Characterization of Immune Cell Infiltration in the Placentome of Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) Infected with Neospora caninum During Pregnancy

Neospora caninum infection in cattle stimulates host immune responses, which may be responsible for placental damage leading to abortion. Susceptibility of water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) to neosporosis is not well understood, although vertical transmission and fetal death have been documented. The aim of this study was to characterize the immune response in the placentome of water buffalo following experimental infection in early gestation with the Nc-1 strain of N. caninum. Placentomes were examined by immunohistochemistry using antibodies specific for T-cell subsets, natural killer cells and CD79αcy cells. Placental inflammation was characterized by the infiltration of CD3+ and CD4+ T cells and T cells expressing the γδ T-cell receptor. The distribution of these cellular subsets in buffalo placentomes was similar to that previously described in cattle infected with N. caninum in early gestation, but the lesions were milder, which may explain the lower number of abortions observed in this species after infection.EEA BalcarceFil: Canton, German Jose. Moredun Research Institute; Reino Unido. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Konrad, Jose Luis. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Caspe, Sergio Gaston. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mercedes; ArgentinaFil: Palarea-Albaladejo, Javier. Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland; Reino UnidoFil: Campero, Carlos Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Chianini, Francesca. Moredun Research Institute; Reino Unid

Differences in Parameters of an Embryo In Vitro Production Program between Cattle (Bos Indicus) and Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

In order to improve production, it is necessary to apply reproductive biotechnologies, including embryo transfer. Due to the management and physiology of the animals and the buffalo production system, the best system is the in vitro production of embryos (IVP). This work aims to compare the results of the (IVP) of cows (Bos indicus) and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) from animals kept under the same conditions of feeding and handling. This study was conducted in an Argentinan commercial herd located in the province of Corrientes (-27.742859 latitude, -57.773611 longitude) that raise buffaloes and cattle, during the breeding season of 2018 (March-May). Twenty animals of each species were used. Antimullerian hormone (AMH) levels of each animal were determined using ELISA. Standardized protocols were used for oocyte aspiration, maturation, fertilization and culture of the embryos, frozen semen of a single proved bull was used in each species. Information about the number of follicles, oocytes, and embryos was recorded and analyzed individually and grouped by species. The normality of the data was evaluated with the D'Agostino and Shapiro-Wilk tests and the comparisons between species using the Mann Whitney and ANOVA tests. Values are shown as median and range. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The AMH levels of the cows were 688.5 pg/ml (45.3-2394) and the buffaloes 73.8 pg/ml (14.8-262.5), p <0.001. Significant differences were found in the number of recovered oocytes 9 (0-23) cows vs. 4.5 (1-11) buffaloes (p> 0.05). There were no significant differences in the number of follicles and the quality of the oocytes. Significant differences were found in the number of oocytes cleaved 4 (0 -17) vs. 0.5 (0-4) and blastocysts/animal 1,5 (0-15) and 0,1 (0-2) l for cows and buffalos respectively. The number of blastocysts in relation to the number of oocytes cleaved did not show statistical significance. The differences in the levels of AMH and the marked differences in the IVP between buffaloes and cattle are confirmed, it is necessary to propose research proposals that explain the differences

A comparative pattern of lectin-binding in the endometrial glands of the uterus and placenta of healthy buffaloes and bovines at early gestation

Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and domestic cattle (Bos taurus) are closely related species. However, embryo transfer interspecies has been attempted without any success. The failure in hybrid embryo-implantation is associated with the glycocode in the maternal-fetal interface. Glycosylation patterns have been studied in different species of ruminants; however, in B. bubalis, only the binucleated cells (BNC) have been analyzed. This glycocode is essential for a successful embryo-implantation and can be defined by Lectin-Histochemistry (LHC). The aim of this study is to compare the glycosylation pattern of placenta and uterus in water buffaloes and cattle by LHC. Tissue samples of placenta and uterus from pregnant Mediterranean female water buffaloes (Buf1) and Angus cows (Bov1) were analyzed. All animals were euthanized at 98 days of gestation. LHC was carried out using twelve lectins (Con A, LCA, PSA, sWGA, PHA-e, SBA, UEA-1, WGA, RCA-1, PNA, DBA, BSA-1). The intensity of lectin binding was semiquantitatively scored using a scale of 0 (negative) to 3 (strongly positive). Difference between species was found in trophoblast layer by PSA, SWGA, PNA and BSA-1, in BNC, and in the mononuclear cells by LCA, PSA, PHA-e, DBA, BSA-1, PNA. In utero, differences in the apical cellular membrane and the secretion of glands were identified by DBA and RCA-1, and in the cytoplasm of those glandular epithelial cells by PHA-e, BSA-1, WGA, and SBA. In both species, BNC presented a strong positive reaction with DBA and SBA, a moderate response by LCA, PHA-e, BSA-1 and PNA lectin, and a low reaction by PSA, UEA-1, SWGA, WGA, Con A and RCA-1. The results found in this study suggest that although both species are closely related, glycosylation patterns in the placenta and uterus are different, thus providing a possible reason for embryo transfer not being possible between these species.EEA MercedesFil: Caspe, Sergio Gaston. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mercedes; ArgentinaFil: Konrad, Jose Luis. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Moore, Prando Dadin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Sala, Juan Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mercedes; ArgentinaFil: Lischinsky, Lilian Haydee. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Campero, Carlos Manuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Barbeito, Claudio G. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina

Learning-based depth estimation from 2D images using GIST and saliency

Although there has been a significant proliferation of 3D displays in the last decade, the availability of 3D content is still scant compared to the volume of 2D data. To fill this gap, automatic 2D to 3D conversion algorithms are needed. In this paper, we present an automatic approach, inspired by machine learning principles, for estimating the depth of a 2D image. The depth of a query image is inferred from a dataset of color and depth images by searching this repository for images that are photometrically similar to the query. We measure the photometric similarity between two images by comparing their GIST descriptors. Since not all regions in the query image require the same visual attention, we give more weight in the GIST-descriptor comparison to regions with high saliency. Subsequently, we fuse the depths of the most similar images and adaptively filter the result to obtain a depth estimate. Our experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches on the commonly-used Kinect-NYU dataset

The heritability and patterns of DNA methylation in normal human colorectum

DNA methylation (DNAm) has been linked to changes in chromatin structure, gene expression and disease. The DNAm level can be affected by genetic variation; although, how this differs by CpG dinucleotide density and genic location of the DNAm site is not well understood. Moreover, the effect of disease causing variants on the DNAm level in a tissue relevant to disease has yet to be fully elucidated. To this end, we investigated the phenotypic profiles, genetic effects and regional genomic heritability for 196080 DNAm sites in healthy colorectum tissue from 132 unrelated Colombian individuals. DNAm sites in regions of low-CpG density were more variable, on average more methylated and were more likely to be significantly heritable when compared with DNAm sites in regions of high-CpG density. DNAm sites located in intergenic regions had a higher mean DNAm level and were more likely to be heritable when compared with DNAm sites in the transcription start site (TSS) of a gene expressed in colon tissue. Within CpG-dense regions, the propensity of the DNAm level to be heritable was lower in the TSS of genes expressed in colon tissue than in the TSS of genes not expressed in colon tissue. In addition, regional genetic variation was associated with variation in local DNAm level no more frequently for DNAm sites within colorectal cancer risk regions than it was for DNAm sites outside such regions. Overall, DNAm sites located in different genomic contexts exhibited distinguishable profiles and may have a different biological function

Cancer therapy shapes the fitness landscape of clonal hematopoiesis.

Acquired mutations are pervasive across normal tissues. However, understanding of the processes that drive transformation of certain clones to cancer is limited. Here we study this phenomenon in the context of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and the development of therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (tMNs). We find that mutations are selected differentially based on exposures. Mutations in ASXL1 are enriched in current or former smokers, whereas cancer therapy with radiation, platinum and topoisomerase II inhibitors preferentially selects for mutations in DNA damage response genes (TP53, PPM1D, CHEK2). Sequential sampling provides definitive evidence that DNA damage response clones outcompete other clones when exposed to certain therapies. Among cases in which CH was previously detected, the CH mutation was present at tMN diagnosis. We identify the molecular characteristics of CH that increase risk of tMN. The increasing implementation of clinical sequencing at diagnosis provides an opportunity to identify patients at risk of tMN for prevention strategies

Cancer therapy shapes the fitness landscape of clonal hematopoiesis.

Acquired mutations are pervasive across normal tissues. However, understanding of the processes that drive transformation of certain clones to cancer is limited. Here we study this phenomenon in the context of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and the development of therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (tMNs). We find that mutations are selected differentially based on exposures. Mutations in ASXL1 are enriched in current or former smokers, whereas cancer therapy with radiation, platinum and topoisomerase II inhibitors preferentially selects for mutations in DNA damage response genes (TP53, PPM1D, CHEK2). Sequential sampling provides definitive evidence that DNA damage response clones outcompete other clones when exposed to certain therapies. Among cases in which CH was previously detected, the CH mutation was present at tMN diagnosis. We identify the molecular characteristics of CH that increase risk of tMN. The increasing implementation of clinical sequencing at diagnosis provides an opportunity to identify patients at risk of tMN for prevention strategies

Coulomb dissociation of O-16 into He-4 and C-12

We measured the Coulomb dissociation of O-16 into He-4 and C-12 within the FAIR Phase-0 program at GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung Darmstadt, Germany. From this we will extract the photon dissociation cross section O-16(alpha,gamma)C-12, which is the time reversed reaction to C-12(alpha,gamma)O-16. With this indirect method, we aim to improve on the accuracy of the experimental data at lower energies than measured so far. The expected low cross section for the Coulomb dissociation reaction and close magnetic rigidity of beam and fragments demand a high precision measurement. Hence, new detector systems were built and radical changes to the (RB)-B-3 setup were necessary to cope with the high-intensity O-16 beam. All tracking detectors were designed to let the unreacted O-16 ions pass, while detecting the C-12 and He-4

Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry:Workshop Summary

This document presents a summary of the 2023 Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop hosted by CERN. The workshop brought together experts from around the world to discuss the exciting developments in large-scale atom interferometer (AI) prototypes and their potential for detecting ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves. The primary objective of the workshop was to lay the groundwork for an international TVLBAI proto-collaboration. This collaboration aims to unite researchers from different institutions to strategize and secure funding for terrestrial large-scale AI projects. The ultimate goal is to create a roadmap detailing the design and technology choices for one or more km-scale detectors, which will be operational in the mid-2030s. The key sections of this report present the physics case and technical challenges, together with a comprehensive overview of the discussions at the workshop together with the main conclusions

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection