ALBERT

Beschreibung: Environmental impacts and consumer concerns have necessitated the study of bio-based materials as alternatives to petrochemicals for packaging applications. The purpose of this review is to summarize synthetic and non-synthetic materials feasible for packaging and textile applications, routes of upscaling, (industrial) applications, evaluation of sustainability, and end-of-life options. The outlined bio-based materials include polylactic acid, polyethylene furanoate, polybutylene succinate, and non-synthetically produced polymers such as polyhydrodyalkanoate, cellulose, starch, proteins, lipids, and waxes. Further emphasis is placed on modification techniques (coating and surface modification), biocomposites, multilayers, and additives used to adjust properties especially for barriers to gas and moisture and to tune their biodegradability. Overall, this review provides a holistic view of bio-based packaging material including processing, and an evaluation of the sustainability of and options for recycling. Thus, this review contributes to increasing the knowledge of available sustainable bio-based packaging material and enhancing the transfer of scientific results into applications.

Beschreibung: Flooding can reduce corn growth and yield, but nitrogen (N) management practices may alter the degree to which plants are negatively impacted. Damage caused by flooded conditions may also affect the utilization of a post-flood N application to increase yield. The objectives of this study were to evaluate how pre-plant and pre-plant plus post-flood N applications contribute to corn growth and yield following flood conditions and to quantify the partial return of employing different N management strategies in the event of a flood. A field study was conducted in Ohio using four flood durations (FD; 0, 2, 4, or 6 days initiated at V4 to V5) and three N management practices (0 kg N ha−1, 134 kg N ha−1 applied pre-plant, and 134 pre-plant + 67 kg N ha−1 applied post-flooding). Application of 134 kg N ha−1 increased yield compared to 0 kg N ha−1 by 65%, 68%, 43% and 16% for 0 d, 2 d, 4 d, and 6 d FD, respectively; the application of 134 + 67 kg N ha−1 increased grain yield compared to 134 kg N ha−1 by 7%, 27%, 70%, or 55% for 0 d, 2 d, 4 d, or 6 d FD, respectively. Partial return analysis produced similar results to those for grain yield. Results suggest that in regions prone to early-season flooding, additional N applied post-flood can improve yield and partial return compared to the application of pre-plant alone at a lower rate or no N. Results indicate that total soil nitrate-N levels two weeks after flood initiation may serve as a good predictor of yield.

Beschreibung: Background: There is anecdotal evidence that ivermectin may decrease seizure frequency in Onchocerca volvulus-infected persons with epilepsy (PWE). Methods: In October 2017, a 12-month clinical trial was initiated in rural Democratic Republic of Congo. PWE with onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy experiencing ≥2 seizures/month were randomly allocated to receive, over a one-year period, ivermectin once or thrice (group 1), while other onchocerciasis-infected PWE (OIPWE) were randomized to ivermectin twice or thrice (group 2). All participants also received anti-epileptic drugs. Data was analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Results: We enrolled 197 participants. In an intent-to-treat analysis (data from group 1 and 2 combined), seizure freedom was more likely among OIPWE treated with ivermectin thrice (OR: 5.087, 95% CI: 1.378–19.749; p = 0.018) and twice (OR: 2.471, 95% CI: 0.944–6.769; p = 0.075) than in those treated once. Similarly, 〉50% seizure reduction was more likely among those treated with ivermectin twice (OR: 4.469, 95% CI: 1.250–16.620) and thrice (OR: 2.693, 95% CI: 1.077–6.998). Absence of microfilariae during the last 4 months increased the odds of seizure freedom (p = 0.027). Conclusions: Increasing the number of ivermectin treatments was found to suppress both microfilarial density and seizure frequency in OIPWE, suggesting that O. volvulus infection plays an etiological role in causing seizures.

Beschreibung: Leptospirosis is a widespread zoonosis and has been recognized as a re-emerging infectious disease in humans and a variety of wild and domestic animal species. In order to understand the prevalence and diversity of Leptospira spp. in feral pig populations of Alabama, we trapped 315 feral pigs in Bullock County east-central Alabama, and collected 97 environmental samples from riparian areas in Bullock County and Macon County east-central Alabama. Two previously published PCRs followed by DNA sequencing and BLASTn were performed to identify pathogenic Leptospira species in the kidney of feral pigs (3.2%, 10/315) as well as environmental samples collected from the habitats of feral pigs (2.1%, 2/97), but not in the whole blood samples (n = 276) or spleen (n = 51). An ELISA determined that 44.2% of serum samples (122/276) were antibody-positive for Leptospira. The identification of two pathogenic Leptospira species from environmental samples and the high sero-positivity in feral pigs suggests potential pathogen shedding from feral pigs to environments, and to humans and domestic animals. In order to better understand the risk to human health associated with feral swine presence, further studies are warranted to explore the interrelationship between Leptospira spp. shedding in the urine of feral pigs and bacterial culture to explore pathogenicity. Multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST) and microscopic agglutination tests (MAT) should be performed in future studies to make a definite determination of pathogenic Leptospira in feral pigs in Alabama.

Beschreibung: Dehydrodolichyl diphosphate synthase (DHDDS) is required for protein N-glycosylation in eukaryotic cells. A K42E point mutation in the DHDDS gene causes an autosomal recessive form of retinitis pigmentosa (RP59), which has been classified as a congenital disease of glycosylation (CDG). We generated K42E Dhdds knock-in mice as a potential model for RP59. Mice heterozygous for the Dhdds K42E mutation were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology and crossed to generate DhddsK42E/K42E homozygous mice. Spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was performed to assess retinal structure, relative to age-matched wild type (WT) controls. Immunohistochemistry against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and opsin (1D4 epitope) was performed on retinal frozen sections to monitor gliosis and opsin localization, respectively, while lectin cytochemistry, plus and minus PNGase-F treatment, was performed to assess protein glycosylation status. Retinas of DhddsK42E/K42E mice exhibited grossly normal histological organization from 1 to 12 months of age. Anti-GFAP immunoreactivity was markedly increased in DhddsK42E/K42E mice, relative to controls. However, opsin immunolocalization, ConA labeling and PNGase-F sensitivity were comparable in mutant and control retinas. Hence, retinas of DhddsK42E/K42E mice exhibited no overt signs of degeneration, yet were markedly gliotic, but without evidence of compromised protein N-glycosylation. These results challenge the notion of RP59 as a DHDDS loss-of-function CDG and highlight the need to investigate unexplored RP59 disease mechanisms.

Beschreibung: Patients with certain defects in the dehydrodolichyl diphosphate synthase (DHDDS) gene (RP59; OMIM #613861) exhibit classic symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa, as well as macular changes, suggestive of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) involvement. The DHDDS enzyme is ubiquitously required for several pathways of protein glycosylation. We wish to understand the basis for selective ocular pathology associated with certain DHDDS mutations and the contribution of specific ocular cell types to the pathology of mutant Dhdds-mediated retinal degeneration. To circumvent embryonic lethality associated with Dhdds knockout, we generated a Cre-dependent knockout allele of murine Dhdds (Dhddsflx/flx). We used targeted Cre expression to study the importance of the enzyme in the RPE. Structural alterations of the RPE and retina including reduction in outer retinal thickness, cell layer disruption, and increased RPE hyper-reflectivity were apparent at one postnatal month. At three months, RPE and photoreceptor disruption was observed non-uniformly across the retina as well as RPE transmigration into the photoreceptor layer, external limiting membrane descent towards the RPE, and patchy loss of photoreceptors. Functional loss measured by electroretinography was consistent with structural loss showing scotopic a- and b-wave reductions of 83% and 77%, respectively, at three months. These results indicate that RPE dysfunction contributes to DHDDS mutation-mediated pathology and suggests a more complicated disease mechanism than simply disruption of glycosylation.

Beschreibung: This paper introduces the Continuity Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Cloud Mask (MVCM), a cloud detection algorithm designed to facilitate continuity in cloud detection between the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on the Aqua and Terra platforms and the series of VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instruments, beginning with the Soumi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) spacecraft. It is based on the MODIS cloud mask that has been operating since 2000 with the launch of the Terra spacecraft (MOD35) and continuing in 2002 with Aqua (MYD35). The MVCM makes use of fourteen spectral bands that are common to both MODIS and VIIRS so as to create consistent cloud detection between the two instruments and across the years 2000–2020 and beyond. Through comparison data sets, including collocated Aqua MODIS and Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) from the A-Train, this study was designed to assign statistical consistency benchmarks between the MYD35 and MVCM cloud masks. It is shown that the MVCM produces consistent cloud detection results between Aqua MODIS, SNPP VIIRS, and NOAA-20 VIIRS and that the quality is comparable to the standard Aqua MODIS cloud mask. Globally, comparisons with collocated CALIOP lidar show combined clear and cloudy sky hit rates of 88.2%, 87.5%, 86.8%, and 86.8% for MYD35, MVCM Aqua MODIS, MVCM SNPP VIIRS, and MVCM NOAA-20 VIIRS, respectively, for June through until August, 2018. For the same months and in the same order for 60S–60N, hit rates are 90.7%, 90.5%, 90.1%, and 90.3%. From the time series constructed from gridded daily means of 60S–60N cloud fractions, we found that the mean day-to-day cloud fraction differences/standard deviations in percent to be 0.68/0.55, 0.94/0.64, −0.20/0.50, and 0.44/0.82 for MVCM Aqua MODIS-MVCM SNPP VIIRS day and night, and MVCM NOAA-20 VIIRS-MVCM SNPP VIIRS day and night, respectively. It is seen that the MODIS and VIIRS 1.38 µm cirrus detection bands perform similarly but with MODIS detecting slightly more clouds in the middle to high levels of the troposphere and the VIIRS detecting more in the upper troposphere above 16 km. In the Arctic, MVCM Aqua MODIS and SNPP VIIRS reported cloud fraction differences of 0–3% during the mid-summer season and −3–4% during the mid-winter.

Beschreibung: The NASA Aqua MODIS and Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) climate data record continuity cloud properties products (CLDPROP) were publicly released in April 2019 with an update later that year (Version 1.1). These cloud products, having heritage with the NASA Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MOD06 cloud optical properties product and the NOAA GOES-R Algorithm Working Group (AWG) Cloud Height Algorithm (ACHA), represent an effort to bridge the multispectral imager records of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) and NOAA’s current generation of operational weather satellites to achieve a continuous, multi-decadal climate data record for clouds that can extend well into the 2030s. CLDPROP offers a “continuity of approach,” applying common algorithms and ancillary datasets to both MODIS and VIIRS, including utilizing only a subset of spectral channels available on both sensors to help mitigate instrument differences. The initial release of the CLDPROP_MODIS and CLDPROP_VIIRS data records spans the SNPP observational record (2012-present). Here, we present an overview of the algorithms and an evaluation of the intersensor continuity of the core CLDPROP_MODIS and CLDPROP_VIIRS cloud optical property datasets, i.e., cloud thermodynamic phase, optical thickness, effective particle size, and derived water path. The evaluation includes analyses of pixel-level MODIS/VIIRS co-locations as well as spatial and temporal aggregated statistics, with a focus on identifying and understanding the root causes of individual dataset discontinuities. The results of this evaluation will inform future updates to the CLDPROP products and help scientific users determine the appropriate use of the product datasets for their specific needs.

Beschreibung: Chlamydia suis is an important, highly prevalent, and diverse obligate intracellular pathogen infecting pigs. In order to investigate the prevalence and diversity of C. suis in the U.S., 276 whole blood samples from feral swine were collected as well as 109 fecal swabs and 60 whole blood samples from domestic pigs. C. suis-specific peptide ELISA identified anti-C. suis antibodies in 13.0% of the blood of feral swine (26/276) and 80.0% of the domestic pigs (48/60). FRET-qPCR and DNA sequencing found C. suis DNA in 99.1% of the fecal swabs (108/109) and 21.7% of the whole blood (13/60) of the domestic pigs, but not in any of the assayed blood samples (0/267) in feral swine. Phylogenetic comparison of partial C. suis ompA gene sequences and C. suis-specific multilocus sequencing typing (MLST) revealed significant genetic diversity of the C. suis identified in this study. Highly genetically diverse C. suis strains are prevalent in domestic pigs in the USA. As crowding strongly enhances the frequency and intensity of highly prevalent Chlamydia infections in animals, less population density in feral swine than in domestic pigs may explain the significantly lower C. suis prevalence in feral swine. A future study is warranted to obtain C. suis DNA from feral swine to perform genetic diversity of C. suis between commercial and feral pigs.

Beschreibung: Clinical applications of resin-based composite (RBC) generate environmental pollution in the form of microparticulate waste. Methods: SEM, particle size and specific surface area analysis, FT-IR and potentiometric titrations were used to characterise microparticles arising from grinding commercial and control RBCs as a function of time, at time of generation and after 12 months ageing in water. The RBCs were tested in two states: (i) direct-placement materials polymerised to simulate routine clinical use and (ii) pre-polymerised CAD/CAM ingots milled using CAD/CAM technology. Results: The maximum specific surface area of the direct-placement commercial RBC was seen after 360 s of agitation and was 1290 m2/kg compared with 1017 m2/kg for the control material. The median diameter of the direct-placement commercial RBC was 6.39 μm at 360 s agitation and 9.55 μm for the control material. FTIR analysis confirmed that microparticles were sufficiently unique to be identified after 12 months ageing and consistent alteration of the outermost surfaces of particles was observed. Protonation-deprotonation behaviour and the pH of zero proton charge (pHzpc) ≈ 5–6 indicated that the particles are negatively charged at neutral pH7. Conclusion: The large surface area of RBC microparticles allows elution of constituent monomers with potential environmental impacts. Characterisation of this waste is key to understanding potential mitigation strategies.