Integration of solid-state biosensors and lipid bilayer membranes is important for membrane protein research and drug discovery. In these sensors, it is critical that the solid-state sensing...Full Text Available
SYNOPSISRhomboid proteases are a fascinating class of enzymes that combine a serine protease active site within the core of an integralmembrane protein. Despite having key roles...Full Text Available
A new method of random data analysis has been developed with special implications for membrane noise. The integral spectrometer uses overlapping broad-band filters of simple design, whose bandwidth...Full Text Available
Alterations in basement membrane components, notably proteoglycans, in a rat model of polycystic kidney disease have been investigated. Rats were fed phenol II (2-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl-5-phenyl thiazole)...Full Text Available
BackgroundPerfluorocarbons (PFC) are used to improve gas exchange in diseased lungs. PFC have been shown to affect various cell types. Thus, effects on alveolar type II (ATII) cells...Full Text Available
A biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA)/poly(glycolide-co-lactide) copolymer (PLGA) membrane with polyglycolic acid (PGA) mesh was prepared to aid the effective regeneration of defective periodontal tissues. The microporous membrane used in this study consists of biodegradable polymers, and seems to have a structure to provide appropriate properties for periodontal tissue regeneration. Based on the albumin permeation test, it is known that the biodegradable membrane exhibits the suitable permeability of nutrients. The membrane maintained its physical integrity for 6-8 weeks, which could be sufficient to retain space in the periodontal pocket. Cell attachment and cytotoxicity tests were performed with respect to the evaluation of biocompatibility of the membrane. As a result, the membrane did not show any cytotoxicity. The safety and ...
Laser-induced phase-separation polymerization of a porous acrylate polymer is used for in-situ fabrication of dialysis membranes inside glass microchannels. A shaped 355 nm laser beam is used to produce a porous polymer membrane with a thickness of about 15 .mu.m, which bonds to the glass microchannel and forms a semi-permeable membrane. Differential permeation through a membrane formed with pentaerythritol triacrylate was observed and quantified by comparing the response of the membrane to fluorescein and fluorescently tagging 200 nm latex microspheres. Differential permeation was observed and quantified by comparing the response to rhodamine 560 and lactalbumin protein in a membrane formed with SPE-methylene bisacrylamide. The porous membranes illustrate the capability for the present technique to integrate sample ...
To investigate the variation in the fine structure of polyamide thin-film composite (TFC) membranes prepared via two different interfacial polymerization conditions (IP-I and IP-II), experiments on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), water contact angle, and positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) coupled to a slow positron beam were conducted. Polyamide TFC membranes were prepared via the interfacial polymerization reaction between triethylenetetramine (TETA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the surface of a modified polyacrylonitrile (mPAN) membrane. Compared with the polyamide TFC membrane prepared via IP-I, the polyamide layer prepared via IP-II showed a shorter S plateau length (thinner thickness), a higher o-Ps intensity I3 value (higher free-volume con...
Incorporation of /sup 32/P from (gamma-32P)ATP into tyrosine residues of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II receptor was observed in a Triton X-100-insoluble fraction of rat adipocyte plasma membranes. IGF-II receptor phosphorylation proceeded to a stoichiometry of approximately 0.5 mol of phosphate/IGF-II binding site after 10 min of incubation at 4 degrees C. A Km for ATP of 6 microM was calculated for this phosphorylation reaction. Addition of IGF-II caused an approximately 2-fold increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of the IGF-II receptor in this preparation. In contrast, phosphorylation of angiotensin II by the Triton X-100 washed membranes was not stimulated by IGF-II. Incubation of purified receptor immobilized on IGF-II agarose or of receptor-enriched low density ...
Although the mechanism is unknown, Calculus Bovis and its active components, cholic acid analogs (CAAs), have been used in China to treat a wide range of diseases. Based on the previous finding that the potency of CAA is strongly dependent on the intrinsic surface activity, this paper aimed to investigate the role of the plasma membrane in the pharmacological activity of CAAs. First, CAAs (0.1 mM) caused a surface activity-dependent depression on ATPase activity in the cell membrane extract, but it had no effects on other cellular extracts, suggesting an indispensable role of the membrane environment for pharmacological activity. Second, CAAs lowered the membrane fluidity of cultured Caco-2 cells with the same rank-order of potency sequence. Third, the hypothesis that any functional protein located on the membrane is influenced by changes in cellular membrane ...
A bioartificial kidney, which is composed of a membrane cartridge with renal epithelial cells, can substitute important kidney functions in patients with renal failure. A particular challenge is the maintenance of monolayer integrity and specialized renal epithelial cell functions ex vivo. We hypothesized that this can be improved by electro-spun, supramolecular polymer membranes which show clear benefits in ease of processability. We found that after 7?d, in comparison to conventional microporous membranes, renal tubular cells cultured on top of our fibrous supramolecular membranes formed polarized monolayers, which is prerequisite for a well-functioning bioartificial kidney. In future, these supramolecular membranes allow for incorporation of peptides that may increase cell function even further. PMID:20715132
We identify new organelles associated with the vacuolar system in plant cells. These organelles are defined biochemically by their internal content of three integralmembrane proteins: a chimeric reporter...Full Text Available
An aqueous house dust mite extract was separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes by Western Blotting. Two major allergens, Der pI and Der pII associated with the mite faeces...Full Text Available
An electrochemistry model was developed to analyse the J-V characteristics of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer for hydrogen production. The Butler-Volmer equation and water transport characteristics through electrolyte membrane were employed to simulate the electrode activation over-potential and membrane ohmic over-potential, respectively. The modeling results are found to agree reasonably well with experimental data published in the literature. The parametric simulations show that the ohmic over-potential is relatively small with typical water content in the membrane. Compared with the cathode over-potential, the anode over-potential is more significant and constitutes the major source of voltage loss. The high anode over-potential is due to the relatively slow oxidation kinetics, which is related to anode material property and microstructure. This model can be ...
Hexavalent chromium in corrosion preventive coating 64 ...To prevent corrosion of rims, weights can be provided with a coating. ...integrated clips brought up technical problems due to corrosion
A balanced application of chemiosmosis to plant mitochondria is presented. Electron transport carriers are sequenced to achieve proton translocation across the inner membrane. The processes of proton translocation, use, and release are integrated to yield a description of the effective proton gradient available for metabolite transport and ATP synthesis. 27 references, 6 figures.
Cd36 is a small-molecular-weight integralmembrane protein expressed in a diverse, but select, range of cell types. It has an equally diverse range of ligands and physiological functions, which has...Full Text Available
The acetylcholine receptor from the electric tissue of Torpedo californica is a large, integralmembrane protein containing four different types of polypeptide chains. The structure of the purified...Full Text Available
Incorporation of TiO{sub 2}, into perfluoroionomer membrane by treatment with TiC1{sub 4}-methanol has been described. Platinum was used as an electrocatalyst. In order to make the system electronically as well as ionically conducting, the electrode was modified with polypyrrole (PPy). Photopolymerisation of pyrrole was accomplished by immersing TiO{sub 2}-Pt-NaF in pyrrole solution. UV-visible and FT-IR Spectroscopic studies were preformed with regards to the formation of the TiO{sub 2}, Pt and PPy within Nafion matrix. We report the construction and evaluation of this integrated system and establish the feasibility of hydrogen generation thereof. (Author)
This project is concerned with the structure and function of the unique antenna system found in the green photosynthetic bacteria. The antenna system in these organisms is contained within a vesicle known as a chlorosome, which is attached to the cytoplasmic side of the cell membrane. Additional antenna pigments and reaction centers are contained in integralmembrane proteins. Energy absorbed by the bacteriochlorophyll c (BChl c) pigments in the chlorosome is transferred via a ``baseplate`` array of BChl a antenna pigments into the membrane and to the reaction center. This system is similar in some respects to the phycobilisome antenna system found in cyanobacteria and some types of algae, in that a membrane-associated structure absorbs light and transfers it to the membrane where conversion to chemical energy takes place. However, the overall structure, the ...
The KENTORT II process includes integral fluidized bed zones for pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion of the oil shale. The purpose of this program is to design and test the KENTORT II process at the 50-lb/hr scale. Along with the major activity of assembling the components of the 50-lb/hr retort, work was also completed in other areas this quarter. Basic studies of the cracking and coking kinetics of model compounds in a fixed bed reactor were continued. Additionally, as part of the effort to investigate niche market applications for KENTORT II-derived products, a study of the synthesis of carbon fibers from the heavy fraction of KENTORT II shale oil was initiated.
In this study, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) were cocultured with nucleus pulposus (NP) cells using a porous membrane to investigate the effect of NP cell phenotype on ASC chondrogenic differentiation. Human NP cells were collected from 14 patients and classified into two groups (normal vs. degenerative) depending on the level of type II collagen, aggrecan (AGG), type I collagen, and bax gene expression. Human ASCs were then cocultured with each group of NP cells on porous membranes in the absence of chondrogenic supplements. After 2 weeks, real-time-polymerase chain reaction results showed that ASCs cocultured with normal NP cells had much higher type II collagen and AGG gene expression than ASCs cocultured with degenerative NP cells. The production of AGG was also observed only in th...
This report summarizes the progress made on the development of an integrated multistage fluidized bed retorting process (KENTORT II) during the period of October 1, 1992 through September 30, 1993 under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC21-90MC27286 with the Morgantown Energy Technology Center, US Department of Energy. The KENTORT II process includes integral fluidized bed zones for pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion of the oil shale. The purpose of this program is to design and test the KENTORT II process at the 50-lb/hr scale. The PDU was assembled, instrumented and tested during this fiscal year. Along with the major activity of commissioning the 50-lb/hr retort, work was also completed in other areas. Basic studies of the cracking and coking kinetics of model compounds in a fixed bed reactor were continued. Additionally, as part of the effort to investigate niche market ...
Abstract Gaseous microemboli (GME) remain a challenge for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) because there is a positive correlation between microemboli exposure during CPB and postoperative neurological injury. Thus, minimizing the number of GME delivered to pediatric patients undergoing CPB procedures would lead to better clinical outcomes. In this study, we used a simulated CPB model to evaluate the effectiveness of capturing GME and the degree of membrane pressure drop for a new membrane oxygenator, Capiox Baby FX05 (Terumo Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), which has an integrated arterial filter with open and closed purge line. We used identical components in this study as our clinical CPB circuit. Three emboli detection and classification quantifier transducers were placed at prepump, preoxygena...
Spatial Fluorescence Cross Correlation Spectroscopy is a rarely investigated version of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy, in which the fluorescence signals from differ-ent observation volumes are cross-correlated. In the reported experiments, two observation volumes, typically shifted by a few $\\mu$m, are produced, with a Spatial Light Modulator and two adjustable pinholes. We illustrated the feasibility and potentiality of this technique by: i) measuring molecular flows, in the range 0.2 - 1.5 $\\mu$m/ms, of solutions seeded with fluorescent nanobeads or rhodamine molecules (simulating active transport phenomenons); ii) investigating the perme-ability of phospholipidic membrane of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles versus hydrophilic or hydrophobic molecules (in that case the laser spots were set on both sides of the mem-brane). Theoretical descriptions are proposed together with a discussion about FCS based, alternative ...
Phospholamban (PLB) is a 52-amino acid integralmembrane protein that helps to regulate the flow of Ca2+ ions in cardiac muscle cells. Recent structural studies on the PLB pentamer...Full Text Available
Two enantioselective, potentiometric membrane electrodes (EPMEs) based on maltodextrins with different value of dextrose equivalent (DE) (maltodextrin I: DE 4.0-7.0; maltodextrin II: DE 16.5-19.5) were proposed for the assay of baclofen enantiomers in baclofen raw materials and from its pharmaceutical formulation, Norton-Baclofen tablets. The slopes of the electrode function of the proposed electrodes were 55.0 mV/pS-baclofen for maltodextrin I-based electrode and 59.0 mV/pR-baclofen for maltodextrin II-based electrode and the detection limits were 1.34 x 10(-6) mol l(-1) (S-baclofen) and 2.52 x 10(-10) mol l(-1) (R-baclofen), respectively. The surfaces of the electrodes are stable and easily renewable by simply polishing on alumina paper. PMID:15598435
A technique for delivering genes carried by recombinant retroviruses into specific cell types could have numerous applications in oncology, developmental biology, and gene therapy. As a first step toward this remote goal the authors designed a procedure allowing in vitro cell targeting by retroviruses. Biotinylated antibodies against the viral envelope protein on one side, and against specific cell membrane markers on the other side, were bridged by streptavidin and used to link the virus to the host. The method was successfully used to infect human cells with ecotropic murine retroviruses by means of major histocompatibility complex class I and class II antigens and appears easily adaptable to other cell, membrane markers. Moreover, the sequential protocol they design, although allowing infection of human cells, requires less stringent safety constraints than would handling of amphotropic virus stocks.
Separations of metal ions on the basis of Donnan dialysis across anion-exchange membranes should be possible if the receiver electrolyte composition favors the formation of selected anionic complexes of the sample metal ions. Moreover, such a separation has the possibility of being better suited from some applications than batch or column experiments with anion-exchange resins. The above hypothesis are tested on the platinum-group metal ions, Pt(IV), Rh(III), Pd(II), Ir(III), and Ir(IV). 13 references, 4 tables.
Culturing human prostate PC-3 cells for 4, 24, or 72 h in the presence of 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), an inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism and cholesterol biosynthesis, markedly altered the morphology and reduced the number of mitochondria in the treated cells. Using quantitative electron microscopic morphometry, we documented changes in the number, form, area, matrix density, and integrity of the cristae and limiting membranes of mitochondria in cells cultured with ETYA. The inhibition of cholesterol synthesis or the substitution of ETYA for polyunsaturated fatty acids in the inner membrane may participate in the disruption of the mitochondria, which resembles the morphologic sequelae of oxidative stress. If sufficiently extensive, these changes could contribute to the inhibition of cellular proliferation by ETYA.
We consider the spin-k/2 XXZ model in the antiferromagnetic regime using the free-field realization of the quantum affine algebra U_q(sl_2) of level k. We give a free-field realization of the type-II q-vertex operator, which describes creation and annihilation of physical particles in the model. By taking a trace of the type-I and type-II q-vertex operators over the irreducible highest-weight representation of U_q(sl_2), we also derive an integral formula for form factors in this model. Investigating the structure of poles, we obtain a residue formula for form factors, which is a lattice analog of the higher-spin extension of Smirnov's formula in the massive integrable quantum field theory. This result as well as the quantum deformation of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation for form factors shows a deep connection in the mathematical structure of the integrable lattice models and ...
This study evaluated whether differences in design of 3-dimensional polylactic acid barriers (EPi-Guide and Guidor) would influence hard tissue results in the treatment of Grade II furcations in humans. A multicenter study was conducted, using 40 patients with moderate to advanced bilateral chronic adult periodontitis of the mandibular first or second molars. After flap access, debridement, and root preparation, surgical bone level measurements were taken and membranes were placed on a random basis. Surgical reentry occurred at 1 year. Data collected from all 3 investigative centers were pooled and analyzed using an analysis of variance appropriate for a counterbalancing design. Both barrier materials resulted in significant gains of attachment level and defect reduction. The composite reduction in the vertical component of the osseous defects was greater in the sites treated with Epi-Guide as compared to those treated with Guidor; the ...
The single specimen unloading compliance technique has become the preferred method for evaluating J-integrals. It involves data acquisition and analysis using a computer. This paper describes in detail the development of a simple experimental system and related software that can be used in a laboratory equipped with a microcomputer and with access to a minicomputer. The effects of loading rate, test temperature, specimen geometry and material composition can be readily evaluated using this system. The results on a pressure vessel steel and an #alpha#-#beta# titanium alloy are discussed in Part II. (author).
In 1996 Jespers and Wang classified finite semigroups whose integral semigroup ring has finitely many units. In a recent paper, Iwaki-Juriaans-Souza Filho continued this line of research by partially classifying the finite semigroups whose rational semigroup algebra %over a field of characteristic zero, contains a ${\\mathbb{Z}}$-order with hyperbolic unit group. In this paper we complete this classification by handling the case in which the semigroup is semi-simple.
Reichert's membrane, an extraembryonic membrane present in developing rodents, has been proposed as an in vivo model for the study of basement membranes. We have used this membrane as a source for isolation...Full Text Available
One of the key features of ANL's Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept is a close-coupled fuel cycle. The proposed fuel cycle is similar to that demonstrated over the first five to six years of operation of EBR-II, when a fuel cycle facility adjacent to EBR-II was operated to reprocess and refabricate rapidly fuel discharged from the EBR-II. Locating the IFR and its fuel cycle facility on the same site makes the IFR a self-contained system. Because the reactor fuel and the uranium blanket are metals, pyrometallurgical processes (shortned to ''pyroprocesses'') have been chosen. The objectives of the IFR processes for the reactor fuel and blanket materials are to (1) recover fissionable materials in high yield; (2) remove fission products adequately from the reactor fuel, e.g., a decontamination factor of 10 to 100; and (3) upgrade the concentration of plutonium ...
Production of porous membranes using heavy ion bombardment and subsequent chemical etching of poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) films has been reported several years ago. However, porous membranes with pore diameter in the nanometer scale requires a better understanding of the chemical etching mechanism. In this work PVDF foils irradiated with Sn ions (2.85 MeV per nucleon) were exposed to several etching conditions which involved permanganate oxidation in different alkaline environments. The solution of KOH 9 mol L{sup -1} and saturated in KMnO{sub 4} was the best etching reactant for PVDF. Functional groups created in the alkaline and oxidative attack by permanganate were studied by FT-IR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The spectroscopic data reveals that the formation of pores occurs by a two-step mechanism: (i) double bonds as a result of dehydrofluorination induced by alkaline media and (ii) oxidation of these double bonds ...
The plastic displacements around Knoop indentations made in hard titanium/aluminum multilayered films on soft aluminum alloy substrates have been studied. Indentations were cross-sectioned and imaged using the focused-ion-beam (FIB) milling and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The FIB milling method has the advantage of removing material in a localized region without producing mechanical damage to the specimen. The micrographs of the cross-sectioned indentations indicate that most of the plastic deformation around the indentation is dominated by the soft aluminum substrate. There is a very small change in the multilayered film thickness around the indentation{emdash}less than 10{percent}. The plastic deformation of the thin film resembles a membrane being deflected by a localized pressure gradient across the membrane. Stress-induced voids are also observed in the multilayered film, especially in the area around ...
A electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for itopride was developed based on tris(2,2-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)32+)-doped silica (RuDS) nanoparticles/biopolymer chitosan composites membrane modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The RuDS nanoparticles (52+-5nm) were prepared by a modified Stber synthesis method and were characterized by electrochemical, fluorometric and transmission electron microscopy technology. The Ru(bpy)32+ encapsulation interior of the silica nanoparticle maintains its electrochemical activities and also reduces Ru(bpy)32+ leaching from the silica matrix when immersed in water due to the electrostatic interaction. The ECL analytical performances of this ECL sensor for itopride based on its enhancement ECL emission of Ru(bpy)32+ were investigated in d...
The objective of this research project is to demonstrate sensing, communication, information and control technologies to achieve a seamless integration of multivendor distributed energy resource (DER) units at aggregation levels that meet individual user requirements for facility operations (residential, commercial, industrial, manufacturing, etc.) and further serve as resource options for electric and natural gas utilities. The fully demonstrated DER aggregation system with embodiment of communication and control technologies will lead to real-time, interactive, customer-managed service networks to achieve greater customer value. Work on this Advanced Communication and Control Project (ACCP) consists of a two-phase approach for an integrated demonstration of communication and control technologies to achieve a seamless integration of DER units to reach progressive levels of aggregated power output. Phase I involved design ...
Membrane protein structural biology is still a largely unconquered area, given that approximately 25% of all proteins are membrane proteins and yet less than 150 unique structures are available. Membrane...Full Text Available
The Integral Fast Reactor is an innovative liquid metal reactor concept that is being developed by Argonne National Laboratory. It takes advantage of the properties of metallic fuel and liquid metal cooling to offer significant improvements in reactor safety, operation, fuel cycle economics, environmental protection, and safeguards. The plans for demonstrating the IFR fuel cycle, including its waste processing options, by processing irradiated fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II fuel in its associated Fuel Cycle Facility have been developed for the first refining series. This series has been designed to provide the data needed for the further development of the IFR program. An important piece of the data needed is the recovery of TRU material during the reprocessing and waste operations.
The Integral Fast Reactor is an innovative liquid metal reactor concept that is being developed by Argonne National Laboratory. It takes advantage of the properties of metallic fuel and liquid metal cooling to offer significant improvements in reactor safety, operation, fuel cycle economics, environmental protection, and safeguards. The plans for demonstrating the IFR fuel cycle, including its waste processing options, by processing irradiated fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II fuel in its associated Fuel Cycle Facility have been developed for the first refining series. This series has been designed to provide the data needed for the further development of the IFR program. An important piece of the data needed is the recovery of TRU material during the reprocessing and waste operations.
The objectives of the project were (i) to develop a combination iron oxide production and carbon sequestration plant that will use serpentine ores as the source of iron and the extraction tailings as the storage element for CO2 disposal, (ii) the identification of locations within the US where this process may be implemented and (iii) to create a standardized process to characterize the serpentine deposits in terms of carbon disposal capacity and iron and steel production capacity. The first objective was not accomplished. The research failed to identify a technique to accelerate direct aqueous mineral carbonation, the limiting step in the integration of steel production and carbon sequestration. Objective (ii) was accomplished. It was found that the sequestration potential of the ultramafic resource surfaces in the US and Puerto Rico is approximately 4,647 Gt of CO2 or over 500 years of current US production of CO2. ...
;Contents: Comparison of Simulation Modules of TRANSYT and INTEGRATION Models; Evaluation of SCATSIM-RTA Adaptive Traffic Network Simulation Model; Comparison NETSIM, NETFLO I, and NETFLO II Traffic Simulation Models for Fixed-Time Signal Control; Traffic Flow Simulation Through Parallel Processing; Cluster Analysis as Tool in Traffic Engineering; Traffic Platoon Dispersion Modeling on Arterial Streets; Hybrid Model for Estimating Permitted Left-Turn Saturations Flow Rate; and Passing Sight Distance and Overtaking Dilemma on Two-Lane Roads.
This document contains the Proceedings of the Eleventh Thematic Conference Geologic Remote Sensing (Volume II). The conference was held February 27-29, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Presentations included in this volume address the following topics: Geologic Remote Sensing and aerial surveying as applied toward mineral exploration, monitoring of geothermal resources, petroleum exploration, the environmental effects of mining, environment and hydrology, detection of geohazards, and the GIS system and data integration. Some information regarding the use of color imagery in remote sensing is also included.
The authors present a measurement of the B{sub s}{sup 0} meson lifetime using fully and partially reconstructed hadronic decays B{sub s}{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup -} {pi}{sup +}(X) followed by D{sub s}{sup -} {yields} {phi}{pi}{sup -}. The data sample was recorded with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.3 fb{sup -1} from p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV.
a-Dystroglycan is an extracellular adhesion protein that is known to interact with different ligands. The interaction is thought to stabilize the integrity of the plasma membrane. The N-terminal part of a-dystroglycan may be proteolytically processed to generate a small 38kDa protein (a-DG-N). The physiological significance of a-DG-N is unclear but has been suggested to be involved in nerve regeneration and myelination and to function as a potential biomarker for neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases. In this report we show that a-DG-N is released into different body fluids, such as lachrimal fluid, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), urine and plasma. To investigate the significance of a-DG-N in CSF we examined the levels of a-DG-N and known neurodegenerative markers in CSF from patients di...
Integrative and firing properties are important characteristics of neuronal circuits and these responses are determined in large part by the repertoire of ion channels they express, which can vary considerably between cell types. Recently, a new mode of operation of voltage dependent sodium channels has been described that generates a so-called resurgent Na^+ current. Accumulating evidence suggests resurgent Na current participates in the generation of sub-threshold inward Na^+ current causing membrane depolarization which provides the necessary drive to fire high-frequency action potentials. Recent studies indicate that resurgent Na^+ current could be a more widespread feature than previously thought.
We study the spike statistics of neurons in a network with dynamically balanced excitation and inhibition. Our model, intended to represent a generic cortical column, comprises randomly connected excitatory and inhibitory leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, driven by excitatory input from an external population. The high connectivity permits a mean field description in which synaptic currents can be treated as gaussian noise, the mean and autocorrelation function of which are calculated self-consistently from the firing statistics of single model neurons. Within this description, a wide range of Fano factors is possible. We find that the irregularity of spike trains is controlled mainly by the strength of the synapses relative to the difference between the firing threshold and the postfiring reset level of the membrane potential. For moderately strong synapses, we find spike statistics very similar to those observed in primary visual cortex.
A photoacoustic (PA) imaging system based on an ultrasonic Fresnel zone plate (FZP) transducer is developed for the purpose of imaging biological tissue. This FZP transducer has a two-zone negative zone plate piezoelectric material pattern, and an optical fibre is integrated with the transducer on the symmetric axis of the zone plates to deliver laser pulses to the sample. The focal characteristic of the FZP transducer is analysed by theoretical prediction and experimental measurement, and the measured results are in good agreement with the predicted results. The limited-field back-projection deconvolution algorithm combined with the coherence-factor weighting technique is used to reconstruct the optical absorption distribution. The experiments were performed with phantoms and the blood vessels of chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane. The results demonstrate that PA imaging using the FZP transducer has the ability to image biological tissue ...
The human erythrocyte (RBC) Rh blood group system consists of a complex of distinct integralmembrane polypeptides with physical properties common to the aminophospholipid transporter responsible for the transbilayer movement of phosphatidylserine (PS) in RBC. To assess the involvement of Rh polypeptides in PS translocation, the aminophospholipid translocase was labeled with a photoactivatable PS analogue, "1"2"5I-azido-PS, and with an inhibitor of PS transport, "1"2"5I-labeled 2-(2-pyridyldithio)ethylamine. The ability of monoclonal Rh antibodies to immunoprecipitate the labeled transporter was determined. Immunoprecipitated Rh polypeptides were found to be labeled with the aminophospholipid translocase markers, suggesting that Rh proteins are involved in the transbilayer movement of PS.
Coal may be used to generate electrical energy by any of several processes, most of which involve combustion or gasification. Combustion in a coal-fired boiler and power generation using a steam-cycle is the conventional conversion method; however total energy conversion efficiencies for this type of process are only slightly over 30%. Integration of a gas-cycle in the process (combined cycle) may increase the total conversion efficiency to 40%. Conversion processes based on gasification offer efficiencies above 50%. H{sub 2}S is the predominant gaseous contaminant in raw coal gas. This process is concerned with the removal of H{sub 2} from coal gas through an electrochemical membrane technology.
The integralmembrane protein synaptophysin is one of the most abundant polypeptide components of synaptic vesicles. It is not essential for neurotransmission despite its abundance but is believed to modulate the efficiency of the synaptic vesicle cycle. Detailed behavioral analyses were therefore performed on synaptophysin knockout mice to test whether synaptophysin affects higher brain functions. We find that these animals are more exploratory than their wild type counterparts examining novel objects more closely and intensely in an enriched open field arena. We also detect impairments in learning and memory, most notably reduced object novelty recognition and reduced spatial learning. These deficits are unlikely caused by impaired vision, since all electroretinographic parameters measur...
In the course of designing a catalytic porous membrane reactor for experimental studies, both inside and outside of the non-reaction zones as well as the two ends of the membrane need to be completely sealed to ensure that there is no flow across the membrane in the non-reaction zone. Experiments show that up to 50% of the total flow across the membrane may be contributed by the axial flow along the wall of the non-reaction zones if only one side of the membrane is sealed. Another problem that cannot be solved by sealing is the capillary flow of the catalyst along the tube wall into the non-reaction zones when the catalyst is doped on the membrane. One of the best ways to avoid this axial flow of catalyst would be to use non-porous tubes in the non-reaction zones and join them with the porous membrane tube. In doing so, the cost of the ...
The hypothesis that accumulation against sizable chemical gradients of free (non-phosphorylated) 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2dGlc) in isolated rat adipocytes results from an intracellular compartmentation of free hexose was investigated. Cells exposed to 20 ..mu..g/ml digitonin for 10' demonstrated an increased plasma membrane permeability indexed by increased L-glucose entry rates and cellular (presumably cytosolic) protein and K/sup +/ loss. Functional integrity of intracellular organelles was indicated by the ability of the cells to support ATP-driven /sup 45/Ca/sup 2 +/-uptake. Equilibrium 3-O-methylglucose (3-O-MG, a non-accumulated hexose) levels were unaffected. These data suggest a specific permeabilizing action of digitonin at the plasma membrane having no effect on intracellular organelles or passively distributed solutes. Upon addition of digitonin, free 2dGlc fell from 66.5 +/- 8.9 to 7.4 +/- 2.3 pmol/10/sup 5/ ...
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 ...
Electricity generation from natural gas in gas turbine units can be made substantially more efficient by preliminary methane conversion to a synthesis gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide and/or by the use of some of the synthesis gas produced in industry. An alternative improvement involves the introduction of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and the use of the synthesis gas in them. In this study, a modified scheme of gas turbine cycle that includes an SOFC, a membrane reactor (instead of a traditional combustion chamber), and a catalytic reactor to perform methane conversion to produce hydrogen (synthesis gas) is proposed. Variations of the energy and exergy efficiencies of the integrated system with operating conditions are provided, showing, for example, that SOFC efficiency is enhanced if the fuel cell active area is augmented. The SOFC stack efficiency can be maximized by reducing the steam generation while increasing the stack ...
The NUclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC) has developed IMPACT-SAMPSON code to analyze integral behavior of light water nuclear power plants under severe accident conditions. IMPACT-SAMPSON's distinguishing features include interconnected hierarchical modules and mechanistic models covering a wide spectrum of scenarios ranging from normal operation to severe accident events, and high-speed simulation on parallel processing computers. The integral plant behaviors of typical PWR and BWR under severe accident conditions have been analyzed with the IMPACT-SAMPSON code. The PWR plant analyzed was the three-loop, steel-dry containment type with 2,440 MWt. The AE accident scenario was supposed, that is, LOCA by 6-inch hot leg failure followed by accumulated water injection, but no ECCS and containment spray activation. The BWR plant analyzed was the 3,293 MWt BWR-5, Mark-II containment type. The TQUV accident ...
This paper is about algebro-geometrical structures on a moduli space $\\CM$ of anomaly-free BV QFTs with finite number of inequivalent observables or in a finite superselection sector. We show that $\\CM$ has the structure of F-manifold -- a linear pencil of torsion-free flat connection with unity on the tangent space, in quantum coordinates. We study the notion of quantum coordinates for the family of QFTs, which determines the connection 1-form as well as every quantum correlation function of the family in terms of the 1-point functions of the initial theory. We then define free energy for an unital BV QFT and show that it is another avatar of morphism of QFT algebra. These results are consequences of the solvability of refined quantum master equation of the theory. We also introduce the notion of a QFT integral and study some properties of BV QFT equipped with a QFT integral. We show that BV QFT with a non-degenerate QFT ...
This paper aims to study fundamentally the impacts of membrane properties on the reactive dye removal from dye/salt mixtures by nanofiltration membranes. To begin with, two types of nanofiltration membranes of similar pore size, namely asymmetric cellulose acetate membrane and thin-film composite polyamide membrane were fabricated, and their key physical, chemical and performance properties were characterized. After that, these resultant membranes were employed to perform dye removal experiments with aqueous solutions of reactive black 5 and NaCl under different operational parameters. The dye removal rate and steady permeate flux were determined and correlated with the measured membrane properties. It was found that there were significant differences between the dye removal performances o...
A sulfonated fluoroalkyl graft polymer (FGP) membrane was prepared as a polymer electrolyte. First, the FGP membrane was grafted with styrene under UV irradiation. The grafted FGP was then sulfonated to functionalize it for proton conductivity. The grafting degree of the membrane increased with increasing grafting time during UV irradiation. The proton conductivity of the membrane increased with increasing grafting degree. The swelling ratio was independent of the grafting time, however, the water uptake increased with increasing grafting degree. Based on these results, it was found that the UV-initiated styrene grafting occurred along the membrane thickness direction. Moreover, the membrane was embedded within the glass fibers of the composite. This composite electrolytic membrane had 1.15 times the proton conductivity of a Nafion 117 ...
Pollen morphology of 30 species of the family Acanthaceae belonging to 11 genera has been investigated using light and scanning electron microscope. Acanthaceae is a eurypalynous family. Pollen are usually radially symmetrical, isopolar, sub-prolate to prolate rarely prolate-spheroidal or sub-oblate to oblate-spheroidal, generally tricolporate or heterocolporate rarely colpate or porate. Exine ornamentation varies from medium to coarse reticulate, or often lopho-reticulate with luminae perforated to baculate or scabrate. On the basis of apertural type, exine ornamentation and colpal membrane eight distinct pollen types have been recognized viz., Pollen type-I: Barleria cristata-type, Pollen type-II: Blepharis ciliaris-type, Pollen type-III: Hygrophila polysperma - type, Pollen type-IV: Justicia adhatoda-type, Pollen type-V:Lepidagathis incurva-type, Pollen type- VI: Peristrophe paniculata-type, Pollen type-VII: Ruellia patula-type and Pollen ...
Antitumor platinum(II) complexes derived from N-alkyl-propanediamine differing in the length of their carbon chain (C8, C10, C12 and C14) were incorporated in liposomes and the cytotoxic activity of these formulations was evaluated against tumor (A{sub 549}, MDA-MB-231, B16-F1 and B16-F10) and non-tumor (BHK-21 and CHO) cell lines. Stable and monodisperse liposome suspensions incorporating the platinum complexes were obtained from the lipid composition consisting of distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, cholesterol and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero- 3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000) at 5:3:0.3 molar ratio. The entrapment efficiency (EE%) of the platinum complexes in liposomes increased with the carbon chain length. EE% was higher than 80% in C12- and C14-derivatives. The effect of liposome encapsulation on the cytotoxic activity of the complexes was found to depend on the carbon chain length. These data indicate that the highest drug ...
A novel method for the determination of metoclopramide (MCP) using electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) is presented. A tris(2,2prime-bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)32+)-doped silica (RuDS) nanoparticle/perfluoinated ion-exchange resin (Nafion) with nanocomposite membrane modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) is used. The Ru(bpy)32+ encapsulation interior of the silica nanoparticle maintains its electrochemical activities and also reduces Ru(bpy)32+ leaching from the silica matrix when immersed in water due to the electrostatic interaction. The analytical performance of this ECL sensor for MCP is shown in detail. Under optimal experimental conditions, it has good linearity in the concentration range from 2x10-8mol/L to 1x10-5mol/L (R=0.9989) with a detection limit of 7x10-9mo...
In vitro the binding of polyribosomes to smooth endoplasmic-reticulum membranes is more sensitive to ionic strength than is the binding to rough endoplasmic-reticulum membranes. Polyribosomes...Full Text Available
Factors affecting the membrane filtration of food suspensions were studied for 58 foods and 13 membrane filters. Lot number within a brand, pore size (0.45 or 0.8 micrometer), and time elapsed before...Full Text Available
In the presence of electrochemical energy, several branched-chain neutral and acidic amino acids were found to accumulate in membrane vesicles of Bacillus stearothermophilus. The membrane vesicles contained...Full Text Available
The curvature elastic modulus (bending stiffness) of stearoyloleoyl phosphatidylcholine (SOPC) bilayer membrane is determined from membrane tether formation experiments. R. E. Waugh and R. M. Hochmuth...Full Text Available
Spontaneous rupture of membranes (ROM) is a normal component of labor and delivery. Premature ROM (PROM) refers to rupture of the fetal membranes prior to the onset of labor irrespective of gestational...Full Text Available
A few metal complexes of isatin-isonicotinoylhydrazone with Ni(II), Cr(III), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) have been prepared and characterized on the basis of elemental analyses, infrared and electronic spectra as well as "1H NMR spectra, conductivity and magnetic measurements. In view of the results obtained, it has been found that two molecules of isatin-isonicotinoylhydrazone are chelated to the central metal ion as bis-uninegative ONO tridentate ligand forming non-electrolytic octahedral metal complexes. (author)
The biophysical properties of membrane phospholipids are controlled by the composition of their constituent fatty acids and are tightly regulated in Escherichia...Full Text Available
... Mirrors (Preprint) Ryan Conk et al. 15 September 2006 ... 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Stress Coatings for Large Scale Membrane Mirrors (Preprint) 5a. ...
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are energy sources that have the ... for H2 /02 PEM fuel cells because their catalysts have properties suitable for 0 ...
AbstractWe propose a mechanism for the formation of membrane oscillations and traveling waves, which arise due to the coupling between the actin cytoskeleton and the calcium flux through...Full Text Available
The impacts of the availability of low-carbon technologies on the regional distribution of mitigation costs are analyzed in a global multi-regional integrated assessment model. Three effects on regional consumption losses are distinguished: domestic measures, trade of fossil energy carriers and trade of emission permits. Key results are: (i) GDP losses and a redirection of investments in the energy system towards capital-intensive technologies are major contributions to regional consumption losses. (ii) A devaluation of tradable fossil energy endowments contributes largely to the mitigation costs of fossil fuel exporters. (iii) In case of reduced availability of low-carbon technologies, the permit market volume and associated monetary redistributions increase. The results suggest that the ...
This paper discusses how the U.S. Liquid Metal Reactor Development Program has been restructured to carry out R and D on advanced reactor technology. The program gives particular emphasis to improvements to reactor safety. The new directions are based on the technology of the integral fast reactor (IFR). Much of the basis for superior safety performance using IFR technology has been experimentally verified and aggressive programs continue in EBR-II and TREAT. Progress has been made in demonstrating both the metallic fuel and the new electrochemical processes of the IFR. The FFTF facility is converting to metallic fuel; however, FFTF also maintains a considerable U.S. program in oxide fuels. In addition, generic programs are continuing in steam generator testing, materials development, and with international cooperation, aqueous reprocessing.
For the safety of astronauts and to ensure the stability and integrity of the genome of microorganisms and plants used in bioregenerative life support systems, it is important to improve our knowledge of the combined action of (space) radiation and microgravity. The SOS-LUX-TOXICITY test, as part of the TRIPLE-LUX project (accepted for flight at Biolab in Columbus on the International Space Station, (ISS)), will provide an estimation of the health risk resulting from exposure of astronauts to the radiation environment of space in microgravity. The project will: (i) increase our knowledge of biological/health threatening action of space radiation and enzymatic DNA repair; (ii) uncover cellular mechanisms of synergistic interaction of microgravity and space radiation; (iii) provide specified...
Severe accident analysis has been performed for the Wolsung nuclear power= plants in Korea to investigate severe accident phenomena of CANDU-600 reactors as a part of Level II PSA study. The accident sequence analyzed in this paper is loss of active heat sinks (LOAH) which is caused by loss of off-site power, diesel generators, and DC power. ISAAC (Integrated Severe Accident Analysis Code) computer code developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) was used in this analysis. This paper describes the important thermal-hydraulics and source term behaviors in the primary system and inside containment, and the failure mechanisms of calandria vessel and containment. In addition, some insights for accident management program (AMP) are also given. (Author) 5 refs., 1 tab., 12 figs.
Severe accident analysis has been performed for the Wolsung nuclear power plants in Korea to investigate severe accident phenomena of CANDU-600 reactors as a part of Level II PSA study. The accident sequence analyzed in this paper is loss of active heat sinks (LOAH) which is caused by loss of off-site power, diesel generators, and DC power, ISAAC(Integrated Severe Accident Analysis Code) computer code developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) was used in this analysis. This paper describes the important thermal-hydraulics and source term behaviors in the primary system and inside containment, and the failure mechanisms of calandria vessel and containment. In addition, some insights for accident management program (AMP) are also given.
The authors present the results of a search for W{prime} boson decaying to electron-neutrino pairs in p{bar p} collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, using a data sample corresponding to 205 pb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at Fermilab. They observe no evidence for this decay mode and set limits on the production cross section times branching fraction, assuming the neutrinos from W{prime} boson decays to be light. If they assume the manifest left-right symmetric model, they exclude a W{prime} boson with mass less than 788 GeV/c{sup 2} at the 95% confidence level.
The point at which the common final pathway for induction of cancer by chemical carcinogens and ionizing radiation has not been identified. Although common molecular targets are suggested by recent findings about the role of oncogenes, the mechanism by which the deposition of radiation energy and the formation of adducts or other DNA lesions induced by chemicals affects the changes in the relevant targets may be quite different. The damage to DNA that plays no part in the transformation events, but that influences the stability of the genome, and therefore, the probability of subsequent changes that influence tumorigenesis may be more readily induced by some agents than others. Similarly, the degree of cytotoxic effects that disrupt tissue integrity and increase the probability of expression of initiated cells may be dependent on the type of carcinogen. Also, evidence was presented that repair of the initial lesions could be demonstrated after exposure to low-LET ...
The objective of this project is the development of a standard methodology for integrating non-food crops in rural areas with niche energy markets. This has involved a number of steps including (i) identification of 3 niche markets for energy crops which are of common interest to the partners, (ii) application of the standard costing methodology to investigate these three niche markets and (iii) comparison of the results from this work in three workshops (one for each market). Three tightly defined niche markets were identified; these were chosen following an examination of the national energy marekts in each of the partners countries (Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Greece and Portugal). This paper gives an overview of the national energy markets which were examined. The three niche markets are introduced and the reasons for their selection given. The application of the methodology to each of the niche markets is presented along with the ...
Evidence is reported for a narrow structure near the J/{psi}{phi} threshold in exclusive B{sup +} {yields} J/{psi}{phi}K{sup +} decays produced in {bar p}p collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. A signal of 14 {+-} 5 events, with statistical significance in excess of 3.8 standard deviations, is observed in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.7 fb{sup -1}, collected by the CDF II detector. The mass and natural width of the structure are measured to be 4143.0 {+-} 2.9(stat) {+-} 1.2(syst) MeV/c{sup 2} and 11.7{sub -5.0}{sup +8.3}(stat) {+-} 3.7(syst) MeV/c{sup 2}.
The LHCb experiment has chosen to use the SAM framework (Service Availability Monitoring Environment from EGEE-II) [1] make extensive tests of the LHCb environment at all the accessible grid resources. The availability and the proper definition of the local Computing and Storage Elements, user interfaces as well as the WLCG software environment are checked. The SAM framework is also used to pre-install the LHCb applications in the shared software area provided by each site. The deployment of the LHCb applications is based on a python tool developed inside the experiment. It is used for software management including incremental installation of interdependent packages and clean package removal. After the application software is installed a validation test of the whole MC chain is run. According to the results of the experiment specific SAM tests, the sites are (re)integrated into the LHCb production system managed by DIRAC [2]. The possibility of ...
The concept of sustainable consumption (SC) has been proposed as a way of operationalising sustainable development (SD). However, until now, in view of the difficulties in conceptualising SC, emphasis has been placed mainly on a pragmatic approach. In an a-conceptual and pragmatic account of SC, many problems remain unaddressed, such as the danger of the notion becoming empty and lack of integration between the different dimensions of sustainability. In this paper, we propose that the informational space provided by the capability approach (CA) offers a conceptual framework to elaborate SC. The CA is employed here (i) to discuss the philosophical underpinnings of SC as part of a strategy for enhancing quality-of-life and (ii) to investigate the links between the different dimensions of SC....
Pancreatic amyloid deposits of amylin are a hallmark of Type II diabetes and considerable evidence indicates that amylin oligomers are cytotoxic to beta-cells. Many efforts are presently spent to find out naturally occurring molecules, or to design synthetic ones, able to hinder amylin aggregation or to protect cells against aggregate cytotoxicity. In this context, a protective effect of some polyphenols against amyloid cytotoxicity was reported. Actually dietary polyphenols are endowed with multiple health benefits, and extra virgin olive oil is attracting increasing interest as a source of these substances. Here, we investigated the effects on amylin aggregation and cytotoxicity of the secoiridoid oleuropein aglycon, the main phenolic component of extra virgin olive oil. We found that oleuropein, when present during the aggregation of amylin, consistently prevented its cytotoxicity to RIN-5F pancreatic beta-cells, as determined by the ...
Twenty autopsy cases with 2009 pandemic influenza A (2009 H1N1) virus infection, performed between August 2009 and February 2010, were histopathologically analyzed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunohistochemistry for type A influenza nucleoprotein antigen, and real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay for viral RNA were performed on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens. In addition, the D222G amino acid substitution in influenza virus hemagglutinin, which binds to specific cell receptors, was analyzed in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded trachea and lung sections by direct sequencing of PCR-amplified products. There were several histopathological patterns in the lung according to the most remarkable findings in each case: acute diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) with a hyaline membrane (four cases), organized DAD (one case), acute massive intra-alveolar edema with variable degrees of hemorrhage (three cases), neutrophilic bronchopneumonia (five cases) and ...
Thin PTFE membranes were prepared by coating the PTFE dispersion onto the aluminum films. Thus the thin crosslinked PTFE (RX-PTFE) membranes were obtained by means of electron beam irradiation above the melting temperature of PTFE under oxygen-free atmosphere. The RX-PTFE membranes were pre-irradiated and grafted by styrene with or without divinylbenzene (DVB) in liquid phase. The existence of DVB accelerated the initial grafting rate. The styrene grafted RX-PTFE membranes are white colored, on the other hand, the styrene/DVB grafted RX-PTFE membranes are colorless. The proton exchange membranes (PEMs) were obtained by sulfonating the grafted membranes using chlorosulfonic acid. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) values of the PEMs ranging from 1.5 to 2.8 meq/g were obtained. The PEMs made from the styrene/DVB grafted ...
Because every cell within the body has the same genetic information, a significant problem in biology is to understand how cells within a tissue express genes selectively. A sophisticated network of physical and biochemical signals converge in a highly orchestrated manner to bring about the exquisite regulation that governs gene expression in diverse tissues. Thus, the ultimate decision of a cell to proliferate, express tissue-specific genes, or apoptose must be a coordinated response to its adhesive, growth factor, and hormonal milieu. The unifying hypothesis examined in this overview is that the unit of function in higher organisms is neither the genome nor the cell alone but the complex, three-dimensional tissue. This is because there are bidirectional connections between the components of the cellular microenvironment (growth factors, hormones, and extracellular matrix) and the nucl2048 These connections are made via membrane-bound receptors and transmitted to ...
This report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the overview reports made by SFOE Heads of Program on work done in 2007. Projects reported on in the natural gas-fired fuel cell area include the EU-project REAL-SFOC, the long-term testing of anode-supported SOFC stacks, intermediate-temperature fuel cells based on proton conducting electrolytes, the interdisciplinary ONEBAT project and lifetime-enhancement of SOFC stacks for CHP applications. In the polymer-electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) area, projects concerning proton-conducting polymer membranes, factors limiting the lifetime of fuel cell membranes, a new highly active oxygen reduction electrode for PEM fuel cell and zinc/air battery applications, the enhancement of PEFC durability and reliability, model-based investigation of PEFC performance, and local gas analysis of PE fuel cells are briefly reported on. Long-term research activities in the hydrogen technology area ...
On-board reforming of liquid fuels to hydrogen for use in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) has been the subject of numerous investigations. In many respects, liquid fuels represent a more attractive method of carrying hydrogen than compressed hydrogen itself, promising greater vehicle range, shorter refilling times, increased safety, and perhaps most importantly, utilization of the current fuel distribution infrastructure. The drawbacks of on-board reformers include their inherent complexity [for example a POX reactor includes: a fuel vaporizer, a reformer, water-gas shift reactors, a preferential oxidation (PROX) unit for CO cleanup, heat exchangers for thermal integration, sensors and controls, etc.], weight, and expense relative to compressed H{sub 2}, as well as degraded fuel cell performance due to the presence of inert gases and impurities in the reformate. Partial oxidation (POX) of automotive fuels is ...
A single plasma process involving three consecutive steps has been developed for producing high gas flow catalytic nanostructures on the electrodes of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells (FC). Using a high density helicon radio frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma, nickel is sputtered onto a porous carbon support. Changing the background gas from argon to methane/hydrogen allowed 2 ?m long, 37 nm diameter carbon nanofibres (CNFs) to be grown by diffusion through the nickel clusters in a 'tip growth' mechanism at the relatively low temperature of 400 deg. C. The third step involves plasma sputtering of platinum onto the CNFs, resulting in nanoclusters (3-8 nm) being formed on the periphery of the CNFs. Four FC cathodes were synthesized on carbon paper and PTFE/carbon loaded cloth (known as gas diffusion layer, GDL), both with and without CNFs, with the Pt/CNFs nanostructures grown on PTFE/carbon loaded cloth having the best FC performances. Compared with conventional ...
The conversion of off-peak surplus electricity into peak electricity through an electrolyzer, hydrogen storage, and fuel cell energy storage system was discussed. Development efforts in high pressure alkaline electrolysis and Proton-Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells have improved the near-term viability of these systems. Potential use of wind turbines and other renewable energy-based generation systems, through hydrogen-based energy storage, were discussed as a new supply of surplus electricity. An integrated set of nomographs were presented for providing quick estimates of peak electricity costs derived from an electrolyzer/hydrogen fuel cell system. The nomographs allowed first order cost comparisons of centralized versus distributed hydrogen energy systems considering trade-offs between production economies of scale and hydrogen storage and transport costs. Use of the nomographs to compare centralized and dispersed systems was demonstrated. ...
Platinum(II) complexes have been investigated in the hydration of alkynes. These catalysts offer improved regioselectivity over Hg(II) counterparts. 1 fig., 2 tabs.
The conductivity of the membrane is a limiting factor for the efficiency and power density of PEFCs. Because this conductivity is strongly dependent on the membrane hydration, water management is an important aspect of PEFC optimisation. Single cell model experiments were made in order to determine the in-plane hydration of a Nafion{sup R} membrane under fuel cell conditions as function of the gas humidities. (author) 4 fig., 3 refs.
Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membranes with various degrees of sulfonation (DS) have been prepared as a potential membrane material for proton exchange membrane by sulfonation process using mixtures of (15-30% concentration) fuming sulfuric acid and (95-98%) concentrated sulfuric acid as the sulfonating agent. The sulfonation process was conducted at room temperature by varying the acid ratio and reaction time. The produced membranes were then characterized by evaluating the ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake, thermal stability, proton conductivity and methanol permeability as a function of degree of sulfonation. The proton conductivity of the sulfonated PEEK membranes with various DS was within the magnitude of 10"-"3 and 10"-"2 S cm"-"1 at room temperature and the methanol permeability was in the range of 3.45 x 10"-"7 to 2.73 x 10"-"6 cm"2 s"-"1. The overall ...
During the past decades polymer membrane technology has been applied in various industries for a myriad of separation duties. They are also an important candidate for the solution of separation problems associated with the recovery of carbon dioxide in power plants. The application of membrane technology for carbon dioxide removal is discussed for two different ways of operation in present and future power plants. First, pressure driven operations are discussed, followed by a discussion of the use of membranes in absorbers. The pressure driven processes based on currently available gas separation membranes are shown to have poor separation characteristics. Further membrane development work appears to be necessary, especially in the area of temperature resistant membranes. Membrane selectivity goals are presented for present and future power ...
Equivalent circuit and electrical parameters for H-doped NH_4UO_2PO_4.3H_2O self supported membranes have been determined by impedance spectroscopy. The measurements were carried out with a dry membrane, at different temperatures, and a wet membrane in contact with different electrolyte solutions. Resistance values for the dry membrane decrease with temperature increase, which agrees with the weak protonic character of the H-doped ammonium uranylphosphate. On the other hand, differences in the electrical parameters, depending on the electrolyte considered were also obtained and are attributed to different conduction mechanisms. (Author).
Microporous membranes are suitable for the CO{sub 2}-MEA (monoethanolamine) system because the overall mass transfer coefficient K of the membrane is approximately 10 times larger than that of composite membranes consisting of microporous membranes and homogeneous membranes. The overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient K{center_dot} of the hollow-fiber contact is more than 5 times larger than that of a conventional packed bed, which suggests that adorption using the present method has the advantage of making the absorption more compact. 8 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs.
The first analysis of inelastic J/{psi} meson production in photoproduction (Q{sup 2}<2.5 GeV{sup 2}) of the H1 experiment for the second phase of HERA (HERA II) is presented. The analysis is carried out at low and medium elasticities. The production of heavy quarks (charm, or bottom) is of special interest since the mass of the quarks provides a hard scale for the application of perturbative QCD. The muonic decay channel is used to select the J/{psi} mesons. The data was collected by the H1 detector during the period 2003-2005, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 133 pb{sup -1}. However only a subset of this data could be analysed. At the start of HERA II the trigger system was affected by a sizeable background. Then a fault was introduced in the trigger software during the summer 2004 and was only discovered and solved in April 2006. This means that approximately 80 % of the triggered events at medium ...
This work is a theoretical investigation on the physical properties of semiconductor-based two-dimensional photonic crystals, in particular for what concerns systems embedded in planar dielectric waveguides (GaAs/AlGaAs, GaInAsP/InP heterostructures, and self-standing membranes) or based on macro-porous silicon. The photonic-band structure of photonic crystals and photonic-crystal slabs is numerically computed and the associated light-line problem is discussed, which points to the issue of intrinsic out-of-lane diffraction losses for the photonic bands lying above the light line. The photonic states are then classified by the group theory formalism: each mode is related to an irreducible representation of the corresponding small point group. The optical properties are investigated by means of the scattering matrix method, which numerically implements a variable-angle-reflectance experiment; comparison with experiments is also provided. The analysis of surface ...
Early effects of 100 Kilorads of X-rays on muscle cell membrane properties have been measured in sartorius muscles from Leptodactylus ocellatus. Threshold strength for rectangular current pulses increased 10% after irradiation, and action potential propagation velocity decreased 10%. Passive membrane parameters were calculated from potential responses to sub-threshold current pulses, assuming conventional cable theory. Specific membrane conductance increased to 18% after irradiation, membrane capacitance increased 14%, and length constant decreased 10% but membrane time constant was unchanged. Cell diameter decreased 5%, and resting membrane potential decreased 8%. Membrane parameters during an action potential were also evaluated by the phase-plane and current-voltage plot techniques. Irradiation significantly decreased the action potential ...
Amphiphilic block copolymers are synthesized by sulfonation of poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) using acetyl sulfate, and are blended with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to prepare a new proton exchange membrane, in which PMMA is miscible with PVDF. The morphology and the transport properties of the membranes are investigated as functions of the degree of sulfonation as well as the blend ratio. Notable transition of phase-separated morphology is observed as the PVDF content of the blend is increased. Both the proton conductivity and the ion-exchange capacity (IEC) of the membrane increase with increasing the degree of sulfonation of PS-b-PMMA, and they are also enhanced as the phase-separated domains of blend membrane are well-ordered. Unlike the Nafion membrane, the proton conductivity of the blend membrane increases up to 90 C, indicating the ...
In its current configuration, the IECM provides a capability to model various conventional and advanced processes for controlling air pollutant emissions from coalfired power plants before, during, or after combustion. The principal purpose of the model is to calculate the performance, emissions, and cost of power Plant configurations employing alternative environmental control methods. The model consists of various control technology modules, which may be integrated into a complete utility plant in any desired combination. in conuwt to conventional deterministic models, the IECM offers the unique capability to assign probabilistic values to all model input parameters, and to obtain probabilistic outputs in the form of cumulative distribution functions indicating the likelihood of different costs and performance results. The most recent version of the IECM, implemented on a Macintosh II computer and containing a number of software and model ...
In its current configuration, the IECM provides a capability to model various conventional and advanced processes for controlling air pollutant emissions from coalfired power plants before, during, or after combustion. The principal purpose of the model is to calculate the performance, emissions, and cost of power Plant configurations employing alternative environmental control methods. The model consists of various control technology modules, which may be integrated into a complete utility plant in any desired combination. in conuwt to conventional deterministic models, the IECM offers the unique capability to assign probabilistic values to all model input parameters, and to obtain probabilistic outputs in the form of cumulative distribution functions indicating the likelihood of different costs and performance results. The most recent version of the IECM, implemented on a Macintosh II computer and containing a number of software and model ...
Gas separation membranes with polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)/polystyrene(PS) were prepared by using the sequential interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) method with various PS contents (10?70wt%). These gas separation membranes can be applied to reduce the smoke density in the emission gas of diesel engines. PS content has a pronounced effect on the membrane performance. It was found that the optimized PS contents in the final membrane were 50wt%. The emission capacities of diesel engines used in this study were 632 cc and 11,149 cc. When the oxygen separation membrane was used in the diesel engines, the smoke density of both diesel engines was remarkably reduced (35?73%). The oxygen concentration in the inlet air affects the composition of the emission gases. Especially, hydrocarbon (HC) dec...
Research was performed to assess the feasibility of barrier membrane substances, for use within mining or associated high risk environments, in restricting the diffusion transport of radon gas quantities. Specific tests were conducted to determine permeability parameters of a variety of membrane materials with reference to radon flow capabilities. Tests were conducted both within laboratory and in-situ emanation environments where concentrations and diffusion flows of radon gas were known to exist. Equilibrium radon gas concentrations were monitored in initially radon-free chambers adjacent to gas sources, but separated by specified membrane substances. Membrane barrier effectiveness was demonstrated to result in reduced emanation concentrations of radon gas within the sampling chamber atmosphere. Minimum gas concentrations were evidenced where the barrier membrane material was ...
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) exhibits specific binding to the extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by cultured endothelial cells. Binding was saturable as a function both of time and of concentration of {sup 125}I-bFGF. Scatchard analysis of FGF binding revealed the presence of about 1.5 x 10{sup 12} binding sites/mm{sup 2} ECM with an apparent k{sub D} of 610 nM. FGF binds to heparan sulfate (HS) in ECM as evidenced by (i) inhibition of binding in the presence of heparin or HS at 0.1-1 {mu}g/mL, but not by chondroitin sulfate, keratan sulfate, or hyaluronic acid at 10 {mu}g/mL, (ii) lack of binding to ECM pretreated with heparitinase, but not with chondroitinase ABC, and (iii) rapid release of up to 90% of ECM-bound FGF by exposure to heparin, HS, or heparitinase, but not to chondroitin sulfate, keratan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, or chondroitinase ABC. Oligosaccharides derived from depolymerized heparin, and as small as the tetrasaccharide, released the ...
This study was designed to evaluate the suitability of a novel bioabsorbable material in treating bone defects. A poly(desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine-ethyl ester carbonate) (PDTE carbonate) membrane (thickness...Full Text Available
The canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays a pivotal role in regulating embryogenesis and tumorigenesis by promoting cell proliferation. BAMBI (BMP and activin membrane-bound inhibitor) has...Full Text Available
Amino acid transport in membrane vesicles of Bacillus stearothermophilus was studied. A relatively high concentration of sodium ions is needed for uptake of L-alanine (Kt = 1.0 mM) and L-leucine (Kt...Full Text Available
A number of studies have indicated that plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) are expressed in the brain and spinal cord and could play important roles not only in the maintenance of cellular calcium...Full Text Available
Electrospinning, a flexible jet-based fiber, scaffold, and membrane fabrication approach, has been elucidated as having significance to the heath sciences. Its capabilities have been most impressive...Full Text Available
Tubular membrane structures are widespread in eukaryotic cells, but the mechanisms underlying their formation and stability are not well understood. Previous work has focused on tube extrusion from...Full Text Available
We showed recently that secretion of glutamate in biotin-limited cells of Corynebacterium glutamicum is mediated by carrier systems in the plasma membrane (C. Hoischen and R. Krämer, Arch. Microbiol....Full Text Available
The localization of gold in the synovial membrane of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with sodium aurothiomalate was examined and quantitative analysis of epon-embedded sections was carried out...Full Text Available
In whole-cell recording, the conductance of the plasma membrane of protoplasts isolated from mesophyll cells of leaves of oat (Avena sativa) was greater for inward than outward current....Full Text Available
Membranous dysmenorrhea is an unusual clinical entity. It is characterized by the expulsion of huge fragments of endometrium during the menses, favored by hormonal abnormality or drug intake. This report describes a case with clinical, US, and MRI findings before the expulsion. Differential diagnoses are discussed. (orig.)
IntroductionThe murine air pouch is a bursa-like space that resembles the human synovial membrane. Injection of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals into the pouch elicits an acute inflammatory...Full Text Available
Cell membranes are studded with protrusions that were thoroughly analyzed with electron microscopy. However, the nanometer-scale three-dimensional motions generated by cell membranes to fit the topography of foreign surfaces and initiate adhesion remain poorly understood. Here, we describe the dynamics of surface deformations displayed by monocytic cells bumping against fibronectin-coated surfaces. We observed membrane undulations with typically 5 nm amplitude and 5-10 second lifetime. Cell membranes behaved as independent units of micrometer size. Cells detected the presence of foreign surfaces at 50 nm separation, resulting in time-dependent amplification of membrane undulations. Molecular contact then ensued with apparent cell-membrane separation of 30-40 nm, and this distance steadily decreased during the following tens of seconds. Contact maturation was ...
Membrane cofactor protein (MCP or gp45-70) of the complement system is a cofactor for factor I-mediated cleavage of fluid-phase C3b and C3b-like C3, which opens the thioester bond. In the present study...Full Text Available
The binding of amphiphilic molecules to lipid bilayers is followed by 19F NMR using chemical shift and line shape differences between the solution and membrane-tethered states of...Full Text Available
In this observational study, we compared erythrocyte membrane fatty acids in infants consuming formula supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) with those consuming...Full Text Available
Objective: To evaluate effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on the viability, membrane properties, and zinc distribution, with and without the presence of Zn2+, in human prostate...Full Text Available
Naturally occurring and contaminant ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic particles have been found within or near cells, and might allow pulsed magnetic fields to create transient cell membrane opening ("pores")....Full Text Available
Measurement of intrathylakoid aqueous volumes by electron spin resonance spectroscopy was used to study ionic permeability properties of thylakoid membranes isolated from Beta vulgaris...Full Text Available
The effect of blood lead on erythrocyte membrane proteins was studied in 28 workers from a scrap lead refining factory and in 18 controls working in railway construction. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide...Full Text Available
Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies have been performed on spin-labeled model membranes aligned using the isopotential spin-dry ultracentrifugation (ISDU) method of Clark and Rothschild. This method...Full Text Available
SpoIIIE is an FtsK-related protein that transports the forespore chromosome across the Bacillus subtilis sporulation septum. We use membrane photobleaching and protoplast assays to...Full Text Available
Transitions at 28-32°C in membranes of many kinds of seeds influence their germination and subsequent growth. Changes at 28-32°C in the rates of loss of endogenous amino acids from imbibed...Full Text Available
Amino acid transport was studied in membrane vesicles of the thermophilic anaerobic bacterium Clostridium fervidus. Neutral, acidic, and basic as well as aromatic amino acids were transported at 40...Full Text Available
The molecular diversity of the gene encoding the outer membrane protein A (OmpA) of Haemophilus parasuis has been unclear. In this study, the structural characteristics, sequence types,...Full Text Available
The flux ratio (influx/efflux) of K+ across the plasmalemma of beet cells at an external potassium concentration of 0.6 mm does not respond to changes of membrane potential in the...Full Text Available
Biological membranes are lamellar structures composed of two leaflets capable of supporting different mechanical stresses. Stress differences between leaflets were generated during micromechanical experiments...Full Text Available
The e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}pp cross section is determined over a range of pp masses, from threshold to 4.5 GeV/c{sup 2}, by studying the e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}pp{gamma} process. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 232 fb{sup -1}, collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II storage ring, at an e{sup +}e{sup -} center-of-mass energy of 10.6 GeV. The mass dependence of the ratio of electric and magnetic form factors, G{sub E}/G{sub M}, is measured for pp masses below 3 GeV/c{sup 2}; its value is found to be significantly larger than 1 for masses up to 2.2 GeV/c{sup 2}. We also measure J/{psi}{yields}pp and {psi}(2S){yields}pp branching fractions and set an upper limit on Y(4260){yields}pp production and decay.
The authors present a search for excited and exotic muon states {mu}*, conducted using an integrated luminosity of 371 pb{sup -1} of data collected in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV at the Tevatron with the CDF II detector. They search for associated production of {mu}{mu}* followed by the decay {mu}* {yields} {mu}{gamma}, resulting in the {mu}{mu}{gamma} final state. They compare the data to model predictions as a function of the mass of the excited muon M{sub {mu}*}, the compositeness energy scale {Lambda}, and the gauge coupling factor f. No signal above the standard model expectation is observed in the {mu}{gamma} mass spectrum. In the contact interaction model, they exclude 107 < M{sub {mu}*} < 853 GeV/c{sup 2} for {Lambda} = M{sub {mu}*}; in the gauge-mediated model, they exclude 100 < M{sub {mu}*} < 410 GeV/c{sup 2} for f/{Lambda} = 10{sup -2} GeV{sup -1}. These 95% confidence level exclusions ...
We consider an admissible fibration $\\pi:X\\to\\mathbb{P}^1$ over a curve over a number field, of which the generic fiber $X_\\eta$ is geometrically rationally connected. We suppose that there exists a generalized Hilbertian subset $\\textsf{Hil}$ of $\\mathbb{P}^1$, such that the Brauer-Manin obstruction is the only obstruction to the Hasse principle (resp. to the weak approximation) for $X_\\theta(\\theta\\in \\textsf{Hil}).$ We prove that the Brauer-Manin obstruction is the only obstruction to the Hasse principle (resp. to the strong approximation) for zero-cycles of degree 1 on $X$ in the following cases: $(B_1)$ the index of the generic fibre $X_\\eta$ is equal to 1; $(B_2)$ all fibers are geometrically integral. Then, we obtain some similar results for certain fibrations over $\\mathbb{P}^n$. As a consequence, we obtain the following result: let $X$ be a smooth projective geometrically rationally connected variety over a number field $k$, if the Brauer-Manin ...
A laboratory differential simulation method is used for the design of carbonization columns at coal-tar processing in which phenols are regenerated from phenolate solution by carbon dioxide absorption. The design method is based on integration of local absorption rates of carbon dioxide along the column. The local absorption rates into industrial phenolate mixture are measured in a laboratory model contactor for various compositions of the gas and liquid phases under the conditions that ensure the absorption rates in the laboratory absorber simulate the local rates in the industrial column. On the bases of the calculations, two-step carbonization columns were designed for 30000 t/year of the phenolate solution treatment by carbon dioxide. The absorption proceeds at higher pressure of 500 kPa and temperatures from 50 to 65 C, pure carbon dioxide is used and toluene is added. These conditions have the following favourable effects: (I) significant size reduction of ...
We re-examine the process of loop quantization for flat isotropic models in cosmology. In particular, we contrast different inequivalent `loop quantizations' of these simple models through their respective successes and limitations and assess whether they can lead to any viable physical description. We propose three simple requirements which any such admissible quantum model should satisfy: i) independence from any auxiliary structure, such as a fiducial interval/cell introduced to define the phase space when integrating over non-compact manifolds; ii) existence of a well defined classical limit and iii) provide a sensible "Planck scale" where quantum gravitational effects become manifest. We show that even when it may seem that one can have several possible loop quantizations, these physical requirements considerably narrow down the consistent choices. Apart for the so called improved dynamics of LQC, none of the other available inequivalent ...
In response to the Clean Coal II solicitation, Bethlehem Steel Corporation (BSC) submitted a proposal to the DOE in May 1988. The proposal submitted by BSC describes a Unique integration of commercial technologies developed by Davy/Still Otto to clean coke oven gas being produced at its Sparrows Point, Maryland steel plant. This innovative coke oven gas cleaning system combines secondary gas cooling with hydrogen sulfide and ammonia removal, hydrogen sulfide and ammonia recovery, ammonia destruction and sulfur recovery to produce a cleaner fuel gas for plant use. The primary environmental benefit associated with employing this innovative coke oven gas cleaning system is realized when the fuel gas is burned within the steel plant. Emissions of sulfur dioxide are reduced by more than 60 percent. The removal, recovery and destruction of ammonia eliminates the disposal problems associated with an unmarketable ammonium sulfate by-product. ...
A search for the doubly charged Higgs boson, a member of $SU(2)_L$ scalar triplet $\\Phi$ participating in the seesaw mechanism of type II, in $pp$ collisions at $\\sqrt{s}=7$~TeV is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36 $\\text{pb}^{-1}$ collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The inclusive search is performed in events with three and four isolated charged leptons of all flavours originating from the decays of pair produced triplet components $\\Phi^{++}\\Phi^{--}$ and $\\Phi^{++}\\Phi^{-}.$ With the present collected luminosity the CMS experiment is sensitive to the $\\Phi$ mass range in which the possible decays $\\Phi^{++}\\to W^{+}W^{+}$ are forbidden kinematically. No signal excess is observed and lower limits at the 95\\% confidence level are set on the $\\Phi^{++}$ mass of 156\\GeV in the $\\mu\\mu$ channel, $154\\GeV$ in e$\\mu$ channel, of $144\\GeV$ in $ee$ channel and between $116\\GeV$ and $131\\GeV$ ...
In order to develop competitive and reliable nuclear power generation systems, development of innovative structural design methods is indispensable and risk-based design approach based on the assessment of failure probability is being developed. Fatigue is commonly considered as an important contributor to failure probability in many components of reactor systems and its assessment gives a large influence on total reliability of the plants. In order to assess its effect on the reliability, propagation of cracks needs to be evaluated as well as their initiation and pre-existence probability. As a part of new design approach, efforts are being taken to develop a simplified estimation method for fatigue crack growth under cyclic application of thermal and thermo-mechanical loading. A simplified estimation method of J-integral based on reference stress method and elastic follow-up factor was developed based on many finite element analyses and evaluation of crack growth ...
The connections between several studies of the off-shell amplitude, based on apparently different criteria, are first clarified and expressed through more coincise operator notion. In all cases the resolution of the underlying dynamical relations is reduced to a two-step procedure. Underconditions which are discussed, the latter implies only Volterra-like integral equations followed by simple quadratures and algebraic operations. Then it is shown that the off-shell generalizations of the Jost formalism which are defined by such approaches can as well be introduced without reference to any explicit dynamical framework. Examples are given specifying in such model independent ways the main properties of the associated Jost-type functions. The relative interest of different representations built with these functions is also examined, and on this occasion new three-separable-term approximations are a useful guideline for introducing similar formalisms in other ...
New tetradentate N(2)O(2) donor Schiff bases and their mononuclear Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Pd(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized extensively by IR, (1)H-, (13)C-NMR, mass, ESR, conductivity measurements, elemental and thermal analysis. Specifically the magnetic and electronic spectral measurements demonstrate the octahedral structures of cobalt(II), nickel(II) complexes and square planar geometries of copper(II), palladium(II) complexes. All the ligands and complexes were screened for their in vitro antibacterial activity against two gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and two gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia). In this study, Pd(II) complexes exhibited potent antibacterial activity against B. subtilis, S. aureus whereas ...
The data set consists of the following: - Biochemical analysis of Deschampsia leaves and root; - Chromatographic Analysis of membrane lipids (lipid profile) ...
This dissertation deals with membrane gas absorption in the application of CO{sub 2} removal by aqueous alkanolamines, using microporous PTFE hollow fiber membranes. A new lab-scale apparatus was constructed and an extensive experimental study executed to determine the performance of the membrane gas absorber, with aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA) and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) as absorbents. The important operation parameters CO{sub 2} partial pressure, gas velocity, liquid velocity, temperature and liquid CO{sub 2} loading were systematically varied within the range typically experienced in a process for exhaust gas CO{sub 2}-removal
Some acylhydrazine derived ONO donor Schiff bases and their Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes have been prepared having the same metal ion (cation) but different anions. These synthesized metal(II)...Full Text Available
Basement membranes contain several proteoglycans, and those bearing heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans such as perlecan and agrin usually predominate. Most mammalian basement membranes also contain...Full Text Available
The diffusion of alkali vapours in the anode compartment of a DIR-MCFC produces the deactivation of the internal reforming catalyst. Sets of ceramic porous membranes purposed to limit the diffusion have been manufactured by different techniques and the influence of the preparation technique and of the preparative variables on the morphological characteristics of the membranes structures has been studied.
Since several years we apply the radiation-grafting technique to prepare polymeric membranes for application in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Our investigations presented here focus on changes in toughness of these materials after the various synthesis steps and the importance of membrane toughness for their application in PEFCs. (author) 2 figs., 4 refs.
This document provides stakeholder evaluations on innovative technologies to be used in the remediation of volatile organic compounds from soils and ground water. The technologies evaluated are; in-well vapor stripping, in-situ bioremediation, and gas membrane separation.
This report is a brief review of biological and medical applications of ion-track membranes. The review aims at informing nuclear physicists about alternative (i.e. non-fundamental-science) use of heavy ion accelerators such as production of micro- and nano-porous materials. The ion-track membranes produced this way are employed in life sciences and numerous technological applications. The author focuses on recent results from the Flerov laboratory in co-operation with other scientific institutions and industrial partners.
Water transport in the ionomeric membrane, typically Nafion{reg_sign}, has profound influence on the performance of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell, in terms of internal resistance and overall water balance. In this work, high resolution neutron imaging of the Nafion{reg_sign} membrane is presented in order to measure water content and through-plane gradients in situ under disparate temperature and humidification conditions.
Background: EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) inhibitors confer clinical benefit in metastatic colorectal cancer when combined with chemotherapy. An emerging strategy to improve outcomes in rectal cancer is to integrate biologically active, targeted agents as triple therapy into chemoradiation protocols. Material and methods: cetuximab and bevacizumab have now been incorporated into phase I-II studies of preoperative chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for rectal cancer. The rationale of these combinations, early efficacy and toxicity data, and possible molecular predictors for tumor response are reviewed. Computerized bibliographic searches of Pubmed were supplemented with hand searches of reference lists and abstracts of ASCO and ASTRO meetings. Results: the combination of cetuximab and CRT can be safely applied without dose compromises of the respective treatment components. Disappointingly low ...
A structurally conserved element, the trigger loop, has been suggested to play a key role in substrate selection and catalysis of RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcription elongation. Recently resolved...Full Text Available
The insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) pathway is a conserved regulator of longevity, development, and metabolism. In Caenorhabditis elegans IIS involves activation of DAF-2 (insulin/IGF-1...Full Text Available
DNA from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 17 different individuals infected with human T-cell lymphoma/leukemia virus type II (HTLV-II) was successfully amplified by the polymerase chain reaction...Full Text Available
In this paper the simulation of hybrid processes containing membrane units will be discussed. For this purpose a user-defined module for simulation and design of membrane processes was implemented into the simulation program AspenPlus. The advantages can be summarized as follows: - any combination of membrane processes with all other units already implemented in AspenPlus is possible, including internal recycle streams, - utilization of the physical property models and data bases of AspenPlus is possible, - cost and sensitivity analysis can be performed. These benefits are demonstrated in detail for a membrane vapor recovery unit for the treatment of tank farm off-gas, for a two-stage reverse osmosis plant for organic/-organic separations and for a combination of distillation and pervaporation for the separation of a dimethylcarbonate/methanol mixture. (orig.)
The development of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum) mineral scale in reverse osmosis (RO) membrane desalting was investigated by direct real-time observation of crystal growth. Gypsum scaling studies were conducted in a specially modified plate-and-frame reverse osmosis cell fitted with an optical window, with dark-field membrane lighting arrangement within the membrane cell to enhance crystal boundaries and allow recording of digital surface images magnified through an optical microscope. The evolution of the surface number density (SND) of gypsum crystals resembled a sigmoidal population growth process with an increasing rate of crystal formation at higher solution supersaturation (with respect to gypsum) at the membrane surface. The rate of formation of new crystals declined as the su...
Equivalent circuit and electrical parameters for H-doped NH{sub 4}UO{sub 2}PO{sub 4}.3H{sub 2}O self supported membranes have been determined by impedance spectroscopy. The measurements were carried out with a dry membrane, at different temperatures, and a wet membrane in contact with different electrolyte solutions. Resistance values for the dry membrane decrease with temperature increase, which agrees with the weak protonic character of the H-doped ammonium uranylphosphate. On the other hand, differences in the electrical parameters, depending on the electrolyte considered were also obtained and are attributed to different conduction mechanisms. (Author).
Since artificial organs are intended to replicate chemical processes, knowledge of chemical engineering is essential in their design so that they will function with the maximum efficiency. The most commonly used artificial organ is the artificial kidney, a machine that performs a treatment known as hemodialysis. This process cleanses the bodies of renal failure patients by dialysis and filtration which are simple physiochemical processes. Hemodialysis membranes act to remove accumulated uremia toxins, excess ions and water from the patient via the dialysate, and to supply from the dialysate those ions that are insufficient. This paper describes dialysis membranes and dialyzers for blood purification, the solute transport mechanism of the membrane, and a technical evaluation of the dialysis membrane. Lastly, the next generation of artificial kidney is reviewed. 71 refs., 12 figs., 7 tabs.
This document is a Final Technical Report that describes the results of the Geophex Airborne Unmanned Survey System (GAUSS) research project. The objectives were to construct a geophysical data acquisition system that uses a remotely operated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and to evaluate its effectiveness for characterization of hazardous environmental sites. The GAUSS is a data acquisition system that mitigates the potential risk to personnel during geophysical characterization of hazardous or radioactive sites. The fundamental basis of the GAUSS is as follows: (1) an unmanned survey vehicle carries geophysical sensors into a hazardous location, (2) the pilot remains outside the hazardous site and operates the vehicle using radio control, (3) geophysical measurements and their spatial locations are processed by an automated data-acquisition system which displays data on an off-site monitor in real-time, and (4) the pilot uses the display to direct the survey vehicle for complete site ...
Several thin film composite nanofiltration membranes have been prepared by spin coating a sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) solution on a polyethersulfone support, followed by thermal treatment. The most optimal developed nanofiltration membrane shows a clean water permeance of ~4.5Lm^-^2h^-^1bar^-^1 and a molecular weight cut off (MWCO) of ~500gmol^-^1. No irreversible changes in membrane performance have been observed after prolonged exposure (up to several weeks) of this membrane to solutions with a pH in the range 0-14. Compared to Desal-5-DK, the developed membrane displays a similar water permeance and a higher NaCl retention. In comparison to commercially available pH stable membranes, MPF-34 and NP030P, it reveals a higher water permeance. Permeance and MWCO analysis at varying p...
Current bioartificial extra-corporeal systems are bioreactors where cells are separated from the surrounding media by porous polymeric membranes. The present work focuses on the design of membranes that allow the differential diffusion of plasma metabolites and proteins such as immunoglobulin (IgG). This design will improve catabolites removal and reduce possible immune response and virus infection. We demonstrate the feasibility to synthesize the hydrogels confined to the macroporous structure of membranes by radiation-induced in situ polymerization. The hollow-fiber membranes were soaked in aqueous monomeric solution, rinsed and irradiated while submerged in oil. This procedure confined the hydrogel to the void internal volume of the pores of the membrane. Hydrogels of polyacrylamide and polyHEMA were synthesized this way by irradiation at 10 kGy. Hydraulic permeability and ...
The in situ assembly states of the glucose transport carrier protein in the plasma membrane and in the intracellular (microsomal) storage pool of rat adipocytes were assessed by studying radiation-induced inactivation of the D-glucose-sensitive cytochalasin B binding activities. High energy radiation inactivated the glucose-sensitive cytochalasin B binding of each of these membrane preparations by reducing the total number of the binding sites without affecting the dissociation constant. The reduction in total number of binding sites was analyzed as a function of radiation dose based on target theory, from which a radiation-sensitive mass (target size) was calculated. When the plasma membranes of insulin-treated adipocytes were used, a target size of approximately 58,000 daltons was obtained. For adipocyte microsomal membranes, we obtained target sizes of approximately 112,000 and 109,000 daltons prior ...
Abstract in english The tegument surface of the adult schistosome, bounded by a normal plasma membrane overlain by a secreted membranocalyx, holds the key to understanding how schistosomes evade host immune responses. Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS), and the sequencing of the Schistosoma mansoni transcriptome/genome, have facilitated schistosome proteomics. We detached the tegument from the worm body and enriched its surface membranes by differential extraction, before subjecting t (more) he preparation to liquid chromatography-based proteomics to identify its constituents. The most exposed proteins on live worms were labelled with impearmeant biotinylation reagents, and we also developed methods to isolate the membranocalyx for analysis. We identified transporters for sugars, amino acids, inorganic ions and water, which confirm the importance of the tegument plasma membrane in nutrient acquisition and solute ...
Two methods were used to label pig kidney microvillar membrane proteins from the luminal and cytoplasmic surfaces of closed membrane vesicles. The first method was lactoperoxidase-catalysed radioiodination. Lactoperoxidase and glucose oxidase were positioned inside or outside the vesicles, iodination being initiated by adding glucose and "1"2"5I. After electrophoresis of the proteins, asymmetric labelling patterns on radioautographs were observed. However the major disadvantage of this method was the high degree of intramembrane labelling of the fatty acid chains of membrane lipids. The second method overcame this disadvantage. A new hydophilic photoreagent, 3,5-di("1"2"5I)iodo-4-azidobenzenesulphonate, was transported by a Na"+-dependent system into microvillar vesicles, thus permitting labelling from either side of the membrane when the vesicles were photolysed. The activity of several microvillar ...
A series of cation exchange membranes was produced by impregnating and coating both sides of a quartz web with a Nafion solution (1100 EW, 10%wt in water). Inert filler particles (SiO_2, ZrO_2 or TiO_2; 5-20%wt) were incorporated into the aqueous Nafion solution to produce robust, composite membranes. Ion-exchange capacity/equivalent weight, water take-up, thickness change on hydration and ionic and electrical conductivity were measured in 1 mol dm"-"3 sulfuric acid at 298 K. The TiO_2 filler significantly impacted on these properties, producing higher water take-up and increased conductivity. Such membranes may be beneficial for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell operation at low humidification. The PEM fuel cell performance of the composite membranes containing SiO_2 fillers was examined in a Ballard Mark 5E unit cell. While the use of composite ...
The results of this research centered on the experimental studies of a single superconducting persistent current qubit, the implementation of type-II algorithms using these qubits, and the proposal for adiabatic quantum computing using these qubits. The m...
The in vivo photochemical activity of photosystem II was inferred from modulated chlorophyll fluorescence and photoacoustic measurements in intact leaves of several plant species (Lycopersicon...Full Text Available
Woolfolk, C. A. (University of Washington, Seattle). Reduction of inorganic compounds with molecular hydrogen by Micrococcus lactilyticus. II. Stoichiometry with inorganic...Full Text Available
... and high-quality photospheric-phase Type II SN spectra to constrain core- collapse SN explosions, massive star evolution, and distances in the Universe ...
This document describes payload control at LLNL to ensure that all shipments of CH-TRU waste in the TRUPACT-II (Transuranic Package Transporter-II) meet the requirements of the TRUPACT-II SARP (safety report for packaging). This document also provides specific instructions for the selection of authorized payloads once individual payload containers are qualified for transport. The physical assembly of the qualified payload and operating procedures for the use of the TRUPACT-II, including loading and unloading operations, are described in HWM Procedure No. 204, based on the information in the TRUPACT-II SARP. The LLNL TRAMPAC, along with the TRUPACT-II operating procedures contained in HWM Procedure No. 204, meet the documentation needs for the use of the TRUPACT-II at LLNL. Table 14-1 provides a summary of the LLNL waste generation and ...
Biosorption using activated sludge biomass (ASB) as a potentially sustainable technology for the treatment of wastewater containing different metal ions (Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II)) was investigated. ASB metal uptake clearly competed with protons consumed by microbial biomass compared with control tests with non-activated sludge biomass. Biosorption tests confirmed maximum exchange between metal ions and protons at pH 2.0-4.5. It was revealed by the study that the amount of metal ions released from the biomass increased with biomass sludge concentration. The result showed that maximum absorption of metal ions was observed for Cd(II) at pH 3.5, Pb(II) at pH 4.0, and pH 4.5 for Zn(II) ions. The maximum absorption capacities of ASB for Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) were determined to be 59.3, 68.5 and 86.5%, ...
The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75"N"T"R) is a death receptor which belongs to the tumor necrosis factor receptor super-family of membrane proteins. This study shows that p75"N"T"R retarded cell cycle progression by induced accumulation of cells in G0/G1 and a reduction in the S phase of the cell cycle. The rescue of tumor cells from cell cycle progression by a death domain deleted (#DELTA#DD) dominant-negative antagonist of p75"N"T"R showed that the death domain transduced anti-proliferative activity in a ligand-independent manner. Conversely, addition of NGF ligand rescued retardation of cell cycle progression with commensurate changes in components of the cyclin/cdk holoenzyme complex. In the absence of ligand, p75"N"T"R-dependent cell cycle arrest facilitated an increase in apoptotic nuclear fragmentation of the prostate cancer cells. Apoptosis of p75"N"T"R expressing cells occurred via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway leading to a sequential caspase-9 and ...
Coal fired combined cycle power systems will be a sufficient way to increase the efficiency of coal combustion. However, combined cycle power systems require a reliable hot gas cleanup. Especially alkali metals, such as sodium and potassium, can lead to hot corrosion of the gas turbine blading if they condensate as sulphates. The actual work deals with the release and sorption of alkali metals in coal fired combined cycle power systems. The influence of coal composition, temperature and pressure on the release of alkali species in coal combustion was investigated and the relevant release mechanisms identified. Alumosilicate sorbents have been found that reduce the alkali concentration in the hot flue gas of the Circulating Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion 2{sup nd} Generation (CPFBC 2{sup nd} Gen.) at 750 C to values sufficient for use in a gas turbine. Accordingly, alumosilicate sorbents working at 1400 C have been found for the Pressurized Pulverized Coal Combustion (PPCC). The ...
The purified integralmembrane protein, band 3, from human erythrocytes was inserted into egg lecithin liposomes. The insertion of band 3 was determined from thermal transition data from the analysis of the C-H stretching region bands recorded at temperatures from 25 to -22[sup o]C. Raman spectra show that band 3 considerably broadens and lowers the thermal transition of egg lecithin liposomes, suggesting the insertion of band 3. The band 3-inserted liposomes were irradiated with gamma-rays (40 Gy) and the radiation target groups were determined by the analysis of the structural sensitive Raman bands in the 1600-1700 cm[sup -1] (amide I), 1200-1300 cm[sup -1] (amide III) and 550-1030 cm[sup -1] (side chain amino groups) regions. The radiation-sensitive groups as identified from Raman spectra in the region 550-1030 cm[sup -1] are tyrosines and cysteines. The radiation-induced changes in the secondary structure were determined from amide I and ...
The purified integralmembrane protein, band 3, from human erythrocytes was inserted into egg lecithin liposomes. The insertion of band 3 was determined from thermal transition data from the analysis of the C-H stretching region bands recorded at temperatures from 25 to -22"oC. Raman spectra show that band 3 considerably broadens and lowers the thermal transition of egg lecithin liposomes, suggesting the insertion of band 3. The band 3-inserted liposomes were irradiated with gamma-rays (40 Gy) and the radiation target groups were determined by the analysis of the structural sensitive Raman bands in the 1600-1700 cm"-"1 (amide I), 1200-1300 cm"-"1 (amide III) and 550-1030 cm"-"1 (side chain amino groups) regions. The radiation-sensitive groups as identified from Raman spectra in the region 550-1030 cm"-"1 are tyrosines and cysteines. The radiation-induced changes in the secondary structure were determined from amide I and III bands. Quantitative ...
Coal may be used to generate electrical energy by any of several processes, most of which involve combustion or gasification. Combustion in a coal-fired boiler and power generation using a steam- cycle is the conventional conversion method; however, total energy conversion efficiencies for this type of process are only slightly over 30{percent}. Integration of a gas-cycle in the process (combined cycle) may increase the total conversion efficiency to 40{percent}. Conversion processes based on gasification offer efficiencies above 50{percent}. H{sub 2}S is the predominant gaseous contaminant in raw coal gas. Problems arise due to the corrosive nature of H{sub 2}S on metal components contained in these cycles. Because of this, H{sub 2}S concentrations must be reduced to low levels corresponding to certain power applications. An advanced process for the separation of hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) from coal gasification product streams through an electrochemical ...
Cardiac contractile function is dependent on the integrity and function of the sarcolemmal membrane. Swimming exercise training is known to increase cardiac contractile performance. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether a swimming exercise program would alter sarcolemmal enzyme activity, ion flux, and composition in rat hearts. After approximately 11 wk of exercise training, cardiac myosin and actomyosin Ca2+-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity was significantly higher in exercised rat hearts than in sedentary control rat hearts. Glycogen content was increased in plantaris and gastrocnemius muscles from exercised animals as was succinic dehydrogenase activity in gastrocnemius muscle of exercised rats in comparison to sedentary rat preparations. Sarcolemmal vesicles were isolated from hearts of exercise-trained and control rats. Sarcolemmal Na+-K+-ATPase and K+-p-nitrophenylphosphatase activities, Na+-Ca2+ exchange, and ...
This dissertation is concerned with the development, experimental diagnostics and mathematical modelling and simulation of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC). The central themes throughout this thesis are the closely interlinked phenomena of mass and charge transfer. In the face of developing a PEFC system for vehicle propulsion these phenomena are scrutinized on a broad range of relevant scales. Starting from the material related level of the membrane and the gas diffusion layer (GDL) we turn to length scales, where structural features of the cell additionally come into play. These are the scale of flow channels and ribs, the single cell and the cell stack followed by the cell, stack, and system development for an automotive power train. In Chapter 3 selected fundamental material models and properties, respectively, are explored that are crucial for the mathematical modelling and simulation of PEFC, as needed in some succeeding parts of this work. First, ...
A constructive method is proposed to solve a class of massive Feynman integrals within the Negative Dimensional Integration Method. The results are compared with the ones given by known positive D models and expressed in terms of dimensionally and analytically regularized integrals 3 refs.
Single-dose and repeated dose toxicity studies of prulifloxacin, a new antibacterial agent, were conducted in aged beagle dogs. I. A single-dose toxicity study Prulifloxacin was administered orally to aged female dogs at a single dose of 2500 and 5000 mg/kg. No death occurred in any group. Vomiting was observed in one of two animals at 2500 mg/kg and in both animals at 5000 mg/kg 3-4 hr after dosing. At 5000 mg/kg, vomiting was observed in both animals after feeding on the day after dosing. One animal also showed soft stool. Thereafter, no abnormalities were observed in any animal. No test article related changes were noted in food consumption, water consumption, body weight or pathological examination in any group. The results show that the lethal dose of prulifloxacin is judged to be greater than 5000 mg/kg in aged female dogs. II. A repeated dose toxicity study Aged male and female dogs were given the test article orally for 4 weeks at doses of 0 (control), 20, ...
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 ...
Bacterial attachment-effacement (att-eff) is emerging as an important virulence characteristic common to both enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). The contribution of the plasmid-encoded EPEC adherence factor to the production of mucosal lesions and diarrhea was investigated in gnotobiotic piglets. Bacterial att-aff in the intestinal mucosa of piglets infected with plasmid-cured EPEC strain E2348/69 (O127) was indistinguishable from that in piglets infected with the parent strain, but the distribution of lesions was different; it occurred in the small intestines of 6 of 7 piglets infected with the parent strain compared with only 2 of 11 (P = 0.006) infected with the plasmid-cured strain. Plasmid-encoded factors in EPEC and EHEC strains did not appear to contribute to bacterial competition with normal gut microflora. Of 13 strains belonging to five EPEC serogroups, O55, O142, O26, O119, and O111, 3 fulfilled the criteria for EHEC (2 O26 and 1 ...
Apart from the vulnerability implied by the START II treaty, it will bear the burden of the general political opposition to the Yeltsin administration. START II will be seen as part of an overall Yeltsin-Andrei Kozyrev foreign policy that is under fire for selling out Russian national interests in Yugoslavia, the Persian Gulf, and elsewhere. This article discusses public opinion concerning START II, the cost of its implementation, and the general purpose of the treaty.
The upgraded CDF II detector has collected first data during the initial operation of the Tevatron accelerator in Run II. The simulation of the CDF electromagnetic and hadronic central and upgraded plug (forward) calorimeter is based on the Gflash calorimeter parameterization package used within the GEANT based detector simulation of the Run II CDF detector. We present the results of tuning the central and plug calorimeter response to test beam data.
PRESTO-II is a computer code developed to evaluate possible health effects from shallow land disposal of low level radioactive wastes. PRESTO-PREP is a data preprocessor that has been developed to expedite the formation of input data sets for PRESTO-II. PRESTO-PREP utilizes a library of nuclide and risk-specific data. Given an initial waste inventory, the code creates the radionuclide portion of the associated input data set for PRESTO-II. 2 references.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the embedded computer systems approach taken at Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) for non-safety related systems. The hardware and software structures for typical embedded systems are presented The embedded systems development process is described. Three examples are given which illustrate typical embedded computer applications in EBR-II.
Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a key proapoptotic factor in fibrotic tissue diseases. However, the mechanism of Ang-II-induced cell death in endothelial cells has not been previously elucidated....Full Text Available
Integrating phytotechnologies with energy crop production for biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts. In: Sixth International Phytotechnologies Conference ; ...
Water transport in conifers occurs through single-celled tracheids that are connected to one another via intertracheid pit membranes. These membranes have two components: the porous margo, which allows water to pass through the membrane, and the impermeable torus, which functions to isolate gas-filled tracheids. During drought, tracheids can become air filled and thus hydraulically dysfunctional, a result of air entering through the pit membrane and nucleating cavitation in the water column. What are the hydraulic tradeoffs associated with cavitation resistance at the pit level, and how do they vary within the structural components of the intertracheid pit? To address these questions, we examined pit structure in 15 species of Cupressaceae exhibiting a broad range of cavitation resistances. Across species, cavitation resistance was most closely correlated to the ratio of the torus to pit aperture ...
The PERMCAT process chosen for the final clean-up stage of the Tokamak Exhaust Processing system of the ITER tritium plant combines in a single component a catalytic reactor and a permeator using Pd/Ag membranes. This study covers the mechanical behaviour of a Pd/Ag membrane under different operating conditions. The consequences of hydrogen uptake by the membrane during nominal operation but also during off-normal events are presented. Depending on the operating conditions, expansions around 2% and significant deformations are observed. Different mechanical designs of PERMCAT reactors are then discussed. The first generation comprises finger-type membranes and two new mechanical designs use either additional edge welded bellows or a special corrugated Pd/Ag membrane. These upgraded designs improve the robustness and simplify the geometry of the component. The experimental validation ...
The PERMCAT process chosen for the final clean-up stage of the Tokamak Exhaust Processing system of the ITER tritium plant combines in a single component a catalytic reactor and a permeator using Pd/Ag membranes. This study covers the mechanical behaviour of a Pd/Ag membrane under different operating conditions. The consequences of hydrogen uptake by the membrane during nominal operation but also during off-normal events are presented. Depending on the operating conditions, expansions around 2% and significant deformations are observed. Different mechanical designs of PERMCAT reactors are then discussed. The first generation comprises finger-type membranes and two new mechanical designs use either additional edge welded bellows or a special corrugated Pd/Ag membrane. These upgraded designs improve the robustness and simplify the geometry of the component. The experimental validation ...
This project will determine whether electrolytic dialysis has promise in the separation of charged particles in an aqueous solution. The ability to selectively move ions from one aqueous solution to another through a semipermeable membrane will be studied as a function of emf, amperage, and particle electrical charge. The ions selected for the study are Cl{sup -} and SO{sub 4}{sup 2-}. These ions are of particular interest because of their electrical conduction properties in aqueous solution resulting with their association with the corrosive action of metals. The studies will be performed with commercial membranes on solutions prepared in the laboratory from reagent salts. pH adjustments will be made with dilute reagent acid and base. Specific objectives of the project include testing a selected membrane currently available for electrolytic dialysis, membrane resistance to extreme pH conditions, the ...
An evaporator using a hydrophobic membrane made from a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was developed to improve DF (Decontamination Factor) and to reduce evaporator size. The membrane distillation, provided by the evaporator, is a new technique for liquid purification. Fundamental experiments were carried out to develop the membrane filter (tube type, outer diameter, 8 mm; membrane thickness, 500 {mu}m) for radioactive liquid treatment. The continuous operation test using actual liquid waste was also made during about 3,000 h. (This is almost equal to the operation time of an actual evaporator per year.) The evaporation rate decreased with increase an operation time due to contamination of waste impurity. But the rate was recovered by washing the membrane with hot water and then drying it. DF was over 10{sup 4} which is ten times larger than that for a conventional system. A pilot ...
Carbalkoxylation of vinyl electrophiles was investigated using platinum complexes. This reaction occurs in two steps: (a) carbonyl insertion of {sigma}-vinyl Pt(II) halides and (b) alcoholysis of vinylic acyl Pt(II) complexes. Alcoholysis of vinylic acyl Pt(II) triflate complexes is investigated kinetically. Vinylic acyl Pt(II) complexes were isolated and characterized. 51 refs., 5 figs., 6 tabs.
We study the static potential of open bosonic membranes in the 1/d approximation, where d is the space-time dimensionality. For a fixed square boundary of side length R we find, in contrast to the string potential, no critical distance below which tachyons appear. Instead, we find a correction factor to the classical potential, V/sub cl/=kR/sup 2/, which for small distances shifts the perturbative ground state energy by a positive constant. We interpret the shift as the mass gap of this quantum membrane.
The analgesic, dipyrone (1,phenyl-2,3-dimethyl-5-pyrazolone-4-methylamino methane sulphonate sodium), at 20 mM concentration, inhibited the rejoining of single-strand scissions in DNA of Escherichia coli B/r cells induced by 20 krad gamma-radiation. The chemical altered the cell membrane structure as evidenced from the uptake of acriflavin, the efflux of potassium ions from the bacterial cells and the inhibition of alkaline phosphatase-a cell membrane associated enzyme. (author). 18 refs., 6 figures.
The analgesic, dipyrone (1,phenyl-2,3-dimethyl-5-pyrazolone-4-methylamino methane sulphonate sodium), at 20 mM concentration, inhibited the rejoining of single-strand scissions in DNA of Escherichia coli B/r cells induced by 20 krad gamma-radiation. The chemical altered the cell membrane structure as evidenced from the uptake of acriflavin, the efflux of potassium ions from the bacterial cells and the inhibition of alkaline phosphatase-a cell membrane associated enzyme. (author).
The Fermi National Laboratory (Fermilab) operates the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider at a center-of-mass energy of {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, the is therefore the only collider which is today able to produce the heaviest known particle, the top quark. The top quark was discovered at the Tevatron by the CDF and D0 collaborations in 1995. At the Tevatron, most top quarks are produced via the strong interaction, whereby quark-antiquark annihilation dominates with 85%, and gluon fusion contributes with 15%. Considering next-to-leading order (NLO) contributions in the cross section of top-antitop quark production, leads to a slight positive asymmetry in the differential distribution of the production angle {alpha} of the top quarks. This asymmetry is due to the interference of certain NLO contributions. The charge asymmetry A in the cosine of {alpha} is predicted [14] to amount to 4-6%. Information about the partonic rest frame, necessary for a measurement of A in the observable cos ...
This paper proposes an integrated method for using experimental data and CFD modeling to develop engineering correlations for atrium smoke management. Part I focused on the experimental program and validation of a CFD model of the experimental facility. Part II describes the extension of this model to a parametric study of balcony spill plumes. Smoke management in buildings during fire events often uses mechanical ventilation systems to maintain smoke layer elevation above a safe evacuation path. Design of these systems requires accurate correlations for the smoke production or mass flow rate of the buoyant fire plume. One design issue is the mass flow rate of fire plumes which spill out from a fire compartment, under a balcony and up through an atrium or other large volume. Current engineering correlations for these balcony spill plumes (BSPs) are based on a combination of one-tenth scale test data and theoretical analysis. The suitability of ...
This paper proposes an integrated method for using experimental data and CFD modeling to develop engineering correlations for atrium smoke management. Part I focused on the experimental program and validation of a CFD model of the experimental facility. Part II describes the extension of this model to a parametric study of balcony spill plumes. Smoke management in buildings during fire events often uses mechanical ventilation systems to maintain smoke layer elevation above a safe evacuation path. Design of these systems requires accurate correlations for the smoke production or mass flow rate of the buoyant fire plume. One design issue is the mass flow rate of fire plumes which spill out from a fire compartment, under a balcony and up through an atrium or other large volume. Current engineering correlations for these balcony spill plumes (BSPs) are based on a combination of one-tenth scale test data and theoretical analysis. The suitability of ...
Nitrate microelectrodes and ORP microelectrodes were fabricated to study the denitrification characteristics of dynamic membrane at different COD loadings. The denitrification process was found at 0.6-1 mm depth beneath the interface of biofilm/bulk. The results of ORP microelectrode also demonstrated that the ORP value in the range of denitrification area was between 88.6 approximately -128.4 mV which was appropriate to denitrification. When the COD loading was 0.45 kg/(m3 x d), the denitrification rate (NO3- -N) was the maximum of 0.6347 x 10(-6 mol/(L x s). With the increase of COD loading, the denitrification area was increasing and two layers with different denitrification rates emerged in the dynamic membrane. The phenomenon implied the effect of organic concentration, oxygen concentration and bacterial competition on the denitrification rate. PMID:17117632
A study was made of the uncoupling action of polychlorinated biphenyls (Kanechlor-400) on oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria. Kanechlor-400 (KC-400) at 20 ..mu..g/ml stimulated state 4 respiration of rat liver mitochondria more than 4-fold with ..cap alpha..-ketoglutarate/malate as a substrate, and released the oligomycin-inhibited state 3 respiration. KC-400 also dissipated the membrane potential across the mitochondrial membranes; thus, it acts as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria. KC-400 altered the permeability properties of mitochondrial membranes as evidenced by the release of endogenous K/sup +/ and the oxidation of exogenously supplied NADH. It is concluded that KC-400 produces a nonspecific increase in mitochondrial ion permeability, thereby dissipating membrane potential, which leads to the uncoupling.
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is necessary to demonstrate presence or absence of pit membranes in possible perforations or the type of pit membrane remnants in perforations in vessel element end-walls of angiosperms, but it was unconfirmed and questionable whether pit membrane absence in pits was affected by the processing and handling before SEM observations. To solve this question, the secondary xylem of four woody species from primitive angiosperms, Illicium henryi Diels. (Illiciaceae), Schisandra rubriflora (Franch.) Rehd. et Wils. (Schisandraceae), Tetracentron sinensis Oliv. and Trochodendron aralioides Sieb. & Zucc. (Trochodendraceae) was chosen and the following techniques were used: (1) fresh materials were examined in low-vacuum with ESEM. (2) Air-dried materials were examin...
BackgroundWith the exception of vertebrates, most organisms have plasma membrane associated ammonium transporters which primarily serve to import a source of nitrogen for nutritional...Full Text Available
A novel thin-film composite polyamide nanofiltration membrane was prepared through interfacial polymerization of polymeric polyamine polyvinylamine (PVAm) with isophthaloyl chloride (IPC) on a polysulfone supporting film. The composite membranes were prepared under different conditions and characterized in terms of chemical and morphological structures, surface zeta potential, pure water permeability, and rejection to different solutes including electrolytes and sucrose. The results showed that the membrane performance was significantly affected by the content of amine units of PVAm and the concentrations of PVAm and IPC. The increase of the content of amine units of PVAm and the concentration of IPC resulted in an augment in salt rejection and a decrease in permeability, while the increas...
Decreased membrane rigidity is one of the characteristics of malignant cells, resulting in part from the desaturation of stearic acid into oleic acid. In this study we investigated the influence of...Full Text Available
A novel composite charged mosaic membrane (CCMM) was prepared via interfacial polymerization (IP) of polyamine [poly(epichlorohydrin amine)] and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on the polyethersulfone (PES) support. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle analysis were applied to characterize the resulted CCMM. The FT-IR spectrum indicates that TMC reacts sufficiently with polyamine. ESEM and AFM pictures show that the IP process produces a dense selective layer on the support membrane. The water contact angle of the CCMM is smaller than that of the substrate membrane because of the cross-linked hydrophilic polyamine network. Several factors affecting the IP reaction and the performan...
Abstract The electrochemical properties of a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane are estimated using a combination of molecular dynamics simulation and statistical thermodynamic model. We obtain all parameters in an ionic conductivity model from an atomistic simulation and remove all adjusted model parameters. From a microscopic point of view, the hydrated PFSA membrane shows micro-phase segregation which separated into hydrophilic and hydrophobic phases. Our present work originates with this phenomenon and we treat this phase segregation as if it is a continuous phase for each of which the proton (H+) is transported inside the PFSA membrane/solvent (water and alcohols) mixture. The chemical potential for a given system is estimated using a molecular simulation technique to predict the ...
A dense Pd-Ag membrane reactor (MR) with 100% hydrogen selectivity packed with either Rh/La2O3 or Rh/La2O3-SiO2 as catalysts was used to carry out the dry reforming of methane. The membrane reactor simulation was performed using a well-known reactor model. For this purpose, we employed the equations derived from complete kinetic studies of the dry reforming of methane reaction in connection with both catalysts. In addition, we developed the kinetic equation for the reverse water gas shift reaction (RWGS). The combination of detailed kinetic studies with the measured permeation flux for the Pd-Ag membrane allowed a complete comparison between experimental and simulated operation variables. The variables studied for both catalysts were methane conversion and hydrogen permeation as a function...
Diverse cell polarity networks require positive feedback for locally amplifying distributions of signalling molecules at the plasma membrane1. Additional...Full Text Available
Cellular actions of thyroid hormone may be initiated within the cell nucleus, at the plasma membrane, in cytoplasm, and at the mitochondrion. Thyroid hormone nuclear receptors (TRs) mediate the biological...Full Text Available
Certain allelochemicals of the marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense cause lysis of a broad spectrum of target protist cells but the lytic mechanism is poorly defined. We first hypothesized that membrane sterols serve as molecular targets of these lytic compounds, and that differences in sterol composition among donor and target cells may cause insensitivity of Alexandrium and sensitivity of targets to lytic compounds. We investigated Ca^2^+ influx after application of lytic fractions to a model cell line PC12 derived from a pheochromocytoma of the rat adrenal medulla to establish how the lytic compounds affect ion flux associated with lysis of target membranes. The lytic compounds increased permeability of the cell membrane for Ca^2^+ ions even during blockade of Ca^2^+ channels wit...
The PERMCAT is a membrane reactor proposed for processing fusion reactor plasma exhaust gas: tritium removal is obtained by isotopic swamping operating in counter-current mode. In this work, a membrane reactor using a permeator tube of length about 500 mm produced via diffusion welding of Pd-Ag thin foils is described. An appropriate mechanical design of the membrane module has been developed in order to avoid any significant compressive and bending stresses on the very long and thin wall permeator tube: two expanded bellows have been applied to the Pd-Ag tube, so that it has been pre-tensioned before operating. The elongation of the metal permeator under hydrogenation has been theoretically estimated and experimentally verified for properly designing the membrane reactor.
In situ synthesis of silver chloride (AgCl) nanoparticles was carried out under ambient conditions in nanoporous bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes as nanoreactors. The growth of the nanoparticles was readily obtained by alternating dipping of BC membranes in the solution of silver nitrate or sodium chloride followed by a rinse step. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicated the existence of AgCl nanoparticles in the BC and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the AgCl nanoparticles well dispersed on the surface of BC and penetrated into the BC network. The AgCl nanoparticle-impregnated BC membranes exhibited high hydrophilic ability and strong antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive). The preparative proced...
Hydrophobic labelling is frequently used in the study of membrane-inserted domains of intrinsic proteins. However, the published procedures, fail to incorporate sufficient radioactivity into membrane immunoglobulins of B lymhocytes to permit investigation of their subunit structures and associations with other proteins. In order to increase the specific radioactivity of ["1"2"5I]iodonaphtylazide ["1"2"5I]INA), an improved method for the synthesis of the reagent was developed. In addition, the optimal conditions for labelling B lymhpocytes with ["1"2"5I]INA and commercially available reagent 3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(3'-["1"2"5Iliodophenyl)diazirine (["1"2"5I]TID were isolated and analysed in detail by SDS-PAGE. The usefulness of the two reagents for the investigation of lipid-embedded domains of membrane proteins is discussed. (author). 28 refs.; 4 figs.
Hyaluronan is a multifunctional glycosaminoglycan that forms the structural basis of the pericellular matrix. Hyaluronan is extruded directly through the plasma membrane by one of three hyaluronan...Full Text Available
In the present study the authors have shown that glycoproteins are present in the plasma membrane of Acanthamoeba castellanii by utilizing different radioactive labeling techniques. Plasma membrane proteins in the amoeba were iodinated by "1"2"5I-lactoperoxidase labeling and the solubilized radiolabeled glycoproteins were separated by lectin-Sepharose affinity chromatography followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The periodate/NaB"3H_4 and galactose oxidase/NaB"3H_4 labeling techniques were used for labeling of surface carbohydrates in the amoeba. Several surface-labeled glycoproteins were observed in addition to a diffusely labeled region with M_r of 55,000-75,000 seen on electrophoresis, which could represent glycolipids. The presence of glycoproteins in the plasma membrane of Acanthamoeba castellanii was confirmed by metabolic labeling with ["3"5S]methionine followed by lectin-Sepharose affinity chromatography ...
In this paper, the design of large thin PIN detector with a membrane stress avoidance configuration is proposed, and the related device fabrication process is developed. Ultra-thin PIN detector {approx} 1.13 cm{sup 2} in area is fabricated on a thin ( {approx} 35{mu}m) silicon membrane, and characterized. Detector performance improvement has been successfully demonstrated. With the membrane stress avoidance design, the improved detector exhibits a leakage of 6nA, which is at least 5 times lower than that of detector of identical junction area. The new detector features a full depleted capacitance of 110 pF, and a FWHM of 40.86 keV energy resolution for 5.486 MeV alpha particle spectrography.
Functional properties of commercial and membrane processed pea protein isolates (PPI) prepared from yellow peas were investigated. Four protein isolates were prepared from yellow pea flour using water and KCl extractions at 25^oC followed by ultrafiltration and diafiltration (UF and DF) at pHs of 7.5 and 7.5 or 6 respectively. Following assessment of compositional attributes; solubility, foaming, flow and dynamic rheology, emulsification ability and heat-induced textural and rheological properties of prepared PPIs and a commercially available PPI were tested and compared. Membrane purification of proteins resulted in 28% to 68% reduction in phytic acid and enhanced, comparatively, the tested functional properties. Solubility of membrane processed PPIs, at all tested pHs, was superior and t...
This paper evaluates the performance of asphalt membranes by examining the chemical and permeability changes experienced by the asphalt during aging tests. The aging process was accelerated by exposing the asphalt to elevated temperatures, high oxygen concentrations, and increased strengths of aqueous oxidizing agents. The synergistic effects of the variables are evaluated by using a fractional factorial experimental design. The installation costs for a catalytically airblown asphalt liner are roughly half that of the typical polymeric materials, and also less than the rubberized asphalt membrane. The results of the initial accelerated aging tests of the asphalt membranes indicate that this material will provide stable, long-term leachate isolation in a mill tailings environment.
AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are critical for synaptic plasticity, and are subject to alterations based on subunit composition and receptor trafficking to and from the plasma membrane. One of the...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes is a decisive event in apoptosis or necrosis culminating in cell death. One fundamental mechanism by which...Full Text Available
Symmetrical, extracellular fibrils, which are related to the "special fibrils" of the dermis described by Palade and Farquhar, have been found along the outer surface of the basement membrane covering...Full Text Available
The subfornical organ is a major receptor area for one of the principal stimuli of thirst, the octapeptide, angiotensin II. In conscious water-sated rats, the authors examined the effects of intravenous infusion of angiotensin II on the rate of glucose utilization in the subfornical organ and in structures anatomically and functionally connected with it. Angiotensin II produced pressor and drinking responses and increased glucose utilization selectively in the subfornical organ and pituitary neural lobe and in no other brain structure. Treatment with the angiotensin II antagonist, sar1-leu8-angiotensin II, before intravenous administration of angiotensin II prevented metabolic stimulation of the subfornical organ and neural lobe. Captopril, an inhibitor of angiotensin-converting enzyme, reduced subfornical organ glucose metabolism to a level similar to that ...
Adsorptive removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution onto a non-activated charcoal (CC) of oak wood origin was studied in comparison with an activated carbon of coal origin. The adsorption capacity for Pb(II) of the non-activated charcoal increased significantly with deceasing particle diameter, whereas the activated carbon (AC) exhibited approximately constant capacity for Pb(II) adsorption as a function of particle size. Adsorption to the ashes prepared from the non-activated charcoal and the activated carbon was also investigated to examine the role of mineral ash. Although the ash from the activated carbon did not show any Pb(II) adsorption, the ash from the charcoal was very effective for Pb(II) adsorption. Furthermore, Pb(II) was hardly adsorbed when the ash was removed from the non-activated charcoal by acid treatment. Based on the results, the ...
The isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics of Cd(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) biosorption by Penicillium simplicissimum were investigated in a batch system. The effects of pH, initial metal ions concentration, biomass dose, contact time, temperature and co-ions on the biosorption were studied. Adsorption data were well described by both the Redlich-Peterson and Langmuir model. Chemical ion-exchange was found to be an important process based on free energy value from Dubini-Radushkevich isotherm for all metal ions. The results of the kinetic studies of all metal ions at different temperature showed that the rate of adsorption followed the pseudo second-order kinetics well. The thermodynamics constants {delta}G{sup o}, {delta}H{sup o} and {delta}S{sup o} of the adsorption process showed that biosorption of Cd(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) ions on Penicillium simplicissimum ...
For heavy-ion beam driven inertial fusion ''liquid-protected'' reactor designs such as HYLIFE-II, a mixture of molten salts made of F{sup 10}, Li{sup -6}, Li{sup 7} and Be{sup 9} (called flibe) allows small chambers and final-focus magnets closer to the target with superconducting coils suffering higher radiation damage, though they can stand only a certain amount of energy deposited before quenching. This work has been primarily focusing on verifying that total energy deposited by fusion neutrons and induced gamma rays remain under such limit values and the final purpose is the optimization of the shielding of the magnetic lens system from the points of view of the geometrical configuration and of the physical nature of the materials adopted. The system is analyzed in terms of six geometrical models going from simplified up to much more realistic representations of a system of 192 beam lines, each focused by six magnets. A 3-D ...
Although silicosis has been studied extensively, the mechanism is still not fully understood. Experiments do provide evidence that the actions of unique properties of silica surface on the cell membrane are the starting point of silicotic processes. This paper summarizes literature on chemical properties of silica surface, and the effect of particle size on silica toxicity. This paper also discusses the ways in which silica dusts are though to interact with the cell membrane, with emphasis on freshness, hydrogen bonding, and free-radical interactions.
Biological motors generally fall into two categories: (1) those that convert chemical into mechanical energy via hydrolysis of a nucleoside triphosphate, usually adenosine triphosphate, regarded as life's chemical currency of energy and (2) membrane bound motors driven directly by an ion gradient and/or membrane potential. Here we argue that electrostatic interactions play a vital role for both types of motors and, therefore, the tools of physics can greatly contribute to understanding biological motors.
French ... Title Synthese d'agregats metalliques par radiolyse de solutions aqueuses de sels simples ou complexes. Etude par M. E. du greffage des agregats sur membranes de carbone.
Two different reverse osmosis systems were investigated. The first was a 50-element plant-scale system that is used to treat 2200 m"3 of AECL liquid radwastes annually.It uses thin-film composite (TFC) membranes and operates at an applied pressure of 2760 kPa, with a fixed crossflow of about 40 L/min. The other system uses the same thin-film composite membranes for waste processing but is a two-element pilot-scale system. It is operated at pressures m ranging between 1500 and 7000 kPa, at a fixed crossflow of 55 L/min. The average lifetime of the thin-film composite membranes in the plant-scale processing application at AECL is about 3000 h. After this service life has expired the rejection efficiency declines rapidly from 99.5% to about 95% as the membranes become impaired from chemical cleaning procedures that are required after each 100 m"3 of waste is treated. The permeation flux for the plant-scale ...
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to compare Brucella melitensis major outer membrane proteins (MOMP) and whole-cell heat-killed antigens (HK) in measuring antibrucella immunoglobulin G...Full Text Available
During apoptosis, the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins BAK and BAX form large oligomeric pores in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Apoptotic factors, including cytochrome c, are...Full Text Available
The serpin ZPI is a protein Z (PZ)-dependent specific inhibitor of membrane-associated factor Xa (fXa) despite having an unfavorable P1 Tyr. PZ accelerates the inhibition reaction ∼2000-fold...Full Text Available
We perform a recursive reduction of one-loop n-point rank R tensor Feynman integrals [in short: (n,R)-integrals] for n{<=}6 with R{<=}n by representing (n,R)-integrals in terms of (n,R-1)- and (n-1,R-1)-integrals. We use the known representation of tensor integrals in terms of scalar integrals in higher dimension, which are then reduced by recurrence relations to integrals in generic dimension. With a systematic application of metric tensor representations in terms of chords, and by decomposing and recombining these representations, we find the recursive reduction for the tensors. The procedure represents a compact, sequential algorithm for numerical evaluations of tensor Feynman integrals appearing in next-to-leading order contributions to massless and massive three- and four-particle production at LHC and ...
Aerosol and gas measurements were made with the University of Minnesota Mobile Laboratory (UMML) during the VISTTA programme near Page, Arizona. The UMML was stationed on Zilnez Mesa approx. 65 km east of the Navajo coal-fired power plant. Measurements were made both in and out of the power plant plume and were made during the day and night. Measured parameters included aerosol size distributions, Aitken nuclei count, ozone and sulphur dioxide concentrations, the aerosol light scattering coefficient, and meteorological parameters including ultraviolet radiation intensity. Concentrations of NO and NO/SUB/x were occasionally measured. Data show clear evidence of gas-to-particle conversion in the plume with aerosol volume being added in the 0.01 MUm - 0.32 MUm dia. range and new particles being formed. The observed excess aerosol volume depends strongly upon the SO/SUB/2 concentrations and the time of day with none observed in plume parcels which were not exposed to sunlight. This implies ...
The authors have interpreted 1,400 km of industry and government multichannel seismic reflection data from eastern Lake Superior. Seismic sequences have been identified by using reflection character and reflector terminations and truncations. This framework, coupled with outcrop information, has allowed them to assign lithologic units to some of these reflectors and reconstruct the timing and geometry of structures within the basin. The authors have mapped the Base Jacobsville-Bayfield Group/Top oronto Group, Base oronto Group/Top Keweenawan volcanics, and Basement as well as several reflectors internal to these groups. Integration of gravity and magnetic data with the seismic grid permits regional mapping of faults and folds between seismic lines. In the eastern part of the basin, high-angle basement-involved reverse faults, such as the southeastern combination of the Keweenaw fault, trend NNW-SSE, while broad folds trend E-W. The Keweenaw fault is a complex ...
Since the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) components such as hot gas ducts and intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) are operated during a design life of 30 to 60 years at 950 .deg. C and 3-8MPa in He impurities, their components are required to have good high temperature strength, creep-rupture strength, high temperature stability, and good corrosion resistance. Among them, creep properties are the most important, because the integrity of their components should be preserved during a design life of over 30 years at the maximum operating temperature up to 1000 .deg. C. So far, there are no materials approved by ASME III which is a nuclear code for temperatures reaching 1000 .deg. C, and until now, a material selection is still left as a key issue. Some leading candidate alloys can be selected from the high temperature materials approved by ASME VIII. Alloy 617 is considered as a prospective material for the IHX because it has an excellent combination of a high ...
In 2004, the Southeastern France regional council asked the regional health observatory to conduct an environmental health inventory to i) identify environmental health problems in this area; ii) examine the relations between environmental exposure to pollutants and human health; and iii) help public officials to identify priorities in this area. We collected and validated data from national, regional and local institutions, constructed environmental (levels of emissions and pollutants), health (mortality, incidence, prevalence) and behavioral indicators (e.g., complaints about odors), and compared these over time and between places when possible. For each topic, we summarized current knowledge about the links between environment and health. In southeastern France, as in other French areas, indoor air pollution, home and leisure injuries and other home-related risks are public health issues. Other topics are more significant or particular to southeastern France: ...
Nuclear radiation detectors in integral execution were produced by successive epitaxial growth from vapor phase of Zn Te and Cd Se thin layers onto scintillating Zn Se (Te) crystals. The irradiation of combined Zn Se (Te) - Zn Te - Cd Se detectors by Cu_K_a X-rays leads to the appearance of photoreceiver e.m.f., which tends to saturation with the increase of X-ray radiation dose reaching the value of 0.34-0.40 V at 200 R/min. The short circuit current dependence of irradiation dose power is linear. The matching factor for detectors with Zn Te-Cd Se photoreceivers with different doping levels is 0.68-0.92. The absolute monochromatic sensitivity is 0.32-0.35 m A/m W at a quantum efficiency 0.58-0.61 and a time constant 2 x 10"-"4 s. The calculated dose sensitivity for Zn Se(Te)-Zn Te-Cd Se combined detectors at the irradiation with X-rays having effective energy 8.86 keV gives the value 3.9 x 10"-"7 A/cm"2 (R/min); the experimental value of dose sensitivity reaches ...
This thesis presents measurements of inelastic photoproduction and electroproduction of J/{psi} mesons in ep scattering at HERA. The data was collected by the H1 detector during the HERA II running and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of L {approx} 166 pb{sup -1} in the photoproduction analysis and L {approx} 315 pb{sup -1} in the electroproduction analysis. In both analyses the elasticity of the J/{psi} meson is restricted to a medium range of 0.3 {<=} z {<=} 0.9. The kinematic range of the photoproduction analysis is defined by Q{sup 2} {approx} 0 GeV{sup 2}, 60 {<=}W{sub {gamma}}{sub p}{<=} 240 GeV and P{sub {tau}}{sub ,{psi}}{>=} 1 GeV{sup 2}, whereas the electroproduction analysis is restricted to 3.6 {<=} Q{sup 2} {<=} 100 GeV{sup 2}, 50 {<=}W{sub {gamma}}{sub p}{<=} 225 GeV, and P{sup *}{sub {tau}}{sub ,} {sub {psi}} {>=} 1 GeV. Here P{sup *}{sub {tau}}{sub ,} ...
Accurate automated alignment of laser beams in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is essential for achieving extreme temperature and pressure required for inertial confinement fusion. The alignment achieved by the integrated control systems relies on algorithms processing video images to determine the position of the laser beam images in real-time. Alignment images that exhibit wide variations in beam quality require a matched-filter algorithm for position detection. One challenge in designing a matched-filter based algorithm is to construct a filter template that is resilient to variations in imaging conditions while guaranteeing accurate position determination. A second challenge is to process the image as fast as possible. This paper describes the development of a new analytical template that captures key recurring features present in the beam image to accurately estimate the beam position under good image quality conditions. Depending on the features present ...
The samples comprise the foliage of four pteridosperm-medullosalean plant fossil species of differing preservation states and one of a cordaitean species from two Canadian Maritime sub-basins of Carboniferous age (300 Ma; Sydney and Stellarton coalfields, Nova Scotia, respectively). Included in the sample set were some coal samples from Sydney Coalfield, along with published data for coal macerals for comparison. By applying Schulze's maceration process to the fossil foliage to obtain the cuticles, five sample forms evolved, viz. compressions, cuticles and fossilized cuticles, and acidic and alkaline solutions from Schulze's process, to which was added the Sydney coal samples as the sixth form. Area integration of the absorbance spectra from solid and liquid state Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, produced functional chemical parameters which were organized into a data matrix of eight variables and 62 samples (8 x 62 matrix). ...
This report presents highlights of activities in the Acceleartor Technology (AT) Division from April through December 1978. The report is divided into 10 sections to cover work done by the four groups that make up AT Division (AT-1, AT-2, AT-3, and AT-4). Section I is a brief summary of the whole report. Sections II through VI describe work done by At-1, the Linac Technology Group. Subjects covered are the Pion Generation for Medical Irradiation Program, the Electronuclear Fuel-Producing Accelerator Program, the Gyrocon rf Amplifier Program, the Electron Linear Accelerator Program, and the Free Electron Laser Program. Section VII covers the Linear Accelerator Beam Dynamics development, and Sec. VIII deals with work with the H/sup -/ Ion Source. Most of the work in Secs. VII and VIII was done by AT-2, the Special Projects Group, although work on factors influencing emittance growth was done by MP-9, and results on emittance growth in the new European Council for ...
The goal of the present study is to elucidate the effect of lipid domain formation on activities of Naja naja atra and Bungarus multicinctus phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) enzymes. Sphingomyelin inhibited enzymatic activity and membrane-damaging activity of PLA(2) against egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EYPC), while cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate abrogated the inhibitory effect of sphingomyelin. The ability of cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate to abolish the inhibitory effect of sphingomyelin was closely related to their capacity to induce domain formation in EYPC/sphingomyelin vesicles. Laurdan fluorescence measurement revealed that membrane packing of EYPC/sphingomyelin vesicles was differently affected by cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate. Unlike cholesterol, cholesterol sulfate was unable to promote domain formation in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicles. Cholesterol increased but cholesterol sulfate reduced PLA(2) activity ...
This study examined the oxygen permeation behavior of Ce0.9Gd0.1O2-d (Gadolinium-Doped Ceria, GDC)/Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-d (BSCF) composite membranes fabricated using a conventional sintering technique. GDC/BSCF composite membranes with a relative density >95% could be obtained when a green compact of BSCF and GDC was sintered at 1150^oC for 5h. It appears that GDC serves as a grain growth inhibitor because the average grain size of the composite decreased with increasing GDC content. The oxygen permeability of the BSCF and GDC/BSCF composite membranes strongly depends on the grain size and membrane thickness. The addition of GDC to BSCF resulted in a small grain size, low thermal expansion coefficient and high hardness. However, it is believed that oxygen permeation was blocked by GDC, a...
A new organic-inorganic hybrid membrane has been prepared with exceptional performance in dewatering applications. The only precursor used in the sol-gel synthesis of the selective layer was organically linked 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE). The microporous structure of this layer enables selective molecular sieving of small molecules from larger ones. In the dehydration of n-butanol with 5% of water, the membrane shows a high separation factor of over 4000 and ultra-fast water transport at a rate of more than 20 kg m{sup -2} h{sup -1} at 150C. This can be related to the high adsorption capacity of the material and the sub-micron thickness of the selective layer. The selectivity has now remained constant over almost one and a half years under continuous process testing conditions. Apart from the hydrothermal stability, the membrane exhibits a high tolerance for acid contamination. A slow performance decline in flux ...
The soluble pool of alpha hemoglobin chains present in blood or bone marrow cells was measured with a new affinity method using a specific probe, beta A hemoglobin chain labeled with ["3H]N-ethylmaleimide. This pool of soluble alpha chains was 0.067 #+-# 0.017% of hemoglobin in blood of normal adult, 0.11 #+-# 0.03% in heterozygous beta thalassemia and ranged from 0.26 to 1.30% in homozygous beta thalassemia intermedia. This elevated pool of soluble alpha chains observed in human beta thalassemia intermedia decreased 33-fold from a value of 10% of total hemoglobin in bone marrow cells to 0.3% in the most dense red blood cells. The amount of insoluble alpha chains was measured by using the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in urea and Triton X-100. In beta thalassemia intermedia the amount of insoluble alpha chains was correlated with the decreased spectrin content of red cell membrane and was associated with a decrease in ankyrin and with other abnormalities of ...
This document presents the integrated reactors concepts by a presentation of four reactors: PIUS, SIR, IRIS and CAREM. The core conception, the operating, the safety, the economical aspects and the possible users are detailed. From the performance of the classical integrated PWR, the necessity of new innovative fuels utilization, the research of a simplified design to make easier the safety and the KWh cost decrease, a new integrated reactor is presented: SCAR 600. (A.L.B.)
Two integrated hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA molecules were cloned from two primary hepatocellular carcinomas each containing only a single integration. One integration (C3) contained a single linear...Full Text Available
The advent of sophisticated automation equipment and computer hardware and software is changing the way manufacturing is carried out. To compete in the global marketplace, manufacturing companies must integrate these new technologies into their factories. In addition, they must integrate the planning, control, and data management methodologies needed to make effective use of these technologies. This paper provides an overview of recent approaches to achieving this enterprise integration. It then describes, using simulation as a particular example, a new tool`s perspective of enterprise integration.
An exact cosmological solution of Einstein's equations which has time-dependent rotation is presented. The t-constant sections are of Bianchi type II. The source of this geometry is a fluid which has not been thermalized. (Author).
Exposure of albumin to Cu(II) (10-100 microM) and ascorbate (0.1-2 mM) results in extensive molecular modifications, indicated by decreased fluorescence and chain breaks. The rate of utilization of...Full Text Available
ObjectivesThe updated Rome III criteria for pediatric functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) include new FGID categories and changes to the Rome II criteria...Full Text Available
Interleukin 2 (IL-2) and B-cell growth factors I and II (BCGF I and BCGF II) are lymphokines produced by T cells that play a major role in T- and B-cell cooperation. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from...Full Text Available
In this article are presented main results on electric potential investigations in stellarator/torsatron TJ-II and tokamak T-10 in a comparable regimes of device operation.
Aminopeptidase II, one of the two major aminopeptidases in the giant alga Chara australis, was partially purified. Its molecular weight was estimated to be about 80,000 by gel permeation...Full Text Available
New palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes of saccharinate (sac), trans-[Pd(py)"2(sac)"2] (1), cis-[Pt(py)"2(sac)"2] (2), trans-[Pd(3-acpy)"2(sac)"2] (3) and cis-[Pt(3-acpy)"2(sac)"2] (4) (py=pyridine and 3-acpy=3-acetylpyridine) have been synthesized. Elemental analysis, UV-Vis, IR, NMR and TG/DTA characterizations have been carried out. The structures of 1-4 were determined by X-ray diffraction. The palladium(II) and platinum(II) ions are coordinated by two N-bonded sac ligands, and two nitrogen atoms of py or 3-acpy, forming a distorted square-planar geometry. The palladium(II) complexes (1 and 3) are trans isomers, while the platinum(II) complexes (2 and 4) are cis isomers. The mononuclear species in the solid state are connected by weak intermolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds, C-H...@...
BackgroundThe binding of peptide fragments of antigens to class II MHC is a crucial step in initiating a helper T cell immune response. The identification of such peptide epitopes...Full Text Available
The aim of this article was to investigate the interactions of metal cations in aqueous solutions with the biomass of the freshwater macroalga Vaucheria sp. This problem is important when elaborating new applications of biosorption, e.g. the production of mineral feed additives for livestock from the biomass of algae enriched with microelement ions. Potentiometric titration was applied as a quick and cheap screening test to search for new efficient biosorbents. It revealed a variety of functional groups capable of cation exchange on the macroalgal surface, including carboxyl, phosphate, hydroxyl or amino groups. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy on natural and chromium-loaded Vaucheria sp. confirmed that carboxyl groups played a dominant role in the biosorption. The study also showed that Ca(II), Na(I), K(I), and Mg(II) ions were released from the biomass after biosorption of Cu(II), Mn(II), ...
BackgroundPromoter region plays an important role in determining where the transcription of a particular gene should be initiated. Computational prediction of eukaryotic Pol II promoter...Full Text Available
Rotazyme II, which is a shorter version of Rotazyme (less than 3 h), was compared with electron microscopy and Rotazyme for sensitivity and specificity on 229 human stool specimens. Compared with electron...Full Text Available
The biosorption of lead (II) and copper (II) ions, single component and binary systems, by dried P. putida was investigated in a batch system. The effects of initial pH, temperature, initial single and binary mixture concentrations on the biosorption kinetics and equilibrium uptake of each component, both single and binary mixtures were investigated. The bacterial biomass exhibited the highest single and binary lead (II) and copper (II) ions uptake capacity at 25 and 30 deg. C, respectively, the initial pH value of 5.5 and at the initial metal ions concentration of 100 mg dm{sup -3}. The Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models were used for the mathematical description of the biosorption equilibrium and isotherm constants were evaluated at different temperatures. Adsorption data were well described by the Langmuir model, although they could be modeled by the Freundlich equation. The thermodynamics ...
ATP-binding cassette A3 (ABCA3) is a lipid transport protein required for synthesis and storage of pulmonary surfactant in type II cells in the alveoli. Abca3 was conditionally deleted...Full Text Available
Cytokinesis in animal and fungal cells utilizes a contractile actomyosin ring (AMR). However, how myosin II is targeted to the division site and promotes AMR assembly, and how the AMR coordinates with...Full Text Available
Anaerobic reactions of Rhus vernicifera laccase and its type-2 copper-depleted derivatives with hexacyanoferrate(II) were investigated by absorption and e.s.r. spectroscopy. When native laccase was...Full Text Available
Photobilirubin II, a stereoisomer of bilirubin, binds to human serum albumin at a single binding site (K = 2.2 x 10(6)M-1), presumably the high-affinity bilirubin-binding site. Binding in the secondary...Full Text Available
The identification of MHC class II restricted peptide epitopes is an important goal in immunological research. A number of computational tools have been developed for this purpose, but there is a lack...Full Text Available
ii) Flammability: (iii) A capacity to oxidise: (iv) Corrosiveness: (v) Toxicity (including chronic ...an explosion or fire: (d) For substances with corrosive properties: (i) To reduce the ...likelihood of any unintended corrosion:(ii) To control the adverse effects of any corrosion:
... Screening Adjudication Monitoring Applicants of Information Behavior II I Conducting Investigations ... Applicants of Information Behavior Conducting ...
Titanate nanotubes were hydrothermally synthesized and their adsorption performances for lead(II) ion removal were studied. The results showed that titanate nanotubes ruptured in the adsorption process resulting in two distinct adsorption stages, thus achieving a maximum adsorption capacity of 3.752mmolg^-^1 of lead(II). Furthermore, it was found that the regeneration of titanate nanotubes loaded with the lead(II) ions can be readily achieved using the saturated EDTA disodium salt aqueous solution, thereby avoiding the trouble of disposal of adsorbent. The adsorption mechanism was also discussed in detail.
The interaction between N-donor adsorbates such as ammonia and pyridine with Cu(II)-exchanged montmorillonite, beidellite, flourohectorite into smectite clays has been studied by electron spin resonance. Cu(II) cations exchanged into smectites coordinate five ammonia or pyridine molecules in beidellite, four ammonia of pyridine molecules in hydroxyhectorite. Thus, the Cu(II) cations bound to the interior surfaces of these smectite clays constitute strong Lewis acid sites. 26 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab.
BackgroundIntegration of medical care across clinicians and settings could enhance the quality of care for patients. To date, there is limited data on the levels of integration in...Full Text Available
In this paper, the following topics are studied: uranium 238 effective integral; thermal range uranium 238 capture cross section; Americium 242 m capture cross section. The mentioned examples show that differential and integral experiments are both useful...
The discovery that hepatitis B virus (HBV) integrates into host chromosomes raises the question of whether such viral DNA integration correlates directly with the activation of specific oncogenes or...Full Text Available
We report the of the existence of RV Tauri stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This class of variable star has hitherto been unidentified in the Magellanic Clouds. In light and color curve behavior the RV Tauri stars appear to be an extension of the Type II Cepheids to longer periods. A single period-luminosity-color relationship is seen to describe both the Type II Cepheids and the RV Tauri stars in the LMC.
Fragrance mix II (FM II) is a relatively new screening marker for fragrance contact allergy. It was introduced in the patch test baseline series in Denmark in 2005 and contains six different fragrance chemicals commonly present in cosmetic products and which are known allergens.
Fatty acid biosynthesis is crucial for all living cells. In contrast to higher organisms, bacteria use a type II fatty acid synthase (FAS II) composed of a series of individual proteins, making...Full Text Available
Lentiviral vectors enter cells with high efficiency and deliver stable transduction through integration into host chromosomes, but their preference for integration within actively transcribing genes...Full Text Available
Here we describe the fabrication, optimization, and application of a microfluidic device that integrates microdialysis (MD) sampling, microchip electrophoresis (ME), and electrochemical detection...Full Text Available
We write a space-time Feynman Path Integral representation for scattered wave fields from a weakly/compact supported anisotropic non-homogeneity. (author)
PurposeDescription and analysis of the effects and side-effects of integrated mental health care in the Netherlands.Context of caseDue...Full Text Available
We have successfully incorporated high surface area particles of titanate ion exchange materials (monosodium titanate and crystalline silicotitanate) with acceptable particle size distribution into porous and inert support membrane fibrils consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon(reg_sign)), polyethylene and cellulose materials. The resulting membrane sheets, under laboratory conditions, were used to evaluate the removal of surrogate radioactive materials for cesium-137 and strontium-90 from high caustic nuclear waste simulants. These membrane supports met the nominal requirement for nonchemical interaction with the embedded ion exchange materials and were porous enough to allow sufficient liquid flow. Some of this 47-mm size stamped out prototype titanium impregnated ion exchange membrane discs was found to remove more than 96% of dissolved cesium-133 and strontium-88 from a caustic nuclear waste ...
Some acylhydrazine derived ONO donor Schiff bases and their Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes have been prepared having the same metal ion (cation) but different anions. These synthesized metal(II) complexes have been characterized on the basis of their elemental analyses, magnetic moment, molar conductance, and IR and electronic spectral data. All of the Schiff base ligands function as tridentates and the deprotonated enolic form is preferred for coordination. In order to evaluate the effect of anions on the bactericidal activity, these synthesized complexes, in comparison to the uncomplexed Schiff bases have been screened against bacterial species., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the results are reported. PMID:18475936
High-temperature LiCl-KCl molten salt medium provides an efficient way to produce the paramagnetic Eu(II) ion to be magnetically diluted into a diamagnetic host medium. Eu(II) was formed by a dissolution and an auto-reduction processes in a high-temperature LiCl-KCl eutectic melt at 723 K by using Eu{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a starting material. By using EPR and luminescence spectroscopic method, we studied the nature of the magnetically isolated paramagnetic Eu(II) ion diluted in a LiCl-KCl medium. With the aid of these spectroscopic tools, it was found that stable Eu(II) species was formed spontaneously at 723 K under anaerobic conditions. EPR and luminescence spectroscopy provided detailed information regarding the nature of the europium ion in a molten salt.
High-temperature LiCl-KCl molten salt medium provides an efficient way to produce the paramagnetic Eu(II) ion to be magnetically diluted into a diamagnetic host medium. Eu(II) was formed by a dissolution and an auto-reduction processes in a high-temperature LiCl-KCl eutectic melt at 723 K by using Eu_2O_3 as a starting material. By using EPR and luminescence spectroscopic method, we studied the nature of the magnetically isolated paramagnetic Eu(II) ion diluted in a LiCl-KCl medium. With the aid of these spectroscopic tools, it was found that stable Eu(II) species was formed spontaneously at 723 K under anaerobic conditions. EPR and luminescence spectroscopy provided detailed information regarding the nature of the europium ion in a molten salt.
High-temperature LiCl-KCl molten salt medium provides an efficient way to produce the paramagnetic Eu(II) ion to be magnetically diluted into a diamagnetic host medium. Eu(II) was formed by a dissolution and an auto-reduction processes in a high-temperature LiCl-KCl eutectic melt at 723K by using Eu2O3 as a starting material. By using EPR and luminescence spectroscopic method, we studied the nature of the magnetically isolated paramagnetic Eu(II) ion diluted in a LiCl-KCl medium. With the aid of these spectroscopic tools, it was found that stable Eu(II) species was formed spontaneously at 723K under anaerobic conditions. EPR and luminescence spectroscopy provided detailed information regarding the nature of the europium ion in a molten salt.
We determined the chromosomal localization and structure of the gene encoding human type II inosine 5{prime}-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH, EC 1.1.1.205), an enzyme associated with cellular proliferation, malignant transformation, and differentiation. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers specific for type II IMPDH, we screened a panel of human-Chinese hamster cell somatic hybrids and a separate deletion panel of chromosome 3 hybrids and localized the gene to 3p21.1{yields}p24.2. Two overlapping yeast artificial chromosome clones containing the full gene for type II IMPDH were isolated and a physical map of 117 kb of human genomic DNA in this region of chromosome 3 was constructed. The gene for type II IMPDH was localized and oriented on this map and found to span no more than 12.5 kb.
In this study we compared various maturity dependent aromatic, steroid and triterpenoid hydrocarbon ratios in bitumens that are freely extractable from sedimentary rocks (Bitumen I) with those in second extracts that comprised hydrocarbons closely associated with the kerogen/mineral matrix (Bitumen II). Bitumen II was released through kerogen isolation and demineralisation using HCl and HF/H3BO3. The samples studied, although of similar age, come from different localities. They represent a range of facies and two kerogen types (II and III), and all were deposited under marine conditions. The results show that the more stable b isomers of methylnaphthalene (MN) and methylphenanthrene (MP) are relatively more abundant in Bitumen II. The difference between the methylnaphthalene ratio (MNR) of...
Eugenol, the principal chemical component of clove oil from Eugenia aromatica has been long known for its analgesic, local anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects. The interaction of the eugenol with ten different hydrophobic and hydrophilic antibiotics was studied against five different Gram negative bacteria. The MIC of the combination was found to decrease by a factor of 5-1000 with respect to their individual MIC. This synergy is because of the membrane damaging nature of eugenol, where 1mM of its concentration is able to damage nearly 50% of the bacterial membrane. Eugenol was also able to enhance the activities of lysozyme, Triton X-100 and SDS in damaging the bacterial cell membrane. The hydrophilic antibiotics such as vancomycin and b-lactam antibiotics which have ...
Even the presence of very low concentrations of dyes (1mgL-1) in the effluent is highly visible and is considered aesthetically undesirable. It must be removed from wastewater completely. This study systematically evaluates the performance of adsorption (three kinds of powdered activated carbons), coagulation (AlCl36H2O) and membrane (submerged hollow fiber microfiltration) processes individually in treating two kinds of reactive dyes (Orange 16 and Black 5) and then using a hybrid process with combined coagulation-adsorption-membrane treatment system. Adsorption capacity and kinetics of Orange 16 were much higher and faster than those of Black 5. The dye removal efficiency by coagulation was highly dependent on dye concentration and solution pH. The hybrid process performance was far more...
A major goal in optomechanics is to observe and control quantum behavior in a system consisting of a mechanical resonator coupled to an optical cavity. Work towards this goal has focused on increasing the strength of the coupling between the mechanical and optical degrees of freedom; however, the form of this coupling is crucial in determining which phenomena can be observed in such a system. Here we demonstrate that avoided crossings in the spectrum of an optical cavity containing a flexible dielectric membrane allow us to realize several different forms of the optomechanical coupling. These include cavity detunings that are (to lowest order) linear, quadratic, or quartic in the membrane's displacement, and a cavity finesse that is linear in (or independent of) the membrane's displacement. All these couplings are realized in a single device with extremely low optical loss and can be tuned over a wide range in situ; in ...
Mechanistic studies on a charged ultrafiltration (UF) membrane fouled with natural organic matter (NOM) and colloidal particles are systematically investigated to understand the relative role of each NOM fraction and the presence of colloidal particulate to membrane fouling. Humic acid (HA), dextran, and kaolin were employed as surrogate model foulants representing the organic hydrophobic acid NOM, hydrophilic neutral NOM, and inorganic colloidal materials, respectively. The results obtained showed that the organic NOM of hydrophilic surrogate (dextran) plays a primary role in promoting membrane fouling, followed by hydrophobic acids and inorganic kaolin, but to a lesser extent than organic NOM compounds. Significant differences in the extent of fouling between dextran and HA have been obs...
We present a synchrotron x-ray diffraction study of melting in stacks of two-dimensional crystalline arrays of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin. Two distinct regimes have been found as a function of the intermembrane distance d . In the {open_quotes}coupled{close_quotes} regime for d{lt}250 {Angstrom} the temperature (T{sub m}) of the melting transition decreases with increasing d , demonstrating the effect of the repulsive membrane interactions on the intramembrane protein ordering. For d{gt}250 {Angstrom} a {open_quotes}decoupled{close_quotes} regime is found with higher T{sup *}{sub m} independent of d . Below T{sup *}{sub m} a solid-liquid-solid reentrant behavior is observed as d is increased. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}
Abstract Objectives- Cyclodextrins are useful solubilizing excipients that have gained currency in the formulator's armamentarium based on their ability to temporarily camouflage undesirable physicochemical properties. In this context cyclodextrins can increase oral bioavailability, stabilize compounds to chemical and enzymatic degradation and can affect permeability through biological membranes under certain circumstances. This latter property is examined herein as a function of the published literature as well as work completed in our laboratories. Key findings- Cyclodextrins can increase the uptake of drugs through biological barriers if the limiting barrier component is the unstirred water layer (UWL) that exists between the membrane and bulk water. This means that cyclodextrins are mo...
Nanowires, films, and membranes comprising ordered porous manganese oxide-based octahedral molecular sieves, and methods of making, are disclosed. A single crystal ultra-long nanowire includes an ordered porous manganese oxide-based octahedral molecular sieve, and has an average length greater than about 10 micrometers and an average diameter of about 5 nanometers to about 100 nanometers. A film comprises a microporous network comprising a plurality of single crystal nanowires in the form of a layer, wherein a plurality of layers is stacked on a surface of a substrate, wherein the nanowires of each layer are substantially axially aligned. A free standing membrane comprises a microporous network comprising a plurality of single crystal nanowires in the form of a layer, wherein a plurality of layers is aggregately stacked, and wherein the nanowires of each layer are substantially axially aligned.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of collagen membrane and Bio-Oss coverage in healing of an onlay graft to the mandible. Twelve adult sheep each received an onlay bone graft (experiment 1), bone graft+Bio-Gide (experiment 2), and bone graft+Bio-Oss/Bio-Gide (experiment 3) on the lateral surface of the mandible. The animals were euthanized at 4, 8, 12 or 16 weeks after surgery, and findings were analysed by routine microscopy and immunohistochemistry for proliferation (Ki67) and apoptotic (Caspase-3) markers. Grafts were fully incorporated in all specimens. Pronounced resorption was observed in experiment 1. Minimal loss of graft volume was seen in experiment 2 specimens without membrane displacement. A remarkable increase in the augmented region of the mandible was obse...
Abstract A series of studies performed at our center demonstrates that gaseous microemboli (GME) remain a challenge in cardiac surgical procedures. Evaluation of novel oxygenators must address hemodynamic parameters and microemboli capture capability. The objective of this study is to compare two neonatal membrane oxygenators, the Quadrox i (MAQUET Cardiopulmonary AG, Hirrlingen, Germany) and the Capiox RX05 (Terumo Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), with respect to GME capture and hemodynamic energy delivery. The experimental circuit included a Maquet HL 20 heart lung machine, a Heater Cooler Unit HCU 30 (MAQUET Cardiopulmonary AG), a membrane oxygenator (Quadrox i Neonatal or Capiox RX05), and inch tubing from the COBE Heart/Lung Perfusion Pack (COBE Cardiovascular, Inc., Arvada, CO, USA). A Ca...
Tests on a sample of trench water from the Maxey Flats burial ground effectively demonstrated the new Reverse Osmosis Pilot Plant. The effluent from the 50% salt-rejection membrane was decontaminated well enough with the exception of tritium to be discharged to the environment. The performance of the 97% salt-rejection membrane was superior to that of the 50% membrane. A breakthrough and capacity experiment was conducted with Durasil 10 on a simulated Three Mile Island solution. The maximum decontamination factor was extrapolated to be 10/sup 6/, which would reduce the cesium level of TMI water to below the discard limit. Capacity (1/DF = 0.5) was reached at 1260 column volumes. Several adsorbents were tested in the engineering columns for decontamination of cesium-bearing solutions. Under the conditions of the experiment, these adsorbents were ineffective in removing cesium from the solution.
Two perfluorosulfonic acid membranes, Nafion{sup R} 105 and Nafion{sup R} 115 with the same thickness but different equivalent weights (EW = 1000 g/eq. resp. 1100 g/eq.) were characterised by conductivity measurements at different water vapour activities in the temperature range of 25-70{sup o}C. The results demonstrate that a lower membrane equivalent weight opens the possibility to obtain the needed proton conductivity at lower water vapour activity. This is especially important for those fuel cell applications, in which the cell is operated without external humidification of the fuel gases. (author) 5 figs., 5 refs.
The growth of a middle ear cholesteatoma behind a normal tympanic membrane is a rate though possible event. In such cases, CT may provide useful information for diagnosis. The results are presented of a CT study carried out on 14 patients affected with unilateral conductive hearing loss and with normal tympanic membrane. CT allowed the diagnosis of meddle ear cholesteatoma to be made in all cases. All patients were treated with surgery: 8 of them underwent tympanoplasty and 6 explorative tympanotomy. While the diagnosis of cholesteatoma was confirmed in 13 patients, in 1 case tympanosclerosis was diagnosed. CT diagnosis of middle ear cholesteatoma is based on the demonstration of a low-density soft-tissue mass, in association with bone erosion or ossicular dislocation. The author emphasizes the difficulty of a CT diagnosis of cholesteatoma in the patients with middle ear soft-tissue masses in the absence of bone alterations.
Two lines of mouse tumor cells were shown to be capable of aggregating mouse and rabbit platelets in vitro. This process required higher Mg/sup 2 +/ concentrations than were needed by other commonly used platelet-aggregating agents. Platelet-aggregating activity was also found in tumor cell membrane fragments. This membrane-bound platelet-aggregating material contained protein, lipid, and carbohydrate moieties. The presence of all three appeared to be essential for stimulating platelet aggregation. Destruction of any component abolished its activity. Platelet aggregation induced by tumor cell membrane fragments was associated with a secretory release reaction. In this process, growth-promoting activity for tumor cells was also released from platelets. These results underline the importance of platelets in establishing tumor metastases.
Radon proof barriers are used for lowering of radon transport from the soil into the house and the determination of the radon diffusion coefficient is an important parameter to be determined in order to design the minimal thickness of the radon proof insulation. A method has been developed in our laboratory by using modified Lucas cells connected to a radon source and tightly closed onto the top by the tested membranes whose radon diffusion coefficients are being measured. Solving the time-dependent differential equation for radon diffusion in the membrane for well-defined experimental conditions the effective radon diffusion coefficient of the insulating material can be evaluated by comparing the radon concentration decrease in the cell for the first hours with the well-known radioactive decay. First results obtained in several preliminary tests carried out with a parafilm M barrier and two polyethylene membranes are shown ...
In this study, the biosorption of Cd(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) on Aspergillus niger in a batch system was investigated, and optimal condition determined by means of central composite design (CCD) under response surface methodology (RSM). Biomass inactivated by heat and pretreated by alkali solution was used in the determination of optimal conditions. The effect of initial solution pH, biomass dose and initial ion concentration on the removal efficiency of metal ions by A. niger was optimized using a design of experiment (DOE) method. Experimental results indicated that the optimal conditions for biosorption were 5.22 g/L, 89.93 mg/L and 6.01 for biomass dose, initial ion concentration and solution pH, respectively. Enhancement of metal biosorption capacity of the dried biomass by pretreatment with sodium hydroxide was observed. Maximal removal efficiencies for Cd(II), Ni(III) and ...
The radiation reduction of bis(1-ethylimidazole)tartratoplatinum(II) (EITPt(II)) complexes in methanol-water solution have been examined. The yields of Pt(I) depend on the presence of O{sub 2} in solutions as well as the dose applied. The rate constants of e{sub s}{sup -} scavenging by EITPt(II) and cis(diammine-1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylato) platinum(II) (CBDCAPt(II)) have been determined by pulse radiolysis to be equal to 5.4 x 10{sup 9} and 6.4 x 10{sup 9} M{sup -1} s{sup -1}, respectively. The efficiencies of e{sub t}{sup -} scavenging by EITPt(II) and the rate of e{sub t}{sup -} photobleaching have also been determined in LiCl : H{sub 2}O : CH{sub 3}OH and MgCl{sub 2} : H{sub 2}O : CH{sub 3}OH glasses, respectively. (author).
Autophagy is a ubiquitous catabolic process that ensures organism’s well-being by sequestering a wide array of undesired intracellular constituents into double-membrane vesicles termed...Full Text Available
Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) on the unilamellar vesicle populations (diameter 500 and 1000 angstrom) was used to characterize lipid vesicles from dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) at three phases (gel, ripple, and liquid). Parameters of vesicle populations and internal structure of the DMPC bilayer were characterized on the basis of the Separated Form Factor (SFF) model. Parameters of the internal bilayer structure (thickness of the membrane and the hydrophobic core, hydration, and surface area of lipid molecule) were determined on the basis of the Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic (HH) approximation of neutron scattering length density across the bilayer r(x) and of the Step Function (SF) approximation of r(x). It was demonstrated in frame of HH approximation that DMPC membrane thickness in liquid phase (T=30 degrees) depends on the membrane curvature. The dependence of the DMPC membrane thickness ...
Uptake of the lipophilic cation triphenylmethylphosphonium into mesophyll protoplasts of oat (Avena sativa L. cv. “Garry”) approaches equilibrium at 3 to 4 hours. The...Full Text Available
The LW blood group antigens reside on a 42-kDa erythrocyte membrane glycoprotein that was purified by immunoaffinity and partially sequenced. From this information, a specific PCR-amplified DNA fragment...Full Text Available
The plant hormone cytokinin is perceived by membrane-located sensor histidine kinases. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) possesses three cytokinin receptors: ARABIDOPSIS HISTIDINE...Full Text Available
ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters) utilize the energy of ATP hydrolysis to translocate an unusually diverse set of substrates across cellular membranes. ABCA4, also known as...Full Text Available
One membrane oxygen enricher (Oxygen Enrichment Company OE-4E) and four molecular sieve (MS) concentrators (Mountain Medical Econo2, De Vilbiss MINI DeVO2, Cryogenic Roomate III, and Mountain Medical...Full Text Available
Since membrane structures such as domes have been constructed in snowy regions, how to dispose snow on the roof has become a big problem. In the case of disposing snow on the roof by sliding off, it is required to know the distance and range of snow dispersion after the fall from the roof from the aspect of disaster prevention. This paper describes the experimental study on the effects of snow depth, sliding distance and angle on the distance and range of snow dispersion using an outdoor apparatus to slide the snow off which can adjust the conditions for sliding. As a result, the distance of snow dispersion was influenced not only by the sliding distance and angle but also the depth (as well as the weight) of the snow. When the snow was sliding on the membrane structure, it was neccesary to consider viscostic resisting force of water between the snow and the membrane in addition to kinetic friction force. After the fall ...
On rod disc membranes, single photoactivated rhodopsin (R*) molecules catalytically activate many copies of the G-protein (Gt), which in turn binds and activates the effector (phosphodiesterase). We...Full Text Available
Patients with Alport syndrome progressively lose renal function as a result of defective type IV collagen in their glomerular basement membrane. In mice lacking the α3 chain of type IV collagen...Full Text Available
Photosynthetic (Ps) electron transport pathways often contain multiple electron carriers with overlapping functions. Here we focus on two c-type cytochromes (cyt) in facultative phototrophic...Full Text Available
Septa can be demonstrated in sections of Escherichia coli strains B and B/r after fixation with acrolein and glutaraldehyde. The septum consists of an ingrowth of the cytoplasmic membrane...Full Text Available
The performance of a 6 kW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer was modeled using a semiempirical equation. Total cell voltage was represented as a sum of the Nernst voltage, activation overpotential and ohmic overpotential. A temperature and pressure dependent Nernst potential, derived from thermodynamic principles, was used to model the 20 cell PEM electrolyzer stack. The importance of including the temperature dependence of various model components is clearly demonstrated. The reversible potential without the pressure effect decreases with increasing temperature in a linear fashion. The exchange current densities at both the electrodes and the membrane conductivity were the coefficients of the semiempirical equation. An experimental system designed around a 6 kW PEM electrolyzer was used to obtain the current-voltage characteristics at different stack temperatures. A nonlinear curve fitting method was employed to determine the equation ...
Phosphatidic acid (PA) is postulated to have both structural and signaling functions during membrane dynamics in animal cells. In this study, we show that before a critical time period during rhabdomere...Full Text Available
1. The structural requirements of an allosteric barbiturate binding site on acetylcholine receptor-rich membranes isolated from Torpedo electroplaques have been characterized by the ability of fourteen...Full Text Available
The extensive membrane network of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is physically juxtaposed to and functionally entwined with essentially all other cellular compartments. Therefore, the ER must sense...Full Text Available
The H+-translocating inorganic pyrophosphatase (H+-PPase) associated with vesicles of the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) isolated from beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is...Full Text Available
The adenovirus fiber knob causes the first step in the interaction of adenovirus with cell membrane receptors. To obtain information on the receptor binding site(s), the interaction of labeled cell...Full Text Available
In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii y-1, newly synthesized chlorophyll a/b-binding apoproteins are degraded when chlorophylls are not present for assembly of stable light-harvesting...Full Text Available
Results are reported from studies of the diffusion rate of xenon through frog abdominal skin and toad urinary bladders, typical epithelial membranes. It was concluded that intracellular water serves as the principal barrier for xenon passage through epithelial tissue.
We have developed and validated a microporous poly(ethylene terephthalate) membrane-based indirect co-culture system for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) propagation, which allows real-time...Full Text Available
Auxin-induced pea (Pisum sativum) stem section elongation is enhanced at levels of 3 to 40 micromolar by six new classes of alkane derivatives additional to those described earlier,...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of heritable diseases that manifest as blistering and erosions of the skin and mucous membranes. In the dystrophic forms of EB (DEB), the diagnostic...Full Text Available
Cleavage of membrane-associated proteins with the release of biologically active macromolecules is an emerging theme in biology. However, little is known about the nature and regulation of the involved...Full Text Available
Peripartal serum alkaline phosphatase activity and lactate dehydrogenase activity were measured in 30 dairy cows in order to examine the association between retained fetal membranes and enzyme activity....Full Text Available
Antibodies against feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and the feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen (FOCMA) were transferred from pregnant cats to their suckling kittens. All of these kittens...Full Text Available
Low membrane permeability is one of the major obstacles to the successful cryopreservation of zebrafish embryos. The aim of the present study was to explore if this could be overcome by yolk...Full Text Available
The Aer protein in Escherichia coli is a membrane-bound, FAD-containing aerotaxis and energy sensor that putatively monitors the redox state of the electron transport system. Binding...Full Text Available
Osterix (Osx) is a zinc-finger-containing transcription factor that is expressed in osteoblasts of all endochondral and membranous bones. In Osx null ...Full Text Available
Effects of physical environment on plasma membrane semipermeability and osmotic induction of changes in aqueous cytoplasmic volume were studied in vegetative and spore cells of a plant pathogenic fungus,...Full Text Available
Cells of oat coleoptiles (Avena sativa L. cv. “Garry”) have been osmotically shocked in order to observe the effect of alterations of the plasma membrane on some auxin...Full Text Available
The biodegradation of nylon by lignin-degrading fungi was investigated. The fungus IZU-154 significantly degraded nylon-66 membrane under ligninolytic conditions. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis...Full Text Available
Some laboratory experiments have suggested that power-frequency electric and magnetic fields (EMF) may be capable of influencing calcium efflux from cell membranes, pineal function, and circadian rhythms....Full Text Available
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are attractive because of their high conversion efficiency, low pollution, lightweight, and high power density. A major area of challenges is the design and engineering of active, robust, and low-cost electrocatalysts. This report discusses recent findings of our investigations of the design and nano-engineering of platinum-vanadium-iron catalysts for use in PEMFC. The membrane electrode assembly was prepared using nano-engineered PtVFe nanoparticles with controlled composition and size supported on carbon as cathode electrocatalysts. The electrocatalytic activity and stability of the catalysts have been characterized by both rotating disk electrode and membrane electrode assembly measurements. The trimetallic catalysts have been shown to exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance in PEMFC in comparison with commercial platinum catalysts. The results exhibited a good ...
To confirm that Mycobacterium tuberculosis chaperonin 10 (Cpn10) is secreted outside the live bacillus, infected macrophages were examined by electron microscopy. This revealed that...Full Text Available
The 37/67-kd laminin receptor, LAMR, is a multifunctional protein that associates with the 40S ribosomal subunit and also localizes to the cell membrane to interact with the extracellular matrix. LAMR...Full Text Available
BackgroundCalcium signaling plays an important role in B lymphocyte survival and activation, and is critically dependent on the inositol-1,4,5-tris-phosphate-induced...Full Text Available
The primary aim of this study was to develop a model system that uses epidermal cells (keratinocytes and accessory pigmented cells) cultured on a reconstituted basement membrane biomatrix for use in...Full Text Available
Mitochondrial DNA is constantly exposed to oxidative injury. Due to its location close to the main site of reactive oxygen species, the inner mitochondrial membrane, mtDNA is more susceptible...Full Text Available
Choline (Cho)-containing phospholipids are the most abundant phospholipids in cellular membranes and play fundamental structural as well as regulatory roles in cell metabolism and signaling. Although...Full Text Available
Cross-resistance to cefoxitin (FOX), chloramphenicol (CMP), and quinolones (nalidixic acid [NAL]) related to a putative efflux system overexpression has recently been reported for Klebsiella...Full Text Available
Citrate transport via CitS of Klebsiella pneumoniae has been shown to depend on the presence of Na+. This transport system has been expressed in Escherichia coli, and uptake of citrate in E. coli membrane...Full Text Available
The mechanism of metabolic energy production by malolactic fermentation in Lactococcus lactis has been investigated. In the presence of L-malate, a proton motive force composed of a membrane potential...Full Text Available
Dysregulation of the alternative pathway of complement activation, caused by mutations or polymorphisms in the genes encoding factor H, membrane co-factor protein, factor I or factor B, is associated...Full Text Available
The water permeability of tissues was investigated by measuring the efflux of 3HHO from previously loaded (in darkness) etiolated bean buds (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Red...Full Text Available
The responses of the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) proton-pumping inorganic pyrophosphatase (H+-PPase) from oat (Avena sativa L.) roots to changes in Mg2+ and...Full Text Available
Exosomes are small membrane vesicles secreted from various types of cells. Tumor-derived exosomes contain MHC class I molecules and tumor-specific antigens, receiving attention as a potential cancer...Full Text Available
The main function of white adipose tissue is to store nutrient energy in the form of triglycerides. The mechanism by which free fatty acids (FFA) move into and out of the adipocyte has not been resolved....Full Text Available
The agglutination of human platelets by ristocetin and von Willebrand factor was inhibited by aggregated immunoglobulin (Ig)G and by Fc fragments of IgG, but not by Fab, F(ab′)2 or...Full Text Available
Local anesthetics are able to induce pain relief by binding to the sodium channels of excitable membranes, blocking the influx of sodium ions and the propagation of the nervous impulse. Ropivacaine...Full Text Available
The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) controls signal transmission between cells in the nervous system. Abused drugs such as cocaine inhibit this receptor. Transient kinetic investigations indicate...Full Text Available
Sphingomyelin (SM) is an abundant phospholipid in cell membranes and in lipoproteins. In human plasma, SM is mainly found in atherogenic lipoproteins; therefore, higher levels of SM may promote atherogenesis....Full Text Available
An immunoglobulin Mk monoclonal (F8IVE9) antibody raised against oat (Avena sativa cv Garry) root homogenate has been produced and characterized. The predominant target...Full Text Available
The sucrose derivative 6'-deoxy-6'-(2-hydroxy-4-azido)benzamidosucrose (6'-HABS) was prepared from sucrose (via 6'-deoxy-6'-aminosucrose) and 4-amino-salicylic acid. 6'-HABS is a competitive inhibitor of sucrose influx into protoplasts from developing soybean cotyledons and of sucrose binding to membranes from the bacteria P. saccharophila. The Ki for inhibition in the soybean protoplasts was 75..mu..M. 6'-Deoxy-6'-(2-hydroxy-3-/sup 125/Iodo-4-azido)benzamidosucrose was prepared by lactoperoxidase iodination of 6'-HABS. Upon photolysis in the presence of membranes from P saccharophila, label from the photoprobe is incorporated into a sucrose inducible polypeptide of mass 84 KD in SDS-PAGE. The polypeptide is protected from labeling by the inclusion of sucrose in the photolysis mixture. Photolysis conditions which lead to specific labeling of the sucrose protectable ...
Mitochondria must uptake some phospholipids from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for the biogenesis of their membranes. They convert one of these lipids, phosphatidylserine, to phosphatidylethanolamine,...Full Text Available
BackgroundLentiviral vectors (LVs) can efficiently transduce a broad spectrum of cells and tissues, including dividing and non-dividing cells. So far the most widely used method...Full Text Available
An advanced process for the separation of hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) from coal gasification product streams through an electrochemical membrane is being developed. H{sub 2}S is removed from the syn-gas stream, split into hydrogen, which enriches the exiting syn-gas, and sulfur, which is condensed from an inert sweep gas stream. The process allows removal of H{sub 2}S without cooling the gas stream and with negligible pressure loss through the separator. The process is made economically attractive by the lack of need for a Claus process for sulfur recovery. Membrane manufacturing coupled with full-cell experimentation was the primary focus this quarter. A tape-casted zirconia membrane was developed and utilized in one full-cell experiment (run 25); run 24 utilized a fabricated membrane purchased from Zircar Corporation. Results are discussed.
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a continuous membrane system comprising the nuclear envelope, ribosome-studded peripheral sheets and an interconnected network of smooth tubules extending throughout...Full Text Available
Effects of MgCl2 and free fatty acids (FFA) on galactolipid:galactolipid galactosyltransferase (GGGT) and UDP-galactose: 1,2-diacylglycerol galactosyltransferase (UDGT) in chloroplast envelope...Full Text Available
The delivery of proteins and organelles to the vacuole by autophagy involves membrane rearrangements that result in the formation of large vesicles called autophagosomes. The mechanism underlying autophagosome...Full Text Available
Peroxisomes, glyoxysomes, glycosomes, and hydrogenosomes have each been classified as microbodies, i.e., subcellular organelles with an electron-dense matrix that is bound by a single membrane. We investigated...Full Text Available
We analyze transport through conical channels due to the difference in particle concentration on the two sides of the membrane. Because of the detailed balance, fluxes of non-interacting particles...Full Text Available
The cell is modeled as an ellipsoid with shell and the surface stress distribution calculated by means of the Maxwell Stress Tensor. The cell membrane is treated as incompressible material having both bending and shear energies of deformation. Employing the principle of virtual work, cell volume (and hence shape) is computed as a function of the external field strength and orientation with respect to the field. The following results were obtained: (1) The surface stresses that develop or the cell membrane are distributed having both normal and tangential components that act together to produce a rounding of the cell. (2) If the tangential component of the stress is ignored, then higher field strengths are needed to produce similar deformation (shape change) of cells. (3) The threshold value of the applied field, i.e, the field strength at which the volume (shape) of the cell changes abruptly, occurs at approximately 55V/cm. Above the threshold ...
FXYD1 (phospholemman) is a member of an evolutionarily conserved family of membrane proteins that regulate the function of the Na,K-ATPase enzyme complex in specific tissues and specific physiological...Full Text Available
The interaction of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with mixed bilayers composed of sphingomylein and cholesterol (Chol) above and below the accepted stable complexation...Full Text Available
Background:Continuous renal replacement therapy is used to manage fluid and solute imbalances in critically ill patients but may affect the clearance of concurrently administered...Full Text Available
In-vitro experiments using 203Pb were performed to identify the lead binding components in human peripheral blood. The distribution of lead in plasma, in the red cell membrane, and within the red cell...Full Text Available
Oxygenated sterol compounds (OSC), when incubated for 1 hr with human erythrocytes in lipoprotein-depleted medium at concentrations of 0.625-5 x 10/sup -5/M, are inserted into the cell membrane and remain there despite subsequent washing of the cells. The insertion results in expansion of the surface area of the red cell ghost membrane, an increase in critical hemolytic volume, and as a consequence, in dimished osmotic fragility of the erythrocytes. This effect is seen with echinocyte-forming as well as with non-echinocyte-forming OSC. Erythrocytes treated with OSC do not differ from control cells with respect to their mean cell volume (MCV) in isotonic solution, water content, ion fluxes, and filterability through polycarbonate filters. The shift of the osmotic fragility curve toward lower NaCl concentrations is proportional to the amount of OSC inserted into the red cell membrane. 7BETA-Hydroxycholesterol, ...
In voltage-gated Na+, K+, and Ca2+ channels, four voltage-sensor domains operate on a central pore domain in response to membrane voltage. In contrast, the voltage-gated...Full Text Available
Experiments were performed to investigate the involvement of the cell membrane in the excision DNA repair process in Escherichia coli. Two membrane-binding drugs, procaine and phenethyl alcohol (PEA), inhibited liquid-holding recovery (LBR) in u.v.-irradiated E. coli wild-type and recA strains. In uvrB and polA strains where, after u.v.-irradiation, LHR was absent the two drugs had no effect. Both drugs markedly reduced the removal of u.v.-induced thymine dimers in the DNA of wild-type cells (H/r30). Analysis by alkaline sucrose gradients revealed that PEA inhibited the incision step in excision repair. In contrast, procaine had no effect on incision but apparently inhibited the late steps in excision repair. PEA dissociated DNA from the cell membrane, whereas procaine did not. The results suggest that the two drugs PEA and procaine inhibit LHR and the excision repair process operating on u.v.-induced damage in E. coli by ...
Despite their structural resemblance, a pair of cyclic halogenated compounds, 1-chloro-1,2,2-trifluorocyclobutane (F3) and 1,2-dichlorohexafluorocyclobutane (F6), exhibit completely different anesthetic...Full Text Available
Colonies of toxin-producing Pasteurella multocida were detected with peroxidase-labeled monoclonal antibodies by a membrane assay. Examination of the specificity of the assay with 29 P. multocida cultures...Full Text Available
Merozoite surface proteins have been implicated in the initial attachment to the host red blood cell membrane that begins the process of invasion, an important step in the life cycle of the malaria...Full Text Available
Cyclophilins (Cyps), the intracellular receptors for Cyclosporine A (CsA), are responsible for peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerisation and for chaperoning several membrane proteins. Those functions...Full Text Available
The procedure currently used for isolating legionellae from environmental samples recommend filtration through a 0.2-microns-pore-size polycarbonate filter. In this study we evaluated the performance...Full Text Available
Cellular cholesterol homeostasis is controlled by sterol-regulated proteolysis of membrane-bound transcription factors called sterol-regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs). CPP32, a cysteine protease,...Full Text Available
The membrane properties of isolated cultured microglia have been extensively studied but it is important to understand their properties in situ, where they protect the brain against...Full Text Available
The synthesis of an extracellular ribbon of cellulose in the bacterium Acetobacter xylinum takes place from linearly arranged, membrane-localized, cellulose-synthesizing and extrusion complexes that...Full Text Available
E-cadherins belong to a family of membrane-bound, cellular adhesion proteins. Their adhesive properties mainly involve the two N-terminal extracellular domains (EC1 and EC2). The junctions between these...Full Text Available
A review of the research activities carried out by the authors on biosorption of heavy metals is reported in this work. In particular, biomass characterisation, biosorption equilibrium with single metal system, biomass immobilisation in polymeric matrix and related kinetics, biosorption in membrane reactor systems are the main aspects reported in the paper. (orig.)
Kinetics and thermodynamics of the binding of a fluorescent lipid amphiphile, Rhodamine Green™-tetradecylamide (RG-C14:0), to bovine serum albumin were characterized in an equilibrium...Full Text Available
Atg9 is a transmembrane protein essential for autophagy which cycles between the Golgi network, late endosomes and LC3-positive autophagosomes in mammalian cells during starvation through a mechanism...Full Text Available
The expression of tripartite multidrug efflux pumps such as MexA-MexB-OprM in Pseudomonas aeruginosa contributes to intrinsic resistance to a wide variety of antimicrobials, including...Full Text Available
Amino acid transport was studied in membranes of the peptidolytic, thermophilic, anaerobic bacterium Clostridium fervidus. Uptake of the negatively charged amino acid L-glutamate, the neutral amino...Full Text Available
The adhesive proteins secreted by marine mussels form a natural glue that cures rapidly to form strong and durable bonds in aqueous environments. These mussel adhesive proteins contain an unusual...Full Text Available
Electrostatic nature of plant plasma membrane (PM) plays significant roles in the ion uptake and toxicity. Electrical potential at the PM exterior surface (ψ0o) influences...Full Text Available
The ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) plays a central role in the regulation of the female reproductive behavior lordosis, a behavior dependent upon the sequential activation of receptors for the ovarian...Full Text Available
international vehicles, control centers, and ground support personnel. ... consists of thin membranes made from a polymer-based film and ..... (including airplanes and submarines), environmental monitoring, and control ...... sciences can use it to analyze the birth and death of stars, the formation of solar ...
P granules are non-membrane-bound organelles found in the germ-line cytoplasm throughout Caenorhabditis elegans development. Like their “germ granule” counterparts in...Full Text Available
MOM22 is a component of the protein import complex of the mitochondrial outer membrane of Neurospora crassa. Using the newly developed procedure of 'sheltered disruption', we created a heterokaryotic...Full Text Available
HANARO fuel test loop will be equipped in HANARO to obtain the development betterment of advanced fuel and materials through the irradiation test. The object of this study is to evaluate the structural integrity of FTL in-pool piping by investigating a dynamic analysis of the loop containing a postulated rupture section. The method to perform the dynamic analysis and structural integrity evaluation caused by the pipe whip in water environment can be a reference for a similar structural integrity evaluation. (author). 7 refs., 39 tabs., 34 figs.
Integrated femtocell/macrocell networks, comprising a conventional cellular network overlaid with femtocells, offer an economically appealing way to improve coverage, quality of service, and access network capacity. The key element to successful femtocells/macrocell integration lies in its self-organizing capability. Provisioning of quality of service is the main technical challenge of the femtocell/macrocell integrated networks, while the main administrative challenge is the choice of the proper evolutionary path from the existing macrocellular networks to the integrated network. In this article, we introduce three integrated network architectures which, while increasing the access capacity, they also reduce the deployment and operational costs. Then, we discuss a number of technical issues, which are key to making such integration a reality, and we offer ...
Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are energy conversion devices that produce electricity from a supply of fuel, such as hydrogen. One of the major challenges in achieving efficient energy conversion is the development of cost-effective materials that can act as electrocatalysts for PEMFCs. In this letter, we demonstrate that, instead of conventional noble metals, such as platinum, chromium nitride nanocrystals of fcc structure exhibit attractive catalytic activity for PEMFCs. Device testing indicates good stability of nitride nanocrystals in low temperature fuel cell operational environment.
The authors describe the production of two mouse hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies to antigenic determinants of the surface membranes of human neutrophils, activated T lymphocytes, and acute leukemic blast cells. The degree of lymphocyte stimulation was estimated from incorporation of /sup 3/H-thymidine with parallel microculture. Monoclonal antibodies of supernatants of hybridoma cultures shown here reacted in both immunofluorescence test and cytotoxicity test with surface membrane antigens on the majority of neutrophils and PHA-activated peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy subjects, but did not give positive reactions with unactivated lymphocytes, adherent monocytes, erythrocytes, and alloantigen-stimulated lymphocytes.
The electrolyte was brought into contact with air and potassium carbonate was measured with various contact time in order to check the defect of carbon dioxide in the air on zinc-air cell. The relationship between potassium carbonate concentration in electrolyte and battery capacity was also studied. The potassium carbonate concentration in the electrolyte. The rate of carbon dioxide absorption was mainly affected by the pore size of hydrophobic membrane. Our study showed that adapting the pore of hydrophobic membrane decreased the loss of cell discharge performance due to the presence of carbon dioxide or water vapor in the atmosphere. 7 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.
The objective of this contract is to research, develop and demonstrate a novel ceramic membrane reactor system for the low-cost conversion of natural gas to synthesis gas and hydrogen for liquid transportation fuels: the ITM Syngas process. Through an eight-year, three-phase program, the technology will be developed and scaled up to obtain the technical, engineering, operating and economic data necessary for the final step to full commercialization of the Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) conversion technology. This report is a summary of activities through February 1999.
The objective of this contract is to research, develop and demonstrate a novel ceramic membrane reactor system for the low-cost conversion of natural gas to synthesis gas and hydrogen for liquid transportation fuels: the ITM Syngas process. Through an eight-year, three-phase program, the technology will be developed and scaled up to obtain the technical, engineering, operating and economic data necessary for the final step to full commercialization of the Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) conversion technology. This report is a summary of activities through September 1999.
We propose unsteady-state reverse osmosis cell modelling in two dimensions. The convection-diffusion equation describing the concentration of the relevant chemical species is solved by a finite difference technique, while the velocity field is described by empirical expressions for spiral-wound membrane cells. A non-constant permeability is introduced to take into account the effects of membrane compaction at high operating pressures. The role of concentration polarization is discussed for different values of the parameters describing the global process. Finally, the model is applied to predict the effects of a pulsating flow where a cyclic pressure feed is adopted to enhance the permeate flux. In this context, an experimental validation of the model is proposed.
There is increasing demand to functionalize meso- and nano-porous materials by coating and make the porous substrate biocompatible or environment friendly. However, coating on a meso-porous substrate poses great challenges, especially if the pore aspect ratio is high. In the current work the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method is used for coating Ni{sub 3}Al-based meso-porous membranes with diamond-like carbon (DLC) layers of high thickness homogeneity and adhesion. (orig.)
In this paper, model analysis into the time-dependent transmembrane potential at the outer cell membrane is presented, for applied high-intensity electric pulses having durations in the nanosecond range or smaller. It is argued that the frequency-dependent dielectric response of cell membranes could be used to advantage for stronger bioeffects by employing shorter pulses. Our model calculations predict faster transmembrane voltages and larger electroporation densities for a given external energy with pulse durations in the subnanosecond regime. This temporal regime would be used, for example, in the electrotherapy of mixed cell ensembles having different dielectric response properties. PMID:21937300
A back-up system is provided for a pumping plant or a pressure reservoir system used to maintain insulating oil under pressure in high voltage submarine power cables which includes a gas driven membrane pump to insure a small outflow of oil at a rupture point in the power cable to prevent water from penetrating the cable. The proper operation of the membrane pump is insured by introducing degasified oil at the drive side of the pump during the stand-by and test modes of operation of the back-up system. 11 drawings.
The palladium(II) and platinum(II)complexes(where, (M(L){sub 2}X{sub 2}), M=Pd(II), Pt(II); L=isoxazole (isox), 3, 5-dimethylisoxazole(3, 5-diMeisox), 3-methyl, 5-phenylisoxazole(3-Me, 5-Ph-isox), and 4-amino-3, 5-di-methylisoxazole (4-ADI); X=Cl, Br) with isoxazole and its derivatives were investigated on antitumor activity by MM2 and EHMO calculation. Because for all the complexes the {sigma}MO energy level (E{sub {sigma}}{sub (M-X)} between d{sub x}{sup 2}{sub -y}{sup 2} orbital of central metal and p{sub x} orbital of halogen atom is less than {sigma}MO energy level E{sub {sigma}}{sub (M-N)} between d{sub x}{sup 2}{sub -y}{sup 2} orbital of central metal and p{sub x} orbital of N atom, without exception. And judging, from the lower E{sub {sigma}}{sub (M-X)} value in trans, the bonding strength was found to be weaker in trans isomer than in cis. For the Pd(II) and ...
Varying coordination modes of the Schiff base ligand H"2L [5-methyl-1-H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid (1-pyridin-2-yl-ethylidene)-hydrazide] towards different metal centers are reported with the syntheses and characterization of four mononuclear Mn(II), Co(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) complexes, [Mn(H"2L)(H"2O)"2](ClO"4)"2(MeOH) (1), [Co(H"2L)(NCS)"2] (2), [Cd(H"2L)(H"2O)"2](ClO"4)"2 (3) and [Zn(H"2L)(H"2O)"2](ClO"4)"2 (4), and a binuclear Cu(II) complex, [Cu"2(L)"2](ClO"4)"2 (5). In the complexes 1-4 the neutral ligand serves as a 3N,2O donor where the pyridine ring N, two azomethine N and two carbohydrazine oxygen atoms are coordinatively active, leaving the pyrazole-N atoms inactive. In the case of complex 5, each ligand molecule behaves as a 4N,O donor utilizing the pyridine N, one azomethine N...
The biosorption characteristics of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solution using the green alga (Ulva lactuca) biomass were investigated as a function of pH, biomass dosage, contact time, and temperature. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) models were applied to describe the biosorption isotherm of the metal ions by U. lactuca biomass. Langmuir model fitted the equilibrium data better than the Freundlich isotherm. The monolayer biosorption capacity of U. lactuca biomass for Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions was found to be 34.7 mg/g and 29.2 mg/g, respectively. From the D-R isotherm model, the mean free energy was calculated as 10.4 kJ/mol for Pb(II) biosorption and 9.6 kJ/mol for Cd(II) biosorption, indicating that the biosorption of both metal ions was taken place by chemisorption. The calculated thermodynamic parameters ({delta}G{sup o}, ...
One-electron reduction of the square-planar nickel precursor (PNP)NiCl ( 1) (PNP (-) = N[2-P(CHMe 2) 2-4-methylphenyl] 2) with KC 8 effects ligand reorganization of the pincer ligand to assemble a Ni(I) dimer, [Ni(mu 2-PNP)] 2 ( 2), containing a Ni 2N 2 core structure, as inferred by its solid-state X-ray structure. Solution magnetization measurements are consistent with a paramagnetic Ni(I) system likely undergoing a monomer dimer equilibrium. The room-temperature and 4 K solid-state X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra display anisotropic signals. Low-temperature solid-state X-band EPR data at 4 K reveal rhombic values g z = 1.980(4), g x = 2. 380(4), and g y = 2.225(4), as well as a forbidden signal at g = 4.24 for the Delta M S = 2 half field transition, in accord with 2 having two weakly interacting metal centers. Utilizing an S = 1 model, full spin Hamiltonian simulation of the low-temperature EPR spectrum on the solid sample was achieved by applying a nonzero ...
Among the membrane filtration techniques, continuous cross-flow ultrafiltration (UF) is an innovative method to separate solid/liquid or liquid/liquid phases at a lower pressure of 5--150 psi compared to reverse osmosis (RO) in which the applied pressure is an order of magnitude higher. Recently, attempts have been made to combine processes of UF and other treatments for many applications. However, there is very little knowledge about the filtration process which combined coagulation and UF, and very few attempts have been made to apply coagulated UF to the treatment of fuel oil contaminated water. During the UF treatment of organic contaminants rapid declines in flux will occur due to the membrane fouling. Oil as a foulant plants an important role in the flux decrease. However, there are very limited pretreatment processes which can effectively remove fuel oil from water and hence solve the fouling problem. The purpose of the study was to ...
A preliminary investigation was conducted on ion specific membranes. This investigation concentrated on testing candidate organic compounds for transporting cesium ions through a membrane composed of the organic compound supported on a substrate. Solid PVC membranes were initially tried, but were found to be too slow. Thereafter, only liquid membranes were tested. These were faster and cesium concentration factors up to 2.96 were achieved in a single membrane cell. A cell with two membranes achieved a cesium concentration factor of 4.19. Cesium precipitation with sodium tetraphenyl borate in high sodium concentrations was explored. No interference from sodium was found until the sodium nitrite concentration reached 4.5 moles. Concurrently, cesium concentrations as high as 5.4 g/L were precipitated. Potassium tetraphenyl borate is being investigated for use in ...
A preliminary investigation was conducted on ion specific membranes. This investigation concentrated on testing candidate organic compounds for transporting cesium ions through a membrane composed of the organic compound supported on a substrate. Solid PVC membranes were initially tried, but were found to be too slow. Thereafter, only liquid membranes were tested. These were faster and cesium concentration factors up to 2.96 were achieved in a single membrane cell. A cell with two membranes achieved a cesium concentration factor of 4.19. Cesium precipitation with sodium tetraphenyl borate in high sodium concentrations was explored. No interference from sodium was found until the sodium nitrite concentration reached 4.5 moles. Concurrently, cesium concentrations as high as 5.4 g/L were precipitated. Potassium tetraphenyl borate is being investigated for use in ...
This paper explores the feasibility of integrating energyefficiency program evaluation with the emerging need for the evaluationof programs from different "energy cultures" (demand response, renewableenergy, and climate change). The paper reviews key features andinformation needs of the energy cultures and critically reviews theopportunities and challenges associated with integrating these withenergy efficiency program evaluation. There is a need to integrate thedifferent policy arenas where energy efficiency, demand response, andclimate change programs are developed, and there are positive signs thatthis integration is starting to occur.
The radiative transport problem is cast in integral form using a transport kernel. The transport kernel has an explicit representation in terms of a Feynman Path Integral over all paths between selected points in a volume. This representation is setup in detail. Numerical evaluation of this Path Integral is formulated with a Frenet-Serret based procedure for generating valid random paths, and with a numerical evaluation of the weight for each valid path. Very early sanity checks of a numerical implementation are reported. Approaches to optimization are identified. (authors)
The relationship between serum PG I, PG II levels and extent of atrophic gastritis was examined. The subjects were 64 patients (male: 32, female: 32, 51.9 years old on average) with established diagnosis of either atrophic gastritis or normal. In the X-ray gastric examination, Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) was used to obtain clear-cut images of the gastric area. Concerning the serum PG I level, patients in the group with atrophic gastritis showed lower levels than those of the people in the group with no atrophic change, but the variation was wide, and no definite tendency was seen in the relationship between the atrophic change and the serum PG I levels. Concerning the serum PG II level, as the atrophic change progresses, the serum PG II level tended to increase gradually. A significant reduction in the PG I/II ratio was seen in the group with atrophic changes (p<0.01) in comparison with the group ...
The relationship between serum PG I, PG II levels and extent of atrophic gastritis was examined. The subjects were 64 patients (male: 32, female: 32, 51.9 years old on average) with established diagnosis of either atrophic gastritis or normal. In the X-ray gastric examination, Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) was used to obtain clear-cut images of the gastric area. Concerning the serum PG I level, patients in the group with atrophic gastritis showed lower levels than those of the people in the group with no atrophic change, but the variation was wide, and no definite tendency was seen in the relationship between the atrophic change and the serum PG I levels. Concerning the serum PG II level, as the atrophic change progresses, the serum PG II level tended to increase gradually. A significant reduction in the PG I/II ratio was seen in the group with atrophic changes (p<0.01) in comparison with the group ...
The biosorption characteristics of Cd(II) ions using the red alga (Ceramium virgatum) were investigated. Experimental parameters affecting the biosorption process such as pH, contact time, biomass dosage and temperature were studied. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) models were applied to describe the biosorption isotherms. The biosorption capacity of C. virgatum biomass for Cd(II) ions was found to be 39.7 mg/g. From the D-R isotherm model, the mean free energy was calculated as 12.7 kJ/mol, indicating that the biosorption of Cd(II) the metal ions was taken place by chemisorption. The calculated thermodynamic parameters ({delta}G{sup o}, {delta}H{sup o} and {delta}S{sup o}) showed that the biosorption of Cd(II) ions onto C. virgatum was feasible, spontaneous and exothermic at 293-323 K. Evaluation of experimental data in terms of biosorption kinetics showed that the biosorption of ...
Apparent molar volumes V{sub phi} and apparent molar heat capacities C{sub p,phi} were determined for aqueous solutions of nickel(II) nitrate, copper(II) nitrate, and zinc(II) nitrate at molalities m=(0.01 to 0.5) mol {center_dot} kg{sup -1}, and at the pressure p=0.35 MPa. Solution densities obtained using a vibrating-tube densimeter at T=(278.15 to 368.15) K were used to calculate V{sub phi} values. Heat capacity measurements obtained with a twin fixed-cell, differential-output, power-compensating, temperature-scanning calorimeter at T=(278.15 to 393.15) K were used to calculate values of C{sub p,phi}. Our results were then fitted to functions of m and T and compared to literature values.