Political Preaching: Treading the Razor\u27s Edge

Introduction and commentary by Eduard R. Riegert on S. Eglite\u27s XVII Ecumenical Memorial Service Ottawa, 1989, with homilist\u27s response

HLA class II associations with rheumatic heart disease among clinically homogeneous patients in children in Latvia

Genetic control of immune reactions has a major role in the development of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and differs between patients with rheumatic fever (RF). Some authors think the risk of acquiring RHD is associated with the HLA class II DR and DQ loci, but other views exist, due to the various HLA-typing methods and ways of grouping cases. Our goal was to determine the relations between HLA class II alleles and risk of or protection from RF in patients with relatively homogeneous clinical manifestations. A total of 70 RF patients under the age of 18 years were surveyed in Latvia. HLA genotyping of DRB1*01 to DRB1*18 and DQB1*0201-202, *0301-305, *0401-402, *0501-504, and *0601-608 was performed using polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers. Data for a control group of 100 healthy individuals typed for HLA by the same method were available from the databank of the Immunology Institute of Latvia. Of the RF patients, 47 had RHD and 8 had Sydenham's chorea. We concluded that HLA class II DRB1*07-DQB1*0401-2 and DRB1*07-DQB1*0302 could be the risk alleles and HLA class II DRB1*06 and DQB1*0602-8, the protective ones. Patients with mitral valve regurgitation more often had DRB1*07 and DQB1*0401-2, and patients with multivalvular lesions more often had DRB1*07 and DQB1*0302. In Sydenham's chorea patients, the DQB1*0401-2 allele was more frequent. Genotyping control showed a high risk of RF and RHD in patients with DRB1*01-DQB1*0301-DRB1*07-DQB1*0302 and DRB1*15-DQB1*0302-DRB1*07-DQB1*0303

Reduction of ammonia emissions by applying probiotics on litter in a commercial breeding poultry house

Received: February 1st, 2021 ; Accepted: May 2nd, 2021 ; Published: May 7th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] sectors account for a part of total ammonia emissions, including poultry. This is especially true in breeding poultry houses, where birds live on litter for several months. The purpose of the research was to reduce ammonia emission and to improve birds living environment. The study was performed in two breeding poultry houses: the test house (ProLG) and the control house (ConLG). The study starts when young breeding birds (Ross 308) are housed at 19 weeks of age until the birds are eradicated at 60 weeks of age. At the test house the probiotic mixture in a powder form was manually spread 10 g per m2 before the birds were placed, and it was spread manually once a week on litter and over manure pits throughout the lifetime 5 g per m2 of probiotic mixture. The amount of ammonia in ProLG and ConLG houses was measured in the fifth week after the start of the study and afterwards every four weeks at the same 6 points each time and the condition of the litter was assessed on a 5-point scale. As the age of the poultry increases, the number of measurements also increases. Electricity consumption was calculated every month for the test housing and for the control housing. The trial is still ongoing, initial results showed that amount of ammonia has decreased compared to the control house, indicating that the probiotics can be used efficiently to reduce ammonia in the manure of the birds and improving the microclimate in poultry houses, but subsequent results did not give the expected results - the efficacy of probiotics had not been yet approved

THE PROBIOTIC MIXTURE X FEEDING EFFECT ON THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF BROILER CHICKEN DIGESTIVE TRACT

Funding Information: This study was funded by the ESF project ‘Transition to the new doctoral funding model at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies’ (No. 8.2.2.0/20/I/001), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies program ‘Realisation of Fundamental research at LLU’ project G7 ‘Changes in postnatal ontogenesis, health status and greenhouse gas emissions of broiler chickens after addition of a new composition of probiotic mixture to bedding and feed’ Publisher Copyright: © 2022, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. All Rights Reserved.The issue of antibiotic resistance has become more pressing in the last decades. Therefore, substitutes for antibiotics are being sought. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of the mixture x of lactic acid bacteria on development of the broiler chicken digestive tract and the growth. The study was organised in three trials. In each trial, 260 one day old Ross 308 broiler chicks (males and females) were obtained from a commercial hatchery. They were randomly divided in two groups – the control group and the probiotic group. The dietary treatment was basal diet for the control group and basal diet + the mixture X of lactic acid bacteria 4 g 10 kg-1 for the probiotic group. Broilers were raised till day 35. All broilers were weighted on the day 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 10 birds per treatment were randomly selected and killed by cervical dislocation. The gastrointestinal tract was excised (proventriculus, gizzard, intestines) and weighed with content. Overall, this study achieved significant results of the body weight results in the probiotic and the control groups, 2,835.7g ±161.74 and 2,828.02±115.64, respectively. The body weight of chickens and their gastrointestinal tract parts (proventriculus, gizzard, intestines) did not differ between the probiotic and control groups (p > 0.05).publishersversionPeer reviewe

Distribution of HLA allele frequencies in patients with cystic and alveolar echinococcosis in Latvia

Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Sniedze Laivacuma et al., published by Sciendo 2019.The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between HLA Class II alleles in two groups of patients in Latvia: patients with cystic and alveolar echinococcosis. The study included 37 patients from the Rīga East Clinical University Hospital with echinococcosis (29 patients with cystic echinococcosis and eight patients with alveolar echinococcosis) and 100 healthy control persons without echinococcosis. HLA Class II allele genotyping was performed using Real-time polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (RT-PCR-SSP). The odds ratios (OR), with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), were calculated using statistical analysis performed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0, to evaluate the risk of developing the disease in an individual having a particular HLA genotype. In the case of cystic echinococcosis a more severe course of a disease can be anticipated in the presence of HLA-DRB1 alleles ∗17:01 and ∗07:01, -DQB1 ∗03:02, and ∗03:01, -DQA1∗04:01 and haplotypes HLA-DRB1∗04:01/-DQB1∗03:01/ -DQA1∗03:01, HLADRB1∗11:01/ -DQB1∗03:01 /-DQA1∗05:01. However, in the group with alveolar echinococcosis it was associated with the HLA-DRB1 alleles ∗17:01 and ∗07:01, -DQB1 ∗05:01 and haplotypes HLA- DRB1∗17:01/-DQB1∗02:01-2/-DQA1∗01:01, HLA-DRB1∗11:01/ -DQB1∗03:01/-DQA1∗01:03 and HLA-DRB1∗11:01/-DQB1∗03:01/-DQA1∗03:01. HLADRB1∗15:01/-DQÂ1∗06:02-8/-DQA1∗05:01 and HLA-DRB1∗13:01/-DQB1∗02:01-2/-DQA1∗05:01 haplotypes were protective in all patient groups. The limitations of this exploratory study indicate that a broader study needs to be conducted for revealing specific risk and protective HLA Class II haplotypes for patients with cystic and alveolar echinococcosis in Latvia.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Quality of life and provision of social rehabilitation services in elementary school age children with special needs in Riga City

publishersversionPeer reviewe

Expression of ORAI1 and STIM1 genes in blood of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Funding Information: This study was supported by Rl-ga Stradin¸š University, Latvia, Grant No. 21-1/1/2019-4. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Termedia Publishing House Ltd.. All rights reserved.This study aimed to detect the expression level of ORAI1 and STIM1 genes in blood of patients with bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in comparison with the control group. Both genes encode proteins providing store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) into the cells, including immune cells, to activate transcriptional factors for producing cytokines and inflammation-restricting proteins. The study included 45 patients with confirmed TB, aged 20 to 86, and 35 volunteers, aged from 21 to 73, without active TB infection. The expression of ORAI1 and STIM1 genes in blood was performed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was used as the referent gene. Inflammation was assessed by levels of interferon γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) in serum (ELISA method). The results showed lower expression of ORAI1 in blood and higher levels of IFN-γ and IL-18 in serum of TB patients than that of the control group and no differences in expression of the STIM1 gene. It indicates some impairment in the SOCE mechanism of immune cells, which is associated with TB.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Linear and Weakly Nonlinear Instability of Shallow Mixing Layers with Variable Friction

Linear and weakly nonlinear instability of shallow mixing layers is analysed in the present paper. It is assumed that the resistance force varies in the transverse direction. Linear stability problem is solved numerically using collocation method. It is shown that the increase in the ratio of the friction coefficients in the main channel to that in the floodplain has a stabilizing influence on the flow. The amplitude evolution equation for the most unstable mode (the complex Ginzburg–Landau equation) is derived from the shallow water equations under the rigid-lid assumption. Results of numerical calculations are presented

Assessment of skeletal muscle fatigue of road maintenance workers based on heart rate monitoring and myotonometry

OBJECTIVE: This research work is dedicated to occupational health problems caused by ergonomic risks. The research object was road building industry, where workers have to work very intensively, have long work hours, are working in forced/constrained work postures and overstrain during the work specific parts of their bodies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the work heaviness degree and to estimate the muscle fatigue of workers after one week work cycle. The study group consisted of 10 road construction and maintenance workers and 10 pavers aged between 20 and 60 years. METHODS: Physical load were analyzed by measuring heart rate (HR), work postures (OWAS) and perceived exertion (RPE). Assessments of the muscles strain and functional state (tone) were carried out using myotonometric (MYO) measurements. The reliability of the statistical processing of heart rate monitoring and myotonometry data was determined using correlating analysis. RESULTS: This study showed that that road construction and repairing works should be considered as a hard work according to average metabolic energy consumption 8.1 ± 1.5 kcal/min; paving, in its turn, was a moderately hard work according to 7.2 ± 1.1 kcal/min. Several muscle tone levels were identified allowing subdivision of workers into three conditional categories basing on muscle tone and fatigue: I – absolute muscle relaxation and ability to relax; II – a state of equilibrium, when muscles are able to adapt to the work load and are partly able to relax; and III – muscle fatigue and increased tone. It was also found out that the increase of muscle tone and fatigue mainly depend on workers physical preparedness and length of service, and less – on their age. CONCLUSION: We have concluded that a complex ergonomic analysis consisting of heart rate monitoring, assessment of compulsive working postures and myotonometry is appropriate to assess the work heaviness degree and can provide prognosis of occupational pathology or work-related musculoskeletal disorders for the workers under different workload conditions. These results can also be used when deciding on necessary rest time and its periodicity