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52. Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: a roadmapLeor Barack, Tanja Petrushevska, Andreja Gomboc, Katja Bricman, Aurora Clerici, Christopher Eckner, Nada Ihanec, Gabrijela Zaharijas, 2019, pregledni znanstveni članek Opis: The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics—dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem—all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions.
The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature.
The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics.
Ključne besede: black holes, gwverse
Objavljeno v RUNG: 24.06.2019; Ogledov: 3536; Prenosov: 0
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53. Cortisol, DHEA, and Sexual Steroid Concentrations in Fattening Pigs’ HairCristina Bergamin, Antonella Comin, Mirco Corazzin, Massimo Faustini, Tanja Peric, Annalisa Scollo, Flaviana Gottardo, M. Montillo, Alberto Prandi, 2019, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: The aim of this study was to analyze the feasibility and reliability of using hair as a matrix
to determine the dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and sexual steroid concentrations and the
cortisol/DHEA ratio in fattening pigs. The results could be also used to plan future research to
identify threshold values in order to set up strategies to control the allostatic load and increase the
resilience of fattening pigs before slaughter. The study was conducted on 107 commercial crossbred
rearing pigs. The hair samples were taken by shaving at the age of 36 weeks, and concentrations of
the hormones were measured using a solid-phase microtiter radioimmunoassay. Females had
significantly higher cortisol levels (p < 0.01), significantly lower DHEA concentrations (p < 0.05) and
significantly higher cortisol/DHEA ratios (p < 0.01) than barrows. Progesterone was significantly
higher in gilts than in barrows (p < 0.01). Testosterone and 17β-estradiol were significantly higher
in barrows than in gilts (p < 0.05). If future research can produce threshold values for the different
markers examined, the evaluation of animals under subclinical stress conditions will be possible.
Ključne besede: fattening pigs, hair, steroid hormones, allostatic load
Objavljeno v RUNG: 12.06.2019; Ogledov: 3654; Prenosov: 0
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54. Incorporation of Sc into the structure of barium-hexaferrite nanoplatelets and its ex-traordinary finite-size effect on the magnetic propertiesDarko Makovec, Matej Komelj, Goran Dražić, Blaž Belec, Tanja Goršak, Sašo Gyergyek, Darja lisjak, 2019, izvirni znanstveni članek Ključne besede: Nanoparticles, Magnetic properties, Size effect, Structure properties relationship, Ferrite.
Objavljeno v RUNG: 06.05.2019; Ogledov: 3204; Prenosov: 0
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55. ASSESSMENT OF CORTISOL AND DHEA CONCENTRATIONS IN THE GRIFFON VULTURE (Gyps fulvus) FEATHERS TO EVALUATE ITS HEALTH CONDITIONGian Nicola Frongia, Tanja Peric, Marco Muzzeddu, Fiammetta Berlinguer, Giovanni Leoni, Valentina Satta, Cristina Bergamin, Marcello Franchini, Antonella Comin, Salvatore Naitana, Alberto Prandi, 2018, objavljeni povzetek znanstvenega prispevka na konferenci Opis: During their life, birds face several challenges which can threaten the stability of physiological functions. These situations typically trigger a cascade of endocrine secretions involving the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and resulting in the release of both cortisol and corticosterone also in birds. The use of a non-invasive approach to collect samples of biological material derived from natural populations represents a greatly combination for an improvement of knowledge avoiding handling animals. Steroid concentrations in feathers are mainly acquired from the capillary around the follicle during the long period of feather grown reflecting their bloodstream concentrations. Accordingly, a chronic HPA axis activation could be assessed using molted feathers cortisol concentrations. Another hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), is secreted by adrenals and it could be assessed in molted feathers. This study was aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using feathers cortisol and DHEA concentrations to provide a retrospective assessment of the activity of the HPA axis in griffon vulture acquired for health monitoring purposes. For this, we introduced two groups of
animals with a known health condition: one group composed by griffons that have experienced a long-term physiologically compromised period (PC group; n=8) and the other group composed by griffons physiologically not compromised (CTRL group; n=9). The feathers cortisol and DHEA analyses were carried out using RIA [1,2] adapted for feathers. The results revealed different feather hormone concentrations between the two groups of animals. The feathers cortisol had a median value higher in the PC group than in the CTRL group, with cortisol concentrations showing a central value 1.6 times higher in those animals that suffered a long-term physiological impairment. The PC group showed also (Kruskal-
Wallis test) higher feather concentrations of DHEA (P=0.01) than the CTRL group. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were used to examine the associations between cortisol and DHEA, showing no correlation between cortisol and DHEA feather concentrations in the PC group (r=0.18, P=0.34) and a moderate positive correlation in the CTRL group (r=0.51, P=0.011). In conclusion, our study reveals that molted feathers can be an interesting way to evaluate the physiological status of wild animals by using a non-invasive approach. Our analyses reveal that in addition to cortisol also DHEA could be evaluated to better understand the relationships between these hormones and to determine the resilience condition of wild species.
Ključne besede: CORTISOL, DHEA, GRIFFON VULTURE, Gyps fulvus, FEATHER
Objavljeno v RUNG: 09.04.2019; Ogledov: 3132; Prenosov: 0
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56. A NEW TOOL TO EVALUATE CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS IN ANIMAL HAIRAntonella Comin, Tanja Peric, Mara Colzani, Francesco De Vecchi, Cristina Bergamin, Alberto Prandi, 2018, objavljeni povzetek znanstvenega prispevka na konferenci Opis: The study of cortisol in hair requires the use of a highly sensitive assay. To date, hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) have been evaluated with different analytical methods as Radio Immune Assay (RIA), Enzyme Immunossay (EIA), Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), ChemiLuminescent Immunoassay (CLIA) and High Performance Liquid
Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (HPLC/MS) or Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay (AlphaLISA) is an ELISA-like, nonradioactive technology first reported in 1994 [1]. This technology allows the quantitative detection of molecules of interest in a light-induced chemiluminescence immunoassay using a microplate without wash step. The aim of the study was to compare RIA with AlphaLISA method and examine the sensitivity in evaluating cortisol concentrations in animal hair of the Cortisol AlphaLISA kit (PerkinElmer, USA),
originally suggested for the analysis of buffer and serum samples. The study has been carried out on 4 samples of calf, 4 samples of foal and 8 samples of sheep hair. After washing with isopropanol, two extracts were obtained from each hair sample. One extract has been evaluated for HCC by RIA as previously described [2,3]. The second extract has been reconstituted with the buffer provided by the Cortisol AlphaLISA Kit and HCC evaluated by the use of this commercially available kit. The preliminary results indicate that the Cortisol AlphaLISA Kit is capable to detect cortisol also in hair samples with high sensitivity, with a detection limit of 17 pg/ml. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CVs) were 4.0% and 9.0%, respectively. Cortisol concentrations ranged between 1.31 and 16.94 pg/mg, 6.30 and 57.65 pg/mg, and 2.16 and 45.08 in calf, foal and sheep hair, respectively. The HCC obtained by Cortisol AlphaLISA Kit and RIA showed a good correlation (r=0.79, p<0.01).
Considering the possibility to use a low amount of extracted sample, its no-washing procedure and the performances showed, we can conclude that the Cortisol AlphaLISA Kit can be considered an excellent tool to evaluate cortisol concentrations also in hair derived from animal species.
Ključne besede: hair, cortisol, analyses, method, AlphaLISA, Amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay
Objavljeno v RUNG: 09.04.2019; Ogledov: 3406; Prenosov: 0
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57. 17-ß-Estradiol and Testosterone concentrations in claws of puppies up to 60 days of age.Jasmine Fusi, Tanja Peric, Cristina Bergamin, Maria Cristina Veronesi, 2018, objavljeni povzetek znanstvenega prispevka na konferenci Opis: The current 30% of canine perinatal mortality (Tonnessen et al., 2012) claims the need to deepen the knowledge about this phase, characterized by long-term hormonal and metabolic changes, that could benefit of long time-frame methods of investigation, reducing the quantity of samplings and thus respecting animal welfare (Veronesi et al., 2015). Indeed, apart from the well-known invasiveness of blood samplings, the necessary repeated collection of feces, urine and saliva, providing punctual information, could be stressful for the newborns and their mothers with negative effects on health status and maternal behavior.
Given that sexual steroid hormones were reported to have an influence on health outcomes and development already from the perinatal period (Frey et al., 2017), in this work 17-β-Estradiol (E2) and Testosterone (T) concentrations were assessed from the claws of dogs up to 60 days of age, to identify possible endogenous biomarkers.
Ten male and 10 female puppies, viable and healthy, born by elective cesarean section, were enrolled. Samplings were performed by trimming claws at birth, and the regrowth at 30 and 60 days of age after the breeder or the owner signed an informed consent. Then, E2 and T concentrations were analyzed by RIA (Veronesi et al., 2015) and a possible effect of gender evaluated by ANOVA.
All the hormonal claws concentrations showed a significant (p<0.001) drop from birth to 30 and 60 days of age, while no significant changes were observed between 30 and at 60 days of age (Table 1). No influence of the newborns’ gender was found.
Because of the higher levels of E2 and T observed at birth and at 30 days of age, it could be supposed that a source of production could be the placental and maternal compartments. However, the direct involvement of the fetus itself could not be excluded, given the reported accumulation from the nail capillary bed of those hormones (de Berker et al., 2007) and the production of sexual steroid hormones by feline fetal gonads (Braun and Jewgenow, 2017).
Ključne besede: Dog, Puppy, Claws, 17-ß-Estradiol, Testosterone.
Objavljeno v RUNG: 09.04.2019; Ogledov: 3208; Prenosov: 0
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58. Hair dehydroepiandrosterone in newborn beef calves from birth up to 10 months of ageMonica Probo, Tanja Peric, Massimo Faustini, Alberto Prandi, Antonella Comin, 2018, objavljeni povzetek znanstvenega prispevka na konferenci Opis: Although steroidogenesis in maternal, placental and fetal compartments is interdependent, the maternal and fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes represent separate biological systems, with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) recognized as the main fetal steroid. Fetal steroids are likely to influence development and have long-term effects on HPA function. Hair analysis represents a promising methodological approach for the non-invasive measurement of steroids, allowing for a retrospective analysis of the total exposure to steroids over time, and avoiding the influence of acute events or circadian fluctuations (Schury et al. 2017, BMC Psychiatry 17:213). Hair coat DHEA (hcD) concentrations have been investigated in cows (Peric et al. 2017, Livestock Sci 202:39–43), but no studies
have been performed on newborn calves. Hair samples of 12 beef
calves (7 males, 5 females) were collected by shaving at calving (T0) and monthly up to 10 months of age (T1-T10), only on the re-growth area. Hair DHEA was analyzed by RIA2. Statistical analysis revealed that hcD concentrations in calves were influenced by age, with higher levels at T1 and T2 compared to the other samples (p < 0.05). HcD levels were not influenced by newborn gender, birth weight and Apgar score. These data demonstrate that DHEA is quantifiable in the hair coat of newborn calves, and that hcD levels are influenced by the age of calves. The higher accumulation of DHEA was detected from birth to 2 months of age, suggesting that DHEA continues to be secreted by the newborn calf also beyond birth and could be involved in the events occurring during the first months of age.
Ključne besede: hair, dehydroepiandrosterone, cattle, calf
Objavljeno v RUNG: 09.04.2019; Ogledov: 3177; Prenosov: 0
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59. Maternal and fetal hair cortisol concentrations in beef cattle at deliveryTanja Peric, Monica Probo, Antonella Comin, Maria Cristina Veronesi, Marta Montillo, Alberto Prandi, 2018, objavljeni povzetek znanstvenega prispevka na konferenci Opis: Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of both mother and fetus, is one of key mechanisms involved in fetal programming. Cortisol, the end-product of this axis, plays a critical role in regulating fetal and new-born metabolism and development. The aim of the study was to evaluate maternal and fetal cortisol concentrations shortly after delivery on hair samples non-invasively collected. The study was carried out on 11 pairs of beef cows and their calves (calves were 12 because of one case of twins) from the same farm and subjected to the same managerial conditions. Hair from new-born
calves and from their mothers was
collected on the day of birth shaving their withers to the level of the skin. The hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) were determined by RIA as previously described (Peric et al. 2013: J Dairy Sci 96:3023–3027). The results showed that fetal and maternal HCC ranged from 16.11 to 40.43 pg/mg and from 1.88 to 15.73 pg/mg respectively, with fetal and maternal mean ± SE HCC of 23.72 ± 2.21 and 6.40 ± 1.32 pg/mg respectively (p < 0.001). Fetal HCC were on average 3.5 higher than those of mothers but this ratio differed among the pairs. These differences were also found among the twin calves. These results indicate that in beef cows-and-calves pairs, although HCC at delivery were always higher in calves than in cows, the ratio between fetal and maternal HCC differs among pairs, suggesting an individuality in the fetal programming processes that may also rely on genetic and epigenetic factors.
Ključne besede: hair, cortisol, cattle, delivery
Objavljeno v RUNG: 09.04.2019; Ogledov: 3472; Prenosov: 0
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60. Elided Clausal Conjunction Is Not the Only Source of Closest‐Conjunct Agreement: A Picture‐Matching StudyBoban Arsenijević, Jana Willer-Gold, Nadira Aljović, Nermina Čordalija, Marijana Kresić, Nedžad Leko, Frane Malenica, Franc Marušič, Tanja Milićev, Nataša Milićević, Petra Mišmaš, Ivana Mitić, Anita Peti-Stantić, Branimir Stanković, Jelena Tušek, Andrew Nevins, 2019, izvirni znanstveni članek Opis: A recurring hypothesis about the agreement phenomena generalized as closest‐conjunct agreement takes this pattern to result from reduced clausal conjunction, simply displaying the agreement of the verb with the nonconjoined subject of the clause whose content survives ellipsis (Aoun, Benmamoun & Sportiche 1994, 1999; see also Wilder 1997). Closest‐conjunct agreement is the dominant agreement pattern in the South Slavic languages Slovenian and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian. A natural question is whether closest‐conjunct agreement in these varieties may indeed be analyzed as entirely derived from conjunction reduction. In this article, we report on two experiments conducted to test this. The results reject the hypothesis as far as these languages are concerned, thereby upholding the relevance of models developed to account for closest‐conjunct agreement within theories of agreement.
Ključne besede: Conjunct agreement, Clausal conjunction, Experimental syntax
Objavljeno v RUNG: 08.04.2019; Ogledov: 12044; Prenosov: 136
 Celotno besedilo (653,34 KB) |
