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Observed Phenomenon (observed + phenomenon)
Selected AbstractsGetting What We Asked For, Getting What We Paid For, and Not Liking What We Got: The Vanishing Civil TrialJOURNAL OF EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2004Stephen C. Yeazell The current rate of civil trials may result from two converging trends in civil practice: 20th-century procedural reforms and associated changes in the organization and financing of legal practice. The procedural reforms required greater pretrial investigation of facts, which in turn often required litigants to make regular investments of substantial capital, access to which was facilitated by changes in the organization of plaintiffs' practices. Together, these procedural reforms and changes in practice structure provide a plausible explanation for the observed phenomenon of declining rate and number of civil trials. [source] Aflatoxin Inactivation Using Aqueous Extract of Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) SeedsJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 1 2005Shruti S. Hajare ABSTRACT: Aqueous extract of ajowan seeds was found to contain an aflatoxin inactivation factor (IF). Thin layer chromatography analysis of the toxins after treatment with IF showed relative reduction of aflatoxin G1 > G2 > B1 > B2. Quantification of toxin using a fluorotoxin meter as well as the Enzyme Linked Immuno s orb ent Assay (ELISA) confirmed these findings. An approximate 80% reduction in total aflatoxin content over the controls was observed. This observed phenomenon of reduction in total toxin was referred to as toxin inactivation. Temperature was found to influence the rate of toxin inactivation. At 45 °C, it was found to be rapid during the initial 5 h and slowed later. The IF was found to retain considerable activity even after boiling and autoclaving, indicating partial heat stability. The activity was lost below pH 4.0. Above pH 4.0, it increased gradually, reaching the maximum at pH 10.0. IF was found to be stable to gamma irradiation. Toxin decontamination in spiked corn samples could be achieved using IF. This study emphasizes the potential of ajowan IF in aflatoxin removal from contaminated food commodities. However, the biological toxicity, if any, of the IF inactivated aflatoxins needs to be confirmed, and the work in this direction is in progress. [source] Mobile phase additives for enhancing the chromatographic performance of astaxanthin on nonendcapped polymeric C30 -bonded stationary phasesJOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 1 2009Philipp Kaiser Abstract Astaxanthin shows peak deformation and reduced peak area response when eluted with methanol and methyl tert -butyl ether on nonendcapped polymeric C30 -bonded HPLC phases. The present study tested different column manufacturers, column batches, and ten mobile phase additives including acids, bases, buffers, complexing and antioxidant agents for improvement of peak shape and peak area response. Concerning chromatographic benefits and feasibility, ammonium acetate was found to be the best additive followed by triethylamine for all columns tested. Variation of the mobile phase pH equivalent and the column temperature showed no synergistic effects on peak shape and peak area response. Results indicate that peak tailing and variation of peak area response are due to different on-column effects. Possible mechanisms of the observed phenomenon will be discussed. [source] Effect of resin compositions on microwave processing and thermophysical properties of benzoxazine-epoxy-phenolic ternary systems filled with silicon carbide (SiC) whiskerPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 5 2009Chanchira Jubsilp Microwave processing of silicon carbide (SiC) whisker filled ternary systems based on benzoxazine, epoxy, and phenolic resins has been investigated using an industrial microwave apparatus at a fixed frequency of 2.45 GHz. The low viscosity molding compound and void-free cured specimens can easily be obtained from the resin mixtures. Increasing of epoxy mass fraction in the ternary systems provided a better microwave coupling, therefore, a faster curing time and higher conversion under microwave irradiation. However, the greater amount of epoxy resin in the mixture was observed to retard the traditional thermal cure process as seen in the shifting of the exothermic curing peaks to higher temperature. The higher dielectric constant of epoxy resin comparing with the benzoxazine resin can be attributed to the observed phenomenon. Additionally, benzoxazine fraction was found to render a reduction in linear thermal expansion coefficient of the ternary systems. The development of ternary systems yields the polymer systems with high flexibility in resin-curing agent mixing ratios with relatively high Tg in the broader range of mixing ratios i.e., BEP451-BEP811. Synergism in glass transition temperature of the ternary systems is also observed with the maximum Tg up to 160°C in BEP721. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] Reversible thermal gelation of soft semi-crystalline polyethylene microparticles with surface interactions in squalanePOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 2 2008Gerald H. Ling The effect of temperature on the steady-shear viscosity of a soft semi-crystalline crosslinked-polyethylene microparticle suspension in squalane was studied using rotational rheometry. The results show a sharp increase in the viscosity of the system occurring at about 86°C. The magnitude of this spike is dependent on the concentration of the suspension and is reproducible over multiple heating and cooling cycles. This phenomenon has been attributed to the melting of the crystalline regions within the particles, causing them to swell by soaking up squalane. The Mooney equation was used to model the viscosity data based on swelling data obtained from separate experiments. The results showed that the model is inadequate for describing the observed phenomenon, suggesting the possibility of additional interactions existing among the particles. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] Dynamics of the ion cyclotron resonance effect on amino acids adsorbed at the interfacesBIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Issue 1 2006N. Comisso Abstract In this study we show a reproduction of the Zhadin experiment, which consists of the transient increase of the electrolytic current flow across an aqueous solution of L -arginine and L -glutamic acid induced by a proper low frequency alternating magnetic field superimposed to a static magnetic field of higher strength. We have identified the mechanisms that were at the origin of the so-far poor reproducibility of the above effect: the state of polarization of the electrode turned out to be a key parameter. The electrochemical investigation of the system shows that the observed phenomenon involves the transitory activation of the anode due to ion cyclotron frequency effect, followed again by anode passivation due to the adsorption of amino acid and its oxidation products. The likely occurrence of similar ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) phenomena at biological membranes, the implications on ion circulation in living matter, and the consequent biological impact of environmental magnetic fields are eventually discussed. Bioelectromagnetics 27:16,25, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Affinity-enhanced protein partitioning in decyl ,- D -glucopyranoside two-phase aqueous micellar systemsBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 4 2005Henry Lam Abstract Liquid,liquid extraction in two-phase aqueous complex-fluid systems has been proposed as a scalable, versatile, and cost-effective purification method for the downstream processing of biotechnological products. In the case of two-phase aqueous micellar systems, careful choices of the phase-forming surfactants or surfactant mixtures allow these systems to separate biomolecules based on size, hydrophobicity, charge, or specific affinity. In this article, we investigate the affinity-enhanced partitioning of a model affinity-tagged protein,green fluorescent protein fused to a family 9 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM9-GFP),in a two-phase aqueous micellar system generated from the nonionic surfactant n -decyl ,- D -glucopyranoside (C10G1), which acts simultaneously as the phase-former and the affinity ligand. In this simple system, CBM9-GFP was extracted preferentially into the micelle-rich phase, despite the opposing tendency of the steric, excluded-volume interactions operating between the protein and the micelles. We obtained more than a sixfold increase (from 0.47 to 3.1) in the protein partition coefficient (Kp), as compared to a control case where the affinity interactions were "turned off" by the addition of a competitive inhibitor (glucose). It was demonstrated conclusively that the observed increase in Kp can be attributed to the specific affinity between the CBM9 domain and the affinity surfactant C10G1, suggesting that the method can be generally applied to any CBM9-tagged protein. To rationalize the observed phenomenon of affinity-enhanced partitioning in two-phase aqueous micellar systems, we formulated a theoretical framework to model the protein partition coefficient. The modeling approach accounts for both the excluded-volume interactions and the affinity interactions between the protein and the surfactants, and considers the contributions from the monomeric and the micellar surfactants separately. The model was shown to be consistent with the experimental data, as well as with our current understanding of the CBM9 domain. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] |