High Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Generator Development

Work performed during the period February 21, 2006 through August 21, 2006 is summarized herein. During this period, efforts were focused on 5 kWe bundle testing, development of on-cell reformation, the conceptual design of an advanced module, and the development of a manufacturing roadmap for cells and bundles. A 5 kWe SOFC system was built and delivered to the Pennsylvania State University; fabrication of a second 5 kWe SOFC for delivery to Montana State University was initiated. Cell testing and microstructural analysis in support of these efforts was also conducted

Parenteral Nutrition Modeling and Research Advances

Parenteral nutrition (PN) provides nutritional support intravenously to individuals who have gastrointestinal (GI) failure or contraindication to enteral feeding. Since the initial development of PN, researchers have developed specialized formulas with complete macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes to support patients’ metabolic needs. These formulas prevent malnutrition and optimize patient health, especially under long-term feeding circumstances. Although PN is commonly used and essential in preterm and malnourished patients, complications associated with PN feeding include gastrointestinal defects, infection, and other metabolic abnormalities such as liver injury and brain related disorders. In this chapter, we highlight an overview of PN and its association with abnormalities of microbiome composition as well as with gastrointestinal (GI), immune, hepatic, and neuronal disfunction. Within the gut, PN influences the number and composition of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) cells, altering adaptive immune responses. PN also modulates intestinal epithelium cell turnover, secretions, and gut barrier function, as well as the composition of the intestinal microbiome leading to changes in gut permeability. Collectively, these changes result in increased susceptibility to infection and injury. Here, we highlight animal models used to examine parenteral nutrition, changes that occur to the major organ systems, and recent advancement in using enteric nervous system (ENS) neuropeptides or microbially derived products during PN, which may improve GI, immune cell, hepatic, and neuronal function

July 1964

Turf and Lawn Grass Association Better turf through research and Educatio

Outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever among miners in Kamwenge and Ibanda Districts, Uganda, 2007

Marburg hemorrhagic fever was detected among 4 miners in Ibanda District, Uganda, from June through September, 2007. Infection was likely acquired through exposure to bats or bat secretions in a mine in Kamwenge District, Uganda, and possibly human-to-human transmission between some patients. We describe the epidemiologic investigation and the health education response

Perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure augments lung injury in offspring in experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Copyright © 2020 the American Physiological Society. During the newborn period, intestinal commensal bacteria influence pulmonary mucosal immunology via the gut-lung axis. Epidemiological studies have linked perinatal antibiotic exposure in human newborns to an increased risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but whether this effect is mediated by the gut-lung axis is unknown. To explore antibiotic disruption of the newborn gut-lung axis, we studied how perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure influenced lung injury in a hyperoxia-based mouse model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. We report that disruption of intestinal commensal colonization during the perinatal period promotes a more severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia phenotype characterized by increased mortality and pulmonary fibrosis. Mechanistically, metagenomic shifts were associated with decreased IL-22 expression in bronchoalveolar lavage and were independent of hyperoxia-induced inflammasome activation. Collectively, these results demonstrate a previously unrecognized influence of the gut-lung axis during the development of neonatal lung injury, which could be leveraged to ameliorate the most severe and persistent pulmonary complication of preterm birth