Effect of a selenium-deficient diet on blood values of T3 and T4 in cows

Pastures in the south of Chile have been shown to be selenium deficient, and as selenium is a component of deiodinase type 1, which is necessary for the synthesis of triiodothyronine (T3) at peripheral levels, the effect of selenium deficiency on the blood concentration of theses hormones in cows was studied. Twelve pregnant Friesian cows were randomly allocated into two homogeneous groups of six animals each-selenium supplemented and selenium deficient. The selenium deficient diet consisted of 11.5 kg of hay, 500 g of soya bran, 150 g of mineral mix (without selenium), 500 g of fat for animal feeding, and was given from day 15 of lactation until the end of the study. A commercial concentrate (Cosetan) and urea was also given according to lactation requirements (up to 5 kg and up to 120 g, respectively). The selenium content was 0.05 ppm of dry matter (equivalent to 18% of the daily requirements). The supplemented group was injected subcutaneously with 1 mg Se/kg, using the commercial product Deposel (1 ml/50kg). Blood samples were obtained by coccygeous vein venepuncture before supplementation (prepartum basal values) and thereafter every 15 days. GSH-Px activity in plasma was measured using a HITACHI 4020 spectrophotometer. Serum T3 and thyroxine (T4) concentrations were measured by electrochemiluminiscence. ANOVA, Tuckey test and Student's t-test were used to establish the significance of the intra group differences, with p = < 0.05 being considered significant. There were no significant differences in blood values of T4 in either the supplemented or non-supplemented groups during pregnancy and lactation. However the blood values of T4 decreased significantly (p = < 0.05) during days 30-60 of lactation to values below the reference range. The T3 serum concentrations in the supplemented group of cows were significantly lower (p = < 0.05) at 60, 90 and 150 days of lactation than cows that had been supplemented with selenium

Individual Variations in Maternal Care Early in Life Correlate with Later Life Decision-Making and c-Fos Expression in Prefrontal Subregions of Rats

Early life adversity affects hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, alters cognitive functioning and in humans is thought to increase the vulnerability to psychopathology–e.g. depression, anxiety and schizophrenia- later in life. Here we investigated whether subtle natural variations among individual rat pups in the amount of maternal care received, i.e. differences in the amount of licking and grooming (LG), correlate with anxiety and prefrontal cortex-dependent behavior in young adulthood. Therefore, we examined the correlation between LG received during the first postnatal week and later behavior in the elevated plus maze and in decision-making processes using a rodent version of the Iowa Gambling Task (rIGT). In our cohort of male and female animals a high degree of LG correlated with less anxiety in the elevated plus maze and more advantageous choices during the last 10 trials of the rIGT. In tissue collected 2 hrs after completion of the task, the correlation between LG and c-fos expression (a marker of neuronal activity) was established in structures important for IGT performance. Negative correlations existed between rIGT performance and c-fos expression in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, prelimbic cortex, infralimbic cortex and insular cortex. The insular cortex correlations between c-fos expression and decision-making performance depended on LG background; this was also true for the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in female rats. Dendritic complexity of insular or infralimbic pyramidal neurons did not or weakly correlate with LG background. We conclude that natural variations in maternal care received by pups may significantly contribute to later-life decision-making and activity of underlying brain structures

Diverse values of nature for sustainability

Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being(1,2), addressing the global biodiversity crisis(3) still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature's diverse values into decision-making. These barriers include powerful interests supported by current norms and legal rules such as property rights, which determine whose values and which values of nature are acted on. A better understanding of how and why nature is (under)valued is more urgent than ever(4). Notwithstanding agreements to incorporate nature's values into actions, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)(5) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals(6), predominant environmental and development policies still prioritize a subset of values, particularly those linked to markets, and ignore other ways people relate to and benefit from nature(7). Arguably, a 'values crisis' underpins the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss and climate change(8), pandemic emergence(9) and socio-environmental injustices(10). On the basis of more than 50,000 scientific publications, policy documents and Indigenous and local knowledge sources, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) assessed knowledge on nature's diverse values and valuation methods to gain insights into their role in policymaking and fuller integration into decisions(7,11). Applying this evidence, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation and address barriers to uptake, ultimately leveraging transformative changes towards more just (that is, fair treatment of people and nature, including inter- and intragenerational equity) and sustainable futures

Diverse values of nature for sustainability

Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being1,2, addressing the global biodiversity crisis3 still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature’s diverse values into decision-making. These barriers include powerful interests supported by current norms and legal rules such as property rights, which determine whose values and which values of nature are acted on. A better understanding of how and why nature is (under)valued is more urgent than ever4. Notwithstanding agreements to incorporate nature’s values into actions, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)5 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals6, predominant environmental and development policies still prioritize a subset of values, particularly those linked to markets, and ignore other ways people relate to and benefit from nature7. Arguably, a ‘values crisis’ underpins the intertwined crises of biodiversity loss and climate change8, pandemic emergence9 and socio-environmental injustices10. On the basis of more than 50,000 scientific publications, policy documents and Indigenous and local knowledge sources, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) assessed knowledge on nature’s diverse values and valuation methods to gain insights into their role in policymaking and fuller integration into decisions7,11. Applying this evidence, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation and address barriers to uptake, ultimately leveraging transformative changes towards more just (that is, fair treatment of people and nature, including inter- and intragenerational equity) and sustainable futures

Coherent J/psi photoproduction in ultra-peripheral PbPb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV with the CMS experiment

Peer reviewe

Cross section measurement of t-channel single top quark production in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurement of quarkonium production cross sections in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

Differential production cross sections of prompt J/psi and psi(2S) charmonium and Upsilon(nS) (n = 1, 2, 3) bottomonium states are measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, with data collected by the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 fb(-1) for the J/psi and 2.7 fb(-1) for the other mesons. The five quarkonium states are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel, for dimuon rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar <1.2. The double-differential cross sections for each state are measured as a function of y and transverse momentum, and compared to theoretical expectations. In addition, ratios are presented of cross sections for prompt psi(2S) to J/psi, Upsilon(2S) to Upsilon(1S), and Upsilon(3S) to Upsilon(1S) production. (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Search for new long-lived particles at root s=13 TeV

A search for long-lived particles was performed with data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.6 fb(-1) collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS experiment in 2015. The analysis exploits two customized topological trigger algorithms, and uses the multiplicity of displaced jets to search for the presence of a signal decay occurring at distances between 1 and 1000 mm. The results can be interpreted in a variety of different models. For pair-produced long-lived particles decaying to two b quarks and two leptons with equal decay rates between lepton flavors, cross sections larger than 2.5 fb are excluded for proper decay lengths between 70-100 mm for a long-lived particle mass of 1130 GeV at 95% confidence. For a specific model of pair-produced, long-lived top squarks with R-parity violating decays to a b quark and a lepton, masses below 550-1130 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence for equal branching fractions between lepton flavors, depending on the squark decay length. This mass bound is the most stringent to date for top squark proper decay lengths greater than 3 mm. (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Constraints on anomalous Higgs boson couplings using production and decay information in the four-lepton final state

© 2017 The Author A search is performed for anomalous interactions of the recently discovered Higgs boson using matrix element techniques with the information from its decay to four leptons and from associated Higgs boson production with two quark jets in either vector boson fusion or associated production with a vector boson. The data were recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 38.6fb −1 . They are combined with the data collected at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 5.1 and 19.7fb −1 , respectively. All observations are consistent with the expectations for the standard model Higgs boson