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Animal Microbiome Aug 2022Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is caused by interactions among host, environment, and pathogens. One standard method for antemortem pathogen identification in cattle...
BACKGROUND
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is caused by interactions among host, environment, and pathogens. One standard method for antemortem pathogen identification in cattle with BRD is deep-guarded nasopharyngeal swabbing, which is challenging, costly, and waste generating. The objective was to compare the ability to recover Mannheimia haemolytica and compare microbial community structure using 29.5 inch (74.9 cm) deep-guarded nasopharyngeal swabs, 16 inch (40.6 cm) unguarded proctology swabs, or 6 inch (15.2 cm) unguarded nasal swabs when characterized using culture, real time-qPCR, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Samples for aerobic culture, qPCR, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were collected from the upper respiratory tract of cattle 2 weeks after feedlot arrival.
RESULTS
There was high concordance of culture and qPCR results for all swab types (results for 77% and 81% of sampled animals completely across all 3 swab types for culture and qPCR respectively). Microbial communities were highly similar among samples collected with different swab types, and differences identified relative to treatment for BRD were also similar. Positive qPCR results for M. haemolytica were highly concordant (81% agreed completely), but samples collected by deep-guarded swabbing had lower amounts of Mh DNA identified (Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance on ranks, P < 0.05; Dunn-test for pairwise comparison with Benjamini-Hochberg correction, P < 0.05) and lower frequency of positive compared to nasal and proctology swabs (McNemar's Chi-square test, P < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Though differences existed among different types of swabs collected from individual cattle, nasal swabs and proctology swabs offer comparable results to deep-guarded nasopharyngeal swabs when identifying and characterizing M. haemolytica by culture, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and qPCR.
PubMed: 35964128
DOI: 10.1186/s42523-022-00197-6 -
International Journal of Dentistry 2021This study assessed the shear bond strength (SBS) of four types of orthodontic retainers after thermocycling and cyclic loading.
OBJECTIVES
This study assessed the shear bond strength (SBS) of four types of orthodontic retainers after thermocycling and cyclic loading.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This in vitro, experimental study evaluated 120 extracted mandibular central and lateral incisors. The teeth were mounted in acrylic resin blocks in sets of three, such that the interdental contacts and positioning of the teeth resembled the dental arch. The acrylic blocks were divided into four groups ( = 10) for the use of 0.016 × 0.022-inch Bond-A-Braid® wire, 0.0195-inch twisted wire, 0.0175-inch coaxial wire, and 0.038 × 0.016-inch Ortho-Flex Tech® wire, as retainers. The retainers were bonded to the lingual surface of the teeth with Transbond XT adhesive in all groups, and the specimens underwent thermocycling and cyclic loading (125,000 load cycles applied to the incisal edge of the incisor tooth in the middle, simulating 6 months of clinical service). Any fracture in the process of aging was recorded. The teeth were then subjected to vertical loads applied along their occlusoapical axis in a universal testing machine to determine the SBS in Newtons. The adhesive remnant index (ARI) scores were also determined. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, the Monte Carlo chi-square test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test.
RESULTS
Thermocycling and cyclic loading did not cause degradation or fracture of the retainers. The SBS and ARI scores of the four groups were not significantly different ( > 0.05).
CONCLUSION
The SBS of retainers with flat rectangular-shaped cross-section was similar to that of retainers with a round cross-section; thus, they have no superiority over each other in this respect.
PubMed: 34306084
DOI: 10.1155/2021/9424040 -
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic... Nov 2012Excess abdominal fat is an independent predictor of the risk factors and the morbidity of obesity related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia...
INTRODUCTION
Excess abdominal fat is an independent predictor of the risk factors and the morbidity of obesity related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular diseases. The Waist Circumference (WC) is positively correlated with the abdominal fat. Hence, the waist circumference is a valuable, convenient and a simple measurement method which can be used for identifying the individuals who are at an increased risk for the above mentioned diseases.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the abdominal obesity by measuring the waist circumference among the women who were aged 20 years and above in an urban slum of Chennai, India.To identify the socio -demographic factors which were associated with the abdominal obesity in the above study population.
SETTINGS AND DESIGN
A community based and a cross sectional study was carried out in an urban slum of Chennai, India.
METHODS AND MATERIALS
The present study was undertaken in an urban slum of Chennai city, among the women who were aged 20 years and above. One slum was selected randomly and the households in the slum were sampled by a systematic random sampling method. A pre-designed and a pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the information regarding the socio-demographic profile of the women. Their waist circumference was measured by using a flexible inch tape. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO)(2000), the following cut off values for the waist circumference were used to assess the abdominal obesity for women: WC<80cms - normal and WC ≥ 80cms-abdominal obesity.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
It was done by using the Statistical Package For Social Science (SPSS ), version 11.5. The prevalence was expressed in percentage and the Chi square test was used to find its association with the factors.
RESULTS
In the study population, the prevalence of abdominal obesity (WC ≥ 80 cms) was 29.8% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 25.9-34 %). A significant association was found between the age, religion, a higher socio-economic status and the abdominal obesity. No significant association was noted between the educational status, occupation, marital status, type of family and the abdominal obesity.
CONCLUSION
Abdominal obesity among the urban slum women is on the rise. The abdominal obesity was found to be significantly higher among the slum women with increasing age and in those who belonged to the muslim religion and to a higher socio-economic status.
PubMed: 23285442
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2012/4379.2545 -
BioMed Research International 2022Panoramic radiograph is the first and most commonly advised radiograph for screening of temporomandibular joints/condyles. Different shapes of the mandible have been...
BACKGROUND
Panoramic radiograph is the first and most commonly advised radiograph for screening of temporomandibular joints/condyles. Different shapes of the mandible have been discussed by various authors with no consensus for a definite classification for condyle shape. This study was conducted with the objective to observe various shapes of condyles, symmetry of bilateral condyles, and variations of condyle shapes among males and females.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This cross-sectional study was conducted on digital panoramic radiographs available at a tertiary center of Lalitpur from 25.12.2020 to 20.06.2021 after ethical approval from the institutional review board (reference no. 077/078/27). Panoramic radiographs were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria, and various shapes of condyles were noted on HP 15 inch flat LED monitor (1280 × 1024). The collected data was analyzed using SPSS (chi-square test: a value of < 0.05 was considered significant). Intra- and interobserver agreement was observed for condylar shapes.
RESULTS
Among the selected 850 panoramic radiographs (1700 condyles), most of them, i.e., 1343 (79%), were round/oval, followed by flattened, i.e., 149 (8.76%), diamond/angled, i.e., 93 (5.47%), crooked finger shaped, i.e., 28 (1.6%), and mixed, i.e., 46 (2.7%), and the least common shape observed was bifid, i.e., 40 (2.3%) (18 (2.1%) left condyle and 22 (2.6%) right condyle).
CONCLUSIONS
Six different types of condyle shapes were noted: type I, oval; type II, flat; type III, diamond; type IV, mixed; type V, bifid; and type VI, crooked finger among the study population of Lalitpur.
Topics: Cross-Sectional Studies; Diamond; Female; Humans; Male; Mandibular Condyle; Nepal; Radiography, Panoramic
PubMed: 35983245
DOI: 10.1155/2022/6820824 -
Materials (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2021Because of their great water repellency, Superhydrophobic coatings have a major impact on a variety of industrial applications. The current study's key originality is...
Because of their great water repellency, Superhydrophobic coatings have a major impact on a variety of industrial applications. The current study's key originality is the development of low-cost, stable, superhydrophobic, and corrosion-resistant composite coatings. In the present work, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/AlO composite coatings were produced using the spray technique to investigate the wettability and corrosion behavior of the coated materials for industrial and civil applications. PVDF was mixed with various concentrations of AlO nanoparticles, and the mixture was sprayed onto steel, aluminum, and glass substrates. The wettability and morphology of the coated surfaces were investigated using the sessile droplet method and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The corrosion resistance of bare substrates was compared to that of those coated with PVDF alone and those coated with PVDF/AlO nanoparticles using Tafel polarization techniques. The force of adhesion between the coat and the substrates was measured in pounds per square inch. A nanoindentation test was also used to measure the hardness of the coating layer. The PVDF/AlO coated steel showed a significantly higher water contact angle and lower contact angle hysteresis, reaching 157 ± 2° and 7 ± 1°, respectively, compared to the coated aluminum and glass substrates. Corrosion test results showed that the superhydrophobic PVDF/AlO coatings had a much higher corrosion protection efficiency for steel and aluminum than that of the PVDF ones. The PVDF/AlO coated substrates showed moderate but still acceptable adhesion between the coating layer and the substrates. Moreover, the PVDF/AlO coatings had much better mechanical properties than the PVDF only coatings. Such type of coating could be a promising candidate for possible industrial and civil applications.
PubMed: 34771883
DOI: 10.3390/ma14216358 -
Nature Communications Feb 2017The large polymer particle residue generated during the transfer process of graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition is a critical issue that limits its use in...
The large polymer particle residue generated during the transfer process of graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition is a critical issue that limits its use in large-area thin-film devices such as organic light-emitting diodes. The available lighting areas of the graphene-based organic light-emitting diodes reported so far are usually <1 cm. Here we report a transfer method using rosin as a support layer, whose weak interaction with graphene, good solubility and sufficient strength enable ultraclean and damage-free transfer. The transferred graphene has a low surface roughness with an occasional maximum residue height of about 15 nm and a uniform sheet resistance of 560 Ω per square with about 1% deviation over a large area. Such clean, damage-free graphene has produced the four-inch monolithic flexible graphene-based organic light-emitting diode with a high brightness of about 10,000 cd m that can already satisfy the requirements for lighting sources and displays.
PubMed: 28233778
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14560 -
PloS One 2021One of the main challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic is the lack of safety measures and guidelines to reduce the risk of viral spread among people during gatherings....
One of the main challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic is the lack of safety measures and guidelines to reduce the risk of viral spread among people during gatherings. This study was conducted to evaluate the distance of oral and nasal droplet spread in a model that simulates coughing and sneezing in a public setting, specifically a school setting, to guide faculty and staff members with safety measures and guidelines to reduce droplet spread. Several models were prepared to observe and visualize the spread of fluid simulating respiratory droplets in places such as the classroom and the cafeteria, in which a student would be more susceptible to contract a virus since individuals cannot wear masks while eating. For all trials, a 2.54 centimeter balloon with 0.3 milliliters of diluted fluorescent paint was placed inside a mannequin head and was exploded outwards from the mannequin's mouth at 5 pounds per square inch (psi). Using a black light, the expelled fluorescent macroscopic droplets were visualized. When applying safety precautions and guidelines such as mandating face masks, the results of the experiments conducted in this study with a surgical mask, were extremely positive. However, without other safety precautions such as face masks and barriers, social distancing proved to be ineffective. In conclusion the most effective way to prevent droplet spread during activities where masks simply cannot be worn, such as eating, is to apply barriers between the individuals. Applying barriers and wearing masks successfully prevented macroscopic droplet spread.
Topics: Aerosols; Air Microbiology; COVID-19; Computer Simulation; Cough; Fluorescent Dyes; Humans; Masks; Personal Protective Equipment; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 33951042
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250275 -
Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2022(ArJ) is a Mediterranean aromatic plant used traditionally to treat gastrointestinal ailments, skin diseases, atherosclerosis, and as an immuno-stimulant. This study...
Bio-Evaluation of the Wound Healing Activity of L. as Part of the Plant's Use in Traditional Medicine; Phytochemical, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antibiofilm Properties of the Plant's Essential Oils.
(ArJ) is a Mediterranean aromatic plant used traditionally to treat gastrointestinal ailments, skin diseases, atherosclerosis, and as an immuno-stimulant. This study describes ArJ essential oil constituents and investigates their wound healing activity. The in vitro antioxidant and antibiofilm activities of ArJ essential oil were investigated. The in vivo pro/anti-inflammatory and oxidative/antioxidant markers were compared with standard silver sulfadiazine (SS) in a second-degree skin burn experimental rat model. The gas chromatography-equipped flame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis of ArJ essential oil revealed the major classes of compounds as oxygenated monoterpenes (>57%) and cinnamic acid derivatives (18.03%). The antimicrobial tests of ArJ essential oil revealed that , , and were the most susceptible test organisms. Two second-degree burns (each 1 inch square in diameter) were created on the dorsum of rats using an aluminum cylinder heated to 120 °C for 10 s. The wounds were treated either with ArJ or SS ointments for 21 days, while the negative control remained untreated, and biopsies were obtained for histological and biochemical analysis. The ArJ group demonstrated a significant increase in antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymatic activities, while lipid peroxide (LP) levels remained insignificant compared to the negative control group. Additionally, ArJ and SS groups demonstrated a significant decrease in inflammatory levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) compared to the negative group, while interleukin 1 beta (IL-1b) and IL-6 were comparable to the negative group. At the same time, anti-inflammatory IL-10 and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-b1) markers increased significantly in the ArJ group compared to the negative control. The ArJ results demonstrated potent wound healing effects, comparable to SS, attributable to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects as well as a high proportion of oxygenated monoterpenes and cinnamate derivatives.
PubMed: 35204215
DOI: 10.3390/antiox11020332 -
Journal of Public Health and... Dec 2012This pilot study investigated the pathogens that nurses are potentially bringing into the public and their home when they wear work uniforms outside of the work...
This pilot study investigated the pathogens that nurses are potentially bringing into the public and their home when they wear work uniforms outside of the work environment. To achieve this, sterilized uniforms were distributed to 10 nurses at a local hospital in Washington State at the beginning of their shift. Worn uniforms were collected at the end of the shifts and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Four tests were conducted: 1) a heterotrophic growth plate count, 2) methicillin-resistant (MRSA) growth, 3) vancomycin-resistant (VRE), and 4) identification of the heterotrophic plate counts. Each participant completed a questionnaire and a survey. The results showed that the average bacteria colony growth per square inch was 1,246 and 5,795 for day and night shift, respectively. After 48 h, MRSA positives were present on 4 of the day shift and 3 of the night shift uniforms. Additional bacteria identified include: sp., Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Micrococcus roseus. The significant presence of bacteria on the uniforms 48 h after the shift ended necessitates further study, discussions and policy consideration regarding wearing health care uniforms outside of the work environment.
PubMed: 25285235
DOI: 10.5897/JPHE12.074