Surgical site infections (SSIs) are an emerging cause of increased morbidity, mortality, and treatment cost, in veterinary medicine. Medical records were searched to evaluate for associations that could increase the risk of developing SSIs. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors statistically, to determine their influence on SSI risk. An SSI incidence rate of 3.0% was found in this study for all small animal surgical procedures performed from September 2010 to July 2011, with implants, hypotension and surgical classification associated with increased likelihood of SSI. Active surveillance is crucial for the development of methods to prevent SSI’s. Biofilms contribute to the antimicrobial resistance properties commonly found in bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, which is found in canines. An enzyme known as DispersinB was studied to assess its effect on biofilm formation and degradation. DispersinB prevented the formation and eradicated biofilm in vitro. In vivo testing is required to further assess the effects of DispersinB. / Ontario Veterinary College Pet Trust, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Kane Biotchech

While engineers and their patrons have always claimed that technology has advanced the common good, I intend to show that more often than not engineers have been mercenaries for those at the center of knowledge, power, and wealth. Engineers design technology that marginalizes certain types of knowledge, people, and culture in favor of those at the center. Far from being a common good, engineered systems have advanced social and environmental inequity by being designed using exploitative social, political, and economic methods. In response to the negative impacts of engineered systems, the mainstream engineering profession has committed in recent years to being much more socially and environmentally responsible. However, the discourse of responsibility adopted by the profession is narrow in scope as it does not recognize the context and process in which technology is designed. Seeking a different way, some engineering reformers are attempting to create different cultures in engineering, in which the technology designed by engineers not only minimizes damage but seeks to create more equity in our communities. These new cultures have been articulated as Humanitarian Engineering or Peace Engineering or Social Justice and Engineering. A key component of these cultures is the concern for the needs of the marginalized whether in communities far away or close to us. While much has already been written about changing the education curriculum, little has been written about how engineers may design technology that values and advances knowledge, people, and culture at the margins. This thesis will theorize as to how engineers may design technology in a socially just manner by articulating an engineering design theory based on power and resistance. This design theory is then validated through discourse analysis of a contentious engineering project, the Site 41 landfill in northern Ontario. I show through the analysis of engineering design discourse at Site 41 that dominant power relations created structures of oppression that marginalized non-experts, Aboriginal communities, and the environment. Alternative design methods that resist these oppressive structures such as participatory, ecofeminist, deep ecological, and decolonized design are proposed as a way for engineers to have worked more justly at Site 41. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-21 12:37:46.28

No description available.

No description available.

Accessory hydrogen uptake genes have been identified in a region of the Azotobacter chroococcum genome about 5 kb downstream of the hydrogenase structural genes (hupSL). DNA sequencing has revealed six genes (hupABYCDE) in this region. These genes are probably transcribed in the same direction as hupSL but are probably in a different operon. Mutational analysis had shown that disruption of the hupB, hupY, hupD and hupE genes gives a Hup$ sp-$ phenotype. In the present work additional mutational analysis, using Tn5, a Tn5 -derivative containing a promoterless lacZ gene, and a kanamycin resistance gene, confirms the direction of transcription and the separate nature of the hupABYCDE operon, and extends the region known to be necessary for Hup activity to hupA and possibly to 1.6 kb upstream of hupA.

This study examined leaf area index (LAI) and relationships with corresponding tree growth, climate and soil characteristics across New Zealand forest plantations. The aim of this study was to determine if quick measures of projected leaf area across environmental gradients of New Zealand were an accurate indicator of site quality. Projected leaf areas of Pinus radiata D Don and Cupressus lusitanica Mills seedlings were measured using a Li-Cor LAI-2000 plant canopy analyser at 22 locations representing the soil and climatic diversity across New Zealand plantation forests. Seedlings planted at 40 000 stems per hectare were used to test treatment effects of fertiliser, site disturbance and species over a 4 year period. It was hypothesised that collected climate and soil information would explain differences in LAI development patterns across sites as the canopies approached site and seasonal maxima. Averaged across sites Cupressus lusitanica 7.28 (± 2.59 Std.) m2 m-2 had significantly (p = 0.0094) greater projected LAIs than Pinus radiata 6.47 (± 2.29) m2m-2. Maximum site LAI (LAImax) varied from 2.9 to 11.8 m2 m-2 for Pinus radiata and from 3.1 to 12.6 m2 m-2 for Cupressus lusitanica. LAImax of both species was significantly and positively correlated with vapour pressure deficit, soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and CEC, but negatively with solar radiation, temperature and soil bulk density. A seasonal model of LAI across sites illustrated an 8.5% fluctuation in LAI of established canopies over the course of a year. Despite considerable variation in climate and soil characteristics across sites the combined effects of LAI at harvest and temperature were significantly correlated with site productivity (r2 = 0.84 and 0.76 for Pinus radiata and Cupressus lusitanica respectively). A national model of LAImax (r2 = 0.96) was proposed for Pinus radiata across climate and soil environments and the significance of LAImax as a component of site quality monitoring tools is discussed.

Monitored natural attenuation is a cost-effective remediation strategy for the risk reduction of chemicals of concern (CoCs) in contaminated land and waters. This study considers three genuine sites in Germany, undergoing remediation. The objective was to measure a suite of physicochemical and biological parameters, and characterise the sites based on these data. The sites differed by their prevalent type of CoC, with one site impacted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and two sites, situated in Hilden, impacted by BTEX. Sampling of microorganisms was performed using the industrial partner's newly developed matrix. This matrix was used for measurements of microbial respiration rate, ATP content, and 14C mineralisation rate, while groundwater samples were used for microbial luminescent biosensor assays (applying Escherichia coli HB101 pUCD607, Pseudomonas putida F1 Tn5, and Pseudomonas putida F1 TVA8), and for the chemical analysis of CoC, nitrate, iron, manganese, sulphate, and phosphate concentration. Microbial biosensors and respiration tests performed well in the identification of BTEX impacted wells at the Hilden sites, while the results for ATP content and 14C mineralisation were more ambiguous. Factor analysis showed a high impact of sulphate concentration. However, several strong correlations existed between measured parameters, so no single driving force, but a set of environmental influencing factors could be identified at the sites. The remediation progress could be demonstrated by the changes in cluster analyses between two time points. Sulphate and redox potential, the most influential parameters of the Hilden physico-chemical data set, were highlighted and confirmed by multiple linear regression, using a calculated attenuation rate as the dependent variable. Based on this outcome, a reduced sampling regime was proposed. This approach has the potential to reduce sampling costs and time at hydrocarbon contaminated sites, and has adequately demonstrated the use of statistical methods in assessing the remediation progress at a site.

V-ATPases are enzymes found in all eukaryotic cells. They are organized into a peripheral membrane complex (V1) and an integral membrane complex (V0). VI is responsible for ATP hydrolysis and generates the energy used by Vo to pump protons from the cytosol into the vacuole. Subunit d is a component of Vo possibly located at the interface between V 1 and V. in the V-ATPase complex. We hypothesize that subunit d could be involved in the structural and functional coupling of VI and Vo. This was tested by generating point mutations along the open reading frame of subunit d from yeast. The mutations F94A, H128A, D173A, D217A, D261A, E317A, W325A, E328A and C329A, all in conserved regions of the protein sequence, were characterized by examining their growth phenotype and by assessing their ATPase specific activity, proton transport and V1Vo assembly in purified vacuolar membranes. The mutations E317A, W325A, E328A and C329A had reduced ATPase and proton transport activities. In addition, V1Vo assembly was compromised by the mutation W325A. Our results suggest that residues at the carboxyl-end of subunit d are important for ATPase activity, proton pumping and V1Vo assembly at the membrane. / Department of Chemistry

During the execution of a project constructed under the traditional contractual system, separate sets of site records are typically kept by each team of the two main parties on the construction site: the contractor, and the supervisor who looks after the client's interests. While the contractor's prime concern is to construct the project in accordance with the contract documents, one of the site supervisor's main functions is to keep a good record of what actually takes place during the construction process. Identifying the contractor's ability to complete the project on time, confirming that works are carried out correctly, and dealing with contractor's claims, are some instances where site records are likely to be used. It is therefore very important that the record-keeping system adopted by the supervising team provides detailed information in a readily-accessible format to ensure that facts can be established at any time during the construction period, or years later, when disputes may develop. This research programme studied the nature of existing site records kept by construction supervisors, to identify the types of records kept, the use made of them, and the problems and difficulties encountered in maintaining such records. It concentrated mainly on records of progress of construction works. The methodology adopted for undertaking this research, apart from reviewing the relevant literature, involved carrying out preliminary studies and conducting a national survey. The preliminary investigation comprised two studies as follows:• Studying site records kept on a project under construction. • Studying a set of site records kept on a completed project. The national survey, using mailed questionnaires, aimed at determining attitudes held and procedures currently adopted in the site record-keeping process in order that the present state of the art might be determined. The data gathered from the survey, in addition to resolving the research aims and objectives, has been used to investigate a number of assertions made regarding particular areas of construction supervisors' site records. The research findings revealed that the typical set of site records kept by construction supervisors is deficient in a number of respects. Various problems and difficulties relating to the procedures currently adopted by site staff have been identified which will typically affect the quality of these records and hence limit their value. If records are to be more useful, they must be more accessible and this suggests an increasing use of computers. With information held electronically in an organised system, the problems of accessibility should be reduced considerably. In addition to the general conclusions, a number of recommendations to improve site records have been made, including elements of quality procedures for record-keeping, and the potential use of an electronic diary software as a valuable tool for computerising one of the most important sources of site records.

農林水産研究情報センターで作成したPDFファイルを使用している。