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Learning the Science Behind Bacteriocins Through Lacticin 3147; a Promising Lantibiotic
Full text linkAs microorganisms continue to develop resistance and survive against many different forms of antimicrobial solutions, such as antibiotics, the threat that antimicrobial resistance poses grows considerably. One solution to this persistent issue could be bacteriocins: ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides that are synthesized by bacteria. In this study, the specific lantibiotic—a subclass of bacteriocin—used was lacticin 3147, which is comprised of two components: A1 and A2. Lacticin 3147 was first purified and isolated in order to properly analyze its antimicrobial effects, which show potential use in antibiotics or food preservation. The procedure started with growing the producer bacteria strain, Lactococcus lactis DPC 3147 in a broth which was later used to inoculate a large volume of media. This media was then separated through centrifugation into two components: the supernatant and cell pellet, both of which were each individually concentrated and purified through a series of columns. Approximately one milliliter of each component was run through a High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) machine, and the resulting chromatograms interpreted to evaluate and compare the concentrations of lacticin 3147 produced in the liquid media portion (supernatant) and the cell components (cell pellet). Subsequently, fractions were collected from all runs from the HPLC and further subjected to Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry. This allows to test the molecular weights of the compounds in the samples to check if they aligned with the known molecular weights of both the A1 and A2 components of lacticin 3147. The final step was to prepare a spot on lawn assay using the indicator species: Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris HP. The spot on lawn assay prepared for lacticin 3147 was a visual indicator of the strong antimicrobial effects of the bacteriocin. Ultimately, this highly effective bacteriocin, lacticin 3147, could be utilized in smaller concentrations than current antibiotics, and thus shows great promise in the field of antibiotics. Further studies are being conducted to understand the interactions between the A1 and A2 components of lacticin 3147, including their synergistic effects
Assessment of an ICU-specific, electronic medical summary tool against traditional dictation to reduce communication gaps during ICU-to-inpatient transitions-in-care
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Background: Transition from the intensive care unit (ICU) to an inpatient unit is a vulnerable period where communication gaps between medical teams may be associated with preventable adverse events. The transition-in-care (TIC) summary encompasses essential clinical information and facilitates seamless continuity of patient care between sending and receiving healthcare teams. Yet, current dictation practices often produce summaries of suboptimal quality that result in delayed or incomplete information. An electronic TIC summary tool, an alternative method to dictation, standardizes information, which may ensure more timely and complete communication to reduce information breakdowns and delays.
Objective: In order to standardize information communicated during ICU-to-inpatient transitions, an ICU-specific, electronic TIC summary tool was implemented in four adult ICUs in the Calgary zone. It is hypothesized that implementation of the electronic summary will improve completeness and timelines of TIC summaries.
Methods: A multiple baseline study design was used to evaluate the implementation of the electronic TIC summary. ICUs continued dictation practices for a baseline period, until the electronic tool was implemented sequentially (in a randomized order) to each ICU and evaluated for six months following implementation. Post-implementation, providers had the option to dictate or use the electronic summary. The primary outcome was a binary measure of both completeness of four critical elements and availability of the TIC summary at ICU release.
Results: Preliminary results were obtained for two months of baseline (n=48) and post-implementation (n=48) from one ICU. Post-implementation summaries contained four critical elements and were more frequently available at ICU transfer than pre-implementation dictations (73% versus 2%, p<0.001). More post implementation summaries contained completion of essential information (median 88% versus 63%, p<0.001) and had greater availability during transition (90% versus 73%, p=0.04) than pre-implementation dictations. With data collection scheduled to end in June 2019, we anticipate full study results to be available fall 2019.
Conclusions: Preliminary results post-implementation suggest greater completion and faster availability for the receiving clinicians. It is anticipated that full study findings will add to the current literature on the effect of computerized tools for reducing communication gaps between ICU and inpatient units during transitions-in-care to ultimately improve patient safety
Assessing the impact of Connect 2 Care on the residential stability of homeless and vulnerably housed clients
Full text linkBackground
Certain kinds of housing instability, such as foreclosure and homelessness, have been associated with poorer physical and mental health. The Connect 2 Care (C2C) program targets medically complex individuals who are unstably housed, primarily aimed at reducing acute care utilization and connecting clients to appropriate community-based care. However, because housing status is a fundamental determinant of health, the team also assists clients in finding permanent housing. As the C2C program aims to improve the health of its clients, we hope that this intervention positively impacts the housing stability of clients.
Objective
To determine whether the C2C program is effective in reducing factors of housing instability, such as the frequency of housing moves made, and time spent in unstable housing (such as shelters or sleeping outside).
Methods
C2C clients were asked to participate in 6- and 12- month follow-up surveys with a member of the research team. During both surveys, participants were prompted to describe their housing history using the Residential Time-Line Follow-Back (rTLFB) inventory. Starting at six months prior to their intake into C2C, participants created a twelve- to eighteen-month timeline that detailed their residential locations and number of housing transitions. Location descriptions provided by clients were categorized as stable, temporary, institutional, or literal homelessness. The number of housing transitions and the proportion of time spent in each housing category were then calculated for each individual. Changes in proportion of time spent over three unique time periods were evaluated using Wilcoxon’s paired rank test with Holm’s multiplicity correction.
Results
Since September 2018, housing data was collected from 100 unique clients. In comparing the six months preceding C2C intake with the six-to-twelve months after C2C intake, significant reductions in the amount of time spent in literal homelessness (p < 0.001) and reductions in the number of housing changes (p = 0.014) were observed.
Discussion
Housing stability for C2C clients improved after enrolment in the program. This study was potentially limited by incomplete sampling of the C2C population. Based on our findings, further research should be conducted in evaluating the relationship between increases in housing stability and increases of health status.
Acknowledgements
The C2C research team thanks Alberta Innovates and the Canadian Institute of Health Research for their financial support. The authors have no conflict of interests to state
Elevated serum ferritin levels in the pediatric intensive care unit
Full text linkBackground:
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening inflammatory condition caused by dysregulation of the immune system. HLH can develop in children with a variety of underlying causes including genetic cause, infection, autoimmune diseases, malignancy, etc. The symptoms of HLH are often similar to other conditions such as bacterial sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome. This is a problem as the similarities among those different diseases make it difficult for the doctors to diagnose HLH and this can possibly lead to a delay in treatment. 50-75% mortality is reported in patients with secondary HLH (non-inherited) who do not receive treatment. Elevated serum ferritin level, referred to as hyperferritinemia, is the most characteristic feature of HLH and may be helpful in diagnosing HLH apart from other illnesses. This research investigates the incidences of patients with elevated serum ferritin level at the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of Alberta Children’s Hospital from 2014-2018 to gain a better understanding of HLH and hyperferritinemia.
Objectives:
The objectives of the study are i. identify diseases associated with hyperferritinemia on the PICU; ii. predict which PICU patient with hyperferritinemia is at risk to develop HLH during PICU admission; and iii. determine mortality risk in patients with hyperferritinemia and HLH at the PICU.
Methods:
This project is a retrospective chart review. A literature review was performed on the topic of hyperferritinemia and HLH, and relevant variables were identified for creating a Redcap database. Patient charts and medical records were examined for data collection of different elements including diagnosis, laboratory values, treatments, and survival status. Data of 91 patients who presented with hyperferritinemia in PICU from 2014 to 2018 is being examined.
Results:
Although this study is currently in progress, it is anticipated to provide insight into the features associated with hyperferritinemia and determine patients with hyperferritinemia who are at risk of developing HLH.
Conclusion:
Overall, the findings from this study may contribute to better understanding of hyperferritinemia and HLH in pediatric patients and contribute to decreasing mortality and morbidity of patients with hyperferritinemia and HLH.
 
Mine Waste: Consolidation Behaviour of Precious Metal Tailings
Full text linkAll mine processing plants generate waste. These byproducts include waste rock and a fine-grained slurry referred to as ‘tailings’ (Beier, 2015). The primary objective of treating tailings is to remove water, to enhance strength and stiffness (Sobkowicz and Morgenstern, 2009). Studying the geotechnical properties of tailings is essential to understand consolidation behaviour and facilitate land reclamation. Moreover, the geochemical characteristics of tailings should be examined to examine the potential onset of acid rock drainage (ARD). Acid rock drainage occurs when pH falls below 4, which can cause metal heavy leaching as they become present in solution. This study investigates both the geotechnical and geochemical behaviour of precious metal tailings in atmospheric conditions. The geochemical parameters of interest are pH, redox potential (Eh) and electric conductivity (Ec). The Large Strain Consolidation test (LSC) was implemented to characterize the compressibility behaviour of the sample. Accordingly, the amount of deformation that the tailings underwent was measured as they were loaded to different effective stresses. In addition, the hydraulic conductivity or the velocity of water flow was measured at the end of each consolidation step. Furthermore, the chemical parameters were evaluated using standardized probes. The tailings exhibit high compressibility during self-weight consolidation due to a combination of high initial void ratio and a high initial saturated hydraulic conductivity. In addition, hydraulic conductivity decreases nonlinearly as the samples are loaded because loading reduces the pore volume. The permeability decreased two orders of magnitude during loading, from 2.14E-05 m/s to 1.60E-7 m/s. From the geochemical point of view, there is no significant change in pH as the tailings consolidate. In this scenario, the presence of calcium carbonate has an acid-neutralizing capacity. Moreover, there is a slight increase in both redox potential and electric conductivity due to exposure to the atmosphere. The increasing trend of redox potential had a slope of 10 mV per day. While the slope of electric conductivity was 9 mS/cm per day
Too Much of a Good Thing: High T Cell Count Can Kill Newborns
Full text linkNeonates have a weakened immune system that could be due to low exposure to pathogens resulting in low adaptive immunity and/or purposeful immune suppression to protect the weak neonate from a robust immune response. The purpose of this project is to find preliminary data to further investigate why the immune system of neonates are weaker, and to possibly improve neonatal immunity while protecting against a powerful immune response in the future. Using processed mice spleen cells that were stained for CD4 and CD8 to be subjected to flow cytometry, an increase in the percent of helper CD4 and killer CD8 T cells were observed as the mice aged. This indicates that neonates do have a weaker immune system. Between healthy mice and mice infected with either Bordetella pertussis or Listeria, a decrease in the percent of CD4 and CD8 T cells were found, which could be because not enough time had passed for an adaptive immune response
Role of Immature Red Blood Cells in Neonatal Immunity
Full text linkNewborns are highly susceptible to diseases. Infections such as Bordetella Pertussis (i.e. whooping cough) and Listeria (i.e. food poisoning) can result in the death of neonates while causing little harm to older children and adults. Although previously attributed to an underdeveloped immune system, recent research has shown that this susceptibility is due to the high presence of immature red blood cells or CD71+ cells. These cells possess immunosuppressive properties. By interfering with the function of other immune cells, they can prevent an effective pathogenic immune response. In this study, the changes in the amount of CD71+ cells were observed throughout the different age points of mice as well as in mice infected with Bordetella pertussis and Listeria. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the development of the immune system as to better aid neonates in fighting infection. Flow cytometry was used to determine the amount of CD71+ cells in the spleens of mice at different age points. The results showed that overall the amount of CD71+ cells decreased as the age of the mouse increased, paralleling the decrease in susceptibility of the immune system. Furthermore, the change in CD71+ cells was also observed in the spleens of mice infected with Bordetella pertussis and mice infected with Listeria. There was no significant change for the Listeria infected mice, as CD71+ cells play no immunological role in fighting Listeria, an intracellular bacteria. However, there was a significant increase in CD71+ cells in Bordetella Pertussis infected mice since this infection was extracellular. These results show that CD71+ cells react differently to different infections and play a different immunological role in the presence of different pathogens. Furthermore, the results shows a direct correlation between age and the amount of CD71+ cells present in the spleen. The changes in the amount of CD71+ cells was most likely due to different pathological conditions and requirements at different ages
Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Gunshot Activity in Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area
Full text linkIn the past, monitoring hunting behavior has been limited to self-reported numbers. However, the ability of autonomous recording units to monitor soundscapes may make them suitable for assessing spatio-temporal shooting patterns. Our goal for this project was to find out if it is possible to use acoustic monitoring to track human activity, and if there were differences in seasonal or daily shooting intensities. We hypothesized that shooting intensity would decrease from September to November and from the afternoon till morning due to people being less likely to go shooting in cooler temperatures. A grid of 91 ARU’s were deployed between September 2nd and November 30th, 2018 in Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area. They were set to record continuously between sunrise and sunset with some recording during the night as well. We selected a random subset of 30 minute recordings, visualized them using spectrograms; visual representations of sound with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis, and counted the gunshots in each. We compared differences in gunshot detections between months and different times of day using analysis of variance (ANOVA). There were no statistical differences found in seasonal or daily shooting intensities. One reason for this may be that sample sizes were low, due to the time needed to manually process recordings. We demonstrated that ARU’s can be used to provide us with an accurate way of assessing shooting patterns and therefore, be useful for monitoring other human behaviors such as detecting poachers, or assessing compliance with hunting laws
The Nature of Decision-Making: Human Behavior vs. Machine Learning
Full text linkArtificial agents have often been compared to humans in their ability to categorize images or play strategic games. However, comparisons between human and artificial agents are frequently based on the overall performance on a particular task, and not necessarily on the specifics of how each agent behaves. In this study, we directly compared human behaviour with a reinforcement learning (RL) model. Human participants and an RL agent navigated through different grid world environments with high- and low- value targets. The artificial agent consisted of a deep neural network trained to map pixel input of a 27x27 grid world into cardinal directions using RL. An epsilon greedy policy was used to maximize reward. Behaviour of both agents was evaluated on four different conditions. Results showed both humans and RL agents consistently chose the higher reward over a lower reward, demonstrating an understanding of the task. Though both humans and RL agents consider movement cost for reward, the machine agent considers the movement costs more, trading off the effort with reward differently than humans. We found humans and RL agents both consider long-term rewards as they navigate through the world, yet unlike humans, the RL model completely disregards limitations in movements (e.g. how many total moves received). Finally, we rotated pseudorandom grid arrangements to study how decisions change with visual differences. We unexpectedly found that the RL agent changed its behaviour due to visual rotations, yet remained less variable than humans. Overall, the similarities between humans and the RL agent shows the potential RL agents have of being an adequate model of human behaviour. Additionally, the differences between human and RL agents suggest improvements to RL methods that may improve their performance. This research compares the human mind with artificial intelligence, creating the opportunity for future innovation
Production of Biochar from Biomass
Full text linkBiochar is a kind of charcoal that’s produced from biomass using pyrolysis technology. As climate change continues to be a growing concern, biochar has been sought for its environmental applications. It is both cost effective and environmentally sound in terms of being a soil additive and renewable fuel. When used as a soil amendment, biochar has been shown to improve water holding capacity and absorb more nutrients. Biochar also sequesters carbon dioxide when applied to soil, and can also be used as a replacement for activated carbon that is prepared from coal. The objectives of this research was to produce biochar from biomass and study biochar’s properties. A thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to measure the weight loss behavior of the wood sample (biomass) as the temperature increased. The biomass was heated to 500 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere and then cooled in nitrogen to prevent combustion of biochar. The overall yield of biochar was 15%. Elemental analysis of biomass shows the composition of the sample to be mostly carbon and oxygen with fewer amounts of hydrogen and nitrogen. Surface area of the prepared biochar was 305 m2/g, which is approximately 100 times the surface area of raw biomass. Biochar’s higher porosity will allow for greater absorption of nutrients when applied to soil