578 research outputs found
The use of PCR-DGGE to determine bacterial fingerprints for poultry and red meat abattoir effluent
Published ArticleStrict legislation and chemical composition monitoring of effluent may be
useful, but the data generated do not allow for source tracking, and enforcing
legislation remains problematic in the South African setting. These difficulties
emphasize the necessity for effluent source traceability. Denaturing gradient gel
electrophoresis (DGGE) targeting the V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene was
considered as fingerprinting technique for effluent originating from abattoirs
slaughtering different animal species. The influence of treatment to remove
excess fat from effluent prior to molecular analyses and different PCR
approaches on the detection of bacterial diversity were considered. Use of a
treatment option to remove fat and a nested PCR approach resulted in up to
51% difference in inter-sample diversity similarity. A robust approach with no
pre-treatment to remove PCR inhibitors, such as fat, and direct amplification
from genomic DNA yielded optimal/maximal bacterial diversity fingerprints.
Repeatable fingerprints were obtained for poultry abattoir effluent over a 4-
month period, but profiles for the red meat abattoir varied with maximum
similarity detected only 33 2%. Genetic material from faecal indicators
Aeromona spp and Clostridium spp were detected. Genera unique to each
effluent were present; Anoxybacillus, Patulibacter and Oleispira in poultry
abattoir effluent and Porphyromonas and Peptostreptococcus in red meat abattoir
effluent
The impact of Mean Time Between Disasters on inventory pre-positioning strategy
Purpose - This paper addresses the impact of Mean Time Between Disasters (MTBD) to inventory pre-positioning strategy of medical supplies prior to a sudden-onset disaster
Towards the discrimination of milk (origin) applied in cheddar cheese manufacturing through the application of an artificial neural network approach on Lactococcus lactis profiles
Published ArticleAn artificial neural network (ANN) that is able to distinguish between Cheddar cheese produced with milk from mixed and single breed sources was designed. Samples of each batch (4 pure Ayrshire/4 mixed with no Ayrshire milk) were ripened for 92 days and analysed every 14 days. A novel ANN was designed and applied which, based only on Lactococcus lactis counts, provided an acceptable classification of the cheeses. The ANN consisted of a multi-layered network with supervised training arranged in an ordered hierarchy of layers, in which connections were allowed only between nodes in immediately adjacent layers
Drinking water supplement containing organic acids and medium chain fatty acids induces significant changes in the intestinal microbiota and lowers incidence of diarrhoea of piglets post-weaning
Antibiotic treatment of piglets post-weaning may lead to re-occurring diarrhoea after stopping the antibiotic treatment. The objective of the study was to test the efficacy of a commercial drinking water supplement containing organic acids and medium chain fatty acids (Selko-4-Health) on Diarrhoea control in piglets weaned at 26 days of age
Associations between Childhood Parental Mental Health Difficulties and Depressive Symptoms in Late Adulthood:The Influence of Life-Course Socioeconomic, Health and Lifestyle Factors
Background Depression among older adults (i.e., the 50+) is a major health concern. The objective of this study is to investigate whether growing up with a parent suffering from mental health problems is associated with depressive symptoms in late-adulthood and how this association is influenced by life-course socio-economic, health and lifestyle factors in childhood and late adulthood. Methods We used life-history data from the SHARE survey, consisting of 21,127 participants living in 13 European countries. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the EURO-D scale. Parental mental health was assessed by asking respondents to report whether any of their parents had mental health problems during the respondents' childhood. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between parental mental health status and depression. Variables on childhood and late-life socio-economic, health and lifestyle factors were sequentially added to the model to assess the extent to which this association is influenced by life-course circumstances. Results Individuals who were exposed during childhood to a parent with mental health problems suffered from depressive symptoms more often in late adulthood than those who were not (OR 1.76, 95% CI: 1.43-2.17). Adjustment for life-course socio-economic, health and lifestyle factors in childhood and late adulthood diminished this association to an OR of 1.54 (95% CI: 1.24-1.90) and OR of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.16-1.82), respectively. Conclusion Our results indicate a substantial association between parental mental health problems in childhood and depression in late adulthood and that this association is partly explained by childhood as well as late adulthood socio-economic, health and lifestyle factors
Quadra-Spectrum and Quint-Spectrum from Inflation and Curvaton Models
We calculate the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum, corresponding to five
and six point correlation functions of the curvature perturbation. For single
field inflation with standard kinetic term, the quadra-spectrum and
quint-spectrum are small, which are suppressed by slow roll parameters. The
calculation can be generalized to multiple fields. When there is no entropy
perturbation, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum are suppressed as well.
With the presence of entropy perturbation, the quadra-spectrum and
quint-spectrum can get boosted. We illustrate this boost in the multi-brid
inflation model. For the curvaton scenario, the quadra-spectrum and
quint-spectrum are also large in the small r limit. We also calculate
representative terms of quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum for inflation with
generalized kinetic terms, and estimate their order of magnitude for
quasi-single field inflation.Comment: 16 pages; v2: references added
Inhomogeneous non-Gaussianity
We propose a method to probe higher-order correlators of the primordial
density field through the inhomogeneity of local non-Gaussian parameters, such
as f_NL, measured within smaller patches of the sky. Correlators between
n-point functions measured in one patch of the sky and k-point functions
measured in another patch depend upon the (n+k)-point functions over the entire
sky. The inhomogeneity of non-Gaussian parameters may be a feasible way to
detect or constrain higher-order correlators in local models of
non-Gaussianity, as well as to distinguish between single and multiple-source
scenarios for generating the primordial density perturbation, and more
generally to probe the details of inflationary physics.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures; v2: Minor changes and references added. Matches
the published versio
Optimising corticosteroid injection for lateral epicondylalgia with the addition of physiotherapy: A protocol for a randomised control trial with placebo comparison
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Corticosteroid injection and physiotherapy are two commonly prescribed interventions for management of lateral epicondylalgia. Corticosteroid injections are the most clinically efficacious in the short term but are associated with high recurrence rates and delayed recovery, while physiotherapy is similar to injections at 6 weeks but with significantly lower recurrence rates. Whilst practitioners frequently recommend combining physiotherapy and injection to overcome harmful effects and improve outcomes, study of the benefits of this combination of treatments is lacking. Clinicians are also faced with the paradox that the powerful anti-inflammatory corticosteroid injections work well, albeit in the short term, for a non-inflammatory condition like lateral epicondylalgia. Surprisingly, these injections have not been rigorously tested against placebo injections. This study primarily addresses both of these issues.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial with a 2 × 2 factorial design will evaluate the clinical efficacy, cost-effectiveness and recurrence rates of adding physiotherapy to an injection. In addition, the clinical efficacy and adverse effects of corticosteroid injection beyond that of a placebo saline injection will be studied. 132 participants with a diagnosis of lateral epicondylalgia will be randomly assigned by concealed allocation to one of four treatment groups – corticosteroid injection, saline injection, corticosteroid injection with physiotherapy or saline injection with physiotherapy. Physiotherapy will comprise 8 sessions of elbow manipulation and exercise over an 8 week period. Blinded follow-up assessments will be conducted at baseline, 4, 8, 12, 26 and 52 weeks after randomisation. The primary outcome will be a participant rating of global improvement, from which measures of success and recurrence will be derived. Analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis using linear mixed and logistic regression models. Healthcare costs will be collected from a societal perspective, and along with willingness-to-pay and quality of life data will facilitate cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This trial will utilise high quality trial methodologies in accordance with CONSORT guidelines. Findings from this study will assist in the development of evidence based practice recommendations and potentially the optimisation of resource allocation for rehabilitating lateral epicondylalgia.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ACTRN12609000051246</p
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