Inflammatory airway disease in horses: The association between bronchoalveolar lavage cytology and pulmonary function testing

Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) describes a condition of non-septic inflammation of the lower airways in horses. The disease occurs principally in adult horses and has an apparent worldwide distribution. The most common clinical signs of IAD include poor athletic performance, cough, and/or increased tracheobronchial secretions. Inconsistencies in disease definition, sampling methods and laboratory techniques have limited comparisons between studies. Essential criteria for diagnosis of IAD, as stated by the 2007 ACVIM consensus statement, include documentation of non-septic inflammation or pulmonary dysfunction based on evidence of lower airway obstruction, airway hyperresponsiveness, or impaired blood gas exchange at rest or during exercise. A definitive diagnosis is currently based on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology and/or pulmonary function testing (PFT). The correlation between BALF cytology and pulmonary function testing (PFT) has been poorly defined. The primary aim of this study was to characterise the relationship between BALF cytology and PFT with histamine bronchoprovocation methods in a population of sedentary asymptomatic horses. The principal hypothesis was that a strong association exists between these two diagnostic methods. On the basis of BALF cytology the majority of horses in this study had lower airway inflammation as defined by published criteria. The study thus highlights that normal values for cell proportions in BALF might vary between populations of horses. Despite an obvious overlap between inflammatory BALF cytological profiles and airway hyperresponsiveness, no statistical association between these two diagnostic methods was found in this population of horses. The secondary aim was to assess the reliability of the Open Pleth™ PFT system Acceptable reliability {ICC: 0.655 (95% CI: 0.098, 0.952; significance: 0.011)}) was demonstrated using the Flowmetrics Plethysmography™ system with histamine bronchoprovocation. In conclusion, airway inflammation and airway hyperreactivity are loosely related to each other in this population of horses. The presence of inflammatory cells does not necessarily predict airway hyperresponsiveness on the basis of histamine bronchoprovocation. Likewise, airway hyperresponsiveness can occur in the absence of a BALF inflammatory profile. Further investigation of other potential factors such as inherited abnormalities of smooth muscle contractility, airway wall remodelling, autonomic dysfunction, and the presence of inflammatory cell mediators in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid are warranted

Prospects for primary and secondary prevention of cervical adenocarcinoma

This thesis comprises a portfolio of reports examining various aspects of the aetiology, diagnosis, treatment and pathogenesis of Cervical Intraepithelial Glandular Neoplasia. (CIGN), a putative precursor of cervical adenocarcinoma. The first is a multicentre case control study of risk factors for CIGN. This employed a standard questionnaire concerning lifestyle, reproductive, sexual and contraceptive factors and a serum assay for the presence of neutralising antibodies to herpes virus. The risk factor profile obtained for CIGN indicates that it has characteristics of a sexually transmitted disease, manifestation of the disorder possibly being dependent on an altered reproductive/endocrine milieu, as indicated by associations with late onset of menarche and low parity. There was no evidence in support of an association between CIGN and oral contraceptives. With respect to identification of a possible infective agent, the study fails to provide clear evidence of an association between either HSV-1 or HSV-2 and CIGN. The second study is a multicentre prospective assessment of the effectiveness of cone biopsy as primary therapy for CIGN. Regular cytological examination was employed as a means of follow-up. Preliminary results indicate that following cone biopsy, further surgery is unnecessary when the margins of the specimen are free of atypical epithelium. To date there are no cases of residual CIGN or invasive disease in subjects so managed. The final study employs the AgNOR technique to assess the possible presence of zones of poorly recognised epithelial atypia adjacent to adenocarcinoma-in-situ/high grade CIGN. The results give no support to the presence of such areas, and thus provide further experimental support for the validity of conisation as adequate primary treatment of CIGN

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Article describes the life of Dr. Thomas McIntyre Cullimore, the first doctor who settled in Perry, Oklahoma after participating in the 1893 land run. Clarence Cullimore includes his recollections of his father's practice and frontier life

Seismic vulnerability assessment of masonry churches including uncertainty

Unreinforced masonry structures constitute a significant part of the infrastructure in many earthquake-prone regions. The study of a masonry structure is a very demanding task encompassing a sufficient amount of uncertainty. This is due to the common lack of information regarding the material properties, the representation of the actual geometry and role of the different components within the structure, as well as simplified assumptions within the computation of the structural response.Incomin

The Power of Light Zine 2 - Why does life exist? - an epistemically insightful way to explore the nature of science and research at Diamond Light Source, UK

In the STFC funded Epistemic Insight Initiative project, The Power of Light, a series of resources have been designed informed by co-creation activities, pilot lessons, and workshops that involved children in schools and with their families in community spaces. Through this project with Diamond, we brought into classrooms and community spaces how light can be used to help investigate the world around us, address real-world problems and inform our thinking about Big Questions. The resources we develop support teachers' and their students' sense of agency when exploring 'how knowledge works' and how knowledge is built through different disciplines (including the natural sciences, the arts, and the humanities). This 'zine', with its focus on how scientists have been working with paleotonologists to investigate evidence, found inside the fossilised leg of a thescelosaurus, of the cataclysmic event that led to the extinction of dinosaurs. Zine 2 'Why does life exist?' has been developed through co-creative activities involving research scientists at Diamond Light Source (UK), academics, primary school teachers, STEM ambassadors, and Diamond's public engagement team. Zines use an appealing combination of text and images to create a concise comic-like narrative format to generate enthusiasm about a particular area of interest - the series of zines designed for this project focuses on research taking place at the Diamond facility. The Diamond Light Source facility houses a synchrotron which is used to conduct research in a variety of applied fields of science and technology. This zine is designed to be accessible to ages 8+, and works well with a short animation (available in both Zenodo and on the Epistemic Insight You Tube channel) that has been created with additional funding from STFC. Teaching notes are available for this zine, with guidance and activity sheets to support working with the Power of Light resources. This zine explores these discussion questions: 1) What is needed for living things to exist on Earth? 2) What helps us to learn more about past events? 3) What enables us to be able say we 'know' something

The Power of Light Zine 3 - Why do we explore the world around us? - an epistemically insightful way to explore the nature of science and research at Diamond Light Source, UK

In the STFC funded Epistemic Insight Initiative project, The Power of Light, a series of resources have been designed informed by co-creation activities, pilot lessons, and workshops that involved children in schools and with their families in community spaces. Through this project with Diamond, we brought into classrooms and community spaces how light can be used to help investigate the world around us, address real-world problems and inform our thinking about Big Questions. The resources we develop support teachers' and their students' sense of agency when exploring 'how knowledge works' and how knowledge is built through different disciplines (including the natural sciences, the arts, and the humanities). This 'zine', with its focus on how scientists have been working with astronomers, geographers, and other disciplines to explore relationships between matter in environments that we cannot directly experience here on Earth, in space, and into the future through the use of scientific modelling and a synchrotron. Zine 3, with its focus on space and energy, has been developed through co-creative activities involving research scientists at Diamond Light Source (UK), academics, primary school teachers, STEM ambassadors, and Diamond's public engagement team. Zines use an appealing combination of text and images to create a concise comic-like narrative format to generate enthusiasm about a particular area of interest - the series of zines designed for this project focuses on research taking place at the Diamond facility. The Diamond Light Source facility houses a synchrotron which is used to conduct research in a variety of applied fields of science and technology. This zine is designed to be accessible to ages 8+, and works well with a short animation (available in both Zenodo and on the Epistemic Insight You Tube channel) that has been created with additional funding from STFC. Teaching notes are available for this zine, with guidance and activity sheets to support working with the Power of Light resources. This zine explores these discussion questions: 1) What do we know bout our planet Earth (and how it 'works')? 2) What can help us build knowledge about things beyond planet Earth? 3) What might help to inform our thinking when making choices and decisions

The Power of Light Zine 1 - Why do things change? - an epistemically insightful way to explore the nature of science and research at Diamond Light Source, UK

In the STFC funded Epistemic Insight Initiative project, The Power of Light, a series of resources have been designed informed by co-creation activities, pilot lessons, and workshops that involved children in schools and with their families in community spaces. Through this project with Diamond, we brought into classrooms and community spaces how light can be used to help investigate the world around us, address real-world problems and inform our thinking about Big Questions. The resources we develop support teachers' and their students' sense of agency when exploring 'how knowledge works' and how knowledge is built through different disciplines (including the natural sciences, the arts, and the humanities). This 'zine', with its focus on how scientists have been working with historians and archaeologists to preserve the Mary Rose (Henry the Eighth's favourite ship that was sunk in the Solent in England's southern coast), has been developed through co-creative activities involving research scientists at Diamond Light Source (UK), academics, primary school teachers, STEM ambassadors, and Diamond's public engagement team. Zines use an appealing combination of text and images to create a concise comic-like narrative format to generate enthusiasm about a particular area of interest - the series of zines designed for this project focuses on research taking place at the Diamond facility. The Diamond Light Source facility houses a synchrotron which is used to conduct research in a variety of applied fields of science and technology. This zine is designed to be accessible to ages 8+, and works well with a short animation (available in both Zenodo and on the Epistemic Insight You Tube channel) that has been created with additional funding from STFC. Teaching notes are available for this zine, with guidance and activity sheets to support working with the Power of Light resources. This zine explores these discussion questions: 1) What are examples of changes we can observe? 2) What helps us to know more about the things around us? 3) What might we use to help us observe changes

Nodule-specific modulation of glutamine synthetase in transgenic medicago truncatula leads to inverse alterations in asparagine synthetase expression

Transgenic Medicago truncatula plants were produced harboring chimeric gene constructs of the glutamine synthetase (GS) cDNA clones (MtGS1a or MtGS1b) fused in sense or antisense orientation to the nodule-specific leghemoglobin promoter Mtlb1. A series of transgenic plants were obtained showing a 2- to 4-fold alteration in nodule GS activity when compared with control plants. Western and northern analyses revealed that the increased or decreased levels of GS activity correlate with the amount of cytosolic GS polypeptides and transcripts present in the nodule extracts. An analysis of the isoenzyme composition showed that the increased or decreased levels of GS activity were attributable to major changes in the homo-octameric isoenzyme GS1a. Nodules of plants transformed with antisense GS constructs showed an increase in the levels of both asparagine synthetase (AS) polypeptides and transcripts when compared with untransformed control plants, whereas the sense GS transformants showed decreased AS transcript levels but polypeptide levels similar to control plants. The polypeptide abundance of other nitrogen metabolic enzymes NADH-glutamic acid synthase and aspartic acid aminotransferase as well as those of major carbon metabolic enzymes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, carbonic anhydrase, and sucrose synthase were not affected by the GS-gene manipulations. Increased levels of AS polypeptides and transcripts were also transiently observed in nodules by inhibiting GS activity with phosphinothricin. Taken together, the results presented here suggest that GS activity negatively regulates the level of AS in root nodules of M. truncatula. The potential role of AS in assimilating ammonium when GS becomes limiting is discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How triathletes hold-ride the bike through boxes during the first transition. A proposal of classification

A proposal is submit for the classification referring to the way in which triathletes carry their bicycles into the boxes during the first transition. This area must be covered on foot carrying the bicycle next to you. The demonstration was made up by the participants of three Spanish Championships and age groups of different distances and types (407 triathletes). They were recorded on film from the time they took their bikes down and moved through the boxes. The purpose is to determinate how the binomial triathlete-bicycle was moved into the transition area, (hold-riding), in other words, in which part of the bike they put their hands. It’s the moment in which, having everything necessary to peddle, the triathlete picks up their bike, and travels through the transition area carrying the bike next to them as fast as possible. It was concluded that there were four habitual types of hold-riding bikes in the transition area.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

How triathletes mount their bikes after the t1. A proposal of classification

A proposal was submitted for the classification referring to the different ways in which triathletes mount their bikes to start pedalling. Triathlon has been, and is being studied at length from different areas of expertise, such as physiology, biomechanics, psychology..., but rarely from an internal structure of motricity itself. This study concentrates in describing and classifying the motor behaviours that occur at the end of the transition areas, in front of the “judge’s line” (dismount line), or in the different ways that a triathlete can mount their bike. These are unique aspects of this sport, compared to other sports in which a bike is also used. In the T1, the last thing a triathlete does is mount their bike at the judge´s line (dismount line), after having gone across on foot, with the bikes at their side, or led across by hand, in a specific way. Our study is bassed on participants of 3 Spanish elite Championships and different age groups of different distances (407 triathletes). Eleven common and different ways were discovered on how to mount a bike when passing the judge’s line.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech