“The “”year in review”" session is a key moment of the Ost


“The “”year in review”" session is a key moment of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Congress. This is a unique opportunity

for opinion leaders to summarize and comment the recent advances in one particular field of osteoarthritis research. This review is a summary of selected studies related to soluble biomarkers published between September 1st, 2010 and August 30th, 2011 and identified by a pubmed search using the terms “”biomarkers”" and “”osteoarthritis”". In addition, I have selected some works presented during the 2011 OARSI Congress. This year was dominated by the publication of a consensus paper on the qualification of osteoarthritis (OA) biomarkers by the OARSI/Food Drug Administration (FDA) Osteoarthritis Biomarkers B-Raf inhibitor drug Working Group, and of proteomes of chondrocyte vesicles, urine and serum., (C) FHPI 2012 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“BACKGROUND: This paper

assesses the functioning of the next generation of permeable pavement systems. The overall concept is to combine traditional permeable pavement systems with ground source heat pump systems. Long-term research to provide data concerning nutrient reductions and microbial activity within experimental pavement rigs is required.

RESULTS: The variability of temperature allowed for the survival of pathogenic organisms within the sub-base of permeable pavement systems. Counts of microbes and nutrient concentrations have been determined by direct observation (plate count tests) and chemical analysis, respectively. GW4869 An analysis using numerical methods indicated

99% and 95% biochemical oxygen demand and ammonia-nitrogen removal, respectively. Supplementary carbon dioxide monitoring indicated relatively high microbial activity on geotextiles and within the lower parts of the sub-base. Low oxygen concentrations were measured in the space around the geotextile, where carbon dioxide concentrations reached 2000 ppm.

CONCLUSIONS: The research enables decision-makers for the first time to assess public health risks, treatment requirements and efficiencies, and the potential for runoff recycling. The great system stability of the innovation and minor water quality data variability between individual experimental pavement systems provide good evidence for the controlled engineered application of this novel sustainable technology. (C) 2008 Society of Chemical Industry”
“Aims: Epidemiological and animal data suggest that the development of adult chronic conditions is influenced by early-life exposure-induced changes to the epigenome. This study investigates the effects of perinatal lead (Pb) exposure on DNA methylation and bodyweight in weanling mice. Materials & methods: Viable yellow agouti (A(vy)) mouse dams were exposed to 0, 2.

(C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc J Appl Polym Sci 117: 3473-3481,

(C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 117: 3473-3481, 2010″
“Background:

Malaria management policies currently recommend that the treatment should only be administered after laboratory confirmation. Where microscopy is not available, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are the usual alternative. Conclusive evidence is still lacking on the safety of a test-based strategy for children. Moreover, no formal attempt has been made to estimate RDTs accuracy on malaria-attributable fever. This study aims at estimating the accuracy of a RDT for the diagnosis of both malaria infection and malaria-attributable fever, in a region of Burkina Faso with a typically seasonal malaria transmission pattern.

Methods: Cross-sectional study. Subjects: all patients aged find more > 6 months consulting during the study periods. Gold standard for the diagnosis of malaria infection was microscopy. Gold standard for malaria-attributable fever was the number of fevers attributable to malaria, estimated by SNS-032 mw comparing parasite densities of febrile versus non-febrile

subjects. Exclusion criteria: severe clinical condition needing urgent care.

Results: In the dry season, 186/852 patients with fever (22%) and 213/1,382 patients without fever (15%) had a Plasmodium falciparum infection. In the rainy season, this proportion was 841/1,317 (64%) and 623/1,669 (37%), respectively. The attributable fraction of fever to malaria was 11% and 69%, respectively. The RDT was positive in 113/ 400 (28.3%) fever cases in the dry season, and in 443/650 (68.2%) in the rainy season. In the dry season, the RDT sensitivity and specificity for malaria infection were 86% and 90% respectively. In the rainy season they were 94% and 78% respectively. In the dry season, the RDT sensitivity and specificity for malaria-attributable fever were 94% and 75%, the positive predictive value (PPV) was 9% and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 99.8%. In the rainy season the test sensitivity for malaria-attributable fever was 97% and specificity was 55%. The PPV ranged from 38% for adults to 82% PI3K inhibitor for infants, while the NPV

ranged from 84% for infants to over 99% for adults.

Conclusions: In the dry season the RDT has a low positive predictive value, but a very high negative predictive value for malaria-attributable fever. In the rainy season the negative test safely excludes malaria in adults but not in children.”
“Adverse events associated with anesthetic management of anterior mediastinal masses in pediatrics are common. To avoid an extremely hazardous general anesthesia, the use of real-time ultrasonography offers an effective alternative in high-risk cases. We report the anesthetic management including a light sedation and ultrasound guidance for regional anesthesia, surgical node biopsy, and placement of a central venous line in two children with an anterior symptomatic mediastinal mass.

Methods: We analyzed the histopathologic features of 135 MSI-H CR

Methods: We analyzed the histopathologic features of 135 MSI-H CRCs and compared them to 140 microsatellite stable (MSS) CRCs. Histopathologic changes in MSI-H were further analyzed according to anatomic sites and genetic changes. Results : MSI-H CRCs showed previously reported clinicopathologic findings; a right-sided preponderance, an increased number of mucinous carcinomas, and peritumoral lymphoid reactions (p<0.001 for each variable).

Increased serum CEA levels showed an MSS CRC preponderance (P=0.013). We further analyzed the histologic differences between right- Selleck LBH589 and left-sided MSI-H tumors. We found that MSI-H CRCs on both sides had similar clinicopathologic findings, except for higher tumor stage (p=0.048) and less frequent abnormal CEA levels in left-sided MSI-H tumors (p=0.027). We found that not all clinicopathologic features were different between hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancers (HNPCCs) and sporadic MSI-H CRCs. Conclusions These findings indicate that MSI-H CRCs of the left colon have similar clinicopathologic characteristics as right-sided MSI-H CRCs. We did not find any significant clinicopathological difference between HNPCCs and sporadic MSI-H CRCs.”
“Two multifunctional aliphatic urethane acrylates, based on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), beta-hydroxyethyl arcylate (HEA), and synthetic multifunctional hydroxyl

Raf inhibitor Compounds, were synthesized by classical condensation reaction. FTIR was used to monitor the process of the reaction. The photopolymerization kinetics of the urethane acrylates with different photoinitiators was studied by real-time infrared spectroscopy. The results indicated that compared with the commercial

hexa-functional urethane acrylate CN 9010, the synthetic multifunctional urethane acrylates could be initiated by benzophenone more efficiently without the addition of any coinitiators because they have selleck kinase inhibitor tertiary amine structures. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 896-900,2009″
“Background : Taxane-platinum combinations are often used as first-line treatments for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Response to chemotherapy for these patients is still poor. The aim of our study was to investigate, for this disease, whether KRAS and Tau proteins affect responses to taxane-platinum combinations. Methods : Expression of KRAS and Tau was examined immunohistochemically in 71 tumor samples obtained from patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC prior to combination therapy. Expression was correlated with tumor responses. Results: The response rate was 55% (39 of 71). KRAS and Tau were expressed in seven (10%) and 31 (44%) patients, respectively. All seven KRAS-positive patients were non-responders (p=0.014). Among Tau-positive patients, 35% (11 of 31) responded to therapy, whereas a partial response was observed in 70% (28 of 40) of Tau-negatives (p= 0.045).

Hundred and fifteen gravidas were included with previous one C/S,

Hundred and fifteen gravidas were included with previous one C/S, using either a PKM or MMLM. Demographic characteristics, operative outcomes, surgical complications, and neonatal outcomes were compared in two groups.

The mean operative selleck chemicals llc time (18.0 +/- A 3.5 vs. 23.5 +/- A 5.7 min; p < 0.0001) and mean extraction time (90.1 +/- A 41.2 vs. 208.1 +/- A 79.1 s; p < 0.0001) were significantly shorter in the MMLM group than the PKM

group. Postoperative recovery (mobilization, normalization of bowel function, need for analgesics, time to oral feeding, and intra-operative blood loss) was similar between the MMLM and PKM groups.

The MMLM appears to be a faster alternative to PKM for previous C/Ss, with similar results as in previous studies with primary CSs.”
“Data from 54 hybrid (mainly Large White x Landrace) Nocodazole Cytoskeletal Signaling inhibitor pigs (18 boars, 18 gilts, and 18 barrows) were used to quantify and mathematically describe the differential growth and development of body components of live pigs. The pigs were 32.4 +/- 3.2 kg of BW and 70 +/- 1 d of age (mean +/- SD) at the beginning of the study, were individually penned and

fed ad libitum, and were weighed weekly. Computed tomography (CT) imaging was used to determine the weights of lean, fat, bone, and skin tissue in the live pig at 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 kg of BW. For each target BW, the sum of all the weights of the body components, as assessed by CT, was referred to as

CT BW. Linear and nonlinear models were developed to evaluate the patterns of growth and development of each body component relative to CT BW. The correlation between the actual BW and CT BW was close to unity (r = 0.99), indicating that CT scanning could accurately predict the BW of pigs. Across sex and castrate status, percentage of fat (fat weight/CT BW) in the pig was least (11.2%) at the 30-kg target BW and continued to increase to 22.6% by the 150-kg target BW. Percentage of lean, however, was greatest (67.2%) at the 30-kg target BW and continued to decrease to 53.4% by the 150-kg target BW. The sex or castrate status x target BW interaction was significant (P < 0.05) for all the body components, indicating that the developmental patterns Autophagy Compound Library clinical trial were different among sex or castrate status. Barrows were fatter relative to gilts, which in turn were fatter than boars. For lean, the observed pattern for sex or castrate status differences was opposite that for fat. To predict responses to management strategies on growth and development in pigs, accurate mathematical models are required, and the results of this study indicate that the nonlinear (e. g., augmented allometric and generalized nonlinear) functions provided better descriptions of the growth and development of most body components of the live pig than did the simpler (e. g., linear and allometric) models.

The current study evaluated two coronary angiography techniques u

The current study evaluated two coronary angiography techniques used consecutively at a single center to Selleckchem Savolitinib evaluate pediatric heart transplant recipients for graft coronary vasculopathy. A total of 23 patients underwent routine coronary angiography using both biplane static coronary angiography (BiP) and RA techniques at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin from February 2009 to September 2010. Demographic and

procedure data were collected from each procedure and analyzed for significance utilizing a Wilcoxon rank sum test. No significant demographic or procedural differences between the BiP and the RA procedures were noted. Specific measures of radiation dose including fluoroscopy time and dose area product were similar among the imaging techniques. The findings show that RA can be performed safely and reproducibly in pediatric heart transplant recipients. Compared with standard BiP, RA does not increase radiation exposure or Selleck Stem Cell Compound Library contrast use and in our experience has provided superior angiographic imaging for the evaluation of graft coronary vasculopathy.”
“Purpose: It is essential in the medical care for immunocompromised patients that the environment should create minimal infection risk. Particularly, it concerns fungal infections. Fungi belonging to the Aspergillus genus are second frequent group of nosocomial pathogens producing opportunistic infections.

Material and Methods: The objective of

the study was evaluation of prevalence and cytotoxicity of selected Aspergillus strains isolated from the neonatal intensive care unit environment. During 5 consecutive days, 30 samples of indoor air and 120 imprints from Z-IETD-FMK ic50 the ward environment were collected. Cytotoxicity of 17 strains was evaluated using a MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide) test.

Results: Mean numbers of fungi in the indoor air varied from 50 to 2370 c.f.u.xm-3 while in the imprints from 0.04 to 8.83 c.f.u.xcm-2. Moulds were isolated from most of the materials. All of the 17 strains subject to MTT test were cytotoxic.

Conclusion: All of the Aspergillus strains isolated from the neonatal intensive care unit were cytotoxic. Cytotoxic Aspergillus

strains present in the environment of immunocompromised patients may be potentially dangerous to them.”
“This study aimed to establish reference values for serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in children. The study included samples from 4,102 healthy children (2,003 boys and 2,099 girls) ages 1-18 years. The serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and HDL-C were determined using the Advia 2400 autoanalyzer. The LDL-C levels were calculated using the Friedewald equation. The mean, standard deviation, and 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentile values of the biochemical parameters for boys and girls were detected.

(C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All

rights reserved “
“Aim: M

(C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All

rights reserved.”
“Aim: MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a) is associated with invasion and metastasis of various cancers. The trophoblastic cells DNA Damage inhibitor of placenta accreta invade into the myometrium in a similar way to the invasion of cancers. We studied the roles of miR-34a in the pathogenesis of placenta accreta. Methods: The human choriocarcinoma cell line JAR was used for in vitro experiments as a model of trophoblasts, and placental tissues from the operative specimen of patients with or without placenta accreta were used for experiments in vivo. Morpholino antisense oligomer against miR-34a (miR-34a Morpho/AS) was added to JAR, and the expression of miR-34a and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) was determined by real time PCR. The effects of antisense, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in the process of invasion were studied with an invasion assay. Expression of miR-34a in vivo was studied with the use of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: Expression of miR-34a was inhibited by 65% with the administration of antisense, and a slight increase in miR-34a expression

was observed with the addition of IL-6 and IL-8. PAI-1 expression decreased with the addition of IL-6 and IL-8, and increased with the administration of antisense. There was an increase in invasive capacity through the inhibition of miR-34a expression. Strong FISH see more expression of miR-34a was observed in trophoblast cells of non-placenta accreta, and a clear decrease in miR-34a expression was observed in those of placenta accreta. Conclusions: Expression of miR-34a was downregulated in placenta accreta. In vitro experiments also showed that the invasive potential

selleck inhibitor of JAR increased by suppressing miR-34a, probably through the expression of PAI-1.”
“Lead is a ubiquitous toxic heavy metal with unique physical and chemical properties that make it suitable for a great variety of applications. Because of its high persistence in the environment and its use since ancient times for many industrial activities, lead is a common environmental and occupational contaminant widely distributed around the world. Even though the toxic effects of lead and its compounds have been investigated for many years in a variety of systems, the data existing with regard to its mutagenic, clastogenic and carcinogenic properties are still contradictory. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified lead as possible human carcinogen (group 2B) and its inorganic compounds as probable human carcinogens (group 2A). Furthermore, although the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of action of lead remain still unclear, there are some studies that point out indirect mechanisms of genotoxicity such as inhibition of DNA repair or production of free radicals. This article reviews the works listed in the literature that use different parameters to evaluate the genotoxic effects of lead in vitro, in vivo and in epidemiological studies. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

In contrast to our hypothesis, those with haptoglobin 1-1 (high-a

In contrast to our hypothesis, those with haptoglobin 1-1 (high-affinity binder of hemoglobin) scored somewhat selleck chemicals llc worse on Verbal IQ and Tapping D at I and 12 months after injury. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Septic arthritis caused by Streptococcus zooepidemicus is a rare event in humans. Of the four cases reported in the literature, only two patients had direct animal contact, and the portal of entry remained unclear in all cases. We report herein the case of a patient who suffered a purulent arthritis of the left shoulder caused by S. zooepidemicus, successfully treated in our department. A diagnostic FDG-PET-CT scan ruled out other foci of infection, but detected a hyperkeratotic

plantar chronic soft tissue lesion of the left foot, acquired in a paragliding accident 10 years earlier. The fact that the patient habitually took care of his horses barefoot in boots, identifies the cutaneous portal of entry as most likely. To our knowledge this is the first report of a septic arthritis caused by S. zooepidemicus where a cutaneous entry route is described. (C) 2009 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Whereas accumulation of fat depots occurs during the first two-thirds of gestation, increased adipose tissue lipolysis

and hyperlipidemia develops in the last trimester. Insulin resistance and increased estrogens in selleck products late pregnancy contribute to these changes. Lipoprotein receptors and fatty acid binding proteins in the placenta allow the transfer of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids to the fetus. Enhanced oxidative stress in pregnancy may be related to maternal hyperlipidemia. Maternal plasma nonesterified fatty acids and cholesterol correlate with those in the fetus, and maternal adipocytokines have been associated with fetal growth. However, Selleckchem GDC973 positive correlations between maternal nonesterified fatty acids or triacylglycerols and neonatal body weight or fat mass have only

been found in gestational diabetics. Under the limited capacity of the fetus to modify the structure of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, their long-chain derivatives have to be transferred from the mother through the placenta in appropriate amounts to warrant the normal fetal development.”
“We determined if time to first remission predicts long-term antiepileptic drug response. We assessed time to first I-year remission (1YR) as a determinant of entering future terminal 5-year remission (5YTR) in a population-based cohort of 144 children prospectively followed-up since their first unprovoked seizure before the age of 16 years up to the mean age of 48 years. The proportion of patients entering 5YTR was highly dependent on the length of time to first 1YR after starting adequate treatment. For 144 patients, the overall 5YTR rate decreased from 32% for those in remission at year 1 to 24% at year 2, to 5% after 3 and 4 years, to 2% after 5 years or longer.


“Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to analyze th


“Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to analyze the effect of different additives glycerol level (X1) and plasticizer level (X2) on the objective MEK pathway (water solubility index, water absorption index, and Max. loading) attributes of a cornstarch/PHBV blended composite. A rotatable central-composite design (CCD) was used to develop models for the objective responses. The experiments were run at barrels temperatures 160, 160, 165, and

165 degrees C, respectively, with screw speed 40 rpm and complete feeding (filling ratio – 1). Responses were most affected by changes in plasticizer level (X2) and to a lesser extent by glycerol level (X1). Individual contour plots of the different responses were overlaid, and regions meeting the predicted optimum water solubility index of 4.34%, water absorption index of 4.55 g gel/g dry wt, and Max. loading of 370.06 N were identified at the plasticizer level of 21.06 g, and the glycerol level of 96.11 mL, respectively. These predicted values for optimum process conditions were in good agreement BAY 57-1293 cost with experimental data. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119: 1797-1804, 2011″
“Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is an uncommon but distinctive clinical-radiologic entity characterized by headache, seizures, visual disturbance, and altered mental function associated with reversible white

matter edema affecting the posterior parietal and occipital lobes of the brain. Although

PRES is caused by a variety of conditions, acute elevation of blood pressure, fluid retention, and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs and/or anti-neoplastic agents are the main causes. A few cases of PRES associated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children have been reported. Early recognition of PRES and appropriate management are needed to reduce the risk of permanent neurologic disability. The authors report a case of PRES in a girl who received an HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplantation for myelodysplastic syndrome to emphasize the importance of early recognition and institution of appropriate management of PRES during HSCT.</.”
“Study Design. Case report.

Objective. To demonstrate that interferon alfa-2b is a therapeutic option for obtaining long-term control of recurrent and metastatic giant cell tumor of spine.

Summary of Background Selleckchem C188-9 Data. Interferon alfa served as angiogenesis inhibitor and has been successfully used to treat giant cell tumor of long bones and facial bones. Up to date, no report is found with regard to the use of interferon as a stand-alone treatment for unresectable, recurrent, and metastatic giant cell tumor originated from the spine.

Methods. A 29-year-old woman with C1 and C2 giant cell tumor was treated by radiotherapy, intralesional curet, and chemotherapy orderly. Tumor recurred after 2 years. A second curet was undertaken. Tumor recurred second time and caused severe spinal cord compression.

The magnetic composite particles can be made by locating Fe3O4 in

The magnetic composite particles can be made by locating Fe3O4 inside the latex particles or forming a selleck products shell layer on their PS core surface depending on the aforementioned polymerization conditions. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 112: 975-984, 2009″
“The directional dependence of AlN intrinsic complex dielectric function, the phonon lifetimes, and decay channels are investigated by means of polarized infrared reflectivity measurements on several facets of self-nucleated wurtzite AlN crystal of high crystalline quality. The measurement technique and the AlN single crystal used have been selected with the purpose to reduce, as much as possible, any instrumental-based effects as well as

phonon scattering mechanisms due to defects. The experimental arrangements necessary to detect well-defined crystallographic orientations and phonons are detailed. The dielectric parameters and the phonon lifetimes are precisely determined as functions of the crystallographic direction from a careful Kramers-Kronig and damped Lorentz oscillator analysis. The ordinary (epsilon(infinity perpendicular

to)) and extraordinary TH-302 Others inhibitor (epsilon(infinity parallel to)) high frequency dielectric constants for high quality AlN crystal are found to be 3.93 and 4.05, respectively, and the ordinary (epsilon(theta perpendicular to)) and extraordinary (epsilon(theta parallel to)) static dielectric constants are found to be 7.37 and 8.60, respectively. Our values obtained for the pure character phonon lifetimes are in good agreement with Raman measurements when these are obtained with the necessary care to eliminate linewidth broadening due to the finite slit width. The lifetime of a transversal phonon is found to increase with increasing the phonon energy, while that of a longitudinal phonon is found to decrease with increasing the phonon energy. Based on these observations, preferential decay channels for the AlN phonons are estimated. The results show that

in the case of AlN, the widely assumed symmetric optical phonon decay into two phonons of lower energy cannot be justified for the zone center longitudinal phonons. (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3177323]“
“Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are SBC-115076 in vivo widely used as probiotics in humans and animals to restore the ecological balance of different mucosa. They help in the physiological functions of newborn calves that are susceptible to a variety of syndromes. The criteria for the selection of strains for the design of probiotic products are not available. Based in the host-specificity of the indigenous microbiota, 96 LAB isolates from faeces and oral cavity of calves were obtained. The surface properties were screened showing a small number of highly hydrophobic or autoagglutinating isolates. Also, a group produced H2O2 and were able to inhibit pathogens, and two strains were bacteriocin-producers.

However, for FBP and its alloys, T2 were much larger, showing the

However, for FBP and its alloys, T2 were much larger, showing the considerably enhanced molecular mobility in FBP or FBP/PC alloys. In this study, we could first reveal that the relationship between Tg and FBP content was very similar to the behaviors of birefringence (Delta n)/draw ratio (lambda) versus FBP content, T2 versus FBP content and 1/maximum draw ratio (lambda(max)) versus FBP content. Based on these results, we were able to propose a novel alloy with high refractive index, low orientational birefringence, and higher processability by alloying FBP with PC. (C) 2008 Wiley

Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym PKC inhibitor Sci 111: 461-468, 2009″
“To investigate the effect of T-3-induced pulmonary hypertension on endothelin (ET) production and genes expression of ET-1, ETA and ETB receptors (ETAR and ETBR) during rearing, SP600125 datasheet semiquantitative RT-PCR and enzyme immunometric assay were performed in the heart ventricles and serum, respectively. The ET-1 and its receptor genes were expressed in the right and left ventricles of control and T-3-treated broilers at 12, 28 and 49 days of age. There were significant (P < 0.05) reductions of the relative amounts of ET-1 (in both ventricles) and ETAR (in the right ventricle) mRNAs at 28 and 49 days of age, in T3-treated broilers compared to controls. The relative amounts of ETBR mRNA in the right and left ventricles did not significantly

differ between control and AZD2171 concentration T-3-treated broilers at any age. The serum level of ET was significantly (P < 0.05) increased in T-3-treated chickens at 28 and 49 days of age when compared with that of the control.

It is concluded that ET-1, ETAR and ETBR genes are normally expressed in the heart ventricles of broilers. It is likely that increased serum level of ET and decreased ET-1/ETAR genes expression in the ventricles are involved in the heart dysfunction of broiler chickens with developmental pulmonary hypertension. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Wire-diameter dependencies were investigated using microwire sample arrays with diameters from 2 to 25 mu m and polycrystalline bulk bismuth. Seebeck coefficient and resistivity were measured from 50 to 300 K. Although the temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficients of all samples were similar to that of the bulk, the resistivity dependence of the 2-mu m-diameter microwire array sample had a small positive temperature coefficient, and was quite different from the other samples. Mobility was estimated using a simple model to identify the dependences on temperature and wire diameter. The ratio of electron mobility divided by hole mobility gradually decreased with decreasing temperature for samples with wire diameters below 6 mu m, and electron mobility was suppressed at low temperatures, explaining the promotion of the boundary scattering.