BioMar (Norway)

The present study highlights the efficiency of natural carotenoid sources (Haematococcus pluvialis, Phaffia rhodozyma, and Paracoccus carotinifaciens) in terms of Atlantic salmon pigmentation, lipid profile, oxidation status (glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disulfide (GSSG)) ratio, and genomic stress markers (nrf2.1, keap1b1, hsp70, and h2q8 genes) during an 88-day feeding trial. As controls, fish fed synthetic astaxanthin was used. Four experimental diets with equal nutritional composition, except for the pigment source, were tested in an experimental design of 12 tanks and 372 fish (n = 3 × 31 per feed, start weight of 149 ± 27.5 g).Astaxanthin from H. pluvialis, P. rhodozyma, and P. carotinifaciens were found to be as efficient as synthetic astaxanthin in terms of visual perception, oxidation status and lipid peroxidation as there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in a* value, GSH/GSSG ratio, or lipid profile between the different groups. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the gene expression of nrf2.1, keap1b1, or hsp70 in the NQC or the PC. Fish fed P. rhodozyma showed the most favorable results as it had the numerically highest a* and C* values and the lowest L* value. Moreover, no significant difference in total muscle astaxanthin concentration was observed between the fish fed P. rhodozyma and those fed synthetic astaxanthin. However, the fish fed synthetic astaxanthin had a significantly higher concentration of total flesh astaxanthin than those fed H. pluvialis and P. carotinifaciens.The results conclude that naturally produced astaxanthin has a significant potential in Atlantic salmon pigmentation. However, further research on slaughter-ready salmon is essential to prove the concept.

O câncer de mama triplo-negativo (CMTN) é uma das formas mais agressivas de câncer de mama, caracterizado pela ausência dos receptores de estrogênio, progesterona e HER2, o que limita as opções terapêuticas tradicionais e está associado a um prognóstico desfavorável. Este estudo investiga a eficácia e segurança da imunoterapia com inibidores de PD-1 e PD-L1 no tratamento de pacientes com CMTN. A revisão integrativa da literatura incluiu estudos clínicos randomizados, não randomizados, observacionais e ensaios pré-clínicos que avaliaram a imunoterapia com PD-1 e PD-L1. As bases de dados consultadas foram PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), sendo os dados extraídos sobre autores, ano de publicação, tipo de estudo, tamanho da amostra, intervenções realizadas, desfechos avaliados, resultados principais e conclusões. Os resultados mostraram que a imunoterapia é uma abordagem promissora para o tratamento do CMTN. A combinação de atezolizumab com nab-paclitaxel melhorou significativamente a sobrevida livre de progressão (SLP) em comparação com a quimioterapia isolada e foi associada a uma sobrevida global prolongada em pacientes com CMTN metastático. A presença de linfócitos infiltrantes tumorais (TILs) foi identificada como um biomarcador preditivo de melhor resposta à imunoterapia, destacando a importância da seleção de pacientes com base em biomarcadores. No entanto, desafios como a resistência à terapia e eventos adversos imunomediados, incluindo pneumonite e colite, foram frequentemente observados e exigem manejo cuidadoso. Apesar dos avanços, a imunoterapia com PD-1 e PD-L1 enfrenta desafios em termos de toxicidade, resistência e custo-efetividade, que podem limitar seu acesso e aplicação ampla. Estratégias para superar esses obstáculos incluem a combinação de imunoterapia com outros tratamentos, como quimioterapia e inibidores de vias moleculares específicas, bem como o desenvolvimento de novos biomarcadores para uma seleção mais precisa de pacientes. Conclui-se que a imunoterapia com PD-1 e PD-L1 representa uma nova esperança para pacientes com CMTN, mas uma abordagem integrada e inclusiva é essencial para maximizar os benefícios e garantir que mais pacientes possam se beneficiar desses avanços terapêuticos.

Shrimp feeds depend on high levels of digestible protein and essential amino acids, which can be sourced from various commercially available feed ingredients. Marine proteins can be used to partially fulfill the requirements of these and other important nutrients. Their utilization is further influenced by their palatability and growth-promoting effect. However, marine ingredients can significantly drive costs in feed formulation depending on the type and dietary inclusion level. This study aimed to determine the minimum dietary level of fish meal (FML) and krill meal (KRM) and their mix ratio to elicit feed intake and growth performance in juvenile Penaeus vannamei. Ten diets were formulated with graded FML (90, 60, 30 g kg−1) in combination with 15, 30, and 45 g kg−1 KRM and a control diet with 120 g kg−1 FML. Shrimp (1.28 ± 0.08 g body weight, BW) were stocked in seventy 1-m3 tanks (135 animals m−2), and after 88 days, their growth performance was determined. Feed preference was assessed through two-by-two comparisons in twenty 0.5 m3 tanks over four weeks. No significant differences in survival (93.9 ± 4.5%), gained yield (1235 ± 92 g m−2), and feed conversion ratio (1.47 ± 0.09) were observed. Diets with 60 g kg−1 FML led to faster growth and higher feed intake than 30, 90, and 120 g kg−1 FML. Shrimp on 30 g kg−1 FML diets had the lowest BW, especially with 30–15 (FML-KRM) and 30–30 diets. Diets with 90 g kg−1 FML outperformed 30 g kg−1 FML. The control diet delivered a higher shrimp BW than diets 30–15 and 30–30, showing similar results to other diets except 60–15. Feed preference was influenced by KRM inclusion, with 15 g kg−1 KRM resulting in higher apparent feed intake than 30 and 45 g kg−1. The findings indicate that FML can be effectively reduced by up to 75% when combined with lower levels of KRM. This corresponds with the industry’s ongoing trend to achieve greater sustainability and cost efficiency through the reduced utilization of critical resources.

El presente trabajo caracteriza la calidad del agua durante el cultivo del camarón Litopenaeus vannamei en un sistema abierto, con el uso de agua dulce de pozo (0.3 ‰ salinidad). El agua subterránea contenía 0.3 ‰ de salinidad, 0.0115 mg L-1 de fosfato (P-PO4), 0.003 mg L-1 de nitrito (N-NO2), 0.029 mg L-1 de nitrato (N-NO3), < 0.010 mg L-1 de amonio N-NH4, 300 mg L-1 de dureza total y 210 mg L-1 de alcalinidad. El estudio comprende el análisis del proceso de aclimatación de post-larvas de L. vannamei de 20 días de edad y posterior desarrollo en un sistema abierto de cultivo. Durante la aclimatación la concentración de amonio se incrementó desde no detectada a 1.2 mg L-1 al segundo día, y luego a 1.5 mg L-1 al octavo día. La supervivencia de post-larvas al llegar al punto de agua dulce fue del 51 %. Durante 8 semanas de cultivo en los 2 estanques de tierra, la concentración de nu-trientes fluctuó entre de 0.01 - 0.03 mg L-1 para nitrito, 0.02 - 0.03 para nitrato, 0.07 - 0.09 para amonio y 0.19 - 0.21 mg L-1 para fosfato. Los grupos fitoplanctónicos más representativos fueron las clorofitas, diatomeas, dino-flagelados y euglenoideos, con alrededor del 50.6, 25, 14 and 9.2 %, respectivamente en promedio para los dos estanques. El grupo de las cianofitas estuvo representado en el 1% de la comunidad de fitoplancton. Spirogyra sp., fue la especie más dominante. La concentración total de bacterias heterótrofas estuvo alrededor de 1100 UFC mL-1, mientras que Vibrio sp., Pseudomonas sp., y coliformes totales, alcanzaron una concentración promedio de 47, 72 UFC mL-1, y 59 UFC/mL-1 respectivamente. El crecimiento promedio semanal de L. vannamei fue de 0.9 g, la supervivencia de 45.9 %, y una producción alrededor de 1088 kg/ha. La naturaleza del agua de pozo en el Sur del Ecuador dispone de los nutrientes necesarios para el cultivo del camarón L vannamei a extrema baja salinidad.

Introduction: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory rheumatic disease characterized by predominant axial and peripheral (enthesitis, sacroiliitis) involvement affecting young subjects aged 30 to 40 years, 80% to 98% of cases are associated with HLA-B27. Objective: To determine the epidemiological profile of ankylosing spondylitis in the rheumatology department of the Ignace Deen National Hospital in Conakry (Guinea). Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out within the said department over a period of 18 months from July 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020, including all patients seen in consultation and/or hospitalized in the department in which the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis had been retained according to the modified New York criterion. The parameters studied were sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic. Result: We collected 73 cases or 4.1% of ankylosing spondylitis out of a total of 1781 patients seen during the study period. The male gender was represented with 54.8% for a sex ratio of 1.2 M/F. The average age of our patients was 32.18 ± 12.44 years with extremes ranging from 17 to 54 years. Axial involvement was present in 89.9% of cases with a lumbar predominance (95.2%), followed by the sacroiliac seat (35.5%), cervical (14.5%) and dorsal at 4.8%. The pain was chronic in 93.2% of cases. The most common drug treatment was taking analgesics and NSAIDs (100%) followed by cortisone infiltration (41.1%), corticosteroids (30%), and physiotherapy (21.9%). Ankylosing spondylitis represents 83% of spondyloarthritis followed by undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (9.1%) and juvenile spondylitis (3.4%) were the most common conditions.

Simple SummaryOmega-3 fatty acids have known health benefits for humans, but the extent to which these benefits extend to animals is still being discovered. Any benefits derived depend on achieving specific blood omega-3 levels, and the metric often used in human studies is the Omega-3 Index (O3I). It is a valid measure of omega-3 status reflecting the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content of red blood cell membranes. The O3I is often calculated from an analysis of whole blood dried on filter paper; and how to convert whole blood EPA + DHA into the O3I is well established in humans, but not yet for other species. This study analyzed blood samples from dogs and cats and developed equations to estimate the O3I in both of these species. Having a validated measure of omega-3 status in these animals will facilitate further research to define exactly what blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids are optimal for each species. These levels can then be used by veterinarians and pet owners alike to gauge the amount of supplemental EPA and DHA each animal needs to achieve an optimal O3I.The Omega-3 Index (O3I) is the red blood cell (RBC) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content expressed as a percentage of total RBC fatty acids. Although a validated biomarker of omega-3 status in humans, little is known about the O3I status of dogs and cats; species in which omega-3 fatty acids have known health benefits. The purpose of this study was to develop equations to predict the O3I in these species from a dried blood spot (DBS) analysis. Random blood samples from 33 dogs and 10 cats were obtained from a community veterinary clinic. DBS and RBC samples were analyzed for fatty acid composition. For both species, the R2 between the DBS EPA + DHA value and the O3I was >0.96 (p < 0.001). The O3I was roughly 75% lower in dogs and cats than in humans. We conclude that the O3I can be estimated from a DBS sample, and the convenience of DBS collection should facilitate omega-3 research in these companion animals.

IntroductionObservational studies have shown a relationship between omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) and depression in adolescents. However, n-3 LCPUFA supplementation studies investigating the potential improvement in depressive feelings in adolescents from the general population are missing. MethodsA one-year double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled krill oil supplementation trial was conducted in two cohorts. Cohort I started with 400 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or placebo, after three months this increased to 800 mg EPA and DHA per day, whilst cohort II started with this higher dose. Omega-3 Index (O3I) was monitored via finger-prick blood measurements. At baseline, six and 12 months participants completed the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Rosenberg Self Esteem questionnaire (RSE). Adjusted mixed models were run with treatment allocation/O3I as predictor of CES-D and RSE scores. ResultsBoth intention-to-treat and assessing the change in O3I analyses did not show significant effects on CES-D or RSE scores. ConclusionThere is no evidence for less depressive feelings, or higher self-esteem after one year of krill oil supplementation. However, due to a lack of adherence and drop-out issues, these results should be interpreted with caution.

The prebiotic effect of the agave plant polysaccharides (agavin) was evaluated to improve enteritis caused by soybean meal (SBM) in juveniles of Totoaba macdonaldi (60.8 ± 2.3 g). Four isoproteic and isolipidic diets were formulated: an FM-based formulation as reference (RD), a blend of FM and PBM (FM-PBM; 1:2 as previously shown better performance than FM), the blend combined with 24% SBM (SBM-B) and, lastly, the latter combination with 2% agavin (SBM-B + A). After 44 days, the SBM-B + A treatment resulted in a definite enteritis improvement, besides a significantly higher final growth (207.1 ± 3.8 vs. 195 ± 3.4) compared to the rest of the treatments. According to the microbiota intestine structure, it can be revealed that agavin resulted in enrichment of the Sinorhizobium genera, characterized by nitrogen fixation. However, at a species level, Clostridium botyricum was the more prominent in PBM-based feeds, known as beneficial for the suppression of inflammatory response. In contrast, Enterococcus cecorum was identified in the gut of fish fed SBM-based feeds, intensified in agavin-supplemented feeds. Higher expression of hsp70 and aqp8 was registered in FM-PBM. It is concluded that agavin provides a clear benefit when added to diets. The implications of FM substitution are discussed.