Water Adsorption of Particleboard and Flakeboard

The amount of water adsorption (WA) determines the dimensional stability of particleboard and flakeboard. Regression models showed that WA is a function of relative humidity, resin type, and board specific gravity, as well as the thickness and slenderness ratio of the wood furnish. Those factors explained 95% of all variation in WA

A gene-targeted approach to investigate the intestinal butyrate-producing bacterial community

Abstract Background Butyrate, which is produced by the human microbiome, is essential for a well-functioning colon. Bacteria that produce butyrate are phylogenetically diverse, which hinders their accurate detection based on conventional phylogenetic markers. As a result, reliable information on this important bacterial group is often lacking in microbiome research. Results In this study we describe a gene-targeted approach for 454 pyrotag sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction for the final genes in the two primary bacterial butyrate synthesis pathways, butyryl-CoA:acetate CoA-transferase (but) and butyrate kinase (buk). We monitored the establishment and early succession of butyrate-producing communities in four patients with ulcerative colitis who underwent a colectomy with ileal pouch anal anastomosis and compared it with three control samples from healthy colons. All patients established an abundant butyrate-producing community (approximately 5% to 26% of the total community) in the pouch within the 2-month study, but patterns were distinctive among individuals. Only one patient harbored a community profile similar to the healthy controls, in which there was a predominance of but genes that are similar to reference genes from Acidaminococcus sp., Eubacterium sp., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia sp., and an almost complete absence of buk genes. Two patients were greatly enriched in buk genes similar to those of Clostridium butyricum and C. perfringens, whereas a fourth patient displayed abundant communities containing both genes. Most butyrate producers identified in previous studies were detected and the general patterns of taxa found were supported by 16S rRNA gene pyrotag analysis, but the gene-targeted approach provided more detail about the potential butyrate-producing members of the community. Conclusions The presented approach provides quantitative and genotypic insights into butyrate-producing communities and facilitates a more specific functional characterization of the intestinal microbiome. Furthermore, our analysis refines but and buk reference annotations found in central databases.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112465/1/40168_2012_Article_9.pd

COVID‐19: The immediate response of European academic dental institutions and future implications for dental education

The COVID‐19 pandemic has had an immediate and dramatic impact on dental education. The Association of Dental Education in Europe decided to carry out an investigation to assess the immediate response of European Academic Dental Institutions. An online survey was sent to both member and non‐member dental schools to investigate the impact on non‐clinical and clinical education, assessment and the well‐being/pastoral care measures implemented. The preliminary findings and discussion are presented in this paper, for the responses collected between the 25th March and 5th April 2020. The survey at this time of publication is ongoing and detailed results can be accessed https://adee.org/covid-19-european-dental-education%E2%80%99s-immediate-response

Pré-tratamento de resíduos agro-industriais e novas perspectivas na produção de bioprodutos

Visando contribuir para a melhoria das condições ambientais pela eliminação dos resíduos agrícolas/agroindustriais, bem como proporcionar a formação de uma linha de pesquisa com propósito de captar e disseminar informações técnicas e tecnológicas agregando maior valor nestes subprodutos ou resíduos é que o presente trabalho foi realizado. Deste modo, o sabugo de milho in natura foi submetido a dois diferentes processos de prétratamento para a extração das hemiceluloses, como etapa inicial de aplicação integral do resíduo, onde posteriormente estudos e aplicação do complexo celulose-lignina resultante seriam realizados. Dentro deste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a eficiência de extração de frações de hemiceluloses de sabugo de milho por processos alcalinos (0,75 a 1,25 mol/L em 42,5ºC/180 min), e processos de autohidrólise (165 a 185ºC, razão líquida de 10:1p/p por 40 min). Este procedimento indicou o potencial de pré-tratamentos, em especial dos licores hemicelulosicos obtidos, como parte de um processo que conduza à utilização de materiais lignocelulósicos em diferentes processos biotecnológicos

Retreatment with rituximab based on a treatment-to-target approach provides better disease control than treatment as needed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a retrospective pooled analysis

Objective. To assess the efficacy and safety profiles of two different rituximab retreatment regimens in patients with RA

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in human genetic transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

The 14-3-3 protein test has been shown to support the clinical diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) when associated with an adequate clinical context, and a high differential potential for the diagnosis of sporadic CJD has been attributed to other cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins such as tau protein, S100b and neuron specific enolase (NSE). So far there has been only limited information available about biochemical markers in genetic transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (gTSE), although they represent 10–15% of human TSEs. In this study, we analyzed CSF of 174 patients with gTSEs for 14-3-3 (n = 166), tau protein (n = 78), S100b (n = 46) and NSE (n = 50). Levels of brain-derived proteins in CSF varied in different forms of gTSE. Biomarkers were found positive in the majority of gCJD (81%) and insert gTSE (69%), while they were negative in most cases of fatal familial insomnia (13%) and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (10%). Disease duration and codon 129 genotype influence the findings in a different way than in sporadic CJD