Visual generational genres

Chapter 7 considers the role of generational literacies and etiquettes around visual genres. For example in our study, younger participants tended to take and share more pictures, while older participants tended to take less but comment more on their children’s images. Here, generational understandings of co-present gift giving rituals can be found

Developing a Heat Stress Model in Dairy Cows Using an Electric Heat Blanket(EHB)

Heat stress (HS) is an annual environmental issue which negatively affects a variety of production parameters including milk yield and composition, growth, and reproduction.However, precisely studying HS typically requires expensive climate controlled facilities; infrastructure inaccessible to most researchers.Thus, study objectiveswere to explore the efficacy of an electric heat blanket (EHB) as an alternative method to study HSand to determine whether EHB-induced hyperthermia affects production parameters similar to natural HS.Utilizing the EHB increased body temperature indices (rectal temperatures and respiration rate)and reduced dry matter intakeand milk yield. Our results indicate that employing the EHB affects production parameters similarly to natural HS and thus the EHB is an effectiveandinexpensive research tool to evaluate the biological consequences of HS in lactating dairy cows

The Basic Data Programme – A Danish Infrastructure Model for Public Data

In the autumn of 2012, the Danish government, Local Government Denmark and Danish Regions signed the agreement about 'Good basic data for everyone – a source of growth and efficiency'. The Basic Data Programme was born, and Denmark had an official and authoritative infrastructure model for spatial information. Work has run in parallel to the implementation of the INSPIRE Directive, and although the two development works have had each their trajectory, there has been, and still is, good synergy between the two infrastructure projects. This article presents the Basic Data Programme and takes stock of the implementation of the same

Effects of an Oral Supplement Containing Calcium and Live Yeast on Circulating Calcium and Production Parameters Following I.V. Lipopolysaccharide Infusion in Dairy Cows

Administrating lipopolysaccharide (LPS) decreases circulating calcium (Ca) and markedly reduces both feed intake and milk yield in lactating cows. Calcium is involved in immune system activation and live yeast can increase feed intake. Whether supplemental live yeast and Ca benefits immune-challenged cows remains unclear. Therefore, study objectives were to evaluate if providing an oral supplement containing soluble Ca, live yeast and other micronutrients would ameliorate LPS-induced hypocalcemia and production parameters in lactating dairy cows. Providing an oral supplement containing Ca and live yeast prior to and following LPS administration markedly ameliorated the LPS-induced hypocalcemia and improved DMI and milk yield. Overall, utilizing an oral supplement may be a valuable management strategy to improve animal welfare and productivity during and following immunoactivation. Additionally, infusing i.v. LPS appears to be an effective technique to model hypocalcemia and to evaluate dietary strategies aimed at increasing circulating calcium in lactating dairy cows

Comparison of Staphylococcus Phage K with Close Phage Relatives Commonly Employed in Phage Therapeutics

peer-reviewedThe increase in antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria is a public health danger requiring alternative treatment options, and this has led to renewed interest in phage therapy. In this respect, we describe the distinct host ranges of Staphylococcus phage K, and two other K-like phages against 23 isolates, including 21 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) representative sequence types representing the Irish National MRSA Reference Laboratory collection. The two K-like phages were isolated from the Fersisi therapeutic phage mix from the Tbilisi Eliava Institute, and were designated B1 (vB_SauM_B1) and JA1 (vB_SauM_JA1). The sequence relatedness of B1 and JA1 to phage K was observed to be 95% and 94% respectively. In terms of host range on the 23 Staphylococcus isolates, B1 and JA1 infected 73.9% and 78.2% respectively, whereas K infected only 43.5%. Eleven open reading frames (ORFs) present in both phages B1 and JA1 but absent in phage K were identified by comparative genomic analysis. These ORFs were also found to be present in the genomes of phages (Team 1, vB_SauM-fRuSau02, Sb_1 and ISP) that are components of several commercial phage mixtures with reported wide host ranges. This is the first comparative study of therapeutic staphylococcal phages within the recently described genus Kayvirus

Amplicon sequencing of bacterial microbiota in abortion material from cattle

Abortions in cattle have a significant economic impact on animal husbandry and require prompt diagnosis for sur‑veillance of epizootic infectious agents. Since most abortions are not epizootic but sporadic with often undetected etiologies, this study examined the bacterial community present in the placenta (PL, n= 32) and fetal abomasal content (AC, n= 49) in 64 cases of bovine abortion by next generation sequencing (NGS) of the 16S rRNA gene. The PL and AC from three fetuses of dams that died from non‑infectious reasons were included as controls. All samples were analyzed by bacterial culture, and 17 were examined by histopathology. We observed 922 OTUs overall and 267 taxa at the genus level. No detectable bacterial DNA was present in the control samples. The microbial profiles of the PL and AC differed significantly, both in their composition (PERMANOVA), species richness and Chao‑1 (Mann–Whit‑ney test). In both organs, Pseudomonas was the most abundant genus. The combination of NGS and culture identi‑fied opportunistic pathogens of interest in placentas with lesions, such as Vibrio metschnikovii, Streptococcus uberis, Lactococcus lactis and Escherichia coli. In placentas with lesions where culturing was unsuccessful, Pseudomonas and unidentified Aeromonadaceae were identified by NGS displaying high number of reads. Three cases with multiple possible etiologies and placentas presenting lesions were detected by NGS. Amplicon sequencing has the potential to uncover unknown etiological agents. These new insights on cattle abortion extend our focus to previously under‑studied opportunistic abortive bacteria

Using gene expression data to identify certain gastro-intestinal diseases

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are considered to be of autoimmune origin, but the etiology of irritable bowel syndrome remains elusive. Furthermore, classifying patients into irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel diseases can be difficult without invasive testing and holds important treatment implications. Our aim was to assess the ability of gene expression profiling in blood to differentiate among these subject groups. METHODS: Transcript levels of a total of 45 genes in blood were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We applied three separate analytic approaches; one utilized a scoring system derived from combinations of ratios of expression levels of two genes and two different support vector machines. RESULTS: All methods discriminated different subject cohorts, irritable bowel syndrome from control, inflammatory bowel disease from control, irritable bowel syndrome from inflammatory bowel disease, and ulcerative colitis from Crohn’s disease, with high degrees of sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest these approaches may provide clinically useful prediction of the presence of these gastro-intestinal diseases and syndromes

Serendipitous discovery of radio flaring behaviour from a nearby M dwarf with MeerKAT

We report on the detection of MKT J174641.0$-$321404, a new radio transient found in untargeted searches of wide-field MeerKAT radio images centred on the black hole X-ray binary H1743$-$322. MKT J174641.0$-$321404 is highly variable at 1.3 GHz and was detected three times during 11 observations of the field in late 2018, reaching a maximum flux density of 590 $\pm$ 60 $\mu$Jy. We associate this radio transient with a high proper motion, M dwarf star SCR~1746$-$3214 12 pc away from the Sun. Multiwavelength observations of this M dwarf indicate flaring activity across the electromagnetic spectrum, consistent with emission expected from dMe stars, and providing upper limits on quiescent brightness in both the radio and X-ray regimes. \textit{TESS} photometry reveals a rotational period for SCR~1746$-$3214 of $0.2292 \pm 0.0025$ days, which at its estimated radius makes the star a rapid rotator, comparable to other low mass systems. Dedicated spectroscopic follow up confirms the star as a mid-late spectral M dwarf with clear magnetic activity indicated by strong H$\alpha$ emission. This transient's serendipitous discovery by MeerKAT, along with multiwavelength characterisation, make it a prime demonstration of both the capabilities of the current generation of radio interferometers and the value of simultaneous observations by optical facilities such as MeerLICHT. Our results build upon the literature of of M dwarfs' flaring behaviour, particularly relevant to the habitability of their planetary systems.Comment: Accepted to MNRAS, 11 pages, 9 figure

Association Between Affective-Cognitive Symptoms of Depression and Exacerbation of Crohn’s Disease

The prevalence of depression is high in patients with Crohn’s Disease (CD). We examined the influence of affective-cognitive symptoms of depression on the risk of exacerbation of CD

Combination of GD2-directed bispecific trifunctional antibody therapy with Pd-1 immune checkpoint blockade induces anti-neuroblastoma immunity in a syngeneic mouse model

Introduction: Despite advances in treating high-risk neuroblastoma, 50-60% of patients still suffer relapse, necessitating new treatment options. Bispecific trifunctional antibodies (trAbs) are a promising new class of immunotherapy. TrAbs are heterodimeric IgG-like molecules that bind CD3 and a tumor-associated antigen simultaneously, whereby inducing a TCR-independent anti-cancer T cell response. Moreover, via their functional Fc region they recruit and activate cells of the innate immune system like antigen-presenting cells potentially enhancing induction of adaptive tumor-specific immune responses. Methods: We used the SUREK trAb, which is bispecific for GD2 and murine Cd3. Tumor-blind trAb and the monoclonal ch14.18 antibody were used as controls. A co-culture model of murine dendritic cells (DCs), T cells and a neuroblastoma cell line was established to evaluate the cytotoxic effect and the T cell effector function in vitro. Expression of immune checkpoint molecules on tumor-infiltrating T cells and the induction of an anti-neuroblastoma immune response using a combination of whole cell vaccination and trAb therapy was investigated in a syngeneic immunocompetent neuroblastoma mouse model (NXS2 in A/J background). Finally, vaccinated mice were assessed for the presence of neuroblastoma-directed antibodies. We show that SUREK trAb-mediated effective killing of NXS2 cells in vitro was strictly dependent on the combined presence of DCs and T cells. Results: Using a syngeneic neuroblastoma mouse model, we showed that vaccination with irradiated tumor cells combined with SUREK trAb treatment significantly prolonged survival of tumor challenged mice and partially prevent tumor outgrowth compared to tumor vaccination alone. Treatment led to upregulation of programmed cell death protein 1 (Pd-1) on tumor infiltrating T cells and combination with anti-Pd-1 checkpoint inhibition enhanced the NXS2-directed humoral immune response. Conclusion: Here, we provide first preclinical evidence that a tumor vaccination combined with SUREK trAb therapy induces an endogenous anti-neuroblastoma immune response reducing tumor recurrence. Furthermore, a combination with anti-Pd-1 immune checkpoint blockade might even further improve this promising immunotherapeutic concept in order to prevent relapse in high-risk neuroblastoma patients