4,607 research outputs found
Suplementary_materials - Water absorption behavior of heat-treated and untreated red balau saw dust/LDPE composites: Its kinetics and effects on mechanical properties
No full textSuplementary_materials for Water absorption behavior of heat-treated and untreated red balau saw dust/LDPE composites: Its kinetics and effects on mechanical properties by Ruth A Lafia-Araga, Aziz Hassan, R Yahya, N Abd Rahman, and Fauzani Md Salleh in Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials</p
Laboratory-based, 2-year surveillance of pediatric parapneumonic pneumococcal empyema following heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine universal vaccination in madrid
No full textOriginal Studies
Laboratory-based, 2-year Surveillance of Pediatric Parapneumonic Pneumococcal Empyema Following Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Universal Vaccination in Madrid
Picazo, Juan MD*; Ruiz-Contreras, Jesus MD†; Casado-Flores, Juan MD‡; Negreira, Sagrario MD†; Del Castillo, Fernando MD§; Hernández-Sampelayo, Teresa MD¶; Bueno, Mercedes MD∥; Calvo, Cristina MD**; Ríos, Esther MD*; Méndez, Cristina MD†† on Behalf of the HERACLES Study Group
Author Information
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 30(6):p 471-474, June 2011. | DOI: 10.1097/INF.0b013e31820a418a
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Abstract
Background:
In October 2006, the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was included in the Madrid vaccination calendar, warranting serotype (St) surveillances in pneumococcal pediatric parapneumonic empyema (PPE).
Methods:
A prospective 2-year (May 2007–April 2009) laboratory-confirmed PPE surveillance was performed in 22 hospitals. All isolates (for serotyping) and culture-negative pleural fluids were sent to the reference laboratory for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.
Results:
We identified 138 PPEs. Pneumococcal etiology was confirmed in 100 cases: 38 by culture, 62 by PCR. Mean age was 44.64 ± 26.64 months; 51.0% were male. Similar pneumococcal PPE distribution was found by age: 21% to 28% in 36 months, with similar rates to St 19A in <24 months (≈30%). In ≥24–≤36 months, St 3 (21.7%), St 1 and St 5 (17.4% each) were the most frequent. No differences in demographic data, vaccination status, length of hospitalization, and outcome were found between culture-negative (PCR positive) and culture-positive PPE patients, with significantly higher percentages of St 1 and St 5 in culture-positive PPEs. Total rates of St 1 (38%), St 5 (15%), and St 7F (9%) would have been over-represented considering only positive-culture PPEs (n = 38), by increasing to 52.6% (St 1), 23.7% (St 5), and 10.5% (St 7F). The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine would cover 84.0% of Sts causing PPEs.
Conclusions:
PCR is essential for determining the specific etiology of PPE.Depto. de MedicinaFac. de MedicinaTRUEpu
Measurement of the B0–B0 oscillation frequency Δmd with the decays B0→D−π+ and B0→ J/ψK∗0
No full textThe B
0
–B
0
oscillation frequency Δmd is measured by the LHCb experiment using a dataset corresponding
to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1
of proton–proton collisions at √
s = 7 TeV, and is found to be
Δmd
=0.5156±0.0051 (stat.)±0.0033 (syst.) ps−1
. The measurement is based on results from analyses
of the decays B
0
→ D
−π
+ (D
−
→ K
+π
−π
−) and B
0
→ J/ψK
∗0
(J/ψ →μ
+μ
−,K
∗0
→ K
+π
−) and
their charge conjugated modes
Bashundhara cement in B2B sector
No full textThis internship report is submitted in a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration,2014.Cataloged from PDF version of Internship report.Includes bibliographical references (page 28).H. N. Ashiqur RahmanM. Business Administratio
Identification of serine 867 as new phosphorylation site on the GABA(B) receptor : characterization of physiological effects
No full textThe GABAB receptor is the metabotropic receptor for γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the main inhibitory
neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). The functional receptor is a
heteromer consisting of a GABAB1 and GABAB2 subunit. Two isoforms from the GABAB1 subunit exist;
the GABAB1a and the GABAB1b isoform, whose distribution pattern differs throughout the brain. GABAB
receptors manifest their inhibitory action by influencing adenylate cyclase activity, presynaptic
voltage sensitive Ca2+ channels and postsynaptic rectifying K+ channels. The large variety of
neurological and psychiatric disorders e.g. addiction, epilepsy, nociception and depression caused by
GABAB receptors dysfunctions, highlight the importance for GABAB regulatory mechanisms. One such
regulatory mechanism is phosphorylation which is the principal way to regulate GABAB receptor
functioning. In vivo, two phosphorylation sites on GABAB receptors were identified; serine 892 and
serine 783 and both sites play a role in synaptic plasticity. Phosphorylation of serine 892 prolongs
the inhibitory impact of GABAB receptors activity on the CNS and serine 783 is ascribed for its
neuroprotective benefits.
The aim of this thesis was to study the modulatory effect of phosphorylation on GABAB receptor
functioning. The identification of serine 867, a novel physiological relevant phosphorylation site on
GABAB receptors, contrasts with the previous serine sites. Indeed, the serine 867 is positioned on the
GABAB1 subunit, constrasting with the GABAB2 localisation of the serines 892 and 783. Interestingly,
serine 867 phosphorylation is mediated by CaMKII, an abundant and relevant kinase in the CNS.
Consequently, it is proposed that serine 867 phosphorylation could regulate surface availability of
GABAB receptors under neuronal activation leading to synaptic plasticity modulation
Repeated high doses of avermectins cause prolonged sterilisation, but do not kill, Onchocerca ochengi adult worms in African cattle
No full textIvermectin (Mectizan, Merck and CO. Inc.) is being widely used in the control of human onchocerciasis (Onchoverca volvulus) because of its potent effect on microfilariae. Human studies have suggested that, at the standard dose of 150 microg/kg an annual treatment schedule of ivermectin reversibly interferes with female worm fertility but is not macrofilaricidal. Because of the importance of determining whether ivermectin could be macrofilaricidal, the efficacy of high and prolonged doses of ivermectin and a related avermectin, doramectin, were investigated in cattle infected with O. ochengi
Episodic encoding is more than the sum of its parts: An fMRI investigation of multifeatural contextual encoding
No full textEpisodic memories are characterized by their contextual richness, yet little is known about how the various features comprising an episode are brought together in memory. Here we employed fMRI and a multidimensional source memory procedure to investigate processes supporting the mnemonic binding of item and contextual information. Volunteers were scanned while encoding items for which the contextual features (color and location) varied independently, allowing activity elicited at the time of study to be segregated according to whether both, one, or neither feature was successfully retrieved on a later memory test. Activity uniquely associated with successful encoding of both features was identified in the intra-parietal sulcus, a region strongly implicated in the support of attentionally mediated perceptual binding. The findings suggest that the encoding of disparate features of an episode into a common memory representation requires that the features be conjoined in a common perceptual representation when the episode is initially experienced
Estimation of interdomain flexibility of N-terminus of factor H using residual dipolar couplings
No full textCharacterization of segmental flexibility is needed to understand the biological mechanisms of the very large category of functionally diverse proteins, exemplified by the regulators of complement activation, that consist of numerous compact modules or domains linked by short, potentially flexible, sequences of amino acid residues. The use of NMR-derived residual dipolar couplings (RDCs), in magnetically aligned media, to evaluate interdomain motion is established but only for two-domain proteins. We focused on the three N-terminal domains (called CCPs or SCRs) of the important complement regulator, human factor H (i.e., FH1-3). These domains cooperate to facilitate cleavage of the key complement activation-specific protein fragment, C3b, forming iC3b that no longer participates in the complement cascade. We refined a three-dimensional solution structure of recombinant FH1-3 based on nuclear Overhauser effects and RDCs. We then employed a rudimentary series of RDC data sets, collected in media containing magnetically aligned bicelles (disklike particles formed from phospholipids) under three different conditions, to estimate interdomain motions. This circumvents a requirement of previous approaches for technically difficult collection of five independent RDC data sets. More than 80% of conformers of this predominantly extended three-domain molecule exhibit flexions of <40°. Such segmental flexibility (together with the local dynamics of the hypervariable loop within domain 3) could facilitate recognition of C3b via initial anchoring and eventual reorganization of modules to the conformation captured in the previously solved crystal structure of a C3b:FH1-4 complex.</p
Multiscale damage in co-cured composites - Perspectives from experiments and modelling
No full textBonded and co-cured composites are popular alternatives to structures joined with mechanical fasteners in aircraft but the complex and coupled damage mechanisms in the co-cured/bonded region are poorly understood, thus making the evaluation of their strength and durability difficult with current modelling strategies. This study explores the potential of interleaf inclusion in failure-prone, critical regions of co-cured composite specimens in improving the joint strength and interface fracture toughness and strives to advance the understanding of damage initiation in the co-cured region using an atomistic model. A two-pronged approach is pursued here with bench-scale experimental testing and molecular modelling in this study. Experiments are performed for mode I fracture toughness with double cantilever beam (DCB) on composite laminates with an epoxy interleaf layer. Two epoxy resins and three methods for interleaf inclusion are explored in this study; we supplement the results from DCB testing with insights from confocal microscopy on the crack tip and the interleaf layer pre- and post-testing. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations capture the cohesive interactions at the threephase interface containing the carbon fiber, the prepreg epoxy, and the interleaf epoxy. Results highlight that an interleaf layer made from partially-cured and filmed epoxy, further consolidated in the composite lay-up is the most effective way to suppress void formation, improve dispersion, and maximize cohesive interactions at the interface of co-cured composites.Aerospace Structures & Computational Mechanic
SELECTION AND REVIEW OF MEASUREMENT ITEM OF STUDENTS’ LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
No full textThe learning environment plays important roles in the cognitive, effective and social students. Reviewing the learning environment is given due attention to this day because of its importance in helping to improve learning outcomes. This study will look at the selection and review of the measurement items of learning environment factors in Technical Institutions in the country. Variables to be examined in this study are assessment, teaching approaches, learning community, learning resources, work load, the clear objectives. Respondents consisted of 455 final semester engineering students. Data were analyzed descriptively for reliability (Cronbach Alpha values) and factor analysis was used to obtain 6 factor solutions (Eigenvalues and KMO) using SPSS 17 software. Results showed that 6 factor solutions with Eigen values above 1.0. The value of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0.868> 0.6 is adequate for inter-correlation while Barlett Test was significant(Chi Square = 5962.485, p <0.05). The anti-image correlation matrix by The Measure of Sampling Adequacy (MSA) is more than the value of 0.5. Items O2, PP6, PP7, PP5, P1, SP3 and SP4 dropped based on the criteria by Hair et al (2006), where each item should exceed the value of 0.50. Total variance explained for this loading was 61.51%assessment, teaching approach, learning community, learning resources, work load, clear objectives
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