Combinations Used (combination + used)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Experimental study of the friction and wear behaviour of a polymer disc/primer coating combination used in ball-joints by means of large-scale testing

LUBRICATION SCIENCE, Issue 2 2006
P. Samyn
Abstract The surfaces of a heavily loaded ball-joint were initially covered with a sliding spray, and suffer wear. A solution is found by incorporating ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) discs with a carbon fibre/epoxy reinforced ring as sliding material into the chairs of the structure. The ball side is covered with a zinc phosphate primer coating. For design purposes the local static and dynamic behaviour of the hybrid UHMWPE discs in contact with steel or Zn-coated counterfaces should be large-scale tested in terms of their loading capacity, low friction and wear resistance. Also the influence of creep and wear on friction is examined. After the large-scale verification tests in laboratory, a good correlation is found with a test in the field. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Clinical response of patients with sickle cell anemia to cromolyn sodium nasal spray

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2006
Mehran Karimi
Abstract Sickle cell anemia is the most common heritable hematological disease affecting humans. Although hydroxyurea is the most commonly used antisickling agent, several previous studies suggest that cromolyn sodium also prevents sickling when administered acutely. However, no previous studies have evaluated the safety or efficacy of prolonged administration of cromolyn to patients with sickle cell anemia. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to test the hypothesis that prolonged administration of cromolyn alone or in combination with hydroxyurea would decrease the incidence of pain crises and/or alter the chronic pain seen in patients with this disease. In this crossover, single-blind, in vivo and in vitro study, 17 patients with sickle cell disease were studied. Each patient had to fill out a standard pain chart. Every 3 months the patients' medications changed in the following manner: The first 3 months the patients used cromolyn sodium nasal spray; the second 3 months they received placebo nasal spray; the third 3 months they received cromolyn sodium nasal spray and hydroxyurea capsule; and the last 3 months they received hydroxyurea capsule and placebo nasal spray. The least pain was felt with the mixture of hydroxyurea capsule and cromolyn sodium nasal inhaler. Furthermore, with the other combinations of medications, there were no significant statistical changes in the number of sickled red blood cells. Every combination used in this survey had positive effects on decreasing the pain. cromolyn sodium nasal spray is significantly efficient in decreasing sickle cell crisis as well as pain intensity in patients with sickle cell anemia. Am. J. Hematol., 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Synergistic effect of gene-electro transfer and adjuvant cytokines in increasing the potency of hepatitis C virus genetic vaccination

THE JOURNAL OF GENE MEDICINE, Issue 9 2008
Mirko Arcuri
Abstract Background Gene electro-transfer (GET) increases DNA uptake and expression by muscle cells following intramuscular plasmid injection. This technology has been used to increase the production of therapeutic proteins, such as cytokines and growth factors, and to improve immunization efficiency following the injection of antigen-encoding plasmids. Methods Hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 and cytokine encoding plasmids were co-injected in the mouse quadriceps with or without GET and vaccination outcome was monitored by analysis of antigen-specific cellular-mediated or antibody-mediated immunity. Results GET co-injection of cytokine-encoding and HCV E2-encoding plasmids strongly enhanced T- or B-cell responses to various levels, depending on the particular combination used. Conclusions We propose that a cocktail of plasmids followed by GET can be the most efficient and fine-tunable approach for genetic immunization. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Relationship between biotic ligand model-based water quality criteria and avoidance and olfactory responses to copper by fish

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 9 2010
Joseph S. Meyer
Abstract The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) water quality criteria for Cu were tested to determine whether they protect fish against neurophysiological impairment. From published studies with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), 20% inhibition concentrations (IC20s) were calculated for avoidance of Cu-containing water and for impairment of electroencephalogram (EEG) and electro-olfactogram (EOG) responses to natural odorants in Cu-containing water. Additionally, a Cu-olfactory biotic ligand model (BLM) that fits the coho salmon EOG data was parameterized by changing the sensitivity parameter in the ionoregulatory-based BLM. The IC20s calculated from reported Cu avoidance, EEG, and EOG data and IC20s predicted by the olfactory BLM were compared with acute and chronic Cu criteria calculated using U.S. EPA's BLM 2007 or hardness-adjustment equations. The BLM-based chronic criteria were protective in all 16 exposure water,species combinations used in avoidance and olfaction experiments. Additionally, the BLM-based acute criteria were protective in all 11 exposure water,species combinations in which comparisons could be made with olfactory BLM-predicted IC20s but not in two of the 16 exposure water,species combinations in which comparisons could be made with the reported IC20s (which were ,8% lower than but did not differ significantly from the BLM-based acute criteria; p,>,0.05). In effect, the olfactory BLM factored out the relatively high variability in the reported IC20s. It is concluded that the U.S. EPA's BLM-based water quality criteria for Cu protect against these types of neurophysiological impairment in the six species,endpoint combinations analyzed in this paper. However, the U.S. EPA's hardness-based criteria for Cu sometimes were considerably underprotective and sometimes were much less protective than the BLM-based criteria. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:2096,2103. © 2010 SETAC [source]


Prediction of oxygen transmission rate for thermoformed trays

PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 6 2004
Marit KvalvÅg Pettersen
Abstract There is a desire in the food industry to be able to estimate the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of packages by knowing the permeability data of unconverted sheet/film, instead of measuring the OTR of packages. Due to thermoforming, the permeability of a material changes and therefore it is difficult to estimate the permeability (OTR) of converted trays from the OTR values of unconverted material. This paper evaluates the possibilities and limitations of predicting the OTR of thermoformed trays. Different methods for the calculation of OTR due to thickness measurements were compared. The use of theoretical thickness was satisfactory in the calculation of OTR of trays based on the OTR of unconverted sheet, area and thickness. Both linear and quadratic regression models were evaluated. Validation of the regression models was made by comparing the measured and calculated OTR of trays made of PS/EVOH/PE, A-PET/PE, PS/PE and PP/PE. These trays were manufactured on different thermoforming machines, different processing parameters and different sizes of mould. None of the models (linear and quadratic) were suitable for the calculation of OTR of trays made of PS/PE and PP/PE. Both linear and quadratic models gave satisfactory agreement with measured values for trays made of both PS/EVOH/PE and A-PET/PE. This case study indicates that a general equation for the calculation of OTR for different polymer combinations was not possible to generate. The equations presented in this paper are strictly applicable only for the polymer combinations used in this experiment, and can not be considered as general equations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Chimpanzees prey on army ants with specialized tool set

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Crickette M. Sanz
Abstract Several populations of chimpanzees have been reported to prey upon Dorylus army ants. The most common tool-using technique to gather these ants is with "dipping" probes, which vary in length with regard to aggressiveness and lifestyle of the prey species. We report the use of a tool set in army ant predation by chimpanzees in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo. We recovered 1,060 tools used in this context and collected 25 video recordings of chimpanzee tool-using behavior at ant nests. Two different types of tools were distinguished based on their form and function. The chimpanzees use a woody sapling to perforate the ant nest, and then a herb stem as a dipping tool to harvest the ants. All of the species of ants preyed upon in Goualougo are present and consumed by chimpanzees at other sites, but there are no other reports of such a regular or widespread use of more than one type of tool to prey upon Dorylus ants. Furthermore, this tool set differs from other types of tool combinations used by chimpanzees at this site for preying upon termites or gathering honey. Therefore, we conclude that these chimpanzees have developed a specialized method for preying upon army ants, which involves the use of an additional tool for opening nests. Further research is needed to determine which specific ecological and social factors may have shaped the emergence and maintenance of this technology. Am. J. Primatol. 72:17,24, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Differential pharmacological regulation of drug efflux and pharmacoresistant schizophrenia

BIOESSAYS, Issue 2 2008
Mary Bebawy
Pharmacoresistant schizophrenia is a significant impediment to the successful management of the disease. The expression and function of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) has recently been implicated in this phenomenon. P-gp is a multidrug efflux transporter that prevents drug substrates from crossing the blood,brain barrier (BBB). Although the direct interaction between individual antipsychotic agents and P-gp has been demonstrated, the effect of antipsychotic drug combinations used in disease management on P-gp transport function remains to be elucidated. This could have important clinical implications in some individuals as dosage adjustments based on plasma drug concentration changes may not always be appropriate if drug,drug interactions and the resulting changes in drug concentration in the brain are not considered. This paper introduces the potential impact that combination antipsychotic therapy may have on P-gp function at the BBB and discusses the consequences of this in the prevention and circumvention of unfavourable therapeutic response in schizophrenic disorders. BioEssays 30:183,188, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]