Bienestar de los bovinos en las etapas que circundan a la faena: identificación, caracterización y cuantificación de las lesiones traumáticas que afectan el ganado de carne en las etapas que circundan a la faena

El bienestar animal ha tomado importancia en el mundo siendo cada vez mayor la preocupación por los animales que sufren manejos inadecuados antes de la faena. Los animales son transportados en camiones desde los establecimientos productores hacia los frigoríficos. Las maniobras inadecuadas pueden ser causa de lesiones traumáticas de distinta gravedad, profundidad y localización, que aparecen en las masas musculares e indican deterioro del bienestar del animal. A nivel internacional, cada vez más se exigirá el cumplimiento de estándares sobre buenas prácticas y Uruguay deberá adecuarse a esas nuevas normativas. El objetivo de este trabajo es identificar las principales lesiones traumáticas, cuantificar sus consecuencias y determinar sus posibles causas. Caracterizar el transporte de bovinos, desarrollar y validar un método de evaluación de lesiones en la carcasa y estimar las pérdidas inmediatas ocasionadas por éstas. Se registraron características de 448 camiones arribados a 13 plantas habilitadas y se hicieron cuestionarios a sus conductores. Más del 50% de camiones pertenecían a modelos posteriores a 1995 en tanto que el 17% estaban mal mantenidos. Principales elementos de ayuda para mover animales: gritos (40%), picanas eléctricas (57%) y palos (3%). De 30.314 medias carcasas observadas 48% tenían alguna lesión. De éstas: zona dorsal 10%, grupa 86%, costillar 17% y delantera 17% de lesiones. El 20% de todas las lesiones eran profundas, causando daño importante del corte con decomiso de carne de 1kg/animal promedio y pérdidas aproximadas de U$S1,8/animal. Se observó relación directa entre manejo de animales antes de faena, las características del transporte y la presencia de lesiones en la carcasa. Esto indica que hay que aumentar la conciencia colectiva, difundiendo y capacitando a todos los sectores de la cadena

Algunas narrativas acerca de prácticas y discursos de integración escolar e inclusión en la educación pública en Bogotá.

La presente investigación pretende realizar un análisis a los diferentes discursos y prácticas que actualmente enmarcan el tema de la inclusión dentro la educación formal regular que se brinda en los distintos colegios públicos de Bogotá, a través de tres historias vida de estudiantes en condición de discapacidad, que estudian o han estudiado en colegios públicos ubicados en las localidades de Ciudad Bolívar y Tunjuelito. Se pretende establecer el alcance y los logros de los procesos de inclusión a través del establecimiento de los niveles de coherencia entre lo legislado y las realidades concretas que se viven cotidianamente al interior de las instituciones educativas frente a la puesta en marcha de los lineamientos sociales y políticos del proceso en mención. Esto se hace a través del análisis de historias de vida de estudiantes con Discapacidad, de colegios oficiales de Bogotá y de entrevistas a docentes y padres de dichas instituciones. Se confronta así el marco legal con las vivencias y experiencias de los actores

El índice de actividad individual de los estudiantes en EVA y sus rendimientos académicos: el caso de Bioestadística Veterinaria

La suspensión de actividades presenciales en la Universidad de la República por la pandemia de COVID-19 llevó a que los espacios virtuales de aprendizaje se volvieran esenciales en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje universitario. Bioestadística I, curso de primer año de la carrera de Veterinaria, se impartió enteramente de manera remota a través de la plataforma Moodle de la Facultad de Veterinaria (Entorno Virtual de Aprendizaje [EVA]). En este trabajo se analiza la información que proporciona EVA y se la relaciona con el rendimiento de los estudiantes. El curso registró un total de 825 estudiantes matriculados en EVA. Entre el 50 % y el 70 % de los estudiantes ingresaron todas las semanas al curso, con una actividad mínima durante los fines de semana. El índice de actividad individual (IAI), definido en función de los días que el estudiante accedió a la plataforma sobre el total de días del curso, permitió cuantificar la actividad de los alumnos y evaluar su relación con el desempeño académico mediante una regresión lineal. El IAI mostró una asociación directa, positiva y significativa con el resultado final obtenido por los estudiantes. También se analizan los resultados de los rendimientos académicos de esta generación en aspectos relativos a la desvinculación, ganancia y promoción del curso; se encontró que la modalidad a distancia tuvo valores de desvinculación similares a los registrados en los años anteriores con clases presenciales. La información proporcionada por EVA es clave para poder evaluar el impacto de la pandemia y para mejorar las próximas ediciones del curso.The suspension of face-to-face activities in the Universidad de la República caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, made virtual learning spaces essential for university teaching and learning. Biostatistics 1, a first-year Veterinary course, was entirely taught remotely through the Moodle platform of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Entorno Virtual de Aprendizaje [EVA]). In this study, the information provided by EVA was analyzed and associated with the students’ performance. A total of 825 students were enrolled in the course on EVA. Between 50 % and 70 % of the students entered the course every week, with minimal activity on the weekends. The Individual Activity Index (IAI), defined as the days that the student accessed the platform over the total days of the course, allowed to quantify the activity of the students and correlate that value to their academic performance through a linear regression. The IAI showed a direct, positive and significant association with the final result obtained by the students. The results of the academic performance of this generation were also analyzed in aspects related to disengagement, gain and promotion of the course, finding that the on-line modality had disengagement values similar to those registered in previous years with face-to-face classes. The information provided by EVA is key to be able to assess the impact of the pandemic and to improve the next editions of the course

General Principles for the Welfare of Animals in Production Systems: The Underlying Science and Its Application

In 2012, the World Organisation for Animal Health adopted 10 ‘General Principles for the Welfare of Animals in Livestock Production Systems’ to guide the development of animal welfare standards. The General Principles draw on half a century of scientific research relevant to animal welfare: (1) how genetic selection affects animal health, behaviour and temperament; (2) how the environment influences injuries and the transmission of diseases and parasites; (3) how the environment affects resting, movement and the performance of natural behaviour; (4) the management of groups to minimize conflict and allow positive social contact; (5) the effects of air quality, temperature and humidity on animal health and comfort; (6) ensuring access to feed and water suited to the animals’ needs and adaptations; (7) prevention and control of diseases and parasites, with humane euthanasia if treatment is not feasible or recovery is unlikely; (8) prevention and management of pain; (9) creation of positive human–animal relationships; and (10) ensuring adequate skill and knowledge among animal handlers. Research directed at animal welfare, drawing on animal behaviour, stress physiology, veterinary epidemiology and other fields, complements more established fields of animal and veterinary science and helps to create a more comprehensive scientific basis for animal care and management

THI: Is it a Reliable Measure to Assess Cattle Thermal Stress in Silvopastoral Systems in a Subtropical/Temperate climate?

Livestock performance and welfare may be adversely affected by weather conditions, heat stress being a sign of deterioration of animal welfare..

Visiones transversales de Puerto Rico y el Caribe

Con autorización de la editorial para este libro. La edición del libro estuvo a cargo de Beatriz Cruz Sotomayor y Félix R. Huertas González.Visiones transversales de Puerto Rico y el Caribe es producto de un proyecto internacional de investigación en el que han venido participando, por los pasados años, un grupo de historiadores y especialistas de diversas disciplinas en el área de los estudios caribeños. Como lo sugiere su título, el libro apuesta a la transversalidad como enfoque que permite explorar, desde múltiples perspectivas, la diversidad que ya de por sí implica la región caribeña y, en particular, la isla de Puerto Rico. Este persigue innovar en su metodología, marcos teóricos, perspectivas críticas y en una rica variedad de campos de estudio sobre Puerto Rico en el contexto del Caribe. Desde una diversidad de análisis, los ensayos transitan también un amplio espectro temático: esclavitud, urbanismo, ambiente, identidad, cultura, diáspora, economía, arte, literatura y política, entre otros.Connected Worlds: The Caribbean, Origin of the Modern World. Este proyecto ha recibido fondos del programa de investigación e innovación Horizon 2020 de la Unión Europea en virtud del acuerdo de subvención Marie Sklodowska-Curie Nº 823846. El proyecto está dirigido por la profesora Consuelo Naranjo Orovio del Instituto de Historia-CSIC.Peer reviewe

Metabolite and lipoprotein profiles reveal sex-related oxidative stress imbalance in de novo drug-naive Parkinson's disease patients

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the neurological disorder showing the greatest rise in prevalence from 1990 to 2016. Despite clinical definition criteria and a tremendous effort to develop objective biomarkers, precise diagnosis of PD is still unavailable at early stage. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have used omic methods to unveil the molecular basis of PD, providing a detailed characterization of potentially pathological alterations in various biological specimens. Metabolomics could provide useful insights to deepen our knowledge of PD aetiopathogenesis, to identify signatures that distinguish groups of patients and uncover responsive biomarkers of PD that may be significant in early detection and in tracking the disease progression and drug treatment efficacy. The present work is the first large metabolomic study based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with an independent validation cohort aiming at the serum characterization of de novo drug-naive PD patients. Here, NMR is applied to sera from large training and independent validation cohorts of German subjects. Multivariate and univariate approaches are used to infer metabolic differences that characterize the metabolite and the lipoprotein profiles of newly diagnosed de novo drug-naive PD patients also in relation to the biological sex of the subjects in the study, evidencing a more pronounced fingerprint of the pathology in male patients. The presence of a validation cohort allowed us to confirm altered levels of acetone and cholesterol in male PD patients. By comparing the metabolites and lipoproteins levels among de novo drug-naive PD patients, age- and sex-matched healthy controls, and a group of advanced PD patients, we detected several descriptors of stronger oxidative stress

Metabolite and lipoprotein profiles reveal sex-related oxidative stress imbalance in de novo drug-naive Parkinson's disease patients

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the neurological disorder showing the greatest rise in prevalence from 1990 to 2016. Despite clinical definition criteria and a tremendous effort to develop objective biomarkers, precise diagnosis of PD is still unavailable at early stage. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have used omic methods to unveil the molecular basis of PD, providing a detailed characterization of potentially pathological alterations in various biological specimens. Metabolomics could provide useful insights to deepen our knowledge of PD aetiopathogenesis, to identify signatures that distinguish groups of patients and uncover responsive biomarkers of PD that may be significant in early detection and in tracking the disease progression and drug treatment efficacy. The present work is the first large metabolomic study based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with an independent validation cohort aiming at the serum characterization of de novo drug-naive PD patients. Here, NMR is applied to sera from large training and independent validation cohorts of German subjects. Multivariate and univariate approaches are used to infer metabolic differences that characterize the metabolite and the lipoprotein profiles of newly diagnosed de novo drug-naive PD patients also in relation to the biological sex of the subjects in the study, evidencing a more pronounced fingerprint of the pathology in male patients. The presence of a validation cohort allowed us to confirm altered levels of acetone and cholesterol in male PD patients. By comparing the metabolites and lipoproteins levels among de novo drug-naive PD patients, age- and sex-matched healthy controls, and a group of advanced PD patients, we detected several descriptors of stronger oxidative stress

Heterogeneity of prodromal Parkinson symptoms in siblings of Parkinson disease patients

A prodromal phase of Parkinson’s disease (PD) may precede motor manifestations by decades. PD patients’ siblings are at higher risk for PD, but the prevalence and distribution of prodromal symptoms are unknown. The study objectives were (1) to assess motor and non-motor features estimating prodromal PD probability in PD siblings recruited within the European PROPAG-AGEING project; (2) to compare motor and non-motor symptoms to the well-established DeNoPa cohort. 340 PD siblings from three sites (Bologna, Seville, Kassel/Goettingen) underwent clinical and neurological evaluations of PD markers. The German part of the cohort was compared with German de novo PD patients (dnPDs) and healthy controls (CTRs) from DeNoPa. Fifteen (4.4%) siblings presented with subtle signs of motor impairment, with MDS-UPDRS-III scores not clinically different from CTRs. Symptoms of orthostatic hypotension were present in 47 siblings (13.8%), no different to CTRs (p = 0.072). No differences were found for olfaction and overall cognition; German-siblings performed worse than CTRs in visuospatial-executive and language tasks. 3/147 siblings had video-polysomnography-confirmed REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), none was positive on the RBD Screening Questionnaire. 173/300 siblings had <1% probability of having prodromal PD; 100 between 1 and 10%, 26 siblings between 10 and 80%, one fulfilled the criteria for prodromal PD. According to the current analysis, we cannot confirm the increased risk of PD siblings for prodromal PD. Siblings showed a heterogeneous distribution of prodromal PD markers and probability. Additional parameters, including strong disease markers, should be investigated to verify if these results depend on validity and sensitivity of prodromal PD criteria, or if siblings’ risk is not elevated

A geroscience approach for Parkinson's disease: Conceptual framework and design of PROPAG-AGEING project

Advanced age is the major risk factor for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), but to date the biological relationship between PD and ageing remains elusive. Here we describe the rationale and the design of the H2020 funded project “PROPAG-AGEING”, whose aim is to characterize the contribution of the ageing process to PD development. We summarize current evidences that support the existence of a continuum between ageing and PD and justify the use of a Geroscience approach to study PD. We focus in particular on the role of inflammaging, the chronic, low-grade inflammation characteristic of elderly physiology, which can propagate and transmit both locally and systemically. We then describe PROPAG-AGEING design, which is based on the multi-omic characterization of peripheral samples from clinically characterized drug-naïve and advanced PD, PD discordant twins, healthy controls and "super-controls", i.e. centenarians, who never showed clinical signs of motor disability, and their offspring. Omic results are then validated in a large number of samples, including in vitro models of dopaminergic neurons and healthy siblings of PD patients, who are at higher risk of developing PD, with the final aim of identifying the molecular perturbations that can deviate the trajectories of healthy ageing towards PD development