British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Two years old self-rooted Koroneiki olive trees (Olea europaea L.) were subjected to two irrigation regimes, i.e. the fully irrigated and the severely water stressed trees, while they were treated with three alleviating products of different mode of action. The products used were the osmolyte glycine betaine, the antioxidant Ambiol and the heat and irradiance reflecting kaolin clay particles. The effects of product application and water regime on leaf characteristics, shoot and root growth, photosynthesis, leaf compatible solids (carbohydrates) concentration and yield were evaluated. All products applied, exhibited significant alleviating action, based on the relative alleviation index. Irrigated trees exhibited greater growth than drought stressed ones, while the ameliorating products mai...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundDistraction osteogenesis is the standard treatment for the management of lower limb length discrepancy of more than 3 cm and bone loss secondary to congenital anomalies,...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Between 1984 and 1988, seven women with breast cancer were treated with intraoperative electron beam therapy (IOEBT). All patients were Caucasian. Patient age ranged from 37 to 62 (median 53) years. Histopathology was infiltrating duct carcinoma (6/7) or medullary carcinoma (1/7). Four tumors were staged T1 N0 MO, one T1 N1 MO, one T2 N1 MO, and one lesion was recurrent. At the time of primary lumpectomy or axillary node dissection, a dose of 10 or 15 Gy IOEBT was administered to the tumor bed with 6 or 9 MeV electrons through the lumpectomy wound. All patients received 45 or 50 Gy over five to six weeks with 6 MV photons to the breast and, in four patients, to the regional nodes. Three patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and tamoxifen. No post-operative complications were observed. All patients are alive as of August, 1989, with no evidence of recurrent disease. Excellent cosmesis is the rule. Clinical and technical aspects of treatment are presented along ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper establishes a standardization procedure in which results are presented in ready-to-use charts for the economic evaluation of biogas plants. It is hoped this work will alleviate controversial reports on cost-effectiveness of biogas systems. Also, it is found that these systems are the most economic among renewable energy systems using a standardized procedure for their comparison augmented by the generated spider diagrams wherein most probable costing production values for each system are directly compared. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Using {gamma}-irradiation-induced reduction in the field of a {sup 60}Co {gamma}-ray source, colloidal silver and gold nanoparticles were prepared from their corresponding metal salts in aqueous solution and compared with those by chemical reduction. The radiation-based method provided silver nanoparticles with higher concentration and narrower size distribution than those obtained by chemical reduction method while there was no significant difference between the two strategies for the preparation of gold nanoparticles. {gamma}-Irradiation of 1.0 x 10{sup -3} M AgNO{sub 3} solution resulted in nearly 100 times more highly concentrated silver colloids than those by citrate reduction. Furthermore, the radiation method could lead to more highly concentrated silver colloids by simply increasing the concentration of AgNO{sub 3} solution up to 2.0 x 10{sup -2} M. The two metal nanoparticles prepared by the two different methods were characterized by UV-vis ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The electrical conductivity of Vitox-alumina (99.2%), Wesgo-alumina (99.9%) and AlN (99.6%) has been measured during and after irradiation with an experimental set-up which allows fusion relevant loading conditions. All irradiations were performed in high vacuum at 450 C using a 104 MeV {alpha}-particle beam with an applied DC electric field of 100 kV/m. In the high purity Vitox-alumina the in-situ and postirradiation bulk conductivities {sigma} and {sigma}{sub 0} show the highest irradiation induced electrical breakdown ever observed. The saturation level near 4 x 10{sup -2} ({Omega}m){sup -1}, reached already after 0.015 dpa (O-sublattice), is already above the critical value necessary to avoid MHD pressure drop with 10 {mu}m coatings in flowing liquid metal coolants. Under the same conditions no radiation induced electrical degradation at all has been found in Wesgo-alumina and AlN. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The post (neutron) -irradiation high-temperature tensile and creep-rupture properties, deformation and fracture characteristics of austenitic alloys, particularly solution annealed Type 316 steel, are surveyed and correlated with the damage structures developed as a function of irradiation temperature (and dose). The mechanisms proposed to explain the irradiation-induced changes in properties and behaviour are summarised. The factors responsible for the observed differences in the post-irradiation and 'in-reactor' creep-rupture properties and behaviour of an austenitic steel are discussed in terms of the helium gas and stress driven growth of small intergranular bubbles and the atom plating associated with their growth and coalescence. (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper reports on high resolution electron microscopy used to investigate the effect of electron irradiation induced oxygen loss on the states of partial order in YBa_2Cu_3O_z. Contrast effects visible in the [001] zone image as a result of the degree of the out-of-plane correlation of these ordered states are investigated. Using statistical simulations to aid in the analysis of the HREM images, an interpretation based on a kinetically limited evolution of the variation of long range [001] ordering is proposed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Argon ions irradiation of 12% Cr steels and Fe/Cr alloys results in the hardening up to 10000 MPa. This value exceeds the hardening level even for martensitic transformation. Along with the increase of microhardness following irradiation the shape of X-ray graph of the affected materials changes considerable. Hardening value and behavior are determined by temperature radiation doze, preliminary ageing, extent of cold strain and alloying. The odserved phenomenon is supposed to be caused by irradiation-induced structural transformations. Reversibility of radiation hardening of the materials in question was observed.

CERN Document Server

We investigate several varying-mass dark-matter particle models in the framework of phantom cosmology. We examine whether there exist late-time cosmological solutions, corresponding to an accelerating universe and possessing dark energy and dark matter densities of the same order. Imposing exponential or power-law potentials and exponential or power-law mass dependence, we conclude that the coincidence problem cannot be solved or even alleviated. Thus, if dark energy is attributed to the phantom paradigm, varying-mass dark matter models cannot fulfill the basic requirement that led to their construction.

Science.gov (United States)

A technique is presented for the analyss of DNA histograms which is an extension of earlier discrete Gaussian summing methods. It alleviates the problems encountered with previous methods by extending the S-phase portions of the distribution under the G/sub 1/ and G/sub 2/ + M peaks. The resuts obtained by this method for the fraction of cells in the G/sub 1/, S, and G/sub 2/ + M phases of the life cycle are compared with autoradiographic results. With one or two exceptions which are discussed, agreement between autoradiography and the analytical method is good.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

High-current implantation of Cu{sup {minus}} ions into silica glasses has been demonstrated using mA-class negative ion beams at 60 keV. Negative ion implantation has an advantage to alleviate specimen charging for insulating substrates and has attained high dose rates, up to 260 {micro}A/cm{sup 2}. Spherical Cu colloids form in the silica glasses without additional thermal annealing. Optical absorption and reflection of the implanted specimens vary with the current density, even at a fixed dose level. A beam-induced surface plasma may affect the high current implantation.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors have used limited proteolysis of affinity-labeled estrogen receptors (ER), coupled with antireceptor antibody immunoreactivity, to assess structural features of ER and the relatedness of ER from MCF-7 human breast cancer and rat uterine cells. MCF-7 ER preparations covalently labeled with ["3H]tamoxifen aziridine (["3H]TAZ) were treated with trypsin (T), #alpha#-chymotrypsin (C), or Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease prior to electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels. Fluorography revealed a distinctive ladder of ER fragments containing TAZ for each protease generated from the M/sub r/ 66,000 ER. Immunoblot detection with the primate-specific antibody D75P3#gamma# revealed that all immunoreactive fragments corresponded to TAZ-labeled fragments but that some small TAZ-labeled fragments were no longer immunoreactive. In contrast, use of the antibody H222SP#gamma# revealed a correspondence between TAZ-labeled and immunoreactive fragments down to the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Changes in mass density of amorphous Pd{sub 80}Si{sub 20} were monitored in situ during irradiation with He{sup 2+} and H{sup +} ions at temperatures below 100 K and during subsequent thermal treatment. The mass density decreased with increasing ion fluence and exponentially approached a saturation value of -1.2%, corresponding to a recombination volume of 190 atomic volumes. The initial swelling rate was 2.3 atomic volumes/displaced atom. The mass density of the irradiated material increased during subsequent thermal treatment, and the irradiation-induced decrease of the mass density recovered completely at room temperature.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The effect of both dopant and neutron radiation on the optical and thermal properties of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been studied. The doped samples with Pb and Cd were irradiated with a 14 MeV-neutron fluence in the range 7-28.8 x 10"9 n/cm"2. The optical energy gap E_o_p exhibits a significant dependence on the type of additive and the neutron irradiation fluence. The specific heat at constant pressure C_p showed a nonmonotonical change with radiation fluence. The results of this study show that PVC:Pb behaves as a crystalline structure which is only slightly affected by neutron irradiation, while PVC:Cd is highly affected. (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Objective: To investigate the inserting technique of biliary double stents in treating hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: 6 patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma (Bismuth IV) were treated by percutaneous transhepatic insertion of biliary stents. Double stents were inserted in each patient. Different inserting methods were adopted according to the branch angles formed by left and right hepatic ducts. Results: The jaundice of all patients alleviated or disappeared obviously after stent implantation. The average difference between post-and pre-operation in the serum total bilirubin level was (104 #+-# 29) #mu#mol/L (P<0.01). Stent obstruction was found in 2 cases after 4 and 6 months respectively. Conclusion: Double stents implantation is effective for the treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Beware of the angulation between main hepatic duct and adopting different inserting methods. (authors)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Aerial deposition of Ni from a refinery in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada has resulted in the enrichment of 29km2 of land with Ni concentrations exceeding the Canadian Ministry of the Environment's remedial action level of 200mgkg-1. Several studies on these soils have shown that making the soils calcareous was effective at reducing chemically extractable Ni, as well as alleviating Ni phytotoxicity symptoms in vegetable crops grown in the vicinity of the refinery. Conversely, dolomitic limestone additions resulted in increased uptake of Ni in the Ni hyperaccumulator Alyssum murale `Kotodesh', a plant whose use was proposed as a remediation strategy for this area. In this paper we use multiple techniques to directly assess the role soil type and lime treatments play in altering the speciati...

Science.gov (United States)

Recently, sustainable materials have attracted attention because of the need to alleviate environmental problems. Bamboo, in particular, has attracted attention as a sustainable material because it has the fastest natural growth rate among various natural materials. A self-bonding fiberboard using high quality bamboo fiber extracted with a machining center has been enabled to be fabricated by hot press forming. Therefore, we propose a sustainable manufacturing system that focuses on bamboo. An environmental impact of our system was evaluated by life cycle assessment (LCA), comparing with a glass fiber reinforced plastic production. Additionally, based on the LCA result, higher efficient fiber extraction process was proposed by an application of in-situ measurement of uninformed bamboo shape with irregularity.

CERN Document Server

In order to alleviate the inefficiencies caused by the interaction of the logic and functional sides, integrated languages may take advantage of \\emph{demand} information -- i.e. knowing in advance which computations are needed and, to which extent, in a particular context. This work studies \\emph{demand analysis} -- which is closely related to \\emph{backwards strictness analysis} -- in a semantic framework of \\emph{partial predicates}, which in turn are constructive realizations of ideals in a domain. This will allow us to give a concise, unified presentation of demand analysis, to relate it to other analyses based on abstract interpretation or strictness logics, some hints for the implementation, and, more important, to prove the soundness of our analysis based on \\emph{demand equations}. There are also some innovative results. One of them is that a set constraint-based analysis has been derived in a stepwise manner using ideas taken from the area of program ...

Science.gov (United States)

According to the LeChatelier-Braun principle, when a closed quiescent system initially in an equilibrium or unstressed steady state is subjected to an externally imposed ``stress'' it responds in a manner tending to alleviate that stress. Use of this entropically based qualitative rule, in combination with the notion of Maxwell thermal stresses existing in nonisothermal gases and liquids, enables one to (i) derive Maxwell's thermal-creep boundary condition prevailing at the boundary between a solid and a fluid (either gas or liquid) and (ii) rationalize the phenomenon of thermophoresis in liquids, for which, in contrast with the case of gases, an elementary explanation is currently lacking. These two objectives are achieved by quantitatively interpreting the heretofore qualitative LeChatelier-Braun notion of stress in the present context as being the fluid's stress tensor, the latter including Maxwell's thermal stress. In effect, thermophoretic particle motion is ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Generally, neutron, ion and electron Irradiations cause a substantial amount of hardening and significantly alter the deformation behavior of metals and alloys at relatively low irradiation temperatures. A radiation hardening is caused by the formation of microstructural defects such as dislocation loops, voids and precipitates under irradiation. Therefore, it is important to have a better knowledge of the irradiation induced microstructural defects under irradiation condition. As a part of the National mid- and long-term atomic energy R and D program, we are dealing with the radiation hardening behavior in Fe-Cr binary alloy. Fe-Cr binary alloy is a base alloy of Ferritic/Martensitic steel(F/M steel) planning to use for the Gen IV nuclear system. In this work, we investigated the radiation hardening and microstructural defect evolution in ion irradiated Fe-Cr alloys with irradiation temperature using nano-indentation measurement and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Data on the recovery of Tsub(c) for several neutron irradiated A-15 compounds are presented. A model for the mechanism of recovery is suggested and has been applied to isothermal annealing data at 550"0C on a sample of Nb_3Ge and to isochronal annealing (200"0C-900"0C) data on V_3Si, Nb_3Ge and Nb_3Sn subjected to varying doses of fast neutrons and on Nb_3Al of various compositions subjected to the same dose. The recovery is assumed to take place by vacancy assisted reordering and occurs in several stages. The major low temperature stage is attributed to irradiation induced vacancies, while at high temperatures there are depleted and recovery is ascribed to the motion of thermal equilibrium vacancies. Activation energies deduced for these processes, approximately 1 eV for vacancy motion and approximately 1-2 eV for vacancy formation, are consistent with what is known about diffusion in the A-15 structure. (Auth.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The rate of residual-resistivity increase and the isochronal recovery have been studied on the fcc metals Al, Ni, Cu, Pd, Ag, Pt, and Au irradiated at 4.6 K with reactor neutrons to a dose of about 10"1"9 (fast neutrons)/cm"2. The rate of resistivity increase is nonlinear as a function of irradiation-induced resistivity; computer analysis shows that the data are best fitted with an erxpression having up to third-order terms in #DELTA#rho. There are deviations from simple damage-rate theory in all cases, but an anomalous negative deviation from a linear law (convex curvature) is observed in Ni, Pd, Pt (and Fe). This behavior is most probably caused by a decrease of the specific Frenkel-defect resistivity due to defect clustering, an effect which should contribute in all metals after fast-neutron irradiation to high doses. Saturation values of resistivity and defect concentration as well as recombination volumes have veen obtained more accurately than from previous ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tensile specimens of the normalized and tempered fully martensitic steel DIN 1.4914 were helium implanted up to 340 appm within the temperature range 300-720/sup 0/C using a 104 MeV alpha particle beam. The high He/damage ratio of 1850 appm He/dpa allowed to determine the effect of helium on material properties. After irradiation tensile strength and ductility were investigated mainly at test temperatures equal to the irradiation temperatures. While short time irradiations with helium contents up to 100 appm have shown no visible effect on the tensile behaviour at all temperatures investigated, long time irradiations reduced the material strength at irradiation temperatures above about 440/sup 0/C. This irradiation induced softening obscured the predicted minor hardening effect of the observed He-bubbles completely and increases with irradiation time and temperature. The fracture mode of helium-implanted and control specimens is found to remain ...

Science.gov (United States)

Lunar resource utilization has focused principally on the extraction of oxygen from the lunar regolith. A number of schemes have been proposed for oxygen extraction from Ilmenite and Anorthite. Serendipitously, these schemes have as their by-products (or more directly as their "waste products"), materials needed for the fabrication of thin film silicon solar cells. Thus lunar surface possesses both the elemental components needed for the fabrication of silicon solar cells and a vacuum environment that allows for vacuum deposition of thin film solar cells directly on the surface of the Moon without the need for vacuum chambers. In support of the US space exploration initiative a new architecture for the production of thin film solar cells on directly on the lunar surface is proposed. The paper discusses experimental data on the fabrication and properties of lunar glass substrates, evaporated lunar regolith thin films (anti-reflect coatings and insulators), and preliminary attempts in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Active oxygens produced by low-dose irradiation can induce the synthesis of proteins involved in the active oxygen reduction path and can activate the chemical self-defense mechanisms in vivo, which can alleviate the injuries caused by active oxygens themselves. The following findings suggests that it is not only by low-dose irradiation that can induce the responses described above but also by any physical and/or chemical stresses which can produce small amount of active oxygens in vivo. 1. X-irradiation with 0.5 Gy and/or water immersion and restraint induced heat shock protein (HSP)70 in rat stomach cells. HSP70 was also induced in adrenal cells by paraquat administration. 2. The SOD activity in pancreas of rat significantly increased by #gamma#-irradiation with 0.5 Gy. 0.5 Gy irradiation preceeding the alloxan administration significantly suppressed the increase in pancreatic lipid peroxides and in blood glucose levels, degranulation in #beta# cells, and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The diffuse background light in the Coma cluster is measured using isodensity tracings of B, G, V, and R photographic plates taken with the Palomar 1.2-m Schmidt telescope. The isodensity contours are calibrated using the star profile derived by Kormendy (1973). Between 4 and 14 arc min from the center, the surface brightness of the diffuse light decreases from approximately 26 to approximately 28 G magnitudes arc sec"-"2. The total magnitude in this annulus is G = 11.22, which is approximately 45 percent of the light in galaxies alone, or approximately 30 percent of the total. This does little to alleviate the ''missing mass'' problem. The isodensity contours and the equivalent profile of the diffuse light closely parallel the distribution of light in galaxies, implying no strong mass segregation. However, the background light appears to be bluer than the galaxies. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the background consists of stars tidally stripped from ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fiber delivered laser pulses emulsify thrombus by mechanical stresses that include a combination of pressure, tension and shear stress. Laser radiation is delivered to the locality of a thrombus and the radiation is absorbed by blood, blood dot, or other present materials. The combination of a leading pressure wave and subsequent vapor bubble cause efficient, emulsification of thrombus. Operating the laser in a low average power mode alleviates potential thermal complications. The laser is operated in a high repetition rate mode to take advantage of ultrasound frequency effects of thrombus dissolution as well as to decrease the total procedure time. Specific parameter ranges for operation are described. The device includes optical fibers surrounding a lumen intended for flow of a cooling agent. The fibers may be arranged concentrically around the lumen to deliver radiation and heat over as large an area as possible. An alternative design approach incorporates the ...

CERN Document Server

Probabilistic broadcast has been widely used as a flooding optimization mechanism to alleviate the effect of broadcast storm problem (BSP) in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Many research studies have been carried-out to develop and evaluate the performance of this mechanism in an error-free (noiseless) environment. In reality, wireless communication channels in MANETs are an error-prone and suffer from high packet-loss due to presence of noise, i.e., noisy environment. In this paper, we propose a simulation model that can be used to evaluate the performance of probabilistic broadcast for flooding in noisy environment. In the proposed model, the noise-level is represented by a generic name, probability of reception (pc) (0<=pc<=1), where pc=1 for noiseless and <1 for noisy environment. The effect of noise is determined randomly by generating a random number \\zeta (0<=\\zeta<1); if \\zeta<=pc means the packet is successfully delivered to the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Studies have shown that binary geothermal cycles utilizing mixed-hydrocarbon working fluids can result in better performance than those utilizing pure fluids for moderate temperature (360F) resources. However, a loss in net geofluid effectiveness results when the geofluid outlet is limited to temperatures in excess of 160F to alleviate potential silica precipitation. This study examined three mixed-hydrocarbon working fluids to see if use of regenerative preheating techniques such as turbine exhaust recuperation and/or turbine bleed could recover this loss. Results showed that with the most promising of the three working fluids, a turbine-exhaust recuperator alone is sufficient to recover all the lost effectiveness while maintaining the geofluid outlet temperature at 160F. A brief study to investigate cold weather operation with the recuperator showed no major detrimental response of the system; however, silica precipitation may present a problem in extremely cold ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The hardening and embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels is of great concern in the actual nuclear power plant life assessment. This embrittlement is caused by irradiation-induced damage, like vacancies, interstitials, solutes and their clusters. The current procedure to estimate material properties for the irradiated pressure vessels is based on Charpy-V tests of identical material located at the inner shell of the reactor. But the reason for the embrittlement of the materials is not yet totally known. The real nature of the irradiation damage should thus be examined as well as its evolution in time. Fe-Cu binary alloys are often used to mimic the behaviour of such steels. Their study allows. Identifying some of the defects responsible of the hardening, especially when compared to pure iron or C-micro-alloyed iron. More recently the influence of manganese and nickel in low-Cu RPV steels has become a significant topic. Thus in contrast with the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In-reactor testing of bolt-loaded compact tension specimens was performed in 360 C water to determine the irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) behavior of HTH Alloy X-750 and direct-aged Alloy 625. New data confirm previous results showing that high irradiation levels reduce SCC resistance in Alloy X-750. Heat-to-heat variability correlates with boron content, with low boron heats showing improved IASCC properties. Alloy 625 is resistant to IASCC, as no cracking was observed in any Alloy 625 specimens. Microstructural, microchemical and deformation studies were performed to characterize the mechanisms responsible for IASCC in Alloy X-750 and the lack of an effect in Alloy 625. The mechanisms under investigation are: boron transmutation effects, radiation-induced changes in microstructure and deformation characteristics, and radiation-induced segregation. Irradiation of Alloy X-750 caused significant strengthening and ductility loss that was associated with the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Full text of publication follows: The effect of neutron irradiation on the thermal conductivity of silicon carbide can be dramatic depending on the irradiation temperature and fluence the material is subjected to, and may be a critical factor defining it's use in fusion systems. Historically there have been several papers describing the effect of neutron irradiation on thermal conductivity degradation of SiC, predominately in the low to intermediate temperature ranges. Practically all of this work has been at temperatures lower than the application temperature for SiC being considered by the conceptual fusion reactors. This paper provides new data on the thermal conductivity of high quality CVD silicon carbide irradiated in a range of doses and temperature spanning the proposed fusion reactor temperature range. Specifically, an irradiation was carried out from fractions milli-dpa to approximately 8 dpa in the HFIR with irradiation temperatures ranging from 80-1600 deg. C. Results of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The core bypass flow in a prismatic very high temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR) is one of the important design considerations which impacts considerably on the integrity of reactor core internals including operating fuels. The interstitial gaps are an inherent presence in the reactor core because of tolerances in manufacturing the blocks and the inexact nature of their installation. Furthermore, the geometry of the graphite blocks changes over the lifetime of the reactor because of thermal expansion and irradiation damage. The occurrence of hot spots in the core and lower plenum and hot streaking in the lower plenum (regions of very hot gas flow) will be affected by the bypass flow. In the present study, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) calculations of a typical prismatic VHTR are conducted to understand better the bypass flow phenomenon and establish the evaluation method in the reactor core using commercial CFD code FLUENT. Parametric calculations changing ...

Science.gov (United States)

Sida rhomboidea. Roxb leaf extract (SRLE) is being used by the populace of North-East India to alleviate symptoms of diabetes and obesity. We have previously reported its hypolipidemic and anti-diabetic properties. In this study, we report the effect of SRLE on (i) in vivo modulation of genes controlling high fat diet (HFD) induced obesity and (ii) in vitro 3T3L1 pre-adipocyte differentiation and leptin release. Supplementation with SRLE significantly prevented HFD induced increment in bodyweight, plasma lipids and leptin, visceral adiposity and adipocyte hypertrophy. Also, SRLE supplementation reduced food intake, down regulated PPAR?2, SREBP1c, FAS and LEP expressions and up-regulated CPT-1 in epididymal adipose tissue compared to obese mice. In vitro adipogenesis of 3T3L1 pre-adipocytes was significantly retarded in the presence of SRLE extract. Also decreased triglyceride accumulation, leptin release and glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate dehydrogenase activity along ...

Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)

Abstract in english BACKGROUND: Severe pathogenic infection triggers excessive release of cytokines as part of the massive inflammatory response associated with septic shock. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the protective effect of caffeic acid phenethye ester (CAPE) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced endotoxemia, hepatic and neuronal damage and the associated systemic inflammatory response (SIR). METHODS: Fifty male Wister rats were divided into: control, LPS, and CAPE+LPS groups. Plasma c (more) oncentrations of various cytokines, including TNF-?, IL-1?, IL-1?, IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, and sICAM-1 were evaluated. In addition, the histopathological changes in the hepatic and neural cells were assessed. RESULTS: The LPS group showed high inflammatory cytokines and sICAM-1 levels reflecting the presence of SIR. Hepatocyte necrosis, apoptosis, extensive hemorrhage and inflammatory cellular infiltration together with brain astrocytes swelling, early neuron injury and presence of inflammatory ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

More than 80% of the people of Nepal are farmers and 90% of the farmers do farming for subsistence. Agricultural productions contribute about 50% of country's GDP. Agricultural sector has been categorized as the top priority sector since many years. The environment of the country has also deteriorated substantially by the unplanned and unscientific use of natural resources such as air, soil, water, air and forest. Fertility of the soil has also been declining and studies show that productions in mountains is decreasing at a rate of 40 Kg/ha. Yr (1). The Terai, a narrow strip of land in the south, is in heavy pressure due to over exploitation and population growth (both natural and migratory). Shallow groundwater (shallow tube wells) is the main source of drinking water in Terai (the lowland region of Nepal). A study conducted by Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) showed that more than 55% of Terai tube wells are microbiologically contaminated (2). There might be many ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The use of natural energy sources and their conversion to secondary forms of energy are a crucial base for the development of our society with its continuous change of requirements due to an increase in population and the broadening of the needs in our modern life. As a consequence the consumption of primary energy resources rose drastically worldwide during the last 5 decades in particular in the industrialized regions such as Europe. Parallel in time the increasing awareness of negative effects of fuel dependent pollution on the environment and the introduction of stringent emission control regulations about 3 decades ago initiated extensive development and retrofit activities resulting in the today applied high level state of the art. As an additional challenge the worldwide debate about the potential effects of the emission of the s.c green house gases on the global climate in particular carbon dioxide from the use of predominantly fossil fuels have initiated in the European Union ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) was launched in 2005 to cap CO2 emissions from large industrial facilities and electricity producers. The European Commission is currently designing the post 2012 EU ETS, as outlined in COM(2008)16. Novel to this system is that a greater part of the rights will be auctioned. Auctioning in general assures a greater deal of efficiency compared to (certain types of) free allocation, lowers the administrative costs and prevents eventual windfall profits. However, auctioning also implies a potential loss of competitiveness for industry. If no international agreement on future climate policies is reached, firms may not be able to pass on the higher costs to their customers and may be faced with a loss in profitability and the threat of import substitution. In any emission trading scheme with an absolute cap, a relocation of production that is not covered by CO2 targets implies an increase in global CO2 emissions. This phenomenon has been labelled as ...