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Selected AbstractsEffect of anesthetic structure on inhalation anesthesia: Implications for the mechanismJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 6 2008Michael H. Abraham Abstract Many previous attempts (e.g., the Meyer,Overton hypothesis) to provide a single set of physical or chemical characteristics that accurately predict anesthetic potency have failed. A finding of a general predictive correlation would support the notion of a unitary theory of narcosis. Using the Abraham solvation parameter model, the minimum alveolar concentration, MAC, of 148 varied anesthetic agents can be fitted to a linear equation in log (1/MAC) with R2,=,0.985 and a standard deviation, SD,=,0.192 log units. Division of the 148 compounds into a training set and a test set shows that log (1/MAC) values can be predicted with no bias and with SD,=,0.20 log units. The two main factors that determine MAC values are compound size and compound hydrogen bond acidity, both of which increase anesthetic activity. Shape has little or no effect on anesthetic activity. Our observations support a unitary theory of narcosis by inhalation anesthetics. A two-stage mechanism for inhalation anesthesia accounts for the observed structural effects of anesthetics. In this mechanism, the first main step is transfer of the anesthetic to the site of action, and the second step is interaction of the anesthetic with a receptor(s). © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:2373,2384, 2008 [source] As-consistent-As-possible compositing of virtual objects and video sequencesCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2006Guofeng Zhang Abstract We present an efficient approach that merges the virtual objects into video sequences taken by a freely moving camera in a realistic manner. The composition is visually and geometrically consistent through three main steps. First, a robust camera tracking algorithm based on key frames is proposed, which precisely recovers the focal length with a novel multi-frame strategy. Next, the concerned 3D models of the real scenes are reconstructed by means of an extended multi-baseline algorithm. Finally, the virtual objects in the form of 3D models are integrated into the real scenes, with special cares on the interaction consistency including shadow casting, occlusions, and object animation. A variety of experiments have been implemented, which demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of our approach. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A web-based decision support system for integrated management of weeds in cereals and sugarbeet,EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 3 2003P. Rydahl A Danish decision support system (DSS) named Crop Protection Online (CPO) for integrated management of weeds in cereals and beet has been developed during the past 20 years. CPO is based on a model that runs in three main steps: model step 1 quantifies the level of weed control needed on a field level, model step 2 selects candidate herbicides and calculates dose rates to meet the need, and model step 3 calculates tank mixtures of herbicides with two to four mixing components, if advantageous. CPO has been developed in cereals and beet, and various prototype versions have been validated in 1679 field tests. CPO secured yield potentials, and the level of residual weeds was not increased when compared with reference treatments. The potential of CPO to reduce herbicide use has been observed in all model crops, but the potential was greatest in cereals. In spring cereal field trials highly infested with weeds, the present version of CPO suggested 35% of one full herbicide dose on average and in winter cereals CPO suggested 44% on average of one full dose. The results from validation trials demonstrate that CPO is capable of suggesting robust treatment options with a low input of herbicides. The system architecture of CPO has been exported to Poland and the Baltic countries, and the system is expected to be suitable for export to other countries too. [source] Contribution of different kinematic models and a complex Jurassic stratigraphy in the construction of a forward model for the Montagna dei Fiori fault-related fold (Central Apennines, Italy)GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 5-6 2010L. Di Francesco Abstract The Montagna dei Fiori has received attention from geologists over the past decades because of both its Jurassic stratigraphy and its complex present-day structure. The latter is the result of multiple phases of deformation, from the Early Jurassic, during the opening of the Tethyan Ocean, to Neogene evolution of the Apennines fold-and-thrust belt. In this paper, we present a new stratigraphic interpretation of the Jurassic palaeogeography, based on a new geological mapping project in the area. Using this new stratigraphy, we constructed two forward models, using a combination of different fault/fold interactions, in order to unravel the kinematic evolution of the Montagna dei Fiori fault-related fold. The first model was constructed manually using the fault-bend and fault-propagation theories from an initial configuration which included previous extensional features, whereas the second model was constructed using the software 2DMove (Midland Valley) using the fault-bend and trishear fault-propagation folding theories and starting from a layer-cake stratigraphy. Both forward models involved the same main steps and provided a reasonable geological simulation of the geometry of the Montagna dei Fiori structure. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Cover Picture: Composite Silica Spheres with Magnetic and Luminescent Functionalities (Adv. Funct.ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 4 2006Mater. Abstract Photographs of a colloidal dispersion of composite nanoparticles with magnetic and luminescent functionalities are shown (left, in column), which are schematically illustrated in the main image. As reported by Salgueiriño-Maceira and co-workers on p.,509, such functionalities are imparted by magnetic and semiconductor nanoparticles within a silica matrix. In the absence of a magnetic field the particles are uniformly dispersed, although they accumulate and can be dragged under the influence of a magnetic field. Their movement can be monitored by their photoluminescence. A new class of highly fluorescent, photostable, and magnetic core/shell nanoparticles in the submicrometer size range has been synthesized from a modified Stöber method combined with the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. Luminescent magnetic nanoparticles are prepared via two main steps. The first step involves controlled addition of tetraethoxysilane to a dispersion of Fe3O4/,-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, which are thereby homogeneously incorporated as cores into monodisperse silica spheres. The second step involves the LbL assembly of polyelectrolytes and luminescent CdTe quantum dots onto the surfaces of the silica-coated magnetite/maghemite particles, which are finally covered with an outer shell of silica. These spherical particles have a typical diameter of 220,±,10,nm and a saturation magnetization of 1.34,emu,g,1 at room temperature, and exhibit strong excitonic photoluminescence. Nanoparticles with such a core/shell architecture have the added benefit of providing a robust platform (the outer silica shell) for incorporating diverse functionalities into a single nanoparticle. [source] A freeform shape optimization of complex structures represented by arbitrary polygonal or polyhedral meshesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 15 2004Jie Shen Abstract In this paper we propose a new scheme for freeform shape optimization on arbitrary polygonal or polyhedral meshes. The approach consists of three main steps: (1) surface partitioning of polygonal meshes into different patches; (2) a new freeform perturbation scheme of using the Cox,de Boor basis function over arbitrary polygonal meshes, which supports multi-resolution shape optimization and does not require CAD information; (3) freeform shape optimization of arbitrary polygonal or polyhedral meshes. Numerical experiments indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of the thermal decomposition of imipramine hydrochloride and trimipramine maleateINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 4 2003Rafie H. Abu-Eittah Thermal decomposition of imipramine hydrochloride and trimipramine maleate has been investigated isothermally and nonisothermally. The kinetic parameters, namely the activation energy Ea and the Arrhenius preexponential term A, were calculated. Applying the theory of activated complex to the process of decomposition one calculated ,S,, ,H,, and ,G, for the reaction. The values of Ea as well as the thermodynamic functions did not vary significantly with temperature of the reaction whereas the preexponential term showed a significant dependence on the reaction temperature. Both imipramine hydrochloride and trimipramine maleate showed two main steps of decomposition. Each step proved to be a first-order reaction. The rate constant was calculated for each step, and the results were analyzed statistically. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 35: 166,179, 2003 [source] Image analysis and morphometry in the diagnosis of breast cancerMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 2 2002Joan Gil Abstract Image Analysis, a complicated field still in the early stages of application to Pathology, has the capability of rendering major contributions to the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of malignancies of the breast. The present review summarizes the main problems and the general approach to the use of this technique for quantitating immunohistochemical stain results, obtaining DNA histograms, and making de novo diagnoses in routine materials of the Pathology service. In the case of diagnosis, the main steps are sampling, segmentation, and measures of chromatin texture. Currently, the limiting factor for all routine applications of image analysis is probably the absence of a reliable automatic nuclear segmentation. Microsc. Res. Tech. 59:109,118, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Xiphograptus and the evolution of virgella-bearing graptoloidsPALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 2 2010JÖRG MALETZ Abstract:, The virgellar spine is one of the most consistent features of the graptolite sicula. It is present in a large number of graptoloid groups, but evolved separately and independently in these as it is seen from the presence of the spine in either ventral (Axonophora) or dorsal (Phyllograptus, Xiphograptus) position. The evolution of the virgellar spine in the Pan-Bireclinata in the Upper Dapingian to Lower Darriwilian time interval is known to follow four main steps, from a simple rutellum, through a lamelliform rutellum and a lanceolate virgella to the true virgellar spine. For the xiphograptids and in Phyllograptus, the origin and early development is less well documented, but appears to follow a similar path. However, the individual stages are condensed, and a true virgellar spine emerges already in the Floian time interval. A virgellar spine was found in Didymograptellus bifidus, necessitating a revision of the diagnosis of the genus Didymograptellus. A number of species of the virgellate genera Xiphograptus, Yutagraptus and Didymograptellus are described from isolated material for the first time. The species are useful for the biostratigraphic correlation of endemic mid-continent North American faunas with the Pacific Type faunal realm. Xiphograptus artus sp. nov., Didymograptellus primus sp. nov. and Didymograptellus cowheadensis sp. nov. from the Cow Head Group of western Newfoundland are described as new. [source] Direct bonding conditions of ferrite garnet layer on ion-exchanged glass waveguidesPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 10 2008Anne-Laure Joudrier Abstract In order to realize an integrated optical isolator, a new hybrid optical structure has been proposed. This structure is composed of an active magneto-optic garnet layer with a strong refractive index, transferred on a passive ion-exchanged glass waveguide. Given the thermal restraints relating to the stability of the glass waveguides, the process used to achieve this hybrid structure is composed of two main steps: firstly, good quality garnet films were grown by liquid phase epitaxy, then these active films were bonded successfully on glass wafer. According to modelling, the thickness of the garnet layer does not exceed 300 nm for maintaining a good confinement. Good wafer bondings on ion-exchanged glass waveguides are obtained. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Behavioural evidence for a female sex pheromone in Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)PHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 2 2004Maria Do Rosário T. De Freitas Abstract., The mating behaviour of Cotesia flavipes Cameron, 1891 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was observed under laboratory conditions. The results demonstrate that chemical stimuli play an important role in bringing males and females together for mating. Females from this species release chemical compounds to attract males, which exhibit a distinct courtship behaviour divided into three main steps: (i) antennation, (ii) lateral bouncing and (iii) wing fluttering. Ethological tests using hexane extracts from two different parts of the female's body (head plus thorax and abdomen) demonstrate that males are more attracted and also display a courtship behaviour when a filter paper containing hexane extracts from the abdomen is presented to them, indicating that the abdomen is the source of the sex pheromone of this species. Naive males of this species respond to hexane extracts of this gland by displaying courtship behaviour. Furthermore, additional tests show that C. flavipes females mate only once, whereas virgin males do not show any preference for virgin or mated females, suggesting that mated females of this species continue to produce sex attractants after mating. [source] Complaint handling in pharmaceutical companiesQUALITY ASSURANCE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007Glaucia Karime Braga Abstract Complaints show customer dissatisfaction about the quality of a pharmaceutical product. Despite a regulatory obligation in several countries, a good complaint handling system gives the company an opportunity to improve the quality of their products, being a good tool for the maintenance of Good Manufacturing Practices and a way to establish a committed relationship with their customers. A systematic procedure must be developed and implemented in order to register and investigate each complaint received and not only the Quality Assurance area must be involved. This process must involve other critical areas such as Marketing, Production, Quality Control, Finance, Regulatory and Legal Affairs. Thus the aim of this article is to discuss the main steps of a good complaint handling procedure that can be readily implemented in pharmaceutical companies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Safe place or ,catastrophic society'?THE CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER/LE GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN, Issue 4 2000Perspectives on hazards, disasters in Canada The essay introduces public risk and destructive events in Canada, their conceptual and policy implications. The discussion is developed in four main steps. First, some widely held, if contradictory, perceptions of public security are identified. A relatively high level of personal safety for most Canadians is attributed to large government and private investments. But these have not prevented recurring disasters, nor singular vulnerability for certain groups and parts of the country. Meanwhile, some novel dangers of modern living compromise the safety of all Canadians. The second section examines evidence of losses from a broad range of hazards, and related, risk-averting investments. The national geography of dangers is shown to have been transformed and reorganized by post-World War II developments. Losses, even from natural hazards, are identified with common, nationwide behaviours and infrastructure, especially motorised mobility and consumer products. A fourth section looks at some appropriate conceptual frameworks. Charles Perrow's idea of ,organizational society' is considered, and Ulrich Beck's of ,risk society', including his view that late modern societies shift towards a ,catastrophic' condition. In general, the Canadian scene and these ideas support a human ecological view of modernity, but challenge an agent-specific and extreme event approach that had prevailed in hazards geography. ,Manufactured' vulnerability is a neglected but decisive element. The social space of risks is shown to be recast around changing priorities for, and social justice in, public security and emerging crises of personal safety. Risk aversion turns upon questions of the acceptability of risks, acceptance for and by whom, and how it is achieved. For academic work, this suggests a reexamination of risk knowledge and its ,social construction'. La dissertation aborde le sujet des évènements destructifs et du risque public au Canada, leurs implications conceptuels et de principe. La discussion est développée en quatre étapes principales. Premièrement, certaines perceptions de la sécurité publique tenues par beaucoup, non sans être contradictoires, sont identifiées. Un niveau relativement élevé de sécurité personnelle pour la plupart des canadiens est attribuéà un gouvernement de grande taille et aux investissements privés mais ceux-ci n'ont pas empêché des désastres de se reproduire, ni une vulnérabilité singulière pour certains groupes et certains endroits du pays. Entretemps, de nouveaux dangers de la vie moderne compromettent la sécurité de tous les canadiens. La deuxième section examine la preuve d'une perte à partir d'une gamme étendue de risques et d'investissement risqués et apparentés. II est montré que la géographie nationale des dangers a été transformée et réorganisée par des développements de l'après seconde guerre mondiale. Les pertes, même provenant de risques naturels, sont identifiées avec des comportements et infrastructures en commun et dans tout le pays, spécialement la mobilité motorisée et les produits de consommation. Une quatrième section examine les supports de travail conceptuels appropriés. L'idée de Charles Perrow d'une ,société structurelle' est prise en considération, et celle d'Ulrich Beck d'une ,sociétéà risque' comprenant sa vue que les dernières sociétés modernes s'accélèrent vers une condition ,catastrophique'. En général, le monde canadien et ces idées soutiennent une vue humaine et écologique de la modernité, mais défie un agent spécifique et une approche extrême des évènements qui avait prévalu dans la géographie des risques. La vulnérabilité,fabriquée' est un élément négligé mais décisif. II est démontré que le rôle de l'espace de risques social est redistribué selon des priorités qui changent pour, et la justice sociale dans, la sécurité publique et les crises qui émergent dans la sécurité personnelle. L'aversion des risques révolve autour des questions d'acceptabilité des risques, risques acceptés pour et par qui, et la façon dont cela est accompli. En ce qui concerne un travail théorique, cela suggère une réexamination de la connaissance des risques et de sa ,construction sociale'. [source] Activity of HIV entry and fusion inhibitors expressed by the human vaginal colonizing probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Janice J. Liu Summary Novel therapeutic approaches are needed to combat the rapid increase in HIV sexual transmission in women. The probiotic organism Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 which safely colonizes the human vagina and prevents microbial infections, has been genetically modified to produce anti-HIV proteins which were capable of blocking the three main steps of HIV entry into human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The HIV entry or fusion inhibitors were fused to the native expression and secretion signals of BspA, Mlp or Sep in L. reuteri RC-14 and the expression cassettes were stably inserted into the chromosome. L. reuteri RC-14 expressed the HIV inhibitors in cell wall-associated and secreted forms. L. reuteri RC-14 expressing CD4D1D2-antibody-like fusion proteins were able to bind single or dual tropic coreceptor-using HIV-1 primary isolates. This is the first study to show that a well-documented and proven human vaginal probiotic strain can express potent functional viral inhibitors, which may potentially lower the sexual transmission of HIV. [source] N2O Decomposition over Fe-ZSM-5 Studied by Transient TechniquesCHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 9 2009P. M. Prechtl Abstract N2O decomposition to gaseous N2 and O2 catalyzed by a commercial Fe-ZSM-5 has been studied by different transient techniques: (i) via the transient response methods at ambient pressure, (ii) via the temporal analysis of products (TAP) reactor under vacuum, and (iii) by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) under vacuum. The catalyst was activated in He at 1323 K. Two main steps can be distinguished within the transient period of N2O decomposition under constant N2O feed at 603 K: the first step consists of molecular N2 formation and surface atomic oxygen (O)Fe. It follows a period of stoichiometric N2O decomposition to gaseous N2 and O2 with increasing conversion until steady state is reached. The observed rate increase is assigned to a slow accumulation on the surface of NOx,ads species formed from N2O and participating as co-catalyst in the N2O decomposition. The NOx,ads species accelerates the atomic oxygen recombination/desorption, which is the rate-determining step of N2O decomposition. The formation and accumulation of NOx,ads species during N2O interaction with the catalyst was confirmed by TAP studies. The amount of NOx,ads was found to depend on the number of N2O pulses injected into the TAP reactor. In the presence of adsorbed NOx on the catalyst surface (NOx,ads) the desorption of dioxygen is facilitated. This results in a shift of the oxygen desorption temperature from 744 K to considerably lower temperatures of 580 K in TPD experiments. Pulses of gaseous NO had a similar effect leading to the formation NOx,ads, thus facilitating the oxygen recombination/desorption. [source] Evolutionary morphology of the circulatory system in Peracarida (Malacostraca; Crustacea)CLADISTICS, Issue 2 2010Christian S. Wirkner We demonstrate that by formulating guidelines for evolutionary morphology the transparency, reproducibility, and intersubject testability of evolutionary hypotheses based on morphological data can be enhanced. The five main steps in our concept of evolutionary morphology are (i) taxon sampling, (ii) structural analysis, (iii) character conceptualization, (iv) phylogenetic analysis, and (v) evolutionary interpretation. We illustrate this concept on the example of the morphology of the circulatory organs in peracarid Malacostraca. The analysis is based on recently published accounts in which detailed structural analyses were carried out, and on the older literature. Detailed conceptualizations of 22 characters of the circulatory system are given for 28 terminals. In a further step these characters are included in a recently revised matrix, resulting in 110 characters. The resulting parsimony analysis yielded a single most parsimonious tree with a length of 309 steps. The most significant results are that Peracarida is monophyletic, Amphipoda is the sister taxon to the Mancoida sensu stricto, the relict cave-dwelling taxa Thermosbaenacea, Spelaeogriphacea, and Mictocarididae form a monophylum and Tanaidacea is the sister group to a monophylum comprising Cumacea and Isopoda. The evolutionary analysis shows that the ground pattern features of the circulatory organs in Peracarida are a tubular heart extending through the whole thorax, a posterior aorta with lateral arteries, and a ventral vessel system. Important features within the Peracarida are the backward shift of the anterior border of the heart, the reduction of the ventral vessel system, and two patterns of cardiac arteries, one common to the amphipod and tanaidacean terminals, and one to the cumacean and isopod terminals. ,© The Willi Hennig Society 2009. [source] | ||||||||||||||||