Acceptability and feasibility of collecting psychosocial data from fathers of very low birth weight infants

The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of collecting outcome data from parents of very low birth weight infants, and to explore the psychological and social adaptation of fathers. Questionnaires were distributed to 38 parents of very low birth weight infants and 36 parents of term infants within a hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Field notes were also taken. Parents indicated collecting outcome data in this population was feasible and acceptable, but barriers and difficulties in data collection were identified, particularly for fathers. Furthermore, parents highlighted a lack of emotional support for fathers. In conclusion, research with parents of very low birth weight infants should happen with consultation, flexibility, and measures designed specifically for this population

Detection and identification by PCR of Clostridium chauvoei in clinical isolates, bovine faeces and substrates from biogas plant

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Clostridium chauvoei </it>causes blackleg, an acute disease associated with high mortality in ruminants. The apparent primary port of entry is oral, during grazing on pasture contaminated by spores. Cases of blackleg can occur year after year on contaminated pastures. A method to determine the prevalence of <it>C. chauvoei </it>spores on pasture would be useful.</p> <p>The standard method for <it>C. chauvoei </it>detection is culture and biochemical identification, which requires a pure culture. In most muscle samples from cattle dead from blackleg the amount of <it>C. chauvoei </it>in samples is high and the bacterium can easily be cultured, although some samples may be contaminated. Detection by PCR would be faster and independent of contaminating flora.</p> <p>Digested residues from biogas plants provide an excellent fertiliser, but it is known that spore-forming baeria such as <it>Clostridium </it>spp. are not reduced by pasteurisation. The use of digested residues as fertiliser may contribute to the spread of <it>C. chauvoei</it>. Soil, manure and substrate from biogas plants are contaminated with other anaerobic bacteria which outgrow <it>C. chauvoei</it>. Therefore, detection by PCR is would be useful. This study applied a PCR-based method to detect of <it>C. chauvoei </it>in 25 muscle and blood samples, 114 manure samples, 84 soil samples and 33 samples from the biogas process.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Muscle tissues from suspected cases of blackleg were analysed both by the standard culture method followed by biochemical identification and by PCR, with and without preculture. To investigate whether muscle tissue samples are necessary, samples taken by swabs were also investigated. Samples from a biogas plant and manure and soil from farms were analysed by culture followed by PCR. The farms had proven cases of blackleg. For detection of <it>C. chauvoei </it>in the samples, a specific PCR primer pair complementary to the spacer region of the 16S-23S rRNA gene was used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Clostridium chauvoei </it>was detected in 32% of muscle samples analysed by culture with identification by biochemical methods and in 56% of cases by culture in combination with PCR. <it>Clostridium chauvoei </it>was detected in 3 (out of 11) samples from the biogas plants collected before pasteurisation, but samples taken after pasteurisation and after digestion all tested negative. <it>Clostridium chauvoei </it>was not detected in any soil or silage samples and only one manure samples tested positive.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The diagnostic method used for <it>C. chauvoei </it>was not applicable in estimating the risk of blackleg on particular pastures from manure or soil samples, but found to be highly useful for clinical samples.</p

Investigating dietary life histories and mobility of children buried in St Gertrude Church Cemetery, Riga, Latvia (15th– 17th centuries AD)

Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐adults from a cemetery in Riga, Latvia. The research compared the life histories and diet between people buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery. The δ13C profiles of several children from the mass graves were similar but did not resemble the patterns seen in children from the general cemetery, suggesting that they probably represented a different population group. The rise in δ15N values towards the end of the life of four individuals from one mass grave suggests they were victims of an historically documented famine

High performance aluminum–cerium alloys for high-temperature applications

Light-weight high-temperature alloys are important to the transportation industry where weight, cost, and operating temperature are major factors in the design of energy efficient vehicles. Aluminum alloys fill this gap economically but lack high-temperature mechanical performance. Alloying aluminum with cerium creates a highly castable alloy, compatible with traditional aluminum alloy additions, that exhibits dramatically improved high-temperature performance. These compositions display a room temperature ultimate tensile strength of 400 MPa and yield strength of 320 MPa, with 80% mechanical property retention at 240 °C. A mechanism is identified that addresses the mechanical property stability of the Al-alloys to at least 300 °C and their microstructural stability to above 500 °C which may enable applications without the need for heat treatment. Finally, neutron diffraction under load provides insight into the unusual mechanisms driving the mechanical strength

Carbon-based nano-electro-mechanical systems

We provide an overview of our work where carbon-based nanostructures have been applied to twodimensional (2D) planar and three-dimensional (3D) vertically-oriented nano-electro-mechanical (NEM) switches. In the first configuration, laterally oriented single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) synthesized using thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were implemented for forming bridge-type 2D NEMS switches, where switching voltages were on the order of a few volts. In the second configuration, vertically oriented carbon nanofibers (CNFs) synthesized using plasma-enhanced (PE) CVD have been explored for their potential application in 3D NEMS. We have performed nanomechanical measurements on such vertically oriented tubes using nanoindentation to determine the mechanical properties of the CNFs. Electrostatic switching was demonstrated in the CNFs synthesized on refractory metallic nitride substrates, where a nanoprobe was used as the actuating electrode inside a scanning-electron-microscope. The switching voltages were determined to be in the tens of volts range and van der Waals interactions at these length scales appeared significant, suggesting such structures are promising for nonvolatile memory applications. A finite element model was also developed to determine a theoretical pull-in voltage which was compared to experimental results

The MAGPI Survey: Drivers of kinematic asymmetries in the ionised gas of z∼0.3z\sim0.3 star-forming galaxies

Galaxy gas kinematics are sensitive to the physical processes that contribute to a galaxy's evolution. It is expected that external processes will cause more significant kinematic disturbances in the outer regions, while internal processes will cause more disturbances for the inner regions. Using a subsample of 47 galaxies ($0.27<z<0.36$) from the Middle Ages Galaxy Properties with Integral Field Spectroscopy (MAGPI) survey, we conduct a study into the source of kinematic disturbances by measuring the asymmetry present in the ionised gas line-of-sight velocity maps at the $0.5R_e$ (inner regions) and $1.5R_e$ (outer regions) elliptical annuli. By comparing the inner and outer kinematic asymmetries, we aim to better understand what physical processes are driving the asymmetries in galaxies. We find the local environment plays a role in kinematic disturbance, in agreement with other integral field spectroscopy studies of the local universe, with most asymmetric systems being in close proximity to a more massive neighbour. We do not find evidence suggesting that hosting an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) contributes to asymmetry within the inner regions, with some caveats due to emission line modelling. In contrast to previous studies, we do not find evidence that processes leading to asymmetry also enhance star formation in MAGPI galaxies. Finally, we find a weak anti-correlation between stellar mass and asymmetry (ie. high stellar mass galaxies are less asymmetric). We conclude by discussing possible sources driving the asymmetry in the ionised gas, such as disturbances being present in the colder gas phase (either molecular or atomic) prior to the gas being ionised, and non-axisymmetric features (e.g., a bar) being present in the galactic disk. Our results highlight the complex interplay between ionised gas kinematic disturbances and physical processes involved in galaxy evolution.Comment: e.g., 20 pages, 19 figure

Energy distributions of field emitted electrons from carbon nanosheets: manifestation of the quantum size effect

We emphasize the importance of experiments with voltage dependent field emission energy distribution analysis in carbon nanosheets. Our analysis shows the crucial influence of the band structure on the energy distribution of field emitted electrons in few-layer graphene. In addition to the main peak we found characteristic sub-peaks in the energy distribution. Their positions strongly depend on the number of layers and the inter-layer interaction. The discovery of these peaks in field emission experiments from carbon nanosheets would be a clear manifestation of the quantum size effect in these new materials.Comment: accepted for publication in JETP Letter

Factors affecting the use of biosecurity measures for the protection of ruminant livestock and farm workers against infectious diseases in central South Africa

Biosecurity measures have been introduced to limit economic losses and zoonotic exposures to humans by preventing and controlling animal diseases. However, they are implemented on individual farms with varying frequency. The goal of this study was to evaluate which biosecurity measures were used by farmers to prevent infectious diseases in ruminant livestock and to identify factors that influenced these decisions. We conducted a survey in 264 ruminant livestock farmers in a 40,000 km2 area in the Free State and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa. We used descriptive statistics, to characterize biosecurity measures and farm attributes, then multivariable binomial regression to assess the strength of the association between the attributes and the implementation of biosecurity measures including property fencing, separate equipment use on different species, separate rearing of species, isolation of sick animals, isolation of pregnant animals, quarantine of new animals, animal transport cleaning, vaccination, tick control and insect control. Ninety-nine percent of farmers reported using at least one of the 10 biosecurity measures investigated (median [M]: 6; range: 0–10). The most frequently used biosecurity measures were tick control (81%, 214 out of 264), vaccination (80%, 211 out of 264) and isolation of sick animals (72%, 190 out of 264). More biosecurity measures were used on farms with 65–282 animals (M: 6; odds ratio [OR]: 1.52) or farms with 283–12,030 animals (M: 7; OR: 1.87) than on farms with fewer than 65 animals (M: 4). Furthermore, farmers who kept two animal species (M: 7; OR: 1.41) or three or more species (M: 7) used more biosecurity measures than single-species operations (M: 4). Farmers with privately owned land used more biosecurity measures (M: 6; OR: 1.51) than those grazing their animals on communal land (M: 3.5). Farms that reported previous Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks used more biosecurity measures (M: 7; OR: 1.25) compared with farms without RVF reports (M: 6) and those that purchased animals in the 12 months prior to the survey (M: 7; OR: 1.19) compared with those that did not (M: 6). When introducing new animals into their herds (n = 122), most farmers used fewer biosecurity measures than they did for their existing herd: 34% (41 out of 122) used multiple biosecurity measures like those of vaccination, tick control, quarantine or antibiotic use, whereas 36% (44 out of 122) used only one and 30% (37 out of 122) used none. Certain farm features, primarily those related to size and commercialization, were associated with more frequent use of biosecurity measures. Given the variation in the application of biosecurity measures, more awareness and technical assistance are needed to support the implementation of a biosecurity management plan appropriate for the type of farm operation and available resources.DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data that support the study's findings and that can be disclosed per IRB protocol are available upon request from EcoHealth Alliance, 520 Eighth Ave Ste 1200, New York, NY 10018, from Melinda K. Rostal ([email protected]).The project depicted is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/tbedhj2022Production Animal Studie

Prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and occupational risk factors among professional cooks: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have pointed out that the school lunch workers in Japan are suffering from work-related disorders including finger deformations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and the association with job-related risk factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 5,719 subjects (response rate: 81%, 982 men and 4,737 women) was undertaken during September 2003 to February 2004.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Finger deformations were found among 11.7% of the men and 35.6% of the women studied, with significant differences among sex, age and sex-age groups. For both men and women the pattern of finger deformations across the hand was similar for the right and the left hand. For women, the deformations were found in about 10% of the distal interphalangeal joints of all fingers. Based on multiple logistic regression analyses, the factors female sex, age, the number of cooked lunches per cook and cooking activities were independently associated with the prevalence of finger deformations. High prevalence odds ratios were found for those frequently carrying or using tools by hands such as delivering containers, distributing meals, preparing dishes, washing equipment, cutting and stirring foods.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Among the school lunch workers studied, women had a higher prevalence of finger deformations on all joints of both hands. Various cooking tasks were associated with the prevalence of finger deformations. The results suggest that improvements in working conditions are important for preventing work-related disorders such as finger deformations.</p