Conjunctival nevi in Denmark 1960-1980. A 21-year follow-up

The clinicopathological characteristics of 343 naevi of the conjunctiva were studied. A significant increase in the number of naevi excised per year was observed. This may have been caused by an increased exposure to actinic rays. An approximately even distribution was found between the three main locations: caruncle, limbal area and eye ball. Intrastromal naevi were excised at a higher median age than compound naevi, and the lowest median age at excision was for junction naevi, which is in accordance with the known histopathological nature of naevi. Recurrence occurred in nine patients (2.7%), and one had transformed into a malignant melanoma. Eight of the recurring naevi were located in the limbal area. Eight of the nine patients were women, suggesting hormonal factors as a possible cause. Recommendations for the handling of conjunctival naevi are given, based on the present findings and on previous reports.     

Heptadecapeptide gastrin: measurement in blood by specific radioimmunoassay

The characteristics are described of an antibody (designated L6) which has virtually absolute specificity for heptadecapeptide gastrin. This antibody binds G17, but does not bind peptide fragments or molecular forms of gastrin comprising G17 with either amino acid deletions, or additions, at the carboxyl- and amino-terminals. In serum from patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome the only form of gastrin revealed by L6 was compatible with G17, and there was good agreement between estimated G17 concentrations in serum analyzed by gel filtration and by direct radioimmunoassay using L6. Using L6 in conjunction with antibodies specific for carboxyl- and amino-terminals of G17 it has been possible to measure concentrations of different forms of gastrin in serum of normal subjects after a meal in greater detail than previously possible. After a light meal consisting of eggs, toast, and Oxo, serum concentrations of G17 measured by L6 increased to a peak 20 min after feeding (delta gastrin, 19 pmoles per liter; n = 17). In contrast, concentration of G34 peaked at 50 min (delta gastrin, 27 pmoles per liter). Small amounts of amino-terminal fragments of G17 were present throughout the digestive period. Applying the known ratio of biological potencies of G34 and G17 for stimulation of acid secretion in man, it is estimated that G17 accounts for about 75% of the biological activity in blood after a meal, even though G34 is present in higher molar concentrations.     

Infused design. I. Theory

The paper introduces infused design: an approach for establishing effective collaboration between designers from different engineering fields. In infused design, the design problem representation is brought up to a mathematical meta-level, which is common to all engineering disciplines. The reasoning about the problem is then done by using mathematical terminology and tools that, due to their generality, are the same for all engineers, disregarding their background. This gives engineers an opportunity to infuse their work with knowledge, methods, and solutions shared by specialists from other engineering fields. When these knowledge, methods, and solutions cross disciplinary boundaries, they are provably relevant to any problem in another domain to which it can be transformed. The suggested meta-level consists of general discrete mathematical models, called combinatorial representations (CR). Specific mathematical basis for the combinatorial representations chosen in this paper is graph theory although other representations are possible. We explain the theory of infused design and carefully contrast it with other approaches. This comparison clearly demonstrates the advantages of infused design and its potential. We conclude with several practical issues related to the introduction of infused design into practice and briefly discuss the role of information systems in infused design. A companion paper includes several examples that demonstrate the details of infused design.

Anthocyanin Degradation in the Presence of Furfural and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

The influence of furfural (F) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) on degradation of cyanidin-3-glucoside (CG) was investigated in blackberry juice and in a citrate buffer model solution (pH 3,45) at 24°, 50° and 70°C. Presence of 0.012 M F or HMF accelerated pigment degradation. The acceleration was directly temperature-dependent, more pronounced in fruit juice, and considerably decreased in nitrogen. CG and HMF disappearance – but not the interaction between these compounds – followed the first-order reaction kinetics. The influence of formaldehyde (Fa) acetaldehyde (Aa) and benzaldehyde (Ba) on the stability of CG was investigated in blackberry juice. CG degradation effect of non-furane aldehydes (0.012 M) was Fa < Aa < Ba. CG and cyanidine (C) reactivities were studied by condensation with F and examination of molecular electrone properties (cyanidine, keto-pseudobase, anhydrobase, chalcone). Furfural did not react with CG but it did react with C. Electron charge distribution points to anhydrobase as the tautomeric form of C most reactive to F. Possible mechanisms of C decomposition in presence of F are proposed and discussed.     

Mid-infrared spectroscopy as a tool for rapid determination of internal quality parameters in tomato

The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of predicting the quality parameters of tomato by mid-infrared spectroscopy. For 2 years, tomato samples, representing a large variability in the chemical composition, were scanned using the attenuated total reflectance accessory of a Fourier transform spectrometer in the wavenumber region between 4000 and 400 cm⁻¹_. Calibration models were developed using partial least squares (PLS) regression method and were tested with internal validation sample set in the first year. Different spectral preprocessing techniques were investigated and different spectral regions were selected to optimise the calibration models. In addition, the models obtained in 2007 were used to predict the soluble solids, dry matter and total acidity in tomato harvested in 2008.     

Chronic and temporary distinct expectancies as comparison standards: Automatic contrast in dispositional judgments.

In 4 studies, the authors examined whether making outcome expectancies distinct resulted in their use as comparison standards and, consequently, in contrastive dispositional inferences for a target's behaviors. The expectancies examined were based on either chronic future-event expectancies (Study 1) or temporary, manipulated expectancy standards (Studies 2–4). Analyses revealed that when contextual expectancies were distinct or separable from target information, participants' dispositional judgments were contrasted from them under cognitive load and overcorrected (assimilated to them) under no load. These effects were mediated by participants' behavior categorizations. Evidence suggestive of a proceduralized form of correction for task difficulty and an effortful awareness-based correction for the effects of expectancies also were found. Results are examined in light of recent models of the dispositional inference process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the Rationale Capture Capability of QFD

The goals of Design Rationale Capture (DRC) are improving design quality and reducing design time. These general goals have led to the design of many DRC techniques originating from research in various design and other related disciplines. However, little evidence about attaining these goals or about their usability or utility in practice has been demonstrated. To improve this situation, we use QFD tools to design a new DRC technique. QFD can be used to transform general needs into working products; its practical utility in improving design quality and reducing overall design time are widely recognised. In the course of using QFD, significant design knowledge is generated and recorded. Consequently, we picked QFD as a candidate DRC technique, and used QFD itself to improve its DRC proper-ties. The utility of QFD as a DRC tool is illustrated by using it to capture the rationale underlying its own design.     

Microcosm TNG: a framework for distributed open hypermedia

Increased amounts of information and users' rising demands for advanced link services pose strong challenges to distributed hypermedia systems. Novel presentation facilities, nontextual digital media, personalization of content and structures, and many more techniques often require complex processing and thus imply new interaction styles. Microcosm TNG (The Next Generation), which is a framework for distributed open hypermedia, offers new mechanisms for desktop and Internet integration. It also promotes a modular approach to authoring hypermedia resources