─The Nafion/zeolite composite membranes were synthesized for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs) by adding zeolite in the matrix of Nafion polymer. Two kinds of zeolites, Analcime and Faujasite, were used. The physicochemical properties of the composite membranes such as water uptake, ion-exchange capacity, hydrogen permeability, and proton conductivity were determined. The fabricated compo...

Primary mesenteric carcinoid tumor is very rare, although secondary mesenteric involvement is common, reported as 40% to 80%. And distant metastasis rate reported as 80% to 90%, when the size is larger than 2 cm. We present a case of very rare primary mesenteric carcinoid tumor showing benign character though large size. The patient visited St. Vincent's Hospital, The Catholic University of Kor...

A simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of Procaine penicillin (PP) is described. The method is based on charge-transfer reaction of PP with metol (N-methyl-p-hydroxy aniline) in the presence of ferric sulphate to form a purplewater soluble complex ,which is stable and has a maximum absorption at 510 nm .A graph of absorbance versus concentration shows t...

Background. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second deadliest malignancy worldwide. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of different fecal markers in the detection of colorectal adenomas and cancer. Methods. Stool samples of patients referred to colonoscopy were collected for the analysis of tumor M2 pyruvate kinase (M2PK), human hemoglobin (Hb), hemoglobin/haptoglobin (Hb/Hp) com...

We propose an analytic calculation of the dark current density for GaAs/A1GaAs thick barrier quantum well infrared photo-detectors (QWIP's). We evaluate the dark current component, by integrating (a) drift velocity of the carriers via their kinetic energy (b) the non-tunneling probability factor 1-T (E) (c) the Fermi factor and (d) the 3-d density of states (DOS) of the multiple quantum well st...

Vibrio vulnificus is a gram-negative, highly invasive bacterium responsible for human opportunistic infections. We studied the antibacterial effects of toluidine blue O (TBO)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) for V. vulnificus wound infections in mice. Fifty-three percent (10 of 19) of mice treated with 100 microg of TBO per ml and exposed to broad-spectrum red light (150 J/cm(2) at 80 mW/cm(...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was: to describe a simple, accurate and practical technique for estimating the volume of adipose tissue within the renal sinus (RS) using stereological method on computed tomography (CT) images; to establish a population database for volume of fat within the RS from 21 to 80 years of age; to investigate the effect of age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and abdomin...

BACKGROUND Obesity is a major risk factor for hypertension, and abdominal fat in particular has been more strongly associated with cardiovascular diseases and its prevalence has increased in Brazilian indigenous populations. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hypertension among indigenous women and its association with total and abdominal obesity after adj...

To better understand the genetic basis of essential hypertension, we conducted a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of a population of 207 (BALB/cJ x CBA/CaJ) F(2) male mice to identify genomic regions that regulate blood pressure, heart rate, and heart weight. We identified two loci, Bpq6 (blood pressure quantitative locus 6) on chromosome 15 (Chr 15; peak, 16 cM; 95% confidence interval,...

Many methods exist for the experimental determination of the viscoelastic properties of materials. Some of these methods have been summarized [1,2]' and those that have been used more recently appear in a collection of abstracts [3]. The method described herein, which uses forced torsional vibrations, is an updated version of previous works [4,5]. It was selected because it most easily met the ...