Control of stroma-dependent hematopoiesis by basic fibroblast growth factor: stromal phenotypic plasticity and modified myelopoietic functions

The immunological agglutination reactions of physically absorbed F(ab')2 molecules onto anionic and cationic latex particles have been investigated by means of optical absorbance measurements. These measurements have been conducted under different conditions to determine the most influential factors. Surface F(ab')2 and BSA densities, particle concentration in the reaction medium and polyethylene glycol concentration are some of these factors. Sensitized cationic and anionic latexes differ considerably with respect to their colloidal stability and reactivity. As a general rule, the sensitized cationic latex has a relatively higher colloidal stability and hence, it provides reagents with a better optical response. Less than 0.025 microgram/ml of C-reactive protein has been detected using this particle enhanced optical immunoassay.     

Perspectives on Design and Innovation

A series of studies of top European and other firms has revealed patterns of design management associated with commercial success. Firms that invest resources and professional expertise in product and industrial design in traditional and new industries have been commercially more successful than firms that pay less attention to these aspects of design. As an industry matures there is a shift in emphasis from design associated with technological innovation, to designs supporting technical improvements, and then to supporting user needs, fashion and product variants. These issues are illustrated through the history of the evolution of the bicycle.     

Storage performance-metrics and benchmarks

The metrics and benchmarks used in storage performance evaluation are discussed. The technology trends taking place in storage systems, such as disk and tape evolution, disk arrays, and solid-state disks, are highlighted. The current popular I/O benchmarks are then described, reviewed, and run on three systems: a DECstation 5000/200 running the Sprite Operating System, a SPARCstation 1+ running SunOS, and an HP Series 700 (Model 730) running HP-UX. Two approaches to storage benchmarks-LADDIS and a self-scaling benchmark with predicted performance-are also described     

20-nm optical wavelength conversion using nondegenerate four-wavemixing

Wavelength conversion of optical signals over 20 nm is demonstrated using highly nondegenerate four-wave mixing in a semiconductor traveling-wave optical amplifier. This technique has the potential for extremely-high-speed operation and allows continuous tuning of both input and output wavelengths over the amplifier gain bandwidth. It is demonstrated that, even for such a large wavelength conversion range, it is possible to obtain conversion efficiencies in excess of -10 dB and high extinction ratios. The feasibility of the technique is demonstrated by system measurements at 622 Mb/s, showing a 1.1-dB power penalty at 10^-9 bit error rate (BER)     

Plasmid DNA strand breaks induced by laser irradiation of 193 nm wavelength

DNA of plasmid pBR322 irradiated with laser at a wavelength of 193 mm was treated with an extract containing proteins from E.coli K12 AB1157 (wild-type). The enzymes were found to produce single- and double-strand DNA breaks, which was interpreted as a transformation of a portion of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and (6-4) photoproducts into nonrepairable single-strand DNA breaks. The products resulted from ionization of DNA, in particular, single-strand breaks, transform to double-strand breaks. A comparison of these data with the data on survival of plasmid upon transformation of E.coli K12 AB1157 enables one to assess the biological significance of single- and double-strand breaks. The inactivation of the plasmid (in AB1157) is mainly determined by the number of directly formed laser-induced single-strand breaks, whereas the contribution of enzymatically produced single- and double-strand breaks is insignificant.     

A comparison of CCS tandem overload controls

In this paper we analyse issues associated with overloads in tandem switching systems in Common Channel Signalling (CCS) networks. In particular, we examine the need for, and effectiveness of, Automatic Congestion Control (ACC), a CCS mechanism which allows a congested switching system to inform adjacent CCS nodes of its level of overload, and subsequently controls the rate at which traffic is sent to the congested node. We demonstrate the critical need for end-offices and tandem switching systems to implement some form of ACC if network performance is to be maintained during congestion, especially in tandem exchanges. In addition, we find that the presently defined ACC should be expanded to allow more levels of congestion to be reported to adjacent nodes, so that a more effective, finer grained control is produced.     

Mullite Formation by Endothermic Reaction of α-Alumina/Silica Microcomposite Particles

The formation of mullite was investigated using microcomposite powders which consist of α-alumina cores and amorphous silica coatings. Differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction showed that the mullitization reaction was endothermic. In contrast, mullite forms exothermically in samples prepared by sol-gel processing. The results are shown to be consistent with available thermodynamic data for mullite formation from different alumina and silica phases.     

Shear horizontal wave propagation in periodically layeredcomposites

The transverse resonance approach to guided wave analysis is applied to shear horizontal (SH) wave propagation in periodically layered composites. It is found for SH waves that at high values of the guided wavevector β, the wave energy is trapped in the slower of the two media and propagates accordingly at the slower wavespeed. At low values of β, however, the modes demonstrate a clustering behavior, indicative of the underlying Floquet wave structure. The number of modes in a cluster is observed to correlate with the number of unit cells in the layered plate. New physical insights into the behavior of these systems are obtained by analyzing the partial waves of the guided SH modes in terms of Floquet waves. We show that the fast and slow shear waves in the periodically layered composite play an analogous role to the longitudinal and shear partial waves comprising Lamb waves in a homogeneous plate     

Peer drug associations and emotional restraint: Causes or consequences of adolescents' drug use?

A 3-wave longitudinal design was used to examine the relationships among emotional restraint, peer drug associations, and gateway drug use in a sample of 1,256 middle school students. Structural equation modeling was used to compare 3 models: (1) One model viewed drug use as a consequence of emotional restraint and peer variables; (2) 1 viewed drug use as a cause of restraint and peer variables; and (3) 1 included reciprocal effects. All 3 models fit the data fairly well. However, the reciprocal model fit the data significantly better than either of the others. Within this model, low emotional restraint was significantly related to subsequent increases in gateway drug use among boys. In contrast, peer drug models and peer pressure were not related to subsequent changes in gateway drug use. Changes in peer drug models were, however, predicted by previous levels of gateway drug use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)