TiO2 nanotubes on Ti substrate were prepared by electrochemical anodisation method. Central composite experimental design was used to design the experiments to investigate the influence of some ...variables on the loading of antibiotic gentamicin. A full quadratic model was used in order to find out the influence of the variables and their possible interactions and finally to estimate the optimum conditions. Titanium rods were anodised in ethylene glycol containing different amounts of ammonium fluoride and water at different voltages and different anodising times. Antibacterial activity of the nanotubes prepared under the optimum condition was evaluated by a culture test with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
In this paper we show that the inverse data envelopment analysis (DEA) models can be used to estimate inputs for a decision making unit (DMU) when some or all outputs and efficiency level of this DMU ...are increased or preserved. An approach is also introduced to identify extra inputs (maximum reduction amounts in inputs) when the outputs are estimated using the proposed models by Yan et al. European Journal of Operational Research 136 (2002) 19 and Jahanshahloo et al. Applied Mathematics and Computation 19 (2003). Numeric results are presented for an example taken from the literature.
Rotaviruses group A are the major cause of diarrhea in calves under one month and every year causes enormous economic losses. Serological and molecular techniques can be used for rapid detection of ...rotaviruses but virus isolation requires specific methods of cell culture and suitable cell lines. In this study, 41 samples were collected from diarrheal calves up to the age of one month, from industrial and semi-industrial farms in Tehran and Alborz provinces. The samples were positive by RT-PCR on VP6 gene. After preparation and inoculation onto MA104 cells in roller tube culture and constant cell culture system, the cytopathic effect (CPE) was observed. Eligible cultured with CPE, were confirmed by two-step RT-PCR using VP6 gene primers. Semi-nested PCR using VP7 gene primers was also performed for G-genotyping in which 11 and 2 samples were detected as G6 and G10, respectively. This is the first report on isolation and identification of rotaviruses, one of the causative agents of viral diarrhea in Iran. The results of this research suggest that, these two types, can be used as the dominant strains for manufacturing a suitable vaccine against the rotaviruses in Iran.
In vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that the expression of the early response genes for Jun and Fos proteins plays an important role in adrenal cell proliferation. In order to study the ...expression pattern of the activating protein-1 (AP-1) family of oncogenes in the adrenal gland, we have used immunohistochemistry to localize Jun and Fos protein expression in rat adrenal cortex infused in situ with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), or both. The expression of AP-1 factors has been found to be correlated with in vivo ACTH and FGF2 proliferation in rats treated with dexamethasone and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). Induction of c-Jun and c-Fos in the zona fasciculata and of FosB in the zona reticularis suggests that, after ACTH stimulation, these proteins are the main AP-1 components in these zones. In vivo, ACTH increases BrdU-positive cells in the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis suggesting that the composition of AP-1 complexes in these zones is correlated with proliferation. Patterns of Fos and Jun induction by FGF2 do not resemble those after ACTH induction. However, in isolation, neither affects the zona glomerulosa. In the zona fasciculata, and more so in the zona reticularis, FGF2 modulates responses to ACTH, reducing the numbers of Jun-positive cells, Fos-positive cells, and DNA synthesis. This indicates that FGF2 antagonizes ACTH, and that ACTH thus controls the trophic effect independently of exogenous FGF2. Our results implicate the AP-1 family of transcription factors in the regulation of cell progression and the control of ACTH-induced proliferation in the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis.
Cloud computing allows the use of Internet-based services to support business processes and rental of IT-services on a utility-like basis. It offers a concentration of resources but also poses risks ...for data privacy. A single breach can cause significant loss. The heterogeneity of "users" represents a danger of multiple, collaborative threats. In cloud computing, entities may have multiple accounts associated with a single or multiple service providers (SPs). Sharing sensitive identity information (that is, Personally Identifiable information or PII) along with associated attributes of the same entity across services can lead to mapping of the identities to the entity, tantamount to privacy loss. Identity management (IDM) is one of the core components in cloud privacy and security and can help alleviate some of the problems associated with cloud computing. Available solutions use trusted third party (TTP) in identifying entities to SPs. The solution providers do not recommend the usage of their solutions on untrusted hosts. We propose an approach for IDM, which is independent of TTP and has the ability to use identity data on untrusted hosts. The approach is based on the use of predicates over encrypted data and multi-party computing for negotiating a use of a cloud service. It uses active bundle-which is a middleware agent that includes PII data, privacy policies, a virtual machine that enforces the policies, and has a set of protection mechanisms to protect itself. An active bundle interacts on behalf of a user to authenticate to cloud services using user's privacy policies.
Background
Cytokine gene polymorphisms have been extensively studied in association with different diseases. The role of cytokine gene polymorphisms in multiple sclerosis (MS), as a chronic ...immune-mediated neurodegenerative disease, has been previously reported.
Materials and methods
DNA samples were collected from 44 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and 140 unrelated healthy subjects. All participants in this study were matched for ethnicity. Cytokine gene SNPs were determined using the PCR-SSP method.
Results and discussion
We found no significant differences between MS patients and controls in most of the studied cytokine genes. Remarkable results were obtained for IL-2 GG —330 genotype (P = 0.06), IL-6 C —174 allele (P = 0.06), CG and GG genotypes (P < 0.001), and GG (P = 0.02) and CG (P < 0.001) haplotypes, and TNF-α A —238 allele (P < 0.001), GG (P = 0.003) and GA (P < 0.001) haplotypes. These results suggest that polymorphic variations of these pro-inflammatory cytokines play an important role in susceptibility to MS.
Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 253–255. http://msj.sagepub.com
In our earlier work Phys. Rev. E, 82, 041701 (2010), the bulk elastic constants were calculated using Poniewierski-Stecki expressions and the new direct correlation function. We calculated the bulk ...elastic constants,K
11
, K
22
and K
33
of Gay-Berne nematic liquid crystals at constant temperature and density using the expressions proposed by Stelzer and co-workers J. Chem. Phys. 103, 3098 (1995). The angular coefficients of the direct correlation function, which enter the final equations, have been determined using the new direct correlation and pair distribution functions. By study of the model at a fixed temperature over a wide range of densities for molecular elongation, k=3, the detailed information is provided on the elastic behavior of the Gay-Berne nematic. The results of our calculations are qualitatively in agreement with the molecular dynamic simulation results.
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