A strategy for toughening epoxy thermosets via topological rearrangement of cross-linked networks is presented. Amine-cured systems were modified by mixing partially reacted substructures (mPRS), which synthesized curing tetraglycidyl ether diaminodiphenylmethane (TGDDM) and polyether monoamine (Jeffamine M1000) to provide free unbound surfaces that enhance protovoid formation during deformatio...

The TG-43 recommended dosimetric characteristics of a new 125I brachytherapy source have been experimentally and theoretically determined. The measurements were performed in Solid Water using LiF TLDs. The calculations were performed using Monte Carlo simulations in Solid Water and water. The measured data were compared with calculated values as well as the reported data in literature for other...

Tobacco seed cake is a by-product with interesting characteristics for animal nutrition, due to its high protein content. The focus of this study is to evaluate if tobacco seed cake, administered in feed, can affect principal serum metabolic parameters of weaned piglets in order to establish if it can be used as both a delivery system of edible vaccines and an alternative protein source in pigl...

BACKGROUND A home based tele-monitoring system was developed to assess the effects of heat stress (days > 25°C) on clinical and functional status in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS Sixty-two COPD patients (GOLD II-IV) were randomized into a tele-monitoring Group (TG, N = 32) or Control Group (CG, N = 30). Tele-monitoring included 1) daily clinical status (C...

A new high dose rate 20 mm 32P intravascular brachytherapy (IVB) beta source used with automated stepping has recently been introduced. The AAPM Task Group 60 recommends that beta IVB sources should have well characterized dosimetric parameters in water. In this study, Monte Carlo simulations (MCNPX v 2.4) were used to derive these parameters for a 2 mm source segment rather than the entire 20 ...

Maladaptive cardiac hypertrophy predisposes one to arrhythmia and sudden death. Cytochrome P450 (CYP)-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) promote anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic mechanisms, and are involved in the regulation of cardiac Ca(2+)-, K(+)- and Na(+)-channels. To test the hypothesis that enhanced cardiac EET biosynthesis counteracts hypertrophy-induced electrical remodeling, ...

PURPOSE Data on the prevalence of dyslipidaemia and associated risk factors in HIV-infected patients from sub-Saharan Africa is sparse. We performed a cross-sectional analysis in a cohort of HIV-infected South African adults. METHODS We studied HIV-infected patients who were either antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive or receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based or ...

Maternal dietary Fe restriction reduced fasting plasma cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) concentrations in the fetuses, as well as decreased plasma TG levels in the adult offspring. To investigate how maternal Fe restriction was affecting fetal lipid metabolism, we investigated whether there were changes in liver lipid metabolism in the full-term fetuses. There was a approximately 27% (P < 0.05...