User-Fee Financing of USDA Meat and Poultry Inspection

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) finances about 13.5 percent of its budget outlays through user fees for overtime and unscheduled meat and poultry inspections. User fees play an increasingly important role in financing government programs, and FSIS has frequently requested expanded authority to charge user fees for more of its operations. Congress has consistently rejected the FSIS requests and has placed important restrictions on fees and the uses of fee revenue at those agencies that have been granted more extensive user fee authority. This report surveys the application of user-fees for financing meat and poultry inspection programs in other countries; reviews user-fee systems in other Federal agencies, particularly those with food and agricultural missions or regulatory responsibilities; and discusses the relevant economics literature on the use and design of user fees. Finally, we suggest several elements that should underlie the structure of user fees for meat and poultry inspection, should such a program be introduced. euser fees, meat inspection, public finance, Livestock Production/Industries, Public Economics,

Transcription Factor Efg1 Shows a Haploinsufficiency Phenotype in Modulating the Cell Wall Architecture and Immunogenicity of Candida albicans

The Candida albicans transcription factor Efg1 is known to be involved in many different cellular processes, including morphogenesis, general metabolism, and virulence. Here we show that besides its manifold roles, Efg1 also has a prominent effect on cell wall structure and composition, strongly affecting the structural glucan part. Deletion of only one allele of EFG1 already results in severe phenotypes for cell wall biogenesis, comparable to those with deletion of both alleles, indicative of a severe haploinsufficiency for EFG1. The observed defects in structural setup of the cell wall, together with previously reported alterations in expression of cell surface proteins, result in altered immunogenic properties of strains with compromised Efg1 function. This is shown by interaction studies with macrophages and primary dendritic cells. The structural changes in the cell wall carbohydrate meshwork presented here, together with the manifold changes in cell wall protein composition and metabolism reported in other studies, contribute to the altered immune response mounted by innate immune cells and to the altered virulence phenotypes observed for strains lacking EFG1

Finite Element Thermal Study of the Linac4 Plasma Generatora

The temperature distribution and heat flow at equilibrium of the plasma generator of the RF-powered non-cesiated Linac4 H- ion source have been studied with a finite element model. It is shown that the equilibrium temperatures obtained in the Linac4 nominal operation mode (100 kW RF power, 2 Hz, 0.4 ms pulse duration) are within material specifications except for the magnet cage, where a redesign may be necessary. To assess the upgrade of the Linac4 source for operation in the high-power operation mode of SPL, an extrapolation of the heat load towards 100 kW RF power, 50 Hz repetition rate and 0.4 ms pulse duration has been performed. The results indicate that a significant improvement of the source cooling is required to allow for operation in HP-SPL

A case study for a multitemporal segmentation approach in optical remote sensing images.

Continuous observations from remote sensors provide high temporal and spatial resolution imagery, and better remote sensing image segmentation techniques are mandatory for efficient analysis. Among them, one of the most applied segmentation techniques is the region growing algorithm. Within this context, this paper describes a study case for a multitemporal segmentation that adapts the traditional region growing technique. Our method aims to detect homogeneous regions in space and time observing a sequence of optical remote sensing images. Tests were conducted by considering the Dynamic Time Warping distance as the homogeneity criterion to grow regions. A case study on high temporal resolution for sequences of Landsat-8 vegetation indices products provided satisfactory outputs.GEOProcessing 2018

Molecular characterization, expression and localization of a peroxiredoxin from the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis

The sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis, induces an intensely pruritic exudative dermatitis which is responsible for restlessness, loss of appetite and weight loss. Within the first 24 h of infection, there is a rapid inflammatory influx of eosinophils and apoptosis of the keratinocytes at the site of infection. The former cell type is capable of a sustained respiratory burst, toxic products of which may directly damage the mite and also contribute to lesion formation. Analysis of a P. ovis expressed sequence tag (EST) database identified a number of antioxidant enzyme-encoding sequences, including peroxiredoxin (thioredoxin peroxidase EC 1.11.1.15), all of which may help the mite endure the potentially toxic skin environment. A full length sequence encoding Po-TPx, a protein of 206 amino acids which showed high homology to a peroxiredoxin from the salivary gland of the tick Ixodes scapularis, was amplified from P. ovis cDNA. Recombinant Po-TPx was expressed in bacteria and antiserum to this protein was used to localize native Po-TPx in mite sections. Peroxiredoxin was localized, amongst other sites, to a subpharyngeal region in mite sections. The recombinant protein was recognized by sera from sheep infested with the mite suggesting that it may be secreted or excreted by the mite and interact with the host immune response

A intensificação do uso agrícola do solo: uma trajetória para o desenvolvimento sustentável da agricultura brasileira.

Apresenta a trajetória da agricultura brasileira, indicando o uso de sistemas integrados de produção para sustentabilidade da agricultura nacional

Promoting bioengineered tooth innervation using nanostructured and hybrid scaffolds

The innervation of teeth mediated by axons originating from the trigeminal ganglia is essential for their function and protection. Immunosuppressive therapy using Cyclosporine A (CsA) was found to accelerate the innervation of transplanted tissues and particularly that of bioengineered teeth. To avoid the CsA side effects, we report in this study the preparation of CsA loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles, their embedding on polycaprolactone (PCL)-based scaffolds and their possible use as templates for the innervation of bioengineered teeth. This PCL scaffold, approved by the FDA and capable of mimicking the extracellular matrix, was obtained by electrospinning and decorated with CsA-loaded PLGA nanoparticles to allow a local sustained action of this immunosuppressive drug. Dental re-associations were co-implanted with a trigeminal ganglion on functionalized scaffolds containing PLGA and PLGA/cyclosporine in adult ICR mice during 2 weeks. Histological analyses showed that the designed scaffolds did not alter the teeth development after in vivo implantation. The study of the innervation of the dental re-associations by indirect immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), showed that 88.4% of the regenerated teeth were innervated when using the CsA-loaded PLGA scaffold. The development of active implants thus allows their potential use in the context of dental engineering. Statement of Significance Tooth innervation is essential for their function and protection and this can be promoted in vivo using polymeric scaffolds functionalized with immunosuppressive drug-loaded nanoparticles. Immunosuppressive therapy using biodegradable nanoparticles loaded with Cyclosporine A was found to accelerate the innervation of bioengineered teeth after two weeks of implantation