Application of Sensory Methods to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Solutions to Reduce the Exposure to Odour Nuisance and Ammonia Emissions from the Compost Heaps.

Exposure to high concentrations of odours can result in health effects associated with direct health risks and irritation from nuisance. This investigation aimed to correlate aspects of the waste composting process with the emission levels of malodourous compounds. An essential optimisation criterion is the reduction of negative environmental impacts, particularly odour emissions.

Rapid identification of Borrelia by high resolution melting analysis of the groEL gene.

This study examined the possibility of applying a new diagnostic method, high resolution analysis of DNA denaturation curve (high resolution melting - HRM), for identification of Borrelia species. DNA samples were obtained from Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from vegetation and removed from hunted roe deer. For differentiation of Borrelia species, the HRM protocol based on the analysis of the groEL gene was applied.

MRI findings are more common in selected patients with acute low back pain than controls?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate if lumbar disc pathology identified on MRI scans is more common in patients with acute, likely discogenic, low back pain than matched controls.

Methods: We compared rates of MRI findings between 30 cases with low back pain and 30 pain-free controls. Cases were patients presenting for care with likely discogenic low back pain (demonstrated centralisation with repeated movement testing), of moderate intensity and with minimal past history of back pain.