178,055 research outputs found
Strabismo Bilaterale Convergente con Esoftalmo nel bovino - Cosa sappiamo?
No full textThe aim of this paper is to describe the most important aspects of the so called "Bilateral Convergent Strabismus with Exophthalmos (BCSE)", the most common aspect of strabismus in cattle. The disease has been known since the end of the XIX century, but no definitive conclusion has been found in respect to the pathogenesis and the etiology. BCSE may affect all major breeds and is known worldwide. It is characterised by a progressive bilateral symmetric anterior- medial rotation of the bulbi associated with a slight to severe protrusion of the eyeball (exophthalmos). The onset of the defect is around the first year of age. It usually ends up with severe visual deficit that might modify the behavior of the affected animal. Although there is few literature, defects in the lateral rectus muscle and the retractor bulbi muscle of the eye and in their appendant nerves (CN III and CN VI, respectively) were suspected to be the cause of BCSE. The presence of "red ragged fibers" in the lateral and median rectus muscles were also found in affected animals. It is common to note changes of character, probably related to insecurity resulting from visual difficulties: the affected animals become scary, move with difficulty, struggling to enter the milking stations, over-react to the routine operations that are carried out in the barn. As to the authors' knowledge, there are no useful therapies to cure or even improve the disease. The majority of the authors consider the BCSE as an inherited defect. However, the exact mode of inheritance has not been found yet. Recent studies carried out on German Brown cattle affected by BCSE showed a significant SNPs association with the disease within two candidate genes located on BTA5 (PLXNC1) and BTA18 (RDH13). Although the role of these genes could not be definitively confirmed, it is most likely that these candidate genes or nearby located structural mutations may be responsible for BCSE in German Brown cows
Matrici alternative al sangue per la sorveglianza delle malattie trasmissibili del suino
No full textThe surveillance of infectious diseases represents a crucial
aspect for the management of the herd health. This is of particular
importance for the pig industry due to the high density
and highly intensive nature of pig farms. In order to be
effective and routinely usable, surveillance tools must be
cost-effective and representative, collection of samples must
be easy and the results must be reliable. Current pig disease
surveillance relies primarily on monitoring humoral immunity
via serum. However, blood sampling is costly and stressful
for the animals. Recently, alternative diagnostic media
such as oral fluid, meat juice, and processing fluids (oral fluid,
OF; meat juice, MJ; processing fluids, PF) have been rapidly
gaining interest. Relying on pig natural chewing behaviour
and exploratory motivation, the collection of OF is easily
carried out by hanging cotton ropes in pig pens. After being
chewed by the animals, ropes are manually squeezed and
the resultant oral fluid samples are collected in sterile tubes.
In trained pigs, a rope hung for 30 minutes in a pen 25/28
pigs is representative for 75% of the animals housed in that
pen. OF is used as a diagnostic matrix for the detection of
pathogens and pathogen-specific antibodies. MJ defined as
“drip fluid released from meat after freezing and thawing” is
a sample type usually collected at the slaughter line. Meat
samples for testing are tissue samples of roughly 3 cm, collected
from diaphragmatic and neck muscles. After collection
samples are stored at -20°C for at least 12 h and thawed
in special containers to release the meat juice, which trickled
into a collecting tube. MJ samples are mainly used in serological
assays to monitor infectious diseases. PF are serosanguinous
fluids recovered from piglet at the time of piglet castration
and tail docking. Tissues are wrapped in a disposable
gauze which allows fluids to pass through it and be collected
in a clean bucket. To improve the yield of fluids, samples can
be refrigerated. PF can be used for the detection of antigens
and/or antibodies against a variety of pathogens. One of the
major advantages of the PF and the OF specimens as well is
due to the fact that can be collected at both the individual or
group level (pooled samples). By using pooled samples, a
large number of animals can be tested for a reduced cost,
compared with the cumulative cost of individual testing.
Optimization of commercial immunoassays is required to
show the efficient application of alternative blood matrices.
This review summarizes the main alternative biological matrices
other than blood, focusing on the optimal conditions
of their collection and their application for diseases monitoring
in pig herds
Alberi e culti. Un contributo all’analisi degli elementi paesistici nella scultura a rilievo di età romana
No full textIn the relief sculpture of Roman age, trees can perform different tasks, regardless of the type of monument they are represented in. In most cases trees are secondary elements, concurring to define the environment in which the carved scene takes place. But sometimes they assume a more important value and thus significatively contribute to the understanding of the content represented. A very interesting example in this regard we can see in a relief sculpted scene on a marble altar dedicated to the Matronae, coming from the Roman town of Angera, where four female devotees appear, engaged in a ritual dance under an oak. The comparison with other relief figurative scenes where landscape elements are present will be useful in order to understand better the value of the tree in that monument
L’uso di simboli del potere imperiale romano a Bologna da Giovanni II Bentivoglio a Carlo V
No full textTra i decenni finali del Quattrocento e l’inizio del Cinquecento, Bologna offre interessanti esempi dell’uso di iconografie e simboli desunti dall’antichità romana. Di questo repertorio figurativo si servirono in primo luogo le autorità che esercitarono un dominio sulla città, cioè Giovanni II Bentivoglio, all’epoca della sua signoria, e il papa, quando Bologna tornò sotto il governo pontificio. Ma esso fu impiegato anche per rendere omaggio alle autorità “ospiti” che, in seguito alle vicende storiche del periodo, visitarono Bologna in quegli anni: il re di Francia Francesco I e Carlo V, il quale fu incoronato imperatore del Sacro Romano Impero in questa città. Nel modo in cui, di volta in volta, furono utilizzati apparati simbolici derivati dal repertorio iconografico di Roma antica si possono rilevare più analogie che differenze, come se si trattasse di un codice visivo sostanzialmente condiviso. Di questo atteggiamento i monumenti e le cerimonie pubbliche offrono gli esempi più significativi.Between the last decades of the Fifteenth and the beginning of the Sixteenth century, Bologna offers interesting examples of employment of iconographies and symbols derived from Roman antiquity. Firstly this figurative repertoire was used by the authorities having political control over the town, i.e. Giovanni II Bentivoglio, in the time of his rule, and the pope, when Bologna returned under papal government. But it was used as well to honour the “guest” authorities who, following the historical events of the period, visited Bologna in those years: king Francis I of France and Charles V, who was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in this town. As symbolic equipments derived from the iconographic fund of ancient Rome were each time used, we can observe more similarities than differences, as if it was a visual code substantially shared. Monuments and public ceremonies show the most significant examples of this attitude
Tregs: hype or hope for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation?
No full textThe discovery of T regulatory cells has been one of the most important advances in basic immunology and has opened the door to the development of innovative therapeutic strategies for improving the outcome of solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Basic immunology is rapidly elucidating the complex biology of these cells even though the difficulties in purifying or even expanding them in vitro represent a major limitation to the development of clinical studies. The clinical benefit potentially associated with this therapeutic approach remains to be demonstrated. Meanwhile, several drugs used for the treatment of hematologic malignancies or for other purposes have been shown to upregulate the number and function of Tregs in vivo. In the near future, both ex vivo or in vivo expanded T cells are likely to enter the therapeutic armamentarium of clinical transplantation.Bone Marrow Transplantation advance online publication, 20 March 2017; doi:10.1038/bmt.2017.30
Simulation of thermal plant optimization and hydraulic aspects of thermal distribution loops for large campuses
No full textFollowing an introduction, the author describes Texas A&M University and its utilities system. After that, the author presents how to construct simulation models for chilled water and heating hot water distribution systems. The simulation model was used in a $2.3 million Ross Street chilled water pipe replacement project at Texas A&M University. A second project conducted at the University of Texas at San Antonio was used as an example to demonstrate how to identify and design an optimal distribution system by using a simulation model. The author found that the minor losses of these closed loop thermal distribution systems are significantly higher than potable water distribution systems. In the second part of the report, the author presents the latest development of software called the Plant Optimization Program, which can simulate cogeneration plant operation, estimate its operation cost and provide optimized operation suggestions. The author also developed detailed simulation models for a gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator and identified significant potential savings. Finally, the author also used a steam turbine as an example to present a multi-regression method on constructing simulation models by using basic statistics and optimization algorithms. This report presents a survey of the author??s working experience at the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at Texas A&M University during the period of January 2002 through March 2004. The purpose of the above work was to allow the author to become familiar with the practice of engineering. The result is that the author knows how to complete a project from start to finish and understands how both technical and nontechnical aspects of a project need to be considered in order to ensure a quality deliverable and bring a project to successful completion. This report concludes that the objectives of the internship were successfully accomplished and that the requirements for the degree of Degree of Engineering have been satisfied
Distribution of Calretinin Immunoreactivity in the Lateral Nucleus of the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Amygdala
No full textThe amgdaloid complex consists of different nuclei, each with unique cytoarchitectonic, chemoarchitectonic and connectional characteristics. Most of the inputs coming from cortical and subcortical areas enter the amygdala via the lateral nucleus, which makes it the main receiving structure of the complex. The activity of its neurons is coordinated and modulated by different inhibitory, GABAergic-interneurons, which can be classified for their expression of various calcium-binding proteins, as well as by morphological characteristics. This research based on the analysis of the amygdala of three bottlenose dolphins, provides the first description of the topography, cytoarchitecture and distribution of calretinin immunoreactivity of the lateral nucleus. Our observations on the bottlenose dolphin confirmed the general topography of the mammalian amygdala and of the lateral nucleus. Notably, we identified six subdivision of the nucleus, more than those reported until now in the rat, monkey and human lateral nucleus. This could reveal an outstanding capability of integration and elaboration of external stimuli. In addition, we observed a strong presence of CR-immunoreactive (-ir) neurons and fibres. CR-ir neurons were mainly non-pyramidal inhibitory neurons; in particular, 80% of IR-cells were represented by large and small polygonal neurons. In the lateral nucleus of the human amygdala, CR-ir neurons form inhibitory synapses on calbindin-D28k-IR inhibitory interneurons. Since calbindin-D28k-ir interneurons make inhibitory synapses on the pyramidal cells, the final goal of the CR-ir interneurons could be the synchronization of cells activity, thus playing an important role in the control of information flow in the lateral amygdalar nucleus
Il dibattito filosofico nell’Istituto Lombardo dalla fondazione alla metà del Novecento
No full textSpunti di classicismo nei monumenti siciliani ai caduti della Prima Guerra Mondiale
No full textDopo la conclusione della Prima Guerra Mondiale, tutti i comuni italiani cominciarono a erigere monumenti celebrativi in onore dei soldati morti nell’immane conflitto. Un aspetto meritevole di speciale attenzione, in queste opere commemorative, è l’utilizzo molto rilevante di forme ed elementi derivati dall’antichità greca e romana. Singole iconografie e singoli schemi tipologici, opportunamente rielaborati, potevano infatti adattarsi anche ai nuovi contesti celebrativi e ne rafforzavano il significato. La Sicilia sembra essere un buon case study per mostrare le potenzialità di un’analisi di questo genere: nei centri abitati di questa regione, come in tutto il territorio nazionale, sono presenti tantissimi monumenti dove appaiono introdotti motivi figurativi desunti dal mondo classico. Risultano di speciale interesse alcuni casi nei quali furono rielaborati non solo motivi generici, comuni a molti altri monumenti italiani, ma anche elementi tratti direttamente dalle testimonianze materiali dell’antichità conservate nell’isola.After the end of World War I, all the Italian municipalities began to raise commemorative monuments to the soldiers dead in the immense conflict. An aspect deserving of special attention, in these memorials, is the very considerable use of forms and elements derived from the Greek and Roman antiquity. Single iconographies and typological patterns, properly refashioned, could well fit these new celebratory contexts too and strengthen their meaning. Sicily seems to be a good case study to show the potential of such an analysis: in the towns of this region, as in the entire national territory, there is a great many monuments where we can recognize figurative motifs drawn from the classical world. Of special interest are some cases, in which not only generic motifs shared by many other Italian memorials were refashioned, but also elements directly derived from the material vestiges of the antiquities of the island
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