We clinically evaluated three commercially available (1→3)-β-D-glucan measurement methods for the diagnosis of fungal infections: the kinetic turbidimetric, the end-point chromogenic, and the kinetic ...chromogenic Limulus tests. For the kinetic turbidimetric assay, we examined a dilution and heating pretreatment method at 70°C for plasma to eradicate irregular (1→3)-β-D-glucan values caused by changes in the nonspecific turbidity of the reaction mixture, a problem occasionally encountered when the ordinary method is used (pretreated at 80°C). With the 70°C-pretreatment method, the nonspecific turbidity was eradicated and the values of (1→3)-β-D-glucan were lower than those obtained by the ordinary method. Thus, the 70°C-pretreatment method was less sensitive than the ordinary method, but its specificity was higher. The overall agreement rates between the kinetic turbidimetric assay and chromogenic assay were near 90%. Some samples in the control group showed unexpectedly high (1→3)-β-D-glucan values with the kinetic chromogenic assay. The measurement with the end-point chromogenic assay was influenced by sulfa drugs. In the kinetic turbidimetric method, the 70°C-pretreatment method is more effective than the ordinary method.
The influence of temperature (ranging from 28 to 42 degrees C) was studied on the phenotypic expression of chromosomally mediated beta-lactamases in gram-negative clinical isolates and in their ...beta-lactamase-depressed resistant counterparts. The enzymes were expressed most intensely at lower temperatures (28 or 32 degrees C). In most strains the enzyme was barely detectable at growth temperatures of 42 degrees C independent of the inducer employed. The release of the enzyme into the surrounding medium was marginal even at a growth temperature of 42 degrees C. The major outer membrane proteins revealed discrepancies dependent on the growth temperature only for the Providencia rettgeri W 862 strain. Thus, it can be concluded that the phenotypic expression of chromosomal beta-lactamase is temperature dependent to the effect that the enzymes are most expressed at 28 or 32 degrees C. This agrees well with the increased susceptibility to most beta-lactams due to the lowered beta-lactamase production at higher temperatures. This effect was pronounced most strikingly in Proteus vulgaris.
In the cuticular wax of Hedera helix leaves free fatty acids, primary alcohols, aldehydes, and akanes have been detected. Leaves of plants grown at different temperatures showed marked differences in ...amount and composition of the wax.
At 18 °C the total yield of wax per unit area increased with increasing leaf age, and the wax composition was altered by rapid aldehyde formation. During leaf development, increasing amounts of higher homologues were found in the fractions of primary alcohols, aldehydes, and alkanes.
At 28 °C the total yield of wax per unit area was reduced substantially and slightly declined with increasing leaf age. Aldehydes were not synthesized under these conditions. The chain length distributions of the other fractions considerably differed from those found at 18 °C.
Temperature strongly influenced morphogenesis of intracellular trypomastigotes in cell culture infected with 2 different strains of T. cruzi. With the Gilmar strain the amastigote-to-trypomastigote ...differentiation readily occurred at 33 and 37 C, whereas the CL strain differentiation took place at 33C but was inhibited at 37 C. The possiblity of this selective thermosensitivity resulting from mutational adaptation of the parasite is discussed.
Forward osmosis (FO) is considered as an energy-efficient process for numerous applications. Although its performance is determined by the spatially varied operation factors and the length of the ...channel, most of the reported simulation studies rely on length-averaged lumped models. Here, we introduce a one-D model based on heat and mass transfer and transport behavior for both bulk draw and feed channel flows. We find prediction results to be in good agreement with two different experimental results at inlet feed temperatures below 25 °C. However, the difference of water flux (Jw) and reverse salt flux (RSF) between measured and predicted data increases when both feed and draw temperatures also increase. Our theoretical simulation study first reveals that the feed temperature near the membrane active layer surface is the main factor for improving water and salt permeabilities. We find that, with a channel width of 0.3 m and a channel length of 2.5 m, Jw and RSF calculated using the length-averaged based lumped model are overestimated by 13.01% and 13.12%, respectively, compared to those obtained using our new spatial variation model. Our study demonstrates that the length-averaged based lumped model is not an appropriate simulation model to predict the performance of large-scale FO modules at lower inlet velocities.
•The effect of spatial variation on the FO performance is investigated to predict large scale conditions.•The influence of water permeability and reverse salt flux is determined.•Draw and feed temperatures proved to have a significant effect on the FO performance.•Predicted results are in good agreement with different experimental data.•The spatial variation model is more appropriate for simulating large scale FO modules.
Innovations and trends has been significantly increased during modern theory and practical realizations in the field of energetic. In the Czech Republic, the research of predictions of technical ...losses on the transmission system can be considered as novel and important topic. Using software possibilities can be appropriately utilized in the frame of estimations of the technical losses. While they cannot be eliminated, they may be minimized. Losses can be measured or calculated using transmission-line parameters. This causality is considered in the form of the presented and proposed mathematical equations including real measured data of the atmospheric temperatures achieved on the substations selected in the Moravian-Silesian region. In this contribution, results of proposed calculations of technical losses based only on line parameters considering the ambient temperature are being compared in relation to a particular transmission system using prediction software. Particularly, technical losses caused by a configuration change of a selected part of a transmission system are considered related to the operation of Dlouhe Strane pumped storage hydro power plant. As can be conclude, after the resulted comparisons using by the proposed mathematical models in software and the obtained real measured data, general minimization of the losses is necessary to create the most accurate models of the states that might occur in the future and to propose required modifications of the given part of the transmission system. Future bounded research can be focused on the sensors situated on the transmission lines instead of the substations.
Planar frame structures made of a viscoelastic material are considered in the paper. The technically very important structures made of a homogenous material are contemplated. A family of rheological ...models (classic and fractional) are used to describe the mechanical properties of the viscoelastic material. In particular, the dynamic characteristics of the structures are of interest. A numerically very efficient method is proposed to determine such characteristics. The method requires the solution to the linear eigenvalue problem for corresponding elastic structures and the solution to a nonlinear, algebraic equation. The presented method is much more efficient than other methods where, very often, the continuation method is used to solve the nonlinear eigenvalue problem. The influence of temperature changes on dynamic characteristics is analyzed using the frequency–temperature principle. The results of several parametric analyses are presented and discussed. For the first time, the influence of temperature on the dynamic characteristics of beams has been studied in detail.
PDF
