Ammonia emission and nutrient load in outdoor runs of laying hens

Ammonia emission and nutrient load in outdoor runs of laying hens were measured at a commercial farm with an outdoor run for 3000 hens, and at an experimental farm with two outdoor runs, each for approximately 250 hens. Ammonia emission was recorded at 5, 10, 15 and 20 m from the hen house, using the ventilated chamber technique. Nutrient load was determined by analysing the fresh droppings. The results show ammonia emission to decrease with increasing distance from the hen house. The average emission per hen was 2.0 mg h-1 for the run of the commercial farm, and 0.95 and 0.86 mg h-1 for the two runs of the experimental farm. The nutrient load within 20 m from the hen house exceeded the threshold value for nutrient supply from manure (170 kg N and 44 kg P per ha) by a factor 15 on both the commercial farm and the experimental farm. The results show that the ammonia emission from the outdoor run of laying hens was relatively small compared with the emission from the hen house and that the nutrient load in the outdoor run near the house by far exceeded maximum acceptable levels

Living Donor Kidney Transplantation Should Be Promoted among "elderly" Patients

Background. Age criteria for kidney transplantation have been liberalized over the years resulting in more waitlisted elderly patients. What are the prospects of elderly patients on the waiting list? Methods. Between 2000 and 2013, 2622 patients had been waitlisted. Waiting time was defined as the period between dialysis onset and being delisted. Patients were categorized according to age upon listing: 64 years. Furthermore, the influence of ABO blood type and panel reactive antibodies on outflow patterns was studied. Results. At the end of observation (November 2017), 1957 (75%) patients had been transplanted, 333 (13%) had been delisted without a transplantation, 271 (10%) had died, and 61 (2%) were still waiting. When comparing the age categories, outflow patterns were completely different. The percentage of patients transplanted decreased with increasing age, while the percentage of patients that had been delisted or had died increased with increasing age, especially in the population without living donor. Within 6 years, 93% of the population 55 years, 39% received a living donor kidney, while >50% of patients without a living donor had been delisted/died. Multivariable analysis showed that the influence of age, ABO blood type, and panel reactive antibodies on outflow patterns was significant, but the magnitude of the influence of the latter 2 was only modest compared with that of age. Conclusions. "Elderly" (not only >64 y but even 55-64 y) received a living donor kidney transplantation less often. Moreover, they cannot bear the waiting time for a deceased donor kidney, resulting in delisting without a transplant in more than half the population of patients without a living donor. Promoting living donor kidney transplantation is the only modification that improves transplantation and decreases delisting/death on the waiting list in this population

Bladder neck mobility in continent nulliparous women

To evaluate the mobility of the vesical neck during coughing and valsalva in healthy nulliparous volunteers and to test the reliability of the technique applied. Design Clinical observational study. Setting Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Switzerland. Population Thirty-nine nulliparous volunteers. Methods Vesical neck motion was assessed with perineal ultrasound. Intra–abdominal pressure was controlled for with an intrarectal probe. Intra-rater reliability was evaluated. Results Vesical neck mobility was significantly lower during coughing (8 mm, SD 4 mm) than during valsalva (15 mm, SD 10 mm) ( P < 0.005 ). Between individuals mobility varied from 4 mm to 32 mm during coughing and from 2 mm to 31 mm during valsalva. Test-retest-studies showed a maximum difference between to tests during coughing of 4 mm and during valsalva of 5 mm. Conclusion The bladder neck is mobile in normal continent women and bladder neck mobility is lower during coughing than during Valsalva.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74987/1/j.1471-0528.2001.00066.x.pd

Time calibration of the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES deep-sea neutrino telescope comprises a three-dimensional array of photomultipliers to detect the Cherenkov light induced by upgoing relativistic charged particles originating from neutrino interactions in the vicinity of the detector. The large scattering length of light in the deep sea facilitates an angular resolution of a few tenths of a degree for neutrino energies exceeding 10 TeV. In order to achieve this optimal performance, the time calibration procedures should ensure a relative time calibration between the photomultipliers at the level of similar to 1 ns. The methods developed to attain this level of precision are described

The positioning system of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located 40km off the coast of Toulon in the Mediterranean Sea at a mooring depth of about 2475m, consists of twelve detection lines equipped typically with 25 storeys. Every storey carries three optical modules that detect Cherenkov light induced by charged secondary particles (typically muons) coming from neutrino interactions. As these lines are flexible structures fixed to the sea bed and held taut by a buoy, sea currents cause the lines to move and the storeys to rotate. The knowledge of the position of the optical modules with a precision better than 10cm is essential for a good reconstruction of particle tracks. In this paper the ANTARES positioning system is described. It consists of an acoustic positioning system, for distance triangulation, and a compass-tiltmeter system, for the measurement of the orientation and inclination of the storeys. Necessary corrections are discussed and the results of the detector alignment procedure are described

Impact of nationwide enhanced implementation of best practices in pancreatic cancer care (PACAP-1): A multicenter stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis. Best practices for the use of chemotherapy, enzyme replacement therapy, and biliary drainage have been identified but their implementation in daily clinical practice is often suboptimal. We hypothesized that a nationwide program to enhance implementation of these best practices in pancreatic cancer care would improve survival and quality of life. Methods/design: PACAP-1 is a nationwide multicenter stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled superiority trial. In a per-center stepwise and randomized manner, best practices in pancreatic cancer care regarding the use of (neo)adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy, pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, and metal biliary stents are implemented in all 17 Dutch pancreatic centers and their regional referral networks during a 6-week initiation period. Per pancreatic center, one multidisciplinary team functions as reference for the other centers in the network. Key best practices were identified from the literature, 3 years of data from existing nationwide registries within the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Project (PACAP), and national expert meetings. The best practices follow the Dutch guideline on pancreatic cancer and the current state of the literature, and can be executed within daily clinical practice. The implementation process includes monitoring, return visits, and provider feedback in combination with education and reminders. Patient outcomes and compliance are monitored within the PACAP registries. Primary outcome is 1-year overall survival (for all disease stages). Secondary outcomes include quality of life, 3- and 5-year overall survival, and guideline compliance. An improvement of 10% in 1-year overall survival is considered clinically relevant. A 25-month study duration was chosen, which provides 80% statistical power for a mortality reduction of 10.0% in the 17 pancreatic cancer centers, with a required sample size of 2142 patients, corresponding to a 6.6% mortality reduction and 4769 patients nationwide. Discussion: The PACAP-1 trial is designed to evaluate whether a nationwide program for enhanced implementation of best practices in pancreatic cancer care can improve 1-year overall survival and quality of life. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03513705. Trial opened for accrual on 22th May 2018

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Senecio jacobaea affect fungal growth

We investigated the growth-reducing effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from Senecio jacobaea on nine plant-associated fungi (five strains of Fusarium oxysporum, two of F. sambucinum, and two of Trichoderma sp). Fungal growth was monitored on water agar media containing different concentrations of monocrotaline, retrorsine, or a purified extract of PAs from S. jacobaea. The growth rate of six strains was inhibited by PAs at the highest test concentration (3.33 mM), with the magnitude of the inhibition (7-35%) being dependent upon the specific fungus-PA interaction. In general, the PA extract caused the largest inhibition. However, the fungi isolated from S. jacobaea were positively affected by the PA extract (7-9%). Retrorsine N oxide was as effective as retrorsine in its inhibition of mycelium growth. [KEYWORDS: Senecio jacobaea, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, anti fungal activity, retrorsine, N oxide, monocrotaline]

Nutrients decrease pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentrations in Senecio jacobaea

Changes in the defence compounds pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in roots and shoots of Senecio jacobaea are reported in response to nutrient addition in order to investigate whether changes in concentration are adaptive. PA concentrations were examined in leaves and roots of 40 vegetative ragwort plants, subjected to four nutrient treatments in a climate chamber study. Roots from 10 plants were subdivided into main root cortex, main root vascular cylinder, lateral roots and root tips and analysed for PA concentrations. Increasing nutrients lead to a significant reduction in total PA concentration of both roots and shoots. All individual PAs except jacobine decreased in concentration. The total amount of PA produced in the whole plant was not influenced by nutrient supply. Root tips contained a three times lower concentration than the main and lateral roots. The concentrations in the main root cortex were five times higher than concentrations in the vascular cylinder. Changes in biomass rather than changes in production rates can explain alterations in PA concentration of S. jacobaea in response to nutrients.

Root damage and aboveground herbivory change concentration and composition of pyrrolizidine alkaloids of Senecio jacobaea

Thus far not many studies focussed on how herbivory in one plant part affects plant defence in the other. The effects of root damage and a leaf-feeding herbivore (Mamestra brassicae) on pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) levels of Senecio jacobaea were investigated in a controlled environment. Three cloned S. jacoboea genotypes, which differed in PA concentrations, received four treatments: (1) no damage, (2) root damage (removing half of the root system), (3) shoot herbivory by M. brassicae larvae, (4) root damage and shoot herbivory. Shoot herbivory did not significantly affect shoot biomass, white root damage decreased both root and shoot biomass. Shoot herbivory decreased PA concentrations in the roots. Conversely, root damage increased PA concentrations in the roots. Alkaloid concentrations in the shoot showed a weak response to root damage, shoot herbivory had no effect on PA levels in the shoot. The effect of damage on the allocation of PAs to shoot and roots depended on genotype. One genotype allocated more PAs to the damaged site, another genotype did not change allocation and the third genotype allocated more PAs to the shoot if the roots were damaged. Changes in PA composition were observed in one genotype. Shoot herbivory increased erucifoline concentrations in the shoot and decreased concentrations of senecionine in the roots. In conclusion, we have shown that even in an alleged constitutively defended plant, damage of one compartment affects secondary metabolite level in the other. [KEYWORDS: constitutive defence; aboveground and below-ground interactions; erucifoline; induction; Mamestra brassicae]

Co-Expression of Tyrosine Hydroxylase and GTP Cyclohydrolase I in Arginine Vasopressin-Synthesizing Neurons of the Human Supraoptic Nucleus Demonstrated by Laser Microdissection and Real-Time PCR.

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the first and limiting enzyme for catecholamine synthesis, has been identified immunohistochemically (IHC) in human neurosecretory neurons where it is found to colocalize with vasopressin (AVP) or oxytocin. TH expression shows striking interindividual variability and appears to depend on neuronal activation. Since GTP cyclohydrolase I (GCHI), the first enzyme for tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis, the essential cofactor of TH, and aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) have so far not been detected in neurosecretory neurons, the functional role of TH in catecholamine synthesis is still questionable. Our purpose was to investigate in postmortem hypothalamus whether GCHI and AADC mRNAs are co-expressed with TH in human AVP-synthesizing neurons. Total RNA was extracted from laser microdissected TH-IHC-identified neurons as well as from dissected parts of the dorsolateral supraoptic nucleus (dl-SON) of 12 control subjects, i.e. without known neurological, psychiatric or endocrinological illness. GCHI, AADC and TH mRNA expression was determined by real-time PCR. Our results showed that GCHI mRNA is co-expressed with TH in almost all cases that had a considerable number of TH-immunoreactive (TH-IR) neurosecretory neurons. A positive correlation was found between TH-immunohistochemical intensity and the presence of GCHI mRNA. AADC mRNA expression was detected only in microdissected areas of dl-SON in 2 cases that showed an increased number of TH-IR neurons. The co-expression of GCHI with TH indicates that TH is indeed active in human neurosecretory neurons. The apparent limited expression of AADC indicates that dopamine might be produced in human neurosecretory neurons under activation of the hypothalamoneurohypophyseal system, although the possibility that L-dopa is the final product cannot be excluded.