Search results for "Small"

Label-free piezoelectric biosensor for prognosis and diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

2017

[EN] An autoantigen piezoelectric sensor to quantify specific circulating autoantibodies in human serum is developed. The sensor consisted on a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) where TRIM21 and TROVE2 autoantigens were covalently immobilized, allowing the selective determination of autoantibodies for diagnosis and prognosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). The sensitivity of the biosensor, measured as IC50 value, was 1.51 U/mL and 0.32 U/mL, for anti-TRIM21 and anti-TROVE2 circulating autoantibodies, respectively. The sensor is also able to establish a structural interaction fingerprint pattern or profile of circulating autoantibodies, what allows scorin…

Ferroelectric polysiloxane liquid crystals with ‘de Vries’-type smectic A*–smectic C* transitions

2004

We report preliminary results of optical and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments on the smectic A*−smectic C* transition in two ferroelectric liquid crystalline polysiloxanes. Although the optical tilt angle in the SmC* phases reaches values up to 30°, temperature-dependent SAXS measurements clearly reveal that the smectic layer spacing is basically conserved during the A*–C* transition as well as in the subsequent C* phase. Connected with the A*–C* transition we further observed a significant increase in birefringence, hence reflecting an increase of orientational order. The practical absence of layer shrinkage and the enhanced orientational ordering are consistent with the de …

Six Sigma in small- and medium-sized enterprises: a Black Belt project in the Swedish steel industry

2014

Many big companies around the world have solid Six Sigma infrastructures and it is easy to find in literature successful case studies. Conversely, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generally suffer lower attention in the literature. This happens because SMEs have only recently approached the methodology; they have weaker connection with the academia; or they do not rigorously pursue the frameworks. This paper is based on a Six Sigma project in a Swedish medium-sized company that produces steel tubes mainly for hydraulic applications. The project focused on the improvement of warehouse activities related to cutting processes. This Black Belt project was part of a Six Sigma education …

Small, dense low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are predictors of cardio- and cerebro-vascular events in subjects with the metabolic syndrome

2009

Summary Objective  Small, dense low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are a feature of the metabolic syndrome (MS) but their predictive role still remains to be established. We performed a 2-year follow-up study in 124 subjects with MS (63 ± 6 years), as defined by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute guidelines, to assess clinical and biochemical predictors of cerebro- and cardio-vascular events. Methods and results  Beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors, we measured LDL size and subclasses by gradient gel electrophoresis. Clinical events were registered in the 25% of subjects. At univariate analysis subjects with events had increased prevalence of elev…

803 Effects of high dose furosemide and small-volume hypertonic saline solution infusion in comparison with a high dose of furosemide as bolus, in re…

2003

Further studies on the AB0-typing of ancient bones

1972

This paper deals with the AB0-typing of bone material from the 14th century. From 151 femora, 126 gave a positive reaction, the rest did not react at all. 53.9% A, 16.7% B, 23.8% H and 5.6% AB are the respective results. Some hypotheses suggesting relations between infectious diseases and AB0 blood groups are discussed. The AB0 distribution seems to point to an association with plague and smallpox.

Orientational glass behaviour of K Br0.96(CN)0.04

1981

Ultrasonic measurements on the mixed crystal K Br0.96(CN)0.04 show a minimum of most of the elastic constants at 16 K. In addition we determinedc11(T) at 10 MHz and at 50 MHz observing dispersion effects. These results and previous Brillouin and neutron scattering results of other authors on higher CN-concentrations are interpreted by an orientational glass behaviour. A semiquantitative description is given in terms of the mean random field approximation.

Spatial distribution of brucellosis in sheep and goats in Sicily from 2001 to 2005

2007

Spatial analysis is making an increasingly important contribution to surveillance measures due to its ability to enable immediate visualization of information on the phenomenon studied. The authors describe the spatial distribution of prevalence and incidence of brucellosis in small ruminants in Sicily between 2001 and 2005. the study was conducted by integrating geografic information system (GIS)tecnology (MapInfo Professional 7.0) with SaTscan software to the perform an epidemiological analysis of the municipalities and to locate problem areas. A comparison between the thematic maps produced for brucellosis in small ruminants on the basis of prevalence and incidence data for each individu…

The CFTR associated protein CAP70 interacts with the apical Cl-/HCO3- exchanger DRA in rabbit small intestinal mucosa.

2005

DRA (down regulated in adenoma) is an intestinal anion exchanger, acting in parallel with NHE3 to facilitate ileal and colonic NaCl absorption. Furthermore it is involved in small intestinal bicarbonate secretion. Because DRA has a PDZ interaction motif, which may influence its properties, we searched for DRA-interacting PDZ adapter proteins in the small intestine. Using an overlay assay with the recombinant DRA C-terminus as a ligand, a 70 kDa protein was labeled, which was restricted to the brush border membrane in rabbit duodenal and ileal mucosa and was not detected in the colon. Destruction of the C-terminal PDZ interaction motif abolished this band, suggesting a specific protein-prote…

Enterprise Start-Up in the Euro-Mediterranean Area. The case-study of Mazara Del Vallo’s Fishing District and Consortium

2016

Over the last twenty years, the European Union’s policies aiming to foster the entrepreneurship in the Euro-Mediterranean countries have failed. The theoretical model underlying these policies is inconsistent with the characteristics of the entrepreneurial ecosystems of these countries.Since no enterprise can survive in the long run if it has inconsistent characters with the ecosystem in which it operates, in Euro-Mediterranean countries it is necessary to adopt a specific theoretical model on start-up business, different from the one described by the international literature. The fundamental principles of this theoretical model therefore must be drawn from the common characteristics of suc…