What is claimed is:
1. A method of evaluating a clinical outcome for a patient suffering from a clinical condition or syndrome, comprising the steps of
(a) providing a clinical specimen from said patient;
(b) measuring the levels of intracellular expression of a preselected set of genes in cells in said clinical specimen; and
(c) comparing said levels of expression against a set of reference expression levels, wherein a deviation of the level of expression of one or more of said preselected set of genes is indicative of clinical outcome for said patient.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said clinical specimen is a sample of blood, tissue, or cerebrospinal fluid.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said clinical specimen is a sample of blood.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the expression levels of at least three genes are measured.
5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the expression level of at least one proinflammatory cytokine is measured.
6. A method according to claim 4, wherein the expression level of at least three proinflammatory cytokines is measured.
7. A method according to claim 6, wherein said genes are selected from the group consisting of TNF-, IL-6, IL-1, IL-8, IP-10 and MIP-1 .
8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said clinical condition or syndrome is an inflammatory disorder.
9. A method according to claim 8, wherein said inflammatory disorder is a chronic inflammatory disorder.
10. A method according to claim 9, wherein said chronic inflammatory disorder is selected from the group consisting of chronic hepatitis, hepatitis B and C, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory mucosal disease, autoimmune disease, dementia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said inflammatory mucosal disease is selected from the group consisting of inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, and colitis.
12. A method according to claim 10, wherein said dementia is AIDS-related dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
13. A method according to claim 10, wherein said cancer is selected from the group consisting of lymphoma, prostate cancer, and colon cancer.
14. A method according to claim 1, wherein said clinical outcome is response to a therapeutic intervention.
15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said therapeutic intervention is treatment with a drug.
16. A method according to claim 15, wherein said drug is a stabilized chlorite solution.
17. A method according to claim 16, wherein said stabilized chlorite solution is WF-10.
18. A method according to claim 1, wherein said clinical condition or syndrome is HIV infection.
19. A method according to claim 18, wherein said clinical condition or syndrome is AIDS.
20. A method according to claim 1, wherein said predicted clinical outcome is the probability of patient survival at a predetermined date.
21. A method according to claim 15, wherein said predicted clinical outcome is the probability of patient survival after six months.
22. A method according to claim 1 wherein the levels of gene expression are measured by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the polymerase chain reaction is a reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction.
24. A method according to claim 23, wherein said polymerase chain reaction is carried out using fluorescent detection of the amplification products.
25. A method according to claim 1, wherein said clinical condition is allograft rejection.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of manufacturing a composite element incorporated in an article of apparel, the method comprising:
locating a component adjacent to a surface of a non-woven textile formed from a plurality of filaments that include a thermoplastic polymer material, wherein the component is in contact with at least a portion of the plurality of filaments, wherein the component includes a woven textile that is formed of a plurality of yarns, the plurality of yarns being mechanically manipulated to exhibit a one-directional stretch which allows the woven textile to stretch in a first direction but limits stretch of the woven textile in a direction perpendicular to the first direction;
melting at least a first portion of the plurality of filaments of the non-woven textile such that the at least first portion of the plurality of filaments exhibits a non-filamentous configuration, wherein the non-filamentous configuration has no permeability to gaseous and liquid fluids;
heating and compressing the component and the non-woven textile to bond the component to the non-woven textile, wherein the component includes a thickness that is comparable to the thickness of the non-woven textile thereby
securing the component to the non-woven textile by a heatbonding process;
forming a composite element, wherein the at least first portion of the plurality of filaments is in contact with the component, wherein the non-filamentous configuration of the at least first portion of the plurality of filaments increases the stretch-resistance of the composite element; and
incorporating the component and the non-woven textile into the article of apparel.
2. The method recited in claim 1, further including a step of providing one or more fused regions along at least one surface of the non-woven textile, wherein the fused regions are at least partially adjacent to the component, and wherein the fused regions have a higher stretch-resistance than regions that remain unfused in the composite element.
3. The method recited in claim 1, further including a step of bonding the component directly to the non-woven textile.
4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of yarns comprise thermoset polymer materials, and the thermoplastic polymer material of the non-woven textile extends around and bonds with the yarns of the woven textile to secure the non-woven textile and woven textile together.
5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the step of heating and compressing includes placing the component and the non-woven textile between platens of a press.
6. The method recited in claim 3, further including a step of securing the component to the non-woven textile by heatbonding, wherein heatbonding involves at least partial infiltration of at least a portion of the thermoplastic polymer filaments to secure the non-woven textile to the component by at least one of softening the thermoplastic polymer filaments and melting the thermoplastic polymer filaments.
7. The method recited in claim 1, further including a step of incorporating the component and the non-woven textile into an upper of an article of footwear.
8. A method of manufacturing a composite element incorporated in an article of apparel, the method comprising:
locating two layers of a non-woven textile on opposite sides of an intermediate element, the layers being formed from a plurality of filaments that include a thermoplastic polymer material, the intermediate element including a solid sheet of polymer material;
forming at least a first fused region in at least one layer of the non-woven textile, wherein the at least first fused region exhibits a non-filamentous configuration, wherein the non-filamentous configuration has no permeability to gaseous and liquid fluids;
heating and compressing the layers and the intermediate element to heatbond the layers to the opposite sides of the intermediate element, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of filaments of the layers that exhibit the non-filamentous configuration are in contact with the intermediate element, wherein the at least first fused region increases the stretch-resistance of the composite element;
heatbonding the two layers directly to each other around at least a portion of a perimeter of the intermediate element;
securing the intermediate element to the layers, wherein the thermoplastic polymer material of the layers is used to directly secure the layers to the intermediate element without the use of additional adhesives; and
incorporating the intermediate element and the non-woven textile into the article of apparel.
9. The method recited in claim 8, further including a step of selecting the thermoplastic polymer material to include another thermoplastic polymer material.
10. The method recited in claim 8, wherein the step of heating and compressing includes placing the intermediate element and the layers between platens of a press.
11. The method recited in claim 8, wherein the step of heatbonding the two layers to each other further comprises heatbonding the two layers around the entire perimeter of the intermediate element.
12. The method recited in claim 8, further including a step of incorporating the intermediate element and the layers into an article of footwear, wherein the composite element comprising the intermediate element and the layers are configured to reduce the amount of stretch in a direction extending between a forefoot area and a heel area in the article of footwear.
13. A method of manufacturing a composite element incorporated in an article of apparel, the method comprising:
locating a series of substantially parallel strips adjacent to a surface of a non-woven textile formed from a plurality of filaments that include a permeable thermoplastic polymer material, the strips including solid sheets of polymer material;
melting at least a portion of the plurality of filaments of the non-woven textile to form at least one fused region, the at least one fused region exhibiting a non-filamentous configuration, wherein the non-filamentous configuration has no permeability to gaseous and liquid fluids, wherein the non-filamentous configuration of the at least one fused region increases the stretch-resistance of the non-woven textile;
disposing the strips along the surface of the non-woven textile such that adjacent strips are spaced apart from one another;
heating and compressing the strips and the non-woven textile to heatbond the strips to the non-woven textile, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of filaments of the non-woven textile that exhibit the non-filamentous configuration are in contact with the strips, such that the at least one fused region increases the stretch-resistance of the composite element;
securing the strips to the non-woven textile, wherein the thermoplastic polymer material of the non-woven is used to directly secure the first textile element to the strips without the use of additional adhesives;
forming regions of no permeability in the composite element associated with the areas where the non-woven textile is bonded to the strips, while the interstitial spaces remain relatively permeable; and
incorporating the strips and the non-woven textile into the article of apparel.
14. The method recited in claim 13, further including a step of disposing the series of substantially parallel strips so they extend longitudinally across the surface of the non-woven textile.
15. The method recited in claim 13, further including a step of securing the non-woven textile to the strips wherein the non-woven textile at least partially intermingles with the polymer material of the strips.
16. The method recited in claim 13, wherein the step of disposing the strips along the surface of the non-woven textile such that they are spaced apart from one another further includes providing a substantially uniform spacing between adjacent strips.
17. The method of claim 14, further including the step of including the composite element in an upper for an article of footwear, wherein the strips extend longitudinally from a heel area to a forefoot area of the article of footwear.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of melting the at least first portion of the plurality of filaments occurs prior to securing the component to the non-woven textile.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of melting the at least first portion of the plurality of filaments occurs after securing the component to the non-woven textile.
20. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming the at least first fused region occurs prior to securing the intermediate element to the layers.
21. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of melting the at least a portion of the plurality of filaments occurs prior to securing the strips to the non-woven textile.