Effects of Ultrasonic Vibration on a Coating Slurry as It Dries on the Sheet

This thesis involves a study of the reaction of coating pigment slurries to ultrasonic vibrations during drying on a sheet of paper. The coating was done with a Meyer Rod and immediately transferred to the surface of a loudspeaker apparatus until dry. Several different coating formulations were used and evaluated with and without ultrasonic agitation. These coatings include combinations of #2 clay, delaminated clay, titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, and polystyrene plastic pigment. Frequencies of 25,000 Hz and 42,000 Hz were used as well as the control group which was not treated. The amplitude was the highest attainable with the frequency generator alone. A proposal of this thesis is that the orientation and void volume of the pigment/binder slurry will be affected by the agitation, as well as increased binder migration. Several properties of the sheet were analyzed and compared to theoretical responses. The coated sheets were evaluated for coat weight, gloss, smoothness, K & N ink test, brightness, and opacity. The gloss and smoothness tests showed the largest responses. A binder migration toward the surface upon ultrasonic treatment showed a decrease in gloss. Smoothness increased due to increased parallel orientation of the pigments to the sheet

Examination of equine glandular stomach lesions for bacteria, including Helicobacter spp by fluorescence in situ hybridisation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The equine glandular stomach is commonly affected by erosion and ulceration. The aim of this study was to assess whether bacteria, including Helicobacter, could be involved in the aetiology of gastric glandular lesions seen in horses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Stomach lesions, as well as normal appearing mucosa were obtained from horses slaughtered for human consumption. All samples were tested for urease activity using the Pyloritek^®assay, while mucosal bacterial content was evaluated using Fluorescence <it>In Situ </it>Hybridisation. In selected sub samples, bacteria characterisation was pursued further by cloning and sequencing. Mucosal lesions were found in 36/63 stomachs and included hyperplastic rugae, polypoid structures and focal erosions. None of the samples were tested positive for urease activity or for FISH using the Helicobacter genus specific probe. In samples of lesions, as well as normal samples, clones with 99% similarities to <it>Lactobacillus salivarius </it>and <it>Sarcina ventriculi </it>were found. <it>Escherichia </it>like bacterium clones and Enterococcus clones were demonstrated in one focal erosion. Based on a phylogenetic tree these clones had 100% similarity to <it>Escherichia fergusonii and Enterococcus faecium</it>. The Enterococcus were found colonising the mucosal surface, while <it>E. fergusonii </it>organisms were also demonstrated intraepithelial.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Gastric Helicobacter spp. could not be verified as being involved in lesions of the glandular stomach of the horse. Since <it>E. fergusonii </it>has been described as an emerging pathogen in both humans and animals, the finding of this bacterium in gastric erosion warrants further clarification to whether gastric infection with this type bacterium is important for horses.</p

Transition in Russia: It's Happening

Working with 110 pairs of time series of state and market commodity prices in Russia, we search for signs of transition in Russia from a command to a market economy. Beginning with inter-city comparisons of state and market prices, we find that differences in the levels of these prices have gradually diminished following the 1992 Big Bang, that market/state price ratios have become increasingly uniform across cities, and that the volatility of innovations to these ratios has decreased dramatically. Further, we find widespread evidence within cities that state and market prices are co-integrated, and that market prices are causally prior to state prices, in the sense of Granger (1969). Finally, we find widespread evidence of co-integration and causality between state and market prices across cities. These findings suggest that, despite obstacles posed by resistant local governments, mafia activity and poor infrastructure, Russia's efforts to implement economic reforms have generated tangible results: the transition to a market economy appears to be well underway.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39423/3/wp33.pd

The transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 channel modulates uterine tone during pregnancy

The importance of gaining insight into the mechanisms underlying uterine quiescence and contractility is highlighted by the absence of an effective strategy to prevent or treat preterm labor, the greatest cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Although current evidence suggests that in myometrial smooth muscle cells (mSMCs) calcium homeostasis is modulated near term to promote uterine contractility, the efficacy of blocking voltage-operated calcium channels is limited by dose-related cardiovascular side effects. Thus, we considered whether uterine contractility might be modulated by calcium entry via transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channels. In mSMC, TRPV4 gene and protein expression increased with gestation, and TRPV4-mediated Ca2+ entry and contractility were increased in mSMC from pregnant compared to nonpregnant rats. Cell membrane TRPV4 expression was specifically increased, whereas the expression of β-arrestin-1 and β-arrestin-2, molecules that can sequester TRPV4 in the cytoplasm, decreased. Physical interaction of β-arrestin-2 and TRPV4 was apparent in nonpregnant, but absent in pregnant, mouse uterus. Moreover, direct pharmacologic activation of TRPV4 increased uterine contraction, but oxytocin-induced myometrial contraction was blocked by pharmacologic inhibition of TRPV4 and decreased in mice with global deletion of TRPV4. Finally, TRPV4 channel blockade prolonged pregnancy in two distinct in vivomurinemodels of preterm labor, whereas the absence of either β-arrestin-1 or β-arrestin-2 increased susceptibility to preterm labor. These data suggest that TRPV4 channel activity modulates uterine contractility and might represent a therapeutic target to address preterm labor

Horses in Denmark Are a Reservoir of Diverse Clones of Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus

Denmark is a country with high prevalence of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 in pigs. Even though pig farming is regarded as the main source of human infection or colonization with MRSA CC398, 10–15% of the human cases appear not to be linked to pigs. Following the recent reports of MRSA CC398 in horses in other European countries and the lack of knowledge on S. aureus carriage in this animal species, we carried out a study to investigate whether horses constitute a reservoir of MRSA CC398 in Denmark, and to gain knowledge on the frequency and genetic diversity of S. aureus in horses, including both methicillin-resistant and -susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Nasal swabs were collected from 401 horses originating from 74 farms, either at their farms or prior to admission to veterinary clinics. Following culture on selective media, species identification by MALDI-TOF MS and MRSA confirmation by standard PCR-based methods, S. aureus and MRSA were detected in 54 (13%) and 17 (4%) horses originating from 30 (40%) and 7 (9%) farms, respectively. Based on spa typing, MSSA differed genetically from MRSA isolates. The spa type prevalent among MSSA isolates was t127 (CC1), which was detected in 12 horses from 11 farms and represents the most common S. aureus clone isolated from human bacteremia cases in Denmark. Among the 17 MRSA carriers, 10 horses from three farms carried CC398 t011 harboring the immune evasion cluster (IEC), four horses from two farms carried IEC-negative CC398 t034, and three horses from two farms carried a mecC-positive MRSA lineage previously associated with wildlife and domestic ruminants (CC130 t528). Based on whole-genome phylogenetic analysis of the 14 MRSA CC398, t011 isolates belonged to the recently identified horse-adapted clone in Europe and were closely related to human t011 isolates from three Danish equine veterinarians, whereas t034 isolates belonged to pig-adapted clones. Our study confirms that horses carry an equine-specific clone of MRSA CC398 that can be transmitted to veterinary personnel, and reveals that these animals are exposed to MRSA and MSSA clones that are likely to originate from livestock and humans, respectively

The incidence of arthropathy adverse events in efalizumab-treated patients is low and similar to placebo and does not increase with long-term treatment: pooled analysis of data from Phase III clinical trials of efalizumab

A large-scale, pooled analysis of safety data from five Phase III clinical trials (including open-label extensions of two of these studies) and two Phase III open-label clinical trials of efalizumab was conducted to explore whether arthropathy adverse events (AEs) were associated with efalizumab treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. Data from patients who received subcutaneous injections of efalizumab or placebo were stratified for analysis into phases according to the nature and duration of treatment. These included: the ‘first treatment’ phase (0–12-week data from patients who received either efalizumab, 1 mg/kg once weekly, or placebo in the five placebo-controlled studies); the ‘extended treatment’ phase (13–24-week data from seven trials for all efalizumab-treated patients); and the ‘long-term treatment’ phase (data from efalizumab-treated patients who received treatment for up to 36 months in two long-term trials). Descriptive statistics were performed and the incidence of arthropathy AEs per patient-year was calculated using 95% confidence intervals (CIs). During the first treatment phase, a similar proportion of patients had an arthropathy AE in the efalizumab group (3.3%; 58/1740 patients) compared with the placebo group (3.5%; 34/979 patients); the incidence of arthropathy AEs per patient-year was 0.15 in the efalizumab group (95% CI 0.11–0.19) and 0.16 in the placebo group (95% CI 0.11–0.22). Analysis of first treatment phase data from one study (n = 793) showed that the incidence of psoriatic arthropathy per patient-year was lower in efalizumab-treated patients (0.10; 95% CI 0.05–0.18) than in those given placebo (0.17; 95% CI 0.08–0.30). During the extended treatment phase, the incidence of arthropathy remained low (0.17; 95% CI 0.14–0.22). Data from two long-term studies showed that there was no increase in the incidence of arthropathy AEs over time in patients treated with efalizumab for up to 36 months. Patients who had an arthropathy AE during treatment with efalizumab appeared to be more likely to have a history of arthropathy prior to treatment. Efalizumab does not appear to increase the risk of arthropathy AEs compared with placebo