Revealing the Changes in Saliva and Serum Proteins of Pigs with Meningitis Caused by Streptococcus Suis: A Proteomic Approach

Meningitis due to Streptococcus suis causes high mortality and morbidity on pig farms and has increasing zoonotic potential worldwide. Saliva proteome analysis would potentially be useful in elucidating pathophysiological changes and mining for new biomarkers to diagnose and monitor S. suis infection. The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in the salivary and serum proteome profile of piglets with meningitis. The LC-MS/MS TMT proteomic approach was used to analyze saliva and serum samples from 20 male piglets: 10 with meningitis and 10 healthy. In saliva, 11 proteins had higher and 10 had lower relative abundance in piglets with meningitis. The proteins with the highest relative abundance were metavinculin (VCL) and desmocollin-2 (DSC2). Adenosine deaminase (ADA) was selected for validation using a spectrophotometric assay and demonstrated excellent performance in the differentiation between healthy and pigs with meningitis due to S. suis. In serum, the most protruding changes occurred for one SERPIN and haptoglobin (HP). In saliva and serum, the highest number of proteins with altered abundance were linked, via the enrichment analysis, with platelet and neutrophil pathways. Overall, meningitis caused by S. suis resulted in specific proteome changes in saliva and serum, reflecting different pathophysiological mechanisms, and marking new potential biomarkers for this infection.     

Influence of trehalose addition on antioxidant activity,colour and texture of orange jelly during storage

The aim of this study was to investigate influence of partial replacement of sucrose with trehalose on phenolics, antioxidant activity, colour and texture of orange jelly during 135 days of storage under the light at room temperature. After preparation, phenol content was 1185.6 and 1050.3 mg GAE kg^?1 in orange jelly and orange jelly with trehalose addition, respectively. Loss of phenols during 135 days of storage in orange jelly was 27.8% in comparison with 9.14% in orange jelly with trehalose addition. Browning index of samples with trehalose addition had lower values than orange jelly after their preparation as well as after storage. Evaluated textural parameters were gel strength, rapture strength, brittleness and adhesiveness. After preparation, both jellies had the same gel strength and adhesiveness. Orange jelly had higher rapture strength and higher value of brittleness than orange jelly with trehalose addition.     

Turning industrial aerobic fermentation plants into thermal power stations

The industrial aerobic bioprocess of baker's yeast production requires large amounts of water to cool down large bubble column bioreactors. As result, an appreciable quantity of low‐grade heat is generated. Because of the low temperature level of the water (~25°C) exiting the bioreactors cooling system, very little attention has been dedicated to heat recovery and conversion from this stream, which is usually released in rivers, streams, and canals. In this work, we simulated the generation of low‐grade heat (up to 14.4 MW) from an industrial baker's yeast production plant consisting of seven 150‐m³ bioreactors. Subsequently, a dedicated transcritical carbon dioxide heat pump system for the conversion of this low‐grade heat into fourth generation district heat (~16.2 MW) was successfully designed. Fourth generation district heat employs low‐temperature water (30‐70°C) as heat carrier and is expected to play a major role in future sustainable energy system. Finally, an economic study confirmed the feasibility and the applicability of our approach and a concept for long‐term energy storage including state‐of‐the‐art phase change material (PCM)–units was discussed.     

Optimisation of process parameters of Alpaca wool printing with Juglans regia natural dye

The aim of this research study was to optimise the process parameters of Alpaca wool hand‐knitted samples screen‐printing with Juglans regia natural dye and to set the optimal conditions regarding colour yield, colour fastness and colouristic properties of printed samples. An extensive preliminary examination of the Alpaca woollen yarn and hand‐knitted samples characteristics, the characteristics of suitable thickeners and the optimisation of the printing paste composition, was performed. A starch‐based thickener, British Gum, with a dry matter content of 4% was selected due to its rheological properties responding to properties of the Alpaca yarn and knitwear. It was determined that the fluidity increases while the viscosity and the elasticity decrease in acidic pH, so a pH of 4 was set for the thickener preparation. The thickener of lower viscosity and higher fluidity assures easier pressing of printing paste through the screen, giving uniform colour yield on the substrate, contributing to easier absorption of dyes into the fibre. A 45‐minute fixing process at 105°C by steaming delivered the best results of printing quality. Iron sulphate was used as the mordanting agent. The colour fastness to washing, dry and wet rubbing, and to light, was tested for samples with and without mordanting. The highest light and washing fastness were obtained with the iron sulphate mordanting agent printed in acid (pH 4) with paste containing 4% dry matter‐based thickener. The rubbing fastness was satisfactory for samples with iron sulphate printed with paste containing 4% dry matter thickener, fixed for 45 minutes, regardless of the pH.     

Multi Platforms Strategies and Metabolomics Approaches for the Investigation of Comprehensive Metabolite Profile in Dogs with Babesia canis Infection

Canine babesiosis is an important tick-borne disease worldwide, caused by parasites of the Babesia genus. Although the disease process primarily affects erythrocytes, it may also have multisystemic consequences. The goal of this study was to explore and characterize the serum metabolome, by identifying potential metabolites and metabolic pathways in dogs naturally infected with Babesia canis using liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The study included 12 dogs naturally infected with B. canis and 12 healthy dogs. By combining three different analytical platforms using untargeted and targeted approaches, 295 metabolites were detected. The untargeted ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) metabolomics approach identified 64 metabolites, the targeted UHPLC-MS/MS metabolomics approach identified 205 metabolites, and the GC-MS metabolomics approach identified 26 metabolites. Biological functions of differentially abundant metabolites indicate the involvement of various pathways in canine babesiosis including the following: glutathione metabolism; alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism; glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; cysteine and methionine metabolism; and phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis. This study confirmed that host–pathogen interactions could be studied by metabolomics to assess chemical changes in the host, such that the differences in serum metabolome between dogs with B. canis infection and healthy dogs can be detected with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods. Our study provides novel insight into pathophysiological mechanisms of B. canis infection.     

Retention of linalool and eugenol in hydrogels

Textural parameters of hydrogels prepared from hydrocolloids (guar gum or xanthan; 0.5 or 1% (w/w)) and disaccharides (sucrose and trehalose) were investigated after preparation and storage for 30 days. Volatile compounds (linalool or eugenol) were added to the hydrogels in order to investigate their behaviour in those systems and to determine whether there is correlation between textural parameters and their retention. Textural parameters that were evaluated were firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity. Regarding textural parameters, there was no significant difference between hydrogels prepared with 0.5% of hydrocolloids. With increase of the amount of added hydrocolloid, textural parameters increased and differences between sucrose- and trehalose-containing hydrogels were observed. Hydrogels prepared with trehalose had lower values of textural parameters. Correlation between texture and retention of volatile compounds was not observed or it was very low.     

The individually optimized bolus dose of nadroparin is safe and effective in diabetic and nondiabetic patients with bleeding risk on hemodialysis

The risk of bleeding is a well‐known complication in patients on hemodialysis (HD). The aim of this prospective study was to determine the lowest single bolus dose of low–molecular‐weight heparin nadroparin for safe and effective HD in patients with a bleeding risk. Forty HD patients were divided into 4 subgroups with 10 participants (diabetics with and without a bleeding risk, nondiabetics with and without a bleeding risk). The actual starting bolus dose was decreased by 25% after the initial 4 weeks, further decreased by 25% of the starting dose after 4 weeks, and changed due to extracorporeal circuit clotting in the last 4 weeks. The parameters of coagulation were measured at the beginning, after 2 and 4 h of HD sessions. A significant reduction of nadroparin (first vs. last HD session) was observed in: diabetics with a bleeding risk (49.66 ± 12.33 vs. 28.78 ± 9.60 IU/kg/HD; P<0.001), diabetics without a bleeding risk (50.70 ± 15.23 vs. 33.95 ± 16.97 IU/kg/HD; P<0.001), and nondiabetics with a bleeding risk (61.25 ± 18.68 vs. 32.96 ± 10.06 IU/kg/HD; P<0.001). Altogether, the reduction of the nadroparin dose in these groups was 42.05%; 33.04%, and 46.19%, respectively. Although anti‐Xa at hour 4 at the end of the study was <0.4 IU/mL in our diabetic and nondiabetic patients without a risk of bleeding, serious clottings in the extracorporeal circuit and vascular access thromboses were not found. This study demonstrated for the first time that individually optimized doses of nadroparin are sufficient for safe and effective HD in patients with a bleeding risk.