Changes in lung inflation in asthma in patients with osmotic airway hyperresponsiveness

The scientific literature does not provide enough information on whether bronchial hyperresponsiveness to hypoosmotic stimulus in patients with asthma can lead to more pronounced disturbances of regional lung ventilation.Aim. to characterize lung inflation in asthma patients with osmotic airway hyperresponsiveness.Methods. The lung inflation was studied by body plethysmography, as well as by three-dimensional volumetry, planimetry, and multispiral CT densitometry in 24 patients (group 1) with persistent mild asthma and osmotic airway hyperresponsiveness, identified by the bronchoprovocation test with inhalation of distilled water (IDW) (the average ДРБУ1 was —21.1 ± 3.2%). The comparison group (group 2) consisted of 49 patients with no response to IDW (the average ДББУ1 was —3.7 ± 0.5%; p = 0.00001).Results. Group 1 had lower lung function (FEVj was 83.6 ± 4.5%; FEF50 was 58.1 ± 5.8%) at baseline in comparison with the group 2 (96.7 ± 2.2%, p = 0.0042 and 75.5 ± 2.2%, p = 0.016, respectively) and higher indices of lung inflation at body plethysmography (RV was 153.2 ± 12.5 and 127.5 ± 4.0%, respectively; p = 0,027; RV/TLC was 128.8 ± 5.5 and 109.9 ± 2.8%, respectively; p = 0.015). According to three-dimensional volumetry, the indicators of expiratory lung inflation (526.0 ± 117.8 vox) and average residual inflation of both lungs (13.1 ± 2.6 vox) in group 1 were significantly higher than in group 2 (301.5 ± 55.8 vox, р < 0.05 and 9.1 ± 1.6 vox,р < 0,05, respectively). The patients with osmotic airway hyperresponsiveness also showed higher values of the expiratory area in the middle zone (235.3 ± 29.4 and 149.2 ± 14.9 pix, respectively; p = 0.00 47) and the lower zone (292.3 ± 37.9 and 178.6 ± 18.6 pix, respectively; p = 0.0034) of the lungs.Conclusion. Asthma patients with osmotic airway hyperresponsiveness have lung hyperinflation with impaired lung ventilation predominantly in the middle and lower zones.

Laparoscopic Resection of Pediatric Solid Pseudopapillary Tumors of the Pancreas

Background Solid pseudopapillary tumors (SPTs) of the pancreas arise rarely in children, are often large, and can associate intimately with splenic vessels. Splenic preservation is a fundamental consideration when resecting distal SPT. Occasionally, the main splenic vessels must be divided to resect the SPT with negative margins, but the spleen can be preserved if the short gastric vessels remain intact (ie, Warshaw procedure). The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes of distal pancreatectomy (DP) for SPT in children and to highlight 2 cases of splenic preservation using the Warshaw procedure. Methods Patients 19 years and younger who were treated at a single children’s hospital between July 2004 and January 2021 were examined. Patient characteristics were collected from the electronic medical record. A pediatric radiologist calculated SPT and pre- and post-operative (ie, non-infarcted) splenic volumes. Results Eleven patients received DP for SPT. Six DPs were performed open and 5 laparoscopically. The spleen was preserved in 3 open and 4 laparoscopic DPs. A laparoscopic Warshaw procedure was performed in 2 patients. Laparoscopic resection associated with less frequent epidural use ( P = .015), shorter time to full diet ( P = .030), and post-operative length of stay ( P = .009), compared to open resection. Average residual splenic volume after the laparoscopic Warshaw procedure was 70% of preoperative volume. Discussion Laparoscopic DP for pediatric SPT achieved similar oncologic goals to open resection. Splenic preservation was feasible with laparoscopy in most cases and was successfully supplemented with the Warshaw procedure, which has not been previously reported for SPT resection in children.

A tracer release experiment to investigate uncertainties in drone-based emission quantification for methane point sources

Mapping trace gas emission plumes using in-situ measurements from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is an emerging and attractive possibility to quantify emissions from localized sources. Here, we present the results of an extensive tracer-release experiment in Dübendorf, Switzerland, which was conducted to develop an optimal quantification method and to determine the related uncertainties under various environmental and sampling conditions. Atmospheric methane mole fractions were simultaneously measured using a miniaturized fast-response Quantum Cascade Laser Absorption Spectrometer (QCLAS) and an Active AirCore system mounted on a commercial drone. Emission fluxes were estimated using a mass-balance method by flying the drone-based system through a vertical cross-section downwind of the point-source perpendicular to the main wind direction at multiple altitudes. A refined kriging framework, called cluster-based kriging, was developed to spatially map individual methane measurement points into the whole measurement plane, while taking into account the different spatial scales between background and enhanced methane values in the plume. We found that the new kriging framework resulted in better quantification compared to ordinary kriging. The average bias of the estimated emissions was −1 % and the average residual of individual errors was 54 %. Direct comparison of QCLAS and AirCore measurements shows that AirCore measurements are smoothened by 20 s and temporally shifted and stretched by 7 s and 0.06 seconds for every second of QCLAS measurement, respectively. Applying these corrections to the AirCore measurements and successively calculating an emission estimate shows an enhancement of the accuracy by 3 % as compared to its uncorrected counterpart. Optimal plume sampling, including the downwind measurement distance, depends on wind- and turbulence conditions and it is furthermore limited by numerous parameters such as the maximum flight time, and the measurement accuracy. Under favorable measurement conditions, emissions could be quantified with an uncertainty of 30 %. Uncertainties increase when wind speeds are below 2.3 m s−1 and directional variability is above 33°, and when the downwind distance is above 75 m. In addition, the flux estimates were also compared to estimates from the well-established OTM-33A method involving stationary measurements. A good agreement was found, both approaches being close to the true-release and uncertainties of both methods usually capturing the true-release.

Bioleaching of Sorghum Straw in Bioreactors for Biomass Cleaning

Pretreatments are often needed for lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks before either thermochemical or biochemical conversion processes. Our previous research has demonstrated the potential of bioleaching, with its superior capability of removing certain inorganic compounds compared to water leaching, to improve biomass quality for thermochemical conversion in biofuel production. In this study, the bioleaching process was scaled up from 250 mL beakers to be carried out in custom-designed 2.5 L bioreactors. The fungus Aspergillus niger was used in the bioreactors for leaching sorghum straw biomass with an initial ash content of 6.0%. The effects of three operating parameters on leaching efficiency (i.e., residual ash content) were extensively studied, including the fungal mass added to each reactor, leaching time, and glucose concentration in the starting liquid phase. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for the experiment design. The results showed that the average residual ash content of the sorghum feedstock after bioleaching was significantly lower (3.63 ± 0.19%) than that of the ash content (4.72 ± 0.13%) after water leaching (p < 0.00001). Among the three parameters, glucose concentration in the starting liquid phase had the most significant effect on leaching effectiveness (p = 0.0079). Based on this outcome, subsequent bioleaching experiments yielded reductions in residual ash content to as low as 2.73%.

Grid-Based Routing Model for Energy Efficient and Secure Data Transmission in WSN for Smart Building Applications

Presently, due to the establishment of a sensor network, residual buildings in urban areas are being converted into smart buildings. Many sensors are deployed in various buildings to perform different functions, such as water quality monitoring and temperature monitoring. However, the major concern faced in smart building Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is energy depletion and security threats. Many researchers have attempted to solve these issues by various authors in different applications of WSNs. However, limited research has been conducted on smart buildings. Thus, the present research is focused on designing an energy-efficient and secure routing protocol for smart building WSNs. The process in the proposed framework is carried out in two stages. The first stage is the design of the optimal routing protocol based on the grid-clustering approach. In the grid-based model, a grid organizer was selected based on the sailfish optimization algorithm. Subsequently, a fuzzy expert system is used to select the relay node to reach the shortest path for data transmission. The second stage involves designing a trust model for secure data transmission using the two-fish algorithm. A simulation study of the proposed framework was conducted to evaluate its performance. Some metrics, such as the packet delivery ratio, end-end delay, and average residual energy, were calculated for the proposed model. The average residual energy for the proposed framework was 96%, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed routing design.

Short-Term Decomposition and Nutrient-Supplying Ability of Sewage Sludge Digestate, Digestate Compost, and Vermicompost on Acidic Sandy and Calcareous Loamy Soils

Organic waste and the compost and vermicompost derived from it may have different agronomic values, but little work is available on this aspect of sewage sludge. A 75-day pot experiment with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) as the test plant aimed to investigate the fertiliser value and organic matter replenishment capacity of digested sewage sludge (DS) and the compost (COM) and vermicompost (VC) made from it, applied in 1% and 3% doses on acidic sand and calcareous loam. The NPK content and availability, changes in organic carbon content and plant biomass, and the efficiency of the amendments as nitrogen fertilisers were investigated. The final average residual carbon content for DS, COM, and VC was 35 ± 34, 85 ± 46, and 55 ± 46%, respectively. The organic carbon mineralisation rate depended on the soil type. The additives induced significant N mineralisation in both soils: the average increment in mineral N content was 1.7 times the total added N on acidic sand and 4.2 times it on calcareous loam for the 1% dose. The agronomic efficiency of COM and VC as fertilisers was lower than that of DS. In the short term, DS proved to be the best fertiliser, while COM was the best for organic matter replenishment.

The outlook for regulatory support for adoption of efficient concretes

The analysis of data obtained under studying scientific, technical and normative literature in the area of applying efficient concretes, in particular, fiber-reinforced concrete, in the world and national tunnel construction is presented herein. The European regulatory documents, standard metrologically certified methods and procedures for analyzing and testing, laboratory test equipment and measuring instruments are indicated. Steel fiber concrete studies was explored at the Scientific and Educational Center for Innovative Technologies of the Architectural and Construction Institute of the Ufa State Petroleum Technical University. Prism bending tests were made with different fiber content. In addition to laboratory tests, other tests were made in accordance with the Russian standards, where the prisms are tested without a notch. The correlation between the slope of the load-to-displacement curve of the crack mouth (CMOD - Crack Mouth Opening Displacement) and the length of the crack was used in the course of the study. The fiber content enabling to get an average residual bending strength of at least 1.5 MPa at 0.5 CMOD (equivalent to 0.47 mm center deviation) and an average residual bending strength of at least 1 MPa at 3.5 mm CMOD (equivalent to 3.02 mm of center deviation) is found. Statistical distributions of the Grubbs tests are analyzed by methods of statistical modeling. The regulatory framework for fiber concrete is not currently well developed in the Russian Federation, thereby reducing greatly the application of new generation concretes meeting the current knowledge. The application of fiber concrete in tunnel construction will prove to be economically justified and the areas of applying effective materials are to be developed in future with the wide participation of scientific, design, production, construction and other specialized organizations, as well as educational and training centers.

Numerical Solutions of Certain New Models of the Time-Fractional Gray-Scott

A reaction-diffusion system can be represented by the Gray-Scott model. In this study, we discuss a one-dimensional time-fractional Gray-Scott model with Liouville-Caputo, Caputo-Fabrizio-Caputo, and Atangana-Baleanu-Caputo fractional derivatives. We utilize the fractional homotopy analysis transformation method to obtain approximate solutions for the time-fractional Gray-Scott model. This method gives a more realistic series of solutions that converge rapidly to the exact solution. We can ensure convergence by solving the series resultant. We study the convergence analysis of fractional homotopy analysis transformation method by determining the interval of convergence employing the ℏ u , v -curves and the average residual error. We also test the accuracy and the efficiency of this method by comparing our results numerically with the exact solution. Moreover, the effect of the fractionally obtained derivatives on the reaction-diffusion is analyzed. The fractional homotopy analysis transformation method algorithm can be easily applied for singular and nonsingular fractional derivative with partial differential equations, where a few terms of series solution are good enough to give an accurate solution.

Contamination With Fumonisin B and Deoxynivalenol Is a Threat to Egg Safety and Contributes to Gizzard Ulcerations of Newborn Chickens

Fumonisin B (FB) and other fumonisins, deoxynivalenol (DON), and zearalenone (ZEN) are mycotoxins (secondary metabolites of fungi) present at high levels of contamination in poultry diets and threatening the sustainability of the poultry industry and egg safety for consumers. However, residual mycotoxins in breeder eggs and their effects on chicken progeny and gizzard ulcerations remain unclear. To unveil mycotoxin contaminations from daily diets to breeder eggs, 293 poultry feed samples were collected from three large-scale poultry provinces across Northern China to Southern China. Average levels of 1,628 ± 4.36 μg/kg of FB1, 593 ± 11.16 μg/kg of DON, 69 ± 9.21 μg/kg of ZEN, 52 ± 7.33 μg/kg of OTA, and 24 ± 5.85 μg/kg of AFB1 were found in feedstuffs and poultry diets using commercial ELISA kits. In terms of residual mycotoxins in breeder eggs, FB1 and DON contaminations dominated residues in egg albumen and yolk samples. Out of 221 breeder eggs, the average residual of FB1 in albumen were 320.6 ± 10.12 μg/kg (Hebei), 420.2 ± 10.98 μg/kg (Guangdong), and 549.4 ± 10.27 (Guangxi). Moreover, higher residual of DONs were determined in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces compared to Hebei province. ZEN, ochratoxins A (OTA), and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination at low levels were found in the above samples collected from afronmentioned three provinces. Based on residual mycotoxins in breeder eggs, SPF embryonated eggs aged 11 days were inoculated into albumen with different doses of FB1, FB2 or DON, or a combination of FB1 and DON, or a combination of FB1 with FB2 and FB3. A lower hatching rate was observed in the chicken progenies with the combination of 24 μg of FB1 and 0.1 μg of DON compared to other treatments. Moreover, typical gizzard ulcerations with hemorrhagic lungs were observed in the progeny of breeder eggs post-inoculation of 24 μg of FB1 and synergetic inoculation of FB1 and DON. Finally, residual FB mycotoxins were detected in the gizzards and in the lungs of the progenies. Based on the above evidence, feed-borne FB1 and DON are dominant mycotoxins in breeder eggs and threatening food security using breeder eggs as a Trojan horse. More importantly, the residual of FB1 alone and in combination with of DON contamination are associated with low hatching rate and gizzard ulcerations in chicken progenies, hampering sustainable development perspectives of the poultry industry.

Research into kinetics of filtration drying of alcohol distillery stillage

The article describes the results of experimental studies on kinetics of the filtration drying of corn distillery stillage, which has previously proven its effectiveness in drying other crops and various dispersed materials. The experimental data are presented in the form of graphical plots describing the change of material moisture over time depending on the temperature of the drying agent (60, 70, 80 and 900С) and the layer height (40, 80, 120 and 160 mm). The obtained results are analyzed and the changes that occur on the filtration drying curves depending on the change in the material layer height and drying agent temperature are described. It is shown that the filtration drying time of alcohol distillery stillage increases with increasing the material layer height. It is determined that the drying potential remains constant at the same parameters of the drying agent. It is shown that the rate of moisture removal during the filtration drying does not depend on the material layer height. It is found that the average residual moisture of corn alcohol distillery stillage is 3.140.06 wt.%; this value satisfies industrial needs for an increase in its shelf life and the possibility of long-term storage and transportation.