Assessing the sensitivity of two TEWL measuring methods: open vs. closed chamber

Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) is a key parameter in the assessment of skin barrier impairment and recovery. The aim of this study was to perform a comparative assessment of the two types of TEWL instruments, with specific emphasis on their sensitivity in detecting small differences. An open chamber (Tewameter TM300, Courage & Khazaka, Germany) and a closed, condenser-chamber instrument (AquaFlux AF200, Biox Systems, UK) were used in the study. A complimentary skin hydration test (Corneometer CM825, Courage & Khazaka, Germany) was also carried out. In the first study, the closed chamber results have revealed two additional sets of significantly different data, in comparison to the open chamber method. In the second study, where the level of barrier impairment was higher, both methods have resulted in the same statistical outcome. It was concluded that the condenser-chamber instrument possesses higher sensitivity than the open chamber when assessing small differences in TEWL, under the same experimental conditions

Site Directed Mutation Of Ctx Operon In Vcusm2, Vibrio Cholerae Vaccine Candidate Strain: Towards The Development Of A Vaccine For Cholera [RA644.C3 C454 2008 F rb].

Kolera ialah penyakit cirit-birit akut dan dahsyat yang disebabkan oleh jangkitan bakteria Vibrio cholerae O1 dan O139. Ia merupakan penyakit endemik di negara-negara yang tidak mempunyai sumber air yang bersih mahupun sistem kumbahan yang baik. Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139. It affects countries with scarce clean water supplies and poor sanitation systems. Reported cases and mortality rates are increasing

Outcome Measures for Mild Balance and Cognitive Decline in a Pre-Old Adult: A Case Report

Background and Purpose. Early detection and treatment of age-related decline, particularly balance and cognition, are increasingly being emphasized in current research. However, the majority of research on older adults focuses on participants who are 65 years and older. For individuals who are 60-64 years old, this is an age range where they may or may not be considered an older adult. This poses a problem applying the results of these studies to pre-old adults to accurately diagnose, measure and classify risk in the areas of cognition and balance. Case Description. The patient is a 61-year-old woman with a clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis. She has had 5 falls and near-falls in the past year. She also experiences memory problems, which sometimes affects her ability to plan and organize her schedule. She is otherwise well, with no limits to participation. Outcomes Assessment. Frequently used clinical tools to assess for mild balance and cognitive deficits were performed in order to detect diagnosis and/or classify risk. A total of 14 tools related to balance and falls, and 4 tools related to cognition were chosen. Results. Of the assessment tools used, only the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini BESTest), High Level Mobility Assessment Test (HiMAT), and the Falls Efficacy Scale- International (FES-I) were able to identify and classify risk of fall and/or balance deficits. Of the cognitive tools performed, only the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) produced abnormal results, suggesting cognitive decline. Conclusions. Many of the frequently used clinical assessment tools were unable to identify falls history and balance deficits in this patient. In view of the lack of sensitivity in balance assessment tools in pre-old adults and the multiple factors associated with falls risk, it is difficult to conclusively determine if she does have balance deficits and to quantify her risk of future falls. Cognitive screening in this patient suggests that an algorithmic approach using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the MoCA may be effective in screening for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). More research should be directed towards the development and validation of sensitive instruments to detect mild balance deficits and screening for MCI, especially in the pre-old adult

Expert elicitation of cost, performance, and RD&D budgets for coal power with CCS

AbstractThere is uncertainty about the ex-ante returns to research, development, and demonstration programs in the United States on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. To quantify this uncertainty, we conducted a written expert elicitation of thirteen experts in fossil power and CCS technologies from the government, academia, and the private sector. We asked experts to provide their recommended budget and allocation of RD&D funds by specific fossil power and CCS technology and type of RD&D activity (i.e. basic research, applied research, pilot plants, and demonstration plants) for the United States. The elicitation instrument was structured around estimating the cost and performance of coal-fired power plants with and without CCS in the years 2010 and 2030 under four funding scenarios for federal fossil energy RD&D in the USA. The most important areas identified for basic research were chemical looping combustion and membrane technology. The most important area for commercial demonstration was integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). There was substantial disagreement between experts on both the current and future capital cost to build a new coal-fired power plant with CCS. There was also disagreement across experts as to whether the capital cost of a new coal plant with CCS would increase or decrease if federal RD&D funding stayed constant at current levels. However, there was a consensus among our experts that accelerated federal RD&D would (weakly) lower the capital cost requirements for a new coal plant with CCS. On average, experts estimated that if their recommended RD&D portfolio was implemented, the capital cost of new coal plants with CCS in 2030 would decrease by 10% in addition to the cost reductions/increases that would occur by 2030 through non-public RD&D related factors

Experimental Investigation of the NASA Common Research Model with a Natural Laminar Flow Wing in the NASA Langley National Transonic Facility

A test of the new NASA Common Research Model with a Natural Laminar Flow (CRMNLF) semispan wing in the NASA Langley National Transonic Facility (NTF) was completed in October 2018. The main focus of this test was the evaluation of the extent of laminar flow on the CRM-NLF wing at various Reynolds numbers and test conditions. During this test, data were acquired at chord Reynolds numbers from 10 to 30 million and at Mach numbers ranging from 0.84 to 0.86. This investigation provided valuable insight into the necessary procedures for laminar flow testing in the NTF. It also significantly advanced the new carbonbased heating layer technique to improve the quality of transition visualization data from temperature sensitive paint (TSP) in a cryogenic wind tunnel

Transmission of viruses via our microbiomes.

BackgroundBacteria inhabiting the human body have important roles in a number of physiological processes and are known to be shared amongst genetically-related individuals. Far less is known about viruses inhabiting the human body, but their ecology suggests they may be shared between close contacts.ResultsHere, we report the ecology of viruses in the guts and mouths of a cohort and demonstrate that substantial numbers of gut and oral viruses were shared amongst genetically unrelated, cohabitating individuals. Most of these viruses were bacteriophages, and each individual had distinct oral and gut viral ecology from their housemates despite the fact that some of their bacteriophages were shared. The distribution of bacteriophages over time within households indicated that they were frequently transmitted between the microbiomes of household contacts.ConclusionsBecause bacteriophages may shape human oral and gut bacterial ecology, their transmission to household contacts suggests they could have substantial roles in shaping the microbiota within a household

Diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by DNA amplification of epstein-bar virus genomes in tissue obtained by biopsy and fine-needle aspiration

Background Penemuan Projek/Abstrak (Perfu disediakan makluman di antara 100 - 200 perkataan di dalam Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa lnggeris. lni kemudiannya akan dimuatkan ke dalam Laporan Tahunan Sahagian Penyefidikan & Pembangunan sebagai satu cara untuk menyampaikan dapatan projek tuanfpu~n kepada pihak Universiti). (English version) Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is common in Malaysia but diagnosis is sometimes delayed for non-representative biopsy, submucosal disease and occult primaries- increasing m·arbidity and mortality. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with all types of NPC and DNA in tumor cells is detectable by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). EBV products EBNA 1, EBNA2 and LMP1 are implicated in oncogenesis and is detectable in nodal tissue. However no similar study has been done in Southeast-Asia with adequate sample. Objectives This study evaluates the validity and reliability of detecting EBV genes in biopsy and FNAC tissue in NPC by PCR. Methodology Tissue from 72 nasopharyngeal biopsies were collected from consented patients. 36 were positive and 36 negatives served as controls. Tissue from 70 fine-needle aspirations were similarly obtained. 35 belonged to NPC-positive patients, and 35 of other pathologies served as controls. DNA was extracted, amplified with forward and reverse primers for EBNA 1, EBNA2, LMP1 genes and human a-actin gene as control, and detected by electrophoresis. Cloned DNA from 895-8 cell line served as positive control. Histopathological-proven primary tumour and clinico-pathological criteria for neck nodes (clinically suspicious neck node with histopathologically-confirmed primary tumour) were used as gold standard. Results 35/36 positive nasopharyngeal biopsies and 35/36 negatives contained sufficient DNA. EBNA 1 gene was detected in 34/35 positive specimens but were undetected in the controls. EBNA2 gene was detected in 31/35 positive specimens and in 2/35 controls. LMP1 was detected in 32/35 positive specimens and in 4/35 controls. (P > 0.05 by McNemar_s test-- i.e. no significant difference from histopathology.) EBNA1 has the best sensitivity (97.1%) and specificity (100%) (Kappa = 0.97). One patient in the control group was positive for EBV DNA and developed NPC 1 year later. Another patient with obvious nasopharyngeal tumour was negative on the 1st biopsy and confirmed on repeat biopsy 2 weeks later, but EBV DNA was detected in ~oth specimens. 35/36 metastatic NPC specimens contained sufficient DNA and one was excluded due to presence of second primary. EBNA 1 gene was detected in 30/34 nodes and 1/34 rontro1s. EBNA2 gene was detected in 29/34 nodes and none of the controls. LMP1 gene was detected in 30/34 nodes and in 2134 of controls. (P > 0.05 by McNemar_s test_ i.e. no significant difference from clinico-pathological criteria for neck metastasis). A cut-off point of >0/3 genes offers the highest sensitivity (97.1%} and specificity (94.1%) (Kappa= 0.91 ). All histological types of NPC contained EBV DNA. Conclusion EBV DNA detection is reliable and a~rate in di~gnosing NPC. On par with histopathology in detecting primary tumours, it ~lso predtcts.the dev~l?pment ?f NPC. On par with clinicopathological criteria in detecting metastatic NPC, 1t IS supenor to fine-needle cytology and can suggest NPC in occult primarie

Government Green Procurement in Sustainable Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure development is becoming more significant to an economic growth in many countries. A systematic delivery system regardless by traditional or non-traditional procurement methods is a common condition which has considerable impact on project outcome. In recent times, Government Green Procurement (GGP) has received a great attention among stakeholders in procuring products, services and construction works, particularly in public sector. In developing countries such as Malaysia, GGP have been beneficial by enhancing environmental concern to conserve natural resources, however, the evidence in terms of its implementation is still undiscovered. Due to this deficiency, this paper aims to determine the significant attributes of GGP, and to address the significant strategies of GGP in infrastructure project development. Exploratory study was conducted by reviewing literatures extensively and followed with expert interviews. Content analysis method was used to analyse the data. The results reveal that environmental is to be likely the most significant attributes of GGP, meanwhile, GGP Long-Term Action Plan (LTAP) is seemed to be the most important strategy used in promoting green procurement. This paper provides new insights to the literature in relation to green practice strategies and it is potentially to be useful for the stakeholders in prioritizing further efforts of green-oriented public infrastructure development in the future