The correlation of the intestinal with pharyngeal microbiota in early neonates

IntroductionThe gut-lung axis has long been recognized as an important mechanism affecting intestinal and lung immunity. Still, few studies have examined the correlation between the intestinal and pharyngeal microbiota in early neonates, especially when feeding patterns are one of the main drivers of microbiota development.MethodsTo explore the composition and function of intestinal and pharyngeal microbiota and to analyze the effect of limited formula feeding on the initial microbiota colonization in early full-term neonates, we characterized the stool and oropharyngeal microbiota of 20 healthy full-term newborns sampled on days 0 and 5–7 after birth using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Based on the sequencing results, a comparison was made of the compositions and functions of the intestinal and oropharyngeal microbiota for analysis.Results and discussionAt the phylum level, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the most abundant in both niches. At the genus level, the species of pioneer bacteria were rich in the intestine and oropharynx but low in abundance on day 0. On days 5–7, Bifidobacterium (25.40%) and Escherichia-Shigella (22.16%) were dominant in the intestine, while Streptococcus (38.40%) and Staphylococcus (23.13%) were dominant in the oropharynx. There were eight core bacteria genera in the intestine and oropharynx on days 5–7, which were Bifidobacterium, Escherichia-Shigella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, Rothia, and Acinetobacter. As indicated by PICRUSt analysis, on days 5–7, the intestinal microbiota was more predictive than the oropharyngeal microbiota in transcription, metabolism, cell motility, cellular processes and signaling, and organismal system function in the KEGG pathway. Compared to exclusive breastfeeding, limited formula feeding (40–60%) had no significant effect on the neonatal intestinal and oropharyngeal microbiota composition during the initial colonization period. Our results suggest that the initial colonization of microbiota is closely related to the ecological niche environment in the intestine and oropharynx, with their core microbiota being closely correlated. We found that early limited formula feeding could not significantly affect the initial colonization of microbiota in the intestine and oropharynx

MiR-574-5p Activates Human TLR8 to Promote Autoimmune Signaling and Lupus

Endosomal single-stranded RNA-sensing Toll-like receptor-7/8 (TLR7/8) plays a pivotal role in inflammation and immune responses and autoimmune diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying the initiation of the TLR7/8-mediated autoimmune signaling remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that miR-574-5p is aberrantly upregulated in tissues of lupus prone mice and in the plasma of lupus patients, with its expression levels correlating with the disease activity. miR-574-5p binds to and activates human hTLR8 or its murine ortholog mTlr7 to elicit a series of MyD88-dependent immune and inflammatory responses. These responses include the overproduction of cytokines and interferons, the activation of STAT1 signaling and B lymphocytes, and the production of autoantigens. In a transgenic mouse model, the induction of miR-574-5p overexpression is associated with increased secretion of antinuclear and anti-dsDNA antibodies, increased IgG and C3 deposit in the kidney, elevated expression of inflammatory genes in the spleen. In lupus-prone mice, lentivirus-mediated silencing of miR-574-5p significantly ameliorates major symptoms associated with lupus and lupus nephritis. Collectively, these results suggest that the miR-574-5p-hTLR8/mTlr7 signaling is an important axis of immune and inflammatory responses, contributing significantly to the development of lupus and lupus nephritis

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Positioning of Tower Crane Trolley Based on D-S Evidence Theory and Kalman Filter

Due to the complex structure of the tower crane and the signal noise, it is difficult to estimate and predict the real position signal, which may lead to inaccurate positioning of the tower crane trolley. A tower crane positioning algorithm based on D-S evidence theory and unscented Kalman filter (DS-UKF) is established and developed. First, the nonlinear dynamic model, state equation, and detection equation of the tower crane are constructed based on the complex structure of the tower crane. Second, the arm angle is estimated, and the distance between the trolley and the root of the arm is positioned. Finally, in order to calculate the weight of a single sensor, the D-S evidence theory is used to process the measurement information of the sensor and the estimated value of the filter. The Kalman filter, which has good signal tracking and estimation ability, is used to predict and estimate the position of the trolley. The accurate positioning of the tower crane trolley is realized through the organic fusion of information. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the DS-UKF positioning algorithm

Data-Driven Model-Free Adaptive Positioning and Anti-Swing Control for Bridge Cranes

In the positioning and anti-swing control of bridge crane, a model-free adaptive control (MFAC) based on data-driven is proposed in order to eliminate the dependence of controller design on the model and the influence of unmodeled dynamics and uncertain disturbances on the controller performance. Only using the input and output data of the bridge crane system, the virtual full format dynamic linearized data model of the bridge crane nonlinear system is obtained through the data-driven modeling method. On the basis of this virtual data model, a model-free adaptive control law and a pseudo-Jacobian matrix estimation algorithm are designed according to the optimization theory under the constraint conditions. The stability of the closed loop system and the convergence of the system error are analyzed and proved by Lipschitz condition and inequality theory. The effectiveness of the control strategy for positioning and anti-swing control of bridge cranes is verified on simulated simulation and experimental platform of bridge crane. The results show that the proposed method is feasible and has good anti-disturbance performance and robustness

The Prediction of Key Cytoskeleton Components Involved in Glomerular Diseases Based on a Protein-Protein Interaction Network

<div><p>Maintenance of the physiological morphologies of different types of cells and tissues is essential for the normal functioning of each system in the human body. Dynamic variations in cell and tissue morphologies depend on accurate adjustments of the cytoskeletal system. The cytoskeletal system in the glomerulus plays a key role in the normal process of kidney filtration. To enhance the understanding of the possible roles of the cytoskeleton in glomerular diseases, we constructed the Glomerular Cytoskeleton Network (GCNet), which shows the protein-protein interaction network in the glomerulus, and identified several possible key cytoskeletal components involved in glomerular diseases. In this study, genes/proteins annotated to the cytoskeleton were detected by Gene Ontology analysis, and glomerulus-enriched genes were selected from nine available glomerular expression datasets. Then, the GCNet was generated by combining these two sets of information. To predict the possible key cytoskeleton components in glomerular diseases, we then examined the common regulation of the genes in GCNet in the context of five glomerular diseases based on their transcriptomic data. As a result, twenty-one cytoskeleton components as potential candidate were highlighted for consistently down- or up-regulating in all five glomerular diseases. And then, these candidates were examined in relation to existing known glomerular diseases and genes to determine their possible functions and interactions. In addition, the mRNA levels of these candidates were also validated in a puromycin aminonucleoside(PAN) induced rat nephropathy model and were also matched with existing Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) transcriptomic data. As a result, there are 15 of 21 candidates in PAN induced nephropathy model were consistent with our predication and also 12 of 21 candidates were matched with differentially expressed genes in the DN transcriptomic data. By providing a novel interaction network and prediction, GCNet contributes to improving the understanding of normal glomerular function and will be useful for detecting target cytoskeleton molecules of interest that may be involved in glomerular diseases in future studies.</p></div

Consistently regulated genes in GCNet.

<p>Consistently regulated genes in GCNet.</p