Einfluss des Prionen-Sterilisationszyklus auf die bakterielle Barrierewirkung von Sterilisationsvlies im Endverpackungstest [Influence of prion sterilisation cycle on the bacterial barrier performance of sterilisation wrap according to the final pack test]

Kimguard One-Step sterilisation wrap has regulatory approval as a Class I medical device suitable for packaging terminally sterilised medical items. In this study, we evaluated the performance of five different grades of Kimguard One-Step sterilisation wrap after prion sterilisation cycle (134 °C for 18 minutes) using the final pack test method....

In search of a common European approach to a healthy indoor environment

Increasingly, policymakers in Europe and around the world are realizing the importance of healthy indoor environments for public health. Certain member states of the European Union (EU) have already achieved successes in improving indoor environmental quality, such as controlling certain contaminants (e.g., environmental tobacco smoke) or...

Glucosylation of β-lactoglobulin lowers the heat capacity change of unfolding; a unique way to affect protein thermodynamics

Chemical glycosylation of proteins occurs in vivo spontaneously, especially under stress conditions, and has been linked in a number of cases to diseases related to protein denaturation and aggregation. It is the aim of this work to study the origin of the change in thermodynamic properties due to glucosylation of the folded β-lactoglobulin A....

Postmortem time estimation using body temperature and a finite-element computer model

In the Netherlands most murder victims are found 2-24 h after the crime. During this period, body temperature decrease is the most reliable method to estimate the postmortem time (PMT). Recently, two murder cases were analysed in which currently available methods did not provide a sufficiently reliable estimate of the PMT. In both cases a study...

Aandachtspunten voor een optimale voorbereiding : Inspanning in de warmte (Exercise in a hot environment: Points of special interest for an optimal preparation)

An elevated core temperature is one of the underlying factors responsible for a decrease of performance during exercise in a hot environment. Therefore, strategies that minimise the rise in core temperature during exercise in the heat are likely to be effective in enhancing exercise performance. There are several strategies to minimise this...

Tentative assignment of the potato serine protease inhibitor group as β-II proteins based on their spectroscopic characteristics

Potato serine protease inhibitor (PSPI) is the most abundant protease inhibitor group in potato tuber. The investigated PSPI isoforms have a highly similar structure at both the secondary and the tertiary level. From the results described, PSPI is classified as a β-II protein based on (1) the presence in the near-UV spectra of sharp peaks,...

Driving performance in cold, warm, and thermoneutral environments

Driving performance deteriorates at high ambient temperatures. Less is known about the effect of low ambient temperatures and the role of subjective aspects like thermal comfort and having control over the ambient temperature. Therefore, an experiment was constructed in which 50 subjects performed a road-tracking task in a cold (5oC), a...

Temperature limit values for gripping cold surfaces

Objectives. At the request of the European Commission and in the framework of the European Machinery Directive, research was conducted jointly in five different laboratories to develop specifications for surface temperature limit values for the gripping and handling of cold items. Methods. Four hundred and fourteen experiments were run where...

Detonation properties of ethyl diazoacetate

Ethyl diazoacetate is an important organic chemistry synthon, but its use as an industrial intermediate is limited due in part to the safety concerns associated with its instability and high reactivity. In a continuing effort to understand the risk of employing ethyl diazoacetate as an industrial reagent, detonation tests were completed. The...

Seasonal variation in fibrinogen in the Rotterdam study

As evidence accumulates to implicate fibrinogen as a risk indicator for cardiovascular disease, it is of interest to study its seasonal variation. A population based cross-sectional study was performed among participants of the Rotterdam Study, a cohort of 7983 men and women, aged 55 years and over. Fibrinogen levels were measured by the...

Pain, thermal sensation and cooling rates of hands while touching cold materials

Hand cooling and resulting comfort and pain were studied in 12 subjects, while touching six different materials (polyurethane foam, wood, nylon, rustproof steel, aluminium, and temperature-controlled metal) which were initially at ambient temperature. This was done for three ambient temperatures (-10°, 0° and 10°C), after pre-exposure exercise...