1,362 research outputs found
Amyloid neuropathy in multiple myeloma and other plasma cell dyscrasias : a hypothesis of the pathogenesis of amyloid neuropathies
No full textThe development of amyloid neuropathy is an uncommon complication of multiple myeloma. The clinical, electrophysiological and pathological features of 3 such patients are described. The small fiber neuropathy in these 3 cases was similar to that in patients with primary amyloidosis and with the Andrade-type of familial neuropathy, and differed from the large fiber neuropathy which more commonly develops in patients with multiple myeloma. We advance the hypothesis that the absence of the blood-nerve barrier in the dorsal root and sympathetic ganglia allows the access of amyloidogenic proteins to these ganglia, and that these ganglia are the primary site of damage to the peripheral nervous system in the amyloid neuropathies
Increased Recurrence of Tuberculosis in Hiv-1-Infected Patients in Kenya
No full textThere is evidence that in human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infected patients with tuberculosis the rate of recurrence of tuberculosis is increased in those patients treated with a standard thiacetazone-containing regimen. To assess the impact of HIV-1 on tuberculosis in Kenya, patients with tuberculosis were studied prospectively. After treatment with either a standard thiacetazone plus isoniazid regimen or a short-course thiacetazone-containing regimen, overall recurrence rate of tuberculosis was 34 times greater in 58 HIV-1-positive patients than in 138 HIV-1-negative patients (adjusted rate ratio 33·8, 95% Cl 4·3-264). Recurrence in the HIV-1-positive group was strongly associated with a cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction due to thiacetazone during initial treatment (rate ratio 13·2, 95% Cl 3·1-56·2). In all patients with a cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction ethambutol was substituted for thiacetazone. No significant association was found between recurrence among HIV-1-positive patients and initial resistance, initial treatment regimen, a diagnosis of AIDS (WHO definition), or poor compliance. DNA fingerprinting suggested that both relapse and new infection may have produced recurrence of tuberculosis. In patients who had a cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction, increased recurrence rate may have been related to interruption of treatment, subsequent poor compliance, or more advanced immunosuppression. Alternatively, a change to the combination of ethambutol and isoniazid in the continuation phase for 11 months only may not be adequat
Biogas enhancement with membranes
Get PDFBiogas is generated during anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge at wastewater treatment
works (WWTW) and consists of approximately 50-70 % methane (CH4) balanced primarily by carbon
dioxide (CO2). It is commonly used directly as a fuel gas for the renewable generation of electricity
on-site by combined heat and power (CHP) engines. However, as a result of governmental
incentivisation, biogas possesses a greater value when applied to the national gas grid as a natural
gas substitute. However, this requires enhancement of the CH4 content to that comparable to
natural gas by selective removal of CO2; a process known as biogas upgrading.
This thesis explores the potential of hydrophobic micro-porous hollow fibre membrane
contactors (HFMCs) to biogas upgrading. HFMCs allow non-dispersive contact between the biogas
and a liquid solvent for the preferential absorption of CO2, which is conventionally facilitated by
packed-column gas scrubbing technology. However, recent gas absorption literature has
demonstrated many practical and operational advantages of HFMCs, which suggests they may be
effective for biogas upgrading at WWTW.
In this thesis, HFMCs were used to explore the mechanism and controllability of the
undesirable co-absorption of CH4, known as methane slip. This was found to be attributable to the
phase limiting mass transfer, with liquid-limited physical absorption in water exhibited 5.2 % slip
whereas gas-limited chemical absorption displayed just 0.1 %. Ammonia-rich wastewaters were
investigated as sustainable chemical absorbents using HFMCs and exhibited comparable chemically
enhanced absorption to analogue synthetic ammonia solutions. The recovery of the subsequent
reaction product (ammonium bicarbonate) by crystallisation facilitated by the membrane was also
examined. The potential of this approach was summarised within two hypothetical wastewater
flowsheets, where upgrading using a return liquor absorbent acts as a return liquor treatment and where ion exchange allows 100 % application of wastewater derived ammonia to biogas upgrading.
These both offered potential economic advantages versus conventional flowsheets with 100 %
biogas application to CHP
Polarization of PPD-specific T-cell response of patients with tuberculosis from Th0 to Th1 profile after successful antimycobacterial therapy or in vitro conditioning with interferon-alpha or interleukin-12.
No full textThe T helper (Th) 1/Th2 balance in the T-lymphocyte response to purified protein derivative (PPD) was evaluated at the clonal level in six Italian and five Gambian patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) before and after antimycobacterial therapy, as well as in five Gambian and four Italian healthy immune control subjects. In untreated patients, most PPD-specific clones derived from either peripheral blood or pleural effusions showed a Th0 cytokine profile (production of both interferon [IFN]-gamma and interleukin [IL]-4/IL-5). After 6 mo of therapy and clinical healing, most PPD-specific clones showed a polarized Th1 profile (production of IFN-gamma but not IL-4/IL-5) in both Italian and Gambian patients. The Th1 polarization was less marked in Gambian than in Italian patients and failed to occur in another group of four Italian patients who experienced treatment failure. The cytokine profile observed after successful therapy in patients with TB was similar to that found in healthy control subjects. T-cell clones of undefined specificity generated from PPD-stimulated cultures showed a similar Th0/Th2 bias in Gambian individuals and Italian patients with treatment failure. The Th0/Th2-biased responses in Gambian patients before therapy could be modulated in vitro by IFN-alpha or IL-12, which induced a Th1 polarization of both PPD-specific and bystander T cells. Our data show that active TB associates with a predominant Th0 response to mycobacterial antigens that could play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Adjunctive immunotherapy using Th1-polarizing cytokines could increase host defense against mycobacteria and accelerate healing.Comparative StudyIn VitroJournal ArticleMulticenter StudyResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
Animal personality: a comparison of standardized assays and focal observations in North American red squirrels - data, meta-data, and code
No full textThe data, meta-data, and code for whether standardized behavioural assays and focal-animal sampling measure similar behavioural types in North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in Yukon, Canada. Data obtained with funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, Northern Scientific Training Program, the National Science Foundation, University of Alberta Northern Research, American Society of Mammalogists, and Arctic Institute of North America.
Martinig, A. R., H. J. Karst, E. R. Siracusa, E. K. Studd, A. G. McAdam, B. Dantzer, D. M. Delaney, J. E. Lane, P. Pokharel, and S. Boutin. 2022. Animal personality: a comparison of standardized assays and focal observations in North American red squirrels. Animal Behaviour.</p
The monetary transmission mechanism at the euro-area level: issues and results using structural macroeconomic models
Get PDFThis paper addresses some of the issues faced by macroeconomic model builders in analysing the monetary transmission mechanism. These include the sensitivity of the policy simulation results to changes in the monetary and fiscal policy rule and the introduction of forward-looking behaviour in the model. To illustrate the importance of these issues the paper reports the results of variant monetary policy simulations at the euro-area level using the AWM and NiGEM models JEL Classification: C50, C52, E5euro area, macro models, monetary transmission mechanism
Active tuberculosis in Africa is associated with reduced Th1 and increased Th2 activity in vivo
No full textNote on symbolic powers and going down
No full textFor primes
P
⊆
Q
P \subseteq Q
of a Noetherian ring
R
R
, we consider when, for all
k
≥
1
k \geq 1
, there is an
m
m
with
P
(
m
)
⊆
Q
(
k
)
{P^{(m)}} \subseteq {Q^{(k)}}
and reprove a relevant theorem of Schenzel. If
R
R
is a domain, we consider sufficient conditions for
P
⊆
Q
P \subseteq Q
to satisfy going down for all primes
Q
Q
containing
P
P
.</p
Canada; from the lakes to the gulf: the country, its people, religions, politics, rulers, and its apparent future. Being a compendium of travel through the upper and lower provinces ... together with the legends of the lower St. Lawrence and the cities on the coast.
No full textAdvertising matter: p. 201-222.Mode of access: Internet
Medium run redux: technical change, factor shares and frictions in the euro area
Get PDFWe develop a framework for analyzing “medium-run” departures from balanced growth, and apply it to the economies of continental Europe. A time-varying factor-augmenting production function (mimicking “directed” technical change) with a below-unitary substitution elasticity coupled with supporting short-run factor demands (and price setting) is shown to account for the observed dynamics of factor incomes shares, capital deepening and the capital-output ratio. Based on careful data accounting, we also identify a rising mark-up, which we ascribe to the rise of Services. The balanced growth path emerges as a special (and testable) case of our framework, as do existing strands of medium-run debates. JEL Classification: C22, E23, E25, O30, O51adjustment costs, Effective Labor Hours, Elasticity of Substitution, euro area, Factor-Augmenting Technical Progress, Income Distribution, Medium Run, productivity
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