Differences in muscle enzyme profile and metabolic response to fighting in bulls from one to three years old

The metabolic response to exercise is partially linked to muscle enzyme profile, and both factors might be influenced by ageing. This research aims: 1) To analyze the differences in muscle characteristics of fighting bulls of different ages; and 2) To assess whether the muscle enzyme profile is affected by ageing in the same way it affects other bovine breeds. Muscle biopsies from gluteus medius and semitendinosus muscles were withdrawn immediately after bullfighting, at depths of 3 and 5 cm, from a total of 24 animals, belonging to three age groups: A (1-year-olds; n=6), B (2-year-olds; n=6) and C (3-year-olds; n=12). Muscle concentrations of glycogen, lactate, adenosin triphosphate and glucose-6-P were determined. In addition, activities of citrate synthase, 3-OH-acyl-dehydrogenase, glycogen phosphorylase, lactate dehydrogenase and hexokinase were measured. No significant differences were found between the two analyzed muscles and neither between depths for any of the muscle parameters. Group A showed lower muscle lactate accumulation, with positive correlations between oxidative and glycolytic enzymes, reflecting a balance between both metabolic pathways. Group B was the most oxidative, whereas group C was the most glycolytic. Therefore, muscle oxidative potential achieved its maximum at 2 years of age, whereas the glycolytic capacity increased progressively with ageing. These results are different from those showed by other bovine breeds, with a progressive reduction in oxidative potential from birth. In conclusion, age significantly influences metabolic response to fighting as well as muscle enzyme profile in bulls

Consumo de sustancias en la adolescencia : un análisis de las diferencias desde el punto de vista psicosocial

Esta investigación profundiza en el estudio de las diferencias existentes entre chicos y chicas adolescentes consumidores de drogas ilegales desde una perspectiva psicosocial. Para ello se han incluido variables personales (autoconcepto, empatía, satisfacción con la vida, soledad y sintomatología depresiva), variables familiares (comunicación familiar y clima social familiar) y variables sociales (apoyo social comunitario, actitud hacia la autoridad institucional y conducta violenta en la escuela). Los resultados encontrados ponen de manifiesto interesantes hallazgos con importantes implicaciones prácticas a la hora de implementar intervenciones preventivas y/o rehabilitadoras eficaces, en las que se evidencia la necesidad de incorporar diferencias de género de una forma prioritaria. De la investigación se desprenden unas líneas principales de intervención a tener en cuenta en la elaboración de distintas acciones de intervención diferenciales en el ámbito de las drogodependencias durante la etapa de la adolescencia

Grid Databases for Shared Image Analysis in the MammoGrid Project

The MammoGrid project aims to prove that Grid infrastructures can be used for collaborative clinical analysis of database-resident but geographically distributed medical images. This requires: a) the provision of a clinician-facing front-end workstation and b) the ability to service real-world clinician queries across a distributed and federated database. The MammoGrid project will prove the viability of the Grid by harnessing its power to enable radiologists from geographically dispersed hospitals to share standardized mammograms, to compare diagnoses (with and without computer aided detection of tumours) and to perform sophisticated epidemiological studies across national boundaries. This paper outlines the approach taken in MammoGrid to seamlessly connect radiologist workstations across a Grid using an "information infrastructure" and a DICOM-compliant object model residing in multiple distributed data stores in Italy and the UKComment: 10 pages, 5 figure

The Reification of Patterns in the Design of Description-Driven Systems

To address the issues of reusability and evolvability in designing self- describing systems, this paper proposes a pattern-based, object-oriented, description-driven system architecture. The proposed architecture embodies four pillars - first, the adoption of a multi-layered meta-modeling architecture and reflective meta-level architecture, second, the identification of four data modeling relationships that must be made explicit such that they can be examined and modified dynamically, third, the identification of five design patterns which have emerged from practice and have proved essential in providing reusable building blocks for data management, and fourth, the encoding of the structural properties of the five design patterns by means of one pattern, the Graph pattern. The CRISTAL research project served as the basis onto which the pattern-based meta-object approach has been applied. The proposed architecture allows the realization of reusability and adaptability, and is fundamental in the specification of self-describing data management components.Comment: 10 pages 11 figure

Simultaneous Embeddings with Few Bends and Crossings

A simultaneous embedding with fixed edges (SEFE) of two planar graphs $R$ and $B$ is a pair of plane drawings of $R$ and $B$ that coincide when restricted to the common vertices and edges of $R$ and $B$. We show that whenever $R$ and $B$ admit a SEFE, they also admit a SEFE in which every edge is a polygonal curve with few bends and every pair of edges has few crossings. Specifically: (1) if $R$ and $B$ are trees then one bend per edge and four crossings per edge pair suffice (and one bend per edge is sometimes necessary), (2) if $R$ is a planar graph and $B$ is a tree then six bends per edge and eight crossings per edge pair suffice, and (3) if $R$ and $B$ are planar graphs then six bends per edge and sixteen crossings per edge pair suffice. Our results improve on a paper by Grilli et al. (GD'14), which proves that nine bends per edge suffice, and on a paper by Chan et al. (GD'14), which proves that twenty-four crossings per edge pair suffice.Comment: Full version of the paper "Simultaneous Embeddings with Few Bends and Crossings" accepted at GD '1

Relationship Between Mitochondrial Structure and Bioenergetics in Pseudoxanthoma elasticum Dermal Fibroblasts

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a genetic disease considered as a paradigm of ectopic mineralization disorders, being characterized by multisystem clinical manifestations due to progressive calcification of skin, eyes, and the cardiovascular system, resembling an age-related phenotype. Although fibroblasts do not express the pathogenic ABCC6 gene, nevertheless these cells are still under investigation because they regulate connective tissue homeostasis, generating the “arena” where cells and extracellular matrix components can promote pathologic calcification and where activation of pro-osteogenic factors can be associated to pathways involving mitochondrial metabolism. The aim of the present study was to integrate structural and bioenergenetic features to deeply investigate mitochondria from control and from PXE fibroblasts cultured in standard conditions and to explore the role of mitochondria in the development of the PXE fibroblasts’ pathologic phenotype. Proteomic, biochemical, and morphological data provide new evidence that in basal culture conditions (1) the protein profile of PXE mitochondria reveals a number of differentially expressed proteins, suggesting changes in redox balance, oxidative phosphorylation, and calcium homeostasis in addition to modified structure and organization, (2) measure of oxygen consumption indicates that the PXE mitochondria have a low ability to cope with a sudden increased need for ATP via oxidative phosphorylation, (3) mitochondrial membranes are highly polarized in PXE fibroblasts, and this condition contributes to increased reactive oxygen species levels, (4) ultrastructural alterations in PXE mitochondria are associated with functional changes, and (5) PXE fibroblasts exhibit a more abundant, branched, and interconnected mitochondrial network compared to control cells, indicating that fusion prevail over fission events. In summary, the present study demonstrates that mitochondria are modified in PXE fibroblasts. Since mitochondria are key players in the development of the aging process, fibroblasts cultured from aged individuals or aged in vitro are more prone to calcify, and in PXE, calcified tissues remind features of premature aging syndromes; it can be hypothesized that mitochondria represent a common link contributing to the development of ectopic calcification in aging and in diseases. Therefore, ameliorating mitochondrial functions and cell metabolism could open new strategies to positively regulate a number of signaling pathways associated to pathologic calcification

Influence of the Slaughter Method on the Hygienic Quality of Beef Cattle Meat and Animal Welfare Biomarkers

The main objective of this research was to carry out a comparative study between different types of slaughter in beef cattle with and without stunning. In addition, the hygienic quality of the obtained meat was determined through microbiological analysis and the animal welfare at the time of slaughtering was assessed by means of physiological parameters. A total of 52 blood samples collected at the slaughterhouse during slaughter (10 for each type of slaughter: regular, halal, and halal with stunning; 10 at the time of resting; and 12 from rotating box slaughter) were analysed for physiological parameters indicating animal welfare status, namely, glucose, cortisol, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK). In addition, the meat from 30 of the above animals was analysed for aerobic mesophilic bacteria, enterobacteria and coliforms. Moreover, a radiological study of the possible skull damage due to the non-penetrative captive bolt used at the time of stunning in the halal rite slaughter was carried out. A significance difference (p < 0.05) in the microbiological counts per type of slaughter was observed. It was proven that the amounts of glucose, LDH, CK, and cortisol in plasma were influenced (p < 0.05) by the type of slaughter. The halal rite slaughter using stunning with a non-penetrative captive bolt resulted in the best hygienic quality of meat and obtained the lowest values for all animal welfare biomarkers