Diet-induced bacterial immunogens in the gastrointestinal tract of dairy cows: Impacts on immunity and metabolism

Dairy cows are often fed high grain diets to meet the energy demand for high milk production or simply due to a lack of forages at times. As a result, ruminal acidosis, especially subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA), occurs frequently in practical dairy production. When SARA occurs, bacterial endotoxin (or lipopolysaccharide, LPS) is released in the rumen and the large intestine in a large amount. Many other bacterial immunogens may also be released in the digestive tract following feeding dairy cows diets containing high proportions of grain. LPS can be translocated into the bloodstream across the epithelium of the digestive tract, especially the lower tract, due to possible alterations of permeability and injuries of the epithelial tissue. As a result, the concentration of blood LPS increases. Immune responses are subsequently caused by circulating LPS, and the systemic effects include increases in concentrations of neutrophils and the acute phase proteins such as serum amyloid-A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), LPS binding protein (LBP), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in blood. Entry of LPS into blood can also result in metabolic alterations. Blood glucose and nonesterified fatty acid concentrations are enhanced accompanying an increase of blood LPS after increasing the amount of grain in the diet, which adversely affects feed intake of dairy cows. As the proportions of grain in the diet increase, patterns of plasma β-hydoxybutyric acid, cholesterol, and minerals (Ca, Fe, and Zn) are also perturbed. The bacterial immunogens can also lead to reduced supply of nutrients for synthesis of milk components and depressed functions of the epithelial cells in the mammary gland. The immune responses and metabolic alterations caused by circulating bacterial immunogens will exert an effect on milk production. It has been demonstrated that increases in concentrations of ruminal LPS and plasma acute phase proteins (CRP, SAA, and LBP) are associated with declines in milk fat content, milk fat yield, 3.5% fat-corrected milk yield, as well as milk energy efficiency

PO-072 Study on immune function monitoring during altitude training for adolescent athletes

Objective Monitoring the changes of the body's immune function during altitude training is of great significance for understanding the athlete's physical function and judging the degree of fatigue. In this paper, the immune function of adolescent athletes in sports training in different altitudes was monitored, and the effects of different altitude training on immunoglobulins and T lymphocytes and their subgroups in adolescent athletes were discussed. Methods Male adolescent middle and long distance runners were divided into two groups according to training performance, 2500m group (10 people, age: 14.8±1.4 years old, height: 163.6±7.3cm, weight: 49.5±6.0kg, training period: 1.2±0.6 years) and 1800m group (10 people, age: 15.7±1.7 years old, height: 164.7±8.8cm, weight: 49.2±6.1kg, training period: 1.3±0.8 years) volunteered to participate in the 2-stage training (3 weeks plateau and 3 weeks plain). The change of CD3+CD4、CD3+CD8+CD4+/CD8+IgAIgGIgM were tested every week.  Results The result showed that: (1)The 2500m group had shown statistical differences of CD3+CD4+CD3+CD8+ at different times, and CD4+/CD8+ had no changes. The 1800m group had not shown statistical differences of CD3+CD4+CD4+/CD8+ at different times. Compared with the base value, the CD3+CD8+ was significantly increased (P<0.01). There was no statistical differences of CD3+CD4CD3+CD8+CD4+/CD8+ at different times between two groups. (2)The 2500m group had not shown significant changes of IgA. Three weeks altitude training following with three week plain training the IgM and IgG showed a downward trend; and compared with altitude period, the IgM and IgG was lower in plain(P<0.05). The 1800m group had not shown statistical differences of IgAIgMIgG at different times. There was no statistical differences of IgAIgMIgG at different times between two groups. Conclusions The immunity function of adolescent athletes is more affected during high altitude training, suggesting that the adolescent athletes in the pursuit of high altitude training should pay attention to the monitoring and regulation of immunity function. CD3+CD8+ is more sensitive to hypoxia which can be used as a sensitive indicator and has significant meaning in monitoring altitude training

Gestational psittacosis causes severe pneumonia and miscarriage: A case report and literature review

Psittacosis is an uncommon zoonotic illness, and gestational psittacosis is even rarer. The clinical signs and symptoms of psittacosis are varied, often overlooked, and swiftly identified by metagenomic next-generation sequencing. We recorded the case of a 41-year-old pregnant woman with psittacosis where the disease was not detected early on, resulting in severe pneumonia and fetal miscarriage. The clinical symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of psittacosis in pregnancy are the subject of this case study

Predictors, prevalence and prognostic role of pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background To estimate the predictors, prevalence and prognostic role of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) using meta-analysis.Methods The PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane library were systematically searched for eligible studies from inception till May 2024. All of pooled analyses were performed using the random-effects model.Results Fifty observational studies involving 17,558 CKD patients were selected. The prevalence of PH in CKD patients was 38% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 33%–43%), and the prevalence according to CKD status were 31% (95% CI: 20%–42%) for CKD (I-V), 39% (95% CI: 25%–54%) for end stage kidney disease (ESKD) (predialysis), 42% (95% CI: 35%–50%) for ESKD (hemodialysis), and 26% (95% CI: 19%–34%) for renal transplant. We noted the risk factors for PH in CKD included Black individuals (relative risk [RR]: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.18–1.63; p < 0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (RR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.21-1.82; p < 0.001), cardiovascular disease history (RR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.05–2.51; p = 0.030), longer dialysis (RR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.18–2.46; p = 0.005), diastolic dysfunction (RR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.38–2.55; p < 0.001), systolic dysfunction (RR: 3.75; 95% CI: 2.88–4.87; p < 0.001), and grade 5 CKD (RR: 5.64; 95% CI: 3.18–9.98; p < 0.001). Moreover, PH in CKD patients is also associated with poor prognosis, including all-cause mortality, major cardiovascular events, and cardiac death.Conclusion This study systematically identified risk factors for PH in CKD patients, and PH were associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, patients with high prevalence of PH should be identified for treatment

Thermal Performance Optimization Simulation Study of a Passive Solar House with a Light Steel Structure and Phase Change Walls

Phase change materials are used in passive solar house construction with light steel structure walls, which can overcome the problems of weak heat storage capacity and poor utilization of solar heat and effectively solve the thermal defects of light steel structure walls. Based on this, on the basis of preliminary experimental research, this study further carried out theoretical analysis and simulation research on the thermal performance of a light steel structure passive solar house (Trombe form) with PCM walls. Through the heat balance analysis of heat transfer in the heat collecting partition wall, the theoretical calculation formula of the phase change temperature of the PCM was obtained, and it verified theoretically that the phase change temperature value should be 1–3 °C higher than the target indoor air temperature. The evaluation index “accumulated daily indoor temperature offset value” was proposed for evaluating the effect of phase change materials on the indoor temperature of the passive solar house, and “EnergyPlus” software was used to study the influence of the phase change temperature, the amount of material, and the thickness of the insulation layer on the indoor air temperature in a natural day. The results showed that there was a coupling relationship among the performance and between of the thickness of the PCM layer and the phase change temperature. Under typical diurnal climate conditions in the northern Tibetan Plateau of China, the optimal combination of the phase change temperature and the layer thickness was 17 °C and 15 mm, respectively. Especially at a certain temperature, excessive increases in the thickness of the phase transition layer could not improve the indoor thermal environment. For this transition temperature, there exists an optimal transition layer thickness. For a Trombe solar house, the thickness of the insulation layer has an independent impact on indoor temperature compared to other factors, which has an economic value, such as 50 mm in this case. In general, this paper studied the relationship between several important parameters of the phase change wall of a solar house by using numerical simulation methods and quantitatively calculated the optimal parameters under typical meteorological conditions, thus providing a feasible simulation design method for similar engineering applications

In vitro antibacterial activity of 34 plant essential oils against

To determine the antibacterial effect of 34 plant essential oils on Alternaria alternata, 34 plant essential oils such as asarum essential oil, garlic essential oil, and mustard essential oil are used as inhibition agents to isolate A. alternata from citrus as indicator bacteria, through the bacteriostasis test and drug susceptibility test, the types of essential oils with the best inhibitory effect were screened and their concentration was determined. The results showed that the best inhibition effect was mustard essential oil with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 250 μl/L and a minimum bactericidal concentration of 250 μl/L. Followed by the Litsea cubeba essential oil and basil oil, the minimum inhibitory concentration is 500 μl/L

Reducing the yield asymmetry in Mg-5Li-3Al-2Zn alloy by hot-extrusion and multi-pass rolling

Reducing the yield asymmetry is very important concern for wrought Mg-Li alloys. In this study, Mg-5Li-3Al-2 Zn (LAZ532) alloy was successfully produced by hot-extrusion followed by multi-pass rolling at 573 K. Microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and yield asymmetry reducing of LAZ532 alloys at different rolling passes were studied. By observing microstructure using transmission electron microscopy showed that a small amount of ultra-fine AlMg4Zn11 and nano Li3Al2 phases existed in the alloy. With the increasing of rolling passes, the grains of the alloys were obviously refined, and comprehensive mechanical properties were dramatically improved. Meanwhile, it also showed an excellent tension and compression yield symmetry (TYS/CYS was about 1). The results showed that the combined action of the weak {0001} basal lamellar texture, grain refinement and addition of Li element could effectively improve the yield symmetry. Furthermore, based on theoretical analysis, the yield strength in the alloys mainly depended on the strengthening contributions of LAGBs and HAGBs, and strengthening effect of HAGBs most (∼50%) to the yield strength improvement

Study on Heat Storage Performance of Phase Change Reservoir in Underground Protection Engineering

In view of the main problems of the condensing heat discharge modes of the existing underground air-conditioning system, the technical scheme of using phase change heat storage modules to improve the heat storage capacity of the reservoir is proposed. By establishing a 3D flow and transient heat transfer model of the phase change reservoir, the effects of thermal property parameters, package size and arrangement of the phase change heat storage modules on the heat storage performance of the phase change reservoir were quantitatively analyzed based on three indexes: heat storage capacity per volume &Delta;q, guaranteed efficiency coefficient &eta; and slope of temperature rise per unit load &epsilon;. The results show that when the phase change temperature is 29 &deg;C (23 &deg;C increased to 33 &deg;C) and the latent heat value is 250 kJ/kg (100 kJ/kg increased to 250 kJ/kg), &Delta;q (110.92 MJ/m3, 112.83 MJ/m3) and &eta; (1.22, 1.24) under both conditions are at their most, respectively, indicating that the phase change temperature should be less than 4 &deg;C at the outlet temperature of the reservoir, and phase change materials with a high latent heat should be selected in engineering design whenever possible. When the size of the phase change module is 150 mm &times; 20 mm and the phase change reservoir adopts four intakes, &epsilon; (0.259, 0.244) under both conditions is the smallest, indicating that increasing the area of the phase change heat storage module and the fluid and increasing the inlet disturbance of the reservoir can enhance its heat storage capacity

Defect-State Transition Associated Hole Dynamics in Cuprous Iodide Nanosheets

The cuprous iodide of zinc-blende structure (γ-CuI) is a p-type semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.1 eV. It is considered promising as the third generation of semiconductors, in applications of hole transport layer and transparent electrode due to the high hole density and carrier mobility, but its carrier transport characteristics have not yet been understood in detail. We synthesized γ-CuI nanosheets with large sizes and measured the carrier dynamics by femtosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy. We observed signals of defect trapping photogenerated carriers during band-edge transitions, as well the weak band filling and photoinduced absorption directly associated with defect states. The species and lifetimes of defect assisted transition are identified and quantified based on TA measurements with various excitation fluences, and the changes of spectra and kinetics of defect band filling are correlated to the trend of density of Cu and I vacancies in samples with different thicknesses, based on the observations on a single nanosheet. We extract a diffusion coefficient of ∼71 cm2 s–1 and derive a diffusion length longer than the sample thickness, which possibly makes a remarkable contribution to the generation of a photocurrent. Our findings are expected to offer help for harnessing the defects in γ-CuI and improving its performances in optoelectronic applications