22,843 research outputs found
Housing system and welfare of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) cows
Twenty-eight buffalo cows were used to evaluate the effect of housing system on a range of behavioural and physiological variables. Fourteen cows were group-housed in a loose open-sided barn with a concrete floor and 10 m2 per head as space allowance (group IS). Fourteen others were group-housed in a similar barn but they could also benefit from an outdoor yard with 500 m2 per head as space allowance, free access to potholes for wallowing and spontaneous vegetation (group TS). Animals were subjected to six sessions of instantaneous scan sampling at 10-day intervals. Behavioural variables were expressed as proportions of subjects observed in each category of posture and activity. Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) was used to perform a skin test based on non-specific delayed type hypersensitivity, whereas 20 mg of ovalbumin were injected subcutaneously to evaluate humoral immune response. Blood samples for evaluation of cortisol concentration were collected immediately prior to exogenous porcine ACTH injection and 1, 2 and 4 h after. The metabolic status of the animals and milk production were also monitored. The proportion of idling animals was higher in group IS than in group TS (P< 0·001). More IS buffalo cows were observed eating at the manger than TS animals (P< 0·001). A higher proportion of TS animals were observed in the sun (P< 0·001). Grazing and bathing activities were recorded only for TS animals. Our findings suggest that buffalo cows kept in intensive conditions and having no access to ample yards and potholes may extend their periods of idling with negative effects on the state of welfare. Immune responses, metabolite concentrations and milk production were not affected by treatment, whereas cortisol levels were higher in IS animals (P< 0·05). The provision of a housing system similar to natural conditions was able to improve the welfare of buffalo cows as indicated by the expression of some species-specific natural behaviours. Such conditions were also associated with lower adrenal cortex response to ACTH injection, possibly as a consequence of the higher degree of initiative allowed to TS cows
Crystal structure and physical properties of EuPtIn intermetallic antiferromagnet
We report the synthesis of EuPtIn single crystalline platelets by the
In-flux technique. This compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic Cmcm
structure with lattice parameters \AA, \AA and
\AA. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity,
electrical resistivity, and electron spin resonance (ESR) reveal that
EuPtIn is a metallic Curie-Weiss paramagnet at high temperatures and
presents antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering below K. In addition, we
observe a successive anomaly at K and a spin-flop transition at
T applied along the -plane. In the paramagnetic state, a
single Eu Dysonian ESR line with a Korringa relaxation rate of Oe/K is observed. Interestingly, even at high temperatures, both ESR
linewidth and electrical resistivity reveal a similar anisotropy. We discuss a
possible common microscopic origin for the observed anisotropy in these
physical quantities likely associated with an anisotropic magnetic interaction
between Eu 4 electrons mediated by conduction electrons.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Warming up brane-antibrane inflation
We show that, in constructions with additional intersecting D-branes,
brane-antibrane inflation may naturally occur in a warm regime, such that
strong dissipative effects damp the inflaton's motion, greatly alleviating the
associated eta-problem. We illustrate this for D3-antiD3 inflation in flat
space with additional flavor D7-branes, where for both a Coulomb-like or a
quadratic hybrid potential a sufficient number of e-folds may be obtained for
perturbative couplings and O(10-10^4) branes. This is in clear contrast with
the corresponding cold scenarios, thus setting the stage for more realistic
constructions within fully stabilized compactifications. Such models
generically predict a negligible amount of tensor perturbations and
non-gaussianity f_NL \sim O(10).Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; version to be published in Physical Review
Lactoferrin's anti-cancer properties. Safety, selectivity, and wide range of action
Despite recent advances in cancer therapy, current treatments, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, although beneficial, present attendant side effects and long-term sequelae, usually more or less affecting quality of life of the patients. Indeed, except for most of the immunotherapeutic agents, the complete lack of selectivity between normal and cancer cells for radio- and chemotherapy can make them potential antagonists of the host anti-cancer self-defense over time. Recently, the use of nutraceuticals as natural compounds corroborating anti-cancer standard therapy is emerging as a promising tool for their relative abundance, bioavailability, safety, low-cost effectiveness, and immuno-compatibility with the host. In this review, we outlined the anti-cancer properties of Lactoferrin (Lf), an iron-binding glycoprotein of the innate immune defense. Lf shows high bioavailability after oral administration, high selectivity toward cancer cells, and a wide range of molecular targets controlling tumor proliferation, survival, migration, invasion, and metastasization. Of note, Lf is able to promote or inhibit cell proliferation and migration depending on whether it acts upon normal or cancerous cells, respectively. Importantly, Lf administration is highly tolerated and does not present significant adverse effects. Moreover, Lf can prevent development or inhibit cancer growth by boosting adaptive immune response. Finally, Lf was recently found to be an ideal carrier for chemotherapeutics, even for the treatment of brain tumors due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, thus globally appearing as a promising tool for cancer prevention and treatment, especially in combination therapies
Novel features of the energy momentum tensor of a Casimir apparatus in a weak gravitational field
The influence of the gravity acceleration on the regularized energy-momentum
tensor of the quantized electromagnetic field between two plane parallel
conducting plates is derived. A perturbative expansion, to first order in the
constant acceleration parameter, of the Green functions involved and of the
energy-momentum tensor is derived by means of the covariant geodesic point
splitting procedure. The energy-momentum tensor is covariantly conserved and
satisfies the expected relation between gauge-breaking and ghost parts.Comment: 8 pages, based on a talk given by Luigi Rosa at the QFEXT07
Conference, Leipzig. Equation (13) and the formulae for rho and energy E
stored in the Casimir device have been amended, jointly with related
discussio
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