Local people standings on existing farm animal welfare legislation in the BRIC countries and the USA. Comparison with Western European legislation

This study explored the demand for improved farm animal welfare (FAW) legislation in the BRIC countries and the USA. Results are discussed in comparison to Europe. Interviewees ranked their willingness to support or oppose introduction of more FAW-friendly laws in their country. A multinomial logistic regression was fit to the data (p < 0.001), with the parameters ?country ? gender? (p < 0.001) and ?country ? age? (p < 0.001) found significant. Americans, Russian women, and older Brazilian men are very supportive. The age effect is also felt in India, where older people are more supportive. Chinese, American men, and younger Indians are less supportive. Russian males are the group that oppose the most, followed by younger Brazilians and Indians. The law and its application vary a lot between countries. Nevertheless, the societal willingness to improve FAW legislation is high in all countries. The willingness is higher in Europe. The different cultural backgrounds, the socio-economic factors, and the social, economic, and environmental sustainability are enough reasons to create barriers to policy harmonization in the global trade of farm animal products.0F1A-358B-43B5 | Fernando Jorge Ribeiro da MataN/

PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES DURING HYDRATION OF Dalbergia nigra ((Vell.) Fr. All. ex Benth.) SEEDS

During germination, a series of sequential events occur in seeds in response to endogenous and / or exogenous factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the physiological changes resulting from the controlled hydration in water and temperature in seeds of jacaranda-da-bahia ( Dalbergia nigra ). To this end, two lots of seeds separated as high and low vigor were used in the tests. Seeds belonging to the two lots, after desinfect, were hydrated in water, with the method of humid atmosphere (relative humidity95-99%) to reach four hydration levels: 10, 15, 20 and 25% moisture content in seeds, in temperatures (exogenous factor) of 15 and 25 \ub0 C. After hydration and temperature treatments, were analyzed the following variables: curve soaking, germination percentage, germination speed index (GSI) and electrical conductivity. The results showed no significant difference in seeds physiological response between the temperatures. On the other hand, for hydration was found that up to 15% moisture content increased the seeds physiological quality of both lots, which showed higher germination values , IVG and smaller amounts of leached compounds. From 15% moisture content were found a reduction in the quality of seeds classified as high vigor, while those of low vigor continued to show positive responses in 20 and 25% humidity. Given this, it is concluded that the technique of controlled hydration in water favors the germination of Dalbergia nigra seeds, independent of the vigor. Hydration moisture content of 15% is more appropriate to increase the seeds quality. The hydration in values below or above resulted in a decrease in the stimulus.Durante a germina\ue7\ue3o, uma s\ue9rie de eventos sequenciais ocorre nas sementes em resposta a fatores end\uf3genos e/ou ex\uf3genos \ue0s mesmas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar as altera\ue7\uf5es fisiol\uf3gicas decorrentes da hidrata\ue7\ue3o controlada em \ue1gua e da temperatura (fatores ex\uf3genos) em sementes de Dalbergia nigra (jacarand\ue1-da-bahia). Para tanto, dois lotes de sementes, um de alto e um de baixo vigor foram utilizados nos ensaios. As sementes pertencentes aos dois lotes, ap\uf3s desinfestadas com Captan 0,5%, foram ent\ue3o hidratadas em \ue1gua, pelo m\ue9todo da atmosfera \ufamida (umidade relativa de 95-99%), at\ue9 atingirem quatro n\uedveis de hidrata\ue7\ue3o: 10, 15, 20 ou 25% de teor de \ue1gua nas sementes, nas temperaturas de 15 e 25\ubaC. Ap\uf3s os tratamentos foram analisadas as seguintes vari\ue1veis: curva de embebi\ue7\ue3o, percentagem de germina\ue7\ue3o, \uedndice de velocidade (IVG) e condutividade el\ue9trica. Os resultados mostraram que n\ue3o houve diferen\ue7a significativa na resposta fisiol\uf3gica das sementes entre as temperaturas. Por outro lado, para a hidrata\ue7\ue3o verificou-se que at\ue9 15% do teor de \ue1gua aumentou a qualidade fisiol\uf3gica das sementes de ambos os lotes, que apresentaram maiores valores de germina\ue7\ue3o, IVG e menores quantidades de compostos lixiviados. A partir de 15% de teor de \ue1gua verificou-se redu\ue7\ue3o na qualidade das sementes classificadas como de alto vigor, enquanto aquelas de baixo vigor continuaram apresentando respostas positivas em 20 e 25% de teor de \ue1gua. Diante disto, conclui-se que a t\ue9cnica de hidrata\ue7\ue3o controlada em \ue1gua favorece a germina\ue7\ue3o de sementes de Dalbergia nigra, independentemente do vigor das mesmas. A hidrata\ue7\ue3o no teor de \ue1gua de 15% \ue9 a mais indicada para incrementar a qualidade das sementes. A hidrata\ue7\ue3o nos valores abaixo ou acima resultaram em redu\ue7\ue3o no est\uedmulo

Tonic immobility in PTSD : exacerbation of emotional cardiac defense response.

Among defensive behaviors, tonic immobility (TI) is considered the last defensive resort when life is at extreme risk. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the main psychiatric consequence resulting from exposure to traumatic events. Increasing evidence indicate an association between peritraumatic tonic immobilility and severity of PTSD. Cardiac defense response, a reactivity to perceived danger or threat, has been studied by recording heart rate changes that follows the presentation of an unpredictable intense auditory aversive stimulus. The aim of this study was to investigate potential distinctiveness in cardiac defense response among PTSD patients who presented ? compared to those that did not ? TI reaction in the laboratory setting. Patients (N = 17) completed the TI questionnaire for signs of immobility elicited by passive listening to their autobiographical trauma script. After a while, they were exposed to an intense white noise, while electrocardiogram was recorded. The heart rate during the 80 s after the noise, subtracted from baseline, was analyzed. Higher reports of TI to the trauma script were associated with stronger and sustained heart rate accelerations after the noise. The effects on cardiac defense response add to increasing evidence that some PTSD patients are prone to repeated re-experiences of TI, which may implicate in a potentially distinct pathophysiology and even a new PTSD subtype

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

The N-Terminal DH-PH Domain of Trio Induces Cell Spreading and Migration by Regulating Lamellipodia Dynamics in a Rac1-Dependent Fashion

The guanine-nucleotide exchange factor Trio encodes two DH-PH domains that catalyze nucleotide exchange on Rac1, RhoG and RhoA. The N-terminal DH-PH domain is known to activate Rac1 and RhoG, whereas the C-terminal DH-PH domain can activate RhoA. The current study shows that the N-terminal DH-PH domain, upon expression in HeLa cells, activates Rac1 and RhoG independently from each other. In addition, we show that the flanking SH3 domain binds to the proline-rich region of the C-terminus of Rac1, but not of RhoG. However, this SH3 domain is not required for Rac1 or RhoG GDP-GTP exchange. Rescue experiments in Trio-shRNA-expressing cells showed that the N-terminal DH-PH domain of Trio, but not the C-terminal DH-PH domain, restored fibronectin-mediated cell spreading and migration defects that are observed in Trio-silenced cells. Kymograph analysis revealed that the N-terminal DH-PH domain, independent of its SH3 domain, controls the dynamics of lamellipodia. Using siRNA against Rac1 or RhoG, we found that Trio-D1-induced lamellipodia formation required Rac1 but not RhoG expression. Together, we conclude that the GEF Trio is responsible for lamellipodia formation through its N-terminal DH-PH domain in a Rac1-dependent manner during fibronectin-mediated spreading and migration

The Human Minor Histocompatibility Antigen1 Is a RhoGAP

The human minor Histocompatibility Antigen HMHA-1 is a major target of immune responses after allogeneic stem cell transplantation applied for the treatment of leukemia and solid tumors. The restriction of its expression to hematopoietic cells and many solid tumors raised questions regarding its cellular functions. Sequence analysis of the HMHA-1 encoding HMHA1 protein revealed the presence of a possible C-terminal RhoGTPase Activating Protein (GAP) domain and an N-terminal BAR domain. Rho-family GTPases, including Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA are key regulators of the actin cytoskeleton and control cell spreading and migration. RhoGTPase activity is under tight control as aberrant signaling can lead to pathology, including inflammation and cancer. Whereas Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factors (GEFs) mediate the exchange of GDP for GTP resulting in RhoGTPase activation, GAPs catalyze the low intrinsic GTPase activity of active RhoGTPases, resulting in inactivation. Here we identify the HMHA1 protein as a novel RhoGAP. We show that HMHA1 constructs, lacking the N-terminal region, negatively regulate the actin cytoskeleton as well as cell spreading. Furthermore, we show that HMHA1 regulates RhoGTPase activity in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we demonstrate that the HMHA1 N-terminal BAR domain is auto-inhibitory as HMHA1 mutants lacking this region, but not full-length HMHA1, showed GAP activity towards RhoGTPases. In conclusion, this study shows that HMHA1 acts as a RhoGAP to regulate GTPase activity, cytoskeletal remodeling and cell spreading, which are crucial functions in normal hematopoietic and cancer cells

Employment generation by small firms in Spain

Despite the relevance in terms of policy, we still know little in Spain about where and by whom jobs are created, and how that is affecting the size distribution of firms. The main innovation of this paper is to use a rich database that overcomes the problems encountered by other firm-level studies to shed some light on the employment generation of small firms in Spain. We find that small firms contribute to employment disproportionately across all sectors of the economy although the difference between their employment and job creation share is largest in the manufacturing sector. The job creators in that sector are both new and established firms whereas only new small firms outperform their larger counterparts in the service sector. The large annual job creation of the small firm size class is shifting the firm size distribution towards the very small production units, although not uniformly across industries of different technology intensit

Differential Effect of TLR2 and TLR4 on the Immune Response after Immunization with a Vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis or Bordetella pertussis

Neisseria meningitidis and Bordetella pertussis are Gram-negative bacterial pathogens that can cause serious diseases in humans. N. meningitidis outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccines and whole cell pertussis vaccines have been successfully used in humans to control infections with these pathogens. The mechanisms behind their effectiveness are poorly defined. Here we investigated the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 in the induction of immune responses in mice after immunization with these vaccines. Innate and adaptive immune responses were compared between wild type mice and mice deficient in TLR2, TLR4, or TRIF. TRIF-deficient and TLR4-deficient mice showed impaired immunity after immunization. In contrast, immune responses were not lower in TLR2−/− mice but tended even to be higher after immunization. Together our data demonstrate that TLR4 activation contributes to the immunogenicity of the N. meningitidis OMV vaccine and the whole cell pertussis vaccine, but that TLR2 activation is not required