177 research outputs found
Формирователь синусоиды на основе широтно-импульсной модуляции
Полезная модель относится к области цифровой техники, предназначена для получения поднесущей синусоиды при формировании шумоподобного сигнала и может быть использована при формировании синусоиды в блоках бесперебойного питания компьютеров, а также в сейсморазведке полезных ископаемых
Fungal DNA, allergens, mycotoxins and associations with asthmatic symptoms among pupils in schools from Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
While there is a large variation of prevalence of asthma symptoms worldwide, what we do know is that it is on the rise in developing countries. However, there are few studies on allergens, moulds and mycotoxin exposure in schools in tropical countries. The aims were to measure selected fungal DNA, furry pet allergens and mycotoxins in dust samples from schools in Malaysia and to study associations with pupils' respiratory health effects. Eight secondary schools and 32 classrooms in Johor Bahru, Malaysia were randomly selected. A questionnaire with standardized questions was used for health assessment in 15 randomly selected pupils from each class. The school buildings were inspected and both indoor and outdoor climate were measured. Dust samples were collected by cotton swabs and Petri dishes for fungal DNA, mycotoxins and allergens analysis. The participation rate was 96% (462/480 invited pupils), with a mean age of 14yr (range 14-16). The pupils mostly reported daytime breathlessness (41%), parental asthma or allergy (22%), pollen or pet allergy (21%) and doctor-diagnosed asthma (13%) but rarely reported night-time breathlessness (7%), asthma in the last 12months (3%), medication for asthma (4%) or smoking (5%). The inspection showed that no school had any mechanical ventilation system, but all classrooms had openable windows that were kept open during lectures. The mean building age was 16yr (range 3-40) and the mean indoor and outdoor CO2 levels were 492ppm and 408ppm, respectively. The mean values of indoor and outdoor temperature and relative humidity were the same, 29°C and 70% respectively. In cotton swab dust samples, the Geometric Mean (GM) value for total fungal DNA and Aspergillus/Penicillium (Asp/Pen) DNA in swab samples (Cell Equivalents (CE)/m2) was 5.7*108 and 0.5*108, respectively. The arithmetic mean (CE/m2) for Aspergillus versicolor DNA was 8780, Stachybotrys chartarum DNA was 26 and Streptomyces DNA was 893. The arithmetic means (pg/m2) for the mycotoxins sterigmatocystin and verrucarol were 2547 and 17, respectively. In Petri dish dust samples, the GM value for total fungal DNA and Asp/Pen DNA (CE/m2 per day) was 9.2*106 and 1.6*106, respectively. The arithmetic mean (CE/m2 per day) for A. versicolor DNA was 1478, S. chartarum DNA was 105 and Streptomyces DNA was 1271, respectively. The GM value for cat(Fel d1) allergen was 5.9ng/m2 per day. There were positive associations between A. versicolor DNA, wheeze and daytime breathlessness and between Streptomyces DNA and doctor-diagnosed asthma. However, the associations were inverse between S. chartarum DNA and daytime breathlessness and between verrucarol and daytime breathlessness. In conclusion, fungal DNA and cat allergen contamination were common in schools from Malaysia and there was a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms among pupils. Moreover, there were associations between levels of some fungal DNA and reported respiratory health in the pupils
Effects of fire-fighting on a fully developed compartment fire: temperatures and emissions
This study evaluates the effects and consequences of fire-fighting operations on the main characteristics of a fully-developed compartment fire. It also presents data and evaluation of the conditions to which fire-fighters are exposed. A typical room enclosure was used with ventilation through a corridor to the front access door. The fire load was wooden pallets. Flashover was reached and the fire became fully developed before the involvement of the fire-fighting team. The progression of the fire-fighters through the corridor and the main-room suppression attack - in particular the effect of short, medium and long water pulses on either the hot gas layer or the fire seat - was charted against the compartment temperatures, heat release rates, oxygen levels and toxic species concentrations. The fire fighting team was exposed to extreme conditions, heat fluxes in excess of 35 kW/m2 and temperatures of the order of 250 oC even at crouching level. The fire equivalence ratio showed rich burning with high toxic emissions in particular of CO and unburnt hydrocarbons very early in the fire history and a stabilisation of the equivalence ratio at about 1.8. The fire fighting operations made the combustion temporarily richer and the emissions even higher
A Systematic Account on Aromatic Hydroxylation by a Cytochrome P450 Model Compound I:A Low-Pressure Mass Spectrometry and Computational Study
Cytochrome P450 enzymes are heme containing mono-oxygenases that mainly react through oxygen atom transfer. Specific features of substrate and oxidant that determine the reaction rate constant for oxygen atom transfer are still poorly understood and, therefore, we did a systematic gas-phase study on reactions by iron(IV)-oxo porphyrin cation radical structures with arenes. We present here the first results obtained by using Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and provide rate constants and product distributions for the assayed reactions. Product distributions and kinetic isotope effect studies implicate a rate determining aromatic hydroxylation reaction that correlates with the ionization energy of the substrate and no evidence of aliphatic hydroxylation products is observed. To further understand the details of the reaction mechanism, a computational study on a model complex was performed. These studies confirm the experimental hypothesis of dominant aromatic over aliphatic hydroxylation and show that the lack of an axial ligand affects the aliphatic pathways. Moreover, a two parabola valence bond model is used to rationalize the rate constant and identify key properties of the oxidant and substrate that drive the reaction. In particular, the work shows that aromatic hydroxylation rates correlate with the ionization energy of the substrate as well as with the electron affinity of the oxidant
The non-cancer mortality experience of male workers at British Nuclear Fuels plc, 1946–2005
Background Recent studies of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bomb survivors, together with some (but not all) cohorts exposed occupationally or medically to ionizing radiation, have found an increasing trend in mortality from non-malignant disease with increasing radiation dose. The aim of this study was to establish whether such a trend could be found in a large cohort of employees in the UK nuclear industry
Metformin and the gastrointestinal tract
Metformin is an effective agent with a good safety profile that is widely used as a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, yet its mechanisms of action and variability in terms of efficacy and side effects remain poorly understood. Although the liver is recognised as a major site of metformin pharmacodynamics, recent evidence also implicates the gut as an important site of action. Metformin has a number of actions within the gut. It increases intestinal glucose uptake and lactate production, increases GLP-1 concentrations and the bile acid pool within the intestine, and alters the microbiome. A novel delayed-release preparation of metformin has recently been shown to improve glycaemic control to a similar extent to immediate-release metformin, but with less systemic exposure. We believe that metformin response and tolerance is intrinsically linked with the gut. This review examines the passage of metformin through the gut, and how this can affect the efficacy of metformin treatment in the individual, and contribute to the side effects associated with metformin intolerance
Modelling of atorvastatin pharmacokinetics and the identification of the effect of a BCRP polymorphism in the Japanese population
Association Between Fulfilment of Expectations and Health-related Quality of Life after Gastric Bypass
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