Thermal and spectrophotometric studies of new crosslinking method for collagen matrix with glutaraldehyde acetals

Despite the many existing crosslinking procedures, glutaraldehyde (GA) is still the method of choice used in the manufacture of bioprosthesis. The major problems with GA are: (a) uncontrolled reactivity due to the chemical complexity or GA solutions; (b) toxicity due to the release of GA from polymeric crosslinks; and (c) tissue impermeabilization due to polymeric and heterogeneous crosslinks formation, partially responsible for the undesirable calcification of the bioprosthesis. A new method of crosslinking glutaraldehyde acetals has been developed with GA in acid ethanolic solution, and after the distribution inside de matrix, GA is released to crosslinking. Concentrations of hydrochloride acid in ethanolic solutions between 0.1 and 0.001 mol/L with GA concentration between 0.1 and 1.0% were measured in an ultraviolet spectrophotometer to verify the presence of free aldehyde groups and polymeric compounds of GA. After these measurements, the solutions were used to crosslink bovine pericardium. The spectrophotometric results showed that GA was better protected in acetal forms for acid ethanolic solution with HCl at 0.003 mol/L and GA 1.0%(v/v). The shrinkage temperature results of bovine pericardium crosslinked with acetal solutions showed values near 85 C after the exposure to triethylamine vapors.

Predicting molecular structures: an application of the cutting angle method

The ability to predict molecular geometries has important applications in chemistry. Specific examples include the areas of protein space structure elucidation, the investigation of host–guest interactions, the understanding of properties of superconductors and of zeolites. This prediction of molecular geometries often depends on finding the global minimum or maximum of a function such as the potential energy. In this paper, we consider several well-known molecular conformation problems to which we apply a new method of deterministic global optimization called the cutting angle method. We demonstrate that this method is competitive with other global optimization techniques for these molecular conformation problems.

A new method for locating the global optimum : application of the cutting angle method to molecular structure prediction

Many problems in chemistry depend on the ability to identify the global minimum or maximum of a function. Examples include applications in chemometrics, optimization of reaction or operating conditions, and non-linear least-squares analysis. This paper presents the results of the application of a new method of deterministic global optimization, called the cutting angle method (CAM), as applied to the prediction of molecular geometries. CAM is shown to be competitive with other global optimization techniques for several benchmark molecular conformation problem. CAM is a general method that can also be applied to other computational problems involving global minima, global maxima or finding the roots of nonlinear equations.

Missionaries, music and method - dissemination of tonic sol-fa in Asia-Pacific countries during the nineteenth century

The Tonic Sol-fa method of teaching choral singing and its system of music notation was developed in England by John Curwen and propagated throughout the British Isles as a means of both enhancing Christian worship and achieving social reform. Tonic Sol-fa may be identified as an entirely foreign musical practice introduced to indigenous people in many British colonies and in other overseas countries during the nineteenth century as an instrument of Christian evangelism as well as of European cultural imposition. Nevertheless, indigenous communities were introduced to other aspects of European musical culture including a choral repertoire consisting of four-part hymnody and masterworks by Handel, Bach, Mozart, etc which sometimes resulted in the emergence of a school of indigenous composers writing in Tonic Sol-fa notation and using the tonal harmonic style. The result has been that in several countries-such as South Africa and Fiji for example-Tonic Sol-fa has been so fully assimilated into the ethnic culture that it has been "indigenized" and may now be said to represent a significant exogenous aspect of the musical culture in these countries.

Tonic Sol-fa was most commonly introduced to countries in the Asia-Pacific Region -as in Africa - by Christian missionaries who sought to exploit the attraction of hymns, particularly when sung in four-part harmony, as a means of evangelizing indigenous people who frequently regarded this aspect of missionary activity as a form of "magic". In particular, the Tonic Sol-fa method and notation gained a significant foothold in what were referred to as the South Sea Islands--especially in Fiji where today, the Fijian Hymn Book (1985 edition) is notated exclusively in Tonic Sol-fa. The vast majority of the Fijians are literate in Tonic Sol-fa notation and congregational singing in four parts is the norm in Fijian churches.

This paper will draw on data from nineteenth century journal sources, particularly The Tonic Sol-fa Reporter (1853-1888) and The Musical Herald (1889-1920), and will document the introduction and dissemination of Tonic Sol-fa in several Asia-Pacific countries where, unlike Australia and New Zealand, the indigenous population has maintained its own cultural and demographic predominance. Countries to be considered will include India, China (including Hong Kong), and Pacific Island nations. There will also be a consideration of the contemporary usage and applications of Tonic Sol-fa in the region, with specific reference to Fiji. It will be argued that countries where Tonic Sol-fa notation has become the norm should resist any external pressure to transfer to the standard staff notation merely for the sake of conformity. In the case of Fiji, almost universal music literacy has been achieved through Tonic Sol-fa and this should be recognized as an enviable social and cultural asset.

Advances in self-engagement research method : the case of disadvantaged female migrant entrepreneurs in Auckland, New Zealand

The “self-engagement research method” is a set of research procedures, which aims to search latent (hidden) attitudes within a given group of individuals, such as disadvantaged women. This method also examines the research participants practises through an intensive involvement in the process of research. Research on self-regulation has also tended to emphasize having personal control over an event as the primary determinant of whether individuals can effectively monitor and alter their behaviour to attain a desired end state (W. Britt, 1999, 699).

The “self-engagement procedure” originated from fieldwork of social research, especially from the present author’s experiences as a researcher and practitioner on women’s empowerment under the micro-finance programme in Women’s Empowerment Foundation, Auckland and in Grameen Bank Micro-finance programme (Nobel prize winner Professor Mohammed Yunus on poverty reduction through micro-finance).

This technique is based on the oft-cited phenomenon of discrepancies between what research Participants say what they often believe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participant_observation). This follows on Gabriel (1991:123-126) namely that participant observation is a useful technique for gaining insight into facts and is also useful for the rural poor or marginal groups, who are unable to communicate their problems. The problem is that since the 1980s, some anthropologists and the social scientists have questioned the degree to which participant observation can give truthful insight into the minds of other people (Geertz, Clifford,1984 & Rosaldo, Renato, 1986).

This paper discusses the difficulties found in using participant observation to discover discrepancies between what participants say and what they really believe. It also discusses self-engagement research procedures which the author has developed through the long-term research experiences with disadvantaged groups of women in Auckland. These procedures discover the discrepancies between what participants say and what is in their mind.

These self-engagement procedures were used from the beginning of the fieldwork to locate research areas and get access to the study settings. It was found there are gaps in this method. For example, there are no systematic processes in which researchers can gain access into the community or be welcomed by research participants. It was also difficult to discover the insight into the facts that cause disempowerment and how micro-finance impacts everyday life on research participants. McCracken (1988 cited in Mertens, 1998:321) argued that researchers collect data directly through observation, but it is not possible to imitate, repeat involvement in the experiences of research participants.

This research draws on and extends the long traditional of participant observation in social research. In field research practises, participant observation was used in different ways for gaining insight into different aspects. A good example is the use and mis-use of the “field journal” in this type of research. The journal typically explained and analysed experiences and understanding of participant observation, in-depth interviews and group discussions on the impact of micro-finance on women’s lives. However, researchers later realised that there were gaps in collected knowledge that needed to be filled. This led to “self-engagement procedures” which developed greater confidence that collected data could truly give insight into patterns of behaviour.

This paper addresses sensitive issues of women’s empowerment under the micro finance programmes and makes a contribution to the literature. The “self-engagement method” detects the “silent facts” of women’s lives. In research conducted amongst disadvantaged women in Auckland, New Zealand and Grameen Bank micro-finance programme in Bangladesh. The method of self-engagement led to better data when participants (both research and subjects) clearly perceived the purpose of the research, when participants have control over providing personal information, and when subjects can build trust with researchers. One overall lesson of this research is that research data and findings are more generalisaable and valid when the participants in the research process understand the relevancy to his/her disadvantaged position and the causes of this, and when participants perceive that it is an opportunity to voice his/her disadvantages and causes.

The “self-engagement research method” involves a variety of behavioural activities. This paper also attempts to discuss in detail, these activities. This paper attempts to discuss the process of the “self-engagement method” in a systematic way. This has been addressed in the research process, in which research participants and researchers become self-engaged to detect the reality of the impact of micro finance to empower the disadvantaged. The stages of self-engagement procedures were developed and followed throughout field research into entrepreneurial behaviour of disadvantaged women in Auckland.

Research on self-regulation has also tended to emphasize having personal control over an event as the primary determinant of whether individuals can effectively monitor and alter their behaviour to attain a desired end state (W. Britt, 1999, 699).

A suitable research method could identify the empowerment/disempowerment of a disadvantaged group of individuals. The self-engagement procedures create a process, in which research participants and researchers become ‘self-engaged’ and gain insight into facts.

Energy analysis of the construction of office buildings /by Graham J. Treloar

Buildings have a significant impact on the environment due to the energy required for the manufacture of construction materials. The method of assessing the energy embodied in a product is known as energy analysis. Detailed office building embodied energy case studies are very rare. However, there is evidence to suggest that the energy requirements for the construction phase of commercial buildings, including the energy embodied in materials, is a significant component of the life cycle energy requirements. This thesis sets out to examine the current state of energy analysis, determine the national average energy intensities < i.e. embodied energy rates < for building materials and assess the significance of using national average energy intensities for the energy analysis of a case study office building. Likely ranges of variation in the building material embodied energy rates from the national averages are estimated and the resulting distribution for total embodied energy in the case study building simulated. Strategies for improving the energy analysis methods and data are suggested. Detailed energy analysis is shown to be a useful indicative method of quantifying the energy required for the construction of buildings.

The effects of method variance within measures

Despite concern about method variance between measures as a bias in survey research, scholars have overlooked or ignored the effects of method variance within measures (i.e., covariation among items from the same scale that may be attributed to the method of measurement employed). Not only do few commonly used survey instruments reflect efforts to control for method variance, but guides to scale construction encourage researchers to implement strategies that enhance the effects of method variance within measures. In this article, we have argued that when method variance inflates relationships between questionnaire items, traditional psychometric indices overestimate the amount of true or construct variance that scales capture. Implications for survey research that uses fixed alternative questionnaire measures are delineated.

A controllable simple method for production of polymeric nanofiberous composite via single nozzle jet electrospinning

A special Micro-Nano fiberous composite structure composed of nano- and micro-scale fiber of Polycaprolactone (PCL) and Gelatin produced by using single nozzle electrospinning instrument. By controlling the solution (polymer concentration and polymer composition percent) and processing parameters of electrospinning (feed rate and electrostatic field), different portion of nano and micro fibers in the structure is achieved. This method can result a one-stage method of fabrication of Micro-Nano fiberous composite structure instead of previously used twostage process or using additional facility to produce structure near-similar to this composite structure. The resulting materials finely mingle nano- and micro fibers together, rather than simply juxtaposing them, as is commonly found in the literature. The results obtained from SEM, Flow Porosimetry, and DMA led the authors to confirm that the structure has very versatile and improved properties for many applications like cell culture scaffolds. These favourable mechanical and structural properties can provide easier opening of spaces for cell penetration to deeper levels of the scaffold and withstand to tensions during to clinical handling.

An accessible survey method: increasing the participation of people with a disability in large sample social research

The 1 in 4 Poll project seeks to increase understanding of the views and needs of people with a disability by developing an accessible survey method. It is being conducted by Deakin University in partnership with the Victorian disability service provider, Scope. To address this goal, the 1 in 4 Poll method has focused on three key strategies: an accessible Internet-based survey; use of an assisted and proxy report; and a ‘standard’ and Easy English version of the survey. A bespoke online survey design seeks to overcome the limitations in accessibility of available online survey tools. Positive evaluative comments, from respondents across a wide-range of disabilities, suggests that the combination of the three major strategies used in the 1 in 4 Poll has resulted in a valuable and accessible method of large scale surveying of people with a disability.

A computerized method for objective measurement of muscle tone

This article is concentrated on the objective computerizing method of measuring of muscle tone using compressive and decompressive deformation of superficial skeletal muscle of wrist in vivo. Four indices were highly recommended for complex analysis of muscle tone.

Improving communication when seeking informed consent: a randomised controlled study of a computer-based method for providing information to prospective clinical trial participants

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy, with respect to participant understanding of information, of a computer-based approach to communication about complex, technical issues that commonly arise when seeking informed consent for clinical research trials. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: An open, randomised controlled study of 60 patients with diabetes mellitus, aged 27-70 years, recruited between August 2006 and October 2007 from the Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Alfred Hospital and Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne. INTERVENTION: Participants were asked to read information about a mock study via a computer-based presentation (n = 30) or a conventional paper-based information statement (n = 30). The computer-based presentation contained visual aids, including diagrams, video, hyperlinks and quiz pages. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Understanding of information as assessed by quantitative and qualitative means. RESULTS: Assessment scores used to measure level of understanding were significantly higher in the group that completed the computer-based task than the group that completed the paper-based task (82% v 73%; P = 0.005). More participants in the group that completed the computer-based task expressed interest in taking part in the mock study (23 v 17 participants; P = 0.01). Most participants from both groups preferred the idea of a computer-based presentation to the paper-based statement (21 in the computer-based task group, 18 in the paper-based task group). CONCLUSIONS: A computer-based method of providing information may help overcome existing deficiencies in communication about clinical research, and may reduce costs and improve efficiency in recruiting participants for clinical trials.

Root system of Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. IPR-86 Mil(e)over-capnio fertilized with nitrogen and submitted to rotational stocking

The effect of nitrogen on the root system of the species Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. IPR-86 Mil (e) over cap nio, under grazing, was evaluated. The N rates were 0; 150; 300 and 450 kg/ha. year. The root density was evaluated during pregrazing at five years of successive N application, in three depths (0-10; 10-20 and 20-40 cm) and the root growth at 7, 14, 21, and 35 days after grazing. The grazing method adopted was rotational stocking. Root length and root mass densities in pre-and post-grazing presented maximum values at rates 204, 206, 192, and 197 kg/ha of N, respectively. The root growth (in root length density) increased, on average, until 29 days after grazing at rates 0, 150, and 300 kg/ha; at 450 kg/ha N rate, the increase was linear. Independently of N rates, around 60 and 25% of IPR-86 Mil (e) over cap nio cultivar root system was concentrated in 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth, respectively.

Development of a real-time PCR method for rapid sexing of human preimplantation embryos

Genes on the X chromosome are known to be responsible for more than 200 hereditary diseases. After IVF, the simple selection of embryo sex before uterine transfer can prevent the occurrence of affected offspring among couples at risk for these genetic disorders. The aim of this investigation was to develop a rapid method of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the sexing of human embryos, and to compare it to the fluorescence in-situ hybridization technique, considered to be the gold standard. After biopsies were obtained from 40 surplus non-viable embryos for transfer, a total of 98 blastomeres were analysed. It was possible to analyse 24 embryos (60%) by both techniques, generating a total of 70 blastomeres (35 per technique), white 28 blastomeres from 16 embryos (40%) were analysed only by real-time PCR. A rapid and safe method was developed in the present study for the sexual diagnosis of a single human cell (blastomere and buccal cell) using the emerging technology of real-time PCR. (C) 2009, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanical resistance of the modified stabilization method for the tibial tuberosity advancement technique: ex vivo experimental study in dogs

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Reliability of a method for evaluating porosity in denture base resins

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)