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This study develops bagasse fiber (BGSEF) reinforced chemically functionalized polystyrene (CF-PS) composites (BGSEF/CF-PS) using CF-PS as a matrix, that has higher amount of functionality and requires processing upto 210°C. BGSEF/CF-PS have been processed by extrusion and injection moulding, retaining the stability of the thermally sensitive BGSEF. Relative to the CF-PS, all the BGSEF/CF-PS composite compositions show higher tensile and flexural properties, that increase with increasingly higher amounts of BGSEF in them. Relative to the CF-PS, the 10/90, 20/80 and 30/70 BGSEF/CF-PS composites show approx. 9.5%, 45% and 63% higher tensile strength, approx. 19%, 31% and 45% higher tensile modulus and approx. 20.5%, 22%, and 23% lower tensile elongation at break respectively, and show approx. 5%, 10%, and 16% higher flexural strength respectively, and approx. 6.5%, 16%, and 24% higher flexural modulus respectively. Upon water absorption saturation, the tensile and flexural properties of the wet composites decrease, relative to the dry composites. Adhesion between BGSEF and CF-PS in the composites, results from ester bonds and hydrogen bonds. The composites are thermally stable upto 290°C. These BGSEF/CF-PS composites by Palsule process show better performance than the BGSEF/PS composites by fiber treatment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAr) as a contributor to maladaptive neuroplasticity underlying the maintenance of chronic pain is well established. Agmatine, an NMDAr antagonist, has been shown to reverse tactile hypersensitivity in rodent models of neuropathic pain while lacking the side effects characteristic of global NMDAr antagonism, including sedation and motor impairment, indicating a likely subunit specificity of agmatine's NMDAr inhibition. The present study assessed whether agmatine inhibits subunit-specific NMDAr-mediated current in the dorsal horn of mouse spinal cord slices. We isolated NMDAr-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in small lamina II dorsal horn neurons evoked by optogenetic stimulation of Nav1.8-containing nociceptive afferents. We determined that agmatine abbreviated the amplitude, duration, and decay constant of NMDAr-mediated EPSCs similarly to the application of the GluN2B antagonist ifenprodil. In addition, we developed a site-specific knockdown of the GluN2B subunit of the NMDAr. We assessed whether agmatine and ifenprodil were able to inhibit NMDAr-mediated current in the spinal cord dorsal horn of mice lacking the GluN2B subunit of the NMDAr by analysis of electrically evoked EPSCs. In control mouse spinal cord, agmatine and ifenprodil both inhibited amplitude and accelerated the decay kinetics. However, agmatine and ifenprodil failed to attenuate the decay kinetics of NMDAr-mediated EPSCs in the GluN2B-knockdown mouse spinal cord. The present study indicates that agmatine preferentially antagonizes GluN2B-containing NMDArs in mouse dorsal horn neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enteric adenoviruses are important etiological agents associated with sporadic infections and outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis in infants and children. Fecal samples were collected from 439 hospitalized patients in the years 2005-2007 from Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur cities of western India to identify the most prevalent strains of enteric adenoviruses. The viruses were detected by PCR and characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The prevalence of enteric adenoviruses in patients from Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur was found to be 9% (10/111), 7% (7/100), and 7.5% (17/228), respectively. Sequence based analysis of the partial hexon and/or fiber genes showed the presence of adenovirus serotypes 40, 41, and 31 and variations at the subgenus and strain level. Phylogenetic analysis of the adenovirus strains indicated 98-100% homology with adenovirus 40 of the UK, 96-99% with adenovirus 41 of the USA and 94-100% with adenovirus 31 of Austria. The study indicates circulation of enteric adenovirus serotypes 40 and 41 with an unreported serotype 31 in sporadic cases of gastroenteritis. This is the first report from India on the association of enteric adenoviruses with acute gastroenteritis. J. Med. Virol. 81:60-64, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory studies of virus aerosols have been criticized for generating airborne viruses from artificial nebulizer suspensions (e.g., cell culture media), which do not mimic the natural release of viruses (e.g., from human saliva). The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of human saliva on the infectivity and survival of airborne virus and to compare it with those of artificial saliva and cell culture medium. A stock of MS2 bacteriophage was diluted in one of three nebulizer suspensions, aerosolized, size selected (100 to 450 nm) using a differential mobility analyzer, and collected onto gelatin filters. Uranine was used as a particle tracer. The resulting particle size distribution was measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer. The amounts of infectious virus, total virus, and fluorescence in the collected samples were determined by infectivity assays, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), and spectrofluorometry, respectively. For all nebulizer suspensions, the virus content generally followed a particle volume distribution rather than a number distribution. The survival of airborne MS2 was independent of particle size but was strongly affected by the type of nebulizer suspension. Human saliva was found to be much less protective than cell culture medium (i.e., 3% tryptic soy broth) and artificial saliva. These results indicate the need for caution when extrapolating laboratory results, which often use artificial nebulizer suspensions. To better assess the risk of airborne transmission of viral diseases in real-life situations, the use of natural suspensions such as saliva or respiratory mucus is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]