Seleção espermática do sêmen equino e suas aplicações

Na espécie equina a seleção dos reprodutores não é realizada baseada nas características reprodutivas, mas através de fatores fenotípicos e performance atlética. A isto associado ao fato de que muitos reprodutores com idade avançada (>18 anos) permanecem em atividade reprodutiva. Existindo consequentemente a necessidade de se utilizar estratégias para aumentar a qualidade do sêmen e fertilidade destes animais. A seleção espermática é uma técnica que vem sendo largamente utilizada para aumentar a qualidade e fertilidade do sêmen fresco de garanhões e a resistência de seus espermatozoides à refrigeração e congelação. Esta técnica consiste em separar os espermatozoides com motilidade progressiva e sem alterações de morfologia do resto do ejaculado. Dessa forma, este trabalho de conclusão de curso retrata as diferentes formas de seleção espermática e suas aplicações.In the equine species breeding selection is not performed based on reproductive characteristics, but through phenotypic factors and athletic performance. This is associated with the fact that many breeding animals with advanced age (> 18 years) remain in reproductive activity. There is therefore a need to use strategies to increase the semen quality and fertility of these animals. Sperm selection is a technique that has been widely used to increase the quality and fertility of fresh stallion semen and the resistance of its spermatozoa to refrigeration and freezing. This technique consists in separating the spermatozoa with progressive motility and without alterations of morphology of the rest of the ejaculate. Thus, this work of course completion portrays the different forms of sperm selection and its applications

Konstruktionen des Raums und der Zeit in Japans Nationalen Gedenk- und Geschichtsparks: Eine Kommunikation zum Thema Nation

Ausgehend von der Prämisse, dass Parks Objekte sind, in denen in einem gesellschaftlichen Prozess Sinn gespeichert und kommuniziert werden kann, wird in dieser Arbeit die Kommunikation durch die Nationalen Gedenk- und Geschichtsparks Japans mithilfe der kommunikationstheoretischen Systemtheorie Luhmanns analysiert. Diese Untersuchung fragt nicht nach den Motiven und Absichten der an dieser Kommunikation beteiligten Personen, sondern nach den gesellschaftlichen Strukturen, die ihr Denken und Handeln bestimmen. Der theoretische Ansatz wird im ersten Hauptteil der Arbeit erörtert und der Park als Objekt im System Kunst verortet. Gemäß der Systemtheorie bietet das System Kunst in einer funktional differenzierten Gesellschaft die Möglichkeit, in der in ihren Objekten, den Kunstwerken, geschaffenen, fiktionalen Realität Formenkombinationen der Kommunikation auszuprobieren. In Umsetzung dieses Ansatzes wird die Entstehung des Parks in Europa und den USA seit dem 16. Jahrhundert, seine Einführung in Japan im Jahr 1873 und seine Entwicklung bis in die Gegenwart vor allem unter dem Gesichtspunkt behandelt, welche Formensprache zum Thema Nation in den Parks zu beobachten ist. Es entsteht ein Bild dessen, wie sich Formen wie z. B. „Japan/Westen“, „traditionell/modern“ oder Natur/Kultur“ zu semantischen Strukturen fügten, die die Kommunikation in den Parks bis heute prägen. Auf dieser Grundlage erfolgt im zweiten Hauptteil die Analyse der fünf Nationalen Gedenk- und Geschichtsparks, die in Japan zwischen 1966 und 2001 unter der Ägide des Ministeriums für Land, Infrastruktur und Transport gegründet wurden. Da diese Parks in der Wissenschaft bisher noch nicht untersucht wurden, basiert die Beschreibung und Analyse der Parks auf Japanisch-sprachigen Primärmaterialien. Die Anwendung der Systemtheorie erlaubte es, diese heterogenen Materialien in einen stringenten Rahmen zu fassen. Im Ergebnis vermittelt die vorliegende Arbeit ein Bild, wie in diesen Parks verschiedene Facetten dessen kommuniziert werden, was vorgeblich die japanische Nation ausmacht: Während der Nationale Gedenkpark Musashi eine fiktionale Realität schafft, in der die Verbindung von Tradition und Moderne sowie von westlicher und japanischen Gartenkunst zelebriert wird, zeigt der Nationalen Gedenkpark Shōwa ein im internationalen Vergleich technisch hochentwickeltes Japan, das seine Traditionen – wenn auch nur in musealisierter Gestalt – erhalten hat. Während im Nationalen Geschichtspark Asuka das Bild eines homogenen, selbstgenügsamen und naturverbundenen Volkes inszeniert wird, schafft der Nationale Gedenkpark Okinawa eine fiktionale Realität, in der eine Region Japans als exotisch und weltoffen herausragt. Der Nationale Geschichtsparks Yoshinogari schließlich inszeniert den Mythos des legendären Reiches Yamatai. Dabei thematisiert die Untersuchung nicht nur Kontinuitäten in der Erzählung durch die Parks, sondern beleuchtet auch Brüche und Widersprüche

Saving lives through life-threatening measures? The COVID-19 paradox of infection prevention in long-term care facilities [commentary].

The current SARS Cov-2 infection control measures have paradoxical effects. On the one hand, the lockdown measures help to protect vulnerable populations in particular. On the other hand, these measures inevitably have the effect that those who are to be protected not only become socially isolated and are exposed to enormous psychological stress, but also break down physically due to inactivity. Thus, the activation that is omitted in the lockdown is not compensated by external reference groups, which also indicates that important conditions for healthy ageing are not given in long-term care facilities

Feasibility of a Geriatric Assessment to Detect and Quantify Sarcopenia and Physical Functioning in German Nursing Home Residents-A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND Entering into a nursing home leads to increased immobility and further reductions in physical and cognitive functioning. As a result, there is a risk of sarcopenia, which is characterized by loss of muscle strength, muscle mass and physical functioning. To our knowledge, the feasibility of sarcopenia screening has not yet been performed in the German nursing home setting. METHODS For sarcopenia screening, the specifications of EWGSOP2 were applied. The quantification of sarcopenia was performed according to the corresponding cut-off values. The collection of anthropometric data and the morbidity status were recorded. SARC-F, mini-mental state examination, Barthel Index, Short Physical Performance Battery and Timed Up and Go tests were implemented. RESULTS In one participant, severe sarcopenia could be identified. The quantification was not possible for four participants. A suspicion of sarcopenia was not confirmed in five participants. Only one person was able to perform all assessments. CONCLUSIONS Sarcopenia screening according to EWGSOP2 presented satisfactory feasibility by nursing home residents. However, further tests to assess the physical functioning of the participants often could not be performed. Moreover, inconsistencies in individual assessments became apparent, leading to inconclusive analyses. The recording of sarcopenia prevalence in German nursing homes should be the goal of further research

Proton-proton scattering above 3 GeV/c

A large set of data on proton-proton differential cross sections, analyzing powers and the double polarization parameter A_NN is analyzed employing the Regge formalism. We find that the data available at proton beam momenta from 3 GeV/c to 50 GeV/c exhibit features that are very well in line with the general characteristics of Regge phenomenology and can be described with a model that includes the rho, omega, f_2, and a_2 trajectories and single Pomeron exchange. Additional data, specifically for spin-dependent observables at forward angles, would be very helpful for testing and refining our Regge model.Comment: 16 pages, 19 figures; revised version accepted for publication in EPJ

Comparison of Isoscalar Vector Meson Production Cross Sections in Proton-Proton Collisions

The reaction $pp\to pp\bf \omega$ was investigated with the TOF spectrometer, which is an external experiment at the accelerator COSY (Forschungszentrum J\"ulich, Germany). Total as well as differential cross sections were determined at an excess energy of $93 MeV$ ($p_{beam}=2950 MeV/c$). Using the total cross section of $(9.0\pm 0.7 \pm1.1) \mu b$ for the reaction $pp\to pp\omega$ determined here and existing data for the reaction $pp\to pp\bf \phi$, the ratio $\mathcal{R}_{\phi/\omega}=\sigma_\phi/\sigma_\omega$ turns out to be significantly larger than expected by the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka (OZI) rule. The uncertainty of this ratio is considerably smaller than in previous determinations. The differential distributions show that the $\omega$ production is still dominated by S-wave production at this excess energy, however higher partial waves clearly contribute. A comparison of the measured angular distributions for $\omega$ production to published distributions for $\phi$ production at $83 MeV$ shows that the data are consistent with an identical production mechanism for both vector mesons

Systematic study of the pp -> pp omega reaction

A systematic study of the production of omega-mesons in proton-proton-collisions was carried out in a kinematically complete experiment at three excess energies(epsilon= 92, 128, 173MeV). Both protons were detected using the large-acceptance COSY-TOF spectrometer at an external beam line at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY at Forschungszentrum J\"ulich. The total cross section, angular distributions of both omega-mesons and protons were measured and presented in various reference frames such as the overall CMS, helicity and Jackson frame. In addition, the orientation of the omega-spin and invariant mass spectra were determined. We observe omega-production to take place dominantly in Ss and Sp final states at epsilon = 92, 128 MeV and, additionally, in Sd at epsilon= 173 MeV. No obvious indication of resonant omega-production via N^*-resonances was found, as proton angular distributions are almost isotropic and invariant mass spectra are compatible with phase space distributions. A dominant role of ^3P_1 and ^1S_0 initial partial waves for omega-production was concluded from the orientation of the decay plane of the omega-meson. Although the Jackson angle distributions in the omega-p-Jackson frame are anisotropic we argue that this is not an indication of a resonance but rather a kinematical effect reflecting the anisotropy of the omega angular distribution. The helicity angle distribution in the omega-p-helicity frame shows an anisotropy which probably reflects effects of the omega angular momenta in the final state; this observable may be, in addition to the orientation of the omega decay plane, the most sensitive one to judge the validity of theoretical descriptions of the production process.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in EPJ

Persistence of candida albicans in the oral mucosa induces a curbed inflammatory host response that is independent of immunosuppression

Controlled immune activation in response to commensal microbes is critical for the maintenance of stable colonization and prevention of microbial overgrowth on epithelial surfaces. Our understanding of the host mechanisms that regulate bacterial commensalism has increased substantially, however, much less data exist regarding host responses to members of the fungal microbiota on colonized surfaces. Using a murine model of oropharyngeal candidiasis, we have recently shown that differences in immune activation in response to diverse natural isolates of Candida albicans are associated with different outcomes of the host-fungal interaction. Here we applied a genome-wide transcriptomic approach to show that rapid induction of a strong inflammatory response characterized by neutrophil-associated genes upon C. albicans colonization inversely correlated with the ability of the fungus to persist in the oral mucosa. Surprisingly, persistent fungal isolates showed no signs of a compensatory regulatory immune response. By combining RNA-seq data, genetic mouse models, and co-infection experiments, we show that attenuation of the inflammatory response at the onset of infection with a persistent isolate is not a consequence of enhanced immunosuppression. Importantly, depletion of regulatory T cells or deletion of the immunoregulatory cytokine IL-10 did not alter host-protective type 17 immunity nor did it impair fungal survival in the oral mucosa, indicating that persistence of C. albicans in the oral mucosa is not a consequence of suppressed antifungal immunity

Analysing power A_y in the reaction p(pol) p --> p p eta close to threshold

Measurements of the eta meson production with a polarised proton beam in the reaction p(pol) p --> p p eta have been carried out at an excess energy of Q = 40 MeV. The dependence of the analysing power A_y on the polar angle theta^*_q of the eta meson in the center of mass system (CMS) has been studied. The data indicate the possibility of an influence of p- and d-waves to the close to threshold eta production.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, in section 3.1 the formula of vec(p) containing fatal typos was removed, and the values in table were correcte