Animal tuberculosis (TB), which is caused by infection with members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC), is a typical multi-host infection that flourishes at the livestock-wildlife ...interface. TB epidemiology is well characterized in the Mediterranean woodland habitats and Atlantic regions of southwestern Europe. However, much less is known about huge regions that do not form part of the two abovementioned settings, which have a low abundance of wild reservoirs. We hypothesized that MTC would be maintained in multi- rather than single-host communities in which wildlife would make a relatively low contribution to the maintenance of TB. Between 2011 and 2015, 7729 Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) and 1729 wild ruminants were sampled for culture during hunting events on unfenced sites. In addition, 1058 wild ungulates were sampled on 23 fenced hunting estates. Infection prevalence data were modeled along with official data on cattle and goat TB, on livestock distribution and management, and on wild boar abundance. The mean individual MTC infection prevalence was 4.28% in wild boar, while the cattle skin test reactor percent was 0.17%. The prevalence of MTC infection in wild ungulates (mostly wild boar) from the fenced hunting estates was 11.6%. Modeling revealed that the main driver of TB in cattle was their management (beef; communal pastures). However, wild boar abundance, the prevalence of MTC infection in wild boar and the presence of fenced hunting estates also contributed to explaining cattle TB. The model used for goat TB identified communal pastures as a risk factor. The model for the prevalence of MTC infection in wild boar included wild boar abundance and communal pastures. We conclude that the MTC maintenance host community is most likely of a multi-host nature. While cattle and communal pastures pose the main risk regarding TB, it is also necessary to consider increasing wild boar densities and specific risks owing to fenced wildlife. We infer several management implications regarding wildlife management, the wildlife sampling strategy and laboratory testing, the peculiarities of fenced hunting estates, and the wildlife-livestock interface.
The susceptibility to corrosion of Inconel 718 weldments after double aging heat treatment was studied by the use of potentiodynamic tests. Plates of 3 mm thick were homogenized at 1080 °C during 1 ...hour and air cooled, then subjected to a solution process at 980 °C during 1 hour and air cooled. The double aging heat treatment was; (1) aging at 720 °C during 8h and oven cooled at 55 °C/h, and (2) aging at 620 °C during 8h and air cooled at room temperature. After heat treatment, the plates were welded by using gas tungsten arc welding process with low and high heat input. The base metal (BM) and the weldments were analyzed by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). The potentiodynamic tests were carried out in a 3.5% NaCl for the welded samples. The results show that, as the heat input increases, the corrosion rate increases in the weldments. This behavior can be attributed to the microsegregation of Nb and Mo, resulting in a Fe dilution into the weld pool.
Solanum sisymbriifolium Lam., is used in Paraguayan folk medicine claiming antihypertensive and diuretic properties.
This study aimed to determine the influence of chronic oral administration of the ...crude root extract and saponins obtained from S. sisymbriifolium Lam., on the blood pressure of male and female rats with hypertension induced by L-NAME, and its consequences on diuresis, the body weight, blood glucose, and level of serum parameters of liver and kidney functionality.
Wistar rats were randomly divided into seven male, and seven female groups (8 animals each), which received as 6-week pretreatment, 0.9% saline solution (two groups; 0.1mL/10 g of b.w.), L-arginine (100.0 mg/kg/day), enalapril (15.0 mg/kg/day), crude extract (CESs 100.0 mg/kg/day), and saponin purified fraction (1.0, and 10.0 mg/kg/day), and treated with L-NAME (20 mg/kg/day/i.p.) twice, 1, and 6 h after pre-treatment. The animals' body weight, glycemia, and blood pressure were recorded weekly, while serum, hepatic, renal, and histological parameters were analyzed at the end of 6-week of treatment.
A protective effect of CESs (100.0 mg/kg/day), and saponins (1.0, and 10.0 mg/kg/day) against hypertension induced by L-NAME was verified in the systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure values, which were significantly lower than the positive L-NAME-hypertensive control group (male and female) at the end of the 6-week treatment. Also, pretreatment with enalapril (15.0 mg/kg/day) induced an efficient protective activity, which validates the method used. Likewise, the volume of urine, creatinine, uric acid, urea, and electrolyte excretion was enhanced at the end of 6-week of treatment in concordance with the reduction in serum level of the same parameters, compatible with the improvement of the diuretic activity. The glycemia, body weight, heart rate, and functional hepato-renal parameters were not modified after a 6-week of treatment, in comparison to the control group, indicating relatively acceptable harmless properties of CESs and saponins. Interestingly, the HDL level in females was increased in contrast to male rats by chronic saponins treatment when compared with the negative control group.
It can be concluded that either the increment in blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, and median) or cardiorenal remodeling effects in male and female rats submitted to L-NAME-induced hypertensive condition, were prevented and well-preserved without a significant variation during a period of 6-week of pretreatment with CESs and saponins pretreatments. Likewise, an important diuretic effect was revealed after this period of treatment.
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The discrete truncated Wigner approximation (DTWA) is a semiclassical phase-space method useful for the exploration of many-body quantum dynamics. In this work we investigate many-body localization ...(MBL) and thermalization using DTWA and compare its performance to exact numerical solutions. By taking as a benchmark case a one-dimensional random field Heisenberg spin chain with short-range interactions, and by comparing to numerically exact techniques, we show that DTWA is able to reproduce dynamical signatures that characterize both the thermal and the MBL phases. It exhibits the best quantitative agreement at short times deep in each of the phases and larger mismatches close to the phase transition. The DTWA captures the logarithmic growth of entanglement in the MBL phase, even though a pure classical mean-field analysis would lead to no dynamics at all. Our results suggest the DTWA can become a useful method to investigate MBL and thermalization in experimentally relevant settings intractable with exact numerical techniques, such as systems with long-range interactions and/or systems in higher dimensions.
Abstract Introduction Orthotropic liver retransplantation (RT) is the therapeutic option for the failure of an allograft. Patient and graft survival rates after RT are inferior to primary liver ...transplantation (OLT). Because of the limited number of donors, it is essential that we optimize their use. We reviewed 68 consecutive retransplantations to evaluate their results. Materials and Methods Using registry data from our Liver Transplantation Unit, we performed a retrospective cohort study of adult RT between 1991 and 2010. Patients were divided into 2 groups (urgent vs elective RT) to compare the utility of RT. We also analyzed data collected at the time of RT, including age, gender, indications for primary OLT and RT (hepatitis C virus HCV+ and HCV−). At various stages (1991–2000, 2001–2006, and 2007–2010), we calculated probability survival curves according to the Kaplan–Meier method with comparisons using the log-rank test. Results Among 771 adult liver transplantations, 68 (8.8%) underwent late secondary OLT. 21 (31%) cases were urgent and 47 elective RT (69%). Vascular complications was the most common cause for urgent RT, and chronic rejection, for elective RT. Differences were also detected in the overall survival of RT patients; mortality was significantly lower among the urgent procedures (15% vs 47.8%). Significantly differences were also detected in overall survival for RT patients between 2007 and 2010 (81.7% with urgent RT and 76.5% with elective situations). Conclusion These data confirmed the utility of RT in elective and emergency situations. Overall survival of elective RT patients has improved in recent years. Liver RT requires a multidisciplinary team to decide the inclusion and prioritization of elective RT cases on the OLT waiting list.
•Equation for estimation of UVC dose accumulated by the water was proposed.•Filtration, H2O2/UVC and H2O2/GAC as multiple-barrier treatment (MBT) was suggested.•The water toxicity was increased after ...H2O2/UVC step and reduced after H2O2/GAC.•Complete removal of H2O2 was achieved during the multiple treatments.•The quality of the wastewater after multiple barrier treatment allows its reuse.
The viability of a multi-barrier treatment (MBT) for safe discharge or potential reuse of synthetic industrial wastewater was evaluated in this study. The proposed MBT consists of microfiltration membrane pre-treatment (MF), followed by hydrogen peroxide photolysis (H2O2/UVC) using a medium pressure Hg lamp (MP) and granulate activated carbon (GAC). The synthetic wastewater (SIWW) obtained by addition of different industrial organic pollutant (orange II, phenol, 4-chlorophenol and phenanthrene) to the effluent taken from a municipal wastewater treatment plant was used in this study.
At optimal operational conditions complete degradation of added contaminants, about 85% of total mineralization and total disinfection were achieved after MBT treatment. Toxicity tests with Vibrio fischeri and Paracentrotus lividus sea-urchin (fertilization and embryo-larval development assays) were conducted with water after each treatment step and drastic decrease of toxicity was observed after applied process. However, it was demonstrated that after H2O2/UVC step toxicity of water significantly increased and was even higher than that of SIWW. Novel equation for estimation of UVC dose was introduced as one of the most important scaling parameter. The main operational and maintenance cost (O&M) of MBT process was evaluated in this work. Thus, the high quality of the obtained effluent suggests its suitability for water reuse or safe discharge.
Few measurements of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in close proximity to a smoker are available. Recent health studies have demonstrated an association between acute (<2 h) exposures to high ...concentrations of SHS and increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. We performed 15 experiments inside naturally ventilated homes and 16 in outdoor locations, each with 2–4 non‐smokers sitting near a cigarette smoker. The smoker's and non‐smokers' real‐time exposures to PM2.5 from SHS were measured by using TSI SidePak monitors to sample their breathing zones. In 87% of the residential indoor experiments, the smoker received the highest average exposure to SHS, with PM2.5 concentrations ranging from 50–630 μg/m3. During the active smoking period, individual non‐smokers sitting within approximately 1 m of a smoker had average SHS exposures ranging from negligible up to >160 μg/m3 of PM2.5. The average incremental exposure of the non‐smokers was higher indoors (42 μg/m3, n = 35) than outdoors (29 μg/m3, n = 47), but the overall indoor and outdoor frequency distributions were similar. The 10‐s PM2.5 averages during the smoking periods showed great variability, with multiple high concentrations of short duration (microplumes) both indoors and outdoors.
Abstract Introduction Orthotopic liver retransplantation (re-OLT) is the therapeutic option for hepatic graft failures. Survival after re-OLT is poorer than after primary OLT. Given that there is an ...organ shortage, it is essential that we optimize our use of this scarce resource. We evaluated the results of re-OLT among 58 consecutive Re-OLT. Materials and Methods Using registry data from our Liver Transplantation Unit, we performed a retrospective cohort study of adult urgent versus elective re-OLT between 1991 and 2008. We recorded the indications for the initial OLT, and the intervals from OLT to re-OLT as well as age and gender. Using the Rosen model to stratify patients into low-intermediate-, and high-risk groups we calculated survivals. Results Among 661 adult liver transplantations, 56 patients (8.4%) underwent late re-OLT at a median of 654.4 days post-OLT. There were 17 (29%) urgent re-OLT and 41 elective cases (71%). Vascular complications were the most common cause of urgent re-OLT (64%); elective re-OLT was primarily due to chronic rejection (56.1%). Overall survival for retransplanted patients was significantly lower among urgent procedures (82.4% vs 48.8%), as well as for overall survival after re-OLT for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) versus other etiologies. Conclusion These data confirmed the utility of retransplantation in elective and emergency situations. Liver re-transplantation has a high morbidity and mortality. It requires multidisciplinary experience to decide inclusion and prioritization criteria for re-OLT, especially among patients with HCV.
Ankyloglossia is a congenital oral anomaly characterized by the presence of a hypertrophic lingual frenulum. It frequently accompanies X-linked cleft palate and is sometimes seen alone due to ...mutations in the gene encoding the transcription factor TBX22, while knockout of Lgr5 in the mouse results in ankyloglossia. The aim of the present study was to characterize the phenotype and to verify sequence variations in the LGR5 gene in a Brazilian family with ankyloglossia associated with tooth number anomalies. Twelve individuals of three generations were submitted to physical, oral, and radiographic examinations and molecular analysis. Eight had ankyloglossia with various degrees of severity. Six also had hypodontia in the lower incisor region; one had a supernumerary tooth in this region, and another had a supernumerary tooth in the lower premolar region. The characterization of this family determined an autosomal-dominant inheritance and excluded the LGR5 gene mutations as being involved in the pathogenesis of this condition.
The longevity of metal-on-polyethylene (MoP) joint replacements, in which a polished CoCr component articulates with a polyethylene liner, may be restricted by mechanical instability or inflammation ...resulting from osteolysis caused by polyethylene wear debris. Recently, laser surface texturing (LST) has emerged as an effective method to improve the tribological performance of lubricated friction pairs. The present work reports a microstructural and tribological study of surface microtextured CoCr alloy discs, modified by the LST method using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser, tested against Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) cylindrical pins. Four different texturing patterns varying laser parameters such as peak power, pulse width, repetition rate and travel speed were investigated. An untextured set of CoCr alloy discs was used as reference. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the microtextured CoCr alloy discs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, profilometry and nanoindentation test. The coefficient of friction and wear of the UHMWPE pins were determined by means of a pin-on-disc tribometer under lubricated sliding conditions. The microstructural analysis on the laser microtextured CoCr alloy revealed a grain refinement of secondary phases with absence of typical carbides resulting in an increased nanohardness. In addition, all texturing patterns on the CoCr alloy discs promoted a reduction on the coefficient of friction, compared against untextured CoCr alloy discs. Furthermore, it was found that UHMWPE wear was reduced when articulating against dimple textured CoCr alloy discs.
•Laser surface texturing LST allows generating microtextures patterns on CoCr alloy.•Laser microtextured CoCr alloy presented a grain refinement resulting in a hardness increased.•Boundary mixed and hydrodynamic lubrication was superior on textured samples.•Dimple patterns improved the effect on hydrodynamic lubrication and wear.
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