Prevalence of asthma and wheeze in primary school children in northern Jordan

While the existence of chimeric cells in host tissue following organ transplantation is well documented, its distribution, temporal evolution and relationship to allograft survival is less clear. To explore this phenomenon, Lewis recipients of ACI cardiac allografts representing a wide range of immunosuppressive protocols and graft survival times were examined for the presence of chimerism using a sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay. Four groups of animals were examined: untransplanted animals receiving donor specific transfusion (DST)/cyclosporine A (CsA); allograft recipients with no treatment; recipients treated with DST/CsA/supplementary immunosuppression with rejection at 21-183 days; and recipients sacrificed with functioning allografts, treated with DST/CsA/supplementary immunosuppression and surviving > 200 days. To elucidate variations in the tissue distribution of chimeric cells, bone marrow, skin, liver, spleen, and thymus were examined in each animal. Untransplanted animals receiving DST/CsA displayed no evidence of chimerism. In animals receiving a cardiac allograft but no treatment, there was extensive evidence of chimerism in four of five animals. Chimerism was also detected in seven of nine animals with intermediate graft survival at the time of rejection. In animals with long-term graft survival, only four of eight displayed chimerism. These results suggest that, without immunosuppression, early chimerism does not lead to prolonged graft survival and that, even when graft survival is moderately prolonged, these cells are not sufficient to prevent rejection. In conclusion, chimerism appears to be a common phenomenon following transplantation, is not a result of DST, and may not be necessary for maintenance of long-term graft survival.     

Ultrasound contribution in the analysis of the newborn and infant normal and clubfoot: a preliminary study

This study examined the effects of coder gender on Potential for Hostility ratings. Six trained coders (3 men and 3 women) who were unaware of the coder gender effect hypothesis coded 30 male and 30 female undergraduates for Potential for Hostility. Although reliability estimates as calculated by Cronbach's alpha suggested that all coders were consistent, an analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for coder gender, wherein female coders rated participants as displaying significantly less Potential for Hostility than did male coders. This significant difference was also meaningful, as coder gender accounted for 32% of the variance in Potential for Hostility scores. Thus, future Potential for Hostility investigations need to consider the gender of those coding, as this factor both significantly and substantially influences reported Potential for Hostility ratings.     

Optimization of series–parallel multi-state systems under maintenance policies

In the redundancy optimization problem, the design goal is achieved by discrete choices made from components available in the market. In this paper, the problem is to find, under reliability constraints, the minimal cost configuration of a multi-state series–parallel system, which is subject to a specified maintenance policy. The number of maintenance teams is less than the number of repairable components, and a maintenance policy specifies the priorities between the system components. To take into account the dependencies resulting from the sharing of maintenance teams, the universal generating function approach is coupled with a Markov model. The resulting optimization approach has the advantage of being mainly analytical.     

Influence de la position des armatures sur l’adhérence des bétons autoplaçants: interprétation par analyse d’image

Investigation on bond between self-compacting concrete and reinforcement steel have been carried out by means of pull-out tests for different position of bar luring casting. Five positions were studied: horizontal (superior, inferior and median), vertical (loaded in casting direction or against casting direction). Results show that bond strength was highest for bars cast vertically and loaded against the casting direction and the bond strength, cast in horizontal position, decreases when the depth of concrete beneath the bar increases. The ratio between the bond resistance of bars cast vertically and horizontally was about 1.15. An interpretation, using image analysis, was proposed. In fact, we have observed a satisfying correlation between the bond strength and the difference between the percentage of coarse aggregate above and below the bar for different positions.     

Diphenole und Caramelkomponenten in R?stkaffees verschiedener Sorten. II.

Zusammenfassung Elf Diphenole and sieben Caramelkomponenten wurden aus entfettetem Röstkaffee durch Extraktion mit Pentan/Äther (1 + 1) isoliert und nach Silylierung mit BSTFA gaschromatographischmassenspektrometrisch charakterisiert and größen-ordnungsmäßig bestimmt. Sieben Phenole und fünf Caramelkomponenten konnten erstmals in Röstkaffee identifiziert warden. Robustakaffee besitzt die größten Mengen an Phenolen and Maltol, während Arabica-kaffee die höchsten Konzentrationen an Furaneol (2,5-Dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanen), Isomaltol, 5-Hydroxymaltol and 5-Hydroxy-5,6-dihydro-maltol aufweist.

---

Diphenols and caramel compounds in roasted coffees of different varieties. II.

Summary Eleven diphenols and seven caramel compounds were extracted from roasted coffee with pentane/ether (1 + 1), silylated with BSTFA, characterized, and semiquantified by GC-MS. Seven phenols and five caramel components were identified for the first time in roasted coffee.Robusta coffee contained the highest amounts of phenols and maltol.Arabica showed higher amounts of furaneol (2.5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone), isomaltol, 5-hydroxymaltol, and 5-hydroxy-5.6-dihydromaltol.

     

Regression of advanced atherosclerosis in swine

Advanced complicated atherosclerosis was produced in the abdominal aorta of swine by a combination of mechanical injury and high-cholesterol, high-fat diet for four months. After removal of the high-cholesterol diet and placing the animal on swine mash for 14 months, there was a significant (P less than .005) decrease in size of lesions with remodeling of the intima toward a smooth surface. Sudanophilia had virtually disappeared and atheromas were almost absent in the regression group, as were thrombosis and hemorrhage in plaques. Cell proliferation, as judged by the number of labeled cells in autoradiography, was less pronounced in this group. There was no decrease in the numbers of segments showing calcification; however, the size of the calcified areas was smaller in the regression group than in the base line. The data suggest that advanced atherosclerosis is susceptible to regression on removal of the atherosclerotic stimulus.     

Yearly simulation of the interaction between an ice rink and its refrigeration system: A case study

A transient model of airflow and heat transfer in an indoor ice rink and a quasi-steady model of its refrigeration system have been coupled and used to simulate their response to the time dependent ambient conditions and operating schedule for a typical meteorological year. The results for two different cases show that it is possible to reduce significantly the time of operation of the compressors and the energy consumption of the refrigeration system by simultaneously reducing the ceiling emissivity and increasing the secondary coolant temperature without affecting the quality of the ice.     

Long-term bond performance of GFRP bars in concrete under temperature ranging from 20 °C to 80 °C

Eighty pull-out specimens were used to study the effect of temperature ranging from 20 °C to 80 °C in dry environment on bond properties between Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars and concrete. The pullout-test specimens were subjected during 4 and 8 months to high temperatures up to 80 °C and then compared to untreated specimens (20 °C). Experimental results showed no significant reduction on bond strength for temperatures up to 60 °C. However, a maximum of 14% reduction of the bond strength was observed for 80 °C temperature after 8 months of thermal loading. For treated specimens, the coefficient β in the CMR model, which predicts the bond–stress–displacement behavior, seems to be dependant with the temperature.