Mitigation of Aerosol and Microbial Concentration in a Weaning Piggery by Spraying Nanobubble Ozone Water with an Ultrasonic Sprayer.

Enhancing biosecurity measures in livestock is an essential prerequisite for producing animal products with the highest levels of safety and quality. In Japan, 70% of the mortalities post-weaning are attributed to respiratory pathogens. The research has shown that microorganisms, including both viruses and bacteria, do not merely float in the air independently. Instead, they spread by adhering to aerosols. Therefore, improving the control of aerosol dissemination becomes a critical strategy for reducing pathogenic loads and boosting the overall efficiency of livestock production. This study focused on reducing concentrations of aerosol particles, airborne microbial concentrations, and airborne mass concentrations by spraying ozone solution with an ultrasonic sprayer. The experiments were conducted at a farm in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, known for its integrated management system, overseeing a herd of 200 sows. Nanobubble ozone water particles were dispersed using an ultrasonic sprayer, which allowed the particles to remain airborne significantly longer than those dispersed using a standard nozzle, at a rate of 30 mL per weaning pig 49 days old, for a 10 min period. This procedure was followed by a 10 min pause, and the cycle was repeated for 17 days. Measurements included concentrations of airborne bacteria, aerosol mass, and aerosol particles. The findings demonstrated a substantial reduction in airborne microbial concentrations of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the treated area compared to the control, with reductions reaching a peak of 85.7% for E. coli and 69.5% for S. aureus. Aerosol particle sizes ranging from 0.3-0.5 µm, 0.5-1.0 µm, 1.0-2.0 µm, 2.0-5.0 µm, to 5.0-10.0 µm were monitored, with a notable decrease in concentrations among larger particles. The average aerosol mass concentration in the test area was over 50% lower than in the control area.

Severe caffeine poisoning treated with intermittent hemodialysis under circulatory support.

Caffeine poisoning can cause fatal ventricular arrhythmias. In this report, we describe a case of severe caffeine poisoning with extraordinarily high blood caffeine levels. Despite developing refractory ventricular fibrillation, the patient was successfully treated with intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) under circulatory support by venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). A 22-year-old male was transported to our hospital approximately 2.5 h after ingesting 200 highly caffeinated tablets (200 mg/tablet) (40 g caffeine total) in a suicide attempt. On arrival, the patient vomited frequently with a Glasgow Coma Scale score E3V2M5, heart rate 185 beats/min, and a blood pressure of 97/62 mmHg. Shortly after arrival, the patient developed ventricular fibrillation which was refractory either to three electrical defibrillations or antiarrhythmic drugs, resulting in endotracheal intubation for mechanical ventilation and VA-ECMO. Starting from 2 h after arrival, intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) was performed for 11 h, which markedly improved clinical symptoms and circulatory parameters. Serum caffeine level was 454.9 mg/dL upon arrival at the hospital, but it decreased to 55.5 mg/dL by the end of IHD treatment. Renal replacement therapy (RRT) including intermittent hemodiafiltration, continuous hemodiafiltration, and IHD was continued because of rhabdomyolysis with myoglobinuria and secondary caused acute kidney injury. The patient was weaned off VA-ECMO on hospital day 7, extubated on hospital day 18, weaned from RRT on hospital day 46, and was transferred to another hospital for physical rehabilitation on hospital day 113. IHD under circulatory support by VA-ECMO should be considered in severe caffeine poisoning causing potentially fatal arrhythmias.

Allylation reactions of aldehydes with allylboronates in aqueous media: unique reactivity and selectivity that are only observed in the presence of water.

Zn(OH)2-catalyzed allylation reactions of aldehydes with allylboronates in aqueous media have been developed. In contrast to conventional allylboration reactions of aldehydes in organic solvents, the α-addition products were obtained exclusively. A catalytic cycle in which the allylzinc species was generated through a B-to-Zn exchange process is proposed and kinetic studies were performed. The key intermediate, an allylzinc species, was detected by HRMS (ESI) analysis and by online continuous MS (ESI) analysis. This analysis revealed that, in aqueous media, the allylzinc species competitively reacted with the aldehydes and water. An investigation of the reactivity and selectivity of the allylzinc species by using several typical allylboronates (6a-6d) clarified several important roles of water in this allylation reaction. The allylation reactions of aldehydes with allylboronic acid 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol esters proceeded smoothly in the presence of catalytic amounts of Zn(OH)2 and achiral ligand 4d in aqueous media to afford the corresponding syn-adducts in high yields with high diastereoselectivities. In all cases, the α-addition products were obtained and a wide substrate scope was tolerated. Furthermore, this reaction was applied to asymmetric catalysis by using chiral ligand 9. Based on the X-ray structure of the Zn-9 complex, several nonsymmetrical chiral ligands were also found to be effective. This reaction was further applied to catalytic asymmetric alkylallylation, chloroallylation, and alkoxyallylation processes and the synthetic utility of these reactions has been demonstrated.

Elevated serum levels of resistin, leptin, and adiponectin are associated with C-reactive protein and also other clinical conditions in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Body fat is an important source of hormones and cytokines (adipokines) that not only regulate the energy balance, but also regulate the inflammatory and immune responses. This study investigated the association of clinical conditions with serum levels of adipokines in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: Serum levels of resistin, leptin, and adiponectin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 141 patients (110 women) who fulfilled the 1987 revised criteria of the American Rheumatism Association for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and in 146 normal controls (124 women). Then the correlations between adipokine levels and clinical parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: The serum resistin level did not differ between the patients and controls. However, serum leptin levels were significantly higher in male and female rheumatoid arthritis patients than in the corresponding controls, while the serum adiponectin level was significantly higher in female patients than in female controls. Multivariate analysis revealed that predictors of an elevated resistin level were female sex and C-reactive protein (CRP), while the leptin level was related to the body mass index and CRP. Predictors of an elevated adiponectin level were the use of prednisolone and CRP, however, CRP was negatively associated with adiponectin in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. CONCLUSION: The serum levels of resistin and leptin were positively associated with CRP level in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting that these adipokines may act as pro-inflammatory cytokines in this disease. The serum adiponectin level was elevated in the patients, however, it was negatively associated with CRP level. In addition, the serum levels of resistin, leptin, and adiponectin were also associated with female sex, BMI and the use of prednisolone, respectively.

A case of systemic sclerosis complicated by idiopathic portal hypertension: case report and literature review.

We encountered a 62-year-old woman who had systemic sclerosis (SSc) complicated by idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH). She had a 10-year history of scleroderma and Raynaud's phenomenon. She also had pancytopenia, splenomegaly, and esophageal varices. Treatment with prednisolone and endoscopic variceal ligation resulted in improvement of her symptoms. According to our literature review, the prognosis of patients with SSc complicated by IPH is relatively poor. However, the factors that predict outcome of these patients have not been elucidated.