In vitro assessment of adsorbents aiming to prevent deoxynivalenol and zearalenone mycotoxicoses

The high prevalence of the Fusarium mycotoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) in animal feeds in mild climatic zones of Europe and North America results in considerable economic losses, as these toxins affect health and productivity particularly of pigs from all age groups. The use of mycotoxin adsorbents as feed additives is one of the most prominent approaches to reduce the risk for mycotoxicoses in farm animals, and to minimise carry-over of mycotoxins from contaminated feeds into foods of animal origin. Successful aflatoxin adsorption by means of different substances (phyllosilicate minerals, zeolites, activated charcoal, synthetic resins or yeast cell-wall-derived products) has been demonstrated in vivo and in vitro. However, attempts to adsorb DON and ZON have been less encouraging. Here we describe the adsorption capacity of a variety of potential binders, including compounds that have not been evaluated before, such as humic acids. All compounds were tested at realistic inclusion levels for their capacity to bind ZON and DON, using an in vitro method that resembles the different pH conditions in the gastro-intestinal tract of pigs. Mycotoxin adsorption was assessed by chemical methods and distinct bioassays, using specific markers of toxicity as endpoints of toxicity in cytological assays. Whereas none of the tested substances was able to bind DON in an appreciable percentage, some of the selected smectite clays, humic substances and yeast-wall derived products efficiently adsorbed ZON (>70%). Binding efficiency was indirectly confirmed by the reduction of toxicity in the in vitro bioassays. In conclusion, the presented test protocol allows the rapid screening of potential mycotoxin binders. Like other in vitro assays, the presented protocol combining chemical and biological assays cannot completely simulate the conditions of the gastro-intestinal tract, and hence in vivo experiments remain mandatory to assess the efficacy of mycotoxin binders under practical conditions

De Novo Mutations in Synaptic Transmission Genes Including DNM1 Cause Epileptic Encephalopathies

Correction to The American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 95, Issue 4, 2 October 2014, Pages 360-370. Volume 100, Issue 1, 5 January 2017, Page 179.Peer reviewe

Pitfalls in genetic testing: the story of missed SCN1A mutations

Peer reviewe

DYX1C1 is required for axonemal dynein assembly and ciliary motility

DYX1C1 has been associated with dyslexia and neuronal migration in the developing neocortex. Unexpectedly, we found that deleting exons 2–4 of Dyx1c1 in mice caused a phenotype resembling primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a disorder characterized by chronic airway disease, laterality defects and male infertility. This phenotype was confirmed independently in mice with a Dyx1c1 c.T2A start-codon mutation recovered from an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis screen. Morpholinos targeting dyx1c1 in zebrafish also caused laterality and ciliary motility defects. In humans, we identified recessive loss-of-function DYX1C1 mutations in 12 individuals with PCD. Ultrastructural and immunofluorescence analyses of DYX1C1-mutant motile cilia in mice and humans showed disruptions of outer and inner dynein arms (ODAs and IDAs, respectively). DYX1C1 localizes to the cytoplasm of respiratory epithelial cells, its interactome is enriched for molecular chaperones, and it interacts with the cytoplasmic ODA and IDA assembly factor DNAAF2 (KTU). Thus, we propose that DYX1C1 is a newly identified dynein axonemal assembly factor (DNAAF4)

Att vara närstående till patienter med emotionell instabil personlighetsstörning : Upplevelser ur ett internetforumsperspektiv

Bakgrund: Närstående till patienter med emotionell instabil personlighetsstörning (EIPS) har visat sig påverkas negativt i sitt mående, och de upplever brist på stöd från sin omgivning. Vissa närstående vänder sig till internetforum för råd och stöd från andra i liknande situationer. Ett emotionellt engagemang och stöttning från den närstående är betydelsefullt för patienten men mår de själva dåligt kan förmågan att ge stöd minska och det gynnar varken dem eller patientens välbefinnande. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka upplevelsen att vara närstående till en patient som har emotionell instabil personlighetsstörning.  Metod: Kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. Analys av latent och manifest innehåll. Resultat: Analysen av innehållet i forumen resulterade i fyra teman. “Att leva i en negativ spiral ” beskriver upplevelsen av lidande, otrygghet i relationen och orkeslöshet. “Att vilja stödja men känna sig oförmögen”, beskriver upplevelsen av att känna osäkerhet, otillräcklighet och ensamhet. “Behovet av att anpassa sitt beteende” beskriver upplevelsen av att anpassa sitt beteende, att låta sig själv stå tillbaka och att behöva finnas till hands. “Att känna meningsfullhet” är upplevelsen av att kunskap leder till bättre förståelse, hanterbarhet och empati, samt att känna sig betydelsefull. Diskussion:Resultatet går i linje med tidigare forskning som visar att det på olika sätt är påfrestande att vara i relation med patienten. Mer tid och resurser på omhändetagandet av närstående för att främja deras välbefinnande skulle i längden kunna bidra till bättre behandling för patienten och därmed kunna leda till en bättre hälso- och sjukvård. Resultatet pekar även på betydelsen av sjuksköterskans förmåga att identifiera närståendes resurser och vägleda dem till hjälpinsatser och organisationer

Improving patient mobility-A great move!

Background: Hospital associated disability has been linked to prolonged and inappropriate mobility. Ambulating hospitalized patients can improve outcomes, but this practice is often overlooked by nurses who have competing priorities. Local Problem: At Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center after conducting an interview with frontline staff there were revealed gaps in knowledge of progressive mobility protocols/assessment, completing priorities, and perception around a lack of assistance to mobilize complex patients. Additionally, a random sample audit of 100 charts only revealed 10% of patients with any mobility documented. Methods: This is a quality improvement initiative that utilized a prospective design and took place on two medical-surgical units during January – March 2022. The purpose was to examine the impact of a mobility technician (MT) coupled with education on mobility protocols have on patient mobility and hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP) rates. The project plan included education for all frontline staff around organizational progressive mobility protocols, comprehensive mobility assessment tool, and mobility documentation prior to implementation. Patients admitted to MS 2 would work with the MT while on MS 1 there was no MT. The outcomes measured were total distance ambulated in feet and whether patient developed HAP. Results/Conclusion: The sample included 120 patients that met eligibility criteria, 60 from each medical surgical unit. The results demonstrated there was an increased distance in feet ambulated, increased ambulation frequency, and increased ambulation from all other job roles on MS 2 which had the MT. After an independent t-test was conducted on mean distance traveled between patients on MS 1 and MS 2 there was a statistical significance (t(64.26)=7.22, p\u3c.001). Additionally, there was a strong culture of mobility on MS 2 which translated to a strong team-based approach to ambulation

Drop-in biofuel production using fatty acid photodecarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis in the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

Background: Oleaginous yeasts are potent hosts for the renewable production of lipids and harbor great potential for derived products, such as biofuels. Several promising processes have been described that produce hydrocarbon drop-in biofuels based on fatty acid decarboxylation and fatty aldehyde decarbonylation. Unfortunately, besides fatty aldehyde toxicity and high reactivity, the most investigated enzyme, aldehyde-deformylating oxygenase, shows unfavorable catalytic properties which hindered high yields in previous metabolic engineering approaches. Results: To demonstrate an alternative alkane production pathway for oleaginous yeasts, we describe the production of diesel-like, odd-chain alkanes and alkenes, by heterologously expressing a recently discovered light-driven oxidase from Chlorella variabilis (CvFAP) in Yarrowia lipolytica. Initial experiments showed that only strains engineered to have an increased pool of free fatty acids were susceptible to sufficient decarboxylation. Providing these strains with glucose and light in a synthetic medium resulted in titers of 10.9 mg/L of hydrocarbons. Using custom 3D printed labware for lighting bioreactors, and an automated pulsed glycerol fed-batch strategy, intracellular titers of 58.7 mg/L were achieved. The production of odd-numbered alkanes and alkenes with a length of 17 and 15 carbons shown in previous studies could be confirmed. Conclusions: Oleaginous yeasts such as Yarrowia lipolytica can transform renewable resources such as glycerol into fatty acids and lipids. By heterologously expressing a fatty acid photodecarboxylase from the algae Chlorella variabilis hydrocarbons were produced in several scales from microwell plate to 400 mL bioreactors. The lighting turned out to be a crucial factor in terms of growth and hydrocarbon production, therefore, the evaluation of different conditions was an important step towards a tailor-made process. In general, the developed bioprocess shows a route to the renewable production of hydrocarbons for a variety of applications ranging from being substrates for further enzymatic or chemical modification or as a drop-in biofuel blend