Divergent Gut Microbiota: Archaeal and Bacterial Signatures Unveil Unique Patterns in Colombian Cyclists Compared to Weightlifters and Non-Athletes.

Engagement in physical activity, across various sports, promotes a diverse microbiota in active individuals. This study examines the gut microbiota of Colombian athletes, specifically weightlifters (n = 16) and road cyclists (n = 13), compared to non-athletes (n = 15). Using Kruskal-Wallis tests, the physical activity level of a group of non-athletic individuals and the sports experience of a group of professional athletes is analyzed. The median age of participants is 24 years, comprising 25 men and 19 women. The microbiota is collected using fecal samples. Participants provided these samples during their pre-competitive stage, specifically during the concentration phase occurring two weeks prior to national competitions. This timing is chosen to capture the microbial composition during a period of heightened physical preparation. Questionnaire responses and microbial composition assessments identify disparities among groups. Microbial composition analysis explores core microbiome, abundance, and taxonomy using Pavian, MicrobiomeAnalyst 2.0, and GraPhlAn. ANCOM-BC2 reveals differentially abundant species. Road cyclists exhibit decreased Bacteria and increased Archaea abundance. Phylum-level variations included Planctomycetes, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria, while Bacteroidetes prevailed. Key families influencing gut microbiota are Bacteroidaceae, Muribaculaceae, and Selenomonadaceae. Weightlifters exhibit unique viral and archaeal community connections, while cyclists showed specialized microbial interplay influenced by endurance exercise. Correlation network analysis emphasizes distinctive microbial interactions within athlete groups, shedding light on the impact of physical activities on gut microbiota and athlete health.

Comparative genomics reveals that metabolism underlies evolution of entomopathogenicity in bee-loving Ascosphaera spp. fungi.

Ascosphaera (Eurotiomycetes: Onygenales) is a diverse genus of fungi that is exclusively found in association with bee nests and comprises both saprophytic and entomopathogenic species. To date, most genomic analyses have been focused on the honeybee pathogen A. apis, and we lack a genomic understanding of how pathogenesis evolved more broadly in the genus. To address this gap we sequenced the genomes of the leaf-cutting bee pathogen A. aggregata as well as three commensal species: A. pollenicola, A. atra and A. acerosa. De novo annotation and comparison of the assembled genomes was carried out, including the previously published genome of A. apis. To identify candidate virulence genes in the pathogenic species, we performed secondary metabolite-oriented analyses and clustering of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Additionally, we captured single copy orthologs to infer their phylogeny and created codon-aware alignments to determine orthologs under selective pressure in our pathogenic species. Our results show several shared BGCs between A. apis, A. aggregata and A. pollenicola, with antifungal resistance related genes present in the bee pathogens and commensals. Genes involved in metabolism and protein processing exhibit signatures of enrichment and positive selection under a fitted branch-site model. Additional known virulence genes in A. pollenicola, A. acerosa and A. atra are identified, supporting previous hypotheses that these commensals may be opportunistic pathogens. Finally, we discuss the importance of such genes in other fungal pathogens, suggesting a common route to evolution of pathogenicity in Ascosphaera.

[Autoimmune thyroid pathology of pregnancy and puerperium. Prevalence in a zone of endemic goiter and its impact on the newborn]. / Patología tiroídea autoinmune del embarazo y puerperio. Estudio de su prevalencia, en una zona de bocio endemico y su repercusión en el recién nacido.

The aim of this work was to study the prevalence of thyroid disease in pregnant and puerperal women and newborns in Pirque (Chile) and its possible relation to iodine intake or autoimmune disease. Two hundred twenty eight women with 13.4 +/- 3.4 weeks of pregnancy were examined initially and in 223, laboratory tests were performed. Goiter was found in 107 women. Although all women were euthyroid, those with goiter had higher serum levels of T3 and T4. Nineteen women had positive anti-thyroid antibodies and urinary iodine excretion was > 100 micrograms/g creatinine in 87.2%. Within 2 and 57 weeks after delivery (mean 13.5 weeks), 183 women were reexamined and in 175 laboratory tests were performed. Serum T3 continued to be higher in those with goiter. Fifteen women with positive anti-thyroid antibodies during pregnancy continued to have positive titres; of these, two had a post partum thyroiditis and one a graves disease. Two hundred three newborns were examined and no one had goiter or elevated TSH. It is concluded that there is a high frequency of goiter among pregnant and puerperal women from Pirque, that iodine intake is normal and that there is a low frequency of post partum thyroiditis.

Treatment of children suffering from severe malnutrition in an area of Santiago, Chile.

PIP: Despite marked progress in recent years, infant and young child malnutrition remains a serious health problem in Chile. To help define the nature of that problem better, researchers working in the Southeastern Metropolitan Area of Santiago conducted a survey of infants classified as having grade 2 protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) and children under age 2 classified as having grade 3 PCM during the period March 31-October 1, 1980. The survey, based on a review of health facility records for all children in the area receiving care during the study period, found a total of 388 infants with grade 2 PCM and 102 subjects under 2 with grade 3 PCM. The study also found that the subjects who received comprehensive professional outpatient care at the area's Infant Nutrition Center fared significantly better than those cared for at outpatient health centers. The authors therefore recommend that the treatment of such children should be referred to or coordinated with centers that are diagnostically and therapeutically more sophisticated than the outpatient health centers. In this vein, it appears that the style of treatment provided by the Infant Nutrition Center could be developed more broadly throughout Chile and could be effectively employed in other countries with similar situations. It also appears, however, that malnourished children cannot be treated effectively as outpatients because they have very unsatisfactory home environments. One alternative approach is such cases is to admit the child as an inpatient to a special nutritional recovery center. Hospitalization, which typically occurs when the child is suffering from 1 or more pathologic conditions besides malnutrition, constitutes another alternative. However, the present survey found that the nutritional status of hospitalized study children did not improve, on the average, and some subjects experienced a marked nutritional deterioration. Another important point is that over 1/4 of the malnourished study children had low birthweights or had been premature. This underscores the importance of avoiding low birthweights as much as possible, and then giving low birthweight infants adequate care and treatment. In addition, clear standards should be established for the feeding of low birthweight children and for determining their nutritional status.^ieng

Recuperacion de ninos desnutridos graves en un area de Santiago, Chile DE. / Recovery of severe undernourished children in an area of Santiago, Chile

Se estudiaron 490 lactantes que constituyeron el total de ninos desnutridos graves diagnosticados en el Area Sur Oriente de Santiago, entre marzo y octubre de 1980.Se evaluo la adecuacion del diagnostico del estado nutricional segun los niveles de atencion y se encontraron algunas deficiencias por no haberse considerado en forma adecuada el peso y la edad gestacional al nacer. El antecedente de bajo peso al nacer se presento en 26% de los ninos desnutridos, la mitad de ellos, aproximadamente, de pretermino y la otra mitad constituida por recien nacidos pequenos para su edad gestacional. La hospitalizacion aparecio como factor de importancia en el agravamiento de la desnutricion primaria en los ninos que precisaron internarse. La respuesta al tratamiento ambulatorio de la desnutricion fue significativamente mejor en los lactantes atendidos en el Consultorio de Nutricion Infantil (73%) que en los Consultorios Perifericos (31%)