Air-hydrogen loss coefficient data correlation for the control drum-drive shaft model. Test series FFL-8

The purpose of the report is to discuss the hydrogen flow experiment that was conduced in the Fluid Flow Laboratory

Proximate analysis of the fruit Azanza garckeana (“Goron Tula”)

The chemical composition and some selected metal ions of the fruit Azanza garckeana locally called “Goron Tula” obtained from different parts of Tula in Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State were analysed. The chemical compositions determined showed a carbohydrate content in the range 49-56%; ascorbic acid 285.5-308.5mg/50g; fat content 0.0541-0.0543%; and starch while the selected metals Fe, Mg, Ca, and Mn were in the range 120-140μg/g, 1700-2300μg/g, 350-450μg/g, and 71-101μg/g respectively.Key words: Azanza Garckeana fruit, proximate analysis, metal ions, carbohydrate content, ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid, Azanza Garckeana fruit, carbohydrate content, proximate analysis, metal ions

Modeling Life as Cognitive Info-Computation

This article presents a naturalist approach to cognition understood as a network of info-computational, autopoietic processes in living systems. It provides a conceptual framework for the unified view of cognition as evolved from the simplest to the most complex organisms, based on new empirical and theoretical results. It addresses three fundamental questions: what cognition is, how cognition works and what cognition does at different levels of complexity of living organisms. By explicating the info-computational character of cognition, its evolution, agent-dependency and generative mechanisms we can better understand its life-sustaining and life-propagating role. The info-computational approach contributes to rethinking cognition as a process of natural computation in living beings that can be applied for cognitive computation in artificial systems.Comment: Manuscript submitted to Computability in Europe CiE 201

AICAR attenuates organ injury and inflammatory response after intestinal ischemia and reperfusion

Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) is encountered in various clinical conditions and contributes to multiorgan failure and mortality as high as 60% to 80%. Intestinal I/R not only injures the intestine, but affects remote organs such as the lung leading to acute lung injury. The development of novel and effective therapies for intestinal I/R are critical for the improvement of patient outcome. AICAR (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxyamide ribonucleoside) is a cell-permeable compound that has been shown to possess antiinflammatory effects. The objective is to determine that treatment with AICAR attenuates intestinal I/R injury and subsequent acute lung injury (ALI). Male Sprague Dawley rats (275 to 325 g) underwent intestinal I/R injury with blockage of the superior mesenteric artery for 90 min and subsequent reperfusion. At the initiation of reperfusion, vehicle or AICAR (30 mg/kg BW) was given intravenously (IV) for 30 min. At 4 h after reperfusion, blood and tissues were collected for further analyses. Treatment with AICAR significantly decreased the gut damage score and the water content, indicating improvement in histological integrity. The treatment also attenuated tissue injury and proinflammatory cytokines, and reduced bacterial translocation to the gut. AICAR administration after intestinal I/R maintained lung integrity, attenuated neutrophil chemotaxis and infiltration to the lungs and decreased lung levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6. Inflammatory mediators, lung-inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins, were decreased in the lungs and lung apoptosis was significantly reduced after AICAR treatment. These data indicate that AICAR could be developed as an effective and novel therapeutic for intestinal I/R and subsequent ALI

Stimulation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway with Wnt agonist reduces organ injury after hemorrhagic shock

BACKGROUND: Hemorrhagic shock is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in surgery and trauma patients. Despite a large number of preclinical trials conducted to develop therapeutic strategies against hemorrhagic shock, there is still an unmet need for effective therapy for hemorrhage patients. Wnt/beta-catenin signaling controls developmental processes and cellular regeneration owing to its central role in cell survival and proliferation. We therefore hypothesized that the activation of Wnt signaling reduces systemic injury caused by hemorrhagic shock. METHODS: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent hemorrhagic shock by controlled bleeding of the femoral artery to maintain a mean arterial pressure of 30 mm Hg for 90 minutes, followed by resuscitation with crystalloid equal to two times the shed blood volume. After resuscitation, animals were infused with Wnt agonist (5 mg/kg) or vehicle (20% dimethyl sulfoxide in saline). Blood and tissue samples were collected 6 hours after resuscitation for analysis. RESULTS: Hemorrhagic shock increased serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, lactate, and lactate dehydrogenase. Treatment with Wnt agonist significantly reduced these levels by 40%, 36%, and 77%, respectively. Wnt agonist also decreased blood urea nitrogen and creatinine by 34% and 56%, respectively. The treatment reduced lung myeloperoxidase activity and interleukin 6 messenger RNA by 55% and 68%, respectively, and significantly improved lung histology. Wnt agonist treatment increased Bcl-2 protein to sham values and decreased cleaved caspase 3 by 46%, indicating attenuation of hemorrhage-induced apoptosis in the lungs. Hemorrhage resulted in significant reductions of A-catenin protein levels in the lungs as well as down-regulation of a Wnt target gene, cyclin D1, while Wnt agonist treatment preserved these levels. CONCLUSION: The administration of Wnt agonist attenuated hemorrhage-induced organ injury, inflammation, and apoptosis. This was correlated with the preservation of the Wnt signaling pathway. Thus, Wnt/beta-catenin activation could be protective in hemorrhagic shock. Copyright (C) 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Engineering the Photonic Density of States with metamaterials

The photonic density of states (PDOS), like its' electronic coun- terpart, is one of the key physical quantities governing a variety of phenom- ena and hence PDOS manipulation is the route to new photonic devices. The PDOS is conventionally altered by exploiting the resonance within a device such as a microcavity or a bandgap structure like a photonic crystal. Here we show that nanostructured metamaterials with hyperbolic dispersion can dramatically enhance the photonic density of states paving the way for metamaterial based PDOS engineering

Experimental studies with Strongyloides papillosus in goats

Unusual clinical and pathological observations in the field in goats and sheep suffering from Strongyloides papillosus infection prompted experimental work on this parasite. Goats were infected percutaneously with either single or multiple, low or high levels of S. papillosus. Young goats up to 12 months of age were found to be the most susceptible. Some animals, however, showed substantial resistance to infective doses. Clinical signs included transient diarrhoea, misshapen, elongated faecal pellets terminally, dehydration, anorexia, cachexia, gnashing of teeth, foaming at the mouth, anaemia and nervous signs such as ataxia, a wide-based stance, stupor and nystagmus. A 'pushing syndrome' was seen in 22 % of the animals. The pathological changes are described and included enteritis, status spongiosus in the brain, hepatosis leading to rupture of the liver, nephrosis, pulmonary oedema, interstitial pneumonia and pneumonia. About 6 % of the goats died acutely from fatal hepatic rupture. The development of an acquired immunity was determined. The immunity elicited an allergic skin reaction at the application site of larvae or injection sites of larval metabolites. This immunity, however, could be breached by large doses of larvae. The most profound clinicopathological changes induced by the parasites were an anaemia (most pronounced in the young goats) and hypophosphataemia. Trace element analyses provided evidence of Cu, Mn and possibly Se deficiencies in some goats.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Observations sur la langue dans les lettres adressées a Š. Ljubić

Dans le présent article sont examinées certaines questions portant sur la langue et l\u27orthographe telles qu\u27on peut les constater dans les lettres faisant partie du legs de Š. Ljubić conservé dans les Archives historiques de Zadar. Leur date se situe autour de la moitié du 19e siècle. Les auteurs de ces lettres sont I. Kukuljević Sakcinski, A. Torkvato Brlić, B. Petranović et Š. Starčević. Donc, un Zagrébien, un autre provenant de Slavonie et deux Dalmates, dont l\u27un était Serbe et l\u27autre Croate. De cette manière dans ces lettres sont représentées toutes les couches et structures et les principaux courants de la Croatie avec leurs vues sur la langue littéraire

Human toxocariasis: contribution by Brazilian researchers

In the present paper the main aspects of the natural history of human infection by Toxocara larvae that occasionally result in the occurrence of visceral and/or ocular larva migrans syndrome were reviewed. The contribution by Brazilian researchers was emphasized, especially the staff of the Tropical Medicine Institute of São Paulo (IMT)