Development of a multiplex PCR for the identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus agalactiae in milk

125-130In the dairy industry financial losses mainly due to loss of milk production caused by mastitis and mastitis related problems is very common. In the mastitis, identification of the infectious agent/s could be of great help. In the present study, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify five common organisms implicated in the mastitis was tried. Primers for identification of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus agalactiae were selected/ designed. DNA was extracted from the affected milk using two different methods and was subjected to multiplex PCR. It was observed from the study that a multiplex PCR to amplify four organisms E. coli, K. pneumoniae, S. agalactiae and P. aeruginosa was developed successfully to quicken the detection of common mastitis causing organisms

Systemic NK cell ablation attenuates intra‐abdominal adipose tissue macrophage infiltration in murine obesity

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108606/1/oby20823.pd

The Safety and Feasibility of Transitioning From Transfemoral to Transradial Access Left Ventricular Endomyocardial Biopsy

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular endomyocardial biopsy (LVEMB) is commonly performed via the transfemoral route. Radial access may help reduce vascular access complications, but there are few data on the safety and feasibility of transradial LVEMB. OBJECTIVE: Describe the safety and feasibility of transitioning from transfemoral to transradial access LVEMB. METHODS: This is a single-center, prospective, observational cohort study. Fifty procedures in 49 patients were included, 25 (50%) via the femoral route and 25 (50%) via the radial route. RESULTS: The cohort had a mean age of 47 ± 13 years and the most common indication for LVEMB was myocarditis. From June 2015 until September 2016, all procedures (n = 21) were performed via the femoral approach; thenceforth, there was a gradual transition to the radial approach. More tissue samples were obtained when the procedure was performed via the femoral approach (P<.01). The minimum sampling target of 3 specimens was not met in 4 patients (16%) via the radial approach and in 1 patient (4%) via the femoral approach. Complications occurred in 3/25 transradial procedures (12%; 2 cardiac perforations and 1 forearm hematoma) and 3/25 transfemoral procedures (12%; 1 cardiac perforation, 1 femoral artery pseudoaneurysm, and 1 ventricular fibrillation). Cardiac perforations via the transradial approach occurred during the early transition period. There were no deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Transradial LVEMB is feasible, with a similar complication profile to femoral procedures, but associated with a smaller number of specimens. Transitioning from transfemoral to transradial procedures may initially be associated with a higher risk of complications and potentially a lower diagnostic yield

Análisis del evento causado por la apertura involuntaria de válvulas de seguridad y alivio en la central nuclear de Leibstadt utilizando el código TRACE

[ES] El objetivo fundamental de los códigos termohidráulicos es simular el comportamiento de un reactor nuclear frente a distintos escenarios, como transitorios de planta y accidentes. El desarrollo de estos códigos ha sido promovido durante mucho tiempo por varias organizaciones. Uno de los códigos en desarrollo, que cuenta con el apoyo de la comisión reguladora nuclear de Estados Unidos (NRC) y distintos grupos internacionales, es el código TRACE, el cual despierta gran interés por parte de centrales nucleares actuales y futuras. Ha sido llevada a cabo la implementación y validación de un nuevo modelo de planta KKL desarrollado específicamente para el código TRACE, similar al ya existente de TRAC-BF1. En este proceso, se han realizado simulaciones de varios transitorios típicos en los que se ha evaluado la capacidad de respuesta del modelo, enfocando las mejoras necesarias para actualizar el modelo. Este trabajo resume el análisis realizado con el código TRACE-V5 del evento de apertura involuntaria de las válvulas de alivio y de seguridad de la central KKL. Durante el funcionamiento normal de la planta, se produjo una apertura involuntaria de 8 válvulas de alivio, lo que provocó una rápida despresurización de la vasija del reactor seguido de una caída del nivel del agua y la activación de los sistemas de refrigeración de emergencia del núcleo. La actividad del sistema de inyección de alta presión se inicia para mantener el nivel del reactor y refrigerar el núcleo. El evento ha sido reproducido por el código TRACE logrando unos resultados satisfactorios. El modelo de control utilizado en TRACE es una adaptación del antiguo modelo de TRACB-F1 y siendo posible, en este transitorio, verificar el comportamiento de los sistemas involucrados.Los autores quieren agradecer la financiación de este trabajo a la Central Nuclear de Leibstadt.Blanco, D.; Escrivá, A.; Muñoz-Cobo, JL.; Berna, C.; Rosinelli, L.; Sekhri, A.; Fischer, K. (2019). Análisis del evento causado por la apertura involuntaria de válvulas de seguridad y alivio en la central nuclear de Leibstadt utilizando el código TRACE. Sociedad Nuclear Española. 1-8. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/180962S1

Evaluating the Quality of Research into a Single Prognostic Biomarker: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of 83 Studies of C-Reactive Protein in Stable Coronary Artery Disease

Background Systematic evaluations of the quality of research on a single prognostic biomarker are rare. We sought to evaluate the quality of prognostic research evidence for the association of C-reactive protein (CRP) with fatal and nonfatal events among patients with stable coronary disease. Methods and Findings We searched MEDLINE (1966 to 2009) and EMBASE (1980 to 2009) and selected prospective studies of patients with stable coronary disease, reporting a relative risk for the association of CRP with death and nonfatal cardiovascular events. We included 83 studies, reporting 61,684 patients and 6,485 outcome events. No study reported a prespecified statistical analysis protocol; only two studies reported the time elapsed (in months or years) between initial presentation of symptomatic coronary disease and inclusion in the study. Studies reported a median of seven items (of 17) from the REMARK reporting guidelines, with no evidence of change over time. The pooled relative risk for the top versus bottom third of CRP distribution was 1.97 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.78–2.17), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 79.5). Only 13 studies adjusted for conventional risk factors (age, sex, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and low-density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol) and these had a relative risk of 1.65 (95% CI 1.39–1.96), I2 = 33.7. Studies reported ten different ways of comparing CRP values, with weaker relative risks for those based on continuous measures. Adjusting for publication bias (for which there was strong evidence, Egger's p<0.001) using a validated method reduced the relative risk to 1.19 (95% CI 1.13–1.25). Only two studies reported a measure of discrimination (c-statistic). In 20 studies the detection rate for subsequent events could be calculated and was 31% for a 10% false positive rate, and the calculated pooled c-statistic was 0.61 (0.57–0.66). Conclusion Multiple types of reporting bias, and publication bias, make the magnitude of any independent association between CRP and prognosis among patients with stable coronary disease sufficiently uncertain that no clinical practice recommendations can be made. Publication of prespecified statistical analytic protocols and prospective registration of studies, among other measures, might help improve the quality of prognostic biomarker research

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented