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Background Lipoxins are potential anti-inflammatory mediators and serve as an endogenous 'braking signal' in the inflammatory process. Accumulating evidence has indicated the efficacy of lipoxin A4 (LXA4) and its analogs in the treatment of many animal models of inflammatory diseases. Objectives This study investigates the efficacy and safety of 15(R/S)-methyl-lipoxin A4 in the topical treatment of infantile eczema. Patients and methods In this two-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-groups comparative study, 60 patients were randomly assigned to receive either the 15(R/S)-methyl-lipoxin A4 cream, mometasone furoate (Eloson, Schering-Plough, Shanghai, China) or placebo for 10 days. The efficacy was determined using the Severity Scale Score (SSS), Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and the Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL). Safety was monitored by physical examination, laboratory investigation and documentation of clinical adverse events. Results The treatment of eczema with 15(R/S)-methyl-LXA4 cream significantly relieved the severity, induced a recovery, and improved the quality of life of the patients, as demonstrated by significantly reduced SSS, EASI and IDQOL, respectively, in a way similar to the efficacy of Eloson. All safety parameters remained within normal limits. No clinical adverse event was found in the three patient groups. Conclusions 15(R/S)-methyl-LXA4 was well tolerated, and significantly reduced the severity of eczema. The results of this small exploratory study suggest that 15(R/S)-methyl-LXA4 warrants further investigation in the treatment of eczema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural health monitoring (SHM) algorithms based on adaptive least mean squares (LMS) filtering theory can directly identify time-varying changes in structural stiffness in real-time in a computationally efficient fashion. However, better metrics of seismic structural damage and future utility after an event are related to permanent and total plastic deformations. This study presents a modified LMS-based SHM method and a novel two-step structural identification technique using a baseline nonlinear Bouc—Wen structural model to directly identify changes in stiffness due to damage as well as plastic or permanent deflections. The algorithm is designed to be computationally efficient; therefore it can work in real-time. An in silico single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) nonlinear shear-type structure is used to prove the concept. The efficiency of the proposed SHM algorithm in identifying stiffness changes and plastic/permanent deflections is assessed under different ground motions using a suite of 20 different ground acceleration records. The results show that in a realistic scenario with fixed filter tuning parameters, the proposed LMS-based SHM algorithm identifies stiffness changes to within 10% of true values within 2s. Permanent deflection is identified to within 14% of the actual as-modeled value using noise-free simulation-derived structural responses. This latter value provides important post-event information on the future serviceability, safety, and repair cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoassay, based on a selective affinity of the biological antibody for its antigen, is one of the most usual analytical methods in food safety and environmental chemistry. However, it presents several drawbacks because of the nature of the antibody. Molecular imprinting technique, due to its high selectivity and stability, ease of preparation and low cost, has shown great potential in producing artificial antibodies in biomimetic immunoassays. This article focuses on the recent states, advantages, current problems and outlooks of molecularly imprinted radio, fluoro, enzyme-linked and chemiluminescent immunoassays, and biomimetic immunosensor, with special emphasis on the challenges in developing biomimetic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (BELISAs). The biomimetic immunoassay method will provide an important new analysis platform in food safety, although the sensitivity and specificity is relatively low. As a new simple analysis method, the biomimetic immunoassay has attractive prospect, although some limitations were existed in real-sample assay. In this critical review, some promising solutions for overcoming its drawbacks were put forward, which may promote the more quick development and extensive application of this method in food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design:Retrospective study.Objectives:To investigate prognostic factors of sacral chordomas and provide theoretical foundation for an improvement of continuous disease-free survival (CDFS).Methods:Thirty-six patients underwent initial operation for sacral chordoma between 1992 and 2007. Data regarding age, gender, tumor size, tumor location, and type of surgery, surgical margins, surrounding muscle invasion, radiation therapy, and recurrences were reviewed and analyzed statistically.Results:The average duration of follow-up was 74.4 months (range, 16–182 months). Sixteen patients developed local recurrences at the time of final follow-up. The average recurrence time was 30 months (range, 3–84 months). The 5-year and 10-year actuarial CDFS were 59.5 and 42%, respectively. CDFS was found statistically longer in patients whose tumor highest level at or below S3 compared with above S3 (P=0.047). Patients who had invasion into the surrounding muscle had a shorter CDFS than those without surrounding muscle invasion (P=0.014). Statistic analysis showed that the type of surgery was the most valuable indicator of CDFS (P=0.001). The local recurrence rate was statistically higher when an inadequate margin has been achieved (P=0.021). The Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that surrounding muscle invasion (P=0.024) was an independent adverse prognostic factor for CDFS, whereas incomplete excision (P=0.056) achieved borderline significance.Conclusions:The higher level of tumor involvement, invasion into the surrounding muscle, incomplete excision, and inadequate surgical margins are poor prognostic factors. Resecting the tumor completely with wide surgical margins may provide a better prognosis for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crab resources in the offshore waters of mid-southern East China Sea (26° 00′-28° 30′ N, 121° 00′-126° 00′ E) were investigated in May (spring), August (summer), November (autumn) 2006 and February (winter) 2007, with the characteristics of their community structure, including species composition, index of relative importance (IRI), diversity, and biomass analyzed. A total of 49 species were identified, belonging to 30 genera and 12 families. In both spring and autumn, the crab species number was higher in northern than in southern part of the Sea; in summer, it had a relatively uniform distribution; while in winter, less difference was observed between the southern and northern parts of the Sea, and the crabs were mainly concentrated in the exterior areas. A total of 13 dominant species (IRI > 1000) with Charybdis bimaculata, Calappa lophos, Charybdis miles, Ovalipes punctatus, Carcinoplax longimana, Charybdis riversandersoni, and Portunus argentatus as the representatives appeared all the year round. The diversity index of the crabs was lower in summer, but had no significant difference among the other three seasons. The catching mass of the crabs in the investigated sea area was averagely 5197.62 g · h1, being 8830.79 g · h1 in summer > 4877.50 g · h1 in spring > 4268.30 g · h1 in autumn > 2813.87 g · h1 in winter. The crabs in the offshore waters of mid-southern East China Sea could be categorized as 3 ecological communities, i. e., eurythermal and eurysaline, hyperthermal and eurysaline, and hyperthermal and hysaline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeTo evaluate the position of iris-claw phakic intraocular lens (ICPIOL) in highly myopic eyes by Scheimpflug photography (SP) and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM).MethodsNine eyes of five patients aged 31±10 years with average spherical equivalent of −16.04±5.46 D (range −7.88 to − 22.88 D) were enrolled in this prospective study and implanted with Verisyse ICPIOLs (AMO). The anterior segment was evaluated by SP and UBM preoperatively and for at least 1 month postoperatively. The statistical significance may be questionable due to the limited number (nine) of eyes.ResultsBy SP and UBM, the distance between corneal endothelium and lens (anterior chamber depth) preoperatively was 3.10±0.14 and 3.07±0.11 mm, respectively; between ICPIOL and corneal endothelium (pseudo-anterior chamber depth), 1.88±0.09 and 1.99±0.12 mm, respectively; between lens and posterior surface of ICPIOL (IL), 0.76±0.13 and 0.67±0.06 mm, respectively; between superior optic edge and iris (SOEI), 0.23±0.23 and 0.58±0.24 mm, respectively; between inferior optic edge and iris (IOEI), 0.07±0.13 and 0.41±0.22 mm, respectively; between ICPIOL haptics and the angle of anterior chamber (HA), 0.90±0.17 and 1.45±0.13 mm, respectively. ACD was well correlated between the two methods, but PACD, IL, OEI, HA were not. The postoperative measures, except IL, were significantly different between the two methods.ConclusionThe differences between measurements by SP and UBM reveal the ICPIOL's position variations with change of body position. Nevertheless, it seems adequate that space is maintained between ICPIOL and corneal endothelium, angle, and crystalline lens. The ICPIOL implanted in phakic eyes seems a safe alternative for treatment of high myopia.Eye (2008) 22, 233–239; doi:10.1038/sj.eye.6702829; published online 13 April 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 3D profile airfoil of a turbine vane under overhaul can be severely distorted. The current manual repair to restore its original shape is time and labour intensive, and also produces inconsistent quality. Automation of such a process can lead to a significant cost reduction and improved quality. This paper reports on a system and the process development of a SMART robotic system for automatically grinding and polishing vane airfoils.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG, 65:35) was used to encapsulate bovine serum albumin (BSA) using a water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double emulsion solvent extraction technique. To investigate the effects of an inner water/oil ratio on microsphere characteristics, microspheres were fabricated using four different formulations with a fixed oil volume of 12 ml and the inner aqueous phase volume of 0.2 ml, 0.3 ml, 0.4 ml or 0.5 ml, respectively. Spherical microspheres were obtained after collection by filtration for formulations employing any of the four different inner water/oil ratios. However, microspheres with smaller inner water volumes tend to collapse after vacuum drying. The surface of the formulation with a higher inner water/oil ratio was shown to possess many more pores than that of the formulations with lower inner water/ oil ratios. These pores may facilitate the water withdrawal during vacuum drying. Furthermore, microspheres with the lowest inner water/oil ratio (1/60) had higher initial burst release due to its larger surface area. However, microspheres with the highest inner water volume yield a faster release profile of BSA due to interconnected voids within microspheres and more pores on the surface. Therefore, the inner water/oil ratio is a crucial factor in the W/O/W double emulsion technique affecting the morphology and release kinetics of the resulting microspheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties for low fat yogurts fortified with 0, 1, 2.5, or 5% soy protein concentrate were determined through 1 mo storage at 5 °C. Yogurts were adjusted to equivalent total solids with nonfat dried milk. Microbiological counts, fermentation time, and final developed aridity were not affected by soy protein. Instrumental viscosity and sensory thickness, soy aroma, and soy flavor increased with soy protein addition (P ≥ 0.05). Soy flavor and aroma did not increase with storage time. Yogurt with 5% soy protein was darker, more chalky, and less sweet compared to control yogurt or yogurts with lower concentrations of soy protein (P < 0.05). Yogurts with 1 or 2.5% soy protein were most similar to control yogurt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an extended work on the development of the stochastic-probabilistic particle dispersion model for turbulent two-phase flows in general coordinates. The extended stochastic-probabilistic modeling of particle dispersion makes it possible to achieve a smooth particle flow field by tracking a small number of particle trajectories. A numerical method was developed for determining the spatial distribution of physical particles in irregular Eulerian control volumes. As a result, the extended particle dispersion model can be used, together with the Eulerian modeling of fluid flow, to predict turbulent two-phase flows with complex geometry. Compared with the conventional stochastic model, the present stochastic-probabilistic model has overcome the deficiency of tracking too large a number of particle trajectories to achieve a smooth particle flow field. Numerical results were reported for a particle-laden turbulent gas flow and liquid flow with available experimental measurements. The performance of the present model was assessed in terms of its agreement with experimental measurements and its computational efficiency as compared to the conventional stochastic particle dispersion model. For the two test cases considered, it was found that computational efficiency has been enhanced by 75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, adaptive neural network control of coordinated manipulators is considered in an effort to eliminate the time-consuming and error prone dynamic modeling process which is necessary for the implementation of conventional adaptive control. After a concise dynamic model in the object coordinate space is developed for the coordinated manipulators, an adaptive neural network controller is presented by combining the techniques of neural network parameterization, adaptive control, and sliding mode control. It can be shown that the motion tracking errors converge to zero asymptotically whereas the internal force tracking error remains bounded and can be made arbitrarily small. Numerical simulations are conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the computation of particle-laden turbulent gas flows. Effects of dispersion models on the predicted particle property; Effectiveness of the modified particle-eddy interaction timescale over the conventional timescale; Significance of the stochastic-probabilistic efficiency-enhanced dispersion model.

A new particle-locating method is described for efficient Eulerian-Lagrangian modeling of two-phase flows in general coordinates. This is an improvement of the two recent methods of Chen \[1] (Numer. Heat Transfer A, vol.31, pp. 387 - 405, 1997) and Zhou and Leschziner \[2] (Int. J. Multiphase Flow, in press), which focus solely on identifying the host Eulerian control volume to which the particle has moved at the end of each time step. In contrast, the present method can simultaneously locate the host control volume and determine coefficients for source distribution and particle-field interpolation. The performance of the present method is compared with that of Chen's and Zhou and Leschziner's approaches for host control-volume detection and for strongly coupled two-phase flows. It is found that the distribution of two-way coupling sources over the particle trajectory-crossed control volumes can stabilize the overall iterative solution to coupled two-phase flow fields, and that the particle-field interpolation can smooth numerical predictions, allowing the use of relatively large time steps for Lagrangian integration. For the two-phase flow considered, it is found that the present particle-locating method requires a smaller number of coupling iterations than that of Zhou and Leschziner, thus offering higher overall computational efficiency of the two-phase flow solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Points out a study that determined the effect of different types and/or lower concentrations of lecithin on composition and quality attributes of reduced-fat Cheddar cheese. Materials and methods of the study; Results and discussion; Conclusions.

The protein profiles of Blastocystis hominis, B. lapemi, and B. ratti were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and species could be differentiated by this means as well as by Western-blot analysis with polyclonal antibodies. No intraspecies difference could be distinguished between the two B. hominis isolates or the three B. ratti isolates. Western-blot analysis showed extensive cross-reactivity of B. lapemi and B. hominis antigens with anti- B. ratti serum. Some of the cross-reactive antigens were glycoproteins as determined on the basis of their sensitivity to periodate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of cysts of Blastocystis hominis isolated from human feces by the Ficoll-Paque concentration method and cultured in Jones' medium containing 10% horse serum is described. The morphological changes were studied by light and transmission electron microscopy at different intervals for up to 48 h. The cysts developed into a large number of vacuolar forms within 24 h, and binary fission was the only mode of reproduction observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the pathogenesis of Blastocystis hominis by intramuscular injection of the organism into experimental mice. A total of 27 naïve BALB/c mice aged 6–8 weeks were injected in the leg muscle with axenic culture isolate B of B. hominis. Histological examination at different times revealed that B. hominis could produce a severe inflammatory reaction and myonecrosis. Most changes were observed at 6 h after injection and for up to 2–3 days. By 2 weeks the muscle had regained normal histology. There was infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PML) into the injection site, indicating that B. hominis had a strong chemoattractant activity for PML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young (less than 8 weeks old) immunocompetent BALB/c mice became infected with Blastocystis hominis after inoculation of fecal cysts orally and of in vitro axenic-culture forms intracecally. This study confirmed that the fecal cyst was the form responsible for external transmission and that the mode of transmission was by the fecal-oral route. The infection was self-limiting and the infected BALB/c mice appeared normal except that some of them showed weight loss and lethargy. Both vacuolar and granular forms were found in the cecum, but only cyst forms were observed in the colon. Histological examination of the cecum and colon showed intense inflammatory-cell infiltration, edematous lamina propria, and mucosal sloughing. It is apparent that although B. hominis is not invasive, it is capable of causing pathogenesis in BALB/c mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two isolates (WR1 and WR2) of Blastocystis from laboratory-bred Wistar rats were axenized by a method of colony growth in soft agar combined with antibiotic treatment. The colonies were cultured in Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium (IMDM) and Bacto agar mixture supplemented with 10% horse serum in the presence of thioglycollate. The cells from the colonies had an ameboid outline with a central body. Large inclusions were seen in the central body of some cells. Some granular forms were also found. In the axenic culture of isolate WR2, about one-third of the organisms were granular forms. Cysts were found in the axenic culture of both isolates. This is the first report of such cyst formation in in vitro culture. The karyotypic patterns of both isolates of the rat Blastocystis were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). A total of 13 chromosomal bands were separated, ranging from 1.86 Mb to 295 kb. The karyotypic patterns of the rat Blastocystis were different from those of B. hominis and reptilian Blastocystis. On the basis of the above-mentioned differences, the rat Blastocystis is assigned as B.␣ratti sp. nov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By hybrid density functional theory, we have investigated anisotropies in the electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of the body centered tetragonal C4 phase of carbon. We predict a strong electronic anisotropy associated with the in-plane carbon-carbon covalent bonds and the zigzag carbon chains along the c-direction (out-of-plane), which results in a state-resolved directional distribution of valence electrons at the top of the valence band. The calculated adsorption spectra display highly anisotropic features which are already manifested at ambient pressure by a substantial difference (2 eV) for the absorption edges between the in-plane and out-of-plane components of the tetragonal cell. Similar anisotropic features in the elastic compressibility are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 thin films of two different preferred orientations were sol-gel grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si. Using different heating rates during crystallization, either films containing 65% columnar grains with (104)/(014) orientation or fine-grained films with a predominant c-axis orientation were obtained. Anisotropic ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were determined, with a remanent polarization 2Pr=46.4 μC/cm2 and a piezoelectric coefficient d33=17 pm/V in a predominantly (104)/(014)-oriented film, but only 2Pr=16.7 μC/cm2 and d33=5 pm/V in a predominantly c-axis-oriented film. These values confirm that the polarization vector of this material is close to the crystallographic a axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 (BNdT) thin films of a-axis preferential orientation [α(100)=62%] and high c-axis orientation [α(001)=96%] were fabricated directly on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates through a sol-gel process. We observed strong dependences of ferroelectric and dielectric properties on the film orientation, with a remanent polarization 2Pr of 39 μC/cm2 and dielectric constant [variant_greek_epsilon]r of 343 at 100 kHz in the a-axis oriented film; 2Pr of 20 μC/cm2 and [variant_greek_epsilon]r of 331 in the film of random orientation; and 2Pr of 13 μC/cm2, [variant_greek_epsilon]r of 218 in the highly c-axis oriented film. Furthermore, the 2Pr value of a purely a-axis-oriented BNdT film can be predicted to be ∼51 μC/cm2. The large anisotropy of 2Pr and [variant_greek_epsilon]r values demonstrates that the polarization vector of BNdT is close to the a axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]