Abstract Background Bacterial biofilm can occur on all medical implanted devices and lead to infection and/or dysfunction of the device. In this study, artificial biofilm was formed on four different medical implants (silicone, piccline, peripheral venous catheter and endotracheal tube) of interest for our daily clinical and/or research practice. We investigated the best conventional technic to dislodge the biofilm on the implants and quantified the number of bacteria. Staphylococcus epidermidis previously isolated from a breast implant capsular contracture on a patient in the university hospital of Dijon was selected for its ability to produce biofilm on the implants. Different technics (sonication, Digest-EUR®, mechanized bead mill, combination of sonication plus Digest-EUR®) were tested and compared to detach the biofilm before quantifying viable bacteria by colony counting. Results For all treatments, the optical and scanning electron microscope images showed substantial less biofilm biomass remaining on the silicone implant compared to non-treated implant. This study demonstrated that the US procedure was statistically superior to the other physical treatment: beads, Digest-EUR® alone and Digest-EUR® + US (p < 0.001) for the flexible materials (picc-line, PIV, and silicone). The number of bacteria released by the US is significantly higher with a difference of 1 log on each material. The result for a rigid endotracheal tube were different with superiority for the chemical treatment dithiothreitol: Digest-EUR®. Surprisingly the combination of the US plus Digest-EUR® treatment was consistently inferior for the four materials. Conclusions Depending on the materials used, the biofilm dislodging technique must be adapted. The US procedure was the best technic to dislodge S. epidermidis biofilm on silicone, piccline, peripheral venous catheter but not endotracheal tube. This suggested that scientists should compare themselves different methods before designing a protocol of biofilm study on a given material.
Puerto Rico has long been understood by archaeologists as a key geographical location for understanding the succession of cultural occupations in the Caribbean (Alegría, 1965; Curet, 2006; Siegel, 2005.) Unfortunately, despite the importance of archaeology in this region, the island has been continuously effected by socio-economic instability, lack of archaeological funding opportunities, few specialized academic programs, and a heavy focus on cultural resource management (CRM) rather than academic research. Though more Puerto Rican-focused archaeologists have joined the academic discussion, publications in this area are still relatively low and heavily focused on CRM and salvage work. Poor funding and resources for non-consulting archaeological projects has relegated Puerto Rico to the “island with the lowest number of publications in the Spanish Caribbean.” (L.A. Current, 2006 pg. 656). This paper will highlight some of the limitations of working in Puerto Rican archaeology. We will use the experiences we gained from our research project at the La Mina archaeological site to shed light on some of the difficulties we encountered as well as (hopefully) encourage an increase in academic and financial support for this understudied region of the Caribbean.
When the Conjunto Arqueológico de Carmona (Seville) wasinaugurated as the first open-air archaeological museum in Spainin 1885, the institution enjoyed a local community of peopleinterested in archaeology, but this community lost strength overtime. One hundred years later, the institution has the goal of beinga participative museum, and rekindling a special relationship withthe local population, to form a new community of users whichcomplements visitors. This article presents the preliminary resultsof a descriptive and exploratory study involving Facebook use tofind out the demographic characteristics of people interested in theConjunto Arqueológico de Carmona, as previous research to forma local community interested in archaeology and cultural heritage.Special attention is paid to the role played by education througharchaeology as a means to improve social empowerment.
Assistant Professor of ECE, CIET, Guntur, AP,India., Koteswara Rao Mallaparapu*, Dr.K.V. Ramarao
et al.
The key idea of this manuscript is denoising of noisy biological signals. For this wavelet thresholding technique is suggested. To eliminate the noise existing in the signal, mixed thresholding function is considered which is the median of Hard, Soft and Garrote functions. The mixed thresholding function is applied by degraded white gaussian noise Electrocardiogram signal. Two methods that are used to calculate the threshold value is FDR technique and Visu shrink technique. The outcomes of mixed functions are compared with remaining functions using Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and Mean Square Error (MSE). It is obvious that the mixed function performs superior than remaining functions using Visu shrink technique and performs better than only Hard function using FDR technique.
Department of EEE, B.V.C.Engineering College, Odalarevu, Amalapuram, AP, India., Dr.J.V.G.Rama Rao*, Ms.K.S. Kalyani
et al.
Lighting Phenomena is one of the important considerations during the design of Extra High Voltage and Ultra High Voltage Transmission Lines. Most of the authors have discussed regarding the benefits of using Surge Arresters as a way to improve the performance. In this paper, simulation analysis is done on 400kV/220kV Gwaka Substation, AP, India for optimal, cost effective placement of surge arresters. The most difficult configuration has been identified. A new method of “Voltage-Distance curve” is proposed to evaluate different Surge Arrester installation configurations. Finally the way to determine the optimal surge arrester configuration for each line section is then introduced in this paper.