Verlauf der mittleren Antikörperkonzentration von Haemophilus parasuis, Mycoplasma hyorhinis, PRRSV und PCV2

The aim of this study was to describe the serological course of H. parasuis in three farms during a present coinfection with M. hyorhinis, PRRSV and PCV2. The examinations occurred in three breeding farms and their complementary finishing units. A clinical examination and blood sampling was done in regular two-week intervals of animals from the 1st to the 11th week of life and the same was done with animals between the 14th and 22nd week of life but in four-week intervals. Furthermore, blood samples were taken from sows in the first week after farrowing. The detection of antibodies against H. parasuis, M. hyorhinis, PCV2 and PRRSV was done using ELISA. The increased lameness that was seen in farm 1 from the 14th week of life was due to H. parasuis because of a simultaneous occurrence in the rise of the antibody titer and the seroprevalence for H. parasuis. In the second and third farm, H. parasuis probably played a role as a cofactor in the porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC). A correspondent increase in the age of the animals and the clinical scores could be detected for all three farms. In addition, an increase in the occurrence of multiple infections was observed during the finishing period. Double and single infections were present in most of the examined animals, and PCV2 was involved in all cases. Antibodies against PCV2 were found in all animals at the end of the finishing period. A significant association was detected for the mutual occurrence of H. parasuis and PCV2 in the 18th week of life. A synergism of both agents cannot be fully ascertained because of the time at which the significant mutual detection occurred. The tendency of both PCV2 and PRRSV to mutually occur was observed but a significant association was not found. A significant correlation between the antibodies of the sows and their piglets was found for all examined agents in the first week of life. In the first week of life, identical antibody titers for H. parasuis were measured in the sows and piglets and the PRRSV and PCV2 antibody titers of the piglets were even higher in the first week of life. The drop in the antibody titer in the following week of life depended on the specific agent and the starting antibody titer of the piglet in the first week of life. This fall was prolonged if the antibody titer in the first week of life was very high. High antibody titers in the sows are a prerequisite for a good passive immunity in piglets in the first week of life. The maternal immunity against H. parasuis, PRRSV and PCV2 can be improved by sow vaccination. No uniform seroconversion time was found for the four examined agents in the three farms. Thus the seroconversion of H. parasuis and M. hyorhinis began in the ninth and eleventh week of life; PCV2 began in the 9th, 11th, 18th week and PRRSV in the 14th and 18th week of life. Therefore a farm specific serological profile for every relevant agent should be done. In farm 2 and also in farm 3, a mutual seroconversion time in the 9th and 11th week of life was detected for H. parasuis, M. hyorhinis and PCV2. This points to a mutual infection time for these three agents at different times in the respective farms. A simultaneous seroconversion for PRRSV and PCV2 in the 18th week of life was observed in farm 1. Mutual agent influence is possible for H. parasuis, M. hyorhinis and PCV2 and probable for PRRSV and PCV2. The present study demonstrates the difficulty of the interpretation of serological profiles and indicates that an appropriate interpretation of the serological profile can only be done when the clinical signs are also taken into consideration

Acetylcholinesterase activity influenced by lipid membrane area and surface acoustic waves

According to the current model of nerve propagation, the function of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is to terminate synaptic transmission of nerve signals by hydrolyzing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) in the synaptic cleft to acetic acid (acetate) and choline. However, extra-synaptic roles, which are known as ‘non-classical’ roles, have not been fully elucidated. Here, we measured AChE activity with the enzyme bound to lipid membranes of varying area per enzyme in vitro using the Ellman assay. We found that the activity was not affected by density fluctuations in a supported lipid bilayer (SLB) induced by standing surface acoustic waves. Nevertheless, we found twice as high activity in the presence of small unilamellar vesicles (SUV) compared to lipid-free samples. We also showed that the increase in activity scaled with the available membrane area per enzyme

Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis for the Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy of Changes to Intercellular Junctions Induced by Cold Atmospheric Plasma

The influence of pertinent parameters of a Cole-Cole model in the impedimetric assessment of cell-monolayers was investigated with respect to the significance of their individual contribution. The analysis enables conclusions on characteristics, such as intercellular junctions. Especially cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been proven to influence intercellular junctions which may become a key factor in CAP-related biological effects. Therefore, the response of rat liver epithelial cells (WB-F344) and their malignant counterpart (WB-ras) was studied by electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Cell monolayers before and after CAP treatment were analyzed. An uncertainty quantification (UQ) of Cole parameters revealed the frequency cut-off point between low and high frequency resistances. A sensitivity analysis (SA) showed that the Cole parameters, R0 and α were the most sensitive, while Rinf and τ were the least sensitive. The temporal development of major Cole parameters indicates that CAP induced reversible changes in intercellular junctions, but not significant changes in membrane permeability. Sustained changes of τ suggested that long-lived ROS, such as H2O2, might play an important role. The proposed analysis confirms that an inherent advantage of EIS is the real time observation for CAP-induced changes on intercellular junctions, with a label-free and in situ method manner

Generating spectral dental panoramic images from single energy computed tomography volumes

Purpose: To implement a framework generating synthetic spectral panoramic images from single energy CT volumes. Using the framework output to compare the synthetic images against experimental spectral panoramic images for cross-verification. Methods: A simulation framework for generating synthetic spectral panoramic images from CT volumes is described. A cone beam CT scan of an anthropomorphic head phantom is used as input. An experimental spectral panoramic image of the same phantom is acquired. Results: The output of the framework of an anthropomorphic head phantom is compared against an experimental spectral panoramic image of the same phantom. The synthetic and experimental spectral panoramic images resemble each other considerably, especially the bone features. In the soft tissue images, there are some deviations, which are a result of the differences between the experimental and synthetic processing pipelines. Conclusions: It is demonstrated that generating synthetic spectral panoramic images from single energy CT volumes is possible. The synthetic images have many similarities with the experimental results, increasing the confidence in the correctness of the information contained within experimental spectral panoramic images and indicating that the synthetic images could be useful in further research

Patient Factors Associated With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Diagnostic Evaluation Strategies: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Real-World Evidence From a Large U.S. Medical Claims Database.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Barretts esophagus (BE) screening is not highly utilized in the United States, and there are few data describing providers approach to screening. To fill this gap and guide the implementation of future BE screening strategies, we studied evaluation practice patterns for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) by nongastroenterologists. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with chronic GERD using health claims data from the United States between 2005 and 2019. We used up to 5 years of data after the diagnosis of chronic GERD to determine patient factors associated with completion of a gastroenterology encounter. We also identified patient factors associated with whether the first gastroenterology encounter was a direct-access upper endoscopy or an office visit. RESULTS: We identified 484,023 patients diagnosed with chronic GERD by a nongastroenterology provider. The cumulative incidence of completing a gastroenterology encounter within 5 years was 38.7%. Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as dysphagia (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 2.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.94-2.30), abdominal pain (aHR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.85-1.94), and melena (aHR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.65-1.82), were strongly associated with completion of a gastroenterology encounter. The patient factors strongly associated with direct-access upper endoscopy included dysphagia (aHR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.52-1.85), weight loss (aHR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.28-1.63), and melena (aHR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.28-1.56). CONCLUSION: A total of 38.7% of patients with chronic GERD complete a gastroenterology encounter within 5 years of diagnosis, and gastrointestinal alarm symptoms are the most strongly associated factors for receiving gastroenterology care. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating primary care providers in the development of new BE screening programs

Majoron Decay in Matter

It is well known that the matter can significantly alter the picture of neutrino oscillation \cite{W} or neutrino decay \cite{BV}. Here we show that the presence of dense matter induces also the decay of {\it massless} majoron, a Goldstone boson associated with the spontaneous lepton number violation, into a couple of neutrinos with the same (or in some cases also opposite) helicities. We calculate the rates of such matter induced majoron decays in various cases, depending on the neutrino type and the chemical content of the medium, and analyse their properties.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, LATEX, INFN-FE-04-9

Role of contextual and compositional characteristics of schools for health inequalities in childhood and adolescence: protocol for a scoping review

Introduction: Childhood and adolescence are crucial life stages for health trajectories and the development of health inequalities in later life. The relevance of schools for health and well-being of children and adolescents has long been recognised, and there is some research regarding the association of contextual and compositional characteristics of schools and classes with health, health behaviour and well-being in this population. Little is known about the role of meso-level characteristics in relation to health inequalities. The aim of this scoping review is to retrieve and synthesise evidence about the mediating or moderating role of compositional or contextual characteristics of schools for the association between students' socioeconomic position and health in primary and secondary education. Methods and analysis We will conduct a systematic search of electronic databases in PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Education Resources Information Center. Studies must meet the following inclusion criteria: (1) The population must be students attending primary or secondary schools in developed economies. (2) The outcomes must include at least one indicator for individual health, health behaviour or well-being. (3) The study must include at least one contextual or compositional characteristic of the school context and one individual determinant of socioeconomic position. (4) The study must also examine the mediating or moderating role of the contextual or compositional characteristic of the school context for the associations between socioeconomic position and health, health behaviour or well-being. (5) The study must be published since 1 January 2000 in English or German language. We will provide a narrative synthesis of findings. Ethics and dissemination We will not collect primary data and only include secondary data derived from previously published studies. Therefore, ethical approval is not required. We intend to publish our findings in an international peer-reviewed journal and to present them at national and international conferences