Cross-sensitization to Artemisia and Ambrosia Pollen Allergens in an Area Located Outside of the Current Distribution Range of Ambrosia

Introduction : The role of long-distance transported (LDT) Ambrosia pollen in inducing new sensitization and affecting sensitization rates in Artemisia -sensitized patients is unclear. Aim : The aim of this study was to estimate the degree of cross-sensitization to Ambrosia / Artemisia allergens in citizens of Poznan (Western Poland). This area is covered by extensive Artemisia populations but does not currently have local Ambrosia populations. Material and methods : Sera of 119 patients were tested by fluoroenzyme immunoassay (CAP-FEIA system) against pollen allergen extracts of Artemisia vulgaris and Ambrosia artemisiifolia , an allergenic component of A. vulgaris (nArt v 1), and an allergenic component of A. artemisiifolia ( nAmb a 1 ). Skin prick tests (SPTs, n = 86) were performed with pollen allergen extracts of A. vulgaris and A. artemisiifolia . Artemisia and Ambrosia pollen in ambient air was collected (1996�2013) by a Hirst type volumetric trap sited at roof level (33 m). Results : The SPT showed that the prevalence of sensitization to Ambrosia and Artemisia pollen exceeded 3.5, and 10.5, respectively. The measurements of IgE in blood serum (CAP-FEIA) revealed that among Ambrosia -sensitized patients 90.1 (20/22 patients) were concomitantly sensitized to Artemisia . 59.1 (13/22) of these patients reacted to nArt v 1, suggesting primary sensitization to Artemisia pollen. Only 2 (9.1) patients were mono-sensitized to Ambrosia pollen extract, but surprisingly not to nAmb a 1 . Conclusions : The LDT Ambrosia pollen had a negligible effect on the rate of sensitization to Ambrosia allergens in Poznan and did not increase the prevalence of sensitization to Artemisia pollen in this region. However, the majority of patients showing hypersensitization to Artemisia pollen might also present symptoms during elevated episodes of LDT of Ambrosia pollen

"Medicine is still against Black people": Mapping and visualising intersections of social inequalities, community mistrust, and vaccine hesitancy in online and physical spaces in the UK and US

Funded by the British Academy, this report is part of a research project entitled “Mapping and visualising intersections of social inequalities, community mistrust, and vaccine hesitancy in online and physical spaces in the UK and US”. The report investigates social, cultural, and political factors underlying vaccine hesitant beliefs and ideas among minoritised communities in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US). The data is collected through interviews and focus groups with vaccine-hesitant individuals within various religiously, ethnically, and racially minoritised communities, interviews with medical practitioners, and through thematic analysis of vaccine communication in Twitter and Telegram during the COVID-19 pandemic

Direct primary brown coal liquefaction via non-catalytic and catalytic co-processing with model, waste and petroleum-derived hydrogen donors

ABSTRACT: Direct coal liquefaction (DCL) seems to be a suitable way to convert low rank coals into liquid fuels, especially when problematic wastes are used together with this feedstock. It is also a solution to become energy independent for many countries which have significant coal resources and limited access to crude oil. The aim of this research was to investigate DCL process by the co-processing of brown coal with model-, petroleum- and waste-derived solvents. The brown coal with and without W, Fe and Mo metals supported on its surface was tested. Thirteen DCL tests with added hydrogen pressure were carried out in the autoclave. These tests were classified in two groups. First group covered reactions using model and petroleum-derived solvents (tetralin, 1-methylnaphthalene, light cycle oil (LCO), hydrotreated LCO, C9+ fraction and decalin) with non-impregnated brown coal. Then, LCO was chosen as solvent for carrying out three tests using the metals supported on coal. Finally, waste tires pyrolysis oil was used as a waste-derived solvent for other three tests with molybdenum supported on coal. For tests using LCO, the total amount of direct liquid and n-heptane soluble products was 20 wt% higher using metal covered brown coal in comparison to unmodified one. The test with the brown coal impregnated by 1% of molybdenum resulted in the best efficiency, thus this type of coal was chosen as a catalytic feedstock for the tests with waste tires pyrolysis oil.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Advances in prevention and therapy of neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea : a systematical review with emphasis on colostrum management and fluid therapy

Neonatal calf diarrhoea remains the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in preweaned dairy calves worldwide. This complex disease can be triggered by both infectious and non-infectious causes. The four most important enteropathogens leading to neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea are Escherichia coli, rota-and coronavirus, and Cryptosporidium parvum. Besides treating diarrhoeic neonatal dairy calves, the veterinarian is the most obvious person to advise the dairy farmer on prevention and treatment of this disease. This review deals with prevention and treatment of neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea focusing on the importance of a good colostrum management and a correct fluid therapy

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Flexible function block for industrial applications of active disturbance rejection controller

In this paper, the PLC-based (Programmable Logic Controller) industrial implementation in the form of the general-purpose function block for ADRC (Active Disturbance Rejection Controller) is presented. The details of practical aspects are discussed because their reliable implementation is not trivial for higher order ADRC. Additional important novelties discussed in the paper are the impact of the derivative backoff and the method that significantly simplifies tuning of higher order ADRC by avoiding the usual trial and error procedure. The results of the practical validation of the suggested concepts complete the paper and show the potential industrial applicability of ADRC

Body temperature of horses spending time in paddocks in various weather conditions during the summer

Celem badań było określenie temperatury wewnętrznej i temperatury powierzchniowej wy- branych części ciała koni podczas pobytu na padokach podczas różnej pogody w porze let niej. Badaniami objęto 10 dorosłych klaczy pełnej krwi angielskiej. Doświadczenie w porze letniej przeprowadzono na koniach przebywających na padoku, w czterech ośmiogodzin- nych etapach różniących się warunkami atmosferycznymi (pogoda: słoneczna, pochmurna, deszczowa, wietrzna). Badania polegające na pomiarze temperatury wewnętrznej (termometr weterynaryjny �eterin�r � �hermometer �C 1�) i temperatury powierzchniowej głowy, oko-�eterin�r � �hermometer �C 1�) i temperatury powierzchniowej głowy, oko- lic żeber i zadu (kamera termowizyjna �hermal Imagers �i9 FLUKE i program �mart�iew 4.1) wykonano w spoczynku, a następnie po czterech i ośmiu godzinach pobytu koni na pado- ku. Stwierdzono, że czas przebywania koni na padokach w porze letniej należy uzależnić od warunków pogodowych. Wielogodzinne przebywanie koni poza stajnią podczas pogody słonecznej, której towarzyszy wysoka temperatura powietrza, może przyczynić się do przegrzania organizmu. Natomiast deszcz i wiatr mogą organizm wyziębić. Warto zatem rozważyć wówczas konieczność pozostawienia koni w stajni lub ograniczenie czasu ich przebywania na padokach do najwyżej czterech godzin

Environmental Data Power

Data practices are at the heart of contemporary understandings of environmental change, yet the infrastructures that underpin them are also increasingly understood to have their own significant environmental impacts. In this chapter, contributors address the relationship between data and the environment, by exploring environmental sensing practices, data-driven representations of climate change, and the environmental impacts of data centres. In the contributions, we are interested in the different entanglements of data and the environment, and how power dynamics come into play along the journey from environmental sensing practices, through to data modelling and representation, and data storage and processing in data centres. Across each of the chapter sections, co-authors variously engage with the contours of data, their diverse physical manifestations, their representations, their affects, and the epistemologies they materialize, reproduce, and map onto in environmental and planetary contexts. We ask: how does ‘environmental data power’ as a concept that encompasses all of these practices and contexts operate across each of these registers? To answer this question, we articulate not only how data power takes shape in relation to and via environmental contexts, but also how data technologies, economies, and practices organize and make legible the planetary through these particular affects, epistemologies, and geographies