Percepción del impacto de cerdos cimarrones (jabalíes) sobre la producción agropecuaria de Argentina

To evaluate the perception of agricultural and livestock producers regarding the impact of wild boar on their activity and the environment, a survey was conducted in Argentina. For better representativity, the survey was distributed in different ways. A descriptive and statistical analysis of the results was performed. The producers who answered the survey are mostly engaged in livestock activity (96%) but 69% had both livestock and crops. 39% of the producers detected damage to those crops, mainly in cereals (corn, sorghum, wheat, oats, barley and rye) and in oilseeds (soy and sunflower), without significant differences associated to the type of crop (p=0.88). Other damages referred were infrastructure damage (30%), animals attacked (20%) and livestock feed consumption (45%). 37% had or know someone involved in car accidents related to wild boar. From a scale of one (harmful) to ten (beneficial) the average wild boar score assigned was 3.16 (standard deviation = 2.27). However, in some areas of our country they consider the species to be beneficial (significant spatial clustering) due to its use as a hunting species. The wild boar turns out to be a relevant problem for a large part of agricultural and livestock producers and it is associated with several economic losses. Considering that the producers would be benefited with the decrease in the number of wild boars their awareness is encouraging, thinking of developing population control plan. This must be a priority to work inter-institutionally in Argentina, involving environmental authorities and those linked to the agricultural and livestock industry.Para conocer la percepción de los productores agropecuarios respecto al impacto del jabalí sobre la actividad productiva y el ambiente, se elaboró una encuesta destinada a tal fin en Argentina, realizándose un análisis descriptivo y estadístico de los resultados. Los productores que respondieron la encuesta se dedicaban en su mayoría a la actividad ganadera (96%) y el 69% realizaba actividad mixta (ganadera y agrícola). El 39% de los productores detectó daños a cultivos provocados por jabalíes, principalmente en cereales (maíz, sorgo, trigo, avena, cebada, centeno) y en oleaginosas (soja y girasol), sin que se hayan demostrado diferencias significativas entre el daño y el tipo de cultivo (p = 0,88). Otros daños fueron deterioros a la infraestructura (30%), animales atacados (20%) y consumo del alimento del ganado (45%). El 37% conoció personas involucradas en accidentes automovilísticos relacionados con jabalíes. De una escala de 1 (dañino) a 10 (beneficioso), el puntaje promedio del jabalí fue de 3,16 (desvío estándar = 2,27). En algunas zonas este animal fue considerado beneficioso debido a su uso como especie cinegética (cacería). No obstante, el jabalí resulta ser un problema relevante para gran parte de los productores agropecuarios pues se lo asocia a pérdidas económicas importantes. Considerando que los productores son destinatarios directos del impacto benéfico que tendría la disminución de la cantidad de jabalíes, su concientización respecto al tema resultaría alentadora, favoreciéndose el desarrollo de controles poblacionales de la especie, involucrándose a las autoridades ambientales y las vinculadas a la industria agropecuaria

Molecular characterization of the intact mouse muscle spindle using a multi-omics approach

The proprioceptive system is essential for the control of coordinated movement, posture and skeletal integrity. The sense of proprioception is produced in the brain using peripheral sensory input from receptors such as the muscle spindle, which detects changes in the length of skeletal muscles. Despite its importance, the molecular composition of the muscle spindle is largely unknown. In this study, we generated comprehensive transcriptomic and proteomic datasets of the entire muscle spindle isolated from the murine deep masseter muscle. We then associated differentially expressed genes with the various tissues composing the spindle using bioinformatic analysis. Immunostaining verified these predictions, thus establishing new markers for the different spindle tissues. Utilizing these markers, we identified the differentiation stages the spindle capsule cells undergo during development. Together, these findings provide comprehensive molecular characterization of the intact spindle as well as new tools to study its development and function in health and disease

Development of SRF Cavity Tuners for CERN

Superconducting RF cavity developments are currently on-going for new accelerator projects at CERN such as HIE ISOLDE and HL-LHC. Mechanical RF tuning systems are required to compensate cavity frequency shifts of the cavities due to temperature, mechanical, pressure and RF effects on the cavity geometry. A rich history and experience is available for such mechanical tuners developed for existing RF cavities. Design constraints in the context of HIE ISOLDE and HL-LHC such as required resolution, space limitation, reliability and maintainability have led to new concepts in the tuning mechanisms. This paper will discuss such new approaches, their performances and planned developments

Impaired Nuclear Nrf2 Translocation Undermines the Oxidative Stress Response in Friedreich Ataxia

BACKGROUND: Friedreich ataxia originates from a decrease in mitochondrial frataxin, which causes the death of a subset of neurons. The biochemical hallmarks of the disease include low activity of the iron sulfur cluster-containing proteins (ISP) and impairment of antioxidant defense mechanisms that may play a major role in disease progression. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We thus investigated signaling pathways involved in antioxidant defense mechanisms. We showed that cultured fibroblasts from patients with Friedreich ataxia exhibited hypersensitivity to oxidative insults because of an impairment in the Nrf2 signaling pathway, which led to faulty induction of antioxidant enzymes. This impairment originated from previously reported actin remodeling by hydrogen peroxide. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Thus, the defective machinery for ISP synthesis by causing mitochondrial iron dysmetabolism increases hydrogen peroxide production that accounts for the increased susceptibility to oxidative stress

Activity, specificity and structure of I-Bth0305I: a representative of a new homing endonuclease family

Novel family of putative homing endonuclease genes was recently discovered during analyses of metagenomic and genomic sequence data. One such protein is encoded within a group I intron that resides in the recA gene of the Bacillus thuringiensis 0305ϕ8–36 bacteriophage. Named I-Bth0305I, the endonuclease cleaves a DNA target in the uninterrupted recA gene at a position immediately adjacent to the intron insertion site. The enzyme displays a multidomain, homodimeric architecture and footprints a DNA region of ∼60 bp. Its highest specificity corresponds to a 14-bp pseudopalindromic sequence that is directly centered across the DNA cleavage site. Unlike many homing endonucleases, the specificity profile of the enzyme is evenly distributed across much of its target site, such that few single base pair substitutions cause a significant decrease in cleavage activity. A crystal structure of its C-terminal domain confirms a nuclease fold that is homologous to very short patch repair (Vsr) endonucleases. The domain architecture and DNA recognition profile displayed by I-Bth0305I, which is the prototype of a homing lineage that we term the ‘EDxHD’ family, are distinct from previously characterized homing endonucleases

A Mutation in Intracellular Loop 4 Affects the Drug-Efflux Activity of the Yeast Multidrug Resistance ABC Transporter Pdr5p

Multidrug resistance protein Pdr5p is a yeast ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter in the plasma membrane. It confers multidrug resistance by active efflux of intracellular drugs. However, the highly polymorphic Pdr5p from clinical strain YJM789 loses its ability to expel azole and cyclohexmide. To investigate the role of amino acid changes in this functional change, PDR5 chimeras were constructed by segmental replacement of homologous BY4741 PDR5 fragments. Functions of PDR5 chimeras were evaluated by fluconazole and cycloheximide resistance assays. Their expression, ATPase activity, and efflux efficiency for other substrates were also analyzed. Using multiple lines of evidence, we show that an alanine-to-methionine mutation at position 1352 located in the predicted short intracellular loop 4 significantly contributes to the observed transport deficiency. The degree of impairment is likely correlated to the size of the mutant residue