Incidence of pemphigoid diseases in Northern Germany in 2016 - first data from the Schleswig-Holstein Registry of Autoimmune Bullous Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBD) are rare disorders characterized by autoantibody formation against components of adhesion molecules; in pemphigoid diseases (PD), these are proteins of hemidesmosomes and basement membrane, important for cell-matrix adhesion in skin and/or mucous membranes. Incidences of these diseases vary considerably between different populations. OBJECTIVES: To establish a registry prospectively recruiting all AIBD patients in a geographically well-defined region in Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). METHODS: Only patients with verified disease (by clinical presentation, histology, direct and/or indirect immunofluorescence and /or ELISA) living in Schleswig-Holstein were included. Incidences of PD were estimated based on the total number of inhabitants in Schleswig-Holstein, stratified by birth year and sex. RESULTS: Of 67 patients with PD [35 male, 32 female, mean age 75 (standard deviation 14.3 years)], 83% were patients with bullous pemphigoid [n = 56, 28 male, 28 female, mean age 78 (SD 9.9)]. The resulting crude incidences were 23.4 patients/million/year for all pemphigoid patients, 19.6 patients/million/year for bullous pemphigoid (age-standardized 16.9 patients/million/year) with a strong increase in bullous pemphigoid patients in the age group of 85-90 years with 262 patients/million/year. Incidences for bullous pemphigoid were higher in urban compared to rural areas. Other PD (mucous membrane pemphigoid, linear IgA disease, anti-p200 pemphigoid) were less frequent with crude incidences of 2.1, 1.0 and 0.7 patients/million/year, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study prospectively analyses the incidence of PD in a carefully defined geographical area. The highest incidence among PD patients was found for bullous pemphigoid. The incidence of bullous pemphigoid is considerably increased compared to previous reports and reveals regional differences. Further studies are needed in order to clarify these findings.

Viabilidade econômica da produção de frangos de corte sob diferentes estruturas de governança / Economic viability of broiler production under different governance structures

Objetivou-se verificar a viabilidade econômica da produção de frangos de corte sob mecanismos de governança híbrida e hierárquica. Estudos de caso foram escolhidos para avaliação da atividade em núcleos de empresas integradoras e de produtores rurais integrados. Realizou-se pesquisa de campo para coleta de dados em 36 unidades de produção em Minas Gerais. Informações provenientes de 216 lotes produzidos entre agosto de 2015 e agosto de 2016 foram utilizadas nas análises econômicas. O cálculo dos custos baseou-se na metodologia proposta pela Embrapa - CNPSA e IEA - SP. As análises econômicas se realizaram conforme proposto pelo DAE - Ufla e pela Conab. Constatou-se que o custo com mão de obra causou maior impacto sobre o desempenho econômico de núcleos com estruturas de governança distintas. No modelo de produção via governança hierárquica, mesmo se considerando receitas secundárias ao processo de produção de aves, verificou-se prejuízo financeiro na atividade. Concluiu-se que a estrutura de governança híbrida representou melhor alternativa econômica que a internalização do processo de criação de frangos pelas empresas integradoras. Assim, sugere-se que empresas integradoras esgotem as possibilidades de produção via contrato de integração antes de investirem recursos em instalações próprias de criação.(AU)

The objective was to verify the economic feasibility in the production of broilers under hybrid and hierarchical governance mechanisms. Case studies were used to evaluate the activity of the integrating company and the integrated rural producers. The primary data about costs, income, and zootechnical indicators were collected in 36 poultry production units belonging to an integrated company and five rural producers, in state of Minas Gerais. Data from 216 batches of broilers produced between August 2015 and August 2016 were used in the economic analysis. Costs calculation was based on the methodology proposed by EMBRAPA - CNPSA and IEA - SP. The economic analyzes were carried out as proposed by DAE UFLA and CONAB. It was verified that the cost of labor caused the greatest impact on the economic performance of cores with different governance structures. In all breeding sites via hierarchical governance, even considering secondary revenues, there was a financial loss in the activity. It was concluded that the hybrid governance represented a better economic alternative than the internalization of the broiler production by integrating companies. Thus, it is suggested that integrating companies deplete the production possibilities through an integration contract before investing resources in their own breeding facilities.(AU)

The Personalized Parkinson Project: examining disease progression through broad biomarkers in early Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Our understanding of the etiology, pathophysiology, phenotypic diversity, and progression of Parkinson's disease has stagnated. Consequently, patients do not receive the best care, leading to unnecessary disability, and to mounting costs for society. The Personalized Parkinson Project (PPP) proposes an unbiased approach to biomarker development with multiple biomarkers measured longitudinally. Our main aims are: (a) to perform a set of hypothesis-driven analyses on the comprehensive dataset, correlating established and novel biomarkers to the rate of disease progression and to treatment response; and (b) to create a widely accessible dataset for discovery of novel biomarkers and new targets for therapeutic interventions in Parkinson's disease. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a prospective, longitudinal, single-center cohort study. The cohort will comprise 650 persons with Parkinson's disease. The inclusion criteria are purposely broad: age ≥ 18 years; and disease duration ≤5 years. Participants are followed for 2 years, with three annual assessments at the study center. Outcomes include a clinical assessment (including motor and neuro-psychological tests), collection of biospecimens (stool, whole blood, and cerebrospinal fluid), magnetic resonance imaging (both structural and functional), and ECG recordings (both 12-lead and Holter). Additionally, collection of physiological and environmental data in daily life over 2 years will be enabled through the Verily Study Watch. All data are stored with polymorphic encryptions and pseudonyms, to guarantee the participants' privacy on the one hand, and to enable data sharing on the other. The data and biospecimens will become available for scientists to address Parkinson's disease-related research questions. DISCUSSION: The PPP has several distinguishing elements: all assessments are done in a single center; inclusion of "real life" subjects; deep and repeated multi-dimensional phenotyping; and continuous monitoring with a wearable device for 2 years. Also, the PPP is powered by privacy and security by design, allowing for data sharing with scientists worldwide respecting participants' privacy. The data are expected to open the way for important new insights, including identification of biomarkers to predict differences in prognosis and treatment response between patients. Our long-term aim is to improve existing treatments, develop new therapeutic approaches, and offer Parkinson's disease patients a more personalized disease management approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT03364894 . Registered December 6, 2017 (retrospectively registered).

Caracterização microbiológica de carcaças de frangos de corte produzidas no estado de Minas Gerais / Microbiological characterization of broiler carcasses produced in the state of Minas Gerais

In order to evaluate the microbiological quality of broiler chickens produced in Minas Gerais State, 240 samples of broiler carcasses from the five regions of the Minas Gerais State were collected, by official inspection services, for one year. The samples were submitted to counts of total and thermotolerant coliforms, coagulase-positive and negative Staphylococcus, besides Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, E.coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp. resource. The results showed the presence of total and thermotolerant coliforms in 34.2% and 13.5% of broiler carcasses evaluated, respectively. All tested samples were positive for Staphylococcus spp., 9.1% for Salmonella spp., 15.5% for Listeria monocytogenes, and 2.1% for Campylobacter spp. E.coli O157:H7 was not isolated from the samples.(AU)

Expanding the view of Clock and cycle gene evolution in Diptera.

We expanded the view of Clock (Clk) and cycle (cyc) gene evolution in Diptera by studying the fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Afra), a Brachycera. Despite the high conservation of clock genes amongst insect groups, striking structural and functional differences of some clocks have appeared throughout evolution. Clk and cyc nucleotide sequences and corresponding proteins were characterized, along with their mRNA expression data, to provide an evolutionary overview in the two major groups of Diptera: Lower Diptera and Higher Brachycera. We found that AfraCYC lacks the BMAL (Brain and muscle ARNT-like) C-terminus region (BCTR) domain and is constitutively expressed, suggesting that AfraCLK has the main transactivation function, which is corroborated by the presence of poly-Q repeats and an oscillatory pattern. Our analysis suggests that the loss of BCTR in CYC is not exclusive of drosophilids, as it also occurs in other Acalyptratae flies such as tephritids and drosophilids, however, but it is also present in some Calyptratae, such as Muscidae, Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. This indicates that BCTR is missing from CYC of all higher-level Brachycera and that it was lost during the evolution of Lower Brachycera. Thus, we can infer that CLK protein may play the main role in the CLK\CYC transcription complex in these flies, like in its Drosophila orthologues.

Runs of homozygosity: current knowledge and applications in livestock.

This review presents a broader approach to the implementation and study of runs of homozygosity (ROH) in animal populations, focusing on identifying and characterizing ROH and their practical implications. ROH are continuous homozygous segments that are common in individuals and populations. The ability of these homozygous segments to give insight into a population's genetic events makes them a useful tool that can provide information about the demographic evolution of a population over time. Furthermore, ROH provide useful information about the genetic relatedness among individuals, helping to minimize the inbreeding rate and also helping to expose deleterious variants in the genome. The frequency, size and distribution of ROH in the genome are influenced by factors such as natural and artificial selection, recombination, linkage disequilibrium, population structure, mutation rate and inbreeding level. Calculating the inbreeding coefficient from molecular information from ROH (FROH ) is more accurate for estimating autozygosity and for detecting both past and more recent inbreeding effects than are estimates from pedigree data (FPED ). The better results of FROH suggest that FROH can be used to infer information about the history and inbreeding levels of a population in the absence of genealogical information. The selection of superior animals has produced large phenotypic changes and has reshaped the ROH patterns in various regions of the genome. Additionally, selection increases homozygosity around the target locus, and deleterious variants are seen to occur more frequently in ROH regions. Studies involving ROH are increasingly common and provide valuable information about how the genome's architecture can disclose a population's genetic background. By revealing the molecular changes in populations over time, genome-wide information is crucial to understanding antecedent genome architecture and, therefore, to maintaining diversity and fitness in endangered livestock breeds.

Validation of an HPLC-UV method for the identification and quantification of bioactive amines in chicken meat / Validação de metodologia por HPLC/UV para identificação e quantificação de aminas bioativas em carne de frango de corte

A high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) method was validated for the study of bioactive amines in chicken meat. A gradient elution system with an ultraviolet detector was used after extraction with trichloroacetic acid and pre-column derivatization with dansyl chloride. Putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine standards were used for the evaluation of the following performance parameters: selectivity, linearity, precision, recovery, limits of detection, limits of quantification and ruggedness. The results indicated excellent selectivity, separation of all amines, a coefficient of determination greater than 0.99 and recovery from 92.25 to 102.25% at the concentration of 47.2mg.kg-1, with a limit of detection at 0.3mg.kg-1 and a limit of quantification at 0.9mg.kg-1 for all amines, with the exception of histamine, which exhibited the limit of quantification, of 1mg.kg-1. In conclusion, the performance parameters demonstrated adequacy of the method for the detection and quantification of bioactive amines in chicken meat.(AU)

Um método de cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE) para pesquisa de aminas bioativas em carne de frango foi validado. Foi utilizado um sistema de gradiente de eluição com detector ultravioleta, após extração com ácido tricloroacético e derivação pré-coluna com cloreto de dansila. Os padrões de putrescina, cadaverina, histamina, tiramina, espermidina e espermina foram utilizados para avaliação dos seguintes parâmetros de desempenho: seletividade, linearidade, precisão, recuperação, limites de detecção, limites de quantificação e robustez. Os resultados mostraram excelente seletividade e separação de todas as aminas, coeficiente de determinação superior a 0,99, recuperação entre 92,25 e 105,25% na concentração 47,2mg.kg-1, limites de detecção de 0,3mg.kg-1 e limite de quantificação de 0,9mg.kg-1 para todas as aminas, com exceção da histamina, que apresentou o limite de quantificação mais alto, de 1mg.kg-1. Foi concluído que os parâmetros de desempenho demonstraram adequação do método para detecção e quantificação de aminas bioativas em carne de frango.(AU)

Avaliação da qualidade interna de ovos de consumo pela pesquisa do teor de aminas bioativas / Evaluation of the internal quality of commercial eggs by searching of the bioactive levels

Com o objetivo de avaliar a qualidade dos ovos de consumo pela pesquisa dos níveis de aminas bioativas, foram coletados, pelos serviços de inspeção oficiais, 224 amostras de ovos provenientes de cinco regiões distintas do estado de Minas Gerais, durante o período de um ano. As aminas biogênicas (putrescina, cadaverina, feniletilamina, histamina e tiramina) e as poliaminas (espermidina e espermina) foram pesquisadas por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência e detecção ultravioleta (CLAE/UV) após derivação pré-coluna com cloreto de dansila. Os resultados demonstraram que a putrescina estava presente, em baixas concentrações, em todas as amostras de gema e de albúmen. As demais aminas também foram detectadas, porém em menor frequência, e a espermina somente foi encontrada em uma amostra de albúmen. Foi concluído que os ovos de consumo produzidos no estado de Minas Gerais não são uma fonte considerável de poliaminas, importantes para o crescimento e a proliferação celular, e os baixos teores de aminas biogênicas, formadas pela descarboxilação de aminoácidos por enzimas bacterianas, não representam riscos à saúde do consumidor, o que indica que o ovo apresenta boa qualidade, tomando por base o critério de aminas bioativas.

In order to evaluate the quality of commercial eggs by searching the bioactive amine levels, 224 samples of eggs from the five regions of Minas Gerais State were collected during one year by the official inspection service. The biogenic amines (putrescine, cadaverine, phenylethylamine, histamine and tyramine) and the polyamines (spermidine and spermine) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC/UV) and pre-column derivatization with dansyl chloride. The results demonstrated the presence of putrescine in all samples of yolk and albumen, but in low concentrations. The other amines were also detected, however, with a lower frequency, and spermine was found only in one sample of albumen. It was concluded that the commercial eggs produced in Minas Gerais State are not a considerable source of polyamines, important for growth and cell proliferation; and low levels of biogenic amine, formed by decarboxylation of amino acids by bacterial enzymes, do not represent risks to consumer health, indicating that it has good quality, based on the bioactive amine criterion.

Sorovares e perfil de suscetibilidade a antimicrobianos em Salmonella spp. isoladas de produtos de origem suína / Serovars and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella spp. product isolated from swine

Foi analisado um total de 1824 cepas de Salmonella, isoladas de alimentos de origem suína, no período de janeiro/2005 a junho/2010. As cepas, provenientes de diferentes regiões do país, foram recebidas pelo Labent/IOC/FIocruz para caracterização antigênica conclusiva. Foram identificados 41 sorovares, destacando-se: Typhimurium, Derby, Enteritidis, Panama, Infantis e Anatum. Aspectos bacteriológicos e epidemiológicos relacionados a esses sorovares foram discutidos. O teste de suscetibilidade aos antimicrobianos foi realizado em 357 amostras, 257 (72%) foram resistentes a uma ou mais drogas, e destas, 31,9% mostraram-se multirresistentes. A variedade de sorovares observada neste estudo confirma o papel dos suínos na cadeia alimentar como importantes reservatórios de Salmonella, agravado ainda pelo elevado percentual de cepas resistentes a um ou mais antimicrobianos, alertando para uma condição de risco à saúde pública.

We analyzed a total of 1824 strains of Salmonella isolated from swine-origin foods from January/2005 to June/2010. The strains from different regions of the country were received by Labent/IOC/FIOCRUZ for conclusive antigenic characterization. We identified 41 serovars, of which these stood out: Typhimurium, Derby, Enteritidis, Panama, Infantis and Anatum. Bacteriological and epidemiological aspects related to these serovars were discussed. The antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed on 357 samples, 257 (72%) were resistant to one or more of these drugs and 31,9% were multiresistant. A variety of serovars were identified reinforcing the swine as an important reservoir of Salmonella in the food chain. The high rates of antimicrobial resistance obtained in this evaluation may represent a risk condition to human health.