A microplate ELISA hybridization assay has been developed for the detection of the IS6110 PCR products of M. tuberculosis from sputum specimens. In this study, its efficacy was evaluated by comparison with agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) and dot blot hybridization (DBH), with culture results as the 'gold standard'. The assay was used with 190 sputum samples: the PCR results detected by ELISA ...

Disulfiram has shown promise as a pharmacotherapy for cocaine dependence in clinical settings, although it has many targets, and the behavioral and molecular mechanisms underlying its efficacy are unclear. One of many biochemical actions of disulfiram is inhibition of dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH), the enzyme that converts dopamine (DA) to norepinephrine (NE) in noradrenergic neurons. Thus, disu...

Tree diameter at breast height (dbh) and height are the most important variables used in forest inventory and management as well as forest carbon-stock estimation. In order to identify the key stand variables that influence the tree height-dbh relationship and to develop and validate a suit of models for predicting tree height, data from 5961 tree samples aged from 6 years to 53 years and colle...

Dena Biosphere Reserve located in Iran and is a 550 Biosphere Reserve in the worlds. This research was investigated in the two protected and non-protected areas, in a Dena Biosphere Reserve, Kohkeloye va Boyrahmad province, and central zagros forest, southwest of Iran. Inventory methods designed by systemetic-randomaiz method by use the rectangular plots that were 15×30 meters in the 100×100 m ...

By using the Coons indirect immunofluorescence technique, enkephalin-like immunoreactivity with a granular localization was observed in human adrenal medullary gland cells and pheochromocytomas. In two of the tumors and in a few adrenal gland cells, a somatostatin-like peptide could also be identified. Catecholamine cell types were visualized on adjacent sections with antisera to the synthesizi...

The promoter region of the human dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) gene was analyzed in transgenic mice to identify DNA sequences responsible for the tissue- and cell-specific expression of the gene. Transgenic mice were generated that carried the Escherichia coli lacZ gene under control of DBH promoter fragments between 0.6 and 5.8 kilobases (kb) in length. Sequences required for expression in a...

Plasma DBH activity was studied in a group of 50 normal individuals, a group of 53 diabetics diagno sed less than 2 years ago (01) and a group of 49 diabetics diagnosed more than 10 years ago (02). The enzyme activity was significantly different in the 2 groups, 01 having the lower activity and G2 the highest. We interpret our results accepting that in G1 the damage of noradrenergic terminals a...

This chapter presents Gertrude, a methodology for business process modeling. Gertrude uses Object Orientation, and conjugates it with Activity Based Costing. The methodology is simple, easy to use and understand, and concise. It accounts for what-if analysis, and variation in the perception of the firm. It can serve as enabler for a BPR process, or monitor a continuous improvement in the produc...

In October 2011, a snowstorm in the northeastern USA caused many branch failures of many tree species commonly planted in urbanized settings. Immediately following the storm, we assessed 1,764 trees for possible snow-induced damage and factors affecting it on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, USA. Nearly all failures were of branches, most of which were not defective...

The discrete binary hierarchy (DBH) is a concept underlyingmany important issues in analysis of complex systems: knowledge structures, testand-search organization, evolutionary trees, taxonomy, data handling, etc. It appears that any DBH corresponds to an orthonormal basis of the Euclidean space related to the hierarchy leaves. The properties of these bases form a mathematical framework which c...