01), and reduced morbidity (P < 0.01). Surgical staging significantly reduced postoperative red blood cell (P = 0.03), and after-hours red blood cell (P < 0.01) and component requirements (P = 0.04). Mean total inpatient costs were $89,132 lower for patients undergoing the staged procedure (95% confidence interval of mean cost difference = -$178,899 to -$4661).

Conclusion. Separating the

anterior exposure and posterior resection phases of complex sacral tumor resection into two separate surgical episodes of care is associated with improved clinical outcomes and reduced inpatient cost.”
“A 10-year, retrospective review of the risk factors AZD4547 research buy and clinical outcome of childhood ischemic stroke treated in a single tertiary care center was

conducted. Sixty-two children were identified (33 boys and 29 girls), ages 1 month to 17 years. Risk factors included vasculopathy (35.5%), cardiac disease (17.4%), metabolic disorder (14.5%), infection (14.5%), and coagulopathy (1.6%). Nine patients (14.5%) had no identifiable cause of stroke and 1 patient had 2 risk factors. Hemiplegia (69.3%) and seizures (32.3%) were the most common presenting features, and seizures were significantly more frequent in children <12 months of age than in older children (71.4% Z-DEVD-FMK purchase vs 20.8%, P = .001). Recurrence of stroke occurred in 55.6% of patients with metabolic disorder, 33.3% of those with cardiac disease, and 19.0% of those with vasculopathy. Vasculopathy including moyamoya disease was the most important risk factor for ischemic stroke in Korea, and their prognosis were varied with the etiology of stroke.”
“Spinal cord stimulation has been shown

to be an effective and well-established treatment for failed back surgery syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, and other neuropathic pain states. Recent advances in this therapy have led to its use in enhancing blood flow and reducing ischemic pain patterns. The application of spinal cord stimulation to treat angina and improve outcomes in patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease is now becoming a part of the algorithmic standard of care. This article examines the selection of patients, application of the therapy, outcomes, and future uses of stimulation for patients afflicted with these diseases. This article also examines possible study protocols to further examine the overall selleck inhibitor outcome of these therapies.”
“Optimizing the possibilities for kidney-paired donation (KPD) requires the participation of donor-recipient pairs from wide geographic regions. Initially it was envisaged that donors would travel to the recipient center; however, to minimize barriers to participation and simplify logistics, recent trends have involved transporting the kidneys rather than the donors. The goal of this study was to review outcomes of this practice. KPD programs throughout the United States were directly queried about all transplants involving live donor kidney transport.

In conclusion, we found evidence that argues in favour of the preservation of mitral valve apparatus during mitral valve replacement.”
“Spinal manipulation is a form of back and other musculoskeletal pain treatment that often involves a high-velocity thrust, a technique in which the joints are adjusted rapidly. The main objective of chiropractors is to correct spinal malalignment

and relieve the nerves, allowing them to function optimally (Ernst In: Expert Rev Neurother 7:1451-1452, 2007; Oppenheim et al. In: Spine J 5:660-666, 2005). The evidence for the effectiveness of this treatment based on randomized clinical trials still remains uncertain (Cassidy et al. In: Spine 33(4 suppl): S176-S183, 2008; Dupeyron et al. In: Ann Readapt Med Phys 46:33-40, 2003; Ernst et al. In: Expert Rev Neurother 7: 1451-1452, 2007; Hurwitz et al. In: J Manipulative Physiol Ther 27:16-25, 2007; Thiel et al. In: Spine 32: 2375-2378, 2007). Several case reports and series selleck inhibitor have been focusing on the risks of chiropraxis, especially on the cervical spine, although the Daporinad price risk/benefit ratio for certain selected patients could be acceptable (Powell et al. In: Neurosurgery 33:73-78, 1993). We describe the case of a 45-year-old woman who suffered complete paraplegia shortly after a chiropractic maneuver in the thoracic spine. Dorsal CT showed a calcified disc

herniation at the T8-T9 level and MRI revealed a diffuse spinal cord ischemia from T6 to the conus medullaris without spinal cord compression at the level of herniation. Despite a normal arteriography, authors suggest a vascular injury as the cause of the deficit.”
“Delays in treatment may complicate the treatment of mandibular trauma, leading to a bone healing in an abnormal position and to a posttraumatic mandibular deformity such as malunion, malocclusion, HIF inhibitor and asymmetry. All these features may make delayed treatment a challenging

issue. Therefore, early reduction and fixation of displaced mandibular fractures is mandatory to allow precocious healing and return to the normal function. In this article, we describe a patient treated in our unit for a diagnosed posttraumatic malocclusion after lack of primary trauma treatment.”
“Objectives: To identify whether speech recognition outcomes are influenced by the choice of ear for cochlear implantation in adults with bilateral hearing loss who use a hearing aid in 1 ear but have long-term auditory deprivation in the other.

Study Design: Retrospective matched cohort study. Speech recognition results were examined in 30 adults with monaural sound deprivation. Fifteen received the implant in the sound-deprived ear and 15 in the aided ear.

Setting: Tertiary referral centers with active cochlear implant programs.

Patients: Adults with bilateral hearing loss and a minimum of 15 years of monaural sound deprivation who received a cochlear implant after meeting the traditional implantation criteria of the referral centers.

Twenty-seven women with HH received a 150 IU fixed daily subcutaneous dose of recombinant human FSH, supplemented by 75 IU daily dose of rHLH given either as a single dose (n = 9; single-dose group) or four equally divided doses (n = 18; split-dose group). Ovulation was defined by three efficacy end points: at least one follicle >= 17 mm in diameter, pre-ovulatory serum oestradiol >= 400 pmol/l and a midluteal progesterone >= 25 nmol/l. Although lacking statistical significance, the proportion of women in the rHLH split-dose group who fulfilled all three end points was higher than the single-dose group (72.2% versus 55.6%). Women in the split-dose group achieved higher serum oestradiol concentrations

per follicle, endometrial thickness measurements and numbers of follicles than in the single-dose group (not statistically significant). The odds ratio for ovulation rate was 2.08 (not statistically significant). There VX-770 clinical trial were no serious untoward side effects. Administering rHLH in split daily doses could provide superior results compared with the traditional single daily

dose. RBMOnline (C) 2012, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Endometriosis is a steroid-dependent complex disease. The oestrogen receptor plays an important role by mediating oestrogen action and eutopic or ectopic endometrium development. BI 6727 in vitro This study investigated whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the genes for oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and oestrogen receptor 2 (ESR2) are associated with endometriosis and endometriosis-related

infertility. The participants included 157 infertile and 155 fertile endometriosis women as well as 92 women with primary infertility and 265 fertile women as controls. The iPLEX Gold system (MassARRAY system, Sequenom) was used for genotyping of ESR1 and ESR2. Statistical analysis showed that ESR1 (rs3798573 A/G) was significantly associated with endometriosis and endometriosis-related infertility (P = 0.011, P THZ1 mw = 0.009). No association was found with ESR1 (rs1159327 A/G, rs3020348 A/C) and ESR2 (rs17179740 A/G) either for endometriosis or endometriosis-related infertility. According to the revised American Fertility Society classification, all of the detected single-nucleotide polymorphisms had no association with endometriosis in stage I-II or in stage III-IV. The results suggest that the ESR1 polymorphism rs3798573 A/G is associated with increased risk of endometriosis and endometriosis-related infertility in Han women from central China. RBMOnline (C) 2012, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Cervico-isthmic pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy associated with a high morbidity and mortality rate. Recent advances in high-resolution ultrasound have made the diagnosis of early cervico-isthmic pregnancies easier. Early diagnosis allows a more conservative therapeutic approach that avoids hysterectomy and preserves fertility.

7 times higher than that of cTFM. The sensory scores for cRFM were uniformly higher than those for cTFM.”
“Three new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins named celosins H (1), I (2), and J (3) were isolated from the seeds of Celosia argentea L. Their structures were characterized as 3-O–d-xylopyranosyl-(13)–d-glucuronopyranosyl-polygalagenin 28-O–d-glucopyranosyl ester, 3-O–d-glucuronopyranosyl-medicagenic acid 28-O–d-xylcopyranosyl-(14)–l-rhamnopyranosyl-(12)–d-fucopyranosyl ester, and 3-O–d-glucuronopyranosyl-medicagenic acid 28-O–l-arabinopyranosyl-(13)-[-d-xylcopyranosyl-(14)]–l-rhamnopyranosyl-(12)–d-fucopyranosyl

ester by NMR, MS, and chemical evidences, respectively. In our opinion, celosins H-J could be used as chemical markers for the find more quality control of C. argentea seeds.”
“Oxidative stress mechanisms have been implicated in congenital anomalies and morbidity/mortality of fetus/newborn in diabetic pregnancy. Numerous antioxidant treatments have shown varied beneficial effects in improving both maternal and fetal outcomes. The present study examined the propensity NCT-501 cost of taurine to attenuate the degree of embryopathy and oxidative stress among pregnant diabetic rats. Adult rats (CFT-Wistar) were rendered diabetic with an acute dose of streptozotocin (STZ; 45 mg/kg bodyweight) on gestation day (GD) 4. Both

Diabetic and non-diabetic dams were given oral supplements of taurine (0.5 and 1 g/kg bodyweight/day) from DZNeP in vitro GD 5 to GD 12. Maternal diet intake, bodyweight gain and urine output were monitored and dams were killed on GD 13. Markers of oxidative stress were determined in embryos and maternal livers. STZ treatment induced marked embryopathy (32%) and taurine supplements markedly reduced the degree of embryopathy (54% protection). The STZ-induced

higher oxidative stress was significantly attenuated in rats given taurine supplements (P < 0.05) and a similar effect was seen in embryos (P < 0.05). These data suggest that dietary taurine during pregnancy provides significant protection against diabetes-induced oxidative stress in both the mother and the embryos and thus may serve as a therapeutic supplement during diabetic pregnancy. (C) 2012, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“In the present study, chloroform, acetone, and methanol extracts of Solanum torvum and Solanum nigrum leaves and fruit were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity using ferric reducing antioxidant power, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), ABTS(center dot+), iron chelation, and antihemolytic activity. Among the various solvents used, the maximum yield was obtained in chloroform followed by acetone and methanol. The total phenolics were also significantly higher in the chloroform extracts and the in vitro antioxidant activity was shown to be highly dependant on the total phenolic content (p < 0.01).

Integrated care changed the patient distribution, allowing the cardiologist to focus on serious pathologies while cardiovascular risk factors and stable patients were monitored in primary care. In ischemic heart disease, improvement

was observed in cholesterol management and blood pressure control; optimal medical treatment was more frequently prescribed and ventricular function Nutlin-3 supplier evaluated more often. In heart failure, beta-blockers treatment increased and functional class was assessed more often. In atrial fibrillation, an increase in anticoagulation prescription and echocardiography evaluation was observed. Satisfaction parameters improved with integrated care. The use of resources was not increased.

Conclusions: Using our integration model, follow-up and chronic treatment of patients with ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation were improved. Monitoring of chronic patients was redistributed between primary care and cardiology, and family physicians’ satisfaction levels improved. There was no increase in use of resources. (C) 2011 Sociedad Espanola de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S. L. All rights reserved.”
“The aim of the present review is to provide an update of the epidemiological evidence of the effects of air pollution on neuropsychological development and impairment, as well as of the evidence

on individual susceptibility to these effects. Animal studies have shown deposition of ultrafine particles containing metals

in olfactory bulb and frontal cortical and subcortical areas, and overexpression of inflammatory responses, white GDC 0032 concentration matter lesions and vascular pathology in these areas that could be the basis for functional and structural brain Selleckchem YM155 effects. Several observational studies in the general population have observed cognitive deficits and behavioural impairment in children and the elderly. These effects, however, are not conclusive given the limited number of studies, their small size and their methodological constraints.”
“We assessed knowledge and perceptions of epilepsy held by Korean adolescents in the general population, and investigated factors important in adolescents’ perceptions of stigma with respect to epilepsy. Surveys were distributed to students at 22 schools. A total of 1377 students participated. Fewer than half of all students (45.1%) reported hearing or reading about epilepsy. Overall, students showed a general lack of familiarity with and knowledge of epilepsy. Stigma perception scores were significantly higher in boys than in girls (P<0.05) and in middle school than in high school (P<0.05) students. We also found that stigma perception scores were significantly correlated with both younger age (r=-0.074, P=0.006) and lower knowledge scores (r=-0.404, P=0.000). Linear regression analysis showed that stigma-related perception was associated with lower knowledge scores (P<0.001) and middle school (P<0.05).

The prediction error was calculated as the difference between the predicted and the measured refraction 1 month postoperatively.

RESULTS: Forty-three

consecutive patients were enrolled. The mean arithmetic error was zero for all combinations of measurements due to constant optimization. Using the Hoffer Q formula, the mean absolute prediction errors OICR-9429 purchase were 0.23 diopters (D) +/- 0.22 (SD) for the corneal topographer simulated K, 0.21 +/- 0.18 D for the Scheimpflug simulated K, and 0.27 +/- 0.20 D for the Scheimpflug total corneal power (P>.05). No statistically significant different results (compared with the Hoffer Q formula) were obtained with the Holladay 1 and SRK/T formulas.

CONCLUSIONS: Both devices provided corneal power measurements that led to accurate IOL power calculation. The total corneal power by the dual Scheimpflug system is the first corneal power measurement shown to

lead to accurate IOL power calculation without using the standard keratometric index.”
“In this study, we examined the effect of alkali treatment and its variables, namely, the time (2, 4, 6, or 8 h) and the concentration of alkali (1, 5, or 17.5% w/w), on the linear density, strength, and stress-relaxation properties LY411575 supplier of jute fiber. It was demonstrated that this kind of treatment led to the creation of several voids and fiber learn more fibrillation. Properties were measured for the alkali-treated and dewaxed fibers. The linear density and tenacity of the fibers were reduced at higher alkali concentration and at longer dipping times. The strength increased with treatment

with mild alkali and decreased with treatment with the strong alkali. A very low alkali treatment (1%) rendered low relaxation. At a 5% alkali concentration, interfibrillar matrix softening also played an important role and was prominent in the stress-relaxation behavior. The stress-relaxation value was much higher in the fibers treated with 17.5% NaOH compared to the dewaxed fibers; this was probably due to a loss in the fibrillar arrangement. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 123: 1348-1358, 2012″
“Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether social network factors predict HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) serostatus after controlling for individual-level factors at baseline among a cohort of male injection drug users in Chennai, India.

Methods: The sample, which was recruited through street outreach, consists of 1078 males who reported having injected drugs in the last 6 months.

“
“Evaluation of: Parks QM, Young RL, Poch KR, Malcolm KC, Vasil Ill Nick JA: Neutrophil enhancement of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm development: human F-actin and DNA as targets for therapy. J. Med. Microbiol. 58(4), 492-502 (2009). Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and biofilm formation in the cystic fibrosis lung occurs in association with an exuberant inflammatory response in a neutrophil-rich environment. The presence of DNA/F-actin bundles,

formed by components released from necrotic neutrophils, was shown to stimulate biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa. Soluble polyvalent anions can sequester polyvalent cations and dissolve DNA/F-actin bundles, and treatment with polyvalent anions was shown to disrupt neutrophil-induced P. aeruginosa biofilms. In addition, polyvalent anions could also www.selleckchem.com/products/Adriamycin.html prevent the formation of neutrophil-induced P. aeruginosa biofilms. While young neutrophil-induced P. aeruginosa biofilms could be disrupted by treatment with polyvalent anions or DNase, older neutrophil-induced biofilms, or biofilms formed by a mucold P. aeruginosa variant, were less susceptible to treatment with polyvalent Elafibranor concentration anions or DNase but they could be efficiently disrupted by polyvalent anion-DNase combination treatment. The synergistic effect of the combined polyvalent anion-DNase treatment is most likely

due,to the capacity of polyvalent anions to dissociate DNA/F-actin bundles with bacteria and polysaccharides, leading to exposure of a greater number of DNase cleavage sites on the extracellular DNA. It is conceivable that treatment with soluble polyvalent anions as an adjunct to DNase treatment will represent an improvement in cystic fibrosis therapy.”
“P>We followed up 550 primary kidney transplant recipients in an observational retrospective cohort to evaluate the impact of three consecutive cytomegalovirus (CMV) prevention strategies. In period 1 (1996-2000; n = 190), no anti-CMV prophylaxis

was given; in period 2 (2000-2004; n = 173), 6-month Selleckchem SRT2104 valacyclovir was given and in period 3 (> 2004; n = 187), 6-month valganciclovir was given. Cytomegalovirus disease significantly decreased from 33.2% in period 1 to 13.9% in period 2 and to 8.6% in period 3; onset was significantly prolonged with valganciclovir (228 days) compared with valacyclovir (93 days) and with no prophylaxis (33 days). After Cox regression adjustments, both valganciclovir and valacyclovir were similarly protective factors for CMV disease. Cytomegalovirus diseases encountered in both valacyclovir and valganciclovir groups were primary infections (79.2 and 93.8% respectively) as compared with a significant low number (39.7%) in the nonprophylaxis group. Two cases of valganciclovir resistance were recorded in the valganciclovir group and no resistance was seen with valacyclovir.

This case highlights the need for early surgical review and management of oral lesions of uncertain and/or unpredictable nature. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2009;108:e51-e53)”
“Background: Cutaneous infections such as impetigo contagiosum (IC), molluscum

contagiosum (MC) and herpes virus infection (HI) appear to be associated with atopic dermatitis (AD), but there are no reports of concrete epidemiological evidence.

Objective: We evaluated the association of childhood AD with these infections by conducting a population-based cross-sectional study.

Methods: Enrolled in this study were 1117 children aged 0-6 years old attending nursery schools in Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Physical examination was performed by dermatologists, and a questionnaire was completed on each child’s history of allergic SYN-117 clinical trial diseases including AD, asthma, allergic rhinitis and egg allergy, and that of skin infections including IC, MC and HI, as well as familial history of AD.

Results:

In 913 children (AD; 132), a history of IC, MC or HI was observed in 45.1%, 19.7%, and 2.5%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of having a history of IC were 1.8 times higher in AD children than in non-AD children. Meanwhile, Duvelisib in vitro a history of MC was significantly correlated to the male gender, but not to a personal history of AD. As for HI, we found no correlated factors in this study.

Conclusions: The lifetime prevalence of this website IC was indeed higher in young children with a history of AD. (C) 2010 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“We present a

scheme to measure the thermal conductivity of individual nanowires using temperature-dependent and microphotoluminescence spectroscopy, The CdS nanowires suspended over trenches in silicon substrate were excited with a focused laser beam in confocal configuration. The photoluminescence at the laser spot gave a measure of the local temperature rise determined by the excitation laser intensity and the thermal conductance of the nanowires. By obtaining the temperature gradient across the nanowire and the length of the suspended segment, the thermal conductivity of CdS nanowires with diameters in the range of 200-400 nm was extracted to be in the range of 4.9-6.2 W/m K. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3476469]“
“A 37-year-old man reported to our department with the history of gunshot injury to the mandible 15 years before. His anterior mandible had been resected earlier and bone graft was seen. Intraoral examination of lower jaw revealed 4 remaining mandibular molars. These teeth were severely rotated such that they lay horizontal with respect to the mandibular base.

It is found that the surfactants play multifold Selleck GSK1120212 roles in the process. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3561157]“
“Purpose: To evaluate putative effects on tumour susceptibility in mice exposed to a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) test signal for up to 24 months, commencing with embryo-fetal exposure.

Material and methods: Animals were exposed to UMTS

fields with intensities of 0, 4.8, and 48 W/m(2), the low-dose group (4.8 W/m(2)) was subjected to additional prenatal ethylnitrosourea treatment (40 mg ENU/kg body weight).

Results: The high-level UMTS exposure (48 W/m(2)), the sham exposure, and the cage control groups showed comparable tumour

incidences in the protocol organs. In contrast, the ENU-treated group UMTS-exposed at 4.8 W/m(2) displayed an enhanced lung tumour rate and an increased incidence of lung carcinomas as compared to the controls treated with ENU only. Furthermore, tumour multiplicity of the lung carcinomas was increased and the number of metastasising lung tumours was doubled in the ENU/UMTS group as compared to the ENU control group.

Conclusion: This pilot study indicates a cocarcinogenic effect of lifelong UMTS exposure (4.8 W/m(2)) in female B6C3F1 descendants subjected to pretreatment with ethylnitrosourea.”
“We report the results of a systematic study on stress tunable absorption of glass-coated amorphous Co68.7Fe4Ni1B13Si11Mo2.3 microwires and their composites. The magnetic microwires possess good stress-impedance properties Selleck URMC-099 and yield a stress dependence of absorption at gigahertz frequencies. The stress compensates the reverse effect of magnetic field on absorption. There exist strong stress dependences of the effective permittivity and transmission parameters. Composite failure due to the wire damage results in a dramatic change of the sign and magnitude of effective permittivity. The double peak is identified in the stress

dependence of field tunability, in contrast to the single peak this website for the magnetic field tunability. All these results indicate that the present composites are very promising for detecting the ambient stress levels and interrogating the structural integrity. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3535553]“
“Purpose: To study whether ipsilateral breast tumour recurrence (IBTR) dynamics are modified by post-operative radiotherapy (RT).

Methods and materials: The hazard rate for IBTR was analysed in a database from patients undergoing breast conserving surgery with or without post-operative radiotherapy within randomised clinical trials from the Milan Cancer Institute.

Results: The hazard rate for IBTR presents a bimodal pattern. Post-operative radiotherapy, in addition to reducing IBTR incidence from 24.5% to 5.

AdLPCD vector had been evaluated for its efficacy of chemosensitization of ovarian cancer cells to 5-FC. In spite of the fact that ovarian cancer cells, i.e., OVCAR-3 and SK-OV-3, are capable for adenoviral transduction judged by LacZ reporter gene analysis, two cell lines demonstrated quite different sensitivities toward AdLPCD/5-FC system. In OVCAR-3 cells, infection of AdLPCD followed by exposure to 5-FC resulted in the suppression of cell growth with statistical significance. On the other hand, SK-OV-3 cells were more resistant to Elacridar concentration the CD/5-FC strategy compared with OVCAR-3 cells under the same condition. The object of study was to investigate factors that would determine

the sensitivity to AdLPCD/5-FC. We evaluated conversion rate of 5-FC to 5-FU after infection of AdLPCD by HPLC analysis, IC(50) HKI-272 molecular weight of 5-FU, the expression level of integrin receptors i.e., alpha v beta 3 and alpha v beta 5, and status of p53 in OVCAR-3 and SK-OV-3 cells. The results indicated that OVCAR-3 cells have few favorable features compared with SK-OV-3 cells to be more effective to the AdLPCD/5-FC strategy; higher level of alpha v beta 5 integrin, higher rate of conversion of 5-FC into 5-FC, and lower IC(50) of 5-FU. The results suggest that the replacement of 5-FU with CD/5-FC in combination chemotherapy would be less toxic and much greater cytotoxicity

than the conventional combination chemotherapy in some patients.”
“A systematic analysis on the adsorption of homo-oligomeric, poly(His)-tagged recombinant proteins on a hydroxyapatite-based https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mcc950-sodium-salt.html immobilized metal affinity chromatography adsorbent was performed. Under non-denaturing conditions, the Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm model was found ideal for predicting the adsorption behavior of the model proteins. The dissociation constants, as low as 10(-9) M, decreased with the number of poly(His) tags, suggesting the presence of multi-point attachment. The maximum adsorption capacities, ranging from 79.1 nmol/g for the 88 kDa epimerase to 42.8 nmol/g for the 320 kDa racemase, were inversely proportional to the

contact surface areas of the proteins. Under denaturing conditions, the Langmuir isotherm model fitted well with the experimental data. The maximum adsorption capacities for and the dissociation constants of the three model proteins were essentially identical, as the subunits of the model proteins were of similar dimensions and behaved similarly in the absence of complex tertiary or quaternary structure. Phosphate buffer at a concentration of 500 mM, pH 8.0 was found to be effective for the elution of the model proteins with a recovery yield more than twofold higher than that obtained with 500 mM imidazole. The results suggest the hydroxyapatite-based adsorbent is a promising alternative for large scale applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.