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Drawing on data from a sample of 111 languages, this study examines whether certain segments occur with a higher frequency in terms for �nose�, �lip�, and �tooth� than would be expected if the form�meaning correspondence were fully arbitrary. It is found that this is indeed the case for �nose� and �lip�: cross-linguistically, terms for �nose� contain a higher than average number of nasals, and terms for �lip� are more likely than other vocabulary items to contain a bilabial stop. The upshot is, then, that there is a cross-linguistic tendency for these investigated meanings to be designated by terms with a sound-symbolic component. While intuitively appealing, the motivation for this tendency is far from clear, and the article concludes with some speculations concerning the cause of this phenomenon.

The investigation of the plasma membrane with intercorrelated multiparameter techniques is a prerequisite for understanding its function. Presented here, is a simultaneous electrochemical and topographic study of the cell membrane using a miniaturized amperometric enzymatic biosensor. The fabrication of this biosensor is also reported. The biosensor combines a scanning force microscopy (AFM) gold-coated cantilever and an enzymatic transducer layer of peroxidases (PODs). When these enzymes are brought in contact with the substrate, the specific redox reaction produces an electric current. The intensity of this current is detected simultaneously with the surface imaging. For sensor characterization, hydroquinone-2-carboxylic acid (HQ) is selected as an intrinsic source of H(2)O(2). HQ has been electrochemically regenerated by the reduction of antraquinone-2-carboxylic acid (AQ). The biosensor reaches the steady state value of the current intensity in 1 ± 0.2s.

Puma is a framework for the development of applications that analyze and, optionally, transform C or C++ source code. It supports ISO C and C++ as well as many language extensions of the GNU Compiler Collection and Microsoft Visual C++. Aspects played an important role during the design and implementation of the framework. It is written in the AspectC++ language. By employing AOSD concepts, we gained a clean separation of concerns and, thereby, very good configurability and extensibility. All these - ilities are of vital importance for our project, because the available manpower for maintenance tasks is limited. This paper briefly describes the design principles behind Puma.

A microfluidic chip system for flow-through PCR reactions with an optimized thermal profile consisting of five temperature zones was presented. It allows the implementation of one PCR cycle in a half channel loop. In contrast, conventional systems with a three zones arrangement require a complete channel loop per cycle. Therefore, this arrangement increases the level of integration and allows the implementation of a 40 cycles flow-through thermocycler on the footprint of a microscope slide. To obtain a high throughput of samples in a small volume (10–100 nl), the fluidic chip device was designed to operate at segmented-flow conditions for PCR. That way, each droplet may contain a single sample that is independently processed while transported through the microchannel. To achieve stable fluidic conditions, the surface of the micro-channels was modified. In addition to the successful flow-through PCR reaction in the micro reactor, the detection of the tumor suppressor p53 for clinical diagnostics was demonstrated.

We report a nanoparticulate composite TiO2–BaTiO3 film which exhibits an increased antibacterial photocatalytic activity under visible light. The pure BaTiO3, TiO2 or their mixture do not attain a significant photocatalytic capacity under visible light. However, when these oxides are simultaneously synthesized under controlled conditions the resulting crystals exhibit a high catalytic effect. The effect of this material on microorganism lysis is studied and the mechanisms for the observed damage are investigated. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provides the evidence of chemical changes (formation of carbonyl and carboxylic groups) in the cell membranes under visible light by TiO2–BaTiO3 but not by TiO2. Cyclic voltammetry demonstrates that peroxidation occurs in the absence of UV light and in the presence of TiO2–BaTiO3 but not in the presence of TiO2 alone. Atomic force microscopy reveals the morphological changes of the cells in this process.

SummaryBackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is accompanied by an increased cardiovascular risk which is aggravated by the incidence of acute exacerbations (AE). Endothelial function, as well as the soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE), both markers of cardiovascular risk, has been shown to be decreased in stable COPD.ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate a possible link between sRAGE and endothelial function in AE of COPD. We hypothesize that circulating levels of sRAGE and endothelial function are impaired during AE and improve after clinical recovery, respectively.MethodsWe enrolled patients admitted to hospital due to an AE of COPD without overt cardiovascular comorbidities. Study related procedures comprised spirometry, measurement of plasma sRAGE levels and the quantification of endothelial function by means of the flow-mediated dilation technique (FMD). All measurements were scheduled during hospitalization and after confirmed clinical stability.ResultsWe recruited 29 patients (27% female) with moderate to severe COPD. Median sRAGE concentration was 525 pg/mL (371–770, 1st–3rd quartile) and mean FMD 6.7 ± 3.6% at AE. There was a significant increase of sRAGE levels to 876 pg/mL (633–1371, 1st–3rd quartile, p