Constant Infusions vs. Intermittent Doses of Gentamicin Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Vitro

Comparative studies were performed in vitro to test the advocated superiority of infusion over intermittent injection of aminoglycosides. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was exposed to constant and to continuously decreasing (simulating in vivo kinetics) concentrations of gentamicin. In comparing the effect with similar area-under-the-concentration-vs.-time curves, a substantial difference in killing and regrowth could not be demonstrated. Regrowth occurred only when the gentamicin concentration had continuously decreased below one fourth of the minimal inhibitory concentration for > 2 hr. Exposure of P. aeruginosa to gentamicin for 30 min was followed by persistent suppression of bacterial regrowth for 1.4-1.9 hr. Thus, intermittent exposure of P. aeruginosa to gentamicin is as effective as constant exposure in vitro. The demonstrated persistent postantibiotic effect might cover in part the periods between intermittent doses of gentamicin in vivo as well as in vitr

Fire retardant action of mineral fillers

Endothermically decomposing mineral fillers, such as aluminium or magnesium hydroxide, magnesium carbonate, or mixed magnesium/calcium carbonates and hydroxides, such as naturally occurring mixtures of huntite and hydromagnesite are in heavy demand as sustainable, environmentally benign fire retardants. They are more difficult to deploy than the halogenated flame retardants they are replacing, as their modes of action are more complex, and are not equally effective in different polymers. In addition to their presence (at levels up to 70%), reducing the flammable content of the material, they have three quantifiable fire retardant effects: heat absorption through endothermic decomposition; increased heat capacity of the polymer residue; increased heat capacity of the gas phase through the presence of water or carbon dioxide. These three contributions have been quantified for eight of the most common fire retardant mineral fillers, and the effects on standard fire tests such as the LOI, UL 94 and cone calorimeter discussed. By quantifying these estimable contributions, more subtle effects, which they might otherwise mask, may be identified

The Secrets of nature, ownership and ornamentation in Robert Herrick's "Upon Madam Ursly.Epig"

Artykuł bierze sobie za cel odczytanie sześciowersowego wiersza Roberta Herricka Upon Madam Ursly w kontekście szerszego kulturowego zjawiska, jakim były XVII-wieczne kolekcje osobliwości. Koncept wiersza opiera się na konsekwentnym budowaniu analogii między ciałem Madam Ursly, które prezentowane jest czytelnikowi w akcie auto-wystawiania, a zbiorami przedmiotów osobliwych, do których wiersz czyni otwarte odniesienie. Owa ekspozycja ciała jednak, oprócz gestu ukazywania i odkrywania, stanowi paradoksalnie jednocześnie gest kamuflujący, po to, by zatrzeć granice między podmiotem, przedmiotem a obiektem, co jest potrzebne do podtrzymania owej analogii. Odbywa się to poprzez transformację znaczeń, jakie generuje ów ekshibicjonizm, zarówno poprzez odniesienia do funkcji biżuterii, jak i negocjacje wieloznacznej relacji własności narzuconej podmiotowi/przedmiotowi/ obiektowi, jakim staje się ciało Ursly

Relationship between Nanostructure and Deformation Behavior of Microphase-Separated Styrene/Butadiene Systems

The relationship between the morphology and the mechanical properties of nanostructured blends,comprising an asymmetric styrene/butadiene star block copolymer,exhibiting cocontinuous-like morphology and low molar mass homopolymers, was studied by electron microscopy, microindentation hardness, and tensile testing methods. Results show that the deformation behavior of these systems is significantly modified by the presence of unentangled homopolymer chains, leading partly to a decrease in mechanical properties. In contrast to common polymer blends, in which usually, the hardness values do not markedly deviate from the additivity law, the H-values in the system investigated show large deviations from the linear additivity behavior. The observed anomalous behavior is discussed in terms of the enhanced local flow processes induced by the phase-separated morphology at a nanometer scale.Peer reviewe

Conventional and makeshift rainwater harvesting in rural South Africa: exploring determinants for rainwater harvesting mode

This article was supported by the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.In underserved rural areas, domestic rainwater harvesting has been gaining importance as an alternative water source. In rural South Africa, however, less than 1% of households use conventional rainwater harvesting systems. Instead, a household survey in KwaZulu-Natal reveals that many households harvest rainwater in a makeshift manner, using homemade gutters and drums. Statistical analysis shows that high income, a brick house with straight gutters and good water services facilitate conventional rainwater harvesting, while a household with only round huts is easily trapped into makeshift rainwater harvesting. For upscaling rainwater harvesting in rural areas, housing types need to be considered.Peer Reviewe

Kolekcjonowanie osobliwości, osobliwości kolekcjonowania - recenzja

Recenzja książki: Marjorie Swann, Curiosities and Texts. The Cultures of Collecting in Early Modern England, Philadelphia, University ofPennsylvania Press, 2002, 280 stron

Niematerialne przedmioty w ukrytych wnętrzach : sir Thomasa Browne'a "Musaeum Clausum" a wczesnonowożytna konwencja muzealnego katalogowania

The article reads the short, jocular text by Sir "Musaeum Clausum" or "BibliothecaThomas Browne Abscondita" (1684) in the context of its dialogue with the cataloguing convention in the seventeenth-century culture of curiosity. The first part of “Immaterial Objects” discusses the cultural significance of museum catalogues in their double function: firstly, to represent the collected objects by endowing them with “a story” and fashioning them as curiosities and, secondly, to represent the social network build around the collection. Two printed catalogues serve as examples here: Robert Hubert’s catalogue of his own private collection printed in 1664 and the catalogue of the Repository of the Royal Society, "Musaeum Regalis Societatis", written by Nehemiah Grew and published in 1681. The second part of the article shows how Browne in "Musaeum Clausum" worked from within this convention of cataloguing undermining, and thus exposing, its principles in order to reflect (auto)ironically on the culture of collecting to which he belonged. Such a reading of Browne’s text also helps to reveal the changes in textual attention given to curious objects in seventeenth-century England

A Self-Service Supporting Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics Architecture

Self-service Business Intelligence (SSBI) is an emerging topic for many companies. Casual users should be enabled to independently build their own analyses and reports. This accelerates and simplifies the decision-making processes. Although recent studies began to discuss parts of a self-service environment, none of these present a comprehensive architecture. Following a design science research approach, this study proposes a new self-service oriented BI architecture in order to address this gap. Starting from an in-depth literature review, an initial model was developed and improved by qualitative data analysis from interviews with 18 BI and IT specialists form companies across different industries. The proposed architecture model demonstrates the interaction between introduced self-service elements with each other and with traditional BI components. For example, we look at the integration of collaboration rooms and a self-learning knowledge database that aims to be a source for a report recommender

Przestrzenny renesans - recenzja

Recenzja książki: Bernhard Klein, Maps and the Writing of Space in Early Modern England and Ireland, New York, Palgrave 2001, 235 stron