Probiotics are usually isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. The search of probiotics in human milk is a recent field of research, as the existence of the human milk microbiome was discovered only about a decade ago. To our knowledge, no reports regarding the potential probiotic effect of bacteria from swine milk have been published. In this work, we isolated several lactic acid bacteria from swine milk and evaluated them for them potential as probiotics. Among the isolated strains, Lactobacillus curvatus TUCO-5E showed antagonistic effects against swine-associated gastrointestinal pathogens. TUCO-5E was able to reduce the growth of enterotoxigenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strains as well as pathogenic salmonella. In vitro exclusion and displacement assays in intestinal epithelial cells showed a remarkable antagonistic effect for L. curvatus TUCO-5E against Salmonella sp. strain TUCO-I7 and Salmonella enterica ATCC 13096. Moreover, by using a mouse model of Salmonella infection, we were able to demonstrate that preventative administration of L. curvatus TUCO-5E for 5 consecutive days was capable of decreasing the number of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in the liver and spleen of treated mice, compared with the controls, and prevented dissemination of the pathogen to the blood stream. Therefore, we have demonstrated here that swine milk is an interesting source of beneficial bacteria. In addition, the results of this work suggest that L. curvatus TUCO-5E is a good candidate to study in vivo the protective effect of probiotics against intestinal infection and damage induced by Salmonella infection in the porcine host.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND: There is evidence of detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the stool of newborns and in the yeast that colonizes the oral cavity of this age group. However, there is a lack of research to confirm it. This study proposes to determine the existence of the bacteria at an early age, specifically in newborns. OBJECTIVE: To identify intracellular H. pylori in oral yeasts and to detect antigens of the bacteria in newborn stools. METHODOLOGY: Cross-sectional and descriptive study. Samples were obtained from infants (oral swab and meconium). Identification of yeast species was performed using the following techniques: CHROMagar Candida, Germinal Tube Test and API Candida Identification System, then the yeasts were observed by light microscopy and fluorescence. Detection of H. pylori antigen in meconium and PCR were performed to amplify specific genes of the bacterium (rRNA16S, cagA, vacA s1a, vacA s1b, vacA s2, vacA m1, vacA m2 and dupA). RESULTS: Intracellular H. pylori was detected in yeast of the species Candida glabrata (C. glabrata) isolated from an oral swab of a newborn. CONCLUSION: The results of this study evidenced the existence of intracellular H. pylori in newborns.

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The austral sardine (Sprattus fuegensis) is the target fish resource of a small-scale fishery operating in the Patagonian waters of Chile (41 • 30'S-46 • 00'S). Purse seine boats composed the fleet and landings have fluctuated between 14,344 and 48,589 tons during the period between 2006 and 2014. The stock assessment of the austral sardine utilizes a Statistical Catch-atLength model and this method requires independent estimates of abundance. In order to evaluate the abundance of the austral sardine in the inner sea of the Chilean Patagonia, an acoustic assessment was carried out in Autumn 2013. The study area covered the coastal zone of two administrative regions of Chile, the Los Lagos region in May 2013 and the Aysén region in June 2013. An EK-60 echo sounder permitted to obtain the acoustic data with transducer of 38 and 120 kHz from which echograms were examined to obtain NASC data. A total of 25 fishing set allowed to estimating the species composition and the length structure of the pelagic fish. In addition, fish confined in a jail allowed to estimating the target strength (TS) of the austral sardine. The fishing data and the NASC permitted to evaluate the acoustic biomass of the austral sardine, as well as the biomass of the anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and the common sardine (Strangomera bentincki). The biomass was estimated according to a stratified sampling design, the Gaussian Likelihood Geostatistics technique, and the fit to probability density models. The stratified design included six strata in the Los Lagos region and five strata in the Aysén region, as well as four depth strata (0-50, 50-100, 100-150 and 150-200 m). The stratified estimates of the austral sardine biomass were 118,173 tons (CV=11.6%) in the Los Lagos region and 101,630 tons (CV=9%) in the Aysén region. The estimates of biomass based on Gaussian geostatistics were 122,469 tons (CV=7.6%) in the Los Lagos region and 92,890 (70%) tons in the Aysén region. The best fitting of probability density functions to the acoustic density was log-normal, and allowed to estimate 100,145 tons of austral sardine in the Los Lagos region and 81,965 tons in the Aysén region. The biomass of anchovy was 50,079 tons in the Los Lagos region and 18,668 tons in the Aysén region. The biomass of common sardine was minimal with 5,327 tons in the Los Lagos region only. The estimate of the TS for the austral sardine was -67.59 dB and represented fish between 9 and 17 cm. The study area is spatially heterogeneous, and hydrographical features could determine behaviors of the austral sardine that have not yet described. Therefore, the estimates of biomass here obtained must be regarded as a relative abundance. The basis here obtained will be of importance for monitoring yearly changes in the abundance of the sardine austral.