FACTORES QUE AFECTAN EL INTERVALO PARTO-PRIMERSERVICIO YPRIMER SERVICIO-CONCEPCIÓN EN VACAS LECHERAS DEL VALLE DELMANTARO DURANTE LAÉPOCALLUVIOSA

Se realizó un seguimiento reproductivo en 40 vacas lecheras del valle delMantaro (Junín, Perú), pertenecientes a 6 establos, durante la época lluviosa. Se determinó el intervalo parto-primera ovulación (IPPO), el intervalo parto-primer servicio (IPPS), y el intervalo parto-concepción (IPC), midiendo el efecto de raza, número de parto, producción de leche, establo y nivel tecnológico. El IPPO se determinó a través de niveles de progesterona mediante radioinmunoensayo en muestras de leche descremada. El intervalo observado entre el parto y la primera ovulación (41.2 ± 20.2 días) estuvo dentro de los rangos esperados para bovinos de producción de leche criados bajo las condiciones del presente estudio. Sin embargo, los intervalos entre el parto al primer servicio (118.4 ± 69.2) y a la concepción (171.3 ± 105.5 días) fueronmuy prolongados, debido posiblemente a problemas en la detección del celo y limitantes nutricionales. El nivel tecnológico de los establos fue la única variable de importancia que afectó el intervalo parto-primer servicio.A reproductive study was conducted in the El Mantaro valley, Junín, Peru. Forty milking cows from 6 farms were monitored during the rainy season. The effect of breed, parity, milk yield, farm, and technological level on the interval fromcalving to first ovulation (CFOI), to first service (CFSI), and to conception (CCI) were evaluated. CFOI was determined through progesterone radioimmunoassayconcentration in defatted milk.CFOI was within the expected range for dairy cattle (41.2 ± 20.2 days); however, CFSI (118.4 ± 69.2) and CCI (171.3 ± 105.5 days) were too long, possibly due to heat detection failures and nutritional constraints. Farm technological level was the only variable of importance that affected CFSI

SEROPREVALENCIA DE Neospora caninum EN PERROS DE ESTABLOS LECHEROS DE LA CUENCA IZQUIERDA DEL VALLE DEL MANTARO

La neosporosis es una enfermedad emergente, considerada causa importante de aborto en el ganado bovino y de procesos neuromusculares graves en perros. El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la seroprevalencia de Neospora caninum en perros de establos lecheros de la cuenca izquierda del valle del Mantaro. Se evaluaron 124 sueros de perros, provenientes de 24 establos lecheros de las provincias de Huancayo, Jauja y Concepción. Se halló una prevalencia de anticuerpos contra N. caninum de 19.4 ± 7.0% (24/124), en una dilución de 1:50, mediante la prueba de inmunofluorescencia indirecta. El porcentaje de establos que poseían al menos un perro infectado fue de 62.5% (15/24). No se halló asociación entre la tasa de infección y las variables ubicación geográfica (provincia), edad, sexo y procedencia (en el establo o en los alrededores). Estos resultados demuestran que los caninos del valle del Mantaro presentan una prevalencia moderada de infección con N. caninum; y considerando que dicha infección está presente en la mayoría de los establos de la zona, se recomienda el control del acceso de los canes a los establecimientos lecheros en el valle del Mantaro.The neosporosis is an emergent disease, and considered as an important cause of abortion in cattle and a cause of neuromuscular disorders in dogs. The aim of the present study was to determine the seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in dogs of dairy farms in the left zone of the valley of Mantaro. A total of 24 serum samples of dogs living in and in the vicinity of 24 dairy farms of the provinces of Huancayo, Jauja and Concepcion were evaluated. The seroprevalence of antibodies against N. caninum was 19.4 ± 7.0% (24/124) in a dilution of 1:50, using the indirect immunofluorescense test. The percentage of farms having at least one infected dog was 62.5% (15/24). Statistical relationships between the rate of infection and the geographical location (province), age, sex, and origin (in and closeby the farm) did not exist. These results showed that dogs in the valley of Mantaro presented a moderate seroprevalence of N. caninum; and considering that the infection is present in most dairy farms of the valley, is recommended to limit the access of dogs to dairy farms in the valley

Resistance to anthelmintics and prevalence of bovine fasciolosis in dairy farms in Jauja, Peru.

El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la prevalencia de Fasciola hepatica mediante exámenes coprológicos en el ganado bovino del distrito de Huertas, provincia de Jauja- Junín, y evaluar la eficacia de dos fasciolicidas ampliamente utilizados en la zona: triclabendazol (TBCZ) y albendazol (ABZ). Se trabajó con 387 vacas de 30 establos durante la época de lluvias. Se colectaron muestras de heces directamente del recto y se analizaron mediante los métodos de sedimentación espontánea y de Mc Master modificado. La prevalencia de F. hepatica fue de 38.2% con cargas promedio de 16 hpg (1-197 hpg). Asimismo, 26 establos (86.7%) resultaron positivos a F. hepatica. En la evaluación de resistencia a las drogas se empleó la prueba de reducción de recuento de huevos (FECRT). Se seleccionaron 75 animales que superaron recuentos de 13 hpg y se distribuyeron aleatoriamente en dos grupos: a) TCBZ, 12 mg/kg peso vivo (n=39) y b) ABZ, 10 mg/kg peso vivo (n=33). Las drogas fueron administradas vía oral. La eficacia del TBCZ a los 7, 14, 21 y 28 días post tratamiento fue de 53.4, 53.3, 36.4 y 34.9%, respectivamente, mientras que para el ABZ fue nula en todos los casos. Se concluye que la ganadería lechera de Jauja, Junín, muestra una alta prevalencia de F. hepatica, además, de presentar resistencia del parásito al albendazol y triclabendazol.The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Fasciola hepatica through coprological analysis in dairy cattle in the district of Huertas, province of Junin, Peru and to evaluate the efficacy of two anthelmintics frequently used in the region: triclabendazol (TBCZ) and albendazol (ABZ). Faecal samples were collected from 387 cows in 30 farms. Samples were analysed by the spontaneous sedimentation test and the modified Mc Master test. The prevalence of F. hepatica was 38.2%, with a mean of 16 eggs per gram of faeces (epg) and a range of 1 to 197 epg. Furthermore, 26 farms (86.7%) were positive to F. hepatica. The faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) was used for evaluating the parasite resistance to the two anthelmintics. For this, 75 animals with more than 12 epg were selected and randomly allocated to two groups: a) TCBZ, 12 mg/kg body weight (n=39) and b) ABZ, 10 mg/kg body weight (n=33). Both drugs were orally administered. The efficacy of TBCZ on days 7, 14, 21, and 28 was 53.4, 53.3, 36.4, and 34.9% respectively, whereas ABZ was zero in all cases. It is concluded that dairy cattle in Huertas, Jauja has a high prevalence of F. hepatica and the parasite shows resistance to albendazol and triclabendazol

Tumour heterogeneity in glioblastoma assessed by MRI texture analysis: a potential marker of survival

Objective: The main objective of this retrospective work was the study of three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneity measures of post-contrast pre-operative MR images acquired with T1 weighted sequences of patients with glioblastoma (GBM) as predictors of clinical outcome. Methods: 79 patients from 3 hospitals were included in the study. 16 3D textural heterogeneity measures were computed including run-length matrix (RLM) features (regional heterogeneity) and co-occurrence matrix (CM) features (local heterogeneity). The significance of the results was studied using Kaplan?Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards analysis. Correlation between the variables of the study was assessed using the Spearman?s correlation coefficient. Results: Kaplan?Meyer survival analysis showed that 4 of the 11 RLM features and 4 of the 5 CM features considered were robust predictors of survival. The median survival differences in the most significant cases were of over 6 months. Conclusion: Heterogeneity measures computed on the post-contrast pre-operative T1 weighted MR images of patients with GBM are predictors of survival. Advances in knowledge: Texture analysis to assess tumour heterogeneity has been widely studied. However, most works develop a two-dimensional analysis, focusing only on one MRI slice to state tumour heterogeneity. The study of fully 3D heterogeneity textural features as predictors of clinical outcome is more robust and is not dependent on the selected slice of the tumour

Zika virus pathogenesis in rhesus macaques is unaffected by pre-existing immunity to dengue virus

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a re-emerging virus that has recently spread into dengue virus (DENV) endemic regions and cross-reactive antibodies (Abs) could potentially affect ZIKV pathogenesis. Using DENV-immune serum, it has been shown in vitro that antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of ZIKV infection can occur. Here we study the effects of pre-existing DENV immunity on ZIKV infection in vivo. We infect two cohorts of rhesus macaques with ZIKV; one cohort has been exposed to DENV 2.8 years earlier and a second control cohort is naïve to flaviviral infection. Our results, while confirming ADE in vitro, suggest that pre-existing DENV immunity does not result in more severe ZIKV disease. Rather our results show a reduction in the number of days of ZIKV viremia compared to naïve macaques and that the previous exposure to DENV may result in modulation of the immune response without resulting in enhancement of ZIKV pathogenesis

Dise?o, procura, construcci?n e implementaci?n de la torre de control para la nueva base aeronaval del Callao

Concebido por un equipo multidisciplinario, con diferentes visiones y experiencias para abordar los procesos de inicio y planificaci?n del proyecto ?Dise?o, procura, construcci?n e implementaci?n de la torre de control para la nueva base aeronaval del Callao?; permitiendo as? que la direcci?n de proyectos en sus diferentes fases de planeaci?n sea un proceso innovador, por medio de GISA, empresa de ingenier?a y construcci?n con una trayectoria de 20 a?os. El proyecto forma parte del megaproyecto de remodelaci?n de la base aeronaval del Callao para la Marina de Guerra del Per?. ?ste abarca la gesti?n, dise?o, procura construcci?n de una torre de control de medidas reglamentarias, implementaci?n de equipos de telecomunicaci?n de ?ltima generaci?n y capacitaci?n al personal usuario del cliente, hasta obtener la certificaci?n internacional. GISA ha establecido objetivos de eficiencia (2) alineados con la triple restricci?n, objetivos de producto (2) orientados a la conexi?n de los equipos de telecomunicaciones, as? como la obtenci?n de la certificaci?n aeron?utica internacional y satisfacci?n de stakeholders; para ello ha desarrollado los planes subsidiarios necesarios con plena conciencia de los factores pol?ticos, econ?micos, tecnol?gicos, ecol?gicos, legales y socioculturales presentes. El ?xito del proyecto posicionar? a GISA como un contratista preferente para el Estado

Lack of robustness of textural measures obtained from 3D brain tumor MRIs impose a need for standardization

Purpose Textural measures have been widely explored as imaging biomarkers in cancer. However, their robustness under dynamic range and spatial resolution changes in brain 3D magnetic resonance images (MRI) has not been assessed. The aim of this work was to study potential variations of textural measures due to changes in MRI protocols. Materials and methods Twenty patients harboring glioblastoma with pretreatment 3D T1-weighted MRIs were included in the study. Four different spatial resolution combinations and three dynamic ranges were studied for each patient. Sixteen three-dimensional textural heterogeneity measures were computed for each patient and configuration including co-occurrence matrices (CM) features and run-length matrices (RLM) features. The coefficient of variation was used to assess the robustness of the measures in two series of experiments corresponding to (i) changing the dynamic range and (ii) changing the matrix size. Results No textural measures were robust under dynamic range changes. Entropy was the only textural feature robust under spatial resolution changes (coefficient of variation under 10% in all cases). Conclusion Textural measures of three-dimensional brain tumor images are not robust neither under dynamic range nor under matrix size changes. Standards should be harmonized to use textural features as imaging biomarkers in radiomic-based studies. The implications of this work go beyond the specific tumor type studied here and pose the need for standardization in textural feature calculation of oncological images

Vitamin D deficiency in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases: results of the cardiovascular in rheumatology [CARMA] study

INTRODUCTION: The aim was to study the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and the clinical characteristics of patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (CIRD). METHODS: We studied a cross-section from the baseline visit of the CARMA project (CARdiovascular in rheuMAtology), a 10-year prospective study evaluating the risk of cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients, and non-CIRD patients who attended rheumatology outpatient clinics from 67 hospitals in Spain. Non-CIRD group was frequency matched by age with the joint distribution of the three CIRD groups included in the study. 25(OH)D deficiency was defined if 25(OH)D vitamin levels were < 20 ng/ml. RESULTS: 2.234 patients (775 RA, 738 AS and 721 PsA) and 677 non-CIRD subjects were assessed. The median (p25-p75) 25(OH)D levels were: 20.4 (14.4-29.2) ng/ml in RA, 20.9 (13.1-29.0) in AS, 20.0 (14.0-28.8) in PsA, and 24.8 (18.4-32.6) ng/ml in non-CIRD patients. We detected 25(OH)D deficiency in 40.5 % RA, 39.7 % AS, 40.9 % PsA and 26.7 % non-CIRD controls (p < 0.001). A statistically significant positive association between RA and 25(OH)D deficiency was found (adjusted (adj.) OR = 1.46; 95 % CI = 1.09-1.96); p = 0.012. This positive association did not reach statistical significance for AS (adj. OR 1.23; 95 % CI = 0.85-1.80) and PsA (adj. OR 1.32; 95 % CI = 0.94-1.84). When the parameters of disease activity, severity or functional impairment were assessed, a marginally significant association between 25(OH)D deficiency and ACPA positivity in RA patients (adj. OR = 1.45; 95 % CI = 0.99-2.12; p = 0.056), and between 25(OH)D deficiency and BASFI in AS patients (adj. OR = 1.08; 95 % CI = 0.99-1.17); p = 0.07) was also found. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with RA show an increased risk of having 25(OH)D deficiency compared to non-CIRD controls

Exercise Increases Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) Levels

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) increases glucose uptake. It is unknown if FGF21 serum levels are affected by exercise.This was a comparative longitudinal study. Anthropometric and biochemical evaluation were carried out before and after a bout of exercise and repeated after two weeks of daily supervised exercise. The study sample was composed of 60 sedentary young healthy women. The mean age was 24±3.7 years old, and the mean BMI was 21.4±7.0 kg/m². The anthropometric characteristics did not change after two weeks of exercise. FGF21 levels significantly increased after two weeks of exercise (276.8 ng/l (142.8-568.6) vs. (460.8 (298.2-742.1), p<0.0001)). The delta (final-basal) log of serum FGF21, adjusted for BMI, showed a significant positive correlation with basal glucose (r = 0.23, p = 0.04), mean maximal heart rate (MHR) (r = 0.54, p<0.0001), mean METs (r = 0.40, p = 0.002), delta plasma epinephrine (r = 0.53, p<0.0001) and delta plasma FFAs (r = 0.35, p = 0.006). A stepwise linear regression model showed that glucose, MHR, METs, FFAs, and epinephrine, were factors independently associated with the increment in FGF21 after the exercise program (F = 4.32; r² = 0.64, p<0.0001).Serum FGF21 levels significantly increased after two weeks of physical activity. This increment correlated positively with clinical parameters related to the adrenergic and lipolytic response to exercise.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01512368