Technical metaphor in Spanish-English translation of the fields of blindness, fatigue, and the spiritual world

The correspondence in the Spanish-English translation is analyzed of three different fields of technical metaphors based upon blindness, fatigue, and the spiritual world. Some terms have been left aside that under the appearance of metaphors were mere samples of no-deviated language or cases of homonymy. The study reveals a higher presence of the metaphor in the Spanish language in the three fields of study, although the English language also shows a high index of metaphors. In between metaphors and non-metaphors, we find a lack of metaphorical equilibrium between Spanish and English in certain cases, which is a sign of the different perception of the reality. Finally, the conclusions shed light on the meaning of these words: blind, annoyance, fatigue, antifading, core, angels, espectrum, phantom, ghost, magic, postmortem, dead, etc.

Selection for muscle fat content and triploidy affect flesh quality in pan-size rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

A lean muscle line (L) and a fat muscle line (F) of rainbow trout were established (Quillet et al., 2005) by a two-way selection for muscle lipid content performed on pan-size rainbow trout using a non-destructive measurement of muscle lipid content (Distell Fish Fat Meter®). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the consequences of this selective breeding on flesh quality of pan size (290 g) diploid and triploid trout after three generations of selection. Instrumental evaluations of fillet color and pH measurement were performed at slaughter. Flesh color, pH, dry matter content and mechanical resistance were measured at 48 h and 96 h postmortem on raw and cooked flesh, respectively. A sensorial profile analysis was performed on cooked fillets. Fillets from the selected fatty muscle line (F) had a higher dry matter content and were more colorful for both raw and cooked fillets. Mechanical evaluation indicated a tendency of raw flesh from F fish to be less firm, but this was not confirmed after cooking, neither instrumentally or by sensory analysis. The sensory analysis revealed higher fat loss, higher intensity of flavor of cooked potato, higher exudation, higher moisture content and a more fatty film left on the tongue for flesh from F fish. Triploid fish had mechanically softer raw and cooked fillets, but the difference was not perceived by the sensorial panel. The sensorial evaluation also revealed a lower global intensity of odor, more exudation and a higher moisture content in the fillets from triploid fish. These differences in quality parameters among groups of fish were associated with larger white muscle fibers in F fish and in triploid fish. The data provide additional information about the relationship between muscle fat content, muscle cellularity and flesh quality.

Preservación de espermatozoides de la cola del epidídimo bovino en condiciones de campo

La cola del epidídimo constituye un reservorio de espermatozoides que han alcanzado la madurez biológica a través de su trayecto por el largo conducto del epidídimo (Robaire y Hinton, 2014). Los espermatozoides de esta reserva epididimaria pueden obtenerse postmortem o a través de biopsias y utilizarse con fines reproductivos (Albers y Barrios, 2011). El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo principal probar algunas condiciones iniciales de manejo de espermatozoides de la cola del epidídimo de bovinos y su incidencia en parámetros específicos del análisis seminal.

Evaluación de la calidad y la congelabilidad de espermatozoides epididimarios provenientes de toros faenados en el camal de Cuenca, Ecuador

Las pérdidas inesperadas de animales de alto valor genético, así como la dificultad para recoger semen de especies silvestres conducen a un aumento en el uso de técnicas de reproducción asistida, ya que resulta ser una de las posibilidades para preservar el material genético de estos animales (Kaabi et al., 2003). La recuperación y criopreservación de espermatozoides de epidídimos de animales muertos (recuperación postmortem) es una opción viable para el mantenimiento de su germoplasma disponible para su uso futuro (Turri et al., 2012). Los estudios han demostrado la eficacia y el potencial de los espermatozoides del epidídimo para fertilizar in vitro e in vivo y para realizar inyección intracitoplasmática con resultados satisfactorios (Monteiro et al., 2011). El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar la calidad y la congelabilidad de espermatozoides epididimarios provenientes de toros faenados en el camal de Cuenca, Ecuador.

Macular Thickness as a Potential Biomarker of Mild Alzheimer's Disease

Although several postmortem findings in the retina of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are available, new biomarkers for early diagnosis and follow-up of AD are still lacking. It has been postulated that the defects in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) may be the earliest sign of AD, even before damage to the hippocampal region that affects memory. This fact may reflect retinal neuronal-ganglion cell death and axonal loss in the optic nerve in addition to aging.

Influências genéticas nas características da carcaça e carne em bovinos

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias - Especialidade de Produção Animal

Evaluación de un implante de células madre mesenquimales modificadas genéticamente con proteínas morfogenéticas de huesos para la osteogénesis en ovis aries

Propósito y Método del Estudio: Introducción. La generación de implantes para el tratamiento y regeneración de afecciones del tejido óseo representan una enorme oportunidad de desarrollo e innovación para muchos campos de la salud humana. Metodología: nosotros generamos un implante de tres componentes (I-3C) constituido por células madre mesenquimales (CMMs), transducidas ex vivo con un vector adenoviral que expresa una combinación de las proteínas morfogenéticas de hueso 2 y 7 (AdBMP2/7), embebidas en una matriz ósea desmineralizada (MOD). Este implante fue probado en un modelo ovino (Ovis aries) en una lesión sometida a carga. Resultados: los ensayos in vitro demostraron que el tratamiento seleccionado con mayor potencial osteogénico es el que contiene la combinación AdBMP2/7 comprobado por PCR en tiempo real, Western Blot y tinciones histológicas e inmunohistoquímicas para las proteínas marcadoras de inducción a hueso, osteocalcina y colágeno tipo I. El implante fue colocado en la zona de la lesión, creada por una distracción en la diáfisis media de la tibia. Se probaron tres grupos de experimentación: control 1 sin implante (S-I); control 2 implante con CMMs (I-CMMs); implante de 3 componentes CMMs modificadas genéticamente con adenovirus que expresan proteínas morfogenéticas de hueso 2 y 7 que se encuentran embebidas en una matriz de hueso desmineralizado (I-3C). Resultados: el seguimiento radiográfico por 10 semanas después de la distracción ósea demostró una reducción en el tiempo de consolidación del grupo I-3C. La tomografía computarizada demostró en ese mismo grupo, una forma y estructura del hueso postmortem muy parecida a la de una tibia sin lesión. Estos hallazgos fueron corroborados por los ensayos de compresión e histológicos, demostrando que la calidad del hueso nuevo formado fue mayor que la de los grupos sin implante y con CMMs sin modificación genética. Contribuciones y Conclusiones: se logró desarrollar un implante de tres componentes constituido por células madre mesenquimales (CMMs), transducidas ex vivo con un vector adenoviral que expresa una combinación de las proteínas morfogenéticas de hueso 2 y 7 (AdBMP2/7), que nos permitirá continuar con los estudios clínicos necesarios para evaluar principalmente defectos en huesos y enfermedades relacionadas con el sistema óseo.

Influencia de la edad fenotipo sexo y peso al sacrificio sobre los indicadores de calidad de los porcinos faenados en el camal de Azogues

La industria porcina ha conseguido mejorar los parámetros productivos con la finalidad de incrementar la rentabilidad y ser más competitivos. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue determinar la influencia de la edad, fenotipo, sexo y peso al sacrificio sobre los indicadores de calidad: Rendimiento de la Canal, Porcentaje Magro, Temperatura y pH en 457 porcinos faenados en el camal de Azogues, analizando por fenotipo a 420 animales mestizos y 37 criollos. Los porcinos mestizos presentaron una Edad media de 5±1,09 meses, Peso al Sacrificio 94,2±19,39 kg, Rendimiento a la Canal 83,5±2,02%, Porcentaje Magro 61,2±4,37%, T°C45m 37,5±1,14°, T°C2h 34,8±1,57°, pH45m 6,4±0,13 y pH2h de 6,1±0,13. Los animales criollos mostraron una Edad de 8,2±4,40 meses, Peso al Sacrificio 92,7±20,63 kg, Rendimiento a la Canal 75,9±3,32%, Porcentaje Magro 55,1±5,40%, T°C45m 36,9±1,10°, T°C2h 34,1±1,51°, pH45m 6,4±0,10 y pH2h 6,1±0,97. Se encontraron diferencias significativas (P<0,05) para el Rendimiento a la Canal y el Porcentaje Magro con respecto a la Edad y CC. Se determinó un 62,9% de canales mestizas muy magras. El 27% de las canales criollas fueron muy magras y 5,4% graso. Se obtuvo un 87% de canales mestizas normales y un 89% de canales criollas normales, de acuerdo al pH. El Peso al Sacrificio, CC y Edad de los animales mestizos (R2=15%) tienen poca influencia para la estimación del Porcentaje Magro, mientras que la Edad de los criollos (R2= 36%) indica una relación predictora baja. La CC y el Peso al Sacrificio del fenotipo mestizo (R2=36%) tienen una relación baja para la estimación del rendimiento a la canal. Existe una excelente relación predictora (R2=98%) entre la CC, Edad y Peso al Sacrificio de los animales mestizos para predecir la T°C45m y T°C2h.

Autopsia, embalsamamiento y signos de santidad en el cuerpo de Ignacio de Loyola

Las numerosas biografías que han venido apareciendo en estos últimos años sobre Ignacio de Loyola han abordado en contadas ocasiones el tratamiento post mortem que recibió el cuerpo del santo jesuita. No obstante, aquellas que sí han tratado este capítulo de la vida del Santo, no han tenido presente la riqueza descriptiva e interpretativa que proporciona la Historia de la Medicina. Estos motivos nos han llevado a confeccionar un artículo en el que se pretende reconstruir la manipulación post mortem que recibió su cuerpo. Al mismo tiempo, el presente texto pretende aventurar algunas nociones sobre los profesionales sanitarios que realizaron la autopsia y el posterior embalsamamiento del cadáver, los “signos de santidad” hallados en el organismo y los lugares en los que se conservó el cuerpo del azpeitiarra.

Relación entre atrofia cortical difusa y desempeño cognitivo : estudio en población mayor de 60 años en un hospital universitario en la ciudad de Bogotá

El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo evaluar la existencia de la relación entre la atrofia cortical difusa objetivada por neuroimagenes cerebrales y desempeños cognitivos determinados mediante la aplicación de pruebas neuropsicológicas que evalúan memoria de trabajo, razonamiento simbólico verbal y memoria anterógrada declarativa. Participaron 114 sujetos reclutados en el Hospital Universitario Mayor Méderi de la ciudad de Bogotá mediante muestreo de conveniencia. Los resultados arrojaron diferencias significativas entre los dos grupos (pacientes con diagnóstico de atrofia cortical difusa y pacientes con neuroimagenes interpretadas como dentro de los límites normales) en todas las pruebas neuropsicológicas aplicadas. Respecto a las variables demográficas se pudo observar que el grado de escolaridad contribuye como factor neuroprotector de un posible deterioro cognitivo. Tales hallazgos son importantes para determinar protocoles tempranos de detección de posible instalación de enfermedades neurodegenerativas primarias.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty: a new animal model.

Background Context Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure and is frequently performed in humans who need surgical treatment of vertebral fractures. PVP involves cement injection into the vertebral body, thereby providing rapid and significant pain relief. Purpose The testing of novel biomaterials depends on suitable animal models. The aim of this study was to develop a reproducible and safe model of PVP in sheep. Study Design This study used ex vivo and in vivo large animal model study (Merino sheep). Methods Ex vivo vertebroplasty was performed through a bilateral modified parapedicular access in 24 ovine lumbar hemivertebrae, divided into four groups (n=6). Cerament (Bone Support, Lund, Sweden) was the control material. In the experimental group, a novel composite was tested—Spine-Ghost—which consisted of an alpha-calcium sulfate matrix enriched with micrometric particles of mesoporous bioactive glass. All vertebrae were assessed by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and underwent mechanical testing. For the in vivo study, 16 sheep were randomly allocated into control and experimental groups (n=8), and underwent PVP using the same bone cements. All vertebrae were assessed postmortem by micro-CT, histology, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR). This work has been supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for collaborative projects (600,000–650,000 USD). Results In the ex vivo model, the average defect volume was 1,275.46±219.29 mm3. Adequate defect filling with cement was observed. No mechanical failure was observed under loads which were higher than physiological. In the in vivo study, cardiorespiratory distress was observed in two animals, and one sheep presented mild neurologic deficits in the hind limbs before recovering. Conclusions The model of PVP is considered suitable for preclinical in vivo studies, mimicking clinical application. All sheep recovered and completed a 6-month implantation period. There was no evidence of cement leakage into the vertebral foramen in the postmortem examination.

Effect of host genotype and prion strain on the phenotypic heterogeneity of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: the peripheral nervous system involvement and the spectrum of the genetic form

The first study was designed to assess whether the involvement of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) belongs to the phenotypic spectrum of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). To this aim, we reviewed medical records of 117 sCJDVV2, 65 sCJDMV2K, and 121 sCJDMM(V)1 subjects for symptoms/signs and neurophysiological data. We looked for the presence of PrPSc in postmortem PNS samples from 14 subjects by western blotting and real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay. Seventy-five (41.2%) VV2-MV2K patients, but only 11 (9.1%) MM(V)1, had symptoms/signs suggestive of PNS involvement and neuropathy was documented in half of the VV2-MV2K patients tested. RT-QuIC was positive in all PNS samples, whereas western blotting detected PrPSc in the sciatic nerve in only one VV2 and one MV2K. These results support the conclusion that peripheral neuropathy, likely related to PrPSc deposition, belongs to the phenotypic spectrum of sCJDMV2K and VV2, the two variants linked to the V2 strain. The second study aimed to characterize the genetic/molecular determinants of phenotypic variability in genetic CJD (gCJD). To this purpose, we compared 157 cases of gCJD to 300 of sCJD. We analyzed: demographic aspects, neurological symptoms/signs, histopathologic features and biochemical characteristics of PrPSc. The results strongly indicated that the clinicopathological phenotypes of gCJD largely overlap with those of sCJD and that the genotype at codon 129 in cis with the mutation (i.e. haplotype) contributes more than the latter to the disease phenotype. Some mutations, however, cause phenotypic variations including haplotype-specific patterns of PrPSc deposition such as the “dense” synaptic pattern (E200K-129M), the intraneuronal dots (E200K-129V), and the linear stripes perpendicular to the surface in the molecular layer of cerebellum (OPRIs-129M). Overall, these results suggest that in gCJD PRNP mutations do not cause the emergence of novel prion strains, but rather confer increased susceptibility to the disease in conjunction with “minor” clinicopathological variations.

Skin as a promising biomatrix for the early detection of misfolded proteins by RT-QuIC in neurodegenerative diseases

Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) is an ultrasensitive assay capable of detecting pathological aggregates of misfolded proteins in biospecimens. In recent years, efforts have been made to find a more feasible and convenient biomatrix as an alternative to CSF, and skin biopsy may be a suitable candidate. This project aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of skin RT-QuIC in 3 different cohorts of patients: 1. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), 2. Lewy body disease (LBD), and 3. Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD). We studied 71 punch skin samples of 35 patients with CJD, including five assessed in vitam, using 2 two different substrates: Bank vole 23-230 (Bv23-230) and Syrian hamster 23-231 (Ha23-231) recombinant prion protein. Skin prion RT-QuIC showed a 100% specificity with both substrates and a higher sensitivity with the Bv23-230 than Ha23-231 (87.5% vs. 65.6%, respectively). Forty-one patients underwent both lumbar puncture (LB) and skin biopsy; CSF and skin RT-QuIC showed a high level of concordance (38/41, 92.7%). Then, we analyzed samples taken in vitam (n=69) or postmortem (n=49) from patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), incidental Lewy body pathology, and neurological controls. Skin α-syn RT-QuIC distinguished LBD patients with an overall accuracy of 94.1% in the two cohorts (sensitivity, 89.2%; specificity, 96.3%). Seventy-nine patients underwent both CSF and skin α-syn RT-QuIC, and the two assays yielded similar diagnostic accuracy (skin, 97.5%; CSF, 98.7%). Finally, we studied 91 iRBD patients and 41 control. In the skin, RT-QuIC showed a sensitivity of 76.9%, specificity of 97.6%, and 82.0% accuracy. 128 participants (88 patients plus 40 controls) underwent both CSF and skin RT-QuIC. The two protocols showed 99.2% of concordance. These works confirmed that skin punch biopsies might represent a valid and convenient alternative to CSF analysis for an early diagnosis of prion diseases and LB-related pathologies.

Gene expression and genome-wide association studies analysis to select heavy pigs for protected designation of origin cured meats production

The high quality of protected designation of origin (PDO) dry-cured pork products depends largely on the chemical and physical parameters of the fresh meat and their variation during the production process of the final product. The discovery of the mechanisms that regulate the variability of these parameters was aided by the reference genome of swine adjuvant to genetic analysis methods. This thesis can contribute to the discovery of genetic mechanisms that regulate the variability of some quality parameters of fresh meat for PDO dry-cured pork production. The first study is of gene expression and showed that between low and high glycolytic potential (GP) samples of Semimembranosus muscle of Italian Large White (ILW) pigs in early postmortem, the differentially expressed genes were all but one over expressed in low GP. These were involved in ATP biosynthesis processes, calcium homeostasis, and lipid metabolism including the potential master regulator gene Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha (PPARA). The second is a study in commercial hybrid pigs to evaluate correlations between carcass and fresh ham traits, including carcass and fresh ham lean meat percentages, the former, a potential predictor of the latter. In addition, a genome-wide association study allowed the identification of chromosome-wide associations with phenotypic traits for 19 SNPs, and genome-wide associations for 14 SNPs for ferrochelatase activity. The latter could be a determinant for color variation in nitrite-free dry-cured ham. The third study showed gene expression differences in the Longissimus thoracis muscle of ILW pigs by feeding diets with extruded linseed (source of polyunsaturated fatty acids) and vitamin E and selenium (diet three) or natural (diet four) antioxidants. The diet three promoted a more rapid and massive immune system response possibly determined by improvement in muscle tissue function, while the diet four promoted oxidative stability and increased the anti-inflammatory potential of muscle tissue.