Diseño y construcción de una celda de combustible tipo membrana de intercambio protónico.

Una celda de combustible tipo membrana de intercambio protónico (CCMIP) es un dispositivo que produce electricidad, calor y agua usando hidrógeno y aire. En este trabajo se ha diseñado y construido una CCMIP con un área activa de 25 cm2. Las partes de la celda fueron diseñadas usando SolidWorks 2005. Adicionalmente se muestra el diseño y construcción del sistema de alimentación y humidificación de aire e hidrógeno. Por último se describe el sistema de control de temperatura implementado

Consumer credit information systems: A critical review of the literature. Too little attention paid by lawyers?

This paper reviews the existing literature on consumer credit reporting, the most extensively used instrument to overcome information asymmetry and adverse selection problems in credit markets. Despite the copious literature in economics and some research in regulatory policy, the legal community has paid almost no attention to the legal framework of consumer credit information systems, especially within the context of the European Union. Studies on the topic, however, seem particularly relevant in view of the establishment of a single market for consumer credit. This article ultimately calls for further legal research to address consumer protection concerns and inform future legislation

Disparities in routine breast cancer screening for medicaid managed care members with a work-limiting disability

Objective: Examine disparities in routine mammography for women who qualify for Medicaid, because of a work-limiting disability. Methods: Individual-level data were obtained for women enrolled in Massachusetts Medicaid Managed Care plans who met the 2007 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) criteria for the breast cancer screening measure (n=35,171). Disability status was determined from Medicaid eligibility records. Mammography screening was modeled using multivariate logistic regression. Separate models for women with and without a disability were also estimated. Results: Although unadjusted breast cancer screening rates were roughly equal for women with and without disability, after adjusting for confounders disability status had a significant negative association with screening mammography (OR=0.74; p Conclusion: Nationwide, rates of routine mammography for Medicaid managed care plans averaged below 50% in 2006. Given that a majority of eligible women served by Medicaid have disabilities, and studies have shown that women with disabilities are more likely to be diagnosed with late stage disease, a focus on improving rates of screening for women with disabilities is overdue

First DNA barcode reference library for the identification of South American freshwater fish from the lower Paraná river

Valid fish species identification is essential for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management. Here, we provide a sequence reference library based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I for a valid identification of 79 freshwater fish species from the Lower Paraná River. Neighbour-joining analysis based on K2P genetic distances formed non-overlapping clusters for almost all species with a ≥99% bootstrap support each. Identification was successful for 97.8% of species as the minimum genetic distance to the nearest neighbour exceeded the maximum intraspecific distance in all these cases. A barcoding gap of 2.5% was apparent for the whole data set with the exception of four cases. Withinspecies distances ranged from 0.00% to 7.59%, while interspecific distances varied between 4.06% and 19.98%, without considering Odontesthes species with a minimum genetic distance of 0%. Sequence library validation was performed by applying BOLDs BIN analysis tool, Poisson Tree Processes model and Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery, along with a reliable taxonomic assignment by experts. Exhaustive revision of vouchers was performed when a conflicting assignment was detected after sequence analysis and BIN discordance evaluation. Thus, the sequence library presented here can be confidently used as a benchmark for identification of half of the fish species recorded for the Lower Paraná River.Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raul A. Ringuelet

The structure of the G protein heterotrimer Giα1β1γ2

AbstractThe crystallographic structure of the G protein heterotrimer Giα1(GDP)β1γ2 (at 2.3 A) reveals two nonoverlapping regions of contact between α and β, an extended interface between β and nearly all of γ, and limited interaction of α with γ. The major α/β interface covers switch II of α, and GTP-induced rearrangement of switch II causes subunit dissociation during signaling. Alterations in GDP binding in the heterotrimer (compared with α-GDP) explain stabilization of the inactive conformation of α by βγ. Repeated WD motifs in β form a circularized sevenfold β propeller. The conserved cores of these motifs are a scaffold for display of their more variable linkers on the exterior face of each propeller blade

Assessment of potential cardiotoxic side effects of mitoxantrone in patients with multiple sclerosis

Previous studies showed that mitoxantrone can reduce disability progression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). There is, however, concern that it may cause irreversible cardiomyopathy with reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) and congestive heart failure. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate cardiac side effects of mitoxantrone by repetitive cardiac monitoring in MS patients. The treatment protocol called for ten courses of a combined mitoxantrone (10 mg/m(2) body surface) and methylprednisolone therapy. Before each course, a transthoracic echocardiogram was performed to determine the LV end-diastolic diameter, the end-systolic diameter and the fractional shortening; the LV-EF was calculated. Seventy-three patients participated (32 males; age 48 +/- 12 years, range 20-75 years; 25 with primary progressive, 47 with secondary progressive and 1 with relapsing-remitting MS) who received at least four courses of mitoxantrone. Three of the 73 patients were excluded during the study (2 patients discontinued therapy; 1 patient with a previous history of ischemic heart disease developed atrial fibrillation after the second course of mitoxantrone). The mean cumulative dose of mitoxantrone was 114.0 +/- 33.8 mg. The mean follow-up time was 23.4 months (range 10-57 months). So far, there has been no significant change in any of the determined parameters (end-diastolic diameter, end-systolic diameter, fractional shortening, EF) over time during all follow-up investigations. Mitoxantrone did not cause signs of congestive heart failure in any of the patients. Further cardiac monitoring is, however, needed to determine the safety of mitoxantrone after longer follow-up times and at higher cumulative doses. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel