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R3
Kinds of R3 Selected AbstractsVascular gene expression and phenotypic correlation during differentiation of human embryonic stem cellsDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 2 2005Sharon Gerecht-Nir Abstract The study of the cascade of events of induction and sequential gene activation that takes place during human embryonic development is hindered by the unavailability of postimplantation embryos at different stages of development. Spontaneous differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can occur by means of the formation of embryoid bodies (EBs), which resemble certain aspects of early embryos to some extent. Embryonic vascular formation, vasculogenesis, is a sequential process that involves complex regulatory cascades. In this study, changes of gene expression along the development of human EBs for 4 weeks were studied by large-scale gene screening. Two main clusters were identified,one of down-regulated genes such as POU5, NANOG, TDGF1/Cripto (TDGF, teratocarcinoma-derived growth factor-1), LIN28, CD24, TERF1 (telomeric repeat binding factor-1), LEFTB (left,right determination, factor B), and a second of up-regulated genes such as TWIST, WNT5A, WT1, AFP, ALB, NCAM1. Focusing on the vascular system development, genes known to be involved in vasculogenesis and angiogenesis were explored. Up-regulated genes include vasculogenic growth factors such as VEGFA, VEGFC, FIGF (VEGFD), ANG1, ANG2, TGF,3, and PDGFB, as well as the related receptors FLT1, FLT4, PDGFRB, TGF,R2, and TGF,R3, other markers such as CD34, VCAM1, PECAM1, VE-CAD, and transcription factors TAL1, GATA2, and GATA3. The reproducibility of the array data was verified independently and illustrated that many genes known to be involved in vascular development are activated during the differentiation of hESCs in culture. Hence, the analysis of the vascular system can be extended to other differentiation pathways, allocating human EBs as an in vitro model to study early human development. Developmental Dynamics 232:487,497, 2005. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Financial and Thermodynamic EquilibriumECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 3 2000Antonio Roma This paper explores general equilibrium asset pricing implications in a two-period model in which the production side explicitly describes the thermodynamic process unavoidably connected with production. We show that steady state of the production process, i.e. thermodynamic equilibrium, has a one-to-one correspondence with the absence of arbitrage possibilities. This provides an alternative definition of the absence of arbitrage. (J.E.L.: D5, G1, R3) [source] Improved treatment outcome in Chinese children and adolescents with Burkitt's lymphoma and large cell lymphoma by using the modified B-non-Hodgkin's lymphoma-Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster-90 protocolEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2006Xiao-Fei Sun Abstract:,Objectives:,This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the modified B-Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL)-Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM)-90-based protocol in Chinese children and adolescents with Burkitt's lymphoma and large cell lymphoma. Methods:,From September 1997 to August 2005, 55 untreated patients (age less than 20 yr) from a single institution were enrolled. The patients were stratified by risk factors (stage, LDH level and chemotherapy response). All patients were treated with a modified B-NHL-BFM 90 protocol. Results:,The median age of the patients was 8 yr (range 1.5,20 yr). Of these patients, 22 (40%) had Burkitt's lymphoma (BKL), 22 (40%) had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBL) and 11 (20%) had anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma (ALCL). Complete remission (CR) occurred in 45 patients (83%), partial remission (PR) in eight patients (14.5%), and progressive disease (PD) in one patient (1.8%). At a median follow up of 24 months, the event free survival (EFS) for all patients was 85% ± 5% with 100% for group R1, 84% ± 7% for group R2 and 72% ± 13% for group R3, and most notably, 80% ± 6% for stage III/IV at diagnosis. There was no statistically significant difference (P = 0.96) in EFS among BKL and DLBL and ALCL. The major toxicity complications were myelosuppression and mucositis, but these conditions were tolerated and manageable. Conclusions:,This modified NHL-BFM-90 protocol is very effective for Chinese children and adolescents with BKL and large cell lymphomas, and represented an increase in the cure rates in childhood NHL in China. [source] Dentine sealing provided by smear layer/smear plugs vs. adhesive resins/resin tagsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 4 2007Marcela R. Carrilho The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of five experimental resins, which ranged from hydrophobic to hydrophilic blends, to seal acid-etched dentine saturated with water or ethanol. The experimental resins (R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5) were evaluated as neat bonding agents (100% resin) or as solutions solvated with absolute ethanol (70% resin/30% ethanol). Fluid conductance was measured at 20 cm H2O hydrostatic pressure after sound dentine surfaces were: (i) covered with a smear layer; (ii) acid-etched; or (iii) bonded with neat or solvated resins, which were applied to acid-etched dentine saturated with water or ethanol. In general, the fluid conductance of resin-bonded dentine was significantly higher than that of smear layer-covered dentine. However, when the most hydrophobic neat resins (R1 and R2) were applied to acid-etched dentine saturated with ethanol, the fluid conductance was as low as that produced by smear layers. The fluid conductance of resin-bonded dentine saturated with ethanol was significantly lower than for resin bonded to water-saturated dentine, except for resin R4. Application of more hydrophobic resins may provide better sealing of acid-etched dentine if the substrate is saturated with ethanol instead of with water. [source] On the existence of non-supersymmetric black hole attractors for two-parameter Calabi-Yau's and attractor equationsFORTSCHRITTE DER PHYSIK/PROGRESS OF PHYSICS, Issue 12 2006P. Kaura We look for possible nonsupersymmetric black hole attractor solutions for type II compactification on (the mirror of) CY3(2,128) expressed as a degree-12 hypersurface in WCP4[1,1,2,2,6]. In the process, (a) for points away from the conifold locus, we show that the existence of a non-supersymmetric attractor along with a consistent choice of fluxes and extremum values of the complex structure moduli, could be connected to the existence of an elliptic curve fibered over C8 which may also be "arithmetic" (in some cases, it is possible to interpret the extremization conditions for the black-hole superpotential as an endomorphism involving complex multiplication of an arithmetic elliptic curve), and (b) for points near the conifold locus, we show that existence of non-supersymmetric black-hole attractors corresponds to a version of A1 -singularity in the space Image(Z6,R2/Z2 (,R3)) fibered over the complex structure moduli space. The (derivatives of the) effective black hole potential can be thought of as a real (integer) projection in a suitable coordinate patch of the Veronese map: CP5,CP20, fibered over the complex structure moduli space. We also discuss application of Kallosh's attractor equations (which are equivalent to the extremization of the effective black-hole potential) for nonsupersymmetric attractors and show that (a) for points away from the conifold locus, the attractor equations demand that the attractor solutions be independent of one of the two complex structure moduli, and (b) for points near the conifold locus, the attractor equations imply switching off of one of the six components of the fluxes. Both these features are more obvious using the attractor equations than the extremization of the black hole potential. [source] High-Performance Solution-Processable Poly(p -phenylene vinylene)s for Air-Stable Organic Field-Effect TransistorsADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 5 2005Abstract The influence of the substitution pattern (unsymmetrical or symmetrical), the nature of the side chain (linear or branched), and the processing of several solution processable alkoxy-substituted poly(p -phenylene vinylene)s (PPVs) on the charge-carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) is investigated. We have found the highest mobilities in a class of symmetrically substituted PPVs with linear alkyl chains (e.g., R1, R2,=,n -C11H23, R3,=,n -C18H37). We have shown that the mobility of these PPVs can be improved significantly up to values of 10,2,cm2,V,1,s,1 by annealing at 110,°C. In addition, these devices display an excellent stability in air and dark conditions. No change in the electrical performance is observed, even after storage for thirty days in humid air. [source] Facile, Efficient Copolymerization of Ethylene with Bicyclic, Non-Conjugated Dienes by Titanium Complexes Bearing Bis(,-Enaminoketonato) LigandsADVANCED SYNTHESIS & CATALYSIS (PREVIOUSLY: JOURNAL FUER PRAKTISCHE CHEMIE), Issue 10 2009Jing-yu Liu Abstract Copolymerizations of ethylene with 5-vinyl-2-norbornene or 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene under the action of various titanium complexes bearing bis(,-enaminoketonato) chelate ligands of the type, [R1NC(R2)CHC(R3)O]2TiCl2 (1, R1=Ph, R2=CF3, R3=Ph; 2, R1=C6H4F- p, R2=CF3, R3=Ph; 3, R1=Ph, R2=CF3, R3=t- Bu; 4, R1=C6H4F- p, R2=CF3, R3=t- Bu; 5, R1=Ph, R2=CH3, R3=CF3; 6, R1=C6H4F- p, R2=CH3, R3=CF3), have been shown to occur with the regioselective insertion of the endocyclic double bond of the monomer into the copolymer chain, leaving the exocyclic vinyl double bond as a pendant unsaturation. The ligand modification strongly affects the copolymerization behaviour. High catalytic activities and efficient co-monomer incorporation can be easily obtained by optimizing the catalyst structures and polymerization conditions. [source] Medium, Explant and Genotype Factors Influencing Shoot Regeneration in Oilseed Brassica spp.JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 5 2003G. X. Tang Abstract The effects of culture media, explants and genotypes on shoot regeneration in oilseed Brassica species were examined in this study. The maximum shoot regeneration frequency was obtained in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 3 mg l,1 6-benzylaminopurine and 0.15 mg l,1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid. The addition of 2.5 mg l,1 AgNO3 was very beneficial to shoot regeneration in B. napus and Ag2S2O3 (10 mg l,1) was even superior to AgNO3 (2.5 mg l,1). Explant age, explant type and carbon source also significantly affected shoot regeneration. Four-day-old seedlings of cotyledonary explants showed the maximum shoot regeneration frequency and number of shoots per explant. Of the four explants , peduncles, hypocotyls, cotyledons and leaf petioles , cotyledons produced the highest shoot regeneration frequency (56.67 %). Four carbon sources , glucose, maltose, starch and sucrose , were compared for their respective effects on shoot regeneration from cotyledonary explants. Sucrose appeared to be the best carbon source for shoot regeneration with the highest shoot regeneration frequency (76.00 %). Considerable variation in shoot regeneration from cotyledonary explants was observed both between and within Brassica species. The shoot regeneration frequency ranged from 10.00 % for cv. R5 (B. rapa) to 83.61 % for cv. N1 (B. napus). Two B. napus, one B. carinata and one B. juncea cultivars exhibited shoot regeneration frequency higher than 70 %. In terms of the number of shoots produced per explant, B. rapa showed the highest variation, ranging from 5.64 for cv. R3 to 1.33 for cv. R5. Normal plantlets were regenerated from all induced shoots and developed normally. The regenerated plants were fertile and identical with the source plants. [source] Cobalt requirement of beef cattle , feed intake and growth at different levels of cobalt supplyJOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 3 2000F. J. Schwarz Summary In a study using a total of 36 German Simmental beef bulls weighing between 236 kg and about 620 kg the question of what constitutes an adequate Co supply was investigated with reference to the performance criteria growth, feed intake, energy intake, nutrient intake and carcass criteria. The bulls received a diet of corn silage ad libitum and 2.5 kg concentrate for a period of 280 days. Ten rations (R) with graduated Co supplements were fed with mean concentrations of 0.07 (R1), 0.09 (R2), 0.11 (R3), 0.15 (R4), 0.18 (R5), 0.26 (R6), 0.33 (R7), 0.42 (R8), 0.59 (R9) and 0.69 (R10) mg Co per kg dry matter (DM) intake. The Co supplement was added as CoSO47H2O. The diets with no or low Co supplementation produced either distinctly lower daily gains of 1045g (R1) and 1130g (R2) or lower daily gains of about 1260 g (R3, R4) than rations R5,R10, where daily gains averaged 1340 g. The mean daily feed intake per animal was also significantly or marginally affected with values of 6.0 kg DM (R1) rising to 7.7 kg DM (R2,R4) versus 7.9 kg DM on average (R5,R10). Calculations using the broken line model and the quadratic model show that the optimal Co supply for maximum growth is 0.12 mg/kg dietary DM and for maximum feed intake, 0.16,0.18 mg Co/kg dietary DM. After taking further biochemical criteria into account (Stangl et al. 2000), a level of 0.20 mg/kg dietary DM is recommended as an adequate Co supply for growing cattle. [source] Influence of ciliate protozoa on biochemical changes and hydrolytic enzyme profile in the rumen ecosystemJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2002A. Santra Aims:,To assess the effect of presence or absence of rumen protozoa on fermentation characteristics and enzyme profile in growing lambs. Methods and Results:,Weaner lambs (G1, G2, G3, G4, G5 and G6 groups) were defaunated by oral administration of sodium laurel sulphate (at 8 g 100 kg,1 body weight). The lambs of G4, G5 and G6 groups were refaunated. The roughage and concentrate ratio in the diet of G1 and G4, G2 and G5, and G3 and G6 were 50:50 (R1), 65:35 (R2) and 80:20 (R3), respectively. Daily dry matter intake was similar in defaunated and faunated lambs. However, digestibility of organic matter (OM), cellulose and gross energy were lower in defaunated lambs while crude protein (CP) digestibility was similar in both defaunated and faunated lambs. The rumen pH and NH3 -N were lower (P < 0·01) while TVFA, total-N and TCA-ppt-N were higher (P < 0·01), in defaunated lambs. Ruminal activity of carboxymethyl cellulase was lower (P < 0·01) in defaunated lambs and amylase, xylanase, protease and urease were similar in faunated and defaunated lambs. Nutrient utilization, rumen metabolites and ciliate protozoal count were higher, whereas digestibility of fibre fractions was lower in high rather than low concentrate fed lambs. The rumen protozoa present before defaunation were B-type and the protozoa which re-established on refaunation were also B-type. Conclusions:,Absence of ciliate protozoa decreased nutrient digestibility and increased ruminal TVFA and total-N with lower NH3 -N concentration, indicating better energy and protein utilization in defaunated lambs. Significance and Impact of the Study: Defaunation improved energy and protein utilization in lambs. [source] Effects of cationic polymer on start-up and granulation in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactorsJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2004Ying Wang Abstract The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) has been used successfully to treat a variety of industrial wastewaters. It offers a high degree of organics removal, low sludge production and low energy consumption, along with energy production in the form of biogas. However, two major drawbacks are its long start-up period and deficiency of active biogranules for proper functioning of the process. In this study, the influence of a coagulant polymer on start-up, sludge granulation and the associated reactor performance was evaluated in four laboratory-scale UASB reactors. A control reactor (R1) was operated without added polymer, while the other three reactors, designated R2, R3 and R4, were operated with polymer concentrations of 5 mg dm,3, 10 mg dm,3 and 20 mg dm,3, respectively. Adding the polymer at a concentration of 20 mg dm,3 markedly reduced the start-up time. The time required to reach stable treatment at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 4.8 g COD dm,3 d,1 was reduced by more than 36% (R4) as compared with both R1 and R3, and by 46% as compared with R2. R4 was able to handle an OLR of 16 g COD dm,3 d,1 after 93 days of operation, while R1, R2 and R3 achieved the same loading rate only after 116, 116 and 109 days respectively. Compared with the control reactor, the start-up time of R4 was shortened by about 20% at this OLR. Granule characterization indicated that the granules developed in R4 with 20 mg dm,3 polymer exhibited the best settleability and methanogenic activity at all OLRs. The organic loading capacities of the reactors were also increased by the addition of polymer. The maximum organic loading of the control reactor (R1) without added polymer was 19.2 g COD dm,3 d,1, while the three polymer-assisted reactors attained a marked increase in organic loading of 25.6 g COD dm,3 d,1. Adding the cationic polymer could result in shortening of start-up time and enhancement of granulation, which may in turn lead to improvement in the efficiency of organics removal and loading capacity of the UASB system. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry [source] First-order perturbation analysis of the best rank-(R1, R2, R3) approximation in multilinear algebraJOURNAL OF CHEMOMETRICS, Issue 1 2004Lieven De Lathauwer Abstract In this paper we perform a first-order perturbation analysis of the least squares approximation of a given higher-order tensor by a tensor having prespecified n -mode ranks. This work generalizes the classical first-order perturbation analysis of the matrix singular value decomposition. We will show that there are important differences between the matrix and the higher-order tensor case. We subsequently address (1) the best rank-1 approximation of supersymmetric tensors, (2) the best rank-(R1, R2, R3) approximation of arbitrary tensors and (3) the best rank-(R1, R2, R3) approximation of arbitrary tensors. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Ab initio direct dynamics studies on the reactions of chlorine atom with CH3,nFnCH2OH (n = 1,3)JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 16 2007Ying Wang Abstract The hydrogen abstraction reactions of Cl atom with a series of fluorinated alcohols, i.e., CH3,nFnCH2OH + Cl (n = 1,3) (R1,R3) have been studied systematically by ab initio direct dynamics method and the canonical variational transition state theory (CVT). The potential energy surface information is calculated at the MP2/6-311G(d,p) level. Energies along the minimum energy paths are improved by a series of single-point calculations at the higher modified GAUSSIAN-2 (G2M) level of theory. Theoretical analysis shows that three kinds of hydrogen atoms can be abstracted from the reactants CH2FCH2OH and CHF2CH2OH, and for CF3CH2OH, two possible pathways are found. The rate constants for each reaction channel are evaluated by CVT with the small-curvature tunneling correction (SCT) over a wide range of temperature from 200 to 2000 K. The calculated CVT/SCT rate constants are in good agreement with the available experimental values for the reactions CHF2CH2OH + Cl and CF3CH2OH + Cl. However, for the reaction CH2FCH2OH + Cl, there is negative temperature dependence below 500 K, which is different from the experimental fitted. It is shown that in the low temperature ranges, the three reactions all proceed predominantly via H-abstraction from the methylene positions, and with the increase of the temperature the H-abstraction channels from the fluorinated-methyl positions should be taken into account, while the H-abstraction channels from the hydroxyl groups are negligible over the whole temperature ranges. Also, the reactivity decreases substantially with fluorine substitution at the methyl position of alcohol. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2007 [source] Theoretical study on the Br + CH3SCH3 reactionJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2007Hui Zhang Abstract The multiple-channel reactions Br + CH3SCH3 , products are investigated by direct dynamics method. The optimized geometries, frequencies, and minimum energy path are all obtained at the MP2/6-31+G(d,p) level, and energetic information is further refined by the G3(MP2) (single-point) theory. The rate constants for every reaction channels, Br + CH3SCH3 , CH3SCH2 + HBr (R1), Br + CH3SCH3 , CH3SBr + CH3 (R2), and Br + CH3SCH3 ,CH3S + CH3Br (R3), are calculated by canonical variational transition state theory with small-curvature tunneling correction over the temperature range 200,3000 K. The total rate constants are in good agreement with the available experimental data, and the two-parameter expression k(T) = 2.68 × 10,12 exp(,1235.24/T) cm3/(molecule s) over the temperature range 200,3000 K is given. Our calculations indicate that hydrogen abstraction channel is the major channel due to the smallest barrier height among three channels considered, and the other two channels to yield CH3SBr + CH3 and CH3S + CH3Br are minor channels over the whole temperature range. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2007 [source] EFFECT OF COMPOSITION OF GLUTHNIN SUBFRACTIONS ON RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF WHEATJOURNAL OF FOOD BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 4 2000S. JOOD ABSTRACT Gluten extracted from defatted flours of cv. Aubaine (extra-strong), Hereward (strong) and Riband (weak) was separated into five different fractions (R2 to R6) by sequential centrifugation and addition of sodium chloride. A seven-minute mixing time was used to carry out fractionation on the basis of depolymerization of glutenin macropolymers (GMP). Depolymerization of GMP occurred at much higher rates in dough of the weak cultivar compared to the strong and extra-strong cultivars. Polypeptide compositions of different ghttenin fractions were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reduced and non-reduced conditions, followed by densitometric scanning of stained patterns. The amount of HMW-glutenin subunits decreased and LMW-glutenin subunits increased correspondingly in each cultivar with the fractionation from R2 to R6. The rheological behavior of the fractions was analyzed by small deformation rheological tests (strain sweep and frequency tests). The high molecular weight fraction (R2) from extra-strong wheat had a higher vahte of G' and a lower tan , value as compared to strong and weak bread-making wheats. The moduli of HMW glutenin fractions (R2 and R3) were frequency independent and promoted the network properties, whereas moduli of LMW glutenin fractions were frequency dependent and gave rise to a plasticizing effect. Therefore, it was concluded from the present studies that HMW-glutenin subunits are not the only factors governing good bread-making quality but their proportions in relation to low molecular weight glutenin subunits is equally important in sinking a balance between viscous and elastic properties essential for bread making performance. [source] SENSORY FLAVOR PROFILING AND MAPPING OF MARKET SAMPLES OF CUMIN (CUMINUM CYMINUM L.)JOURNAL OF FOOD QUALITY, Issue 4 2004ANUPAMA DATTATREYA ABSTRACT Eight market samples of cumin (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8) from different regions of India were examined for sensory quality by conducting threshold tests, time-intensity (TI) profiling and flavor profiling. Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out to group the samples. Threshold values ranged from 0.006 to 0.017% with R7 and R8 lots showing lower values for their thresholds (0.006%). Higher intensity of aroma of R7 and R8 was further confirmed by more of a lingering aroma as shown by the TI study. Flavor profiling by quantitative descriptive analysis showed that the market samples of cumin did not differ significantly (P , 0.05). Mapping of samples using PCA technique showed, based on intensity of attributes, four distinct groups comprising a) R1 and R3, b) R7, c) R2 and R5 and d) R4 and R8. R6 occupied a position in between a and b. [source] Relating Instrumental Texture, Determined by Variable-Blade and Allo-Kramer Shear Attachments, to Sensory Analysis of Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, FilletsJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 7 2010Aunchalee Aussanasuwannakul Abstract:, Texture is one of the most important quality attributes of fish fillets, and accurate assessment of variation in this attribute, as affected by storage and handling, is critical in providing consistent quality product. Trout fillets received 4 treatments: 3-d refrigeration (R3), 7-d refrigeration (R7), 3-d refrigeration followed by 30-d frozen storage (R3F30), and 7-d refrigeration followed by 30-d frozen storage (R7F30). Instrumental texture of raw and cooked fillets was determined by 3 approaches: 5-blade Allo-Kramer (AK) and variable-blade (VB) attachment with 12 blades arranged in perpendicular (PER) and parallel (PAR) orientations to muscle fibers. Correlation between instrumental texture and sensory hardness, juiciness, elasticity, fatness, and coarseness was determined. Muscle pH remained constant at 6.54 to 6.64. Raw fillets lost 3.66% of their original weight after 30-d frozen storage. After cooking, weight loss further increased to 15.97%. Moisture content decreased from 69.11 to 65.02%, while fat content remained constant at 10.41%. VBPER detected differences in muscle sample strength (P= 0.0019) and demonstrated effect of shear direction reported as maximum force (g force/g sample). AKPER detected differences in energy of shear (g × mm; P= 0.0001). Fillets that received F30 treatments were less extensible. Cooking increased muscle strength and toughness. Force determined by VBPER was correlated with sensory hardness (r= 0.423, P= 0.0394) and cook loss (r= 0.412, P= 0.0450). VB attachment is accurate, valid, and less destructive in fillet texture analysis. Practical Application:, A new shearing device was validated with sensory analysis. Settings and parameters obtained could be used to define fillet texture quality associated with muscle fiber orientation. [source] Restricted, but abundant, expression of the novel rat gene-3 (R3) relaxin in the dorsal tegmental region of brainJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2002Tanya C. D. Burazin Abstract Relaxin is a peptide hormone with known actions associated with female reproductive physiology, but it has also been identified in the brain. Only one relaxin gene had been characterized in rodents until recently when a novel human relaxin gene, human gene-3 (H3) and its mouse equivalent (M3) were identified. The current study reports the identification of a rat homologue, rat gene-3 (R3) relaxin that is highly expressed in a discrete region of the adult brain. The full R3 relaxin cDNA was generated using RT-PCR and 3, and 5, RACE protocols. The derived amino acid sequence of R3 relaxin retains all the characteristic features of a relaxin peptide and has a high degree of homology with H3 and M3 relaxin. The distribution of R3 relaxin mRNA in adult rat brain was determined and highly abundant expression was only detected in neurons of the ventromedial dorsal tegmental nucleus (vmDTg) in the pons, whereas all other brain areas were unlabelled or contained much lower mRNA levels. Relaxin binding sites and relaxin immunoreactivity were also detected in the vmDTg. These together with earlier findings provide strong evidence for a role(s) for multiple relaxin peptides as neurotransmitters and/or modulators in the rat CNS. [source] Fibroblast growth factor receptor-3 null mice exhibit a delay in the development of oligodendrocytes and myelinationJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 2002R. Bansal Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) comprise of a family of twenty-three members which bind to four receptor tyrosine kinases (R1,R4). They induce a broad spectrum of biological effects in a variety of cell types, including neurons and glia in the CNS. In oligodendrocytes (OLs), FGF-2 elicits a number of specific responses depending on their stage of development. During OL development in vitro, the expressions of FGF-receptor mRNAs are differentially regulated. R1 mRNA increases gradually along with OL maturation, whereas R3 and R2 mRNAs peak at the OL progenitor and mature OL stages, respectively, suggesting a differential roles of these receptors in OL development. R3 is also expressed by astrocytes. To determine the roles of R3 during OL development and myelination in vivo, we have employed mice lacking functional R3 (R3-null). During myelination (P7, P9, P13), reduced numbers of differentiated OLs and myelinated fibers are observed in the brains of R3 null mice compared to wild type mice. Moreover, up-regulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes is found in the cerebellum and spinal cord of R3 null mutants. However, the number of OL progenitors (PDGF-Ra), BrdU incorporation, and cell survival (TUNEL assay) are all comparable, and R3-null myelin in adult mice appears to be similar to that of wild type mice. In mixed primary cultures of post-natal R3 null brain (that have few if any neurons), OLs exhibit a delay in differentiation similar to that observed in vivo. In summary, our results elucidate regulatory roles of FGF-R3 in mouse brain, in particular with regard to its roles in the timing of OL maturation and myelin formation (MS Society, Canada, NIH NS38878-03). [source] Antioxidant activity of hydrolysates derived from porcine plasmaJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 11 2009Xueming Xu Abstract BACKGROUND: In China alone, more than 400 million pigs are slaughtered each year to provide meat. Porcine blood is rich in proteins but is usually discarded, which can cause environmental contamination. Recovering porcine blood and converting it to high-value products is therefore economically and environmentally desirable. However, very little information on antioxidant peptides from porcine blood by-products is currently available. In this study the antioxidant properties of porcine plasma hydrolysates PPE and PPA prepared with pepsin and papain respectively were investigated. RESULTS: Both PPE and PPA showed excellent antioxidant activity in a linoleic acid system (AL) compared with ,-tocopherol (VE) at the same concentration (P < 0.01). Their activities were respectively 3.33 and 1.83 times stronger than that of VE at a concentration of 10 µg mL,1 and 5.4 and 5.6 times stronger at 100 µg mL,1. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity (DRSA) reached 48.4 and 43.1% for PPE and PPA respectively at 500 µg mL,1. The ferrous ion-chelating power (FICP) of PPE at 100 µg mL,1 was about 1.5 times stronger than that of 10 µmol L,1 ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) in a 50 µmol L,1 Fe2+ system, whereas the FICP of PPA at 100 µg mL,1 was 61% that of 10 µmol L,1 EDTA. Furthermore, PPE was separated on Resource 15RPC and Superdex peptide 10/300GL columns, and the antioxidant activity of the peptides and its relationship to their polarity and molecular weight (MW) were analysed. The hydrolysate was divided into four groups (R1,R4) with hydrophobicities ranging from weak to strong by Resource 15RPC, while it was divided into three groups (S1, MW 7,12 kDa; S2, MW 3,7 kDa; S3, MW 1,3 kDa) by Superdex peptide 10/300GL. CONCLUSION: The results showed that AL was significantly and positively correlated with the relative amounts of R1, S2 and S3 and that DRSA was dependent on R3 and S1. The fractions of PPE were not responsible for FICP. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Investigation of the effect of sumac extract and BHT addition on the quality of sucuk (Turkish dry-fermented sausage)JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 5 2006Hüseyin Bozkurt Abstract The effect of sumac extract and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) addition on the quality (pH, colour, biogenic amine, TBARS values and sensory attributes) of sucuk (Turkish dry-fermented sausage) were investigated during the ripening period. Addition of BHT decreased the TBARS value by about 23.7%, whereas sumac extract decreased it by 42.0%. Sumac extract decreased (P < 0.05) putrescine formation more than BHT addition. However, no significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed in histamine formation for both the sumac extract and BHT-added recipe. The highest tyramine concentration was observed in a control recipe (R1) prepared without any antioxidants, and the lowest was in the sumac extract-added recipe (R3) with mean values of about 96.62 and 63.17 mg kg,1, respectively. The control recipe (R1) was found to be the worst (P < 0.05) sample with respect to overall sensory quality and addition of either sumac extract or BHT increased (P < 0.05) the overall sensory quality of sucuk. The pH and colour attributes of sucuk were not significantly different (P > 0.05) between the addition of sumac extract and BHT. This study demonstrated that sumac extract had more effect on the quality of sucuk during the ripening period, hence it could be easily utilised in sucuk to enhance quality. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Retreatment with interferon and ribavirin vs interferon alone according to viraemia in interferon responder-relapser hepatitis C patients: a prospective multicentre randomized controlled studyJOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 3 2003I. Portal Summary., Low pretreatment viral load has consistently been shown to be an independent predictor of sustained response (SR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. We assessed the efficacy of interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin vs IFN alone in low viraemic patients (<2 millions copies/mL) who had relapsed to a previous course of IFN and the efficacy of 24 vs 48 week combination therapy in high viraemic patients. Two hundred and ninety-seven patients were randomly assigned to one of the four regimens after stratification on pretreatment viral load. All patients received IFN- ,2b (6 million units thrice weekly for 24 weeks and 3 million units thrice weekly for 24 weeks). Patients with low viraemia received either IFN- ,2b alone for 48 weeks (R1: 42 patients) or IFN- ,2b plus ribavirin (600 mg/day) for 24 weeks and IFN- ,2b alone for the next 24 weeks (R2: 48 patients). Patients with high viral load received either IFN- ,2b plus ribavirin for 24 weeks and then IFN- ,2b alone for the next 24 weeks (R3: 104 patients) or IFN- ,2b plus ribavirin for 48 weeks (R4: 103 patients). In low viraemic patients the rate of SR was 37.7% in group R1 and 59.6% in group R2 (P < 0.05). In high viraemic patients, the rate of SR was 44.7% in group R3 and 51.4% in group R4 (P: NS). Thirty-one patients discontinued treatment (10.4%) without difference regarding treatment regimen. In the regimen using ribavirin we found no difference in terms of SR between patients receiving a dose of ribavirin below 10.6 mg/kg/day (55%) or over 10.6 mg/kg/day (58%). Histological improvement occurred in 70.2% of patients regardless of the regimen. Logistic regression showed that genotype 2 and 3, Knodell score <6 and alanine aminotransferase pretreatment level >3 × upper limit of normal were significantly and independently correlated with SR. In low viraemic patients who relapsed to a previous IFN treatment, combination therapy using high-dose IFN and low-dose ribavirin is better than high-dose IFN alone. In high viraemic patients there was no benefit in increasing the duration of combination therapy from 24 to 48 weeks. In this study, it was found that low dose of ribavirin can be used safely and there is no effect of ribavirin dose on SR. [source] Follow-up to a Federally Qualified Health Center and Subsequent Emergency Department UtilizationACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 1 2010Tara M. Scherer MD Abstract Objectives:, Determine if 1) proximity of referral to a federally qualified health center (FQHC) improves initial follow-up rates for discharged emergency patients, 2) improved initial follow-up rates are associated with improved rates for an "ongoing relationship" with the FQHC, and 3) an ongoing relationship with an FQHC is associated with decreased subsequent emergency department (ED) utilization over a 2-year follow-up period. Methods:, An expedited referral system was initiated just prior to January 2004 for discharged ED patients referred to an FQHC. Referral categories were as follows: R1 = next-day; R2 = 2 to 7 days; R3 = 2 to 3 weeks; and R4 = follow-up as needed. The FQHC database for 2004,2006 was merged with the ED database from 2004 through 2006. The FQHC database contained all ED referrals, the referral category, whether the patient kept his or her initial ED referral appointment, all subsequent scheduled clinic appointments, and whether the patient kept any of the subsequent scheduled appointments. We compared initial referral follow-up rates and subsequent scheduled visits to the FQHC for each referral category, over a 2-year follow-up period. We evaluated the effects of age, sex, marital status, insurance status, initial triage score, race, comorbidities, and number of prescription medications on initial follow-up, and subsequent kept appointments with the FQHC. We defined an "ongoing relationship" as one or more kept scheduled appointments annually. Finally, we compared the number of subsequent ED visits over the follow-up period between patients who maintained an ongoing relationship with the FQHC and those who did not, before and after correcting for the demographic and clinical factors. Results:, There were 520 referrals over the study period. Follow-up rates ranged from 37.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 13.5% to 69.6%) for R1 to 9.0% (95% CI = 4.4% to 17.0%) for R4. The overall ongoing relationship rate was 7.1% (95% CI = 5.2% to 9.7%) and had weak association with temporal proximity of referral. On bivariate analysis, older age, female sex, white race, one or more comorbidities, and three or more medications were associated with increased rates of initial follow-up. These factors (with the exception of race) were also associated with increased rates of developing an ongoing relationship. Patients with an ongoing relationship with the FQHC had more repeat ED visits over the study period than did patients without (3.6 vs. 1.7, p = 0.003). However, this difference was no longer evident after adjusting for age, race, comorbidities, and medication usage. Conclusions:, Overall patient follow-up to an FQHC was low, but increased with next-day or same-week referral. The ongoing relationship rate was low, but increased with temporal proximity of ED referral. Increased comorbidities and medication usage were significantly associated with increased initial follow-up rates, development of an ongoing relationship, and subsequent ED utilization. Patients with an ongoing relationship with the FQHC had higher ED utilization over the 2-year follow-up period, likely due to a higher rate of comorbidities. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:55,62 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine [source] Cultivation of low-temperature (15°C), anaerobic, wastewater treatment granulesLETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009J. O'Reilly Abstract Aims:, Anaerobic sludge granules underpin high-rate waste-to-energy bioreactors. Granulation is a microbiological phenomenon involving the self-immobilization of several trophic groups. Low-temperature anaerobic digestion of wastes is of intense interest because of the economic advantages of unheated bioenergy production technologies. However, low-temperature granulation of anaerobic sludge has not yet been demonstrated. The aims of this study were to (i) investigate the feasibility of anaerobic sludge granulation in cold (15°C) bioreactors and (ii) observe the development of methanogenic activity and microbial community structure in developing cold granules. Methods and Results:, One mesophilic (R1; 37°C) and two low-temperature (R2 and R3, 15°C) laboratory-scale, expanded granular sludge bed bioreactors were seeded with crushed (diameter <0·4 mm) granules and were fed a glucose-based wastewater for 194 days. Bioreactor performance was assessed by chemical oxygen demand removal, biogas production, granule growth and temporal methanogenic activity. Granulation was observed in R2 and R3 (up to 33% of the sludge). Elevated hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was observed in psychrophilically cultivated biomass, but acetoclastic methanogenic activity was also retained. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of archaeal 16S rRNA gene fragments indicated that a distinct community was associated with developing and mature granules in the low-temperature (LT) bioreactors. Conclusions:, Granulation was observed at 15°C in anaerobic bioreactors and was associated with H2/CO2 -mediated methanogenesis and distinct community structure development. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Granulation underpins high-rate anaerobic waste treatment bioreactors. Most LT bioreactor trials have employed mesophilic seed sludge, and granulation <20°C was not previously documented. [source] The role of cellular polysaccharides in the formation and stability of aerobic granulesLETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2001J.-H. Tay Aims:,This paper attempts to investigate the role of cellular polysaccharides in the formation and stability of aerobic granules. Methods and Results:,Three column sequential aerobic sludge blanket reactors (R1, R2 and R3) were operated at a superficial air upflow velocity of 0·3 cm s,1, 1·2 cm s,1 and 2·4 cm s,1, respectively. Aerobic granules appeared at cycle 42 in R2 and R3 with a mean size of 0·37 mm in R2 and 0·35 mm in R3, however, aerobic granulation was not observed in R1. After the formation of aerobic granules, the sludge volume index (SVI) decreased to 55 ml g,1 in R2 and 46 ml g,1 in R3. Aerobic granulation was concurrent with a sharp increase of cellular polysaccharides normalized to cellular proteins, which increased from 5·7 to 13·0 mg per mg proteins in R2, and 7·5,13·9 mg per mg protein in R3. The content of polysaccharides in aerobic granules was 2,3 times higher than that in the bioflocci cultivated in R1. The disappearance of aerobic granules in R2 was tightly coupled to a drop in cellular polysaccharides. After the reappearance of bioflocci in R2, the content of cellular polysaccharides were found to be restored to the level observed in R1. Conclusions:,It appears that the production of cellular polysaccharides could be stimulated by hydrodynamic shear force and contributes to the formation and stability of aerobic granules. Significance and Impact of the Study:,It is expected that this study would provide useful information for better understanding the mechanisms of aerobic granulation. [source] Identification of the boundary surface of an interstellar cloud from a measurement of the photon far-fieldMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 6 2004A. Belleni-Morante Abstract We study an inverse problem for photon transport in a host medium (e.g. an interstellar cloud), that occupies a bounded and strictly convex region ,,R3. Under the assumption that the cross-sections and the sources are known, we identify the boundary surface , = ,,(within a suitable family F of surfaces), provided that one value of the photon number density is measured at some given location far from ,. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Global existence for the Vlasov,Darwin system in ,3 for small initial dataMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 4 2003Saļd Benachour We prove the global existence of weak solutions to the Vlasov,Darwin system in R3 for small initial data. The Vlasov,Darwin system is an approximation of the Vlasov,Maxwell model which is valid when the characteristic speed of the particles is smaller than the light velocity, but not too small. In contrast to the Vlasov,Maxwell system, the total energy conservation does not provide an L2-bound on the transverse part of the electric field. This difficulty may be overcome by exploiting the underlying elliptic structure of the Darwin equations under a smallness assumption on the initial data. We finally investigate the convergence of the Vlasov,Darwin system towards the Vlasov,Poisson system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Non-classical boundary value problems of elastostatics and hydrostatics on Lipschitz domainsMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 11 2001Dorina Mitrea Abstract The main goal of this paper is to undertake a systematic study of the Stokes and Lamé systems with non-classical boundary conditions in arbitrary Lipschitz subdomains of R3. These include prescribing ,n, u, in concert with n×curl u on the boundary of the domain in question. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Morphology and ultrastructure of the female accessory sex glands in various crickets (Orthoptera, Saltatoria, Gryllidae)MITTEILUNGEN AUS DEM MUSEUM FUER NATURKUNDE IN BERLIN-DEUTSCHE ENTOMOLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT, Issue 2 2002Robert Sturm Abstract In the present study, the morphology and ultrastructure of the accessory sex glands in females of the three cricket species Teleogryllus commodus, Gryllus bimaculatus, and Gryllus assimilis were subject to a detailed comparison. Within the observed crickets, the pairy glands are uniformly located in the 6th and 7th abdominal segment, joining the genital chamber lateral to the terminal papilla. Each gland is composed of an apical region (R3), consisting of the end tubules which produce the main amount of secretion, a middle region (R2) storing and leading the secretion to the orifice, and a basal region (R1) defining the orifice and most basal part of the gland. Concerning the size, number of ramifications, and length/width ratio, the investigated organs are marked by great variations among the species, ranging from anisometric glands (length/width < or > 1) with low number of ramifications in Teleogryllus commodus and Gryllus assimilis to nearly isometric glands with very numerous (up to 30) ramifications in Gryllus bimaculatus. The morphology of the respective glands is uniformly expressed by an epithelium composed of a basal lamina, one layer of gland cells, and a luminal, duct-less cuticular intima forming specific spines and hair-like processes. The ultrastructure of single gland cells is marked by a basal region with a large elliptic nucleus and intracellular cisternae formed by deep invaginations of the basal cell membrane. The apical part contains numerous lipid- and protein-forming compartments, mitochondria of cristae type, vesicles, and lipid drops. The apical cell surface is enlarged by forming a dense layer of microvilli. The lipophilic secretion produced by the glands is thought to be used as a lubricant in the ovipositor during egg-laying. [source] External anal sphincter responses after S3 spinal root surface electrical stimulationNEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 7 2006Giuseppe Pelliccioni Abstract Aims The aim of this study is to present the normative data of direct and reflex motor anal sphincter responses, simultaneously evoked by S3 surface electrical stimulation. By this method, it is possible to test the functional integrity of the nervous pathways activated during sacral neuromodulation (SNM). Methods Twenty healthy subjects were studied. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded by concentric needle electrode from external anal sphincter (EAS). Electrical stimulation was applied by means of a bipolar surface electrode over the S3 right or left sacral foramina. Results Direct (R1) and reflex responses (R2 and R3) were found at latencies of 6.98, 25.12, and 50.31 msec, respectively. The two first responses were recorded in all the cases; the last response is steadily recorded in 17 out of 20 subjects. Conclusions Our data can serve as reference values for future study in patients with pelvic floor dysfunction. EAS responses following S3 percutaneous electrical stimulation can represent a useful aid in the selection of candidates to SNM. Neurourol. Urodynam. 25:788,791, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||