Welfare assessment in dairy cows and its influence on productive and reproductive indexes

El bienestar animal (BA) es considerado un pilar importante de las ganaderías en general, y de las de bovino lechero en particular, siendo actualmente obligatorio mantener un adecuado nivel de BA en los animales desde un punto vista moral y ético. El sistema productivo se ha ido transformando para que las vacas de leche de alto mérito genético puedan expresar su potencial gracias a mejoras en el manejo animal, pero sin dejar de lado el cumplimiento de determinados estándares de bienestar. Detectada la predisposición y concienciación en materia de bienestar de los ganaderos de bovino lechero y siendo conocedores de la tendencia del mercado, se llevó a cabo el desarrollo de la presente Tesis Doctoral, en la que se realizaron cinco estudios. El objetivo del primer estudio fue evaluar el nivel de BA de 20 ganaderías situadas en el sur de España mediante el protocolo europeo Welfare Quality®, en el que las mediciones utilizadas están basadas en el animal y son consideradas como válidas, repetibles y aplicables. Todas las ganaderías involucradas en la presente Tesis Doctoral presentaron un adecuado nivel de bienestar, aunque mostraron margen de mejora en algunas de las áreas evaluadas. Este tipo de estudios realizados en zonas ganaderas concretas permite comparar ganaderías con condiciones similares, estableciendo valores medios que sirvan para determinar los puntos críticos y de mejora en aquellas con puntuación más baja. Teniendo en cuenta que se realizan elevadas inversiones para la mejora continua de las ganaderías, es de especial importancia cuantificar los indicadores de bienestar dependiendo de los tipos de alojamientos más frecuentes, que en la zona de estudio son los cubículos y cama fría. Por lo tanto, el segundo estudio consistió en comparar los parámetros de bienestar animal basados en el protocolo Welfare Quality® en animales alojados en cubículos o en cama fría en 19 ganaderías diferentes. Se concluyó que cualquiera de los sistemas de alojamiento analizados ofrece diferentes fortalezas y debilidades, debiendo tenerse en cuenta otros factores aparte de los relacionados con el bienestar. Los sistemas de cama fría fueron menos eficaces en términos de limpieza, tanto de animales como de bebederos, mientras que los cubículos presentaban algunos problemas relacionados con la colisión de los animales con el alojamiento y con la descarga nasal, ésta última debida probablemente al polvo o a las deficiencias del sistema inmunológico en las vacas. Detectado un punto crítico como es el descornado de terneros, en el tercer y cuarto estudio el objetivo fue estimar la importancia del desmochado y descornado sin dolor en terneras. Se valoró el BA de los animales durante y después del procedimiento. Sedación, anestesia local y analgesia fueron analizados a través de la expresión de parámetros comportamentales durante (sacuden la cabeza, empujan, se mueven y se caen) y tras el descornando (sacudidas y frotamiento de la cabeza, movimientos de las orejas, tiempo en comedero y rumia), así como a través de la variación de parámetros bioquímicos tras el procedimiento (ß-hidroxibutirato, glucosa, proteínas totales, albúmina y globulinas). Los resultados obtenidos indican que es fundamental la aplicación de anestesia local y analgesia sistémica para mitigar los efectos del dolor agudo y las consecuencias del dolor post-descornado. El quinto estudio tuvo como objetivo valorar el uso de tecnologías de precisión en las granjas inteligentes para prevenir problemas de salud en los animales. Para ello, se utilizaron sensores de temperatura intravaginales para la monitorización del momento del parto. El sistema permitió detectar el inicio de los partos, además de predecir la aparición de retención de placenta, lo que podría permitir anticipar el momento de instaurar el tratamiento, y de esta manera, mejorar el bienestar de la vaca. Tras el conocimiento adquirido en la Tesis Doctoral, se llevó a cabo un artículo de revisión para discutir acerca de los diversos sistemas de monitorización animal on-line, con el fin de reducir el tiempo que se invierte en evaluar el bienestar de los animales.Animal welfare (AW) is considered an important goal of livestock in general, and dairy cattle in particular. An adequate level of AW is mandatory from a moral and ethical point of view. The productive system has been transformed so that dairy cows of high genetic merit can have their productive potential, and all this can be produced thanks to proper management and compliance with specific welfare requirements. Once the predisposition and awareness of the welfare of the participating farmers dedicated to the care of the dairy cattle were detected, and being aware of the market trend, the development of this doctoral thesis was carried out, where five studies were accomplished. The goal of the first study was assessed the welfare level in 20 representative farms in southern Spain through the European Welfare Quality protocol, where the measures used are based on the animal, and are valid, repeatable and applicable. All farms showed an adequate level of well-being, but all presented margin for improvement in any of the areas evaluated. This type of study in specific areas such as this, allows comparing farms in similar conditions, establishing average values that help us determine the points of improvement in livestock with a lower score. Taking into account that in this area high investments are made for the continuous improvement of livestock, it was of special importance to quantify the indicators of well-being depending on the two most frequent types of accommodation, what in the study area are cubicles and cold bed. Therefore, in the second study consisted of comparing the animal welfare parameters based on the Welfare Quality® protocol in animals housed in cubicles or in cold beds in 19 different farms. It was concluded that no system is better than another, since each one has its strengths and weaknesses. The cold bed system was inferior in terms of cleanliness, both animals and drinking points, while the cubicles presented some problems related to the collision of the animals with the housing and the nasal discharge, the latter probably due to dust or immune system deficiencies in cows. Detected a critical point such as calf dehorning, in the third and fourth study, the aim was to estimate the importance of disbudding and dehorning without pain in calves. Welfare was assessed during and after the procedure used. Sedation, local anesthesia and analgesia were tested through the expression of behavioral parameters during (head jerking, pushing, moving and falling down), and after the dehorning (shaking and rubbing of the head, flicking of the ears, feeding time and rumination), and through the variation of biochemical parameters after procedure (ß- hydroxybutyrate, glucose, total proteins, albumin and globulin). The results show that the application of local anesthesia and systemic analgesia is essential to mitigate the effects of acute pain, and the consequences of post-dehorning pain. The fifth study aimed to assess intravaginal temperature sensors for calving monitoring. It was analyzed if these devices could predict the placental retention, in order to establish early treatments and, in this way, to improve the cow welfare. After the knowledge acquired in the doctoral thesis, a review article is carried out where the objective was to study various on-line animal monitoring systems, which are considered precision livestock tools, in order to reduce the time spent for assessing the animal welfare

The role of small woodland remnants on ground dwelling insect conservation in Chaco Serrano, central Argentina

Most terrestrial ecosystems are changing due to extensive land use, with habitat fragmentation being a major threat to biodiversity. We studied the effects of patch size, isolation and edge/interior localization on the ground dwelling insect communities associated to Chaco Serrano woodland remnants, in central Argentina. Sampling was carried out in December 2003 and March 2004 in nine remnants (0.57-1000ha) using pitfall traps. In total, 7071 individuals representing 12 orders and 79 families were recorded. The taxonomic composition of these communities was linked to remnant size. Insect abundance increased (as did their richness, albeit marginally) as remnant area decreased, with no significant effects of isolation or edge/interior localization on abundance, richness or diversity. No differential area effects were observed when abundance and richness of predators, scavengers and herbivores were compared. Thus, ground insect communities in fragmented Chaco Serrano seem to respond mainly to patch level, rather than to within-patch (edge effects) or landscape (isolation) level variables. Our results suggest that small Chaco Serrano remnants, by supporting larger ground-dwelling insect assemblages, may play an important role from a conservation viewpoint.Fil: Moreno, Maria Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, María Guadalupe. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Molina, Silvia Itatí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Valladares, Graciela Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

The multifaceted roles of gasdermins in cancer biology and oncologic therapies

The involvement of the Gasdermin (GSDM) protein family in cancer and other pathologies is one of the hottest topics in biomedical research. There are six GSDMs in humans (GSDMA, B, C, D, GSDME/DFNA5 and PJVK/DFNB59) and, except PJVK, they can trigger cell death mostly by pyroptosis (a form of lytic and pro-inflammatory cell death) but also other mechanisms. The exact role of GSDMs in cancer is intricate, since depending on the biological context, these proteins have diverse cell-death dependent and independent functions, exhibit either pro-tumor or anti-tumor functions, and promote either sensitization or resistance to oncologic treatments. In this review we provide a comprehensive overview on the multifaceted roles of the GSDMs in cancer, and we critically discuss the possibilities of exploiting GSDM functions as determinants of anti-cancer treatment and as novel therapeutic targets, with special emphasis on innovative GSDM-directed nano-therapies. Finally, we discuss the issues to be resolved before GSDM-mediated oncologic therapies became a reality at the clinical levelThis study was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci´on (PID2019-104644RB-I00 -GMB-), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERONC, CB16/12/00295 –GMB-; partly supported by FEDER funds) and by the Fundaci´on Científica de la AECC (FC_AECC PROYE19036MOR -GMB-

Stabilization of the Virulence Plasmid pSLT of Salmonella Typhimurium by Three Maintenance Systems and Its Evaluation by Using a New Stability Test

Certain Salmonella enterica serovars belonging to subspecies I carry low-copy-number virulence plasmids of variable size (50–90 kb). All of these plasmids share the spv operon, which is important for systemic infection. Virulence plasmids are present at low copy numbers. Few copies reduce metabolic burden but suppose a risk of plasmid loss during bacterial division. This drawback is counterbalanced by maintenance modules that ensure plasmid stability, including partition systems and toxin-antitoxin (TA) loci. The low-copy number virulence pSLT plasmid of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium encodes three auxiliary maintenance systems: one partition system (parAB) and two TA systems (ccdABST and vapBC2ST). The TA module ccdABST has previously been shown to contribute to pSLT plasmid stability and vapBC2ST to bacterial virulence. Here we describe a novel assay to measure plasmid stability based on the selection of plasmid-free cells following elimination of plasmid-containing cells by ParE toxin, a DNA gyrase inhibitor. Using this new maintenance assay we confirmed a crucial role of parAB in pSLT maintenance. We also showed that vapBC2ST, in addition to contribute to bacterial virulence, is important for plasmid stability. We have previously shown that ccdABST encodes an inactive CcdBST toxin. Using our new stability assay we monitored the contribution to plasmid stability of a ccdABST variant containing a single mutation (R99W) that restores the toxicity of CcdBST. The “activation” of CcdBST (R99W) did not increase pSLT stability by ccdABST. In contrast, ccdABST behaves as a canonical type II TA system in terms of transcriptional regulation. Of interest, ccdABST was shown to control the expression of a polycistronic operon in the pSLT plasmid. Collectively, these results show that the contribution of the CcdBST toxin to pSLT plasmid stability may depend on its role as a co-repressor in coordination with CcdAST antitoxin more than on its toxic activity.The work in RD and FG's laboratories is supported by grants BFU2011-25939 (RD), CSD2008-00013 (RD and FG), and BIO2013-46281-P/BIO2015-69085-REDC (FG) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe

The Influence of History of Severe Periodontitis on Estimated Long-Term Marginal Bone Loss around Implants Restored with Fixed Segmented Full-Arch Rehabilitation

The authors of this manuscript are partially supported by Research Groups #CTS-138, #CTS-176 and #CTS-1028 (Junta de Andalucía, Spain).The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term marginal bone level (MBL) of implants supporting fixed full-arch restoration in patients who had previously lost their dentition due to severe periodontitis. This retrospective study included 35 patients in whom 342 implants with internal tapered conical connections were placed. MBL was analyzed radiographically over time and a long-term estimation of MBL was calculated. A mixed linear model with abutment height, graft, diameter and location (maxilla/mandible) as factors and gender, age, implant length and prosthetic variables as covariates was used to evaluate the influence on MBL. MBL in these patients showed an estimator of predictions at 4108 days after loading of −0.307 mm, SE = 0.042. Only 0.15% of implants were radiographically affected with MBL of 3 mm or more. The mixed linear model results showed a main effect of the type of opposing dentition, gender, implant diameter, and abutment height. Particularly, an abutment height of 1 mm had associated larger MBL than the remaining heights. Thus, it can be concluded that dental implants restored with fixed segmented full-arch rehabilitation in patients with a history of severe periodontal disease do not suffer important marginal bone loss if some specific factors are considered, mainly the use of long transmucosal abutments (≥2 mm).Junta de Andalucía CTS-138, CTS-176, CTS-102

The influence of history of severe periodontitis on estimated long-term marginal bone loss around implants restored with fixed segmented full-arch rehabilitation

The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term marginal bone level (MBL) of implants supporting fixed full-arch restoration in patients who had previously lost their dentition due to severe periodontitis. This retrospective study included 35 patients in whom 342 implants with internal tapered conical connections were placed. MBL was analyzed radiographically over time and a long-term estimation of MBL was calculated. A mixed linear model with abutment height, graft, diameter and location (maxilla/mandible) as factors and gender, age, implant length and prosthetic variables as covariates was used to evaluate the influence on MBL. MBL in these patients showed an estimator of predictions at 4108 days after loading of −0.307 mm, SE = 0.042. Only 0.15% of implants were radiographically affected with MBL of 3 mm or more. The mixed linear model results showed a main effect of the type of opposing dentition, gender, implant diameter, and abutment height. Particularly, an abutment height of 1 mm had associated larger MBL than the remaining heights. Thus, it can be concluded that dental implants restored with fixed segmented full-arch rehabilitation in patients with a history of severe periodontal disease do not suffer important marginal bone loss if some specific factors are considered, mainly the use of long transmucosal abutments (≥2 mm).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Satisfacción de los estudiantes con el desarrollo de las asignaturas quirúrgicas desde tercero hasta quinto nivel del pregrado de instrumentación quirúrgica de la Universidad

RESUMEN: Marco teórico: La satisfacción como indicador constituye una herramienta importante a la hora de brindar mejoras a procesos que se llevan a cabo en diferentes ámbitos que involucran la prestación de servicios, debido a que permite conocer qué tan bien se desarrollan los diferentes procesos, el personal involucrado y su reflejo en buenos resultados. En el ámbito académico conocer la satisfacción de los estudiantes respecto a los núcleos de aprendizaje, las interacciones con sus profesores, los espacios y las herramientas utilizadas en el proceso permite asociar la satisfacción con la calidad en la formación de profesionales. En el estudio “Evaluación de la satisfacción académica de los estudiantes de la licenciatura en didáctica del francés” publicado por la revista académica de Educación y desarrollo que se deriva de la inquietud de explorar la satisfacción académica como un elemento de la calidad de la Educación Superior, el autor expone que: “Según Yzaguirre (2005), hablar de “calidad de la educación” incluye varias dimensiones y enfoques, complementarios entre sí. La primera dimensión es la eficacia: una educación de calidad es aquélla en que los alumnos realmente aprenden lo que se supone deben aprender. La segunda dimensión, complementaria de la anterior, está referida a qué es lo que aprenden los alumnos en el sistema y a su pertinencia en términos individuales y sociales. Finalmente, una tercera dimensión es la que se refiere a los procesos y medios que el sistema brinda a los alumnos para el desarrollo de su experiencia educativa. Según Egido y Haug (2006), al hablar de calidad, implícita o explícitamente se hace referencia a la evaluación. Los autores refieren que calidad y evaluación son conceptos estrechamente relacionados y si se evalúa, se hace con algún criterio cualitativo

SLAMF8 Downregulates Mouse Macrophage Microbicidal Mechanisms via PI3K Pathways

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.910112/ full#supplementary-materialACKNOWLEDGMENTS SR-P is a PhD student belonging to the Official Doctoral Program in Biomedicine of the University of Granada. The authors thank Dr. Ana Santos Carro and Dr. David Porcell from the Center of Technical Instrumentation, University of Granada, for their excellent technical assistance with confocal microscopy, and Dr. M.C. Ruiz-Ruiz and Dr. Silvia Calpe-Flores for revising the manuscript.Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family 8 (SLAMF8) is involved in the negative modulation of NADPH oxidase activation. However, the impact of SLAMF8 downregulation on macrophage functionality and the microbicide mechanism remains elusive. To study this in depth, we first analyzed NADPH oxidase activation pathways in wild-type and SLAMF8-deficient macrophages upon different stimulus. Herein, we describe increased phosphorylation of the Erk1/2 and p38 MAP kinases, as well as increased phosphorylation of NADPH oxidase subunits in SLAMF8-deficient macrophages. Furthermore, using specific inhibitors, we observed that specific PI3K inhibition decreased the differences observed between wild-type and SLAMF8-deficient macrophages, stimulated with either PMA, LPS, or Salmonella typhimurium infection. Consequently, SLAMF8-deficient macrophages also showed increased recruitment of small GTPases such as Rab5 and Rab7, and the p47phox subunit to cytoplasmic Salmonella, suggesting an impairment of Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV) progression in SLAMF8-deficient macrophages. Enhanced iNOS activation, NO production, and IL-6 expression were also observed in the absence of SLAMF8 upon Salmonella infection, either in vivo or in vitro, while overexpression of SLAMF8 in RAW264.7 macrophages showed the opposite phenotype. In addition, SLAMF8-deficient macrophages showed increased activation of Src kinases and reduced SHP-1 phosphate levels upon IFNγ and Salmonella stimuli in comparison to wild-type macrophages. In agreement with in vitro results, Salmonella clearance was augmented in SLAMF8-deficient mice compared to that in wild-type mice. Therefore, in conclusion, SLAMF8 intervention upon bacterial infection downregulates mouse macrophage activation, and confirmed that SLAMF8 receptor could be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of severe or unresolved inflammatory conditions.Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Ténica y de Innovación, ISCIII Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (Grants PI16/01642 and PI10/01096

RepA-WH1 prionoid: Clues from bacteria on factors governing phase transitions in amyloidogenesis

10 p.-1 fig.In bacterial plasmids, Rep proteins initiate DNA replication by undergoing a structural transformation coupled to dimer dissociation. Amyloidogenesis of the ‘winged-helix’ N-terminal domain of RepA (WH1) is triggered in vitro upon binding to plasmid-specific DNA sequences, and occurs at the bacterial nucleoid in vivo. Amyloid fibers are made of distorted RepA-WH1 monomers that assemble as single or double intertwined tubular protofilaments. RepA-WH1 causes in E. coli an amyloid proteinopathy, which is transmissible from mother to daughter cells, but not infectious, and enables conformational imprinting in vitro and in vivo; i.e. RepA-WH1 is a ‘prionoid’. Microfluidics allow the assessment of the intracellular dynamics of RepA-WH1: bacterial lineages maintain two types (strains-like) of RepA-WH1 amyloids, either multiple compact cytotoxic particles or a single aggregate with the appearance of a fluidized hydrogel that it is mildly detrimental to growth. The Hsp70 chaperone DnaK governs the phase transition between both types of RepA-WH1 aggregates in vivo, thus modulating the vertical propagation of the prionoid. Engineering chimeras between the Sup35p/[PSI*] prion and RepA-WH1 generates [REP-PSI*], a synthetic prion exhibiting strong and weak phenotypic variants in yeast. These recent findings on a synthetic, self-contained bacterial prionoid illuminate central issues of protein amyloidogenesis.Research on RepA-WH1 amyloids at CIBCSIC is currently financed by Spanish MINECO grants BIO2012-30852 and CSD2009-00088.Peer reviewe