Cortisol en saliva como indicador de estrés en porcino

The first aim of the present study was to evaluate the measure ‘salivary cortisol’ as a non invasive Animal Welfare indicator for fattening pigs. The second objective was to assess the effect of a commercial farm routine procedure (weighing) in the HPA axis activation. The effect of the breading line (breeding line A and B), the sex, the date and hour of the sampling, and the different flooring systems used in the housing were taken into account. Two types of partly-slatted housing were used, continuous concrete floor and concrete slat (CC) and continuous solid floor of concreted recovered with epoxy resin and metallic slat (RM). Firstly, salivary control samples were taken in 1 pig per pen on three different days during fattening (morning and afternoon) for a total of 96 samples. Secondly, another salivary cortisol sample was taken after weighing each pig, 0h, 1h and 2h after weighing (stressful situation) near the end of fattening, in 3 pigs per pen, for a total of 144 samples. There were no differences in baseline cortisol levels for pigs on either flooring but, after the weighing, the cortisol level of the animals housed in the RM flooring were significantly lower (p<0,01) than the cortisol level of the animals housed in the CC flooring, and showed a normal decreasing tendency whereas the level of cortisol of animals housed in the CC flooring showed a rising tendencyEl primer objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la medida ‘cortisol en saliva’ como un indicador no invasivo del nivel de Bienestar Animal en cerdos en cebo. El segundo objetivo fue evaluar el efecto que un procedimiento rutinario, al que los animales se ven sometidos en condiciones comerciales, como es el pesaje, tiene en la activación del eje hipotálamo-pituitaria-adrenal (HPA). Se tuvieron en cuenta los posibles efectos del tipo genético (línea comercial A y B), el sexo, la fecha y la hora de toma de muestras, y el tipo de suelo en el que se alojaron los animales. Se usaron dos tipos de suelo, el primero constaba de zona continua de hormigón y slats de hormigón (CC) y el segundo de zona continua de hormigón recubierta de resina epoxi y slats metálicos (MS). En primer lugar, se tomaron muestras control de saliva, de un cerdo de cada box de las 4 salas, durante la mañana y la tarde, en 3 días no consecutivos, con un total de 96 muestras. En segundo lugar se tomaron muestras de saliva inmediatamente después del pesaje, a la hora y a las 2 horas, con un total de 144 muestras. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en el nivel de cortisol basal; en cambio, después del pesaje, el nivel de cortisol fue significativamente menor en los animales alojados en suelo RM (p<0,01) que en los animales alojados en suelo CC. El nivel de cortisol tras el pesaje en los animales alojados en suelo RM mostró una tendencia normal decreciente con el paso de las horas, mientras que, el nivel de cortisol aumentó con el paso de las horas para los animales alojados en suelo CC

Unit-cell design for antenna arrays efficiently matched to uni-travelling-carrier photodiodes

International audienceWe present an antenna array with a backing reflector that allows one to obtain efficient matching to integrated sources or loads with low input resistance. In the infinite array limit, it is possible to describe the proposed unit-cell as an equivalent network with closed-form expressions for its different constituents. This analytic approach enables the preliminary design of arrays with improved matching efficiency for optimum power transmission/reception. The proposed solution has enabled an improved matching to a uni-travelling-carrier photodiode with a maximum improvement of 3 dB in the radiated power with respect to a 72-Ω antenna, and featuring a 50% bandwidth

LabVIEW-based control and acquisition system for the dosimetric characterization of a silicon strip detector

Theaimofthisworkistopresentanewdataacquisition,control,andanalysissoftwaresystemwrittenin LabVIEW.Thissystemhasbeendesignedtoobtainthedosimetryofasiliconstripdetectorinpolyethylene. It allows the full automation of the experiments and data analysis required for the dosimetric characterization of silicon detectors. It becomes a useful tool that can be applied in the daily routine check of a beam accelerator.MINECO ICTI2013-2016/FPA2013-47327-C2-1-RMINECO ICTI2013-2016/FPA2014-53290-C2-2- PJunta de Andalucía P12-FQM-160

Novel dual single sided silicon strip detector chip for radiotherapy verification

A novel dual single sided silicon strip detector (SSSSD) chip was designed to meet clinical requirements in radiotherapy verification. An available design from Micron Semiconductor Ltd. (BB7, 500 µ m thick) was the base of a two-dimensional detector adapted into a special configuration with the aim of uniforming and minimizing foreing materials around the active area (64 × 64 mm2). With this purpose, two independent BB7 SSSSDs were mounted in a perpendicular configuration, separated by a 500 µ m kapton dielectric film with the same dimensions as the silicon wafers, thus minimizing air gaps in between. This new configuration, called the dual SSSSD chip design, was mounted on kapton printed circuit board (PCB). Both silicon wafers were divided into 32 strips, 2 mm width each. The aim of developing this detector was to allow 2D dose measurements, improve spatial resolution and perform radiotherapy treatment verification faster than with a previous prototype. Characteristics and performance of the novel detector are presented

CSIC High Specialization Course on Cultural Heritage Intervention Models: Research, Protection, Conservation and Valorization: A training Experience from a complex research programme.

Comunicación presentada en la 18th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, celebrada en Helsinki del 29 de agosto al 1 de septiembre de 2012.In late 2007 the then called Ministry of Education and Science funded the Research Program on Technologies for the Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage (TCP) within the CONSOLIDER -INGENIO 2010 call. In it 16 research groups take part, from the CSIC and 4 Spanish universities, articulating traditionally distant disciplines directly involved with Cultural Heritage. The base for working is the culture of cooperation and collaboration between groups in an interdisciplinary way. TCP was the only funded proposal of the call that focused on the study of Cultural Heritage. One of the main objectives of the project included training, so after valorizing different options, it was finally decided to opt for a CSIC High Specialization Course model. The aim was to create a postgraduate training strategy for preparing, in a truly specialized way, professionals with technical or scientific profile, who can become the best professionals working on cultural heritage. This course was an alternative possibility, different from formal university education. It also benefited from greater freedom in designing the course, choosing the participating teachers, and establishing the relationship between practical and theoretical aspects. This goal lies at the very foundations of the Consolider call and more specifically, also within TCP: strengthen and highlight the link between the interdisciplinary research, the professional practice and the social visibility of research through training, dissemination and knowledge transfer.Peer Reviewe

Sacrolistesis postraumática sin lesión neurológica

Las fracturas transversas de sacro son raras pero aún lo son más aquellas en las que hay un desplazamiento o listeis de una vértebra sacra sobre otra. El sentido de desplazamiento viene condicionado por el mecanismo causante, pudiendo ser en flexión o en extensión. En las verdaderas listesis el sentido del traumatismo es en extensión, llevando a colocarse total o parcialmente la vértebra sacra superior por delante de la inferior. En determinados casos como pueden ser los politraumatizados, el diagnóstico puede ser difícil, por lo que es necesario realizar un estudio radiológico meticuloso. En estas fracturas ocurre frecuentemente una lesión de raíces lumbosacras de mayor o menor gravedad, aunque suele existir algún tipo de recuperación, incluso espontánea, con el transcurso del tiempo. Se presenta el caso de una mujer que presentó una sacrolistesis de S1 sobre S2 por haber sufrido caída de nalgas, sin existir ninguna lesión neurológica.Transverse fractures of the sacrum are rare, but fractures with displacement or listhesis of one sacral vertebra over another are even more infrequent. The direction of the displacement is conditioned by the causing mechanism and may occur in flexion or extension, in true listhesis, trauma occurs in extension, placing the superior sacral vertebra totally or partially in from of the inferior vertebra. In some cases, such as multiple traumas, the diagnosis can be difficult, and a careful radiologic study is required. A more or less severe injury of th lumbosacral roots frequently occurs in these fractures, although a certain degree of recovery takes place, even spontaneously, over time. We present the case of a 69 years old woman suffering from a sacrolisthesis of S1 over S2 after a fall on the buttocks with no neurological lesion

Resultados a largo plazo de intervención de Magnuson-Stack modificada para la luxación anterior recidivante de hombro

Los autores han realizado una revisión largo plazo versus corto plazo con 29 pacientes tratados mediante la técnica de Magnuson-Stack por luxación anterior recidivante de hombro. Se encontró un empobrecimiento de los resultados globales, observándose empeoramiento de la estabilidad (pasan del 90.47% de resultados excelentes al 58.62%, así como del 9.52 de resultados malos al 31.03%), aumento del arco de movilidad (movilidad excelente del 57.14 al 82.75%), permaneciendo la función prácticamente inalterada.Twenty-nine patients with recurrent shoulder dislocation trailed surgicaly by modified Magnuson-Stack procedure are colected. The authors made a long-term versus short-term review of results. They have found a worsening of results in the total longterm review. They observe a worsening of the stability (90.47% excellent results in short-term but 58.62% in long-term) (9.52% bad results in short-term but 31.03% in long-term). There are an increase of range mobility (57.14% excellent in short-term versus 82.75% in long-term). The function remain unchanged

Electrochemical synthesis and magnetic properties of MFe_2O_4 (M = Fe, Mn, Co, Ni) nanoparticles for potential biomedical applications

In this study, we evaluate the magnetic properties and cytotoxic effect of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) based on magnetite and Mn, Co and Ni ferrites, obtained by electrochemical synthesis. These nanoparticles have almost spherical shape and an mode size of 9 +/- 1 nm. The electrochemical synthesis produces a single crystallographic phase with a spinel-like structure in all cases. Magnetization saturation at room temperature varies with the composition of the ferrites from M_S (Fe_3O_4) > M_S (MnFe_2O_4) > M_S (CoFe_2O_4) > M_S (NiFe_2O_4). Ferrite MNPs present low magnetic remanence indicating a superparamagnetic-like response at room temperature. However, the different values of magnetic anisotropy and size produce variations in the values of coercivity and susceptibility of the ferrite MNPs. The cytotoxicity of the different ferrites was evaluated by internalizing MNP in HeLa cancer cells. Although magnetite and Mn ferrite present low toxicity for all the concentrations studied, significant cytotoxic effect were observed when incubating the cells with high concentration of Co and Ni ferrites

Self-Assembly of Au-Fe3O4 Hybrid Nanoparticles Using a Sol–Gel Pechini Method

The Pechini method has been used as a synthetic route for obtaining self-assembling magnetic and plasmonic nanoparticles in hybrid silica nanostructures. This manuscript evaluates the influence of shaking conditions, reaction time, and pH on the size and morphology of the nanostructures produced. The characterization of the nanomaterials was carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to evaluate the coating and size of the nanomaterials, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) transmission spectra to evaluate the presence of the different coatings, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curves to determine the amount of coating. The results obtained show that the best conditions to obtain core–satellite nanostructures with homogeneous silica shells and controlled sizes (<200 nm) include the use of slightly alkaline media, the ultrasound activation of silica condensation, and reaction times of around 2 h. These findings represent an important framework to establish a new general approach for the click chemistry assembling of inorganic nanostructures

Lipomatosis epidural lumbosacra idiopática: revisión de la bibliografía y caso clínico

La lipomatosis epidural es una afección que aparece generalmente en relación con hipercortisolismos endógenos o exógenos, siendo más raras las formas idiopáticas, de las que se han descrito únicamente 17 casos. Se presenta un nuevo caso con sintomatología compatible con estenosis de canal, y que tras estudios de imagen se demostró que correspondía con una lipomatosis epidural lumbosacra. Se le encomendó al paciente una reducción de peso, con lo que se alivió parcialmente la sintomatología, permaneciendo estable en la actualidad. Se revisa la bibliografía de este raro proceso, exponiendo los distintos hallazgos encontrados. Algunos autores proponen una reducción de peso, lo cual puede aliviar la sintomatología. Para casos rebeldes está indicada la laminectomía asociada al despegamiento de la grasa sin realizar exploración intradural.Epidural lipomatosis is an affection that is usually related to endogenic or exogenous hipercortisolism. Less frequently, it can be idiopathic. To date only 17 cases have been documented. A new case is presented in a patient suffering from symptoms resembling lumbar spinal stenosis. The radiological studies revealed a compression of the dural sac at lumbosacral levéis, caused by tissue similar in density to fat. Weight reduction, was recommended to the patients and a partial relief of symptoms was achieved. The authors reviewed the pathogeny of epidural lipomatosis and its various different treatments. In the idiopathic form, weight reduction is recomended first, reserving surgery for those cases that do not respond to this initial treatment. Surgical treatment should consist of laminectomy and fat debulking, and should not include intradural exploration