Landfill cover soil, soil solution, and vegetation responses to municipal landfill leachate applications.

Municipal solid waste landfill leachate must be removed and treated to maintain landfill cover integrity and to prevent contamination of surface and ground waters. From 2003 to 2007, we studied an onsite disposal system in Ottawa County, Michigan, where leachate was spray irrigated on the vegetated landfill cover. We established six 20-m-diameter circular experimental plots on the landfill; three were spray irrigated as part of the operational system, and three remained as untreated control plots.

Direct imaging of aligned neurofilament networks assembled using in situ dialysis in microchannels.

We report a technique to produce aligned neurofilament networks for direct imaging and diffraction studies using in situ dialysis in a microfluidic device. The alignment is achieved by assembling neurofilaments from protein subunits confined within microchannels. Resulting network structure was probed by polarized optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy, which confirmed a high degree of protein alignment inside the microchannels.

Titanium-based dielectrophoresis devices for microfluidic applications.

To date, materials selection in microfluidics has been restricted to conventional micromechanical materials systems such as silicon, glass, and various polymers. Metallic materials offer a number of potential advantages for microfluidic applications, including high fracture toughness, thermal stability, and solvent resistance. However, their exploitation in such applications has been limited.

Gonococcal infections in newborns and in adolescents.

Gonococcal infections are now an uncommon problem in newborns in industrialized countries but remain a serious problem in developing countries due to ongoing high infection rates in pregnant women. Prompt diagnosis in the newborn with appropriate treatment can minimize sequelae. The mother and her partner(s) also require investigation and treatment.

Uptake and acceptability of influenza vaccination in day nursery children.

Preschoolers play an important role in the transmission of influenza, and suffer significant morbidity. Paediatric vaccination could prevent serious outcomes and offer broader societal benefits. This study explored parental views on influenza and paediatric vaccination and determined the uptake of a nursery-based vaccination programme for infants aged 6-23 months.

Reduced susceptibility to penicillin among pneumococci causing invasive infection in children - Canada, 1991 to 1998.

Objective: To determine, over time, the rate and serotypes of pneumococci with reduced penicillin susceptibility obtained from children with invasive infection.

Design: Active, hospital-based, multicentre surveillance spanning from 1991 to 1998.

Setting: Eleven Canadian tertiary care paediatric facilities located from coast to coast.