Investigation of the Impact of Graphene Nanoplatelets (GnP) on the Bond Stress of High-Performance Concrete Using Pullout Testing.

Efficient load transmission between concrete and steel reinforcement by bonding action is a key factor in the process of the design procedure of bar-reinforced concrete structures. To enhance the bond strength of steel/concrete composites, the impact of graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) on the bond stress and bond stress-slip response of deformed reinforcement bars, embedded in high-performance concrete (HPC), was investigated using bar pullout tests. In the current study, 36 samples were produced and examined. The main variables were the percentages of GnP, the steel reinforcement bar diameter, and embedded length. Bond behavior, failure mode, and bond stress-slip response were studied. Based on the experimental findings, the inclusion of GnP had a significant favorable influence on the bar-matrix interactions due to the bridging action of GnP as a nano reinforcement. For 0.02 wt.% of GnP, the bond strength was enhanced by more than 41.28% and 53.90% for steel bar diameters of 10 and 16 mm, respectively. The HPC-GnP mixture displayed a reduction in the initial slippage in comparison to the control sample. The test findings were compared to the prediction models created by other researchers and the ACI 408R-12 code.

Occult level IV metastases in clinically node-negative patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to determine the rate of level IV lymph node involvement among node-negative (N0) necks in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. METHODS: The study comprised 32 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, with tumour-node-metastasis staging of T1-3N0M0, who were admitted to the Otolaryngology Department at Tehran University of Medical Sciences from March 2012 to March 2014. After a complete diagnostic evaluation, wide primary tumour excision (with 1.5-2 cm margins) and extended supraomohyoid neck dissection (levels I-IV) were accomplished. RESULTS: Occult metastasis was found in 28 per cent of the patients. Level I, II and III metastases were the most common (18.75, 18.75 and 15.62 per cent, respectively). Level IV metastasis was found in 6.25 per cent of patients. CONCLUSION: Supraomohyoid neck dissection appears to be an appropriate treatment for N0 tongue squamous cell carcinoma and there is no need for level IV lymph node dissection in a N0 patient.

Age-contingent influence over accumbal neurotransmission and the locomotor stimulatory response to acute and repeated administration of nicotine in Wistar rats.

Nicotine addiction is one of the leading contributors to the global burden of disease, and early onset smokers report a more severe addiction with lower chance of cessation than those with a late onset. Preclinical research supports an age-dependent component to the rewarding and reinforcing properties of nicotine, and the aim of this study was to define behavioral adaptations and changes in accumbal neurotransmission that arise over 15 days of intermittent nicotine treatment (0.36 mg/kg/day) in rats of three different ages (5 weeks, 10 weeks, 36 weeks old). Repeated treatment increased the locomotor stimulatory response to nicotine in all age groups, but significantly faster in the two younger groups. In addition, nicotine decreased rearing activity in a way that sustained even after repeated administration in aged rats but not in the younger age groups. Electrophysiological field potential recordings revealed a decline in input/output function in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of animals intermittently treated with nicotine starting at 5 weeks of age, but not in older animals. In drug naïve rats, acute administration of nicotine modulated both accumbal dopamine output and excitatory transmission in a partially age-dependent manner. Fifteen days of intermittent nicotine treatment did not alter the acute effect displayed by nicotine on dopamine levels or evoked field potentials. The data presented here show that both acute and repeated nicotine administration modulates accumbal neurotransmission and behavior in an age-contingent manner and that these age-dependent differences could reflect important neurobiological underpinnings associated with the increased vulnerability for nicotine-addiction in adolescents.

Covalent immobilization of recombinant organophosphorus hydrolase on spores of Bacillus subtilis.

AIMS: Organophosphorus pesticides are widely used in agriculture. Accordingly, decontamination of these pesticides and their residual in environment is an important aim of researchers. One of the best approaches is enzymatic detoxification of these compounds with organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH). The immobilization of OPH on environmentally friendly supports is of great importance for developing stabilized enzymes for degradation of organophosphorus compounds. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, Bacillus subtilis spores were applied as a new matrix for immobilizing OPH for the first time; this enzyme was covalently bound to the spores by using EDC-NHS as coupling reagents and the immobilization was confirmed by enzymatic activity, Western blot, flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopic analysis. The immobilization yield was about 55% and the immobilized OPH hydrolysed paraoxon, an organophosphate substrate, without significant loss of activity was six times. The spores with immobilized OPH on their surface were successfully characterized using FT-IR analysis and SEM imaging. Thermal and pH stability was improved by immobilization of OPH on the spore surface. CONCLUSIONS: Owing to safety, environmentally friendly and low cost of spores, these spores can be employed in biosensors for monitoring and biodegradation of organophosphate contaminants in the environment and detoxification processes in bioreactors with high reusability without decrease in the activity. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: We believe that the spore, an environmentally friendly matrix, can be used for covalent immobilization of OPH efficiently and can be applied for detoxification of organophosphorus compounds under adverse environmental conditions.

Magnetic resonance imaging versus musculoskeletal ultrasonography in detecting inflammatory arthropathy in systemic sclerosis patients with hand arthralgia.

The aim of the study was the detection of inflammatory arthropathy in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) with arthralgia using musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to compare between MRI versus MSUS detecting musculoskeletal abnormalities and find out its relation with other clinical and laboratory parameters. Sixteen SSc patients with hand arthralgia had a baseline MSUS for their hands. Six months later, patients had a second MSUS and MRI with gadolinium of their most symptomatic hand. Of the 16 patients examined by MSUS, it was found that on baseline and second examination, tenosynovitis was seen in 8 (50 %) and 7 (43.7%) patients and synovitis was seen in 4 (25%) and 5 (31%) patients, respectively, indicating persistence synovial inflammation, and erosion was seen in only 1 (6.3%) patient on baseline and second examination. Regarding MRI, 81.3% (13) patients had tenosynovitis, 87.5% (14) patients had synovitis, and 62.5% (10) patients had erosions. Applying the RAMRIS system (a semiquantitative MRI scoring system used in RA), the mean values for synovitis, bone marrow edema, and erosions fell within the range seen in RA. Systemic sclerosis patients with arthralgia that have no obvious clinical inflammatory arthritis were found to have persistent inflammatory erosive arthropathy in their hands and wrists using MSUS and MRI. While both MRI and MSUS are useful in characterizing synovial inflammation in SSc, MRI is clearly more sensitive than MSUS in this setting. Further studies on larger number of SSc patients with arthralgia and a control group consisting of SSc patients without arthralgia to better establish the clinical and radiological findings in SSc.

Use of fraction flow reserve to predict changes over time in management of superficial femoral artery.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease is a condition characterized by progressive arterial narrowing, which affects patients' quality of life. The purposes of this study were to (1) establish the feasibility of obtaining peripheral fractional flow reserve (pFFR) in the peripheral vascular circulation, (2) demonstrate an association between baseline pFFR and peak systolic velocity (PSV) measured by duplex ultrasound, and (3) correlate postintervention pFFR with future restenosis using the change in PSV over time as a surrogate. METHODS: Twenty patients underwent baseline ankle brachial index (ABI) and PSV testing. Pre- and postintervention pFFR was performed. Patients were followed with three ABI and PSV recordings during the 1 year follow-up period. The association between baseline PSV, ABI, and pFFR with changes in PSV over time were explored. Predictors of postprocedural PSV over time were determined. RESULTS: The baseline translesional-resting ratio was significantly different from the pFFR using adenosine (0.79 ± 0.08 vs. 0.71 ± 0.09, P = 0.01). Baseline PSV was significantly associated with preintervention pFFR (-0.77, P < 0.001). Compared to patients with a postprocedure pFFR > 0.95, patients with a postprocedure pFFR < 0.95 had a significantly more rapid rise in PSV over time (P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: This is the first study to demonstrate that the peripheral vascular bed does respond to vasodilatation thereby supporting the use of pFFR for this procedure. In our study, postintervention pFFR < 0.95 predicted a more rapid increase in PSV over time, which is a reasonably accepted surrogate for restenosis.

Importance of elastase production in development of invasive aspergillosis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between elastase activity of different Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) isolates and their pathogenicity in mice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The animals were intravenously (IV) infected with 1×10(6) conidia/mouse. The elastase activity in mice sera and survival time were determined. All animals were sacrified at the end of the fourth week, and autopsies were performed for histopathological examination. The tissue sections were stained with Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) and Verhoeff's techniques. RESULTS: The highest elastase activity was associated with the sera of infected mice with elastase-producing A. fumigatus AIR78 as standard strain (0.18±0.02mm), followed by infected animals with elastase-producing isolates (0.16±0.02mm) and control mice (0.14±0.02mm). The elastase activity index (EAI) was determined in value of 0.92±0.27. The survival times in mice infected with elastase-producing isolate and in control group were 21.6 and 30 days, respectively. Histopathological studies showed that the heart and kidneys were more infected by Aspergillus hyphae than other tissues. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that there is a significant relationship between elastase activity and survival time in mice with aspergillosis.

Radicular cyst associated with a primary first molar: A case report.

Radicular cysts arising from deciduous teeth are rare. This report presents a case of radicular cyst associated with a primary molar following pulp therapy and discusses the relationship between pulp therapy and the rapid growth of the cyst. The treatment consisted of enucleation of the cyst sac and extraction of the involved primary teeth and 20 months follow up of the patient. Early diagnosis of the lesion would have lead to a less aggressive treatment plan.

Fabrication and kinetic studies of a novel silver nanoparticles-glucose oxidase bioconjugate.

In this study, a new effective, pH and thermally stable glucose oxidase (GOX)-silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) bioconjugate was designed. AgNPs were synthesized based on the reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO(3)) by sodium borohydride (NaBH(4)) using two simple procedures. Periodic acid was used for oxidation of the GOX and emission of Lucifer yellow (LyCH) was monitored by spectrofluorometer for evaluation of the oxidation properties of the GOX. The oxidized GOX (Ox-GOX) was immobilized on AgNPs by its sugar moieties via 6-aminohexanoic acid (6AHA) as linker. A sample of the synthesized bioconjugate was loaded on 7.5% non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to confirm its structural and physical stability. The results from enzymatic activity assay showed that the bioconjugate, GOX and Ox-GOX were similar in stability and activity in acidic and basic pH (optimum pH=7.0-8.0). Based on the results from thermal stability assay, it was found that the activity of the bioconjugate was found to be higher at lower temperatures. The V(max) of the bioconjugate, GOX, and Ox-GOX was estimated as 28.6, 6.2, and 6 IU microg(-1) enzyme and the K(m) was calculated as 2.7, 9, and 9.5 mM, respectively. It was found that the immobilization method improves the activity and stability of the GOX in different pH and temperatures. As a conclusion, the proposed method opens up the way to the development of a new bioconjugate with potential use in sensing, and many find potential applications in clinical diagnostics, medicine, and industries.

Factors influencing the activity of tiamulin against Histomonas meleagridis in vitro.

In this study, we investigated the activity of tiamulin fumerate against three strains of Histomonas meleagridis in vitro under different conditions. Tiamulin reduced histomonal growth of all three strains at concentrations of 20 ppm and higher. Cultures in phosphate-buffered saline-based medium were more susceptible than cultures in traditional Dwyers medium. When the cultures were inoculated with higher numbers of histomonads, the activity of tiamulin was reduced. Bacteria present in the cultures were resistant against tiamulin.

Study of the effects of raw garlic consumption on the level of lipids and other blood biochemical factors in hyperlipidemic individuals.

Hyperlipidemia is one of the famous disorders that can lead to atherosclerosis. Garlic has been considered as one of the blood lipids lowering agents for ages, and various studies have been carried out, some of them confirmed this effect of garlic and some did not. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of raw garlic consumption on human blood biochemical factors in hyperlipidemic individuals. This clinical trial was conducted on 30 volunteer individuals with blood cholesterol higher than 245 mg/dl. Fasting blood samples were collected for biochemical tests. The volunteers consumed 5 g raw garlic twice a day for 42 days. Second fasting blood samples were collected and the individuals did not use any kind of garlic for next 42 days. After that, the third fasting blood samples were collected and the biochemical factors were measured. After 42 days of garlic consumption the mean of blood total cholesterol (p<0.001) triglycerides (p<0.01) and FBS (p<0.01) were reduced significantly, but HDL-C was increased (p<0.001) significantly. Following 42 days of no garlic consumption total cholesterol (p<0.001), triglycerides and FBS (p<0.05) were significantly increased and HDL-C (p<0.01) decreased. Garlic consumption alone can decrease serum lipids, but it cannot be used as the main therapeutic agent for hyperlipidemia. Garlic can be used in mild hyperlipidemia or when the patients cannot tolerate the chemical drugs.

Elevated expression of human alpha-1 antitrypsin mediated by yeast intron in Pichia pastoris.

Intron-mediated enhancement has been documented in many cases to involve large positive effect on gene expression. To address this, human Alpha-1 antitrypsin (hAAT) gene was integrated into Pichia pastoris with and without a yeast intron generated from the final plasmid pBlu-exII-int-exIII and ligated into the EcoRI/BamHI multiple cloning site of the yeast shuttle vector pHIL-S1. The chimeric exon-intron complex in the middle of the naturally occurring hAAT exons II and III caused a 23-fold enhancement of hAAT expression in P. pastoris, measured through SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analyses.

Possible correlation between urinary muramidase (E.C.3.2.1.27) and oesophageal cancer.

The diagnostic value of determination of low-mass enzymes in urine is very important, especially for early detection of some diseases. There are several investigations about lysozyme (muramidase, E.C.3.2. 1.27) and its correlation with some malignancies, but until now nothing has been reported about the lysozyme, and oesophageal cancer. This study was undertaken for determination of lysozyme concentration in urine of 32 oesophageal cancer patients to evaluate if this enzyme activity changes in oesophageal cancer used for detection of this cancer especially in its early stage. We used high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for determination of urinary muramidase after Sep-pac pre-purification of the samples. The mean results of lysozymuria in patients in comparison with the mean of enzyme activity in normal controls were statistically high (12.14+/-0.403 vs. 2.04+/-0.134, P

Comments on "Functional equivalence between radial basis function networks and fuzzy inference systems".

The above paper claims that under a set of minor restrictions radial basis function networks and fuzzy inference systems are functionally equivalent. The purpose of this letter is to show that this set of restrictions is incomplete and that, when it is completed, the said functional equivalence applies only to a small range of fuzzy inference systems. In addition, a modified set of restrictions is proposed which is applicable for a much wider range of fuzzy inference systems.

A new approach to adaptive fuzzy control: the controller output error method.

The controller output error method (COEM) is introduced and applied to the design of adaptive fuzzy control systems. The method employs a gradient descent algorithm to minimize a cost function which is based on the error at the controller output. This contrasts with more conventional methods which use the error at the plant output. The cost function is minimized by adapting some or all of the parameters of the fuzzy controller. The proposed adaptive fuzzy controller is applied to the adaptive control of a nonlinear plant and is shown to be capable of providing good overall system performance.

Learning fuzzy inference systems using an adaptive membership function scheme.

An adaptive membership function scheme for general additive fuzzy systems is proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme can adapt a proper membership function for any nonlinear input-output mapping, based upon a minimum number of rules and an initial approximate membership function. This parameter adjustment procedure is performed by computing the error between the actual and the desired decision surface. Using the proposed adaptive scheme for fuzzy system, the number of rules can be minimized. Nonlinear function approximation and truck backer-upper control system are employed to demonstrate the viability of the proposed method.

Matrix formulation of fuzzy rule-based systems.

In this paper, a matrix formulation of fuzzy rule based systems is introduced. A gradient descent training algorithm for the determination of the unknown parameters can also be expressed in a matrix form for various adaptive fuzzy networks. When converting a rule-based system to the proposed matrix formulation, only three sets of linear/nonlinear equations are required instead of set of rules and an inference mechanism. There are a number of advantages which the matrix formulation has compared with the linguistic approach. Firstly, it obviates the differences among the various architectures; and secondly, it is much easier to organize data in the implementation or simulation of the fuzzy system. The formulation will be illustrated by a number of examples.

[The nutritive value of carp (Cyprinus carpio)]. / Uber den Nährwert von Karpfen (Cyprinus carpio).

From January 1991 to February 1992 the composition of filleted carps was investigated. Special attention was given to a possible correlation to origin and season. The gutted, fresh fish were weighted and only the fillets were used for the investigation. All samples were analysed in duplicate by official methods. The results showed that the protein concentration ranged between 13.0 and 21.9%, the lipids content ranged between 0.3 and 23.9%, moisture ranged between 59.8 and 84.2%, and ash content ranged between 0.0 and 1.6%.