Proliferative responses to PHA, anti-CD3 and antigens in patients with lymphoproliferative disease of granular lymphocytes. Mannoproteins of Candida albicans induce proliferation and cytotoxicity

The effect of the specific PAF-antagonist WEB 2086, a thieno-triazolo-diazepine, and ketoprofen, a NSAID, was investigated on PAF-induced bovine platelet aggregation measured ex vivo in platelet-rich plasma (PRP). WEB 2086 was infused intravenously over 1 min followed immediately by ketoprofen administration over 1 s (both drugs = 3 mg/kg), in a group of six healthy male Friesian calves. Depending on the PAF concentration, a reversible (10(-8)-10(-9) mol/l) and irreversible (10(-5)-10(-7) mol/l) platelet aggregation was observed. The reversible aggregation was completely blocked by pretreatment of the animal with WEB 2086 and ketoprofen. The inhibitory effects observed during the irreversible aggregation were 47.22%, 54.00% and 88.00% at 10(-5), 10(-6) and 10(-7) mol/l PAF, respectively. Moreover, the aggregation obtained in these condition became reversible. Maximal inhibitory effect of WEB 2086 and ketoprofen on PAF-induced platelet aggregation in calves was observed within 30 min after administration of both drugs. This inhibition persisted even after 24 h and was significantly different from control with P < 0.05. The combined effect of both drugs exceeded the sum of the individual effects (synergism). It was concluded that WEB 2086 and ketoprofen very effectively blocked PAF-induced bovine platelet aggregation in platelet-rich plasma. The study also suggested a synergism between both substances.     

Asset Price Dynamics among Heterogeneous Interacting Agents

In this paper, we investigate the presence of rationalherding on asset price dynamics during the intra-day trading withheterogeneous interacting agents, whose information set is notcomplete. In the model, individual probability measures offinancial investment strategies are defined using statisticalmechanics concepts. In addition, there is a learning processtoward the best strategy, implemented as a geneticalgorithm. Simulations show that imitative behavior can be arational strategy, since it allows an investor to gain excessreturns on an asset by exploiting information regarding pricedynamics not strictly contained in the fundamental solution. Herdbehavior is rational in the sense that it produces profits at theexpense of increasing the complexity of the system.     

Systems Engineering to improve the governance in complex project environments

Projects delivered in complex environments are often late, over-budget and provide fewer benefits than what were originally expected. Systems Engineering is the emerging paradigm in complex project environments to transform the governance from “project based” to “system based” and thereby increase the chance of holistic success. Systems Engineering is a multidisciplinary approach to enable the successful delivery of systems in complex environments through a comprehensive set of approaches, techniques and tools, initially developed in the USA after the Second World War. This paper focuses on how Systems Engineering can transform the governance from “project governance” to “system governance”, improving the performance of projects delivered in a complex environment. This paper presents Systems Engineering tools and techniques focusing, in particular, on the most relevant for project management, project governance and stakeholder management. At the end it provides a rich research agenda for further studies.     

Study of Band Gap of Carbon Nanotube-Titanium Dioxide Heterostructures

The authors present a photoluminescence and UV （ultraviolet）-optical absorbance study on single walled carbon nanotubes CNTs （carbon nanotubes） and TiO2 mixtures. The authors observed variation of△ф = 0.6 eV in optical gap for micrometric anatase and 0.1 eV for nanometric rutile or anatase at a concentration of CNTs of about 1.5 weight %. The large difference in △ф is attributed to differences in dimensions of dioxide grains and in morphology of CNTs/Ti02 composites. Photoluminescence emission is drastically reduced and absorption in the UV range is increased at low CNT concentration for both anatase and rutile phases.     

Evaluation of cross-linked chitosan microparticles containing acyclovir obtained by spray-drying

The aim of this study was to obtain microparticles containing acyclovir (ACV) and chitosan cross-linked with tripolyphosphate using the spray-drying technique. The resultant system was evaluated through loading efficiency, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), in vitro release and stability studies. The results obtained indicated that the polymer/ACV ratio influenced the final properties of the microparticles, with higher ratios giving the best encapsulation efficiency, dissolution profiles and stability. The DSC and XRPD analyses indicated that the ACV was transformed into amorphous form during the spray-drying process.     

Validating and Calibrating Agent-Based Models: A Case Study

In this paper we deal with some validation and calibration experiments on a modified version of the Complex Adaptive Trivial System (CATS) model proposed in Gallegati et al. (2005 Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 56, 489–512). The CATS model has been extensively used to replicate a large number of scaling types stylized facts with a remarkable degree of precision. For such purposes, the simulation of the model has been performed entering ad hoc parameter values and using the same initial set up for all the agents involved in the experiments. Nowadays alternative robust and reliable validation techniques for determining whether the simulation model is an acceptable representation of the real system are available. Moreover many distributional and goodness-of-fit tests have been developed while several graphical tools have been proposed to give the researcher a quick comprehension of actual and simulated data. This paper discusses some validation experiments performed with the modified CATS model. In particular starting from a sample of Italian firms included in the CEBI database, we perform several ex-post validation experiments over the simulation period 1982–2000. In the experiments, the model parameters have been estimated using actual data and the initial set up consists of a sample of agents in 1982. The CATS model is then simulated over the period 1982–2000. Using alternative validation techniques, the simulations’ results are ex-post validated with respect to the actual data. The results are promising in that they show the good capabilities of the CATS model in reproducing the observed reality. Finally we have performed a first calibration experiment via indirect inference, in order to ameliorate our estimates. Even in this case, the results are interesting.