Living Bacteria in Thermoresponsive Gel for Treating Fungal Infections

The leading living bacteria formulations currently available are from a limited list of genera and are generally limited to gastrointestinal tract syndromes. A formulation composed of living Bacillus subtilis incorporated in a thermoresponsive hydrogel that hardens after administration on the skin and continuously produces antifungal agents is described. The ability of the formula to support bacteria growth and its mechanical properties and penetrability through the skin are fine‐tuned by varying the ratio between polymer concentrations and bacterial media. The formula penetrates via the stratum corneum and accumulates in the epidermis without penetrating the inner, dermis layer. In vivo results mirror the results seen in vitro: bacillus formulations completely inhibit candida growth, demonstrating clinical effects comparable to those achieved by ketoconazole. LC‐MS/MS analysis of the bacterial formulation confirms the presence of surfactin, the most powerful biosurfactant that possesses a broad antifungal activity. This platform may enable rational design of novel formulations composed of secreting bacteria inside a responsive, smart, hydrogel—which is the prerequisite for producing a successful drug delivery system.     

Additives Control the Stability of Amorphous Calcium Carbonate via Two Different Mechanisms: Surface Adsorption versus Bulk Incorporation

The mechanisms by which organisms control the stability of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) are yet not fully understood. Previous studies have shown that the intrinsic properties of ACC and its environment are critical in determining ACC stability. Here, the question, what is the effect of bulk incorporation versus surface adsorption of additives on the stability of synthetic ACC, is addressed. Using a wide range of in situ characterization techniques, it is shown that surface adsorption of poly(Aspartic acid) (pAsp) has a much larger stabilization effect than bulk incorporation of pAsp and only 1.5% pAsp could dramatically increase the crystallization temperature from 141 to 350 °C. On the contrary, surface adsorption of PO₄^3? ions and OH^? ions does not effectively stabilize ACC. However, bulk incorporation of these ions could significantly improve the ACC stability. It is concluded that the stabilization mechanism of pAsp is entirely different from that of PO₄^3? and OH^? ions: while pAsp is effectively inhibiting calcite nucleation at the surface of ACC particle, the latter acts to modify the ion mobility and delay crystal propagation. Thus, new insights on controlling the stability and crystallization processes of metastable amorphous materials are provided.     

Perspective Taking as Egocentric Anchoring and Adjustment.

The authors propose that people adopt others' perspectives by serially adjusting from their own. As predicted, estimates of others' perceptions were consistent with one's own but differed in a manner consistent with serial adjustment (Study 1). Participants were slower to indicate that another's perception would be different from--rather than similar to--their own (Study 2). Egocentric biases increased under time pressure (Study 2) and decreased with accuracy incentives (Study 3). Egocentric biases also increased when participants were more inclined to accept plausible values encountered early in the adjustment process than when inclined to reject them (Study 4). Finally, adjustments tend to be insufficient, in part, because people stop adjusting once a plausible estimate is reached (Study 5). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A parallel FFT on an MIMD machine

In this paper we present a parallelization of the Cooley- Tukey FFT algorithm that is implemented on a shared-memory MIMD (non-vector) machine that was built in the Dept. of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University. A parallel algorithm is presented for one dimension Fourier transform with performance analysis. For a large array of complex numbers to be transformed, an almost linear speed-up is demonstrated. This algorithm can be executed by any number of processors, but generally the number is much less than the length of the input data.     

A general simulation model of batch chemical reactors for thermal control investigations

This paper describes the development of a dynamic simulation model for stirred tank batch or semi-batch chemical reactors fitted with an alternative heating-cooling system. Heat and mass balances are established for the reactor and its jacket. Since the general purpose of our research is the thermal control of these reactors, special attention is devoted to the behaviour of the heating-cooling system. In this article, we are particularly concerned with an alternative system, i.e. different fluids at a constant temperature can be alternatively delivered to the jacket. The computer simulation programme is flexible, enabling simulation of a batch or semi-batch reaction vessel, ranging from a laboratory pilot plant to a full-scale production plant. A control algorithm is included which allows reactor operation with open or closed-loop temperature control. To demonstrate the good performance of the simulation model, experimental results are presented for both a pilot plant and an industrial reactor.     

The potential of lime-stabilized murrain soil as a building material in Kenya

A Kenyan/Anglo research project starting in 1980 between the Building Research Establishment, BRE, and the Housing Research and Development Unit, HRDU, University of Nairobi. A prototype medical clinic has been built using stabilized murram and was constructed at a floor area cost of £31 per m² compared with £65 for concrete blockwork.     

Parameter estimation of continuous-time stationary Gaussian processes with rational spectra

This paper considers the problem of estimating the parameters of continuous-time stationary Gaussian processes with rational spectra, from uniformly sampled measurements. The sampled process is shown to be an autoregressive moving-average process, and explicit relationships between the parameters of the continuous-time and the sampled processes are derived. These relationships are then used to derive a lower bound on the variances of biased estimates of the continuous-time parameters, and on the generalized variance of such estimates. It is shown by some examples that the bound on the generalized variance depends on the sampling interval in a nonmonotonic manner. In particular, for each specific set of parameters there exists a sampling interval for which the lower bound is minimized.This work was supported by the Army Research Office under Contract Number DAAG29-83-C-0027.