Executive decision-making in the domestic sheep.

Two new large animal models of Huntington's disease (HD) have been developed recently, an old world monkey (macaque) and a sheep. Macaques, with their large brains and complex repertoire of behaviors are the 'gold-standard' laboratory animals for testing cognitive function, but there are many practical and ethical issues that must be resolved before HD macaques can be used for pre-clinical research. By contrast, despite their comparable brain size, sheep do not enjoy a reputation for intelligence, and are not used for pre-clinical cognitive testing. Given that cognitive decline is a major therapeutic target in HD, the feasibility of testing cognitive function in sheep must be explored if they are to be considered seriously as models of HD. Here we tested the ability of sheep to perform tests of executive function (discrimination learning, reversal learning and attentional set-shifting). Significantly, we found that not only could sheep perform discrimination learning and reversals, but they could also perform the intradimensional (ID) and extradimensional (ED) set-shifting tasks that are sensitive tests of cognitive dysfunction in humans. Their performance on the ID/ED shifts mirrored that seen in humans and macaques, with significantly more errors to reach criterion in the ED than the ID shift. Thus, sheep can perform 'executive' cognitive tasks that are an important part of the primate behavioral repertoire, but which have never been shown previously to exist in any other large animal. Sheep have great potential, not only for use as a large animal model of HD, but also for studying cognitive function and the evolution of complex behaviours in normal animals

Modelo de valoración y comparación de empresas

Proyecto de graduación (Maestría en Administración de Empresas con énfasis en Finanzas) Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Administración de Empresas, 2014.The companies SIEMENS and EATON, they are companies that belong to a same industry and engaged in the technological area. The information used in this paper is only for academic purposes and it was generated through the website yahoo.finance.com. SIEMENS is one company in the technological sector in industry instruments and electrical devices with 360 000 employees and is located in Germany. EATON is a technology company that operates as a worldwide energy management company. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with 102 000 employees. Its electrical products segment offers electrical components, industrial components, among others. The realization of this project allowed to develop a model of evaluation and comparison of companies like SIEMENS and EATON, in the period between 2011 and 2013, in order to analyze models or valuation methodologies currently used, validate the existence or application of valuation models of companies and their use in the domestic market; as well as carry out the valuation of the same process. Was the projection of the financial statements for the years 2011-2013, obtaining positive cash flows for the three years. For this two companies in study we applied the analysis model in order to get an idea about the behavior of each company in terms of their financial health. The integral scheme of profitability was used to determine what were the factors that have major impact in profitability on the equity and an strength analysis, where it was determined the capacity that businesses have to meet their obligations. 7 This analysis leads to the conclusion that these two companies have the maturity and a world class performance, both companies has significant differences however both are generating value to their stakeholders. Using the results obtained, shows that these two companies have managed stable operations a long their lifetime. However the analysis indicates that SIEMENS has a more positive performance, while EATON has a less aggressive performance but stable on his periods on study. There are situations like local and global changes that may affect company performance, but is EATON behavior the one that shows better balance in their long-term commitments, equities and financing administration, suggesting greater solid financial structure and a secure investing option

Les politiques d’activation de l’aide sociale et les mises au travail en Belgique: quels impacts sur l’insertion?

El sistema de ayuda social belga ha sufrido importantes cambios a raíz de la emergencia del paradigma de la activación, fruto de la corriente del Estado social activo. La activación de la ayuda social convierte la inserción profesional en el centro de toda acción estatal, lo que se ha traducido en un recurso más sistemático a la lógica de la “contraparte”. El beneficiario de la ayuda social debe en lo sucesivo demostrar su voluntad de reinserción. Las medidas de reinserción laboral propuestas por los Centros Públicos de Acción Social son una clara muestra de esta nueva lógica, pues permiten a los beneficiarios de ayuda social ser empleados por un tercero (organismo o estructura) en el marco de un contrato de trabajo. El objetivo primordial de tales medidas consiste en favorecer la reinserción profesional del individuo. No obstante, dichas medidas se utilizan cada vez más como instrumento para permitir al individuo recuperar su derecho a prestación por desempleo. A corto plazo, este uso podría producir un efecto contrario al deseado, y alimentar un círculo vicioso en el que los individuos transitan varias veces entre la ayuda social y la prestación por desempleo. El uso masivo de tal dispositivo podría mantenerlos in fine en una situación de precariedad

Carcinogenese quimica por DMBA (7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene) em camundongos femeas BALB/c: novos fatos

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are known carcinogens used in rodent experimental models. In this study, the carcinogen DMBA (7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene) was administered by gavage, diluted in corn oil, to female BALB / c mice at hebdomadary doses of 1 mg per animal for 1, 3, 6 or 9 weeks. Animals were weighed and monitored weekly until death. Remaining animals were euthanized at the age of 53 weeks. At necropsy, representative fragments of neoplasms were collected and routinely processed for histopathological analysis. Of all mice that received DMBA, 68.57% developed some type of tumor. Of the 70 mice treated with various doses of DMBA, 22 (31.43%) developed mammary tumors. The adenoacanthoma was the most commonly (18.75%) diagnosed histological type of breast cancer. Lung (15.71%), lymphoid tissue (11.43%), stomach (7.14%) and skin (2.86%) were also primary sites of tumor development. One third (33.33%) of the mice receiving 1 mg of DMBA developed lung cancer. Therefore, the administration of DMBA was shown to be an efficient model of carcinogenesis in mice, especially for the study of breast cancer, when using the highest dose, and lung, when using the lowest dose. Carcinogenesis models have been used for several purposes in cancer research. These results represent new facts for a classic carcinogenesis model.Hidrocarbonetos policíclicos e aromáticos são carcinógenos usados em modelos experimentais em roedores. Neste estudo, o carcinógeno DMBA (7,12-dimetilbenzantraceno) foi administrado por gavagem, diluído em óleo de milho, para camundongos BALB/c em doses hebdomadárias de 1 mg por animal por 1, 3, 6 ou 9 semanas. Os animais foram pesados e monitorados semanalmente até a morte. Os animais remanescentes foram eutanasiados com a idade de 53 semanas. Na necroscopia, fragmentos representativos das neoplasias foram colhidos e rotineiramente processados para exame histopatológico. De todos os animais que receberam DMBA, 68,57% desenvolveram algum tipo de tumor. Entre os 70 camundongos tratados com diferentes doses de DMBA, 22 (31,43%) desenvolveram neoplasias mamárias. O adenoacantoma foi o tumor mamário mais comumente diagnosticado (18,75%). Pulmões (15,71%), tecido linfoide (11,43%), estômago (7,14%) e pele (2,86%) foram também locais primários de desenvolvimento de neoplasias. Um terço (33,33%) dos camundongos que receberam 1 mg de DMBA desenvolveram neoplasias pulmonares. Portanto, a administração de DMBA foi considerada um modelo eficiente de carcinogênese em camundongos, especialmente para o estudo de neoplasias mamárias, quando a maior dose é utilizada, e de neoplasias pulmonares, quando utilizada a menor dose. Os modelos de carcinogênese química têm sido usados para diversos estudos na pesquisa em câncer, os resultados aqui apresentados mostram novos fatos para um modelo clássico de carcinogênese

Educação e arquitetura na era digital: um estudo sobre a expansão das instituições federais de ensino superior em Barreiras, Bahia

Este artigo tem o objetivo de discutir a expansão do ensino superior no Brasil no contexto da cultura digital contemporânea, com o foco na relação entre educação e arquitetura. Após análise deste contexto e de um panorama sobre as políticas públicas recentes, visando à expansão da universidade brasileira, discutimos os desafios que a cultura digital traz para a educação contemporânea e seus reflexos na arquitetura. Nesta análise, consideramos a arquitetura como um elemento de um currículo que denominamos de (in)visível. Com dados de uma pesquisa de campo sobre a expansão de duas instituições de ensino superior na Bahia, a Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia (Ufob) e o Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia – Bahia (Ifba), ambos na cidade de Barreiras, desenvolvemos, ao final, a ideia de que outras arquiteturas são necessárias para as edificações do ensino superior no contexto contemporâneo, imerso em tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação

Use of motion tracking in stereotactic body radiotherapy: Evaluation of uncertainty in off-target dose distribution and optimization strategies

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Data sonification of volcano seismograms and Sound/Timbre reconstruction of ancient musical instruments with Grid infrastructures

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Modulation of extracellular matrix by nutritional hepatotrophic factors in thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis in the rat

Nutritional substances associated to some hormones enhance liver regeneration when injected intraperitoneally, being denominated hepatotrophic factors (HF). Here we verified if a solution of HF (glucose, vitamins, salts, amino acids, glucagon, insulin, and triiodothyronine) can revert liver cirrhosis and how some extracellular matrices are affected. Cirrhosis was induced for 14 weeks in 45 female Wistar rats (200 mg) by intraperitoneal injections of thioacetamide (200 mg/kg). Twenty-five rats received intraperitoneal HF twice a day for 10 days (40 mL·kg-1·day-1) and 20 rats received physiological saline. Fifteen rats were used as control. The HF applied to cirrhotic rats significantly: a) reduced the relative mRNA expression of the genes: Col-α1 (-53%), TIMP-1 (-31.7%), TGF-β1 (-57.7%), and MMP-2 (-41.6%), whereas Plau mRNA remained unchanged; b) reduced GGT (-43.1%), ALT (-17.6%), and AST (-12.2%) serum levels; c) increased liver weight (11.3%), and reduced liver collagen (-37.1%), regenerative nodules size (-22.1%), and fibrous septum thickness. Progranulin protein (immunohistochemistry) and mRNA (in situ hybridization) were found in fibrous septa and areas of bile duct proliferation in cirrhotic livers. Concluding, HF improved the histology and serum biochemistry of liver cirrhosis, with an important reduction of interstitial collagen and increased extracelullar matrix degradation by reducing profibrotic gene expression