Improvements in the Assessment of Bacterial Viability and Killing

It is axiomatic that our planet is extensively inhabited by diverse micro-organisms such as bacteria, yet the absolute diversity of different bacterial species is widely held to be unknown. Different bacteria can be found from the depths of the oceans to the top of the mountains; even the air is more or less colonized by bacteria. Most bacteria are either harmless or even advantageous to human beings but there are also bacteria, which can cause severe infectious diseases or spoil the supplies intended for human consumption. Therefore, it is vitally important not only to be able to detect and enumerate bacteria but also to assess their viability and possible harmfulness. Whilst the growth of bacteria is remarkably fast under optimum conditions and easy to detect by cultural methods, most bacteria are believed to lie in stationary phase of growth in which the actual growth is ceased and thus bacteria may simply be undetectable by cultural techniques. Additionally, several injurious factors such as low and high temperature or deficiency of nutrients can turn bacteria into a viable but non-culturable state (VBNC) that cannot be detected by cultural methods. Thereby, various noncultural techniques developed for the assessment of bacterial viability and killing have widely been exploited in modern microbiology. However, only a few methods are suitable for kinetic measurements, which enable the real-time detection of bacterial growth and viability. The present study describes alternative methods for measuring bacterial viability and killing as well as detecting the effects of various antimicrobial agents on bacteria on a real-time basis. The suitability of bacterial (lux) and beetle (luc) luciferases as well as green fluorescent protein (GFP) to act as a marker of bacterial viability and cell growth was tested. In particular, a multiparameter microplate assay based on GFP-luciferase combination as well as a flow cytometric measurement based on GFP-PI combination were developed to perform divergent viability analyses. The results obtained suggest that the antimicrobial activities of various drugs against bacteria could be successfully measured using both of these methods. Specifically, the data reliability of flow cytometric viability analysis was notably improved as GFP was utilized in the assay. A fluoro-luminometric microplate assay enabled kinetic measurements, which significantly improved and accelerated the assessment of bacterial viability compared to more conventional viability assays such as plate counting. Moreover, the multiparameter assay made simultaneous detection of GFP fluorescence and luciferase bioluminescence possible and provided extensive information about multiple cellular parameters in single assay, thereby increasing the accuracy of the assessment of the kinetics of antimicrobial activities on target bacteria.Siirretty Doriast

Primaaris-progressiiviseen multippeliskleroosiin liittyvän aksonaalisen degeneraation diffuusioparametrien kronologinen analyysi

Primaaris-progressiivisen multippelin skleroosin etenemisen ja siihen liittyvien diffuusioparametrien muutoksista on julkaistu niukalti tietoa. Tässä työssä seurattiin 15 primaaris-progressiivista MS-tautia sairastavaa potilasta noin viiden vuoden ajan. Seuranta-aikana tutkittavista otettiin 2-4 aivojen diffuusiopainotteista magneettikuvaa sekä arvioitiin toimintakykyä EDSS-asteikon (Expanded Disability Status Scale) avulla. Tutkittavan ryhmän ensimmäiset magneettikuvat toimivat vertailutasona, johon myöhempiä kuvia verrattiin. Tilastollisesti merkitseviä (p ≤ 0,05) diffuusioparametrien muutoksia etsittiin kahden riippuvan muuttujan T-testillä käyttäen Oxfordin yliopiston FMRIB-ryhmän kehittämää FSL-ohjelmistokirjastoa. Lisäksi tässä työssä tutkittiin diffuusioparametrien muutoksien ja EDSS-asteikon välistä korrelaatiota. Tuloksina havaittiin laaja-alaisia muutoksia supratentoriaalisen, pikkuaivojen ja aivorungon valkeassa aineessa. Muutokset olivat kvantitatiivisen diffuusiokertoimen, aksiaalisen ja radiaalisen diffuusion arvojen osalta pääasiassa nousevia. Fraktionaalisen anisotropian muutokset olivat sekä nousevia, että laskevia, joista arvojen lasku sijoittui aivorungon alueelle ja nousu supratentoriaalisen oikean hemisfäärin alueelle. Kvantitatiivisen diffuusiokertoimen nousu voi johtua sairauteen liittyvien tulehduksellisten muutosten aiheuttaman aivoatrofian ja siitä johtuvasta kudosten vesipitoisuuden noususta. Fraktionaalisen anisotropian lasku liittynee hermosäiekimppujen demyelinisaatioon. Koska tervettä vertailuryhmää ei ollut käytettävissä, ei tulosten mahdollisen sairaudesta johtuvan poikkeavuuden osalta voida vetää lopullisia johtopäätelmiä. Tilastollisesti merkitsevää korrelaatiota diffuusioparametrien ja EDSS-asteikon välillä ei tässä työssä löytynyt

Flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier for sub-GHz frequencies fabricated with side-wall passivated spacer junction technology

We present experimental results on a Josephson parametric amplifier tailored for readout of ultra-sensitive thermal microwave detectors. In particular, we discuss the impact of fabrication details on the performance. We show that the small volume of deposited dielectric materials enabled by the side-wall passivated spacer niobium junction technology leads to robust operation across a wide range of operating temperatures up to 1.5 K. The flux-pumped amplifier has gain in excess of 20 dB in three-wave mixing and its center frequency is tunable between 540 MHz and 640 MHz. At 600 MHz, the amplifier adds 105 mK $\pm$ 9 mK of noise, as determined with the hot/cold source method. Phase-sensitive amplification is demonstrated with the device

The Rheumatoid Shoulder: Current Surgical Treatments

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease resulting in pain and decreased functional outcome. Even though most of large joints are widely discussed in literature, shoulder’s surgical treatment options, indications and superiorities to each other were not compared entirely

Superconducting insulators and localization of Cooper pairs

Rapid miniaturization of electronic devices and circuits demands profound understanding of fluctuation phenomena at the nanoscale. Superconducting nanowires -- serving as important building blocks for such devices -- may seriously suffer from fluctuations which tend to destroy long-range order and suppress superconductivity. In particular, quantum phase slips (QPS) proliferating at low temperatures may turn a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor into a resistor or an insulator. Here, we introduce a physical concept of QPS-controlled localization of Cooper pairs that may occur even in uniform nanowires without any dielectric barriers being a fundamental manifestation of the flux-charge duality in superconductors. We demonstrate -- both experimentally and theoretically -- that deep in the "insulating" state such nanowires actually exhibit non-trivial superposition of superconductivity and weak Coulomb blockade of Cooper pairs generated by quantum tunneling of magnetic fluxons across the wire.Comment: 7+2 pages,5+2 figure

Three factor eating questionnaire-R18 as a measure of cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in a sample of young Finnish females

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of the study was to examine the construct validity of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire -R18 (TFEQ-R18), a measure of eating behaviour, and to evaluate cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in a sample of adolescent and young adult females of different weights.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subjects were 2 997 females, aged 17 to 20 years, who participated in a phase III human papillomavirus vaccination trial in Finland in 2004 – 2009.</p> <p>Self-administered questionnaires and weight and height measurements were used. The factor structure of the TFEQ-R18 was verified by factor analysis. Connections between measured eating behaviour and Body Mass Index (BMI) were tested using analysis of variance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The original factor structure of the TFEQ-R18 was replicated: six of the eighteen items measured cognitive restraint, nine measured uncontrolled eating, and three measured emotional eating. On average, higher BMI was associated with higher levels of cognitive restraint (p < 0.001) and emotional eating (p < 0.001), but not with uncontrolled eating.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Structural validity of the TFEQ-R18 was good in this sample of young Finnish females with a varying range of body weights. Use of the instrument as a measure of eating behaviour was thus corroborated. Connections of restrained and emotional eating with BMI were in accordance with previous findings from young females.</p

Tulevaisuus - paljon mahdollista – Tulevaisuusohjauksen ajatuksia ja tekoja

T&auml;m&auml; k&auml;sikirja on tarkoitettu opiskelijoiden&nbsp;ja muiden oppijoiden uraohjausty&ouml;t&auml;&nbsp;tekeville ja siit&auml; kiinnostuneille. Kuvailemme&nbsp;sek&auml; tulevaisuusohjauksen l&auml;ht&ouml;kohtia&nbsp;ett&auml; sen tueksi kehitettyj&auml; ty&ouml;kaluja.&nbsp;Tulevaisuusohjaus on kehitteill&auml;&nbsp;oleva viitekehys, jonka keskeinen ajatus&nbsp;on yhdist&auml;&auml; pitk&auml;n aikav&auml;lin tulevaisuusajattelua&nbsp;kokonaisvaltaiseen opinto- ja&nbsp;uraohjaukseen. Kirjassa esitell&auml;&auml;n&nbsp;ty&ouml;kaluja, jotka on kehitetty erityisesti&nbsp;tukemaan nuorten alle 30-vuotiaiden&nbsp;koulutusvalintojen tekemist&auml; ja ty&ouml;el&auml;m&auml;&auml;n siirtymist&auml;.&nbsp; K&auml;sikirjan tarkoituksena on kertoa,&nbsp;mit&auml; uutta tulevaisuusohjaus tuo ja&nbsp;toisaalta, miten se liittyy nykyisiin&nbsp;opinto- ja uraohjauksen suuntauksiin.&nbsp;Pyrimme antamaan ajatuksia ja vinkkej&auml;&nbsp;siit&auml;, miten voit ohjata ajattelemaan&nbsp;tulevaisuuden ty&ouml;el&auml;m&auml;&auml; tai auttaa koulutusvalinnoissa.&nbsp;Tulevaisuusty&ouml;kalujen&nbsp;esittelyn lis&auml;ksi mukana on esimerkkej&auml;&nbsp;ty&ouml;kalujen k&auml;yt&ouml;st&auml; opetuksessa ja ohjauksessa.&nbsp;K&auml;sikirja sis&auml;lt&auml;&auml; harjoituksia,&nbsp;tuntimalleja ja kurssisuunnitelmia.</p