Virus Pneumonia of Pigs

Virus pneumonia of pigs (VPP) is an inflammation of the lungs usually confined to the anterior-ventral portion and lower borders of the apical and cardiac lobes. It is usually a chronic disease that may develop into acute and subacute forms, particularly if secondary break down occurs due to secondary bacterial invasion. The disease is characterized by a chronic cough, consolidation of the anterior ventral portions of the lung, and secondary bacterial invasion. It is a distinct disease and is in no way related to the common swine influenza described by Shope in 1931

Development & Validation of a PIV System for Obtaining Data from a UASB Reactor

Anaerobic digestion processes can generate energy in the form of biogas while treating organic wastewater. The efficiency of the treatment, and thus the generation of biogas, is closely linked to the type and design of the reactor, and the technology used. Granular anaerobic digestion technology offers advantages such as a higher loading rate and reduction of the space needed. However, the hydrodynamics inside this type of reactor can be complex due to the presence of solids (granules) and gas (biogas) phases along with the liquid phase (wastewater). This is one of the reasons why the study and optimization of reactors using bench-scale reactors can lead to inaccurate results. A validated computational model would lead to the possibility of performing optimization studies using simulation; however, the validation of these computational models cannot be performed using analytical solutions due to their complexity. In this context, a particle image velocimetry (PIV) experimental setup was validated as part of this work, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and data from literature. The experimental results obtained were compared with CFD results from six different models, each using a different turbulence model. The current setup was considered validated, allowing it to be used in the future for obtaining experimental data for the validation of a CFD model of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB)

Formaldehyde Exposure and Asthma in Children: A Systematic Review

Obj e c t i v e: Despite multiple published studies regarding the association between formaldehyde exposure and childhood asthma, a consistent association has not been identified. Here we report the results of a systematic review of published literature in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of this relationship. Data s o u r c e s: After a comprehensive literature search, we identified seven peer-reviewed studies providing quantitative results regarding the association between formaldehyde exposure and asthma in children. Studies were heterogeneous with respect to the definition of asthma (e.g., self-report, physician diagnosis). Most of the studies were cross-sectional

Densin-180 controls the trafficking and signaling of L-type voltage-gated Ca_v 1.2 Ca^(2+) channels at excitatory synapses

Voltage-gated Ca_v1.2 and Ca_v1.3 (L-type) Ca^(2+) channels regulate neuronal excitability, synaptic plasticity, and learning and memory. Densin-180 (densin) is an excitatory synaptic protein that promotes Ca^(2+)-dependent facilitation of voltage-gated Ca_v1.3 Ca^(2+) channels in transfected cells. Mice lacking densin (densin KO) exhibit defects in synaptic plasticity, spatial memory, and increased anxiety-related behaviors --phenotypes that more closely match those in mice lacking Ca_v1.2 than Ca_v1.3. Thus, we investigated the functional impact of densin on Ca_v1.2. We report that densin is an essential regulator of Ca_v1.2 in neurons, but has distinct modulatory effects compared to its regulation of Ca_v1.3. Densin binds to the N-terminal domain of Ca_v1.2 but not Ca_v1.3, and increases Ca_v1.2 currents in transfected cells and in neurons. In transfected cells, densin accelerates the forward trafficking of Ca_v1.2 channels without affecting their endocytosis. Consistent with a role for densin in increasing the number of postsynaptic Ca_v1.2 channels, overexpression of densin increases the clustering of Ca_v1.2 in dendrites of hippocampal neurons in culture. Compared to wild-type mice, the cell-surface levels of Ca_v1.2 in the brain as well as Ca_v1.2 current density and signaling to the nucleus are reduced in neurons from densin KO mice. We conclude that densin is an essential regulator of neuronal Ca_v1 channels and ensures efficient Ca_v1.2 Ca^(2+) signaling at excitatory synapses

Release of Bet v 1 from birch pollen from 5 European countries. Results from the HIALINE study

Exposure to allergens is pivotal in determining sensitization and allergic symptoms in individuals. Pollen grain counts in ambient air have traditionally been assessed to estimate airborne allergen exposure. However, the exact allergen content of ambient air is unknown. We therefore monitored atmospheric concentrations of birch pollen grains and the matched major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 simultaneously across Europe within the EU-funded project HIALINE (Health Impacts of Airborne Allergen Information Network). Pollen count was assessed with Hirst type pollen traps at 10 l min 1 at sites in France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Finland. Allergen concentrations in ambient air were sampled at 800 l min 1 with a Chemvol high-volume cascade impactor equipped with stages PM > 10 mm, 10 mm > PM > 2.5 mm, and in Germany also 2.5 mm > PM > 0.12 mm. The major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 was determined with an allergen specific ELISA. Bet v 1 isoform patterns were analyzed by 2D-SDS-PAGE blots and mass spectrometric identification. Basophil activation was tested in an Fc 3R1-humanized rat basophil cell line passively sensitized with serum of a birch pollen symptomatic patient. Compared to 10 previous years, 2009 was a representative birch pollen season for all stations. About 90% of the allergen was found in the PM > 10 mm fraction at all stations. Bet v 1 isoforms pattern did not vary substantially neither during ripening of pollen nor between different geographical locations. The average European allergen release from birch pollen was 3.2 pg Bet v 1/pollen and did not vary much between the European countries. However, in all countries a >10-fold difference in daily allergen release per pollen was measured which could be explained by long-range transport of pollen with a deviating allergen release. Basophil activation by ambient air extracts correlated better with airborne allergen than with pollen concentration. Although Bet v 1 is a mixture of different isoforms, its fingerprint is constant across Europe. Bet v 1 was also exclusively linked to pollen. Pollen from different days varied >10-fold in allergen release. Thus exposure to allergen is inaccurately monitored by only monitoring birch pollen grains. Indeed, a humanized basophil activation test correlated much better with allergen concentrations in ambient air than with pollen count. Monitoring the allergens themselves together with pollen in ambient air might be an improvement in allergen exposure assessmen

Genome-wide analysis of lectin receptor-like kinases in Populus

Transcript level of C-type PtLecRLK gene in 24 different datasets from the Populus Gene Atlas Study. RNA-seq data were collected from the Populus Gene Atlas Study in Phytozome v11.0 ( http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/pz/portal.html ). The transcript level was expressed as FPKM. The sheet labeled as “whole_set” contains the original FPKM values from Gene Atlas. The data of four different tissues under standard condition are sorted in the data sheet labeled as “standard”. (XLSX 10 kb