Vascular Disaggregated Platelet Control in Newborn Piglets

The balance of platelet and vascular functions clearly determines the functioning of primary hemostasis in the piglet’s body. This is of particular physiological importance at the beginning of piglet ontogenesis. The degree of functional readiness of platelets and blood vessels in piglets during the neonatal period determines the state of blood microcirculation in tissues and the activity of many functional mechanisms at this stage of development. The activity of the disaggregation properties of blood vessels, which significantly determines the intensity of anabolism and, ultimately, the productivity of animals, is particularly important at this age. This study examined 31 healthy newborn piglets. A decrease in the amount of peroxidation products was found in the blood of all animals due to an increase in the antioxidant potential of their plasma, which created conditions in newborn piglets for weak alteration of the vascular endothelium and its optimal synthetic activity. This led to an increase in the vascular control over the platelet aggregation activity, maintaining the optimal blood flow in microvessels from the beginning of individual development. Keywords: piglets, neonatal phase, blood vessels, platelets, aggregation, lipid peroxidatio

Rendering of Wind Effects in 3D Landscape Scenes

AbstractVisualization of 3D landscape scenes is often used in architectural modeling systems, realistic simulators, computer virtual reality, and other applications. Wind is a common spread natural effect without which any scene would be unrealistic. Three algorithms for tree rendering under changeable wind parameters were developed. They have a minimal computational cost and simulate weak wind; mid-force wind, and storm wind. A 3D landscape scene is formed from a set of trees models that are generated from laser data and templates of L-systems. The user can tune the wind parameters and manipulate a modeling scene by using the designed software tool

Anti-Aggregation Function of Blood Vessels in Piglets of Dairy and Plant Nutrition

Modern pig farming is a significant sector of modern agriculture in many countries. The attractiveness of its products is associated with their excellent taste and economic affordability. The intensive development of pig breeding considers the latest achievements in the field of pig biology during their early ontogenesis. Optimal functioning of hemostasis in growing piglets relies on platelet activity. Its low severity during the phase of milk and vegetable nutrition provides them with the optimal functional state of primary hemostasis, the success of microcirculation in the internal organs, and sufficient activity of all functional and biochemical processes. In the blood of healthy piglets during the phase of dairy and plant nutrition, a decrease in the number of peroxidation products was noted due to an increase in the level of antioxidant protection of their plasma. This minimized their platelet and vascular wall alteration and provided optimal platelet-vascular interactions. This study shows that the gradual increase in the platelet aggregation that develops in piglets at this age is functionally balanced by the increase in the disaggregation properties of blood vessels and creates conditions for optimal blood flow in small-caliber vessels. Keywords: piglets, phase of dairy and plant nutrition, platelets, aggregation, disaggregation, early ontogenesi

Are homicide and drug trafficking linked to peer physical victimization in Costa Rican schools?

Objective: This study investigates the connection between crime rates and victimization by peer physical aggression in Costa Rican schools. Although previous research has demonstrated that peer victimization is related to community crime, no study to date has examined its association with homicides and drug trafficking, 2 criminal offenses that are key in Latin America. Method: We combined information on crime rates and socioeconomic characteristics at the district level with the data on peer physical victimization, school climate, and characteristics of student–teacher relationships, retrieved from the Programme for International Student Assessment Questionnaire. In total, 6,866 adolescents were surveyed, with an average age of 15 years, attending 205 schools, located in 154 districts. In the estimated probit model, the introduction of a variable representing districts’ social development and of fixed effects, at school and district levels, helped us to deal with unobserved heterogeneity. Results: We found that attending schools situated in districts with higher homicide rates and cocaine confiscations increase the probability of suffering victimization by peer physical aggression at school, whereas attending schools with high economic, social, and cultural status, which offer sports activities for students and which were situated in the districts with a high level of social development, decrease the possibility of peer physical victimization. Conclusions: These results suggest that interventions beyond school level are needed to ensure the safety of students inside of schools and, thus, effective preventive programs should address crime at the neighborhood level

Are homicide and drug trafficking linked to peer physical victimization in Costa Rican schools?

[EN] Objective: This study investigates the connection between crime rates and victimization by peer physical aggression in Costa Rican schools. Although previous research has demonstrated that peer victimization is related to community crime, no study to date has examined its association with homicides and drug trafficking, two criminal offenses that are key in Latin America. Method: We combined information on crime rates and socioeconomic characteristics at the district level with the data on peer physical victimization, school climate and characteristics of student-teacher relationships, retrieved from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) questionnaire. In total, 6,866 adolescents were surveyed, with an average age of 15 years, attending 205 schools, located in 154 districts. In the estimated probit model, the introduction of a variable representing districts’ social development and of fixed effects, at school and district levels, helped us to deal with unobserved heterogeneity. Results: We found that attending schools situated in districts with higher homicide rates and cocaine confiscations increase the probability of suffering victimization by peer physical aggression at school, while attending schools with high economic, social and cultural status, that offer sports activities for students and which were situated in the districts with a high level of social development, decrease the possibility of peer physical victimization. Conclusions: These results suggest that interventions beyond school level are needed to ensure the safety of students inside of schools and thus effective preventive programs should address crime at the neighborhood levelSIThis work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades del Gobierno de España [research project number EDU2016-76414-R] and the Gobierno de Aragón [research project number S44_20R: SEIM]. They provided the funds to finance the article review process and proofreading. We wish to express our gratitude to the members of the Estado de la Educación program, in Costa Rica, for their valuable ideas and technical suppor