High Temperature Protective Coatings for Refractory Metals Progress Report No. 1, 21 Apr. - 21 Jul. 1966

Applicability of iridium as protective coating for refractory metals - rates of interdiffusion of iridium with tungsten, molybdenum, and niobiu

High temperature protective coatings for refractory metals Yearly summary report, 21 Oct. 1964 - 21 Oct. 1965

Performance characteristics of iridium used as high temperature oxidation protective coating for refractory metal

High temperature protective coatings for refractory metals Progress report no. 3, 1 May - 31 Jul. 1965

High temperature protective coating for refractory metals - electrodeposition and diffusion bonding of iridium on tantalum to prevent oxidatio

High temperature protective coatings for refractory metals progress report no. 2, 23 jan. - apr. 1965

Methods of applying iridium to refractory metal substrate, chemical and mechanical behavior of coating substrate system, and qualitative oxidation test

High temperature protective coatings for refractory metals Yearly summary report

Iridium coatings for high temperature oxidation protection on tantalum, niobium, molybdenum, and tungste

Preliminary genetic evidence of two different populations of Opisthorchis viverrini in Lao PDR

Opisthorchis viverrini is a major public health concern in Southeast Asia. Various reports have suggested that this parasite may represent a species complex, with genetic structure in the region perhaps being dictated by geographical factors and different species of intermediate hosts. We used four microsatellite loci to analyze O. viverrini adult worms originating from six species of cyprinid fish in Thailand and Lao PDR. Two distinct O. viverrini populations were observed. In Ban Phai, Thailand, only one subgroup occurred, hosted by two different fish species. Both subgroups occurred in fish from That Luang, Lao PDR, but were represented to very different degrees among the fish hosts there. Our data suggest that, although geographical separation is more important than fish host specificity in influencing genetic structure, it is possible that two species of Opisthorchis, with little interbreeding, are present near Vientiane in Lao PDR

Phenotypic and genotypic monitoring of Schistosoma mansoni in Tanzanian schoolchildren five years into a preventative chemotherapy national control programme

We conducted combined in vitro PZQ efficacy testing with population genetic analyses of S. mansoni collected from children from two schools in 2010, five years after the introduction of a National Control Programme. Children at one school had received four annual PZQ treatments and the other school had received two mass treatments in total. We compared genetic differentiation, indices of genetic diversity, and estimated adult worm burden from parasites collected in 2010 with samples collected in 2005 (before the control programme began) and in 2006 (six months after the first PZQ treatment). Using 2010 larval samples, we also compared the genetic similarity of those with high and low in vitro sensitivity to PZQ

Bayesian paternity analysis and mating patterns in a parasitic nematode, Trichostrongylus tenuis

Mating behaviour is a fundamental aspect of the evolutionary ecology of sexually reproducing species, but one that has been under-researched in parasitic nematodes. We analysed mating behaviour in the parasitic nematode Trichostrongylus tenuis by performing a paternity analysis in a population from a single red grouse host. Paternity of the 150 larval offspring of 25 mothers (sampled from one of the two host caeca) was assigned among 294 candidate fathers (sampled from both caeca). Each candidate father's probability of paternity of each offspring was estimated from 10-locus microsatellite genotypes. Seventy-six (51%) offspring were assigned a father with a probability of >0.8, and the estimated number of unsampled males was 136 (95% credible interval (CI) 77-219). The probability of a male from one caecum fathering an offspring in the other caecum was estimated as 0.024 (95% CI 0.003-0.077), indicating that the junction of the caeca is a strong barrier to dispersal. Levels of promiscuity (defined as the probability of two of an adult's offspring sharing only one parent) were high for both sexes. Variance in male reproductive success was moderately high, possibly because of a combination of random mating and high variance in post-copulatory reproductive success. These results provide the first data on individual mating behaviour among parasitic nematodes

Bacteriophage application restores ethanol fermentation characteristics disrupted by Lactobacillusfermentum

BACKGROUND: Contamination of corn mash by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) reduces the efficiency of the ethanol fermentation process. The industry relies heavily on antibiotics for contamination control and there is a need to develop alternative methods. The goals of this study were to determine the diversity and abundance of bacteria contaminating commercial ethanol fermentations, and to evaluate the potential of anti-LAB bacteriophages in controlling production losses. RESULTS: Bacterial populations in 27 corn mash samples collected from nine different commercial plants were determined by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons. The results showed that the most abundant bacteria (>50 % of total population) in 24 of the 27 samples included LAB genera such as Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Lactococcus, Weissella, Enterococcus, and Pediococcus. Lactobacillus was identified as the most prevalent genus at all fermentation stages in all plants, accounting for between 2.3 and 93.7 % of each population and constituting the major genus (>50 %) in nine samples from five plants and the most abundant genus in five other samples. Lactobacillus species, including L. delbrueckii, L. fermentum, L. mucosae, and L. reuteri were the most well-represented species. Two bacteriophages that target L. fermentum strains from ethanol plants, vB_LfeS_EcoSau and vB_LfeM_EcoInf (EcoSau and EcoInf), were isolated and characterized as a siphophage and a myophage, respectively. Analysis of the 31,703 bp genome of EcoSau revealed its similarity to the P335-like phage group, and the 106,701 bp genome of phage EcoInf was determined to be a novel phage type despite its distant relationship to the SPO1-like phages. Addition of phages EcoSau and EcoInf to L. fermentum-contaminated corn mash fermentation models restored the yields of ethanol and reduced levels of residual glucose, lactic acid, and acetic acid to that comparable to the infection-free control. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides detailed insight into the microbiota contaminating commercial ethanol fermentations, and highlights the abundance of LAB, especially L. delbrueckii, L. fermentum, L. mucosae, and L. reuteri, in the process. This study suggests that phages with broad coverage of major LAB species can be applied directly to corn mash for antibiotic-free control of contamination in the ethanol fermentation industry. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-015-0325-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Sensitivity and Specificity of Multiple Kato-Katz Thick Smears and a Circulating Cathodic Antigen Test for Schistosoma mansoni Diagnosis Pre- and Post-repeated-Praziquantel Treatment

Two Kato-Katz thick smears (Kato-Katzs) from a single stool are currently recommended for diagnosing Schistosoma mansoni infections to map areas for intervention. This ‘gold standard’ has low sensitivity at low infection intensities. The urine point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen test (POC-CCA) is potentially more sensitive but how accurately they detect S. mansoni after repeated praziquantel treatments, their suitability for measuring drug efficacy and their correlation with egg counts remain to be fully understood. We compared the accuracies of one to six Kato-Katzs and one POC-CCA for the diagnosis of S. mansoni in primary-school children who have received zero to ten praziquantel treatments. We determined the impact each diagnostic approach may have on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and drug-efficacy findings