Gestational protein restriction alters early amygdala neurochemistry in male offspring.

BACKGROUND: Gestational protein intake restriction-induced long-lasting harmful outcomes in the offspring's organs and systems. However, few studies have focused on this event's impact on the brain's structures and neurochemical compounds. AIM: The present study investigated the effects on the amygdala neurochemical composition and neuronal structure in gestational protein-restricted male rats' offspring. METHODS: Dams were maintained on isocaloric standard rodent laboratory chow with regular protein [NP, 17%] or low protein content [LP, 6%]. Total cells were quantified using the Isotropic fractionator method, Neuronal 3D reconstruction, and dendritic tree analysis using the Golgi-Cox technique. Western blot and high-performance liquid chromatography performed neurochemical studies. RESULTS: The gestational low-protein feeding offspring showed a significant decrease in birth weight up to day 14, associated with unaltered brain weight in youth or adult progenies. The amygdala cell numbers were unchanged, and the dendrites length and dendritic ramifications 3D analysis in LP compared to age-matched NP progeny. However, the current study shows reduced amygdala content of norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine in LP progeny. These offspring observed a significant reduction in the amygdala glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptor protein levels. Also corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) amygdala protein content was reduced in 7 and 14-day-old LP rats. CONCLUSION: The observed amygdala neurochemical changes may represent adaptation during embryonic development in response to elevated fetal exposure to maternal corticosteroid levels. In this way, gestational malnutrition stress can alter the amygdala's neurochemical content and may contribute to known behavioral changes induced by gestational protein restriction.

First Genomic Evidence of a Henipa-like Virus in Brazil.

The viral genus Henipavirus includes two highly virulent zoonotic viruses of serious public health concern. Hendra henipavirus and Nipah henipavirus outbreaks are restricted to Australia and Southeast Asia, respectively. The Henipavirus genus comprises mostly bat-borne viruses, but exceptions have already been described as novel viruses with rodents and shrews as reservoir animals. In the Americas, scarce evidence supports the circulation of these viruses. In this communication, we report a novel henipa-like virus from opossums (Marmosa demerarae) from a forest fragment area in the Peixe-Boi municipality, Brazil, after which the virus was named the Peixe-Boi virus (PBV). The application of next-generation sequencing and metagenomic approach led us to discover the original evidence of a henipa-like virus genome in Brazil and South America and the original description of a henipa-like virus in marsupial species. These findings emphasize the importance of further studies to characterize PBV and clarify its ecology, impact on public health, and its relationship with didelphid marsupials and henipaviruses.

Effectiveness of multimodal circuit exercises for chronic musculoskeletal pain in older adults: A randomized controlled trial protocol.

Studies have shown that musculoskeletal pain is one of the most prevalent health conditions that affects many individuals worldwide. In older adults, persistent pain is a widely prevalent and a disabling condition of multiple contributing factors: physical, mental, and social. Consequently, their quality of life is hampered. We aimed to analyze the effectiveness of a multimodal circuit exercise program on chronic musculoskeletal pain and disabling in older adults. This is a randomized parallel study (two arms) with blinded outcome assessments. The participants' recruitment will be done by a non-probabilistic sampling resulting from invitations to Basic Health Units (BHU). The sample size estimation indicated 164 participants. Participants will be allocated, by means of a randomization process, to one of two groups (82 for each group): Experimental Group (multimodal circuit exercise) or Control Group (cycle of multidisciplinary lectures on pain and stretching exercise). All analyses will be processed using the RStudio software, with significance when a p-value of 2 tails is less than 5% (p<0.05). Statistical analysis will follow the intention to treat. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04719130, January 20, 2021.

Balance Exercise Circuit for fall prevention in older adults: a randomized controlled crossover trial.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the immediate and short-term effects of the Balance Exercise Circuit (BEC) on muscle strength, postural balance, and quality of life, with the aim of preventing falls in older adults. Methods: Twenty-two volunteers participated in this randomized controlled crossover study. Group A performed BEC training in the initial 3 months and received no intervention in the following 3 months. Group B received no intervention during the first 3 months and then participated in BEC training for the next 3 months. In addition, participants were followed for an additional 3 months. Muscle strength, postural balance, functional mobility, and quality of life were assessed, respectively, using an isokinetic dynamometer, force platform, TUG test, and the WHOQOL. Results: After 3 months of training, Group A presented improved balance and rate of force development (RFD), while Group B presented improvements in RFD, TUG performance, and WHOQOL physical and psychological domains. Regarding the short-term effects, the participants maintained the training effects in WHOQOL balance, RFD, and the social domain. In addition, the number of falls decreased during follow-up. Conclusion: The BEC intervention improved muscle strength, postural balance, and quality of life in older adults, in addition to reducing the risk of falls. Trial registration: Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) - RBR-5nvrwm.

Absence of Anti-RBD Antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 Infected or Naive Individuals Prior to Vaccination with CoronaVac Leads to Short Protection of Only Four Months Duration.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest public health threat facing the world today. Multiple vaccines have been approved; however, the emergence of viral variants such as the recent Omicron raises the possibility of booster doses to achieve adequate protection. In Brazil, the CoronaVac (Sinovac, Beijing, China) vaccine was used; however, it is important to assess the immune response to this vaccine over time. This study aimed to monitor the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in those immunized with CoronaVac and SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Samples were collected between August 2020 and August 2021. Within the vaccinated cohort, some individuals had a history of infection by SARS-CoV-2 prior to immunization, while others did not. We analyzed RBD-specific and neutralizing-antibodies. Anti-RBD antibodies were detected in both cohorts, with a peak between 45-90 days post infection or vaccination, followed by a steady decline over time. In those with a previous history of COVID-19, a higher, longer, more persistent response was observed. This trend was mirrored in the neutralization assays, where infection, followed by immunization, resulted in higher, longer lasting responses which were conditioned on the presence of levels of RBD antibodies right before the vaccination. This supports the necessity of booster doses of CoronaVac in due course to prevent serious disease.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Childhood Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction Questionnaire (CBBDQ)

Abstract Objective: To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Childhood Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction Questionnaire (CBBDQ) for use in Brazilian Portuguese. The CBBDQ is an 18-item tool covering 10 bladder and 8 bowel symptoms that was developed for use with children of 5 to 12 years of age with bowel and bladder dysfunction (BBD). The instrument has already been validated for use in Dutch and English. Method: In the process of translation and cultural adaptation from English to Portuguese, the CBBDQ was submitted to undergo the required steps as established by the international methodological criteria: forward translation, synthesis, back-translation, expert panel review and pre-testing. Results: Ninety-three parents of children with lower urinary tract dysfunction answered the questionnaire. The mean age of the children was 7.6 ± 2.1 years and 54 were female. Internal consistency was excellent, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.91 to 0.96. Additionally, reliability was high, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.94 (95%CI: 0.85-0.93; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The translation and cultural adaptation of the CBBDQ enabled a quantitative evaluation of bladder and bowel symptoms to be performed in Brazilian children. The scores achieved allow the severity of BBD to be evaluated, as well as the patient's progress during treatment. The use of this questionnaire in clinical practice and research will allow more consistent data on BBD to be obtained.

The Usefulness of a Duplex RT-qPCR during the Recent Yellow Fever Brazilian Epidemic: Surveillance of Vaccine Adverse Events, Epizootics and Vectors.

From 2016 to 2018, Brazil faced the biggest yellow fever (YF) outbreak in the last 80 years, representing a risk of YF reurbanization, especially in megacities. Along with this challenge, the mass administration of the fractionated YF vaccine dose in a naïve population brought another concern: the possibility to increase YF adverse events associated with viscerotropic (YEL-AVD) or neurological disease (YEL-AND). For this reason, we developed a quantitative real time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) assay based on a duplex TaqMan protocol to distinguish broad-spectrum infections caused by wild-type yellow fever virus (YFV) strain from adverse events following immunization (AEFI) by 17DD strain during the vaccination campaign used to contain this outbreak. A rapid and more accurate RT-qPCR assay to diagnose YFV was established, being able to detect even different YFV genotypes and geographic strains that circulate in Central and South America. Moreover, after testing around 1400 samples from human cases, non-human primates and mosquitoes, we detected just two YEL-AVD cases, confirmed by sequencing, during the massive vaccination in Brazilian Southeast region, showing lower incidence than AEFI as expected.

Transcription Landscape of the Early Developmental Biology in Pigs.

Since pre- and postnatal development are programmed during early prenatal life, studies addressing the complete transcriptional landscape during organogenesis are needed. Therefore, we aimed to disentangle differentially expressed (DE) genes between fetuses (at 35 days old) and embryos (at 25 days old) through RNA-sequencing analysis using the pig as model. In total, 1705 genes were DE, including the top DE IBSP, COL6A6, HBE1, HBZ, HBB, and NEUROD6 genes, which are associated with developmental transition from embryos to fetuses, such as ossification, skeletal muscle development, extracellular matrix organization, cardiovascular system, erythrocyte differentiation, and neuronal system. In pathway analysis, embryonic development highlighted those mainly related to morphogenic signaling and cell interactions, which are crucial for transcriptional control during the establishment of the main organs in early prenatal development, while pathways related to myogenesis, neuronal development, and cardiac and striated muscle contraction were enriched for fetal development, according to the greater complexity of organs and body structures at this developmental stage. Our findings provide an exploratory and informative transcriptional landscape of pig organogenesis, which might contribute to further studies addressing specific developmental events in pigs and in other mammals.

Educational Interventions to Improve Dental Anatomy Carving Ability of Dental Students: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review aimed to identify the level of impact of educational strategies for teaching tooth carving on the carving ability of undergraduate dental students. The PubMed-NCBI, Cochrane-CENTRAL, LILACS, Ibecs, BBO, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched in May 2019, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and two-arm non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSI) addressing educational interventions toward the dental carving of undergraduate students. Studies from the year 2000 until the search date, written in English, Portuguese, and Spanish were included. Study screening and data extraction were performed in duplicate and blinded. The data were presented narratively, considering the dental carving ability of students the primary outcome. The risk of bias was assessed using the RoB tool 2.0 and ROBINS-I, and the level of evidence was determined with GRADE. Of 3,574 studies, 6 were included, with 3 RCTs and 3 NRSIs. Very low level of evidence was provided from the NRSIs that flipped classroom (1 study; n = 140) and a student-driven revised module (1 study; n = 264) improved the carving ability of students. Additionally, there was moderate evidence of online complementary material (1 RCT; n = 30) and reinforcement class improving the carving ability of students (1 RCT; n = 29). The replacement of traditional classes by an instructional DVD (1 RCT; n = 73) and assessment of carving projects through digital systems (1 NRSI; n = 79) did not enhance the carving ability of students. Study design, risk of bias, and imprecision downgraded the level of evidence. There was a very low to moderate evidence on the effectiveness of student-driven educational approaches and complementary classes of dental anatomy in improving the dental carving ability of students.

Applying an association weight matrix in weighted genomic prediction of boar taint compounds.

Biological information regarding markers and gene association may be used to attribute different weights for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in genome-wide selection. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the predictive ability and the bias of genomic prediction using models that allow SNP weighting in the genomic relationship matrix (G) building, with and without incorporating biological information to obtain the weights. Firstly, we performed a genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in data set containing single- (SL) or a multi-line (ML) pig population for androstenone, skatole and indole levels. Secondly, 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 30% and 50% of the markers explaining the highest proportions of the genetic variance for each trait were selected to build gene networks through the association weight matrix (AWM) approach. The number of edges in the network was computed and used to derive weights for G (AWM-WssGBLUP). The single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP) and weighted ssGBLUP (WssGBLUP) were used as standard scenarios. All scenarios presented predictive abilities different from zero; however, the great overlap in their confidences interval suggests no differences among scenarios. Most of scenarios of based on AWM provide overestimations for skatole in both SL and ML populations. On the other hand, the skatole and indole prediction were no biased in the ssGBLUP (S1) in both SL and ML populations. Most of scenarios based on AWM provide no biased predictions for indole in both SL and ML populations. In summary, using biological information through AWM matrix and gene networks to derive weights for genomic prediction resulted in no increase in predictive ability for boar taint compounds. In addition, this approach increased the number of analyses steps. Thus, we can conclude that ssGBLUP is most appropriate for the analysis of boar taint compounds in comparison with the weighted strategies used in the present work.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Childhood Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction Questionnaire (CBBDQ).

OBJECTIVE: To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Childhood Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction Questionnaire (CBBDQ) for use in Brazilian Portuguese. The CBBDQ is an 18-item tool covering 10 bladder and 8 bowel symptoms that was developed for use with children of 5 to 12 years of age with bowel and bladder dysfunction (BBD). The instrument has already been validated for use in Dutch and English. METHOD: In the process of translation and cultural adaptation from English to Portuguese, the CBBDQ was submitted to undergo the required steps as established by the international methodological criteria: forward translation, synthesis, back-translation, expert panel review and pre-testing. RESULTS: Ninety-three parents of children with lower urinary tract dysfunction answered the questionnaire. The mean age of the children was 7.6±2.1 years and 54 were female. Internal consistency was excellent, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.91 to 0.96. Additionally, reliability was high, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.94 (95%CI: 0.85-0.93; p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: The translation and cultural adaptation of the CBBDQ enabled a quantitative evaluation of bladder and bowel symptoms to be performed in Brazilian children. The scores achieved allow the severity of BBD to be evaluated, as well as the patient's progress during treatment. The use of this questionnaire in clinical practice and research will allow more consistent data on BBD to be obtained.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener and low-fat diet adherence questionnaire.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Mediterranean diet and the low-fat diet are recognized as cardioprotective dietary patterns, and the use of validated instruments that quickly identify adherence to these diets is very useful in the daily practice of the nutritionist. Our aim was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the 14-point Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) and a 9-item quantitative score of compliance with the low-fat diet (low-fat diet questionnaire) to the Brazilian Portuguese language. METHODS: The process of translation and cultural adaptation was conducted in six stages: initial translation, synthesis of translations, back-translation, proof of cross-cultural equivalence, pre-final version testing, and final evaluation of the cultural adaptation process. Interviews and assessments were administered to 30 nutritionists, and to 51 healthy participants and 50 individuals at cardiovascular risk. MEDAS ranges from 0 (minimum) to 14 (maximum) points and a total score ≥ 10 points was considered for high adherence to MedDiet. Low-fat diet questionnaire ranges from 0 (minimum) to 9 (maximum) points and a total score ≥ 6 points was considered for high adherence to a diet restricted in fat. RESULTS: MEDAS and low-fat diet questionnaire were translated, synthetized and then back-translated, and few grammatical and/or semantic changes were required. About 24 participants suggested at least one modification in low-fat diet questionnaire's questions/terms, and 28 participants suggested at least one change in MEDAS items. The process produced a valid version of both the MEDAS and low-fat diet questionnaire in the Brazilian Portuguese language. Participants showed an average MEDAS questionnaire of 5.3 ± 2.5 points, and an average low-fat diet questionnaire of 5.9 ± 1.9 points. Nutritionists showed higher means of low-fat diet scores when compared to healthy and at high cardiovascular risk individuals (7.1 ± 1.3, 5.6 ± 2 and 5.4 ± 1.9, respectively [P < 0.0001]) but not for MEDAS questionnaire. With a cutoff of ≥10 points, 2.3% (95% CI 0.78-6.52) of the participants showed high adherence to MedDiet based on MEDAS score, and with a cutoff of ≥6 points, 58% (95% CI 49.5-66.1) of the participants showed high adherence to a diet restricted in fat based on the low-fat diet questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: MEDAS and low-fat diet questionnaire were successfully translated to the Portuguese language. Regarding the results from questionnaires applied to our sample, in general, poor adherence was found for both Mediterranean and low-fat diet.

Seed morphobiometry, morphology of germination and emergence of quinoa seeds 'BRS Piabiru'.

Quinoa, classified as a pseudocereal, presents greater nutritional value compared to traditional cereals. Considering the potential for cultivation presented by the species and the benefits of studying plant morphology and morphobiometry, this paper describes seed and seedling morphobiometric characteristics of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) cultivar BRS Piabiru during germination and emergence. To evaluate seed morphobiometry the 1000-seeds weight, moisture content, seed morphological characterization and the tetrazolium test were performed. The morphological characterization of germination and seedling emergence were performed by periodic observations during the development, allowing the description using pictures and drawings. Quinoa seeds cv. BRS Piabiru present an average diameter of 2.05 mm and 1.07 width. 1000-seeds weight of 2.68 g and moisture content of 11%. Externally, quinoa seeds present the pericarp as testa, the hilum and the raphe and, internally, the embryonic axis (cotyledons, radicle and hypocotyl-radicle), perisperm and endosperm. The germination is characterized as epigeal, phanerocotylar type, with radicle protrusion at 3 hours after sowing and complete formed seedlings at 24 hours after sowing. Emergence occurs at 9 days after sowing and plants are completely formed at 12 days after sowing.

l-Arginine supplementation of gilts during early gestation modulates energy sensitive pathways in pig conceptuses.

Dietary l-arginine (ARG) supplementation has been studied as a nutritional strategy to improve reproductive performance of pregnant sows, since arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid. However, reports addressing the molecular mechanisms that mediate supplementation effects on embryos and fetuses development are still scarce. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effects of 1.0% ARG supplementation of commercial pregnant gilts on genes and proteins from energy metabolism and antioxidant defense pathways in embryos and fetuses. We also analyzed the global transcriptome profile of 25- and 35-day-old conceptuses. At Day 25, we observed a lower abundance of phospho-AMP-activated protein kinase (phospho-AMPK) protein and downregulation of oxidative phosphorylation system genes in ARG embryos. On the other hand, ARG fetuses showed greater expression of MLST8 and lower expression of MTOR genes, in addition to lower abundance of phospho-AMPK and phospho-mammalian target of rapamycin (phospho-mTOR) proteins. Transcriptome analysis at Day 35 did not present differentially expressed genes. For the antioxidant defense pathway, no differences were found between CON and ARG conceptuses, only trends. In general, supplementation of gilts with 1.0% ARG during early gestation affects energy sensitive pathways in 25- and 35-day conceptuses; however, no effects of supplementation were found on the antioxidative defense pathway in 25-day embryos.

Zika structural genes determine the virulence of African and Asian lineages.

The Asian lineage of Zika virus (ZIKV) is responsible for the recent epidemics in the Americas and severe disease, whereas the African lineage of ZIKV has not been reported to cause epidemics or severe disease. We constructed a cDNA infectious clone (IC) of an African ZIKV strain, which, together with our previously developed Asian ZIKV strain IC, allowed us to engineer chimeric viruses by swapping the structural and non-structural genes between the two lineages. Recombinant parental and chimeric viruses were analyzed in A129 and newborn CD1 mouse models. In the A129 mice, the African strain developed higher viremia, organ viral loading, and mortality rate. In CD1 mice, the African strain exhibited a higher neurovirulence than the Asian strain. A chimeric virus containing the structural genes from the African strain is more virulent than the Asian strain, whereas a chimeric virus containing the non-structural genes from the African strain exhibited a virulence comparable to the Asian strain. These results suggest that (i) African strain is more virulent than Asian strain and (ii) viral structural genes primarily determine the virulence difference between the two lineages in mouse models. Other factors may contribute to the discrepancy between the mouse and epidemic results.

Sex Determination Using RNA-Sequencing Analyses in Early Prenatal Pig Development.

Sexual dimorphism is a relevant factor in animal science, since it can affect the gene expression of economically important traits. Eventually, the interest in the prenatal phase in a transcriptome study may not comprise the period of development in which male and female conceptuses are phenotypically divergent. Therefore, it would be interesting if sex differentiation could be performed using transcriptome data, with no need for extra techniques. In this study, the sex of pig conceptuses (embryos at 25 days-old and fetuses at 35 days-old) was determined by reads counts per million (CPM) of Y chromosome-linked genes that were discrepant among samples. Thus, ten genes were used: DDX3Y, KDM5D, ZFY, EIF2S3Y, EIF1AY, LOC110255320, LOC110257894, LOC396706, LOC100625207, and LOC110255257. Conceptuses that presented reads CPM sum for these genes (ΣCPMchrY) greater than 400 were classified as males and those with ΣCPMchrY below 2 were classified as females. It was demonstrated that the sex identification can be performed at early stages of pig development from RNA-sequencing analysis of genes mapped on Y chromosome. Additionally, these results reinforce that sex determination is a mechanism conserved across mammals, highlighting the importance of using pigs as an animal model to study sex determination during human prenatal development.

Is the brazilian diverse environment is a crib for the emergence and maintenance of exotic arboviruses?

We review the potential of Amazon forest as a source for circulation and maintenance of native arboviruses as well its capacity to host exotic arboviruses introduced in Brazil during their process of adapting to the Amazon environment. After a brief introduction about arboviruses isolated in Amazon region and description of the main arboviruses pathogenic to humans, we highlight the history of the last two exotic viruses introduced in Brazil - Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) - and their consequences to the public health. Finally, we discuss and hypothesize what will happen with them after the outbreak. We look to the past to predict the future.

Genome-wide association studies for heat stress response in Bos taurus × Bos indicus crossbred cattle.

Heat stress is an important issue in the global dairy industry. In tropical areas, an alternative to overcome heat stress is the use of crossbred animals or synthetic breeds, such as the Girolando. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and post-GWAS analyses for heat stress in an experimental Gir × Holstein F2 population. Rectal temperature (RT) was measured in heat-stressed F2 animals, and the variation between 2 consecutive RT measurements (ΔRT) was used as the dependent variable. Illumina BovineSNP50v1 BeadChip (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA) and single-SNP approach were used for GWAS. Post-GWAS analyses were performed by gene ontology terms enrichment and gene-transcription factor (TF) networks, generated from enriched TF. The breed origin of marker alleles in the F2 population was assigned using the breed of origin of alleles (BOA) approach. Heritability and repeatability estimates (± standard error) for ΔRT were 0.13 ± 0.08 and 0.29 ± 0.06, respectively. Association analysis revealed 6 SNP significantly associated with ΔRT. Genes involved with biological processes in response to heat stress effects (LIF, OSM, TXNRD2, and DGCR8) were identified as putative candidate genes. After performing the BOA approach, the 10% of F2 animals with the lowest breeding values for ΔRT were classified as low-ΔRT, and the 10% with the highest breeding values for ΔRT were classified as high-ΔRT. On average, 49.4% of low-ΔRT animals had 2 alleles from the Holstein breed (HH), and 39% had both alleles from the Gir breed (GG). In high-ΔRT animals, the average proportion of animals for HH and GG were 1.4 and 50.2%, respectively. This study allowed the identification of candidate genes for ΔRT in Gir × Holstein crossbred animals. According to the BOA approach, Holstein breed alleles could be associated with better response to heat stress effects, which could be explained by the fact that Holstein animals are more affected by heat stress than Gir animals and thus require a genetic architecture to defend the body from the deleterious effects of heat stress. Future studies can provide further knowledge to uncover the genetic architecture underlying heat stress in crossbred cattle.

Weighted single-step GWAS and gene network analysis reveal new candidate genes for semen traits in pigs.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been increased interest in the study of the molecular processes that affect semen traits. In this study, our aim was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) regions associated with four semen traits (motility, progressive motility, number of sperm cells per ejaculate and total morphological defects) in two commercial pig lines (L1: Large White type and L2: Landrace type). Since the number of animals with both phenotypes and genotypes was relatively small in our dataset, we conducted a weighted single-step genome-wide association study, which also allows unequal variances for single nucleotide polymorphisms. In addition, our aim was also to identify candidate genes within QTL regions that explained the highest proportions of genetic variance. Subsequently, we performed gene network analyses to investigate the biological processes shared by genes that were identified for the same semen traits across lines. RESULTS: We identified QTL regions that explained up to 10.8% of the genetic variance of the semen traits on 12 chromosomes in L1 and 11 chromosomes in L2. Sixteen QTL regions in L1 and six QTL regions in L2 were associated with two or more traits within the population. Candidate genes SCN8A, PTGS2, PLA2G4A, DNAI2, IQCG and LOC102167830 were identified in L1 and NME5, AZIN2, SPATA7, METTL3 and HPGDS in L2. No regions overlapped between these two lines. However, the gene network analysis for progressive motility revealed two genes in L1 (PLA2G4A and PTGS2) and one gene in L2 (HPGDS) that were involved in two biological processes i.e. eicosanoid biosynthesis and arachidonic acid metabolism. PTGS2 and HPGDS were also involved in the cyclooxygenase pathway. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several QTL regions associated with semen traits in two pig lines, which confirms the assumption of a complex genetic determinism for these traits. A large part of the genetic variance of the semen traits under study was explained by different genes in the two evaluated lines. Nevertheless, the gene network analysis revealed candidate genes that are involved in shared biological pathways that occur in mammalian testes, in both lines.

Comparison of Two Static in Vitro Digestion Methods for Screening the Bioaccessibility of Carotenoids in Fruits, Vegetables, and Animal Products.

In vitro digestion methods are routinely used to assess the bioaccessibility of carotenoids and other dietary lipophilic compounds. Here, we compared the recovery of carotenoids and their efficiency of micellarization in digested fruits, vegetables, egg yolk, and salmon and also in mixed-vegetable salads with and without either egg yolk or salmon using the static INFOGEST method22 and the procedure of Failla et al.16 Carotenoid stability during the simulated digestion was ≥70%. The efficiencies of the partitioning of carotenoids into mixed micelles were similar when individual plant foods and salad meals were digested using the two static methods. Furthermore, the addition of cooked egg or salmon to vegetable salads increased the bioaccessibility of some carotenoids. Our findings showed that the two methods of in vitro digestion generated similar estimates of carotenoid retention and bioaccessibility for diverse foods.