Search

An in-situ large-scale underground blast test program was conducted to investigate stress wave characteristics inside the medium, at the soil-rock interface and on the soil ground surface. The stress wave measurements were made through a vertical borehole and a horizontal borehole inside the rock mass, and along several horizontal lines arranged at the rock-soil interface and on the soil surface. Three different charge weights of 0.5, 2.5 and 10 t with loading densities of 0.5, 2.5 and 10 kg/m 3, respectively, were used in the detonation. The measured stress wave time histories and their characteristic parameters, such as peak particle velocity (PPV) and peak particle acceleration (PPA), as well as the principal frequency (PF) at different locations are presented and analyzed in this paper. The results are also compared with those recorded from small-scale tests in a previous study and those from some other researchers, and the pertinent scale effects are discussed by observing differences of the stress wave intensities between the small-scale and the large-scale tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A curated Web-based user-friendly sequence typing tool based on antimicrobial resistance determinants in Neisseria gonorrhoeae was developed and is publicly accessible (https://ngstar.canada.ca). The N. gonorrhoeae Sequence Typing for Antimicrobial Resistance (NG-STAR) molecular typing scheme uses the DNA sequences of 7 genes ( penA , mtrR , porB , ponA , gyrA , parC , and 23S rRNA) associated with resistance to β-lactam antimicrobials, macrolides, or fluoroquinolones. NG-STAR uses the entire penA sequence, combining the historical nomenclature for penA types I to XXXVIII with novel nucleotide sequence designations; the full mtrR sequence and a portion of its promoter region; portions of ponA , porB , gyrA , and parC ; and 23S rRNA sequences. NG-STAR grouped 768 isolates into 139 sequence types (STs) ( n = 660) consisting of 29 clonal complexes (CCs) having a maximum of a single-locus variation, and 76 NG-STAR STs ( n = 109) were identified as unrelated singletons. NG-STAR had a high Simpson's diversity index value of 96.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.959 to 0.969). The most common STs were NG-STAR ST-90 ( n = 100; 13.0%), ST-42 and ST-91 ( n = 45; 5.9%), ST-64 ( n = 44; 5.72%), and ST-139 ( n = 42; 5.5%). Decreased susceptibility to azithromycin was associated with NG-STAR ST-58, ST-61, ST-64, ST-79, ST-91, and ST-139 ( n = 156; 92.3%); decreased susceptibility to cephalosporins was associated with NG-STAR ST-90, ST-91, and ST-97 ( n = 162; 94.2%); and ciprofloxacin resistance was associated with NG-STAR ST-26, ST-90, ST-91, ST-97, ST-150, and ST-158 ( n = 196; 98.0%). All isolates of NG-STAR ST-42, ST-43, ST-63, ST-81, and ST-160 ( n = 106) were susceptible to all four antimicrobials. The standardization of nomenclature associated with antimicrobial resistance determinants through an internationally available database will facilitate the monitoring of the global dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant N. gonorrhoeae strains., (© Crown copyright 2017.)

Calcineurin is a calmodulin (CaM) dependent protein phosphatase recently found to be altered in the brains of patients suffering from schizophrenia and by repeated antipsychotic treatment in rats. Some data suggest, however, that antipsychotics and schizophrenia may have a more widespread effect on the CaM signaling axis than calcineurin alone. In the current study, the effects of selected psychoactive drugs were investigated using Western blotting, in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry to determine if they target CaM, calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMK) or calcineurin. Results indicated that repeated treatment with haloperidol, clozapine or risperidone increased CaM protein and CaMII mRNA levels but decreased calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIalpha (CaMKIIalpha) IV (CaMKIV), kinase alpha (CaMKKalpha), kinase beta (CaMKKbeta) and calcineurin protein levels in the striatum of Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus Norvegicus). Closer examination of CaMKIV, CaMKKalpha and CaMKKbeta revealed that the observed decreases in protein levels were short-lived following antipsychotic treatment and reversed (i.e. upregulated) 24 h post-treatment similar to what was previously reported for calcineurin. The D(2)/D(3)dopamine receptor antagonist raclopride mimicked the decreases in CaMKIV, CaMKKalpha, CaMKKbeta and calcineurin observed following antipsychotic treatment whereas increases in these proteins were observed in an amphetamine model of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Mood stabilizers such as lithium and valproic acid or the antidepressant fluoxetine had no effect on CaMKIV, CaMKKalpha, CaMKKbeta and calcineurin with the exception of an increase in CaMKKbeta following lithium treatment. The results collectively suggest that antipsychotic specifically target several proteins associated with CaM signaling.

This study utilized the Bordetella pertussis single-copy PCR target BP3385 as a means of confirming IS481 PCR-positive reactions with cycle threshold (C(T)) values of >35. IS481 PCRs with C(T) values of >35 cycles may represent PCR conditions where there is <1 CFU of B. pertussis per PCR.