Analysis of electroporation-induced genetic damages in V79/AP4 Chinese hamster cells

Electroporation is a recent technique used to introduce exogenous DNA into eukaryotic cells. It is important to establish that the gene of interest is transferred into a functional, non-mutated recipient cell. V79/AP4 Chinese hamster cells were exposed to high-voltage pulsed electric fields and some biological and genetic effects were measured. The results showed that cytotoxicity was related in a dose-dependent manner to the number of applied pulses. Thioguanine-resistant colony-forming cells as well as chromosomal aberrations were also induced whereas ouabain resistants and sister-chromatid exchanges were not or slightly induced. Spontaneous and electroporation-induced clones that were phenotypically TGR/HATS were used to investigate the hprt locus. Molecular screening of the locus showed that the number of deleted exons was significantly higher in induced than in spontaneous TG-resistant clones, suggesting that the genetic damages induced by electroporation concern the loss of regions well over the size of the hprt locus.     

Review of Sexuality and chronic illness: A comprehensive approach.

Reviews the book, Sexuality and chronic illness: A comprehensive approach by Leslie R. Schover and Soren Buus Jensen (see record 1988-98146-000) as well written and carefully organized. Part 1 covers an integrative model of sexuality assessment and treatment, Part 2 covers specific illnesses and sexuality, and Part 3 discusses training and ethical issues. The text is designed for clinicians addressing sexuality concerns of patients with chronic illness as well as health care professionals. The authors assume that readers will need basic information about sexuality and, therefore include reviews of theoretical approaches to sexuality and sexual dysfunction, the sexual response cycle, and intervention strategies used with people with sexual dysfunction. The medical information provided allows the non-physician to understand the physiological bases of sexual response and dysfunction, and the medical interventions described in the text is comprehensive and easy to understand. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of two cotrimoxazole preparations

The objective of this study was to assess both pharmacokinetic properties and bioavailability of a newly developed cotrimoxazole preparation (Bioprim tablets, 80 mg of trimethoprim/400 mg sulfamethoxazole), in comparison with a reference preparation commercially available (Bactrim tablets, 80 mg of trimethoprim/400 mg of sulfamethoxazole). The pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of cotrimoxazole from these preparations were compared in an open randomized crossover study in 12 healthy males. Plasma concentrations of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole were measured by HPLC after protein precipitation. Noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was performed on the plasma concentration-time data. The obtained pharmacokinetic values (Cmax, tmax, beta, t1/2 beta, CL, Vd, AUC36, AUC infinity) of both trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole determined in our study agreed with values reported in the literature. Westlake's and Nonparametric probability tests with the 90% confidence intervals, for both trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole gave the differences within 80 and 120%, for all necessary measures (Cmax, tmax and AUC infinity). Statistical analysis of the data has shown that the preparations have similar pharmacokinetic profiles and therefore can be considered equally bioavailable.     

Analyzing the efficiency of nanostructured Sm3+- and Gd3+-doped TiO2 and constructing DSSCs using efficacious photoanodes

The rare earth elements, gadolinium and samarium, are doped with TiO₂ by hydrothermal synthesis technique to study the photoconversion performance of a photoanode in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The obtained materials are subjected to the characterizations XRD, HR-TEM, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and XPS. DSSCs are fabricated using N719 dye, redox electrolyte, and platinum counter electrode. Charge-transfer ability was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) on DSSCs. The efficiencies of DSSCs are influenced by the electron transport within the TiO₂–dye–electrolyte system. After the fabrication and simulation, among the two, Gd³⁺-doped TiO₂ gives the desired outcomes and higher efficiency (5.542%) than the pure and Sm³⁺-doped TiO₂ and thus it proves to be a superior solar cell anode material.

     

Image coding algorithm based on Hadamard transform and simple vector quantization

Transform coding is commonly used in image processing algorithms to provide high compression ratios, often at the expense of processing time and simplicity of the system. We have recently proposed a pixel value prediction scheme in order to exploit adjacent pixel correlation, providing a low-complexity model for image coding. However, the proposed model was unable to reach high compression ratios retaining high quality of reconstructed image at the same time. In this paper we propose a new segmentation algorithm which further utilizes adjacent pixel correlation, provides higher compression ratios and it is based on application of Hadamard transform coding. Additional compression is provided by using vector quantization for a low number of quantization levels and by simplifying generalized Lloyd’s algorithm where the special attention is paid to determination of optimal partitions for vector quantization, making a fixed quantizer. The proposed method is quite simple and experimental results show that it ensures better or similar rate-distortion ratio for very low bit-rates, comparing to the other similar methods that are based on wavelet or curvelet transform coding and support or core vector machine application. Furthermore, the proposed method requires very low processing time since the proposed quantizers are fixed, much less than the required time for the aforementioned methods that we compare with as well as much less than the time required for fractal image coding. In the end, the appropriate discussion is provided comparing the results with a scheme based on linear prediction and dual-mode quantization.

     

Millimeter-wave antireflection coating for cryogenic silicon lenses

We have developed and tested an antireflection (AR) coating method for silicon lenses used at cryogenic temperatures and millimeter wavelengths. Our particular application is a measurement of the cosmic microwave background. The coating consists of machined pieces of Cirlex glued to the silicon. The measured reflection from an AR-coated flat piece is less than 1.5% at the design wavelength. The coating has been applied to flats and lenses and has survived multiple thermal cycles from 300 to 4 K. We present the manufacturing method, the material properties, the tests performed, and estimates of the loss that can be achieved in practical lenses.     

Synthesis and characterization of interpenetrating polymer networks with hyperbranched polymers through thermal-UV dual curing

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using acrylated hyperbranched polyesters (HBP) as UV curable component in dual curing automotive applications. Dual curing is one of possible ways to obtain fast curing, scratch resistant coatings for use in OEM and car refinish applications. Dual curing systems, upon hardening, can give interpenetrating networks (IPNs).