Viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis isolated from calf milk replacer

When advising farmers on how to control Johne's disease in an infected herd, one of the main recommendations is to avoid feeding waste milk to calves and instead feed calf milk replacer (CMR). This advice is based on the assumption that CMR is free of viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) cells, an assumption that has not previously been challenged. We tested commercial CMR products (n = 83) obtained from dairy farms around the United States by the peptide-mediated magnetic separation (PMS)-phage assay, PMS followed by liquid culture (PMS-culture), and direct IS900 quantitative PCR (qPCR). Conventional microbiological analyses for total mesophilic bacterial counts, coliforms, Salmonella, coagulase-negative staphylococci, streptococci, nonhemolytic Corynebacterium spp., and Bacillus spp. were also performed to assess the overall microbiological quality of the CMR. Twenty-six (31.3%) of the 83 CMR samples showed evidence of the presence of MAP. Seventeen (20.5%) tested positive for viable MAP by the PMS-phage assay, with plaque counts ranging from 6 to 1,212 pfu/50 mL of reconstituted CMR (average 248.5 pfu/50 mL). Twelve (14.5%) CMR samples tested positive for viable MAP by PMS-culture; isolates from all 12 of these samples were subsequently confirmed by whole-genome sequencing to be different cattle strains of MAP. Seven (8.4%) CMR samples tested positive for MAP DNA by IS900 qPCR. Four CMR samples tested positive by both PMS-based tests and 5 CMR samples tested positive by IS900 qPCR plus one or other of the PMS-based tests, but only one CMR sample tested positive by all 3 MAP detection tests applied. All conventional microbiology results were within current standards for whole milk powders. A significant association existed between higher total bacterial counts and presence of viable MAP indicated by either of the PMS-based assays. This represents the first published report of the isolation of viable MAP from CMR. Our findings raise concerns about the potential ability of MAP to survive manufacture of dried milk-based products.     

The relaxed optimal control problem for Mean-Field SDEs systems and application

The present study deals with a new approach of optimal control problems where the state equation is a Mean-Field stochastic differential equation, and the set of strict (classical) controls need not be convex and the diffusion coefficient depends on the term control. Our consideration is based on only one adjoint process, and the necessary conditions as well as a sufficient condition for optimality in the form of a relaxed maximum principle are obtained, with application to Linear quadratic stochastic control problem with mean-field type.     

The status of e‐commerce applications in Malaysia

Abstract

The main focus of this study is the status of e‐commerce usage in Malaysia, specifically five main business processes and activities, namely, marketing, advertising, customer support and service, order and delivery and payment. A total of twenty applications categorized under the five processes and activities were identified and analysed. From the twenty applications studied, communications via e‐mail was found to be the most widely used (70%). On the other hand, applications categorized under the payment category such as the smart card and prepaid card was used by only seven percent of the organisations. This demonstrated that Malaysian organisations were using e‐commerce applications. However the usage was limited. The results of the survey indicated that security issues seemed to be the main barrier to the implementation of e‐commerce. Organizations were reluctant to use e‐commerce as they felt that the transactions conducted electronically were open to hackers and viruses, which are beyond their control. They were also skeptical about the security measures that were implemented to safeguard on‐line payment transactions.     

Subspace-based technique for speech encryption

The use of signal processing techniques in cryptographic field is an attractive approach in recent years. As an example, the intractability of the under-determined blind source separation (BSS) problem has been used for the proposal of BSS-based speech encryption. However, some weaknesses of this proposal from a cryptographic point of view have been recently published. In this paper, we propose a new encryption method that bypass these weaknesses. The proposed approach is based on the subspace concept together with the use of nonlinear functions and key signals. An interesting feature of the proposed technique is that only a part of the secret key parameters used during encryption is necessary for decryption. Furthermore, if no plain-text is fed to the encryption algorithm, the latter will provide no contents. Analysis results show that the proposed method significantly enhances the security level of existing BSS-based speech encryption methods.     

An overview of the environmental,economic, and material developments of the solar and wind sources coupled with the energy storage systems

There is a constant growth in energy consumption and consequently energy generation around the world. During the recent decades, renewable energy sources took heed of scientists and policy makers as a remedy for substituting traditional sources. Wind and photovoltaic (PV) are the least reliable sources because of their dependence on wind speed and irradiance and therefore their intermittent nature. Energy storage systems are usually coupled with these sources to increase the reliability of the hybrid system. Environmental effects are one of the biggest concerns associated with the renewable energy sources. This study summarizes the last and most important environmental and economic analysis of a grid‐connected hybrid network consisting of wind turbine, PV panels, and energy storage systems. Focusing on environmental aspects, this paper reviews land efficiency, shaded analysis of wind turbines and PV panels, greenhouse gas emission, wastes of wind turbine and PV panels' components, fossil fuel consumption, wildlife, sensitive ecosystems, health benefits, and so on. A cost analysis of the energy generated by a hybrid system has been discussed. Furthermore, this study reviews the latest technologies for materials that have been used for solar PV manufacturing. This paper can help to make a right decision considering all aspects of installing a hybrid system. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

BaTiO3 incorporation effect on the dielectric properties of polymer from aqueous emulsion: An enhanced dispersion technique

An economic and environment friendly process was adapted to synthesize new dielectric composite materials. Using ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)/vinyl ester of versatic acid (VeoVa) terpolymer as an aqueous emulsion provides a homogenous dispersion of BaTiO₃ (BT) particles, due to the high viscosity and polarity of the vinyl resin (VR). Composites films were obtained from these dispersions by water evaporation. The evolution of the dielectric properties as a function of the BaTiO₃ content, was correctly fitted by a Maxwell‐Garnett model. This fitting of the experimental curve shows a good dispersion of filler in the vinyl resin and the particles separation by a layer of resin as expected for the preparation method used in this study. The VR/BT composites show good synergy between the dielectric properties of the different phases of the composites due to the formation of macrodipoles and to the strong interactions between polar EVA/VeoVa groups and the BaTiO₃ particles surface. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44333.     

133Cs and 23Na MAS NMR Spectroscopy of Molybdate Crystallization in Model Nuclear Glasses

Sodium borosilicate base glasses modeled on French nuclear waste materials were prepared to test the dependence of crystallization product quantity and distribution on cesium‐ and molybdenum‐loading and glass cooling rate. Scanning electron microscopy shows the presence of micrometer‐sized domains of Mo‐rich crystalline precipitates. X‐ray diffraction patterns are complex but reveal the presence of sodium molybdates and CsNaMoO₄·2H₂O. ¹³³Cs and ²³Na magic‐angle spinning NMR spectroscopy exhibit distinct peaks for glassy and crystalline phases which can be quantified to obtain the identities of the individual compounds that are formed as well as the fractions of these nuclei in particular crystalline phases. In these model systems, 1 mol% Mo can be entirely incorporated into the glassy network whereas 2.5 and 5 mol% Mo produce significant quantities of crystalline phases, with little dependence on cooling rate. Cesium content appears to have a weak influence on crystallization behavior. Sodium molybdate and sodium‐cesium molybdate hydrate are the dominant devitrification phases in all cases.     

Alginate@Layered Silicate Composite Beads: Dye Elimination,Box–Behnken Design Optimization and Antibacterial Property

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - The discharge of industrial waste comprising organic pollutants into aquatic environment induces numerous health risks. Crosslinked...     

Reinforcement of maleated polyethylene/ground tire rubber thermoplastic elastomers using talc and wood flour

Maleated polyethylene (MAPE)/Ground tire rubber (GTR) thermoplastic elastomer with 50 vol % GTR was reinforced by incorporation of talc powder and wood flour. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that maleated polyethylene (MAPE) has good compatibility with wood flour, but the adhesion with talc particles is weak. Tensile moduli of MAPE/GTR increase more significantly after inclusion of talc particles compared to wood flour. Prediction of the tensile modulus of hybrid MAPE/GTR/particle composites is successfully performed using a combination of Kerner and Halpin‐Tsai models. Elastic moduli are shown to depend strongly on both aspect ratio and level of particle dispersion in the matrix. Measurement of compression sets shows that elastic recovery of the compounds decreases after addition of solid particles. Samples having better particles/matrix compatibility show higher elastic recovery. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that inclusion of wood flour decreases thermal stability of compounds. Density and hardness of MAPE/GTR are also shown to increase after inclusion of particulate reinforcements. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40195.     

Iron oxide supported sulfated TiO2 nanotube catalysts for NO reduction with propane

Sulfated TiO₂ nanotubes and a series of iron oxide loaded sulfated TiO₂ nanotubes catalysts with different iron oxide loadings (1 wt%, 3 wt%, 5 wt% and 7 wt%) were prepared and calcined at 400 °C. The physico-chemical properties of the catalysts were studied by using XRD, N₂-physisorption, Raman spectroscopy, SEM-EDX, TEM, XPS, and pyridine adsorption using FTIR and H₂-TPR techniques. It was observed that iron oxide was highly dispersed on the sulfated TiO₂ nanotube support due to its strong interaction. The activity of these catalysts in the catalytic removal of NO with propane was also studied in the temperature range of 300–500 °C. Highest activity (90% NO conversion) was observed with 5 wt% iron oxide supported on sulfated TiO₂ catalyst at 450 °C. Selective catalytic reduction of NO activity of the catalysts was correlated with iron oxide loading, reducibility, and the Brönsted and Lewis acid sites of the catalysts. The catalyst also showed good stability under studied reaction conditions that no deactivation was observed during the 50 h of reaction.