Bovine Streptococcus uberis Intramammary Infections and Mastitis

Streptococcus (S.) uberis is a causative agent for clinical and subclinical bovine mastitis which significance for the udder health has increased over the last decades. Molecular diagnosis methods revealed that S. uberis may be subdivided into many different varieties with different epidemiological properties. In addition, some varieties were reclassified as Streptococcus parauberis and Globicatella sanguinis. The present paper reviews S. uberis and its role in modern dairy farming. This pathogen is ubiquitous for which it is considered as environment- associated. Straw bedding and pasture, but also the bovine skin and digestive mucosae are typical localizations inhabited by S. uberis. Due to its capacity to persist within the mammary tissue, some infections may eventually turn cow-associated. In other cases, the infection is short, but in any case, there is a high risk of re-infection. Although many varieties remain susceptible to most antimicrobial agents, the problem for the dairy farm lies in the high rate of re-infection. This paper also reviews risk factors, therapies and measures to control S. uberis at farm level.

Holographic Tools for Probing the Dynamics of Strongly Coupled Field Theories

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Encountering the Spectre of Painting

When thinking what paintings are, I am continually brought back to my memory of a short sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. In the scene, Kim Novak’s Madeleine is seated on a bench in an art gallery. She is apparently transfixed by a painting, Portrait of Carlotta. Alongside James Stewart, we watch her looking intently. Madeleine is pretending to be a ghost. At this stage she does not expect us to believe she is a ghost, but simply to immerse ourselves in the conceit, to delight in the shudder. Madeleine’s back is turned away from us, and as the camera draws near to show that the knot pattern in her hair mirrors the image in the portrait, I imagine Madeleine suppressing a smile. She resolutely shows us her back, though, so her feint is not betrayed. Madeleine’s stillness in this scene makes her appear as an object, a thing in the world, a rock or a pile of logs perhaps. We are not looking at that thing, however, but rather a residual image of something creaturely, a spectre. This after-image is held to the ground both by the gravity suggested by its manifestation and by the fine lie - the camouflage - of pretending to be a ghost. Encountering a painting is like meeting Madeleine. It sits in front of its own picture, gazing at it. Despite being motionless and having its back to us, there is a lurching sensation the painting brings about by pretending to be the ghost of its picture, and, at the same time, never really anticipating your credulity.

Pseudoneglect and visual attention networks

Pseudoneglect represents the tendency for healthy individuals to show a slight but consistent bias in favour of stimuli appearing in the left visual field. The bias is often measured using variants of the line bisection task. An accurate model of the functional architecture of the visuospatial attention system must account for this widely observed phenomenon, as well as for modulation of the direction and magnitude of the bias within individuals by a variety of factors relating to the state of the participant and/or stimulus characteristics. To date, the neural correlates of pseudoneglect remain relatively unmapped. In the current thesis, I employed a combination of psychophysical measurements, electroencephalography (EEG) recording and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in an attempt to probe the neural generator(s) of pseudoneglect. In particular, I wished to utilise and investigate some of the factors known to modulate the bias (including age, time-on-task and the length of the to-be-bisected line) in order to identify neural processes and activity that are necessary and sufficient for the lateralized bias to arise. Across four experiments utilising a computerized version of a perceptual line bisection task, pseudoneglect was consistently observed at baseline in healthy young participants. However, decreased line length (experiments 1, 2 and 3), time-on-task (experiment 1) and healthy aging (experiment 3) were all found to modulate the bias. Specifically, all three modulations induced a rightward shift in subjective midpoint estimation. Additionally, the line length and time-on-task effects (experiment 1) and the line length and aging effects (experiment 3) were found to have additive relationships. In experiment 2, EEG measurements revealed the line length effect to be reflected in neural activity 100 – 200ms post-stimulus onset over source estimated posterior regions of the right hemisphere (RH: temporo-parietal junction (TPJ)). Long lines induced a hemispheric asymmetry in processing (in favour of the RH) during this period that was absent in short lines. In experiment 4, bi-parietal tDCS (Left Anodal/Right Cathodal) induced a polarity-specific rightward shift in bias, highlighting the crucial role played by parietal cortex in the genesis of pseudoneglect. The opposite polarity (Left Cathodal/Right Anodal) did not induce a change in bias. The combined results from the four experiments of the current thesis provide converging evidence as to the crucial role played by the RH in the genesis of pseudoneglect and in the processing of visual input more generally. The reduction in pseudoneglect with decreased line length, increased time-on-task and healthy aging may be explained by a reduction in RH function, and hence contribution to task processing, induced by each of these modulations. I discuss how behavioural and neuroimaging studies of pseudoneglect (and its various modulators) can provide empirical data upon which accurate formal models of visuospatial attention networks may be based and further tested.

Petr Eben's oratorio Apologia Sokratus (1967) and ballet Curses and Blessings (1983): An interpretative analysis of the symbolism behind the text settings and musical style

The Czech composer Petr Eben (1927-2007) has written music in all genres except symphony, but he is highly recognized for his organ and choral compositions, which are his preferred genres. His vocal works include choral songs and vocal-instrumental works at a wide range of difficulty levels, from simple pedagogical songs to very advanced and technically challenging compositions. This study examines two of Eben‘s vocal-instrumental compositions. The oratorio Apologia Sokratus (1967) is a three-movement work; its libretto is based on Plato‘s Apology of Socrates. The ballet Curses and Blessings (1983) has a libretto compiled from numerous texts from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. The formal design of the ballet is unusual—a three-movement composition where the first is choral, the second is orchestral, and the third combines the previous two played simultaneously. Eben assembled the libretti for both compositions and they both address the contrasting sides of the human soul, evil and good, and the everlasting fight between them. This unity and contrast is the philosophical foundation for both compositions. The dissertation discusses the multileveled meanings behind the text settings and musical style of the oratorio and ballet in analyses focusing on the text, melodic and harmonic construction, and symbolism. Additional brief analyses of other vocal and vocal-instrumental compositions by Eben establish the ground for the examination of the oratorio and ballet and for understanding features of the composer‘s musical style. While the oratorio Apologia Sokratus was discussed in short articles in the 1970s, the ballet Curses and Blessings has never previously been addressed within Eben scholarship. The dissertation examines the significant features of Eben‘s music. His melodic style incorporates influences as diverse as Gregorian chant and folk tunes on the one hand, and modern vocal techniques such as Sprechgesang and vocal aleatoricism on the other. His harmonic language includes bitonality and polytonality, used to augment the tonal legacy of earlier times, together with elements of pitch collections and limited serial procedures as well as various secundal and quartal harmonic sonorities derived from them. His music features the vibrant rhythms of folk music, and incorporates other folk devices like ostinato, repetitive patterns, and improvisation.

Estudo do Sujamento da Superfície de Transferência de Calor do Evaporador de uma Bomba de Calor aquecido pelo efluente de uma fábrica de pasta para papel

O presente trabalho tem como principal objectivo a avaliação do sujamento da superfície de transferência de calor do evaporador de uma bomba de calor, quando se utiliza o efluente da fábrica de pasta e papel da Portucel Soporcel em Cacia como fluido de aquecimento. Para a realização deste estudo montou-se uma instalação, composta por uma bomba de calor, um circuito de água de arrefecimento do condensador da bomba de calor e um circuito de água residual quente para o aquecimento do evaporador da bomba de calor. O ensaio decorreu durante um período de 84 dias, durante o qual foram registadas as temperaturas em vários pontos dos circuitos e os caudais de circulação. A evolução temporal da quantidade de calor transferida no evaporador, assim como, a comparação do coeficiente global de transferência de calor em condições ideias e experimentais, permitiu verificar que a razão U/U0 para o evaporador da bomba de calor não teve um comportamento decrescente ao longo do período de ensaio, permitindo concluir que, nas condições operatórias da experiência, não ocorreu sujamento na superfície do evaporador. No estudo de corrosão do cobre quando exposto à água residual em questão, obteve-se, para a velocidade de corrosão, o valor de 1,56 mg/(dm2 .dia), indicando assim que a corrosão do cobre naquele meio é praticamente inexistente.

The Way We Mourned

The five short stories in this collection illustrate the insistence of the imagination in a foreign country. The protagonists deal with loss and exile of the human spirit, as well as language. In “View of the Taft Bridge”, a Chinese painter befriends a panda in the National Zoo in America’s capital. In “Early June before the Millennium”, an illicit student and teacher relationship unveils a painful history of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. An adopted teenager finds her life unraveled at the presence of a new tenant who shares her ethnicity in “Girl in the Basement”. And the inertia of a housewife drives her desire to become a house cat, in “Catwoman”, until dream and reality become interchangeable. In “The Way We Mourned”, betrayal and memorial are closely knit in the wake of a close friend’s death. These stories search for connections to bridge “self” and “other”, as well as one’s present with a haunting past.

LHC main dipole magnet circuits: sustaining near-nominal beam energies

Crossing the Franco-Swiss border, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), designed to collide 7 TeV proton beams, is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator the operation of which was originally intended to commence in 2008. Unfortunately, due to an interconnect discontinuity in one of the main dipole circuit's 13 kA superconducting busbars, a catastrophic quench event occurred during initial magnet training, causing significant physical system damage. Furthermore, investigation into the cause found that such discontinuities were not only present in the circuit in question, but throughout the entire LHC. This prevented further magnet training and ultimately resulted in the maximum sustainable beam energy being limited to approximately half that of the design nominal, 3.5-4 TeV, for the first three years of operation (Run 1, 2009-2012) and a major consolidation campaign being scheduled for the first long shutdown (LS 1, 2012-2014). Throughout Run 1, a series of studies attempted to predict the amount of post-installation training quenches still required to qualify each circuit to nominal-energy current levels. With predictions in excess of 80 quenches (each having a recovery time of 8-12+ hours) just to achieve 6.5 TeV and close to 1000 quenches for 7 TeV, it was decided that for Run 2, all systems be at least qualified for 6.5 TeV operation. However, even with all interconnect discontinuities scheduled to be repaired during LS 1, numerous other concerns regarding circuit stability arose. In particular, observations of an erratic behaviour of magnet bypass diodes and the degradation of other potentially weak busbar sections, as well as observations of seemingly random millisecond spikes in beam losses, known as unidentified falling object (UFO) events, which, if persist at 6.5 TeV, may eventually deposit sufficient energy to quench adjacent magnets. In light of the above, the thesis hypothesis states that, even with the observed issues, the LHC main dipole circuits can safely support and sustain near-nominal proton beam energies of at least 6.5 TeV. Research into minimising the risk of magnet training led to the development and implementation of a new qualification method, capable of providing conclusive evidence that all aspects of all circuits, other than the magnets and their internal joints, can safely withstand a quench event at near-nominal current levels, allowing for magnet training to be carried out both systematically and without risk. This method has become known as the Copper Stabiliser Continuity Measurement (CSCM). Results were a success, with all circuits eventually being subject to a full current decay from 6.5 TeV equivalent current levels, with no measurable damage occurring. Research into UFO events led to the development of a numerical model capable of simulating typical UFO events, reproducing entire Run 1 measured event data sets and extrapolating to 6.5 TeV, predicting the likelihood of UFO-induced magnet quenches. Results provided interesting insights into the involved phenomena as well as confirming the possibility of UFO-induced magnet quenches. The model was also capable of predicting that such events, if left unaccounted for, are likely to be commonplace or not, resulting in significant long-term issues for 6.5+ TeV operation. Addressing the thesis hypothesis, the following written works detail the development and results of all CSCM qualification tests and subsequent magnet training as well as the development and simulation results of both 4 TeV and 6.5 TeV UFO event modelling. The thesis concludes, post-LS 1, with the LHC successfully sustaining 6.5 TeV proton beams, but with UFO events, as predicted, resulting in otherwise uninitiated magnet quenches and being at the forefront of system availability issues.

Nivel de actividad física medida a través del cuestionario internacional de actividad física en adultos mayores de las parroquias urbanas de Cuenca-Ecuador, 2015

Introducción: Mundialmente existe una transición demográfica, así en Ecuador al 2010 representaban el 7% y al 2050 representarán el 18%. El envejecimiento poblacional ocasiona un aumento de los índices de enfermedades crónicas degenerativas asociadas a un nivel insuficiente de actividad física incrementando el riesgo de muerte de 20% a 30%. Niveles moderados-vigorosos de actividad física reportan beneficios para la salud, por esta razón y debido a la escasa evidencia de esta área en Cuenca, se desarrolló este estudio para conocer el nivel de actividad física en los adultos mayores de nuestra ciudad. Objetivo general: Determinar el nivel de actividad física a través del IPAQ (versión corta) en adultos mayores de las parroquias urbanas de la ciudad de Cuenca. Metodología: Estudio descriptivo con una muestra de 387 adultos mayores en quienes se aplicó el cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física (IPAQ) en su versión corta mediante entrevista, una vez cumplidos los criterios de inclusión: hombres y mujeres de 65 años o más que deseen participar y firmen el consentimiento informado. Los datos fueron analizados y procesados en el programa SPSS versión 15, utilizando distribución de frecuencias, medidas de tendencia central (media) y de dispersión (desvío estándar). Resultados: Se estudiaron 387 adultos mayores, el 64,6% estuvo entre los 65-74 años, 63,6% fue de sexo femenino, 55,8% estuvo casado, 53,4% terminó la primaria, 70,5% no fueron activos laboralmente. El 45% de adultos mayores tuvo un nivel alto de actividad física, 37% moderado y 18% bajo. Los niveles de actividad física variaron con la edad, estado civil, nivel de instrucción y ocupación laboral. Conclusiones: Los adultos mayores de Cuenca presentan un nivel alto de actividad física, el cual puede variar por ciertas características sociodemográficas

Recetas castellanas medievales sobre el trabajo de la cera

El fin del presente trabajo es dar a conocer una serie de recetas, localizadas, en los fondos españoles. Temáticamente, pertenecen al mundo de la candelería y de la cerería. Nos describen, de una parte como se hace la cera de color (blanca, roja y verde) y su utilidad, y, de otra, como se fabrican las velas, tanto de sebo como de cera. Se caracterizan por su brevedad, enumeran las sustancias a la vez que describen el proceso. Se asemejan entre ellas en la metodología empleada y se diferencian en las materias. La brevedad se rompe en el Libro de los Oficios de Guadalupe, se trata de una ordenanza, y no de una receta. Aprovechando la ocasión, hemos hablado de las materias primas (cera y sebo), de los métodos que se usan para elaborar los distintos sistemas de iluminación y de las ordenanzas; dentro de estas destacamos el fraude. Por último, estudiamos el pabilo o torcida, concretamente: la materia prima y el grosor que debe presentar.

Regime jurídico do alojamento local: a problemática dos imóveis arrendados de particulares e dos respetivos rendimento não declarados

Dissertação de Mestrado, Fiscalidade, Escola Superior de Gestão, Hotelaria e Turismo, Universidade do Algarve, 2016

Contributo da Guarda Nacional Republicana para a formação na CEPOL : O caso do curso de “Mentoring, Monitoring and Advising”

O curso da Academia Europeia de Polícia designado de “Mentoring, Monitoring and Advising” é essencialmente dirigido a elementos das Forças e Serviços de Segurança que vão desempenhar funções em missões de gestão de crises fora da União Europeia. O esforço cooperacional é no sentido de uniformizar procedimentos quando os elementos das várias políciais da União Europeia vão desempenhar essas missões em países terceiros, sendo relevantes para estas situações as tarefas de orientar, monitorizar e aconselhar. Torna-se desta forma pertinente analisar qual a importância deste curso, organizado pela Guarda Nacional Republicana, no âmbito da formação na Academia Europeia de Polícia. No sentido de analisar da melhor forma a importância suprarreferida, foi utilizado como base de trabalho os Relatórios de Reação à Formação que contêm informação relativo a este curso nos últimos 3 anos. A metodologia adotada neste trabalho de investigação resume-se à análise documental, mais precisamente aos relatórios que contêm questionários onde os participantes e os formadores respondem no final de cada curso para recolher a perceção e opinião dos mesmos. Depois de efetuar a análise, é possível chegar à conclusão de quais os aspetos considerados pelos participantes de pouco ou muito positivo e o que sugerem para os próximos cursos. Concluiu-se que o curso organizado pela Guarda Nacional Republicana encontra-se a um nível bastante satisfatório. No entanto, o curso deveria prolongar-se relativamente ao tempo do mesmo pois os participantes referiram que o período de formação neste âmbito é muito reduzido e desta forma, a atividade torna-se demasiada intensa e cansativa, não conseguindo manter o nível de aprendizagem elevada. Este curso contribui para a obtenção de uma certificação internacional realçando a afirmação da excelência da formação da Guarda Nacional Republicana.

Las inteligencias múltiples en el proceso del aprendizaje de EGB

En el marco de la investigación: Las inteligencias múltiples en el proceso del aprendizaje de EGB, situada en el área de la Psicología Educativa y el Currículo, sebusca dar una contribución dentro del aprendizaje y de la planificación, presentando estrategias de enseñanza – aprendizaje, para desarrollar las inteligencias dentro de la Actualización y Fortalecimiento Curricular correspondiente a los siete primeros años de Educación General Básica (EGB). El propósito de esta tesis es encontrar la relación entre las inteligencias múltiples y el proceso de aprendizaje en EGB, planteando estrategias metodológicas que desarrollen destrezas con criterio de desempeño que potencien las inteligencias múltiples, en las diferentes áreas del aprendizaje y en los distintos niveles de educación. La metodología a usar en esta investigación fue la bibliográfica documental. Se revisaron artículos científicos, tesis, monografías relacionadas con las categorías de la investigación. La investigación intentó responder las siguientes preguntas: ¿Qué son las inteligencias múltiples?¿Cuál es la relación entre las inteligencias múltiples y los aprendizajes de EGB?¿Quéplantea la Actualización y Fortalecimiento Curricular sobre el trabajo de las inteligencias? ¿Existen actividades de enseñanza – aprendizaje en el currículo de EGB que recurre a las inteligencias múltiples?Para dar respuesta a cada una de las interrogantes se utilizó la metodología descriptiva. Un resultado alcanzado es que es posible la relación de las inteligencias múltiples con las destrezas con criterio desempeño pues como verán más adelante varias destrezas desarrollan las IM planteadas. Por otro lado, la presente investigación muestra estrategias para el desarrollo de cada inteligencia.

Ajuste del tiempo de inseminación con semen sexado en vacas superovuladas

En la actualidad los resultados de la combinación del semen sexado y superovulación (SOV) no han sido muy alentadores debido a la baja cantidad de espermatozoides así como a la corta vida media de los mismos. En un trabajo previo realizado en Brasil en vacas Holstein, se demostró que usando el protocolo de SOV P36/Lh60 e inseminando con semen sexado a las 18 y 30 horas de aplicado el inductor de la ovulación (intervalo de 12 hs entre inseminaciones) se obtiene igual cantidad de estructuras transferibles que inseminando a las 12 y 24 horas con semen no sexado. El objetivo de esta investigación fue ajustar las horas de la inseminación artificial (IA) en vacas superovuladas e inseminadas con semen sexado para lograr mejor sincronía con las ovulaciones y así aumentar la cantidad de embriones transferibles. Este ajuste evaluó 2 momentos de IA en los cuales el intervalo entre ambas se disminuyó a 6 hs. Para esto se usaron 30 vacas Holstein en producción superovuladas con el protocolo P36/LH60 y se dividieron en tres grupos en forma aleatoria; en el grupo IA18/30 (control; n=10) las inseminaciones se realizaron a las 18 horas y 30 hs de la aplicación del inductor de la ovulación (GnRh); en el grupo IA18/24 (n=10) sé inseminó a las 18 y 24 hs de la GnRH y al grupo IA24/30 (n=10) se inseminó a las 24 y 30 (se usó 2.1x106 espermatozoides sexados / inseminación). No se encontró diferencia estadística en los tres grupos, sin embargo el grupo IA18/24 mostró ventaja numérica sobre el grupo IA24/30 y el Control (4,1±1,5 vs 1,3±0,4 y 1,9±0,6 respectivamente) en la cantidad de embriones transferibles, con lo que concluimos que el ajuste en las horas de IA con semen sexado en vacas Holstein superovuladas puede ser usado con resultados similares a los trabajos anteriores

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa AmpR Transcriptional Regulatory Network

In Enterobacteriaceae, the transcriptional regulator AmpR, a member of the LysR family, regulates the expression of a chromosomal β-lactamase AmpC. The regulatory repertoire of AmpR is broader in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen responsible for numerous acute and chronic infections including cystic fibrosis. Previous studies showed that in addition to regulating ampC, P. aeruginosa AmpR regulates the sigma factor AlgT/U and production of some quorum sensing (QS)-regulated virulence factors. In order to better understand the ampR regulon, the transcriptional profiles generated using DNA microarrays and RNA-Seq of the prototypic P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain with its isogenic ampR deletion mutant, PAO∆ampR were analyzed. Transcriptome analysis demonstrates that the AmpR regulon is much more extensive than previously thought influencing the differential expression of over 500 genes. In addition to regulating resistance to β-lactam antibiotics via AmpC, AmpR also regulates non-β-lactam antibiotic resistance by modulating the MexEF-OprN efflux pump. Virulence mechanisms including biofilm formation, QS-regulated acute virulence, and diverse physiological processes such as oxidative stress response, heat-shock response and iron uptake are AmpR-regulated. Real-time PCR and phenotypic assays confirmed the transcriptome data. Further, Caenorhabditis elegans model demonstrates that a functional AmpR is required for full pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa. AmpR, a member of the core genome, also regulates genes in the regions of genome plasticity that are acquired by horizontal gene transfer. The extensive AmpR regulon included other transcriptional regulators and sigma factors, accounting for the extensive AmpR regulon. Gene expression studies demonstrate AmpR-dependent expression of the QS master regulator LasR that controls expression of many virulence factors. Using a chromosomally tagged AmpR, ChIP-Seq studies show direct AmpR binding to the lasR promoter. The data demonstrates that AmpR functions as a global regulator in P. aeruginosa and is a positive regulator of acute virulence while negatively regulating chronic infection phenotypes. In summary, my dissertation sheds light on the complex regulatory circuit in P. aeruginosa to provide a better understanding of the bacterial response to antibiotics and how the organism coordinately regulates a myriad of virulence factors.