The human repeated insult patch test in the 21st century: a commentary.
Basketter, David A
2009-01-01
The human repeated insult patch test (HRIPT) is over half a century old, but is still used in several countries as a confirmatory test in the safety evaluation of skin sensitizers. This is despite the criticism it receives from an ethical perspective and regarding the scientific validity of such testing. In this commentary, the HRIPT is reviewed, with emphasis on ethical aspects and where the test can, and cannot, contribute in a scientifically meaningful manner to safety evaluation. It is concluded that where there is a specific rationale for testing, for example, to substantiate a no-effect level for a sensitizing chemical or to ensure that matrix effects are not making an unexpected contribution to sensitizing potency, then rigorous independent review may confirm that an HRIPT is ethical and scientifically justifiable. The possibility that sensitization may be induced in volunteers dictates that HRIPTs should be conducted rarely and in cases where the benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the risk. However, for the very large majority of HRIPTs conducted concerning the risk of skin sensitization, there is neither scientific justification nor any other merit.
Boonchai, Waranya; Sathaworawong, Angkana; Wongpraparut, Chanisada; Wanitphakdeedecha, Rungsima
2015-10-01
Ablative fractional skin resurfacing has become popular and proven to be useful in treating scars, photoaging and wrinkles. Although post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is the most common complication especially in dark-skinned patients like Asian. Several modalities have been used to overcome the PIH. To determine the sensitization potential of sunscreen applied immediately after ablative fractional skin resurfacing. Sixty volunteers were recruited. Of these 30 subjects were from previous ablative fractional skin resurfacing study who applied broad-spectrum sunscreen containing anti-inflammatory agent starting on the first day after resurfacing and another 30 non-resurfacing subjects had applied the same sunscreen on the intact skin. All subjects were patch/photopatch tested for sensitization study by using modified human repeated insult patch test (HRIPT). There were significantly higher sensitization rate of UV-filter, octocrylene and the sunscreen in resurfacing group than in non-resurfacing group. Early application of sunscreen after ablative fractional skin resurfacing has increased the incidence of sensitization potential of sunscreen. The sunscreen is recommended to start using from D3 after fractional ablative skin resurfacing to ensure the complete recovery of skin barrier and minimize the risk of sensitization.
Repeated patch testing to nickel during childhood do not induce nickel sensitization
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Søgaard Christiansen, Elisabeth
2014-01-01
Background: Previously, patch test reactivity to nickel sulphate in a cohort of unselected infants tested repeatedly at 3-72 months of age has been reported. A reproducible positive reaction at 12 and 18 months was selected as a sign of nickel sensitivity, provided a patch test with an empty Finn...
Park, Kui Young; Kwon, Hyun Jung; Lee, Changjin; Kim, Daegun; Yoon, Jun Jin; Kim, Myeong Nam; Kim, Beom Joon
2017-09-01
Although microneedles are one of the best transdermal drug delivery systems for active compounds, few clinical trials have examined the safety and efficacy of brightening microneedle patches. To determine the efficacy and safety of a newly developed whitening microneedle patch. A split-face study was designed for efficacy assessment with 34 Korean women applying the tested product (a whitening microneedle patch) on one cheek and a control whitening essence on the other. We objectively measured changes in melanin index values and skin brightness by mexameter and chromameter. Each participant also used global assessment to determine skin whitening. In addition, 55 participants were selected for primary skin irritation tests and repeated insult patch tests for safety assessments. Mean skin brightness and melanin indexes improved (Pmicroneedle patch was effective and safe for skin brightening and would be a promising functional cosmetic product. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Geneviève Bernard Barbeau
2012-04-01
Full Text Available Partant d’une acception très large de l’argumentation, nous nous intéressons ici au lien entre insulte et persuasion afin de repenser la relation persuadeur / persuadé sous l’éclairage de celle d’insulteur / insulté. Cette conception fondamentalement interactionniste place au centre de l’analyse l’objet de persuasion et la (possibilité de satisfaction de l’acte, ainsi que toute la mise en scène, le décor et le public qui assiste à la représentation (pour reprendre la métaphore théâtrale de Goffman, sans négliger la dimension émotive de l’insulte. Insistant sur la dimension argumentative de l’insulte, nous tentons de montrer, à partir d’extraits de sites Internet d’évaluation de professionnels, que toute disqualification devant un tiers a comme visée de le persuader d’adhérer à la thèse implicite de la validité de la qualification péjorative, ce qui se manifeste, sur le plan perlocutoire, de deux manières : persuader de haïr (faire adhérer à la disqualification d’autrui et persuader d’agir (faire poser une action conséquente avec l’adhésion à la disqualification d’autrui.Starting from a very broad definition of argumentation, we are interested in the link between insult and persuasion, in order to rethink the persuader / persuaded relationship, under the light of the insulter / insulted relationship. This fundamentally interactionist concept analyses first and foremost the object of persuasion, and the (possibility of achievement of the action, as well as the staging, the set and the attending audience (to use again Goffman’s theatrical metaphor, without neglecting the emotional dimension, inherent to insult. We will attempt to demonstrate, based on excerpts taken from websites that enable users to post reviews of professionals, that any disqualification in the presence of third parties aims at persuading them to adhere to the implicit thesis supporting the validity of the
Insults and face work in the Bible
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
John J. Pilch
2014-10-01
Full Text Available Insults play a key role in social interaction in the agonistic culture of the Middle East. This article constructs a social scientific model of social interaction regarding face work and insults and then filters the Gospel of Matthew through that model to highlight the prevalence of insult in the biblical world.
Safety and efficacy of personal care products containing colloidal oatmeal.
Criquet, Maryline; Roure, Romain; Dayan, Liliane; Nollent, Virginie; Bertin, Christiane
2012-01-01
Colloidal oatmeal is a natural ingredient used in the formulation of a range of personal care products for relief of skin dryness and itchiness. It is also used as an adjunctive product in atopic dermatitis. The safety of personal care products used on vulnerable skin is of particular importance and the risk of developing further skin irritations and/or allergies should be minimized. In a series of studies, we tested the safety of personal care products containing oatmeal (creams, cleansers, lotions) by assessing their irritant/allergenic potential on repeat insult patch testing, in safety-in-use and ocular studies using subjects with nonsensitive and sensitive skin. We also tested the skin moisturizing and repair properties of an oatmeal-containing skin care product for dry skin. We found that oatmeal-containing personal care products had very low irritant potential as well as a very low allergenic sensitization potential. Low-level reactions were documented in 1.0% of subjects during the induction phase of repeat insult patch testing; one of 2291 subjects developed a persistent but doubtful low-level reaction involving edema during the challenge phase in repeat insult patch testing. No allergies were reported by 80 subjects after patch testing after in-use application. Sustained skin moisturizing was documented in subjects with dry skin that lasted up to 2 weeks after product discontinuation. Our results demonstrate that colloidal oatmeal is a safe and effective ingredient in personal care products. No allergies were reported by consumers of 445,820 products sold during a 3-year period.
Intraoperative Secondary Insults During Orthopedic Surgery in Traumatic Brain Injury.
Algarra, Nelson N; Lele, Abhijit V; Prathep, Sumidtra; Souter, Michael J; Vavilala, Monica S; Qiu, Qian; Sharma, Deepak
2017-07-01
Secondary insults worsen outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, data on intraoperative secondary insults are sparse. The primary aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of intraoperative secondary insults during orthopedic surgery after moderate-severe TBI. We also examined the impact of intraoperative secondary insults on postoperative head computed tomographic scan, intracranial pressure (ICP), and escalation of care within 24 hours of surgery. We reviewed medical records of TBI patients 18 years and above with Glasgow Coma Scale score Secondary insults examined were: systemic hypotension (systolic blood pressurehypertension (ICP>20 mm Hg), cerebral hypotension (cerebral perfusion pressure40 mm Hg), hypocarbia (end-tidal CO2hypertension), hyperglycemia (glucose>200 mg/dL), hypoglycemia (glucose38°C). A total of 78 patients (41 [18 to 81] y, 68% male) met the inclusion criteria. The most common intraoperative secondary insults were systemic hypotension (60%), intracranial hypertension and cerebral hypotension (50% and 45%, respectively, in patients with ICP monitoring), hypercarbia (32%), and hypocarbia (29%). Intraoperative secondary insults were associated with worsening of head computed tomography, postoperative decrease of Glasgow Coma Scale score by ≥2, and escalation of care. After Bonferroni correction, association between cerebral hypotension and postoperative escalation of care remained significant (Psecondary insults were common during orthopedic surgery in patients with TBI and were associated with postoperative escalation of care. Strategies to minimize intraoperative secondary insults are needed.
Arora, Priyanka; Mukherjee, Biswajit
2002-09-01
In this study, matrix-type transdermal patches containing diclofenac diethylamine were prepared using different ratios of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and ethylcellulose (EC) by solvent evaporation technique. The drug matrix film of PVP and EC was casted on a polyvinylalcohol backing membrane. All the prepared formulations were subjected to physical studies (moisture content, moisture uptake, and flatness), in vitro release studies and in vitro skin permeation studies. In vitro permeation studies were performed across cadaver skin using a modified diffusion cell. Variations in drug release profiles among the formulations studied were observed. Based on a physicochemical and in vitro skin permeation study, formulation PA4 (PVP/EC, 1:2) and PA5 (PVP/EC, 1:5) were chosen for further in vivo experiments. The antiinflammatory effect and a sustaining action of diclofenac diethylamine from the two transdermal patches selected were studied by inducing paw edema in rats with 1% w/v carrageenan solution. When the patches were applied half an hour before the subplantar injection of carrageenan in the hind paw of male Wistar rats, it was observed that formulation PA4 produced 100% inhibition of paw edema in rats 12 h after carrageenan insult, whereas in the case of formulation PA5, 4% mean paw edema was obtained half an hour after the carrageenan injection and the value became 19.23% 12 h after the carrageenan insult. The efficacy of transdermal patches was also compared with the marketed Voveran gel and it was found that PA4 transdermal patches produced a better result as compared with the Voveran gel. Hence, it can be reasonably concluded that diclofenac diethylamine can be formulated into the transdermal matrix type patches to sustain its release characteristics and the polymeric composition (PVP/EC, 1:2) was found to be the best choice for manufacturing transdermal patches of diclofenac diethylamine among the formulations studied. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Baker, Emma; Beer, Andrew; Lester, Laurence; Pevalin, David; Whitehead, Christine; Bentley, Rebecca
2017-05-26
In seeking to understand the relationship between housing and health, research attention is often focussed on separate components of people's whole housing 'bundles'. We propose in this paper that such conceptual and methodological abstraction of elements of the housing and health relationship limits our ability to understand the scale of the accumulated effect of housing on health and thereby contributes to the under-recognition of adequate housing as a social policy tool and powerful health intervention. In this paper, we propose and describe an index to capture the means by which housing bundles influence health. We conceptualise the index as reflecting accumulated housing 'insults to health'-an Index of Housing Insults (IHI). We apply the index to a sample of 1000 low-income households in Australia. The analysis shows a graded association between housing insults and health on all outcome measures. Further, after controlling for possible confounders, the IHI is shown to provide additional predictive power to the explanation of levels of mental health, general health and clinical depression beyond more traditional proxy measures. Overall, this paper reinforces the need to look not just at separate housing components but to embrace a broader understanding of the relationship between housing and health.
Safety and efficacy of personal care products containing colloidal oatmeal
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Criquet M
2012-11-01
Full Text Available Maryline Criquet,1 Romain Roure,1 Liliane Dayan,2 Virginie Nollent,1 Christiane Bertin11Johnson & Johnson Santé Beauté France, Issy les Moulineaux, 2Independent consultant dermatologist, Paris, FranceBackground: Colloidal oatmeal is a natural ingredient used in the formulation of a range of personal care products for relief of skin dryness and itchiness. It is also used as an adjunctive product in atopic dermatitis. The safety of personal care products used on vulnerable skin is of particular importance and the risk of developing further skin irritations and/or allergies should be minimized.Methods: In a series of studies, we tested the safety of personal care products containing oatmeal (creams, cleansers, lotions by assessing their irritant/allergenic potential on repeat insult patch testing, in safety-in-use and ocular studies using subjects with nonsensitive and sensitive skin. We also tested the skin moisturizing and repair properties of an oatmeal-containing skin care product for dry skin.Results: We found that oatmeal-containing personal care products had very low irritant potential as well as a very low allergenic sensitization potential. Low-level reactions were documented in 1.0% of subjects during the induction phase of repeat insult patch testing; one of 2291 subjects developed a persistent but doubtful low-level reaction involving edema during the challenge phase in repeat insult patch testing. No allergies were reported by 80 subjects after patch testing after in-use application. Sustained skin moisturizing was documented in subjects with dry skin that lasted up to 2 weeks after product discontinuation.Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that colloidal oatmeal is a safe and effective ingredient in personal care products. No allergies were reported by consumers of 445,820 products sold during a 3-year period.Keywords: Avena sativa, colloids, protective agents, atopic dermatitis, irritant dermatitis, allergenic dermatitis, skin
Patch size has no effect on insect visitation rate per unit area in garden-scale flower patches
Garbuzov, Mihail; Madsen, Andy; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.
2015-01-01
Previous studies investigating the effect of flower patch size on insect flower visitation rate have compared relatively large patches (10-1000s m2) and have generally found a negative relationship per unit area or per flower. Here, we investigate the effects of patch size on insect visitation in patches of smaller area (range c. 0.1-3.1 m2), which are of particular relevance to ornamental flower beds in parks and gardens. We studied two common garden plant species in full bloom with 6 patch sizes each: borage (Borago officinalis) and lavender (Lavandula × intermedia 'Grosso'). We quantified flower visitation by insects by making repeated counts of the insects foraging at each patch. On borage, all insects were honey bees (Apis mellifera, n = 5506 counts). On lavender, insects (n = 737 counts) were bumble bees (Bombus spp., 76.9%), flies (Diptera, 22.4%), and butterflies (Lepidoptera, 0.7%). On both plant species we found positive linear effects of patch size on insect numbers. However, there was no effect of patch size on the number of insects per unit area or per flower and, on lavender, for all insects combined or only bumble bees. The results show that it is possible to make unbiased comparisons of the attractiveness of plant species or varieties to flower-visiting insects using patches of different size within the small scale range studied and make possible projects aimed at comparing ornamental plant varieties using existing garden flower patches of variable area.
Quantitative aspects of isoeugenol contact allergy assessed by use and patch tests
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Johansen, J D; Andersen, K E; Menné, T
1996-01-01
The clinical implications of sensitization to the fragrance material isoeugenol were studied in 19 subjects. Patch testing with serial dilutions of isoeugenol and a repeated open application test (ROAT) were performed. The minimum effect level under patch test conditions was below 0.01% isoeugenol...
Neuroprotective action of magneto-lasertherapy during the acute period of ischemic insult
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Samosyuk, N.I.; Ehkshi Il'ker
2001-01-01
New methods of ischemic insult treatment, in particular use of magneto-lasertherapy are described. Patients with different forms of ischemic insult were treated during acute period of it. Restoration of functions was registered in 80% of them. Clinical studies show considerable morphoprotective effect of this method and the expediency of its introduction in intensive ischemic insult therapy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eithan Orkibi
2012-04-01
Full Text Available Sur la base d’un vaste corpus relatif au mouvement « anti-Sarko » en France, cet article explore les significations et les fonctions de l’insulte dans la rhétorique de protestation. Exploitant les méthodes de l’analyse des cadres, l’article classifie d’abord les différentes catégories d’insultes qui caractérisent le genre humoristique « anti-Sarko », puis démontre comment ces catégories construisent ensemble l’argument « anti-Sarko » de base. L’article montre que les insultes jouent un rôle central dans le cadrage de la cause et des motifs du mouvement. La rhétorique des insultes permet à ce mouvement relativement fragmenté et divisé de se rassembler autour d’un ennemi commun, et de projeter une série de valeurs partagées avec lesquelles le « français moyen » peut facilement s’identifier.Drawing on a large corpus from the French “Anti-Sarko” movement, this article explores the meanings and functions of the insults in the rhetoric of protest. Using Frame Analysis methods, the article first classifies different categories of insults in the “anti-Sarko” humoristic genre, and then demonstrates how these categories form together the fundamental “anti-Sarko” argument. The article argues that the insults play a central role in the movement’s effort to frame its cause and motives. The rhetoric of insults also enables the relatively fragmented and divided movement to reunite against a common enemy, and to reflect a shared set of values with which the “average-French” could easily identify.
Automated detection of repeated structures in building facades
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Previtali
2013-10-01
Full Text Available Automatic identification of high-level repeated structures in 3D point clouds of building façades is crucial for applications like digitalization and building modelling. Indeed, in many architectural styles building façades are governed by arrangements of objects into repeated patterns. In particular, façades are generally designed as the repetition of some few basic objects organized into interlaced and\\or concatenated grid structures. Starting from this key observation, this paper presents an algorithm for Repeated Structure Detection (RSD in 3D point clouds of building façades. The presented methodology consists of three main phases. First, in the point cloud segmentation stage (i the building façade is decomposed into planar patches which are classified by means of some weak prior knowledge of urban buildings formulated in a classification tree. Secondly (ii, in the element clustering phase detected patches are grouped together by means of a similarity function and pairwise transformations between patches are computed. Eventually (iii, in the structure regularity estimation step the parameters of repeated grid patterns are calculated by using a Least- Squares optimization. Workability of the presented approach is tested using some real data from urban scenes.
Establishing the Embryonic Axes: Prime Time for Teratogenic Insults
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Thomas W. Sadler
2017-09-01
Full Text Available A long standing axiom in the field of teratology states that the teratogenic period, when most birth defects are produced, occurs during the third to eighth weeks of development post-fertilization. Any insults prior to this time are thought to result in a slowing of embryonic growth from which the conceptus recovers or death of the embryo followed by spontaneous abortion. However, new insights into embryonic development during the first two weeks, including formation of the anterior-posterior, dorsal-ventral, and left-right axes, suggests that signaling pathways regulating these processes are prime targets for genetic and toxic insults. Establishment of the left-right (laterality axis is particularly sensitive to disruption at very early stages of development and these perturbations result in a wide variety of congenital malformations, especially heart defects. Thus, the time for teratogenic insults resulting in birth defects should be reset to include the first two weeks of development.
Choi, Hee Youn; Kim, Yo Han; Hong, Donghyun; Kim, Seong Su; Bae, Kyun-Seop; Lim, Hyeong-Seok
2015-08-01
We performed population pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis of a novel transdermal donepezil patch in healthy subjects who participated in a phase I trial. We also studied the optimal dosage regimen with repeated patch application for achieving a therapeutic range using a PK simulation model. This study used data from a randomized, single-dose escalation phase I clinical trial conducted in Korea. The population PK analysis was performed using NONMEM software, version 7.3. From the final PK model, we simulated repeat patch application results assuming various transdermal absorption rates. Based on the clinical trial data, novel donepezil patches with doses of 43.75 mg/12.5 cm(2), 87.5 mg/25 cm(2), and 175 mg/50 cm(2) were placed on each subject. A linear one-compartment, first-order elimination with sequential zero- and first-order absorption model best described the donepezil plasma concentrations after patch application. Simulated results on the basis of the PK model showed that repeat application of the patches of 87.5 mg/25 cm(2) and 175 mg/50 cm(2) every 72 h would cover the therapeutic range of donepezil and reach steady-state faster with fewer fluctuations in concentration compared to typical oral administrations. A linear one-compartment with sequential zero- and first-order absorption model was effective for describing the PKs of donepezil after application of patch. Based on this analysis, 87.5 mg/25 cm(2) or 175 mg/50 cm(2) patch application every 72 h is expected to achieve the desired plasma concentration of donepezil.
Children's Executive Functions: Are They Poorer after Very Early Brain Insult
Anderson, Vicki; Spencer-Smith, Megan; Coleman, Lee; Anderson, Peter; Williams, Jackie; Greenham, Mardee; Leventer, Richard J.; Jacobs, Rani
2010-01-01
Traditionally early brain insult (EBI) has been considered to have better outcome than later injury, consistent with the notion that the young brain is flexible and able to reorganize. Recent research findings question this view, suggesting that EBI might lead to poorer outcome than brain insult at any other age. Exploring this early vulnerability…
Zach, Gernot J; Peneder, Stefan; Strodl, Markus A; Schausberger, Peter
2012-01-01
In group-living animals, social interactions and their effects on other life activities such as foraging are commonly determined by discrimination among group members. Accordingly, many group-living species evolved sophisticated social recognition abilities such as the ability to recognize familiar individuals, i.e. individuals encountered before. Social familiarity may affect within-group interactions and between-group movements. In environments with patchily distributed prey, group-living predators must repeatedly decide whether to stay with the group in a given prey patch or to leave and search for new prey patches and groups. Based on the assumption that in group-living animals social familiarity allows to optimize the performance in other tasks, as for example predicted by limited attention theory, we assessed the influence of social familiarity on prey patch exploitation, patch-leaving, and inter-patch distribution of the group-living, plant-inhabiting predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis. P. persimilis is highly specialized on herbivorous spider mite prey such as the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae, which is patchily distributed on its host plants. We conducted two experiments with (1) groups of juvenile P. persimilis under limited food on interconnected detached leaflets, and (2) groups of adult P. persimilis females under limited food on whole plants. Familiar individuals of both juvenile and adult predator groups were more exploratory and dispersed earlier from a given spider mite patch, occupied more leaves and depleted prey more quickly than individuals of unfamiliar groups. Moreover, familiar juvenile predators had higher survival chances than unfamiliar juveniles. We argue that patch-exploitation and -leaving, and inter-patch dispersion were more favorably coordinated in groups of familiar than unfamiliar predators, alleviating intraspecific competition and improving prey utilization and suppression.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gernot J Zach
Full Text Available In group-living animals, social interactions and their effects on other life activities such as foraging are commonly determined by discrimination among group members. Accordingly, many group-living species evolved sophisticated social recognition abilities such as the ability to recognize familiar individuals, i.e. individuals encountered before. Social familiarity may affect within-group interactions and between-group movements. In environments with patchily distributed prey, group-living predators must repeatedly decide whether to stay with the group in a given prey patch or to leave and search for new prey patches and groups.Based on the assumption that in group-living animals social familiarity allows to optimize the performance in other tasks, as for example predicted by limited attention theory, we assessed the influence of social familiarity on prey patch exploitation, patch-leaving, and inter-patch distribution of the group-living, plant-inhabiting predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis. P. persimilis is highly specialized on herbivorous spider mite prey such as the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae, which is patchily distributed on its host plants. We conducted two experiments with (1 groups of juvenile P. persimilis under limited food on interconnected detached leaflets, and (2 groups of adult P. persimilis females under limited food on whole plants. Familiar individuals of both juvenile and adult predator groups were more exploratory and dispersed earlier from a given spider mite patch, occupied more leaves and depleted prey more quickly than individuals of unfamiliar groups. Moreover, familiar juvenile predators had higher survival chances than unfamiliar juveniles.We argue that patch-exploitation and -leaving, and inter-patch dispersion were more favorably coordinated in groups of familiar than unfamiliar predators, alleviating intraspecific competition and improving prey utilization and suppression.
Environmental insults in early life and submissiveness later in life in mouse models
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Seico eBenner
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Dominant and subordinate dispositions are not only determined genetically but also nurtured by environmental stimuli during neuroendocrine development. However, the relationship between early life environment and dominance behavior remains elusive. Using the IntelliCage-based competition task for group-housed mice, we have previously described two cases in which environmental insults during the developmental period altered the outcome of dominance behavior later in life. First, mice that were repeatedly isolated from their mother and their littermates (early deprivation; ED, and second, mice perinatally exposed to an environmental pollutant, dioxin, both exhibited subordinate phenotypes, defined by decreased occupancy of limited resource sites under highly competitive circumstances. Similar alterations found in the cortex and limbic area of these two models are suggestive of the presence of neural systems shared across generalized dominance behavior.
Relevance of positive patch-test reactions to fragrance mix.
Devos, Steven A; Constandt, Lieve; Tupker, Ron A; Noz, Kathy C; Lucker, Georges P H; Bruynzeel, Derk P; Schuttelaar, Marie-Louise A; Kruyswijk, Mente R J; van Zuuren, Esther J; Vink, Jaqueline; Coenraads, Pieter-Jan; Kiemeney, Lambertus A L M; van der Valk, Pieter G M
2008-01-01
Fragrances are an important cause of allergic contact dermatitis. We presume that the traditional fragrance mix (FM) detects 70 to 80% of fragrance-allergic patients. FM has an irritant potential. Weak positive reactions may have a greater chance of being irrelevant than strong reactions. To improve the appraisal of FM patch-test reactions, we studied the relevance of reactions of different strength. We also studied the predictive value of the following on the relevance of the initial FM patch-test results: patch-test results of a repeated FM test; results of patch tests with balsam of Peru, colophony, and ingredients of the mix; and (history of) atopic dermatitis. One hundred thirty-eight patients who had doubtful positive (?+) or positive (+ to +++) reactions were included in the study. We determined relevance by history taking, location and course of the dermatitis, and additional patch testing. Patients were retested with FM and with each ingredient separately. The relevance of reactions to FM increases with the strength of the reactions. Predictors of relevance are the results of retesting with FM, the results of tests with the ingredients, and a history and/or present symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Retesting with FM and its ingredients may add to the benefit of patch testing.
An Analysis of Insults in Don Quixote from the Perspective of Social History of Language
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Jesús M. Usunáriz
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Daily use of insult, slander, in the societies of the Early Modern Age, is also present in the voices of the protagonists of Don Quixote. However, the Ingenious Gentleman and his squire, do not use the insult in the same way. This will depend on the social position of insulted and offender (noble or villain, and the circumstances surrounding it. However, social reality, collected in different court cases, shows that the insult did not respect, in the same way as in the novel, the stratified social structure.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Fischer, Louise Arup; Voelund, Aage; Andersen, Klaus Ejner
2009-01-01
Background: Allergic contact dermatitis is common and can be prevented. The relationship between thresholds for patch tests and the repeated open application test (ROAT) is unclear. It would be desirable if patch test and ROAT data from already sensitized individuals could be used in prevention. ...
Microneedle patches: usability and acceptability for self-vaccination against influenza.
Norman, James J; Arya, Jaya M; McClain, Maxine A; Frew, Paula M; Meltzer, Martin I; Prausnitz, Mark R
2014-04-01
While therapeutic drugs are routinely self-administered by patients, there is little precedent for self-vaccination. Convenient self-vaccination may expand vaccination coverage and reduce administration costs. Microneedle patches are in development for many vaccines, but no reports exist on usability or acceptability. We hypothesized that naïve patients could apply patches and that self-administered patches would improve stated intent to receive an influenza vaccine. We conducted a randomized, repeated measures study with 91 venue-recruited adults. To simulate vaccination, subjects received placebo microneedle patches given three times by self-administration and once by the investigator, as well as an intramuscular injection of saline. Seventy participants inserted patches with thumb pressure alone and the remainder used snap-based devices that closed shut at a certain force. Usability was assessed by skin staining and acceptability was measured with an adaptive-choice analysis. The best usability was seen with the snap device, with users inserting a median value of 93-96% of microneedles over three repetitions. When a self-administered microneedle patch was offered, intent to vaccinate increased from 44% to 65% (CI: 55-74%). The majority of those intending vaccination would prefer to self-vaccinate: 64% (CI: 51-75%). There were no serious adverse events associated with use of microneedle patches. The findings from this initial study indicate that microneedle patches for self-vaccination against influenza are usable and may lead to improved vaccination coverage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Insult-induced adaptive plasticity of the auditory system
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Joshua R Gold
2014-05-01
Full Text Available The brain displays a remarkable capacity for both widespread and region-specific modifications in response to environmental challenges, with adaptive processes bringing about the reweighting of connections in neural networks putatively required for optimising performance and behaviour. As an avenue for investigation, studies centred around changes in the mammalian auditory system, extending from the brainstem to the cortex, have revealed a plethora of mechanisms that operate in the context of sensory disruption after insult, be it lesion-, noise trauma, drug-, or age-related. Of particular interest in recent work are those aspects of auditory processing which, after sensory disruption, change at multiple – if not all – levels of the auditory hierarchy. These include changes in excitatory, inhibitory and neuromodulatory networks, consistent with theories of homeostatic plasticity; functional alterations in gene expression and in protein levels; as well as broader network processing effects with cognitive and behavioural implications. Nevertheless, there abounds substantial debate regarding which of these processes may only be sequelae of the original insult, and which may, in fact, be maladaptively compelling further degradation of the organism’s competence to cope with its disrupted sensory context. In this review, we aim to examine how the mammalian auditory system responds in the wake of particular insults, and to disambiguate how the changes that develop might underlie a correlated class of phantom disorders, including tinnitus and hyperacusis, which putatively are brought about through maladaptive neuroplastic disruptions to auditory networks governing the spatial and temporal processing of acoustic sensory information.
Thomas, Lindsey A; Gorzalka, Boris B
2012-08-01
Fifty-nine heterosexual university males were assessed for Sexual Coercion Proclivity (SCP) and randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Insult/nonsexually coercive fantasy material; no insult/sexually coercive fantasy material; or, insult/sexually coercive fantasy material. Although not differing in terms of anger or anxiety, the high SCP became more frustrated than the low group, particularly when exposed to both insult and sexually coercive (SC) fantasy material. Changes in negative affect predicted anticipated likelihood of engaging in SC among the low SCP group and anticipated enjoyment of SC in the high SCP group. Acculturation accounted for differences observed between Caucasian and Chinese men.
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Dominique Lagorgette
2012-04-01
Full Text Available alors que la plupart des études de linguistique française sur l’insulte soulignent la confusion terminologique et théorique qui caractérise les définitions de ces deux actes de langage, la notion purement juridique de diffamation peut-elle éclairer ce long débat ? Le cœur du problème semble être, outre l’étymologie des termes, le statut de fait précis prouvable. Là où la linguistique réfute l’idée d’une valeur de vérité de l’insulte / injure, c’est au contraire pour la loi l’un des critères les plus probants pour analyser et éventuellement punir. Dans le cadre particulier du discours polémique humoristique, cette notion prend une densité particulière puisque ce qui fait rire est subjectif, mais aussi parce que ce type de discours polémique nécessite en soi une transgression afin de pouvoir opérer pleinement, comme l’illustrera le procès d’un groupe punk dont on étudiera les plaintes, les stratégies et les jugements.Considering that the terminological and theoretical confusion characterising the definitions of insults and the associated speech acts is underlined by most of French linguistics studies, to what extend could a concept such as “libel”, coming from a different research field (law studies, enlighten the debate? The core of the problem seems to be about providing evidence about particular facts, so that the linguistic offense can be named as such. While linguistics rejects the truth-conditionality of insults, the French law on the contrary bases its criteria on this very notion. When polemical humour is involved, these nuances become crucial, since laughter is clearly based on subjective perceptions, but also because this type of discourse needs to transgress in order to become effective, as a case study based on the trial of a punk band will illustrate..
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Olson, G.B.; Bartels, P.H.
1984-01-01
Ability to detect and monitor specific environmental insults with great sensitivity prompted the following study - the use of splenocytes and PBL as indicator cells to detect, monitor and differentiate between physically, chemically and biologically induced environmental insults. To be tested in this study is the hypothesis that different types of chemical, physical and biologic insults cause distinctive changes in the nuclear chromatin of the exposed cells. Should this assumption be warranted, one could monitor water, soil, air and food samples for undesirable chemicals and biological vectors (viruses), monitor people living near nuclear energy sites and people in radiation-related professions, and monitor cell samples obtained from people exposed to viral injections
Methyltransferases mediate cell memory of a genotoxic insult.
Rugo, R E; Mutamba, J T; Mohan, K N; Yee, T; Chaillet, J R; Greenberger, J S; Engelward, B P
2011-02-10
Characterization of the direct effects of DNA-damaging agents shows how DNA lesions lead to specific mutations. Yet, serum from Hiroshima survivors, Chernobyl liquidators and radiotherapy patients can induce a clastogenic effect on naive cells, showing indirect induction of genomic instability that persists years after exposure. Such indirect effects are not restricted to ionizing radiation, as chemical genotoxins also induce heritable and transmissible genomic instability phenotypes. Although such indirect induction of genomic instability is well described, the underlying mechanism has remained enigmatic. Here, we show that mouse embryonic stem cells exposed to γ-radiation bear the effects of the insult for weeks. Specifically, conditioned media from the progeny of exposed cells can induce DNA damage and homologous recombination in naive cells. Notably, cells exposed to conditioned media also elicit a genome-destabilizing effect on their neighbouring cells, thus demonstrating transmission of genomic instability. Moreover, we show that the underlying basis for the memory of an insult is completely dependent on two of the major DNA cytosine methyltransferases, Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a. Targeted disruption of these genes in exposed cells completely eliminates transmission of genomic instability. Furthermore, transient inactivation of Dnmt1, using a tet-suppressible allele, clears the memory of the insult, thus protecting neighbouring cells from indirect induction of genomic instability. We have thus demonstrated that a single exposure can lead to long-term, genome-destabilizing effects that spread from cell to cell, and we provide a specific molecular mechanism for these persistent bystander effects. Collectively, our results impact the current understanding of risks from toxin exposures and suggest modes of intervention for suppressing genomic instability in people exposed to carcinogenic genotoxins.
Adding Insult to Imagery? Art Education and Censorship
Sweeny, Robert W.
2007-01-01
The "Adding Insult to Imagery? Artistic Responses to Censorship and Mass-Media" exhibition opened in January 16, 2006, Kipp Gallery on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus. Eleven gallery-based works, 9 videos, and 10 web-based artworks comprised the show; each dealt with the relationship between censorship and mass mediated…
Image quality assessment based on inter-patch and intra-patch similarity.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fei Zhou
Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a full-reference (FR image quality assessment (IQA scheme, which evaluates image fidelity from two aspects: the inter-patch similarity and the intra-patch similarity. The scheme is performed in a patch-wise fashion so that a quality map can be obtained. On one hand, we investigate the disparity between one image patch and its adjacent ones. This disparity is visually described by an inter-patch feature, where the hybrid effect of luminance masking and contrast masking is taken into account. The inter-patch similarity is further measured by modifying the normalized correlation coefficient (NCC. On the other hand, we also attach importance to the impact of image contents within one patch on the IQA problem. For the intra-patch feature, we consider image curvature as an important complement of image gradient. According to local image contents, the intra-patch similarity is measured by adaptively comparing image curvature and gradient. Besides, a nonlinear integration of the inter-patch and intra-patch similarity is presented to obtain an overall score of image quality. The experiments conducted on six publicly available image databases show that our scheme achieves better performance in comparison with several state-of-the-art schemes.
The effect of transdermal nicotine patches on sleep and dreams.
Page, F; Coleman, G; Conduit, R
2006-07-30
This study was undertaken to determine the effect of 24-h transdermal nicotine patches on sleep and dream mentation in 15 smokers aged 20 to 33. Utilising a repeated measures design, it was found that more time awake and more ASDA micro-arousals occurred while wearing the nicotine patch compared to placebo. Also, the percentage of REM sleep decreased, but REM latency and the proportion of time spent in NREM sleep stages did not change significantly. Dream reports containing visual imagery, visual imagery ratings and the number of visualizable nouns were significantly greater from REM compared to Stage 2 awakenings, regardless of patch condition. However, a general interaction effect was observed. Stage 2 dream variables remained equivalent across nicotine and placebo conditions. Within REM sleep, more dream reports containing visual imagery occurred while wearing the nicotine patch, and these were rated as more vivid. The greater frequency of visual imagery reports and higher imagery ratings specifically from REM sleep suggests that previously reported dreaming side effects from 24-h nicotine patches may be specific to REM sleep. Combined with previous animal studies showing that transdermally delivered nicotine blocks PGO activity in REM sleep, the current results do no appear consistent with PGO-based hypotheses of dreaming, such as the Activation-Synthesis (AS) or Activation, Input and Modulation (AIM) models.
3-D printed sensing patches with embedded polymer optical fibre Bragg gratings
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Zubel, Michal G.; Sugden, Kate; Saez-Rodriguez, D.
2016-01-01
The first demonstration of a polymer optical fibre Bragg grating (POFBG) embedded in a 3-D printed structure is reported. Its cyclic strain performance and temperature characteristics are examined and discussed. The sensing patch has a repeatable strain sensitivity of 0.38 pm/mu epsilon. Its...
Local physeal widening on MR imaging: an incidental finding suggesting prior metaphyseal insult
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Laor, T.; Hartman, A.L.; Jaramillo, D.
1997-01-01
To offer a descriptive review which characterizes and evaluates the significance of local physeal widening, (cartilaginous signal extending from the physis into the adjacent metaphysis), identified on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. MR images (recollected from exams performed between 1988 and 1995) of 31 metaphyses in 22 children where we recognized local physeal widening were examined retrospectively. These areas of physeal widening were evaluated for morphology, depth, location, signal intensity, and the coexistence of epiphyseal alterations. The characteristics of the signal abnormalities were correlated with the duration and type of any identifiable insult to the adjacent metaphysis, and with the development of growth disturbance. Twenty-six metaphyses had identifiable insults (19 single event and 7 sustained or repetitive). The widened physes were of focal tongue (n = 15), broad band (n 10), or mixed (n = 6) morphology. Most (n = 27) areas of widening were isointense with the physeal cartilage on all sequences. Subsequent growth disturbance was more likely when the metaphyseal insult was a single event rather than sustained or repetitive (P = 0.023), with focal tongues (P = 0.029), and with centrally located lesions (P = 0.030). In five cases, the adjacent epiphysis showed signal abnormalities; all developed growth disturbance. Histologic examinations available in two limbs confirmed that the MR findings represented extensions of hypertrophic physeal chondrocytes into the metaphysis. Incidentally observed local physeal widening in a growing bone may represent the imprint of a previous or ongoing interference with endochondral ossification from a prior metaphyseal insult, rather than a primary metaphyseal disorder. Single event insults, physeal widening of focal tongue morphology, central distribution in the metaphysis, and concomitant epiphyseal signal abnormalities on MR imaging are significant predictors of subsequent growth disturbance. (orig.). With 9
Horita, Kotomi; Horita, Daisuke; Tomita, Hiroyuki; Yasoshima, Mitsue; Yagami, Akiko; Matsunaga, Kayoko
2017-05-01
Animal testing for cosmetics was banned in the European Union (EU) in 2013; therefore, human tests to predict and ensure skin safety such as the patch test or usage test are now in demand in Japan as well as in the EU. In order to investigate the effects of different bases on the findings of tests to predict skin irritation, we performed patch testing (PT) and the repeated application test (RAT) using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a well-known irritant, dissolved in 6 different base agents to examine the effects of these bases on skin irritation by SLS. The bases for PT were distilled water, 50% ethanol, 100% ethanol, a gel containing 50% ethanol, white petrolatum, and hydrophilic cream. The concentrations of SLS were 0.2% and 0.5%. Twelve different base combinations were applied to the normal back skin of 19 individuals for 24h. RAT was performed with distilled water, 50% ethanol, 100% ethanol, a gel containing 50% ethanol, white petrolatum, and hydrophilic cream containing SLS at concentrations of 0.2%, 2%, and 5%, being applied to the arms of the same PT subjects. The test preparation of each base was applied at the same site, with 0.2% SLS being used in the first week, 2% SLS in the following week, and 5% SLS in the final week. The results of PT revealed that skin irritation scores varied when SLS at the same concentration was dissolved in a different base. The results of RAT showed that although skin irritation appeared with every base at a concentration of 5%, the positive rate was approximately the same. In conclusion, our results suggest that skin irritation elicited in PT depends on the base, while in RAT, it does not depend on the type of base employed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Coevolution of patch-type dependent emigration and patch-type dependent immigration.
Weigang, Helene C
2017-08-07
The three phases of dispersal - emigration, transfer and immigration - are affecting each other and the former and latter decisions may depend on patch types. Despite the inevitable fact of the complexity of the dispersal process, patch-type dependencies of dispersal decisions modelled as emigration and immigration are usually missing in theoretical dispersal models. Here, I investigate the coevolution of patch-type dependent emigration and patch-type dependent immigration in an extended Hamilton-May model. The dispersing population inhabits a landscape structured into many patches of two types and disperses during a continuous-time season. The trait under consideration is a four dimensional vector consisting of two values for emigration probability from the patches and two values for immigration probability into the patches of each type. Using the adaptive dynamics approach I show that four qualitatively different dispersal strategies may evolve in different parameter regions, including a counterintuitive strategy, where patches of one type are fully dispersed from (emigration probability is one) but individuals nevertheless always immigrate into them during the dispersal season (immigration probability is one). I present examples of evolutionary branching in a wide parameter range, when the patches with high local death rate during the dispersal season guarantee a high expected disperser output. I find that two dispersal strategies can coexist after evolutionary branching: a strategy with full immigration only into the patches with high expected disperser output coexists with a strategy that immigrates into any patch. Stochastic simulations agree with the numerical predictions. Since evolutionary branching is also found when immigration evolves alone, the present study is adding coevolutionary constraints on the emigration traits and hence finds that the coevolution of a higher dimensional trait sometimes hinders evolutionary diversification. Copyright © 2017
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
2008-01-01
The Sleep Sleeping Patch is a new kind of external patch based on modern sleep medicine research achievements, which uses the internationally advanced transdermal therapeutic system (TTS). The Sleep Sleeping Patch transmits natural sleep inducers such as peppermint and liquorice extracts and melatonin through the skin to induce sleep. Clinical research proves that the Sleep Sleeping Patch can effectively improve insomnia and the quality of sleep. Highly effective: With the modern TTS therapy,
Effects of ischemic-like insult on myocardial 201Tl accumulation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Goldhaber, S.Z.; Newell, J.B.; Alpert, N.M.; Andrews, E.; Pohost, G.M.; Ingwall, J.S.
1983-01-01
Despite extensive clinical use of thallium-201 ( 201 Tl) for myocardial imaging, the effect of ischemia on myocardial accumulation and release of 201 Tl independent of flow has not been fully defined. Therefore, myocardial accumulation of 201 Tl in response to ischemic-like myocardial injury was assessed in vitro using the cultured fetal mouse heart preparation. Cultured fetal mouse hearts (n . 311) were subjected to injury simulating ischemia by deprivation of oxygen and oxidizable substrates for periods ranging from 15 minutes to 10 hours. The extent of irreversible injury was determined by the percentage of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) lost from the hearts to the culture medium during recovery from injury. Injury was essentially reversible at 1 hour of insult. The fraction of 201 Tl content in injured compared with control hearts was not significantly lower after 1 hour of insult. By 3 hours of insult, irreversible injury as assessed by loss of LDH was detectable and the extent of injury increased progressively through 10 hours. During the 3-10-hour period of irreversible injury, 201 Tl accumulation within injured hearts compared with controls was related in a monotonically decreasing fashion to the loss of LDH as described by a mathematical kinetic model that fit the observations closely (R2 greater than 0.99). These results indicate that in this organ culture preparation, in which there is effectively an unlimited reservoir of 201 Tl and no confounding effects of perfusion, the time-dependent 201 Tl accumulation is determined by the extent of irreversible injury
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Amanda N. Gesselman
2012-10-01
Full Text Available Although prior research has examined the relationship between genetic relatedness and helping behavior (Burnstein, Crandall, and Kitayama, 1994, less is known about its role in aggressive responses to insults (Fitzgerald and Ketterer, 2011. Drawing on inclusive fitness theory (Hamilton, 1964 and the Kinship, Acceptance, and Rejection Model of Altruism and Aggression (KARMAA; Webster, 2008; Webster et al., 2012, we designed a 2 (participant gender × 2 (target gender × 2 (insult: status vs. reproductive × 3 (relatedness: stranger vs. cousin vs. sibling between-person experiment in which 489 participants (a read vignettes in which a stranger, cousin, or sibling was insulted and (b reported their emotional reaction and retaliation likelihood (six-item α= .91 in response to the insult. Consistent with theory and prior research, men were significantly more aggressive than women, and people were significantly more aggressive responding to insults against kin than non-kin. These findings support theoretically-derived, dynamic, and domain-specific links among insults, gender, relatedness, and aggression.
Fault-patch stress-transfer efficiency in presence of sub-patch geometric complexity
Zielke, Olaf
2015-04-01
It is well known that faults are not planar surfaces. Instead they exhibit self-similar or self-affine properties that span a wide range of spatial (sub-micrometer to tens-of-kilometer). This geometric fault roughness has a distinct impact on amount and distribution of stresses/strains induced in the medium and on other portions of the fault. However, when numerically simulated (for example in multi-cycle EQ rupture simulations or Coulomb failure stress calculations) this roughness is largely ignored: individual fault patches --the incremental elements that build the fault surface in the respective computer models-- are planar and fault roughness at this and lower spatial scales is not considered. As a result, the fault-patch stress-transfer efficiency may be systematically too large in those numerical simulations with respect to the "actual" efficiency level. Here, we investigate the effect of sub-patch geometric complexity on fault-patch stress-transfer efficiency. For that, we sub-divide a fault patch (e.g., 1x1km) into a large number of sub-patches (e.g., 20x20m) and determine amount of induced stresses at selected positions around that patch for different levels and realizations of fault roughness. For each fault roughness level, we compute mean and standard deviation of the induced stresses, enabling us to compute the coefficient of variation. We normalize those values with stresses from the corresponding single (planar) fault patch, providing scaling factors and their variability for stress transfer efficiency. Given a certain fault roughness that is assumed for a fault, this work provides the means to implement the sub-patch fault roughness into investigations based on fault-patch interaction schemes.
Schwitulla, J; Brasch, J; Löffler, H; Schnuch, A; Geier, J; Uter, W
2014-07-01
As previous observations have indicated an inter-relationship between irritant and allergic skin reactions we analysed data of synchronous allergen and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) patch tests in terms of a relationship between SLS responsiveness and allergic patch test reactions. To analyse differences in terms of allergen-specific and overall reaction profiles between patients with vs. those without an irritant reaction to SLS. Clinical data of 26 879 patients patch tested from 2008 to 2011 by members of the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology were analysed. After descriptive analyses, including the MOAHLFA index, the positivity ratio and the reaction index, a negative binomial hurdle model was adopted to investigate the correlation between SLS reactivity and positive patch test reactions. Men, patients aged ≥ 40 years and patients with an occupational dermatitis background were over-represented in the SLS-reactive group. Patients with an irritant reaction to SLS showed a higher proportion of weak positive reactions, as well as more questionable and irritant reactions to contact allergens than patients not reactive to SLS. The risk of an additional positive patch test reaction increased by 22% for SLS-reactive patients compared with those who were SLS negative. The marked association between SLS reactivity and the number of positive reactions in patch test patients may be due to nonspecific increased skin reactivity at the moment of patch testing only. However, increased SLS reactivity could also be due to longer-lasting enhanced skin irritability, which may have promoted (poly-)sensitization. Further studies, for example with longitudinal data on patients repeatedly patch tested with SLS and contact allergens, are necessary. © 2014 British Association of Dermatologists.
Analyzing the Safeguarding Our Communities Act: Patch for Patch Return Policy in Ontario
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Soo-Min Kim
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Fentanyl is prescribed to patients suffering from severe chronic pain. Transdermal patches are the best mode of delivery for patients who have developed tolerance for opioids. However, used patches still contain fentanyl that can be extracted and misused, with potentially severe consequences. To address this issue, patients who are prescribed fentanyl patches in Ontario are now required to return previously dispensed patches to receive new patches under the Safeguarding Our Communities Act: Patch for Patch (P4P Return Policy. The problem is significant in Ontario because the province has the largest annual dispense rate of high-dose prescription fentanyl (112 units per 1,000 population in Canada even though the prevalence rate of chronic pain is lower than the national reported range (16.6% in Ontario versus 19.6 to 21.9% in other provinces, according to Gomes et al. 2014. The primary goal of this reform is to instill responsible use of fentanyl patches, and to improve safety for patients and the public by having a central disposal process. The reform was modeled after a community initiative that was pioneered in North Bay after receiving great support from health professional colleges and communities that voluntarily integrated the program prior to the introduction of Bill 33. Preliminary data suggest that the P4P policy is positively received by health professionals, although ongoing evaluation is needed to assess the effectiveness of the policy in reducing misuse and abuse of prescribed fentanyl patches.
Cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Indications, technique and results of treatment with a blood patch
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gottschalk, A.
2015-01-01
In most cases cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are iatrogenic and caused by medical interventions, such as lumbar puncture, peridural anesthesia and surgical interventions on the spine, However, spontaneous cerebral hypotension is currently detected more frequently due to improvements in diagnostic possibilities but often the cause cannot be clarified with certainty. There are various diagnostic tools for confirming the diagnosis and searching for the site of CSF leakage, such as postmyelography computed tomography (postmyelo-CT), indium 111 radioisotope cisternography and (myelo) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which show different sensitivities. In accordance with own experience native MRI with fat-saturated T2-weighted sequences is often sufficient for diagnosing CSF leakage and the site. For the remaining cases an additional postmyelo-CT or alternatively myelo-MRI is recommended. In some patients with spontaneous cranial hypotension multiple CSF leaks are found at different spinal levels. The main symptom in most cases is an orthostatic headache. While post-puncture syndrome is self-limiting in many cases, spontaneous CSF leakage usually requires blood patch therapy. A lumbar blood patch can be safely carried out under guidance by fluoroscopy. In the case of a cervical or dorsal blood patch, CT guidance is recommended, which ensures epidural application of the blood patch and minimizes the risk of damaging the spinal cord. Despite a high success rate at the first attempt with a blood patch of up to 85 %, some cases require repeating the blood patch. A targeted blood patch of a CSF leak should generally be favoured over a blindly placed blood patch; nevertheless, if a CSF leak cannot be localized by CT or MRI a therapeutic attempt with a lumbar blood patch can be carried out. After a successful blood patch intracranial hygromas and pachymeningeal enhancement in the head show fast regression; however, epidural hygromas of the spine can persist for a period of
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Morgan, R.M.
1981-01-01
The main objectives of this study were (1) to gain insight into sensitivities of vital organs systems after treatments with cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 ), gamma ( 60 Co) radiation, and combined CdCl 2 -gamma radiation; (2) to determine physiological and cellular/molecular changes after these same treatments; and (3) to develop a summary of biochemical/hematological indicators for each insult individually, as well as for the co-insult treatment. Three lethality studies, Acute CdCl 2 , Chronic CdCl 2 , and Acute Radiation, wwere used to determine sublethal doses for the fourth study (Co-insult), which utilized various combinations of CdCl 2 and gamma radiation and from which the hematological and biochemical data were derived. Radiation groups exhibited statistically significant decreases in the total number of leukocytes, lymphocytes, and polyneutrophils. Significant increases were seen in serum iron, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase, and triglycerides. Cadmium groups had increased total numbers of leukocytes, polyneutrophils, and serum glutamic oxaloacetate transminase (SGOT). Decreases were seen in lymphocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total red blood cell counts, and total protein. When co-insult treatments were used, significant decreases were seen in the total number of leukocytes, polyneutrophils, lymphocytes, hemoglobin, total red blood cells, and serum iron
Policy for the treatment of insulting and sensitive lexical items in the ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Keywords: policy, treatment, insulting lexical items, sensitive lexical items, dictionary, woordeboek van die afrikaanse taal, simplexes, compounds, expressions, general usage criterion, labelling, synonyms, metalanguage, collocations, editorial usage examples, citations, advisors, racist lexical items, neutral lemmas, ...
... Health Food & Fitness Diseases & Conditions Infections Drugs & Alcohol School & Jobs Sports Expert Answers (Q&A) Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Birth Control Patch KidsHealth / For Teens / Birth Control Patch What's ...
Granisetron transdermal patches are used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy. Granisetron is in a class of medications called 5HT3 ... Granisetron transdermal comes as a patch to apply to the skin. It is usually applied 24 to ...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Astri Adelia
2018-06-01
Full Text Available In managing contact dermatitis, identification of the causative agent is essential to prevent recurrent complaints. Patch test is the gold standard to identify the causative agent. Nowadays, there are many patch test standard materials available in the market, but do not include all the materials that potentially cause contact dermatitis. Patch test using patient’s own products or later we refer to as non-standard materials, is very helpful in identifying the causative agents of contact dermatitis. Guidance is needed in producing non-standard patch test materials in order to avoid test results discrepancy.
Hawkins, Kirsten A; Cougle, Jesse R
2013-09-01
Research suggests that individuals high in anger have a bias for attributing hostile intentions to ambiguous situations. The current study tested whether this interpretation bias can be altered to influence anger reactivity to an interpersonal insult using a single-session cognitive bias modification program. One hundred thirty-five undergraduate students were randomized to receive positive training, negative training, or a control condition. Anger reactivity to insult was then assessed. Positive training led to significantly greater increases in positive interpretation bias relative to the negative group, though these increases were only marginally greater than the control group. Negative training led to increased negative interpretation bias relative to other groups. During the insult, participants in the positive condition reported less anger than those in the control condition. Observers rated participants in the positive condition as less irritated than those in the negative condition and more amused than the other two conditions. Though mediation of effects via bias modification was not demonstrated, among the positive condition posttraining interpretation bias was correlated with self-reported anger, suggesting that positive training reduced anger reactivity by influencing interpretation biases. Findings suggest that positive interpretation training may be a promising treatment for reducing anger. However, the current study was conducted with a non-treatment-seeking student sample; further research with a treatment-seeking sample with problematic anger is necessary. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Patch Test Negative Generalized Dermatitis.
Spiker, Alison; Mowad, Christen
2016-01-01
Allergic contact dermatitis is a common condition in dermatology. Patch testing is the criterion standard for diagnosis. However, dermatitis is not always caused by an allergen, and patch testing does not identify a culprit in every patient. Generalized dermatitis, defined as eczematous dermatitis affecting greater than 3 body sites, is often encountered in dermatology practice, especially patch test referral centers. Management for patients with generalized dermatitis who are patch test negative is challenging. The purpose of this article is to outline an approach to this challenging scenario and summarize the paucity of existing literature on patch test negative generalized dermatitis.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Lockwood
2005-12-01
Full Text Available Using data from the EISCAT (European Incoherent Scatter VHF and CUTLASS (Co-operative UK Twin-Located Auroral Sounding System HF radars, we study the formation of ionospheric polar cap patches and their relationship to the magnetopause reconnection pulses identified in the companion paper by Lockwood et al. (2005. It is shown that the poleward-moving, high-concentration plasma patches observed in the ionosphere by EISCAT on 23 November 1999, as reported by Davies et al. (2002, were often associated with corresponding reconnection rate pulses. However, not all such pulses generated a patch and only within a limited MLT range (11:00-12:00 MLT did a patch result from a reconnection pulse. Three proposed mechanisms for the production of patches, and of the concentration minima that separate them, are analysed and evaluated: (1 concentration enhancement within the patches by cusp/cleft precipitation; (2 plasma depletion in the minima between the patches by fast plasma flows; and (3 intermittent injection of photoionisation-enhanced plasma into the polar cap. We devise a test to distinguish between the effects of these mechanisms. Some of the events repeat too frequently to apply the test. Others have sufficiently long repeat periods and mechanism (3 is shown to be the only explanation of three of the longer-lived patches seen on this day. However, effect (2 also appears to contribute to some events. We conclude that plasma concentration gradients on the edges of the larger patches arise mainly from local time variations in the subauroral plasma, via the mechanism proposed by Lockwood et al. (2000.
Jung, Christian; Spreiter, Gregor; Audigé, Laurent; Ferguson, Stephen J; Flury, Matthias
2016-05-01
There is an ongoing debate about the potential of patch augmentation to improve biomechanical stability and healing associated with rotator cuff repair. The biomechanical properties of three different patch-augmented rotator cuff repair techniques were assessed in vitro and compared with a standard repair. Dermal collagen patch augmentation may increase the primary stability and strength of the repaired tendon in vitro, depending on the technique used for patch application. Forty cadaveric sheep shoulders with dissected infraspinatus tendons were randomized into four groups (n = 10/group) for tendon repair using a knotless double-row suture anchor technique. A xenologous dermal extracellular matrix patch was used for augmentation in the three test groups using an "integrated", "cover", or "hybrid" technique. Tendons were preconditioned, cyclically loaded from 10 to 30 N at 1 Hz, and then loaded monotonically to failure. Biomechanical properties and the mode of failure were evaluated. Patch augmentation significantly increased the maximum load at failure by 61 % in the "cover" technique test group (225.8 N) and 51 % in the "hybrid" technique test group (211.4 N) compared with the non-augmented control group (140.2 N) (P ≤ 0.015). For the test group with "integrated" patch augmentation, the load at failure was 28 % lower (101.6 N) compared with the control group (P = 0.043). There was no significant difference in initial and linear stiffness among the four experimental groups. The most common mode of failure was tendon pullout. No anchor dislocation, patch disruption or knot breakage was observed. Additional patch augmentation with a collagen patch influences the biomechanical properties of a rotator cuff repair in a cadaveric sheep model. Primary repair stability can be significantly improved depending on the augmentation technique.
Transdermal patches: history, development and pharmacology
Pastore, Michael N; Kalia, Yogeshvar N; Horstmann, Michael; Roberts, Michael S
2015-01-01
Transdermal patches are now widely used as cosmetic, topical and transdermal delivery systems. These patches represent a key outcome from the growth in skin science, technology and expertise developed through trial and error, clinical observation and evidence-based studies that date back to the first existing human records. This review begins with the earliest topical therapies and traces topical delivery to the present-day transdermal patches, describing along the way the initial trials, devices and drug delivery systems that underpin current transdermal patches and their actives. This is followed by consideration of the evolution in the various patch designs and their limitations as well as requirements for actives to be used for transdermal delivery. The properties of and issues associated with the use of currently marketed products, such as variability, safety and regulatory aspects, are then described. The review concludes by examining future prospects for transdermal patches and drug delivery systems, such as the combination of active delivery systems with patches, minimally invasive microneedle patches and cutaneous solutions, including metered-dose systems. PMID:25560046
Method optimization of ocular patches
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kamalesh Upreti
2012-01-01
Full Text Available The intraocular patches were prepared using gelatin as the polymer. Ocular patch were prepared by solvent casting method. The patches were prepared for six formulations GP1, GP2, GP3, GP4, GP5 and GP6. Petri dishes were used for formulation of ocular patch. Gelatin was used as a polymer of choice. Glutaraldehyde used as cross linking agent and (DMSO dimethylsulfoxide used as solubility enhancer. The elasticity depends upon the concentration of gelatin. 400 mg amount of polymer i.e gelatin gave the required elasticity for the formulation.
Severe gonadotoxic insult manifests early in young girls treated for Ewing sarcoma
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mörse, Helena; Elfving, Maria; Turkiewicz, Aleksandra
2016-01-01
We prospectively investigated anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as a measure of ovarian insult in young females during and after treatment for Wilms tumor (WT), osteosarcoma (OS), and Ewing sarcoma (ES).Twenty-one female childhood cancer patients, with a mean age of 7.9 years (range 0.6-17), entered...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Gottschalk, A. [Krankenhaus Nordwest, Abteilung Neuroradiologie, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
2015-06-15
In most cases cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are iatrogenic and caused by medical interventions, such as lumbar puncture, peridural anesthesia and surgical interventions on the spine, However, spontaneous cerebral hypotension is currently detected more frequently due to improvements in diagnostic possibilities but often the cause cannot be clarified with certainty. There are various diagnostic tools for confirming the diagnosis and searching for the site of CSF leakage, such as postmyelography computed tomography (postmyelo-CT), indium{sup 111} radioisotope cisternography and (myelo) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which show different sensitivities. In accordance with own experience native MRI with fat-saturated T2-weighted sequences is often sufficient for diagnosing CSF leakage and the site. For the remaining cases an additional postmyelo-CT or alternatively myelo-MRI is recommended. In some patients with spontaneous cranial hypotension multiple CSF leaks are found at different spinal levels. The main symptom in most cases is an orthostatic headache. While post-puncture syndrome is self-limiting in many cases, spontaneous CSF leakage usually requires blood patch therapy. A lumbar blood patch can be safely carried out under guidance by fluoroscopy. In the case of a cervical or dorsal blood patch, CT guidance is recommended, which ensures epidural application of the blood patch and minimizes the risk of damaging the spinal cord. Despite a high success rate at the first attempt with a blood patch of up to 85 %, some cases require repeating the blood patch. A targeted blood patch of a CSF leak should generally be favoured over a blindly placed blood patch; nevertheless, if a CSF leak cannot be localized by CT or MRI a therapeutic attempt with a lumbar blood patch can be carried out. After a successful blood patch intracranial hygromas and pachymeningeal enhancement in the head show fast regression; however, epidural hygromas of the spine can persist for a period
Patch photopatch test at Manipal
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Panja Arindrajit
1994-01-01
Full Text Available Patch and photopatch testing was performed on 55 patients with history of photosensitivity using Scandanavian photo patch test antigens obtained from Chemotechnique Diagnostics AB Sweden. The commonest reactions were seen to perfume mix 4 (21.0%, PABA 3 (15.78%, promethazine hydrochloride 3 (15.78%, chlorpromazine hydrochloride 3 (15.78%, balsam of peru 2 (10.52%, usnic acid, hexachlorophane, musk ambrette and 6 methyl coumarin showed 1 positive reaction each (5.26% suggesting either phototoxicity or photo sensitization. Patch and photo patch test positive reaction suggesting allergic sensitisation was seen to balsam of peru 3 (23.0% perfume mix 3 (23.0% promethazine hydrochloride 2 (15.3% and PABA, 6 methyl coumarin, tribromosalicylanilide, atranorin and wood mix showed positive reaction in one case each (7.69%. We conclude that photoxic or photo allergic reaction is a problem in India and patch photo patch test should be performed in all cases of idiopathic light eruptions to rule out photo sensitisation and in cases where photo sensitivity of exogenous origin is suspected.
Large-scale binding ligand prediction by improved patch-based method Patch-Surfer2.0.
Zhu, Xiaolei; Xiong, Yi; Kihara, Daisuke
2015-03-01
Ligand binding is a key aspect of the function of many proteins. Thus, binding ligand prediction provides important insight in understanding the biological function of proteins. Binding ligand prediction is also useful for drug design and examining potential drug side effects. We present a computational method named Patch-Surfer2.0, which predicts binding ligands for a protein pocket. By representing and comparing pockets at the level of small local surface patches that characterize physicochemical properties of the local regions, the method can identify binding pockets of the same ligand even if they do not share globally similar shapes. Properties of local patches are represented by an efficient mathematical representation, 3D Zernike Descriptor. Patch-Surfer2.0 has significant technical improvements over our previous prototype, which includes a new feature that captures approximate patch position with a geodesic distance histogram. Moreover, we constructed a large comprehensive database of ligand binding pockets that will be searched against by a query. The benchmark shows better performance of Patch-Surfer2.0 over existing methods. http://kiharalab.org/patchsurfer2.0/ CONTACT: dkihara@purdue.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Veien, Niels
1985-01-01
Routine patch testing with a series of 6 industrial biocides containing methylene-bis-thiocyanate (Cytox 3522), benzisothiazolin-3-one (BIT), chlorocresol (Preventol CMK), 2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (Kathon 893), polyhydroxymethylene monobenzylether (Preventol D2) or 1,3,5-tris (hydroxy......-ethyl) hexahydrotriazine (Grotan BK) was carried out in 6 Danish out-patient clinics to evaluate guinea pig allergy test results with the same compounds. A total of 1652 consecutive patients with dermatitis were tested. The usefulness of this patch test battery was limited. There were a few positive reactions to Cytox...... of male patients and atopics, but significant differences in the frequencies of occupational cases, hand eczemas, and leg ulcers/stasis dermatitis, indicating possible variations in referral patterns, use of patch tests, and/or environmental factors....
Collection of analytes from microneedle patches.
Romanyuk, Andrey V; Zvezdin, Vasiliy N; Samant, Pradnya; Grenader, Mark I; Zemlyanova, Marina; Prausnitz, Mark R
2014-11-04
Clinical medicine and public health would benefit from simplified acquisition of biological samples from patients that can be easily obtained at point of care, in the field, and by patients themselves. Microneedle patches are designed to serve this need by collecting dermal interstitial fluid containing biomarkers without the dangers, pain, or expertise needed to collect blood. This study presents novel methods to collect biomarker analytes from microneedle patches for analysis by integration into conventional analytical laboratory microtubes and microplates. Microneedle patches were made out of cross-linked hydrogel composed of poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) and poly(ethylene glycol) prepared by micromolding. Microneedle patches were shown to swell with water up to 50-fold in volume, depending on degree of polymer cross-linking, and to collect interstitial fluid from the skin of rats. To collect analytes from microneedle patches, the patches were mounted within the cap of microcentrifuge tubes or formed the top of V-bottom multiwell microplates, and fluid was collected in the bottom of the tubes under gentle centrifugation. In another method, microneedle patches were attached to form the bottom of multiwell microplates, thereby enabling in situ analysis. The simplicity of biological sample acquisition using microneedle patches coupled with the simplicity of analyte collection from microneedles patches integrated into conventional analytical equipment could broaden the reach of future screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of biomarkers in healthcare and environmental/workplace settings.
Hosokawa, K.; Taguchi, S.; Ogawa, Y.
2016-04-01
On the night of 4 December 2013, a sequence of polar cap patches was captured by an all-sky airglow imager (ASI) in Longyearbyen, Norway (78.1°N, 15.5°E). The 630.0 nm airglow images from the ASI of 4 second exposure time, oversampled the emission of natural lifetime (with quenching) of at least ˜30 sec, introduce no observational blurring effects. By using such high-quality ASI images, we succeeded in visualizing an asymmetry in the gradients between the leading/trailing edges of the patches in a 2-D fashion. The gradient in the leading edge was found to be 2-3 times steeper than that in the trailing edge. We also identified fingerlike structures, appearing only along the trailing edge of the patches, whose horizontal scale size ranged from 55 to 210 km. These fingers are considered to be manifestations of plasma structuring through the gradient-drift instability (GDI), which is known to occur only along the trailing edge of patches. That is, the current 2-D observations visualized, for the first time, how GDI stirs the patch plasma and such a mixing process makes the trailing edge more gradual. This result strongly implies a close connection between the GDI-driven plasma stirring and the asymmetry in the large-scale shape of patches and then suggests that the fingerlike structures can be used as markers to estimate the fine-scale structure in the plasma flow within patches.
Zemlyanova, A.
2014-01-24
The most general situation of the reinforcement of a plate with multiple holes by several patches is considered. There is no restriction on the number and the location of the patches. Two types of patch attachment are considered: only along the boundary of the patch or both along the boundary of the patch and the boundaries of the holes which this patch covers. The unattached boundaries of the holes may be loaded with given in-plane stresses. The mechanical problem is reduced to a system of singular integral equations which can be further reduced to a system of Fredholm equations. A new numerical procedure for the solution of the system of singular integral equations is proposed in this paper. It is demonstrated on numerical examples that this procedure has advantages in the case of multiple patches and holes and allows achievement of better numerical convergence with less computational effort.
DEA deformed stretchable patch antenna
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jiang, X-J; Jalali Mazlouman, S; Menon, C; Mahanfar, A; Vaughan, R G
2012-01-01
A stretchable patch antenna (SPA) whose frequency is tuned by a planar dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) is presented in this paper. This mechanically reconfigurable antenna system has a configuration resembling a pre-stretched silicone belt. Part of the belt is embedded with a layer of conductive liquid metal to form the patch antenna. Part of the belt is sandwiched between conductive electrodes to form the DEA. Electrical activation of the DEA results in a contraction of the patch antenna, and as a result, in a variation of its resonance frequency. Design and fabrication steps of this system are presented. Measurement results for deformation, resonance frequency variation and efficiency of the patch antenna are also presented. (paper)
Patching. Restitching business portfolios in dynamic markets.
Eisenhardt, K M; Brown, S L
1999-01-01
In turbulent markets, businesses and opportunities are constantly falling out of alignment. New technologies and emerging markets create fresh opportunities. Converging markets produce more. And of course, some markets fade. In this landscape of continuous flux, it's more important to build corporate-level strategic processes that enable dynamic repositioning than it is to build any particular defensible position. That's why smart corporate strategists use patching, a process of mapping and remapping business units to create a shifting mix of highly focused, tightly aligned businesses that can respond to changing market opportunities. Patching is not just another name for reorganizing; patchers have a distinctive mindset. Traditional managers see structure as stable; patching managers believe structure is inherently temporary. Traditional managers set corporate strategy first, but patching managers keep the organization focused on the right set of business opportunities and let strategy emerge from individual businesses. Although the focus of patching is flexibility, the process itself follows a pattern. Patching changes are usually small in scale and made frequently. Patching should be done quickly; the emphasis is on getting the patch about right and fixing problems later. Patches should have a test drive before they're formalized but then be tightly scripted after they've been announced. And patching won't work without the right infrastructure: modular business units, fine-grained and complete unit-level metrics, and companywide compensation parity. The authors illustrate how patching works and point out some common stumbling blocks.
Huang, Yi-Fei; Golding, G Brian
2015-02-15
A number of statistical phylogenetic methods have been developed to infer conserved functional sites or regions in proteins. Many methods, e.g. Rate4Site, apply the standard phylogenetic models to infer site-specific substitution rates and totally ignore the spatial correlation of substitution rates in protein tertiary structures, which may reduce their power to identify conserved functional patches in protein tertiary structures when the sequences used in the analysis are highly similar. The 3D sliding window method has been proposed to infer conserved functional patches in protein tertiary structures, but the window size, which reflects the strength of the spatial correlation, must be predefined and is not inferred from data. We recently developed GP4Rate to solve these problems under the Bayesian framework. Unfortunately, GP4Rate is computationally slow. Here, we present an intuitive web server, FuncPatch, to perform a fast approximate Bayesian inference of conserved functional patches in protein tertiary structures. Both simulations and four case studies based on empirical data suggest that FuncPatch is a good approximation to GP4Rate. However, FuncPatch is orders of magnitudes faster than GP4Rate. In addition, simulations suggest that FuncPatch is potentially a useful tool complementary to Rate4Site, but the 3D sliding window method is less powerful than FuncPatch and Rate4Site. The functional patches predicted by FuncPatch in the four case studies are supported by experimental evidence, which corroborates the usefulness of FuncPatch. The software FuncPatch is freely available at the web site, http://info.mcmaster.ca/yifei/FuncPatch golding@mcmaster.ca Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Robles, Hugo; Ciudad, Carlos
2012-04-01
Despite extensive research on the effects of habitat fragmentation, the ecological mechanisms underlying colonization and extinction processes are poorly known, but knowledge of these mechanisms is essential to understanding the distribution and persistence of populations in fragmented habitats. We examined these mechanisms through multiseason occupancy models that elucidated patch-occupancy dynamics of Middle Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos medius) in northwestern Spain. The number of occupied patches was relatively stable from 2000 to 2010 (15-24% of 101 patches occupied every year) because extinction was balanced by recolonization. Larger and higher quality patches (i.e., higher density of oaks >37 cm dbh [diameter at breast height]) were more likely to be occupied. Habitat quality (i.e., density of large oaks) explained more variation in patch colonization and extinction than did patch size and connectivity, which were both weakly associated with probabilities of turnover. Patches of higher quality were more likely to be colonized than patches of lower quality. Populations in high-quality patches were less likely to become extinct. In addition, extinction in a patch was strongly associated with local population size but not with patch size, which means the latter may not be a good surrogate of population size in assessments of extinction probability. Our results suggest that habitat quality may be a primary driver of patch-occupancy dynamics and may increase the accuracy of models of population survival. We encourage comparisons of competing models that assess occupancy, colonization, and extinction probabilities in a single analytical framework (e.g., dynamic occupancy models) so as to shed light on the association of habitat quality and patch geometry with colonization and extinction processes in different settings and species. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.
Ion channel electrophysiology via integrated planar patch-clamp chip with on-demand drug exchange.
Chen, Chang-Yu; Tu, Ting-Yuan; Jong, De-Shien; Wo, Andrew M
2011-06-01
Planar patch clamp has revolutionized characterization of ion channel behavior in drug discovery primarily via advancement in high throughput. Lab use of planar technology, however, addresses different requirements and suffers from inflexibility to enable wide range of interrogation via a single cell. This work presents integration of planar patch clamp with microfluidics, achieving multiple solution exchanges for tailor-specific measurement and allowing rapid replacement of the cell-contacting aperture. Studies via endogenously expressed ion channels in HEK 293T cells were commenced to characterize the device. Results reveal the microfluidic concentration generator produces distinct solution/drug combination/concentrations on-demand. Volume-regulated chloride channel and voltage-gated potassium channels in HEK 293T cells immersed in generated solutions under various osmolarities or drug concentrations show unique channel signature under specific condition. Excitation and blockage of ion channels in a single cell was demonstrated via serial solution exchange. Robustness of the reversible bonding and ease of glass substrate replacement were proven via repeated usage of the integrated device. The present approach reveals the capability and flexibility of integrated microfluidic planar patch-clamp system for ion channel assays. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PATIENTS' KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAL PATCHES IN HUNGARY.
Somogyi, Orsolya; Zelko, Romana
2016-11-01
Transdermal therapy with medical patches is a simple possibility in home medication. As the correct use of patches has a decisive impact from the point of its modulator effect.A questionnaire survey was developed to explore level of patients' knowledge of the correct use of transdermal patches. A survey was administered in thirteen Hungarian community pharmacies from October of 2012 to May of 2015. Most of the participants, men and women over 18 years of age (n = 233), used major analgesic patches (fentanyl); the remainder were given nitroglycerin, NSAID analgesics patches during the survey. For the hypothesis testing it was assumed that men were more likely to use a razor for skin depilation before patch application than women as their denser pelage hinders patch adhesion. The hypothesis testing showed no significant gender difference in razor use (X² = 0.201; p = 0.654). Pharmacists should direct patients to avoid using soap for skin cleansing before patch application because only 22 percent of the participants always avoided its use. Since only 9 tests were flawless from 233 completed questionnaires. Many patients do not understand how to correctly apply a transdermal dosage patch. Pharmacists should teach their correct application based on results.
Blatrix, Rumsaïs; Debaud, Sarah; Salas-Lopez, Alex; Born, Céline; Benoit, Laure; McKey, Doyle B; Attéké, Christiane; Djiéto-Lordon, Champlain
2013-01-01
Some tropical plant species possess hollow structures (domatia) occupied by ants that protect the plant and in some cases also provide it with nutrients. Most plant-ants tend patches of chaetothyrialean fungi within domatia. In a few systems it has been shown that the ants manure the fungal patches and use them as a food source, indicating agricultural practices. However, the identity of these fungi has been investigated only in a few samples. To examine the specificity and constancy of ant-plant-fungus interactions we characterised the content of fungal patches in an extensive sampling of three ant-plant symbioses (Petalomyrmex phylax/Leonardoxa africana subsp. africana, Aphomomyrmex afer/Leonardoxa africana subsp. letouzeyi and Tetraponera aethiops/Barteria fistulosa) by sequencing the Internal Transcribed Spacers of ribosomal DNA. For each system the content of fungal patches was constant over individuals and populations. Each symbiosis was associated with a specific, dominant, primary fungal taxon, and to a lesser extent, with one or two specific secondary taxa, all of the order Chaetothyriales. A single fungal patch sometimes contained both a primary and a secondary taxon. In one system, two founding queens were found with the primary fungal taxon only, one that was shown in a previous study to be consumed preferentially. Because the different ant-plant symbioses studied have evolved independently, the high specificity and constancy we observed in the composition of the fungal patches have evolved repeatedly. Specificity and constancy also characterize other cases of agriculture by insects.
Streamlining of plant patches in streams
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Kaj Sand; Pedersen, Morten Lauge
2008-01-01
. Sediment elevation within patches (avg. 4.1 cm) increased significantly with patch length, but did not differ between unstable sand or more stable coarse sediment for the same patch length. Shape of canopy and root area did not change significantly with sediment type. 4. Pressure drag on the canopy...
Future Research Needed to Study the Response of an Explosive Assembly to Mechanical Insults
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Reaugh, J. E. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
2017-08-28
HE ignition caused by shear localization is the principal concern for safety analyses of postulated mechanical insults to explosive assemblies. Although prompt detonation from shock is certainly a concern, insults that lead to prompt detonation are associated with high velocity, and correspondingly rare. For high-density HMX assemblies, an impact speed (by a steel object) of 400 m/s is needed to develop a detonation in a run distance less than 30 mm. To achieve a steady plane shock, which results in the shortest run distance to detonation for a given peak pressure, the impactor diameter must exceed 60 mm, and thickness approach 20 mm. Thinner plates and/or smaller diameter ones require even higher impact velocity. Ignitions from shear localization, however, have been observed from impacts less than 50 m/s in Steven tests, less than 30 m/s from spigot impact tests, and less than 10 m/s from various drop tests. This lower velocity range is much frequent in postulated mechanical insults. Preliminary computer simulations and analyses of a variety of such tests have suggested that although each is accompanied by shear localization, there are differing detailed mechanisms at work that cause the ignitions. We identify those mechanisms that may be at work in a variety of such tests, and suggest how models of shear ignition, such as HERMES, may be revised and calibrated to conform to experiment. We suggest combining additional experiments with computer simulations and model development to begin confirm or uncover mechanisms that may be at work in a specific postulated event.
Clinical analysis of amniotic membrane patches and grafts for acute ocular surface burn
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lin Li
2015-01-01
Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the effect and value of amniotic membrane patches and grafts for acute ocular surface burn at different degrees.METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 28 cases(28 eyesaffected by ocular chemical or thermal burn with different degree were included in our hospital from March 2007 to March 2012. Amniotic membrane patched was undergone in 13 eyes with fresh amnion that the patients corneal burns degree Ⅱ or Ⅲ with partial limbal buns at degree Ⅳ. Amniotic membrane grafts was performed in 15 eyes with fresh amnion that the patients all corneal burns at degree Ⅲ with the whole limbal necrosis without severe eyelid defect. The follow-up time ranged 6~24mo. The postoperative visual acuity, the condition of amniotic membrane transplant, renovation of cornea and complications were observed. RESULTS: Postoperative corrected visual acuity was improved in 20 eyes(71%, it was not changed in 5 eyes(18%, the visual acuity declined in 3 eyes(11%. The amniotic membrane survived in 23 eyes and the survival rate was up to 82%. The cornea of 4 eyes recovered to transparent, nebula emceed in 8 eyes eventually, corneal macula emerged in 10 eyes, 4 eyes ended up with leukoma, 2 eyes developed corneal melting after therapy, then received lamellar keratoplasty. Corneal surface become epithelization after amnion patches or grafts, but any of them have recurrent epithelial erosion, and become stable epithalization after repeat operation.CONCLUSION: Amniotic membrane patches and grafts is an effective method to deal with acute ocular surface burn.
Sub-Patch Roughness in Earthquake Rupture Investigations
Zielke, Olaf; Mai, Paul Martin
2016-01-01
Fault geometric complexities exhibit fractal characteristics over a wide range of spatial scales (<µm to >km) and strongly affect the rupture process at corresponding scales. Numerical rupture simulations provide a framework to quantitatively investigate the relationship between a fault's roughness and its seismic characteristics. Fault discretization however introduces an artificial lower limit to roughness. Individual fault patches are planar and sub-patch roughness –roughness at spatial scales below fault-patch size– is not incorporated. Does negligence of sub-patch roughness measurably affect the outcome of earthquake rupture simulations? We approach this question with a numerical parameter space investigation and demonstrate that sub-patch roughness significantly modifies the slip-strain relationship –a fundamental aspect of dislocation theory. Faults with sub-patch roughness induce less strain than their planar-fault equivalents at distances beyond the length of a slipping fault. We further provide regression functions that characterize the stochastic effect sub-patch roughness.
Sub-Patch Roughness in Earthquake Rupture Investigations
Zielke, Olaf
2016-02-13
Fault geometric complexities exhibit fractal characteristics over a wide range of spatial scales (<µm to >km) and strongly affect the rupture process at corresponding scales. Numerical rupture simulations provide a framework to quantitatively investigate the relationship between a fault\\'s roughness and its seismic characteristics. Fault discretization however introduces an artificial lower limit to roughness. Individual fault patches are planar and sub-patch roughness –roughness at spatial scales below fault-patch size– is not incorporated. Does negligence of sub-patch roughness measurably affect the outcome of earthquake rupture simulations? We approach this question with a numerical parameter space investigation and demonstrate that sub-patch roughness significantly modifies the slip-strain relationship –a fundamental aspect of dislocation theory. Faults with sub-patch roughness induce less strain than their planar-fault equivalents at distances beyond the length of a slipping fault. We further provide regression functions that characterize the stochastic effect sub-patch roughness.
de Jong, Peter W; Hemerik, Lia; Gort, Gerrit; van Alphen, Jacques J M
2011-01-01
Females of the larval parasitoid of Drosophila, Asobara citri, from sub-Saharan Africa, defend patches with hosts by fighting and chasing conspecific females upon encounter. Females of the closely related, palearctic species Asobara tabida do not defend patches and often search simultaneously in the same patch. The effect of patch defence by A. citri females on their distribution in a multi-patch environment was investigated, and their distributions were compared with those of A. tabida. For both species 20 females were released from two release-points in replicate experiments. Females of A. citri quickly reached a regular distribution across 16 patches, with a small variance/mean ratio per patch. Conversely, A. tabida females initially showed a clumped distribution, and after gradual dispersion, a more Poisson-like distribution across patches resulted (variance/mean ratio was closer to 1 and higher than for A. citri). The dispersion of A. tabida was most probably an effect of exploitation: these parasitoids increasingly made shorter visits to already exploited patches. We briefly discuss hypotheses on the adaptive significance of patch defence behaviour or its absence in the light of differences in the natural history of both parasitoid species, notably the spatial distribution of their hosts.
*New* CRITICAL Windows Security patch
2003-01-01
On 10 September 2003, Microsoft issued a new CRITICAL security patch, MS03-039. It must be URGENTLY applied on ALL WINDOWS systems, which are not centrally managed for security patches. This includes Experiment computers, Home computers and Windows Portable and Desktop systems not running NICE. Details of the security hole and patch for MS03-039 (which also includes MS03-026) are at: http://cern.ch/it-div/news/hotfix-MS03-039.asp http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-039.asp
*New*: CRITICAL Windows Security patch
2003-01-01
On 10 September 2003, Microsoft issued a new CRITICAL security patch, MS03-039. It must be URGENTLY applied on ALL WINDOWS systems, which are not centrally managed for security patches. This includes Experiment computers, Home computers and Windows Portable and Desktop systems not running NICE. Details of the security hole and patch for MS03-039 (which also includes MS03-026) are at: http://cern.ch/it-div/news/hotfix-MS03-039.asp http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-039.asp
Alderete, Ethel; Gregorich, Steven E; Monteban, Madalena; Kaplan, Celia P; Mejia, Raul; Livaudais-Toman, Jennifer; Pérez-Stable, Eliseo J
2016-04-01
This study evaluated the effect of factors reflecting appreciation of Indigenous culture and racial insults on alcohol and drug use initiation among multi-ethnic youth in Jujuy, Argentina. Students were surveyed from 27 secondary schools that were randomly selected to represent the province. A total of 3040 eligible students in 10th grade, age 14 to 18years were surveyed in 2006 and 2660 of these same students completed surveys in 11th grade in 2007. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed the effect of appreciation for Indigenous cultures and reported exposure to racial insults in 10th grade on incident current alcohol drinking in previous 30days, binge drinking (≥5 drinks at one sitting), and lifetime drug use (marijuana, inhalants or cocaine) in 11th grade among students not reporting these behaviors in 2006. In 2006, 63% of respondents reported high appreciation for Indigenous cultures and 39% had ever experienced racial insults. In 2007, incident current drinking was 24.4%, binge drinking 14.8%, and any drug use initiation was 4.1%. Exposure to racial insults increased the likelihood of binge drinking (OR=1.6; 95% CI 1.2-2.1) but was not significant for any drug use. Appreciation for Indigenous cultures reduced the risk of any drug use initiation (OR=0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.7) but had no effect for alcohol drinking outcomes. These effects were independent of Indigenous ethnicity. Enhancing appreciation for Indigenous cultures and decreasing racial insults are achievable goals that can be incorporated into programs to prevent youth substance use. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Miniaturization of Multiple-Layer Folded Patch Antennas
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Zhang, Jiaying; Breinbjerg, Olav
2009-01-01
A new folded patch antenna with multiple layers was developed in this paper, by folding the patch in a proper way, and a highly miniaturized antenna can be realized. The multiple layer patch with 4-layer and 6-layer are designed and evaluated at 2.4 GHz, 915 MHz, and 415 MHz respectively. Then a 4...... layer patch is fabricated and measured to validate the design method. The theoretical analysis, design and simulations, fabrications, as well as the measurements are presented in this paper. All the results show that the folded patch antenna is a good candidate in making a highly miniaturized compact...
Constraints and consequences of the emergence of amino acid repeats in eukaryotic proteins.
Chavali, Sreenivas; Chavali, Pavithra L; Chalancon, Guilhem; de Groot, Natalia Sanchez; Gemayel, Rita; Latysheva, Natasha S; Ing-Simmons, Elizabeth; Verstrepen, Kevin J; Balaji, Santhanam; Babu, M Madan
2017-09-01
Proteins with amino acid homorepeats have the potential to be detrimental to cells and are often associated with human diseases. Why, then, are homorepeats prevalent in eukaryotic proteomes? In yeast, homorepeats are enriched in proteins that are essential and pleiotropic and that buffer environmental insults. The presence of homorepeats increases the functional versatility of proteins by mediating protein interactions and facilitating spatial organization in a repeat-dependent manner. During evolution, homorepeats are preferentially retained in proteins with stringent proteostasis, which might minimize repeat-associated detrimental effects such as unregulated phase separation and protein aggregation. Their presence facilitates rapid protein divergence through accumulation of amino acid substitutions, which often affect linear motifs and post-translational-modification sites. These substitutions may result in rewiring protein interaction and signaling networks. Thus, homorepeats are distinct modules that are often retained in stringently regulated proteins. Their presence facilitates rapid exploration of the genotype-phenotype landscape of a population, thereby contributing to adaptation and fitness.
BDNF heightens the sensitivity of motor neurons to excitotoxic insults through activation of TrkB
Hu, Peter; Kalb, Robert G.; Walton, K. D. (Principal Investigator)
2003-01-01
The survival promoting and neuroprotective actions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are well known but under certain circumstances this growth factor can also exacerbate excitotoxic insults to neurons. Prior exploration of the receptor through which BDNF exerts this action on motor neurons deflects attention away from p75. Here we investigated the possibility that BDNF acts through the receptor tyrosine kinase, TrkB, to confer on motor neurons sensitivity to excitotoxic challenge. We blocked BDNF activation of TrkB using a dominant negative TrkB mutant or a TrkB function blocking antibody, and found that this protected motor neurons against excitotoxic insult in cultures of mixed spinal cord neurons. Addition of a function blocking antibody to BDNF to mixed spinal cord neuron cultures is also neuroprotective indicating that endogenously produced BDNF participates in vulnerability to excitotoxicity. We next examined the intracellular signaling cascades that are engaged upon TrkB activation. Previously we found that inhibition of the phosphatidylinositide-3'-kinase (PI3'K) pathway blocks BDNF-induced excitotoxic sensitivity. Here we show that expression of a constitutively active catalytic subunit of PI3'K, p110, confers excitotoxic sensitivity (ES) upon motor neurons not incubated with BDNF. Parallel studies with purified motor neurons confirm that these events are likely to be occuring specifically within motor neurons. The abrogation of BDNF's capacity to accentuate excitotoxic insults may make it a more attractive neuroprotective agent.
Zemlyanova, A.
2014-01-01
the boundary of the patch or both along the boundary of the patch and the boundaries of the holes which this patch covers. The unattached boundaries of the holes may be loaded with given in-plane stresses. The mechanical problem is reduced to a system
Collier, Bret A.
2011-08-25
AIM: Our objective was to identify the distribution of the endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) in fragmented oak-juniper woodlands by applying a geoadditive semiparametric occupancy model to better assist decision-makers in identifying suitable habitat across the species breeding range on which conservation or mitigation activities can be focused and thus prioritize management and conservation planning. LOCATION: Texas, USA. METHODS: We used repeated double-observer detection/non-detection surveys of randomly selected (n = 287) patches of potential habitat to evaluate warbler patch-scale presence across the species breeding range. We used a geoadditive semiparametric occupancy model with remotely sensed habitat metrics (patch size and landscape composition) to predict patch-scale occupancy of golden-cheeked warblers in the fragmented oak-juniper woodlands of central Texas, USA. RESULTS: Our spatially explicit model indicated that golden-cheeked warbler patch occupancy declined from south to north within the breeding range concomitant with reductions in the availability of large habitat patches. We found that 59% of woodland patches, primarily in the northern and central portions of the warbler\\'s range, were predicted to have occupancy probabilities ≤0.10 with only 3% of patches predicted to have occupancy probabilities >0.90. Our model exhibited high prediction accuracy (area under curve = 0.91) when validated using independently collected warbler occurrence data. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: We have identified a distinct spatial occurrence gradient for golden-cheeked warblers as well as a relationship between two measurable landscape characteristics. Because habitat-occupancy relationships were key drivers of our model, our results can be used to identify potential areas where conservation actions supporting habitat mitigation can occur and identify areas where conservation of future potential habitat is possible. Additionally, our results can be
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rumsaïs Blatrix
Full Text Available Some tropical plant species possess hollow structures (domatia occupied by ants that protect the plant and in some cases also provide it with nutrients. Most plant-ants tend patches of chaetothyrialean fungi within domatia. In a few systems it has been shown that the ants manure the fungal patches and use them as a food source, indicating agricultural practices. However, the identity of these fungi has been investigated only in a few samples. To examine the specificity and constancy of ant-plant-fungus interactions we characterised the content of fungal patches in an extensive sampling of three ant-plant symbioses (Petalomyrmex phylax/Leonardoxa africana subsp. africana, Aphomomyrmex afer/Leonardoxa africana subsp. letouzeyi and Tetraponera aethiops/Barteria fistulosa by sequencing the Internal Transcribed Spacers of ribosomal DNA. For each system the content of fungal patches was constant over individuals and populations. Each symbiosis was associated with a specific, dominant, primary fungal taxon, and to a lesser extent, with one or two specific secondary taxa, all of the order Chaetothyriales. A single fungal patch sometimes contained both a primary and a secondary taxon. In one system, two founding queens were found with the primary fungal taxon only, one that was shown in a previous study to be consumed preferentially. Because the different ant-plant symbioses studied have evolved independently, the high specificity and constancy we observed in the composition of the fungal patches have evolved repeatedly. Specificity and constancy also characterize other cases of agriculture by insects.
Cell-Detection Technique for Automated Patch Clamping
McDowell, Mark; Gray, Elizabeth
2008-01-01
A unique and customizable machinevision and image-data-processing technique has been developed for use in automated identification of cells that are optimal for patch clamping. [Patch clamping (in which patch electrodes are pressed against cell membranes) is an electrophysiological technique widely applied for the study of ion channels, and of membrane proteins that regulate the flow of ions across the membranes. Patch clamping is used in many biological research fields such as neurobiology, pharmacology, and molecular biology.] While there exist several hardware techniques for automated patch clamping of cells, very few of those techniques incorporate machine vision for locating cells that are ideal subjects for patch clamping. In contrast, the present technique is embodied in a machine-vision algorithm that, in practical application, enables the user to identify good and bad cells for patch clamping in an image captured by a charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera attached to a microscope, within a processing time of one second. Hence, the present technique can save time, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing cost. The present technique involves the utilization of cell-feature metrics to accurately make decisions on the degree to which individual cells are "good" or "bad" candidates for patch clamping. These metrics include position coordinates (x,y) in the image plane, major-axis length, minor-axis length, area, elongation, roundness, smoothness, angle of orientation, and degree of inclusion in the field of view. The present technique does not require any special hardware beyond commercially available, off-the-shelf patch-clamping hardware: A standard patchclamping microscope system with an attached CCD camera, a personal computer with an imagedata- processing board, and some experience in utilizing imagedata- processing software are all that are needed. A cell image is first captured by the microscope CCD camera and image-data-processing board, then the image
Outcomes of using a sutureless bovine pericardial patch graft for Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation.
Quaranta, Luciano; Riva, Ivano; Floriani, Irene C
2013-01-01
To evaluate the long-term outcomes of a surgical technique using a sutureless bovine pericardial patch graft for the implantation of an Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV). This was a pilot study on patients with primary open-angle glaucoma refractory to repeated surgical filtering procedures. All patients underwent AGV implant technique using a sutureless bovine pericardial patch graft. The pericardial membrane was cut using an ordinary corneal trephine with a diameter of 9.0 or 10.0 mm. The anterior part of the tube was covered with the graft and kept in place with fibrin glue. Subsequently, the cap was stitched all around the tube and the dissected conjunctiva was laid over it. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and complications were evaluated 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery. The procedure was used to treat 20 eyes of 20 consecutive patients (12 men and 8 women: mean age [SD] 64.8 [7.8] years). Mean IOP was 28.1 mm Hg (SD 4.9) at baseline and decreased to 14.9 mm Hg (SD 1.5) 24 months after surgery (pendophthalmitis were recorded. The results suggest that the sutureless technique using a bovine pericardial graft patch is a safe and rapid procedure for AGV implantation.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paul-Alexis Mellet
2012-04-01
Full Text Available L’article propose de montrer comment le motif de la marmite, courant dans la culture de la Renaissance, se spécialise dans un sens politique pour constituer une insulte dans le contexte précis de la polémique opposant pamphlets catholiques et protestants pendant les guerres de religion. En effet, le motif de la marmite, objet central de la cuisine, condense héritage biblique (Ezechiel XI et XXIV, tradition littéraire (Plaute et culture populaire (telle que Rabelais s’en fait l’écho, pour constituer une critique des présumés péchés du clergé (concupiscence, gourmandise, pacte avec le diable, etc.. A travers l’étude de plusieurs pamphlets (Thomas Beaux-Amis, Théodore de Bèze, etc. se répondant dans le cadre d’une polémique centrée sur les rites chrétiens, nous mettons en évidence la dynamique discursive permettant la réappropriation du motif dans une valeur d’insulte. Nous étudions en particulier les processus argumentatifs utilisés au fil des pamphlets par chaque camp pour renvoyer l’insulte à l’autre. Il est alors possible de suivre le cheminement discursif de la construction d’une insulte. Il s’agit enfin de souligner la force argumentative de l’image satirique dont la fonction est bien sûr pour les deux Eglises de conforter la confession et pour les catholiques d’éviter la conversion au protestantisme.This article shows how the motif of the cooking pot, recurrent in Renaissance culture, was, in the particular context of the polemics which raged between Catholic and Protestant pamphleteers during the French religious wars, converted into an elaborate political insult. A central element of culinary life, the cooking pot was also loaded with biblical heritage (Ezekiel 11 and 24, literary tradition (Plautus and popular culture (such as that propounded by Rabelais, which made of it a concise symbol of the supposed sins of the clergy (concupiscence, gourmandise, pact with the devil, etc.. Through the
Windows Security patch required
3004-01-01
This concerns Windows PCs (XP, 2000, NT) which are NOT centrally managed at CERN for security patches, e.g. home PCs, experiment PCs, portables,... A security hole which can give full privileges on Windows systems needs to be URGENTLY patched. Details of the security hole and hotfix are at: http://cern.ch/it-div/news/hotfix-MS03-026.asp http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-026.asp
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Jesper; Lawall, Julia
2010-01-01
A key issue in maintaining Linux device drivers is the need to keep them up to date with respect to evolutions in Linux internal libraries. Currently, there is little tool support for performing and documenting such changes. In this paper we present a tool, spdiff, that identifies common changes...... developers can use it to extract an abstract representation of the set of changes that others have made. Our experiments on recent changes in Linux show that the inferred generic patches are more concise than the corresponding patches found in commits to the Linux source tree while being safe with respect...
Smart thermal patch for adaptive thermotherapy
Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa
2015-11-12
A smart thermal patch for adaptive thermotherapy is provided. In an embodiment, the patch can be a stretchable, non-polymeric, conductive thin film flexible and non-invasive body integrated mobile thermal heater with wireless control capabilities that can be used to provide adaptive thermotherapy. The patch can be geometrically and spatially tunable on various pain locations. Adaptability allows the amount of heating to be tuned based on the temperature of the treated portion.
PPARs Link Early Life Nutritional Insults to Later Programmed Hypertension and Metabolic Syndrome
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
You-Lin Tain
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Hypertension is an important component of metabolic syndrome. Adulthood hypertension and metabolic syndrome can be programmed in response to nutritional insults in early life. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs serve as a nutrient-sensing signaling linking nutritional programming to hypertension and metabolic syndrome. All three members of PPARs, PPARα, PPARβ/δ, and PPARγ, are expressed in the kidney and involved in blood pressure control. This review provides an overview of potential clinical applications of targeting on the PPARs in the kidney to prevent programmed hypertension and metabolic syndrome, with an emphasis on the following areas: mechanistic insights to interpret programmed hypertension; the link between the PPARs, nutritional insults, and programmed hypertension and metabolic syndrome; the impact of PPAR signaling pathway in a maternal high-fructose model; and current experimental studies on early intervention by PPAR modulators to prevent programmed hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Animal studies employing a reprogramming strategy via targeting PPARs to prevent hypertension have demonstrated interesting results. It is critical that the observed effects on developmental reprogramming in animal models are replicated in human studies, to halt the globally-growing epidemic of metabolic syndrome-related diseases.
*NEW* CRITICAL Windows Security patches
2003-01-01
On 3 October and 10 September 2003, Microsoft issued new CRITICAL security patches MS03-040 and MS03-039. They must be URGENTLY applied on ALL WINDOWS systems, which are not centrally managed for security patches. This includes Experiment computers, Home computers and Windows Portable and Desktop systems not running NICE. Details of the security holes and patches are at: MS03-039: http://cern.ch/it-div/news/hotfix-MS03-039.asp http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-039.asp MS03-040: http://cern.ch/it-div/news/hotfix-MS03-040.asp http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-040.asp
Patch layout generation by detecting feature networks
Cao, Yuanhao
2015-02-01
The patch layout of 3D surfaces reveals the high-level geometric and topological structures. In this paper, we study the patch layout computation by detecting and enclosing feature loops on surfaces. We present a hybrid framework which combines several key ingredients, including feature detection, feature filtering, feature curve extension, patch subdivision and boundary smoothing. Our framework is able to compute patch layouts through concave features as previous approaches, but also able to generate nice layouts through smoothing regions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework by comparing with the state-of-the-art methods.
Acute doxorubicin insult in the mouse ovary is cell- and follicle-type dependent.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Elon C Roti Roti
Full Text Available Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI is one of the many unintended consequences of chemotherapy faced by the growing number of female cancer survivors. While ovarian repercussions of chemotherapy have long been recognized, the acute insult phase and primary sites of damage are not well-studied, hampering efforts to design effective intervention therapies to protect the ovary. Utilizing doxorubicin (DXR as a model chemotherapy agent, we defined the acute timeline for drug accumulation, induced DNA damage, and subsequent cellular and follicular demise in the mouse ovary. DXR accumulated first in the core ovarian stroma cells, then redistributed outwards into the cortex and follicles in a time-dependent manner, without further increase in total ovarian drug levels after four hours post-injection. Consistent with early drug accumulation and intimate interactions with the blood supply, stroma cell-enriched populations exhibited an earlier DNA damage response (measurable at 2 hours than granulosa cells (measurable at 4 hours, as quantified by the comet assay. Granulosa cell-enriched populations were more sensitive however, responding with greater levels of DNA damage. The oocyte DNA damage response was delayed, and not measurable above background until 10-12 hours post-DXR injection. By 8 hours post-DXR injection and prior to the oocyte DNA damage response, the number of primary, secondary, and antral follicles exhibiting TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling-positive granulosa cells plateaued, indicating late-stage apoptosis and suggesting damage to the oocytes is subsequent to somatic cell failure. Primordial follicles accumulate significant DXR by 4 hours post-injection, but do not exhibit TUNEL-positive granulosa cells until 48 hours post-injection, indicating delayed demise. Taken together, the data suggest effective intervention therapies designed to protect the ovary from chemotherapy accumulation and induced insult
Acute Doxorubicin Insult in the Mouse Ovary Is Cell- and Follicle-Type Dependent
Roti Roti, Elon C.; Leisman, Scott K.; Abbott, David H.; Salih, Sana M.
2012-01-01
Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is one of the many unintended consequences of chemotherapy faced by the growing number of female cancer survivors. While ovarian repercussions of chemotherapy have long been recognized, the acute insult phase and primary sites of damage are not well-studied, hampering efforts to design effective intervention therapies to protect the ovary. Utilizing doxorubicin (DXR) as a model chemotherapy agent, we defined the acute timeline for drug accumulation, induced DNA damage, and subsequent cellular and follicular demise in the mouse ovary. DXR accumulated first in the core ovarian stroma cells, then redistributed outwards into the cortex and follicles in a time-dependent manner, without further increase in total ovarian drug levels after four hours post-injection. Consistent with early drug accumulation and intimate interactions with the blood supply, stroma cell-enriched populations exhibited an earlier DNA damage response (measurable at 2 hours) than granulosa cells (measurable at 4 hours), as quantified by the comet assay. Granulosa cell-enriched populations were more sensitive however, responding with greater levels of DNA damage. The oocyte DNA damage response was delayed, and not measurable above background until 10–12 hours post-DXR injection. By 8 hours post-DXR injection and prior to the oocyte DNA damage response, the number of primary, secondary, and antral follicles exhibiting TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling)-positive granulosa cells plateaued, indicating late-stage apoptosis and suggesting damage to the oocytes is subsequent to somatic cell failure. Primordial follicles accumulate significant DXR by 4 hours post-injection, but do not exhibit TUNEL-positive granulosa cells until 48 hours post-injection, indicating delayed demise. Taken together, the data suggest effective intervention therapies designed to protect the ovary from chemotherapy accumulation and induced insult in the ovary
Characteristic evolutions in numerical relativity using six angular patches
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Reisswig, Christian; Bishop, Nigel T; Lai, Chi Wai; Thornburg, Jonathan; Szilagyi, Bela
2007-01-01
The characteristic approach to numerical relativity is a useful tool in evolving gravitational systems. In the past this has been implemented using two patches of stereographic angular coordinates. In other applications, a six-patch angular coordinate system has proved effective. Here we investigate the use of a six-patch system in characteristic numerical relativity, by comparing an existing two-patch implementation (using second-order finite differencing throughout) with a new six-patch implementation (using either second- or fourth-order finite differencing for the angular derivatives). We compare these different codes by monitoring the Einstein constraint equations, numerically evaluated independently from the evolution. We find that, compared to the (second-order) two-patch code at equivalent resolutions, the errors of the second-order six-patch code are smaller by a factor of about 2, and the errors of the fourth-order six-patch code are smaller by a factor of nearly 50
Characteristic evolutions in numerical relativity using six angular patches
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Reisswig, Christian [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Am Muehlenberg 1, D-14476 Golm (Germany); Bishop, Nigel T [Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, Unisa 0003, South Africa (South Africa); Lai, Chi Wai [Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, Unisa 0003, South Africa (South Africa); Thornburg, Jonathan [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Am Muehlenberg 1, D-14476 Golm (Germany); Szilagyi, Bela [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Am Muehlenberg 1, D-14476 Golm (Germany)
2007-06-21
The characteristic approach to numerical relativity is a useful tool in evolving gravitational systems. In the past this has been implemented using two patches of stereographic angular coordinates. In other applications, a six-patch angular coordinate system has proved effective. Here we investigate the use of a six-patch system in characteristic numerical relativity, by comparing an existing two-patch implementation (using second-order finite differencing throughout) with a new six-patch implementation (using either second- or fourth-order finite differencing for the angular derivatives). We compare these different codes by monitoring the Einstein constraint equations, numerically evaluated independently from the evolution. We find that, compared to the (second-order) two-patch code at equivalent resolutions, the errors of the second-order six-patch code are smaller by a factor of about 2, and the errors of the fourth-order six-patch code are smaller by a factor of nearly 50.
Word play, ritual insult, and volleyball in Peru.
Perez, Justin
2011-01-01
Many gay men in the popular sectors of Lima, Peru participate in vóley callejero, or street volleyball. The ethnographic data presented in this article describes verbal and corporal mechanisms through which gay identity emerges within the particular context of the street volleyball game, ultimately highlighting the contextual nature of identity. The volleyball players are not just hitting a ball back and forth, they are engaging in a meaningful activity that illuminates intersections of language, sexuality, and identity. Through the manipulation of the street into a volleyball court, the volleyball players create a space conducive to the articulation of particular verbal and embodied practices that index gay identity. The challenge to the regulations of "proper" volleyball through the practice of ritual insulting and the cultivation of gay volleyball technique are playful reconfigurations of gendered practices prominent in the sites where fieldwork was carried out.
Biomaterials for drug delivery patches.
Santos, Lúcia F; Correia, Ilídio J; Silva, A Sofia; Mano, João F
2018-06-15
The limited efficiency of conventional drugs has been instigated the development of new and more effective drug delivery systems (DDS). Transdermal DDS, are associated with numerous advantages such its painless application and less frequent replacement and greater flexibility of dosing, features that triggered the research and development of such devices. Such systems have been produced using either biopolymer; or synthetic polymers. Although the first ones are safer, biocompatible and present a controlled degradation by human enzymes or water, the second ones are the most currently available in the market due to their greater mechanical resistance and flexibility, and non-degradation over time. This review highlights the most recent advances (mainly in the last five years) of patches aimed for transdermal drug delivery, focusing on the different materials (natural, synthetic and blends) and latest designs for the development of such devices, emphasizing also their combination with drug carriers that enable enhanced drug solubility and a more controlled release of the drug over the time. The benefits and limitations of different patches formulations are considered with reference to their appliance to transdermal drug delivery. Furthermore, a record of the currently available patches on the market is given, featuring their most relevant characteristics. Finally, a list of most recent/ongoing clinical trials regarding the use of patches for skin disorders is detailed and critical insights on the current state of patches for transdermal drug delivery are also provided. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Two Nicotine Patches in Smokers.
Rasmussen, Scott; Horkan, Kathleen Halabuk; Kotler, Mitchell
2018-02-02
Smoking continues to be a major preventable cause of early mortality worldwide, and nicotine replacement therapy has been demonstrated to increase rates of abstinence among smokers attempting to quit. Nicotine transdermal systems (also known as nicotine patches) attach to the skin via an adhesive layer composed of a mixture of different-molecular-weight polyisobutylenes (PIBs) in a specific ratio. This randomized, single-dose, 2-treatment, crossover pharmacokinetic (PK) trial assessed the bioequivalence of nicotine patches including a replacement PIB adhesive (test) compared with the PIB adhesive historically used on marketed patches (reference). The test and reference patches were bioequivalent, as determined by the PK parameters of C max and AUC 0-t . In addition, the parameters T max and t 1/2 did not significantly differ between the 2 patches, supporting the bioequivalence finding from the primary analysis. The tolerability profiles of the patches containing the replacement and previously used PIB adhesives were similar; application-site adverse events did not significantly differ between test and reference patches. Overall, these data establish the bioequivalence of the nicotine patch with the replacement PIB adhesive formulation and the previously utilized PIB adhesive formulation. © 2018 The Authors. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American College of Clinical Pharmacology.
Nickel patch test reactivity and the menstrual cycle
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rohold, A E; Halkier-Sørensen, L; Thestrup-Pedersen, K
1994-01-01
Premenstrual exacerbation of allergic contact dermatitis and varying allergic patch test responses have been reported at different points of the period. Using a dilution series of nickel sulphate, we studied the variation in patch test reactivity in nickel allergic women in relation to the menstr......Premenstrual exacerbation of allergic contact dermatitis and varying allergic patch test responses have been reported at different points of the period. Using a dilution series of nickel sulphate, we studied the variation in patch test reactivity in nickel allergic women in relation...... were tested first on day 7-10 and the other half first on day 20-24. There was no difference in the degree of patch test reactivity, when the results from day 7-10 and day 20-24 were compared (p > 0.4). However, when we compared the patch test results from the first and second test procedure, we found...... of positive patch tests led to an increased skin reactivity towards the same allergen, when the patients were retested weeks later....
Evaluation of concrete pavement patching techniques.
1989-01-01
This final report presents the results of a study undertaken to improve in concrete pavement patching techniques. Activities included an evaluation of the suitability of the impact hammer and maturity calculations for determining when a patch is read...
Wilder, Travis J; Van Arsdell, Glen S; Pham-Hung, Eric; Gritti, Michael; Hussain, Sara; Caldarone, Christopher A; Redington, Andrew; Hickey, Edward J
2016-03-01
Potential surgical strategies for hypoplastic branch pulmonary arteries (BPAs) during tetralogy of Fallot repair include (1) extensive patch augmentation to the hilum (PATCH), (2) limited extension arterioplasty to the proximal pulmonary artery (EXTENSION), or (3) leaving the native vessels unaugmented (NATIVE). We explored the effect of these strategies on reintervention and BPA growth. From 2000 to 2012, 434 children underwent complete tetralogy of Fallot repair. Risk-adjusted parametric models were used to analyze the risk of BPA reintervention for (1) all children, (2) children with BPAs of 4 mm or smaller, and (3) children with BPAs of 3 mm or smaller. Repeated-measures analysis of more than 2,000 echocardiograms was used to characterize postoperative BPA growth and right ventricular pressure by using nonlinear mixed models. Overall survival (99% [3 deaths]) was excellent. The 10-year freedom from BPA reintervention was 84%. In risk-adjusted models (including baseline BPA z-score), PATCH had a decreased freedom from reintervention (73%; p tetralogy of Fallot tend (∼85%) to grow well without instrumentation. Copyright © 2016 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Composite GPS Patch Antenna for the AR Bandwidth Enhancement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Minkil Park
2016-01-01
Full Text Available A composite Global Positioning System (GPS patch antenna with a quadrature 3 dB hybrid coupler was designed and implemented for working RHCP and had a broadband axial ratio (AR bandwidth. We designed two patches as a FR-4 patch and 1.5 mm thickness thin ceramic patch with a quadrature 3 dB hybrid coupler. A CP radiation pattern was achieved, and the AR bandwidth improved by incorporating a quadrature 3 dB hybrid coupler feed structure in a micro-strip patch antenna. SMD by chip elements was applied to the quadrature 3 dB hybrid coupler. For the composite FR-4 and ceramic patch antennas, the VSWR measurement showed a 2 : 1 ratio over the entire design band, and the 3 dB AR bandwidth was 295 and 580 MHz for the FR-4 patch and ceramic patch antennas, respectively. The antenna gains for the composite FR-4 and ceramic patch antennas were measured as 1.36–2.75 and 1.47–2.71 dBi with 15.11–25.3% and 19.25–28.45% efficiency, respectively.
Microneedle Patches as Drug and Vaccine Delivery Platform.
Li, Junwei; Zeng, Mingtao; Shan, Hu; Tong, Chunyi
2017-01-01
Transcutaneous delivery is the ideal method for delivering therapeutic reagents or vaccines into skin. With their promise of self-administration, cost-effective and high efficiency, microneedle patches have been studied intensively as therapeutic and vaccination delivery platform that replaces injection by syringe. This review aims to summarize the recent advancements of microneedle patches in application for drugs and vaccine delivery. We reviewed the most of recently published papers on microneedle patches, summarized their evolution, classification, state-of the-art capabilities and discussed promising application in drugs and vaccine delivery. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, microneedle patches have been improved by switching from undissolving to dissolving microneedles, and their safety has also improved dramatically. As a drug delivery tool, microneedle patches can deliver bioactive molecular of different physical size. Additionally, microneedle patches can be coated or encapsulate with DNA vaccine, subunit antigen, inactivated or live virus vaccine. Combining clinical results with the results of patient interview, microneedle patches are found to be feasible and are predicated to soon be acceptable for the medical service. In this review, we summarized the evolution, current and future application of microneedle patches as delivery vehicle for drugs and vaccines. Compared with traditional delivery tools, microneedle patches have many advantages, such as providing pain-free, non-invasive, convenient route for reagent administration and delivery, with no cold chain required for storage and transportation as well as decreasing sharp medical waste, needle-caused injury and transmission of blood-borne infectious disease in rural area. However, even though there are dramatic progress in preclinical investigation of microneedle patches, further testing will be required for clinical application. Further research should be implemented in multiple fields
Improving Saliency Models by Predicting Human Fixation Patches
Dubey, Rachit
2015-04-16
There is growing interest in studying the Human Visual System (HVS) to supplement and improve the performance of computer vision tasks. A major challenge for current visual saliency models is predicting saliency in cluttered scenes (i.e. high false positive rate). In this paper, we propose a fixation patch detector that predicts image patches that contain human fixations with high probability. Our proposed model detects sparse fixation patches with an accuracy of 84 % and eliminates non-fixation patches with an accuracy of 84 % demonstrating that low-level image features can indeed be used to short-list and identify human fixation patches. We then show how these detected fixation patches can be used as saliency priors for popular saliency models, thus, reducing false positives while maintaining true positives. Extensive experimental results show that our proposed approach allows state-of-the-art saliency methods to achieve better prediction performance on benchmark datasets.
Improving Saliency Models by Predicting Human Fixation Patches
Dubey, Rachit; Dave, Akshat; Ghanem, Bernard
2015-01-01
There is growing interest in studying the Human Visual System (HVS) to supplement and improve the performance of computer vision tasks. A major challenge for current visual saliency models is predicting saliency in cluttered scenes (i.e. high false positive rate). In this paper, we propose a fixation patch detector that predicts image patches that contain human fixations with high probability. Our proposed model detects sparse fixation patches with an accuracy of 84 % and eliminates non-fixation patches with an accuracy of 84 % demonstrating that low-level image features can indeed be used to short-list and identify human fixation patches. We then show how these detected fixation patches can be used as saliency priors for popular saliency models, thus, reducing false positives while maintaining true positives. Extensive experimental results show that our proposed approach allows state-of-the-art saliency methods to achieve better prediction performance on benchmark datasets.
Light transmission and preference of eye patches for occlusion treatment.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hwan Heo
Full Text Available To investigate light transmission and preference for six eye patches for occlusion therapy.Six patches were examined, including; Ortopad Fun Pack, Ortopad Flesh, Kawamoto A-1, Kawamoto A-2, 3M Opticlude, and Everade Eye Guard. The size and the presence of a light blocking pad of patches were investigated. The amount of light transmitted through the patches was evaluated, using a digital light meter and a model eye, in three different environments; indoors with fluorescent light, outdoors on a sunny day, and strong light from illuminator. After patching the normal eye, the flash visual evoked potential (VEP was measured. Thirty patients with amblyopia or horizontal strabismus, who received occlusion therapy as initial treatment, were included. After using all six patches, patients completed a 7-item questionnaire regarding the patch preference for size, color and shape, adhesive power, pain with removal, skin irritation after removing patch, parent's preference and overall opinion.All patches had a light-blocking pad, except the 3M Nexcare. Ortopad had the strongest light blocking power in the three environments, and the 3M Nexcare had the weakest power. In flash VEP, Ortopad and Kawamoto patches showed flat, but 3M Nexcare and Everade Eye Guard showed normal response. There were significant preferential differences among the patches in all the items of the questionnaire (P<0.05. In comparison between the patches respectively, 3M Nexcare received the lowest satisfaction in pain when removing a patch and skin irritation after removing a patch. Kawamoto A-2 received the lowest score in the overall satisfaction.We found differences in the light-blocking power and in the preference of the various patches for the occlusion treatment. This is a pilot study regarding only characteristics and preferences of patches. Further clinical studies regarding the relationship between characteristics or preferences of patches and outcomes of occlusion treatment
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hansson, P; Jensen, Troels Staehelin; Kvarstein, G
2018-01-01
CONTEXT: Clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of the capsaicin 8% patch in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP); however, few studies have assessed this treatment in a clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether treatment and re-treatment with the capsaicin ...
Protection of the female reproductive system from natural and artificial insults
Tilly, Jonathan L.; Kolesnick, Richard N.
2010-12-14
Described are methods for protecting the female reproductive system against natural and artificial insults by administering to women a composition comprising an agent that antagonizes one or more acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) gene products. Specifically, methods disclosed herein serve to protect women's germline from damage resulting from cancer therapy regimens including chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In one aspect, the method preserves, enhances, or revives ovarian function in women, by administering to women a composition containing sphingosine-1-phosphate, or an analog thereof. Also disclosed are methods to prevent or ameliorate menopausal syndromes and to improve in vitro fertilization techniques.
The hedgehog receptor patched is involved in cholesterol transport.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michel Bidet
Full Text Available Sonic hedgehog (Shh signaling plays a crucial role in growth and patterning during embryonic development, and also in stem cell maintenance and tissue regeneration in adults. Aberrant Shh pathway activation is involved in the development of many tumors, and one of the most affected Shh signaling steps found in these tumors is the regulation of the signaling receptor Smoothened by the Shh receptor Patched. In the present work, we investigated Patched activity and the mechanism by which Patched inhibits Smoothened.Using the well-known Shh-responding cell line of mouse fibroblasts NIH 3T3, we first observed that enhancement of the intracellular cholesterol concentration induces Smoothened enrichment in the plasma membrane, which is a crucial step for the signaling activation. We found that binding of Shh protein to its receptor Patched, which involves Patched internalization, increases the intracellular concentration of cholesterol and decreases the efflux of a fluorescent cholesterol derivative (BODIPY-cholesterol from these cells. Treatment of fibroblasts with cyclopamine, an antagonist of Shh signaling, inhibits Patched expression and reduces BODIPY-cholesterol efflux, while treatment with the Shh pathway agonist SAG enhances Patched protein expression and BODIPY-cholesterol efflux. We also show that over-expression of human Patched in the yeast S. cerevisiae results in a significant boost of BODIPY-cholesterol efflux. Furthermore, we demonstrate that purified Patched binds to cholesterol, and that the interaction of Shh with Patched inhibits the binding of Patched to cholesterol.Our results suggest that Patched may contribute to cholesterol efflux from cells, and to modulation of the intracellular cholesterol concentration. This activity is likely responsible for the inhibition of the enrichment of Smoothened in the plasma membrane, which is an important step in Shh pathway activation.
Formaldehyde concentration in diagnostic patch testing
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Trattner, A; Johansen, J D; Menné, T
1998-01-01
Exposure to formaldehyde is common from both consumer products and industry. The reliability of the patch test is essential for the diagnosis of formaldehyde allergy as it is difficult to suspect from the patient's history. The recommended formaldehyde patch test concentration has been reduced over...
Immunoisolation Patch System for Cellular Transplantation
Wang, Taylor G. (Inventor)
2014-01-01
An immunoisolation patch system, and particularly a patch system comprising multiple immunoisolation microcapsules, each encapsulating biological material such as cells for transplantation, which can be used in the prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of disease in large animals and humans without the need for immunosuppression.
A New Low-Complexity Patch-based Super-Resolution
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasti, Pejman; Nasrollahi, Kamal; Orlova, Olga
2017-01-01
through an illumination enhancement process resulting in consistency of illumination between neigh- bour patches. This process is applied to all patches of the LR image. Finally, in order to remove the blocking effect caused by merging the patches, an average of the obtained HR image and the interpolated...
Perturbation analysis for patch occupancy dynamics
Martin, Julien; Nichols, James D.; McIntyre, Carol L.; Ferraz, Goncalo; Hines, James E.
2009-01-01
Perturbation analysis is a powerful tool to study population and community dynamics. This article describes expressions for sensitivity metrics reflecting changes in equilibrium occupancy resulting from small changes in the vital rates of patch occupancy dynamics (i.e., probabilities of local patch colonization and extinction). We illustrate our approach with a case study of occupancy dynamics of Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) nesting territories. Examination of the hypothesis of system equilibrium suggests that the system satisfies equilibrium conditions. Estimates of vital rates obtained using patch occupancy models are used to estimate equilibrium patch occupancy of eagles. We then compute estimates of sensitivity metrics and discuss their implications for eagle population ecology and management. Finally, we discuss the intuition underlying our sensitivity metrics and then provide examples of ecological questions that can be addressed using perturbation analyses. For instance, the sensitivity metrics lead to predictions about the relative importance of local colonization and local extinction probabilities in influencing equilibrium occupancy for rare and common species.
Erythema-index of clinical patch test reactions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jemec, G B; Johansen, J D
1995-01-01
that the method could be used for the grading of eczematous reactions in a clinical setting as well. OBJECTIVE: To assess the usefulness of the erythema index for the quantification of eczematous reactions using the Derma-Spectrometer (Cortex technology, Hadsund, Denmark) in a clinical setting. METHOD......: The erythema index of 56 patch test reactions ranging from +? to +++, was compared to regional controls and negative patch tests (189). The effects of intrumental application pressure was studied in 5 volunteers. Statistical analysis was carried out using Mann-Whitney and Jonckheere-Terpstra tests. RESULTS......: The erythema-index was significantly higher in all degrees of patch test reactions than in uninvolved regional skin or negative patch tests. It also showed a significant positive trend for higher values in +, ++ and +++ reactions (P
A missing factor in chip-based patch clamp assay: gigaseal
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ong, W-L; Yobas, L; Ong, W-Y
2006-01-01
The 'gold' standard in the study of ionic currents across biological membranes is the Patch Clamp method. However, this is a slow, labor and skill intensive process. High throughput patch clamp devices are mainly chip-based. A major challenge in these miniaturized devices is the low rate of 'Gigaseal' formation which is critical in the study of Single Channel effect. In a conventional patch clamp, a pipette moves and patches a fixed cell (cell-adhered patch) which is grown on the bottom of a Petri dish. In the chip-based case, the cells are in suspension and move towards the fixed patch clamp sites (cell-suspended patch). In this study, using the proven conventional patch clamp setup, we investigated the effect of the differences in the cell configurations between the convention patch clamp and cell-based patch clamp. It is shown that adhered cells (as used in the conventional setup) have a much higher rate of gigaseal formation as compared to the cells in suspension (as used in chip-based devices). We postulate that the arrangement of the cytoskeleton within the cell plays a major part in the formation of the gigaseal
Boolean Operations with Prism Algebraic Patches
Bajaj, Chandrajit; Paoluzzi, Alberto; Portuesi, Simone; Lei, Na; Zhao, Wenqi
2009-01-01
In this paper we discuss a symbolic-numeric algorithm for Boolean operations, closed in the algebra of curved polyhedra whose boundary is triangulated with algebraic patches (A-patches). This approach uses a linear polyhedron as a first approximation of both the arguments and the result. On each triangle of a boundary representation of such linear approximation, a piecewise cubic algebraic interpolant is built, using a C1-continuous prism algebraic patch (prism A-patch) that interpolates the three triangle vertices, with given normal vectors. The boundary representation only stores the vertices of the initial triangulation and their external vertex normals. In order to represent also flat and/or sharp local features, the corresponding normal-per-face and/or normal-per-edge may be also given, respectively. The topology is described by storing, for each curved triangle, the two triples of pointers to incident vertices and to adjacent triangles. For each triangle, a scaffolding prism is built, produced by its extreme vertices and normals, which provides a containment volume for the curved interpolating A-patch. When looking for the result of a regularized Boolean operation, the 0-set of a tri-variate polynomial within each such prism is generated, and intersected with the analogous 0-sets of the other curved polyhedron, when two prisms have non-empty intersection. The intersection curves of the boundaries are traced and used to decompose each boundary into the 3 standard classes of subpatches, denoted in, out and on. While tracing the intersection curves, the locally refined triangulation of intersecting patches is produced, and added to the boundary representation. PMID:21516262
... menopause (change of life; the end of monthly menstrual periods). Transdermal estradiol is also used to prevent ... patch. Ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer's information for the patient.
... patch from direct heat such as heating pads, electric blankets, heat lamps, saunas, hot tubs, and heated ... may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this ...
Fentanyl patches are used to relieve severe pain in people who are expected to need pain medication ... and who cannot be treated with other medications. Fentanyl is in a class of medications called opiate ( ...
Testosterone Transdermal Patch
... one else can use it accidentally or on purpose. Keep track of how many patches are left ... to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in ...
... physical activity. If the edges of the patch lift, use a bandage tape to re-secure it ... burns on your skin if you are having magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; a radiology technique designed to ...
Methylphenidate Transdermal Patch
... for ADHD, which may include counseling and special education. Make sure to follow all of your doctor's ... that was covered by the patch seizures motion tics or verbal tics believing things that are not ...
Black-hole excision with multiple grid patches
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Thornburg, Jonathan [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut, Am Muehlenberg 1, D-14476 Golm (Germany)
2004-08-07
When using black-hole excision to numerically evolve a black-hole spacetime with no continuous symmetries, most 3 + 1 finite differencing codes use a Cartesian grid. It is difficult to do excision on such a grid because the natural r = constant excision surface must be approximated either by a very different shape such as a contained cube, or by an irregular and non-smooth 'LEGO{sup 1} sphere' which may introduce numerical instabilities into the evolution. In this paper I describe an alternate scheme which uses multiple {l_brace}r x (angular coordinates){r_brace} grid patches, each patch using a different (nonsingular) choice of angular coordinates. This allows excision on a smooth r = constant 2-sphere. I discuss the key design choices in such a multiple-patch scheme, including the choice of ghost-zone versus internal-boundary treatment of the interpatch boundaries (I use a ghost-zone scheme), the number and shape of the patches (I use a 6-patch 'inflated-cube' scheme), the details of how the ghost zones are 'synchronized' by interpolation from neighbouring patches, the tensor basis for the Einstein equations in each patch, and the handling of non-tensor field variables such as the BSSN {gamma}-tilde{sup i} (I use a scheme which requires ghost zones which are twice as wide for the BSSN conformal factor {phi} as for {gamma}-tilde{sup i} and the other BSSN field variables). I present sample numerical results from a prototype implementation of this scheme. This code simulates the time evolution of the (asymptotically flat) spacetime around a single (excised) black hole, using fourth-order finite differencing in space and time. Using Kerr initial data with J/m{sup 2} = 0.6, I present evolutions to t {approx}> 1500m. The lifetime of these evolutions appears to be limited only by outer boundary instabilities, not by any excision instabilities or by any problems inherent to the multiple-patch scheme.
Black-hole excision with multiple grid patches
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Thornburg, Jonathan
2004-01-01
When using black-hole excision to numerically evolve a black-hole spacetime with no continuous symmetries, most 3 + 1 finite differencing codes use a Cartesian grid. It is difficult to do excision on such a grid because the natural r = constant excision surface must be approximated either by a very different shape such as a contained cube, or by an irregular and non-smooth 'LEGO 1 sphere' which may introduce numerical instabilities into the evolution. In this paper I describe an alternate scheme which uses multiple {r x (angular coordinates)} grid patches, each patch using a different (nonsingular) choice of angular coordinates. This allows excision on a smooth r = constant 2-sphere. I discuss the key design choices in such a multiple-patch scheme, including the choice of ghost-zone versus internal-boundary treatment of the interpatch boundaries (I use a ghost-zone scheme), the number and shape of the patches (I use a 6-patch 'inflated-cube' scheme), the details of how the ghost zones are 'synchronized' by interpolation from neighbouring patches, the tensor basis for the Einstein equations in each patch, and the handling of non-tensor field variables such as the BSSN Γ-tilde i (I use a scheme which requires ghost zones which are twice as wide for the BSSN conformal factor φ as for Γ-tilde i and the other BSSN field variables). I present sample numerical results from a prototype implementation of this scheme. This code simulates the time evolution of the (asymptotically flat) spacetime around a single (excised) black hole, using fourth-order finite differencing in space and time. Using Kerr initial data with J/m 2 = 0.6, I present evolutions to t ∼> 1500m. The lifetime of these evolutions appears to be limited only by outer boundary instabilities, not by any excision instabilities or by any problems inherent to the multiple-patch scheme
Klaassen, R.H.G.; Nolet, B.A.; Van Leeuwen, C.H.A.
2007-01-01
1. Heterogeneity in food abundance allows a forager to concentrate foraging effort in patches that are rich in food. This might be problematic when food is cryptic, as the content of patches is unknown prior to foraging. In such case knowledge about the spatial pattern in the distribution of food
Necrotic patches affect Acropora palmata (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) in the Mexican Caribbean.
Rodríguez-Martínez, R E; Banaszak, A T; Jordán-Dahlgren, E
2001-12-05
An outbreak of necrotic patches was observed affecting Acropora palmata in the Mexican Caribbean in the summer of 1999. This study documents the tissue loss produced by these patches. Following a marked initial increase in the number of patches, there was a decrease in the appearance of new patches but the size of the patches increased throughout the study. In some cases patches expanded but in most cases they enlarged due to fusion of 2 or more patches. Patches recovered but not sufficiently to overcome damage in most colonies surveyed. Percentage tissue loss does not appear to be directly related to temperature but may be related to a combination of factors associated with prolonged summer doldrum-like conditions. The necrotic patch syndrome can have a substantial impact in tissue loss in affected A. palmata colonies.
Physically Connected Stacked Patch Antenna Design with 100% Bandwidth
Klionovski, Kirill; Shamim, Atif
2017-01-01
Typically, stacked patch antennas are parasitically coupled and provide larger bandwidth than a single patch antenna. Here, we show a stacked patch antenna design where square patches with semi-circular cutouts are physically connected to each other. This arrangement provides 100% bandwidth from 23.9–72.2 GHz with consistent high gain (5 dBi or more) across the entire bandwidth. In another variation, a single patch loaded with a superstrate provides 83.5% bandwidth from 25.6–62.3 GHz. The mechanism of bandwidth enhancement is explained through electromagnetic simulations. Measured reflection coefficient, radiation patterns and gain results confirm the extremely wideband performance of the design.
Physically Connected Stacked Patch Antenna Design with 100% Bandwidth
Klionovski, Kirill
2017-11-01
Typically, stacked patch antennas are parasitically coupled and provide larger bandwidth than a single patch antenna. Here, we show a stacked patch antenna design where square patches with semi-circular cutouts are physically connected to each other. This arrangement provides 100% bandwidth from 23.9–72.2 GHz with consistent high gain (5 dBi or more) across the entire bandwidth. In another variation, a single patch loaded with a superstrate provides 83.5% bandwidth from 25.6–62.3 GHz. The mechanism of bandwidth enhancement is explained through electromagnetic simulations. Measured reflection coefficient, radiation patterns and gain results confirm the extremely wideband performance of the design.
Experimental patch testing with chromium-coated materials
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bregnbak, David; Thyssen, Jacob P; Jellesen, Morten Stendahl
2017-01-01
Chromium coatings on metal alloys can be decorative, and prevent corrosion and metal ion release. We recently showed that handling of a chromium-containing disc resulted in chromium deposition on the skin. To examine patch test reactivity to chromium-coated discs. We included 15 patients: 10...... chromium-allergic patients, and 5 patients without chromium allergy. All were patch tested with potassium dichromate, cobalt chloride, nickel sulfate, and nine different metallic discs. The chromium-allergic patients were also patch tested with serial dilutions of potassium dichromate. Positive...
Effects of patch size on feeding associations in muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides).
Strier, K B
1989-01-01
Data were collected on one group of muriquis, or woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides) during a 14-month study at Fazenda Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil to examine the effects of food patch size on muriqui feeding associations. Muriqui food patches were larger than expected from the availability of patch sizes in the forest; fruit patches were significantly larger than leaf patches. Feeding aggregate size, the maximum number of simultaneous occupants, and patch occupancy time were positively related to the size of fruit patches. However, a greater number of individuals fed at leaf sources than expected from the size of these patches. Adult females tended to feed alone in patches more often than males, whereas males tended to feed in single-sexed groups more often than females. Yet in neither case were these differences statistically significant.
Microneedle patches for vaccination in developing countries.
Arya, Jaya; Prausnitz, Mark R
2016-10-28
Millions of people die of infectious diseases each year, mostly in developing countries, which could largely be prevented by the use of vaccines. While immunization rates have risen since the introduction of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), there remain major challenges to more effective vaccination in developing countries. As a possible solution, microneedle patches containing an array of micron-sized needles on an adhesive backing have been developed to be used for vaccine delivery to the skin. These microneedle patches can be easily and painlessly applied by pressing against the skin and, in some designs, do not leave behind sharps waste. The patches are single-dose, do not require reconstitution, are easy to administer, have reduced size to simplify storage, transportation and waste disposal, and offer the possibility of improved vaccine immunogenicity, dose sparing and thermostability. This review summarizes vaccination challenges in developing countries and discusses advantages that microneedle patches offer for vaccination to address these challenges. We conclude that microneedle patches offer a powerful new technology that can enable more effective vaccination in developing countries. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Lidocaine patches reduce pain in trauma patients with rib fractures.
Zink, Karen A; Mayberry, John C; Peck, Ellen G; Schreiber, Martin A
2011-04-01
Rib fracture pain is notoriously difficult to manage. The lidocaine patch is effective in other pain scenarios with an excellent safety profile. This study assesses the efficacy of lidocaine patches for treating rib fracture pain. A prospectively gathered cohort of patients with rib fracture was retrospectively analyzed for use of lidocaine patches. Patients treated with lidocaine patches were matched to control subjects treated without patches. Subjective pain reports and narcotic use before and after patch placement, or equivalent time points for control subjects, were gathered from the chart. All patients underwent long-term follow-up, including a McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ). Twenty-nine patients with lidocaine patches (LP) and 29 matched control subjects (C) were analyzed. During the 24 hours before patch placement, pain scores and narcotic use were similar (LP 5.3, C 4.6, P = 0.19 and LP 51, C 32 mg morphine, P = 0.17). In the 24 hours after patch placement, LP patients had a greater decrease in pain scores (LP 1.2, C 0.0, P = 0.01) with no change in narcotic use (LP -8.4, C 0.5-mg change in morphine, P = 0.25). At 60 days, LP patients had a lower MPQ pain score (LP 7.7, C 12.2, P rib fracture pain. Lidocaine patches resulted in a sustained reduction in pain, outlasting the duration of therapy.
Patch layout generation by detecting feature networks
Cao, Yuanhao; Yan, Dongming; Wonka, Peter
2015-01-01
The patch layout of 3D surfaces reveals the high-level geometric and topological structures. In this paper, we study the patch layout computation by detecting and enclosing feature loops on surfaces. We present a hybrid framework which combines
Mating success of males with and without wing patch in Drosophila biarmipes.
Hegde, S N; Chethan, B K; Krishna, M S
2005-10-01
Some males of D. biarmipes--synonym of D. rajasekari and D. raychaudhuri have a black patch on the wing. The patch extends from the apical margin of wing to the third longitudinal vein. Field and laboratory studies have been carried out in D. biarmipes to study role of male's wing patch in mating success. The field study shows that nature favors D. biarmipes males with patch. Although males without patch mated, males with patch have higher mating success suggesting the role of wing patch during courtship. Further, among mating males, males with patch had longer wings than males without patch. During courtship, males with patch oriented and mated faster; performed courtship acts such as tapping, scissoring, vibration, licking and twist dance more times than males without patch in both competitive and non-competitive situations. The results indicate that there is a casual relationship between the presence of wing patch, mating speed and success. Also there is a correlation between presence of wing patch, size of the flies and mating success.
Development and characterization of mucoadhesive buccal patches of salbutamol sulphate.
Patel, Rajesh Singh; Poddar, S S
2009-01-01
Mucoadhesive patch releasing the drug in the oral cavity at predetermined rate may present distinct advantages over traditional dosage forms such as tablets, gels and solutions. The present study was concerned with the preparation and evaluation of mucoadhesive buccal patches for the controlled systemic delivery of Salbutamol sulphate to avoid first pass hepatic metabolism. The developed patches were evaluated for the physicochemical, mechanical and drug release characteristics. The patches showed desired mechanical and physicochemical properties to withstand environment of oral cavity. The in-vitro release study showed that patches could deliver drug to the oral mucosa for a period of 7 h. the patches exhibited adequate stability when tested under accelerated conditions.
Correlation of open cell-attached and excised patch clamp techniques.
Filipovic, D; Hayslett, J P
1995-11-01
The excised patch clamp configuration provides a unique technique for some types of single channel analyses, but maintenance of stable, long-lasting preparations may be confounded by rundown and/or rapid loss of seal. Studies were performed on the amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel, located on the apical surface of A6 cells, to determine whether the nystatin-induced open cell-attached patch could serve as an alternative configuration. Compared to excised inside-out patches, stable preparations were achieved more readily with the open cell-attached patch (9% vs. 56% of attempts). In both preparations, the current voltage (I-V) relation was linear, current amplitudes were equal at opposite equivalent clamped voltages, and Erev was zero in symmetrical Na+ solutions, indicating similar Na+ activities on the cytosolic and external surfaces of the patch. Moreover, there was no evidence that nystatin altered channel activity in the patch because slope conductance (3-4pS) and Erev (75 mV), when the bath was perfused with a high K:low Na solution (ENa = 80 mV), were nearly equal in both patch configurations. Our results therefore indicate that the nystatin-induced open cell-attached patch can serve as an alternative approach to the excised inside-out patch when experiments require modulation of univalent ions in the cytosol.
A new low-complexity patch-based image super-resolution
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasti, Pejman; Nasrollahi, Kamal; Orlova, Olga
2017-01-01
through an illumination enhancement process resulting in consistency of illumination between neigh- bour patches. This process is applied to all patches of the LR image. Finally, in order to remove the blocking effect caused by merging the patches, an average of the obtained HR image and the interpolated...
Force-controlled patch clamp of beating cardiac cells.
Ossola, Dario; Amarouch, Mohamed-Yassine; Behr, Pascal; Vörös, János; Abriel, Hugues; Zambelli, Tomaso
2015-03-11
From its invention in the 1970s, the patch clamp technique is the gold standard in electrophysiology research and drug screening because it is the only tool enabling accurate investigation of voltage-gated ion channels, which are responsible for action potentials. Because of its key role in drug screening, innovation efforts are being made to reduce its complexity toward more automated systems. While some of these new approaches are being adopted in pharmaceutical companies, conventional patch-clamp remains unmatched in fundamental research due to its versatility. Here, we merged the patch clamp and atomic force microscope (AFM) techniques, thus equipping the patch-clamp with the sensitive AFM force control. This was possible using the FluidFM, a force-controlled nanopipette based on microchanneled AFM cantilevers. First, the compatibility of the system with patch-clamp electronics and its ability to record the activity of voltage-gated ion channels in whole-cell configuration was demonstrated with sodium (NaV1.5) channels. Second, we showed the feasibility of simultaneous recording of membrane current and force development during contraction of isolated cardiomyocytes. Force feedback allowed for a gentle and stable contact between AFM tip and cell membrane enabling serial patch clamping and injection without apparent cell damage.
Living cardiac patch: the elixir for cardiac regeneration.
Lakshmanan, Rajesh; Krishnan, Uma Maheswari; Sethuraman, Swaminathan
2012-12-01
A thorough understanding of the cellular and muscle fiber orientation in left ventricular cardiac tissue is of paramount importance for the generation of artificial cardiac patches to treat the ischemic myocardium. The major challenge faced during cardiac patch engineering is to choose a perfect combination of three entities; cells, scaffolds and signaling molecules comprising the tissue engineering triad for repair and regeneration. This review provides an overview of various scaffold materials, their mechanical properties and fabrication methods utilized in cardiac patch engineering. Stem cell therapies in clinical trials and the commercially available cardiac patch materials were summarized in an attempt to provide a recent perspective in the treatment of heart failure. Various tissue engineering strategies employed thus far to construct viable thick cardiac patches is schematically illustrated. Though many strategies have been proposed for fabrication of various cardiac scaffold materials, the stage and severity of the disease condition demands the incorporation of additional cues in a suitable scaffold material. The scaffold may be nanofibrous patch, hydrogel or custom designed films. Integration of stem cells and biomolecular cues along with the scaffold may provide the right microenvironment for the repair of unhealthy left ventricular tissue as well as promote its regeneration.
Dermoscopy of shagreen patch: A first report
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shivanand Gundalli
2015-07-01
Full Text Available The name is derived from French phrase peau chagrinee which is usually found on lower back, buttock and thigh. The major manifestations of Tuberous sclerosis include skin lesions in more than 95%, mental retardation in approximately 50%, autism, seizures in approximately 85%. The incidence at birth is estimated to be 1 in 5800. We report case of shagreen patch in a 27 year female which is present since birth. However there is no history of seizures or consanginous marriage in our case. Associated features are naevus comedonicus and naevus collagenosis, facial angiofibroma. Shagreen patch are present in mandibular area of face. Although, diagnosis is easy, it can be mistaken for inflammatory verrucous epidermal nevus, plaques of other inflammatory skin conditions. Diagnosis is usually on clinical background. Sometimes biopsy is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Dermoscopy, a non-invasive, in vivo technique for the microscopic examination of pigmented skin lesions, has the potential to improve the diagnostic accuracy. Dermoscopy of Shagreen patch showed reddish-brown strands with white dots giving a cobblestone appearance It can be utilized as a diagnostic aide in the diagnosis of Shagreen patch. Authors evaluated the dermoscopic patterns of Shagreen patch and hence, it is useful in diagnosis.
Patch dynamics of a foraging assemblage of bees.
Wright, David Hamilton
1985-03-01
The composition and dynamics of foraging assemblages of bees were examined from the standpoint of species-level arrival and departure processes in patches of flowers. Experiments with bees visiting 4 different species of flowers in subalpine meadows in Colorado gave the following results: 1) In enriched patches the rates of departure of bees were reduced, resulting in increases in both the number of bees per species and the average number of species present. 2) The reduction in bee departure rates from enriched patches was due to mechanical factors-increased flower handling time, and to behavioral factors-an increase in the number of flowers visited per inflorescence and in the number of inflorescences visited per patch. Bees foraging in enriched patches could collect nectar 30-45% faster than those foraging in control patches. 3) The quantitative changes in foraging assemblages due to enrichment, in terms of means and variances of species population sizes, fraction of time a species was present in a patch, and in mean and variance of the number of species present, were in reasonable agreement with predictions drawn from queuing theory and studies in island biogeography. 4) Experiments performed with 2 species of flowers with different corolla tube lengths demonstrated that manipulation of resources of differing availability had unequal effects on particular subsets of the larger foraging community. The arrival-departure process of bees on flowers and the immigration-extinction process of species on islands are contrasted, and the value of the stochastic, species-level approach to community composition is briefly discussed.
Patch Type Granuloma Annulare Imitating Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Şeval Doğruk Kaçar
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Granuloma annulare (GA is a benign inflammatory skin disease with distinct clinical and histopathological findings. Patch type GA is described with erythematous patches beyond the classical clinical appearance and an interstitial pattern is observed without histopathologically granulomas with disseminated histiocytes among collagen bundles and vessels. Here we report 46 year old woman diagnosed as patch type GA after a punch biopsy performed from the annular bordered patches in belly area, which is a classical area for mycosis fungoides (MF evolution, and lesions increasingly spreading out within a 2 year period.
Quantitative Analysis of Range Image Patches by NEB Method
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wang Wen
2017-01-01
Full Text Available In this paper we analyze sampled high dimensional data with the NEB method from a range image database. Select a large random sample of log-valued, high contrast, normalized, 8×8 range image patches from the Brown database. We make a density estimator and we establish 1-dimensional cell complexes from the range image patch data. We find topological properties of 8×8 range image patches, prove that there exist two types of subsets of 8×8 range image patches modelled as a circle.
Laparoscopic repair of perforated peptic ulcer: patch versus simple closure.
Abd Ellatif, M E; Salama, A F; Elezaby, A F; El-Kaffas, H F; Hassan, A; Magdy, A; Abdallah, E; El-Morsy, G
2013-01-01
Laparoscopic correction of perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) has become an accepted way of management. Patch omentoplasty stayed for decades the main method of repair. The goal of the present study was to evaluate whether laparoscopic simple repair of PPU is as safe as patch omentoplasty. Since June 2005, 179 consecutive patients of PPU were treated by laparoscopic repair at our centers. We conducted a retrospective chart review in December 2012. Group I (patch group) included patients who were treated with standard patch omentoplasty. Group II (non-patch group) included patients who received simple repair without patch. From June 2007 to Dec. 2012, 179 consecutive patients of PPU who were treated by laparoscopic repair at our centers were enrolled in this multi-center retrospective study. 108 patients belong to patch group. While 71 patients were treated with laparoscopic simple repair. Operative time was significantly shorter in group II (non patch) (p = 0.01). No patient was converted to laparotomy. There was no difference in age, gender, ASA score, surgical risk (Boey's) score, and incidence of co-morbidities. Both groups were comparable in terms of hospital stay, time to resume oral intake, postoperative complications and surgical outcomes. Laparoscopic simple repair of PPU is a safe procedure compared with the traditional patch omentoplasty in presence of certain selection criteria. Copyright © 2013 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Effect of weed patch size on seed removal by harvester ants
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Westermann, Paula R.
2014-02-01
Full Text Available In dryland cereals in North-eastern Spain, the harvester ant, Messor barbarus L., is responsible for removal of a large proportion of the newly produced weed seeds (40-100%. The probability that seeds will be found by the ants may be influenced by weed patch size. To investigate this source of variability, 30 seed patches were created in each of three, 50 × 50 m, blocks in a cereal field after harvest, by sequentially seeding (10, 16 and 17 August 2010 with 2000 seeds m-2 of Avena sativa L.. Patch size varied from 0.25 to 9 m2. Twenty four hours after seeding, the remaining seeds were collected and seed removal rates estimated. Average seed removal rate was lowest in the smallest (78-94% and highest in the largest patches (99-100%. Differences were mainly caused by the fact that some of the smaller patches (9.7% were not found. However, when patches were found, they were exploited at equal rates (98-100%. As predicted, the probability of finding a patch increased slightly, but significantly, with increasing patch size. When a patch was found, it was almost always fully exploited, resulting in very high seed removal rates, irrespective of patch size. These results indicate that the size of the seed patch is only a minor source of variation influencing this form of biological control of weeds.
Sheng, Sheng; Ling, Meng; Fu-An, Wu; Baoping, Li
2015-01-01
Foraging parasitoids often must estimate local risk of predation just as they must estimate local patch value. Here, we investigate the effects a generalist predator Chlaenius bioculatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), has on the oviposition behavior and the patch residence decisions of a solitary parasitoid Meteorus pulchricornis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in response to the varying host quality of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae (L2 and L4). M. pulchricornis attacked more L4 than on L2 hosts, with the difference in attack rate varying depending on predation treatments, greater in the presence (either actively feeding or not) of the predator than in the absence of it. The parasitoid attacked fewer L2 and L4 hosts when the predator was actively feeding than when it was not feeding or not present in the patch. M. pulchricornis decreased the patch leaving tendency with increasing rejections of hosts, but increased the tendency in response to the presence of the predator as compared with the absence of it, and furthermore, increased the patch leaving tendency when the predator was actively feeding as compared with when it was not. Our study suggests that M. pulchricornis can exploit high quality patches while minimizing predation risk, by attacking more hosts in high quality patches while reducing total patch time in response to risk of predation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.
Multi-patch matching for person re-identification
Labidi, Hocine; Luo, Sen-Lin; Boubekeur, Mohamed B.; Benlefki, Tarek
2015-08-01
Recognizing a target object across non-overlapping distributed cameras is known in the computer vision community as the problem of person re-identification. In this paper, a multi-patch matching method for person reidentification is presented. Starting from the assumption that: the appearance (clothes) of a person does not change during the time of passing in different cameras field of view , which means the regions with the same color in target image will be identical while crossing cameras. First, we extract distinctive features in the training procedure, where each image target is devised into small patches, the SIFT features and LAB color histograms are computed for each patch. Then we use the KNN approach to detect group of patches with high similarity in the target image and then we use a bi-directional weighted group matching mechanism for the re-identification. Experiments on a challenging VIPeR dataset show that the performances of the proposed method outperform several baselines and state of the art approaches.
Scale-adaptive Local Patches for Robust Visual Object Tracking
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kang Sun
2014-04-01
Full Text Available This paper discusses the problem of robustly tracking objects which undergo rapid and dramatic scale changes. To remove the weakness of global appearance models, we present a novel scheme that combines object’s global and local appearance features. The local feature is a set of local patches that geometrically constrain the changes in the target’s appearance. In order to adapt to the object’s geometric deformation, the local patches could be removed and added online. The addition of these patches is constrained by the global features such as color, texture and motion. The global visual features are updated via the stable local patches during tracking. To deal with scale changes, we adapt the scale of patches in addition to adapting the object bound box. We evaluate our method by comparing it to several state-of-the-art trackers on publicly available datasets. The experimental results on challenging sequences confirm that, by using this scale-adaptive local patches and global properties, our tracker outperforms the related trackers in many cases by having smaller failure rate as well as better accuracy.
Early life insults as determinants of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adult life
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Savran, Osman; Ulrik, Charlotte Suppli
2018-01-01
Background: Early life events may predispose to the development of chronic lung disease in adulthood. Aim: To provide an update on current knowledge of early nongenetic origins of COPD. Materials and methods: Systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items...... in utero and early life is a risk factor for subsequent development of COPD. Furthermore, low birth weight, lower respiratory tract infections and asthma, including wheezy bronchitis, in childhood also seem to be important determinants for later development of COPD. Early life insults may, therefore...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Takashi Kondoh
2010-06-01
Full Text Available Intravenous administration of arginine was shown to be protective against cerebral ischemic insults via nitric oxide production and possibly via additional mechanisms. The present study aimed at evaluating the neuroprotective effects of oral administration of lysine (a basic amino acid, arginine, and their combination on ischemic insults (cerebral edema and infarction and hemispheric brain swelling induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion in rats. Magnetic resonance imaging and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining were performed two days after ischemia induction. In control animals, the major edematous areas were observed in the cerebral cortex and striatum. The volumes associated with cortical edema were significantly reduced by lysine (2.0 g/kg, arginine (0.6 g/kg, or their combined administration (0.6 g/kg each. Protective effects of these amino acids on infarction were comparable to the inhibitory effects on edema formation. Interestingly, these amino acids, even at low dose (0.6 g/kg, were effective to reduce hemispheric brain swelling. Additionally, the effects of in vivo microiontophoretic (juxtaneuronal applications of these amino acids on glutamate-evoked neuronal activity in the ventromedial hypothalamus were investigated in awake rats. Glutamate-induced neuronal activity was robustly inhibited by microiontophoretic applications of lysine or arginine onto neuronal membranes. Taken together, our results demonstrate the neuroprotective effects of oral ingestion of lysine and arginine against ischemic insults (cerebral edema and infarction, especially in the cerebral cortex, and suggest that suppression of glutamate-induced neuronal activity might be the primary mechanism associated with these neuroprotective effects.
Rabies vaccination in dogs using a dissolving microneedle patch.
Arya, Jaya M; Dewitt, Kristopher; Scott-Garrard, Maya; Chiang, Yu-Wei; Prausnitz, Mark R
2016-10-10
Because humans get rabies primarily through dog bites, stray dog population control and mass or mandatory vaccination of domestic dogs and other animals has virtually eliminated human rabies in industrialized countries. However, thousands of people in developing countries die of rabies each year due to the inability to control dog populations and implement mass vaccination because of financial, logistical and other challenges. The availability of an easier-to-administer and more cost-effective vaccine may help to address some of these issues. Here, we propose the use of dissolving microneedle patches for simple and potentially cost-effective rabies vaccination, and assess the safety and immunogenicity of microneedle patch vaccination using a rabies DNA vaccine in dogs. The vaccine was stable upon formulation and storage for at least 3weeks at 4°C in a microneedle patch. For vaccination, the patches were applied to the inner ear by hand without an applicator. Microneedle patches were well tolerated in the skin, with mild erythema, minimal wheal formation and complete resolution of skin reactions within 7days, and generated no systemic adverse events. Microneedle patches were at least as immunogenic as intramuscular injection at the same dose, as demonstrated by similar serum neutralizing antibody titers. A ten-fold lower vaccine dose administered by microneedle patch generated a weaker immune response compared to full-dose intramuscular vaccination. We conclude that dissolving microneedle patches may provide an innovative approach to mass vaccination of dogs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Fine-Tuning on the Effective Patch Radius Expression of the Circular Microstrip Patch Antennas
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. E. Yilmaz
2010-09-01
Full Text Available In this study, the effective patch radius expression for the circular microstrip antennas is improved by means of several manipulations. Departing from previously proposed equations in the literature, one of the most accurate equations is picked up, and this equation is fine-tuned by means of Particle Swarm Optimization technique. Throughout the study, impacts of other parameters (such as the definition of the fitness/objective function, the degree-of-freedom in the proposed effective patch radius expression, the number of measured resonant frequency values are observed in a controlled manner. Finally, about 3% additional improvement is achieved over a very accurate formula, which was proposed earlier.
Arya, Jaya; Henry, Sebastien; Kalluri, Haripriya; McAllister, Devin V; Pewin, Winston P; Prausnitz, Mark R
2017-06-01
To support translation of microneedle patches from pre-clinical development into clinical trials, this study examined the effect of microneedle patch application on local skin reactions, reliability of use and acceptability to patients. Placebo patches containing dissolving microneedles were administered to fifteen human participants. Microneedle patches were well tolerated in the skin with no pain or swelling and only mild erythema localized to the site of patch administration that resolved fully within seven days. Microneedle patches could be administered by hand without the need of an applicator and delivery efficiencies were similar for investigator-administration and self-administration. Microneedle patch administration was not considered painful and the large majority of subjects were somewhat or fully confident that they self-administered patches correctly. Microneedle patches were overwhelmingly preferred over conventional needle and syringe injection. Altogether, these results demonstrate that dissolving microneedle patches were well tolerated, easily usable and strongly accepted by human subjects, which will facilitate further clinical translation of this technology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Mechanism of inhibition of the tumor suppressor Patched by Sonic Hedgehog.
Tukachinsky, Hanna; Petrov, Kostadin; Watanabe, Miyako; Salic, Adrian
2016-10-04
The Hedgehog cell-cell signaling pathway is crucial for animal development, and its misregulation is implicated in numerous birth defects and cancers. In unstimulated cells, pathway activity is inhibited by the tumor suppressor membrane protein, Patched. Hedgehog signaling is triggered by the secreted Hedgehog ligand, which binds and inhibits Patched, thus setting in motion the downstream events in signal transduction. Despite its critical importance, the mechanism by which Hedgehog antagonizes Patched has remained unknown. Here, we show that vertebrate Patched1 inhibition is caused by direct, palmitate-dependent interaction with the Sonic Hedgehog ligand. We find that a short palmitoylated N-terminal fragment of Sonic Hedgehog binds Patched1 and, strikingly, is sufficient to inhibit it and to activate signaling. The rest of Sonic Hedgehog confers high-affinity Patched1 binding and internalization through a distinct binding site, but, surprisingly, it is not absolutely required for signaling. The palmitate-dependent interaction with Patched1 is specifically impaired in a Sonic Hedgehog mutant causing human holoprosencephaly, the most frequent congenital brain malformation, explaining its drastically reduced potency. The palmitate-dependent interaction is also abolished in constitutively inhibited Patched1 point mutants causing the Gorlin cancer syndrome, suggesting that they might adopt a conformation distinct from the wild type. Our data demonstrate that Sonic Hedgehog signals via the palmitate-dependent arm of a two-pronged contact with Patched1. Furthermore, our results suggest that, during Hedgehog signaling, ligand binding inhibits Patched by trapping it in an inactive conformation, a mechanism that explains the dramatically reduced activity of oncogenic Patched1 mutants.
Dye-enhanced protein solders and patches in laser-assisted tissue welding.
Small, W; Heredia, N J; Maitland, D J; Da Silva, L B; Matthews, D L
1997-01-01
This study examines the use of dye-enhanced protein bonding agents in 805 nm diode laser-assisted tissue welding. A comparison of an albumin liquid solder and collagen solid-matrix patches used to repair arteriotomies in an in vitro porcine model is presented. Extrinsic bonding media in the form of solders and patches have been used to enhance the practice of laser tissue welding. Preferential absorption of the laser wavelength has been achieved by the incorporation of chromophores. Both the solder and the patch included indocyanine green dye (ICG) to absorb the 805 nm continuous-wave diode laser light used to perform the welds. Solder-mediated welds were divided into two groups (high power/short exposure and low power/long exposure), and the patches were divided into three thickness groups ranging from 0.1 to 1.3 mm. The power used to activate the patches was constant, but the exposure time was increased with patch thickness. Burst pressure results indicated that solder-mediated and patched welds yielded similar average burst strengths in most cases, but the patches provided a higher success rate (i.e., more often exceeded 150 mmHg) and were more consistent (i.e., smaller standard deviation) than the solder. The strongest welds were obtained using 1.0-1.3 mm thick patches, while the high power/short exposure solder group was the weakest. Though the solder and patches yielded similar acute weld strengths, the solid-matrix patches facilitated the welding process and provided consistently strong welds. The material properties of the extrinsic agents influenced their performance.
Crossing boundaries: women's gossip, insults and violence in sixteenth-century France.
Lipscomb, Suzannah
2011-01-01
Using evidence from cases recorded in the registers of the consistories of southern France, the author investigates the way in which Languedocian women policed each other's behaviour, enforcing a collective morality through gossip, sexual insult and physical confrontation. In contrast to case studies by other historians, it is argued here that gossip does appear to have been a peculiarly female activity, but far more than simply being an outlet for malice or prurience, it gave women a distinctive social role in the town. No less evident is the involvement of women in physical violence both against each other and against men, violence which, though less extreme than its male counterpart, nonetheless occupies a significant role in the proceedings of the consistories.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Jesper; Lawall, Julia Laetitia
2008-01-01
A key issue in maintaining Linux device drivers is the need to update drivers in response to evolutions in Linux internal libraries. Currently, there is little tool support for performing and documenting such changes. In this paper we present a tool, spfind, that identifies common changes made...... developers can use it to extract an abstract representation of the set of changes that others have made. Our experiments on recent changes in Linux show that the inferred generic patches are more concise than the corresponding patches found in commits to the Linux source tree while being safe with respect...
Results of patch testing in 10 patients with peristomal dermatitis.
Landis, Megan N; Keeling, James H; Yiannias, James A; Richardson, Donna M; Nordberg Linehan, Diane L; Davis, Mark D P
2012-09-01
Peristomal dermatitis is a common problem in patients with ostomies that is a source of considerable morbidity. Irritant contact dermatitis is most common, but allergic contact dermatitis can also occur. Because of the lack of published reports on patch testing for this indication, we undertook a retrospective study of patch testing results in patients with suspected peristomal allergic contact dermatitis. We sought to describe our patch testing experience with patients referred with peristomal dermatitis. This was a retrospective review of medical records of patients with ostomies and peristomal dermatitis who underwent patch testing in the Mayo Clinic Departments of Dermatology in Jacksonville, FL; Rochester, MN; and Scottsdale, AZ, during a 10-year period (2000-2010). Ten patients with peristomal dermatitis were referred for patch testing (6 in Minnesota, 2 in Florida, and 2 in Arizona). Patients were patch tested to the materials used in their stoma devices, to the standard series, and in some cases to supplemental series. All 10 had at least one allergic patch test reaction, most commonly to stoma paste (3 of 10 patients). Retrospective nature of study via chart review is a limitation. Patch testing is a useful tool for identification of allergens in patients with peristomal dermatitis. Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Stevens, R.H.; Cheng, H.F.
1987-01-01
The possible existence of a genealogical memory consisting of altered lymphocyte proliferative responses to a perinatal iodine-131 insult has been investigated in two generations of inbred Fischer F344 rat offspring. The studies which involved exposure to the radioiodine during late pregnancy with concentrations ranging from 1.85 MBq (50 μCi) to 7.4 MBq (200 μCi) revealed that only the peripheral blood T lymphocytes of the first generation male animals were significantly affected. These animals were found to possess T lymphocytes which exhibited increased proliferative responses expressed toward the mitogens concanavalin A and phytohemagglutin; however, no significant changes were noticeable in their B cell population following exposure to lipopolysaccharide. Neither the first generation females nor the male and female offspring of the second generation developed through sibling interbreeding seemed to be affected, this was unlike the cellular, humoral, and natural immunity which had previously been observed to be changed in both the second and third generation animals. These observations suggest that the effects of the radiation insult upon immunocompetency as measured by lymphocyte proliferation do not appear to be inherited
Effect of novel mucoadhesive buccal patches of carvedilol on isoprenaline-induced tachycardia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Navneet Verma
2014-01-01
Full Text Available The main aim of the study was designed to develop bioadhesive buccal patches of carvedilol (CR and evaluate for isoprenaline-induced tachycardia. Buccal patches of carvedilol were prepared by using chitosan (CH, sodium salt of carboxy methyl cellulose (NaCMC, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA as mucoadhesive polymers. The solvent evaporation method was used for the preparation of buccal patches. The patches were evaluated for their physical characteristics like patch thickness, weight variation, content uniformity, folding endurance, surface pH, residence time, in vitro drug release, and in vivo pharmacodynamic study. The swelling index of the patches was found to be proportional to the polymer concentration, whereas surface pH of all the formulated bioadhesive patches was found to lie between neutral ranges. In-vitro release study shows that 94.75% drug was release in 8 hours from the patch, which containing 2% w/v chitosan. The folding endurance result shows good elasticity in all the patches.Application of buccal patches on buccal mucosa of rabbit shows a significant result in % inhibition of isoprenaline-induced tachycardia. Prepared buccal patches of chitosan, NaCMC, and PVA containing Carvedilol meet the ideal requirement for the delivery of cardiovascular drugs and inhibit the isoprenaline tachycardia.
Grassland Fire and Cattle Grazing Regulate Reptile and Amphibian Assembly Among Patches
Larson, Danelle M.
2014-12-01
Fire and grazing are common management schemes of grasslands globally and are potential drivers of reptilian and amphibian (herpetofauna) metacommunity dynamics. Few studies have assessed the impacts of fire and cattle grazing on herpetofauna assemblages in grasslands. A patch-burn grazing study at Osage Prairie, MO, USA in 2011-2012 created landscape patches with treatments of grazing, fire, and such legacies. Response variables were measured before and after the application of treatments, and I used robust-design occupancy modeling to estimate patch occupancy and detection rate within patches, and recolonization and extinction (i.e., dispersal) across patches. I conducted redundancy analysis and a permuted multivariate analysis of variance to determine if patch type and the associated environmental factors explained herpetofauna assemblage. Estimates for reptiles indicate that occupancy was seasonally constant in Control patches ( ψ ~ 0.5), but declined to ψ ~ 0.15 in patches following the applications of fire and grazing. Local extinctions for reptiles were higher in patches with fire or light grazing ( ɛ ~ 0.7) compared to the controls. For the riparian herpetofaunal community, patch type and grass height were important predictors of abundance; further, the turtles, lizards, snakes, and adult amphibians used different patch types. The aquatic amphibian community was predicted by watershed and in-stream characteristics, irrespective of fire or grazing. The varying responses from taxonomic groups demonstrate habitat partitioning across multiple patch types undergoing fire, cattle grazing, and legacy effects. Prairies will need an array of patch types to accommodate multiple herpetofauna species.
Patch dynamics and metapopulation theory: the case of successional species.
Amarasekare, P; Possingham, H
2001-04-07
We present a mathematical framework that combines extinction-colonization dynamics with the dynamics of patch succession. We draw an analogy between the epidemiological categorization of individuals (infected, susceptible, latent and resistant) and the patch structure of a spatially heterogeneous landscape (occupied-suitable, empty-suitable, occupied-unsuitable and empty-unsuitable). This approach allows one to consider life-history attributes that influence persistence in patchy environments (e.g., longevity, colonization ability) in concert with extrinsic processes (e.g., disturbances, succession) that lead to spatial heterogeneity in patch suitability. It also allows the incorporation of seed banks and other dormant life forms, thus broadening patch occupancy dynamics to include sink habitats. We use the model to investigate how equilibrium patch occupancy is influenced by four critical parameters: colonization rate, extinction rate, disturbance frequency and the rate of habitat succession. This analysis leads to general predictions about how the temporal scaling of patch succession and extinction-colonization dynamics influences long-term persistence. We apply the model to herbaceous, early-successional species that inhabit open patches created by periodic disturbances. We predict the minimum disturbance frequency required for viable management of such species in the Florida scrub ecosystem. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.
Skin patch and vaginal ring versus combined oral contraceptives for contraception.
Lopez, Laureen M; Grimes, David A; Gallo, Maria F; Stockton, Laurie L; Schulz, Kenneth F
2013-04-30
The delivery of combination contraceptive steroids from a transdermal contraceptive patch or a contraceptive vaginal ring offers potential advantages over the traditional oral route. The transdermal patch and vaginal ring could require a lower dose due to increased bioavailability and improved user compliance. To compare the contraceptive effectiveness, cycle control, compliance (adherence), and safety of the contraceptive patch or the vaginal ring versus combination oral contraceptives (COCs). Through February 2013, we searched MEDLINE, POPLINE, CENTRAL, LILACS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ICTRP for trials of the contraceptive patch or the vaginal ring. Earlier searches also included EMBASE. For the initial review, we contacted known researchers and manufacturers to identify other trials. We considered randomized controlled trials comparing a transdermal contraceptive patch or a contraceptive vaginal ring with a COC. Data were abstracted by two authors and entered into RevMan. For dichotomous variables, the Peto odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated. For continuous variables, the mean difference was computed. We also assessed the quality of evidence for this review. We found 18 trials that met our inclusion criteria. Of six patch studies, five examined the marketed patch containing norelgestromin plus ethinyl estradiol (EE); one studied a patch in development that contains levonorgestrel (LNG) plus EE. Of 12 vaginal ring trials, 11 examined the same marketing ring containing etonogestrel plus EE; one studied a ring being developed that contains nesterone plus EE.Contraceptive effectiveness was not significantly different for the patch or ring versus the comparison COC. Compliance data were limited. Patch users showed better compliance than COC users in three trials. For the norelgestromin plus EE patch, ORs were 2.05 (95% CI 1.83 to 2.29) and 2.76 (95% CI 2.35 to 3.24). In the levonorgestrel plus EE patch report, patch users were less
The art and science of mission patches and their origins in society
Brumfitt, A.; Thompson, L. A.; Raitt, D.
2008-06-01
Space exploration utilizes some of the latest and highest technology available to human kind; synonymous with space exploration is the mission patch. This specialized art form popularizes the exploration of space with millions of mission patches sold around the world. Space tourism and education centres like the Kennedy Space Centre rely heavily on each space shuttle launch to support their merchandising of mission patches, from the traditional sew on badge to T shirts. Do mission patches tell a story? Are they Art? What is the origin and role of this art form in society? The art form of space mission patches combines the 21st century relevance with heraldic origins predating the ninth century. The space mission patch is designed by the astronauts themselves if it is a manned mission. As an education tool teachers and educators use the space mission patch to engage their students in the excitement of space exploration, the mission patch design is utilized as an education tool in literature, science and art. The space mission patch is a particularly powerful message medium. This paper looks at the origins of the space mission patch, its relevance to art and its impact on society.
Experimental patch testing with chromium-coated materials.
Bregnbak, David; Thyssen, Jacob P; Jellesen, Morten S; Zachariae, Claus; Johansen, Jeanne D
2017-06-01
Chromium coatings on metal alloys can be decorative, and prevent corrosion and metal ion release. We recently showed that handling of a chromium-containing disc resulted in chromium deposition on the skin. To examine patch test reactivity to chromium-coated discs. We included 15 patients: 10 chromium-allergic patients, and 5 patients without chromium allergy. All were patch tested with potassium dichromate, cobalt chloride, nickel sulfate, and nine different metallic discs. The chromium-allergic patients were also patch tested with serial dilutions of potassium dichromate. Positive/weaker reactions were observed to disc B (1 of 10), disc C (1 of 10), and disc D, disc E, and disc I (4 of 10 each). As no controls reacted to any of the discs, the weak reactions indicate allergic reactions. Positive patch test reactions to 1770 ppm chromium(VI) in the serial dilutions of potassium dichromate were observed in 7 of 10 patients. When the case group was narrowed down to include only the patients with a current positive patch test reaction to potassium dichromate, elicitation of dermatitis by both chromium(III) and chromium(VI) discs was observed in 4 of 7 of patients. Many of the patients reacted to both chromium(III) and chromium(VI) surfaces. Our results indicate that both chromium(VI) and chromium(III) pose a risk to chromium-allergic patients. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Diurnal and seasonal occurrence of polar patches
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. S. Rodger
1996-05-01
Full Text Available Analysis of the diurnal and seasonal variation of polar patches, as identified in two years of HF-radar data from Halley, Antarctica during a period near sunspot maximum, shows that there is a broad maximum in occurrence centred about magnetic noon, not local noon. There are minima in occurrence near midsummer and midwinter, with maxima in occurrence between equinox and winter. There are no significant correlations between the occurrence of polar patches and the corresponding hourly averages of the solar wind and IMF parameters, except that patches usually occur when the interplanetary magnetic field has a southward component. The results can be understood in terms of UT and seasonal differences in the plasma concentration being convected from the dayside ionosphere into the polar cap. In summer and winter the electron concentrations in the polar cap are high and low, respectively, but relatively unstructured. About equinox, a tongue of enhanced ionisation is convected into the polar cap; this tongue is then structured by the effects of the interplanetary magnetic field, but these Halley data cannot be used to separate the various competing mechanisms for patch formation. The observed diurnal and seasonal variation in the occurrence of polar patches are largely consistent with predictions of Sojka et al. (1994 when their results are translated into the southern hemisphere. However, the ionospheric effects of flux transfer events are still considered essential in their formation, a feature not yet included in the Sojka et al. model.
An Electronic Patch for wearable health monitoring by reflectance pulse oximetry.
Haahr, Rasmus G; Duun, Sune B; Toft, Mette H; Belhage, Bo; Larsen, Jan; Birkelund, Karen; Thomsen, Erik V
2012-02-01
We report the development of an Electronic Patch for wearable health monitoring. The Electronic Patch is a new health monitoring system incorporating biomedical sensors, microelectronics, radio frequency (RF) communication, and a battery embedded in a 3-dimensional hydrocolloid polymer. In this paper the Electronic Patch is demonstrated with a new optical biomedical sensor for reflectance pulse oximetry so that the Electronic Patch in this case can measure the pulse and the oxygen saturation. The reflectance pulse oximetry solution is based on a recently developed annular backside silicon photodiode to enable low power consumption by the light emitting components. The Electronic Patch has a disposable part of soft adhesive hydrocolloid polymer and a reusable part of hard polylaurinlactam. The disposable part contains the battery. The reusable part contains the reflectance pulse oximetry sensor and microelectronics. The reusable part is 'clicked' into the disposable part when the patch is prepared for use. The patch has a size of 88 mm by 60 mm and a thickness of 5 mm.
Rotator cuff repair with a tendon-fibrocartilage-bone composite bridging patch.
Ji, Xiaoxi; Chen, Qingshan; Thoreson, Andrew R; Qu, Jin; An, Kai-Nan; Amadio, Peter C; Steinmann, Scott P; Zhao, Chunfeng
2015-11-01
To compare the mechanical performance of a rotator cuff repaired with a novel tendon-fibrocartilage-bone composite bridging patch vs the traditional Mason-Allen repair in an in vitro canine model. Twenty shoulders and 10 bridging patches from patellar tendon were harvested. The patches were trimmed and sliced into 2 layers. An infraspinatus tendon tear was created in each shoulder. Modified Mason-Allen sutures were used to repair the infraspinatus tendon to the greater tuberosity, with or without the bridging patch (bridging patch group and controls, respectively). Shoulders were loaded to failure under displacement control at a rate of 0.5mm/s. The ultimate tensile load was significantly higher in the bridging patch group than control (mean [SD], 365.46 [36.45] vs 272.79 [48.88] N; Pfibrocartilage-bone composite bridging patch achieved higher ultimate tensile load and stiffness at the patch-greater tuberosity repair site compared with traditional repair in a canine model. This composite tissue transforms the traditional tendon-to-bone healing interface (with dissimilar tissues) into a pair of bone-to-bone and tendon-to-tendon interfaces, which may improve healing quality and reduce retear rate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
EISCAT observations of plasma patches at sub-auroral cusp latitudes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. Moen
2006-09-01
Full Text Available A sequence of 3 patches of high-density (1012 m−3 cold plasma on a horizontal scale-size of 300–700 km was observed near magnetic noon by the EISCAT VHF radar above Svalbard on 17 December 2001. The patches followed a trajectory towards the cusp inflow region. The combination of radar and all-sky observations demonstrates that the patches must have been segmented equatorward of the cusp/cleft auroral display, and hence their properties had not yet been influenced by cusp particle showers and electrodynamics on open flux tubes. The last patch in the sequence was intersected by radio tomography observations, and was found to be located adjacent to a broader region of the same high electron density further south. The patches occurred under moderately active conditions (Kp=3 and the total electron content (TEC of the high-density plasma was 45 TEC units. The train of patches appeared as a segmentation of the tongue of ionization. The sequence of patches occurred in association with a sequence of flow bursts in the dusk cell return flow. It is proposed that reconnection driven pulsed convection is able to create sub-auroral patches in the region where high density mid-latitude plasma is diverted poleward toward the cusp. It is the downward Birkeland current sheet located at the equatorward boundary of the flow disturbance that represents the actual cutting mechanism.
EISCAT observations of plasma patches at sub-auroral cusp latitudes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. Moen
2006-09-01
Full Text Available A sequence of 3 patches of high-density (1012 m−3 cold plasma on a horizontal scale-size of 300–700 km was observed near magnetic noon by the EISCAT VHF radar above Svalbard on 17 December 2001. The patches followed a trajectory towards the cusp inflow region. The combination of radar and all-sky observations demonstrates that the patches must have been segmented equatorward of the cusp/cleft auroral display, and hence their properties had not yet been influenced by cusp particle showers and electrodynamics on open flux tubes. The last patch in the sequence was intersected by radio tomography observations, and was found to be located adjacent to a broader region of the same high electron density further south. The patches occurred under moderately active conditions (Kp=3 and the total electron content (TEC of the high-density plasma was 45 TEC units. The train of patches appeared as a segmentation of the tongue of ionization. The sequence of patches occurred in association with a sequence of flow bursts in the dusk cell return flow. It is proposed that reconnection driven pulsed convection is able to create sub-auroral patches in the region where high density mid-latitude plasma is diverted poleward toward the cusp. It is the downward Birkeland current sheet located at the equatorward boundary of the flow disturbance that represents the actual cutting mechanism.
CHORD simulation for insult assessment to the red bone marrow
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jones, T.D.
1976-09-01
Critical Human Organ Radiation Dosimetry (CHORD) probability density functions for A-P, P-A, bilateral, rotational, and isotropic incidence, plus simple depth-dose data, permit the rapid estimation of the radiation insult to the active red bone marrow system of the ICRP Reference Man. The CHORD concept follows the variations in the microscopic processes of absorption, attenuation, and scattering on a macroscopic level so that it is not necessary to attempt detailed calculations for each and every case of interest. Similar techniques have been applied to reactor criticality calculations and the general logic of the CHORD process can be applied to any cause-response type situation which can be described in terms of variation with distance in the medium of interest. Doses to active bone marrow from exposures to photons and neutrons are presented and excellent agreement is shown with the few available experimental results
Improved image registration by sparse patch-based deformation estimation.
Kim, Minjeong; Wu, Guorong; Wang, Qian; Lee, Seong-Whan; Shen, Dinggang
2015-01-15
Despite intensive efforts for decades, deformable image registration is still a challenging problem due to the potential large anatomical differences across individual images, which limits the registration performance. Fortunately, this issue could be alleviated if a good initial deformation can be provided for the two images under registration, which are often termed as the moving subject and the fixed template, respectively. In this work, we present a novel patch-based initial deformation prediction framework for improving the performance of existing registration algorithms. Our main idea is to estimate the initial deformation between subject and template in a patch-wise fashion by using the sparse representation technique. We argue that two image patches should follow the same deformation toward the template image if their patch-wise appearance patterns are similar. To this end, our framework consists of two stages, i.e., the training stage and the application stage. In the training stage, we register all training images to the pre-selected template, such that the deformation of each training image with respect to the template is known. In the application stage, we apply the following four steps to efficiently calculate the initial deformation field for the new test subject: (1) We pick a small number of key points in the distinctive regions of the test subject; (2) for each key point, we extract a local patch and form a coupled appearance-deformation dictionary from training images where each dictionary atom consists of the image intensity patch as well as their respective local deformations; (3) a small set of training image patches in the coupled dictionary are selected to represent the image patch of each subject key point by sparse representation. Then, we can predict the initial deformation for each subject key point by propagating the pre-estimated deformations on the selected training patches with the same sparse representation coefficients; and (4) we
Preparation of Mucoadhesive Patches for Buccal Administration of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Purpose: To develop mucoadhesive patches for buccal administration of metoprolol succinate and to evaluate their in vitro and in vivo bioadhesion. Methods: The mucoadhesive buccal patches were prepared by solvent casting technique using two different mucoadhesive polymers. The formulations were tested for in vitro ...
Mohammed, Nagat; Ceprian, Maria; Jimenez, Laura; Pazos, M Ruth; Martínez-Orgado, Jose
2017-01-01
A relevant therapeutic time window (TTW) is an important criterion for considering the clinical relevance of a substance preventing newborn hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain damage. To test the TTW of the neuroprotective effects of cannabidol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid in a model of newborn HI brain damage. 9-10 day-old C57BL6 mice underwent a HI insult (10% oxygen for 90 min after left carotid artery electrocoagulation). Then, CBD 1 mg/kg or vehicle were administered s.c. 15 min, or 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 or 24 h after the end of the HI insult. Seven days later brain damage was assessed using T2W Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan (ipsilateral hemisphere volume loss, IVHL) and histological studies: Nissl staining (neuropathological score), TUNEL staining (apoptotic damage) and immunohistochemistry with glial fibrillary acidic protein (astrocyte viability) or ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule (microglial activation). CBD administered up to 18 h after HI reduced IHVL and neuropathological score by 60%, TUNEL+ count by 90% and astrocyte damage by 50%. In addition, CBD blunted the HI-induced increase in microglial population. When CBD administration was delayed 24 h, however, the neuroprotective effect was lost in terms of IHVL, apoptosis or astrogliosis reduction. CBD shows a TTW of 18 h when administered to HI newborn mice, which represents a broader TTW than reported for other neuroprotective treatments including hypothermia. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.
p21-LacZ reporter mice reflect p53-dependent toxic insult
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Vasey, Douglas B.; Wolf, C. Roland; MacArtney, Thomas; Brown, Ken; Whitelaw, C. Bruce A.
2008-01-01
There is an urgent need to discover less toxic and more selective drugs to treat disease. The use of transgenic mice that report on toxic insult-induced transcription can provide a valuable tool in this regard. To exemplify this strategy, we have generated transgenic mice carrying a p21-LacZ transgene. Transgene activity reflected endogenous p21 gene activation in various tissues, displayed compound-specific spatial expression signatures in the brain and immune tissues and enabled p53-dependent and p53-independent responses to be identified. We discuss the application of these mice in delineating the molecular events in normal cellular growth and disease and for the evaluation of drug toxicity
Robust Tracking with Discriminative Ranking Middle-Level Patches
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hong Liu
2014-04-01
Full Text Available The appearance model has been shown to be essential for robust visual tracking since it is the basic criterion to locating targets in video sequences. Though existing tracking-by-detection algorithms have shown to be greatly promising, they still suffer from the drift problem, which is caused by updating appearance models. In this paper, we propose a new appearance model composed of ranking middle-level patches to capture more object distinctiveness than traditional tracking-by-detection models. Targets and backgrounds are represented by both low-level bottom-up features and high-level top-down patches, which can compensate each other. Bottom-up features are defined at the pixel level, and each feature gets its discrimination score through selective feature attention mechanism. In top-down feature extraction, rectangular patches are ranked according to their bottom-up discrimination scores, by which all of them are clustered into irregular patches, named ranking middle-level patches. In addition, at the stage of classifier training, the online random forests algorithm is specially refined to reduce drifting problems. Experiments on challenging public datasets and our test videos demonstrate that our approach can effectively prevent the tracker drifting problem and obtain competitive performance in visual tracking.
Nicotine patches in pregnant smokers: randomised, placebo controlled, multicentre trial of efficacy
Grangé, Gilles; Jacob, Nelly; Tanguy, Marie-Laure
2014-01-01
Objective To determine the efficacy of 16 hour nicotine patches among pregnant smokers, with the dose individually adjusted according to saliva cotinine levels (potential range 10-30 mg/day). Design Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group, multicentre trial (Study of Nicotine Patch in Pregnancy, SNIPP) between October 2007 and January 2013. Setting 23 maternity wards in France. Participants 476 pregnant smokers aged more than 18 years and between 12 and 20 weeks’ gestation, who smoked at least five cigarettes a day. After exclusions, 402 women were randomised: 203 to nicotine patches and 199 to placebo patches. Data were available on 192 live births in each group. Interventions Nicotine and identical placebo patches were administered from quit day up to the time of delivery. Doses were adjusted to saliva cotinine levels when smoking to yield a substitution rate of 100%. Participants were assessed monthly and received behavioural smoking cessation support. Main outcome measures The primary outcomes were complete abstinence (self report confirmed by carbon monoxide level in expired air ≤8 ppm) from quit date to delivery, and birth weight. The secondary outcomes were point prevalence of abstinence, time to lapse (a few puffs) or relapse, and delivery and birth characteristics. All data were analysed on an intention to treat basis. Results Complete abstinence was achieved by 5.5% (n=11) of women in the nicotine patch group and 5.1% (n=10) in the placebo patch group (odds ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 0.45 to 2.60). The median time to the first cigarette smoked after target quit day was 15 days in both groups (interquartile range 13-18 in the nicotine patch group, 13-20 in the placebo patch group). The point prevalence abstinence ranged from 8% to 12.5% in the nicotine patch group and 8% to 9.5% in the placebo patch group without statistically significant differences. The nicotine substitution rate did not differ from 100%, and the self
Using an index of habitat patch proximity for landscape design
Eric J. Gustafson; George R. Parker
1994-01-01
A proximity index (PX) inspired by island biogeography theory is described which quantifies the spatial context of a habitat patch in relation to its neighbors. The index distinguishes sparse distributions of small habitat patches from clusters of large patches. An evaluation of the relationship between PX and variation in the spatial characteristics of clusters of...
Robust Face Recognition via Multi-Scale Patch-Based Matrix Regression.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Guangwei Gao
Full Text Available In many real-world applications such as smart card solutions, law enforcement, surveillance and access control, the limited training sample size is the most fundamental problem. By making use of the low-rank structural information of the reconstructed error image, the so-called nuclear norm-based matrix regression has been demonstrated to be effective for robust face recognition with continuous occlusions. However, the recognition performance of nuclear norm-based matrix regression degrades greatly in the face of the small sample size problem. An alternative solution to tackle this problem is performing matrix regression on each patch and then integrating the outputs from all patches. However, it is difficult to set an optimal patch size across different databases. To fully utilize the complementary information from different patch scales for the final decision, we propose a multi-scale patch-based matrix regression scheme based on which the ensemble of multi-scale outputs can be achieved optimally. Extensive experiments on benchmark face databases validate the effectiveness and robustness of our method, which outperforms several state-of-the-art patch-based face recognition algorithms.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mose, Kristian Fredløv; Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Christensen, Lars Porskjaer
2013-01-01
The homogeneity of methacrylates in commercial patch test preparations has not yet been investigated. Inhomogeneous patch test preparations may give rise to false-negative or false-positive patch test results in patients suspected of having methacrylate allergy.......The homogeneity of methacrylates in commercial patch test preparations has not yet been investigated. Inhomogeneous patch test preparations may give rise to false-negative or false-positive patch test results in patients suspected of having methacrylate allergy....
Volatility of fragrance chemicals: patch testing implications.
Gilpin, Sarah J; Hui, Xiaoying; Maibach, Howard I
2009-01-01
Diagnostic and predictive patch testing to determine contact allergy due to fragrance materials requires applying a fixed dose of material to the skin. This dose can be affected by the volatile nature of fragrances; little data exist on how the loss of fragrance dose due to volatility affects patch testing. (1) To evaluate pH dependence and evaporation rates of two fragrance chemicals, geraniol, citronellol, and a common fragrance solvent, diethyl phthalate (DEP) and (2) Assess implications for predictive patch-testing methods for fragrances. pH analysis of each material at 1% for three values (4.0, 5.0, 7.0) was done over 40 hours. Volatility experiments for each material, nonradiolabeled and radiolabeled, were conducted over a 24-hour period, taking readings at six time points (5 minutes, 15 minutes, 40 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, and 24 hours). Evaporation rates were not sensitive to pH shifts from 4.0 to 7.0. Evaporation rates for nonradiolabeled materials were low: after 24 hours, geraniol lost 8.9%, citronellol 27.0% and DEP 14.5%. The volatility data for radiolabeled materials demonstrated that geraniol loses up to 39% of its dose, citronellol loses up to 26%, and DEP up to 14% within 40 minutes. The tendency of fragrance materials to evaporate can impact the dose being applied to the patch and therefore the result of the patch and ultimately the decision-making process regarding that fragrance material's safety. These data, developed with DEP, utilized in a predictive sensitization assay cannot be generalized.
A clinical study of transdermal contraceptive patch in Thai adolescence women.
Piyasirisilp, Rachatapon; Taneepanichskul, Surasak
2008-02-01
To study cycle control, compliance and safety of a transdermal contraceptive patch in adolescent Thai women. Fifty-eight healthy women were assigned to receive 3 cycles of contraceptive patch (ethinyl estradiol 20 microg and norelgestromin 150 microg/day). All participants aged 16-20 years were invited to participate from the family planning clinic at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Data were collected on adverse effects, perceived advantages and disadvantages, body weight, blood pressure, patch detachments and compliance. Data were analyzed using mean, percentage and student's t-test. The participants' average age was 19.4 years, height 158.8 cm, weight 51.8 kg, BMI 20.8 Kg/m2. The most location of patch application was the abdomen and the most adverse event was breast tenderness (31.0%) followed by application site reaction, nausea vomiting and headache respectively. The breast symptom was mild in severity. The participants reported decrease in dysmenorrhea and shorter duration of bleeding. There were no significant changes in body weight and blood pressure. The improvement of their facial acne was reported. There were no pregnancies during use and the adhesion of the contraceptive patch is excellent. Partial patch detachment was reported in only 6.9%. No completed patch detachment was found. The present study found an overall positive impression of a new transdermal contraceptive patch. The good compliance and few side effects were demonstrated. The adhesive patch contraceptive was excellent.
Planar patch clamp: advances in electrophysiology.
Brüggemann, Andrea; Farre, Cecilia; Haarmann, Claudia; Haythornthwaite, Ali; Kreir, Mohamed; Stoelzle, Sonja; George, Michael; Fertig, Niels
2008-01-01
Ion channels have gained increased interest as therapeutic targets over recent years, since a growing number of human and animal diseases have been attributed to defects in ion channel function. Potassium channels are the largest and most diverse family of ion channels. Pharmaceutical agents such as Glibenclamide, an inhibitor of K(ATP) channel activity which promotes insulin release, have been successfully sold on the market for many years. So far, only a small group of the known ion channels have been addressed as potential drug targets. The functional testing of drugs on these ion channels has always been the bottleneck in the development of these types of pharmaceutical compounds.New generations of automated patch clamp screening platforms allow a higher throughput for drug testing and widen this bottleneck. Due to their planar chip design not only is a higher throughput achieved, but new applications have also become possible. One of the advantages of planar patch clamp is the possibility of perfusing the intracellular side of the membrane during a patch clamp experiment in the whole-cell configuration. Furthermore, the extracellular membrane remains accessible for compound application during the experiment.Internal perfusion can be used not only for patch clamp experiments with cell membranes, but also for those with artificial lipid bilayers. In this chapter we describe how internal perfusion can be applied to potassium channels expressed in Jurkat cells, and to Gramicidin channels reconstituted in a lipid bilayer.
Successful application of large microneedle patches by human volunteers.
Ripolin, Anastasia; Quinn, James; Larrañeta, Eneko; Vicente-Perez, Eva Maria; Barry, Johanne; Donnelly, Ryan F
2017-04-15
We describe, for the first time, the design, production and evaluation of large microneedle patches. Such systems, based on 16 individual microneedle arrays (needle height 600μm), were prepared from aqueous blends of 15% w/w Gantrez ® S97 and 7.5% w/w poly(ethyleneglycol) 10,000Da. Ester-based crosslinking was confirmed by FTIR and mechanical strength was good. Insertion depths in a validated skin model were approximately 500μm. Ten human volunteers successfully self-inserted the microneedles of these larger patches in their skin, following appropriate instruction, as confirmed by transepidermal water loss measurements. The mean insertion depth ranged between 300 and 450μm over the area of the large patches. That this was not significantly different to a single unit MN patch self-applied by the same volunteers is encouraging. Microneedle patch sizes much larger than the 1-2cm 2 will be required if this technology is to be successfully translated to clinic for delivery of drug substances. The work described here suggests that use of such larger patches by patients can be successful, potentially opening up the possibility for a significant expansion of the size of the market for transdermal drug delivery. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Reaugh, J.E.
2008-01-01
The rapid release of chemical energy has found application for industrial and military purposes since the invention of gunpowder. Black powder, smokeless powder of various compositions, and pyrotechnics all exhibit the rapid release of energy without detonation when they are being used as designed. The rapidity of energy release for these materials is controlled by adjustments to the particle surface area (propellant grain configuration or powder particle size) in conjunction with the measured pressure-dependent burning rate, which is very subsonic. In this way a manufacturing process can be used to engineer the desired violence of the explosion. Detonations in molecular explosives, in contrast, propagate with a supersonic velocity that depends on the loading density, but is independent of the surface area. In ideal detonations, the reaction is complete within a small distance of the propagating shock front. Non-ideal detonations in molecular and composite explosives proceed with a slower velocity, and the reaction may continue well behind the shock front. We are developing models to describe the circumstances when molecular and composite explosives undergo a rapid release of energy without detonating. The models also apply to the behavior of rocket propellants subject to mechanical insult, whether for accidents (Hazards) or the suite of standardized tests used to assess whether the system can be designated an Insensitive Munition (IM). In the application described here, we are studying an HMX (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane) explosive developed in the UK, which is 91% by weight HMX and 9% binder-plasticizer. Most explosives and propellants, when subjected to a mechanical insult, drop or impact that is well below the threshold for detonation have been observed to react violently. This behavior is known as High Explosive Violent Reaction (HEVR). The basis of our model is the observation that the mechanical insult produces damage in a volume of the
Corridor Length and Patch Colonization by a Butterfly Junonia coenia
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nick Haddad
2000-06-01
Habitat corridors have been proposed to reduce patch isolation and increase population persistence in fragmented landscapes. This study tested whether patch colonization was increased by the presence and various length corridors. The specific butterfly species tested has been shown to use corridors, however, the results indicate that neither the distance between patches or the presence of a corridor influenced colonization.
Intelligent Patching of Conceptual Geometry for CFD Analysis
Li, Wu
2010-01-01
The iPatch computer code for intelligently patching surface grids was developed to convert conceptual geometry to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) geometry (see figure). It automatically uses bicubic B-splines to extrapolate (if necessary) each surface in a conceptual geometry so that all the independently defined geometric components (such as wing and fuselage) can be intersected to form a watertight CFD geometry. The software also computes the intersection curves of surface patches at any resolution (up to 10.4 accuracy) specified by the user, and it writes the B-spline surface patches, and the corresponding boundary points, for the watertight CFD geometry in the format that can be directly used by the grid generation tool VGRID. iPatch requires that input geometry be in PLOT3D format where each component surface is defined by a rectangular grid {(x(i,j), y(i,j), z(i,j)):1less than or equal to i less than or equal to m, 1 less than or equal to j less than or equal to n} that represents a smooth B-spline surface. All surfaces in the PLOT3D file conceptually represent a watertight geometry of components of an aircraft on the half-space y greater than or equal to 0. Overlapping surfaces are not allowed, but could be fixed by a utility code "fixp3d". The fixp3d utility code first finds the two grid lines on the two surface grids that are closest to each other in Hausdorff distance (a metric to measure the discrepancies of two sets); then uses one of the grid lines as the transition line, extending grid lines on one grid to the other grid to form a merged grid. Any two connecting surfaces shall have a "visually" common boundary curve, or can be described by an intersection relationship defined in a geometry specification file. The intersection of two surfaces can be at a conceptual level. However, the intersection is directional (along either i or j index direction), and each intersecting grid line (or its spine extrapolation) on the first surface should intersect
FDTD Analysis of U-Slot Rectangular Patch Antenna
Luk, K. M.; Tong, K. F.; Shum, S. M.; Lee, K. F.; Lee, R. Q.
1997-01-01
The U-slot rectangular patch antenna (Figure I) has been found experimentally to provide impedance and gain bandwidths of about 300 without the need of stacked or coplanar parasitic elements [1,2]. In this paper, simulation results of the U-slot patch using FDTD analysis are presented. Comparison with measured results are given.
Circularly Polarized Slotted Microstrip Patch Antenna with Finite Ground Plane
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sanyog Rawat
2012-12-01
Full Text Available In this paper a new geometry of circularly polarized patch antenna is proposed with improved bandwidth. The radiation performance of proposed patch antenna is investigated using IE3D simulation software and its performance is compared with that of conventional rectangular patch antenna. The simulated return loss, axial ratio and impedance with frequency for the proposed antenna are reported in this paper. It is shown that by selecting suitable ground-plane dimensions, air gap and location of the slots, the impedance bandwidth can be enhanced upto 10.15% as compared to conventional rectangular patch (4.24% with an axial ratio bandwidth of 4.05%.
Dry patch formed boiling and burnout in potassium pool boiling
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Michiyoshi, I.; Takenaka, N.; Takahashi, O.
1986-01-01
Experimental results are presented on dry patch formed boiling and burnout in saturated potassium pool boiling on a horizontal plane heater for system pressures from 30 to 760 torr and liquid levels from 5 to 50 mm. The dry patch formation occurs in the intermittent boiling which is often encountered when liquid alkali metals are used under relatively low pressure conditions. Burnout is caused from both continuous nucleate and dry patch formed boiling. The burnout heat flux together with nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficients are empirically correlated with system pressures. A model is also proposed to predict the minimum heat flux to form the dry patch. (author)
Use of rivastigmine transdermal patch in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Winblad, Bengt; Machado, João Carlos
2008-12-01
Cholinesterase inhibitors such as rivastigmine and donepezil exhibit a dose-response relationship, with higher doses of the drugs demonstrating greater efficacy. Transdermal patches provide smooth continuous drug delivery, with the potential to offer efficacious levels of drug exposure while avoiding the peaks and troughs associated with side effects. As a small, lipophilic and hydrophilic molecule, rivastigmine (C14H22N2O2) is chemically well-suited to transdermal delivery. The technology underlying the rivastigmine patch allows it to be discreetly small and thin. The target dose 9.5 mg/24 h rivastigmine patch has a diameter of just 3.5 cm and a surface area of 10 cm2. A large randomized controlled trial has demonstrated that the target dose 9.5 mg/24 h rivastigmine patch provided similar efficacy to the highest rivastigmine capsule doses, yet with three times fewer reports of nausea and vomiting. Thus, the rivastigmine patch enables quick and easy access to high dose efficacy. The skin tolerability profile is good, and the patch has demonstrated excellent adhesion. The apparent success of rivastigmine patch, in terms of clinical utility and patient acceptability, suggests that it may mark the next generation of dementia treatment.
Analgesic Microneedle Patch for Neuropathic Pain Therapy.
Xie, Xi; Pascual, Conrado; Lieu, Christopher; Oh, Seajin; Wang, Ji; Zou, Bende; Xie, Julian; Li, Zhaohui; Xie, James; Yeomans, David C; Wu, Mei X; Xie, Xinmin Simon
2017-01-24
Neuropathic pain caused by nerve injury is debilitating and difficult to treat. Current systemic pharmacological therapeutics for neuropathic pain produce limited pain relief and have undesirable side effects, while current local anesthetics tend to nonspecifically block both sensory and motor functions. Calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), a neuropeptide released from sensory nerve endings, appears to play a significant role in chronic neuropathic pain. In this study, an analgesic microneedle (AMN) patch was developed using dissolvable microneedles to transdermally deliver selective CGRP antagonist peptide in a painless manner for the treatment of localized neuropathic pain. Local analgesic effects were evaluated in rats by testing behavioral pain sensitivity in response to thermal and mechanical stimuli using neuropathic pain models such as spared-nerve injury and diabetic neuropathy pain, as well as neurogenic inflammatory pain model induced by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. Unlike several conventional therapies, the AMN patches produced effective analgesia on neuropathic pain without disturbing the normal nociception and motor function of the rat, resulting from the high specificity of the delivered peptide against CGRP receptors. The AMN patches did not cause skin irritation or systemic side effects. These results demonstrate that dissolvable microneedle patches delivering CGRP antagonist peptide provide an effective, safe, and simple approach to mitigate neuropathic pain with significant advantages over current treatments.
Continued evaluation of pothole patching equipment, materials, and processes.
2014-06-14
After the deaths of two Caltrans workers who were patching potholes in 2006-2007, Caltrans tasked the Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology (AHMCT) Research Center with developing a safer and more efficient means of patching pothol...
Patching the Exchange-Correlation Potential in Density Functional Theory.
Huang, Chen
2016-05-10
A method for directly patching exchange-correlation (XC) potentials in materials is derived. The electron density of a system is partitioned into subsystem densities by dividing its Kohn-Sham (KS) potential among the subsystems. Inside each subsystem, its projected KS potential is required to become the total system's KS potential. This requirement, together with the nearsightedness principle of electronic matters, ensures that the electronic structures inside subsystems can be good approximations to the total system's electronic structure. The nearsightedness principle also ensures that subsystem densities could be well localized in their regions, making it possible to use high-level methods to invert the XC potentials for subsystem densities. Two XC patching methods are developed. In the local XC patching method, the total system's XC potential is improved in the cluster region. We show that the coupling between a cluster and its environment is important for achieving a fast convergence of the electronic structure in the cluster region. In the global XC patching method, we discuss how to patch the subsystem XC potentials to construct the XC potential in the total system, aiming to scale up high-level quantum mechanics simulations of materials. Proof-of-principle examples are given.
Results of patch testing with lavender oil in Japan.
Sugiura, M; Hayakawa, R; Kato, Y; Sugiura, K; Hashimoto, R
2000-09-01
We report the annual results of patch testing with lavender oil for a 9-year period from 1990 to 1998 in Japan. Using Finn Chambers and Scanpor tape, we performed 2-day closed patch testing with lavender oil 20% pet. on the upper back of each patient suspected of having cosmetic contact dermatitis. We compared the frequency of positive patch tests to lavender oil each year with those to other fragrances. We diagnosed contact allergy when patch test reactions were + or Japan, there has been a trend for aromatherapy using lavender oil. With this trend, placing dried lavender flowers in pillows, drawers, cabinets, or rooms has become a new fashion. We asked patients who showed a positive reaction to lavender oil about their use of dried lavender flowers. We confirmed the use of dried lavender flowers in 5 cases out of 11 positive cases in 1997 and 8 out of 15 positive cases in 1998. We concluded that the increase in patch test positivity rates to lavender oil in 1997 and 1998 was due to the above fashion, rather than due to fragrances in cosmetic products.
Departure mechanisms for host search on high-density patches by the Meteorus pulchricornis.
Sheng, Sheng; Feng, Sufang; Meng, Ling; Li, Baoping
2014-01-01
Less attention has been paid to the parasitoid-host system in which the host occurs in considerably high density with a hierarchical patch structure in studies on time allocation strategies of parasitoids. This study used the parasitoid Meteorus pulchricornis (Wesmael) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and the Oriental leafworm, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) as the parasitoids-host model system to investigate patch-leaving mechanisms as affected by the high-host density, hierarchical patch structure, and foraging behaviors on both former and current patches. The results showed that three out of eight covariates tested had significant effects on the patch-leaving tendency, including the host density, ovipositor insertion, and host rejection on the current patch. The parasitoid paid more visits to the patch with high-density hosts. While the patch with higher host densities decreased the leaving tendency, the spatial distribution of hosts examined had no effect on the leaving tendency. Both oviposition and host rejection decreased the patch-leaving tendency. The variables associated with the former patch, such as the host density and number of ovipositor insertions, however, did not have an effect on the leaving tendency. Our study suggested that M. pulchricornis females may use an incremental mechanism to exploit high-density patches to the fullest. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.
Our experience with atopy patch tests with aeroallergens.
Celakovská, Jarmila; Ettlerová, Kvetuse; Ettler, Karel; Vanecková, Jaroslava
2013-01-01
Aim of our study was to evaluate the importance of atopy patch testing with aeroallergens as a diagnostic method in patients suffering from atopic dermatitis. The complet dermatological and allergological examinations were performed in 29 patients; 10 men, 19 women with the average age of 27.8 years, min. 17, max. 57 years; with the median SCORAD 24.2 points, s.d. 13.3 points. Wormwood, grass, dog dander, cat dander, dermatophagoides pharinae, dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and birch pollen were examined in diagnostic procedures. Skin prick tests, specific IgE were examined; the atopy patch tests were performed with aeroallergens for skin prick tests in concentration 1 x skin prick tests. Specific IgE and skin prick tests to one or more tested aeroallergens were positive altogether in 27 patients; atopy patch tests were positive only in one of these patients. For atopy patch testing with aeroallergens the concentration of 1 x skin prick tests is low to confirme the eczematic reaction in patients suffering from allergy to inhallant allergens.
Modeling the effects of size on patch dynamics of an inert tracer
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P. Xiu
2010-03-01
Full Text Available Mesoscale iron enrichment experiments have revealed that additional iron affects the phytoplankton productivity and carbon cycle. However, the role of initial size of fertilized patch in determining the patch evolution is poorly quantified due to the limited observational capability and complex of physical processes. Using a three-dimensional ocean circulation model, we simulated different sizes of inert tracer patches that were only regulated by physical circulation and diffusion. Model results showed that during the first few days since release of inert tracer, the calculated dilution rate was found to be a linear function with time, which was sensitive to the initial patch size with steeper slope for smaller size patch. After the initial phase of rapid decay, the relationship between dilution rate and time became an exponential function, which was also size dependent. Therefore, larger initial size patches can usually last longer and ultimately affect biogeochemical processes much stronger than smaller patches.
Recent and relict topography of Boo Bee patch reef, Belize
Halley, R.B.; Shinn, E.A.; Hudson, J.H.; Lidz, B.; Taylor, D.L.
1977-01-01
Five core borings were taken on and around Boo Bee Patch Reef to better understand the origin of such shelf lagoon reefs. The cores reveal 4 stages of development: (1) subaerial exposure of a Pleistocene "high" having about 8 meters of relief, possibly a Pleistocene patch reef; (2) deposition of peat and impermeable terrigenous clay 3 meters thick around the high; (3) initiation of carbonate sediment production by corals and algae on the remaining 5 meters of hard Pleistocene topography and carbonate mud on the surrounding terrigenous clay; and (4) accelerated organic accumulation on the patch reef. Estimates of patch reef sedimentation rates (1.6 m/1000 years) are 3 to 4 times greater than off-reef sedimentation rates (0.4-0.5 m/1000 years). During periods of Pleistocene sedimentation on the Belize shelf, lagoon patch reefs may have grown above one another, stacking up to form reef accumulation of considerable thickness.
Sharma, Vinod Kumar; Bhari, Neetu; Wadhwani, Ashok Roopchand; Bhatia, Riti
2018-02-01
Many patients with dermatitis over photo-exposed body areas are positive to many contact allergens and have a pre-existing allergic contact dermatitis. This study included patients who presented to a tertiary centre in India with dermatitis on photo-exposed body areas suspected of chronic actinic dermatitis. Their detailed histories were recorded and cutaneous and systemic examinations were performed. Patch testing was done in all the patients and photo-patch testing was carried out in 86 patients. Altogether 101 patients were included (69 males, 32 females). The most common presentation was lichenified hyperpigmented plaques on the photo-exposed sites. Photosensitivity was recorded in 64 (63%) patients and summer exacerbation in 52 (52%). Exposure to the Parthenium hysterophorus weed was recorded in 70 (69%) patients, 27 (26.7%) had a history of hair dye application and 20 (20%) had a history of atopy. Photo-patch test was positive in 11 (12.8%) patients and patch testing was positive in 71 (70%). Parthenium hysterophorus was the most common allergen implicated and was positive in three (4%) photo-patch and 52 (52%) patch tests. Other positive photo-patch test allergens were perfume mix, balsam of Peru, thiuram mix, Compositae mix and promethazine hydrochloride. Other common patch test allergens were parthenolide, colophony, fragrance mix and p-phenylenediamine (PPD) base. In the Indian population parthenium and perfume mix are the most common photoallergens in patients with dermatitis over photo-exposed areas, while parthenium, colophony, fragrance mix and PPD are the common positive allergens. © 2016 The Australasian College of Dermatologists.
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Cho, Moses A
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Indigenous forest biome in South Africa is highly fragmented into patches of various sizes (most patches < 1 km (sup20). The utilization of timber and non-timber resources by poor rural communities living around protected forest patches produce...
Is It Safe to Uplift This Patch? An Empirical Study on Mozilla Firefox
Castelluccio, Marco; An, Le; Khomh, Foutse
2017-01-01
In rapid release development processes, patches that fix critical issues, or implement high-value features are often promoted directly from the development channel to a stabilization channel, potentially skipping one or more stabilization channels. This practice is called patch uplift. Patch uplift is risky, because patches that are rushed through the stabilization phase can end up introducing regressions in the code. This paper examines patch uplift operations at Mozilla, with the aim to ide...
Investigation of a nanostrip patch antenna in optical frequencies
Kashyap, Nitesh; Wani, Zamir Ahmad; Jain, Rishi; Khusboo; Dinesh Kumar, V.
2014-08-01
This is the first report and investigation of a patch antenna in optical frequency range. Variety of plasmonic nanoantenna reported so far is good at enhancing the local field intensity of light by orders of magnitude. However, their far-field radiation efficiency is very poor. The proposed patch antenna emits a directional beam with high efficacy in addition to enhancing the intensity of near field. The nano-patch antenna (NPA) consists of a square patch of gold film of dimension 480 nm2, placed on a substrate of dielectric constant \\varepsilon_{{r}} = 3.9 and thickness 150 nm with a ground plane of gold film of dimension 1,080 nm2. The NPA resonates at 210 THz and has gain nearly 2 dB and radiation efficiency 45.18 %. The NPA might be useful in variety of applications such as optical communication, nano-photonics, biosensing, and spectroscopy.
Isoplanatic patch of the human eye for arbitrary wavelengths
Han, Guoqing; Cao, Zhaoliang; Mu, Quanquan; Wang, Yukun; Li, Dayu; Wang, Shaoxin; Xu, Zihao; Wu, Daosheng; Hu, Lifa; Xuan, Li
2018-03-01
The isoplanatic patch of the human eye is a key parameter for the adaptive optics system (AOS) designed for retinal imaging. The field of view (FOV) usually sets to the same size as the isoplanatic patch to obtain high resolution images. However, it has only been measured at a specific wavelength. Here we investigate the wavelength dependence of this important parameter. An optical setup is initially designed and established in a laboratory to measure the isoplanatic patch at various wavelengths (655 nm, 730 nm and 808 nm). We established the Navarro wide-angle eye model in Zemax software to further validate our results, which suggested high consistency between the two. The isoplanatic patch as a function of wavelength was obtained within the range of visible to near-infrared, which can be expressed as: θ=0.0028 λ - 0 . 74. This work is beneficial for the AOS design for retinal imaging.
Patch size effects on plant species decline in an experimentally fragmented landscape.
Collins, Cathy D; Holt, Robert D; Foster, Bryan L
2009-09-01
Understanding local and global extinction is a fundamental objective of both basic and applied ecology. Island biogeography theory (IBT) and succession theory provide frameworks for understanding extinction in changing landscapes. We explore the relative contribution of fragment size vs. succession on species' declines by examining distributions of abundances for 18 plant species declining over time in an experimentally fragmented landscape in northeast Kansas, U.S.A. If patch size effects dominate, early-successional species should persist longer on large patches, but if successional processes dominate, the reverse should hold, because in our system woody plant colonization is accelerated on large patches. To compare the patterns in abundance among patch sizes, we characterize joint shifts in local abundance and occupancy with a new metric: rank occupancy-abundance profiles (ROAPs). As succession progressed, statistically significant patch size effects emerged for 11 of 18 species. More early-successional species persisted longer on large patches, despite the fact that woody encroachment (succession) progressed faster in these patches. Clonal perennial species persisted longer on large patches compared to small patches. All species that persisted longer on small patches were annuals that recruit from the seed bank each year. The degree to which species declined in occupancy vs. abundance varied dramatically among species: some species declined first in occupancy, others remained widespread or even expanded their distribution, even as they declined in local abundance. Consequently, species exhibited various types of rarity as succession progressed. Understanding the effect of fragmentation on extinction trajectories requires a species-by-species approach encompassing both occupancy and local abundance. We propose that ROAPs provide a useful tool for comparing the distribution of local abundances among landscape types, years, and species.
Preparation and evaluation of cosmetic patches containing lactic and glycolic acids
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mahdavi H
2006-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Alpha-hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid (GA and lactic acid (LA, are used in cosmetic patches. The important fact in cosmetic patches is its suitable adhesion and peel properties. Aim: The objective of this study was to prepare LA- and GA-containing cosmetic patches and evaluate in-vitro/in-vivo correlation of adhesion properties. Methods: Pressure-sensitive adhesives with different concentrations of GA and LA were cast on a polyethylene terephthalate film. The patches were evaluated for peel adhesive strength. On the basis of in vitro adhesion properties the patches were selected for wear performance tests and skin irritation potential. Results: The adhesion properties (adhesion to steel plate and skin and cohesive strength tests indicated the substantial influence of GA and LA concentrations. Based on in vitro adhesion studies the patches containing 3% (w/w GA were selected for in vivo studies. In vivo studies show that a formulation containing 3% GA displays good adhesion on the skin, but it leaves little residues on the skin. Skin Irritation studies on healthy human volunteers showed negligible erythema at the site of application after 48h. Conclusion: The noninvasive patch test model was found useful for detecting irritant skin reactions to the cosmetic patch containing GA. Our results demonstrated a strong correlation between the adhesion to steel plate and adhesion to skin. But a weak correlation between the degree of adhesive residue on the skin in in vitro and in vivo tests was observed for the formulation containing 3% (w/w GA.
Wireless OAM transmission system based on elliptical microstrip patch antenna.
Chen, Jia Jia; Lu, Qian Nan; Dong, Fei Fei; Yang, Jing Jing; Huang, Ming
2016-05-30
The multiplexing transmission has always been a focus of attention for communication technology. In this paper, the radiation characteristics of circular microstrip patch antenna was firstly analyzed based on cavity model theory, and then spiral beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) were generated, using elliptical microstrip patch antenna, with a single feed probe instead of a standard circular patch with two feedpoints. Moreover, by combining the proposed elliptic microstrip patch antenna with Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP), a wireless OAM transmission system was established and the real-time transmission of text, image and video in a real channel environment was realized. Since the wireless OAM transmission has the advantage of good safety and high spectrum utilization efficiency, this work has theoretical significance and potential application.
Meecham, Lewis; Fisher, Owain; Kirby, George; Evans, Richard; Buxton, Pauline; Legge, Jocelyn; Rajagopalan, Sriram; Asquith, John; Pherwani, Arun
2016-10-01
We present a case of external iliac vein patch venoplasty to accommodate rescue vascular access via a polytetrafluoroethylene loop arteriovenous fistula graft (AVG) for a patient with multiple central venous stenoses. A 35-year-old female with anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody disease required rescue vascular access for hemodialysis. Repeated occlusion and/or thrombosis of long-term central venous access cannulae, to facilitate dialysis, had caused stenosis of brachiocephalic veins: right external iliac vein and occlusion of the left common iliac vein. A previous right brachiobasilic fistula had occluded within 1 year. No other upper limb options for arteriovenous fistula (AVF) were available. A right external iliac vein bovine patch angioplasty concurrently with a polytetrafluoroethylene AV graft between common femoral artery and common femoral vein was performed to restore venous patency and allow rescue dialysis access. At 3-year follow-up, the fistula remains widely patent with 2 L/min flow rates and no recurrent stenosis to the treated iliac vein. She has not required any further surgical or interventional radiological procedures to maintain fistula or central venous patency. Central venous stenosis or occlusion is common for patients requiring dialysis, especially those with multiple previous long-term central venous cannulations. If restriction of outflow is present, AVF may fail. Venous patch angioplasty in these cases is a successful technique, allowing AVF formation and long-term patency. Central venous stenosis can be treated successfully with patch venoplasty to accommodate AVF/AVG formation for rescue vascular access; this is a potentially lifesaving intervention for patients requiring dialysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Microstrip Patch Sensor for Salinity Determination.
Lee, Kibae; Hassan, Arshad; Lee, Chong Hyun; Bae, Jinho
2017-12-18
In this paper, a compact microstrip feed inset patch sensor is proposed for measuring the salinities in seawater. The working principle of the proposed sensor depends on the fact that different salinities in liquid have different relative permittivities and cause different resonance frequencies. The proposed sensor can obtain better sensitivity to salinity changes than common sensors using conductivity change, since the relative permittivity change to salinity is 2.5 times more sensitive than the conductivity change. The patch and ground plane of the proposed sensor are fabricated by conductive copper spray coating on the masks made by 3D printer. The fabricated patch and the ground plane are bonded to a commercial silicon substrate and then attached to 5 mm-high chamber made by 3D printer so that it contains only 1 mL seawater. For easy fabrication and testing, the maximum resonance frequency was selected under 3 GHz and to cover salinities in real seawater, it was assumed that the salinity changes from 20 to 35 ppt. The sensor was designed by the finite element method-based ANSYS high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS), and it can detect the salinity with 0.01 ppt resolution. The designed sensor has a resonance frequency separation of 37.9 kHz and reflection coefficients under -20 dB at the resonant frequencies. The fabricated sensor showed better performance with average frequency separation of 48 kHz and maximum reflection coefficient of -35 dB. By comparing with the existing sensors, the proposed compact and low-cost sensor showed a better detection capability. Therefore, the proposed patch sensor can be utilized in radio frequency (RF) tunable sensors for salinity determination.
Repeated mild traumatic brain injury in female rats increases lipid peroxidation in neurons.
Yates, Nathanael J; Lydiard, Stephen; Fehily, Brooke; Weir, Gillian; Chin, Aaron; Bartlett, Carole A; Alderson, Jacqueline; Fitzgerald, Melinda
2017-07-01
Negative outcomes of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can be exacerbated by repeated insult. Animal models of repeated closed-head mTBI provide the opportunity to define acute pathological mechanisms as the number of mTBI increases. Furthermore, little is known about the effects of mTBI impact site, and how this may affect brain function. We use a closed head, weight drop model of mTBI that allows head movement following impact, in adult female rats to determine the role of the number and location of mTBI on brain pathology and behaviour. Biomechanical assessment of two anatomically well-defined mTBI impact sites were used, anterior (bregma) and posterior (lambda). Location of the impact had no significant effect on impact forces (450 N), and the weight impact locations were on average 5.4 mm from the desired impact site. No between location vertical linear head kinematic differences were observed immediately following impact, however, in the 300 ms post-impact, significantly higher mean vertical head displacement and velocity were observed in the mTBI lambda trials. Breaches of the blood brain barrier were observed with three mTBI over bregma, associated with immunohistochemical indicators of damage. However, an increased incidence of hairline fractures of the skull and macroscopic haemorrhaging made bregma an unsuitable impact location to model repeated mTBI. Repeated mTBI over lambda did not cause skull fractures and were examined more comprehensively, with outcomes following one, two or three mTBI or sham, delivered at 1 day intervals, assessed on days 1-4. We observe a mild behavioural phenotype, with subtle deficits in cognitive function, associated with no identifiable neuroanatomical or inflammatory changes. However, an increase in lipid peroxidation in a subset of cortical neurons following two mTBI indicates increasing oxidative damage with repeated injury in female rats, supported by increased amyloid precursor protein immunoreactivity with three m
Mechanistic insight into neurotoxicity induced by developmental insults
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tamm, Christoffer; Ceccatelli, Sandra
2017-01-01
Epidemiological and/or experimental studies have shown that unfavorable prenatal environmental factors, such as stress or exposure to certain neurotoxic environmental contaminants, may have adverse consequences for neurodevelopment. Alterations in neurogenesis can have harmful effects not only for the developing nervous system, but also for the adult brain where neurogenesis is believed to play a role in learning, memory, and even in depression. Many recent advances in the understanding of the complex process of nervous system development can be integrated into the field of neurotoxicology. In the past 15 years we have been using cultured neural stem or progenitor cells to investigate the effects of neurotoxic stimuli on cell survival, proliferation and differentiation, with special focus on heritable effects. This is an overview of the work performed by our group in the attempt to elucidate the mechanisms of developmental neurotoxicity and possibly provide relevant information for the understanding of the etiopathogenesis of complex brain disorders. - Highlights: • The developing nervous system is highly sensitive to toxic insults. • Neural stem cells are relevant models for mechanistic studies as well as for identifying heritable effects due to epigenetic changes. • Depending on the dose, the outcome of exposure to neurotoxicants ranges from altered proliferation and differentiation to cell death. • The elucidation of neurotoxicity mechanisms is relevant for understanding the etiopathogenesis of developmental and adult nervous system disorders.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Guo, X; Liang, Y Y; Jiang, J; Liu, H Y; Cui, L L
2013-01-01
Corona charged electrets at voltages of +500 V, +1000 V and +1500 V were prepared for manufacturing polypropylene (PP) electret blank patches and PP electret drug patches. The stability of external electrostatic field of the electret patch and the polarization of the drug in patch under the internal electrostatic field of the electret were studied. The results indicate that all the electret drug patches had good charge storage stabilities. However, the non-electrode coated electret drug patch had better stability in the external electrostatic field than that of the electrode coated electret drug patch. The higher the charging voltage of the electret, the faster the surface potential of the electret drug patch decayed, and the worse the stability of the external electrostatic field. All the electrets used in this study could result in the polarization of the model drug in patch. The piezoelectric properties of non-electrode coated electret drug patch increased with the charging voltage of the electret. However, excessively higher charging voltage could result in the decreased polarization of the drug in patch. Both the stability of the external electrostatic field of electret and the polarization of drug were the key factors for controlled drug release and skin permeation.
ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF HABITAT PATCHES ON WILDLIFE ROAD-KILL
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Seok
2015-10-01
Full Text Available The ecosystem fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure causes a road-kill phenomenon. When making policies for mitigating road-kill it is important to select target-species in order to enhance its efficiency. However, many wildlife crossing structures have been questioned regarding their effectiveness due to lack of considerations such as target-species selection, site selection, management, etc. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of habitat patches on wildlife road-kill and to suggest that spatial location of habitat patches should be considered as one of the important factors when making policies for mitigating road-kill. Habitat patches were presumed from habitat variables and a suitability index on target-species that was chosen by literature review. The road-kill hotspot was calculated using Getis-Ord Gi*. After that, we performed a correlation analysis between Gi Z-score and the distance from habitat patches to the roads. As a result, there is a low negative correlation between two variables and it increases the Gi Z-score if the habitat patches and the roads become closer.
Analyze the Impact of Habitat Patches on Wildlife Road-Kill
Seok, S.; Lee, J.
2015-10-01
The ecosystem fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure causes a road-kill phenomenon. When making policies for mitigating road-kill it is important to select target-species in order to enhance its efficiency. However, many wildlife crossing structures have been questioned regarding their effectiveness due to lack of considerations such as target-species selection, site selection, management, etc. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of habitat patches on wildlife road-kill and to suggest that spatial location of habitat patches should be considered as one of the important factors when making policies for mitigating road-kill. Habitat patches were presumed from habitat variables and a suitability index on target-species that was chosen by literature review. The road-kill hotspot was calculated using Getis-Ord Gi*. After that, we performed a correlation analysis between Gi Z-score and the distance from habitat patches to the roads. As a result, there is a low negative correlation between two variables and it increases the Gi Z-score if the habitat patches and the roads become closer.
Dissolving Microneedle Patch for Transdermal Delivery of Human Growth Hormone
Lee, Jeong Woo; Choi, Seong-O; Felner, Eric I.
2014-01-01
Clinical impact of biotechnology has been constrained by the limitations of traditional hypodermic injection of biopharmaceuticals. Microneedle patches have been proposed as a minimally invasive alternative. In this study, we assess the translation of a dissolving microneedle patch designed for simple, painless self-administration of biopharmacetucials that generates no sharp biohazardous waste. To study pharmacokinetics and safety of this approach, human growth hormone (hGH) was encapsulated in 600 μm long dissolving microneedles composed of carboxymethylcellulose and trehalose using an aqueous, moderate-temperature process that maintained complete hGH activity after encapsulation and retained most activity after storage for up to 15 months at room temperature and humidity. After manual insertion into the skin of hairless rats, hGH pharmacokinetics were similar to conventional subcutaneous injection. After patch removal, the microneedles had almost completely dissolved, leaving behind only blunt stubs. The dissolving microneedle patch was well tolerated, causing only slight, transient erythema. This study suggests that a dissolving microneedle patch can deliver hGH and other biopharmaceuticals in a manner suitable for self-administration without sharp biohazardous waste. PMID:21360810
Wearable Inset-Fed FR4 Microstrip Patch Antenna Design
Zaini, S. R. Mohd; Rani, K. N. Abdul
2018-03-01
This project proposes the design of a wireless body area network (WBAN) microstrip patch antenna covered by the jeans fabric as the outer layer operating at the center frequency, fc of 2.40 GHz. Precisely, the microstrip patch antenna with the inset-fed edge technique is designed and simulated systematically by using the Keysight Advanced Design System (ADS) software where the FR4 board with the dielectric constant, ɛr of 4.70, dissipation factor or loss tangent, tan δ of 0.02 and height, h of 1.60 mm is the chosen dielectric substrate. The wearable microstrip patch antenna design is then fabricated using the FR4 printed circuit board (PCB) material, hidden inside the jeans fabric, and attached to clothing, such as a jacket accordingly. Simulation and fabrication measurement results show that the designed microstrip patch antenna characteristics can be applied significantly within the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio band, which is at fc = 2.40 GHz.
Interactive object modelling based on piecewise planar surface patches.
Prankl, Johann; Zillich, Michael; Vincze, Markus
2013-06-01
Detecting elements such as planes in 3D is essential to describe objects for applications such as robotics and augmented reality. While plane estimation is well studied, table-top scenes exhibit a large number of planes and methods often lock onto a dominant plane or do not estimate 3D object structure but only homographies of individual planes. In this paper we introduce MDL to the problem of incrementally detecting multiple planar patches in a scene using tracked interest points in image sequences. Planar patches are reconstructed and stored in a keyframe-based graph structure. In case different motions occur, separate object hypotheses are modelled from currently visible patches and patches seen in previous frames. We evaluate our approach on a standard data set published by the Visual Geometry Group at the University of Oxford [24] and on our own data set containing table-top scenes. Results indicate that our approach significantly improves over the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Development of a thermostable microneedle patch for influenza vaccination
Mistilis, Matthew; Bommarius, Andreas S; Prausnitz, Mark R.
2017-01-01
The goal of this study is to develop thermostable microneedle patch formulations for influenza vaccine that can be partially or completely removed from the cold chain. During vaccine drying associated with microneedle patch manufacturing, ammonium acetate and HEPES buffer salts stabilized influenza vaccine, surfactants had little effect during drying, drying temperature had weak effects on vaccine stability, and drying on polydimethylsiloxane led to increased stability compared to drying on stainless steel. A number of excipients, mostly polysaccharides and some amino acids, further stabilized the influenza vaccine during drying. Over longer time scales of storage, combinations of stabilizers preserved the most vaccine activity. Finally, dissolving microneedle patches formulated with arginine and calcium heptagluconate had no significant activity loss for all three strains of seasonal influenza vaccine during storage at room temperature for six months. We conclude that appropriately formulated microneedle patches can exhibit remarkable thermostability that could enable storage and distribution of influenza vaccine outside the cold chain. PMID:25448542
... Subscribe September 2017 Print this issue Health Capsule Flu Vaccine Skin Patch Tested En español Send us ... Each year, millions of people nationwide catch the flu. The best way to protect yourself is to ...
Exploring Potential Foreshocks on Highly Compressed Patches in a Rate-and-State Fault Model
Higgins, N.; Lapusta, N.
2015-12-01
On both natural and laboratory faults, some mainshocks are preceded by foreshocks. Such foreshocks may be triggered by aseismic processes of the mainshock nucleation at fault heterogeneities such as bumps, as inferred in some laboratory experiments. We explore a rate-and-state fault model in which potential foreshocks occur on patches of elevated normal compression (by a factor of 5 to 10) within a larger velocity-weakening (VW) region, using 3D numerical simulations of long-term earthquake sequences and aseismic slip. We find that this model produces isolated microseismicity during the nucleation of a larger-scale seismic event, under the following conditions: (i) Patch diameter D is comparable to or larger than the patch nucleation size h*patch; (ii) D is much smaller than the nucleation size h*main for the larger-scale VW region; otherwise, a patch-hosted event simply starts the larger-scale event; (iii) the patches are sufficiently separated to prevent them triggering each other nearly instantaneously. Hence the nucleation sizes h*main and h*patch need to be substantially different, by a factor of around 10 in our simulations so far, and potentially much more. The aforementioned separation of scales can be achieved by assigning high levels of compression on the patches. However, one would expect unrealistically large stress drops for events on such patches. Remarkably, in this model, we find that the stress drops of the patch-hosted events are reasonable and roughly constant, despite a wide variation in the patch compression, due to patch ruptures extending into the surrounding VW region. Furthermore, for D close to h*patch, a substantial part of the stress change on the patch occurs aseismically. Our current work is directed towards quantifying and explaining these trends, as well as exploring whether the microseismicity occurring on highly compressed patches due to nucleation-induced creep has any observable differences from other events.
Histological distinction between early allergic and irritant patch test reactions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Vestergaard, L; Clemmensen, Ole; Sørensen, Flemming Brandt
1999-01-01
Comparative light microscopic studies have revealed subtle differences between allergic and irritant reactions in the skin. In the search for specific differences, we focussed on the early inflammatory response. This pilot study was conducted to test the hypothesis that follicular spongiosis can...... differentiate between early allergic and irritant patch test reactions. 8 patients with known contact allergy to either colophony or quarternium-15 participated in the study. In each patient, allergic and irritant patch tests reactions were elicited, and 4-mm punch biopsies were taken after 6 8 h from...... clinically equipotent reactions. Paired sets of slides were assessed blindly by 2 pathologists. 1 patient showing a pityrosporum folliculitis was excluded from the study. All biopsies from allergic patch tests were characterized by follicular spongiosis, while biopsies from irritant patch tests showed...
Mate choice when males are in patches: optimal strategies and good rules of thumb.
Hutchinson, John M C; Halupka, Konrad
2004-11-07
In standard mate-choice models, females encounter males sequentially and decide whether to inspect the quality of another male or to accept a male already inspected. What changes when males are clumped in patches and there is a significant cost to travel between patches? We use stochastic dynamic programming to derive optimum strategies under various assumptions. With zero costs to returning to a male in the current patch, the optimal strategy accepts males above a quality threshold which is constant whenever one or more males in the patch remain uninspected; this threshold drops when inspecting the last male in the patch, so returns may occur only then and are never to a male in a previously inspected patch. With non-zero within-patch return costs, such a two-threshold rule still performs extremely well, but a more gradual decline in acceptance threshold is optimal. Inability to return at all need not decrease performance by much. The acceptance threshold should also decline if it gets harder to discover the last males in a patch. Optimal strategies become more complex when mean male quality varies systematically between patches or years, and females estimate this in a Bayesian manner through inspecting male qualities. It can then be optimal to switch patch before inspecting all males on a patch, or, exceptionally, to return to an earlier patch. We compare performance of various rules of thumb in these environments and in ones without a patch structure. A two-threshold rule performs excellently, as do various simplifications of it. The best-of-N rule outperforms threshold rules only in non-patchy environments with between-year quality variation. The cutoff rule performs poorly.
Fever following an Epidural Blood Patch in a Child
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Agnes I. Hunyady
2012-01-01
Full Text Available There is increasing evidence that children suffer from the consequences of spontaneous or iatrogenic intracranial hypotension. Pediatric epidural blood patch is gaining popularity because of its ability to alter cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and to alleviate headaches attributed to low cerebrospinal fluid pressure. There is, however, still not enough data to document the safety profile of an epidural blood patch. Here we describe a case of a fever in a child temporally related to the administration of an epidural blood patch. This case depicts the dilemmas in making the diagnosis and instituting treatment for complications of this procedure in the pediatric population.
Phosphorus leaching from cow manure patches on soil columns
Chardon, W.J.; Aalderink, G.H.; Salm, van der C.
2007-01-01
The loss of P in overland flow or leachate from manure patches can impair surface water quality. We studied leaching of P from 10-cmhigh lysimeters filled with intact grassland soil or with acid-washed sand. A manure patch was created on two grassland and two sandfilled lysimeters, and an additional
Efficacy of a single dose of a transdermal diclofenac patch as pre ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Background: We compared the analgesic efficacy of a transdermal diclofenac patch 100 mg (NuPatch® 100, Zydus Cadila, Ahmedabad, India) and intramuscular diclofenac sodium 75 mg (Voveran®, Novartis, India) for postoperative analgesia, and the associated side-effects of the transdermal diclofenac patch. Method: ...
DESIGN OF MULTILAYER APERTURE COUPLED STACKED MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA FOR WLAN APPLICATIONS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P. Jothilakshmi
2015-10-01
Full Text Available One of the major drawbacks of microstrip patch antenna is its narrow bandwidth. The solution of this problem is to use aperture coupled stacked micro strip patch antenna. The antenna uses a combination of aperture coupled feeding technique and multi- layer radiating patch in order for the radiating elements are increase the gain bandwidth. The ‘I’ and ‘H’ shaped aperture slots are etched onto the ground plane. It is used to transfer the energy from feed line to stacked patch. A variation of the feed line length controls the selected aperture slots to be active. The waves from the selected activated aperture slots will radiate to particular radiating patch and achieve the desired resonant frequency. The air gap is used to avoid coupling loss between the aperture slots and stacked patches. The observed simulated and measured results show that the proposed antenna structure resonated at 2.51 GHz frequency with reduced return loss and optimum voltage standing wave ratio.
Microstrip Patch Sensor for Salinity Determination
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kibae Lee
2017-12-01
Full Text Available In this paper, a compact microstrip feed inset patch sensor is proposed for measuring the salinities in seawater. The working principle of the proposed sensor depends on the fact that different salinities in liquid have different relative permittivities and cause different resonance frequencies. The proposed sensor can obtain better sensitivity to salinity changes than common sensors using conductivity change, since the relative permittivity change to salinity is 2.5 times more sensitive than the conductivity change. The patch and ground plane of the proposed sensor are fabricated by conductive copper spray coating on the masks made by 3D printer. The fabricated patch and the ground plane are bonded to a commercial silicon substrate and then attached to 5 mm-high chamber made by 3D printer so that it contains only 1 mL seawater. For easy fabrication and testing, the maximum resonance frequency was selected under 3 GHz and to cover salinities in real seawater, it was assumed that the salinity changes from 20 to 35 ppt. The sensor was designed by the finite element method-based ANSYS high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS, and it can detect the salinity with 0.01 ppt resolution. The designed sensor has a resonance frequency separation of 37.9 kHz and reflection coefficients under −20 dB at the resonant frequencies. The fabricated sensor showed better performance with average frequency separation of 48 kHz and maximum reflection coefficient of −35 dB. By comparing with the existing sensors, the proposed compact and low-cost sensor showed a better detection capability. Therefore, the proposed patch sensor can be utilized in radio frequency (RF tunable sensors for salinity determination.
Brain parenchyma PO2, PCO2, and pH during and after hypoxic, ischemic brain insult in dogs.
McKinley, B A; Morris, W P; Parmley, C L; Butler, B D
1996-11-01
1) The investigation of fiberoptic PO2, PCO2, and pH sensor technology as a monitor of brain parenchyma during and after brain injury, and 2) the comparison of brain parenchyma PO2, PCO2, and pH with intracranial pressure during and after hypoxic, ischemic brain insult. Prospective, controlled, animal study in an acute experimental preparation. Physiology laboratory in a university medical school. Fourteen mongrel dogs (20 to 35 kg), anesthetized, room-air ventilated. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental and maintained after intubation using 1% to 1.5% halothane in room air (FiO2 0.21). Mechanical ventilation was established to maintain end-tidal PCO2 approximately 35 torr (-4.7 kPa). Intravenous, femoral artery, and pulmonary artery catheters were placed. The common carotid arteries were surgically exposed, and ultrasonic blood flow probes were applied. A calibrated intracranial pressure probe was placed through a right-side transcranial bolt, and a calibrated intracranial chemistry probe with optical sensors for PO2, PCO2, and pH was placed through a left-side bolt into brain parenchyma. Brain insult was induced in the experimental group (n = 6) by hypoxia (FiO2 0.1), ischemia (bilateral carotid artery occlusion), and hypotension (mean arterial pressure [MAP] approximately 40 mm Hg produced with isoflurane approximately 4%). After 45 mins, carotid artery occlusion was released, FiO2 was reset to 0.21, and anesthetic was returned to halothane (approximately 1.25%). The control group (n = 5) had the same surgical preparation and sequence of anesthetic agent exposure but no brain insult. Monitored variables included brain parenchyma PO2, PCO2, and pH, which were monitored at 1-min intervals, and intracranial pressure, MAP, arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation (by pulse oximetry), end-tidal PCO2, and carotid artery blood flow rate, for which data were collected at 15-min intervals for 7 hrs. Arterial and mixed venous blood gas analyses were done at approximately 1
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Isabelle M Côté
Full Text Available As a result of being hunted, animals often alter their behaviour in ways that make future encounters with predators less likely. When hunting is carried out for conservation, for example to control invasive species, these behavioural changes can inadvertently impede the success of future efforts. We examined the effects of repeated culling by spearing on the behaviour of invasive predatory lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles on Bahamian coral reef patches. We compared the extent of concealment and activity levels of lionfish at dawn and midday on 16 coral reef patches off Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Eight of the patches had been subjected to regular daytime removals of lionfish by spearing for two years. We also estimated the distance at which lionfish became alert to slowly approaching divers on culled and unculled reef patches. Lionfish on culled reefs were less active and hid deeper within the reef during the day than lionfish on patches where no culling had occurred. There were no differences at dawn when removals do not take place. Lionfish on culled reefs also adopted an alert posture at a greater distance from divers than lionfish on unculled reefs. More crepuscular activity likely leads to greater encounter rates by lionfish with more native fish species because the abundance of reef fish outside of shelters typically peaks at dawn and dusk. Hiding deeper within the reef could also make remaining lionfish less likely to be encountered and more difficult to catch by spearfishers during culling efforts. Shifts in the behaviour of hunted invasive animals might be common and they have implications both for the impact of invasive species and for the design and success of invasive control programs.
Côté, Isabelle M; Darling, Emily S; Malpica-Cruz, Luis; Smith, Nicola S; Green, Stephanie J; Curtis-Quick, Jocelyn; Layman, Craig
2014-01-01
As a result of being hunted, animals often alter their behaviour in ways that make future encounters with predators less likely. When hunting is carried out for conservation, for example to control invasive species, these behavioural changes can inadvertently impede the success of future efforts. We examined the effects of repeated culling by spearing on the behaviour of invasive predatory lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) on Bahamian coral reef patches. We compared the extent of concealment and activity levels of lionfish at dawn and midday on 16 coral reef patches off Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Eight of the patches had been subjected to regular daytime removals of lionfish by spearing for two years. We also estimated the distance at which lionfish became alert to slowly approaching divers on culled and unculled reef patches. Lionfish on culled reefs were less active and hid deeper within the reef during the day than lionfish on patches where no culling had occurred. There were no differences at dawn when removals do not take place. Lionfish on culled reefs also adopted an alert posture at a greater distance from divers than lionfish on unculled reefs. More crepuscular activity likely leads to greater encounter rates by lionfish with more native fish species because the abundance of reef fish outside of shelters typically peaks at dawn and dusk. Hiding deeper within the reef could also make remaining lionfish less likely to be encountered and more difficult to catch by spearfishers during culling efforts. Shifts in the behaviour of hunted invasive animals might be common and they have implications both for the impact of invasive species and for the design and success of invasive control programs.
The effects of platelet lysate patches on the activity of tendon-derived cells.
Costa-Almeida, Raquel; Franco, Albina R; Pesqueira, Tamagno; Oliveira, Mariana B; Babo, Pedro S; Leonor, Isabel B; Mano, João F; Reis, Rui L; Gomes, Manuela E
2018-03-01
Platelet-derived biomaterials are widely explored as cost-effective sources of therapeutic factors, holding a strong potential for endogenous regenerative medicine. Particularly for tendon repair, treatment approaches that shift the injury environment are explored to accelerate tendon regeneration. Herein, genipin-crosslinked platelet lysate (PL) patches are proposed for the delivery of human-derived therapeutic factors in patch augmentation strategies aiming at tendon repair. Developed PL patches exhibited a controlled release profile of PL proteins, including bFGF and PDGF-BB. Additionally, PL patches exhibited an antibacterial effect by preventing the adhesion, proliferation and biofilm formation by S. aureus, a common pathogen in orthopaedic surgical site infections. Furthermore, these patches supported the activity of human tendon-derived cells (hTDCs). Cells were able to proliferate over time and an up-regulation of tenogenic genes (SCX, COL1A1 and TNC) was observed, suggesting that PL patches may modify the behavior of hTDCs. Accordingly, hTDCs deposited tendon-related extracellular matrix proteins, namely collagen type I and tenascin C. In summary, PL patches can act as a reservoir of biomolecules derived from PL and support the activity of native tendon cells, being proposed as bioinstructive patches for tendon regeneration. Platelet-derived biomaterials hold great interest for the delivery of therapeutic factors for applications in endogenous regenerative medicine. In the particular case of tendon repair, patch augmentation strategies aiming at shifting the injury environment are explored to improve tendon regeneration. In this study, PL patches were developed with remarkable features, including the controlled release of growth factors and antibacterial efficacy. Remarkably, PL patches supported the activity of native tendon cells by up-regulating tenogenic genes and enabling the deposition of ECM proteins. This patch holds great potential towards
Smooth surfaces from rational bilinear patches
Shi, Ling
2014-01-01
Smooth freeform skins from simple panels constitute a challenging topic arising in contemporary architecture. We contribute to this problem area by showing how to approximate a negatively curved surface by smoothly joined rational bilinear patches. The approximation problem is solved with help of a new computational approach to the hyperbolic nets of Huhnen-Venedey and Rörig and optimization algorithms based on it. We also discuss its limits which lie in the topology of the input surface. Finally, freeform deformations based on Darboux transformations are used to generate smooth surfaces from smoothly joined Darboux cyclide patches; in this way we eliminate the restriction to surfaces with negative Gaussian curvature. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Development of a Spirulina Extract/Alginate-Imbedded PCL Nanofibrous Cosmetic Patch.
Byeon, Seon Yeong; Cho, Myung Kwon; Shim, Kyou Hee; Kim, Hye Jin; Song, Hyeon Gi; Shin, Hwa Sung
2017-09-28
Cosmetic patches have recently been developed as skin products for personal care owing to rapid advances in the technology of delivery of active ingredients, moisture, and adhesiveness to skin. Alginate and Spirulina are typical marine resources used in cosmetic products. This research involved the development of a Spirulina extract-impregnated alginate nanofiber cosmetic patch supported by a polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber cover ( Spi /Alg-PCL NF patch). In addition to the ability of alginate to affect moisture and adhesiveness to skin, the impregnation of Spirulina extract strengthened those abilities as well as its own bioactive effectiveness. All fabrication processing steps were undertaken in aqueous solution. The three components (alginate, Spirulina extract, and PCL) had no detected cytotoxicity in human keratinocyte cell-based examination. In addition, wetting the pre-dried patch on the skin resulted in the Spirulina extract being released within 30 min. The results indicate the excellence of the Spi /Alg-PCL NF patch as a skin-care cosmetic device.
Patch testing of 490 patients in Hong Kong.
Lee, T Y; Lam, T H
1996-07-01
Patch testing, using European standard allergens and suspected causative substances brought in by patients, was carried out in 490 patients with eczema in Hong Kong and 437 completed the test. Before patch testing, 244, 141 and 105 patients were diagnosed as having contact dermatitis, endogenous eczema and unclassified eczema, respectively. After patch testing, the diagnosis of the causal agent was changed in 54 contact dermatitis patients, and 18% of endogenous eczema patients and 34% of unclassified eczema patients were re-diagnosed as contact dermatitis. In the patients with a final diagnosis of contact dermatitis, 19.5% were positive to fragrance mix, followed by nickel sulfate (16.4%) and cobalt chloride (11.3%). The commonest causative agents for contact dermatitis were soap or detergent (22.0%) and traditional Chinese medicine (17.3%); the latter was a more common cause of contact dermatitis than Western medicine (9.0%) or metals (13.4%). The prevalence of allergic reaction to fragrance in Hong Kong was higher than among Chinese in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei or Singapore (78% ethnic Chinese). Dermatologists should have a high index of suspicion about traditional medications and should patch test with the suspected substance when patients give a history of use.
Variation in aluminium patch test reactivity over time.
Siemund, Ingrid; Mowitz, Martin; Zimerson, Erik; Bruze, Magnus; Hindsén, Monica
2017-11-01
Contact allergy to aluminium has been reported more frequently in recent years. It has been pointed out that positive patch test reactions to aluminium may not be reproducible on retesting. To investigate possible variations in patch test reactivity to aluminium over time. Twenty-one adults, who had previously reacted positively to aluminium, were patch tested with equimolar dilution series in pet. of aluminium chloride hexahydrate and aluminium lactate, four times over a period of 8 months. Thirty-six of 84 (43%) serial dilution tests with aluminium chloride hexahydrate and 49 of 84 (58%) serial dilution tests with aluminium lactate gave negative results. The range of reactivity varied between a negative reaction to aluminium chloride hexahydrate at 10% and/or to aluminium lactate at 12%, and a positive reaction to aluminium chloride hexahydrate at 0.1% and/or to aluminium lactate at 0.12%. The highest individual difference in test reactivity noticed was 320-fold when the two most divergent minimal eliciting concentrations were compared. The patch test reactivity to aluminium varies over time. Aluminium-allergic individuals may have false-negative reactions. Therefore, retesting with aluminium should be considered when there is a strong suspicion of aluminium contact allergy. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Iwata, Osuke; Iwata, Sachiko; Bainbridge, Alan; De Vita, Enrico; Matsuishi, Toyojiro; Cady, Ernest B.; Robertson, Nicola J.
2008-01-01
Following hypoxia-ischaemia (HI), an early biomarker of insult severity is desirable to target neuroprotective therapies to patients most likely to benefit; currently there are no biomarkers within the "latent phase" period before the establishment of secondary energy failure. Brief transient phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery overshoot (measured…
Microstrip patch antenna for simultaneous strain and temperature sensing
Mbanya Tchafa, F.; Huang, H.
2018-06-01
A patch antenna, consisting of a radiation patch, a dielectric substrate, and a ground plane, resonates at distinct fundamental frequencies that depend on the substrate dielectric constant and the dimensions of the radiation patch. Since these parameters change with the applied strain and temperature, this study investigates simultaneous strain and temperature sensing using a single antenna that has two fundamental resonant frequencies. The theoretical relationship between the antenna resonant frequency shifts, the temperature, and the applied strain was first established to guide the selection of the dielectric substrate, based on which an antenna sensor with a rectangular radiation patch was designed and fabricated. A tensile test specimen instrumented with the antenna sensor was subjected to thermo-mechanical tests. Experiment results validated the theoretical predictions that the normalized antenna resonant frequency shifts are linearly proportional to the applied strain and temperature changes. An inverse method was developed to determine the strain and temperature changes from the normalized antenna resonant frequency shifts, yielding measurement uncertainty of 0.4 °C and 17.22 μ \\varepsilon for temperature and strain measurement, respectively.
Slime moulds use heuristics based on within-patch experience to decide when to leave.
Latty, Tanya; Beekman, Madeleine
2015-04-15
Animals foraging in patchy, non-renewing or slowly renewing environments must make decisions about how long to remain within a patch. Organisms can use heuristics ('rules of thumb') based on available information to decide when to leave the patch. Here, we investigated proximate patch-departure heuristics in two species of giant, brainless amoeba: the slime moulds Didymium bahiense and Physarum polycephalum. We explicitly tested the importance of information obtained through experience by eliminating chemosensory cues of patch quality. In P. polycephalum, patch departure was influenced by the consumption of high, and to a much lesser extent low, quality food items such that engulfing a food item increased patch-residency time. Physarum polycephalum also tended to forage for longer in darkened, 'safe' patches. In D. bahiense, engulfment of any food item increased patch residency irrespective of that food item's quality. Exposure to light had no effect on the patch-residency time of D. bahiense. Given that these organisms lack a brain, our results illustrate how the use of simple heuristics can give the impression that individuals make sophisticated foraging decisions. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
Evaluation and Management of Patch Test-Negative Patients With Generalized Dermatitis.
Spiker, Alison; Mowad, Christen M
Patients with generalized dermatitis are common in dermatology practices. Allergic contact dermatitis is often suspected, and patients frequently undergo patch testing. When the patch testing result is negative, further evaluation and management of these patients are challenging. The purpose of this study was to survey members of the American Contact Dermatitis Society regarding the evaluation and management of patch test-negative patients with generalized dermatitis. Generalized dermatitis was the most common term identified for patch test-negative patients with diffuse dermatitis. After having negative expanded patch testing results, most physicians proceeded with additional testing including skin biopsy, complete blood cell count with differential, and liver and renal function tests. The most commonly used systemic treatment is prednisone, followed by methotrexate. Narrow-band ultraviolet B (UVB) is the most commonly used light source. Antihistamines are frequently prescribed. Food allergy is not felt to be causative. This cohort of patients experiences significant impairment in quality of life, stress on personal relationships, and time off work. The management of patch test-negative patients with generalized dermatitis is challenging. This study provides insight into management of these complex patients. It also demonstrates practice gaps in the management of these patients, indicating a need for further studies to direct the evaluation and management of this patient population.
Long-term stability of influenza vaccine in a dissolving microneedle patch.
Mistilis, Matthew J; Joyce, Jessica C; Esser, E Stein; Skountzou, Ioanna; Compans, Richard W; Bommarius, Andreas S; Prausnitz, Mark R
2017-04-01
This study tested the hypothesis that optimized microneedle patch formulations can stabilize trivalent subunit influenza vaccine during long-term storage outside the cold chain and when exposed to potential stresses found during manufacturing and storage. Formulations containing combinations of trehalose/sucrose, sucrose/arginine, and arginine/heptagluconate were successful at retaining most or all vaccine activity during storage at 25 °C for up to 24 months as determined by ELISA assay. The best formulation of microneedle patches contained arginine/heptagluconate, which showed no significant loss of vaccine activity during the study. To validate these in vitro findings, mice were immunized using trivalent influenza vaccine stored in microneedle patches for more than 1 year at 25 °C, which elicited antibody titers greater than or equal to fresh liquid vaccine delivered by intradermal injection, indicating the retention of immunogenicity during storage. Finally, influenza vaccine in microneedle patches lost no significant activity during exposure to 60 °C for 4 months, multiple freeze-thaw cycles, or electron beam irradiation. We conclude that optimally formulated microneedle patches can retain influenza vaccine activity during extended storage outside the cold chain and during other environmental stresses, which suggests the possibility of microneedle patch storage on pharmacy shelves without refrigeration.
Efficacy of a bleomycin microneedle patch for the treatment of warts.
Ryu, Ha Ryeong; Jeong, Hye-Rin; Seon-Woo, Hye-Seung; Kim, Jung Soo; Lee, Seul Ki; Kim, Hee Joo; Baek, Jin Ok; Park, Jung-Hwan; Roh, Joo Young
2018-02-01
Warts are a common skin disease caused by infection of the human papilloma virus. Most treatments involving physical destruction of the infected cells, such as cryotherapy and electrocautery, are limited by intense pain, failure, or recurrences. Our aim was to compare the therapeutic effects of a newly developed bleomycin microneedle patch with cryotherapy in the treatment of warts. Forty-two patients with more than two wart lesions were included in the study. The two treatment modalities were randomly applied to different warts on each patient. Treatment efficacy was assessed using the Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) and the Patient's Global Assessment (PaGA). Mean PGA and PaGA scores were not significantly different between cryotherapy and bleomycin microneedle patch treatment. It was also determined that the mean size of all the warts treated with either modality shrank about equally at weeks 8 and 16 after initial treatment. Thus, treatment efficacy of the bleomycin microneedle patch was comparable to that of conventional cryotherapy. According to a visual analogue scale of pain, bleomycin microneedle patch treatment was significantly less painful than cryotherapy (p microneedle patch was more tolerable for patients who were reluctant to receive the painful treatment. Thus, the bleomycin microneedle patch can be an effective, convenient, and innovative treatment modality for warts.
Optimal patch code design via device characterization
Wu, Wencheng; Dalal, Edul N.
2012-01-01
In many color measurement applications, such as those for color calibration and profiling, "patch code" has been used successfully for job identification and automation to reduce operator errors. A patch code is similar to a barcode, but is intended primarily for use in measurement devices that cannot read barcodes due to limited spatial resolution, such as spectrophotometers. There is an inherent tradeoff between decoding robustness and the number of code levels available for encoding. Previous methods have attempted to address this tradeoff, but those solutions have been sub-optimal. In this paper, we propose a method to design optimal patch codes via device characterization. The tradeoff between decoding robustness and the number of available code levels is optimized in terms of printing and measurement efforts, and decoding robustness against noises from the printing and measurement devices. Effort is drastically reduced relative to previous methods because print-and-measure is minimized through modeling and the use of existing printer profiles. Decoding robustness is improved by distributing the code levels in CIE Lab space rather than in CMYK space.
Both population size and patch quality affect local extinctions and colonizations
Franzén, Markus; Nilsson, Sven G.
2009-01-01
Currently, the habitat of many species is fragmented, resulting in small local populations with individuals occasionally dispersing between the remaining habitat patches. In a solitary bee metapopulation, extinction probability was related to both local bee population sizes and pollen resources measured as host plant population size. Patch size, on the other hand, had no additional predictive power. The turnover rate of local bee populations in 63 habitat patches over 4 years was high, with 7...
Rotigotine transdermal patch for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease.
Perez-Lloret, Santiago; Rey, María Verónica; Ratti, Pietro Lucca; Rascol, Olivier
2013-02-01
Rotigotine, a non-ergot dopamine agonist, has been developed as a novel transdermal formulation. The rotigotine transdermal patch has received EMEA marketing authorization for the treatment of adult patients with early or advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) or with moderate to severe restless legs syndrome (RLS). FDA originally granted a marketing authorization for early PD, which was later suspended, and is now studying the authorization for RLS. The aim of this review is to review the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics as well as the clinical efficacy and tolerability of the rotigotine transdermal patch in PD. Source material was identified using a PubMed search for the term 'rotigotine' and PD. Articles published up to January 2011 or abstract submitted to most relevant international neurology congresses were reviewed. The rotigotine transdermal patch is efficacious for the treatment of PD. Tolerability profile appears to be well within the range of that observed with other non-ergot dopamine agonists in PD. Application-site reactions were the most frequent adverse event, and they were considered mild to moderate in the majority of cases. The rotigotine transdermal patch offers a safe and efficacious alternative for the treatment of PD. Further studies should focus on the possibility that continuous dopamine stimulation by means of the transdermal patch has any influence on levodopa-related motor complications. © 2012 The Authors Fundamental and Clinical Pharmacology © 2012 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.
Assier, Haudrey; Valeyrie-Allanore, Laurence; Gener, Gwendeline; Verlinde Carvalh, Muriel; Chosidow, Olivier; Wolkenstein, Pierre
2017-11-01
Patch testing following a standardized protocol is reliable for identifying the culprit drug in cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADRs). However, these patch tests (PTs) require pharmaceutical material and staff, which are not always easily available. To evaluate an extemporaneous PT method in CADRs. We retrospectively analysed data for all patients referred to our department between March 2009 and June 2013 for patch testing after a non-immediate CADR. The patients who supplied their own suspected drugs were tested both with extemporaneous PTs and with conventional PTs. Extemporaneous PTs involved a nurse crushing and diluting the drug in pet. in a ratio of approximately one-third to two-thirds. Standardized PTs were performed according to guidelines, with commercial drugs diluted to 30% or with active ingredients diluted to 10%. We analysed the data for the two PT methods in terms of the number of positive test reactions, drugs tested, and type of CADR for patients in whom the two PT methods were used. In total, 75 of 156 patients underwent the two PT procedures, including 91 double tests. Overall, 21 tests gave positive reactions with the two methods, and 69 other tests gave negative results with the two methods. Our series yielded results similar to those of published series concerning the types of CADR and the drugs responsible. Our results suggest that, for CADRs, if a patient supplies a suspected drug but if the pharmaceutical material and staff are not available for conventional PTs, extemporaneous PTs performed by the nurse with the commercial drug used by the patient can be useful and reliable. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Pengaruh variasi berat polimer terhadap sifat fisik Patch NaF
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Diyah Fatmasari
2018-04-01
Full Text Available Influence of weight polymer variation towards sodium fluoride patch physical properties. Fluoride has been proven as a material for strengthen teeth. Many fluoride modalities are available nowadays, and the recent is sodium fluoride (NaF patch which delivers fluoride via transdermal. No report was found about the physical properties of NaF patch based on polymer variation used. Research purpose was to find NaF patch with polymer variation which has good physical properties. Research design was quasy experimental with post test group research as research approach. Dependent variables included polymer variation and stored time; independent variable included patch thickness; resistance of folding; weight; drug content; percentage of moisture uptake and percentage loss on drying. NaF Patch manufacturing used solvent casting method the polymer PVA and PVP mixed in 2 ml aquabidest inwater bath until polymer dissolved; 100 mg of NaF mixed in 2 ml aquabi 0,1 ml oleic acid; 0,1 ml IPA mixed in glass tube and dissolved in 3,8 ml aquabidest. Three kinds of NaF patch with polymer variation were made. All materials were mixed in glass tube and stirred until dissolved, then pour into petry disc and allowed for 3 days until it dry. Research result showed a difference of physical properties among three NaF patch. Patch with variation PVP : PVA = 1 : 2 resulted in the best physical properties. Storing patch in aluminum foil did not cause any differences of physical properties. NaF patch with good polymer variation can be developed for further research. ABSTRAK Fluorida sudah terbukti sebagai bahan untuk memperkuat permukaan gigi. Berbagai sediaan fluoride sudah banyak ditemukan. Sediaan fluoride yang terbaru adalah dalam bentuk plester yang melepaskan ion fluorida lewat kulit. Sediaan plester sodium fluorida (NaF sudah ditemukan tetapi belum ada lapran mengenai sifat fisik plester berdasarkan variasi polimer yang digunakan. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Felipe Cabrera
2008-05-01
Full Text Available The pattern of travel and the efficiency in foraging behavior was evaluated in four hamsters searching for food within an enclosure with multiple patches. Two different distances among patches were randomly arranged: Near-Patches (10 cm separation and Distant-Patches (21.5 cm separation. Subjects obtained the food by mounting over the cylinders (stations placed in the enclosure of 110 cm2. Results showed that in both, Near and Distant conditions, the distance between responses was longer in late stages of the trials then in early stages. Nonetheless, the most choices to adjacent stations were in Distant-Patches condition, while skips and diagonal-station choices were more frequently showed in the Near-Patches condition.
Design of a Composite Membrane with Patches
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cuccu, Fabrizio; Emamizadeh, Behrouz; Porru, Giovanni
2010-01-01
This paper is concerned with minimization and maximization problems of eigenvalues. The principal eigenvalue of a differential operator is minimized or maximized over a set which is formed by intersecting a rearrangement class with an affine subspace of finite co-dimension. A solution represents an optimal design of a 2-dimensional composite membrane Ω, fixed at the boundary, built out of two different materials, where certain prescribed regions (patches) in Ω are occupied by both materials. We prove existence results, and present some features of optimal solutions. The special case of one patch is treated in detail.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bingjie Hu
2014-08-01
Full Text Available Structure-based computational methods have been widely used in exploring protein-ligand interactions, including predicting the binding ligands of a given protein based on their structural complementarity. Compared to other protein and ligand representations, the advantages of a surface representation include reduced sensitivity to subtle changes in the pocket and ligand conformation and fast search speed. Here we developed a novel method named PL-PatchSurfer (Protein-Ligand PatchSurfer. PL-PatchSurfer represents the protein binding pocket and the ligand molecular surface as a combination of segmented surface patches. Each patch is characterized by its geometrical shape and the electrostatic potential, which are represented using the 3D Zernike descriptor (3DZD. We first tested PL-PatchSurfer on binding ligand prediction and found it outperformed the pocket-similarity based ligand prediction program. We then optimized the search algorithm of PL-PatchSurfer using the PDBbind dataset. Finally, we explored the utility of applying PL-PatchSurfer to a larger and more diverse dataset and showed that PL-PatchSurfer was able to provide a high early enrichment for most of the targets. To the best of our knowledge, PL-PatchSurfer is the first surface patch-based method that treats ligand complementarity at protein binding sites. We believe that using a surface patch approach to better understand protein-ligand interactions has the potential to significantly enhance the design of new ligands for a wide array of drug-targets.
Hu, Bingjie; Zhu, Xiaolei; Monroe, Lyman; Bures, Mark G; Kihara, Daisuke
2014-08-27
Structure-based computational methods have been widely used in exploring protein-ligand interactions, including predicting the binding ligands of a given protein based on their structural complementarity. Compared to other protein and ligand representations, the advantages of a surface representation include reduced sensitivity to subtle changes in the pocket and ligand conformation and fast search speed. Here we developed a novel method named PL-PatchSurfer (Protein-Ligand PatchSurfer). PL-PatchSurfer represents the protein binding pocket and the ligand molecular surface as a combination of segmented surface patches. Each patch is characterized by its geometrical shape and the electrostatic potential, which are represented using the 3D Zernike descriptor (3DZD). We first tested PL-PatchSurfer on binding ligand prediction and found it outperformed the pocket-similarity based ligand prediction program. We then optimized the search algorithm of PL-PatchSurfer using the PDBbind dataset. Finally, we explored the utility of applying PL-PatchSurfer to a larger and more diverse dataset and showed that PL-PatchSurfer was able to provide a high early enrichment for most of the targets. To the best of our knowledge, PL-PatchSurfer is the first surface patch-based method that treats ligand complementarity at protein binding sites. We believe that using a surface patch approach to better understand protein-ligand interactions has the potential to significantly enhance the design of new ligands for a wide array of drug-targets.
Recommended Practice for Patch Management of Control Systems
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Steven Tom; Dale Christiansen; Dan Berrett
2008-12-01
A key component in protecting a nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources is the security of control systems. The term industrial control system refers to supervisory control and data acquisition, process control, distributed control, and any other systems that control, monitor, and manage the nation’s critical infrastructure. Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) consists of electric power generators, transmission systems, transportation systems, dam and water systems, communication systems, chemical and petroleum systems, and other critical systems that cannot tolerate sudden interruptions in service. Simply stated, a control system gathers information and then performs a function based on its established parameters and the information it receives. The patch management of industrial control systems software used in CIKR is inconsistent at best and nonexistent at worst. Patches are important to resolve security vulnerabilities and functional issues. This report recommends patch management practices for consideration and deployment by industrial control systems owners.
[Patch testing: historical aspects].
Lachapelle, J-M
2009-01-01
This article reviews the key points in the history of patch testing, which spans more than a century, starting with the first description of the method by J. Jadassohn in 1895. Special attention is paid to the contribution of French schools in this field, which led to the foundation of the Groupe d'études et de recherches en dermato-allergologie (GERDA).
Godin, M. A.; Ryan, J. P.; Zhang, Y.; Bellingham, J. G.
2012-12-01
Observing plankton in their drifting frame of reference permits effective studies of marine ecology from the perspective of microscopic life itself. By minimizing variation caused simply by advection, observations in a plankton-tracking frame of reference focus measurement capabilities on the processes that influence the life history of populations. Further, the patchy nature of plankton populations motivates use of sensor data in real-time to resolve patch boundaries and adapt observing resources accordingly. We have developed capabilities for population-centric plankton observation and sampling by autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Our focus has been on phytoplankton populations, both because of their ecological significance - as the core of the oceanic food web and yet potentially harmful under certain bloom conditions, as well as the accessibility of their signal to simple optical sensing. During the first field deployment of these capabilities in 2010, we tracked a phytoplankton patch containing toxigenic diatoms and found that their toxicity correlated with exposure to resuspended sediments. However, this first deployment was labor intensive as the AUV drove in a pre-programmed pattern centered around a patch-marking drifter; it required a boat deployment of the patch-marking drifter and required full-time operators to periodically estimate of the position of the patch with respect to the drifter and adjust the AUV path accordingly. In subsequent field experiments during 2011 and 2012, the Tethys-class long-range AUVs ran fully autonomous patch tracking algorithms which detected phytoplankton patches and continually updated estimates of each patch center by driving adaptive patterns through the patch. Iterations of the algorithm were generated to overcome the challenges of tracking advecting and evolving patches while minimizing human involvement in vehicle control. Such fully autonomous monitoring will be necessary to perform long-term in
Long-term analysis of ionospheric polar patches based on CHAMP TEC data
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Noja, M.; Stolle, Claudia; Park, J.
2013-01-01
Total electron content (TEC) from LEO satellites offers great possibility to sound the upper ionosphere and plasmasphere. This paper describes a method to derive absolute TEC observations aboard CHAMP considering multipath effects and receiver differential code bias. The long-term data set of 9...... years GPS observations is used to investigate the climatological behavior of high-latitude plasma patches in both hemispheres. The occurrence of polar patches has a clear correlation with the solar cycle, which is less pronounced in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Summed over all years, we observed...... a higher number of patches in the SH. The maximum occurrence rate of patches has been found at the dayside polar cusp during 12:00-18:00 MLT (magnetic local time) supporting the mechanisms for patch creation by local particle precipitation and by intrusion of subauroral plasma into the polar cap through...
Measured Leak Rate of Ammonia Through an Epoxy/Stainless-Steel Patch
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Brady, B. B; Desain, J. D; Curtiss, T. J
2007-01-01
.... To assess the lifetime of the patch and sensitivity to manufacturing variation, simulated leaks in circular aluminum discs were patched with several different variants on the same epoxy-stainless materials system...
A DOUBLE E SHAPED MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA FOR MULTIBAND APPLICATIONS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pristin K Mathew
2014-06-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a dual band Compact double E shaped Microstrip Patch antenna with enhanced gain for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WI-MAX, Universal Mobile Telecommunication Systems (UMTS and Satellite applications. The modified E shaped patch antenna is designed using CADFEKO and the results of return loss, Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR, gain of the proposed antenna are compared with a conventional E shaped patch antenna. The results show that the double E shaped wideband patch antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 10.7 % with a return loss of -13.6dB, -12.4 dB, -12.1dB and -14.2dB at resonant frequencies of 1.96 GHz, 3.62 GHz, 5.76 GHz and 6.82 GHz, whereas a conventional E shaped patch antenna operates at 2.5 GHz, 3.4 GHz and 5.5 GHz with a return loss of -16 dB each and impedance bandwidth of 10.6 %. Both the antennas uses Coaxial Probe feeding technique and Flame Retardant 4 (FR-4 as the substrate material with a thickness of 2.87 mm. A parametric study has been done so as to understand the effect of each parameter to obtain a better performance and optimised results.
Foraging decisions, patch use, and seasonality in egrets (Aves: ciconiiformes)
Erwin, R.M.
1985-01-01
Feeding snowy (Egretta thula) and great (Casmerodius albus) egrets were observed during 2 breeding seasons in coastal New Jersey and 2 brief winter periods in northeast Florida (USA). A number of tests based on assumptions of foraging models, predictions from foraging theory, and earlier empirical tests concerning time allocation and movement in foraging patches was made. Few of the expectations based on foraging theory and/or assumptions were supported by the empirical evidence. Snowy egrets fed with greater intensity and efficiency during the breeding season (when young were being fed) than during winter. They also showed some tendency to leave patches when their capture rate declined, and they spent more time foraging in patches when other birds were present nearby. Great egrets showed few of these tendencies, although they did leave patches when their intercapture intervals increased. Satiation differences had some influence on feeding rates in snowy egrets, but only at the end of feeding bouts. Some individuals of both species revisited areas in patches that had recently been exploited, and success rates were usually higher after the 2nd visit. Apparently, for predators of active prey, short-term changes in resource availability ('resource depression') may be more important than resource depletion, a common assumption in most optimal foraging theory models.
Moiroux, Joffrey; Abram, Paul K.; Louâpre, Philippe; Barrette, Maryse; Brodeur, Jacques; Boivin, Guy
2016-04-01
Patch time allocation has received much attention in the context of optimal foraging theory, including the effect of environmental variables. We investigated the direct role of temperature on patch time allocation by parasitoids through physiological and behavioural mechanisms and its indirect role via changes in sex allocation and behavioural defences of the hosts. We compared the influence of foraging temperature on patch residence time between an egg parasitoid, Trichogramma euproctidis, and an aphid parasitoid, Aphidius ervi. The latter attacks hosts that are able to actively defend themselves, and may thus indirectly influence patch time allocation of the parasitoid. Patch residence time decreased with an increase in temperature in both species. The increased activity levels with warming, as evidenced by the increase in walking speed, partially explained these variations, but other mechanisms were involved. In T. euproctidis, the ability to externally discriminate parasitised hosts decreased at low temperature, resulting in a longer patch residence time. Changes in sex allocation with temperature did not explain changes in patch time allocation in this species. For A. ervi, we observed that aphids frequently escaped at intermediate temperature and defended themselves aggressively at high temperature, but displayed few defence mechanisms at low temperature. These defensive behaviours resulted in a decreased patch residence time for the parasitoid and partly explained the fact that A. ervi remained for a shorter time at the intermediate and high temperatures than at the lowest temperature. Our results suggest that global warming may affect host-parasitoid interactions through complex mechanisms including both direct and indirect effects on parasitoid patch time allocation.
Spatial and temporal variation in sponge spicule patches at Station M, northeast Pacific.
Laguionie-Marchais, C; Kuhnz, L A; Huffard, C L; Ruhl, H A; Smith, K L
Changes in habitat-forming organisms can have complex consequences for associated species. Sessile epibenthic glass "plate" sponges (Porifera: Hexactinellida) are conspicuous inhabitants of soft-sediment abyssal areas and their siliceous spicules create persistent spicule patches on the seafloor. Sponge spicule patch density, spatial dispersion, and percent cover were examined over a seven-year period (2006-2013) using remotely operated vehicle videos from Station M in the abyssal northeast Pacific (50˚00N, 123˚00W, ~4,000 m depth). There was an apparent large increase in newly dead plate sponges in February 2007 compared with December 2006, with this trend continuing through June 2007 (mean 0.03 % cover increasing to 0.33 %). A second increase in mean percent cover of dead plate sponges occurred from May 2011 (0.24 %) through June 2012 (0.60 %). Among the 28 megafaunal taxa occurring in association with the patches, the distributions of three taxa [two sponge taxa (Porifera) and brittle stars (Ophiuroidea)] suggested selectivity for the sponge spicule patches. The community structure of visible megafauna within sponge spicule patches was different when compared with that outside the patches suggesting that the sponges, after death, provide preferred habitat patches for certain benthic megafauna. These findings indicate that sponge spicule patches contribute to habitat heterogeneity in space and time.
Patel, V M; Prajapati, B G; Patel, J K; Patel, M M
2006-07-01
Buccal adhesive patches containing 20 mg of propranolol hydrochloride were prepared using solvent casting method. Chitosan was used as a natural bioadhesive polymer. Patches were prepared at different ratios of PVP K-30 and evaluated for various physicochemical characteristics such as weight variation, drug content uniformity, folding endurance, surface pH, ex-vivo mucoadhesive strength, ex-vivo residence time, in vitro drug release and in vitro buccal permeation study. Patches exhibited sustained release over a period of 7 hours. The mechanism of drug release was found to be Non-Fickian diffusion. Addition of PVP K-30 generally enhanced the releasing rate. The ex-vivo mucoadhesive strength was performed using sheep buccal mucosa on modified physical balance. Optimized patches (batch F4) showed satisfactory bioadhesive strength (9.6 degrees 2.0 gram) and ex vivo residence time (272 degrees 0.25 minutes). Swelling index was proportional to PVP K-30. The surface pH of all batches was within satisfactory limit (7.0+/-1.5) and hence patches would not cause irritation in the buccal cavity. Good correlation was observed between in vitro drug release and in vitro drug permeation with correlation coefficient of 0.9364. Stability of optimized patches was performed in natural human saliva showed that both drug and dosage forms were stable in human saliva.
Hyaluronic acid microneedle patch for the improvement of crow's feet wrinkles.
Choi, Sun Young; Kwon, Hyun Jung; Ahn, Ga Ram; Ko, Eun Jung; Yoo, Kwang Ho; Kim, Beom Joon; Lee, Changjin; Kim, Daegun
2017-11-01
Hyaluronic acid (HA) has an immediate volumizing effect, due to its strong water-binding potential, and stimulates fibroblasts, causing collagen synthesis, with short- and long-term effects on wrinkle improvement. We investigated the efficacy and safety of HA microneedle patches for crow's feet wrinkles. Using a randomized spilt-face design, we compared microneedle patches with a topical application containing the same active ingredients. We enrolled 34 Korean female subjects with mild to moderate crow's feet wrinkles. The wrinkle on each side of the subject's face was randomly assigned to a HA microneedle patch or HA essence application twice a week for 8 weeks. Efficacy was evaluated at weeks 2, 4, and 8. Skin wrinkles were measured as average roughness using replica and PRIMOS. Skin elasticity was assessed using a cutometer. Two independent blinded dermatologists evaluated the changes after treatment using the global visual wrinkle assessment score. Subjects assessed wrinkles using the subject global assessment score. Skin wrinkles were significantly reduced and skin elasticity significantly increased in both groups, although improvement was greater in the patch group at week 8 after treatment. In the primary and cumulative skin irritation tests, the HA microneedle patch did not induce any skin irritation. The HA microneedle patch is more effective than the HA essence for wrinkle improvement and is a safe and convenient without skin irritation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Development of novel double-decker microneedle patches for transcutaneous vaccine delivery.
Ono, Akihiko; Azukizawa, Hiroaki; Ito, Sayami; Nakamura, Yuki; Asada, Hideo; Quan, Ying-Shu; Kamiyama, Fumio; Katayama, Ichiro; Hirobe, Sachiko; Okada, Naoki
2017-10-30
Microneedle (MN) patches have great potential as transcutaneous vaccine delivery devices because MNs can effectively deliver vaccine antigen into the skin through the micropores formed in the stratum corneum by low-invasive and painless skin puncturing. This study aims to develop novel double-decker MN patches which have not only high safety and efficacy but also broad applicability to various vaccine antigens. We developed two types of MN patches (PGA-MN and Nylon-MN) that are made from polyglycolic acid and Nylon-6. In pre-clinical studies, both MN patches could demonstrably deliver antigens into resected human dermal tissue, prolong antigen deposition and increase antigen-specific IgG levels after vaccination compared with conventional injections. We demonstrated both MN patches could be safely applied to human skin because no broken MNs or significant skin irritation were observed after applications in the clinical research. PGA-MN was suggested to be superior to Nylon-MN regarding human skin puncturability based on measurements of transepidermal water loss and needle failure force. A high content of tetravalent influenza hemagglutinin antigens loaded on PGA-MN could stably maintain HA titers at 35°C for 1year. Overall, double-decker MN patches can reliably and safely puncture human skin and are promising as effective transcutaneous vaccine delivery devices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
An improved broadband E patch microstrip antenna for wireless communications
Bzeih, Amer; Chahine, Soubhi Abou; Kabalan, Karim Y.; El-Hajj, Ali; Chehab, Ali
2007-12-01
A broadband probe-fed microstrip antenna with E-shaped patch on a single-layer air substrate is investigated. Bandwidth enhancement of the antenna is achieved by inserting two parallel slots into its radiating patch. The effects of the antenna parameters are analyzed, and their optimal values for broadband operation are obtained. The design parameters are formulated as a function of the center frequency, and the empirical equations are validated by simulation. A 51.5% enhanced E patch antenna for modern wireless communications (Personal Communications Service, Digital Cellular System, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, Wireless Local Area Network 802.11 b/g, and Bluetooth) is designed, simulated, fabricated, and measured. A comparison between simulated and measured results is presented, and it showed satisfactory agreement. Moreover, the effect of incorporating more parallel slots into the radiating patch is investigated. The antenna is designed and simulated for different scenarios (four slots, six slots, and eight slots), where a bandwidth of 57% is achieved in the eight-slot design.
Study on the preparation of 166Ho-patch for a skin cancer treatment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kim, Y. M.; Kim, K. H.; Han, K. H.; Park, E. W.; Shin, B. C.; Park, K. B.; Lee, J. D.
1998-01-01
Radioactive patch containing holmium-166 has been developed for skin cancer treatment, and then applied to animal model and patients with malignant skin cancer. 165Ho-Patch prepared by dissolving polyurethane and 165 Ho(NO 3 ) 3 ·5H 2 O in mixing solvent of DMF and THF and casting on aluminium dish was irradiated in ''HANARO'' reactor ( Φth = 1.25 X 1013 n/cm 2 '·sec, power = 15 MW), which results in preparing 166 Ho-Patch emitting β energy of Max. 1.86 MeV (51 %), 1.78 MeV (48 %), mean 0.67 MeV and low γ energy. The 166 Ho-Patch specially designed was applied to the superficial skin cancers. Their efficacy and safety have been investigated for several months. Radioactive patch was ready to prepare by post-irradiation without special danger by radioactive material. Skin tumor could be successfully treated with 166 Ho-Patch in animal model and patients. In animal model and patients, the world's first noninvasive 166Ho-Patch readily prepared by post-irradiation proved to be safe and effective in treatment for skin cancer
PatchSurfers: Two methods for local molecular property-based binding ligand prediction.
Shin, Woong-Hee; Bures, Mark Gregory; Kihara, Daisuke
2016-01-15
Protein function prediction is an active area of research in computational biology. Function prediction can help biologists make hypotheses for characterization of genes and help interpret biological assays, and thus is a productive area for collaboration between experimental and computational biologists. Among various function prediction methods, predicting binding ligand molecules for a target protein is an important class because ligand binding events for a protein are usually closely intertwined with the proteins' biological function, and also because predicted binding ligands can often be directly tested by biochemical assays. Binding ligand prediction methods can be classified into two types: those which are based on protein-protein (or pocket-pocket) comparison, and those that compare a target pocket directly to ligands. Recently, our group proposed two computational binding ligand prediction methods, Patch-Surfer, which is a pocket-pocket comparison method, and PL-PatchSurfer, which compares a pocket to ligand molecules. The two programs apply surface patch-based descriptions to calculate similarity or complementarity between molecules. A surface patch is characterized by physicochemical properties such as shape, hydrophobicity, and electrostatic potentials. These properties on the surface are represented using three-dimensional Zernike descriptors (3DZD), which are based on a series expansion of a 3 dimensional function. Utilizing 3DZD for describing the physicochemical properties has two main advantages: (1) rotational invariance and (2) fast comparison. Here, we introduce Patch-Surfer and PL-PatchSurfer with an emphasis on PL-PatchSurfer, which is more recently developed. Illustrative examples of PL-PatchSurfer performance on binding ligand prediction as well as virtual drug screening are also provided. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Cell patch seeding and functional analysis of cellularized scaffolds for tissue engineering
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kumar, P R Anil [Division of Implant Biology, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695012 (India); Varma, H K [Bioceramics Laboratory, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695012 (India); Kumary, T V [Division of Implant Biology, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695012 (India)
2007-03-01
Cell seeding has a direct impact on the final structure and function of tissue constructs, especially for applications like tissue engineering and regeneration. In this study seeding cell patches retrieved from the thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) surface were used to generate in vitro tissue constructs. Porous and dense bone substitute materials were cellularized using osteoblast cells by a patch transfer and a trypsin method. The function and proliferation of cells was analyzed after 7 days of culture. The relative cell growth rate was found to be higher in cellularized porous hydroxyapatite (PHA) than in dense hydroxyapatite. Live-dead staining confirmed viable cells inside the pores of PHA. Increased alkaline phosphatase activity of cells transferred by the cell patch over the trypsin method revealed the significance of cell patch seeding. This novel method of generating tissue constructs by cell patch seeding was successful in cellularizing scaffolds with intact cell function.
Cell patch seeding and functional analysis of cellularized scaffolds for tissue engineering
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kumar, P R Anil; Varma, H K; Kumary, T V
2007-01-01
Cell seeding has a direct impact on the final structure and function of tissue constructs, especially for applications like tissue engineering and regeneration. In this study seeding cell patches retrieved from the thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) surface were used to generate in vitro tissue constructs. Porous and dense bone substitute materials were cellularized using osteoblast cells by a patch transfer and a trypsin method. The function and proliferation of cells was analyzed after 7 days of culture. The relative cell growth rate was found to be higher in cellularized porous hydroxyapatite (PHA) than in dense hydroxyapatite. Live-dead staining confirmed viable cells inside the pores of PHA. Increased alkaline phosphatase activity of cells transferred by the cell patch over the trypsin method revealed the significance of cell patch seeding. This novel method of generating tissue constructs by cell patch seeding was successful in cellularizing scaffolds with intact cell function
Features of change of permanent snow patches in the Mongun-Taiga Massif, 1966–2011
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D. A. Ganyushkin
2013-01-01
Full Text Available The article is dedicated to perennial snow patches of Mongun-Taiga mountain massif (south-western Tuva, their morphology, present state and dynamics over the last 45 years. We created a scheme of snow patch classification with regard to genesis of relief and position on the slopes. Dynamics of snow patches is analyzed for periods between several time points – 1966 (on basis of aerial photos, 2000, 2007–2008 and 2011 (on basis of field measurements and observations. From 1966 to 2008 the number of snow patches decreased by 4 times, the total area – by 15 times, the altitudinal zone of snow patches moved 250–300 m up. In 2008–2011 the altitudinal zone of snow patches partly recovered, its lower limit moved 250 m down, periglacial snow patches recovered, a new type – snow patches of buried ice and debris-covered glaciers appeared. It could be the first face of the process of small glaciers recovery in the massif. Using the changes of the altitudinal position of snow patches in comparison with data of the closest meteorological station we estimated the amount of annual precipitation, critical for the existence of local snow patches.
A flexible skin patch for continuous physiological monitoring of mental disorders
Jang, Won Ick; Lee, Bong Kuk; Ryu, Jin Hwa; Baek, In-Bok; Yu, Han Young; Kim, Seunghwan
2017-10-01
In this study, we have newly developed a flexible adhesive skin patch of electrocardiogram (ECG) device for continuous physiological monitoring of mental disorders. In addition, this flexible patch did not cause any damage to the skin even after 24 hours attachment. We have also suggested the possibility of novel interconnection for copper film on polyimide and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layers of the flexible patch. Self-align and soldering of IC chips such as resistor between metal pads on flexible skin patch have also successfully fabricated for 5 min at 180 °C in vacuum oven. Low temperature interconnection technology based on a Sn42/Bi58 solder was also developed for flexible ECG devices. As a result, we can monitor the mental health status through a comprehensive analysis of biological signals from flexible ECG devices.
A multiresolution remeshed particle vortex method using patches
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasmussen, Johannes Tophøj; Cottet, George-Henri; Walther, Jens Honore
vortex particle-mesh VIC algorithm interpolates particle vorticity to a mesh, solves a Poisson equation for the stream function using FFTs and calculates velocities as the curl of the stream function. With both vorticity and velocity available on the mesh, values of the substantial derivative of particle...... implementation with patches of varying resolution, is applied to the two-dimensional flow past a cylinder. The vorticity field can be divided into two regions, an arbitrary patch of vorticity and the remaining exterior vorticity field. Due to the linearity of the Poisson equation the velocity field corresponding...... to the total vorticity field is the sum of the free space solutions to the Poisson equation to each region. Hereby the flow on the patch can be simulated at a higher resolution, while including the influence from the coarser exterior region. Particles are remeshed and interpolated only to the region from which...
Investigation of contact allergy to dental materials by patch testing
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Reena Rai
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Dental products are widely used by patients and dental personnel alike and may cause problems for both. Dental materials could cause contact allergy with varying manifestations such as burning, pain, stomatitis, cheilitis, ulcers, lichenoid reactions localized to the oral mucosa in patients, and hand dermatitis in dental personnel. Patch testing with the dental series comprising commonly used materials can be used to detect contact allergies to dental materials. Aim: This study aimed to identify contact allergy among patients who have oral mucosal lesions after dental treatment and among dental personnel who came in contact with these materials. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients who had undergone dental procedures with symptoms of oral lichen planus, oral stomatitis, burning mouth, and recurrent aphthosis, were included in the study. Dental personnel with history of hand dermatitis were also included in the study. Patch testing was performed using Chemotechnique Dental Series and results interpreted as recommended by the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ICDRG. Results: Out of 13 patients who had undergone dental treatment/with oral symptoms, six patients with stomatitis, lichenoid lesions, and oral ulcers showed positive patch tests to a variety of dental materials, seven patients with ulcers had negative patch tests, seven dental personnel with hand dermatitis showed multiple allergies to various dental materials, and most had multiple positivities. Conclusion: The patch test is a useful, simple, noninvasive method to detect contact allergies among patients and among dental personnel dealing with these products. Long term studies are necessary to establish the relevance of these positive patch tests by eliminating the allergic substances, identifying clinical improvement, and substituting with nonallergenic materials.
Result of standard patch test in patients suspected of having allergic contact dermatitis.
Wongpiyabovorn, Jongkonnee; Puvabanditsin, Porntip
2005-09-01
Contact dermatitis is a common skin disease. Disease was diagnosed by a history of contact substance together with geographic distribution of lesion. Up till now, standard patch test is one of the most reliable test to identify and confirm causative agent of allergic contact dermatitis. To determine the rate of positive standard patch test and to identify the common allergen of contact dermatitis in Thailand, we performed the standard patch test in 129 patients, suspected having allergic contact dermatitis at Department of Dermatology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thailand from June 1, 2003 to September 1, 2004. The rate of positive standard patch test is 59.7% (n = 77/129). The most 3 common positive allergens were nickel sulfate (18.60%), cobalt chloride (17.05%) and fragrance mix (14.73%), respectively. The chance of positive standard patch test significantly correlated with sex (woman), initial diagnosis as contact dermatitis and history of house-worker (p = 0.017, p = 0.005 and p = 0.023, respectively). Whereas, there were no significant correlation between the chance of positive standard patch test and age of patient, location of lesion, history of recurrence, history of atopy, history of drug and food allergy. In addition, history of metal allergy significantly correlated with the chance of positive nickel sulfate or cobalt chloride in standard patch test (p = 0.017). In conclusion, this study demonstrated the prevalence of causative allergen of contact dermatitis in Thai patients using that standard patch test. Moreover, our data shown that the chance positive standard patch test was greater in patient, who were women or initial diagnosed as contact dermatitis or had history of houseworker or history of metal allergy.
Evaluation of Desensol As a Standard Patch Test Kit
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
K C Shah
1987-01-01
Full Text Available In a study undertaken to find out the usefulness of ′Desensol′ patch test kit to detect contact allergens, in 200 cases revealed 24 cases with negative patch test with all the antigens and 55 cases reacted to even the Vaseline control. -Excluding these 79 cases, the common contact allergens were potassium bichr6ma,te, (40.49%, TMTD(28.92%, PPD(24.79%, epoxy resin (23.14%, colophony (19.0%, nickel sulfate (19.0%, Framycetin (19.0% and nitrofurazone (19.0%. Desensol patch test kit is lacking in certain antigens while in our country due to varied environmental factors and social customs, a person is exposed to a large number of natural and man-made contact allergens. So usefulness of such a kit like. Desensol is limited.
Super wideband characteristics of monopolar patch antenna
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xi Chen
2013-12-01
Full Text Available A simple method of acquiring super wideband characteristics for monopolar patch antenna is proposed. Through adopting a modified cone as feeding and radiating structure, the monopolar patch antenna can reach the impedance bandwidth of more than 1:23.4 for voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR ≤ 2. In the whole operating band, the antenna has the like-monopole omnidirectional radiation patterns and the peak gains of 3.8–8.7 dB. Meanwhile, the height of the antenna is just 0.074λ(c, and the diameter of the radiated body is 0.205λ(c, which is smaller than other ultra-wideband omnidirectional antenna.
Smooth surfaces from rational bilinear patches
Shi, Ling; Wang, Jun; Pottmann, Helmut
2014-01-01
Smooth freeform skins from simple panels constitute a challenging topic arising in contemporary architecture. We contribute to this problem area by showing how to approximate a negatively curved surface by smoothly joined rational bilinear patches
An Active Patch Model for Real World Texture and Appearance Classification.
Mao, Junhua; Zhu, Jun; Yuille, Alan L
2014-09-06
This paper addresses the task of natural texture and appearance classification. Our goal is to develop a simple and intuitive method that performs at state of the art on datasets ranging from homogeneous texture (e.g., material texture), to less homogeneous texture (e.g., the fur of animals), and to inhomogeneous texture (the appearance patterns of vehicles). Our method uses a bag-of-words model where the features are based on a dictionary of active patches. Active patches are raw intensity patches which can undergo spatial transformations (e.g., rotation and scaling) and adjust themselves to best match the image regions. The dictionary of active patches is required to be compact and representative, in the sense that we can use it to approximately reconstruct the images that we want to classify. We propose a probabilistic model to quantify the quality of image reconstruction and design a greedy learning algorithm to obtain the dictionary. We classify images using the occurrence frequency of the active patches. Feature extraction is fast (about 100 ms per image) using the GPU. The experimental results show that our method improves the state of the art on a challenging material texture benchmark dataset (KTH-TIPS2). To test our method on less homogeneous or inhomogeneous images, we construct two new datasets consisting of appearance image patches of animals and vehicles cropped from the PASCAL VOC dataset. Our method outperforms competing methods on these datasets.
Case Series: Keratolimbal Allograft as a Patch Graft for Glaucoma Drainage Devices.
Ahmed, Sarah F; Schmutz, Mason; Mosaed, Sameh
2017-09-01
Tube exposure remains one of the most common complications after glaucoma drainage device (GDD) implantation, despite various types of patch grafts available today. We present a 4 patient case series following the effectivity of the keratolimbal allograft (KLAL) as a patch graft for cases of tube exposure. Given its inherent population of stem cells, our hypothesis was that this highly replicative, biological tissue would provide an adequate means of glaucoma tube coverage. The subset of patients chosen for the KLAL patch graft all had a history of abnormally scarred conjunctiva or thin sclera. The aim of utilizing the KLAL patch with its associated donor conjunctival and scleral ring was also to provide additional reinforcement and adequate tube coverage in the setting of compromised native tissue. Four patients comprised of 2 males and 2 females with a minimum postoperative period of 12 months. All GDDs were initially implanted with a limbal-based incision using either Ahmed glaucoma valve or Baerveldt drainage implant. Three of the 4 patients received the KLAL patch graft after tube exposure with scleral patch graft and 1 patient received KLAL as the primary graft during initial tube placement. Two of the 4 eyes experienced tube re-exposure postoperatively at 2 and 3 months, respectively. Both of these cases had a history of prior tube exposure after scleral patch graft and both were tubes placed in the pars plana. Interestingly, the patients with failed grafts were younger with a history of more ocular surgeries as compared with the patients with graft viable eyes. Through our case series, we found that the KLAL utilized as a patch graft over GDD tubes has the potential for favorable outcomes in certain subtypes of eyes. Although further large scale investigation will be necessary to better define the risk factors associated with graft failure, proving the graft's viability is a crucial first step.
Initial 2-year results of CardioCel® patch implantation in children.
Pavy, Carine; Michielon, Guido; Robertus, Jan Lukas; Lacour-Gayet, François; Ghez, Olivier
2018-03-01
We present the initial 2-year results of CardioCel® patch (Admedus Regen Pty Ltd, Perth, WA, Australia) implantation in paediatric patients with congenital heart diseases. This was a single-centre retrospective study with prospectively collected data of all patients aged 18 years and under operated for congenital heart disease. The patch was introduced in 2014, with clinical practice committee approval and a special consent in case of an Ozaki procedure. Standard follow-up was performed with systematic clinical exams and echocardiograms. In case of reoperation or graft failure, the patch was removed and sent for a histological examination. Between March 2014 and April 2016, 101 patients had surgical repair using a CardioCel patch. The mean age was 22 (±36.3) months, and the mean weight was 9.7 (±10.3) kg. No infections and no intraoperative implantation difficulties were associated with the patch. The median follow-up period was 212 (range 4-726) days. The overall 30-day postoperative mortality was 3.8% (n = 4), none of which were related to graft failure. Five children were reoperated because of graft failure, 4 of whom had the patch implanted for aortic and were aged less than 10 days. The indications for patch implantation in the aortic position were aortopulmonary window, truncus arteriosus, coarctation and aortic arch hypoplasia repair. The median time between the first and the second operation for graft failure was 245 (range 5-480) days. Our experience shows that the patch is well tolerated in the septal, valvar and pulmonary artery positions. However, we experienced graft failures in infants in the aortic position. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.
Bandwidth enhancement of a microstrip patch antenna for ultra-wideband applications
Anum, Khanda; Singh, Milind Saurabh; Mishra, Rajan; Tripathi, G. S.
2018-04-01
The microstrip antennas are used where size, weight, cost, and performance are constraints. Microstrip antennas (MSA) are being used in many government and commercial applications among which it is mostly used in wireless communication. The proposed antenna is designed for Ultra-wideband (UWB), it is designed on FR4 substrate material with ɛr = 4.3 and 0.0025 loss tangent. The shape and size of patch in microstrip patch antenna plays an important role in its performance. In the proposed antenna design the respective changes have been introduced which includes slotting the feedline,adding a curved slot in patch and change in patch shape itself to improve the bandwidth of the conventional antenna. The simulated results of proposed antenna shows impedance bandwidth (defined by 10 dB return loss) of 2-11.1GHz, VSWRcommunication at 7.25-8.395 GHz.
Drug profile: transdermal rivastigmine patch in the treatment of Alzheimer disease.
Emre, Murat; Bernabei, Roberto; Blesa, Rafael; Bullock, Roger; Cunha, Luis; Daniëls, Hugo; Dziadulewicz, Edward; Förstl, Hans; Frölich, Lutz; Gabryelewicz, Tomasz; Levin, Oleg; Lindesay, James; Martínez-Lage, Pablo; Monsch, Andreas; Tsolaki, Magda; van Laar, Teus
2010-08-01
Cholinesterase inhibitors constitute one of the mainstays of treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD). Gastrointestinal side effects, difficulty accessing therapeutic doses and poor patient compliance have been identified as barriers to effective treatment with these substances. The rivastigmine transdermal patch provides continuous delivery of drug through the skin into the bloodstream, avoiding the fluctuations in plasma concentration associated with oral administration. This pharmacokinetic profile is associated with reduced side effects, resulting in easier access to expected target doses. These benefits, along with other practical advantages of the transdermal patch, may contribute to enhanced patient compliance. Here, we present a review of the current literature on rivastigmine patch, and offer advice based on our own collective clinical experience. Rivastigmine patch provides an efficient option for managing patients with AD, to be considered among the first line therapies for the disease.
Absorption, accumulation and biological effects of depleted uranium in Peyer's patches of rats
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dublineau, I.; Grison, S.; Grandcolas, L.; Baudelin, C.; Tessier, C.; Suhard, D.; Frelon, S.; Cossonnet, C.; Claraz, M.; Ritt, J.; Paquet, P.; Voisin, P.; Gourmelon, P.
2006-01-01
The digestive tract is the entry route for radionuclides following the ingestion of contaminated food and/or water wells. It was recently characterized that the small intestine was the main area of uranium absorption throughout the gastrointestinal tract. This study was designed to determine the role played by the Peyer's patches in the intestinal absorption of uranium, as well as the possible accumulation of this radionuclide in lymphoid follicles and the toxicological or pathological consequences on the Peyer's patch function subsequent to the passage and/or accumulation of uranium. Results of experiments performed in Ussing chambers indicate that the apparent permeability to uranium in the intestine was higher (10-fold) in the mucosa than in Peyer's patches ((6.21 ± 1.21 to 0.55 ± 0.35) x 10 -6 cm/s, respectively), demonstrating that the small intestinal epithelium was the preferential pathway for the transmucosal passage of uranium. A quantitative analysis of uranium by ICP-MS following chronic contamination with depleted uranium during 3 or 9 months showed a preferential accumulation of uranium in Peyer's patches (1355% and 1266%, respectively, at 3 and 9 months) as compared with epithelium (890% and 747%, respectively, at 3 and 9 months). Uranium was also detected in the mesenteric lymph nodes (∼5-fold after contamination with DU). The biological effects of this accumulation of depleted uranium after chronic contamination were investigated in Peyer's patches. There was no induction of the apoptosis pathway after chronic DU contamination in Peyer's patches. The results indicate no change in the cytokine expression (Il-10, TGF-β, IFN-γ, TNF-α, MCP-1) in Peyer's patches and in mesenteric lymph nodes, and no modification in the uptake of yeast cells by Peyer's patches. In conclusion, this study shows that the Peyer's patches were a site of retention for uranium following the chronic ingestion of this radionuclide, without any biological consequences of
Nicotine patches improve mood and response speed in a lexical decision task.
Gentry, M V; Hammersley, J J; Hale, C R; Nuwer, P K; Meliska, C J
2000-01-01
The effects of smoking a cigarette or wearing a transdermal nicotine patch on mood and lexical decision-making were tested in eight smokers. Each participant was tested after 4 hours of smoking abstinence, under 4 conditions: placebo (very low nicotine) cigarette, nicotine cigarette, placebo patch, and nicotine patch. Relative to placebo, wearing the nicotine patch reduced Profile of Mood States (POMS) Total Mood Disturbance and Fatigue/Inertia scores, while increasing the speed of some types of lexical decisions. Smoking a nicotine cigarette did not affect reaction times, but unexpectedly decreased the accuracy of Word/ Nonword lexical decisions. Thus, transdermal nicotine may improve mood and facilitate longterm memory search and/or attentional processes in nicotine-deprived smokers.
Limonene hydroperoxide analogues show specific patch test reactions.
Christensson, Johanna Bråred; Hellsén, Staffan; Börje, Anna; Karlberg, Ann-Therese
2014-05-01
The fragrance terpene R-limonene is a very weak sensitizer, but forms allergenic oxidation products upon contact with air. The primary oxidation products of oxidized limonene, the hydroperoxides, have an important impact on the sensitizing potency of the oxidation mixture. One analogue, limonene-1-hydroperoxide, was experimentally shown to be a significantly more potent sensitizer than limonene-2-hydroperoxide in the local lymph node assay with non-pooled lymph nodes. To investigate the pattern of reactivity among consecutive dermatitis patients to two structurally closely related limonene hydroperoxides, limonene-1-hydroperoxide and limonene-2-hydroperoxide. Limonene-1-hydroperoxide, limonene-2-hydroperoxide, at 0.5% in petrolatum, and oxidized limonene 3.0% pet. were tested in 763 consecutive dermatitis patients. Of the tested materials, limonene-1-hydroperoxide gave most reactions, with 2.4% of the patients showing positive patch test reactions. Limonene-2-hydroperoxide and oxidized R-limonene gave 1.7% and 1.2% positive patch test reactions, respectively. Concomitant positive patch test reactions to other fragrance markers in the baseline series were frequently noted. The results are in accordance with the experimental studies, as limonene-1-hydroperoxide gave more positive patch test reactions in the tested patients than limonene-2-hydroperoxide. Furthermore, the results support the specificity of the allergenic activity of the limonene hydroperoxide analogues and the importance of oxidized limonene as a cause of contact allergy. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Is Decellularized Porcine Small Intestine Sub-mucosa Patch Suitable for Aortic Arch Repair?
Corno, Antonio F.; Smith, Paul; Bezuska, Laurynas; Mimic, Branko
2018-01-01
Introduction: We reviewed our experience with decellularized porcine small intestine sub-mucosa (DPSIS) patch, recently introduced for congenital heart defects. Materials and Methods: Between 10/2011 and 04/2016 a DPSIS patch was used in 51 patients, median age 1.1 months (5 days to 14.5 years), for aortic arch reconstruction (45/51 = 88.2%) or aortic coarctation repair (6/51 = 11.8%). All medical records were retrospectively reviewed, with primary endpoints interventional procedure (balloon dilatation) or surgery (DPSIS patch replacement) due to patch-related complications. Results: In a median follow-up time of 1.5 ± 1.1 years (0.6–2.3years) in 13/51 patients (25.5%) a re-intervention, percutaneous interventional procedure (5/51 = 9.8%) or re-operation (8/51 = 15.7%) was required because of obstruction in the correspondence of the DPSIS patch used to enlarge the aortic arch/isthmus, with median max velocity flow at Doppler interrogation of 4.0 ± 0.51 m/s. Two patients required surgery after failed interventional cardiology. The mean interval between DPSIS patch implantation and re-intervention (percutaneous procedure or re-operation) was 6 months (1–17 months). While there were 3 hospital deaths (3/51 = 5.9%) not related to the patch implantation, no early or late mortality occurred for the subsequent procedure required for DPSIS patch interventional cardiology or surgery. The median max velocity flow at Doppler interrogation through the aortic arch/isthmus for the patients who did not require interventional procedure or surgery was 1.7 ± 0.57 m/s. Conclusions: High incidence of re-interventions with DPSIS patch for aortic arch and/or coarctation forced us to use alternative materials (homografts and decellularized gluteraldehyde preserved bovine pericardial matrix). PMID:29900163
Bright patches on chernozems - from space to surface and soil properties
Smetanova, Anna; Burian, Libor; Holec, Juraj; Minár, Jozef
2016-04-01
The bright patches on chernozems can be easily visually distinguished in the aerial images, due to their bright colour contrasting with the dark colour of the surrounding chernozems. They present a typical feature of the loess hilly lands in the Danube Lowland. They reffer predominantely to the areas where (i) the soil substrate - loess is tilled, (ii) the transitional AC horizon of chernozems is tilled, (iii) or one of them, or both are mixed into the plough layer during tillage. They are usually categorized as eroded chernozems or regosols. To the lower extent, the accumulation patches might occur, if the loess material redeposited from upper part of the slope in the colluvium is tilled. This study focuses on uncovering the soil properties of bright patches, identified on different scales - spatial and temporal, combining three methods - the remote sensing, morphometric analysis and soil mapping. In the area of 31 km² (located in the Trnavska pahorkatina Hilly Land, south of Trnava), the bright patches were identified using visual analysis of georeferenced aerial images from 1949 and 2004, representing two types of landscape structure characteristic for the 20th Century. In 1949 small, in one direction elongated fields, with mean size 0.008 km2 prevailed, while in 2004 the mean size of a field was 0.28 km2. The morphometric analysis was performed based on DEM derived from topographical maps (scale 1:10 000). Soil sampling in the first phase of the project was performed in a subset of the patches in small agriculture catchment (0.28 km2), situated in one single field (in 2004). The percussion drilling or hand augering (with undisturbed structure) were used in order to describe the depth of the soil horizons and the soil properties. Together 365 bright patches covering 3.2% of the study area (31 km²) were identified in 1949; while it was twice more in 2004 (776 patches), when they covered approximately 12% of the same area. The bright patches were predominantly
Designing and testing a wearable, wireless fNIRS patch.
Abtahi, Mohammadreza; Cay, Gozde; Saikia, Manob Jyoti; Mankodiya, Kunal
2016-08-01
Optical brain monitoring using near infrared (NIR) light has got a lot of attention in order to study the complexity of the brain due to several advantages as oppose to other methods such as EEG, fMRI and PET. There are a few commercially available functional NIR spectroscopy (fNIRS) brain monitoring systems, but they are still non-wearable and pose difficulties in scanning the brain while the participants are in motion. In this work, we present our endeavors to design and test a low-cost, wireless fNIRS patch using NIR light sources at wavelengths of 770 and 830nm, photodetectors and a microcontroller to trigger the light sources, read photodetector's output and transfer data wirelessly (via Bluetooth) to a smart-phone. The patch is essentially a 3-D printed wearable system, recording and displaying the brain hemodynamic responses on smartphone, also eliminates the need for complicated wiring of the electrodes. We have performed rigorous lab experiments on the presented system for its functionality. In a proof of concept experiment, the patch detected the NIR absorption on the arm. Another experiment revealed that the patch's battery could last up to several hours with continuous fNIRS recording with and without wireless data transfer.
A Study on the RF-DC Conversion Efficiency of Microstrip Patch Rectenna
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jung, Yang Ha; Youn, Dong Gi; Kim, Kwan Ho [Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (Korea); Rhee, Young Chul [Kyungnam University (Korea)
2000-07-01
We designed and manufactured microstrip patch antenna mainly used in the rectenna and then analysed RF-DC conversion efficiency of wireless power transmission system. We analyse conversion efficiency of load, direction of linear and dual polization rectenna. We found that the maximum efficiency would be about 70% of load and direction in patch type. In conclusion, we found that total conversion efficiency is 64% - 71% in patch Rectenna. (author). 5 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.
Large forest patches promote breeding success of a terrestrial mammal in urban landscapes.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Masashi Soga
Full Text Available Despite a marked increase in the focus toward biodiversity conservation in fragmented landscapes, studies that confirm species breeding success are scarce and limited. In this paper, we asked whether local (area of forest patches and landscape (amount of suitable habitat surrounding of focal patches factors affect the breeding success of raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides in Tokyo, Central Japan. The breeding success of raccoon dogs is easy to judge as adults travel with pups during the breeding season. We selected 21 forest patches (3.3-797.8 ha as study sites. In each forest patch, we used infra-red-triggered cameras for a total of 60 camera days per site. We inspected each photo to determine whether it was of an adult or a pup. Although we found adult raccoon dogs in all 21 forest patches, pups were found only in 13 patches. To estimate probability of occurrence and detection for raccoon in 21 forest fragments, we used single season site occupancy models in PRESENCE program. Model selection based on AIC and model averaging showed that the occupancy probability of pups was positively affected by patch area. This result suggests that large forests improve breeding success of raccoon dogs. A major reason for the low habitat value of small, isolated patches may be the low availability of food sources and the high risk of being killed on the roads in such areas. Understanding the effects of local and landscape parameters on species breeding success may help us to devise and implement effective long-term conservation and management plans.
Zug, Kathryn A; Pham, Anh Khoa; Belsito, Donald V; DeKoven, Joel G; DeLeo, Vincent A; Fowler, Joseph F; Fransway, Anthony F; Maibach, Howard I; Marks, James G; Mathias, C G Toby; Pratt, Melanie D; Sasseville, Denis; Storrs, Frances J; Taylor, James S; Warshaw, Erin M; Zirwas, Matthew J
2014-01-01
Allergic contact dermatitis is common in children. Epicutaneous patch testing is an important tool for identifying responsible allergens. The objective of this study was to provide the patch test results from children (aged ≤18 years) examined by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group from 2005 to 2012. This is a retrospective analysis of children patch-tested with the North American Contact Dermatitis Group 65- or 70-allergen series. Frequencies and counts were compared with previously published data (2001-2004) using χ statistics. A total of 883 children were tested during the study period. A percentage of 62.3% had ≥1 positive patch test and 56.7% had ≥1 relevant positive patch test. Frequencies of positive patch test and relevant positive patch test reaction were highest with nickel sulfate (28.1/25.6), cobalt chloride (12.3/9.1), neomycin sulfate (7.1/6.6), balsam of Peru (5.7/5.5), and lanolin alcohol 50% petrolatum vehicle (5.5/5.1). The ≥1 positive patch test and ≥1 relevant positive patch test in the children did not differ significantly from adults (≥19 years) or from previously tested children (2001-2004). The percentage of clinically relevant positive patch tests for 27 allergens differed significantly between the children and adults. A total of 23.6% of children had a relevant positive reaction to at least 1 supplemental allergen. Differences in positive patch test and relevant positive patch test frequencies between children and adults as well as test periods confirm the importance of reporting periodic updates of patch testing in children to enhance clinicians' vigilance to clinically important allergens.
Feiner, Ron; Engel, Leeya; Fleischer, Sharon; Malki, Maayan; Gal, Idan; Shapira, Assaf; Shacham-Diamand, Yosi; Dvir, Tal
2016-06-01
In cardiac tissue engineering approaches to treat myocardial infarction, cardiac cells are seeded within three-dimensional porous scaffolds to create functional cardiac patches. However, current cardiac patches do not allow for online monitoring and reporting of engineered-tissue performance, and do not interfere to deliver signals for patch activation or to enable its integration with the host. Here, we report an engineered cardiac patch that integrates cardiac cells with flexible, freestanding electronics and a 3D nanocomposite scaffold. The patch exhibited robust electronic properties, enabling the recording of cellular electrical activities and the on-demand provision of electrical stimulation for synchronizing cell contraction. We also show that electroactive polymers containing biological factors can be deposited on designated electrodes to release drugs in the patch microenvironment on demand. We expect that the integration of complex electronics within cardiac patches will eventually provide therapeutic control and regulation of cardiac function.
Feiner, Ron; Engel, Leeya; Fleischer, Sharon; Malki, Maayan; Gal, Idan; Shapira, Assaf; Shacham-Diamand, Yosi; Dvir, Tal
2016-01-01
In cardiac tissue engineering approaches to treat myocardial infarction, cardiac cells are seeded within three-dimensional porous scaffolds to create functional cardiac patches. However, current cardiac patches do not allow for online monitoring and reporting of engineered-tissue performance, and do not interfere to deliver signals for patch activation or to enable its integration with the host. Here, we report an engineered cardiac patch that integrates cardiac cells with flexible, free-standing electronics and a 3D nanocomposite scaffold. The patch exhibited robust electronic properties, enabling the recording of cellular electrical activities and the on-demand provision of electrical stimulation for synchronizing cell contraction. We also show that electroactive polymers containing biological factors can be deposited on designated electrodes to release drugs in the patch microenvironment on-demand. We expect that the integration of complex electronics within cardiac patches will eventually provide therapeutic control and regulation of cardiac function. PMID:26974408
Myth 8: The "Patch-On" Approach to Programming Is Effective
Tomlinson, Carol Ann
2009-01-01
It is not likely that any group of educators of the gifted ever sat around a table and came to the decision that a "patch-on" approach to programming for bright learners represented best practice. Nonetheless, it is as common today as 25 years ago that programming for students identified as gifted often represents such an approach. Patch-on…
Mechanical Development of a Very Non-Standard Patch Array Antenna for Extreme Environments
Hughes, Richard; Chamberlain, Neil; Jakoboski, Julie; Petkov, Mihail
2012-01-01
This paper describes the mechanical development of patch antenna arrays for the Juno mission. The patch arrays are part of a six-frequency microwave radiometer instrument that will be used to measure thermal emissions from Jupiter. The very harsh environmental conditions in Jupiter orbit, as well as a demanding launch environment, resulted in a design that departs radically from conventional printed circuit patch antennas. The paper discusses the development and qualification of the Juno patch array antennas, with emphasis on the materials approach that was devised to mitigate the effects of electron charging in Jupiter orbit.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paradzayi Tagwireyi
Full Text Available Although the principles of landscape ecology are increasingly extended to include riverine landscapes, explicit applications are few. We investigated associations between patch heterogeneity and riparian ant assemblages at 12 riverine landscapes of the Scioto River, Ohio, USA, that represent urban/developed, agricultural, and mixed (primarily forested, but also wetland, grassland/fallow, and exurban land-use settings. Using remotely-sensed and ground-collected data, we delineated riverine landscape patch types (crop, grass/herbaceous, gravel, lawn, mudflat, open water, shrub, swamp, and woody vegetation, computed patch metrics (area, density, edge, richness, and shape, and conducted coordinated sampling of surface-active Formicidae assemblages. Ant density and species richness was lower in agricultural riverine landscapes than at mixed or developed reaches (measured using S [total number of species], but not using Menhinick's Index [DM], whereas ant diversity (using the Berger-Park Index [DBP] was highest in agricultural reaches. We found no differences in ant density, richness, or diversity among internal riverine landscape patches. However, certain characteristics of patches influenced ant communities. Patch shape and density were significant predictors of richness (S: R2 = 0.72; DM: R2=0.57. Patch area, edge, and shape emerged as important predictors of DBP (R2 = 0.62 whereas patch area, edge, and density were strongly related to ant density (R2 = 0.65. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarities distinguished ant assemblage composition in grass and swamp patches from crop, gravel, lawn, and shrub as well as ant assemblages in woody vegetation patches from crop, lawn, and gravel (stress = 0.18, R2 = 0.64. These findings lend insight into the utility of landscape ecology to river science by providing evidence that spatial habitat patterns within riverine landscapes can influence assemblage characteristics of riparian
Modeling of endovascular patch welding using the computer program LATIS
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Glinsky, M.E.; London, R.A.; Zimmerman, G.B.; Jacques, S.L.
1995-01-01
A new computer program, LATIS, being developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is used to study the effect of pulsed laser irradiation on endovascular patch welding. Various physical and biophysical effects are included in these simulations: laser light scattering and absorption, tissue heating and heat conduction, vascular cooling, and tissue thermal damage. The geometry of a patch being held against the inner vessel wall (500 μm inner diameter) by a balloon is considered. The system is exposed to light pulsed from an optical fiber inside the balloon. A minimum in the depth of damage into the vessel wall is found. The minimum damage zone is about the thickness of the patch material that is heated by the laser. The more ordered the tissue the thinner the minimum zone of damage. The pulse length which minimizes the zone of damage is found to be the time for energy to diffuse across the layer. The delay time between the pulses is determined by the time for the heated layer to cool down. An optimal pulse length exists which minimizes the total time needed to weld the patch to the wall while keeping the thickness of the damaged tissue to less than 100 μm. For the case that is considered, a patch dyed with light absorbing ICG on the side next to the vessel (thickness of the dyed layer is 60 μm), the best protocol is found to be 65-200 ms pulses applied over 2 min
Bilateral patching in retinal detachment: fluid mechanics and retinal "settling".
Foster, William J
2011-07-20
When a patient suffers a retinal detachment and surgery is delayed, it is known clinically that bilaterally patching the patient may allow the retina to partially reattach or "settle." Although this procedure has been performed since the 1860s, there is still debate as to how such a maneuver facilitates the reattachment of the retina. Finite element calculations using commercially available analysis software are used to elucidate the influence of reduction in eye movement caused by bilateral patching on the flow of subretinal fluid in a physical model of retinal detachment. It was found that by coupling fluid mechanics with structural mechanics, a physically consistent explanation of increased retinal detachment with eye movements can be found in the case of traction on the retinal hole. Large eye movements increase vitreous traction and detachment forces on the edge of the retinal hole, creating a subretinal vacuum and facilitating increased subretinal fluid. Alternative models, in which intraocular fluid flow is redirected into the subretinal space, are not consistent with these simulations. The results of these simulations explain the physical principles behind bilateral patching and provide insight that can be used clinically. In particular, as is known clinically, bilateral patching may facilitate a decrease in the height of a retinal detachment. The results described here provide a description of a physical mechanism underlying this technique. The findings of this study may aid in deciding whether to bilaterally patch patients and in counseling patients on pre- and postoperative care.
Sael, Lee; Kihara, Daisuke
2012-04-01
Functional elucidation of proteins is one of the essential tasks in biology. Function of a protein, specifically, small ligand molecules that bind to a protein, can be predicted by finding similar local surface regions in binding sites of known proteins. Here, we developed an alignment free local surface comparison method for predicting a ligand molecule which binds to a query protein. The algorithm, named Patch-Surfer, represents a binding pocket as a combination of segmented surface patches, each of which is characterized by its geometrical shape, the electrostatic potential, the hydrophobicity, and the concaveness. Representing a pocket by a set of patches is effective to absorb difference of global pocket shape while capturing local similarity of pockets. The shape and the physicochemical properties of surface patches are represented using the 3D Zernike descriptor, which is a series expansion of mathematical 3D function. Two pockets are compared using a modified weighted bipartite matching algorithm, which matches similar patches from the two pockets. Patch-Surfer was benchmarked on three datasets, which consist in total of 390 proteins that bind to one of 21 ligands. Patch-Surfer showed superior performance to existing methods including a global pocket comparison method, Pocket-Surfer, which we have previously introduced. Particularly, as intended, the accuracy showed large improvement for flexible ligand molecules, which bind to pockets in different conformations. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mufrod Mufrod
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Piper betle leaf in extract form is more effective than crude drug. Eugenol is a component in the extract that has antibacterial activity but irritate. Patch of piper betle leaf extract was used on the mucosa to make oral cavity hygiene. Antibacterial activity was influenced by the release of eugenol from the patch. Release enhancer substances (RES such as glycerin, propylen glicol and tween 80 were added in patch formulation to increase the release of active substances. The aim of the research was to investigate the physicochemical properties, eugenol release profiles, and local tolerance test of the patch. Extract of piper betle leaf was made using infundation method. Patch was made according to the variation concentration of extract (1, 2 and 4% and RES (glycerine, propylen glycol and tween 80 using chitosan as vehicle. Patch produced solvent casting method. Patch obtained was tested for swelling index, folding endurance, surface pH, antibacterial activity, release of eugenol, and local tolerance. Data obtained were analyzed descriptively. The result showed that the addition of RES did not affect the surface pH but increase the water absorption with in inconsistent way except patch with tween 80. The flexibility (folding endurance value increased, and the highest amount of eugenol released was achieved by patch using propylen glicol. Patch with tween 80 and glycerin for all extract concentration and patch with 1% extract concentration using propylen glycol showed medium sensation (local tolerance, and patch with 2 and 4% extract using propylen glycol showed severe sensation.
Relative abundance of mesopredators and size of oak patches in the cross-timbers ecoregion
Disney, M.R.; Hellgren, E.C.; Davis, C.A.; Leslie, David M.; Engle, David M.
2008-01-01
Mesopredators (e.g., raccoon Procyon lotor, Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana, striped skunk Mephitis mephitis) have received considerable attention because of links to population declines in birds via increased nest predation, especially in landscapes fragmented by anthropogenic forces. Relationships of abundance of mesopredators to size of habitat patches have received less attention than relationships to other metrics of fragmentation, particularly edge characteristics. We tested the hypothesis that relative abundance of mesopredators (e.g., raccoons and Virginia opossums) was related negatively to size of forest patch. We delineated 15 patches of oak (Quercus) forest ranging from 0.2 to 55.3 ha within a grassland-woodland mosaic in the cross-timbers ecoregion of Oklahoma. Scent stations and live traps within these patches were used to index relative abundance of mesopredators in summers 2003 and 2004. Both indices of relative abundance were related weakly and negatively to area of forest patch. However, rate of capture and visitation to scent station were not correlated consistently throughout the study. Our results suggested that the two methods to index abundance provided separate information on functional and numerical responses to size of patch. Our evidence that mesopredators within the cross timbers were more likely to be in smaller patches of oak forest may have implications to success of avian nesting in these patches.
Bandwidth-Enhanced Low-Profile Antenna with Parasitic Patches
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Son Xuat Ta
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This paper presents low-profile broadband antennas, which are composed of four parasitic patches placed between planar radiators and a perfect electric conductor ground plane. Two types of planar radiators, a conventional dipole and a crossed dipole, are employed to produce linearly polarized (LP and circularly polarized (CP radiations, respectively. The radiator and parasitic patches are realized on thin substrates to lower the cost. Owing to the presence of parasitic patches, the antenna performance improves in terms of profile reduction, resonant frequency decrease, and bandwidth enhancement. These improvements are discussed and confirmed computationally and experimentally. The LP design with the overall dimensions of 120 mm × 120 mm × 16.3 mm (0.64λ0 × 0.64λ0 × 0.087λ0 at 1.6 GHz has a |S11| 96%. The CP design, which has the same physical size as the LP case, has a |S11| 90%.
PROXY-BASED PATCHING STREAM TRANSMISSION STRATEGY IN MOBILE STREAMING MEDIA SYSTEM
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Liao Jianxin; Lei Zhengxiong; Ma Xutao; Zhu Xiaomin
2006-01-01
A mobile transmission strategy, PMPatching (Proxy-based Mobile Patching) transmission strategy is proposed, it applies to the proxy-based mobile streaming media system in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) network. Performance of the whole system can be improved by using patching stream to transmit anterior part of the suffix that had been played back, and by batching all the demands for the suffix arrived in prefix period and patching stream transmission threshold period. Experimental results show that this strategy can efficiently reduce average network transmission cost and number of channels consumed in central streaming media server.
A microneedle patch containing measles vaccine is immunogenic in non-human primates.
Edens, Chris; Collins, Marcus L; Goodson, James L; Rota, Paul A; Prausnitz, Mark R
2015-09-08
Very high vaccination coverage is required to eliminate measles, but achieving high coverage can be constrained by the logistical challenges associated with subcutaneous injection. To simplify the logistics of vaccine delivery, a patch containing micron-scale polymeric needles was formulated to encapsulate the standard dose of measles vaccine (1000 TCID₅₀) and the immunogenicity of the microneedle patch was compared with subcutaneous injection in rhesus macaques. The microneedle patch was administered without reconstitution with diluent, dissolved in skin within 10 min, and caused only mild, transient skin erythema. Both groups of rhesus macaques generated neutralizing antibody responses to measles that were consistent with protection and the neutralizing antibody titers were equivalent. In addition, the microneedle patches maintained an acceptable level of potency after storage at elevated temperature suggesting improved thermostability compared to standard lyophilized vaccine. In conclusion, a measles microneedle patch vaccine was immunogenic in non-human primates, and this approach offers a promising delivery method that could help increase vaccination coverage. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Management of nontraumatic corneal perforation with tectonic drape patch and cyanoacrylate glue.
Khalifa, Yousuf M; Bailony, M Rami; Bloomer, Michele M; Killingsworth, Daniel; Jeng, Bennie H
2010-10-01
To report a case of nontraumatic corneal perforation managed with a tectonic drape patch. Interventional case report. A 60-year-old patient with a corneal scar in his left eye likely secondary to herpes simplex virus interstitial keratitis underwent laser peripheral iridotomy for narrow angles. He developed progressive thinning of the cornea overlying the scar that led to a descemetocele and then ultimately a 1.2- × 1.7-mm perforation. Intraoperatively, several attempts were made to seal the perforation with cyanoacrylate glue, but the wound continued to leak. Sterile plastic drape that was on the surgical field was fashioned into a 2-mm-diameter patch, and the peripheral edge of the tectonic drape patch was glued over the perforation, successfully sealing the cornea. One week later, the drape patch was intact without leak, and a penetrating keratoplasty was carried out without complication. Tectonic drape patch technique for nontraumatic corneal perforations in which there is tissue loss is a viable temporizing option when cyanoacrylate glue alone fails and when there is no corneal tissue or amniotic membrane available to close the wound.
Evaluation of winter pothole patching methods.
2014-01-01
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of the tow-behind combination : infrared asphalt heater/reclaimer patching method and compare it to the throw and roll and spray injection methods. To : achieve t...
Manna, F; Pradel, R; Choquet, R; Fréville, H; Cheptou, P-O
2017-10-01
In plants, the presence of a seed bank challenges the application of classical metapopulation models to aboveground presence surveys; ignoring seed bank leads to overestimated extinction and colonization rates. In this article, we explore the possibility to detect seed bank using hidden Markov models in the analysis of aboveground patch occupancy surveys of an annual plant with limited dispersal. Patch occupancy data were generated by simulation under two metapopulation sizes (N = 200 and N = 1,000 patches) and different metapopulation scenarios, each scenario being a combination of the presence/absence of a 1-yr seed bank and the presence/absence of limited dispersal in a circular 1-dimension configuration of patches. In addition, because local conditions often vary among patches in natural metapopulations, we simulated patch occupancy data with heterogeneous germination rate and patch disturbance. Seed bank is not observable from aboveground patch occupancy surveys, hence hidden Markov models were designed to account for uncertainty in patch occupancy. We explored their ability to retrieve the correct scenario. For 10 yr surveys and metapopulation sizes of N = 200 or 1,000 patches, the correct metapopulation scenario was detected at a rate close to 100%, whatever the underlying scenario considered. For smaller, more realistic, survey duration, the length for a reliable detection of the correct scenario depends on the metapopulation size: 3 yr for N = 1,000 and 6 yr for N = 200 are enough. Our method remained powerful to disentangle seed bank from dispersal in the presence of patch heterogeneity affecting either seed germination or patch extinction. Our work shows that seed bank and limited dispersal generate different signatures on aboveground patch occupancy surveys. Therefore, our method provides a powerful tool to infer metapopulation dynamics in a wide range of species with an undetectable life form. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.
Origin, dynamics and evolution of ocean garbage patches from observed surface drifters
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Van Sebille, Erik; England, Matthew H; Froyland, Gary
2012-01-01
Much of the debris in the near-surface ocean collects in so-called garbage patches where, due to convergence of the surface flow, the debris is trapped for decades to millennia. Until now, studies modelling the pathways of surface marine debris have not included release from coasts or factored in the possibilities that release concentrations vary with region or that pathways may include seasonal cycles. Here, we use observational data from the Global Drifter Program in a particle-trajectory tracer approach that includes the seasonal cycle to study the fate of marine debris in the open ocean from coastal regions around the world on interannual to centennial timescales. We find that six major garbage patches emerge, one in each of the five subtropical basins and one previously unreported patch in the Barents Sea. The evolution of each of the six patches is markedly different. With the exception of the North Pacific, all patches are much more dispersive than expected from linear ocean circulation theory, suggesting that on centennial timescales the different basins are much better connected than previously thought and that inter-ocean exchanges play a large role in the spreading of marine debris. This study suggests that, over multi-millennial timescales, a significant amount of the debris released outside of the North Atlantic will eventually end up in the North Pacific patch, the main attractor of global marine debris. (letter)
Information Foraging Across the Life Span: Search and Switch in Unknown Patches.
Chin, Jessie; Payne, Brennan R; Fu, Wai-Tat; Morrow, Daniel G; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L
2015-07-01
In this study, we used a word search puzzle paradigm to investigate age differences in the rate of information gain (RG; i.e., word gain as a function of time) and the cues used to make patch-departure decisions in information foraging. The likelihood of patch departure increased as the profitability of the patch decreased generally. Both younger and older adults persisted past the point of optimality as defined by the marginal value theorem (Charnov, 1976), which assumes perfect knowledge of the foraging ecology. Nevertheless, there was evidence that adults were rational in terms of being sensitive to the change in RG for making the patch-departure decisions. However, given the limitations in cognitive resources and knowledge about the ecology, the estimation of RG may not be accurate. Younger adults were more likely to leave the puzzle as the long-term RG incrementally decreased, whereas older adults were more likely to leave the puzzle as the local RG decreased. However, older adults with better executive control were more likely to adjust their likelihood of patch-departure decisions to the long-term change in RG. Thus, age-dependent reliance on the long-term or local change in RG to make patch-departure decisions might be due to individual differences in executive control. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.
Hansen, Lane A; Monnet, Eric L
2013-08-01
To compare leakage and maximum intraluminal pressures of intestinal anastomoses with and without serosal patch supplementation in dogs. Healthy small intestine segments from cadavers of 2 dogs euthanized for reasons unrelated to the study. 12 enterectomy constructs were created by anastomosis of intestinal segments with a standard simple continuous suture pattern. Half of the constructs were randomly selected for additional serosal patch support. Leakage and maximum intraluminal pressures were measured in and compared between patch-supplemented and nonsupplemented constructs. Mean ± SD leakage pressure was significantly greater for the patch-supplemented anastomoses (81.8 ± 6.7 mm Hg) than for the nonsupplemented anastomoses (28.0 ± 6.7 mm Hg). Maximum intraluminal pressures were not significantly different between the groups. Serosal patch-supplemented anastomoses were able to sustain a significantly higher pressure before leakage than were nonsupplemented anastomoses in intestinal specimens from canine cadavers. The serosal patch supplementation may protect against leakage immediately after enterectomy in dogs.
Rajabi, Mina; Roxhed, Niclas; Shafagh, Reza Zandi; Haraldson, Tommy; Fischer, Andreas Christin; Wijngaart, Wouter van der; Stemme, Göran; Niklaus, Frank
2016-01-01
This paper demonstrates flexible and stretchable microneedle patches that combine soft and flexible base substrates with hard and sharp stainless steel microneedles. An elastomeric polymer base enables conformal contact between the microneedle patch and the complex topography and texture of the underlying skin, while robust and sharp stainless steel microneedles reliably pierce the outer layers of the skin. The flexible microneedle patches have been realized by magnetically assembling short stainless steel microneedles into a flexible polymer supporting base. In our experimental investigation, the microneedle patches were applied to human skin and an excellent adaptation of the patch to the wrinkles and deformations of the skin was verified, while at the same time the microneedles reliably penetrate the surface of the skin. The unobtrusive flexible and stretchable microneedle patches have great potential for transdermal biointerfacing in a variety of emerging applications such as transdermal drug delivery, bioelectric treatments and wearable bio-electronics for health and fitness monitoring.
Ke, Yuanyuan; Yu, Yan; Tong, Yan
2018-01-01
Selecting urban ecological patches is of great significance for constructing urban green infrastructure network, protecting urban biodiversity and ecological environment. With the support of GIS technology, a criterion for selecting sources of patches was developed according to existing planning. Then ecological source patches of terrestrial organism, aquatic and amphibious organism were selected in Wuhan city. To increase the connectivity of the ecological patches and achieve greater ecological protection benefits, the green infrastructure networks in Wuhan city were constructed with the minimum path analysis method. Finally, the characteristics of ecological source patches were analyzed with landscape metrics, and ecological protection importance degree of ecological source patches were evaluated comprehensively. The results showed that there were 23 important ecological source patches in Wuhan city, among which Sushan Temple Forest Patch, Lu Lake and Shangshe Lake Wetland Patch were the most important in all kinds of patches for ecological protection. This study can provide a scientific basis for the preservation of urban ecological space, the delineation of natural conservation areas and the protection of biological diversity.
Debonding Patch Detection in FRP-Strengthened Materials with Fiber-Optic Interferometer
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Xu Ying; Wang Dexiang; Tang Tianyou; Lu Miaomiao
2017-01-01
The interfacial debonding in fiber-reinforced plastic(FRP) strengthened repair material will affect the bonding strength and lead to failure of the repair without warning.Unfortunately the interfacial damage is normally invisible and often in the form of a patch rather than a through-width crack.Therefore,a debonding patch detection technique based on fiber optic interferometry is proposed.A quasi impulse loading is applied with a rubberhead hammer and the total elongation of a surface mounted optical fiber along the length of the repair material is measured as a function of load position.When a debonding patch is present,the induced sudden slope or sign change on the plot of fiber integral strain v.s.load position will reveal the extent and the location of the debonded area.The results of the study indicate that the proposed technique is applicable for debonding patch detection in repaired members under various support conditions.
Laser microsurgery of higher plant cell walls permits patch-clamp access
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Henriksen, G.H.; Taylor, A.R.; Brownlee, C.; Assmann, S.M.
1996-01-01
Plasma membranes of guard cells in epidermal peels of Vicia faba and Commelina communis can be made accessible to a patch-clamp pipet by removing a small portion (1-3 micrometer in diameter) of the guard cell wall using a microbeam of ultraviolet light generated by a nitrogen laser. Using this laser microsurgical technique, we have measured channel activity across plasma membranes of V. faba guard cells in both cell-attached and isolated patch configurations. Measurements made in the inside-out patch configuration revealed two distinct K+-selective channels. Major advantages of the laser microsurgical technique include the avoidance of enzymatic protoplast isolation, the ability to study cell types that have been difficult to isolate as protoplasts or for which enzymatic isolation protocols result in protoplasts not amenable to patch-clamp studies, the maintenance of positional information in single-channel measurements, reduced disruption of cell-wall-mediated signaling pathways, and the ability to investigate intercellular signaling through studies of cells remaining situated within tissue
A Patch to MCNP5 for Multiplication Inference: Description and User Guide
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Solomon, Jr., Clell J. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2014-05-05
A patch to MCNP5 has been written to allow generation of multiple neutrons from a spontaneous-fission event and generate list-mode output. This report documents the implementation and usage of this patch.
Novel Wideband Metallic Patch Antennas with Low Profile
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhong-Xiang Zhang
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Two planar metallic patch (MP antennas with low profiles are investigated and compared in this paper. The MP of each antenna consists of metallic patch cells and it is centrally fed by a rectangular slot. Two modes with close resonance frequencies are excited, providing a quite wide bandwidth. The antenna principle is explained clearly through a parametric study. Simulated and measured results show that the MP antennas with profile of 0.06λ0 can obtain a 10 dB impedance bandwidth of ~32% and an average gain of ~10 dBi.
Ruptured peroneal aneurysm after infrapopliteal prosthetic bypass with Taylor patch
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Florian Enzmann
Full Text Available Introduction: A 45-year-old mailman underwent an implantation of a femoro-peroneal polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE bypass with a distal Taylor patch six years prior to admission after two failed autologous reconstructions and extensive fasciotomy. The initial pathology was an acute ischemia due to popliteal entrapment with subsequent popliteal thrombectomy. Report: The patient was examined because of pain, reduction of walking distance and development of a palpable mass at the medial fasciotomy site. A 6-cm pseudoaneurysm with complete disruption of the suture line of the vein patch was discovered and resected. Arterial continuity with a vein interposition graft was established using non-reversed cephalic vein. Conclusion: The etiology of the aneurysm is not entirely clear. One may argue that the fourth revascularization could have been performed with an arm vein instead of a prosthetic graft with the probability of a better long term patency in a young patient. 15 months after the procedure the bypass is patent and the patient is without any symptoms. This complication of a Taylor patch has not been reported before. Keywords: Taylor patch, Pseudoaneurysm, Infrapopliteal bypass
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Benjamin Nnamdi Okolonkwo
2013-06-01
Full Text Available Paraquat (PQ is a bipyridylium herbicide; applied around trees in orchards and between crop rows to control broad-leaved and grassy weeds. Its oxidation results in the formation of superoxides which causes damage to cellular components. In this study, we determined the antioxidant effect vitamin C has on the liver enzymes [aspartate aminotransferase (SGOT, alanine aminotranferease (SGPT, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT] of rats under this toxic insult. Male rats in groups (A, B, C and D were intraperitoneally injected with different sublethal increasing doses (0, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06 g/kg body weigh of PQ respectively on monthly basis. Subsequently, the subgroups (A2, B2, C2 and D2 were given orally, 200 mg/L vitamin C, while the subgroups A1, B1, C1, and D1, received only water. Four animals per subgroup were decapitated on monthly basis and blood samples taken for enzyme assay. The parameters studied were - SGOT, SGPT, ALP and GGT - liver enzymes. The dose and time dependent PQ toxicity effect resulted in highly elevated Liver enzymes activities. The subgroups on vitamin C had significantly lower enzyme activities when compared to the same subgroups on only PQ insult. But the values were high when compared to the control subgroups (A1 and A2. These results were indication that vitamin C when given at moderate doses and maintained for a longer period could be a life saving adjunct to toxic insult.
Reducible Dictionaries for Single Image Super-Resolution based on Patch Matching and Mean Shifting
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasti, Pejman; Nasrollahi, Kamal; Orlova, Olga
2017-01-01
is taken, and its counterpart from the HR dictionary is passed through an illumination enhancement process. By this technique, the noticeable change of illumination between neighbor patches in the super-resolved image is significantly reduced. The enhanced HR patch represents the HR patch of the super......-resolved image. Finally, to remove the blocking effect caused by merging the patches, an average of the obtained HR image and the interpolated image obtained using bicubic interpolation is calculated. The quantitative and qualitative analyses show the superiority of the proposed technique over the conventional...
NEB in Analysis of Optical Flow 4 x 4 and 6 x 6-Patches
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Xia, Shengxiang; Liang, Di
2017-01-01
We apply the nudged elastic band technique to non-lineal high-dimensional datasets, we analyze spaces of 4 x 4 and 6 x 6 optical flow patches and detect their topological properties. We experimentally prove that subsets of 4 x 4 and 6 x 6 optical flow patches can be modeled a circle, which confirm some results of 4 x 4 and 6 x 6 optical flow patches by using a new method-NEB, and expend Adams et al's result to larger patches of optical flow. (paper)
Patch Test Results of 775 Patients with Allergic Contact Dermatitis
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Simin Ada
2010-12-01
Full Text Available Background and Design: The allergens responsible for allergic contact dermatitis vary among countries and even between different geographical regions within the same country over time. It is of great importance to perform the patch test at certain intervals, to evaluate the results in different centers and to compare them afterwards. Our aim was to evaluate the patch test results in our patients with allergic contact dermatitis.Material and Method: The records of the patients with allergic contact dermatitis, who had been patch tested between May 1997 and March 2009, were analyzed retrospectively. The demographic features such as age and sex, localization of the contact dermatitis, and the patch test results were recorded. Results: Of the 775 patients, 581 (75.2% were females and 194 (25% males. Of all patients, 735 were patch tested with the European Standard Series, 318 - with both the European Standard Series and cosmetic series, and 40-with cosmetic series alone. Of the patients tested with the European Standard Series, 255 (34.7% had at least one positive reaction. The most frequent allergen in the European Standard Series was nickel sulfate (17.3%, followed by cobalt chloride (7.2%, potassium dichromate (3%, fragrance mix (2.9%, and p-phenylenediamine base (2.6%. Of the 358 patients tested with cosmetic series, 82 (22.9% had at least one positive reaction. The 5 most frequently observed cosmetic series allergens were octyl gallate (3.9%, thimerosal (2.2%, sorbitan sesquioleate (2%, Euxyl K 400 (2% and methyldibromo glutaronitrile (1.4%. Conclusion: Our study shows the contact allergen profile of our center over 12 years. The most common allergens and their frequency differ between centers in various cities in Turkey. Those geographical differences should be re-evaluated by further studies performed in the certain time period. The high frequency of reactions to octyl gallate is an important finding in patients suspected of cosmetic allergy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin
2009-06-01
Full Text Available This article offers an interpretation of the strange term “base Phrygian Turk” that Pistol uses to insult Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor. If the spectators understand why Slender is called “latten bilbo” (1.1.150 or “Banbury Cheese” (2.2.120, and why Falstaff is called “whale” (2.1.56, “hodge pudding” (5.5.150 or “bag of flax” (5.5.150, this “Base Phrygian Turk” is less transparent and resists interpretation. Using Evelyne Larguèche’s theoretical work on the insulting effect (“l’effet injure”, we ask the question whether there is meaning behind these abusive words or whether their meaning only resides in the speech-act that consists in insulting. Studying the representation of the Islamic world in Elizabethan society and theatre, we show that far from being a mere “pistolism”, this insult suggests that Falstaff “turns Turk” in this play.
Formulation of Bilayer Benzydamine HCl Patch Targeted For Gingivitis
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Piyush Sanghai
2016-01-01
Full Text Available In the present study bilayer patch of benzydamine HCl was developed using solvent casting method. Different substrates were attempted like Petri dish, glass-and-ring, and teflon-and-ring for selection of the proper option to formulate patch that should give easily peelable film with adequate mechanical properties. HPMC E15 LV was used in different concentrations for obtaining proper viscosity of solution for pouring on to surface and ring, that it should not leak from ring. The second layer was optimized by using different polymer like eudragit RSPO, eudragit RSPO + EC, and eudragit NE30 D for efficient layer bonding. The minimum release from backing membrane was established by diffusion study as compared to from drug loaded layer. The optimized batches were evaluated for folding endurance, weight variation, thickness, drug content, drug release, tensile strength, layer separation, mucoadhesion, moisture uptake, and layer bonding. The novel gingival patch of benzydamine HCl developed would be beneficial in optimizing the therapy.
Holocene coral patch reef ecology and sedimentary architecture, Northern Belize, Central America
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mazzullo, S.J.; Anderson-Underwood, K.E.; Burke, C.D.; Bischoff, W.D. (Wichita State Univ., KS (United States))
1992-12-01
Coral patch reefs are major components of Holocene platform carbonate facies systems in tropical and subtropical areas. The biotic composition, growth and relationship to sea level history, and diagenetic attributes of a representative Holocene patch reef ([open quotes]Elmer Reef[close quotes]) in the Mexico Rocks complex in northern Belize are described and compared to those of Holocene patch reefs in southern Belize. Elmer Reef has accumulated in shallow (2.5 m) water over the last 420 yr, under static sea level conditions. Rate of vertical construction is 0.3-0.5 m/100 yr, comparable to that of patch reefs in southern Belize. A pronounced coral zonation exists across Elmer Reef, with Monastrea annularis dominating on its crest and Acropora cervicornis occurring on its windward and leeward flanks. The dominance of Montastrea on Elmer Reef is unlike that of patch reefs in southern Belize, in which this coral assumes only a subordinate role in reef growth relative to that of Acropora palmata. Elmer Reef locally is extensively biodegraded and marine, fibrous aragonite and some bladed high-magnesium calcite cements occur throughout the reef section, partially occluding corallites and interparticle pores in associated sands. Patch reefs in southern Belize have developed as catch-up and keep-up reefs in a transgressive setting. In contrast, the dominant mode of growth of Elmer Reef, and perhaps other patch reefs in Mexico Rocks, appears to be one of lateral rather than vertical accretion. This style of growth occurs in a static sea level setting where there is only limited accommodation space because of the shallowness of the water, and such reefs are referred to as [open quotes]expansion reefs[close quotes]. 39 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.
Automated identification and tracking of polar-cap plasma patches at solar minimum
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
R. Burston
2014-03-01
Full Text Available A method of automatically identifying and tracking polar-cap plasma patches, utilising data inversion and feature-tracking methods, is presented. A well-established and widely used 4-D ionospheric imaging algorithm, the Multi-Instrument Data Assimilation System (MIDAS, inverts slant total electron content (TEC data from ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS receivers to produce images of the free electron distribution in the polar-cap ionosphere. These are integrated to form vertical TEC maps. A flexible feature-tracking algorithm, TRACK, previously used extensively in meteorological storm-tracking studies is used to identify and track maxima in the resulting 2-D data fields. Various criteria are used to discriminate between genuine patches and "false-positive" maxima such as the continuously moving day-side maximum, which results from the Earth's rotation rather than plasma motion. Results for a 12-month period at solar minimum, when extensive validation data are available, are presented. The method identifies 71 separate structures consistent with patch motion during this time. The limitations of solar minimum and the consequent small number of patches make climatological inferences difficult, but the feasibility of the method for patches larger than approximately 500 km in scale is demonstrated and a larger study incorporating other parts of the solar cycle is warranted. Possible further optimisation of discrimination criteria, particularly regarding the definition of a patch in terms of its plasma concentration enhancement over the surrounding background, may improve results.
Patch Antenna based on a Photovoltaic Cell with a Dual resonance Frequency
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C. Baccouch
2016-11-01
Full Text Available The present work was to use photovoltaic solar cells in patch antenna structures. The radiating patch element of a patch antenna was replaced by a solar cell. Direct Current (DC generation remained the original feature of the solar cell, but additionally it was now able to receive and transmit electromagnetic waves. Here, we used a new patch antenna structure based on a photovoltaic solar cell. It was then used to collect photo-generated current as well as Radio Frequency (RF transmission. A mathematical model which would serve the minimization of power losses of the cell and therefore the improvement in the conversion efficiency was studied. A simulation allowed analysing the performance of the antenna, with a silicon material, and testing its parameters such as the reflection coefficient (S11, gain, directivity and radiated power. The performance analysis of the solar cell patch antenna was conducted using Advanced Design System (ADS software. Simulation results for this antenna showed a dual resonance frequency of 5.77 GHz and of 6.18 GHz with an effective return loss of -38.22dB and a gain of 1.59dBi.
Ali, Qasim; Bauch, Chris T; Anand, Madhur
2015-01-01
The transportation of camp firewood infested by non-native forest pests such as Asian long-horned beetle (ALB) and emerald ash borer (EAB) has severe impacts on North American forests. Once invasive forest pests are established, it can be difficult to eradicate them. Hence, preventing the long-distance transport of firewood by individuals is crucial. Here we develop a stochastic simulation model that captures the interaction between forest pest infestations and human decisions regarding firewood transportation. The population of trees is distributed across 10 patches (parks) comprising a "low volume" partition of 5 patches that experience a low volume of park visitors, and a "high volume" partition of 5 patches experiencing a high visitor volume. The infestation spreads within a patch--and also between patches--according to the probability of between-patch firewood transportation. Individuals decide to transport firewood or buy it locally based on the costs of locally purchased versus transported firewood, social norms, social learning, and level of concern for observed infestations. We find that the average time until a patch becomes infested depends nonlinearly on many model parameters. In particular, modest increases in the tree removal rate, modest increases in public concern for infestation, and modest decreases in the cost of locally purchased firewood, relative to baseline (current) values, cause very large increases in the average time until a patch becomes infested due to firewood transport from other patches, thereby better preventing long-distance spread. Patches that experience lower visitor volumes benefit more from firewood movement restrictions than patches that experience higher visitor volumes. Also, cross-patch infestations not only seed new infestations, they can also worsen existing infestations to a surprising extent: long-term infestations are more intense in the high volume patches than the low volume patches, even when infestation is already
Feiner, Ron; Engel, Leeya; Fleischer, Sharon; Malki, Maayan; Gal, Idan; Shapira, Assaf; Shacham-Diamand, Yosi; Dvir, Tal
2016-06-01
In cardiac tissue engineering approaches to treat myocardial infarction, cardiac cells are seeded within three-dimensional porous scaffolds to create functional cardiac patches. However, current cardiac patches do not allow for online monitoring and reporting of engineered-tissue performance, and do not interfere to deliver signals for patch activation or to enable its integration with the host. Here, we report an engineered cardiac patch that integrates cardiac cells with flexible, freestanding electronics and a 3D nanocomposite scaffold. The patch exhibited robust electronic properties, enabling the recording of cellular electrical activities and the on-demand provision of electrical stimulation for synchronizing cell contraction. We also show that electroactive polymers containing biological factors can be deposited on designated electrodes to release drugs in the patch microenvironment on demand. We expect that the integration of complex electronics within cardiac patches will eventually provide therapeutic control and regulation of cardiac function.
Hernández-Ruedas, Manuel A; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor; Meave, Jorge A; Martínez-Ramos, Miguel; Ibarra-Manríquez, Guillermo; Martínez, Esteban; Jamangapé, Gilberto; Melo, Felipe P L; Santos, Bráulio A
2014-01-01
Rainforests are undergoing severe deforestation and fragmentation worldwide. A huge amount of small forest patches are being created, but their value in conserving biodiversity and forest structure is still controversial. Here, we demonstrate that in a species-rich and moderately-managed Mexican tropical landscape small rainforest patches (<100 ha) can be highly valuable for the conservation of tree diversity and forest structure. These patches showed diverse communities of native plants, including endangered species, and a new record for the country. Although the number of logged trees increased in smaller patches, patch size was a poor indicator of basal area, stem density, number of species, genera and families, and community evenness. Cumulative species-area curves indicated that all patches had a similar contribution to the regional species diversity. This idea also was supported by the fact that patches strongly differed in floristic composition (high β-diversity), independently of patch size. Thus, in agreement with the land-sharing approach, our findings support that small forest patches in moderately-managed landscapes should be included in conservation initiatives to maintain landscape heterogeneity, species diversity, and ecosystem services.
Hernández-Ruedas, Manuel A.; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor; Meave, Jorge A.; Martínez-Ramos, Miguel; Ibarra-Manríquez, Guillermo; Martínez, Esteban; Jamangapé, Gilberto; Melo, Felipe P. L.; Santos, Bráulio A.
2014-01-01
Rainforests are undergoing severe deforestation and fragmentation worldwide. A huge amount of small forest patches are being created, but their value in conserving biodiversity and forest structure is still controversial. Here, we demonstrate that in a species-rich and moderately-managed Mexican tropical landscape small rainforest patches (tree diversity and forest structure. These patches showed diverse communities of native plants, including endangered species, and a new record for the country. Although the number of logged trees increased in smaller patches, patch size was a poor indicator of basal area, stem density, number of species, genera and families, and community evenness. Cumulative species-area curves indicated that all patches had a similar contribution to the regional species diversity. This idea also was supported by the fact that patches strongly differed in floristic composition (high β-diversity), independently of patch size. Thus, in agreement with the land-sharing approach, our findings support that small forest patches in moderately-managed landscapes should be included in conservation initiatives to maintain landscape heterogeneity, species diversity, and ecosystem services. PMID:24901954
Transparent biocompatible sensor patches for touch sensitive prosthetic limbs
Nag, Anindya
2016-12-26
The paper presents the fabrication of transparent, flexible sensor patches developed using a casting technique with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as substrate and a nanocomposite of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and PDMS as interdigital electrodes. The electrodes act as strain sensitive capacitor. The prototypes were used as touch sensitive sensors attached to the limbs. Experiments results show the sensitivity of the patches towards tactile sensing. The results are very promising and can play a key role in the development of a cost efficient sensing system attached to prosthetic limbs.
Transparent biocompatible sensor patches for touch sensitive prosthetic limbs
Nag, Anindya; Mukhopadhyay, Subhas; Kosel, Jü rgen
2016-01-01
The paper presents the fabrication of transparent, flexible sensor patches developed using a casting technique with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as substrate and a nanocomposite of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and PDMS as interdigital electrodes. The electrodes act as strain sensitive capacitor. The prototypes were used as touch sensitive sensors attached to the limbs. Experiments results show the sensitivity of the patches towards tactile sensing. The results are very promising and can play a key role in the development of a cost efficient sensing system attached to prosthetic limbs.
Patch use in time and space for a meso-predator in a risky world.
Mukherjee, Shomen; Zelcer, Michal; Kotler, Burt P
2009-03-01
Predator-prey studies often assume a three trophic level system where predators forage free from any risk of predation. Since meso-predators themselves are also prospective prey, they too need to trade-off between food and safety. We applied foraging theory to study patch use and habitat selection by a meso-predator, the red fox. We present evidence that foxes use a quitting harvest rate rule when deciding whether or not to abandon a foraging patch, and experience diminishing returns when foraging from a depletable food patch. Furthermore, our data suggest that patch use decisions of red foxes are influenced not just by the availability of food, but also by their perceived risk of predation. Fox behavior was affected by moonlight, with foxes depleting food resources more thoroughly (lower giving-up density) on darker nights compared to moonlit nights. Foxes reduced risk from hyenas by being more active where and when hyena activity was low. While hyenas were least active during moon, and most active during full moon nights, the reverse was true for foxes. Foxes showed twice as much activity during new moon compared to full moon nights, suggesting different costs of predation. Interestingly, resources in patches with cues of another predator (scat of wolf) were depleted to significantly lower levels compared to patches without. Our results emphasize the need for considering risk of predation for intermediate predators, and also shows how patch use theory and experimental food patches can be used for a predator. Taken together, these results may help us better understand trophic interactions.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Weldon, Aimee Jean
2004-07-01
Description – Ph.D Dissertation. North Carolina State University. Raleigh, North Carolina. 135 pp. Abatract - Habitat fragmentation and its associated effects have been blamed for the recent population declines of many Neotropical migratory bird species. Increased predation and parasitism resulting from edge-related effects have been implicated for poor nesting success in many studies, mostly of forest interior species. However, little attention has been devoted to disturbance-dependent birds. In this study, I examine how patch shape and connectivity in fragmented landscapes affects the reproductive success of disturbance-dependent bird species, specifically the Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). I conducted my study in a landscape-scale experimental system of similar-area habitat patches that differed in connectivity and in shape. Shapes differed between edgy and rectangular forms, where edgy patches contained 50% more edge than rectangular patches. I tested whether edgy patches function as ecological traps for species with strong edge preferences, by leading them to select dangerous habitats. Indigo Buntings preferentially selected edgy patches over rectangular patches, but experienced significantly lower reproductive success in edgy patches early in the season. Although predation pressure intensified in rectangular patches late in the season, seasonal fecundity was still significantly lower in edgy patches, providing the first empirical evidence that edges can function as ecological traps for Indigo Buntings. A second objective of my study was to evaluate the efficacy of conservation corridors for disturbance-dependent bird species. Conservation corridors have become a popular strategy to preserve biodiversity and promote gene flow in fragmented landscapes, but corridors may also have negative consequences. I tested the hypothesis that corridors can increase nest predation risk in connected patches relative to unconnected patches. Nest predation rates
U Patch Antenna for RFID and Wireless Applications
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Abi Saad, R.; Melhem, Z.; Nader, C.; Zaatar, Y.; Zaouk, D.
2011-01-01
in this paper, we propose a new multi-band patch antenna structure for embedded RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) readers and wireless communications. The proposed antenna is a dual band microstrip patch antenna using U-slot geometry. The operating frequencies of the proposed antenna are chosen as 2.4 and 0.9 (GHz), obtained by optimizing the physical dimensions of the U-slot. Several parameters have been investigated using Ansoft Designer software. The antenna is fed through a quarter wavelength transformer for impedance matching. An additional layer of alumina is added above the surface of the conductors to increase the performance of the antenna. (author)
Patching DFT, T-duality and gerbes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Howe, P.S.; Papadopoulos, G.
2017-01-01
We clarify the role of the dual coordinates as described from the perspectives of the Buscher T-duality rules and Double Field Theory. We show that the T-duality angular dual coordinates cannot be identified with Double Field Theory dual coordinates in any of the proposals that have been made in the literature for patching the doubled spaces. In particular, we show with explicit examples that the T-duality angular dual coordinates can have non-trivial transition functions over a spacetime and that their identification with the Double Field Theory dual coordinates is in conflict with proposals in which the latter remain inert under the patching of the B-field. We then demonstrate that the Double Field Theory coordinates can be identified with some C-space coordinates and that the T-dual spaces of a spacetime are subspaces of the gerbe in C-space. The construction provides a description of both the local O(d,d) symmetry and the T-dual spaces of spacetime.
Patching DFT, T-duality and gerbes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Howe, P.S.; Papadopoulos, G. [Department of Mathematics, King’s College London,Strand, London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom)
2017-04-12
We clarify the role of the dual coordinates as described from the perspectives of the Buscher T-duality rules and Double Field Theory. We show that the T-duality angular dual coordinates cannot be identified with Double Field Theory dual coordinates in any of the proposals that have been made in the literature for patching the doubled spaces. In particular, we show with explicit examples that the T-duality angular dual coordinates can have non-trivial transition functions over a spacetime and that their identification with the Double Field Theory dual coordinates is in conflict with proposals in which the latter remain inert under the patching of the B-field. We then demonstrate that the Double Field Theory coordinates can be identified with some C-space coordinates and that the T-dual spaces of a spacetime are subspaces of the gerbe in C-space. The construction provides a description of both the local O(d,d) symmetry and the T-dual spaces of spacetime.
Spatial patterns of ponderosa pine regeneration in high-severity burn patches
Suzanne M. Owen; Carolyn H. Sieg; Andrew J. Sanchez. Meador; Peter Z. Fule; Jose M. Iniguez; L. Scott. Baggett; Paula J. Fornwalt; Michael A. Battaglia
2017-01-01
Contemporary wildfires in southwestern US ponderosa pine forests can leave uncharacteristically large patches of tree mortality, raising concerns about the lack of seed-producing trees, which can prevent or significantly delay ponderosa pine regeneration. We established 4-ha plots in high-severity burn patches in two Arizona wildfires, the 2000 Pumpkin and 2002 Rodeo-...
Friesen, Kevin J.; Woelk, Cornelius; Bugden, Shawn
2016-01-01
Background: Although a convenient opioid delivery system, transdermal fentanyl patches have caused several deaths and resulted in safety warnings reminding prescribers that fentanyl patches should be prescribed only for patients who have adequate prior exposure to opioids. We conducted a longitudinal analysis of the safety of fentanyl initiation by examining past opioid exposure among patients newly prescribed fentanyl patches. Methods: We identified all patients in the province of Manitoba who were newly prescribed fentanyl patches between Apr. 1, 2001, and Mar. 31, 2013. We converted all prior opioid use to oral morphine equivalents and determined the average daily dose in the 7–30 days before initial fentanyl patch use. Fentanyl initiation was considered unsafe if the patient’s pre-fentanyl opioid exposure was below the recommended level. Results: We identified 11 063 patients who began using fentanyl patches during the study period. Overall, fentanyl initiation was deemed unsafe in 74.1% of cases because the patient’s prior opioid exposure was inadequate. Women and patients 65 years of age and older were more likely than men and younger patients, respectively, to have inadequate prior opioid exposure (p fentanyl patches decreased significantly over the study period, from 87.0% in 2001 to 50.0% in 2012 (p fentanyl initiation improved over the study period, but still half of fentanyl patch prescriptions were written for patients with inadequate prior opioid exposure. Review of prior opioid exposure may be a simple but important way to improve the safe use of fentanyl patches. PMID:27044480
Exploration of ethyl anthranilate-loaded monolithic matrix-type prophylactic polymeric patch
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Johirul Islam
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Compromised stability of pharmaceutical formulations loaded with volatiles is a serious problem associated with devices designed to deliver volatile compounds. The present study has been focused to evaluate the stability potential of matrix-type polymeric patches composed of volatile ethyl anthranilate for prophylaxis against vector-borne diseases. Ethyl anthranilate-loaded matrix-type polymeric patches were fabricated by solvent evaporation method on an impermeable backing membrane and attached to temporary release liners. Stability testing of the polymeric patches was performed as per the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH guidelines for 6 months under accelerated conditions. In addition, the quantification of residual solvents was also performed as per the ICH guidelines. After conducting the stability studies for 6 months, the optimized patches showed the best possible results with respect to uniformity of drug content, physical appearance, and other analytical parameters. Furthermore, the amount of residual solvent was found well below the accepted limit. Thus, the present report outlined the analytical parameters to be evaluated to ensure the stability of a certain devices consisting of volatile compounds.
The sensitivity of patch test in patients with psoriasis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yavuz Yeşilova
2010-09-01
Full Text Available Objectives: Allergic diseases play an important role in the natural course of psoriasis. Atopic sensitization and con-tact dermatitis are common in patients with psoriasis. Since the symptoms are prolonged in patients who are resistant to therapy and exposure to itchy and external factors are common among these patients, the effects of contact aller-gens on triggering psoriasis are investigated. Contact allergens have an important role in activation and remission of psoriasis. We aimed to investigate contact sensitization rates in patients with psoriasis in the study.Material and Methods: Contact sensitization was investigated with the application of European standard series in twenty patients with psoriasis, twenty patients with contact dermatitis, and twenty healthy persons. Results: Among the whole study cases, positivity rate of patch test against one allergen at least was 25%. rate of patch test was 25% in patients with psoriasis, 35% in patients with contact dermatitis, and 15% in healthy persons. There were no significant differences between the groups according to sensitization to one or more allergens (p>0.05. There were no significant difference in clinical subgroup of psoriatic patients according to contact sensitiza-tion (p>0.05. The allergens in patients with psoriasis on patch test were as the followings: phenyldiamine, potassium dichromat, nickel, and cobalt.Conclusion: We think that the patch test has a major role in the diagnosis and elimination of allergens in patients with the chronic and resistant diseases and palmoplantar and flexural psoriasis.
Management of Control System Information SecurityI: Control System Patch Management
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Quanyan Zhu; Miles McQueen; Craig Rieger; Tamer Basar
2011-09-01
The use of information technologies in control systems poses additional potential threats due to the frequent disclosure of software vulnerabilities. The management of information security involves a series of policy-making on the vulnerability discovery, disclosure, patch development and patching. In this paper, we use a system approach to devise a model to understand the interdependencies of these decision processes. In more details, we establish a theoretical framework for making patching decision for control systems, taking into account the requirement of functionability of control systems. We illustrate our results with numerical simulations and show that the optimal operation period of control systems given the currently estimated attack rate is roughly around a half a month.
Sael, Lee; Kihara, Daisuke
2012-01-01
Functional elucidation of proteins is one of the essential tasks in biology. Function of a protein, specifically, small ligand molecules that bind to a protein, can be predicted by finding similar local surface regions in binding sites of known proteins. Here, we developed an alignment free local surface comparison method for predicting a ligand molecule which binds to a query protein. The algorithm, named Patch-Surfer, represents a binding pocket as a combination of segmented surface patches, each of which is characterized by its geometrical shape, the electrostatic potential, the hydrophobicity, and the concaveness. Representing a pocket by a set of patches is effective to absorb difference of global pocket shape while capturing local similarity of pockets. The shape and the physicochemical properties of surface patches are represented using the 3D Zernike descriptor, which is a series expansion of mathematical 3D function. Two pockets are compared using a modified weighted bipartite matching algorithm, which matches similar patches from the two pockets. Patch-Surfer was benchmarked on three datasets, which consist in total of 390 proteins that bind to one of 21 ligands. Patch-Surfer showed superior performance to existing methods including a global pocket comparison method, Pocket-Surfer, which we have previously introduced. Particularly, as intended, the accuracy showed large improvement for flexible ligand molecules, which bind to pockets in different conformations. PMID:22275074
A capsaicin (8%) patch in the treatment of severe persistent inguinal postherniorrhaphy pain
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bischoff, Joakim M; Ringsted, Thomas K; Petersen, Marian
2014-01-01
BACKGROUND: Persistent pain after inguinal herniorrhaphy is a disabling condition with a lack of evidence-based pharmacological treatment options. This randomized placebo-controlled trial investigated the efficacy of a capsaicin 8% cutaneous patch in the treatment of severe persistent inguinal...... postherniorrhaphy pain. METHODS: Forty-six patients with persistent inguinal postherniorrhaphy pain were randomized to receive either a capsaicin 8% patch or a placebo patch. Pain intensity (Numerical Rating Scale [NRS 0-10]) was evaluated under standardized conditions (at rest, during movement, and during pressure....... The primary outcome was comparisons of summed pain intensity differences (SPIDs) between capsaicin and placebo treatments at 1, 2 and 3 months after patch application (significance level P placebo treatments, was observed at 1 month after...
Reactivity to patch tests with nickel sulfate and fragrance mix in infants
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jøhnke, H; Norberg, L A; Vach, W
2004-01-01
sulfate in 3 concentrations, 200, 66 and 22 microg/cm(2), and fragrance mix 430 microg/cm(2) were used. A likely case of nickel sensitivity was defined as a reproducible positive reaction with at least homogeneous erythema and palpable infiltration occurring at least 2x and present at both the 12 and 18......The pattern of patch test reactivity to nickel sulfate and fragrance mix was studied with respect to patch test performance, reproducibility and clinical relevance in a population of unselected infants followed prospectively from birth to 18 months of age. TRUE Testtrade mark patches with nickel...... sensitivity was found in only 1 child. No reproducible positive reaction to fragrance mix was found. The high proportion of transient patch test reactivity to nickel sulfate 200 microg/cm(2) indicates that this standard concentration used for adults cannot be applied to infants. The interpretation of a single...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. M. Jeevani W. Jayasinghe
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Genetic algorithm (GA has been a popular optimization technique used for performance improvement of microstrip patch antennas (MPAs. When using GA, the patch geometry is optimized by dividing the patch area into small rectangular cells. This has an inherent problem of adjacent cells being connected to each other with infinitesimal connections, which may not be achievable in practice due to fabrication tolerances in chemical etching. As a solution, this paper presents a novel method of dividing the patch area into cells with nonuniform overlaps. The optimized design, which is obtained by using fixed overlap sizes, shows a quad-band performance covering GSM1800, GSM1900, LTE2300, and Bluetooth bands. In contrast, use of nonuniform overlap sizes leads to obtaining a pentaband design covering GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS, LTE2300, and Bluetooth bandswith fractional bands with of 38% due to the extra design flexibility.
Patch models and their applications to multivehicle command and control.
Rao, Venkatesh G; D'Andrea, Raffaello
2007-06-01
We introduce patch models, a computational modeling formalism for multivehicle combat domains, based on spatiotemporal abstraction methods developed in the computer science community. The framework yields models that are expressive enough to accommodate nontrivial controlled vehicle dynamics while being within the representational capabilities of common artificial intelligence techniques used in the construction of autonomous systems. The framework allows several key design requirements of next-generation network-centric command and control systems, such as maintenance of shared situation awareness, to be achieved. Major features include support for multiple situation models at each decision node and rapid mission plan adaptation. We describe the formal specification of patch models and our prototype implementation, i.e., Patchworks. The capabilities of patch models are validated through a combat mission simulation in Patchworks, which involves two defending teams protecting a camp from an enemy attacking team.
Rebootless Linux Kernel Patching with Ksplice Uptrack at BNL
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hollowell, Christopher; Pryor, James; Smith, Jason
2012-01-01
Ksplice/Oracle Uptrack is a software tool and update subscription service which allows system administrators to apply security and bug fix patches to the Linux kernel running on servers/workstations without rebooting them. The RHIC/ATLAS Computing Facility (RACF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has deployed Uptrack on nearly 2,000 hosts running Scientific Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The use of this software has minimized downtime, and increased our security posture. In this paper, we provide an overview of Ksplice's rebootless kernel patch creation/insertion mechanism, and our experiences with Uptrack.
Capacitance of circular patch resonator
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Miano, G.; Verolino, L.; Naples Univ.; Panariello, G.; Vaccaro, V.G.; Naples Univ.
1995-11-01
In this paper the capacitance of the circular microstrip patch resonator is computed. It is shown that the electrostatic problem can be formulated as a system of dual integral equations, and the most interesting techniques of solutions of these systems are reviewed. Some useful approximated formulas for the capacitance are derived and plots of the capacitance are finally given in a wide range of dielectric constants
Maghsoudi, Hemmat; Ghaffari, Alireza
2011-01-01
Peptic ulcer perforations are a common emergency, but available literature is silent on the exact definition, incidence, management, and complications of peritonitis due to omental patch leakage. Retrospective data were collected on 422 patients who underwent omental patch repair of perforated peptic ulcer between March 20, 1999 and March 20, 2006. The definitive diagnosis of perforated peptic ulcer and omental patch leakage was obtained at surgery. Seventeen (4%) patients experienced generalized peritonitis due to omental patch leakage. Mean age was 60.6 years. Mortality rate was 29.4%, and the mean hospital stay was 23.6 days. Delay in surgical approach, shock on admission, and age were all significantly associated with increased mortality. Peritonitis due to omental patch leakage can result in significant morbidity and mortality. The most common causes of omental patch leakage and operative procedures were unknown and reinsertion of omentum, respectively. Factors such as shock on admission or delayed surgery, have significantly contributed to fatal outcomes and need careful attention.
Inactivated polio vaccination using a microneedle patch is immunogenic in the rhesus macaque.
Edens, Chris; Dybdahl-Sissoko, Naomi C; Weldon, William C; Oberste, M Steven; Prausnitz, Mark R
2015-09-08
The phased replacement of oral polio vaccine (OPV) with inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is expected to significantly complicate mass vaccination campaigns, which are an important component of the global polio eradication endgame strategy. To simplify mass vaccination with IPV, we developed microneedle patches that are easy to administer, have a small package size, generate no sharps waste and are inexpensive to manufacture. When administered to rhesus macaques, neutralizing antibody titers were equivalent among monkeys vaccinated using microneedle patches and conventional intramuscular injection for IPV types 1 and 2. Serologic response to IPV type 3 vaccination was weaker after microneedle patch vaccination compared to intramuscular injection; however, we suspect the administered type 3 dose was lower due to a flawed pre-production IPV type 3 analytical method. IPV vaccination using microneedle patches was well tolerated by the monkeys. We conclude that IPV vaccination using a microneedle patch is immunogenic in rhesus macaques and may offer a simpler method of IPV vaccination of people to facilitate polio eradication. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Horne, Jon S; Strickler, Katherine M; Alldredge, Mathew
2011-10-01
A growing number of programs seek to facilitate species conservation using incentive-based mechanisms. Recently, a market-based incentive program for the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) was implemented on a trial basis at Fort Hood, an Army training post in Texas, USA. Under this program, recovery credits accumulated by Fort Hood through contracts with private landowners are used to offset unintentional loss of breeding habitat of Golden-cheeked Warblers within the installation. Critical to successful implementation of such programs is the ability to value, in terms of changes to overall species viability, both habitat loss and habitat restoration or protection. In this study, we sought to answer two fundamental questions: Given the same amount of change in breeding habitat, does the change in some patches have a greater effect on metapopulation persistence than others? And if so, can characteristics of a patch (e.g., size or spatial location) be used to predict how the metapopulation will respond to these changes? To answer these questions, we describe an approach for using sensitivity analysis of a metapopulation projection model to predict how changes to specific habitat patches would affect species viability. We used a stochastic, discrete-time projection model based on stage-specific estimates of survival and fecundity, as well as various assumptions about dispersal among populations. To assess a particular patch's leverage, we quantified how much metapopulation viability was expected to change in response to changing the size of that patch. We then related original patch size and distance from the largest patch to each patch's leverage to determine if general patch characteristics could be used to develop guidelines for valuing changes to patches within a metapopulation. We found that both the characteristic that best predicted patch leverage and the magnitude of the relationship changed under different model scenarios
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ouinas, D.; Bachir Bouiadjra, B.; Achour, B.; Benderdouche, N.
2009-01-01
Adhesively bonded composite patch repair technique has been successfully applied in military aircraft repair and has recently been expanded to commercial aircraft industry. This technique is applied to extend the service life of cracked aluminium components. In this paper, the finite element method is applied to analyse the central crack's behaviour repaired by a boron/epoxy composite patch. The effects of the mechanical and geometrical properties of the patch on the variation of the stress intensity factor at the crack tip were highlighted. The obtained results show that the stress intensity factor at the crack tip, repaired by an octagonal patch of height 2c/3, is reduced by 5% with regard to the one repaired by an octagonal patch of size 'c'. For a height patch of c/3 the reduction is about 7%. The maximum reduction of composite patch of fibres in y-direction is about 30% compared to the aluminium patch. This reduction doubles when a composite patch of fibres in x-direction is used. The adhesive properties must be optimised to increase the performance of the repair of structures by such reinforcement
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Halas, Petr
2012-01-01
Roč. 20, č. 1 (2012), s. 16-27 ISSN 1210-8812 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : acidophilous grasslands * hemeroby * patch isolation * patch area * regression trees Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography http://www.geonika.cz/EN/research/ENMgr/MGR_2012_01.pdf
Ingalls, Nichole K; Horton, Zachary A; Bettendorf, Matthew; Frye, Ira; Rodriguez, Carlos
2010-02-01
The lidocaine patch 5% was developed to treat postherpetic neuralgia. Anecdotal experience at our institution suggests the lidocaine patch 5% decreases narcotic usage in patients with traumatic rib fractures. This trial was developed to define the patch's efficacy. Patients with rib fractures admitted to the trauma service at our Level I trauma center were enrolled and randomized in a 1 to 1 double-blind manner to receive a lidocaine patch 5% or placebo patch. Fifty-eight patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled from January 2007 to August 2008. Demographic and clinical information were recorded. The primary outcomes variable was total narcotic use, analyzed using the 1-tailed Mann-Whitney test. The secondary outcomes variables included non-narcotic pain medication, average pain score, pulmonary complications, and length of stay. Significance was defined based on a 1-sided test for the primary outcome and 2-sided tests for other comparisons, at p rib fractures, gender, trauma mechanism, preinjury lung disease, smoking history, percent of current smokers, and need for placement of chest tube between the lidocaine patch 5% and placebo groups. There was no difference between the lidocaine patch 5% and placebo groups, respectively, with regard to total IV narcotic usage: median, 0.23 units versus 0.26 units; total oral narcotics: median, 4 units versus 7 units; pain score: 5.6 +/- 0.4 versus 6.0 +/- 0.3 (mean +/- SEM); length of stay: 7.8 +/- 1.1 versus 6.2 +/- 0.7; or percentage of patients with pulmonary complications: 72.7% versus 72.0%. The lidocaine patch 5% does not significantly improve pain control in polytrauma patients with traumatic rib fractures.
O'Reilly, Kally C; Perica, Maria I; Fenton, André A
2016-10-01
Cognitive impairments are amongst the most debilitating deficits of schizophrenia and the best predictor of functional outcome. Schizophrenia is hypothesized to have a neurodevelopmental origin, making animal models of neurodevelopmental insult important for testing predictions that early insults will impair cognitive function. Rats exposed to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at gestational day 17 display morphological, physiological and behavioral abnormalities relevant to schizophrenia. Here we investigate the cognitive abilities of adult MAM rats. We examined brain activity in MAM rats by histochemically assessing cytochrome oxidase enzyme activity, a metabolic marker of neuronal activity. To assess cognition, we used a hippocampus-dependent two-frame active place avoidance paradigm to examine learning and spatial memory, as well as cognitive control and flexibility using the same environment and evaluating the same set of behaviors. We confirmed that adult MAM rats have altered hippocampal morphology and brain function, and that they are hyperactive in an open field. The latter likely indicates MAM rats have a sensorimotor gating deficit that is common to many animal models used for schizophrenia research. On first inspection, cognitive control seems impaired in MAM rats, indicated by more errors during the two-frame active place avoidance task. Because MAM rats are hyperactive throughout place avoidance training, we considered the possibility that the hyperlocomotion may account for the apparent cognitive deficits. These deficits were reduced on the basis of measures of cognitive performance that account for motor activity differences. However, though other aspects of memory are intact, the ability of MAM rats to express trial-to-trial memory is delayed compared to control rats. These findings suggest that spatial learning and cognitive abilities are largely intact, that the most prominent cognitive deficit is specific to acquiring memory in the MAM
Design and in vivo evaluation of a patch system based on thiolated polymers.
Hoyer, Herbert; Greindl, Melanie; Bernkop-Schnürch, Andreas
2009-02-01
A new oral patch delivery system has been designed to increase the overall oral bioavailability of drugs within the gastrointestinal tract. The patch system consists of four layered films: a mucoadhesive matrix layer, a water insoluble backing layer, a middle layer and an enteric surface layer. The separation layer between the two matrix layers contained lactose, starch and confectioners' sugar. The matrix layer, exhibiting a diameter of 2.5 mm and a weight of 5 mg, comprised Polycarbophil-cysteine conjugate (49%), fluoresceine isothiocyanate-dextran (26%), glutathione (5%), and mannitol (20%). A standard tablet formulation consisting of the same matrix served as control. Entire fluoresceine isothiocyanate-dextran (FD(4)) was released from the delivery system within 2 h. For in vivo studies patch systems were administered orally to male Sprague-Dawley rats. Maximum FD(4) concentration in blood of the patch system was 46.1 +/- 8.9 ng/mL and was reached 3 h after administration. In contrast c(max) of control tablets displayed 50.5 +/- 14.9 ng/mL after 2 h and the absorption of FD(4) after administration in oral solution was negligible. The absolute bioavailability of orally administered patch systems and control tablets was 0.54% and 0.32% respectively. Results of this study indicate that a prolonged and higher oral bioavailability of FD(4) is obtained with patches than with tablets.
Solomon, A J; Swartz, J F; Rodak, D J; Moore, H J; Hannan, R L; Tracy, C M; Fletcher, R D
1996-09-01
Nonthoracotomy defibrillator systems can be implanted with a lower morbidity and mortality, compared to epicardial systems. However, implantation may be unsuccessful in up to 15% of patients, using a monophasic waveform. It was the purpose of this study to prospectively examine the efficacy of a second chest patch electrode in a nonthoracotomy defibrillator system. Fourteen patients (mean age 62 +/- 11 years, ejection fraction = 0.29 +/- 0.12) with elevated defibrillation thresholds, defined as > or = 24 J, were studied. The initial lead system consisted of a right ventricular electrode (cathode), a left innominate vein, and subscapular chest patch electrode (anodes). If the initial defibrillation threshold was > or = 24 J, a second chest patch electrode was added. This was placed subcutaneously in the anterior chest (8 cases), or submuscularly in the subscapular space (6 cases). This resulted in a decrease in the system impedance at the defibrillation threshold, from 72.3 +/- 13.3 omega to 52.2 +/- 8.6 omega. Additionally, the defibrillation threshold decreased from > or = 24 J, with a single patch, to 16.6 +/- 2.8 J with two patches. These changes were associated with successful implantation of a nonthoracotomy defibrillator system in all cases. In conclusion, the addition of a second chest patch electrode (using a subscapular approach) will result in lower defibrillation thresholds in patients with high defibrillation thresholds, and will subsequently increase implantation rates for nonthoracotomy defibrillators.
The neostriatal mosaic: striatal patch-matrix organization is related to cortical lamination.
Gerfen, C R
1989-10-20
The basal ganglia, of which the striatum is the major component, process inputs from virtually all cerebral cortical areas to affect motor, emotional, and cognitive behaviors. Insights into how these seemingly disparate functions may be integrated have emerged from studies that have demonstrated that the mammalian striatum is composed of two compartments arranged as a mosaic, the patches and the matrix, which differ in their neurochemical and neuroanatomical properties. In this study, projections from prefrontal, cingulate, and motor cortical areas to the striatal compartments were examined with the Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) anterograde axonal tracer in rats. Each cortical area projects to both the patches and the matrix of the striatum; however, deep layer V and layer VI corticostriatal neurons project principally to the patches, whereas superficial layer V and layer III and II corticostriatal neurons project principally to the matrix. The relative contribution of patch and matrix corticostriatal projections varies among the cortical areas examined such that allocortical areas provide a greater number of inputs to the patches than to the matrix, whereas the reverse obtains for neocortical areas. These results demonstrate that the compartmental organization of corticostriatal inputs is related to their laminar origin and secondarily to the cytoarchitectonic area of origin.
Skin Barrier Restoration and Moisturization Using Horse Oil-Loaded Dissolving Microneedle Patches.
Lee, Chisong; Eom, Younghyon Andrew; Yang, Huisuk; Jang, Mingyu; Jung, Sang Uk; Park, Ye Oak; Lee, Si Eun; Jung, Hyungil
2018-01-01
Horse oil (HO) has skin barrier restoration and skin-moisturizing effects. Although cream formulations have been used widely and safely, their limited penetration through the stratum corneum is a major obstacle to maximizing the cosmetic efficacy of HO. Therefore, we aimed to encapsulate HO in a cosmetic dissolving microneedle (DMN) for efficient transdermal delivery. To overcome these limitations of skin permeation, HO-loaded DMN (HO-DMN) patches were developed and evaluated for their efficacy and safety using in vitro and clinical studies. Despite the lipophilic nature of HO, the HO-DMN patches had a sharp shape and uniform array, with an average length and tip diameter of 388.36 ± 16.73 and 38.54 ± 5.29 µm, respectively. The mechanical strength of the HO-DMN patches was sufficient (fracture force of 0.29 ± 0.01 N), and they could successfully penetrate pig skin. During the 4-week clinical evaluation, HO-DMN patches caused significant improvements in skin and dermal density, skin elasticity, and moisturization. Additionally, a brief safety assessment showed that the HO-DMN patches induced negligible adverse events. The HO-DMNs are efficient, safe, and convenient for wide use in cosmetic applications for skin barrier restoration and moisturization. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Early identification of hERG liability in drug discovery programs by automated patch clamp
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Timm eDanker
2014-09-01
Full Text Available Blockade of the cardiac ion channel coded by hERG can lead to cardiac arrhythmia, which has become a major concern in drug discovery and development. Automated electrophysiological patch clamp allows assessment of hERG channel effects early in drug development to aid medicinal chemistry programs and has become routine in pharmaceutical companies. However, a number of potential sources of errors in setting up hERG channel assays by automated patch clamp can lead to misinterpretation of data or false effects being reported. This article describes protocols for automated electrophysiology screening of compound effects on the hERG channel current. Protocol details and the translation of criteria known from manual patch clamp experiments to automated patch clamp experiments to achieve good quality data are emphasized. Typical pitfalls and artifacts that may lead to misinterpretation of data are discussed. While this article focuses on hERG channel recordings using the QPatch (Sophion A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark technology, many of the assay and protocol details given in this article can be transferred for setting up different ion channel assays by automated patch clamp and are similar on other planar patch clamp platforms.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Fernandez Grande, Efren; Jacobsen, Finn; Zhang, Yong-Bin
2009-01-01
It is a requirement of conventional Near-field Acoustic Holography that the measurement area covers the entire surface of the source. In the case of Patch Near-field Acoustic Holography (patch NAH), the measurement area can be reduced to cover only a specific area of the source which...... is of particular interest (known as the “patch” or “source patch”). The area of the source beyond this patch is not of interest in the analysis. However, its acoustic output may nevertheless contribute to the total sound field in the measurement plane, and influence the reconstruction of the field close...... to the patch. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the acoustic radiation from outside the patch area influences the reconstruction of the sound field close to the source. The reconstruction is based on simulated measurements of sound pressure and particle velocity. The methods used in this paper...
Is there a risk of active sensitization to PPD by patch testing the general population?
Thyssen, Jacob Pontoppidan; Menné, Torkil; Nielsen, Niels Henrik; Linneberg, Allan
2007-08-01
Para-phenylenediamine (PPD), a constituent of permanent hair dyes, may cause contact allergy in exposed individuals. It has previously been questioned whether a patch testing with PPD in population-based epidemiological studies is entirely safe. The Glostrup allergy studies patch tested the same cohort twice. In 1990, 567 persons were patch-tested and only one person had a (+) positive reaction to PPD. In 1998, 540 persons were re-invited to a new patch test and 365 (participation rate 68%) were re-tested. There were no positive reactions to PPD. These studies indicate that patch testing with PPD in individuals with no previous positive reactions to PPD or with only one previous positive reaction does not cause active sensitization and can be performed with minimal risk.
A large-scale deforestation experiment: Effects of patch area and isolation on Amazon birds
Ferraz, G.; Nichols, J.D.; Hines, J.E.; Stouffer, P.C.; Bierregaard, R.O.; Lovejoy, T.E.
2007-01-01
As compared with extensive contiguous areas, small isolated habitat patches lack many species. Some species disappear after isolation; others are rarely found in any small patch, regardless of isolation. We used a 13-year data set of bird captures from a large landscape-manipulation experiment in a Brazilian Amazon forest to model the extinction-colonization dynamics of 55 species and tested basic predictions of island biogeography and metapopulation theory. From our models, we derived two metrics of species vulnerability to changes in isolation and patch area. We found a strong effect of area and a variable effect of isolation on the predicted patch occupancy by birds.
Hodgson, Jenny A; Moilanen, Atte; Thomas, Chris D
2009-06-01
Many species have to track changes in the spatial distribution of suitable habitat from generation to generation. Understanding the dynamics of such species will likely require spatially explicit models, and patch-based metapopulation models are potentially appropriate. However, relatively little attention has been paid to developing metapopulation models that include habitat dynamics, and very little to testing the predictions of these models. We tested three predictions from theory about the differences between dynamic habitat metapopulations and their static counterparts using long-term survey data from two metapopulations of the butterfly Plebejus argus. As predicted, we showed first that the metapopulation inhabiting dynamic habitat had a lower level of habitat occupancy, which could not be accounted for by other differences between the metapopulations. Secondly, we found that patch occupancy did not significantly increase with increasing patch connectivity in dynamic habitat, whereas there was a strong positive connectivity-occupancy relationship in static habitat. Thirdly, we found no significant relationship between patch occupancy and patch quality in dynamic habitat, whereas there was a strong, positive quality-occupancy relationship in static habitat. Modeling confirmed that the differences in mean patch occupancy and connectivity-occupancy slope could arise without changing the species' metapopulation parameters-importantly, without changing the dependence of colonization upon connectivity. We found that, for a range of landscape scenarios, successional simulations always produced a lower connectivity-occupancy slope than comparable simulations with static patches, whether compared like-for-like or controlling for mean occupancy. We conclude that landscape-scale studies may often underestimate the importance of connectivity for species occurrence and persistence because habitat turnover can obscure the connectivity-occupancy relationship in commonly
Soil, Seeds, and the Pumpkin Patch!
Phillips, Marianne; Vowell, Julie
2013-01-01
"Soil, Seeds, and the Pumpkin Patch!" is an integrated unit designed to provide elementary school teachers with ideas for using hands-on activities, fostering inquiry and valuable discussion, and using technology as a learning tool. This unit integrates science with language arts, mathematics, literature, and technology. During this unit, students…
Studying a disease with no home - lessons in trial recruitment from the PATCH II study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Thomas Kim S
2010-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Cellulitis is a very common condition that often recurs. The PATCH II study was designed to explore the possibility of preventing future episodes of cellulitis, with resultant cost savings for the NHS. This was the first trial to be undertaken by the UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network. As such, it was the first to test a recruitment model that involved many busy clinicians each contributing just a few patients. Methods A double-blind randomised controlled trial comparing prophylactic antibiotics (penicillin V with placebo tablets, for the prevention of repeat episodes of cellulitis of the leg. Primary outcome was time to subsequent recurrence of cellulitis. Results The PATCH II study was closed to recruitment having enrolled 123 participants from a target of 400. Whilst the recruitment period was extended by 12 months, it was not possible to continue beyond this point without additional funds. Many factors contributed to poor recruitment: (i changes in hospital policy and the introduction of community-based intravenous teams resulted in fewer cellulitis patients being admitted to hospital; ii those who were admitted were seen by many different specialties, making it difficult for a network of dermatology clinicians to identify suitable participants; and iii funding for research staff was limited to a trial manager and a trial administrator at the co-ordinating centre. With no dedicated research nurses at the recruiting centres, it was extremely difficult to maintain momentum and interest in the study. Attempts to boost recruitment by providing some financial support for principal investigators to employ local research staff was of limited success. Discussion The model of a network of busy NHS clinicians all recruiting a few patients into large clinical studies requires further testing. It did not work very well for PATCH II, but this was probably because patients were not routinely seen by dermatologists, and recruitment
Unmanned Ground Vehicle Navigation and Coverage Hole Patching in Wireless Sensor Networks
Zhang, Guyu
2013-01-01
This dissertation presents a study of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) navigation and coverage hole patching in coordinate-free and localization-free Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Navigation and coverage maintenance are related problems since coverage hole patching requires effective navigation in the sensor network environment. A…
Illumination and the perception of remote habitat patches by whit footed mice
Patrick A. Zollner; Steven L. Lima
1999-01-01
Perceptual range, or the distance at which habitat 'patches' can be perceived, constrains an animal's informational window on a given landscape. If such constraints are great, they may limit successful dispersal between distant habitat patches. On dark nights, nocturnal white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, have surprisingly limited...
A patch test confirmed phenobarbital-induced fixed drug eruption in a child.
Chadly, Zohra; Aouam, Karim; Chaabane, Amel; Belhadjali, Hichem; Abderrazzak Boughattas, Naceur; Zili, Jamel Eddine
2014-06-01
A-10-year-old girl was referred to our department for multiple hyperpigmented plaques. One week previously, she had been given one suppository of acetylsalicylic acid - phenobarbital for fever. Twelve hours after the drug intake the child developed pruritic red plaques on the left thigh. Six weeks after resolution of the acute reaction, patch tests were performed separately, with phenobarbital and acetylsalicylic acid. On 48-hour reading, only the phenobarbital patch test on residual pigmented lesion was positive. Because of possible cross-reactions between aromatic anticonvulsants, subsequent patch tests using carbamazepine and phenytoin on residual pigmented lesions were performed. They were all negative at 48-hour reading. To our knowledge, only two isolated pediatric cases of Phenobarbital-induced FDE have been reported in the literature. In this case report, as it was difficult to determine whether phenobarbital or acetylsalicylic acid was responsible for this reaction, subsequent patch tests allowed the identification of the culprit component since it was positive to phenobarbital.
Parametric study on patch repaired CFRP laminates using FEA
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kashfuddoja, M.; Ramji, M. [Indian Institute of Technology. Engineering Optics Lab. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Hyderabad (India)
2012-07-01
Carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates have become popular for structural applications as they are lighter, stronger and tougher. Composite structures are also susceptible to damage while in service. For improved service life, the damage needs to be repaired so that repair structure integrity is enhanced. Various parameters like patch size and shape, it's layup sequence and adhesive thickness would influence the performance of the repaired structure. In present work, a parametric study is carried out using finite element analysis (FEA) to investigate the influence of various parameters involved in composite repair. The panel is made of carbon / epoxy composite laminate with stacking sequence of (0/{+-}45/900)s and is subjected to tensile load. Damaged CFRP laminates is repaired by symmetrical patch adhesively bonded over the damaged area. Circular patch of different stacking sequence and size is considered. Influence of adhesive material and it's thickness on repair efficiency is also investigated. The influence of various repair parameters on peel stress is also analysed. (Author)
Self-Replication of Localized Vegetation Patches in Scarce Environments
Bordeu, Ignacio; Clerc, Marcel G.; Couteron, Piere; Lefever, René; Tlidi, Mustapha
2016-09-01
Desertification due to climate change and increasing drought periods is a worldwide problem for both ecology and economy. Our ability to understand how vegetation manages to survive and propagate through arid and semiarid ecosystems may be useful in the development of future strategies to prevent desertification, preserve flora—and fauna within—or even make use of scarce resources soils. In this paper, we study a robust phenomena observed in semi-arid ecosystems, by which localized vegetation patches split in a process called self-replication. Localized patches of vegetation are visible in nature at various spatial scales. Even though they have been described in literature, their growth mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Here, we develop an innovative statistical analysis based on real field observations to show that patches may exhibit deformation and splitting. This growth mechanism is opposite to the desertification since it allows to repopulate territories devoid of vegetation. We investigate these aspects by characterizing quantitatively, with a simple mathematical model, a new class of instabilities that lead to the self-replication phenomenon observed.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tse S
2012-10-01
Full Text Available Susanna Tse,1 Kendall D Powell,2 Stephen MacLennan,3 Allan R Moorman,4 Craig Paterson,5 Rosonald R Bell11Pfizer Inc, Groton, CT, USA; 2Tandem Labs, Durham, NC, USA; 3BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc, Durham, NC, USA; 4Alta Vetta Pharmaceutical Consulting LLC, Durham, NC, USA; 5Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc, Raleigh, NC, USAPurpose: This study compared the pharmacokinetic profile, and systemic and local absorption of diclofenac, following dermal patch application and oral administration in Yorkshire- Landrace pigs.Patients and methods: Twelve anesthetized, female, Yorkshire-Landrace pigs were randomized to receive either the dermal patch (FLECTOR® patch, 10 × 14 cm; Alpharma Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc, New York, NY or 50 mg oral diclofenac (Voltaren®; Novartis, East Hanover, NJ. Tissue (skin area of 2 × 2 cm and underlying muscles approximately 2–3 cm in depth and blood (10 mL samples were collected at timed intervals up to 11.5 hours after initial patch application or oral administration. The concentrations of diclofenac in plasma, skin, and muscle samples were analyzed using validated ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric methods.Results: Peak systemic exposure of diclofenac was very low by dermal application compared with oral administration (maximum concentration [Cmax] values of 3.5 vs 9640 ng/mL, respectively. Absorption of diclofenac into underlying muscles beneath the dermal patch was sustained, and followed apparently zero-order kinetics, with the skin serving as a depot with elevated concentrations of diclofenac. Concentrations of diclofenac in muscles beneath the patch application site were similar to corresponding tissues after oral administration (Cmax values of 879 and 1160 ng/mL, respectively. In contrast to the wide tissue distribution of diclofenac after oral administration, dermal patch application resulted in high concentrations of diclofenac only on the treated skin and immediate
Ultrasonic techniques for repair of aircraft structures with bonded composite patches
Smith, S. H.; Senapati, N.; Francini, R. B.
1994-01-01
This is a paper on a research and development project to demonstrate a novel ultrasonic process for the field application of boron/epoxy (B/Ep) patches for repair of aircraft structures. The first phase of the project was on process optimization and testing to develop the most practical ultrasonic processing techniques. Accelerated testing and aging behavior of precured B/Ep patches, which were ultrasonically bonded to simulated B-52 wing panel assemblies, were performed by conducting flight-by-flight spectrum loading fatigue tests. The spectrum represented 2340 missions/flights or 30 years of service. The effects of steady-state applied temperature and prior exposure of the B/Ep composite patches were evaluated. Representative experimental results of this phase of the project are presented.
Expansion or extinction: deterministic and stochastic two-patch models with Allee effects.
Kang, Yun; Lanchier, Nicolas
2011-06-01
We investigate the impact of Allee effect and dispersal on the long-term evolution of a population in a patchy environment. Our main focus is on whether a population already established in one patch either successfully invades an adjacent empty patch or undergoes a global extinction. Our study is based on the combination of analytical and numerical results for both a deterministic two-patch model and a stochastic counterpart. The deterministic model has either two, three or four attractors. The existence of a regime with exactly three attractors only appears when patches have distinct Allee thresholds. In the presence of weak dispersal, the analysis of the deterministic model shows that a high-density and a low-density populations can coexist at equilibrium in nearby patches, whereas the analysis of the stochastic model indicates that this equilibrium is metastable, thus leading after a large random time to either a global expansion or a global extinction. Up to some critical dispersal, increasing the intensity of the interactions leads to an increase of both the basin of attraction of the global extinction and the basin of attraction of the global expansion. Above this threshold, for both the deterministic and the stochastic models, the patches tend to synchronize as the intensity of the dispersal increases. This results in either a global expansion or a global extinction. For the deterministic model, there are only two attractors, while the stochastic model no longer exhibits a metastable behavior. In the presence of strong dispersal, the limiting behavior is entirely determined by the value of the Allee thresholds as the global population size in the deterministic and the stochastic models evolves as dictated by their single-patch counterparts. For all values of the dispersal parameter, Allee effects promote global extinction in terms of an expansion of the basin of attraction of the extinction equilibrium for the deterministic model and an increase of the
Holmquist, Jeffrey G.; Schmidt-Gengenbach, Jutta; Ballenger, Elizabeth A.
2014-06-01
Assessments of vertebrate disturbance to plant and animal assemblages often contrast grazed versus ungrazed meadows or other larger areas of usage, and this approach can be powerful. Random sampling of such habitats carries the potential, however, for smaller, more intensely affected patches to be missed and for other responses that are only revealed at smaller scales to also escape detection. We instead sampled arthropod assemblages and vegetation structure at the patch scale (400-900 m2 patches) within subalpine wet meadows of Yosemite National Park (USA), with the goal of determining if there were fine-scale differences in magnitude and directionality of response at three levels of grazing intensity. Effects were both stronger and more nuanced than effects evidenced by previous random sampling of paired grazed and ungrazed meadows: (a) greater negative effects on vegetation structure and fauna in heavily used patches, but (b) some positive effects on fauna in lightly grazed patches, suggested by trends for mean richness and total and population abundances. Although assessment of disturbance at either patch or landscape scales should be appropriate, depending on the management question at hand, our patch-scale work demonstrated that there can be strong local effects on the ecology of these wetlands that may not be detected by comparing larger scale habitats.
The effect of actuator bending on Lamb wave displacement fields generated by a piezoelectric patch
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Huang, H; Pamphile, T; Derriso, M
2008-01-01
A Lamb wave is a special type of elastic wave that is widely employed in structural health monitoring systems for damage detection. Recently, piezoelectric (piezo) patches have become popular for Lamb wave excitation and sensing because one piezo patch can serve as both the actuator and the sensor. All published work has assumed that the Lamb wave displacement field generated by a piezo patch actuator is axi-symmetric. However, we observed that piezo sensors placed at equal distances from the piezo patch actuator displayed different responses. In order to understand this phenomenon, we used a laser vibrometer to measure the full-field displacements around a circular piezo actuator noncontactly. The displacement fields excited by the piezo patch actuator are found to be directional, and this directionality is also frequency dependent, indicating that the out-of-plane bending dynamics of the piezo actuator may play an important role in the Lamb wave displacement fields. A simulation model that incorporates the bending deformation of the piezo patch into the calculations of the Lamb wave generation is then developed. The agreement between the simulated and measured displacement fields confirmed that the directionality of the Lamb wave displacement fields is governed by the bending deformation of the piezo patch actuator
Bilaterally Weighted Patches for Disparity Map Computation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laura Fernández Julià
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Visual correspondence is the key for 3D reconstruction in binocular stereovision. Local methods perform block-matching to compute the disparity, or apparent motion, of pixels between images. The simplest approach computes the distance of patches, usually square windows, and assumes that all pixels in the patch have the same disparity. A prominent artifact of the method is the "foreground fattening effet" near depth discontinuities. In order to find a more appropriate support, Yoon and Kweon introduced the use of weights based on color similarity and spatial distance, analogous to those used in the bilateral filter. This paper presents the theory of this method and the implementation we have developed. Moreover, some variants are discussed and improvements are used in the final implementation. Several examples and tests are presented and the parameters and performance of the method are analyzed.
Metamaterial Embedded Wearable Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J. G. Joshi
2012-01-01
Full Text Available This paper presents an indigenous low-cost metamaterial embedded wearable rectangular microstrip patch antenna using polyester substrate for IEEE 802.11a WLAN applications. The proposed antenna resonates at 5.10 GHz with a bandwidth and gain of 97 MHz and 4.92 dBi, respectively. The electrical size of this antenna is 0.254λ×0.5λ. The slots are cut in rectangular patch to reduce the bending effect. This leads to mismatch the impedance at WLAN frequency band; hence, a metamaterial square SRR is embedded inside the slot. A prototype antenna has been fabricated and tested, and the measured results are presented in this paper. The simulated and measured results of the proposed antenna are found to be in good agreement. The bending effect on the performance of this antenna is experimentally verified.
Retrospective evaluation of the consequence of alleged patch test sensitization
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Charlotte D; Paulsen, Evy; Andersen, Klaus E
2006-01-01
The risk of actively sensitizing a patient in connection with diagnostic patch tests exists. This risk, however, is extremely low, especially from standard allergens, and if the test is carried out according to internationally accepted guidelines. This retrospective study investigates the clinical...... or available for the follow-up investigation and 3 patients were not traceable. Among the 14 remaining patients 1 had a reaction to gold sodium thiosulphate, which was assessed to be a persistent reaction and not a late reaction, and in 2 patients a clear relevance for the late reacting allergen was found....... For the remaining 11 patients we could not rule out that they were patch test sensitized, and they were investigated further. 1 was diseased and 10 were interviewed regarding the possible consequences of the alleged patch test sensitization. 9 had not experienced any dermatitis problems, and 1 could not exclude...
Image superresolution of cytology images using wavelet based patch search
Vargas, Carlos; García-Arteaga, Juan D.; Romero, Eduardo
2015-01-01
Telecytology is a new research area that holds the potential of significantly reducing the number of deaths due to cervical cancer in developing countries. This work presents a novel super-resolution technique that couples high and low frequency information in order to reduce the bandwidth consumption of cervical image transmission. The proposed approach starts by decomposing into wavelets the high resolution images and transmitting only the lower frequency coefficients. The transmitted coefficients are used to reconstruct an image of the original size. Additional details are added by iteratively replacing patches of the wavelet reconstructed image with equivalent high resolution patches from a previously acquired image database. Finally, the original transmitted low frequency coefficients are used to correct the final image. Results show a higher signal to noise ratio in the proposed method over simply discarding high frequency wavelet coefficients or replacing directly down-sampled patches from the image-database.
Active patch antennas for transponder applications
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Biffi Gentili, G; Avitabile, G; Bonifacio, F; Salvador, C [Florence Univ. (Italy). Dip. di Ingegneria Elettronica
1996-01-01
The paper deals with two patch antenna structures that are mainly taught for short range link and non-contact identification system (RFID). The proposed antennas were developed by starting from an original concept of cross-polarization usefully applicable, in compliance with european for transponder applications are described and experimental results are reported.
Photopatch and UV-irradiated patch testing in photosensitive dermatitis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Reena Rai
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Background: The photopatch test is used to detect photoallergic reactions to various antigens such as sunscreens and drugs. Photosensitive dermatitis can be caused due to antigens like parthenium, fragrances, rubbers and metals. The photopatch test does not contain these antigens. Therefore, the Indian Standard Series (ISS along with the Standard photopatch series from Chemotechnique Diagnostics, Sweden was used to detect light induced antigens. Aim: To detect light induced antigens in patients with photosensitive dermatitis. Methods: This study was done in a descriptive, observer blinded manner. Photopatch test and ISS were applied in duplicate on the patient's back by the standard method. After 24 hours, readings were recorded according to ICDRG criteria. One side was closed and other side irradiated with 14 J/cm2 of UVA and a second set of readings were recorded after 48 hrs. Result: The highest positivity was obtained with parthenium, with 18 out of 35 (51% patients showing a positive patch test reaction with both photoallergic contact dermatitis and photoaggravation. Four patients (11% showed positive patch test reaction suggestive of contact dermatitis to potassium dichromate and fragrance mix. Six patients had contact dermatitis to numerous antigens such as nickel, cobalt, chinoform and para-phenylenediamine. None of these patients showed photoaggravation on patch testing. Conclusion: Parthenium was found to cause photoallergy, contact dermatitis with photoaggravation and contact allergy. Hence, photopatch test and UV irradiated patch test can be an important tool to detect light induced antigens in patients with photosensitive dermatitis.
Enhanced Stability of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Encapsulated in Dissolving Microneedle Patches.
Chu, Leonard Y; Ye, Ling; Dong, Ke; Compans, Richard W; Yang, Chinglai; Prausnitz, Mark R
2016-04-01
This study tested the hypothesis that encapsulation of influenza vaccine in microneedle patches increases vaccine stability during storage at elevated temperature. Whole inactivated influenza virus vaccine (A/Puerto Rico/8/34) was formulated into dissolving microneedle patches and vaccine stability was evaluated by in vitro and in vivo assays of antigenicity and immunogenicity after storage for up to 3 months at 4, 25, 37 and 45°C. While liquid vaccine completely lost potency as determined by hemagglutination (HA) activity within 1-2 weeks outside of refrigeration, vaccine in microneedle patches lost 40-50% HA activity during or shortly after fabrication, but then had no significant additional loss of activity over 3 months of storage, independent of temperature. This level of stability required reduced humidity by packaging with desiccant, but was not affected by presence of oxygen. This finding was consistent with additional stability assays, including antigenicity of the vaccine measured by ELISA, virus particle morphological structure captured by transmission electron microscopy and protective immune responses by immunization of mice in vivo. These data show that inactivated influenza vaccine encapsulated in dissolving microneedle patches has enhanced stability during extended storage at elevated temperatures.
Johansen, Cornelia; Mariani, Claire; Mueller, Ralf S
2017-10-01
Adverse food reaction (AFR) is an important differential diagnosis for the pruritic dog. It is usually diagnosed by feeding an elimination diet with a novel protein and carbohydrate source for eight weeks followed by subsequent food provocation. A previous study demonstrated that patch testing dogs with foods had a high sensitivity and negative predictability for selection of elimination diet ingredients. The aim of this study was to investigate patch testing with proteins, carbohydrates and dry commercial dog food in dogs to determine whether there was value in patch testing to aid the diagnosis of canine adverse food reaction. Twenty five privately owned dogs, with confirmed AFR, underwent provocation trials with selected food antigens and patch testing. For proteins, carbohydrates and dry dog food the sensitivity of patch testing was 100%, 70% and 22.2%, respectively; the negative predictive values of patch testing were 100%, 79% and 72%. The positive predictive values of patch testing for proteins and carbohydrates were 75% and 74%, respectively. This study confirmed that patch testing may be useful for the selection of a suitable protein source for an elimination diet in dogs with suspected AFR, but not as a diagnostic tool for canine AFR. Results for proteins are more reliable than for carbohydrates and the majority of positive patch test reactions were observed with raw protein. Patch testing with commercial dog food does not seem to be useful. © 2017 ESVD and ACVD.
SuperDARN HF Scattering and Propagation in the Presence of Polar Patches Imaged Using RISR
Gillies, R. G.; Perry, G. W.; Varney, R. H.; Gillies, D. M.; Donovan, E.
2017-12-01
The global array of High Frequency (HF) Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars continuously monitors ionospheric convection in the middle-to-high latitude region. The radars measure coherent backscatter from decameter scale field-aligned irregularities. One of the main generation mechanisms for these field-aligned irregularities is the gradient drift instability (GDI). The edges of ionospheric density structures, such as polar cap patches, provide ideal locations for GDI growth. The geometry required for GDI growth results in irregularities forming on the trailing edge of polar patches. However, irregularities generated by the non-linear evolution of the GDI can become prevalent throughout the patch within minutes. Modelling the irregularity growth and measurements of backscatter within patches have both confirmed this. One aspect that has often been overlooked in studies of coherent backscatter within patches is the effect of HF propagation on echo location. This study examines HF echo locations in the vicinity of patches that were imaged using the Resolute Bay Incoherent Scatter Radars (RISR). The effect of both vertical and lateral refraction of the HF wave on echo location is examined.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Berner
Full Text Available : Background: The complication of vein patch rupture is well described after carotid patch angioplasty; however, there is a paucity of data about the safety of vein patch closure in the setting of femoral endarterectomy. Methods/results: From May 2012 to May 2015, 115 femoral endarterectomies with patch closure were performed. A patch rupture occurred in three cases (2.6% with a mortality rate of 66% (2/3. In all cases the greater saphenous vein below the knee was used as patch material. Discussion/conclusion: Vein patches, particularly from small calibre veins, should be excluded in femoral endarterectomy procedures as they pose a substantial risk of rupture. Keywords: Angioplasty, Patch rupture, Femoral artery, Patch, Great saphenous vein
A rivastigmine patch for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia.
Cummings, Jeffrey; Winblad, Bengt
2007-11-01
Rivastigmine patch is the first transdermal treatment to be approved for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease dementia in the USA and for AD in Europe. It provides smooth, continuous drug delivery, and has the potential to maintain rivastigmine concentrations within an optimal therapeutic window while avoiding the peaks and troughs associated with oral drug delivery. The target dose, rivastigmine 9.5 mg/24 h patch (a 10 cm(2) patch), is given once daily and requires a simple one-step dose titration to the therapeutic dose. In a 24-week study in 1195 AD patients, the rivastigmine 9.5 mg/24 h patch provided similar efficacy to the highest dose range of capsules, with approximately three-times fewer reports of nausea and vomiting. Patients in the 9.5 mg/24 h patch and 12 mg/day capsule groups evidenced significant improvements versus placebo on both primary outcome measures: the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale; and Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Clinical Global Impression of Change; in addition to the following secondary outcome measures: Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living scale; Mini-Mental State Examination; and Trail Making Test Part A for assessment of attention, visual tracking and motor processing speed. Treatment differences on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory and Ten Point Clock-drawing Test did not reach statistical significance in this study. The patch may be the optimal way to treat dementia patients with rivastigmine.
Effects of diffusion on total biomass in heterogeneous continuous and discrete-patch systems
DeAngelis, Donald L.; Ming Ni, Wei; Zhang, Bo
2016-01-01
Theoretical models of populations on a system of two connected patches previously have shown that when the two patches differ in maximum growth rate and carrying capacity, and in the limit of high diffusion, conditions exist for which the total population size at equilibrium exceeds that of the ideal free distribution, which predicts that the total population would equal the total carrying capacity of the two patches. However, this result has only been shown for the Pearl-Verhulst growth function on two patches and for a single-parameter growth function in continuous space. Here, we provide a general criterion for total population size to exceed total carrying capacity for three commonly used population growth rates for both heterogeneous continuous and multi-patch heterogeneous landscapes with high population diffusion. We show that a sufficient condition for this situation is that there is a convex positive relationship between the maximum growth rate and the parameter that, by itself or together with the maximum growth rate, determines the carrying capacity, as both vary across a spatial region. This relationship occurs in some biological populations, though not in others, so the result has ecological implications.
Sachdeva, Virender; Mittal, Vaibhev; Kekunnaya, Ramesh; Gupta, Amit; Rao, Harsha L; Mollah, Joseph; Sontha, Anand; Gunturu, Rekha; Rao, B Venkateshwar
2013-07-01
To compare efficacy of 'split hours part-time patching' and 'continuous hours part-time patching' for the treatment of anisometropic amblyopia. We designed a prospective, interventional, non-randomised, comparative pilot study involving children between 4 and 11 years of age with anisometropic amblyopia who were treated with either continuous wear (Group A) or split hours part-time patching (Group B) as per parents wish, after appropriate discussion with the parents. Children were followed-up for the improvement in visual acuity and the compliance at each follow-up visit. 44 and 24 children were recruited in Group A and Group B, respectively (mean ± SD baseline BCVA of the amblyopic eye: 0.99 ± 0.32 and 0.95 ± 0.23 logMAR, respectively). BCVA (adjusted for baseline BCVA and age) at 3 months in Group A (0.59 ± 0.24) was comparable (p=0.08) with that in Group B (0.71 ± 0.24). This was same even at 6 months (0.51 ± 0.25 in Group A and 0.59 ± 0.25 in Group B, p=0.25). The improvement in BCVA at 3 months was also comparable (p=0.06) in Group A (0.39 ± 0.23) and Group B (0.26 ± 0.23). The improvement in BCVA at 6 months was also comparable (p=0.14) in Group A (0.47 ± 0.26) and Group B (0.37 ± 0.26). Both patching regimens lead to significant and comparable improvement in BCVA in anisometropic amblyopia up to 6 months of follow-up.
Patch Clamp: A Powerful Technique for Studying the Mechanism of Acupuncture
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
D. Zhang
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Cellular and molecular events can be investigated using electrophysiological techniques. In particular, the patch-clamp method provides detailed information. In addition, the patch-clamp technique has become a powerful method for investigating the mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture. In this paper, recent researches on how acupuncture might modulate electrophysiological responses in the central nervous system (CNS and affect peripheral structures are reviewed.
Patch-based frame interpolation for old films via the guidance of motion paths
Xia, Tianran; Ding, Youdong; Yu, Bing; Huang, Xi
2018-04-01
Due to improper preservation, traditional films will appear frame loss after digital. To deal with this problem, this paper presents a new adaptive patch-based method of frame interpolation via the guidance of motion paths. Our method is divided into three steps. Firstly, we compute motion paths between two reference frames using optical flow estimation. Then, the adaptive bidirectional interpolation with holes filled is applied to generate pre-intermediate frames. Finally, using patch match to interpolate intermediate frames with the most similar patches. Since the patch match is based on the pre-intermediate frames that contain the motion paths constraint, we show a natural and inartificial frame interpolation. We test different types of old film sequences and compare with other methods, the results prove that our method has a desired performance without hole or ghost effects.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Abraham I
2015-02-01
Full Text Available Ivo Abraham,1–3 Jan De Geest,2 Wim De Geest,2 Elke De Troy,4 Karen MacDonald3 1Center for Health Outcomes and PharmacoEconomic Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; 2TheraSolve, Diepenbeek, Belgium; 3Matrix45, Tucson, AZ, USA; 4Jessa Ziekenhuis, Hasselt, Belgium Background: Unintended forgetfulness is the most common cause of medication nonadherence. MemoPatch® is an electronic skin patch intended to deliver discreet tactile medication reminder stimuli. This study aimed 1 to evaluate, within an experimental setup, the detectability and acceptability of fifteen continuous bipolar pulse signals; 2 to identify variables, if any, associated with differential perception of the candidate reminder signals; and 3 to collect safety data as reported by subjects or observed by staff. Methods: This was a laboratory experiment involving 147 healthy adult volunteers (55.1% female, 98.0% Caucasian, with age 41.8±16.0 years, body mass index [BMI] 24.7±4.4, upper body adiposity 28.5%±8.3% body fat, and skin impedance 367.6±140.8Ω and using an experimental version of the MemoPatch®. Following four training signals administered in fixed order, subjects were exposed to a set of fifteen randomly sequenced signals varying in rise and fall time, width, and current, to be rated in terms of detectability ("too weak", "appropriate", or "too strong" and acceptability. Results: Ratings of "appropriate" were virtually independent of such variables as sex, BMI, upper body adiposity, and skin impedance at the patch location. Five signals were rated as "appropriate" by ≥67% of subjects and acceptable by ≥95% of subjects, virtually independently of the indicators of interest, and were retained as candidate signals for use in next stages of development and commercialization. Nine adverse events, none serious, were observed in six subjects. Conclusion: This study yielded five effective and safe candidate signals for potential use in the MemoPatch
Wang, YUAN; Hejuan, LIANG; Ping, HUANG; Xiaoqiang, AN; Jian, JIANG; Lili, CUI
2018-05-01
In the present study, the electret 5-fluorouracil patch was developed, the effective surface potential, piezoelectric coefficient d 33, open-circuit thermally stimulated discharge (TSD) current spectra and shear adhesion of the patch were measured. The drug release profile of the patch was determined by using high performance liquid chromatography method. A stable potential difference which was positively dependent on the surface potential of the electret was generated on two sides of the patch. The measurements of d 33 coefficient, TSD current spectra and adhesion performance showed that the electrostatic field of the electret could cause polarization and cohesive strength decreasing of the matrix molecules, change the distribution and interaction of the drug molecules in patch, therefore to increase the release of drug from the transdermal patch.
Design of Low Power Algorithms for Automatic Embedded Analysis of Patch ECG Signals
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Saadi, Dorthe Bodholt
, several different cable-free wireless patch-type ECG recorders have recently reached the market. One of these recorders is the ePatch designed by the Danish company DELTA. The extended monitoring period available with the patch recorders has demonstrated to increase the diagnostic yield of outpatient ECG....... Such algorithms could allow the real-time transmission of clinically relevant information to a central monitoring station. The first step in embedded ECG interpretation is the automatic detection of each individual heartbeat. An important part of this project was therefore to design a novel algorithm...
Koike, Kazuhiko; Terui, Takeshi; Nagasako, Tomokazu; Horiuchi, Iori; Machino, Takayuki; Kusakabe, Toshiro; Hirayama, Yasuo; Mihara, Hiroyoshi; Yamakage, Michiaki; Kato, Junji; Nishisato, Takuji; Ishitani, Kunihiko
2016-03-01
The recommended dosing interval for transdermal fentanyl is every 72 h. However, some patients will have "end-of-dose failure," which may be seen as an increase of episodes of severe pain flares at the third day after application of the patch. A new once-a-day fentanyl patch was developed in Japan since 2010. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the once-a-day fentanyl citrate patch for patients with cancer-related pain receiving the 72-h transdermal fentanyl not lasting 72 h. We performed a cross-sectional retrospective analysis of 445 inpatients with the 72-h transdermal fentanyl at Higashi Sapporo Hospital. We could switch to the once-a-day fentanyl citrate patch if patients reported inadequate pain relief beyond 48 h after application of the 72-h transdermal fentanyl. Patients recorded baseline scores for background pain intensity (PI) and the frequency of use of daily rescue medication for breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP). Of all patients, 10.1% showed the increase in PI of 30% or more baseline PI on the third day after application of the 72-h transdermal fentanyl. Of patients, 84.4% were converted from equivalent dose of the 72-h transdermal fentanyl to the once-a-day fentanyl citrate patch. On the third day after switching, 60.5% of patients showed a reduction of more than 30% from baseline PI. Switching to the once-a-day fentanyl citrate patch significantly reduced the mean frequency of daily rescue dose for BTcP. A once-a-day fentanyl citrate patch provided stable pain control. Its use may be considered as the dominant strategy for patients receiving a 72-h transdermal fentanyl not lasting 72 h.
The predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis adjusts patch-leaving to own and progeny prey needs.
Vanas, V; Enigl, M; Walzer, A; Schausberger, P
2006-01-01
Integration of optimal foraging and optimal oviposition theories suggests that predator females should adjust patch leaving to own and progeny prey needs to maximize current and future reproductive success. We tested this hypothesis in the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis and its patchily distributed prey, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae. In three separate experiments we assessed (1) the minimum number of prey needed to complete juvenile development, (2) the minimum number of prey needed to produce an egg, and (3) the ratio between eggs laid and spider mites left when a gravid P. persimilis female leaves a patch. Experiments (1) and (2) were the pre-requirements to assess the fitness costs associated with staying or leaving a prey patch. Immature P. persimilis needed at least 7 and on average 14+/-3.6 (SD) T. urticae eggs to reach adulthood. Gravid females needed at least 5 and on average 8.5+/-3.1 (SD) T. urticae eggs to produce an egg. Most females left the initial patch before spider mite extinction, leaving prey for progeny to develop to adulthood. Females placed in a low density patch left 5.6+/-6.1 (SD) eggs per egg laid, whereas those placed in a high density patch left 15.8+/-13.7 (SD) eggs per egg laid. The three experiments in concert suggest that gravid P. persimilis females are able to balance the trade off between optimal foraging and optimal oviposition and adjust patch-leaving to own and progeny prey needs.
Locally Induced Adipose Tissue Browning by Microneedle Patch for Obesity Treatment.
Zhang, Yuqi; Liu, Qiongming; Yu, Jicheng; Yu, Shuangjiang; Wang, Jinqiang; Qiang, Li; Gu, Zhen
2017-09-26
Obesity is one of the most serious public health problems in the 21st century that may lead to many comorbidities such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Current treatments toward obesity including diet, physical exercise, pharmacological therapy, as well as surgeries are always associated with low effectiveness or undesired systematical side effects. In order to enhance treatment efficiency with minimized side effects, we developed a transcutaneous browning agent patch to locally induce adipose tissue transformation. This microneedle-based patch can effectively deliver browning agents to the subcutaneous adipocytes in a sustained manner and switch on the "browning" at the targeted region. It is demonstrated that this patch reduces treated fat pad size, increases whole body energy expenditure, and improves type-2 diabetes in vivo in a diet-induced obesity mouse model.
Wang, Yong-Jian; Shi, Xue-Ping; Meng, Xue-Feng; Wu, Xiao-Jing; Luo, Fang-Li; Yu, Fei-Hai
2016-01-01
Spatial heterogeneity in two co-variable resources such as light and water availability is common and can affect the growth of clonal plants. Several studies have tested effects of spatial heterogeneity in the supply of a single resource on competitive interactions of plants, but none has examined those of heterogeneous distribution of two co-variable resources. In a greenhouse experiment, we grew one (without intraspecific competition) or nine isolated ramets (with competition) of a rhizomatous herb Iris japonica under a homogeneous environment and four heterogeneous environments differing in patch arrangement (reciprocal and parallel patchiness of light and soil water) and patch scale (large and small patches of light and water). Intraspecific competition significantly decreased the growth of I. japonica, but at the whole container level there were no significant interaction effects of competition by spatial heterogeneity or significant effect of heterogeneity on competitive intensity. Irrespective of competition, the growth of I. japonica in the high and the low water patches did not differ significantly in the homogeneous treatments, but it was significantly larger in the high than in the low water patches in the heterogeneous treatments with large patches. For the heterogeneous treatments with small patches, the growth of I. japonica was significantly larger in the high than in the low water patches in the presence of competition, but such an effect was not significant in the absence of competition. Furthermore, patch arrangement and patch scale significantly affected competitive intensity at the patch level. Therefore, spatial heterogeneity in light and water supply can alter intraspecific competition at the patch level and such effects depend on patch arrangement and patch scale.
Inhibition effects of a negative electret 5-FU patch on the growth of a hypertrophic scar
Wang, YUAN; Lili, XU; Ping, HUANG; Xiaoqiang, AN; Lili, CUI; Jian, JIANG
2018-05-01
In this study, the hypertrophic scar (HS) model in rats was established. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) patch, ‑1000 V and ‑2000 V polypropylene (PP) electret 5-FU patches were prepared and applied onto the wound. The in vitro permeation experiment was performed using the Franz diffusion cell system to determine the permeation cumulative amount and retention amount of 5-FU through/in scar skin. The inhibition effect of negative electret on growth of HS was studied by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, Masson staining and the immunohistologicall methods. The permeation study indicated that a negative electret could enhance the permeation and retention of 5-FU through and in scar skin respectively. HE staining and Masson staining indicated a better effect for ‑1000 V and ‑2000 V electret 5-FU patches on HS inhibition after 28 d post-wounding compared with 5-FU patch. The immunohistological study showed much more reduced expressions of collegan type I, collegan type III, TGF-β1 and HSP47 in scar tissue after application of negative electret 5-FU patches than those of 5-FU patch. A negative electret 5-FU patch may be advantageous for HS treatment.
Magembe, Anna J; Davis, Mark D P; Richardson, Donna M
2009-01-01
Patch testing rarely is confounded by localized dermatitis induced in the area being tested (usually the back). Its occurrence renders the interpretation of patch tests impossible. To review our experience of the circumstances in which this phenomenon occurs during patch testing. We retrospectively reviewed patients with this phenomenon who underwent patch testing from January 1, 2002, through June 30, 2006. Of the 3,569 patients tested, 12 (0.34% [9 men and 3 women]) had development of this phenomenon. All patients previously had recent widespread dermatitis that was suppressed temporarily with topical corticosteroids and wet dressings at the time of patch testing. The period between control of the dermatitis and the initiation of patch testing was less than 1 week for all patients. Three patients (25%) had recently discontinued therapy with systemic corticosteroids (less than 1 week earlier). In patients with irritable skin either immediately after widespread dermatitis is controlled or after the cessation of systemic corticosteroid treatment, a flare of dermatitis induced by patch testing may render patch tests unreadable and therefore uninterpretable. To avoid this confounding occurrence, a waiting period between control of widespread dermatitis and initiation of patch testing is advised.
Law, Amy; Lee, Yi-Chien; Gorritz, Magdaliz; Plouffe, Leo
2014-08-01
This study evaluated contraceptive refill patterns of women insured commercially in the US who switched from oral contraceptives (OCs) to the patch or vaginal ring and assessed if switching contraceptive methods changes refill patterns. Women aged 15-44 with ≥2 patch or ring prescriptions and ≥2 OC prescriptions before the first patch/ring prescription were identified from the MarketScan® Commercial database (1/1/2002-6/30/2011). Refill patterns 1-year pre- and postindex date (first patch/ring prescription) were evaluated, and women were categorized as timely or delayed refillers on OCs and patch/ring. Regression modeling was used to investigate the association between refill patterns and contraceptive methods and switching effects on refill patterns. Of 17,814 women identified, 7901 switched to the patch, and 9913 switched to the ring. Among timely OC refillers, the percentage of timely refills decreased (patch: 95.6% to 79.4%, pcontraceptive efficacy by simply switching to the patch or ring. The impact on timely refills of switching from OCs to either the patch or ring is complex and varies depending on the pattern of timely refills on OCs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Mechanism of inhibition of the tumor suppressor Patched by Sonic Hedgehog
Tukachinsky, Hanna; Petrov, Kostadin; Watanabe, Miyako; Salic, Adrian
2016-01-01
The Hedgehog-signaling pathway plays key roles in animal development and physiology. Insufficient Hedgehog signaling causes birth defects, whereas uncontrolled signaling is implicated in cancer. Signaling is triggered by the secreted protein, Sonic Hedgehog, which inhibits the membrane protein Patched1, leading to pathway activation. Despite its fundamental importance, we do not understand how Sonic Hedgehog inhibits Patched1. Here, we uncover a critical interaction between the fatty-acid?mod...
Locator-Checker-Scaler Object Tracking Using Spatially Ordered and Weighted Patch Descriptor.
Kim, Han-Ul; Kim, Chang-Su
2017-08-01
In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective object descriptor and a novel tracking algorithm to track a target object accurately. For the object description, we divide the bounding box of a target object into multiple patches and describe them with color and gradient histograms. Then, we determine the foreground weight of each patch to alleviate the impacts of background information in the bounding box. To this end, we perform random walk with restart (RWR) simulation. We then concatenate the weighted patch descriptors to yield the spatially ordered and weighted patch (SOWP) descriptor. For the object tracking, we incorporate the proposed SOWP descriptor into a novel tracking algorithm, which has three components: locator, checker, and scaler (LCS). The locator and the scaler estimate the center location and the size of a target, respectively. The checker determines whether it is safe to adjust the target scale in a current frame. These three components cooperate with one another to achieve robust tracking. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed LCS tracker achieves excellent performance on recent benchmarks.
Soap-scented oil skin patch in the treatment of fibromyalgia: A case series
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Yon Doo Ough
2008-09-01
Full Text Available Yon Doo OughDepartment of Anesthesiology, Beloit Memorial Hospital, Beloit, WI, USAAbstract: Treatment for fibromyalgia is largely empiric and supportive, and favors a multidisciplinary approach. Despite treatment, symptomatic relief is often inadequate and temporary. Over 90% of fibromyalgia patients seek alternative medical care. There is much anecdotal evidence that applying a bar of soap to the skin can relieve leg cramps. Expanding on this idea, I created a skin patch from soap-scented oil, which was used to treat muscular pain and spasms. After receiving positive feedback from several patients, I hypothesized that the scent of the oil itself, applied directly to the skin, is responsible for the pain-relieving and muscle-relaxant properties of the skin patch. Furthermore, I hypothesize that this soap-scented oil skin patch is an effective treatment for the pain associated with fibromyalgia.Keywords: fibromyalgia, headache, soap-scented oil skin patch
Conserved size and periodicity of pyramidal patches in layer 2 of medial/caudal entorhinal cortex.
Naumann, Robert K; Ray, Saikat; Prokop, Stefan; Las, Liora; Heppner, Frank L; Brecht, Michael
2016-03-01
To understand the structural basis of grid cell activity, we compare medial entorhinal cortex architecture in layer 2 across five mammalian species (Etruscan shrews, mice, rats, Egyptian fruit bats, and humans), bridging ∼100 million years of evolutionary diversity. Principal neurons in layer 2 are divided into two distinct cell types, pyramidal and stellate, based on morphology, immunoreactivity, and functional properties. We confirm the existence of patches of calbindin-positive pyramidal cells across these species, arranged periodically according to analyses techniques like spatial autocorrelation, grid scores, and modifiable areal unit analysis. In rodents, which show sustained theta oscillations in entorhinal cortex, cholinergic innervation targeted calbindin patches. In bats and humans, which only show intermittent entorhinal theta activity, cholinergic innervation avoided calbindin patches. The organization of calbindin-negative and calbindin-positive cells showed marked differences in entorhinal subregions of the human brain. Layer 2 of the rodent medial and the human caudal entorhinal cortex were structurally similar in that in both species patches of calbindin-positive pyramidal cells were superimposed on scattered stellate cells. The number of calbindin-positive neurons in a patch increased from ∼80 in Etruscan shrews to ∼800 in humans, only an ∼10-fold over a 20,000-fold difference in brain size. The relatively constant size of calbindin patches differs from cortical modules such as barrels, which scale with brain size. Thus, selective pressure appears to conserve the distribution of stellate and pyramidal cells, periodic arrangement of calbindin patches, and relatively constant neuron number in calbindin patches in medial/caudal entorhinal cortex. © 2015 The Authors. The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kim, Sung Jin; Kwon, Oh Yang; Jang, Yong Joon
2007-01-01
The fatigue crack growth behavior of a cracked and patch-repaired Ah2024-T3 panel has been monitored by acoustic emission(AE). The overall crack growth rate was reduced The crack propagation into the adjacent hole was also retarded by introducing the patch repair. AE signals due to crack growth after the patch repair and those due to debonding of the plate-patch interface were discriminated by using the principal component analysis. The former showed high center frequency and low amplitude, whereas the latter showed long rise tine, low frequency and high amplitude. This type of AE signal recognition method could be effective for the prediction of fatigue crack growth behavior in the patch-repaired structures with the aid of AE source location
Effect of low dose ionizing radiation on Bcl-2 transcription level of Peyer's patches in mouse
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Jiamei; Chen Dong; Zheng Yongchen; Liu Shuzheng
2001-01-01
Objective: To study the effect of whole body irradiation (WBI) with different doses of X-rays on apoptosis in cells of mouse Peyer's patches and its molecular mechanism. Methods: RT-PCR was used to detect the changes of Bcl-2 transcription level. Agarose electrophoresis and flow cytometry were used to detect the changes of DNA and apoptotic bodies in Peyer's patches after WBI with different doses of X-rays. Results: The apoptotic was increased and Bcl-2 transcription level was decreased in Peyer's patches after 2 Gy X-rays. The apoptotic rate was decreased and Bcl-2 transcription level was increased in Peyer's patches after 75 mGy X-rays. Conclusion: Bcl-2 participates in the regulation of radiation-induced apoptosis in Peyer's patches
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Kittipan Rerkasem
2011-01-01
Conclusion: Meta-analysis of relatively small RCTs suggests that carotid patch angioplasty reduces the combined perioperative and long-term risk of stroke and the risk of restenosis. More data are needed.
Chang, Hao; Zheng, Mengjia; Yu, Xiaojun; Than, Aung; Seeni, Razina Z; Kang, Rongjie; Tian, Jingqi; Khanh, Duong Phan; Liu, Linbo; Chen, Peng; Xu, Chenjie
2017-10-01
Skin interstitial fluid (ISF) is an emerging source of biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Microneedle (MN) patch has been identified as an ideal platform to extract ISF from the skin due to its pain-free and easy-to-administrated properties. However, long sampling time is still a serious problem which impedes timely metabolic analysis. In this study, a swellable MN patch that can rapidly extract ISF is developed. The MN patch is made of methacrylated hyaluronic acid (MeHA) and further crosslinked through UV irradiation. Owing to the supreme water affinity of MeHA, this MN patch can extract sufficient ISF in a short time without the assistance of extra devices, which remarkably facilitates timely metabolic analysis. Due to covalent crosslinked network, the MN patch maintains the structure integrity in the swelling hydrated state without leaving residues in skin after usage. More importantly, the extracted ISF metabolites can be efficiently recovered from MN patch by centrifugation for the subsequent offline analysis of metabolites such as glucose and cholesterol. Given the recent trend of easy-to-use point-of-care devices for personal healthcare monitoring, this study opens a new avenue for the development of MN-based microdevices for sampling ISF and minimally invasive metabolic detection. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Mechanisms of sampling interstitial fluid from skin using a microneedle patch.
Samant, Pradnya P; Prausnitz, Mark R
2018-05-01
Although interstitial fluid (ISF) contains biomarkers of physiological significance and medical interest, sampling of ISF for clinical applications has made limited impact due to a lack of simple, clinically useful techniques that collect more than nanoliter volumes of ISF. This study describes experimental and theoretical analysis of ISF transport from skin using microneedle (MN) patches and demonstrates collection of >1 µL of ISF within 20 min in pig cadaver skin and living human subjects using an optimized system. MN patches containing arrays of submillimeter solid, porous, or hollow needles were used to penetrate superficial skin layers and access ISF through micropores (µpores) formed upon insertion. Experimental studies in pig skin found that ISF collection depended on transport mechanism according to the rank order diffusion sampling is transport through the dermis. Based on these studies and other considerations like safety and convenience for future clinical use, we designed an MN patch prototype to sample ISF using suction as the driving force. Using this approach, we collected ISF from human volunteers and identified the presence of biomarkers in the collected ISF. In this way, sampling ISF from skin using an MN patch could enable collection of ISF for use in research and medicine.
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Minyi Huang
2016-03-01
Full Text Available Forest communities are mosaic systems composed of patches classified into four different developmental patch types: gap patch (G, building patch (B, mature patch (M and degenerate patch (D. To study the mechanisms maintaining diversity in subalpine coniferous forests, species presence frequency and diversity in the four distinct patch types (G, B, M and D of Larix chinensis conifer forests at three altitudinal gradients in the Qinling Mountains were analyzed. Our results were as follows: (1 Different species (or functional groups had distinct presence frequencies in the four different patch types along the altitudinal gradient; (2 Some species or functional groups (species groups sharing similar traits and responses to the environment only occurred in some specific patches. For seed dispersal, species using wind mainly occurred in G and D, while species using small animals mainly occurred in B and M; (3 Species composition of adjacent patch types was more similar than non-adjacent patch types, based on the lower β diversity index of the former; (4 The maximum numbers of species and two diversity indices (D′ and H′ were found in the middle altitudes. Various gap-forming processes and dispersal limitation may be the two major mechanisms determining species diversity in Larix chinensis coniferous forests at the patch scale.
Outside-out "sniffer-patch" clamp technique for in situ measures of neurotransmitter release.
Muller-Chrétien, Emilie
2014-01-01
The mechanism underlying neurotransmitter release is a critical research domain for the understanding of neuronal network function; however, few techniques are available for the direct detection and measurement of neurotransmitter release. To date, the sniffer-patch clamp technique is mainly used to investigate these mechanisms from individual cultured cells. In this study, we propose to adapt the sniffer-patch clamp technique to in situ detection of neurosecretion. Using outside-out patches from donor cells as specific biosensors plunged in acute cerebral slices, this technique allows for proper detection and quantification of neurotransmitter release at the level of the neuronal network.
Vancraenenbroeck, Renée; Lobbestael, Evy; Weeks, Stephen D; Strelkov, Sergei V; Baekelandt, Veerle; Taymans, Jean-Marc; De Maeyer, Marc
2012-03-01
Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common cause of familial Parkinson's disease. Much research effort has been directed towards the catalytic core region of LRRK2 composed of GTPase (ROC, Ras of complex proteins) and kinase domains and a connecting COR (C-terminus of ROC) domain. In contrast, the precise functions of the protein-protein interaction domains, such as the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain, are not known. In the present study, we modeled the LRRK2 LRR domain (LRR(LRRK2)) using a template assembly approach, revealing the presence of 14 LRRs. Next, we focused on the expression and purification of LRR(LRRK2) in Escherichia coli. Buffer optimization revealed that the protein requires the presence of a zwitterionic detergent, namely Empigen BB, during solubilization and the subsequent purification and characterization steps. This indicates that the detergent captures the hydrophobic surface patches of LRR(LRRK2) thereby suppressing its aggregation. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy measured 18% α-helices and 21% β-sheets, consistent with predictions from the homology model. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and dynamic light scattering measurements showed the presence of a single species, with a Stokes radius corresponding to the model dimensions of a protein monomer. Furthermore, no obvious LRR(LRRK2) multimerization was detected via cross-linking studies. Finally, the LRR(LRRK2) clinical mutations did not influence LRR(LRRK2) secondary, tertiary or quaternary structure as determined via SEC and CD spectroscopy. We therefore conclude that these mutations are likely to affect putative LRR(LRRK2) inter- and intramolecular interactions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Benjamin, Bohaty; Chris, Fricker; Salvador, González; Melissa, Gill; Susan, Nedorost
2012-08-01
Quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats), such as benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and benzethonium chloride (BEC), are widely used as antibacterial active ingredients and preservatives in personal care products, disinfectants, and ophthalmic preparations. BAC is known to be a marginal irritant when patch tested at 0.15% aq. Data on BEC are limited. To differentiate irritant from allergic patch test reactions to quaternary ammonium compounds. Eight subjects who were considered likely to react based on history of rash after exposure to disinfectants or a history of prior positive patch test to BAC were recruited, as well as two patients undergoing routine patch testing. BAC (0.15% aq), BAC (0.15% pet), BEC (0.05% aq), BEC (0.15% pet), BEC (0.15% aq), BEC (0.5% aq), sodium lauryl sulfate (2.0%), and deionized water were applied under Finn chambers for 48 h. Four days and 7 days after application, the sites were examined visually and then by in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) which was interpreted by blinded experts. Two patients with definite allergic reactions according to visual patch test reads and RCM were clinically relevant. Cross-reaction between BEC and BAC was demonstrated in one patient. RCM imaging correlated well with clinical scoring and interpretation of patch test reactions in terms of irritancy vs. allergy for BEC and BAC. Relevant allergic reactions to quats occur in humans. Possible cross-reaction was noted to occur between BAC and BEC. RCM appears to be a useful tool in distinguishing between irritancy and sensitization during patch testing to BAC and BEC. Further study of prevalence and best test concentration and vehicle is needed. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Preventing phrenic nerve stimulation by a patch insulation in an intact swine heart model.
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Jin-Long Huang
Full Text Available Phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS could be prevented by a silastic patch over the epicardial lead. We studied the effects in preventing PNS by placing a silastic patch directly over an epicardial lead or placing a graft around the phrenic nerve (PN.Fourteen Lanyu swine were enrolled. A bipolar lead was placed epicardially on the left ventricle (LV inferior to the PN. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD lead was placed into the right ventricle (RV. The maximal influential distance (MID was measured under 3 pacing configurations to express the influential electrical field on the PN. The threshold of the LV and PN were evaluated epicardially. Then, PTFE patches of different sizes (10×10 mm, 20×20 mm and 30×30 mm were placed between the LV lead and PN to study the rise in PN threshold in 7 swine. On the other hand, the PN were surrounded by a PTFE graft of different lengths (10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm in the remaining 7 swine. LV-bipolar pacing showed the shortest MID when compared to the other 2 unipolar pacing configurations at pacing voltage of 10 V. The patch was most effective in preventing PNS during LV-bipolar pacing. PNS was prevented under all circumstances with a larger PTFE patch (30×30 mm or long graft (30 mm.PNS was avoided by placing a PTFE patch over the LV lead or a graft around the PN despite pacing configurations. Hence if PNS persisted during CRT implantation, a PTFE patch on the LV lead or a graft around the PN could be considered.
Both population size and patch quality affect local extinctions and colonizations.
Franzén, Markus; Nilsson, Sven G
2010-01-07
Currently, the habitat of many species is fragmented, resulting in small local populations with individuals occasionally dispersing between the remaining habitat patches. In a solitary bee metapopulation, extinction probability was related to both local bee population sizes and pollen resources measured as host plant population size. Patch size, on the other hand, had no additional predictive power. The turnover rate of local bee populations in 63 habitat patches over 4 years was high, with 72 extinction events and 31 colonization events, but the pollen plant population was stable with no extinctions or colonizations. Both pollen resources and bee populations had strong and independent effects on extinction probability, but connectivity was not of importance. Colonizations occurred more frequently within larger host plant populations. For metapopulation survival of the bee, large pollen plant populations are essential, independent of current bee population size.
Foraging patch selection in winter: a balance between predation risk and thermoregulation benefit.
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Sara Villén-Pérez
Full Text Available In winter, foraging activity is intended to optimize food search while minimizing both thermoregulation costs and predation risk. Here we quantify the relative importance of thermoregulation and predation in foraging patch selection of woodland birds wintering in a Mediterranean montane forest. Specifically, we account for thermoregulation benefits related to temperature, and predation risk associated with both illumination of the feeding patch and distance to the nearest refuge provided by vegetation. We measured the amount of time that 38 marked individual birds belonging to five small passerine species spent foraging at artificial feeders. Feeders were located in forest patches that vary in distance to protective cover and exposure to sun radiation; temperature and illumination were registered locally by data loggers. Our results support the influence of both thermoregulation benefits and predation costs on feeding patch choice. The influence of distance to refuge (negative relationship was nearly three times higher than that of temperature (positive relationship in determining total foraging time spent at a patch. Light intensity had a negligible and no significant effect. This pattern was generalizable among species and individuals within species, and highlights the preponderance of latent predation risk over thermoregulation benefits on foraging decisions of birds wintering in temperate Mediterranean forests.
A patch-based pseudo-CT approach for MRI-only radiotherapy in the pelvis
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Andreasen, Daniel, E-mail: dana@dtu.dk [Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark and Radiotherapy Research Unit, Department of Oncology, Gentofte and Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 2730 Herlev (Denmark); Van Leemput, Koen [Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark and A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129 (United States); Edmund, Jens M. [Radiotherapy Research Unit, Department of Oncology, Gentofte and Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 2730 Herlev (Denmark)
2016-08-15
Purpose: In radiotherapy based only on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), knowledge about tissue electron densities must be derived from the MRI. This can be achieved by converting the MRI scan to the so-called pseudo-computed tomography (pCT). An obstacle is that the voxel intensities in conventional MRI scans are not uniquely related to electron density. The authors previously demonstrated that a patch-based method could produce accurate pCTs of the brain using conventional T{sub 1}-weighted MRI scans. The method was driven mainly by local patch similarities and relied on simple affine registrations between an atlas database of the co-registered MRI/CT scan pairs and the MRI scan to be converted. In this study, the authors investigate the applicability of the patch-based approach in the pelvis. This region is challenging for a method based on local similarities due to the greater inter-patient variation. The authors benchmark the method against a baseline pCT strategy where all voxels inside the body contour are assigned a water-equivalent bulk density. Furthermore, the authors implement a parallelized approximate patch search strategy to speed up the pCT generation time to a more clinically relevant level. Methods: The data consisted of CT and T{sub 1}-weighted MRI scans of 10 prostate patients. pCTs were generated using an approximate patch search algorithm in a leave-one-out fashion and compared with the CT using frequently described metrics such as the voxel-wise mean absolute error (MAE{sub vox}) and the deviation in water-equivalent path lengths. Furthermore, the dosimetric accuracy was tested for a volumetric modulated arc therapy plan using dose–volume histogram (DVH) point deviations and γ-index analysis. Results: The patch-based approach had an average MAE{sub vox} of 54 HU; median deviations of less than 0.4% in relevant DVH points and a γ-index pass rate of 0.97 using a 1%/1 mm criterion. The patch-based approach showed a significantly better
Formulation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of transdermal patches containing risperidone.
Aggarwal, Geeta; Dhawan, Sanju; Hari Kumar, S L
2013-01-01
The efficacy of oral risperidone treatment in prevention of schizophrenia is well known. However, oral side effects and patient compliance is always a problem for schizophrenics. In this study, risperidone was formulated into matrix transdermal patches to overcome these problems. The formulation factors for such patches, including eudragit RL 100 and eudragit RS 100 as matrix forming polymers, olive oil, groundnut oil and jojoba oil in different concentrations as enhancers and amount of drug loaded were investigated. The transdermal patches containing risperidone were prepared by solvent casting method and characterized for physicochemical and in vitro permeation studies through excised rat skin. Among the tested preparations, formulations with 20% risperidone, 3:2 ERL 100 and ERS 100 as polymers, mixture of olive oil and jojoba oil as enhancer, exhibited greatest cumulative amount of drug permeated (1.87 ± 0.09 mg/cm(2)) in 72 h, so batch ROJ was concluded as optimized formulation and assessed for pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and skin irritation potential. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of the optimized risperidone patch were determined using rabbits, while orally administered risperidone in solution was used for comparison. The calculated relative bioavailability of risperidone transdermal patch was 115.20% with prolonged release of drug. Neuroleptic efficacy of transdermal formulation was assessed by rota-rod and grip test in comparison with control and marketed oral formulations with no skin irritation. This suggests the transdermal application of risperidone holds promise for improved bioavailability and better management of schizophrenia in long-term basis.
Laminar boundary layer response to rotation of a finite diameter surface patch
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Klewicki, J.C.; Hill, R.B.
2003-01-01
The responses of the flat plate laminar boundary layer to perturbations generated by rotating a finite patch of the bounding surface are explored experimentally. The size of the surface patch was of the same order as the boundary layer thickness. The displacement thickness Reynolds number range of the boundary layers explored was 72-527. The rotation rates of the surface patch ranged from 2.14 to 62.8 s-1. Qualitative flow visualizations and quantitative molecular tagging velocimetry measurements revealed that rotation of a finite surface patch generates an asymmetric loop-like vortex. Significant features of this vortex include that, (i) the sign of the vorticity in the vortex head is opposite that of the boundary layer vorticity regardless of the sign of the input rotation, (ii) one leg of the vortex exhibits motion akin to solid body rotation while the other leg is best characterized as a spanwise shear layer, (iii) the vortex leg exhibiting near solid body rotation lifts more rapidly from the surface than the leg more like a shear layer, and (iv) the vortex leg exhibiting near solid body rotation always occurs on the side of the surface patch experiencing downstream motion. These asymmetries switch sides depending on the sign of the input rotation. The present results are interpreted and discussed relative to analytical solutions for infinite geometries. By way of analogy, plausible connections are drawn between the present results and the influences of wall normal vortices in turbulent boundary layer flows
Lange, Sigrun; Rocha-Ferreira, Eridan; Thei, Laura; Mawjee, Priyanka; Bennett, Kate; Thompson, Paul R; Subramanian, Venkataraman; Nicholas, Anthony P; Peebles, Donald; Hristova, Mariya; Raivich, Gennadij
2014-08-01
Neonatal hypoxic ischaemic (HI) injury frequently causes neural impairment in surviving infants. Our knowledge of the underlying molecular mechanisms is still limited. Protein deimination is a post-translational modification caused by Ca(+2) -regulated peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs), a group of five isozymes that display tissue-specific expression and different preference for target proteins. Protein deimination results in altered protein conformation and function of target proteins, and is associated with neurodegenerative diseases, gene regulation and autoimmunity. In this study, we used the neonatal HI and HI/infection [lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation] murine models to investigate changes in protein deimination. Brains showed increases in deiminated proteins, cell death, activated microglia and neuronal loss in affected brain areas at 48 h after hypoxic ischaemic insult. Upon treatment with the pan-PAD inhibitor Cl-amidine, a significant reduction was seen in microglial activation, cell death and infarct size compared with control saline or LPS-treated animals. Deimination of histone 3, a target protein of the PAD4 isozyme, was increased in hippocampus and cortex specifically upon LPS stimulation and markedly reduced following Cl-amidine treatment. Here, we demonstrate a novel role for PAD enzymes in neural impairment in neonatal HI Encephalopathy, highlighting their role as promising new candidates for drug-directed intervention in neurotrauma. Hypoxic Ischaemic Insult (HI) results in activation of peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) because of calcium dysregulation. Target proteins undergo irreversible changes of protein bound arginine to citrulline, resulting in protein misfolding. Infection in synergy with HI causes up-regulation of TNFα, nuclear translocation of PAD4 and change in gene regulation as a result of histone deimination. Pharmacological PAD inhibition significantly reduced HI brain damage. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Neurochemistry
Lateral spread affects nitrogen leaching from urine patches.
Cichota, Rogerio; Vogeler, Iris; Snow, Val; Shepherd, Mark; McAuliffe, Russell; Welten, Brendon
2018-09-01
Nitrate leaching from urine deposited by grazing animals is a critical constraint for sustainable dairy farming in New Zealand. While considerable progress has been made to understand the fate of nitrogen (N) under urine patches, little consideration has been given to the spread of urinary N beyond the wetted area. In this study, we modelled the lateral spread of nitrogen from the wetted area of a urine patch to the soil outside the patch using a combination of two process-based models (HYDRUS and APSIM). The simulations provided insights on the extent and temporal pattern for the redistribution of N in the soil following a urine deposition and enabled investigating the effect of lateral spread of urinary N on plant growth and N leaching. The APSIM simulation, using an implementation of a dispersion-diffusion function, was tested against experimental data from a field experiment conducted in spring on a well-drained soil. Depending on the geometry considered for the dispersion-diffusion function (plate or cylindrical) the area-averaged N leaching decreased by 8 and 37% compared with simulations without lateral N spread; this was due to additional N uptake from pasture on the edge area. A sensitivity analysis showed that area-averaged pasture growth was not greatly affected by the value of the dispersion factor used in the model, whereas N leaching was very sensitive. Thus, the need to account for the edge effect may depend on the objective of the simulations. The modelling results also showed that considering lateral spread of urinary N was sufficient to describe the experimental data, but plant root uptake across urine patch zones may still be relevant in other conditions. Although further work is needed for improving accuracy, the simulated and experimental results demonstrate that accounting for the edge effect is important for determining N leaching from urine-affected areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Efficacy and safety of a novel, soluble microneedle patch for the improvement of facial wrinkle.
Hong, Ji Yeon; Ko, Eun Jung; Choi, Sun Young; Li, Kapsok; Kim, A Reum; Park, Jin O; Kim, Beom Joon
2018-04-01
Various kinds of functional cosmetics are on the market, although there are a variety of opinions concerning the actual effect. Transdermal microneedle patch has been introduced as a newly developed device for drug delivery through the skin. This study was conducted to verify the face skin improvement effect and safety of a novel cosmetic microneedle patch. A total of 84 Korean females finished this prospective clinical trial. The subjects were divided into 3 groups: (1) soluble hyaluronic acid (HA) microneedle patch alone, (2) soluble HA microneedle patch plus adenosine wrinkle cream, and (3) adenosine wrinkle cream alone. The treatments were applied to the crow's feet and nasolabial fold wrinkle for 12 weeks. The test areas were measured before treatment and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after use of the test product. At the completion of the testing period of the trial, the global assessment of efficacy and product preferences were surveyed from the subjects. Combination treatment with wrinkle cream and microneedle patch significantly improved Merz scale for crow's feet and nasolabial folds, compared to the sole application of wrinkle cream or patch. Measurement on the crow's feet showed an overall improvement in all 3 groups, yielding no significant differences among the groups. No serious adverse effects were observed during the follow-up period. Combination application of a soluble microneedle patch and wrinkle cream was an effective treatment in improving facial wrinkles, thus enhancing skin rejuvenation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yaolin Liu
Full Text Available Optimizing land-use allocation is important to regional sustainable development, as it promotes the social equality of public services, increases the economic benefits of land-use activities, and reduces the ecological risk of land-use planning. Most land-use optimization models allocate land-use using cell-level operations that fragment land-use patches. These models do not cooperate well with land-use planning knowledge, leading to irrational land-use patterns. This study focuses on building a heuristic land-use allocation model (PSOLA using particle swarm optimization. The model allocates land-use with patch-level operations to avoid fragmentation. The patch-level operations include a patch-edge operator, a patch-size operator, and a patch-compactness operator that constrain the size and shape of land-use patches. The model is also integrated with knowledge-informed rules to provide auxiliary knowledge of land-use planning during optimization. The knowledge-informed rules consist of suitability, accessibility, land use policy, and stakeholders' preference. To validate the PSOLA model, a case study was performed in Gaoqiao Town in Zhejiang Province, China. The results demonstrate that the PSOLA model outperforms a basic PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization in the terms of the social, economic, ecological, and overall benefits by 3.60%, 7.10%, 1.53% and 4.06%, respectively, which confirms the effectiveness of our improvements. Furthermore, the model has an open architecture, enabling its extension as a generic tool to support decision making in land-use planning.
A method for detecting hydrophobic patches protein
Lijnzaad, P.; Berendsen, H.J.C.; Argos, P.
1996-01-01
A method for the detection of hydrophobic patches on the surfaces of protein tertiary structures is presented, it delineates explicit contiguous pieces of surface of arbitrary size and shape that consist solely of carbon and sulphur atoms using a dot representation of the solvent-accessible surface,
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bruze, Magnus; Svedman, Cecilia; Andersen, Klaus Ejner
2012-01-01
Background. According to EU legislation, 26 fragrance substance allergens must be labelled on cosmetic products. For 12 of them, the optimal patch test concentration/dose has not been evaluated. Objectives. To establish the optimal patch test doses in mg/cm(2) for the 12 fragrance substances......, it is recommended that half of the maximum patch test dose (mg/cm(2) ) be used for aimed and screening patch testing....... that are not included in fragrance mix I or II in the European baseline patch test series. Materials and Methods. Patch testing with the 12 fragrance substances was performed in a stepwise manner encompassing up to five rounds in at least 100 dermatitis patients for each round. Before patch testing, an individual...
Conserved size and periodicity of pyramidal patches in layer 2 of medial/caudal entorhinal cortex
Naumann, Robert K.; Ray, Saikat; Prokop, Stefan; Las, Liora; Heppner, Frank L.
2016-01-01
ABSTRACT To understand the structural basis of grid cell activity, we compare medial entorhinal cortex architecture in layer 2 across five mammalian species (Etruscan shrews, mice, rats, Egyptian fruit bats, and humans), bridging ∼100 million years of evolutionary diversity. Principal neurons in layer 2 are divided into two distinct cell types, pyramidal and stellate, based on morphology, immunoreactivity, and functional properties. We confirm the existence of patches of calbindin‐positive pyramidal cells across these species, arranged periodically according to analyses techniques like spatial autocorrelation, grid scores, and modifiable areal unit analysis. In rodents, which show sustained theta oscillations in entorhinal cortex, cholinergic innervation targeted calbindin patches. In bats and humans, which only show intermittent entorhinal theta activity, cholinergic innervation avoided calbindin patches. The organization of calbindin‐negative and calbindin‐positive cells showed marked differences in entorhinal subregions of the human brain. Layer 2 of the rodent medial and the human caudal entorhinal cortex were structurally similar in that in both species patches of calbindin‐positive pyramidal cells were superimposed on scattered stellate cells. The number of calbindin‐positive neurons in a patch increased from ∼80 in Etruscan shrews to ∼800 in humans, only an ∼10‐fold over a 20,000‐fold difference in brain size. The relatively constant size of calbindin patches differs from cortical modules such as barrels, which scale with brain size. Thus, selective pressure appears to conserve the distribution of stellate and pyramidal cells, periodic arrangement of calbindin patches, and relatively constant neuron number in calbindin patches in medial/caudal entorhinal cortex. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:783–806, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26223342
Zuckerberg, Benjamin; Ribic, Christine A; McCauley, Lisa A
2018-02-06
Grassland birds are declining faster than any other bird guild across North America. Shrinking ranges and population declines are attributed to widespread habitat loss and increasingly fragmented landscapes of agriculture and other land uses that are misaligned with grassland bird conservation. Concurrent with habitat loss and degradation, temperate grasslands have been disproportionally affected by climate change relative to most other terrestrial biomes. Distributions of grassland birds often correlate with gradients in climate, but few researchers have explored the consequences of weather on the demography of grassland birds inhabiting a range of grassland fragments. To do so, we modeled the effects of temperature and precipitation on nesting success rates of 12 grassland bird species inhabiting a range of grassland patches across North America (21,000 nests from 81 individual studies). Higher amounts of precipitation in the preceding year were associated with higher nesting success, but wetter conditions during the active breeding season reduced nesting success. Extremely cold or hot conditions during the early breeding season were associated with lower rates of nesting success. The direct and indirect influence of temperature and precipitation on nesting success was moderated by grassland patch size. The positive effects of precipitation in the preceding year on nesting success were strongest in relatively small grassland patches and had little effect in large patches. Conversely, warm temperatures reduced nesting success in small grassland patches but increased nesting success in large patches. Mechanisms underlying these differences may be patch-size-induced variation in microclimates and predator activity. Although the exact cause is unclear, large grassland patches, the most common metric of grassland conservation, appears to moderate the effects of weather on grassland-bird demography and could be an effective component of climate-change adaptation.
Disorganized Cortical Patches Suggest Prenatal Origin of Autism
... 2014 Disorganized cortical patches suggest prenatal origin of autism NIH-funded study shows disrupted cell layering process ... study suggests that brain irregularities in children with autism can be traced back to prenatal development. “While ...
Bruze, Magnus; Svedman, Cecilia; Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Bruynzeel, Derk; Goossens, An; Johansen, Jeanne Duus; Matura, Mihaly; Orton, David; Vigan, Martine
2012-03-01
According to EU legislation, 26 fragrance substance allergens must be labelled on cosmetic products. For 12 of them, the optimal patch test concentration/dose has not been evaluated. To establish the optimal patch test doses in mg/cm2 for the 12 fragrance substances that are not included in fragrance mix I or II in the European baseline patch test series. Patch testing with the 12 fragrance substances was performed in a stepwise manner encompassing up to five rounds in at least 100 dermatitis patients for each round. Before patch testing, an individual maximum concentration/dose was determined for each fragrance substance. The predetermined maximum patch test concentrations/doses could be tested for all 12 fragrance substances, with no observable adverse reactions being noted. For each fragrance substance investigated, it is recommended that half of the maximum patch test dose (mg/cm2) be used for aimed and screening patch testing. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Pita, Ricardo; Lambin, Xavier; Mira, António; Beja, Pedro
2016-09-01
According to ecological theory, the coexistence of competitors in patchy environments may be facilitated by hierarchical spatial segregation along axes of environmental variation, but empirical evidence is limited. Cabrera and water voles show a metapopulation-like structure in Mediterranean farmland, where they are known to segregate along space, habitat, and time axes within habitat patches. Here, we assess whether segregation also occurs among and within landscapes, and how this is influenced by patch-network and matrix composition. We surveyed 75 landscapes, each covering 78 ha, where we mapped all habitat patches potentially suitable for Cabrera and water voles, and the area effectively occupied by each species (extent of occupancy). The relatively large water vole tended to be the sole occupant of landscapes with high habitat amount but relatively low patch density (i.e., with a few large patches), and with a predominantly agricultural matrix, whereas landscapes with high patch density (i.e., many small patches) and low agricultural cover, tended to be occupied exclusively by the small Cabrera vole. The two species tended to co-occur in landscapes with intermediate patch-network and matrix characteristics, though their extents of occurrence were negatively correlated after controlling for environmental effects. In combination with our previous studies on the Cabrera-water vole system, these findings illustrated empirically the occurrence of hierarchical spatial segregation, ranging from within-patches to among-landscapes. Overall, our study suggests that recognizing the hierarchical nature of spatial segregation patterns and their major environmental drivers should enhance our understanding of species coexistence in patchy environments.
XQ-NLM: Denoising Diffusion MRI Data via x-q Space Non-Local Patch Matching.
Chen, Geng; Wu, Yafeng; Shen, Dinggang; Yap, Pew-Thian
2016-10-01
Noise is a major issue influencing quantitative analysis in diffusion MRI. The effects of noise can be reduced by repeated acquisitions, but this leads to long acquisition times that can be unrealistic in clinical settings. For this reason, post-acquisition denoising methods have been widely used to improve SNR. Among existing methods, non-local means (NLM) has been shown to produce good image quality with edge preservation. However, currently the application of NLM to diffusion MRI has been mostly focused on the spatial space (i.e., the x -space), despite the fact that diffusion data live in a combined space consisting of the x -space and the q -space (i.e., the space of wavevectors). In this paper, we propose to extend NLM to both x -space and q -space. We show how patch-matching, as required in NLM, can be performed concurrently in x-q space with the help of azimuthal equidistant projection and rotation invariant features. Extensive experiments on both synthetic and real data confirm that the proposed x-q space NLM (XQ-NLM) outperforms the classic NLM.
Preparation of Mucoadhesive Patches for Buccal Administration of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Erah
Methods: The mucoadhesive buccal patches were prepared by solvent casting technique ... buccal absorption, in vitro drug release studies, moisture absorption as well as for in vitro and in vivo ... recovery time after exposure to stress and.
Kang, G; Tu, T N T; Kim, S; Yang, H; Jang, M; Jo, D; Ryu, J; Baek, J; Jung, H
2018-04-01
Although dissolving microneedle patches have been widely studied in the cosmetics field, no comparisons have been drawn with the topical applications available for routine use. In this study, two wrinkle-improving products, adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patches and an adenosine cream, were evaluated for efficacy, with respect to skin wrinkling, dermal density, elasticity, and hydration, and safety in a clinical test on the crow's feet area. Clinical efficacy and safety tests were performed for 10 weeks on 22 female subjects with wrinkles around their eyes. The adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patch was applied once every 3 days, in the evening, for 8 weeks to the designated crow's feet area. The adenosine cream was applied two times per day, in the morning and evening, for 8 weeks to the other crow's feet area. Skin wrinkling, dermal density, elasticity, and hydration were measured by using PRIMOS ® premium, Dermascan ® C, Cutometer ® MPA580, and Corneometer ® CM 825, respectively. In addition, subjective skin irritation was evaluated by self-observation, and objective skin irritation was assessed through expert interviews. The adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patches had a similar or better efficacy than the adenosine cream. Both groups showed statistically significant efficacy for almost all parameters (P hydration efficacy (P skin-improvement parameters, adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patches showed the same or better effect than the adenosine cream, although the weekly adenosine dose was 140 times lower. The dissolving microneedle patches caused no adverse reactions. These adenosine-loaded dissolving microneedle patches are expected to be safe, effective, and novel cosmetics for skin improvement. © 2018 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ermak, T.H.; Steger, H.J.; Owen, R.L.; Strober, S.
1988-01-01
The depletion and repopulation of lymphocytes in specific cellular domains of mouse Peyer's patches were examined following total lymphoid irradiation (TLI). BALB/c mice 5-months-old were given 17 fractionated doses of irradiation to a total of 3400 to 4250 rads over a 4-week period, and Peyer's patches were examined by immunohistochemistry at 1 to 4 days and 1 to 4 weeks after TLI. Cryostat sections were labeled with monoclonal antibodies directed against B220 (B cells), Thy-1.2 (all T cells), L3T4 (helper T cells), and Ly-2 (cytotoxic/suppressor T cells). In depleted mice, Peyer's patches were greatly reduced in size in comparison to controls, although the structural framework of follicles, domes, and interfollicular areas was still present. B cells in follicles were reduced to a small core of B220+ cells interspersed with nonlymphocytic cells. T cells were virtually eliminated from the patch except for a small population of Thy-1.2+ cells that were neither L3T4+ nor Ly-2+ in follicle domes. During early stages of repopulation at 1 to 2 weeks after TLI, follicles increased in size and were populated by helper T cells but Peyer's patches lacked discrete interfollicular T cell regions. At 3 to 4 weeks after TLI, T cell regions were found in interfollicular areas. The results indicate that morphologically distinct cellular domains are maintained in Peyer's patches after TLI which are sequentially repopulated by immigrating lymphocytes
Formulation and Optimization of Oral Mucoadhesive Patches of Myrtus Communis by Box Behnken Design.
Hashemi, Mahbubeh; Ramezani, Vahid; Seyedabadi, Mohammad; Ranjbar, Ali Mohamad; Jafari, Hossein; Honarvar, Mina; Fanaei, Hamed
2017-09-01
Purpose: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful ulcerative disease of oral mucosa happening in ~20% of people. Aimed to develop Myrtus communis L. (Myrtle) containing oral patches, we applied box-behnken design to evaluate the effect of polymers such as Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), Gelatin, Methylcellulose (MC) and Pectin. Methods: The patches properties such as tensile strength, folding endurance, swelling index, thickness, mucoadhesive strength and the pattern of myrtle release were evaluated as dependent variables. Then, the model was adjusted according to the best fitted equation with box behnken design. Results: The results indicated that preparation of myrtle patch with hydrophilic polymers showed the disintegration time up to 24h and more. Using of polyvinyl pyrrolidone as a water soluble polymer and a pore-former polymer led to faster release of soluble materials from the patch to 29 (min -1 ). Also it decreases swelling index by increasing the patch disintegration. Gelatin and Pectin, with rigid matrix and water interaction properties, decreased the swelling ratio. Pectin increased the tensile strength, but gelatin produced an opposite effect. Thinner Myrtle patch (about 28µm) was obtained by formulation of methyl cellulose with equal ratio with polyvinyl pyrrolidone or gelatin. Conclusion: Altogether, the analysis showed that the optimal formulation was achieved with of 35.04 mg of Gelatin, 7.22 mg of Pectin, 7.20 mg of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, 50.52 mg of methyl cellulose and 20 mg of Myrtle extract.
Patch test results in patients with allergic contact dermatitis in Yozgat
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Emine Çölgeçen Özel
2013-09-01
Full Text Available Background and Design: Patch testing is valuable in the diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD as well as in determining the causative agent and thus is helpful in prevention of the disease and also provides information for the patient Material and Method: Hundred and sixty-eight patients (94 female and 74 male with ACD were patch tested with European standard series. Patch test result were assessed according to suggestion of International Contact Dermatitis Research Group at 48 and 72 hours after initial application. Results: Of the patients, 64.3% were between 16-45 years of age and majority of the lesions (57.1% were localized on the hands. A total of 86 (51.1% patients had one or more positive patch test reactions. The most common allergens were nickel sulfate (20.2% followed by potassium dichromate (8.3%, cobalt chloride (7.1%, fragrance mix (7.1%, paraphenylendiamine base (6%, paraben mix 3.6%, N-isopropyl-N-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (3.6%, wool alcohols (3.6%, formaldehyde (3.6%, quaternium-15 (3.6%. Positive reactions to nickel sulfate were more common among women, especially those in younger group. Frequency of contact allergy to neomycin sulfate, epoxy resin, 4-tert-butylphenolformaldehyde resin, sesquiterpenelactone mix, primin, 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-1, budesonide, lyral were relatively low (1.2%, while no positive reaction was obtained to clioquinol and methyldibromoglutaronitrile in any case. Conclusion: Since no similar study has been previously performed in our area, this study provides information about contact allergen profile in patients underwent skin patch test with a diagnosis of AKD at Yozgat. The most frequent allergens detected with ASS and frequency rates may vary among different facilities at various cities of Turkey. A standard series for our country may be created after assessment of regional variability by new studies conducted in same time zone.
Patch and Prick Tests in Hand Eczema: Results of A Sixty Seven Patient Series
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bilge Fettahlıoğlu Karaman
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Objective: The patch and prick tests have a place in the management of patients with hand eczema. In this study, we investigated whether some of the clinical features patients with hand eczema could provide us with the predictability of skin test results. Methods: In Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, 67 consecutive patients with hand eczema; evaluated in terms of duration of disease, morphology and severity. All of the patients were undergoes patch tested with the European Standard Series, and needle testing with routine aeroallergens. Results: Patch test with at least one allergen was positive in 46.3% of the patients; wheras this rate was 23.9% for prick test. The likelihood of having a contact sensitivity of patients complaining of hand eczema for at least three years was statistically more significant [odds ratio (OR 0.9]. Although statistically not significant, it is less likely to be sensitized to patients with keratotic and/or licheniform hand eczema (OR 0.3. The severity of hand eczema was not predictive of patch test, there was no indicator of needle test positivity. Conclusion: We strongly recommend patch testing in all patients with prolonged hand eczema.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chetna Modi
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Transdermal drug delivery influence consumer acceptance and marked increase in bioavailability of some drugs which undergoes hepatic first-pass metabolism. Fabrication of transdermal patch requires lots of attention regarding the amount of components used for it. Because of varied nature of polymer and plasticizer, transdermal patches have different properties and different drug release. This study is on the basis to evaluate the amount to be needed for fabrication of diclofenac transdermal patch. Study shows that Hydroxy Propyl Methyl Cellulose has great influence on transdermal patch, if it is used alone in combination with glycerin or PEG-4000 plasticizer.
Koppes, S A; Ljubojevic Hadzavdic, S; Jakasa, I; Franceschi, N; Jurakić Tončić, R; Marinović, B; Brans, R; Gibbs, S; Frings-Dresen, M H W; Rustemeyer, T; Kezic, S
2017-06-01
Recent studies have demonstrated allergen-specific differences in the gene expression of inflammatory mediators in patch tested skin. To determine levels of various inflammatory mediators in the stratum corneum (SC) after patch testing with common contact allergens and the skin irritant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). In total, 27 individuals who had previously patch tested positive to nickel, chromium, methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI) or para-phenylenediamine were retested and then patch tested with SLS and petrolatum, with petrolatum serving as the patch test control. At 72 h, the test sites were clinically graded and the SC samples collected on adhesive tape. The levels of 18 of the 32 quantified mediators differed significantly from that of the control patches for at least one of the tested substances. SLS and MCI/MI induced the largest number of immunomediators. Interleukin (IL)-16 levels were significantly higher in patch test reactions in all allergens than they were in the controls, while no significant difference was detected for SLS. Furthermore, a strong negative correlation was found between strength of patch test reaction and IL-1α levels. Cytokine profiles in the SC of patch tested skin did not show a distinct allergen-specific pattern. However, MCI/MI induced a larger and wider immune response than the other allergens, perhaps due to its potency as an irritant. The levels of IL-16 were significantly increased in patch test reactions to allergens but not to SLS; thus, they may help clinicians to differentiate between allergic contact dermatitis and irritant contact dermatitis. © 2016 British Association of Dermatologists.
Part-time vs. full-time occlusion for amblyopia: evidence for part-time patching.
Matta, Noelle S; Silbert, David I
2013-01-01
Amblyopia is characterized by a decreased uncorrectable visual acuity in a structurally normal eye. Occlusion therapy has been used for years to improve acuity, and, traditionally, practitioners have utilized full-time patching. This article will explore more recent research looking at using part-time patching in the treatment of amblyopia.
Development of a self-stressing NiTiNb shape memory alloy (SMA)/fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) patch
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
El-Tahan, M; Dawood, M; Song, G
2015-01-01
The objective of this research is to develop a self-stressing patch using a combination of shape memory alloys (SMAs) and fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Prestressed carbon FRP patches are emerging as a promising alternative to traditional methods to repair cracked steel structures and civil infrastructure. However, prestressing these patches typically requires heavy and complex fixtures, which is impractical in many applications. This paper presents a new approach in which the prestressing force is applied by restraining the shape memory effect of NiTiNb SMA wires. The wires are subsequently embedded in an FRP overlay patch. This method overcomes the practical challenges associated with conventional prestressing. This paper presents the conceptual development of the self-stressing patch with the support of experimental observations. The bond between the SMA wires and the FRP is evaluated using pull-out tests. The paper concludes with an experimental study that evaluates the patch response during activation subsequent monotonic tensile loading. The results demonstrate that the self-stressing patch with NiTiNb SMA is capable of generating a significant prestressing force with minimal tool and labor requirements. (paper)
Is Patch Testing with Food Additives Useful in Children with Atopic Eczema?
Catli, Gonul; Bostanci, Ilknur; Ozmen, Serap; Dibek Misirlioglu, Emine; Duman, Handan; Ertan, Ulker
2015-01-01
Atopy patch testing is a useful way to determine delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions to foods and aeroallergens. Although food additives have been accused of worsening atopic eczema symptoms, according to recent studies the role of food additives in atopic eczema remains unclear. The purpose of our study was to investigate food additive hypersensitivity in a group of children with atopic eczema by using standardized atopy patch testing and to determine the role of food additive hypersensitivity in atopic eczema. Thirty-four children with atopic eczema and 33 healthy children were enrolled in the study. Children who consumed foods containing additives and did not use either antihistamines or local or systemic corticosteroids for at least 7 days prior to admission were enrolled in the study. All children were subjected to atopy patch testing and after 48 and 72 hours their skin reactions were evaluated by using the guidelines. Positive atopy patch test results were significantly higher in the atopic eczema group. Forty-one percent of the atopic eczema group (n = 14) and 15.2% (n = 5) of the control group had positive atopy patch test results with food additives (p = 0.036) (estimated relative risk 1.68, case odds 0.7, control odds 0.17). Carmine hypersensitivity and the consumption of foods containing carmine, such as gumdrops, salami, and sausage, were significantly higher in the children with atopic eczema. This is the first study investigating hypersensitivity to food additives in children with atopic eczema. Our results indicate that carmine may play a role in atopic eczema. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Forest Patch Size, Land Use, and Mesic Forest Herbs in the French Broad River Basin, North Carolina
Scott M. Pearson; Alan B. Smith; Monica G. Turner
1998-01-01
The effect of forest fragmentation on cove-forest herbs was studied in the Southern Blue Ridge Province. Patches of mesic forests were sampled with 4 ha study plots. The coverage and density of herb species were greater in large patches (>200 ha) than in small patches (
Diagnostic accuracy of patch test in children with food allergy.
Caglayan Sozmen, Sule; Povesi Dascola, Carlotta; Gioia, Edoardo; Mastrorilli, Carla; Rizzuti, Laura; Caffarelli, Carlo
2015-08-01
The gold standard test for confirming whether a child has clinical hypersensitivity reactions to foods is the oral food challenge. Therefore, there is increasing interest in simpler diagnostic markers of food allergy, especially in children, to avoid oral food challenge. The goal of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of atopy patch test in comparison with oral food challenge. We investigated 243 children (mean age, 51 months) referred for evaluation of suspected egg or cow's milk allergy. Skin prick test and atopy patch test were carried out, and after a 2 weeks elimination diet, oral food challenge was performed. Two hundred and forty-three children underwent OFC to the suspected food. We found clinically relevant food allergies in 40 (65%) children to egg and in 22 (35%) to cow's milk. The sensitivity of skin prick test for both milk and egg was 92%, specificity 91%, positive predictive value 35%, and negative predictive value of 93%. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of atopy patch test for both milk and egg were 21%, 73%, 20%, and 74%, respectively. Our study suggests that there is insufficient evidence for the routine use of atopy patch test for the evaluation of egg and cow's milk allergy. OFC remains gold standard for the diagnosis of egg and milk allergy even in the presence of high costs in terms of both time and risks during application. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Sutureless human sclera donor patch graft for Ahmed glaucoma valve.
Zeppa, Lucio; Romano, Mario R; Capasso, Luigi; Tortori, Achille; Majorana, Mara A; Costagliola, Ciro
2010-01-01
To report the safety and effectiveness of a sutureless human sclera donor patch graft covering the subconjunctival portion of glaucoma drainage implant tube to prevent its erosion throughout the overlying conjunctiva. This was a prospective pilot study. Fifteen eyes of 15 consecutive patients not responsive to medical and to not-implant surgical glaucoma treatment underwent Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implant surgery with sutureless human sclera donor patch graft. The surgical procedure included AVG implant placed 8 mm behind the corneal limbus and fixed to the sclera with two 9-0 black nylon sutures. The tube was passed through the scleral tunnel, parallel to the corneal limbus, and shortened at the desired length. The anterior part of the tube was covered with human donor scleral graft and kept in place with fibrin glue (Tissue Coll) under the conjunctiva. Examinations were scheduled at baseline and then at 1 week and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. At 12-month follow-up, the best-corrected visual acuity did not significantly improve from baseline 0.78+/-1.2 logMAR, whereas mean intraocular pressure significantly decreased from preoperative values of 29.8 (SD 8.4) mmHg. In all cases, the scleral patch was found in place at each check during the follow-up period. No conjunctival erosion over the AGV tube nor sign of endophthalmitis was recorded at any time during the follow-up period. AVG implant surgery with sutureless human sclera donor patch graft represents an effective and relatively safe surgical procedure for complicated glaucomas, avoiding conjunctival erosions over the AGV tube.
Patch testing with the "sesquiterpene lactone mix"
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ducombs, G; Benezra, C; Talaga, P
1990-01-01
6278 patients were patch tested with a sesquiterpene lactone mix (SL-mix) in 10 European clinics. 4011 patients were tested only with 0.1% SL-mix, 63 (approximately 1.5%) of whom were positive, with 26 (41%) of these cases being considered clinically relevant. There were no cases of active...
Patch-based visual tracking with online representative sample selection
Ou, Weihua; Yuan, Di; Li, Donghao; Liu, Bin; Xia, Daoxun; Zeng, Wu
2017-05-01
Occlusion is one of the most challenging problems in visual object tracking. Recently, a lot of discriminative methods have been proposed to deal with this problem. For the discriminative methods, it is difficult to select the representative samples for the target template updating. In general, the holistic bounding boxes that contain tracked results are selected as the positive samples. However, when the objects are occluded, this simple strategy easily introduces the noises into the training data set and the target template and then leads the tracker to drift away from the target seriously. To address this problem, we propose a robust patch-based visual tracker with online representative sample selection. Different from previous works, we divide the object and the candidates into several patches uniformly and propose a score function to calculate the score of each patch independently. Then, the average score is adopted to determine the optimal candidate. Finally, we utilize the non-negative least square method to find the representative samples, which are used to update the target template. The experimental results on the object tracking benchmark 2013 and on the 13 challenging sequences show that the proposed method is robust to the occlusion and achieves promising results.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Schalock, Peter C; Menné, Torkil; Johansen, Jeanne D
2011-01-01
algorithm to guide the selection of screening allergen series for patch testing is provided. At a minimum, an extended baseline screening series and metal screening is necessary. Static and dynamic orthopaedic implants, intravascular stent devices, implanted defibrillators and dental and gynaecological......Cutaneous and systemic hypersensitivity reactions to implanted metals are challenging to evaluate and treat. Although they are uncommon, they do exist, and require appropriate and complete evaluation. This review summarizes the evidence regarding evaluation tools, especially patch and lymphocyte...... transformation tests, for hypersensitivity reactions to implanted metal devices. Patch test evaluation is the gold standard for metal hypersensitivity, although the results may be subjective. Regarding pre-implant testing, those patients with a reported history of metal dermatitis should be evaluated by patch...
Transparent Patch Antenna on a-Si Thin Film Glass Solar Module
Roo Ons, Maria; Shynu, S.; Ammann, Max; McCormack, Sarah; Norton, Brian
2011-01-01
An optically transparent microstrip patch mounted on the surface of a commercially available solar module is proposed. The patch comprises a thin sheet of clear polyester with a conductive coating. The amorphous silicon solar cells in the module are used as both photovoltaic generator and antenna ground plane. The proposed structure provides a peak gain of 3.96 dBi in the 3.4-3.8 GHz range without significantly compromising the light transmission in the module. A comparison between copper and...
Clinical patch test data evaluated by multivariate analysis. Danish Contact Dermatitis Group
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Christophersen, J; Menné, T; Tanghøj, P
1989-01-01
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of individual explanatory factors, such as sex, age, atopy, test time and presence of diseased skin, on clinical patch test results, by application of multivariate statistical analysis. The study population was 2166 consecutive patients...... patch tested with the standard series of the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ICDRG) by members of the Danish Contact Dermatitis Group (DCDG) over a period of 6 months. For the 8 test allergens most often found positive (nickel, fragrance-mix, cobalt, chromate, balsam of Peru, carba......-mix, colophony, and formaldehyde), one or more individual factors were of significance for the risk of being sensitized, except for chromate and formaldehyde. It is concluded that patch test results can be compared only after stratification of the material or by multivariate analysis....
Patch Pd para Nih-Nik de Chico Mello
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Gabriel Montechiari e Silva
2014-12-01
Full Text Available This Pure Data patch was commissioned by the Ensemble Nih-Nik for the premier of the homonymous 1993 piece by Brazilian composer Chico Mello at the SiMN 2014 + matrix14 on tour festival (Curitiba, Brazil.
2017-06-01
The long-term performance of pothole patches largely depends on the selection of the patching method. A number of pothole patching methods are in practice in Minnesota and other nearby states. However, pavement maintenance crews often encounter probl...
lnvestigation of Patch Coatings lnfluence on the Stress lntensity Factor for Surface Cracks
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lambertsen, Søren Heide; Jepsen, Michael S.; Damkilde, Lars
2013-01-01
In this paper, it is investigated how a surface layer of epoxy glue will affect the crack propagation of a surface crack. The intension is to reduce or even stop the crack propagation by means of patch layer coating. When adding a patch layer to the surface with small cracks, the layer will attem...
Bayesian Image Restoration Using a Large-Scale Total Patch Variation Prior
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yang Chen
2011-01-01
Full Text Available Edge-preserving Bayesian restorations using nonquadratic priors are often inefficient in restoring continuous variations and tend to produce block artifacts around edges in ill-posed inverse image restorations. To overcome this, we have proposed a spatial adaptive (SA prior with improved performance. However, this SA prior restoration suffers from high computational cost and the unguaranteed convergence problem. Concerning these issues, this paper proposes a Large-scale Total Patch Variation (LS-TPV Prior model for Bayesian image restoration. In this model, the prior for each pixel is defined as a singleton conditional probability, which is in a mixture prior form of one patch similarity prior and one weight entropy prior. A joint MAP estimation is thus built to ensure the iteration monotonicity. The intensive calculation of patch distances is greatly alleviated by the parallelization of Compute Unified Device Architecture(CUDA. Experiments with both simulated and real data validate the good performance of the proposed restoration.
Huang, Chen; Chi, Yu-Chieh
2017-12-01
The key element in Kohn-Sham (KS) density functional theory is the exchange-correlation (XC) potential. We recently proposed the exchange-correlation potential patching (XCPP) method with the aim of directly constructing high-level XC potential in a large system by patching the locally computed, high-level XC potentials throughout the system. In this work, we investigate the patching of the exact exchange (EXX) and the random phase approximation (RPA) correlation potentials. A major challenge of XCPP is that a cluster's XC potential, obtained by solving the optimized effective potential equation, is only determined up to an unknown constant. Without fully determining the clusters' XC potentials, the patched system's XC potential is "uneven" in the real space and may cause non-physical results. Here, we developed a simple method to determine this unknown constant. The performance of XCPP-RPA is investigated on three one-dimensional systems: H20, H10Li8, and the stretching of the H19-H bond. We investigated two definitions of EXX: (i) the definition based on the adiabatic connection and fluctuation dissipation theorem (ACFDT) and (ii) the Hartree-Fock (HF) definition. With ACFDT-type EXX, effective error cancellations were observed between the patched EXX and the patched RPA correlation potentials. Such error cancellations were absent for the HF-type EXX, which was attributed to the fact that for systems with fractional occupation numbers, the integral of the HF-type EXX hole is not -1. The KS spectra and band gaps from XCPP agree reasonably well with the benchmarks as we make the clusters large.
Rational Design and Enhanced Biocompatibility of a Dry Adhesive Medical Skin Patch
Kwak, Moon Kyu
2011-07-28
A new type of medical skin patch is developed that contains high-density, mushroom-like micropillars. Such dry-adhesive micropillars are highly biocompatible, have minimized side effects, and provide reasonable normal adhesion strength. To arrive at optimal conditions for the dry adhesive skin patch, the proper design of various structural and material parameters of micropillars is investigated. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Snyder-Keller, A M
1995-10-01
The antimitotic drug methylazoxymethanol was used to destroy striatal patch neurons during their three-day-period of neurogenesis in the rat. Single or multiple injections of methylazoxymethanol were given during embryonic days 13-15, the period when patch neurons are known to undergo their final cell division. Methylazoxymethanol treatments produced a dramatic reduction in striatal volume. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed the continued presence of patches of neurons that were substance P-immunoreactive and devoid of calbindin and enkephalin immunoreactivity. Both the number of patches and relative volume occupied by patches was reduced in methylazoxymethanol-treated striata. Patch neurons could also be labelled by an intrastriatal injection of FluoroGold during the first postnatal week. The early ingrowth of nigrostriatal dopamine afferents was less noticeably patchy in the methylazoxymethanol-treated animals, in part owing to an overall increase in density. Large reductions in the number of neurons immunoreactive for choline acetyltransferase were observed, whereas NADPH diaphorase-stained neurons were not reduced unless methylazoxymethanol was given on embryonic day 15. Injections of bromo-deoxy-uridine, either during or after the 24 h that each methylazoxymethanol injection was considered to be effective, revealed that (i) some patch neurons continued to be generated in the 24-h period following methylazoxymethanol administration, and (ii) many patch neurons were generated after the effects of methylazoxymethanol had worn off. These findings demonstrate that it was impossible to completely eliminate the patches using methylazoxymethanol injections during the period of patch neurogenesis. However, methylazoxymethanol treatment during this time did produce a dramatic loss of cells and a relatively greater reduction in patch volume. Despite this disruption, the appropriate compartmentalization of neuroactive substances appeared to be maintained.
Snyder-Keller, A; Costantini, L C; Graber, D J
2001-01-01
Organotypic cultures of fetal or early postnatal striatum were used to assess striatal patch formation and maintenance in the presence or absence of dopaminergic and glutamatergic influences. Vibratome-cut slices of the striatum prepared from embryonic day 19 to postnatal day 4 rat pups were maintained in static culture on clear membrane inserts in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/F12 (1:1) with 20% horse serum. Some were co-cultured with embryonic day 12-16 ventral mesencephalon and/or embryonic day 19 to postnatal day 4 cortex, which produced a dense dopaminergic innervation and a modest cortical innervation. Donors of striatal and cortical tissue were previously injected with bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU) on embryonic days 13 and 14 in order to label striatal neurons destined to populate the patch compartment of the striatum. Patches of BrdU-immunoreactive cells were maintained in organotypic cultures of late prenatal (embryonic days 20-22) or early postnatal striatum in the absence of nigral dopaminergic or cortical glutamatergic influences. In slices taken from embryonic day 19 fetuses prior to the time of in vivo patch formation, patches were observed to form after 10 days in vitro, in 39% of nigral-striatal co-cultures compared to 6% of striatal slices cultured alone or in the presence of cortex only. Patches of dopaminergic fibers, revealed by tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity, were observed in the majority of nigral-striatal co-cultures. Immunostaining for the AMPA-type glutamate receptor GluR1 revealed a dense patch distribution in nearly all cultures, which developed in embryonic day 19 cultures after at least six days in vitro. These findings indicate that striatal patch/matrix organization is maintained in organotypic culture, and can be induced to form in vitro in striatal slices removed from fetuses prior to the time of in vivo patch formation. Furthermore, dopaminergic innervation from co-cultured pieces of ventral mesencephalon enhances patch
Automating the Port of Linux to the VirtualLogix Hypervisor using Semantic Patches
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Armand, Francois; Muller, Gilles; Lawall, Julia Laetitia
2008-01-01
of Linux to the VLX hypervisor. Coccinelle provides a notion of semantic patches, which are more abstract than standard patches, and thus are potentially applicable to a wider range of OS versions. We have applied this approach in the context of Linux versions 2.6.13, 2.6.14, and 2.6.15, for the ARM...
A patch in the pectoral position lowers defibrillation threshold.
Karasik, P; Solomon, A; Verdino, R; Moore, H; Rodak, D; Hannan, R; Fletcher, R
1997-06-01
Implantable pacemaker cardioverter defibrillators are now available with biphasic waveforms, which have been shown to markedly improve defibrillation thresholds (DFTs). However, in a number of patients the DFT remains high. Also, DFT may increase after implantation, especially if antiarrhythmic drugs are added. We report on the use of a subcutaneous patch in the pectoral position in 15 patients receiving a transvenous defibrillator as a method of easily reducing the DFT. A 660-mm2 patch electrode was placed beneath the generator in a pocket created on the pectoral fascia. The energy required for defibrillation was lowered by 56% on average, and the system impedance was lowered by a mean of 25%. This maneuver allowed all patients to undergo a successful implant with adequate safety margin.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Laura M Gumbiner-Russo
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Homologous recombination in Escherichia coli creates patches (non-crossovers or splices (half crossovers, each of which may have associated heteroduplex DNA. Heteroduplex patches have recombinant DNA in one strand of the duplex, with parental flanking markers. Which DNA strand is exchanged in heteroduplex patches reflects the molecular mechanism of recombination. Several models for the mechanism of E. coli RecBCD-mediated recombinational double-strand-end (DSE repair specify that only the 3'-ending strand invades the homologous DNA, forming heteroduplex in that strand. There is, however, in vivo evidence that patches are found in both strands. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: This paper re-examines heteroduplex-patch-strand polarity using phage lambda and the lambdadv plasmid as DNA substrates recombined via the E. coli RecBCD system in vivo. These DNAs are mutant for lambda recombination functions, including orf and rap, which were functional in previous studies. Heteroduplexes are isolated, separated on polyacrylamide gels, and quantified using Southern blots for heteroduplex analysis. This method reveals that heteroduplexes are still found in either 5' or 3' DNA strands in approximately equal amounts, even in the absence of orf and rap. Also observed is an independence of the RuvC Holliday-junction endonuclease on patch formation, and a slight but statistically significant alteration of patch polarity by recD mutation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that orf and rap did not contribute to the presence of patches, and imply that patches occurring in both DNA strands reflects the molecular mechanism of recombination in E. coli. Most importantly, the lack of a requirement for RuvC implies that endonucleolytic resolution of Holliday junctions is not necessary for heteroduplex-patch formation, contrary to predictions of all of the major previous models. This implies that patches are not an alternative resolution of the
Phase diagrams of particles with dissimilar patches: X-junctions and Y-junctions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tavares, J M; Teixeira, P I C
2012-01-01
We use Wertheim’s first-order perturbation theory to investigate the phase behaviour and the structure of coexisting fluid phases for a model of patchy particles with dissimilar patches (two patches of type A and f B patches of type B). A patch of type α = {A,B} can bond to a patch of type β = {A,B} in a volume v αβ , thereby decreasing the internal energy by ε αβ . We analyse the range of model parameters where AB bonds, or Y-junctions, are energetically disfavoured (ε AB AA /2) but entropically favoured (v AB ≫ v αα ), and BB bonds, or X-junctions, are energetically favoured (ε BB > 0). We show that, for low values of ε BB /ε AA , the phase diagram has three different regions: (i) close to the critical temperature a low-density liquid composed of long chains and rich in Y-junctions coexists with a vapour of chains; (ii) at intermediate temperatures there is coexistence between a vapour of short chains and a liquid of very long chains with X- and Y-junctions; (iii) at low temperatures an ideal gas coexists with a high-density liquid with all possible AA and BB bonds formed. It is also shown that in region (i) the liquid binodal is reentrant (its density decreases with decreasing temperature) for the lower values of ε BB /ε AA . The existence of these three regions is a consequence of the competition between the formation of X- and Y-junctions: X-junctions are energetically favoured and thus dominate at low temperatures, whereas Y-junctions are entropically favoured and dominate at higher temperatures. (paper)
Robust optical fiber patch-cords for in vivo optogenetic experiments in rats.
Trujillo-Pisanty, Ivan; Sanio, Christian; Chaudhri, Nadia; Shizgal, Peter
2015-01-01
In vivo optogenetic experiments commonly employ long lengths of optical fiber to connect the light source (commonly a laser) to the optical fiber implants in the brain. Commercially available patch cords are expensive and break easily. Researchers have developed methods to build these cables in house for in vivo experiments with rodents [1-4]. However, the half-life of those patch cords is greatly reduced when they are used with behaving rats, which are strong enough to break the delicate cable tip and to bite through the optical fiber and furcation tubing. Based on [3] we have strengthened the patch-cord tip that connects to the optical implant, and we have incorporated multiple layers of shielding to produce more robust and resistant cladding. Here, we illustrate how to build these patch cords with FC or M3 connectors. However, the design can be adapted for use with other common optical-fiber connectors. We have saved time and money by using this design in our optical self-stimulation experiments with rats, which are commonly several months long and last four to eleven hours per session. The main advantages are: •Long half-life.•Resistant to moderate rodent bites.•Suitable for long in vivo optogenetic experiments with large rodents.
Synthesis of conjugated chitosan and its effect on drug permeation from transdermal patches.
Satheeshababu, B K; Shivakumar, K L
2013-03-01
The aim of this study was to synthesis the conjugated chitosan by covalent attachment of thiol moieties to the cationic polymer, mediated by a carbodiimide to improve permeation properties of chitosan. Thioglycolic acid was covalently attached to chitosan by the formation of amide bonds between the primary amino groups of the polymer and the carboxylic acid groups of thioglycolic acid. Hence, these polymers are called as thiomers or thiolated polymers. Conjugation of chitosan was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared and differential scanning calorimetric analysis. Matrix type transdermal patches of carvedilol were prepared using the different proportions of chitosan and chitosan-thioglycolic acid conjugates (2:0, 1.7:0.3, 1.4:0.6, 1:1, 0.6:1.4 and 0.3:1.7) by solvent casting technique. Prepared matrix type patches were evaluated for their physicochemical characterization followed by in vitro evaluation. Selected formulations were subjected for their ex vivo studies on Wistar albino rat skin and human cadaver skin using the modified Franz diffusion cell. As the proportion of conjugated chitosan increased, the transdermal patches showed increased drug permeation. The mechanism of drug release was found to be nonFickian profiles. The present study concludes that the transdermal patches of carvedilol using conjugated chitosan with different proportions of chitosan were successfully developed to provide improved drug permeation. The transdermal patches can be a good approach to improve drug bioavailability by bypassing the extensive hepatic first-pass metabolism of the drug.
Binding Ligand Prediction for Proteins Using Partial Matching of Local Surface Patches
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lee Sael
2010-12-01
Full Text Available Functional elucidation of uncharacterized protein structures is an important task in bioinformatics. We report our new approach for structure-based function prediction which captures local surface features of ligand binding pockets. Function of proteins, specifically, binding ligands of proteins, can be predicted by finding similar local surface regions of known proteins. To enable partial comparison of binding sites in proteins, a weighted bipartite matching algorithm is used to match pairs of surface patches. The surface patches are encoded with the 3D Zernike descriptors. Unlike the existing methods which compare global characteristics of the protein fold or the global pocket shape, the local surface patch method can find functional similarity between non-homologous proteins and binding pockets for flexible ligand molecules. The proposed method improves prediction results over global pocket shape-based method which was previously developed by our group.
Binding ligand prediction for proteins using partial matching of local surface patches.
Sael, Lee; Kihara, Daisuke
2010-01-01
Functional elucidation of uncharacterized protein structures is an important task in bioinformatics. We report our new approach for structure-based function prediction which captures local surface features of ligand binding pockets. Function of proteins, specifically, binding ligands of proteins, can be predicted by finding similar local surface regions of known proteins. To enable partial comparison of binding sites in proteins, a weighted bipartite matching algorithm is used to match pairs of surface patches. The surface patches are encoded with the 3D Zernike descriptors. Unlike the existing methods which compare global characteristics of the protein fold or the global pocket shape, the local surface patch method can find functional similarity between non-homologous proteins and binding pockets for flexible ligand molecules. The proposed method improves prediction results over global pocket shape-based method which was previously developed by our group.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Simonsen, Anne Birgitte; Deleuran, Mette; Mortz, Charlotte Gotthard
2014-01-01
-17 years, 25.1% had one or more positive patch test reactions. The associated relevance was 66.4%. The most common sensitizers were metals, fragrances, and hair dyes. The frequency of positive patch test reactions and allergic contact dermatitis was significantly higher among girls. CONCLUSIONS: Allergic...
Yang, Hao; Qian, Xin-Hong; Cong, Rui; Li, Jing-wen; Yao, Qin; Jiao, Xi-Ying; Ju, Gong; You, Si-Wei
2010-04-01
Our previous study definitely demonstrated that the mature astrocytes could undergo a de-differentiation process and further transform into pluripotential neural stem cells (NSCs), which might well arise from the effect of diffusible factors released from scratch-insulted astrocytes. However, these neurospheres passaged from one neurosphere-derived from de-differentiated astrocytes possessed a completely distinct characteristic in the differentiation behavior, namely heterogeneity of differentiation. The heterogeneity in cell differentiation has become a crucial but elusive issue. In this study, we show that purified astrocytes could de-differentiate into intermediate precursor cells (IPCs) with addition of scratch-insulted astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) to the culture, which can express NG2 and A2B5, the IPCs markers. Apart from the number of NG2(+) and A2B5(+) cells, the percentage of proliferative cells as labeled with BrdU progressively increased with prolonged culture period ranging from 1 to 10 days. Meanwhile, the protein level of A2B5 in cells also increased significantly. These results revealed that not all astrocytes could de-differentiate fully into NSCs directly when induced by ACM, rather they generated intermediate or more restricted precursor cells that might undergo progressive de-differentiation to generate NSCs.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccination Using a Microneedle Patch
Hiraishi, Yasuhiro; Nandakumar, Subhadra; Choi, Seong-O; Lee, Jeong Woo; Kim, Yeu-Chun; Posey, James E.; Sable, Suraj B.; Prausnitz, Mark R.
2011-01-01
Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis continues to be a leading cause of mortality among bacterial diseases, and the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the only licensed vaccine for human use against this disease. TB prevention and control would benefit from an improved method of BCG vaccination that simplifies logistics and eliminates dangers posed by hypodermic needles without compromising immunogenicity. Here, we report the design and engineering of a BCG-coated microneedle vaccine patch for a simple and improved intradermal delivery of the vaccine. The microneedle vaccine patch induced a robust cell-mediated immune response in both the lungs and spleen of guinea pigs. The response was comparable to the traditional hypodermic needle based intradermal BCG vaccination and was characterized by a strong antigen specific lymphocyte proliferation and IFN-γ levels with high frequencies of CD4+IFN-γ+, CD4+TNF-α+ and CD4+IFN-γ+TNF-α+ T cells. The BCG-coated microneedle vaccine patch was highly immunogenic in guinea pigs and supports further exploration of this new technology as a simpler, safer, and compliant vaccination that could facilitate increased coverage, especially in developing countries that lack adequate healthcare infrastructure. PMID:21277407
Robotic Automation of In Vivo Two-Photon Targeted Whole-Cell Patch-Clamp Electrophysiology.
Annecchino, Luca A; Morris, Alexander R; Copeland, Caroline S; Agabi, Oshiorenoya E; Chadderton, Paul; Schultz, Simon R
2017-08-30
Whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological recording is a powerful technique for studying cellular function. While in vivo patch-clamp recording has recently benefited from automation, it is normally performed "blind," meaning that throughput for sampling some genetically or morphologically defined cell types is unacceptably low. One solution to this problem is to use two-photon microscopy to target fluorescently labeled neurons. Combining this with robotic automation is difficult, however, as micropipette penetration induces tissue deformation, moving target cells from their initial location. Here we describe a platform for automated two-photon targeted patch-clamp recording, which solves this problem by making use of a closed loop visual servo algorithm. Our system keeps the target cell in focus while iteratively adjusting the pipette approach trajectory to compensate for tissue motion. We demonstrate platform validation with patch-clamp recordings from a variety of cells in the mouse neocortex and cerebellum. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Fragrance patch tests prepared in advance may give false-negative reactions.
Mowitz, Martin; Svedman, Cecilia; Zimerson, Erik; Bruze, Magnus
2014-11-01
Several of the ingredients in fragrance mix I (FM I) have been shown to evaporate from petrolatum preparations applied in test chambers to an extent that can be suspected to affect the patch test result. To compare the reactivity towards FM I and fragrance mix II (FM II) when they are applied in test chambers in advance and immediately prior to the patch test occasion. Seven hundred and ninety-five consecutive patients were simultaneously patch tested with duplicate samples of FM I and FM II. One sample was applied in the test chamber 6 days in advance (6D sample), and the other sample was applied immediately before the patients were patch tested (fresh sample). Twenty-two (2.8%) patients reacted exclusively to the fresh sample of FM I, 6 (0.7%) reacted exclusively to the 6D sample, and 22 (2.8%) reacted to both samples. The corresponding numbers for FM II were 9 (1.1%) for the fresh sample, 6 (0.7%) for the 6D sample and 12 (1.5%) for both samples. There was a statistically significant difference between the numbers of patients reacting to the fresh and 6D samples of FM I. No corresponding difference was observed for FM II. This can probably be explained by differences in volatilities between the ingredients of FM I and FM II. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Dame Bug and her students: The science and environmental teaching of Edith Marion Patch
Bird, Mary Dickinson
What can we learn about science teaching from a dead entomologist? And what will this learning mean in the context of our own teaching, half a century after her death? This project is an exploration of the educational ideas and practices of Edith Marion Patch (1876-1954), a pioneering entomologist, educator, and environmentalist whose research and teaching shaped science learning among farmers, children, parents, teachers, and fellow scientists from the start of her career in 1903 until her retirement from professional endeavors in 1945. Patch was one of America's first university-trained female entomologists, the first woman president of the Entomological Society of America and one of the most respected scientists of her time. She was a beloved, bestselling author of more than one hundred natural history stories and books for young learners and dozens of nature and gardening articles for adults. She was also one of the earliest environmentalists to sound an alarm about the hazards of chemical pesticides, delivering her first address on the topic in 1906, one year before Rachel Carson was born. Because of the respect she earned in every milieu in which she worked, Edith Patch was uniquely positioned to influence a wide range of learners, from fellow scientists to home gardeners, to little children. Despite her accomplishments and her renown during her lifetime, Edith Patch is little remembered today. Yet her educational work may prove to be of particular relevance for our time, in which scientific literacy and environmental stewardship take on increasing urgency. Indeed, in the current climate of educational reform, which in some aspects reproduces the inquiry-based, experiential approach advocated by Patch and other education reformers a century ago, a close examination of Patch's teaching may prove to be of particular value. This study therefore seeks to fill the gap in our pedagogical memory regarding this eminent woman, considering the copious evidence of ways
Penagos, Homero; Ruepert, Clemens; Partanen, Timo; Wesseling, Catharina
2004-09-01
Irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) are frequent among agricultural workers and require targeted interventions. Patch testing is necessary for differential diagnosis, but patch testing with pesticides is uncommon. This study explores the frequency of ACD and sensitization to pesticides among highly exposed banana plantation workers. Frequently and recently used pesticides on banana plantations in Divala, Panama, were documented. A pesticide patch test tray specific for this population was prepared. A structured interview was administered to 366 participants, followed by a complete skin examination. The pesticide patch test series, as well as a standard patch test series, was applied to 37 workers with dermatoses likely to be pesticide related and to 23 control workers without dermatoses. The pesticide patch tests identified 15 cases (41%) of ACD (20 positive reactions) among the 37 workers diagnosed with pesticide dermatosis. Three controls had allergic reactions to pesticides (4 positive reactions). The pesticides were carbaryl (5 cases), benomyl (4 cases), ethoprophos (3), chlorothalonil (2), imazalil (2), glyphosate (2), thiabendazole (2), chlorpyrifos (1), oxyfluorfen (1), propiconazole (1), and tridemorph (1). Ethoprophos and tridemorph had not been previously identified as sensitizers. Thus, the prevalence of ACD was 0.03 (15 of 366). On the basis of observed prevalences of positive patch-test reactions among the subgroups with and without dermatoses, we estimated that > or = 16% of the entire population may be sensitized to pesticides. Sensitization to pesticides among banana plantation workers is a frequent occupational health problem. Pesticide patch test trays should be used in assessing skin diseases in highly exposed workers.
Modeling polar cap F-region patches using time varying convection
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sojka, J.J.; Bowline, M.D.; Schunk, R.W.; Decker, D.T.; Valladares, C.E.; Sheehan, R.; Anderson, D.N.; Heelis, R.A.
1993-01-01
Here the authors present the results of computerized simulations of the polar cap regions which were able to model the formation of polar cap patches. They used the Utah State University Time-Dependent Ionospheric Model (TDIM) and the Phillips Laboratory (PL) F-region models in this work. By allowing a time varying magnetospheric electric field in the models, they were able to generate the patches. This time varying field generates a convection in the ionosphere. This convection is similar to convective changes observed in the ionosphere at times of southward pointing interplanetary magnetic field, due to changes in the B y component of the IMF
Smooth causal patches for AdS black holes
Raju, Suvrat
2017-06-01
We review the paradox of low energy excitations of a black hole in anti-de Sitter space (AdS). An appropriately chosen unitary operator in the boundary theory can create a locally strong excitation near the black hole horizon, whose global energy is small as a result of the gravitational redshift. The paradox is that this seems to violate a general rule of statistical mechanics, which states that an operator with energy parametrically smaller than k T cannot create a significant excitation in a thermal system. When we carefully examine the position dependence of the boundary unitary operator that produces the excitation and the bulk observable necessary to detect the anomalously large effect, we find that they do not both fit in a single causal patch. This follows from a remarkable property of position-space AdS correlators that we establish explicitly and resolves the paradox in a generic state of the system, since no combination of observers can both create the excitation and observe its effect. As a special case of our analysis, we show how this resolves the "Born rule" paradox of Marolf and Polchinski [J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2016) 008, 10.1007/JHEP01(2016)008] and we verify our solution using an independent calculation. We then consider boundary states that are finely tuned to display a spontaneous excitation outside the causal patch of the infalling observer, and we propose a version of causal patch complementarity in AdS/CFT that resolves the paradox for such states as well.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pratik R Pipalia
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Aims and Objectives: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of diclofenac and meloxicam as mucoadhesive patches in dental pain management. Materials and Method: This study was conducted among 45 adult patients of either sex, who were diagnosed with dental pain and were attending the outpatient department. Written informed consent was obtained from all the patients. A 1 × 1 cm2 mucoadhesive patch of any one (diclofenac, meloxicam or placebo was applied on the attached gingival region of the tooth with pain. Pain was recorded using a ten point visual analog scale (VAS score at every 5 min for 30 min. Pain was measured and compared before and after the application of the patch. Results: The results showed that patients with diclofenac patch gained mean pain reduction from 6 ± 1.54 mm to 2.60 ± 1.32 mm after 30 min (P 0.05. The maximum pain reduction was seen with meloxicam patch. Conclusion: Transmucosal mucoadhesive analgesic patches are a better alternative to oral analgesics to control dental pain. Hence, routine use of mucoadhesive analgesic patch for dental pain reduction is recommended in day to day practice.
Gülseren, Duygu; Hapa, Asli; Ersoy-Evans, Sibel; Elçin, Gonca; Karaduman, Ayşen
2017-03-01
Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common disease of the oral mucosa with an unknown etiology. This study aimed to determine if food additives play a role in the etiology of RAS as well as to determine if patch testing can be used to detect which allergens cause RAS. This prospective study included 24 patients with RAS and 22 healthy controls. All the participants underwent patch testing for 23 food additives. In total, 21 (87.5%) RAS patients and 3 (13.6%) controls had positive patch test reactions to ≥1 allergens; the difference in the patch test positivity rate between groups was significant (P food additives might play a role in the etiology of RAS and that patch testing could be a method for determining the etiology of RAS. © 2016 The International Society of Dermatology.
Diagnosis of Broiler Livers by Classifying Image Patches
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jørgensen, Anders; Fagertun, Jens; Moeslund, Thomas B.
2017-01-01
The manual health inspection are becoming the bottleneck at poultry processing plants. We present a computer vision method for automatic diagnosis of broiler livers. The non-rigid livers, of varying shape and sizes, are classified in patches by a convolutional neural network, outputting maps...
Patched Green's function techniques for two-dimensional systems
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Settnes, Mikkel; Power, Stephen; Lin, Jun
2015-01-01
We present a numerically efficient technique to evaluate the Green's function for extended two-dimensional systems without relying on periodic boundary conditions. Different regions of interest, or “patches,” are connected using self-energy terms which encode the information of the extended parts...
Södergren, Anna
2010-01-01
In birds like the Zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) the female, but not the male develop a brood patch upon incubation of eggs. The brood patch functions to increase heat exchange between the bird and the eggs. Development of the brood patch includes de-feathering, increased vascularization and edema formation. The increased vascularization is due to the development of arteriovenous anastomoses, AVA. The AVA are thermoregulatory vessels involved in cold induced vasodilation, CIVD, demonstrate...
Patch types in Posidonia oceanica meadows around Corsica. How can we use them in seascape ecology?
Abadie, Arnaud; Bonacorsi, Marina; Gobert, Sylvie; Lejeune, Pierre; Pergent, Gérard; Pergent-Martini, Christine
2015-01-01
The meadows formed by the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica are subjected to various natural (e.g., water movement, light availability, sedimentation) and anthropogenic (e.g., anchoring, trawling, fish farms, explosives) phenomena that erode them and create diverse types of patches. The assemblage of the P. oceanica matrix and these patches creates particular seascapes. On the basis of this assessment, we aimed to investigate the importance of the patch type in structuring P. oceanica...
Jonsson, J.E.; Afton, A.D.; Alisauskas, R.T.; Bluhm, C.K.; El Halawani, M.E.
2006-01-01
We investigated effects of ecological and physiological factors on brood patch area and prolactin levels in free-ranging Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens; hereafter “Snow Geese”) and Ross's Geese (C. rossii). On the basis of the body-size hypothesis, we predicted that the relationships between prolactin levels, brood patch area, and body condition would be stronger in Ross's Geese than in the larger Snow Geese. We found that brood patch area was positively related to clutch volume and inversely related to prolactin levels in Ross's Geese, but not in Snow Geese. Nest size, nest habitat, and first egg date did not affect brood patch area in either species. Prolactin levels increased as incubation progressed in female Snow Geese, but this relationship was not significant in Ross's Geese. Prolactin levels and body condition (as indexed by size-adjusted body mass) were inversely related in Ross's Geese, but not in Snow Geese. Our findings are consistent with the prediction that relationships between prolactin levels, brood patch area, and body condition are relatively stronger in Ross's Geese, because they mobilize endogenous reserves at faster rates than Snow Geese.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P. Prikryl
1999-04-01
Full Text Available A long series of polar patches was observed by ionosondes and an all-sky imager during a disturbed period (Kp = 7- and IMF Bz < 0. The ionosondes measured electron densities of up to 9 × 1011 m-3 in the patch center, an increase above the density minimum between patches by a factor of \\sim4.5. Bands of F-region irregularities generated at the equatorward edge of the patches were tracked by HF radars. The backscatter bands were swept northward and eastward across the polar cap in a fan-like formation as the afternoon convection cell expanded due to the IMF By > 0. Near the north magnetic pole, an all-sky imager observed the 630-nm emission patches of a distinctly band-like shape drifting northeastward to eastward. The 630-nm emission patches were associated with the density patches and backscatter bands. The patches originated in, or near, the cusp footprint where they were formed by convection bursts (flow channel events, FCEs structuring the solar EUV-produced photoionization and the particle-produced auroral/cusp ionization by segmenting it into elongated patches. Just equatorward of the cusp footprint Pc5 field line resonances (FLRs were observed by magnetometers, riometers and VHF/HF radars. The AC electric field associated with the FLRs resulted in a poleward-progressing zonal flow pattern and backscatter bands. The VHF radar Doppler spectra indicated the presence of steep electron density gradients which, through the gradient drift instability, can lead to the generation of the ionospheric irregularities found in patches. The FLRs and FCEs were associated with poleward-progressing DPY currents (Hall currents modulated by the IMF By and riometer absorption enhancements. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the VHF backscatter and associated riometer absorptions closely resembled those of poleward moving auroral forms (PMAFs. In the solar wind, IMP 8 observed large amplitude Alfvén waves that were correlated with Pc5 pulsations
Performance of patch repaired composite panels under fatigue loads
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Darwish, Feras H.; Hamoush, S.; Shivakumar, K.
2006-01-01
This paper evaluates the performance of bonded patch-scarf repairs of full scale laminated composite panels under cyclic load conditions. Nondestructive testing to characterize the quality of repairs and destructive testing to evaluate the performance of repaired panels were used in this study. Carbon/Epoxy prepreg material used was used to lay up six-ply (12 in. x 27 in. /305x686mm) (-60/60/0) s quasi-isotropic laminates. 7-ply scarf repair with a gradient of 0.5 inch (12.7mm) per layer was used to perform the repair of a damaged zone. The patch consisted of 7.5 inches (190mm) diameter adhesive film, 1 inch (25.4mm) diameter filler ply at 90fiber orientation, and six plies (2-7 inches (51-178mm) diameter) to match the lay-up of the parent material. The study was extended to include defective repairs. The defect was engineered by inserting a 1 inch (25.4 mm) circular Teflon flaw between the fifth and sixth layers of the patch. A total of 28 panels were prepared and divided into five categories: (1) three pristine panels (undamaged parental materials); (2) three damaged panels (1-inch-centered-hole); (3) two repaired panels with wrong fiber orientation; (4) nine good repaired panels, and (5) eleven defective repair panels (1 inch flaw). A nondestructive evaluation to check the conditions of the repairs was performed on most of the tested panels that include the pulse-echo C-scan and pseudo through transmission air coupled and water coupled C-scan. Based on the results of the experimental evaluation of this study, good repair restored 95% of the tensile strength while defective repair restored 90% of the tensile strength of the pristine panels. Under fatigue loading, panels repaired with a 1 inch delamination flaw within the patch layers showed a major reduction in fatigue life compared to the good repair panels under similar loading conditions. (author)
Okeanos Explorer (EX1601): Transit and Mission Patch Test
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Normal underway operations and mapping patch testing. Bathymetric mapping of either the Murray or Molokai Fracture Zones during the transit to Hawaii is planned, as...
Kazahari, Nobuko
2014-04-01
Animals have been assumed to employ an optimal foraging strategy (e.g., rate-maximizing strategy). In patchy food environments, intake rate within patches is positively correlated with patch quality, and declines as patches are depleted through consumption. This causes patch-leaving and determines patch residence time. In group-foraging situations, patch residence times are also affected by patch sharing. Optimal patch models for groups predict that patch residence times decrease as the number of co-feeding animals increases because of accelerated patch depletion. However, group members often depart patches without patch depletion, and their patch residence time deviates from patch models. It has been pointed out that patch residence time is also influenced by maintaining social proximity with others among group-living animals. In this study, the effects of maintaining social cohesion and that of rate-maximizing strategy on patch residence time were examined in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). I hypothesized that foragers give up patches to remain in the proximity of their troop members. On the other hand, foragers may stay for a relatively long period when they do not have to abandon patches to follow the troop. In this study, intake rate and foraging effort (i.e., movement) did not change during patch residency. Macaques maintained their intake rate with only a little foraging effort. Therefore, the patches were assumed to be undepleted during patch residency. Further, patch residence time was affected by patch-leaving to maintain social proximity, but not by the intake rate. Macaques tended to stay in patches for short periods when they needed to give up patches for social proximity, and remained for long periods when they did not need to leave to keep social proximity. Patch-leaving and patch residence time that prioritize the maintenance of social cohesion may be a behavioral pattern in group-living primates.
Epidural blood patch for refractory low CSF pressure headache
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Madsen, Søren Aalbæk; Fomsgaard, Jonna Storm; Jensen, Rigmor
2011-01-01
primary effect parameter was total headache burden defined as area under the curve (AUC: intensity × duration) and as secondary effect parameters we identified: intensity (VAS 0-10), frequency (days per month), duration in hours (total hours/month) and also medication days (days on medication...... of non-invasive/conservative measures and invasive measures with epidural blood patch providing the cornerstone of the invasive measures. In the present pilot study we therefore aimed to evaluate the treatment efficacy of epidural blood patch (EBP) in treatment-refractory low-pressure headache. Our......Once believed an exceedingly rare disorder, recent evidence suggests that low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure headache has to be considered an important cause of new daily persistent headaches, particularly among young and middle-aged individuals. Treatment of low CSF pressure headache consists...
Epidural blood patch for refractory low CSF pressure headache
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Madsen, Søren Aalbæk; Fomsgaard, Jonna Storm; Jensen, Rigmor
2011-01-01
of non-invasive/conservative measures and invasive measures with epidural blood patch providing the cornerstone of the invasive measures. In the present pilot study we therefore aimed to evaluate the treatment efficacy of epidural blood patch (EBP) in treatment-refractory low-pressure headache. Our......Once believed an exceedingly rare disorder, recent evidence suggests that low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure headache has to be considered an important cause of new daily persistent headaches, particularly among young and middle-aged individuals. Treatment of low CSF pressure headache consists...... primary effect parameter was total headache burden defined as area under the curve (AUC: intensity × duration) and as secondary effect parameters we identified: intensity (VAS 0-10), frequency (days per month), duration in hours (total hours/month) and also medication days (days on medication...
Study of LCP based flexible patch antenna array
Ghaffar, Farhan A.; Shamim, Atif; Roy, Langis
2012-01-01
Wrapping of a two element LCP based patch antenna array is studied in this work. For the first time, the designed array is bent in both E and H planes to observe the effect on the radiation and impedance performance of the antenna. The 38 GHz
Using free patches to improve reach of the Oregon Quit Line.
Deprey, Mona; McAfee, Tim; Bush, Terry; McClure, Jennifer B; Zbikowski, Susan; Mahoney, Lisa
2009-01-01
For 2 1/2 months, the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line (ORQL) offered a free 2-week starter kit of nicotine patches to all callers. The promotional plan, utilizing Roger's Diffusion of Innovation theory, targeted health plans, local policy makers, media sources, and referral sources, such as healthcare providers. Word-of-mouth advertising was also encouraged using a free patch card, which could be handed out to tobacco users. Six weeks prior to the public launch, information about the initiative was disseminated by e-mailing and sending letters to public and private sector partners. Call volume to the ORQL was monitored 6 months prior to the Free Patch Initiative and immediately following the launch. Demographic characteristics of callers pre- and postinitiative were compared using ORQL data. A media firm tracked earned media generated by the initiative. The Initiative generated free "earned" media attention, increased calls to the ORQL by 12-fold, and reached 1.3% of the smoking population within a 3-month period. Offering a short course of free NRT is an effective way to promote the use of quitlines.
Broadbanding of circularly polarized patch antenna by waveguided magneto-dielectric metamaterial
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xin Mi Yang
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Design of bandwidth-enhanced circularly polarized (CP patch antenna using artificial magneto-dielectric substrate was investigated. The artificial magneto-dielectric material adopted here takes the form of waveguided metamaterial (WG-MTM. In particular, the embedded meander line (EML structure was employed as the building element of the WG-MTM. As verified by the retrieved effective medium parameters, the EML-based waveguided magneto-dielectric metamaterial (WG-MDM exhibits two-dimensionally isotropic magneto-dielectric property with respect to TEM wave excitations applied in two orthogonal directions. A CP patch antenna loaded with the EML-based WG-MDM (WG-MDM antenna has been proposed and its design procedure is described in detail. Simulation results show that the impedance and axial ratio bandwidths of the WG-MDM antenna have increased by 125% and 133%, respectively, compared with those obtained with pure dielectric substrate offering the same patch size. The design of the novel WG-MDM antenna was also validated by measurement results, which show good agreement with their simulated counterparts.
Delirium due to Scopolamine Patch in a 4-Year-Old Boy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yang-Guang Lin
2011-03-01
Full Text Available The scopolamine patch is usually used to reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting associated with anesthesia and/or surgery. It is also commonly used for the prevention of motion sickness. Transdermal scopolamine patches have been used for decades and there are few reports in the literature of toxic psychosis associated with the product. Most documented cases of acute psychosis following administration of scopolamine or other anticholinergic agents have been from the adult population. Here we present a 4-year-old boy with deteriorated cognitive function and changed mental status acutely. Besides flushing skin and psychotic behaviors including bizarre actions, hallucinations, aggressive behavior, hyperactivity, and incoherent speech were also noticed. Symptoms and signs were resolved after removal of scopolamine patch and conservative management. This case is possibly one of the youngest patients to exhibit such toxic effects. We hope to relay information about common agents with anticholinergic effects to clinical practitioners and remind that drug-induced psychosis should be considered in children with acute changes in behavior.
Smooth surfaces from bilinear patches: Discrete affine minimal surfaces
Kä ferbö ck, Florian; Pottmann, Helmut
2013-01-01
Motivated by applications in freeform architecture, we study surfaces which are composed of smoothly joined bilinear patches. These surfaces turn out to be discrete versions of negatively curved affine minimal surfaces and share many properties
Patch test dose-response study of p-phenylenediamine
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sosted, Heidi; Menné, Torkil; Johansen, Jeanne Duus
2006-01-01
The elicitation response in allergic contact dermatitis for the hair dye substance p-phenylenediamine (PPD) is dose dependent, but threshold concentrations have not previously been investigated. 15 PPD-sensitive patients participated in a serial dilution 48-hr patch test with PPD using 8...... concentrations of PPD ranging from 1 to 10 000 on the upper back. Petrolatum was applied as control. Three concentrations (50, 100 and 500 p.p.m. PPD) were also applied to the retroauricular area and on the lateral aspects of the upper arms. 14 of the 15 participants reacted to one or more of the test samples....... The threshold value for 10% of the tested persons (ED10) based on+or stronger reactions for PPD on the back was 38 p.p.m. (CI: 4.3-100). There were no statistically significant differences in the sensitivity of the three anatomical regions. The upper back is a suitable region for patch testing patients...
Software approach to automatic patching of analog computer
1973-01-01
The Automatic Patching Verification program (APV) is described which provides the hybrid computer programmer with a convenient method of performing a static check of the analog portion of his study. The static check insures that the program is patched as specified, and that the computing components being used are operating correctly. The APV language the programmer uses to specify his conditions and interconnections is similar to the FORTRAN language in syntax. The APV control program reads APV source program statements from an assigned input device. Each source program statement is processed immediately after it is read. A statement may select an analog console, set an analog mode, set a potentiometer or DAC, or read from the analog console and perform a test. Statements are read and processed sequentially. If an error condition is detected, an output occurs on an assigned output device. When an end statement is read, the test is terminated.
Surface contact potential patches and Casimir force measurements
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kim, W. J.; Sushkov, A. O.; Lamoreaux, S. K.; Dalvit, D. A. R.
2010-01-01
We present calculations of contact potential surface patch effects that simplify previous treatments. It is shown that, because of the linearity of Laplace's equation, the presence of patch potentials does not affect an electrostatic calibration of a two-plate Casimir measurement apparatus. Using models that include long-range variations in the contact potential across the plate surfaces, a number of experimental observations can be reproduced and explained. For these models, numerical calculations show that if a voltage is applied between the plates which minimizes the force, a residual electrostatic force persists, and that the minimizing potential varies with distance. The residual force can be described by a fit to a simple two-parameter function involving the minimizing potential and its variation with distance. We show the origin of this residual force by use of a simple parallel capacitor model. Finally, the implications of a residual force that varies in a manner different from 1/d on the accuracy of previous Casimir measurements is discussed.