509 research outputs found
Dinamika Perubahan Komposisi Gulma Pada Tanaman Tebu Keprasan Di Lahan Sistem Reynoso Dan Tegalan
Gulma adalah komponen yang tetap pada agroekosistem. Penelitian ini dilakukan un-tuk mempelajari Perubahan komposisi gul-ma pada tanaman tebu keprasan di lahan sistem reynoso dan tegalan. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Januari sampai Mei 2014 di Desa Legundi, Kecamatan Karang Jati, Kabupaten Ngawi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 35 spesies gulma yang ada di lahan sistem reynoso. Gulma yang mendominasi di lahan sistem reynoso adalah Chromolaena odorata (kirinyu), Ipomoea triloba (rayutan), Cayratia trifolia (galing-galing) dan Phyllanthus niruri (meniran). Gulma yang tersusun di lahan tegalan terdapat 33 spesies. Gulma yang mendominasi di lahan tegalan adalah Digitaria sanguinalis (jam-pang piit), Brachiaria distachya (gajihan) dan Ageratum conyzoides (wedusan). Nilai Indeks Shanon-Wienner berkisar antara 2,66-3,20 yang berarti tingkat keaneka-ragaman gulma pada lahan penelitian tergolong dalam kategori sedang. Nilai Indeks Simpson berkisar antara 0,05-0,13 yang berarti struktur komunitas dalam keadaan stabil dan tidak terjadi dominasi individu spesies gulma pada lahan penelitian. Nilai Indeks Sebaran Morisita (Id) pada lahan penelitian berkisar antara 0,00-12,28. Pola sebaran gulma di lahan sistem reynoso cenderung berkelompok dan merata, sedangkan di lahan tegalan gulma cenderung memiliki pola sebaran berkelompok
Achieving orphan designation for placental insufficiency: annual incidence estimations in Europe
Objective
To determine whether a novel therapy for placental insufficiency could achieve orphan drug status by estimating the annual incidence of placental insufficiency, defined as an estimated fetal weight below the 10th centile in the presence of abnormal umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry, per 10 000 European Union (EU ) population as part of an application for European Medicines Agency (EMA ) orphan designation.
Design
Incidence estimation based on literature review and published national and EU statistics.
Setting and population
European Union.
Methods
Data were drawn from published literature, including national and international guidelines, international consensus statements, cohort studies and randomised controlled trials, and published national and EU statistics, including birth rates and stillbirth rates. Rare disease databases were also searched.
Results
The proportion of affected pregnancies was estimated as 3.17% (95% CI 2.93â3.43%), using a weighted average of the results from two cohort studies. Using birth rates from 2012 and adjusting for a pregnancy loss rate of 1/100 gave an estimated annual incidence of 3.33 per 10 000 EU population (95% CI 3.07â3.60 per 10 000 EU population). This fell below the EMA threshold of 5 per 10 000 EU population.
Conclusions
Maternal vascular endothelial growth factor gene therapy for placental insufficiency was granted EMA orphan status in 2015 after we demonstrated that it is a rare, lifeâthreatening or chronically debilitating and currently untreatable disease. Developers of other potential obstetric therapies should consider applying for orphan designation, which provides financial and regulatory benefits
A major population of mucosal memory CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells, coexpressing IL-18Rα and DR3, display innate lymphocyte functionality
Mucosal tissues contain large numbers of memory CD4(+) T cells that, through T-cell receptor-dependent interactions with antigen-presenting cells, are believed to have a key role in barrier defense and maintenance of tissue integrity. Here we identify a major subset of memory CD4(+) T cells at barrier surfaces that coexpress interleukin-18 receptor alpha (IL-18Rα) and death receptor-3 (DR3), and display innate lymphocyte functionality. The cytokines IL-15 or the DR3 ligand tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like cytokine 1A (TL1a) induced memory IL-18Rα(+)DR3(+)CD4(+) T cells to produce interferon-γ, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-5, IL-13, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and IL-22 in the presence of IL-12/IL-18. TL1a synergized with IL-15 to enhance this response, while suppressing IL-15-induced IL-10 production. TL1a- and IL-15-mediated cytokine induction required the presence of IL-18, whereas induction of IL-5, IL-13, GM-CSF, and IL-22 was IL-12 independent. IL-18Rα(+)DR3(+)CD4(+) T cells with similar functionality were present in human skin, nasal polyps, and, in particular, the intestine, where in chronic inflammation they localized with IL-18-producing cells in lymphoid aggregates. Collectively, these results suggest that human memory IL-18Rα(+)DR3(+) CD4(+) T cells may contribute to antigen-independent innate responses at barrier surfaces.Mucosal Immunology advance online publication, 1 October 2014; doi:10.1038/mi.2014.87
Shear behaviour of crushed concrete and bricks
Demolition waste materials mainly consist of concrete
and bricks and arise from the demolition of existing
structures and buildings. Environmental and economical
reasons make their recycling necessary, but to date, their
use is curtailed due to the lack of research in determining
their properties. This paper reports on the efforts to
understand the behavioural characteristics of three types
of recycled material to determine their potential for
engineering fill applications. For this purpose, their
physical and mechanical characteristics were extensively
investigated. Two types of crushed concrete, one
obtained straight after demolition and the other processed
to industry specifications, and one type of crushed
brick were tested. An extensive large-scale shear box test
regime was employed to determine the shear strength
behaviour of the materials. The influence of the normal
stress on the peak friction angle, the shear stressâ
horizontal displacement relationship and horizontal displacementâ
vertical displacement behaviour of the materials
are discussed in this paper. The results showed that
the behaviour of the three recycled materials during
shear testing was similar to the behaviour exhibited by
natural granular materials from literature. In conclusion,
the shear box test results have shown that the specific
demolition waste products exhibit considerable shear
strength and can be utilised in construction as low-level
engineering fill
Models predicting the growth response to growth hormone treatment in short children independent of GH status, birth size and gestational age
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mathematical models can be used to predict individual growth responses to growth hormone (GH) therapy. The aim of this study was to construct and validate high-precision models to predict the growth response to GH treatment of short children, independent of their GH status, birth size and gestational age. As the GH doses are included, these models can be used to individualize treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Growth data from 415 short prepubertal children were used to construct models for predicting the growth response during the first years of GH therapy. The performance of the models was validated with data from a separate cohort of 112 children using the same inclusion criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using only auxological data, the model had a standard error of the residuals (SD<sub>res</sub>), of 0.23 SDS. The model was improved when endocrine data (GH<sub>max </sub>profile, IGF-I and leptin) collected before starting GH treatment were included. Inclusion of these data resulted in a decrease of the SD<sub>res </sub>to 0.15 SDS (corresponding to 1.1 cm in a 3-year-old child and 1.6 cm in a 7-year old). Validation of these models with a separate cohort, showed similar SD<sub>res </sub>for both types of models. Preterm children were not included in the Model group, but predictions for this group were within the expected range.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These prediction models can with high accuracy be used to identify short children who will benefit from GH treatment. They are clinically useful as they are constructed using data from short children with a broad range of GH secretory status, birth size and gestational age.</p
Predictive factors of developing diabetes mellitus in women with gestational diabetes.
BACKGROUND: To investigate which factors during gestational diabetes pregnancies correlate with the risk of developing impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes 1 year postpartum and to compare this risk in women with gestational diabetes and women with a normal oral glucose tolerance test during pregnancy. METHODS: Of 315 women with gestational diabetes, defined as a 2-hr blood glucose value of at least 9.0 mmol/l at a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, who delivered in Lund 1991-99, 229 (73%) performed a new test 1 year postpartum. We compared maternal and fetal factors during pregnancy with the test value at follow up. A control group of 153 women with a 2-hr test value below 7.8 mmol/l during pregnancy were invited to a new test 1 year postpartum and 60 (39%) accepted. RESULTS: At 1 year follow up, 31% of the women with gestational diabetes but only one of the 60 controls showed pathologic glucose tolerance and one had developed diabetes. The following factors in women with gestational diabetes were identified as predicting impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes at 1 year follow up: maternal age over 40 and--in a multiple regression analysis, independent of each other--a high 2-hr value at oral glucose tolerance test during pregnancy and insulin treatment during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The risk of developing manifest diabetes after gestational diabetes may be high enough to justify a general screening or diagnostic procedure in all pregnant women to identify women with gestational diabetes and a postpartum follow up program for them. This study did not identify any particular factor during pregnancy with enough precision to predict a later progression to diabetes
Excimer formation by steric twisting in carbazole and triphenylamine-based host materials
This paper presents a detailed spectroscopic investigation of luminescence properties of 4,4âČ-Bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1âČ-biphenyl (CBP) and N,N,Nâ,Nâ-tetraphenylbenzidine (TAD) in solutions and neat films. These compounds are compared to their derivatives CDBP and TDAD that contain methyl groups in the 2 and 2â position of the biphenyl core. We find that whereas steric twisting in CDBP and TDAD leads to a high triplet energy of about 3.0 and 3.1 eV, respectively, these compounds also tend to form triplet excimers in a neat film, in contrast to CBP and TAD. By comparison with N-phenylcarbazole (NPC) and triphenylamine (TPA), on which these compounds are based, as well as with the rigid spiro analogs to CBP and TAD we show that the reduced excimer formation in CBP and TAD can be attributed to a localization of the excitation onto the central biphenyl part of the molecule.We acknowledge support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the project âTrip-Qâ, the German Science Foundation (DFG) through the Research and Training Group GRK 1640 and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant number EP/G060738/1).This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jp512772j
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