Soybean Meal Inclusion Rate Effects on Odor Intensity, Hydrogen Sulfide and Ammonia in Commercial Swine Production Units

Three commercial swine farms with side-by-side 1100- head finishing units were fed two diets with varying protein levels. Odor threshold, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were collected from the pit fans. The high protein (HP) treatment averaged 1420 odor units compared to 1035 odor units for the low protein (LP) treatment, reducing odor by 27% (P= 0.02). Reduction in H2S concentration was not significant, averaging 0.92 ppm and 0.59 ppm for the HP and LP treatments, respectively (P = 0.09). Concentrations of NH3 were 12.3 ppm and 9.1 ppm for the HP and LP treatments, respectively (P =0.10). Seasonal differences in H2S (P= 0.002) and NH3 (P=0.05) were indicated but the cause of this difference was not diet related and could be due to a number of seasonally-related operation attributes. This study demonstrates that dietary manipulation by addition of synthetic amino acids replacing soybean meal is a method pork producers can use to decrease the odor intensity of their pork production site

Construction of a Laboratory to Measure Livestock Emissions

A facility at Iowa State University was constructed to evaluate the impact diet modification has on air emissions. The facility was designed and constructed to have the unique ability to investigate emissions from cattle, poultry and swine by incorporating interchangeable penning and watering systems. Excreta and manure volumes can be measured for group-housed animals. Gas emissions are determined by measuring airflow rates through each of the eight animal chambers and multiplying airflow by the change in contaminate concentration between the effluent and influent ventilation air for each chamber. Chambers are monitored sequentially, for 15 min each, with incoming air gas concentrations subtracted from chamber gas concentrations, providing 10-11 observations per chamber each day. Each chamber is independently heated or air conditioned based on a temperature setpoint, with air delivered from a central plenum into chamber-specific variable air volume boxes. Data acquisition is coordinated through software control, including an emergency alarm system should ventilation problems arise. Findings from the first swine study conducted in the facility indicate that this facility can discriminate between emissions from animals fed diets that are modified to reduce nutrient excretions while maintaining animal performance. A brief laying hen study followed to challenge the sensitivity of the system to small dietary changes

CO2 Balance and Estimation of Ventilation Rates in Animal Studies

The CO 2 emissions were measured in environmental rooms in 15 animal operation studies, including studies of dairy cow, steer, swine, turkey, laying hen and broiler. The objectives of this paper are to summarize CO 2 emission data in these 15 studies;, to investigate the possible diet effect; and to evaluate the performance of the CO 2 balance approach to estimate ventilation rate (VR) of animal houses. Lower CO 2 emissions were observed from steers fed diets containing 60% DDGs as compared to that from steers fed the control diets (0% DDGs). Significant differences in CO2 emissions were observed among different studies for each species of broiler, laying hen, swine, and steer, which could be the result of different management practices, different stages of production, or different weather conditions. In 10 out of the 15 studies, the measured CO2 emissions were significantly larger than the estimated CO2 productions, which could represent the corresponding amount of CO2 generation that was not accounted in the metabolic CO 2 production as well as uncertainties in measurements of CO2 emissions. The overall R2 was 0.97 when treating each of the 15 studies as one data point. The relative differences between measured and estimated VR were in the range of 6.3% to 20.5%. Uncertainties in estimated VR in dairy cow studies were relatively large because the relatively large variations in measured CO2 emissions in these studies were not well represented by the relatively constant estimated CO2 production values

Effects of added humic substances and nutrients on photochemical degradation of dissolved organic matter in a mesocosm amendment experiment in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

Humic substances, a component of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (tDOM), contribute to dissolved organic matter (DOM) and chromophoric DOM (CDOM) in coastal waters, and have significant impacts on biogeochemistry. There are concerns in recent years over browning effects in surface waters due to increasing tDOM inputs, and their negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems, but relatively little work has been published on estuaries and coastal waters. Photodegradation could be a significant sink for tDOM in coastal environments, but the rates and efficiencies are poorly constrained. We conducted large-scale DOM photodegradation experiments in mesocosms amended with humic substances and nutrients in the Gulf of Finland to investigate the potential of photochemistry to remove added tDOM and the interactions of DOM photochemistry with eutrophication. The added tDOM was photodegraded rapidly, as CDOM absorption decreased and spectral slopes increased with increasing photons absorbed in laboratory experiments. The in situ DOM optical properties became similar among the control, humic- and humic+nutrients-amended mesocosm samples toward the end of the amendment experiment, indicating degradation of the excess CDOM/DOM through processes including photodegradation. Nutrient additions did not significantly influence the effects of added humic substances on CDOM optical property changes, but induced changes in DOM removal.Peer reviewe

The potential of urinary metabolites for diagnosing multiple sclerosis

A definitive diagnostic test for multiple sclerosis (MS) does not exist; instead physicians use a combination of medical history, magnetic resonance imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis (CSF). Significant effort has been employed to identify biomarkers from CSF to facilitate MS diagnosis; however none of the proposed biomarkers have been successful to date. Urine is a proven source of metabolite biomarkers and has the potential to be a rapid, non-invasive, inexpensive, and efficient diagnostic tool for various human diseases. Nevertheless, urinary metabolites have not been extensively explored as a source of biomarkers for MS. Instead, we demonstrate that urinary metabolites have significant promise for monitoring disease-progression, and response to treatment in MS patients. NMR analysis of urine permitted the identification of metabolites that differentiate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)-mice (prototypic disease model for MS) from healthy and MS drug-treated EAE mice

The effects of two non-pharmacologic pain management methods for intramuscular injection pain in children

Purpose: To study the effect of local cold therapy and distraction in pain relief using penicillin intramuscular injection in children. Methods: In this work, 90 children with ages from 5 to 12 who had penicillin injection intramuscularly in a health centre were studied. The samples were chosen randomly and divided into three groups: the first group received local cold therapy, the second group received distraction and the third group (the control group) received routine care. The data were collected through interview and questionnaire. Oucher scale was used to measure pain intensity. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the findings. Results: Average pain intensity in local cold therapy, distraction, and control groups was 26.3, 34.3, and 83.3, respectively. The findings indicate that pain intensity was significantly higher in the control group than the experimental groups. Also, pain intensity among children was inversely proportional to their age. Conclusion: This study supports the efficacy of non-pharmacologic pain management methods in children. Nurses are recommended to use local cold therapy and distraction to decrease pain intensity of penicillin intramuscular injection in 5-12-year-old children. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Structural plasticity of the living kinetochore

The kinetochore is a large, evolutionarily conserved protein structure that connects chromosomes with microtubules. During chromosome segregation, outer kinetochore components track depolymerizing ends of microtubules to facilitate the separation of chromosomes into two cells. In budding yeast, each chromosome has a point centromere upon which a single kinetochore is built, which attaches to a single microtubule. This defined architecture facilitates quantitative examination of kinetochores during the cell cycle. Using three independent measures-calibrated imaging, FRAP, and photoconversion-we find that the Dam1 submodule is unchanged during anaphase, whereas MIND and Ndc80 submodules add copies to form an "anaphase configuration" kinetochore. Microtubule depolymerization and kinesin-related motors contribute to copy addition. Mathematical simulations indicate that the addition of microtubule attachments could facilitate tracking during rapid microtubule depolymerization. We speculate that the minimal kinetochore configuration, which exists from G1 through metaphase, allows for correction of misattachments. Our study provides insight into dynamics and plasticity of the kinetochore structure during chromosome segregation in living cells

Niche-specific profiling reveals transcriptional adaptations required for the cytosolic lifestyle of <i>Salmonella enterica</i>

AbstractSalmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is a zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrheal disease in humans and animals. During salmonellosis, S. Typhimurium colonizes epithelial cells lining the gastrointestinal tract. S. Typhimurium has an unusual lifestyle in epithelial cells that begins within an endocytic-derived Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV), followed by escape into the cytosol, epithelial cell lysis and bacterial release. The cytosol is a more permissive environment than the SCV and supports rapid bacterial growth. The physicochemical conditions encountered by S. Typhimurium within the cytosol, and the bacterial genes required for cytosolic colonization, remain unknown. Here we have exploited the parallel colonization strategies of S. Typhimurium in epithelial cells to decipher the two niche-specific bacterial virulence programs. By combining a population-based RNA-seq approach with single-cell microscopic analysis, we identified bacterial genes/sRNAs with cytosol-specific or vacuole-specific expression signatures. Using these genes/sRNAs as environmental biosensors, we defined that Salmonella is exposed to iron and manganese deprivation and oxidative stress in the cytosol and zinc and magnesium deprivation in the SCV. Furthermore, iron availability was critical for optimal S. Typhimurium replication in the cytosol, as well as entC, fepB, soxS and sitA-mntH. Virulence genes that are typically associated with extracellular bacteria, namely Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) and SPI4, had a cytosolic-specific expression profile. Our study reveals that the cytosolic and vacuolar S. Typhimurium virulence gene programs are unique to, and tailored for, residence within distinct intracellular compartments. Therefore, this archetypical vacuole-adapted pathogen requires extensive transcriptional reprogramming to successfully colonize the mammalian cytosol.Author SummaryIntracellular pathogens reside either within a membrane-bound vacuole or are free-living in the cytosol and their virulence programs are tailored towards survival within a particular intracellular compartment. Some bacterial pathogens (such as Salmonella enterica) can successfully colonize both intracellular niches, but how they do so is unclear. Here we have exploited the parallel intracellular lifestyles of S. enterica in epithelial cells to identify the niche-specific bacterial expression profiles and environmental cues encountered by S. enterica. We have also discovered bacterial genes that are required for colonization of the cytosol, but not the vacuole. Our results advance our understanding of pathogen-adaptation to alternative replication niches and highlight an emerging concept in the field of bacteria-host cell interactions.</jats:sec

Effects of Eyjafjallajökull volcanic ash on innate immune system responses and bacterial growth in vitro.

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the pageOn 20 March 2010, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted for the first time in 190 years. Despite many epidemiological reports showing effects of volcanic ash on the respiratory system, there are limited data evaluating cellular mechanisms involved in the response to ash. Epidemiological studies have observed an increase in respiratory infections in subjects and populations exposed to volcanic eruptions.We physicochemically characterized volcanic ash, finding various sizes of particles, as well as the presence of several transition metals, including iron. We examined the effect of Eyjafjallajökull ash on primary rat alveolar epithelial cells and human airway epithelial cells (20-100 µg/cm(2)), primary rat and human alveolar macrophages (5-20 µg/cm(2)), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) growth (3 µg/104 bacteria).Volcanic ash had minimal effect on alveolar and airway epithelial cell integrity. In alveolar macrophages, volcanic ash disrupted pathogen-killing and inflammatory responses. In in vitro bacterial growth models, volcanic ash increased bacterial replication and decreased bacterial killing by antimicrobial peptides.These results provide potential biological plausibility for epidemiological data that show an association between air pollution exposure and the development of respiratory infections. These data suggest that volcanic ash exposure, while not seriously compromising lung cell function, may be able to impair innate immunity responses in exposed individuals.National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 HL079901 NIH RO1 HL096625 R21HL109589 National Science Foundation NSF-EAR0821615 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) through the University of Iowa Environmental Health Sciences Research Center NIEHS/NIH P30 ES005605 National Center for Research Resources, NI

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts