124 research outputs found

    Actions of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues in pituitary gonadotrophs and their modulation by ovarian steroids

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    Recently, GnRH antagonists (GnRHant) like cetrorelix and ganirelix have been introduced in protocols of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for assisted reproductive techniques to prevent premature luteinizing hormone (LH) surges. Here we tested, whether the actions of cetrorelix and the GnRH agonist (GnRHag) triptorelin in gonadotrophs are dependent on the steroid milieu. Furthermore, we characterized the actions of cetrorefix and triptorelin on LH secretion and the total LH pool. Female rat pituitary cells were treated either with 0.1 nM triptorelin for 1, 2, 4 and 6 days or for 1, 3, 5 and 6 h or with 1, 10 or 100 nM cetrorelix for 1, 2, 3 and 5 h or for 10 min. Cells were stimulated for 3 h with different concentrations of GnRH (10 pM-1 mu M). For analysis of the total LH pool, which is composed of stored and released LH, cells were lysed with 0.1% Triton X-100 at -80 degrees C overnight. To test, whether the steroid milieu affects the actions of cetrorelix and triptorelin, cells were incubated for 52 h with 1 nM estradiol (E) alone or with combinations of 100 nM progesterone (P) for 4 or 52 h, respectively. Cells were then treated with 0.1 nM triptorelin for 9 h or I nM cetrorelix for 3 h and stimulated for 3 h with different concentrations of GnRH (10 pM-1 mu M). The suppressive effect of triptorelin on LH secretion was fully accomplished after 3 h of treatment, for cetrorelix only 10 min were sufficient. The concentration of cetrorelix must be at least equimolar to GnRH to block LH secretion. Cetrorelix shifted the EC50s of the GnRH dose-response curve to the right. Triptorelin suppressed total LH significantly (from 137 to 36 ng/ml) after 1 h in a time-dependent manner. In contrast, only high concentrations of cetrorelix increased total LH. In steroid treated cells the suppressive effects of triptorelin were more distinct. One nanomolar cetrorelix suppressed GnRH-stimulated LH secretion of cells not treated with steroids from 10.1 to 3.5 ng/ml. In cells, additionally treated with estradiol alone or estradiol and short-term progesterone, LH levels were higher (from 3.5 to 5.4 or 4.5 ng/ml, respectively). In cells co-treated with estradiol and progesterone for 52 h LH secretion was only suppressed from 10.1 to 9.5 ng/ml. Steroid treatments diminished the suppressive effect of cetrorelix on LH secretion. In conclusion, the depletion of the total LH pool contributes to the desensitizing effect of triptorelin. The actions of cetrorelix and triptorelin are dependent on the steroid milieu. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

    Short text authorship attribution via sequence kernels, Markov chains and author unmasking: An investigation

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    We present an investigation of recently proposed character and word sequence kernels for the task of authorship attribution based on relatively short texts. Performance is compared with two corresponding probabilistic approaches based on Markov chains. Several configurations of the sequence kernels are studied on a relatively large dataset (50 authors), where each author covered several topics. Utilising Moffat smoothing, the two probabilistic approaches obtain similar performance, which in turn is comparable to that of character sequence kernels and is better than that of word sequence kernels. The results further suggest that when using a realistic setup that takes into account the case of texts which are not written by any hypothesised authors, the amount of training material has more influence on discrimination performance than the amount of test material. Moreover, we show that the recently proposed author unmasking approach is less useful when dealing with short texts

    Short Text Authorship Attribution via Sequence Kernels, Markov Chains and Author Unmasking: An Investigation

    No full text
    We present an investigation of recently proposed character and word sequence kernels for the task of authorship attribution based on relatively short texts. Performance is compared with two corresponding probabilistic approaches based on Markov chains. Several configurations of the sequence kernels are studied on a relatively large dataset (50 authors), where each author covered several topics. Utilising Moffat smoothing, the two probabilistic approaches obtain similar performance, which in turn is comparable to that of character sequence kernels and is better than that of word sequence kernels. The results further suggest that when using a realistic setup that takes into account the case of texts which are not written by any hypothesised authors, the amount of training material has more influence on discrimination performance than the amount of test material. Moreover, we show that the recently proposed author unmasking approach is less useful when dealing with short texts.

    Short text authorship attribution via sequence kernels, Markov chains and author unmasking: An investigation

    No full text
    We present an investigation of recently proposed character and word sequence kernels for the task of authorship attribution based on relatively short texts. Performance is compared with two corresponding probabilistic approaches based on Markov chains. Several configurations of the sequence kernels are studied on a relatively large dataset (50 authors), where each author covered several topics. Utilising Moffat smoothing, the two probabilistic approaches obtain similar performance, which in turn is comparable to that of character sequence kernels and is better than that of word sequence kernels. The results further suggest that when using a realistic setup that takes into account the case of texts which are not written by any hypothesised authors, the amount of training material has more influence on discrimination performance than the amount of test material. Moreover, we show that the recently proposed author unmasking approach is less useful when dealing with short texts

    Epigrafía maya: Tabasco

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    La información de esta miniguía está basada en los trabajos de M. Coe, N. Grove, S. Guenter, S. Martín, P. Mathews, Linda Schele, D. Stuart y M. U. Zender.Cuatro de las grandes culturas desarrolladas en Mesoamérica poseían un sistema propio de escritura: zapoteca, maya, mixteca y náhuatl. La escritura maya fue el sistema más complejo y el que más correspondencia tuvo con la lengua hablada. Parece haber surgido alrededor del 100 o 200 d.C., y según la mitología fue el dios ltzamná quien la inventó. Sus últimas expresiones se sitúan alrededor de 1696. Los mayas utilizaron diferentes soportes para plasmar la escritura y su historia escrita, como códices de papel vasijas de barro, textiles, pieles, estelas y altares de piedra, dinteles y cajas de madera, pendientes de hueso y hasta finas puntas de cola de mantarraya, entre otros.</p

    Furthering the Professional development of teachers - some observations, ideas and visions from the view point of a research mathematician at a German University

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    The talk starts with a short description of the system of teacher education in Germany as well as with an overview on the German school system. Presently the author is running a project entitled Mathematik Anders Machen which translates to Mathematics Done Differently to spread and to broaden existing local or regional professional development programs. This massive project is sponsored by the Deutsche Telekom Foundation (T-Mobile) in collaboration with the German Mathematicians\u27 Association (DMV). In describing the theoretical framework of the program the author will refer to recent international research results in the area of professional development

    Myra Warhaftigs Berliner Zimmer

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    In the article, the floor plans of Myra Warhaftig's Dessauer Strasse 38-40 are examined as part of the floor plan development of the Berlin apartment building. The references to the "Berlin Room" (Berliner Zimmer), a special historical feature in the development of the Berlin apartment building, play an important role. For the author, the special achievement of this project lies in the synthesis of this type with modern sociological and emancipatory demands on the floor plan

    Performance and welfare of laying hens in conventional and enriched cages

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    Concerns regarding the welfare of laying hens raised in battery cages have led to the development of enriched cages that allow hens to perform natural behaviors including nesting, roosting, and scratching. This study was conducted to compare indices of production and welfare in birds housed in 2 different caging systems. Shaver White hens were housed from 21 to 61 wk in either conventional battery cages (n = 500; 10 cages; 5 hens/cage; floor space = 561.9 cm(2)/hen) or enriched cages (n = 480; 2 cages; 24 hens/cage; floor space = 642.6 cm(2)/hen) and were replicated 10 times. Enriched cages provided hens with a curtained nesting area, scratch pad, and perches. Production parameters and egg quality measures were recorded throughout the experiment. Plumage condition was evaluated at 37 and 61 wk. Bone quality traits and immunological response parameters were measured at 61 wk, and 59 and 61 wk, respectively. Hen-day egg production, feed consumption, egg weight, and percentage of cumulative mortality of laying hens were not affected by the cage designs. Specific gravity and the percentage of cracked and soft-shelled eggs were also similar between the 2 housing systems. The incidence of dirty eggs was, however, significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in enriched cages than in conventional cages. Feather scores were similar between birds except for the wing region, which was higher (P < 0.05) for hens housed in conventional cages. Bone quality measures tended to be higher for hens housed in enriched cages compared with hens in conventional cages. However, the increase was significant only for bone mineral density. Immunological response parameters did not reveal statistically significant differences. Overall, laying performance, exterior egg quality measures, plumage condition, and immunological response parameters appear to be similar for hens housed in the 2 cage systems tested. Enrichment of laying hen cages resulted in better bone quality, which could have resulted from increased activity

    Local and systemic innate immunity in broiler chickens supplemented with yeast-derived carbohydrates

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    A study was conducted to assess the effect of yeast-derived carbohydrates (YDC) on performance and innate immune responses of broiler chickens. In total, 1,080 one-day-old birds were randomly assigned to one of 3 dietary treatments (n=360): a standard broiler diet containing monensin (control), control+bacitracin methylene disalycylate (BMD), and YDC treatment (control+YDC at 0.02%, 0.01%, and 0.005% for starter, grower, and finisher, respectively). Weekly BW, feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded. Immune organ weights, gut morphology, gene expression, heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L), and serum IgG were determined at d 42. No significant difference in FCR, FI, and mortality was observed among treatments. However, BW gain in starter phase was higher in control and YDC treatments compared with BMD treatment. Ileal villi height, crypt depth, and their ratio were not significantly different among treatments, whereas villi width was lower in control and YDC treatments compared with BMD treatment. The number of goblet cells per unit area in the ileum was lower in BMD treatment compared with control and YDC treatments. Expression of TLR2b and IL-6 in the ileum and cecal tonsils was not significantly different among treatments (P>0.05). Expression of TLR4 was downregulated in YDC treatment compared with control in the ileum. Expression of IL-12p35 and IFN-γ were downregulated in the YDC treatment only in the cecal tonsils. Compared with the control, the expression of IL-10 in both the ileum and the cecal tonsils was downregulated in YDC treatment. Serum IgG and H:L ratio were lower and higher, respectively, in the YDC treatment compared with control and BMD treatments. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of YDC affected intestinal cytokines anti-inflammatory profile on a gut location associated immune pathways manner, suggesting different immune pathways that require further studies in this field
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