Interaction between the body condition score, gait, hindlimb conformation, and claw conformation in dairy cows in Aydin, Turkey

ABSTRACT: Breeding strategies aim to reduce lameness in dairies by using predictor traits to increase the selection of dairy cows. This study enhanced the present knowledge about association between the claw conformations (CC), hindlimb conformation (HiLC), gait, and body condition score (BCS) in dairy cows. A total of 166 lactating Holstein cows were enrolled in the study and scored for BCS, CC, HiLC, and gait. The abnormal HiLC group was statistically significant (P<0.001) to have more abnormal CC. Hock in (Hin) cows showed significance (P<0.001) with CC abnormalities. Cows with abnormal gait have less abnormal claw and limb conformation than normal cows (P=0.032). Lactation number (P=0.036) and abnormal HiLC (P<0.001) were significantly increased risk for CC. The present results might be useful for claw and hindlimb conformations, and breeding strategies of the herd.

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in Prostate Cancer: Present Knowledge and Future Perspectives

Several lines of research are being investigated to better understand mechanisms implicated in response or resistance to immune checkpoint blockade in prostate cancer (PCa). Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have emerged as a major mediator of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment that promotes progression of various tumor types. The main mechanisms underlying MDSC-induced immunosuppression are currently being explored and strategies to enhance anti-tumor immune response via MDSC targeting are being tested. However, the role of MDSCs in PCa remains elusive. In this review, we aim to summarize and present the state-of-the-art knowledge on current methodologies to phenotypically and metabolically characterize MDSCs in PCa. We describe how these characteristics may be linked with MDSC function and may influence the clinical outcomes of patients with PCa. Finally, we briefly discuss emerging strategies being employed to therapeutically target MDSCs and potentiate the long-overdue improvement in the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with PCa.

Traditional Sports and Games as an Element of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Traditional sports and games have been recognized in modern times as an important segment of cultural heritage and local identity. They are an expression of creativity in the field of sports and recreation of the inhabitants in the regions where they originated. The role and importance of traditional sports and games have been especially emphasized in the last 30 years through various announcements, declarations, executive plans, and since 2010 they have been inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. They are seen as special performance skills that are preserved, as an example of good practice, a list of knowledge, a list of living guardians of heritage and a list of festivals and customs. Also, they found their place on the national lists of the former republics of SFRY. On the territory of Serbia, traditional sports and games are still not on the national list of intangible cultural heritage, although practice shows that some need to be preserved and revitalized. The paper analyses process of recognizing traditional sports and games in the world and in the former Yugoslavia as an intangible cultural heritage. Also, using survey research, it will be investigated to what extent the awareness and present knowledge on this topic is developed among visitors to various competitions in traditional sports and games in Serbia, and what are the attitudes of respondents regarding their preservation and authenticity.

Enceladus and Titan: emerging worlds of the Solar System

Some of the major discoveries of the recent Cassini-Huygens mission have put Titan and Enceladus firmly on the Solar System map. The mission has revolutionised our view of Solar System satellites, arguably matching their scientific importance with that of their host planet. While Cassini-Huygens has made big surprises in revealing Titan’s organically rich environment and Enceladus’ cryovolcanism, the mission’s success naturally leads us to further probe these findings. We advocate the acknowledgement of Titan and Enceladus science as highly relevant to ESA’s long-term roadmap, as logical follow-on to Cassini-Huygens. In this White Paper, we will outline important science questions regarding these satellites and identify the science themes we recommend ESA cover during the Voyage 2050 planning cycle. Addressing these science themes would make major advancements to the present knowledge we have about the Solar System, its formation, evolution, and likelihood that other habitable environments exist outside the Earth’s biosphere.

Cycling Activity Dataset Creation and Application for Feedback Giving

Our research aims at supporting personal cycling trainer applications in training planning and feedback giving to nonprofessional outdoor cyclists, based on a general reference. In this paper we present the created dataset. According to our present knowledge, this data collection is the first public dataset containing cycling activities recorded outdoor. Its usability for training planning and feedback giving is demonstrated through an example. The dataset is clustered according to age groups, considering distance and average speed as the two most influential features when predicting the time required for training. These clusters are then applied as references in feedback giving and goal setting.

Immunobiology of cancer-associated fibroblasts in the context of radiotherapy

Radiotherapy (RT) still represents a mainstay of treatment in clinical oncology. Traditionally, the effectiveness of radiotherapy has been attributed to the killing potential of ionizing radiation (IR) over malignant cells, however, it has become clear that therapeutic efficacy of RT also involves activation of innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. Therapeutic irradiation of the tumor microenvironment (TME) provokes profound cellular and biological reconfigurations which ultimately may influence immune recognition. As one of the major constituents of the TME, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play central roles in cancer development at all stages and are recognized contributors of tumor immune evasion. While some studies argue that RT affects CAFs negatively through growth arrest and impaired motility, others claim that exposure of fibroblasts to RT promotes their conversion into a more activated phenotype. Nevertheless, despite the well-described immunoregulatory functions assigned to CAFs, little is known about the interplay between CAFs and immune cells in the context of RT. In this review, we go over current literature on the effects of radiation on CAFs and the influence that CAFs have on radiotherapy outcomes, and we summarize present knowledge on the transformed cellular crosstalk between CAFs and immune cells after radiation.

The Nuclear Matter Density Functional under the Nucleonic Hypothesis

A Bayesian analysis of the possible behaviors of the dense matter equation of state informed by recent LIGO-Virgo as well as NICER measurements reveals that all the present observations are compatible with a fully nucleonic hypothesis for the composition of dense matter, even in the core of the most massive pulsar PSR J0740+6620. Under the hypothesis of a nucleonic composition, we extract the most general behavior of the energy per particle of symmetric matter and density dependence of the symmetry energy, compatible with the astrophysical observations as well as our present knowledge of low-energy nuclear physics from effective field theory predictions and experimental nuclear mass data. These results can be used as a null hypothesis to be confronted with future constraints on dense matter to search for possible exotic degrees of freedom.

The Multiple Faces of MNT and Its Role as a MYC Modulator

MNT is a crucial modulator of MYC, controls several cellular functions, and is activated in most human cancers. It is the largest, most divergent, and most ubiquitously expressed protein of the MXD family. MNT was first described as a MYC antagonist and tumor suppressor. Indeed, 10% of human tumors present deletions of one MNT allele. However, some reports show that MNT functions in cooperation with MYC by maintaining cell proliferation, promoting tumor cell survival, and supporting MYC-driven tumorigenesis in cellular and animal models. Although MAX was originally considered MNT’s obligate partner, our recent findings demonstrate that MNT also works independently. MNT forms homodimers and interacts with proteins both outside and inside of the proximal MYC network. These complexes are involved in a wide array of cellular processes, from transcriptional repression via SIN3 to the modulation of metabolism through MLX as well as immunity and apoptosis via REL. In this review, we discuss the present knowledge of MNT with a special focus on its interactome, which sheds light on the complex and essential role of MNT in cell biology.

Digging into the lesser-known aspects of CRISPR biology

A long time has passed since regularly interspaced DNA repeats were discovered in prokaryotes. Today, those enigmatic repetitive elements termed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are acknowledged as an emblematic part of multicomponent CRISPR-Cas (CRISPR associated) systems. These systems are involved in a variety of roles in bacteria and archaea, notably, that of conferring protection against transmissible genetic elements through an adaptive immune-like response. This review summarises the present knowledge on the diversity, molecular mechanisms and biology of CRISPR-Cas. We pay special attention to the most recent findings related to the determinants and consequences of CRISPR-Cas activity. Research on the basic features of these systems illustrates how instrumental the study of prokaryotes is for understanding biology in general, ultimately providing valuable tools for diverse fields and fuelling research beyond the mainstream.

Sand-throwing behaviour in pit-building antlion larvae: insights from finite-element modelling

Sandy pitfall traps of antlions are elaborate constructions to capture prey. Antlions exploit the interactions between the particles in their habitat and build a stable trap. This trap is close to the unstable state; prey items will slide towards the centre—where the antlion ambushes—when entering the trap. This is efficient but requires permanent maintenance. According to the present knowledge, antlions throw sand, mainly to cause sandslides towards the centre of the pit. We hypothesized that: (i) sand-throwing causes sandslides towards the centre of the pit and (ii) sand-throwing constantly maintains the pitfall trap and thus keeps its efficiency high. Using laboratory experiments, as well as finite-element analysis, we tested these hypotheses. We show, experimentally and numerically, that sand that accumulates at the centre of the pit will be removed continuously by sand-throwing, this maintenance is leading to slope condition close to an unstable state. This keeps the slope angle steep and the efficiency of the trap constant. Furthermore, the resulting sandslides can relocate the trapped prey towards the centre of the pit. This study adds further insights from specific mechanical properties of a granular medium into the behavioural context of hunting antlion larvae.