Shift in chicken intestinal gene association networks after infection with Salmonella

A primary infection of Salmonella enteritidis causes a spatial-temporal dependent change in the gene expression patterns in the intestine of chickens (Gallus gallus). This is the result of a dynamic intestinal response to adapt to the altered environment and to optimize its ‘health’ and functionality under the new circumstances. By inferring gene association networks (GANs), the complexities of and changes in biological networks can be uncovered. Within such GANs highly interacting (hub) genes can be identified, which are supposed to be high-level regulators connected to multiple processes. By exploring the intestinal expression of genes differing between control and Salmonella infected chicken in a time-dependent manner differences in GANs were found. In control chickens more developmental processes were observed, whereas in infected chickens relatively more processes were associated to ‘defense/pathogen response’. Moreover the conserved protein domains of the identified hub genes in controls were nuclear-associated, whereas hub genes in infected chickens were involved in ‘cellular communication’. The shift in topology and functionality of the intestinal GANs in control and Salmonella infected animals and the identification of GAN-specific hubs is a first step to understand the complexity of biological networks and processes regulating intestinal health and functionality under normal and disturbed conditions.     

Comparison of two methods for in vivo estimation of the glenohumeral joint rotation center (GH-JRC) of the patients with shoulder hemiarthroplasty

Determination of an accurate glenohumeral-joint rotation center (GH-JRC) from marker data is essential for kinematic and dynamic analysis of shoulder motions. Previous studies have focused on the evaluation of the different functional methods for the estimation of the GH-JRC for healthy subjects. The goal of this paper is to compare two widely used functional methods, namely the instantaneous helical axis (IHA) and symmetrical center of rotation (SCoRE) methods, for estimating the GH-JRC in vivo for patients with implanted shoulder hemiarthroplasty. The motion data of five patients were recorded while performing three different dynamic motions (circumduction, abduction, and forward flexion). The GH-JRC was determined using the CT-images of the subjects (geometric GH-JRC) and was also estimated using the two IHA and SCoRE methods. The rotation centers determined using the IHA and SCoRE methods were on average 1.47±0.62 cm and 2.07±0.55 cm away from geometric GH-JRC, respectively. The two methods differed significantly (two-tailed p-value from paired t-Test ～0.02, post-hoc power ～0.30). The SCoRE method showed a significant lower (two-tailed p-value from paired t-Test ～0.03, post-hoc power ～0.68) repeatability error calculated between the different trials of each motion and each subject and averaged across all measured subjects (0.62±0.10 cm for IHA vs. 0.43±0.12 cm for SCoRE). It is concluded that the SCoRE appeared to be a more repeatable method whereas the IHA method resulted in a more accurate estimation of the GH-JRC for patients with endoprostheses.     

18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in Elderly Patients with an Elevated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate of Unknown Origin

Patients with an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and non-specific symptoms often pose a diagnostic dilemma. PET/CT visualises infection, inflammation and malignancy, all of which may cause elevated ESR. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of 18F-fluorodeoxglucose positron emission tomography (PET/CT) in the diagnostic work-up of referred patients with an elevated ESR, in whom initial routine evaluation did not reveal a diagnosis. We conducted a combined retrospective (A) and prospective (B) study in elderly (>50 years) patients with a significantly elevated ESR of≥50 mm/h and non-specific complaints. In study A, 30 patients were included. Malignancy (8 patients), auto-inflammatory disease (8 patients, including 5 with large-vessel vasculitis) and infection (3 patients) were suggested by PET/CT. Two scans showed non-specific abnormalities and 9 scans were normal. Of the 21 abnormal PET/CT results, 12 diagnoses were independently confirmed and two alternative diagnosis were made. Two diagnoses were established in patients with a normal scan. In study B, 58 patients in whom a prior protocolised work-up was non-diagnostic, were included. Of these, 25 PET/CT-scans showed suspected auto-inflammatory disease, particularly large-vessel vasculitis (14 cases). Infection and malignancy was suspected in 5 and 3 cases, respectively. Seven scans demonstrated non-specific abnormalities, 20 were normal. Of the 40 abnormal PET/CT results, 22 diagnoses were confirmed, 3 alternative diagnoses were established. Only one diagnosis was established in the 20 patients with a normal scan. In both studies, the final diagnosis was based on histology, clinical follow-up, response to therapy or additional imaging. In conclusion, PET/CT may be of potential value in the diagnostic work-up of patients with elevated ESR if routine evaluation reveals no diagnosis. In particular, large-vessel vasculitis appears to be a common finding. A normal PET/CT scan in these patients suggests that it is safe to follow a wait-and-see policy.     

Physical and Chemical Limnology of a Subsaline Athalassic Lake in West Greenland

Physical and chemical profiles of a shallow (c. 12-m-deep) subsaline (total dissolved solids 2.3-2.8 g l^–1) closed-basin lake in the continental area of southwestern Greenland are described for the first time. Watercolumn data for every 5th consecutive day between April 20 and October 6, 2001, and continuous recordings of lake water level and meteorological conditions are used to infer controls on contemporary lake functioning, sediment formation and climate-lake interactions. Limnological observations demonstrate the importance of lake-ice formation and its role in haline convection and the development of meromixis. Observed lake cycling suggest that the lake at present is in a state of near-meromixis where stagnant bottom waters de-stratify through deep penetration of weak haline convective cells by the end of June. From this study, the primary reasons the shallow Greenlandic low salinity lakes develop meromixis are:(i) lack of an outflow (ii) meltwater dilution and chemical stratification of surface waters, (iii) insubstantial wind mixing, (iv) a weak winter thermohaline convective cell forced by cryoconcentration, and (v) biogeochemically enhanced solute concentrations near the sediment bed. Throughout the open water period the hydrological balance is dominated by evaporative losses. Lake surface water conductivities change from 2110 to 2890 S cm^–1 due to the combined effects of open water evaporation, meltwater dilution, diffusive exchanges over the seasonal pycnocline, and boundary mixing. Freeze-out of salts and resulting deep haline convection increase overall water column salinity during winter. Owing to deep convective mixing, plant nutrients are relatively high in the upper watercolumn with a dominant internal source of phosphorous. Extreme productivity pulses of phytoplankton are observed as soon as sub-ice radiation levels increase and directly after ice-out when sufficient wind mixing can support an intense monospecific diatom bloom of Diatoma spp. leading to the rapid depletion of dissolved silica.     

Energetic limitation of avian parental effort: Field experiments in the kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

We studied the limiting factors for brood size in the kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, by measuring parental effort in natural broods of different size and parental response to manipulation of food satiation of the brood. Parental effort was quantified as total daily time spent in flight, and total daily energy expenditure, from all-day observations. During nestling care males with different natural brood sizes (4 to 7 chicks), spent an average of 4.75 h · d^?1 in flight independent of brood size, and expended an average total daily energy of 382 kJ · d^?1. Due to a higher flight-hunting yield (mammal-prey caught per hour hunting), males with larger natural broods were able to provision their broods with the same amount of food (mainly Microtus arvalis) per chick (62.6 g · d^?1), with the same effort as males with smaller broods. This provisioning rate was close to the mean feeding rate of hand-raised chicks in the laboratory, that were fed ad libitum, (66.8 g · d^?1 · chick^?1). Our food deprivation experiments revealed that male kestrels strongly respond to food shortage in the nest. In the older nestling phase males on average increased their daily rate of food delivery to the nest as a response to experimental food deprivation by almost three times to 646.4 g · d^?1, by increasing their flight activity level from 4.46 to 8.41 h · d^?1. This increased energy expenditure was sustained, for as long as eleven days, by increasing the metabolizable energy intake up to what is presumed to be the maximum rate. Even under considerable experimental food stress (chicks not being satiated due to continuous removal of delivered food by the observers) about half of the available daylight time remained unused for foraging. We conclude 1) that the mean daily energy expenditure of males during nestling care — to which clutch size is apparently initially adjusted — is well below the maximum they are able to sustain and 2) that the energy expenditure they can sustain under extremely high nestling demand is not set by the available time for foraging or the available energy in the environment. Thus the birds normally operate well below their presumed maximum, and only during food shortage, e.g., as caused by our experiments, do they increase activity up to this maximum. Therefore we conclude that the kestrels have costs other than energy expenditure, such as parental survival, that are involved in the increased “cost” of parental effort. We discuss possible generalisations about existing energetic limitations during parental care in altricial birds. From published estimates of daily energy expenditure during parental care (DEE_par) in 30 different bird species we derived the equation: DEE_par = 14.26 kg^0.65 Watt. This relationship differs significantly in slope (T = 2.49; p > 0.02) from the allometric equation for the maximum rate of energy assimilation (DME_max) as provided by Kirkwood (1983): DME_max = 19.82 kg^0.72 Watt. In smaller species (ca. 25 g) DEE_par about equals DME_max, while in the larger species (ca. 10 kg) DEE_par represents only about 60% of the predicted DME_max. This suggests that limitations in parental effort are more frequently set by the maximum sustainable energy intake in the smaller species than in larger species. Our allometric equations for DEE_par suggests that the relation between BMR, estimated using the equations of Aschoff and Pohl (1970), and the observed parental energy expenditure, is such that on average bird parents work at a daily level somewhere between 3 and 4 times BMR.     

The value of ultrasonography in predicting arthritis in auto-antibody positive arthralgia patients: a prospective cohort study

Introduction  

Ultrasonography (US) has better sensitivity than clinical evaluation for the detection of synovitis in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients presenting with arthralgia and a positive anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) and/or Rheumatoid Factor (IgM-RF) status are at risk for developing RA. In the present study, US utility and predictive properties in arthralgia patients at risk for the development of arthritis were studied.     

Antibodies to mutated citrullinated vimentin and disease activity score in early arthritis: a cohort study

Introduction  

The aim of our study was to investigate the association between arthritic disease activity and antibodies to mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV), because such a relation has been suggested.     

Early life microbial colonization of the gut and intestinal development differ between genetically divergent broiler lines

Background

Host genetic makeup plays a role in early gut microbial colonization and immune programming. Interactions between gut microbiota and host cells of the mucosal layer are of paramount importance for a proper development of host defence mechanisms. For different livestock species, it has already been shown that particular genotypes have increased susceptibilities towards disease causing pathogens.The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of genotypic variation on both early microbial colonization of the gut and functional development of intestinal tissue. From two genetically diverse chicken lines intestinal content samples were taken for microbiota analyses and intestinal tissue samples were extracted for gene expression analyses, both at three subsequent time-points (days 0, 4, and 16).

Results

The microbiota composition was significantly different between lines on each time point. In contrast, no significant differences were observed regarding changes in the microbiota diversity between the two lines throughout this study. We also observed trends in the microbiota data at genus level when comparing lines X and Y. We observed that approximately 2000 genes showed different temporal gene expression patterns when comparing line X to line Y. Immunological related differences seem to be only present at day 0, because at day 4 and 16 similar gene expression is observed for these two lines. However, for genes involved in cell cycle related processes the data show higher expression over the whole course of time in line Y in comparison to line X.

Conclusions

These data suggest the genetic background influences colonization of gut microbiota after hatch in combination with the functional development of intestinal mucosal tissue, including the programming of the immune system. The results indicate that genetically different chicken lines have different coping mechanisms in early life to cope with the outside world.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1646-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Long-Lasting Effects of Early-Life Antibiotic Treatment and Routine Animal Handling on Gut Microbiota Composition and Immune System in Pigs

BackgroundIn intensive pig husbandry systems, antibiotics are frequently administrated during early life stages to prevent respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract infections, often in combination with stressful handlings. The immediate effects of these treatments on microbial colonization and immune development have been described recently. Here we studied whether the early life administration of antibiotics has long-lasting effects on the pig’s intestinal microbial community and on gut functionality.Conclusions/SignificanceThe results obtained in this study indicate that early life (day 4 after birth) perturbations have long-lasting effects on the gut system, both in gene expression (day 55) as well as on microbiota composition (day 176). At day 55 high variance was observed in the microbiota data, but no significant differences between treatment groups, which is most probably due to the newly acquired microbiota during and right after weaning (day 28). Based on the observed difference in gene expression at day 55, it is hypothesized that due to the difference in immune programming during early life, the systems respond differently to the post-weaning newly acquired microbiota. As a consequence, the gut systems of the treatment groups develop into different homeostasis.