Books on the topic 'Proteine non animali'

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a small, non-enveloped, single-strand, positive-sense RNA virus of approximately 7.2 kb in size. HEV is classified in the family Hepeviridae consisting of four recognized major genotypes that infect humans and other animals. Genotypes 1 and 2 HEV are restricted to humans and often associated with large outbreaks and epidemics in developing countries with poor sanitation conditions, whereas genotypes 3 and 4 HEV infect humans, pigs and other animal species and are responsible for sporadic cases of hepatitis E in both developing and industrialized countries. The avian HEV associated with Hepatitis-Splenomegaly syndrome in chickens is genetically and antigenically related to mammalian HEV, and likely represents a new genus in the family. There exist three open reading frames in HEV genome: ORF1 encodes non-structural proteins, ORF2 encodes the capsid protein, and the ORF3 encodes a small phosphoprotein. ORF2 and ORF3 are translated from a single bicistronic mRNA, and overlap each other but neither overlaps ORF1. Due to the lack of an efficient cell culture system and a practical animal model for HEV, the mechanisms of HEV replication and pathogenesis are poorly understood. The recent identification and characterization of animal strains of HEV from pigs and chickens and the demonstrated ability of cross-species infection by these animal strains raise potential public health concerns for zoonotic HEV transmission. It has been shown that the genotypes 3 and 4 HEV strains from pigs can infect humans, and vice versa. Accumulating evidence indicated that hepatitis E is a zoonotic disease, and swine and perhaps other animal species are reservoirs for HEV. A vaccine against HEV is not yet available.

Proteins are an integral part of molecular and cellular structure and function and are probably the most purified type of biological molecule. In order to elucidate the structure and function of any protein it is first necessary to purify it. Protein purification techniques have evolved over the past ten years with improvements in equipment control, automation, and separation materials, and the introduction of new techniques such as affinity membranes and expanded beds. These developments have reduced the workload involved in protein purification, but there is still a need to consider how unit operations linked together to form a purification strategy, which can be scaled up if necessary. The two Practical Approach books on protein purification have therefore been thoroughly updated and rewritten where necessary. The core of both books is the provision of detailed practical guidelines aimed particularly at laboratory scale purification. Information on scale-up considerations is given where appropriate. The books are not comprehensive but do cover the major laboratory techniques and common sources of protein. Protein Purification Techniques focuses on unit operations and analytical techniques. It starts with an overview of purification strategy and then covers initial extraction and clarification techniques. The rest of the book concentrates on different purification methods with the emphasis being on chromatography. The final chapter considers general scale-up considerations. Protein Purification Applications describes purification strategies from common sources: mammalian cell culture, microbial cell culture, milk, animal tissue, and plant tissue. It also includes chapters on purification of inclusion bodies, fusion proteins, and purification for crystallography. A purification strategy that can produce a highly pure single protein from a crude mixture of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and cell debris to is a work of art to be admired. These books (available individually or as a set)are designed to give the laboratory worker the information needed to undertake the challenge of designing such a strategy.

The INRA Feeding System for Ruminants has been renewed to better address emerging challenges for animal nutrition: prevision of productive responses, product quality, animal health and emissions to the environment, in a larger extent of breeding contexts. The new system is mainly built from meta-analyses of large data bases, and modelling. The dietary supply model accounts for digestive interactions and flows of individual nutrients, so that feed values depend on the final ration. Animal requirements account for variability in metabolic efficiency. Various productive and non-productive animal responses to diets are quantified. This book presents the whole system for dairy and meat, large and small ruminant production, including specificities for tropical and Mediterranean areas. The first two sections present biological concepts and equations (with their field of application and statistical accuracy) used to predict intake (including at grazing) and nutrient supply (Section 1), animal’s requirements and multiple responses to diets (Section 2). They apply to net energy, metabolisable protein and amino acids, water, minerals and vitamins. Section 3 presents the use of concepts and equations in rationing with two purposes: (1) diet calculation for a given performance objective; and (2) prediction of the multiple responses of animal to diet changes. Section 4 displays the tables of feed values, and their prevision. All the equations and concepts are embedded in the fifth version of INRAtion® software for practical use.

Drug addiction, now officially diagnosed as substance use disorder (SUD), is a chronic brain syndrome characterized by the compulsive use of drugs, loss of control over drug taking in spite of its adverse consequences, and relapse even after long periods of drug abstinence. Animal models have played a critical role in our understanding of the molecules, circuits, and behaviors associated with substance use disorders. This chapter reviews animal models that have been widely used to assess all stages of the addiction cycle: from drug initiation, through drug seeking, to withdrawal and relapse. We discuss the power of genetics, especially in generating rodent models for the discovery of essential proteins and pathways regulating behaviors exhibited during the different stages of the addiction cycle. Preclinical research in animal models will undoubtedly continue to reveal therapeutic strategies for substance use disorders.

The dietary management of non-dialysed CKD patients has focused on limiting the intake of substances which lead to accumulation of urea, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium. Recent advances in nutritional epidemiology have given us the opportunity to examine the relationships between diet and CKD. This chapter focuses on evidence relating to retarding progression of renal impairment in the early to mid stages of CKD. Limits may need to change if GFR falls. The hypothesis that a high dietary protein intake leads to progressive CKD through a mechanism of glomerular hyperfiltration has been taught for decades, and it appears effective in animals. However, the evidence that low-protein diets (LPDs) halt CKD progression in patients is weak. Their management is of course likely to include other interventions such as blood pressure control. There is risk to low-protein diets. There is some evidence that high protein intakes are harmful. We therefore recommend moderate protein intake (not low; not high – no protein supplements; around 1g/kg/day). Salt handling is impaired in most patients with CKD, probably even early stages, and hypertension is an early feature, except in salt-losing patients, to whom different rules apply. Salt intake tends to raise blood pressure, worsen proteinuria, and reduce the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors on blood pressure and proteinuria. Very low salt intakes are difficult to comply with and limit diet. In early stages of CKD we therefore recommend restriction to moderately low levels (below 6g/day of salt; 100 mmol of sodium). Lower levels may have additional benefits, and these limits may need to be reduced as GFR declines. Potassium is associated with healthy, desirable foods such as fruit and vegetables. It should only be restricted if high serum values make this necessary.

Designed for the non-specialist, the explanations and illustrations used here describe the work, personalities, collaborations, and idiosyncrasies of four of the most distinguished Nobel Laureates of the twentieth century. They exploited a discovery made over a century ago about the nature of X-rays, and thereby created a new branch of science. This enabled them to elucidate, in atomic detail, the structure and mode of action of molecules of the living world: enzymes, vitamins, and viruses, as well as antibiotics. Perutz and Kendrew, from their pioneering work using X-ray diffraction on haemoglobin and myoglobin, the proteins that transport and store oxygen in all animals, led them to establish in 1962 one of the most successful research centres ever—the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge. Medicines discovered there are used worldwide to treat leukaemia, arthritis, and other diseases. Their work also led to the creation in the United States of the Protein Data Bank that guides scientists in understanding the misfolding of proteins, which cause Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases. This book is first a memoir of these scientists and their contemporaries, many of them friends of the author. Second, it is an insight into the great excitement associated with structural molecular biology, which directly informs our understanding of ourselves. Third, it describes how two renowned research centres in the United Kingdom—the LMB and the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory—achieved iconic status. It also highlights the importance of the popularization of science, of which Bragg, Perutz, and Kendrew, as well as Dorothy Hodgkin (who solved the structures of penicillin and vitamin B₁₂) were experts.

This chapter examines how culture influences what people eat, and how food practices function to enculturate the next generation. We examine four case studies of two food items (sugars and animal proteins) in countries ranging from developing to developed economies, and Western, Eastern, and African cultures. The first three case studies focus on sugar (Australia, Japan, and Thailand) with Australia providing a case study from a Western developed country, Japan providing an example from an Eastern developed country, and Thailand providing an example from a new industrialized country. These three countries have seen changes in sugar consumption paralleling increases in non-communicable diseases. Although global concern for malnutrition is increasingly focused on overconsumption and obesity, it is important to remember that much of the world’s population still struggles with undernutrition. The fourth case study of the Yoruba in southern Nigeria serves to remind us of the importance of cross-cultural comparisons and diversity, as we see that many Yoruba children experience stunting and hunger. For them overconsumption of processed food and sugars is not the primary problem; rather, it is underconsumption of protein, particularly given their infectious disease load. Around the world, culture influences food preferences, and at the same time foods often are used to convey cultural values—such as convenience and modernity, urban lifestyle, hospitality, socialization, and moral education for children. Together these factors have implications for public health interventions and policies, yet collectively require a locally nuanced understanding of culture.

Prion diseases (also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs)) affect animals and humans, although only the human diseases will be discussed in this chapter. Despite TSEs having somewhat disparate causes and effects, there are unifying features: TSEs are brain diseases with neurodegenerative pathology, which is typically associated with spongiform change, and, most characteristically, there is tissue deposition of an abnormal structural form of the prion protein. Some of the TSEs are naturally acquired infections and, while others are not, they are potentially transmissible in certain circumstances.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the third most common form of dementia, and is one that predominantly affects the frontal and temporal lobes. Pathological heterogeneity of FTD is highlighted in various types of protein inclusions in the brain, which can include tau, TDP-43, or FUS. The discovery of novel genes and mutations associated with FTD, along with the exciting advancement of molecular technologies, led to the development of numerous animal- and human-based model systems. These valuable models allow not only for the investigation of pathogenic mechanisms underlying FTD, but also for their utilization as powerful platforms for the screening of novel therapies.

Some scientists now argue that humans are really not superior to other species, including our nearest genetic neighbors, chimpanzees and bonobos. Indeed, those animals seem capable of many things previously thought to be uniquely human, including a sense of the future, empathy, depression, and theory of mind. However, it is clear that humans alone produce speech, dominate the globe, and have several brain diseases like schizophrenia. There are three possible sources within the brain for these differences in brain function: in the structure of the brain, in genes coding for proteins in the brain, and in the level of expression of genes in the brain. There is evidence that all three are the case, giving us a place to look for the intersection of the human mind and brain: the expression of genes within neurons of the prefrontal cortex.

Lambs need high energy and protein levels and optimum conditions in which to grow rapidly. Now, with the increasing need to supply lambs all year round to meet market expectations, producers are more often turning to feedlotting lambs.
 This guide offers realistic advice for producers who are considering feedlotting lambs where all nutrients are supplied, movement is restricted, and shade and water are provided. It will also be useful where supplementary feeding of grain, hay or other nutrients is used to lift the available nutrition to a level sufficient for maintenance, growth or production of the animal.
 Feedlotting Lambs provides an understanding of the principles of nutrition, management issues and finishing lambs in order to meet market specifications.

Animal locomotion depends on the organization, physiology and biomechanical properties of muscles and skeletons. Musculoskeletal systems encompass the mechanical interactions of muscles and skeletal elements that ultimately transmit force for movement and support. Muscles not only perform work by contracting and shortening to generate force, they can also operate as brakes to slow the whole body or a single appendage. Muscles can also function as struts (rod-like) to maintain the position of a joint and facilitate elastic energy storage and recovery. Skeletal muscles share a basic organization and all rely on the same protein machinery for generating force and movement. Variation in muscle function, therefore, depends on the underlying mechanical and energetic components, enzymatic properties, and activation by the nervous system. Muscles require either an internal, external or hydrostatic skeletal system to transmit force for movement and support.

Bones are multifunctional passive organs of movement that supports soft tissue and directly attached muscles. They also protect internal organs and are a reserve of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Each bone is covered with periosteum, and the adjacent bone surfaces are covered by articular cartilage. Histologically, the bone is an organ composed of many different tissues. The main component is bone tissue (cortical and spongy) composed of a set of bone cells and intercellular substance (mineral and organic), it also contains fat, hematopoietic (bone marrow) and cartilaginous tissue. Bones are a tissue that even in adult life retains the ability to change shape and structure depending on changes in their mechanical and hormonal environment, as well as self-renewal and repair capabilities. This process is called bone turnover. The basic processes of bone turnover are: • bone modeling (incessantly changes in bone shape during individual growth) following resorption and tissue formation at various locations (e.g. bone marrow formation) to increase mass and skeletal morphology. This process occurs in the bones of growing individuals and stops after reaching puberty • bone remodeling (processes involve in maintaining bone tissue by resorbing and replacing old bone tissue with new tissue in the same place, e.g. repairing micro fractures). It is a process involving the removal and internal remodeling of existing bone and is responsible for maintaining tissue mass and architecture of mature bones. Bone turnover is regulated by two types of transformation: • osteoclastogenesis, i.e. formation of cells responsible for bone resorption • osteoblastogenesis, i.e. formation of cells responsible for bone formation (bone matrix synthesis and mineralization) Bone maturity can be defined as the completion of basic structural development and mineralization leading to maximum mass and optimal mechanical strength. The highest rate of increase in pig bone mass is observed in the first twelve weeks after birth. This period of growth is considered crucial for optimizing the growth of the skeleton of pigs, because the degree of bone mineralization in later life stages (adulthood) depends largely on the amount of bone minerals accumulated in the early stages of their growth. The development of the technique allows to determine the condition of the skeletal system (or individual bones) in living animals by methods used in human medicine, or after their slaughter. For in vivo determination of bone properties, Abstract 10 double energy X-ray absorptiometry or computed tomography scanning techniques are used. Both methods allow the quantification of mineral content and bone mineral density. The most important property from a practical point of view is the bone’s bending strength, which is directly determined by the maximum bending force. The most important factors affecting bone strength are: • age (growth period), • gender and the associated hormonal balance, • genotype and modification of genes responsible for bone growth • chemical composition of the body (protein and fat content, and the proportion between these components), • physical activity and related bone load, • nutritional factors: – protein intake influencing synthesis of organic matrix of bone, – content of minerals in the feed (CA, P, Zn, Ca/P, Mg, Mn, Na, Cl, K, Cu ratio) influencing synthesis of the inorganic matrix of bone, – mineral/protein ratio in the diet (Ca/protein, P/protein, Zn/protein) – feed energy concentration, – energy source (content of saturated fatty acids - SFA, content of polyun saturated fatty acids - PUFA, in particular ALA, EPA, DPA, DHA), – feed additives, in particular: enzymes (e.g. phytase releasing of minerals bounded in phytin complexes), probiotics and prebiotics (e.g. inulin improving the function of the digestive tract by increasing absorption of nutrients), – vitamin content that regulate metabolism and biochemical changes occurring in bone tissue (e.g. vitamin D3, B6, C and K). This study was based on the results of research experiments from available literature, and studies on growing pigs carried out at the Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, Polish Academy of Sciences. The tests were performed in total on 300 pigs of Duroc, Pietrain, Puławska breeds, line 990 and hybrids (Great White × Duroc, Great White × Landrace), PIC pigs, slaughtered at different body weight during the growth period from 15 to 130 kg. Bones for biomechanical tests were collected after slaughter from each pig. Their length, mass and volume were determined. Based on these measurements, the specific weight (density, g/cm3) was calculated. Then each bone was cut in the middle of the shaft and the outer and inner diameters were measured both horizontally and vertically. Based on these measurements, the following indicators were calculated: • cortical thickness, • cortical surface, • cortical index. Abstract 11 Bone strength was tested by a three-point bending test. The obtained data enabled the determination of: • bending force (the magnitude of the maximum force at which disintegration and disruption of bone structure occurs), • strength (the amount of maximum force needed to break/crack of bone), • stiffness (quotient of the force acting on the bone and the amount of displacement occurring under the influence of this force). Investigation of changes in physical and biomechanical features of bones during growth was performed on pigs of the synthetic 990 line growing from 15 to 130 kg body weight. The animals were slaughtered successively at a body weight of 15, 30, 40, 50, 70, 90, 110 and 130 kg. After slaughter, the following bones were separated from the right half-carcass: humerus, 3rd and 4th metatarsal bone, femur, tibia and fibula as well as 3rd and 4th metatarsal bone. The features of bones were determined using methods described in the methodology. Describing bone growth with the Gompertz equation, it was found that the earliest slowdown of bone growth curve was observed for metacarpal and metatarsal bones. This means that these bones matured the most quickly. The established data also indicate that the rib is the slowest maturing bone. The femur, humerus, tibia and fibula were between the values of these features for the metatarsal, metacarpal and rib bones. The rate of increase in bone mass and length differed significantly between the examined bones, but in all cases it was lower (coefficient b <1) than the growth rate of the whole body of the animal. The fastest growth rate was estimated for the rib mass (coefficient b = 0.93). Among the long bones, the humerus (coefficient b = 0.81) was characterized by the fastest rate of weight gain, however femur the smallest (coefficient b = 0.71). The lowest rate of bone mass increase was observed in the foot bones, with the metacarpal bones having a slightly higher value of coefficient b than the metatarsal bones (0.67 vs 0.62). The third bone had a lower growth rate than the fourth bone, regardless of whether they were metatarsal or metacarpal. The value of the bending force increased as the animals grew. Regardless of the growth point tested, the highest values were observed for the humerus, tibia and femur, smaller for the metatarsal and metacarpal bone, and the lowest for the fibula and rib. The rate of change in the value of this indicator increased at a similar rate as the body weight changes of the animals in the case of the fibula and the fourth metacarpal bone (b value = 0.98), and more slowly in the case of the metatarsal bone, the third metacarpal bone, and the tibia bone (values of the b ratio 0.81–0.85), and the slowest femur, humerus and rib (value of b = 0.60–0.66). Bone stiffness increased as animals grew. Regardless of the growth point tested, the highest values were observed for the humerus, tibia and femur, smaller for the metatarsal and metacarpal bone, and the lowest for the fibula and rib. Abstract 12 The rate of change in the value of this indicator changed at a faster rate than the increase in weight of pigs in the case of metacarpal and metatarsal bones (coefficient b = 1.01–1.22), slightly slower in the case of fibula (coefficient b = 0.92), definitely slower in the case of the tibia (b = 0.73), ribs (b = 0.66), femur (b = 0.59) and humerus (b = 0.50). Bone strength increased as animals grew. Regardless of the growth point tested, bone strength was as follows femur > tibia > humerus > 4 metacarpal> 3 metacarpal> 3 metatarsal > 4 metatarsal > rib> fibula. The rate of increase in strength of all examined bones was greater than the rate of weight gain of pigs (value of the coefficient b = 2.04–3.26). As the animals grew, the bone density increased. However, the growth rate of this indicator for the majority of bones was slower than the rate of weight gain (the value of the coefficient b ranged from 0.37 – humerus to 0.84 – fibula). The exception was the rib, whose density increased at a similar pace increasing the body weight of animals (value of the coefficient b = 0.97). The study on the influence of the breed and the feeding intensity on bone characteristics (physical and biomechanical) was performed on pigs of the breeds Duroc, Pietrain, and synthetic 990 during a growth period of 15 to 70 kg body weight. Animals were fed ad libitum or dosed system. After slaughter at a body weight of 70 kg, three bones were taken from the right half-carcass: femur, three metatarsal, and three metacarpal and subjected to the determinations described in the methodology. The weight of bones of animals fed aa libitum was significantly lower than in pigs fed restrictively All bones of Duroc breed were significantly heavier and longer than Pietrain and 990 pig bones. The average values of bending force for the examined bones took the following order: III metatarsal bone (63.5 kg) <III metacarpal bone (77.9 kg) <femur (271.5 kg). The feeding system and breed of pigs had no significant effect on the value of this indicator. The average values of the bones strength took the following order: III metatarsal bone (92.6 kg) <III metacarpal (107.2 kg) <femur (353.1 kg). Feeding intensity and breed of animals had no significant effect on the value of this feature of the bones tested. The average bone density took the following order: femur (1.23 g/cm3) <III metatarsal bone (1.26 g/cm3) <III metacarpal bone (1.34 g / cm3). The density of bones of animals fed aa libitum was higher (P<0.01) than in animals fed with a dosing system. The density of examined bones within the breeds took the following order: Pietrain race> line 990> Duroc race. The differences between the “extreme” breeds were: 7.2% (III metatarsal bone), 8.3% (III metacarpal bone), 8.4% (femur). Abstract 13 The average bone stiffness took the following order: III metatarsal bone (35.1 kg/mm) <III metacarpus (41.5 kg/mm) <femur (60.5 kg/mm). This indicator did not differ between the groups of pigs fed at different intensity, except for the metacarpal bone, which was more stiffer in pigs fed aa libitum (P<0.05). The femur of animals fed ad libitum showed a tendency (P<0.09) to be more stiffer and a force of 4.5 kg required for its displacement by 1 mm. Breed differences in stiffness were found for the femur (P <0.05) and III metacarpal bone (P <0.05). For femur, the highest value of this indicator was found in Pietrain pigs (64.5 kg/mm), lower in pigs of 990 line (61.6 kg/mm) and the lowest in Duroc pigs (55.3 kg/mm). In turn, the 3rd metacarpal bone of Duroc and Pietrain pigs had similar stiffness (39.0 and 40.0 kg/mm respectively) and was smaller than that of line 990 pigs (45.4 kg/mm). The thickness of the cortical bone layer took the following order: III metatarsal bone (2.25 mm) <III metacarpal bone (2.41 mm) <femur (5.12 mm). The feeding system did not affect this indicator. Breed differences (P <0.05) for this trait were found only for the femur bone: Duroc (5.42 mm)> line 990 (5.13 mm)> Pietrain (4.81 mm). The cross sectional area of the examined bones was arranged in the following order: III metatarsal bone (84 mm2) <III metacarpal bone (90 mm2) <femur (286 mm2). The feeding system had no effect on the value of this bone trait, with the exception of the femur, which in animals fed the dosing system was 4.7% higher (P<0.05) than in pigs fed ad libitum. Breed differences (P<0.01) in the coross sectional area were found only in femur and III metatarsal bone. The value of this indicator was the highest in Duroc pigs, lower in 990 animals and the lowest in Pietrain pigs. The cortical index of individual bones was in the following order: III metatarsal bone (31.86) <III metacarpal bone (33.86) <femur (44.75). However, its value did not significantly depend on the intensity of feeding or the breed of pigs.

This chapter describes how synthetic biology and organic electronics can integrate neurobiology and robotics to form a basis for biohybrid robots and synthetic neuroethology. Biomimetic robots capture the performance advantages of animal models by mimicking the behavioral control schemes evolved in nature, based on modularized devices that capture the biomechanics and control principles of the nervous system. However, current robots are blind to chemical senses, difficult to miniaturize, and require chemical batteries. These obstacles can be overcome by integration of living engineered cells. Synthetic biology seeks to build devices and systems from fungible gene parts (gene systems coding different proteins) integrated into a chassis (induced pluripotent eukaryotic cells, yeast, or bacteria) to produce devices with properties not found in nature. Biohybrid robots are examples of such systems (interacting sets of devices). A nascent literature describes genes that can mediate organ levels of organization. Such capabilities, applied to biohybrid systems, portend truly biological robots guided, controlled, and actuated solely by life processes.

Most consumers expect the food they eat to be safe. This concern is not lost on governments around the world, which explains why there are numerous laws and regulations intended to ensure food safety. There are many misconceptions about food safety, such as the belief that organic foods are safer than conventional food products. This article examines food safety, first by considering the factors that explain why genetically modified (GM) crops as well as the foods and feeds produced from them, are assumed to be as safe as any other food. It provides an overview of the history of the use of recombinant DNA in food crops and the production of transgenic crops. It then looks at the scientific food-safety risk assessment of crops produced using biotechnology. It also discusses food safety in relation to proteins in food, as well as food allergy and allergens. Finally, it reviews the results of animal studies designed to demonstrate the safety of GM crops and the politics underlying such studies.

Influenza is a highly infectious, acute illness which has affected humans and animals since ancient times. Influenza viruses form the Orthomyxoviridae family and are grouped into types A, B, and C on the basis of the antigenic nature of the internal nucleocapsid or the matrix protein. Infl uenza A viruses infect a large variety of animal species, including humans, pigs, horses, sea mammals, and birds, occasionally producing devastating pandemics in humans, such as in 1918 when it has been estimated that between 50–100 million deaths occurred worldwide.There are two important viral surface glycoproteins, the haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). The HA binds to sialic acid receptors on the membrane of host cells and is the primary antigen against which a host’s antibody response is targeted. The NA cleaves the sialic acid bond attaching new viral particles to the cell membrane of host cells allowing their release. The NA is also the target of the neuraminidase inhibitor class of antiviral agents that include oseltamivir and zanamivir and newer agents such as peramivir. Both these glycoproteins are important antigens for inducing protective immunity in the host and therefore show the greatest variation.Influenza A viruses are classified into 16 antigenically distinct HA (H1–16) and 9 NA subtypes (N1–9). Although viruses of relatively few subtype combinations have been isolated from mammalian species, all subtypes, in most combinations, have been isolated from birds. Each virus possesses one HA and one NA subtype.Last century, the sudden emergence of antigenically different strains in humans, termed antigenic shift, occurred on three occasions, 1918 (H1N1), 1957 (H2N2) and 1968 (H3N2), resulting in pandemics. The frequent epidemics that occur between the pandemics are as a result of gradual antigenic change in the prevalent virus, termed antigenic drift. Epidemics throughout the world occur in the human population due to infection with influenza A viruses, such as H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes, or with influenza B virus. Phylogenetic studies have led to the suggestion that aquatic birds that show no signs of disease could be the source of many influenza A viruses in other species. The 1918 H1N1 pandemic strain is thought to have arisen as a result of spontaneous mutations within an avian H1N1 virus. However, most pandemic strains, such as the 1957 H2N2, 1968 H3N2 and 2009 pandemic H1N1, are considered to have emerged by genetic re-assortment of the segmented RNA genome of the virus, with the avian and human influenza A viruses infecting the same host.Influenza viruses do not pass readily between humans and birds but transmission between humans and other animals has been demonstrated. This has led to the suggestion that the proposed reassortment of human and avian influenza viruses takes place in an intermediate animal with subsequent infection of the human population. Pigs have been considered the leading contender for the role of intermediary because they may serve as hosts for productive infections of both avian and human viruses, and there is good evidence that they have been involved in interspecies transmission of influenza viruses; particularly the spread of H1N1 viruses to humans. Apart from public health measures related to the rapid identification of cases and isolation. The main control measures for influenza virus infections in human populations involves immunization and antiviral prophylaxis or treatment.

Verocytotoxin (VT)-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC), also known as Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC), are zoonotic agents, which cause a potentially fatal illness whose clinical spectrum includes diarrhoea, haemorrhagic colitis, and the haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). VTEC are of serious public health concern because of their association with large outbreaks and with HUS, which is the leading cause of acute renal failure in children. Although over 200 different OH serotypes of VTEC have been associated with human illness, the vast majority of reported outbreaks and sporadic cases of VTEC-infection in humans have been associated with serotype O157:H7.VTs constitute a family of related protein subunit exotoxins, the major ones implicated in human disease being VT1, VT2, and VT2c. Following their translocation into the circulation, VTs bind to endothelial cells of the renal glomeruli, and of other organs and tissues via a specific receptor globotriosylceramide (Gb 3), are internalized by a process of receptor-mediated endocytosis, and cause subcellular damage that results in the characteristic microangiopathic disease observed in HUS.The incubation period of VTEC-associated illness is about 3–5 days. After ingestion VTEC (especially of serotype O157:H7) multiply in the bowel and colonize the mucosa of probably the large bowel with a characteristic attaching and effacing (AE) cytopathology. Colonization is followed by the translocation of VTs into the circulation and the subsequent manifestation of disease.The majority of patients with uncomplicated VTEC infection recover fully with general supportive measures. Historically, the case-fatality rate was high for HUS. However, improvement in the treatment of renal failure and the attendant biochemical disturbances has substantially improved the outlook, although long-term sequelae may develop.Ruminants, especially cattle, are the main reservoirs of VTEC. Infection is acquired through the ingestion of contaminated food, especially under-cooked hamburger, through direct contact with animals, via contaminated water or environments, or via personto-person transmission.The occurrence of large outbreaks of food-borne VTEC-associated illness has promoted close scrutiny of this zoonoses at all levels in the chain of transmission, including the farm, abattoir, food processing, packaging and distribution plants, the wholesaler, the retailer and the consumer. While eradication of VTEC O157 at the farm may not be an option, interventions to increase animal resistance or to decrease animal exposure are being developed and validated. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Programmes are being implemented in the processing sector and appear to be associated with temporal decreases in VTEC serotype O157 illness in humans. Education programmes targeting food handling procedures and hygiene practices are being advocated at the retail and consumer level. Continued efforts at all stages from the farm to the consumer will be necessary to reduce the risk of VTEC-associated illness in humans.

Focusing specifically on Jean-Luc Godard’s experimental 3-D outing, Adieu au langage (2014), this chapter equates becoming-animal (manifested through Godard’s dog, Roxy) with the time of the intolerable, a crisis in the action-image which precludes any absorption of affect within the sensory-motor schema. In this sense, Roxy becomes an immanent, animistic force that remakes the world (and by extension, as in all of Godard’s films, cinema itself) into a protean force of becoming, where even 3-D bifurcates and deterritorialises as a new form of machinic fabulation. In the case of the intolerable, where our sensory-motor schema is allowed to jam or break, a different type of image appears, what Deleuze calls a pure optical-sound image: ‘opsigns’ and ‘sonsigns’, images where the seen and heard no longer extend into action. In Adieu au langage, Godard’s use of 3D also offers a new kind of time-image, a lectosign (a visual image which must be ‘read’ as much as seen) that requires the eye’s negotiation of conflicting points of attention within the shot, thereby inducing crisis and the intolerable within the image itself.

Uric acid (UA) stones are typically red-orange and often appear as sand/ gravel though they may be large. They are totally radiolucent. They account for about 10% of all kidney stones in most countries, and up to 20% in some populations. It is twice as frequent in males, prevalence increases with age, and it is two to three times higher in patients with type 2 diabetes or with features of the metabolic syndrome. Factors that induce the formation of UA stones are a low urine volume, hyperuricosuria, and, more importantly, a permanently low urine pH (< 5). Indeed, below its pKa of 5.35 at 37°C, UA is in non-dissociated form, whose solubility is at best 100 mg/L, whereas urinary UA excretion normally exceeds 600 mg/day and may exceed 1g/day.Because UA solubility increases up to approximately 500 mg/L at urine pH > 6, urine alkalinization, with a target pH of 6.5–7, is the cornerstone of medical treatment. This most often allows dissolution of existing stones and prevention of recurrent stone formation so that urological intervention is infrequently needed. The preferred agent for alkalinization is potassium citrate (30–60 mEq/day in divided doses), because potassium urate is twice more soluble than sodium urate. However, in patients with poor gastric tolerance to potassium citrate or contraindication to potassium supplements, sodium bicarbonate is an acceptable alternative. Limitation of animal proteins, purine-rich foods (including beer), alcoholic drinks and acidified beverages (sodas) are useful measures, together with large fluid intake (> 2–2.5 L/day). Allopurinol may be indicated in cases of symptomatic hyperuricaemia. Regular observance of alkalinisation, with periodic controls of urine pH by the patient, is needed to prevent the rapid formation of UA stones. Patients affected by UANL, especially if overweight, should be evaluated for type 2 diabetes or glucose intolerance and managed accordingly.

Quantitative traits—be they morphological or physiological characters, aspects of behavior, or genome-level features such as the amount of RNA or protein expression for a specific gene—usually show considerable variation within and among populations. Quantitative genetics, also referred to as the genetics of complex traits, is the study of such characters and is based on mathematical models of evolution in which many genes influence the trait and in which non-genetic factors may also be important. Evolution and Selection of Quantitative Traits presents a holistic treatment of the subject, showing the interplay between theory and data with extensive discussions on statistical issues relating to the estimation of the biologically relevant parameters for these models. Quantitative genetics is viewed as the bridge between complex mathematical models of trait evolution and real-world data, and the authors have clearly framed their treatment as such. This is the second volume in a planned trilogy that summarizes the modern field of quantitative genetics, informed by empirical observations from wide-ranging fields (agriculture, evolution, ecology, and human biology) as well as population genetics, statistical theory, mathematical modeling, genetics, and genomics. Whilst volume 1 (1998) dealt with the genetics of such traits, the main focus of volume 2 is on their evolution, with a special emphasis on detecting selection (ranging from the use of genomic and historical data through to ecological field data) and examining its consequences. This extensive work of reference is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers (both empiricists and theoreticians) in the fields of evolutionary biology, genetics, and genomics. It will also be of particular relevance and use to plant and animal breeders, human geneticists, and statisticians.

La enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) es la patología neurodegenerativa más común en todo el mundo y se le considera la principal causa de demencia en la población adulta. El principal rasgo neuropatológico de esta enfermedad es la acumulación de proteínas mal plegadas en el cerebro de los pacientes. Estos agregados proteicos conducen a la oxidación progresiva y daño inflamatorio, lo que contribuye al proceso neurodegenerativo y al daño cerebral irreversible. Por otro lado, la evidencia sugiere que la disfunción mitocondrial es un elemento importante en la patogénesis de la EA y que su aparición precede al establecimiento de los agregados proteicos en el cerebro.Interesantemente, diversos estudios en el tejido periférico de modelos animales y pacientes con EA, sugieren que la función mitocondrial también podría estar afectada, lo que indicaría la existencia de un novedoso blanco para la búsqueda de un biomarcador temprano en la EA. En este contexto, evidencia reciente indica que los fibroblastos extraídos de biopsia de piel pueden ser los candidatos adecuados para el escrutinio de nuevos biomarcadores en la EA. Esto ya que existe evidencia de que fibroblastos de pacientes con EA familiar presentan desregulaciones metabólicas que reflejarán alteraciones neuronales que ocurren en el cerebro. Más allá de lo prometedor de estas evidencias actualmente no existen estudios profundos que demuestren y/o caractericen el daño mitocondrial en fibroblastos de pacientes con EA y su potencial uso en la búsqueda de un biomarcador.Dado los antecedentes anteriores, en esta tesis se propone que los fibroblastos de pacientes con la EA presentan un perfil de disfunción mitocondrial característico que los diferencia de los pacientes normales. Para esto se analizaron cultivos primarios de fibroblastos de pacientes controles y EA con diferentes niveles de deterioro cognitivo. Se realizaron análisis de microscopía de fluorescencia en vivo, PCR en tiempo real, Western blot y determinaciones de ATP. Nuestros resultados sugieren que los fibroblastos de pacientes con EA presentan defectos específicos en la morfología y bioenergética mitocondrial que se asemejan a las desregulaciones cerebrales observadas en la EA.Esta disfunción mitocondrial podría estar desencadenada por la formación y apertura del poro de transición de membrana mitocondrial, un complejo proteico que cumple funciones en la regulación de la producción de energía y procesos de muerte celular. El presente estudio presenta la primera caracterización del estado mitocondrial de los fibroblastos de pacientes con EA y sugiere que la evaluación de la función mitocondrial podría diferenciar el envejecimiento normal del envejecimiento patológico relacionado con esta enfermedad. Nuestro trabajo abre la posibilidad de un nuevo blanco para el desarrollo de biomarcadores de EA y presenta una nueva estrategia para estudios epidemiológicos en esta enfermedad.