Effect of dietary protein source on piglet meat quality characteristics

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of different dietary protein sources (soybean meal vs whey protein) on piglet meat quality characteristics. Eighteen castrated male Large White × Duroc × Landrace piglets were randomly assigned to 2 groups. Piglets were kept in individual metabolic cages and fed ad libitum over a period of 38 days the following 2 diets: diet SB, which was formulated to meet the nutrient requirements of piglets using soybean meal as the main crude protein source and diet WP, where SB was totally replaced by a mixture of whey proteins on equal digestible energy and crude protein basis. At the end of the experiment, piglets were weighed and slaughtered. After overnight chilling, samples of Longissimus dorsi muscle were taken and were used for meat quality measurements.         No significant differences were observed in the values of pH, colour, water holding capacity, shear force and intramuscular fat content of L. dorsi muscle between the dietary treatments. Measurement of lipid oxidation values showed that dietary supplementation with different protein sources did not influence meat antioxidant properties during refrigerated storage. The SB piglets had lower 14:0 (P<0.01) and higher 18:3n-3 (P<0.001) levels in intramuscular fat in comparison with WP piglets. However, these changes were attributed to background differences in the dietary FA profile and not to a direct protein source effect. The results of this preliminary study indicate that the examined dietary protein sources (soybean meal or whey protein) do not have a significant effect on meat quality characteristics of piglets

Association of dietary soy with expression of various pro-inflammatory genes in porcine phagocytes

Soybean and whey are two common protein sources used in piglet feeding; however, their effects on pro-inflammatory responses remain unclear. The present study investigated the expression of various genes implicated in the activation/deactivation of porcine phagocytes post-weaning. Eighteen piglets were divided into two groups based on the main protein source of their diet; soybean (SB) or whey proteins (WP). Blood phagocytes were isolated at 72 days of age. Expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA), u-PA receptor (u-PAR), plasminogen activator inhibitors 1 and 2, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), inducible NO synthase (iNOS), cyclo-oxygenase-2 and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in activated monocytes and neutrophils (except IL-10) was determined by quantitative PCR. Expression of u-PAR, ICAM-1 and iNOS were lower  in both cell types obtained from SB-fed piglets compared to WP-fed piglets. In conclusion, a SB-based diet, compared with a WP diet, is associated with reduced expression of crucial pro-inflammatory genes in porcine phagocytes

Serotonergic modulation of suicidal behaviour : integrating preclinical data with clinical practice and psychotherapy

Many studies have provided important information regarding the anatomy, development and functional organization of the 5-HT system and the alterations in this system that are present within the brain of the suicidal patient. There is also a growing interest in genetic factors associated with suicide, since these may lead to the emergence of personality traits that prove to be long-term predictors of suicidal behaviour. This review will focus on presenting the scientific literature on the role of the serotonergic system in suicidal behaviour as well as dysfunctional attitudes and personality traits associated with the suicidal patient. The association of the serotonin transporter gene, the 5-HT2 receptors and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid with suicidal behaviour and animal models that may capture the complexity of suicidal behaviour will be discussed. Finally, the relationship between neurobiological models and psychotherapeutic interventions for suicide prevention will be considered with a focus on Schema Therapy (an approach that has shown particular promise in the treatment of suicidal individuals with personality disorders), aiming to invite the reader to integrate some aspects of the neurobiology of human suicidal behaviour into a model of suicide that can be used in a clinical encounter.peer-reviewe

Strike-slip tectonics in the SW Barents Sea during North Atlantic rifting (Swaen Graben, Northern Norway)

This study uses high quality, three-dimensional [3-D] seismic data to investigate the occurrence of strike-slip faults in the Swaen Graben, SW Barents Sea. The Swaen Graben is divided into two principal sub-basins:- SSB1 and SSB2. The along-strike and along–dip displacement variations and scale relationships are analyzed for forty-two [42] faults. The displacement profiles for these faults are complex in the Swaen Graben, showing clear evidence for polycyclic fault growth and marked syn-sedimentary activity. The observed variations in the displacement profiles indicate complex along-strike segmentation, linkage and mechanical interactions at distinct structural levels. Along-dip displacement minima indicate fault reactivation by dip-linkage. Importantly, geometric evidence for strike-slip faulting in the Swaen graben includes the presence of extensional horsetail splay faults, positive flower structures and minor transfer faults. This study shows that the faults in the Swaen Graben developed under extensional regimes during Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rifting and were reactivated by regional stresses during the Late Cretaceous. The two principal strike-slip faults in the Swaen Graben reveal sinistral movement and are linked at a shallow depth by minor transfer faults at a relay zone. Our work further demonstrates the occurrence of Late Mesozoic strike-slip movements in the SW Barents Sea, which were induced by regional tectonics, halokinesis and fault block rotation. Importantly, strike-slip faulting in the region extends perhaps into the Cenozoic interacting with extension during the North Atlantic rifting

In compute/memory dynamic packet/circuit switch placement for optically disaggregated data centers

Network function services on conventional hybrid data center (DC) architectures such as HELIOS are hard-wired and dedicated to specific network resources. This limits flexibility and performance to handle diverse traffic patterns. Furthermore, disaggregation of server resources has shown promising potential to improve resource utilization, which has been a limitation of conventional server-centric DCs. This paper presents a reconfigurable hybrid disaggregated DC (dRedBox) architecture that combines the concept of server resource disaggregation with cutting-edge software and electronic and optical technologies. The dRedBox architecture provides a remarkable amount of flexibility and connectivity through hardware-based multilayer network function service programmability. This allows for multilayer network services to be dynamically deployed at runtime to network resources and, in turn, handle diverse traffic patterns. Furthermore, this study proposes algorithms and strategies for selecting and deploying electronic packet switching and optical circuit switching function services to implement virtual machine network requests across dRedBox and conventional hybrid disaggregated architectures under different traffic patterns. Finally, the performance of the various strategies on the dRedBox and conventional hybrid disaggregated DC architectures is evaluated in terms of blocking probability, energy efficiency, network utilization, and cost. Extensive results show that, at 10% blocking probability, dRedBox architecture achieves 100% gain on VM placement and 92% energy savings compared with conventional hybrid disaggregated architectures

Knowledge of Greek adolescents on human papilloma virus (HPV) and vaccination: A national epidemiologic study

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to identify the sexual behavior, attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) focused on human papilloma virus (HPV) in the Greek adolescent population. The participants were 4547 adolescents, a representative sample for Greek territory with a mean age of 17 years. After written permission from Greek ministry of education each student completed a questionnaire with 36 questions. The fields covered were demographic characteristics, sexual life data, and basic knowledge on HPV. In the present study, 43% and 75% of the participants knew about HPV or cervical cancer, while more than 6 out of 10 did not know the association between the 2. More than 60% of the participants could not answer correctly neither about HPV infection and cervical cancer frequency in sexually active women, nor about protection methods against HPV and cervical cancer. This study shows that the low vaccination coverage of the Greek population may be due to lack of information and awareness of the adolescents and their parents. It is our duty to increase our efforts in order to better educate the population and vaccinate the population as early as possible in their reproductive years