Oligonucleotide array-in-well platform for detection and genotyping human adenoviruses by utilizing upconverting phosphor label technology

We have developed a robust array-in-well test platform based on an oligonucleotide array, combining advantages of simple instrumentation and new upconverting phosphor reporter technology. Upconverting inorganic lanthanide phosphors have a unique property of photoluminescence emission at visible wavelengths under near-infrared excitation. No autofluorescence is produced from the sample or support material, enabling a highly sensitive assay. In this study, the assay is performed in standard 96-well microtiter plates, making the technique easily adaptable to high-throughput analysis. The oligonucleotide array-in-well assay is employed to detect a selection of ten common adenovirus genotypes causing human infections. The study provides a demonstration of the advantages and potential of the upconverting phosphor-based reporter technology in multianalyte assays and anti-Stokes photoluminescence detection with an anti-Stokes photoluminescence imaging device.     

Introduction to the special section: Contextualizing significance testing in clinical trials.

The presentation and interpretation of clinical trial data is of crucial importance to psychotherapy research and practice. This introduction briefly describes how this Special Section on significance testing in clinical trials came about, as well as some of the content included in the articles. Between the original theoretical article and the four invited comments, this Special Section provides a concise and accessible overview of current thinking regarding the limitations of clinical trial data, particularly significance testing, as well as improvements and supplements to these analyses that may benefit both psychotherapy research and those who use this information in applied practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A newly developed calcia/titanium modified magnesia-based investment mold for titanium casting

Calcia (CaO) investment has the high stability with melted pure titanium (Ti) but the poor manipulation usually leads to low success rate of complete castings. Magnesia (MgO)-based investment can produce the high success rate of pure Ti casting though. However, the MgO-based investment should be accompanied with Ti powder to meet the accuracy of Ti castings. In this study, a pure titanium casting using Ti powder modified MgO-based investment and 0.1–0.5 wt.% CaO additive was investigated. Experimental results showed that pure Ti cast with a modified MgO-based dental investment with Ti/CaO resulted in a higher success rate of the complete casting and a decrease in the interfacial surface reaction at high casting temperatures as compared to unmodified MgO-based investments with Ti powder. This newly developed Ti modified MgO-based investment and 0.1–0.5 wt.% CaO additives had an acceptable marginal accuracy with a marginal gap of less than 50 μm; the 0.4 wt.% CaO additive gave the best accuracy. Based on a micro-chemical analysis, the addition of 0.1–0.5 wt.% CaO to the Ti modified MgO-based investment significantly reduced the reaction layers and casting defects in pure Ti casting, which had proven to enhance Ti–porcelain bonding; the investment modified with 0.5 wt.% CaO had the thinnest reaction layer.     

Influence of pentosans on texture of starch gels during storage,and effects after enzyme treatment

The effects of commercial soluble (SAX) and insoluble (IAX) arabinoxylans (AX), and water extractable pentosans (WEP) from wheat doughs on texture profile analysis (TPA) of starch gels have been determined. Gels were also subjected to enzyme treatment with a amylase/pentosanase preparation, a lipase and their combination. SAX delayed starch gel aging and gave more cohesive and less elastic gels than starch, whereas IAX showed only a slight influence. With their combination the TPA of gels showed a predominant effect of SAX. The effect of enzyme addition was enhanced in presence of AX, but they did not improve the effect of AX without treatment. When WEP were used the addition of enzymes was more effective in delaying gel staling. Kinetics of aging depended on the type of AX present and the enzyme combination used to prepare the starch gels.     

Formation and decomposition of stigmasterol hydroperoxides and secondary oxidation products during thermo‐oxidation

The oxidation mechanisms of stigmasterol at 100 and 180 °C were investigated by using the HPLC‐UV‐FL method. An overall picture of the oxidation status was achieved with a single HPLC analysis, enabling us to monitor the formation and decomposition of both primary and secondary oxidation products. The oxidation behavior of stigmasterol was different at the two temperatures. At 180 °C, the amounts of hydroperoxides increased sharply during the first 10 min and then began to decrease. At 100 °C, the amounts of hydroperoxides increased over the entire experimental period. At 180 °C, all major secondary oxidation products, except 7‐ketostigmasterol, reached a plateau after 40 min of oxidation, while at 100 °C their amounts increased constantly. The same oxidation products were formed at both temperatures, but their distribution differed. At 180 °C, the formation of free radicals at position 7 was more favorable than formation of radicals at position 25. The situation was the opposite at 100 °C; radicals formed more easily at the tertiary position 25. At 180 °C, 7‐ketostigmasterol was dominant after 40 min of oxidation, whereas at 100 °C it was the main oxidation product over the entire experiment.     

Two Moldy Day-care Centers: a Follow-up Study of Respiratory Symptoms and Infections

Abstract The aim was to study the respiratory symptoms among children exposed to indoor air molds in a day-care environment in Finland. Two day-care centers with a mold problem and two reference day-care centers were included in the study and the health data of the children were collected with a follow-up study of two periods. A total of 229 children 3-7 years old attended the day-care centers. During the first follow-up period, the children in the two day-care centers with mold problems had a significantly increased risk of sore throat, purulent and non-purulent nasal discharge, nasal congestion, hoarseness and common cold. During the second follow-up period, a significantly increased risk of purulent nasal discharge, nasal congestion, hoarseness and cough was observed. Upper respiratory tract symptoms, at least once during the study period, were more prevalent among the children attending mold-problem day-care centers. The mold-exposed children had such symptoms repeatedly or the symptoms were prolonged. In conclusion, in the mold-problem day-care centers, overall morbidity for respiratory symptoms and for common cold increased in comparison with the reference day-care centers.     

Comparison of heart rate biofeedback, false biofeedback, and systematic desensitization in reducing speech anxiety: Short- and long-term effectiveness.

Assessed the comparative effectiveness of heart rate biofeedback (HRB) training, false HRB training, and systematic desensitization (SD) in reducing speech anxiety for 27 students chosen for their high scores on the item "speaking before a group" of the Fear Survey Schedule. Results indicate that all 3 groups demonstrated a decrease in self-reported (Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker) and overt motor components of anxiety during 2 posttreatment assessment periods. Physiological measures (HR and skin conductance), however, indicate that the HRB group was associated with less physiological responding during the posttreatment assessments of anxiety relative to the other 2 groups. Results demonstrate that the 3 behavioral component measures of anxiety are not always highly correlated. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extended AMR-WB for high-quality audio on mobile devices

This article presents the architecture, performance, and application scenarios of the AMR-WB+ (extended AMR-WB) audio codec, which provides high quality at exceptionally low rates, and consistent quality over all audio types. This codec was recently selected by 3GPP and DVB to support low-bit-rate audio and audiovisual applications on mobile networks.     

Ozone Assisted Biological Treatment Of Industrial Wastewaters Containing Biorefractory Compound

Ozone pretreatment studies of organic compounds that are difficult to biodegrade were conducted to evaluate the effects of ozonation on biodegradability of these compounds. Initial testing was conducted in batch activated sludge experiments with and without preozonation to evaluate the impacts of ozonation on the ultimate BOD/COD and ultimate BOD/TOC ratios of these compounds. Experimental results indicated wastewater preozonation to be an effective pretreatment step for some compounds, ineffective for other compounds and detrimental to biological treatment of still other compounds. These same compounds were then investigated in continuous flow, complete–mix activated sludge systems. Complete material balances, including influent, effluent, waste sludge and off–gas specific compound analyses, were conducted so that the actual fate of the compound could be determined. Removal mechanisms of the ozonated or unozonated compound were then determined to be biodegradation, stripping, or sorption to the biomass. Three compounds were investigated: acrylonitrile, 2,4 dinitrophenol, and 1,2 dichloropropane.     

The ALSM algorithm — an improved subspace method of classification

The subspace methods of classification are decision-theoretic pattern recognition methods in which each class is represented in terms of a linear subspace of the Euclidean pattern or feature space. In most reported subspace methods, a priori criteria have been applied to improve either the class representation or the discriminatory power of the subspaces. Recently, construction of the class subspaces by learning has been suggested by Kohonen, resulting in an improved classification accuracy. A variant of the original learning rule is analyzed and results are given on its application to the classification of phonemes in automatic speech recognition.