Poly(2-cyclopropyl-2-oxazoline): from rate acceleration by Cyclopropyl to Thermoresponsive properties

The synthesis and microwave-assisted living cationic ring-opening polymerization of 2-cyclopropyl-2-oxazoline is reported revealing the fastest polymerization for an aliphatic substituted 2-oxazoline to date, which is ascribed to the electron withdrawing effect of the cyclopropyl group. The poly(2-cyclopropyl-2-oxazoline) (pCPropOx) represents an alternative thermo-responsive poly(2-oxazoline) with a reversible critical temperature close to body temperature. The cloud point (CP) of the obtained pCPropOx in aqueous solution was evaluated in detail by turbidimetry, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and viscosity measurements. pCPropOx is amorphous with a significantly higher glass transition temperature (T(g) similar to 80 degrees C) compared to the amorphous poly(2-n-propyl-2-oxazoline) (pnPropOx) (T(g) similar to 40 degrees C), while poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) piPropOx is semicrystalline. In addition, a pCPropOx comb polymer was prepared by methacrylic acid end-capping of the living cationic species followed by RAFT polymerization of the macromonomer. The polymer architecture does not influence the concentration dependence of the CP, however, both the CP and T(g) of the comb polymer are lower due to the increased number of hydrophobic end groups

Variable-range hopping in quasi-one-dimensional electron crystals

We study the effect of impurities on the ground state and the low-temperature dc transport in a 1D chain and quasi-1D systems of many parallel chains. We assume that strong interactions impose a short-range periodicicity of the electron positions. The long-range order of such an electron crystal (or equivalently, a $4 k_F$ charge-density wave) is destroyed by impurities. The 3D array of chains behaves differently at large and at small impurity concentrations $N$. At large $N$, impurities divide the chains into metallic rods. The low-temperature conductivity is due to the variable-range hopping of electrons between the rods. It obeys the Efros-Shklovskii (ES) law and increases exponentially as $N$ decreases. When $N$ is small, the metallic-rod picture of the ground state survives only in the form of rare clusters of atypically short rods. They are the source of low-energy charge excitations. In the bulk the charge excitations are gapped and the electron crystal is pinned collectively. A strongly anisotropic screening of the Coulomb potential produces an unconventional linear in energy Coulomb gap and a new law of the variable-range hopping $-\ln\sigma \sim (T_1 / T)^{2/5}$. $T_1$ remains constant over a finite range of impurity concentrations. At smaller $N$ the 2/5-law is replaced by the Mott law, where the conductivity gets suppressed as $N$ goes down. Thus, the overall dependence of $\sigma$ on $N$ is nonmonotonic. In 1D, the granular-rod picture and the ES apply at all $N$. The conductivity decreases exponentially with $N$. Our theory provides a qualitative explanation for the transport in organic charge-density wave compounds.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures. (v1) The abstract is abridged to 24 lines. For the full abstract, see the manuscript (v2) several changes in presentation per referee's comments. No change in result

Особенности ВЭД по закупке шкур животных на международных аукционах для переработки на территории ТС

Актуальность выбранной темы обусловлена тем, что особое место на российском рынке верхней одежды приходится на меховое сырье и изделия из него. С одной стороны, в условиях суровых климатических условий делают меховую одежду в России незаменимой и обеспечивают высокий спрос на эти дорогостоящие изделия в зимний период. С другой стороны, меховые изделия являются самыми дорогостоящими по сравнению с другими товарами легкой промышленности и относятся к товарам класса "люкс", т. е. к предметам роскоши. Были исследованы законодательная база, а так же товарная номенклатура мехового сырья. Проанализированы проблемы и тенденции в данной области. Итогом работы являются рекомендации, разработанные для улучшения текущей обстановки в сфере мехового сырья.The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the fact that the special place in the Russian market of outerwear is for fur raw materials and products from it. On the one hand, in conditions of severe climatic conditions, fur clothing in Russia is indispensable and provides a high demand for these expensive products in the winter. On the other hand, fur products are the most expensive compared to other products of light industry and belong to luxury goods, ie, to luxury goods. Legislative base, as well as commodity nomenclature of fur raw materials were investigated. The problems and trends in this area are analyzed. The result of the work are recommendations developed to improve the current situation in the field of fur raw materials

Surgery and transplantation – Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition, Chapter 18

In surgery, indications for artificial nutrition comprise prevention and treatment of catabolism and malnutrition. Thus in general, food intake should not be interrupted postoperatively and the re-establishing of oral (e.g. after anastomosis of the colon and rectum, kidney transplantation) or enteral food intake (e.g. after an anastomosis in the upper gastrointestinal tract, liver transplantation) is recommended within 24 h post surgery. To avoid increased mortality an indication for an immediate postoperatively artificial nutrition (enteral or parenteral nutrition (PN)) also exists in patients with no signs of malnutrition, but who will not receive oral food intake for more than 7 days perioperatively or whose oral food intake does not meet their needs (e.g. less than 60–80%) for more than 14 days. In cases of absolute contraindication for enteral nutrition, there is an indication for total PN (TPN) such as in chronic intestinal obstruction with a relevant passage obstruction e.g. a peritoneal carcinoma. If energy and nutrient requirements cannot be met by oral and enteral intake alone, a combination of enteral and parenteral nutrition is indicated. Delaying surgery for a systematic nutrition therapy (enteral and parenteral) is only indicated if severe malnutrition is present. Preoperative nutrition therapy should preferably be conducted prior to hospital admission to lower the risk of nosocomial infections. The recommendations of early postoperative re-establishing oral feeding, generally apply also to paediatric patients. Standardised operative procedures should be established in order to guarantee an effective nutrition therapy

Molecular basis of a dominant T cell response to an HIV reverse transcriptase 8-mer epitope presented by the protective allele HLA-B*51:01

CD8(+) CTL responses directed toward the HLA-B*51:01–restricted HIV-RT(128–135) epitope TAFTIPSI (TI8) are associated with long-term nonprogression to AIDS. Clonotypic analysis of responses to B51-TI8 revealed a public clonotype using TRAV17/TRBV7-3 TCR genes in six out of seven HLA-B*51:01(+) patients. Structural analysis of a TRAV17/TRBV7-3 TCR in complex with HLA–B51-TI8, to our knowledge the first human TCR complexed with an 8-mer peptide, explained this bias, as the unique combination of residues encoded by these genes was central to the interaction. The relatively featureless peptide-MHC (pMHC) was mainly recognized by the TCR CDR1 and CDR2 loops in an MHC-centric manner. A highly conserved residue Arg(97) in the CDR3α loop played a major role in recognition of peptide and MHC to form a stabilizing ball-and-socket interaction with the MHC and peptide, contributing to the selection of the public TCR clonotype. Surface plasmon resonance equilibrium binding analysis showed the low affinity of this public TCR is in accordance with the only other 8-mer interaction studied to date (murine 2C TCR–H-2K(b)-dEV8). Like pMHC class II complexes, 8-mer peptides do not protrude out the MHC class I binding groove like those of longer peptides. The accumulated evidence suggests that weak affinity might be a common characteristic of TCR binding to featureless pMHC landscapes

Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus -- the "D-shuttle" project --

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter "D-shuttle" for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the background radiation level of other regions/countries

Role of biomarkers in early infectious complications after lung transplantation

Background Infections and primary graft dysfunction are devastating complications in the immediate postoperative period following lung transplantation. Nowadays, reliable diagnostic tools are not available. Biomarkers could improve early infection diagnosis. Methods Multicentre prospective observational study that included all centres authorized to perform lung transplantation in Spain. Lung infection and/or primary graft dysfunction presentation during study period (first postoperative week) was determined. Biomarkers were measured on ICU admission and daily till ICU discharge or for the following 6 consecutive postoperative days. Results We included 233 patients. Median PCT levels were significantly lower in patients with no infection than in patients with Infection on all follow up days. PCT levels were similar for PGD grades 1 and 2 and increased significantly in grade 3. CRP levels were similar in all groups, and no significant differences were observed at any study time point. In the absence of PGD grade 3, PCT levels above median (0.50 ng/ml on admission or 1.17 ng/ml on day 1) were significantly associated with more than two- and three-fold increase in the risk of infection (adjusted Odds Ratio 2.37, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 5.30 and 3.44, 95% confidence interval 1.52 to 7.78, respectively). Conclusions In the absence of severe primary graft dysfunction, procalcitonin can be useful in detecting infections during the first postoperative week. PGD grade 3 significantly increases PCT levels and interferes with the capacity of PCT as a marker of infection. PCT was superior to CRP in the diagnosis of infection during the study period

Monitoring Procalcitonin in Febrile Neutropenia: What Is Its Utility for Initial Diagnosis of Infection and Reassessment in Persistent Fever?

Background: Management of febrile neutropenic episodes (FE) is challenged by lacking microbiological and clinical documentation of infection. We aimed at evaluating the utility of monitoring blood procalcitonin (PCT) in FE for initial diagnosis of infection and reassessment in persistent fever.Methods: PCT kinetics was prospectively monitored in 194 consecutive FE (1771 blood samples): 65 microbiologically documented infections (MDI, 33.5%; 49 due to non-coagulase-negative staphylococci, non-CNS), 68 clinically documented infections (CDI, 35%; 39 deep-seated), and 61 fever of unexplained origin (FUO, 31.5%).Results: At fever onset median PCT was 190 pg/mL (range 30-26'800), without significant difference among MDI, CDI and FUO. PCT peak occurred on day 2 after onset of fever: non-CNS-MDI/deep-seated-CDI (656, 80-86350) vs. FUO (205, 33-771; p<0.001). PCT >500 pg/mL distinguished non-CNS-MDI/deep-seated-CDI from FUO with 56% sensitivity and 90% specificity. PCT was >500 pg/ml in only 10% of FUO (688, 570-771). A PCT peak >500 pg/mL (1196, 524-11950) occurred beyond 3 days of persistent fever in 17/21 (81%) invasive fungal diseases (IFD). This late PCT peak identified IFD with 81% sensitivity and 57% specificity and preceded diagnosis according to EORTC-MSG criteria in 41% of cases. In IFD responding to therapy, median days to PCT <500 pg/mL and defervescence were 5 (1-23) vs. 10 (3-22; p = 0.026), respectively.Conclusion: While procalcitonin is not useful for diagnosis of infection at onset of neutropenic fever, it may help to distinguish a minority of potentially severe infections among FUOs on day 2 after onset of fever. In persistent fever monitoring procalcitonin contributes to early diagnosis and follow-up of invasive mycose

Long-term outcome of patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia: a randomized comparison of stem cell transplantation with drug treatment.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors represent today's treatment of choice in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is regarded as salvage therapy. This prospective randomized CML-study IIIA recruited 669 patients with newly diagnosed CML between July 1997 and January 2004 from 143 centers. Of these, 427 patients were considered eligible for HSCT and were randomized by availability of a matched family donor between primary HSCT (group A; N=166 patients) and best available drug treatment (group B; N=261). Primary end point was long-term survival. Survival probabilities were not different between groups A and B (10-year survival: 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.82) vs 0.69 (95% CI: 0.61-0.76)), but influenced by disease and transplant risk. Patients with a low transplant risk showed superior survival compared with patients with high- (P<0.001) and non-high-risk disease (P=0.047) in group B; after entering blast crisis, survival was not different with or without HSCT. Significantly more patients in group A were in molecular remission (56% vs 39%; P=0.005) and free of drug treatment (56% vs 6%; P<0.001). Differences in symptoms and Karnofsky score were not significant. In the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, HSCT remains a valid option when both disease and transplant risk are considered