Consumption of antimicrobial manuka honey does not significantly perturb the microbiota in the hind gut of mice

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that consuming manuka honey, which contains antimicrobial methylglyoxal, may affect the gut microbiota. We undertook a mouse feeding study to investigate whether dietary manuka honey supplementation altered microbial numbers and their production of organic acid products from carbohydrate fermentation, which are markers of gut microbiota function. The caecum of C57BL/6 mice fed a diet supplemented with antimicrobial UMF® 20+ manuka honey at 2.2 g/kg animal did not show any significantly changed concentrations of microbial short chain fatty acids as measured by gas chromatography, except for increased formate and lowered succinate organic acid concentrations, compared to mice fed a control diet. There was no change in succinate-producing Bacteroidetes numbers, or honey-utilising Bifidobacteria, nor any other microbes measured by real time quantitative PCR. These results suggest that, despite the antimicrobial activity of the original honey, consumption of manuka honey only mildly affects substrate metabolism by the gut microbiota

Designing a database for performance assessment: Lessons learned from WIPP

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Compliance Certification Application (CCA) Performance Assessment (PA) used a relational database that was originally designed only to supply the input parameters required for implementation of the PA codes. Reviewers used the database as a point of entry to audit quality assurance measures for control, traceability, and retrievability of input information used for analysis, and output/work products. During these audits it became apparent that modifications to the architecture and scope of the database would benefit the EPA regulator and other stakeholders when reviewing the recertification application. This paper contains a discussion of the WPP PA CCA database and lessons learned for designing a database

Preservation of Artifacts in Salt Mines as a Natural Analog for the Storage of Transuranic Wastes at the WIPP Repository

Use of nature`s laboratory for scientific analysis of complex systems is a largely untapped resource for understanding long-term disposal of hazardous materials. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in the US is a facility designed and approved for storage of transuranic waste in a salt medium. Isolation from the biosphere must be ensured for 10,000 years. Natural analogs provide a means to interpret the evolution of the underground disposal setting. Investigations of ancient sites where manmade materials have experienced mechanical and chemical processes over millennia provide scientific information unattainable by conventional laboratory methods. This paper presents examples of these pertinent natural analogs, provides examples of features relating to the WIPP application, and identifies potential avenues of future investigations. This paper cites examples of analogical information pertaining to the Hallstatt salt mine in Austria and Wieliczka salt mine in Poland. This paper intends to develop an appreciation for the applicability of natural analogs to the science and engineering of a long-term disposal facility in geomedia

Guidebook for performance assessment parameters used in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant compliance certification application. Volume 1: Main report

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Compliance Certification Application (CCA) Performance Assessment (PA) Parameter Database and its ties to supporting information evolved over the course of two years. When the CCA was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 1996, information such as identification of parameter value or distribution source was documented using processes established by Sandia National Laboratories WIPP Quality Assurance Procedures. Reviewers later requested additional supporting documentation, links to supporting information, and/or clarification for many parameters. This guidebook is designed to document a pathway through the complex parameter process and help delineate flow paths to supporting information for all WIPP CCA parameters. In addition, this report is an aid for understanding how model parameters used in the WIPP CCA were developed and qualified. To trace the source information for a particular parameter, a dual-route system was established. The first route uses information from the Parameter Records Package as it existed when the CCA calculations were run. The second route leads from the EPA Parameter Database to additional supporting information

Guidebook for performance assessment parameters used in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant compliance certification application. Volume 2: Appendices

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Compliance Certification Application (CCA) Performance Assessment (PA) Parameter Database and its ties to supporting information evolved over the course of two years. When the CCA was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 1996, information such as identification of parameter value or distribution source was documented using processes established by Sandia National Laboratories WIPP Quality Assurance Procedures. Reviewers later requested additional supporting documentation, links to supporting information, and/or clarification for many parameters. This guidebook is designed to document a pathway through the complex parameter process and help delineate flow paths to supporting information for all WIPP CCA parameters. In addition, this report is an aid for understanding how model parameters used in the WIPP CCA were developed and qualified. To trace the source information for a particular parameter, a dual-route system was established. The first route uses information from the Parameter Records package as it existed when the CCA calculations were run. The second route leads from the EPA Parameter Database to additional supporting information

Social representations of semirural computer users of Mexico [Representaciones sociales de la computadora en usuarios semirrurales de M�xico]

This research article is derived from a field study conducted to identify social representations (SR) of the computer users of Community Learning Centers at ITESM. The instruments used were: free association test and interview script to samples of 217 subjects in the first condition and 31 in the second one. The study was conducted in Chapa de Mota and Villas del Carb�n, Estado de M�xico. SR were changing between users based on age and length of use and showed how community members used the computer in their daily activities

Social representations of semirural computer users of Mexico [Representaciones sociales de la computadora en usuarios semirrurales de México]

This research article is derived from a field study conducted to identify social representations (SR) of the computer users of Community Learning Centers at ITESM. The instruments used were: free association test and interview script to samples of 217 subjects in the first condition and 31 in the second one. The study was conducted in Chapa de Mota and Villas del Carbón, Estado de México. SR were changing between users based on age and length of use and showed how community members used the computer in their daily activities