Key properties of polyimide-coated optical fibers, unaged and exposed to various harsh environments, were investigated. The main intent was to model extreme conditions that can be encountered in medical applications of the fibers. A fiber designed by OFS showed good strength and was able to withstand exposure to extreme heat and humidity, multiple autoclave cycles, extended water soak and immer...

BACKGROUND Removing spores of Clostridium difficile and Bacillus anthracis from skin is challenging because they are resistant to commonly used antimicrobials and soap and water washing provides only modest efficacy. We hypothesized that hygiene interventions incorporating a sporicidal electrochemically generated hypochlorous acid solution (Vashe(®)) would reduce the burden of spores on skin. ...

As fisheries shift towards ecosystem-based management, the need to reduce impacts on by-catch has been increasingly recognised. In this study the catch composition, discard rate, and post-capture survival of species caught by gillnets in Tasmania, Australia, was investigated. Over half the commercial gillnet catch was discarded, with discard rates of ~20% for target and >80% for non-target spec...

Several nematicides have been used to disinfest rice seeds contaminated with the white tip nematode, Aphelenchoides besseyi. We measured the efficacy of a standard disinfestation treatment that consists of soaking seeds in an aqueous emulsion of fenitrothion or fenthion and subsequently air-drying the seeds. We also measured the efficacy of the same treatments but without addition of nematicide...

Methods: Bovine tooth roots were sectioned, mounted in epoxy, and progressively ground and polished to expose the dentin layer. Caries-like lesions were pre-formed in the dentin samples by immersion for 96 hours in demineralization solution (pH = 4.52) at 37°C. Randomly-selected samples were pulled after lesion formation and did not go through the remin/demin cycle. The remaining samples were s...

Chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is driving amphibian declines and extinctions in protected areas globally. The introduction of invasive reservoir species has been implicated in the spread of Bd but does not explain the appearance of the pathogen in remote protected areas. In the high elevation (>1500 m) Sierra Nevada of California, ...