Early microbial exposure shapes adult immunity by altering CD8+ T cell development.

Microbial exposure during development can elicit long-lasting effects on the health of an individual. However, how microbial exposure in early life leads to permanent changes in the immune system is unknown. Here, we show that the microbial environment alters the set point for immune susceptibility by altering the developmental architecture of the CD8+ T cell compartment. In particular, early microbial exposure results in the preferential expansion of highly responsive fetal-derived CD8+ T cells that persist into adulthood and provide the host with enhanced immune protection against intracellular pathogens. Interestingly, microbial education of fetal-derived CD8+ T cells occurs during thymic development rather than in the periphery and involves the acquisition of a more effector-like epigenetic program. Collectively, our results provide a conceptual framework for understanding how microbial colonization in early life leads to lifelong changes in the immune system.

A screening-level human health risk assessment of dietary intake of pesticide residues in produce as compared to consumer guide recommendations.

Consumers are confronted with conflicting information regarding the safety of specific foods. For example, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes an annual consumer guide in which they rank the pesticide contamination of 46 popular fruits and vegetables, which includes designating the 12 with the greatest pesticide contamination as the "Dirty Dozen," to help consumers reduce exposures to toxic pesticides. However, consumer guides like EWG's only incorporate some hazard assessment principles and do not reflect a dietary risk assessment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to apply risk assessment techniques to EWG's Dirty Dozen list using a uniform screening-level approach to estimate pesticide exposures for U.S. consumers and to characterize the associated chronic human health risks. The most commonly detected pesticide and its representative residue concentrations were identified for each produce type on the 2022 Dirty Dozen list using the USDA Pesticide Data Program database. Estimates of mean dietary consumption in the U.S. were used to calculate dietary exposure to each pesticide-produce combination for adults and children. Pesticide-specific U.S. EPA dietary health-based guidance values (HBGVs) were then used as benchmarks to evaluate the chronic human health risk of consuming each produce type. Overall, the estimated daily exposure for each pesticide-produce combination was below the corresponding HBGV for all exposure scenarios. The current analysis demonstrates that excessive produce-specific pesticide exposure is unexpected as the amount of produce that would need to be consumed on a chronic basis, even among children, far exceeds typical dietary intake. Future research is necessary to assess acute dietary exposure scenarios and to consider cumulative risk.

Assessing the environmental impacts of clean energy investment in Pakistan using a dynamic autoregressive distributed lag model.

In this study, the authors projected the impacts of clean energy investment on environmental degradation by applying a novel and dynamic Autoregressive Distributed Lag (DARDL) model for Pakistan from 1990 to 2022. Most researchers have used ecological footprint or CO2 emissions indicators to look at how clean energy investment affects environmental degradation, which primarily represents contamination induced by humans' consumption patterns and does not consider the impact of the supply side. Against this background, the study scrutinized the dynamic interaction between clean energy investment and environmental sustainability using the load capacity factor (LCF) as an ecological indicator in Pakistan, including economic growth, population density, trade openness, urbanization, and industrialization in the analysis. The long-run estimates from DARDL indicate that a 1 percent upsurge in clean energy investment mitigates environmental degradation by approximately 0.42 percent on average, controlling for other factors. Further, the study also revealed that a 1 percent increase in clean energy investment diminishes dirty energy consumption by approximately 0.45 percent. The validity of the findings is confirmed using alternate methods, i.e., KRLS. The study recommends that Pakistan prioritize investment in clean energy projects to promote environmental sustainability and enforce environmental regulations to reduce the adverse externalities associated with dirty energy activities.

From smoke to smiles: Quantifying the happiness benefits of household cooking energy transition.

Existing studies that assess the impact of cooking with dirty solid fuels on human beings tend to underestimate the adverse impact on welfare. This paper aims to address this research gap by examining the happiness benefits of transitioning from solid fuel to cleaner alternatives. Using an extensive panel dataset from China, which includes 150,248 observations collected from 43,251 survey respondents interviewed between 2010 and 2018, this study employs various complementary methodologies, such as the fixed-effect model, propensity score matching, and time-varying difference-in-differences, to overcome challenges related to treatment selection bias and unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity. Further, life satisfaction approach is used to evaluate the economic benefits of cooking energy transition. Our findings indicate that switching from firewood to LPG/natural gas/gas can significantly enhance individual subjective well-being (SWB). Although the improvement brought about by electricity is slightly lower than that of LPG/natural gas/gas, it remains substantial. Notably, the positive effect is more pronounced among specific demographic groups, including females, rural residents, and low-income families. Moreover, these well-being improvements can manifest quickly and persist many years before any noticeable enhancements in physical health. This effect further amplifies over time. However, biogas shows no significant effect on SWB. These findings underscore the importance of clean fuels that contribute to increased happiness, as they are more likely to be consistently adopted. Finally, we estimate that the economic benefits of the well-being improvements resulting from the use of LPG/natural gas/gas and electricity range between $5.15 and $5.44 per day.

Application of dirty-acid wastewater treatment technology in non-ferrous metal smelting industry: Retrospect and prospect.

Dirty-acid wastewater (DW) originating from the non-ferrous metal smelting industry is characterized by a high concentration of H2SO4 and As. During the chemical precipitation treatment, a significant volume of arsenic-containing slag is generated, leading to elevated treatment expenses. The imperative to address DW with methods that are cost-effective, highly efficient, and safe is underscored. This paper conducts a comprehensive analysis of three typical methods to DW treatment, encompassing technical principles, industrial application flow charts, research advancements, arsenic residual treatment, and economic considerations. Notably, the sulfide method emerges as a focal point due to its minimal production of arsenic residue and the associated lowest overall treatment costs. Moreover, in response to increasingly stringent environmental protection policies targeting new pollutants and carbon emissions reduction, the paper explores the evolving trends in DW treatment. These trends encompass rare metal and sulfuric acid recycling, cost-effective H2S production methods, and strategies for reducing, safely disposing of, and harnessing resources from arsenic residue.

Influence of Adhesive Incise Drape Use on Surgical Site Infection Rates in Contaminated and Dirty Abdominal Operations.

BACKGROUND: Surgical Site Infection (SSI) remains the most common cause of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HCAIs). In particular, contaminated and dirty abdominal wounds are attended by a high rate of SSI which in turn is associated with a huge burden on patients, caregivers and the entire health care system. OBJECTIVE: To compare SSI rates following the use of iodine-impregnated adhesive incise drapes (Ioban) with routine conventional drapes in contaminated and dirty abdominal surgical wounds in a Nigerian tertiary hospital. METHODOLOGY: Consecutive, consenting adult patients who underwent laparotomy for cases classified as contaminated and dirty were prospectively enrolled in the study. Patients in the investigation arm had in addition to conventional drapes, iodine-impregnated adhesive incise drapes (Ioban) applied on the skin of the abdomen through which incisions were made, while patients in the control arm only had routine conventional drapes applied. All patients were followed up to 30 days after the operation. Surgical site infection rates were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Sixty-two consecutive patients were enrolled into this study, of which 55 completed the 30-day follow-up. The mean ages of patients in the two groups were 37.96 ± 19.59 years and 36.74 ± 16.93 years (p=0.81). Males were 36 (65.5%) and females were 19 (34.5%). Overall, 30 (54.5%) patients had surgical site infection (SSI) in this study. Thirteen (46.4%) patients had SSI in iodine iodine-impregnated adhesive incise drape group while 17 (63%) patients had SSI in the conventional drape group, a difference that was not statistically significant (p=0.22). The most commonly isolated organism from infected wounds was Klebsiella species. CONCLUSION: The use of iodine-impregnated surgical incise drapes was associated with a lower, though non-statistically significant SSI rates compared to the use of conventional drapes. This marginal benefit will require a larger population study to examine its potential cost-effectiveness in our setting.

CONTEXTE: L'infection du site chirurgical (ISC) reste la cause la plus courante des infections associées aux soins de santé (IASC). En particulier, les plaies abdominales contaminées et sales sont associées à un taux élevé d'ISC, ce qui entraîne une charge importante pour les patients, les soignants et l'ensemble du système de santé. OBJECTIF: Comparer les taux d'ISC après l'utilisation de draps incisifs adhésifs imprégnés d'iode (Ioban) avec des draps conventionnels habituels dans les plaies chirurgicales abdominales contaminées et sales dans un hôpital tertiaire nigérian. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Des patients adultes consécutifs et consentants qui ont subi une laparotomie pour des cas classés comme contaminés et sales ont été inscrits de manière prospective dans l'étude. Les patients dans le groupe d'investigation avaient, en plus des draps conventionnels, des draps incisifs adhésifs imprégnés d'iode (Ioban) appliqués sur la peau de l'abdomen à travers laquelle les incisions ont été faites, tandis que les patients dans le groupe témoin n'avaient que des draps conventionnels habituels appliqués. Tous les patients ont été suivis pendant 30 jours après l'opération. Les taux d'infection du site chirurgical ont été comparés entre les deux groupes. RÉSULTATS: Soixante-deux patients consécutifs ont été inscrits dans cette étude, dont 55 ont terminé le suivi de 30 jours. L'âge moyen des patients dans les deux groupes était de 37,96 ± 19,59 ans et 36,74 ± 16,93 ans (p=0,81). Les hommes étaient au nombre de 36 (65,5%) et les femmes de 19 (34,5%). Globalement, 30 (54,5%) patients ont présenté une infection du site chirurgical (ISC) dans cette étude. Treize (46,4%) patients ont présenté une ISC dans le groupe avec draps incisifs adhésifs imprégnés d'iode, tandis que 17 (63%) patients ont présenté une ISC dans le groupe avec draps conventionnels, une différence qui n'était pas statistiquement significative (p=0,22). L'organisme le plus fréquemment isolé dans les plaies infectées était l'espèce Klebsiella. CONCLUSION: L'utilisation de draps incisifs chirurgicaux imprégnés d'iode était associée à des taux d'ISC plus bas, bien que non statistiquement significatifs, par rapport à l'utilisation de draps conventionnels. Cet avantage marginal nécessitera une étude avec une population plus importante pour examiner son potentiel de rentabilité dans notre contexte. MOTS-CLÉS: Plaies contaminées et sales, Drap incisif adhésif, Infection du site chirurgical (ISC).

Clinicopathological features and prognostic impact of dirty necrosis in metastatic lung cancers from the colon and rectum.

Dirty necrosis (DN) is a form of tumor necrosis (TN) with prominent neutrophil infiltration and cell detritus in the necrotic foci. This study aimed to characterize the clinicopathological features of DN in metastatic lung cancers of the colon and rectum (MLCRs). A total of 227 patients who underwent pulmonary metastasectomy and complete resection for MLCR were included in this study. TN was evaluated using digitally scanned resection specimens. These slides were immunostained for biomarkers of NETosis (citrullinated histone H3 [citH3] and myeloperoxidase [MPO]), and the area positive for citH3 and MPO was further quantified. TN was observed in 216 cases (95.2%), and 54 (25.0%) of these cases had DN. The presence of TN was not associated with a worse prognosis; however, patients with DN had a significantly shorter overall survival than those without DN (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the presence of DN was a poor prognostic factor in both the univariate and multivariate analyses. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the percentage of citH3-positive and MPO-positive areas in the DN-positive cases was significantly higher than that in the DN-negative cases (p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively). In surgically resected MLCR, DN is the characteristic TN subtype associated with poor prognosis and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs).

Comparison of surgical site infection (SSI) between negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) assisted delayed primary closure and conventional delayed primary closure in grossly contaminated emergency abdominal surgeries: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: NPWT has been tried in many surgical fields, including colorectal, thoracic, vascular, and non-healing wounds, for the prevention of SSI. However, its efficacy in the prevention of SSI-grade IV closed abdominal wounds is yet to be explored. METHODS: All patients with grade IV abdominal wounds were included in the study. They were randomized into the conventional arm and the VAC arm after confirming the diagnosis intra-operatively. The sheath was closed, and the skin was laid open in the postoperative period. In the VAC arm, the NPWT dressing was applied on postoperative day (POD)-1 and removed on POD-5. In the conventional arm, only regular dressing was done postoperatively. The skin was closed with a delayed primary intention on POD-5 in both arms. The sutures were removed after 7 to 10 days of skin closure. RESULTS: The rate of SSI (10% in the VAC arm vs. 37.5% in the conventional arm, p-value = 0.004) was significantly lower in the VAC arm, as were the rates of seroma formation (2.4% in the VAC arm vs. 20% in the conventional arm, p = 0.014) and wound dehiscence (7.3% vs. 30%, p = 0.011). The conventional arm had a significant delay in skin closure beyond POD5 due to an increased rate of SSI, which also led to a prolonged hospital stay (5 days in the VAC arm vs. 6.5 days in the conventional arm, p-value = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The VAC dressing can be used routinely in grade IV closed abdominal wounds to reduce the risk of SSI and wound dehiscence.

The Transformer Bridge Principle Circuit Using RF Admittance Technology.

To investigate the problem of the lag stability of the capacitance value during the level drop of the dirty U-shaped liquid level sensor, the equivalent circuit of the dirty U-shaped liquid level sensor was analyzed, and the transformer bridge's principle circuit that uses RF admittance technology was designed accordingly. Using the method of controlling a single variable, the measurement accuracy of the circuit was simulated when the dividing capacitance and the regulating capacitance had different values. Then, the right parameter values for the dividing capacitance and the regulating capacitance were found. On this basis, the change of the sensor output capacitance and the change of the length of the attached seawater mixture were controlled separately under the condition of removing the seawater mixture. The simulation outcomes showed that the measurement accuracy was excellent under various situations, validating the transformer principle bridge circuit's efficacy in minimizing the influence of the output capacitance value's lag stability.

Advances in Rodent Experimental Models of Sepsis.

In the development of therapeutic strategies for human diseases, preclinical experimental models have a key role. However, the preclinical immunomodulatory therapies developed using rodent sepsis were not successful in human clinical trials. Sepsis is characterized by a dysregulated inflammation and redox imbalance triggered by infection. Human sepsis is simulated in experimental models using methods that trigger inflammation or infection in the host animals, most often mice or rats. It remains unknown whether the characteristics of the host species, the methods used to induce sepsis, or the molecular processes focused upon need to be revisited in the development of treatment methods that will succeed in human clinical trials. Our goal in this review is to provide a survey of existing experimental models of sepsis, including the use of humanized mice and dirty mice, and to show how these models reflect the clinical course of sepsis. We will discuss the strengths and limitations of these models and present recent advances in this subject area. We maintain that rodent models continue to have an irreplaceable role in studies toward discovering treatment methods for human sepsis.

Time-varying price dynamics of clean and dirty energy portfolios.

This paper investigates the dynamic relationships between four key instruments related to clean and dirty energy assets: WTI futures, United States Oil Fund (USO), EnergySelect Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), and iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN). Econometric tests confirm a long-term relationship between all variables, with causality tests showing that clean energy ETF has a causal influence on most instruments. However, the causal patterns are not definitively interpretable in an economic framework. Moreover, using wavelet-based tests on a 1-min interval transaction dataset, we further find convergence delay between WTI and XLE, and to a lesser extent, USO, but not ICLN. This suggests that clean energy has the potential to be a distinct asset class. We also identify the time scales at which arbitrage opportunities and liquidity movements occur: 32-256 and 4-8 min, respectively. These are new stylized facts about clean and dirty energy market assets and contribute to the limited literature available on high-frequency dynamics in the said markets.

COVID-19 and the quantile connectedness between energy and metal markets.

This study analyzes the relationship between clean and dirty energy sources and energy metals during the COVID-19 pandemic. We document a sharp increase in connectedness after the COVID-19 pandemic, that is asymmetric at the lower and upper quantiles, with stronger dependence among the variables at the upper quantiles. Among the energy metals, cobalt is the least connected to the energy markets. Finally, our empirical results show a switch in the net connectedness indexes of energy metals and clean energy after January 2021. Our results have implication for investors and policy makers for energy and metal under various market conditions.

Lossy State Communication over Fading Multiple Access Channels.

Joint communications and sensing functionalities integrated into the same communication network have become increasingly relevant due to the large bandwidth requirements of next-generation wireless communication systems and the impending spectral shortage. While there exist system-level guidelines and waveform design specifications for such systems, an information-theoretic analysis of the absolute performance capabilities of joint sensing and communication systems that take into account practical limitations such as fading has not been addressed in the literature. Motivated by this, we undertake a network information-theoretic analysis of a typical joint communications and sensing system in this paper. Towards this end, we consider a state-dependent fading Gaussian multiple access channel (GMAC) setup with an additive state. The state process is assumed to be independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) Gaussian, and non-causally available to all the transmitting nodes. The fading gains on the respective links are assumed to be stationary and ergodic and available only at the receiver. In this setting, with no knowledge of fading gains at the transmitters, we are interested in joint message communication and estimation of the state at the receiver to meet a target distortion in the mean-squared error sense. Our main contribution here is a complete characterization of the distortion-rate trade-off region between the communication rates and the state estimation distortion for a two-sender GMAC. Our results show that the optimal strategy is based on static power allocation and involves uncoded transmissions to amplify the state, along with the superposition of the digital message streams using appropriate Gaussian codebooks and dirty paper coding (DPC). This acts as a design directive for realistic systems using joint sensing and transmission in next-generation wireless standards and points to the relative benefits of uncoded communications and joint source-channel coding in such systems.

Embracing the heterogeneity of natural viruses in mouse studies.

Animal models are a critical tool in modern biology. To increase reproducibility and to reduce confounding variables modern animal models exclude many microbes, including key natural commensals and pathogens. Here we discuss recent strategies to incorporate a natural microbiota to laboratory mouse models and the impacts the microbiota has on immune responses, with a focus on viruses.

Primary versus delayed primary skin closure in operated patients due to perforated peptic ulcer disease: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

PURPOSE: Perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) is a life-threatening complication of peptic ulcer disease. This condition is characterized by a dirty abdomen that predisposes to postoperative wound infection. Delayed primary skin closure is occasionally preferred over primary closure to reduce the risk of surgical site infection in dirty abdominal wounds. In primary skin closure, the skin is sutured immediately after surgery. Meanwhile, in delayed primary skin closure, the incision is left open, and sutured after 2-5 days. The current research aimed to compare the risk for surgical site infection, length of hospitalization, and mortality rate between primary versus delayed primary skin closure among patients who underwent surgery for PPU. METHODS: This single-blind randomized clinical trial included 120 patients who were randomly allocated into the primary and delayed primary closure groups. A research assistant who was blinded to the study examined the wounds for surgical site infection based on the 1992 Center for Disease Control criteria. The outcomes were mortality rate and duration of hospitalization. RESULTS: The delayed primary and primary closure groups did not significantly differ in terms of postsurgical wound infection occurring on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 30th days after surgery, mortality rate, and duration of hospitalization. CONCLUSION: In patients who underwent surgery for PPU, delayed primary closure is not recommended over primary closure due to the risk of postoperative surgical site infection.

NN-Based 8FSK Demodulator for the Covert Channel.

In this article, a superposition-based covert channel and its demodulator were proposed and examined. As a covert waveform, an 8FSK modulation was selected. The impact of the channel estimation error and resulting imperfect SIC operation (successive interference cancelation) on the covert information demodulation process was considered. Especially for this imperfection, an NN-based demodulator was proposed. The superiority of this solution over the traditional 8FSK correlator-based receiver was examined for various cases, including the hard- and soft-decision detectors. It was proven that, although NN does not provide BER values equal to zero, even for the perfect SIC, it generally overcomes the traditional correlator-based 8FSK demodulator. Simulation results showed that the NN-base demodulator, in the case of additional covert channel coding, provides error-free demodulation, even for four-times greater channel gain error.

Moral Injury, Moral Identity, and "Dirty Hands" in War Fighting and Police Work.

In this article, I undertake three main tasks. First, I argue that, contrary to the standard view, moral injury is not a species of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) but rather, on the most coherent conception of moral injury, PTSD is (in effect) a species of moral injury. In doing so, I make use of the notion of caring deeply about something or someone worthy of being cared deeply about. Second, I consider so-called "dirty hands" actions in police work and in war, and distinguish these from the morally legitimate, but harmful, actions of police officers and of war fighters, such as the morally legitimate use of coercive force and lethal force (respectively). While the morally legitimate use of harmful methods is constitutive of these occupational roles, "dirty hands" methods are not. Roughly speaking, a "dirty hands" action is one that is morally wrong and (typically) unlawful but done for the sake of a good outcome. Both categories of action are conducive to moral injury, but "dirty hands" actions much more so, especially given the slippery moral slope from "dirty hands" actions to egregious moral wrongdoing. Third, I offer some recommendations for reducing moral injury among police officers and war fighters.

Filtering Touch: An Ethnography of Dirt, Danger, and Industrial Robots.

"Industry 4.0" marks the advent of a new wave of industrial robotics designed to bring increased automation to "extreme" touch practices and enhance productivity. This article presents an ethnography of touch in two industrial settings using fourth generation industrial robots (a Glass Factory and a Waste Management Center) to critically explore the social and sensorial implications of such technologies for workers. We attend to manifestations of dirt and danger as encountered through describing workers' sensory experiences and identity formation. The contribution of the article is two-fold. The first is analytical through the development of three "filters" to grasp the complexity of the social and sensorial dynamics of touch in situ while tracing dispersed mediating effects of the introduction of novel technologies. The second is empirical, teasing out themes embedded in the sociosensorial dynamics of touch that intersect with gender, ethnicity, and class and relate to the technological mediation of touch.

Wind energy and sustainable electricity generation: evidence from Germany.

Wind energy is one of the renewable energy sources that has been touted to address the challenges of energy security and environmental degradation. This is only attainable if countries with substantial wind energy potential use it in significant proportion to satisfy their energy needs. One promising sector where wind energy can be employed to actualize this potential is the electricity sector. However, the current reality is that fossil fuels still dominate the energy profiles of most economies of the world, including the advanced economies, with wind renewable energy source accounting for a very small proportion of the energy mix. Germany is one of the few countries that offers promising opportunities in deploying wind energy to its full potentials. This study therefore explores the feasibility of substituting wind energy for nuclear energy and other fossil fuels using Germany as a country of focus. We use the ridge regression procedure to analyse yearly time series data for the German power sector that spans the period 1986 to 2018. With respect to output elasticities of the energy inputs, the results reveal that wind and natural gas have positive output elasticity estimates while the estimates for nuclear and coal are negative. We also found that all the inputs pairs have positive substitution elasticity estimates between them. With respect to wind energy, the highest substitutability estimate occurred with nuclear power which is followed by natural gas and then coal. The study recommended that policies such as granting of tax credit for wind energy technology, reduction in property taxes for wind power facilities, and allocation of fund for research and development (R&D) in wind energy technology are recommended to promote the use of wind energy in the economy.

Digital transformation of droplet/aerosol infection risk assessment realized on "Fugaku" for the fight against COVID-19.

The fastest supercomputer in 2020, Fugaku, has not only achieved digital transformation of epidemiology in allowing end-to-end, detailed quantitative modeling of COVID-19 transmissions for the first time but also transformed the behavior of the entire Japanese public through its detailed analysis of transmission risks in multitudes of societal situations entailing heavy risks. A novel aerosol simulation methodology was synthesized out of a combination of a new CFD methods meeting industrial demands in the solver, CUBE (Jansson et al., 2019), which not only allowed the simulations to scale massively with high resolution required for micrometer virus-containing aerosol particles but also enabled extremely rapid time-to-solution due to its ability to generate the digital twins representing multitudes of societal situations in a matter of minutes, attaining true overall application high performance; such simulations have been running for the past 1.5°years on Fugaku, cumulatively consuming top supercomputer-class resources and the communicated by the media as well as becoming the basis for official public policies.