Degree Of Variability In Levels Research Articles

Continuous monitoring of aerial bioburden within intensive care isolation rooms and identification of high-risk activities

BackgroundThe spread of pathogens via the airborne route is often underestimated, and little is known about the extent to which airborne microbial contamination levels vary throughout the day and night in hospital facilities.AimsTo evaluate airborne contamination levels within intensive care unit (ICU) isolation rooms over 10–24-h periods in order to improve understanding of the variability of environmental aerial bioburden, and the extent to which ward activities may contribute.MethodsEnvironmental air monitoring was conducted within occupied and vacant inpatient isolation rooms. A sieve impactor sampler was used to collect 500-L air samples every 15 min over 10-h (08:00–18:00 h) and 24-h (08:00–08:00 h) periods. Samples were collected, room activity was logged, and bacterial contamination levels were recorded as colony-forming units (cfu)/m3 air.FindingsA high degree of variability in levels of airborne contamination was observed across all scenarios in the studied isolation rooms. Air bioburden increased as room occupancy increased, with air contamination levels highest in rooms occupied for the longest time during the study (10 days) (mean 104.4 cfu/m3, range 12–510 cfu/m3). Counts were lowest in unoccupied rooms (mean 20 cfu/m3) and during the night.ConclusionPeaks in airborne contamination were directly associated with an increase in activity levels. This study provides the first clear evidence of the extent of variability in microbial airborne levels over 24-h periods in ICU isolation rooms, and found direct correlation between microbial load and ward activity.

Circulating microRNAs are associated with early childhood obesity: results of the I.Family Study

BackgroundNearly 10 years ago, the World Health Organization reported the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide as a challenge for public health due to the associated adverse consequences. Epidemiological studies established a firm relationship between an elevated body mass index and chronic conditions such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and some types of cancer. Omic studies demonstrated that microRNA (miRNA) profile changes in tissues correlate with a number of diseases, including obesity. Recent studies showed a remarkable stability of miRNAs also in blood, emphasizing their potential as theranostic agents for a variety of disorders and conditions. A number of miRNAs enriched in homeostasis of obesity and metabolic disorders have been characterized in previous researches.AimThis work was finalized to investigate the differential circulating miRNAs signature in early childhood obesity. Our cross-sectional study analyzed the signature of circulating miRNAs in plasma samples of normal weight (n = 159) and overweight/obese (n = 149) children and adolescents participating to the I.Family study, an EC-funded study finalized to investigate the etiology of overweight, obesity and related disorders and the determinants of food choice, lifestyle, and related health outcomes in children and adolescents of eight European countries (www.ifamilystudy.eu).ResultsDifferences in miRNA signature with respect to anthropometric and biochemical variables were analyzed. A high degree of variability in levels of circulating miRNAs was identified among children from different countries, in line with recent reports supporting the hypothesis that these molecules are likewise affected by environmental and lifestyle factors. A panel of miRNAs differentially expressed in overweight/low-grade obesity children was characterized (miR-551a and miR-501-5p resulted upregulated; miR-10b-5p, miR-191-3p, miR-215-5p, and miR-874-3p resulted downregulated). ROC curves were also constructed for experimentally confirmed miRNAs. Single miRNAs generally exhibited low AUC values with the highest values for miR-874-3p and miR-501-5p which in combination provided an interesting value (AUC = 0.782). Pearson’s analysis confirmed that miR-10b-5p, miR-215-5p, miR-501-5p, miR-551a, and miR-874-3p significantly correlated with BMI z-score. Molecular interactions of obesity-associated miRNAs were also predicted by bioinformatics tools.ConclusionsOur work showed that several circulating miRNAs are differentially represented in overweight/low-grade obesity children and adolescents. Although causal pathways cannot be firmly inferred, it is conceivable that circulating miRNAs may be new biomarkers of early childhood obesity.Trial registrationISRCTN, ISRCTN62310987. Registered 23/02/2018 - Retrospectively registered.

Biochemical complexity drives log‐normal variation in genetic expression

Cells exhibit a high degree of variation in levels of gene expression, even within otherwise homogeneous populations. The standard model to describe this variation centres on a gamma distribution driven by stochastic bursts of translation. Stochastic bursting, however, cannot account for the well-established behaviour of strong transcriptional repressors. Instead, it can be shown that the very complexity of the biochemical processes involved in gene expression drives an emergent log-normal distribution of expression levels. Emergent log-normal distributions can account for the observed behaviour of transcriptional repressors, are still compatible with stochastically constrained distributions, and have important implications for both analysis of gene expression data and the engineering of biological organisms.

Temporal stability of ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate in youths

The use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for pediatric populations is increasing. ; To determine the 2-year stability of ambulatory blood pressure in youths. We evaluated 2-year stabilities of resting and ambulatory blood pressures in 197 youths (aged 13.9+/-2.3 years at initial evaluation). Readings were taken every 20 min during the daytime (0800-2200 h) and every 30 min at night (0000-0600 h). Daytime and night-time systolic blood pressure increased (P < 0.01 for both) as did resting systolic blood pressure (P < 0.05). Measures of diastolic blood pressure did not change. Changes in systolic blood pressure were related to changes in body size. Estimates of stability for resting and ambulatory measurements were similar, ranging from 0.65 to 0.75. In addition, correlation coefficients for relationships between first and second readings for resting and ambulatory measurements were similar ranging from 0.43 and for resting heart rate to 0.72 for 24h systolic blood pressure (P < 0. 001 for each). The only significant correlation between change scores for resting and ambulatory values was that between resting and night-time diastolic blood pressures (r = 0.33, P < 0.001). Measures of blood pressure derived from ambulatory blood pressure monitoring reflect changes in blood pressure in youths at least as well as do changes in resting blood pressure despite the high degree of variability in levels of physical activity and affective states of the children during the ambulatory recordings.

Levels of Resistance to the Whitebacked Planthopper, Sogatella fardfera (Homoptera: Delphacidae) in Rice Varieties with the Same Major Resistance Genes

Rice varieties were evaluated to determine the levels of resistance to Sogatella furcifera among those having the same major resistance genes Wbph 1 and Wbph 2. Tests conducted were the seedbox screening of the varieties for plant damage, and S. furcifera survival and population growth on the test varieties. Degree of variation in levels of resistance among varieties with the same gene was very high, especially in the seedbox screening and population growth test. IR2035-117-3, the resistant check with both genes, Wbph 1 + Wbph 2 and two Wbph 2 gene varieties, ‘Chempan’ and ‘Cheriya Chittari’, had the highest levels of resistance as based on the survival and population growth tests. The difference in levels of resistance among varieties having the same major gene indicates that minor genes play a significant role in the expression of S. furcifera resistance in rice.