Efectos postnatales de la variación de peso al nacimiento en el cerdo ibérico

La optimización de la rentabilidad en la producción porcina se basa principalmente en el aumento de los kilos de carne producidos por cerda y año y en la obtención de la mayor homogeneidad posible en los lotes de crecimiento y sacrificio. Para ello, en razas comerciales genéticamente seleccionadas, se ha buscado el aumento del número de lechones por camada. Sin embargo, las camadas con un alto número de lechones se ven penalizadas por aumentos en la variabilidad de peso al nacimiento y por un mayor porcentaje de lechones con bajo peso al nacimiento, debido a procesos de restricción del crecimiento intrauterino que confirman la importancia del ambiente prenatal. Los lechones de bajo peso al nacimiento se ven afectados por mayores tasas de mortalidad y por alteraciones en su desarrollo y su metabolismo postnatal que pueden afectar a la calidad de la carne y la canal. Todos estos procesos son perjudiciales para la rentabilidad de la explotación porcina.Los efectos de la variabilidad intracamada y el bajo peso al nacimiento no han sido estudiados en profundidad en cerdos de razas tradicionales, como el cerdo ibérico. El cerdo ibérico es originario de la Península Ibérica y es especialmente valorado por sus productos cárnicos de alta calidad. Esta raza de cerdo graso ha sido escasamente seleccionada y se ha criado en condiciones extensivas durante siglos, por lo que presenta menores rendimientos productivos y reproductivos y un mayor problema de heterogeneidad que las razas magras, así como una diferente fisiología que caracteriza y condiciona su producción..

Desarrollo de un modelo epidemiológico para la evaluación de la difusión de la peste porcina clásica en Segovia

El objetivo de este estudio fue realizar un modelo epidemiológico para analizar los patrones de difusión del virus de la peste porcina clásica en Segovia y evaluar las zonas y tipos de granjas con mayor riesgo epidemiológico. El modelo utilizado fue un modelo de transición de estados estocástico y con componente espacial. Como resultado se obtuvieron una media (95% IP) de 28 (1-98) granjas infectadas, 15 (0-70) sacrificadas y 71 (2-279) inmovilizadas en la zona de protección. El tiempo medio de la duración de la epidemia fueron de 63 (1-168) días y el tiempo medio hasta la detección fue de 14 (6-39) días. Las áreas de mayor riesgo de difusión de Peste Porcina Clásica en Segovia se identificaron en la zona centro-oeste de la región. Este estudio puede ser de utilidad como apoyo en la toma de decisiones respecto a la prevención y el control de futuras epidemias de PPC.The aim of this study was to develop an epidemiological model to analyze the spread patterns of the classical swine fever virus in Segovia and to assess the areas and farm types with more epidemiological risk. The model used was a state-transition stochastic and spatial model. As a result it was obtained a mean (95% IP) of 28 (1-98) infected farms, 15 (0-70) depopulated and 71 (2-279) quarantined farms in the protection zone. The average duration of the epidemic was 63 (1-168) days and the average time to detection was 14 (6-39) days. The areas at higher risk of spread of CSF in Segovia were identified in the central-western region. This study could be useful for decision making regarding the prevention and control of potential epidemics of Classical Swine Fever

Low-coverage whole-genome sequencing in livestock species for individual traceability and parentage testing

Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICProcedures for genetic traceability of animal products and parentage testing mainly focus on microsatellites or SNPs panels. Nevertheless, current availability of high-throughput sequencing technologies must be considered as an appealing alternative. This research focused on the evaluation of low-coverage whole-genome sequencing for traceability and paternity testing purposes, within a context of evidential statistics. Analyses were performed on a simulation basis and assumed individuals with 30 100-Mb/100-cM chromosome pairs and ~1,000,000 polymorphic SNPs per chromosome. Ten independent populations were simulated under recombination and mutation with effective populations size 100 (generations 1-1000), 10,000 (generation 1001) and 25,000 (generation 1002), and this last generation was retained for analytical purposes. Appropriate both traceability and paternity tests were developed and evaluated on different high-throughput sequencing scenarios accounting for genome coverage depth (0.01×, 0.05×, 0.1× and 0.5×), length of base-pair reads (100, 1000 and 10,000 bp), and sequencing error rate (0%, 1% and 10%). Assuming true sequencing error rates and genotypic frequencies, 0.05× genome coverage depth guaranteed 100% sensitivity and specificity for traceability and paternity tests (n = 1000). Same results were obtained when sequencing error rate was arbitrarily set to 0, or the maximum value assumed during simulation (i.e., 1%). In a similar way, uncertainly about genotypic frecuencies did not impair sensitivity under 0.05× genome coverage, although it reduced specificity for paternity tests up to 85.2%. These results highlighted low-coverage whole-genome sequencing as a promising tool for the livestock and food industry with both technological and (maybe) economic advantages

Evidential segregation analysis for offspring sex ratio in rabbit and sheep populations

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABOffspring sex ratio has been found to be altered by environmental and genetic distortions in multiple species, against the Mendelian inheritance rules. However, little is known in livestock populations where it is essential to validate whether a polymorphic major gene with relevant effects may segregate in the target population. However, the current analytical tool (model FREQ) cannot handle new mutations in non-founder individuals, reducing the chance of detecting them. Our new analytical approach aimed to overcome this limitation in the context of evidential inference, a statistical framework based on the likelihood function as a robust objective measure of the strength of statistical evidence without variation from the sample size. Two field data sets from sheep and rabbit populations were used. Models evaluated environmental and inbreeding effects in both species. Our new approach assumed that the mutation primarily arose in an individual of the analyzed data set (model MUTj). Each sire was individually analyzed to determine the most plausible source for the new mutation, if any. The likelihood ratio (LR) against a reference parametrization without mutations (model NULL) was used to test the statistical relevance of systematic effects (LR ≥ 8) and models (LR ≥ 32). Both species revealed relevant departures for offspring sex ratio along the analyzed time frame with strong evidence for the year (LR = 1.4 × 10 in Ripollesa sheep and LR = 85.7 in MARET rabbits) and season (LR = 12.6 in MARET rabbits), although with a fluctuating pattern. The age of the dam reported weak evidence in both species (LR 32) was the Ripollesa sheep, with a ram three to six generations from the founders as the most likely source for a new mutation increasing the odds of daughters. The additive genetic effect of this model for the mutant allele also had strong evidence (LR = 1,195). Therefore, the MUT parametrization can be a valuable analytical tool to check for the possibility of new mutations along the pedigree files, not only before the founders

Análisis de los estados financieros de Campofrío Food Group, S.A

La realización de este proyecto está dirigida al estudio económico-financiero de la empresa líder del sector cárnico en España, Campofrío Food Group S.A, durante el periodo de crisis 2008-2012, a partir de los estados contables de dicha empresa. El objetivo final es analizar la situación patrimonial y financiera de esta empresa durante dicho periodo, ver cómo ha evolucionado y si existe actualmente algún problema en términos de liquidez, endeudamiento y rentabilidad. Para ello es importante contextualizar la empresa dentro del sector e industria cárnica para conocer su comportamiento y posicionamiento dentro del mismo, y comparar sus ratios con los del sector

Polyphenols and IUGR Pregnancies: Intrauterine Growth Restriction and Hydroxytyrosol Affect the Development and Neurotransmitter Profile of the Hippocampus in a Pig Model

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) refers to poor growth of a fetus during pregnancy due to deficient maternal nutrition or oxygen supply. Supplementation of a mother's diet with antioxidants, such as hydroxytyrosol (HTX), has been proposed to ameliorate the adverse phenotypes of IUGR. In the present study, sows were treated daily with or without 1.5 mg of HTX per kilogram of feed from day 35 of pregnancy (at 30% of the total gestational period), and fetuses were sampled at day 100 of gestation. Fetuses were classified as normal body weight (NBW) or low body weight (LBW) as a consequence of IUGR, constituting four groups: NBW-Control, NBW-HTX, LBW-Control, and LBW-HTX. The brain was removed, and the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex were rapidly dissected. Neuronal markers were studied by immunohistochemistry, and a decrease in the number of mature neurons in the hippocampal Cornu Ammonis subfield 1 (CA1) and the Dentate Gyrus (DG) regions was observed in LBW fetuses together with a higher number of immature neurons and other alterations in neuronal morphology. Furthermore, IUGR conditions altered the neurotransmitter (NT) profile, since an increase in the serotonin (5-HT) pathway was observed in LBW fetuses. Supplementation with HTX was able to reverse the morphological and neurochemical changes, leading both characteristics to values similar to those of NBW fetuses

Aprendiendo a desmontar la clase magistral

La experiencia docente que presentamos consiste en la sustitución de las clases magistrales, como método fundamental de impartir los conocimientos teóricos, por un modelo de interacción entre actividades prácticas y síntesis teóricas en donde el alumno realiza el aprendizaje de conceptos y cuestiones teóricas contrastándolos en textos y obras de arquitectura, guiado por el docente de modo continuo. Esta metodología requiere la implicación de los alumnos y los profesores y un cambio de actitud sustancial en el modo como se plantean los proyectos docentes de las asignaturas. Los resultados obtenidos han sido buenos, pero todavía sólo se ha puesto a prueba durante dos cursos, en un total de tres asignaturas del Departamento de Historia, Teoría y Composición arquitectónicas, por un conjunto de tres profesoras. Profundizando en el caso de la asignatura Historia, Teoría y Composición 2 durante el curso 2015-2016, se explica el modo de trabajo, la programación docente y el sistema de evaluación, diseñados para conseguir las competencias del programa de la asignatura. En este proceso es determinante proponer unos contenidos que se puedan asimilar por los alumnos a través de unos materiales muy precisos, porque es el proceso del aprendizaje del alumno lo que se acompaña por parte del profesor con explicaciones y asistencia, tanto personal, como de grupo de trabajo y de todo el curso

Vegetation greenness sensitivity to precipitation and its oceanic and terrestrial component in selected biomes and ecoregions of the world

In this study, we conducted a global assessment of the sensitivity of vegetation greenness (VGS) to precipitation and to the estimated Lagrangian precipitation time series of oceanic (PLO) and terrestrial (PLT) origin. The study was carried out for terrestrial ecosystems consisting of 9 biomes and 139 ecoregions during the period of 2001–2018. This analysis aimed to diagnose the vegetative response of vegetation to the dominant component of precipitation, which is of particular interest considering the hydroclimatic characteristics of each ecoregion, climate variability, and changes in the origin of precipitation that may occur in the context of climate change. The enhanced vegetation index (EVI) was used as an indicator of vegetation greenness. Without consideration of semi-arid and arid regions and removing the role of temperature and radiation, the results show the maximum VGS to precipitation in boreal high-latitude ecoregions that belong to boreal forest/taiga: temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands. Few ecoregions, mainly in the Amazon basin, show a negative sensitivity. We also found that vegetation greenness is generally more sensitive to the component that contributes the least to precipitation and is less stable throughout the year. Therefore, most vegetation greenness in Europe is sensitive to changes in PLT and less to PLO. In contrast, the boreal forest/taiga in northeast Asia and North America is more sensitive to changes in PLO. Finally, in most South American and African ecoregions, where PLT is crucial, the vegetation is more sensitive to PLO, whereas the contrast occurs in the northern and eastern ecoregions of Australia.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2021-122314OB-I00Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/44Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2021/134Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481D 2022/020Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RYC2021-034044-

Active Pharmacovigilance in Epileptic Patients: A Deep Insight into Phenytoin Behaviour

Despite the introduction of new and more expensive anticonvulsant drugs, phenytoin (PHT) is still a first-line medication for common types of epilepsy such as tonic-clonic and complex partial seizures but not for absence seizures. PHT shows a nonlinear kinetics and a narrow therapeutic range, thus a fine balance must be found between efficacy and toxic effects. Since the free (unbound) drug is responsible for producing the pharmacological effect, the concentration in a novel biological fluid more closely related to arterial free plasma drug concentration—saliva—is used in this study as part of the monitoring strategy. Therefore, in order to optimize therapy in epileptic patients under PHT treatment, plasma and saliva concentrations of PHT were measured, and adverse drug reactions were registered during a 2-year follow-up. CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and epoxide hydrolase polymorphisms (enzymes involved in PHT metabolism) were also analyzed using, in this way, pharmacogenetics for drug safety. The two PHT brands commercially available in our country and used in this study demonstrated similar pattern of efficacy and safety

Age hardening of extruded AA 6005A aluminium alloy powders

Pre-alloyed micron-sized 6005A Al alloy (AA 6005A) powders, with a Mg/Si atomic ratio of 0.75, obtained by high pressure inert gas atomization were consolidated by uniaxial cold pressing at 200 MPa into cylindrical Al containers and hot extruded at 450, 480 and 500 °C with an extrusion rate of 7:1, followed by artificial T6 precipitation hardening. Ageing conditions were varied between 170 °C and 190 °C and times of 6, 7 and 8 hours. The microstructure of the extruded profiles was analysed using X-Ray diffractometry (XRD), light optical microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the possible phase transformations. After our results, the peak-aging hardness condition was achieved at 180 °C for 6 h. Mechanical properties of the powder metallurgy (P/M) aluminium alloys consolidated by hot extrusion were superior to those of the extruded profiles of wrought alloy using conventional ingot metallurgy (I/M) billets. AA 6005A wrought P/M alloy via T6 heat treatment shown yield stress of 317 MPa and elongation of 21% at the extrusion pre-heating temperature of 500 °C.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. MAT2013-48166-C