A fast and selective reversed-phase HPLC was developed and validated for the quantitation of degradation products. Two major degradation products observed in stress study samples were isolated and characterized using chromatography and high resolution FT-MS. Abamectin

and its degradation products presented similar masses at m/z 873.49848 Da, and were further distinguished by MSn studies, H/D exchange studies, H-1, C-13 and 2D NMR experiments. The interpretation of analytical data positively Dinaciclib chemical structure identified unknown 1 as the stereoisomer 2-epi-abamectin and unknown 2 as the regioisomer Delta 2,3-abamectin. The developed HPLC method was found to be precise, Ubiquitin inhibitor accurate and detector response was linear for the analysis of known degradation products at the identification threshold.”
“Introduction: The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) is an 11-item clinician-administered scale assessing opioid withdrawal. Though commonly used in clinical practice, it has not been systematically validated. The present study validated the COWS in comparison to the validated Clinical Institute Narcotic Assessment

(CINA) scale.

Method: Opioid-dependent volunteers were enrolled in a residential trial and stabilized on morphine 30 mg given subcutaneously four times daily. Subjects then underwent double-blind, randomized challenges of intramuscularly administered placebo and naloxone (0.4 mg) on separate days, during which the COWS, CINA, and visual analog scale (VAS) assessments were concurrently obtained. Subjects completing both challenges were included (N=46). Correlations between

mean peak COWS and CINA scores as well as self-report VAS questions were calculated.

Results: Mean peak COWS and CINA scores of 7.6 and 24.4, respectively, occurred on average 30 min post-injection of naloxone. Mean COWS and CINA scores 30 min after placebo injection were 1.3 and 18.9, respectively. GSK1210151A purchase The Pearson’s correlation coefficient for peak COWS and CINA scores during the naloxone challenge session was 0.85 (p < 0.001). Peak COWS scores also correlated well with peak VAS self-report scores of bad drug effect (r=0.57, p < 0.001) and feeling sick (r=0.57, p < 0.001), providing additional evidence of concurrent validity. Placebo was not associated with any significant elevation of COWS, CINA, or VAS scores, indicating discriminant validity. Cronbach’s alpha for the COWS was 0.78, indicating good internal consistency (reliability).

Discussion: COWS, CINA, and certain VAS items are all valid measurement tools for acute opiate withdrawal. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of these processes has revealed insights both into fundamental cellular processes as well as the nuances of viral replication. The recent advent of cell-based screening coupled with RNAi technology, has greatly facilitated studies

focused on characterizing the virus-host interface and has expanded our understanding of cellular factors that impact viral infection. These findings have led to the discovery of potential therapeutic targets, but there is certainly more to be discovered. In this article we will review the recent progress in this arena and GSK1210151A price discuss the challenges and future of this emerging field.”
“Objective: To investigate the relationship between efficacy of a

bisphosphonate, pain and extent of joint damage in the monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) model of painful degenerative joint disease.

Methods: Zoledronate treatment was initiated prior to and at various times following model induction, including late time points representing advanced disease. Radiographic and histological structural parameters were correlated with pain as measured by weight bearing.

Results: Intraarticular (IA) MIA resulted in a Selleckchem MAPK inhibitor progressive loss of bone mineral density (BMD) and chondrocytes, thinning of cartilage, loss of proteoglycan, resorption of calcified cartilage and subchondral bone, as well as pain. This was completely prevented by pre-emptive chronic zoledronate treatment with joint sections being histologically indistinguishable from saline-injected controls. When initiation of treatment was delayed efficacy was reduced. In animals with advanced joint degeneration,

treatment LY294002 in vitro partially restored BMD and had a significant, but limited, effect on pain. We confirmed these radiographic and behavioral findings in the medial meniscal tear model. To understand the mechanism-of-action of zoledronate we investigated an early time point 4 days post-model induction when chondrocytes were histologically viable, with minor loss of proteoglycan and generalized synovitis. Osteoclast-mediated resorption of the calcified cartilage was observed and was prevented by two doses of zoledronate.

Conclusion: Subchondral bone remodeling plays an important role in nociception and the pathobiology of the MIA model with osteoclasts being implicated in both bone and cartilage resorption. Inhibition of osteoclastic activity when initiated early leads to improved efficacy. (C) 2010 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Contents

Vascular perfusion was assessed in 10 dogs without prostatic abnormalities and 26 dogs with prostatic disease using contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The time to reach peak contrast intensity (TTP) and peak perfusion intensity (PPI) were measured, and histological biopsies were collected from each dog.

An oxygen vacancy has turned out to decrease the gap by 0.50 eV and to shift the absorption coefficient to the lower energy range in the room temperature gamma-WO3 phase. We have also traced changes caused by molybdenum and sulfur doping of gamma-WO3. Only sulfur doped gamma-WO3 has been revealed to display the formation of the impurity band along with a sizable reduction in the gap and the shift in the absorption coefficient

to the lower energy range. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3505688]“
“Cellular oxidative stress and energy failure were shown to be involved in Glutamate (L-Glu) neurotoxicity, whereas, acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) and +/-DL-alpha-lipoic acid (LA) selleck chemicals are known to be key

players in the mitochondrial energy production. To evaluate the effects of the above antioxidants, adult rats were pretreated with ALCAR (100 mg/kg i.p for 21 days) and both ALCAR and LA (100 mg/kg i.p + 50 mg/kg i.p for 21 days), before stereotactically administering L-Glu bolus (1 mu mole/1 mu l) in the cerebral cortex. Anlotinib datasheet Results showed that acute L-Glu increased ROS (P < 0.001), LPO (P < 0.001), Ca(2+) (P < 0.001), TNF-alpha (P < 0.001), IFN-gamma (P < 0.001), NO (P < 0.001) levels and mRNA expression of Caspase-3, Casapase-9, iNOS, and nNOS genes with respect to saline-injected control group. Key antioxidant parameters such as SOD, CAT, GSH, GR along with mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Psi Delta m) were decreased (P < 0.05), while ALCAR pretreatment prevented these effects by significantly inhibiting ROS (P < 0.001), LPO (P < 0.001), Ca(2+) (P < 0.05), TNF-alpha (P < 0.05), IFN-gamma (P < 0.001), NO (P < 0.01) levels and expression of the above genes. This chronic pretreatment of ALCAR also increased SOD, CAT, GSH, GR, BKM120 mouse and Psi

Delta m (P < 0.0.01, P < 0.0.01, P < 0.05, P < 0.05, and P < 0.001, respectively) with respect to L-Glu group. The addition of LA to ALCAR resulted in further increases in CAT (P < 0.05), GSH (P < 0.01), GR (P < 0.05), Psi Delta m (P < 0.05) and additional decreases in ROS (P < 0.001), LPO (P < 0.05), Ca(2+) (P < 0.05), TNF-alpha (P < 0.05) and mRNA expression of iNOS and nNOS genes with respect to ALCAR group. Hence, this “”one-two punch” of ALCAR + LA may help in ameliorating the deleterious cellular events that occur after L-Glu.”
“The programmed death-1 (PD-1)/B7-H1 pathway acts as an important negative regulator of immune responses. We herein investigated the role of the PD-1/B7-H1 pathway in establishing an immunological spontaneous tolerance status in mouse liver allografting. B7-H1 is highly expressed on the donor-derived tissue cells and it is also associated with the apoptosis of infiltrating T cells in the allografts.

The model is then extended to include oxygen in-and out-diffusion. Thus, it is possible to explain the “”long-term”" resistance drift in oxygen for fully depleted grained samples in terms of tunneling through the double barrier. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3658870]“
“Since 2008, kidney exchange in America has grown in part from the incorporation of nondirected donors in transplant chains rather than simple exchanges. It is controversial whether these chains should be performed simultaneously ‘domino-paired donation’, (DPD) or nonsimultaneously ‘nonsimultaneous extended altruistic donor, chains (NEAD). NEAD chains create ‘bridge

donors’ whose incompatible recipients receive kidneys before the bridge donor donates, and so risk reneging by bridge donors, but offer the opportunity to create more transplants by overcoming logistical barriers inherent ACY-1215 chemical structure in simultaneous chains. Gentry et al. simulated whether DPD or NEAD chains would produce more transplants when chain segment length was limited to three transplants, and reported that DPD performed at least as well as NEAD chains. As this finding contrasts with

the experience of several groups involved in kidney-paired donation, we performed simulations that allowed for longer chain segments and used actual patient data from the Alliance for Paired Donation. When chain segments of 4-6 transplants are allowed in the simulations, NEAD chains produce more transplants than DPD. Our simulations showed not

only more transplants as chain length increased, but also that NEAD chains produced more transplants for highly sensitized and blood type O recipients.”
“To CYT387 JAK/STAT inhibitor implant deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes in the porcine pontine micturition centre (PMC) in order to establish a large animal model of PMC-DBS.

Brainstems from four Gottingen minipigs were sectioned coronally into 40-mu m-thick histological sections and stained with Nissl, autometallographic myelin stain, tyrosin hydroxylase and corticotrophin-releasing factor immunohistochemistry in order to identify the porcine PMC. DBS electrodes were then stereotaxically implanted on the right side into the PMC in four Gottingen minipigs, and the bladder SNX-5422 concentration response to electrical stimulation was evaluated by subsequent cystometry performed immediately after the operation and several weeks later.

A paired CRF-dense area homologous to the PMC in other species was encountered in the rostral pontine tegmentum medial to the locus coeruleus and ventral to the floor of the fourth ventricle. Electrical stimulation of the CRF-dense area resulted in an increased detrusor pressure followed by visible voiding in some instances. The pigs were allowed to survive between 14 and 55 days, and electrical stimulation resulting in an increased detrusor pressure was performed on more than one occasion without affecting consciousness or general thriving.

Conclusion. This study identified

new correlates of moderate-severe hip pain after primary or revision THA, a much-feared outcome of hip arthroplasty. Patients with these comorbidities should be informed regarding the risk of moderate-severe index hip pain, so that they can have a fully informed consent and realistic expectations.”
“Direct and reverse martensitic transformations have been studied in Mn50Ni40In10 ribbons by means of magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements. The alloy is L2(1)-type single-phase austenite, which transforms into a 14M monoclinic martensite. The martensitic transformation is accompanied by a large change in the electrical resistivity. The field dependence of characteristic transformation temperatures is reported. A field-induced reverse martensitic transformation with large hysteretic CH5183284 manufacturer losses was observed. The reversibility of magnetization isotherms in the temperature interval where direct martensitic transformation occurs is also reported.

(c) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3078413]“
“Tulathromycin is a triamilide antibiotic that maintains therapeutic concentrations for an extended period of time. The drug is approved for the treatment of respiratory disease in cattle and swine and is occasionally used in goats. To investigate the pharmacokinetics of tulathromycin in meat goats, 10 healthy Boer goats were administered a single 2.5 mg/kg subcutaneous dose of tulathromycin. Plasma concentrations were measured by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) detection. Plasma maximal drug concentration

(C(max)) was 633 +/- 300 ng/ml (0.40 +/- GSK1904529A chemical structure 0.26 h post-subcutaneous injection). The half-life of tulathromycin in goats was 110 +/- 19.9 h. Tulathromycin was rapidly absorbed and distributed widely after subcutaneous injection 33 +/- 6 L/kg. The mean AUC of the group was 12,500 +/- 2020 h ng/mL for plasma. In this study, it was determined that the pharmacokinetics of tulathromycin after a single 2.5 mg/kg SC injection in goats were very similar to what has been previously reported in cattle. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Objective. Compare the efficacy and tolerability of AZD7762 mw the dual-opioid, Q8003 (R) (morphine/oxycodone combination) 12 mg/8 mg to morphine 12 mg or oxycodone 8 mg in subjects following bunionectomy surgery.

Design. This was a randomized, double-blind study.

Setting. Hospitalized patients.

Patients. Healthy men or women aged >= 18 years with moderate or severe pain (score >= 2 on a 4-point Likert scale) and >= 4 on the 11-point numerical pain rating scale following surgery.

Interventions. Study medication was initiated after surgery and was given for 48 hours.

Outcomes. The primary efficacy variable was mean sum of the pain intensity difference (SPID) scores from the postsurgical baseline.

Results. Five hundred twenty-two subjects were randomized; 31 (5.

Multilocus sequence typing was performed on representative isolates of each clone. The 7-valent conjugate vaccine had not yet been licensed in Israel during the study period.

Results: Serotype 6A constituted 5.8% (254/4408) of all pneumococcal acute otitis media episodes. The yearly proportion of serotype 6A among the Jewish children showed no distinct trend, whereas among the Bedouin children serotype 6A exhibited a significant increase, from 3.0% in 1999 to 7.6% in 2006. Among the Jewish children a single penicillin-nonsusceptible and erythromycin-resistant clone, ST-473, constituted 73.6% of the strains and dominated throughout the study period.

Among the Bedouin children, the proportions of the most common, JQ-EZ-05 in vitro penicillin-nonsusceptible clone, ST-1988, gradually decreased, from 44.1% in 1999 to 2000 to 21.4% in 2005 to 2006, concurrently with the expansion of a multidrug-resistant clone, ST-457, from 5.9% in 1999 to 2000 to 28.6% in 2005 to 2006.

Conclusions: The expansion of multidrug-resistant serotype 6A clone occurred before the introduction of the vaccine. Continued surveillance following vaccine introduction is warranted to further investigate its efficacy on vaccine-related serotypes.”
“Background:

Prompt diagnosis and timely treatment of malaria within 24 hours after Proteases inhibitor onset of first symptoms can reduce illness progression to severe stages and therefore, decrease mortality. The reason why mothers/caretakers delay Cilengitide concentration in malaria diagnosis and treatment for under-five children is not well studied in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess determinants of malaria treatment delay in under-five children in three districts of southwest Ethiopia.

Methods: A case control study was conducted from March 15 to April 20, 2010. Cases were under-five children

who had clinical malaria and sought treatment after 24 hours of developing sign and symptom, and controls were under-five children who had clinical malaria and sought treatment within 24 hours of developing sign and symptom of malaria. Data were collected by trained enumerators using structured questionnaire. Data were entered in to Epi Info version 6.04 and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. To identify determinants, multiple logistic regression was done.

Results: A total of 155 mothers of cases and 155 mothers of controls were interviewed. Mothers of children who were in a monogamous marriage (OR = 3.41, 95% CI: 1.39, 8.34), who complained about the side effects of antimalarial drugs (OR = 4.96, 95% CI: 1.21, 20.36), who had no history of child death (OR = 3.50, 95% CI: 1.82, 6.42) and who complained about the higher cost of transportation to reach the health institutions (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.17, 3.45) were more likely to be late for the treatment of malaria in under-five children.

Conclusion: Effective malaria control programmes should address reducing delayed presentation of children for treatment.

The relativistic electron energy is related to the polariton group velocity, which is close to the velocity of light in this case. The plasma pulse is polarized, and the electron number in the pulse is estimated as being proportional to the square root of the laser intensity and the 3/2-power of the pulse size.

It is shown that Compton (Thomson) backscattering by such polaritonic pulses of electrons may produce coherent X- and gamma rays, as a consequence of the quasirigidity of the electrons inside the polaritonic pulses and their relatively large number. The classical results of the Compton scattering are re-examined in this context, the energy of the scattered photons and their cross-section are analyzed, especially for backscattering, the great enhancement of the scattered flux of X-or gamma rays due to the coherence effect is highlighted and numerical estimates are given for some typical situations. Captisol (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3530599]“
“As a part of understanding the hydrolysis of cured urea formaldehyde (UF) resins that has been known as responsible for the formaldehyde emission, leading to sick building syndrome, PF-02341066 in vitro this study attempted

to investigate the morphology and to detect chemical elements of the cured UF resins of different formaldehyde/urea (F/ U) mole ratios and hardener (NH(4)Cl) levels, using field emission-scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Cured UF resins of low F/U mole ratio showed spherical structure whose diameter increased with an increase in the hardener level, whereas this was not observed for high F/U mole ratio UF resins regardless of the hardener levels. The energy-dispersive spectroscopy results showed five different chemical elements such as carbon,

nitrogen, oxygen, chloride, and sodium in cured UF resins. The chloride distribution assumed as the presence of residual acid in the cured UF resins suggested that the hydrolysis of cured UF resins could initiate at the sites of chlorides on the surface of the spherical structures. As the hardener level increased, the quantities of both carbon and oxygen decreased, whereas those of nitrogen and chloride increased as expected. But the quantity of sodium was within measurement BIIB057 error. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 120: 1475-1482, 2011″
“Materials and methods: 56 mice and 40 rats were divided into four groups. Histamine and histamine-irradiated groups received a daily subcutaneous histamine injection (0.1 mg/kg) starting 24 h before irradiation. Irradiated groups received a single dose on whole-body using Cesium-137 source and were sacrificed three days after irradiation. We evaluated the number of medullar components, bone marrow trophism, oedema, vascular damage, and other histological characteristics and also proliferation markers by immunohistochemistry.

15PT) single crystals were grown by a modified Bridgman method using IWR-1-endo supplier an allomeric 0.69Pb (Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-0.31PbTiO(3) single crystal as a seed. The as-grown 0.85PZN-0.15PT single crystals exhibit a tetragonal perovskite structure, which changes wholly into a cubic

structure between 190 and 215 degrees C confirmed by high-temperature x-ray diffraction measurement. 0.85PZN-0.15PT exhibits sharp dielectric-response peaks with slight dielectric frequency dispersion where the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition is nearly first order. Polarization induces an additional dielectric anomaly around 147 degrees C accompanied by the increase in Curie temperature (TC), the decrease in the value of dielectric maximum (epsilon(m)),and the enhancement of frequency dispersion, which can be assigned to the orientation of a ferroelectric domain or a macro-micro domain transition upon heating. The [001]-oriented 0.85PZN-0.15PT crystal planes exhibit excellent electrical properties, where remanent polarization P-r is 58.27 mu C/cm(2) Staurosporine clinical trial and piezoelectric constant d(33) is around 530-570 pC/N. Pyroelectric coefficient p, detectivity, and voltage responsivity figures of merit F-d and F-v of the 0.85PZN-0.15PT single crystals are 460 mu C/K m(2), 13.14 mu Pa-1/2, and 0.0302 m(2)/C, respectively, which increase greatly over the temperature range

measured. It is needed to improve the temperature stability and the voltage responsivity to meet the requirements of practical applications. 0.85PZN-0.15PT exhibits rather high transparency, with the ultraviolet cut-off edge near 380 nm indicating a low-lying electronic energy gap of similar to 3.16 eV. The infrared-absorption band occurs at 597 cm(-1), which can be attributed to the normal vibration of the [Zn1/3Nb2/3]/TiO3 group. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3238249]“
“Trigeminal neuralgia is uncommon in children. Idiopathic

Selleck CDK inhibitor type is less often seen than the secondary or symptomatic type. We report a 6-year-old girl with trigeminal neuralgia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an arterial loop at the exit of the trigeminal nerve.”
“A neutron study on two gilded bronze reliefs by Lorenzo Ghiberti is presented. The two reliefs, representing heads of prophets, come from the north and east doors of the Baptistery of Florence. The east door will be permanently located at the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore museum at the end of its restoration, which is still in progress at the Metals Conservation Department of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. The north door is kept in the original site, on the north facade of the Florentine Baptistery. Both reliefs exhibit critical aspects regarding their state of conservation in particular the stability of the gold layer on the bronze surface. Moreover the east head presents a remelting of which extension and composition are still unknown. The present work describes a non-destructive study of the subgilding area and bulk.

Operative time (182 vs 174 min, P = 0.19), median blood loss (175 vs 100 mL, P = 0.12), and duration of hospital stay (1 vs 1 day, P = 0.08) were similar between the two groups, respectively. No patient received a transfusion. Three patients who had not received aspirin

and one who had were readmitted within 30 days. In the nephrectomy cohort, 12 patients had not received aspirin and 14 had. There were no differences in median blood loss (65 vs 50 mL, P = 0.96), median operative time (176 vs 140 min, P = 0.14), or median hospital stay (2 vs 2 days, P = 0.74). No patient received a transfusion.

Conclusions: The administration of aspirin to patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and nephrectomy appears to be safe. The risk of cardiovascular complications resulting from stopping aspirin may exceed the risk of perioperative bleeding selleck inhibitor and associated complications.”
“Traumatic ulcerative granuloma with stromal eosinophilia (TUGSE) is a chronic, benign, self-limiting lesion of the oral mucosa. Clinically, the ulceration is characterized by the presence of indurated elevated borders and may resemble pyogenic granuloma

or even squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. Pathogenesis of the lesion is unclear. Although it had been suggested that TUGSE may represent a CD30+ lymphoproliferative GSK923295 cell line disorder, this theory is currently not supported by evidence. We are presenting a classic example of TUGSE, its clinical course, differential diagnosis, and treatment.”
“Microbial extracts continue to be a productive source of new molecules with biotechnological importance. Fungi of the genus Penicillium are known to produce biologically active secondary metabolites. The goal of this work is verify the production of antimicrobial

metabolites by Penicillium chrysogenum IFL1 using agro-industrial residues. P. chrysogenum IFL1 produced active metabolites growing on the agro-industrial residues, grape waste and cheese whey. The 7-day cultures showed antimicrobial activities against bacteria, fungi and amoebae. The filtrate of the cheese whey culture inhibited the growth of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the fungus Fusarium Volasertib cell line oxysporum and the amoeba Acanthamoeba polyphaga. Due to the greater antimicrobial activity of the cheese whey culture, a footprinting profile was carried out using the ESI-MS and ESI-MS/MS techniques. The presence of penicillin G and other metabolites that have antimicrobial activity such as penicillin V and rugulosin can be suggested. P. chrysogenum IFL1 was able to produce a wide variety of antimicrobial compounds on agro-industrial residues, which makes the process ecologically friendly.”
“Background: In the treatment of facial nerve paralysis after temporal bone trauma, it is important to appropriately determine whether nerve decompression surgery is indicated.

Obturator neuropathy was confirmed by electromyography and no compressive lesion of the nerve was seen on magnetic resonance imaging. The patient was treated conservatively and followed until she recovered fully.”
“The high pressure phase stability of intermetallic PtIn2 at ambient temperature has been investigated using the synchrotron based angle dispersive x-ray diffraction technique, electrical resistance measurements, and first principles electronic structure calculations. The electrical Dorsomorphin mouse resistance falls continuously

up to 5 GPa and then remains almost constant up to 10 GPa. Beyond 10 GPa, the resistance increases and continues to increase up to 21 GPa which is the highest pressure of the present measurements. Consistent with this, the x-ray diffraction measurements show a structural phase transition from the ambient cubic phase to a low symmetry orthorhombic phase beyond

10 GPa. Upon pressure release, the ambient cubic phase is obtained. Ab initio structural relaxations and total energy calculations predict the cubic to orthorhombic phase transitions at 10.5 GPa. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3574404]“
“The influence of chemical modifications, such as dewaxing with hexane and carbon tetrachloride, and alkaline treatment, on the mechanical, thermal, and sorption properties of carnauba straw Bioactive Compound Library was investigated for the first time. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the solvent treatments removed the wax layer, exposing the straw fibrils. The straw GSK1120212 inhibitor water sorption capacity was very high, and the treatments turned it from Fickian to non-Fickian. The results show that the solvents used

were very effective in removing the surface wax layer, whereas alkali, on the other hand, promoted a more marked change in the chemical structure of the straw. The chemical treatments demonstrated that the wax surface layer was very important in determining the final properties of this material and that its removal reduced the thermal stability and Young’s modulus from 143 to 48 MPa and increased its hydrophilicity, changing the contact angle from 90 to 60 degrees. As a result, carnauba straw is a potentially promising material to be used, for example, as a natural fiber with polymer matrices for the manufacture of low-cost, ecofriendly composite materials. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 1614-1621, 2011″
“In this paper we report what happens to a virgin oxide junction Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3/SrTi0.95Nb0.05O3 (PCMO/Nb:STO), when it is subjected to cycling of voltage bias of moderate value (+/- 4 V). It is found that the initial cycling leads to formation of a permanent state of lower resistance where the lower resistance arises predominantly due to the development of a shunt across the device film (PCMO).