SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “PRECIPITATION”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMed2000

Distribution of seizure precipitants among epilepsy syndromes.

PURPOSE: Previous studies of patient-reported seizure precipitants have not evaluated whether different epilepsy syndromes are differentially affected. METHODS: Patients of a tertiary-care epilepsy center were consecutively surveyed with the use of a standardized questionnaire that lists precipitants that might trigger or exacerbate seizures (alcohol, caffeine, fasting, fatigue, fever or illness, flashing lights, heat or humidity, menstrual cycle, sleep, sleep deprivation, emotional stress, unknown, or other). Patients were classified into epilepsy syndromes according to International League Against Epilepsy criteria. Age and gender within groups defined by major precipitants were compared. Pearson's correlation was performed to evaluate common patterns of precipitants. RESULTS: Of 400 patients, 62% cited at least one precipitant. In order of frequency, stress (30%), sleep deprivation (18%), sleep (14%), fever or illness (14%), and fatigue (13%) were noted by at least 10% of patients. Stress, fatigue, and sleep deprivation positively correlated, but sleep tended to negatively correlate with other major precipitants. Rankings of precipitants varied within epilepsy syndromes, with patients with temporal lobe epilepsy citing sleep infrequently compared with patients with other epilepsy syndromes. Menstrual effects were ranked highly within major precipitants among women over age 12 and were especially noted by women with temporal lobe epilepsy (28%). CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with epilepsy identify a precipitant that triggers or exacerbates seizures. The high correlation of stress, sleep deprivation, and fatigue suggests that they act through common mechanisms to worsen seizure control. Through identification of the effect of both endogenous and exogenous precipitants among syndromes, more research and counseling can be directed to specific precipitants.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Optimization of isopropanol and ammonium sulfate precipitation steps in the purification of plasmid DNA.

Large-scale processes used to manufacture grams of plasmid DNA (pDNA) should be cGMP compliant, economically feasible, and environmentally friendly. Alcohol and salt precipitation techniques are frequently used in plasmid DNA (pDNA) downstream processing, as concentration and prepurification steps, respectively. This work describes a study of a standard 2-propanol (IsopOH; 0.7 v/v) and ammonium sulfate (AS; 2.5 M) precipitation. When inserted in a full process, this tandem precipitation scheme represents a high economic and environmental impact due to the large amounts of the two precipitant agents and their environmental relevance. Thus, major goals of the study were the minimization of precipitants and the selection of the best operating conditions for high pDNA recovery and purity. The pDNA concentration in the starting Escherichia coli alkaline lysate strongly affected the efficiency of IsopOH precipitation as a concentration step. The results showed that although an IsopOH concentration of at least 0.6 (v/v) was required to maximize recovery when using lysates with less than 80 microg pDNA/mL, concentrations as low as 0.4 v/v could be used with more concentrated lysates (170 microg pDNA/mL). Following resuspension of pDNA pellets generated by 0.6 v/v IsopOH, precipitation at 4 degrees C with 2.4 M AS consistently resulted in recoveries higher than 80% and in removal of more than 90% of the impurities (essentially RNA). An experimental design further indicated that AS concentrations could be reduced down to 2.0 M, resulting in an acceptable purity (21-23%) without compromising recovery (84-86%). Plasmid recovery and purity after the sequential IsopOH/AS precipitation could be further improved by increasing the concentration factor (CF) upon IsopOH precipitation from 2 up to 25. Under these conditions, IsopOH and AS concentrations of 0.60 v/v and 1.6 M resulted in high recovery (approximately 100%) and purity (32%). In conclusion, it is possible to reduce substantially the mass of precipitation agents used without affecting recovery, if a small concession is made regarding purity. This directly translates into an improvement of the process economics and in a reduction of the environmental impact of the process.

2-Propanol↗

PubMed2003

Corneal ciprofloxacin precipitation during bacterial keratitis.

PURPOSE: To examine how age affects the risk of developing a white corneal precipitate during ciprofloxacin therapy for bacterial keratitis and to explore the effect of a white precipitate on rates of clinical improvement and cure. DESIGN: Prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study. METHODS: Occurrence of a white precipitate of the corneal surface was recorded among 624 patients with presumed bacterial keratitis who were treated with topical ciprofloxacin 0.3% solution or ointment. Relative risks of corneal precipitation were estimated from logistic regression for age categories and other clinical characteristics. The time-dependent effects of precipitate on rates of infection resolution and corneal reepithelialization were estimated by proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: Ninety-five (15.2%) patients developed a white corneal precipitate during ciprofloxacin therapy; 72 (75.8%) began within the first 3 days of treatment. Compared with those younger than 40 years old, patients aged 60 to 69 years had 2.8 (95% confidence limits [CL], 1.9, 3.9) times the risk of ciprofloxacin precipitation; patients 70 years and older had 3.7 (95% CL, 2.6, 5.0) times the risk. Median duration of the visible corneal precipitate was 8.5 days (90% decile, 32 days). Presence of ciprofloxacin precipitation did not significantly affect the time until therapeutic improvement (P =.09) but slowed the time until reepithelialization by 55% (95% CL 32%, 70%). CONCLUSIONS: Older patients treated with topical ciprofloxacin for bacterial keratitis have a higher risk of corneal deposition. A white precipitate apparently does not interfere with antibacterial therapeutic response but may delay epithelial healing of ulcerative keratitis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Improving the analysis of small precipitates in HSLA steels using a plasma cleaner and ELNES.

The change from producing high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel sheet by conventional thick slab casting to producing it by direct charged thin slab casting causes a major change in the evolution of the precipitation. A key area of interest is the composition of the sub-10nm precipitates used to produce dispersion hardening. Carbon extraction replicas are frequently used to study precipitates in steels and other metals. When used with annular dark field imaging, this technique gives high contrast images of the precipitates while the thin carbon film adds little background or additional characteristic signals to either electron energy loss spectra or energy dispersive X-ray spectra. The method has the additional major advantage of removing the ferromagnetic matrix when studying HSLA steels. However, when the precipitates contain carbon, the C K-edge is dominated by the contribution from the amorphous carbon film. A plasma cleaner can be used to thin this carbon film to approximately 0.5 nm or less and then the contribution from the carbon in the precipitate can be separated from that in the carbon film using the electron energy loss near edge structure. A similar approach can be taken to separate the oxygen content of the precipitate from that of oxides formed from low-level impurities in the amorphous carbon during the plasma thinning process. In most cases, the precipitate studied here contained little or no oxygen even for the smallest sizes examined (approximately 4 nm). The precipitates contain mainly nitrogen with little carbon. For some compositions, the precipitates are clearly sub-stoichiometric.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1995

Precipitation of insulinotropin in the presence of protamine: effect of phenol and zinc on the isophane ratio and the insulinotropin concentration in the supernatant.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the minimum quantity of protamine required for the completion of insulinotropin precipitation under different precipitation conditions. METHODS: The experiments involved combining insulinotropin with varying concentrations of protamine in pH 7.2 phosphate buffered saline and analyzing the concentrations of both proteins in the supernatant. Isophane ratio (the protamine/insulinotropin molar ratio that results in a minimum total protein concentration in the supernatant) was determined for different precipitation conditions. RESULTS: When neutral solutions of insulinotropin (pI 5.3) and protamine (pI 13.8) were combined, precipitation did not occur. However, in the presence of phenol and/or zinc, insulinotropin co-precipitated with protamine. In the presence of phenol, the isophane ratio and the insulinotropin concentration in the supernatant were determined to be 0.08 and 0.18 mg/ml, respectively. In the presence of zinc, the isophane ratio increased with zinc concentration, apparently from the precipitation of protamine in the presence of zinc. The isophane ratio and the insulinotropin concentration in the supernatant were 0.13 and 0.13 mg/ml, respectively, when the zinc/insulinotropin molar ratio was one. In the presence of phenol and zinc with the zinc/insulinotropin molar ratio of 1.0, the isophane ratio and the insulinotropin concentration in the supernatant were 0.11 and 1 microgram/ml, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A method to determine the isophane ratio of protamine/insulinotropin precipitation was developed to determine the minimum quantity of protamine required for the completion of insulinotropin precipitation under different precipitation conditions. A synergistic effect between phenol and zinc on the precipitation of insulinotropin in the presence of protamine was found.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Purification of gamma-crystallin from human lenses by acetone precipitation method.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to develop a new purification method for human lens gamma-crystallin by utilizing its unique property of remaining soluble during acetone precipitation of water soluble (WS) proteins. METHODS: The WS protein fractions from lenses of donors of different ages were precipitated with 50% acetone (v/v) and the supernatant and precipitated protein fractions were collected following centrifugation. Among lens crystallins, gamma-crystallin remained soluble (recovered in the supernatant following centrifugation) while other crystallins were precipitated. To determine the recovery of maximal levels of gamma-crystallin as soluble protein during acetone precipitation, the WS proteins were precipitated under different conditions, and both supernatant and precipitated fractions were quantified for proteins and analyzed by size-exclusion chromatographic and Western blot methods. Based on these results, a three-step purification procedure for gamma-crystallin was developed which consisted of acetone precipitation followed by preparative isoelectric focusing (IEF) and size-exclusion HPLC of the soluble fraction. RESULTS: During precipitation of WS proteins by 50% (v/v) acetone, only gamma-crystallin remained soluble. The identity of gamma-crystallin was based on its Mr of 20 kDa on SDS-PAGE, co-elution with lens homogenate gamma-crystallin during a size-exclusion Agarose chromatography, immunoreactivity with anti-gamma-crystallin antibody on a Western blot and an overlap of its partial N-terminal sequence with gammaC-crystallin. A three-step procedure, as described above, provided a highly purified preparation of gammaC-crystallin from the WS protein fraction. The three-step procedure was also utilized to recover a highly purified human lens recombinant gammaD-crystallin preparation from E. coli lysate. CONCLUSIONS: The unique property of human lens gamma-crystallin of remaining soluble during acetone precipitation can be utilized to purify this crystallin by a three-step procedure. This procedure is also applicable in the purification of recombinant gammaD-crystallin from E. coli lysate.

Acetone↗

PubMed2001

The application of calcium phosphate precipitation chemistry to phosphorus recovery: the influence of organic ligands.

This paper describes current knowledge of phosphate precipitation chemistry in the context of phosphorus recovery from wastewaters, and presents experimental results on the effect of organic species, as key potential inhibitors, to the precipitation of calcium phosphate. The supersaturation required for precipitation at 25 degrees C, pH 7, 0.1 M ionic strength and near-stoichiometric (for hydroxylapatite) calcium to phosphate molar ratio was determined under spontaneous precipitation conditions. The experiments were carried out in air. The phase precipitating at the critical concentration was allowed to grow under constant supersaturation. The influence of organic ligands on the precipitation was investigated using two small molecular weight organic ligands, acetate and citrate, present at a concentration of 10(-3) M. The precipitate was studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Good reproducibility of the experiments, which were carried out in triplicate, was observed. The study assessed the supersaturation necessary for spontaneous precipitation of hydroxylapatite to be 10.93, calculated using a solubility constant of log K= -57.74. The required supersaturation was not affected by the presence of acetate. However, citrate was found to increase the supersaturation required for precipitation to 11.73. It is likely that this increase is due to binding of citrate on the active growth sites of newly formed nuclei, thereby inhibiting precipitation. All experiments showed formation of a single phase: micro-crystalline hydroxylapatite.

Calcium Phosphates↗

PubMed2004

An in vitro study on the compatibility and precipitation of a combination of ciprofloxacin and vancomycin in human vitreous.

AIMS: To investigate the precipitation process of a mixture of vancomycin and ciprofloxacin by equilibrium dialysis and its subsequent effect on the level of available free antibiotics. METHODS: Concentrations of vancomycin and ciprofloxacin in an equilibrium dialysis chamber were measured during the equilibrium process by high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence polarisation immunoassay. Normal saline (NS), balanced salt solution plus (BSS Plus), and vitreous were used separately as the medium of dialysis. RESULTS: Precipitation of ciprofloxacin occurred on incubation at 37 degrees C. It formed precipitate on its own or when mixed with vancomycin in all the three media of NS, BSS Plus, and vitreous. There was more precipitation at higher initial ciprofloxacin concentrations; at 25.0 mg/l about 75% free drug in BSS Plus was lost after 72 hours. The extent of precipitation was similar in both NS and BSS Plus. In the dialysis chambers, 20 mg/l ciprofloxacin dialysed against 125 mg/l vancomycin was reduced to a concentration about 5.0 mg/l after 168 hours. Precipitation of vancomycin was negligible. Ciprofloxacin precipitated in vitreous at body temperature, irrespective of the presence of vancomycin. Even after precipitation, the resultant concentration of ciprofloxacin was still higher than the MIC(90) of the drug against most Gram negative organisms. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this in vitro study, ciprofloxacin precipitated in vitreous at body temperature, irrespective of the presence of vancomycin or the medium for intravitreal injection. The resultant amount of ciprofloxacin was still higher than the MIC(90) of the drug against most Gram negative organisms after precipitation. The authors suggest ciprofloxacin in place of ceftazidime when used in combination with vancomycin for treatment of infective endophthalmitis.

Aged↗

PubMed1976

Urinary non-precipitable lead in lead workers.

Sixty-six workers engaged in lead-glazing pottery with a presumed moderate exposure to lead were studied. The group comprised 20 men with long-term exposure to lead and positive laboratory signs of increased lead absorption (Group A); 22 with long-term exposure and negative laboratory signs (Group B); 11 with short-term exposure and positive laboratory signs (Group C); and 13 with short-term exposure and negative laboratory signs (Group D). In addition, 14 workers employed in casting the kelmet alloys with presumed heavy exposure to lead (Group E) and seven healthy individuals (Group F) were included. Urine samples from all the subjects were analysed to determine, first, the total lead using the ashing technique, and then the precipitable lead using the coprecipitation technique of Cholak, Hubbard, and Burkey (1948), but modified slightly by us. Thus, the non-precipitable lead fraction in urine was the difference between the two measurements and this was also expressed as a percentage of the total lead. The mean total lead and the mean proportion of non-precipitable lead were 0.62 mumol/l and 48.7%, 0.35 mumol/l and 44.9%, 0.40 mumol/l and 48.9%, 0.17 mumol/l and 24.6%, 1.43 mumol/l and 44.3%, 0.14 mumol/l and 18.8% for Groups A, B, C, D, E, and F respectively, showing that a large part of urinary lead was eliminated as precipitable lead in Groups D and F who had normal lead excretion, while about half was eliminated as non-precipitable lead in the other four groups who had excessive lead excretion. No essential difference in the proportion of non-precipitable lead among Groups A, B and C excluded the possibility that the proportion might be directly related to the period of exposure to lead and to the laboratory findings of excessive lead absorption. The mean proportion of non-precipitable lead for the physiological (up to 0.240 mumol/l), intermediate (0.241 to 0.721 mumol/l), and excessive (above 0.722 mumol/l) total lead levels was 26.7, 41.3, and 52.3% respectively, in the lead workers comprising Groups A, B, C, and E each showing increased lead excretion when grouped together. these data suggested that, when urinary lead is within the normal range, it is excreted largely as precipitable lead even in individuals exposed to lead, and that the principal conditions determining the excretion of non-precipitable lead would be the current or recent degree of lead absorption. The excretory mechanisms and the biological significance of the non-precipitable lead are also discussed.

Chemical Precipitation↗

PubMed1982

Affinity diffusion II. Comparison between thermodynamic data obtained by affinity diffusion and precipitation in tubes.

Association constants (Ka) of the precipitating system bovine serum albumin (BSA) goat anti-BSA were obtained at different temperatures via affinity diffusion (taking l/Kd - Ka) as well as via precipitation in tubes at optimal ratios. With affinity diffusion values of Ka of 0.6 to 1.1 x 10(5) l/M were found, whilst with precipitation in tubes Ka was from 3.3 to 11.2 X 10(7) l/M, using the same BSA and anti-BSA preparations. Via affinity diffusion binding energies delta F of approximately -6 to -7 kcal/M were found, with values of delta H close to zero, and a delta S of +23 entropy units. With precipitation in tubes these values were delta F -10.2 to -10.7 kcal/M, delta H -4.6 to -7.6 kcal/M and delta S +10 to +20 entropy units. The differences found with the two different methods must be ascribed to the fact that with affinity diffusion of precipitating antigen-antibody systems one just measures the interaction between the precipitating components with the highest dissociation constants, whilst with precipitation in tubes one measures the total energy of association of the system. With affinity diffusion and with precipitation in tubes, the same degree of positive entropy is observed. The system measured with affinity diffusion is approximately isothermic, whilst the total system, measured by precipitation in tubes, is strongly exothermic. Affinity diffusion still takes place at pH 9.5, at which pH no precipitation in the liquid phase takes place at optimal ratio; one may conclude from this that affinity diffusion mainly involves van der Waals interactions, as electrostatic bonding between BSA and anti-BSA is virtually abolished at that pH. This agrees well with the observation that the affinity diffusion reaction is isothermic.

Antibody Affinity↗

PubMed2006

Ca2+-dependent in vitro contractility of a precipitate isolated from an extract of the heliozoon Actinophrys sol.

Contraction of axopodia in actinophrid heliozoons (protozoa) is induced by a unique contractile structure, the "contractile tubules structure (CTS)". We have previously shown that a cell homogenate of the heliozoon Actinophrys sol yields a precipitate on addition of Ca2+ that is mainly composed of filamentous structures morphologically identical to the CTS. In this study, to further characterize the nature of the CTS in vitro, biochemical and physiological properties of the precipitate were examined. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the Ca2+-induced precipitate was composed of many proteins, and that no proteins in the precipitate showed any detectable changes in electrophoretic mobility on addition of Ca2+. Addition of extraneous proteins such as bovine serum albumin to the cell homogenate resulted in cosedimentation of the proteins with the Ca2+-induced precipitate, suggesting that the CTS has a high affinity for other proteins that are not related to precipitate formation. Appearance and disappearance of the precipitate were repeatedly induced by alternating addition of Ca2+ and EGTA, and its protein composition remained unchanged even after repeated cycles. When adhered to a glass surface, the precipitate showed Ca2+-dependent contractility with a threshold of 10-100 nM, and this contractility was not inhibited by colchicine or cytochalasin B. The precipitate repeatedly contracted and relaxed with successive addition and removal of Ca2+, indicating that the contraction was controlled by Ca2+ alone with no need for any other energy supply. From our characterization of the precipitate, we concluded that its Ca2+-dependent formation and contraction are associated with the unique contractile organelle, the "contractile tubules structure".

Animals↗

PubMed2001

A novel method of preparation of small intestinal brush border membrane vesicles by polyethylene glycol precipitation.

A novel method of brush border membrane vesicle (BBMV) preparation from the small intestinal mucosa using polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation has been presented. This preparation is compared with calcium-precipitated BBMVs in marker enzyme enrichment, contamination by other subcellular membranes, transport of glucose, and lipid composition. PEG-precipitated BBMVs are comparable with calcium-precipitated membranes in all parameters except lipid composition and thiol content. PEG-precipitated membranes have more phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine and less lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine as compared to calcium-precipitated membranes. Diacylglycerol and triacylglycerol content are also high in PEG-precipitated membranes. Alteration in lipid composition indicate the possible activation of lipase and phospholipase by calcium during BBMV preparation, which is not seen in PEG precipitation. Thiol content is almost double in PEG-precipitated membranes as compared to calcium-precipitated membranes. These results indicate that PEG can be used for the preparation of BBMVs in native form from the intestine without any alteration in their structural components, and these membranes show comparable transport activity.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

PubMed2000

Formation and Release of Cobalt(II) Sorption and Precipitation Products in Aging Kaolinite-Water Slurries.

The uptake and release behavior of cobalt(II) was studied over thousands of hours in CO(2)-free aqueous suspensions of kaolinite under three pairs of total cobalt concentration (Co(T)) and near-neutral pH (7.5-7.8) conditions. Dissolved cobalt, aluminum, and silicon concentrations were monitored by ICPMS, and cobalt-containing products were identified by EXAFS spectroscopy. In each uptake experiment, cobalt sorbed to kaolinite as a mixture of surface-adsorbed monomers or polymers and hydrotalcite-like precipitates of the approximate composition Co(x)Al(OH)(2x+2)(A(n-))(1/n), where 2</=x</=4 and A(n-) is nitrate or silicate anion. Precipitate stoichiometry varied with experimental conditions, with the highest Co:Al ratio in the high Co(T)/high pH experiment. Cobalt surface adsorption occurred within seconds, whereas precipitation was slower and continued for the duration of the experiments. Consequently, the proportion of precipitate in the sorbed mixture increased with time in all experiments. The most rapid precipitation occurred in the high Co(T)/high pH experiment, where solutions were most supersaturated with respect to cobalt hydrotalcite. Precipitates incorporated some previously adsorbed cobalt, as well as cobalt from solution. Cobalt release from the solid phase was effected by lowering solution pH to 7.0. Release experiments initiated after shorter sorption times returned a larger fraction of cobalt to solution than those initiated after longer sorption times, for a fixed duration of release. In other words, sorption product stability increased with sorption time. Specifically, under the conditions of the release experiments, the hydrotalcite-like precipitates are more stable than smaller adsorbates, and precipitates that formed over longer time periods are more stable than those that formed rapidly. The latter result suggests that precipitates ripened or modified their structure or composition to become more stable over the course of the several-thousand-hour sorption experiments. Precipitates that formed over hundreds of hours or longer did not dissolve over thousands of hours at the lower pH. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996

Purification of heparin, dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate from mixtures by sequential precipitation with various organic solvents.

Heparin, dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate in mixtures were fractionated by sequential precipitation with methanol, ethanol and propanol. The recovered fractions from 0.1 to 2.0 volumes of various solvents were analyzed by agarose-gel electrophoresis and densitometric analysis. Heparins with different relative percentages of slow-moving and fast-moving components were precipitated from 0.5 to 0.7 volumes of methanol, and in this range of volumes, the amount of slow-moving component of heparin decreases and that of the fast-moving species increases. From 0.8 to 1.6 volumes of methanol, mixtures with different percentages of the fast-moving component, dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are precipitated. Heparin was precipitated from mixtures in the range of 0.1 to 0.4 volumes of ethanol, and from 0.5 to 0.8 volumes mixtures with different relative percentages of dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate were precipitated. From 1.0 to 2.0 volumes of ethanol, high purity (about 100%) chondroitin sulfate can be precipitated. Propanol induces the precipitation of heparin from 0.3 to 0.4 volumes, whilst dermatan sulfate with a purity greater than 85% is precipitated at 0.5 and 0.6 volumes of propanol. 100% chondroitin sulfate is obtained with volumes greater than 0.8. Heparin and chondroitin sulfate from a bovine lung extract of glycosaminoglycans were purified by sequential precipitation with ethanol. The fraction precipitated with 0.4 volumes of ethanol shows greater than 90% heparin and that recovered from 0.9 to 2.0 volumes is composed of 100% chondroitin sulfate.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

The mixed effects of precipitation on traffic crashes.

PURPOSE: This paper investigates the relationship between precipitation and traffic crashes in the US during the period 1975-2000. Traffic crashes represent the leading cause of death and injury for young adults in the US, and the ninth leading cause of death for the overall population. Prior studies have found that precipitation raises the risk of traffic crashes significantly. METHODS: A negative binomial regression approach is employed. Two different units of analysis are examined: state-months and state-days. The sample includes all 48 contiguous states. RESULTS: A surprising negative and significant relationship between monthly precipitation and monthly fatal crashes is found. However, in the daily level analysis, a strong positive relationship is estimated, as in prior studies. The source of the contrasting results appears to be a substantial negative lagged effect of precipitation across days within a state-month. In other words, if it rained a lot yesterday, then on average, today there are fewer crashes. Additional analysis shows that the risk imposed by precipitation increases dramatically as the time since last precipitation increases. For example, 1cm of precipitation increases the fatal crash rate for a state-day by about 3% if exactly 2 days have passed since the last precipitation and by about 9% if more than 20 days have passed. This basic pattern holds for non-fatal crashes as well. CONCLUSIONS: The lagged effects of precipitation across days may be explained by the clearing of oil that accumulates on roads during dry periods or by the conditioning of people to drive more safely in wet conditions. Either way, policy interventions that prepare drivers more adequately for the risks of precipitation following dry periods are likely to be beneficial.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2004

Study of Ca-ATMP precipitation in the presence of magnesium ion.

ATMP (aminotri(methylenephosphonic acid)), a phosphonate scale inhibitor used in the petroleum industry, was used as a model scale inhibitor in this study. One of the goals of this work was to determine the range of conditions under which Mg ions, which are formed in reservoir formations containing dolomite, modulate the formation of Ca-ATMP precipitate as a scale inhibitor. The results revealed that the amount of ATMP precipitated decreased with addition of Mg ions in solution at all values of the solution pH. Furthermore, an increase in both the solution pH and the concentration of the divalent cations in solution resulted in a change of the molar ratio of (Ca + Mg) to ATMP in the precipitates. At a low solution pH (pH 1.5), Mg ions had little effect on the composition of the Ca-ATMP precipitate. However, at higher values of the solution pH (pH 4 and 7), the Ca to ATMP molar ratio in the precipitates decreased with increasing concentration of the Mg. Here it was found that Mg ions replaced Ca ions on available reactive sites of ATMP molecules. These results determined the limits of the Mg ion concentration, which affects the precipitation of Ca-ATMP, Mg-ATMP, and (Ca + Mg)-ATMP. The dissolution of the scale inhibitors was studied using a rotating disk reactor. These experiments showed that the total divalent cation molar ratio (Ca + Mg) to ATMP in the precipitates is the primary factor that controls the rate of dissolution (release) of the phosphonate precipitates. The phosphonate precipitate dissolution rates decreased as the molar ratio of divalent cations to ATMP in the precipitates increased.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1995

Recombinant soluble Fc gamma RII inhibits immune complex precipitation.

Control of IgG immune complex formation and deposition is important in determining the nature and extent of subsequent immune effector responses, and appears to be aberrant in some autoimmune diseases. In this study we demonstrate that recombinant soluble Fc gamma RII (rsFc gamma RII) is an effective modulator of immune complex formation, delaying immune precipitation in a manner which is dose-dependent, and can be specifically inhibited by anti-Fc gamma RII MoAb Fab' fragments. This inhibitory role in immune precipitation also provides a possible mechanistic explanation for our previous demonstration of the efficacy of rsFc gamma RII as an inhibitor of immune complex-induced inflammation in the Arthus reaction in vivo. RsFc gamma RII inhibited immune complex precipitation in two different experimental systems. First, rsFc gamma RII inhibited the precipitation of 125I-bovine serum albumin (BSA)-anti-BSA complexes in a dose-dependent manner, while an irrelevant protein (soybean trypsin inhibitor) had no effect on the precipitation of the immune complexes. Moreover, rsFc gamma RII inhibited the precipitation of ovalbumin (OVA)-anti-OVA complexes as determined by turbidimetric analysis, where the inhibition of immune complex precipitation by rsFc gamma RII was dose-dependent and was specifically blocked by prior incubation with Fab' fragments of a blocking MoAb to Fc gamma RII. RsFc gamma RII could inhibit the precipitation of BSA-anti-BSA complexes in the presence of excess bystander IgG and did not inhibit complement-mediated prevention of immune precipitation, demonstrating that rsFc gamma RII did not block C1 binding to the BSA-anti-BSA complex. Unlike complement, rsFc gamma RII could not cause re-solubilization of pre-formed precipitated BSA-anti-BSA complexes. Soluble Fc gamma Rs have been detected in biological fluids of normal and inflammatory disease patients, yet the role of sFc gamma R is still unclear. However, they now play a potential role in the modulation of immune complex solubility.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Influence of the type of initial precipitating injury and at what age it occurs on course and outcome in patients with temporal lobe seizures.

The type of initial precipitating injury and the age at which it occurred in 20 patients with nonlesional temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) were related to clinical features, presurgical neuroimaging, quantified hippocampal pathologies, and seizure outcomes. Clinical data, neuroimaging records, and seizure outcomes were abstracted from medical records and confirmed with patient and family contacts. Hippocampal neuron losses and mossy fiber reactive synaptogenesis were quantified independently. Results showed that the type of initial precipitating injury and the patient's age at which it occurred were related to the clinicopathological features of TLE. An initial precipitating injury occurred in 18 patients (90%), all of whom had mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). Patients with a prolonged initial seizure or a nonseizure initial precipitating injury before age 5 years were significantly more likely to have unilateral hippocampal atrophy (p < 0.05) shown on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and had significantly greater inner molecular layer mossy fiber puncta densities (p < 0.001) than patients with nonprolonged childhood initial precipitating injuries and/or seizures after age 5 years. Furthermore, nonseizure injuries in patients before age 5 years had significantly longer latent periods (p < 0.05), and the patients did not respond to surgical treatment as well as other MTS patients. Those with an initial precipitating injury after age 5 years had MTS but showed significantly less inner molecular layer mossy fiber sprouting (p < 0.05) than patients whose injuries appeared before age 5 years. Patients without an initial precipitating injury (idiopathic TLE) had significantly fewer neuron losses (p < 0.05) and inner molecular layer mossy fiber puncta densities (p < 0.05) and had worse outcomes following en bloc temporal lobectomy compared to patients with MTS who had experienced initial precipitating injuries. Patients with unilateral hippocampal abnormalities on MR imaging did not show significant differences in neuron losses or aberrant mossy fiber puncta densities compared to patients without asymmetry. These results support the hypothesis that the type of initial precipitating injury and the age at which the injury occurred initiates and influences the pathophysiological process that eventually develops into MTS. These data support the notion that the pathophysiology of hippocampal damage and mossy fiber sprouting after an initial precipitating injury may be a progressive process.

Age Factors↗