 tourist office, the Carmelo Gomez Cultural Centre and the Albergue de Pregrinos. While the buildings roof is home to a number of stocks.
The curio shop was again closed, however when I tried asking a local – when does the shop open, the hand guested reply was to ‘push the buzzer’ near the door. Nearly two hours passed spending time talking with the local store owner, learning first hand knowledge and history of the towns past. The store owner had everything tucked away somewhere in every corner of his store; from original pistols, first style cigarette lighters and old matches boxes, replica furniture and even a beautifully restored vintage car. In a hopeful manner, I asked if by chance did he have any original Spanish Pesetas? He has everything! What a find, and… an amazing man to share an interesting conversation. For me this experience was well worth staying an extra night.
A detour to the towns once infamous bull ring (closed), that was inaugurated in 1909 in honour of the town’s patron Saint San Juan de Sahagún, before walking back to the old town. The bull ring is now a symbolic place for holiday dates.
Taking a turn down Av. De la Constitucion I passed an interesting art mural showing how far I have come… and how far I am yet to go before reaching the fabled city of Santiago.
I am again filled with wonder as to what awaits and deeply grateful to those who have crossed my path and shared the journey thus far.
When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. And as you see them you will see yourself. A Course in Miracles.
The 16th century Neo-classical style Church of San Juan de Sahagún, dedicated to the towns patron Saint.
Its been an enriching and rewarding day and I am thankful a choice of local cafes are still open during the late afternoon in Plaza Major. An early dinner of local Sahagún jamon (a mix of cured beef and Iberian ham), served with bread and fresh tomato puree, along with a glass or two of tinto vino. Followed by a delightful serving of fresh berries and cream.
A relaxing evening is needed as the stirring of the inner landscape is blended with reflective moments… and seeing yourself in others. Seeing a more simple life, seeing the magic connecting with others.
Tomorrow… exploring more of the outer landscape in the majestic and vibrant historic city and capital of the Province of León.
Beautiful post. I can imagine myself walking through as you wrote.
post than travel. Great introspection..
Beautiful post and photos! Would love to walk a Camino de Santiago one day.
Thank you Kasia, I appreciate you comment. Wonderful to read you enjoyed the post and accompanying photos. The Camino de Santiago will wait for you.
Lovely post Marilyn. I am unaware of this part of the world but reading this has just made me take the walk with you. Beautiful photos and enjoyed this very much.
Thank you Georgina, appreciate your kind words.Авторы: Shrimali Rajeev K., Irons Robert D., Carlson Bradley A., Sano Yasuyo, Gladyshev Vadim N., Park Jin Mo, Hatfield Dolph L.
Аннотация: Selenium is an essential dietary element with antioxidant roles in immune regulation, but there is little understanding of how this element acts at the molecular level in host defense and inflammatory disease. Selenium is incorporated into the amino acid selenocysteine (Sec), which in turn is inserted into selenoproteins in a manner dependent on Sec tRNA[Ser]Sec. To investigate the molecular mechanism that links selenium to T cell immunity, we generated mice with selenoprotein-less T cells by cell type-specific ablation of the Sec tRNA[Ser]Sec gene (trsp). Herein, we show that these mutant mice exhibit decreased pools of mature T cells and a defect in T cell-dependent antibody responses. We also demonstrate that selenoprotein deficiency leads to oxidant hyperproduction in T cells and thereby suppresses T cell proliferation in response to T cell receptor stimulation. These findings offer novel insights into immune function of selenium and physiological antioxidants.Free-range pig farming represents a minor proportion of pig production in France but is attracting an increasing number of farmers because of societal expectations and the opportunity to use pasture-grazed forage. However, this type of farming faces several challenges, including biosecurity, parasitic management, and contact with wild fauna and pathogenic flora.
Two Gascon pigs raised on an outdoor fattening farm in the Hautes-Pyrenees department of France were submitted after sudden death for necropsy at the National Veterinary School of Toulouse. The pigs were of two different breeds but from the same group of 85 animals that had grazed on a 4-ha plot of land being used for grazing for the first time. Based on an in-depth interview with the farmer, the epidemiological information available, and the necropsy and histology examinations, a hypothesis of great eagle fern intoxication was proposed. Although the sample of animals available for diagnosis was small, the success of the administered therapy confirmed our diagnosis. It was recommended that in the short term, the animals be prevented access to the eagle fern by changing their pasture or removing the plants. Vitamin B1 and vitamin B6 were administered via feed as Ultra B® at 1 mL per 10 kg body weight per day for 2 days (providing 9 mg thiamine (vitamin B1) and 0.66 mg pyridoxine (vitamin B6) per kg body weight per day). Marked remission was observed, with 6 of 10 intoxicated animals with symptoms surviving (yielding a therapeutic success rate over 50%), but the therapy did not compensate for the loss of initial body condition. In total, of the 85 animals in the group after intoxication, 6 died, and 6 recovered.
The significance of this report lies in the scarcity of eagle fern intoxication cases reported in the literature, though such intoxication may become a significant problem as the development of outdoor rearing continues. Thus, eagle fern intoxication should be included in the differential diagnosis of nervous system symptoms in swine. The case also emphasizes the importance of anamnesis and discussion with the farmer as an essential step to guide diagnosis.
 There are several challenges, including climate, which may impact feed conversion [2]; contact with the soil, which may promote parasitic infection; potential interactions with wild animals; and potential ingestion of toxic plants [3]. As this type of farming is attracting an increasing number of farmers because of societal expectations [4] and the opportunity to use pasture-grazed forage [5, 6], it is likely that cases of plant poisoning following ingestion of plants such as eagle fern will increase in frequency. However, reports of such cases to date have been rare.
Great eagle fern (Pteridium aquilinum), also called bracken fern, is an invasive plant that grows globally in very diverse environments and is difficult control in pastures [7]. Intoxication following ingestion is well documented in ruminants, including cattle, sheep and wild cervids [8, 9]. In cattle, bracken fern ingestion causes enzootic haematuria, characterized by lower urinary tract haemorrhages and neoplasms of epithelial and mesenchymal origin [9]. Additionally, acute haemorrhagic syndrome secondary to bone marrow aplasia and retinal atrophy have been documented in sheep [8], as has polioencephalomalacia [10].
Bracken fern poisoning is poorly documented in monogastric species. In horses, poisoning has been associated with the ingestion of poor-quality hay containing a high proportion of big eagle fern [11], the use of the fern as bedding [12] or overgrazing [13]. Case reports in pigs are rare [14,15,16], probably because outdoor rearing of pigs is less prevalent than that of other livestock; they might also be rare due to the high resistance of pigs, which can ingest this plant without being exposed to the poison for a period of 6 weeks [10].
Bracken fern contains several toxins, including ptaquiloside, thiaminase, quercetin and bleeding factors [17, 18]. These toxic molecules, ptaquiloside and thiaminase in particular, are found in high concentrations in the young growing parts of the plant and in the rhizomes. Thiaminase is an enzyme that breaks down thiamine (the essential vitamin B1) into pyrimidine and thiazole. Since vitamin B1 is essential for metabolism and for maintenance of peripheral nerve myelin [10], vitamin B1 deficiency leads to peripheral or central neuropathy, with manifestations including impaired health status, weight loss and slight loss of movement coordination [11]. Symptoms suggestive of heart failure and anorexia have also been reported. Cardiopathy related to vitamin B1 deficiency has been studied in pigs to understand the pathogenesis of beriberi, a human disease caused by a nutritional deficiency in vitamin B1. One study showed that thiamine deficiency was associated with nonhypertrophic cardiac dilatation and histopathological lesions, including focal to diffuse necrosis of the myocardium and neutrophilic and mononuclear myocarditis [19].
The purpose of this report is to describe a case of great eagle fern poisoning with sudden deaths in one of eight groups on an outdoor Gascon pig-fattening farm in the Hautes-Pyrenees department of France. The affected group of 85 pigs had been reared on a new pasture of 4 ha.
In October 2019, the farmer noticed losses of body condition and appetite in approximately ten pigs from a single plot. Breathing difficulties with an open mouth and complaints were observed in many animals, as well as nervous