Prevalence and risk factors for Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. carcass contamination in turkeys slaughtered in Quebec, Canada

An observational study was conducted to estimate prevalence and risk factors for carcass contamination by Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. in 60 lots of turkey slaughtered over 10 months in the province of Quebec, Canada. Carcass contamination was evaluated by the carcass rinse technique for about 30 birds per lot. Exposure to potential risk factors was evaluated with questionnaires, meteorological data, and cecal cultures. Multivariable binomial negative regression models were used for risk factor analysis. Prevalence of Salmonella-positive carcasses was 31.2% (95% confidence interval, 22.8 to 39.5%). Variables positively associated (P < or = 0.05) with the proportion of lot-positive carcasses were > or =0.5% of carcass condemnation due to various pathologies, cecal samples positive for Salmonella, low wind speed during transportation, closure of lateral curtains of truck during transportation, and slaughtering on a weekday other than Monday. When only Salmonella-positive cecal culture lots were considered, the proportion of carcasses positive for Salmonella was significantly higher in lots exposed to a >5 degrees C outside temperature variation during transportation, slaughtered on a weekday other than Monday, and in which > or = 4% of carcasses had visible contamination. Prevalence of Campylobacter-positive carcasses was 36.9% (95% confidence interval, 27.6 to 46.3%). The proportion of positive carcasses was significantly higher in lots with Campylobacter-positive cecal cultures and lots undergoing > or =2 h of transit to slaughterhouse. For lots with Campylobacter-positive cecal cultures, variables significantly associated with an increased incidence of carcass contamination were de4% of carcasses with visible contamination, crating for > or =8 h before slaughtering, and no antimicrobials used during rearing.     

Using contingent valuation and choice experiment to value the impacts of agri-environmental practices on landscapes aesthetics

This study explores the willingness to pay (WTP) for an improvement of the environmental situation in agricultural areas with a specific focus on landscape aesthetics. We used the contingent valuation method to measure the discrete value of landscape aesthetics externalities produced by different beneficial management practices implementation scenarios. The choice experiment method was also used to measure the economic value of other ecosystem services in order to situate landscape in consumers’ preferences among other non-market benefits produced by agri-environmental practices. We found important WTP for landscape aesthetics improvement, as well as for other ecosystem services, such as water quality and fish diversity.     

Investigation of high-performance sub-50 nm junctionless nanowire transistors

The performances of the junctionless nanowire transistor (JNT) are evaluated under high-performance (HP) ITRS device technical requirements for the 25 nm technology node. The electrical characteristics of the devices are obtained from numerical simulations. The threshold voltage of JNT can be easily adjusted by changing different variable parameters such as fin width, fin thickness, doping concentration, gate oxide thickness and gate work function. The variation of threshold voltage with physical parameters is analyzed. The current drive is controlled by doping concentration and nanowire size. For gate length down to 25 nm, a 30-40% increase in drain current is also reported by using a fin aspect ratio of 2 instead of 1. Additional source and drain implantation can be applied to improve the current drive.     

On the asymptotic distribution of GLR for impropriety of complex signals

In this paper, the problem of testing impropriety (i.e., second-order noncircularity) of a sequence of complex-valued random variables (RVs) based on the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) for Gaussian distributions is considered. Asymptotic (w.r.t. the data length) distributions of the GLR are given under the hypothesis that RVs are proper or improper, and under the true, not necessarily Gaussian distribution of the RVs. The considered RVs are independent but not necessarily identically distributed: assumption which has never been considered until now. This enables us to deal with the practical important situations of noncircular RVs disturbed by residual frequency offsets and additive circular noise. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) of this test is derived as byproduct, an issue previously overlooked. Finally illustrative examples are presented in order to strengthen the obtained theoretical results.     

Solid phase epitaxial growth of Dy-germanide films on Ge(0 0 1) substrates

Dy thin films are grown on Ge(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam deposition at room temperature. Subsequently, the Dy film is annealed at different temperatures for the growth of a Dy-germanide film. Structural, morphological and electrical properties of the Dy-germanide film are investigated by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and ex situ X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and resistivity measurements. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns and X-ray diffraction spectra show that the room temperature growth of the Dy film is disordered and there is a transition at a temperature of 300-330 °C from a disordered to an epitaxial growth of a Dy-germanide film by solid phase epitaxy. The high quality Dy₃Ge₅ film crystalline structure is formed and identified as an orthorhombic phase with smooth surface in the annealing temperature range of 330-550 °C. But at a temperature of 600 °C, the smooth surface of the Dy₃Ge₅ film changes to a rough surface with a lot of pits due to the reactions further.     

利用激光冲击波检测碳纤维材料中的粘接质量

碳纤维增强复合材料(CFRP)由于具有出色的力学性能而越来越多地受到关注,但是由于对这种材料粘接结构缺乏有效的无损检测方法而导致其应用受到了局限。发展了一种基于激光冲击波的碳纤维增强复合材料粘接质量无损检测方法。对于一个碳纤维增强复合材料粘接结构,当激光作用在样品表面时,会产生一个冲击波在其中传播,冲击波到达样品后表面时会反射一个稀疏波,并在材料内部形成拉伸。在适当的激光强度下,好的粘接质量将不会受影响;而差的粘接质量将会造成损伤。实验过程中,对样品自由面的速度历史进行了测量,该信号可以反映粘接层的内部损伤情况。这一结论也通过对回收样品的激光超声检测得到了证实。这项技术的发展将使未来碳纤维增强复合材料粘接结构的在线检测成为可能。     

Assessment of Acetylcholinesterase Activity Using Indoxylacetate and Comparison with the Standard Ellman's Method

Assay of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity plays an important role in diagnostic, detection of pesticides and nerve agents, in vitro characterization of toxins and drugs including potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease. These experiments were done in order to determine whether indoxylacetate could be an adequate chromogenic reactant for AChE assay evaluation. Moreover, the results were compared to the standard Ellman's method. We calculated Michaelis constant Km (2.06 × 10(-4) mol/L for acetylthiocholine and 3.21 × 10(-3) mol/L for indoxylacetate) maximum reaction velocity V(max) (4.97 × 10(-7) kat for acetylcholine and 7.71 × 10(-8) kat for indoxylacetate) for electric eel AChE. In a second part, inhibition values were plotted for paraoxon, and reactivation efficacy was measured for some standard oxime reactivators: obidoxime, pralidoxime (2-PAM) and HI-6. Though indoxylacetate is split with lower turnover rate, this compound appears as a very attractive reactant since it does not show any chemical reactivity with oxime antidots and thiol used for the Ellman's method. Thus it can be advantageously used for accurate measurement of AChE activity. Suitability of assay for butyrylcholinesterase activity assessment is also discussed.     

Discriminating biomolecules with coherent control strategies

The activity of the GAP-Biophotonics research group at the University of Geneva in the field of coherent control for discriminating similar biomolecules, such as flavins, proteins and DNA bases, is presented and future developments are discussed.     

Sulfonylthiadiazoles with an unusual binding mode as partial dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ/δ agonists with high potency and in vivo efficacy

Compounds that simultaneously activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) subtypes PPARγ and PPARδ have the potential to effectively target dyslipidemia and type?II diabetes in a single pharmaceutically active molecule. The frequently observed side effects of selective PPARγ agonists, such as edema and weight gain, are expected to be overcome by using partial instead of full agonists for this nuclear receptor family. Herein we report the discovery, synthesis, and optimization of a novel series of sulfonylthiadiazoles that are active as partial agonists. The initial compound 6 was discovered by high-throughput screening as a moderate partial PPARδ agonist; its optimization was based on the X-ray crystal structure in complex with PPARδ. In contrast to other PPARδ agonists, this ligand does not interact directly with residues from the activation helix AF-2, which might be linked to its partial agonistic effect. Interestingly, the thiadiazole moiety fills a novel subpocket, which becomes accessible after moderate conformational rearrangement. The optimization was focused on introducing conformational constraints and replacing intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. Highly potent molecules with activity as dual partial PPARγ/δ agonists in the low nanomolar range were then identified. One of the most active members, compound 20?a, displayed EC?? values of 1.6 and 336?nM for PPARδ and γ, respectively. The X-ray crystal structure of its complex with PPARδ confirms our design hypothesis. Compound 20?a clearly displayed in?vivo activity in two chronic mice studies. Lipids were modified in a beneficial way in normolipidemic mice, and the development of overt diabetes could be prevented in pre-diabetic db/db mice. However, body weight gain was similar to that observed with the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone. Hence, active compounds from this series can be considered as valuable tools to elucidate the complex roles of dual PPARγ/δ agonists for potential treatment of metabolic syndrome.