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Chemically modified sisal fibers are used to reinforce high-density polyethylene to seek applications in electrical appliances and car industry requiring light composite materials with superior mechanical and dielectric properties. Conventional methods of chemical modification using sodium hydroxide are used together with new modifications using benzoyl chloride and benzoyl peroxide in order to improve the compatibility between the hydrophilic fiber surface and the hydrophobic polymer matrix. Mechanical properties have been improved by more than 50%, and improved thermal and electrical properties are achieved using the resulting microcomposite material. The resulting microcomposite can accordingly find its way in electrical appliances and in the car industry replacing metallic parts especially those requiring high dielectric constant and superior mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study assessed whether patient portals influence patients' ability for self-management, improve their perception of health state, improve their experience with primary care practices, and reduce healthcare utilization., Methods: Patients participating in a nurse-led care coordination program received personalized training to use the portal to communicate with the care team. Data analysis included pre-post comparison of self-efficacy (CDSES), health state (EQVAS), functional status (PROMIS ® ), experience with the provider/practice (CG-CAHPS), and healthcare utilization (admissions and ED visits)., Results: A total of 94 patients were enrolled, and 92 (Intent to Treat) were followed up for 7 months to assess their experience, and for 12 months to assess healthcare utilization. Seventy four (mean age 60+13 years) used the portal (Users). Comparison between baseline and 7-month follow-up showed no statistically significant improvements in self-efficacy, perception of health state or experience with the primary care practice. Only functional status improved significantly. ED visits/1000 patients were reduced by 26% and 21% in the Intent to Treat and Users groups, respectively. Hospital admissions/1000 patients were reduced by 46% in the Intent to Treat group and by 38% in the Users group., Discussion: For patients in care coordination, having access to patient portals may improve access to providers and health data that lead to improvements in patients' functional status and reduce high-cost healthcare utilization, but it does not seem to improve self-efficacy, perception of health state, or experience with primary care practices., Conclusion: In this study, the use of patient portals improved functional status and reduced high-cost healthcare utilization in patients with chronic conditions.

Introduction: This project implemented an integrated patient self-reported screening tool in a patient portal and assessed clinical workflow and user experience in primary care practices., Methods: An electronic health risk assessment based on the CMS Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) was developed to integrate self-reported health information into the patient's electronic health record (EHR). Patients enrolled in care coordination tested the implementation. The evaluation plan included quantitative and qualitative measures of patient adoption, provider adoption, workflow impact, financial impact, and technology impact., Findings: Seventy-two patients completed the sample AWV, and 80% of the questionnaires had clinical findings that required provider follow-up. Patients expressed satisfaction with the portal, as it enabled them to view their health record and enter information. Implementation did not reduce office staff time. Providers and office staff agreed that an electronic system for adding information to their record would increase patient satisfaction, but they expressed concern with the need to promptly review the information and the time involved to accomplish this prior to an office visit., Discussion: Despite satisfaction among patients, portal adoption is still low, due to technological limitations and to the lack of adaptability to primary care practice workflow. Notwithstanding those barriers, the use of the portal for completion of repetitive tasks, such as screening tools, should be encouraged., Conclusions: Patients can effectively use portals to complete the patient reported section of the CMS AWV. However, if the information is not completed during the same day of the office visit, the time required to address health findings outside of a regular office visit is uncompensated, and diminished the enthusiasm for this process among primary care practice staff.

Transformer-4 version 2.0.1 (T4) is a multi-platform freeware programmed in java that can transform a genotype matrix in Excel or XML format into the input formats of one or several of the most commonly used population genetic software, for any possible combination of the populations that the matrix contains. T4 also allows the users to (i) draw allozyme gel interpretations for any number of diploid individuals, and then generate a genotype matrix ready to be used by T4; and (ii) produce basic reports about the data in the matrices. Furthermore, T4 is the only way to optionally submit 'genetic diversity digests' for publication in the Demiurge online information system (http://www.demiurge-project.org). Each such digest undergoes peer-review, and it consists of a geo-referenced data matrix in the tfm4 format plus any ancillary document or hyperlink that the digest authors see fit to include. The complementarity between T4 and Demiurge facilitates a free, safe, permanent, and standardized data archival and analysis system for researchers, and may also be a convenient resource for scientific journals, public administrations, or higher educators. T4 and its converters are freely available (at, respectively, http://www.demiurge-project.org/download_t4 and http://www.demiurge-project.org/converterstore) upon registration in the Demiurge information system (http://demiurge-project.org/register). Users have to click on the link provided on an account validation email, and accept Demiurge's terms of use (see http://www.demiurge-project.org/termsofuse). A thorough user's guide is available within T4. A 3-min promotional video about T4 and Demiurge can be seen at http://vimeo.com/29828406., (© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

The anti-inflammatory activity of five copper complexes is shown in the cotton wad granuloma test in Rats. The activity due to copper seems to be only modulated by the ligands in the complexes studied.

We describe a sensitive liquid phase radioimmunoassay for serum IgD. Extreme values obtained from 85 control patients sera are 0.2 and 121 mg/l with an arithmetic mean of 25 mg/l. In atopic patients (with high serum IgE levels), arithmetic mean is 47 mg/l.

A solid phase enzyme immunoassay was developed for isopentenyladenine (iP) and isopentenyladenosine (iPA) quantitation in HPLC purified plant extracts. It was performed on antigen-coated microtitration plates on which bound antibodies were indirectly labeled by the means of a biotinylated goat anti-rabbit antibody and an avidin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate. Less than 3 femtomoles of iP or iPA were easily detected and the measuring range extended from 3 femtomole to 1 picomole. The reproducibility has been tested and intra- and interassay variations did not exceed 5.0%. The specificity of iPA antibodies was good, as determined by cross-reactivity measurements with other adenylic compounds. The specificity of the measurements for iP and iPA was demonstrated by analysis of the immunoreactivity of fractions obtained by HPLC separation of a methanolic tobacco leaf extract.

Ovine prolactin (o-PRL) binding to rat mammary gland membranes has been shown to vary during the estrous cycle in the normal rat. In this study we report the characteristics of o-PRL binding to mammary gland membranes throughout the estrous cycle in a new rat strain, IPL nude, which presents a total absence of lactation. Prolactin receptors were quantified in the 100 000 g pellet. The mean value of the affinity constant in IPL nude rat was 16.7 X 10(9) M-1 and no variation was observed throughout the estrous cycle. The binding capacity also remained unchanged and the values were situated between 11.6 +/- 1.1. fmoles/mg protein and 38.6 +/- 12.3 fmoles/mg protein, corresponding to the lowest values obtained in normal rat. On the day of estrus, the prolactin binding capacity in the mammary gland of the IPL nude rat was significantly different from that of normal rat. These findings confirm that prolactin certainly plays an important role in the induction or stimulation of the rat mammary gland function.

(N-2-amino-2-deoxy-alpha, beta-D-glucopyranose salicylaldimino)-Cu (II) shows an anti-inflammatory activity in the cotton wad granuloma on Rats. An increase of the copper level in serum is detected very soon after s.c. drug administration, which is due to the high diffusion of the complex.

The authors studied experimentally ovario-uterine implantation in rats, an operation first performed many years ago yielding very rare and debatable results. This procedure is ineffective in the treatment of sterility due to endometrial proliferation over the ovary, which closes off rapidly the endometrial cavity and separates it from the implanted ovary. Much uncertainty surrounds the majority of previously reported successes, the few resultant pregnancies from ovario-uterine implantation considered due to hazard and completely unreliable. This operation has no place in the treatment of sterility.

In order to evaluate thyrotropin function in the genetically hypoprolactinemic rat, (IPL nude), we measured by radioimmunoassay TRH hypothalamic content, pituitary TSH content and serum TSH, T3, T4, both in IPL nude and control rats at various times over the 24-hour period. Compared to normal rats, the hypothalamic TRH content in the IPL nude rat showed similar variations during the day, whereas a slight increase was observed during the night characterized by a significant difference at 20.00 h. Pituitary weight and TSH content were doubled in IPL nude rats; however, when expressed as micrograms TSH/micrograms protein or DNA, a significant increase was found only at 17.00 and 20.00 h. Serum TSH and total serum T3, T4 depicted similar variations although they were minute but nonetheless significant modifications, i.e. an increase of TSH at 17.00 and 23.00 h and a decrease of T4 at 11.00 h. However, only FT4 concentrations (and not-FT3) were slightly but significantly decreased in IPL rats over the experimental times. In conclusion, the slight increase in hypothalamic TRH and pituitary TSH contents and the absence of main associated variations of serum TSH, T3 and T4 do not lend support to the hypothesis that TRH could be the cause of the hypoprolactinemia of these rats. On the contrary, the observed thyrotropin axis variations might be rather interpreted as the consequence of it.

IPL (Institut Pasteur, Lyon) nude, hypoprolactinemic rats exhibit delayed puberty and a complete lack of lactation. To characterize the secretion of circulating forms of prolactin (PRL) of these rats, PRL concentrations were measured in serum and pituitaries of males and females under various physiological conditions. Two assay methods, a radioimmunoassay (RIA) and a sensitive bioassay (NB2BA) were employed. Normal rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain were tested simultaneously, as controls. The pituitary content of PRL, estimated either by RIA or by NB2BA, in IPL nude males and females was similar to that of normal male and female rats. On the contrary, serum PRL levels of IPL male rats, measured by RIA or NB2BA, were significantly reduced when compared to normal rats. In both groups, there was a close correlation between the results obtained by the two methods, the NB2BA estimates being higher. However, the NB2BA/RIA ratio was significantly decreased in serum from IPL nude rats compared to controls, indicating that the circulating form of PRL was less bioactive in this group. Castrated male rats injected with estradiol showed sharply increased PRL values as estimated by RIA or NB2BA. The increase was greater (35-fold) in IPL nude rats then in normal rats (9-fold), but these increases resulted in serum PRL levels being similar in the two groups. However, the NB2BA/RIA ratio remained significantly reduced in IPL nude rats. In female rats, PRL was measured during different physiological states: estrus, diestrus, proestrus at 1000, 1200, and 1600 h and Days 1 and 21 of gestation and 2 days postpartum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A substance presenting a beta-casein-like immunoreactivity (beta-cas-LI) was found in male serum and tissues. This beta-cas-LI was measured by a specific radioimmunoassay using a purified beta-casein and an anti beta-casein kindly supplied by L. M. Houdebine. Serial dilutions of serum or tissues samples showed a good parallelism to the standard curve. In male rat, beta-cas-Li was found in all sera and in some tissues = mammary gland, prostate and testis which contained respectively 6,200, 408 and 38 ng per organ. beta-cas-LI value in the serum was regulatable. Hypophysectomy and long-term castration strongly reduced basal levels. Insertion of testosterone silastic capsules (25 mg/capsule) was able to restore control values, while estradiol (E2) (4 mg/kg E2 valerianate) to castrated or intact rats increased serum beta-cas-LI above basal values. In conclusion, these results showed, for the first time, the presence in male rat serum and tissues of a beta-casein immunoreactive-like substance. Moreover, this beta-cas-LI seemed to be under pituitary and gonad regulation.