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The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of five levels of condensed tannins (CT) from black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) in the diets of lactating dairy cows on intake, nutrient digestibility, ruminal microbial protein synthesis, milk production, composition, oxidative profile, and blood metabolites. Five Holstein cows (88 ± 26.8 days in milk) were allocated in a 5 x 5 Latin square design for a period of 20 days (14 days of diet adaptation and six for sampling). Treatments were the inclusion levels of CT at 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g/kg of dry matter (DM) in the diet. There was no effect of CT on DM intake. The digestibility of DM and neutral detergent fiber changed quadratically, with the maximum values at 12.2 and 11.4 g/kg of DM, respectively. There was no effect on ruminal microbial protein synthesis and milk production; however, milk casein concentration was reduced linearly. There was no effect on the milk oxidative profile. Inclusion of CT at levels up to 20 g/kg of DM did not affect intake or microbial protein synthesis; however, added CT depressed the production of energy corrected milk and milk casein concentration.

The basis of drug resistance in Mycobacterium abscessus is still poorly understood. Nevertheless, as seen in other microorganisms, the efflux of antimicrobials may also play a role in M. abscessus drug resistance. Here, we investigated the role of efflux pumps in clarithromycin resistance using nine clinical isolates of M. abscessus complex belonging to the T28 erm(41) sequevar responsible for the inducible resistance to clarithromycin. The strains were characterized by drug susceptibility testing in the presence/absence of the efflux inhibitor verapamil and by genetic analysis of drug-resistance-associated genes. Efflux activity was quantified by real-time fluorometry. Efflux pump gene expression was studied by RT-qPCR upon exposure to clarithromycin. Verapamil increased the susceptibility to clarithromycin from 4- to ≥64-fold. The efflux pump genes MAB_3142 and MAB_1409 were found consistently overexpressed. The results obtained demonstrate that the T28 erm(41) polymorphism is not the sole cause of the inducible clarithromycin resistance in M. abscessus subsp. abscessus or bolletii with efflux activity providing a strong contribution to clarithromycin resistance. These data highlight the need for further studies on M. abscessus efflux response to antimicrobial stress in order to implement more effective therapeutic regimens and guidance in the development of new drugs against these bacteria.

For over 150 years, researchers have studied the (patho)physiology of the endocrine pancreas and devised treatment options for diabetes mellitus (DM). However, no cure has been developed so far. In dogs, diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM) is the most common presentation. Treatment consists of twice daily insulin injections, monitored by spatial blood glucose measurements. Even though dogs were instrumental in the discovery of insulin and islet transplantations, the treatment in diabetic dogs has remained unchanged for decades. Providing twice daily insulin injections is demanding for both owners and dogs and may result in hypoglycaemic events, creating the need for new treatment strategies. Novel regenerative medicine-based tools, such as improved β-cell culture protocols and artificial devices, have sparked hope for a cure. In human medicine, emerging technologies such as the transplantation of insulin-producing β-cells, generated by stem cell differentiation, with or without an encapsulation device, are currently tested in phase I/II clinical trials. As the pathogenesis of T1DM is remarkably similar between humans and dogs, novel treatment methods could be implemented in canine medicine. This review briefly summarises the physiology of the canine endocrine pancreas and the pathophysiology of canine DM before exploring current and possible future treatment options for canine DM.

Peanut shells’ adsorption performance in caffeine and triclosan removal was studied. Peanut shells were analyzed for their chemical composition, morphology, and surface functional groups. Batch adsorption and fixed-bed column experiments were carried out with solutions containing 30 mg/L of caffeine and triclosan. The parameters examined included peanut shell particle size (120–150, 300–600, and 800–2000 µm), adsorbent dose (0.02–60 g/L), contact time (up to 180 min), bed height (4–8 cm), and hydraulic loading rate (2.0 and 4.0 m3/m2-day). After determining the optimal adsorption conditions, kinetics, isotherm, and breakthrough curve models were applied to analyze the experimental data. Peanut shells showed an irregular surface and consisted mainly of polysaccharides (around 70% lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose), with a specific surface area of 1.7 m2/g and a pore volume of 0.005 cm3/g. The highest removal efficiencies for caffeine (85.6 ± 1.4%) and triclosan (89.3 ± 1.5%) were achieved using the smallest particles and 10.0 and 0.1 g/L doses over 180 and 45 min, respectively. Triclosan showed easier removal compared to caffeine due to its higher lipophilic character. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model provided the best fit with the experimental data, suggesting a chemisorption process between caffeine/triclosan and the adsorbent. Equilibrium data were well-described by the Sips model, with maximum adsorption capacities of 3.3 mg/g and 289.3 mg/g for caffeine and triclosan, respectively. In fixed-bed column adsorption tests, particle size significantly influenced efficiency and hydraulic behavior, with 120–150 µm particles exhibiting the highest adsorption capacity for caffeine (0.72 mg/g) and triclosan (143.44 mg/g), albeit with clogging issues. The experimental data also showed good agreement with the Bohart–Adams, Thomas, and Yoon–Nelson models. Therefore, the findings of this study highlight not only the effective capability of peanut shells to remove caffeine and triclosan but also their versatility as a promising option for water treatment and sanitation applications in different contexts.

Antimicrobial resistance, the so-called silent pandemic, is pushing industry and academia to find novel antimicrobial agents with new mechanisms of action in order to be active against susceptible and drug-resistant microorganisms. In the case of tuberculosis, the need of novel anti-tuberculosis drugs is specially challenging because of the intricate biology of its causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The repurposing of medicines has arisen in recent years as a fast, low-cost, and efficient strategy to identify novel biomedical applications for already approved drugs. This review is focused on anti-parasitic drugs that have additionally demonstrated certain levels of anti-tuberculosis activity; along with this, natural products with a dual activity against parasites and against M. tuberculosis are discussed. A few clinical trials have tested antiparasitic drugs in tuberculosis patients, and have revealed effective dose and toxicity issues, which is consistent with the natural differences between tuberculosis and parasitic infections. However, through medicinal chemistry approaches, derivatives of drugs with anti-parasitic activity have become successful drugs for use in tuberculosis therapy. In summary, even when the repurposing of anti-parasitic drugs for tuberculosis treatment does not seem to be an easy job, it deserves attention as a potential contributor to fuel the anti-tuberculosis drug pipeline.

Brazil’s offshore wind resources are evaluated from satellite winds and ocean heat flux datasets. Winds are extrapolated to the height of modern turbines accounting for atmospheric stability. Turbine technical data are combined with wind and bathymetric information for description of the seasonal and latitudinal variability of wind power. Atmospheric conditions vary from unstable situations in the tropics, to neutral and slightly stable conditions in the subtropics. Cabo Frio upwelling in the southeast tends to promote slightly stable conditions during the spring and summer. Likewise, Plata plume cold-water intrusions in southern shelf tends to create neutral to slightly stable situations during the fall and winter. Unstable (stable) conditions are associated with weaker (stronger) vertical wind shear. Wind technical resource, accounting for atmospheric stability and air density distribution, is 725 GW between 0−35 m, 980 GW for 0−50 m, 1.3 TW for 0−100 m and 7.2 TW for the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Resources might vary from 2 to 23% according to the chosen turbine. Magnitudes are 20% lower than previous estimates that considered neutral atmosphere conditions. Strong winds are observed on the north (AP, PA), northeast (MA, PI, CE, RN), southeast (ES, RJ) and southern states (SC, RS). There is significant seasonal complementarity between the north and northeast shelves. When accounting for shelf area, the largest integrated resource is located on the north shelf between 0−20 m. Significant resources are also found in the south for deeper waters.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is often accompanied with metabolic disturbances attributed to androgen excess and obesity, but the contribution of each has not been defined, and the occurrence of metabolic disturbances is usually not investigated. Ninety-nine women with PCOS and forty-one without PCOS were evaluated. The clinical biomarkers of alterations related to glucose (glucose, insulin, and clamp-derived glucose disposal - M ), liver (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase), and endothelium (arginine, asymmetric dymethylarginine, carotid intima-media thickness, and flow-mediated dilation) metabolism were measured; participants were categorized into four groups according to their obesity (OB) and hyperandrogenemia (HA) status as follows: Healthy (no-HA, lean), HA (HA, lean), OB (no-HA, OB), and HAOB (HA, OB). Metabolic disturbances were very frequent in women with PCOS (≈70%). BMI correlated with all biomarkers, whereas free testosterone (FT) correlated with only glucose- and liver-related indicators. Although insulin sensitivity and liver enzymes were associated with FT, women with obesity showed lower M (coef = 8.56 - 0.080(FT) - 3.71(Ob); p < 0.001) and higher aspartate aminotransferase (coef = 26.27 + 0.532 (FT) + 8.08 (Ob); p = 0.015) than lean women with the same level of FT. Women with obesity showed a higher risk of metabolic disorders than lean women, independent of hyperandrogenemia. Clinicians are compelled to look for metabolic alterations in women with PCOS. Obesity should be treated in all cases, but hyperandrogenemia should also be monitored in those with glucose-or liver-related disturbances.

In large-scale syngas fermentation, strong gradients in dissolved gas (CO, H 2 ) concentrations are very likely to occur due to locally varying mass transfer and convection rates. Using Euler-Lagrangian CFD simulations, we analyzed these gradients in an industrial-scale external-loop gas-lift reactor (EL-GLR) for a wide range of biomass concentrations, considering CO inhibition for both CO and H 2 uptake. Lifeline analyses showed that micro-organisms are likely to experience frequent (5 to 30 s) oscillations in dissolved gas concentrations with one order of magnitude. From the lifeline analyses, we developed a conceptual scale-down simulator (stirred-tank reactor with varying stirrer speed) to replicate industrial-scale environmental fluctuations at bench scale. The configuration of the scale-down simulator can be adjusted to match a broad range of environmental fluctuations. Our results suggest a preference for industrial operation at high biomass concentrations, as this would strongly reduce inhibitory effects, provide operational flexibility and enhance the product yield. The peaks in dissolved gas concentration were hypothesized to increase the syngas-to-ethanol yield due to the fast uptake mechanisms in C. autoethanogenum . The proposed scale-down simulator can be used to validate such results and to obtain data for parametrizing lumped kinetic metabolic models that describe such short-term responses.

The Fontan procedure (FP) is the standard surgical treatment for Univentricular heart diseases. Over time, the Fontan system fails, leading to pathologies such as protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), plastic bronchitis (PB), and heart failure (HF). FP should be considered as a transitional step to the final treatment: heart transplantation (HT). This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to establish the risk of death following HT according to the presence of FP complications. There was a total of 691 transplanted patients in the 18 articles, immediate survival 88% ( n = 448), survival from 1 to 5 years of 78% ( n = 427) and survival from 5.1 to 10 years of 69% ( n = 208), >10 years 61% ( n = 109). The relative risk (RR) was 1.12 for PLE (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.89-1.40, p = 0.34), 1.03 for HF (0.7-1.51, p = 0.88), 0.70 for Arrhythmias (0.39-1.24, p = 0.22), 0.46 for PB (0.08-2.72, p = 0.39), and 5.81 for CKD (1.70-19.88, p = 0.005). In patients with two or more failures, the RR was 1.94 (0.99-3.81, p = 0.05). After FP, the risk of death after HT is associated with CKD and with the presence of two or more failures.