Phenolic cutter for machining foam insulation

Pre-pregged fiber glass is an efficient abrasive for machining polystyrene and polyurethane foams. It bonds easily to any cutter base made of aluminum, steel, or phenolic, is inexpensive, and is readily available

A Comparison of External Loads in Division III Men\u27s Lacrosse Between High Competition Matches and Low Competition Matches

Lacrosse is an open field sport with limited knowledge on the demands of gameplay at the Division III level. The purpose of this study was to investigate the external loads on Division III men’s lacrosse players during NCAA season games. Comparisons were made between the external loads placed on the athletes in top competition versus external loads placed on the athletes in low competition matches. Top competition matches were defined as matches against teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament whereas low competition matches included teams that did not meet top competition requirements. The dependent variables measured included total distance, work rate, intensity, 2D load, and 3D load. Defensive players were found to have significantly higher external load values for total distance (m; p=0.003), work rate (m/min; p=0.006 ), intensity (AU; p=0.071), 2D load (AU; p= 0.039 ) and 3D load (AU; p=0.022), while there were no significant differences (p\u3e0.05) for other positions between competition level. Competition level exerts a higher external load for defensive players, but not attack, midfield, or specialists (goalie, face-off, etc), which may indicate the need for specialized conditioning or active load management to deal with potential fatigue

Healthcare-associated outbreak of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: role of a cryptic variant of an epidemic clone

BACKGROUND New strains of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may be associated with changes in rates of disease or clinical presentation. Conventional typing techniques may not detect new clonal variants that underlie changes in epidemiology or clinical phenotype. AIM To investigate the role of clonal variants of MRSA in an outbreak of MRSA bacteraemia at a hospital in England. METHODS Bacteraemia isolates of the major UK lineages (EMRSA-15 and -16) from before and after the outbreak were analysed by whole-genome sequencing in the context of epidemiological and clinical data. For comparison, EMRSA-15 and -16 isolates from another hospital in England were sequenced. A clonal variant of EMRSA-16 was identified at the outbreak hospital and a molecular signature test designed to distinguish variant isolates among further EMRSA-16 strains. FINDINGS By whole-genome sequencing, EMRSA-16 isolates during the outbreak showed strikingly low genetic diversity (P < 1 × 10(-6), Monte Carlo test), compared with EMRSA-15 and EMRSA-16 isolates from before the outbreak or the comparator hospital, demonstrating the emergence of a clonal variant. The variant was indistinguishable from the ancestral strain by conventional typing. This clonal variant accounted for 64/72 (89%) of EMRSA-16 bacteraemia isolates at the outbreak hospital from 2006. CONCLUSIONS Evolutionary changes in epidemic MRSA strains not detected by conventional typing may be associated with changes in disease epidemiology. Rapid and affordable technologies for whole-genome sequencing are becoming available with the potential to identify and track the emergence of variants of highly clonal organisms

Growth hormone prescribing and initial BMI SDS: Increased biochemical adverse effects and costs in obese children without additional gain in height

BACKGROUND: Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment in children is usually prescribed using actual body weight. This may result in inappropriately high doses in obese children. METHODS: Retrospective audit of all paediatric patients treated with rhGH 2010-14 at a tertiary paediatric hospital in the UK. Change in height SDS and IGF-I SDS during the first year of treatment was stratified by initial BMI SDS in a mixed cohort, and a subgroup of GH deficient (GHD) patients. Alternative doses for those BMI SDS ≥2.0 (Obese) were calculated using BSA, IBW and LBW. RESULTS: 354 patients (133 female) received rhGH, including 213 (60.2%) with GHD. Obesity was present in 40 patients (11.3%) of the unselected cohort, and 32 (15.0%) of the GHD cohort. For GHD patients, gain in height SDS was directly related to BMI SDS, except in obese patients (p<0.05). For both the entire cohort, and GHD patients only, IGF-1 SDS was significantly higher in obese patients (p<0.0001 for both groups). Cross sectional data identified 265 children receiving rhGH, 81 (30.5%) with a BMI-SDS ≥1.75. Alternate prescribing strategies for rhGH prescribing in obese patients suggest a saving of 27% - 38% annually. CONCLUSIONS: Gain in IGF-I SDS is greater in obese children, and is likely to be related to relatively higher doses of rhGH. Additional gain in height was not achieved at the higher doses administered to obese children. Alternative dosing strategies in the obese patient population should be examined in rigorous clinical trials

Beam Profile Measurements and Simulations of the PETRA Laser-Wire

The Laser-wire will be an essential diagnostic tool at the International Linear Collider. It uses a finely focussed laser beam to measure the transverse profile of electron bunches by detecting the Compton-scattered photons (or degraded electrons) downstream of where the laser beam intersects the electron beam. Such a system has been installed at the PETRA storage ring at DESY, which uses a piezo-driven mirror to scan the laser-light across the electron beam. Lat- est results of experimental data taking are presented and compared to detailed simulations using the Geant4 based program BDSIM.Comment: 3 pagesm 4 figures. Submitted as a conference paper for the Particle Accelerator Conference 2005 (PAC05

Characterization of the juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) microbiome throughout an ontogenetic shift from pelagic to neritic habitats

The gut microbiome of herbivorous animals consists of organisms that efficiently digest the structural carbohydrates of ingested plant material. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) provide an interesting model of change in these microbial communities because they undergo a pronounced shift from a surface-pelagic distribution and omnivorous diet to a neritic distribution and herbivorous diet. As an alternative to direct sampling of the gut, we investigated the cloacal microbiomes of juvenile green turtles before and after recruitment to neritic waters to observe any changes in their microbial community structure. Cloacal swabs were taken from individual turtles for analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences using Illumina sequencing. One fecal sample was also obtained, allowing for a preliminary comparison with the bacterial community of the cloaca. We found significant variation in the juvenile green turtle bacterial communities between pelagic and neritic habitats, suggesting that environmental and dietary factors support different bacterial communities in green turtles from these habitats. This is the first study to characterize the cloacal microbiome of green turtles in the context of their ontogenetic shifts, which could provide valuable insight into the origins of their gut bacteria and how the microbial community supports their shift to herbivory

Should healthy eating programmes incorporate interaction with foods in different sensory modalities? A review of the evidence

Commercial interventions seeking to promote fruit and vegetable consumption by encouraging preschool- and school-aged children to engage with foods with ‘all their senses’ are increasing in number. We review the efficacy of such sensory interaction programmes and consider the components of these that are likely to encourage food acceptance. Repeated exposure to a food's flavour has robust empirical support in terms of its potential to increase food intake. However, children are naturally reluctant to taste new or disliked foods, and parents often struggle to provide sufficient taste opportunities for these foods to be adopted into the child's diet. We therefore explore whether prior exposure to a new food's non-taste sensory properties, such as its smell, sound, appearance or texture, might facilitate the food's introduction into the child's diet, by providing the child with an opportunity to become partially familiar with the food without invoking the distress associated with tasting it. We review the literature pertaining to the benefits associated with exposure to foods through each of the five sensory modalities in turn. We conclude by calling for further research into the potential for familiarisation with the visual, olfactory, somaesthetic and auditory properties of foods to enhance children's willingness to consume a variety of fruits and vegetables