Roles of fibroblast growth factors in the inner ear

The basic biology of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors and their splice variants is first reviewed, followed by a review of the known roles of FGFs in the inner ear. They include induction of the otocyst by FGF19, followed by FGF3 in further development of the otocyst. In later development, FGF3 or FGF10 acting on FGF receptor 2b is likely to be involved in development of the walls of the cochlear spaces, while FGF receptor 3 is involved in differentiation of the pillar cells of the organ of Corti. FGF1 and FGF2 act as trophic factors for the developing cochlear nerve fibres. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Aerosolization of protein solutions using thermal inkjet technology

Vapotronics Inc. is developing the thermal inkjet (TIJ) technology used extensively in the printer industry to create a digital aerosol inhaler for the inhalation of therapeutics for local and systemic delivery. The operation of thermal inkjet printers requires generation of high temperatures and vaporization of the liquid formulation to effect droplet ejection. A study was conducted to develop formulations that would permit the generation of aerosols of therapeutic proteins without damage to the inkjet system or degradation of the proteins. Two proteins, human growth hormone and insulin, were formulated and aerosolized. The aerosol was collected and subjected to assays to compare the physicochemical and biological activities of these proteins before and after aerosolization. In each case, there was no significant changes to the proteins as a result of the aerosolization, providing evidence that TIJ can be used for aerosolizing solutions of protein therapeutics.

Incidence, characteristics, and predictive factors for dysphagia after pediatric traumatic brain injury

Objective: (1) To establish an incidence figure for dysphagia in a population of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases; (2) to provide descriptive data on the admitting characteristics, patterns of resolution, and outcomes of children with and without dysphagia after TBI; and (3) to identify any factors present at admission that may predict dysphagia. Participants: A total of 1, 145 children consecutively admitted to an acute care setting for traumatic brain injury between July 1995 and July 2000. Main outcome measure: Medical parameters relating to dysphagia based on medical chart review. Results: (1) Dysphagia incidence figure of 5.3% across all pediatric head injury admissions. Incidence figures of 68% for severe TBI, 15% for moderate TBI, and only 1% for mild brain injury. (2) Statistically significant differences were found between the dysphagic and nondysphagic subgroups on the variables of length of stay, length of ventilation, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), computed tomography classification, duration of speech pathology intervention, supplemental feeding duration, duration until initiation of oral intake (DIOF), duration to total oral intake (DTOF), and period of time from the initiation of intake until achievement of total oral intake (DI-TOF). (3) Significant predictive factors for dysphagia included GCS < 8.5 and a ventilation period in excess of 1.5 days. Conclusion: The provision of incidence data and predictive factors for dysphagia will enable clinicians in acute care settings to allocate resources necessary to deal with the predicted number of dysphagia cases in a pediatric population, and assist in predicting patients who are at risk for dysphagia following TBI. Early detection of patients with swallowing dysfunction will be aided by these data, in turn helping to facilitate effective medical and speech pathology intervention via assisting the reduction of medical complications such as aspiration pneumonia.

Cognitive style factors affecting database query performance

As end-user computing becomes more pervasive, an organization's success increasingly depends on the ability of end-users, usually in managerial positions, to extract appropriate data from both internal and external sources. Many of these data sources include or are derived from the organization's accounting information systems. Managerial end-users with different personal characteristics and approaches are likely to compose queries of differing levels of accuracy when searching the data contained within these accounting information systems. This research investigates how cognitive style elements of personality influence managerial end-user performance in database querying tasks. A laboratory experiment was conducted in which participants generated queries to retrieve information from an accounting information system to satisfy typical information requirements. The experiment investigated the influence of personality on the accuracy of queries of varying degrees of complexity. Relying on the Myers–Briggs personality instrument, results show that perceiving individuals (as opposed to judging individuals) who rely on intuition (as opposed to sensing) composed queries more accurately. As expected, query complexity and academic performance also explain the success of data extraction tasks.

Factorizations of the complete graph into C-5-factors and 1-factors

In this paper, we show that K-10n can be factored into alpha C-5-factors and beta 1-factors for all non-negative integers alpha and beta satisfying 2alpha + beta = 10(n) - 1.

Estimates of global and regional potential health gains from reducing multiple major risk factors

Background Estimates of the disease burden due to multiple risk factors can show the potential gain from combined preventive measures. But few such investigations have been attempted, and none on a global scale. Our aim was to estimate the potential health benefits from removal of multiple major risk factors. Methods We assessed the burden of disease and injury attributable to the joint effects of 20 selected leading risk factors in 14 epidemiological subregions of the world. We estimated population attributable fractions, defined as the proportional reduction in disease or mortality that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to an alternative level, from data for risk factor prevalence and hazard size. For every disease, we estimated joint population attributable fractions, for multiple risk factors, by age and sex, from the direct contributions of individual risk factors. To obtain the direct hazards, we reviewed publications and re-analysed cohort data to account for that part of hazard that is mediated through other risks. Results Globally, an estimated 47% of premature deaths and 39% of total disease burden in 2000 resulted from the joint effects of the risk factors considered. These risks caused a substantial proportion of important diseases, including diarrhoea (92%-94%), lower respiratory infections (55-62%), lung cancer (72%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (60%), ischaemic heart disease (83-89%), and stroke (70-76%). Removal of these risks would have increased global healthy life expectancy by 9.3 years (17%) ranging from 4.4 years (6%) in the developed countries of the western Pacific to 16.1 years (43%) in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Removal of major risk factors would not only increase healthy life expectancy in every region, but also reduce some of the differences between regions, The potential for disease prevention and health gain from tackling major known risks simultaneously would be substantial.

Genetic and environmental risk factors and their interactions for Parkinson's disease in a Chinese population

The interaction between genetic and environmental factors for PD was examined in a Chinese population. It was found that although the intron 2 MAOB (GT)(n) repeat polymorphism was not associated with PID in the population, a relationship might have been masked by the protective effect of tea drinking. In individuals who did not drink tea (<1 cup/day), the possession of short length less than or equal to 178 bp (GT), alleles conferred a borderline significant increased risk for PD (adjusted OR = 1.47; C.l. = 1.03-2. 1). As the extent of tea consumption increased, the association between the less than or equal to178 bp allele and PD disappeared. This result suggests that the MAOB gene may be associated with PD in Chinese if the putative protective effect of tea drinking is taken into account. The significance of this finding is unclear as the study may be limited because of its marginal significance and limited numbers. However, it does demonstrate the importance of considering putative positive and negative environmental risk factors in any examination of genetic risk factors for PD. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Activation energy distribution of thermal annealing of a bituminous coal

A bituminous coal was pyrolyzed in a nitrogen stream in an entrained flow reactor at various temperatures from 700 to 1475 degreesC. Char samples were collected at different positions along the reactor. Each collected sample was oxidized nonisothermally in a TGA for reactivity determination. The reactivity of the coal char was found to decrease rapidly with residence time until 0.5 s, after which it decreased only slightly. On the bases of the reactivity data at various temperatures, a new approach was utilized to obtaining the true activation energy distribution function for thermal annealing without the assumption of any distribution function form or a constant preexponential factor. It appears that the true activation energy distribution function consists of two separate parts corresponding to different temperature ranges, suggesting different mechanisms in different temperature ranges. Partially burnt coal chars were also collected along the reactor when the coal was oxidized in air at various temperatures from 700 to 1475 degreesC. The collected samples were analyzed for the residual carbon content and the specific reaction rate was estimated. The characteristic time of thermal deactivation was compared with that of oxidation under realistic conditions. The characteristic times were found to be close to each other, indicating the importance of thermal deactivation during combustion of the coal studied.

An investigation of the thermal and tensile properties of PFA following γ-radiolysis

For some applications for fluoropolymers they must be subjected to high-energy radiation, e.g., when they are grafted with styrene using an irradiation method to produce fuel cell membranes or matrix supports for combinatorial chemistry. In some of these applications they may be subjected to mechanical stress or elevated temperature, so it is important to elucidate the effects of the radiolysis on these properties. In the present work the effect of gamma-radiolysis on the glass transition, melting behavior, and thermal stability of PFA has been studied as well as the effect of the radiolysis on the tensile properties of the polymer.

Cobertura permanente de solo com leguminosas herbáceas perenes no cultivo de bananeiras no médio Vale do Jequitinhonha

A região da Caatinga é caracterizada pelas altas temperaturas durante o ano e má distribuição das chuvas. Em virtude desses fatores de clima regional, tem-se a necessidade de adoção por práticas que elevem à eficiência e sustentabilidade agrícola local. Assim, objetivou-se avaliar a aptidão de leguminosas herbáceas perenes como cobertura permanente de solo no cultivo de bananeira. Foram conduzidos três experimentos, para avaliação das leguminosas, utilizou-se um delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições, em esquema de parcelas subdivididas no espaço e para algumas variáveis, sub-subdividida no tempo, sendo: Fator “A” os dois diferentes ambientes de plantio: municípios de Itaobim/MG e Virgem da Lapa/MG; Fator “B”, nas subparcelas, dois manejos de cobertura do solo e para algumas variáveis, três manejos, constituídos pelas leguminosas: cudzu tropical (Pueraria phaseoloides) calopogônio (Calopogonium mucunoides) e solo descoberto (solo capinado); Fator “C” épocas de coleta de dados. Para avaliação das bananeiras, foram dois experimentos em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições, em esquema de parcelas sudivididas no espaço, sendo: nas parcelas, fator “A” constituído por três manejos de cobertura do solo, pelas leguminosas: cudzu tropical e o calopogônio, e solo descoberto (solo capinado); fator “B”, nas subparcelas, plantas de bananeiras em três idades morfofisiológicas (diferentes ciclos e tamanhos); Para algumas variáveis que foram submetidas a coletas periódicas, utilizou-se o esquema de parcelas subsubdivididas no tempo, acrescentando-se o fator “C”, datas das coletas nas sub-subparcelas, tendo como referência os dias após semeadura (DAS) das leguminosas. Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: taxa de cobertura do solo; potencial de deposição de folhas e a ciclagem de nutrientes; capacidade de inibição da vegetação espontânea; conservação da temperatura e promoção da retenção de umidade do solo. Também foi avaliado o crescimento vegetativo e produtividade das bananeiras. Como resultados principais, notou-se que as leguminosas proporcionaram eficiente cobertura do solo, o calopogônio apresentou o maior acúmulo de N, P, K, e Ca, via deposição de material senescente, tal como maior inibição das plantas espontâneas nos pomares de bananeiras. Essa cobertura também promoveu uma eficiente redução da temperatura do solo, possibilitando menor variação térmica nas camadas de maior concentração radicular da bananeira, e consequentemente, obtendo maior acúmulo de umidade no solo. As bananeiras cultivadas sobre coberturas vivas de solo apresentaram aumento gradativo no crescimento e peso de cacho. Os resultados reforçam o potencial uso dessas espécies na fruticultura, principalmente em regiões de severas restrições hídricas, como forma de adubação e otimização de diversos processos biológicos em seu ambiente de cultivo.

Thermal and hydrolytic degradation of electrospun fish gelatin membranes

The thermal and hydrolytic degradation of electrospun gelatin membranes cross-linked with glutaraldehyde in vapor phase has been studied. In vitro degradation of gelatin membranes was evaluated in phosphate buffer saline solution at 37 ºC. After 15 days under these conditions, a weight loss of 68 % was observed, attributed to solvation and depolymerization of the main polymeric chains. Thermal degradation kinetics of the gelatin raw material and as-spun electrospun membranes showed that the electrospinning processing conditions do not influence polymer degradation. However, for cross-linked samples a decrease in the activation energy was observed, associated with the effect of glutaraldehyde cross-linking reaction in the inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen bonds of the protein. It is also shown that the electrospinning process does not affect the formation of the helical structure of gelatin chains.

Thermal skin reference values in healthy late pregnancy

Digital thermal imaging has been employed in medicine for over 50 years. However, its use has been focused on vascular, musculoskeletal and neurological conditions, while other potential applications,such as obstetrics, have been much less explored. This paper presents a study conducted during 2011 at the Hospital of Braga on a group of healthy pregnant women in the last third of gestation. The analysis focused on characterizing typical pregnant women steady temperature profiles in specific defined regions of interest (ROI), and determining if the thermal symmetry values for late pregnant healthy women are in line with the values for non-pregnant healthy women. A temperature distribution pattern was found in the defined ROI. The obtained thermal symmetry value had a maximum of 0.370.2 1C, and there was no evidence for the influence of age (p40.05) in the observed group. The influence of the BMI requires further investigation since one ROI (P2 right) presented a p¼0.059, close to the threshold of statistical evidence in the influence of BMI. The study group presented symmetry values in line with non-pregnant reference values, but the profiles in temperature distribution are different. Assumptions can therefore now be used with higher confidence when assessing abnormalities in specific pathologic states during pregnancy using the defined ROI. This work represents a first contribution towards establishing guidelines for future research in this specific field of study.