In the 21st century, eighty years after William Baer presented his groundbreaking work treating bone and soft tissue infections with live maggots, thousands of therapists around the globe have rediscovered...Full Text Available
Measuring HPA axis activity is the standard approach to the study of stress and welfare in farm animals. Although the reference technique is the use of blood plasma to measure glucocorticoid hormones (cortisol or corticosterone), several alternative methods such as the measurement of corticosteroids in saliva, urine or faeces have been developed to overcome the stress induced by blood sampling itself. In chronic stress situations, as is frequently the case in studies about farm animal welfare, hormonal secretions are usually unchanged but dynamic testing allows the demonstration of functional changes at several levels of the system, including the sensitization of the adrenal cortex to ACTH and the resistance of the axis to feedback inhibition by corticosteroids (dexamethasone suppression t...
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
Prothoracic glands of tobacco hornworm larvae cultured in vitro secrete into the culture medium a substance which was active in ecdysone bioassays and determined to be ecdysone-like...Full Text Available
Insect host/parasitoid interactions are co-evolved systems in which host defenses are balanced by parasitoid mechanisms to disable or hide from host immune effectors. Although there is a rich literature on these systems, parasitoid immune-disabling mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Here we report on a newly discovered immune-disabling mechanism in the Pieris rapae/Pteromalus puparum host/parasitoid system. Because venom injections and parasitization suppresses host phagocytosis, we turned attention to the P. rapae scavenger receptor (Pr-SR), posing the hypothesis that P. puparum venom suppresses expression of the host Pr-SR gene. To test our hypothesis, we cloned a full-length cDNA of the Pr-SR. Multiple sequences alignment showed the deduced amino acid sequence of Pr-SR is similar to scavenger receptors of other lepidopterans. Bacterial and bead injections induced Pr-SR mRNA and protein expression, which peaked at 4h post-bead ...
The type III secretion system among Gram-negative bacteria is known to deliver effectors into host cell to interfere with host cellular processes. The type III secretion system in Yersina, Pseudomonas and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli have been well documented to be involved in the bacterial pathogenicity. The existence of type III secretion system has been demonstrated in neuropathogenic E. coli K1 strains. Here, it is observed that the deletion mutant of type III secretion system in E. coli strain EC10 exhibited defects in the invasion and intracellular survival in Acanthamoeba castellanii (a keratitis isolate) compared to its parent strain. Next, it was determined whether type III secretion system plays a role in E. coli K1 survival inside Acanthamoeba during the encystment process...
The acyl coenzyme A (CoA) binding protein AcbA is secreted unconventionally and processed into spore differentiation factor 2 (SDF-2), a peptide that coordinates sporulation in Dictyostelium...Full Text Available
Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) play a central role in the pathogenicity of many important pathogens, including Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Helicobacter pylori, and...Full Text Available
Bacteria expressing type III secretion systems (T3SS) have been responsible for the deaths of millions worldwide, acting as key virulence elements in diseases ranging from plague to typhoid...Full Text Available
Hyaluronan (HA) is important for joint cavitation, lubrication, volume regulation and synovial fluid drainage but little is known about the regulation of joint HA synthesis/secretion in vivo....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
Sibling Paenibacillus dendritiformis bacterial colonies grown on low-nutrient agar medium mutually inhibit growth through secretion of a lethal factor. Analysis of secretions reveals...Full Text Available
A controlled bidirectional quantum secret direct communication scheme is proposed by using a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state. In the scheme, two users can exchange their secret messages simultaneously with a set of devices under the control of a third party. The security of the scheme is analysed and confirmed.
Pseudomonas syringae is a gram-negative bacterial plant pathogen that is dependent on a type III protein secretion system (TTSS) and the effector proteins it translocates into plant...Full Text Available
TH1 cytokine secretion was examined in response to synthetic peptides of the 85A component of the major secreted, fibronectin-binding antigen 85 complex from Mycobacterium tuberculosis in seven different...Full Text Available
We have examined spontaneous secretion of IgE by human rib bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNC). Bone marrow MNC from nine out of 12 rib specimens synthesized and secreted substantial amounts of IgE...Full Text Available
We have presented evidence that the functional thyroid follicles (follicular units, FU) which are formed in grafts of monodispersed rat thyroid cells, and hence the thyroid tumors which later develop in such grafts, are clonal in origin. Recent studies have been designed to investigate: whether cell number-dependent inhibition of promotion-progression is mediated by remote hormonal feed-back, local cell-cell interactions, or both; the cell population kinetics of the clonogen subpopulation during goitrogenesis and goiter involution; and the effect of prolonged exposure to high levels of TSH (thyrotropin) on the capacity of the clonogens to give rise to functional FU. The results indicate that local cell-cell interactions play an important role in the cell number-dependent suppression of neoplastic promotion-progression. They also show that if sufficient thyroid cells are grafted, the thyroid-pituitary axis can be reestablished in thyroidectomized rats fed normal ...
We present a quantum secure direct communication scheme achieved by swapping quantum entanglement. In this scheme a set of ordered Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pairs is used as a quantum information channel for sending secret messages directly. After insuring the safety of the quantum channel, the sender Alice encodes the secret messages directly by applying a series local operations on her particle sequences according to their stipulation. Using three EPR pairs, three bits of secret classical information can be faithfully transmitted from Alice to remote Bob without revealing any information to a potential eavesdropper. By both Alice and Bob's GHZ state measurement results, Bob is able to read out the encoded secret messages directly. The protocol is completely secure if perfect quantum channel is used, because there is not a transmission of the qubits carrying the secret message ...
In single-qubit quantum secret sharing, a secret is shared between N parties via manipulation and measurement of one qubit at a time. Each qubit is sent to all N parties in sequence; the secret is encoded in the first participant's preparation of the qubit state and the subsequent participants' choices of state rotation or measurement basis. We present a protocol for single-qubit quantum secret sharing using polarization entanglement of photon pairs produced in type-I spontaneous parametric downconversion. We investigate the protocol's security against eavesdropping attack under common experimental conditions: a lossy channel for photon transmission, and imperfect preparation of the initial qubit state. A protocol which exploits entanglement between photons, rather than simply polarization correlation, is more robustly secure. We implement the entanglement-based secret-sharing ...
We propose a simultaneous quantum secure direct communication scheme between one party and other three parties via four-particle GHZ states and swapping quantum entanglement. In the scheme, three spatially separated senders, Alice, Bob and Charlie, transmit their secret messages to a remote receiver Diana by performing a series of local operations on their respective particles according to the quadripartite stipulation. From Alice, Bob, Charlie and Diana's Bell measurement results, Diana can infer the secret messages. If a perfect quantum channel is used, the secret messages are faithfully transmitted from Alice, Bob and Charlie to Diana via initially shared pairs of four-particle GHZ states without revealing any information to a potential eavesdropper. As there is no transmission of the qubits carrying the secret message in the public channel, it is completely secure for the direct ...
We analyse the capacity of a simultaneous quantum secure direct communication scheme between the central party and other M parties via M+1-particle GHZ states and swapping quantum entanglement. It is shown that the encoding scheme should be secret if other M parties wants to transmit M+1 bit classical messages to the centre party secretly. However, when the encoding scheme is announced publicly, we prove that the capacity of the scheme in transmitting the secret messages is 2 bits, no matter how large M is.
Histamine and the histamine receptors are important regulators of a plethora of biological processes, including immediate hypersensitivity reactions and acid secretion in the stomach. In these...Full Text Available
Based on the idea of dense coding of three-photon entangled state and qubit transmission in blocks, we present a multiparty controlled quantum secret direct communication scheme by using Greenberger Horne Zeilinger state. In the present scheme, the sender transmits three bits of secret message to the receiver directly and the secret message can only be recovered by the receiver under the permission of all the controllers. All three-photon entangled states are used to transmit the secret message except those chosen for eavesdropping check and the present scheme has a high source capacity because Greenberger Horne Zeilinger state forms a large Hilbert space.
Background: Quantifying HIV levels in mucosal secretions is essential to study compartmentalized expression of HIV and facilitate development of intervention strategies to prevent disease progression and transmission. Objectives: To develop a sensitive, reliable, and cost-effective technique to quantify HIV from blood and vaginal secretions that is compatible with efficient implementation in clinical research environments. Study design: A sensitive, reliable, internally-controlled real-time reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR assay, which uses the HIV-1 pol gene as a target (Hpol assay) was developed to quantify HIV levels in plasma and genital secretions, and compared to the widely used Roche Amplicor(TM) HIV-1 Monitor assay. In addition, a simplified method of sample collection and processing...
Alpha-toxin, the major cytotoxic agent elaborated by Staphylococcus aureus, was the first bacterial exotoxin to be identified as a pore former. The protein is secreted as a single-chain, water-soluble...Full Text Available
Biofilm-specific antibiotic resistance is influenced by multiple factors. We demonstrated that Pseudomonas aeruginosa tssC1, a gene implicated in type VI secretion (T6S), is important for resistance of biofilms to a subset of antibiotics. We showed that tssC1 expression is induced in biofilms and confirmed that tssC1 is required for T6S. PMID:21784934
Pulsatile hormone secretion is observed in almost every hormonal system. The frequency of episodic hormone release ranges from approximately 10 to 100 pulses in 24 hours. This temporal mode of secretion is an important feature of intercellular information transfer in addition to a dose-response dependent regulation. It has been demonstrated in a number of experiments that changes in the temporal pattern of pulsatile hormone secretion specifically regulate cellular and organ function and structure. Recent evidence links osteoporosis, a disease characterized by loss of bone mass and structure, to changes in the dynamics of pulsatile parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. In our study we applied nonlinear and linear time series prediction to characterize the secretory dynamics of PTH in both healthy human subjects and patients with osteoporosis. Osteoporotic patients appear to lack periods of high ...
To determine if the enhanced glycemic response to epinephrine in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is the result of increased adrenergic sensitivity per se, increased glucagon...Full Text Available
Previous studies reveal that dark-induced closure of Samanea leaflets is accompanied by H+secretion from flexor motor cells. We now report that flexor tissue excised in...Full Text Available
The gene Rv1885c from the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv encodes a monofunctional and secreted chorismate mutase (*MtCM) with a 33-amino-acid...Full Text Available
... The effectiveness of immune suppression with both 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate was insufficient to permit induction of a clinically useful ...
We present a deterministic secure direct communication scheme via entanglement swapping, where a set of ordered maximally entangled three-particle states (GHZ states), initially shared by three spatially separated parties, Alice, Bob and Charlie, functions as a quantum information channel. After ensuring the safety of the quantum channel, Alice and Bob apply a series of local operations on their respective particles according to the tripartite stipulation and the secret message they both want to send to Charlie. By three of Alice, Bob and Charlie's Bell measurement results, Charlie is able to infer the secret messages directly. The secret messages are faithfully transmitted from Alice and Bob to Charlie via initially shared pairs of GHZ states without revealing any information to a potential eavesdropper. Since there is no transmission of the qubits carrying the secret message between any two of them in ...
Plasma triglyceride turnover was measured during steady-state conditions in 22 postoperative patients. Nine had received nutritional support with an enteral regimen, seven had received an equivalent regimen as continuous parenteral nutrition, and six received the same parenteral regimen as a cyclical infusion. After 5 days of nutritional support, each patient received an intravenous bolus of tritiated glycerol. Plasma radiolabeled triglyceride content was measured during the subsequent 24 hours. The data were analyzed by means of a simple deterministic model of plasma triglyceride kinetics and compared with the results obtained by stochastic analysis. The rates of hepatic triglyceride secretion obtained by deterministic analysis were higher than those obtained by the stochastic approach. However, the mode of delivery of the nutritional regimen did not affect the rate of hepatic triglyceride secretion regardless of the method of analysis. The ...
Abstract Plant pathogenic bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas cause a variety of diseases in economically important monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crop plants worldwide. Successful infection and bacterial multiplication in the host tissue often depend on the virulence factors secreted including adhesins, polysaccharides, LPS and degradative enzymes. One of the key pathogenicity factors is the type III secretion system, which injects effector proteins into the host cell cytosol to manipulate plant cellular processes such as basal defense to the benefit of the pathogen. The coordinated expression of bacterial virulence factors is orchestrated by quorum-sensing pathways, multiple two-component systems and transcriptional regulators such as Clp, Zur, FhrR, HrpX and HpaR. Furthermore, virule...
Glucagon plays critical roles in regulating glucose homeostasis, mainly by counteracting the effects of insulin. Consequently, the dysregulated glucagon secretion that is evident in type 2 diabetes has significant implications in the pathophysiology of the disease. Glucagon secretion from pancreatic -cells has been suggested to be modulated by blood glucose, signals from the nervous system and endocrine components. In addition to these regulators, intraislet factors acting in a paracrine manner from neighbouring -cells are emerging as central modulator(s) of -cell biology. One of the most important of these paracrine factors, insulin, modulates glucagon secretion. Indeed, the -cell-specific insulin receptor knockout (IRKO) mouse manifests hypersecretion of glucagon in the postprandial stag...
Growing evidence suggests the Wnt family of secreted glycoproteins and their associated signaling pathways, linked to development, are recapitulated during wound repair and regeneration events. However,...Full Text Available
The actions of nicotine, hexamethonium, and ethanol on the hypothalamo-hypophysial system have been investigated in the rat. The antidiuretic action of nicotine was not inhibited by ethanol, nor by...Full Text Available
Chronically elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6) affects lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. Individuals genetically predisposed to higher IL-6 secretion may be at risk of dyslipidemia, especially during the...Full Text Available
Chlamydia trachomatis serovars release a glycolipid antigen (GLXA) into the culture supernatant during the infective cycle. This antigen is recognized by IgG isolated from humans with a natural chlamydial...Full Text Available
A total of 262 strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the mammary gland of dairy cows were examined for the production of alpha-hemolysin. Strains were cultured in a liquid medium of casein...Full Text Available
The secreted Bv8 protein has been recently characterized as a regulator of myeloid cell mobilization and a neutrophil-derived mediator of tumor angiogenesis in several xenografts, but its role in tumor...Full Text Available
A theoretical scheme for quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) is proposed, where a three-qubit symmetric W state functions as a quantum channel. Two legitimate communicators can transmit their secret information by using quantum teleportation and local measurements.
Secreted human bronchial mucins, directly collected from macroscopically healthy bronchial mucosa, were prepared in the presence of six proteinase inhibitors, and analysed by electron microscopy. These...Full Text Available
Adaptive radiation is the rapid origination of multiple species from a single ancestor as the result of concurrent adaptation to disparate environments. This fundamental evolutionary process is considered...Full Text Available
Two bacteriolytic enzymes secreted by Achromobacter lyticus M497-1 were purified and identified as being very similar (considering their amino acid composition and N-terminal sequence) to alpha- 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
Cytokine regulation of synovial fluid (SF) lubricants, hyaluronan (HA), and proteoglycan 4 (PRG4) is important in health, injury, and disease of synovial joints, and may also provide powerful regulation...Full Text Available
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) results from insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction, in the setting of hyperglucagonemia. Glucagon is a 29 amino acid peptide hormone, which is secreted from...Full Text Available
In this report we define the parameters of the human immune response after immunization with hepatitis B vaccine. 2 wk after booster immunization, there is significant spontaneous secretion of antibody...Full Text Available
In addition to regulating acid secretion, the gastric antral hormone gastrin regulates several important cellular processes in the gastric epithelium including proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion,...Full Text Available
Glandular trichomes of the wild tomato species Lycopersicon pennellii secrete 2,3,4-O-tri-acyl-glucose (-Glc), which contributes to insect resistance. A Glc acyltransferase...Full Text Available
1. The excretion of para-aminohippurate (PAH) in the isolated perfused rat kidney was examined over a wide range of perfusate PAH concentrations (15 microM to 6 mM). PAH excretion increased steadily...Full Text Available
The effects of a maltodextrin (dextrose equivalent 12)-electrolyte solution and a maltodextrin-electrolyte solution with added nutrients on net water and electrolyte transport in the secreting rat intestine was compared with the citrate-World Health Organization oral rehydration solution to determine the need for a clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of these maltodextrin solutions in acute diarrhoea treatment. Cholera toxin consistently produced net water secretion (-36.5 +/- 9.9 mean +/- SEM microliter/min/g dry weight of intestine). All three solutions reversed the cholera toxin-induced net intestinal water secretion to net absorption. Significantly greater net water absorption occurred from the maltodextrin-electrolyte solution compared to the World Health Organization solution (P < 0.05) but not when compared to the maltodextrin-electrolyte-nutrient solution. Net sodium, potassium and chloride fluxes due to the ...
Normal reproductive functioning may require secretion of LH independently of FSH. Variation in GnRH pulse frequency and inhibin negative feedback are mechanisms for differential gonadotropin regulation;...Full Text Available
Since 50 years, the scientists in European Center for Nuclear Research in Geneva, are looking for the secrets of the nature. Their standard Model would explains a lot of things; but the single question "What is the mass?" still does not have an answer
BACKGROUND: H2-histamine receptors mediate a wide range of physiological functions extending from stimulation of gastric acid secretion to induction of human promyelocyte differentiation. We have previously...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn mammals, vasopressin (AVP) is released from magnocellular neurons of the hypothalamus when osmotic pressure exceeds a fixed set-point. AVP participates to the hydromineral...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe continued depletion of tropical rainforests and fragmentation of natural habitats has led to significant ecological changes which place most top carnivores under heavy...Full Text Available
Medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma belong to a group of neoplasms designated as primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs). Secreted Protein, Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) is a matrix-associated...Full Text Available
1. The effect of capsaicin pre-treatment on adrenal catecholamine (CA) secretion in response to stress is controversial. In earlier experiments performed under pentobarbitone anaesthesia, the release...Full Text Available
AIM: To investigate atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) secretion from gastric mucosa and the relationship between the ANP/natriuretic peptide receptor type A (NPR-A) pathway and diabetic gastroparesis.METHODS:...Full Text Available
Background and aims: Serotonin (5-hydroxtryptamine, 5-HT) is an important factor in gut function, playing key roles in intestinal peristalsis and secretion, and in sensory...Full Text Available
Rhodococcus fascians is a Gram-positive phytopathogen that induces shooty hyperplasia on its hosts through the secretion of cytokinins. Global transcriptomics using microarrays combined...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
Saccharococcus sacchari is the primary colonizer of the developing “sterile” tissue between the leaf sheath and stem of sugar cane. The honeydew secreted by the mealybugs...Full Text Available
Advanced Glycated End Products (AGEs) are formed by non-enzymatic protein glycation and are implicated in several physiological aspects including cell aging and diseases. Recent data indicate that bacteria...Full Text Available
The aim of the present study was to test a mathematical model of the biochemical processes in the parathyroid glands responsible for the secretion of parathyroid hormone resulting from extracellular calcium reduction. A double exponential curve described the parathyroid hormone secretion induced by rapid lowering of blood-ionized calcium in humans with normal as well as abnormal parathyroid tissue. Our data show that it was possible to establish a simple mathematical model of the parathyroid hormone response to blood-ionized calcium lowering, sufficient to fit experimental data obtained from patients with abnormal and normal parathyroid tissue. The fitted parameters showed no significant differences between patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and controls. In primary hyperparathyroidism, the parathyroid hormone production and steady-state transport across the cell membrane were increased, probably due to the larger amount of ...
OBJECTIVEPreimplantation factor (PIF) is a novel, 15 amino acid peptide, secreted by viable embryos. This study aims to elucidate PIF’s effects in human endometrial...Full Text Available
Cancer cells constantly adapt to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) suppression resulting from hypoxia or mitochondria defects. Under the OXPHOS suppression, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) regulates...Full Text Available
The mechanism of influenza virus (INFV)-induced immunosuppression and the mode of inosiplex action against INFV infection were studied. INFV suppressed both anti-lipopolysaccharide and anti-sheep erythrocyte...Full Text Available
BackgroundHerpes simplex virus (HSV) suppressive therapy reduces genital and plasma HIV-1 RNA over periods up to three months but the longer-term effect is unknown.Full Text Available
Increased sensitivity to light-induced melatonin suppression characterizes some, but not all, patients with bipolar illness or seasonal affective disorder. The aim of this study was to test...Full Text Available
A quantum secure direct communication scheme using dense coding is proposed. At first, the sender (Alice) prepares four-particle genuine entangled states and shares them with the receiver (Bob) by sending two particles in each entangled state to him. Secondly, Alice encodes secret information by performing the unitary transformations on her particles and transmits them to Bob. Finally, Bob performs the joint measurements on his particles to decode the secret information. The two-step security test guarantees the security of communication.
In this paper, we proposed a novel quantum secure direct communication scheme with one-time pad in stabilizer formalism. Based on the reuse of qubit sequence, an efficient secure communication of secret messages without first producing a shared secret key can be achieved. One hence may find that the amount of private key needed for quantum communication is smaller than that in the general case. Therefore, the present protocol which is feasible with the present-day techniques may be applied to quantum communication with short-length encoding.
The mechanism for afterglow suppression in codoped CsI:Tl,Eu reported in the preceding paper was investigated by combined radioluminescence and thermoluminescence experiments. Model rate equations informed by these experiments were employed to simulate afterglow. It was found that codoping with europium introduces deep electron traps, with room-temperature glow peaks, that effectively scavenge the electrons from shallow traps associated with thallium, thus suppressing afterglow in the time domain of tens of milliseconds.
The effect of ultrasound waves, airflow and combined ultrasound with the airflow on the thermal instability suppression of a hollow needle-to-plate electrical discharge was studied experimentally. To evaluate the thermal instability suppression we used the V-A characteristics of the discharge in stationary air, with ultrasound applied in stationary air, and finally when the airflow was supplied into the discharge through the needle without and with ultrasound application. To illustrate the effect of ultrasound, airflow and combined ultrasound with airflow on the discharge thermal instability suppression we also studied the discharge ozone production. We found that in stationary air the application of ultrasound only slightly suppresses thermal instability. A substantial increase of ozone generation was not detected. Application of the airflow through the needle suppressed ...
The relative roles of glomerular filtration, tubular reabsorption and tubular secretion in lead handling were evaluated using renal clearance technique, stop-flow analysis, and renal lead accumulation. In addition, the effect of altering acid-base status on renal handling of Pb was determined. Clearance of ultrafilterable lead was measured in anesthetized dogs during infusion of "2"0"3Pb with small doses of carrier Pb(0.5 to 50 #mu#g/kg/h). Filterable lead concentration was estimated by in vitro ultrafiltration of non-anticoagulated plasma. Fractional excretion of Pb was calculated using creatinine clearance to estimate glomerular filtration rate. Dogs in acute metabolic acidosis had the lowest fractional excretion of ultrafilterable Pb (< 0.1); those in alkalosis had high fractional Pb excretion (0.75 to 2.5) while normal dogs were intermediate (0.1 to .4). The fractional excretion of Pb during metabolic alkalosis varied with the dose of Pb administered; only ...
Effects of soil pH on damping-off of sugar beet by R. solani (AG2-2) and soil suppressiveness against the disease were studied by comparing disease incidences in pasteurized versus non-pasteurized, infested soils. Soil pH was correlated neither to disease incidence in five soils ranging from pH?4.5 to 7.2 nor to indigenous disease suppressiveness, the difference in disease incidences between non-treated soil and its pasteurized counterpart. When an alkaline soil was acidified with H2SO4, disease suppression markedly declined, increasing disease incidence in the non-pasteurized soil. Inversely, disease suppression was enhanced when an acidic soil was neutralized by adding Ca(OH)2. Soil amendment with dried peanut plant residue suppressed the disease in two pasteurized, near-neutral soils, l...
The NA50 Collaboration has recently observed a strong suppression of {ital J}/{psi} production in Pb-Pb collisions at 158GeV/nucleon. We show that this recent observation finds a quantitative explanation in a model which relates the suppression mechanism to the local energy density, whose value is higher in Pb-Pb collisions than in any other system studied previously. The sensitivity of the phenomenon to small changes in the energy density could be suggestive of quark-gluon plasma formation. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
This paper describes the observation and partial wave analysis of 1203 (22 GeV) #pi#"-p #-># phi phi n events. This is an OZI suppressed channel in which the OZI suppression is found to be absent. Assuming QCD and the OZI rule as Ansatzen, it is concluded that the breakdown of the OZI suppression is due to glueballs. The g/sub T/(2160) and the g/sub T/(2320) with I/sup G/J/sup PC/ = 0"+2"+"+ are two resonances determined from the partial wave analysis. It is concluded that one or two primary glueballs with the above quantum numbers are responsible for the observed two states. A brief discussion of other glueball candidates and some relevant phenomenology is also included.
Feasibility of using sterile females for population suppression of Earias vittella (Fabricius) was evaluated by conducting studies on mating competitiveness of radiation sterilized females, both in individual pairs and in simulated large population conditions. Results showed that sterility induced by using a 10:1:1 ratio (sterile female: normal female: normal male) in single pair experiments and also in simulated large population conditions was more than 99.0 per cent. Release of radiation- sterilized females of E. vittella in natural populations has thus an excellent potential for population suppression. (author)
Precocious puberty is a significant child health problem, especially in girls, because 95% of cases are idiopathic. Our earlier studies demonstrated that low-dose levels of manganese (Mn) caused precocious puberty via stimulating the secretion of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH). Because glial-neuronal communications are important for the activation of LHRH secretion at puberty, we investigated the effects of prepubertal Mn exposure on specific glial-derived puberty-related genes known to affect neuronal LHRH release. Animals were supplemented with MnCl2 (10 mg/kg) or saline by gastric gavage from day 12 until day 22 or day 29, then decapitated, and brains removed. The site of LHRH release is the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH), and tissues from this area were analyzed by real-...
Several old and new observations suggest the existence in Crohn's disease of a phagocytic disorder of macrophages related to impaired bactericidal activity of host cells or to the presence of invasive bacteria that have developed strategies to counteract macrophage killing. It was recently reported that disordered macrophage cytokine secretion underlies impaired acute inflammation and bacterial clearance in Crohn's disease. Secretion of proinflammatory cytokines by CD macrophages was impaired in response to E. coli or specific Toll-like receptor agonists. In addition, major advances in the etiology of Crohn's disease came from the existence of polymorphism in NOD2 and autophagy-related susceptibility genes (ATG16L1 and IRGM) in patients and from the identification of the presence of adhere...
In this paper, we present a very important primitive called Information Checking Protocol (ICP) which plays an important role in constructing statistical Verifiable Secret Sharing (VSS) and Weak Secret Sharing (WSS) protocols. Informally, ICP is a tool for authenticating messages in the presence of computationally unbounded corrupted parties. Here we extend the basic bare-bone definition of ICP, introduced by Rabin et al. and then present an ICP that attains the best communication complexity and round complexity among all the existing ICPs in the literature. We also show that our ICP satisfies several interesting properties such as linearity property which is an important requirement in many applications of ICP. Though not presented in this paper, we can design communication and round efficient statistical (i.e involves negligible error probability in computation) VSS and Multiparty Computation (MPC) protocol using our new ICP.
BackgroundTacrolimus (FK-506) is an immunosuppressant that binds to a specific immunophilin, resulting in the suppression of the cellular immune response during transplant rejection....Full Text Available
Mechanisms, AGARD Conference Proceedings No. 131, 1974, Paper No. 11. ... Olsen, W. and Karchmer, A., Lip Noise Generated by Flow Separation From Nozzle ...
The effects of modification with Ti and Nb, heat treatment and solute segregation on void suppression in 316 stainless steel were studied using HVEM in the temperature range of 623-873 K after solution treatment at 1323-1473 K. Post-irradiation compositional analysis was performed by an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. In Ti-modified stainless steel, void swelling peaks appeared at 723 K and 823 K. On the other hand, when the stainless steels modified by both Ti and Nb were irradiated, the void swelling was effectively suppressed, particularly the growth rate of a void was remarkedly retarded. This void suppression effect was easily recognized with increasing Nb concentration. Compositions such as Mo, Cr, Ti and Ni changed during irradiation and Ni, Si and Ti enriched around voids, whereas Cr and Mo depleted. (orig.).
Fusarium wilt is now a major disease of carnation crops worldwide. Methyl bromide, which is used to remedy it, is environmentally unsafe. An alternative approach integrated into biological control is to grow crops in suppressive media. Suppressiveness of seven plant growth media to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi was evaluated in bioassays with carnation (Dianthus cariophyllus) cv. Medea. These media were: (1) grape marc compost, (2) cork compost, (3) olive oil husk + cotton gin trash composted and mixed with rice husk, (4) spent mushroom compost mixed with peat, (5) coir fibre, (6) light peat and (7) vermiculite. In order to look for carnation Fusarium wilt suppressiveness indicators, growth medium pH and ?-glucosidase activity were evaluated. Furthermore, F. oxysporum populations were ...
Fuel treatments are being implemented on public and private lands across the western United States. Although scientists and managers have an understanding ... ...
Hormone levels were examined in the venous blood in 54 men suffering from stage 2 alcoholism and in 30 normal subjects, using a radioimmunochemical assay. The alcoholics were found to have a statistically significant increase in prolactin and a decrease in testosterone. A definite ratio in the secretion of these hormones differing from that in the control group was elucidated. This ratio (prolactin-testosterone index) is proposed as a diagnostic test of alcoholism. PMID:6441404
We present a scheme for three-party simultaneous quantum secure direct communication by using EPR pairs. In the scheme, three legitimate parties can simultaneously exchange their secret messages. It is also proved to be secure against the intercept-and-resend attack, the disturbance attack and the entangled-and-measure attack.
A 7-kb genomic segment containing the coding sequence for the Drosophila melanogaster Formosa variant of salivary gland secretion protein 3 (sgs3) has been inserted into the snw y, bw, st strain of...Full Text Available
Recently, Wang et al. proposed a three-party simultaneous quantum secure direct communication (3P-SQSDC) scheme with EPR pairs, which enables three involved parties to exchange their secret messages simultaneously by using an EPR pair. This work proposed an enhancement on Wang et al.'s scheme. With the enhancement, the communications in the improved 3P-SQSDC can be paralleled and thus improves the protocol efficiency.
An enterotoxin D (SED)-producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus was used to infect one mammary gland of each of 17 lactating dairy cows. All glands became infected and shed bacteria...Full Text Available
Transforming growth factor (TGF)-βs are secreted in large latent complexes consisting of TGF-β, its N-terminal latency-associated peptide (LAP) propeptide, and latent TGF-β...Full Text Available
The rates of synthesis of a class of both secreted and intracellular degradative enzymes in Bacillus subtilis are controlled by a signal transduction pathway defined by at least four regulatory genes:...Full Text Available
Joanna Geary joined a Birmingham University team of scientists working on the project in Geneva. Simond Hadley took the pictures. "The most exciting thing of all" says professor Peter Watkins with a smile, "is we have absolutely no idea what will happen until we switch it on."
The Hanford Site in eastern Washington state currently is engaged in the largest waste cleanup in world history. In order to make informed decisions about remediation options, the public throughout the Pacific Northwest and the nation needs to understand the wastes that are present, their sources of generation, their composition, and their behavior in the environment. The fact that Hanford operations` were conducted in secret for over four decades presents a unique public information challenge to those who currently are responsible for communicating with the public.
Plant roots release about 5% to 20% of all photosynthetically-fixed carbon, and as a result create a carbon-rich environment for numerous rhizosphere organisms, including plant pathogens and symbiotic...Full Text Available
The goal of this study was to identify and characterize the hypothesized apical cation/H+ exchanger responsible for K+ and/or Na+secretion in...Full Text Available
In monocytes, sulfatide, a lipid from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, blocked priming for enhanced release of superoxide (O2-) by the macrophage activating factors lipopolysaccharide, gamma interferon,...Full Text Available
The discovery of a specific high-affinity growth hormone (GH) binding protein (GH-BP) in plasma adds complexity to the dynamics of GH secretion and clearance. Intuitive predictions are that such a protein...Full Text Available
HCV-Ag-specific TH17 cells secrete IL17, a cytokine involved in autoimmune diseases and regulated by IL10 and TGF-b. 5–12% of patients with chronic HCV infection have hypothyroidism. We evaluated...Full Text Available
Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9), an oocyte-secreted member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily, progesterone receptor, cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox2; Ptgs2), and the EP2 prostaglandin...Full Text Available
We report the first experimental generation and characterization of a six-photon Dicke state and demonstrate its remarkable versatility by projecting out four- and five-photon Dicke states, in addition to four-photon GHZ- and W-states. These multipartite states are studied by developing experimentally favorable characterization tools. Furthermore, we show that Dicke states have interesting applications in multiparty quantum networking protocols such as open-destination teleportation, telecloning and quantum secret sharing.
Toxin-secreting “killer” yeasts were initially identified >40 years ago in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains infected with a double-stranded RNA “killer”...Full Text Available
Neutrophils from people with poorly controlled diabetes present a primed phenotype and secrete excessive superoxide. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2)-derived arachidonic acid (AA)...Full Text Available
Gonadotropin–releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons are the central regulators of reproduction. GABAergic transmission plays a critical role in pubertal activation of pulsatile GnRH secretion....Full Text Available
Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1 is a key transcription factor for the regulation of lipogenic enzyme genes in the liver. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) selectively suppress hepatic...Full Text Available
Using data collected with the BESII detector at $e^{+}e^{-}$ storage ring Beijing Electron Positron Collider, the measurements of relative branching fractions for seven Cabibbo suppressed hadronic weak decays $D^0 \\to K^- K^+$, $\\pi^+ \\pi^-$, $K^- K^+ \\pi^+ \\pi^-$ and $\\pi^+ \\pi^+ \\pi^- \\pi^-$, $D^+ \\to \\bar{K^0} K^+$, $K^- K^+ \\pi^+$ and $\\pi^- \\pi^+ \\pi^+$ are presented.
Short synthetic single-stranded oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ssODNs) can be used to introduce subtle modifications into the genome of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). We have previously shown that effective application of ssODN-mediated gene targeting in ESC requires (transient) suppression of DNA mismatch repair (MMR). However, whereas transient down-regulation of the mismatch recognition protein MSH2 allowed substitution of 3 or 4 nucleotides, 1 or 2 nucleotide substitutions were still suppressed. We now demonstrate that single- or dinucleotide substitution can effectively be achieved by transient down-regulation of the downstream MMR protein MLH1. By exploiting highly specific real-time PCR, we demonstrate the feasibility of substituting a single basepair in a non-selectable gene. Howev...
A novel method of simultaneous realization of optical carrier-suppression and single-sideband modulation using fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter is presented. In order to enhance transmission performance of radio over fiber links, we use a fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter to filter out one sideband as well as suppress the optical carrier power. The results demonstrate 20.5dB and 14.2dB improvement in the signal noise ratios when 18GHz and 10GHz microwave signals carrying 5Mbit/s quadrature-phase-shift-keyed (QPSK) format data is transmitted over 35 km single mode fiber, respectively.
Serum growth hormone (GH) was suppressed in female rats bearing mammary tumors induced by 7, 12, dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) or N-nitrosomethylurea(NMU). Serum GH was suppressed due to treatment with a human GH analog produced by the plerocercoid stage of the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides. Rats treated with plerocercoid growth factor (PGF) via plerocercoid infection had accelerated growth rates despite marked reductions in GH levels. Approximately two-thirds of the mammary tumors induced by either DMBA or NMU regressed during three weeks of exposure to PGF while most of the control tumors continued to grow. The data support an important regulatory role for GH in growth of mammary tumors in rats. PMID:3019224
In this paper a novel method is presented, based on the use of plasma processing, to suppress the transient enhanced diffusion of boron implanted in silicon. We found for silicon samples processed with plasma and subsequently boron implanted that the anomalous diffusion of the dopant atoms at the beginning of the annealing process is almost completely suppressed. This phenomenon is interpreted in terms of capture of the ion beam generated interstitials by the dislocations induced by the plasma processing. At room temperature the dislocations are observed to grow in size after the boron implant, attesting their efficiency as trapping centres for interstitials. Moreover, varying the plasma process conditions we can establish a general relation between the presence of the trapping centres induced by the plasma processing and the suppression of the transient diffusion.
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is associated with chronic non-progressive pneumonia of sheep and goats. As with many other mycoplasmas involved in animal diseases, protective immune responses have not been achieved with vaccines, even though antibody responses can be obtained. This study focuses on characterizing the interaction of M. ovipneumoniae with ovine PBMC using carboxy-fluorescein-succinimidyl-ester (CFSE) loading and flow cytometry to measure lymphoid cell division. M. ovipneumoniae induced a strong in vitro polyclonal suppression of CD4^+, CD8^+, and B blood lymphocyte subsets. The suppressive activity could be destroyed by heating to 60^oC, and partially impaired by formalin and binary ethyleneimine treatment that abolished its viability. The activity resided on the surface-exposed m...
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 balance. Enzymes, including phosphohydrolases, ...
Proteomic changes in proteins secreted by human hepatocellular carcinomas (HepG2) cells exposed to butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) were evaluated. HepG2 cells were treated with three different concentrations of BBP (0, 10, or 25 ?M) for 24 or 48 h. Following incubation, the cells were subjected to proteomic analysis using two different pI ranges (4-7 and 6-9) and large-size two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Results showed resolution of a total of 2776 protein spots. Of these, 29, including 19 upregulated and 10 downregulated proteins, were identified by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Among these, the identities of cystatin C, Rho guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor, gelsolin, DEK protein, Raf kinase inhibitory protein, triose phosphate ...
To establish secure (point-to-point and/or broadcast) communication channels among the nodes of a wireless sensor network is a fundamental task. To this end, a plethora of (socalled) key pre-distribution schemes have been proposed in the past. All these schemes, however, rely on shared secret(s), which are assumed to be somehow pre-loaded onto the sensor nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel method for secure initialization of sensor nodes based on a visual out-of-band channel. Using the proposed method, the administrator of a sensor network can distribute keys onto the sensor nodes, necessary to bootstrap key pre-distribution. Our secure initialization method requires only a little extra cost, is efficient and scalable with respect to the number of sensor nodes. Moreover, based on a usability study that we conducted, the method turns out to be quite user-friendly and easy to use by naive human users.
The aim of this work was to study acute alterations of the enterohepatic recirculation (EHR) of bile acids 3 days after an 8-Gy radiation exposure in vivo in the rat by a washout technique. Using this technique in association with HPLC analysis, the EHR of the major individual bile acids was determined in control and irradiated animals. Ex vivo ileal taurocholate absorption was also studied in Ussing chambers. Major hepatic enzyme activities involved in bile acid synthesis were also measured. Measurements of bile acid intestinal content and intestinal absorption efficiency calculation from washout showed reduced intestinal absorption with significant differences from one bile acid to another: absorption of taurocholate and tauromuricholate was decreased, whereas absorption of the more hydrophobic taurochenodeoxycholate was increased, suggesting that intestinal passive diffusion was enhanced, whereas ileal active transport might be reduced. Basal hepatic secretion ...
Methods: Systemic irradiation of neuroaxis is an essential part in the management of medulloblastoma, stPNET and intracranial germ cell tumors. The introduction of quality assurance programs in radiooncology assures a precise radiotherapy of target volumes and is a prerequisite to improve survival. Results: Hyperfractionated radiotherapy has the potential of increasing dose to tumor more safely without increasing the risk for late adverse effects. Pilot studies revealed excellent tumor control in medulloblastoma with acceptable acute toxicity and a long-term survival of up to 96%. In medulloblastoma stereotactic radiation techniques reveal an acceptable toxicity and promising results in tumor control in recurrent disease or as primary treatment. They are now part of future treatment protocols in case of persisting residual tumor. Radiotherapy alone in pure germinoma is continuously yielding high cure rates. In secreting germ cell tumors cisplatin containing ...
The substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) represents an endogenous seizure suppressing system, which may be targeted to develop treatments for generalized or multifocal epilepsies. This review summarizes...Full Text Available
AbstractThe tick-borne protozoan parasite Theileria annulata causes a debilitating disease of cattle called Tropical Theileriosis. The parasite predominantly invades...Full Text Available
p53 plays a critical role in tumor suppression. As a transcription factor, in response to stress signals, p53 regulates its target genes and initiates stress responses, including cell cycle arrest,...Full Text Available
Behavioral detection of a low-frequency (40 Hz) vibratory dipole at source distances of 1.5–24 cm was measured by classically conditioned respiratory suppression in goldfish (Carassius...Full Text Available
BackgroundAzithromycin (AZM) is a macrolide antibiotic that displays an excellent safety profile even in children and pregnant women and has been shown to have anti-malarial activity...Full Text Available
During the symbiotic interaction between Medicago truncatula and the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices, an endogenous increase in jasmonic acid...Full Text Available
IgA from normal human serum, a myeloma IgA and human colostral IgA were found to inhibit the IgG-dependent phagocytosis of Candida albicans (CA) blastospores by polymorphonuclear leucocytes...Full Text Available
A method is reported which permits selective suppression of absorption of radioactive strontium from ingested food material, permitting the calcium to be available to the body. Studies were carried...Full Text Available
It has become increasing clear that alterations in cellular metabolism have a key role in the generation and maintenance of cancer. Some of the metabolic changes can be attributed to the activation...Full Text Available
That regulatory T cells (Tregs) have a crucial role in controlling allergic diseases such as asthma is now undisputed. The cytokines most commonly implicated in Treg-mediated suppression of...Full Text Available
The Neurofibromatosis-2 (NF2) tumor suppressor merlin negatively regulates cell proliferation in numerous cell types. We have previously shown that the NF2...Full Text Available
BackgroundGlucocorticoids down-regulate cytokine synthesis and suppress inflammatory responses. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist RU486 may exacerbate the inflammatory...Full Text Available
Scatter correction is crucial to the quality of reconstructed images in x-ray cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Most of existing scatter correction methods assume smooth scatter distributions. The...Full Text Available
Multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout visual cortex, providing a neural correlate...Full Text Available
Decitabine, an epigenetic modifier that reactivates genes otherwise suppressed by DNA promoter methylation, is effective for some, but not all cancer patients, especially those with solid tumors. It...Full Text Available
Suppressed IL-12 production and maladaptive immune activation, both of which are ameliorated by successful highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), are thought to play important roles in the immunopathogenesis...Full Text Available
Cellular hypertrophy is regulated by coordinated pro- and antigrowth machineries. Foxo transcription factors initiate an atrophy-related gene program to counter hypertrophic growth. This study was designed...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe mammalian FoxO transcription factors function to regulate diverse physiological processes. Emerging evidence that both BDNF and lithium suppress FoxO...Full Text Available
To study the expression of Fc receptors in human alveolar macrophages (AM), the cells were collected from 12 healthy controls and 22 patients with sarcoidosis and the activity involved in binding to...Full Text Available
Fault current limiters (FCLs) are devices for to suppress current in electric power system. The FCL is extensively expected to suppress fault current, particularly required for trunk power systems heavily connected high-voltage transmission lines, such as 500 kV class power system. For this reason, FCLs based on various principles of operation have been developed. Most of the FCLs under development which employ superconductors are based on the quenching phenomenon peculiar to the superconducting state, that is, making use of a rapid transition to normal conducting state, an electrical resistance appears, and this resistance is used to suppress fault currents. However, this elevation of resistance, although increasing the fault current suppression effect, also tend to raise the overvoltage occurring FCL, the ascertainment of the overvoltage is important as regards the protection of the FCL as well as ...
Mutational inactivation of the RB1 tumor suppressor gene initiates retinoblastoma and other human cancers. RB1 protein (pRb) restrains cell proliferation by binding...Full Text Available
BWRs are so designed that the exhaust steam from main steam safety relief valves is led to pressure suppression pools, and the steam is condensed in pool water, but at this time, dynamic load seems to arise in the pool water. In Tokai No. 2 Power Station, a Mark-2 containment vessel was adopted to improve the reliability as much as possible and to obtain the design with margin. In this report, the result of actual machine test in Tokai No. 2 Power Station and the method of reducing the load are described. When a relief valve works, the discharge of water in exhaust pipes into a suppression pool, the exhaust of air in exhaust pipes and repeated expansion and contraction of bubbles in pool water, and the exhaust of steam and condensation occur. As for the construction of the suppression pool in Tokai No. 2 Power Station, cross-shaped quencher and the structure with jet deflector were installed. The test plan and the test ...
Sustained nigrostriatal dopamine depletion increases the serine/threonine phosphorylation of multiple striatal proteins that play a role in corticostriatal synaptic plasticity, including Thr286...Full Text Available
RC-12 [1,2-dimethoxy-4-(bis-diethylaminoethyl)-amino-5-bromobenzene] was evaluated for prophylactic, radical curative, and suppressive activities against infections with Plasmodium cynomolgi and subacute...Full Text Available
Among the several rotenoids, amorphigenin is isolated from the leaves of Amopha Fruticosa and it is known that has anti-proliferative effects and anti-cnacer effects in many cell types....Full Text Available
The “cloverleaf” base-pairing pattern was established as the structural paradigm of active tRNA species some 30 years ago. Nevertheless, this pattern does not accommodate the folding...Full Text Available
The aggregation substance (AS) of Enterococcus faecalis, encoded on sex pheromone plasmids, is a surface-bound glycoprotein that mediates aggregation between bacteria thereby facilitating...Full Text Available
Low concentrations of sugars altered the sensitivity of seed germination to inhibition by exogenous abscisic acid (ABA). Germination of wild-type and ABA-insensitive (abi) Arabidopsis...Full Text Available
Fuel treatments are being widely implemented on public and private lands across the western U.S. While scientists and managers have an understanding of how ... ...
A cDNA encoding a cytochrome P450 enzyme was isolated from a cDNA library of the corpora allata (CA) from reproductively active Diploptera punctata cockroaches. This P450 from the endocrine...Full Text Available
Picocyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus are important contributors to marine primary production and are ubiquitous in the world's oceans. This genus is genetically diverse, and...Full Text Available
We have studied the impact of overexpression of an intracellular signaling protein, integrin-linked kinase (ILK), on the survival and function of encapsulated islet tissue used for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The dimensions of the encapsulated tissue can impact the stresses placed on the tissue and ILK overexpression shows the ability to extend function of dissociated cells as well as intact islets. These results suggest that lost cell-extracellular matrix interactions in cell encapsulation systems can lead to decreased insulin secretion and ILK signaling is a target to overcome this phenomenon. (communication)
The parathyroid endocrine glands, usually four in number and about the size of a split pea, lie on either side of the posterior aspect of the thyroid gland. Occasionally one or more of these structures are found in an aberrant position in the neck or even in the superior mediastinum. The parathyroid secretion, parathormone, regulates the level of serum calcium within sharply defined limits. Lack of parathormone, with lowering of the serum calcium, results in hyper-irritability of skeletal muscle, the clinical condition known as tetany. This is encountered following inadvertent removal or bruising of the parathyroid glands at thyroidectomy. PMID:21488463
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.
A central feature of the endocrine pathophysiology of septic shock is thought to be the existence of adrenal dysfunction. Based on changes in glucocorticoid secretion and responsiveness, protein binding, and activity. These changes have been described by the terms "Relative Adrenal Insufficiency" (RAI), or "Critical Illness Related Corticosteroid Insufficiency" (CIRCI), and form part of the rationale for trials of glucocorticoid treatment in septic shock. Diagnostic criteria for these conditions have been based on plasma cortisol profiles and have proven notoriously difficult to establish. The uncertainty in this area arises from the inability of current tests to clearly identify who is truly glucocorticoid "deficient" at a cellular level, and hence who requires supplemental glucocorticoid...
Continuum events represent an eminent source of background in any e+e- experiment. As these have a higher branching ratio than BB-bar events (at BaBar this ratio is estimated to about 3.5) or ?+?- events, efficient continuum background suppression is essential in many analyses. Using Artificial Neural Networks and the Nearest Neighbor Method we developed several selectors which, based only on the global event shape variables, efficiently tag BB-bar events and ?+?- events against the continuum background. These selectors could then be combined with the channel specific information in various types of analyses. The study was done using a parametric Monte Carlo.
Anthraquinones are widely present in plant kingdom, and clinically used as laxatives. Environmental contaminants, dioxins, develop various adverse effects through transformation of a cytosolic aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). We investigated the effects of 18 anthraquinones and 7 of their structurally related compounds on transformation of the AhR estimated by its DNA-binding activity in the cell-free system. 1,4-Dihydroxyanthraquinone (quinizarin), 1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone (anthrarufin), 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone (danthron), and 5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (juglone) strongly suppressed DNA-binding activity of the AhR induced by 0.1 nM 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), with their IC(50) values around 1 muM. On the other hand, anthraquinone, 2,6-dihydroxyanthraquinone (anthraflavic acid), and 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthalendione (lawsone) showed moderate effects. Quantitative structure-activity relationships analysis demonstrated that hydroxyl groups at C1 or ...
Somatogenic hormones play an important role in regulation of receptors for prolactin (PRL) and estrogen. Plerocercoids of the tapeworm, S. mansonoides produce a factor which mimics some, but not all of the actions reported for GH. Intact female rats were subjected to a constant infusion of plerocercoid growth factor (PGF) via a subcutaneous infection for two weeks to determine if PGF influences receptors for PRL, GH or estradiol. The rate of weight gain in the PGF-treated rats was accelerated in spite of a marked reduction in serum GH. Partially-purified PGF specifically displaced [125I]hGH from rat liver receptors but microsomes prepared from rats treated with PGF specifically bound significantly less [125I]hGH than microsomes from control rats. The reduction in [125I]hGH binding was not due to occupancy or to a change in affinity but to a suppression in receptor concentration. Scatchard analysis of [3H]estradiol binding in rat liver cytosols shows a 50% reduction ...
For the coal liquefaction, improvement of liquefaction conditions and increase of liquefied oil yield are expected by suppressing the recombination through rapid stabilization of pyrolytic radicals which are formed at the initial stage of liquefaction. Two-stage liquefaction combining prethermal treatment and liquefaction was performed under various conditions, to investigate the effects of reaction conditions on the yields and properties of products as well as to increase liquefied oil yield. Consequently, it was found that the catalyst contributes greatly to the hydrogen transfer to coal at the prethermal treatment. High yield of n-hexane soluble fraction with products having low condensation degree could be obtained by combining the prethermal treatment in the presence of hydrogen and catalyst with the concentration of slurry after the treatment. This was considered to be caused by the synergetic effect between the improvement of liquefaction by ...
Cell extracts of the thermophile Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum catalyzed the phosphorylation by (..gamma..-/sup 32/P)ATP of several endogenous proteins with M/sub r/s between 13,000 and 100,000. Serine and tyrosine were the main acceptors. Distinct substrate proteins were found in the soluble (e.g., proteins p66, p63, and p53 of M/sub r/s 66,000, 63,000, and 53,000, respectively) and particulate (p76 and p30) fractions, both of which contained protein kinase and phosphatase activity. The soluble fraction suppressed the phosphorylation of particulate proteins and contained a protein kinase inhibitor. Phosphorylation of p53 was promoted by 10..mu..M fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and suppressed by hexose monophosphates, whereas p30 and p13 were suppressed by 5 ..mu..M brain (but not spinach) calmodulin. Polyamines, including the odd polyamines characteristic of thermophiles, modulated the labeling ...
Morusin is a pure compound isolated from root bark of Morusaustralis (Moraceae). In this study, we demonstrated that morusin significantly inhibited the growth and clonogenicity of human colorectal cancer HT-29 cells. Apoptosis induced by morusin was characterized by accumulation of cells at the sub-G_1 phase, fragmentation of DNA, and condensation of chromatin. Morusin also inhibited the phosphorylation of IKK-#alpha#, IKK-#beta# and I#kappa#B-#alpha#, increased expression of I#kappa#B-#alpha#, and suppressed nuclear translocation of NF-#kappa#B and its DNA binding activity. Dephosphorylation of NF-#kappa#B upstream regulators PI3K, Akt and PDK1 was also displayed. In addition, activation of caspase-8, change of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO, and activation of caspase-9 and -3 were observed at the early time point. Downregulation in the expression of Ku70 and XIAP was exhibited afterward. Caspase-8 or wide-ranging ...
Recent work has indicated that the suppression of boron transient enhanced diffusion (TED) in carbon-rich Si is caused by nonequilibrium Si point defect concentrations, specifically the undersaturation of Si self-interstitials, that result from the coupled out-diffusion of carbon interstitials via the kick-out and Frank--Turnbull reactions. This study of boron TED reduction in Si{sub 1-x-y}Ge{sub x}C{sub y} during 750{sup o}C inert anneals has revealed that the use of an additional reaction that further reduces the Si self-interstitial concentration is necessary to describe accurately the time evolved diffusion behavior of boron. In this article, we present a comprehensive model which includes {l_brace}311{r_brace} defects, boron-interstitial clusters, a carbon kick-out reaction, a carbon Frank--Turnbull reaction, and a carbon interstitial-carbon substitutional (C{sub i}C{sub s}) pairing reaction that successfully simulates carbon suppression ...
Recent work has indicated that the suppression of boron transient enhanced diffusion (TED) in carbon-rich Si is caused by nonequilibrium Si point defect concentrations, specifically the undersaturation of Si self-interstitials, that result from the coupled out-diffusion of carbon interstitials via the kick-out and Frank--Turnbull reactions. This study of boron TED reduction in Si_1_-_x_-_yGe_xC_y during 750"oC inert anneals has revealed that the use of an additional reaction that further reduces the Si self-interstitial concentration is necessary to describe accurately the time evolved diffusion behavior of boron. In this article, we present a comprehensive model which includes #left brace#311#right brace# defects, boron-interstitial clusters, a carbon kick-out reaction, a carbon Frank--Turnbull reaction, and a carbon interstitial-carbon substitutional (C_iC_s) pairing reaction that successfully simulates carbon suppression of boron TED at ...
An analysis was made on corrosion suppression mechanism of glycoletherdiaminetetraacetic acid (GEDTA) film made from GEDTA on stainless steel, and its corrosion inhibition effect. Results of analysis using IR spectrum, IR-ATR spectrum, {sup 1} HNMR spectrum, and ESCA spectrum indicated the deposition of the GEDTA film is a chemical deposition. In polarization tests at pH = 5 and 7, both polarization curves shifted to the constant current density side, showing suppression effect in reactions at both pH. When the corrosion environment is made severer, such as to pH = 2 and 4, the corrosion suppression effect of GEDTA became more distinctive. A ferroxyl test identified very little difference between untreated and treated materials. In a chemical pitting test, because oxidant and corrosive anion coexist in the test solution, and GEDTA is stable against corrosive anion Cl {sup {minus}}, the film is unstable against the oxidant. ...
The inducible transcription factor NF-#kappa#B regulates divergent signaling pathways including inflammatory response and cancer development. Selective inhibitors for NF-#kappa#B signaling are potentially useful for treatment of inflammation and cancer. NF-#kappa#B is canonically activated by preferential disposal of its inhibitory protein; I#kappa#B, which suppresses the nuclear translocation of NF-#kappa#B. I#kappa#B#alpha# (a major member of I#kappa#B family proteins) is phosphorylated with an I#kappa#B kinase (IKK) and subsequently polyubiquitylated by SCF"#beta#"T"r"C"P"1 ubiquitin-ligase in the presence of E1 and E2 prior to proteasomal degradation. Here, we describe a novel inhibitor termed GS143, which suppressed I#kappa#B#alpha# ubiquitylation, but not I#kappa#B#alpha# phosphorylation, MDM2-directed p53 ubiquitylation, and proteasome activity in vitro. GS143 markedly suppressed the destruction of I#kappa#B#alpha# ...
Objective To compare matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 and MMP-9 levels in the vaginal secretions of pregnant women with or without asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV). Methods In this study, vaginal levels and molecular forms of MMP-8 and MMP-9 were studied in 36 pregnant women between 28 and 34 weeks of gestation with asymptomatic BV and 41 pregnant women, matched for gestational age, without BV. Results Vaginal MMP-8 concentrations were significantly higher (P = .023) in BV-positive women. There was no significant difference in MMP-9 levels between healthy pregnant controls and BV-positive pregnant women. The presence of MMP-8 was confirmed by a 38-kd band on Western blots. Conclusions Our findings show that BV is associated with increased levels of MMP-8 in vaginal fluid. Increased pr...
The group- V vacancy pair, the so-called E-center, has recently been demonstrated to have, both in Si and Ge, more complicated energy-level schemes in the energy gap than were previously assumed. The E-center in silicon has, in addition to its well-established single-acceptor level in the upper half of the band gap, also a donor level in the lower half of the band gap; this donor level has lain hidden for more than 40 years. The E-center in Ge has an even more complicated level scheme as it induces, in addition to two levels analogous to those found in Si, also a double-acceptor level in the upper half of the band gap. Thus the E-center in Si can exist in three charge states and the E-center in Ge in four.
This paper describes a study of a security method of protecting inside network computers against outside miscreants and unwelcome visitors and a control method when these computers are connected with the Internet. In the present Internet, a method to encipher all data cannot be used, so that it is necessary to utilize PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) capable of the encipherment and conversion of secret information. For preventing miscreant access by eavesdropping password, one-time password is effective. The most cost-effective method is a firewall system. This system lies between the outside and inside network. By limiting computers that directly communicate with the Internet, control is centralized and inside network Security is protected. If the security of firewall systems is strictly controlled under correct setting, security within the network can be secured even in open networks such as the Internet. 35 refs., 3 figs.
We propose a quantum secure direct communication scheme based on non-orthogonal entangled pairs and local measurement. In this scheme, we use eight non-orthogonal entangled pairs to act as quantum channels. Due to the non-orthogonality of the quantum channels, the present protocol can availably prohibit from all kinds of valid eavesdropping and acquire a secure quantum channel. By local measurement, the sender acquires a secret random sequence. The process of encoding on the random sequence is identical to the one in one-time-pad. So the present protocol is secure. Even for a highly lossy channel, our scheme is also valid. The scheme is feasible with present-day techniques.
Recently, we cloned purpurin cDNA as an upregulated gene in the axotomized fish retina. The retina-specific protein was secreted from photoreceptors to ganglion cell layer during an early stage of optic nerve regeneration in zebrafish retina. The purpurin worked as a trigger molecule for axonal regrowth in adult injured fish retina. During zebrafish development, purpurin mRNA first appeared in ventral retina at 2 days post-fertilization (dpf) and spread out to the outer nuclear layer at 3 dpf. Here, we investigated the role of purpurin for zebrafish retinal development using morpholino gene knockdown technique. Injection of purpurin morpholino into the 1-2 cell stage of embryos significantly inhibited the transcriptional and translational expression of purpurin at 3 dpf. In the purpurin mo...
To determine whether PKH26 labeling affects the morphologies, phenotypes, proliferation, and secretion abilities of human umbilical mesenchymal stromal cells (HUMSCs) were investigated. Isolated HUMSCs were labeled with PKH26, and cell morphology was observed under microscope. Cell cycle, apoptotic cell death, expression of PKH26, and the proliferation rate were evaluated. Additionally, fluorescence intensity of PKH26 labeling at different passage times was quantified. There were no detectable differences in cell morphology, cell growth, and proliferation rate after PKH26 labeling. In addition, fluorescence intensity of PKH26 labeling was gradually reduced with increase of the passage times. The PKH26 labeling disappeared after passage six times. In summary, PKH26 labeling is a safe and ef...
The present study was aimed at investigating effects of nickel (NiCl2) on secretion of testosterone (T), cell viability, ultrastructure and apoptosis in mouse Leydig cells. Testosterone release was measured after 48h of culture with 15.67, 31.25, 62.5, 125, 250, 500 and 1000mmol/L NiCl2 or without NiCl2 using radioimmunoassay. Cell viability was assessed by a MTT (metabolic activity assay). Quantification of apoptotic cells was performed using TUNEL assay and the ultrastructural changes were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. The viability was decreased after addition of >=250mmol/L NiCl2. A concentration-dependent depression of T production was observed. The percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly increased only after addition of 125, 250 and 1000mmol/L NiCl2. After ...
Antibodies directed against markers on cancer cells are gaining in importance for the purpose of targeting diagnostic and therapeutic agents. In the past, this approach has had very limited success principally because the classical methods for producing antibodies from blood serum of animals immunized with cancer cells or extracts were unsatisfactory. The situation has changed dramatically since 1975 following the design of procedures for 'immortalizing' antibody-producing cells (lymphocytes) by fusing them with cultured myeloma cells to form hybridomas which continuously secrete antibodies. Since these hybridomas produce antibodies coded for by a single antibody-producing cell, the antibodies are called monoclonal. Building on these advances in biomedical research, it is now possible to reproducibly manufacture monoclonal antibodies on a scale suitable for use in cancer detection and therapy.
This paper reviews the molecular biology of the renin-angiotensin system. The renin gene structure is analyzed in detail, including an examination of the putative regulatory regions. The combined action of these regulatory sequences would result in the complex, tissue-specific expression and regulation observed in vivo. The expression of the tissue renin-angiotensin systems, which may have important physiological functions, is also described. In addition, the pathway of renin biosynthesis and secretion is reviewed. This includes speculation on the fate of circulating prorenin and the physiological role of multiple renin forms and secretory pathways. The molecular approaches described in this paper have greatly advanced our knowledge of the biology of the renin-angiotensin system. Future studies using these and other approaches should provide further insight into this complex system.
Objective: A growing body of data from genetic, immunological and clinical studies indicates an involvement of the immune system in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and suggests that the modulation of the cytokine system by antipsychotics may be one cause for the improvement of psychotic symptoms. However, the influence of the typical antipsychotics chlorpromazine and haloperidol, and the effect of typical and atypical antipsychotics on the TSST-1-stimulated blood cell secretion of cytokines, and specifically the interleukin (IL)-17 production have not been studied so far, although IL-17 is a leading pro-inflammatory cytokine. Method: We measured levels of IL-1@b, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17 and tumor necrosis factor-@a (TNF-@a) in stimulated blood of 10 healthy female subjects in a whole ...
In cluster-based routing protocol (CBRP), two-level hierarchical structure is successfully used to reduce over-flooding in wireless Ad Hoc networks. As it is vulnerable to a single point of failure, we propose a new adaptive distributed threshold scheme to replace the cluster head by a group of cluster heads within each cluster, called COUNCIL, and distribute the service of single cluster head to multiple cluster heads using (k,n) threshold secret sharing scheme. An Ad Hoc network formed by COUNCIL based clusters can work correctly when the number of compromised cluster heads is smaller than k. To implement this adaptive threshold scheme in wireless Ad Hoc Networks, membership of the clusters should be defined in an adaptive way. In this paper, we mainly discuss our algorithm for forming COUNCIL based clusters using the concept of dominating set from graph theory.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) remains to be the most effective long-term treatment for obesity and its associated comorbidities, but the specific mechanisms involved remain elusive. Because RYGB patients appear to no longer be preoccupied with thoughts about food and are satisfied with much smaller meals and calorically dilute foods, brain reward mechanisms could be involved. Just as obesity can produce maladaptive alterations in reward functions, reversal of obesity by RYGB could normalize these changes or even further reset the food reward system through changes in gut hormone secretion, aversive conditioning and/or secondary effects of weight loss. Future studies with longitudinal assessments of reward behaviors and their underlying neural circuits before and after surgery wil...
The distribution of /sup 35/S-sulfate and /sup 3/H-glucosamine in the angular region of the hamster was studied by light and electron microscopic autoradiography following intraperitoneal injection of these compounds to hamsters. Exposed silver grains of /sup 35/S-sulfate were concentrated in the trabecular meshwork, sclera, and cornea, and grains of /sup 3/H-glucosamine were localized in the trabecular region. The radioactivity of both isotopes was observed in the Golgi apparatuses of the endothelial cells of the angular aqueous plexus and the trabecular meshwork. The grains were noted over the entire cytoplasm, except for the nucleus, and then were incorporated into the amorphous substance and collagen fibers in the region adjacent to the angular aqueous sinus. These results suggest that endothelial cells in the angular region synthesize and secrete the sulfated glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronic acid.
Transgenic plants offer advantages for biomolecule production because plants can be grown on a large scale and the recombinant macromolecules can be easily harvested and extracted. We introduced an Aspergillus phytase gene into canola (Brassica napus) (line 9412 with low erucic acid and low glucosinolates) by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Phytase expression in transgenic plant was enhanced with a synthetic phytase gene according to the Brassica codon usage and an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention signal KDEL that confers an ER accumulation of the recombinant phytase. Secretion of the phytase to the extracellular fluid was also established by the use of the tobacco PR-S signal peptide. Phytase accumulation in mature seed accounted for 2.6% of the total soluble proteins. The enzy...
Glucose homeostasis requires the tight regulation of glucose utilization by liver, muscle and white or brown fat, and glucose production and release in the blood by liver. The major goal of maintaining glycemia at -5 mM is to ensure a sufficient flux of glucose to the brain, which depends mostly on this nutrient as a source of metabolic energy. This homeostatic process is controlled by hormones, mainly glucagon and insulin, and by autonomic nervous activities that control the metabolic state of liver, muscle and fat tissue but also the secretory activity of the endocrine pancreas. Activation or inhibition of the sympathetic or parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous systems are controlled by glucose-excited or glucose-inhibited neurons located at different anatomical sites, mainl...
Apelin is a peptide known as the ligand of the G-protein-coupled receptor APJ. Several active apelin forms exist such as apelin-36, apelin-17, apelin-13, and the pyroglutamated form of apelin-13. Apelin and APJ are expressed in the central nervous system, particularly in the hypothalamus and in many peripheral tissues. Apelin has been shown to be involved in the regulation of cardiovascular and fluid homeostasis, food intake, cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. In addition to be an ubiquitous peptide, apelin is also produced and secreted by adipocytes and thus considered as an adipokine. This has opened a new field of investigation establishing a link between apelin and metabolic disorders (obesity, type 2 diabetes, etc.) which is the focus of the present review. Several studies, but not...
In this paper an efficient quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) scheme with authentication is presented, which is based on quantum entanglement and polarized single photons. The present protocol uses Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pairs and polarized single photons in batches. A particle of the EPR pairs is retained in the sender's station, and the other is transmitted forth and back between the sender and the receiver, similar to the ``ping-pong'' QSDC protocol. According to the shared information beforehand, these two kinds of quantum states are mixed and then transmitted via a quantum channel. The EPR pairs are used to transmit secret messages and the polarized single photons used for authentication and eavesdropping check. Consequently, because of the dual contributions of the polarized single photons, no classical information is needed. The intrinsic efficiency and total efficiency are both 1 in this scheme as almost all of the instances are useful and ...
Mung bean seedlings inoculated with Enterobacter asburiae PSI3, a gluconic acid-producing rhizosphere isolate, enhanced plant growth in the presence of phytotoxic levels of Cd2+ in gnotobiotic pot experiments as compared to the uninoculated Cd-treated plants. Addition of organic acids to Cd-stressed seedlings promoted root elongation. Hematoxylin competition assays showed that organic acids could displace Cd2+ from the Cd2+: hematoxylin complex in the same order of effectiveness as was found for restoration of root net elongation viz. oxalate?>?malate?>?succinate while gluconate was effective at higher concentrations. Root associated Cd2+, assessed by hematoxylin staining of roots was found to be reduced when roots were treated with organic acid. Cd stress increased antioxidant enzymes suc...
This paper reports on a study to validate the Graphical Network Representation (GRPHREP) model which is being conducted on the Los Alamos National Laboratory Integrated Computer Network (ICN). The GRPHREP model is a software system application based on graph theory and object-oriented programming methodologies. It codified the Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5637.1, which is concerned with classified computer secret policy, restrictions, and requirements. The Los Alamos ICN is required to control access to and support large-scale scientific and administrative computing. Thus, large-scale scientific and administrative computing. Thus we felt that this large, complex, and dynamic network would provide a good test for the graphical and functional capabilities of the model. Furthermore, the ICN is composed of multiple partitions that reflect the sensitivity and classification of the computation (data) and designate the required clearance level for the user.
The effect of {ital in} {ital situ} photoexcitation during boron ion implantation on subsequent transient enhanced B diffusion in Si has been investigated. Photoexcitation using a mercury arc lamp was performed during B{sup +} implantation at 35 keV for a dose of 5{times}10{sup 14} cm{sup {minus}2} at 177 K. A reduction in the electrical activation dip, i.e., reverse annealing effect, in the temperature range 550--700 {degree}C was observed. Also, the transient enhanced diffusion of B, measured using SIMS following 800 {degree}C, 30 min annealing, was suppressed. Both effects demonstrate that the creation of self-interstitials during the implantation process is significantly reduced. {copyright} {ital 1995} {ital American} {ital Institute} {ital of} {ital Physics}.
The effect of in situ photoexcitation during boron ion implantation on subsequent transient enhanced B diffusion in Si has been investigated. Photoexcitation using a mercury arc lamp was performed during B"+ implantation at 35 keV for a dose of 5x10"1"4 cm"-"2 at 177 K. A reduction in the electrical activation dip, i.e., reverse annealing effect, in the temperature range 550--700 degree C was observed. Also, the transient enhanced diffusion of B, measured using SIMS following 800 degree C, 30 min annealing, was suppressed. Both effects demonstrate that the creation of self-interstitials during the implantation process is significantly reduced. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics.
The magnetic ordering temperature of some rare-earth-based heavy-fermion compounds is strongly pressure dependent and can be completely suppressed at a critical pressure, p{sub c}, making way for novel correlated electron states close to this quantum critical point. We have studied the clean heavy-fermion antiferromagnets CePd{sub 2}Si{sub 2} and CeIn{sub 3} in a series of resistivity measurements at high pressures up to 3.2 GPa and down to temperatures in the mK region. In both materials, superconductivity appears in a small window of a few tenths of a GPa on either side of p{sub c}. We present detailed measurements of the superconducting and magnetic temperature-pressure phase diagram, which indicate that superconductivity in these materials is enhanced, rather than suppressed, by the closeness to magnetic order. (author)
The magnetic ordering temperature of some rare-earth-based heavy-fermion compounds is strongly pressure dependent and can be completely suppressed at a critical pressure, p_c, making way for novel correlated electron states close to this quantum critical point. We have studied the clean heavy-fermion antiferromagnets CePd_2Si_2 and CeIn_3 in a series of resistivity measurements at high pressures up to 3.2 GPa and down to temperatures in the mK region. In both materials, superconductivity appears in a small window of a few tenths of a GPa on either side of p_c. We present detailed measurements of the superconducting and magnetic temperature-pressure phase diagram, which indicate that superconductivity in these materials is enhanced, rather than suppressed, by the closeness to magnetic order. (author)
The rationale for hybrid fusion-fission reactors is the production of fissile fuel for fission reactors. A new class of reactor, the fission-suppressed hybrid promises unusually good safety features as well as the ability to support 25 light-water reactors of the same nuclear power rating, or even more high-conversion-ratio reactors such as the heavy-water type. One 4000-MW nuclear hybrid can produce 7200 kg of /sup 233/U per year. To obtain good economics, injector efficiency times plasma gain (eta/sub i/Q) should be greater than 2, the wall load should be greater than 1 MW m/sup -2/, and the hybrid should cost less than 6 times the cost of a light-water reactor. Introduction rates for the fission-suppressed hybrid are unusually rapid.
Phospholipase D (PLD) has been recognized as a regulator of cell proliferation and tumorigenesis, but little is known about the molecules regulating PLD expression. Thus, the identification of small molecules inhibiting PLD expression would be an important advance in PLD-mediated physiology. Quercetin, a ubiquitous bioactive flavonoid, is known to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells. In the present study, we examined the effect of quercetin on the expression of PLD in U87 glioma cells. Quercetin significantly suppressed the expression of PLD1 at the transcriptional level. Moreover, quercetin abolished the protein expression of PLD1 in a time and dose-dependent manner, as well as inhibited PLD activity. Quercetin suppressed NFkB-induced PLD1 expression vi...
The dynamical decoupling (DD) aims at suppressing the decoherence by means of coherent control pulses. Even if devices exist where instantaneous pulses are an adequate approximation, experimentally a finite duration #tau#_p and a bounded amplitude are inevitable. They are the cause of additional errors which can be corrected by designing the pulse shape appropriately. The new pulse has the overall effect of an ideal, instantaneous pulse with the advantage of decoupling the spin (or qubit) from the bath up to the order O(#tau#_p"3). The limitation of the no-go theorem for #pi# pulses is avoided. Hence, the Uhrig sequence (UDD), originally thought for ideal #pi# pulses, works also for bounded control Hamiltonians. Numerical simulations show that concatenated sequences of real pulses are effective against general decoherence.
Object: To suppress a quantity of impurities in a coolant fed into a reactor vessel. Structure: The concentration of oxygen in a coolant flowing from a condensation desalting instrument into a feed and condensation piping is measured by an oxygen-concentration detector to feed its signal to an adjusting instrument. A degree of opening of an oxygen flow control valve to maintain the concentration of oxygen in the cooling water flowing within the pipe in the range from about 10 to about 200 ppb. Also, the concentration of oxygen in the cooling water fed to the desalting instrument is maintained at a level less than 2 ppb. Thereby, the total amount of iron flown into the vessel can be suppressed to a fine amount such as less than about 1 ppb. (Kawakami, Y.).
This paper proposes two interference mitigation strategies that adjust the maximum transmit power of femtocell users to suppress the cross-tier interference at a macrocell base station (BS). The open-loop and the closed-loop control suppress the cross-tier interference less than a fixed threshold and an adaptive threshold based on the noise and interference (NI) level at the macrocell BS, respectively. Simulation results show that both schemes effectively compensate the uplink throughput degradation of the macrocell BS due to the cross-tier interference and that the closed-loop control provides better femtocell throughput than the open-loop control at a minimal cost of macrocell throughput.
The present invention concerns a high thermal load heat receiving plate such as a divertor plate of a thermonuclear device. The high thermal load heat receiving plate of the present invention has a cooling performance capable of suppressing the temperature of an armour tile to less than a threshold value of the material against high thermal loads applied from plasmas. Spiral polygonal pipes are inserted in cooling pipes at a portion receiving high thermal loads in the high temperature load heat receiving plate of the present invention. Both ends of the polygonal pipes are sealed by lids. An area of the flow channel in the cooling pipes is thus reduced. Heat conductivity on the cooling surface of the cooling pipes is increased in the high thermal load heat receiving plate having such a structure. Accordingly, temperature elevation of the armour tile can be suppressed. (I.S.).
Measurements of branching fractions and CP-asymmetries of B^{-} \\rightarrow D^{0}K^{-} modes allow a theoretically-clean extraction of the CKM angle \\gamma. The method proposed by Atwood, Dunietz and Soni (ADS) makes use of a decay chain where color and Cabibbo suppression interfere, which produces large CP-violating asymmetries. The CDF experiment reports the first measurement at a hadron collider of branching fractions and CP-asymmetries of suppressed B^{-} \\rightarrow D^{0}h^{-} signals, where h is \\pi or K. Using 5.0 fb^{-1} of data we found a combined significance exceeding 5\\sigma and we determined the ADS parameters with accuracy comparable with B-factories.
Purpose: To obtain stabilized operation by preventing over heat in emergency cooling pumps upon accidents of flow regulators. Constitution: A pressure suppression chamber pool and a pressure vessel are communicated to each other with a pipeway and the water in the suppression pool is charged by a charging pump to the pipeway. The pipeway is interposed with an emergency cooling pump so as to feed water in the pipeway to the pressure vessel and a water source and the emergency cooling pumps are connected by way of a closed pipeway. Further, the closed pipeway and the pipeway interposed with the charging pump are communicated to each other by way of a connecting pipeway, to which are interposed an instrument for detecting the increase in the temperature of the emergency cooling pumps due to abnormality in the closed pipe (such as troubles in flow regulators) and outputting control signals and an electrically actuated valve controlled by a control ...
In order to suppress resonance vibrations of a rotor-shaft of rotating machinery, a rotor-shaft system elastically supported by ball bearings which are installed in electromagnetic actuators are proposed and the design method of some compensatory circuits in the controller to control the electromagnetic actuators in the system are explained. These actuators are controlled by the analog PID (proportional, integral, and derivative) controller. The compensation for nonlinearity of electromagnetic force, the negative stiffness of electromagnet, and the time lag of the coil current are discussed and the effective control circuits are proposed. The rotor-shaft system is replaced by the equivalent two-degree-of-freedom system and both impulse and frequency responses are numerically simulated for several parameters of PD-controller gain. By applying the principle of dynamic absorbers, optimum parameters are calculated. The gains of the control circuit are adjusted to give ...
The activity of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) in the liver of mice subjected simultaneously to ionizing radiation and to local inflammatory process showed in the first 24 hours of the experiment statistically significant changes resulting from summation of the harmful effects of both factors. In the second 24-hour period an evident tendency was observed for return of a normal circadian rhythm of the enzyme. This points to presence of an endogenous mechanism of suppression of the manifestations of significant desynchronization of the circadian rhythm. The paper contains also a trial of mathematical analysis of changes in TAT activity in the circadian rhythm, a description and analysis or the suppression process, qualitative and quantitative determination of the phenomenon of cumulation of the effects of powerful stress factors acting on the animal organism. The obtained results were compared with the results of investigations of TAT activity ...
Based on recent work on simplicial diffeomorphisms in colored group field theories, we develop a representation of the colored Boulatov model, in which the GFT fields depend on variables associated to vertices of the associated simplicial complex, as opposed to edges. On top of simplifying the action of diffeomorphisms, the main advantage of this representation is that the GFT Feynman graphs have a different stranded structure, which allows a direct identification of subgraphs associated to bubbles, and their evaluation is simplified drastically. As a first important application of this formulation, we derive new scaling bounds for the regularized amplitudes, organized in terms of the genera of the bubbles, and show how the pseudo-manifolds configurations appearing in the perturbative expansion are suppressed as compared to manifolds. Moreover, these bounds are proved to be optimal.
SIMS measurements revealed that high energy boron-implantation causes transient enhanced diffusion (TED) of a shallow dopant profile due to Si interstitials even for a relatively low dose of {approximately}2E13cm{sup {minus}2}. By systematic analysis, it is found that this anomalous diffusion is most significant in 700--800 C annealing, and it takes place in the initial stage (less than 30 sec for 800 C) of annealing. Moreover, this anomalous diffusion is more considerable than the enhanced diffusion during oxidation (OED) in practical device fabrication processes. It is found that rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 1,000--1,100 C is effective for suppressing the transient enhanced diffusion and realizing a shallow channel profile for deep sub-micron devices.
SIMS measurements revealed that high energy boron-implantation causes transient enhanced diffusion (TED) of a shallow dopant profile due to Si interstitials even for a relatively low dose of #approx#2E13cm"-"2. By systematic analysis, it is found that this anomalous diffusion is most significant in 700--800 C annealing, and it takes place in the initial stage (less than 30 sec for 800 C) of annealing. Moreover, this anomalous diffusion is more considerable than the enhanced diffusion during oxidation (OED) in practical device fabrication processes. It is found that rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 1,000--1,100 C is effective for suppressing the transient enhanced diffusion and realizing a shallow channel profile for deep sub-micron devices.
Antisense- or RNAi-mediated suppression of the biosynthesis of nutritionally inferior storage proteins is a promising strategy for improving the amino acid profile of seeds. However, the potential pleiotropic effects of this on interconnected pathways and the agronomic quality traits need to be addressed. In the current study, a transcriptomic analysis of an antisense C-hordein line of barley was performed, using a grain-specific cDNA array. The C-hordein antisense line is characterized by marked changes in storage protein and amino acid profiles, while the seed weight is within the normal range and no external morphological irregularities were observed. The results of the transcriptome analysis showed excellent correlation with data on changes in the relative proportions of storage protei...
A new technique was proposed in order to improve poor corrosion resistance in magnesium. That is, magnesium hydroxide film was formed on the surface of 3 N-Mg by artificial corrosion in 1% MgCl{sub 2} solution for 3.6 ks, which followed by oxidation at 673 K for 3.6 ks in air. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by salt immersion tests in 1% NaCl solution under in situ laser microscopic observations. Bubble evolution, which occurred immediately at the beginning of the immersion test in the case of non-treated specimen, was suppressed by the process. And also, formation of filiform corrosion was suppressed for about 3.6 ks, which occurred at 180 s in the non-treated specimen. (orig.)
The mechanism of action of Clostridium difficile enterotoxin A (CA), of Escherichia coli enterotoxin (STa) and of cholera toxin (CT), which are known to cause severe diarrhea, were studied in a preparation of ligated jejunal loops of anesthetized rats in vivo. The toxins were administered intraluminally. Pharmacological agents, which were tested for their potency to influence toxin-related effects, were administered subcutaneously. Net fluid transport was determined gravimetrically, prostaglandin (PG) E_2-output into the lumen, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) contents in the mucosa were measured by radioimmunoassay, serotonin-(5-HT)-output into the lumen was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The histopathological effects of CA and CT were examined by light- and scanning electron microscopy. All three toxins caused net fluid secretion (FS). 5-HT_2-(ketanserin) and 5-HT_3-receptor antagonists ...
Calcium-activated chloride channels (CaCCs) are widely expressed in mammalian tissues, including intestinal epithelia, where they facilitate fluid secretion. Potent, selective CaCC inhibitors have not been available. We established a high-throughput screen for identification of inhibitors of a human intestinal CaCC based on inhibition of ATP/carbachol-stimulated iodide influx in HT-29 cells after lentiviral infection with the yellow fluorescent halide-sensing protein YFP-H148Q/I152L. Screening of 50,000 diverse, drug-like compounds yielded six classes of putative CaCC inhibitors, two of which, 3-acyl-2-aminothiophenes and 5-aryl-2-aminothiazoles, inhibited by >95% iodide influx in HT-29 cells in response to multiple calcium-elevating agonists, including thapsigargin, without inhibition of calcium elevation, calcium-calmodulin kinase II activation, or cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channels. These compounds also inhibited ...
Although caloric restriction (CR) has been shown to increase lifespan in various animal models, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not yet been revealed. We developed an in vitro...Full Text Available
The activation of nuclear factor-kappa B1 (NFκB1) in cancer cells may confer resistance to ionizing radiation (IR). To enhance the therapeutic efficiency of IR in lung cancer, we screened for...Full Text Available
In the present study, the immunomodulatory effect of {beta}-endorphin ({beta}-E) and shorter pro-opiomelancortin (POMC) fragments was evaluated by assessing their influence on respiratory burst in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). The effect of the peptides on phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated production of reactive oxygen metabolites was measured in a lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) assay. Both POMC peptides with opiate-like activity and their non-opioid derivatives were tested. With the exception of {alpha}-E, PMA-stimulated respiratory burst was suppressed by all POMC fragments tested. A U-shaped dose-response relation was observed. Doses lower than 10{sup {minus}17}M and higher than 10{sup {minus}8}M were without effect. {beta}-E and dT{beta}E both suppressed PMA-induced oxidative burst in human PMN at physiological concentrations. {gamma}-E and dT{gamma}E proved to be less potent inhibitors, reaching maximal ...
The authors describe an effect of suppression of invasion of the guinea pig eye conjunctiva and the HEp-2 epithelial cells by virulent Sh. flexneri bacilli, with a simultaneous administration of the same dose of avirulent shigella mutants, genetically connected with them. The data of morphological study and experiments with 3H-glucose labeled shigellae carried out on the cell species model indicated that the bacterial competition for the specific sites for absorption on the epithelial cells underlay the observed phenomenon. PMID:331774
Elite suppressors or controllers (ES) are HIV-1 infected patients who maintain undetectable viral loads without treatment. While HLA-B*57-positive ES are usually infected with virus that is unmutated...Full Text Available
Three types of drift chambers are being constructed for the Fermilab D/O/ experiment. The construction and readout of these chambers stress good spatial resolution, good two hit separation, and dE/dx. A 106 MHz FADC system with hardware zero suppression is being constructed to readout this system. 8 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.
This book presents papers on internal combustion engines. Topics considered include the influence of partial suppression of heat rejection on performance and emissions, duothermic combustion, turbochargers made of sintered silicon nitrides, heat flux, low heat rejection engines, exhaust energy recovery, combustion chamber insulation, computerized simulation, heat transfer, friction, hoop stress effects, and bonding ceramics and metals.
RNA interference (RNAi) is an effective tool for studying gene function in oocytes, but no studies have targeted somatic cells of primary cultured cumulus cell-oocyte complexes (COCs). This...Full Text Available
Transverse form factors have been extracted for the low-lying neutron hole (particle) states of /sup 207/Pb from inelastic-electron-scattering data. A systematic, multipolarity-and momentum-transfer-independent quenching of approx.55% in the transverse amplitude is observed when compared with single particle predictions for both electric and magnetic transitions. The magnitude of the observed effect is not readily explained by our present theoretical understanding of this nucleus.
The transient enhanced diffusion in crystalline silicon implanted with dopants ad followed by high temperature annealing to activate the dopants is introduced. The physical mechanisms of transient enhanced dopant diffusion are then reviewed together with a short introduction to the proposed suppressing methods. Finally, the perspectives with using high energy heavy ions in this field are briefly discussed
At DORIS II/HASYLAB a vertical beam position control system is in regular operation. It controls the position and angle of a photon beam simultaneously, and can stabilize beam movements up to frequencies of 0.1 Hz. To suppress beam vibrations up to 50 Hz and above, a prototype beam stabilization system for these frequencies was built and tested successfully. The present beam oscillations at the HASYLAB beamlines are explained, the quality of the beam position control system and the results of the prototype test are presented.
Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) plays a crucial role in periodontal disease and is up-regulated by oral Gram-negative, pathogen-derived LPS. In this study, we reported that simvastatin, a 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl-CoA...Full Text Available
BackgroundHIV infection causes a qualitative and quantitative loss of CD4+ T cell immunity. The institution of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) restores CD4+ T...Full Text Available
Epidermal gamma delta T cells (γδ T) and Langerhans cells (LC) are immune cells altered by exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVB), a powerful stressor resulting in immune suppression....Full Text Available
The relativistic motion of an electron is numerically analyzed in a tokamak having macroscopic magnetic turbulence. Stochasticity induced by the relativistic motion overwhelms the phase averaging effect, which provides a tokamak with an effective loss mechanism for the avoidance/suppression of runaway electron generation at a major disruption. On the other hand, electrons in the KAM (Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser) region will be observed as a runaway snake. (author)
We discuss the use of active control to reduce mirror position fluctuations at the quantum level. We have shown in a recent experiment that it is possible to reduce the thermal noise of a mirror by measuring and controlling its motion with an optomechanical sensor based on a high-finesse optical cavity. This approach can be extended to lock the mirror motion at the quantum level, and to suppress the quantum effects of radiation pressure in interferometric measurements such as gravitational-wave detectors. The sensitivity improvement is furthermore independent of losses in the interferometer.
It is suggested that the large reduction of the superconducting transition temperature Tc due to defects observed experimentally in some A-15 compounds is caused by smearing of a high peak in the density of states at the Fermi level. The influence of defects on other physical properties (the magnetic susceptibility ?, the elastic modulus Cs, the structural transformation temperature Tm and the electrical resistivity ?) is also discussed from the same point of view. We expect the anomalous temperature dependence of ?, Cs and ? will be suppressed by defects.
We propose a scheme for the generation of the cluster states for many atoms in cavity QED. In our scheme, the atoms are sent through nonresonant cavity fields in the vacuum states. The cavity fields are only virtually excited and no quantum information will be transferred from the atoms to the cavity fields. The advantage is that the cavities are suppressed during the procedure. The scheme can also be generalized to the ion trap system.
Adenovirus vaccine vectors derived from rare human serotypes have been shown to be less potent than serotype 5 (Ad5) at inducing immune responses to encoded antigens. To identify highly immunogenic...Full Text Available
To suppress space charge blowup in an ion beam passing through a photoneutralizer, it is necessary to introduce some background gas. An analysis is presented of the neutralization of a high-energy, >200-keV negative deuterium ion beam, exposed to photodetachment while in the presence of deuterium. With a gas thickness of <0.01 Torr.cm, the neutral fraction in the output beam is found to be about the same as that gotten from the photoneutralizer operating in vacuum. Neutral atom beam injection for plasma heating is discussed.
An animated test is made for mice with malignant tumors irradiated by a self-made millimetre wave radiator for medical purpose. It is observed that S-180 sarcomas in mice after irradiation has been distinctly suppressed. And remarkable effects are shown through a lot of clinical practices on peptic ulcer, skin-deep ulcer, acute and chromic soft tissue injuries etc.
BackgroundhTERTC27 is a 27 kDa C-terminal polypeptide of human telomerase reverse transcriptase that has previously been shown to reduce tumorigenicity of HeLa cells and suppress...Full Text Available
In this article carbon co-implantation and step-by-step thermal treatments of shallow p"+-n-junctions formation were used with the purpose of extended defect suppression and reduction of boron transient enhanced diffusion. A substantial improvement of the structural and electrical parameters of shallow p"+-n-junctions has been achieved by using the additional carbon implantation and step-by-step thermal treatments. (authors)
Horizontal vibrations of elevator cars mainly occur because a car swings as roller guides installed at corners of a car frame move on a winding guide rail at high speeds. Rider comfort in high speed elevators is worsened by these vibrations. Conventional active dampers suppressing horizontal vibrations using ac servo motors make cars heavier so driving power becomes larger, and they are not easily applied to existing elevators. An active damping control method suited to super-high-speed elevators is which can solve these problems. The method suppresses vibrations by generating only enough magnetic force needed to suppress them only when vibrations of the car franc are produced. The vibrations are detected using acceleration detectors and magnets installed on left and right sides of the car frame. A computer simulator was made to analyze phenomena of car vibrations and to verify effects of the proposed magnetic damping ...
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to modulate intracellular effectors involved in cardiac function. We recently reported homocysteine (Hcy)-induced ERK-phosphorylation was suppressed...Full Text Available
The cross sections for proton-proton elastic scattering at Fermilab and ISR energies are investigated in the framework of the multiple constituent scattering formalism, including the contributions of the inelastic intermediate states. We find that the higher-order multiple scattering amplitudes are strongly suppressed due to the presence of the inelastic intermediate states. The calculated cross sections reproduce the high energy experimental data fairly well. (author).
Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often accompanied by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and associated with hypercholesterolemia, i.e. increased levels of plasma low-density...Full Text Available
This study focuses on the effects of long-term renin-angiotensin system suppression and/or incretin mimetic therapies on the regulation and binding affinity of GLP-1 to its receptor in the coronary...Full Text Available
Apoptosis, or programmed cell death (PCD), is a fundamental process that protects organismal integrity. In earlier work, we demonstrated that over-expression of either of two anti-apoptotic members of the BCL-2 family (BCL-2 or BCL-X L could elevate the frequency of radiation-induced mutations at the autosomal TK1 locus in human TK6 lymphoblasts that express wild-type TP53. Ectopic expression of BCL-X L also elevated the frequencies of double-strand break-induced gene conversion. The purpose of this study is to determine if BCL-2 family proteins promote radiation mutagenesis indirectly through their suppression of PCD, or whether the 'pro-mutagenic' function of these proteins can be separated from their anti-apoptotic function. We developed stable transfectants of TK6 cells that express a mutated form of BCL-X L with a single amino acid substitution in the BH1 domain that is known to interfere with the ability to suppress PCD (BCL-X L ...
An imaging detector for {gamma}-rays ({approx equal}1 MeV) based on minicell MWPCs with converters and a position resolution of {Delta}x=0.5 mm has been developed and tested. Very high rate capability (>10{sup 8}/cm{sup 2} s) and a special readout for suppression of scattered radiation are implemented allowing to enhance the measured contrast. The relevant physical processes are discussed and first pictures are presented. (orig.).
A new technique is described in this paper for a general active radio frequency (RF) filter trap that can be used for suppressing noise or interference on high voltage (HV) transmission lines. The technique exploits the Miller effect of an RF amplifier in conjunction with a special sensing circuit, and is potentially far more economical to implement than conventional techniques that use passive HV filter components.
For the layout of a pressure suppression system of a light water cooled reactor (boiling water reactor) it is important to know the time dependent behavior of the vent clearing transient after a loss-of-coolant accident for two main reasons: time of the end of the vent clearing transient influences strongly the pressure and temperature maxima in the drywell and wetwell. Time-dependent behavior of the vent clearing transient influences pressure loads in the condensation pool of the wetwell and therefore pressure induced stresses to the structure. The time-dependent behavior of the water masses in the vent pipes and wetwell are described by the basic equations for a nonstationary incompressible friction flow: momentum equation, continuity equation and a correlation for the variation of the state of the gas volume in the wetwell above the water level. After many algebraic operations and integrations along the flow path, a single ordinary nonlinear differential ...
Tea catechin is one of the compounds that are closely related to obesity and insulin sensitivity. In order to determine the effect of catechin on adipocyte differentiation, we treated 3T3-L1 preadipocytes...Full Text Available
The family of natriuretic peptides consists of the atria natriuretic peptide (ANP), the cerebral natriuretic peptide (BNP), the type C natriuretic peptide (CNP) and the peptide isolated from the dendroaspis snakes' poison (DNP), whose presence in humans has not been confirmed. The physiological function of ANP is in the control of arterial blood pressure by regulation of systemic vascular resistance of blood vessels. BNP is produced as one of the factors in the acute response to inflammatory tissue damage, mainly in coronary vessels. Increased serum concentrations of natriuretic peptides have been found in stress situations, such as trauma or major surgery, systemic hypotension, and in intrinsic myocardial dysfunction. High concentrations of natriuretic peptides were observed in severe sepsis, septic shock and in multiple organ failure, probably due to increased secretion by mediators of the inflammatory process.The highest concentrations of ANP and BNP were found ...
Nerve growth factor (NGF), a survival factor for neurons enforces pain by sensitizing nociceptors. Also in the pancreas, NGF was associated with pain and it can stimulate the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) respond to NGF with apoptosis. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-b, one of the strongest pro-fibrogenic activators of pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) induced NGF and its two receptors in an immortalized human cell line (ihPSC) and primary rat PSC (prPSC) as determined by RT-PCR, western blot, and immunofluorescence. In contrast to HSC, PSC expressed both NGF receptors, although p75NTR expression was weak in prPSC. In contrast to ihPSC TGF-b activated both Smad signaling cascades in prPSC. NGF secretion was diminished by the activin-like kinase (ALK)...
Abstract in english Frontal weapon is the term used to designate the apparatus consisting of frontal gland and associated structures that participate in the chemical defense of termite soldiers. The ultra structure of the frontal gland and the scanning microscopy of the soldier head was investigated in the termite Amiitermes euamignathus Silvestri, 1901.Campaniform sensilla was not observed but there were 80 to100 sensory bristles around the frontal pore. The glandular epithelium shows only (more) class 1 cells according 10 the classification of NOIROT & QUENNEDEY (1974, 1991). The glandular cells are characterized by apical microvilli, a basal labyrinth and a large quantity of smooth endoplasmic reticulum which forms dense zones throughout the cytoplasm. The secretion is concentrated mainly in the basal pole of the cell and consists of large lipid droplets. The secretory epithelium is covered by a thick apical cuticle composed of a thin outer epicuticle, a ...
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) was localized by an immunocytochemical technique in the thyroid-parathyroid complexes of rat, guinea pig, rabbit, and in normal human thyroids and parathyroids. Human medullary carcinomas and parathyroid adenomas were also studied. In man and all animal species examined CGRP was present in the parafollicular cell, however, in guinea pigs only in small amounts. Except in rabbits, presence of CGRP was demonstrated in nerves of the thyroid and parathyroid capsule as well as in the nerve fibers of the capsular blood vessels. In the thyroid of guinea pigs CGRP was also noted in nerve fibers and in blood vessel walls between follicles. CGRP was also present in the parathyroid glands of rat and man, in nerve fibers localized between parathyroid cells. In rabbit the parafollicular cells between parathyroid cells also expressed CGRP immunoreactivity. No CGRP was noted in the parathyroids of the guinea pig. The proximity of parathyroid cells and CGRP ...
Internet bandwidth is in high demand, and one way that web sites lower the amount of bandwidth they use is by compressing their site's images. This lowers the amount of bandwidth used, and makes the site load much faster. There are of course many other useful applications for compressed images. Bit Plane Complexity Segmentation (BPCS) digital picture steganography is a technique to hide data inside an image file. BPCS achieves high embedding rates with low distortion based on the theory that noise-like regions in a bit-plane can be replaced with noise-like secret data without discernible loss in image quality. This is possible because the human eye, while very good at distinguishing anomalies in areas of homogenous texture, is bad at distinguishing anomalies in visually complex areas. However, BPCS is not a robust embedding scheme, and any lossy compression usually destroys the data. Wavelet image compression using the Discreet Wavelet Transform (DWT) is the basis ...
Conditioned medium from Sertoli cells, prepared from testes of 20-day-old rats, contains component(s) that inhibit the incorporation of (3H)-thymidine into DNA of peritubular myoid cells (PMC) and inhibit the proliferation of PMC. These components are trypsin-resistant, heat-stable compounds having a molecular weight less than 30,000. The active inhibitory components in Sertoli cell conditioned medium are inactivated by treatment with heparinase, but not by treatment with hyaluronidase or chondroitin sulfate lyases. Addition of heparin or heparan sulfate results in inhibition of DNA synthesis by PMC in a dose-dependent manner, whereas other glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) examined (hyaluronic acid, keratan sulfate, and chondroitin sulfate) have no detectable effects. Heparin and heparan sulfate are unique among GAGs tested in inhibiting the characteristic multilayer growth pattern of PMC following the attainment of confluence in serum-rich medium. On the basis of these and other data ...
A simple, short and sensitive direct radio-immunoassay technique for the determination of salivary cortisol concentration was employed to assess saliva as a medium for evaluating cortisol response during endocrine testing in 9 controls and 40 patients. Results in controls suggested that an adequate salivary cortisol response to insulin hypoglycaemia was an increase of 150% above the basal value with a minimum peak of 15 nmol/l. Thirty-three patients were classified as being either good or poor responders to insulin hypoglycaemia on the basis of criteria for plasma cortisol levels. When the defined salivary cortisol response was used for assessment, all 33 patients were correctly categorized into the same response groups. The salivary cortisol response to intramuscular tetracosactin in 3 patients and an intravenous dexamethasone infusion in 4 patients confirmed the value of saliva as an assay medium. These studies show that the salivary cortisol response parallels that of total plasma ...
Angiotensin II has adverse actions in heart failure including vasoconstriction, aldosterone secretion, and activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Valsartan, a potent specific angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker, may produce beneficial effects in heart failure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the steady-state pharmacokinetics of valsartan 40, 80, and 160 mg each given every 12 h for 7 days in heart failure patients. Eighteen patients with chronic stable heart failure and left ventricular ejection fractions power model, showed that doubling the dose increased the AUC and Cmax 1.8 times. The pharmacokinetics of valsartan are predictable in heart failure patients within the dose range of 40-160 mg BID. Age did not appear to have influenced the valsartan clearance in heart failure patients. The pharmacokinetic values were higher in heart failure patients than in healthy volunteers. All doses were generally safe and well tolerated.(max) (max) ...
This paper focuses on practical and cost-effective NetWare-specific approaches to information systems and computer security. A series of real world experiences is presented that illustrate fundamental information systems and security concepts. A NetWare network is a client-server network which uses a file server to share files while client workstations access the file server via some network typology (usually ethernet or token ring). Passwords are used to authenticate users; thus, password protection is a cornerstone of network security. Passwords can be encrypted, but this feature can be disabled. The bindery, which stores information about users, groups, and printers, is critical to the network and must be backed up. Trade secrets can be hidden from users by restructuring menus. Login scripts should be protected and not used for security purposes. Guest account access should be restricted or removed. Finally, the "security.exe" program can be used to find ...
Bit Plane Complexity Segmentation (BPCS) digital picture steganography is a technique to hide data inside an image file. BPCS achieves high embedding rates with low distortion based on the theory that noise-like regions in an image's bit-planes can be replaced with noise-like secret data without significant loss in image quality. . In this framework we will propose a collaborate approach for select frame for Hiding Data within MPEG Video Using Bit Plane Complexity Segmentation. This approach will invent high secure data hidden using select frame form MPEG Video and furthermore we will assign the well-built of the approach; during this review the author will answer the question why they used select frame steganography. In additional to the security issues we will use the digital video as a cover to the data hidden. The reason behind opt the video cover in this approach is the huge amount of single frames image per sec which in turn overcome the problem of the data ...
Abnormal intracellular deposition of aggregated ?-synuclein is the characteristic feature of a number of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Although ?-synuclein is typically known as a cytosolic protein, a small amount is secreted by exocytosis in both monomeric and aggregated forms. The extracellular forms of ?-synuclein in human body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood plasma, might be a diagnostic target for PD and related diseases. Here, we characterized a new set of monoclonal antibodies against ?-synuclein, and using different combinations of antibodies, we established ELISA systems to specifically detect human ?-synuclein, mouse and human ?-synuclein together, and multimeric forms of ?-synuclein in biological samples. By employing the Tyramide signal amplification method, the sensitivity of the assay was significantly improved to detect a concentration as low as ?12.5 pg/ml. These assays might be useful tools for ...
Objective To compare the levels of interleukin (IL)-1?, IL-6, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 in the vaginal secretions of pregnant women with a positive fetal fibronectin (fFN) test result with or without asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV) before and after treatment with oral clindamycin. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted among 43 pregnant women with a positive fFN test result. All patients were treated with clindamycin, and the pre- and post-treatment levels of IL-1?, IL-6, and MMP-8 were compared. Results Before treatment, levels of IL-1? and MMP-8 were significantly higher in women with BV compared with women without BV (P<0.05). Vaginal levels of IL-1? and IL-6, but not MMP-8, decreased after treatment in pregnant women with BV. Conclusions The inability of clin...
Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek is traditionally used in Brazil for treatment of gastric ulcers. Here we report the phytochemical investigation of an ethanol extract of M. ilicifolia leaves (EEMIL) aiming at the isolation of constituents which were used as chemical markers to monitor an activity-guided fractionation of a lyophilized aqueous extract of M. ilicifolia leaves (LAEMIL). From EEMIL, four flavonoids were isolated, namely the tri-flavonoid glycosides mauritianin (1), trifolin, (2) hyperin (4), and epi-catechin (5). Fractionation of LAEMIL led to 5 fractions which afforded the tetra-glycoside kaempferol derivative (3), and galactitol (6). LAEMIL and its fractions were evaluated in rats for their effects on gastric secretion volume and pH. HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analysis revealed that only fractions containing the tri- and tetra-flavonoid glycosides 1 and 3 caused significant increase of gastric volume and pH, thus indicating that ...
Elevated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-@kB) activity and interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion participates in the pathology of several age and inflammatory-related diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in which retinal pigment epithelial cells are the key target. Recent findings reveal that heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) may affect regulation of NF-@kB. In the current study, effects of Hsp70 expression on NF-@kB RelA/p65 activity were evaluated in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) by using celastrol, a novel anti-inflammatory compound. Anti-inflammatory properties of celastrol were determined by measuring expression levels of IL-6 and endogenous NF-@kB levels during lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Cell viabil...
This paper describes an outline of solid fuel production process from brown coal and the investigation results of its elemental techniques. Dried coal is produced by this process which consists of a dewatering of crushed brown coal in oil-based solvent, a solid and liquid separation of slurry, and a remained oil recovery by heating. This process is characterized by the higher thermal efficiency compared with usual drying and the restraint of spontaneous combustion of product coal. It was revealed that solid fuel with low moisture, low ash, low sulfur, and suppressed spontaneous combustion property can be produced from Australian brown coal through this process. From the comparison between kerosene and fuel oil A, it was confirmed that the oil content during dewatering was smaller and the oil recovery by heating was easier by using a solvent with lower boiling point. It was also confirmed that the spontaneous combustion property can be ...
We present a large set of merger simulations of early-type disc galaxies with mass ratios of 1:1 and 3:1 and 10% of the total disc mass in gas. In contrast to the collisionless case equal-mass mergers with gas do not result in very boxy remnants which is caused by the suppression of box orbits and the change of the projected shape of minor-axis tube orbits in the more axisymmetric remnants. The isophotal shape of 3:1 remnants and the global kinematic properties of 1:1 and 3:1 remnants are only weakly affected by the presence of gas. 1:1 remnants are slowly rotating whereas 3:1 remnants are fast rotating and discy. The shape of the stellar LOSVD is strongly influenced by gas. The LOSVDs of collisionless remnants have broad leading wings while their gaseous counterparts show steep leading wings, more consistent with observations of elliptical galaxies. We show that this change is also caused by the suppressed populating of box orbits and it is ...
The purpose of the present study was to examine the in vitro effects of low-dose cadmium (Cd) on developing cortical cells. The cortical cells removed from fetuses (embryonic day 15) were treated with 10 nM of Cd for 24 h. The effects of Cd on dendritic and synaptic development were immunocytochemically observed with anti-microtubule associated protein-2 (MAP2) and anti-synapsin I antibodies, respectively. Administration of Cd suppressed dendritic as well as synaptic development at 10 nM. By two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) analysis, we identified three proteins with different expression after Cd-treatment; dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 2 (DRP-2/CRMP-2), 14-3-3-epsillon and calmodulin (CaM). Though the number of identified proteins was small, these proteins are known to be involved in neuronal development. The present study demonstrated the morphological effects as well as affected proteins in ...
In this study, the effects of 325nm wavelength ultraviolet light irradiation on pitting corrosion behavior of type 340 stainless steel in a neutral chloride solution are studied. Further, the change of passive film with the light irradiation is analyzed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The mains results obtained therefrom are stated below. Pitting potential can be shifted in noble direction by the ultraviolet light irradiation. The effect of ultraviolet light irradiation is ore prominent in the pitting corrosion process than that in the passive film formation. The result of the analysis in terms of the birth and death stochastic probability process shows that pitting corrosion rate is decreased remarkably by the ultraviolet light irradiation at the formation of passive film, while the repassivation is slightly expedited by the ultraviolet light irradiation. On the other hand, the repassivation rate is increased a little by the ultraviolet light irradiation during the pitting ...
Hydrogenation of carbon monoxide at 101.3 kPa has been studied over a series of ion-exchanged Ru catalysts supported on NaX, NaY, KL, Na mordenite, and HY zeolites. The type of zeolite had pronounced effects on the activity and selectivity of the Ru. The specific activity would appear to be related to the dispersion of reduced ruthenium in the zeolite. Methane selectivity, however, seems to be strongly influenced by the type and concentration of alkali cations remaining in the ion-exchanged zeolite. These cations appear to promote chain growth much as traditional alkali promoters would, though perhaps more indirectly. Due to bifunctional properties of the zeolite-supported catalysts, a significant fraction of C/sub 4/ was in the form of isobutane. Formation of isobutane seems to be related to either the Si/Al ratio in the zeolites or the concentration of the remaining alkali cations, but not to the OH concentration. In addition, H/sub 2/ chemisorption at 25/sup 0/C was increasingly ...
Wildland fire suppression personnel employed by the CDF do not currently have the equipment to protect themselves from the short-term acute affects of smoke from wildland fires. In addition, no regulations exist that specify appropriate respiratory protection and the current air-purifying respirator technology and carbon monoxide monitoring has not been adapted to fit wildland fire suppression requirements. This three-year limited study evaluated the ability of wildland fire fighters to perform their normal job function while wearing full-face air-purifying respirators. In the first two years of this study we designed, developed and field tested a prototype ``smart`` air-purifying respirator which incorporated a real-time carbon monoxide monitor into a commercial full-face respirator.` Data on carbon monoxide exposure while fighting wildland fires was collected. During the third year of this study we evaluated eight different commercially ...
In a previous study, to identify genes of importance for hepatocellular carcinogenesis, and especially for processes involved in malignant transformation, the authors investigated differences in gene expression between adenomas and carcinomas by DNA microarray. In the present study, the authors investigated AW434047, one of the sequences that was upregulated in carcinomas. The investigation led to the identification of a novel gene, which the authors named hepatocyte malignant transforming factor (HMTF), of unknown function whose expression was increased in hepatocellular carcinomas. Northern blot and in situ hybridization also demonstrated high levels of HMTF in rat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines, lymphocytes in the spleen, colon mucosal epithelia, spermatocytes, and granule cells of the hippocampus. Reduction of HMTF by RNA interference (RNAi) in N1 cells, an HCC cell line, caused suppression of cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. ...
The Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF) is a large laboratory plasma machine of 1 meter major radius used to carry out investigations of ionospheric plasma turbulence. Spectral analysis has been performed on plasmas produced by the electron emitters. Interest has focused on the low frequencies below the lower hybrid resonance where ion acoustic and current-convective modes have been observed. Microwaves injected from a 3,000 watt magnetron produce dramatic changes to the low frequency spectrum. First, the parametric decay instability intensifies the ion acoustic modes in the region of plasma heated by the microwaves. Second, the normally dominant current-convective modes are greatly suppressed in the heated region due to the oscillating electric field of the pump wave. When the authors probe beyond the heated region, these two pump wave effects are no longer observed, presumably because the microwaves are denied access to beyond the heated region due to the high ...
Low-frequency current noise and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics have been studied in InAs/GaAs self-assembled Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetectors in dark conditions and under illumination, at T = 77K and T = 5K. The noise behavior is consistent with a generation-recombination fluctuation process mainly related to thermally excited charge carriers at T = 77K. At T = 5K the current noise is consistent with a mechanism of fluctuations driven by the electric field, related to tunneling rather than emission-capture of charge carriers from the Quantum Dots. A very effective noise suppression mechanism, related to the tunneling regime, determines a decrease of fluctuation intensity as a function of the voltage. At T = 5K, an interesting behavior is observed in the current-voltage and noise power spectra for some of nominally identical QDIP structures in the presence of irradiation. Some devices indeed exhibit (i) a very high photoresponse and (ii) a 1/f-shaped noise ...
To evaluate the yield of SPIR sequences with fat suppression in the diagnosis of optic nerve lesions. T1 and T2 weighted fat suppressed SPIR imaging of the optic nerve improves anatomical definition, lesion detection and characterization in optic nerve conditions. [Italian] L'articolo analizza i vantaggi ricavabili dall'utilizzazione delle sequenze SPIR nella documentazione del decorso del nervo ottico e delle sue alterazioni nei pazienti con sospetto clinico e strumentale di malattia retrobulbare. L'utilizzo delle sequenze SPIR consente ottimale visualizzazione del nervo ottico e delle sue eventuali alterazioni senza gli artefatti che limitavano la qualita' delle immagini nelle prime sequenze RM con soppressione del segnale del grasso.
Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is investigating the use of a rock armoring blanket (riprap) to mitigate wind and water erosion of an earthen radon suppression cover applied to uranium mill tailings. Because the radon suppression cover and the tailings must remain intact for up to 1000 years or longer, the riprap must withstand natural weathering forces. This report is a review of information on rock weathering and riprap durability. Chemical and physical weathering processes, rock characteristics related to durability, climatic conditions affecting the degree and rate of weathering, and testing procedures used to measure weathering susceptibilities have been reviewed. Sampling and testing techniques, as well as analyses of physical and chemical weathering susceptibilities, are necessary to evaluate rock durability. Many potential riprap materials may not be able to survive 1000 years of weathering. Available techniques for durability ...
In order to develop a high-efficiency coal pyrolysis method, flash pyrolysis was experimented on slurry prepared by using liquid-phase oxidation reformed coal and a methanol-based solvent mixture. Australian Morwell coal was used for the experiment. The oxidized coal, into which carboxyl groups have been introduced, has the condensation structure relaxed largely, and becomes highly fluid slurry by means of the solvent. Char production can be suppressed by making the oxidation-pretreated coal into slurry, resulting in drastically improved pyrolytic conversion. The slurry was divided into dissolved solution, dried substance, extracted residue, and residual slurry, which were pyrolized independently. The dissolved solution showed very high conversion. Improvement in the conversion is contributed by separating the dissolved substances (coal macromolecules) at molecular levels, coagulating the molecules, suppressing cross-link formation, and ...
The thermal neutron column of the JRR-2 reactor was remodelled in order to install a medical irradiation facility. The design experience and the cource of this remodelling are presented. At first, the thermal neutron flux was lower than expected, and the expected radiation condition was achieved by the following improvements: (1) removal of graphite from the thermal neutron column to increase the neutron flux, (2) twice increase of bismuth shielding and the shift of its position to improve the shielding effect against gamma ray, (3) application of B{sub 4}C rubber on the both surfaces of the shielding door to suppress the secondary gamma ray generation from the structural materials, (4) LiF tiles are applied on the inner face of the neutron beam exit hole to suppress the secondary gamma ray from the beam exit, and (5) installment a cone-shape polyethylene collimator to relieve the decay of thermal neutron. After the improvements, medical ...
We report on the elimination of defect formation which is associated with high dose indium implantations under solid phase epitaxial regrowth (SPER) annealing conditions of 650-800 deg. C. This is achieved by incorporating a layer of epitaxially grown Si{sub 1-y}C {sub y} layer, strategically located at the end-of-range (EOR) of the implant profile. An indium implant of 115 keV at 1 x 10{sup 14} cm{sup -2} was performed followed by annealing at temperature ranges of 650-800 deg. C. Samples with the Si{sub 1-y}C {sub y} layer revealed the elimination of secondary EOR defects with effectively suppressed indium transient enhanced diffusion (TED), indicating the function of carbon as an efficient sink for silicon interstitials at reduced annealing temperatures, in the SPER dopant activation regime.
Pfirsch-Schlueter (P-S) current is an inherent property of a finite pressure toroidal equilibrium of tokamak and stellarator. However, it was pointed out recently (V.D. Pustovitov, Nuclear Fusion 36 (1996) 583) that the P-S current would be suppressed completely if the external vertical field could be adjusted to satisfy the condition {omega}=<{omega}> in an l=3 stellarator. Here {omega}=<B tilde{sup 2}>/B{sub 0}{sup 2}-2{epsilon} cos{theta}, l is a pole number, |B tilde| the vacuum helical magnetic field, B{sub 0} the toroidal field, {epsilon} the inverse aspect ratio, {theta} the poloidal angle and <...> denotes the average over the toroidal angle. An example of such a stellarator equilibrium is presented in this paper. For this stellarator equilibrium, behavior of rotational transform and Boozer magnetic spectrum is clarified when the pressure is increased. Both formation of helical magnetic axis and reduction of ...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Human K2P3.1 (TASK1) channels represent potential targets for pharmacological management of atrial fibrillation. K2P channels control excitability by stabilizing membrane potential and by expediting repolarization. In the heart, inhibition of K2P currents by class III antiarrhythmic drugs results in action potential prolongation and suppression of electrical automaticity. Carvedilol exerts antiarrhythmic activity and suppresses atrial fibrillation following cardiac surgery or cardioversion. The objective of this study was to investigate acute effects of carvedilol on human K2P3.1 (hK2P3.1) channels. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Two-electrode voltage clamp and whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology was used to record hK2P3.1 currents from Xenopus oocytes, Chinese hamster o...
For spintronic applications it is important to establish how efficiently spins can be injected from a magnetic material into a non-magnetic material and the distance over which those spins survive. It is thought that spin polarised transport current can be determined by using the suppression of the Andreev reflection between a superconductor and the spin polarised material (Science 282 (1998) 85). Cu/Co bilayers are potentially an ideal test system for such study. In this paper we assess the feasibility of using point contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy to address this problem using a superconducting niobium tip at 4.2 K.
We propose and demonstrate experimentally a singlelongitudinal-mode (SLM) fiber double-ring laser using an Erbium-doped waveguide amplifier (EDWA), polarization controller (PC), and a fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter (FFP-TF) into the ring cavity. In addition, the output power, side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR), and the stabilities of power and wavelength of the laser also are investigated. (Copyright 2007 by Astro Ltd., Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA)
A previous paper introduced the use of wave digital filters as a basic building block for power system simulation, particularly suitable for real-time applications. This paper stresses the simulation of non-linear and switching elements, emphasizing the advantages of the wave filters implementation. The digital structure is maintained even when non-linear components change their characteristics or power electronic devices switch their states. As a very important by-product, the suppression of numerical oscillations related to the trapezoidal rule is achieved in a rather simple way, with no effects on simulation results.
A process for the production of transportation fuels from heavy hydrocarbonaceous feedstock is provided comprising a two-stage, close-coupled process, wherein the first stage comprises a hydrothermal zone into which is introduced a mixture comprising a feedstock and red mud having coke-suppressing and demetalizing activity, and hydrogen; and the second, close-coupled stage comprises a hydrocatalytic zone into which substantially all the effluent from the first stage is directly passed and processed under hydrocracking conditions.
In the Aqueous Self-Cooled Blanket (ASCB) concept, an aqueous "6Li solution in a metallic structure is used as a shielding-breeding blanket for fusion reactors. The experimental results of this study indicate that the radiolytic gas production in an ASCB will be proportional to the absorbed radiation energy. The observed radiation chemical yields allow the preliminary estimation of the radiolysis effects for a specific ASCB design. Contrary to the theoretical predictions, the use of hydrogen as a cover gas at up to 1 MPa had no measurable effect on the radiolytic gas production. Probably it will thus not be possible to suppress the radiolytic decomposition of a low-pressure ASCB by the addition of hydrogen. Catalytic recombination will be required. (orig.).
It is suggested that the large reduction of the superconducting transition temperature T sub(c) due to defects observed experimentally in some A-15 compounds is caused by smearing of a high peak in the density of states at the Fermi level. The influence of defects on other physical properties (the magnetic susceptibility chi, the elastic modulus C sub(s), the structural transformation temperature T sub(m) and the electrical resistivity rho) is also discussed from the same point of view. We expect the anomalous temperature dependence of chi C sub(s) and rho will be suppressed by defects. (auth.).
We have studied the signals for a heavy Higgs boson in the processes {gamma}{gamma}{yields}WWWW, and {gamma}{gamma}{yields}WWZZ at a photon linear collider. The results are based on the first complete tree-level calculation for these reactions. We show that, with a forward ``spectator`` W tag, and a central ``spectator`` W veto to suppress backgrounds from transverse W, Z production, the invariant mass spectrum of central WW, ZZ pairs is sensitive to Higgs bosons with a mass up to 1 TeV in a 2-TeV linear collider. ((orig.)).
The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment is designed to determine the yet unknown neutrino mixing angle theta_13 by measuring the disappearance of electron antineutrinos from several nuclear reactor cores, using multiple underground detectors at different baselines to minimize systematic errors and to suppress the cosmogenic background. The civil construction has begun since October 2007, enabling first commissioning data in 2009, and full data taking will begin in late 2010. The planned sensitivity in sin^2 (2theta_13) of better than 0.01 at 90% CL will be achieved in three years of data-taking. I will present an overview and current status of the experiment.
The vacuum polarization splitting of the M-shell states in muonic hydrogen can have a profound influence on the muonit de-excitation cascade in deuterium and tritium targets. The cascade also shows sensitive dependence on the precise rate of transfer processes between certain excited muonic deuterium and tritium atoms. Recent experimental data, where a much greater population of the (d..mu..) qs state (1/sub 1//sub //sub s/) was found than previously predicted, can be explained if the transfer rates from the (d..mu..) M-shell are assumed to be strongly suppressed.
Impurity effects on the photon-assisted spin-polarized transport through armchair carbon nanotubes connected with ferromagnetic leads are investigated theoretically. The impurity induces one resonant state whose position depends on the impurity strength, which can break the electron-hole symmetry. Whether the impurity suppresses or enhances the spin-coherent current depends on the nanotube length. When the microwave fields are applied on the nanotube, additional small side peaks caused by the photon-assisted tunneling are found. With increasing the impurity strength, one new current peak appears under the influence of both the microwave fields and the impurity.
Magneto-striction and magnetic form factors in 5f itinerant antiferromagnets UNiGa{sub 5} and UPtGa{sub 5} are studied by means of neutron scattering. Remarkable magneto-striction was observed around T{sub N}, indicating large spin-orbit coupling in the itinerant system. The orbital magnetic moment is found to be strongly suppressed due to the hybridization of uranium 5f with Ga-4p electron.
Methods and apparatus are described for efficient photodetachment and purification of negative ion beams. A method of purifying an ion beam includes: inputting the ion beam into a gas-filled multipole ion guide, the ion beam including a plurality of ions; increasing a laser-ion interaction time by collisional cooling the plurality of ions using the gas-filled multipole ion guide, the plurality of ions including at least one contaminant; and suppressing the at least one contaminant by selectively removing the at least one contaminant from the ion beam by electron photodetaching at least a portion of the at least one contaminant using a laser beam.
A process for the production of transportation fuels from heavy hydrocarbonaceous feedstock is provided comprising a two-stage, close-coupled process, wherein the first stage comprises a hydrothermal zone into which is introduced a mixture comprising a feedstock and metals-impregnated red mud having coke-suppressing and demetalizing activity, and hydrogen; and the second, close-coupled stage comprises a hydrocatalytic zone into which substantially all the effluent from the first stage is directly passed and processed under hydrocatalytic conditions. The preferred metals for impregnation include transition metals, in particular, nickel and molybdenum.
We have successfully grown single crystalline Formula Not Shown with the range of Formula Not Shown using the floating-zone method. All compounds show orthorhombic symmetry in this substitution range, but the difference between lattice constants a and b decreases with increasing Sr concentration and becomes almost zero at Formula Not Shown . Characteristic temperatures, which correspond to antiferromagnetic ordering and structural transition, decrease with increasing Sr concentration. The value of the magnetic susceptibility below 30K increases with increasing Sr concentration. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity revealed that Sr substitution significantly suppresses the highly anisotropic electric structure of Formula Not Shown .
Differences in the biological disposition and in the effects of the stable lithium isotopes, Li-6 and Li-7, in animals were characterized. A somewhat higher toxicity was associated with WLiCl compared to XLiCl with NLiCl intermediate. All lithium treatments increased water intake and resulted in weight gain. Peak plasma concentration was slightly high for 6Li than 7LiCl suppressed action potential amplitudes during tetanic stimulation more than NaCl when added to Renger solution bathing ganglia.
We theoretically investigate the features of two-photon absorption in a coherently driven four-level atomic system with closed-loop configuration. It is found that two-photon absorption can be completely suppressed just by properly adjusting the relative phase of four coherent low-intensity driving fields and the atomic system becomes transparent against two-photon absorption. From a physical point of view, we explicitly explain these results in terms of quantum interference induced by two different two-photon excitation channels.
Breast cancer progression is characterized by inappropriate cell growth. Normal cells cease growth after a limited number of cell divisions--a process called cellular senescence-while tumor cells may acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely (immortality). Inappropriate expression of specific oncogenes in a key cellular signaling pathway (Ras, Raf) can promote tumorigenicity in immortal cells, while causing finite lifespan cells to undergo a rapid senescence-like arrest. We have studied when in the course of transformation of cultured human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC), the response to overexpressed oncogenic Raf changes from being tumor-suppressive to tumor enhancing, and what are the molecular underpinnings of this response. Our data indicate: (1) HMEC acquire the ability to maintain growth in the presence of oncogenic Raf not simply as a consequence of overcoming senescence, but as a result of a newly discovered step in the process of immortal ...
This study presents a semi-active vibration control of a scaled two-span bridge structure. Magneto-rheological fluid dampers are utilized as the semi-active energy absorbing devices, and a bridge vibration control system is developed. Closed-loop control system based on fuzzy logic is used to suppress the bridge deck motion under random excitation. It is demonstrated that this fuzzy logic control system can significantly reduce the relative deck displacement using about 60% less power compared to passive on state, while the absolute deck acceleration remains practically unchanged.
The process of miniemulsification allows the generation of small, homogeneous, and stable droplets containing monomer or polymer precursors and magnetite which are then transferred by polymer reactions to the final polymer latexes, keeping their particular identity without serious exchange kinetics involved. It is shown that the miniemulsion process can excellently be used for the formulation of polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles which can further be used for biomedical applications. The use of high shear, appropriate surfactants, and the addition of a hydrophobe in order to suppress the influence of Ostwald ripening are key factors for the formation of the small and stable droplets in miniemulsion and will be discussed. Two different approaches based on miniemulsion processes for the encapsulation of magnetite into polymer particles will be presented in detail.
The mechanism of the salt concentration increase in pits and crevices formed in a steam generator due to its imperfect manufacture or to its design features is described. The probability of corrosion can be reduced by choosing a suitable steel and by securing low concentrations of salts (chlorides in particular) and corrosion products in the feedwater. Attention is paid to the distribution of salts in the water-steam circuit and to the conditions of erosion corrosion as the principal source of corrosion products in feedwater. Experience with the suppression of erosion corrosion at nuclear power plants abroad is described. (E.J.).
Earlier work carried out on the hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel engine indicates that knock sets in when the inducted hydrogen exceeds about 60% of input energy with a pilot quantity of 30% of full load diesel amount. Some of the findings of an investigation into knock-free performance of a hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel engine with the addition of a diluent-carbon dioxide are presented. The effects of carbon dioxide on the suppression of knocking in the hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel engine and on the improvement in the knock limited power output are described.
We demonstrated that the intensity levels and lifetimes of two-photon autofluorescences (2PAF) in human liver tissues can be exploited to diagnose hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Excited by an infrared femtosecond laser, we suppressed the two-photon autofluorescences of most endogenous fluorophores and made red autofluorescences more specific to particular molecules in the cryo-sectioned human livers. Using such fluorescence contrast, we found HCC tissues have reduced levels of 2PAF and longer fluorescence lifetime.
The existence of light hidden sectors is an exciting possibility that may be tested in the near future. If DM is allowed to decay into such a hidden sector through GUT suppressed operators, it can accommodate the recent cosmic ray observations without over-producing antiprotons or interfering with the attractive features of the thermal WIMP. Models of this kind are simple to construct, generic and evade all astrophysical bounds. We provide tools for constructing such models and present several distinct examples. The light hidden spectrum and DM couplings can be probed in the near future, by measuring astrophysical photon and neutrino fluxes. These indirect signatures are complimentary to the direct production signals, such as lepton jets, predicted by these models.
The computational analysis of the model system consisting of the processes of CO2 assimilation and photorespiration shows the appearance of sustained oscillations in the system which might reflect their presence in photosynthesizing cells. Concentrations of CO2 and O2 oscillate in opposite phases causing Rubisco switching continuously between the carboxylase (CO2 assimilation) and the oxygenase (photorespiration) reactions. The results of modeling are consistent with carbon isotopic and other observed data. They show that the oscillation period varies from about 1 s to 3 s depending on the values of parameters taken. Too high concentrations of O2 suppress the oscillations.
The asymmetric fingered structure for polysilicon thin-film transistors (AF-TFTs) is analysed in detail by combining experimental characteristics and two-dimensional numerical simulations. This structure allows an effective reduction of the kink effect and off-current, without introducing any additional series resistance. In addition, a substantial improvement in the device stability is also observed when compared to conventional TFT. The AF-TFT characteristics have been explained by considering a two transistor model.
For the purpose of optimizing the process of co-implantation of MeV Si ions to reduce boron transient enhanced diffusion and boron-enhanced diffusion in Si, multiple MeV implantations and annealing at different temperatures have been performed. A slight improvement on the suppression of B diffusion is observed by adding a low temperature annealing step after the MeV implantation. No differences in B diffusion are observed when the Si doses are increased from 1 x 10{sup 15} to 1 x 10{sup 16} cm{sup -2}. This dose independent behavior is speculated to be a quasi-steady state of vacancy cluster evaporation.
For the purpose of optimizing the process of co-implantation of MeV Si ions to reduce boron transient enhanced diffusion and boron-enhanced diffusion in Si, multiple MeV implantations and annealing at different temperatures have been performed. A slight improvement on the suppression of B diffusion is observed by adding a low temperature annealing step after the MeV implantation. No differences in B diffusion are observed when the Si doses are increased from 1 x 10"1"5 to 1 x 10"1"6 cm"-"2. This dose independent behavior is speculated to be a quasi-steady state of vacancy cluster evaporation.
To get a better understanding of the condensation oscillation and chugging process during blowdown of a BWR after a LOCA a large number of large scale pressure suppression experiments have been performed in several countries. ECN has performed a detailed analysis of the results of one of these experiments, e.g. the DAS M10 experiment of GKSS. This analysis includes the following aspects: Power Spectral Density (PSD) analysis of the data, analysis of the acoustic frequencies of the downcomers and an analysis of the eigenfrequencies of the downcomers. The results of these analyses and an evaluation are given in this paper. It is shown that all dominant frequencies in the experimental results can be correlated with the vent-acoustic or eigenfrequencies. (orig.).
For users and manufacturers affected by unwanted electrostatic discharges, the publication of standards concerning the control of such discharges is a great improvement and helps to prevent unwanted electrostatic discharges in potentially explosive atmospheres as well as around electrostatically sensitive devices. There are, for instance, handbook-like documents giving recommendations to help set up effective electrostatic suppressing measures and programs. Another group of standards focuses on certain products and processes and is, thus, more specific. A third group deals with test methods and specifications to help manufacturers develop products that are safe. It also helps in comparisons with other products and thus meets the customer's real needs. To assist manufacturers and customers ...
Acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD), also known as acquired renal cystic disease (ARCD,) occurs in patients who are on dialysis for end-stage renal disease. It is generally accepted that ACKD develops as a consequence of sustained uremia and can first manifest even before dialysis is initiated while the patient is still in chronic renal failure. The role of immune suppression, particularly in transplant recipients, in the development of ACKD, is still under investigation. The prevalence of ACKD is directly related to the duration of dialysis and the risk of cancer is directly related to the presence of cysts. Herein we review the current understanding of the pathophysiology and imaging implications of ACKD. (orig.)
A discrete time control algorithm using the damped least squares is introduced for acceleration and energy exchange controls in nonlinear vibrating systems. It is shown that the damping constant of least squares and sampling time step of the controller must be inversely related to insure that vanishing the time step has little effect on the results. The algorithm is illustrated on two linearly coupled Duffing oscillators near the 1:1 internal resonance. In particular, it is shown that varying the dissipation ratio of one of the two oscillators can significantly suppress the nonlinear beat phenomenon.
Based on the Morlet wavelet transformation and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), we present a wind turbine fault diagnosis method in this paper. Wind turbine can be damaged by moisture absorption, fatigue, wind gusts or lightening strikes. Due to this reason, there is an increasing need to monitor the health of these structures. Vibration analysis is the best-known technology applied in wind turbine condition monitoring, in which the time-frequency analysis techniques such as Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) are widely used. Theoretically WVD has an infinite resolution in time-frequency domain. For early wind turbine fault signals, however, there are two main difficulties in WVD analysis. One is strong noise signals in the background and the other is cross terms in WVD itself. In this paper, continuous wavelet transformation (CWT) is employed to filter useless noise in raw vibration signals, and auto terms window (ATW) function is used to suppress the cross terms in ...
The verification test program on zinc injection applicability to Japanese BWRs was started in 1997. Laboratory tests using high temperature water loops under BWR reactor water conditions are in progress. This paper is an interim report on results obtained so far. Co-58 and Zn-65 were simultaneously used in the Co radioactivity buildup test to evaluate zinc injection suppression effects towards cobalt deposition on pre-oxidized stainless steel. The following results were obtained. The Co deposition was suppressed effectively by Zn injection, even when there was a pre-oxide film. For the test piping that had the pre-oxide film formed under the NWC (normal water chemistry) condition, when soaked under the HWC (hydrogen water chemistry) condition a large amount of Co-58 was taken into a small part of the inner layer. The distribution ratio of Co-58 in the inner layer and outer layer of the oxide film was almost the same for both the pre-oxidized ...
A large negative ion source for JT-60U produces high current ion beam from a wide extraction area of 45 cm x 110 cm. On the other hand, a cross-sectional area of the negative ion based neutral beam (NNB) injection port on JT-60U is narrow, about 50 cm x 60 cm. In order to inject the neutral beam at a high geometric efficiency, i.e. to suppress beam loss in the beamline, it is necessary to steer the beam for both compensation of undesirable beam deflection in extractor and focusing of the beam. For the JT-60U, two methods are provided for the required beam steering. Among them the results of beam steering experiment by aperture displacement and the design study are summarized in the present report. The experiment was carried out with 400 keV negative ion source, which has the three stage accelerator of similar structure as the JT-60U ion source, at Negative Ion Acceleration Test Stand (NIAS). High energy negative ion beams of the same perveance as that of 500 keV ...
The authors have found that heat-inactivated serum (57/sup 0/C for 1 hour) from normal chickens reduces the proliferation of mitogen-stimulated chicken and murine splenocytes as well as some transformed mammalian lymphoblastoid cell lines. Greater than a 50% reduction in /sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation was observed when concanavalin A (Con A)-activated chicken splenocytes that were cultured in the presence of 10% autologous or heterologous serum were compared to mitogen-stimulated cells cultured in the absence of serum. Normal chicken serum (10%) also caused greater than 95% suppression of /sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation by bovine (EBL-1 and BL-3) and gibbon ape (MLA 144) transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines. The only cell line tested that was not inhibited by chicken serum was an IL-2-dependent, murine cell line. Chicken serum also inhibited both /sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation and IL-2 synthesis by Con A-activated murine splenocytes. ...
The authors compared unenhanced and contrast-enhanced fast MRI and Computerized Tomography in the detection of liver metastases. Eleven patients with single or multiple hepatic lesions (42 in all) were submitted to V and magnetic resonance studies; T1- and T2- weighted TSE, T2-weighted TSE with fat suppression, unenhanced breath-hold TFE and early or delayed enhanced breath-hold TFE images were acquired with a 1.5 T superconductive magnet (Philips NT). The quantitative analysis of all magnetic resonance images was performed for contrast/noise ratio (CNR) and number of detected lesions; magnetic resonance and Computerized Tomography images were also compared qualitatively for lesion conspicuity, anatomical structure identification and artifacts. The results were compared with Student's test. Early enhanced breath-hold TFE was statistically superior to T1-weighted TSE (p = .0009), T2-weighted TSE (p = .01) and Computerized Tomography ( p = .0004) for lesion ...
Antisense- or RNAi-mediated suppression of the biosynthesis of nutritionally inferior storage proteins is a promising strategy for improving the amino acid profile of seeds. However, the potential pleiotropic effects of this on interconnected pathways and the agronomic quality traits need to be addressed. In the current study, a transcriptomic analysis of an antisense C-hordein line of barley was performed, using a grain-specific cDNA array. The C-hordein antisense line is characterized by marked changes in storage protein and amino acid profiles, while the seed weight is within the normal range and no external morphological irregularities were observed. The results of the transcriptome analysis showed excellent correlation with data on changes in the relative proportions of storage proteins and amino acid composition. The antisense line had a lower C-hordein level and down-regulated transcript encoding C-hordein. The production of the S-rich B/gamma- and ...
Antisense- or RNAi-mediated suppression of the biosynthesis of nutritionally inferior storage proteins is a promising strategy for improving the amino acid profile of seeds. However, the potential pleiotropic effects of this on interconnected pathways and the agronomic quality traits need to be addressed. In the current study, a transcriptomic analysis of an antisense C-hordein line of barley was performed, using a grain-specific cDNA array. The C-hordein antisense line is characterized by marked changes in storage protein and amino acid profiles, while the seed weight is within the normal range and no external morphological irregularities were observed. The results of the transcriptome analysis showed excellent correlation with data on changes in the relative proportions of storage proteins and amino acid composition. The antisense line had a lower C-hordein level and down-regulated transcript encoding C-hordein. The production of the S-rich B/ - and D-hordeins ...
The aim of this study is three folds: to compare the eight-channel phased-array and standard circularly polarized (CP) head coils in visualiazation of the intracranial vessels, to compare the three-dimentional (3D) time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography (MRA) techniques, and to define the effects of parallel imaging in 3D TOF MRA. Fifteen healthy volunteers underwent 3D TOF MRA of the intracranial vessels using eight-channel phased-array and CP standard head coils. The following MRA techniques were obtained on each volunteer: (1) conventional 3D TOF MRA with magnetization transfer; (2) 3D TOF MRA with water excitation for background suppression; and (3) low-dose (0.5 ml) gadolinium-enhanced 3D TOF MRA with water excitation. Results are demonstrating that water excitation is a valuable background suppression technique, especially when applied with an eight-channel phased-array head coil. For central and proximal portions of the intracranial ...
Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) of Carbon Steel (CS) piping has been one of main issues in Light-Water Nuclear Reactor (LWRs). Wall thinning of CS piping due to FAC increases potential risk of pipe rupture and cost for inspection and replacement of damaged pipes. In particular, corrosion products generated by FAC of CS piping brought steam generator (SG) tube corrosion and degradation of thermal performance, when it intruded and accumulated in secondary side of PWR. To preserve SG integrity by suppressing the corrosion of CS, High-AVT chemistry (Feedwater pH9.8#+-#0.2) has been adopted to Tsuruga-2 (1160 MWe PWR, commercial operation in 1987) in July 2005 instead of conventional Low-AVT chemistry (Feedwater pH 9.3). By the High-AVT adoption, the accumulation rate of iron in SG was reduced to one-quarter of that under conventional Low-AVT. As a result, a tendency to degradation of the SG thermal efficiency was improved. On the other hand, it was clarified that ...
Methods: Systemic irradiation of neuroaxis is an essential part in the management of medulloblastoma, stPNET and intracranial germ cell tumors. The introduction of quality assurance programs in radiooncology assures a precise radiotherapy of target volumes and is a prerequisite to improve survival. Results: Hyperfractionated radiotherapy has the potential of increasing dose to tumor more safely without increasing the risk for late adverse effects. Pilot studies revealed excellent tumor control in medulloblastoma with acceptable acute toxicity and a long-term survival of up to 96%. In medulloblastoma stereotactic radiation techniques reveal an acceptable toxicity and promising results in tumor control in recurrent disease or as primary treatment. They are now part of future treatment protocols in case of persisting residual tumor. Radiotherapy alone in pure germinoma is continuously yielding high cure rates. In secreting germ cell tumors cisplatin containing ...
The variation of surface composition and sintering of the binary Pd{sub 7}Ag{sub 3} nanoparticles prepared by chemical reduction were studied. The composition of the as-prepared Pd{sub 7}Ag{sub 3} nanoparticles across the diameter is inhomogeneous due to different reduction potentials of Pd and Ag. Upon heating, Ag will migrate to the surface because of its lower surface energy. Surface modification results in variation of surface composition during the sintering process. Stearic acid acts as a grain growth inhibitor. The migration of Ag to the surface is suppressed and the sintering is retarded. Modification by polyethylene glycol leads to more migration of Ag atoms from the core to the surface. This makes the nanoparticles easier to sinter.
The variation of surface composition and sintering of the binary Pd_7Ag_3 nanoparticles prepared by chemical reduction were studied. The composition of the as-prepared Pd_7Ag_3 nanoparticles across the diameter is inhomogeneous due to different reduction potentials of Pd and Ag. Upon heating, Ag will migrate to the surface because of its lower surface energy. Surface modification results in variation of surface composition during the sintering process. Stearic acid acts as a grain growth inhibitor. The migration of Ag to the surface is suppressed and the sintering is retarded. Modification by polyethylene glycol leads to more migration of Ag atoms from the core to the surface. This makes the nanoparticles easier to sinter.
This paper presents a semi-active vibration control of a scaled two-span bridge structure. Magneto-rheological fluid dampers are utilized as the semi-active energy absorbing deices and a bridge vibration control system is developed. Closed-loop control system based on fuzzy logic is used to suppress the bridge deck motion under random excitations. The sufficient condition for the closed-loop stability of the fuzzy control system is derived from the variable structure system theory. It is demonstrated that this stable fuzzy control system can significantly reduce the relative deck displacement using about 55 percent less power compared to passive-on state, while the absolute deck acceleration is relatively unaffected.
In this letter, the effect of vacancies generated by preirradiated laser on dopant diffusion and activation in preamorphized silicon substrate has been studied. Laser-induced melting in silicon was used to generate excess vacancies near the maximum melt depth before silicon substrate amorphization and subsequent boron implantation. We demonstrate that by matching the preirradiated laser melt depth with the implant amorphize depth, it can effectively reduce the silicon self-interstitials released from the end-of-range defect band. The results show great suppression in boron transient enhanced diffusion and significant removal of end-of-range defects. This is attributed to the recombination of laser-generated excess vacancies with preamorphizing induced free silicon interstitials at the end-of-range region.
The seminal work of Stern and his coauthors on integrated control has had a profound and long-lasting effect on the development of IPM programs in western orchard systems. Management systems based solely on pesticides have proven to be unstable, and the success of IPM systems in western orchards has been driven by conservation of natural enemies to control secondary pests, combined with pesticides and mating disruption to suppress the key lepidopteran pests. However, the legislatively mandated changes in pesticide use patterns prompted by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 have resulted in an increased instability of pest populations in orchards because of natural enemy destruction. The management system changes have made it necessary to focus efforts on enhancing biological control n...
Recent advances in nanoscience have raised interest in the minimum bit size required for classical information storage. This bit size is determined by the necessity for bistability with suppressed quantum tunnelling and energy barriers that exceed ambient temperatures. In the case of magnetic information storage, much attention has centred on molecular magnets with bits consisting of about 100 atoms, magnetic uniaxial anisotropy energy barriers of about 50?K and very slow relaxation at low temperatures. Here, we draw attention to the remarkable magnetic properties of some transition-metal dimers, which have energy barriers approaching 500?K with only two atoms. The spin dynamics of these ultrasmall nanomagnets is strongly affected by a Berry phase, which arises from quasi-degen...
The studies using phantoms confirmed that the reduction of electron beam energy and minimization of X-ray contamination could be achieved when electron beam was interposed by an acrylic plate placed 20 cm anterior to a patient. Four patients of mycosis fungoides were treated with 8 MeV electron beam of a linear accelerator at UOEH Hospital from October 1981 to December 1986. Two of them were treated with this technique by placing 2 cm thick acrylic plate anterior to the patients and satisfactory results were obtained. Cutaneous lesions subsided remarkably with the dosage of 2000 cGy given in 2 months. Leucopenia due to bone marrow suppression was mild and the patients tolerated the treatment well.
The studies using phantoms confirmed that the reduction of electron beam energy and minimization of X-ray contamination could be achieved when electron beam was interposed by an acrylic plate placed 20 cm anterior to a patient. Four patients of mycosis fungoides were treated with 8 MeV electron beam of a linear accelerator at UOEH Hospital from October 1981 to December 1986. Two of them were treated with this technique by placing 2 cm thick acrylic plate anterior to the patients and satisfactory results were obtained. Cutaneous lesions subsided remarkably with the dosage of 2000 cGy given in 2 months. Leucopenia due to bone marrow suppression was mild and the patients tolerated the treatment well. (author).
The production of ozone in a negative corona discharge fed by carbon dioxide with embedded traces of oxygen and water has been studied. The presence of traces of oxygen in both pure and dry CO_2 leads to an increase in nascent ozone concentrations. In contrast, traces of water vapour (0-800 ppm) are shown to rapidly suppress ozone concentrations with the largest decreases being observed at lowest gas pressures in the discharge (300 Torr). The presence of water vapour did not considerably affect the electrical properties of negative dc corona suggesting that a chemical process is responsible for the ozone loss. We have shown that the addition of water up to a concentration of 1500 ppm has only a marginal effect on the processes of ozone formation but the catalytic cycle of ozone destruction involving OH radicals can be the reason for observed decrease in the total ozone concentration with increasing water concentration.
We report results of measurements and analysis of the heat capacity of MnSi. The measurements included data collection at a magnetic field of 4T, which suppresses strongly the longitudinal spin fluctuations and the phase transition. To analyze the experimental data, calculations of the phonon spectrum and phonon density of states in MnSi were performed. Inelastic neutron scattering with a polycrystalline sample of MnSi was used to validate the computational results. The combination of the experimental and theoretical data turned out to be decisive in revealing some hidden features of the thermal excitations in MnSi. In particular, the analysis of the available data led conclusively to the existence of a negative contribution to the heat capacity and entropy in MnSi at T>Tc, implying that a specific spin ordering process did occur in the paramagnet phase of MnSi.
A stable BSA blocking poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchannel was prepared based on in situ synthesized PDMS-gold nanoparticles composite films. The modified microchip could successfully suppress protein adsorption. The assembly was followed by contact angle, charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging, electroosmotic flow (EOF) measurements and electrophoretic separation methods. Contact angle measurements revealed the coated surface was hydrophilic, water contact angle for coated chips was 45.2^o compared to a water contact angle for native PDMS chips of 88.5^o. The coated microchips exhibited reproducible and stable EOF behavior. With FITC-labeled myoglobin incubation in the coated channel, no fluorescence was observed with CCD image, and the protein exhibited good electrophoretic effect in ...
This study describes the chemical composition of the essential oil of Artemisia maritima (Am.Oil) and the pharmacological basis for its medicinal use in gut and airways disorders. Twenty five compounds, composing 93.7% of the oil, were identified; among these, chrysanthenyl propionate and elixene were identified for the first time from any Artemisia species. The Am.Oil (0.3?1.0 mg/mL) suppressed spontaneous and high K+ (80 mM)-induced contractions in isolated rabbit jejunum, suggestive of an antispasmodic effect mediated possibly through calcium channel blockade. The calcium channel blockade activity was confirmed when pre-treatment of the tissue with Am.Oil (0.01?0.03 mg/mL) shifted the Ca++ concentration-response curves to the right, similar to verapamil and papaverine. In isolated trach...
The forced nonlinear vibration and its stability of a single-degree-of-freedom system with a ball screw type damper which is composed of a ball screw, a flywheel and a flyball governor are discussed theoretically. The results are compared with a linear solution and the experimental results. The effect of vibration isolation of the damper is also discussed. Numerical examples are given for several ratios of the natural frequencies in the primary system to the governor. It is demonstrated that, when the natural frequency ratio is chosen suitably, the damper is effective in suppressing the resonance of the primary system. The amplitude response curve of the primary system is approximately equal to the linear solution except in the vicinities of the natural frequencies of the primary system and the governor, and is stable except in the vicinity of the natural frequency of the governor. (author).
The effects of vibration isolation of the new type of mechanical damper applied to a single-degree-of-freedom system and a simple beam are discussed numerically and experimentally. The damper is composed of a ball screw, a flywheel and centrifugal brakes, and possesses nonlinear characteristics. The Continuous System Simulation Language is used for the digital simulations of the nonlinear vibration systems. The results may be summarized as follows: (1) The damper is effective for suppressing the amplitude of the single-degree-of-freedom system as well as of the beam at the point of attachment of the damper, at the resonances. (2) The damper approaches a snubber for smaller values of lead L of the ball screw (or larger values of moment of inertia J of the flywheel), and acts like a damper whose damping force is proportional to the square of the velocity for larger values of L (or smaller values of J). (author).
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that can differentiate into chondrocytes, osteoblasts, myocytes, adipocytes, and a variety of other cell types. Several studies have been directed toward using MSCs from patients with osteoarthritis (OA) for cartilage repair, not only because these are the ones that will require a source of autologous stem cells if biological repair of cartilage lesions is to be a therapeutic option, but also to further an understanding of stem cell differentiation. Previous studies have shown that a major drawback of current cartilage and intervertebral disc tissue repair is that human MSCs from OA patients express type X collagen (COL X). COL X, a marker of late-stage chondrocyte hypertrophy, is implicated in endochondral ossification. However, those st...
The last unknown neutrino mixing angle $\\theta_{13}$ is one of the fundamental parameters of nature; it is also a crucial parameter for determining the sensitivity of future long-baseline experiments aimed to study CP violation in the neutrino sector. Daya Bay is a reactor neutrino oscillation experiment designed to achieve a sensitivity on the value of $sin^2(2\\theta_{13})$ to better than 0.01 at 90% CL. The experiment consists of multiple identical detectors placed underground at different baselines to minimize systematic errors and suppress cosmogenic backgrounds. With the baseline design, the expected anti-neutrino signal at the far site is about 360 events per day and at each of the near sites is about 1500 events per day. An overview and current status of the experiment will be presented.
The X-ray storage phosphor CsBr:Eu2+ in form of needle image plates is believed to be a promising alternative to the granular BaFBr:Eu2+ with regard to PSL yield and spatial resolution. Unfortunately, CsBr:Eu2+ exhibits poor radiation hardness, which is caused by a migration of europium ions initiated by naturally existing defect centers like (Eu2+-VCs)-centers and X-ray generated MEu-centers. It will be shown that the formation of (Eu2+-O2?)-dipoles at the expense of (Eu2+-VCs)-dipoles, incorporated by thermal annealing in O2-containing and humid atmosphere, does not improve the radiation stability. There is, however, a strong improvement in the radiation hardness by codoping of CsBr:Eu2+ with lithium ions, which is accompanied by a complete suppression of the previously observed MEu-cent...
Background and purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the anti-cancer activity of SZ-685C, an anthracycline analogue isolated from marine-derived mangrove endophytic fungi, and to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying such activity. Experimental approach: The effect of SZ-685C on the viability of cancer cell lines was investigated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. SZ-685C-induced apoptosis was assessed by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling assay and analysis of caspase activation. The effect of SZ-685C on the Akt/FOXO pathway was studied using Western blotting analysis, and the in vivo anti-tumour efficacy was examined in ...
Immune function is critical in health and disease. The control and regulation of immune reactions is an area of intense investigation that has important implications for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Immune reactions are regulated in a number of important ways. Compartmentalization of immune responses and the production of both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines play a major role. More recently several populations of T cells that regulate immune responses termed regulatory T cells have been identified. This manuscript will focus on CD4^+CD25^+FoxP3^+ natural regulatory T cells (T"r"e"g) and @a@bTCR^+CD4^+NK1.1^+ natural killer T (NK-T) cells which both suppress graft vs host disease but appear to function by distinct mechanisms.
Abstract:- Increased expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, -3 and -9 has been demonstrated in Crohn-s disease fistulas, but it is unknown whether these enzymes are biologically active and represent a therapeutic target. Therefore, we investigated the proteolytic activity of MMPs in fistula tissue and examined the effect of inhibitors, including clinically available drugs that beside their main action also suppress MMPs. Fistula specimens were obtained by surgical excision from 22 patients with Crohn-s disease and from 10 patients with fistulas resulting from other causes. Colonic endoscopic biopsies from six controls were also included. Total functional MMP activity was measured by a high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based, fluorogenic MMP-substrate cleavage assay, and t...
The concept of the self-focusing plasma lens in various beam-plasma interaction regimes is reviewed. We found that in order for current neutralization to occur, it is only necessary to attain the condition {ital k}{sub {ital p}}{sigma}{sub {ital x}}{approx_gt}1, and not {ital k}{sub {ital p}}{sigma}{sub {ital y}}{approx_gt}1, for flat beams. This helps to substantially reduce the required plasma density for beamstrahlung suppression. We also report on a recent calculation on the detector backgrounds induced by a plasma lens. It is shown that these backgrounds are within the tolerance of all major components in a NLC-like detector. Finally, one other potential application of plasma lens for {gamma}{gamma} colliders is discussed.{copyright}{ital American Institute of Physics.}
The concept of the self-focusing plasma lens in various beam-plasma interaction regimes is reviewed. We found that in order for current neutralization to occur, it is only necessary to attain the condition k_p#sigma#_x approx-gt 1, and not k_p#sigma#_y approx-gt 1, for flat beams. This helps to substantially reduce the required plasma density for beamstrahlung suppression. We also report on a recent calculation on the detector backgrounds induced by a plasma lens. It is shown that these backgrounds are within the tolerance of all major components in a NLC-like detector. Finally, one other potential application of plasma lens for #gamma##gamma# colliders is discussed.copyright American Institute of Physics.
The phase diagram of Gdsub(x)Ysub(1-x)Th_4B_4 between the paramagnetic, superconducting and ferromagnetic state is reported. Low temperature dc-magnetization measurements reveal that macroscopic electro-magnetic effects are of minor importance for the suppression of Hsub(2c), which shows a smooth bell-shaped behavior for x >= 0.15 with no indication of an anomaly near Tsub(c2). At low temperature in samples with x >= 0.20 a transition from type II to type I superconductivity seems to occur. The low temperature normal state susceptibility follows a Curie-Weiss law indicating reentrant behavior for x >= 0.10. (orig.).
The wind turbines with a flanged-diffuser shroud-so called ?wind lens turbine??-are developed as one of high performance wind turbines by Ohya et al. In order to investigate the flow characteristics and flow acceleration, the paper presents the flow velocity measurements of a long-type and a compact-type wind turbines with a flanged-diffuser shroud by particle image velocimetry. In the case of the long type wind turbine, the velocity vectors of the inner flow field of the diffuser for turbine blades rotating and no blades rotating are presented at Reynolds number, 0.9?105. Furthermore the flow fields between with and without rotating are compared. Through the PIV measurement results, one can realize that the turbine blades rotating affects as suppress the disturbance and the flow separatio...
Linearly polarized laser radiation accelerates electrons to very high velocities and these electron form a sheath layer on the rear side of thin targets where preferentially protons are accelerated. When mass-limited targets are used, the lateral transport of the absorbed laser energy is reduced and the accelerating field is enhanced. For targets consisting of two ion species, heavier ions facilitate formation of quasi-monoenergetic bunch of lighter ions. For circularly polarized light, fast electron production is suppressed by the absence of the oscillatory component of the ponderomotive force. Ions are accelerated on the front side by the separation field and very thin foil can be accelerated as one massive quasi-neutral block. As all ion species acquire the same velocity, this acceleration mechanism is preferred for heavier ions.
We report the fabrication of p"+/n junctions using Ge"+, C"+, and B"+ co-implantation and a spike anneal. The best junction exhibits a depth of 26 nm, vertical abruptness of 3 nm/decade, and sheet resistance of 520 Ohm/square. The junction location is defined by where the boron concentration drops to 10"1"8 cm"-"3. These junctions are close to the International Technology Roadmap specifications for the 65 nm technology node and are achieved by careful engineering of amorphization, stresses, and point defects. Advanced simulation of boron diffusion is used to understand and optimize the process window. The simulations show that the optimum process completely suppresses the transient-enhanced diffusion of boron and the formation of boron-interstitial clusters. This increases the boron solubility to 20% above the equilibrium solid-state solubility.
This work aimed to develop a fast-dissolving film made of low dextrose equivalent maltodextrins (MDX) containing nicotine hydrogen tartrate salt (NHT). Particular attention was given to the selection of the suitable taste-masking agent (TMA) and the characterisation of the ductility and flexibility under different mechanical stresses. MDX with two different dextrose equivalents (DEs), namely DE 6 and DE 12, were selected in order to evaluate the effect of polymer molecular weight on film tensile properties. The bitterness and astringency intensity of NHT and the suppression effect of several TMA were evaluated by a Taste-Sensing System. The films were characterised in term of NHT content, tensile properties, disintegration time and drug dissolution test. As expected, placebo films made of ...
We discuss an experimental technique aimed at tagging electron neutrinos in multi-GeV artificial sources on an event-by-event basis. It exploits in a novel manner calorimetric and tracking technologies developed in the framework of the LHC experiments and of rare kaon decay searches. The setup is based on an instrumented decay tunnel equipped with tagging units that intercept secondary and tertiary leptons from the bulk of undecayed pi+ and protons. We show that the taggers are able to reduce the nue contamination originating from K_e3 decays by about one order of magnitude. Only a limited suppression (~60%) is achieved for nue produced by the decay-in-flight of muons; for moderate beam powers, similar performance as for K_e3 can be reached supplementing the tagging system with an instrumented beam dump.
Anthracene-bis-resorcinol is an interesting molecule as it forms a hydrogen-bonded network when guest molecules with weak polarity are included. Focused ion beam (FIB) was irradiated on a part of its amorphous film with low dose, and the film was exposed to the vapor of guest molecules. From fluorescence and AFM analyses of this film, it was found that no inclusion compound was formed in FIB irradiated area, i.e. FIB irradiation suppresses the ability to form the inclusion compounds. By utilizing this phenomenon, we succeeded in a microfabrication of relief structures consisting of inclusion compounds which has different fluorescence from its surrounding. Morphology, fluorescence, and IR absorption analyses indicated that hydroxyl or resorcin groups are damaged by ion beams, and consequently a formation of hydrogen-bonded networks, which play a role of a lattice caging guest molecules, becomes impossible.
The mechanical stability of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films coated on nitinol vascular stents was investigated under cyclic loading condition by employing a stent crimping system. DLC films were coated on the vascular stent of a three dimensional structure by using a hybrid ion beam system with rotating jig. The cracking or delamination of the DLC coating occurred dominantly near the hinge connecting the V-shaped segments of the stent where the maximum strain was induced by a cyclic loading of contraction and extension. However the failures were significantly suppressed as the amorphous Si (a-Si) buffer layer thickness increased. Interfacial adhesion strength was estimated from the spalled crack size in the DLC coating for various values of the a-Si buffer layer thickness.
In order to apply chemical-looping combustion to a practical power plant, carbon deposition on the solid particle is one of the key problems to be overcome. Six kinds of solid particles were examined to clarify the kinetic behavior of carbon deposition. The effects of the solid composition, feed gas composition, and reaction temperature on carbon deposition were investigated by thermogravimetrical reactor on the basis of NiO/YSZ particle. From the viewpoints of both reactivity and resistance against carbon deposition, the particle of NiO mixed with YSZ (i.e., yttria-stabilized zirconia) was found to be a good candidate for chemical-looping combustion. It has been observed that carbon deposition could be completely avoided with very low concentration of water vapor. By means of a proposed model, the condition that carbon deposition would be avoided was identified. 12 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.
To study #beta# #reversible# #omega#-transformation in pseudo-#beta#-titanium alloy VT30, doped by hydrogen, methods of X-ray diffraction and thermodifferential analyses are used. It is established that in the process of heating of the hardened alloy from 0.004-0.1% H first formation and then dissolution of #omega# phase take place. An increase in hydrogen content to 0.1% decreases thermal effect of the processes and does not affect the temperature of #beta# #reversible# #omega#-transformation. Introduction of hydrogen in the concentration of 0.2% and higher suppresses completely #beta# #reversible# #omega# - transformation. A decrease in heating rate displaces #beta# #reversible# #omega#-transformation to lower temperatures.
The obligate biotrophic fungus Golovinomyces orontii causes powdery mildew (PM) disease on its host Arabidopsis thaliana. Most research on the G. orontii?Arabidopsis pathosystem uses rosette leaves as experimental materials, so little is known about the behavior of G. orontii on other Arabidopsis organs. We thus conducted microscopic analyses of the PM infection process on leaves, stems, fruits and roots of Arabidopsis. Adaxial and abaxial surfaces of mature rosette leaves supported G. orontii infection, but growth was somewhat suppressed on cauline leaves. Prepenetration processes (germination and appressorium formation) were strongly inhibited on stems, fruits and roots. To test the effect of alterations in the Arabidopsis cuticle on the inhibition of prepenetration processes on stems, w...
The present study describes the screening of five lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for use as probiotics based on their competitive adhesion and production of antagonistic substances against some fish pathogens. A reduction of adhesion of all pathogenic strains tested was obtained with three of the LAB strains (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis CLFP100, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris CLFP102 and Lactobacillus curvatus CLFP150). With the exception of fish pathogens Flavobacterium psychrophilum and Renibacterium salmoninarum that were not inhibited by LAB strains, production of antagonistic compounds by all tested LAB was observed against at least one of the indicator strains. Based on mucus adhesion, competitive exclusion, and suppression of fish pathogen growth, the selected LAB strains can b...
A model is presented to account for the effects of ion-induced defects during implantation processing of Si. It will be shown that processing is quite generally affected by the presence of defect excesses rather than the total number of defects. a defect is considered excess if it represents a surplus locally of one defect type over its compliment. Processing spanning a wide range of implantation conditions will be presented to demonstrate that the majority of the total defects played little or no role in the process. This is a direct result of the ease with which the spatially correlated Frenkel pairs recombine either dynamically or during a post-implantation annealing. Based upon this model, a method will be demonstrated for manipulating or engineering the excess defects to modify their effects. In particular high-energy, self-ions are shown to inject vacancies into a boron implanted region resulting in suppression of transient enhanced diffusion of the dopant.
The impact properties of high-strength low alloy TRIP steels such as 'TRIP-aided dual-phase steel' and 'TRIP-aided bainitic steel' associated with the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) of retained austenite were investigated for some applications to the automotive impact members. The TRIP steels possessed far higher impact absorbed value and lower ductile-brittle transition temperature than the conventional ferrite-martensite and ferrite-pearlite steels. The stress relaxation resulting from the strain-induced transformation of retained austenite islands or films improved the impact properties in terms of suppressing void and/or crack initiation and these propagation. The best impact properties were completed in the steel composing of uniform fine bainitic lath structure and a large amount of stable interlath retained austenite films. (author)
The authors used studies of local cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (LCMRGlc) to examine development of cerebral organization in 5 days to 1 year old children. A group (n=8) of infants with diverse pediatric disorders allowed investigation of developmental changes in LCMRGlc, while also providing relevant clinical management information. Patients consisted of questionable and definite neonatal seizures, cerebral embolism from cardiac sources, and otherwise normal infants with facial nevi with consideration of Sturge-Weber. Gradual increase in cortical LCMRGlc coincides with suppression of intrinsic subcortical reflexes present in all newborns. Two retarded children (2 years old) showed LCMRGlc developmental patterns of a few days old, which corresponded to their functional and mental status. These studies illustrate great potential of PET to study normal and altered states of human brain development.
Grain refinement in AZ31 magnesium alloy has been attempted by hot-rolling and annealing process. Specimens were solution heat treated at 673 K for 36 ks, then hot-rolled at 423-773 K with total reduction of 20-80% by multi pass process. The rolled specimens were annealed at 473-673 K for 3.6 ks. Grain sizes after the solution heat treatment were about 20 to 150 {mu}m. After hot-rolling at 573 K and annealing at 473 K, grain sizes decreased into about 5 to 10 {mu}m. Suppression of grain growth by pinning due to precipitates was observed by transmission electron microscopic observations. (orig.)
The difference between the two nonclassical lights, i.e., the squeezed state and number-phase minimum uncertainty state (NUS) is discussed. The four different generation principles for NUS are described. They are: unitary evolution using self-phase modulation; nonunitary state reduction by the first kind measurement; controlled state reduction by quantum correlation measurement-feedback, and high saturated laser oscillation with suppressed-pump-noise. The constant current-driven semiconductor laser based on the last principle generated the NUS with photon number noise reduced below the standard quantum limit by 40 percent in the entire frequency region from dc to 1.1 GHz. Several applications of NUS including quantum communication, quantum mechanical computers and interferometric gravitational detection are discussed briefly. This presentation is represented by viewgraphs only.
There is currently great interest in combining focused ion beam (FIB) and scanning electron microscopy technologies for advanced studies of polymeric materials and biological microstructures, as well as for sophisticated nanoscale fabrication and prototyping. Irradiation of electrically insulating materials with a positive ion beam in high vacuum can lead to the accumulation of charge, causing deflection of the ion beam. The resultant image drift has significant consequences upon the accuracy and quality of FIB milling, imaging and chemical vapour deposition. A method is described for suppressing ion beam drift using a defocused, low-energy primary electron beam, leading to the derivation of a mathematical expression to correlate the ion and electron beam energies and currents with other parameters required for electrically stabilizing these challenging materials.
The flame retardancy of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) was studied focusing on the effect of various oxides. Thermo-gravimetric analysis, pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis (EA) were used to analyze the flame retardancy, which were observed through the UL-test and a cone calorimeter. Many oxides influenced the flame retardancy and some of them could suppress the flammability of PBT. In particular, the blended-PBTs with ZnO and V2O5 accelerated the degradation and the edges of oxygen consumption were shorter than neat-PBT although the flammability became poorer. The quantitative analysis of the scission products and the results of EA showed that hydrolysis, successive dehydration, and other various reactions changed the scission route to generate less f...
Fetal MRI examines non-invasively the unborn fetus. Ultrafast MRI sequences effectively suppress fetal motion. Multiple case reports and studies have shown that fetal MRI is particularly helpful in the evaluation of the central nervous system. The high contrast-to-noise ratio, the high spatial resolution, the multiplanar capabilities, the large field of view and the simultaneous visualisation of fetal and maternal structures have proven to be advantageous. Fetal MRI is particularly helpful in the evaluation of the normal and pathological development of the brain. Despite the fact that no side effects have been reported or are to be expected, the use of MRI during pregnancy is still limited to the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Magnetic resonance imaging contrast media are not to be used as it passes the placenta. Ultrasound remains the primary screening modality for fetal pathology; fetal MRI can serve as an adjunct or second-line imaging modality. ...
Purpose: To eliminate the water level deviation due to the recycling flowrate, as well as enable a stable control to a reference value even upon changes in the recycling flowrate caused by the variation in the opening degree of a minimum flow valve. Constitution: Reactor recycling system comprises a feedwater pump, a flowrate control valve, a reactor water level detector, and a minimum flow line and a minimum flow valve for preventing the overheating of the feedwater pump at a low flowrate. A flowrate compensator is further disposed, in which a recycling flowrate signal is subtracted from a pump flow rate signal and the result is fedback as a compensated pump flowrate signal. This enables the control system to operate at a rapid response for suppressing the effect of the recycling flowrate as external disturbance, whereby the water level in the reactor can be controlled stably to the reference level and the possibility deviating from an allowable range is decreased ...
The feasibility of continuous production of gallium arsenide ribbon single crystals, by passage of a molten zone through boron-oxide encapsulated GaAs feedstock, is being investigated. Polycrystalline GaAs ribbons have been grown in graphite boats by passage of a wide zone through B2O3-encapsulated feed-stock, confined by a quartz cover plate. Failure to remove the encapsulant above its glass transition temperature, however, resulted in cracking of the ribbons on cooling to room temperature. In order to study the crucial zone melting step in isolation from the encapsulation steps of the continuous process, a constrained-zone melting apparatus has been constructed in which the boron oxide serves only as a sealant to suppress arsenic vaporization. Large grained polycrystalline samples have been produced with this apparatus.
Focussed ion beam (FIB) processing has been applied to the fabrication of novel InP-based cleaved coupled cavity (CCC) quantum cascade lasers (QCL). Gas assisted etching using XeF{sub 2} has been shown to significantly reduce the redeposition of sputtered material onto the mirror surfaces during final milling. For the unprocessed laser a broad spread of lasing peaks are observed between 9.72{mu}m to 9.78{mu}m at a current of 380mA (1kA/cm{sup -2}). After FIB processing, substantial side mode suppression is observed on applying a current of 20mA (100A/cm{sup -2}) to the short section and the main lasing peak is observed at 9.77{mu}m.
Focussed ion beam (FIB) processing has been applied to the fabrication of novel InP-based cleaved coupled cavity (CCC) quantum cascade lasers (QCL). Gas assisted etching using XeF_2 has been shown to significantly reduce the redeposition of sputtered material onto the mirror surfaces during final milling. For the unprocessed laser a broad spread of lasing peaks are observed between 9.72#mu#m to 9.78#mu#m at a current of 380mA (1kA/cm"-"2). After FIB processing, substantial side mode suppression is observed on applying a current of 20mA (100A/cm"-"2) to the short section and the main lasing peak is observed at 9.77#mu#m.
Heart cells from the clam Ruditapes decussatus were routinely cultured with a high level of reproducibility in sea water based medium. Three cell types attached to the plastic after 2?days and could be maintained in vitro for at least 1?month: epithelial-like cells, round cells and fibroblastic cells. Fibroblastic cells were identified as functional cardiomyocytes due to their spontaneous beating, their ultrastructural characteristics and their reactivity with antibodies against sarcomeric ?-actinin, sarcomeric tropomyosin, myosin and troponin T-C. Patch clamp measurements allowed the identification of ionic currents characteristic of cardiomyocytes: a delayed potassium current (I K?slow) strongly suppressed (95%) by tetraethylammonium (1?mM), a fast inactivating potassium current (I K?fas...
Erythroid differentiation regulator (Erdr1) was first discovered in mouse leukemia cell lines and functions as a stress-related survival factor. This study investigated whether Erdr1 regulates murine melanoma progression, as well as the mechanism involved in Erdr1-regulated metastasis. The expression of Erdr1 is negatively correlated with IL-18 expression, which has a pro-cancer effect in melanoma. To study the role of Erdr1 as an anti-cancer factor, cell migration, invasion, and proliferation were measured. Erdr1 overexpression markedly inhibited the level of cell migration, invasion, and proliferation in B16F10 cells in vitro. In addition, Erdr1 overexpression significantly suppressed melanoma lung colonization, metastasis, and tumor growth in vivo. To identify the factors involved in Er...
The concept of antimicrobial packaging has received great attention because of its potential to enhance food safety. Several studies have explored its applications and effectiveness to suppress pathogenic microorganisms. However, few studies have analyzed the alterations caused in the engineering properties of food-packaging polymers after the incorporation of antimicrobials. Such information is very important to understand the feasibility of producing antimicrobial packaging films on the industrial scale. This review explores the work done so far to evaluate how the incorporation of antimicrobial substances affects the properties of food-packaging systems. This article also emphasizes diffusion studies on antimicrobial substances through packaging films and the analytical solutions used t...
This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of treatment with oral risedronate (17.5?mg once daily) for 8?weeks in 11 Japanese patients with Paget?s disease of bone (PDB). Risedronate suppressed the excessive bone turnover associated with PDB and improved several biochemical markers, including serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum bone-specific ALP (BALP), urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD), and urinary cross-linked N-telopeptide of type 1 collagen (NTX). These markers began to decrease within about 2?weeks after the initiation of treatment in most patients, and the response persisted for up to 40?weeks after the cessation of treatment. Risedronate reduced pain by week 24 in most patients. According to quantitative bone scintigraphy, the lesion with the highest radioisotope (RI) uptake showe...
N-type crystalline Si (100) implanted with 5 keV B ions was subsequently irradiated with MeV Si, O and F ions. The B atom profiles were measured by means of secondary ion mass spectrometer after the treatment of rapid thermal annealing. The results show that the transient enhanced diffusion of B atoms is effectively limited by the post-implantation of high energy ions at high dose. At the same irradiation conditions, it is found that the existence of a SiO_2 layer in the near surface of Si is even more effective in suppressing the transient enhanced diffusion of the doped B atoms. The results are qualitatively discussed in combination with the analyses of RBS/c measurements and calculation of the DICADA code
The effects of intradot electron-electron interaction on the photon-assisted Andreev tunneling of a superconductor/carbon-nanotube/superconductor system are studied by using nonequilibrium Green's function technique. The inverse supercurrent reflecting the #pi#-junction transition emerges in the spin-split energy-levels regime polarized by the Coulomb interaction. For the positive tunneling case, the supercurrent reaches its maximum when the spin-degenerate energy-levels are nearest to the Fermi surface. Conversely, for the negative tunneling case, the supercurrent reaches its maximum when two split energy-levels are symmetric with respect of the Fermi surface. The sign and the amplitude of the Andreev tunneling depend distinctly on the energy-level spacing tuned by photon-assisted tunneling. In order to fully understand the transport characteristics, the current-carrying density of states are investigated, which clearly shows the enhancement, suppression or even ...
This paper investigates the effects of the electric current pulse (ECP) on the interface stability of Al-4.5% Cu alloy during the directional solidification. Experimental results show both the cellular spacing and the mushy zone depth decrease with increasing current density, moreover, the solid-liquid interface morphology transforms from dendritic to cellular or even planar interface. The secondary dendrites are suppressed due to the homogeneous distribution of the solute and the increase of temperature gradient originated from ECP. The decrease of the cellular spacing results from branching of the cellular tip caused by Joule heat of the current exerting on cellular tip.
Searches for permanent electric-dipole moments (EDM) of atoms provide important constraints on competing extensions to the standard model of elementary particles. Recently proposed experiment with liquid $^{129}$Xe [M.V. Romalis and M.P. Ledbetter, Phys. Rev. Lett. \\textbf{87}, 067601 (2001)] may significantly improve present limits on the EDMs. To interpret experimental data in terms of CP-violating sources, one must relate measured atomic EDM to various model interactions via electronic-structure calculations. Here we study density dependence of atomic EDMs. The analysis is carried out in the framework of the cell model of the liquid coupled with relativistic atomic-structure calculations. We find that compared to an isolated atom, the EDM of an atom of liquid Xe is suppressed by about 40%.
In device fabrication, dopants are frequently implanted into silicon through silicon dioxide masks. A consequence of this technique is the co-implantation of recoiled oxygen into the substrate. This study investigates the effect of recoiled oxygen on the widely observed transient enhanced boron diffusion. Comparison of the spreading resistance profiles of annealed through-oxide and directly implanted samples reveals that transient enhanced diffusion of boron can be suppressed by the former process. Continued annealing of the through-oxide implanted silicon recovers the enhanced diffusion of boron. This behavior is believed to be due to precipitation of recoiled oxygen. The mechanisms leading to the above observations are discussed and transmission electron microscopy support presented. 11 refs., 5 figs.
In this study, effects of alloying elements such as Mo, Cr and Ni on intergranular corrosion (IGC) resistance of Mo contained austenitic stainless steels in boiling 65% nitric acid solution (Huey Test) were studied. Obtained results are as follows; (1) Mo deteriorates IGC resistance of austenitic stainless steel in Huey test due to enhance precipitation of Laves ((Fe, Cr)_2Mo) phase at grain boundary. (2) Cr improves IGC resistance of Mo contained austenitic stainless steel in Huey test, which is considered to reduce dissolution rate of Laves phase into nitric acid solution by increasing Cr content in Laves phase as increasing Cr content of stainless steel. (3) Ni suppresses occurrence of IGC of Mo contained austenitic stainless steel in Huey test. (author).
Conditions of the separation and detection of organic and inorganic anions by gradient ion chromatography and suppressed conductivity detection were studied, and the procedure of gradient elution was optimized. A detection limit of 1 x 10{sup -3} {mu}g x L{sup -1} was obtained using the pre-concentrated column and most relative standard deviations obtained in the determination of seven organic and inorganic anions were below 5%. This method was proved to be simple, rapid and accurate for the separation and determination of low-molecular-weight organic acids and inorganic anions and could be applied in the analysis of the samples from water and steam systems of thermal power plants with satisfactory results. (orig.)
To examine the hormonal regulation of the ATP-dependent Ca{sup 2+} pump in the kidneys, the ATP-dependent Ca{sup 2+} uptake by the basolateral membrane vesicles in the renal cortex was measured using radioactive calcium ({sup 45}Ca{sup 2+}) in rats with vitamin D deficiency or rats undergoing thyroparathyroidectomy. The V{sub max} of the Ca{sup 2+} pump activity was increased not only by administering calcitriol, but also by normalizing the serum calcium level in vitamin D-deficient rats. PTH suppressed the Ca{sup 2+} pump activity in normocalcemic vitamin D-deficient rats. Thyroparathyroidectomy did not affect the Ca{sup 2+} pump activity in the kidneys of normal rats. It was concluded that the ATP-dependent Ca{sup 2+} pump activity was depressed by secondary hyperparathyroidism in vitamin D-deficient rats. (author).
To examine the hormonal regulation of the ATP-dependent Ca"2"+ pump in the kidneys, the ATP-dependent Ca"2"+ uptake by the basolateral membrane vesicles in the renal cortex was measured using radioactive calcium ("4"5Ca"2"+) in rats with vitamin D deficiency or rats undergoing thyroparathyroidectomy. The V_m_a_x of the Ca"2"+ pump activity was increased not only by administering calcitriol, but also by normalizing the serum calcium level in vitamin D-deficient rats. PTH suppressed the Ca"2"+ pump activity in normocalcemic vitamin D-deficient rats. Thyroparathyroidectomy did not affect the Ca"2"+ pump activity in the kidneys of normal rats. It was concluded that the ATP-dependent Ca"2"+ pump activity was depressed by secondary hyperparathyroidism in vitamin D-deficient rats. (author).
Abstract. Malaria vector control targeting the larval stages of mosquitoes was applied successfully against many species of Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) in malarious countries until the mid-20th Century. Since the introduction of DDT in the 1940s and the associated development of indoor residual spraying (IRS), which usually has a more powerful impact than larval control on vectorial capacity, the focus of malaria prevention programmes has shifted to the control of adult vectors. In the Afrotropical Region, where malaria is transmitted mainly by Anopheles funestus Giles and members of the Anopheles gambiae Giles complex, gaps in information on larval ecology and the ability of An. gambiae sensu lato to exploit a wide variety of larval habitats have discouraged efforts to develop and impl...
Energy flows in deep inelastic electron-proton scattering are investigated at a centre-of-mass energy of 296 GeV for the range Q{sup 2}{>=}10 GeV{sup 2} using the ZEUS detector. A comparison is made between events with and without a large rapidity gap between the hadronic system and the proton direction. The energy flows, corrected for detector acceptance and resolution, are shown for these two classes of events in both the HERA laboratory frame and the Breit frame. From the differences in the shapes of these energy flows we conclude that QCD radiation is suppressed in the large-rapidity-gap events compared to the events without a large rapidity gap. (orig.)
High purity W and W-0.9La2O3 (wt.%) nanopowders were produced by a wet chemical route. The precursor was prepared by the reaction of ammonium paratungstate (APT) with lanthanum salt in aqueous solutions. High resolution electron microscopy investigations revealed that the tungstate particles were coated with oxide precipitates. The precursor powder was reduced to tungsten metal with dispersed lanthanum oxide. Powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1300 and 1400degreeC to suppress grain growth during sintering. The final grain size relates to the SPS conditions, i.e. temperature and heating rate, regardless of the starting powder particle size. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that oxide phases were mainly accumulated at grain boundaries while the tungsten matrix ...
The effect of asymmetry tilt angle ion implantation on polysilicon thin-film transistors (TFTs) device characteristics are investigated. This asymmetric source/drain (S/D) TFTs structure exhibits low leakage current and suppressed kink effect due to the relief of higher electric field near the drain junction side. It is shown that the optimal implantation tilt angle is 30 deg. in our annealing condition. And the anomalous off-state current is more than two orders of magnitude lower than that of the conventional TFTs. By well controlled the LDD region, this structure can act as a conventional structure in the on-state and the turn-on current will not be degraded. Besides, the device under severe hot carrier bias stress shows better hot carrier endurance.
Cerium L_3 XANES (x-ray-absorption near-edge-structure) spectra were analyzed to separate Ce moment contributions and mixed valence (MV) in complex magnetic silicides CePd_2_-_xMn_xSi_2 (0#<=#x#<=#2). The Ce valence mixing does not vary linearly with x, but increases rapidly for x#>=#1.5. The associated moment collapse correlates with pronounced deviations of the unit-cell volume from Vegard law and the onset of structural instability. Reorientation of [001] Mn 3d antiferromagnetic order for x<2 appears to rapidly suppress the weak Ce valence mixing coexisting with antiferromagnetic order in CeMn_2Si_2.
Gold-coated iron nanoparticles (NPs) selectively and significantly (P <0.0001) inhibit proliferation of oral- and colorectal-cancer cells in vitro at doses as low as 5 mg/mL, but have little adverse effect on normal healthy control cells. The particle treatment caused delay in cell-cycle progression, especially in the S-phase. There was no significant difference in the NP uptake between cancer and control cells, and cytotoxicity resulted primarily from the iron core, before oxidation, rather than from the Fe ions released from the core. In contrast with magnetic NPs that usually serve as drug carriers, diagnostic probes or hyperthermia media, the iron, before oxidation, in the NPs selectively suppressed cancer cell growth and left healthy control cells unaffected in vitro and in vivo. This...
We have investigated B diffusion in pre-amorphized silicon. In our experiments, the crystalline surface layer of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates was completely amorphized by Ge ion implantation. Using SOI substrates in this fashion suppressed solid-phase-epitaxy regrowth, making it possible to investigate B diffusion in pre-amorphous silicon over a wider range of temperatures (500-650 deg. C) and times (5-1000 s) than has previously been reported. Diffusivities were determined with the aid of computational processes modeling. The results from this work demonstrate the B diffusion in a-Si is concentration dependent, exhibits a transient enhanced diffusion, and possesses an Arhennius behavior with activation energy of {approx}2.1 eV.
We have investigated B diffusion in pre-amorphized silicon. In our experiments, the crystalline surface layer of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates was completely amorphized by Ge ion implantation. Using SOI substrates in this fashion suppressed solid-phase-epitaxy regrowth, making it possible to investigate B diffusion in pre-amorphous silicon over a wider range of temperatures (500-650 deg. C) and times (5-1000 s) than has previously been reported. Diffusivities were determined with the aid of computational processes modeling. The results from this work demonstrate the B diffusion in a-Si is concentration dependent, exhibits a transient enhanced diffusion, and possesses an Arhennius behavior with activation energy of #approx#2.1 eV.
A new subcarrier combining technique is proposed for MC -CDMA receiver in mobile Rayleigh fading channel. It exploits the structure formed by repeating spreading sequences of users on different subcarriers to simultaneously suppress multiple access interference (MAI) and provide implicit channel tracking without any knowledge of the channel amplitudes or training sequences. This is achieved by adaptively weighting each subcarrier in each symbol period by employing a simple gradient descent algorithm to meet the constant modulus (CM) criterion with judicious selection of step-size. Improved BER and user capacity performance are shown with similar complexity in order of O(N) compared with conventional maximum ratio combining and equal gain combining techniques even under high channel Doppler rates.
Proton pump inhibitors are highly successful in treating gastroesophageal reflux disease, but a significant proportion of patients have persistent symptoms from weakly or nonacidic reflux. Transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation (TLESR) represents the dominant mechanism of gastroesophageal reflux and has therefore become the most intensely investigated therapeutic target. The triggering of TLESR involve the vagal pathways and the ?-aminobutyric type B (GABA(B)) and metabotropic glutamate type 5 (mGluR5) receptors. Baclofen is a GABA(B) receptor agonist that is effective in inhibiting TLESR and reducing the number of reflux episodes, but is associated with significant central nervous system (CNS) side effects. The newer GABA(B) agonists, such as AZD9343 and AZD3355, and mGluR5 antag...
A prescription is given for computing anomalous dimensions of single trace operators in SYM at strong coupling and large $N$ using a reduced model of matrix quantum mechanics. The method involves treating some parts of the operators as "BPS condensates" which, in certain limit, have a dual description as null geodesics on the $S^5$. In the gauge theory, the condensate is similar to a representative of the chiral ring and it is described by a background of commuting matrices. Excitations around these condensates correspond to excitations around this background and take the form of ``string bits" which are dual to the "giant magnons" of Hofman and Maldacena. In fact, the matrix model approach gives a {\\it quantum} description of these string configurations and explains why the infinite momentum limit suppresses the quantum effects. This method allows, not only to derive part of the classical sigma model Hamiltonian of the dual string (in the infinite momentum ...
A brief overview is given of a report on Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS) Recirculation Reliability Knowledge Base compiled by the International Working Group on ECCS Reliability for the OECD/NEA/CSNI. Four safety issues are identified which arise in the context of loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) and are connected with materials and/or processes that interfere with the ECCS safety function in ways other than just strainer head loss generation. They are: the generation of missiles during a LOCA from encapsulated insulation materials used to reduce insulation debris production; clogging of BWR pressure suppression containment vent pipes by insulation jackets or metallic insulation foil pieces; strainer or sump debris ingestion and the effects of ingested debris on ECCS equipment and core cooling; miscellaneous items such as material aging and self-cleaning strainer concepts. The emphasis is mainly on BWRs but many of the considerations also apply to PWRs. ...
Algal allelopathy is an ecological/physiological phenomenon that has focused attention on the interactions among algae and the production of algal toxins. We investigated the allelopathic interactions between the dinoflagellate genus Prorocentrum micans and diatom genus Skeletonema costatum and between P. micans and dinoflagellate genus Karenia mikimotoi using bi-algal cultures. Because the effects were species-specific and size-dependent, we evaluated the effect of different initial densities. At low densities of P. micans and high densities of S. costatum inoculated into the same medium, the growth of P. micans was weakly restrained, whereas the growth of S. costatum was significantly suppressed. S. costatum and K. mikimotoi were strongly inhibited by P. micans, in both the bi-algal cult...
Readout integrated circuits (ROICs) for focal plane arrays (FPAs) have become increasingly complex to meet the needs of modern infrared systems. BAE Systems has pioneered a number of advanced signal processing architectures for FPA ROICs. Demonstrated signal processing capabilities of BAE Systems FPAs include analog-to-digital conversion, offset subtraction, individual pixel automatic gain compensation, transient noise suppression, on-FPA defect deselection, reconfigurable pixels, spatial neural network processing and subframe noise averaging. BAE Systems FPA advanced signal processing is not just for demonstrations, but is used in many of their deliverable FPAs, improving real system performance.
Abstract The inhibitory effect of the extract from Magnolia officinalis (MOE) against L. monocytogenes, S. faecalis, E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. aureus and B. anthracis by paper-diffusion methods and the characterization of the mutton immersed in different concentrations of the MOE during storage were evaluated in this paper. The results showed that MOE could significantly inhibit the growth of S. aureus, S. faecalis, B. anthracis and E. coli, and their MIC was 0.02-mg/mL, 0.03-mg/mL, 0.05-mg/mL and 0.10-mg/mL, respectively. MOE showed weak inhibition for the S. typhimurium. The mutton treated with 2%, 4% and 6% MOE resulted in suppression in the increase of total volatile base nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, and the growth of Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas. The cooled m...
In this paper, a hybrid time-frequency method (HTM) based on the improved Morlet wavelet and auto terms window (ATW) is presented. The Morlet wavelet, for its shape is similar to the mechanical shock signals, is added two parameters which decide the shape of the mother wavelet. The added parameters and the appropriate scale parameter for continuous wavelet transformation (CWT) are calculated using the cross validation method (CVM) and the minimum Shannon entropy method. The useless noise in the original signal can be filtered by the CWT filter de-noising process. An ATW based on the Smoothed Pseudo Wigner-Ville Distribution (SPWVD) spectrum is designed as a window function to suppress the cross terms in Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD). The gear fault diagnosis experiment results show that ...
Dy doped #alpha#-SiAlON ceramics prepared by the hot-pressing method show a high optical transmittance value, >70%, in the infrared region of 1.5-4.5 #mu#m. First principles calculations have been carried out to reveal the underlying transparency mechanism. It is found that the valence shell of doped Dy atoms interacts strongly with the doping states of #alpha#-SiAlON, resulting in the increase in the optical gap from 0.4 to 1.1 eV, which suppresses the photoabsorption in the wavelength region longer than 1.0 #mu#m and leads to the good transparency property. The calculated optical transmission spectra are in good agreement with the corresponding experiments.
In this study, we investigated the effects of one- and two-staged orchiopexy on testicular volume and serum testosterone levels in cases with high, abdominally localized, bilateral nonpalpable testes. Between March 1996 and April 2001, orchiopexy was performed on 46 testes in 23 patients with bilateral nonpalpable testes. In 15 of the 23 patients, a two-stage Fowler-Stephens orchiopexy was performed, and in 8 of the 23 patients, a one-stage laparoscopic orchiopexy was performed. For one patient who lacked both testes, bilateral prosthetic testes were inserted. The patients' ages were between 20 and 23 years (average, 21 years). In the first stage of the two-stage orchiopexy, the spermatic artery was ligated laparoscopically. Six months later, open surgery orchiopexy was performed. Patients were followed for 2 to 16 months (average, 10 months) and were evaluated for testicular atrophy, serum testosterone levels, and complications. In all the patients, the preoperative secondary sexual ...
Many hormones elicit effects on target cells by stimulating the enzyme phospholipase-C, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphoinositides to the intracellular second messengers diacylglycerol and inositol phosphates. The present study examined the roles of FSH and guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) in regulating the hydrolysis of phosphoinositides in Sertoli cells. Sertoli cell cultures prepared from 16- to 18-day-old rats were incubated for 24 h with myo-[2-3H] inositol to label endogenous phospholipids. Treatment of cells from 0.5-20 min with preparations of ovine FSH ranging in potency from 1-60 times that of NIH FSH S1 did not affect accumulation of inositol phosphates. Levels of total [3H]inositol phosphates [[3H]inositol mono-, di-, and triphosphates (IP, IP2, and IP3)] in FSH-treated cultures was 75-120% the levels in control cultures over the various time intervals studied. Addition of testosterone and the combination of testosterone plus retinoic acid, agents ...
To study the regulation of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in human adipocytes, omental adipose tissue was obtained from healthy subjects and digested in collagenase. The isolated adipocytes thus obtained were suspended in Medium 199 and cultured at 37 degrees C. Cell viability was demonstrated in adipocytes cultured for up to 72 h by constancy of cell number, cell size, trypan-blue exclusion, and specific /sup 125/I-insulin binding. In addition, chloroquine induced an increase in cell-associated /sup 125/I-insulin at 24, 48, and 72 h after preparation. Thus, isolated adipocytes retained their ability to bind, internalize, and degrade insulin. LPL was measured as activity secreted into the culture medium (CM), released from cells by heparin (HR), and extracted from cell digests. A broad range of heparin concentrations produced a prompt release of LPL from a rapidly replenishable pool of cellular activity. When cells were cultured in medium containing 10% ...
Interleukin 2 (IL-2) is a T-cell-derived lymphokine critical in the activation and proliferation of T cells, B cells, and lymphokine-activated killer cells. It is a glycoprotein of #approx#15,500 daltons that is synthesized and secreted after activation by antigen or mitogen. By using the analogs 8-azidoadensoine 5'-[#gamma#-"3"2P]triphosphate ([#gamma#-"3"2P]8N_3ATP) and nicotinamide 2-azidoadenine [adenylate-"3"2P]dinucleotide ([#alpha#-"3"2P]2N_3NAD"+) as photoaffinity probes, the authors have detected specific, metal ion-requiring nucleotide binding sites on recombinant human IL-2 (rhIL-2). The specificity of these nucleotide interactions with rhIL-2 was demonstrated by saturation effects and by competition by the parent nucleotides at physiologically relevant concentrations. Saturation of photoinsertion into rhIL-2 occurred at 50 #mu#M [#gamma#-"3"2P]8N_3ATP. Saturation of photoinsertion with [#alpha#-"3"2P]2N_3NAD"+ was observed at 180 #mu#M. The extent of ...
PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide) is widely distributed neuropeptide acting via three subtypes of receptors, PAC(1), VPAC(1) and VPAC(2). Here we examined the localisation and nature of PACAP-immunoreactive nerves in the rat thyroid and parathyroid glands and defined the distribution of PAC(1), VPAC(1) and VPAC(2) receptor mRNA's. In the parathyroid gland a large number of nerve fibres displaying PACAP-immunoreactivity were distributed beneath the capsule, around blood vessels and close to glandular cells. Most of the PACAP-nerves were sensory, since they co-stored CGRP (calcitonin-gene-related peptide) and were sensitive to capsaicin-treatment. mRNA's for PAC(1) and VPAC(2) receptors occurred in the parathyroid gland, mainly located in the glandular cells. In the thyroid gland PACAP-immunoreactive nerve fibres were associated with blood vessels, thyroid follicles and parafollicular C-cells. A high degree of co-existence between PACAP and VIP (vasoactive ...
The influence of serum, IGF-1 and TGF-{beta} on the differentiation of preadipocytes was examined in primary cultures of porcine adipose tissue cells. In serum-supplemented or serum-free, IGF-1 (1 and 10 nM) had no effect on total cell number. However, IGF-1 (10nM) increased adipocyte number only in serum-supplemented (1% pig serum) cultures, whereas TGF-{beta} (15 pm) reduced the adipocyte number in the presence and absence of IGF-1. Replication of preadipocytes was analyzed with a ({sup 3}H) thymidine assay. Preadipocyte proliferation (cpm in adipocyte fraction) was increased by IGF-1 (10nM) only in cultures containing pig serum. TGF-{beta} had no effect on preadipocyte proliferation specifically, but slightly increased total ({sup 3}H) thymidine incorporation in cultures with serum. Glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) specific activity was decreased by adding TGF-{beta} to serum-free cultures but TGF-{beta} had little effect in serum-supplemented cultures. Cellular ...
The influence of serum, IGF-1 and TGF-#beta# on the differentiation of preadipocytes was examined in primary cultures of porcine adipose tissue cells. In serum-supplemented or serum-free, IGF-1 (1 and 10 nM) had no effect on total cell number. However, IGF-1 (10nM) increased adipocyte number only in serum-supplemented (1% pig serum) cultures, whereas TGF-#beta# (15 pm) reduced the adipocyte number in the presence and absence of IGF-1. Replication of preadipocytes was analyzed with a ["3H] thymidine assay. Preadipocyte proliferation (cpm in adipocyte fraction) was increased by IGF-1 (10nM) only in cultures containing pig serum. TGF-#beta# had no effect on preadipocyte proliferation specifically, but slightly increased total ["3H] thymidine incorporation in cultures with serum. Glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) specific activity was decreased by adding TGF-#beta# to serum-free cultures but TGF-#beta# had little effect in serum-supplemented cultures. Cellular ...
Objective:? Primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is characterised by autonomous secretion of PTH from enlarged parathyroid glands leading, in most patients, to asymptomatic hypercalcaemia. Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia (FHH) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by inactivating mutations in the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) gene; it is characterised by lifelong and usually asymptomatic hypercalcaemia. Establishing the correct diagnosis is important because surgery can be curative in HPT, but ineffective in FHH. There is overlap in the diagnostic criteria for the two disorders and some patients carrying inactivating mutations in the CaSR gene, which is suggestive of FHH, also have HPT with hyperplastic parathyroid glands or adenomas. Design and Patients:? CaSR gene mutations were analyzed and clinical and biochemical parameters evaluated in 139 consecutive out-patients presenting with hypercalcaemia and suspected of having HPT. Results:? Six different ...
The detection and quantification of defined reaction products of chemical mutagens and carcinogens (and of many cancer chemotherapeutic agents) with DNA require highly sensitive analytical techniques. The exceptional capability of immunoglobulins to recognize subtle alterations of molecular structure (especially when monoclonal antibodies are used to maximize specificity), outstanding sensitivity of immunoanalysis by high-affinity antibodies, and the fact that radioactively-labelled agents are not required suggest the utility of a radioimmunoassay to recognize and quantitate alkylated DNA products. We have recently developed a set of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (secreted by mouse x mouse as well as by rat x rat hybridomas; antibody affinity constants, 10"9 to > 10"1"0 lmol) specifically directed against several DNA alkylation products with possible relevance in relation to both mutagenesis and malignant transformation of mammalian cells. These alkylation ...
Outbreaks of disease attributable to human error or natural causes can provide unique opportunities to gain new information about host-pathogen interactions and new leads for pathogenesis research. Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN), a sequela of infection with pathogenic streptococci, is a common cause of preventable kidney disease worldwide. Although PSGN usually occurs after infection with group A streptococci, organisms of Lancefield group C and G also can be responsible. Despite decades of study, the molecular pathogenesis of PSGN is poorly understood. As a first step toward gaining new information about PSGN pathogenesis, we sequenced the genome of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus strain MGCS10565, a group C organism that caused a very large and unusually severe epidemic of nephritis in Brazil. The genome is a circular chromosome of 2,024,171 bp. The genome shares extensive gene content, including many virulence factors, with genetically related group A ...
As the last step of urinary acidification, the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) is thought to secrete protons into the tubular lumens by means of a H(+)-translocating adenosinetriphosphatase (H(+)-ATPase). However, recent studies have also shown the existence of Na(+)-H+ exchange activity in IMCD cells. Although the physiological function of the antiporter in IMCD cells is unknown, activation of Na(+)-H+ exchange in other cell-culture systems has been suggested to be closely associated with the process of cell growth. Thus presence of Na(+)-H+ exchange may relate to the growth phase of these cells. To examine intracellular pH (pHi) regulation in growing IMCD cells, we studied proton transport by Na(+)-dependent and Na(+)-independent mechanisms by microfluorimetry using the pHi-sensitive dye 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein acetoxymethyl ester (BCECF/AM). Actively growing cells, defined by (3H)thymidine incorporations, ...
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a glycoprotein hormone, secreted by the syncytiotrophoblast cells of the fertilized ovum, that enters the maternal circulation at the time of endometrial implantation. It is composed of two nonidentical subunits; ..cap alpha.. and ..beta.., with molecular weights of 14 kD and 23 kD, respectively. Human chorionic gonadotropin binds to the same receptor as hLH and displays the same biological response, namely, to stimulate the declining function of the corpus luteum to produce progestins and estrogen late in the menstrual cycle. The differences in the structures of hCG and hLH have been exploited to develop antibodies that can measure hCG specifically in the presence of hLH. Two-site antibody binding assays have been developed, based on a surface immunological concept of hCG epitopes, that involve four distinct regions to which antibodies against hCG can bind simultaneously. Antibody cooperative effects, in conjunction with ...
Influenza virus infection during pregnancy has been implicated as one of cause of premature delivery, abortion and stillbirth. We have reported that cultured human fetal membrane chorion cells undergoing apoptosis by influenza virus infection secrete unidentified heat-stable monocyte differentiation-inducing (MDI) factors. In this study, cellular, biological and immunochemical characteristics of MDI factors were investigated using human monocytic leukemia THP-1 cells by nitroblue tetrazolium reduction and cell adhesion assays. The treatment of THP-1 cells with culture supernatants from the influenza virus-infected chorion cells induced the nitroblue tetrazolium reduction ability, which was inhibited by the addition of superoxide dismutase and diphenyleneiodonium chloride, an inhibitor for reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase. The phenomenon was also observed in human peripheral blood monocytes and histiocytic leukemia U937 cells, but not in ...
Wind tunnel tests were performed of three fugitive dust control agents derived from potato and sugar beet products. These materials are being considered for use as dust suppressants to reduce the potential for transport of radioactive materials by wind from radioactive waste construction and remediation sites. Soil and dust control agent type, solution concentrations, application quantities, aging (or drying) conditions, surface disturbance, and wind and saltating sand eolian erosive stresses were selected and controlled to simulate application and exposure of excavated soil surfaces in the field. A description of the tests, results, conclusions, and recommendations are presented in this report. The results of this study indicate that all three dust control agents can protect exposed soil surfaces from extreme eolian stresses. It is also clear that the interaction and performance of each agent with various soil types may differ dramatically. Thus, soils similar to ...
Most of all research reactors are immerged in the deep water pool to be a ultimate heat sink. At the neighbor of the reactor, some radio-active matters, such as Na-24, Ar-41, Mg-27, Al-28 and etc, may be generated by the neutron irradiation. Those radio-active isotopes may rise up to the pool water surface through the natural convection flow, which can make the radioactivity in the reactor hall rise high enough to concern about the health of people working in the reactor hall. When the irradiation test facilities are loaded or unloaded during a normal operation, the highly radio-activated primary coolant may flow out through the irradiation test holes on the top of the reactor. This also may be a main hazard source to make the working environment of the reactor hall bad. Making a hot water layer 1.5 ? 2.0 m thick at the top of reactor pool would be a good measure to resolve that problem. The hot water layer is formed by a thermal stratification of pool water, which can effectively ...
We recently found that injection of 2 mCi of yttrium 90 (90Y; approximately 23,000 rads) into normal canine knees stimulated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis by femoral condylar cartilage. The present investigation was conducted to determine whether radiation affects cartilage metabolism directly. Rates of GAG synthesis and degradation in normal canine articular cartilage were studied following irradiation. Cultured synovium from the same knees was treated similarly, to determine the effects of irradiation on hyaluronic acid synthesis. Twenty-four hours after exposure to 1,000 rads, 10,000 rads, or 50,000 rads, 35S-GAG synthesis by the cartilage was 93%, 69%, and 37%, respectively, of that in control, nonirradiated cartilage. The effect was not rapidly reversible: 120 hours after exposure to 50,000 rads, GAG synthesis remained at only 28% of the control level. Autoradiography showed marked suppression of 35S uptake by chondrocytes after irradiation. Cartilage GAG ...
Radio frequency (RF) sheaths are suspected of limiting the performance of present-day ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRFs) antennas over long pulses and should be minimized in future fusion devices. Within the simplest models, RF-sheath effects are quantified by the integral VRF = ? E|| ? dl where the parallel RF field E|| is linked with the slow wave. On 'long open field lines' with large toroidal extension on both sides of the antenna it was shown that VRF is excited by parallel RF currents j|| flowing on the antenna structure. In this paper, the validity of this simple sheath theory is tested experimentally on the Tore Supra (TS) ITER-like antenna prototype (ILP), together with antenna simulation and post-processing codes developed to compute VRF. The predicted poloidal localization of high-|VRF| zones is confronted to that inferred from experimental data analysis. Surface temperature distribution on ILP front face, as well as ILP-induced modifications of RF coupling and hot ...
Decadal-scale climate variations over the Pacific Ocean and its surroundings are strongly related to the so-called Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) which is coherent with wintertime climate over North America and Asian monsoon, and have important impacts on marine ecosystems and fisheries. In a near-term climate prediction covering the period up to 2030, we require knowledge of the future state of internal variations in the climate system such as the PDO as well as the global warming signal. We perform sets of ensemble hindcast and forecast experiments using a coupled atmosphere-ocean climate model to examine the predictability of internal variations on decadal timescales, in addition to the response to external forcing due to changes in concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, volcanic activity, and solar cycle variations. Our results highlight that an initialization of the upper-ocean state using historical observations is effective for successful hindcasts of the PDO and ...
PWR primary circuit radiolysis model describes oxygen/hydrogen behavior in the Westinghouse Sizewell B 4-loop PWR (SNUPPS design). The effect of oxygen ingress have also been evaluated using the same model. There is clear agreement from experimental and modelling data that the dissolved hydrogen concentration required to suppress radiolysis decreases as the temperature increases. There is good evidence from the study at the Belleville PWR that {approx}5 cc(STP)kg{sup -1} H{sub 2} is sufficient to suppress radiolysis during power operation. Modelling indicates that the minimum hydrogen concentration is about 0.5 cc (STP)kg{sup -1} at PWR operating temperatures and that the presence of boric acid has little effect on this value, although it does increase the steady-state concentration of H{sub 2}O{sub 2}. Downstream of the core the concentrations of both oxygen and hydrogen peroxide fall by about two orders of magnitude at full power due to ...
Elastic and elasto-plastic modelling of indentation in CFRP cross-ply laminates has been performed. Detailed knowledge of the field solutions in the volume below the indentor forms the basis for the reported micromechanical interpretation of the observed damage in test specimens. The analysis shows that matrix cracks originate at sites of maximum tensile stress perpendicular to fibers. The predicted stress fields due to indentation show that stress concentrations occur in the interface between alternating plies. It is found that microcracking in this zone is a precursor to the observed failure. This analysis is supported by in-situ scanning electron microscopy during loading by a cylindrical indentor onto the laminate supported on a rigid substrate. The microscopy reveals microdamage in the region of interfacial tensile stress concentrations. The onset of indentation failure in these layered composites suggests that plastic interleaves would delay failure. It is shown numerically that ...
PNAS-4, a novel pro-apoptotic gene activated during the early response to DNA damage, can inhibit proliferation via apoptosis when overexpressed in some tumor cells. Recent studies have indicated that honokiol can induce apoptosis, inhibit angiogenesis, and suppress tumor growth. In the present study, we investigated whether mouse PNAS-4 (mPNAS-4) could augment the apoptosis of tumor cells induced by honokiol in vitro, and whether the antiangiogenic activity of honokiol and induction of apoptosis by mPNAS-4 could work cooperatively to improve the antitumor efficacy in vivo. In vitro, mPNAS-4 inhibited proliferation of murine colorectal carcinoma CT26 and Lewis lung carcinoma LL2 cells through induction of apoptosis, and significantly augmented the apoptosis of CT26 and LL2 cells induced by honokiol. Compared with treatment with mPNAS-4 or honokiol alone, in vivo systemic administration of an expression plasmid encoding mPNAS-4 and low-dose honokiol significantly ...
Field cage studies were carried out to evaluate the F_1 sterility technique for population suppression of the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), in cotton. For this purpose, six field cages (1.8 m x 1.8 m x 1.8 m) were placed over cotton seedlings in the field. Five pairs of laboratory reared, untreated adult moths were released in all six cages during the first week of August. In addition, on the same data 100 pairs of adults, following irradiation of the mature pupae at 100 Gy, were released in two cages and 250 such pairs of irradiated adults in two other cages in ratios of 20:1 and 50:1 (irradiated:normal), respectively. The results of per cent larval infestation in the rosette blooms in different field cages indicated that larval infestation in the flowers was significantly lower (4.93%) in cages where the moths were released at the 50:1 ratio than in cages where moths were released at the 20:1 ratio (6.71%). Larval infestation in the flowers ...
An extensive study of the effects of correlations on both charged and neutral current weak interaction rates in dense matter is performed. Both strong and electromagnetic correlations are considered. The propagation of particle-hole interactions in the medium plays an important role in determining the neutrino mean free paths. The effects due to Pauli blocking and density, spin, and isospin correlations in the medium significantly reduce the neutrino cross sections. As a result of the lack of experimental information at high density, these correlations are necessarily model dependent. For example, spin correlations in nonrelativistic models are found to lead to larger suppressions of neutrino cross sections compared to those of relativistic models. This is due to the tendency of the nonrelativistic models to develop spin instabilities. Notwithstanding the above caveats, and the differences between nonrelativistic and relativistic approaches such as the spin- and ...
In order to discuss effects of lithium iodide (LiI) doping on condensation structure of brown coals during heating, spectral changes were measured by using an in-situ FT-IR. It was found that the LiI doping accelerates weight reduction due to heating, and the doping effect is affected by coal structure. Both of Loy Yang (LY) coal and its LiI doped coal (DLY) had absorption intensity of the FT-IR spectra decreased with rising temperature, and the absorption center belonging to an OH group shows different shifts between the LY and DLY coals. This indicates that the LiI doping has affected the change in hydrogen bonding patterns associated with heating. Both of South Banko (SB) and LY coals had the absorption spectral intensity in the OH group decreased as the weight reduction (conversion) rate increased. Reduction in the OH groups associated with heating is caused by volatilization and condensation reaction in light-gravity fraction. However, in the case of equal conversion rate, the LiI ...
To assess the contribution of adrenal-derived androgens in women with hirsutism, adrenal scintigrams under dexamethasone suppression (DS) were performed on 35 women with increasing facial or body hair and irregular or absent menses. Based upon the DS regimen chosen (8 mg/d for 2 days or 4 md/d for 7 days before the injection of 6..beta..-(/sup 131/I)iodomethylnorcholesterol), three imaging patterns were identified. The first was the absence of uptake before 3 days (8-mg DS) or before 5 days (4-mg DS) after injection. This imaging pattern was seen in 17 of the 35 patients studied and was considered normal. The second pattern was bilateral uptake earlier than 3 days (8-mg DS regimen) or 5 days (4-mg DS) after injection. This was seen in 13 of the 35 patients and was interpreted as bilateral early visualization. Adrenal-vein catheterization performed on six patients with this pattern showed increased adrenal-vein testosterone. The third pattern, observed in five ...
Feasibility of using combined release of sterile males and sterile females for population suppression of Earias vittella (Fabricius) was evaluated on okra in two ways. In one study, a combined release of sterile males and sterile females was evaluated under simulated conditions in laboratory, a 10: 10: 1: 1 (sterile male: sterile female: normal female: normal male) ratio effected > 99% sterility. In the second study, in a field cage experiment, a combined release of sterile males and sterile females was evaluated using normal males and tethered normal females. In this experiment, the release of sterile males and sterile females in 10: 10: 1: 1 ratio caused complete 'shut off' of mating of normal females for first 2 days and indicated>93% reduction in the larval progeny in the next generation. The tethered females were allowed to mate only once. E. vittella females mate multiply and so with overwhelming numbers of sterile males present, most probably the next ...
Aerodynamic sound derived from bluff bodies can be considerably reduced by flow control. In this paper, the authors propose a new method in which porous material covers a body surface as one of the flow control methods. From wind tunnel tests on flows around a bare cylinder and a cylinder with porous material, it has been clarified that the application of porous materials is effective in reducing aerodynamic sound. Correlation between aerodynamic sound and aerodynamic force fluctuation, and a surface pressure distribution of cylinders are measured to investigate a mechanism of aerodynamic sound reduction. As a result, the correlation between aerodynamic sound and aerodynamic force fluctuation exists in the flow around the bare cylinder and disappears in the flow around the cylinder with porous material. Moreover, the aerodynamic force fluctuation of the cylinder with porous material is less than that of the bare cylinder. The surface pressure distribution of the cylinder with porous ...
Decaborane (B_1_0H_1_4) cluster ions were implanted into n-Si(100) substrates to fabricate shallow p"+/n junctions. Implant energies of 2 keV, 5 keV, and 20 keV, equivalent to implant energies of the monomer boron ion of 174 eV, 435 eV, and 1.74 keV, respectively, were used at dosages of 1 X 10"1"2 /cm"2 and 1 X 10"1"3 /cm"2. The implanted samples were then subjected to activation annealing at 800 .deg. C, 900 .deg. C, and 1000 .deg. C for 10 s. By using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiles, we determined that the depth of the shallow junction (D_s) at a dosage of 1 X 10"1"3 /cm"2 was in the range 12 nm - 45 nm after annealing at 1000 .deg. C. D_s and transient enhanced diffusion (TED) were greatly reduced at implant energies lower than 5 keV, but thermal diffusion (TD) smoothly decreased. In particular, TED was suppressed in the p"+/n junction implanted at 2 keV and a dosage of 1 X 10"1"3 /cm"2, and the formation of only a 5.6-nm ultra-shallow ...
Our group is interested in evaluating early effects of dietary interventions on bone loss. Postmenopausal women lose bone following reduction in estrogen which leads to increased risk of fracture. Traditional means of monitoring bone loss and effectiveness of treatments include changes in bone density, which takes 6 months to years to observe effects, and changes in biochemical markers of bone turnover, which are highly variable and lack specificity. Prelabeling bone with {sup 41}Ca and measuring urinary {sup 41}Ca excretion with accelerator mass spectrometry provides a sensitive, specific, and rapid approach to evaluating effectiveness of treatment. To better understand {sup 41}Ca technology as a tool for measuring effective treatments on reducing bone resorption, we perturbed bone resorption by manipulating dietary calcium in rats. We used {sup 3}H-tetracycline ({sup 3}H-TC) as a proxy for {sup 41}Ca and found that a single dose is feasible to study bone resorption. ...
The ab initio pseudopotential method is used to study transient-enhanced-diffusion (TED) related processes. The electronic degrees of freedom are included explicitly, together with the fully self-consistent treatment of the electron charge density. A large supercell and a fine k-point mesh are used to ensure numerical convergence. Such method has been demonstrated to give quantitative description of defect energetic. We will show that boron diffusion is significantly enhanced in the presence of the Si interstitial due to the substantial lowering of the migrational barrier through a kick-out mechanism. The resulting mobile boron can also be trapped by another substitutional boron, forming an immobile and elect rically inactive two-boron pair. Similarly, carbon diffusion is also enhanced significantly due to the pairing with Si interstitial. However, carbon binds to Si interstitial much more strongly than boron does, taking away most Si interstitial from boron at sufficiently large ...
Implanted B and P dopants in Si exhibit transient enhanced diffusion (TED) during initial annealing which arises from the excess interstitials generated by the implant. In order to study the mechanisms of TED, the authors have used B doping marker layers in Si to probe the injection of interstitials from near-surface, non-amorphizing Si implants during annealing. The in-diffusion of interstitials is limited by trapping at impurities and has an activation energy of {approximately}3.5 eV. Substitutional C is the dominant trapping center with a binding energy of 2--2.5 eV. The high interstitial supersaturation adjacent to the implant damage drives substitutional B into metastable clusters at concentrations below the B solid solubility limit. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the interstitials driving TED are emitted from {l_brace}311{r_brace} defect clusters in the damage region at a rate which also exhibits an activation energy of 3.6 eV. The population of excess interstitials ...
Implanted B and P dopants in Si exhibit transient enhanced diffusion (TED) during initial annealing which arises from the excess interstitials generated by the implant. In order to study the mechanisms of TED, the authors have used B doping marker layers in Si to probe the injection of interstitials from near-surface, non-amorphizing Si implants during annealing. The in-diffusion of interstitials is limited by trapping at impurities and has an activation energy of #approx#3.5 eV. Substitutional C is the dominant trapping center with a binding energy of 2--2.5 eV. The high interstitial supersaturation adjacent to the implant damage drives substitutional B into metastable clusters at concentrations below the B solid solubility limit. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the interstitials driving TED are emitted from #left brace#311#right brace# defect clusters in the damage region at a rate which also exhibits an activation energy of 3.6 eV. The population of excess interstitials ...
A systematic approach is followed in order to identify realistic D-brane models at toric del Pezzo singularities. Requiring quark and lepton spectrum and Yukawas from D3 branes and massless hypercharge, we are led to Pati-Salam extensions of the Standard Model. Hierarchies of masses, flavour mixings and control of couplings select higher order del Pezzo singularities, minimising the Higgs sector prefers toric del Pezzos with dP3 providing the most successful compromise. Then a supersymmetric local string model is presented with the following properties at low energies: (i) the MSSM spectrum plus a local B-L gauge field or additional Higgs fields depending on the breaking pattern, (ii) a realistic hierarchy of quark and lepton masses and (iii) realistic flavour mixing between quark and lepton families with computable CKM and PMNS matrices, and CP violation consistent with observations. In this construction, kinetic terms are diagonal and under calculational control ...
Sixteen patients with advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) with or without lymph node involvement, but without evidence of extranodal manifestations, were treated with a combination of total skin electron beam therapy (TSEB) and total nodal irradiation (TNI). Fourteen (87%) patients achieved a complete response (CR) lasting from 1 to 84+ months (median, 8+ months) from the completion of treatment. The best results occurred in 6 patients with pretumorous intracutaneous CTCL (Stages IB and IIA) where the CR has lasted in all patients from 8 to 84+ months (median about 27+ months). Radiotherapy was well tolerated with the major toxicity being bone marrow suppression. The authors conclude that combined TSEB and TNI is a relatively safe and effective treatment for patients with CTCL prior to the development of lymph node involvement. Long-term follow-up is needed to assess the curative potential of this treatment.
The Two-Beam Accelerator (TBA) consists of a long high-gradient accelerator structure (HGS) adjacent to an equal-length Free Electron Laser (FEL). In the FEL, a beam propagates through a long series of undulators. At regular intervals, waveguides couple microwave power out of the FEL into the HGS. To replenish energy given up by the FEL beam to the microwave field induction accelerator units are placed periodically along the length or the FEL. In this manner it is expected to achieve gradients of more than 250 MV/m and thus have serious option for a 1 TeV /times/ 1 TeV linear collider. The state of present theoretical understanding of the TBA is presented with particular emphasis upon operation of the ''steady-state'' FEL, phase and amplitude control of the rf wave, and suppression of sideband instabilities. Experimental work has focused upon the development of a suitable HGS and the testing of this structure using the Electron ...
We investigate the physics of the lightest CP-even MSSM Higgs boson at the Tevatron, the LHC, a linear e+e- collider, a gamma gamma collider and a mu+mu- collider. The analysis is performed in the three most prominent soft SUSY-breaking scenarios, mSUGRA, mGMSB and mAMSB. For all colliders the observability and parameter regions with suppressed production cross sections (compared to a SM Higgs boson with the same mass) are investigated. For the lepton and photon colliders the potential is analyzed of precision measurements of the branching ratios of the light CP-even Higgs boson for obtaining indirect bounds on the mass of the CP-odd Higgs boson and the high-energy parameters of the soft SUSY-breaking scenarios. In regions of the parameter space where the LHC can detect the heavy Higgs bosons, precision measurements of the properties of the light Higgs boson at the linear collider can provide valuable information for distinguishing between the mSUGRA, mGMSB and ...
Agrostis capillaris (Agrostis) and Calluna vulgaris (Calluna), two species with differing phenologies and widespread presence in upland areas of Britain where high Chernobyl fallout occurred, were grown in pot culture with varying concentrations of potassium in the rooting medium. Tissue content of potassium increased with increasing supply in both species. Roots, excised from these plants, were placed in a solution of "1"3"7Cs-labelled caesium chloride for 15 min to determine uptake potential. There were clear negative relationships between the rate of uptake of "1"3"7Cs by both species and (a) the concentration of potassium supplied and (b) plant issue potassium concentrations. With Agrotis, there was an approximately ten-fold difference in "1"3"7Cs uptake between potassium-deficient and optimum plants; with Calluna, it was approximately eight-fold. These results demonstrate the suppression of "1"3"7Cs uptake into plants by potassium supply. (author).
The role of MRT in the prebiopsy diagnosis of muscular and vascular inflammatory conditions was evaluated prospectively and an optimal method of examination was investigated. 92 patients with a suspected diagnosis of myositis (60 cases) or vasculitis (32 cases) were examined, in each case two extremities were studied using transverse T_1 and T_2 weighted SE sequences and double echo STIR sequences on a 0.5 Tesla (56 patients) or 1.5 Tesla magnet (36 patients; T5/S15 Gyroscan, Philips). The site of the biopsy depended on the MRT findings. In 41 patients the suspected diagnosis was confirmed histologically, in two patients an infective myositis was diagnosed on clinical grounds despite negative histology. MRT demonstrated muscle oedema in 86% of patients. There were negative findings after immuno-suppressive therapy (two patients), in focal myositis (3 out of 4 patients) and in one of 7 patients with untreated vasculitis. Amongst 49 patients in whom the suspected ...
The RADionuclide Transport, Removal, And Dose (RAD-TRAD) code is designed for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) use to calculate the radiological consequences to the off-site population and to control room operators following a design-basis accident at light water reactor (LWR) power plants. This code utilizes updated reactor accident source terms published in draft NUREG-1465. The code will track the transport of radionuclides as they are released from the reactor pressure vessel, travel through the primary containment and other buildings, and are released to the environment. As the radioactive material is transported through the primary containment and other buildings, credit for several removal mechanisms may be taken, including sprays, suppression pools, overlying pools, filters, and natural deposition. Simple models are available for these different removal mechanisms that use, as input, information about the conditions in the plant and predict either ...
The RADionuclide Transport, Removal, And Dose (RADTRAD) code is designed for US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) use to calculate the radiological consequences to the offsite population and to control room operators following a design-basis accident at Light Water Reactor (LWR) power plants. This code utilizes updated reactor accident source terms published in draft NUREG-1465, ``Accident Source Terms for Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants.`` The code will track the transport of radionuclides as they are released from the reactor pressure vessel, travel through the primary containment and other buildings, and are released to the environment. As the radioactive material is transported through the primary containment and other buildings, credit for several removal mechanisms may be taken including sprays, suppression pools, overlying pools, filters, and natural deposition. Simple models are available for these different removal mechanisms that use, as input, ...
High-spin states in the neutron-rich nuclei {sup 172,173}Yb have been populated in a {sup 170}Er({sup 7}Li,(p,d,t)xn) incomplete-fusion reaction and the emitted {gamma}-radiation was detected with the GASP array. The signature partners of the 7/2{sup +}[633] rotational band of the odd-N {sup 173}Yb isotope have been newly established and were observed up to spin values of (45/2{sup +}) and (43/2{sup +}), respectively. The ground-state band of the even-even nucleus {sup 172}Yb has been observed up to a spin value of (22{sup +}). No band crossings were found in these bands. To explain this observation, it is proposed that the static pair field is absent, considering that the neutron odd-even mass differences reach for these nuclei very small values and that the band crossing is absent in cranked shell modell calculations without pairing. The results indicate, however, that strong dynamic correlations are still present. (orig.)
Interaction of the internal states of an atom with spatially dependent standing-wave cavity field can impart position information of the atom passing through it leading to subwavelength atom localization. We recently demonstrated a different regime of atom localization [Phys. Rev. A 72, 013820 (2005)], namely sub-half-wavelength localization through phase control of electromagnetically induced transparency. This regime corresponds to extreme localization of atoms within a chosen half-wavelength region of the standing-wave cavity field. Here we present further investigation of the simplified model considered earlier and show interesting features of the proposal. We show how the model can be used to simulate a variety of energy-level schemes. Furthermore, the dressed-state analysis is employed to explain the emergence and suppression of the localization peaks, and the peak positions and widths. The range of parameters for obtaining clean sub-half-wavelength ...
Standard Leadframes used in surface mount technology are finished with a layer of eutectic SnPb for passivation and for enhancing solder wetting during reflow. When eutectic SnPb is replaced by Pb-free solder, especially the eutectic SnCu, a large number of Sn whiskers are found on the Pb-free finish. Some of the whiskers are long enough to become shorts between the neighboring legs of the leadframe. How to suppress their growth and how to perform accelerated test of Sn whisker growth are crucial reliability issues in the electronic packaging industry. In this paper, we report the study of spontaneous Sn whisker growth at room temperature on eutectic SnCu and pure Sn finishes. Both compressive stress and surface oxide on Sn are necessary conditions for whisker growth. Structure and stress analyses by using the micro-diffraction in synchrotron radiation are reported. Cross-sectional electron microscopy, with samples prepared by focused ion beam, are included.
Repassivation behavior and IGA resistance of nickel base alloys containing 0#approx#30 wt% chromium was investigated in high temperature acid sulfate solution. (1) The repassivation rate was increased with increasing chromium content. And so the amounts of charge caused by the metal dissolution were decreased with increasing chromium content. (2) Mill-annealed Alloy 600 suffered IGA at low pH environment below about 3.5 at the fixed potentials above the corrosion potential in 10%Na_2SO_4+H_2SO_4 solution at 598K. On the other hand, thermally-treated Alloy 690 was hard to occur IGA at low pH environments which mill-annealed Alloy 600 occurred IGA. (3) It was considered that the reason, why nickel base alloys containing high chromium content such as Alloy 690 (60%Ni-30%Cr-10%Fe) had high IGA/SCC resistance in high temperature acidic solution containing sulfate ion, is due to both the promotion of the repassivation and the suppression of the film dissolution by the ...
We investigate the features of the spontaneous emission spectra in a coherently driven cold five-level atomic system by means of a radio frequency (rf) or microwave field driving a hyperfine transition within the ground state. It is shown that a few interesting phenomena such as spectral-line narrowing, spectral-line enhancement, spectral-line suppression, and spontaneous emission quenching can be realized by modulating the frequency and intensity of the rf-driving field in our system. In the dressed-state picture of the coupling and rf-driving fields, we find that this coherently driven atomic system has three close-lying levels so that multiple spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) arises. Our considered atomic model can be found in real atoms, such as rubidium or sodium, so a corresponding experiment can be done to observe the expected phenomena related to SGC reported by Fountoulakis et al. [Phys. Rev. A 73, 033811 (2006)], since no rigorous conditions are ...
Plant meiotic prophase I is a complicated process involving the late zygotene and pachytene stages, both crucial for completing synapsis and recombination. Using David Lily (Lilium davidii var. Willmottiae) as our research material, we performed suppression subtractive hybridization to construct EST library of anthers at various stages of development by the pollen mother cells. From this library, we identified small heat shock protein LimHSP16.45 was highly expressed during the late zygotene to pachytene stages. Our results also showed that LimHSP16.45 was almost specifically expressed in the anther compared with the root, stem, or leaf, and in situ expression of LimHSP16.45 mRNAs showed strong signals in the pollen mother cells and tapetal cells. LimHSP16.45 could be induced by heat and c...
A helical cooling channel (HCC) has been proposed to quickly reduce the six-dimensional phase space of muon beams for muon colliders, neutrino factories, and intense muon sources. The HCC is composed of a series of RF cavities filled with dense hydrogen gas that acts as the energy absorber for ionization cooling and suppresses RF breakdown in the cavities. Magnetic solenoidal, helical dipole, and helical quadrupole coils outside of the RF cavities provide the focusing and dispersion needed for the emittance exchange for the beam as it follows a helical equilibrium orbit down the HCC. In the work presented here, two Monte Carlo programs have been developed to simulate a HCC to compare with the analytic predictions and to begin the process of optimizing practical designs that could be built in the near future. We discuss the programs, the comparisons with the analytical theory, and the prospects for a HCC design with the capability to reduce the six-dimensional phase ...
The long operating cycle simplified boiling water reactor is a reactor concept that pursues both safety and the economy by employing a natural circulation reactor core without a refueling, a passive decay heat removal, and an integrated building for the reactor and turbine. Throughout the entire spectrum of the design basis accident, the reactor core is kept covered by the passive emergency core cooling system. The decay heat is removed by the conventional active low-pressure residual heat removal system. As for a postulated severe accident, the suppression pool water floods the lower part of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) in the case when core damage occurs, and the in-vessel retention that keeps the melt inside the RPV is achieved by supplying the coolant. The containment adopts a parallel-double-steel-plate structure similar to a hull structure, which contains coolant between the inner and outer walls to absorb the heat transferred from the inside of the ...
Multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) are three dimensional cell culture systems induced by suspension culture. MCTS are widely used in cancer research because of their similarity to solid tumors. CaSki cells are derived from a metastatic cervical cancer containing human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16). Cell death of CaSki cells in MCTS has been previously reported, and our model is used to better characterize the mechanisms of cell death of HPV16-positive keratinocytes. In this study, we found that apoptosis of CaSki cells was induced by suspension culture along with the formation of MCTS after 24?h of incubation. In suspended CaSki cells, monoclonal antibodies blocking E-cadherin function inhibited MCTS formation and suppressed suspension-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Western bl...
To determine if barbiturates would protect brain at high doses of radiation, survival rates in rats that received whole-brain x-irradiation during pentobarbital- or lidocaine-induced anesthesia were compared with those of control animals that received no medication and of animals anesthetized with ketamine. The animals were shielded so that respiratory and digestive tissues would not be damaged by the radiation. Survival rates in rats that received whole-brain irradiation as a single 7500-rad dose under pentobarbital- or lidocaine-induced anesthesia was increased from between from 0% and 20% to between 45% and 69% over the 40 days of observation compared with the other two groups (p less than 0.007). Ketamine anesthesia provided no protection. There were no notable differential effects upon non-neural tissues, suggesting that pentobarbital afforded protection through modulation of ambient neural activity during radiation exposure. Neural suppression during ...
Application of electromagnetic forces to materials processing, so-called {open_quotes}electromagnetic processing of materials (EPM){close_quotes} has been recognized as cutting edge technology, especially in the fields of steelmaking and advanced materials processing in Japan. The history of EPM in Japan is mentioned and the background to promote EPM is described. The current status of research and development of EPM is shown briefly introducing several examples. Regarding the application of high-frequency magnetic field, two topics are dealt with. The first is the improvement of the surface quality of cast steel where an alternating magnetic field is imposed on the molten steel from the outside of the mold, and the second is the induction cold crucible where a considerably large amount of molten intermetallic compound is levitated. Examples of the application of DC magnetic field are the control of molten steel flow in a mold and the suppression of the mixing of ...
Techniques for fabricating P-type (Cu,Ag)/sub 2/Se with mesh-type bonds have been developed and are being evaluated for long-term use. In addition, methods for reducing vapor suppression by the use of coatings and/or baffling continue to show gains. The N-type alloy Gd/sub 2/Se/sub 3/ has been shown to be thermally unstable. It undergoes a sluggish cubic-to-orthorhombic phase change below 1000/sup 0/C, with an accompanying degradation in mechanical and thermoelectric properties. Fabrication studies conducted with the (Bi,Sb)/sub 2/(Se,Te)/sub 3/ alloys showed these materials to be sensitive to oxygen contamination if reproducible properties are to be obtained. Preparation of powdered material by explosive techniques was investigated. This technique appears to be useful in preparing homogeneous -325 mesh material, but it does not yield a useful amount of submicron-size powder.
We summarize results of recent studies of heavy quarkonia correlators and spectral functions at finite temperatures from lattice QCD and systematic T-matrix studies using QCD motivated finite-temperature potentials. We argue that heavy quarkonia dissociation shall occur in the temperature range $1.2 \\le T_d/T_c \\le 1.5$ by the interplay of both screening and absorption in the strongly correlated plasma medium. We discuss these effects on the quantum mechanical evolution of quarkonia states within a time-dependent harmonic oscillator model with complex oscillator strength and compare the results with data for $R_{\\rm AA}/R_{\\rm AA}^{\\rm CNM}$ from RHIC and SPS experiments. We speculate whether the suppression pattern of the rather precise NA60 data from In-In collisions may be related to the recently discovered X(3872) state. Theoretical support for this hypothesis comes from the cluster expansion of the plasma Hamiltonian for heavy quarkonia in a strongly ...
Following the successful application of hydrostatic pressure in mechanistic investigations of organic reactions, chemists have launched a vigorous effort to apply this tool to substitution reactions of coordination compounds. The authors began to study pressure effects in the NMR spectra of keton-lanthanide combination with the hope that the increase shifts anticipated might enhance the utility of the method, perhaps even expand its applicability to new classes of compounds. 5-Phenyl- and 5-tert-butyladamantan-2-one, piperidine, tetrahydrofuran, and cyclopentanol exhibited pressure-reduced lanthanide-induced shifts with Eu(fod)/sub 3/; Yb(fob)/sub 3/ and the shielding reagent Pr(fod)/sub 3/ showed the same effect with adamantanone. Solvent variations (CD/sub 2/Cl/sub 2/, CCl/sub 4/) caused minor changes in the magnitude of these shifts but did not reverse any. With the objective of learning whether these effects are due to a suppressed equilibrium population or to ...
Fluorine is known to have a beneficial role for the B diffusion reduction in preamorphized Si, and is promising for the realization of ultra-shallow junctions. Thus, we studied the F incorporation in Si during the solid phase epitaxy (SPE) process, pointing out the effects of the implanted F energy and fluence and the role played by the possible presence of dopants. The incorporation of fluorine proceeds by F segregation at the amorphous-crystalline interface, with a kinetics driven by the SPE rate. In fact, the quicker the SPE rate, the higher is the F fluence retained. Moreover, we demonstrated that F incorporated in Si layers does not appreciably affect the Is emission from spatially separated end-of-range (EOR) defects. The modification, induced by the presence of F, of the point defect density (Is and Vs) was also studied by means of B and Sb spike layers, used as local markers for Is and Vs, respectively. We showed that F is not only able to completely ...
The plastic flow behavior of a #beta#-titanium alloy (Ti-15% Mo) was investigated over a wide range of temperatures and strain rates covering those conditions where the #omega#-phase forms dynamically. Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect was observed in this alloy at temperatures between 575 and 775 K at a strain rate of 1.31 x 10"-"4 s"-"1. The serrated flow behavior of this alloy could be suppressed by rendering the matrix #beta#-phase more stable against the #beta# to #omega# transformation. PLC bands formed in this alloy, studied at different levels of magnification using light, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy, showed a high density of deformation bands within the macroscopic PLC band. The following mechanism of serrated flow is proposed; the load drop is ascribed to the sudden flow associated with the formation of deformation bands within which #omega#-particles were destroyed while the subsequent load rise results from pinning of ...
CD-NP is a novel chimeric natriuretic peptide (NP) consisting of the 22-amino-acid (AA) human C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), a venodilating peptide with limited renal actions and minimal effects on blood pressure, and the 15-AA C-terminus of Dendroaspis NP (DNP). The rationale for the design of CD-NP was to enhance the renal actions of CNP, the ligand for natriuretic peptide receptor-B, but without inducing excessive hypotension. Here we report the first-in-human studies for CD-NP, which represent the first successful clinical testing of a chimeric NP demonstrating in normal human volunteers that CD-NP possesses cyclic guanosine monophosphate-activating, natriuretic, and aldosterone-suppressing properties without inducing excessive hypotension, laying the foundation for additional studies on this first-in-class new cardiovascular therapeutic in human heart failure, which are now underway worldwide. PMID:19395584
The performance of the gas-jet transport system coupled to the RIKEN gas-filled recoil ion separator GARIS was investigated using 255No produced in the 238U(22Ne, 5n)255No reaction. Alpha particles of 255No separated with GARIS and transported by the gas-jet system were measured with a rotating wheel apparatus for ? spectrometry under low background condition. The high gas-jet efficiencies of about 75% were independent of the recoil ranges of 255No in the gas-jet chamber. The present results suggest that the GARIS/gas-jet system is a promising tool for the next-generation superheavy element chemistry: (1) the background radioactivities of unwanted reaction products are strongly suppressed, (2) the intense beam is absent in the gas-jet chamber and hence the high gas-jet efficiency is achieved, and (3) the beam-free condition also allows for investigations of new chemical systems. (author)
In order to establish the optimum fueling in a natural gas fueled dual fuel engine, tests were made for some operational parameters and their combination on the engine performances and the exhaust emissions. The results show that the gas oil quantity should be increased and gas oil injection timing should be advanced to suppress unburned hydrocarbon emission at middle and low output range, while the quantity should be reduced and the timing should be retarded to avoid onset of knock at high loads. The unburned hydrocarbon emission and the thermal efficiency are improved at the same load avoiding too lean natural gas premixture by restriction of intake charge air. However the improvement is limited because the ignition and initial combustion of pilot diesel fuel is deteriorated when the cylinder pressure is excessively lowered by throttling. The increase in pilot gas oil amount is effective for low-load operation and the adequate combination of throttle control and ...
PANDA is a large scale facility for investigating the long-term decay heat removal from the containment of a next generation of 'passive' Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWR). PANDA was used to examine the long-term LOCA response of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) for the General Electric (GE) Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR). The first PANDA test series had the dual objectives of demonstrating the performance of the SBWR PCCS and extending the data base available for containment analysis code qualification. The test objectives also include the study of the effects of mixing and stratification of steam and noncondensible gases in the drywell (DW) and in the suppression chamber or wetwell (WW). Ten tests were conducted in the course of the PANDA SBWR Program. The tests demonstrated a favorable and robust overall PCCS performance under different conditions. The present paper focuses on the main phenomena observed during the tests with respect to ...
Constitutive activation of the oncogenic transcription factor STAT3 frequently occurs in various human malignancies. STAT3 activation involves dimerization via intermolecular pTyr-SH2 interaction. Thus, antagonizing this interaction is a feasible approach to inhibit STAT3 activation for cancer therapy. In order to identify selective STAT3 inhibitors, we developed a biochemical HTS system based on AlphaScreen technology, which measures the abilities of test compounds to antagonize pTyr-SH2 interactions. We screened our chemical libraries using this system and identified 5,15-diphenylporphyrin (5,15-DPP) as a selective STAT3-SH2 antagonist. Selective inhibition of STAT3 nuclear translocation and DNA biding activity was observed in cells treated with 5,15-DPP. IL-6-dependent dimerization of STAT3, c-myc promoter binding and c-myc protein expression were all suppressed by 5,15-DPP, whereas no decrement in either expression or phosphorylation level of STAT3 was ...
A recent study reported the results of an exploratory study of alterations of the quantitative sleep profile due to the effects of a digital mobile radio telephone. Rapid eye movement (REM) was suppressed, and the spectral power density in the 8--13 Hz frequency range during REM sleep was altered. The aim of the present study was to illuminate the influence of digital mobile radio telephone on the awake electroencephalogram (EEG) of healthy subjects. For this purpose, the authors investigated 34 male subjects in a single-blind cross-over design experiment by measuring spontaneous EEGs under closed-eyes condition from scalp positions C{sub 3} and C{sub 4} and comparing the effects of an active and an inactive digital mobile radio telephone (GSM) system. During exposure of nearly 3.5 min to the 900 MHz electromagnetic field pulsed at a frequency of 217 Hz and with a pulse width of 580 {micro}s, the authors could not detect any difference in the awake EEGs in terms of ...
We perform a combined analysis of $B \\to \\pi \\pi$ and $B \\to \\pi K$ decays with the current experimental data. Assuming SU(3) flavor symmetry and no new physics contributions to the topological amplitudes, we demonstrate that the conventional parametrization in the Standard Model (SM) does not describe the data very well, in contrast with a similar analysis based on the earlier data. It is also shown that the introduction of smaller amplitudes and reasonable SU(3) breaking parameters does not improve the fits much. Interpreting these puzzling behaviors in the SM as a new physics (NP) signal, we study various NP scenarios. We find that when a single NP amplitude dominates, the NP in the electroweak penguin sector is the most favorable. However, other NP solutions, such as NP residing in the QCD-penguin sector and color-suppressed electroweak penguin sector simultaneously, can also solve the puzzle.
Lytic activity and recovery of natural killer (NK) cells was monitored in pediatric patients with leukemias (ALL, AML, CML, JMML) and myelodysplastic syndromes after transplantation of T cell depleted stem cells from matched unrelated (n = 18) and mismatched related (haploidentical, n = 29) donors. CD34 + selection with magnetic microbeads resulted in 8 x 10^3/kg residual T cells. No post-transplant immune suppression was given. NK cells recovered rapidly after transplantation (300 CD56+/@mL at day 30, median), whereas T cell recovery was delayed (median: 12 CD3+/@mL at day 90). NK activity was measured as specific lysis of K 562 targets several times (mean: 3 assays per patient). Four temporal patterns of lytic activity could be differentiated: consistently low, consistently high, decreas...
The two-phase heat-transfer and pressure-drop characteristics of offset-strip-fin heat-exchanger geometries are examined using both experimental and analytical modeling techniques. Newly-obtained boiling-flow heat-transfer data are presented for two large-scale offset fin geometries at low-to-moderate wall-superheat conditions. Data for which nucleate boiling appeared to be completely suppressed were analyzed together with similar results for other offset fin surfaces to study the effects of channel dimensions on the convective evaporation component of the local heat transfer coefficient. Although these data were found to be well correlated in terms of modified forms of the F and Martinelli parameters used in previous studies of round-tube flows, a single F-factor correlation valid for all combinations of fin and channel dimensions did not appear to exist. The two-phase pressure-drop characteristics of offset-fin surfaces were found to be much different than those ...
This work aims at improving the understanding of the dynamics of a Free Electron Laser (FEL) based on a storage ring. A new phenomenon of saturation by the electron bunch transverse dimensions is pointed out, during the FEL operation with a magnetic optics ''low emittance''. A part of this thesis work concerns the study of the longitudinal dynamics of the FEL depending on a parameter: the detuning between the pass frequency of the electrons and the back and return frequency of the laser pulse in the optical cavity. This study shows that the FEL presents a pulsed or a steady state behavior depending on the detuning. Besides, a spectro-temporal behavior of the FEL is pointed out showing the FEL pulse substructures and holes in the spectrum. Another part of this work concerns the response of the resonant FEL system, when a perturbation is applied on the gain. Under the effect of a modulation, the FEL can present a periodic or chaotic regime. The analysis of these regimes shows that a ...
An ignition timing control apparatus is described for an internal combustion engine having a reference ignition timing comprising: sensing means for sensing vibrations including knocks of the engine; knock signal deriving means for deriving knock signals from the output of the sensing means; correction magnitude determining means for determining from the knock signals derived by the knock signal deriving means of ignition timing correction magnitude for suppressing the occurrence of knock; displacement magnitude determining means for determining from at least one of an output of the knock signal deriving means and an output of the correction magnitude determining means as a displacement magnitude for the reference ignition timing corresponding to the octane rating of a fuel used in the engine; and ignition timing determining means for setting the reference ignition timing at an optimum ignition timing angle for the engine responsive to the correction magnitude ...
Abstract in english Higher olefins are produced as a by product in a number of refinery processes and are one of the potential raw materials to produce propylene. In the present study, FCC model feed compound was considered to explore the olefin cracking features and options to enhance propylene using 30% SAPO-34 zeolite as catalyst in a micro-reactor. The superior selectivity of propylene (73 wt%) and higher total olefin selectivity was obtained over 30% SAPO-34 catalyst than over Y or ZSM- (more) 5 zeolite catalysts. The thermodynamical constraints were found to be relatively less serious in the case of 1-hexene conversion. Most of the 1-hexene follows a direct cracking pathway to give two propylene molecules, due to weak acid sites and better diffusion opportunities. The higher temperature and short residence time could also suppress the hydrogen transfer reactions. From OPE (olefins performance envelop) the products were classified as primary, secondary, or ...
The basic theoretical milestones were the Sakata SU(3) symmetry, the Goldberg-Ne'eman composite model with SU(3) triplets having baryon number (1/3) and the Nambu color gauge Lagrangian. The transition was led in right and wrong directions by experiments interpreted by phenomenology. A "good" experiment on $\\bar p p$ annihilation at rest showed that the Sakata model predictions disagreed with experiment. A "bad" experiment prevented the use of the Goldberg-Ne'eman triplet model to predict the existence and masses of the of the $\\Xi^*$ and $\\Omega^-$. More "good" experiments revealed the existence and mass of the $\\Xi^*$ and the $\\Omega^-$ and the absence of positive strangeness baryon resonances, thus confirming the "tenfold way". Further "good experiments" revealed the existence of the vector meson nonet, SU(3) breaking with singlet-octet mixing and the suppression of the $\\phi \\to \\rho \\pi$ decay. These led to the quark triplet model. The paradox of ...
The local density functional theory is used to study the electrical levels and thermal stabilities of complexes of interstitial boron with O and C and a boron dimer with H. The energy levels of these defects are compared with those found from deep level transient capacitance spectroscopy experiments on irradiated p-Si containing B. The levels observed at E_c-0.23, E_v+0.29, and E_v+0.51 eV are assigned to B_iO_i, B_iC_s, and B_iB_sH_i respectively. B_iC_s is passivated by one H atom. Evidence for the existence of B_iC_s has implications for mechanisms involved in the suppression of transient-enhanced diffusion of boron in ion-implanted Si by C.
A series of experimental measurements of the yield of O_3 in nuclear-induced O_2 and O_2-SF_6 discharges are reported. The discharges were created by bombardment with energetic particles from the "1"0B(n,#alpha#)"7Li reaction. Continuous irradiation at dose rates of 10"1"5--10"1"7 eV cm"-"3 s"-"1 and pulsed irradiation (--10 ms FWHM) at a peak dose rate of --10"2"0 eV cm"-"3 s"-"1 were conducted. At the lower dose rates, the addition of SF_6 generally increased the ozone yield due to the slowing of ozone destruction by negative oxygen and ozone ions. In contrast, at the high dose rates, the ozone concentration decreased due to SF_6 suppression of atomic oxygen formation by ion--ion recombination. A numerical model was developed and tested against experimental conditions. This model indicates that the steady-state ozone concentration was limited by the reaction O"-_3+O_3#->#2O_2+O"-_2 with a rate coefficient of --1 x 10"-"1"2 cm"3 s"-"1. In addition to dose rate ...
The device of the present invention improves reactor safety by suppressing lowering of water level in a shroud which surrounds a reactor core, even upon occurrence of rupture of pipelines in an emergency reactor core cooling system in a recycling pump-incorporated type reactor. Namely, an opening of each of cooling systems which forms the emergency reactor core cooling device in a reactor pressure vessel is disposed above the upper end of the reactor core. Further, it also comprises an independent high pressure water injection system, gravitational dropping type water injection system and an automatic depressurization system. With such a constitution, even if rupture of pipelines in the system should be assumed, coolants never flow directly from the shroud which surrounds the reactor core. In addition, there are no pipelines to be ruptured below the upper end of the reactor core with respect to the structure. Accordingly, a great amount of water can be stored in ...
The electron-beam qualities with and without free electron laser (FEL) oscillations were investigated in the compact storage ring NIJI-IV. The peak-electron density in a bunch was suppressed by beam instabilities, so that it was limited to about 1.0 x 10"1"7 m"-"3. The maximum FEL gain estimated for 215 and 300 nm using a well-known one-dimension theory was about 2.8% and 4.6%. The cavity loss at 300 nm was evaluated to be about 2% from the threshold beam current. The bunch length and energy spread with FEL oscillations increased by 1.3 times or more due to bunch heating. The ratio of the FEL gain to a cavity loss estimated from the beam qualities with and without FEL oscillations was almost in accord with the ratio evaluated directly with the measured data of the FEL gain and the cavity loss. (author)
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of MRM in providing preoperative locoregional information on patients with breast cancer. MRI was performed on 62 female breast cancer patients. A 1.5 T MR-system was used to acquire fat-suppressed T{sub 1}WI, T{sub 2}WI and dynamic-contrast-enhanced images with an SPGR pulse sequence. The extent of the cancer measured with MRM was confirmed histologically in all patients. The size obtained from MRM correlated well with the size obtained histologically, including intraductal spread of cancer (R: 0.853). As for shape, the round/oval type evident from MRM correlated more accurately (R: 0.934) than the ill-defined type associated with a linear and/or clumped enhanced area (R:0.744). The difference between the size obtained from MRM and the size obtained histologically, including IDS, was less than 15 mm in the majority of patients (93.5%). MRM accurately reveals the extent of cancer, including IDS, and is effective ...
Hydrolysis of olive oil by Chromobacterium viscosum lipase was studied in a reverse micellar system of a anionic surfactant Aerosol OT (AOT) and isooctane. Different methods of solubilization of the micellar system afford specific dependence of enzymatic activity of the lipase on the water content in the micelles. In an injection method, water content is controlled by the amount of injected water, which determines the micelle size and hydrophobicity of the micelle without salt addition and changes reversibly the conformation of lipase corresponding to the change of lipase activity. The activity reaches the maximum at a water content (water/AOT)of 7. In a phase transfer method, water content is determined by salt concentration in the aqueous phase in contact with micelles and the water content corresponding to the maximum activity is 12 to 13, below which the activity decrese drastically. Addition of taurodeoxycholic acid to the AOT micelles suppresses the ...
Early effects of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) on malignant glioma are characterized by reduction of the enhancement area and regression of the peritumoral edema radiologically. The aim of this study was to investigate the early histological changes of tumors and inflammatory cells after BNCT in the rat brain. Rats were treated with BNCT using boronophenylalanine (BPA) 7 days after implantation of C6 glioma cells. The tumors were assessed with magnetic resonance imaging and histopathological examination at 4 days after BNCT. The mean tumor volumes were 39#+-#2 mm"3 in the BNCT group and 134#+-#18 mm"3 in the control group. In the BNCT group, tumor cells showed a less pleomorphic appearance with atypical nuclei and mitotic figures. The Ki-67 labeling index was 6.5%#+-#4.7% in the BNCT and 35%#+-#3.8% in the control group. The reactions of the inflammatory cells were examined with ED-1 as macrophage marker and OX42 as microglia marker. ED-1- and OX-42-positive cells were reduced ...
Dynamic behaviors of gaseous sulfur-containing compounds evolved from pyrolysis of six Chinese coals were studied in the temperature range of up to 800{sup o}C under N{sub 2} and H{sub 2}. The released amount of total sulfur-containing gases was traced by an online flame photometric detector (FPD). Simultaneously, the changes of different sulfur forms, including H{sub 2}S, SO{sub 2}, COS and CS{sub 2}, also were investigated using an online mass spectrometer (MS). FPD results show that the effect of H{sub 2} on gaseous sulfur evolved is complex, which promoted certain peak and suppresses other peaks. Based on the data from MS, it is suggested that a series of competitive reactions between active sulfur and other active matters during pyrolysis may impact on the sulfur form in gas phase. Interactions between active sulfur-containing intermediates and the coal matrix are attributed to be the main factor determining the dynamic behavior.
Electromechanical oscillations of small magnitude and low frequency exist in the interconnected power system and often persist for long periods of time. Power system stabilizers (PSSs) are traditionally used to provide damping torque for the synchronous generators to suppress the oscillations by generating supplementary control signals for the generator excitation system. Numerous techniques have previously been proposed to design PSSs but many of them are synthesized based on a linearized model. This paper presents a nonlinear power system stabilizer based on synergetic control theory. Synergetic synthesis of the PSS is based fully on a simplified nonlinear model of the power system. The dynamic characteristics of the proposed PSS are studied in a typical single-machine infinite-bus power system and compared with the cases with a conventional PSS and without a PSS. Simulation results show the proposed PSS is robust for such nonlinear dynamic system and achieves ...
Future High Energy Physics experiments will produce unprecedented data volumes (up to 1 GB/s [1]). In most cases it will be impossible to analyse these data in real time and they will have to be stored on durable mostly magnetic linear media (e.g. tapes) for later analysis. This threatens to become a major cost factor for the running of these experiments. Here we present some ideas developed together with the Institute of Computer Graphics, Department for Algorithms and Programming on how this volume and the related cost can be reduced significantly. The algorithms presented are not general ones but aimed in particular to physics experiments data. Taking advantage of the knowledge of the data they are highly superior to general ones (Huffman, LZW, arithmetic coding) both in compression rate but more importantly in speed as to keep up with the output rate to modern tape drives. Above standard algorithms are, however, used after the data have been transferred in a more 'compressible' ...
RNA interference (RNAi) plays an important role in regulating gene expression in eukaryotes. Previously, we generated Arabidopsis and tobacco plants expressing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) targeting a cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) P450 gene, CYP6AE14. Bollworms fed on transgenic dsCYP6AE14 plants showed suppressed CYP6AE14 expression and reduced growth on gossypol-containing diet (Mao et?al., in Nat Biotechnol 25: 1307?1313, 2007). Here we report generation and analysis of dsRNA-expressing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) plants. Bollworm larvae reared on T2 plants of the ds6-3 line exhibited drastically retarded growth, and the transgenic plants were less damaged by bollworms than the control. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that the CYP6AE1...
We compute the complete two-loop O(alpha) Wilson coefficients relevant for radiative decays of the B meson in the SM. This is a necessary step in the calculation of the O(alpha alpha_s^n ln^n m_b/M_W) corrections and improves on our previous analysis of electroweak effects in B -> X_s gamma. We describe in detail several interesting technical aspects of the calculation and include all dominant QED matrix elements. In our final result, we neglect only terms originated from the unknown O(alpha alpha_s) evolution of the Wilson coefficients and some suppressed two-loop matrix elements. Due to the compensation among different effects, we find that non-trivial electroweak corrections decrease the branching ratio by about 3.8% for a light Higgs boson, in agreement with our previous analysis. As in [1], the corresponding SM prediction for the branching ratio with E_gamma > 1.6 GeV is (3.60 +- 0.30) x 10^-4.
Abstract Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SMAD7 (18q21) have been linked to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in genome-wide association studies, but little is known about their effects on survival. SMAD7 regulates gastrointestinal inflammation by inhibiting transforming growth factor- (TGFB), which can act as both a tumor suppressor and a promoter of metastasis. Regular use of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) inhibitors, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), reduces the risk of developing CRC. Because COX2 overexpression reduces the growth suppressing effects of TGFB, we hypothesized that survival may depend on both SMAD7 genotype and prediagnostic NSAID use. Postmenopausal women, ages 50-74, diagnosed with incident invasive CRC from 1997 to 2002 were identified using t...
The necessary conditions to design the methanol-fueled direct injection diesel engine with a reservoir type glow plug were cleared up from the points of view to prevent the air contamination and to use as an alternative oil for automotives, and as a result the good engine performance and emission characteristics could be obtained under the wide operating condition. The following facts were clarified: It is necessary to arrange the glow plug on the line of atomizing axis near the nozzle hole to ensure the ignitability under a wide operating condition. The reservoir type glow plug which reserves the premixed gas around the glow plug can shorten the ignition delay time and improve the combustion stability and the net thermal efficiency in the light load region. The combustion in the light load region was accelerated, NO{sub x} emission rate was suppressed and moreover, the net thermal efficiency and catalyst conversion rate were improved by applying an EGR(exhasut gas ...
Hydrogen production from desugared molasses (DM) was investigated in both batch and continuous reactors using thermophilic mixed cultures enriched from digested manure by load shock (loading with DM concentration of 50.1 g-sugar/L) to suppress methanogens. H"2 gas, free of methane, was produced during batch cultivations, at different (DM) concentrations ranging from 1.5 g-sugars/L to 50.1 g-sugars/L. The highest yield of 237 ml-H"2/g-sugar was achieved during the DM batch fermentation at concentration of 2.1 g-sugars/L, whereafter the yield decreased with increasing DM concentration. The enriched hydrogen producing mixed culture achieved from the 16.7 g-sugars/L DM batch cultivation was immobilized on heat treated anaerobic sludge granules in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reac...
Atomic oxygen is measured in a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) using two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF). The ground-level atomic oxygen is excited to the 3p "3P state by two-photon absorption at 226 nm. Negative (-40 kV) or positive (+30 kV) pulsed DBD occurs in an O_2-N_2 mixture at atmospheric pressure. The pulse width of the DBD current is approximately 50 ns. The TALIF experiment shows that the decay rate of atomic oxygen increases linearly with O_2 concentration. This result proves that atomic oxygen decays mainly by the third-body reaction, O + O_2 + M #-># O_3 + M. The rate coefficient of the third-body reaction is estimated to be 2.2 x 10"-"3"4 cm"6 s"-"1 in the negative DBD and 0.89 x 10"-"3"4 cm"6 s"-"1 in the positive DBD. It is shown that the decay rate of atomic oxygen increases linearly with humidity. This can explain the well-known fact that ozone production in DBD is suppressed by increasing humidity.
BACKGROUND Accumulating evidence suggests that various epigenetic aberrations play definite roles in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. We investigated the histone acetylation status in endometriosis and the application of the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) for the treatment of endometriosis. METHODS The levels of acetylated histones in the endometriotic cyst stromal cells (ECSCs) and normal endometrial stromal cells (NESCs) were evaluated. The effects of the HDACIs on cell proliferation, the cell cycle, apoptosis of ECSCs and NESCs, and the expression of genes related to these cellular events were investigated. The effects of HDACIs on histone acetylation in chromatin of the promoter region of the cell cycle regulatory genes in ECSCs were also investigated. RESULTS The acetylated histone levels were significantly lower in ECSCs than in NESCs (P endometriosis and that HDACIs reactivated epigenetically silenced genes, resulting in the suppression of cell ...
The author investigates the diffusion and damage-annealing characteristics as a result of boron implantation through a surface oxide into the silicon, a process that is commonly realized in the fabrication of p-n junctions. Defect structures were examined using plan-view and cross-section transmission-electron microscopies. It is shown that recoil-implanted oxygen plays a critical role in determining the above annealing characteristics. For instance, transient-enhanced diffusion of boron, as is widely observed for boron-implanted silicon, does not occur in the case of through-oxide implantation. The initial suppression of the defect-enhanced diffusion lasts for a limited period of time after which enhanced diffusion occurs again. The so-called incubated enhanced diffusion' is characterized as due to recoiled-oxygen precipitation-emitting point defect that enhances boron motion. The incubation time constant, the magnitude for the enhanced diffusion, and the ...
The author investigates the diffusion and damage-annealing characteristics as a result of boron implantation through a surface oxide into the silicon, a process that is commonly realized in the fabrication of p-n junctions. Defect structures were examined using plan-view and cross-section transmission-electron microscopies. It is shown that recoil-implanted oxygen plays a critical role in determining the above annealing characteristics. For instance, transient-enhanced diffusion of boron, as is widely observed for boron-implanted silicon, does not occur in the case of through-oxide implantation. The initial suppression of the defect-enhanced diffusion lasts for a limited period of time after which enhanced diffusion occurs again. The so-called incubated enhanced diffusion' is characterized as due to recoiled-oxygen precipitation-emitting point defect that enhances boron motion. The incubation time constant, the magnitude for the enhanced diffusion, and the ...
We developed a new systematic calibration procedure which was applied to the prediction of the diffusivity, the segregation, and transient enhanced diffusion (TED) of an indium impurity. The TED of the indium impurity was studied using four different experimental conditions. Although indium is susceptible to TED, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) is effective in suppressing the TED effect and maintaining a steep retrograde profile. Like boron impurities, the indium shows significant oxidation-enhanced diffusion in silicon and has segregation coefficients much less than 1 at the Si/SiO{sub 2} interface. In contrast to boron, the segregation coefficient of indium decreases as the temperature increases. The accuracy of the proposed procedure was validated by using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) data and by using the 0.13-{mu}m device characteristics, such as V{sub th} and I{sub dsat}, for which the differences between simulation and experiment less than 5 %.
We developed a new systematic calibration procedure which was applied to the prediction of the diffusivity, the segregation, and transient enhanced diffusion (TED) of an indium impurity. The TED of the indium impurity was studied using four different experimental conditions. Although indium is susceptible to TED, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) is effective in suppressing the TED effect and maintaining a steep retrograde profile. Like boron impurities, the indium shows significant oxidation-enhanced diffusion in silicon and has segregation coefficients much less than 1 at the Si/SiO_2 interface. In contrast to boron, the segregation coefficient of indium decreases as the temperature increases. The accuracy of the proposed procedure was validated by using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) data and by using the 0.13-#mu#m device characteristics, such as V_t_h and I_d_s_a_t, for which the differences between simulation and experiment less than 5 %.
Evolutionary theory holds that aging is a consequence of the declining force of natural selection with age. We discuss here the evidence that among the causes of aging in complex multicellular organisms, such as mammals, is the antagonistically pleiotropic effects of the cellular responses that protect the organism from cancer. Cancer is relatively rare in young mammals, owing in large measure to the activity of tumor suppressor mechanisms. These mechanisms either protect the genome from damage and/or mutations, or they elicit cellular responses--apoptosis or senescence--that eliminate or prevent the proliferation of somatic cells at risk for neoplastic transformation.We focus here on the senescence response, reviewing its causes, regulation and effects. In addition, we describe recent data that support the idea that both senescence and apoptosis may indeed be the double-edged swords predicted by the evolutionary hypothesis of antagonistic pleiotropy--protecting organisms from cancer ...
Complete calculations of the accelerator related background in the muon spectrometer of the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. The simulations have been performed with the STRUCT multi-turn tracking code and the MARS and FLUKA cascade codes taking into account latest information of the LHC lattice, vacuum conditions, beam cleaning system and the shielding and layout of the CMS experiment. Beam loss distributions in the interaction regions and their vicinities and their contribution to the background levels in the muon spectrometer of CMS are analyzed. The studies show that hadronic and electromagnetic components of machine background are efficiently suppressed by the proposed CMS shielding. High energy muons penetrate through the shielding, but in positions of significance they do not contribute more than a few percent compared to the background generated by the pp-collisions. It is anticipated that the relative contribution of accelerator ...
Complementary electrochemical, spectrophotometric and electron microsopic investigations were made in addition to the conversion electron Moessbauer spectroscopic (CEMS) measurements to learn more about the mechanism of corrosion of low carbon steel samples in aqueous sulfate and sulfite containing sulfate solutions (pH 3.5, 6.5 and 8.5). Passivation of iron in pure sulfate solution was studied in detail in earlier papers. In the present work, we used a solution containing both sulfate and sulfite anions to obtain more information about the effect of acid rain on low carbon steel samples. The compositions and thicknesses of the passive films formed due to the electrochemical treatments were determined from the CEM spectra. [gamma]-FeOOH was found in each case on the surface of the samples; nevertheless, at pH 3.5 the sextet belonging to Fe[sub 3]C appears in the CEM spectra, and also FeSO[sub 4] . H[sub 2]O was detected in low concentration after the shortest polarization time (90 ...
We propose a new scenario that solves the slepton negative mass squared problem of the minimal supersymmetric standard model with anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking. The solution is achieved by including three trilinear R-parity violating operators in the superpotential. The soft supersymmetry breaking terms satisfy renormalisation group invariant relations in terms of supersymmetric couplings and the overall supersymmetry breaking mass scale. Flavour changing neutral currents are naturally highly suppressed. The model predicts tan beta=4.2 +/- 1.0. Excluding sleptons, the supersymmetric particle spectrum depends upon two remaining free parameters. In the case of the R-parity violating couplings at their quasi-fixed points at a supersymmetric GUT scale, the whole sparticle spectrum approximately depends upon only one free parameter. Imposing experimental limits leads to a constrained and distinctive phenomenology. The lightest CP-even Higgs of mass m_h=118 GeV ...
We construct models for gamma-ray bursts where the emission comes from internal shocks in a relativistic wind with a highly non uniform distribution of the Lorentz factor. We follow the evolution of the wind using a very simplified approach where a large number of layers interact by direct collisions but where all pressure waves have been suppressed. We suppose that the magnetic field and the electron Lorentz factor reach large equipartition values in the shocks. Synchrotron photons emitted by the relativistic electrons have a typical energy in the gamma-ray range in the observer frame. Synthetic bursts are constructed as the sum of the contributions from all the internal elementary shocks and their temporal and spectral properties are compared to the observations. We reproduce the diversity of burst profiles, the ``FRED'' shape of individual pulses and the short time scale variability. Synthetic bursts also satisfy the duration-hardness relation and individual ...