Milkweed blended fabrics and their thermal insulation and UV protection properties

Two sets of milkweed blended weft knitted fabrics have been produced and then tested for their constructional properties like courses/wales per inch, thickness, weight and tightness factor. These fabrics are also evaluated for thermal insulation (TI), water vapour permeability, air permeability and ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) properties and then compared with the only cotton and polyester knitted fabrics. The UPF and TI data of various blends of milkweed fibre with cotton or polyester have beed evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results reveal that the thermal insulation and ultraviolet protection factor of the milkweed blended fabric are higher than the corresponding properties of cotton and polyester fabrics, while the air permeability and water permeability properties are lower than the corresponding properties of cotton and polyester knitted fabrics.

Evolutionary dynamics of avian influenza A virus in the natural reservoir

Poster Presentations: Animal Influenza EcologyAvian influenza viruses were thought to exist in a form of evolutionary stasis within their natural reservoirs, i.e. waterfowls. However, a recent study demonstrated very high evolutionary rates, with epidemic-like population growth, for individual influenza subtypes in both aquatic birds and poultry, suggesting the stasis theory may be incorrect. Yet the evolutionary dynamics of the influenza gene pool within one species of migratory waterfowl remains unclear. We therefore tested influenza virus population behavior by estimating rates of nucleotide substitution of the internal genes from different subtypes of influenza viruses exclusively from mallard ducks …postprin

Dating the emergence of Influenza A (H5N1) Virus

Since the first detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) virus in geese in Guangdong, China, H5N1 viruses have transmitted to poultry throughout southern China. In late 2003 the first transmission wave spread the virus to multiple Southeast Asian countries. In May 2005, the second transmission wave of H5N1 virus westwards to Europe and Africa was initiated following a major outbreak in migratory birds at Qinghai Lake, China, while a third transmission wave has been initiated since mid-2005. Those viruses are now endemic in poultry populations in some affected regions and cause repeated outbreaks in poultry and increasing human infection cases, creating persistent pandemic concerns. Genetic data from systematic surveillance of H5N1 for the past seven years in marketing poultry, along with sequence data from outbreaks throughout the region, provide us with a unique opportunity to estimate the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) and postulate the dates of introduction of H5N1 variants into different affected countries. In this study, we estimated the time of emergence of those three transmission waves …postprin

Demagnetizing effects in stacked rectangular prisms

International audienceA numerical, magnetostatic model of the internal magnetic field of a rectangular prism is extended to the case of a stack of rectangular prisms. The model enables the calculation of the spatially resolved, three-dimensional internal field in such a stack given any magnetic state function, stack configuration, temperature distribution and applied magnetic field. In this paper the model is applied to the case of a stack of parallel, ferromagnetic rectangular prisms and the resulting internal field is found as a function of the orientation of the applied field, the number of prisms in the stack, the spacing between the prisms and the packing density of the stack. The results show that the resulting internal field is far from being equal to the applied field and that the various stack configurations investigated affect the resulting internal field significantly and non-linearly. The results have a direct impact on the design of, e.g., active magnetic regenerators made of stacked rectangular prisms in terms of optimizing the internal field

Evaluation of Dynamic Cell Processes and Behavior Using Video Bioinformatics Tools

Just as body language can reveal a person’s state of well-being, dynamic changes in cell behavior and morphology can be used to monitor processes in cultured cells. This chapter discusses how CL-Quant software, a commercially available video bioinformatics tool, can be used to extract quantitative data on: (1) growth/proliferation, (2) cell and colony migration, (3) reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and (4) neural differentiation. Protocols created using CL-Quant were used to analyze both single cells and colonies. Time-lapse experiments in which different cell types were subjected to various chemical exposures were done using Nikon BioStations. Proliferation rate was measured in human embryonic stem cell colonies by quantifying colony area (pixels) and in single cells by measuring confluency (pixels). Colony and single cell migration were studied by measuring total displacement (distance between the starting and ending points) and total distance traveled by the colonies/cells. To quantify ROS production, cells were pre-loaded with MitoSOX Red™, a mitochondrial ROS (superoxide) indicator, treated with various chemicals, then total intensity of the red fluorescence was measured in each frame. Lastly, neural stem cells were incubated in differentiation medium for 12 days, and time lapse images were collected daily. Differentiation of neural stem cells was quantified using a protocol that detects young neurons. CLQuant software can be used to evaluate biological processes in living cells, and the protocols developed in this project can be applied to basic research and toxicological studies, or to monitor quality control in culture facilities