Pharmacokinetics of hyperimmune anti-human immunodeficiency virus immunoglobulin in persons with AIDS

Hyperimmune anti-human immunodeficiency virus immunoglobulin (HIVIG) is an intravenous immunoglobulin prepared from HIV-infected asymptomatic donors with a CD4 cell count greater than 400 cells/microl and a high titer of antibody to HIV-1 p24 protein. Twelve persons with AIDS received four doses of HMG (two at 50 mg/kg of body weight and then two at 200 mg/kg) every 28 days. Pharmacokinetics were evaluated by measurement of anti-p24 antibody. HIVIG was well tolerated, and all participants completed the study. Three subjects who were not receiving Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis developed PCP. The mean value for HIVIG clearance was 3.02 ml/kg/day at 50 mg/kg and 3.65 ml/kg/day at 200 mg/kg (P = 0.027); the mean trough antibody titers (reciprocal units) were 1,442 and 4,428, respectively. This study indicates that high titers of anti-p24 antibody can be maintained with a monthly administration schedule of HIVIG and that short-term safety is acceptable. Comparisons to evaluate the therapeutic potential of HIVIG are justified.     

Effects of feeding whole cottonseed to lactating dairy cows on glucose and palmitate metabolism

Eight lactating Holstein dairy cows were fed corn silage-based diets with or without whole cottonseed at 18.5% of the dietary dry matter. At 42 days postpartum, a pulse injection of 100 mg glucose/kg body weight was given intravenously and plasma glucose concentration was monitored for 45 min. At 50 d postpartum, biopsies of adipose tissue and mammary tissue were taken and tissue slices were incubated in vitro with either uniform carbon-14 glucose or 1-carbon-14 palmitate. Basal concentration of plasma glucose was not affected by diet, although apparent distribution volume of glucose did seem to decrease due to feeding whole cottonseed. Feeding whole cottonseed decreased uptake of glucose and palmitate in both adipose tissue and mammary tissue and also decreased oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide in both tissues. Palmitate oxidation was not affected by diet. Incorporation of carbon-14 from glucose into adipose tissue lipids was decreased in cows fed whole cottonseed. Results indicate that fat supplementation in the form of whole cottonseed may decrease palmitate incorporation and glucose utilization for glycerol and reducing equivalent synthesis in both adipose tissue and mammary tissue of lactating dairy cows.     

Mlcrolasers based on silica microspheres

Light can be confined efficiently in the high-Q, small-volume whispering-gallery-modes observed in silica microspheres. By coupling these microspheres to eroded optical fibers and fiber tips, direct mapping of the whispering-gallery modes has been achieved and the mode numbers have been assessed. The properties of these modes have allowed us to obtain laser action with very low thresholds in Nd-doped silica microspheres. Further projects in the field of non-linear optics and cavity quantum electrodynamics are described.     

Validation of the Lifestress Inventory for people with a mild intellectual disability

The Subjective Stress Scale (SSS; Bramston & Bostock, 1994) was developed to measure stress in people with a mild intellectual disability. In previous research, the SSS was found to measure two broad dimensions of stress (a) a General Worry factor and (b) a factor that tapped concerns about Negative Interpersonal Relations (Bramston & Fogarty, 1995). The present study sought to continue this line of research by introducing a slightly modified form of the SSS, to be known as the Lifestress Inventory (LI) and examining the psychometric properties of the scale when administered to a new sample of 221 people with mild intellectual disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that three underlying factors corresponding to General Worry, Negative Interpersonal Relations, and Coping were sufficient to account for the correlations among the items in the LI. Rasch analysis indicated some improvements to the scoring format for the LI and also showed that the most easily experienced stressors were associated with the Negative Interpersonal Relations dimension. The refinements introduced by the LI and the further demonstration that some of the broad stress dimensions identified in the general population can also be found in people with an intellectual disability represent important milestones for researchers interested in exploring reactions to stress among this population.     

Dielectric properties of polyarylate (PAr) around the glass transition

Dielectric characterization of the α-relaxation in polyarylate (PAr) has been carried out by means of a dielectric spectroscopy technique in a frequency range of 10–30 kHz. Complementary thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC) and differential scanning calorimetry d.s.c.) measurements have also been performed. The results are interpreted in terms of the standard Cole-Cole plot and Havriliak-Negami distribution for the dielectric relaxation times. Information about the temperature and frequency dependence of a.c. conductivity is also obtained from the experimental curves. However, the behaviour of the main dielectric relaxation time is deduced from the experimental data in a wide range of temperature around the glass transition. This behaviour results in close agreement with the theoretical predictions of a free-volume approach for the dielectric α-relaxation recently proposed by the authors.     

Design and analysis of single-factor experiments: Analysis of variance of the effect of rice husk ash and commercial fillers in NR compounds

Summary White rice husk ash (WRHA) and black rice husk ash (BRHA) were incorporated into natural rubber (NR) using a laboratory-sized two-roll mill. A conventional vulcanization system was used for curing and physical tests of the NR vulcanized involved determining of tensile and tear resistances. For comparison purposes, precipitated silica (Zeosil-175) and carbon black (N774) were used too. Using the analysis of variance of single-factor experiments, it can be concluded that: BRHA is non-reinforcing filler and its use is limited to 20 phr; WRHA is semi-reinforcing filler and the variation of filler loading (0 up to 50 phr) causes the maximum variation upon tensile strength of NR compounds; and, that although carbon black and silica are reinforcing fillers, a real reinforcement is reached up to 20 phr for tensile strength.     

MOBILIZATION OF SLUDGE IN HORIZONTAL CYLINDRICAL TANKS WITH SUBMERGED NOZZLES

Over 378,000 m³ (100 million gal) of radioactive waste is being stored in hundreds of tanks at several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The environment within the tanks is highly radioactive and chemically harsh. The waste typically consists of a heterogeneous sludge layer covered by a layer of supernatant. A few of the tanks have leaked to the environment, while others are corroding. Removing the waste from the tanks and processing it to a stable final form are desired to prevent any additional contamination of the environment. The tanks vary in size and geometric shape and do not have systems for removing the sludge waste.

Mobilization and mixing studies were conducted with a surrogate sludge (e.g., kaolin clay) using submerged jets in two sizes of horizontal tanks with nominal capacities of 0.87 m³ (230 gal) and 95 m³ (25,000 gal). Mobilization efficiencies and mixing times were determined for single and bidirectional jets in both tanks with the discharge nozzles positioned at various locations in the tanks. Approximately 80% of the surrogate sludge was mobilized in the 95-m³ tank using a fixed bidirectional jet (inside diameter = 0.035 m) and a jet velocity of 6.4m/s (21 ft/s). The effective cleaning length, which is defined as the distance between the jet and the edge of the remaining sludge bank, was approximately 3.2 m (10 ft) on each side of the bidirectional jet.     

Enhancing decentralized service discovery in open service-oriented multi-agent systems

Service-oriented multi-agent systems are dynamic systems that are populated by heterogeneous agents. These agents model their functionality as services in order to allow heterogeneous agents or other entities to interact with each other in a standardized way. Furthermore, due to the large-scale and adaptative needs of the system, traditional directory facilitators or middle-agents are not suitable for the management of agent services. This article proposes the introduction of homophily in service-oriented multi-agent systems to create efficient decentralized and self-organized structures where agents have a greater probability of establishing links with similar agents than with dissimilar ones. This similarity is based on two social dimensions: the set of services that an agent provides and the organizational roles that it plays. A second contribution is an algorithm for service discovery that it is carried out taking into account the local information that is related to the homophily between agents. The experiments compare our proposal with other proposals in distributed environments. The results show that the proposed structure and algorithm offer desirable features for service discovery in decentralized environments. Specifically, these features provide short paths and a high success rate in the service discovery process and resilience under deliberate failures.