Body Surface Translations (United States)

Chlamydia psittaci is a bacterium that causes chlamydiosis in birds and can cause zoonotic psittacosis in people. In November 2017, we received notification of a suspected case of avian chlamydiosis in a captive cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) that was sold by an online pet bird retail and breeding facility in Washington State. We describe the investigation with emphasis on how environmental sampling was used to guide veterinary and public health interventions. Bird samples were collected either from pooled droppings, pooled plumage or individual nasal and choanal swabs. Environmental samples were obtained by swabbing cleaning mops, tables and cage structures. All samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction and positive samples underwent genotyping. Approximately 1000 birds representing four taxonomic orders were kept within an open-space warehouse. Eight of 14 environmental samples and one of two pooled faecal samples were positive for Chlamydia spp. The contaminating strain of Chlamydia spp. was identified as genotype A. The facility was closed for environmental disinfection, and all psittacines were treated with oral doxycycline for 45 days. Ten of 10 environmental and two of two pooled faecal samples were negative for C. psittaci 11 months after the completion of environmental disinfection and antimicrobial treatment. This investigation highlights the importance of preventing and mitigating pathogen incursion in an online pet retail and breeding facility. Environmental sampling is valuable to guide animal and public health interventions for control of C. psittaci, particularly when large numbers of birds are exposed to the pathogen.

Abstract In recent years, HSE professionals have raised questions about the validity of the accident triangle developed by H.W. Heinrich in the 1930s because of a trend of declining minor injuries yet flat or increasing incidence for serious injuries and fatalities. This pattern is seen to varying degrees across industries at the site, company, and national levels and calls into question fundamental long-standing safety science assumptions. (Figure 1). As a result, a growing number of safety professionals now question the traditional interpretation and validity of the Heinrich Safety Triangle (HST) —a fundamental concept in occupational safety dating back to the 1930s. The HST states injury frequency increases as severity decreases – i.e., there are more medical treatment cases than lost-time cases, and more lost-time cases than fatalities. The cornerstone interpretation of the HST by the safety community is this: if we reduce the number of less severe injuries, we will reduce the number of more severe injuries as well. In other words, shrink the bottom of the triangle and you also shrink the top. To better understand the inconsistency between the historic principle of the HST and recent injury and fatality statistics at the national and company level, seven global companies sponsored a study. The objective was to research these questions:

High-power-density, segmented, thermoelectric (TE) elements have been intimately integrated into heat exchangers, eliminating many of the loss mechanisms of conventional TE assemblies, including the ceramic electrical isolation layer. Numerical models comprising simultaneously solved, nonlinear, energy balance equations have been created to simulate these novel architectures. Both steady-state and transient models have been created in a MATLAB/Simulink environment. The models predict data from experiments in various configurations and applications over a broad range of temperature, flow, and current conditions for power produced, efficiency, and a variety of other important outputs. Using the validated models, devices and systems are optimized using advanced multiparameter optimization techniques. Devices optimized for particular steady-state operating conditions can then be dynamically simulated in a transient operating model. The transient model can simulate a variety of operating conditions including automotive and truck drive cycles.

This paper describes the development of a high-power-density thermoelectric generator (TEG) with a power output of greater than 100 W. Previous papers have described the development of the generator made of high-power-density TE couples. In this discussion, initial thermal cycling results for the TE couples are described. The building blocks are then scaled and integrated into a complete TEG. The design, build, and test of the TEG are discussed. The high-power-density design produces power at greater than 250 W/L and 80 W/kg. Test results are shown for varying flow rates, temperatures, and electrical loads.

The intellectual property (IP) space associated with core high-tech innovations, such as holography, tends to rapidly expand in many directions as new applications and improvements to the core technology are realized. Patents soon start to quickly fill regions of the IP space to varying densities, often before any commercial product is available. Complicating matters is the fact that the patents typically range wildly in quality and business value for a host of reasons, not the least of which is that many high-tech companies lack an IP strategy designed to drive their R and D and patenting efforts. IP-savvy high-tech companies are relying more and more on some type of IP space analysis to more fully understand the IP landscape in which they do business. However, after an IP space analysis is performed, it needs to be integrated into a larger IP management system driven by an IP strategy. This paper examines the role of a best-practice IP management system in a high-tech business and how it can be used in conjunction with a holography IP space analysis to strategically manage and direct innovation in the holography business.