Plasma,apolipoprotein A-I and A-II levels in hyperlipidemia

Some of the component moieties of high denisty lipoproteins (HDL) were analyzed in normal subjects and in patients with hyperlipidemia. Apoproteins A-I and A-II were quantified by radioimmunoassay, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were assessed on heparin-MnCl₂ supernates of fasting plasmas. We found that HDL is enriched in triglycerides in all forms of hyperlipidemia, while the proportion of ApoA-II is unaltered and the proportion of ApoA-I is decreased. Thus, the composition of HDL is altered in hypertriglyceridemia. The molecular associations of ApoA-I and ApoA-II in plasma were also examined by assaying the apoprotein contents of plasma fractions prepared by ultracentrifugation and by gel filtration column chromatography. The ApoA-I contents of d<1.063 fraction increased in hyperlipidemia from <0.5% to ∼2%, but the ApoA-I contents of the d>1.21 fraction remained at <12% of total in plasmas with triglyceride levels <1500 mg/dl. d>1.21 ApoA-I rose to 23% in one plasma with a triglyceride level of >1700 mg/dl. On column chromatography, ApoA-I eluted with the lipoproteins and also in a fraction whose molecular weight (MW) appreared to be ∼50,000 daltons. The proportion of plasma ApoA-I which eluted in the 50,000 MW peak was positively correlated with plasma triglyceride levels, but at triglyceride levels of <1500 mg/dl, <20% of ApoA-I was in the 50,000 MW peak. Between levels of ∼2000 and 12,000 mg/dl, the percentage “50,000 M.W. ApoA-I” was 20–25%. The ApoA-II contents of d<1.063 fractions were also increased in hyperlipidemia, but >95% of ApoA-II was found in the HDL fractions in both normal and hyperlipidemic plasma both by column chromatography and ultracentrifugation. Thus, the molecular association of ApoA-I appears to be altered in hyperlipidemia.     

The impact of managed health care on predoctoral internship sites: A national survey.

Little empirical research has identified the impact of managed health care (MHC) on various types of predoctoral internship sites. Thus, the authors examined (a) the extent to which MHC affected such sites, (b) the types of sites most affected by MHC, and (c) internship training directors' (ITDs') perceptions of MHC's influence on specific issues in their sites. Overall, ITDs indicated that MHC had generally little impact on internship agencies to date. However, ongoing monitoring of MHC's effects on internship sites is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protein and Lipid Oxidative Stresses During Cheese Manufacture

ABSTRACT: The amounts of protein-bound carbonyls (PC), malondialdehyde, (MDA) and the tocopherolquinone/ tocopherol ratio (TQ) were used as markers to evaluate the oxidative damage during manufacture. Their concentrations were determined in 11 Italian cheese varieties produced with different curd heat treatments. A positive correlation between heat intensity and oxidative damage was found ( p < 0.05). No correlation was seen between ripening time and oxidation extent in differently ripened Grana Padano cheese. Positive correlation between heating and TQ and PC levels was found ( p < 0.001 and 0.05, respectively) in Grana Padano cheese produced with milk pasteurized at 58, 68, or 72 °C. Pasteurization ad curdling steps, during mozzarella cheesemaking, highly contributed to TQ yield.     

Immunological evaluation of the alcohol-soluble protein fraction from gluten-free grains in relation to celiac disease

Celiac disease (CD) is a gluten-sensitive enteropathy with an immune basis. We established the immune reactivity of the alcohol-soluble fraction from two minor cereals (tef and millet) and two pseudocereals (amaranth and quinoa) which are believed to be nontoxic based on taxonomy. Grains were examined in intestinal T-cell lines (iTCLs), cultures of duodenal explants from HLA-DQ2(+) CD patients and HLA-DQ8 transgenic mice for signs of activation. Our data indicated that tef, millet, amaranth, and quinoa did not show any immune cross-reactivity toward wheat gliadin, and therefore confirming their safety in the diet of CD patients.     

Synthesis and characterization of differently substituted phenyl hepta isobutyl‐polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane/polystyrene nanocomposites

Variously substituted polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs)/polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites of general formula R₇R′(SiO_1.5)₈/PS (where R = isobutyl and R′ = 4‐methoxyphenyl, 4‐methylphenyl, 3,5‐dimethylphenyl, 4‐fluorophenyl, 2,4‐difluorophenyl, 4‐chlorophenyl) were prepared by in situ polymerization of styrene in the presence of 5% w/w of POSS. The actual filler concentration in the obtained nanocomposites was checked by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy evidenced the presence of filler‐polymer interactions. Inherent viscosity (η_inh) determinations indicated that the average molar mass of polymer in halogenated derivatives was lower than neat PS, and were in agreement with calorimetric glass transition temperature (T_g) measurements. Finally, a comparative study concerning the thermal stability of synthesized nanocomposites was carried out in both inert (flowing nitrogen) and oxidative (static air) atmospheres into a thermobalance, in the scanning mode, at 10°C min⁻¹, and the temperatures at 5% mass loss (T_5%), of various compounds were determined. The results were discussed and interpreted. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:151–157, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Synthesis and thermal characterization of new dumbbell shaped POSS/PS nanocomposites: Influence of the symmetrical structure of the nanoparticles on the dispersion/aggregation in the polymer matrix

A series of three novel dumbbell shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS)/ polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites, at different POSS contents (3%, 5% and 10% w/w), was synthesized and characterized in order to investigate the effects of this new bridged structure on the filler‐polymer interaction and then on the thermal behavior of the obtained polymer nanostructured materials (PNMs). Nanocomposites were synthesized by in situ polymerization of styrene and the actual POSS concentration in the obtained PNMs was checked by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and FTIR spectroscopy evidenced, at the same time, the presence of filler‐polymer interactions and auto‐aggregation phenomena. Degradations were carried out into a thermobalance, in the scanning mode, at various heating rates in both inert and oxidative atmospheres. The characteristic parameters of thermal stability, namely temperature at 5% mass loss and the apparent activation energy of degradation, for the various nanocomposites were determined and an increase in the initial decomposition temperatures of PNMs with increasing the POSS contents was observed. The results are discussed and interpreted. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1394–1400, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Distributed Power Control for Energy Efficient Routing in Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper, distributed power control is proposed as a means to improve the energy efficiency of routing algorithms in ad hoc networks. Each node in the network estimates the power necessary to reach its own neighbors, and this power estimate is used both for tuning the transmit power (thereby reducing interference and energy consumption) and as the link cost for minimum energy routing. With reference to classic routing algorithms, such as Dijkstra and Link State, as well as more recently proposed ad hoc routing schemes, such as AODV, we demonstrate by extensive simulations that in many cases of interest our scheme provides substantial transmit energy savings while introducing limited degradation in terms of throughput and delay.     

Survivors of the Sixties: Comparative psychosocial and political development of former Berkeley student activists.

Compared 30 former Berkeley free speech movement activists with 28 student government contemporaries and a cross-section of the 1964–1965 student body (n?=?25) along the dimensions of self- and ideal-self constructions, locus of control, political beliefs and behavior, occupational choice, and moral development. Mean age of all Ss was 34.2 yrs. Though their personality (e.g., scores on Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale) and political activism (e.g., Politico-Economic Conservatism Scale) profiles were not distinctive, former activists were more likely to endorse leftist convictions, to work in human service and creative occupations, to earn lower annual incomes, and to demonstrate principled moral reasoning than were the comparison groups. Though free speech movement activists appear to have made important life transitions 15 yrs following their arrests, they still remained a distinct social and political cohort. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-reported multicultural supervision competence of White predoctoral intern supervisors.

This study assessed the self-reported supervision practices, experiences, and multicultural competence of White intern supervisors (n = 211). White training directors and staff psychologists who were currently supervising predoctoral interns completed a 2-page survey regarding their multicultural supervision. Female supervisors reported higher multicultural supervision competence and spent more time processing cultural differences with their supervisees than male supervisors. Training directors also reported higher multicultural supervision competence than staff psychologists. Further, the number of interns supervised currently and over a career significantly predicted multicultural supervision competence. Recommendations for White intern supervisors include ongoing participation in education and professional practice experiences to improve multicultural supervision competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)