A simple approach for synthesis, characterization and bioactivity of bovine bones to fabricate the polyurethane nanofiber containing hydroxyapatite nanoparticles.

In the present study, we had introduced polyurethane (PU) nanofibers that contain hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles (NPs) as a result of an electrospinning process. A simple method that does not depend on additional foreign chemicals had been employed to synthesize HAp NPs through the calcination of bovine bones. Typically, a colloidal gel consisting of HAp/PU had been electrospun to form nanofibers.

Ultrasound-assisted aza-Michael reaction in water: a green procedure.

The conjugate addition of amines to conjugated alkenes (commonly known as aza-Michael reaction) constitutes a key step for the synthesis of various complex natural products, antibiotics, α-amino alcohols and chiral auxiliaries. Ultrasound-induced addition of several amines to α, β-unsaturated ketones, esters and nitriles has been carried out very efficiently in water as well as under solvent-free conditions. No catalysts or solid supports have been used in this method.

Adolescent health literacy: the importance of credible sources for online health information.

Background: Little research has examined adolescent health literacy and its relationship with online health information sources. The purpose of this study is to explore health literacy among a predominantly Hispanic adolescent population and to investigate whether exposure to a credible source of online health information, MedlinePlus(®), is associated with higher levels of health literacy.

Methods: An online survey was administered to a cross-sectional random sample of high school students in South Texas.

Fabrication of Mineralized Collagen from Bovine Waste Materials by Hydrothermal Method as Promised Biomaterials.

In the present study, we aimed to produce mineralized-collagen by hydrothermal process. A simple method not depending on additional foreign chemicals has been employed to isolate the mineralized-collagen fibers from bovine waste. The process of extraction involves the use of hydrothermal method from available bovine bones.

Electrorheological analysis of colloidal dispersions of aluminum oxide and silicone oil.

The electrorheological properties of colloidal dispersions of aluminum oxide nanotubes and nanoparticles in silicone oil were investigated. The shear storage modulus of colloidal dispersions containing 5 wt% of aluminum oxide nanotubes increased by four orders of magnitude upon the application of an external electric field of as low as 400 V/mm. The storage modulus of the nanotube systems increased further by increasing the concentration of nanotubes.

Multiphase modeling study for storm water solids treatment in experimental storm water settling chamber.

This study tests four different types of multiphase models to determine the most appropriate model for predicting the behaviors of various types of storm water solids in a settling chamber. The Lagrangian reference frame discrete phase models of uncoupled and coupled models based on the interaction between the discrete phase and the continuous phase were tested. The rigid moving objects model providing six degrees of freedom particle motion was also tested to model non-spherical particle motion.

Changes in trace metals in Thalassia testudinum after hurricane impacts.

Major hurricanes Emily and Wilma hit the Mexican Caribbean in 2005. Changes in trace metals in the seagrass Thalassia testudinum prior to (May 2004, 2005) and following passage of these hurricanes (May, June 2006) were determined at four locations along a ≈ 130 km long stretch of coast. Before the hurricanes, essential metals were likely limiting and concentrations of potentially toxic Pb were high in a contaminated lagoon (27.

Acculturation and cross-border utilization of health services.

Health services from Mexico constitute an important source of care for U.S. residents living along the U.

Synthesis and characterization of poly(butylene oxide) grafted carbon nanofibers.

The grafting of polybutylene oxide onto purified and functionalized carbon nanofibers is reported. Grafting was possible after the insertion of 2-(formyloxy)ethyl 2-bromo-2-methylpropanoate onto the carbon nanofibers. The polymerization of tetrahydrofuran was mediated by copper(I) bromide and 1,1,4,7-pentamethyl diethylenetriamine.

Polypocephalus sp. infects the nervous system and increases activity of commercially harvested white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus).

Larval tapeworms (Polypocephalus sp.) reside within the central nervous system of decapod crustaceans. Living within the nervous system would seem to create an excellent opportunity for the parasites to manipulate the behavior of their hosts, so we tested the hypothesis that behavior of white shrimp ( Litopenaeus setiferus ) would be correlated with the level of parasitic infection.

Asymmetric synthesis of anticancer β-lactams via Staudinger reaction.

This study describes the symmetric synthesis of novel β-lactams derived from chrysene directed towards their SAR, as well as their biological activities against several cancer cell lines in vitro. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis and biological evaluation of optically active anticancer β-lactams. That these anticancer effects are not uniform against all tumor lines suggests that the target of the action of these compounds is highly specific.

Chemoenzymatic preparation of intermediates for the taxol side chain and analogs.

In the present study, optically active cis and trans α-hydroxy-β-lactams were prepared by Baker's yeast reduction of a racemic α-keto-β-lactam and by the hydrolysis of a racemic α-acetoxy β-lactam with the resting cells of Bacillus Subtilis.

Selective anticancer activity of β-lactams derived from polyaromatic compound.

Currently available anticancer drugs are cytotoxic to normal as well as to neoplastic cells, therefore the synthesis of β-lactams as new and novel anticancer agents is extremely significant. We previously developed synthetic methods for the preparation of β-lactams and anticancer agents resulting from polyaromatic amines. There have also been reports on the synthesis and biological evaluation of novel racemic β-lactams as anticancer agents.

Fabrication of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) Nanofibers Containing Nickel Nanoparticles as Future Energy Server Materials.

In the present study, we introduce Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers containing nickel (Ni) nanoparticles (NPs) as a result of an electrospinning. Typically, a colloidal solution consisting of PVDF/Ni NPs was prepared to produce nanofibers embedded with solid NPs by electrospinning process. The resultant nanostructures were studied by SEM analyses, which confirmed well oriented nanofibers and good dispersion of Ni NPs over them.

The role of disgust propensity in blood-injection-injury phobia: comparisons between Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans.

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting the potential role of disgust propensity in blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia. The current study examined associations between disgust propensity and BII phobia symptom severity in Caucasian Americans (n=310) and Asian Americans (n=223). Asian Americans typically scored higher than Caucasian Americans on the BII and disgust measures.

Parasporins from a Caribbean Island: evidence for a globally dispersed Bacillus thuringiensis strain.

Parasporins represent a new functional class of Cry (crystal protein) toxins produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Unlike Cry toxins that demonstrate activity mainly against some insect cells, parasporins are characterized as being non-hemolytic, yet capable of preferentially killing some human cancer cells. Globally, six different parasporin types, PS1-PS6, based on protein sequence homology, have been identified in only four countries (Japan, Vietnam, India, and Canada).

Trends in the use of complementary and alternative medicine in the United States: 2002-2007.

In this study we seek to assess recent trends in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use based on a comparative analysis of data from the 2002 and 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The findings suggest that CAM use, in particular the use of provider-based CAM therapies such as chiropractic care, massage, and acupuncture, have grown significantly in the U.S.

Adolescent academic outcomes in school context: network effects reexamined.

This study examines the role of racial/ethnic segregation and peer effects in shaping educational achievement and attainment, using multi-level modeling on a nationally representative sample of adolescents. As in many prior studies, school socioeconomic composition was a significant predictor of achievement and attainment for students of all racial/ethnic groups. Educational attainment was negatively affected by the concentration of low-income students.

Dissipation scales and anomalous sinks in steady two-dimensional turbulence.

In previous papers I have argued that the fusion rules hypothesis, which was originally introduced by L'vov and Procaccia in the context of the problem of three-dimensional turbulence, can be used to gain a deeper insight in understanding the enstrophy cascade and inverse energy cascade of two-dimensional turbulence. In the present paper, we show that the fusion rules hypothesis, combined with nonperturbative locality, itself a consequence of the fusion rules hypothesis, dictates the location of the boundary separating the inertial range from the dissipation range. In so doing, the hypothesis that there may be an anomalous enstrophy sink at small scales and an anomalous energy sink at large scales emerges as a consequence of the fusion rules hypothesis.

Cognitive impairment in common, noncentral nervous system medical conditions of adults and the elderly.

Common, noncentral nervous system medical conditions linked with cognitive impairment in adults and the elderly include: acute respiratory distress syndrome; cancer; chronic kidney disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; coronary heart disease; hypertension; obesity (bariatric surgical candidates); obstructive sleep apnea; and type 2 diabetes. Cross-condition comparison of the nature and frequency of cognitive impairment is difficult as these conditions often coexist, and there exists no consensus as to the definition of cognitive impairment, nor the optimal number and type of neuropsychological tests required for evaluation. There is as yet no clear evidence for condition-specific profiles of cognitive impairment.

The role of community health workers in combating type 2 diabetes in the rio grande valley.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the use of community health workers (CHWs, aka promotoras de salud in Spanish) in the control of type 2 diabetes (diabetes mellitus) in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Known from the literature as "a disease of the 21st century" and being the third leading cause of death in the United States, type 2 diabetes is a very common disease in the RGV because of its predominantly Mexican American population, a group genetically vulnerable to the disease. Unlike prior studies that examined the overall effectiveness of the CHW model, the authors used registered CHWs as primary diabetes educators.

Can associative information be strategically separated from item information in word-pair recognition?

Subjects learned word pairs either once or three times but were instructed to ignore the association of the two words in each pair and only to memorize the individual words at study and recognize them at test. The test word pairs included intact pairs, rearranged pairs made up of old words exchanged among the studied pairs, and new pairs consisting of one old and one new word. Subjects were instructed to respond yes to both intact and rearranged pairs and no to new pairs.

Cross-border utilization of health care: evidence from a population-based study in south Texas.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of health care utilization in Mexico by Texas border residents and to identify the main contributing factors to their cross-border utilization of health care services.

Data And Methods: This study used primary data from a population-based telephone survey that was conducted in the whole Texas border area in 2008. The survey included responses from 1,405 adults.

Spiritual integration predicts self-reported mental and physical health.

Data from 167 participants were used to establish the psychometric properties of the Reidhead spiritual integration scale, 31-item version (SI-31). Structural equation modeling was used to empirically evaluate influences on perceived health functioning, while accounting for possible confounds. The analyses showed that SI-31 predicted perceived mental and physical health while controlling for life satisfaction, religious variables, mood patterns, depression symptoms, and demographics.

Conscious and unconscious discriminations between true and false memories.

When subjects give higher confidence or memory ratings to a test word in a recognition test, do they simply raise their criterion without making better discrimination, or do they raise both criterion and true discrimination between the studied words (SW) and the lures? Given that previous studies found subjects' false alarm responses to lures slower than to SW, and recognition latency inversely correlated with the confidence rating, can the latency difference between the lures and SW be accounted for by confidence or memory ratings? The present results showed that when subjects gave higher confidence or memory ratings, both their bias and sensitivity were raised, indicating that they could consciously distinguish the lures from the SW. However, a latency difference between true and false recognitions persisted after confidence and memory ratings were held constant, suggesting an unconscious source of discrimination between the two types of memory.