Control of Hymenolepis nana infection as a measure to improve mouse colony welfare

After cannibalism had appeared in the reproductive units of a white mouse colony, treatment against confirmed Hymenolepis nana, a tapeworm with zoonotic potential, was performed on 67 mice in the reproductive and nursery units. Faecal droppings were evaluated by flotation and sedimentation methods. The sedimentation method revealed a higher number of positive results before, during and after the treatment, but the flotation method yielded some additional positive cases. In the reproductive unit, H. nana eggs were confirmed in 50% of the tested mice by the flotation and in 70% by the sedimentation method. In the nursery units, H. nana eggs were detected in 10.5% of the tested mice by the flotation and in 24.6% by the sedimentation method. A colony of mice was treated against the tapeworm H. nana with praziquantel and emodepside in doses of 2.574 mg praziquantel/100 g body mass and of 0.642 mg emodepside/100 g body mass. The content of the original pipettes (Profender®) was applied as a spot-on on the back of the neck in the area between the shoulders. The application was repeated three times at 14-day intervals. Seven days after the third therapy no H. nana was found in any of the tested mice in the reproductive or the nursery units. After the treatment, cannibalism was no longer observed. This treatment represented one of the steps aimed at improving animal welfare and preventing potential zoonotic disease. The public health significance of this cestode should receive more attention, especially among people who take care of mice, have them as pets, or feed them to reptiles

Powder coating oven for large machine parts

V zaključni nalogi je predstavljen toplotni preračun peči za prašno barvane kovinske varjence največjih dimenzij 2,7 x 3,6 x 6 m. Ogrevanje peči je izvedeno s plinskim gorilcem moči 110 kW in ustreznim toplotnim izmenjevalcem. Določene so potrebni masni pretoki vročega zraka za segrevanje barvanca in moč gorilca, da dosežemo temperaturo barvanca – 180 °C v sprejemljivem času. Ocenjene so toplotne izgube peči in temperaturni raztezki profilov pri delovni temperaturi peči. Predstavljene so tudi pomembne konstrukcijske rešitve, povezane z visoko temperaturo, tesnenjem in raztezki.This thesis contains a thermal calculation of a powder coating oven for large machine parts with maximum dimensions 2,7 x 3,6 x 6 m. Heating is provided by a 110 kW gas burner and an appropriate heat exchanger. Mass flow of hot air, needed for heating the powder coated metal weldment to an appropriate temperature – 180 °C in a short time is determined. Furthermore, heat losses and temperature expansions of steel beams are defined for the working temperature of the oven. There are also some design solutions regarding high temperature, sealing and temperature expansion

Biomechanical analysis of the periacetabular hip osteotomy

We determined biomechanical parameters (magnitude of the resultant hip force, its inclination with respect to the vertical, contact hip stress, position of the stress pole, size of the load bearing area, functional angle of the load bearing area and stress gradient index) in a single patient before and after the periacetabular osteotomy. The operation was performed due to hip dysplasia. We used two mathematical models to determine the resultant hip force in the one legged stance: the HIPSTRESS model (1) and the one-muscle model (2). Stress was calculated by using the HIPSTRESS model for contact stress (2). The geometrical parameters needed for calculation of biomechanical parameters were assessed from standard anteroposterior radiograms taken from the archive. Before operation, both hips were dysplastic according to the HIPSTRESS method criterion. We found considerable improvement of the contact stress distribution in the operated hip, however, contact hip stress became less favorable in the contralateral hip after the operation. After the operation, the operated hip became normal while at the contralateral side, the degree of the dysplasia has increased

Interaction between two cylindrical inclusions in a symmetric lipid bilayer

An approach that allows to derive the membrane-mediated interaction between two cylindrical inclusions embedded in a lipid bilayer was developed. This interaction was analyzed in terms of the bilayer properties and the hydrophobic mismatch. Analysis revealed that there is a direct (nonmonotonic) contribution to the inclusion-inclusion interaction arising from the conformational confinement of the lipid chains

Attraction between negatively charged surfaces mediated by spherical counterions with quadrupolar charge distribution

We observed monoclonal antibody mediated coalescence of negatively charged giant unilamellar phospholipid vesicles upon close approach of the vesicles. This feature is described, using a mean field density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations, as that of two interacting flat electrical double layers. Antibodies are considered as spherical counterions of finite dimensions with two equal effective charges spatially separated by a fixed distance l inside it. We calculate the equilibrium configuration of the system by minimizing the free energy. The results obtained by solving the integrodifferential equation and by performing the Monte Carlo simulation are in excellent agreement. For high enough charge densities of the interacting surfaces and large enough l, we obtain within a mean field approach an attractive interaction between like-charged surfaces originating from orientational ordering of quadrupolar counterions. As expected, the interaction between surfaces turns repulsive as the distance between charges is reduced

Supporting microscope images: The Impact of Al2O3 Particles from Grit-Blasted Ti6Al7Nb (Alloy) Implant Surfaces on Biocompatibility, Aseptic Loosening, and Infection

Supporting confocal fluorescence microscope images of live cells grown on different implant surface