Yeast vectors for the integration/expression of any sequence at the TYR1 locus

We have constructed new yeast vectors for targeted integration and conditional expression of any sequence at the Saccharomyces cerevisiae TYR1 locus which becomes disrupted. We show that vector integration is not neutral, causing prototrophy for tyrosine and auxotrophy for the vector's selectable marker (uracil or leucine, depending on the vector used). This feature allows a double screening of transformed yeast cells, improving the identification of colonies with the desired chromosomal structure. The GAL10 gene promoter has been added to drive conditional expression of cloned sequences. Using these vectors, chromosomal structure verification of recombinant clones is no longer necessary, since the noise of non-homologous recombination, as well as spontaneous reversion of the selected phenotype, can easily be identified. The ability of the vector to conditionally control gene expression has been confirmed using the gene for the green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter.     

Effect of Stent Radial Force on Stress Pattern After Deployment: A Finite Element Study

The present article presents a method for assessing the radial stiffness of nitinol stents. An idealized stent model was created, and its radial stiffness was calculated by means of finite element modeling. The calculations were validated against experimental measurements. The variation of radial stiffness with geometrical dimensions was calculated, and the effect of increasing radial stiffness on endovascular deployment was analyzed. Peak tensile and compressive stresses as well as stent penetration were calculated in the case of an idealized pulmonary artery model having realistic dimensions as well as stiffness. The results of stress calculations were compared with a second set of simulations, where an idealized behavior of the stent (uniform expansion to a theoretical contact diameter) was modeled. The results show how in reality nitinol stents behave in a non-ideal way, having a non-uniform expansion and exerting non-uniform pressure on the contact areas with the artery. Such non-ideality decreases though with the increase in radial stiffness. The radial force alone may be insufficient in describing the stent-artery interaction, and numerical modeling proves to be necessary for capturing such complexity.     

Red wine polyphenols protect n−3 more than n−6 polyunsaturated fatty acid from lipid peroxidation

Moderate red wine consumption is associated with decreased risk for cardiovascular disease; however, the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of red wine polyphenols (WP) on the oxidizability of human plasma fatty acids, in particular those most involved in the inflammatory response — archidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The oxidizability of the major fatty acids of plasma was determined by measuring their loss gaschromatographycally during peroxidation kinetics induced by 2′-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine)-dihydrochloride. The capacity of WP to scavenge 1,1,diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals, and trap total peroxyl radicals in plasma (TRAP) was also measured. WP (1.75–5 μg/mL) inhibited DPPH, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals and increased TRAP in a dose-dependent manner. WP (1.75 μg/mL) significantly protected all plasma PUFA from peroxidation but the protection of EPA and DHA was higher than that of AA. These results suggest that the association of WP to apolipoproteins makes EPA and DHA less accessible to hydro-soluble radicals than AA, thus providing a biochemical rationale for future ‘in vivo’ studies on the benefits to health of moderate red wine consumption.     

The Four‐Domain Development Diagram: A Guide for Holistic Design of Effective Learning Experiences for the Twenty‐first Century Engineer

The twenty‐first century challenges engineering educators to design learning experiences to strategically and holistically target students' development, including cognitive, psychomotor, social and affective domains. We propose a guide for the design process. The Four‐Domain Development Diagram (4DDD) is a synthesis of learning theory and empirical data. This guide maps the relationships among the major factors that influence learning and presents them in the form of a causal loop diagram, a tool used by systems dynamicists to show how changes in important factors affect other factors within the system. In this paper, we present the theoretical and empirical basis of the 4DDD. We also describe how the 4DDD can be used as a design guide for instructional changes that promote more effective learning experiences for the broader cognitive, social, affective, and psychomotor development required of today's engineering graduate.     

Hybrid MCM-41 grafted by a general microwave-assisted procedure: a characterization study

Hybrid materials obtained through a Microwave-assisted grafting of organic functional groups on mesoporous silica (MCM-41 type) have been characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, TG-DSC, N₂ adsorption, solid state ¹³C- and ²⁹Si-NMR, TEM and SEM. The studied grafting procedure is effective in the preparation of hybrid organosilicas under solvent-free conditions. Microwaves allows an ultra-fast and clean functionalization of the mesoporous materials and the method has been applied to produce a wide series of functional materials. The hybrid materials maintain the original mesoporous structure when the loading of linked organic groups does not exceed 10 %. In this cases, the slight pore volume reduction is linearly correlated to the organic amount in the product. If functional groups able to interact among them through hydrogen bond are used, hybrid materials exhibit high Organic/SiO₂ ratios and low pore volumes due to the formation of a network occluding the pores, where functional groups of free organosilane molecules interacts with the functional groups of molecules linked to the matrix. NMR data confirm that the network is composed by organosilane molecules linked or not to the framework. Acid washing is able to labilize hydrogen bond and open the network. In the case of bulky but chemically inert functionalising agents the network is not produced.     

Using Fuzzy AHP to manage Intellectual Capital assets: An application to the ICT service industry

In today’s competitive business environment, Intellectual Capital (IC) management is ever more recognized as a fundamental factor in gaining competitive advantage. Actually, most firms have only a vague idea of how to manage investments in IC and what they should obtain from these investments. As a result, many companies overlook to balance IC investments, overinvesting in some IC components and neglecting other ones. Following this lead, the aim of the paper is to assess the relative importance of IC components, with respect to their contribution to the company value creation, in order to obtain guidelines for IC management and investments.We propose a model for IC evaluation by integrating Fuzzy Logic and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This Fuzzy AHP approach allows to capture and foster IC dynamics: experts and managers are greatly supported by the use of linguistic variables in the evaluation process of the company intangible assets. Finally, the application of the Fuzzy AHP methodology to a group of ICT service companies is presented.     

Study of Aromatic Compounds Derived from Sugarcane Bagasse. Part I: Effect of pH

This work aims at increasing the knowledge about the recovery of aromatic compounds from the lignin fraction of sugarcane bagasse, as well as exploring the possibility to recover these fine chemicals of great concern for many industrial sectors. The major natural products contained in the lignin fraction of such a straw material were extracted in previous work by alkaline hydrolysis using different concentrations of NaOH and amounts of bagasse, and HPLC analyses revealed that the extracts mainly contained p‐coumaric acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid, and vanillin, the first three containing and the last lacking a carboxyl group. All these aromatic compounds have well‐known antioxidant power and are very important in pharmacology. For these reasons, they have been investigated in this study by UV spectrophotometry, with special concern to the pH effect on their spectra and determination of their pK_a values.     

Social support, support groups, and the cancer patient.

Surveys the literature on social support and cancer and reports results from an empirical investigation of the factors that led cancer patients to join social support groups. Questionnaire data from 666 21–89 yr old cancer patients show that although most Ss received high levels of social support following cancer, some experienced isolated instances of rejection or did not receive the type of support they wanted from family, friends, and medical caregivers. This appeared to be 1 impetus for joining cancer support groups, although Ss reporting a lack of social support were not generally more likely to join support groups than were other Ss. The Profile of Mood States suggested that attenders were somewhat less likely to be depressed than were nonattenders. In addition, cancer support group attenders were more likely to be White middle-class females, to report having more problems, and to use social support resources of all kinds than were nonattenders. Implications for outreach to cancer patients are discussed, and it is concluded that while support groups may be beneficial for many cancer patients, current programs tend to be used largely by the same segment of the population that uses traditional mental health services. (81 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

白化菌对TMP和溶解桨厂运行的影响

生物技术与术材化学、真菌学、生物化学和遗传学结合为制浆造纸工业开发出一种白化真菌产品．在制浆前用其预处理木片，能够降低水材中的树脂含量并提高术片的整体白度，减轻树脂障碍．降低纸浆的漂白要求。有人提出白化菌预处理还能起到纤维改性的作用。