Neuropsychological issues in litigation following traumatic brain injury.

Provides information about issues confronting neuropsychologists involved in brain injury litigation. Neuropsychologists are often involved as experts in the litigation process because of their unique role in assessment and treatment of brain injury sequelae. Focus is on evaluation, preparation of reports, testimony, professional credibility, ethics, and responsibilities to the patient. Criteria for evaluating the expertise and credentials of psychologists hired by attorneys are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of the DNA content in Bowen''s disease

Marketing of medicinal plants and phytotherapeutic products is spreading all over the world. In order to assess the commercialization of medicinal plants and phytotherapeutic products in the State of Minas Gerais, we identified and tested for the presence of adulterants and active ingredients in 27 samples of chamomile. All the samples consisted of Matricaria recutita flowers, but they were badly fragmented, a result of excessive handling and poor preservation. All samples contained contaminants, and insects were observed in 63% of the samples sold in drugstores. Only 50% of the samples in each group had the essential oils needed to produce antiinflammatory activity. Flavonoids and other phenolic constituents with a spasmolytic effect were detected in only 20% of the samples from each group. Results with chamomile indicated the poor quality with which medicinal plants and phytotherapeutic products are marketed and confirm the need for surveillance of such products in Brazil.     

Munich dark matter search

We plan a dark matter search using cryogenic calorimetric detectors with superconducting phase transition thermometers. We discuss such an experiment, compare its estimated sensitivity range with other dark matter searches, and discuss its planned realization.     

Routine molecular genotyping of HLA-B27 in spondyloarthropathies overcomes the obstacles of serological typing and reveals an increased B *2702 frequency in ankylosing spondylitis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reproducibility and reliability of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in HLA-B27 typing compared to the conventionally used microlymphocytotoxicity test (MLCT). To determine the HLA-B27 subtype frequencies (B*2701-B*2709) in patients with HLA-B27 associated disease and healthy persons using sequence specific oligonucleotides (SSO). METHODS: 398 consecutive patients were HLA-B27 typed by MLCT and PCR. Subtyping by SSO was performed in 142 patients with HLA-B27 associated disease [ankylosing spondylitis (AS) n = 38, reactive arthritis 44, undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (uSpA) 45, psoriatic arthritis 15] and 125 healthy HLA-B27 controls. RESULTS: MLCT identified 61 HLA-B27 positive patients (15.3%); PCR identified 78 positive patients (19.6%). MLCT gave false negative results for 8 patients (2.0%) and false positives for a further 7 (1.8%). Only subtypes B*2702 and B*2705 were present in patients and controls. Overall frequencies of B*2702 in patients and controls were 14.1 and 9.6%, respectively. The B*2702 frequency was significantly (pcorr. < 0.04) higher in AS (23.7%) and lower in uSpA (6.7%) patients. CONCLUSION: HLA-B27 typing by PCR is reliable and reproducible and therefore recommended for routine typing. It overcomes the obstacles of serological typing, i.e., equivocal results and cross-reactivity. In addition, subtype frequencies (B*2702 and B*2705) are equally distributed among patients and controls, although subtype B*2702 seems to be more frequent in AS and less so in uSpA.     

Pneumocandin Biosynthesis: Involvement of a trans‐Selective Proline Hydroxylase

Echinocandins are cyclic nonribosomal hexapeptides based mostly on nonproteinogenic amino acids and displaying strong antifungal activity. Despite previous studies on their biosynthesis by fungi, the origin of three amino acids, trans‐4‐ and trans‐3‐hydroxyproline, as well as trans‐3‐hydroxy‐4‐methylproline, is still unknown. Here we describe the identification, overexpression, and characterization of GloF, the first eukaryotic α‐ketoglutarate/Fe^II‐dependent proline hydroxylase from the pneumocandin biosynthesis cluster of the fungus Glarea lozoyensis ATCC 74030. In in vitro transformations with L ‐proline, GloF generates trans‐4‐ and trans‐3‐hydroxyproline simultaneously in a ratio of 8:1; the latter reaction was previously unknown for proline hydroxylase catalysis. trans‐4‐Methyl‐L ‐proline is converted into the corresponding trans‐3‐hydroxyproline. All three hydroxyprolines required for the biosynthesis of the echinocandins pneumocandins A₀ and B₀ in G. lozoyensis are thus provided by GloF. Sequence analyses revealed that GloF is not related to bacterial proline hydroxylases, and none of the putative proteins with high sequence similarity in the databases has been characterized so far.     

Durability and surface chemistry of horizontally aligned CNT films as electrodes upon electrolysis of acidic aqueous solution

We devised a simple and effective method of electrochemical functionalization of horizontally aligned CNT films in diluted HCl and H₂SO₄ solutions upon their electrolysis under a constant current mode. We were able to cause notable generation of carbon–oxygen and carbon–chlorine functional groups on the CNT film anodes as proven by EDX, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy. As a consequence, we observed significant changes of the morphology of the material under electron microscopy, what translated into improved compatibility of CNTs with hydrophilic media. In turn, application of CNT films as cathodes was found as a powerful tool for a thorough cleaning of the nanotubes. Finally, we demonstrated that by the selection of appropriate conditions, CNT films can act as easy-to-make and flexible electrodes with a high stability and performance superior to graphite for generation of non-oxidizing gases such as hydrogen from solution. CNT film electrodes are two orders of magnitude lighter and require much lower overpotential for faradaic splitting of water.     

The Role of Higher Lying Electronic States in Charge Photogeneration in Organic Solar Cells

The role of excess photon energy on charge generation efficiency in bulk heterojunction solar cells is still an open issue for the organic photovoltaic community. Here, the spectral dependence of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) for a poly[2,6‐(4,4‐bis‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐4H‐cyclopenta[2,1‐b;3,4‐b]­dithiophene)‐alt‐4,7‐(2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole)]:6,6‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCPDTBT:PC60BM)‐based solar cell is derived combining accurate optoelectronic characterization and comprehensive optical modeling. This joint approach is shown to be essential to get reliable values of the IQE. Photons with energy higher than the bandgap of the donor material can effectively contribute to enhance the IQE of the solar cell. This holds true independently of the device architecture, reflecting an intrinsic property of the active material. Moreover, the nanomorphology of the bulk heterojunction plays a crucial role in determining the IQE spectral dependence: the coarser and more crystalline, the lesser the gain in IQE upon high energy excitation.     

Prospective environmental life cycle assessment of nanosilver T-shirts

A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) is performed to compare nanosilver T-shirts with conventional T-shirts with and without biocidal treatment. For nanosilver production and textile incorporation, we investigate two processes: flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and plasma polymerization with silver co-sputtering (PlaSpu). Prospective environmental impacts due to increased nanosilver T-shirt commercialization are estimated with six scenarios. Results show significant differences in environmental burdens between nanoparticle production technologies: The "cradle-to-gate" climate footprint of the production of a nanosilver T-shirt is 2.70 kg of CO(2)-equiv (FSP) and 7.67-166 kg of CO(2)-equiv (PlaSpu, varying maturity stages). Production of conventional T-shirts with and without the biocide triclosan has emissions of 2.55 kg of CO(2)-equiv (contribution from triclosan insignificant). Consumer behavior considerably affects the environmental impacts during the use phase. Lower washing frequencies can compensate for the increased climate footprint of FSP nanosilver T-shirt production. The toxic releases from washing and disposal in the life cycle of T-shirts appear to be of minor relevance. By contrast, the production phase may be rather significant due to toxic silver emissions at the mining site if high silver quantities are required.