Pro-inflammatory cytokines may directly influence the viability and metabolic function of colonic epithelial cells (CEC) as an early event in the development of inflammatory bowel disease. We report here that TNF-alpha+IFN-gammainduced a synergistic, concentration-dependent decline in butyrate oxidation, an essential energy supply, in HT-29 and DLD-1 cells. TNF-alpha+IFN-gammainduced a parallel profound decline in cell viability in HT-29 cells, but not in DLD-1 cells, where impairment of butyrate oxidation seemed to precede later occurrence of cell damage. TNF-alpha+INF-gamma induced CEC damage was independent on NO formation and involved the IFN-gamma signalling pathway as well as induction of apoptosis. If cytokines have similar effects in vivo, these may lead to energy deficiency and thus contribute to CEC damage and disturbance of the epithelial integrity.
Chemokine receptors control leukocyte chemotaxis and cell-cell communication but have also been associated with pathogen entry. GPR33, an orphan member of the chemokine-like receptor family,...Full Text Available
The use of infectious pathogens has allowed the detection of the development of synergism between pathogens and ubiquitous environmental chemical contaminants. This synergism has been demonstrated to...Full Text Available
The C-C chemokine receptor 5, 32 base-pair deletion (CCR5-Δ32) allele confers strong resistance to infection by the AIDS virus HIV. Previous studies have suggested...Full Text Available
We have examined the association between cytokine, chemokine and growth factor concentrations with bacterial vaginosis (BV) in pregnant white and black women. A nested case-control analysis...Full Text Available
Red cell transfusions are associated with the development of acute lung injury in the critically ill. Recent evidence suggests that storage induced alterations of the red blood cell (RBC) collectively...Full Text Available
The murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) M33 gene is conserved among all betaherpesviruses and encodes a homologue of seven-transmembrane receptors (7TMR) with the capacity for constitutive signaling. Previous...Full Text Available
Protective innate immunity to the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis requires eosinophils in the parasite killing process. Experiments were performed to determine if an extract of S....Full Text Available
Abstract: Environmental synergisms may pose the greatest threat to tropical biodiversity. Using recently updated data sets from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, we evaluated the incidence of perceived threats to all known mammal, bird, and amphibian species in tropical forests. Vulnerable, endangered, and extinct species were collectively far more likely to be imperiled by combinations of threats than expected by chance. Among 45 possible pairwise combinations of 10 different threats, 69%, 93%, and 71% were significantly more frequent than expected for threatened mammals, birds, and amphibians, respectively, even with a stringent Bonferroni-corrected probability value (p= 0.003). Based on this analysis, we identified five key environmental synergisms in t...
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between prior Anisakis infections and upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB), and its interaction...Full Text Available
9-[[2-Hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethoxy]methyl]guanine (BIOLF-62) is highly synergistic with either phosphonoformate or phosphonoacetate when used in combination against herpes simplex virus types 1 and...Full Text Available
BackgroundThere are no drugs presently available to treat traumatic brain injury (TBI). A variety of single drugs have failed clinical trials suggesting a role for drug combinations....Full Text Available
SummaryMonoclonal antibodies are standard therapeutics for several cancers including the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab for B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Rituximab and other...Full Text Available
Synergism has been observed during inhibiting initiated oxidation of styrene or tetralin by organic phosphites in the presence of complex compounds of some transition metals. The results are given of non-additive intensification of antioxidative activity of triphenylphosphite (TPP) and tri-(4-methyl-6-tert.-- butyl)-phenyl-phosphite (TMBP) in the process of initiated oxidation of styrene or tetralin with addition of acetylacetonates of cobalt and vanadyl. During styrene oxidation, inhibition of the reaction with chelate complex of vanadyl is weakened considerably when phosphite is added into the reaction system. During tetralin oxidation, postcatalytic (or branched) oxidation is observed only for large concentration of vanadyl complex. Addition of TPP to above complex sharply increases the induction period. When the induction period is completed, oxidation of tetralin follows the mechanism of usual, i.e. initiated, reaction.
Extraction of hafnium by 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoyl-5-pyrazolone (HL) in benzene, toluene, chloroform and tetrachloromethane from aqueous-alcoholic solutions of the formal acidity of 2M-HClO_4 was studied. Methyl, ethyl, n- and isopropyl, tert-butyl and allyl alcohol as well as ethylene glycol monomethyl ether and propylene glycol were used as organic components of the mixed aqueous-organic phase. Their presence in some cases resulted in a synergic increase in the distribution ratio of hafnium. The increase is interpreted using the results of a slope analysis and measurements of the alcohol distribution and the relative permittivity of the organic phase. It is suggested that HfL_4 molecules were solvated by alcohol molecules in the organic phase. At high alcohol concentration synergism changed into antagonism. This was caused by changes in the distribution of HL and its interaction with the alcohol in the organic phase. (author).
The resistance to microbe damages of aqueous solutions of cutting fluids (SOZh), which contain dual and more complex mixtures of known compounds, is studied. Lauric acid, myristic and tridecanic acid give microbic resistance to the compositions of synthetic cutting fluids. A complexing of the compositions as a rule does not support precisely expressed effects of synergism or antagonism.
An investigation of the effect of blending of two different coals in various ratios on the hydrogenation reaction was carried out using a red mud-sulphur catalyst. Three Japanese coals and an Australian brown coal were used in the study. The conversion of the blended coals was compared with that obtained with each of the coals alone. A blend of the Yallourn brown coal and Shin-Yubari coal showed a synergism: it is considered that hydroaromatics from the Japanese coal promote the hydrogenation of the Yallourn coal. (The tables and captions in this paper are in English).
Long-term aging of organic materials in reactor containment buildings has become a major issue within the nuclear community. In this article, the status of radiation-aging qualification test requirements in several countries is reviewed, and problems with the current aging methodologies are described. These problems include dose-rate and synergistic effects and environmental synergisms, which have been found for many different polymeric materials. A number of approaches to improved accelerated-radiation-aging tests for prediction of long-term aging behavior are discussed together with their limitations.
Long-term aging of organic materials in reactor containment buildings has become a major issue within the nuclear community. In this article, the status of radiation-aging qualification test requirements in several countries is reviewed, and problems with the current aging methodologies are described. These problems include dose-rate and synergistic effects and environmental synergisms, which have been found for many different polymeric materials. A number of approaches to improved accelerated-radiation-aging tests for prediction of long-term aging behavior are discussed together with their limitations.
Streptococcus pneumoniae colonizes the mucosal surface of the human upper respiratory tract. A colonization event is gradually cleared through phagocytosis by monocytes/macrophages that are recruited to the airway lumen. Here, we sought to define the bacterial and host factors that promote monocyte/macrophage influx and S. pneumoniae clearance using intranasal bacterial challenge in mice. We found that the recruitment of monocytes/macrophages required their expression of the chemokine receptor CCR2 and correlated with expression of the CCR2 ligand CCL2. Production of CCL2 and monocyte/macrophage recruitment were deficient in mice lacking digestion of peptidoglycan by lysozyme (LysM) and cytosolic sensing of the products of digestion by Nod2. Ex vivo macrophages produced CCL2 following bacterial uptake, digestion by LysM, and sensing of peptidoglycan by Nod2. Sensing of digested peptidoglycan by Nod2 also required the pore-forming toxin pneumolysin. The generation ...
Cholestatic liver injury induced by alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT) is provoked by injury to intrahepatic bile ducts and the progression of hepatic necrosis requires the procoagulant protein tissue factor (TF) and extrahepatic cells including neutrophils. Recent studies have shown that myeloid cell TF contributes to neutrophil activation. We tested the hypothesis that myeloid cell TF contributes to neutrophil activation in ANIT-treated mice. TF activity in liver homogenates increased significantly in TF^f^l^o^x^/^f^l^o^x mice treated with ANIT, but not in TF^f^l^o^x^/^f^l^o^x/LysMCre mice (TFD^M^y^e^l^o^i^d mice), which have reduced TF expression in monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils. Myeloid cell-specific TF deficiency did not alter expression of the chemokines KC or MIP-2 but redu...
This report concerns investigations in the title conducted by 8 groups of National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) during the period of 1998-2000. The groups are for investigation of: Effects of p53 tumor suppressor gene in radiation-induced leukemia, Role of atm-gene in dose rate effect of ionizing radiation, Function of DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PK{sub cs}), Functional complementation of radiation-sensitive mutant M10 cell line by human XRCC4 cDNA expression, Role of radiation-induced apoptosis in digital defects in embryonic mice, Functional analysis of S-phase specific novel nuclear protein NP95 by gene targeting, Role of chemokine in T cell development and lymphomagenesis, and establishment of production techniques of gene-modified mice using embryonic stem cells for genetic analysis of radiation-sensitive genes. The groups describe summaries of their studies and published original articles are also given. (N.I.)
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of meningitis in newborn infants. Bacterial cell surface appendages, known as pili, have been recently described in streptococcal pathogens, including GBS. The pilus tip adhesin, PilA, contributes to GBS adherence to blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelium; however, the host receptor and the contribution of PilA in central nervous system (CNS) disease pathogenesis are unknown. Here we show that PilA binds collagen, which promotes GBS interaction with the ?(2)?(1) integrin resulting in activation of host chemokine expression and neutrophil recruitment during infection. Mice infected with the PilA-deficient mutant exhibit delayed mortality, a decrease in neutrophil infiltration and bacterial CNS dissemination. We find that PilA-mediated virulence is dependent on neutrophil influx as neutrophil depletion results in a decrease in BBB permeability and GBS-BBB penetration. Our results suggest that the bacterial pilus, ...
Investigations of cadmium toxicity to microorganisms are now more concerned with the interactions of cadmium with different environmental factors and other metals. The interactions are complex and have not been thoroughly studied yet. Metal interactions may assume the form of synergism characterized by increase in toxicity, but also of antagonism in which one metal reduces the toxicity of another. Apart from cadmium interactions with such toxic metals as mercury and lead, interactions of cadmium with the essential trace elements seem to be very interesting because it has been assumed that algal cells take up cadmium by the system transporting these elements. A previous study showed that cadmium transport into Stichococcus bacillaris cells was inhibited by Mn/sup 2 +/ ions. Thus, it can be supported that there exist some possibilities of using those ions antagonistic to cadmium as counterposition. Showing those possibilities was the aim of the present paper.
The water soluble, photolabile nitrene precursor, azidonaphthalene-2,7-disulfonic acid (ANDS) was encapsulated in small unilamellar, isoelectric (egg PC) or negatively charged (egg PC + dihexadecylphosphate) liposomes. The individual and combined effects of heme-proteins and UV irradiation on the fluorescence of these vesicles under aerobic conditions were studied. Consistent with the catalytic action of heme-proteins on lipid peroxidation and peroxide decomposition, addition of cytochrome c (positively charged) or catalase (negatively charged) to the vesicles elicited immediate formation of a fluorescence band at 470 nm, characteristic of Schiff bases that form from aldehyde byproducts of decomposing hydroperoxides. Ultraviolet irradiation of liposomes caused no significant changes in the fluorescence spectrum, in spite of the radiolysis of ANDS inside the vesicles with consequent formation of nitrene radicals. When isoelectric vesicles were irradiated with UV light in the presence of ...
Magnolia bark and ginger rhizome is a drug pair in many prescriptions for treatment of mental disorders in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, compatibility and synergism mechanism of two herbs on antidepressant actions have not been reported. The aim of this study was to approach the rationale of the drug pair in TCM. We evaluated antidepressant-like effects of mixture of honokiol and magnolol (HMM), polysaccharides (PMB) from magnolia bark, essential oil (OGR) and polysaccharides (PGR) from ginger rhizome alone, and the possibility of synergistic interactions in their combinations in the mouse forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). Serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NE) levels in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum were also examined. 30 mg/kg HMM decreased immobility in the FST and TST in mice after one- and two-week treatment. OGR (19.5 or 39 mg/kg) alone was ineffective. The combination of an ineffective dose of 39 mg/kg ...
This article concerns the synergetic effects between an MoO{sub 3} sample composed of crystallites exposing preferentially the (010) basal faces and {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4} in the oxygen-assisted dehydration of 2-butanol at 220 C. The conversion of 2-butanol and the yield to butene improved when MoO{sub 3} was reacted in the presence of {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}. The origin of the synergism is discussed. When reacted in the absence of {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}, MoO{sub 3} got over-reduced and fragmented to MoO{sub 2}. MoO{sub 2} is intrinsically less active than MoO{sub 3} thus explaining that the deep reduction of MoO{sub 3} corresponds to its tendency to deactivate. In the presence of {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}, the formation of MoO{sub 2} is inhibited with, as a consequence, the absence of deactivation. This leads to the synergetic effects obtained with the mechanical mixture of MoO{sub 3} with {alpha}-Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}. (orig.)
It is now over 30 yr since the original discovery was made that acetylenic compounds are effective in inhibiting the corrosion of iron in acid media. Since then, the industrial practice of oil-well acidizing has become well-established, with key acetylenic compounds such as propargyl alcohol, hexynol, and ethyl octynol assuming increasingly important roles. New and more stable triple-bonded compounds properly formulated and synergized with nitrogen compounds are expected to be used more extensively as temperature, stability, and performance requirements increase. An evaluation is made of the structural features which enhance or limit the corrosion performance of a given acetylenic. New data involving mixtures of acetylenics, hydrogen-bonded complexes, and the use of new nitrogen synergists are covered also. Tabular data at 200/sup 0/F approximate the more strenuous conditions of an oil-well acidizing job using N-80 tubing. The performance of such inhibitors as ...
A new method for the preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of lead at the {mu}g/L level in natural waters has been established based on the formation of the thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) complex with dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) by means of synergistic extraction and back-extraction combined with atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The effect of various factors (synergism with TTA and DB18C6, shaking time, preconcentration factor, composition of the extracted species, and foreign ions etc.) on the extraction and back-extraction of lead has been investigated in detail. The lead-TTA chelate in o-dichlorobenzene forms a stable adduct with DB18C6 as Pb(TTA){sub 2} DB18C6. The stability constant ({beta}) of the adduct determined by curve fitting method was log {beta} = 4.2. The amount of lead in natural waters such as tap water (Kanazawa University) and Kakehashi river (Komatsu City) determined by the present method was found to be 0.64 {+-} 0.02 {mu}g/L ...
Alloy 800 from three different commercial heats have been continuously cycled and cycled with a hold period at 922/sup 0/K. The starting microstructures of these heats reflects an inherently wide spectrum of possibilities for Alloy 800. The amounts and morphologies of the TiC and M/sub 23/C/sub 6/ carbides are different among the heats. During cycling, M/sub 23/C/sub 6/ forms intragranularly in a solution annealed heat. This precipitation contributes to the cyclic hardening. Both mill annealed heats of Alloy 800 are stable to carbide precipitation during cycling. The heat with the lower carbon content formed ..gamma..' during cycling but the volume fraction was too low to contribute to hardening. The inclusion of hold periods caused the dislocation substructure to become more diffuse in the mill annealed heats. The cyclic hardening was enhanced with the inclusion of the hold periods but this was not due to any microstructural change during testing.
Investigation of co-gasification of biomass-coal blends in oxygen-containing atmosphere was carried out in a pressurized fluidized bed gasifier. Different biomass materials including wood and energy crop were used in the study, whereas the coal used was in bituminous rank from UK, The gasifier used was a Laboratory Development Unit (LDU) with an inner diameter of 144 mm. The operation temperature and pressure were varied in the investigation. The research was part of the European Union's Joule Ill clean coal technology programme. The study was focused on possible synergies in the thermochemical treatment of the fuel blends. The char formed was examined. The tar produced in the process was analyzed. The environmentally concerned nitrogen compounds emitted from the process were detected. Interesting synergies were observed in the experimental study. The blends of the fuels and their char formed in situ demonstrated unexpected high reaction rate of gasification under the studied ...
Pd-Ag bimetallic catalysts, supported on gamma-Al2O3, have been evaluated as exhaust catalysts for methanol-fueled vehicles. Laboratory studies have shown that a 0.01% Pd-5% Ag catalyst has greater CO and CH3OH oxidation activity than either 0.01% Pd or 5% Ag catalysts alone. Moreover, Pd and Ag interact synergistically in the bimetallic catalyst to produce greater CO and CH3OH oxidation rates and lower yields of methanol partial oxidation products than expected from a mixture of the single-component catalysts. The Pd-Ag synergism results from Pd promoting the rate of O2 adsorption and reaction with CO and CH3OH on Ag. Rate enhancement by the bimetallic catalyst is greatest at short reactor residence times where the oxygen adsorption rate limits the overall reaction rate.
Verification, calibration, and validation (VCV) of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes is an essential element of the code development process. The exact manner in which code VCV activities are planned and conducted, however, is critically important. It is suggested that the way in which code validation, in particular, is often conducted--by comparison to published experimental data obtained for other purposes--is in general difficult and unsatisfactory, and that a different approach is required. This paper describes a proposed methodology for CFD code VCV that meets the technical requirements and is philosophically consistent with code development needs. The proposed methodology stresses teamwork and cooperation between code developers and experimentalists throughout the VCV process, and takes advantage of certain synergisms between CFD and experiment. A novel approach to uncertainty analysis is described which can both distinguish between and quantify ...
Purpose : To detect differentially expressed genes in the patients with uterine cervical cancer during the radiation therapy. Materials and Methods : In patients with biopsy proven uterine cervical cancer, we took a tumor tissue just before radiation therapy and at 40 minutes after external irradiation of 1.8 Gy. Total RNAs isolated from non-irradiated and irradiated tumor tissue samples were analyzed using the differential-display reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR). Complementary DNA (cDNA) fragments corresponding to differentially expressed messenger RNAs(mRNAs) were eluted, and cloned. The differential expression of the corresponding mRNAs was confirmed by reverse northern blot. Differentially expressed cDNA bands were sequenced. Nucleotide sequence data were analyzed in the Gene Bank and EMBL databases via the BLAST network server to identify homologies to known genes or cDNA fragments. Expression pattern of down-regulated clone was examined using RT-PCR in ...
A crucial step in human breast cancer progression is the acquisition of invasiveness. There is a distinct lack of human cell culture models to study the transition from pre-invasive to invasive phenotype as it may occur 'spontaneously' in vivo. To delineate molecular alterations important for this transition, we isolated human breast epithelial cell lines that showed partial loss of tissue polarity in three-dimensional reconstituted-basement membrane cultures. These cells remained non-invasive; however, unlike their non-malignant counterparts, they exhibited a high propensity to acquire invasiveness through basement membrane in culture. The genomic aberrations and gene expression profiles of the cells in this model showed a high degree of similarity to primary breast tumor profiles. The xenograft tumors formed by the cell lines in three different microenvironments in nude mice displayed metaplastic phenotypes, including squamous and basal characteristics, with ...
A new method for the separation and determination of trace amounts of cadmium and zinc in water as their thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) complexes with dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) in o-dichlorobenzene has been established by means of synergistic extraction and back-extraction combined with atomic absorption spectrometry. The effect of various factors (synergism with TTA and DB18C6, shaking time, composition of the extracted species, and mutual separation etc.) on the extraction and back-extraction of cadmium and zinc has been in- vestigated. When the mixtures were extracted for 4 min at pH 4.9, only zinc was extracted quantitatively, whereas cadmium remained in the aqueous phase. After the phases were separated, cadmium was again extracted quantitatively at pH 7.5. Then, the two phases were each shaken with 0.05-0.1 mol/l HCl in order to back-extract cadmium and zinc from the organic phases; the ions were determined individually by atomic absorption spectrometry. In ...
In this experiments, we established long-termed culture methods of bone marrow stromal cells for proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. And we selected some extracts which support maximal proliferation of stromal cells with this method. We conformed the synergic effects of herval mixture extracts for stromal cell growth. The proliferation of stromal cells was increased rather by the addition of mixture extracts than by addition of single strain extract. In the previous and cooperative experiments, we selected complex extracts which increased the number of nonadherent mononuclear cells. Different cytokine expression patterns were observed stromal cells cultured in the presence or absence of mixture extracts which support differentiation of nonadherent cells. Stimulation of macrophage cell line with herval extracts with the treatments of recombinant interferon-{gamma} resulted in increased nitric oxide synthesis in a dose-dependent manners. In addition, ...
Irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of several types of BWR field components fabricated from solution-annealed austenitic stainless steels (SSs), including a core internal weld, were investigated by means of slow-strain-rate test (SSRT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and field-emission-gun advanced analytical electron microscopy (FEG-AAEM). Based on the results of the tests and analyses, separate effects of neutron fluence, tensile properties, alloying elements and major impurities identified in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications, minor impurities, water chemistry, and fabrication-related variables were determined. The results indicate strongly that minor impurities not specified by the ASTM-specifications play important roles, probably through a complex synergism with grain-boundary Cr depletion. These impurities, typically associated with steelmaking and component ...
Metam sodium (metam) is a widely used soil fumigant. Combined application of metam and other available fumigants is intended to produce synergic pesticidal effects for a broad spectrum of pest control in soil fumigation. This study aimed to test the compatibility of metam with the halogenated fumigants 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D), chloropicrin, methyl bromide, methyl iodide and propargyl bromide. Halogenated fumigants and metam were spiked simultaneously into organic solvents, water and moist soils, and metam-induced degradation of these halogenated chemicals was evaluated. In all three media, the halogenated fumigants were incompatible with metam and degraded via rapid chemical reactions. The degradation rate varied with halogenated fumigant species and increased as the amount of metam present was increased. In moist soil, 15-95% of the halogenated fumigants were decomposed within 72 h by metam at a 1:1 molar ratio. Combined application of Telone C-35 (62.5% 1,3-D ...
Efforts to assess and quantify deleterious effects from toxicants concentrate mainly on single agents whereas real world environmental and occupational exposures to natural and anthropogenic agents entail quite often the concomitant presence of several toxicants. For occupational important exposure situations, combined exposures to physical and chemical agents such as radon and smoking or asbestos and smoking, respectively, were shown to produce over-additive effects at exposure levels typical for earlier workplaces. Already the elucidation of possible health risks from a single agents, its dependence on exposure level, exposure rates, age at exposure and its expression in time is a complex endeavour. Therefore in the past and the present the main emphasis in radiation protection, toxicology, and public health is on the study and assessment of single toxicants. The existing data base on combined effect is rudimentary, mainly descriptive and rarely covers exposure ranges large enough to ...
In this experiments, we established long-termed culture methods of bone marrow stromal cells for proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. And we selected some extracts which support maximal proliferation of stromal cells with this method. We conformed the synergic effects of herbal mixture extracts for stromal cell growth. The proliferation of stromal cells was increased rather by the addition of mixture extracts than by addition of single strain extract. In the previous and cooperative experiments, we selected complex extracts (Him-I, Him-II) which increased the number of nonadherent mononuclear cells. Different cytokine expression patterns were observed stromal cells cultured in the presence or absence of mixture extracts which support differentiation of nonadherent cells. Some fractions of Him-I and Him-II increased the proliferation of bone marrow cells irradiated {gamma}-ray(4Gray). Stimulation of macrophage cell line with herval extracts with the ...
The vast majority of fundamental studies of metal oxide selective oxidation catalysts have been performed with single phase systems. These investigations established the basic tenents of the redox mechanism of selective oxidation and ammoxidation catalysis. By comparison, structural and kinetic investigations of multiphase oxide catalysts are less numerous because of the inherent difficulties in understanding the relative contributions of separate phases to the catalytic behavior of the composite catalyst. Some attempts have been made in the past to understand the complex chemistry of multiphase catalysts and additional important insights have been realized more recently. However, a clear understanding of the most significant catalytic interactions between individual phases of a multiphase multicomponent redox catalyst is still lacking. In an effort to provide an understanding and a physical basis for the observed synergism in multiphase oxide catalysts, the ...
The biomedical and ecological interest for the microwave impact on the Earth biosphere is continuously increased since the industrial, military and communication activities strongly contribute to the electromagnetic stress of living bodies. In the next the authors present some of the main results obtained regarding the microwave exposure of various types of biological material: bacteria, fungi, young plant seedlings, dry seeds, animal tissues. The electromagnetic exposure was carried out in open space in well controlled environmental conditions by using 10.75 GHz/1 m W cm{sup -2} microwaves. Biochemical assays and cytogenetic tests have been carried out to reveal the changes induced post irradiation. The response of some pathogen bacteria, have been emphasized by means of turbidimetric measurements - the stimulatory effect being noticed at the level of the microbial population density (the stimulation of the human body microbial flora seems to be one of the side effects of microwave ...