Effects of fibinolysis on neurite growth from dorsal root ganglia cultured in two- and three-dimensional fibrin gels

The mechanism of neurite penetration of three-dimensional fibrin matrices was investigated by culturing embryonic chick dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) within fibrin gels, upon fibrin gels, and upon laminin. The length of neurites within three-dimensional matrices of fibrin was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner by agents that inhibited plasmin, e.g. aprotinin, or that inhibited plasminogen activation, e.g., epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA), or plasminogen antiserum. In contrast, such agents increased the length of neurites growing out from DRGs cultured upon two-dimensional substrates of fibrin and had no effect on the length of neurites growing out from DRGs cultured upon laminin. Visualization of neurites within three-dimensional fibrin matrices demonstrated that the distance between fibrin strands was much smaller than the diameter of neurites. All these data were consistent with the hypothesis that fibrinolysis localized to the region of the neurite tip is an important mechanism for neurite penetration of a physical barrier of fibrin strands arranged in a three-dimensional matrix.     

Whey Drying on Porous Carriers

Whey is an undurable product. treated very often as a waste which pollutes the natural environment. Whey which is a valuable source of protein, lactose, vitamins and mineral salts should be utilized completely. The present paper is a proposal of whey drying on porous carriers. It is proved experimentally that the proposed drying method guarantees good product quality.     

Kernel orthonormalization in radial basis function neural networks

This paper deals with optimization of the computations involved in training radial basis function (RBF) neural networks. The main contribution of the reported work is the method for network weights calculation, in which the key idea is to transform the RBF kernels into an orthonormal set of functions (using the standard Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization). This significantly reduces the computing time if the RBF training scheme, which relies on adding one kernel hidden node at a time to improve network performance, is adopted. Another property of the method is that, after the RBF network weights are computed, the original network structure can be restored back. An additional strength of the method is the possibility to decompose the proposed computing task into a number of parallel subtasks so gaining further savings on computing time. Also, the proposed weight calculation technique has low storage requirements. These features make the method very attractive for hardware implementation. The paper presents a detailed derivation of the proposed network weights calculation procedure and demonstrates its validity for RBF network training on a number of data classification and function approximation problems.     

Features of the infrared reflection spectra of SmS semiconductor in the homogeneity range

Infrared reflection spectra in the range of 5200–380 cm^?1 were measured for polycrystalline samarium monosulfide samples in the semiconductor phase with compositions Sm_{1 + x} S lying within the homogeneity range (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.17) in the temperature range of 300–600 K. Five peaks with energies in the range of 1150–880 cm^?1, whose positions depend weakly on the composition and temperature. It was shown that the reflection peaks are associated with ⁷ F ₀–⁷ F ₂ transitions of 4f electrons of Sm²⁺ ions.     

Rapid thermal annealing applied to the optimization of titanium oxide arc

In this work, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in the 400–700°C range is used to adjust simultaneously the index and thickness of titanium oxide layers in order to achieve an antireflection coating (ARC) in industrial conditions (large solar cells with a high throughput capability). The technique used for high production rate and low cost coating process is the atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) at low temperature.Titanium oxide layers are obtained from the hydrolysis of two precursors, namely the tetraisopropoxide titanate (TPT) and the titanium tetrachloride. In the first case, on silicon substrates at 150°C, we have obtained refractive indices of 1.8–1.9 with layer thicknesses in the range 70–100 nm. In the second case, at 100°C, the refractive index is 2.1–2.2 as deposited and the thickness in the same range. After RTA lasting 120 s at 700°C, the refractive index is 2.25 and the thickness is decreased by 40% with the first precursor, while with chloride, the index increases until 2.4 and the thickness is decreased by 30%. These results are discussed by means of X-ray diffraction and SIMS analysis.     

Revealing Nanomechanical Domains and Their Transient Behavior in Mixed-Halide Perovskite Films

Halide perovskites are a versatile class of semiconductors employed for high performance emerging optoelectronic devices, including flexoelectric systems, yet the influence of their ionic nature on their mechanical behavior is still to be understood. Here, a combination of atomic-force, optical, and compositional X-ray microscopy techniques is employed to shed light on the mechanical properties of halide perovskite films at the nanoscale. Mechanical domains within and between morphological grains, enclosed by mechanical boundaries of higher Young's Modulus (YM) than the bulk parent material, are revealed. These mechanical boundaries are associated with the presence of bromide-rich clusters as visualized by nano-X-ray fluorescence mapping. Stiffer regions are specifically selectively modified upon light soaking the sample, resulting in an overall homogenization of the mechanical properties toward the bulk YM. This behavior is attributed to light-induced ion migration processes that homogenize the local chemical distribution, which is accompanied by photobrightening of the photoluminescence within the same region. This work highlights critical links between mechanical, chemical, and optoelectronic characteristics in this family of perovskites, and demonstrates the potential of combinational imaging studies to understand and design halide perovskite films for emerging applications such as photoflexoelectricity.     

Posthyperventilation isocapnic hyperpnea

From the results of this study, it appears that whole blood alone or red blood cells reconstituted with saline solution do not adequately replace the loss of albumin and concomitant decrease in colloid oncotic pressure that occur during extensive intraabdominal and intrathoracic operations. Since colloid oncotic pressure is a major factor in the restitution of intravascular volume from stores of interstitial fluid and since it may also play a role in the development of postoperative pulmonary problems, it is important to maintain a relatively normal colloid oncotic pressure during the operation and in the immediate postoperative period. Although dextran can be used for this purpose, its short half-life of four to six hours and associated coagulation problems militate against its use in large quantities. This leaves purified protein fraction or salt-poor albumin as the main sources of protein for the maintenance of colloid oncotic pressure. Both of these products are expensive and short in supply. The oncometer in present use is a clinically feasible and rapid, one to three minutes, means of determining the colloid oncotic pressure. It permits a rational approach to the use of albumin products, avoiding the pitfalls of under or excess administration in the operative and postoperative periods.     

Anticonvulsant drug concentrations in epileptic patients

Using Wistar stain male rats, it has been shown that 2 atmospheric pressures associated with oxygen saturation, together or singly for 90 minutes daily for successive 46 days, resulted in no significant change on the ratio of testes to body weight. No significant change was observed in the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into testes and pituitary glands between the pressure-treated groups and the control group.     

Anxiety in early adulthood

There is no doubt that the relatively recent changes in our society must have effects on the development of the early adult. These include changes in society's attitudes, permissiveness, changing roles, equal employment and wage opportunities, women's liberation, the 'single mother by desire', changing divorce laws, integrated university colleges of residence, to mention but a few factors. The effects of drugs, illegal and legal, alcohol, the motor vehicle, pollution and environmental change must also be remembered as possible sources of anxiety in early adulthood.     

Internal pancreatic fistulas: pancreatic ascites and pleural effusions

Thirty-four patients seen over a 10-year period with internal pancreatic fistulas are reported. In 22 patients the fistula was into the peritoneal cavity and they presented with pancreatic ascits. In 7 patients the fistula tracked up through the mediastinum into a pleural cavity, and they presented with pancreatic pleural effusions. Five patients presented with both pancreatic ascites and pancreatic pleural effusions. Diagnosis was made by finding a markedly elevated amylase and protein content in the ascitic and pleural fluids. Serum amylase was usually, but not always, elevated. Over one half of the patients had no history of inflammatory pancreatic disease. Initial treatment was non-operative using nasogastric suction, diamox, atropine, and multiple paracenteses or thoracenteses. This was successful in 48% (12/25). If non-operative therapy failed, surgery was performed to drain or resect the internal fistula. Surgery was successful in 82% (14/17). The internal pancreatic fistula was successfully demontrated in most instances by preoperative, operative, or postmortem pancreatography, or by gross observation at the time of surgery.