Stripping Off Research Articles

Seam by Tarfia Faizullah (review)

Reviewed by: Seam by Tarfia Faizullah Susan Cohen (bio) Tarfia Faizullah. Seam. Southern Illinois University P. From the opening lines of Tarfia Faizullah’s singular, eloquent collection Seam, chosen by Chad Davidson for the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award, it is apparent she’s a poet who feels tremendous empathy and who takes risks to express it. “In West Texas, oil froths / luxurious from hard ground / while across Bangladesh, // bayoneted women stain / pond water blossom,” Faizullah begins, immediately letting readers know she dares to confront a horrific history in a lush and lyric voice. Faizullah succeeds because, while her language is beautiful, she never prettifies the urgent story these poems tell about the mass rape of Bengali women during East Pakistan’s 1971 War of Independence. Also, she acknowledges the question that hangs over her enterprise: what justifies making art from horror. Seam begins with an epigraph by Paul Celan: “Everything is near and unforgotten.” Survivor of Nazi labor camps, Celan famously distanced himself from his best-known mournful and intensely musical poem “Death Fugue,” fearing he had poeticized the Holocaust. That Faizullah invokes Celan, both in the epigraph and again in a crown of sonnets called “Reading Celan at the Liberation War Museum,” demonstrates how well she understands the ethical complexity of her work. She probes the lines between witness, appropriation, and exploitation. [End Page 167] Seam revolves around the campaign West Pakistan waged against civilians in East Pakistan, which seceded and fought to become Bangladesh. More than three million people were killed in this war according to Bangladeshi sources, Faizullah tells us, and two hundred thousand women raped. Two hundred thousand! After liberation, the government of Bangladesh proclaimed the women war heroines, or birangonas. Still, many remain stigmatized and ostracized, even by their families. These events occurred before Faizullah was born in Brooklyn and then raised in West Texas. Her parents emigrated from Bangladesh in 1978, and she portrays herself as an unobservant Muslim. Yet, the underreported story compelled her to travel to Dhaka to interview some of the birangonas and to make poetry from her experience and from theirs. Eight poems, all of them titled “Interview with a Birangona,” form the central portion of the book, each a persona poem in which the woman speaks, each rendered in deceptively gentle couplets as if to slow them down and not overwhelm with their brutality. Here is the first: I. What Were You Doing When They Came for You? Gleaming water sweeps over Mother’s feet. Bayonets. Teeth. My green and yellow Eid sari flaps damply between two palm trees. Grandfather calls to me: mishti maya. Girl of sweetness. Aashi, I call back. I finish braiding my hair, tie it tight. I twine a red string around my thigh. That evening, a blade sliced through string, through skin, red on red on red. Kutta, the man in khaki says. It is only later I realize it is me he is calling dog. Dog. Dog. Braided in and around these devastating poems are others in the voice of the interviewer, who also asks difficult questions of herself, including whether she’s morally justified when she urges the victims to relive their rapes. In “The Interviewer Acknowledges Grief,” Faizullah puts it directly: “Because you / can’t reassure me I have / the right to ask anything / of women whose bodies won’t / ever again be their own.” In a masterful poem titled “The Interviewer Acknowledges Shame,” she describes how the interviewer—back in a hotel room after videotaping women “unlocking the desiccated coffins of their grief”—touches and sexually satisfies herself. “She doesn’t feel shame’s / dark-circled tightening after waking,” Faizullah writes, ending: [End Page 168] It’s later: when she arrives back at a borrowed flat, begins to strip off travel-pungent clothes and smells her own body’s resinous musk. It’s when she sits down naked at the desk to rewind and fast-forward through all the pixelated footage of the women’s kerosened lives. It’s when she begins to write about it in third person, as though it was that simple to unnail myself from my own body. What might be voyeurism...

The Impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Structural Adjustment Policies (SAP) on the Philippines

This paper investigated the impact of IMF structural adjustment policies (SAPs) on the Philippine economic performance. The study utilized critical analysis approach to evaluate secondary data from government statistics, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), World Bank, IMF and articles from online refereed journals. Analyses were focused on IMF prescribed SAP loan conditionalities pertaining to liberalization, export-oriented economic efficiency, privatization of estate owned assets, reducing government expenditures, and streamlining the bureaucracy. Findings revealed that trade liberalization implemented through stripping off restrictions of more than 900 items and reduction in nominal tariff protection fell short from the onset of global recession. Apparently, aggregate exports contracted instead of expanding while imports disproportionately increased when importers took advantage of the liberalized regime. This resulted to severe erosion of the Philippine industries which were left unable to compete in the open market. Government revenues, generated from the SAP driven privatization policy were redirected for debt servicing rather than being invested on productive programs and projects for economic development. This privatization policy even created local monopolies in the country’s capital market. Reduction in government expenditures through tightening of government budget, cuts in government subsidies and freezing the filling up of government vacant positions, failed to significantly impact on poverty alleviations and underpinned the much needed resources for basic health, education and social services delivery programs. In conclusion, the adherence by the Philippines to IMF loan conditionalities did not significantly benefit the country as manifested by the country’s sluggish economic development. The Philippines should never go back to the IMF loan portfolio, it should find other resources to propel growth and development away from IMF borrowing. Prudently however, it may continue to avail the Fund’s technical assistance program on monetary and international banking expertise without incurring external debt obligations from the Fund.

Graphene from amorphous titanium carbide by chlorination under 200 °C and atmospheric pressures.

The synthesis of graphene via decomposition of SiC has opened a promising route for large-scale production of graphene. However, extremely high requirements for almost perfectly ordered crystal SiC and harsh process conditions such as high temperatures (>1200°C) and ultra-high vacuum are two significant challenges hindering its wide use to synthesize graphene by decomposition of SiC. Here, we show that the readily available precursor of carbides, amorphous TiC (a-Ti1-xCx), can be transformed into graphene nanosheets (GNS) with tunable layers by chlorination method at very low temperatures (200°C) and ambient pressures. Moreover, freestanding GNS can be achieved by stripping off GNS from the surface of resulting particles. Therefore, our strategy, the direct transformation of a-Ti1-xCx into graphene, is simple and expected to be easily scaled up.

The Effects of Heparin Binding Proteins in Platelet Releasate on Bone Formation

Platelet releasates (PR) from platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparations are often used as an adjuvant for tissue repair. However, many in vitro and in vivo published studies have shown inconsistent results since outcomes depended on the methods of PRP preparation, the dosage of PRP and wound repair models used. Among the 300 proteins released by platelets, a number of them have the ability to bind to heparin, a sulfated glycosaminoglycan well known for its anticoagulant activity. In this study, we focused on the heparin binding proteins in PR by testing PR with the heparin-heparin binding protein complexes, PR with slow releasing heparin binding proteins from agarose-bound heparin, and PR with the heparin binding proteins removed. The bone-forming effect of each of these PR as an adjuvant to demineralized bone matrix (DBM) was tested. When heparin was added to the PR preparation, DBM bone-forming potential was completely lost. However, when heparin was added as agarose-bound heparin and co-implanted with DBM, both alkaline phosphatase activity and areas of new bone formation increased. The study revealed that stripping off heparin binding proteins from PR did not affect ectopic DBM bone formation, whereas the controlled release of such proteins favors osteoinduction.

Effect of alkaline electrolytes on the charge storage capacity and morphology of porous layered double cobalt hydroxide-coated graphene supercapacitor electrodes

The concentrated alkaline electrolytes (i.e., 3–6 M [OH−]) can strip off and/or deform the porous structure of α-Co(OH)2deposited on reduced graphene oxide/carbon fiber paper leading to poor charge storage capacity.

Board 553 - Technology Innovations Abstract Low Cost Pulse Oximeter Probe Repair (Submission #546)

Introduction/Background Replacing the pulse oximeter probe on any of the high fidelity Laerdal® manikins can be expensive (∼$500). The simulation specialists at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) found they could fix the majority of probes for less than $2.00 with readily available replacement parts. Methods There are two electronic parts to the pulse oximeter, an emitter (LED) and a detector. Figure 1. Most of the time the problem with the probe is due to a faulty plug, wiring or emitter. Steps to troubleshoot and repair the probe: Faulty Connector or Wire 1. Check the connector that plugs in to the simulator link box. 2. If the connector has a broken plug, replace it as follows. These connectors are readily available and cost ∼$1.50. 3. Check the wiring of the suspect probe near the hinge. If no problem, proceed to the Faulty Emitter section. Faulty Emitter 4. If the problem is not the connector or the wires, replace the emitter according the follow steps. a. Disassemble the probe using a paperclip to press the retaining pin completely through the clip. Figure 2 b. Separate the two pieces; use a flat bladed screwdriver to “scrape” the boot off the emitter piece of the clip. Figure 3 c. Peel the emitter off the boot from the back side. Figure 4 d. Cut the wires and strip off 1/8 inch of insulation; tin the wires with a soldering iron. e. Replace the LED, which costs ∼$0.25. The new LED has four leads. Figure 5 i. Bend the connected leads over on top of each other so they are flat with the body of the LED. ii. Place the new emitter in a vise with the leads facing you while soldering the wire to the leads. Make sure to observe proper polarity when connecting the leads. Notice the notch in the upper right corner of the LED make sure the reference or ground lead is connected here and the + voltage is connected to the lower lead. iii. Plug the probe in to a link box and turn it on. Use a voltmeter to determine polarity before attaching the new LED. An unmodified Laerdal SpO2 probe has a blue wire for the reference line. iv. After the polarity is confirmed, tin the LED leads and the wires before soldering them. v. Plug the probe back into a linkbox and turn it on to confirm that the LED lights. f. Peel off the silicon diffuser from the LED window on the rear of the boot. Figures 6a (before) & 6b (after) g. Place the new LED in the boot; apply a couple drops of super glue along each. NOTE: Use the super glue sparingly. Figure 7 h. Place a bead of super glue in the area shown by the red rectangle in Figure 8. i. Replace the emitter and boot; apply firm pressure for 30 seconds. j. After the glue has cured, put the probe back together. HINT: Insert the pin about half way through the clip after orienting the two pieces; put the spring in place. Use a small awl to hold the spring while pulling the two legs together and holding them with needle nose pliers. Figures 9 and 10. k. Place the spring on the pin and insert the pin completely. Results: Conclusion MUSC Healthcare Simulation center has replaced a dozen pulse oximeter probes over the last six years. The total cost savings is over $5000. Disclosures None.

Control of actin filament dynamics at barbed ends by WH2 domains: From capping to permissive and processive assembly

WH2 domains are multifunctional regulators of actin assembly that can either sequester G-actin or allow polarized barbed end growth. They all bind similarly to a hydrophobic pocket at the barbed face of actin. Depending on their electrostatic environment, WH2 domains can nucleate actin assembly by facilitating the formation of prenuclei dimers along the canonical spontaneous assembly pathway. They also modulate filament barbed end dynamics in a versatile fashion, acting either as barbed end cappers or assisting barbed end growth like profilin or uncapping barbed ends and potentially mediating processive elongation like formins when they are dimerized. Tandem repeats of WH2 domains can sever filaments and either remain bound to created barbed ends like gelsolin, or strip off an ADP-actin subunit from the severed polymer end, depending on their relative affinity for terminal ADP-F-actin or ADP-G-actin. In summary, WH2 domains recapitulate all known elementary regulatory functions so far found in individual actin-binding proteins. By combining different discrete sets of these multifunctional properties, they acquire specific functions in various actin-based processes, and participate in activities as diverse as filament branching, filopodia extension, or actin remodeling in ciliogenesis and asymmetric meiotic division. They also integrate these functions with other actin-binding motifs present either in the same protein or in a complex with another protein, expanding the range of complexity in actin regulation. The details of their molecular mechanisms and the underlying structural basis provide exciting avenues in actin research.

Reflections on compassion in the midst of violence.

Reflections on compassion in the midst of violence.

Effects of water content on the tetrahedral intermediate of chymotrypsin - trifluoromethylketone in polar and non-polar media: observations from molecular dynamics simulation

The work uses MD simulation to study effects of five water contents (3 %, 10 %, 20 %, 50 %, 100 % v/v) on the tetrahedral intermediate of chymotrypsin - trifluoromethyl ketone in polar acetonitrile and non-polar hexane media. The water content induced changes in the structure of the intermediate, solvent distribution and H-bonding are analyzed in the two organic media. Our results show that the changes in overall structure of the protein almost display a clear correlation with the water content in hexane media while to some extent U-shaped/bell-shaped dependence on the water content is observed in acetonitrile media with a minimum/maximum at 10-20 % water content. In contrast, the water content change in the two organic solvents does not play an observable role in the stability of catalytic hydrogen-bond network, which still exhibits high stability in all hydration levels, different from observations on the free enzyme system [Zhu L, Yang W, Meng YY, Xiao X, Guo Y, Pu X, Li M (2012) J Phys Chem B 116(10):3292-3304]. In low hydration levels, most water molecules mainly distribute near the protein surface and an increase in the water content could not fully exclude the organic solvent from the protein surface. However, the acetonitrile solvent displays a stronger ability to strip off water molecules from the protein than the hexane. In a summary, the difference in the calculated properties between the two organic solvents is almost significant in low water content (<10 %) and become to be small with increasing water content. In addition, some structural properties at 10 ~ 20 % v/v hydration zone, to large extent, approach to those in aqueous solution.

Mode of Action of the SDF-1/CXCL12 Inhibiting Spiegelmer® Nox-A12 and Its Impact On Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Cell Motility and Chemosensitization

Abstract 318NOX-A12 is a novel Spiegelmer®-based antagonist of SDF-1/CXCL12, a chemokine involved in the regulation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cell trafficking. Spiegelmers® are mirror-image oligonucleotides that are identified to specifically bind to proteins in a manner conceptually similar to antibodies. Unlike aptamers, however, Spiegelmers® are built from the non-natural L-isomer form of nucleotides which confers resistance to the action of nucleases and avoids potential immunogenicity.CXCL12 is constitutively secreted and presented by bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) via glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and acts as a homing factor for normal and malignant hematopoietic cells to the bone marrow (BM) and secondary lymphoid tissues via CXCR4 receptors that are expressed at high levels on circulating CLL cells. The microenvironment in the BM and secondary lymphoid tissues, in particular the CXCL12-CXCR4 axis, favors survival and chemotherapy-resistance of leukemic cells. We therefore investigated the effects of NOX-A12 in an in vitro co-culture system to model the interaction of CLL cells with their microenvironment.Surprisingly we observed that NOX-A12 increased pseudoemperipolesis in vitro, i.e. spontaneous leukemia cell migration beneath BMSC. Interestingly, this NOX-A12 induced trans-migration of CLL cells was completely inhibited by the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100, suggesting a CXCL12/CXCR4 dependent mechanism. We postulated that this observation might result from a direct effect of NOX-A12 on CXCL12 release by the stromal cells. Therefore, we investigated this hypothesis in different BMSC lines (MS-5, R15C, and TSt-4) and we found that NOX-A12 induced a significant CXCL12 release in all three tested cell lines.We asked whether this NOX-A12 dependent increase of CXCL12 of BMSCs is due to release from either intracellular or extracellular storages. Intracellular staining of CXCL12 using flow cytometry did not reveal significant changes when BMSCs were incubated with NOX-A12. Furthermore, the transcription of CXCL12 was not found to be altered after NOX-A12 incubation over a period of three days as shown by quantitative RT-PCR. Rather, CXCL12 is released from extracellular storages of BMSCs. First hints were obtained through a rapid CXCL12 release within five minutes of incubation with NOX-A12. To confirm that CXCL12 is bound to the extracellular surface (by GAGs like heparin) and is being detached by NOX-A12 we first incubated BMSCs with NOX-A12, followed by a wash step and the addition of recombinant CXCL12. Recombinant CXCL12 was bound by BMSCs that were pre-incubated with NOX-A12 but not with a non-functional control (revNOX-A12), indicating that NOX-A12 strips off CXCL12. To corroborate the findings we incubated the BMSCs with heparin which also led to the release of CXCL12 in a dose dependent manner. Of note, the EC50 of heparin regarding CXCL12 release was much higher compared to the EC50 of NOX-A12 (≈ 12 μM vs. 5 nM) revealing the high affinity of NOX-A12 to CXCL12. The competition of NOX-A12 with heparin regarding CXCL12 binding was confirmed by Biacore experiments.Based on these findings, we developed a novel adapted co-culture approach to examine the ability of NOX-A12 to chemosensitize CLL cells. In this setting, we first strip off CXCL12 from BMSCs by NOX-A12 and subsequently add CLL cells which will be either non-treated or treated with chemotherapy (fludarabine combined with bendamustine). We found that NOX-A12 slightly decreased CLL cell viability. As expected, a strong viability decrease was observed with chemotherapy, which could be even further decreased by the combination with NOX-A12, suggesting synergistic effects.In conclusion, we propose that NOX-A12's mode of action is the release of extracellular bound CXCL12 and its subsequent inhibition. Since CXCL12 induces leukemia cell trafficking and homing to tissue microenvironment and also favors leukemia cell survival, we believe that targeting CXCL12 is an attractive approach to remove the protective effects of CXCL12-secreting BMSCs in order to sensitize CLL cells for subsequent chemotherapy. Thus, NOX-A12 represents a very promising agent to significantly improve the treatment of CLL. The compound is currently being tested in a Phase IIa study in relapsed CLL patients. Disclosures:Zboralski:NOXXON Pharma AG, Berlin, Germany: Employment. Maasch:NOXXON Pharma AG: Employment. Kruschinski:NOXXON Pharma AG: Employment. Burger:NOXXON Pharma AG: Consultancy, Research Funding.

The Influence on Brittle of Microstructure of Laser Quenching/Nitriding Layer

Have studied microstructure of the gas nitriding layer and the laser quenching/ nitriding layer using the X-ray diffractometer and the transmission electron microscope to the brittl of nitriding layer. The results show that the content of Fe3N in composite nitrided layer increased from 14.74% to the 69.45%, while the crisp hard ξ-Fe2N content dropped from 79.95%to 25.03%, Especially the Cr2N particles are much finer and the depth of the nitrided layer increases. There have phase relation, coherence and compatibility between γ'-Fe4N and α-Fe. spherical particles of cementite was formed in lower strip bainite, while the γ′ of gas nitriding diffusion layer is big, the carbide assumes the long strip off and with distributing certain directivity. Brittleness of laser hardening/ nitriding layer reduces.

The Products Characteristics of Calcium-basic Compounds Pyrolysis with Waste Printed Circuit Boards (PCB)

The co-pyrolysis of PCB and calcium-basic compounds was investigated in this paper. The yield of liquid products of simple PCB pyrolysis was the highest and it reached 10.51%. After adding various calcium based waste, the copper foil was basically not corroded during pyrolysis as the calcium based waste adsorbed HBr. After pyrolysis, the organic substances were carbonized and became brittle. Thus, it was quite easy to separate metal from glass fiber cloth and strip off and remove the carbon black on the glass cloth. The Pyro-gas wasn’t so seriously influenced by additives. The content of CH4 was 67-70% while other contents were mainly small molecules such as C2H6, C2H4, C3H8, and C3H6.

Equilibrium of the Extraction of V(IV) in the V(IV)-SO&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;4&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2-&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;(H&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;+&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;, Na&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;+&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;)—Cyanex 302-Kerosene System

The title system has been investigated from the equilibrium point of view. Significant extraction occurs above pH 2. Equilibration time is 20 min. The extraction ratio (D) remains constant with increasing [V(IV)] of at least 0.50 g/L. It is inversely proportional to [H+]2, [H+] and [H+]0.3 in the lower pH (2; and [SO42-]0 and [SO42-]-1 in the lower [SO42-] (42-] (>1 mol/L) regions, respectively. The apparent extraction equilibrium constant (Kex) in 0.02 mol/L SO42- medium and at 303 K is found to vary from 10-3.447 to 101.508 with increasing equilibrium pH from 2.25 to 4.00. Various sulphated, hydrolyzed, hydrated and mixed sulphated hydrolyzed species of V(IV) have been considered at different extraction conditions to propose the extraction equilibrium reactions to form always [VO(HA2)2] as the extractable species. The system is highly temperature dependent with ?H value of ~90 kJ/mol and ~25 kJ/mol in lower and higher temperature regions, respectively. The calculated loading capacity is low (4.05 g V(IV)/100 g Cyanex 302). Kerosene is a better diluent over CHCl3, Cyclo-C6H12 and CCl4; but much better solvents are C6H6, C6H5CH3, n-C7H16,C6H4(CH3)2, petroleum benzin, 1,2-C2H4Cl2, C6H5Cl. Mineral acids (1 mol/L) are able to strip off V(IV) from the organic phase in a single-stage. Using Cyanex 302, almost complete separations of V(IV) from Cu(II) at pH 1.0 and from Ni(II) at pH(eq) 4.5 are possible in a single-stage of extraction; whereas, its separation from Zn(II) at pH(eq) 2.5, Co(II) at pH(eq) 3.5, Fe(III) at pH(eq) 2.0 and Ti(IV) at pH(eq) 2.5 will require counter-current multi-stage extractions.

Atomic-Scale Wear in UHV: Connection Between AFM Induced-Abrasion and Debris Recrystallization

Recent Ultrahigh Vacuum (UHV) scratching Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) experiments showed the formation of regular patterns composed by small atomic clusters or mounds located around the surfaces being scanned. The formation of such structures has been theoretically reproduced and explained as, mainly produced by the flux of adatoms generated by the AFM tip stripping off adatoms during the continuous passage of the probe tip on the analysed surface. The homoepitaxy growth process on Aluminium was used for the identification of the direct connection between the adatoms flux due to wear mechanisms and the self-assembled growth processes. Such theoretical results were based on the general assumption that surface diffusion is the dominant transport mechanism of mass, and a nonequilibrium thermodynamics framework for the self-organized growth process has been developed showing evidence of the direct connection between the growth structures due to atomic debris formation and the flux of the atomic debris due to the activated wear mechanisms. In this article, we revisit the preview model giving new contributions to it and, in turn, we suggest that the improved model as proposed in this article can be supported with a new class of experiments for the quantification of the wear rates occurring for AFM probe tips in UHV conditions. In turn, a general review on activated wear mechanisms is briefly discussed.

Facile preparation of two tetrols from permethylated α-cyclodextrin and unambiguous NMR analysis

An unprecedented straightforward approach wherein an excess of diisobutylaluminum hydride is able to strip off in reasonable yield (45%) and in a regioselective manner four methyl groups from permethylated α-cyclodextrin, to provide a symmetric tetrol (2) in one chemical step from a commercially available material is described. An asymmetric tetrol (3) was also isolated from the reaction as a minor product (19%). Both compounds are unambiguously characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, COSY, HSQC and HRMS.

Determination of endocrine-disrupting compounds in water by carbon nanotubes solid-phase microextraction fiber coupled online with high performance liquid chromatography

The commercial solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibers are not stable enough in organic solvent and tend to swell and strip off from the silica fiber in the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) mobile phase, and therefore the application of SPME coupled online with HPLC is limited. In this study, an SPME fiber coated with single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), prepared by means of electrophoretic deposition, was coupled on line to HPLC for the determination of four endocrine-disrupting compounds, i.e. bisphenol A (BPA), estrone (E1), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) and octylphenol (OP), in aqueous samples. The results showed that the SWCNTs coating on the prepared fiber did not swell and strip off from the platinum fiber throughout the experiment, thus indicating a high resistance to the HPLC mobile phase, the mixture of water and acetonitrile. The SWCNTs fiber had similar (for OP) or higher (for BPA, EE2 and E1) extraction efficiencies than the commonly used polyacrylate fiber, and had a lifetime of more than 120 operation times. Under the optimized conditions, the linearity of the proposed method was 1.0–30.0μg/L for BPA and OP and 3.0–90.0μg/L for E1 and EE2. The limits of detection (LODs; S/N=3) and limits of quantification (LOQs; S/N=10) of the method were 0.32–0.52μg/L and 1.06–1.72μg/L, respectively. Repeatability for one fiber (n=3) was in the range of 1.3–7.1% and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility (n=3) was in the range of 1.6–8.4%. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of spiked tap water and seawater samples with recoveries from 81.8 to 97.3%.

Baltų šaknis &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;*&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;d&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;-ž-&lt;/em&gt;

THE BALTIC ROOT *d  -ž- Summary An attempt is made here to give a satisfactory explanation of the provenance of various allomorphs based on the Common Baltic root *d-ž-&gt; *dirž- attested in Lith. diržti “to flay, skin”, dir̃žas “belt, girdle; sash”, Latv. dir̂ža “belt, girdle; strap, thong”, Lith. déržti “hurry, make haste”, dar̃žas, Latv. dā̀rzs “kitchen-garden, flower garden”. The root *d-ž- seems to be a Baltic innovation: it might contain a primitive root *d- attested in Lith. dir̃ti “skin, strip off, bark, tear”, Latv. dirât “flay, skin” (cf. their cognates OCS derą, Goth. dis-taíran, Gr. δέρω, OInd. dnā́ti, Arm. ter̆em, Toch. AB tsär-), enlarged with a suffix - ž -, A set-variant *der-H- seems to have existed as well, cf. Lith. dìrti, OInd. dīrṇa-. Therefore it would not be unreasonable to assume that in proto-Baltic dialects there existed a full grade va­riant *dr-eH- as well as *d(e)r-H- and that the former functioned in a preterite system and the lat­ter most likely belonged to a present system. Due to the analogy of *der-ž- / *d-ž- they could have been enlarged with a suffix -ž-. After the syllabic laryngeal had been vocalized, i.e. *d(e)r-H-ž- →*dr-H̥-ž- →*draž-, a “heteroclitic” paradigm praes. *draž- (&lt; *drH̥-ž-) : praet. *drēž- (&lt; *dreH₁-ž-) was created in the proto-Baltic dialects. This kind of paradigm must have been a deviation, for forms within a paradigm could likely have differed in regard to their root vocalism quantitatively, but vot qualitatively. Due to the tendency for the root vocalism to become the same in all forms, two new paradigms could have been formed on the basis of the old one, namely praes. *drež- : praet. * dr ē ž - and praes. *draž- : praet. *drāž-. That means that having fitted into the model praes. TVRT- : praet. TvRT- (cf. gẽria: gė́rė, kãria : kórė etc.) a present form with a normal root vocalism could have been created beside the existing preterite form *drēž- and respectively a preterite *drāž- with a long root vocalism might have been formed beside the existing present *draž-. We find the first paradigm attested in Lith. drė́žti „wear, tear, rend, scratch” and Latv. drêzt (: drēzt uguni “make up the fire”). The second paradigm is represented in Lith. dróžti, Latv. drāzt “plane, shave; cut out; point, sharpen; carve; hurry, make haste; strike, whip etc.”. Having followed the model T(R)ēT v - →T(R)ōT n -, the nouns with a root vocalism ō (&gt; Lith., Latv. uo) seem to have been generated on the basis of praet. *drēž-: Lith. drúožas “stripe; region, zone”, druožė̃ “stripe”, druožlė̃ “shaving”, Latv. druõztala “shaving, small piece, bit”, from which afterwards such verbs as Lith. druõžti, driúožti “to wear, tear”, Latv. druoztalât “to cut a little and frequently” could have been derived. After the above model had ceased to operate nouns could have been produced without any vowel alternation: drêzt 2 →drza “scolding; wigging”, drzns “moist, damp”, drę̃gzna „ cold and damp weather”; dróžti, drāzt → drožlỹs "plane“, drãzlis “shaving, chip, sliver”, drožnùs “which is easily to plane”, drāzns “naughty, frisk”, drožlė̃ “shaving”, dra­̀za 2 “crowd, throng; scab” etc. The allomorphs *driž- and *drīž- seem to be of late origin in both Lithuanian and Latvian. As a pattern for their formation the structural ratio TeR-T- : TiR-T-=TRe-T- : x, where x equ­ates to TRi-T-/ TR ī -T-, can be suggested. In this way on the basis of the verb drė́žti, drêzt 2 all forms with a vocalism in reduced grade could rather easily have been brought about: thus praet. *drēž → Lith. drýžti “to carry”, drỹžti “tear”, drýžas “streaky, striped, in streaks”, Latv. dr ī zna, drīzna „beam, ray”, and praes. *drež- → Lith. drìžti „take pains, weaken; feel shy”, drižė́ti “be afraid, feel shy, be diffident”, Latv. driz-nêt „grow stiff”. The full grade forms dríežti „tear“, dreĩžti „linger; tarry; be slow”, dríežas „lizard“ (cf. drýžas „lizard“ and drýžas „striped; stripy; motley”) and others are used only in Lithuanian. Thus being apparently late innovations they might have followed the productive pattern TRī-T- : TRie-T- resp. TRī-T- : TRēi-T-. In a similar way, i.e. by the ratio TaR-T- : TuR-T-= TRa-T- :x (x= TRu-T-/TRū-T-), the origin of the allomorphs *druž-/*drūž- can be accounted for. The basis for their formation could have been the forms of the verb Lith. dróžti, Latv. drāzt: praes. *draž- → Lith. drùžti „weaken, grow weaker”, drùžas „flogging, thrashing”, Latv. druzas „mud, mire, dirt” etc.; praet. *drāž - → Lith. Drūžė̃ „ stripe” etc., Latv. drũzêt „ be chilly; shiver with cold”, drūze “crowd, press, throng” etc. On the basis cf this zero grade allomorphs, forms with an a- vocalism might have been generated in Latvian, cf. drauzs „brittle; rough, rude, coarse, harsh”, drauzs “Schinn, Schelfer”, drauza ,,mud, mire; waste, rubbish, offal (from a bark)” etc.

Regeneration of commercial Biacore chips to analyze biomolecular interactions

Surface plasmon resonance is particularly important due to the ability of biomolecules of interest to interact with a specific binding partner, and may therefore be more informative than generic measurement techniques. A growing number of robust and reproducible immobilized surfaces chips are available from Biacore, allowing us to analyze various biomolecular interactions. Here we describe a protocol by which the Biacore chips may be reused multiple times to analyze biomolecular interactions without interfering analysis from previously used surfaces or analytes. This procedure will not only help to extend the lifetime of these chips but at the same time render them to be more commercially affordable, especially in a resource-poor setting. The time range for the entire protocol is ∼1 day, including stripping off previously immobilized materials and re-functionalization of gold surface.

Rho GTPases and their role in organizing the actin cytoskeleton

Cells receive extracellular stimuli in various ways: in the form of soluble molecules (growth factors, cytokines and hormones) that interact with cell-surface receptors; from adhesive interactions with the extracellular matrix; and from cell–cell adhesions. These stimuli act to generate changes in

Shear-Induced Structural Transition and Recovery in the Salt-Free Catanionic Surfactant Systems Containing Deoxycholic Acid

Shear-induced structural transition and recovery were studied by freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), rheological measurements, and the variation of birefringent textures in the system of tetradecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (TTAOH)/lauric acid (LA)/deoxycholic acid (DeCA)/H(2)O as a function of the molar fraction of DeCA [x = n(DeCA)/(n(DeCA) + n(LA))]. At x = 0.3, giant vesicles and planar lamellar structures were formed before exerting shearing. Shear thickening and large hysteresis loop are observed under shearing, indicating the occurrence of structural transition. Multilamellar and close-packed vesicles were determined by cryo-TEM observations. Exerting further shearing, the elastic properties of the sample were increased due to the strip off of the outer shell of the vesicles and formation of small vesicles. After shearing was stopped, the sample can slowly relax back to the original state. At x = 0.25, lamellar structures, giant vesicles, and small unilamellar vesicles were observed. Cryo-TEM observations show that the multilamellar vesicles can be formed after exerting shearing, and the sample cannot spontaneously recover to the original state. At x = 0.2, vesicles are dominant in the solution, and the aggregates structures are almost the same before and after shearing. Shearing can increase the elastic properties of the sample, which is ascribed to the strip off of the outer shells of the multilamellar vesicles, forming much smaller vesicles in the solution.