Plasma Supported Deposition of Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon (a-C:H) on Polyamide 6: Determining Interlayer Completion and Dehydrogenation Effects during Layer Growth.

Polyamide 6 (PA6) is a commonly used material in many different sectors of modern industry. Herein, PA6 samples were coated with amorphous carbon layers (a-C:H) with increasing thickness up to 2 µm using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for surface adjustment. The morphology of the carbon coatings was inspected by ex situ atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Comparing the Influence of Residual Stress on Composite Materials Made of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon (a-C:H) Layers: Differences Caused by Single Side and Full Substrate Film Attachment during Plasma Coating.

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a bio-based, biodegradable and commercially used polymer, which in its native form is unfortunately not generally applicable. A widely used technique to adapt polymers to a wider range of applications is the surface modification with amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) layers, realized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD). However, this process creates intrinsic stress in the layer-polymer system which can even lead to full layer failure.

Refinement of Sustainable Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT) with Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon Films (a-C:H) Revealing Film Instabilities Influenced by a Thickness-Dependent Change of sp/sp Ratio.

The increasing use of polymers is related to a growing disposal problem. Switching to biodegradable polymers such as polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) is a feasible possibility, but after industrial production of commercially available material PBAT is not suitable for every application. Therefore, surface refinements with amorphous hydrogenated carbon films (a-C:H) produced by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) changing the top layer characteristics are used.

Must We Embody Context?

The essays in this forum brace this meditation on the historiography of technology. Understanding devices incorporates the context of any particular hardware, as John Staudenmaier showed by quantifying the contents of the first decades of Technology and Culture. As contextualist approaches have widened from systems theory through social construction and into the assemblages of actor-network theory, the discipline has kept artifacts at the analytical center: it is the history of technology that scholars seek to understand.

Inferiority of IL-2 alone versus IL-2 with HAART in maintaining CD4 T cell counts during HAART interruption: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate whether interleukin (IL)-2 in patients with chronic HIV infection can maintain CD4 T cell counts during 6 months of HAART interruption.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label phase II noninferiority trial comparing IL-2 with HAART interruption or continuous HAART.

Methods: Forty-one IL-2-experienced (three or more prior cycles) HIV-1-infected adults with CD4 cell count at least 500 cells/microl were randomized in the ratio 2: 1 to interrupted (I = 27) or continuous (C = 14) HAART for 6 months following an initial IL-2 cycle.

The effect of continuous versus pericycle antiretroviral therapy on IL-2 responsiveness.

Background: Intermittent administration of interleukin-2 (IL-2) to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is capable of inducing significant increases in CD4 T cell counts as a result of increased T cell survival and decreased cell turnover. However, its role in the setting of ART interruptions (STI) is less well characterized. We sought to compare the effect of continuous (C) versus intermittent (P) ART on CD4 responses in patients undergoing IL-2 therapy.

Paradox of precision: bright tobacco as technology of transfer, 1880-1937.

This article compares two episodes of technology transfer in the 1890s: the movement of bright tobacco production technology to south-central Africa with the spread of the crop to eastern North Carolina and South Carolina. It finds similarities in the people who introduced the crop, but significant differences in the methods used to produce it. This is troubling because the type is defined by the cultivation and especially the curing techniques used to produce it; it is also often described in the historical literature as "Virginia tobacco," even when grown elsewhere.

Fluorodeoxyglucose imaging in healthy subjects with HIV infection: impact of disease stage and therapy on pattern of nodal activation.

Objectives: Nodal uptake in areas of lymphocyte activation can be visualized using fluorodeoxyglucose. Various patterns of fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation in HIV-positive patients have been described previously and hypothesized potentially to represent regions of active HIV replication or nodal activation. We evaluated the utility of fluorodeoxyglucose scanning as a tool to study HIV pathogenesis.

Fluorodeoxyglucose imaging in healthy subjects with HIV infection: impact of disease stage and therapy on pattern of nodal activation.

Objectives: Nodal uptake in areas of lymphocyte activation can be visualized using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Various patterns of FDG accumulation in HIV-positive subjects have been described previously and hypothesized to potentially represent regions of active HIV replication and or nodal activation. We evaluated the utility of FDG scanning as a tool to study HIV pathogenesis.

Interruption of antiretroviral therapy blunts but does not abrogate CD4 T-cell responses to interleukin-2 administration in HIV infected patients.

Background: Intermittent administration of interleukin (IL)-2 to HIV infected patients leads to CD4 T-cell expansions that are associated with decreased CD4 T-cell turnover. IL-2 is under evaluation in antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption studies, but it is unclear how the emergence of viremia may affect CD4 expansions.

Methods: CD4 T-cell responses were evaluated in 27 HIV infected patients on long-term intermittent IL-2 therapy who underwent ART interruption immediately after an IL-2 cycle ('IL-2/off') and compared with responses from a previous IL-2 cycle while on continuous ART ('IL-2/on').

Prolonged oral hydroxyurea and concurrent 3d-conformal radiation in patients with progressive or recurrent meningioma: results of a pilot study.

Purpose: Treatment of recurrent and progressive meningiomas remains a challenge in clinical neurooncology. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of the simultaneous application of 3d-conformal radiotherapy and chemotherapy with hydroxyurea (HU).

Patients And Methods: Twenty-one patients with recurrent or progressive meningiomas (13 benign, 4 atypical and malignant, 4 with unproven histology) received treatment by fractionated 3d-conformal radiation (55.

In vivo expansion of CD4CD45RO-CD25 T cells expressing foxP3 in IL-2-treated HIV-infected patients.

Administration of IL-2 to HIV-infected patients leads to expansion of a unique subset of CD4CD45ROCD25 cells. In this study, the origin, clonality, and function of these cells were investigated. Analysis of TCR excision circles revealed that the CD4CD45ROCD25 cells were the product of peripheral expansion but remained polyclonal as determined by TCR repertoire analysis.

Induction and maintenance therapy with intermittent interleukin-2 in HIV-1 infection.

Studies establishing that intermittent subcutaneous interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy can lead to substantial CD4 cell increases in many HIV-infected patients have generally been of limited duration. We studied 77 patients participating in active longitudinal studies of subcutaneous IL-2 therapy at our center in order to determine the long-term feasibility of this approach. Following initial induction, patients in each trial were eligible to receive intermittent 5-day cycles of subcutaneous IL-2 treatment at individualized doses and frequencies capable of maintaining CD4 counts at postinduction levels.

A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of intermittent administration of interleukin-2 and prednisone in subjects infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Intermittent administration of interleukin (IL)-2 produces significant and sustained increases in CD4(+) T lymphocyte count in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects but can be associated with dose-limiting toxicities. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether concomitant administration of prednisone could decrease these toxicities. HIV-seropositive adults receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were randomized to receive either (1) intermittent subcutaneous IL-2 and placebo, (2) intermittent subcutaneous IL-2 and prednisone, (3) intermittent prednisone, or (4) intermittent placebo.

Long-term effects of intermittent interleukin 2 therapy in patients with HIV infection: characterization of a novel subset of CD4(+)/CD25(+) T cells.

The long-term immunologic effects of intermittent interleukin 2 (IL-2) therapy were evaluated in a cross-sectional study by comparing 3 groups: HIV-seronegative volunteers, HIV-infected (HIV(+)) patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), and HIV(+) patients receiving HAART and intermittent IL-2. Whole-blood immunophenotyping was performed to study expression of the IL-2 receptor chains on T lymphocytes and natural killer cells and to further characterize CD4(+)/CD25(+) T cells. Increased CD25 expression, especially in CD4(+) T cells but also in CD8(+) T cells, without increases in expression of the beta and gamma chains of the IL-2 receptor was detected in the IL-2 group.