Rations for Early Weaned Pigs

One of the most critical times in the nutrition of the pig is during the first few weeks after weaning. This is particularly true if the pigs are weaned at an age of 3 to 4 weeks or younger. During the past two years an experiment has been in progress at this station to study different ration ingredients in rations for pigs weaned at about 3 weeks of age in order to determine if more economical rations can be developed that will be highly palatable and support rate and efficiency of gains comparable or superior to more complex rations. The trials reported here were designed to study certain feed additives as growth promotants, to compare a simple and more complex ration and to study the effect of protein level in rations for early weaned pigs

Photo‐biocatalytic Cascades:Combining Chemical and Enzymatic Transformations Fueled by Light

In the field of green chemistry, light – an attractive natural agent – has received particular attention for driving biocatalytic reactions. Moreover, the implementation of light to drive (chemo)enzymatic cascade reactions opens up a golden window of opportunities. However, there are limitations to many current examples, mostly associated with incompatibility between the enzyme and the photocatalyst. Additionally, the formation of reactive radicals upon illumination and the loss of catalytic activities in the presence of required additives are common observations. As outlined in this review, the main question is how to overcome current challenges to the exploitation of light to drive (chemo)enzymatic transformations. First, we highlight general concepts in photo-biocatalysis, then give various examples of photo-chemoenzymatic (PCE) cascades, further summarize current synthetic examples of PCE cascades and discuss strategies to address the limitations

Electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC): the UK national research facility for biological electron microscopy

The recent resolution revolution in cryo-EM has led to a massive increase in demand for both time on high-end cryo-electron microscopes and access to cryo-electron microscopy expertise. In anticipation of this demand, eBIC was set up at Diamond Light Source in collaboration with Birkbeck College London and the University of Oxford, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to provide access to high-end equipment through peer review. eBIC is currently in its start-up phase and began by offering time on a single FEI Titan Krios microscope equipped with the latest generation of direct electron detectors from two manufacturers. Here, the current status and modes of access for potential users of eBIC are outlined. In the first year of operation, 222 d of microscope time were delivered to external research groups, with 95 visits in total, of which 53 were from unique groups. The data collected have generated multiple high- to intermediate-resolution structures (2.8–8 Å), ten of which have been published. A second Krios microscope is now in operation, with two more due to come online in 2017. In the next phase of growth of eBIC, in addition to more microscope time, new data-collection strategies and sample-preparation techniques will be made available to external user groups. Finally, all raw data are archived, and a metadata catalogue and automated pipelines for data analysis are being developed

Towards a representative reference for MRI-based human axon radius assessment using light microscopy

Non-invasive assessment of axon radii via MRI bears great potential for clinical and neuroscience research as it is a main determinant of the neuronal conduction velocity. However, there is a lack of representative histological reference data at the scale of the cross-section of MRI voxels for validating the MRI-visible, effective radius (reff). Because the current gold standard stems from neuroanatomical studies designed to estimate the bulk-determined arithmetic mean radius (rarith) on small ensembles of axons, it is unsuited to estimate the tail-weighted reff. We propose CNN-based segmentation on high-resolution, large-scale light microscopy (lsLM) data to generate a representative reference for reff. In a human corpus callosum, we assessed estimation accuracy and bias of rarith and reff. Furthermore, we investigated whether mapping anatomy-related variation of rarith and reff is confounded by low-frequency variation of the image intensity, e.g., due to staining heterogeneity. Finally, we analyzed the error due to outstandingly large axons in reff. Compared to rarith, reff was estimated with higher accuracy (maximum normalized-root-mean-square-error of reff: 8.5 %; rarith: 19.5 %) and lower bias (maximum absolute normalized-mean-bias-error of reff: 4.8 %; rarith: 13.4 %). While rarith was confounded by variation of the image intensity, variation of reff seemed anatomy-related. The largest axons contributed between 0.8 % and 2.9 % to reff. In conclusion, the proposed method is a step towards representatively estimating reff at MRI voxel resolution. Further investigations are required to assess generalization to other brains and brain areas with different axon radii distributions

Pharmacologic treatment with CPI-613 and PS48 decreases mitochondrial membrane potential and increases quantity of autolysosomes in porcine fibroblasts

A metabolic phenomenon known as the Warburg effect has been characterized in certain cancerous cells, embryonic stem cells, and other rapidly proliferative cell types. Previously, our attempts to induce a Warburg-like state pharmaceutically via CPI-613 and PS48 treatment did augment metabolite production and gene expression; however, this treatment demonstrated a Reverse Warburg effect phenotype observed in cancer-associated stroma. In the current study, we inquired whether the mitochondria were affected by the aforementioned pharmaceutical treatment as observed in cancerous stromal fibroblasts. While the pharmaceutical agents decreased mitochondrial membrane potential in porcine fetal fibroblasts, the number and size of mitochondria were similar, as was the overall cell size. Moreover, the fibroblasts that were treated with CPI-613 and PS48 for a week had increased numbers of large autolysosome vesicles. This coincided with increased intensity of LysoTracker staining in treated cells as observed by flow cytometry. Treated fibroblasts thus may utilize changes in metabolism and autophagy to mitigate the damage of treatment with pharmaceutical agents. These findings shed light on how these pharmaceutical agents interact and how treated cells augment metabolism to sustain viability. c2019, The Author(s).Includes bibliographical references

Comparison of insulin detemir and insulin glargine in subjects with type 1 diabetes using intensive insulin therapy

WSTĘP. Celem niniejszej pracy było porównanie kontroli glikemii oraz ryzyka hipoglikemii podczas stosowania insuliny detemir 2 × dziennie lub glarginy raz dziennie u chorych na cukrzycę typu 1. MATERIAŁ I METODY. Podczas trwającego 26 tygodni wieloośrodkowego, otwartego badania z grupami równoległymi 320 chorym na cukrzycę typu 1 podawano albo insulinę detemir 2 × dziennie albo glarginę raz dziennie, każdorazowo w połączeniu z przedposiłkowymi iniekcjami insuliny aspart. WYNIKI. Po 26 tygodniach wartość HbA1c zmniejszyła się z 8,8% do 8,2% w grupie przyjmującej insulinę detemir i z 8,7% do 8,2% w grupie leczonej glarginą. Wartość stężenia glukozy w osoczu (PG) mierzonego na czczo w domu była niższa podczas stosowania glarginy niż w czasie podawania insuliny detemir (7,0 mmol/l vs. 7,7 mmol/l; p < 0,001). Ogólny 9-punktowy profil mierzonych w domu wartości glikemii był porównywalny między grupami (p = 0,125). Nie stwierdzono istotnej różnicy w zmienności pomiarów PG u 1 pacjenta (p = 0,437). Zróżnicowanie pomiarów przedposiłkowego stężenia PG u 1 badanego było niższe podczas stosowania insuliny detemir niż glarginy (p < 0,05). Ogólne ryzyko hipoglikemii było podobne, nie stwierdzono różnic w występowaniu potwierdzonych epizodów hipoglikemii. Ryzyko silnej, nocnej hipoglikemii wynosiło odpowiednio: 72% i 32% i było niższe w grupie stosującej insulinę detemir (p < 0,05). Zwiększenie masy ciała nie różniło się znacząco między grupami przyjmującymi insulinę detemir i glarginę (0,52 kg vs. 0,96 kg; p = 0,193). WNIOSKI. Leczenie insuliną detemir podawaną 2 × dziennie lub glarginą podawaną raz dziennie, każdorazowo w połączeniu z insuliną aspart, powodowało podobną kontrolę glikemii. Ogólne zagrożenie hipoglikemią było porównywalne, natomiast ryzyko nasilonej i nocnej hipoglikemii było istotnie niższe podczas stosowania insuliny detemir.BACKGROUND. To compare glycaemic control and risk of hypoglycaemia of twice-daily insulin detemir with once-daily insulin glargine in subjects with type 1 diabetes. MATERIAL AND METHODS. In this 26-week, multicentre, open-label, parallel-group trial, 320 subjects with type 1 diabetes received either insulin detemir twice daily or insulin glargine once daily, each in combination with premeal insulin aspart. RESULTS. After 26 weeks, HbA1c had decreased from 8.8 to 8.2% in the insulin detemir group and from 8.7% to 8.2% in the insulin glargine group. Homemeasured fasting plasma glucose (PG) was lower with insulin glargine than with insulin detemir (7.0 mmol/l vs. 7.7 mmol/l; p < 0.001). The overall shape of the home-measured nine-point PG profiles was comparable between treatments (p = 0.125). Overall, there was no significant difference in within-subject variation in PG (p = 0.437). Withinsubject variation in predinner PG was lower with insulin detemir than with insulin glargine (p < 0.05). The overall risk of hypoglycaemia was similar with no differences in confirmed hypoglycaemia. However, the risk of severe and nocturnal hypoglycaemia was 72% and 32%, respectively, lower with insulin detemir than with insulin glargine (p < 0.05). Body weight gain was not significantly different comparing insulin detemir and insulin glargine (0.52 kg vs. 0.96 kg, p = 0.193). CONCLUSIONS. Treatment with twice-daily insulin detemir or once-daily insulin glargine, each in combination with insulin aspart, resulted in similar glycaemic control. The overall risk of hypoglycaemia was comparable, whereas the risks of both severe and nocturnal hypoglycaemia were significantly lower with insulin detemir

Metagenomics-based proficiency test of smoked salmon spiked with a mock community

An inter-laboratory proficiency test was organized to assess the ability of participants to perform shotgun metagenomic sequencing of cold smoked salmon, experimentally spiked with a mock community composed of six bacteria, one parasite, one yeast, one DNA, and two RNA viruses. Each participant applied its in-house wet-lab workflow(s) to obtain the metagenomic dataset(s), which were then collected and analyzed using MG-RAST. A total of 27 datasets were analyzed. Sample pre-processing, DNA extraction protocol, library preparation kit, and sequencing platform, influenced the abundance of specific microorganisms of the mock community. Our results highlight that despite differences in wet-lab protocols, the reads corresponding to the mock community members spiked in the cold smoked salmon, were both detected and quantified in terms of relative abundance, in the metagenomic datasets, proving the suitability of shotgun metagenomic sequencing as a genomic tool to detect microorganisms belonging to different domains in the same food matrix. The implementation of standardized wet-lab protocols would highly facilitate the comparability of shotgun metagenomic sequencing dataset across laboratories and sectors. Moreover, there is a need for clearly defining a sequencing reads threshold, to consider pathogens as detected or undetected in a food sample

Arts practices in unreasonable doubt? Reflections on understandings of arts practices in healthcare contexts

This article suggests that the discourse on arts and health encompass contemporary arts practices as an active and engaged analytical activity. Distinctions between arts therapy and arts practice are made to suggest that clinical evidence-based evaluation, while appropriate for arts therapy, is not appropriate for arts practice and in effect cast them in unreasonable doubt. Themes in current discourse on “arts” and “health” are broadly sketched to provide a context for discussion of arts practices. Approaches to knowledge validation in relation to each domain are discussed. These discourses are applied to the Irish healthcare context, offering a reading of three different art projects; it suggests a multiplicity of analyses beyond causal positive health gains. It is suggested that the social turn in medicine and the social turn in arts practices share some similar pre-occupations that warrant further attention