High water temperature significantly influences swimming performance of New Zealand migratory species.

Anthropogenic structures in freshwater systems pose a significant threat by fragmenting habitats. Effective fish passage solutions must consider how environmental changes introduce variability into swimming performance. As temperature is considered the most important external factor influencing fish physiology, it is especially important to consider its effects on fish swimming performance. Even minor alterations in water properties, such as temperature and velocity, can profoundly affect fish metabolic demands, foraging behaviours, fitness and, consequently, swimming performance and passage success. In this study, we investigated the impact of varying water temperatures on the critical swimming speeds of four migratory New Zealand species. Our findings revealed a significant reduction in critical swimming speeds at higher water temperatures (26°C) compared to lower ones (8 and 15°C) for three out of four species (Galaxias maculatus, Galaxias brevipinnis and Gobiomorphus cotidianus). In contrast, Galaxias fasciatus exhibited no significant temperature-related changes in swimming performance, suggesting species-specific responses to temperature. The cold temperature treatment did not impact swimming performance for any of the studied species. As high water temperatures significantly reduce fish swimming performance, it is important to ensure that fish passage solutions are designed to accommodate a range of temperature changes, including spatial and temporal changes, ranging from diel to decadal fluctuations. Our research underscores the importance of incorporating temperature effects into fish passage models for habitat restoration, connectivity initiatives, and freshwater fish conservation. The influence of temperature on fish swimming performance can alter migration patterns and population dynamics, highlighting the need for adaptive conservation strategies. To ensure the resilience of freshwater ecosystems it is important to account for the impact of temperature on fish swimming performance, particularly in the context of a changing climate.

Is life going too fast? Exploring the unique and joint contributions of mindfulness, temperament, task load, and metacognitions about time.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that mindfulness is associated with slower passage of time in everyday life, and with lower self-reported time pressure. This study investigates some of the potential mechanisms behind these relationships. METHODS: 318 participants submitted their responses to an online survey which collected data regarding passage of time judgments, time pressure, trait mindfulness, temperament, task load, and metacognitions about time. Using commonality and dominance analyses, we explored how these variables contributed, either alone or jointly, to predicting how fast (or slow) time seems to pass for participants, or how pressed for time they felt. RESULTS: Mindfulness and temperament had some overlaps in their ability to predict passage of time judgments and time pressure for durations at the month and 2-month scales. The temperamental trait of extraversion/surgency, as well as the Non-judging and Non-reacting facets of mindfulness were among the best predictors of passage of time judgments and time pressure. Attention-related variables were mainly related to time perception via their involvement in joint effects with other variables. Results also suggested that metacognitions about time interacted with other variables in predicting passage of time judgments, but only at the month scale. Finally, among all the variables included in this study, task load had the highest degree of involvement in predictions of self-reported time pressure at the week and month scales, but it contributed relatively little to predicting passage of time judgments. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that mindfulness relates to passage of time through its involvement in inferential processes. The data also shows how different factors are related to PoTJ at different time scales. Finally, results suggest the existence of both similarities and differences in how passage of time and time pressure relate to the other included variables.

Deciphering adiabatic rotating frame relaxometry in biological tissues.

PURPOSE: This work aims to unravel the intricacies of adiabatic rotating frame relaxometry in biological tissues. THEORY AND METHODS: The classical formalisms of dipolar relaxation R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ and R 2 ρ $$ {R}_{2\rho } $$ were systematically analyzed for water molecules reorienting on "fast" and "slow" timescales. These two timescales are, respectively, responsible for the absence and presence of R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ dispersion. A time-averaged R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ or R 2 ρ $$ {R}_{2\rho } $$ over an adiabatic pulse duration was recast into a sum of R 1 $$ {R}_1 $$ and R 2 $$ {R}_2 $$ , but with different weightings. These weightings depend on the specific modulations of adiabatic pulse waveforms. In this context, stretched hyperbolic secant ( HSn $$ HSn $$ ) pulses were characterized. Previously published H S 1 $$ HS1 $$ R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ , continuous-wave (CW) R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ , and R 1 $$ {R}_1 $$ measures from 12 agarose phantoms were used to validate the theoretical predictions. A similar validation was also performed on previously published HSn $$ HSn $$ R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ ( n $$ n $$ =1, 4, 8) and HS 1 $$ HS1 $$ R 2 ρ $$ {R}_{2\rho } $$ from bovine cartilage specimens. RESULTS: Longitudinal relaxation weighting decreases for HSn $$ HSn $$ pulses as n $$ n $$ increases. Predicted CW R 1 ρ cal $$ {R}_{1\rho}^{cal} $$ values from agarose phantoms align well with the measured CW R 1 ρ exp $$ {R}_{1\rho}^{exp} $$ values, as indicated by a linear regression function: R 1 ρ cal = 1.04 * R 1 ρ exp - 1.96 $$ {R}_{1\rho}^{cal}={1.04}^{\ast }{R}_{1\rho}^{exp}-1.96 $$ . The predicted adiabatic R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ and R 2 ρ $$ {R}_{2\rho } $$ from cartilage specimens are consistent with those previously measured, as quantified by: R 1 ρ , 2 ρ cal = 1.10 * R 1 ρ , 2 ρ exp - 0.41 $$ {R}_{1\rho, 2\rho}^{cal}={1.10}^{\ast }{R}_{1\rho, 2\rho}^{exp}-0.41 $$ . CONCLUSION: This work has theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that adiabatic R 1 ρ $$ {R}_{1\rho } $$ and R 2 ρ $$ {R}_{2\rho } $$ can be recast into a sum of R 1 $$ {R}_1 $$ and R 2 $$ {R}_2 $$ , with varying weightings. Therefore, any suggestions that adiabatic rotating frame relaxometry in biological tissues could provide more information than the standard R 1 $$ {R}_1 $$ and R 2 $$ {R}_2 $$ warrant closer scrutiny.

High Arctic seawater and coastal soil microbiome co-occurrence and composition structure and their potential hydrocarbon biodegradation.

The accelerated decline in Arctic sea-ice cover and duration is enabling the opening of Arctic marine passages and improving access to natural resources. The increasing accessibility to navigation and resource exploration and production brings risks of accidental hydrocarbon releases into Arctic waters, posing a major threat to Arctic marine ecosystems where oil may persist for many years, especially in beach sediment. The composition and response of the microbial community to oil contamination on Arctic beaches remain poorly understood. To address this, we analyzed microbial community structure and identified hydrocarbon degradation genes among the Northwest Passage intertidal beach sediments and shoreline seawater from five high Arctic beaches. Our results from 16S/18S rRNA genes, long-read metagenomes, and metagenome-assembled genomes reveal the composition and metabolic capabilities of the hydrocarbon microbial degrader community, as well as tight cross-habitat and cross-kingdom interactions dominated by lineages that are common and often dominant in the polar coastal habitat, but distinct from petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. In the polar beach sediment habitats, Granulosicoccus sp. and Cyclocasticus sp. were major potential hydrocarbon-degraders, and our metagenomes revealed a small proportion of microalgae and algal viruses possessing key hydrocarbon biodegradative genes. This research demonstrates that Arctic beach sediment and marine microbial communities possess the ability for hydrocarbon natural attenuation. The findings provide new insights into the viral and microalgal communities possessing hydrocarbon degradation genes and might represent an important contribution to the removal of hydrocarbons under harsh environmental conditions in a pristine, cold, and oil-free environment that is threatened by oil spills.

Ozonation degradation of wastewater using rotational hydrodynamic cavitation reactor with a conical rotor.

Water pollution caused by an abusive discharge of dye-containing wastewater leads to serious ecological risks. Conventional wastewater treatment methods have shortcomings of incomplete degradation, long-time treatment and secondary pollution. For the first time, a rotational hydrodynamic cavitation reactor (RHCR) equipped with a conical rotor has been designed to enhance the ozonation process for effective degradation of pollutants. The effects of rotational speed, discharge voltage, gas flow rate, liquid flow rate and initial pH on methylene blue (MB) degradation were deeply investigated. The optimised conditions were initial pH = 9, rotational speed = 1800 rpm, discharge voltage = 9.3 kV, gas flow rate = 60 mL/min and liquid flow rate = 80 mL/min. With the integration of ozonation and cavitation in RHCR, the MB degradation efficiency reached 95.2%, which was 15.6% higher than that of the individual ozonation method. The degradation process was proven to track the first-order kinetic model, with the reaction rate and synergy index were 0.232 min-1 and 1.78, respectively. Through the quenching experiments, it can be confirmed that the contribution proportion of hydroxyl radical during degradation was increased by 8.7% due to the enhancement of cavitation. A required energy consumption of 74.7 kWh/order/m3 and a total expense of 8.7 $/m3 were calculated. The energy consumption of the RHCR was approximately 80% lower than that of the recently reported degradation system combining ozonation and cavitation, with total expense reduced by 52%. The findings of this work provide a new water treatment method and offered theoretical references for the design of RHCR.

Self and time in individuals with schizophrenia: A motor component?

Phenomenology suggests a disruption in the experience of time in individuals with schizophrenia, related to disorders of the sense of self. Patients themselves relate a fragmentation of their temporal experience and of their sense of self. Temporal expectations help relate the present moment to the future and we have previously shown that temporal expectations are fragile in patients, and relate to disorders of the self. Here, we investigate whether patients' performance is still impaired when the motor response to the expected event can be prepared in advance. In two different experiments participants (41 patients vs. 43 neurotypicals in total) responded to a visual target occurring at a variable interval (or "foreperiod") after an initial warning signal. Moreover, in Experiment 1 we measured the sense of self with the EASE scale. We observed the usual benefit of the passage of time: the longer the waiting period, the better the preparation, and the faster the responses. However, this effect also comprises sequential (surprise) effects, when a target occurs earlier than on the preceding trial. We evaluated the effect of the passage of time, by isolating trials that followed a trial with the same foreperiod. The benefit of long, versus short, foreperiods was still observed in controls but disappeared in patients. The results suggest that the benefit of the passage of time is diminished in patients and relates to self disorders, even when the task allows for motor preparation. The results suggest that a non-verbal impairment sub-tends disorders of the sense of self.

Peripartum lithium management: Early maternal and neonatal outcomes.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that a 30-50 % lithium dose reduction or lithium discontinuation 24-48 h before delivery could minimize neonatal complications. We investigated the maternal lithemia changes around delivery after a brief discontinuation, the placental transfer of lithium at delivery, and the association between neonatal lithemia at delivery and acute neonatal outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted in a teaching hospital (November/2006-December/2018). Data was extracted from the medical records. We included psychopathologically stable women, with a singleton pregnancy, treated with lithium in late pregnancy, with at least one maternal and neonatal lithemia at delivery. Lithium was discontinued 12 h before a scheduled caesarean section or induction, or at admission day to hospital birth; and restarted 6-12 h post. RESULTS: Sixty-six mother-infant pairs were included, and 226 maternal and 66 neonatal lithemias were obtained. We found slight maternal lithemia fluctuations close to 0.20 mEq/L, and early postpartum relapse of 6 %. The mean (SD) umbilical cord/mother intrapartum lithemia ratio was 1.10 (0.17). Fifty-six percent of neonates presented transient acute complications. Neonatal hypotonia was the most frequent outcome (N = 15). Mean lithemia were 0.178 mEq/L higher in those with hypotonia than in those without (p = 0.028). LIMITATIONS: It is a retrospective cohort of a moderate sample size of healthy uncomplicated pregnancies and results cannot be generalized to all pregnant treated with lithium. CONCLUSIONS: Lithium transfers completely across the placenta. A brief predelivery lithium discontinuation was associated with slight maternal lithemia fluctuations. Neonates exposed intrautero to lithium present frequent but transient acute effects.

Ruminal passage rate and digestibility of fiber from dairy cows consuming diets containing alfalfa and orchardgrass hays with different concentrations of undegradable neutral detergent fiber (uNDF).

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of feeding diets with different fractions of undegraded NDF (uNDF) and potentially degradable (pdNDF) on ruminal NDF degradation and passage kinetics of lactating dairy cows. Six rumen-cannulated (533 ± 43 kg BW and 122 ± 15 DIM) and 6 non-cannulated (558 ± 62 kg BW and 126 ± 16 DIM) primiparous Holstein dairy cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 experimental diets in a crossover design with 2 28-d periods. The experimental diets were formulated to include either alfalfa hay (ALFA) or orchardgrass hay (ORCH) in addition to corn silage. Rations were formulated to contain 30% NDF (DM basis), where the concentrate, corn silage, and each of the hays provided one third of the dietary NDF. The marker dilution technique was used to measure the passage rate utilizing a pulse dose of marked corn silage fiber. On d 17 and 24 of each period, ruminal contents were evacuated to determine ruminal pool size. Following the return of the ruminal contents containing the pulse dose of marked corn silage to the rumen, ruminal grab samples were collected at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h. Samples from each time point were separated into solids and liquid, and the solids were analyzed for NDF, uNDF, and marker concentration. Alfalfa hay had a higher concentration of CP (16.4 vs. 10.7%) and a lower concentration of NDF (38.0 vs. 63.2) than orchardgrass hay. Alfalfa hay had a greater concentration of uNDF than orchardgrass hay (36.5 vs. 32.8% uNDF; NDF basis). Cows consuming the ALFA diet had similar milk yield (39.1 kg/d) and similar milk fat and protein concentrations (3.72% fat and 3.24% protein, respectively) than cows consuming the ORCH diet. Cows consuming the ALFA diet consumed more DM (26.7 vs. 24.6 kg/d) and uNDF (2.7 vs. 2.3 kg/d), than cows consuming the ORCH diet. Cows consuming the ALFA diet digested more NDF and pdNDF than cows consuming the ORCH diet (3.3 vs. 2.8 kg/d). Even though cows consuming the ALFA diet had a smaller pool size of NDF than cows consuming the ORCH diet (5.4 vs. 6.7 kg), the pool size of uNDF did not differ between groups (2.4 kg). Cows consuming the ALFA diet had a faster rate of passage of uNDF than cows consuming the ORCH diet (5.02 vs. 4.03%/h). This translated into a shorter mean retention time of uNDF for cows consuming the ALFA diet relative to cows consuming the ORCH diet (21.0 vs. 26.2 h). In conclusion, cows consuming diets containing alfalfa hay had a faster ruminal passage rate and a shorter mean retention time of uNDF than cows consuming diets containing orchardgrass hay, and this occurred despite the greater concentrations of dietary uNDF in the alfalfa-based diet. These findings suggest that the kinetics of ruminal digestion and passage influence NDF degradation in ways beyond uNDF concentration or forage quality.

Propagating and banking genetically diverse human sapovirus strains using a human duodenal cell line: investigating antigenic differences between strains.

There are four genogroups and 18 genotypes of human sapoviruses (HuSaVs) responsible for acute gastroenteritis. To comprehend their antigenic and virological differences, it is crucial to obtain viral stocks of the different strains. Previously, we utilized the human duodenum-derived cell line HuTu80, and glycocholate, a conjugated bile acid, to replicate and propagate GI.1, GI.2, and GII.3 HuSaVs (H. Takagi et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117:32078-32085, 2020, https://10.1073/pnas.2007310117). First, we investigated the impact of HuTu80 passage number on HuSaV propagation. Second, we demonstrated that taurocholate improved the initial replication success rate and viral RNA levels in fecal specimens relative to glycocholate. By propagating 15 HuSaV genotypes (GI.1-7, GII.1-5, -8, and GV.1-2) and accomplishing preparation of viral stocks containing 1.0 × 109 to 3.4 × 1011 viral genomic copies/mL, we found that all strains required bile acids for replication, with GII.4 showing strict requirements for taurocholate. The deduced VP1 sequences of the viruses during the scale-up of serial passaged virus cultures were either identical or differed by only two amino acids from the original sequences in feces. In addition, we purified virions from nine strains of different genotypes and used them as immunogens for antiserum production. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) using rabbit and guinea pig antisera for each of the 15 strains of different genotypes revealed distinct antigenicity among the propagating viruses across genogroups and differences between genotypes. Acquisition of biobanked viral resources and determination of key culture conditions will be valuable to gain insights into the common mechanisms of HuSaV infection. IMPORTANCE: The control of human sapovirus, which causes acute gastroenteritis in individuals of all ages, is challenging because of its association with outbreaks similar to those caused by human norovirus. The establishment of conditions for efficient viral propagation of various viral strains is essential for understanding the infection mechanism and identifying potential control methods. In this study, two critical factors for human sapovirus propagation in a conventional human duodenal cell line were identified, and 15 strains of different genotypes that differed at the genetic and antigenic levels were isolated and used to prepare virus stocks. The preparation of virus stocks has not been successful for noroviruses, which belong to the same family as sapoviruses. Securing virus stocks of multiple human sapovirus strains represents a significant advance toward establishing a reliable experimental system that does not depend on limited virus-positive fecal material.

Applying urinary ultrasound to predict the risk of spontaneous ureteral stone passage: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To assess the value of urological ultrasound in predicting the risk of spontaneous passage of ureteral stones. METHODS: Clinical and ultrasound data were collected consecutively from patients receiving conservative treatment for ureteral stones, and the outcome of spontaneous passage was followed up for 1 month. Ultrasound variables independently associated with the risk of spontaneous stone passage were screened. A logistic regression prediction model was constructed based on the independent risk factors, and the discriminative efficacy and clinical utility of the prediction model in inferring the risk of spontaneous passing were assessed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve and clinical decision curve. RESULTS: A total of 163 patients undergoing conservative treatment for ureteral stones were included in the study, with a mean age of 45.95 ± 13.01 years. Among them, 47 cases (28.83%) experienced failure of spontaneous stone passage. Multivariable analysis revealed that stone length (OR: 2.622, P = 0.027), distal stone location (OR: 0.219, P = 0.003), and ureteral jetting frequency (OR: 6.541, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for spontaneous stone passage. A prediction model incorporating stone length, stone location, and affected ureteral jetting frequency was developed to assess the risk of spontaneous stone passage. The area under the ROC curve was 0.814 (95% CI: 0.747-0.882), indicating good discriminatory power. The prediction model also demonstrated favorable net clinical benefit. CONCLUSION: A prediction model based on ultrasound-derived stone length, location, and ureteral jetting frequency can accurately evaluate the risk of spontaneous stone passage in patients with ureteral stones, providing a basis for optimizing the clinical decision-making on ureteral stones, and has reliable clinical application value.

Radiological signs of stone impaction add no value in predicting spontaneous stone passage.

Stone size and location are key factors in predicting spontaneous stone passage (SSP), but little attention has been paid to the influence of radiological signs of stone impaction (RSSI). This research aims to determine whether RSSI, alongside stone size, can predict SSP and to evaluate the consistency of ureteral wall thickness (UWT) measurements among observers. In this retrospective study, 160 patients with a single upper or middle ureteral stone on acute non-enhanced computed tomography (NCCT) were analysed. Patient data were collected from medical records. Measurements of RSSI, including UWT, ureteral diameters, and average attenuation above and below the stone, were taken on NCCT by four independent readers blind to the outcomes. The cohort consisted of 70% males with an average age of 51 ± 15. SSP occurred in 61% of patients over 20 weeks. The median stone length was 5.7 mm (IQR: 4.5-7.3) and was significantly shorter in patients who passed their stones at short- (4.6 vs. 7.1, p < 0.001) and long-term (4.8 vs. 7.1, p < 0.001) follow-up. For stone length, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for predicting SSP was 0.90 (CI 0.84-0.96) and only increased to 0.91 (CI 0.85-0.95) when adding ureteral diameters and UWT. Ureteral attenuation did not predict SSP (AUC < 0.5). Interobserver variability for UWT was moderate, with ± 2.0 mm multi-reader limits of agreement (LOA). The results suggest that RSSI do not enhance the predictive value of stone size for SSP. UWT measurements exhibit moderate reliability with significant interobserver variability.

Cecal volvulus - a rare cause of acute abdomen with ileus.

In this article, we present case reports of two patients admitted to the University Hospital in Pilsen for acute abdomen due to a disorder of the passage through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Both were indicated for surgery. The patients were diagnosed intraoperatively with rarely occurring cecal volvulus (CV). The findings required an ileocecal resection; nevertheless, both patients fully recovered despite the need the resection.

Among-species variation in six decades of changing migration timings explained through ecology, life-history and local migratory abundance.

Species exploiting seasonal environments must alter timings of key life-history events in response to large-scale climatic changes in order to maintain trophic synchrony with required resources. Yet, substantial among-species variation in long-term phenological changes has been observed. Advancing from simply describing such variation towards predicting future phenological responses requires studies that rigorously quantify and explain variation in the direction and magnitude of changing timings across diverse species in relation to key ecological and life-history variables. Accordingly, we fitted multi-quantile regressions to 59 years of multi-species data on spring and autumn bird migration timings through northern Scotland. We demonstrate substantial variation in changes in timings among 72 species, and tested whether such variation can be explained by species ecology, life-history and changes in local abundance. Consistent with predictions, species that advanced their migration timing in one or both seasons had more seasonally restricted diet types, fewer suitable breeding habitat types, shorter generation lengths and capability to produce multiple offspring broods per year. In contrast, species with less seasonally restricted diet types and that produce single annual offspring broods, showed no change. Meanwhile, contrary to prediction, long-distance and short-distance migrants advanced migration timings similarly. Changes in migration timing also varied with changes in local migratory abundance, such that species with increasing seasonal abundance apparently altered their migration timing, whilst species with decreasing abundance did not. Such patterns broadly concur with expectation given adaptive changes in migration timing. However, we demonstrate that similar patterns can be generated by numerical sampling given changing local abundances. Any apparent phenology-abundance relationships should, therefore, be carefully validated and interpreted. Overall, our results show that migrant bird species with differing ecologies and life-histories showed systematically differing phenological changes over six decades contextualised by large-scale environmental changes, potentially facilitating future predictions and altering temporal dynamics of seasonal species co-occurrences.

Temporal Direction, Intuitionism and Physics.

In a recent paper, Nicolas Gisin suggests that by conducting physics with intuitionistic rather than classical mathematics, rich temporality-that is, passage and tense, and specifically the future's openness-can be incorporated into physics. Physics based on classical mathematics is tenseless and deterministic, and that, so he holds, renders it incongruent with experience. According to Gisin, physics ought to represent the indeterminate nature of reality, and he proposes that intuitionistic mathematics is the key to succeeding in doing so. While I share his insistence on the reality of passage and tense and on the future being real and open, I argue that the amendment he offers does not work. I show that, its attunement to time notwithstanding, intuitionistic mathematics is as tenseless as classical mathematics and that physics is bound to remain tenseless regardless of the math it employs. There is much to learn about tensed time, but the task belongs to phenomenology and not to physics.

Robust bioprocess design and evaluation of commercial media for the serial expansion of human induced pluripotent stem cell aggregate cultures in vertical-wheel bioreactors.

BACKGROUND: While pluripotent stem cell (PSC) therapies move toward clinical and commercial applications at a rapid rate, manufacturing reproducibility and robustness are notable bottlenecks in regulatory approval. Therapeutic applications of PSCs require large cell quantities to be generated under highly robust, well-defined, and economically viable conditions. Small-scale and short-term process optimization, however, is often performed in a linear fashion that does not account for time needed to verify the bioprocess protocols and analysis methods used. Design of a reproducible and robust bioprocess should be dynamic and include a continuous effort to understand how the process will respond over time and to different stresses before transitioning into large-scale production where stresses will be amplified. METHODS: This study utilizes a baseline protocol, developed for the short-term culture of PSC aggregates in Vertical-Wheel® bioreactors, to evaluate key process attributes through long-term (serial passage) suspension culture. This was done to access overall process robustness when performed with various commercially available media and cell lines. Process output variables including growth kinetics, aggregate morphology, harvest efficiency, genomic stability, and functional pluripotency were assessed through short and long-term culture. RESULTS: The robust nature of the expansion protocol was demonstrated over a six-day culture period where spherical aggregate formation and expansion were observed with high-fold expansions for all five commercial media tested. Profound differences in cell growth and quality were revealed only through long-term serial expansion and in-vessel dissociation operations. Some commercial media formulations tested demonstrated maintenance of cell growth rates, aggregate morphology, and high harvest recovery efficiencies through three bioreactor serial passages using multiple PSC lines. Exceptional bioprocess robustness was even demonstrated with sustained growth and quality maintenance over 10 serial bioreactor passages. However, some commercial media tested proved less equipped for serial passage cultures in bioreactors as cultures led to cell lysis during dissociation, reduction in growth rates, and a loss of aggregate morphology. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the importance of systematic selection and testing of bioprocess input variables, with multiple bioprocess output variables through serial passages to create a truly reproducible and robust protocol for clinical and commercial PSC production using scalable bioreactor systems.

Functional variation among mesenchymal stem cells derived from different tissue sources.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are increasingly recognized for their regenerative potential. However, their clinical application is hindered by their inherent variability, which is influenced by various factors, such as the tissue source, culture conditions, and passage number. Methods: MSCs were sourced from clinically relevant tissues, including adipose tissue-derived MSCs (ADMSCs, n = 2), chorionic villi-derived MSCs (CMMSCs, n = 2), amniotic membrane-derived MSCs (AMMSCs, n = 3), and umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UCMSCs, n = 3). Passages included the umbilical cord at P0 (UCMSCP0, n = 2), P3 (UCMSCP3, n = 2), and P5 (UCMSCP5, n = 2) as well as the umbilical cord at P5 cultured under low-oxygen conditions (UCMSCP5L, n = 2). Results: We observed that MSCs from different tissue origins clustered into six distinct functional subpopulations, each with varying proportions. Notably, ADMSCs exhibited a higher proportion of subpopulations associated with vascular regeneration, suggesting that they are beneficial for applications in vascular regeneration. Additionally, CMMSCs had a high proportion of subpopulations associated with reproductive processes. UCMSCP5 and UCMSCP5L had higher proportions of subpopulations related to female reproductive function than those for earlier passages. Furthermore, UCMSCP5L, cultured under low-oxygen (hypoxic) conditions, had a high proportion of subpopulations associated with pro-angiogenic characteristics, with implications for optimizing vascular regeneration. Conclusions: This study revealed variation in the distribution of MSC subpopulations among different tissue sources, passages, and culture conditions, including differences in functions related to vascular and reproductive system regeneration. These findings hold promise for personalized regenerative medicine and may lead to more effective clinical treatments across a spectrum of medical conditions.

Effect of impeller rotational phase on the FDA blood pump velocity fields.

BACKGROUND: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) blood pump is an open-source benchmark cardiovascular device introduced for validating computational and experimental performance analysis tools. The time-resolved velocity field for the whole impeller has not been established, as is undertaken in this particle image velocimetry (PIV) study. The level of instantaneous velocity fluctuations is important, to assess the flow-induced rotor vibrations which may contribute to the total blood damage. METHODS: To document these factors, time-resolved two-dimensional PIV experiments were performed that were precisely phase-locked with the impeller rotation angle. The velocity fields in the impeller and in the volute conformed with the previous single blade passage experiments of literature. RESULTS: Depending on the impeller orientation, present experiments showed that volute outlet nozzle flow can fluctuate up to 34% during impeller rotation, with a maximum standard experimental uncertainty of 2.2%. Likewise, the flow fields in each impeller passage also altered in average 33.5%. Considerably different vortex patterns were observed for different blade passages, with the largest vortical structures reaching an average core radii of 7 mm. The constant volute area employed in the FDA pump design contributes to the observed velocity imbalance, as illustrated in our velocity measurements. CONCLUSIONS: By introducing the impeller orientation parameter for the nozzle flow, this study considers the possible uncertainties influencing pump flow. Expanding the available literature data, analysis of inter-blade relative velocity fields is provided here for the first-time to the best of our knowledge. Consequently, our research fills a critical knowledge gap in the understanding of the flow dynamics of an important benchmark cardiovascular device. This study prompts the need for improved hydrodynamic designs and optimized devices to be used as benchmark test devices, to build more confidence and safety in future ventricular assist device performance assessment studies.

Abdominal wound length influences the postoperative serum level of interleukin-6 and recovery of flatus passage among patients with colorectal cancer.

Introduction: A mini-laparotomy for colorectal cancer (CRC) has been reported to shorten postoperative ileus (POI) and hospital stay. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a role in intestinal tissue inflammation, leading to POI. This study investigated the effects of abdominal wounds and IL-6 levels on POI in patients having CRC surgery. Materials and methods: Forty-three patients with CRC underwent bowel resection. Serum samples were collected preoperatively and at 2, 24, and 48 h after surgery for cytokine quantification by ELISA. Clinical data, including time from surgery to first passage of flatus and postoperative hospital stay, demographic and pathological data, and routine blood tests, were compared statistically with abdominal wound length and the postoperative increments of cytokines (designated as Δ). Results: The length of the abdominal wound showed a significant correlation with clinical variables (length of operation time, time of first flatus passage, and length of postoperative hospital stay) and cytokine variables (IL-6(Δ2 h), IL-8(Δ2 h) and IL-10(Δ2 h). Linear regression analysis showed that the abdominal wound length significantly influenced the operation time, time of first flatus passage, and length of postoperative hospital stay (p < 0.001). The length of the abdominal wound showed a significant influence on the IL-6(Δ2 h) and IL-8(Δ2 h) (p < 0.001, respectively) but no influence on IL-10(Δ2 h). IL-6(Δ2 h), but not IL-8(Δ2 h), significantly influenced the time to first flatus passage and length of hospital stay (p = 0.007, p = 0.006, respectively). The mini-laparotomy approach (wound length <7 cm) led to significantly shortened operation time, time of first flatus passage, length of postoperative stay (p = 0.004, p = 0.003, p = 0.006, respectively) as well as reduced postoperative increment of IL-6(Δ2 h) (p = 0.015). The mini-laparotomy for anterior resection surgery significantly influenced operation time, time of first passage of flatus, length of postoperative stay, and IL-6(Δ2 h). Conclusion: Our study is the first to report the complex interaction among the length of the abdominal wound, IL-6 serum level, recovery of the first passage of flatus, and postoperative hospital stay. These results suggest that smaller abdominal wounds and smaller postoperative IL-6 increments were associated with faster recovery of flatus passage and shorter hospital stays.

Transcervical uterine flushing and embryo transfer in sheep: Morphophysiological basis for approaches currently used, major challenges, potential improvements, and new directions (alas, including some old ideas).

At present, the success of non-surgical embryo recovery (NSER) and transfer (NSET) hinges upon the cervical passage of catheters, but penetration of the uterine cervix in ewes is problematic due to its anatomical structure (i.e., long and narrow cervical lumen with misaligned folds and rings). It is a major obstacle limiting the widespread application of NSER and NSET in sheep. While initial attempts to traverse the uterine cervix focused on adapting or re-designing insemination catheters, more recent studies demonstrated that cervical relaxation protocols were instrumental for transcervical penetration in the ewe. An application of such protocols more than tripled cervical penetration rates (currently at 90-95 %) in sheep of different breeds (e.g., Dorper, Lacaune, Santa Inês, crossbred, and indigenous Brazilian breeds) and ages/parity. There is now sufficient evidence to suggest that even repeatedly performed cervical passages do not adversely affect overall health and reproductive function of ewes. Despite these improvements, appropriate selection of donors and recipients remains one of the most important requirements for maintaining high success rates of NSER and NSET, respectively. Non-surgical ovine embryo recovery has gradually become a commercially viable method as even though the procedure still cannot be performed by untrained individuals, it is inexpensive, yields satisfactory results, and complies with current public expectations of animal welfare standards. This article reviews critical morphophysiological aspects of transcervical embryo flushing and transfer, and the prospect of both techniques to replace surgical methods for multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) programs in sheep. We have also discussed some potential pharmacological and technical developments in the field of non-invasive embryo recovery and deposition.