Effects of a Low Allergenic Soybean Variety on Gut Permeability, Digestibility and Growth Performance in Pigs

Soybeans are the ‘gold standard’ protein source in pig diets, with lower inclusion levels in weaned pig diets due to transient inflammatory and hypersensitivity responses. This study evaluated a low allergenic (LA) soybean seed containing low Trypsin inhibitors, lectins, and P34 protein. The objective was to determine the impact of weaned pig diets containing LA soybean in both meal (LASBM) and full fat ground (LAGR) forms on the intestinal permeability and gut microbial composition, digestibility of protein and amino acids, and growth performance, in comparison to conventional (CON) soybeans and animal proteins (ANIM). In study 1, 60 weaned barrows (20.9 ± 1.0 d of age, 6.65 ± 0.3 kg, n=12/diet) were randomly assigned to one of five experimental diets containing one of 5 test proteins (CONSBM, CONGR, LASBM, LAGR and ANIM). Gut permeability measurements (Ussing Chambers and lactulose:mannitol ratio) were collected over 4d (1 pig/diet/d), beginning at d 11. No differences were detected in ileal or jejunal permeability among dietary treatments. Pigs fed ANIM had highest (P \u3c 0.05) urine lactulose:mannitol ratio. Daily gain and feed disappearance were greatest (P \u3c 0.05) for pigs fed ANIM-based diets. There were no differences in taxonomy or relative abundance of operational taxonomic unit’s (OTU’s) in digesta microbial content. In Exp. 1 of study 2, 10 ileal-cannulated barrows (17.63 ± 1.18 kg BW) were used in a cross-over design and randomly assigned to one of five experimental diets (FM, CONSBM1, LASBM, LAGR and nitrogen-free), where the test ingredients were included as the sole protein source, to determine standardized ileal digestibility. Each pig received 3 of the 5 diets (1 diet/collection period; n = 6 per diet). In Exp. 2, the methods used in Exp. 1 were replicated, except 5 barrows and 5 gilts were used (19.40 ± 1.65 kg). In Exp. 1, SID of CP and AA was greater (P \u3c 0.05) in FM than soy products. There were minor differences in digestibility between soy products where SID of LYS, MET, and HIS were greater (P \u3c 0.05) in LASBM than CONSBM1. In Exp. 2, SID of CP and AA was similar between FM and CONSBM2 and lower (P \u3c 0.05) in LASBM and LAGR than FM and CONSBM2. Overall SID tended (P \u3c 0.10) to be lower in gilts than barrows. Growth performance was determined in 112 weaned pigs (7.30 ± 0.43 kg BW; 2 barrows and 2 gilts per pen; study 3) assigned to one of four dietary treatments in 2 phases (Ph1 = 5d, Ph2 = 13d). The control diet contained FM (7.25%, Ph1; 6%, Ph2); LASBM, LAGR and VOLGA-SBM replaced FM to supply equivalent dietary crude protein. Pigs received a common Ph3 diet (18d). Overall daily gain was greater (P \u3c 0.01) in LAGR-fed pigs compared to LASBM, but not different from FM- or SBM-fed pigs; daily gain tended to be greater (P \u3c 0.10) in SBM- than FM-fed pigs. Overall daily intake tended to be greater (P \u3c 0.10) in SBM-fed pigs compared to FM and LASBM but was not different from LAGR. There was a tendency for greater (P \u3c 0.10) overall G:F in LAGR- versus LASBM-fed pigs. Low allergenic soybean products may be considered a replacement for CON soybean products in weaned pig diets due to their similarity in gut permeability, digesta microbial content and similar growth performance. LAGR does not impact pig performance and could serve as a suitable replacement to FM in weaned pig diets

Association between microbiome and the development of adverse posttraumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae after traumatic stress exposure

Patients exposed to trauma often experience high rates of adverse post-traumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS). The biological mechanisms promoting APNS are currently unknown, but the microbiota-gut-brain axis offers an avenue to understanding mechanisms as well as possibilities for intervention. Microbiome composition after trauma exposure has been poorly examined regarding neuropsychiatric outcomes. We aimed to determine whether the gut microbiomes of trauma-exposed emergency department patients who develop APNS have dysfunctional gut microbiome profiles and discover potential associated mechanisms. We performed metagenomic analysis on stool samples (n = 51) from a subset of adults enrolled in the Advancing Understanding of RecOvery afteR traumA (AURORA) study. Two-, eight- and twelve-week post-trauma outcomes for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (PTSD checklist for DSM-5), normalized depression scores (PROMIS Depression Short Form 8b) and somatic symptom counts were collected. Generalized linear models were created for each outcome using microbial abundances and relevant demographics. Mixed-effect random forest machine learning models were used to identify associations between APNS outcomes and microbial features and encoded metabolic pathways from stool metagenomics. Microbial species, including Flavonifractor plautii, Ruminococcus gnavus and, Bifidobacterium species, which are prevalent commensal gut microbes, were found to be important in predicting worse APNS outcomes from microbial abundance data. Notably, through APNS outcome modeling using microbial metabolic pathways, worse APNS outcomes were highly predicted by decreased L-arginine related pathway genes and increased citrulline and ornithine pathways. Common commensal microbial species are enriched in individuals who develop APNS. More notably, we identified a biological mechanism through which the gut microbiome reduces global arginine bioavailability, a metabolic change that has also been demonstrated in the plasma of patients with PTSD

Oropharyngeal Microbiome Profiled at Admission is Predictive of the Need for Respiratory Support Among COVID-19 Patients [preprint]

The clinical course of infection due to respiratory viruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is thought to be influenced by the community of organisms that colonizes the upper respiratory tract, the oropharyngeal microbiome. In this study, we examined the oropharyngeal microbiome of suspected COVID-19 patients presenting to the Emergency Department and an inpatient COVID-19 unit with symptoms of acute COVID-19. Of 115 enrolled patients, 74 were confirmed COVID-19+ and 50 had symptom duration of 14 days or less; 38 acute COVID-19+ patients (76%) went on to require respiratory support. Although no microbiome features were found to be significantly different between COVID-19+ and COVID-19-patients, when we conducted random forest classification modeling (RFC) to predict the need of respiratory support for the COVID-19+ patients our analysis identified a subset of organisms and metabolic pathways whose relative abundance, when combined with clinical factors (such as age and Body Mass Index), was highly predictive of the need for respiratory support (F1 score 0.857). Microbiome Multivariable Association with Linear Models (MaAsLin2) analysis was then applied to the features identified as predicative of the need for respiratory support by the RFC. This analysis revealed reduced abundance of Prevotella salivae and metabolic pathways associated with lipopolysaccharide and mycolic acid biosynthesis to be the strongest predictors of patients requiring respiratory support. These findings suggest that composition of the oropharyngeal microbiome in COVID-19 may play a role in determining who will suffer from severe disease manifestations. Importance: The microbial community that colonizes the upper airway, the oropharyngeal microbiome, has the potential to affect how patients respond to respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV2, the causative agent of COVID-19. In this study, we investigated the oropharyngeal microbiome of COVID-19 patients using high throughput DNA sequencing performed on oral swabs. We combined patient characteristics available at intake such as medical comorbidities and age, with measured abundance of bacterial species and metabolic pathways and then trained a machine learning model to determine what features are predicative of patients needing respiratory support in the form of supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation. We found that decreased abundance of some bacterial species and increased abundance of pathways associated bacterial products biosynthesis was highly predictive of needing respiratory support. This suggests that the oropharyngeal microbiome affects disease course in COVID-19 and could be targeted for diagnostic purposes to determine who may need oxygen, or therapeutic purposes such as probiotics to prevent severe COVID-19 disease manifestations

The Intestinal and Oral Microbiomes Are Robust Predictors of COVID-19 Severity the Main Predictor of COVID-19-related Fatality [preprint]

The reason for the striking differences in clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients is still poorly understood. While most recover, a subset of people become critically ill and succumb to the disease. Thus, identification of biomarkers that can predict the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 disease is key to help prioritize patients needing urgent treatment. Given that an unbalanced gut microbiome is a reflection of poor health, we aim to identify indicator species that could predict COVID-19 disease clinical outcomes. Here, for the first time and with the largest COVID-19 patient cohort reported for microbiome studies, we demonstrated that the intestinal and oral microbiome make-up predicts respectively with 92% and 84% accuracy (Area Under the Curve or AUC) severe COVID-19 respiratory symptoms that lead to death. The accuracy of the microbiome prediction of COVID-19 severity was found to be far superior to that from training similar models using information from comorbidities often adopted to triage patients in the clinic (77% AUC). Additionally, by combining symptoms, comorbidities, and the intestinal microbiota the model reached the highest AUC at 96%. Remarkably the model training on the stool microbiome found enrichment of Enterococcus faecalis, a known pathobiont, as the top predictor of COVID-19 disease severity. Enterococcus faecalis is already easily cultivable in clinical laboratories, as such we urge the medical community to include this bacterium as a robust predictor of COVID-19 severity when assessing risk stratification of patients in the clinic

Design and Experimentation of Biomass Fuel Conversion

The state of earth’s depleting fossil fuels has increased the exploration for consistent, dependable alternative energy sources. Biomass, chicken manure specifically, is a suitable substitute that would alleviate the dependency on fossil fuels. According to the United States Census bureau in July 2012 the population of USA is estimated to be 313.9 Million. If we know that the average consumption of chicken per capita is 85 lb. /year and the average chicken weight is 3.5 lb., it can be estimated that the USA consumes about 7,623 million chickens/year. The average chicken produces 2.5 lb. of dry manure throughout the course of a year. This data estimates that 19,058 million lb. (8,644 million kg) of chicken manure is produced per year. Knowing the average calorific value of the chicken manure is 14 MJ/kg, we can conclude that the energy in the chicken manure is equivalent to the energy in 30,386,792 barrels of oil. However, the process of getting energy from chicken manure isn’t as easy as burning it. Due to the high rate of pollutants when chicken manure is burned and the low quality of the fuel in its solid state, other ways of harnessing the energy have been investigated. Pyrolysis is a process in which organic based materials are broken down at high temperatures in the absence of any oxidizer. The produced gases and liquids usually have a higher calorific value and can be used as fuel. This work has been devoted to designing and building a Thermo-gravimetric analyzer, or TGA, in order to analyze the pyrolysis of chicken manure with the use of Carbon Dioxide. Previously collected data shows the conversion rate of the chicken manure changes with time. This confirms that pyrolysis is occurring due to the initially slow conversion rate that increases in the middle of the test. Improving the method of collecting data will propel this project to be a reliable test apparatus for future semesters

Internet killed the Michelin star : the motives of narrative and style in food text creation on social media

Thesis: S.M. in Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2018.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-113).Digital representations of food (food texts) have become mainstream content on social media sites and digital streaming sites. While they accomplish some similar goals to their analog counterparts (e.g. in-print cookbooks), like communicating information about the food's preparation or what its consumption would be like, the surplus of food texts has been ushered in by a transformation of media infrastructure such as the internet, cameras on cheap mobile phones, and digital social network platforms. The creators of the bulk of food texts have shifted from authority figures in the field to anyone who dines out and goes online. With this shift in media ownership comes a change in status -- from expert to everyone. As a result, the dynamics of food discourse has also changed. I use interviews and ethnographies with fine dining chefs, food industry professionals, and media makers to illustrate these convergences and divergences in the creation and consumption of food texts today. TL;DR: While the underlying purpose of the construction and consumption of food texts remain the same from analog to digital form, the authority of food culture and its complimentary narrative control has shifted as a result of the convergence of food texts and digital media affordances.by Victoria (Vicky) Jean Zeamer.S.M. in Comparative Media Studie

Making Light of Troubles: Evidence for the Role of Laughter as a Prosocial Pragmatic Device in Conversation

This dissertation describes a series of studies testing the role of laughter in spontaneous conversation. Though laughter has typically been considered a response to humorous stimuli, one proposed function of laughter in naturally occurring talk is as a communicative signal indicating and attending to a potential source of social discomfort. We argue that laughter in conversation is a paralinguistic response to the desire for maintenance and management of social relationships during conversation. Laughter sends a message that some potentially alarming event need not be taken seriously, and invites the sharing of relief and mirth with others. Three studies tested this proposal. In the first, laughter was found to affect tension levels in conversation, and affect them differently depending on the initial tension level and who is laughing. In the second, the nature of the language just preceding laughter was demonstrated to be surprising and to co-occur with perception of fault on someone's part. And in the third, laughter was found to virtually escape notice in conversation as compared with two other non-linguistic noises, a sine tone and a cough sound, even when preceding talk was surprising or indicative of fault, and regardless of who was laughing. These findings are discussed as supportive of a model of laughter as a pragmatic device in conversation used to attend to and affect the health of social relationships