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Selected AbstractsCognitive impairment in depressed outpatients as measured with the Dementia Checklist: a simple method for primary care and in field researchINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002M. Linden Abstract The Dementia Checklist is a 12-item dementia rating scale for physicians who, for whatever reason, cannot be specifically trained. It addresses symptoms of cognitive decline that can easily be identified, and that are typical for different stages of cognitive impairment. This allows an easy classification of the severity of dementia. In a first study, the dementia checklist was used in 937 geriatric outpatients who were treated by neuropsychiatrists for depression. All items contribute to the accuracy of measurement (Cronbach's , = 0.84). Differences in cognitive impairment depending on age (,2 = 51.7; p , 0.001) and depression (,2 = 47.6; p , 0.001) indicate external validity of the dementia checklist and 5.7% of the outpatients were rated as demented. The Dementia Checklist provides a very economical and easy-to-use assessment of cognitive decline. Copyright © 2002 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Lactic acid fermentation of food waste using integrated glucoamylase productionJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Xiao Qiang Wang Abstract Commercial enzyme is usually needed for the bioconversion of organic waste or biomass. The overall cost could be reduced very significantly if enzyme production could be integrated with its application, avoiding unnecessary steps in enzyme production (such as concentration, recovery and transportation). This investigation attempted to integrate crude glucoamylase production with lactic acid fermentation of food waste. A maximum glucoamylase activity of 1850 U g,1 was obtained with Aspergillus nigerduring solid-state fermentation (SSF) of food waste, 14.8 times more than that obtained during submerged fermentation (SmF). The optimum pH for producing glucoamylase was 4.6, and glucoamylase retained 83.5% of peak activity at pH 3.0. Without any recovery treatment, the glucoamylase produced by SSF could be used directly for lactic acid fermentation of food waste. Lactic acid concentration reached 45.5 g L,1 with the addition of the crude enzyme, 72% higher than the control. No side-effects were caused by the viable A. niger in the crude enzyme. This work successfully integrated glucoamylase production with lactic acid fermentation. The enzyme produced by SSF of food waste had sufficient activity to be used directly without any treatment. The integrated process proposed in this study was very economical and may be helpful to other bioconversions. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Comparison of a miniaturized shake-flask solubility method with automated potentiometric acid/base titrations and calculated solubilitiesJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 1 2005A. Glomme Abstract Solubility is one of the most important parameters for lead selection and optimization during drug discovery. Its determination should therefore take place as early as possible in the process. Because of the large numbers of compounds involved and the very low amounts of each compound available in the early development stage, it is highly desirable to measure the solubility with as little compound as possible and to be able to improve the throughput of the methods used. In this work, a miniaturized shake-flask method was developed and the solubility results were compared with those measured by semiautomated potentiometric acid/base titrations and computational methods for 21 poorly soluble compounds with solubilities mostly in the range 0.03,30 ,g/mL. The potentiometric method is very economical (approximately 100 ,g of a poorly soluble compound is needed) and is able to create a pH/solubility profile with one single determination, but is limited to ionizable compounds. The miniaturized shake-flask method can be used for all compounds and a wide variety of media. Its precision and throughput proved superior to the potentiometric method for very poorly soluble compounds. Up to 20 compounds a week can be studied with one set-up. Calculated solubility data seem to be sufficient for a first estimate of the solubility, but they cannot currently be used as a substitute for experimental measurements at key decision points in the development process. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 94:1,16, 2005 [source] Determining the sensitivity of abattoir surveillance for ovine Johne's diseaseAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 10 2005TL BRADLEY Objective The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity of abattoir surveillance of intestinal tract lesions for detecting ovine Johne's disease (OJD) under normal meatwork conditions. Design The design of this study was a diagnostic test validation. The three OJD inspectors were the diagnostic test and follow-up histopathological examination was used for test validation. Procedure Approximately 1200 sheep were procured from known high prevalence OJD infected farms. The sheep viscera were tagged (numbered) and then examined as they were processed on the abattoir line by three experienced meat inspectors. Their observations were independently recorded on a cassette tape. Specified sections of viscera were prepared and subjected to histopathological examination and these results were compared with the inspector diagnoses. Results The sensitivity of abattoir inspection for OJD varied between inspectors from 53 percent to 87 percent. The specificity varied from 97 to 100 percent. It appeared that the level of sensitivity for detecting disease was higher in lines of sheep where the disease was more prevalent. It also appeared that formal training was an important aspect in ensuring a high level of sensitivity. Conclusion Abattoir surveillance is a very economical and rapid method of assessing the OJD status of sheep. On the basis of these results it is reasonable to suggest that abattoir surveillance has a sensitivity of approximately 70 percent. This technique is useful as an ancillary to other testing regimes for negative assurance programs where a sheep identification system is used. [source] |