Effects of colostrum management on transfer of passive immunity and the potential role of colostral bioactive components on neonatal calf development and metabolism

Neonatal dairy and beef calves are required to ingest adequate volumes of high-quality colostrum during their first hours of life to acquire transfer of passive immunity (TPI). As such, immunoglobulin G (IgG) has largely been the focus of colostrum research over recent decades. Yet, little is known about the additional bioactive compounds in colostrum that potentially influence newborn calf development and metabolism. The purpose of this narrative review is to synthesize research regarding the effects of colostrum management practices on TPI, as well as to address the potential role of additional colostral bioactive molecules, including oligosaccharides, fatty acids, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor-I, in promoting calf development and metabolism. Due to the importance of IgG in ensuring calf immunity and health, we review past research describing the process of colostrogenesis and dam factors influencing the concentrations of IgG in an effort to maximize TPI. We also address the transfer of additional bioactive compounds in colostrum and prepartum management and dam factors that influence their concentrations. Finally, we highlight key areas of future research for the scientific community to pursue to ultimately improve the health and welfare of neonatal dairy calves.

Depression in midlife women attending a menopause clinic is associated with a history of childhood maltreatment

A growing body of literature has suggested that the perimenopause and the early postmenopausal years are associated with an increased risk of experiencing symptoms of depression and the development of first-onset and recurrent episodes of major depressive disorder. Multiple risk factors have been identified, including stressful life events and lower socioeconomic status, as well as early life adversity. The objective of the current study was to characterize the influence of early life childhood maltreatment and incident depression among women experiencing bothersome menopausal symptoms. Participants were recruited from two university-affiliated specialty clinics caring for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms. Assessments included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression (CES-D) scale and the Greene Climacteric Scale. Findings from this cross-sectional study indicate that adverse childhood experiences, as measured using the CTQ, were highly prevalent among women seeking care for bothersome menopausal symptoms (66%). Further, a greater score on the CTQ was significantly associated with higher CES-D scores, as well as with a greater burden of menopausal symptoms, after adjusting for confounding. Our findings lend support to the growing body of literature suggesting that early life stress affects mental health well into adulthood.

Intervention to promote physical activation and improve sleep and response feeding in infants for preventing obesity early in life, the baby-act trial: Rationale and design

Infant obesity is increasing in the US, particularly among Hispanics. Rapid weight gain during infancy increases the risk of obesity later in life and could be prevented through multi-modal interventions addressing multiple risk factors through population-level programs.

OBJECTIVES

1) determine the extent to which the intervention, compared with the usual care control condition, improves healthy weight gain and specific behaviors (physical activity, sleep, diet) in the first year of life and 2) evaluate the cost of the intervention as a modification of the current WIC standard of care.

METHODS

The lifestyle intervention focuses on age-appropriate infant physical activation, healthy sleep and sedentary patterns, and response feeding, by improving parenting skills delivered through a combination of technology (web-platform and text messages) and phone counseling. It is being tested among caregivers of infant participants of the Puerto Rico WIC program through a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 14 WIC clinics in San Juan starting in pregnancy until the infant is 12 months of age. The main outcome is infant rate of weight gain at 12 months; secondary outcomes include objectively measured hours of infant movement, sedentary behaviors and sleep, diet quality score and response feeding behaviors. We are also recording fees, time and personnel involved in the intervention development, maintenance and dissemination.

CONCLUSIONS

If successful, the intervention could be incorporated as a 'best practice' through WIC policy as a means to strengthen obesity prevention efforts to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities among Hispanics and possibly other at-risk groups beyond the childhood period. Clinicaltrials.gov registration: NCT03517891.

Exome sequencing and characterization of 49,960 individuals in the UK Biobank

The UK Biobank is a prospective study of 502,543 individuals, combining extensive phenotypic and genotypic data with streamlined access for researchers around the world¹. Here we describe the release of exome-sequence data for the first 49,960 study participants, revealing approximately 4 million coding variants (of which around 98.6% have a frequency of less than 1%). The data include 198,269 autosomal predicted loss-of-function (LOF) variants, a more than 14-fold increase compared to the imputed sequence. Nearly all genes (more than 97%) had at least one carrier with a LOF variant, and most genes (more than 69%) had at least ten carriers with a LOF variant. We illustrate the power of characterizing LOF variants in this population through association analyses across 1,730 phenotypes. In addition to replicating established associations, we found novel LOF variants with large effects on disease traits, including PIEZO1 on varicose veins, COL6A1 on corneal resistance, MEPE on bone density, and IQGAP2 and GMPR on blood cell traits. We further demonstrate the value of exome sequencing by surveying the prevalence of pathogenic variants of clinical importance, and show that 2% of this population has a medically actionable variant. Furthermore, we characterize the penetrance of cancer in carriers of pathogenic BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants. Exome sequences from the first 49,960 participants highlight the promise of genome sequencing in large population-based studies and are now accessible to the scientific community.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) in non-surgical treatment of periodontitis

Periodontitis represents a major problem for patients, since it is not possible to eliminate the bacteria that are responsible for this pathology with a pharmacological treatment. The present study included forty-four patients with periodontitis, who had undergone disinfection via photodynamic therapy (PDT) using a laser source having a 635 nm wavelength associated with a photoactivable substance (methylene blue). Clinical assessment of plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), calculus index (CI), gingival recession (REC) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded at base line, 1 month (4 weeks) after treatment and again 3 months (12 weeks) after treatment, while site radiography (RX) and microbiological test (MT) were recorded at base line and 3 months (12 weeks) after treatment. The outcomes show a good efficacy of the PDT in the elimination of the periodontal pathogenic microflora and in the improvement of the clinical parameters considered: from the base line to the final check after 12 weeks it has been observed a reduction in REC of about 16.9%, a reduction of CAL of about 17.85%, a reduction of the BoP of about 93.3%, a reduction of the PD of about 17%, a reduction of the CI of about 66.3%, a reduction of PI of about 44%, and microbiologically a reduction of the total amount of bacteria with proven parodontopathic properties (red complex bacteria) of about 58.74%. Within the limits of the present study, PDT can be reasonably considered as a good carrier that leads to significant improvements in the parameters (clinical and microbiological) considered.

Antimicrobial efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in periodontitis and peri-implantitis: A systematic review

To systematically review the literature regarding the antimicrobial effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) on multi-bacterial species in periodontitis and peri-implantitis disease. The addressed focused question was: "Does PDT show antimicrobial efficacy against multi-bacterial species colonization in periodontal pockets and on the surface of dental implants?" Electronic databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE up to and including December 2018 were searched. Of the ninety studied analyzed, seven were included, four for the study of PDT in peri-implantitis disease and three for periodontal disease. All studies reported the multibacterial species outcomes after the application of antimicrobial PDT. All studies showed a significant reduction in the bacterial load, both in studies based on periodontal and peri-implantary disease, with an average reduction of the total amount of bacterial load of 99.3%. Moreover, the change in clinical parameters is equally important, with an average reduction of PPD of 1.01 mm (from 4.92 to 3.49 ± SD with a percentage reduction of 29%); of BoP of 50%; of RCAL of 1.19 mm (from 9.93 to 8.74, with an average percentage reduction of 12%); of PI of 0.3 (from 1 to 0.7 with a percentage reduction of 30%) and of GI of 1.2 (from 1.8 to 0.6 with a percentage reduction of 66.6%). This review demonstrated significant reduction in the bacterial load in periodontal pocket and dental implant surface with the use of PDT. The results of this review should be considered preliminary and further studies with standardized laser parameters are needed to obtain strong conclusions.

The role of 5-HTTLPR in autism spectrum disorder: New evidence and a meta-analysis of this polymorphism in Latin American population with psychiatric disorders

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex disorder encompassing a broad phenotypic and genotypic variability. The short (S)/long (L) 5-HTTLPR polymorphism has a functional role in the regulation of extracellular serotonin levels and both alleles have been associated to ASD. Most studies including European, American, and Asian populations have suggested an ethnical heterogeneity of this polymorphism; however, the short/long frequencies from Latin American population have been under-studied in recent meta-analysis. Here, we evaluated the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in Colombian individuals with idiopathic ASD and reported a non-preferential S or L transmission and a non-association with ASD risk or symptom severity. Moreover, to recognize the allelic frequencies of an under-represented population we also recovered genetic studies from Latin American individuals and compared these frequencies with frequencies from other ethnicities. Results from meta-analysis suggest that short/long frequencies in Latin American are similar to those reported in Caucasian population but different to African and Asian regions.

105 Optimization of a five-day fixed-time embryo transfer program in dairy heifers: Use of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone at initiation of the protocol

Optimized fixed-time embryo transfer (FTET) protocols for synchronization of recipients have the potential to improve the overall efficiency and profitability of embryo transfer (ET) programs. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of dose of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) at initiation of a 5-day synchronization protocol for FTET. Holstein heifers (n=2689) at two locations were synchronized using a 5-day CO-Synch protocol as follows: Day 0: CIDR inserted, Day 5: CIDR removed, prostaglandin (PG)F2α treatment (500μg cloprostenol), Day 6: PGF2α treatment, Day 8: GnRH (100μg of gonadorelin). On Day 0, at the time of CIDR insertion, heifers were assigned in a completely randomised design to the following groups: Single (a single dose of GnRH; 100μg of gonadorelin), Double (200μg of gonadorelin) or No GnRH (control). All heifers received an Estrotect patch placed on Day 5 and evaluated for signs of oestrus on Day 8. At location A, heifers were evaluated by ultrasonography 5 days after GnRH to determine presence and size of corpus luteum (CL), whereas at location B presence and location of CL were determined by transrectal palpation at the time of transfer. Heifers with a CL received an embryo 7±1 days after GnRH administration, and pregnancy was determined by ultrasonography 41 and 63 days after GnRH. Data were analysed by generalized linear mixed models. Oestrus expression was greater in heifers that received Single and Double GnRH than in the No GnRH group (P=0.001). Similarly, utilisation rate (number transferred per number treated) was greater for heifers in the Single and Double GnRH group than for those in the No GnRH group (P=0.02). Pregnancy data were analysed for a subset of recipients using data from Day 41 (n=2267) and Day 63 (n=2042). The analysis of fertility outcomes included as covariates the type of embryo (invitro fresh or frozen and invivo fresh or frozen), embryo stage, embryo quality, interval from GnRH to transfer, and oestrus expression. Pregnancies per embryo transfer (P/ET) at Days 41 and 63 were not different between treatment groups (P=0.86), and there was no interaction between type of embryo and treatment (P>0.15). Pregnancy loss between Days 41 and 63 was not different (P=0.49) between treatments groups. In conclusion, the removal of the initial GnRH from a 5-day FTET protocol resulted in a slight but significant reduction in the utilisation rate and the percentage of heifers showing oestrus. However, there was no detrimental effect on fertility. As a result, the overall cost of the FTET program can be reduced by eliminating the need for the initial GnRH treatment without compromising fertility. Table 1.Reproductive performance in recipients receiving different doses of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) at initiation of the synchronization protocol Treatment Oestrus (n) Utilisation rate (n) P/ET1 D41 (n) P/ET D63 (n) Pregnancy loss (n) No GnRH 69.2%B (621/898) 85.0%B (763/898) 41.6% (308/740) 39.9% (268/672) 4.3% (12/280) Single GnRH 76.1%A (685/900) 88.8%A (799/900) 42.7% (329/770) 39.5% (272/689) 6.5% (19/291) Double GnRH 75.3%A (671/891) 88.7%A (790/891) 41.5% (314/757) 38.9% (265/681) 5.4% (15/280) A,BValues with different superscripts within a column differ (P<0.05). 1P/ET=pregnancies per embryo transfer.

Design and Development of a Security and Guidance Robot for Employment in a Mall

Among the possible fields in human society in which robotics can be applied, the possibility of a robotic guard has been imagined since long time. Human guards usually perform a range of tasks in which a robot can provide help. Security personnel not only perform security tasks and patrolling services, but also have to interact with people, providing additional information about the area they safeguard. In this paper, we present the design, development and preliminary tests of RobotMan, an anthropomorphic robot commissioned by a security company that should serve in security roles, such as patrolling large indoor areas and acting as a telepresence platform for the human guards, and guidance roles such as welcoming visitors and providing information. In the preliminary experiment, the new robot and a human guard were employed the roles of security and guidance in a manufacturing center. The results of the experiment collected from 96 participants highlighted differences in participants’ behavior when interacting with the robot rather than the human and a different perception of likeability and authority of the robot depending on subtle differences in its appearance and behavior. These results provide useful indication for the employment of robot guards in a real world situation.

P581Electronic health records (EHRs) data validation in atherosclerotic/cardiovascular clinical phenotypes

Background

Research efforts to develop strategies to effectively identify patients and reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases is essential for the future of the health system. Most research studies have used only coded parts of electronic health records (EHRs) for case-detection obtaining missed data cases, reducing study quality and in some case bias findings. Incorporating information from free-text into case-detection through Big Data and Artificial Intelligence techniques improves research quality. Savana has developed EHRead, a powerful technology that applies Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, to analyse and automatically extracts highly valuable medical information from unstructured free text contained in the EHR to support research and practice.

Purpose

We aimed to validate the linguistic accuracy performance of Savana, in terms of Precision (P), Recall (R) and overall performance (F-Score) in the cardiovascular domain since this is one of the most prevalent disease in the general population. This means validating the extent to which the Savana system identifies mentions to atherosclerotic/cardiovascular clinical phenotypes in EHRs.

Methods

The project was conducted in 3 Spanish sites and the system was validated using a corpus that consisted of 739 EHRs, including the emergency, medical and discharge records, written in free text. These EHRs were randomly selected from the total number of clinical documents generated during the period of 2012–2017 and were fully anonymized to comply with legal and ethical requirements. Two physicians per site reviewed records (randomly selected) and annotated all direct references to atherosclerotic/cardiovascular clinical phenotypes, following the annotation guidelines previously developed. A third physician adjudicated discordant annotations. Savana's performance was automatically calculated using as validation resource the gold standard created by the experts.

Results

We found good levels of performance achieved by Savana in the identification of mentions to atherosclerotic/cardiovascular clinical phenotypes, yielding an overall P, R, and F-score of 0.97, 0.92, and 0.94, respectively. We also found that going through all the EHRs and identifying the mentions to atherosclerotic/cardiovascular clinical phenotypes, the expert spent ∼ 60h while Savana ∼ 36 min.

Conclusion(s)

Innovative techniques to identify atherosclerotic/cardiovascular clinical phenotypes could be used to support real world data research and clinical practice. Overall Savana showed a high performance, comparable with those obtained by an expert physician annotator doing the same task. Additionally, a significant reduction of time in using automatic information extraction system was achieved.

A decision-tree approach for the differential diagnosis of chronic lymphoid leukemias and peripheral B-cell lymphomas

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Here we propose a decision-tree approach for the differential diagnosis of distinct WHO categories B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders using flow cytometry data. Flow cytometry is the preferred method for the immunophenotypic characterization of leukemia and lymphoma, being able to process and register multiparametric data about tens of thousands of cells per second.

METHODS

The proposed decision-tree is composed by logistic function nodes that branch throughout the tree into sets of (possible) distinct leukemia/lymphoma diagnoses. To avoid overfitting, regularization via the Lasso algorithm was used. The code can be run online at https://codeocean.com/2018/03/08/a-decision-tree-approach-for-the-differential-diagnosis-of-chronic-lymphoid-leukemias-and-peripheral-b-cell-lymphomas/ or downloaded from https://github.com/lauramoraes/bioinformatics-sourcecode to be executed in Matlab.

RESULTS

The proposed approach was validated in diagnostic peripheral blood and bone marrow samples from 283 mature lymphoid leukemias/lymphomas patients. The proposed approach achieved 95% correctness in the cross-validation test phase (100% in-sample), 61% giving a single diagnosis and 34% (possible) multiple disease diagnoses. Similar results were obtained in an out-of-sample validation dataset. The generated tree reached the final diagnoses after up to seven decision nodes.

CONCLUSIONS

Here we propose a decision-tree approach for the differential diagnosis of mature lymphoid leukemias/lymphomas which proved to be accurate during out-of-sample validation. The full process is accomplished through seven binary transparent decision nodes.

B-41 SPECT Differences between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Objective

To assess whether diagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) interactively alter brain activity, as measured by a Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging.

Method

The sample included adults diagnosed with OCD (n = 915) with a mean age of 34.65 and predominantly male (68.6%) and adults with PTSD (n = 1,481) which had a mean age of 41.33 and was predominantly female (57.2%). Significant differences were observed for gender . Multiple ANCOVAs were conducted to determine differences between cerebral blood flow (CBF)in 17 different brain regions.

Results

Results showed hyper-perfusion in the PTSD group as compared to the OCD group in the pariental L/R[F(1,2393) = 6.47,p < 0.01/F(1,2393) = 12.31,p < .01], motor sensory L/R[F(1,2393) = 19.33,p < .001/F(1,2393) = 17.32,p < .01] and temporal left [F(1,2393) = 12.49,p < .01].

Conclusion

Significantly higher rCBF in the pariental and motor sensory for OCD individuals may be due to visual-constructive and controlled fluency which are usually associated with compulsion. Due to the hyperalert nature related with OCD rituals, these areas are more active when compared to PTSD. Hyperfusion was reported for PTSD in the left temporal lobe compared to OCD, this region is usually associated with registering potential threasts in the environment. This can be explained by the hypervigilant conduct seen in individuals with PTSD. Overall, it appears that individuals with OCD struggle with continual inability to inhibit repetitive thoughts and behaviors due to the over activation in the motor sensory and parietal region. Alternatively, the activation in PTSD individuals can be a result of a way to help them cope with threats in the environment.

B-08 Cerebral Blood Flow Differences at Baseline Between Cortical Regions in Tic Disorders Population

Objective

To identify CBF differences between individuals with Tic Disorder and healthy controls.

Methods

The data for this study was acquired from a de-identified archival Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) database. The sample included a healthy control group (n = 83,age M = 42.02,54.22% female) and a second group included individuals diagnosed with Tic Disorder (n = 177,age M = 33.54,83.05% male). Significant differences were found for gender [χ(2) = 41.16,p < .001] between groups. As a result, ANCOVAs were conducted to measure CBF differences across the brain using SPECT scans between the two groups while controlling for gender.

Results

Results showed significant differences between the two groups and perfusion in 4 brain regions. Hypo-perfusion in the Tic Disorder group was observed in the right basal ganglia [F(1,260) = 30.959,p < .001] and left [F(1,260) = 32.16,p < .001]. Hyper-perfusion was found in the right cerebellum [F(1,260) = 16.63,p < .001], and left [F(1,260) = 22.17,p < .001] in the same group.

Conclusion

Results indicate that individuals with tic disorders have diminished CBF than healthy controls in both sides of the basal ganglia. This contrasts previous studies, which have shown that individuals with tic disorders have more CBF in the basal ganglia. Further research is needed to understand this inconsistency; a possible explanation is that there is an inhibiting effect on the basal ganglia. Increased CBF in both sides of the cerebellum supports previous research as this cortical area has been shown to have connections with the basal ganglia, activating the pathway that trigger the motor tics. Tic disorders are usually associated with other comorbidities therefore the sample may have other diagnoses that affect blood flow. Future research should control for potential comorbidities.