Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in the urinary bladder: the effect of inflammation and edema on identification of malignancy

Previous studies have shown that tetrapolar electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements can identify cervical interstitial neoplasia with the same sensitivity and specificity as cervical smears. In the urinary bladder, the same technique yields significant differences (p < 0.05 at seven frequencies between 9.6 and 614 kHz) between normal and malignant urothelium, but is unable to classify individual measurements. Detailed histological examination demonstrates that inflammation and edema--both of which are common in abnormal urothelium--alter the impedance spectrum significantly in opposing directions. Consideration of morphological changes in abnormal urothelium suggests alternative measurement strategies.     

Prevalence of Salmonella in two Botswana abattoir environments

A 1-year study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella in two abattoir environments coded "A" and "B" in Gaborone, Botswana. The total number of environmental samples collected from abattoirs A and B was 250 and 300, respectively. The samples were taken from soils in the corrals, knife blades, saw blades, cattle-drinking water, cattle feces, and feed. Preenrichment, enrichment, and selective/differential media, which enabled the favorable growth of Salmonella, were used in the study. Salmonellae were present in all sampled environments. The most common serotypes found in the environment at abattoir A were E1, C1, C2, and B. Serotypes B, C1, C2, C3, and E1 were common in abattoir B. Antigenic characterization of the salmonellae isolates showed that Salmonella Anatum, Salmonella Azteca, Salmonella Saintpaul, Salmonella Cerro, and Salmonella Westhampton were predominant in abattoir A, whereas Salmonella Anatum, Salmonella Mbandaka, Salmonella Molade, Salmonella Reading, and Salmonella Oranienburg were dominant in abattoir B. Implementing hazard analysis critical control point principles in work procedures would definitely reduce the gross contamination taking place in abattoirs.     

Independent components of magnetoencephalography: localization

We applied second-order blind identification (SOBI), an independent component analysis method, to MEG data collected during cognitive tasks. We explored SOBI's ability to help isolate underlying neuronal sources with relatively poor signal-to-noise ratios, allowing their identification and localization. We compare localization of the SOBI-separated components to localization from unprocessed sensor signals, using an equivalent current dipole modeling method. For visual and somatosensory modalities, SOBI preprocessing resulted in components that can be localized to physiologically and anatomically meaningful locations. Furthermore, this preprocessing allowed the detection of neuronal source activations that were otherwise undetectable. This increased probability of neuronal source detection and localization can be particularly beneficial for MEG studies of higher-level cognitive functions, which often have greater signal variability and degraded signal-to-noise ratios than sensory activation tasks.     

Photoperiodic effects on dairy cattle: a review

Since the initial report in 1978 of galactopoietic effects of a photoperiod of 16 h of light:8 h of darkness, numerous studies have confirmed long-day stimulation of milk yield. The endocrine factor(s) responsible for increased milk yield, however, has eluded identification. Recent studies suggest that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) may mediate the galactopoietic response to long day photoperiod. Indeed, long days increase IGF-I in heifers and lactating cows; in the latter case, the response preceded an increase in milk yield. In heifers and cows, the increase in IGF-I is independent of changes in circulating growth hormone. Melatonin feeding to mimic a short-day photoperiod suppressed the increase of IGF-I in heifers induced by long days. However, melatonin feeding had no effect on milk yield in cows. Despite lack of resolution of the endocrine mechanism, dairy producers are interested in how photoperiod management can be integrated with current practices throughout the lactation cycle. There is strong evidence that milk yield responses to long days persist through an entire lactation. Also, long days can be combined with bovine somatotropin (bST) to produce additive increases in milk yield. During the dry period, long days increase the periparturient surge of prolactin. However, relative to long days, short-day treatment during the dry period produces the largest magnitude of response in milk yield during the subsequent lactation. The response to short days during the dry period may be due to a priming effect on the photoperiodic response system. In summary, IGF-I has emerged as a possible mediator of the increase of milk yield in response to long-day photoperiod. Photoperiod can be combined effectively with other management techniques such as bST. Consideration of photoperiod management during the dry period is essential to maximize responses during the subsequent lactation.     

Enhancement of CsNO3 extraction in 1,2-dichloroethane by tris(2-aminoethyl)amine triamide derivatives via a dual-host strategy

A systematic study of a dual-host system exhibiting pairwise anion/cation separations has been performed for CsNO3 extraction. Tripodal triamides 1-4 and 9 derived from condensation of hexanoic (for 1), octanoic (for 2), decanoic (for 3), lauric (for 4), and p-tert-butylbenzoic (for 9) acid with tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (tren) were used together with tetrabenzo-24-crown-8, a well-known Cs+ cation receptor. By using 5 mM crown ether in the organic phase and 10 mM CsNO3 with 0.1 mM HNO3 in the aqueous phase, tripods 1, 2, and 9 enhance CsNO3 extraction by factors of 2.4, 1.7, and 4.4, respectively (for 50 mM amide concentration), while the corresponding monoamide controls 5-8 derived from n-propylamine (5, 6) or N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine (7, 8) and hexanoic (5, 7) or octanoic (6, 8) acid derivatives gave no significant enhancement under the same conditions. This behavior may be ascribed to nitrate complexation by the triamides, which lowers the overall thermodynamic barrier for the salt transfer to the organic phase. The nitrate binding was confirmed by 1H NMR titration of receptor solutions, using tetrabutylammonium nitrate. Association constants for the formation of the anion-nitrate complexes were found to vary between 33 and 52 M-1 for the more soluble triamides. The synergistic effects for CsNO3 extraction are in reasonable agreement with the values predicted theoretically from the measured association constants. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry confirmed the predominant formation of 1:1 tripod-nitrate complexes. Monoamide controls gave no evidence of anion complexation.     

露天—地下复合开采时利用生物定位方法揭露地下开采空洞

本文介绍了利用生物定位方法揭露地下采空区的方法，该方法已在乌克兰、俄罗斯、美国、西欧和澳大利亚得到实际应用；本文阐述了这种方法的实质，列举了一些操作实例，分析了所取得的结果，指出了今后研究和推广应用的方向。     

提高梯级水电站水工建筑物安全运行的措施

介绍谢列布良斯克２号，上、下捷里别尔斯克等３个梯级水电站运行中的实践经验。对运行中土坝渗流量超出设计渗流量，进行了计算研究，并采取相应的防渗措施，如设反滤层等；对水电站工作轮室、蜗壳等处的金属衬砌外壳出现了补强灌浆。