602 research outputs found
Pre- and postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are required for sequential printing of fear memory engrams
Variations in porcine colostrum oligosaccharide composition between breeds and in association with sow maternal performance
Background: Oligosaccharides (OS) are indigestible carbohydrates naturally found in milk. The composition of porcine colostrum OS may influence the growth and the health of the neonate and consuming optimal concentrations of OS may reduce piglet susceptibility to illness. In this manner, targeted supplementation of animal feed with OS is being explored as a health management tool in the livestock industry. The variation in OS composition between different breeds of pig and its association with the litter performance is currently unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the colostrum OS composition from sows of different breed and parity and correlate this data with sow maternal traits. Methods: Eighty-three colostrum samples from parities 1 to 8 were gathered from 3 different breeds of sow: 44 Large White sows, 27 Landrace sows and 12 Duroc sows. Samples were taken between the birth of the first and the last piglet from sows that were not pharmacologically induced to farrow. OS were purified from the samples and analysed by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry (21 OS compositions detected). The farrowing season and the maternal data were recorded for each sow, including the number of live piglets and the litter body weight at birth, at day (d) 3 and at weaning. Results: Five OS compositions, including isomers of the bifidogenic Sialyllactose, Lacto-N-Tetraose and Lacto-N-Hexaose series, were detected in all the samples. Twelve other OS were identified in at least 50% of samples, and their abundances were affected by breed (P < 0.05; 6 of 12), marginally affected by season (P < 0.10; 3 of 12) and never by parity number. The abundances of each OS component were standardized by Z-score scaling (\u3bc = 0 and SD = 1), transformed by principal component analysis, and four similarity clusters were generated. Cluster membership was associated with litter weight gain within 3 days (P = 0.063) and at weaning (P < 0.05), but not with piglet mortality within 3 days. Conclusions: OS composition of colostrum may partially explain the variability in maternal performance within and between different breeds of sow. The obtained OS data can provide useful information for the development of novel prebiotic food supplements for suckling and weaning pigs
Exploring differential transcriptome between jejunal and cecal tissue of broiler chickens
Simple Summary: Intestinal main functions and different gut tract peculiarities in poultry are known. However, a wider view at the molecular level in terms of functional genes may contribute to deepening knowledge on less considered biological aspects, with possible differentiation in gene expression and functionality between gut tracts. This experiment aimed to extend the exploration of chicken gut functional aspects by scouting differential gene expression in the jejunum and cecum, which may help in the detection of new interesting functions from a biological point of view. The work identified key aspects linked to gut biological processes that may be worthy of further investigations in experimental studies considering factors which may specifically address peculiarities of the different chicken gut tracts at the molecular level. Abstract: The study proposed an exploratory functional analysis on differential gene expression of the jejunum and of cecum in chickens. For this study, 150 Ross 308 male chickens were randomly allotted in six pens (25 birds/pen) and fed the same commercial diet. From 19 birds of 42 days of age, jejunum and cecum mucosae were collected for RNA extraction for transcriptome microarray analysis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) submitted to DAVID (Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) software evidenced enriched gene clusters for biological functions differentiated in the tissues. DAVID analysis in the jejunum showed enriched annotations for cell membrane integral components, PPAR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor) signaling pathway, and peroxisome and lipid metabolism, and showed DEGs for gluconeogenesis, not previously reported in chicken jejunum. The cecum showed enriched annotations for disulfide bond category, cysteine and methionine metabolism, glycoprotein category, cell cycle, and extracellular matrix (ECM). GSEA analysis in the jejunum showed peroxisome and PPAR signaling pathway-related gene sets, as found with DAVID, and gene sets for immune regulation, tryptophan and histidine metabolism, and renin\u2013angiotensin system, like in mammals. The cecum showed cell cycle and regulation processes, as well as ECM receptor interaction and focal adhesion-related gene sets. Typical intestinal functions specific for the gut site and interesting functional genes groups emerged, revealing tissue-related key aspects which future studies might take advantage of
Coherent Vector Meson Photo-Production from Deuterium at Intermediate Energies
We analyze the cross section for vector meson photo-production off a deuteron
for the intermediate range of photon energies starting at a few GeVs above the
threshold and higher. We reproduce the steps in the derivation of the
conventional non-relativistic Glauber expression based on an effective
diagrammatic method while making corrections for Fermi motion and intermediate
energy kinematic effects. We show that, for intermediate energy vector meson
production, the usual Glauber factorization breaks down and we derive
corrections to the usual Glauber method to linear order in longitudinal nucleon
momentum. The purpose of our analysis is to establish methods for probing
interesting physics in the production mechanism for phi-mesons and heavier
vector mesons. We demonstrate how neglecting the breakdown of Glauber
factorization can lead to errors in measurements of basic cross sections
extracted from nuclear data.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures, figure 9 is compressed from previous version,
typos fixe
Scattering from Singular Potentials in Quantum Mechanics
In non-relativistic quantum mechanics, singular potentials in problems with
spherical symmetry lead to a Schrodinger equation for stationary states with
non-Fuchsian singularities both as r tends to zero and as r tends to infinity.
In the sixties, an analytic approach was developed for the investigation of
scattering from such potentials, with emphasis on the polydromy of the wave
function in the r variable. The present paper extends those early results to an
arbitrary number of spatial dimensions. The Hill-type equation which leads, in
principle, to the evaluation of the polydromy parameter, is obtained from the
Hill equation for a two-dimensional problem by means of a simple change of
variables. The asymptotic forms of the wave function as r tends to zero and as
r tends to infinity are also derived. The Darboux technique of intertwining
operators is then applied to obtain an algorithm that makes it possible to
solve the Schrodinger equation with a singular potential containing many
negative powers of r, if the exact solution with even just one term is already
known.Comment: 19 pages, plain Tex. In this revised version, the analysis of Eq.
(5.29) has been amended, and an appendix has been added for completenes
In ovo injection of a galacto-oligosaccharide prebiotic in broiler chickens submitted to heat-stress: Impact on transcriptomic profile and plasma immune parameters.
This study investigated the effects of a galactooligosaccharide (GOS) prebiotic in ovo
injected on intestinal transcriptome and plasma immune parameters of broiler chickens kept under
thermoneutral (TN) or heat stress (HS) conditions. Fertilized Ross 308 eggs were injected in ovo with
0.2 mL physiological saline without (control, CON) or with 3.5 mg of GOS (GOS). Three-hundred
male chicks/injection treatment (25 birds/pen) were kept in TN or HS (30\ub0 C) conditions during the
last growing phase, in a 2 x 2 factorial design. At slaughter, from 20 birds/injection group (half from
TN and half from HS), jejunum and cecum were collected for transcriptome analysis, and plasma was
collected. No differences in plasma parameters (IgA and IgG, serum amyloid) and no interaction
between injection treatment and environment condition were found. GOS-enriched gene sets related
to energetic metabolism in jejunum, and to lipid metabolism in cecum, were involved in gut barrier
maintenance. A homogeneous reaction to heat stress was determined along the gut, which showed
downregulation of the genes related to energy and immunity, irrespective of in ovo treatment. GOS
efficacy in counteracting heat stress was scarce after ten days of environmental treatment, but the in
ovo supplementation modulates group of genes in jejunum and cecum of broiler chickens
Calculations of the Exclusive Processes 2H(e,e'p)n, 3He(e,e'p)2H and 3He(e,e'p)(pn) within a Generalized Glauber Approach
The exclusive processes 2H(e,e'p)n, 3He(e,e'p)2H and 3He(e,e'p)(pn), have
been analyzed using realistic few-body wave functions and treating the final
state interaction (FSI) within a Generalized Eikonal Approximation (GEA), based
upon the direct calculation of the Feynman diagrams describing the rescattering
of the struck nucleon with the nucleons of the A-1 system. The approach
represents an improvement of the conventional Glauber approach (GA), in that it
allows one to take into account the effects of the nuclear excitation of the
system on the rescattering of the struck nucleon. Using realistic
three-body wave functions corresponding to the AV18 interaction, the results of
our parameter free calculations are compared with available experimental data.
It is found that in some kinematical conditions FSI effects represent small
corrections, whereas in other kinematics conditions they are very large and
absolutely necessary to provide a satisfactory agreement between theoretical
calculations and experimental data. It is shown that in the kinematics of the
experimental data which have been considered, covering the region of missing
momentum and energy with p_m < 0.6 GeV/c and E_m < 100 MeV in the perpendicular
kinematics, the GA and GEA predictions differ only by less than 3-4 %.Comment: Typos detected and removed while Proof reading. Physical Review C. in
Pres
The p(d,p)d and p(d,p)pn reactions as a tool for the study of the short range internal structure of the deuteron
In recent time the deuteron structure at short distances is often treated
from the point of view nonnucleonic degrees of freedom. In this paper the
measurements of T-odd polarization observables using tensor polarized deuteron
beam and polarized proton target or proton polarimeter are proposed to search
the quark configurations inside the deuteron.Comment: 12 pages, 8 Postscript figures, submitted in Phys.Atom.Nuc
- âŠ