Microstructure and EDS Contact Surfaces Characterization for Statistical Analysis of Doped BaTiO3-Ceramics

Barium-titanate based ceramics belongs to one of very important group of functional ceramics that can be used on a large scale of applications. The properties of BaTiO3 based ceramics are fundamentally correlated with grain boundary effects and consequently with the microstructure developed during sintering process. The purpose of this paper is an investigation of the effects of various dopants (La, Nb, Er, Yb, Ho, Sb) on the microstructure properties and contact surfaces. The grain size and microstructure were investigated using SEM and EDS analysis. SEM and EDS studies were performed by scanning electron microscopy (JEOL-JSM 5300) equipped with EDS (QX 2000S) system

The possibility of the starter composition for industrial kefir production

Kod čiste kulture kefirnih zrnaca često dolazi do narušavanja (mijenjanja) mikrobiološkog sastava zato mjesto čiste kulture kefira upotrijebili smo kompoziciju čiste kulture mikroorganizama i čiste kulture kefira. Za kompoziciju startera upotrijebili smo čistu kulturu kefirnih zrnaca i čiste kulture mikroorganizama Str. lactis, Str. cremoris, Str. diacetilactis, Str. filant, Lb. casei i Lb. acidophilus. Prva kompozicija ima šest (6) varijanti, a druga deset (10). Najbolja je varijanta koja sadrži Str. filant, Str. cremoris i Str. diacetilactis 0,7% i čistu kulturu kefira 0,7% i varijanta koja sadrži Str. cremoris i Str. diacetilactis 0,2% i čiste kulture kefira 0,7%. S novom kompozicijom startera smanjena je potrebna količina čiste kulture kefira za proizvodnju kefira, ali kvaliteta gotovog proizvoda bila je ista.The pure culture of kefir grains often change composition of microorganisms. For that instead of the pure culture of kefir we have used combination the pure culture of bacteria and the pure culture of kefir. For composition of starter we have used the pure culture of kefir grain, and the pure culture of bacteria Str. lactis, Str. cremoris, Str. diacetilactis, Str. filant, Lb. casei and Lb. acidophilus. The first composition has six variation. Second composition has ten. The best variation contained, Str. filant, Str. cremoris. Str. lactis and Str. diacetilactis 0,7% and the pure culture of kefir 0,7% herafter the variation, who contained Str. cremoris and Str. diacetilactis 0,2% and the pure culture of kefir 0,7%. In production with new composition starter decreased necessary quantity the pure culture of kefir grains, but quality the ready products was same

Effect of mebendazole on fibrosarcoma in hamsters

Purpose: To investigate the effect of mebendazole on an in vivo solid tumor model of fibrosarcoma in hamsters.Methods: 24 Syrian golden hamsters of both sexes with the approximate body  weight of 100g were randomly distributed in 2 experimental and 2 control groups, with 6 animals in each group. BHK-21/C13 cells (2 x 106) in 1 mL Glasgow Minimum Essential Medium (GMEM) were injected subcutaneously into the back of each animal in 3 groups. The experimental groups were treated with mebendazole  (460 mg/kg) via a gastric tube on a daily basis, immediately after tumor inoculation. In addition, one experimental group received deoxycholic acid 20 mg/kg once a day. After 2 weeks, when the tumors were approximately 1 - 2 cm in the control group, all the animals were sacrificed, and their blood collected for laboratory analysis. The tumors were excised, their weight and diameters measured, and the volumes  calculated. The tumor samples were histopathologically assessed and the main organs toxicologically analyzed. Images were taken and processed by an imaging software, and Ki-67-positive cells in the tumor samples were quantified.Results: Mebendazole diminished tumor mitosis from 18.5 ± 3.02 to 13.5 ± 3.45 (p < 0.05), vasculature and tissue penetration, and increased necroses in tumor  slices. Tumor volume and weight were insignificantly attenuated. Toxicity was not observed.Conclusion: Mebendazole might be an effective non-toxic agent in sarcoma therapy.Keywords: Mebendazole, Hamsters, BHK-21/C13 cells, Fibrosarcoma therapy,  Tumor mitosi

Large-scale chromosome flip-flop reversible inversion mediates phenotypic switching of expression of antibiotic resistance in lactococci

Bacteria can gain resistance to antimicrobials by acquiring and expressing genetic elements that encode resistance determinants such as efflux pumps and drug-modifying enzymes, thus hampering treatment of infection. Previously we showed that acquisition of spectinomycin resistance in a lactococcal strain was correlated with a reversible genomic inversion, but the precise location and the genes affected were unknown. Here we use long read whole-genome sequencing to precisely define the genomic inversion and we use quantitative PCR to identify associated changes in gene expression levels. The boundaries of the inversion fall within two identical copies of a prophage-like sequence, located on the left and right replichores; this suggests possible mechanisms for inversion through homologous recombination or prophage activity. The inversion is asymmetrical in respect of the axis between the origin and terminus of the replication and modulates the expression of a SAM-dependent methyltransferase, whose heterologous expression confers resistance to spectinomycin in lactococci and that is up regulated on exposure to spectinomycin. This study provides one of the first examples of phase variation via large-scale chromosomal inversions that confers a switch in antimicrobial resistance in bacteria and the first outside of Staphylococcus aureus

Diversity of new Martian crater clusters informs meteoroid atmospheric interactions

We investigated 634 crater clusters on Mars detected between 2007 and 2021, which represent more than half of all impacts discovered in this period. Crater clusters form when meteoroids in the 10 kg to 10 ton mass range break-up in Mars' atmosphere to produce a few to a few hundred fragments that hit the ground. The properties of the clusters can inform our understanding of meteoroid properties and the processes that govern their fragmentation. We mapped individual craters $>$1 m within each cluster and defined a range of cluster properties based on the spatial and size distributions of the craters. The large data set, with over eight times more cluster observations than previous work, provides a more robust statistical investigation of crater cluster parameters and their correlations. Trends in size, dispersion and large crater fraction with elevation support weak atmospheric filtering of material. The diversity in the number of individual craters within a cluster, and their size-frequency distributions, may reflect either a diversity in fragmentation style, fragility or internal particle sizes.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures at the en

Quality indicators for measuring the level of patients' involvement in the pharmaceutical care process

Patient-centred counseling is an integral part of the pharmaceutical care process. Quality in- dicators can be valuable tools to measure the level of patients’ involvement in their personal healthcare. The aim of the study was to validate two quality indicators for community pharmacy care focusing on patient involvement. As part of the EDQM Pharmaceutical Care Quality Indicators Project (Council of Europe), at least 10 patients per indicator were recruited in each community pharmacy in Serbia and Po- land. Pharmacists targeted patients aged 18-65 years starting chronic treatment (Indicator 1) and elderly patients with polymorbidity receiving at least five chronic treatment medicines (Indicator 2). Based on patients’ answers to a questionnaire, patient-pharmacist consultations took place. For Indicator 2, patients were also offered a medication review. In total, 66% of Serbian patients and 29% Polish patients, for In- dicator 1, were engaged in pharmacist-patient consultations; 96% of Serbian and 84% of Polish elderly patients subsequently participated in medication reviews. Community pharmacists can increase patients’ involvement in their own pharmaceutical care, and there is a need for such services. This study defines a pragmatic approach to encourage/support the implementation of the pharmaceutical care philosophy and working methods in European community pharmacies

Seismic Efficiency for Simple Crater Formation in the Martian Top Crust Analog

The first seismometer operating on the surface of another planet was deployed by the NASA InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission to Mars. It gives us an opportunity to investigate the seismicity of Mars, including any seismic activity caused by small meteorite bombardment. Detectability of impact generated seismic signals is closely related to the seismic efficiency, defined as the fraction of the impactor's kinetic energy transferred into the seismic energy in a target medium. This work investigated the seismic efficiency of the Martian near surface associated with small meteorite impacts on Mars. We used the iSALE‐2D (Impact‐Simplified Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian) shock physics code to simulate the formation of the meter‐size impact craters, and we used a recently formed 1.5 m diameter crater as a case study. The Martian crust was simulated as unfractured nonporous bedrock, fractured bedrock with 25% porosity, and highly porous regolith with 44% and 65% porosity. We used appropriate strength and porosity models defined in previous works, and we identified that the seismic efficiency is very sensitive to the speed of sound and elastic threshold in the target medium. We constrained the value of the impact‐related seismic efficiency to be between the order of ∼10‐7 to 10‐6 for the regolith and ∼10‐4 to 10‐3 for the bedrock. For new impacts occurring on Mars, this work can help understand the near‐surface properties of the Martian crust, and it contributes to the understanding of impact detectability via seismic signals as a function of the target media

Intelligent Industrial Transmitters of Pressure and Other Process Parameters

An overview is given of industrial measurement instruments (transmitters) of pressure and other process parameters. It is followed by a description of the technology used in the current generation of intelligent transmitters featuring two-way digital communication. A recently developed product of IHTM–CMTM, the intelligent pressure transmitter is presented, including a description of the software temperature compensation method for the used pressure sensor. Features and application possibilities of the developed hardware and software platform are discussed, as well as its suitability for the realization of wireless sensors