43 research outputs found

    Assessing Environmental and Economic Aspects of Farming; Livestock Outlook

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    Conservation Complience Standards Relaxed; History: Is is a Predictor of Cattle Prices?

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    Serum Concentrations of Soluble Flt-1 Are Decreased among Women with a Viable Fetus and No Symptoms of Miscarriage Destined for Pregnancy Loss

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    Miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy. Pre-clinical miscarriage has an estimated incidence of 30%, whilst clinical miscarriage has an incidence of 12-15%. Two thirds of pregnancies lost to miscarriage are believed to be attributable to defective placentation, thus a number of studies have sought to identify markers of defective placentation that could be used as clinical biomarkers of miscarriage. Decreased soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt1), placental growth factor (PlGF), and soluble endoglin (sEng) in the maternal circulation during the first trimester have recently been proposed as potential markers of pregnancy loss. However, in these studies clinical samples were only obtained once women had presented with symptoms of miscarriage. In this study we prospectively screened serum samples collected from asymptomatic women with a viable fetus. We assessed maternal serum levels of sFlt1, PlGF and sEng across the first trimester of normal pregnancy and compared levels between women who continued to a live birth, to those who subsequently miscarried. Both sFlt1 and PlGF significantly (p≤0.05) increased across gestation in normal pregnancy with serum levels rising from 0.65±0.12 ng/ml at 6 weeks to 1.85±0.24 ng/ml at 12 weeks for sFlt1, and 57.2±19.2 pg/ml to 106±22.7 pg/ml for PlGF. sEng remained unchanged throughout the the first trimester. Importantly we detected a significant (35%, p≤0.05) decrease in sFlt1 levels between our control and miscarriage cohort, however there was significant overlap between cases and controls, suggesting serum sFlt1 is unlikely to be useful as a clinical biomarker in asymptomatic women. Nevertheless, our data suggests a dysregulation of angiogenic factors may be involved in the pathophysiology of miscarriage

    Intravenous Inoculation of a Bat-Associated Rabies Virus Causes Lethal Encephalopathy in Mice through Invasion of the Brain via Neurosecretory Hypothalamic Fibers

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    The majority of rabies virus (RV) infections are caused by bites or scratches from rabid carnivores or bats. Usually, RV utilizes the retrograde transport within the neuronal network to spread from the infection site to the central nervous system (CNS) where it replicates in neuronal somata and infects other neurons via trans-synaptic spread. We speculate that in addition to the neuronal transport of the virus, hematogenous spread from the site of infection directly to the brain after accidental spill over into the vascular system might represent an alternative way for RV to invade the CNS. So far, it is unknown whether hematogenous spread has any relevance in RV pathogenesis. To determine whether certain RV variants might have the capacity to invade the CNS from the periphery via hematogenous spread, we infected mice either intramuscularly (i.m.) or intravenously (i.v.) with the dog-associated RV DOG4 or the silver-haired bat-associated RV SB. In addition to monitoring the progression of clinical signs of rabies we used immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to follow the spread of the virus from the infection site to the brain. In contrast to i.m. infection where both variants caused a lethal encephalopathy, only i.v. infection with SB resulted in the development of a lethal infection. While qRT-PCR did not reveal major differences in virus loads in spinal cord or brain at different times after i.m. or i.v. infection of SB, immunohistochemical analysis showed that only i.v. administered SB directly infected the forebrain. The earliest affected regions were those hypothalamic nuclei, which are connected by neurosecretory fibers to the circumventricular organs neurohypophysis and median eminence. Our data suggest that hematogenous spread of SB can lead to a fatal encephalopathy through direct retrograde invasion of the CNS at the neurovascular interface of the hypothalamus-hypophysis system. This alternative mode of virus spread has implications for the post exposure prophylaxis of rabies, particularly with silver-haired bat-associated RV

    A Survey of Behavioral Labs used by American Business Schools

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    As the American workplace becomes more automated and less humanized, a new breed of employee is reacting adversely to the lack of a high-touch, people-approach to management. Critics of the situation contend that the emphasis on production technology and scientific methodology is reinforced by the “rational model” of management that is being taught in today’s business schools. The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business and the European Foundation of Management Development have recently called on business schools to incorporate affective, cognitive skills into the curriculum to help managers deal with the high-touch need. Behavioral labs are being encouraged as a learning tool which can be used by educators to meet this challenge. This study finds that U.S. business schools have shown very little progress in incorporating behavioral lab experiences into their curricula

    The Effects of Synergogy On The Policy Course: Significant Improvements In Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation

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    Developing the conceptual skills essential for managing in the information age is one of the principle goals of the capstone course in business policy However, this objective is one not easily achieved through conventional teaching methodologies so policy professors must constantly seek improved techniques to maximize student learning. In this experiment, two forms of Synergogic methodologies are used to significantly improve learning in the policy course while achieving, at the same time, significantly better student evaluations of instructio

    The Acute Susceptibility of Nominal Grouping to Negativity

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    There is a growing body of literature regarding the relative advantages and disadvantages of group decision-making processes such as interacting groups, brainstorming groups, Delphi groups, and nominal groups. Prior research suggests a contingency approach to the selection of that process that best fits the nature of the problem, the nature of the group, and the nature of the participants. This report deals with a new finding for that body of literature--that the final vote in the five-step nominal grouping procedure can be significantly influenced by the slightest negativistic discussion
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