Bruk av silikat som alternativ til kalking - feltforsøk med flytende og fast silikat i 1997

Feltforsøk med dosering av flytende silikat-lut som et alternativ til kalking har tidligere vært utprøvd i Tangedalselva. Med tanke på videre bruk av silikat i naturen var det viktig å få undersøkt hvorvidt dosering av silikat kunne ha uønskede negative sideeffekter på den naturlige fauna og flora i et elvesystem. Prosjektet i Tangedalselva i 1997 hadde derfor som målsetning, i tillegg til de kjemiske studiene, å undersøke effektene av silikatdosering på villfisken i elva (aure), på bunndyrsamfunnet, og på artssammensetning og mengde av påvekstalger. Når det gjelder prosjektet med bruk av fast silikat i Aurtjernbekken i Akershus, hadde det sin bakgrunn i behovet for nye metoder for avsyring av bekkesystemer. Resultatene fra Tangedalselva var lovende, og viste ingen klare negative effekter på noen av organismegruppene som ble undersøkt. Eksponeringsforsøk med den sensitive døgnfluarten Baetis rhodani viste sterkt redusert dødelighet i silikatbehandlet vann. De kjemiske studiene viste at en dose på mellom 0,6 og 2 mg SiO2 pr. liter var nødvendig for å redusere konsentrasjonen av Ali i Tangedalselva. Forsøkene med fast silikat i Aurtjernbekken var mindre lovende, og viste minimale effekter av utlegging av fast silikat både på aluminiumskjemien og på aure eksponert i bur. Lav løselighet på silikatklumpene er den sannsynlige årsaken til dett

Effect of Radiation on Biologically Active Glasses

Multifunctional hydroxyapatites single crystals have been studied for their applications as the laser host material since past several decades. It is only recently their potential has been evaluated for bioactive materials. In the past researches, Czochralski and flux growth methods have been utilized to achieve single crystals. We have used low temperature processing techniques for synthesis. Organic melt was used to achieve oriented fibers by the directional solidification method. This organic treated material has different characteristics than coarsened oxide materials. Our approach involved low temperature processing using nano engineered powders of the material system Na2O-K2O-CaO- MgO-SrO-SiO2. Also, borates were processed by sintering and grain growth. Effect of -ray was studied by measuring the electrical characteristics of radiated samples. Our experiments to further improve mechanical characteristics indicate that substitution of calcium with some other elements such as gallium have great potential to improve the radiation hardening and mechanical properties of bones

The Role of Peer Social Network Factors and Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls

Objective: To study the relationship between peer-related physical activity (PA) social networks and the PA of adolescent girls. Methods: Cross-sectional, convenience sample of adolescent girls. Mixed-model linear regression analyses to identify significant correlates of self-reported PA while accounting for correlation of girls in the same school. Results: Younger girls were more active than older girls. Most activity-related peer social network items were related to PA levels. More PA with friends was significantly related to self-reported PA in multivariate analyses. Conclusions: Frequency of PA with friends was an important correlate of PA among the peer network variables for adolescent girls

Serum heart-type fatty acid-binding protein and cerebrospinal fluid tau: Marker candidates for dementia with Lewy bodies

Background: The measurement of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has gained increasing acceptance in establishing the diagnosis of some neurodegenerative diseases. Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) was recently discovered in CSF and serum of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Objective: We investigated H-FABP in CSF and serum alone and in combination with CSF tau protein to evaluate these as potential biomarkers for the differentiation between dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: We established H-FABP and tau protein values in a set of 144 persons with DLB (n = 33), Parkinson disease with dementia (PDD; n = 25), AD (n = 35) and nonclemented neurological controls (NNC; n = 51). Additionally, serum H-FABP levels were analyzed in idiopathic Parkinson disease patients without evidence of cognitive decline (n = 45) using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. We calculated absolute values of HFABP and tau protein in CSF and serum and established relative ratios between the two to obtain the best possible match for the clinical working diagnosis. Results: Serum HFABP levels were elevated in DLB and PDD patients compared with NNC and AD subjects. To better discriminate between DLB and AD, we calculated the ratio of serum H-FABP to CSF tau protein levels. At the arbitrary chosen cutoff ratio >= 8 this quotient reached a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 66%. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the measurement of CSF tau protein, together with H-FABP quantification in serum and CSF, and the ratio of serum H-FABP to CSF tau protein represent marker candidates for the differentiation between AD and DLB. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Group II intron in Bacillus cereus has an unusual 3′ extension and splices 56 nucleotides downstream of the predicted site

All group II introns known to date fold into six functional domains. However, we recently identified an intron in Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987, B.c.I4, that splices 56 nt downstream of the expected 3′ splice site in vivo (Tourasse et al. 2005, J. Bacteriol., 187, 5437–5451). In this study, we confirmed by ribonuclease protection assay that the 56-bp segment is part of the intron RNA molecule, and computational prediction suggests that it might form a stable stem-loop structure downstream of domain VI. The splicing of B.c.I4 was further investigated both in vivo and in vitro. Lariat formation proceeded primarily by branching at the ordinary bulged adenosine in domain VI without affecting the fidelity of splicing. In addition, the splicing efficiency of the wild-type intron was better than that of a mutant construct deleted of the 56-bp 3′ extension. These results indicate that the intron has apparently adapted to the extra segment, possibly through conformational adjustments. The extraordinary group II intron B.c.I4 harboring an unprecedented extra 3′ segment constitutes a dramatic example of the flexibility and adaptability of group II introns

Obesity and depressed mood associations differ by race/ethnicity in adolescent girls

To evaluate bidirectional associations between obesity and depressed mood in adolescent girls, and assess whether these associations differed by racial/ethnic group