Physical properties and bonding quality of laminated veneer lumber produced with veneers peeled from small-diameter rubberwood logs.

The peeling of small-diameter rubberwood logs from the current short-rotation practices undoubtedly will produce lower grade veneers compared to the veneers from conventional planting rotation. Hence, this raises the question of the properties of the produced laminated veneer lumber (LVL) from veneers peeled from small-diameter rubberwood logs using the spindleless lathe technology. Different thicknesses of rubberwood veneers was peeled from rubberwood logs with diameter less than 20 cm using a spindleless lathe. Three-layer LVLs were prepared using phenol formaldehyde (PF) adhesive and hot pressed at different temperatures. During the peeling of veneer, lathe checks as deep as 30-60% of the veneer thickness are formed. Owing to deeper lathe check on 3 mm rubberwood veneer, higher pressing temperature significantly increased the gluebond shear strength of the PF-bonded LVL. In addition, lathe check frequency was also shown to influence the bond strength. The presence of higher lathe check frequency on 2 mm veneer increased the wettability, thus facilitating optimum penetration of adhesive for stronger bonding. These findings stress the importance of measuring and considering the lathe check depth and frequency during the lamination process to get a better understanding of bonding quality in veneer-based products.

Antibiotic prophylaxis tailored to local organisms reduces percutaneous gastrostomy site infection.

BACKGROUND: Current recommendations for the choice of antibiotic prophylaxis prior to percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) insertion may not be suitable in all situations. AIMS: We sought to review the microbiology of PEG-wound infections at our institution locally and observe PEG infection rates following a change in antibiotic policy. METHODS: A retrospective clinical and microbiological review of all PEG-wound infections resulted in a change in the choice of antibiotic. A further review was conducted 2 years later to examine the effect of this change. RESULTS: PEG-wound infection was detected in 33/103 (32.0%) patients between January 2002 and May 2004 with either second generation cephalosporins or co-amoxiclav antibiotic prophylaxis, with the commonest organisms being Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.7%), Klebsiella species (9.9%) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (5.3%). Microbiological data revealed high levels of resistance to cefuroxime (60.7%) and co-amoxiclav (51%). A change of prophylaxis to cefoperazone (during the period June 2004-May 2006) resulted in a reduction of PEG-wound infections to 17/90 (18.9%) patients that required PEG tube insertion (p = 0.04). Together with a reduction in P. aeruginosa infections (18.4-10%, p = 0.10), a lower incidence of pyrexia (10.7% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.05), lower antibiotic administration (20.4% vs. 11.1%, p = 0.08) and lower rate of PEG removal (23.2% vs. 10.2%, p = 0.018) were noted following prophylaxis change. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic prophylaxis for PEG should be tailored to local organisms as this approach reduces the incidence and severity of peri-stomal PEG infections.

Malaria: a 10-year (1994-2003) retrospective study at University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaria is still one of the most important vector-borne diseases in Malaysia, particularly in remote areas. This retrospective study was carried out to find the prevalence of malaria among patients admitted to UMMC Kuala Lumpur, from 1994-2003. A total of 86 malaria cases were analyzed. Most cases occurred among foreigners [57% (49 cases)] while Malaysians constituted 43% (37 cases). Among foreigners, Indonesians constituted the most [57% (28 cases)]. Among Malaysians, most cases occurred among the Chinese [35% (13 cases)] followed by the Malays [30% (11 cases)]. Males [70%(60 cases)] were more commonly affected. The majority of cases were within the 20-39 year age group (69%). Three species of malaria parasites were reported, of which Plasmodium vivax constituted the most [55%( 47 cases)], followed by Plasmodium falciparum [29% (25 cases)], and only four cases (5%) of Plasmodium malariae. Nine percent (8 cases) were mixed infections. In this study, 12%(10 cases) developed chloroquine resistance: 7 cases of P. falciparum, and 3 cases of P. vivax. The most common complications were jaundice and anemia [77% (23 cases)], followed by blackwater fever [13% (4 cases)] and cerebral malaria [10% (3 cases)]. Most of the complications were due to P. falciparum [43% (13 cases)]. There were no reported deaths. This new source of malaria coming from foreigners must be given serious attention, as it has great potential of increasing malaria cases in urban Malaysia.