Infrared thermography for inspecting the adhesion integrity of plastic welded joints

This work aim at developing a non-destructive tool for the evaluation of bonded plastic joints. The paper examines infrared thermographic transmission and reflection mode imaging and validates the feasibility of the thermal NDT approach for this application. Results demonstrate good estimation performance for adhesion integrity, uniformity and bond strength using a transmission mode application of infrared thermography. In addition, results from a pulsed infrared thermographic application using a modified dynamic infrared tomography scheme show good performance for estimating adhesion layer thickness mapping and detecting delaminations.     

Apolipoprotein E*3-Leiden transgenic mice as a test model for hypolipidaemic drugs

PURPOSE: We report an investigation into the distribution of proteoglycans (PGs) in normal, organ-cultured and dextran-treated human corneas. METHODS: Immunogold labeling was carried out at the electron microscope level to localize keratan sulphate (KS), chondroitin sulphate (CS), and heparan sulphate (HS) PGs. RESULTS: High levels of labeling for CS was found in the epithelium, endothelium, and keratocytes, with light labelling present in the basement membranes and the corneal stroma. Labeling for HS was present in the epithelium, endothelium, and keratocytes, with intense labeling present at the endothelium/Descemet's membrane interface and the epithelium/Bowman's layer interface. Large filaments were also observed in these regions in cuprolinic blue-stained specimens. Keratan sulphate was present at high levels in the stroma and the basement membranes with low levels present within the keratocytes, epithelium, and endothelium. The pattern of KS labeling along the collagen fibrils in the stroma sometimes showed evidence of periodicity. Organ-cultured corneas had extensive collagen-free "lakes," the interior of which immunolabeled positively for KS and showed staining with cuprolinic blue. The lakes were greatly reduced in the dextran-treated samples. CONCLUSION: This investigation determined the ultrastructural distribution of KS, CS, and HS PGs in human cornea and showed that organ culture is associated with a change in distribution of stromal PGs.     

MODELLING OF MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION AND PROPERTIES OF LOW-CARBON STEELS

1.IntroductionMicrostructureprocessmodelsareincreasinglyonhotstriprollingofste.l[1--7].Thesemodelsfrequentlyincorporateagreatdealofempiricismwithcomparativelytightprocessrangesofapplicability.Morefundamentallybasedprocessmodelsarerequiredtodeveloppredictivetoolstooptimizetheproductionforawiderangeofmilldesignsandprocessingconditions.Theprocessofhotstriprollingoflow--carbonsteelscanbesubdividedintothreeprin-cipalstages:(i)reheating,(n)rollingand(iii)cooling(watercoolingontherun--outtableandsubs…     

Cultural factors related to the peer review of teaching

Since 1994, the American Association for Higher Education Peer Review of Teaching Project has sought to popularize the notion that teaching is both a scholarly activity and community property to be shared with and critiqued by the larger academic community. In order to accomplish these goals, each of the three academic units at the twelve participating universities developed a pilot project that conformed to its own institutional, academic unit, and disciplinary culture. At a large Midwestern university, the academic units of mathematics, history, and nursing developed different projects. Each of these projects took account of the unit's specific culture, and this fact helps to account, in large part, for each project's success.     

Comparison of left anterior oblique, anterior, and geometric mean methods in gastric emptying assessment of postpancreaticoduodenectomy patients

Although left anterior oblique (LAO) gastric emptying studies appear to be an adequate alternative to geometric mean (GM) measurements in patients with normal gastric anatomy, it is not clear whether they can be used after gastric or duodenal surgery. In this study, dual-phase gastric emptying studies with combined solid-liquid meal were performed in 54 patients who had undergone pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure). Gastric emptying was studied with GM, LAO, and anterior (ANT) methods. T1/2 and percent gastric retention at 10, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes were calculated. Results from the three methods were compared using correlation analysis and the t test. The t test showed no significant difference in T1/2 and percent retention values between the GM and LAO or ANT views. The solid emptying T1/2 showed a better correlation between GM and LAO values (r = 0.824) than between GM and ANT (r = 0.589). For the liquid T1/2, the reverse was true. Correlation between GM and ANT (r = 0.939) was better than between GM and LAO (r = 0.839); however, both LAO and ANT views correlated well with GM liquid emptying. It is concluded that the LAO view can replace GM gastric emptying methods in postpancreaticoduodenectomy patients for evaluation of both solid and liquid emptying, although the ANT view appears completely adequate for the study of liquid emptying.     

MR angiography of the spine

Postcontrast MR angiography complements the standard spinal MR imaging study by improving detection and display of normal and abnormal intradural vessels, primarily veins. Detection of abnormal veins facilitates diagnosis of spinal vascular malformations and vascular tumors. The most useful application has been in screening for spinal dural arteriovenous fistula, in which MR angiography demonstrates the medullary vein into which the fistula drains, thus allowing noninvasive identification of the spinal level of the fistula.     

Pin force measurement in a halo-vest orthosis, in vivo

Salmon calcitonin (sCT) is an example of one of the many bioactive peptides that require amidation of the carboxy terminus for full potency. We describe a method for the production of amidated sCT in the mammary gland of transgenic rabbits. Expression of a fusion protein comprising human alpha lactalbumin joined by an enterokinase cleavable linker to sCT was directed to the mammary gland under the control of the ovine beta lactoglobulin promoter. C-terminal amidation in vivo was achieved by extending the sCT by a single glycine residue that provides a substrate for endogenous amidating activity in the mammary gland. Full characterization of the released sCT demonstrated it to be equivalent to synthetic standard in terms of structure, purity, and potency.     

Reactivity of gemfibrozil 1-o-beta-acyl glucuronide. Pharmacokinetics of covalently bound gemfibrozil-protein adducts in rats

Acyl glucuronides are electrophilic metabolites that are readily hydrolyzed, undergo intramolecular rearrangement, and mediate the covalent binding of many acidic drugs to endogenous proteins. Gemfibrozil is extensively metabolized to gemfibrozil acyl glucuronide in humans and rats. The aims of this study were to demonstrate the reactivity of gemfibrozil glucuronide, determine whether gemfibrozil formed covalently bound protein adducts in vivo, describe the pharmacokinetics of adduct formation, and examine the role of gemfibrozil glucuronide in adduct formation. Rats were administered 150 mg/kg gemfibrozil daily for up to 37 days and killed 1, 2, 5, 10, 19, and 37 days after commencement of dosing, and 1, 2, 3, 8, 17, and 30 days after cessation of dosing. Plasma, liver, kidney, and heart were examined for adduct formation. Plasma was quantitatively the most important site for formation of gemfibrozil-protein adducts with mean (SE) steady-state concentrations of 31.40 (2.40) ng/mg protein attained by approximately the 10th day of dosing. Adduct half-life in plasma was 3.1 days, consistent with the elimination half-life of albumin. Mean (SE) kidney, liver, and heart steady-state adduct concentrations were 2.13 (0.11), 0.89 (0.35), and 0.95 (0.07) ng/mg protein, respectively. The rate of gemfibrozil-protein adduct accumulation seemed greatest in liver, but was similar in kidney and plasma, with approximately 2x, 16x, and 30x accumulation, respectively, over the dosing interval. In all tissues, adduct half-lives were significantly greater than those of the noncovalently bound gemfibrozil or gemfibrozil glucuronide.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)