A PSII photosynthetic control is activated in anoxic cultures of green algae following illumination

Photosynthetic hydrogen production from microalgae is considered to have potential as a renewable energy source. Yet, the process has two main limitations holding it back from scaling up; (i) electron loss to competing processes, mainly carbon fixation and (ii) sensitivity to O 2 which diminishes the expression and the activity of the hydrogenase enzyme catalyzing H 2 production. Here we report a third, hitherto unknown challenge: We found that under anoxia, a slow-down switch is activated in photosystem II (PSII), diminishing the maximal photosynthetic productivity by three-fold. Using purified PSII and applying in vivo spectroscopic and mass spectrometric techniques on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultures, we show that this switch is activated under anoxia, within 10 s of illumination. Furthermore, we show that the recovery to the initial rate takes place following 15 min of dark anoxia, and propose a mechanism in which, modulation in electron transfer at the acceptor site of PSII diminishes its output. Such insights into the mechanism broaden our understanding of anoxic photosynthesis and its regulation in green algae and inspire new strategies to improve bio-energy yields

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Milking speed, udder health and stayability of dairy cows in robotic milking systems

Kuigi robotlüpstehnoloogia on olnud Eestis kasutusel juba 20 aastat, selle mõju loomadele ja farmis tehnoloogiaga kaasnevatele muutustele on siiamaani Eestis vähe uuritud. Selle magistritöö eesmärgiks seati välja selgitada küsitluse põhjal erinevates ettevõtetes robotlüpsi tehnoloogiale üleminekuga seotud muudatused nii loomade pidamises kui ka inimeste töökorralduses ja eelised võrreldes eelmise lüpsitehnoloogiaga. Magistritöö teine osa uurib seoseid lehmade lüpsikiiruse, udara tervise, piimatoodangu ja somaatiliste rakkude arvu vahel ning lüpsikiiruse geneetilisi parameetreid. Magistritöös taheti selgitada ka erinevusi erinevate roboti markide ja lehma tõugude vahel ning uurida, kas esineb erinevusi prakeerimise põhjustes roboti tehnoloogiaga ettevõtete ja kogu Eesti andmete vahel. Uurimistöö viidi läbi külastades viit robotitehnoloogiaga ettevõtet kevadel 2011. Koguti andmeid sel hetkel robotilüpsis olevate lehmade kohta, mis sisaldas lehmade loetelu ja nende ööpäevaseid piimatoodanguid koos lüpsikiirustega ning andmeid mastiitide esinemise ja ravimise kohta. Robotlüpsile üleminekuga seotud muudatuste kohta ettevõtetes viidi läbi ankeetküsitlus. Täiendavid andmeid ettevõtete loomade kohta saadi Jõudlustkontrollikeskusest. Statstliselt analüüsiti kokku 888 lehma andmeid. Tulemustest selgus, et kõikides ettevõtetes oldi rahul uue kaasaegse robotitehnoloogiaga, erinevusi DeLaval-i ja LELY robotite vahel ei esinenud. Soetamisaasta rahuolu ei mõjutanud. Kõikides ettevõtetes oli toimunud tööjõukulu vähenemine, mis oli üks robotitehnoloogale ülemineku põhjusteks. Tehtud küsitluse põhjal võib järeldada, et loomade ja udara tervise osas erinevusi erinevate robotimarkide vahel ei esinenud, samuti piimatoodang suurenes võrreldes eelneva lüpsitehnoloogiaga mõlema margi kasutamise korral. Söödakulu osas esines mõningad erinevused, mis võisid olla aga seotud kombiboksi ja lõaspidamisüseemist üleminekuga robotitega seotud vabapidamissüsteemile. Suuremad erinevused esinesid lehmade arvus robotite kohta, keskmiselt oli DeLaval-i robotitel 8,7 lehma rohkem kui LELY robotitel. Lüpsikordade arvus esinesid väikesed erinevused, DeLavali robotitel oli 0,07 lüpsikorda ööpäevas vähem kui LELY robotitel. Tulemustes esinenud robotite vahelised erinevused võivad olla tingitud lehmaarvu erinevusest roboti kohta. Kõikide uuritud lehmade keskmiseks lüpsikiiruseks oli 2,75 kg piima minutis. Lüpsikiirus eesti punase ja eesti holsteini tõugu lehmadel ei osutunud statistiliselt oluliselt erinevaks. Lüpsikiirus oli kõrgem udara tagumistes veerandites. Sama firma lüpsiroboteid kasutanud ettevõtete vahel lehmade lüpsikiiruses suuri erinevusi ei ilmnenud. Lüpsirobotite vaheline erinevus lüpsikiiruse osas osutus aga statistiliselt oluliseks. DeLavali lüpsirobotite puhul on lüpsikiirus keskmiselt 1,39 kg piima minutis suurem, samuti lehmade vaheline lüpsikiiruse varieeruvus oli suurem kui LELY lüpsirobotite puhul. Tulemused võivad olla tingitud lüpsikordadega ja lehmaarvuga seotud erinevustest ja vajavad kindlasti veel täpsemad uurimist. Uuringus leiti, et isa mõju lüpsikiirusele oli statistiliselt oluline (p < 0,05), mis on kooskõlas ka kirjandusest leiduvate andmetega. Samuti lüpsikiiruse päritavuuskoefitsent, mis oli antud uurimustöös 0,32…0,33, on kooskõlas ka kirjandusest leitud päritavuskoefitsentidega. Tulemused kinnitavad võimalust võtta seemenduspullide selektsioonis täiendava valikutunnusena arvesse ka tütarde lüpsikiirust. Pulli tütrete lüpsikiiruse hindamine võidakse viia läbi ka esimese laktatiooni andmete põhjal, kuna selle uuringu tulemustes ei täheldatud lüpsikiiruse statistiliselt olulist muutumist lehma vanuse suurenedes. Lüpsikiirusel leiti nõrk ja negatiivne, aga statistiliselt oluline seos mastiidivastase ravi esinemisega. Suurem lüpsikiirus ei suurendanud ravi tõenäosust, kuid ravi vajavaid lehmi oli enam madala lüpsikiirusega lehmade hulgas. Sama tulemuseni jõuti ka analüüsides lüpsikiiruse ja ravikordade vahelisi seoseid. Samas, korduvat ravi vajanud loomade hulk hakkas suurenema ka keskmisest kõrgema lüpsikiirusega lehmade hulgas. Mida erinevam on üksikute udaraveerandite lüpsikiirus, seda enam esineb mastiiti. Tulemused on kooskõlas ka kirjandusest leitud märkustega et nii kõrge- kui ka madal lüpsikiirus võib suurendada mastiiti nakatumise ohtu. Võrreldes kõiki uuringus osalenud aasta jooksul karjast prakeeritud ja prakeerimata loomade vahelist lüpsikiiruse statistiliselt olulist erinevust ei esinenud. Võrreldes tõugude viisi lüpsikiiruse erinevusi esines väike statistiline erinevus holsteini tõugu prakeeritud ja pakeerimata loomade lüpsikiiruse vahel. Prakeeritud holsteini tõugu lehmadel oli keskmiselt 0,18 kg/min madalam lüpsikiirus. Uuringus osalenud ettevõtetes lehmade praakimise põhjused erinevad Eesti keskmistest. Roboti tehnoloogiaga ettevõtetes praagitakse oluliselt sagedamini loomi madala toodangu ja ainevahetushaiguste tõttu. Jäsemete haiguste tõttu prakeeriti loomi roboti tehnoloogiaga ettevõtetes vähem, kui kogu Eestis keskmiselt. Praakimise põhjustes esines tõugude vahel väike erinevus. Eesti punast tõugu lehmi prakeeriti pisud rohkem mastiidi ja jäsemete haiguste tõttu, eesti holsteini tõugu lehmade hulgas oli rohkem ainevahetushaiguste tõttu prakeerituid. Maksimaalse eluea ja kasutusea puhul tõugude vahel statistilist erinevust ei esinenud. Keskmine eluiga ja ka keskmine majanduslik kasutusiga olid tõugude vahel statistiliselt oluliselt erinevad, olles eesti holsteini tõugu lehmadel ligikaudu 500 päeva lühemad lühemad, kui eesti punast tõugu lehmadel.The use of the robotic milking system is increasing in modern dairy farming, currently over 7,000 farms in Europe and over 110 farms in Estonia use this technology. The aim of this study was to find out how the transition to the robotic milking system affected farm management and animal production efficiency, in comparison with the previous conventional milking system. The second part of this work examines the connections between milking speed, udder health, milk production and somatic cell counts and genetic parameters of milking speed. The aim was also to investigate differences between different robot types and cow breeds, and also to find out if there are differences in culling reasons between farms with automatic milking technology and overall statistics in Estonia. The information used in this work was collected in the spring of 2011 from five different farms using DeLaval and LELY automatic milking technologies. This data was complemented by information from the Estonian Animal Recording Centre database. Data from 888 cows were used in this study. Farm managers answered a questionnaire about the changes related to transition to automatic milking technology. In all the farms the management was satisfied with the modern technology and there were no differencies in satisfaction level between the DeLaval and the LELY robots. No differences in animal or udder health were recorded. Also, milk production increased with both types of robot. Some minor differences were noted in feed intakes. The biggest differencies between they different robot types were noted for the number of animals per robot. Minor differencies were noted for the milking frequencies. The mean milking speed in the cows examined was 2.75 kg/min. There was no significant difference between the breeds examined. The biggest difference was in the milking speed of different robot types. The speed of the Delaval robots was on average 1.39 kg/minutes faster than the LELYs. No correlation between the age of cows and milking speed was recorded in this study.The sire´s influence on milking speed was statistically significant (p < 0,05). The heretability of milking speed was from 0.32-0.33. There was found mild and negative but statistically significant correlation between milking speed and mastitis medication. A faster milking speed did not increase the probability of medication; more cows needed medication in the group with the lower milking speed. the same results were noted when analyzing the correlations between milking speed and the amount of treatments given. However, more animals needed repeated medication in the group with a higher than average milking speed. There was no difference in milking speed between the culled cows and the animals retained in the herd. The reasons for culling differed from the Estonian average. On farms with robot technology the animals were culled more often because of low production and metabolic disorders. Culling because of limb problems was lower than the Estonian average. Average lifespan and average productive age were significantly different between breeds, with the Estonian Holstein having approximately 500 days less life expectancy than the Estonan Red. However, there was no difference between breeds in the maximum age or the maximum production age

World Experience in Immunization against Noncommunicable Diseases: Successes and Vectors for Further Development

According to the World Health Organization, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases that do not spread from person to person, are one of the major burdens on public health and cause approximately 28 premature deaths worldwide every minute and close to 74% of deaths globally each year [...

Application of instrumental methods for quality control of lactoferrin and raw materials for its production

Bovine cattle milk lactoferrin is industrially produced from cow’s milk and used in a variety of functional products, including baby food, nutritional supplements, dairy products, and veterinary drugs. The possibility of obtaining lactoferrin from lactic acid milk wheyrises a particular interest. The purpose of this study is to assess the possibility of using and adapting existing spectrophotometric methods for determining the concentration of total protein and an electrophoretic method for analyzing the protein composition of whey fractions and lactoferrin substances. A comparative study of two methods for determining the total protein in whey fractions and lactoferrin preparations biuret and Bradford method was carried out. The validation parameters of both methods were defined. An analytical range from 30 μg / ml to 1000 μg / ml characterizes the linearity of the Bradford method. The electrophoretic profile of milk, milk whey, whey fractions and substances of lactoferrinwere analyzed. The results obtained indicate a high information content of the electrophoretic method for characterizing the purification efficiency of whey fractions