Understanding the Impact of Fluid Viscosity on the Growth and Conjugation of Antimicrobial Resistant Donors and Recipients Pairs

To combat the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), it is vital to link the behavior of donor and recipient bacteria in dynamic environments to horizontal gene transfer (HGT) potential- specifically, conjugation the primary means of spread of AMR genes. However, HGT is poorly understood under dynamic conditions, such as those in the gut of humans and animals. Most experiments are done under static conditions at viscosities similar to water, but these methods do not accurately represent the higher gut viscosities or movement. Hence, a next step to increase understanding of conjugation is with experiments using generic donor and recipient pairs at different viscosities. Accordingly, it is necessary to establish the relationship between viscosity and bacterial growth in these experiments, for which our hypothesis is that the rate of bacterial growth in fluids with higher viscosities will be lower due to water displacement. To test this hypothesis, experiments were designed to measure the number of donors, recipients and transconjugant bacteria using optical density. Varying concentrations of the thickeners agar and xanthan gum will be used to achieve different viscosity levels in the media. Media of thicknesses closer to that of bodily fluids, which are more alike to pancake syrup or batter, will be evaluated. Concentrations will be tracked at half hour intervals as a means to obtain data and to formulate a growth curve model. Some preliminary results indicate that our hypothesis has a good probability of being correct. Linear growth curve models were applied to the data for comparison purposes

Experiences of secure services for older adults who have a forensic history

This research project explores the lived experiences of older adults who have offended, on life in secure forensic services. Chapter one delves into how this population have coped in prison and/or secure forensic mental health units. Through a systematic review and narrative synthesis of relevant literature in the field, findings involved themes around religion, social support, activities, treatment/rehabilitation, a sense of belonging and acceptance. Chapter two turned the focus to secure forensic mental health units in particular, given the lack of research in this area. A qualitative methodology utilised semi-structured interviews to explore participant’s sense making of living in secure forensic mental health units as an older adult. Themes included: the relational power of staff members in secure care, the experience of living with other patients with forensic and mental health needs, the stressors of being an older adult in secure care, and coping

Incorporating ethics in software engineering : challenges and opportunities

Ethics is recognised as an important concern in the development and operation of software systems. While there are codes of ethics and sets of ethical principles available to software professionals, there is a lack of tool and process support for systematic ethical deliberation at most stages of the software lifecycle. To create and deploy ethical software, it is vital that ethical concerns of software systems are reflected in their artefacts, such as requirements, software architecture, code and test suites, and that software professionals are supported in considering the ethical as well as technical consequences of their decisions. This paper reports on some early work in identifying the challenges of ethical decision making and opportunities for addressing these challenges in the context of software engineering.Postprin

Performance of polypropylene geosynthetic filters under pressurized hydraulic flow conditions: headloss and iron oxide coating retention

Fibers present favorable physical, hydraulic and specific surface area properties for use as a substrate in developing a novel media for the adsorption of heavy metals from drinking water. Specifically the high surface area of the fibers is able to achieve a significantly higher iron-oxide density than reported results for sand under similar coating conditions; the high porosity and high permeability can result in lower headloss in column treatment than traditional materials; and the chemical inertness of the surface can only achieve loosely attached, physically associated coatings making simple, physical regeneration a possibility. The coating procedures for iron-oxide coated sand from previously reported studies were considered as a model. Previous studies included abrasion tests to remove loosely attached iron-oxide after coating at unspecified or very high Reynolds numbers. This study was conducted to determine the ability of polypropylene fiber to retain a high iron-oxide coating under reasonable flow rates, typical of those used in water treatment, through column studies. In the column studies, the material was tested under two different packing schemes, and headloss, an important parameter to consider in choosing filter media for practical application, was also measured. Additional experiments were included to characterize the coated media, illustrate the removal effectiveness of a representative heavy metal (arsenic), and determine its ability to be regenerated. The polypropylene mat achieved an iron density of up to 99.8 mg Fe/g of material and retained 72% of this coating after being subjected to hydraulic flows several times the reasonable rate, while maintaining an acceptable headloss. However, even after washing at 100 bed volumes, the suspended iron concentration of the effluent water was consistently above the secondary MCL for iron in drinking water, 0.3 mg/L. While the samples showed a substantial reduction from the initial concentrations, the result, while promising is unreliable. Further investigation should include maximizing the coating conditions, minimizing iron loss in effluent water and evaluating the effective lifetime of the media.M.S., Civil Engineering -- Drexel University, 200

Systemic inflammation, coagulopathy, and acute renal insufficiency following endovascular thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair

ObjectiveTo characterize the inflammatory and coagulopathic response after endovascular thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair and to evaluate the effect of the response on postoperative renal function.MethodsFrom July 2005 to June 2008, 42 patients underwent elective endovascular repair of a TAAA using custom designed multi-branched stent-grafts at a single academic institution. Four patients were excluded from the analysis. White blood cell count (WBC), platelet count, prothrombin time (PT), and creatinine were measured in all patients. In the last nine patients, interleukin-6 (IL-6), protein C, Factor V, d-dimers, cystatin C, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels were also measured. Change in lab values were expressed as a percentage of baseline values.ResultsThe 30-day mortality rate was 5% (2/38). All patients (n = 38) had a higher WBC (mean ± SD: 139 ± 80%, P < .0001), lower platelet count (56 ± 15%, P < .0001), and higher PT (median: 17%, Interquartile range (IQR) 12%-22%, P < .0001) after stent-graft insertion. Twelve of 38 patients (32%) developed postoperative acute renal insufficiency (>50% rise in creatinine). Patients with renal insufficiency had significantly larger changes in WBC (178 ± 100% vs 121 ± 64%, P = .04) and platelet count (64 ± 17% vs 52 ± 12%, P = .02) compared with those without renal insufficiency. All patients (n = 9) had significant increases in NGAL (182 ± 115%, P = .008) after stent-graft insertion. Six of nine patients (67%) had increased cystatin C (35 ± 43%, P = .04) after stent-graft insertion, with a greater rise in those with postoperative renal insufficiency (87 ± 32% vs 8 ± 13%, P = .02). IL-6 levels were markedly increased in all patients (n = 9) after repair (9840 ± 6160%, P = .008). Protein C (35 ± 10%, P = .008) and Factor V levels (28 ± 20%, P = .008) were uniformly decreased, while d-dimers were elevated after repair in all patients (310 ± 213%, P = .008).ConclusionsLeukocytosis and thrombocytopenia were uniform following endovascular TAAA repair, and the severity of the response correlated with post-operative renal dysfunction. Elevation of a sensitive marker of renal injury (NGAL) suggests that renal injury may occur in all patients after stent-graft insertion

2014 Field Excavations at the Little Creek Community Nacogdoches County

In the summer of 2014 (June 2-July 3), SFA Archaeological Field School (ANT 440) was led by Dr. Leslie G. Cecil and had 13 students and three volunteers. The site selected was the Little Creek Community (41NA378) that was decimated by the floods of 1974. The site is approximately six acres it is under the Nacogdoches Banita Creek Park and Dog Park in Nacogdoches, TX. in area of which only 51 meters2 were excavated. Brian Bray approved the selection of the site and gave approval for excavations. The location of the community was based on the ethnographic map created by Abercrombie (2013) and Cecil conducted a ground penetrating radar survey before field school began. Due to the high frequency of potential artifacts everywhere, two locations were selected for clearing excavations: 1) the AME Church and 2) the Davis house. Excavations and artifacts found indicated the occupational date of the site (1900s1970s), the edge of the Church, and the area at the Davis house where they burned trash. Artifacts are curated at the SFA Anthropology and Archaeology laboratory. Future research at the site would be recommended should the City of Nacogdoches build any other structures there

2014 Field Excavations at the Little Creek Community Nacogdoches County

In the summer of 2014 (June 2-July 3), SFA Archaeological Field School (ANT 440) was led by Dr. Leslie G. Cecil and had 13 students and three volunteers. The site selected was the Little Creek Community (41NA378) that was decimated by the floods of 1974. The site is approximately six acres it is under the Nacogdoches Banita Creek Park and Dog Park in Nacogdoches, TX. in area of which only 51 meters2 were excavated. Brian Bray approved the selection of the site and gave approval for excavations. The location of the community was based on the ethnographic map created by Abercrombie (2013) and Cecil conducted a ground penetrating radar survey before field school began. Due to the high frequency of potential artifacts everywhere, two locations were selected for clearing excavations: 1) the AME Church and 2) the Davis house. Excavations and artifacts found indicated the occupational date of the site (1900s1970s), the edge of the Church, and the area at the Davis house where they burned trash. Artifacts are curated at the SFA Anthropology and Archaeology laboratory. Future research at the site would be recommended should the City of Nacogdoches build any other structures there

A2 milk enhances dynamic muscle function following repeated sprint exercise, a possible ergogenic aid for a1-protein intolerant athletes?

�� 2019 The Authors. Published by MDPI. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher���s website: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9020094Hyperaminoacidemia following ingestion of cows-milk may stimulate muscle anabolism and attenuate exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). However, as dairy-intolerant athletes do not obtain the reported benefits from milk-based products, A2 milk may offer a suitable alternative as it lacks the A1-protein. This study aimed to determine the effect of A2 milk on recovery from a sports-specific muscle damage model. Twenty-one male team sport players were allocated to three independent groups: A2 milk (n = 7), regular milk (n = 7), and placebo (PLA) (n = 7). Immediately following muscle-damaging exercise, participants consumed either A2 milk, regular milk or PLA (500 mL each). Visual analogue scale (muscle soreness), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), countermovement jump (CMJ) and 20-m sprint were measured prior to and 24, 48, and 72 h post EIMD. At 48 h post-EIMD, CMJ and 20-m sprint recovered quicker in A2 (33.4 �� 6.6 and 3.3 �� 0.1, respectively) and regular milk (33.1 �� 7.1 and 3.3 �� 0.3, respectively) vs. PLA (29.2 �� 3.6 and 3.6 �� 0.3, respectively) (p < 0.05). Relative to baseline, decrements in 48 h CMJ and 20-m sprint were minimised in A2 (by 7.2 and 5.1%, respectively) and regular milk (by 6.3 and 5.2%, respectively) vs. PLA. There was a trend for milk treatments to attenuate decrements in MVIC, however statistical significance was not reached (p = 0.069). Milk treatments had no apparent effect on muscle soreness (p = 0.152). Following muscle-damaging exercise, ingestion of 500 mL of A2 or regular milk can limit decrements in dynamic muscle function in male athletes, thus hastening recovery and improving subsequent performance. The findings propose A2 milk as an ergogenic aid following EIMD, and may offer an alternative to athletes intolerant to the A1 protein.Published versio

Hubungan Penggunaan Dan Penanganan Pestisida Pada Petani Bawang Merah Terhadap Residu Pestisida Dalam Tanah Di Lahan Pertanian Desa Wanasari Kecamatan Wanasari Kabupaten Brebes

Excessive use of pesticides causing pollution and environmental damage agriculture. Examination in Brebes on 31 samples of fruits and vegetables, found 22% of samples contain detectable residues of organophosphate and found two soil samples (10%) contained residues organochlorin. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of the use and handling of pesticides on their onion farmers against pesticide residues in the soil on agricultural land Wanasari Village, District Wanasari, Brebes. This study is observational method with cross sectional approach. The population in this study were all farmers in the Wanasari conducting spraying. Collecting data using the tool Banu questionnaire and examination of pesticide residues in soil using GC-MS Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry. The results of this study are of 55 69.1 onion farmers use pesticides are not good. The use of pesticides covering 80% is not good in mixing pesticides, 87.3% use a smaller dose, 49.1% use pesticides that are not registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, 87.3% is not good in the way of spraying and 87.3 does well in frequency spraying. Handling pesticides in agricultural land is not good 59.1%, ie 74.5% is not good in handling pesticide containers, 90.9% is not good in storage of pesticides, 89.1% is not good in handling a spill and 87.3% did not either in place to clean pesticide containers. The research result is negative soil samples pesticide residues. The conclusion was that no pesticide residue class organochlorin