Maternal high-fat diet in mice induces cerebrovascular, microglial and long-term behavioural alterations in offspring

Various environmental exposures during pregnancy, like maternal diet, can compromise, at critical periods of development, the neurovascular maturation of the offspring. Foetal exposure to maternal high-fat diet (mHFD), common to Western societies, has been shown to disturb neurovascular development in neonates and long-term permeability of the neurovasculature. Nevertheless, the effects of mHFD on the offspring’s cerebrovascular health remains largely elusive. Here, we sought to address this knowledge gap by using a translational mouse model of mHFD exposure. Three-dimensional and ultrastructure analysis of the neurovascular unit (vasculature and parenchymal cells) in mHFD-exposed offspring revealed major alterations of the neurovascular organization and metabolism. These alterations were accompanied by changes in the expression of genes involved in metabolism and immunity, indicating that neurovascular changes may result from abnormal brain metabolism and immune regulation. In addition, mHFD-exposed offspring showed persisting behavioural alterations reminiscent of neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically an increase in stereotyped and repetitive behaviours into adulthood.

Humanitarian actions of a cultural center during the Covid-19 pandemic: an analogy with supply chain business processes

PurposeThis study intends to map the supply chain and characterize the business processes of a cultural center in an aggregated and coordinated operation to serve families in need during the Covid-19 pandemic. This case study analyzes distinct aspects of humanitarian management capable of contributing to the management of commercial supply chains.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a case study approach, this research contextualizes the view on humanitarian supply chains related to the importance of participating organizations' engagement and the relationship and similarity with business organizations.FindingsThe study presents the model adopted to undertake the aid operations, maps the cultural center's humanitarian supply chain, clarifies the relationships and operations developed and compares the business processes with those of commercial chains. Possibilities and initiatives are discussed that can contribute to business organizations' greater engagement in humanitarian actions.Research limitations/implicationsRestricted to one case involving the cultural center and the other agents researched, the information and considerations are limited, and any generalization should be treated with caution.Practical implicationsThe study is a practical example that clarifies how business organizations can engage in the supply chain of humanitarian institutions. It also illustrates ways to help these institutions improve their fund-raising initiatives.Social implicationsThis study is justified by the representativeness of humanitarian actions in critical periods such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The study also presents potential ways to contribute to operations of this nature and to encourage business organizations to improve participation in humanitarian movements.Originality/valueMany studies on the subject have highlighted the importance of comparing humanitarian and business supply chains through real case research.

Spring Precipitation Deficiency in Poland and Its Temporal and Spatial Variability in the Context of Agricultural Needs

Deficient precipitation (dPr) in the growing season, especially in critical periods, affects plant condition and determines the quality and quantity of obtained yields. Knowledge about the variability and distribution of dPr is essential to mitigate its effect on agricultural soils and on crop and livestock production. The goal of the work is to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of spring precipitation deficiency and also to indicate the zones of risk and variability of its occurrence in Poland. It was assumed that dPr occurred when total monthly precipitation in a given year accounted for ≤75% of the total multi-year mean (1951–2018). In the spring season, the multi-year mean of the area covered by deficient precipitation (ACDP) amounted to 33% and fluctuated between approximately 31% in May and approximately 35% in March. The study distinguished four zones in Poland that vary in terms of the risk and variability of spring precipitation deficiency. The obtained results may be used, for example, to assess the needs for irrigation in the changing climate conditions, to model the growing season and yields of cultivated plants, and to select adaptation measures for agriculture in response to climate change.

Communication Strategies of Entrepreneurial Organizations in Mobile Apps Industry

This research advances scholarly understanding of the strategic decisions regarding external communication during the critical period of product launch. Drawing on research about dynamic capabilities and external organizational communication, this study examines ways in which entrepreneurial organizations use silence as an effective communication strategy to reduce external uncertainty and to nurture growth during critical periods of development. Data were collected tracking the external communication of 54 entrepreneurial organizations that focus on mobile news application development. Results show a significant relationship between the attention organizations attract after product launch and an organization’s performance. The greater the magnitude of change from pre-launch to post-launch, from less frequent external communication to more frequent external communication, the more likely there is to be an increase in the product performance. The findings emphasize a more nuanced understanding of external communication as a strategic tool in entrepreneurial organizations.

Serum and Salivary Levels of Glucose and Urea in Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women: A Comparative Study

Background: Pregnancy is one of the most critical periods in the life of most women. Since it is necessary to be aware of the health of the mother and fetus, serum markers (i.e., glucose and urea) need to be monitored during pregnancy. A routine strategy in this area is venipuncture which is applied to measure the level of these markers. It is also a stressful procedure for pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to determine the salivary level of these markers as a stress-free method in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: The samples were collected from 30 pregnant and 30 non-pregnant fasting women. Then, the serum and salivary levels of glucose and urea were measured, analyzed, and compared by photometry. Results: Results indicated that the mean salivary glucose level was 10.2±1.4 mg/dL and 6.4±0.9 mg/ dL in non-pregnant and pregnant women, respectively. In addition, the mean serum glucose level was 106.5±5.3 mg/dL and 82.9±4.5 mg/dL in non-pregnant and pregnant women, respectively. Further, the mean salivary urea level was 37.1±3.3 mg/dL in non-pregnant women and 27.1±1.9 mg/dL in pregnant women. Moreover, the mean serum urea level was 26.9±1.9 mg/dL and 19.5±2.3 mg/dL in non-pregnant and pregnant women, respectively. Conclusion: Serum and salivary levels of glucose and urea in pregnant women were lower than those in non-pregnant women, and there was a positive correlation between serum and salivary levels. Therefore, it seems that saliva can be a substitute for serum regarding the measurement of glucose and urea levels.

Signatures of Cholera Outbreak during the Yemeni Civil War, 2016–2019

The Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) created a strategy for early outbreak detection, hotspot identification, and resource mobilization coordination in response to the Yemeni cholera epidemic. This strategy requires a systematic approach for defining and classifying outbreak signatures, or the profile of an epidemic curve and its features. We used publicly available data to quantify outbreak features of the ongoing cholera epidemic in Yemen and clustered governorates using an adaptive time series methodology. We characterized outbreak signatures and identified clusters using a weekly time series of cholera rates in 20 Yemeni governorates and nationally from 4 September 2016 through 29 December 2019 as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). We quantified critical points and periods using Kolmogorov–Zurbenko adaptive filter methodology. We assigned governorates into six clusters sharing similar outbreak signatures, according to similarities in critical points, critical periods, and the magnitude of peak rates. We identified four national outbreak waves beginning on 12 September 2016, 6 March 2017, 28 May 2018, and 28 January 2019. Among six identified clusters, we classified a core regional hotspot in Sana’a, Sana’a City, and Al-Hudaydah—the expected origin of the national outbreak. The five additional clusters differed in Wave 2 and Wave 3 peak frequency, timing, magnitude, and geographic location. As of 29 December 2019, no governorates had returned to pre-Wave 1 levels. The detected similarity in outbreak signatures suggests potentially shared environmental and human-made drivers of infection; the heterogeneity in outbreak signatures implies the potential traveling waves outwards from the core regional hotspot that could be governed by factors that deserve further investigation.

THE ILO AND THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE COVID-19

In this essay, the author gives account of how the International Labour Organization (ILO) is working to provide assistance to its members to overcome the social consequences of the pandemic in progress. The virtues of two of its tools and of their smooth interaction are successively analyzed. The Institution has first investigated the available data and published economic analyses on the disastrous consequences of the scourge on employment and therefore, on individual income. It has addressed a series of socio-economic recommendations to governments. It has secondly referred to the international legal corpus as a guide to the States in their responses to the exceptional situation. The ILO labour standards provide a threshold of minimum protection to the benefit of those who work or want to work. They constitute guarantees which appear even more important in difficult times to enable people to go through critical periods without intolerable trouble. Some could still be strengthened.

AESTHETIC TRAINING IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR OF A FUTURE DOCTORS' PROFESSIONAL FORMATION

Nowadays, a stream of various information, including hybrid information, is aimed at young people. That is why students are most focused on the virtual environment, and the sensuality of the individual goes back to the periphery of their spiritual life. Such a reality requires the use of complex efforts directed at returning a person to their essence. The relevance of our study is due to the young people's need to develop a sense of taste as an aesthetic category and the formation of criteria that would allow them to distinguish between the verity from distorted reality and the good from evil. The purpose: to confirm the need for aesthetic education in future doctors' training because it strengthens students' active national and civic positions. Aesthetic education lays down self-consciousness, self-determination, and individualization. It helps to find life landmarks and affects relations with the outside world. Aesthetic education is the essence of the humanization of the individual, their socialization. It is a necessary basis and prerequisite to realize the individual abilities in the process of real life. During lectures and practical classes at the departments of Ukrainian Studies and Linguistics, as well as during extra classes, teachers pay considerable attention to the aesthetic education of IFNMU students. The methods of aesthetic education, which are used in the classroom discussion of artworks are as follows: respect for the individual, appeal to feelings, conversations and debates, problem situations, individual and group creative work. In particular, respect for the individual is especially needed when discussing ethical issues. For the formation of the aesthetic culture of youth, the basic thing is the sincerity of the student, the appropriate attitude of the teacher and the team. It is the expression of one's impressions, experiences, and thoughts, rather than a blind repetition of the view imposed by the teacher. Thus it enables the teacher to direct the aesthetic development of the personality in the right direction. Every opinion should be heard and discussed because this is how the teacher will be able to see the real level of students' development. This approach enables correcting erroneous judgments on time. Addressing the feelings of future professionals (conscience, dignity, and empathy) involves a thoughtful contemplation of works of art, which is preceded by the disclosure of cultural and historical conditions of the work. This process should be accompanied by a discussion and teachers' explanation. Conversation and debate presuppose a free exchange of opinions, a collective discussion of aesthetic problems, as a result of which aesthetic views and judgments are formed. During the debate, students defend their position. The reasoned speech of the future doctors is based on their level of awareness, erudition, and culture. The exchange of ideas and facts develops logical thinking, the ability to analyze, generalize and make conclusions. There are various ways of humanization and enrichment of future specialists' potential, but aesthetic training is the main one. Society pays attention in the critical periods of its development on aesthetic training. It acts as a final element in the higher education system, giving completeness and saturating the whole structure with the main content. The process of studying in a higher education institution is the moment in a young person's life when they should understand and realize their life meaning following their moral and aesthetic ideals.

Posthatch Thermal Conditioning Reduces Heat Stress In Three Broiler Strains

Heat stress is an increasing challenge to the sustainability of poultry production in the tropics due to global warming. This study determined the effect of posthatch thermal conditioning on heat stress indices, haematological parameters and expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene in three meat type chickens; Cobb 500 (C500), Ross 308 (R308) and improved Nigerian indigenous broiler - FUNAAB Alpha (FA). The interplay of individual bird’s genetics and thermal treatment at critical periods on thermoregulation was largely unpublished as at the time this study was conducted. Thermal conditioning was carried out on day 6 by exposing 20 chicks from each strain to high temperature of 40±1 °C for 3 hours. Both conditioned and unconditioned chicks were exposed to acute heat challenge of 40±1 °C for 15 minutes on day 10. Blood samples were collected to determine haematological parameters. Tissue samples were collected from which RNA were extracted, synthesized into cDNA and subjected to qPCR. Strain and thermal conditioning interaction was significant (p<0.05) on haematological parameters with conditioned C500 having the highest means for packed cell volume, haemoglobin and red blood cell counts. Interactive effect was also significant (p<0.05) on BDNF gene expression, with conditioned FA having the highest. The study concluded that variation in traits due to thermal treatment is strain-specific and thermal conditioning is recommended for commercial broilers in southwestern Nigeria.

Sensory Experience as a Regulator of Structural Plasticity in the Developing Whisker-to-Barrel System

Cellular structures provide the physical foundation for the functionality of the nervous system, and their developmental trajectory can be influenced by the characteristics of the external environment that an organism interacts with. Historical and recent works have determined that sensory experiences, particularly during developmental critical periods, are crucial for information processing in the brain, which in turn profoundly influence neuronal and non-neuronal cortical structures that subsequently impact the animals’ behavioral and cognitive outputs. In this review, we focus on how altering sensory experience influences normal/healthy development of the central nervous system, particularly focusing on the cerebral cortex using the rodent whisker-to-barrel system as an illustrative model. A better understanding of structural plasticity, encompassing multiple aspects such as neuronal, glial, and extra-cellular domains, provides a more integrative view allowing for a deeper appreciation of how all aspects of the brain work together as a whole.