Effect of topical steroids on nasal nitric oxide production in children with perennial allergic rhinitis: a pilot study

It has been hypothesized that concentrations of exhaled nitric oxide (NO) may be related to the extent of cytokine-mediated airway inflammation. Recent findings indicate the nasal airways as an important site of NO production. Our objective was to evaluate whether children with allergic rhinitis show different nasal NO levels when compared with normal healthy subjects and the effect of topical steroids and anti-histamine therapy. We have measured the concentration of NO drawn from the nose of 21 children (5-17 years old) affected by perennial allergic rhinitis (house dust mite) out of therapy for at least 3 weeks. Thirteen children were then treated with nasal beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) (400 micrograms daily) and eight subjects with nasal anti-histamine levocabastine (200 micrograms daily). Measurements were performed before and after 10 days of treatment. As a control group we evaluated 21 healthy children aged 5-15 years. To measure NO we used a chemiluminescence analyser. Before treatment the whole group of children with allergic rhinitis showed a mean (+/- SEM) nasal NO concentration of 267 +/- 18 ppb, significantly higher (P < 0.01) than the control group (186 +/- 15 ppb). The group of children treated with BDP showed, after 10 days of therapy, a significant (P < 0.05) decrease of nasal NO concentration (271 +/- 21 ppb vs. 212 +/- 20 ppb). Indeed, in the group treated with levocabastine, nasal NO concentrations did not present a significant difference (P not significant) compared with baseline (261 +/- 33 ppb and 252 +/- 31 ppb, respectively). These data suggest that (1) children with allergic rhinitis have higher levels of nasal NO than non-atopic controls and (2) intranasal steroid therapy significantly reduces nasal NO production in children with allergic rhinitis. We speculate that the allergic inflammatory response may influence the nasal NO levels and that NO measurements may be a useful marker of nasal inflammation.     

Thermal AFM: a thermopile case study

In this work, an atomic force microscope (AFM) with an integrated thermal sensor has been used to obtain the local spatial distribution of temperatures in a micromachined thermopile with submicron resolution. In this communication, we will show how the dimensional, structural and functional characteristics of a thermopile suits well with the requirements for AFM thermal imaging, and how a deeper insight of the thermopile operation can be gained with the aid of these advanced scanning probe-based tools.     

Multivariate curve resolution applied to the analysis and resolution of two-dimensional [1H,15N] NMR reaction spectra

Multivariate curve resolution is proposed for the study of complex chemical reactions monitored by two-dimensional (2D) NMR spectroscopy. In particular, in this work, multivariate curve resolution is applied to the study of the reaction between (15)N-labeled cisplatin and the amino acid-nucleotide hybrid (Phac-Met-linker-p(5')dG). At several stages of the reaction, 2D [(1)H,(15)N] HSQC NMR spectra were acquired and stored in data matrices. In a first step, multivariate curve resolution was applied to analyze individually each one of these 2D spectra, allowing the resolution of the corresponding (1)H and (15)N one-dimensional correlation spectra. In a second step, the whole set of 2D spectra recorded along the reaction were simultaneously analyzed by multivariate curve resolution, allowing the resolution of the kinetic concentration profiles and of the pure 2D NMR spectra of each of the species detected along the reaction. Results finally obtained confirmed previously postulated reaction mechanisms involving the existence of two monofunctional adducts and of two bifunctional adducts, with the structure of one of them not completely resolved.     

AC-coupled front-end for biopotential measurements

AC coupling is essential in biopotential measurements. Electrode offset potentials can be several orders of magnitude larger than the amplitudes of the biological signals of interest, thus limiting the admissible gain of a dc-coupled front end to prevent amplifier saturation. A high-gain input stage needs ac input coupling. This can be achieved by series capacitors, but in order to provide a bias path, grounded resistors are usually included, which degrade the common mode rejection ratio (CMRR). This paper proposes a novel balanced input ac-coupling network that provides a bias path without any connection to ground, thus resulting in a high CMRR. The circuit being passive, it does not limit the differential dc input voltage. Furthermore, differential signals are ac coupled, whereas common-mode voltages are dc coupled, thus allowing the closed-loop control of the dc common mode voltage by means of a driven-right-leg circuit. This makes the circuit compatible with common-mode dc shifting strategies intended for single-supply biopotential amplifiers. The proposed circuit allows the implementation of high-gain biopotential amplifiers with a reduced number of parts, thus resulting in low power consumption. An electrocardiogram amplifier built according to the proposed design achieves a CMRR of 123 dB at 50 Hz.     

Global and local distance-based generalized linear models

This paper introduces local distance-based generalized linear models. These models extend (weighted) distance-based linear models first to the generalized linear model framework. Then, a nonparametric version of these models is proposed by means of local fitting. Distances between individuals are the only predictor information needed to fit these models. Therefore, they are applicable, among others, to mixed (qualitative and quantitative) explanatory variables or when the regressor is of functional type. An implementation is provided by the R package dbstats, which also implements other distance-based prediction methods. Supplementary material for this article is available online, which reproduces all the results of this article.     

PHRASE AND NGRAM-BASED STATISTICAL MACHINE TRANSLATION SYSTEM COMBINATION

Multiples translations can be computed by one machine translation (MT) system or by different MT systems. We may assume that different MT systems make different errors due to using different models, generation strategies, or tweaks. An investigated technique, inherited from automatic speech recognition (ASR), is the so-called system combination that is based on combining the outputs of multiples MT systems. We combine the outputs of a phrase- and Ngram-based Statistical MT (SMT) systems using statistical criteria and additional rescoring features.     

The role of long-term-memory and short-term-memory links in the Simon effect.

In Experiment 1, children performed a Simon task after a spatially compatible or incompatible task. Results showed a Simon effect after the spatially compatible task and a reversed Simon effect after the spatially incompatible task. In Experiments 2–5, an identical procedure was adopted with adult participants, who performed the Simon task immediately after, a day after, or a week after the spatial compatibility task. Experiment 6 established a baseline for the Simon effect. Results showed a Simon effect after the spatially compatible task and no Simon effect or a reversed Simon effect after the spatially incompatible task. A modified version of the computational model of M. Zorzi and C. Umiltà (1995) was used to compare possible accounts of the findings. The best account exploits 2 types of short-term-memory links between stimulus and response and their interaction with long-term-memory links. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Daily doses of light in relation to the growth of Scenedesmus obliquus in diluted three‐phase olive mill wastewater

BACKGROUND: The use of olive‐oil mill wastewater (OMW) from a three‐phase centrifugation process used in the olive‐oil industry, has been studied in relation to the production of the microalga Scenedesmus obliquus CCAP 276/3A. The chemical characteristics of OMW indicated nitrogen deficiency. RESULTS: S. obliquus is able to assimilate nutrients present in a culture medium (water‐OMW 5%) and grow at its maximum specific growth rate of 0.026 h^?1, both under mixotrophic as well as heterotrophic conditions. The different daily doses of light (DDL) used, in the range 0–36 E m^?2 d^?1, determined light‐limited and light‐inhibited cultures. The light‐inhibited mixotrophic cultures bore characteristics similar to those of the heterotrophic cultures, and became more so when the dose of light received was higher. The low protein yield (258 mg g^?1) and high percentage of carbohydrates of the biomass (65.8%) confirmed a nutritional‐stress situation associated with nitrogen limitation. CONCLUSION: The similarity between the fatty‐acid composition of the heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultures strongly inhibited by light appeared to indicate the cancelling of the photosynthetic behaviour of the cells at high DDL values. The biomass generated can be used for biofuels. The maximum elimination of biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) per unit of biomass was achieved in the heterotrophic cultures. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry