Incidence of epulides in the dog: A retrospective histopathological study

The retrospective histopathological study of 468 samples of tumour material obtained from dogs, referred to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, Stara Zagora during the period 1991-2000 showed that 29 specimens (6.19%) were epulides. According to their histogenesis, the lesions were classified in two primary groups: reactive lesions – 37.94% and peripheral odontogenic tumours – 62.06%. Epulides were most commonly encountered in males (68.96%) compared to females (31.04%). The average age of affected dogs was 4 years for both genders. In 18 cases (62.06%), the lesions were mandibular whereas in 11 (37.94%) – maxillar. The highest predilection to epulides was observed in German Shepherds – 27.58%

Influence of some anticoagulants on dynamics of sugar concentration in the goats’ blood

Досліджено динаміку вмісту глюкози в крові кіз (у момент відбору проби, через 3, 6 та 24 години) під впливом чотирьох антикоагулянтів (розчини фториду та цитрату натрію, гепарину, комплек­сону III). При тривалому зберіганні проб крові відмічено зниження рівня глюкози, най­більше виражене при застосуванні цитрату натрію. Досліджено динаміку вмісту глюкози в крові кіз (у момент відбору проби, через 3, 6 та 24 години) під впливом чотирьох антикоагулянтів (розчини фториду та цитрату натрію, гепарину, комплек­сону III). При тривалому зберіганні проб крові відмічено зниження рівня глюкози, най­більше виражене при застосуванні цитрату натрію. Dynamics of the content in the goats’ blood (at the instant the sample was taken, and then after 3, 6 and 24 hours) under influence of 4 anticoagulants (sodium fluoride, sodium citrate, heparin and complexon III) were studied. Long term storage of the blood samples resulted in the glucose level decrease. It was mostly pronounced under the sodium citrate treatment.

ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF LACTOBACILLUS PLANTARUM AGAINST PATHOGENIC AND FOOD SPOILAGE MICROORGANISMS: A REVIEW

One of the most important properties of probiotic bacteria is their antimicrobial activity against many species of microorganisms which could be useful to prevent food spoilage caused by certain sensitive bacteria and fungi as well as to control the speed of propagation of potentially pathogenic bacteria by probiotic application. Lactobacillus plantarum is considered one of the probiotic bacteria with broad-est spectrum of antibacterial activity which makes it useful in veterinary, human medicine and food industry. According to a number of studies Lactobacillus plantarum exerts inhibitory activity against ma¬ny Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria – Escherichia coli (including E. coli 0157:H7), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Helicobacter pylori, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter jejuni, Lis-teria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Shigella, Bacillus, Clostridium, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus spp., etc. as well as a number of moulds and yeasts – Aspergillus, Fusa-rium, Mucor, Candida spp., etc. The main antibacterial compounds of Lactobacillus plantarum are the bacteriocins and organic acids whereas the antifungal compounds are the organic acids, hydroxy fatty acids and cyclic dipeptides. Because of the high antifungal activity of some L. plantarum strains against food spoilage microorganisms they can be used as effective biopreservatives in food industry. Also, some L. plantarum strains could be applied as supporting therapeutic agents in treatment of infections caused by the corresponding susceptible microorganisms

Privacy in crowdsourcing:a systematic review

The advent of crowdsourcing has brought with it multiple privacy challenges. For example, essential monitoring activities, while necessary and unavoidable, also potentially compromise contributor privacy. We conducted an extensive literature review of the research related to the privacy aspects of crowdsourcing. Our investigation revealed interesting gender differences and also differences in terms of individual perceptions. We conclude by suggesting a number of future research directions.</p

Histopathological and biochemical findings of congenital copper deficiency: are these similar to those of caprine arthritis-encephalitis?

This study was done after identifying animals with a twisted carpal joint in goat herd. These included a kid goat walking on its articulus carpii and a newborn goat with a stiff leg. Necropsies of the diseased goats revealed swollen carpal joints that were twisted backwards. Arthritis was observed during microscopic examination of the carpal joints. Very low levels of eosinophil, leucocyte, and lymphocyte cell infiltration were found in the central nervous system and meninges. Serum copper levels were significantly decreased in most of the animals. All of these results led us to diagnose the animals with swayback disease

Is Privacy Controllable?

One of the major views of privacy associates privacy with the control over information. This gives rise to the question how controllable privacy actually is. In this paper, we adapt certain formal methods of control theory and investigate the implications of a control theoretic analysis of privacy. We look at how control and feedback mechanisms have been studied in the privacy literature. Relying on the control theoretic framework, we develop a simplistic conceptual control model of privacy, formulate privacy controllability issues and suggest directions for possible research.Comment: The final publication will be available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/ [in press

Critical analysis of information security culture definitions

This article aims to advance the understanding of information security culture through a critical reflection on the wide-ranging definitions of information security culture in the literature. It uses the hermeneutic approach for conducting literature reviews. The review identifies 16 definitions of information security culture in the literature. Based on the analysis of these definitions, four different views of culture are distinguished. The shared values view highlights the set of cultural value patterns that are shared across the organization. An action-based view highlights the behaviors of individuals in the organization. A mental model view relates to the abstract view of the individual’s thinking on how information security culture must work. Finally, a problem-solving view emphasizes a combination of understanding from shared value-based and action-based views. The paper analyzes and presents the limitations of these four views of information security culture definitions

What About my Privacy, Habibi? Understanding Privacy Concerns and Perceptions of Users From Different Socioeconomic Groups in the Arab World

This paper contributes an in-depth understanding of privacy concerns and perceptions of Arab users. We report on the first comparison of privacy perceptions among (1) users from high socioeconomic groups in Arab countries (HSA), (2) users from medium to low socioeconomic groups in Arab countries (LSA), and (3) as a baseline, users from high socioeconomic groups in Germany (HSG). Our work is motivated by the fact that most research in privacy focused on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies. This excludes a segment of the population whose cultural norms and socioeconomic status influence privacy perception and needs. We report on multiple novel findings and unexpected similarities and differences across the user groups. For example, shoulder surfing is more common across LSA and HSG, and defamation is a major threat in LSA. We discuss the implications of our findings on the design of privacy protection measures for investigated groups

Calcium Regulation of EGF-Induced ERK5 Activation: Role of Lad1-MEKK2 Interaction

The ERK5 cascade is a MAPK pathway that transmits both mitogenic and stress signals, yet its mechanism of activation is not fully understood. Using intracellular calcium modifiers, we found that ERK5 activation by EGF is inhibited both by the depletion and elevation of intracellular calcium levels. This calcium effect was found to occur upstream of MEKK2, which is the MAP3K of the ERK5 cascade. Co-immunoprecipitation revealed that EGF increases MEKK2 binding to the adaptor protein Lad1, and this interaction was reduced by the intracellular calcium modifiers, indicating that a proper calcium concentration is required for the interactions and transmission of EGF signals to ERK5. In vitro binding assays revealed that the proper calcium concentration is required for a direct binding of MEKK2 to Lad1. The binding of these proteins is not affected by c-Src-mediated phosphorylation on Lad1, but slightly affects the Tyr phosphorylation of MEKK2, suggesting that the interaction with Lad1 is necessary for full Tyr phosphorylation of MEKK2. In addition, we found that changes in calcium levels affect the EGF-induced nuclear translocation of MEKK2 and thereby its effect on the nuclear ERK5 activity. Taken together, these findings suggest that calcium is required for EGF-induced ERK5 activation, and this effect is probably mediated by securing proper interaction of MEKK2 with the upstream adaptor protein Lad1