APPLICATION OF RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY FOR THE MAXIMIZATION OF CONCORA CRUSH RESISTANCE OF PAPERBOARD

Response surface methodology is often used by researchers in different fields to determine the optimum values for controlled variables to maximize or minimize the response variables. Either maximization or minimization might be necessary depending on the response property. For example, if the response variable represents the yield of a process, maximization could be necessary; on the other hand, if the response variable is the biological oxygen demand (BOD) of an effluent the aim would definitely be minimization

Response surface methodology can be used two ways. It can be applied to the full-scale production or it can be scaled to a laboratory or the pilot plant. When applied to the full-scale production, the method is known as evolutionary operation (EVOP). EVOP is the continuous optimization of a process. The optimum conditions in a production plant can change depending on many factors such as raw material, ambient temperature, and equipment wear. Therefore, controlled variables should be optimized continuously to keep the response variable as close as possible to the maximum or minimum value. Hence, controlled variables are systematically changed around a center point to depict any shift of the response variable from the extreme. A thorough discussion of EVOP is given by Box, Evolutionary Operation: A Method for Increasing Industrial Productivity, Appl. Statist., 6, 81-101 (1957).     

Self-disclosure and coping styles in men with cardiovascular reactivity

The purpose of this study was to investigate self-disclosure, emotion-focused, and problem-focused coping styles among men with borderline hypertension and two groups of normotensive men differentiated by parental hypertension. Because blood pressure reactivity may discriminate between hypertensive and normotensive men, subjects in these three groups were categorized as high or low cardiovascular reactors based on their blood pressure response to a mental arithmetic task. Self-disclosure and coping styles were investigated in relation to status effects within the doctor-patient relationship. Men with exaggerated blood pressure reactivity were less self-disclosive and used fewer emotion-focused coping strategies than men with no blood pressure reactivity. Normotensives with a history of parental hypertension were less self-disclosive than normotensives without a history of parental hypertension.     

Dyes from the leaves of deciduous plants with a high tannin content for wool

The aqueous leaf extracts of five different deciduous plants, namely, silver oak, flame of the forest, tanner’s senna, wattle and serviceberry, were used on their own and in combination with aluminium sulphate, stannous chloride and ferrous sulphate to dye wool by a simultaneous mordanting technique. The washing and light fastness properties of the developed shades were moderate to good. Based on the CIE 2000 spectral colour coordinate values (K/S, ΔL, Δa, Δb and ΔE), the developed shades were classified into four groups: yellow/brown, yellow, orange and dark grey. The use of aluminium sulphate gave medium shades (K/S = 8.24), while the stannous chloride and ferrous sulphate mordants provided deep shades (K/S = 30.5). Statistical analyses have shown that only the type of mordant and not the dye source significantly influenced the development of colour on wool. Hence, it was theoretically possible to use five selected leaves as a single mixture to produce four different colours on wool.     

Effects of volatile anesthetic isoflurane on ATP-sensitive K+ channels in rabbit ventricular myocytes

It has been suggested that volatile anesthetic, isoflurane mediates cardioprotective effects via activation of the ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels. However, no direct evidence has been provided to define whether isoflurane activates cardiac KATP channels using patch-clamp technique. We examined the effects of isoflurane on the KATP channels in rabbit ventricular myocytes by use of patch-clamp technique. Contrary to the results of the in vivo experiments, isoflurane inhibited the channel activity without a change in the single-channel conductance. Isoflurane decreased the channel activity by a decrease in burst duration and an increase in the inter-burst duration. On the other hand, isoflurane diminished the ATP sensitivity of KATP channels, indicating an increased probability of KATP channel opening for a given concentration of ATP after isoflurane anesthesia. The result supports, at least in part, the hypothesis that isoflurane mediates cardioprotective effects via KATP channel activation.     

A 6-year clinical assessment of electronic facial thermography

The authors briefly report their experience regarding the opportunities offered by the use of current ultrasound methods in carotid surgery. They describe: a system for the quantification of athcromasic plaque used to monitor non-operated patients over time; ultrasound methods used to analyse the carotid wall to establish whether it can be utilised as an index of vascular aggression in hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis; the use of transcranial Doppler; criteria for the definition of high risk plaque; the applications of eco-color Doppler. The paper also illustrates a new pathology identified by the authors, defined as primary intimal fibrous hyperplasia, and the evolution of the carotid wall after endarterectomy. The structural characteristics of primary hyperplasia can only be shown using ultrasound given that arteriography cannot distinguish it from atheromatic stenosis. After endarterectomy the carotid wall is subject to hematic and hemodynamic stimuli which determine the type of evolution of the wall itself. The authors therefore examine the myointimal reaction, myointimal hyperplasia, early restenosis and late restenosis as different facets of the same phenomenon.     

Dysregulated cyclin D1 expression early in head and neck tumorigenesis: in vivo evidence for an association with subsequent gene amplification

Cyclin D1 proto-oncogene is a key regulator of the mammalian cell-cycle acting at the restriction point in late G1. Amplification of the cyclin D1 locus, located on chromosome 11q13, as well as cyclin D1 protein overexpression have been reported in several human malignancies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cyclin D1 gene copy status and protein expression during the multistep process of head and neck tumorigenesis, using a combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry techniques. From 29 selected patients presenting with head and neck squamous carcinoma and whose tumor cytospins had been previously screened for presence (16 cases) or absence (13 cases) of amplification at the 11q13 band, we analysed 46 paraffin-embedded tissue specimens that demonstrated, besides the primary tumor, the presence of contiguous adjacent normal tissue and/or premalignant lesions. Of the 16 amplified cases, nine demonstrated a continuous progression from premalignant to invasive carcinoma and seven (77.7%) of these cases showed cyclin D1 gene amplification in premalignant lesions prior to development of invasive carcinoma. Increased cyclin D1 protein expression was observed in all 16 amplified tumors and five of the 13 (38.4%) non-amplified tumors. Interestingly, dysregulated cyclin D1 expression was also found in the premalignant lesions adjacent to all 16 amplified tumors, and it appeared to precede cyclin D1 gene amplification. In contrast no dysregulated expression was detected in the premalignant lesions of the non-amplified tumors. In conclusion, these findings provide strong evidence for early dysregulation of cyclin D1 expression during the tumorigenesis process and suggest that dysregulated increased expression precedes and possibly enables gene amplification.     

Presence of Epstein-Barr virus in lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the middle ear

AIM: To examine the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with carcinoma of the ear. METHODS: Five non-keratinising squamous cell carcinomas and two undifferentiated carcinomas of the ear were examined. In situ hybridisation was used to localised EBV-encoded RNAs (EBER). Immunohistochemical methods to detect LMP-1 and EBNA2 were performed in the EBER positive cases. RESULTS: Two cases were EBER positive, including one non-keratinising and one undifferentiated carcinoma. Both showed identical morphology to those arising from the nasopharynx, with abundant lymphoid stroma. They were both negative for LMP-1 and EBNA2. CONCLUSIONS: EBV associated carcinoma with the morphology of lymphoepithelioma can also arise from the middle ear.     

The effect of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection on clinical parameters in steady-state bronchiectasis

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection on clinical parameters in Chinese patients with noncystic fibrosis and steady-state bronchiectasis. DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional clinicomicrobiological study with informed consent. SETTING: Consecutive outpatient recruitment from a specialist bronchiectasis respiratory clinic. PATIENTS: Outpatients (n = 100; 62 women; 55.1+/-16.7 years old; FEV1/FVC 1.4+/-0.7/2.1+/-0.9 L), who had stable respiratory symptoms for more than 3 weeks. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Respiratory pathogens isolated from the sputum were: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (33), Haemophilus influenzae (10), Moraxella catarrhalis (2), other Gram-negative bacilli (5), Streptococcus pneumoniae (6), Staphylococcus aureus (5), mycobacteria (3), and yeast (1). Clinical parameters in patients with positive isolation of P aeruginosa were compared with those without the organism in the sputum culture (non-P aeruginosa). In the P aeruginosa group, the FEV1/FVC ratio and sputum volume were lower (p < 0.005) and higher (p < 0.0001), respectively, than those of the non-P aeruginosa group. The FEV1/FVC ratio (< 60%) and sputum volume (grading > 5) were independently associated with a positive sputum isolation of P aeruginosa with odds ratios of 3.1 (confidence interval [CI] 1.2 to 8.4; p < 0.01) and 4.7 (CI 1.6 to 13.3; p < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: P aeruginosa is the predominant respiratory pathogen isolated in the sputum of Chinese patients with steady-state bronchiectasis, and its isolation is associated with high sputum output (> or = 75th quartile) and moderately severe airflow obstruction (FEV1/FVC < 60%).     

Soil–conduit interaction: an artificial intelligence application for reinforced concrete and corrugated steel conduits

Neural Computing and Applications - Marston’s load theory is commonly used for understanding the soil–conduit interaction. However, there are no practical methods available which can...