Hormonal control of inflammatory responses

Almost any stage of inflammatory and immunological responses is affected by hormone actions. This provides the basis for the suggestion that hormones act as modulators of the host reaction against trauma and infection. Specific hormone receptors are detected in the reactive structures in inflamed areas and binding of hormone molecules to such receptors results in the generation of signals that influence cell functions relevant for the development of inflammatory responses. Diversity of hormonal functions accounts for recognized pro- and anti-inflammatory effects exerted by these substances. Most hormone systems are capable of influencing inflammatory events. Insulin and glucocorticoids, however, exert direct regulatory effects at concentrations usually found in plasma. Insulin is endowed with facilitatory actions on vascular reactivity to inflammatory mediators and inflammatory cell functions. Increased concentrations of circulating glucocorticoids at the early stages of inflammation results in downregulation of inflammatory responses. Oestrogens markedly reduce the response to injury in a variety of experimental models. Glucagon and thyroid hormones exert indirect anti-inflammatory effects mediated by the activity of the adrenal cortex. Accordingly, inflammation is not only merely a local response, but a hormone-controlled process

Protein metabolism, feed energy partitioning, behavior patterns and plasma cortisol in Nellore steers with high and low residual feed intake.

The objective was to evaluate protein turnover, nitrogen balance, feed energy partitioning, behavior patterns and plasma cortisol in Nellore (B. indicus) cattle with high and low residual feed intake (RFI = actual minus expected dry matter intake). Seventy-two Nellore steers (16 to 21 months-old, 334±19 kg initial body weight) were fed a feedlot diet for 70 days ad libitum. Daily dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) were recorded individually and RFI was calculated. The 12 steers of lowest (Low-RFI, most efficient) RFI and the 12 ones of highest RFI (High-RFI, least efficient) were evaluated with respect to their behavior patterns and plasma cortisol concentration. Urine was collected for determination of daily 3-methylhistidine excretion (3MH) and myofibrillar protein breakdown rates. Urinary, gaseous and fecal energy losses were determined as well as the N retention and excretion. High-RFI steers tended to have shorter lying and idle periods and greater feeding time and plasma cortisol levels than low-RFI cattle. No RFI effects were seen for urine 3MH excretion and for rates of protein degradation and synthesis. No effects of efficiency class were observed for N excretion or N retention. No RFI effects were observed for dry matter digestibility, digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) content and DE/ME ratio. Methane energy losses were lower for low- compared with high-RFI steers. Protein turnover seems not to affect feed efficiency in Nellore steers. Improved RFI in Nellore steers is probably associated with lower degrees of activity and responsiveness to stress and lower losses of dietary energy as methane

Combinatorial Assortment Optimization

Assortment optimization refers to the problem of designing a slate of products to offer potential customers, such as stocking the shelves in a convenience store. The price of each product is fixed in advance, and a probabilistic choice function describes which product a customer will choose from any given subset. We introduce the combinatorial assortment problem, where each customer may select a bundle of products. We consider a model of consumer choice where the relative value of different bundles is described by a valuation function, while individual customers may differ in their absolute willingness to pay, and study the complexity of the resulting optimization problem. We show that any sub-polynomial approximation to the problem requires exponentially many demand queries when the valuation function is XOS, and that no FPTAS exists even for succinctly-representable submodular valuations. On the positive side, we show how to obtain constant approximations under a "well-priced" condition, where each product's price is sufficiently high. We also provide an exact algorithm for $k$-additive valuations, and show how to extend our results to a learning setting where the seller must infer the customers' preferences from their purchasing behavior

Da progressão dos costumes à história natural da humanidade: reflexões escocesas sobre a temporalidade histórica

At the second half of the eighteenth century, Scottish thinkers David Hume, William Robertson,Adam Smith, Lord Kames (Henry Home), and Adam Ferguson wrote extensively on the stages ofhuman society, from its origins to civilisation. These works fashioned a typically Scottishhistoriographical genre, the ‘Natural history of mankind’. This genre, intimate of the Age ofEnlightenment in its Scottish form, divided the evolution of mankind in stages and establishedmoral values for each one. Here, my goal is to draw a summary of this historiographical trend.Durante a segunda metade do século dezoito, intelectuais escoceses como David Hume, William Robertson, Adam Smith, Lorde Kames (Henry Home) e Adam Ferguson refletiram, longamente, sobre as fases do desenvolvimento da humanidade, desde suas origens até o estabelecimento da civilização. Essa reflexão tomou a forma de um gênero historiográfico tipicamente escocês, a “história natural da humanidade”. Inseparável do contexto iluminista da época, a história natural escocesa dividiu a evolução da sociedade em etapas e estabeleceu valores morais para cada uma delas. Neste artigo, buscamos traçar um breve panorama dessa linha historiográfica

BENCHMARKING OF TWO SYSTEMS FOR TRANSMISSION OF MOTION FOR A DOUBLE ACTION STIRLING ENGINE

In a four-piston Stirling engine, Siemens configuration, the displacement of the pistons is governed by the motion transmission element, which converts the reciprocating motion of pistons into rotary motion. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the geometry of the transmission element in the mechanical efficiency of a Stirling engine. Analyses were performed using a mathematical computer simulation that uses the geometric and operating data of the engine to calculate the mechanical power and efficiency through a first order thermodynamic mathematical model, also known as the Schmidtmodel. First, an analysis was performed to evaluate the mechanical efficiency of the transmission element with a sinusoidal curve surface. Later, it was implemented in the transmission mechanism a segment based straight plans surface, and then the same analysis was performed with this new transmission element. The results showed that using the transmission element with segment based straight plans the engine showed a significant increase in efficiency. Moreover, one can observe an increase in the vibration of the system, making it necessary to develop an appropriate system for balancing

Evaluation of reactivity of horses in the presence of unknown stimulus

The study aimed to evaluate reactivity of horses during usual brushing management against the repeated presence of an unknown sonorous stimulus. Twenty Mangalarga Marchador horses, distributed in different categories (mares and foals), were evaluated. The animals were allocated into the control treatment (N = 10) and the treatment with unknown sonorous stimulus (N = 10) from a rattle and a tambourine. Four consecutive evaluations were carried out first (day 0, 1, 2, 3). Two consecutive assessments were carried out after 30 days of the first collection (day 30 and 31), and two consecutive assessments were carried out 15 days after the second evaluation (day 45 and 46). The behavioral observations were made by assigning a score to behaviors of movement, position of ears and eyes, breathing, and vocalization during brushing management. A response variable called reactivity was attributed to each animal, ranging from score 1 (not reactive or calm animal) to reactivity score 4 (very reactive or aggressive animal). For statistical analysis, the results were adjusted to a logistic regression model using the categories, day, and treatment as covariates. The animals of the unknown stimuli showed greater reactivity. The days of the experimental period influenced the reactivity of animals between 6 and 7 months old, with a decrease in the possibilities of the animals to have a higher reactivity. The maturity of the foal with repeated exposure to the unknown sound stimulus may decrease the possibility of the animal being reactive

MatchMaking – A Tool to Match OWL Schemas

This paper describes a software tool that implements an instancebased schema matching technique for OWL dialects. The technique is based on a matching algorithm that depends on the definition of similarity functions that evaluate the semantic proximity of elements from two different schemas. The tool is engineered to accommodate different similarity functions and variations of the matching algorithm, thereby facilitating experimentation with alternative setups

Effect of flint corn processing method and roughage level on finishing performance of Nellore-based cattle

Citation: Caetano, M., Goulart, R. S., Silva, S. L., Drouillard, J. S., Leme, P. R., & Lanna, D. P. D. (2015). Effect of flint corn processing method and roughage level on finishing performance of Nellore-based cattle. Journal of Animal Science, 93(8), 4023-4033. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9051This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of flint corn processing method (CPM) and level of NDF from roughage (rNDF) on performance, carcass characteristics, and starch utilization by finishing Nellore-based cattle fed high-concentrate, flint corn-based diets. In this study, 112 Nellore type bulls (initial BW 384.07 +/- 29.53 kg and 24-36 mo of age) were individually fed using Calan gates or individual pens. The animals were used in a randomized complete block design in a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement with 2 CPM, high-moisture flint corn (HMC) or finely ground dry flint corn (FGC), with 1 of 4 levels of rNDF, 3, 8, 13, and 18% (DM basis), using sugarcane silage (SS) as roughage. Bulls were adapted to the finishing diet over a 21-d period and fed for a total of 81 d. Fecal starch (FS) concentration was determined on d 46 and 74 of the feeding period. There was a quadratic effect of rNDF on final BW (P < 0.01) and ADG (P = 0.01). Optimal concentrations of rNDF were estimated using the first derivative of second order polynomials, indicating that final BW and ADG were maximized with 13.3 and 13.0% rNDF, respectively. An interaction was observed between CPM and rNDF (P = 0.05) for DMI, with peak DMI occurring at 11.3 and 13.7% rNDF with FGC and HMC, respectively. Cattle fed HMC had 13.9% greater G:F (P < 0.01) compared with those fed FGC (0.172 vs. 0.151, respectively). There were quadratic effects of rNDF on HCW (P = 0.04) and ME intake (P < 0.01); heaviest carcass weights were estimated, in both cases, to be achieved with 12.8% rNDF. A quadratic effect of rNDF for renal, pelvic, and inguinal fat weight (P = 0.04) was observed, with a peak estimated to occur at 12.6% rNDF. An interaction between CPM and rNDF also was observed for FS (P < 0.05). Bulls fed FGC with 3% rNDF had greater FS content, and FS linearly decreased as concentration of rNDF increased. For bulls fed HMC, FS was 3.0% of DM and was unaffected by rNDF in the diet. Lower FS from bulls fed HMC suggests that availability of starch from flint corn was greater than that of FGC. For Nellore-based cattle fed a flint corn-based diet containing SS and 8% whole lint cottonseed, performance was optimized with 12.8% rNDF. In the absence of cottonseed addition to diets, optimal performance would be expected with about 14.5% rNDF