A Study of the Water Retention of Latex Bound Pigmented Coating Colors

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three types of commercially used hydrocolloid; CMC 7M, CMC 7L, HEC 250M and KELGIN MV on water retention and on coated paper properties. It was found that the concentration of hydrocolloid was an important factor in water retention values. Carboxyl groups were theorized to be another factor in water retention. Hydrocolloids were found to lower opacity, brightness and gloss over the blank coating. Increasing hydrocolloid levels decreased the openness of the coating. When increasing the amount of hydrocolloid the IGT pick decreased. KELGIN MV gave the highest water retention value

Comparison of PCR and clinical laboratory tests for diagnosing H. pylori infection in pediatric patients

BACKGROUND: Histology and/or culture are generally considered the gold standard for the detection of H. pylori infection. Especially in children, these tests may result in a false negative outcome because of patchy distribution of the organism in the stomach mucosa. We have developed a PCR assay utilizing nested primer pairs directed against a subunit of the H. pylori urease gene (ureA). As part of a prospective evaluation of diagnostic tests to aid in detecting H. pylori infection in children, the aim of this study was to compare our PCR and Western blot assays with results obtained from histologic examination of biopsy specimens, rapid urease tests, and an FDA approved serologic assay and published PCR results to determine if we could validate the assays for diagnostic use on our patient population. RESULTS: Gastric biopsy specimens obtained from 101 pediatric patients were evaluated for the presence of H. pylori using histologic techniques, rapid urease (CLOtest) test and the PCR assay. Serum samples from each patient were assayed using both ELISA and Western Blot for antibodies to H. pylori. A total of 32 patients tested were positive by at least one of the methods evaluated. Thirteen patients had positive histology, 13 had a positive CLOtest, and 17 patients had positive H. pylori PCR. Out of the 13 CLO positive patients, 12 were positive by histologic analysis and all 13 were positive by PCR. Results of serologic tests on the same population did not correlate well with other assays. Twenty-eight patients showed serologic evidence of H. pylori infection, of which 9 were both CLO and histology positive and 12 were positive by PCR. Of the seropositive patients, 26 were ELISA positive, 13 were positive by Western blot, and 11 by both serologic methods. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained suggest that our nested PCR assay has the specificity and sensitivity necessary for clinical application when compared to standard histologic examination and rapid urease test. In addition, we found the current commercially available approved ELISA method appears unable to accurately detect H. pylori in this population. The Western blot assay yielded better concordance with CLOtest and histology, but not as good as the nested PCR assay

Growth of Helicobacter pylori in a long spiral form does not alter expression of immunodominant proteins

BACKGROUND: We have previously reported that altered culture conditions (a broth media with shaking) could induce a strain of Helicobacter pylori to assume a long spiral morphology resembling that described for Helicobacter heilmannii. The present study was initiated to determine if other strains of H. pylori could be induced to assume that morphology and if doing so would alter the expression of immunodominant proteins. RESULTS: The six strains used in this study were American Type Culture Collection 43504, 43579, 49503, 51652, and 51653, and Sydney Strain I. Each strain was grown on solid media and in broth culture using conditions previously shown to induce the long spiral morphology in strain 43504. DNA from each was subjected to urease gene fingerprint analysis. Results of the molecular analysis showed identical fingerprint patterns for each strain independent of culture source, indicating that only a single strain was present in each culture. Expression of immunodominant proteins was assessed by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting with hyperimmune rabbit anti H. pylori sera or serum from an H. pylori infected patient. Analysis of protein profiles revealed some variation between strains but no significant differences associated with morphologic alterations. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that growth of H. pylori in a long spiral form does not affect expression of immunodominant proteins, thus in vivo growth in the long spiral form (not documented to date) would not be distinguishable by serology

The forecasting of dynamical Ross River virus outbreaks: Victoria, Australia

Ross River virus (RRV) is Australia’s most epidemiologically important mosquito-borne disease.During RRV epidemics in the State of Victoria (such as 2010/11 and 2016/17) notifications canaccount for up to 30% of national RRV notifications. However, little is known about factors which canforecast RRV transmission in Victoria. We aimed to understand factors associated with RRVtransmission in epidemiologically important regions of Victoria and establish an early warningforecast system. We developed negative binomial regression models to forecast human RRVnotifications across 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) using climatic, environmental, andoceanographic variables. Data were collected from July 2008 to June 2018. Data from July 2008 toJune 2012 were used as a training data set, while July 2012 to June 2018 were used as a testing dataset. Evapotranspiration and precipitation were found to be common factors for forecasting RRVnotifications across sites. Several site-specific factors were also important in forecasting RRVnotifications which varied between LGA. From the 11 LGAs examined, nine experienced an outbreakin 2011/12 of which the models for these sites were a good fit. All 11 LGAs experienced an outbreakin 2016/17, however only six LGAs could predict the outbreak using the same model. We documentsimilarities and differences in factors useful for forecasting RRV notifications across Victoria anddemonstrate that readily available and inexpensive climate and environmental data can be used to predict epidemic periods in some areas. Furthermore, we highlight in certain regions the complexityof RRV transmission where additional epidemiological information is needed to accurately predictRRV activity. Our findings have been applied to produce a Ross River virus Outbreak SurveillanceSystem (ROSS) to aid in public health decision making in Victoria

Strained graphene structures: from valleytronics to pressure sensing

Due to its strong bonds graphene can stretch up to 25% of its original size without breaking. Furthermore, mechanical deformations lead to the generation of pseudo-magnetic fields (PMF) that can exceed 300 T. The generated PMF has opposite direction for electrons originating from different valleys. We show that valley-polarized currents can be generated by local straining of multi-terminal graphene devices. The pseudo-magnetic field created by a Gaussian-like deformation allows electrons from only one valley to transmit and a current of electrons from a single valley is generated at the opposite side of the locally strained region. Furthermore, applying a pressure difference between the two sides of a graphene membrane causes it to bend/bulge resulting in a resistance change. We find that the resistance changes linearly with pressure for bubbles of small radius while the response becomes non-linear for bubbles that stretch almost to the edges of the sample. This is explained as due to the strong interference of propagating electronic modes inside the bubble. Our calculations show that high gauge factors can be obtained in this way which makes graphene a good candidate for pressure sensing.Comment: to appear in proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Worksho

Graphs Cannot Be Indexed in Polynomial Time for Sub-quadratic Time String Matching, Unless SETH Fails

The string matching problem on a node-labeled graph G= (V, E) asks whether a given pattern string P has an occurrence in G, in the form of a path whose concatenation of node labels equals P. This is a basic primitive in various problems in bioinformatics, graph databases, or networks, but only recently proven to have a O(|E||P|)-time lower bound, under the Orthogonal Vectors Hypothesis (OVH). We consider here its indexed version, in which we can index the graph in order to support time-efficient string queries. We show that, under OVH, no polynomial-time indexing scheme of the graph can support querying P in time O(| P| + | E| δ| P| β), with either δ< 1 or β< 1. As a side-contribution, we introduce the notion of linear independent-components (lic) reduction, allowing for a simple proof of our result. As another illustration that hardness of indexing follows as a corollary of a lic reduction, we also translate the quadratic conditional lower bound of Backurs and Indyk (STOC 2015) for the problem of matching a query string inside a text, under edit distance. We obtain an analogous tight quadratic lower bound for its indexed version, improving the recent result of Cohen-Addad, Feuilloley and Starikovskaya (SODA 2019), but with a slightly different boundary condition.Peer reviewe

The perceived impact of the National Health Service on personalised nutrition service delivery among the UK public

Personalised nutrition (PN) has the potential to reduce disease risk and optimise health and performance. Although previous research has shown good acceptance of the concept of PN in the UK, preferences regarding the delivery of a PN service (e.g. online v. face-to-face) are not fully understood. It is anticipated that the presence of a free at point of delivery healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), in the UK may have an impact on end-user preferences for deliverances. To determine this, supplementary analysis of qualitative data obtained from focus group discussions on PN service delivery, collected as part of the Food4Me project in the UK and Ireland, was undertaken. Irish data provided comparative analysis of a healthcare system that is not provided free of charge at the point of delivery to the entire population. Analyses were conducted using the 'framework approach' described by Rabiee (Focus-group interview and data analysis. Proc Nutr Soc 63, 655-660). There was a preference for services to be led by the government and delivered face-to-face, which was perceived to increase trust and transparency, and add value. Both countries associated paying for nutritional advice with increased commitment and motivation to follow guidelines. Contrary to Ireland, however, and despite the perceived benefit of paying, UK discussants still expected PN services to be delivered free of charge by the NHS. Consideration of this unique challenge of free healthcare that is embedded in the NHS culture will be crucial when introducing PN to the UK

Seeking safety beyond refuge : the impact of immigration and citizenship policy upon refugees in the UK

Western states are concerned about maintaining and securing national borders. Across Europe, one response has been to implement restrictive asylum regimes that prevent ‘bogus’ applicants and grant refuge only to the ‘deserving’. Alongside these concerns, states are eager to encourage socially cohesive communities. One recent tool adopted by the UK government has been citizenship policy, including English language/life in the UK tests and citizenship ceremonies. By drawing upon in-depth interviews with refugees in Scotland (UK), this paper explores the impact of the current asylum regime and citizenship policies from the perspective of individual voices that are often absent from wider debates. It explores how temporary refugee status impacts upon individuals’ everyday lives including employment and education, and impacts upon children. The data also question the reasons for refugees deciding to become British citizens (or not) and highlight instrumental reasons alongside less tangible factors such as gaining a sense of security. Taking the discussion forward, the study explores some unintended consequences of immigration and citizenship policies in the UK. The research suggests that not only do restrictive asylum policies negatively impact upon refugees and their integration but also serve to elevate fear and uncertainty, which can unintentionally spur individuals to seek naturalisation