Lactoperoxidase potential in diagnosing subclinical mastitis in cows via image processing.

This report describes how image processing harnessed to multivariate analysis techniques can be used as a bio-analytical tool for mastitis screening in cows using milk samples collected from 48 animals (32 from Jersey, 7 from Gir, and 9 from Guzerat cow breeds), totalizing a dataset of 144 sequential images was collected and analyzed. In this context, this methodology was developed based on the lactoperoxidase activity to assess mastitis using recorded images of a cuvette during a simple experiment and subsequent image treatments with an R statistics platform. The color of the sample changed from white to brown upon its exposure to reagents, which is a consequence of lactoperoxidase enzymatic reaction. Data analysis was performed to extract the channels from the RGB (Red-Green-Blue) color system, where the resulting dataset was evaluated with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), and Second-Order Regression (SO). Interesting results in terms of enzymatic activity correlation (R2 = 0.96 and R2 = 0.98 by MLR and SO, respectively) and of somatic cell count (R2 = 0.97 and R2 = 0.99 by MLR and SO, respectively), important mastitis indicators, were obtained using this simple method. Additionally, potential advantages can be accessed such as quality control of the dairy chain, easier bovine mastitis prognosis, lower cost, analytical frequency, and could serve as an evaluative parameter to verify the health of the mammary gland.

Mixotrophic cultivation of Spirulina platensis in dairy wastewater: Effects on the production of biomass, biochemical composition and antioxidant capacity.

Mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae provides a very promising alternative for producing carbohydrate-rich biomass to convert into bioethanol and value-added biocompounds, such as vitamins, pigments, proteins, lipids and antioxidant compounds. Spirulina platensis may present high yields of biomass and carbohydrates when it is grown under mixotrophic conditions using cheese whey. However, there are no previous studies evaluating the influence of this culture system on the profile of fatty acids or antioxidant compounds of this species, which are extremely important for food and pharmaceutical applications and would add value to the cultivation process. S. platensis presented higher specific growth rates, biomass productivity and carbohydrate content under mixotrophic conditions; however, the antioxidant capacity and the protein and lipid content were lower than that of the autotrophic culture. The maximum biomass yield was 2.98 ±0.07 g/L in growth medium with 5.0% whey. The phenolic compound concentration was the same for the biomass obtained under autotrophic and mixotrophic conditions with 2.5% and 5.0% whey. The phenolic compound concentrations showed no significant differences except for that in the growth medium with 10.0% whey, which presented an average value of 22.37±0.14 mg gallic acid/g. Mixotrophic cultivation of S. platensis using whey can be considered a viable alternative to reduce the costs of producing S. platensis biomass and carbohydrates, shorten cultivation time and produce carbohydrates, as it does not require adding expensive chemical nutrients to the growth medium and also takes advantage of cheese whey, an adverse dairy industry byproduct.

KRAS mutation status is highly homogeneous between areas of the primary tumor and the corresponding metastasis of colorectal adenocarcinomas: one less problem in patient care.

Background: Mutations in KRAS are negative predictors of the response to anti-EGFR therapies in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Yet, the ideal tissue to test for KRAS mutation-primary or metastatic-remains unknown, as is the validity of testing only 1 area of the primary tumor. The aim of this study was to determine the heterogeneity of KRAS mutational status between areas of the primary lesion and between paired primary CRC and the corresponding lymph node (LN), liver, and lung metastasis with a high-sensitivity sequencing method. Design: DNA from 2 or 3 areas from the primary tumor and 1 area of metastatic tissue was obtained from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens from 102 metastatic CRC patients. Mutations in KRAS codons 12, 13, and 61 were analyzed by pyrosequencing. RESULTS: Ninety-one cases had DNA extracted from more than 1 area of the primary tumor. Only 1 patient showed intratumor heterogeneity, which involved KRAS mutation type, not KRAS mutational status. We examined KRAS mutations in 97 primaries and matched metastatic samples, recording 2 discordant cases, representing 2.1% of our cohort of matched samples. Conclusion:KRAS status is highly homogeneous throughout primary CRC tumor areas and consistent between the primary tumor and metastatic tissue in the same patient. Our data suggest that testing KRAS mutations in only 1 area of the primary or metastatic tissue is suitable for predicting the response to anti-EGFR treatment and guiding clinical decisions.