The Bony Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinuses of Big Felids and Domestic Cat: A Study Using Anatomical Techniques, Computed Tomographic Images Reconstructed in Maximum-Intensity Projection, Volume Rendering and 3D Printing Models.

This study aims to develop three-dimensional printing models of the bony nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses of big and domestic cats using reconstructed computed tomographic images. This work included an exhaustive study of the osseous nasal anatomy of the domestic cat carried out through dissections, bone trepanations and sectional anatomy. With the use of OsiriX viewer, the DICOM images were postprocessed to obtaining maximum-intensity projection and volume-rendering reconstructions, which allowed for the visualization of the nasal cavity structures and the paranasal sinuses, providing an improvement in the future anatomical studies and diagnosis of pathologies.

Anatomical and Three-Dimensional Study of the Female Feline Abdominal and Pelvic Vascular System Using Dissections, Computed Tomography Angiography and Magnetic Resonance Angiography.

This study describes the anatomical characteristics of the abdominal and pelvic vascular system of two healthy mature female cats via three-dimensional contrast enhanced computed tomography angiography, non-contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography and three-dimensional printing. Volume-rendering computed tomography angiography images were acquired from the ventral aspect using RadiAnt, Amira and OsiriX MD Dicom three-dimensional formats, and three-dimensional printing was obtained and compared with the corresponding computed tomography angiography images. Non-contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography was made using the time-of-flight imaging in ventral, oblique and lateral views.

Creation of Three-Dimensional Anatomical Vascular and Biliary Models for the Study of the Feline Liver ( L.): A Comparative CT, Volume Rendering (Vr), Cast and 3D Printing Study.

In this study, six adult feline cadavers were examined using CTA, 3D printing, and casts injected with epoxy. The aorta, the portal vein, and the gallbladder of 3 feline cadavers were separately injected with a 50% mixture of colored vulcanized latex and hydrated barium sulfate as contrast medium to analyze by CT the arterial, venous and biliary systems. The other three cadavers were injected with a mixture of epoxy resin in the aorta, gallbladder and hepatic veins, separately.

Improving the production, activity, and stability of CLEAs with diepoxides.

Among enzyme immobilization techniques, the preparation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates has shown promising results in biocatalysis, because they are easy to prepare, versatile, and cheap. The method involves the precipitation of enzymes with ammonium sulfate or an organic solvent and subsequent cross-linking with glutaraldehyde. However, the Schiff base produced with glutaraldehyde is reversible and can be broken with acids or bases, releasing proteins to the reaction medium.

An improved method to measure lipase activity in aqueous media.

An improved method based on the p-nitrophenyl long chain esters method is proposed for measuring lipase hydrolytic activity in aqueous media. Using ethylene glycol as co-solvent for hydrophobic p-nitrophenyl substrates in aqueous buffer, lipase activity is measured by following the release of p-nitrophenol. This fast and easy to handle method improves the solubility of both substrate and product, and also the stability of the substrate.

[Changes in the epidemiology of gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella during 2005-2014 in Salamanca, Spain].

Objective: In Spain there are not many updated population studies about salmonellosis, despite being one of the most common etiologies of acute gastroenteritis (AGEs) caused by bacteria in the world. The aim of the study was to know the most relevant epidemiological features of AGEs produced by Salmonella spp. between 2005 and 2014 in Salamanca (Spain).

Comparative study of bacterial translocation control with nitric oxide donors and COX2 inhibitor.

Objective And Design: To evaluate the beneficial effects of exogenous NO and an inhibitor of the COX2, and their action levels in a model of SIRS/bacterial translocation (BT) induced by Zymosan A(®).

Material And Methods: Ninety Wistar rats were submitted to different treatments, and after 12h and 24h they were anaesthetized in order to collect blood, mesenteric lymph nodes, and kidney for subsequent biochemical analyses and microbiological examinations.

Treatments: A nitric oxide donor, Molsidomine(®), was compared with a COX2 inhibitor, Celecoxib(®).

Molecular characterization of a new N-acetylneuraminate synthase (NeuB1) from Idiomarina loihiensis.

N-Acetylneuraminate lyase synthase (NeuB; E.C. 2.

First functional and mutational analysis of group 3 N-acetylneuraminate lyases from Lactobacillus antri and Lactobacillus sakei 23K.

N-acetyl neuraminate lyases (NALs) catalyze the reversible aldol cleavage of N-acetyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) to pyruvate and N-acetyl-D-mannosamine (ManNAc). Previous phylogenetic studies divided NALs into four different groups. Groups 1 and 2 have been well characterized at both kinetic and molecular levels, but no NAL from group 3 has been studied to date.

[Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria].

The anaerobic bacteria resistance to antibiotics is increasing, and even has appeared against the most active of those, like metronidazol and carbapenems. This fact forces to make and periodical sensibility tests -at least in the most aggressive and virulent species, in cases that they are isolated from life locations and in the absence of therapeutic response- to check the local sensibility and to establish suitable empiric therapies, all based on multicentric studies carried out in order to this or well to check the activity of new antibiotics. For the laboratory routine, the easiest sensibility method is the E-test/MIC evaluator.

Kinetic study of hydroxytyrosol oxidation and its related compounds by Red Globe grape polyphenol oxidase.

Red Globe grape polyphenol oxidase, partially purified using phase partitioning with Triton-X114, was used to study the oxidation of hydroxytytosol (HT) and its related compounds tyrosol (TS), tyrosol acetate (TSA), and hydroxytyrosol acetate (HTA). The enzyme showed activity toward both monophenols (monophenolase activity) and o-diphenols (diphenolase activity) with a pH optimum (pH 6.5) that was independent of the phenol used.

Biochemical and mutational analysis of a novel nicotinamidase from Oceanobacillus iheyensis HTE831.

Nicotinamidases catalyze the hydrolysis of nicotinamide to nicotinic acid and ammonia, an important reaction in the NAD(+) salvage pathway. This paper reports a new nicotinamidase from the deep-sea extremely halotolerant and alkaliphilic Oceanobacillus iheyensis HTE831 (OiNIC). The enzyme was active towards nicotinamide and several analogues, including the prodrug pyrazinamide.

Insights into the evolution of sorbitol metabolism: phylogenetic analysis of SDR196C family.

Background: Short chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDR) are NAD(P)(H)-dependent oxidoreductases with a highly conserved 3D structure and of an early origin, which has allowed them to diverge into several families and enzymatic activities. The SDR196C family (http://www.sdr-enzymes.

Characterization of a novel N-acetylneuraminate lyase from Staphylococcus carnosus TM300 and its application to N-acetylneuraminic acid production.

The possibility of incorporating N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) in infant formulas and other functional foods has opened up the need to synthesize N-acetylneuraminic acid using N-acetylneuraminate lyases (NALs) by reversible aldol condensation of pyruvate and N-acetyl-d-mannosamine. Until now, NALs have been cloned from pathogenic microorganisms; however, this Article describes the expression and characterization of an N-acetylneuraminate lyase from the Staphylococcus carnosus TM300, a GRAS microorganism used in fermented meat. ScNAL showed a high level of expression in E.

Functional assignment of gene AAC16202.1 from Rhodobacter capsulatus SB1003: new insights into the bacterial SDR sorbitol dehydrogenases family.

Short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDR) constitute one of the largest enzyme superfamilies with over 60,000 non-redundant sequences in the database, many of which need a correct functional assignment. Among them, the gene AAC16202.1 (NCBI) from Rhodobacter capsulatus SB1003 has been assigned in Uniprot both as a sorbitol dehydrogenase (#D5AUY1) and, as an N-acetyl-d-mannosamine dehydrogenase (#O66112), both enzymes being of biotechnological interest.

Properties of BoAGE2, a second N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 2-epimerase from Bacteroides ovatus ATCC 8483.

N-Acyl-D-Glucosamine 2-epimerase (AGE) catalyzes the reversible epimerization between N-acetyl-D-mannosamine (ManNAc) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc). Bacteroides ovatus ATCC 8483 shows 3 putative genes for AGE activity (BACOVA_00274, BACOVA_01795 and BACOVA_01816). The BACOVA_00274 gene encodes an AGE (BoAGE1) with strong similarity to the AGE previously characterized in Bacteroides fragilis.

Tyr³²³-dependent p38 activation is associated with rheumatoid arthritis and correlates with disease activity.

Objective: The p38 MAPK is important in the pathogenic immune response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The p38 molecule can be activated through phosphorylation on Thr¹⁸⁰-Tyr¹⁸² by upstream MAPK kinases and via an alternative pathway through phosphorylation on Tyr³²³. We undertook this study to quantify the phosphorylation of Tyr³²³ p38 and of Thr¹⁸⁰-Tyr¹⁸² p38 on T cells from healthy controls and patients with RA or ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to identify variables associated with p38 phosphorylation and disease activity.

New stabilized FastPrep-CLEAs for sialic acid synthesis.

N-acetyl-D-neuraminic acid aldolase, a key enzyme in the biotechnological production of N-acetyl-D-neuraminic acid (sialic acid) from N-acetyl-D-mannosamine and pyruvate, was immobilized as cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) by precipitation with 90% ammonium sulfate and crosslinking with 1% glutaraldehyde. Because dispersion in a reciprocating disruptor (FastPrep) was only able to recover 40% of the activity, improved CLEAs were then prepared by co-aggregation of the enzyme with 10mg/mL bovine serum albumin followed by a sodium borohydride treatment and final disruption by FastPrep (FastPrep-CLEAs). This produced a twofold increase in activity up to 86%, which is a 30% more than that reported for this aldolase in cross-linked inclusion bodies (CLIBs).

Molecular characterization of a novel N-acetylneuraminate lyase from Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1.

N-Acetylneuraminate lyases (NALs) or sialic acid aldolases catalyze the reversible aldol cleavage of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) to form pyruvate and N-acetyl-d-mannosamine (ManNAc). In nature, N-acetylneuraminate lyase occurs mainly in pathogens. However, this paper describes how an N-acetylneuraminate lyase was cloned from the human gut commensal Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 (LpNAL), overexpressed, purified, and characterized for the first time.