Effects of dietary lead exposure and graded levels of ascorbic acid supplementation on performance and haematology of broiler chickens

The effects of dietary lead acetate (LA) exposure on growth performance and haematological characteristics of broiler chickens and possible  ameliorative effect of ascorb ic acid (AA) were investigated. One hundred and twenty day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into six treatment groups of 20 birds with two replicates. Six isonitrogenous and isocalories experimental diets were compounded and fed to birds for seven weeks: T1 (control) received diet I (0mg of LA and AA/kg feed), T2 received diet II (200mg LA/kg feed), T3 received diet III (200mg LA and 50mg AA/kg  feed), T4 received diet IV (200mg LA and 100mg AA/kg feed), T5 received diet V (200mg LA and 150mg AA/kg feed) and T6 received diet VI (200mg LA and 200mg AA/kg feed). Finally, two birds per replicate were randomly selected, weighed and slaughtered. For haematology, blood samples were collected into labelled EDTA - bottles. PCV, RBC, WBC and Hb concentration were determined using Auto Haem analyzer. T2 showed significantly (P<0.05) decreased body weight and dressed weight than the control. Although depressive effects of LA on body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significant. Birds in other treatments compared favourably with the control. Dietary lead significantly (P<0.05) reduced  WBC in T2, while it significantly (P<0.05) and nonsignificant (P>0.05) lowered haemoglobin and RBC in T2 and T6 respectively. The PCV was numerically lowered in T2 and T6. However, haematology of AA treated groups, especially those of T3and T4 compares favourably with thecontrol. In conclusion, dietary lead exposure negatively affects growth performance and haematology of broilers, which was ameliorated by as low as 50mg AA/kg diet supplementation

Sphenopalatine-sphenopalatine anastomosis: a unique cause of intractable epistaxis, safely treated with microcatheter embolization: a case report

Epistaxis is the most common emergency presenting to the ENT surgeon. Here we present a case of epistaxis arising from the sphenopalatine artery in a patient who had previously had the ipsilateral external carotid artery ligated due to previous epistaxis. On investigation the epistaxis was determined to arise from an anastamosis with the contralateral sphenopalatine artery. The anatomy was demonstrated with angiography and the epistaxis treated using microcatheter embolization. Anatomical variation can be a cause for failure of ligation as a permanent treatment for epistaxis. Embolization is used less frequently for epistaxis control due to concerns about the risks involved, but it can be a valuable treatment option in intractable epistaxis following a failure of arterial ligation

Stressor- and Corticotropin releasing Factor-induced Reinstatement and Active Stress-related Behavioral Responses are Augmented Following Long-access Cocaine Self-administration by Rats

Rationale Stressful events during periods of drug abstinence likely contribute to relapse in cocaine-dependent individuals. Excessive cocaine use may increase susceptibility to stressor-induced relapse through alterations in brain corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) responsiveness. Objectives This study examined stressor- and CRF-induced cocaine seeking and other stress-related behaviors in rats with different histories of cocaine self-administration (SA). Materials and methods Rats self-administered cocaine under short-access (ShA; 2 h daily) or long-access (LgA; 6 h daily) conditions for 14 days or were provided access to saline and were tested for reinstatement by a stressor (electric footshock), cocaine or an icv injection of CRF and for behavioral responsiveness on the elevated plus maze, in a novel environment and in the light–dark box after a 14- to 17-day extinction/withdrawal period. Results LgA rats showed escalating patterns of cocaine SA and were more susceptible to reinstatement by cocaine, EFS, or icv CRF than ShA rats. Overall, cocaine SA increased activity in the center field of a novel environment, on the open arms of the elevated plus maze, and in the light compartment of a light–dark box. In most cases, the effects of cocaine SA were dependent on the pattern/amount of cocaine intake with statistically significant differences from saline self-administering controls only observed in LgA rats. Conclusions When examined after several weeks of extinction/ withdrawal, cocaine SA promotes a more active pattern of behavior during times of stress that is associated with a heightened susceptibility to stressor-induced cocaine-seeking behavior and may be the consequence of augmented CRF regulation of addiction-related neurocircuitry

Actinopolyspora algeriensis sp. nov., a novel halophilic actinomycete isolated from a Saharan soil

A halophilic actinomycete strain designated H19T, was isolated from a Saharan soil in the Bamendil region (Ouargla province, South Algeria) and was characterized taxonomically by using a polyphasic approach. The morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics of the strain were consistent with those of members of the genus Actinopolyspora, and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis confirmed that strain H19T was a novel species of the genus Actinopolyspora. DNA–DNA hybridization value between strain H19T and the nearest Actinopolyspora species, A. halophila, was clearly below the 70 % threshold. The genotypic and phenotypic data showed that the organism represents a novel species of the genus Actinopolyspora for which the name Actinopolyspora algeriensis sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain H19T (= DSM 45476T = CCUG 62415T)

Determinants of antibody persistence across doses and continents after single-dose rVSV-ZEBOV vaccination for Ebola virus disease: an observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vaccine expressing the Zaire Ebola virus (ZEBOV) glycoprotein is efficacious in the weeks following single-dose injection, but duration of immunity is unknown. We aimed to assess antibody persistence at 1 and 2 years in volunteers who received single-dose rVSV-ZEBOV in three previous trials. METHODS: In this observational cohort study, we prospectively followed-up participants from the African and European phase 1 rVSV-ZEBOV trials, who were vaccinated once in 2014-15 with 300 000 (low dose) or 10-50 million (high dose) plaque-forming units (pfu) of rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine to assess ZEBOV glycoprotein (IgG) antibody persistence. The primary outcome was ZEBOV glycoprotein-specific IgG geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) measured yearly by ELISA compared with 1 month (ie, 28 days) after immunisation. We report GMCs up to 2 years (Geneva, Switzerland, including neutralising antibodies up to 6 months) and 1 year (Lambaréné, Gabon; Kilifi, Kenya) after vaccination and factors associated with higher antibody persistence beyond 6 months, according to multivariable analyses. Trials and the observational study were registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Geneva: NCT02287480 and NCT02933931; Kilifi: NCT02296983) and the Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry (Lambaréné PACTR201411000919191). FINDINGS: Of 217 vaccinees from the original studies (102 from the Geneva study, 75 from the Lambaréné study, and 40 from the Kilifi study), 197 returned and provided samples at 1 year (95 from the Geneva study, 63 from the Lambaréné, and 39 from the Kilifi study) and 90 at 2 years (all from the Geneva study). In the Geneva group, 44 (100%) of 44 participants who had been given a high dose (ie, 10-50 million pfu) of vaccine and who were seropositive at day 28 remained seropositive at 2 years, whereas 33 (89%) of 37 who had been given the low dose (ie, 300 000 pfu) remained seropositive for 2 years (p=0·042). In participants who had received a high dose, ZEBOV glycoprotein IgG GMCs decreased significantly between their peak (at 1-3 months) and month 6 after vaccination in Geneva (p0·05). Neutralising antibodies seem to be less durable, with seropositivity dropping from 64-71% at 28 days to 27-31% at 6 months in participants from the Geneva study. INTERPRETATION: Antibody responses to single-dose rVSV-ZEBOV vaccination are sustained across dose ranges and settings, a key criterion in countries where booster vaccinations would be impractical. FUNDING: The Wellcome Trust and Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking

Multivariable control of a grid-connected wind energy conversion system with power quality enhancement

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Kaddour Fouad, Houari Merabet Boulouiha, Ahmed Allali, Ali Taibi, and Mouloud Denai, ‘Multivariable control of a grid-connected wind energy conversion system with power quality enhancement’, Energy Systems, Vol. 9 (1): 25-57, February 2018. The final publication is available at Springer via: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12667-016-0223-7This paper proposes the design of a multivariable robust control strategy for a variable-speed WECS based on a SCIG. Optimal speed control of the SCIG is achieved by a conventional PI controller combined with a MPPT strategy. DTC-SVM technique based on a simple Clarke transformation is used to control the generator-side three-level converter in the variable speed WECS. The flow of real and reactive power between the inverter and the grid is controlled via the grid real and reactive currents and the DC link voltage using multivariable H∞ control. The overall WECS and control scheme are developed in Matlab/Simulink and the performance of the proposed control strategy is evaluated via a set of simulation scenarios replicating various operating conditions of the WECS such as variable wind speed and asymmetric single grid faults. The power quality of the WECS system under H∞ control control approach is assessed and the results show a significant improvement in the total harmonic distorsion as compared to that achieved with a classical PI control.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates

Though religion has been shown to have generally positive effects on normative ‘prosocial’ behavior, recent laboratory research suggests that these effects may be driven primarily by supernatural punishment. Supernatural benevolence, on the other hand, may actually be associated with less prosocial behavior. Here, we investigate these effects at the societal level, showing that the proportion of people who believe in hell negatively predicts national crime rates whereas belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates. These effects remain after accounting for a host of covariates, and ultimately prove stronger predictors of national crime rates than economic variables such as GDP and income inequality. Expanding on laboratory research on religious prosociality, this is the first study to tie religious beliefs to large-scale cross-national trends in pro- and anti-social behavior

The challenges of implementing packaged hospital electronic prescribing and medicine administration systems in UK hospitals: premature purchase of immature solutions?

The UK National Health Service is making major efforts to implement Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicine Administration (HEPMA) to improve patient safety and quality of care. Substantial public investments have attracted a wide range of UK and overseas suppliers offering Commercial-Off –The-Shelf (COTS) solutions. A lack of (UK) implementation experience and weak supplier-user relationships are reflected in systems with limited configurability, poorly matched to the needs and practices of English hospitals. This situation echoes the history of comparable corporate information infrastructures - Enterprise Resource Planning systems - in the 1980s/1990s. UK government intervention prompted a similar swarming of immature, often unfinished, products into the market. This resulted, in both cases, in protracted and difficult implementation processes as vendors and adopters struggled to get the systems to work and match the circumstances of the adopting organisations. An analysis of the influence of the Installed Base on Information Infrastructures should explore how the evolution of COTS solutions is conditioned by the structure of adopter and vendor ‘communities’