Development of the correction procedure for High Volume Instrument elongation measurement.

Cotton spinning mills need high-quality fibers to maintain their manufacturing efficiency. Machinery throughput is increasing and it could translate into more processes with higher breaking stress. Consequently, more fibers are susceptible to breaking or damage. To face this problem, breeders must develop new varieties whose fibers can better withstand this mechanical stress. The main tool utilized in cotton breeding programs is the High Volume Instrument (HVI), which reports in a short time measurements such as micronaire, length, color, and strength. This instrument can also determine fiber elongation, but there is no current correction method for it. Both elongation and strength factor into the work-to-break of fibers, which plays a direct role in fiber breakage and spinning performance. The objective of this work was to develop cotton elongation standards, devise a correction procedure for HVI lines, evaluate measurement stability, and validate these results with a set of independent samples. Two commercial bales, one with low and one with high HVI elongation, were identified as potential elongation standards. The potential standards were produced and evaluated. After validation, they were used to correct HVI lines against Stelometer (STrength-ELOngation-METER) measurements. An independent set of samples was tested on corrected HVIs to confirm the effectiveness of the elongation corrected measurements. The HVI data were at least as good as the Stelometer data, with increased data acquisition speed and precision. This research can help cotton breeders to improve fiber elongation and strength at the same time, resulting in better fibers for yarn spinning

DNA barcoding identifies cryptic animal tool materials

Funding: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (Grants BB/G023913/1 and BB/G023913/2 to C.R., and studentship to B.C.K.), the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews (studentships to M.P.S. and B.C.K.), and the Leverhulme Trust (Grant RPG-2015-273 to P.M.H.).Some animals fashion tools or constructions out of plant materials to aid foraging, reproduction, self-maintenance, or protection. Their choice of raw materials can affect the structure and properties of the resulting artifacts, with considerable fitness consequences. Documenting animals’ material preferences is challenging, however, as manufacture behavior is often difficult to observe directly, and materials may be processed so heavily that they lack identifying features. Here, we use DNA barcoding to identify, from just a few recovered tool specimens, the plant species New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) use for crafting elaborate hooked stick tools in one of our long-term study populations. The method succeeded where extensive fieldwork using an array of conventional approaches—including targeted observations, camera traps, radio-tracking, bird-mounted video cameras, and behavioral experiments with wild and temporarily captive subjects—had failed. We believe that DNA barcoding will prove useful for investigating many other tool and construction behaviors, helping to unlock significant research potential across a wide range of study systems.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The methodology of surveillance for antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections in Europe (SUSPIRE): a systematic review of publicly available information.

OBJECTIVES: Surveillance is a key component of any control strategy for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and public availability of methodologic aspects is crucial for the interpretation of the data. We sought to systematically review publicly available information for HAIs and/or AMR surveillance systems organized by public institutions or scientific societies in European countries. METHODS: A systematic review of scientific and grey literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was performed. Information on HAIs and/or AMR surveillance systems published until 31 October 2016 were included. RESULTS: A total of 112 surveillance systems were detected; 56 from 20 countries were finally included. Most exclusions were due to lack of publicly available information. Regarding AMR, the most frequent indicator was the proportion of resistant isolates (27 of 34 providing information, 79.42%); only 18 (52.9%) included incidence rates; the data were only laboratory based in 33 (78.5%) of the 42 providing this information. Regarding HAIs in intensive care units, all 22 of the systems providing data included central line-associated bloodstream infections, and 19 (86.3%) included ventilator-associated pneumonia and catheter-associated urinary tract infections; incidence density was the most frequent indicator. Regarding surgical site infections, the most frequent procedures included were hip prosthesis, colon surgery and caesarean section (21/22, 95.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Publicly available information about the methods and indicators of the surveillance system is frequently lacking. Despite the efforts of European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) and other organizations, wide heterogeneity in procedures and indicators still exists

Body surface area and baseline blood pressure predict subclinical anthracycline cardiotoxicity in women treated for early breast cancer.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Anthracyclines are highly effective chemotherapeutic agents which may cause long-term cardiac damage (chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity) and heart failure. The pathogenesis of anthracycline cardiotoxicity remains incompletely understood and individual susceptibility difficult to predict. We sought clinical features which might contribute to improved risk assessment. METHODS: Subjects were women with early breast cancer, free of pre-existing cardiac disease. Left ventricular ejection fraction was measured using cardiovascular magnetic resonance before and >12 months after anthracycline-based chemotherapy (>3 months post-Trastuzumab). Variables associated with subclinical cardiotoxicity (defined as a fall in left ventricular ejection fraction of ≥5%) were identified by logistic regression. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-five women (mean age 48.3 years at enrollment) completed the study 21.7 months [IQR 18.0-26.8] after starting chemotherapy. All received anthracyclines (98.8% epirubicin, cumulative dose 400 [300-450] mg/m2); 18% Trastuzumab. Baseline blood pressure was elevated (≥140/90mmHg, mean 147.3/86.1mmHg) in 18 subjects. Thirty-four subjects (20.7%) were identified with subclinical cardiotoxicity, independent predictors of which were the number of anthracycline cycles (odds ratio, OR 1.64 [1.17-2.30] per cycle), blood pressure ≥140/90mmHg (OR 5.36 [1.73-17.61]), body surface area (OR 2.08 [1.36-3.20] per standard deviation (0.16m2) increase), and Trastuzumab therapy (OR 3.35 [1.18-9.51]). The resultant predictive-model had an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.78 [0.70-0.86]. CONCLUSIONS: We found subclinical cardiotoxicity to be common even within this low risk cohort. Risk of cardiotoxicity was associated with modestly elevated baseline blood pressure-indicating that close attention should be paid to blood pressure in patients considered for anthracycline based chemotherapy. The association with higher body surface area suggests that indexing of anthracycline doses to surface area may not be appropriate for all, and points to the need for additional research in this area

Development of the correction procedure for High Volume Instrument elongation measurement.

Cotton spinning mills need high-quality fibers to maintain their manufacturing efficiency. Machinery throughput is increasing and it could translate into more processes with higher breaking stress. Consequently, more fibers are susceptible to breaking or damage. To face this problem, breeders must develop new varieties whose fibers can better withstand this mechanical stress. The main tool utilized in cotton breeding programs is the High Volume Instrument (HVI), which reports in a short time measurements such as micronaire, length, color, and strength. This instrument can also determine fiber elongation, but there is no current correction method for it. Both elongation and strength factor into the work-to-break of fibers, which plays a direct role in fiber breakage and spinning performance. The objective of this work was to develop cotton elongation standards, devise a correction procedure for HVI lines, evaluate measurement stability, and validate these results with a set of independent samples. Two commercial bales, one with low and one with high HVI elongation, were identified as potential elongation standards. The potential standards were produced and evaluated. After validation, they were used to correct HVI lines against Stelometer (STrength-ELOngation-METER) measurements. An independent set of samples was tested on corrected HVIs to confirm the effectiveness of the elongation corrected measurements. The HVI data were at least as good as the Stelometer data, with increased data acquisition speed and precision. This research can help cotton breeders to improve fiber elongation and strength at the same time, resulting in better fibers for yarn spinning.Made available in DSpace on 2020-01-14T00:42:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Developmentofthecorrectionprocedureforhigh.pdf: 614075 bytes, checksum: 5d6ed7ea40d6643036003b439231c614 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019bitstream/item/208671/1/Development-of-the-correction-procedure-for-high.pd

ADEME, 2018. Améliorer la qualité de l’air intérieur dans un bâtiment tertiaire – Évaluation in situ des performances d’un prototype d’épuration de l’air (techniques de filtration, d’adsorption et de photocatalyse) – CUBAIR : Confort des usagers des bâtiments tertiaires par l'usage de techniques de traitement de l'air. Rapport n°4, 46 pages.

RapportInternational audienc

ADEME, 2018 Améliorer la qualité de l’air intérieur dans un bâtiment tertiaire – De la conception à l’intégration d’un prototype d’épuration d’air (techniques de filtration, d’adsorption et de photocatalyse) - CUBAIR : Confort des usagers des bâtiments tertiaires par l'usage de techniques de traitement de l'air. Rapport n°3, 52 pages.

RapportInternational audienc