At baseline, PTB patients have significantly lower HRQoL than EPTB. Both PTB and EPTB patients significantly improved after onset of treatment. The converted PTB patients improved in symptoms as compared to the non converted PTB patients.”
“Bias stress effects in organic thin-film transistors SB273005 mw were investigated. A donor-acceptor type liquid-crystalline semiconducting copolymer, poly(didodecylquaterthiophene-alt-didodecylbithiazole), PQTBTz-C12, was used as the active channel material. This substance contains both electron-donating quaterthiophene and electron-accepting 5,5′-bithiazole units. The threshold voltage (V-T) shifts induced by direct

current ( DC) bias stress were studied under different gate-source and drain-source voltages. By fitting Delta V-T versus stress time in compliance with a stretched exponential relationship,

characteristic charge trapping time constants (tau) and dispersion parameters (beta) for the V-T shifts were determined for each stress condition. The time constants decrease with increasing gate-drain voltages. It was also observed that the V-T shift due to charge trapping can be recovered by GS-7977 clinical trial releasing the device from bias stress for several hours. The recovery rate from DC OFF bias stress is slightly slower than the recovery from DC ON bias stress. Such a difference can be attributed to the different charge releasing time from the deep trap states for holes and electrons. The immediate compensation of opposite charges by applying an alternating current (AC) bias stress provides spontaneous

charge detrapping at each cycle and thus results in relatively moderate total VT shifts compared to those under DC bias only. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3656442]“
“Our understanding of the multiple in vivo functions of the ARS-1620 proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha), is advancing at a rapid pace. In addition to its antitumor effects, overproduction of TNF alpha provokes tissue injury and organ failure. TNF alpha has also been shown to be cardiodepressent and responsible for various cardiovascular complications. It appears that still much needs to be learned for a full comprehension of the role of TNF alpha in heart biology. Another cytokine, interleukin-10 (IL-10), has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. It is suggested to counterbalance many adverse effects of TNF alpha. IL-10 suppresses the production of TNF alpha and many other proinflammatory cytokines. TNF alpha-induced oxidative stress is also known to be mitigated by IL-10. Moreover, improvement in cardiac function after treatment with various drugs is also shown to be associated with an increase in IL-10 content. Based on the data reviewed in here, it is suggested that an optimal balance between IL-10 and TNF alpha may be a new therapeutic strategy for a healthier heart.

Fifty-seven patients (12.9 %) had SRC in AGC. Sex, age, location, size, macroscopic type, perineural invasion, N stage, and hepatic metastasis were significantly different between SRC and the differentiated histological

type. Undifferentiated-type gastric carcinoma differed in sex, macroscopic type, and hepatic metastasis. The overall survival rate differed between SRC and other cell types (P < 0.001). Among all the study patients, age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.013, P = 0.041] and tumor, node, and metastasis Birinapant solubility dmso (TNM) stage (HR 2.350, P < 0.001) were important factors for predicting survival. Omitting patients with palliative resection or metastases, TNM stage was still an important factor for survival (HR 2.077, P < 0.001).

Patients with SRC showed similar clinicopathological features with undifferentiated histology. The survival of patients with SRC reflected a better prognosis in patients with undifferentiated gastric carcinoma. However, when narrowing the patients to those with EGC only, survival in EGC patients exhibited no difference between histological MLN2238 types. Among AGC patients, SRC patients had a worse prognosis than other cell types.”
“OBJECTIVE: To estimate promotion rates of physician

faculty members in obstetrics and gynecology during the past 30 years

METHODS: Data were collected annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges from every school between 1980 and 2009 for first-time assistant and associate professors to determine whether and when they were promoted. Data for full-time physician faculty were aggregated by decade (1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009). Faculty were included if they remained in academia for 10 years after beginning in rank. Data were analyzed by constructing estimated promotion curves and extracting 6-year and 10-year promotion rates.

RESULTS: The 10-year promotion rates

GDC-0994 (adjusted for attrition) declined significantly for assistant professors from 35% in 1980-1989 to 32% in 1990-1999 to 26% in 2000-2009 (P<.001), and for associate professors from 37% to 32% to 26%, respectively (P<.005). These declines most likely resulted from changes in faculty composition. The most recent 15 years saw a steady increase in the proportion of entry-level faculty who were women (now 2:1) and primarily on the nontenure track. The increasing number of faculty in general obstetrics and gynecology had lower promotion probabilities than those in the subspecialties (odds ratio 0.16; P<.001). Female faculty on the nontenure track had lower promotion rates than males on the nontenure track, males on the tenure track, and females on the tenure track (odds ratio 0.8 or less; P<.01).

CONCLUSION: A decline in promotion rates during the past 30 years may be attributable to changes in faculty composition.

Findings indicate that female victims of CSA who are involved with public service systems are at high risk for developing multiple-substance use in adolescence. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“BACKGROUND:

In 2003 the Department of Health and Human Services sponsored the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative (ODBC) with the aim to increase organ donation. After the ODBC, increases in the number of all solid organs transplanted, except for heart, were seen. The aim of this study was to determine if ODBC resulted in temporal changes in the use of hearts from high-risk donors.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the Cardiac BVD-523 Transplant Research Database in three eras: 1990 1995, 1996-2002, and 2003-2007. We explored temporal changes in high-risk donor characteristics: age, gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, abnormal echocardiogram, and ischemic time.

RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2007, 7,220 patients underwent transplantation in 26 centers. Donors in the first era were least likely to have high-risk characteristics of higher age (mean, 30 years), female gender (30%), hypertension (8%), diabetes mellitus (1%), structural abnormalities on echocardiogram selleck (7%), and prolonged graft ischemic time (mean,

163 minutes). In the second era, there was a significant increase in the use of donors with the above mentioned high-risk characteristics-32 years, 33%, 10%, 3%, 8% and 181 minutes, respectively. In the third post-ODBC era, no further increase was seen in high-risk donors, but rather a trend for avoidance of risk-32 years, 28%, 10%, 2%, 5% and 186 minutes, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Significant temporal changes in the characteristics of heart donors have occurred in selleck compound the past 17 years. Recent temporal changes, however, cannot be directly attributed to the ODBC efforts. J Heart Lung Transplant 2010;29:847-52 Published by Elsevier Inc.”
“The supply of donor

organs has not increased as fast as has the number of patients awaiting kidney transplantation. Few organs are shared outside the areas of recovery. This trend has caused some ESRD patients to seek listing at multiple centers. We examined UNOS registry data and transplant registry data at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) for the 576 patients listed at multiple centers over an 8-year span ending December 31, 2005. We identified 72 multilisted patients who received a deceased-donor renal allograft at UAB and reviewed their records for demographics, HLA matching and transfer of listing time. The only predictors for transplantation at UAB were initial listing at UAB or transfer of waiting time. Fifty-one of the 72 patients had listed at UAB first; the other 21 had transferred waiting time. None of the 176 patients who listed elsewhere first and did not transfer waiting time had been transplanted at UAB.

Analyses

examined the associations among the study variables and compared the results with published signaling pathway data from two patient samples from the United States.

Participants. One hundred seventeen individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Outcome Measures. Portuguese translations of brief versions of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire and Chronic Pain Coping Inventory and criterion measures of pain intensity, pain interference, and depression.

Results. Statistically significant positive associations were found between measures of patient dysfunction and catastrophizing, praying/hoping, guarding, asking for assistance, and support seeking; and negative associations were found between the criterion measures and ignoring sensations, coping self-statements, and increasing behavioral activities. Mean differences between the Portuguese and US samples in the coping scales were found for nine of the 15 coping scales.

Conclusions. The results support the reliability and validity of the translated Coping Strategies Questionnaire and Chronic Pain Coping Inventory

and also indicate a number Pexidartinib research buy of similarities, but also some interesting differences, in the findings from the Portuguese vs US samples, suggesting that there may be cultural differences in how people cope with pain.”
“Introduction: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening programmes reduce AAA-related mortality and are cost-effective. This study aims to assess the state and variability

of AAA screening programmes worldwide.

Methods: Data were obtained from this website an international expert group convened at the 34th Charing Cross Symposium as well as government websites and published reports on screening programmes.

Results: Six countries are in the process of implementing national AAA screening programmes, with Italy still performing screening trials. There is wide variability in inclusion criteria between countries with the majority screening only men in their 65th year, however 3 programmes include women, 2 programmes only include patients with high cardiovascular risk, and 2 trials are also screening for hypertension and lower limb atherosclerosis. Surveillance intervals vary between screening programmes, with the most common regimen being to vary the surveillance interval depending upon aneurysm size, however the optimum surveillance interval in terms of decreasing mortality and cost effectiveness remains uncertain.

Discussion: International dissemination of current AAA screening programme outcomes is required to inform developing programmes about optimum screening intervals, benefits of surveillance of the subaneurysmal aorta, and screening for other cardiovascular disease. (C) 2012 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Objective.

7 mm (range 5-8 mm) before surgery. Of the seven patients,

bony union of the fracture developed in six. At latest follow-up, two patients had neck pain associated with movement and limited range of rotational motion.

Direct repair under microendoscope is a new technique that improves bony union of displaced anterior arch of the atlas fractures.”
“Background: Although agonistic autoantibodies against type-1 angiotensin-II receptor (AT(1)-AA) are frequently detected in women with preeclampsia, the clinical significance of AT(1)-AA in association with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has not been identified.

Methods: In an attempt to clarify this issue, we measured serum AT(1)-AA titer from EOC patients (n = 89) and healthy normal subjects (n selleck inhibitor = 55), correlated AT(1)-AA titer with EOC stage and grade, and demonstrated the effects of purified AT(1)-AA on migration of ovarian cancer cells and angiogenesis of chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane.

Results: We found that the AT(1)-AA titer

was significantly higher in EOC patients compared with healthy control subjects (1.77 +/- 0.28 vs. 0.35 +/- 0.05, P < 0.01). The positive rate was averaged by 72.1 +/- 2.5% in EOC patients and 15.5 +/- 1.5% in control (P < 0.01). Increased AT(1)-AA titer in EOC patients was associated with advanced stages and grades of EOC, and positively correlated with level of vascular endothelial growth factor (r = 0.855, P < 0.01). Furthermore, AT(1)-AA directly Selleck VX-661 stimulated migration of ovarian cancer cells and enhanced microvascular density of chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane. These AT(1)-AA-mediated effects were significantly blocked either by an autoantibody-neutralizing

peptide or an angiotensin II type I receptor antagonist, losartan.

Conclusion: Taken together, we found that a higher serum AT(1)-AA titer may be associated with advanced progression of EOC in patients and play an important role in development of EOC by promoting cancer cell migration and angiogenesis. These findings implicate that AT(1)-AA might be selected as a detectable biomarker and potential therapeutic target in diagnosis and treatment of EOC patients.”
“Twenty five human breast adipose tissue samples selleck products were collected in Porto Alegre. Brazil during 2004-2005 and analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Sigma PBDE concentrations (sum of tri- to hepta-BDEs) ranged from 0.19 to 132 ng/g lipid with a median of 1.51 ng/g lipid. These concentrations are 3- to 100-times lower than those reported from other countries, with the exception of Japan, probably reflecting lower usage of PBDE-containing products or lower exposures to these chemicals. The predominant congener was BDE-47, followed by BDEs 99,183. 153 and 100. One individual in the dataset had about 70-times higher PBDE concentrations than the rest of the participants. Sigma PCB (sum of PCBs 118.

There were 650 genes significantly down-regulated and 683 genes significantly up-regulated (P < 0.05) in the luteal versus follicular phase. Quantitative real-time PCR, immunoblot analysis and immunohistochemistry selleck chemical confirmed selected gene expression and cellular protein localization. Down-regulated genes involved macrophage recruitment, immunomodulation and matrix-degeneration, and up-regulated genes involved anti-inflammatory, ion transport, anti-angiogenic and early pregnancy recognition. The oviduct displayed some similarities and differences in progesterone-regulated genes compared with the human endometrium. Together, these data suggest a unique hormonally

regulated environment during embryo development, maturation and transport through human oviduct and some conservation of progesterone signalling in tissues of common embryological origin. (C) 2013, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights”
“We propose a new device built from a bulk superconductor to enhance the magnetic flux density within a high-field superconducting

magnet. The high-temperature superconductor (HTS) bulk application, named the magnetic field amplifier, was constructed from four pieces of Gd-Ba-Cu-O superconductor. The field amplifier has a unique configuration of the bulk superconductor, which suppresses the current on the periphery CHIR98014 purchase of the bulk induced by external field variation. We experimentally demonstrated that GSK2879552 cost the field was effectively amplified at the center of the HTS bulk

device. By increasing the background field from 12 to 13 T in field-cooling mode, a magnetic flux density of 14.76 T was obtained at the center of the amplifier. The observed multiplication factor was 2.76, corresponding to external field variation. A configuration to further improve efficiency and reduce size is also presented. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3068645]“
“To investigate how weight loss correlates with changes in generic and weight-specific quality of life (QoL).

Youth generic (YQOL-S) and weight-specific instruments (YQOL-W) from 133 youth age 11-19 were analyzed at the beginning and end of 4-week immersion camp sessions known to produce weight loss. Paired samples t tests were used to test mean difference between baseline and final Body Mass Index (BMI) and YQOL-S and YQOL-W scores. YQOL-S and YQOL-W scores were transformed to values between 0 and 100, with higher values indicating better QOL. Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated to assess magnitude of effects. Percent weight loss (as % of baseline weight), change in BMI (baseline kg/mA(2)aEuro”"follow-up kg/mA(2)), and change in % overweight ((BMI-50th% BMI for age and sex)/50th% BMI for age and sex x 100) were calculated.

Conclusion: Extreme values of UPC ratio <= 0.08 or >= 1.19 have favorable predictive values, which could enable the rapid diagnosis of preeclampsia without a 24-h urine collection.”
“OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the QuantiFERON (R)-TB Gold

(QFT-G) test for screening tuberculosis (TB) contacts and estimating their risk of progressing PHA-848125 concentration to active TB disease.

METHODS: Data on clinical progression to active disease were collected from public health centres 2 years after close contacts of TB cases had been QFT-G-tested.

RESULTS: Among 3102 contacts observed, 419 were QFT-G-positive, and isoniazid (INH) treatment was initiated in 323. Twenty (4.8%) of these 419 developed TB disease. Among 2683 QFT-G-negative persons, 19 were diagnosed with TB (0.7%) during the average follow-up period of 1.6 years. The estimated sensitivity of QFT-G in detecting contacts who would

progress to active TB was 51%, or 64% allowing for the effects of INN treatment. Among the QFT-G-negative contacts, all those who developed TB disease were contacts of highly infectious cases. Large-scale tuberculin skin testing was not available.

CONCLUSIONS: TB incidence among QFT-G-positive contacts was higher than among QFT-G-negative contacts, but the number of TB cases among QFT-G-negative contacts is non-negligible, especially among contacts of highly infectious cases.”
“Objective: To determine whether a rule-based system for fetal heart rate interpretation can result in reduced Bucladesine inhibitor metabolic acidemia without increasing obstetrical intervention. Methods: Rates of

vacuum-assisted delivery and Cesarean sections, and umbilical artery pH and base excess values were determined over a 5-year period in a single hospital with 3907 deliveries in Japan. Results were compared selleck chemicals for 2 years before and 2 years after a 6-month training period in rule-based fetal heart rate interpretation. Results: The pre-and post-training rates of unscheduled Cesarean deliveries (4.8% vs. 6.0%) and vacuum deliveries (21.2% vs. 18.1%) did not differ significantly. The rates of umbilical arterial pH <7.15 (1.51% vs. 0.18%, p < 0.05) and base excess <-12 mEq/L (1.76% vs. 0.25%, p < 0.05) were significantly lower after training. Conclusion: A standardized fetal heart rate pattern management system was associated with a 7-fold reduction of newborn metabolic acidemia with no change in operative intervention.”
“BACKGROUND: Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) release assays (IGRAs), such as the QuantiFERON (R)-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT), are becoming a preferred method for diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) infection in many industrialised countries. However, data on the effectiveness of IGRAs in high TB-HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) endemic and resource-limited settings, such as Zambia, are limited.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the intra-assay reliability and robustness of QFT-GIT in a field setting in Zambia.

The formulations were applied to textiles by either batch coating or dip coating. In the dip-coating process, the influence of individual parameters

on the fabric modification find more was investigated and evaluated. After treatment with chlorine, the hydantoin structure was transformed into antimicrobial active N-halamines. The modified fabrics exhibited potent antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Our method, based on an initiator pretreatment and water-soluble crosslinkers, outperformed current technologies in the degree of fabric modification. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119: 1646-1651, 2011″
“Study Design. Case-control study for assessing a diagnostic test.

Objective. The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic yield of a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay in the differential diagnosis of tuberculous vertebral osteomyelitis (TVO) and brucellar

vertebral osteomyelitis (BVO).

Summary of Background Data. Vertebral osteomyelitis www.selleckchem.com/products/wh-4-023.html (VO) is one of commonest osteoarticular complications of tuberculosis and brucellosis. However, the very similar clinical, radiologic, and histologic characteristics of these entities mean that diagnosis requires etiological confirmation, but conventional microbiologic methods have important limitations.

Methods. Fifteen vertebral samples from patients with TVO or BVO and 9 from pyogenic and nontuberculous mycobacteria VO were studied by multiplex PCR and conventional microbiologic techniques. To identify Brucella DNA, we used a

fragment of 207 bp from the conserved region of the gene coding for an immunogenic membrane protein of 31 kDa of B. abortus (BCSP31) and for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, a fragment of 164 bp from the intergenic region SenX3-RegX3.

Results. The histopathologic findings were inconclusive in 4 of 14 cases (28.6%) with TVO or BVO and cultures were positive in 11 of 15 cases (73.3%). Multiplex HSP990 solubility dmso PCR correctly identified 14 of the 15 samples from patients with TVO and BVO and was negative in all the control samples. Thus, the overall sensitivity and specificity of the multiplex PCR were 93.3% and 90%, respectively, with an accuracy of 92% (95% CI, 81.4%-100%).

Conclusion. These results suggest that multiplex real-time PCR is far more sensitive than conventional cultures, and this, together with its speed, makes this technique a very practical approach for the differential diagnosis between TVO and BVO.”
“Nasolabial cysts are uncommon primarily unilateral soft tissue lesions located adjacent to the alveolar process above the apices of the maxillary incisors.

We performed a prospective study

of all patients with a diagnosis of RA who received treatment at the Rheumatology Clinic in Sarawak General Hospital over a 1-year period. Systematic DAS-driven treatment adjustments aimed to achieve low disease activity (DAS 28-ESR <2.6) were Screening Library price carried out in the clinic over the 1-year period. Disease activity and treatment regimes of all 142 patients were collected for at baseline and 1 year later for statistical analysis. Our patients have a significantly lower DAS 28 with a mean of 2.99 +/- 0.95 compared with baseline of 4.31 +/- 1.34 (p<0.000). More patients were in remission 1 year later compared to baseline (36.6% vs 11.3%). Tight control strategy has a positive impact on the care of RA patients in our centre. By optimising the care of RA through tight control strategy, RA can be better controlled in our centre.”
“The COP9 signalosome (CSN) is a multiprotein complex which participates in diverse cellular and developmental processes. CSN1, one of the subunits of CSN, is essential for assembly of the multiprotein complex via PCI (proteasome, COP9 signalosome and initiation factor 3) domain in the C-terminal half of CSN1. However, the role of the N-terminal domain (NTD) of CSN1, which is critical for the function of CSN, is not completely understood. Using a yeast two-hybrid YH25448 molecular weight (Y2H) screen, we found that the NTD of CSN1 interacts

with TSK-associating protein 1 (TSA1), a reported Ca2+-binding protein. The interaction between CSN1 and TSA1 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation in Arabidopsis. tsa1 mutants exhibited a short hypocotyl phenotype in darkness FK228 chemical structure but were similar to wild-type Arabidopsis under white

light, which suggested that TSA1 might regulate Arabidopsis hypocotyl development in the dark. Furthermore, the expression of TSA1 was significantly lower in a csn1 null mutant (fus6), while CSN1 expression did not change in a tsa1 mutant with weak TSA1 expression. Together, these findings suggest a functional relationship between TSA1 and CSN1 in seedling development.”
“Purpose: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the accuracy of computer programs in predicting skeletal changes after orthognathic Surgery.

Materials and Methods: A systematic computerized database search was conducted with the help of a health sciences librarian. Specific selection criteria were used to select articles, reference lists of the selected articles were also searched for any potential articles that might have been missed in the electronic search, and additional information not available through the articles was obtained directly from the corresponding author.

Results: Of the 79 initially identified articles (abstracts/titles), only 9 fulfilled the final selection criteria. As expected, no dental changes occurred but the computer programs were unable to precisely predict all the skeletal changes.

Here, we explore

the role of REVEILLE8/LHY-CCA1-LIKE5 (RVE8/LCL5) within the Arabidopsis circadian system. RVE8/LCL5 encodes a MYB-like transcription factor similar to CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1) and ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY), which are essential regulators of the Arabidopsis circadian clock. Consistent with the sequence similarity, the rhythmic expression of RVE8/LCL5 shows a morning acrophase comparable to that of CCA1 and LHY. Plants mis-expressing RVE8/LCL5 display a variety of circadian phenotypes, including altered circadian gene expression and photoperiodic flowering time. Similar to CCA1, RVE8/LCL5 regulates the expression of the oscillator gene TOC1 (TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION1) by associating with the TOC1 promoter and by modulating the pattern of histone 3 (H3) acetylation. However, the mechanisms of RVE8/LCL5 and CCA1 activity in this regulation differ markedly. Indeed, find more the use of chromatin immunoprecipitation and pharmacological inhibition assays reveals that RVE8/LCL5 favours a hyper-acetylated state of H3 at the TOC1 promoter, which may facilitate the rising phase of TOC1. In contrast, CCA1 represses TOC1 expression by promoting histone deacetylation. Thus, despite the sequence homology and the similar morning phase of expression, RVE8/LCL5

and CCA1 have opposing regulatory functions within the Arabidopsis circadian clock, although CCA1 has a more predominant role. We propose that contrasting AZD8055 mouse chromatin compaction and transcriptional modulation through the opposing activities of RVE8/LCL5 and CCA1 might provide a fine-tuning mechanism learn more for precisely shaping the TOC1 circadian waveform in Arabidopsis.”
“The use of biodegradable materials to develop polymeric blends visioning distinct applications is desirable and nowadays is an important research field. In this work, blends

of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and 30, 50, and 70% in weight of an unmodified corn starch have been successfully fabricated. The structure of these blends have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was found that the original starch particles are kept in the blends forming a separate phase from EVA. The FTIR confirmed that EVA and starch comprise a physical mixture in the blends. Besides, the blends were found very homogenous and mainly amorphous with the EVA melting temperature being independent of the starch content. The melt flow index (MFI) decreased for higher contents of starch, revealing that starch acts as a filler in the blends. Physical properties such as density, hardness, and thermal conductivity were found to increase with the content of starch in the blends.