Phase locked loop-based clock synthesizer for reconfigurable analog-to-digital converters

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing - This paper presents the complete design of a phase locked loop-based clock synthesizer for reconfigurable analog-to-digital converters. The...     

Design and evaluation of a mobile smart home interactive system with elderly users in Brazil

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing - This article presents a study concerning the evaluation of a smart home control system for elderly people with a sample of 10 users in a city in the interior of...     

Effect of ethanol on platelet phospholipase A2

Platelet aggregation is known to be inhibited by ethanol, and this has been suggested to be one of the attenuating effects of ethanol in cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have implicated an inhibition of phospholipase A₂ induced arachidonic acid release, since the production of prostanoids that are formed from arachidonic acid and are involved in the aggregation process has been shown to be diminished by ethanol. Phospholipase A₂ is found in platelets in both a cytosolic form, from where it may translocate to the plasma membrane to release arachidonic acid, and in a secretory form which is released extracellularly upon activition. In the present study, the effect of ethanol on the secretion of phospholipase A₂ and on its activity was determined. It was found that ethanol inhibited trast, the activity of the cytosolic form of phospholipase A₂ was inhibited by ethanol.     

Organization of cell junctions and cytoskeleton in the reticular lamina in normal and ototoxically damaged organ of Corti

The reticular lamina creates an ion barrier, withstands mechanical stress in the organ of Corti and is able to maintain its integrity during and after severe hair cell loss. Tight junctions maintain the ionic gradient whereas adherens junctions and the cytoskeleton are responsible for the integrity and mechanical resistance of tissues. In this study we used immunofluorescence and electron microscopy to examine the distribution of proteins of tight junctions (cingulin), adherens junctions (E-cadherin, alpha- and beta-catenin) and the cytoskeleton (actin, cytokeratin and tubulin) in whole-mounts of the normal and ototoxically damaged organ of Corti. In normal ears the proteins of adherens junctions were found in all cell types of the reticular lamina. We now demonstrate that all cells forming the reticular lamina partially overlap each other organizing extensive cell contacts with a complex three-dimensional shape. During scar formation, the tight junctions as well as adherens junctions between hair and supporting cells appeared in two distinct focal planes, which could help to preserve the ionic barrier and tissue integrity during hair cell degeneration. During scar formation all cytoskeletal structures in the reticular lamina were reorganized in a specific spatio-temporal pattern. We present a three-dimensional model of cell contact organization in the reticular lamina of normal ears and during scar formation.     

A randomized controlled trial of filgrastim during remission induction and consolidation chemotherapy for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: CALGB study 9111

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF; filgrastim) shortens the time to neutrophil recovery after intensive chemotherapy, but its role in the treatment of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is uncertain. We randomly assigned 198 adults with untreated ALL (median age, 35 years; range, 16 to 83) to receive either placebo or G-CSF (5 microgram/kg/d) subcutaneously, beginning 4 days after starting intensive remission induction chemotherapy and continuing until the neutrophil count was >/=1, 000/microL for 2 days. The study assignment was unblinded as individual patients achieved a complete remission (CR). Patients initially assigned to G-CSF then continued to receive G-CSF through 2 monthly courses of consolidation therapy. Patients assigned to placebo received no further study drug. The median time to recover neutrophils >/=1,000/microL during the remission induction course was 16 days (interquartile range [IQR], 15 to 18 days) for the patients assigned to receive G-CSF and 22 days (IQR, 19 to 29 days) for the patients assigned to placebo (P < .001). Patients in the G-CSF group had significantly shorter durations of neutropenia (<1, 000/microL) and thrombocytopenia (<50,000/microL) and fewer days in the hospital (median, 22 days v 28 days; P = .02) compared with patients receiving placebo. The patients assigned to receive G-CSF had a higher CR rate and fewer deaths during remission induction than did those receiving placebo (P = .04 by the chi-square test for trend). During Courses IIA and IIB of consolidation treatment, patients in the G-CSF group had significantly more rapid recovery of neutrophils >/=1,000/microL than did the control group by approximately 6 to 9 days. However, the patients in the G-CSF group did not complete the planned first 3 months of chemotherapy any more rapidly than did the patients in the placebo group. Overall toxicity was not lessened by the use of G-CSF. After a median follow-up of 4. 7 years, there were no significant differences in either the disease-free survival (P = .53) or the overall survival (P = .25) for the patients assigned to G-CSF (medians, 2.3 years and 2.4 years, respectively) compared with those assigned to placebo (medians, 1.7 and 1.8 years, respectively). Adults who received intensive chemotherapy for ALL benefited from G-CSF treatment, but its use did not markedly affect the ultimate outcome.     

Fatty acid composition of seed kernel oil of calodendrum capense (l.f.) thunb.

Seed kernels ofCalodendrum capense (L.f.) Thunb. yielded 60% of a light yellow oil which had the following fatty acid composition: 23.8% palmitic, 4.5% stearic, 33.7% oleic, 35.6% linoleic, 1.4% linolenic and 1.0% arachidic. Myristic and behenic acids were present in trace amounts, and the kernel cake contained 37.6% crude protein.     

HYDRODYNAMIC STUDIES IN FISCHER-TROPSCH DERIVED WAXES IN A BUBBLE COLUMN

Gas hold-up and Sauter mean bubble diameter measurements were made in a 0.051 m diameter by 3 m long glass bubble column in the system, nitrogen-molten wax, with three different waxes (paraffin wax FT-300, Sasol's Arge wax and Mobil's reactor wax). Paraffin wax has a tendency to foam and gas hold-up is a strong function of gas distributor type, temperature and start-up procedure, whereas the reactor waxes do not foam and are much less affected by these variables, In experiments at 265°C with a 1.85 mm single hole orifice plate distributor the gas hold-ups were nearly the same for all three waxes. However, significant differences in Sauter mean bubble diameters were obtained in experiments with different waxes; FT-300 wax produced the smallest Sauter mean bubble diameters whereas Mobil's reactor wax produced the largest bubbles. Addition of 1-octadecanol and octadecanoic acid (up to 10wt%) to the FT-300 paraffin wax caused an increase in gas hold-up and a delay in the foam break-up in runs at 265°C with the 1.85 mm orifice plate distributor.