A Comparison of the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cis</Emphasis>-9, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trans</Emphasis>-11 Conjugated Linoleic Acid to Celecoxib in the Collagen-Induced Arthritis Model

Cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2 inhibitors, such as celecoxib, for chronic inflammatory disease are associated with adverse health events, while cis‐9, trans‐11 (c9t11) conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is anti‐inflammatory without adverse events attributed to pure intake. Mechanistically, celecoxib and c9t11 disrupt the arachidonic acid cascade; however, the equivalency of anti‐inflammatory effects between these compounds is unknown. Therefore, to test the hypothesis that 0.5% dietary c9t11 reduces inflammation equivalently to a celecoxib dose intended to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA; 5 mg/kg bw), arthritic mice received diets containing one of the following supplements: 1% corn oil (CO, w/w), 0.5% c9t11 (>91% purity) +0.5% CO, or 1% CO + 0.5, 5, or 50 mg/kg bw celecoxib, and were assessed for changes in arthritic severity over 6 weeks. Overall, arthritic severity in mice fed c9t11 was reduced (34%, P < 0.01) while celecoxib doses (0.5, 5, 50 mg/kg) reduced arthritic severity (16, 56, 48%, respectively) compared to CO‐fed arthritic mice. Linear regression of the celecoxib dose‐response showed 0.5% c9t11 (570 mg/kg bw) reduced arthritic severity equivalently to 1.5 mg/kg celecoxib. Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) was increased in paws of arthritic mice fed CO compared to shams, but was decreased in arthritic groups fed 0.5% c9t11 and 5 mg/kg celecoxib, compared to arthritic mice fed CO (Ps ≤ 0.05). Additionally, paw and plasma IL‐10 levels in arthritic mice were decreased by 5 mg/kg celecoxib, but were unaffected by c9t11 compared to CO. Results suggest dietary c9t11 may be an effective adjunct to COX‐2 inhibition for treating chronic inflammation.     

Solid state NMR characterization and flammability of styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer montmorillonite nanocomposite

This work investigates the melt-processing of styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) with organo-modified montmorillonite (MMT) clays and the influence of the clay on mechanical properties and on fire performance of SAN. The nanodispersion of MMT is evaluated qualitatively by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), and quantitatively by solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). SAN/MMT nanocomposites reveal an intermediate morphology, an intercalated structure with some exfoliation and with the presence of small tactoids, whatever the loading in MMT is. The polymer-clay interfacial area is estimated at 0.5 and the degree of homogeneity characterizing the distribution of MMT platelets is about 40%. The presence of clay in SAN-25 leads to a ‘filler effect’ increasing the stiffness but decreasing tensile strength of the nanocomposites. It also leads to a significant decrease of peak of heat release rate measured by mass loss calorimetry.     

Reconciliation of mass flow rate measurements in a chemical extraction plant

Since measurements of flow rates in a steady state chemical process are subject to errors, the laws of conservation and other constraints are violated. Total mass flow data from a chemical extraction plant are used to determine whether the process operated at steady state and to estimate the variances of the measurements. The data are then reconciled so as to minimize the weighted sum of squares of the adjustments and to test for gross error. Deletion of either of two particular flow rates is shown to remove all of the apparent gross errors in the data.     

Age-related decline in auditory plasticity: Experience dependent changes in gap detection as measured by prepulse inhibition in young and aged rats.

Young adult and aged F344 rats were compared on a silent gap variant of the prepulse inhibition paradigm. Animals were tested using a 50-ms single tone cue, followed by 8 days of silent gap testing. The first 3 days of gap testing were long gaps (range 2 to 100 ms) followed by 5 days of short gaps (range 2 to 10 ms). The effects of gap length, prior experience, and age, on the magnitude and direction (facilitation vs. attenuation) of the acoustic startle response, were examined. The young rats showed stronger and more reliable acoustic startle responses (uncued trials) during all acoustic startle tasks as compared to the old. The younger animals also exhibited a more consistent attenuated response across cues and days. Depending on silent gap length, both reduction (inhibition) and enhancement (facilitation) of startle were observed. Finally, only the young adult animals showed an experience-related shift from facilitation to attenuation in response to very short silent gap cues, and this initial early facilitation predicted later attenuation following additional experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review and reappraisal of information technologies within a conceptual framework for individuals with disabilities

With over thirty million individuals with disabilities being reported in the United States, and with information systems permeating nearly every aspect of society, there is a growing urgency to ensure that everyone has equal access to technology. To render information technologies universally accessible, researchers must have at their disposal an accurate and reliable user model. Through the use of the conceptual framework presented here, accurate assumptions can be generated from knowledge of an individual’s impairments, and functional abilities to influence the creation of a user profile. Ultimately, user profiles serve as a vital attribute of user models applied to the design of technology in an effort to achieve universal access. Published online: 18 May 2001     

EWOD‐Driven translational movement of a liquid polyelectrolyte droplet

Controlled transportation of air‐ and electrochemically stable materials is of interest in many areas of science. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of an ionic liquid monomer and its corresponding polyelectrolyte. The translational movement of these ionic liquid droplets across a substrate using the mechanism of electrowetting on a dielectric (EWOD) is demonstrated with emphasis given to electrode design and selective switching in the device construction. Directional control of a 2 mm sized polyelectrolyte droplet is shown to laterally move across the substrate surface on the order of 10s of minutes due to its increased viscosity, whereas its ionic liquid monomer also transverses but at a much faster pace‐on the order of 10s of seconds. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Niobium Doping and Dielectric Anomalies in Bismuth Titanate

A study of the complex permittivity in bismuth titanate was conducted to reveal the nature of an anomaly in the real part of the permittivity, which occurs below the Curie temperature. This anomaly is frequency dependent and is caused by a combination of two relaxation phenomena that appear in the imaginary part of the permittivity. One of the relaxations showed classic characteristics of an ion-jump process. Niobium doping suppressed this relaxation and eliminated the nonferroelectric anomaly in permittivity. Niobium is proposed to affect the ion-jump relaxation through a decrease in the concentration and possibly the mobility of oxygen vacancies.     

Adjunctive psychotherapy for bipolar disorder: Effects of changing treatment modality.

In a randomized, controlled trial, the authors studied an adjunctive, individual psychotherapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT) for bipolar disorder. After stabilizing participants with episode appropriate pharmacotherapy and either IPSRT or intensive clinical management (CM), participants were reassigned to IPSRT or CM in conjunction with pharmacotherapy for 2 years of preventative treatment. Early results (n?=?82) suggest that altering participants' treatment assignment at entry to the preventative phase is related to risk of recurrence. Participants remaining in the same treatment for both acute and preventative phases had lower rates of recurrence (40%) and levels of symptomatology over the subsequent 52 weeks than those reassigned to the alternate modality. This finding, consistent with the authors' philosophy that bipolar patients benefit from stable routines, suggests that disruptions in the psychosocial treatment plan contribute to worse outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)