Productivity and Composition of Two Improved Native Pastures under Different Grazing Managements in Uruguay

Two improved native pastures were established by phosphoric (P) fertilisation and oversowing of: white clover (Trifolium repens) mixed with birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) (TbL) and annual lotus (Lotus subbiflorus) (Rin). Such pastures were evaluated during 5 years with steers at two stocking rates (High and Low) and two grazing managements (Rotational and Alternate). Presence of legumes was high and botanical changes were favourable in both pastures that evidenced good persistence. Daily liveweight gains of steers and total animal production were high in both pastures, but significantly (P≤ 0.05) higher in TbL. No significant differences were found due to grazing management. High stocking rate resulted in superior (P≤ 0.05) animal production per hectare than Low. No significant interactions were detected

Unveiling Clusters of RNA Transcript Pairs Associated with Markers of Alzheimer's Disease Progression

Background: One primary goal of transcriptomic studies is identifying gene expression patterns correlating with disease progression. This is usually achieved by considering transcripts that independently pass an arbitrary threshold (e.g. p<0.05). In diseases involving severe perturbations of multiple molecular systems, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), this univariate approach often results in a large list of seemingly unrelated transcripts. We utilised a powerful multivariate clustering approach to identify clusters of RNA biomarkers strongly associated with markers of AD progression. We discuss the value of considering pairs of transcripts which, in contrast to individual transcripts, helps avoid natural human transcriptome variation that can overshadow disease-related changes. Methodology/Principal Findings: We re-analysed a dataset of hippocampal transcript levels in nine controls and 22 patients with varying degrees of AD. A large-scale clustering approach determined groups of transcript probe sets that correlate strongly with measures of AD progression, including both clinical and neuropathological measures and quantifiers of the characteristic transcriptome shift from control to severe AD. This enabled identification of restricted groups of highly correlated probe sets from an initial list of 1,372 previously published by our group. We repeated this analysis on an expanded dataset that included all pair-wise combinations of the 1,372 probe sets. As clustering of this massive dataset is unfeasible using standard computational tools, we adapted and re-implemented a clustering algorithm that uses external memory algorithmic approach. This identified various pairs that strongly correlated with markers of AD progression and highlighted important biological pathways potentially involved in AD pathogenesis. Conclusions/Significance: Our analyses demonstrate that, although there exists a relatively large molecular signature of AD progression, only a small number of transcripts recurrently cluster with different markers of AD progression. Furthermore, considering the relationship between two transcripts can highlight important biological relationships that are missed when considering either transcript in isolation. © 2012 Arefin et al

Experiment K-6-03. Gravity and skeletal growth, part 1. Part 2: Morphology and histochemistry of bone cells and vasculature of the tibia; Part 3: Nuclear volume analysis of osteoblast histogenesis in periodontal ligament cells; Part 4: Intervertebral disc swelling pressure associated with microgravity

Bone area, bone electrophysiology, bone vascularity, osteoblast morphology, and osteoblast histogenesis were studied in rats associated with Cosmos 1887. The results suggest that the synchronous animals were the only group with a significantly larger bone area than the basal group, that the bone electrical potential was more negative in flight than in the synchronous rats, that the endosteal osteoblasts from flight rats had greater numbers of transitional Golgi vesicles but no difference in the large Golgi saccules or the alkaline phosphatase activity, that the perioteal vasculature in the shaft of flight rats often showed very dense intraluminal deposits with adjacent degenerating osteocytes as well as lipid accumulations within the lumen of the vessels and sometimes degeneration of the vascular wall (this change was not present in the metaphyseal region of flight animals), and that the progenitor cells decreased in flight rats while the preosteoblasts increased compared to controls. Many of the results suggest that the animals were beginning to recover from the effects of spaceflight during the two day interval between landing and euthanasia; flight effects, such as the vascular changes, did not appear to recover

Mixed Fattening of Steers and Lambs on Improved Grasslands in Uruguay: II. Animal Performance and Productivity

In cow-calf operations in Uruguay, mixed cattle and sheep grazing on rangelands is predominant, while fattening is a specialised process. Within certain limits of the lamb/steer ratio and stocking rate, a complementary grazing effect occurs under mixed grazing, improving net results (Nolan & Connolly, 1977; Risso et al., 2002). These trials characterise animal performance under such management

Dopamine neuronal loss contributes to memory and reward dysfunction in a model of Alzheimer's disease

Alterations of the dopaminergic (DAergic) system are frequently reported in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and are commonly linked to cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms. However, the cause of DAergic system dysfunction in AD remains to be elucidated. We investigated alterations of the midbrain DAergic system in the Tg2576 mouse model of AD, overexpressing a mutated human amyloid precursor protein (APPswe). Here, we found an age-dependent DAergic neuron loss in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) at pre-plaque stages, although substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) DAergic neurons were intact. The selective VTA DAergic neuron degeneration results in lower DA outflow in the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell. The progression of DAergic cell death correlates with impairments in CA1 synaptic plasticity, memory performance and food reward processing. We conclude that in this mouse model of AD, degeneration of VTA DAergic neurons at pre-plaque stages contributes to memory deficits and dysfunction of reward processing

Mixed Fattening of Steers and Lambs on Improved Grasslands in Uruguay: I. Pasture Performance

The use of P fertilisers together with legume broadcasting is a low cost and high impact technology for improving native grassland (Risso et al., 2001). Its use is increasing in Uruguay, although not for mixed grazing, even though this management is a common practice on native grasslands. Good pasture response may occur under mixed grazing when it is adequately managed (Nolan & Connolly, 1989). The following trials characterise pasture response with such management, in Uruguayan conditions

Aortic Root Replacement With Biological Valved Conduits

none9The execution of Bentall procedures using biological valved conduits is expanding owing to the increased incidence of aortic valve and root diseases in the aging population. To review the available data, a systematic search identified 29 studies with a total of 3,298 patients. Although evidence on short-term results suggested favorable outcomes after biological Bentall operations, data beyond 5 years are limited and highlight the urgent need for further investigations with longer follow-up.openCastrovinci, Sebastiano; Tian, David H; Murana, Giacomo; Cefarelli, Mariano; Berretta, Paolo; Alfonsi, Jacopo; Yan, Tristan D; Di Bartolomeo, Roberto; Di Eusanio, MarcoCastrovinci, Sebastiano; Tian, David H; Murana, Giacomo; Cefarelli, Mariano; Berretta, Paolo; Alfonsi, Jacopo; Yan, Tristan D; Di Bartolomeo, Roberto; Di Eusanio, Marc

Inflammation subverts hippocampal synaptic plasticity in experimental multiple sclerosis

Abnormal use-dependent synaptic plasticity is universally accepted as the main physiological correlate of memory deficits in neurodegenerative disorders. It is unclear whether synaptic plasticity deficits take place during neuroinflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and its mouse model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In EAE mice, we found significant alterations of synaptic plasticity rules in the hippocampus. When compared to control mice, in fact, hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) induction was favored over long-term depression (LTD) in EAE, as shown by a significant rightward shift in the frequency-synaptic response function. Notably, LTP induction was also enhanced in hippocampal slices from control mice following interleukin-1β (IL-1β) perfusion, and both EAE and IL-1β inhibited GABAergic spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSC) without affecting glutamatergic transmission and AMPA/NMDA ratio. EAE was also associated with selective loss of GABAergic interneurons and with reduced gamma-frequency oscillations in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Finally, we provided evidence that microglial activation in the EAE hippocampus was associated with IL-1β expression, and hippocampal slices from control mice incubated with activated microglia displayed alterations of GABAergic transmission similar to those seen in EAE brains, through a mechanism dependent on enhanced IL-1β signaling. These data may yield novel insights into the basis of cognitive deficits in EAE and possibly of MS