Evidence for attrition from certain Pennsylvanian conodonts.

A scanning electron microscopic examination of Pennsylvanian conodonts has defined a total of eight discrete secondary surface features. These features are interpreted to have been formed by a toothlike in vivo functionality of elements within assemblages. Four general types of features have been identified and described. Attritional form 1 (AT1) features are easily detected due to the gross nature of the wear. These specimens exhibit AT1. Attritional form 2 (AT2) is of a subtle nature typically expressed as furrows and, at times, associated with irregular planer features. Two specimens exhibit this type of attrition. Attritional form 3 (AT3) is interpreted to represent repair, by growth lamellae addition, which has not totally removed visible evidence of damage. This form is considered intermediate between AT1 and AT2. One specimen exhibits AT3. Attritional form 4 (AT4) features are linear “gouges” which cross cut primary ornamentation features of denticles. AT4 is exhibited by two specimens

Sistem Informasi Pergudangan Alat-Alat Kesehatan Pada PT.Global Medika Utama

PT.Global Medika Utama adalah perusahaan yang menjalankan bisnis penjualan alat-alat kesehatan yang berada dilokasi kota Semarang. Dalam menjalankan usaha pergudangan alat-alat kesehatan PT.Global Medika Utama melakukan pengelolaan secara konvensional, sehingga sering ditemui kendala dalam pemantauan stok barang, pencarian penyimpan barang dalam gudang, maupu menyusun laporan barang yang diperlukan untuk pengambilan keputusan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk merancang sitem informasi pergudangan alat-alat kesehatan pada PT.Global Medika Utama, guna membantu dalam pemantauan stok barang dan pembuatan laporan–laporan  yang dibutuhkan PT.Global Medika Utama. Metode pengembangan sistem yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah metode waterfall. Hasil dari penelitian ini yakni dihasilkan sebuah sistem informasi pergudangan yang mampu melakukan pendataan barang, pendataan pemasok, pendataan pengadaan, pendataan konsumen, dan pendataan penjualan. Kesmpulan dari penelitian ini adalah kemudahan dalam melakukan pendataan, kemudahaan pencetakan laporan pengadaan barang, dan laporan penjualan alat kesehatan PT.Global Medika Utama yang berguna untuk pengambilan keputusan. Kata kunci : data, informasi, sistem informasi, pengelolaan gudang, alat kesehatan.   PT.Global Medika Utama is a company that runs the business of selling medical devices that are planted in the city of Semarang. In carrying out the business of warehousing of medical equipment PT.Global Medika Utama managing conventionally, so often encountered obstacles in monitoring the stock of goods, storage of goods in the warehouse search, compile reports maupu goods necessary for decision making. The purpose of this study was to design warehousing information system health tools on PT.Global Medika Utama, to assist in monitoring the inventory and making reports required PT.Global Medika Utama. System development method used in this study is the waterfall method. Results from this study that produced an information system that is able to collect data warehousing of goods, supplier data collection, data collection procurement, customer data collection, and the collection of sales. Kesmpulan of this study is the ease in data collection, ease of printing procurement reports, and reports sales of medical devices PT.Global Medika Utama useful for decision making. Keywords: data, information, information systems, warehouse management, medical device

Degradación de toxafeno en medio líquido por Bjerkandera sp BOL13 utilizando diferentes sustratos

ESTE TRABAJO INVESTIGA LA DEGRADACIÓN DEL PLAGUICIDA toxafeno utilizando hongos producidos por la descomposición de la madera (white-rot fungus) Bjerkandera sp BOL13. La especie Bjerkandera sp BOL13 degradó el toxafeno al utilizar tres diferentes sustratos (virutas de madera, cáscara de trigo y melaza de caña) en medio líquido por un período de 38 días. Aproximadamente el 85% del toxafeno fue degradado cuando se utilizó la cáscara de trigo como sustrato principal. La producción de lignina peroxidasa (LiP) fue solamente estimulada cuando la cáscara de trigo estuvo presente en el medio líquido. Aunque la enzima xilanasa se encontró en todos los sustratos, la cáscara de trigo soportó la más alta producción de xilanasa. Una cantidad insignificante de ß-glucosidasa y celulasa fueron encontradas en las muestras del medio líquido. Según la literatura, éste es el primer trabajo de investigación referente a la degradación de toxafeno con hongos Bjerkandera sp producidos por la descomposición de la mader

Fiber-Optic Sensing Technology

This article offers a basic review of fiber-optic sensing technology, or more specifically, fiber-optic sensing technology as applied to the qualitative or quantitative identification of a chemical sample, and how it works

Degradación de toxafeno en medio líquido por Bjerkandera sp BOL13 utilizando diferentes sustratos

ESTE TRABAJO INVESTIGA LA DEGRADACIÓN DEL PLAGUICIDA toxafeno utilizando hongos producidos por la descomposición de la madera (white-rot fungus) Bjerkandera sp BOL13. La especie Bjerkandera sp BOL13 degradó el toxafeno al utilizar tres diferentes sustratos (virutas de madera, cáscara de trigo y melaza de caña) en medio líquido por un período de 38 días. Aproximadamente el 85% del toxafeno fue degradado cuando se utilizó la cáscara de trigo como sustrato principal. La producción de lignina peroxidasa (LiP) fue solamente estimulada cuando la cáscara de trigo estuvo presente en el medio líquido. Aunque la enzima xilanasa se encontró en todos los sustratos, la cáscara de trigo soportó la más alta producción de xilanasa. Una cantidad insignificante de ß-glucosidasa y celulasa fueron encontradas en las muestras del medio líquido. Según la literatura, éste es el primer trabajo de investigación referente a la degradación de toxafeno con hongos Bjerkandera sp producidos por la descomposición de la mader

Genome‐Wide DNA Methylation Patterns in Naive CD4+ T Cells From Patients With Primary Sjögren's Syndrome

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106121/1/art38264.pd

The Immune Inhibitory Receptor LAIR-1 Is Highly Expressed by Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells and Acts Complementary with NKp44 to Control IFNα Production

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a subset of dendritic cells endowed with the capacity of producing large amounts of IFNα. Here we show that the Leukocyte-Associated Ig-like Receptor-1 (LAIR-1) is abundantly expressed on pDCs (the highest expression among all leukocytes) and its cross-linking inhibits IFNα production in response to Toll-like receptor ligands. Remarkably, LAIR-1 expression in pDCs is down-regulated in the presence of interleukin (IL)-3, thus indicating coordinated functions with NKp44, another pDC inhibitory receptor, which is conversely induced by IL-3. Nevertheless, the expression of NKp44 in pDCs isolated from secondary lymphoid organs, which is thought to be influenced by IL-3, is not coupled to a decreased expression of LAIR-1. Interestingly, pDCs isolated from peripheral blood of systemic lupus erithematosus (SLE) patients express lower levels of LAIR-1 while displaying slight but consistent expression of NKp44, usually undetectable on pDCs derived from healthy donors. Using sera derived from SLE patients, we show that LAIR-1 and NKp44 display synergistic inhibitory effects on IFNα production by interleukin IL-3 cultured pDCs stimulated with DNA immunocomplexes. In conclusion, our results indicate that the inhibitory function of LAIR-1 may play a relevant role in the mechanisms controlling IFNα production by pDCs both in normal and pathological innate immune responses

The Future of Biologic Agents in the Treatment of Sjögren’s Syndrome

The gain in knowledge regarding the cellular mechanisms of T and B lymphocyte activity in the pathogenesis of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) and the current availability of various biological agents (anti-TNF-α, IFN- α, anti-CD20, and anti-CD22) have resulted in new strategies for therapeutic intervention. In SS, various phase I and II studies have been performed to evaluate these new strategies. Currently, B cell-directed therapies seem to be more promising than T cell-related therapies. However, large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials are needed to confirm the promising results of these early studies. When performing these trials, special attention has to be paid to prevent the occasional occurrence of the severe side effects

Type I Interferon: Potential Therapeutic Target for Psoriasis?

Background: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease characterized by aberrant epidermal differentiation, surface scale formation, and marked cutaneous inflammation. To better understand the pathogenesis of this disease and identify potential mediators, we used whole genome array analysis to profile paired lesional and nonlesional psoriatic skin and skin from healthy donors. Methodology/Principal Findings: We observed robust overexpression of type I interferon (IFN)–inducible genes and genomic signatures that indicate T cell and dendritic cell infiltration in lesional skin. Up-regulation of mRNAs for IFN-a subtypes was observed in lesional skin compared with nonlesional skin. Enrichment of mature dendritic cells and 2 type I IFN–inducible proteins, STAT1 and ISG15, were observed in the majority of lesional skin biopsies. Concordant overexpression of IFN-c and TNF-a–inducible gene signatures occurred at the same disease sites. Conclusions/Significance: Up-regulation of TNF-a and elevation of the TNF-a–inducible gene signature in lesional skin underscore the importance of this cytokine in psoriasis; these data describe a molecular basis for the therapeutic activity of anti–TNF-a agents. Furthermore, these findings implicate type I IFNs in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Consistent and significant up-regulation of type I IFNs and their associated gene signatures in psoriatic skin suggest that type I IFNs may b

Linkage of Type I Interferon Activity and TNF-Alpha Levels in Serum with Sarcoidosis Manifestations and Ancestry

BACKGROUND: Both type I interferon (IFN), also known as IFN-α and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. We investigated serum levels of these cytokines in a large multi-ancestral sarcoidosis population to determine correlations between cytokine levels and disease phenotypes. METHODS: We studied serum samples from 98 patients with sarcoidosis, including 71 patients of African-American ancestry and 27 patients of European-American ancestry. Serum type I IFN was measured using a sensitive reporter cell assay and serum TNF-α was measured using a commercial ELISA kit. Clinical data including presence or absence of neurologic, cardiac, and severe pulmonary manifestations of sarcoidosis were abstracted from medical records. Twenty age-matched non-autoimmune controls were also studied from each ancestral background. Differences in cytokine levels between groups were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U test, and correlations were assessed using Spearman's rho. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to detect associations between cytokines and clinical manifestations. RESULTS: Significant differences in cytokine levels were observed between African- and European-American patients with sarcoidosis. In African-Americans, serum TNF-α levels were significantly higher relative to matched controls (P = 0.039), and patients with neurologic disease had significantly higher TNF-α than patients lacking this manifestation (P = 0.022). In European-Americans, serum type I IFN activity was higher in sarcoidosis cases as compared to matched controls, and patients with extra-pulmonary disease represented a high serum IFN subgroup (P = 0.0032). None of the associations observed were shared between the two ancestral groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that significant associations between serum levels of TNF-α and type I IFN and clinical manifestations exist in a sarcoidosis cohort that differ significantly by self-reported ancestry. In each ancestral background, the cytokine elevated in patients with sarcoidosis was also associated with a particular disease phenotype. These findings may relate to ancestral differences in the molecular pathogenesis of this heterogeneous disease