Journal articles on the topic 'Self adhesive labels'

Novel, reusable photocatalyst activity indicator label undergoes a rapid colour change when placed in contact with a photocatalytic film via the photoreduction of methylene blue contained within the label's adhesive, and is ideal for assessing photocatalytic activity in situ and in laboratory work.

The use of acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) is increasing in a variety of industrial fields. They have been applied in the manufacture of mounting tapes, self-adhesive labels, protective films, masking tapes, splicing tapes, carrier-free tapes, sign and marking films, and in diverse medical products, such as pads or self-adhesive bioelectrodes. In this study, the application of SiO2 nanoparticles in acrylic PSA was investigated. The properties of the newly synthesized and modified PSA were evaluated via the tack, peel adhesion, shear-strength and shrinkage. It has been found that the nanotechnologically-reinforced systems consisting of monodisperse non-agglomerated SiO2 nanoparticles and self-crosslinked acrylic PSAs showed a great enhancement in tack, peel adhesion, shear resistance and shrinkage, without showing the disadvantages known to result from the use of other inorganic additives. In this paper we evaluate the performance of SiO2 nanoparticles with a size of about 30 nm as inorganic filler into the synthesized solvent-borne acrylic PSA.

UV-crosslinkable warm-melt pressure-sensitive adhesives based on acrylics The target of this article is to show the preparation of new generation of UV-crosslinkable warm-melt acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) and the experimental test of their adhesive properties in comparison with typical conventional hot-melts adhesives. New generation of UV-crosslinkable acrylic warm-melts PSAs containing unsaturated photoinitiator, incorporated during polymerization process into polymer chain, and photoreactive diluents added to PSA systems after polymerization allows producing of wide range of self-adhesive materials, such as labels, mounting tapes, masking and splicing tapes, and sign and marking films.

Abstract The application of water-borne pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) based on acrylics is increasing in a variety of industrial areas. The have been used for manufacturing of double sided and carrier free mounting tapes, splicing tapes, marking and sign films, self-adhesive labels, packaging tapes, protective films and diverse high quality medical materials. Nano-sized inorganic fillers can modify diverse adhesive and self-adhesive coating properties such as tack, peel adhesion, shear strength at 20°C and 70°C, and removability Amorphous synthetic silica nanoparticles in form of water dispersions: Ludox PX-30 (30 wt.% silica stabilizing with counter ion sodium), Ludox PT-40 (40 wt.% silica stabilizing with counter ion sodium), Ludox PT-40AS (40 wt.% silica stabilizing with counter ion ammonium), and Ludox PW-50 (50 wt.% silica stabilizing with counter ion sodium) (from Grace) in concentrations between 1 and 5wt.% were used for modifying of water-born pressure-sensitive adhesive acrylics: Acronal 052, Acronal CR 516 (both BASF) and Plextol D273 (Synthomer) properties. It has been found in this study that the nano-technologically reinforced system containing of Acronal 052 and amorphous silica Ludox PX-30 showed a great enhancement in tack, peel adhesion and shear strength. In this paper we evaluate the performance of Acronal 052 modified with amorphous silica Ludox PX-30.

Synthesis of photoreactive solvent-free acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives in the recovered system The present paper discloses a novel photoreactive solvent-free acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) systems, especially suitable for the so much adhesive film applications as the double-sided, single-sided or carrier-free technical tapes, self-adhesive labels, protective films, marking and sign films and wide range of medical products. The novel photoreactive solvent-free pressure-sensitive adhesives contain no volatile organic compounds (residue monomers or organic solvent) and comply with the environment and legislation. The synthesis of this new type of acrylic PSA is conducted in common practice by solvent polymerisation. After the organic solvent are removed, there remains a non-volatile, solvent-free highly viscous material, which can be processed on a hot-melt coating machine at the temperatures of about 100 to 140°C.

ABSTRACT Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), or self-adhesives, are used in many applications, including safety labels for power equipment, automotive interior trim assembly, and sound/vibration–damping films. The objective of this study was to develop a biodegradable skim rubber–based bioadhesive blended with poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which has the advantage of being biodegradable and biocompatible to humans. PSAs were produced from saponified low-protein skim rubber (S-LPSR) alone using a hydrocarbon resin as a tackifier and blends of S-LPSR/PVA containing tackifier, via solution and emulsion, respectively. The influence of 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT) and the hydrocarbon resin content in the adhesive formulation was studied. Various methods were used to evaluate the properties of the adhesives produced including scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, contact angle measurement, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The optimal concentration of PVA for a good PSA was found to be 20 phr because of its emulsion form. The adhesion properties of a PSA containing 50–60 phr of hydrocarbon resin and 1% BHT displayed excellent tack and peel compared with other samples because there was no chain scission of the skim rubber and good compatibility and interaction between the S-LPSR/PVA blend and the hydrocarbon resin, which maximized the adhesion properties of the adhesive.

The widespread use of digitally-controlled measuring and analytical devices and electronic data collectors, all equipped with microprocessors and linked to computers, has made it possible for on-line data collection to become a routine process. A rational combination of two up-to-date techniques, barcodes and digital balance terminals, linked to an average computer background (Kuti et al., 2003), has proved in practice to satisfy the criteria raised for the up-to-date processing of breeding data at low cost. This system is an example of how it is possible to reduce costs while processing data more rapidly and reliably and allowing human resources to be utilised more flexibly and efficiently. The modules (MvLabel, MvSticker, MvWeighing)of the program package developed in Martonvásár for the handling and analysis of the data from plant breeding and crop production experiments can also be used independently for the identification of experimental field units (spikes, rows, plots) and for the online handling of weight measurements and analytical data. They provide a simple solution for the design and printing of labels (self-adhesive or plastic) containing barcodes. They make it easier to retrieve the data recorded by digital balance terminals and store them on hard discs, while also helping to unify and synchronise the various parts of the system using barcode readers to identify the measurement data.

A series of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) was prepared using a constant monomeric composition and different preparation processes to investigate the best combination to obtain the best balance between peel resistance, tack, and shear resistance. The monomeric composition was a 1:1 combination of two different water-based acrylic polymers—one with a high shear resistance (A) and the other with a high peel resistance and tack (B). Two different strategies were applied to prepare the adhesives: physical blending of polymers A and B and in situ emulsion polymerization of A + B, either in one or two steps; in this last case, by polymerizing A or B first. To characterize the polymer, the average particle size and viscosity were analyzed. The glass transition temperature (Tg) was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The tetrahydrofuran (THF) insoluble polymer fraction was used to calculate the gel content, and the soluble part was used to determine the average sol molecular weight by means of gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The adhesive performance was assessed by measuring tack as well as peel and shear resistance. The mechanical properties were obtained by calculating the shear modulus and determination of maximum stress and the deformation energy. Moreover, an adhesive performance index (API) was designed to determine which samples are closest to the requirements demanded by the self-adhesive label market.

Based on the finite element non-linear contact theory, the calculation model of the self-adhesive label printing pressure is achieved, then doing the non-linear contact of this model by using ANSYS. By changing the magnitude of interference between the printing cylinder and the printing platform, printing pressure is achieved in different magnitudes of interference. Contrast to the traditional empirical method, this method make up for the lack of calculating the printing pressure. It turns out help correcting mechanism parameters to achieve the optimal design.

Abstract Abstract 1799 Poster Board I-825 Multiple myeloma (MM) patients often present with anemia at the time of initial diagnosis. This has so far only attributed to a physically marrow suppression by the invading malignant plasma cells and the overexpression of Fas-L and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) by malignant plasma cells triggering the death of immature erythroblasts. Still the impact of MM on hematopoietic stem cells and their niches is scarcely established. In this study we analyzed highly purified CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell subsets from the bone marrow of newly diagnosed MM patients in comparison to normal donors. Quantitative flowcytometric analyses revealed a significant reduction of the megakaryocyte-erythrocyte progenitor (MEP) proportion in MM patients, whereas the percentage of granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMP) was significantly increased. Proportions of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and myeloid progenitors (CMP) were not significantly altered. We then asked if this is also reflected by clonogenic assays and found a significantly decreased percentage of erythroid precursors (BFU-E and CFU-E). Using Affymetrix HU133 2.0 gene arrays, we compared the gene expression signatures of stem cells and progenitor subsets in MM patients and healthy donors. The most striking findings so far reflect reduced adhesive and migratory potential, impaired self-renewal capacity and disturbed B-cell development in HSC whereas the MEP expression profile reflects decreased in cell cycle activity and enhanced apoptosis. In line we found a decreased expression of the adhesion molecule CD44 and a reduced actin polymerization in MM HSC by immunofluorescence analysis. Accordingly, in vitro adhesion and transwell migration assays showed reduced adhesive and migratory capacities. The impaired self-renewal capacity of MM HSC was functionally corroborated by a significantly decreased long-term culture initiating cell (LTC-IC) frequency in long term culture assays. Cell cycle analyses revealed a significantly larger proportion of MM MEP in G0-phase of the cell cycle. Furthermore, the proportion of apoptotic cells in MM MEP determined by the content of cleaved caspase 3 was increased as compared to MEP from healthy donors. Taken together, our findings indicate an impact of MM on the molecular phenotype and functional properties of stem and progenitor cells. Anemia in MM seems at least partially to originate already at the stem and progenitor level. Disclosures Off Label Use: AML with multikinase inhibitor sorafenib, which is approved by EMEA + FDA for renal cell carcinoma.

Abstract Introduction: BCR-ABL1+ B-progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ B-ALL) is a highly aggressive disease that is often refractory to currently available therapies. Our previous genomic profiling studies have identified loss-of-function or dominant negative mutations in IKZF1, encoding the lymphoid transcription factor Ikaros, in over 80% of Ph+ ALL. In addition, deletion of CDKN2A, which encodes the INK4A and ARF tumor suppressors, is observed in approximately half of all cases (Mullighan et al., 2008). Alterations of IKZF1 are associated with poor outcome despite the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Ikzf1 alterations, including Ikaros isoform 6 (IK6), result in the acquisition of stem cell-like features, enhanced self-renewal, expression of adhesion molecules, and transcriptional upregulation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), resulting in increased adhesion in vitro and in vivo, and decreased sensitivity to TKIs (Churchman, Cancer Cell, in press). VS-4718 is a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable FAK inhibitor currently under evaluation in a phase 1 clinical trial in subjects with various solid tumors, however in vivo efficacy in hematological malignancies had not been evaluated. Targeting FAK with VS-4718 is an attractive approach to abrogate the adhesive phenotype of IKZF1-altered leukemic cells potentially enhancing the effects of dasatinib in the treatment of high-risk BCR-ABL1 B-ALL. Methods: We examined the efficacy and mechanisms of FAK inhibition using VS-4718 as a single agent and in combination with dasatinib in vitro and in vivo in a range of xenograft and genetically engineered mouse models of BCR-ABL1 ALL. Each model had concomitant deletion of Arf which is observed in approximately 50% of human cases. Results: A pre-clinical in vivo trial of dasatinib and VS-4718 combination therapy in a murine C57Bl/6 Arf-/- BCR-ABL1 pre-B cell model resulted in a marked increase in survival in both IK6-expressing and non-IK6 cohorts of mice, and one complete long-term remission in the IK6-expressing group. Further, we showed increased efficacy of VS-4718 and dasatinib, compared to either agent alone, against two highly aggressive human Ph+ IK6-expressing B-ALL xenografts in vivo, with decreased infiltration of leukemic cells in bone marrow and spleens demonstrating a synergistic effect of the VS-4718/dasatinib combination. In vitro cell viability was reduced with induction of apoptosis at increasing concentrations of VS-4718 as a single agent, and further potentiated the effects of dasatinib in cytotoxicity assays using human xenografted and murine leukemic cells. VS-4718 profoundly diminished the ability of BCR-ABL1-expressing cells to form cell-matrix adhesions in vitro, as evident by the reduced adherence to fibronectin monolayers and bone marrow stromal cells. VS-4718 almost completely abolished the colony-forming potential of BCR-ABL1-expressing murine pre-B cells with and without Ikzf1 alterations at drug concentrations that do not affect cell viability suggestive of a reduction in self-renewal. Calvarial imaging of mice transplanted with Ikzf1-altered BCR-ABL1 leukemic cells and treated with VS-4718 alone in vivo revealed a discernible reduction in adhesion in the intact bone marrow niche of Prrx1-Cre; LSL-tdTomato recipient mice. VS-4718 treated leukemic cells localized to Prrx1-expressing perivascular endothelial cells and exhibited round morphology in contrast to the typical spindle-like appearance of Ikzf1-altered pre-B cells adhering to the bone marrow stroma, suggesting that VS-4718 treatment abolished the aberrant leukemic cell-stromal adhesion induced by Ikaros alterations in vivo. Conclusions: Direct inhibition of FAK with VS-4718 attenuates the adhesive, stem-like properties of IKZF1-altered BCR-ABL1 leukemic cells that contribute to the poor prognosis of patients treated with currently available therapies. Targeted FAK inhibition is thus a promising avenue for improving the response of BCR-ABL1 ALL to dasatinib, particularly in refractory cases harboring IKZF1 alterations. These data support the clinical development of VS-4718 in combination with dasatinib in Ph+ B-ALL. Disclosures Shapiro: Verastem: Employment, Equity Ownership. Pachter:Verastem: Employment, Equity Ownership. Weaver:Verastem: Employment, Equity Ownership. Mullighan:Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Cancer Science Institute: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Loxo Oncology: Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria. Off Label Use: The FAK inhibitor VS-4718 for the treatment of BCR-ABL1 acute lymphoblastic leukemia in preclinical models.

Background/Aims: Individuals possessing a single kidney are at greater risk of renal injury upon exposure to harmful stimuli. This study aimed to explore the pathogenesis of renal injury in glomerulonephritis with versus without unilateral nephrectomy (UNX). Methods: Histological analysis and label-free quantitative proteomics were performed on two models—the Habu snake venom-induced glomerulonephritis model with versus without UNX (HabuU and Habu models, respectively). The role of villin 1, a differentially expressed protein (DEP) in mouse mesangial cells, was investigated. Results: Persistent mesangiolysis and focal hypercellularity together with reduced activation of cell proliferation in the HabuU model induced more serious renal injury compared with that in the Habu model. The DEPs between the two models were identified by label-free liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The KEGG pathway results indicated that regulation of actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion were specifically enriched in the HabuU model. The cytoskeleton regulation protein villin 1 was downregulated in the HabuU model, but unchanged in the Habu model. Knockdown of villin 1 promoted apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of mouse mesangial cells, suggesting villin 1 to be involved in qlomerular lesion self-repair insufficiency. Conclusion: By assessing the proteomic profiles of the two models, this study identified several important differences, particularly villin 1 expression, in regulatory mechanisms between the two models. Our findings provide novel insight into the mechanism of serious renal injury in glomerulonephritis with UNX.

Abstract Aim The aim of this article is to present a review of over-the-counter (OTC) treatment strategies used for aphthous ulcerations and to provide results from the use of an herbal extract containing glycyrrhiza. Background Aphthous ulceration, a disease of the intra-oral mucosa, is a common condition of unknown etiology that is often self-managed by OTC (no prescription required) medication. Review Preparations currently on the market can be divided into several categories: local anesthetic agents, oxygenating agents, mouth rinses, and barriers - further subdivided into paste coverings such as gels or dissolvable or non-dissolvable adhesive patches containing plant extract or synthetic drugs. Other strategies include herbs, hematinic replacement, or off-label OTC drug applications. While many OTC treatments are available and accepted for use with aphthous ulceration, a review of the literature via a number of published research search engines suggests that to date there are no randomized controlled studies to demonstrate OTC preparations do more than manage symptoms. Exceptions include OTC cyanoacrylate products and CankerMelts® GX patches which include glycyrrhiza (licorice) extract. The use of CankerMelts has been shown to alter the course of the condition by reducing lesion duration, size, and pain. Summary The results of the studies reviewed here suggest CankerMelts GX discs may be as effective as amlexanox (which must be prescribed) in reducing pain and speeding healing. In addition it can be applied by the patient without the adverse events associated with cyanoacrylate formulations. Citation Burgess J, van der Ven P, Martin M, Sherman J, Haley J. Review of Over-the-counter Treatments for Aphthous Ulceration and Results from Use of a Dissolving Oral Patch Containing Glycyrrhiza Complex Herbal Extract. J Contemp Dent Pract 2008 March; (9)3:088-098.

The uterine microenvironment during pre-implantation presents a pro-survival milieu and is essential for embryo elongation in ruminants. The European roe deer (Careolus capreolus) pre-implantation embryo development is characterised by a 4-month period of reduced development, embryonic diapause, after which the embryo rapidly elongates and implants. We investigated the uterine fluid proteome by label-free liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry at four defined stages covering the phase of reduced developmental pace (early diapause, mid-diapause and late diapause) and embryo elongation. We hypothesised that embryo development during diapause is halted by the lack of signals that support progression past the blastocyst stage. Three clusters of differentially abundant proteins were identified by a self-organising tree algorithm: (1) gradual reduction over development; (2) stable abundance during diapause, followed by a sharp rise at elongation; and (3) gradual increase over development. Proteins in the different clusters were subjected to gene ontology analysis. ‘Cellular detoxification’ in cluster 1 was represented by alcohol dehydrogenase, glutathione S-transferase and peroxiredoxin-2. ATP-citrate synthase, nucleolin, lamin A/C, and purine phosphorylase as cell proliferation regulators were found in cluster 2 and ‘cortical cytoskeleton’, ‘regulation of substrate adhesion-dependent cell spreading’ and ‘melanosome’ were present in cluster 3. Cell cycle promoters were higher abundant at elongation than during diapause, and polyamines presence indicates their role in diapause regulation. This study provides a comprehensive overview of proteins in the roe deer uterine fluid during diapause and forms a basis for studies aiming at understanding the impact of the lack of cell cycle promoters during diapause.

Abstract Endothelial dysfunction is associated with a variety of vascular disease processes, including hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and atherosclerosis. The molecular mechanisms that underlie endothelial dysfunction are poorly understood, but are associated with endothelial activation by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Although transcriptional profiling has revealed cytokine-induced regulation of mRNA levels of various proteins, including the cell surface adhesion molecules Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (VCAM1) and Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM1), cell surface alterations at the protein level have remained largely unexplored. Unraveling these cell surface alterations is key to identify novel inflammation-markers and putative therapeutic targets to treat endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of this study is to probe cytokine-induced cell surface changes on endothelial cells. We have developed a novel quantitative cell surface proteomics method by combining metabolic labeling and cell surface foot printing. Briefly, Blood Outgrowth Endothelial Cells (BOECs) were metabolically labeled using Stable Isotope Labeling with Amino acids in Cell culture (SILAC) and treated with Interleukin 1β (IL1ß) or Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) or mock treated for 24 hours. Lysine residues available on the cell surface were labeled using a non-membrane permeable N -hydroxysuccinimidobiotin label. Pooled cell lysates were processed into peptides, biotinylated peptides were enriched using streptavidin pull-down, desalted using Empore C18 StageTips, subjected to high resolution chromatography, measured at the Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid Mass Spectrometer and analyzed using the MaxQuant and Perseus computational platform. Using this approach, 2526 biotinylated peptides were identified. The majority of the biotinylated peptides showed a SILAC ratio close to 1, indicating an unaltered cell surface presence. However, for 397 biotinylated peptides, the SILAC ratio was more than 2-fold increased or decreased in the cytokine-stimulated samples and we considered these to be regulated. Gene Ontology (GO)-term enrichment analysis of the corresponding proteins was assessed using BioMart. This analysis revealed a clear enrichment of the GO terms 'extracellular region' and 'extracellular space', supporting the applied approach. Hierarchical clustering of the regulated biotinylated peptides revealed a cluster of proteins with an increased cell surface expression after induction by both IL1ß and TNFα. In addition, two clusters of proteins were identified that show a unique footprint for one of the cytokine-stimulated samples, indicating that IL1ß and TNFα induce specific cell surface alterations. As expected, the most prominent changes were detected in ICAM1 and VCAM1. For ICAM1 6 peptides were identified with SILAC ratios 13.5 ± 1.75 (mean ± standard deviation) upon TNFα and 6.6 ± 2.9 upon IL1ß stimulation. For VCAM1 4 peptides were identified with ratios of 20.8 ± 14.3 (TNFα) and 3.2 ± 0.5 (IL1ß). Secondly, an increased presence of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) and Beta-2-Microglobulin (B2M), part of the self-antigen presenting complex, was detected. Six peptides of HLA were increased on average 4.0 times ± 2.5 (TNFα) and 1.8 ± 0.6 (IL1ß). B2M peptides identified showed comparable values: 3.3 ± 1.1 (TNFα) and 1.7 ± 0.2 (IL1ß). These proteins are present on the cell surface in complex, thereby confirming the validity of our approach. Moreover, all biotinylated peptides identified for ICAM1, VCAM1 and HLA are in the extracellular region, further validating our method. Intriguingly, our approach not only identified the established adhesion molecules ICAM1 and VCAM1, but also a variety of other adhesion molecules involved in cell-cell interactions. More importantly, we also identified increased expression of proteins with other biological functions, including basement membrane proteins, ion channels, tyrosine phosphatase receptors, enzymes and protease inhibitors. In conclusion, we developed a novel mass spectrometry-based cell surface proteomics method to quantify cytokine-induced cell surface alterations. Our approach not only enabled a detailed quantification at the protein level for established inflammatory cell surface markers, but also revealed a variety of potential novel targets for intervention of endothelial activation and dysfunction. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract Abstract 2322 Background: The Scianna blood group system has been implicated in cases of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn and the detection of antibodies to rare antigens in this system have impacted on transfusion management in some patients. Recently, it has been discovered that the Scianna blood group antigens are expressed by the erythrocyte membrane-associated protein (ERMAP), a 475 amino acid red cell adhesion protein consisting of 12 exons with the transcription region spanning exons 3–12. Rare variants in exons 4 and 12 have been reported in patients who have made antibodies to Scianna antigens or have a serological null phenotype for the Scianna system. ERMAP is a member of the butyrophilin-like family, featuring an extracellular immunoglobulin variable and intracellular B30.2 domains. Although one ERMAP variant is detected in one commercial molecular assay (Sc1/Sc2), most reported variants in this gene are rare, and therefore remain largely unrecognized during transfusion planning. ERMAP polymorphisms remain unreported on a large scale, contributing to the uncertainty concerning their clinical significance. To fill this void, we characterized seventeen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in exons 3, 4, and 12 of ERMAP in 905 repeat blood donors. Methods: The DNA of consenting, repeat NIH blood donors were genotyped for seventeen variants in the ERMAP gene. DNA was isolated from whole blood using the Qiagen's MagAttract EZ1 kit. Following polymerase chain reaction amplification, the samples were genotyped by ligation detection reaction (LDR). LDR utilizes a thermostable ligase to generate single stranded DNA fragments of engineered length with allele-specific fluorescent labels, allowing for rapid, multiplexed genotyping. Ligated products were resolved by capillary electrophoresis (3730 DNA analyzer and GeneMapper software (Life Technologies)). Results: Eleven of the seventeen variants (G35S, R81Q, nt307Δ2, Q296Q, R332X, R392H, L399L, L409L, S442P, L452P, and L452L) were monomorphic in this cohort (N=905). Overall, the 54c>t and 76c>t transitions in exon 3 had minor allele frequencies (MAF) of 0.21 and 0.23, respectively, and appeared in all self-identified ethnic groups (except Native American donors (n=2)) with maxima observed in donors of self-identified Hispanic ethnicity (n=16; MAF=0.41 and 0.44, respectively). These SNPs showed significant linkage disequilibrium (r2=0.86 [95%CI 0.85–0.88]). African-American donors (n=57) had the highest frequency of variant 11c>t (MAF 0.07) and variant 755c>t (MAF 0.018), which was absent or extremely rare in other ethnic groups. The Caucasian donor population was the only group to display variations 788g>a and 1094g>a (MAF 0.003 and 0.0008 respectively). Conclusions: This is the largest sample of blood donors to be comprehensively genotyped for Scianna variants to date. We observed population-specific polymorphism of these rare variants according to the donor's self-identified ethnicity, which is under further study. Determining the diversity in the Scianna blood group system may help explain otherwise unclear transfusion reactions, particularly if these variants impact on Scianna antigen surface density (especially the predicted leader sequence variants in exon 3) or other ERMAP functions (via variants in the intracellular domain encoded by exon 12). High throughput donor genotyping will allow evaluation of the clinical importance in alloimmunization for variants like the 11c>t, 54c>t, and 76c>t SNPs that lie in the predicted leader sequence and polymorphisms 755c>t, 788g>a, and 1094g>a that lie within the intracellular B30.2 domain of the ERMAP protein. Awareness of the frequencies of these variations can therefore be a clinically useful aid in the investigation of donors implicated in transfusion reactions. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Leat, P. T.& Thorpe.R. S. 1986.Ordovicianvolcanism in the Welsh Borderland. Geological Magazine 123 (6), 629–40.The printers apologize for the omission of Figure 7 on page 635; the missing figure is printed below. A self-adhesive label is enclosed in this issue, to be affixed on page 635 where the figure should have appeared.

In this work, an integrated electrode system consisting of a graphene working electrode, a carbon counter electrode and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode was fabricated on an FR-4 glass fiber plate by a polyethylene self-adhesive mask stencil method combined with a manual screen printing technique. The integrated graphene electrode was used as the base electrode, and AuNPs were deposited on the working electrode surface by cyclic voltammetry. Then, the carcinoembryonic antigen aptamer was immobilized using the sulfhydryl self-assembly technique. The sensor uses [Fe(CN)6]3−/4− as a redox probe for label free detection of carcinoembryonic antigen based on the impedance change caused by the difference in electron transfer rate before and after the binding of carcinoembryonic antigen aptamer and the target carcinoembryonic antigen. The results showed a good linear relationship when the CEA concentration is in the range of 0.2–15.0 ng/ml. The detection limit was calculated to be 0.085 ng/ml (S/N = 3).

Our daily environment is surrounded by a paradoxically silent and invisible flow: the coming and going of data through our network cables, routers and wireless devices. This data is not just 1s and 0s, but bits of the conversations, images, sounds, thoughts and other forms of information that result from our interaction with the world around us. If we can speak of a global ambience, it is certainly derived from this constant flow of data. It is an endless murmur that speaks to our machines and gives us a sense of awareness of a certain form of surrounding that is independent from our actual, physical location. The constant “presence” of data around us is something that we have become largely aware of. Already in 1994, Phil Agre stated in an article in WIRED Magazine: “We're so accustomed to data that hardly anyone questions it” (1). Agre indicated that this data is in fact a representation of the world, the discrete bits of information that form the reality we are immersed in. He also proposed that it should be “brought to life” by exploring its relationships with other data and the world itself. A decade later, these relationships had become the core of the new paradigm of the World Wide Web and our interaction with cyberspace. As Mitchell Whitelaw puts it: “The web is increasingly a set of interfaces to datasets ... . On the contemporary web the data pour has become the rule, rather than the exception. The so-called ‘web 2.0’ paradigm further abstracts web content into feeds, real-time flows of XML data” ("Art against Information"). These feeds and flows have been used by artists and researchers in the creation of different forms of dynamic visualisations, in which data is mapped according to a set of parameters in order to summarise it in a single image or structure. Lev Manovich distinguishes in these visualisations those made by artists, to which he refers as “data art”. Unlike other forms of mapping, according to Manovich data art has a precise goal: “The more interesting and at the end maybe more important challenge is how to represent the personal subjective experience of a person living in a data society” (15). Therefore, data artists extract from the bits of information available in cyberspace a dynamic representation of our contemporary environment, the ambience of our digital culture, our shared, intimate and at the same time anonymous, subjectivity. In this article I intend to present some of the ways in which artists have dealt with the murmur of data creatively, exploring the immense amounts of user generated content in forms that interrogate our relationship with the virtual environment and the global community. I will discuss several artistic projects that have shaped the data flow on the Internet in order to take the user back to a state of contemplation, as a listener, an observer, and finally encountering the virtual in a physical form. Listening The concept of ambience particularly evokes an auditory experience related to a given location: in filmmaking, it refers to the sounds of the surrounding space and is the opposite of silence; as a musical genre, ambient music contributes to create a certain atmosphere. In relation to flows of data, it can be said that the applications that analyze Internet traffic and information are “listening” to it, as if someone stands in a public place, overhearing other people's conversations. The act of listening also implies a reception, not an emission, which is a substantial distinction given the fact that data art projects work with given data instead of generating it. As Mitchell Whitelaw states: “Data here is first of all indexical of reality. Yet it is also found, or to put it another way, given. ... Data's creation — in the sense of making a measurement, framing and abstracting something from the flux of the real — is left out” (3). One of the most interesting artistic projects to initially address this sort of “listening” is Carnivore (2001) by the Radical Software Group. Inspired by DCS1000, an e-mail surveillance software developed by the FBI, Carnivore (which was actually the original name of the FBI's program) listens to Internet traffic and serves this data to interfaces (clients) designed by artists, which interpret the provided information in several ways. The data packets can be transformed into an animated graphic, as in amalgamatmosphere (2001) by Joshua Davis, or drive a fleet of radio controlled cars, as in Police State (2003) by Jonah Brucker-Cohen. Yet most of these clients treat data as a more or less abstract value (expressed in numbers) that serves to trigger the reactions in each client. Carnivore clients provide an initial sense of the concept of ambience as reflected in the data circulating the Internet, yet other projects will address this subject more eloquently. Fig. 1: Ben Rubin, Mark Hansen, Listening Post (2001-03). Multimedia installation. Photo: David Allison.Listening Post (2001-04) by Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin is an installation consisting of 231 small electronic screens distributed in a semicircular grid [fig.1: Listening Post]. The screens display texts culled from thousands of Internet chat rooms, which are read by a voice synthesiser and arranged synchronically across the grid. The installation thus becomes a sort of large panel, somewhere between a videowall and an altarpiece, which invites the viewer to engage in a meditative contemplation, seduced by the visual arrangement of the flickering texts scrolling on each screen, appearing and disappearing, whilst sedated by the soft, monotonous voice of the machine and an atmospheric musical soundtrack. The viewer is immersed in a particular ambience generated by the fragmented narratives of the anonymous conversations extracted from the Internet. The setting of the piece, isolated in a dark room, invites contemplation and silence, as the viewer concentrates on seeing and listening. The artists clearly state that their goal in creating this installation was to recreate a sense of ambience that is usually absent in electronic communications: “A participant in a chat room has limited sensory access to the collective 'buzz' of that room or of others nearby – the murmur of human contact that we hear naturally in a park, a plaza or a coffee shop is absent from the online experience. The goal of Listening Post is to collect this buzz and render it at a human scale” (Hansen 114-15). The "buzz", as Hansen and Rubin describe it, is in fact nonexistent in the sense that it does not take place in any physical environment, but is rather the imagined output of the circulation of a myriad blocks of data through the Net. This flow of data is translated into audible and visible signals, thus creating a "murmur" that the viewer can relate to her experience in interacting with other humans. The ambience of a room full of people engaged in conversation is artificially recreated and expanded beyond the boundaries of a real space. By extracting chats from the Internet, the murmur becomes global, reflecting the topics that are being shared by users around the world, in an improvised, ever-changing embodiment of the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the time, or even a certain stream of consciousness on a planetary scale. Fig. 2: Gregory Chatonsky, L'Attente - The Waiting (2007). Net artwork. Photo: Gregory Chatonsky.The idea of contemplation and receptiveness is also present in another artwork that elaborates on the concept of the Zeitgeist. L'Attente [The Waiting] (2007) by Gregory Chatonsky is a net art piece that feeds from the data on the Internet to create an open, never-ending fiction in real time [Fig.2: The Waiting]. In this case, the viewer experiences the artwork on her personal computer, as a sort of film in which words, images and sounds are displayed in a continuous sequence, driven by a slow paced soundtrack that confers a sense of unity to the fragmented nature of the work. The data is extracted in real time from several popular sites (photos from Flickr, posts from Twitter, sound effects from Odeo), the connection between image and text being generated by the network itself: the program extracts text from the posts that users write in Twitter, then selects some words to perform a search on the Flickr database and retrieve photos with matching keywords. The viewer is induced to make sense of this concatenation of visual and audible content and thus creates a story by mentally linking all the elements into what Chatonsky defines as "a fiction without narration" (Chatonsky, Flußgeist). The murmur here becomes a story, but without the guiding voice of a narrator. As with Listening Post, the viewer is placed in the role of a witness or a voyeur, subject to an endless flow of information which is not made of the usual contents distributed by mainstream media, but the personal and intimate statements of her peers, along with the images they have collected and the portraits that identify them in the social networks. In contrast to the overdetermination of History suggested by the term Zeitgeist, Chatonsky proposes a different concept, the spirit of the flow or Flußgeist, which derives not from a single idea expressed by multiple voices but from a "voice" that is generated by listening to all the different voices on the Net (Chatonsky, Zeitgeist). Again, the ambience is conceived as the combination of a myriad of fragments, which requires attentive contemplation. The artist describes this form of interacting with the contents of the piece by making a reference to the character of the angel Damiel in Wim Wenders’s film Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin, 1987): “to listen as an angel distant and proximate the inner voice of people, to place the hand on their insensible shoulder, to hold without being able to hold back” (Chatonsky, Flußgeist). The act of listening as described in Wenders's character illustrates several key aspects of the above mentioned artworks: there is, on the one hand, a receptiveness, carried out by the applications that extract data from the Internet, which cannot be “hold back” by the user, unable to control the flow that is evolving in front of her. On the other hand, the information she receives is always fragmentary, made up of disconnected parts which are, in the words of the artist Lisa Jevbratt, “rubbings ... indexical traces of reality” (1). Observing The observation of our environment takes us to consider the concept of landscape. Landscape, in its turn, acquires a double nature when we compare our relationship with the physical environment and the digital realm. In this sense, Mitchell Whitelaw stresses that while data moves at superhuman speed, the real world seems slow and persistent (Landscape). The overlapping of dynamic, fast-paced, virtual information on a physical reality that seems static in comparison is one of the distinctive traits of the following projects, in which the ambience is influenced by realtime data in a visual form that is particularly subtle, or even invisible to the naked eye. Fig. 3: Carlo Zanni, The Fifth Day (2009). Net artwork. Screenshot retrieved on 4/4/2009. Photo: Carlo Zanni. The Fifth Day (2009) by Carlo Zanni is a net art piece in which the artist has created a narration by displaying a sequence of ten pictures showing a taxi ride in the city of Alexandria [Fig.3: The Fifth Day]. Although still, the images are dynamic in the sense that they are transformed according to data retrieved from the Internet describing the political and cultural status of Egypt, along with data extracted from the user's own identity on the Net, such as her IP or city of residence. Every time a user accesses the website where the artwork is hosted, this data is collected and its values are applied to the photos by cloning or modifying particular elements in them. For instance, a photograph of a street will show as many passersby as the proportion of seats held by women in national parliament, while the reflection in the taxi driver's mirror in another photo will be replaced by a picture taken from Al-Jazeera's website. Zanni addresses the viewer's perception of the Middle East by inserting small bits of additional information and also elements from the viewer's location and culture into the images of the Egyptian city. The sequence is rendered as the trailer of a political thriller, enhanced by a dramatic soundtrack and concluded with the artwork's credits. As with the abovementioned projects, the viewer must adopt a passive role, contemplating the images before her and eventually observing the minute modifications inserted by the data retrieved in real time. Yet, in this case, the ambience is not made manifest by a constant buzz to which one must listen, but quite more subtly it is suggested by the fact that not even a still image is always the same. As if observing a landscape, the overall impression is that nothing has changed while there are minor transformations that denote a constant evolution. Zanni has explored this idea in previous works such as eBayLandscape (2004), in which he creates a landscape image by combining data extracted from several websites, or My Temporary Visiting Position from the Sunset Terrace Bar (2007), in which a view of the city of Ahlen (Germany) is combined with a real time webcam image of the sky in Naples (Italy). Although they may seem self-enclosed, these online, data-driven compositions also reflect the global ambience, the Zeitgeist, in different forms. As Carlo Giordano puts it: "Aesthetically, the work aims to a nearly seamless integration of mixed fragments. The contents of these parts, reflecting political and economical issues ... thematize actuality and centrality, amplifying the author's interest in what everybody is talking about, what happens hic et nunc, what is in the fore of the media and social discourse" (16-17). A landscape made of data, such as Zanni's eBayLandscape, is the most eloquent image of how an invisible layer of information is superimposed over our physical environment. Fig. 4: Clara Boj and Diego Díaz, Red Libre, Red Visible (2004-06). Intervention in the urban space. Photo: Lalalab.Artists Clara Boj and Diego Díaz, moreover, have developed a visualisation of the actual flows of data that permeate the spaces we inhabit. In Red Libre, Red Visible [Free Network, Visible Network] (2004-06), Boj and Díaz used Augmented Reality (AR) technology to display the flows of data in a local wireless network by creating AR marker tags that were placed on the street. A Carnivore client developed by the artists enabled anyone with a webcam pointing towards the marker tag and connected to the Wi-Fi network to see in real time the data packets flowing from their computer towards the tag [Fig.4: Red Libre]. The marker tags therefore served both as a tool for the visualisation of network activity as well as a visual sign of the existence of an open network in a particular urban area. Later on, they added the possibility of inserting custom made messages, 3D shapes and images that would appear when a particular AR marker tag was seen through the lens of the webcam. With this project, Boj and Díaz give the user the ability to observe and interact with a layer of her environment that was previously invisible and in some senses, out of reach. The artists developed this idea further in Observatorio [Observatory] (2008), a sightseeing telescope that reveals the existence of Wi-Fi networks in an urban area. In both projects, an important yet unnoticed aspect of our surroundings is brought into focus. As with Carlo Zanni's projects, we are invited to observe what usually escapes our perception. The ambience in our urban environment has also been explored by Julian Oliver, Clara Boj, Diego Díaz and Damian Stewart in The Artvertiser (2009-10), a hand-held augmented reality (AR) device that allows to substitute advertising billboards with custom made images. As Naomi Klein states in her book No Logo, the public spaces in most cities have been dominated by corporate advertising, allowing little or no space for freedom of expression (Klein 399). Oliver's project faces this situation by enabling a form of virtual culture jamming which converts any billboard-crowded plaza into an unparalleled exhibition space. Using AR technology, the artists have developed a system that enables anyone with a camera phone, smartphone or the customised "artvertiser binoculars" to record and substitute any billboard advertisement with a modified image. The user can therefore interact with her environment, first by observing and being aware of the presence of these commercial spaces and later on by inserting her own creations or those of other artists. By establishing a connection to the Internet, the modified billboard can be posted on sites like Flickr or YouTube, generating a constant feedback between the real location and the Net. Gregory Chatonsky's concept of the Flußgeist, which I mentioned earlier, is also present in these works, visually displaying the data on top of a real environment. Again, the user is placed in a passive situation, as a receptor of the information that is displayed in front of her, but in this case the connection with reality is made more evident. Furthermore, the perception of the environment minimises the awareness of the fragmentary nature of the information generated by the flow of data. Embodying In her introduction to the data visualisation section of her book Digital Art, Christiane Paul stresses the fact that data is “intrinsically virtual” and therefore lacking a particular form of manifestation: “Information itself to a large extent seems to have lost its 'body', becoming an abstract 'quality' that can make a fluid transition between different states of materiality” (Paul 174). Although data has no “body”, we can consider, as Paul suggests, any object containing a particular set of information to be a dataspace in its own. In this sense, a tendency in working with the Internet dataflow is to create a connection between the data and a physical object, either as the end result of a process in which the data has been collected and then transferred to a physical form, or providing a means of physically reshaping the object through the variable input of data. The objectification of data thus establishes a link between the virtual and the real, but in the context of an artwork it also implies a particular meaning, as the following examples will show.Fig. 5: Gregory Chatonsky, Le Registre - The Register (2007). Book shelf and books. Photo: Pau Waelder. In Le Registre [The Register] (2007), Gregory Chatonsky developed a software application that gathers sentences related to feelings found on blogs. These sentences are recorded and put together in the form a 500-page book every hour. Every day, the books are gathered in sets of 24 and incorporated to an infinite library. Chatonsky has created a series of bookshelves to collect the books for one day, therefore turning an abstract process into an object and providing a physical embodiment of the murmur of data that I have described earlier [Fig.5: Le Registre]. As with L'Attente, in this work Chatonsky elaborates on the concept of Flußgeist, by “listening” to a specific set of data (in a similar way as in Hansen and Rubin's Listening Post) and bringing it into salience. The end product of this process is not just a meaningless object but actually what makes this work profoundly ironic: printing the books is a futile effort, but also constitutes a borgesque attempt at creating an endless library of something as ephemeral as feelings. In a similar way, but with different intentions, Jens Wunderling brings the online world to the physical world in Default to Public (2009). A series of objects are located in several public spaces in order to display information extracted from users of the Twitter network. Wunderling's installation projects the tweets on a window or prints them in adhesive labels, while informing the users that their messages have been taken for this purpose. The materialisation of information meant for a virtual environment implies a new approach to the concept of ambiance as described previously, and in this case also questions the intimacy of those participating in social networks. As the artist puts it: "In times of rapid change concerning communication behavior, media access and competence, the project Default to Public aims to raise awareness of the possible effects on our lives and our privacy" (Wunderling 155). Fig. 6: Moisés Mañas, Stock (2009). Networked installation. Photo: Moisés Mañas. Finally, in Stock (2009), Moisés Mañas embodies the flow of data from stock markets in an installation consisting of several trench coats hanging from automated coat hangers which oscillate when the stock values of a certain company rise. The resulting movement of the respective trench coat simulates a person laughing. In this work, Mañas translates the abstract flow of data into a clearly understandable gesture, providing at the same time a comment on the dynamics of stock markets [Fig.6: Stock]. Mañas´s project does not therefore simply create a physical output of a specific information (such as the stock value of a company at any given moment), but instead creates a dynamic sculpture which suggests a different perception of an otherwise abstract data. On the one hand, the trenchcoats have a ghostly presence and, as they move with unnatural spams, they remind us of the Freudian concept of the Uncanny (Das Umheimliche) so frequently associated with robots and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the image of a person laughing, in the context of stock markets and the current economical crisis, becomes an ironic symbol of the morality of some stockbrokers. In these projects, the ambience is brought into attention by generating a physical output of a particular set of data that is extracted from certain channels and piped into a system that creates an embodiment of this immaterial flow. Yet, as the example of Mañas's project clearly shows, objects have particular meanings that are incorporated into the artwork's concept and remind us that the visualisation of information in data art is always discretionary, shaped in a particular form in order to convey the artist's intentions. Beyond the Buzz The artworks presented in this article revealt that, beyond the murmur of sentences culled from chats and blogs, the flow of data on the Internet can be used to express our difficult relationship with the vast amount of information that surrounds us. As Mitchell Whitelaw puts it: “Data art reflects a contemporary worldview informed by data excess; ungraspable quantity, wide distribution, mobility, heterogeneity, flux. Orienting ourselves in this domain is a constant challenge; the network exceeds any overview or synopsis” (Information). This excess is compared by Lev Manovich with the Romantic concept of the Sublime, that which goes beyond the limits of human measure and perception, and suggests an interpretation of data art as the Anti-Sublime (Manovich 11). Yet, in the projects that I have presented, rather than making sense of the constant flow of data there is a sort of dialogue, a framing of the information under a particular interpretation. Data is channeled through the artworks's interfaces but remains as a raw material, unprocessed to some extent, retrieved from its original context. These works explore the possibility of presenting us with constantly renewed content that will develop and, if the artwork is preserved, reflect the thoughts and visions of the next generations. A work constantly evolving in the present continuous, yet also depending on the uncertain future of social network companies and the ever-changing nature of the Internet. The flow of data will nevertheless remain unstoppable, our ambience defined by the countless interactions that take place every day between our divided self and the growing number of machines that share information with us. References Agre, Phil. “Living Data.” Wired 2.11 (Nov. 1994). 30 April 2010 ‹http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.11/agre.if.html›. Chatonsky, Gregory. “Flußgeist, une fiction sans narration.” Gregory Chatonsky, Notes et Fragments 13 Feb. 2007. 28 Feb. 2010 ‹http://incident.net/users/gregory/wordpress/13-flusgeist-une-fiction-sans-narration/›. ———. “Le Zeitgeist et l'esprit de 'nôtre' temps.” Gregory Chatonsky, Notes et Fragments 21 Jan. 2007. 28 Feb. 2010 ‹http://incident.net/users/gregory/wordpress/21-le-zeigeist-et-lesprit-de-notre-temps/›. Giordano, Carlo. Carlo Zanni. Vitalogy. 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Whitelaw, Mitchell. “Landscape, Slow Data and Self-Revelation.” Kerb 17 (May 2009). 30 April 2010 ‹http://teemingvoid.blogspot.com/2009/05/landscape-slow-data-and-self-revelation.html›. ———. “Art against Information: Case Studies in Data Practice.” Fibreculture 11 (Jan. 2008). 30 April 2010 ‹http://journal.fibreculture.org/issue11/issue11_whitelaw.html›. Wunderling, Jens. "Default to Public." Cyberarts 2009. International Compendium – Prix Ars Electronica 2004. Ed. Hannes Leopoldseder, Christine Schöpf and Gerfried Stocker. Ostfildern: Hate Cantz, 2009. 154-55.