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Minimal Increase (minimal + increase)
Selected AbstractsMortadella Sausage Formulations with Partial and Total Replacement of Beef and Pork Backfat with Mechanically Separated Meat from Spent Layer HensJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 3 2005Marco A. Trindade ABSTRACT: Mortadella sausages were formulated with 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% mechanically separated layer hen meat (MSLM) replacing the beef and pork backfat as raw materials. Treatments were compared by determination of shear force, sensory acceptance, and stability during cold storage (microbial analysis, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances [TBARS], color, and descriptive sensory analysis). Mortadella with higher MSLM presented lower shear force values. TBARS index and sensory rancidity were not affected. The greater the amounts of MSLM used, the paler was the pink color observed in the sensory evaluations and the lower were the CIE a* values. All treatments presented minimal increase in the microbiological counts evaluated during storage. The limiting factor in the acceptance of the product was the perception of bone particles in mortadella containing 60% or more MSLM. [source] The effect of nanofibers on liquid,liquid coalescence filter performanceAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 12 2005C. Shin Abstract A number of factors influence the efficiency and the economics of the separation of dispersed liquid drops in an immiscible liquid,liquid mixture. One important factor that controls the performance of a filter medium in the separation is the fiber size. Electrospun polymer nanofibers have diameters in the nanometer range and are arbitrarily long. The experimental results in this work show that adding nanofibers to conventional micron-sized fibrous filter media improves the separation efficiency of the filter media but also increases the pressure drop. An optimum in the performance occurs (significant increase in efficiency with minimal increase in pressure drop) with the addition of about 1.6% by mass of 250 nm diameter nylon 6 nanofibers to 5 micron diameter glass fibers in the filters. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2005 [source] Early osteoblastic differentiation induced by dexamethasone enhances adenoviral gene delivery to marrow stromal cellsJOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 2 2004Jeremy S. Blum Abstract We investigated the implications of induced osteogenic differentiation on gene delivery in multipotent rat marrow stromal cells (MSCs). Prior to genetic manipulation cells were cultured with or without osteogenic supplements (5 ± 10,8 M dexamethasone, 160 ,M l-ascorbic acid 2-phosphate, and 10 mM ,-glycerophosphate). Comparison of liposome, retroviral, and adenoviral vectors demonstrated that all three vectors could mediate gene delivery to primary rat MSCs. When these vectors were applied in the absence or presence of osteogenic supplements, we found that MSCs differentiated prior to transduction with adenovirus type 5 vectors produced a 300% increase in transgene expression compared to MSCs that were not exposed to osteogenic supplements. This differentiation effect appeared specific to adenoviral mediated gene delivery, since there was minimal increase in retroviral gene delivery and no increase in liposome gene delivery when MSCs were treated with osteogenic supplements. In addition, we also determined this increase in transgene production to occur at a higher concentration of dexamethasone (5 ± 10,8 M) in the culture medium of MSCs prior to adenoviral transduction. We found that this increased transgene production could be extended to the osteogenic protein, human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (hBMP-2). When delivered by an adenoviral vector, hBMP-2 transgene production could be increased from 1.4 ng/105 cells/3 days to 4.3 ng/105 cells/3 days by culture of MSCs with osteogenic supplements prior to transduction. These results indicate that the utility of MSCs as a therapeutic protein delivery mechanism through genetic manipulation can be enhanced by pre-culture of these cells with dexamethasone. © 2003 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [source] Investigation into the correlation between sensation and leg movement in restless legs syndromeMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 9 2005Paul V. Birinyi Abstract We evaluated rest effects on restless legs syndrome (RLS) sensory and motor symptoms. During two 60-minute Suggested Immobilization Tests (SIT) subject's signals of RLS leg sensations and periodic leg movements while awake (PLMW) were recorded. Sensations, PLMW, sensations preceding or after PLMW, sensations occurring without following PLMW, and PLMW occurring without preceding sensation were determined. The RLS patients were divided into equal-sized high and low PLMW groups for further analysis. Data from 46 subjects (28 RLS and 18 controls) revealed sensations increased linearly with rest in RLS patients and controls. Movement rate increased linearly with rest for controls but increased rapidly for the first 45 minutes for all RLS patients. PLMW/hour increased with further rest for low but not high PLMW patients. Sensations followed by PLMW and PLMW without preceding sensations followed similar patterns. Sensations without subsequent PLMW increased dramatically in the last 15 minutes of the SITs. Whereas both sensory and motor signs of RLS increase with rest, there is minimal increase for controls. Patients with higher but not lower PLMW rates reached a ceiling for PLMW after 35 to 40 minutes. The temporal dissociation between sensory and motor events supports viewing these motor and sensory events as separate but loosely linked manifestations of RLS. © 2005 Movement Disorder Society [source] Long-term Stability of Endocardial Left Ventricular Pacing Leads Placed via the Coronary SinusPACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 9 2009GRACE LIN M.D. Background: Left ventricular endocardial pacing leads placed via the coronary sinus (CS) are increasingly implanted to achieve cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT); however, the long-term stability of these leads is unknown. We sought to determine the implant success and long-term stability of CS leads in our single center experience. Methods: All consecutive patients who underwent CRT via implantation of the CS lead between January 1999 and December 2005 were included. Pacing thresholds at implant and during long-term follow-up were reviewed and the rate of acute (within 24 hours of implant) and chronic (>24 hours) lead failure was determined. Results: A total of 512 patients (mean age 68 ± 12 years; 409 [80%] male) underwent CRT device implantation and were included. The CS lead implantation was successful on the initial implantation in 487 patients (95%) and subsequently successful in six patients (24%) in whom initial attempts were unsuccessful. Acute lead failure occurred in 25 patients (5.1%) and was most commonly due to persistent extra-cardiac stimulation. The rate of chronic lead failure was 4% in the first year and remained stable during long-term follow-up. The CS lead pacing thresholds remained stable with only minimal increase (1.42 ± 0.85 V/0.42 ± 0.25 ms vs 1.51 ± 1.05 V/0.47 ± 0.29 ms; P = 0.04). Conclusions: Placement of a left ventricular pacing lead via the CS is feasible and safe in the vast majority of patients. Once placed, the CS leads remain stable with excellent pacing thresholds over the longer term. [source] Folliculogenesis and Morphometry of Oocyte and Follicle Growth in the Feline OvaryREPRODUCTION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS, Issue 2 2009K Reynaud Contents This study was designed to describe, both quantitatively (morphometry) and qualitatively (histological differentiation), follicle and oocyte growth in the feline ovary. The ovaries of 43 cats were collected and processed for histology. The diameters of 832 follicle/oocyte pairs were measured, with and without zona pellucida (ZP), and a special emphasis was placed on the study of early folliculogenesis. Primordial, primary, secondary, pre-antral and early antral follicles were measured at 44.3, 86.2, 126.0, 155.6 and 223.8 ,m in diameter respectively. A biphasic pattern of follicle and oocyte growth was observed. Before antrum formation, follicle (x) and oocyte (y) size were positively and linearly correlated (y = 0.500x + 20.01, r2 = 0.89). Antrum formation occurred when the follicle reached 160,200 ,m in diameter (when oocyte was at 102 ,m). After antrum formation, a decoupling was observed, a minimal increase in oocyte size contrasting with a significant follicle development (y = 0.001x + 114.39, r2 = 0.01). The pre-ovulatory follicle diameter was approximately 3500 ,m and the maximal oocyte diameter was 115 ,m. The ZP, absent in primordial and primary follicles, appeared at the secondary stage and reached almost 6 ,m at the pre-ovulatory stage. These results suggest that (i) in feline ovary, follicle and oocyte growth pattern is similar to that observed in other mammals; (ii) the antrum forms in 160,200 ,m follicles, which represents 5% of the pre-ovulatory diameter and (iii) the oocyte had achieved more than 90% of its maximal growth at the stage of antrum formation. [source] Molecular determinants of hyperosmotically activated NKCC1-mediated K+/K+ exchangeTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 18 2010Kenneth B. Gagnon Na+,K+,2Cl, cotransport (NKCC) mediates the movement of two Cl, ions for one Na+ and one K+ ion. Under isosmotic conditions or with activation of the kinases SPAK/WNK4, the NKCC1-mediated Cl, uptake in Xenopus laevis oocytes, as measured using 36Cl, is twice the value of K+ uptake, as determined using 86Rb. Under hyperosmotic conditions, there is a significant activation of the bumetanide-sensitive K+ uptake with only a minimal increase in bumetanide-sensitive Cl, uptake. This suggests that when stimulated by hypertonicity, the cotransporter mediates K+/K+ and Cl,/Cl, exchange. Although significant stimulation of K+/K+ exchange was observed with NKCC1, a significantly smaller hyperosmotic stimulatory effect was observed with NKCC2. In order to identify the molecular determinant(s) of this NKCC1-specific activation, we created chimeras of the mouse NKCC1 and the rat NKCC2. Swapping the regulatory amino termini of the cotransporters neither conferred activation to NKCC2 nor prevented activation of NKCC1. Using unique restrictions sites, we created additional chimeric molecules and determined that the first intracellular loop between membrane-spanning domains one and two and the second extracellular loop between membrane-spanning domains three and four of NKCC1 are necessary components of the hyperosmotic stimulation of K+/K+ exchange. [source] Effectiveness of repeated autumn and spring fires for understorey restoration in weed-invaded temperate eucalypt woodlandsAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009Suzanne Prober Abstract Question. Can strategic burning, targeting differing ecological characteristics of native and exotic species, facilitate restoration of native understorey in weed-invaded temperate grassy eucalypt woodlands? Location. Gippsland Plains, eastern Victoria, Australia. Methods. In a replicated, 5-year experimental trial, the effects of repeated spring or autumn burning were evaluated for native and exotic plants in a representative, degraded Eucalyptus tereticornis grassy woodland. Treatments aimed to reduce seed banks and modify establishment conditions of exotic annual grasses, and to exhaust vegetative reserves of exotic perennial grasses. Treatments were applied to three grassland patch types, dominated by the native grass Austrodanthonia caespitosa, ubiquitous exotic annuals, or the common exotic perennial grass Paspalum dilatatum. Results. The dominant native grass Austrodanthonia caespitosa and native forbs were resilient to repeated fires, and target exotic annuals and perennials were suppressed differentially by autumn and spring fires. Exotic annuals were also suppressed by drought, reducing the overall treatment effects but indicating important opportunities for restoration. The initially sparse exotic geophyte Romulea rosea increased in cover with fire and the impact of this species on native forbs requires further investigation. There was minimal increase in diversity of subsidiary natives with fire, probably owing to lack of propagules. Conclusions. While fire is often considered to increase ecosystem invasibility, our study showed that strategic use of fire, informed by the relative responses of available native and exotic taxa, is potentially an effective step towards restoration of weed-invaded temperate eucalypt woodlands. [source] Three-dimensional, multi-offset ground-penetrating radar imaging of archaeological targetsARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 2 2008Adam D. Booth Abstract The efficacy of ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods is inhibited when surveying over a target that is structurally complex and/or hosted within attenuative media. Recent research has documented the ability of certain seismic methods to improve imaging using GPR. For imaging complex targets, three-dimensional acquisition and migration methods are applied. For attenuative sites, signal-to- noise ratio (SNR) may be boosted on acquisition of multi-offset data. We present results from an integrated three-dimensional multi-offset survey over a Romano-British villa at Groundwell Ridge, near Swindon, UK. Data were acquired within a grid of dimension 21,m,×,14,m, using a single-channel PulseEKKO GPR system equipped with common-offset (CO) 450,MHz antennas. To satisfy criteria for three-dimensional migration, the sample density over the grid was 0.05,×,0.05,m2. A smaller grid of three-dimensional multi-offset data was acquired, with fold-of-cover 2200%, targeting a low SNR section of data. The spatial resolution and SNR in the resulting images of the target are greatly improved compared with data acquired using a more conventional survey method. However, this improvement may not be justified by the greatly increased (some 10 times) fieldwork effort required to obtain three-dimensional multi-offset data. We therefore investigate a means of improving the efficiency of three-dimensional GPR surveying by applying a simple trace interpolation method to recover three-dimensional acquisition criteria. This trial suggests that, at this site, three-dimensional data can be simulated from a grid of pseudo-three-dimensional data, sampled at 0.05,×,0.25,m2. In this way, high quality images of an archaeological target can be obtained with minimal increase to survey effort. We hope that, on the basis of this work, three-dimensional and multi-offset acquisitions will be more readily considered for archaeological GPR investigations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Induction of prolonged infiltration of T lymphocytes and transient T lymphocyte,dependent collagen deposition in mouse lungs following adenoviral gene transfer of CCL18ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 8 2006Irina G. Luzina Objective Levels of CCL18 are elevated in patients with scleroderma lung disease and other fibrotic pulmonary diseases associated with T lymphocyte involvement. We sought to determine whether CCL18 alone can induce pulmonary T lymphocytic infiltration and fibrosis in mouse lungs. Methods An adenovirus vector was constructed and used for CCL18 delivery to mouse lungs in vivo. Immunohistochemical, flow cytometric, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analyses were used to assess the resulting changes. Results Overexpression of CCL18 led to massive perivascular and peribronchial infiltration of T lymphocytes. Although the expression of CCL18 peaked on day 7, the infiltration persisted up to day 64 after infection. The infiltrates were negative for proliferating cell nuclear antigen and TUNEL, suggesting the role of cell trafficking, rather than proliferation and apoptosis, in the infiltration dynamics. Patchy destruction of the alveolar architecture and collagen accumulation in association with the infiltrates were also noticed. These changes were infiltration-dependent, rather than CCL18-dependent, since treatment with antilymphocyte serum completely abrogated the CCL18-induced changes. The infiltrates consisted almost exclusively of T lymphocytes that were minimally activated, with a minimal increase in the expression of CD69 and no changes in the expression of CD25, Fas, FasL, or CD40L. There was no increase in total pulmonary levels of profibrotic cytokines transforming growth factor ,1 (TGF,1) or interleukin-13, although active TGF,1 was present locally in association with the infiltrates and areas of distorted alveolar architecture. Prestimulation of primary T lymphocytes with CCL18 in vitro caused an up-regulation of TGF,1 and collagen production in T lymphocyte/fibroblast cocultures. Conclusion CCL18 promotes selective, long-term pulmonary infiltration of T lymphocytes and infiltration-dependent accumulation of collagen through a TGF,1-dependent mechanism. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||