Low transmission risk of African swine fever virus between wild boar infected by an attenuated isolate and susceptible domestic pigs

African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal infectious disease that affects domestic and wild pigs. This complex virus has already affected five continents and more than 70 countries and is considered to be the main threat to the global swine industry. The disease can potentially be transmitted directly through contact with infectious animals, or indirectly by means of contaminated feed or environments. Nevertheless, the knowledge regarding the transmission patterns of different ASF virus isolates at the wildlife-livestock interface is still limited. We have, therefore, assessed the potential transmission of an attenuated ASF virus isolate between infectious wild boar and directly exposed domestic pig. We registered 3,369 interspecific interactions between animals, which were brief and mostly initiated by wild boar. The major patterns observed during the study were head-to-head contact owing to sniffing, thus suggesting a high probability of pathogen transmission. However, only one of the five domestic pigs had a short period of viremia and became serologically positive for ASF virus antibodies. It was additionally discovered that the wild boar did not transmit the virulent virus isolate to the domestic pigs, which suggests that the presence of attenuated ASF virus isolates in affected areas may control the spreading of other more virulent isolates. These outcomes may help make decisions related to large-scale targeted management actions against ASF in field conditions

COVID-19 vaccination in patients receiving allergen immunotherapy (AIT) or biologicals:EAACI recommendations

Immune modulation is a key therapeutic approach for allergic diseases, asthma and autoimmunity. It can be achieved in an antigen-specific manner via allergen immunotherapy (AIT) or in an endotype-driven approach using biologicals that target the major pathways of the type 2 (T2) immune response: immunoglobulin (Ig)E, interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-4/IL-13 or non-type 2 response: anti-cytokine antibodies and B-cell depletion via anti-CD20. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination provides an excellent opportunity to tackle the global pandemics and is currently being applied in an accelerated rhythm worldwide. The vaccine exerts its effects through immune modulation, induces and amplifies the response against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Thus, as there may be a discernible interference between these treatment modalities, recommendations on how they should be applied in sequence are expected. The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) assembled an expert panel under its Research and Outreach Committee (ROC). This expert panel evaluated the evidence and have formulated recommendations on the administration of COVID-19 vaccine in patients with allergic diseases and asthma receiving AIT or biologicals. The panel also formulated recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine in association with biologicals targeting the type 1 or type 3 immune response. In formulating recommendations, the panel evaluated the mechanisms of COVID-19 infection, of COVID-19 vaccine, of AIT and of biologicals and considered the data published for other anti-infectious vaccines administered concurrently with AIT or biologicals

The influence of supercritical foaming conditions on properties of polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering

The results of experimental investigations into foaming process of poly(ε-caprolactone) using supercritical CO2 are presented. The objective of the study was to explore the aspects of fabrication of biodegradable and biocompatible scaffolds that can be applied as a temporary three-dimensional extracellular matrix analog for cells to grow into a new tissue. The influence of foaming process parameters, which have been proven previously to affect significantly scaffold bioactivity, such as pressure (8-18 MPa), temperature (323-373 K) and time of saturation (1-6 h) on microstructure and mechanical properties of produced polymer porous structures is presented. The morphology and mechanical properties of considered materials were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), x-ray microtomography (μ-CT) and a static compression test. A precise control over porosity and morphology of obtained polymer porous structures by adjusting the foaming process parameters has been proved. The obtained poly(ε-caprolactone) solid foams prepared using scCO2 have demonstrated sufficient mechanical strength to be applied as scaffolds in tissue engineering

Research into application of composite foams fabricated via foaming of supercritical liquids in biomedical engineering

Przedmiotem pracy jest proces wytwarzania kompozytowych struktur porowatych metodą spieniania przy użyciu ditlenku węgla w stanie nadkrytycznym. Materiałem poddawanym procesowi spieniania był poli(ɛ-kaprolakton) wzbogacony cząstkami porotwórczego hydroksyapatytu w różnych stężeniach. W pracy dokonano charakterystyki procesu spieniania poprzez wykonanie specjalistycznej analizy właściwości otrzymanych struktur. Otrzymane struktury charakteryzowały się rozmiarami porów w zakresie 5÷280 µm oraz wartościami porowatości 78÷89 %, co jest cechą pożądaną dla zastosowań tych struktur w biomedycynie.The aim of this work is the investigation into production of porous structures from composite materials based on poly(ɛ-caprolactone) supplemented with hydroxyapatite by supercritical foaming process using scCO2. The analysis of obtained porous structures’ properties using specialized analytical methods was performed. The obtained porous structures were characterized by the pore size in a range from 5 to 280 µm and porosity between 78 and 89%. These results ensured that obtained foams are suitable for potential applications in bone tissue engineering

Influence of supercritical foaming process parameters on morphology and mechanical properties of polymer porous structures

Określono wpływ parametrów realizacji procesu spieniania poli(ε-kaprolaktonu) przy użyciu CO2 w stanie nadkrytycznym na właściwości otrzymywanych struktur porowatych. Zbadano wpływ na przebieg procesu następujących parametrów: temperatura (50-M00°C), ciśnienie (8÷18 MPa), czas nasycania polimeru ditlenkiem węgla (1÷6 h), szybkość dekompresji mieszaniny (1600-3600 bar/min) oraz czas spieniania (5÷30 min). Wytworzone struktury poddano analizie przy użyciu specjalistycznych metod badań. Wykazano silny wpływ warunków realizacji procesu spieniania na strukturę i właściwości pian stałych.The influence of process conditions of supercritical foaming of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) on properties of obtained porous foams was investigated. The foaming experiments were performed at temperature varied in a range from 25 to 100°C, pressure from 8 to 18 MPa, saturation time from 1 to 6 hours with different depressurization rates. Finally, the properties of obtained porous three-dimensional structure using various analytical methods were identified. A strong influence of process parameters on morphology and mechanical properties of solid foams were noticed

Determination of the effective thermal conductivity of solid fuels by the laser flash method

In this study, a new laser flash system was proposed for the determination of the thermal conductivity of brown coal, hard coal and anthracite. The main objective of the investigation was to determine the effect of coal rank, composition, physical structure and temperature on thermal conductivity. The solid fuels tested were medium conductors of heat whose determined thermal conductivities were in the range of 0.09 to 0.23 W/(m K) at room temperature. The thermal conductivity of the solid fuels tested typically increased with the rank of coal and the measurement temperature. The results of this study show that the physical structure of solid fuels and temperature have a dominant effect on the fuels' thermal conductivity