Monitoring the Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Throughout the Broiler Production Cycle.

The extensive use of antimicrobials in broiler production is changing the bird microbiota, fostering drug-resistant bacteria, and complicating therapeutic interventions, making the problem of multidrug resistance global. The monitoring of antimicrobial virulence and resistance genes are tools that have come to assist the breeding of these animals, directing possible treatments as already used in human medicine and collecting data to demonstrate possible dissemination of multidrug-resistant strains that may cause damage to industry and public health. This work aimed to monitor broiler farms in southern Brazil, isolating samples of and classifying them according to the profile of resistance to antimicrobials of interest to human and animal health.

Structural and functional insights into recombinant β-glucosidase from Thermothelomyces thermophilus: Cello-oligosaccharide hydrolysis and thermostability.

β-glucosidases (BGLs) are key enzymes in the depolymerization of cellulosic biomass, catalyzing the conversion of cello-oligosaccharides into glucose. This conversion is pivotal for enhancing the production of second-generation ethanol or other value-added products in biorefineries. However, the process is often cost-prohibitive due to the high enzyme loadings required.

Biochemical and inhibitor analysis of recombinant cellobiohydrolases from Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

The demand for greener energy sources necessitates the development of more efficient processes. Lignocellulosic biomass holds significant potential for biofuels production, but improvements in its enzymatic degradation are required to mitigate the susceptibility of enzymes by reaction products and pretreatment impurities. In this work, two cellobiohydrolases (CBHs) from the basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium (PcCel7C and PcCel7D) were heterologously expressed, characterized, and analyzed in the presence of their products (glucose and cellobiose) and harmful compounds commonly found in industrial processes (phenolics), as well as their adsorption to lignin and cellulose.

Recruitment of homodimeric proneural factors by conserved CAT-CAT E-boxes drives major epigenetic reconfiguration in cortical neurogenesis.

Proneural factors of the basic helix-loop-helix family coordinate neurogenesis and neurodifferentiation. Among them, NEUROG2 and NEUROD2 subsequently act to specify neurons of the glutamatergic lineage. Disruption of these factors, their target genes and binding DNA motifs has been linked to various neuropsychiatric disorders.

Genopyc: a Python library for investigating the functional effects of genomic variants associated to complex diseases.

Motivation: Integrative Biomedicl Informatics, Research Program on Biomedical Informatics (IBI - GRIB), Hospital Del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) C/ del Dr. Aiguader 88 Barcelona 08003 Spain.Understanding the genetic basis of complex diseases is one of the main challenges in modern genomics.

Metagenomic exploration of cold-active enzymes for detergent applications: Characterization of a novel, cold-active and alkali-stable GH8 endoglucanase from ikaite columns in SW Greenland.

Microbial communities from extreme environments are largely understudied, but are essential as producers of metabolites, including enzymes, for industrial processes. As cultivation of most microorganisms remains a challenge, culture-independent approaches for enzyme discovery in the form of metagenomics to analyse the genetic potential of a community are rapidly becoming the way forward. This study focused on analysing a metagenome from the cold and alkaline ikaite columns in Greenland, identifying 282 open reading frames (ORFs) that encoded putative carbohydrate-modifying enzymes with potential applications in, for example detergents and other processes where activity at low temperature and high pH is desired.

Predicting gene disease associations with knowledge graph embeddings for diseases with curtailed information.

Knowledge graph embeddings (KGE) are a powerful technique used in the biomedical domain to represent biological knowledge in a low dimensional space. However, a deep understanding of these methods is still missing, and, in particular, regarding their applications to prioritize genes associated with complex diseases with reduced genetic information. In this contribution, we built a knowledge graph (KG) by integrating heterogeneous biomedical data and generated KGE by implementing state-of-the-art methods, and two novel algorithms: Dlemb and BioKG2vec.

Recombinant cellobiose dehydrogenase from Thermothelomyces thermophilus: Its functional characterization and applicability in cellobionic acid production.

The fungus Thermothelomyces thermophilus is a thermotolerant microorganism that has been explored as a reservoir for enzymes (hydrolytic enzymes and oxidoreductases). The functional analysis of a recombinant cellobiose dehydrogenase (MtCDHB) from T. thermophilus demonstrated a thermophilic behavior, an optimal pH in alkaline conditions for inter-domain electron transfer, and catalytic activity on cellooligosaccharides with different degree of polymerization.

Evolutionary analysis reveals the role of a non-catalytic domain of peptidyl arginine deiminase 2 in transcriptional regulation.

Peptidyl arginine deiminases (PADIs) catalyze protein citrullination, a post-translational conversion of arginine to citrulline. The most widely expressed member of this family, PADI2, regulates cellular processes that impact several diseases. We hypothesized that we could gain new insights into PADI2 function through a systematic evolutionary and structural analysis.

PyF2F: a robust and simplified fluorophore-to-fluorophore distance measurement tool for Protein interactions from Imaging Complexes after Translocation experiments.

Structural knowledge of protein assemblies in their physiological environment is paramount to understand cellular functions at the molecular level. Protein interactions from Imaging Complexes after Translocation (PICT) is a live-cell imaging technique for the structural characterization of macromolecular assemblies in living cells. PICT relies on the measurement of the separation between labelled molecules using fluorescence microscopy and cell engineering.

Association between subclinical atherosclerosis burden and unrecognized myocardial infarction detected by cardiac magnetic resonance in middle-aged low-risk adults.

Aims: Evidence on the association between subclinical atherosclerosis (SA) and cardiovascular (CV) events in low-risk populations is scant. To study the association between SA burden and an ischaemic scar (IS), identified by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), as a surrogate of CV endpoint, in a low-risk population.

Methods And Results: A cohort of 712 asymptomatic middle-aged individuals from the Progression of Early SA (PESA-CNIC-Santander) study (median age 51 years, 84% male, median SCORE2 3.

Apolipoprotein E-ε2 and Resistance to Atherosclerosis in Midlife: The PESA Observational Study.

Background: APOE is a known genetic contributor to cardiovascular disease, but the differential role alleles play in subclinical atherosclerosis remains unclear.

Methods: The PESA (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis) is an observational cohort study that recruited 4184 middle-aged asymptomatic individuals to be screened for cardiovascular risk and multiterritorial subclinical atherosclerosis. Participants were -genotyped, and omics data were additionally evaluated.

Shared Proteins and Pathways of Cardiovascular and Cognitive Diseases: Relation to Vascular Cognitive Impairment.

One of the primary goals of systems medicine is the detection of putative proteins and pathways involved in disease progression and pathological phenotypes. Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is a heterogeneous condition manifesting as cognitive impairment resulting from vascular factors. The precise mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear, which poses challenges for experimental research.

Safety and Effectiveness of Fibrin Sheath Stripping of Pediatric Chest Ports.

Purpose: To report the safety and effectiveness of fibrin sheath stripping of pediatric chest ports.

Materials And Methods: Fibrin sheath stripping procedures for pediatric chest ports between 2018 and 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. The treatment indication was the inability to aspirate blood from the port.

Early insulin resistance in normoglycemic low-risk individuals is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis.

Background: Elevated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is associated with a higher burden of subclinical atherosclerosis (SA). However, the association with SA of earlier insulin resistance markers is poorly understood. The study assessed the association between the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and SA in addition to the effect of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) in individuals with normal HbA1c.

A quantitative systems pharmacology model for certolizumab pegol treatment in moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory systemic disease with skin manifestations characterized by erythematous, scaly, itchy and/or painful plaques resulting from hyperproliferation of keratinocytes. Certolizumab pegol [CZP], a PEGylated antigen binding fragment of a humanized monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha, is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis present clinical and molecular variability, affecting response to treatment.

SBILib: a handle for protein modeling and engineering.

Summary: The SBILib Python library provides an integrated platform for the analysis of macromolecular structures and interactions. It combines simple 3D file parsing and workup methods with more advanced analytical tools. SBILib includes modules for macromolecular interactions, loops, super-secondary structures, and biological sequences, as well as wrappers for external tools with which to integrate their results and facilitate the comparative analysis of protein structures and their complexes.

Cardiac Insulin Resistance in Subjects With Metabolic Syndrome Traits and Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis.

Objective: Experimental evidence suggests that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with changes in cardiac metabolism. Whether this association occurs in humans is unknown.

Research Design And Methods: 821 asymptomatic individuals from the Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis (PESA) study (50.

Longitudinal interplay between subclinical atherosclerosis, cardiovascular risk factors, and cerebral glucose metabolism in midlife: results from the PESA prospective cohort study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease and dementia often coexist at advanced stages. Yet, longitudinal studies examining the interplay between atherosclerosis and its risk factors on brain health in midlife are scarce. We aimed to characterise the longitudinal associations between cerebral glucose metabolism, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged asymptomatic individuals.

Theoretical 3D Modeling of NLRP3 Inflammasome Complex.

The NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) is a multidomain protein that plays a key role in innate immune response. Structures of NLRP3 in different conformational states and bound to cognate partners are available. In this chapter we present an approach to model the oligomeric structure of NLRP3 by homology modeling using multiple templates, symmetry, and refinement.

Clonal relationship, virulence genes, and antimicrobial resistance of Morganella morganii isolated from community-acquired infections and hospitalized patients: a neglected opportunistic pathogen.

Morganella morganii is a bacterium belonging to the normal intestinal microbiota and the environment; however, in immunocompromised individuals, this bacterium can become an opportunistic pathogen, causing a series of diseases, both in hospitals and in the community, being urinary tract infections more prevalent. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, virulence profile, and resistance to antimicrobials and the clonal relationship of isolates of urinary tract infections (UTI) caused by M. morganii, both in the hospital environment and in the community of the municipality of Londrina-PR, in southern Brazil, in order to better understand the mechanisms for the establishment of the disease caused by this bacterium.