186 research outputs found
Economic and livestock health impacts of birds on dairies: Evidence from a survey of Washington dairy operators
The survey described in this research paper aimed to investigate the economic and health impacts of birds on dairies. Birds are common pests on dairies, consuming and contaminating feed intended for cattle. As a result, dairy operators experience increased feed costs and increased pathogen and disease risk. We surveyed dairy operators attending the 2017 Washington Dairy Conference to examine the impact of birds on dairies in Washington State. Dairy operators reported feed losses valued at 5.5 million in the Western region of the state and $9.2 million in the Eastern region of the state. Shooting was the most commonly used bird management method and European starlings (Sternus vulgaris) were the most frequently implicated species statewide. Bird abundance greater than 10,000 birds per day was associated with larger herd size and with self-reported presence of Johneâs disease and Salmonella
Comprehensive health assessments during de-institutionalization: An observational study
Background: People with intellectual disability (ID) leaving institutions pass through a transition stage that makes them vulnerable to inadequate health care. They enter into community care under general practitioners (GPs) who are often untrained and inexperienced in their needs. Specifically designed health reviews may be of assistance to both them and their new GPs as they go through that phase
Rapid, -insensitive, dual-band quasi-adiabatic saturation transfer with optimal control for complete quantification of myocardial ATP flux
Purpose: Phosphorus saturation-transfer experiments can quantify metabolic
fluxes non-invasively. Typically, the forward flux through the creatine-kinase
reaction is investigated by observing the decrease in phosphocreatine (PCr)
after saturation of -ATP. The quantification of total ATP utilisation
is currently under-explored, as it requires simultaneous saturation of
inorganic phosphate (Pi) and PCr. This is challenging, as currently available
saturation pulses reduce the already-low -ATP signal present.
Methods: Using a hybrid optimal-control and Shinnar-Le-Roux method, a
quasi-adiabatic RF pulse was designed for the dual-saturation of PCr and Pi to
enable determination of total ATP utilisation. The pulses were evaluated in
Bloch equation simulations, compared with a conventional hard-cosine DANTE
saturation sequence, before application to perfused rat hearts at 11.7 Tesla.
Results: The quasi-adiabatic pulse was insensitive to a -fold variation
in , producing equivalent saturation with a 53% reduction in delivered
pulse power and a 33-fold reduction in spillover at the minimum effective
. This enabled the complete quantification of the synthesis and
degradation fluxes for ATP in 30-45 minutes in the perfused rat heart. While
the net synthesis flux ( mM/s, SEM) was not significantly different
from degradation flux ( mM/s, ) and both measures are
consistent with prior work, nonlinear error analysis highlights uncertainties
in the Pi-to-ATP measurement that may explain a trend suggesting a possible
imbalance.
Conclusion: This work demonstrates a novel quasi-adiabatic dual-saturation RF
pulse with significantly improved performance that can be used to measure ATP
turnover in the heart in vivo.Comment: 26 pages, Accepted at Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 24/11/2020
[This version post reviews
Synthesis, structural studies, and redox chemistry of bimetallic [Mn(CO)â] and [Re(CO)â] complexes
Manganese ([Mn(CO)â]) and rhenium tricarbonyl ([Re(CO)â]) complexes represent a workhorse family of compounds with applications in a variety of fields. Here, the coordination, structural, and electrochemical properties of a family of mono- and bimetallic [Mn(CO)â] and [Re(CO)â] complexes are explored. In particular, a novel heterobimetallic complex featuring both [Mn(CO)â] and [Re(CO)â] units supported by 2,2âČ-bipyrimidine (bpm) has been synthesized, structurally characterized, and compared to the analogous monomeric and homobimetallic complexes. To enable a comprehensive structural analysis for the series of complexes, we have carried out new single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of seven compounds: Re(CO)âCl(bpm), anti-[{Re(COâ)Cl}â(bpm)], Mn(CO)âBr(bpz) (bpz = 2,2âČ-bipyrazine), Mn(CO)âBr(bpm), syn- and anti-[{Mn(CO3)Br}â(bpm)], and syn-[Mn(COâ)Br(bpm)Re(CO)âBr]. Electrochemical studies reveal that the bimetallic complexes are reduced at much more positive potentials (ÎE â„ 380 mV) compared to their monometallic analogues. This redox behavior is consistent with introduction of the second tricarbonyl unit which inductively withdraws electron density from the bridging, redox-active bpm ligand, resulting in more positive reduction potentials. [Re(COâ)Cl]â(bpm) was reduced with cobaltocene; the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum of the product exhibits an isotropic signal (near g = 2) characteristic of a ligand-centered bpm radical. Our findings highlight the facile synthesis as well as the structural characteristics and unique electrochemical behavior of this family of complexes
Inhibition of sarcolemmal FAT/CD36 by sulfo-N-succinimidyl oleate rapidly corrects metabolism and restores function in the diabetic heart following hypoxia/reoxygenation.
AIMS: The type 2 diabetic heart oxidizes more fat and less glucose, which can impair metabolic flexibility and function. Increased sarcolemmal fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36) imports more fatty acid into the diabetic myocardium, feeding increased fatty acid oxidation and elevated lipid deposition. Unlike other metabolic modulators that target mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, we proposed that pharmacologically inhibiting fatty acid uptake, as the primary step in the pathway, would provide an alternative mechanism to rebalance metabolism and prevent lipid accumulation following hypoxic stress. METHODS AND RESULTS: Hearts from type 2 diabetic and control male Wistar rats were perfused in normoxia, hypoxia and reoxygenation, with the FAT/CD36 inhibitor sulfo-N-succinimidyl oleate (SSO) infused 4âmin before hypoxia. SSO infusion into diabetic hearts decreased the fatty acid oxidation rate by 29% and myocardial triglyceride concentration by 48% compared with untreated diabetic hearts, restoring fatty acid metabolism to control levels following hypoxia-reoxygenation. SSO infusion increased the glycolytic rate by 46% in diabetic hearts during hypoxia, increased pyruvate dehydrogenase activity by 53% and decreased lactate efflux rate by 56% compared with untreated diabetic hearts during reoxygenation. In addition, SSO treatment of diabetic hearts increased intermediates within the second span of the Krebs cycle, namely fumarate, oxaloacetate, and the FAD total pool. The cardiac dysfunction in diabetic hearts following decreased oxygen availability was prevented by SSO-infusion prior to the hypoxic stress. Infusing SSO into diabetic hearts increased rate pressure product by 60% during hypoxia and by 32% following reoxygenation, restoring function to control levels. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic hearts have limited metabolic flexibility and cardiac dysfunction when stressed, which can be rapidly rectified by reducing fatty acid uptake with the FAT/CD36 inhibitor, SSO. This novel therapeutic approach not only reduces fat oxidation but also lipotoxicity, by targeting the primary step in the fatty acid metabolism pathway
Advancing animal tuberculosis surveillance using culture-independent long-read whole-genome sequencing
Animal tuberculosis is a significant infectious disease affecting both livestock and wildlife populations worldwide. Effective disease surveillance and characterization of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) strains are essential for understanding transmission dynamics and implementing control measures. Currently, sequencing of genomic information has relied on culture-based methods, which are time-consuming, resource-demanding, and concerning in terms of biosafety. This study explores the use of culture-independent long-read whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for a better understanding of M. bovis epidemiology in African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer). By comparing two sequencing approaches, we evaluated the efficacy of Illumina WGS performed on culture extracts and culture-independent Oxford Nanopore adaptive sampling (NAS). Our objective was to assess the potential of NAS to detect genomic variants without sample culture. In addition, culture-independent amplicon sequencing, targeting mycobacterial-specific housekeeping and full-length 16S rRNA genes, was applied to investigate the presence of microorganisms, including nontuberculous mycobacteria. The sequencing quality obtained from DNA extracted directly from tissues using NAS is comparable to the sequencing quality of reads generated from culture-derived DNA using both NAS and Illumina technologies. We present a new approach that provides complete and accurate genome sequence reconstruction, culture independently, and using an economically affordable technique
Advancing animal tuberculosis surveillance using culture-independent long-read whole-genome sequencing
Acknowledgments Some of the figures (Figures 4â6 and Supplementary Material S1) were generated using BioRender and draw.io, respectively. Funding The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by the Wellcome Foundation (grant #222941/Z/21/Z), the South African Medical Research Council, American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Wild Animal Health Fund [S005651 and S007355], the National Research Foundation South African Research Chair Initiative [grant #86949], and MHM was supported by Wellcome Trust (grant #216634/Z/19/Z). AGL is supported by the EDCTP TESA III network (CSA2020NoE-3104).Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Early detection of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in rats by its cardiac metabolic signature assessed with hyperpolarized MRI.
Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent that can cause serious cardiotoxic side effects culminating in congestive heart failure (HF). There are currently no clinical imaging techniques or biomarkers available to detect DOX-cardiotoxicity before functional decline. Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to be a key factor driving functional decline, though real-time metabolic fluxes have never been assessed in DOX-cardiotoxicity. Hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can assess real-time metabolic fluxes in vivo. Here we show that cardiac functional decline in a clinically relevant rat-model of DOX-HF is preceded by a change in oxidative mitochondrial carbohydrate metabolism, measured by hyperpolarized MRI. The decreased metabolic fluxes were predominantly due to mitochondrial loss and additional mitochondrial dysfunction, and not, as widely assumed hitherto, to oxidative stress. Since hyperpolarized MRI has been successfully translated into clinical trials this opens up the potential to test cancer patients receiving DOX for early signs of cardiotoxicity
Looking âbeyond the factory gatesâ:towards more pluralist and radical approaches to intra-organizational trust research
The aim of this paper is to suggest new avenues for trust research by critiquing the extant literature on this topic. We analyze the most influential research on intra-organizational trust from the perspective of a classic industrial sociology framework from the 1970s â Alan Foxâs work on frames of reference and trust dynamics. Our analysis of intra-organizational trust studies leads us to three conclusions. Firstly, the large majority of intra-organizational trust research has strong unitarist underpinnings, which support a managerial agenda that is potentially detrimental to employeesâ and (indeed managersâ) long-term interests. Secondly, most of this research fails to explain how trust in organizations is embedded in societal and field level institutions, hence it would benefit from looking âbeyond the factory gatesâ for a more complete understanding of trust dynamics in organizations. In this connection, we argue that Foxâs pluralist and radical perspectives, which are under-represented in intra-organizational trust research, could provide new lines of inquiry by locating internal trust relations in a wider institutional context. Thirdly, Foxâs explanation of how low and high trust dynamics in organizations are embedded in wider society may help address the concerns about under-socialized, endogenous explanations and open the way for structure-agency analyses of building, maintaining and repairing intra-organizational trust
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