Prevalence and risk factors for bovine leptospirosis in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Foi investigada a prevalência de anticorpos antileptospira em fêmeas bovinas com idade igual ou superior a 24 meses, provenientes de 178 rebanhos de 22 municípios do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, bem como identificados fatores de risco associados à infecção. Foram analisadas 2.573 amostras de soro sangüíneo por meio do teste de soroaglutinação microscópica perante 10 sorovares de leptospira. Títulos iguais ou superiores a 100 para um ou mais sorovares foram detectados em 1.801 fêmeas (98,8%) de 161 (96,5%) rebanhos. O sorovar Hardjo (65,6%) foi apontado como o mais provável, seguido do sorovar Wolffi (12,3%). Os resultados demonstram que a leptospirose bovina se encontra presente em todos os municípios estudados, com alta prevalência, tanto em animais como em rebanhos. Os fatores de risco identificados neste estudo e associados à infecção por bactérias do gênero lepstopira foram o tipo de exploração pecuária de corte e a raça Zebu. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe prevalence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies was estimated for female cattle aged 24 months or older. The sample comprised 178 herds from 22 counties in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The risk factors associated with the presence of infeccion were investigated. A total of 2,573 blood serum samples were tested against 10 leptospira serovars using the microagglutination test (MAT). Titers of 100 or higher for one or more serovars were detected in 1,801 females (98.8%) from 161 herds (96.5%). Serovar Hardjo (65.6%) was the most frequent, followed by serovar Wolffi (12.3%). These results suggest that bovine leptospirosis is widespread in all the counties under study, with a high prevalence both at the animal and the herd level. Beef farms and the Zebu breed were associated to the higher risk of herd infection by leptospiras

A xenon gas purity monitor for EXO

We discuss the design, operation, and calibration of two versions of a xenon gas purity monitor (GPM) developed for the EXO double beta decay program. The devices are sensitive to concentrations of oxygen well below 1 ppb at an ambient gas pressure of one atmosphere or more. The theory of operation of the GPM is discussed along with the interactions of oxygen and other impurities with the GPM's tungsten filament. Lab tests and experiences in commissioning the EXO-200 double beta decay experiment are described. These devices can also be used on other noble gases.Comment: 41 pages, 26 figure

MIGHTEE : total intensity radio continuum imaging and the COSMOS/XMM-LSS Early Science fields

Please read abstract in the article.The UK Science and Technology Facilities Council; the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory; the Leverhulme Trust through an Early Career Research Fellowship; the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology; the National Research Foundation; the Science and Technology Foundation (FCT, Portugal); the UK STFC ; the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Innovation; the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF); the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; the South African Department of Science and Technology’s National Research Foundation (DST-NRF).https://academic.oup.com/mnrashj2022Physic

Righting rewritings of the myth of Mentor: A critical perspective on career guidance mentoring

Mentoring is entering the repertoire of career guidance techniques as careers services prioritise socially excluded young people. This article explores the use of Homer's Odyssey as a source of definitions and legitimations of many current accounts of mentoring. Contrasting modern versions of Homer's myth of Mentor with the original, it draws on feminist and class perspectives to question the basis on which such myths are used to proclaim the origins of a very contemporary phenomenon. It identifies an emerging discourse of mentoring, a régime of truth which exerts control not only over the young people being mentored, but also over career guidance staff expected to act as mentors in new Personal Adviser roles

Association of the nuclear matrix component NuMA with the Cajal bodyand nuclear speckle compartments during transitions in transcriptionalactivity in lens cell differentiation

The transcriptional status of cells can be deduced from the staining pattern of various nuclear markers such as the Cajal body, nucleolus and nuclear speckles. In this study we have used these markers to correlate transcriptional status with cell differentiation in the lens. As a closed system with no cell loss and with each stage being spatially preserved, it is particularly well suited to such studies. To confirm that the nuclear markers in lens cells follow the same trends as in other cells, primary bovine lens epithelial cells were cultured and then treated with actinomycin D to inhibit transcription. This reduced the Cajal body markers to one or two foci per nucleus and the nucleoli became compacted as revealed by fibrillarin staining. The nuclear speckles, containing snRNPs (e. g. Sm) and the splicing factor, SC35, also became larger and more numerous while the signal for trimethylguanine (TMG) decreased suggesting a role hierarchy for the various speckle factors during transcriptional shutdown. The signal for survival of motor neurones gene product (SMN) also decreased at this point. In the lens epithelium, postmitotic cells near the equatorial region had one or two Cajal bodies per nucleus, indicating these cells had only basal levels of transcription. Sm was also present as large foci in these cells. Interestingly, both the speckles and Cajal bodies were NuMA-positive in these post-mitotic cells. At the epithelial-fibre cell transition, Cajal body number increased, while their size decreased indicative of increased transcriptional activity. Fibrillarin adopted the open floret pattern indicating increased transcriptional activity. The nuclear speckles adopted a more diffuse nucleoplasmic pattern, although some spots were still observed. All NuMA co-localisation with the Cajal bodies and nuclear speckles was lost at this stage of lens cell differentiation. Transcriptional shutdown occurs at a later stage in fibre cell differentiation, prior to programmed nuclear destruction. In the lens, both the Cajal bodies and nuclear speckles again became NuMA-positive, although separate NuMA spots were also formed during transcriptional shutdown. These data suggest the nuclear matrix is important in the concentration of Cajal body and speckle components into large, distinct spots in transcriptionally inactive nuclei and also suggest a new role for NuMA in post-mitotic cells to assist in these sub-nuclear reorganisations

The prohibitin family of mitochondrial proteins regulate replicative lifespan

AbstractCellular senescence is determined by multiple factors, including the genetic regulation of metabolism and responses to endogenous and exogenous stresses [1–4]. Recent studies implicate a limited number of gene products in elongating lifespan in yeast and Caenorhabditis elegans[2–4]; these include the C. elegans gene clk-1, a central regulator of metabolism [5], and yeast RAS2, which controls the response to ultraviolet irradiation and other stresses [3]. Another gene postulated to affect senescence is PHB1, the yeast homologue of prohibitin [3], a rodent gene initially identified as a potential regulator of growth arrest and tumour suppressor [6–8]. Highly conserved prohibitin homologues have been identified in mammals [9], Drosophila[10], C. elegans[9], plants [11] and yeast. A second mammalian gene, encoding BAP37, a protein with sequence similarity to prohibitin, is thought to be involved in lymphocyte function [9]. Here, we show that the nuclear-encoded mammalian prohibitin and BAP37 proteins are present in mitochondria, are co-expressed, and interact physically with each other. Deletion of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homologues, PHB1 and PHB2, results in a decreased replicative lifespan and a defect in mitochondrial membrane potential. Our observations highlight the relationship between the metabolic efficiency of cells and the ageing process, and provide evidence for its evolutionary conservation