1,886 research outputs found
Evaluation of the first automated thyroglobulin assay
The aim of this study was to investigate technical and analytical performance of the first automated thyroglobulin (Tg) assay (DPC-Immulite(R); Diagnostic Products Corporation, Los Angeles, USA). In imprecision studies using several human serum pools ranging from 21 to 58 replicates, a coefficient of variation of 9.0 % was obtained at a mean Tg concentration of 0.84 ng/ml and of 6.1 % at a Tg concentration of 62.1 ng/ml. In a method comparison with a non-automated assay (BRAHMS LUMItest Tg(R), BRAHMS, Berlin, Germany) using 383 sera of 303 patients with thyroid carcinoma, regression analysis according to Passing and Bablock yielded in the following equation: Immulite Tg=1.6 x BRAHMS Tg - 0.1 ng/ml (Pearson's r=0.979). Sera obtained from 59 patients with thyroid carcinoma enabled comparative follow-up studies; in all cases qualitative agreement was found with regard to increase or decrease of serum Tg; in eight cases, however, Tg was detected with the Immulite assay but not with the BRAHMS assay. Further follow-up proved the presence of thyroid tissue in these patients. From these and further methodological data (dilution linearity, interference studies, carry-over study, high-dose hook properties, and short report time) it is concluded that the DPC-Immulite Tg assay meets the requirements of routine diagnostic use
Measurement of particle multiplicity and energy flow in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the LHCb detector
The LHC is the world’s largest and highest-energy particle collider. The LHCb experiment is one of four main experiments at the LHC. In July/August 2015, at the beginning of Run-II of the collider, the LHCb detector collected no-bias data during the so-called ‘Early Measurements’ low intensity data taking run. The analysis described in this thesis, the measurement of particle multiplicity and energy flow in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV, uses this dataset. This analysis is aimed at improving our understanding of the hadron-hadron interaction process in full and, more specifically, our knowledge of the contributions of the underlying event and multi-parton interactions to the observable final states. The data sample is split into the charged and neutral components and then further segregated into four event classes - inclusive minimum-bias, hard scattering, diffractive enriched and non-diffractive enriched. The measurement is carried out over a 2D (e×η) space within the fiducial acceptance of 2.0 < p < 1000.0 GeV/c and 2.0 < η < 5.0 and a full detector unfolding is performed. The results are presented as 1D multiplicity and energy flow distributions as a function of η and compared to four sets of theoretical predictions - Pythia 8 LHCb, Pythia 8 Monash 2013, EPOS LHC and Sibyll 2.1. It is found that the LHCb tune of the Pythia 8.212 generator is able to describe the data the best, whilst the worst performing set of theoretical predictions is found to be EPOS LHC. Overall, the description of the inclusive minimum-bias and non-diffractive enrichedeventclassesby Pythia 8.212LHCbforboththemultiplicityandenergyflowis found to match the data well, while the theoretical predictions overestimate the charged component’s multiplicity for the diffractive enriched event class and underestimate the neutral multiplicity for the neutral hard scattering event class
Bulk viscosity in F(T, TG) gravity
The present paper is devoted to exploring the effect of bulk viscosity in the context of F(T, TG) gravity. We consider a time-dependent viscosity model with a particular expression of Hubble parameter. We evaluate viscous effective equation of state parameter for three well-known F(T, TG) models. The behavior of the accelerated expanding universe is explored graphically through the viscous equation of state parameter. This parameter indicates the phantom-dominated era as well as crosses the phantom divide line for all three models. We conclude that the universe shows a transition from quintessence to phantom region in the presence of bulk viscosity.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
() Topology of unimolecular G-quadruplex adopted by dG(TG) and -ion-binding sites
<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "NMR evaluation of ammonium ion movement within a unimolecular G-quadruplex in solution"</p><p>Nucleic Acids Research 2007;35(8):2554-2563.</p><p>Published online 4 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1895886.</p><p>© 2007 The Author(s)</p> The three binding sites are labeled as O, I and O. The guanine bases are shown as numbered rectangles, where cyan and magenta rectangles represent nucleobases in and conformation, respectively. () Birds-eye view of a ion above an individual G-quartet
Competition of the 13 bp substrate duplexes and the Tg-containing duplexes in the Endo III reaction
<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Synthesis and characterization of oligonucleotides containing 2′-fluorinated thymidine glycol as inhibitors of the endonuclease III reaction"</p><p>Nucleic Acids Research 2006;34(5):1540-1551.</p><p>Published online 17 Mar 2006</p><p>PMCID:PMC1409675.</p><p>© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved</p> The P-labeled substrates without fluorine were incubated with Endo III in the presence of the competitors containing Tg. The amounts of the nicked products (standardized to those without the competitors) were plotted against the concentrations of the competitor. Open circles, P-5-Tg + 5-Tg; filled circles, P-5-Tg + 5-Tg; open triangles, P-5-Tg + 5-Tg; filled triangles, P-5-Tg 5-Tg
DNA fusion gene vaccination mobilizes effective anti-leukemic cytotoxic T lymphocytes from a tolerized repertoire
The majority of known human tumor-associated antigens derive from non-mutated self proteins. T cell tolerance, essential to prevent autoimmunity, must therefore be cautiously circumvented to generate cytotoxic T cell responses against these targets. Our strategy uses DNA fusion vaccines to activate high levels of peptide-specific CTL. Key foreign sequences from tetanus toxin activate tolerance-breaking CD4+ T cell help. Candidate MHC class Ibinding tumor peptide sequences are fused to the C terminus for optimal processing and presentation. To model performance against a leukemia-associated antigen in a tolerized setting, we constructed a fusion vaccine encoding an immunodominant CTL epitopederived from Friend murine leukemia virus gag protein (FMuLVgag) and vaccinated tolerant FMuLVgag-transgenic (gag-Tg) mice. Vaccination with the construct induced epitopespecificIFN-c-producing CD8+ T cells in normal and gag-Tg mice. The frequency and avidity of activated cells were reduced in gag-Tg mice, and no autoimmune injury resulted. However, these CD8+ T cells did exhibit gag-specific cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Also, epitope-specific CTL killed FBL-3 leukemia cells expressing endogenous FMuLVgag antigen and protected against leukemia challenge in vivo. These results demonstrate a simple strategy to engage anti-microbial T cell help to activate epitope-specific polyclonal CD8+ T cell responses from a residual tolerized repertoire
Aromatic () and imino () regions of H NMR spectrum of form of dG(TG) G-quadruplex at 298 K
<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "NMR evaluation of ammonium ion movement within a unimolecular G-quadruplex in solution"</p><p>Nucleic Acids Research 2007;35(8):2554-2563.</p><p>Published online 4 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1895886.</p><p>© 2007 The Author(s)</p> Plot of 2D N–H HSQC spectrum (). The cross-peak corresponding to ions in bulk is labeled as B, while those residing at the binding sites within the G-quadruplex are labeled as O, O and I
Gradient interphases between high-Tg epoxy and polyetherimide for advanced joining processes
Adhesive joining of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) is cumbersome due to the careful surface preparation required and multiple validation steps to certify adhesion quality. Further these joints are often supplemented by mechanical fastenings add weight whilst also localising bearing stress. As an alternative technique, CFRP parts can be functionalized with thermoplastic surfaces during manufacture to enable cost-effective welding of composite structures. In the process of manufacturing the CFRP, curing an epoxy resin in the presence of the functionalising thermoplastic polymer can lead to local dissolution of the latter in the epoxy, followed by a reaction-induced phase separation. This results in a thermosetting-thermoplastic interphase featuring gradient concentrations and a multiphase morphology, which promotes load transfer between the thermosetting matrix and the thermoplastic joint. The aim of the work presented in this paper was to investigate interphase formation between high-Tg epoxy and polyetherimide (PEI) at different curing temperatures. The morphology was characterised using scanning electron microscopy and the composition of the interphase was quantified through Raman spectroscopy. The curing experiments indicated that temperature has a significant effect on the interphase morphology and led to two different biphasic morphologies which generally increased in size with increasing curing temperature. This suggests that the size of the gradient interphase can be tailored through the curing process, which is as a fundamental step in optimising the structural performance of welded joints with PEI-functionalized epoxy-based CFRPs.Aerospace Manufacturing TechnologiesStructural Integrity & Composite
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