scholarly journals Altered immunity of laboratory mice in the natural environment is associated with fungal colonization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Yeung ◽  
Ying-Han Chen ◽  
Jian-Da Lin ◽  
Jacqueline M. Leung ◽  
Caroline McCauley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Fungal Colonization ◽  
Laboratory Mice ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Immune Development ◽  
Experimental Procedure ◽  
Fungal Exposure ◽  
Outdoor Enclosure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pathogen Exposure

AbstractThe immune systems of free-living mammals such as humans and wild mice display a heightened degree of activation compared with laboratory mice maintained under artificial conditions. Here, we demonstrate that releasing inbred laboratory mice into an outdoor enclosure to mimic life in a natural environment alters the state of immunity. In addition to enhancing the differentiation of T cell populations previously associated with pathogen exposure, we found that outdoor release of mice led to an increase in circulating granulocytes. However, rewilded mice were not infected by pathogens previously implicated in immune activation. Rather, changes to the immune system were associated with an altered composition of the microbiota, and fungi isolated from rewilded mice were sufficient to increase circulating granulocytes. These findings establish an experimental procedure to investigate the impact of the natural environment on immune development and identify a role for sustained fungal exposure in determining granulocyte numbers.

scholarly journals Altered Immunity of Laboratory Mice in the Natural Environment Is Associated with Fungal Colonization

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-822.e6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Yeung ◽  
Ying-Han Chen ◽  
Jian-Da Lin ◽  
Jacqueline M. Leung ◽  
Caroline McCauley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Fungal Colonization ◽  
Laboratory Mice

scholarly journals Mast Cells Are Identified in the Lung Parenchyma of Wild Mice, Which Can Be Recapitulated in Naturalized Laboratory Mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Wen Yeh ◽  
Arka Sen Chaudhuri ◽  
Ling Zhou ◽  
Yu Fang ◽  
Preben Boysen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mast Cells ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Lung Parenchyma ◽  
Mouse Lung ◽  
Laboratory Mice ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Specific Pathogen ◽  
Wild House Mice ◽  
Closed Environment ◽  
Eastern Norway

BackgroundIt is well documented that laboratory mice bred and maintained in ultra-hygienic specific pathogen-free (SPF) barriers display reduced richness and complexity of microbiota compared with wild mice. The laboratory mice profoundly lack lung parenchymal mast cells. Hence, we aimed to investigate the lung distribution of mast cells in free-living wild mice.MethodsWild house mice were trapped in South-Eastern Norway and Hemtabad, West Bengal, India. C57BL/6 laboratory mice were bred in a purposefully built, closed environment with bedding material obtained from the natural environment in order to normalize the gut microbiota of these laboratory mice to that of the wild mice, and the offspring were collected for study at eight weeks of age.ResultsMast cells were easily identified at a substantial density in the lung parenchymal tissues of wild mice from both Norway and India, which stands in clear contrast to the rare distribution of lung parenchymal mast cells in the conventional laboratory SPF mice. Consistently, wild mice also expressed higher pulmonary levels of stem cell factor, a critical growth factor for mast cell survival. Higher levels of histamine were recorded in the lung tissues of the wild mice. Interestingly, “naturalized” C57BL/6 laboratory mice which spent their entire life in a semi-natural environment developed lung parenchymal mast cells at an appreciable density.ConclusionOur observations support that environmental factors, possibly through modulation of microbiota, may impact the tissue distribution of mast cells in mouse lung parenchyma.

scholarly journals Adjustment of Whey:Casein Ratio from 20:80 to 60:40 in Milk Formulation Affects Food Intake and Brainstem and Hypothalamic Neuronal Activation and Gene Expression in Laboratory Mice

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 658
Author(s):  
Erin L. Wood ◽  
David G. Christian ◽  
Mohammed Arafat ◽  
Laura K. McColl ◽  
Colin G. Prosser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Area Postrema ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
Hypothalamic Nucleus ◽  
Laboratory Mice ◽  
Neuronal Activation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Animal Milk ◽  
The Impact

Adjustment of protein content in milk formulations modifies protein and energy levels, ensures amino acid intake and affects satiety. The shift from the natural whey:casein ratio of ~20:80 in animal milk is oftentimes done to reflect the 60:40 ratio of human milk. Studies show that 20:80 versus 60:40 whey:casein milks differently affect glucose metabolism and hormone release; these data parallel animal model findings. It is unknown whether the adjustment from the 20:80 to 60:40 ratio affects appetite and brain processes related to food intake. In this set of studies, we focused on the impact of the 20:80 vs. 60:40 whey:casein content in milk on food intake and feeding-related brain processes in the adult organism. By utilising laboratory mice, we found that the 20:80 whey:casein milk formulation was consumed less avidly and was less preferred than the 60:40 formulation in short-term choice and no-choice feeding paradigms. The relative PCR analyses in the hypothalamus and brain stem revealed that the 20:80 whey:casein milk intake upregulated genes involved in early termination of feeding and in an interplay between reward and satiety, such as melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R), oxytocin (OXT), proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R). The 20:80 versus 60:40 whey:casein formulation intake differently affected brain neuronal activation (assessed through c-Fos, an immediate-early gene product) in the nucleus of the solitary tract, area postrema, ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus and supraoptic nucleus. We conclude that the shift from the 20:80 to 60:40 whey:casein ratio in milk affects short-term feeding and relevant brain processes.

Psychosocial Interventions Situated Within the Natural Environment with Young People Who Have Experienced Trauma: A Scoping Review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Boddy ◽  
Maddy Slattery ◽  
Jianqiang Liang ◽  
Hilary Gallagher ◽  
Amanda Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Database Search ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Clinical Change ◽  
Social Work Interventions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The natural environment is increasingly used in therapeutic psychosocial interventions for young people who have experienced trauma. However, as the research in this area has yet to be synthesised, very little is known about the types and outcomes of interventions. This prevents the optimisation of social work interventions in outdoor settings. Consequently, a scoping review of peer-reviewed research published from 2008 to 2018 was undertaken to examine how nature is being used in psychosocial interventions with young people aged ten to twenty-four years who have experienced trauma and the impact of these interventions on young people’s mental health. The database search identified 5,425 records; however, only ten papers met the inclusion criteria. These papers suggested that positive changes across a range of mental health outcomes for young people were achieved in psychosocial interventions which were situated in, or made use of the natural environment, although it is unclear whether the environment influenced the outcomes. The scoping review also highlighted the need for conducting further research that examines how environmental factors contribute to clinical change for young people who have experienced trauma.

scholarly journals Insect herbivory facilitates the establishment of an invasive plant pathogen

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin M. Gossner ◽  
Ludwig Beenken ◽  
Kirstin Arend ◽  
Dominik Begerow ◽  
Derek Peršoh
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Insect Herbivory ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Mechanical Damage ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
Fungal Colonization ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPlants can be severely affected by insect herbivores and phytopathogenic fungi, but interactions between these plant antagonists are poorly understood. We analysed the impact of feeding damage by the abundant herbivore Orchestes fagi on infection rates of beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaves with Petrakia liobae, an invasive plant pathogenic fungus. The fungus was not detected in hibernating beetles, indicating that O. fagi does not serve as vector for P. liobae, at least not between growing seasons. Abundance of the fungus in beech leaves increased with feeding damage of the beetle and this relationship was stronger for sun-exposed than for shaded leaves. A laboratory experiment revealed sun-exposed leaves to have thicker cell walls and to be more resistant to pathogen infection than shaded leaves. Mechanical damage significantly increased frequency and size of necroses in the sun, but not in shade leaves. Our findings indicate that feeding damage of adult beetles provides entry ports for fungal colonization by removal of physical barriers and thus promotes infection success by pathogenic fungi. Feeding activity by larvae probably provides additional nutrient sources or eases access to substrates for the necrotrophic fungus. Our study exemplifies that invasive pathogens may benefit from herbivore activity, which may challenge forest health in light of climate change.

scholarly journals Flight Simulator’s Energy Consumption Depending on the Conditions of the Air Operation

Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 580
Author(s):  
Michał Gołębiewski ◽  
Marta Galant-Gołębiewska ◽  
Remigiusz Jasiński
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Flight Simulator ◽  
Motion Platform ◽  
Simulator Motion ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Protection of the natural environment is a key activity driving development in the transport discipline today. The use of simulators to train civil aviation pilots provides an excellent opportunity to maintain the balance between efficiency and limit the negative impact of transport on the environment. Therefore, we decided to determine the impact of selected simulations of air operations on energy consumption. The aim of the research was to determine the energy consumption of the flight simulator depending on the type of flight operation and configuration used. We also decided to compare the obtained result with the energy consumption of an aircraft of a similar class, performing a similar aviation operation and other means of transport. In order to obtain the results, a research plan was proposed consisting of 12 scenarios differing in the simulated aircraft model, weather conditions and the use of the simulator motion platform. In each of the scenarios, energy consumption was measured, taking into account the individual components of the simulator. The research showed that the use of a flight simulator has a much smaller negative impact on the natural environment than flying in a traditional plane. Use of a motion platform indicated a change in energy consumption of approximately 40% (in general, flight simulator configuration can change energy consumption by up to 50%). The deterioration of weather conditions during the simulation caused an increase in energy consumption of 14% when motion was disabled and 18% when motion was enabled. Energy consumption in the initial stages of pilot training can be reduced by 97% by using flight simulators compared to aircraft training.

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