Comparison of T1-weighted in- and out-of-phase single shot magnetization-prepared gradient-recalled-echo with three-dimensional gradient-recalled-echo at 3.0 Tesla: preliminary observations in abdominal studies.

Purpose: To describe in-phase (IP)/out-of-phase (OP) imaging with single shot magnetization-prepared gradient-recalled-echo (MP-GRE) and to compare intra-individually IP/OP MP-GRE with IP/OP three-dimensional gradient-recalled-echo (3D-GRE) at 3.0 Tesla (T).

Materials And Methods: Thirty-six subjects (15 males, 21 females; mean age 46.

Insights into hydrogen bonding and stacking interactions in cellulose.

In this quantum chemical study, we explore hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) and stacking interactions in different crystalline cellulose allomorphs; namely, cellulose I(β) and cellulose III(I). We consider a model system representing a cellulose crystalline core made from six cellobiose units arranged in three layers with two chains per layer. We calculate the contributions of intrasheet and intersheet interactions to the structure and stability in both cellulose I(β) and cellulose III(I) crystalline cores.

Self-care ability among home-dwelling older people in rural areas in southern Norway.

Introduction: The growing number of older people is assumed to represent many challenges in the future. Self-care ability is a crucial health resource in older people and may be a decisive factor for older people managing daily life in their own homes. Studies have shown that self-care ability is closely related to perceived health, sense of coherence and nutritional risk.

Effectiveness of a three-dimensional dual gradient echo two-point Dixon technique for the characterization of adrenal lesions at 3 Tesla.

Objective: To compare the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of fat-only datasets reconstructed using a two-point Dixon technique, with corresponding opposed-phase (OP) and in-phase (IP) datasets for characterization of adrenal lesions at 3 Tesla (T).

Methods: Fifty-nine patients (21 male, 38 female) with 66 adrenal lesions (49 adenomas, 17 nonadenomas) underwent 3D dual gradient-echo 3-T adrenal MR imaging with reconstruction of OP/IP and fat/water datasets. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were compared between OP/IP datasets, using the signal intensity index (SII), and fat/water datasets, using the fat fraction and fat ratio.

Process and technoeconomic analysis of leading pretreatment technologies for lignocellulosic ethanol production using switchgrass.

Six biomass pretreatment processes to convert switchgrass to fermentable sugars and ultimately to cellulosic ethanol are compared on a consistent basis in this technoeconomic analysis. The six pretreatment processes are ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), dilute acid (DA), lime, liquid hot water (LHW), soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA), and sulfur dioxide-impregnated steam explosion (SO(2)). Each pretreatment process is modeled in the framework of an existing biochemical design model so that systematic variations of process-related changes are consistently captured.

Free-breathing 3D T1-weighted gradient-echo sequence with radial data sampling in abdominal MRI: preliminary observations.

Objective: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of a free-breathing 3D gradient-recalled echo sequence with radial data sampling (radial 3D GRE) in abdominal MRI compared with a standard 3D GRE volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) sequence for imaging of cooperative patients and to perform a preliminary assessment in imaging of noncooperative patients.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-five consecutively registered patients who underwent unenhanced and contrast-enhanced abdominal MRI with the free-breathing radial 3D GRE technique constituted the study population. Two readers independently and blindly evaluated the images.

Comparative data on effects of leading pretreatments and enzyme loadings and formulations on sugar yields from different switchgrass sources.

Dilute sulfuric acid (DA), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), liquid hot water (LHW), soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA), ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), and lime pretreatments were applied to Alamo, Dacotah, and Shawnee switchgrass. Application of the same analytical methods and material balance approaches facilitated meaningful comparisons of glucose and xylose yields from combined pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Use of a common supply of cellulase, beta-glucosidase, and xylanase also eased comparisons.

Comparative genomics of xylose-fermenting fungi for enhanced biofuel production.

Cellulosic biomass is an abundant and underused substrate for biofuel production. The inability of many microbes to metabolize the pentose sugars abundant within hemicellulose creates specific challenges for microbial biofuel production from cellulosic material. Although engineered strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can use the pentose xylose, the fermentative capacity pales in comparison with glucose, limiting the economic feasibility of industrial fermentations.

Characterization of adrenal lesions with 1.5-T MRI: preliminary observations on comparison of three in-phase and out-of-phase gradient-echo techniques.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to use previously described quantitative evaluation methods to compare the performance of 3D gradient-recalled echo (GRE) and magnetization-prepared (MP) GRE in-phase and out-of phase sequences with standard 2D GRE technique in the characterization of adrenal lesions.

Materials And Methods: The study sample consisted of 44 consecutively registered patients (22 men, 22 women; mean age, 59.1 ± 11.

Comparative study on enzymatic digestibility of switchgrass varieties and harvests processed by leading pretreatment technologies.

Feedstock quality of switchgrass for biofuel production depends on many factors such as morphological types, geographic origins, maturity, environmental and cultivation parameters, and storage. We report variability in compositions and enzymatic digestion efficiencies for three cultivars of switchgrass (Alamo, Dacotah and Shawnee), grown and harvested at different locations and seasons. Saccharification yields of switchgrass processed by different pretreatment technologies (AFEX, dilute sulfuric acid, liquid hot water, lime, and soaking in aqueous ammonia) are compared in regards to switchgrass genotypes and harvest seasons.

Probing the early events associated with liquid ammonia pretreatment of native crystalline cellulose.

Various chemicals are being explored for catalyzing efficient lignocellulose deconstruction. In particular, when liquid ammonia is used to convert the naturally occurring cellulose crystalline phase I(β), to cellulose III(I), the rearrangement of the hydrogen bond network in cellulose III(I) results in enhanced hydrolysis yields. We use molecular dynamics simulations to analyze the interaction between a cellulose I(β) fibril and ammonia.

A requirement for the p85 PI3K adapter protein BCAP in the protection of macrophages from apoptosis induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Macrophages are innate immune cells that play key roles in regulation of the immune response and in tissue injury and repair. In response to specific innate immune stimuli, macrophages may exhibit signs of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and progress to apoptosis. Factors that regulate macrophage survival under these conditions are poorly understood.

Conversion for Avicel and AFEX pretreated corn stover by Clostridium thermocellum and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation: insights into microbial conversion of pretreated cellulosic biomass.

In this study, efforts were taken to compare solubilization of Avicel and AFEX pretreated corn stover (AFEX CS) by SSF and Clostridium thermocellum fermentation, with an aim to gain insights into microbial conversion of pretreated cellulosic biomass. Solubilization rates for AFEX CS are comparable for the two systems while solubilization of Avicel is much faster by C. thermocellum.

Proteomics-based compositional analysis of complex cellulase-hemicellulase mixtures.

Efficient deconstruction of cellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars for fuel and chemical production is accomplished by a complex mixture of cellulases, hemicellulases, and accessory enzymes (e.g., >50 extracellular proteins).

The SCIRehab project: treatment time spent in SCI rehabilitation. Speech-language pathology treatment time during inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation: the SCIRehab project.

Background/objective: Following spinal cord injury (SCI), speech-language pathologists (SLPs) perform assessments and provide treatment for swallowing, motor speech, voice, and cognitive-communication disorders that result from the SCI and/or co-occurring brain injuries. This paper describes the nature and distribution of speech-language pathology (SLP) activities delivered during inpatient SCI rehabilitation and discusses predictors (patient and injury characteristics) of the amount of time spent in specific SLP treatment activities.

Methods: Six rehabilitation centers enrolled 600 patients with traumatic SCI for an observational study of acute inpatient rehabilitation treatment (SCIRehab).

WITHDRAWN: Comparative Data on Effects of Leading Pretreatments and Enzyme Loadings and Formulations on Sugar Yields from Different Switchgrass Sources.

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.

Restructuring the crystalline cellulose hydrogen bond network enhances its depolymerization rate.

Conversion of lignocellulose to biofuels is partly inefficient due to the deleterious impact of cellulose crystallinity on enzymatic saccharification. We demonstrate how the synergistic activity of cellulases was enhanced by altering the hydrogen bond network within crystalline cellulose fibrils. We provide a molecular-scale explanation of these phenomena through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and enzymatic assays.

Application of cellulase and hemicellulase to pure xylan, pure cellulose, and switchgrass solids from leading pretreatments.

Accellerase 1000 cellulase, Spezyme CP cellulase, β-glucosidase, Multifect xylanase, and beta-xylosidase were evaluated for hydrolysis of pure cellulose, pure xylan, and switchgrass solids from leading pretreatments of dilute sulfuric acid, sulfur dioxide, liquid hot water, lime, soaking in aqueous ammonia, and ammonia fiber expansion. Distinctive sugar release patterns were observed from Avicel, phosphoric acid swollen cellulose (PASC), xylan, and pretreated switchgrass solids, with accumulation of significant amounts of xylooligomers during xylan hydrolysis. The strong inhibition of cellulose hydrolysis by xylooligomers could be partially attributed to the negative impact of xylooligomers on cellulase adsorption.

Comparison of a single shot T1-weighted in- and out-of-phase magnetization prepared gradient recalled echo with a standard two-dimensional gradient recalled echo: preliminary findings.

Purpose: To compare in-phase (IP)/out-of-phase (OP) single shot magnetization-prepared gradient-recalled-echo (MP-GRE) with a standard two-dimensional gradient-recalled-echo (2D-GRE), and to compare image quality of MP-GRE in cooperative and noncooperative subjects.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-six consecutive subjects (52 males, 44 females; mean age, 53.2 ± 16.

Surface and ultrastructural characterization of raw and pretreated switchgrass.

The US Department of Energy-funded Biomass Refining CAFI (Consortium for Applied Fundamentals and Innovation) project has developed leading pretreatment technologies for application to switchgrass and has evaluated their effectiveness in recovering sugars from the coupled operations of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Key chemical and physical characteristics have been determined for pretreated switchgrass samples. Several analytical microscopy approaches utilizing instruments in the Biomass Surface Characterization Laboratory (BSCL) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have been applied to untreated and CAFI-pretreated switchgrass samples.

Influence of physico-chemical changes on enzymatic digestibility of ionic liquid and AFEX pretreated corn stover.

Ionic liquid (IL) and ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX) pretreatments were studied to develop the first direct side-by-side comparative assessment on their respective impacts on biomass structure, composition, process mass balance, and enzymatic saccharification efficiency. AFEX pretreatment completely preserves plant carbohydrates, whereas IL pretreatment extracts 76% of hemicellulose. In contrast to AFEX, the native crystal structure of the recovered corn stover from IL pretreatment was significantly disrupted.

Comparative material balances around pretreatment technologies for the conversion of switchgrass to soluble sugars.

For this project, six chemical pretreatments were compared for the Consortium for Applied Fundamentals and Innovation (CAFI): ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), dilute sulfuric acid (DA), lime, liquid hot water (LHW), soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA), and sulfur dioxide (SO(2)). For each pretreatment, a material balance was analyzed around the pretreatment, optional post-washing step, and enzymatic hydrolysis of Dacotah switchgrass. All pretreatments+enzymatic hydrolysis solubilized over two-thirds of the available glucan and xylan.