A CCG repeat polymorphism adjacent to the CAG repeat in the Huntington disease gene: implications for diagnostic accuracy and predictive testing

STUDY HYPOTHESIS: Concentrated aqueous solutions of hydroxocobalamin (OHCob) are given intravenously for the treatment of cyanide poisoning. Because OHCob solutions are intensely red and have peak light absorptions at 352 nm and 525 nm, we investigated whether the presence of OHCob in serum would interfere with various automated, colorimetric chemistry measurements. DESIGN: Selected serum chemistry colorimetric measurements were compared in seven patients, using their own serum as control, with serum containing OHCob at the following concentrations: 100 mg/L, 500 mg/L, and 1,000 mg/L. These concentrations are in the range achieved with therapeutic doses of OHCob when given for cyanide poisoning. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Statistically significant alterations in serum values for aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, creatinine, magnesium, and iron were seen in the presence of OHCob. CONCLUSION: The presence of OHCob in serum interferes with several chemistry methodologies, and such interference should be anticipated when this antidote is used.     

Thermal modeling in cylindrical coordinates using effective conductivity

Predictive thermometry, utilizing minimally invasive sampling techniques, is an essential ingredient in the development of hyperthermia treatment planning capabilities. The authors demonstrate a powerful, but simple approach toward predicting temperature distributions in tissues, based on analytic solution, using in cylindrical symmetry, of the heat diffusion equation. Conduction and localized perfusion effects are combined as an effective conductivity term, readily measurable, and parametrized in a general exponential form. The proposed approach allows a first-order approximation to modeling three typical situations: hypoxic or necrotic tumor core with homogeneously perfused periphery; highly perfused periphery (in rapidly growing tumors); or perfused central cover with a less well-supplied periphery (such as for some invasive tumors). The utility and strength of this approach is that it provides a rapid, accurate model of directly observing the technical quality to be expected for different heating methods, making it possible to optimally configure source distributions in a treatment planning setting.     

Compatibilizing Effects on the Phase Morphology and Thermal Properties of Polymer Blends Based on PTT and m-LLDPE

Summary Morphology and thermal characteristics of poly (trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT)/ metallocene linear low-density polyethylene (m-LLDPE) blends with different amounts of a terpolymer based on glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), employed as a possible compatibilizer, were systematically examined. DMTA results show two distinct peaks for all neat blends associated with each phase. Melt crystallization degree of both phases in all the blends was observed to be reduced compared to pure components, except for that of PTT-rich phase in those blends with PTT as the matrix which slightly increases. Addition of the terpolymer to the system is found to effectively reduce the droplet size of the dispersed phase and increase phase adhesion. Also it increases the crystallinity of PTT in the system with PTT as the matrix. The influence of the compatibilizer is ascribed to the chemical interaction of PTT functional end groups with GMA functionalities. The efficiency of the terpolymer as a compatibilizer beyond 5 wt% content decreases which can be ascribed to the interface saturation and formation of micelles in the bulk phases.     

Cotton Seed Oil Oxidation Catalysed by Amino Acids and Albumin in Aqueous and Non-Aqueous Media

The oxidation of refined cotton seed oil catalysed by various α-amino acids and albumin have been studied in aqueous and non-aqueous media. Cysteine, phenylalanine and albumin possessed pro-oxidant effect in cotton seed oil in aqueous and non-aqueous media. Serine exhibited pro-oxidant activity in aqueous media and minor anti-oxidant effect in non-aqueous media. The effectiveness of the amino acids on cotton seed oil oxidation was in the following descending order in both aqueous and non-aqueous media: cysteine > phenylalanine > serine. The pro-oxidant effect in aqueous media might be due to the predominant presence of the protonated amino nitrogen. Whilst, amino acid-metal complex might be responsible for the pro-oxidant effect in non-aqueous media.     

Chemical factors affecting soiling and soil release from cotton-containing durable press fabric. VIII. Grafting of polyester/cotton blend fabrics with carboxyl-containing polymer

Fabric samples of polyester/cotton blend were graft copolymerized to different levels (add-ons) with poly(acrylic acid) and poly(methacrylic acid) using the mutual γ-irradiation technique and the Fe²⁺–H₂O₂ redox system, respectively. The copolymers so obtained were given durable press treatments with and without conventional nonionic softener using DMDEU as the crosslinking agent. The susceptibility of the copolymers before and after crosslinking to aqueous and nonaqueous oily soiling and their ability to release the soils were examined. It was found that hydrophilization of the surface of polyester/cotton blend through grafting with the said carboxyl-containing polymers brings about a significant improvement in the resistance of the blend to aqueous and nonaqueous oily soil particularly after crosslinking in presence of nonionic softener. A certain improvement in the ease of oily soil removal could be achieved by grafting. The opposite holds true for aqueous soil release. Soiling and soil release depends on the magnitude and method of grafting, medium of soiling, as well as the formulation of crosslinking treatments. The effect of grafting on some properties of the blend fabric before and after crosslinking was also examined.     

Progress and challenges in sustainability,compatibility, and production of eco-composites: A state-of-art review

Owing to economic and environmental benefits, new generations of materials/commodities follow “from waste to wealth” strategy. Recently, there has been a huge upsurge in research on the development of eco-composites using recycled plastic polymers and agro-residues because the eco-composites satisfy the stringent environment regulations and are cost-effective. Herein, we present a detailed review on the potential use of several types of natural fillers as an efficient reinforcement for recycled plastic polymers. In particular, the characterization of different categories of eco-composites according to their morphological, physical, thermal, and mechanical properties is extensively reviewed and their results are analyzed, compared, and highlighted. Furthermore, a framework to produce functional eco-composites, which includes functionalization of ingredients, critical issues on microstructural parameters, processing, and fabrication methods, is outlined and supported with sufficient data from the literature. Finally, the review outlines the emerging challenges and future prospects of eco-composites to be addressed by interested researchers to bridge the gap between research and commercialization of such a class of material. Overall, the acquired knowledge will guide researchers, scientists, and manufacturers to plan, select, and develop various forms of eco-composites with enhanced properties and optimized production processes.     

CFD simulation and evaluation of controllable parameters effect on thermomagnetic convection in ferrofluids using Taguchi technique

In the present attempt a CFD simulation capable of coupling behaviors from the nano-scale through the full-scale system in which a ferrofluid containing magnetite particles suspended in kerosene carrier liquid is presented. The main objective of the work was to simulate the thermodiffusion and also to evaluate the factors influence on this phenomenon in a cylindrical geometry. In simulations a two-phase mixture model was used to predict the behavior of the system. To optimize the thermomagnetic effect, different parameters including temperature difference across the layer, initial magnetic phase concentration, aspect ratio of the geometry, magnetic field magnitude and diameter of magnetic particles were examined using L₁₆ orthogonal array of Taguchi at four levels. Analysis of the simulation data indicate that the magnetic Soret effect can even be higher than the conventional one and its strength depends on the magnetic field strength, confirmed experimentally by Völker and Odenbach [Völker T, Odenbach S. Thermodiffusion in magnetic fluids. J Magn Magn Mater 2005;289:289-91]. The statistic evaluation shows that temperature and initial concentration of magnetic phase have the maximum and minimum contribution on the thermodiffusion, respectively. According to the results temperature difference 80 K, initial concentration of magnetic phase 0.08, aspect ratio 0.2, magnetic field strength 100 kA/m and magnetic particles diameter 100 nm were obtained as optimum conditions in the presence of natural convection. The same result was gained in the lack of natural convection except the magnetic field strength was 160 kA/m. Finally, based on the primary results, a verification test was also performed to confirm the validity of the used statistical method.     

Recombinant human erythrocyte cytochrome b5

The gene encoding the human erythrocyte form of cytochrome b5 (97 residues in length) has been prepared by mutagenesis of an expression vector encoding lipase-solubilized bovine liver microsomal cytochrome b5 (93 residues in length) (Funk et al., 1990). Efficient expression of this gene in Escherichia coli has provided the first opportunity to obtain this protein in quantities sufficient for physical and functional characterization. Comparison of the erythrocytic cytochrome with the trypsin-solubilized bovine liver cytochrome b5 by potentiometric titration indicates that the principal electrostatic difference between the two proteins results from two additional His residues present in the human erythrocytic protein. The midpoint reduction potential of this protein determined by direct electrochemistry is -9 +/- 2 mV vs SHE at pH 7.0 (mu = 0.10 M, 25.0 degrees C), and this value varies with pH in a fashion that is consistent with the presence of a single ionizable group that changes pKa from 6.0 +/- 0.1 in the ferricytochrome to 6.3 +/- 0.1 in the ferrocytochrome with delta H degrees = -3.2 +/- 0.1 kcal/mol and delta S degrees = -11.5 +/- 0.3 eu (pH 7.0, mu = 0.10). The 1D 1H NMR spectrum of the erythrocytic ferricytochrome indicates that 90% of the protein binds heme in the "major" orientation and 10% of the protein binds heme in the "minor" orientation (pH 7.0, 25 degrees C) with delta H degrees = -2.9 +/- 0.3 kcal/mol and delta S degrees = -5.4 +/- 0.9 eu for this equilibrium.     

Coiled bodies contain U7 small nuclear RNA and associate with specific DNA sequences in interphase human cells

Coiled bodies (CBs) are nuclear organelles whose structures appear to be highly conserved in evolution. In rapidly cycling cells, they are typically located in the nucleoplasm but are often found in contact with the nucleolus. The CBs in human cells contain a unique protein, called p80-coilin. Studies on amphibian oocyte nuclei have revealed a protein within the "sphere" organelle that shares significant structural similarity to p80-coilin. Spheres and CBs are also highly enriched in small nuclear ribonucleoproteins and other RNA-processing components. We present evidence that, like spheres, CBs contain U7 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) and associate with specific chromosomal loci. Using biotinylated 2'-O-methyl oligonucleotides complementary to the 5' end of U7 snRNA and fluorescence in situ hybridization, we show that U7 is distributed throughout the nucleoplasm, excluding nucleoli, and is concentrated in CBs. Interestingly, we found that CBs often associate with subsets of the histone, U1, and U2 snRNA gene loci in interphase HeLa-ATCC and HEp-2 monolayer cells. However, in a strain of suspension-grown HeLa cells, called HeLa-JS1000, we found a much lower rate of association between CBs and snRNA genes. Possible roles for CBs in the metabolism of these various histone and snRNAs are discussed.     

Energy and load balancing routing protocol for IoT

Due to the limitation of node energy resources, the management of energy consumption is one of the most important problems of the internet of things (IoT). Therefore, many studies have tried to optimize and manage energy consumption by focusing on different techniques. Although each of these studies has improved and optimized energy consumption, there are many important problems, including maintaining traffic balance and energy consumption of network nodes. Therefore, a new method is necessary to maintain the load and energy balancing of network nodes. Therefore, this paper introduces energy and load balancing routing protocol for IoT (ELBRP) based on the development of the RPL routing protocol and the efficiency of data distribution technique. The ELBRP performance has three steps. In the first step, along with the process of sending DODAG information object (DIO) messages, the status of network nodes is evaluated. In the second step, the DODAG communication graph is formed according to the ELBRP. In the third step, data transmission is done according to the distribution technique with the goal of balancing traffic and energy. The simulation results using cooja simulator showed the superiority of ELBRP in improving energy consumption and successful delivery ratio, reducing delay and increasing the network lifetime compared to the similar methods.