Zoonoses (Project 1): Wildlife/domestic livestock interactions

The objective of this study was to synthesise the best available scientific knowledge about zoonotic disease transmission through livestock and wildlife interaction (direct or indirect), with emphasis on risk factors, drivers and trajectories of transmission, as well as promising interventions for controlling important zoonoses, based on managing the interaction between domestic livestock and wildlife. A multi-disciplinary team from the International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya, and the Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom, with expertise in zoonoses, epidemiology, socio-economics, and wildlife, undertook the review. A database of important zoonoses was compiled and used to develop a list of priority zoonoses with a livestock-wildlife interface for developing countries. Spatial relationships between important zoonoses and land use and human population density were explored. A systematic review was carried out focussing on: disease transmission routes, risk factors for disease transmission, drivers of wildlife-livestock interactions, pathogens of wildlife capable of recombining with organisms in livestock, wildlife species that are potential sources of zoonotic pathogens, production and socio-economic factors influencing the risk of transmission, and risk management and control interventions

The colours of BL Lac objects: a new approach to their classification

We selected a sample of 437 BL Lac objects, taken from the RomaBZCat catalogue, for which spectroscopic information and SDSS photometry is available. We propose a new classification of BL Lacs in which the sources' type is not defined only on the basis of the peak frequency of the synchrotron component in their Spectral Energy Distribution (types L and H), but also on the relevance of this component with respect to the brightness of the host galaxy (types N and G, for nuclear or galaxy dominated sources). We found that the SDSS colour index u-r=1.4 is a good separator between these two types. We used multiband colour-colour plots to study the properties of the BL Lac classes and found that in the X-ray to radio flux ratio vs u-r plot most of the N (blue) sources are located in a rather narrow strip, while the G-sources (red) are spread in a large area, and most of them are located in galaxy clusters or interacting systems, suggesting that their X-ray emission is not from a genuine BL Lac nucleus but it is related to their environment. Of the about 135 sources detected in the gamma-rays by Fermi-GST, nearly all belong to the N-type, indicating that only this type of sources should be considered as genuine BL Lac nuclei. The J-H, H-K plot of sources detected in the 2MASS catalogue is consistent with that of the "bona fide" BL Lac objects, independently of their N or G classification from the optical indices, indicating the existence in G-type sources of a K-band excess possibly due to a steep, low frequency peaked emission which deserves further investigations. We propose to use these colour plots as a further tool for searching candidate counterparts of newly discovered high-energy sources.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. Submitted 29/08/2011 to MNRAS, first referee report received 31/10/2011, accepted 21/02/201

Angiotensin-(1–7) and the G Protein-Coupled Receptor Mas Are Key Players in Renal Inflammation

Angiotensin (Ang) II mediates pathophysiologial changes in the kidney. Ang-(1–7) by interacting with the G protein-coupled receptor Mas may also have important biological activities

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Affecting patients with work-related problems by educational training of their GPs: a cost-effectiveness study

Contains fulltext : 201908.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Whaling as Science

In an open letter published last year in the New York Times, 21 distinguished scientists (including three Nobel laureates) criticized Japan\u27s program of scientific research whaling, noting its poor design and unjustified reliance upon lethal sampling. In a recent Forum article in BioScience, Aron, Burke, and Freeman (2002) castigate the letter\u27s signers and accuse them of meddling in political issues without sufficient knowledge of the science involved in those issues

Cardiovascular phenotype of mice lacking all three subtypes of angiotensin II receptors

Angiotensin II activates two distinct receptors, the angiotensin II receptors type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2). In rodents, two AT1subtypes were identified (AT1aand AT1b). To determine receptor-specific functions and possible angiotensin II effects independent of its three known receptors we generated mice deficient in either one of the angiotensin II receptors, in two, or in all three (triple knockouts). Triple knockouts were vital and fertile, but survival was impaired. Hypotension and renal histological abnormalities in triple knockouts were comparable to those in mice lacking both AT1subtypes. All combinations lacking AT1awere distinguished by reduced heart rate. AT1adeletion impaired the in vivo pressor response to angiotensin II bolus injection, whereas deficiency for AT1band/or AT2had no effect. However, the additional lack of AT1bin AT1a-deficient mice further impaired the vasoconstrictive capacity of angiotensin II. Although general vasoconstrictor properties were not changed, angiotensin II failed to alter blood pressure in triple knockouts, indicating that there are no other receptors involved in direct angiotensin II pressor effects. Our data identify mice deficient in all three angiotensin II receptors as an ideal tool to better understand the structure and function of the reninangiotensin system and to search for angiotensin II effects independent of AT1and AT2