Epidemiology and control of Salmonella in the pork production chain: the approach in a high prevalence country (Spain)

The present study summarises the insights yielded by different studies focused on the epidemiology of the infection by Salmonella through the pig production (breeders, finishers and post-farm stages). The final objective is to determine the best strategies for successful control of Salmonella in a highly prevalent country such as Spain. The study in breeders evidenced a high seroprevalence. There were differences among some of the 10 most common serotypes detected in breeders compared to previous studies in finishers, although the two most common were shared by both populations. Type of feed and type of floor were the factors associated to the presence of Salmonella. A Salmonella Typhimurium inactivated vaccine and two organic acids demonstrated to be good tools to reduce the prevalence in finishers. Finally a study of the contamination in post-farm stages evidenced the high contamination of transport, lairage and the contamination of the slaughter line, accounting for 70% of carcass cross-contamination

Análisis de los sistemas agropecuarios del departamento de Santander.

Se describen y analizan las características ambientales, sociales y económicas del sector agropecuario del departamento de Santander y los componentes de los sistemas agropecuarios, con base en características de los agroecosistemas, relativas al clima, relieve, provincias de humedad, cobertura vegetal y nivel de tecnología empleada. Como resultado se obtuvieron 20 sistemas productivos entre agrícolas, agropecuarios, pecuarios y agroforestales, con lo cual se busca facilitar la planificación de la investigación y transferencia de tecnología de CORPOICA en el departamento. La información se procesó a partir de la configuración de una base de datos, mediante el Sistema de Información Georeferenciada SIG-ILWI

Diagnóstico del cultivo de tomate en la zona metropolitana de Bucaramanga

El tomate es una hortaliza de gran demanda en el área metropolitana de Bucaramanga, para consumo fresco, como condimento y en forma de salsa. El presente estudio se adelantó con el propósito de conocer la problemática del cultivo de tomate respecto a la utilización de agroquímicos, mano de obra y fotosanidad, en los cultivos establecidos en el área de influencia de Bucaramanga en el año de 1987. Para la realización de este trabajo se encuestaron 25 agricultores ubicados en 14 veredas de vocación tomatera de los municipios de Bucaramanga, Floridablenca, Piedecuesta, Girón y Cepitá. Los resultados más importantes de la investigación fueron: la mayoría de los agricultores manejan inadecuadamente el cultivo en cuanto a labores culturales básicas. El control de plagas y enfermedades lo hacen por calendario, notándose un total desconocimiento de los sistemas de manejo integrado de plagas y enfermedades que tan excelentes resultados ha producido en otras zonas de cultivo como los del Valle del Cauca. Se encontró igualmente que no se destruyen los residuos de cosecha no se practica la rotación de cultivos de manera significativa. Hay uso indiscriminado y deficiente aplicación de plaguicidas con lo cual se incrementan los costos de producción y se contamina el producto cosechado, el cultivador y el ambiente. Los problemas fitosanitarios relevantes detectados en la fecha, lo constituyen los nemátodos, el barrenador del fruto (Neoleucinodes elegantalis), la virosis y la gota, La rentabilidad del cultivo es baja, el crédito insuficiente e inoportuno y no se cuenta con asistencia técnicaTomate-Solanum lycopersicu

The miswired brain: making connections from neurodevelopment to psychopathology

Developmental neurobiologists have made great progress in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system development. There has been less focus, however, on the consequences when these processes go wrong. As the evidence increases that mutations in neurodevelopmental genes are associated with major psychiatric disorders, defining these consequences assumes paramount importance in elucidating pathogenic mechanisms

Effects of Cyclin Dependent Kinase 9 inhibition on zebrafish larvae

CDK9 is a known regulator of cellular transcription, growth and proliferation. Small molecule inhibitors are currently being developed and assessed in clinical trials as anti-cancer drugs. The zebrafish embryo provides an ideal model to explore the effects of CDK9 inhibition in-vivo. This has not been adequately explored previously at the level of a whole organism. We have compared and contrasted the effects of pharmacological and molecular inhibition of CDK9 on somatic growth, apoptosis and cellular proliferation in zebrafish larvae between 0 to 120 hours post fertilisation (hpf) using flavopiridol, a selective CDK9 antagonist, and CDK9-targeting morpholino. We demonstrate that the inhibition of CDK9 diminishes cellular proliferation and increases apoptosis. Subsequently, it affects somatic growth and development of a number of key embryonic structures including the brain, heart, eye and blood vessels. For the first time, we have localized CDK9 at a subcellular level in whole-mounted larvae. This works shows, at a high-throughput level, that CDK9 clearly plays a fundamental role in early cellular growth and proliferation

A Glimpse of Gluons Through Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering on the Proton

The internal structure of nucleons (protons and neutrons) remains one of the greatest outstanding problems in modern nuclear physics. By scattering high-energy electrons off a proton we are able to resolve its fundamental constituents and probe their momenta and positions. Here we investigate the dynamics of quarks and gluons inside nucleons using deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS)-a highly virtual photon scatters off the proton, which subsequently radiates a photon. DVCS interferes with the Bethe-Heitler (BH) process, where the photon is emitted by the electron rather than the proton. We report herein the full determination of the BH-DVCS interference by exploiting the distinct energy dependences of the DVCS and BH amplitudes. In the regime where the scattering is expected to occur off a single quark, measurements show an intriguing sensitivity to gluons, the carriers of the strong interaction