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Phoma macdonaldii, the causal agent of sunflower black stem, severely affects sunflower yield and quality. A rapid and sensitive detection method is necessary for diagnosis of this disease. In this study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for rapid detection of the pathogen from diseased sunflower tissues. The LAMP primers were designed to target the rDNA region of the fungus. The reaction condition was optimized to 60°C water baths for 45 min. The detection limit of the LAMP assay was 100 fg DNA or 10 conidia/g seeds. The LAMP assay was validated by detecting P. macdonaldii from infected sunflower tissue samples, including leaves, stems, and seeds, and applying to seed samples randomly collected from sunflower fields. This LAMP assay will be useful for estimating disease prevalence and implementing sustainable management of sunflower black stem.

Introduction The aim of this study was to compare the fracture resistance of endodontically treated premolars after the application of three restorative materials (i.e., direct composite, indirect composite, and computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing CAD/CAM ceramic inlays) to restore a conservative occluso-mesial cavity preparation. Materials and methods sixty sound maxillary premolars were divided into four experimental groups; group A: the control group, where neither root canal treatment nor preparation were performed; group B: teeth were restored with a direct Filtek Z250 composite restorative material; group C: teeth were restored with an indirect inlay Filtek Z250 composite restorative material; group D: teeth were restored with IPS E.Max CAD/CAM monolithic ceramic inlays. Access cavities and root canal treatment procedures were conducted using standard techniques. Then, the cavities were restored with direct composite restorative materials following manufacturer’s instructions. Each group received mesial-occlusal cavities and restored according to the designated group. Teeth from all groups were exposed to a thermocycling regimen of 500 cycles in water baths at 5–55 °C. Then, each specimen was mounted on a special fixture on a computer controlled Instron Universal Testing Machine. An axial compressive load was applied to the palatal cusp up to failure at an angle of 45°. The force was applied at the rate of 2 mm/min until visible or audible evidence of fracture was observed. The force at fracture was measured in MPa, and the fracture mode was recorded as either favorable [restorable adhesive fracture above the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ)] or unfavorale (non-restorable fractures under CEJ). The obtained data were analyzed using the SPSS version 21.0 statistical software. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's test were used to compare the mean values of maximum load of the four groups. Pearson's Chi-square test was used to compare the distribution of failure mode among the four groups. The p-value of ≤ 0.05 was used to report the statistical significance of results.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of different cement gap on microleakage of PMMA crowns cemented with resin cement. Materials and Methods: Thirty natural human molar teeth were collected, the root of the teeth was sealed with a double layer of varnish for insulation to a level of 1 mm below the preparation margin, and mounted in an acrylic mold. Teeth were prepared through CNC, PMMA crowns fabricated by cad/cam. Samples were divided into 3 subgroups according to the cement gap(CG) (n=10): 25µm (CG25), 50µm (CG50), 100µm (CG100). PMMA crowns cemented with Breeze Self-Adhesive Resin Cement. Samples were thermocycled for 5000 cycles between two water baths at 5°C and 55°C with a dwell time of 20 seconds and 10 seconds of transfer time. Samples were immersed in methylene blue dye solution for 24 hours, then sectioned buccolingually. Dye penetration was assessed using a spectromicroscope, and then a score assessment was done for the microleakage. Results: The CG50 group scored the lowest median microleakage score, followed by CG100, and finally, CG25. The CG25 group; showed a statistically significantly higher median microleakage score than CG50 or CG100 groups. Conclusion: The cement gap has an effect on the microleakage of PMMA crowns cemented with self-adhesive resin cement. Keywords: Cement gap, Microleakage, PMMA, Resin cement

The objective of the present study was to establish whether exposure to temperatures of 55-70 °C results in eradication of the pathogen Clavibacter sepedonicus (Cs) in colonised potato tissue, in order to evaluate the efficiency of composting for disinfection of Cs-infected potato waste. Pre-sprouted potato tubers were inoculated and planted to produce Cs-colonised stem and tuber material. After incubation in temperature-controlled water baths, the infected potato tissue was analysed for the presence of culturable and pathogenic Cs. Additional experiments were performed with Cs-colonised potato stem tissue crushed and deaerated, thus simulating macerated stem tissue in the compost heap. To enable a comparison with bacterial cells that are not enclosed by their natural organic matrix, temperature treatments were applied to non-infected stem tissue crushed and deaerated, and spiked with freshly prepared Cs-suspensions. Cs settled inside colonised potato tissue, as well as Cs present as Cs-suspensions supplemented to potato tissue, was eradicated by exposure to heat, even after a treatment of 1 h at 55 °C, with the exception of one case in which the pathogen present in intact stem material escaped a treatment of 6 h at 60 °C, indicating that incidentally stems may provide niches in which the pathogen is protected against heat.

Detecting and quantifying pathogens with quick, cost-efficient and sensitive methods is needed across disease systems for addressing pertinent epidemiological questions. Typical methods rely on extracting DNA from collected samples. Here we develop and test an extraction-free method from water bath samples that is both sensitive and efficient for 2 major amphibian pathogens—Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans. We tested mock samples with known pathogen quantities as well as comparatively assessed detection from skin swabs and water baths from field sampled amphibians. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) directly on lyophilized water baths was able to reliably detect low loads of 10 and 1 zoospores for both pathogens, and detection rates were greater than those of swabs from field samples. Further concentration of samples did not improve detection, and collection container type did not influence pathogen load estimates. This method of lyophilization (i.e. freeze-drying) followed by direct qPCR offers an effective and efficient tool from detecting amphibian pathogens, which is crucial for surveillance efforts and estimating shedding rates for robust epidemiological understanding of transmission dynamics. Furthermore, water bath samples have multiple functions and can be used to evaluate mucosal function against pathogens and characterize mucosal components. The multifunctionality of water bath samples and reduced monetary costs and time expenditures make this method an optimal tool for amphibian disease research and may also prove to be useful in other wildlife disease systems.

Foodborne pathogens like Salmonella and Escherichia coli O121 can endure the harsh low water activity (aw) environment of wheat flour for elongated periods of time and can proliferate when hydrated for baking or other purposes. This study determined the survivability and thermal tolerance (D- and z-values) of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O121 in wheat flour and muffin batter (prepared from inoculated flour on the days of analyses) during the storage period of 360 days. The Salmonella and E. coli O121 studies were conducted as two independent experiments. Both studies were designed as randomized complete block with three replications as blocks. All experimental data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test in Minitab® software, and P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. The wheat flour was spray inoculated individually with 7-isolate Salmonella or 3-isolate E. coli O121 cocktail and then dried back to the original aw levels. On each analysis day, inoculated wheat flour (~5 g) or muffin batter (~2.5 g) was placed inside the TDT disks, heat treated at set temperatures in hot water baths, and sampled at predetermined time intervals for determining the survival microbial population. The population of E. coli O121 and Salmonella cocktails in wheat flour at day 1 were 7.6 ± 0.18 and 7.8 ± 0.07 log CFU/g, respectively, which decreased to 2.0 ± 0.40 and 2.8 ± 0.59 log CFU/g on day 360, respectively. The D-values of Salmonella and E. coli O121 cocktails in inoculated flour and muffin batter prepared from inoculated flour (on the day of analysis) were determined on days 1, 30, 90, 180, 270, and 360 [given enough surviving bacterial population (~3 to 4 log CFU/g) was present in the flour]. The population of Salmonella and E. coli O121 in wheat flour decreased by 5.0 and 5.6 log CFU/g, respectively, during the storage period of 360 days. The D70°C, D75°C, and D80°C values of Salmonella in wheat flour remained similar during the storage period. Whereas, for E. coli O157:H7 in wheat flour, the D70°C value decreased from 20.3 ± 2.82 to 7.1 ± 2.82 min, and D75°C decreased from 10.2 ± 2.14 to 2.7 ± 0.27 min, during the storage period of 180 days. The z-values of Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7 remained similar during the storage period. The D- and z-values from this research can be employed for validation of thermal process to ensure safety of wheat flour.

Despite demonstrating exciting potential for applications such as drug delivery and biosensing, the development of nanodevices for practical applications and broader use in research and education are still hindered by the time, effort, and cost associated with DNA origami fabrication. Simple and robust methods to perform and scale the DNA origami self-assembly process are critical to facilitate broader use and translation to industrial or clinical applications. We report a simple approach to fold DNA origami nanostructures that is fast, robust, and scalable. We demonstrate fabrication at scales approximately 100–1,500-fold higher than typical scales. We further demonstrate an approach we termed low-cost efficient annealing (LEAN) self-assembly involving initial heating at 65 °C for 10 min, then annealing at 51 °C for 2 h, followed by brief quenching at 4 °C that leads to effective assembly of a range of DNA origami structures tested. In contrast to other methods for scaling DNA origami assembly, this approach can be carried out using cheap and widely available equipment (e.g., hot plates, water baths, and laboratory burners) and uses standard recipes and materials so is readily applied to any existing or new DNA origami designs. We envision these methods can facilitate device development for commercial applications and facilitate broader use of DNA origami in research and education.

Background: A reduction in bond strength of bleached enamel has been confirmed in the literature. Although limited information is available, it is conceivable that the veneer preparation process may remove the impacted enamel and further eliminate the compromised bond strength between the composite resin and bleached enamel. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of surface removal following bleaching on the micro-shear bond strength (μSBS) of bleached enamel.Methods: Forty-eight specimens were prepared from bovine incisors and were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 24): group B (bleaching with 40% hydrogen peroxide for 2 × 45 min with a 1-week interval) and group C (control group without bleaching treatment). Immediately after receiving the treatments, 0.5 mm of the enamel was removed from the specimen surface,followed by bonding of composite resin to the enamel surface. Each group was further divided into 2 subgroups of 12 specimens each: subgroup T (with 5000 thermocycles in water baths at 5 °C and 55 °C), and subgroup N (without thermocycling). The μSBS values were measured using a universal testing machine and subjected to two-way analysis of variance (α = 0.05). The fracture modes of the specimens were observed using a stereomicroscope. Results: The μSBS values of the different groups ranged from 21.42 to 25.21 MPa. Following a surface reduction of 0.5 mm, bleaching treatment and thermocycling did not significantly affect the μSBS values (P = 0.348 and P = 0.507, respectively). No significant interaction was found] between the bleaching treatment and thermocycling (P = 0.514). All the groups exhibited a high percentage of mixed failures. Compared with group C, group B exhibited higher percentage of adhesive failure. Conclusion: The results suggested that the bonding procedure could be performed on the bleached enamel following a surface reduction of 0.5 mm immediately after the bleaching treatment., BMC Oral Health, 19(1), art.no.50; 2019

This study validated a typical commercial donut frying process as an effective kill-step against a 7-serovar Salmonella cocktail (Newport, Typhimurium, Senftenberg, Tennessee, and three dry food isolates) when contamination was introduced through inoculated flour. The bread and pastry flour mix (3:1) was inoculated with the Salmonella cocktail, and subsequently dried back to original preinoculation moisture content, achieving a Salmonella population of 7.6 log CFU/g. Inoculated flour was used to prepare a typical commercial donut batter, which was fried using 375°F (190.6°C) oil temperature. No viable Salmonella was detected using an enrichment plating protocol in the donuts after 2 min of frying, resulting in >7-log reduction in Salmonella population. The internal donut temperature increased from ∼30°C to ∼119°C at the end of 2 min of frying. The water activities of the donut crumb and crust after 2 min of frying, followed by 30 min of ambient air cooling, were 0.944 and 0.852, respectively. The donut pH after ambient-air cooling was 5.51. The D- and z-values of the Salmonella cocktail in donut dough were determined using thermal-death-time disks and temperature-controlled water baths. The D-values of the cocktail were 8.6, 2.9, and 2.1 min at 55°C, 58°C, and 61°C, respectively, whereas the z-value was 10°C. This study validated that >7-log reduction could be achieved if donuts are fried for at least 2 min in the oil at 190.6°C, and calculated D- and z-values present the heat resistance of Salmonella in donut dough at the start of the frying processes. However, results from this study should not be extrapolated when donut composition and frying parameters are changed significantly.

Understanding the potential drivers of microbial meat contamination along the entire meat supply chain is needed to identify targets for interventions to reduce the number of meatborne bacterial outbreaks. We assessed the hygienic practices in cattle slaughterhouses (28 employees) and retail shops (127 employees) through face-to-face interviews and direct personal observations. At the slaughterhouses, stunning, de-hiding and evisceration in vertical position, carcass washing and separate storage of offal were the identified good practices. Lack of hot water baths, absence of a chilling room, infrequent hand washing, insufficiently trained staff and irregular medical check-up were practices that lead to unhygienic handling of carcasses. At the retail shops, cleaning equipment using soap and hot water (81%), storing unsold meat in refrigerators (92%), concrete floors and white painted walls and ceilings were good practices. Adjacently displaying offal and meat (39%), lack of a cold chain, wrapping meat with plastic bags and newspapers, using a plastic or wooden cutting board (57%), infrequent washing of equipment and floors, and inadequately trained employees were practices that could result in unhygienic handling of beef. Our study identified unhygienic practices both at the slaughterhouses and retail shops that can predispose the public to meatborne infections, which could be improved through training and implementation of quality control systems.

Background Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Water in the environment can be a source of infection linked to outbreaks and environmental transmission in hospitals. Water safety in hospitals remains a challenge. This article has summarized available scientific literature to obtain an overview of outbreaks linked to water-containing hospital equipment and strategies to prevent such outbreaks. Methods We made a list of water-containing hospital equipment and devices in which water is being used in a semi-closed circuit. A literature search was performed in PubMed with a search strategy containing the names of these medical devices and one or more of the following words: outbreak, environmental contamination, transmission, infection. For each medical device, we summarized the following information: the function of the medical device, causes of contamination, the described outbreaks and possible prevention strategies. Results The following water-containing medical equipment or devices were identified: heater-cooler units, hemodialysis equipment, neonatal incubators, dental unit waterlines, fluid warmers, nebulizers, water traps, water baths, blanketrol, scalp cooling, and thermic stimulators. Of the latter three, no literature could be found. Of all other devices, one or more outbreaks associated with these devices were reported in the literature. Conclusions The water reservoirs in water-containing medical devices can be a source of microbial growth and transmissions to patients, despite the semi-closed water circuit. Proper handling and proper cleaning and disinfection can help to reduce the microbial burden and, consequently, transmission to patients. However, these devices are often difficult to clean and disinfect because they cannot be adequately opened or disassembled, and the manufacturer’s cleaning guidelines are often not feasible to execute. The development of equipment without water or fluid containers should be stimulated. Precise cleaning and disinfection guidelines and instructions are essential for instructing healthcare workers and hospital cleaning staff to prevent potential transmission to patients.

This study evaluated the texture of hog maw and the degradation of Types I and III collagen in the intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) of hog maw at different cooking temperatures (75-95°C) and times (50-130 min). The cooking loss, shear force, collagen content, collagen solubility, and IMCT strength of hog maw cooked in water baths were measured. The instrumental texture profile analysis showed that the brittleness, springiness, chewiness and hardness of the cooked hog maw significantly increased with the increase of cooking temperature, while the hardness, springiness and chewiness increased first and then decreased with increasing cooking time. Cooking loss exhibited a 38% increase between the raw meat and meat cooked at 95°C. The collagen solubility significantly increased from 5.5 mg/g for raw meat to 8.6 mg/g for meat cooked at 95°C, accompanied by decreases in the shear force and IMCT strength associated with the increase in cooking temperature and time. These results show that the texture and collagen characteristics of hog maw are dramatically affected by the cooking temperature and time. Sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis and immunofluorescence staining further showed that collagen degradation occurred after cooking, and the degradation of Type I collagen was higher than that of Type III collagen. These results indicated that the degradation of Type I collagen was mainly responsible for the sensory and textural improvements of the cooked hog maw.

International audience; Faced with aggressive environments, the durability of recycled aggregate concretes constitutes one of the most unknown aspects. The employment opportunities of recycled concrete aggregates will inevitably remain cautious due to the absence of well-established performance criteria. This paper is to investigate the influence of different granular compositions (recycled coarse and fine aggregate) on the mechanical characteristics and durability of concrete. Five series of concrete mixes, manufactured with various granular combinations (natural/recycled), were studied The formulation of the reference concrete was based on a constant quantity of 400 kg/m3of cement and a constant workability of fresh concrete securing S2 class of flowability and C25/30 concrete class, according to European standards.The experimental program consisted of comparing the long-term mechanical strength of concrete conserved in different types of water baths: fresh tap water sourced directly from the supply network, deionized water, and salt water. Also, the durability indicators were observed, such as capillary water absorption, porosity accessible to water, helium gas permeability, and an ammonium nitrate leaching test.The obtained results have highlighted the superiority of concrete composed of natural aggregate over concrete incorporating recycled aggregate for mechanical behaviour, case-observed with three types of water used as a conservation bath. The replacement of natural aggregate by recycled aggregate does not provide any substantial improvement in terms of durability. The use of recycled sand in concrete increases its porosity and vulnerability to an aggressive environment.

Introduction: Orthodontic treatment for adults is currently increasing, and therefore the need to bond brackets to restorations and temporary crowns. The use of CAD/CAM PMMA provisional restorations for orthodontic purposes have not yet been described, and there is currently insufficient information regarding the strength of bracket adhesion. Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the effects of thermocycling (TC) and surface treatment on shear bond strength (SBS) of brackets to different provisional materials. Methods: Forty specimens were made from each material [PMMA (Telio Lab), bis-acryl (Telio CS C&B), and PMMA CAD/CAM (Telio CAD)], sandpapered, and divided according to surface treatment (pumiced or sandblasted) and TC (half of the samples = 1,000 cycles, 5°C/55°C water baths) (n = 10/group). Stainless-steel brackets were bonded to the specimens (using Transbond XT), and SBS testing was performed. Data were analyzed by three-way ANOVA and LSD post-hoc tests (α = 0.05). Failure types were classified with adhesive remnant index (ARI) scores. Results: SBS values ranged from 1.5 to 14.9 MPa. Sandblasted bis-acryl and sandblasted auto-curing PMMA groups presented similar values (p> 0.05), higher than the CAD/CAM material (p< 0.05), with or without TC. When thermocycled, pumiced bis-acryl showed higher SBS than pumiced acrylic (p= 0.005) and CAD/CAM materials (p= 0.000), with statistical difference (p= 0.009). TC showed negative effect (p< 0.05) for sandblasted bis-acryl and pumiced acrylic groups. ARI predominant score was mostly zero (0) for CAD/CAM, 1 and 2 for bis-acryl, and 1 for acrylic groups. Conclusion: In general, bis-acryl material showed the highest SBS values, followed by acrylic and CAD/CAM materials, which showed SBS values lower than an optimum strength for bonding brackets. RESUMO Introdução: Atualmente, a demanda por tratamento ortodôntico em adultos tem aumentado. Consequentemente, também tem aumentado a necessidade de se colar braquetes em restaurações e coroas provisórias. O uso de restaurações provisórias de PMMA CAD/CAM com finalidade ortodôntica ainda não foi descrito e, até a presente data, não há informação suficiente sobre a resistência da colagem dos braquetes a esse tipo de material. Objetivo: O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos da termociclagem (TC) e do tratamento de superfície sobre a resistência da colagem ao cisalhamento (RC) de braquetes colados em diferentes materiais provisórios. Métodos: Quarenta espécimes foram confeccionados de cada material: resina acrílica PMMA (Telio Lab), resina bisacrílica (Telio CS C&B), e PMMA CAD/CAM (Telio CAD). Em seguida, foram lixados e divididos de acordo com o tratamento de superfície (polidos ou jateados) e TC (metade da amostra - 1.000 ciclos de imersão em água a 5°C e 55°C) (n = 10/grupo). Braquetes de aço inoxidável foram colados aos espécimes (utilizando Transbond XT) e realizou-se o teste de RC. As informações foram analisadas por meio dos testes ANOVA de três vias e post-hoc LSD (α?#8197;= 0,05). Os tipos de falha foram classificados de acordo com os escores do índice de adesivo remanescente (ARI). Resultados: Os valores de RC variaram de 1,5 a 14,9 MPa. Os grupos de resina bisacrílica jateada e de PMMA autopolimerizável jateado apresentaram valores semelhantes (p> 0,05), superiores ao do material CAD/CAM (p< 0,05) com ou sem TC. Quando submetido à TC, o grupo de resina bisacrílica polida apresentou resistência ao cisalhamento maior do que os grupos de resina acrílica polida (p= 0,005) e do material CAD/CAM (p= 0,000), com diferença estatística (p= 0,009). A TC apresentou efeito negativo (p< 0,05) para os grupos de resina bisacrílica jateada e de resina acrílica polida. O escore ARI = 0 foi predominante para o grupo CAD/CAM; os escores 1 e 2, para o grupo resina bisacrílica; e o escore 1, para o grupo resina acrílica. Conclusão: De forma geral, a resina bisacrílica apresentou os maiores valores de RC, seguida da resina acrílica e do material CAD/CAM, que apresentaram valores de RC inferiores à força recomendada para colagem de braquetes.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the alfaxalone formulation Alfaxan™ as an immersion anesthetic in tropical fish species compared to that of tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222). 22 black spot barbs (Puntius filamentosis) measuring (mean±SD) 11.4 ±1.4 cm in body length and 22 peacock cichlids (Aulonocara spp.) (measuring 8.4 ± 1.6cm were anesthetized in water baths containing 100 mg/L of MS-222 buffered with 200 mg/L of bicarbonate or 5 mg/L of alfaxalone following a 2-week washout period. Time to maximum effect, recovery periods, self-righting, spontaneous swimming movements, opercular movements, and response to noxious stimuli were recorded. The following results are for the black spot barbs following MS-222 and alfaxalone anesthesia, respectively: mean times (±SD) to surgical anesthesia were 5.5 ± 2.11 and 3.27 ± 1.72 minutes and mean recovery times were 2.95 ± 0.9 and 9.14 ± 3.15 minutes. The peacock cichlid anesthetic protocols for MS-222 (20 of 22 cichlids) and alfaxalone (20 of 21 cichlids) produced the following results, respectively: mean times (±SD) to surgical anesthesia were 14.75 ±5.43 and 11.1 ± 9.84 minutes and mean recovery times were 3.6 ±0.82 and 22.4 ±11.3 minutes. Median recovery time from 5 mg/L alfaxalone was significantly longer (P

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of ultrasound propagation on the adsorption of methyl orange by Luffa cylindrica. Kinetics of adsorption was studied at 30 and 50 $${^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ . Adsorption isotherms were investigated at three different medium temperatures (30, 40 and 50 $${^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ ) for ultrasound and shaking water baths. The obtained adsorption isotherms were modeled by Freundlich, Temkin, Dubinin–Radushkevich and Chakraborty and Sun isotherm models. Diffusion coefficients of the methyl orange were found as $$8.65 \times 10^{-15}$$ and $$1.43\times 10^{-14} \hbox {m}^{2}/\hbox {s}$$ for shaking and $$6.38\times 10^{-14}$$ and $$9.94\times 10^{-13} \hbox {m}^{2}/\hbox {s}$$ for ultrasound water bath at medium temperatures of 30 and 50 $${^{\circ }}\hbox {C}$$ , respectively.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate use of a telemetric gastrointestinal (GI) pill to continuously monitor GI temperature in horses at rest and during exercise and to compare time profiles of GI temperature and rectal temperature. ANIMALS 8 Standardbred horses. PROCEDURES Accuracy and precision of the GI pill and a rectal probe were determined in vitro by comparing temperature measurements with values obtained by a certified resistance temperature detector (RTD) in water baths at various temperatures (37°, 39°, and 41°C). Subsequently, both GI and rectal temperature were recorded in vivo in 8 horses over 3 consecutive days. The GI temperature was recorded continuously, and rectal temperature was recorded for 3.5 hours daily. Comparisons were made between GI temperature and rectal temperature for horses at rest, during exercise, and after exercise. RESULTS Water bath evaluation revealed good agreement between the rectal probe and RTD. However, the GI pill systematically underestimated temperature by 0.14°C. In vivo, GI temperature data were captured with minimal difficulties. Most data loss occurred during the first 16 hours, after which the mean ± SD data loss was 8.6 ± 3.7%. The GI temperature was consistently and significantly higher than rectal temperature with an overall mean temperature difference across time of 0.27°C (range, 0.22° to 0.32°C). Mean measurement cessation point for the GI pill was 5.1 ± 1.0 days after administration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE This study revealed that the telemetric GI pill was a reliable and practical method for real-time monitoring of GI temperature in horses.

RESUMENLos balnearios-sauna castreños del noroeste peninsular son monumentos con horno con una arquitectura muy original, posiblemente asociada a los diversos modelos termales. Se conocen cerca de tres decenas, distribuidos por el noroeste peninsular. La arquitectura compleja de estos monumentos se organiza estructuralmente hacia posibilitar baños de sauna y baños de agua fría. Las dos áreas son divididas por una estela, monolítica, normalmente ornamentada – la pedra formosa. El papel simbólico que tendrían en el seno de la sociedad castreña de la Edad del Hierro del noroeste peninsular permanece por aclarar y envuelto en gran misticismo, fruto de una posible sacralidad. Este entorno, referido por diversos autores a lo largo de los tiempos, está posiblemente asociado al culto de los dioses de las aguas y a la sacralidad del baño purificador, medicinal, que se refleja en las decoraciones frontales de las pedras formosas, cuya maestría de los escultores que las insculpieran, tipología decorativa, interpretación simbólica y semiótica estudiamos, como objetivos primordiales, a lo largo de este trabajo de investigación.PALABRAS CLAVE: Protohistoria, monumentos con horno, decoración pétrea, interpretación simbólica / semiótica.ABSTRACTThe Iron Age sauna-baths of the northwest peninsular are monuments with an oven with very original architecture, possibly associated with the diverse thermal models. There are about three dozen known sauna-baths spread over the northwest peninsular. The complex architecture of thesemonuments is structurally organized to allow for cold water baths and sauna baths. The two areas are divided by a tectiforme stele, monolithic, usually ornamented, known as pedra formosa (beautiful stone). The symbolic role that they would have had in the heart of the Iron Age “castreña” society in the northwest peninsular remains unclear and shrouded in mysticism, the fruit of a possible sacredness. This environment, referred to by various authors throughout the ages, is possibly associated with the worship of the water gods and the sacredness of the medicinal and purifying bath, which is reflected in the frontal decorations of the pedras formosas, whose masterful sculpting, decorative typology, symbolic interpretation and semiotics we studied as primary objectives of this research work.KEYWORDS: Protohistory, monuments with oven, stone decoration, symbolic / semiotic interpretation. REFERENCIASAlmagro-Gorbea, M. e Álvarez Sanchís, J. R. 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Veiga (1966), “Uma estela do tipo Pedra Formosa encontrada no Castro de Fontalva (Elvas)”, Revista de Guimarães, 76, pp- 359-363.Fernández Vega, P. A., Mantecón Callejo, L., Callejo Gómez, J. y Bolado del Castillo, R. (2014), “La sauna de la Segunda edad del Hierro del oppidum de Monte Ornedo (Cantabria, España)”, Munibe, 65, pp. 177-195.García Quintela, M. V. e Santos-Estévez M. (2015), “Iron Age saunas of northern Portugal: state of the art and research perspectives”, Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 34(1), pp. 67–95.García Quintela, M. V. (2016), “Sobre las saunas de la Edad del Hierro en la Península ibérica: novedades, tipologías e interpretaciones”, Complutum, 27 (1), pp. 109-130.García y Bellido, A. (1931), “Las relaciones entre el Arte etrusca y el ibérico”, Archivo Español de Arte y Arqueología, 7, pp. 119-148.— (1940), “El castro de Coaña (Asturias) y algunas notas sobre el posible origen de esta cultura”. 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(2003), “O balneário pré-romano de Braga”, Al-madan, II série, 12, pp. 43-46.López Cuevillas, F. (1953), La civilización celtica en Galicia, Compostela.Lorenzo Fernández, J. (1948), “El monumento proto-histórico de Águas Santas y los ritos funerarios de los castros”, Cuadernos de Estudios Gallegos, 2 (10), pp. 157-211.Martin, H. (1881), “La Citania de Briteiros“, Revue Archéologique, 42, pp. 160-164.Monteagudo, L. (1952), “Monumentos propiedad de la Sociedad Martins Sarmento”, Archivo Español de Arqueología, 25 (85), pp. 112-116.Moreira, A. B. (2013), “O Balneário Castrejo do Monte Padrão, Santo Tirso”, Santo Tirso Arqueológico, 5, pp. 7-36.Parente, J. (2003), O Castro de S. Bento (concelho de Vila Real) e o seu ambiente arqueológico. Vila Real.Queiroga, F. e Dinis, A. (2008-2009), “O Balneário Castrejo do Castro das Eiras”, Portugália, 39-40, pp. 139-152.Ramil, G. E. (1995-96), “O monumento com forno do Castro dos Prados-Espasante (Ortigueira, A Coruña) Memoria de investigação”, Brigantium, 9, pp. 13-60.Ribeiro, F. (1930-34), “Novas descobertas arqueológicas na Citânia de Briteiros”, Revista de Guimarães, 40 (3-4), 171-175; 44 (3-4), pp. 205-208.Ríos González, S. (2000), “Consideraciones funcionales y tipológicas en torno a los baños castreños del NO. de la Península Ibérica”, Gallaecia, 19, pp. 93-124.Romero Masiá, A. (1976), El habitat castreño, Santiago de Compostela.Santa-Olalla, J. (1932), “Las estelas funerarias en forma de casa en España”, Revista Investigación y Progreso, 10, pp. 182-193.Santos-Estévez, M. (2017), “Pitágoras na Gallaecia”, http://www.gciencia.com/author/manuel-santos-estevez/ [Consulta: 12-09-2017].Santos, J. N. (1963), “Serpentes geminadas em suástica e figurações serpentiformes do Castro de Guifões”, Lucerna, pp. 120-140.Sarmento, F. M. 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The latest guidelines of the American Academy of Dermatology suggest bathing as an advantageous nonpharmacologic intervention for regular skin care of patients with atopic dermatitis. Regular bathing with water can hydrate the skin, remove scale, crust, irritants, and allergens, enhance penetration of topical agents, and potentially reduce bacterial colonization. However, it is still unclear whether the addition of oils, emollients, and other additives to bath water may produce further benefits for the management of atopic dermatitis. This article will review current pearls and pitfalls of adding salts and nonirritating, nonsensitizing substances to water baths for the long-term maintenance treatment of atopic dermatitis in children.

A modification (low water level bath, LWL) of the recommended water bath (high water level bath, HWL) procedure was used to process tomato juice in quart jars. The LWL bath contained one-fifth the amount of water recommended for the HWL bath. Use of the HWL bath required 59 min and 1838 watt-hours of electricity to heat the bath and process hot packed (92°C) juice for 15 min. In comparison, 34 min and 1065 watt-hours of electricity were required when the LWL bath was used. Samples of juice were inoculated with log 3.0 Bacillus coagulans per ml, processed in each of the two baths, and stored up to 12 weeks at 27°C. Aerobic mesophiles were found only in juice processed in the HWL bath and stored 4 weeks and in juice processed in the LWL bath and stored 0 weeks. The aerobic mesophile count (log10) of juice processed in the HWL bath and stored 4 weeks was a mean log 1.4 per ml. Similar juice processed in the LWL bath had a mean log 1.3 aerobic mesophiles per ml. Juice processed in both water baths and stored for 8 and 12 weeks exhibited mesophilic counts of

It is well known that the warming process is a critical step in cell cryopreservation, affecting the survival rate of the cryopreserved cells. However, there is a lack of understanding and optimization of the warming process for the cryopreserved human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) that are greatly needed for the cellular/immune therapies worldwide. In this study, the effect of the warming process on cryosurvival of the PBMCs was investigated, resulting in a recommendation of an optimal warming method. In the experiments, all PBMC samples were cooled by a fixed slow cooling process and stored in a liquid nitrogen tank. The frozen samples were then warmed in water baths with stirring at various temperatures, 37°C, 42°C, and 65°C, respectively. After thawing, PBMC's viability as well as phenotypic and functional analyses were performed and evaluated. It was shown that a relatively rapid warming process at 65°C in a water bath with stirring generated a significant improvement of cell viability, recovery, and functionality of the cryopreserved PBMCs. In addition, interferon-γ and interleukin-2 secretion were much higher in PBMCs thawed at 65°C than that in 42°C and 37°C, respectively. This study suggests that a rapid warming process at 65°C in a water bath should be used to replace the current conventional warming approach at 37°C.

The influence of temperature and storage time on hydrogen sulphide (H2S) emissions from two different dairy manures was investigated over four seasons in 2012. Two separate experiments were conducted using dairy manure; (1) water baths at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C that were incubated for 15 h, and (2) 28-day batch experiment under room temperature. The headspace H2S concentration increased exponentially after 15 °C and reached a maximum of 3.1 mg/L at 30 °C. After the 4th day of storage, dairy manure emitted an average of 3.6 mg/L of H2S. However, a small decrease was observed on the 28th day, with a concentration of 2.8 mg/L. Under natural conditions, dairy manure emitted significantly lower H2S values during winter than during spring, summer and autumn when manure is widely used as fertiliser. Furthermore, regardless of the incubation temperature and storage time, manure from cows fed with concentrate-based feed emitted much higher H2S (6.5 times) than from cows fed with forage-based feed. These results indicated that the emissions of H2S from dairy manure could be managed by feeding cows minimal concentrate feed and by handling manure at cooler temperatures or lengthening the retention time.

Meat adulteration is seriously damaging the interests of consumers. It is important to develop a rapid, simple, cost-effective and sensitive method to identify meat species. In this study, a pair of suitable pork-specific primers was determined by the comparison of three pairs of pork-specific primers and the annealing/extension temperature optimized here was set at 64 °C. Rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with glass capillary as reaction vessel, which could complete 45 cycles in 5 min by using two ordinary water baths, was established to detect pork contents in raw beef meat or cooked beef meatballs. A SYTO 9-based visual detection method was used to evaluate the amplification results. The fluorescence signal of negative samples could be removed at 72 °C according to the results of original melt curves of positive and negative samples. Strong green fluorescence would be produced in positive samples while the color of negative samples still remained black under the blue light (470 nm). A simple and portable device was designed to prevent detection results disturbed by ambient light and make operation easier. As low as 0.01% pork contents in binary mixtures could be detected and the whole detection process could be finished in 20 min from sampling to results. The developed method would have great potential for rapid on-site detection of pork meat and identification of meat species.

Many animals, including the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, are capable of discriminating minute differences in environmental temperature, which enables them to seek out their preferred thermal landscape. To define the temperature preferences of larvae over a defined linear range, we developed an assay using a temperature gradient. To establish a single-directional gradient, two aluminum blocks are connected to independent water baths, each of which controls the temperature of individual blocks. The two blocks set the lower and upper limits of the gradient. The temperature gradient is established by placing an agarose-coated aluminum plate over the two water-controlled blocks so that the plate spans the distance between them. The ends of the aluminum plate that is set on the top of the water blocks defines the minimum and maximum temperatures, and the regions in-between the two blocks form a linear temperature gradient. The gradient assay can be applied to larvae of different ages and can be used to identify mutants that exhibit phenotypes, such as those with mutations affecting genes encoding TRP channels and opsins, which are required for temperature discrimination.

Background: In the culinary industry, sous vide is a popular cooking method in which lower temperatures are used to cook food to retain more desirable organoleptic characteristics. However, this technique may compromise food safety as the temperature may not be sufficient enough to eliminate pathogens that may be present. The BCCDC’s Guidelines for Restaurant Sous Vide Cooking Safety in British Columbia advises when too many food items are placed in the sous vide water bath, inadequate water circulation may occur with the result that process lethality, measured by calculation of log10 reductions, may not be achieved. The purpose of this study was to determine how overcrowding a sous vide water bath would impact the thermal process of pork loins. Methods: Each pork loin sample had a SmartButton inserted and was vacuum sealed in a plastic bag. The water bath was preheated to 60˚C by an immersion circulator. Under normal conditions, six pork loin samples were held in the water bath for 1 hour and the process was repeated four more times. Under overcrowded conditions, two runs were conducted for 1.5 to 2 hours, each consisting of 15 samples stacked in three layers. SmartButton temperature values were used to calculate whether a 6.5 log10 reduction for Salmonella spp. was achieved, using the American Meat Institute’s formula. Results: Using a 31-minute cook time, pork loins in normal conditions reached an average log reduction of 8.85 (range: 0.51 to 21.07), which was significantly higher than the 6.5 log10 reduction objective (p = 0.006). Conversely, pork loins in overcrowded conditions reached an average log reduction of 1.76 (range: 0.05 to 7.93), which was significantly lower than the 6.5 log10 reduction objective (p = 0.000). Furthermore, cooking lethality between the two conditions, pork loins in crowded and overcrowded conditions, were found to be significantly different from each other (p = 0.000). No differences were found in the mean log10 reductions between the pork loins placed in each of the three layers in an overcrowded water bath at 31 minutes (p = 0.094). Conclusion: Overcrowding sous vide water baths does impact on the thermal process of pork loins. Food products cooked under overcrowded conditions require a longer cook time, (approximately 30 minutes longer) to achieve at least 6.5 log10 reductions. Therefore, it is advised that food handlers using sous vide techniques should avoid overcrowding sous vide water baths. Further research using more samples is recommended to determine potential cold spot patterns in overcrowded water baths due to inadequate water circulation.

Aim: The aim was to compare the efficiency of routine method, isopropyl alcohol, and acetic acid solutions for removing wrinkles/folds from the tissue sections obtained. Materials and Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of six oral tissues, two uterus (cervix) tissues, and two skin tissues were employed. Dilute isopropyl alcohol solution was prepared by mixing one volume of isopropyl alcohol with 15 volumes of distilled water, 30 mM and 40 mM of acetic acid were also used and were employed as flotation media. Results: In our study, sections lifted from the water baths, after floatation onto all three different media, yielded largely similar results. In the case of oral tissues, alcohol seemed to give marginally better results. Conclusion: Dilute alcohol and acetic acid are the alternate floatation media used in this study, but the control group gave comparatively better results.

Muscle cooling impairs maximal force. Using needle electromyography (EMG) to assess motor unit properties during muscle cooling, is limited and equivocal. Therefore, we aimed to determine the impact of local muscle cooling on motor unit firing properties using surface EMG decomposition. Twenty participants (12 M, 8 F) completed maximal, evoked, and trapezoidal contractions during thermoneutral and cold muscle conditions. Forearm muscle temperature was manipulated using 10-min neutral (~ 32 °C) or 20-min cold (~ 3 °C) water baths. Twitches and maximal voluntary contractions were performed prior to, and after, forearm immersion in neutral or cold water. Motor unit properties were assessed during trapezoidal contractions to 50% baseline force using surface EMG decomposition. Impaired contractile properties from muscle cooling were evident in the twitch amplitude, duration, and rate of force development indicating that the muscle was successfully cooled from the cold water bath (all d ≥ 0.5, P

Many factors interact to influence threat perception and the subsequent experience of pain. This study investigated the effect of observing pain (extrinsic threat) and intrinsic threat of pain to oneself on pressure pain threshold (PPT). Forty socially connected pairs of healthy volunteers were threat-primed and randomly allocated to experimental or control roles. An experimental pain modulation paradigm was applied, with non-nociceptive threat cues used as conditioning stimuli. In substudy 1, the extrinsic threat to the experimental participant was observation of the control partner in pain. The control participant underwent hand immersion in noxious and non-noxious water baths in randomized order. Change in the observing participant's PPT from baseline to mid- and postimmersion was calculated. A significant interaction was found for PPT between conditions and test time (F2,78 = 24.9, P Perspective The effect on endogenous analgesia of observing another's pain and of threat of pain to oneself was investigated. Extrinsic as well as intrinsic threat cues, in the absence of any afferent input, increased pain thresholds, suggesting that mere threat of pain may initiate analgesic effects in traditional noxious experimental paradigms.

Understanding and optimization of composting processes can benefit from the use of controlled simulators of various scales. The Agricultural Research Organization Composting Simulator (ARO-CS) was recently built and it is flexibly automated by means of a programmable logic controller (PLC). Temperature, carbon dioxide, oxygen and airflow are monitored and controlled in seven 9-l reactors that are mounted into separate 80-l water baths. The PLC program includes three basic heating modes (pre-determined temperature profile, temperature-feedback (“self-heating”), and carbon dioxide-dependent temperature), three basic aeration modes (airflow dependence on temperature, carbon dioxide, or oxygen) and enables all possible combinations among them. This unique high flexibility provides a robust and valuable research tool to explore a wide range of research questions related to the science and engineering of composting. In this article the logic and flexibility of the control system is presented and demonstrated and its potential applications are discussed.

It is likely that few readers of this editorial had the experience, in the few years after the principles of the PCR were announced in 1985, of actually performing the method as it was first described [1]. In those days, PCR involved pipetting a new aliquot of Klenow polymerase into the reaction tube after each PCR cycle because the temperatures required for denaturation of the target and amplification products also in activated the enzyme. Most memorably, it required sequential precise pipetting of the reagents into small batches of plastic tubes wedged into styrofoam rafts floating in water baths kept at three different temperatures, with no time for bio-breaks. As graduate students, we were blissfully unaware of the threat of PCR contamination, the management or mismanagement of which ultimately determined the fate of the technology in forensic [2] and medical practice [3,4]. Fortunately, the technology evolved; with the advent of thermostable DNA polymerases, thermal cyclers and real-time PCR; contamination risk was diminished, physical containment requirements were reduced and more laboratories adopted molecular testing [5]. Real-time PCR testing has provided new levels of diagnostic accuracy and medical utility, particularly in the diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases and protracted viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis C virus. Quantitative molecular methods have become the mainstay of the medical management of chronic viral infections, and will be used increasingly for monitoring treatment responses of a wide variety of infections [6]. Molecular typing methods will be used in real-time to track outbreaks of infections due to healthcare-associated pathogens [7]. Deep sequencing has facilitated metagenomic analysis of multiple prokaryotic pathogens within a biological ecosystem, thus defining diseases associated with shifts in bacterial populations such as inflammatory bowel disease and bacterial vaginosis [8]. Testing in this area may ultimately have bacterial ecology as its focus. From a David H Persing & Ellen Jo Baron* Editorial

Introduction: Hydrotherapy is defined as the use of water for medical purposes. When we use specifically mineral water, steam, gases or peloids we apply the terms “crenotherapy” or “balneotherapy”. Since the first half of the last century, water baths have been used for burns treatment, including scares care and pain alleviation, with modifications over time. Water, heated and enriched with specific minerals, to which antimicrobial solutions can be associated, has been applied through immersion baths, currently surpassed by water showers / jets, in order to reduce the risk of transmission of infections. Few examples of the use of thermal waters have also been reported.

In late 1907, Charles Fraser, the Victorian government entomologist, travelled to North Queensland. His observations of the flora and fauna in this part of Australia were later published in theVictorian Naturalist. However, this journey was not motivated entirely by his desire to study natural history. As a sufferer of ‘rhematic [sic] troubles’, he spent a few days soaking in the mineral-impregnated waters at Innot Hot Springs, a small inland village approximately 150 kilometres south-east of Cairns. First established in the late 1880s, the tiny settlement is still visited during the winter months by many ‘grey nomads’ en route to Karumba, where the fishing is promoted as being excellent. They break their journey at Innot Hot Springs to soak in the indoor or outdoor swimming pools filled with mineralised water of varying temperatures sourced from the nearby Nettle Creek. Some view it simply as a place to relax after the long journey from southern Australia, having perhaps already tried the artesian bore water baths at Moree and Mitchell en route. Others may consider the mineral waters to have healing qualities; like Charles Fraser, they are literally ‘taking the waters’.

Exostoses are benign bony excrescences of the external auditory canal, commonly encountered in people who avidly engage in aquatic activities, hence the name "surfer's ear". Exostoses are more prevalent in cold water surfers, and additional years of surfing increase one's risk not only for developing an exostosis but also for developing more severe lesions. Exostoses remain clinically silent until they become large enough to impair the egress of epithelial debris and water from the canal, in which case there may be an associated external otitis and fluctuating hearing loss. Histologically, they demonstrate a laminated structure consistent with a periodic growth pattern. They may also cause a hearing loss by impinging upon the tympanic membrane and manubrium. Symptomatic relief is attained by surgical removal and skin grafting of the epithelially denuded areas of the bony walls of the external auditory canal. We report herein on 3 cases of exostoses which developed in patients who had a habit of taking a cold water bath after a hot sauna for more than 15 years: in spite of the limited time of exposure to cold water stimulation, alternating exposure to the hot environment of the sauna and cold water baths seemed to have acceralated the formation of the exostoses.

Obtaining the desired dry weight in dialysis patients is challenging once residual diuresis has disappeared, considering the trend of increasing dietary salt intake and shortening dialysis time over the last 40 years. We describe the case of a 55-year-old patient of Sudanese origin, who presented excessive interdialytic weight gain and hypertension on maintenance hemodialysis. After failure of conservative measures, a therapy of daily hot water baths of 30 minutes each on non-dialysis days was introduced. All clinical parameters improved, including potassium profile. In this article, we review the history, pathophysiological mechanisms, efficacy and possible side effects of this interesting, somewhat forgotten technique.

The following paper is aimed at designing of a clinical water bath with an automated temperature control system. A temperature controller that maintains temperature of water at predefined value is attached to water bath which is a container. It is applied for incubation in microbiology or pathology laboratories. It is often observed that most of the water baths are manually controlled. Hence there seems need for automated temperature control. An automation is also done by using thermostat which is cheaper but the control band of thermostat is considerably wide, hence the variation of temperature about the predefined value is more. The proposed methodology eliminates wide variation of temperature about the pre-set value by controlling the amount of power input to the heater. Various temperature sensors were tested and LM 35 is used amongst them and the power input for heater is controlled in three bands namely 10 %, 50%, 100%. The task is done using microcontroller ATmega 16.

Humidification is a process of adding water vapour to a volume of one or more gases. Natural humidification is achieved in the nasal cavity, but this process is often bypassed during anaesthesia and critical care. Various devices are used for artificial humidification the commonest being the heat and moisture exchanger, often combined with a microbial filter. Electrically heated water baths and other devices are discussed.

Highly conductive electrolyte materials are an essential part of many electrochemical systems, such as fuel cells, solar cells, batteries, electrochromic devices, and next-generation renewable-energy sources. The growing diversity in batteries and electrochemical cells increases the demand for novel electrolyte materials. For instance, in solar-cell applications, an electrolyte material with high viscosity and low volatility is desirable, together with high ionic conductivity. Electrolytes can be solids, gels, or liquids depending on the application. Gel electrolytes are advantageous when the conductivity in the solid form is not sufficient or the leakage or vaporization of the liquid electrolyte is a problem. Gel electrolytes can be aqueous or non-aqueous depending on the application type. While in some battery systems aqueous gel electrolytes have no use—for example, in Li ion batteries—they can be used in many rechargeable batteries, electrochemical capacitors, solar cells, and so on. Liquid-crystal gel electrolytes have also been investigated and are considered to be an important class of ordered materials for the above applications. A lyotropic liquid-crystalline (LLC) mesophase is formed by two main constituents: an amphiphile and a solvent. Common solvents are water, organic liquids, or ionic liquids. LLC-based electrolytes offer many advantages, like rigidity and high ionic mobility and can be an alternative to polymer electrolytes. Solvent-free LC systems (thermotropic LC) usually have low ionic conductivities at room temperature, typically around 10 6 Scm , whereas solvent-containing LLC systems have room-temperature ionic conductivities around 10 3 Scm . Usually high ionic conductivity in solvent-free LC electrolyte systems is achieved at high temperatures, that is, 150 8C and above. Recently we have shown that transition-metal aqua complex salts ([M ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(H2O)6]X2; in which M is a transition-metal cation and X is a suitable counterion), which have melting points close to room temperature, can also be used as solvents in the self-assembly process of some surfactants. The LLC mesophases of molten transition-metal-salt aqua complexes have important physical properties, such as high thermal stability (between 83 and 383 K), high ionic conductivity (room-temperature conductivities close to 2.0 10 4 Scm ), and nonvolatility. A highly concentrated aqueous electrolyte solution of an alkali metal salt can also act as a solvent in the assembly process of oligo(ethylene oxide) type surfactants, in which the highly concentrated electrolyte solution can be considered as an analogue of a molten salt. Their similarities arise due to strong ion–dipole (salt–water) interactions at high salt concentrations (highly concentrated refers to water/salt mole ratios of less than 8 in the case of lithium salts) and as a consequence, the heat of vaporization of water sharply increases. In this contribution, we have investigated the phase behavior and ionic conductivity of a new class of hydrated-salt/ surfactant mesophase, namely; LiNO3–H2O–C12EO10, LiCl– H2O–C12EO10, and LiClO4–H2O–C12EO10 systems, in which C12EO10 is C12H25 ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(OCH2CH2)10OH. The mesophase is a collaborative assembly of a hydrated salt species in the liquid phase and surfactant molecules. Earlier studies on salt– water–surfactant mesophases focus on the effect of salts on the phase behavior of surfactants in dilute aqueous solutions (18–1, water/salt mole ratio). Here, we demonstrate that as little as two water molecules per molecule of lithium salt is sufficient to form a LLC mesophase. At such a low water and high salt concentrations, the bulk properties of water are altered by the salt–water interactions and the salt– water couple collaboratively acts as the solvent in the LLC mesophase. An important outcome of the salt–water interaction is that the LLC mesophase is stable under ambient atmospheric conditions for years (see Supporting Information) and displays high ionic conductivity over a broad temperature range. The LLC samples were prepared by adding each ingredient: salt (LiNO3, LiCl, or LiClO4), surfactant (C12EO10), and water in the required amounts and the resulting mixture was then homogenized by constant shaking in a shaking water bath at 60–110 8C for 24 h. Under ambient conditions, the amount of water in the samples depends on the temperature, relative humidity, and the amount of salt in the mesophase, but always enough water remains in the samples to [a] C. Albayrak, Prof. . Dag Department of Chemistry, Bilkent University 06800, Ankara (Turkey) Fax: (+90)312-266-4068 E-mail : dag@fen.bilkent.edu.tr [b] Prof. A. Cihaner Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry Atilim University 06836, Ankara (Turkey) Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201103705.

Automated Wet-Etch Station (AWS) is a complex flow shop operation process in Semiconductor Manufacturing Systems. In this station, automated material-handling robots are used to move wafer lots across a lineal configuration of chemical and water baths. In every bath, limited processing times and complex storage policies must be assured. In this work, an optimization-based framework is developed to improve the operations of AWS. To do this, a sequential procedure based on mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulations is proposed. The aim of this work is to provide a robust approach to generate near-optimal results to industrial AWS scheduling problems with modest CPU time.

This work addresses the short-term scheduling of one of the most critical stages in the semiconductor industry, the automated wet-etch station (AWS). An efficient MILP-based computer-aided tool is developed in order to achieve a proper synchronization between the activities of sequential chemical and water baths and limited automated wafer's lot transfer devices. The major goal is to find the optimal integrated schedule that maximizes the whole process productivity without generating wafer contamination. Several examples are successfully solved to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed method.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of increased water temperatures on the development of Aedes aegypti immatures under laboratory conditions in Trinidad, West Indies using temperature regulated water baths to cover a range of temperatures from 24-25°C to 34-35°C at a relative humidity of 80%. Two experiments were designed: (1) at constant temperature regimens and (2) under diurnal temperature regimens ranging from 24-25°C to 34-35°C. At 24-25°C egg hatching success was 98% at 48 h, however at 34-35°C egg hatching rates declined to 1.6% after 48 h. Ae. aegypti larvae reared under constant temperature regimens showed pupation on day 4 with highest pupation occurring at 30°C (78.4%) However, under diurnal temperature regimens, pupation began on day 4 but only at the higher temperatures of 30-35°C. Under diurnal temperature regimens ranging from 24°C to 35°C significantly more females emerged at higher temperatures, than males. In contrast, at constant temperatures of 24-35°C no significant difference in M/F ratios were observed. The body size of Ae. aegypti reared at constant temperature regimens was significantly larger than males and females larvae reared under diurnal temperature regimens of 25-30°C. The results of this study are discussed in the context of changing or increasing water temperatures, seasonal changes in vector populations and vector competence. Using these key factors control strategies are recommended to manage vector populations as expected increases in temperatures impact the Caribbean region.

This study compared the marginal sealing property Provifil (Promedica, Germany), a new light-cured one-component temporary filling material with IRM (Dentsply-Caulk) and Cavit (3M ESPE). Standard box-shaped cavity preparations were completed in 40 caries-free anterior bovine teeth. The teeth were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n = 10) and were filled with one of the three restorative materials. In five teeth (Positive control), no restorative material was placed; while five teeth of the negative control group had no restorative material but were filled with sticky wax. After thermocycling in water baths with temperatures of 5±5°C and 55±5°C (dwell time, 30 seconds) for 200 cycles, the teeth were coated with nail varnish, leaving an area of 1 mm short of the cavity margin uncovered. The samples were immersed in 2% Methylene blue dye solution for 10 days, sectioned and then digital pictures were taken. Dye penetration along the walls was measured using the UTHSCA Image Tool software. The greatest depth of dye penetration was considered the score of the specimen. Data was analyzed using One-way ANOVA (p < 0.05) and Tukey’s HSD Post Hoc Test. Results showed that all the materials tested leaked at the tooth-restorative material interface. Provifil had the lowest mean leakage value (1.609 mm) while Cavit had the next lowest (2.028 mm). IRM demonstrated significant leakage values (4.587 mm) signifying complete dye penetration on all the samples. There was no statistical significant difference between the marginal sealing property of Cavit and Provifil (p>0.05). The marginal sealing property of Provifil was better than that of IRM.

The effects of fluctuating temperatures on the setting times of concrete mixtures made with different water-to-cement ratios, supplementary cementing materials (SCMs), and SCM dosages are evaluated in this paper. Initial and final set times of the concrete were determined with penetration resistance testing. Wet-sieved mortar samples were placed in hot and cold water baths that cycled over 24 h between temperature ranges of 32–41°C and 4–13°C, respectively. The control samples were cured at temperatures between 20 and 24°C. Results show that Class F fly ash will slightly retard setting, ground granulated blast furnace slag will slightly accelerate setting, and Class C fly ash will significantly increase setting times. It is shown that the equivalent age maturity method may be used to estimate setting times of concrete samples cured under fluctuating temperatures. Activation energy values are recommended for use with the equivalent age maturity method to predict setting.