Stored grains are subject to deterioration and losses through various factors, but mainly insects and fungi. Various techniques are employed to detect stored product pests; however, there is an urgent need for an industrial-scale on-line detection technique. Near-infrared hyperspectroscopic imaging and soft X-rays have shown the potential for real-time application. These techniques are particularly effective for detecting internal infestations of stored grains. The digital images of the scanned objects are analyzed for various spectral and image features using statistical techniques such as complex multivariate tools. Classification accuracies as high as 80–100 % have been achieved for various pest and grain combinations. Dual-energy X-rays have been shown to detect the concealed eggs of stored product insect pests. The main threats to stored cereals come from Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Fusarium spp., which may produce mycotoxins. These imaging techniques have shown good results in the detection of fungal infections of stored grain. 相似文献
Extramedullary hematopoiesis has been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases including cardiovascular diseases. In this process, the spleen is seeded with mobilized bone marrow cells that augment its hematopoietic ability. It is unclear whether these immigrant cells that are produced/reprogrammed in spleen are similar or different from those found in the bone marrow. To begin to understand this, we investigated the relative potency of adult splenocytes per se to repopulate bone marrow of lethally-irradiated mice and its functional consequences in atherosclerosis. The splenocytes were harvested from GFP donor mice and transplanted into myeloablated wild type recipient mice without the inclusion of any bone marrow helper cells. We found that adult splenocytes repopulated bone marrow of myeloablated mice and the transplanted cells differentiated into a full repertoire of myeloid cell lineages. The level of monocytes/macrophages in the bone marrow of recipient mice was dependent on the cell origin, i.e., the donor splenocytes gave rise to significantly more monocytes/macrophages than the donor bone marrow cells. This occurred despite a significantly lower number of hematopoietic stem cells being present in the donor splenocytes when compared with donor bone marrow cells. Atherosclerosis studies revealed that donor splenocytes displayed a similar level of atherogenic and atheroprotective activities to those of donor bone marrow cells. Cell culture studies showed that the phenotype of macrophages derived from spleen is different from those of bone marrow. Together, these results demonstrate that splenocytes can seed bone marrow of myeloablated mice and modulate atherosclerosis. In addition, our study shows the potential of splenocytes for therapeutic interventions in inflammatory disease. 相似文献
ImportanceSudden cardiac death is a leading cause of mortality in psychiatric patients. Long QT (LQT) is common in this population and predisposes to Torsades-de-Pointes (TdP) and subsequent mortality.ObjectiveTo estimate the cost-effectiveness of electrocardiographic screening to detect LQT in psychiatric inpatients.ResultsIn the base-case scenario, the numbers of patients needed to screen were 1128 and 2817 to avoid one TdP and one death, respectively. The ICER of systematic ECG screening was $8644 (95%CI, 3144-82 498) per QALY. The probability of cost-effectiveness was 96% at a willingness-to-pay of $50 000 for one QALY. In sensitivity analyses, results were sensitive to the case-fatality of TdP episodes and to the TdP reduction following the diagnosis of LQT.
Conclusion and Relevance
In psychiatric hospitals, performing systematic ECG screening at admission help reduce the number of sudden cardiac deaths in a cost-effective fashion. 相似文献
In this study, we cultivated from subsurface sediments an anaerobic clostridial consortium that was composed of a fermentative Fe-reducer Clostridium species (designated as strain FGH) and a novel sulfate-reducing bacterium belonging to the clostridia family Vellionellaceae (designated as strain RU4). In pure culture, Clostridium sp. strain FGH mediated the reductive dissolution/transformation of iron oxides during growth on peptone. When Clostridium sp. FGH was grown with strain RU4 on peptone, the rates of iron oxide reduction were significantly higher. Iron reduction by the consortium was mediated by multiple mechanisms, including biotic reduction by Clostridium sp. FGH and biotic/abiotic reactions involving biogenic sulfide formed by strain RU4. The Clostridium sp. FGH produced hydrogen during fermentation, and the presence of hydrogen inhibited growth and iron reduction activity. The sulfate-reducing partner strain RU4 was stimulated by the presence of H2and generated reactive sulfide which promoted the chemical reduction of the iron oxides. Characterization of Fe(II) mineral products showed the formation of nanoparticulate magnetite during ferrihydrite reduction, and the precipitation of iron sulfides during goethite and hematite reduction. The results suggest an important pathway for iron reduction and secondary mineralization by fermentative sulfate-reducing microbial consortia through syntrophy-driven biotic/abiotic reactions with biogenic sulfide.
Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Geomicrobiology Journal to view the supplemental file. 相似文献
Background: Circulating microRNAs (miRNA) are present in body fluids in stable, cell-free form. Likewise, these miRNAs can be identified in various stages of coronary artery disease (CAD) such as inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, proliferation and atherosclerosis among others. miRNA expression levels can be identified.
Aims and objectives: To determine the expression of circulating miRNAs (miR-126, miR-92, miR-33, miR-145 and miR-155) in CAD patients of Indian origin.
Material and methods: miRNA profiling analysis in blood plasma was performed by quantitative real-time-PCR (qRT-PCR) in 60 angiographically verified subjects including 30 CAD patients and 30 age- and gender-matched controls. Association between the expression of all five circulating miRNAs and clinical characteristics of patients with CAD were analysed using Medcalc statistics. The severity of CAD was assessed using SYNTAX score (SS).
Results: Expression of plasma miR-33 increased by 2.9 folds in CAD patients than in control group (p value ≥0.002) also it was found that miR-33 expression levels in mild cases (SS: ≤22) were significantly higher than CAD controls. There was a modest negative correlation between miR-33 and total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein ratio, triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein.
Conclusion: The study reports a significant association between increased levels of plasma miR-33 and CAD. Thus, plasma miR-33 appears to be a promising non-invasive biomarker, but requires further validation in a large cohort. 相似文献
Patient-centered care is an important goal in the delivery of healthcare. However, many patients do not engage in preventive medical care. In this pilot study, we conducted twenty in depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews at the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Sciences campus in a four month time frame. Many patients were underserved and underinsured, and we wanted to understand their experiences in the healthcare system. Using content analysis, several themes emerged from the interview data. Participants discussed the need for empathy and rapport with their providers. They identified provider behaviors that fostered a positive clinical relationship, including step-by step explanations of procedures, attention to body language and clinic atmosphere, and appropriate time management. Participants identified cost as the most common barrier to engaging in preventive care and discussed children and social support as motivating factors. A long-term relationship with a provider was an important motivator for preventive care, suggesting that the therapeutic alliance was essential to many patients. Conversely, many participants discussed a sense of dehumanization in the healthcare system, reporting that their life circumstances were overlooked, or that they were judged based on insurance status or ethnicity. We discuss implications for provider training and healthcare delivery, including the importance of patient-centered medical homes. 相似文献
In this study, iron impregnated activated carbon (FeAC) was synthesized following an oxidation and iron impregnation of activated carbon (AC). Both the AC and FeAC were characterized by pHZPC and FTIR spectroscopy. The removal of Methylene Blue (MB) by AC and FeAC was examined under various experimental conditions. The FeAC showed up to 95% (higher than AC) MB removal in the pH range of 7–10. Although the reaction kinetics was pseudo–second order, the overall rate was controlled by a number of processes such as film diffusion, pore diffusion and intraparticle diffusion. The activation energy values for the MB uptake by AC and FeAC (21.79 and 14.82 kJ/mol, respectively) revealed a physisorption process. In the regeneration study, FeAC has shown consistently ≥ 90% MB removal even up to 10 repeated cycles. The reusable characteristic of the spent FeAC improved the practical use of activated carbon and can be a breakthrough for continuous flow system applications where it can work effectively without any significant reduction in its performance. 相似文献