if other precursors can compensate when arginine is absent in the diet. To address this question, the contributions of plasma and dietary precursors were determined by using multitracer protocols in conscious mice infused i.g. either an arginine-sufficient diet [Arg(+)] or an arginine-free diet [Arg(-)]. The plasma entry rate of citrulline and arginine did not differ between the 2 diet groups (156 +/- 6 and 564 +/- 30 micromol kg(-1) h(-1), respectively); however, the entry rate of ornithine was greater in the mice fed the Arg(+) than the Arg(-) diet (332 +/- 33 vs. 180 +/- 16 micromol kg(-1) h(-1)). There was a greater utilization of plasma ornithine for the synthesis of citrulline (49 +/- 4 vs. 36 +/- 3 micromol kg(-1) h(-1), 30 +/- 3% vs. 24 +/- 2% of citrulline entry rate) in the mice fed the Arg(-) diet than the Arg(+) diet. The utilization of plasma arginine did not differ between the 2 diet groups for citrulline synthesis, either through plasma ornithine (approximately 29 +/- 3 micromol kg(-1) h(-1)) or at the site of citrulline synthesis (approximately 12 +/- 3 micromol kg(-1) h(-1)). The contribution of dietary proline to the synthesis of citrulline was mainly at the site of citrulline production (17 +/- 1 micromol kg(-1) h(-1)), rather than through plasma ornithine (5 +/- 0.4 micromol kg(-1) h(-1)). Dietary glutamine was utilized only at the site of citrulline synthesis (4 +/- 0.2 micromol kg(-1) h(-1)). Dietary glutamine and proline made a greater contribution to the synthesis of citrulline in mice fed the Arg(-) diet but remained minor sources for citrulline production. Plasma arginine and ornithine are able to support citrulline synthesis during arginine-free feeding.

First seropositive cases of Coxiella burnetii in red deer populations in the southwest Iberian peninsula.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii in different red deer populations and to investigate role of red deer densities, livestock, and habitat on seroprevalence. The serosurvey revealed 5 positive cases out of 137 sera (3.64%) that occurred in two of the three study areas. This study documents the first cases of Coxiella burnetii in red deer in the southwest Iberian peninsula. A relationship between deer density and Coxiella seroprevalence was not found. Results revealed that indirect transmission through ticks between livestock and red deer might be associated with higher prevalence. The timing of shelter area usage may influence the contact between ticks and red deer by favoring transmission. Coxiella burnetii in red deer may be associated with infertility or early abortions with reabsorption. Further research is needed to evaluate its epidemiology and effect on the disease dynamics of red deer in the southwest Iberian peninsula.

The dark ventral patch: A bimodal flexible trait related to male competition in red deer.

Sexual signals play a central role in male-male competition in polygynous species. In red deer (Cervus elaphus), male's ventral area become dark during the rutting season due to urine spraying behaviour and retains many chemical compounds potentially revealing individual features. Here we investigate the variation in size of this trait, exploring its relationship with age and male competitive features such as antlers or body size, as well as populational level of intrasexual competition for mates. We found that the size of the dark ventral patch followed a clearly bimodal distribution, i.e. males mostly expressed the full-size trait or just developed a very small one. For these two groups of males according to trait expression, the relationships of trait size with age and antler size differed. Populational level of intrasexual competition appeared to affect the relationship between antler size and the probability of a fully developed ventral patch. These results indicate that the trait encodes information on body size, antler size, age and populational level of mate competition, thus suggesting a role in signalling male's competitive features and willingness to allocate reproductive effort within a particular season.

Hepatoprotective effect of a fucoidan extract from Sargassum fluitans Borgesen against CCl4-induced toxicity in rats.

The in vivo antifibrotic effect of a fucoidan extract (FE) from Sargassum fluitans Borgesen was evaluated in a carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage model in rats over twelve weeks. Chemical analysis showed the FE to contain carbohydrates, sulfates, uronic acids, protein, phenols, and to have a molecular weight of ~60 kDa. Physiological, biochemical, histological and genetic assays were done. Daily oral administration of FE (50 mg/kg) reduced liver enzymatic activity, liver infiltration of inflammatory cells, collagen fiber deposition and gene expression cytokines such as interleukin beta 1 (IL-ß1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1), Smad-3, Smad-2, collagen 1 alpha 1 (col1α1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1). It also increased RNA expression of Smad-7 and metalloproteinase 2 and 9 (MMP2 and MMP9). The fucoidan extract exhibited an antifibrotic effect mediated by the inhibiting TGF-ß1/Smad pathway, as well as anti-inflammatory effects.

Social environment modulates investment in sex trait versus lifespan: red deer produce bigger antlers when facing more rivalry.

Theory predicts that the plastic expression of sex-traits should be modulated not only by their production costs but also by the benefits derived from the presence of rivals and mates, yet there is a paucity of evidence for an adaptive response of sex-trait expression to social environment. We studied antler size, a costly and plastic sex trait, and tooth wear, a trait related to food intake and longevity, in over 4,000 male Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) from 56 wild populations characterized by two contrasting management practices that affect male age structure and adult sex-ratio. As a consequence, these populations exhibit high and low levels of male-male competition for mating opportunities. We hypothesized that males under conditions of low intra-sexual competition would develop smaller antlers, after controlling for body size and age, than males under conditions of high intra-sexual competition, thus reducing energy demands (i.e. reducing intake and food comminution), and as a consequence, leading to less tooth wear and a concomitant longer potential lifespan. Our results supported these predictions. To reject possible uncontrolled factors that may have occurred in the wild populations, we carried out an experimental design on red deer in captivity, placing males in separate plots with females or with rival males during the period of antler growth. Males living with rivals grew larger antlers than males living in a female environment, which corroborates the results found in the wild populations. As far as we know, these results show, for the first time, the modulation of a sexual trait and its costs on longevity conditional upon the level of intra-sexual competition.