Intractable policy failure: the case of bovine TB and badgers

The failure to eliminate bovine TB from the English and Welsh cattle herd represents a long-term intractable policy failure. Cattle-to-cattle transmission of the disease has been underemphasised in the debate compared with transmission from badgers despite a contested evidence base. Archival evidence shows that mythical constructions of the badger have shaped the policy debate. Relevant evidence was incomplete and contested; alternative framings of the policy problem were polarised and difficult to reconcile; and this rendered normal techniques of stakeholder management through co-option and mediation of little assistance

Distance Estimation of Fixed Objects in Driving Environments

Autonomous driving is a highly relevant topic today, particularly among major car manufacturers attempting to lead in technological innovation and enhance driving safety. An autonomous vehicle must possess the capability to sense its environment and navigate without human intervention. Thus, it serves as both a driver support system and, in some cases, a substitute. A crucial aspect involves identifying the positions of pedestrians, traffic signs, traffic lights, and other vehicles while computing distances from them. This enables the vehicle to emit alerts to the driver in potentially dangerous situations, such as impending obstacles due to external factors or driver distraction. In this paper, we introduce an approach for identifying traffic signs and determining the distance from them. Our method utilizes the YOLOv4 network for identification and a customized network for distance computation. This integration of AI technologies facilitates the timely detection of hazards and enables proactive alert mechanisms, thereby advancing the capabilities of autonomous vehicles and enhancing driving safety

Consensus on circulatory shock and hemodynamic monitoring. Task force of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Circulatory shock is a life-threatening syndrome resulting in multiorgan failure and a high mortality rate. The aim of this consensus is to provide support to the bedside clinician regarding the diagnosis, management and monitoring of shock. METHODS: The European Society of Intensive Care Medicine invited 12 experts to form a Task Force to update a previous consensus (Antonelli et al.: Intensive Care Med 33:575-590, 2007). The same five questions addressed in the earlier consensus were used as the outline for the literature search and review, with the aim of the Task Force to produce statements based on the available literature and evidence. These questions were: (1) What are the epidemiologic and pathophysiologic features of shock in the intensive care unit ? (2) Should we monitor preload and fluid responsiveness in shock ? (3) How and when should we monitor stroke volume or cardiac output in shock ? (4) What markers of the regional and microcirculation can be monitored, and how can cellular function be assessed in shock ? (5) What is the evidence for using hemodynamic monitoring to direct therapy in shock ? Four types of statements were used: definition, recommendation, best practice and statement of fact. RESULTS: Forty-four statements were made. The main new statements include: (1) statements on individualizing blood pressure targets; (2) statements on the assessment and prediction of fluid responsiveness; (3) statements on the use of echocardiography and hemodynamic monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: This consensus provides 44 statements that can be used at the bedside to diagnose, treat and monitor patients with shock

Isolated Intracranial Hypertensions as Onset of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disease

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) is characterized by multiple phenotypic conditions such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, optic neuritis, and myelitis. MOGAD's spectrum is expanding, with potential symptoms of increased intracranial pressure that are similar to idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). We report a boy with new-onset continuous headache and a brain MRI at onset suggesting idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). The patient showed resistance to treatment with acetazolamide and, after one month, developed optic neuritis in the left eye. Laboratory tests documented positive MOG antibodies (anti-MOG) in the serum. The final diagnosis was MOGAD, with the initial symptoms resembling IIH

Disponibilidad biológica de lisina de cuatro harinas de pescado anchoveta (engraulis mordax)

Se determinó la disponibilidad biológica de lisina de cuatro lotes de harina de anchoveta (Engraulis mordax) a través de dos metodologías con el propósito de compararlas y de ajustarlas para disminuir las diferencias entre ellas

EFECTO DEL ACEITE DE SOYA EN LA DIETA Y LA CONDICIÓN CORPORAL SOBRE LA POBLACION FOLICULAR Y TASA OVULATORIA DE OVEJAS PELIBUEY EN DOS ÉPOCAS REPRODUCTIVAS

Se evaluó el efecto de la suplementación con aceite de soya (AS), 14 días antes y 7 dís después del empadre, y la condición corporal sobre la población folicular y tasa ovulatoria (TO) en ovejas Pelibuey, en dos épocas reproductivas (EP1 y EP2). El AS disminuyó el número de folículos 2-3 mm y aumentó el número de folículos > 6mm en EP1 pero no TO. La condición corporal no afecto población folicular ni TO

Duration of heat treatment and true digestibility of amino acids in meat meal for Leghorn cockerels

Knowledge of the true digestibility of amino acids in the ingredients of a poultry ration is important in order to use them properly, especially the proteinic ingredients that have been heated during processing, such as meat meal. Protein solubility is a good indicator of heat damage. To estimate true digestibility, Leghorn White cockerels were fasted for 24 h and then force fed with meat meal autoclaved at 121°C and 1.5 kg/cm2 for 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes. A correction for endogenous amino acids was included. Nitrogen was determined by micro Kjeldahl; protein solubility by the methods of 2% KOH and coomassie blue; amino acids concentrations were also determined by HPLC. Treatments had an effect (P<.05) on meat meal protein solubility, means being 89% and 84% for the KOH and coomassie blue methods, respectively. However, protein solubility increased until 30 minutes and then decreased according to the KOH method, whereas it increased until 15 minutes (P<.05) and then remained constant by the coomassie blue method. Autoclaving had an effect on true digestibility of all amino acids, except methionine. There was a high and significant correlation (0.81) between protein solubility by the KOH method and true digestibility of amino acids

Angelica sinensis and Its Alkylphthalides Induce the Detoxification Enzyme NAD(P)H: Quinone Oxidoreductase 1 by Alkylating Keap1

The roots of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Dang Gui; Apiaceae) have a long history in traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy for women’s disorders and are often called “lady’s ginseng”. Currently, extracts of A. sinensis are commonly included in numerous dietary supplements used for women’s health and as antiaging products. In the present study, we examined the potential chemopreventive activity of A. sinensis extracts by measuring the relative ability to induce the detoxification enzyme, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1). The lipophilic partitions showed strong NQO1 induction with concentrations to double the enzyme activity (CD) of 5.5 ± 0.7 (petroleum ether) and 3.9 ± 0.5 μg/mL (chloroform). Fractionation led to the isolation of phenolic esters and alkylphthalides, especially Z-ligustilide, the main lipophilic compound, which showed strong NQO1 inducing properties (CD = 6.9 ± 1.9 μM). Transcription of many detoxifying enzymes is regulated through the antioxidant response element (ARE) and its transcription factor Nrf2, which is repressed under basal conditions by Keap1. However, exposure to electrophilic inducers that alkylate Keap1 results in higher concentrations of free Nrf2 and ARE activation. The ARE reporter activity was therefore analyzed in HepG2-ARE-C8 cells after incubation with lipophilic extracts of A. sinensis or ligustilide for 24 h. Under these conditions, both the extract and the ligustilide increased ARE-luciferase reporter activity in a dose-dependent manner. Incubation of ligustilide with GSH and subsequent LC-MS-MS analysis revealed that ligustilide as well as oxidized ligustilide species covalently modified GSH. In addition, using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and LC-MS-MS, it was demonstrated that the lipophilic extracts, ligustilide, and monooxygenated ligustilide alkylated important cysteine residues in human Keap1 protein, thus activating Nrf2 and transcription of ARE regulated genes. These observations suggest that A. sinensis dietary supplements standardized to ligustilide have potential as chemopreventive agents through induction of detoxification enzymes