Hyperglycemia and reduced adiposity of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice are not alleviated by oral benzylamine supplementation

BACKGROUND Benzylamine(Bza)oral administration delays the onset of hyperglycemia in insulin-resistant db-/-mice;a genetic model of obesity and type 2 diabetes.AIM To extend the antihyperglycemic properties of oral benzylamine to a model of insulin-deficient type 1 diabetes.METHODS Male Swiss mice were rendered diabetic by streptozotocin treatment(STZ)and divided in two groups:one received 0.5%Bza as drinking solution for 24 d(STZ Bza-drinking)while the other was drinking water ad libitum.Similar groups were constituted in age-matched,nondiabetic mice.Food intake,liquid intake,body weight gain and nonfasting blood glucose levels were followed during treatment.At the end of treatment,fasted glycemia,liver and white adipose tissue(WAT)mass were measured,while glucose uptake assays were performed in adipocytes.RESULTS STZ diabetic mice presented typical features of insulin-deficient diabetes:reduced body mass and increased blood glucose levels.These altered parameters were not normalized in the Bza-drinking group in spite of restored food and water intake.Bza consumption could not reverse the severe fat depot atrophy of STZ diabetic mice.In the nondiabetic mice,no difference was found between control and Bza-drinking mice for any parameter.In isolated adipocytes,hexose uptake was partially activated by 0.1 mmol/L Bza in a manner that was obliterated in vitro by the amine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine and that remained unchanged after Bza supplementation.Oxidation of 0.1 mmol/L Bza in WAT was lower in STZ diabetic than in normoglycemic mice.CONCLUSION Bza supplementation could not normalize the altered glucose handling of STZ diabetic mice with severe WAT atrophy.Consequently,its antidiabetic potential in obese and diabetic rodents does not apply to lipoatrophic type 1 diabetic mice.

Financial Losses Associated with Bovine Brucellosis (Brucella abortus) in Carchi-Ecuador

Brucellosis is an infectious disease of worldwide distribution, which has a great economic impact due to the productive and reproductive losses that it causes, in addition to the serious public health problem. The aim of this study is to estimate the economic losses, through financial analysis, caused by bovine brucellosis in the province of Carchi, over a one-year period. A random sampling was used to determine the prevalence in the study area, where 2976 animals were considered, and the Rose Bengal (RB) test was used as a screening test and the Fluorescence Polarized Assay (FPA) as a confirmatory test, obtaining a prevalence of 8.2% (244/2976). In addition, parameters associated to the losses caused by brucellosis in cattle were determined by literature review. To estimate costs, field information was collected through a survey of a total of 100 randomly selected farmers. The loss estimated due to calves lost as a result of abortions and neonatal death was USD. 79170.00. The loss due to death of 4 cows as a result of metritis was estimated at USD. 5000.00. The cost of examination and treatment of aborted cows was USD. 20100.00. The losses due to reduction in milk production from aborted and non-aborted seropositive cows were estimated at USD. 158114.21. The financial losses due to brucellosis in province of Carchi were estimated at USD. 262384.21.

Statistical data driven approach of COVID-19 in Ecuador: R_(0) and R_(t) estimation via new method

The growth of COVID-19 pandemic throughout more than 213 countries around the world have put a lot of pressures on governments and health services to try to stop the rapid expansion of the pandemic.During 2009,H1N1 Influenza pandemic,statistical and mathematical methods were used to track how the virus spreads around countries.Most of these models that were developed at the beginning of the XXI century are based on the classical susceptible-infected-recovered(SIR)model developed almost a hundred years ago.The evolution of this model allows us to forecast and compute basic and effective reproduction numbers(R_(t) and R_(0)),measures that quantify the epidemic potential of a pathogen and estimates different scenarios.In this study,we present a traditional estimation technique for R_(0) with statistical distributions by best fitting and a Bayesian approach based on continuous feed of prior distributions to obtain posterior distributions and computing real time R_(t).We use data from COVID-19 officially reported cases in Ecuador since the first confirmed case on February 29th.Because of the lack of data,in the case of R_(0) we compare two methods for the estimation of these parameters below exponential growth and maximum likelihood estimation.We do not make any assumption about the evolution of cases due to limited information and we use previous methods to compare scenarios about R_(0) and in the case of R_(t) we used Bayesian inference to model uncertainty in contagious proposing a new modification to the well-known model of Bettencourt and Ribeiro based on a time window of m days to improve estimations.Ecuadorian R_(0) with exponential growth criteria was 3.45 and with the maximum likelihood estimation method was 2.93.The results show that Guayas,Pichincha and Manabíwere the provinces with the highest number of cases due to COVID-19.Some reasons explain the increased transmissibility in these localities:massive events,population density,cities dispersion patterns,and the delayed time of public health actions to contain pandemic.In conclusion,this is a novel approach that allow us to measure infection dynamics and outbreak distribution when not enough detailed data is available.The use of this model can be used to predict pandemic distribution and to implement data-based effective measures.