Mycotoxin Removal by Lactobacillus spp. and Their Application in Animal Liquid Feed

The removal of mycotoxins from contaminated feed using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been proposed as an inexpensive, safe, and promising mycotoxin decontamination strategy. In this study, viable and heat-inactivated L. acidophilus CIP 76.13T and L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus CIP 101027T cells were investigated for their ability to remove aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), and deoxynivalenol (DON) from MRS medium and PBS buffer over a 24 h period at 37 °C. LAB decontamination activity was also assessed in a ZEA-contaminated liquid feed (LF). Residual mycotoxin concentrations were determined by UHPLC-FLD/DAD analysis. In PBS, viable L. acidophilus CIP 76.13T and L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus CIP 101027T cells removed up to 57% and 30% of ZEA and DON, respectively, while AFB₁ and OTA reductions were lower than 15%. In MRS, 28% and 33% of ZEA and AFB₁ were removed, respectively; OTA and DON reductions were small (≤15%). Regardless of the medium, heat-inactivated cells produced significantly lower mycotoxin reductions than those obtained with viable cells. An adsorption mechanism was suggested to explain the reductions in AFB₁ and OTA, while biodegradation could be responsible for the removal of ZEA and DON. Both viable LAB strains reduced ZEA by 23% in contaminated LF after 48 h of incubation. These findings suggest that LAB strains of L. acidophilus CIP 76.13T and L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus CIP 101027T may be applied in the feed industry to reduce mycotoxin contamination.     

Hepatitis B reactivation during ruxolitinib treatment

Annals of Hematology -     

Laser utility in the treatment of hemorrhoidal pathology: a review of literature

Lasers in Medical Science - Hemorrhoidal disease is a common reason for consultation in proctology. It can be treated in several ways (medical, endoscopic, and surgical). Laser treatment has been...     

Quantitative Effects of Coil Packing Density on Cerebral Aneurysm Fluid Dynamics: An <Emphasis Type="Italic">In Vitro</Emphasis> Steady Flow Study

Over the past 15 years, coil embolization has emerged as an effective treatment option for cerebral aneurysms that is far less invasive than the long-standing convention of surgical clipping. However, aneurysm recurrence after coil embolization is not uncommon: recurrence rates as high as 50% have been reported in the literature. One factor that may contribute to recurrence after coiling is residual flow into the aneurysmal sac. At present, there is limited quantitative knowledge of the relationship between coil packing density and aneurysmal inflow. We present an in vitro fluid dynamic study of basilar tip aneurysm models that elucidates this relationship. At physiologically normal flow rates, we found that a packing density of 28.4% decreased aneurysmal inflow by 31.6% in a wide-neck model, and that a packing density of 36.5% decreased aneurysmal inflow by 49.6% in a narrow-neck model. Results also indicated that coiling reduced aneurysmal inflow more significantly at lower parent vessel flow rates, and that coiling reduced neck-plane velocity magnitudes more significantly for narrow-neck aneurysms. Our study provides novel quantitative information that could ultimately contribute to improved outcomes for patients with cerebral aneurysms by enabling more effective coil embolization.     

Procalcitonin as a prognosis and diagnosis aid in post-operative cardiac surgery

Procalcitonin (PCT), has been identified as a reliable marker of bacterial infection in critically ill patients. After cardiac surgery, infectious and non infectious inflammatory processes can cause a significant increase in PCT production. At present, literature data seem to confirm that repeated measurements of PCT are a better marker than other parameters, both as prognosis and diagnosis aid. Normal PCT levels are less than 0.1 ng/ml. PCT levels < 2ng/ml can be observed after extracorporeal circulation in case of systemic inflammatory response, in the absente of any post operative complication. However, bacterial infection with organ dysfunction should be suspected when PCT levels are higher 5 ng/ml.     

Association between dementia and vascular disease-associated polymorphisms in a Tunisian population

Purpose: Dementia is a multifactorial idiopathic pathology caused by clinical, eDementia is a multifactorial idiopathic pathology caused by clinical, environmental and genetic factors. Hence, its etiology is still unknown. We aimed to evaluate the association between five genetic risk factors for vascular diseases and dementia individually and when gathered in haplotypes. Materials and Method: We enrolled 200 dementia patients and 300 controls. All subjects were genotyped for vascular diseaseassociated polymorphisms in the genes coding for Apolipoprotein-E (ApoE), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and Paraoxonase-1 (PON1). Results: The association between dementia risk and all the studied polymorphisms except of PON1-Q192R was found to be significant. Carrying the ApoE e4 allele seems to increase dementia risk by 4.32 fold (p = 0.001). The risk associated with ACE I and PON1-L55M T alleles were lower (2.58 and 2.11 fold, p < 0.001 and p = 0.015, respectively). When combined in haplotypes, these polymorphisms showed a cumulative and synergetic effect. GTICC haplotype appears to be associated with 9-fold dementia risk (p < 0.001), whereas AADTT seems to reduce dementia risk by 80% (p = 0.003). Conclusion: Our results suggest that, ApoE ε4, ACE I and PON1-L55M T alleles are associated with dementia risk whether these polymorphisms were studied separately or gathered in haplotypes. Still, the contribution of each gene to the pathophysiological development of dementia must be more investigated.