In vitro effects of beta-lactams combined with beta-lactamase inhibitors against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, S; Arai, S; Hayashi, S; Sakaguchi, T

1989-01-01

The effects of combinations of beta-lactams with two beta-lactamase inhibitors, sulbactam and clavulanic acid, were determined in vitro against 22 clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Combinations of cefpirome, cefotaxime, and cefazolin with sulbactam (10 micrograms/ml) showed synergistic effects against more than 70% of the strains. Combinations of methicillin and penicillin G with sulbactam also showed synergistic effects against 50 and 68% of the strains, respectively, while cefotiam, moxalactam, flomoxef, and cefmetazole in combination with sulbactam showed such effects against only 40% or fewer. Clavulanic acid was synergistic only when combined with penicillin G, the effect probably being due to the beta-lactamase inhibition by the inhibitor. Sulbactam did not improve the antimicrobial activities of the beta-lactams against methicillin-susceptible S. aureus strains. At 42 degrees C the MICs of cefotaxime, methicillin, and flomoxef alone were markedly decreased from the values at 35 degrees C, and no synergy between these beta-lactams and sulbactam appeared. The resistance to penicillin G was not inhibited by incubation at 42 degrees C, and combinations of penicillin G with sulbactam and clavulanic acid showed synergy. The amounts of beta-lactamase produced were not related to the decreases in the MICs of the beta-lactams, except for penicillin G combined with sulbactam. Clavulanic acid showed slightly stronger beta-lactamase-inhibiting activity than sulbactam did. These results suggest that the synergy between sulbactam and the beta-lactams, except for penicillin G, may not be due to beta-lactamase inhibition but to suppression of the methicillin-resistant S. aureus-specific resistance based on other factors. PMID:2786369

Limiting beta of stellarators with no net current

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, H.R.; Monticello, D.A.

1981-01-01

Using reduced nonlinear MHD equations, we find finite beta, resistive, l = 2 stellarator equilibria with no net current. We then investigate stability to low mode number internal MHD modes, and find beta limits comparable to tokamaks. Low shear equilibria appear to be substantially more stable than high shear

Conformation, molecular packing and field effect mobility of regioregular beta,beta'-dihexylsexithiophiophene

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiriy, N.; Kiriy, A.; Bocharova, V.

2004-01-01

by the pulse-radiolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity (PR-TRMC) technique was found to be Sigmamu(min) = 3.9 x 10(-3) cm(2) V-1 s(-1), which is comparable with the PR-TRMC mobility found for alpha,omega-DH6T. The field-effect mobility (FEM) of beta,beta'-DH6T was found to be on the order of 10(-5) cm(2......) V-1 s(-1), which is considerably less than the FEM of alpha,omega-DH6T. To understand the reason for such poor macroscopic electrical properties, the conformation and the molecular packing of beta,beta'-DH6T were systematically studied by means of UV-vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy...... less dense crystalline packing than alpha,omega-DH6T. In contrast to the almost upright orientation of alpha,omega-DH6T molecules against the substrate (tilt angle about 68), the long axis of beta,beta'-DH6T molecules and the surface plane form an angle of similar to20degrees. Thus, the crystalline...

Equilibrium of high beta plasma in closed magnetic line system (MBT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gesso, H.; Shiina, S.; Saito, K.; Nogi, Y.; Osaniai, Y.; Yoshimura, H.; Todoroki, J.; Hamada, S.; Nihon Univ., Tokyo. Atomic Energy Research Inst.)

1985-01-01

The beta effects on the plasma equilibrium in Modified Bumpy Torus (MBT) sector, which is an asymmetric closed line system with l = 0 and fairly large l = +- 1 field distortions, are studied. For this purpose, the equilibrium of high beta plasma produced by theta-pinch is compared with that of betaless plasma numerically calculated from the measured magnetic field profiles in device. The equilibrium condition depends weakly on beta value, but the plasma cross-section is vertically elongated as the beta value increases. The m = 1 long wavelength MHD instability is not observed during the observation time of approx. 15 μs. These experimental results are compared with MHD theory based on the new ordering taking the finiteness of l = +- 1 field distortion (deltasub(+-1) > or approx. 1) into account, which suggests significant stabilizing effects due to self formation of magnetic well and also due to the conducting wall. (author)

A Finite Model Property for Intersection Types

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Rick Statman

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We show that the relational theory of intersection types known as BCD has the finite model property; that is, BCD is complete for its finite models. Our proof uses rewriting techniques which have as an immediate by-product the polynomial time decidability of the preorder <= (although this also follows from the so called beta soundness of BCD.

Twist operators in N=4 beta-deformed theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Leeuw, M.; Łukowski, T.

2010-01-01

In this paper we derive both the leading order finite size corrections for twist-2 and twist-3 operators and the next-to-leading order finite-size correction for twist-2 operators in beta-deformed SYM theory. The obtained results respect the principle of maximum transcendentality as well as

Dopaminergic and beta-adrenergic effects on gastric antral motility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bech, K; Hovendal, C P; Gottrup, F

1984-01-01

of bethanechol or pentagastrin inducing motor activity patterns as in the phase III of the MMC and the digestive state respectively. The stimulated antral motility was dose-dependently inhibited by dopamine. The effect was significantly blocked by specifically acting dopaminergic blockers, while alpha- and beta......-adrenergic blockers were without any significant effects. Dose-response experiments with bethanechol and dopamine showed inhibition of a non-competitive type. Isoprenaline was used alone and in conjunction with selective blockade of beta 1- and beta 2-receptors during infusion of bethanechol which induces a pattern...... similar to phase III in the migrating myoelectric complex. The stimulated antral motility was dose-dependently inhibited by isoprenaline. The effect could be significantly blocked by propranolol (beta 1 + beta 2-adrenoceptor blocker) and by using in conjunction the beta 1-adrenoceptor blocker practolol...

BETA (Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus)

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, Evan M.; Birmingham, William J.; Rivera, William F.; Romero-Talamas, Carlos A.

2017-10-01

The Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA) is a 1-Tesla (T) prototype of the 10-T Adjustable Long Pulse High-Field Apparatus (ALPHA). These water-cooled resistive magnets use high DC currents to produce strong uniform magnetic fields. Presented here is the successful completion of the BETA project and experimental results validating analytical magnet designing methods developed at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory (DPL). BETA's final design specifications will be highlighted which include electromagnetic, thermal and stress analyses. The magnet core design will be explained which include: Bitter Arcs, helix starters, and clamping annuli. The final version of the magnet's vessel and cooling system are also presented, as well as the electrical system of BETA, which is composed of a unique solid-state breaker circuit. Experimental results presented will show the operation of BETA at 1 T. The results are compared to both analytical design methods and finite element analysis calculations. We also explore the steady state maximums and theoretical limits of BETA's design. The completion of BETA validates the design and manufacturing techniques that will be used in the succeeding magnet, ALPHA.

Finite size effects of a pion matrix element

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guagnelli, M.; Jansen, K.; Palombi, F.; Petronzio, R.; Shindler, A.; Wetzorke, I.

2004-01-01

We investigate finite size effects of the pion matrix element of the non-singlet, twist-2 operator corresponding to the average momentum of non-singlet quark densities. Using the quenched approximation, they come out to be surprisingly large when compared to the finite size effects of the pion mass. As a consequence, simulations of corresponding nucleon matrix elements could be affected by finite size effects even stronger which could lead to serious systematic uncertainties in their evaluation

Numerical models for high beta magnetohydrodynamic flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brackbill, J.U.

1987-01-01

The fundamentals of numerical magnetohydrodynamics for highly conducting, high-beta plasmas are outlined. The discussions emphasize the physical properties of the flow, and how elementary concepts in numerical analysis can be applied to the construction of finite difference approximations that capture these features. The linear and nonlinear stability of explicit and implicit differencing in time is examined, the origin and effect of numerical diffusion in the calculation of convective transport is described, and a technique for maintaining solenoidality in the magnetic field is developed. Many of the points are illustrated by numerical examples. The techniques described are applicable to the time-dependent, high-beta flows normally encountered in magnetically confined plasmas, plasma switches, and space and astrophysical plasmas. 40 refs

Adverse CNS-effects of beta-adrenoceptor blockers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gleiter, C H; Deckert, J

1996-11-01

In 1962 propranolol, the first beta adrenoceptor antagonist (beta blocker), was brought on to the market. There is now a host of different beta blockers available, and these compounds are among the most commonly prescribed groups of drugs. The efficacy of beta blockers has been proven predominantly for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Beta blockers are also used for certain types of CNS disorders, such as anxiety disorders, essential tremor and migraine. While low toxicity means that they have a favorable risk-benefit ratio, given the high intensity of use, it is essential to have a comprehensive knowledge of adverse events. Adverse events of beta blockers that can be related to the CNS are quite often neglected, even in textbooks of clinical pharmacology or review articles, and thus often misdiagnosed. The following article, therefore, after summarizing the use of beta blockers for CNS indications, critically reviews the literature on centrally mediated adverse events. General pharmacological features of beta blockers and their molecular basis of action will briefly be addressed to the extent that they are or may become relevant for central nervous pharmacotherapy and side-effects.

The effects of beta-carotene and vitamin E on erythrocytes lipid peroxidation in beta-thalassemia patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soleiman Mahjoub

2007-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Thalassemia is the most common hereditary disease in the world. Thalassemic erythrocytes are exposed to higher oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of beta-carotene and vitamin E on erythrocytes lipid peroxidation in beta-thalassemia patients.
METHODS: A prospective double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of beta-carotene and vitamin E on lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes membranes was performed on 120 beta-thalassemia major patients in four groups. The patients were supplemented for 4 weeks as follows: group 1 with beta-carotene (13 mg/day, group 2 with vitamin E (550 mg/day, group 3 with beta-carotene plus vitamin E and group 4 with placebo. We prepared all capsules for 4 roups in the same shape and color. Measurements of serum beta-carotene and vitamin E were performed by high performance
liquid chromatography. After preparation of ghost cells from blood specimens, malondialdehyde (MDA was determined as index of lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes membranes before and after treatment. RESULTS: The levels of serum beta-carotene and vitamin E were significantly lower and MDA concentrations in erythrocytes membranes were significantly higher in beta-thalassemia patients compared to controls (P<0.001. In groups that treated with vitamin supplements for 4-weeks, lipid peroxidation rates were significantly reduced after treatment (P<0.001, but in placebo group there was not significant difference (P>0.05.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence that an oral treatment with beta-carotene and vitamin E can significantly reduce lipid peroxidation of erythrocytes membranes and could be useful in management of beta-thalassemia major patients. KEYWORDS: Beta-thalassemia major, beta-carotene, vitamin E, malondialdehyde, lipid peroxidation.

Electrokinetic Flow in Microchannels with Finite Reservoir Size Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, D; Yang, C; Nguyen, N-T; Huang, X

2006-01-01

In electrokinetically-driven microfluidic applications, reservoirs are indispensable and have finite sizes. During operation processes, as the liquid level difference in reservoirs keeps changing as time elapses, the flow characteristics in a microchannel exhibit a combination of the electroosmotic flow and the time-dependent induced backpressure-driven flow. In this work, an assessment of the finite reservoir size effect on electroosmotic flows is presented theoretically and experimentally. A model is developed to describe the timedependent electrokinetic flow with finite reservoir size effects. The theoretical analysis shows that under certain conditions the finite reservoir size effect is significant. The important parameters that describe the effect of finite reservoir size on the flow characteristics are discussed. A new concept denoted as 'effective pumping period' is introduced to characterize the reservoir size effect. The proposed model clearly identifies the mechanisms of the finitereservoir size effects and is further confirmed by using micro-PIV technique. The results of this study can be used for facilitating the design of microfluidic devices

Spatial distribution function of electron-photon shower particles for different values of Esub(0)/. beta. in isothermal atmosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanenko, I P; Osipova, L N; Roganova, T M; Fedorova, G F [Moskovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ. (USSR). Nauchno-Issledovatel' skij Inst. Yadernoj Fiziki

1982-12-01

Results of calculations of the spatial distribution function (SDF) of electron-photon shower particles for different values of the parameter E/sub 0//..beta.. in an isothermal atmosphere are given. Consideration of finiteness of the parameter E/sub 0//..beta.. leads to narrowing of SDF two times at E/sub 0//..beta.. approximately 10-100 as compared with the Nishimura, Kamata, Greisen SDF (E/sub 0//..beta.. = infinity). Atmosphere inhomogeneity results in SDF broadening in comparison with SDFsub(hom) (E/sub 0//..beta..) calculated for homogeneous atmosphere. SDFsub(inhom) (E/sub 0//..beta..) and SDFsub(hom) (E/sub 0//..beta..) depend on E/sub 0//..beta.. differently which is attributed to different contributions of shower prehistory to SDF formation. The larger is E/sub 0//..beta.., the wider is cascade curve and the higher is the effect of shower prehistory.

Grand unification and the double beta-decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faessler, A.

1992-01-01

Models of the unification of the electroweak and the strong interaction predict that the neutrino is a Majorana particle and therefore essentially identical with its own antiparticle. In such grand unified models the neutrino has also a finite mass and a slight right-handed weak interaction, since the model is left-right symmetric. These models have also left handed and right-handed vector bosons to mediate the weak interactions. If these models are correct the neutrinoless double beta-decay is feasable. Thus if one finds the neutrinoless double beta-decay one knows that the standard model can not be correct in which the neutrino is a Dirac particle and therefore different from its antiparticle. Although the neutrinoless double beta-decay has not been seen it is possible to extract from the lower limits of the lifetime against the double neutrinoless beta-decay upper limits for the effective electron-neutrino mass and for the effective mixing angle of the right-handed and the left-handed vector bosons mediating the weak interaction. One also can obtain an effective upper limit for the mass ratio of the light and the heavy vector bosons. The extraction of this physical quantities from the data is made difficult due to the fact that the weak interaction must not be diagonal in the representation of the mass matrix of the six neutrinos requested by such left-right symmetric models. (author)

The effects of lower than conventional doses of oral nadolol on relative beta 1/beta 2-adrenoceptor blockade.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeldon, N M; McDevitt, D G; Lipworth, B J

1994-08-01

1. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relative beta 1/beta 2 antagonist selectivity of the beta-adrenoceptor blocker nadolol, in lower than conventional clinical doses. 2. Eight normal volunteers received single oral doses of either placebo (PL), nadolol 5 mg (N5), 20 mg (N20) or 80 mg (N80) in a single-blind, randomised crossover design. beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonism was assessed by attenuation of exercise tachycardia, and beta 2-adrenoceptor blockade by effects on salbutamol-induced chronotropic, hypokalaemic and finger tremor responses. The relative percentage attenuation of beta 2 and beta 1-mediated responses was calculated and expressed as beta 2:beta 1 selectivity ratios. 3. Nadolol produced dose-related reductions in exercise tachycardia in keeping with increasing beta 1-adrenoceptor blockade; mean % reduction (95% CI) compared with placebo: N5 10.7 (6.6 to 14.8), N20 21.4 (17.3 to 25.4), N80 38.9 (34.8 to 42.9). However, even the lowest dose of nadolol (5 mg) produced almost complete blunting of beta 2-mediated effects and significantly increase exercise hyperkalaemia; peak exercise hyperkalaemia (mmol l-1) (means and 95% CI): PL 4.88 (4.68 to 5.07), N5 5.36 (5.17 to 5.55), N20 5.48 (5.28 to 5.67), N80 5.42 (5.22 to 5.61). beta 2:beta 1 selectivity ratios significantly increased as the dose of nadolol was reduced. 4. These data suggest that whereas in the clinical dose range nadolol behaves as a non-selective beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, as the dose is reduced this drug demonstrates an increasing degree of selectivity for the beta 2-adrenoceptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Destabilization of hydromagnetic drift-Alfven waves in a finite pressure collisional plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, J.T.

1974-01-01

In a finite beta (β = 8πn 0 kT 0 /B 0 2 ) plasma, where the plasma pressure n 0 kT 0 is an appreciable fraction of the confining magnetic field energy-density B 0 2 /8π, density-gradient driven drift waves couple with Alfven waves when the phase velocities of the two waves become comparable. The resulting hydromagnetic drift-Alfven waves separate into two branches--a drift mode and an Alfven mode, with both modes exhibiting magnetic field and localized density fluctuations near the coupling point. The dispersion relation of the collisional drift-Alfven wave is derived by using a slab-geometry, two-fluid model which includes finite beta, electron-ion collisions, ion-ion collisions, finite ion larmar radius, temperature fluctuations, and an axial electron current. A hydromagnetic drift mode is found to be unstable in a moderately dense plasma. A localized ''Alfven'' mode is destabilized only with the passage of an axial current along the plasma column. In order to check the theoretical predictions an experiment is performed in a finite-beta plasma of density n 0 = 10 13 -10 15 cm -3 and temperature T/sub e/ approximately T/sub i/ = 1-7 eV. (U.S.)

Notch constraint effects on the dynamic fracture toughness of an unaged beta titanium alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rack, H.J.

1975-01-01

The influence of notch included angle and root radius on the apparent dynamic fracture toughness of an unaged metastable beta titanium alloy, Ti--3Al--8V--6Cr--4Zr--4Mo, has been examined. The apparent fracture toughness, K/sub Id/(rho), increases with both notch radius, rho and included angle, ω. These results have been compared with the theoretical predictions of Tetelman, et al. and Smith. The comparisons show that neither theory accurately describes the effect of varying notch constraint on the apparent dynamic fracture toughness. Although preliminary considerations indicate that qualitative descriptions of notch acuity effects may be given by recent finite element analysis of the stress and strain distributions below a notch root, there is presently no quantitative basis for determining the true dynamic fracture toughness of materials from the results of blunt notch experiments. (auth)

Ballooning stable high beta tokamak equilibria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuda, Takashi; Azumi, Masafumi; Kurita, Gen-ichi; Takizuka, Tomonori; Takeda, Tatsuoki

1981-04-01

The second stable regime of ballooning modes is numerically studied by using the two-dimensional tokamak transport code with the ballooning stability code. Using the simple FCT heating scheme, we find that the plasma can locally enter this second stable regime. And we obtained equilibria with fairly high beta (β -- 23%) stable against ballooning modes in a whole plasma region, by taking into account of finite thermal diffusion due to unstable ballooning modes. These results show that a tokamak fusion reactor can operate in a high beta state, which is economically favourable. (author)

Metabolic effects of beta2-agonists in relation to exercise performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kalsen, Anders

2015-01-01

athletes. The present PhD thesis is based on four manuscripts in which the acute effects of beta2-agonists on exercise performance were investigated. The aims were 1) to investigate whether supratherapeutic inhalation of beta2-agonists enhances muscle strength, anaerobic performance and aerobic performance......, 2) to uncover the mechanisms behind potential beta2-adrenergic improvements in anaerobic performance, 3) to investigate whether inhalation of beta2-agonists is ergogenic in elite athletes with or without airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Results from the studies of the thesis show...... administration of a certain dose, but a further increase in dose does not seem to elicit a greater performance-enhancing effect. Moreover, the effects of beta2-agonists on performance are unaffected by training status and AHR, but athletes with AHR who regularly use beta2-agonists get a reduced ergogenic...

The effect of interferon-{beta} on mouse neural progenitor cell survival and differentiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirsch, Marek [Neurology Department, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT (United States); Knight, Julia [Neuroscience Department, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT (United States); Tobita, Mari; Soltys, John; Panitch, Hillel [Neurology Department, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT (United States); Mao-Draayer, Yang, E-mail: yang.mao-draayer@vtmednet.org [Neurology Department, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT (United States)

2009-10-16

Interferon-{beta} (IFN-{beta}) is a mainstay therapy for relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the direct effects of IFN-{beta} on the central nervous system (CNS) are not well understood. To determine whether IFN-{beta} has direct neuroprotective effects on CNS cells, we treated adult mouse neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in vitro with IFN-{beta} and examined the effects on proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation. We found that mouse NPCs express high levels of IFN{alpha}/{beta} receptor (IFNAR). In response to IFN-{beta} treatment, no effect was observed on differentiation or proliferation. However, IFN-{beta} treated mouse NPCs demonstrated decreased apoptosis upon growth factor withdrawal. Pathway-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) arrays demonstrated that IFN-{beta} treatment upregulated the STAT 1 and 2 signaling pathway, as well as GFRA2, NOD1, Caspases 1 and 12, and TNFSF10. These results suggest that IFN-{beta} can directly affect NPC survival, possibly playing a neuroprotective role in the CNS by modulating neurotrophic factors.

Preservation of the positive lusitropic effect of beta-adrenoceptors stimulation in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Amour, Julien; Loyer, Xavier; Michelet, Pierre; Birenbaum, Aurélie; Riou, Bruno; Heymes, Christophe

2008-10-01

In diabetic cardiomyopathy, diastolic dysfunction results in part from sarcoplasmic reticulum abnormalities affecting both phospholamban and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake (SERCA2a). Consequently, the positive lusitropic effect of beta-adrenoceptors stimulation could be altered, and beta3-adrenoceptor over-expression may play a role, as previously demonstrated with an altered positive inotropic effect. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the beta-adrenergic positive lusitropic effect is altered in diabetic cardiomyopathy, and that beta3-adrenoceptor over-expression is involved. beta-adrenergic responses were investigated in vivo (dobutamine-echocardiography) and in vitro (papillary muscle preparation) in healthy and diabetic rats killed 4 (4W) and 12 (12W) wk after IV streptozotocin injection. The effect of beta3-adrenoceptor pathway inhibition by S-cyanopindolol (selective beta3-adrenoceptor antagonist) or by NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (nonselective nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) on the lusitropic response to isoproterenol (nonselective beta-adrenoceptors agonist) was studied in vitro. Western blots were performed to quantify the protein expressions of beta1- and beta3-adrenoceptors, phospholamban, and SERCA2a. Data are presented as mean percentages of baseline+/-sd. Despite the increased phospholamban/SERCA2a protein ratio and documented diastolic dysfunction, the positive lusitropic effect of beta-adrenoceptors stimulation was preserved in vivo (dobutamine) and in vitro (isoproterenol) in 4W and 12W diabetic, compared with healthy, rats. The beta3-adrenoceptor was up-regulated whereas beta1-adrenoceptor was down-regulated in 4W and 12W diabetic, compared with healthy, rats. Nevertheless, S-cyanopindolol or NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester had no lusitropic effect. The positive lusitropic effect of beta-adrenoceptor stimulation was preserved in diabetic cardiomyopathy. beta3-adrenoceptor over-expression does not seem to affect this process.

Effects of ultrasound on Transforming Growth Factor-beta genes in bone cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Harle

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Therapeutic ultrasound (US is a widely used form of biophysical stimulation that is increasingly applied to promote fracture healing. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta, which is encoded by three related but different genes, is known to play a major part in bone growth and repair. However, the effects of US on the expression of the TGF-beta genes and the physical acoustic mechanisms involved in initiating changes in gene expression in vitro, are not yet known. The present study demonstrates that US had a differential effect on these TGF-beta isoforms in a human osteoblast cell line, with the highest dose eliciting the most pronounced up-regulation of both TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta3 at 1 hour after treatment and thereafter declining. In contrast, US had no effect on TGF-beta2 expression. Fluid streaming rather than thermal effects or cavitation was found to be the most likely explanation for the gene responses observed in vitro.

[Effect of IL-1beta on growth properties of vaginal microsymbionts].

Science.gov (United States)

Kremleva, E A; Bukharin, O V

2013-01-01

Study the effect of IL-1beta in concentrations that are characteristic for vaginal normo- and pathocenosis on growth properties of vaginal microsymbionts. Concentration of IL-1beta in vaginal contents of women during bacterial vaginosis and normocenosis was determined by using enzume immunoassay. Changes of growth characteristics and biofilm formation ability of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Lactobacilus spp., Corynebacterium spp. under the effect of various IL-1beta concentrations by method of O'Toole G.A. (1999) were studied. IL-1beta in concentrations characteristic for normocenosis was shown to be able to cause stimulating effect on growth properties of lactobacilli and corynebacteria and suppress growth of S. aureus and E. coli in both plankton and biofilm cultures. IL-1beta concentrations characteristic for vaginal dysbiosis on the contrary result in suppression of growth of lactobacilli biomass against the background of stimulation of growth properties and biofilm formation ability of S. aureus and E. coli. Differential dose-dependent effect of IL-1beta on biomass growth and biofilm formation ability of vaginal microsymbionts is a mechanism of regulation of vaginal microbiocenosis.

Preventive Effects of Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methyl Butyrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Ravanbakhsh

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Aims: One of the major factors in sudden cardiac arrest is the initiation and continuation of deadly arrhythmias during ischemia. It is known that beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB has useful effects such as anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effects in the skeletal muscles. The aim of this study was to investigate the preventive effects of HMB on the ventricular arrhythmias due to the ischemia. Materials & Methods: In the experimental study, 30 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into three groups including control, HMB320, and HMB700. As control group received normal saline, HMB320 and HMB700 groups orally received 320 and 700 mg/Kg HMB as gavage for 2 weeks, respectively. The rats, having been anesthetized, underwent 30-minute ischemia. Then, the numbers of premature ventricular contractions (PVC, the appearance duration of ventricular tachycardia (VT, and the ventricular fibrillation (VF were assessed. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16 software using Kruskal-Walis, one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post-hoc, and Chi-square tests. Findings: There was a significant reduction in the mean PVC number in HMB320 and HMB700 groups than control group (p=0.001. In addition, there was such a significant difference between the groups received the doses (p=0.008. There was a reduction in the mean appearance duration of VT in HMB320 and HMB700 groups than control group (p=0.001. There was a significant reduction in the mean appearance duration of VF in HMB700 group compared to control group, only (p=0.003. Conclusion: Through arrhythmias reduction, 2-week preventive consumption of HMB might considerably reduce the severe side effects of ischemia.

Power output and efficiency of beta-emitting microspheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheneler, David; Ward, Michael

2015-01-01

Current standard methods to calculate the dose of radiation emitted during medical applications by beta-minus emitting microspheres rely on an over-simplistic formalism. This formalism is a function of the average activity of the radioisotope used and the physiological dimensions of the patient only. It neglects the variation in energy of the emitted beta particle due to self-attenuation, or self-absorption, effects related to the finite size of the sphere. Here it is assumed the sphere is comprised of a pure radioisotope with beta particles being emitted isotropically throughout the material. The full initial possible kinetic energy distribution of a beta particle is taken into account as well as the energy losses due to scattering by other atoms in the microsphere and bremsstrahlung radiation. By combining Longmire’s theory of the mean forward range of charged particles and the Rayleigh distribution to take into account the statistical nature of scattering and energy straggling, the linear attenuation, or self-absorption, coefficient for beta-emitting radioisotopes has been deduced. By analogy with gamma radiation transport in spheres, this result was used to calculate the rate of energy emitted by a beta-emitting microsphere and its efficiency. Comparisons to standard point dose kernel formulations generated using Monte Carlo data show the efficacy of the proposed method. Yttrium-90 is used as a specific example throughout, as a medically significant radioisotope, frequently used in radiation therapy for treating cancer. - Highlights: • Range-energy relationship for the beta particles in yttrium-90 is calculated. • Formalism for the semi-analytical calculation of self-absorption coefficients. • Energy-dependent self-absorption coefficient calculated for yttrium-90. • Flux rate of beta particles from a self-attenuating radioactive sphere is shown. • The efficiency of beta particle emitting radioactive microspheres is calculated

The effect of altered 5-hydroxytryptamine levels on beta-endorphin

Science.gov (United States)

Soliman, Karam F. A.; Mash, Deborah C.; Walker, Charles A.

1986-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of altering the concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) on beta-endorphin (beta-Ep) content in the hypothalamus, thalamus, and periaqueductal gray (PAG)-rostral pons regions of the rat brain. The selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine (10 mg/kg), significantly lowered beta-Ep content in the hypothalamus and the PAG. Parachlorophenylalanine, which inhibits 5-HT synthesis, significantly elevated beta-Ep in all brain parts studied. Intracisternal injections of the neurotoxin 5-prime, 7-prime-dihydroxytryptamine with desmethylimipramine pretreatment significantly increased beta-Ep content in the hypothalamus and the PAG. In adrenalectomized rats, fluoxetine significantly decreased beta-Ep levels in the hypothalamus and increased the levels in the PAG. The results indicate that 5-HT may modulate the levels of brain beta-Ep.

Effects of drugs on beta-endorphin and cortisol in smokers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Tongxin; Wang Zizheng; Wang Shukui

2001-01-01

The authors observed the effects of drugs on beta-endorphin and cortisol in smokers and their correlation. The levels of plasma beta-endorphin and cortisol of smokers before and after cigarette withdrawal were detected by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The Levels of plasma beta-endorphin and cortisol in smokers is significantly higher than in controls. After natural withdrawal, the levels of plasma cortisol increased significantly, while beta-endorphin decreased significantly. After drug treatment, the levels of beta-endorphin and cortisol balanced. The drugs may play the role of cigarette withdrawal by improving the secretion of endogenous opium and the axis of hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal

Effect of beta-agonists on LAM progression and treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Kang; Steagall, Wendy K; Stylianou, Mario; Pacheco-Rodriguez, Gustavo; Darling, Thomas N; Vaughan, Martha; Moss, Joel

2018-01-30

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a rare disease of women, is associated with cystic lung destruction resulting from the proliferation of abnormal smooth muscle-like LAM cells with mutations in the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) genes TSC1 and/or TSC2 The mutant genes and encoded proteins are responsible for activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), which is inhibited by sirolimus (rapamycin), a drug used to treat LAM. Patients who have LAM may also be treated with bronchodilators for asthma-like symptoms due to LAM. We observed stabilization of forced expiratory volume in 1 s over time in patients receiving sirolimus and long-acting beta-agonists with short-acting rescue inhalers compared with patients receiving only sirolimus. Because beta-agonists increase cAMP and PKA activity, we investigated effects of PKA activation on the mTOR pathway. Human skin TSC2 +/- fibroblasts or LAM lung cells incubated short-term with isoproterenol (beta-agonist) showed a sirolimus-independent increase in phosphorylation of S6, a downstream effector of the mTOR pathway, and increased cell growth. Cells incubated long-term with isoproterenol, which may lead to beta-adrenergic receptor desensitization, did not show increased S6 phosphorylation. Inhibition of PKA blocked the isoproterenol effect on S6 phosphorylation. Thus, activation of PKA by beta-agonists increased phospho-S6 independent of mTOR, an effect abrogated by beta-agonist-driven receptor desensitization. In agreement, retrospective clinical data from patients with LAM suggested that a combination of bronchodilators in conjunction with sirolimus may be preferable to sirolimus alone for stabilization of pulmonary function.

New data on the self-absorption of betas in cobalt-60 hot particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lantz, M.W.; Steward, J.B.

1988-01-01

The authors demonstrated that standard dose calculation methods for hot particles could seriously overestimate the beta dose rate component to skin. The reason-self-absorption within an activated satellite particle that has a finite thickness can lead to dramatic reductions in beta output, as compared to that predicted by calculation models that assume the particle has zero thickness. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the self-absorption effect with a particle model and confirmed it with measurements on two high-activity Co-60 particles found at the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Station. The authors then described a method for using an Eberline RO-2 ion chamber survey instrument to estimate the beta dose rate reduction related to self-absorption within a particle. This method relied on the comparison of the uncorrected beta/gamma ratio [(open window-closed window) divided-by closed window] for a particle expected of exhibiting self-absorption to the ratio obtained for a particle of zero thickness

Effects of beta-lactamases and omp mutation on susceptibility to beta-lactam antibiotics in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiraoka, M; Okamoto, R; Inoue, M; Mitsuhashi, S

1989-01-01

Four types of beta-lactamases consisting of a penicillinase type I (TEM-1), a penicillinase type II (OXA-1), a cephalosporinase of Citrobacter freundii, and a cephalosporinase of Proteus vulgaris were introduced into Escherichia coli MC4100 and its omp mutants, MH1160 (MC4100 ompR1) and MH760 (MC4100 ompR2), by transformation. Effects of the combination of the omp mutations and these beta-lactamases on the susceptibility of E. coli strains were studied with 15 beta-lactam antibiotics including cephalosporins, cephamycins, penicillins, imipenem, and aztreonam. The ompR1 mutant, MH1160, lacks OmpF and OmpC, and it showed reduced susceptibility to 11 of the 15 beta-lactam agents. The reduction in susceptibility to cefoxitin, moxalactam, and flomoxef was much greater than reduction in susceptibility to the other agents. When the ompR1 mutant produced the cephalosporinase of C. freundii, the susceptibility of the mutant to 12 of the 15 beta-lactam antibiotics decreased. The reduction in susceptibility of MH1160 to 10 of the 12 agents affected by the enzyme was two- to fourfold greater than that observed in MC4100. Such a synergistic effect was also observed with the cephalosporinase of P. vulgaris and ompR1 mutation against six cephalosporins, moxalactam, and aztreonam. Images PMID:2658786

The effect of smoking cessation pharmacotherapies on pancreatic beta cell function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woynillowicz, Amanda K.; Raha, Sandeep; Nicholson, Catherine J.; Holloway, Alison C.

2012-01-01

The goal of our study was to evaluate whether drugs currently used for smoking cessation (i.e., nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline [a partial agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR)] and bupropion [which acts in part as a nAChR antagonist]) can affect beta cell function and determine the mechanism(s) of this effect. INS-1E cells, a rat beta cell line, were treated with nicotine, varenicline and bupropion to determine their effects on beta cell function, mitochondrial electron transport chain enzyme activity and cellular/oxidative stress. Treatment of INS-1E cells with equimolar concentrations (1 μM) of three test compounds resulted in an ablation of normal glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by the cells. This disruption of normal beta cell function was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction since all three compounds tested significantly decreased the activity of mitochondrial electron transport chain enzyme activity. These results raise the possibility that the currently available smoking cessation pharmacotherapies may also have adverse effects on beta cell function and thus glycemic control in vivo. Therefore whether or not the use of nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline and bupropion can cause endocrine changes which are consistent with impaired pancreatic function warrants further investigation. -- Highlights: ► Smoking cessation drugs have the potential to disrupt beta cell function in vitro. ► The effects of nicotine, varenicline and bupropion are similar. ► The impaired beta cell function is mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction. ► If similar effects are seen in vivo, these drugs may increase the risk of diabetes.

The effect of smoking cessation pharmacotherapies on pancreatic beta cell function

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woynillowicz, Amanda K. [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3Z5 (Canada); Raha, Sandeep [Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3Z5 (Canada); Nicholson, Catherine J. [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3Z5 (Canada); Holloway, Alison C., E-mail: hollow@mcmaster.ca [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3Z5 (Canada)

2012-11-15

The goal of our study was to evaluate whether drugs currently used for smoking cessation (i.e., nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline [a partial agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR)] and bupropion [which acts in part as a nAChR antagonist]) can affect beta cell function and determine the mechanism(s) of this effect. INS-1E cells, a rat beta cell line, were treated with nicotine, varenicline and bupropion to determine their effects on beta cell function, mitochondrial electron transport chain enzyme activity and cellular/oxidative stress. Treatment of INS-1E cells with equimolar concentrations (1 μM) of three test compounds resulted in an ablation of normal glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by the cells. This disruption of normal beta cell function was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction since all three compounds tested significantly decreased the activity of mitochondrial electron transport chain enzyme activity. These results raise the possibility that the currently available smoking cessation pharmacotherapies may also have adverse effects on beta cell function and thus glycemic control in vivo. Therefore whether or not the use of nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline and bupropion can cause endocrine changes which are consistent with impaired pancreatic function warrants further investigation. -- Highlights: ► Smoking cessation drugs have the potential to disrupt beta cell function in vitro. ► The effects of nicotine, varenicline and bupropion are similar. ► The impaired beta cell function is mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction. ► If similar effects are seen in vivo, these drugs may increase the risk of diabetes.

Finite size effects in simulations of protein aggregation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amol Pawar

Full Text Available It is becoming increasingly clear that the soluble protofibrillar species that proceed amyloid fibril formation are associated with a range of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson diseases. Computer simulations of the processes that lead to the formation of these oligomeric species are starting to make significant contributions to our understanding of the determinants of protein aggregation. We simulate different systems at constant concentration but with a different number of peptides and we study the how the finite number of proteins affects the underlying free energy of the system and therefore the relative stability of the species involved in the process. If not taken into account, this finite size effect can undermine the validity of theoretical predictions regarding the relative stability of the species involved and the rates of conversion from one to the other. We discuss the reasons that give rise to this finite size effect form both a probabilistic and energy fluctuations point of view and also how this problem can be dealt by a finite size scaling analysis.

Use of isotope effects to characterize intermediates in mechanism-based inactivation of dopamine beta-monooxygenase by beta-chlorophenethylamine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bossard, M.J.; Klinman, J.P.

1990-01-01

A mechanism for beta-chlorophenethylamine inhibition of dopamine beta-monooxygenase has been postulated in which bound alpha-aminoacetophenone is generated followed by an intramolecular redox reaction to yield a ketone-derived radical cation as the inhibitory species. Based on the assumption that the ketone radical is the inhibitory intermediate, an analogous system was predicted and verified. In the present study, the role of alpha-aminoacetophenone as the proposed intermediate in the inactivation by beta-chlorophenethylamine was examined in greater detail. From the interdependence of tyramine and alpha-aminoacetophenone concentrations, ketone inactivation is concluded to occur at the substrate site as opposed to potential binding at the reductant-binding site. Using beta-[2-1H]- and beta-[2-2H]chlorophenethylamine, the magnitude of the deuterium isotope effect on inactivation under second-order conditions has been found to be identical to that observed under catalytic turnover, D(kappa inact/Ki) = D(kappa cat/Km) = 6-7. By contrast, the isotope effect on inactivation under conditions of substrate and oxygen saturation, D kappa inact = 2, is 3-fold smaller than that seen on catalytic turnover, D kappa cat = 6. This reduced isotope effect for inactivation is attributed to a normal isotope effect on substrate hydroxylation followed by an inverse isotope effect on the partitioning of the enol of alpha-aminoacetophenone between oxidation to a radical cation versus protonation to regenerate ketone. These findings are unusual in that two isotopically sensitive steps are present in the inactivation pathway whereas only one is observable in turnover

Effective slip lengths for flows over surfaces with nanobubbles: the effects of finite slip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendy, S C; Lund, N J

2009-01-01

We consider effective slip lengths for flows of simple liquids over surfaces contaminated by gaseous nanobubbles. In particular, we examine whether the effects of finite slip over the liquid-bubble interface are important in limiting effective slip lengths over such surfaces. Using an expression that interpolates between the perfect slip and finite slip regimes for flow over bubbles, we conclude that for the bubble dimensions and coverages typically reported in the literature the effects of finite slip are secondary, reducing effective slip lengths by only 10%. Further, we find that nanobubbles do not significantly increase slip lengths beyond those reported for bare hydrophobic surfaces.

Subtleties in the beta-function calculation of N = 1 supersymmetric gauge theories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cherchiglia, A.L. [ICEx, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Fisica, P.O. Box 702, Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Universidad de Granada, Departamento de Fisica Teorica y del Cosmos and CAFPE, Granada (Spain); Sampaio, Marcos [ICEx, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Fisica, P.O. Box 702, Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Hiller, B. [CFisUC, Universidade de Coimbra, Departamento de Fisica, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Coimbra (Portugal); Scarpelli, A.P.B. [Setor Tecnico-Cientifico, Departamento de Policia Federal, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

2016-02-15

We investigate some peculiarities in the calculation of the two-loop beta function of N = 1 supersymmetric models which are intimately related to the so-called ''anomaly puzzle''. There is an apparent paradox when the computation is performed in the framework of the covariant derivative background field method. In this formalism, there is obtained a finite two-loop effective action, although a non-null coefficient for the beta function is achieved by means of the renormalized two-point function in the background field. We show that if the standard background field method is used, this two-point function has a divergent part which allows for the calculation of the beta function via the renormalization constants, as usual. Therefore, we conjecture that this paradox has its origin in the covariant supergraph formalism itself, possibly being an artifact of the rescaling anomaly. (orig.)

Subtleties in the beta-function calculation of N = 1 supersymmetric gauge theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherchiglia, A.L.; Sampaio, Marcos; Hiller, B.; Scarpelli, A.P.B.

2016-01-01

We investigate some peculiarities in the calculation of the two-loop beta function of N = 1 supersymmetric models which are intimately related to the so-called ''anomaly puzzle''. There is an apparent paradox when the computation is performed in the framework of the covariant derivative background field method. In this formalism, there is obtained a finite two-loop effective action, although a non-null coefficient for the beta function is achieved by means of the renormalized two-point function in the background field. We show that if the standard background field method is used, this two-point function has a divergent part which allows for the calculation of the beta function via the renormalization constants, as usual. Therefore, we conjecture that this paradox has its origin in the covariant supergraph formalism itself, possibly being an artifact of the rescaling anomaly. (orig.)

Alpha and beta adrenergic effects on metabolism in contracting, perfused muscle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richter, Erik; Ruderman, N B; Galbo, H

1982-01-01

The role of alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation for the effect of epinephrine on muscle glycogenolysis, glucose- and oxygen uptake and muscle performance was studied in the perfused rat hindquarter at rest and during electrical stimulation (60 contractions/min). Adrenergic stimulation...... was obtained by epinephrine in a physiological concentration (2.4 X 10(-8) M) and alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockade by 10(-5) M phentolamine and propranolol, respectively. Epinephrine enhanced net glycogenolysis during contractions most markedly in slow-twitch red fibers. In these fibers the effect...... was mediated by alpha- as well as by beta-adrenergic stimulation, the latter involving production of cAMP, phosphorylase activation and synthase inactivation. In contrast, in fast-twitch fibers only beta-adrenergic mechanisms were involved in the glycogenolytic effect of epinephrine. Moreover, inactivation...

Neutral-beam deposition in large, finite-beta noncircular tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wieland, R.M.; Houlberg, W.A.

1982-02-01

A parametric pencil beam model is introduced for describing the attenuation of an energetic neutral beam moving through a tokamak plasma. The nonnegligible effects of a finite beam cross section and noncircular shifted plasma cross sections are accounted for in a simple way by using a smoothing algorithm dependent linearly on beam radius and by including information on the plasma flux surface geometry explicitly. The model is benchmarked against more complete and more time-consuming two-dimensional Monte Carlo calculations for the case of a large D-shaped tokamak plasma with minor radius a = 120 cm and elongation b/a = 1.6. Deposition profiles are compared for deuterium beam energies of 120 to 150 keV, central plasma densities of 8 x 10 13 - 2 x 10 14 cm -3 , and beam orientation ranging from perpendicular to tangential to the inside wall

Effective permittivity of finite inhomogeneous objects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raghunathan, S.B.; Budko, N.V.

2010-01-01

A generalization of the S-parameter retrieval method for finite three-dimensional inhomogeneous objects under arbitrary illumination and observation conditions is presented. The effective permittivity of such objects may be rigorously defined as a solution of a nonlinear inverse scattering problem.

Sequence swapping does not result in conformation swapping for the beta4/beta5 and beta8/beta9 beta-hairpin turns in human acidic fibroblast growth factor.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaewon; Lee, Jihun; Brych, Stephen R; Logan, Timothy M; Blaber, Michael

2005-02-01

The beta-turn is the most common type of nonrepetitive structure in globular proteins, comprising ~25% of all residues; however, a detailed understanding of effects of specific residues upon beta-turn stability and conformation is lacking. Human acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-1) is a member of the beta-trefoil superfold and contains a total of five beta-hairpin structures (antiparallel beta-sheets connected by a reverse turn). beta-Turns related by the characteristic threefold structural symmetry of this superfold exhibit different primary structures, and in some cases, different secondary structures. As such, they represent a useful system with which to study the role that turn sequences play in determining structure, stability, and folding of the protein. Two turns related by the threefold structural symmetry, the beta4/beta5 and beta8/beta9 turns, were subjected to both sequence-swapping and poly-glycine substitution mutations, and the effects upon stability, folding, and structure were investigated. In the wild-type protein these turns are of identical length, but exhibit different conformations. These conformations were observed to be retained during sequence-swapping and glycine substitution mutagenesis. The results indicate that the beta-turn structure at these positions is not determined by the turn sequence. Structural analysis suggests that residues flanking the turn are a primary structural determinant of the conformation within the turn.

Weak interaction studies from nuclear beta decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, M.

1981-01-01

The studies performed at the theoretical nuclear physics division of the Laboratory of Nuclear Studies, Osaka University, are reported. Electron spin density and internal conversion process, nuclear excitation by electron transition, beta decay, weak charged current, and beta-ray angular distributions in oriented nuclei have been studied. The relative intensity of internal conversion electrons for the case in which the radial wave functions of orbital electrons are different for electron spin up and down was calculated. The calculated value was in good agreement with the experimental one. The nuclear excitation following the transition of orbital electrons was studied. The calculated probability of the nuclear excitation of Os 189 was 1.4 x 10 - 7 in conformity with the experimental value 1.7 x 10 - 7 . The second class current and other problems on beta-decay have been extensively studied, and described elsewhere. Concerning weak charged current, the effects of all induced terms, the time component of main axial vector, all partial waves of leptons, Coulomb correction for the electrons in finite size nuclei, and radiative correction were studied. The beta-ray angular distribution for the 1 + -- 0 + transition in oriented B 12 and N 12 was investigated. In this connection, investigation on the weak magnetism to include all higher order corrections for the evaluation of the spectral shape factors was performed. Other works carried out by the author and his collaborators are also explained. (Kato, T.)

COMPREHENSIVE GYROKINETIC SIMULATION OF TOKAMAK TURBULENCE AT FINITE RELATIVE GYRORADIUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WALTZ, R.E.; CANDY, J.; ROSENBLUTH, M.N.

2002-01-01

OAK B202 COMPREHENSIVE GYROKINETIC SIMULATION OF TOKAMAK TURBULENCE AT FINITE RELATIVE GYRORADIUS. A continuum global gyrokinetic code GYRO has been developed to comprehensively simulate turbulent transport in actual experimental profiles and allow direct quantitative comparisons to the experimental transport flows. GYRO not only treats the now standard ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode turbulence, but also treats trapped and passing electrons with collisions and finite beta, and all in real tokamak geometry. Most importantly the code operates at finite relative gyroradius (ρ*) so as to treat the profile shear stabilization effects which break gyroBohm scaling. The code operates in a cyclic flux tube limit which allows only gyroBohm scaling and a noncyclic radial annulus with physical profile variation. The later requires an adaptive source to maintain equilibrium profiles. Simple ITG simulations demonstrate the broken gyroBohm scaling depends on the actual rotational velocity shear rates competing with mode growth rates, direct comprehensive simulations of the DIII-D ρ*-scaled L-mode experiments are presented as a quantitative test of gyrokinetics and the paradigm

URODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF BETA-ADRENOBLOCKERS: NEBIVOLOL ADVANTAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. P. Savenkov

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To compare urodynamic effects of beta-blockers with different selectivity (propranolol, metoprolol, nebivolol in patients with arterial hypertension (HT and concomitant benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH.Material and methods. 32 patients (aged 67,5 y.o. in average with HT of 1-2 stages were involved in the study. All patients had BPH (prostate volume >40 sm3 , increase of residual urine volume with moderate or severe low urinary tract symptoms (IPSS 8-25 and reduction of maximum urine flow rate to 5-13 ml/s. The urodynamic effect of beta-blockers was estimated by changes of urination frequency and uroflowmetry indices after single taking and 14-day therapy.Results. Propranolol and metoprolol led to aggravation of urination disorders. Nebivolol resulted in soft urodilating and urostimulating effects. It led to urination improvement and reduced a risk of urodynamic disorders.Conclusion. Urodynamic effects of cardiovascular drugs should be considered by practitioners especially in treatment of elderly patients.

Design and experimental results of the 1-T Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA)

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, E. M.; Birmingham, W. J.; Romero-Talamás, C. A.

2018-05-01

The Bitter Electromagnet Testing Apparatus (BETA) is a 1-Tesla (T) technical prototype of the 10 T Adjustable Long Pulsed High-Field Apparatus. BETA's final design specifications are highlighted in this paper which include electromagnetic, thermal, and stress analyses. We discuss here the design and fabrication of BETA's core, vessel, cooling, and electrical subsystems. The electrical system of BETA is composed of a scalable solid-state DC breaker circuit. Experimental results display the stable operation of BETA at 1 T. These results are compared to both analytical design and finite element calculations. Experimental results validate analytical magnet designing methods developed at the Dusty Plasma Laboratory. The theoretical steady state maxima and the limits of BETA's design are explored in this paper.

Finite orbit analysis for long wavelength modes in a plasma with a hot component

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammer, J.H.; Berk, H.L.

1985-01-01

The z-pinch model is used to calculate finite Larmor radius effects of a plasma with a hot component plasma annulus. The equations are analyzed for layer modes and the finite Larmor radius stabilization condition is calculated. Stability requires k 2 rho/sub h/ 2 Rβ/sub h//Δ greater than or equal to 1, where k is the wavenumber in the z-direction, rho/sub h/ the hot species Larmor radius, β/sub h/ the hot particle beta and Δ the thickness of the pressure profile. In addition a new instability is found due to the interaction of the precessional modes associated with inner and outer edges of the hot particle pressure profile

Equilibrium and stability of high-beta toroidal plasmas with toroidal and poloidal flow in reduced magnetohydrodynamic models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, A.; Nakajima, N.

2010-11-01

Effects of flow, finite ion temperature and pressure anisotropy on equilibrium and stability of a high-beta toroidal plasma are studied in the framework of reduced magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). A set of reduced equilibrium equations for high-beta tokamaks with toroidal and poloidal flow comparable to the poloidal sound velocity is derived in a unified form of single-fluid and Hall MHD models and a two-fluid MHD model with ion finite Larmor radius (FLR) terms. Pressure anisotropy is introduced with equations for the parallel heat flux which are closed by a fluid closure model. It is solved analytically for the single-fluid model and the solutions shows complicated characteristics in the region around the poloidal sound velocity due to pressure anisotropy and the parallel heat flux. Numerical solutions are found by using the finite element method for the two-fluid model with FLR effects in the case of isotropic, adiabatic pressure and indicate the following features of two-fluid equilibria: the isosurfaces of the magnetic flux, the pressure and the ion stream function do not coincide with each other, and the solutions depend on the sign of the radial electric field. Reduced single-fluid MHD equations with time evolution that are consistent with the above equilibria are also derived in order to study their stability. They conserve the energy up to the order required by the equilibria. (author)

Microstructural stability and thermomechanical processing of boron modified beta titanium alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Cherukuri, Balakrishna

One of the main objectives during primary processing of titanium alloys is to reduce the prior beta grain size. Producing an ingot with smaller prior beta grain size could potentially eliminate some primary processing steps and thus reduce processing cost. Trace additions of boron have been shown to decrease the as-cast grain size in alpha + beta titanium alloys. The primary focus of this dissertation is to investigate the effect of boron on microstructural stability and thermomechanical processing in beta titanium alloys. Two metastable beta titanium alloys: Ti-15Mo-2.6Nb-3Al-0.2Si (Beta21S) and Ti-5Al-5V-5Mo-3Cr (Ti5553) with 0.1 wt% B and without boron additions were used in this investigation. Significant grain refinement of the as-cast microstructure and precipitation of TiB whiskers along the grain boundaries was observed with boron additions. Beta21S and Beta21S-0.1B alloys were annealed above the beta transus temperature for different times to investigate the effect of boron on grain size stability. The TiB precipitates were very effective in restricting the beta grain boundary mobility by Zener pinning. A model has been developed to predict the maximum grain size as a function of TiB size, orientation, and volume fraction. Good agreement was obtained between model predictions and experimental results. Beta21S alloys were solution treated and aged for different times at several temperatures below the beta transus to study the kinetics of alpha precipitation. Though the TiB phase did not provide any additional nucleation sites for alpha precipitation, the grain refinement obtained by boron additions resulted in accelerated aging. An investigation of the thermomechanical processing behavior showed different deformation mechanisms above the beta transus temperature. The non-boron containing alloys showed a non-uniform and fine recrystallized necklace structure at grain boundaries whereas uniform intragranular recrystallization was observed in boron containing

Effect of beta-alanine, with and without sodium bicarbonate, on 2000-m rowing performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobson, Ruth M; Harris, Roger C; Martin, Dan; Smith, Perry; Macklin, Ben; Gualano, Bruno; Sale, Craig

2013-10-01

To examine the effect of beta-alanine only and beta-alanine with sodium bicarbonate supplementation on 2,000-m rowing performance. Twenty well-trained rowers (age 23 ± 4 y; height 1.85 ± 0.08 m; body mass 82.5 ± 8.9 kg) were assigned to either a placebo or beta-alanine (6.4 g · d(-1) for 4 weeks) group. A 2,000-m rowing time trial (TT) was performed before supplementation (Baseline) and after 28 and 30 days of supplementation. The post supplementation trials involved supplementation with either maltodextrin or sodium bicarbonate in a double-blind, crossover design, creating four study conditions (placebo with maltodextrin; placebo with sodium bicarbonate; beta-alanine with maltodextrin; beta-alanine with sodium bicarbonate). Blood lactate, pH, bicarbonate, and base excess were measured pre-TT, immediately post-TT and at TT+5 min. Performance data were analyzed using magnitude based inferences. Beta-alanine supplementation was very likely to be beneficial to 2,000-m rowing performance (6.4 ± 8.1 s effect compared with placebo), with the effect of sodium bicarbonate having a likely benefit (3.2 ± 8.8 s). There was a small (1.1 ± 5.6 s) but possibly beneficial additional effect when combining chronic beta-alanine supplementation with acute sodium bicarbonate supplementation compared with chronic beta-alanine supplementation alone. Sodium bicarbonate ingestion led to increases in plasma pH, base excess, bicarbonate, and lactate concentrations. Both chronic beta-alanine and acute sodium bicarbonate supplementation alone had positive effects on 2,000-m rowing performance. The addition of acute sodium bicarbonate to chronic beta-alanine supplementation may further enhance rowing performance.

Finite size effects and chiral symmetry breaking in quenched three-dimensional QED

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hands, S.; Kogut, J.B.

1990-01-01

Finite size effects and the chiral condensate are studied in three-dimensional QED by the Lanczos and the conjugate-gradient algorithms. Very substantial finite size effects are observed, but studies on L 3 lattices with L ranging from 8 to 80 indicate the development of a non-vanishing chiral condensate in the continuum limit of the theory. The systematics of the finite size effects and the fermion mass dependence in the conjugate-gradient algorithm are clarified in this extensive study. (orig.)

Double beta decays and related subjects for particle and nuclear physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ejiri, Hiroyasu

1991-01-01

Present status and some perspectives in 1990's are briefly given on double beta decays and related subjects. Subjects discussed are as follows I) Double beta decays without neutrinos, which require lepton number non-conservations and finite neutrino mass. II) Double beta decays followed by two neutrinos. III) Double weak processes with strangeness change ΔS = 2, leading to the H particle with 6 quarks of ss uu dd. IV) Charge non-conservation and electron decays. These are very rare nuclear processes studied by Ultra RAre-process NUclear Spectroscopy (URANUS). It is shown that URANUS is an important detector frontier of non-accelerator nuclear physics in 1990's. (orig.)

Estimation of the adiabatic energy limit versus beta in Baseball II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foote, J.H.

1976-01-01

Several estimates of the adiabatic energy limit versus beta in Baseball II are summarized, and the calculational methods used to obtain them are described. Some estimates are based on analytic expressions; for others, particle orbits are calculated, magnetic-moment jumps are inspected, and adiabatic limits then derived. The results are sensitive to the assumed variation of the combined vacuum-plus-plasma magnetic field. The calculated adiabatic energy limit falls rapidly with beta, even for a gradual magnetic-field variation. If we assume a sharp depression in the axial profile of the combined magnetic field for a finite-beta plasma, the adiabatic limit can be further markedly reduced

Isotope Effects in the Bonds of beta-CrOOH and beta-CrOOD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørlund Christensen, A.; Hansen, P.; Lehmann, M. S.

1976-01-01

Samples of orthorhombic chromium oxide hydroxide, beta -CrOOH, and the deuterated compound, beta -CrOOD, were prepared hydrothermally. The crystal structures were determined by powder profile refinement technique using neutron diffraction data. Unit cells are: beta -CrOOH: a equals 4. 862(2) A, b...... equals 4. 298(a) A, c equals 2. 995(1) A; beta -CrOOD: a equals 4. 873(5) A, b equals 4. 332(7) A, c equals 2. 963(2) A, with Z equals 2. The space group is P2//1nm or Pnnm....

Effects of beta/gamma radiation on nuclear waste glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weber, W.J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

1997-07-01

A key challenge in the disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW) in glass waste forms is the development of models of long-term performance based on sound scientific understanding of relevant phenomena. Beta decay of fission products is one source of radiation that can impact the performance of HLW glasses through the interactions of the emitted {beta}-particles and g-rays with the atoms in the glass by ionization processes. Fused silica, alkali silicate glasses, alkali borosilicate glasses, and nuclear waste glasses are all susceptible to radiation effects from ionization. In simple glasses, defects (e.g., non-bridging oxygen and interstitial molecular oxygen) are observed experimentally. In more complex glasses, including nuclear waste glasses, similar defects are expected, and changes in microstructure, such as the formation of bubbles, have been reported. The current state of knowledge regarding the effects of {beta}/{gamma} radiation on the properties and microstructure of nuclear waste glasses are reviewed. (author)

Finite-size effects on multibody neutrino exchange

CERN Document Server

Abada, A; Rodríguez-Quintero, J; Abada, As

1998-01-01

The effect of multibody massless neutrino exchanges between neutrons inside a finite-size neutron star is studied. We use an effective Lagrangian, which incorporates the effect of the neutrons on the neutrinos. Following Schwinger, it is shown that the total interaction energy density is computed by comparing the zero point energy of the neutrino sea with and without the star. It has already been shown that in an infinite-size star the total energy due to neutrino exchange vanishes exactly. The opposite claim that massless neutrino exchange would produce a huge energy is due to an improper summation of an infrared-divergent quantity. The same vanishing of the total energy has been proved exactly in the case of a finite star in a one-dimensional toy model. Here we study the three-dimensional case. We first consider the effect of a sharp star border, assumed to be a plane. We find that there is a non- vanishing of the zero point energy density difference between the inside and the outside due to the refraction ...

Chiral symmetry and finite temperature effects in quantum theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsen, Aa.

1987-01-01

A computer simulation of the harmonic oscillator at finite temperature has been carried out, using the Monte Carlo Metropolis algorithm. Accurate results for the energy and fluctuations have been obtained, with special attention to the manifestation of the temperature effects. Varying the degree of symmetry breaking, the finite temperature behaviour of the asymmetric linear model in a linearized mean field approximation has been studied. In a study of the effects of chiral symmetry on baryon mass splittings, reasonable agreement with experiment has been obtained in a non-relativistic harmonic oscillator model

Effects of 17 beta-estradiol on radiation transformation in vitro; inhibition of effects by protease inhibitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, A.R.; Weichselbaum, R.R.

1981-01-01

We have investigated the effects of 17 beta-estradiol, given both alone and with X-irradiation, on the induction of malignant transformation in vitro. Treatment with 10(-6)M 17 beta-estradiol for 6 weeks, or 10(-5)M 17 beta-estradiol for only 5 days, induced malignant transformation in C3H 10T1/2 cells. Estradiol also acted as a cocarcinogen for X-ray induced transformation; the results indicate an additive effect when the cells were exposed to both agents together. The protease inhibitors antipain and leupeptin suppressed estradiol induced transformation as well as the additive effect observed for estradiol-radiation transformation

Effects of 17 beta-estradiol on radiation transformation in vitro; inhibition of effects by protease inhibitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kennedy, A.R.; Weichselbaum, R.R.

1981-01-01

We have investigated the effects of 17 beta-estradiol, given both alone and with X-irradiation, on the induction of malignant transformation in vitro. Treatment with 10(-6)M 17 beta-estradiol for 6 weeks, or 10(-5)M 17 beta-estradiol for only 5 days, induced malignant transformation in C3H 10T1/2 cells. Estradiol also acted as a cocarcinogen for X-ray induced transformation; the results indicate an additive effect when the cells were exposed to both agents together. The protease inhibitors antipain and leupeptin suppressed estradiol induced transformation as well as the additive effect observed for estradiol-radiation transformation.

The finite-temperature Gaussian effective potential from a variational principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haugerud, H.; Ravndal, F.

1990-08-01

Writing the partition function for a scalar quantum field theory as a functional integral, it follows that the finite-temperature Gaussian effective potential is an upper limit to the free energy of the system. Explicit results are given for the anharmonic oscillator at finite temperature. 5 refs., 2 figs

Effect of adduct formation on valent state of cerium in its. beta. -diketonates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spitsyn, V.I.; Martynenko, L.I.; Pechurova, N.I.; Snezhko, N.I.; Murav' eva, I.A.; Anufrieva, S.I. (Moskovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ. (USSR))

1982-04-01

Physicochemical investigation of the system cerium (III, IV)-..beta..-diketone-additional ligand shows that ..beta..-diketonate ability to adduct formation decreases in the series tenoyltrifluoro-acetonate > acetylacetonate > dibenzoylmethanate > benzoylmethanate. Adduct formation of the cerium (III, IV) ..beta..-diketonates stabilizes cerium in trivalent condition, while oxidation degree 4+ is stable in tetrakis-..beta..-diketonates. The additional ligands are arranged in the series: tributhylphosphate < trioctyl-phosphineoxide < triphenylphosphineoxide < ..cap alpha.., ..cap alpha..'-dipyridyl < o-phenanthroline by the effect on cerium (III) stabilization in its ..beta..-diketonates.

Numerical Simulations of Finite-Length Effects in Diocotron Modes

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Grant W.; Spencer, Ross L.

2000-10-01

Over a decade ago Driscoll and Fine(C. F. Driscoll and K. S. Fine, Phys. Fluids B 2) (6), 1359, June 1990. reported experimental observations of an exponential instability in the self-shielded m=1 diocotron mode for an electron plasma confined in a Malmberg-Penning trap. More recently, Finn et al(John M. Finn, Diego del-Castillo-Negrete and Daniel C. Barnes, Phys. Plasmas 6) (10), 3744, October 1999. have given a theoretical explanation of the instability as a finite-length end effect patterned after an analogy to theory for shallow water fluid vortices. However, in a test case selected for comparison, the growth rate in the experiment exceeds the theoretical value by a factor of two. We present results from a two-dimensional, finite length drift-kinetic code and a fully three-dimensional particle-in-cell code written to explore details of finite-length effects in diocotron modes.

Effect of citric pectin on beta-carotene bioavailability in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanutto, Márcia E; Jordão Júnior, Alceu A; Meirelles, Mônica S S; Fávaro, Rosa M D; Vannucchi, Hélio

2002-07-01

The effect of citric pectin on the bioavailability of synthetic beta-carotene was studied. Thirty Wistar rats were used, ten animals were sacrificed at the beginning of the experiment and remaining animals were divided into two groups and received the following diets for 30 days: control group (CG)--24 micrograms beta-carotene/g diet + 0% citric pectin; experimental group (EG)--24 micrograms beta-carotene/g diet + 7% citric pectin. Plasma and liver beta-carotene, vitamin A, and retinyl palmitate concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Plasma retinol concentration was 1.42 +/- 0.36 mumol/L for CG and 1.10 +/- 0.24 mumol/L for EG (p = 0.1), and plasma beta-carotene concentration was 0.20 +/- 2.51 mumol/L for CG and 0.07 +/- 0.04 mumol/L for EG (p = 0.01). Only traces of retinyl palmitate were detected in CG and none in EG. Retinol did not differ significantly between groups CG and EG, while a significantly higher beta-carotene concentration was observed for CG. Liver concentrations of retinol (CG: 4.90 +/- 2.51 micrograms/g; EG: 2.68 +/- 1.12 micrograms/g), beta-carotene (CG: 0.98 +/- 0.28 microgram/g; EG: 0.11 +/- 0.06 microgram/g), and retinyl palmitate (CG: 95.47 +/- 45.13 micrograms/g, EG: 37.01 +/- 17.20 micrograms/g) differed significantly between groups (p < 0.05), with a lower concentration being observed for EG. We conclude that 7% citric pectin in the rat diet decreases the bioavailability of synthetic beta-carotene, reducing the liver reserves of vitamin A and beta-carotene.

On the fate of the Standard Model at finite temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rose, Luigi Delle; Marzo, Carlo [Università del Salento, Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi' ,Via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy); INFN - Sezione di Lecce,via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Urbano, Alfredo [SISSA - International School for Advanced Studies,via Bonomea 256, 34136 Trieste (Italy)

2016-05-10

In this paper we revisit and update the computation of thermal corrections to the stability of the electroweak vacuum in the Standard Model. At zero temperature, we make use of the full two-loop effective potential, improved by three-loop beta functions with two-loop matching conditions. At finite temperature, we include one-loop thermal corrections together with resummation of daisy diagrams. We solve numerically — both at zero and finite temperature — the bounce equation, thus providing an accurate description of the thermal tunneling. Assuming a maximum temperature in the early Universe of the order of 10{sup 18} GeV, we find that the instability bound excludes values of the top mass M{sub t}≳173.6 GeV, with M{sub h}≃125 GeV and including uncertainties on the strong coupling. We discuss the validity and temperature-dependence of this bound in the early Universe, with a special focus on the reheating phase after inflation.

Effects Of Amitryptilin Administration on Rat Sera and Brain Beta-endorphins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radivoj Jadrić

2006-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of our study was to establish the influence of antidepressive drugs on serum and brain beta-endorphins in experimental animals. Experiment was performed on albino Wistar rats. Antidepressant amitryptiline was used, and for quantification of sera and brain beta-endorphins RIA technique. Our results showed difference between sera and brain beta-endorphins concentration in amitryptiline pretreated animals, vs. those in serum and brain of control group treated with 0.95% NaCl. This study shows that use of psychoactive drugs have influence on sera and brain beta-endorphins concentration. Beta-endorphins could be of great importance, used as markers for evaluation of antidepressant drug effects.

Finite size effects in quark-gluon plasma formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gopie, Andy; Ogilvie, Michael C.

1999-01-01

Using lattice simulations of quenched QCD we estimate the finite size effects present when a gluon plasma equilibrates in a slab geometry, i.e., finite width but large transverse dimensions. Significant differences are observed in the free energy density for the slab when compared with bulk behavior. A small shift in the critical temperature is also seen. The free energy required to liberate heavy quarks relative to bulk is measured using Polyakov loops; the additional free energy required is on the order of 30 - 40 MeV at 2 - 3 T c

Central effects of beta-endorphins on glucose homeostasis in the conscious dog

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radosevich, P.M.; Lacy, D.B.; Brown, L.L.; Williams, P.E.; Abumrad, N.N.

1989-01-01

The effects of centrally administered beta-endorphins on glucose homeostasis in the conscious dog were studied. Intracerebroventricular administration of beta-endorphin (0.2 mg/h) caused a 70% increase in plasma glucose. The mechanism of the hyperglycemia was twofold: there was an early increase in glucose production and a late inhibition of glucose clearance. These changes are explained by marked increases in plasma epinephrine (30-fold) and norepinephrine (6-fold) that occurred during infusion of beta-endorphin. Central administration of beta-endorphin also resulted in increased levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol. In addition there was an increase in plasma insulin but no increase in plasma glucagon. Intravenous administration of beta-endorphin did not alter glucose homeostasis. Intracerebroventricular administration of acetylated beta-endorphin did not perturb glucose kinetics or any of the hormones that changed during infusion of the unacetylated peptide. We conclude that beta-endorphin acts centrally to cause hyperglycemia by stimulating sympathetic outflow and the pituitary-adrenal axis. Acetylation of beta-endorphin abolishes the in vivo activity of the peptide

Central effects of beta-endorphins on glucose homeostasis in the conscious dog

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radosevich, P.M.; Lacy, D.B.; Brown, L.L.; Williams, P.E.; Abumrad, N.N.

1989-02-01

The effects of centrally administered beta-endorphins on glucose homeostasis in the conscious dog were studied. Intracerebroventricular administration of beta-endorphin (0.2 mg/h) caused a 70% increase in plasma glucose. The mechanism of the hyperglycemia was twofold: there was an early increase in glucose production and a late inhibition of glucose clearance. These changes are explained by marked increases in plasma epinephrine (30-fold) and norepinephrine (6-fold) that occurred during infusion of beta-endorphin. Central administration of beta-endorphin also resulted in increased levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol. In addition there was an increase in plasma insulin but no increase in plasma glucagon. Intravenous administration of beta-endorphin did not alter glucose homeostasis. Intracerebroventricular administration of acetylated beta-endorphin did not perturb glucose kinetics or any of the hormones that changed during infusion of the unacetylated peptide. We conclude that beta-endorphin acts centrally to cause hyperglycemia by stimulating sympathetic outflow and the pituitary-adrenal axis. Acetylation of beta-endorphin abolishes the in vivo activity of the peptide.

Highly effective portable beta spectrometer for precise depth selective electron Moessbauer spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aldiyarov, N.U.; Kadyrzhanov, K.K.; Seytimbetov, A.M.; Zhdanov, V.S.

2007-01-01

Full text: More broad application of the nuclear-physical method of precise Depth Selective Electron Moessbauer Spectroscopy (DS EMS) is limited by insufficient accessibility of highly-effective beta spectrometers with acceptable resolution. It should be mentioned that the method DS EMS is realized at a combined installation that consists of a highly-effective beta spectrometer and a conventional portable nuclear gamma-resonance spectrometer. Yet few available beta spectrometers have sophisticated design and controlling; in most cases they are cumbersome. All the attempts to simplify beta spectrometers resulted in noticeable worsening of depth resolution for the DS EMS method making the measurements non precise. There is currently an obvious need in a highly-effective portable easily controlled beta spectrometer. While developing such portable beta spectrometer, it is more promising to use as basis a simpler spectrometer, which has ratio of sample size to spectrometer size of about five times. The paper presents an equal-arm version of a highly-effective portable beta spectrometer with transverse heterogeneous sector magnetic field that assures double focusing. The spectrometer is equipped with a large-area non-equipotential source (a sample under investigation) and a position-sensitive detector. This portable spectrometer meets all requirements for achievement of the DS EMS depth resolution close to the physical limit and demonstrates the following main characteristics: equilibrium orbit radius ρ 0 = 80 mm, instrumental energy resolution 0.6 % at solid angle 1 % of 4π steradian, area of non-equipotential source ∼ 80 mm 2 , registration by position-sensitive detector of ∼ 10 % of the energy interval. Highly-effective portable beta spectrometer assures obtaining Moessbauer data with depth resolution close to physical limit of the DS EMS method. So in measurements at conversion and Auger electrons with energies of about units of keV and above, the achieved

fB from finite size effects in lattice QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guagnelli, M.; Palombi, F.; Petronzio, R.; Tantalo, N.

2003-01-01

We discuss a novel method to calculate f B on the lattice, introduced in [1], based on the study of the dependence of finite size effects upon the heavy quark mass of flavoured mesons and on a non-perturbative recursive finite size technique. This method avoids the systematic errors related to extrapolations from the static limit or to the tuning of the coefficients of effective Lagrangian and the results admit an extrapolation to the continuum limit. We show the results of a first estimate at finite lattice spacing, but close to the continuum limit, giving f B = 170(11)(5)(22) MeV. We also obtain f B s = 192(9)(5)(24)MeV. The first error is statistical, the second is our estimate of the systematic error from the method and the third the systematic error from the specific approximations adopted in this first exploratory calculation. The method can be generalized to two-scale problems in lattice QCD

Clifford algebra in finite quantum field theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, M.

1997-12-01

We consider the most general power counting renormalizable and gauge invariant Lagrangean density L invariant with respect to some non-Abelian, compact, and semisimple gauge group G. The particle content of this quantum field theory consists of gauge vector bosons, real scalar bosons, fermions, and ghost fields. We assume that the ultimate grand unified theory needs no cutoff. This yields so-called finiteness conditions, resulting from the demand for finite physical quantities calculated by the bare Lagrangean. In lower loop order, necessary conditions for finiteness are thus vanishing beta functions for dimensionless couplings. The complexity of the finiteness conditions for a general quantum field theory makes the discussion of non-supersymmetric theories rather cumbersome. Recently, the F = 1 class of finite quantum field theories has been proposed embracing all supersymmetric theories. A special type of F = 1 theories proposed turns out to have Yukawa couplings which are equivalent to generators of a Clifford algebra representation. These algebraic structures are remarkable all the more than in the context of a well-known conjecture which states that finiteness is maybe related to global symmetries (such as supersymmetry) of the Lagrangean density. We can prove that supersymmetric theories can never be of this Clifford-type. It turns out that these Clifford algebra representations found recently are a consequence of certain invariances of the finiteness conditions resulting from a vanishing of the renormalization group β-function for the Yukawa couplings. We are able to exclude almost all such Clifford-like theories. (author)

Characterization of resonances using finite size effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pozsgay, B.; Takacs, G.

2006-01-01

We develop methods to extract resonance widths from finite volume spectra of (1+1)-dimensional quantum field theories. Our two methods are based on Luscher's description of finite size corrections, and are dubbed the Breit-Wigner and the improved ''mini-Hamiltonian'' method, respectively. We establish a consistent framework for the finite volume description of sufficiently narrow resonances that takes into account the finite size corrections and mass shifts properly. Using predictions from form factor perturbation theory, we test the two methods against finite size data from truncated conformal space approach, and find excellent agreement which confirms both the theoretical framework and the numerical validity of the methods. Although our investigation is carried out in 1+1 dimensions, the extension to physical 3+1 space-time dimensions appears straightforward, given sufficiently accurate finite volume spectra

An assessment of anti-neutrino mass determination via electrostatic measurements of tritium beta-decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Bas, P.A.

1984-01-01

Data on the mass of the anti-neutrino determined via electrostatic measurements of tritium beta-decay are assessed. Relativistic calculations concerning the finite mass of the electron anti-neutrino and the recoil of the nucleus, are given for the theoretical end-point spectrum of tritium beta-decay. The specifications are given for an electrostatic Spherical Retarding Beta-Spectrometer, and an electrostatic Cylindrical Mirror Analyser, both used in the tritium beta-decay experiment. The electrostatic measurements lead to a value of less than 50 ev (90% C.L.) for the electron anti-neutrino mass. These results are discussed in terms of the resolution of the electrostatic equipment and the Monte Carlo simulations of the data collection. (UK)

Effects of global MHD instability on operational high beta-regime in LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, K.Y.; Sakakibara, S.; Narushima, Y.; Funaba, H.; Narihara, K.; Tanaka, K.; Toi, K.; Ohdachi, S.; Kaneko, O.; Yamada, H.; Nakajima, N.; Yamada, I.; Kawahata, K.; Tokuzawa, T.; Komori, A.; Yamaguchi, T.; Suzuki, Y.; Cooper, W.A.; Murakami, S.

2005-01-01

In the Large Helical device (LHD), the operational highest averaged beta value has been expanded from 3.2% to 4% in last two years by increasing the heating capability and exploring a new magnetic configuration with a high aspect ratio. Although the MHD stability properties are considered to be unfavourable in the new high aspect configuration, the heating efficiency due to neutral beams and the transport properties are expected to be favourable in a high beta range. In order to make clear the effect of the global ideal MHD unstable mode on the operational regimes in helical systems, specially the beta gradients in the peripheral region and the beta value, the MHD analysis and the transport analysis are done in a high beta range up to 4% in LHD. In a high beta range of more than 3%, the maxima of the observed thermal pressure gradients in the peripheral region are marginally stable to a global ideal MHD instability. Though a gradual degradation of the local transport in the region has been observed as beta increases, a disruptive degradation of the local transport does not appear in the beta range up to 4%. (author)

Theory of critical phenomena in finite-size systems scaling and quantum effects

CERN Document Server

Brankov, Jordan G; Tonchev, Nicholai S

2000-01-01

The aim of this book is to familiarise the reader with the rich collection of ideas, methods and results available in the theory of critical phenomena in systems with confined geometry. The existence of universal features of the finite-size effects arising due to highly correlated classical or quantum fluctuations is explained by the finite-size scaling theory. This theory (1) offers an interpretation of experimental results on finite-size effects in real systems; (2) gives the most reliable tool for extrapolation to the thermodynamic limit of data obtained by computer simulations; (3) reveals

Atualizações sobre beta-hidroxi-beta-metilbutirato: suplementação e efeitos sobre o catabolismo de proteínas New findings on beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyirate: supplementation and effects on the protein catabolism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Everson Araújo Nunes

2008-04-01

Full Text Available O beta-hidroxi-beta-metilbutirato, metabólito do aminoácido leucina, vem sendo utilizado como suplemento alimentar, em situações específicas, com o intuito de aumentar ou manter a massa isenta de gordura. Os relatos dos efeitos do beta-hidroxi-beta-metilbutirato em estudos recentes fizeram crescer as expectativas sobre sua utilização em casos patológicos. Também foram demonstrados melhores resultados, quando da sua ingestão, no treinamento de força em indivíduos iniciantes e em idosos. Em humanos o beta-hidroxi-beta-metilbutirato tem sido usado como agente anti-catabólico, e em modelos animais foi demonstrado ser eficaz em inibir a atividade de vias proteolíticas em células musculares de indivíduos caquéticos in vitro e in vivo. Os mecanismos participantes desses processos envolvem: a inibição da atividade do sistema ubiquitina proteossoma ATP-dependente, a inibição de vias de sinalização com participação da proteína quinase C-alfa e a diminuição da concentração citoplasmática do fator nuclear - kappa B livre, eventos relacionados ao decréscimo da proteólise em células musculares.The leucine metabolite beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate has been used as a nutritional supplement in specific situations to prevent losing or to increase lean mass. Recent studies showed interesting results of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate supplementation in certain disease states. Better results have also been demonstrated when it is taken by starters or old individuals doing strength training. In humans, beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate has been used as an anticatabolic agent and in animal models it has been demonstrated to be effective in inhibiting the activity of the proteolytic pathways in muscle cells of extremely weak individuals in vivo and in vitro. The mechanisms that participate in this process involve: inhibition of the ATP-ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, inhibition of the signalization pathways involving protein kinase C

Effects of transforming growth factor-beta on long-term human cord blood monocyte cultures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orcel, P.; Bielakoff, J.; De Vernejoul, M.C.

1990-01-01

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) modulates growth and differentiation in many cell types and is abundant in bone matrix. We recently showed that human cord blood monocytes cultured in the presence of 1,25(OH)2D3 acquire some features of osteoclast precursors. Since TGF-beta has been shown to influence bone resorption in organ culture, we have studied the effect of TGF-beta (1-1,000 pg/ml) on cord blood monocyte cultures. These cells were cultured on plastic substrate during 3 weeks in the presence of 20% horse serum and 10(-9) M 1,25(OH)2D3. TGF-beta, from a concentration of 10 pg/ml in the culture medium, decreased in a dose dependent manner the formation of multinucleated cells. At a concentration of TGF-beta of 1 ng/ml, the multinucleated cells were reduced to 2.1% +/- 0.3%, compared to 19.3% +/- 1.5% in control cultures. TGF-beta inhibited in a dose-dependent manner the proliferation of cord blood monocytes as assessed by 3H-thymidine incorporation at 7 and 14 days of culture. The fusion index was also decreased by 3 weeks of treatment with TGF-beta. Indomethacin did not reverse the inhibitory effects of TGF-beta. The expression of the osteoclastic phenotype was assessed using two different antibodies: 23C6, a monoclonal antibody directed against the vitronectin receptor, which is highly expressed by osteoclasts but not by adult monocytes, and an antibody to HLA-DR, which is not present on osteoclast. TGF-beta decreased the expression of HLA-DR and increased in a dose-dependent manner the proportion of 23C6-labeled cells; these results suggest that TGF-beta could modulate a differentiation effect to the osteoclastic phenotype. However, when cord blood monocytes were cultured on devitalized rat calvariae prelabeled with 45Ca, TGF-beta did not induce any 45Ca release from bone cultured with monocytes

Isothermal and aniso-thermal creep in the {alpha} phase domain, {beta} phase domain and {alpha}+{beta} two phase domain in a Zr-1%NbO alloy; Fluage isotherme et anisotherme dans les domaines monophases ({alpha} et {beta}) et biphases ({alpha} et {beta}) d'un alliage Zr-1%NbO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaddour, D

2004-12-15

The coupling between phase transformation and mechanical behaviour of a Zr-1%NbO alloy was studied using an original experimental device already used in a previous study devoted to the Zy-4 alloy. The Zr-1%NbO alloy undergoes a phase transformation {alpha} (hc) {r_reversible} (cc) typically between 750 and 1000 C. The transformation temperatures were measured in situ by using the resistivity and dilatometry techniques. The isothermal creep behaviour of fuel cladding tubes was studied, first after heating, in the {alpha} phase domain between 650 and 760 C, in the {beta} phase domain between 960 and 1100 C, as well as in the ({alpha} + {beta}) two phase domain between 800 and 900 C. The results are summarized in Ashby deformation mechanism maps. It is confirmed that the {beta} phase is much more sensitive to creep flow than the {alpha} phase. The effect of microstructure on the isothermal creep flow behaviour was then investigated by first applying a thermal cycle involving either a full or a partial transformation from {alpha} to {beta}. It was investigated both in the {alpha} phase domain, and after direct cooling into the ({alpha} + {beta}) phase domain. The behaviour in aniso-thermal conditions was finally studied at heating and cooling rates of 10 and 200 C/min. In both cases, we showed that there is no significant transformation plasticity in the stress range under investigation ({<=} 5 MPa). A finite element model using Voronoi polyhedra and eventually meshing a film of intergranular {beta} phase was used to describe the behaviour of material in the ({alpha} + {beta}) domain in various microstructural states. The model predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results for the microstructure obtained after cooling, but the model underestimates creep deformation in the as-received state. This difference is probably related to the fact that interface sliding is not taken into account in the model. (author)

Beta cell adaptation in pregnancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jens Høiriis

2016-01-01

Pregnancy is associated with a compensatory increase in beta cell mass. It is well established that somatolactogenic hormones contribute to the expansion both indirectly by their insulin antagonistic effects and directly by their mitogenic effects on the beta cells via receptors for prolactin...... and growth hormone expressed in rodent beta cells. However, the beta cell expansion in human pregnancy seems to occur by neogenesis of beta cells from putative progenitor cells rather than by proliferation of existing beta cells. Claes Hellerström has pioneered the research on beta cell growth for decades...... in the expansion of the beta cell mass in human pregnancy, and the relative roles of endocrine factors and nutrients....

Anti-Proliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Beta-Ionone in Human Leukemia Cell Line K562

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zohreh Faezizadeh

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Background Beta-ionone is an aroma compound found in the Rosaceae family. Some evidence supported that beta-ionone has a great potential for cancer prevention. To date, the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of beta-ionone in human leukemia cell line K562 were not studied. Objectives Hence, we investigated whether beta-ionone could inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in the K562 cells. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, human leukemia cell line K562 was cultured and anti-proliferation effect of beta-ionone with different doses (25 - 400 µm at different times (24 - 96 hours on treated cells was evaluated by the MTT assay. To determine apoptosis rate, the Hoechst 33342 staining and flow cytometry was performed. Results The MTT assay showed that beta-ionone inhibited proliferation of K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner significantly (P = 0.0008. Moreover, the increased apoptotic rate was found after incubation of K562 cells with 200 µm beta-ionone. The Hoechst staining and flow cytometry analysis indicated that beta-ionone could increase apoptosis of K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions The results demonstrated that beta-ionone has anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects on K562 cells, and in the future may be used in the treatment of some leukemia sub-types.

Ground state metamorphosis for Yang-Mills fields on a finite periodic lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Arroyo, A.; Jurkiewicz, J.; Korthals-Altes, C.P.

1983-01-01

The authors study the weak coupling behaviour of the partition function of non-abelian gauge fields on a finite lattice. Periodic boundary conditions are imposed. Two different power laws in the coupling BETA -1 arise for the partition function, when the dimension d of space time is larger or smaller than a critical dimension d /SUB c/ . For SU(2) d /SUB c/ = 4 and they find at this dimension power behaviour corrected by log BETA. The phenomenon is of practical importance in Monte Carlo simulations of the twisted action

The antifibrotic effects of TGF-{beta}1 siRNA on hepatic fibrosis in rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lang, Qing; Liu, Qi [Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education, Instituted for Virus Hepatitis and Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing (China); Xu, Ning [The Second Hospital of YuLin, Shanxi Province (China); Qian, Ke-Li; Qi, Jing-Hu; Sun, Yin-Chun; Xiao, Lang [Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education, Instituted for Virus Hepatitis and Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing (China); Shi, Xiao-Feng, E-mail: sxff2003@yahoo.com.cn [Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education, Instituted for Virus Hepatitis and Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing (China)

2011-06-10

Highlights: {yields} We constructed CCL4 induced liver fibrosis model successfully. {yields} We proofed that the TGF-{beta}1 siRNA had a definite therapy effect to CCL4 induced liver fibrosis. {yields} The therapy effect of TGF-{beta}1 siRNA had dose-dependent. -- Abstract: Background/aims: Hepatic fibrosis results from the excessive secretion of matrix proteins by hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which proliferate during fibrotic liver injury. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-{beta}1 is the dominant stimulus for extracellular matrix (ECM) production by stellate cells. Our study was designed to investigate the antifibrotic effects of using short interference RNA (siRNA) to target TGF-{beta}1 in hepatic fibrosis and its mechanism in rats exposed to a high-fat diet and carbon tetrachloride (CCL4). Methods: A total of 40 healthy, male SD (Sprague-Dawley) rats were randomly divided into five even groups containing of eight rats each: normal group, model group, TGF-{beta}1 siRNA 0.125 mg/kg treatment group, TGF-{beta}1 siRNA 0.25 mg/kg treatment group and TGF-{beta}1 siRNA negative control group (0.25 mg/kg). CCL4 and a high-fat diet were used for 8 weeks to induce hepatic fibrosis. All the rats were then sacrificed to collect liver tissue samples. A portion of the liver samples were soaked in formalin for Hematoxylin-Eosin staining, classifying the degree of liver fibrosis, and detecting the expression of type I and III collagen and TGF-{beta}1; the remaining liver samples were stored in liquid nitrogen to be used for detecting TGF-{beta}1 by Western blotting and for measuring the mRNA expression of type I and III collagen and TGF-{beta}1 by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Comparing the TGF-{beta}1 siRNA 0.25 mg/kg treatment group to the model group, the TGF-{beta}1 siRNA negative control group and the TGF-{beta}1 siRNA 0.125 mg/kg treatment group showed significantly reduced levels of pathological changes, protein expression and the m

Dimers of beta 2-glycoprotein I mimic the in vitro effects of beta 2-glycoprotein I-anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I antibody complexes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lutters, B. C.; Meijers, J. C.; Derksen, R. H.; Arnout, J.; de Groot, P. G.

2001-01-01

Anti-beta(2)-glycoprotein I antibodies are thought to cause lupus anticoagulant activity by forming bivalent complexes with beta(2)-glycoprotein I (beta(2)GPI). To test this hypothesis, chimeric fusion proteins were constructed of the dimerization domain (apple 4) of factor XI and beta(2)GPI. Both a

Finite-Reynolds-number effects in turbulence using logarithmic expansions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sreenivasan, K.R.; Bershadskii, A.

2006-12-01

Experimental or numerical data in turbulence are invariably obtained at finite Reynolds numbers whereas theories of turbulence correspond to infinitely large Reynolds numbers. A proper merger of the two approaches is possible only if corrections for finite Reynolds numbers can be quantified. This paper heuristically considers examples in two classes of finite-Reynolds-number effects. Expansions in terms of logarithms of appropriate variables are shown to yield results in agreement with experimental and numerical data in the following instances: the third-order structure function in isotropic turbulence, the mixed-order structure function for the passive scalar and the Reynolds shear stress around its maximum point. Results suggestive of expansions in terms of the inverse logarithm of the Reynolds number, also motivated by experimental data, concern the tendency for turbulent structures to cluster along a line of observation and (more speculatively) for the longitudinal velocity derivative to become singular at some finite Reynolds number. We suggest an elementary hydrodynamical process that may provide a physical basis for the expansions considered here, but note that the formal justification remains tantalizingly unclear. (author)

Standard Model Extension and Casimir effect for fermions at finite temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, A.F., E-mail: alesandroferreira@fisica.ufmt.br [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, 78060-900, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso (Brazil); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC (Canada); Khanna, Faqir C., E-mail: khannaf@uvic.ca [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC (Canada); Department of Physics, University of Alberta, T6J 2J1, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)

2016-11-10

Lorentz and CPT symmetries are foundations for important processes in particle physics. Recent studies in Standard Model Extension (SME) at high energy indicate that these symmetries may be violated. Modifications in the lagrangian are necessary to achieve a hermitian hamiltonian. The fermion sector of the standard model extension is used to calculate the effects of the Lorentz and CPT violation on the Casimir effect at zero and finite temperature. The Casimir effect and Stefan–Boltzmann law at finite temperature are calculated using the thermo field dynamics formalism.

Adsorptive effects of di-tri-octahedral smectite on Clostridium perfringens alpha, beta, and beta-2 exotoxins and equine colostral antibodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawler, Jacquelin Boggs; Hassel, Diana M; Magnuson, Roberta J; Hill, Ashley E; McCue, Patrick M; Traub-Dargatz, Josie L

2008-02-01

To determine the adsorptive capability of di-tri-octahedral smectite (DTOS) on Clostridium perfringens alpha, beta, and beta-2 exotoxins and equine colostral antibodies. 3 C perfringens exotoxins and 9 colostral samples. Alpha, beta, and beta-2 exotoxins were individually co-incubated with serial dilutions of DTOS or bismuth subsalicylate, and the amount of toxin remaining after incubation was determined via toxin-specific ELISAs. Colostral samples from healthy mares were individually co-incubated with serial dilutions of DTOS, and colostral IgG concentrations were determined via single radial immunodiffusion assay. Di-tri-octahedral smectite decreased the amount of each C perfringens exotoxin in co-incubated samples in a dose-dependent manner and was more effective than bismuth subsalicylate at reducing exotoxins in vitro. Decreases in the concentration of IgG were detected in samples of colostrum that were combined with DTOS at 1:4 through 1:16 dilutions, whereas no significant decrease was evident with DTOS at the 1:32 dilution. Di-tri-octahedral smectite effectively adsorbed C perfringens exotoxins in vitro and had a dose-dependent effect on the availability of equine colostral antibodies. Results suggested that DTOS may be an appropriate adjunctive treatment in the management of neonatal clostridiosis in horses. In vivo studies are necessary to fully assess the clinical efficacy of DTOS treatment.

Confining dyon gas with finite-volume effects under control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruckmann, Falk [Regensburg Univ. (Germany). Institut fuer Theoretische Physik; Dinter, Simon [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC; Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik; Ilgenfritz, Ernst-Michael [Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik; Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, VBLHEP, Dubna (Russian Federation); Maier, Benjamin; Mueller-Preussker, Michael [Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik; Wagner, Marc [Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik; Frankfurt Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik

2011-11-15

As an approach to describe the long-range properties of non-Abelian gauge theories at non-zero temperature Tfinite-volume effects. Therefore, we demonstrate the application of Ewald's summation method to this system. Finite-volume effects are shown to be under control, which is a crucial requirement for numerical studies of interacting dyon ensembles. (orig.)

Confining dyon gas with finite-volume effects under control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruckmann, Falk; Maier, Benjamin; Mueller-Preussker, Michael; Wagner, Marc; Frankfurt Univ.

2011-11-01

As an approach to describe the long-range properties of non-Abelian gauge theories at non-zero temperature T c , we consider a non-interacting ensemble of dyons (magnetic monopoles) with non-trivial holonomy. We show analytically, that the quark-antiquark free energy from the Polyakov loop correlator grows linearly with the distance, and how the string tension scales with the dyon density. In numerical treatments, the long-range tails of the dyon fields cause severe finite-volume effects. Therefore, we demonstrate the application of Ewald's summation method to this system. Finite-volume effects are shown to be under control, which is a crucial requirement for numerical studies of interacting dyon ensembles. (orig.)

Effect of finite β on stellarator transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mynick, H.E.

1984-04-01

A theory of the modification of stellarator transport due to the presence of finite plasma pressure is developed, and applied to a range of stellarator configurations. For many configurations of interest, plasma transport can change by more than an order of magnitude in the progression from zero pressure to the equilibrium β limit of the device. Thus, a stellarator with transport-optimized vacuum fields can have poor confinement at the desired operating β. Without an external compensating field, increasing β tends to degrade confinement, unless the initial field structure is very carefully chosen. The theory permits one to correctly determine this vacuum structure, in terms of the desired structure of the field at a prescribed operating β. With a compensating external field, the deleterious effect of finite β on transport can be partially eliminated

A fragment separator at LBL for beta-NMR experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuta, K.; Ozawa, A.; Nojiri, Y.; Minamisono, T.; Fukuda, M.; Kitagawa, A.; Ohtsubo, T.; Momota, S.; Fukuda, S.; Matsuo, Y.; Takechi, H.; Minami, I.; Sugimoto, K.; Tanihata, I.; Omata, K.; Alonso, J.R.; Krebs, G.F.; Symons, T.J.M.

1992-03-01

The Beam 44 fragment separator was built at the Bevalac of LBL for NMR studies of beta emitting nuclei. 37 K, 39 Ca, and 43 Ti fragments originating from 40 Ca and 46 Ti primary beams were separated by the separator for NMR studies on these nuclei. Nuclear spin polarization was created in 39 Ca and 43 Ti using the tilted foil technique (TFT), and the magnetic moment of 43 Ti was deduced. Fragment polarization was measured for 37 K and 39 Ca emitted to finite deflection angles. The Beam 44 fragment separator in combination with a proper polarization technique, such as TFT or fragment polarization, has been very effective for such NMR studies

Effect of copper (II) ion against elongation behavior of amyloid {beta} fibrils on liposome membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimanouchi, T.; Onishi, R.; Kitaura, N.; Umakoshi, H.; Kuboi, R. [Division of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka (Japan)

2012-01-15

The fibril growth behavior of amyloid {beta} protein (A{beta}) on cell membranes is relating to the progression of Alzheimer's disease. This growth behavior of A{beta} fibrils is sensitively affected by the metal ions, neurotransmitters, or bioreactive substrate. The inhibitory effect of those materials was quantitatively estimated from the viewpoints of ''crystal growth''. In a bulk aqueous solution, copper (II) ion showed the strong inhibitory effect on the growth of A{beta} fibrils. Meanwhile, the addition of a closed-phospholipid bilayer membrane (liposome) could reduce the above inhibitory effect of copper (II) ion. (copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Finite volume effects on the electric polarizability of neutral hadrons in lattice QCD

Science.gov (United States)

Lujan, M.; Alexandru, A.; Freeman, W.; Lee, F. X.

2016-10-01

We study the finite volume effects on the electric polarizability for the neutron, neutral pion, and neutral kaon using eight dynamically generated two-flavor nHYP-clover ensembles at two different pion masses: 306(1) and 227(2) MeV. An infinite volume extrapolation is performed for each hadron at both pion masses. For the neutral kaon, finite volume effects are relatively mild. The dependence on the quark mass is also mild, and a reliable chiral extrapolation can be performed along with the infinite volume extrapolation. Our result is αK0 phys=0.356 (74 )(46 )×10-4 fm3 . In contrast, for neutron, the electric polarizability depends strongly on the volume. After removing the finite volume corrections, our neutron polarizability results are in good agreement with chiral perturbation theory. For the connected part of the neutral pion polarizability, the negative trend persists, and it is not due to finite volume effects but likely sea quark charging effects.

Finite temperature effects in Bose-Einstein condensed dark matter halos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harko, Tiberiu; Madarassy, Enikö J.M.

2012-01-01

Once the critical temperature of a cosmological boson gas is less than the critical temperature, a Bose-Einstein Condensation process can always take place during the cosmic history of the universe. Zero temperature condensed dark matter can be described as a non-relativistic, Newtonian gravitational condensate, whose density and pressure are related by a barotropic equation of state, with barotropic index equal to one. In the present paper we analyze the effects of the finite dark matter temperature on the properties of the dark matter halos. We formulate the basic equations describing the finite temperature condensate, representing a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation that takes into account the presence of the thermal cloud. The static condensate and thermal cloud in thermodynamic equilibrium is analyzed in detail, by using the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov and Thomas-Fermi approximations. The condensed dark matter and thermal cloud density and mass profiles at finite temperatures are explicitly obtained. Our results show that when the temperature of the condensate and of the thermal cloud are much smaller than the critical Bose-Einstein transition temperature, the zero temperature density and mass profiles give an excellent description of the dark matter halos. However, finite temperature effects may play an important role in the early stages of the cosmological evolution of the dark matter condensates

Comprehensive gyrokinetic simulation of tokamak turbulence at finite relative gyroradius

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waltz, R.E.; Candy, J.; Rosenbluth, M.N.

2003-01-01

A continuum global gyrokinetic code GYRO has been developed to comprehensively simulate turbulent transport in actual experimental profiles and allow direct quantitative comparisons to the experimental transport flows. GYRO not only treats the now standard ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode turbulence, but also treats trapped and passing electrons with collisions and finite beta, and all in real tokamak geometry. Most importantly the code operates at finite relative gyroradius (ρ*) so as to treat the profile shear stabilization effects which break gyro Bohm scaling. The code operates in a cyclic flux tube limit which allows only gyro Bohm scaling and a noncylic radial annulus with physical profile variation. The later requires an adaptive source to maintain equilibrium profiles. Simple ITG simulations demonstrate the broken gyro Bohm scaling paradigm of Garbet and Waltz [Phys. Plasmas 3, 1898 (1996)]. Since broken gyro Bohm scaling depends on the actual rotational velocity shear rates competing with mode growth rates, direct comprehensive simulations of the DIII-D ρ*-scaled L-mode experiments are presented as a quantitative test of gyrokinetics and the paradigm. (author)

Effect of Beta-Carotene on Oxidative Stress and Expression of Cardiac Connexin 43

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novo, Rosangela; Azevedo, Paula S.; Minicucci, Marcos F.; Zornoff, Leonardo A. M., E-mail: lzornoff@fmb.unesp.br; Paiva, Sergio A. R. [Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu - Universidade Estadual Paulista ' Júlio de Mesquita Filho' , Botucatu, SP (Brazil)

2013-09-15

Intervention studies have shown an increased mortality in patients who received beta-carotene. However, the mechanisms involved in this phenomenon are still unknown. Evaluate the influence of beta-carotene on oxidative stress and the expression of connexin 43 in rat hearts. Wistar rats, weighing approximately 100 g, were allocated in two groups: Control Group (n = 30), that received the diet routinely used in our laboratory, and Beta-Carotene Group (n = 28), which received beta-carotene (in crystal form, added and mixed to the diet) at a dose of 500 mg of beta carotene/kg of diet. The animals received the treatment until they reached 200-250g, when they were sacrificed. Samples of blood, liver and heart were collected to perform Western blotting and immunohistochemistry for connexin 43; morphometric studies, dosages of beta carotene by high performance liquid chromatography as well as reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione and lipids hydroperoxides were performed by biochemical analysis. Beta-carotene was detected only in the liver of Beta-Carotene Group animals (288 ± 94.7 μg/kg). Levels of reduced/ oxidized glutathione were higher in the liver and heart of Beta-Carotene Group animals (liver - Control Group: 42.60 ± 1.62; liver - Beta-Carotene Group: 57.40 ± 5.90; p = 0.04; heart: - Control Group: 117.40 ± 1.01; heart - Beta-Carotene Group: 121.81 ± 1.32 nmol/mg protein; p = 0.03). The content of total connexin 43 was larger in Beta-Carotene Group. Beta-carotene demonstrated a positive effect, characterized by the increase of intercellular communication and improvement of anti-oxidizing defense system. In this model, mechanism does not explain the increased mortality rate observed with the beta-carotene supplementation in clinical studies.

Effect of limiter end loss in finite Larmor radius theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berk, H.L.; Kotelnikov, I.A.

1993-08-01

We have examined the effect of incomplete line tying on the MHD flute mode with FLR (finite Larmor radius) effects. We show that the combination of line tying and FLR effects can slow down MHD instability, but cannot produce complete stabilization

The Analysis of Quadrupole Magnetic Focusing Effect by Finite Element Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Utaja

2003-01-01

Quadrupole magnets will introduce focusing effect to a beam of the charge particle passing parallel to the magnet faces. The focusing effect is need to control the particle beam, so that it is in accordance with necessity requirement stated. This paper describes the analysis of focusing effect on the quadrupole magnetic by the finite element method. The finite element method in this paper is used for solve the potential distribution of magnetic field. If the potential magnetic field distribution in every node have known, a charge particle trajectory can be traced. This charge particle trajectory will secure the focusing effect of the quadrupole magnets. (author)

Toxicity, mutagenicity, and behavioral effects of {beta}-CIT, a ligand for dopamine transporter exploration by SPECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emond, P.; Farde, L.; Chalon, S.; Belzung, C.; Mauclaire, V.; Chiron, J. P.; Halldin, C.; Besnard, J.C.; Guilloteau, D

1998-05-01

The cocaine analog {beta}-CIT is one of the most used compounds for SPET examination of the dopamine transporter in drug abuse and Parkinson's disease. However, the toxicity of this agent has not yet been studied. We report here acute toxicity, mutagenicity, and effect on locomotor activity of {beta}-CIT. Acute toxicity experiments were performed in mice and rats. The LD50 values were about 20 mg and 5 mg for mice and rats, respectively. There was no sex difference. The mutagenicity was evaluated using the Ames' test. No mutagenic effect was observed for {beta}-CIT. Effects on locomotor activity were measured in mice using the open-field test. {beta}-CIT increased locomotion (+65%) when injected at a dose of 0.312 mg/kg; the maximal increase (+205%) was observed at a dose of 1.25 mg/kg; at higher doses, the effect was decreased slightly. These pharmacological findings are in agreement with an inhibitory effect of {beta}-CIT at the dopamine transporter. We conclude that with no mutagenic effects and LD50 more than 6 orders of magnitude higher than the routinely used doses in PET or SPET, it can be assumed that {beta}-CIT can be safely used as a radioligand in humans.

The effects of cysteamine on thyrotropin and immunoreactive beta-endorphin secretion in the rat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Millard, W.J.; Sagar, S.M.; Badger, T.M.; Carr, D.B.; Arnold, M.A.; Spindel, E.; Kasting, N.W.; Martin, J.B.

1983-02-01

We examined the effects of the thiol agent cysteamine (CSH), which is known to deplete the hypothalamus of immunoreactive somatostatin, on physiological TSH and beta- endorphin secretion in the adult male rat. CSH at doses of 90 and 300 mg/kg CSH produced a rapid decline in plasma TSH, whereas a dose of 30 mg/kg did not alter plasma TSH levels. After the higher doses of CSH, TSH levels in the blood remained lower than control values on day 2, but returned to normal by 1 week. This decrease in TSH within the plasma was not associated with a reduction in hypothalamic TRH concentrations. The TSH response to 500 ng/kg TRH was normal in CSH-treated animals. Blockade of norepinephrine synthesis with diethyldithiocarbamate (500 mg/kg) or fusaric acid (100 mg/kg) inhibited TSH secretion in a manner similar to that of CSH. beta-Endorphin-like immunoreactivity (bet-End-LI) was elevated in the plasma immediately after CSH (300 mg/kg) administration. This was associated with a 58% reduction in anterior pituitary beta-End-LI and no change in hypothalmic beta-End-LI. Plasma beta-End-LI returned to normal on day 2. The increase in plasma beta-End-LI induced by immobilization stress was not compromised by CSH treatment. The observed effects of CSH on both TSH and beta-End-LI are consistent with a reduction in central norepinephrine neurotransmission through the known actin of CSH to inhibit dopamine-beta-hydroxylase. Acute stress may play a role as well in the observed changes in TSH and beta-End-LI secretion.

Finite Unification: Theory, Models and Predictions

CERN Document Server

Heinemeyer, S; Zoupanos, G

2011-01-01

All-loop Finite Unified Theories (FUTs) are very interesting N=1 supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) realising an old field theory dream, and moreover have a remarkable predictive power due to the required reduction of couplings. The reduction of the dimensionless couplings in N=1 GUTs is achieved by searching for renormalization group invariant (RGI) relations among them holding beyond the unification scale. Finiteness results from the fact that there exist RGI relations among dimensional couplings that guarantee the vanishing of all beta-functions in certain N=1 GUTs even to all orders. Furthermore developments in the soft supersymmetry breaking sector of N=1 GUTs and FUTs lead to exact RGI relations, i.e. reduction of couplings, in this dimensionful sector of the theory, too. Based on the above theoretical framework phenomenologically consistent FUTs have been constructed. Here we review FUT models based on the SU(5) and SU(3)^3 gauge groups and their predictions. Of particular interest is the Hig...

Effect of beta-blocker therapy on functional status in patients with heart failure--a meta-analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abdulla, Jawdat; Køber, Lars; Christensen, Erik

2005-01-01

BACKGROUND: The results of randomised control trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of beta-blockers on functional status in patients with chronic heart failure are conflicting. AIM: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs evaluating the effect of beta-blockers on New York Heart...... Association (NYHA) classification and exercise tolerance in chronic heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: We selected 28 RCTs evaluating beta-blocker versus placebo in addition to ACE inhibitor therapy. Combined results of 23 RCTs showed that beta-blockers improved NYHA class by at least one class with odds...... ratio (OR) 1.80 (1.33-2.43) pbeta-blockers had no significant effect...

Stark effect in finite-barrier quantum wells, wires, and dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedersen, Thomas Garm

2017-01-01

The properties of confined carriers in low-dimensional nanostructures can be controlled by external electric fields and an important manifestation is the Stark shift of quantized energy levels. Here, a unifying analytic theory for the Stark effect in arbitrary dimensional nanostructures is presented. The crucial role of finite potential barriers is stressed, in particular, for three-dimensional confinement. Applying the theory to CdSe quantum dots, finite barriers are shown to improve significantly the agreement with experiments. (paper)

Effect of acute ethanol on beta-endorphin secretion from rat fetal hypothalamic neurons in primary cultures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarkar, D.K.; Minami, S. (Washington State Univ., Pullman (USA))

1990-01-01

To characterize the effect of ethanol on the hypothalamic {beta}-endorphin-containing neurons, rat fetal hypothalamic neurons were maintained in primary culture, and the secretion of {beta}-endorphin ({beta}-EP) was determined after ethanol challenges. Constant exposure to ethanol at doses of 6-50 mM produced a dose-dependent increase in basal secretion of {beta}-EP from these cultured cells. These doses of ethanol did not produce any significant effect on cell viability, DNA or protein content. The stimulated secretion of {beta}-EP following constant ethanol exposure is short-lasting. However, intermittent ethanol exposures maintained the ethanol stimulatory action on {beta}-EP secretion for a longer time. The magnitude of the {beta}-EP response to 50 mM ethanol is similar to that of the {beta}-EP response to 56 mM of potassium. Ethanol-stimulated {beta}-EP secretion required extracellular calcium and was blocked by a calcium channel blocker; a sodium channel blocker did not affect ethanol-stimulated secretion. These results suggest that the neuron culture system is a useful model for studying the cellular mechanisms involved in the ethanol-regulated hypothalamic opioid secretion.

Is neutrinoless double beta decay suppressed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomoda, T.

1989-01-01

Much effort has been devoted to the study of nuclear double beta decay, since the observation of a neutrinoless double beta (OνΒΒ) decay would be clear evidence that the electron neutrino is a Majorana particle. The OνΒΒ decay is caused by a finite Majorana neutrino mass and/or an admixture of right-handed leptonic currents. In order to relate these quantities to OνΒΒ decay rates, we need nuclear matrix elements, which are model dependent. One of the possibilities of testing nuclear models employed in such analysis is to calculate the experimentally known rates of ΒΒ decay with emission of two neutrinos (2νΒΒ decay) which occurs independently of the nature of the neutrino. There was a long-standing difficulty in such attempts that the calculated 2νΒΒ decay rates turned out to be always too large by one to two orders of magnitude. Trying to overcome such difficulty, Klapdor and Grotz as well as Vogel and Zirnbauer showed in their calculation using schematic effective interactions such that 2νΒΒ decay rates can get reduced considerably due to the nuclear ground state correlations. This paper reports that the suppression is ascribed to that of the virtual Gamow-Teller transitions from the excited 1 + states of the intermediate odd-odd -even nucleus

Assessment of affinities of beta-CIT, beta-CIT-FE, and beta-CIT-FP for monoamine transporters permanently expressed in cell lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okada, Tomoya; Fujita, Masahiro; Shimada, Shoichi; Sato, Kohji; Schloss, Patrick; Watanabe, Yoshiyuki; Itoh, Yasushi; Tohyama, Masaya; Nishimura, Tsunehiko

1998-01-01

We investigated the effects of three cocaine analogs, beta-CIT (2-beta-carbomethoxy-3-beta-(4-iodophenyl)-tropane), beta-CIT-FE (2-beta-carbomethoxy-3-beta-(4-iodophenyl)-N-(2-fluoroethyl)-nortropane), and beta-CIT-FP (2-beta-carbomethoxy-3-beta-(4-iodophenyl)-N-(3-fluoropropyl)-nortropane), on the uptake of [ 3 H]dopamine(DA), serotonin(5-HT), and 1-norepinephrine (NE) using cell lines permanently expressing DA, 5-HT, and NE transporters, respectively, to determine their affinities for these three transporters. We generated cell lines stably expressing DA, 5-HT, and NE transporters, respectively, by the Chen-Okayama method, and then tested the abilities of (-)cocaine, beta-CIT, beta-CIT-FE, beta-CIT-FP, and clomipramine to inhibit the uptake of [ 3 H]DA, 5-HT, and 1-NE. Ki values of beta-CIT, beta-CIT-FE, and beta-CIT-FP for [ 3 H]DA, 5-HT, 1-NE uptake were 6, 29, and 33 nM, 91, 133, and 130 nM, and 28, 113 and 70 nM, respectively, whereas those of cocaine and clomipramine were 316, 581, and 176 nM and > 10,000, 437, and 851 nM, respectively. Beta-CIT, beta-CIT-FE, and beta-CIT-FP were shown to be potent DA, 5-HT, and NE uptake inhibitors. Beta-CIT and beta-CIT-FP were highly potent and selective dopamine uptake inhibitors, and therefore might be useful for imaging of DA transporter with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET)

Metabolic and functional effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation in skeletal muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinheiro, Carlos Hermano da Justa; Gerlinger-Romero, Frederico; Guimarães-Ferreira, Lucas; de Souza, Alcione Lescano; Vitzel, Kaio Fernando; Nachbar, Renato Tadeu; Nunes, Maria Tereza; Curi, Rui

2012-07-01

Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a metabolite derived from leucine. The anti-catabolic effect of HMB is well documented but its effect upon skeletal muscle strength and fatigue is still uncertain. In the present study, male Wistar rats were supplemented with HMB (320 mg/kg per day) for 4 weeks. Placebo group received saline solution only. Muscle strength (twitch and tetanic force) and resistance to acute muscle fatigue of the gastrocnemius muscle were evaluated by direct electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve. The content of ATP and glycogen in red and white portions of gastrocnemius muscle were also evaluated. The effect of HMB on citrate synthase (CS) activity was also investigated. Muscle tetanic force was increased by HMB supplementation. No change was observed in time to peak of contraction and relaxation time. Resistance to acute muscle fatigue during intense contractile activity was also improved after HMB supplementation. Glycogen content was increased in both white (by fivefold) and red (by fourfold) portions of gastrocnemius muscle. HMB supplementation also increased the ATP content in red (by twofold) and white (1.2-fold) portions of gastrocnemius muscle. CS activity was increased by twofold in red portion of gastrocnemius muscle. These results support the proposition that HMB supplementation have marked change in oxidative metabolism improving muscle strength generation and performance during intense contractions.

Finite Volume Effect of Baryons in Strange Hadronic Matter

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SUN Bao-Xi; LI Lei; NING Ping-Zhi; ZHAO En-Guang

2001-01-01

The finite volume effect of baryons in strange hadronic matter (SHM) is studied within the framework of relativistic mean-field theory. As this effect is concerned, the saturation density of SHM turns lower, and the binding energy per baryon decreases. Its influence to the compression modulus of SHM is also discussed.

Status of international benchmark experiment for effective delayed neutron fraction ({beta}eff)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okajima, S.; Sakurai, T.; Mukaiyama, T. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1997-03-01

To improve the prediction accuracy of the {beta}eff, the program of the international benchmark experiment (Beta Effect Reactor Experiment for a New International Collaborative Evaluation: BERNICE) was planned. This program composed of two parts; BERNICE-MASURCA and BERNICE-FCA. The former one was carried out in the fast critical facility MASURCA of CEA, FRANCE between 1993 and 1994. The latter one started in the FCA, JAERI in 1995 and still is going. In these benchmark experiments, various experimental techniques have been applied for in-pile measurements of the {beta}eff. The accuracy of the measurements was better than 3%. (author)

Response-surface models for deterministic effects of localized irradiation of the skin by discrete {beta}/{gamma} -emitting sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scott, B.R.

1995-12-01

Individuals who work at nuclear reactor facilities can be at risk for deterministic effects in the skin from exposure to discrete {Beta}- and {gamma}-emitting ({Beta}{gamma}E) sources (e.g., {Beta}{gamma}E hot particles) on the skin or clothing. Deterministic effects are non-cancer effects that have a threshold and increase in severity as dose increases (e.g., ulcer in skin). Hot {Beta}{gamma}E particles are {sup 60}Co- or nuclear fuel-derived particles with diameters > 10 {mu}m and < 3 mm and contain at least 3.7 kBq (0.1 {mu}Ci) of radioactivity. For such {Beta}{gamma}E sources on the skin, it is the beta component of the dose that is most important. To develop exposure limitation systems that adequately control exposure of workers to discrete {Beta}{gamma}E sources, models are needed for systems that adequately control exposure of workers to discrete {Beta}{gamma}E sources, models are needed for evaluating the risk of deterministic effects of localized {Beta} irradiation of the skin. The purpose of this study was to develop dose-rate and irradiated-area dependent, response-surface models for evaluating risks of significant deterministic effects of localized irradiation of the skin by discrete {Beta}{gamma}E sources and to use modeling results to recommend approaches to limiting occupational exposure to such sources. The significance of the research results as follows: (1) response-surface models are now available for evaluating the risk of specific deterministic effects of localized irradiation of the skin; (2) modeling results have been used to recommend approaches to limiting occupational exposure of workers to {Beta} radiation from {Beta}{gamma}E sources on the skin or on clothing; and (3) the generic irradiated-volume, weighting-factor approach to limiting exposure can be applied to other organs including the eye, the ear, and organs of the respiratory or gastrointestinal tract and can be used for both deterministic and stochastic effects.

Finite-dimensional effects and critical indices of one-dimensional quantum models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogolyubov, N.M.; Izergin, A.G.; Reshetikhin, N.Yu.

1986-01-01

Critical indices, depending on continuous parameters in Bose-gas quantum models and Heisenberg 1/2 spin antiferromagnetic in two-dimensional space-time at zero temperature, have been calculated by means of finite-dimensional effects. In this case the long-wave asymptotics of the correlation functions is of a power character. Derivation of man asymptotics terms is reduced to the determination of a central charge in the appropriate Virassoro algebra representation and the anomalous dimension-operator spectrum in this representation. The finite-dimensional effects allow to find these values

Nicotine anxiogenic and rewarding effects are decreased in mice lacking beta-endorphin.

Science.gov (United States)

Trigo, José M; Zimmer, Andreas; Maldonado, Rafael

2009-06-01

The endogenous opioid system plays an important role in the behavioral effects of nicotine. Thus, micro-opioid receptor and the endogenous opioids derived from proenkephalin are involved in the central effects of nicotine. However, the role played by the different endogenous opioid peptides in the acute and chronic effects of nicotine remains to be fully established. Mice lacking beta-endorphin were acutely injected with nicotine at different doses to evaluate locomotor, anxiogenic and antinociceptive responses. The rewarding properties of nicotine were evaluated by using the conditioned place-preference paradigm. Mice chronically treated with nicotine were acutely injected with mecamylamine to study the behavioral expression of nicotine withdrawal. Mice lacking beta-endorphin exhibited a spontaneous hypoalgesia and hyperlocomotion and a reduction on the anxiogenic and rewarding effects induced by nicotine. Nicotine induced similar antinociception and hypolocomotion in both genotypes and no differences were found in the development of physical dependence. The dissociation between nicotine rewarding properties and physical dependence suggests a differential implication of beta-endorphin in these addictive related responses.

Effects of chronic delta-9-THC treatment on cardiac beta-adrenoceptors in rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Evans, E.B.; Seifen, E.; Kennedy, R.H.; Kafiluddi, R.; Paule, M.G.; Scallet, A.C.; Ali, S.F.; Slikker, W. Jr.

1987-10-01

This study was designed to determine if chronic treatment with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alters cardiac beta-adrenoceptors in the rat. Following daily oral administration of 10 or 20 mg/kg THC or an equivalent volume of control solvent for 90 days, rats were sacrificed, and sarcolemmal membranes were prepared from ventricular myocardium. Beta-adrenoceptor density and binding affinity estimated with (-)(/sup 3/H)dihydroalprenolol; a beta-adrenergic antagonist, were not significantly affected by treatment with THC when compared to vehicle controls. These results suggest that the tolerance to cardiovascular effects of THC which develops during chronic exposure in the rat is not associated with alterations in cardiac beta-adrenoceptors as monitored by radiolabeled antagonist binding.

Finite-volume effects due to spatially non-local operators arXiv

CERN Document Server

Briceño, Raúl A.; Hansen, Maxwell T.; Monahan, Christopher J.

Spatially non-local matrix elements are useful lattice-QCD observables in a variety of contexts, for example in determining hadron structure. To quote credible estimates of the systematic uncertainties in these calculations, one must understand, among other things, the size of the finite-volume effects when such matrix elements are extracted from numerical lattice calculations. In this work, we estimate finite-volume effects for matrix elements of non-local operators, composed of two currents displaced in a spatial direction by a distance $\\xi$. We find that the finite-volume corrections depend on the details of the matrix element. If the external state is the lightest degree of freedom in the theory, e.g.~the pion in QCD, then the volume corrections scale as $ e^{-m_\\pi (L- \\xi)} $, where $m_\\pi$ is the mass of the light state. For heavier external states the usual $e^{- m_\\pi L}$ form is recovered, but with a polynomial prefactor of the form $L^m/|L - \\xi|^n$ that can lead to enhanced volume effects. These ...

Effect of beta-blockers on exacerbation rate and lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Science.gov (United States)

Duffy, Sean; Marron, Robert; Voelker, Helen; Albert, Richard; Connett, John; Bailey, William; Casaburi, Richard; Cooper, J Allen; Curtis, Jeffrey L; Dransfield, Mark; Han, MeiLan K; Make, Barry; Marchetti, Nathaniel; Martinez, Fernando; Lazarus, Stephen; Niewoehner, Dennis; Scanlon, Paul D; Sciurba, Frank; Scharf, Steven; Reed, Robert M; Washko, George; Woodruff, Prescott; McEvoy, Charlene; Aaron, Shawn; Sin, Don; Criner, Gerard J

2017-06-19

Beta-blockers are commonly prescribed for patients with cardiovascular disease. Providers have been wary of treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with beta-blockers due to concern for bronchospasm, but retrospective studies have shown that cardio-selective beta-blockers are safe in COPD and possibly beneficial. However, these benefits may reflect symptom improvements due to the cardiac effects of the medication. The purpose of this study is to evaluate associations between beta-blocker use and both exacerbation rates and longitudinal measures of lung function in two well-characterized COPD cohorts. We retrospectively analyzed 1219 participants with over 180 days of follow up from the STATCOPE trial, which excluded most cardiac comorbidities, and from the placebo arm of the MACRO trial. Primary endpoints were exacerbation rates per person-year and change in spirometry over time in association with beta blocker use. Overall 13.9% (170/1219) of participants reported taking beta-blockers at enrollment. We found no statistically significant differences in exacerbation rates with respect to beta-blocker use regardless of the prevalence of cardiac comorbidities. In the MACRO cohort, patients taking beta-blockers had an exacerbation rate of 1.72/person-year versus a rate of 1.71/person-year in patients not taking beta-blockers. In the STATCOPE cohort, patients taking beta-blockers had an exacerbation rate of 1.14/person-year. Patients without beta-blockers had an exacerbation rate of 1.34/person-year. We found no detrimental effect of beta blockers with respect to change in lung function over time. We found no evidence that beta-blocker use was unsafe or associated with worse pulmonary outcomes in study participants with moderate to severe COPD.

Relation between the 2{nu}{beta}{beta} and 0{nu}{beta}{beta} nuclear matrix elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogel, Petr [Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Simkovic, Fedor [Department of Nuclear Physics and Biophysics, Comenius University, Mlynska dolina F1, SK-84248 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2011-12-16

A formal relation between the GT part of the nuclear matrix elements M{sub GT}{sup 0{nu}} of 0{nu}{beta}{beta} decay and the closure matrix elements M{sub cl}{sup 2{nu}} of 2{nu}{beta}{beta} decay is established. This relation is based on the integral representation of these quantities in terms of their dependence on the distance r between the two nucleons undergoing transformation. We also discuss the difficulties in determining the correct values of the closure 2{nu}{beta}{beta} decay matrix elements.

Noncommutative solitons: moduli spaces, quantization, finite θ effects and stability

Science.gov (United States)

Hadasz, Leszek; Rocek, Martin; Lindström, Ulf; von Unge, Rikard

2001-06-01

We find the N-soliton solution at infinite θ, as well as the metric on the moduli space corresponding to spatial displacements of the solitons. We use a perturbative expansion to incorporate the leading θ-1 corrections, and find an effective short range attraction between solitons. We study the stability of various solutions. We discuss the finite θ corrections to scattering, and find metastable orbits. Upon quantization of the two-soliton moduli space, for any finite θ, we find an s-wave bound state.

Finite size effects on the helical edge states on the Lieb lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Rui; Zhou Bin

2016-01-01

For a two-dimensional Lieb lattice, that is, a line-centered square lattice, the inclusion of the intrinsic spin–orbit (ISO) coupling opens a topologically nontrivial gap, and gives rise to the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect characterized by two pairs of gapless helical edge states within the bulk gap. Generally, due to the finite size effect in QSH systems, the edge states on the two sides of a strip of finite width can couple together to open a gap in the spectrum. In this paper, we investigate the finite size effect of helical edge states on the Lieb lattice with ISO coupling under three different kinds of boundary conditions, i.e., the straight, bearded and asymmetry edges. The spectrum and wave function of edge modes are derived analytically for a tight-binding model on the Lieb lattice. For a strip Lieb lattice with two straight edges, the ISO coupling induces the Dirac-like bulk states to localize at the edges to become the helical edge states with the same Dirac-like spectrum. Moreover, it is found that in the case with two straight edges the gapless Dirac-like spectrum remains unchanged with decreasing the width of the strip Lieb lattice, and no gap is opened in the edge band. It is concluded that the finite size effect of QSH states is absent in the case with the straight edges. However, in the other two cases with the bearded and asymmetry edges, the energy gap induced by the finite size effect is still opened with decreasing the width of the strip. It is also proposed that the edge band dispersion can be controlled by applying an on-site potential energy on the outermost atoms. (paper)

Transient hydrodynamic finite-size effects in simulations under periodic boundary conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Asta, Adelchi J.; Levesque, Maximilien; Vuilleumier, Rodolphe; Rotenberg, Benjamin

2017-06-01

We use lattice-Boltzmann and analytical calculations to investigate transient hydrodynamic finite-size effects induced by the use of periodic boundary conditions. These effects are inevitable in simulations at the molecular, mesoscopic, or continuum levels of description. We analyze the transient response to a local perturbation in the fluid and obtain the local velocity correlation function via linear response theory. This approach is validated by comparing the finite-size effects on the steady-state velocity with the known results for the diffusion coefficient. We next investigate the full time dependence of the local velocity autocorrelation function. We find at long times a crossover between the expected t-3 /2 hydrodynamic tail and an oscillatory exponential decay, and study the scaling with the system size of the crossover time, exponential rate and amplitude, and oscillation frequency. We interpret these results from the analytic solution of the compressible Navier-Stokes equation for the slowest modes, which are set by the system size. The present work not only provides a comprehensive analysis of hydrodynamic finite-size effects in bulk fluids, which arise regardless of the level of description and simulation algorithm, but also establishes the lattice-Boltzmann method as a suitable tool to investigate such effects in general.

The influence of finite-length flaw effects on PTS analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keeney-Walker, J.; Dickson, T.L.

1993-01-01

Current licensing issues within the nuclear industry dictate a need to investigate the effects of cladding on the extension of small finite-length cracks near the inside surface of a vessel. Because flaws having depths of the order of the combined clad and heat affected zone thickness dominate the frequency distribution of flaws, their initiation probabilities can govern calculated vessel failure probabilities. Current pressurized-thermal-shock (PTS) analysis computer programs recognize the influence of the inner-surface cladding layer in the heat transfer and stress analysis models, but assume the cladding fracture toughness is the same as that for the base material. The programs do not recognize the influence cladding may have in inhibiting crack initiation and propagation of shallow finite-length surface flaws. Limited experimental data and analyses indicate the cladding can inhibit the propagation of certain shallow flaws. This paper describes an analytical study which was carried out to determine (1) the minimum flaw depth for crack initiation under PTS loading for semicircular surface flaws in a clad reactor pressure vessel and (2) the impact, in terms of the conditional probability of vessel failure, of using a semicircular surface flaw as the initial flaw and assuming that the flaw cannot propagate in the cladding. The analytical results indicate that for initiation a much deeper critical crack depth is required for the finite-length flaw than for the infinite-length flaw, except for the least severe transient. The minimum flaw depths required for crack initiation from the finite-length flaw analyses were incorporated into a modified version of the OCA-P code. The modified code was applied to the analysis of selected PTS transients, and the results produced a substantial decrease in the conditional probability of failure. This initial study indicates a significant effect on probabilistic fracture analyses by incorporating finite-length flaw results

Finite-size effects for anisotropic bootstrap percolation : Logarithmic corrections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Enter, Aernout C. D.; Hulshof, Tim

In this note we analyse an anisotropic, two-dimensional bootstrap percolation model introduced by Gravner and Griffeath. We present upper and lower bounds on the finite-size effects. We discuss the similarities with the semi-oriented model introduced by Duarte.

Finite-size effects for anisotropic bootstrap percolation: logerithmic corrections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Enter, van A.C.D.; Hulshof, T.

2007-01-01

In this note we analyse an anisotropic, two-dimensional bootstrap percolation model introduced by Gravner and Griffeath. We present upper and lower bounds on the finite-size effects. We discuss the similarities with the semi-oriented model introduced by Duarte.

Effects of thyroid hormone on. beta. -adrenergic responsiveness of aging cardiovascular systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsujimoto, G.; Hashimoto, K.; Hoffman, B.B.

1987-03-01

The authors have compared the effects of ..beta..-adrenergic stimulation on the heart and peripheral vasculature of young (2-mo-old) and older (12-mo-old) rats both in the presence and absence of triiodothyronine (T/sub 3/)-induced hyperthyroidism. The hemodynamic consequences of T/sub 3/ treatment were less prominent in the aged hyperthyroid rats compared with young hyperthyroid rats (both in intact and pithed rats). There was a decrease in sensitivity of chronotropic responsiveness to isoproterenol in older pithed rats, which was apparently reversed by T/sub 3/ treatment. The number and affinity of myocardial ..beta..-adrenergic receptor sites measured by (/sup 125/I)cyanopindolol were not significantly different in young and older control rats; also, ..beta..-receptor density increased to a similar extent in both young and older T/sub 3/-treated rats. The ability of isoproterenol to relax mesenteric arterial rings, markedly blunted in older rats, was partially restored by T/sub 3/ treatment without their being any change in isoproterenol-mediated relaxation in the arterial preparation from young rats. The number and affinity of the ..beta..-adrenergic receptors measured in the mesenteric arteries was unaffected by either aging or T/sub 3/ treatment. The data suggest that effects of thyroid hormone and age-related alterations of cardiovascular responsiveness to ..beta..-adrenergic stimulation are interrelated in a complex fashion with a net result that the hyperkinetic cardiovascular manifestations in hyperthyroidism are attenuated in the older animals.

Effect of beta-carotene-rich tomato lycopene beta-cyclase ( tlcy-b) on cell growth inhibition in HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Palozza, Paola; Bellovino, Diana; Simone, Rossella; Boninsegna, Alma; Cellini, Francesco; Monastra, Giovanni; Gaetani, Sancia

2009-07-01

Lycopene beta-cyclase (tlcy-b) tomatoes, obtained by modulating carotenogenesis via genetic engineering, contain a large amount of beta-carotene, as clearly visible by their intense orange colour. In the present study we have subjected tlcy-b tomatoes to an in vitro simulated digestion and analysed the effects of digestate on cell proliferation. To this aim we used HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells, grown in monolayers, as a model. Digested tomatoes were diluted (20 ml, 50 ml and 100 ml/l) in culture medium and added to the cells for different incubation times (24 h, 48 h and 72 h). Inhibition of cell growth by tomato digestate was dose-dependent and resulted from an arrest of cell cycle progression at the G0/G1 and G2/M phase and by apoptosis induction. A down-regulation of cyclin D1, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl expression was observed. We also found that heat treatment of samples before digestion enhanced beta-carotene release and therefore cell growth inhibition. To induce with purified beta-carotene solubilised in tetrahydrofuran the same cell growth inhibition obtained with the tomato digestate, a higher amount of the carotenoid was necessary, suggesting that beta-carotene micellarised during digestion is utilised more efficiently by the cells, but also that other tomato molecules, reasonably made available during digestion, may be present and cooperate with beta-carotene in promoting cell growth arrest.

Mechanical design and analysis of a low beta squeezed half-wave resonator

Science.gov (United States)

He, Shou-Bo; Zhang, Cong; Yue, Wei-Ming; Wang, Ruo-Xu; Xu, Meng-Xin; Wang, Zhi-Jun; Huang, Shi-Chun; Huang, Yu-Lu; Jiang, Tian-Cai; Wang, Feng-Feng; Zhang, Sheng-Xue; He, Yuan; Zhang, Sheng-Hu; Zhao, Hong-Wei

2014-08-01

A superconducting squeezed type half-wave resonator (HWR) of β=0.09 has been developed at the Institute of Modern Physics, Lanzhou. In this paper, a basic design is presented for the stiffening structure for the detuning effect caused by helium pressure and Lorentz force. The mechanical modal analysis has been investigated the with finite element method (FEM). Based on these considerations, a new stiffening structure is proposed for the HWR cavity. The computation results concerning the frequency shift show that the low beta HWR cavity with new stiffening structure has low frequency sensitivity coefficient df/dp and Lorentz force detuning coefficient KL, and stable mechanical properties.

High beta and second stability region transport and stability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

This document describes ideal and resistive MHD studies of high-beta plasmas and of the second stability region. Significant progress is reported on the resistive stability properties of high beta poloidal ''supershot'' discharges. For these studies initial profiles were taken from the TRANSP code which is used extensively to analyze experimental data. When an ad hoc method of removing the finite pressure stabilization of tearing modes is implemented it is shown that there is substantial agreement between MHD stability computation and experiment. In particular, the mode structures observed experimentally are consistent with the predictions of the resistive MHD model. We also report on resistive stability near the transition to the second region in TFTR. Tearing modes associated with a nearby infernal mode may explain the increase in MHD activity seen in high beta supershots and which impede the realization of Q∼1. We also report on a collaborative study with PPPL involving sawtooth stabilization with ICRF

Effect of beta-adrenergic blockade on elevated arterial compliance and low systemic vascular resistance in cirrhosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Søren; Bendtsen, Flemming; Henriksen, Jens Henrik

2001-01-01

with beta-blockers, but the effect of this treatment on arterial compliance has not been investigated. The aim of the present study was therefore to assess the effects of propranolol on the arterial compliance of patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Twenty patients with cirrhosis underwent a haemodynamic......) of 17.8 mmHg, and responded to beta-blocker treatment with a significant reduction in the HVPG (-16%; P beta-adrenergic blockade (1.27 versus 1.29 ml/mmHg, +2%, ns), whereas...... with beta-blockers increases small vessel (arteriolar) vascular tone towards the normal level, but does not affect the elevated compliance of the larger arteries in patients with cirrhosis....

Lattice study of finite volume effect in HVP for muon g-2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Izubuchi Taku

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We study the finite volume effect of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to muon g-2, aμhvp,in lattice QCD by comparison with two different volumes, L4 = (5.44 and (8.14 fm4, at physical pion. We perform the lattice computation of highly precise vector-vector current correlator with optimized AMA technique on Nf = 2 + 1 PACS gauge configurations in Wilson-clover fermion and stout smeared gluon action at one lattice cut-off, a−1 = 2.33 GeV. We compare two integrals of aμhvp, momentum integral and time-slice summation, on the lattice and numerically show that the different size of finite volume effect appears between two methods. We also discuss the effect of backward-state propagation into the result of aμhvp with the different boundary condition. Our model-independent study suggest that the lattice computation at physical pion is important for correct estimate of finite volume and other lattice systematics in aμhvp.

Lattice study of finite volume effect in HVP for muon g-2

Science.gov (United States)

Izubuchi, Taku; Kuramashi, Yoshinobu; Lehner, Christoph; Shintani, Eigo

2018-03-01

We study the finite volume effect of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to muon g-2, aμhvp, in lattice QCD by comparison with two different volumes, L4 = (5.4)4 and (8.1)4 fm4, at physical pion. We perform the lattice computation of highly precise vector-vector current correlator with optimized AMA technique on Nf = 2 + 1 PACS gauge configurations in Wilson-clover fermion and stout smeared gluon action at one lattice cut-off, a-1 = 2.33 GeV. We compare two integrals of aμhvp, momentum integral and time-slice summation, on the lattice and numerically show that the different size of finite volume effect appears between two methods. We also discuss the effect of backward-state propagation into the result of aμhvp with the different boundary condition. Our model-independent study suggest that the lattice computation at physical pion is important for correct estimate of finite volume and other lattice systematics in aμhvp.

Finite life time effects in the coherent exciton transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barvik, I.; Herman, P.

1992-04-01

The paper addresses a specific problem in the exciton transfer in molecular aggregates, namely the influence of the finite life time effects, on the memory functions entering the Generalized Master Equation (GME) which connect different sites of the system. 7 refs, 2 figs

Finite-size scaling in two-dimensional superfluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultka, N.; Manousakis, E.

1994-01-01

Using the x-y model and a nonlocal updating scheme called cluster Monte Carlo, we calculate the superfluid density of a two-dimensional superfluid on large-size square lattices LxL up to 400x400. This technique allows us to approach temperatures close to the critical point, and by studying a wide range of L values and applying finite-size scaling theory we are able to extract the critical properties of the system. We calculate the superfluid density and from that we extract the renormalization-group beta function. We derive finite-size scaling expressions using the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Nelson renormalization group equations and show that they are in very good agreement with our numerical results. This allows us to extrapolate our results to the infinite-size limit. We also find that the universal discontinuity of the superfluid density at the critical temperature is in very good agreement with the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Nelson calculation and experiments

Effect of sterilization on the properties of CDHA-OCP-beta-TCP biomaterial

OpenAIRE

Morejón-Alonso,Loreley; Carrodeguas,Raúl García; García-Menocal,José Ángel Delgado; Pérez,José Antonio Alonso; Manent,Salvador Martínez

2007-01-01

The effect of the method of sterilization on the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of a new bone repairing material was studied. The material was obtained by thermal hydrolysis of beta-tricalcium phosphate/orthophosphoric acid cement and was composed of calcium deficient hydroxyapatite, octacalcium phosphate (OCP), and beta-tricalcium phosphate. Partial decomposition of the OCP was observed after sterilization for the three methods. Decomposition increased to the following sequence...

Selectivity of beta-adrenergic stimulating and blocking agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Löfdahl, C G; Svedmyr, N

1984-01-01

Studies have been performed to answer two questions: whether there are subgroups of beta 2-receptors separating effects in bronchial and skeletal muscle and whether beta 1-receptors in asthmatic airways mediate bronchoconstriction. Asthmatic patients have been studied in randomised cross-over trials. Effects on FEV1, heart rate and skeletal muscle tremor have been monitored. In some experimental studies, two new compounds, D2343 and QH-25, have shown a selectivity for beta 2-receptors in bronchial muscle compared to skeletal muscle. Studies in asthmatics did not confirm this. Thus, the beta 2-receptors in the two organs appear to be identical. The clinical effect of beta 1-receptors in the the airways was studied by giving selective beta 1-receptor blocking agents. It was shown that pafenolol , a beta-blocker more beta 1-selective than metoprolol, had less effect on FEV1 than metoprolol given in equipotent beta 1-blocking doses. Beta 1-receptor stimulation with a new selective beta 1-stimulating agent, prenalterol, did not give bronchodilation in doses which gave a significant increase of heart rate. Thus, beta 1-receptors do not contribute to bronchodilation in asthmatic patients.

The effects of Tai Chi practice on intermuscular beta coherence and the rubber hand illusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine eKerr

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Tai Chi (TC is a slow-motion contemplative exercise that is associated with improvements in sensorimotor measures, including decreased force variability, enhanced tactile acuity, and improved proprioception, especially in elderly populations. Here, we carried out two studies evaluating the effect of TC practice on measures associated with sensorimotor processing. In study 1, we evaluated TC’s effects on an oscillatory parameter associated with motor function, beta rhythm (15-30 Hz coherence, focusing specifically on beta rhythm intermuscular coherence (IMC, which is tightly coupled to beta corticomuscular coherence (CMC. We utilized electromyography (EMG to compare beta IMC in older TC practitioners with age-matched controls, as well as novices with advanced TC practitioners. Given previous findings of elevated, maladaptive beta coherence in older subjects, we hypothesized that increased TC practice would be associated with a monotonic decrease in beta IMC, but rather discovered that novice practitioners manifested higher beta IMC than both controls and advanced practitioners, forming an inverted U-shaped practice curve. This finding suggests that TC practice elicits complex changes in sensory and motor processes over the developmental lifespan of TC training. In study 2, we focused on somatosensory (e.g., tactile and proprioceptive responses to the Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI in a middle-aged TC group, assessing whether responses to the illusion became dampened with greater cumulative practice. As hypothesized, TC practice was associated with decreased likelihood to misattribute tactile stimulation during the RHI to the rubber hand, although there was no effect of TC practice on measures of proprioception or on subjective reports of ownership. These studies provide preliminary evidence that TC practice modulates beta network coherence in a non-linear fashion, perhaps as a result of the focus on not only efferent motor but also afferent sensory

Interchange instability with line-typing and finite Larmor radius effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riordan, J.C.; Hartman, C.W.

1977-01-01

Finite Larmor radius and end effects are included in a treatment of the low-β interchange instability. Higher order modes are shown to be destabilized by incomplete line-tying through an external plasma

Finite plate thickness effects on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in elastic-plastic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Polavarapu, Rinosh; Banerjee, Arindam

2017-11-01

The majority of theoretical studies have tackled the Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) problem in solids using an infinitely thick plate. Recent theoretical studies by Piriz et al. (PRE 95, 053108, 2017) have explored finite thickness effects. We seek to validate this recent theoretical estimate experimentally using our rotating wheel RTI experiment in an accelerated elastic-plastic material. The test section consists of a container filled with air and mayonnaise (a non-Newtonian emulsion) with an initial perturbation between two materials. The plate thickness effects are studied by varying the depth of the soft-solid. A set of experiments is run by employing different initial conditions with different container dimensions. Additionally, the effect of acceleration rate (driving pressure rise time) on the instability threshold with reference to the finite thickness will also be inspected. Furthermore, the experimental results are compared to the analytical strength models related to finite thickness effects on RTI. Authors acknowledge financial support from DOE-SSAA Grant # DE-NA0003195 and LANL subcontract #370333.

Ellagic acid promotes A{beta}42 fibrillization and inhibits A{beta}42-induced neurotoxicity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Ying [Department of Histology and Embryology, College of Basic Medical Science, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001 (China); Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Haidian District, Beijing 100084 (China); Yang, Shi-gao; Du, Xue-ting; Zhang, Xi; Sun, Xiao-xia; Zhao, Min [Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Haidian District, Beijing 100084 (China); Sun, Gui-yuan, E-mail: sungy2004@sohu.com [Department of Histology and Embryology, College of Basic Medical Science, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001 (China); Liu, Rui-tian, E-mail: rtliu@tsinghua.edu.cn [Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Haidian District, Beijing 100084 (China)

2009-12-25

Smaller, soluble oligomers of {beta}-amyloid (A{beta}) play a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Selective inhibition of A{beta} oligomer formation provides an optimum target for AD therapy. Some polyphenols have potent anti-amyloidogenic activities and protect against A{beta} neurotoxicity. Here, we tested the effects of ellagic acid (EA), a polyphenolic compound, on A{beta}42 aggregation and neurotoxicity in vitro. EA promoted A{beta} fibril formation and significant oligomer loss, contrary to previous results that polyphenols inhibited A{beta} aggregation. The results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Western blot displayed more fibrils in A{beta}42 samples co-incubated with EA in earlier phases of aggregation. Consistent with the hypothesis that plaque formation may represent a protective mechanism in which the body sequesters toxic A{beta} aggregates to render them harmless, our MTT results showed that EA could significantly reduce A{beta}42-induced neurotoxicity toward SH-SY5Y cells. Taken together, our results suggest that EA, an active ingredient in many fruits and nuts, may have therapeutic potential in AD.

Effect of. beta. -endorphin on catecholamine levels in rat hypothalamus and cerebral cortex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slavnov, V.N.; Valueva, G.V.; Markov, V.V.; Luchitskii, E.V.

1986-10-01

The authors studied the effect of beta-endorphin on catecholamine concentrations in the hypothalmus and cerebral cortex in rats, as a contribution to the explanation of the mechanism of action of this peptide on certain pituitary trophic functions. Concentrations of dopamine, noradrenalin, and adrenalin were determined by a radioenzymatic method. A Mark 3 scintillation system was used for radiometric investigation of the samples. The results of these experiments indicate that beta-endorphin has a marked effect on brain catecholamine levels mainly in the hypothalamus.

Effects of interleukin-1 beta on thyrotropin secretion and thyroid hormone uptake in cultured rat anterior pituitary cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

F.W.J.S. Wassen (Frank); E.P.C.M. Moerings (Ellis); H. van Toor (Hans); E.A. de Vrey (Evelyn); G. Hennemann; M.E. Everts (Maria)

1996-01-01

textabstractThe effects of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) on basal and TRH-induced TSH release, and the effects of IL-1 beta on the uptake of [125I]T3 and [125I]T4 and on nuclear binding of [125I]T3 were examined. Furthermore,

The modulatory effect of adaptive deep brain stimulation on beta bursts in Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Tinkhauser, Gerd; Pogosyan, Alek; Little, Simon; Beudel, Martijn; Herz, Damian M; Tan, Huiling; Brown, Peter

2017-04-01

Adaptive deep brain stimulation uses feedback about the state of neural circuits to control stimulation rather than delivering fixed stimulation all the time, as currently performed. In patients with Parkinson's disease, elevations in beta activity (13-35 Hz) in the subthalamic nucleus have been demonstrated to correlate with clinical impairment and have provided the basis for feedback control in trials of adaptive deep brain stimulation. These pilot studies have suggested that adaptive deep brain stimulation may potentially be more effective, efficient and selective than conventional deep brain stimulation, implying mechanistic differences between the two approaches. Here we test the hypothesis that such differences arise through differential effects on the temporal dynamics of beta activity. The latter is not constantly increased in Parkinson's disease, but comes in bursts of different durations and amplitudes. We demonstrate that the amplitude of beta activity in the subthalamic nucleus increases in proportion to burst duration, consistent with progressively increasing synchronization. Effective adaptive deep brain stimulation truncated long beta bursts shifting the distribution of burst duration away from long duration with large amplitude towards short duration, lower amplitude bursts. Critically, bursts with shorter duration are negatively and bursts with longer duration positively correlated with the motor impairment off stimulation. Conventional deep brain stimulation did not change the distribution of burst durations. Although both adaptive and conventional deep brain stimulation suppressed mean beta activity amplitude compared to the unstimulated state, this was achieved by a selective effect on burst duration during adaptive deep brain stimulation, whereas conventional deep brain stimulation globally suppressed beta activity. We posit that the relatively selective effect of adaptive deep brain stimulation provides a rationale for why this approach could

Acute effects of beta blockade and exercise on mood and anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Head, A; Kendall, M J; Ferner, R; Eagles, C

1996-09-01

To measure the previously reported beta blocker induced adverse changes in mood state and anxiety measures, and to determine if prolonged aerobic exercise attenuates such mood modifications. After 4 days of drug treatment with comparable doses of propranolol (40 and 80 mg), metoprolol (50 and 100 mg), or placebo, mood (POMS) and anxiety states (STAI) were assessed in healthy volunteers, before and after 1 h of treadmill walking exercise at 50% maximum oxygen uptake. Compared to placebo, resting "tension", "depression", and "total mood disturbance" were significantly higher on propranolol 80 mg, but all were reduced with exercise. "Fatigue" and "confusion" were also higher on propranolol, and were unaffected by exercise. "Fatigue" was also higher than placebo after exercise on metoprolol 100 mg. "Anxiety" was unaffected by drug treatment or exercise. The evidence that beta blockers, and particularly propranolol, have adverse effects on mood was confirmed. It would be preferable to prescribe a beta blocker which does not adversely alter mood states. However, exercise significantly reduced the measures of "tension" and "depression" which were adversely increased by propranolol. Exercise prescription may therefore not only be compatible with beta blockade, but a highly desirable adjuvant therapy.

Proteoglycan metabolism associated with mouse metanephric development: morphologic and biochemical effects of beta-D-xyloside

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Platt, J.L.; Brown, D.M.; Granlund, K.; Oegema, T.R.; Klein, D.J.

1987-01-01

Morphology and de novo incorporation of [ 35 S]sulfate into proteoglycans were studied in fetal mouse kidneys at the onset of organogenesis. Branching morphogenesis and nephron development in organ culture and in vivo were associated with de novo synthesis of chondroitin-SO 4 and heparan-SO 4 proteoglycans. The role of proteoglycan metabolism in metanephrogenesis was then studied by analysis of the effects of p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xylopyranoside (beta-D-xyloside) on renal development and proteoglycan metabolism. Incubation of fetal kidneys in beta-D-xyloside at concentrations of 1.0 and 0.5 mM, but not at 0.1 mM, caused inhibition of ureteric branching and markedly diminished synthesis of a large Mr 2.0 X 10(6) Da chondroitin-SO 4 proteoglycan. Incorporation of [ 35 S]sulfate was stimulated at all beta-D-xyloside concentrations, reflecting synthesis of xyloside initiated dermatan- 35 SO 4 chains. In contrast to dramatic effects on chondroitin-SO 4 synthesis and ureteric branching, beta-D-xyloside had no effect on heparan-SO 4 synthesis or on development of the glomerulus and glomerular basement membrane. We thus characterize the proteoglycans synthesized early in the course of renal organogenesis and describe observations which suggest an association between metabolism of chondroitin-SO 4 proteoglycan and development of the ureter

Effect of mixing rate on Beta-carotene production and extraction by dunaliella salina in two-phase bioreactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hejazi, M.; Andrysiewicz, E.; Tramper, J.; Wijffels, R.H.

2003-01-01

beta-Carotene has many applications in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries; Dunaliella salina is currently the main source for natural beta-carotene. We have investigated the effect of mixing rate and whether it leads to the facilitated release of beta-carotene from the cells of

Finite-size effect and the components of multifractality in financial volatility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Weixing

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The apparent multifractality can be decomposed quantitatively. ► There is a marked finite-size effect in the detection of multifractality. ► The effective multifractality can be further decomposed into two components. ► A time series exhibits effective multifractality only if it possesses nonlinearity. ► The daily DJIA volatility is analyzed as an example. - Abstract: Many financial variables are found to exhibit multifractal nature, which is usually attributed to the influence of temporal correlations and fat-tailedness in the probability distribution (PDF). Based on the partition function approach of multifractal analysis, we show that there is a marked finite-size effect in the detection of multifractality, and the effective multifractality is the apparent multifractality after removing the finite-size effect. We find that the effective multifractality can be further decomposed into two components, the PDF component and the nonlinearity component. Referring to the normal distribution, we can determine the PDF component by comparing the effective multifractality of the original time series and the surrogate data that have a normal distribution and keep the same linear and nonlinear correlations as the original data. We demonstrate our method by taking the daily volatility data of Dow Jones Industrial Average from 26 May 1896 to 27 April 2007 as an example. Extensive numerical experiments show that a time series exhibits effective multifractality only if it possesses nonlinearity and the PDF has an impact on the effective multifractality only when the time series possesses nonlinearity. Our method can also be applied to judge the presence of multifractality and determine its components of multifractal time series in other complex systems.

Finite-correlation-time effects in the kinematic dynamo problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schekochihin, Alexander A.; Kulsrud, Russell M.

2001-01-01

Most of the theoretical results on the kinematic amplification of small-scale magnetic fluctuations by turbulence have been confined to the model of white-noise-like (δ-correlated in time) advecting turbulent velocity field. In this work, the statistics of the passive magnetic field in the diffusion-free regime are considered for the case when the advecting flow is finite-time correlated. A new method is developed that allows one to systematically construct the correlation-time expansion for statistical characteristics of the field such as its probability density function or the complete set of its moments. The expansion is valid provided the velocity correlation time is smaller than the characteristic growth time of the magnetic fluctuations. This expansion is carried out up to first order in the general case of a d-dimensional arbitrarily compressible advecting flow. The growth rates for all moments of the magnetic-field strength are derived. The effect of the first-order corrections due to the finite correlation time is to reduce these growth rates. It is shown that introducing a finite correlation time leads to the loss of the small-scale statistical universality, which was present in the limit of the δ-correlated velocity field. Namely, the shape of the velocity time-correlation profile and the large-scale spatial structure of the flow become important. The latter is a new effect, that implies, in particular, that the approximation of a locally-linear shear flow does not fully capture the effect of nonvanishing correlation time. Physical applications of this theory include the small-scale kinematic dynamo in the interstellar medium and protogalactic plasmas

Maternal and cord plasma concentrations of beta-lipotrophin, beta-endorphin and gamma-lipotrophin at delivery; effect of analgesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, A J; Butt, W R; Lynch, S S; Shakespear, R A; Crawford, J S

1983-12-01

Maternal venous plasma concentrations of beta-LPH, beta-EP and gamma-LPH were compared in (i) patients undergoing vaginal delivery, 11 with an epidural block and 13 with pethidine and nitrous oxide or no analgesics; (ii) patients delivered by caesarean section, 7 under epidural block and 8 under general anaesthesia. Patients delivered by either method under epidural block had significantly lower levels of all three peptides than those receiving no epidural. There were significant negative correlations between umbilical vein beta-LPH, beta-EP and gamma-LPH concentrations and umbilical artery pH and positive correlations between beta-LPH and beta-EP but not gamma-LPH and cord PCO2 in 29 patients. There was no relation between cord levels of any of the three peptides and the method of analgesia or the route of delivery. Although concentrations of all three peptides were closely correlated to one another in either maternal or cord plasma, there was no relationship between maternal and fetal levels.

The effects of Beta-Endorphin: state change modification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veening, J.G.; Barendregt, H.P.

2015-01-01

Beta-endorphin (beta-END) is an opioid neuropeptide which has an important role in the development of hypotheses concerning the non-synaptic or paracrine communication of brain messages. This kind of communication between neurons has been designated volume transmission (VT) to differentiate it

The effect of oral supplementation with a combination of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, arginine and glutamine on wound healing: a retrospective analysis of diabetic haemodialysis patients

OpenAIRE

Sipahi, Savas; Gungor, Ozkan; Gunduz, Mehmet; Cilci, Mehmet; Demirci, Mustafa Cahit; Tamer, Ali

2013-01-01

Background Diabetes is an important reason for end-stage renal failure and diabetic foot wounds worsen the life qualities of these patients. Protein and amino acid support accelerates the wound healing. The purpose of this retrospective study is to examine the effect of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, arginine and glutamine (Abound?) supplementation on the wound healing. Methods A total of 11 diabetic dialysis patients were included in this retrospective study aiming to evaluate the effect ...

Neurofeedback of SMR and Beta1 Frequencies: An Investigation of Learning Indices and Frequency-Specific Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Pimenta, Miguel G; van Run, Chris; de Fockert, Jan W; Gruzelier, John H

2018-05-15

Despite evidence that Sensorimotor Rhythm (SMR) and beta1 neurofeedback have distinct cognitive enhancement effects, it remains unclear whether their amplitudes can be independently enhanced. Furthermore, demands for top-down attention control, postural restraint and maintenance of cognitive set processes, all requiring low-beta frequencies, might masquerade as learning and confound interpretation. The feasibility of selectively enhancing SMR and beta1 amplitudes was investigated with the addition of a random frequency control condition that also requires the potentially confounding cognitive processes. A comprehensive approach to assessing neurofeedback learning was undertaken through the calculation of learning indices within- and across-session and pre-to-post baseline. Herein we provide the first demonstration of beta1 within-session amplitude learning that was not attributable to extraneous cognitive processes, for it was not found with random frequency training. On the other hand, within-session SMR learning might have been obscured by high interindividual variability and methodological limitations such as the type of feedback screen, the insufficient number of sessions, and the exclusion of simultaneous theta and high-beta inhibition. Interestingly, SMR and beta1 amplitude increased across sessions in the three groups suggesting unspecific effects of neurofeedback in the low beta frequency band. Moreover, there was no clear evidence of frequency specificity associated with either SMR or beta1 training. Some methodological limitations may underpin the divergent results with previous studies. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. All rights reserved.

Finite geometry effect on the interaction of a hot beam with a plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shoucri, M.M.; Gagne, R.R.J.

1977-01-01

The effect of finite geometry on the interaction of a hot low-density beam with a uniform plasma filling a circular waveguide is studied. An expression is derived for the growth rate of the instabilities developing at the harmonic of the beam gyrofrequency, taking the finite beam gyroradius into account. The calculations are done in the quasistatic approximation. (author)

Coulomb systems seen as critical systems: Finite-size effects in two dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jancovici, B.; Manificat, G.; Pisani, C.

1994-01-01

It is known that the free energy at criticality of a finite two-dimensional system of characteristic size L has in general a term which behaves like log L as L → ∞; the coefficient of this term is universal. There are solvable models of two-dimensional classical Coulomb systems which exhibit the same finite-size correction (except for its sign) although the particle correlations are short-ranged, i.e., noncritical. Actually, the electrical potential and electrical field correlations are critical at all temperatures (as long as the Coulomb system is a conductor), as a consequence of the perfect screening property of Coulomb systems. This is why Coulomb systems have to exhibit critical finite-size effects

Effects of digoxin and. beta. -methyldigoxin on the heart rate of decompensated patients with atrial fibrillation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, K E; Johansson, B W; Ledermann, H; von Schenck, H; Thorell, J I [Lund Univ. (Sweden). Clinical Pharmacological Lab.; Allmaenna Sjukhuset, Malmoe (Sweden). Heat Lab.; Allmaenna Sjukhuset, Malmoe (Sweden). Dept. of Clinical Chemistry)

1977-02-01

Eighteen patients with atrial fibrillation were given digoxin 0.13 mg twice daily for 3 weeks and ..beta..-methyldigoxin 0.10 mg twice daily for another 3 weeks. At the end of each 3 week period an exercise test was performed and the effects on the heart rate of the two drugs were compared. No difference in heart rate was obtained at rest, wheareas the heart rate after 6 min of exercise was higher during treatment with digoxin (131 beats/min) than when the patients were taking ..beta..-methyldigoxin (124 beats/min). There were no significant differences between digoxin and ..beta..-methyldigoxin in their effects on the ECT (R-R intervals, T-wave, Q-T duration). The plasma concentrations of the two glycosides were determined by radioimmunoassay and by /sup 86/Rb-uptake inhibition assay. Comparable plasma concentration values (1.0 ng/ml for digoxin, 1.1 ng/ml for ..beta..-methyldigoxin, mean values) were obtained by radioimmunoassay, but the /sup 86/Rb-technique gave significantly higher values (mean 1.5 ng/ml) for ..beta..-methyldigoxin. It is concluded that ..beta..-methyldigoxin is equal to digoxin for producing slowing of the heart rate in patients with atrial fibrillation.

The changes in beta-adrenoceptor-mediated cardiac function in experimental hypothyroidism: the possible contribution of cardiac beta3-adrenoceptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Arioglu, E; Guner, S; Ozakca, I; Altan, V M; Ozcelikay, A T

2010-02-01

Thyroid hormone deficiency has been reported to decrease expression and function of both beta(1)- and beta(2)-adrenoceptor in different tissues including heart. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible contribution of beta(3)-adrenoceptors to cardiac dysfunction in hypothyroidism. In addition, effect of this pathology on beta(1)- and beta(2)-adrenoceptor was investigated. Hypothyroidism was induced by adding methimazole (300 mg/l) to drinking water of rats for 8 weeks. Cardiac hemodynamic parameters were measured in anesthetised rats in vivo. Responses to beta-adrenoceptor agonists were examined in rat papillary muscle in vitro. We also studied the effect of hypotyroidism on mRNA expression of beta-adrenoceptors, Gialpha, GRK, and eNOS in rat heart. All of the hemodynamic parameters (systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure, left ventricular pressure, heart rate, +dp/dt, and -dp/dt) were significantly reduced by the methimazole treatment. The negative inotropic effect elicited by BRL 37344 (a beta(3)-adrenoceptor preferential agonist) and positive inotropic effects produced by isoprenaline and noradrenaline, respectively, were significantly decreased in papillary muscle of hypothyroid rats as compared to those of controls. On the other hand, hypothyroidism resulted in increased cardiac beta(2)- and beta(3)-adrenoceptor, Gialpha(2), Gialpha(3), GRK3, and eNOS mRNA expressions. However, beta(1)-adrenoceptor and GRK2 mRNA expressions were not changed significantly in this pathology. These results show that mRNA expression of beta(3)-adrenoceptors as well as the signalling pathway components mediated through beta(3)-adrenoceptors are significantly increased in hypothyroid rat heart. Since we could not correlate these alternates with the decreased negative inotropic response mediated by this receptor subtype, it is not clear whether these changes are important for hypothyroid induced reduction in cardiac function.

Silent ischemia and beta-blockade

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Egstrup, K

1991-01-01

and should also be directed at the other coronary artery risk factors of the patients. The effects of beta-blockers, which reduce the duration and frequency of silent ischemic episodes, is well described. The effect is most pronounced in the morning, when the frequency of ischemia is highest......, and the mechanism of action seems mainly mediated through a reduction in myocardial oxygen demand. beta-Blockers have shown effectiveness in both effort-induced angina and mixed angina, and increased anti-ischemic potency may be achieved by combination therapy with a calcium antagonist. Abrupt withdrawal of beta-blockers...

Perturbative two- and three-loop coefficients from large {beta} Monte Carlo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lepage, G.P.; Mackenzie, P.B.; Shakespeare, N.H.; Trottier, H.D

2000-03-01

Perturbative coefficients for Wilson loops and the static quark self-energy are extracted from Monte Carlo simulations at large {beta} on finite volumes, where all the lattice momenta are large. The Monte Carlo results are in excellent agreement with perturbation theory through second order. New results for third order coefficients are reported. Twisted boundary conditions are used to eliminate zero modes and to suppress Z{sub 3} tunneling.

Effects of transforming growth factor-beta1 and vascular endothelial growth factor 165 gene transfer on Achilles tendon healing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Yu; Mao, ZeBin; Wei, XueLei; Lin, Lin; Chen, LianXu; Wang, HaiJun; Fu, Xin; Zhang, JiYing; Yu, Changlong

2009-07-01

Repaired Achilles tendons typically take weeks before they are strong enough to handle physiological loads. Gene therapy is a promising treatment for Achilles tendon defects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the histological/biomechanical effects of Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF(165)) gene transfer on Achilles tendon healing in rabbits. Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) were transduced with adenovirus carrying human TGF-beta1 cDNA (Ad-TGF-beta1), human VEGF(165) cDNA (Ad-VEGF(165)), or both (PIRES-TGF-beta1/VEGF(165)) Viruses, no cDNA (Ad-GFP), and the BMSCs without gene transfer and the intact tendon were used as control. BMSCs were surgically implanted into the experimentally injured Achilles tendons. TGF-beta1 distribution, cellularity, nuclear aspect ratio, nuclear orientation angle, vascular number, collagen synthesis, and biomechanical features were measured at 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after surgery. The TGF-beta1 and TGF beta 1/VEGF(165) co-expression groups exhibited improved parameters compared with other groups, while the VEGF(165) expression group had a negative impact. In the co-expression group, the angiogenesis effects of VEGF(165) were diminished by TGF-beta1, while the collagen synthesis effects of TGF-beta1 were unaltered by VEGF(165). Thus treatment with TGF-beta1 cDNA-transduced BMSCs grafts is a promising therapy for acceleration and improvement of tendon healing, leading to quicker recovery and improved biomechanical properties of Achilles tendons.

Basic studies on I-123-beta-methyl-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) for myocardial functional diagnosis. Effect of beta-oxidation inhibitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujibayashi, Yasuhisa; Yonekura, Yoshiharu; Yamamoto, Kazutaka; Tamaki, Nagara; Konishi, Junji; Kawai, Keiichi; Yokoyama, Akira; Torizuka, Kanji.

1988-10-01

To clarify the availability of I-123-beta-methyl-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) as myocardial metabolism diagnostic agent, the effect of beta-oxidation inhibitor on BMIPP metabolic behavior was studied in relation to lipid pool. As for inhibitor, tetradecylglycidic acid (TDGA), mitochondrial carnitine acyltransferase I inhibitor, was used. Both in TDGA pre-treated and control rats, BMIPP was found in TG fraction of the heart, showing no inhibitory effect of TDGA on TG-synthesis. In TDGA pre-treated rats, BMIPP accumulation in the heart was greatly increased together with triglyceride (TG) content; free fatty acid and diglyceride content had no remarkable change. So, TG synthesis, which acts as substrate-storage, can be evaluated as an index reflecting the changes of fatty acid metabolism. BMIPP is a plausible radiopharmaceutical for myocardial fatty acid metabolism study, as a substrate of triglyceride synthesis.

Effect of low-molecular-weight beta-cyclodextrin polymer on release of drugs from mucoadhesive buccal film dosage forms.

Science.gov (United States)

Arakawa, Yotaro; Kawakami, Shigeru; Yamashita, Fumiyoshi; Hashida, Mitsuru

2005-09-01

We investigated the effect of low-molecular-weight beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CyD) polymer on in vitro release of two drugs with different lipophilicities (i.e., lidocaine and ketoprofen) from mucoadhesive buccal film dosage forms. When beta-CyD polymer was added to hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) or polyvinylalcohol (PVA) film dosage forms, the release of lidocaine into artificial saliva (pH 5.7) was reduced by 40% of the control. In contrast, the release of ketoprofen from the polymer film was enhanced by addition of beta-CyD polymer to the vehicle. When lidocaine and ketoprofen was incubated with beta-CyD polymer in the artificial saliva, concentration of free lidocaine molecules decreased in a beta-CyD polymer concentration-dependent manner. The association constant with beta-CyD polymer was 6.9+/-0.6 and 520+/-90 M(-1) for lidocaine and ketoprofen, respectively. Retarded release of the hydrophilic lidocaine by beta-CyD polymer might be due to the decrease in thermodynamic activity by inclusion complex formation, whereas enhanced release of the lipophilic ketoprofen by the beta-CyD polymer might be due to prevention of recrystallization occurring after contacting the film with aqueous solution. Thus, effects of low-molecular-weight beta-CyD polymer to the drug release rate from film dosage forms would vary according to the strength of interaction with and the solubility of active ingredient.

BETA digital beta radiometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borovikov, N.V.; Kosinov, G.A.; Fedorov, Yu.N.

1989-01-01

Portable transportable digital beta radiometer providing for measuring beta-decay radionuclide specific activity in the range from 5x10 -9 up to 10 -6 Cu/kg (Cu/l) with error of ±25% is designed and introduced into commercial production for determination of volume and specific water and food radioactivity. The device specifications are given. Experience in the BETA radiometer application under conditions of the Chernobyl' NPP 30-km zone has shown that it is convenient for measuring specific activity of the order of 10 -8 Cu/kg, and application of a set of different beta detectors gives an opportunity to use it for surface contamination measurement in wide range of the measured value

Possible test of grand unification in the double beta-decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faessler, A.

1988-01-01

The more successful grand unified theories predict that the neutrino is identical with its antiparticle and therefore is a Majorana neutrino which violates lepton number conservation. Such a neutrino should have a finite mass and also a small right handed weak interaction. If the double neutrinoless beta decay is observed with the full decay energy in the two electrons, it would establish that the electron neutrino is a Majorana particle. It is shown that the relativistic corrections of the nucleonic wave functions are essential for determining an upper limit of the right handedness from the measured lower limit of the life-time against the neutrinoless double beta decay. The upper limit for the right handedness of the weak interaction derived from the lower limit of the life-times against the neutrinoless beta decay is vertical stroke vertical stroke -8 and the upper limit for the neutrino mass is vertical stroke ν m>vertical stroke + -decay in proton rich nuclei, one can explain the long standing puzzle of the quenching of the Gamow-Teller strength in agreement with the data. (orig.)

Effects of transforming growth factor beta 1 on the regulation of osteoclastic development and function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hattersley, G.; Chambers, T.J.

1991-01-01

Transforming growth factor (TGF) beta 1 is a multifunctional cytokine with powerful effects on osteoblastic cells. Its role in the regulation of osteoclast generation and function, however, is unclear. It has been reported both to stimulate and to inhibit resorption in organ culture and to inhibit multinuclear cell formation in bone marrow cultures. We tested the effects of TGF-beta 1 on bone resorption by osteoclasts isolated from neonatal rat long bones. We found potent stimulation of osteoclastic bone resorption, mediated by osteoblastic cells, with an EC50 of 10 pg/ml, considerably lower than that of well-documented osteotropic hormones. Stimulation was not mediated by Swiss mouse 3T3 cells, a nonosteoblastic cell line. TGF-beta 1 strongly inhibited the generation of calcitonin receptor (CTR)-positive cells in mouse bone marrow cultures, but as for isolated osteoclasts, bone resorption per CTR-positive cell was increased. The inhibition of CTR-positive cell formation was associated with suppression of maturation of other bone marrow derivatives and may be related more to the known ability of TGF-beta 1 to suppress the proliferation of primitive hematopoietic cells than to a specific role of TGF-beta 1 in osteoclast generation

Topical beta-blockers and mortality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Müskens, Rogier P. H. M.; Wolfs, Roger C. W.; Witteman, Jacqueline C. M.; Hofman, Albert; de Jong, Paulus T. V. M.; Stricker, Bruno H. C.; Jansonius, Nomdo M.

2008-01-01

To study the associations between long-term and short-term use of topical beta-blockers and mortality. Prospective population-based cohort study. To examine long-term effects, 3842 participants aged 55 years and older were recruited. To examine short-term effects, 484 incident beta-blocker users and

Effect of glucose infusion on endurance performance after beta-adrenoceptor blocker administration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Baak, M.A.; Mooij, J.M.

1994-01-01

Effect of glucose infusion on endurance performance after beta-adrenoceptor blocker administration. Van Baak MA, Mooij JM. Department of Human Biology, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands. To investigate the effect of glucose (Glc) infusion on endurance performance after

High beta and second stability region transport and stability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hughes, M.H.; Phillps, M.W.; Todd, A.M.M.; Krishnaswami, J.; Hartley, R.

1992-09-01

This report describes ideal and resistive studies of high-beta plasmas and of the second stability region. Emphasis is focused on ''supershot'' plasmas in TFIR where MHD instabilities are frequently observed and which spoil their confinement properties. Substantial results are described from the analysis of these high beta poloidal plasmas. During these studies, initial pressure and safety factor profiles were obtained from the TRANSP code, which is used extensively to analyze experimental data. Resistive MBD stability studies of supershot equilibria show that finite pressure stabilization of tearing modes is very strong in these high βp plasmas. This has prompted a detailed re-examination of linear tearing mode theory in which we participated in collaboration with Columbia University and General Atomics. This finite pressure effect is shown to be highly sensitive to small scale details of the pressure profile. Even when an ad hoc method of removing this stabilizing mechanism is implemented, however, it is shown that there is only superficial agreement between resistive MBD stability computation and the experimental data. While the mode structures observed experimentally can be found computationally, there is no convincing correlation with the experimental observations when the computed results are compared with a large set of supershot data. We also describe both the ideal and resistive stability properties of TFIR equilibria near the transition to the second region. It is shown that the highest β plasmas, although stable to infinite-n ideal ballooning modes, can be unstable to the so called ''infernal'' modes associated with small shear. The sensitivity of these results to the assumed pressure and current density profiles is discussed. Finally, we describe results from two collaborative studies with PPPL. The first involves exploratory studies of the role of the 1/1 mode in tokamaks and, secondly, a study of sawtooth stabilization using ICRF

LHCb: $2\\beta_s$ measurement at LHCb

CERN Multimedia

Conti, G

2009-01-01

A measurement of $2\\beta_s$, the phase of the $B_s-\\bar{B_s}$ oscillation amplitude with respect to that of the ${\\rm b} \\rightarrow {\\rm c^{+}}{\\rm W^{-}}$ tree decay amplitude, is one of the key goals of the LHCb experiment with first data. In the Standard Model (SM), $2\\beta_s$ is predicted to be $0.0360^{+0.0020}_{-0.0016} \\rm rad$. The current constraints from the Tevatron are: $2\\beta_{s}\\in[0.32 ; 2.82]$ at 68$\\%$CL from the CDF experiment and $2\\beta_{s}=0.57^{+0.24}_{-0.30}$ from the D$\\oslash$ experiment. Although the statistical uncertainties are large, these results hint at the possible contribution of New Physics in the $B_s-\\bar{B_s}$ box diagram. After one year of data taking at LHCb at an average luminosity of $\\mathcal{L}\\sim2\\cdot10^{32}\\rm cm^{-2} \\rm s^{-1}$ (integrated luminosity $\\mathcal{L}_{\\rm int}\\sim 2 \\rm fb^{-1}$), the expected statistical uncertainty on the measurement is $\\sigma(2\\beta_s)\\simeq 0.03$. This uncertainty is similar to the $2\\beta_s$ value predicted by the SM.

Blood transfusion versus hydroxyurea in beta-thalassemia in Iran: a cost-effectiveness study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravangard, Ramin; Mirzaei, Zahra; Keshavarz, Khosro; Haghpanah, Sezaneh; Karimi, Mehran

2017-11-21

Thalassemia intermedia is a type of anemia which has several treatments modalities. We aimed to study the cost effectiveness of two treatments, including blood transfusion and hydroxyurea, in patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia in south of Iran referred to a referral center affiliated to Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2015. This was a cost-effectiveness study which was conducted on 122 patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia. The indicator of effectiveness in this study was the reduction of growth disorder (normal BMI). Data analysis was done using SPSS 21, Excel 2010 and Treeage 2011. Finally, the one-way sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the robustness of the results. The average annual costs of blood transfusion and the use of hydroxyurea in 2015 were 20733.27 purchasing power parity (PPP)$ and 7040.29 PPP$, respectively. The effectiveness of blood transfusion was57.4% while in hydroxyurea group was 60.7%. The results showed that the cost effectiveness of using hydroxyurea was more than that of blood transfusion. Therefore, it is recommended that the use of hydroxyurea in the treatment of patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia would become the first priority, and more basic and supplementary insurance coverage for treating such patients using hydroxyurea should be considered.

Finite-Geometry and Polarized Multiple-Scattering Corrections of Experimental Fast- Neutron Polarization Data by Means of Monte Carlo Methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aspelund, O; Gustafsson, B

1967-05-15

After an introductory discussion of various methods for correction of experimental left-right ratios for polarized multiple-scattering and finite-geometry effects necessary and sufficient formulas for consistent tracking of polarization effects in successive scattering orders are derived. The simplifying assumptions are then made that the scattering is purely elastic and nuclear, and that in the description of the kinematics of the arbitrary Scattering {mu}, only one triple-parameter - the so-called spin rotation parameter {beta}{sup ({mu})} - is required. Based upon these formulas a general discussion of the importance of the correct inclusion of polarization effects in any scattering order is presented. Special attention is then paid to the question of depolarization of an already polarized beam. Subsequently, the afore-mentioned formulas are incorporated in the comprehensive Monte Carlo program MULTPOL, which has been designed so as to correctly account for finite-geometry effects in the sense that both the scattering sample and the detectors (both having cylindrical shapes) are objects of finite dimensions located at finite distances from each other and from the source of polarized fast-neutrons. A special feature of MULTPOL is the application of the method of correlated sampling for reduction of the standard deviations .of the results of the simulated experiment. Typical data of performance of MULTPOL have been obtained by the application of this program to the correction of experimental polarization data observed in n + '{sup 12}C elastic scattering between 1 and 2 MeV. Finally, in the concluding remarks the possible modification of MULTPOL to other experimental geometries is briefly discussed.

Hypoglycemic and beta cell protective effects of andrographolide analogue for diabetes treatment

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Larrick James W

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background While all anti-diabetic agents can decrease blood glucose level directly or indirectly, few are able to protect and preserve both pancreatic beta cell mass and their insulin-secreting functions. Thus, there is an urgent need to find an agent or combination of agents that can lower blood glucose and preserve pancreatic beta cells at the same time. Herein, we report a dual-functional andrographolide-lipoic acid conjugate (AL-1. The anti-diabetic and beta cell protective activities of this novel andrographolide-lipoic acid conjugate were investigated. Methods In alloxan-treated mice (a model of type 1 diabetes, drugs were administered orally once daily for 6 days post-alloxan treatment. Fasting blood glucose and serum insulin were determined. Pathologic and immunohistochemical analysis of pancreatic islets were performed. Translocation of glucose transporter subtype 4 in soleus muscle was detected by western blot. In RIN-m cells in vitro, the effect of AL-1 on H2O2-induced damage and reactive oxidative species production stimulated by high glucose and glibenclamide were measured. Inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB activation induced by IL-1β and IFN-γ was investigated. Results In alloxan-induced diabetic mouse model, AL-1 lowered blood glucose, increased insulin and prevented loss of beta cells and their dysfunction, stimulated glucose transport protein subtype 4 (GLUT4 membrane translocation in soleus muscles. Pretreatment of RIN-m cells with AL-1 prevented H2O2-induced cellular damage, quenched glucose and glibenclamide-stimulated reactive oxidative species production, and inhibited cytokine-stimulated NF-κB activation. Conclusion We have demonstrated that AL-1 had both hypoglycemic and beta cell protective effects which translated into antioxidant and NF-κB inhibitory activity. AL-1 is a potential new anti-diabetic agent.

The behaviour of effective coupling constants in 'finite' grand unification theories in curved spacetime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchbinder, I.L.; Odintsov, S.D.; Lichtzier, I.M.

1989-01-01

The question of the behaviour of effective coupling constants in one-loop 'finite' grand unification theories in curved spacetime is investigated. It is shown that in strong gravitational fields the effective coupling constant, corresponding to the parameter of non-minimal interaction of scalar and gravitational fields, tends to the conformal value or increases in an exponential fashion. The one-loop effective potential is obtained with accuracy to linear curvature terms. It is shown that, in external supergravity, supersymmetric finite theories admit asymptotic conformal invariance. (Author)

Therapeutic effect of beta radiation on onychomycosis: An innovative treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afroz, S.; Islam, N.; Rashid, H.; Shahidullah, M.; Ali, S.; Islam, S.K.M.; Hossain, S.; Ali, N.

2005-01-01

Full text: Onychomycosis is the most frequent cause of nail disease and the most prevalent type of dermatophytosis in Bangladesh. The humid and warm climate of this tropical country is congenial for the growth of fungi. Therapeutic limitations of conventional antimycotic agents in respect of low cure rates, high relapse rate, inherent side effects, long duration of treatment and high cost in treating onychomycosis have provided clear incentives to explore alternative forms of treatment procedure. The objectives of the present thesis work were: (i) To use beta radiation as a curative therapy for Onychomycosis, optimisation of its dosages and to promote an innovative clinical development in the field of therapeutic application of nuclear medicine; (ii) To assess the efficacy of beta radiation either alone or in combination with conventional antifungal therapy; and (iii) To reduce the duration of drug exposure and cost of treatment for onychomycosis. This is a PhD research work under the University of Dhaka and was sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology, Government of the people's republic of Bangladesh. This study is an open, randomised and controlled trial to verify the efficacy of beta radiation in patients with onychomycosis. Using the appropriate statistical formula, sample size of the study population was determined and in each group 92 patients were assigned. With an assumption of patients drop out and for better statistical analysis, a total of 330 patients, who fulfilled the inclusion criterion having diagnosed to have onychomycosis clinically and mycological were randomly allocated to enter in therapeutic regimen. Study population was randomised in three groups. Group A (n =110) received griseofulvin orally 500 mg once daily for 12-16 weeks; Group B (n=110) received beta radiation, 500 rads bi-weekly for 3 weeks (total 2500 rads); and Group C (n=110) received combined beta radiation (total 2500 rads in 3 weeks) and

Effect of finite ion-temperature on ion-acoustic solitary waves in an inhomogeneous plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shivamoggi, B.K.

1981-01-01

The propagation of weakly nonlinear ion-acoustic waves in an inhomogeneous plasma is studied taking into account the effect of finite ion temperature. It is found that, whereas both the amplitude and the velocity of propagation decrease as the ion-acoustic solitary wave propagates into regions of higher density, the effect of a finite ion temperature is to reduce the amplitude but enhance the velocity of propagation of the solitary wave. (author)

On the Use of the Beta Distribution in Probabilistic Resource Assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olea, Ricardo A., E-mail: olea@usgs.gov [U.S. Geological Survey (United States)

2011-12-15

The triangular distribution is a popular choice when it comes to modeling bounded continuous random variables. Its wide acceptance derives mostly from its simple analytic properties and the ease with which modelers can specify its three parameters through the extremes and the mode. On the negative side, hardly any real process follows a triangular distribution, which from the outset puts at a disadvantage any model employing triangular distributions. At a time when numerical techniques such as the Monte Carlo method are displacing analytic approaches in stochastic resource assessments, easy specification remains the most attractive characteristic of the triangular distribution. The beta distribution is another continuous distribution defined within a finite interval offering wider flexibility in style of variation, thus allowing consideration of models in which the random variables closely follow the observed or expected styles of variation. Despite its more complex definition, generation of values following a beta distribution is as straightforward as generating values following a triangular distribution, leaving the selection of parameters as the main impediment to practically considering beta distributions. This contribution intends to promote the acceptance of the beta distribution by explaining its properties and offering several suggestions to facilitate the specification of its two shape parameters. In general, given the same distributional parameters, use of the beta distributions in stochastic modeling may yield significantly different results, yet better estimates, than the triangular distribution.

On the Use of the Beta Distribution in Probabilistic Resource Assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olea, Ricardo A.

2011-01-01

The triangular distribution is a popular choice when it comes to modeling bounded continuous random variables. Its wide acceptance derives mostly from its simple analytic properties and the ease with which modelers can specify its three parameters through the extremes and the mode. On the negative side, hardly any real process follows a triangular distribution, which from the outset puts at a disadvantage any model employing triangular distributions. At a time when numerical techniques such as the Monte Carlo method are displacing analytic approaches in stochastic resource assessments, easy specification remains the most attractive characteristic of the triangular distribution. The beta distribution is another continuous distribution defined within a finite interval offering wider flexibility in style of variation, thus allowing consideration of models in which the random variables closely follow the observed or expected styles of variation. Despite its more complex definition, generation of values following a beta distribution is as straightforward as generating values following a triangular distribution, leaving the selection of parameters as the main impediment to practically considering beta distributions. This contribution intends to promote the acceptance of the beta distribution by explaining its properties and offering several suggestions to facilitate the specification of its two shape parameters. In general, given the same distributional parameters, use of the beta distributions in stochastic modeling may yield significantly different results, yet better estimates, than the triangular distribution.

Effects of concomitant use of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 with beta-tricalcium phosphate ({beta}-TCP) on the beagle dog 1-wall periodontal defect model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anzai, Jun, E-mail: anzai_jun@kaken.co.jp [Pharmacology Department, Central Research Laboratories, Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 14, Shinomiya, Minamigawara-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8042 (Japan); Department of Periodontology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Kitamura, Masahiro, E-mail: kitamura@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp [Department of Periodontology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Nozaki, Takenori, E-mail: tnozaki@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp [Department of Periodontology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Nagayasu, Toshie, E-mail: nagayasu_toshie@kaken.co.jp [Pharmacology Department, Central Research Laboratories, Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 14, Shinomiya, Minamigawara-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8042 (Japan); Terashima, Akio, E-mail: terashima_akio@kaken.co.jp [Pharmacology Department, Central Research Laboratories, Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 14, Shinomiya, Minamigawara-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8042 (Japan); Asano, Taiji, E-mail: asano_taiji@kaken.co.jp [Pharmacology Department, Central Research Laboratories, Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 14, Shinomiya, Minamigawara-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto 607-8042 (Japan); Murakami, Shinya, E-mail: ipshinya@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp [Department of Periodontology, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)

2010-12-17

Research highlights: {yields} Concomitant use of FGF-2 and {beta}-TCP (an osteo-conductive scaffold) significantly promotes periodontal regeneration in the severe periodontitis model (1-wall defect model) of beagle dog. {yields} FGF-2 enhanced new bone formation via {beta}-TCP at the defects. {yields} In particular, FGF-2 dramatically regenerated new periodontal ligament and cementum formations at the defects, that is one of the most important healing outcomes during the process of periodontal regeneration. {yields} Epithelial downgrowth (undesirable wound healing) was decreased by administration of FGF-2. {yields} This manuscript indicates for the first time that concomitant use of FGF-2 and {beta}-TCP is efficacious in regenerating periodontal tissue following severe destruction of the tissue by progression of periodontitis. -- Abstract: The effects of concomitant use of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and beta-tricalcium phosphate ({beta}-TCP) on periodontal regeneration were investigated in the beagle dog 1-wall periodontal defect model. One-wall periodontal defects were created in the mesial portion of both sides of the mandibular first molars, and 0.3% FGF-2 plus {beta}-TCP or {beta}-TCP alone was administered. Radiographic evaluation was performed at 0, 3, and 6 weeks. At 6 weeks, the periodontium with the defect site was removed and histologically analyzed. Radiographic findings showed that co-administration of FGF-2 significantly increased bone mineral contents of the defect sites compared with {beta}-TCP alone. Histologic analysis revealed that the length of the regenerated periodontal ligament, the cementum, distance to the junctional epithelium, new bone height, and area of newly formed bone were significantly increased in the FGF-2 group. No abnormal inflammatory response or ankylosis was observed in either group. These findings indicate the efficacy of concomitant use of FGF-2 and {beta}-TCP as an osteoconductive material for periodontal

Effect of Ionizing Beta Radiation on the Mechanical Properties of Poly(ethylene under Thermal Stress

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Bednarik Martin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available It was found in this study, that ionizing beta radiation has a positive effect on the mechanical properties of poly(ethylene. In recent years, there have been increasing requirements for quality and cost effectiveness of manufactured products in all areas of industrial production. These requirements are best met with the polymeric materials, which have many advantages in comparison to traditional materials. The main advantages of polymer materials are especially in their ease of processability, availability, and price of the raw materials. Radiation crosslinking is one of the ways to give the conventional plastics mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of expensive and highly resistant construction polymers. Several types of ionizing radiation are used for crosslinking of polymers. Each of them has special characteristics. Electron beta and photon gamma radiation are used the most frequently. The great advantage is that the crosslinking occurs after the manufacturing process at normal temperature and pressure. The main purpose of this paper has been to determine the effect of ionizing beta radiation on the tensile modulus, strength and elongation of low and high density polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE. These properties were examined in dependence on the dosage of the ionizing beta radiation (non-irradiated samples and those irradiated by dosage 99 kGy were compared and on the test temperature. Radiation cross-linking of LDPE and HDPE results in increased tensile strength and modulus, and decreased of elongation. The measured results indicate that ionizing beta radiation treatment is effective tool for improvement of mechanical properties of LDPE and HDPE under thermal stress.

Biological effect of low-dose application beta-radiation on the gingival mucosa of dogs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ippolitov, Yu.A.; Kovtun, N.N.; Timofeev, L.V.

1999-01-01

Biological effect of low-dose application beta-radiation on the gingival mucosa of dogs is studied. Obtained data illustrate the interactions between tissues in local exposure of live tissue to beta-radiation and determine the threshold total dose as 400 sGy. Higher doses lead to secondary changes in the gingival mucosa after which the tissue barrier does not recover [ru

Interactions between two beta-sheets. Energetics of beta/beta packing in proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, K C; Némethy, G; Rumsey, S; Tuttle, R W; Scheraga, H A

1986-04-20

The analysis of the interactions between regularly folded segments of the polypeptide chain contributes to an understanding of the energetics of protein folding. Conformational energy-minimization calculations have been carried out to determine the favorable ways of packing two right-twisted beta-sheets. The packing of two five-stranded beta-sheets was investigated, with the strands having the composition CH3CO-(L-Ile)6-NHCH3 in one beta-sheet and CH3CO-(L-Val)6-NHCH3 in the other. Two distinct classes of low-energy packing arrangements were found. In the class with lowest energies, the strands of the two beta-sheets are aligned nearly parallel (or antiparallel) with each other, with a preference for a negative orientation angle, because this arrangement corresponds to the best complementary packing of the two twisted saddle-shaped beta-sheets. In the second class, with higher interaction energies, the strands of the two beta-sheets are oriented nearly perpendicular to each other. While the surfaces of the two beta-sheets are not complementary in this arrangement, there is good packing between the corner of one beta-sheet and the interior part of the surface of the other, resulting in a favorable energy of packing. Both classes correspond to frequently observed orientations of beta-sheets in proteins. In proteins, the second class of packing is usually observed when the two beta-sheets are covalently linked, i.e. when a polypeptide strand passes from one beta-sheet to the other, but we have shown here that a large contribution to the stabilization of this packing arrangement arises from noncovalent interactions.

Interaction with beta-arrestin determines the difference in internalization behavor between beta1- and beta2-adrenergic receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiina, T; Kawasaki, A; Nagao, T; Kurose, H

2000-09-15

The beta(1)-adrenergic receptor (beta(1)AR) shows the resistance to agonist-induced internalization. As beta-arrestin is important for internalization, we examine the interaction of beta-arrestin with beta(1)AR with three different methods: intracellular trafficking of beta-arrestin, binding of in vitro translated beta-arrestin to intracellular domains of beta(1)- and beta(2)ARs, and inhibition of betaAR-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities by beta-arrestin. The green fluorescent protein-tagged beta-arrestin 2 translocates to and stays at the plasma membrane by beta(2)AR stimulation. Although green fluorescent protein-tagged beta-arrestin 2 also translocates to the plasma membrane, it returns to the cytoplasm 10-30 min after beta(1)AR stimulation. The binding of in vitro translated beta-arrestin 1 and beta-arrestin 2 to the third intracellular loop and the carboxyl tail of beta(1)AR is lower than that of beta(2)AR. The fusion protein of beta-arrestin 1 with glutathione S-transferase inhibits the beta(1)- and beta(2)AR-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities, although inhibition of the beta(1)AR-stimulated activity requires a higher concentration of the fusion protein than that of the beta(2)AR-stimulated activity. These results suggest that weak interaction of beta(1)AR with beta-arrestins explains the resistance to agonist-induced internalization. This is further supported by the finding that beta-arrestin can induce internalization of beta(1)AR when beta-arrestin 1 does not dissociate from beta(1)AR by fusing to the carboxyl tail of beta(1)AR.

Boosted beta regression.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Schmid

Full Text Available Regression analysis with a bounded outcome is a common problem in applied statistics. Typical examples include regression models for percentage outcomes and the analysis of ratings that are measured on a bounded scale. In this paper, we consider beta regression, which is a generalization of logit models to situations where the response is continuous on the interval (0,1. Consequently, beta regression is a convenient tool for analyzing percentage responses. The classical approach to fit a beta regression model is to use maximum likelihood estimation with subsequent AIC-based variable selection. As an alternative to this established - yet unstable - approach, we propose a new estimation technique called boosted beta regression. With boosted beta regression estimation and variable selection can be carried out simultaneously in a highly efficient way. Additionally, both the mean and the variance of a percentage response can be modeled using flexible nonlinear covariate effects. As a consequence, the new method accounts for common problems such as overdispersion and non-binomial variance structures.

Populational Growth Models Proportional to Beta Densities with Allee Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Aleixo, Sandra M.; Rocha, J. Leonel; Pestana, Dinis D.

2009-05-01

We consider populations growth models with Allee effect, proportional to beta densities with shape parameters p and 2, where the dynamical complexity is related with the Malthusian parameter r. For p>2, these models exhibit a population dynamics with natural Allee effect. However, in the case of 1effect. In order to inforce it, we present some alternative models and investigate their dynamics, presenting some important results.

Effect of beta limits on reactor performance in EBT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uckan, N.A.; Spong, D.A.; Nelson, D.B.

1981-01-01

Because of uncertainties in extrapolating results of simplified models to a reactor plasma, the parameters that influence the beta limits cannot be determined accurately at the present time. Also, the reasonable changes within the models and/or assumptions are seen to affect the core beta limits by almost an order of magnitde. Hence, at the present, these limits cannot be used as a rigid (and reliable) requirement for ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT) reactor engineering considerations. However, sensitivity studies can be carried out to determine the boundaries of the operating regime and to demonstrate the effects of various modes, assumptions, and models on reactor performance (Q value). First, the modes believed to limit the core β and ring plasma performance are discussed, and the simplifications and/or assumptions involved in deriving these limits are highlighted. Then, the implications of these limits for a reactor are given

Finite size effects and symmetry breaking in the evolution of networks of competing Boolean nodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, M; Bassler, K E

2011-01-01

Finite size effects on the evolutionary dynamics of Boolean networks are analyzed. In the model considered, Boolean networks evolve via a competition between nodes that punishes those in the majority. Previous studies have found that large networks evolve to a statistical steady state that is both critical and highly canalized, and that the evolution of canalization, which is a form of robustness found in genetic regulatory networks, is associated with a particular symmetry of the evolutionary dynamics. Here, it is found that finite size networks evolve in a fundamentally different way than infinitely large networks do. The symmetry of the evolutionary dynamics of infinitely large networks that selects for canalizing Boolean functions is broken in the evolutionary dynamics of finite size networks. In finite size networks, there is an additional selection for input-inverting Boolean functions that output a value opposite to the majority of input values. The reason for the symmetry breaking in the evolutionary dynamics is found to be due to the need for nodes in finite size networks to behave differently in order to cooperate so that the system collectively performs as efficiently as possible. The results suggest that both finite size effects and symmetry are fundamental for understanding the evolution of real-world complex networks, including genetic regulatory networks.

Strategic Design of an Effective beta-Lactamase Inhibitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pattanaik, P.; Bethel, C; Hujer, A; Hujer, K; Distler, A; Taracila, M; Anderson, V; Fritsche, T; Jones, R; et. al.

2009-01-01

In an effort to devise strategies for overcoming bacterial beta-lactamases, we studied LN-1-255, a 6-alkylidene-2'-substituted penicillin sulfone inhibitor. By possessing a catecholic functionality that resembles a natural bacterial siderophore, LN-1-255 is unique among beta-lactamase inhibitors. LN-1-255 combined with piperacillin was more potent against Escherichia coli DH10B strains bearing bla(SHV) extended-spectrum and inhibitor-resistant beta-lactamases than an equivalent amount of tazobactam and piperacillin. In addition, LN-1-255 significantly enhanced the activity of ceftazidime and cefpirome against extended-spectrum cephalosporin and Sme-1 containing carbapenem-resistant clinical strains. LN-1-255 inhibited SHV-1 and SHV-2 beta-lactamases with nm affinity (K(I) = 110 +/- 10 and 100 +/- 10 nm, respectively). When LN-1-255 inactivated SHV beta-lactamases, a single intermediate was detected by mass spectrometry. The crystal structure of LN-1-255 in complex with SHV-1 was determined at 1.55A resolution. Interestingly, this novel inhibitor forms a bicyclic aromatic intermediate with its carbonyl oxygen pointing out of the oxyanion hole and forming hydrogen bonds with Lys-234 and Ser-130 in the active site. Electron density for the 'tail' of LN-1-255 is less ordered and modeled in two conformations. Both conformations have the LN-1-255 carboxyl group interacting with Arg-244, yet the remaining tails of the two conformations diverge. The observed presence of the bicyclic aromatic intermediate with its carbonyl oxygen positioned outside of the oxyanion hole provides a rationale for the stability of this inhibitory intermediate. The 2'-substituted penicillin sulfone, LN-1-255, is proving to be an important lead compound for novel beta-lactamase inhibitor design.

Effects of Two Surfactants and Beta-Cyclodextrin on Beta-Cypermethrin Degradation by Bacillus licheniformis B-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jiayuan; Chi, Yuanlong; Liu, Fangfang; Jia, Dongying; Yao, Kai

2015-12-23

The biodegradation efficiency of beta-cypermethrin (β-CY) is low especially at high concentrations mainly due to poor contact between this hydrophobic pesticide and microbial cells. In this study, the effects of two biodegradable surfactants (Tween-80 and Brij-35) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) on the growth and cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of Bacillus licheniformis B-1 were studied. Furthermore, their effects on the solubility, biosorption, and degradation of β-CY were investigated. The results showed that Tween-80 could slightly promote the growth of the strain while Brij-35 and β-CD exhibited little effect on its growth. The CSH of strain B-1 and the solubility of β-CY were obviously changed by using Tween-80 and Brij-35. The surfactants and β-CD could enhance β-CY biosorption and degradation by the strain, and the highest degradation was obtained in the presence of Brij-35. When the surfactant or β-CD concentration was 2.4 g/L, the degradation rate of β-CY in Brij-35, Tween-80, and β-CD treatments was 89.4%, 50.5%, and 48.1%, respectively. The half-life of β-CY by using Brij-35 was shortened by 69.1 h. Beta-CY content in the soil with both strain B-1 and Brij-35 decreased from 22.29 mg/kg to 4.41 mg/kg after incubation for 22 d. This work can provide a promising approach for the efficient degradation of pyrethroid pesticides by microorganisms.

A Novel Dimeric Inhibitor Targeting Beta2GPI in Beta2GPI/Antibody Complexes Implicated in Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A Kolyada; C Lee; A De Biasio; N Beglova

2011-12-31

{beta}2GPI is a major antigen for autoantibodies associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), an autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis and recurrent pregnancy loss. Only the dimeric form of {beta}2GPI generated by anti-{beta}2GPI antibodies is pathologically important, in contrast to monomeric {beta}2GPI which is abundant in plasma. We created a dimeric inhibitor, A1-A1, to selectively target {beta}2GPI in {beta}2GPI/antibody complexes. To make this inhibitor, we isolated the first ligand-binding module from ApoER2 (A1) and connected two A1 modules with a flexible linker. A1-A1 interferes with two pathologically important interactions in APS, the binding of {beta}2GPI/antibody complexes with anionic phospholipids and ApoER2. We compared the efficiency of A1-A1 to monomeric A1 for inhibition of the binding of {beta}2GPI/antibody complexes to anionic phospholipids. We tested the inhibition of {beta}2GPI present in human serum, {beta}2GPI purified from human plasma and the individual domain V of {beta}2GPI. We demonstrated that when {beta}2GPI/antibody complexes are formed, A1-A1 is much more effective than A1 in inhibition of the binding of {beta}2GPI to cardiolipin, regardless of the source of {beta}2GPI. Similarly, A1-A1 strongly inhibits the binding of dimerized domain V of {beta}2GPI to cardiolipin compared to the monomeric A1 inhibitor. In the absence of anti-{beta}2GPI antibodies, both A1-A1 and A1 only weakly inhibit the binding of pathologically inactive monomeric {beta}2GPI to cardiolipin. Our results suggest that the approach of using a dimeric inhibitor to block {beta}2GPI in the pathological multivalent {beta}2GPI/antibody complexes holds significant promise. The novel inhibitor A1-A1 may be a starting point in the development of an effective therapeutic for antiphospholipid syndrome.

Effects of ethanol on pancreatic beta-cell death: interaction with glucose and fatty acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Dembele, Korami; Nguyen, K Hoa; Hernandez, Tiffany A; Nyomba, B L Grégoire

2009-04-01

Western lifestyle plays an important role in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes by causing insulin resistance and pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction, a prerequisite for the development of diabetes. High fat diet and alcohol are major components of the western diet. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of ethanol and fatty acids on beta-cell survival and metabolism. We treated the rat beta-cell line RINm5F with ethanol, a mixture of palmitic and oleic acids, or both. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined by (5-(and-6)-chloromethyl-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate) (CM-H2DCFDA) fluorescence assay, and mitochondrial activity was assessed by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay and by determining ATP production. Cell viability was assessed with a cell counter and trypan blue exclusion, and the mode of cell death by Hoechst33342 and propidium iodide staining. With both ethanol and fatty acid treatments, MTT reduction and ATP production decreased, whereas ROS production increased. Ethanol treatment had no effect on cell number, whereas fatty acid treatment reduced the cell number. Cell incubation with ethanol, fatty acids, or both increased the number of Hoechst 33342-positive nuclei. However, the majority of nuclei from fatty acid-treated cells were stained with propidium iodide, indicating a loss of plasma membrane integrity. We conclude that both ethanol and fatty acids generate cellular oxidative stress, and affect mitochondrial function in RINm5F beta-cells. However, ethanol causes beta-cell death by apoptosis, whereas fatty acids cause cell death predominantly by necrosis. It is not known whether these results are applicable to human beta-cells.

Evaluation of partial beta-adrenoceptor agonist activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipworth, B J; Grove, A

1997-01-01

A partial beta-adrenoceptor (beta-AR) agonist will exhibit opposite agonist and antagonist activity depending on the prevailing degree of adrenergic tone or the presence of a beta-AR agonist with higher intrinsic activity. In vivo partial beta-AR agonist activity will be evident at rest with low endogenous adrenergic tone, as for example with chronotropicity (beta 1/beta 2), inotropicity (beta 1) or peripheral vasodilatation and finger tremor (beta 2). beta-AR blocking drugs which have partial agonist activity may exhibit a better therapeutic profile when used for hypertension because of maintained cardiac output without increased systemic vascular resistance, along with an improved lipid profile. In the presence of raised endogenous adrenergic tone such as exercise or an exogenous full agonist, beta-AR subtype antagonist activity will become evident in terms of effects on exercise induced heart rate (beta 1) and potassium (beta 2) responses. Reduction of exercise heart rate will occur to a lesser degree in the case of a beta-adrenoceptor blocker with partial beta 1-AR agonist activity compared with a beta-adrenoceptor blocker devoid of partial agonist activity. This may result in reduced therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of angina on effort when using beta-AR blocking drugs with partial beta 1-AR agonist activity. Effects on exercise hyperkalaemia are determined by the balance between beta 2-AR partial agonist activity and endogenous adrenergic activity. For predominantly beta 2-AR agonist such as salmeterol and salbutamol, potentiation of exercise hyperkalaemia occurs. For predominantly beta 2-AR antagonists such as carteolol, either potentiation or attenuation of exercise hyperkalaemia occurs at low and high doses respectively. beta 2-AR partial agonist activity may also be expressed as antagonism in the presence of an exogenous full agonist, as for example attenuation of fenoterol induced responses by salmeterol. Studies are required to investigate whether

Effect of Hall Current and Finite Larmor Radius Corrections on ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy; Volume 37; Issue 3. Effect of Hall Current and Finite Larmor Radius Corrections on Thermal Instability of Radiative Plasma for Star Formation in Interstellar Medium (ISM). Sachin Kaothekar. Research Article Volume 37 Issue 3 September 2016 Article ID 23 ...

Molecular effects in the neutrino mass determination from beta-decay of the tritium molecule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fackler, O.; Jeziorski, B.; Kolos, W.; Szalewicz, K.; Monkhorst, H.J.; Mugge, M.

1986-03-01

Molecular final state energies and transition probabilities have been computed for beta-decay of the tritium molecule. The results are of sufficient accuracy to make a determination of the electron neutrino rest mass with an error not exceeding a few tenths of an electron volt. Effects of approximate models of tritium beta-decay on the neutrino mass determination are discussed. 14 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

Effects of transforming growth factor-beta on growth and differentiation of the continuous rat thyroid follicular cell line, FRTL-5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, J.C. III; Ranganathan, G.; Hay, I.D.; Nelson, R.E.; Jiang, N.S.

1988-01-01

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) has been shown to influence the growth and differentiation of many widely varied cell types in vitro, including some that are endocrinologically active. We have investigated the previously unknown effects of this unique growth factor in the differentiated rat thyroid follicular cell line FRTL-5. The cells demonstrated specific, high affinity binding of TGF beta, and as with other epithelial cells, the growth of these thyroid follicular cells was potently inhibited by addition of TGF beta to the culture medium. TGF beta caused a significant reduction in TSH-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity in the cells. The addition of (Bu)2cAMP along with the growth factor to cultures partially reversed the characteristic morphological changes seen with TGF beta, but did not reverse the growth inhibition. To further investigate the possible mechanisms of the effects of TGF beta on the cells, we measured the influence of the growth factor on [125I]TSH binding. TGF beta did not compete for specific TSH-binding sites; however, exposure of the cells to TGF beta for 12 or more h resulted in a dose-dependent down-regulation of TSH receptors that was fully reversible. While cellular proliferation was potently inhibited by TGF beta, differentiated function, as manifest by iodine-trapping ability, was stimulated by the growth factor. This stimulation of iodine uptake was independent of, and additive to, the stimulatory effects of TSH. Finally, FRTL-5 cells in serum-free medium and in response to TSH were shown to secrete TGF beta-like activity that competed for [125I]TGF beta in a RRA. These studies suggest that TGF beta may represent an autocrine mechanism of controlling the growth response to TSH in thyroid follicular cells, while allowing the continuance of differentiated function

Theoretical studies of finite size effects and screening effects caused by a STM tip in Luettinger liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guigou, Marine

2009-01-01

This thesis takes place in the field of condensed matter. More precisely, we focus on the finite size effects and the screening effects caused by a STM tip in a quantum wire. For that, we use, first, the Luettinger liquid theory, which allows to describe strongly correlated systems and secondly, the Keldysh formalism, which is necessary to treat the out-of-equilibrium systems. For these studies, we consider, the currant, the noise and the conductance. The noise presents a non-Poissonian behaviour, when finite size effects appear. Through the photo-assisted transport, it is shown that those effects hide the effects of the Coulomb interactions. Considering the proximity between the STM tip, used as a probe or as an injector, and a quantum wire, screening effects appear. We can conclude that they play a similar role to those of Coulomb interactions. (author) [fr

Challenges in Double Beta Decay

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Oliviero Cremonesi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the past ten years, neutrino oscillation experiments have provided the incontrovertible evidence that neutrinos mix and have finite masses. These results represent the strongest demonstration that the electroweak Standard Model is incomplete and that new Physics beyond it must exist. In this scenario, a unique role is played by the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay searches which can probe lepton number conservation and investigate the Dirac/Majorana nature of the neutrinos and their absolute mass scale (hierarchy problem with unprecedented sensitivity. Today Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay faces a new era where large-scale experiments with a sensitivity approaching the so-called degenerate-hierarchy region are nearly ready to start and where the challenge for the next future is the construction of detectors characterized by a tonne-scale size and an incredibly low background. A number of new proposed projects took up this challenge. These are based either on large expansions of the present experiments or on new ideas to improve the technical performance and/or reduce the background contributions. In this paper, a review of the most relevant ongoing experiments is given. The most relevant parameters contributing to the experimental sensitivity are discussed and a critical comparison of the future projects is proposed.

Calculating beta decay in the deformed self-consistent quasiparticle random phase approximation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engel, Jonathan, E-mail: engelj@physics.unc.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255 (United States); Mustonen, M. T., E-mail: mika.mustonen@yale.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255 (United States); Center for Theoretical Physics, Sloane Physics Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06052 (United States)

2016-06-21

We discuss a recent global calculation of beta-decay rates in the self-consistent Skyrme quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA), with axially symmetric nuclear deformation treated explicitly. The calculation makes makes use of the finite-amplitude method, first proposed by Nakatsukasa and collaborators, to reduce computation time. The results are comparable in quality to those of several other global QRPA calculations. The QRPA may have reached the limit of its accuracy.

Characterization of GLP-1 effects on beta-cell function after meal ingestion in humans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahrén, Bo; Holst, Jens Juul; Mari, Andrea

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is an incretin that augments insulin secretion after meal intake and is developed for treatment of type 2 diabetes. As a novel therapeutic agent, characteristics of its beta-cell effects are important to establish. Previously, beta-cell effects of GLP-1...... have been characterized in humans during graded intravenous infusions of glucose, whereas its effects after more physiological stimuli, like meal intake, are not known. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Eight women (aged 69 years, fasting glucose 3.7-10.3 mmol/l, BMI 22.4-43.9 kg/m(2)) who had fasted...... meal augments insulin secretion in humans by a dose...

Effect of sodium bicarbonate and Beta-alanine on repeated sprints during intermittent exercise performed in hypoxia.

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Bryan; Sale, Craig; Harris, Roger C; Sunderland, Caroline

2014-04-01

To investigate the separate and combined effects of sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine supplementation on repeated sprints during simulated match play performed in hypoxia. Study A: 20 recreationally active participants performed two trials following acute supplementation with either sodium bicarbonate (0.3 g·kg-1BM) or placebo (maltodextrin). Study B: 16 recreationally active participants were supplemented with either a placebo or beta-alanine for 5 weeks (6.4 g·day-1 for 4 weeks, 3.2 g·day-1 for 1 week), and performed one trial before supplementation (with maltodextrin) and two following supplementation (with sodium bicarbonate and maltodextrin). Trials consisted of 3 sets of 5 × 6 s repeated sprints performed during a football specific intermittent treadmill protocol performed in hypoxia (15.5% O2). Mean (MPO) and peak (PPO) power output were recorded as the performance measures. Study A: Overall MPO was lower with sodium bicarbonate than placebo (p = .02, 539.4 ± 84.5 vs. 554.0 ± 84.6 W), although there was no effect across sets (all p > .05). Study B: There was no effect of beta-alanine, or cosupplementation with sodium bicarbonate, on either parameter, although there was a trend toward higher MPO with sodium bicarbonate (p = .07). The effect of sodium bicarbonate on repeated sprints was equivocal, although there was no effect of beta-alanine or cosupplementation with sodium bicarbonate. Individual variation may have contributed to differences in results with sodium bicarbonate, although the lack of an effect with beta-alanine suggests this type of exercise may not be influenced by increased buffering capacity.

Intracerebral beta-endorphin, met-enkephalin and morphine: kindling of seizures and handling-induced potentiation of epileptiform effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, D P; Corcoran, M E

1984-06-18

The effects of repeated infusion of small, initially subconvulsive amounts of beta-endorphin, met-enkephalin or morphine sulfate into the amygdala and hippocampus were investigated. beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin evoked epileptiform spiking when infused into the posterior amygdala or ventral hippocampus. Morphine evoked epileptiform spiking when infused into the anterior amygdala. Naloxone blocked or terminated the spiking. Repetition of the infusions led to the gradual development of bilateral generalized convulsions by beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin and to the development of tolerance to morphine. An unexpected observation was that handling, immobilization or conspecific threat potentiated the epileptiform effects of beta-endorphin and morphine in many cases. These results suggest that endogenous opiate mechanisms might play a role in convulsive seizures and that stressful stimuli can exacerbate opiate seizures.

The Beta intervalling effect during a deep economic crisis - evidence from Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgios Mantsios

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The intervalling effect bias of beta refers to the sensitivity of beta estimation with respect to the reference time interval on which returns are measured and its manifestation may indicate the degree of market inefficiencies. The purpose of this paper is to study the intervalling effect bias within an environment and during a sample period that embraces the evolution of a deep economic crisis and show in particular that its intensity is profoundly magnified. Design/methodology/approach – The Athens Stock Exchange is studied via the market model during the sample period 2007-2012 that embraces the Greek debt restructuring. Two portfolios are formed to distinguish between large and small market capitalizations, three reference intervals are considered for measurement of returns (daily, weekly, monthly and the respective betas are calculated via OLS simple regression. The results are compared to similar studies. The results are further confirmed by using a second proxy for the market portfolio. Findings – The intensity of the intervalling effect bias was very pronounced during this sample period with regard to all aspects of the phenomenon that similar studies have reported and to which the results of this paper are compared. Originality/value – This is the first time that the intervalling effect is examined in conjunction to a deep economic crisis environment. The intensity of the intervalling effect reflects the depth of the inefficiencies of a market for some period. As a consequence, some function measuring this intensity may be devised to serve as a measure of market inefficiencies.

Iterative optimized effective potential and exact exchange calculations at finite temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattsson, Ann Elisabet; Modine, Normand Arthur; Muller, Richard Partain; Desjarlais, Michael Paul; Lippert, Ross A.; Sears, Mark P.; Wright, Alan Francis

2006-01-01

We report the implementation of an iterative scheme for calculating the Optimized Effective Potential (OEP). Given an energy functional that depends explicitly on the Kohn-Sham wave functions, and therefore, implicitly on the local effective potential appearing in the Kohn-Sham equations, a gradient-based minimization is used to find the potential that minimizes the energy. Previous work has shown how to find the gradient of such an energy with respect to the effective potential in the zero-temperature limit. We discuss a density-matrix-based derivation of the gradient that generalizes the previous results to the finite temperature regime, and we describe important optimizations used in our implementation. We have applied our OEP approach to the Hartree-Fock energy expression to perform Exact Exchange (EXX) calculations. We report our EXX results for common semiconductors and ordered phases of hydrogen at zero and finite electronic temperatures. We also discuss issues involved in the implementation of forces within the OEP/EXX approach.

Gender effects on treatment response to interferon-beta in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Magyari, M; Koch-Henriksen, N; Laursen, B

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Gender appears to play a role in incidence and disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine whether male and female patients with MS respond differently to interferon-beta treatment in terms of reduction in relapse rates. METHODS: We included all....... Patients served as their own controls, and relapse rates were compared between NAb-negative and NAb-positive periods. RESULTS: NAbs significantly abrogated the interferon-beta treatment efficacy in both genders. The all-over women:men relapse rate ratio irrespective of NAb status was 1.47 (95%CI; 1.......28-1.68). In a generalized linear Poisson models analysis with relapse counts as response variable, the main effects NAbs, sex, age at treatment start and number of relapses in 2 years before treatment start were strongly significant, but the effect of NAbs on relapse rates did not differ significantly between men and women...

Compressibility, zero sound, and effective mass of a fermionic dipolar gas at finite temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kestner, J. P.; Das Sarma, S.

2010-01-01

The compressibility, zero-sound dispersion, and effective mass of a gas of fermionic dipolar molecules is calculated at finite temperature for one-, two-, and three-dimensional uniform systems, and in a multilayer quasi-two-dimensional system. The compressibility is nonmonotonic in the reduced temperature, T/T F , exhibiting a maximum at finite temperature. This effect might be visible in a quasi-low-dimensional experiment, providing a clear signature of the onset of many-body quantum degeneracy effects. The collective mode dispersion and effective mass show similar nontrivial temperature and density dependence. In a quasi-low-dimensional system, the zero-sound mode may propagate at experimentally attainable temperatures.

Finite Range Effects in Energies and Recombination Rates of Three Identical Bosons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Peder Klokmose; V. Fedorov, D.; S. Jensen, A.

2013-01-01

is large. The models are built on contact potentials which take into account finite range effects; one is a two-channel model and the other is an effective range expansion model implemented through the boundary condition on the three-body wave function when two of the particles are at the same point...... in space. We compare the results with the results of the ubiquitous single-parameter zero-range model where only the scattering length is taken into account. Both finite range models predict variations of the well-known geometric scaling factor 22.7 that arises in Efimov physics. The threshold value...... at negative scattering length for creation of a bound trimer moves to higher or lower values depending on the sign of the effective range compared to the location of the threshold for the single-parameter zero-range model. Large effective ranges, corresponding to narrow resonances, are needed...

Partitioning diversity into independent alpha and beta components.

Science.gov (United States)

Jost, Lou

2007-10-01

Existing general definitions of beta diversity often produce a beta with a hidden dependence on alpha. Such a beta cannot be used to compare regions that differ in alpha diversity. To avoid misinterpretation, existing definitions of alpha and beta must be replaced by a definition that partitions diversity into independent alpha and beta components. Such a unique definition is derived here. When these new alpha and beta components are transformed into their numbers equivalents (effective numbers of elements), Whittaker's multiplicative law (alpha x beta = gamma) is necessarily true for all indices. The new beta gives the effective number of distinct communities. The most popular similarity and overlap measures of ecology (Jaccard, Sorensen, Horn, and Morisita-Horn indices) are monotonic transformations of the new beta diversity. Shannon measures follow deductively from this formalism and do not need to be borrowed from information theory; they are shown to be the only standard diversity measures which can be decomposed into meaningful independent alpha and beta components when community weights are unequal.

Endogenous PKI gamma limits the duration of the anti-apoptotic effects of PTH and beta-adrenergic agonists in osteoblasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xin; Song, In-Hwan; Dennis, James E; Greenfield, Edward M

2007-05-01

PKI gamma knockdown substantially extended the anti-apoptotic effects of PTH and beta-adrenergic agonists, whereas PKI gamma overexpression decreased these effects. Therefore, inhibition of PKI gamma activity may provide a useful co-therapy in combination with intermittent PTH or beta-adrenergic agonists for bone loss in conditions such as osteoporosis. PTH has both catabolic and anabolic effects on bone, which are primarily caused by cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling and regulation of gene expression. We previously showed that protein kinase inhibitor-gamma (PKI gamma) is required for efficient termination of cAMP/PKA signaling and gene expression after stimulation with PTH or beta-adrenergic agonists. Inhibition of osteoblast apoptosis is thought to be an important, but transient, mechanism partly responsible for the anabolic effects of intermittent PTH. Therefore, we hypothesized that endogenous PKI gamma also terminates the anti-apoptotic effect of PTH. PKI gamma knockdown by antisense transfection or siRNA was used to examine the ability of endogenous PKI gamma to modulate the anti-apoptotic effects of PTH and beta-adrenergic agonists in ROS 17/2.8 cells. Knockdown of PKI gamma substantially extended the anti-apoptotic effects of PTH, whether apoptosis was induced by etoposide or dexamethasone. In contrast, overexpression of PKI gamma decreased the anti-apoptotic effect of PTH pretreatment. This study is also the first demonstration that beta-adrenergic agonists mimic the anti-apoptotic effects of PTH in osteoblasts. Moreover, PKI gamma knockdown also substantially extended this anti-apoptotic effect of beta-adrenergic agonists. Taken together, these results show that endogenous PKI gamma limits the duration of the anti-apoptotic effects of cAMP/PKA signaling in osteoblasts. Because significant individual variability exists in the anabolic responses to PTH therapy in current clinical treatment of osteoporosis, inhibition of PKI gamma activity may provide a

On the Use of the Beta Distribution in Probabilistic Resource Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Olea, R.A.

2011-01-01

The triangular distribution is a popular choice when it comes to modeling bounded continuous random variables. Its wide acceptance derives mostly from its simple analytic properties and the ease with which modelers can specify its three parameters through the extremes and the mode. On the negative side, hardly any real process follows a triangular distribution, which from the outset puts at a disadvantage any model employing triangular distributions. At a time when numerical techniques such as the Monte Carlo method are displacing analytic approaches in stochastic resource assessments, easy specification remains the most attractive characteristic of the triangular distribution. The beta distribution is another continuous distribution defined within a finite interval offering wider flexibility in style of variation, thus allowing consideration of models in which the random variables closely follow the observed or expected styles of variation. Despite its more complex definition, generation of values following a beta distribution is as straightforward as generating values following a triangular distribution, leaving the selection of parameters as the main impediment to practically considering beta distributions. This contribution intends to promote the acceptance of the beta distribution by explaining its properties and offering several suggestions to facilitate the specification of its two shape parameters. In general, given the same distributional parameters, use of the beta distributions in stochastic modeling may yield significantly different results, yet better estimates, than the triangular distribution. ?? 2011 International Association for Mathematical Geology (outside the USA).

{beta}-decay rates of r-process nuclei in the relativistic quasiparticle random phase approximation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niksic, T.; Marketin, T.; Vretenar, D. [Zagreb Univ. (Croatia). Faculty of Science, Physics Dept.; Paar, N. [Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany). Inst. fuer Kernphysik; Ring, P. [Technische Univ. Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Physik-Department

2004-12-08

The fully consistent relativistic proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation (PN-RQRPA) is employed in the calculation of {beta}-decay half-lives of neutron-rich nuclei in the N{approx}50 and N{approx}82 regions. A new density-dependent effective interaction, with an enhanced value of the nucleon effective mass, is used in relativistic Hartree-Bogolyubov calculation of nuclear ground states and in the particle-hole channel of the PN-RQRPA. The finite range Gogny D1S interaction is employed in the T=1 pairing channel, and the model also includes a proton-neutron particle-particle interaction. The theoretical half-lives reproduce the experimental data for the Fe, Zn, Cd, and Te isotopic chains, but overestimate the lifetimes of Ni isotopes and predict a stable {sup 132}Sn. (orig.)

SUPPRESSION OF DIELECTRONIC RECOMBINATION DUE TO FINITE DENSITY EFFECTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolić, D.; Gorczyca, T. W.; Korista, K. T.; Ferland, G. J.; Badnell, N. R.

2013-01-01

We have developed a general model for determining density-dependent effective dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients in order to explore finite-density effects on the ionization balance of plasmas. Our model consists of multiplying by a suppression factor those highly-accurate total zero-density DR rate coefficients which have been produced from state-of-the-art theoretical calculations and which have been benchmarked by experiment. The suppression factor is based upon earlier detailed collision-radiative calculations which were made for a wide range of ions at various densities and temperatures, but used a simplified treatment of DR. A general suppression formula is then developed as a function of isoelectronic sequence, charge, density, and temperature. These density-dependent effective DR rate coefficients are then used in the plasma simulation code Cloudy to compute ionization balance curves for both collisionally ionized and photoionized plasmas at very low (n e = 1 cm –3 ) and finite (n e = 10 10 cm –3 ) densities. We find that the denser case is significantly more ionized due to suppression of DR, warranting further studies of density effects on DR by detailed collisional-radiative calculations which utilize state-of-the-art partial DR rate coefficients. This is expected to impact the predictions of the ionization balance in denser cosmic gases such as those found in nova and supernova shells, accretion disks, and the broad emission line regions in active galactic nuclei.

Dual aminergic regulation of central beta adrenoceptors. Effect of atypical antidepressants and 5-hydroxytryptophan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manier, D.H.; Gillespie, D.D.; Sulser, F.

1989-01-01

Nonlinear regression analysis of agonist competition binding curves reveals that the [ 3 H]-dihydroalprenolol-labeled receptor population with low affinity for isoproterenol is increased by p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) and this increase is abolished by 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) in vivo. Desipramine (DMI) decreased the beta adrenoceptor population with high agonist affinity to the same degree in PCPA-treated animals as in control animals, thus explaining the reported discrepancy between beta adrenoceptor number and responsiveness of the beta adrenoceptor-coupled adenylate cyclase system. Mianserin also selectively reduced the beta adrenoceptor population with high agonist affinity in membrane preparations of normal animals, whereas fluoxetine selectively abolished the upregulation of the low affinity sites in reserpinized animals and had no effect on either receptor population from brain of normal animals. The results emphasize the importance of nonlinear regression analysis of agonist competition binding for the interpretation of drug action and encourage the pursuit of the molecular neurobiology of the serotonin (5-HT)/norepinephrine (NE) link in brain

Dual aminergic regulation of central beta adrenoceptors. Effect of atypical antidepressants and 5-hydroxytryptophan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manier, D.H.; Gillespie, D.D.; Sulser, F.

1989-06-01

Nonlinear regression analysis of agonist competition binding curves reveals that the (/sup 3/H)-dihydroalprenolol-labeled receptor population with low affinity for isoproterenol is increased by p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) and this increase is abolished by 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) in vivo. Desipramine (DMI) decreased the beta adrenoceptor population with high agonist affinity to the same degree in PCPA-treated animals as in control animals, thus explaining the reported discrepancy between beta adrenoceptor number and responsiveness of the beta adrenoceptor-coupled adenylate cyclase system. Mianserin also selectively reduced the beta adrenoceptor population with high agonist affinity in membrane preparations of normal animals, whereas fluoxetine selectively abolished the upregulation of the low affinity sites in reserpinized animals and had no effect on either receptor population from brain of normal animals. The results emphasize the importance of nonlinear regression analysis of agonist competition binding for the interpretation of drug action and encourage the pursuit of the molecular neurobiology of the serotonin (5-HT)/norepinephrine (NE) link in brain.

Parallel iterative procedures for approximate solutions of wave propagation by finite element and finite difference methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, S. [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

1994-12-31

Parallel iterative procedures based on domain decomposition techniques are defined and analyzed for the numerical solution of wave propagation by finite element and finite difference methods. For finite element methods, in a Lagrangian framework, an efficient way for choosing the algorithm parameter as well as the algorithm convergence are indicated. Some heuristic arguments for finding the algorithm parameter for finite difference schemes are addressed. Numerical results are presented to indicate the effectiveness of the methods.

The potential role of SOCS-3 in the interleukin-1beta-induced desensitization of insulin signaling in pancreatic beta-cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emanuelli, Brice; Glondu, Murielle; Filloux, Chantal

2004-01-01

insulin signaling is required for the optimal beta-cell function, we assessed the effect of IL-1beta on the insulin pathway in a rat pancreatic beta-cell line. We show that IL-1beta decreases insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor (IR) and insulin receptor substrate (IRS...

Finite-thickness effects on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in accelerated elastic solids

Science.gov (United States)

Piriz, S. A.; Piriz, A. R.; Tahir, N. A.

2017-05-01

A physical model has been developed for the linear Rayleigh-Taylor instability of a finite-thickness elastic slab laying on top of a semi-infinite ideal fluid. The model includes the nonideal effects of elasticity as boundary conditions at the top and bottom interfaces of the slab and also takes into account the finite transit time of the elastic waves across the slab thickness. For Atwood number AT=1 , the asymptotic growth rate is found to be in excellent agreement with the exact solution [Plohr and Sharp, Z. Angew. Math. Mech. 49, 786 (1998), 10.1007/s000330050121], and a physical explanation is given for the reduction of the stabilizing effectiveness of the elasticity for the thinner slabs. The feedthrough factor is also calculated.

Finite spatial-volume effect for π-N sigma term in lattice QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukushima, M.; Chiba, S.; Tanigawa, T.

2003-01-01

We report on a finite spatial-volume effect for the pion-nucleon sigma term σ πN for quenched Wilson fermion on 8 3 x 20 and 16 3 x 20 lattices at β = 5.7 with the spatial lattice size of La∼1.12fm and La∼2.24fm, respectively. It is found that the spatial size dependence of the connected part of σ πN con is significant small. We observed the magnitude of finite size effect for the disconnected part of σ πN dis is much larger than for to connected one and an almost drastic decrease of σ πN dis amounting to 50% between La∼2.24fm to the smaller lattice size of La∼1.12fm. (author)

Interaction between corticosteroid and beta-agonist drugs. Biochemical and cardiovascular effects in normal subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, D R; Wilkins, G T; Herbison, G P; Flannery, E M

1992-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the administration of prednisone potentiates any of the acute biochemical and cardiovascular effects of high-dose inhaled beta-agonist drugs. These agents are known to cause dose-related changes in plasma potassium and glucose, as well as ECG changes in heart rate, corrected QT interval (QTc), T wave, and U wave. On theoretical grounds, the concomitant use of systemic corticosteroids might enhance these actions. Twenty-four healthy subjects were randomized to receive one of three treatments: salbutamol 5 mg or fenoterol 5 mg or normal saline solution. Each drug was administered twice, 30 min apart by nebulizer, and the procedure was repeated after each subject had received prednisone 30 mg daily for one week. Plasma potassium and glucose levels were measured, and ECGs were obtained after each treatment, together with 12-h Holter monitoring for arrhythmias. Changes in plasma potassium and glucose following nebulized beta-agonist were significantly greater after treatment with prednisone. Baseline potassium level fell from 3.75 mmol/L (95 percent CI 3.61, 3.89) to 3.50 mmol/L (95 percent CI 3.36, 3.64), and thereafter all values were significantly lower at each time point (p = 0.003). The lowest mean plasma potassium was obtained 90 min after fenoterol administration with prednisone pretreatment: 2.78 mmol/L (95 percent CI 2.44, 3.13). Increases in heart rate and QTc interval following both beta-agonist drugs were significant, but T-wave amplitude reductions did not reach significance. Prednisone treatment did not significantly alter the cardiovascular responses. Supraventricular and ventricular ectopic activity was related to beta-agonist use, but no potentiating effect was noted following steroid treatment. We conclude that the acute biochemical effects of beta-agonist administration are augmented by prior treatment with prednisone, but this is not the case for ECG effects. However, the degree of hypokalemia noted as

Beta?hydroxy?beta?methylbutyrate supplementation and skeletal muscle in healthy and muscle?wasting conditions

OpenAIRE

Hole?ek, Milan

2017-01-01

Abstract Beta?hydroxy?beta?methylbutyrate (HMB) is a metabolite of the essential amino acid leucine that has been reported to have anabolic effects on protein metabolism. The aims of this article were to summarize the results of studies of the effects of HMB on skeletal muscle and to examine the evidence for the rationale to use HMB as a nutritional supplement to exert beneficial effects on muscle mass and function in various conditions of health and disease. The data presented here indicate ...

Augmented Beta rectangular regression models: A Bayesian perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jue; Luo, Sheng

2016-01-01

Mixed effects Beta regression models based on Beta distributions have been widely used to analyze longitudinal percentage or proportional data ranging between zero and one. However, Beta distributions are not flexible to extreme outliers or excessive events around tail areas, and they do not account for the presence of the boundary values zeros and ones because these values are not in the support of the Beta distributions. To address these issues, we propose a mixed effects model using Beta rectangular distribution and augment it with the probabilities of zero and one. We conduct extensive simulation studies to assess the performance of mixed effects models based on both the Beta and Beta rectangular distributions under various scenarios. The simulation studies suggest that the regression models based on Beta rectangular distributions improve the accuracy of parameter estimates in the presence of outliers and heavy tails. The proposed models are applied to the motivating Neuroprotection Exploratory Trials in Parkinson's Disease (PD) Long-term Study-1 (LS-1 study, n = 1741), developed by The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Exploratory Trials in Parkinson's Disease (NINDS NET-PD) network. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Blade tip, finite aspect ratio, and dynamic stall effects on the Darrieus rotor

Science.gov (United States)

Paraschivoiu, I.; Desy, P.; Masson, C.

1988-02-01

The objective of the work described in this paper was to apply the Boeing-Vertol dynamic stall model in an asymmetric manner to account for the asymmetry of the flow between the left and right sides of the rotor. This phenomenon has been observed by the flow visualization of a two-straight-bladed Darrieus rotor in the IMST water tunnel. Also introduced into the aerodynamic model are the effects of the blade tip and finite aspect ratio on the aerodynamic performance of the Darrieus wind turbine. These improvements are compatible with the double-multiple-streamtube model and have been included in the CARDAAV computer code for predicting the aerodynamic performance. Very good agreement has been observed between the test data (Sandia 17 m) and theoretical predictions; a significant improvement over the previous dynamic stall model was obtained for the rotor power at low tip speed ratios, while the inclusion of the finite aspect ratio effects enhances the prediction of the rotor power for high tip speed ratios. The tip losses and finite aspect ratio effects were also calculated for a small-scale vertical-axis wind turbine, with a two-straight-bladed (NACA 0015) rotor.

Central beta-adrenergic modulation of cognitive flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Beversdorf, David Q; White, Dawn M; Chever, Daquesha C; Hughes, John D; Bornstein, Robert A

2002-12-20

Situational stressors and anxiety impede performance on creativity tests requiring cognitive flexibility. Preliminary research revealed better performance on a task requiring cognitive flexibility, the anagram task, after propranolol (beta-adrenergic antagonist) than after ephedrine (beta-adrenergic agonist). However, propranolol and ephedrine have both peripheral and central beta-adrenergic effects. In order to determine whether noradrenergic modulation of cognitive flexibility is a centrally or peripherally mediated phenomenon, we compared the effects of propranolol (peripheral and central beta-blocker), nadolol (peripheral beta-blocker), and placebo on anagram task performance. Solution latency scores for each subject were compared across the drug conditions. Anagram solution latency scores after propranolol were significantly lower than after nadolol. This suggests a centrally mediated modulatory influence of the noradrenergic system on cognitive flexibility.

Protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of neonatal pigs is enhanced by administration of Beta-hydroxy-Beta-methylbutyrate

Science.gov (United States)

Many low-birth-weight infants experience failure to thrive. The amino acid leucine stimulates protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of the neonate, but less is known about the effects of the leucine metabolite Beta-hydroxy-Beta-methylbutyrate (HMB). To determine the effects of HMB on protein synthesi...

Effects of finite electron temperature on gradient drift instabilities in partially magnetized plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Lakhin, V. P.; Ilgisonis, V. I.; Smolyakov, A. I.; Sorokina, E. A.; Marusov, N. A.

2018-01-01

The gradient-drift instabilities of partially magnetized plasmas in plasma devices with crossed electric and magnetic fields are investigated in the framework of the two-fluid model with finite electron temperature in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. The finite electron Larmor radius (FLR) effects are also included via the gyroviscosity tensor taking into account the magnetic field gradient. This model correctly describes the electron dynamics for k⊥ρe>1 in the sense of Padé approximants (here, k⊥ and ρe are the wavenumber perpendicular to the magnetic field and the electron Larmor radius, respectively). The local dispersion relation for electrostatic plasma perturbations with the frequency in the range between the ion and electron cyclotron frequencies and propagating strictly perpendicular to the magnetic field is derived. The dispersion relation includes the effects of the equilibrium E ×B electron current, finite ion velocity, electron inertia, electron FLR, magnetic field gradients, and Debye length effects. The necessary and sufficient condition of stability is derived, and the stability boundary is found. It is shown that, in general, the electron inertia and FLR effects stabilize the short-wavelength perturbations. In some cases, such effects completely suppress the high-frequency short-wavelength modes so that only the long-wavelength low-frequency (with respect to the lower-hybrid frequency) modes remain unstable.

A method for getting a finite α in the IR region from an all-order beta function

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, Zhi-Yuan [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Beijing (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, Beijing (China); Zhou, Gao-Liang [Xi' an University of Science and Technology, College of Science, Xi' an (China)

2017-11-15

The analytical method of the QCD running coupling constant is extended to a model with an all-order beta function which is inspired by the famous Novikov-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov beta function of N = 1 supersymmetric gauge theories. In the approach presented here, the running coupling is determined by a transcendental equation with non-elementary integral of the running scale μ. In our approach α{sub an}(0), which reads 0.30642, does not rely on any dimensional parameters. This is in accordance with results in the literature on the analytical method of the QCD running coupling constant. The new ''analytically improved'' running coupling constant is also compatible with the property of asymptotic freedom. (orig.)

Beta Blockers

Science.gov (United States)

... may not work as effectively for people of African heritage and older people, especially when taken without ... conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/beta-blockers/ART-20044522 . Mayo Clinic Footer Legal Conditions and Terms ...

Finite size effects on hydrogen bonds in confined water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musat, R.; Renault, J.P.; Le Caer, S.; Pommeret, S.; Candelaresi, M.; Palmer, D.J.; Righini, R.

2008-01-01

Femtosecond IR spectroscopy was used to study water confined in 1-50 nm pores. The results show that even large pores induce significant changes (for example excited-state lifetimes) to the hydrogen-bond network, which are independent of pore diameter between 1 and 50 nm. Thus, the changes are not surface-induced but rather finite size effects, and suggest a confinement-induced enhancement of the acidic character of water. (authors)

Expression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) receptors and expression of TGF beta 1, TGF beta 2 and TGF beta 3 in human small cell lung cancer cell lines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damstrup, L; Rygaard, K; Spang-Thomsen, M

1993-01-01

A panel of 21 small cell lung cancer cell (SCLC) lines were examined for the presence of Transforming growth factor beta receptors (TGF beta-r) and the expression of TGF beta mRNAs. By the radioreceptor assay we found high affinity receptors to be expressed in six cell lines. scatchard analysis......(r) = 65,000 and 90,000 and the betaglycan (type III) with M(r) = 280,000. Northern blotting showed expression of TGF beta 1 mRNA in ten, TGF beta 2 mRNA in two and TGF beta 3 mRNA in seven cell lines. Our results provide, for the first time, evidence that a large proportion of a broad panel of SCLC cell...... lines express TGF beta-receptors and also produce TGF beta mRNAs....

Reduced beta-adrenergic receptor activation decreases G-protein expression and beta-adrenergic receptor kinase activity in porcine heart.

OpenAIRE

Ping, P; Gelzer-Bell, R; Roth, D A; Kiel, D; Insel, P A; Hammond, H K

1995-01-01

To determine whether beta-adrenergic receptor agonist activation influences guanosine 5'-triphosphate-binding protein (G-protein) expression and beta-adrenergic receptor kinase activity in the heart, we examined the effects of chronic beta 1-adrenergic receptor antagonist treatment (bisoprolol, 0.2 mg/kg per d i.v., 35 d) on components of the myocardial beta-adrenergic receptor-G-protein-adenylyl cyclase pathway in porcine myocardium. Three novel alterations in cardiac adrenergic signaling as...

Beta-adrenergic blockade for the treatment of hyperthyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Geffner, D L; Hershman, J M

1992-07-01

To review the clinical and biochemical effects of beta-adrenergic blocking drugs on hyperthyroidism. Studies published since 1972 were identified through a computerized search of MEDLINE and extensive searching of the bibliographies of the articles identified. Based on an understanding of the differences in beta-blocker metabolism in euthyroid and hyperthyroid patients, we reviewed the differences in pharmacokinetics and metabolic and clinical outcomes during their use in hyperthyroidism, as reported in the articles reviewed. beta Blockers have been used to modify the severity of the hyperadrenergic symptoms of hyperthyroidism for the past 20 years. The clinical efficacy of these agents is affected by hyperthyroid-induced alterations in their gastrointestinal absorption, hepatic metabolism, and renal excretion. The mechanisms whereby these clinical changes are effected is unknown. The agents differ in their beta 1 cardioselectivity, membrane-stabilizing activity, intrinsic sympathomimetic activity, and lipid solubility. They do not appear to alter synthesis or secretion of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland. Their effects on thyroxine metabolism are contradictory. Decreased thyroxine to triiodothyronine conversion is caused by some, but not all, beta blockers, and this appears to correlate with membrane-stabilizing activity. There does not appear to be any alteration in catecholamine sensitivity during beta-adrenergic blockade. The principal mechanism of action of beta blockers in hyperthyroidism is to antagonize beta-receptor-mediated effects of catecholamines. beta Blockers are effective in treating hypermetabolic symptoms in a variety of hyperthyroid states. Used alone, they offer significant symptomatic relief. They are also useful adjuvants to antithyroid medications, surgery, and radioactive iodide treatment in patients with Graves' disease and toxic nodular goiters.

Effect of interleukin 13 on bronchial hyperresponsiveness and the bronchoprotective effect of beta-adrenergic bronchodilators and corticosteroids.

Science.gov (United States)

Townley, Robert G; Gendapodi, Pradeep R; Qutna, Nidal; Evans, Joseph; Romero, Francisco A; Abel, Peter

2009-03-01

Fluticasone affects airway bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and enhances bronchodilation and bronchoprotection induced by beta-adrenergic agonists. Interleukin 13 (IL-13), however, induces BHR. To test the hypotheses that fluticasone inhibits BHR after either allergen sensitization or IL-13 administration and that fluticasone restores the bronchodilation and bronchoprotective effects of beta-agonists. The BHR to methacholine induced by IL-13 or ovalbumin was determined in BALB/c mice, and the provocation concentration of methacholine that caused an increase in enhanced pause in expiration of 200% (PC200) was calculated. We compared this response to methacholine in control mice with the response after treatment with IL-13 receptor alpha 2-IgGFc fusion protein (IL-13R alpha 2) (an IL-13 blocker), fluticasone, albuterol, salmeterol, fluticasone-albuterol, and fluticasone-salmeterol. IL-13R alpha 2 (PC200, 17.59) completely blocks the BHR-induced effects of IL-13 (PC200, 7.28; P < .005). After IL-13 therapy (PC200, 5.90; P < .005), 1 mg/mL of albuterol (PC200, 3.38; P = .33), fluticasone (PC200, 4.59; P = .40), or fluticasone plus 50 microg/mL of salmeterol (PC200, 5.59; P = .11) showed no significant bronchoprotection. In nonsensitized mice, fluticasone plus 0.25 microg/mL of salmeterol (PC200, 25.90; P < .005) showed significantly greater bronchoprotection than did salmeterol alone (PC200, 11.08; P = .26). Fluticasone plus 0.3 mg/mL of albuterol and fluticasone plus 1 mg/mL of albuterol were significantly more protective than was fluticasone or albuterol alone in ovalbumin-sensitized mice. The protective effects of fluticasone, beta-agonists, and fluticasone plus beta-agonists are significantly less in IL-13-treated mice than in nonsensitized or ovalbumin-sensitized mice.

Finite-size effects on two-particle production in continuous and discrete spectrum

CERN Document Server

Lednicky, R

2005-01-01

The effect of a finite space-time extent of particle production region on the lifetime measurement of hadronic atoms produced by a high energy beam in a thin target is discussed. Particularly, it is found that the neglect of this effect on the pionium lifetime measurement in the experiment DIRAC at CERN could lead to the lifetime overestimation on the level of the expected 10% statistical error. It is argued that the data on correlations of identical particles obtained in the same experimental conditions, together with transport code simulation, allow to diminish the systematic error in the extracted lifetime to an acceptable level. The theoretical systematic errors arising in the calculation of the finite-size effect due to the neglect of non-equal emission times in the pair c.m.s., the space-time coherence and the residual charge are shown to be negligible.

Quantitative assessment of the effects of beta-glucan consumption on serum lipid profile and glucose level in hypercholesterolemic subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, X; Sun, X; Wang, M; Zhang, C; Cao, Y; Mo, G; Liang, J; Zhu, S

2015-08-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that beta-glucan derived from oats or barley can reduce cardiovascular disease risk through reductions in serum lipids. However, the effects of beta-glucan on lipid changes in hypercholesterolemic patient groups are inconsistent. The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the effect of beta-glucan, a marker of water-soluble fiber, on various lipid parameters and glucose level in hypercholesterolemic subjects. We performed a comprehensive literature search to identify the relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of beta-glucan consumption in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for net changes in lipid concentrations by using fixed-effects or random-effects models according to heterogeneity. Publication bias, sensitivity analysis and subgroup analyses were also performed. Seventeen eligible RCTs with 916 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled result showed that beta-glucan consumption in hypercholesterolemic population significantly lowered the total cholesterol (TC) (MD, -0.26 mmol/L; 95% CI, -0.33 to -0.18; P consumption significantly decreased TC and LDL-cholesterol concentrations but did not affect TG, HDL-cholesterol, and glucose concentrations in hypercholesterolemic subjects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Minor long-term changes in weight have beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function in obese subjects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenfalck, A M; Hendel, Helle Westergren; Rasmussen, M H

2002-01-01

To evaluate the long-term effect of changes in body composition induced by weight loss on insulin sensitivity (SI), non-insulin mediated glucose disposal, glucose effectiveness (SG)and beta-cell function.......To evaluate the long-term effect of changes in body composition induced by weight loss on insulin sensitivity (SI), non-insulin mediated glucose disposal, glucose effectiveness (SG)and beta-cell function....

Effects of beta-blockers on heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a meta-analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Liu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Effects of beta-blockers on the prognosis of the heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF remain controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the impact of beta-blockers on mortality and hospitalization in the patients with HFpEF. METHODS: A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases from 2005 to June 2013 was conducted. Clinical studies reporting outcomes of mortality and/or hospitalization for patients with HFpEF (EF ≥ 40%, being assigned to beta-blockers treatment and non-beta-blockers control group were included. RESULTS: A total of 12 clinical studies (2 randomized controlled trials and 10 observational studies involving 21,206 HFpEF patients were included for this meta-analysis. The pooled analysis demonstrated that beta-blocker exposure was associated with a 9% reduction in relative risk for all-cause mortality in patients with HFpEF (95% CI: 0.87 - 0.95; P < 0.001. Whereas, the all-cause hospitalization, HF hospitalization and composite outcomes (mortality and hospitalization were not affected by this treatment (P=0.26, P=0.97, and P=0.88 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The beta-blockers treatment for the patients with HFpEF was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, but not with a lower risk of hospitalization. These finding were mainly obtained from observational studies, and further investigations are needed to make an assertion.

Defining Effectiveness Using Finite Sets A Study on Computability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Macedo, Hugo Daniel dos Santos; Haeusler, Edward H.; Garcia, Alex

2016-01-01

finite sets and uses category theory as its mathematical foundations. The model relies on the fact that every function between finite sets is computable, and that the finite composition of such functions is also computable. Our approach is an alternative to the traditional model-theoretical based works...... which rely on (ZFC) set theory as a mathematical foundation, and our approach is also novel when compared to the already existing works using category theory to approach computability results. Moreover, we show how to encode Turing machine computations in the model, thus concluding the model expresses...

Differential effect of adrenocorticosteroids on 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase bioactivity at the anterior pituitary and hypothalamus in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Idrus, R B; Mohamad, N B; Morat, P B; Saim, A; Abdul Kadir, K B

1996-08-01

11 beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-OHSD) is a microsomal enzyme that catalyzes the dehydrogenation of cortisol (F) to cortisone (E) in man and corticosterone (B) to 11-dehydrocorticosterone (A) in rats. 11 beta-OHSD has been identified in a wide variety of tissues. The differential distribution of 11 beta-OHSD suggests that this enzyme has locally defined functions that vary from region to region. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the glucocorticoids B and dexamethasone (DM), the mineralocorticoid deoxycorticosterone (DOC), and the inhibitors of 11 beta-OHSD glycyrrhizic acid (Gl) and glycyrrhetinic acid (GE) on 11 beta-OHSD bioactivity at the hypothalamus (HT) and anterior pituitary (AP). Male Wistar rats were treated with GI or were adrenalectomized (ADX) and treated with either B, DM, or DOC for 7 days. All treatments were in vivo except GE, which was used in vitro. At the end of treatment, homogenates of HT and AP were assayed for 11 beta-OHSD bioactivity, expressed as the percentage conversion of B to A in the presence of NADP, 11 beta-OHSD bioactivity is significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in the AP compared with the HT. Adrenalectomy significantly increased the enzyme activity in the AP (P < 0.05), an effect reversed by B or DM. ADX rats treated with DOC showed decreased enzyme activity in the AP (P < 0.001) but increased the activity in the HT (P < 0.0001). Gl increased activity in both HT and AP, whereas GE decreased activity significantly. We conclude that the modulation of 11 beta-OHSD is both steroid specific and tissue specific.

Phosphorylation events implicating p38 and PI3K mediate tungstate-effects in MIN6 beta cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piquer, Sandra; Barcelo-Batllori, Silvia; Julia, Marta; Marzo, Nuria; Nadal, Belen; Guinovart, Joan J.; Gomis, Ramon

2007-01-01

Oral administration of sodium tungstate is an effective treatment for diabetes in animal models. Several lines of evidence indicate the pancreatic beta cell as one of the targets of tungstate action. Here, we examined the molecular mechanism by which this compound exerts its effects on the beta cell line MIN6. Tungstate treatment induced phosphorylation and subsequent activation of p38 and PI3K which in turn are implicated in tungstate PDX-1 nuclear localization and activation. Although no effect was observed in glucose-induced insulin secretion we found that tungstate activates basal insulin release, a process driven, at least in part, by activation of p38. These results show a direct involvement of p38 and PI3K phosphorylation in the mechanism of action of tungstate in the beta cell

Beta-decay rate and beta-delayed neutron emission probability of improved gross theory

Science.gov (United States)

Koura, Hiroyuki

2014-09-01

A theoretical study has been carried out on beta-decay rate and beta-delayed neutron emission probability. The gross theory of the beta decay is based on an idea of the sum rule of the beta-decay strength function, and has succeeded in describing beta-decay half-lives of nuclei overall nuclear mass region. The gross theory includes not only the allowed transition as the Fermi and the Gamow-Teller, but also the first-forbidden transition. In this work, some improvements are introduced as the nuclear shell correction on nuclear level densities and the nuclear deformation for nuclear strength functions, those effects were not included in the original gross theory. The shell energy and the nuclear deformation for unmeasured nuclei are adopted from the KTUY nuclear mass formula, which is based on the spherical-basis method. Considering the properties of the integrated Fermi function, we can roughly categorized energy region of excited-state of a daughter nucleus into three regions: a highly-excited energy region, which fully affect a delayed neutron probability, a middle energy region, which is estimated to contribute the decay heat, and a region neighboring the ground-state, which determines the beta-decay rate. Some results will be given in the presentation. A theoretical study has been carried out on beta-decay rate and beta-delayed neutron emission probability. The gross theory of the beta decay is based on an idea of the sum rule of the beta-decay strength function, and has succeeded in describing beta-decay half-lives of nuclei overall nuclear mass region. The gross theory includes not only the allowed transition as the Fermi and the Gamow-Teller, but also the first-forbidden transition. In this work, some improvements are introduced as the nuclear shell correction on nuclear level densities and the nuclear deformation for nuclear strength functions, those effects were not included in the original gross theory. The shell energy and the nuclear deformation for

Effect of iron on pancreatic beta cell function and insulin resistance ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Increase in total body iron store has been reported in the aetiology and development of diabetes mellitus. The effect of iron supplementation in female with respect to the incidence of diabetes mellitus was investigated on the pancreatic beta cell function and insulin resistance in normal female rats. Methods: ...

Numerical investigation of finite-volume effects for the HVP

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, Peter; Gülpers, Vera; Harrison, James; Jüttner, Andreas; Portelli, Antonin; Sachrajda, Christopher

2018-03-01

It is important to correct for finite-volume (FV) effects in the presence of QED, since these effects are typically large due to the long range of the electromagnetic interaction. We recently made the first lattice calculation of electromagnetic corrections to the hadronic vacuum polarisation (HVP). For the HVP, an analytical derivation of FV corrections involves a two-loop calculation which has not yet been carried out. We instead calculate the universal FV corrections numerically, using lattice scalar QED as an effective theory. We show that this method gives agreement with known analytical results for scalar mass FV effects, before applying it to calculate FV corrections for the HVP. This method for numerical calculation of FV effects is also widely applicable to quantities beyond the HVP.

Formulary considerations in selection of beta-blockers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yedinak, K C

1993-08-01

Selection of beta-adrenergic blockers for formulary addition can be a difficult task, especially with the increasing availability of new beta-blockers, as well as the numerous differences in pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of currently available agents. Nevertheless, appropriate evaluation of the important characteristics of beta-blockers should allow selection of the most cost-effective agents for formulary addition. Most importantly, differences in efficacy, product formulation and cost should be carefully considered when making formulary decisions. Notably, evidence from clinical trials indicates differences in efficacy among beta-blockers for post-myocardial infarction prophylaxis, situational anxiety, essential tremor, thyrotoxicosis, migraine prophylaxis and prevention of bleeding associated with oesophageal varices. For many clinical situations, it is also important to select an effective agent that is available in both an oral and intravenous formulation, especially for cardioprotection after acute myocardial infarction and for use in supraventricular arrhythmias. In addition, availability of sustained release products and generic formulations should be considered for their potential to increase compliance and decrease cost, respectively. Comparative drug costs, as well as costs associated with decreased compliance, should also be carefully evaluated. Differences in beta-receptor selectivity, duration of action and presence of intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (ISA) are also important considerations in the selection of beta-blockers for formulary consideration. Although degree of selectivity is relative, beta 1-selective agents may be less likely to induce bronchospasm in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and may be less likely to affect glucose homeostasis in patients with diabetes mellitus. Duration of action of a beta-blocker is an important consideration for evaluation of efficacy throughout the recommended

[Effect of sulfonation of polyethersulfone sheets on the adsorption of beta2-microglobulin].

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Liping; Sun, Shudong; Yue, Yilun; Huang, Jia; Mao, Huayi; Liang, Bo

2005-06-01

This study was performed to evaluate the adsorption of beta2-microglobulin(beta2 M) by blood dialysis membrane materials which are polyethersulfone (PES), sulfonated polyethersulfones, (PES-SO3Na-I and PES-SO3Na-I ) in vitro incubated in human serum and radiolabeled beta2M (125I-beta2 M) solution respectively. In these experiments, the materials were incubated in 125I-beta2 M solution and human serum at the appointed time ranging from 15 minutes to four hours at 37 degrees C, and then the amounts of 125I-beta2M and serum beta2M adsorbed by materials were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). In the 125I-beta2 M system, amounts of 125I-beta2M adsorbed by the materials decreased in sequence of PES-SO3 Na-II > PES-SO3Na-I > PES. In the serum system, amounts of beta2M adsorbed reached maximums at 30 minutes and the final adsorptions decreased in sequence of PES-SO3Na-II > PES-SO3Na-I > PES. Sulfonated PES removes beta2M more than PES does and the adsorption of beta2M increases with the increase in the degree of sulfonation. Its ability to remove significant amount of beta2M may result in less beta2M available for incorporation into amyloid. The use of PES-SO3Na membranes lessens the likelihood of dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) development, which remains a major source of morbidity for patients treated with long-term hemodialysis.

Involvement of beta 3-adrenoceptor in altered beta-adrenergic response in senescent heart: role of nitric oxide synthase 1-derived nitric oxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Birenbaum, Aurélie; Tesse, Angela; Loyer, Xavier; Michelet, Pierre; Andriantsitohaina, Ramaroson; Heymes, Christophe; Riou, Bruno; Amour, Julien

2008-12-01

In senescent heart, beta-adrenergic response is altered in parallel with beta1- and beta2-adrenoceptor down-regulation. A negative inotropic effect of beta3-adrenoceptor could be involved. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that beta3-adrenoceptor plays a role in beta-adrenergic dysfunction in senescent heart. beta-Adrenergic responses were investigated in vivo (echocardiography-dobutamine, electron paramagnetic resonance) and in vitro (isolated left ventricular papillary muscle, electron paramagnetic resonance) in young adult (3-month-old) and senescent (24-month-old) rats. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) immunolabeling (confocal microscopy), nitric oxide production (electron paramagnetic resonance) and beta-adrenoceptor Western blots were performed in vitro. Data are mean percentages of baseline +/- SD. An impaired positive inotropic effect (isoproterenol) was confirmed in senescent hearts in vivo (117 +/- 23 vs. 162 +/- 16%; P < 0.05) and in vitro (127 +/- 10 vs. 179 +/- 15%; P < 0.05). In the young adult group, the positive inotropic effect was not significantly modified by the nonselective NOS inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME; 183 +/- 19%), the selective NOS1 inhibitor vinyl-L-N-5(1-imino-3-butenyl)-L-ornithine (L-VNIO; 172 +/- 13%), or the selective NOS2 inhibitor 1400W (183 +/- 19%). In the senescent group, in parallel with beta3-adrenoceptor up-regulation and increased nitric oxide production, the positive inotropic effect was partially restored by L-NAME (151 +/- 8%; P < 0.05) and L-VNIO (149 +/- 7%; P < 0.05) but not by 1400W (132 +/- 11%; not significant). The positive inotropic effect induced by dibutyryl-cyclic adenosine monophosphate was decreased in the senescent group with the specific beta3-adrenoceptor agonist BRL 37344 (167 +/- 10 vs. 142 +/- 10%; P < 0.05). NOS1 and NOS2 were significantly up-regulated in the senescent rat. In senescent cardiomyopathy, beta3-adrenoceptor overexpression plays an important role in the

Effect of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) on protein metabolism in whole body and in selected tissues.

Science.gov (United States)

Holecek, M; Muthny, T; Kovarik, M; Sispera, L

2009-01-01

Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a leucine metabolite with protein anabolic effect. The aim of the study was to examine the role of exogenous HMB on leucine and protein metabolism in whole body and selected tissues. Rats were administered by HMB (0.1 g/kg b.w.) or by saline. The parameters of whole-body protein metabolism were evaluated 24 h later using L-[1-14C]leucine and L-[3,4,5-3H]phenylalanine. Changes in proteasome dependent proteolysis and protein synthesis were determined according the "chymotrypsin-like" enzyme activity and labeled leucine and phenylalanine incorporation into the protein. A decrease in leucine clearance and whole-body protein turnover (i.e., a decrease in whole-body proteolysis and protein synthesis) was observed in HMB treated rats. Proteasome-dependent proteolysis decreased significantly in skeletal muscle, changes in heart, liver, jejunum, colon, kidney, and spleen were insignificant. Decrease in protein synthesis was observed in the heart, colon, kidney, and spleen, while an increase was observed in the liver. There were no significant changes in leucine oxidation. We conclude that protein anabolic effect of HMB in skeletal muscle is related to inhibition of proteolysis in proteasome. Alterations in protein synthesis in visceral tissues may affect several important functions and the metabolic status of the whole body.

Beta-energy averaging and beta spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamatelatos, M.G.; England, T.R.

1976-07-01

A simple yet highly accurate method for approximately calculating spectrum-averaged beta energies and beta spectra for radioactive nuclei is presented. This method should prove useful for users who wish to obtain accurate answers without complicated calculations of Fermi functions, complex gamma functions, and time-consuming numerical integrations as required by the more exact theoretical expressions. Therefore, this method should be a good time-saving alternative for investigators who need to make calculations involving large numbers of nuclei (e.g., fission products) as well as for occasional users interested in restricted number of nuclides. The average beta-energy values calculated by this method differ from those calculated by ''exact'' methods by no more than 1 percent for nuclides with atomic numbers in the 20 to 100 range and which emit betas of energies up to approximately 8 MeV. These include all fission products and the actinides. The beta-energy spectra calculated by the present method are also of the same quality

Dose-response effects of estrogenic mycotoxins (zearalenone, alpha- and beta-zearalenol on motility, hyperactivation and the acrosome reaction of stallion sperm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colenbrander Ben

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro effects of the Fusarium fungus-derived mycotoxin, zearalenone and its derivatives alpha-zearalenol and beta-zearalenol on motility parameters and the acrosome reaction of stallion sperm. Since the toxic effects of zearalenone and its derivatives are thought to result from their structural similarity to 17beta-estradiol, 17beta-estradiol was used as a positive control for 'estrogen-like' effects. Methods Stallion spermatozoa were exposed in vitro to zearalenone, alpha-zearalenol, beta-zearalenol or 17beta-estradiol at concentrations ranging from 1 pM - 0.1 mM. After 2 hours exposure, motility parameters were evaluated by computer-assisted analysis, and acrosome integrity was examined by flow cytometry after staining with fluoroscein-conjugated peanut agglutinin. Results Mycotoxins affected sperm parameters only at the highest concentration tested (0.1 mM after 2 hours exposure. In this respect, all of the compounds reduced the average path velocity, but only alpha-zearalenol reduced percentages of motile and progressively motile sperm. Induction of motility patterns consistent with hyperactivation was stimulated according to the following rank of potency: alpha-zearalenol >17beta-estradiol > zearalenone = beta-zearalenol. The hyperactivity-associated changes observed included reductions in straight-line velocity and linearity of movement, and an increase in the amplitude of lateral head displacement, while curvilinear velocity was unchanged. In addition, whereas alpha- and beta- zearalenol increased the percentages of live acrosome-reacted sperm, zearalenone and 17beta-estradiol had no apparent effect on acrosome status. In short, alpha-zearalenol inhibited normal sperm motility, but stimulated hyperactive motility in the remaining motile cells and simultaneously induced the acrosome reaction. Beta-zearalenol induced the acrosome reaction without altering motility

The Effect of a 12-Week Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) Supplementation on Highly-Trained Combat Sports Athletes: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study

OpenAIRE

Durkalec-Michalski, Krzysztof; Jeszka, Jan; Podg?rski, Tomasz

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to verify the effect of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation on physical capacity, body composition and the value of biochemical parameters in highly-trained combat sports athletes. Forty-two males highly-trained in combat sports were subjected to 12 weeks of supplementation with HMB and a placebo in a randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind crossover manner. Over the course of the experiment, aerobic and anaerobic capacity was determined, whil...

SQED two-loop beta function in the context of Implicit regularization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherchiglia, Adriano Lana; Sampaio, Marcos; Nemes, Maria Carolina

2013-01-01

Full text: In this work we present the state-of-art for Implicit Regularization (IReg) in the context of supersymmetric theories. IReg is a four-dimensional regularization technique in momentum space which disentangles, in a consistent way at arbitrary order, the divergencies, regularization dependent and finite parts of any Feynman amplitude. Since it does not resort to modifications on the physical space-time dimensions of the underlying quantum field theoretical model, it can be consistently applied to supersymmetric theories. First we describe the technique and present previous results for supersymmetric models: the two-loop beta function for the Wess-Zumino model (both in the component and superfield formalism); the two-loop beta function for Super Yang-Mills (in the superfield formalism using the background field technique). After, we present our calculation of the two-loop beta function for massless and massive SQED using the superfield formalism with and without resorting to the background field technique. We find that only in the second case the two-loop divergence cancels out. We argue it is due to an anomalous Jacobian under the rescaling of the fields in the path-integral which is necessary for the application of the supersymmetric background field technique. We find, however, that in both cases the two-loop coefficients of beta function are non-null. Finally we briefly discuss the anomaly puzzle in the context of our technique. (author)

Beta particle measurement fundamentals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, J.L.

1986-01-01

The necessary concepts for understanding beta particle behavior are stopping power, range, and scattering. Dose as a consequence of beta particle interaction with tissue can be derived and explained by these concepts. Any calculations of dose, however, assume or require detailed knowledge of the beta spectrum at the tissue depth of calculation. A rudimentary knowledge of the incident spectrum can be of use in estimating dose, interpretating dose measuring devices and designing protection. The stopping power and range based on the csda will give a conservative estimate in cases of protection design, as scattering will reduce the range. Estimates of dose may be low because scattering effects were neglected

Finite-key-size effect in a commercial plug-and-play QKD system

Science.gov (United States)

Chaiwongkhot, Poompong; Sajeed, Shihan; Lydersen, Lars; Makarov, Vadim

2017-12-01

A security evaluation against the finite-key-size effect was performed for a commercial plug-and-play quantum key distribution (QKD) system. We demonstrate the ability of an eavesdropper to force the system to distill key from a smaller length of sifted-key. We also derive a key-rate equation that is specific for this system. This equation provides bounds above the upper bound of secure key under finite-key-size analysis. From this equation and our experimental data, we show that the keys that have been distilled from the smaller sifted-key size fall above our bound. Thus, their security is not covered by finite-key-size analysis. Experimentally, we could consistently force the system to generate the key outside of the bound. We also test manufacturer’s software update. Although all the keys after the patch fall under our bound, their security cannot be guaranteed under this analysis. Our methodology can be used for security certification and standardization of QKD systems.

Effects of finite coverage on global polarization observables in heavy ion collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Shaowei; Lin, Zi-Wei; Shi, Shusu; Sun, Xu

2018-05-01

In non-central relativistic heavy ion collisions, the created matter possesses a large initial orbital angular momentum. Particles produced in the collisions could be polarized globally in the direction of the orbital angular momentum due to spin-orbit coupling. Recently, the STAR experiment has presented polarization signals for Λ hyperons and possible spin alignment signals for ϕ mesons. Here we discuss the effects of finite coverage on these observables. The results from a multi-phase transport and a toy model both indicate that a pseudorapidity coverage narrower than | η | value for the extracted ϕ-meson ρ00 parameter; thus a finite coverage can lead to an artificial deviation of ρ00 from 1/3. We also show that a finite η and pT coverage affect the extracted pH parameter for Λ hyperons when the real pH value is non-zero. Therefore proper corrections are necessary to reliably quantify the global polarization with experimental observables.

Finite-width effects in unstable-particle production at hadron colliders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falgari, P. [Utrecht Univ. (Netherlands). Inst. for Theoretical Physics; Utrecht Univ. (Netherlands). Spinoza Inst.; Papanastasiou, A.S. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg (Germany); Signer, A. [Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen (Switzerland); Zuerich Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. for Theoretical Physics

2013-03-15

We present a general formalism for the calculation of finite-width contributions to the differential production cross sections of unstable particles at hadron colliders. In this formalism, which employs an effective-theory description of unstable-particle production and decay, the matrix element computation is organized as a gauge-invariant expansion in powers of {Gamma}{sub X}/m{sub X}, with {Gamma}{sub X} and m{sub X} the width and mass of the unstable particle. This framework allows for a systematic inclusion of off-shell and non-factorizable effects whilst at the same time keeping the computational effort minimal compared to a full calculation in the complex-mass scheme. As a proof-of-concept example, we give results for an NLO calculation of top-antitop production in the q anti q partonic channel. As already found in a similar calculation of single-top production, the finite-width effects are small for the total cross section, as expected from the naive counting {proportional_to}{Gamma}{sub t}/m{sub t}{proportional_to}1%. However, they can be sizeable, in excess of 10%, close to edges of certain kinematical distributions. The dependence of the results on the mass renormalization scheme, and its implication for a precise extraction of the top-quark mass, is also discussed.

Finite-width effects in unstable-particle production at hadron colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falgari, P.; Signer, A.; Zuerich Univ.

2013-03-01

We present a general formalism for the calculation of finite-width contributions to the differential production cross sections of unstable particles at hadron colliders. In this formalism, which employs an effective-theory description of unstable-particle production and decay, the matrix element computation is organized as a gauge-invariant expansion in powers of Γ X /m X , with Γ X and m X the width and mass of the unstable particle. This framework allows for a systematic inclusion of off-shell and non-factorizable effects whilst at the same time keeping the computational effort minimal compared to a full calculation in the complex-mass scheme. As a proof-of-concept example, we give results for an NLO calculation of top-antitop production in the q anti q partonic channel. As already found in a similar calculation of single-top production, the finite-width effects are small for the total cross section, as expected from the naive counting ∝Γ t /m t ∝1%. However, they can be sizeable, in excess of 10%, close to edges of certain kinematical distributions. The dependence of the results on the mass renormalization scheme, and its implication for a precise extraction of the top-quark mass, is also discussed.

Effects of six weeks of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) and HMB/creatine supplementation on strength, power, and anthropometry of highly trained athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Donna M; Crowe, Melissa J

2007-05-01

This study investigated the effects of 6 weeks of dietary supplementation of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) and HMB combined with creatine monohydrate (HMBCr) on the muscular strength and endurance, leg power, and anthropometry of elite male rugby league players. The subjects were divided into a control group (n = 8), a HMB group (n = 11; 3 g.d(-1)) or a HMBCr group (n = 11; 12 g.d(-1) with 3 g HMB, 3 g Cr, 6 g carbohydrates). Three repetition maximum lifts on bench press, deadlifts, prone row, and shoulder press, maximum chin-up repetitions, 10-second maximal cycle test, body mass, girths, and sum of skinfolds were assessed pre- and postsupplementation. Statistical analysis revealed no effect of HMB or HMBCr on any parameter compared with presupplementation measures or the control group. HMB and HMBCr were concluded to have no ergogenic effect on muscular strength and endurance, leg power, or anthropometry when taken orally by highly trained male athletes over 6 weeks.

Revisiting AdS/CFT at a finite radial cut-off

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mandal, Gautam; Nayak, Pranjal [Department of Theoretical Physics,Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005 (India)

2016-12-22

We revisit AdS/CFT at a finite radial cut-off, specifically in the context of double trace perturbations, O{sub n}= O(x)(∂{sup 2}){sup n}O(x), with arbitrary powers n. As well-known, the standard GKPW prescription, applied to a finite radial cut-off, leads to contact terms in correlators. de Haro et al. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002200100381 introduced bulk counterterms to remove these. This prescription, however, yields additional terms in the correlator corresponding to spurious double trace deformations. Further, if we view the GKPW prescription coupled with the prescription in http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002200100381, in terms of a boundary wavefunction, we find that it is incompatible with radial Schrödinger evolution (in the spirit of holographic Wilsonian RG). We consider a more general wavefunction satisfying the Schrödinger equation, and find that generically such wavefunctions generate both (a) double trace deformations and (b) contact terms. However, we find that there exist special choices of these wavefunctions, amounting to a new AdS/CFT prescription at a finite cut-off, so that both (a) and (b) are removed and we obtain a pure power law behaviour for the correlator. We compare these special wavefunctions with a specific RG scheme in field theory. We give a geometric interpretation of these wavefunctions; these correspond to some specific smearing of boundary points in the Witten diagrams. We present a comprehensive calculation of exact double-trace beta-functions for all couplings O{sub n} and match with a holographic computation using the method described above. The matching works with a mapping between the field theory and bulk couplings; such a map is highly constrained because the beta-functions are quadratic and exact on both sides. Our discussions include a generalization of the standard double-trace Wilson-Fisher flow to the space of the infinite number of couplings.

beta-Blockade used in precision sports: effect on pistol shooting performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruse, P; Ladefoged, J; Nielsen, U; Paulev, P E; Sørensen, J P

1986-08-01

In a double-blind cross-over study of 33 marksmen (standard pistol, 25 m) the adrenergic beta 1-receptor blocker, metoprolol, was compared to placebo. Metoprolol obviously improved the pistol shooting performance compared with placebo. Shooting improved by 13.4% of possible improvement (i.e., 600 points minus actual points obtained) as an average (SE = 4%, 2P less than 0.002). The most skilled athletes demonstrated the clearest metoprolol improvement. We found no correlation between the shooting improvement and changes in the cardiovascular variables (i.e., changes of heart rate and systolic blood pressure) and no correlation to the estimated maximum O2 uptake. The shooting improvement is an effect of metoprolol on hand tremor. Emotional increase of heart rate and systolic blood pressure seem to be a beta 1-receptor phenomenon.

Finite size effects for giant magnons on physical strings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minahan, J.A.; Ohlsson Sax, O.

2008-01-01

Using finite gap methods, we find the leading order finite size corrections for an arbitrary number of giant magnons on physical strings, where the sum of the momenta is a multiple of 2π. Our results are valid for the Hofman-Maldacena fundamental giant magnons as well as their dyonic generalizations. The energy corrections turn out to be surprisingly simple, especially if all the magnons are fundamental, and at leading order are independent of the magnon flavors. We also show how to use the Bethe ansatz to find finite size corrections for dyonic giant magnons with large R-charges

Speculative Betas

OpenAIRE

Harrison Hong; David Sraer

2012-01-01

We provide a model for why high beta assets are more prone to speculative overpricing than low beta ones. When investors disagree about the common factor of cash-flows, high beta assets are more sensitive to this macro-disagreement and experience a greater divergence-of-opinion about their payoffs. Short-sales constraints for some investors such as retail mutual funds result in high beta assets being over-priced. When aggregate disagreement is low, expected return increases with beta due to r...

Effects of administration of beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, persimmons, and pods on antioxidative ability in UV-irradiated ODS rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosotani, Keisuke; Yoshida, Minoru; Kitagawa, Masahiro

2005-07-01

To evaluate the effects of supplementing diets with carotenoid and ascorbic acid (AsA) on the antioxidative ability of Osteogenic Disorder-Shionogi (ODS) rats, we added synthetic beta-carotene (betaC), AsA, and powders of persimmon (Ka) and pods (Po) containing betaC and AsA to the diet and obtained the following results. The urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) concentration was low in the -betaC.AsA and +AsA groups but high in the +betaC.AsA, +Ka, and +Po groups. The thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) in both the liver and skin were higher in the -betaC.AsA group than in the +betaC.AsA group and were low in the +Ka and +Po groups. As antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity was high in the +betaC.AsA group, low in the -beta3C.AsA group in both the skin and liver, and also high in the + Ka and +Po group in the liver. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was high in the -betaC.AsA group and low in the +betaC.AsA and +Ka groups in both the skin and liver. Catalase (CAT) activity in the liver was low in the -betaC.AsA, +AsA, and +betaC groups and high in the +betaC.AsA and +Po groups. These results confirmed that the administration of betaC, AsA, and persimmons and pods increases antioxidative ability in the skin and liver of ultraviolet-b(UV-B)-irradiated ODS rats.

Finite size effects in the evaporation rate of 3He clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guirao, A.; Pi, M.; Barranco, M.

1991-01-01

We have computed the density of states and the evaporation rate of 3 He clusters, paying special attention to finite size effects which modify the 3 He level density parameter and chemical potential from their bulk values. Ready-to-use liquid-drop expansions of these quantities are given. (orig.)

Aspartate beta-decarboxylase from Alcaligenes faecalis: carbon-13 kinetic isotope effect and deuterium exchange experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberg, R.M.; O'Leary, M.H.

1985-01-01

The authors have measured the 13 C kinetic isotope effect at pH 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, and 6.5 and in D 2 O at pH 5.0 and the rate of D-H exchange of the alpha and beta protons of aspartic acid in D 2 O at pH 5.0 for the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme aspartate beta-decarboxylase from Alcaligenes faecalis. The 13 C kinetic isotope effect, with a value of 1.0099 +/- 0.0002 at pH 5.0, is less than the intrinsic isotope effect for the decarboxylation step, indicating that the decarboxylation step is not entirely rate limiting. The authors have been able to estimate probable values of the relative free energies of the transition states of the enzymatic reaction up to and including the decarboxylation step from the 13 C kinetic isotope effect and the rate of D-H exchange of alpha-H. The pH dependence of the kinetic isotope effect reflects the pKa of the pyridine nitrogen of the coenzyme pyridoxal 5'-phosphate but not that of the imine nitrogen. A mechanism is proposed for the exchange of aspartate beta-H that is consistent with the stereochemistry suggested earlier

Labelling of. beta. -endorphin (. beta. -END) and. beta. -lipotropin (. beta. -LPH) by /sup 125/I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deby-Dupont, G.; Joris, J.; Franchimont, P. (Universite de Liege (Belgique)); Reuter, A.M.; Vrindts-Gevaert, Y. (Institut des Radioelements, Fleurus (Belgique))

1983-01-01

5 ..mu..g of human ..beta..-endorphin were labelled with 2 mCi /sup 125/I by the chloramine T technique. After two gel filtrations on Sephadex G-15 and on Sephadex G-50 in phosphate buffer with EDTA, Trasylol and mercapto-ethanol, a pure tracer was obtained with a specific activity about 150 ..mu..Ci/..mu..g.Kept at + 4/sup 0/C, the tracer remained utilizable for 30 days without loss of immunoreactivity. The labelling with lactoperoxydase and the use of another gel filtration method (filtration on Aca 202) gave a /sup 125/I ..beta..-END tracer with the same immunoreactivity. The binding of this tracer to the antibody of an anti-..beta..-END antiserum diluted at 1/8000 was 32% with a non specific binding of 2%. 5 ..mu..g of human ..beta..-lipotropin were labelled with 0.5 mCi /sup 125/I by the lactoperoxydase method. After two gel filtrations on Sephadex G-25 and on Sephadex G-75 in phosphate buffer with EDTA, Trasylol and mercapto-ethanol, a pure tracer with a specific activity of 140 ..mu..Ci/..mu..g was obtained. It remained utilizable for 30 days when kept at + 4/sup 0/C. Gel filtration on Aca 202 did not give good purification, while gel filtration on Aca 54 was good but slower than on Sephadex G-75. The binding to antibody in absence of unlabelled ..beta..-LPH was 32% for an anti-..beta..-LPH antiserum diluted at 1/4000. The non specific binding was 2.5%.

Towards Alzheimer's beta-amyloid vaccination.

Science.gov (United States)

Frenkel, D; Solomon, B

2001-01-01

Beta-amyloid pathology, the main hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), has been linked to its conformational status and aggregation. We recently showed that site-directed monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) towards the N-terminal region of the human beta-amyloid peptide bind to preformed beta-amyloid fibrils (Abeta), leading to disaggregation and inhibition of their neurotoxic effect. Here we report the development of a novel immunization procedure to raise effective anti-aggregating amyloid beta-protein (AbetaP) antibodies, using as antigen filamentous phages displaying the only EFRH peptide found to be the epitope of these antibodies. Due to the high antigenicity of the phage no adjuvant is required to obtain high affinity anti-aggregating IgG antibodies in animals model, that exhibit identity to human AbetaP. Such antibodies are able to sequester peripheral AbetaP, thus avoiding passage through the blood brain barrier (BBB) and, as recently shown in a transgenic mouse model, to cross the BBB and dissolve already formed beta-amyloid plaques. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to use as a vaccine a self-anti-aggregating epitope displayed on a phage, and this may pave the way to treat abnormal accumulation-peptide diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease or other amyloidogenic diseases. Copyright 2001 The International Association for Biologicals.

Numerical investigation of finite-volume effects for the HVP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boyle Peter

2018-01-01

Full Text Available It is important to correct for finite-volume (FV effects in the presence of QED, since these effects are typically large due to the long range of the electromagnetic interaction. We recently made the first lattice calculation of electromagnetic corrections to the hadronic vacuum polarisation (HVP. For the HVP, an analytical derivation of FV corrections involves a two-loop calculation which has not yet been carried out. We instead calculate the universal FV corrections numerically, using lattice scalar QED as an effective theory. We show that this method gives agreement with known analytical results for scalar mass FV effects, before applying it to calculate FV corrections for the HVP. This method for numerical calculation of FV effects is also widely applicable to quantities beyond the HVP.

Finite size and dynamical effects in pair production by an external field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, C.; Vautherin, D.

1988-12-01

We evaluate the rate of pair production in a uniform electric field confined into a bounded region in space. Using the Balian-Bloch expansion of Green's functions we obtain explicit expressions for finite size corrections to Schwinger's formula. The case of a time-dependent boundary, relevant to describe energy deposition by quark-antiquark pair production in ultrarelativistic collisions, is also investigated. We find that finite size effects are important in nuclear collisions. They decrease when the strength of the chromo-electric field between the nuclei is large. As a result, the rate of energy deposition increases sharply with the mass number A of the colliding nuclei

Effects of composite casein and beta-lactoglobulin genotypes on renneting properties and composition of bovine milk by assuming an animal model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. IKONEN

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The effects of kappa-beta-casein genotypes and b-lactoglobulin genotypes on the renneting properties and composition of milk were estimated for 174 and 155 milk samples of 59 Finnish Ayrshire and 55 Finnish Friesian cows, respectively. As well as the random additive genetic and permanent environmental effects of a cow, the model included the fixed effects for parity, lactation stage, season, kappa-beta-casein genotypes and b-lactoglobulin genotypes. Favourable renneting properties were associated with kappa-beta-casein genotypes ABA 1 A 2 , ABA 1 A 1 and AAA 1 A 2 in the Finnish Ayrshire, and with ABA 2 B, AAA 1 A 3 , AAA 2 A 3 , ABA 1 A 2 and ABA 2 A 2 in the Finnish Friesian. The favourable effect of these genotypes on curd firming time and on firmness of the curd was partly due to their association with a high kappa-casein concentration in the milk. The effect of the kappa-casein E allele on renneting properties was unfavourable compared with that of the kappa-casein B allele, and possibly with that of the A allele. The beta-lactoglobulin genotypes had no effect on renneting properties but they had a clear effect on the protein composition of milk. The beta-lactoglobulin AA genotype was associated with a high whey protein % and beta-lactoglobulin concentration and the BB genotype with a high casein % and casein number.;

First Instances of Generalized Expo-Rational Finite Elements on Triangulations

Science.gov (United States)

Dechevsky, Lubomir T.; Zanaty, Peter; Laksa˚, Arne; Bang, Børre

2011-12-01

In this communication we consider a construction of simplicial finite elements on triangulated two-dimensional polygonal domains. This construction is, in some sense, dual to the construction of generalized expo-rational B-splines (GERBS). The main result is in the obtaining of new polynomial simplicial patches of the first several lowest possible total polynomial degrees which exhibit Hermite interpolatory properties. The derivation of these results is based on the theory of piecewise polynomial GERBS called Euler Beta-function B-splines. We also provide 3-dimensional visualization of the graphs of the new polynomial simplicial patches and their control polygons.

Double Beta Decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiorini, Ettore

2008-01-01

The importance of neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (DBD) is stressed in view of the recent results of experiments on neutrino oscillations which indicate that the difference between the squared masses of two neutrinos of different flavours is finite [For a recent review including neutrino properties and recent results see: Review of Particle Physics, J. of Phys. G: Nuclear and Particle Physics 33, 1]. As a consequence the mass of at least one neutrino has to be different from zero and it becomes imperative to determine its absolute value. The various experimental techniques to search for DBD are discussed together with the difficult problems of the evaluation of the corresponding nuclear matrix elements. The upper limits on neutrino mass coming from the results of the various experiments are reported together with the indication for a non zero value by one of them not confirmed so far. The two presently running experiments on neutrinoless DBD are briefly described together with the already approved or designed second generation searches aiming to reach the values on the absolute neutrino mass indicated by the results on neutrino oscillations

Stereoselective and nonstereoselective effects of ibuprofen enantiomers on mitochondrial beta-oxidation of fatty acids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freneaux, E.; Fromenty, B.; Berson, A.; Labbe, G.; Degott, C.; Letteron, P.; Larrey, D.; Pessayre, D.

1990-01-01

The effects of the R-(-) and S-(+)ibuprofen enantiomers were first studied in vitro with mouse liver mitochondria incubated in the presence of various concentrations of exogenous coenzyme A. In the presence of a low concentration of coenzyme A (2.5 microM), the R-(-)enantiomer (which forms an acylcoenzyme A) inhibited stereoselectively the beta oxidation of [1- 14 C]palmitic acid but not that of [1- 14 C]palmitoyl-L-carnitine (which can directly enter the mitochondria). In the presence, however, of a concentration of coenzyme A (50 microM) reproducing that present in liver cell cytosol, both enantiomers (2 mM) slightly inhibited the beta oxidation of [1- 14 C]palmitic acid and markedly inhibited the beta oxidation of [1- 14 C]octanoic acid and [1- 14 C]butyric acid. In vivo, both enantiomers (1 mmol.kg-1) similarly inhibited the formation of [ 14 C]CO 2 from [1- 14 C]fatty acids. Both enantiomers similarly decreased plasma ketone bodies. Both similarly increased hepatic triglycerides, and both produced mild microvesicular steatosis of the liver. We conclude that both ibuprofen enantiomers inhibit beta oxidation of fatty acids in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the R-(-)enantiomer may stereoselectively sequester coenzyme A; at low concentrations of coenzyme A in vitro, this may stereoselectively inhibit the mitochondrial uptake and beta oxidation of long chain fatty acids

Effect of beta-blocker therapy on the risk of infections and death after acute stroke--a historical cohort study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilko L Maier

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Infections are a frequent cause for prolonged hospitalization and increased mortality after stroke. Recent studies revealed a stroke-induced depression of the peripheral immune system associated with an increased susceptibility for infections. In a mice model for stroke, this immunosuppressive effect was reversible after beta-blocker administration. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of beta-blocker therapy on the risk of infections and death after stroke in humans. METHODS: 625 consecutive patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, admitted to a university hospital stroke unit, were included in this historical cohort study. The effect of beta-blocker therapy on post-stroke pneumonia, urinary tract infections and death was investigated using multivariable Poisson and Cox regression models. RESULTS: 553 (88.3% patients were admitted with ischemic stroke, the remaining 72 (11.7% had a hemorrhagic stroke. Median baseline NIHSS was 8 (IQR 5-16 points. 301 (48.2% patients received beta-blocker therapy. There was no difference in the risk of post-stroke pneumonia between patients with and without beta-blocker therapy (Rate Ratio = 1.00, 95%CI 0.77-1.30, p = 0.995. Patients with beta-blocker therapy showed a decreased risk for urinary tract infections (RR = 0.65, 95%CI 0.43-0.98, p = 0.040. 7-days mortality did not differ between groups (Hazard Ratio = 1.36, 95%CI 0.65-2.77, p = 0.425, while patients with beta-blocker therapy showed a higher 30-days mortality (HR = 1.93, 95%CI 1.20-3.10, p = 0.006. CONCLUSIONS: Beta-blocker therapy did not reduce the risk for post-stroke pneumonia, but significantly reduced the risk for urinary tract infections. Different immune mechanisms underlying both diseases might explain these findings that need to be confirmed in future studies.

Axial anomaly at finite temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaturvedi, S.; Gupte, Neelima; Srinivasan, V.

1985-01-01

The Jackiw-Bardeen-Adler anomaly for QED 4 and QED 2 are calculated at finite temperature. It is found that the anomaly is independent of temperature. Ishikawa's method [1984, Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 53 1615] for calculating the quantised Hall effect is extended to finite temperature. (author)

A chemically stable analogue, 9 beta-methyl carbacyclin, with similar effects to epoprostenol (prostacyclin, PGI2) in man.

OpenAIRE

O'Grady, J; Hedges, A; Whittle, B J; Al-Sinawi, L A; Mekki, Q A; Burke, C; Moody, S G; Moti, M J; Hassan, S

1984-01-01

The effects of 9 beta-methyl carbacyclin, a chemically stable analogue of epoprostenol (prostacyclin, PGI2) were studied, in comparison with epoprostenol, both in vitro and in vivo in man. In vitro 9 beta-methyl carbacyclin and epoprostenol inhibited platelet aggregation induced by ADP, collagen, the endoperoxide analogue U46619 and arachidonic acid. The potency of 9 beta-methyl carbacyclin relative to epoprostenol was comparable in ADP and collagen-aggregated platelet rich plasma (PRP), 9 be...

Effects of stress and. beta. -funal trexamine pretreatment on morphine analgesia and opioid binding in rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, J.U.; Andrews, J.S.; Hiller, J.M.; Simon, E.J.; Holtzman, S.G.

1987-12-28

This study was essentially an in vivo protection experiment designed to test further the hypothesis that stress induces release of endogenous opiods which then act at opioid receptors. Rats that were either subjected to restraint stress for 1 yr or unstressed were injected ICV with either saline or 2.5 ..mu..g of ..beta..-funaltrexamine (..beta..-FNA), an irreversible opioid antagonist that alkylates the mu-opioid receptor. Twenty-four hours later, subjects were tested unstressed for morphine analgesia or were sacrificed and opioid binding in brain was determined. (/sup 3/H)D-Ala/sup 2/NMePhe/sup 4/-Gly/sup 5/(ol)enkephalin (DAGO) served as a specific ligand for mu-opioid receptors, and (/sup 3/H)-bremazocine as a general ligand for all opioid receptors. Rats injected with saline while stressed were significantly less sensitive to the analgesic action of morphine 24 hr later than were their unstressed counterparts. ..beta..-FNA pretreatment attenuated morphine analgesia in an insurmountable manner. Animals pretreated with ..beta..-FNA while stressed were significantly more sensitive to the analgesic effect of morphine than were animals that received ..beta..-FNA while unstressed. ..beta..-FNA caused small and similar decreases in (/sup 3/H)-DAGO binding in brain of both stressed and unstressed animals. 35 references, 2 figures, 2 tables.

Lemongrass effects on IL-1beta and IL-6 production by macrophages.

Science.gov (United States)

Sforcin, J M; Amaral, J T; Fernandes, A; Sousa, J P B; Bastos, J K

2009-01-01

Cymbopogon citratus has been widely recognised for its ethnobotanical and medicinal usefulness. Its insecticidal, antimicrobial and therapeutic properties have been reported, but little is known about its effect on the immune system. This work aimed to investigate the in vivo effect of a water extract of lemongrass on pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1beta and IL-6) production by macrophages of BALB/c mice. The action of lemongrass essential oil on cytokine production by macrophages was also analysed in vitro. The chemical composition of the extract and the oil was also investigated. Treatment of mice with water extract of lemongrass inhibited macrophages to produce IL-1beta but induced IL-6 production by these cells. Lemongrass essential oil inhibited the cytokine production in vitro. Linalool oxide and epoxy-linalool oxide were found to be the major components of lemongrass water extract, and neral and geranial were the major compounds of its essential oil. Taken together, these data suggest an anti-inflammatory action of this natural product.

The Majorana project: sup 7 sup 6 Ge 0 nu beta beta-decay neutrino mass measurement

CERN Document Server

Aalseth, C E

2002-01-01

Interest in, and the relevance of, next-generation 0 nu beta beta-decay experiments is increasing. Even with nonzero neutrino mass strongly suggested by SNO, Super Kamiokande, and similar experiments sensitive to delta m sup 2 , 0 nu beta beta-decay experiments are still the only way to establish the Dirac or Majorana nature of neutrinos by measuring effective electron neutrino mass, . Various theorists have recently argued in favor of a neutrino mass between 0.01 and 1 eV. The Majorana Project aims to probe this effective neutrino mass range, reaching a sensitivity of 0.02-0.07 eV. The experiment relies entirely on proven technology and has been devised based upon the materials, technology, and data analysis demonstrated to produce the lowest background per kilogram of fiducial germanium. The project plan includes 500 kg of germanium detector material enriched to 85% in sup 7 sup 6 Ge, specialized pulse-acquisition electronics and detector segmentation for background rejection, and underground electroformed ...

Beta thalassemia - a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Jha

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Thalassemia is a globin gene disorder that results in a diminished rate of synthesis of one or more of the globin chains. About 1.5% of the global population (80 to 90 million people are carriers of beta Thalassemia. More than 200 mutations are described in beta thalassemia. However not all mutations are common in different ethnic groups. The only effective way to reduce burden of thalassemia is to prevent birth of homozygotes. Diagnosis of beta thalassemia can be done by fetal DNA analysis for molecular defects of beta thalassemia or by fetal blood analysis. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only available curative approach for Thalassemia. Many patients with thalassemia in underdeveloped nations die in childhood or adolescence. Programs that provide acceptable care, including transfusion of safe blood and supportive therapy including chelation must be established.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v4i8.11609 Journal of Pathology of Nepal; Vol.4,No. 8 (2014 663-671

Effects of finite-β and radial electric fields on neoclassical transport in the Large Helical Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanno, R.; Nakajima, N.; Sugama, H.; Okamoto, M.; Ogawa, Y.

1997-01-01

Effects of finite-β and radial electric fields on the neoclassical transport in the Large Helical Device are investigated with the DKES (Drift Kinetic Equation Solver) code. In the finite-β configuration, even orbits of deeply trapped particles deviate significantly from magnetic flux surfaces. Thus, neoclassical ripple transport coefficients in the finite-β configuration are several times larger than those in the vacuum configuration under the same condition of temperatures and radial electric fields. When the plasma temperature is several keV, a bifurcation of the electric fields appears under the ambipolarity condition, and sufficient large radial electric fields can be generated. As a result, the ExB drift rectifies orbits of particles and improves significantly the transport coefficients in the finite-β configuration. (author)

Negative effect of 17-beta-estradiol on growth parameters of goldfish (Carassius auratus

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Reza Tarkhani

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the effects of 17-beta-estradiol on growth factors of goldfish (Carassius auratus. Methods: To perform the test, 17-beta-estradiol was given 3 months period to fish at different doses as followed: control group, Group 1: 10 mg/kg food, Group 2: 25 mg/kg food and Group 3: 50 mg/kg food. For this purpose, a solution of hormone in pure ethanol used to spray on food. Feeding was done 3 times daily as an appetite. Comparing the mean values measured for length and weight using ANOVA. Results: Indicated with increase length and weight, the effects of the hormone get more distinct, so that with increase concentration of hormone, reduce weight and length. Conclusions: Estradiol along with testosterone and progesterone regulates final stages of oocyte maturation and ovulation. Various studies have proven the different concentrations of this hormone has different effects on the growth of different fishes.

Why Downside Beta Is Better: An Educational Example

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, James T.; Jennings, William P.; Phillips, G. Michael

2013-01-01

An educational example is presented that is an effective teaching illustration to help students understand the difference between traditional CAPM beta and downside (or down-market) beta and why downside beta is a superior measure for use in personal financial planning investment policy statements.

Effect of age on upregulation of the cardiac adrenergic beta receptors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tumer, N.; Houck, W.T.; Roberts, J.

1990-01-01

Radioligand binding studies were performed to determine whether upregulation of postjunctional beta receptors occurs in sympathectomized hearts of aged animals. Fischer 344 rats 6, 12, and 24 months of age (n = 10) were used in these experiments. To produce sympathectomy, rats were injected with 6-hydroxydopamine hydrobromide (6-OHDA; 2 x 50 mg/kg iv) on days 1 and 8; the animals were decapitated on day 15. The depletion of norepinephrine in the heart was about 86% in each age group. 125I-Iodopindolol (IPIN), a beta adrenergic receptor antagonist, was employed to determine the affinity and total number of beta adrenergic receptors in the ventricles of the rat heart. The maximal number of binding sites (Bmax) was significantly elevated by 37%, 48%, and 50% in hearts from sympathectomized 6-, 12-, and 24-month-old rats, respectively. These results indicate that beta receptor mechanisms in older hearts can respond to procedures that cause upregulation of the beta adrenergic receptors

Effect of in vitro degradation of poly(D,L-lactide)/beta-tricalcium composite on its shape-memory properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xiaotong; Zhou, Shaobing; Yu, Xiongjun; Li, Xiaohong; Feng, Bo; Qu, Shuxin; Weng, Jie

2008-07-01

The in vitro degradation characteristic and shape-memory properties of poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA)/beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) composites were investigated because of their wide application in biomedical fields. In this article, PDLLA and crystalline beta-TCP were compounded and interesting shape-memory behaviors of the composite were first investigated. Then, in vitro degradation of the PDLLA/beta-TCP composites with weight ratios of 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 was performed in phosphate buffer saline solution (PBS) (154 mM, pH 7.4) at 37 degrees C. The effect of in vitro degradation time for PDLLA/beta-TCP composites on shape-memory properties was studied by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, gel permeation chromatography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The changes of structural morphology, glass transition temperature (T(g)), molecular weight, and weight loss of composites matrix and pH change of degradation medium indicated that shape-memory effects at different degradation time were nonlinearly influenced because of the breaking down of polymer chain and the formation of degradation products. Furthermore, the results from XRD and FTIR implied that the degradation products, for example, hydroxyapatite (HA), calcium hydrogen phosphate (CaHPO(4)), and calcium pyrophosphate (Ca(2)P(2)O(7)) phases also had some effects on shape-memory properties during the degradation. 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Regulation of the friction coefficient of articular cartilage by TGF-beta1 and IL-1beta.

Science.gov (United States)

DuRaine, Grayson; Neu, Corey P; Chan, Stephanie M T; Komvopoulos, Kyriakos; June, Ronald K; Reddi, A Hari

2009-02-01

Articular cartilage functions to provide a low-friction surface for joint movement for many decades of life. Superficial zone protein (SZP) is a glycoprotein secreted by chondrocytes in the superficial layer of articular cartilage that contributes to effective boundary lubrication. In both cell and explant cultures, TGF-beta1 and IL-1beta have been demonstrated to, respectively, upregulate and downregulate SZP protein levels. It was hypothesized that the friction coefficient of articular cartilage could also be modulated by these cytokines through SZP regulation. The friction coefficient between cartilage explants (both untreated and treated with TGF-beta1 or IL-1beta) and a smooth glass surface due to sliding in the boundary lubrication regime was measured with a pin-on-disk tribometer. SZP was quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay and localized by immunohistochemistry. Both TGF-beta1 and IL-1beta treatments resulted in the decrease of the friction coefficient of articular cartilage in a location- and time-dependent manner. Changes in the friction coefficient due to the TGF-beta1 treatment corresponded to increased depth of SZP staining within the superficial zone, while friction coefficient changes due to the IL-1beta treatment were independent of SZP depth of staining. However, the changes induced by the IL-1beta treatment corresponded to changes in surface roughness, determined from the analysis of surface images obtained with an atomic force microscope. These findings demonstrate that the low friction of articular cartilage can be modified by TGF-beta1 and IL-1beta treatment and that the friction coefficient depends on multiple factors, including SZP localization and surface roughness.

Effects of beta-blockers and nicardipine on oxotremorine-induced tremor in common marmosets.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitsuda, M; Nomoto, M; Iwata, S

1999-10-01

Effects of beta-blockers (propranolol, arotinolol and nipradilol) and a Ca2+ channel blocker (nicardipine) on oxotremorine-induced tremor were studied in common marmosets. Generalized tremor was elicited by an intraperitoneal administration of 0.25 mg/kg oxotremorine. Intensity of the tremor was classified into 7 degrees, and it was evaluated every 10 min. The total intensity of oxotremorine-induced tremor for each drug was expressed as "points", which were the sum of tremor intensity scores evaluated every 10 min up to 190 min following the administration of oxotremorine. Beta-blockers significantly suppressed the tremor. On the other hand, the Ca2+ channel blocker exacerbated the tremor.

Fibronectin regulates the activation of THP-1 cells by TGF-beta1.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, A C; Fu, L

2001-03-01

To determine how fibronectin regulates the immunomodulatory effects of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta on THP-1 cells. THP-1 monocytic cell line. THP-1 cells were primed for 48 h in the presence or absence of 250 pM TGF-beta1. Assays or assessments carried out, together with statistical test applied. We found that adherence to fibronectin dramatically modulates the effects of TGF-beta1 on the human monocytic cell line THP-1. TGF-beta did not significantly affect constitutive interleukin (IL)-8 secretion or IL-1beta-induced IL-8 secretion from suspended cells. In contrast, TGF-beta stimulated IL-8 secretion as well as augmented IL-1beta-induced IL-8 secretion from adherent cells. The differential effects of TGF-beta1 on IL-8 secretion from suspended and adherent cells could not be explained by differences in IL-1 receptor antagonist production. The effects of fibronectin on TGF-beta1 induced IL-8 secretion from THP-1 cells were mimicked by adhesion to immobilized anti-a4beta1 integrin antibody and to a fibronectin fragment containing the CS-1 domain. These results indicate that alpha4beta1-mediated adhesion to fibronectin may play a key role during inflammation by profoundly influencing the effects of TGF-beta1 on monocytes.

Effect of long-term transfusion therapy on the glycometabolic status and pancreatic beta cell function in patients with beta Thalassemia major

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Kamalakshi G Bhat

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Diabetes mellitus is a major complication of iron overload in patients with beta thalassemia major. Design: This is a descriptive study conducted in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital to analyze beta cell function and insulin resistance, and their relation to iron overload status in beta thalassemia major. Fasting glucose, two-hour post load glucose, fasting insulin, alanine amino transaminase (ALT, and ferritin were used as outcome measures. The homeostatic model assessment (HOMA model was used to calculate the beta cell function and insulin resistance index. Results: Of the 30 cases, 20% had impaired fasting glucose, 3.3% had impaired glucose tolerance, and none had diabetes. Fasting glucose was not significant between the cases and controls (P = 0.113. Fasting insulin (P = 0.001, ferritin (P = 0.001, and ALT (P = 0.001 levels were significantly high in the cases. Insulin resistance index was significantly higher in the cases (P = 0.001 as also the beta cell function (P = 0.001. With increase in age and the number of units transfused there is a decline in beta cell function, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance after attaining the maximum level. This suggests that initial insulin resistance is followed by insulin depletion due to loss of beta cell function, leading to diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT and insulin resistance precede the onset of insulin-dependent diabetes and adequate chelation therapy is essential for delaying the onset or for prevention of diabetes.

Approach to high stability beta limit and its control by fast wave current drive in reversed field pinch plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusano, K.; Kondoh, Y.; Gesso, H.; Osanai, Y.; Saito, K.N.; Ukai, R.; Nanba, T.; Nagamine, Y.; Shiina, S.

2001-01-01

Before the generation of steady state, dynamo-free RFP configuration by rf current driving scheme, it is necessary to find an optimum configuration into high stability beta limit against m=1 resonant resistive MHD modes and reducing nonlinearly turbulent level with less rf power. As first step to the optimization study, we are interested in partially relaxed state model (PRSM) RFP configuration, which is considered to be closer to a relaxed state at finite beta since it has force-free fields for poloidal direction with a relatively shorter characteristic length of relaxation and a relatively higher stability beta limit to m=1 resonant ideal MHD modes. The stability beta limit to m=1 resonant resistive MHD modes can be predicted to be relatively high among other RFP models and to be enhanced by the current density profile control using fast magnetosonic waves (FMW), which are accessible to high density region with strong absorption rate. (author)

Effect of interleukin-1beta on the behavior of rats during mild stress in the open-field test.

Science.gov (United States)

Pertsov, S S; Koplik, E V; Simbirtsev, A S; Kalinichenko, L S

2009-11-01

We studied the effect of interleukin-1beta on the behavior of rats with different individual typological characteristics during mild stress in the open-field test. Intraperitoneal injection of interleukin-1beta (5 microg/kg, 108 U/mg) was followed by a decrease in orientation and exploratory activity of passive and, particularly, of active animals in the open field. As differentiated from rats receiving physiological saline, the initial differences in behavioral characteristics of active and passive animals were not revealed in the repeated test after injection of interleukin-1beta. We conclude that interleukin-1beta abolishes the behavioral differences between active and passive specimens in the open field. These data suggest that administration of interleukin-1beta to rats leads to reorganization of the mechanisms for emotional evaluation of adverse emotiogenic factors under conditions of mild stress in the open-field test.

Experimental study of finite Larmor radius effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Struve, K.W.

1980-08-01

Linear Z-pinches in Ar, Kr, Xe, N 2 , and He are experimentally studied in regimes where strong finite Larmor radius effects could provide a significant stabilizing effect. Scaling arguments show that for deuterium such a pinch has an electron line density of order 2 x 10 15 /cm. For higher Z plasmas a higher line density is allowed, the exact value of which depends on the average ion charge. The pinch is formed by puffing gas axially through the cathode towards the anode of an evacuated pinch chamber. When the gas reaches the anode, the pinch bank is fired. The pinch current rises in 2 to 3 μsec to a maximum of 100 to 200 kA. The pinch bank capacitance is 900 μF, and the external inductance is 100 nH. Additionally, the bank is fused to increase dI/dt. The primary diagnostics are a framing camera, a spatially resolved Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and X-ray absorption

Milk Intolerance, Beta-Casein and Lactose.

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Sebely; Woodford, Keith; Kukuljan, Sonja; Ho, Suleen

2015-08-31

True lactose intolerance (symptoms stemming from lactose malabsorption) is less common than is widely perceived, and should be viewed as just one potential cause of cows' milk intolerance. There is increasing evidence that A1 beta-casein, a protein produced by a major proportion of European-origin cattle but not purebred Asian or African cattle, is also associated with cows' milk intolerance. In humans, digestion of bovine A1 beta-casein, but not the alternative A2 beta-casein, releases beta-casomorphin-7, which activates μ-opioid receptors expressed throughout the gastrointestinal tract and body. Studies in rodents show that milk containing A1 beta-casein significantly increases gastrointestinal transit time, production of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and the inflammatory marker myeloperoxidase compared with milk containing A2 beta-casein. Co-administration of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone blocks the myeloperoxidase and gastrointestinal motility effects, indicating opioid signaling pathway involvement. In humans, a double-blind, randomized cross-over study showed that participants consuming A1 beta-casein type cows' milk experienced statistically significantly higher Bristol stool values compared with those receiving A2 beta-casein milk. Additionally, a statistically significant positive association between abdominal pain and stool consistency was observed when participants consumed the A1 but not the A2 diet. Further studies of the role of A1 beta-casein in milk intolerance are needed.

Milk Intolerance, Beta-Casein and Lactose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebely Pal

2015-08-01

Full Text Available True lactose intolerance (symptoms stemming from lactose malabsorption is less common than is widely perceived, and should be viewed as just one potential cause of cows’ milk intolerance. There is increasing evidence that A1 beta-casein, a protein produced by a major proportion of European-origin cattle but not purebred Asian or African cattle, is also associated with cows’ milk intolerance. In humans, digestion of bovine A1 beta-casein, but not the alternative A2 beta-casein, releases beta-casomorphin-7, which activates μ-opioid receptors expressed throughout the gastrointestinal tract and body. Studies in rodents show that milk containing A1 beta-casein significantly increases gastrointestinal transit time, production of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and the inflammatory marker myeloperoxidase compared with milk containing A2 beta-casein. Co-administration of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone blocks the myeloperoxidase and gastrointestinal motility effects, indicating opioid signaling pathway involvement. In humans, a double-blind, randomized cross-over study showed that participants consuming A1 beta-casein type cows’ milk experienced statistically significantly higher Bristol stool values compared with those receiving A2 beta-casein milk. Additionally, a statistically significant positive association between abdominal pain and stool consistency was observed when participants consumed the A1 but not the A2 diet. Further studies of the role of A1 beta-casein in milk intolerance are needed.

On The Effective Construction of Asymmetric Chudnovsky Multiplication Algorithms in Finite Fields Without Derivated Evaluation

OpenAIRE

Ballet, Stéphane; Baudru, Nicolas; Bonnecaze, Alexis; Tukumuli, Mila

2016-01-01

The Chudnovsky and Chudnovsky algorithm for the multiplication in extensions of finite fields provides a bilinear complexity which is uniformly linear whith respect to the degree of the extension. Recently, Randriambololona has generalized the method, allowing asymmetry in the interpolation procedure and leading to new upper bounds on the bilinear complexity. We describe the effective algorithm of this asymmetric method, without derivated evaluation. Finally, we give examples with the finite ...

Prenatal programming of skeletal development in the offspring: effects of maternal treatment with beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) on femur properties in pigs at slaughter age.

Science.gov (United States)

Tatara, Marcin R; Sliwa, Ewa; Krupski, Witold

2007-06-01

Alteration in fetal growth and development in response to prenatal environmental conditions such as nutrition has long-term or permanent effects during postnatal life. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) treatment of sows during the last 2 weeks of pregnancy on programming of skeletal development in the offspring. The study was performed on 141 pigs born by 12 sows of Polish Landrace breed. Two weeks before delivery, pregnant sows were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of control sows (N=6) that were treated with placebo. Sows that were orally treated with beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (N=6) at the dosage of 0.05 g/kg of body weight per day belonged to the second group. Newborn piglets were weighed and subjected to blood collection for determination of serum levels of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin, leptin, glucose and bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) activity and lipid profile. At the age of 6 months, the piglets were slaughtered, their femur was isolated for analysis and assessment of lean meat content of carcasses was performed. The effects of maternal administration with HMB on skeletal properties in the offspring were evaluated in relation to bone mineral density and geometrical and mechanical properties. Maternal treatment with HMB increased serum levels of GH, IGF-1 and BAP activity in the newborns by 38.0%, 20.0% and 26.0%, respectively (PHMB administration significantly increased volumetric bone mineral density of the trabecular and cortical bone of femur in the offspring at the age of 6 months (PHMB treatment (PHMB induced higher values of maximum elastic strength and ultimate strength of femur (PHMB-treated sows (PHMB has positive long-term effects on bone tissue and improves volumetric bone mineral density, geometrical and mechanical properties of femur in the offspring. These effects were connected with increased level of GH and IGF-1 in the

Use of beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs in hyperthyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Feely, J; Peden, N

1984-05-01

There is an increasing use and variety of beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents (beta-blockers) available for the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Recent comparative studies suggest that atenolol (200mg daily), metoprolol (200mg daily); acebutolol (400mg daily), oxprenolol ( 160mg daily), nadolol ( 80mg daily) and timolol (20mg daily) produce a beneficial clinical response equal to that seen with propranolol ( 160mg daily). Most beta-blockers reduce resting heart rate by approximately 25 to 30 beats/min, although a lesser reduction is seen with those possessing intrinsic sympathomimetic activity such as oxprenolol and pindolol. While earlier studies employing large doses of intravenous propranolol concluded that beta-blockade reduced myocardial contractility, more recent non-invasive studies suggest that the predominant cardiac effect is on heart rate. In patients with cardiac failure, beta-blockers may, however, produce a profound fall in cardiac output. Nevertheless, in combination with digoxin they may be useful in controlling the atrial fibrillation of thyrocardiac disease. beta-Blockers improve nervousness and tremor (although to a lesser extent with cardioselective agents) and severe myopathy, and they also reduce the frequency of paralysis in patients with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis. There is often subjective improvement in sweating but usually no major effect on eye signs. Recent studies show a 10% reduction in oxygen consumption/basal metabolic rate with long term oral use of selective or nonselective beta-blockers. In addition, many agents (propranolol, metoprolol, nadolol and sotalol but not acebutolol, atenolol or oxprenolol) reduce circulating tri-iodothyronine (T3) concentration by between 10 and 40%, although the clinical significance of this effect (if any) is not established. beta-Blockers may also have endocrinological effects on gastrin, cyclic AMP, catecholamines and other hormone levels. Given in adequate dosage, propranolol has been shown to

On the calculation of finite-temperature effects in field theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, F.T.; Frenkel, J.; Taylor, J.C.

1991-03-01

We discuss an alternative method for computing finite-temperature effects in field theories, within the framework of the imaginary-time formalism. Our approach allows for a systematic calculation of the high temperature expansion in terms of Riemann Zeta functions. The imaginary-time result is analytically continued to the complex plane. We are able to obtain the real-time limit of the real and the imaginary parts of the Green functions. (author)

Effects of the beta-carbolines, harmane and pinoline, on insulin secretion from isolated human islets of Langerhans.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, E Jane; Hudson, Alan L; Parker, Christine A; Morgan, Noel G

2003-12-15

It is well known that certain imidazoline compounds can stimulate insulin secretion and this has been attributed to the activation of imidazoline I(3) binding sites in the pancreatic beta-cell. Recently, it has been proposed that beta-carbolines may be endogenous ligands having activity at imidazoline sites and we have, therefore, studied the effects of beta-carbolines on insulin secretion. The beta-carbolines harmane, norharmane and pinoline increased insulin secretion two- to threefold from isolated human islets of Langerhans. The effects of harmane and pinoline were dose-dependent (EC(50): 5 and 25 microM, respectively) and these agents also blocked the inhibitory effects of the potassium channel agonist, diazoxide, on glucose-induced insulin release. Stimulation of insulin secretion by harmane was glucose-dependent but, unlike the imidazoline I(3) receptor agonist efaroxan, it increased the rate of insulin release beyond that elicited by 20 mM glucose (20 mM glucose alone: 253+/-34% vs. basal; 20 mM glucose plus 100 microM harmane: 327+/-15%; P<0.01). Stimulation of insulin secretion by harmane was attenuated by the imidazoline I(3) receptor antagonist KU14R (2 (2-ethyl 2,3-dihydro-2-benzofuranyl)-2-imidazole) and was reduced when islets were treated with efaroxan for 18 h, prior to the addition of harmane. The results reveal that beta-carbolines can potentiate the rate of insulin secretion from human islets and suggest that these agents may be useful prototypes for the development of novel insulin secretagogues.

Stereoselective and nonstereoselective effects of ibuprofen enantiomers on mitochondrial beta-oxidation of fatty acids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freneaux, E.; Fromenty, B.; Berson, A.; Labbe, G.; Degott, C.; Letteron, P.; Larrey, D.; Pessayre, D. (Unite de Recherches de Physiolopathologie Hepatique (INSERM U-24), Hopital Beaujon, Clichy (France))

1990-11-01

The effects of the R-(-) and S-(+)ibuprofen enantiomers were first studied in vitro with mouse liver mitochondria incubated in the presence of various concentrations of exogenous coenzyme A. In the presence of a low concentration of coenzyme A (2.5 microM), the R-(-)enantiomer (which forms an acylcoenzyme A) inhibited stereoselectively the beta oxidation of (1-{sup 14}C)palmitic acid but not that of (1-{sup 14}C)palmitoyl-L-carnitine (which can directly enter the mitochondria). In the presence, however, of a concentration of coenzyme A (50 microM) reproducing that present in liver cell cytosol, both enantiomers (2 mM) slightly inhibited the beta oxidation of (1-{sup 14}C)palmitic acid and markedly inhibited the beta oxidation of (1-{sup 14}C)octanoic acid and (1-{sup 14}C)butyric acid. In vivo, both enantiomers (1 mmol.kg-1) similarly inhibited the formation of ({sup 14}C)CO{sub 2} from (1-{sup 14}C)fatty acids. Both enantiomers similarly decreased plasma ketone bodies. Both similarly increased hepatic triglycerides, and both produced mild microvesicular steatosis of the liver. We conclude that both ibuprofen enantiomers inhibit beta oxidation of fatty acids in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the R-(-)enantiomer may stereoselectively sequester coenzyme A; at low concentrations of coenzyme A in vitro, this may stereoselectively inhibit the mitochondrial uptake and beta oxidation of long chain fatty acids.

Curcumin decreases amyloid-beta peptide levels by attenuating the maturation of amyloid-beta precursor protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Can; Browne, Andrew; Child, Daniel; Tanzi, Rudolph E

2010-09-10

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with no cure. The pathogenesis of AD is believed to be driven primarily by amyloid-beta (Abeta), the principal component of senile plaques. Abeta is an approximately 4-kDa peptide generated via cleavage of the amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP). Curcumin is a compound in the widely used culinary spice, turmeric, which possesses potent and broad biological activities, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, chemopreventative effects, and effects on protein trafficking. Recent in vivo studies indicate that curcumin is able to reduce Abeta-related pathology in transgenic AD mouse models via unknown molecular mechanisms. Here, we investigated the effects of curcumin on Abeta levels and APP processing in various cell lines and mouse primary cortical neurons. We show for the first time that curcumin potently lowers Abeta levels by attenuating the maturation of APP in the secretory pathway. These data provide a mechanism of action for the ability of curcumin to attenuate amyloid-beta pathology.

Effects of exendin-4 on glucose tolerance, insulin secretion, and beta-cell proliferation depend on treatment dose, treatment duration and meal contents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arakawa, Masayuki; Ebato, Chie; Mita, Tomoya; Hirose, Takahisa; Kawamori, Ryuzo; Fujitani, Yoshio; Watada, Hirotaka

2009-01-01

Beta-cell proliferation is regulated by various metabolic demands including peripheral insulin resistance, obesity, and hyperglycemia. In addition to enhancement of glucose-induced insulin secretion, agonists for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) stimulate proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of beta-cells, thereby probably preserve beta-cell mass. To evaluate the beta-cell preserving actions of GLP-1R agonists, we assessed the acute and chronic effects of exendin-4 on beta-cell proliferation, mass and glucose tolerance in C57BL/6J mice under various conditions. Short-term administration of high-dose exendin-4 transiently stimulated beta-cell proliferation. Comparative transcriptomic analysis showed upregulation of IGF-1 receptor and its downstream effectors in islets. Treatment of mice with exendin-4 daily for 4 weeks (long-term administration) and feeding high-fat diet resulted in significant inhibition of weight gain and improvement of glucose tolerance with reduced insulin secretion and beta-cell mass. These findings suggest that long-term GLP-1 treatment results in insulin sensitization of peripheral organs, rather than enhancement of beta-cell proliferation and function, particularly when animals are fed high-fat diet. Thus, the effects of exendin-4 on glucose tolerance, insulin secretion, and beta-cell proliferation largely depend on treatment dose, duration of treatment and meal contents. While GLP-1 enhances proliferation of beta-cells in some diabetic mice models, our results suggest that GLP-1 stimulates beta-cell growth only when expansion of beta-cell mass is required to meet metabolic demands.

Effects of exendin-4 on glucose tolerance, insulin secretion, and beta-cell proliferation depend on treatment dose, treatment duration and meal contents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arakawa, Masayuki; Ebato, Chie; Mita, Tomoya [Department of Medicine, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Hirose, Takahisa [Department of Medicine, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Center for Therapeutic Innovations in Diabetes, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Kawamori, Ryuzo [Department of Medicine, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Center for Therapeutic Innovations in Diabetes, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Center for Beta Cell Biology and Regeneration, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Sportology Center, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Fujitani, Yoshio, E-mail: fujitani@juntendo.ac.jp [Department of Medicine, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Center for Therapeutic Innovations in Diabetes, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Watada, Hirotaka, E-mail: hwatada@juntendo.ac.jp [Department of Medicine, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan); Sportology Center, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo (Japan)

2009-12-18

Beta-cell proliferation is regulated by various metabolic demands including peripheral insulin resistance, obesity, and hyperglycemia. In addition to enhancement of glucose-induced insulin secretion, agonists for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) stimulate proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of beta-cells, thereby probably preserve beta-cell mass. To evaluate the beta-cell preserving actions of GLP-1R agonists, we assessed the acute and chronic effects of exendin-4 on beta-cell proliferation, mass and glucose tolerance in C57BL/6J mice under various conditions. Short-term administration of high-dose exendin-4 transiently stimulated beta-cell proliferation. Comparative transcriptomic analysis showed upregulation of IGF-1 receptor and its downstream effectors in islets. Treatment of mice with exendin-4 daily for 4 weeks (long-term administration) and feeding high-fat diet resulted in significant inhibition of weight gain and improvement of glucose tolerance with reduced insulin secretion and beta-cell mass. These findings suggest that long-term GLP-1 treatment results in insulin sensitization of peripheral organs, rather than enhancement of beta-cell proliferation and function, particularly when animals are fed high-fat diet. Thus, the effects of exendin-4 on glucose tolerance, insulin secretion, and beta-cell proliferation largely depend on treatment dose, duration of treatment and meal contents. While GLP-1 enhances proliferation of beta-cells in some diabetic mice models, our results suggest that GLP-1 stimulates beta-cell growth only when expansion of beta-cell mass is required to meet metabolic demands.

The low-energy effective theory of QCD at small quark masses in a finite volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lehner, Christoph

2010-01-15

At low energies the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) can be described effectively in terms of the lightest particles of the theory, the pions. This approximation is valid for temperatures well below the mass difference of the pions to the next heavier particles. We study the low-energy effective theory at very small quark masses in a finite volume V. The corresponding perturbative expansion in 1/{radical}(V) is called {epsilon} expansion. At each order of this expansion a finite number of low-energy constants completely determine the effective theory. These low-energy constants are of great phenomenological importance. In the leading order of the {epsilon} expansion, called {epsilon} regime, the theory becomes zero-dimensional and is therefore described by random matrix theory (RMT). The dimensionless quantities of RMT are mapped to dimensionful quantities of the low-energy effective theory using the leading-order lowenergy constants {sigma} and F. In this way {sigma} and F can be obtained from lattice QCD simulations in the '' regime by a fit to RMT predictions. For typical volumes of state-of-the-art lattice QCD simulations, finite-volume corrections to the RMT prediction cannot be neglected. These corrections can be calculated in higher orders of the {epsilon} expansion. We calculate the finite-volume corrections to {sigma} and F at next-to-next-to-leading order in the {epsilon} expansion. We also discuss non-universal modifications of the theory due to the finite volume. These results are then applied to lattice QCD simulations, and we extract {sigma} and F from eigenvalue correlation functions of the Dirac operator. As a side result, we provide a proof of equivalence between the parametrization of the partially quenched low-energy effective theory without singlet particle and that of the super-Riemannian manifold used earlier in the literature. Furthermore, we calculate a special version of the massless sunset diagram at finite volume without

Generalized finite elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wachspress, E.

2009-01-01

Triangles and rectangles are the ubiquitous elements in finite element studies. Only these elements admit polynomial basis functions. Rational functions provide a basis for elements having any number of straight and curved sides. Numerical complexities initially associated with rational bases precluded extensive use. Recent analysis has reduced these difficulties and programs have been written to illustrate effectiveness. Although incorporation in major finite element software requires considerable effort, there are advantages in some applications which warrant implementation. An outline of the basic theory and of recent innovations is presented here. (authors)

Hypertrophic effect of inhaled beta -agonist with and without concurrent exercise training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jessen, Søren; Onslev, Johan; Lemminger, Anders

2018-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Due to a high prevalence of asthma and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in elite athletes, there is a high use of beta2 -adrenoceptor agonists (beta2 -agonists) in the athletic population. While anabolic in rodents, no study has been able to detect hypertrophy in humans after...... chronic beta2 -agonist inhalation. METHODS: We investigated if inhaled beta2 -agonist, terbutaline, alters body composition and metabolic rate with and without concurrent exercise training in healthy young men. Sixty-seven participants completed a four-week intervention of daily terbutaline (8×0.5 mg...

Beta-blockers and statins in the context of asthma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Pawlak

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Asthma is a disease with a complex pathogenesis and differentiated clinical picture with airway inflammation in its background. Many cells and cell-released substances are engaged in the course of the disease. The basic treatment strategy in asthma is based on chronic administration of inhaled glucocorticosteroids (with a strong anti-inflammatory effect and beta2-adrenoreceptor agonists (bronchodilatory effect. Much attention has been recently paid to the effects of other medicines on mechanisms important in the pathogenesis of asthma, including beta-blockers and statins. Many researchers have suggested a potentially useful role of some beta-blockers in chronic asthma therapy, particularly considering their effect on the pharmacodynamics of beta receptors in the bronchi. Moreover, statins, due to their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, can also be useful in the management of asthma.

The effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) and HMB/creatine supplementation on indices of health in highly trained athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowe, Melissa J; O'Connor, Donna M; Lukins, Joann E

2003-06-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of 6 wk oral supplementation of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) and HMB combined with creatine monohydrate (HMBCr) on indices of health in highly trained athletes. Elite, male rugby league players (n=28) were allocated to 1 of 3 groups: a control group (n=6), a HMB group (3 g/d; n=11), or a HMBCr group (3 g/day HMB, 3 g/d Cr; n=11). Testing prior to, and immediately following, supplementation included a full blood count, plasma testosterone and cortisol, blood electrolytes, lipids, urea and glucose, sperm count and motility, and assessment of psychological state. A 3 x 2 factorial ANOVA revealed no effect of HMB or HMBCr on any of the measured parameters except minor changes in blood bicarbonate and blood monocyte and lymphocyte counts. Blood bicarbonate was significantly decreased in the HMB post-supplementation sample compared to the control and HMBCr groups. Blood monocyte and lymphocyte counts showed no within-group changes for HMB or HMBCr supplementation but were significantly different from the control. However, the majority of these readings remained within normal range. HMB and HMBCr were concluded to have no adverse effects on the parameters evaluated in this study when taken orally by highly trained male athletes over a 6-wk period.

Marginal versus Average Beta of Equity under Corporate Taxation

OpenAIRE

Lund, Diderik

2009-01-01

Even for fully equity-financed firms there may be substantial effects of taxation on the after-tax cost of capital. Among the few studies of these effects, even fewer identify all effects correctly. When marginal investment is taxed together with inframarginal, marginal beta differs from average if there are investment-related deductions like depreciation. To calculate asset betas, one should not only 'unlever observed equity betas, but 'untax' and 'unaverage' them. Risky tax claims are value...

Resistance training & beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate supplementation on hormones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamid Arazi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available RESUMOIntroduction:In recent years, there was an increased interest on the effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB supplementation on skeletal muscle due to its anti-catabolic effects.Objectives:To investigate the effect of HMB supplementation on body composition, muscular strength and anabolic-catabolic hormones after resistance training.Methods:Twenty amateur male athletes were randomly assigned to supplement and control groups in a double-blind crossover design and participated in four weeks resistance training. Before and after the test period fasting blood samples were obtained to determine anabolic (the growth hormone and testosterone and catabolic (cortisol hormones, and fat mass, lean body mass (LBM and muscular strength were measured. Dependent and independent t-tests were used to analyze data.Results:After the training period, there were no significant differen-ces between the groups with respect to fat mass, LBM and anabolic-catabolic hormones. HMB supplementation resulted in a significantly greater strength gain (p≤0.05.Conclusion:Greater increase in strength for HMB group was not accompanied by body composition and basal circulating anabolic-catabolic hormonal changes. It seems that HMB supplementation may have beneficial effects on neurological adaptations of strength gain.

Mechanical loading prevents the stimulating effect of IL-1{beta} on osteocyte-modulated osteoclastogenesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kulkarni, Rishikesh N.; Bakker, Astrid D.; Everts, Vincent [Department of Oral Cell Biology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, Research Institute MOVE, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Klein-Nulend, Jenneke, E-mail: j.kleinnulend@acta.nl [Department of Oral Cell Biology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, Research Institute MOVE, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2012-03-30

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Osteocyte incubation with IL-1{beta} stimulated osteocyte-modulated osteoclastogenesis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Conditioned medium from IL-1{beta}-treated osteocytes increased osteoclastogenesis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer IL-1{beta} upregulated RANKL and downregulated OPG gene expression by osteocytes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer CYR61 is upregulated in mechanically stimulated osteocytes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Mechanical loading of osteocytes may abolish IL-1{beta}-induced osteoclastogenesis. -- Abstract: Inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis are often accompanied by higher plasma and synovial fluid levels of interleukin-1{beta} (IL-1{beta}), and by increased bone resorption. Since osteocytes are known to regulate bone resorption in response to changes in mechanical stimuli, we investigated whether IL-1{beta} affects osteocyte-modulated osteoclastogenesis in the presence or absence of mechanical loading of osteocytes. MLO-Y4 osteocytes were pre-incubated with IL-1{beta} (0.1-1 ng/ml) for 24 h. Cells were either or not subjected to mechanical loading by 1 h pulsating fluid flow (PFF; 0.7 {+-} 0.3 Pa, 5 Hz) in the presence of IL-1{beta} (0.1-1 ng/ml). Conditioned medium was collected after 1 h PFF or static cultures. Subsequently mouse bone marrow cells were seeded on top of the IL-1{beta}-treated osteocytes to determine osteoclastogenesis. Conditioned medium from mechanically loaded or static IL-1{beta}-treated osteocytes was added to co-cultures of untreated osteocytes and mouse bone marrow cells. Gene expression of cysteine-rich protein 61 (CYR61/CCN1), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) by osteocytes was determined immediately after PFF. Incubation of osteocytes with IL-1{beta}, as well as conditioned medium from static IL-1{beta}-treated osteocytes increased the formation of osteoclasts. However, conditioned medium from mechanically loaded IL

Effect of nipradilol, a beta-adrenergic blocker with vasodilating activity, on oxotremorine-induced tremor in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwata, S; Nomoto, M; Fukuda, T

1996-10-01

The effect of nipradilol, a nonselective beta-adrenergic receptor blocker with nitroglycerin-like vasodilating activity, on oxotremorine-induced tremor was studied in mice. General tremor in mice was elicited by 0.5 mg/kg oxotremorine. The tremor was quantified using a capacitance transducer, then analyzed by a signal processor. The strength of the tremor was expressed in "points". The point values of the tremor (mean +/- SE) in control mice for 5 mg/kg (+/-)-propranolol, 2.5 mg/kg arotinolol, 0.5 mg/kg nipradilol, 1.0 mg/kg nipradilol and 2.5 mg/kg nipradilol were 87 +/- 16, 42 +/- 6, 38 +/- 6, 99 +/- 28, 28 +/- 6 and 31 +/- 7, respectively. The strength of the tremor was reduced by all beta-blockers. Although 1.0 mg/kg nipradilol significantly reduced the tremor, further inhibition of the tremor was not obtained with dosages up to 2.5 mg/kg of the drug. In conclusion, nipradilol was effective for suppressing oxotremorine-induced tremor, as were other beta-blockers.

Prediction of beta-turns with learning machines.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yu-Dong; Liu, Xiao-Jun; Li, Yi-Xue; Xu, Xue-biao; Chou, Kuo-Chen

2003-05-01

The support vector machine approach was introduced to predict the beta-turns in proteins. The overall self-consistency rate by the re-substitution test for the training or learning dataset reached 100%. Both the training dataset and independent testing dataset were taken from Chou [J. Pept. Res. 49 (1997) 120]. The success prediction rates by the jackknife test for the beta-turn subset of 455 tetrapeptides and non-beta-turn subset of 3807 tetrapeptides in the training dataset were 58.1 and 98.4%, respectively. The success rates with the independent dataset test for the beta-turn subset of 110 tetrapeptides and non-beta-turn subset of 30,231 tetrapeptides were 69.1 and 97.3%, respectively. The results obtained from this study support the conclusion that the residue-coupled effect along a tetrapeptide is important for the formation of a beta-turn.

Kinetic-Scale Magnetic Turbulence and Finite Larmor Radius Effects at Mercury

Science.gov (United States)

Uritsky, V. M.; Slavin, J. A.; Khazanov, G. V.; Donovan, E. F.; Boardsen, S. A.; Anderson, B. J.; Korth, H.

2011-01-01

We use a nonstationary generalization of the higher-order structure function technique to investigate statistical properties of the magnetic field fluctuations recorded by MESSENGER spacecraft during its first flyby (01/14/2008) through the near-Mercury space environment, with the emphasis on key boundary regions participating in the solar wind - magnetosphere interaction. Our analysis shows, for the first time, that kinetic-scale fluctuations play a significant role in the Mercury's magnetosphere up to the largest resolvable timescale (approx.20 s) imposed by the signal nonstationariry, suggesting that turbulence at this plane I is largely controlled by finite Larmor radius effects. In particular, we report the presence of a highly turbulent and extended foreshock system filled with packets of ULF oscillations, broad-band intermittent fluctuations in the magnetosheath, ion-kinetic turbulence in the central plasma sheet of Mercury's magnetotail, and kinetic-scale fluctuations in the inner current sheet encountered at the outbound (dawn-side) magnetopause. Overall, our measurements indicate that the Hermean magnetosphere, as well as the surrounding region, are strongly affected by non-MHD effects introduced by finite sizes of cyclotron orbits of the constituting ion species. Physical mechanisms of these effects and their potentially critical impact on the structure and dynamics of Mercury's magnetic field remain to be understood.

Biosynthesis and release of beta-endorphin-, N-acetyl beta-endorphin-, beta-endorphin-(1-27)-, and N-acetyl beta-endorphin-(1-27)-like peptides by rat pituitary neurointermediate lobe: beta-endorphin is not further processed by anterior lobe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liotta, A.S.; Yamaguchi, H.; Krieger, D.T.

1981-01-01

Continuous labeling and pulse-chase techniques were employed to study the synthesis and secretion of multiple forms of immunoreactive beta-endorphin by cultured dispersed rat anterior lobe cells and intact neurointermediate pituitary lobe. Intact neurointermediate lobes incorporated radiolabeled amino acids into four to six forms of immunoreactive beta-endorphin. Four of these forms were physicochemically similar to authentic beta-endorphin, N-acetylated beta-endorphin, beta-endorphin-(1-27), and N-acetylated beta-endorphin-(1-27). Pulse-chase studies indicated that a beta-lipotropin-like molecule served as a metabolic intermediate for a beta-endorphin-like molecule. As beta-endorphin-like material accumulated in the cell, some of it was N-acetylated (approximately 18% at 2 hr chase and approximately 65% at 18 hr chase). At later chase times, beta-endorphin-(1-27)- and N-acetylated beta-endorphin-(1-27)-like peptides were the predominant molecular species detected. All endorphin forms were detected in unlabeled tissue maintained in culture or tissue continuously labeled for 72 hr and were released into the medium under basal, stimulatory (10(-8) M norepinephrine), or inhibitory (10(-7) M dopamine) incubation conditions. In all cases, beta-endorphin-(1-27)-like species were the predominant forms (more than 70% of total) present in the cells and released into the medium. In contrast, approximately 90% of radiolabeled immunoreactive beta-endorphin extracted from anterior lobe cells and medium similarly incubated appeared to represent the authentic beta-endorphin molecule. Continuous labeling (72 hr) revealed the beta-lipotropin/beta-endorphin molar ratio to be approximately 4. We conclude that, in anterior lobe, most of the beta-endorphin is not processed further and is released intact, while in neurointermediate lobe, it serves as a biosynthetic intermediate

Protein degradation in skeletal muscle during experimental hyperthyroidism in rats and the effect of beta-blocking agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Angerås, U; Hasselgren, P O

1987-04-01

beta-Blocking agents are increasingly used in the management of hyperthyroid patients. The effect of this treatment on increased muscle protein breakdown in the hyperthyroid state is not known. In the present study, experimental hyperthyroidism was induced in rats by daily ip injections of T3 (100 micrograms/100 g BW) during a 10-day period. Control animals received corresponding volumes of solvent. In groups of rats the selective beta-1-blocking agent metoprolol or the nonselective beta-blocker propranolol was infused by miniosmotic pumps implanted sc on the backs of the animals. Protein degradation was measured in incubated intact soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles by determining tyrosine release into the incubation medium. The protein degradation rate in incubated extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscles was increased by 50-60% during T3 treatment. Metoprolol or propranolol did not influence muscle protein breakdown in either T3-treated or control animals. The results suggest that T3-induced increased muscle proteolysis is not mediated by beta-receptors, and muscle weakness and wasting in hyperthyroidism might not be affected by beta-blockers.

Thermal stability and aggregation of creatine kinase from rabbit skeletal muscle. Effect of 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin.

Science.gov (United States)

Maloletkina, Olga I; Markossian, Kira A; Belousova, Lyubov V; Kleimenov, Sergey Yu; Orlov, Victor N; Makeeva, Valentina F; Kurganov, Boris I

2010-05-01

Effect of 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) on thermal aggregation of creatine kinase from rabbit skeletal muscle (RMCK) at 48 degrees C has been studied using dynamic light scattering. An increase in the duration of the lag period on the kinetic curves of aggregation, registered as an increment of the light scattering intensity in time, has been observed in the presence of HP-beta-CD. It has been shown that the initial parts of the dependences of the hydrodynamic radius (R(h)) of the protein aggregates on time follow the exponential law. The reciprocal value of parameter t(2R) (t(2R) is the time interval over which the R(h) value is doubled) was used to characterize the rate of aggregation. A 10-fold decrease in the 1/t(2R) value was observed in the presence of 76mM HP-beta-CD. Judging from the data on the kinetics of RMCK inactivation and the data on differential scanning calorimetry of RMCK, HP-beta-CD does not affect the rate of RMCK unfolding.

TGF-{beta}-stimulated aberrant expression of class III {beta}-tubulin via the ERK signaling pathway in cultured retinal pigment epithelial cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Eun Jee [Department of Ophthalmology, National Health Insurance Corporation Ilsan Hospital, Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Chun, Ji Na; Jung, Sun-Ah [Konyang University Myunggok Medical Research Institute, Kim' s Eye Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Jin Won [Department of Biology, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Joon H., E-mail: joonhlee@konyang.ac.kr [Konyang University Myunggok Medical Research Institute, Kim' s Eye Hospital, Konyang University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2011-11-18

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer TGF-{beta} induces aberrant expression of {beta}III in RPE cells via the ERK pathway. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer TGF-{beta} increases O-GlcNAc modification of {beta}III in RPE cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Mature RPE cells have the capacity to express a neuron-associated gene by TGF-{beta}. -- Abstract: The class III {beta}-tubulin isotype ({beta}{sub III}) is expressed exclusively by neurons within the normal human retina and is not present in normal retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in situ or in the early phase of primary cultures. However, aberrant expression of class III {beta}-tubulin has been observed in passaged RPE cells and RPE cells with dedifferentiated morphology in pathologic epiretinal membranes from idiopathic macular pucker, proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Transforming growth factor-{beta} (TGF-{beta}) has been implicated in dedifferentiation of RPE cells and has a critical role in the development of proliferative vitreoretinal diseases. Here, we investigated the potential effects of TGF-{beta} on the aberrant expression of class III {beta}-tubulin and the intracellular signaling pathway mediating these changes. TGF-{beta}-induced aberrant expression and O-linked-{beta}-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNac) modification of class III {beta}-tubulin in cultured RPE cells as determined using Western blotting, RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. TGF-{beta} also stimulated phosphorylation of ERK. TGF-{beta}-induced aberrant expression of class III {beta}-tubulin was significantly reduced by pretreatment with U0126, an inhibitor of ERK phosphorylation. Our findings indicate that TGF-{beta} stimulated aberrant expression of class III {beta}-tubulin via activation of the ERK signaling pathway. These data demonstrate that mature RPE cells have the capacity to express a neuron-associated gene in response to TGF-{beta} stimulation and provide useful information

Effects of toroidicity on resistive tearing modes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izzo, R.; Monticello, D.A.; Manickam, J.; Strauss, H.R.; Grimm, R.; McGuire, K.

1983-03-01

A reduced set of resistive MHD equations is solved numerically in three dimensions to study the stability of tokamak plasmas. Toroidal effects are included self-consistently to leading and next order in inverse aspect ratio, epsilon. The equations satisfy an energy integral. In addition, the momentum equation yields the Grad-Shafranov equation correct to all orders in epsilon. Low beta plasma are studied using several different q-profiles. In all cases, the linear growth rates are reduced by finite toroidicity. Excellent agreement with resistive PEST is obtianed. In some cases, toroidal effects lead to complete stabilization of the mode. Nonlinear results show smaller saturated island widths for finite aspect ratio compared to the cylindrical limit. If the current channel is wide enough so as to produce steep gradients towards the outside of the plasma, both the finite aspect ratio cases and cylindrical cases disrupt

Sound radiation from finite surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brunskog, Jonas

2013-01-01

A method to account for the effect of finite size in acoustic power radiation problem of planar surfaces using spatial windowing is developed. Cremer and Heckl presents a very useful formula for the power radiating from a structure using the spatially Fourier transformed velocity, which combined...... with spatially windowing of a plane waves can be used to take into account the finite size. In the present paper, this is developed by means of a radiation impedance for finite surfaces, that is used instead of the radiation impedance for infinite surfaces. In this way, the spatial windowing is included...

Beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic 125I-pindolol binding sites in the interpeduncular nucleus of the rat: Normal distribution and the effects of deafferentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battisti, W.P.; Artymyshyn, R.P.; Murray, M.

1989-01-01

The plasticity of the beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptor subtypes was examined in the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) of the adult rat. The beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist 125I-pindolol (125I-PIN) was used in conjunction with the selective subtype antagonists ICI 118,551 and ICI 89,406 to determine the subnuclear distribution of beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors in this nucleus and to correlate the receptor distribution with the distribution of both noradrenergic afferents from the locus coeruleus (LC) and non-noradrenergic afferents from the fasiculus retroflexus (FR). The density of these binding sites was examined following lesions that decreased (LC lesions) or increased (FR lesions) the density of the noradrenergic projection in the IPN. Quantitative radioautography indicated that beta 1-labeled binding sites account for the larger percentage of binding sites in the IPN. The beta 1-binding sites are densest in those subnuclei that receive a noradrenergic projection from the LC: the central, rostral, and intermediate subnuclei. beta 1-binding sites are algo homogeneously distributed throughout the lateral subnuclei, where there is no detectable noradrenergic innervation. beta 2-binding sites have a more restricted distribution. They are concentrated in the ventral half of the lateral subnuclei, where they account for 70% of total 125I-PIN binding sites. beta 2-binding sites are also present along the ventral border of the IPN. Some of this labeling extends into the central and intermediate subnuclei. Bilateral lesions of the LC, which selectively remove noradrenergic innervation to the IPN, result in an increase in the beta 1-binding sites. Bilateral lesions of the FR, which remove the major cholinergic and peptidergic input from the IPN, elicit an increase in noradrenergic projections and a decrease in beta 1-binding sites

Effect of beta-adrenoceptor blockers on human ether-a-go-go-related gene (HERG) potassium channels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dupuis, Delphine S; Klaerke, Dan A; Olesen, Søren-Peter

2005-01-01

Patients with congenital long QT syndrome may develop arrhythmias under conditions of increased sympathetic tone. We have addressed whether some of the beta-adrenoceptor blockers commonly used to prevent the development of these arrhythmias could per se block the cardiac HERG (Human Ether....... These data showed that HERG blockade by beta-adrenoceptor blockers occurred only at high micromolar concentrations, which are significantly above the recently established safe margin of 100 (Redfern et al., 2003).......-1H-inden-4-yl)oxy]-3-[(1-methylethyl)amino]-2-butanol hydrochloride) blocked the HERG channel with similar affinity, whereas the beta1-receptor antagonists metoprolol and atenolol showed weak effects. Further, the four compounds blocked HERG channels expressed in a mammalian HEK293 cell line...

Effect of statins on clinical and molecular responses to intramuscular interferon beta-1a.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudick, R A; Pace, A; Rani, M R S; Hyde, R; Panzara, M; Appachi, S; Shrock, J; Maurer, S L; Calabresi, P A; Confavreux, C; Galetta, S L; Lublin, F D; Radue, E-W; Ransohoff, R M

2009-06-09

Findings from a small clinical study suggested that statins may counteract the therapeutic effects of interferon beta (IFNbeta) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). We conducted a post hoc analysis of data from the Safety and Efficacy of Natalizumab in Combination With IFNbeta-1a in Patients With Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (SENTINEL) study to determine the effects of statins on efficacy of IFNbeta. SENTINEL was a prospective trial of patients with RRMS treated with natalizumab (Tysabri, Biogen Idec, Inc., Cambridge, MA) plus IM IFNbeta-1a (Avonex, Biogen Idec, Inc.) 30 microg compared with placebo plus IM IFNbeta-1a 30 microg. Clinical and MRI outcomes in patients treated with IM IFNbeta-1a only (no-statins group, n = 542) were compared with those of patients taking IM IFNbeta-1a and statins at doses used to treat hyperlipidemia (statins group, n = 40). No significant differences were observed between treatment groups in adjusted annualized relapse rate (p = 0.937), disability progression (p = 0.438), number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions (p = 0.604), or number of new or enlarging T2-hyperintense lesions (p = 0.802) at 2 years. More patients in the statins group reported fatigue, extremity pain, muscle aches, and increases in hepatic transaminases compared with patients in the no-statins group. Statin treatment had no ex vivo or in vitro effect on induction of IFN-stimulated genes. Statin therapy does not appear to affect clinical effects of IM interferon beta-1a in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis or the primary molecular response to interferon beta treatment.

The effect of TGF-beta2 on MMP-2 production and activity in highly metastatic human bladder carcinoma cell line 5637.

Science.gov (United States)

Dehnavi, Ehsan; Soheili, Zahra-Soheila; Samiei, Shahram; Ataei, Zahra; Aryan, Hajar

2009-06-01

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily regulates matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), which intrinsically regulate various cell behaviors leading to metastasis. We investigated the effect of TGF-beta(2) on MMP-2 regulation in human bladder carcinoma cell line 5637. Zymography, ELISA, and real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that TGF-beta(2) stimulated MMP-2 production, but the transcription of its gene remained unchanged. Wortmannin could not inhibit MMP-2 secretion and activity and conversely the amount of the protein and its enzymatic activity were increased. These data suggest that TGF-beta(2) increased MMP-2 at the posttranscriptional level and this upregulation was independent of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathway.

Purification of beta-acetylglucosaminase and beta-galactosidase from ram testis.

Science.gov (United States)

Caygill, J C; Roston, C P; Jevons, F R

1966-02-01

1. The presence of beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) in an acetic acid extract of ram testis is reported. Some properties of the crude enzyme preparation were studied. 2. The purification of beta-acetylglucosaminase (EC 3.2.1.30) and of beta-galactosidase from the ram-testis extract by ammonium sulphate precipitation and chromatography on a CM-cellulose column is described. 3. The final purifications of the separated enzymes achieved were for the beta-acetylglucosaminase 35 times and for the beta-galactosidase 99 times. 4. The possibility of using DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-200 to purify the enzymes was investigated.

Finite-size effects on band structure of CdS nanocrystallites studied by positron annihilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kar, Soumitra; Biswas, Subhajit; Chaudhuri, Subhadra; Nambissan, P.M.G.

2005-01-01

Quantum confinement effects in nanocrystalline CdS were studied using positrons as spectroscopic probes to explore the defect characteristics. The lifetime of positrons annihilating at the vacancy clusters on nanocrystalline grain surfaces increased remarkably consequent to the onset of such finite-size effects. The Doppler broadened line shape was also found to reflect rather sensitively such distinct changes in the electron momentum redistribution scanned by the positrons, owing to the widening of the band gap. The nanocrystalline sizes of the samples used were confirmed from x-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy and the optical absorption results supported the quantum size effects. Positron annihilation results indicated distinct qualitative changes between CdS nanorods and the bulk sample, notwithstanding the identical x-ray diffraction pattern and close resemblance of the optical absorption spectra. The results are promising in the event of positron annihilation being proved to be a very successful tool for the study of such finite-size effects in semiconductor nanoparticles

Practical continuous-variable quantum key distribution without finite sampling bandwidth effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Huasheng; Wang, Chao; Huang, Peng; Huang, Duan; Wang, Tao; Zeng, Guihua

2016-09-05

In a practical continuous-variable quantum key distribution system, finite sampling bandwidth of the employed analog-to-digital converter at the receiver's side may lead to inaccurate results of pulse peak sampling. Then, errors in the parameters estimation resulted. Subsequently, the system performance decreases and security loopholes are exposed to eavesdroppers. In this paper, we propose a novel data acquisition scheme which consists of two parts, i.e., a dynamic delay adjusting module and a statistical power feedback-control algorithm. The proposed scheme may improve dramatically the data acquisition precision of pulse peak sampling and remove the finite sampling bandwidth effects. Moreover, the optimal peak sampling position of a pulse signal can be dynamically calibrated through monitoring the change of the statistical power of the sampled data in the proposed scheme. This helps to resist against some practical attacks, such as the well-known local oscillator calibration attack.

The effect of loading time on flexible pavement dynamic response: a finite element analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Hao; Solaimanian, Mansour; Kumar, Tanmay; Stoffels, Shelley

2007-12-01

Dynamic response of asphalt concrete (AC) pavements under moving load is a key component for accurate prediction of flexible pavement performance. The time and temperature dependency of AC materials calls for utilizing advanced material characterization and mechanistic theories, such as viscoelasticity and stress/strain analysis. In layered elastic analysis, as implemented in the new Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), the time dependency is accounted for by calculating the loading times at different AC layer depths. In this study, the time effect on pavement response was evaluated by means of the concept of “pseudo temperature.” With the pavement temperature measured from instrumented thermocouples, the time and temperature dependency of AC materials was integrated into one single factor, termed “effective temperature.” Via this effective temperature, pavement responses under a transient load were predicted through finite element analysis. In the finite element model, viscoelastic behavior of AC materials was characterized through relaxation moduli, while the layers with unbound granular material were assumed to be in an elastic mode. The analysis was conducted for two different AC mixtures in a simplified flexible pavement structure at two different seasons. Finite element analysis results reveal that the loading time has a more pronounced impact on pavement response in the summer for both asphalt types. The results indicate that for reasonable prediction of dynamic response in flexible pavements, the effect of the depth-dependent loading time on pavement temperature should be considered.

Beta decay rates of neutron-rich nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marketin, Tomislav; Huther, Lutz; Martínez-Pinedo, Gabriel

2015-01-01

Heavy element nucleosynthesis models involve various properties of thousands of nuclei in order to simulate the intricate details of the process. By necessity, as most of these nuclei cannot be studied in a controlled environment, these models must rely on the nuclear structure models for input. Of all the properties, the beta-decay half-lives are one of the most important ones due to their direct impact on the resulting abundance distributions. Currently, a single large-scale calculation is available based on a QRPA calculation with a schematic interaction on top of the Finite Range Droplet Model. In this study we present the results of a large-scale calculation based on the relativistic nuclear energy density functional, where both the allowed and the first-forbidden transitions are studied in more than 5000 neutron-rich nuclei

Beta decay rates of neutron-rich nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marketin, Tomislav, E-mail: marketin@phy.hr [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Huther, Lutz [Institut für Kernphysik (Theoriezentrum), Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt (Germany); Martínez-Pinedo, Gabriel [Institut für Kernphysik (Theoriezentrum), Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt (Germany); GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerioneneforschung, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany)

2015-10-15

Heavy element nucleosynthesis models involve various properties of thousands of nuclei in order to simulate the intricate details of the process. By necessity, as most of these nuclei cannot be studied in a controlled environment, these models must rely on the nuclear structure models for input. Of all the properties, the beta-decay half-lives are one of the most important ones due to their direct impact on the resulting abundance distributions. Currently, a single large-scale calculation is available based on a QRPA calculation with a schematic interaction on top of the Finite Range Droplet Model. In this study we present the results of a large-scale calculation based on the relativistic nuclear energy density functional, where both the allowed and the first-forbidden transitions are studied in more than 5000 neutron-rich nuclei.

Finite element analysis theory and application with ANSYS

CERN Document Server

Moaveni, Saeed

2015-01-01

For courses in Finite Element Analysis, offered in departments of Mechanical or Civil and Environmental Engineering. While many good textbooks cover the theory of finite element modeling, Finite Element Analysis: Theory and Application with ANSYS is the only text available that incorporates ANSYS as an integral part of its content. Moaveni presents the theory of finite element analysis, explores its application as a design/modeling tool, and explains in detail how to use ANSYS intelligently and effectively. Teaching and Learning Experience This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience-for you and your students. It will help: *Present the Theory of Finite Element Analysis: The presentation of theoretical aspects of finite element analysis is carefully designed not to overwhelm students. *Explain How to Use ANSYS Effectively: ANSYS is incorporated as an integral part of the content throughout the book. *Explore How to Use FEA as a Design/Modeling Tool: Open-ended design problems help stude...

Differential effects of beta-adrenoceptor partial agonists in patients with postural hypotension

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehlsen, J; Stadeager, C; Trap-Jensen, J

1993-01-01

patients with postural hypotension of different aetiologies. Blood pressure, heart rate and stroke volume were measured in the supine and head-up tilted positions. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured in the supine position, and vascular resistance, left ventricular volume, and left.......min-1 and LVEF from 0.57 to 0.52, and reduced mean arterial blood pressure from 103 mm Hg to 93 mm Hg. Xamoterol showed beta-adrenoceptor agonistic effects in the supine position through increments in heart rate from 72 to 90 beats.min-1 and LVEF from 0.58 to 0.66, and raised mean arterial blood...... pressure from 108 to 123 mm Hg. It is concluded that the degree of agonist activity of a beta-adrenergic agent is of importance if it is given to a patient with postural hypotension....

A comparison of observation-level random effect and Beta-Binomial models for modelling overdispersion in Binomial data in ecology & evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Xavier A

2015-01-01

Overdispersion is a common feature of models of biological data, but researchers often fail to model the excess variation driving the overdispersion, resulting in biased parameter estimates and standard errors. Quantifying and modeling overdispersion when it is present is therefore critical for robust biological inference. One means to account for overdispersion is to add an observation-level random effect (OLRE) to a model, where each data point receives a unique level of a random effect that can absorb the extra-parametric variation in the data. Although some studies have investigated the utility of OLRE to model overdispersion in Poisson count data, studies doing so for Binomial proportion data are scarce. Here I use a simulation approach to investigate the ability of both OLRE models and Beta-Binomial models to recover unbiased parameter estimates in mixed effects models of Binomial data under various degrees of overdispersion. In addition, as ecologists often fit random intercept terms to models when the random effect sample size is low (model types under a range of random effect sample sizes when overdispersion is present. Simulation results revealed that the efficacy of OLRE depends on the process that generated the overdispersion; OLRE failed to cope with overdispersion generated from a Beta-Binomial mixture model, leading to biased slope and intercept estimates, but performed well for overdispersion generated by adding random noise to the linear predictor. Comparison of parameter estimates from an OLRE model with those from its corresponding Beta-Binomial model readily identified when OLRE were performing poorly due to disagreement between effect sizes, and this strategy should be employed whenever OLRE are used for Binomial data to assess their reliability. Beta-Binomial models performed well across all contexts, but showed a tendency to underestimate effect sizes when modelling non-Beta-Binomial data. Finally, both OLRE and Beta-Binomial models performed

Use of studies with laboratory animals to assess the potential early health effects of combined internal alpha and beta irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, B.R.; Hahn, F.F.; Guilmette, R.A.; Muggenburg, B.A.; Snipes, M.B.; Boecker, B.B.; McClellan, R.O.

1986-01-01

The potential health impacts of radionuclides released in nuclear accidents are of major concern to the public and to regulatory and other governmental agencies. One mode of potential exposure is by inhalation of airborne radionuclides, which could lead to combined internal irradiation by high (alpha) and low (beta) linear energy transfer (LET) radiations. Epidemiological data for health effects of human inhalation exposure are too limited to derive reliable estimates of risks of potential health effects. However, results of studies in which beagle dogs were exposed by inhalation to insoluble radioactive aerosols can be used to estimate expected effects in humans. Data for mortality from radiation pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis caused by internal irradiation of dog lungs by alpha or beta radiations are used to derive the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of alpha irradiation compared to beta irradiation; predict the expected combined effects of alpha and beta irradiation of dog lungs; and extrapolate the results to humans. The extrapolation to humans assumed that, for similar ages at exposure, dog and human lungs have similar sensitivities to lung irradiation. Results of theoretical calculations related to mortality from early effects indicated that the synergistic effects of high- and low-LET radiations should depend on the percentages of the total dose contributed by high- and low-LET radiations, and for very low or very high doses, synergistic effects should be negligible. 23 refs., 8 figs

The effect of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 on GH signaling in beta-cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rønn, Sif G; Hansen, Johnny A; Lindberg, Karen

2002-01-01

GH is an important regulator of cell growth and metabolism. In the pancreas, GH stimulates mitogenesis as well as insulin production in beta-cells. The cellular effects of GH are exerted mainly through activation of the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway...... stable transfection of the beta-cell lines with plasmids expressing SOCS-3 under the control of an inducible promoter, a time- and dose-dependent expression of SOCS-3 in the cells was obtained. EMSA showed that SOCS-3 is able to inhibit GH-induced DNA binding of both STAT3 and STAT5 in RIN-5AH cells...

Monte Carlo simulation study of ICRF minority heating in the large helical device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, S.; Okamoto, M.; Ohnishi, M.; Okada, H.

1994-01-01

A Monte Carlo simulation code is developed for ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) heating in helical systems, which takes into account finite beta effects, complicated orbits of high energetic particles, Coulomb collisions and interactions between particles and the applied waves. The code is used to investigate ICRF minority heating in the Large Helical Device (LHD). The configuration of the magnetic fields changes significantly due to finite beta effects in the LHD. The resonance layer position is found to be crucial to the heating efficiency as the plasma beta increases. When the strength of the resonance magnetic field is set to the value at the magnetic axis, a higher heat efficiency is obtained and no clear difference of the heat efficiency due to finite beta effects is found in the high ICRF wave power region. However, the radial profile of the power transferred to majority ions and electrons from minority ions changes because of the deformation of the trapped particle due to the finite beta effects. The heat efficiency is improved if the radial electric field, E r , is positive (E r is directed radially outward) and it is also improved by supplying 3 He minority ions rather than proton minority ions. (author). 26 refs, 11 figs, 2 tabs

Monte Carlo simulation study of the ICRF minority heating in the Large Helical Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, S.; Okamoto, M.; Nakajima, N.; Ohnishi, M.; Okada, H.

1993-10-01

A Monte Carlo simulation code is developed for the ICRF heating in helical systems, which takes into account finite beta effects, complicated orbits of high energetic particles, Coulomb collisions, and interactions between the particles and the applied waves. The code is used to investigate the ICRF minority heating in the Large Helical Device. The configuration of the magnetic fields changes significantly due to finite beta effects in the Large Helical Device. The resonance layer position is found to be crucial to the heating efficiency as the plasma beta increases. When the strength of the resonance magnetic field is set to the value at the magnetic axis, the higher heat efficiency is obtained and no clear difference of the heat efficiency due to the finite beta effects is found at the high ICRF wave power region. However the radial profile of the transferred power to majority ions and electrons from minority ions changes by the deformation of the trapped particle orbits due to the finite beta effects. The heat efficiency is improved if the radial electric field, E r , is positive (E r is directed radially outward) and it is also improved by supplying 3 He minority ions rather than proton minority ions. (author)

ICI 182,780 has agonistic effects and synergizes with estradiol-17 beta in fish liver, but not in testis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Power Deborah M

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background ICI 182,780 (ICI belongs to a new class of antiestrogens developed to be pure estrogen antagonists and, in addition to its therapeutic use, it has been used to knock-out estrogen and estrogen receptor (ER actions in several mammalian species. In the present study, the effects and mechanism of action of ICI were investigated in the teleost fish, sea bream (Sparus auratus. Methods Three independent in vivo experiments were performed in which mature male tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus or sea bream received intra-peritoneal implants containing estradiol-17 beta (E2, ICI or a combination of both compounds. The effects of E2 and ICI on plasma calcium levels were measured and hepatic and testicular gene expression of the three ER subtypes, ER alpha, ER beta a and ER beta b, and the estrogen-responsive genes, vitellogenin II and choriogenin L, were analyzed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR in sea bream. Results E2 treatment caused an increase in calcium levels in tilapia, while ICI alone had no noticeable effect, as expected. However, pretreatment with ICI synergistically potentiated the effect of E2 on plasma calcium in both species. ICI mimicked some E2 actions in gene expression in sea bream liver upregulating ER alpha, vitellogenin II and choriogenin L, although, unlike E2, it did not downregulate ER beta a and ER beta b. In contrast, no effects of E2 or ICI alone were detected in the expression of ERs in testis, while vitellogenin II and choriogenin L were upregulated by E2 but not ICI. Finally, pretreatment with ICI had a synergistic effect on the hepatic E2 down-regulation of ER beta b, but apparently blocked the ER alpha up-regulation by E2. Conclusion These results demonstrate that ICI has agonistic effects on several typical estrogenic responses in fish, but its actions are tissue-specific. The mechanisms for the ICI agonistic activity are still unknown; although the ICI induced up-regulation of ER alpha mRNA could be one of

Betting Against Beta

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frazzini, Andrea; Heje Pedersen, Lasse

We present a model with leverage and margin constraints that vary across investors and time. We find evidence consistent with each of the model’s five central predictions: (1) Since constrained investors bid up high-beta assets, high beta is associated with low alpha, as we find empirically for U...... of the BAB factor is low; (4) Increased funding liquidity risk compresses betas toward one; (5) More constrained investors hold riskier assets........S. equities, 20 international equity markets, Treasury bonds, corporate bonds, and futures; (2) A betting-against-beta (BAB) factor, which is long leveraged low beta assets and short high-beta assets, produces significant positive risk-adjusted returns; (3) When funding constraints tighten, the return...

GSK3 beta forms a tetrameric complex with endogenous PS1-CTF/NTF and beta-catenin. Effects of the D257/D385A and FAD-linked mutations.

Science.gov (United States)

Tesco, G; Tanzi, R E

2000-01-01

We have previously shown that the endogenous C-terminal fragment of presenilin 1 co-immunoprecipitates with endogenous beta-catenin. Since PS1 has been suggested to be involved in beta-catenin stabilization, we further investigated whether GSK3 beta, responsible for beta-catenin phosphorylation and degradation, is part of the PS1/beta-catenin complex. In naïve H4 and CHO cells, PS1 co-immunoprecipitated with both endogenous beta-catenin and GSK3 beta. In addition, GSK3 beta endogenously binds to the PS1-CTF/NTF complex and beta-catenin in naïve CHO cells. GSK3 beta also co-immunoprecipitated with PS1 full length in CHO cell lines overexpressing PS1 wild type. Given that it has been recently shown that PS1 mutations of aspartate 257 or 385 result in prevention of PS1 endoproteolysis and inhibition of gamma-secretase activity, we also tested whether PS1 endoproteolysis is required for beta-catenin/GSK3 beta/PS1 binding and whether PS1 FAD-linked mutations affect GSK3 beta recruitment in the PS1/beta-catenin complex. GSK3 beta was detected in PS1 immunoprecipitates from H4 cell lines overexpressing PS1 wild type, delta E10, A286E, L246V and in CHO cell lines overexpressing aspartate or M146L mutations. The latter data show that the absence of PS1 endoproteolysis (D257A/D385A and delta E10) or the presence of PS1-FAD mutations does not interfere with beta-catenin/GSK3 beta/PS1 complex formation.

Rapid effects of phytoestrogens on human colonic smooth muscle are mediated by oestrogen receptor beta.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hogan, A M

2012-02-01

Epidemiological studies have correlated consumption of dietary phytoestrogens with beneficial effects on colon, breast and prostate cancers. Genomic and non-genomic mechanisms are responsible for anti-carcinogenic effects but, until now, the effect on human colon was assumed to be passive and remote. No direct effect on human colonic smooth muscle has previously been described. Institutional research board approval was granted. Histologically normal colon was obtained from the proximal resection margin of colorectal carcinoma specimens. Circular smooth muscle strips were microdissected and suspended under 1g of tension in organ baths containing oxygenated Krebs solution at 37 degrees C. After an equilibration period, tissues were exposed to diarylpropionitrile (DPN) (ER beta agonist) and 1,3,5-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-propyl-1H-pyrazole (PPT) (ER alpha agonist) or to the synthetic phytoestrogen compounds genistein (n=8), daidzein (n=8), fisetin (n=8) and quercetin (n=8) in the presence or absence of fulvestrant (oestrogen receptor antagonist). Mechanism of action was investigated by inhibition of downstream pathways. The cholinergic agonist carbachol was used to induce contractile activity. Tension was recorded isometrically. Phytoestrogens inhibit carbachol-induced colonic contractility. In keeping with a non-genomic, rapid onset direct action, the effect was within minutes, reversible and similar to previously described actions of 17 beta oestradiol. No effect was seen in the presence of fulvestrant indicating receptor modulation. While the DPN exerted inhibitory effects, PPT did not. The effect appears to be reliant on a p38\\/mitogen activated protein kinase mediated induction of nitric oxide production in colonic smooth muscle. The present data set provides the first description of a direct effect of genistein, daidzein, fisetin and quercetin on human colonic smooth muscle. The presence of ER in colonic smooth muscle has been functionally proven and the beta

Conversion of beta-methylbutyric acid to beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyric acid by Galactomyces reessii.

OpenAIRE

Lee, I Y; Nissen, S L; Rosazza, J P

1997-01-01

beta-Hydroxy-beta-methylbutyric acid (HMB) has been shown to increase strength and lean mass gains in humans undergoing resistance-exercise training. HMB is currently marketed as a calcium salt of HMB, and thus, environmentally sound and inexpensive methods of manufacture are being sought. This study investigates the microbial conversion of beta-methylbutyric acid (MBA) to HMB by cultures of Galactomyces reessii. Optimal concentrations of MBA were in the range of 5 to 20 g/liter for HMB produ...

Compton scattering at finite temperature: thermal field dynamics approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juraev, F.I.

2006-01-01

Full text: Compton scattering is a classical problem of quantum electrodynamics and has been studied in its early beginnings. Perturbation theory and Feynman diagram technique enables comprehensive analysis of this problem on the basis of which famous Klein-Nishina formula is obtained [1, 2]. In this work this problem is extended to the case of finite temperature. Finite-temperature effects in Compton scattering is of practical importance for various processes in relativistic thermal plasmas in astrophysics. Recently Compton effect have been explored using closed-time path formalism with temperature corrections estimated [3]. It was found that the thermal cross section can be larger than that for zero-temperature by several orders of magnitude for the high temperature realistic in astrophysics [3]. In our work we use a main tool to account finite-temperature effects, a real-time finite-temperature quantum field theory, so-called thermofield dynamics [4, 5]. Thermofield dynamics is a canonical formalism to explore field-theoretical processes at finite temperature. It consists of two steps, doubling of Fock space and Bogolyubov transformations. Doubling leads to appearing additional degrees of freedom, called tilded operators which together with usual field operators create so-called thermal doublet. Bogolyubov transformations make field operators temperature-dependent. Using this formalism we treat Compton scattering at finite temperature via replacing in transition amplitude zero-temperature propagators by finite-temperature ones. As a result finite-temperature extension of the Klein-Nishina formula is obtained in which differential cross section is represented as a sum of zero-temperature cross section and finite-temperature correction. The obtained result could be useful in quantum electrodynamics of lasers and for relativistic thermal plasma processes in astrophysics where correct account of finite-temperature effects is important. (author)

The influence of temperature dynamics and dynamic finite ion Larmor radius effects on seeded high amplitude plasma blobs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Held, Magnus; Wiesenberger, M.; Madsen, Jens

2016-01-01

Thermal effects on the perpendicular convection of seeded pressure blobs in the scrape-off layer of magnetised fusion plasmas are investigated. Our numerical study is based on a four field full-F gyrofluid model, which entails the consistent description of high fluctuation amplitudes and dynamic...... finite Larmor radius effects. We find that the maximal radial blob velocity increases with the square root of the initial pressure perturbation and that a finite Larmor radius contributes to highly compact blob structures that propagate in the poloidal direction. An extensive parameter study reveals...... that a smooth transition to this compact blob regime occurs when the finite Larmor radius effect strength, defined by the ratio of the magnetic field aligned component of the ion diamagnetic to the E × B vorticity, exceeds unity. The maximal radial blob velocities agree excellently with the inertial velocity...

Two-dimensional finite element heat transfer model of softwood. Part II, Macrostructural effects

Science.gov (United States)

Hongmei Gu; John F. Hunt

2006-01-01

A two-dimensional finite element model was used to study the effects of structural features on transient heat transfer in softwood lumber with various orientations. Transient core temperature was modeled for lumber samples “cut” from various locations within a simulated log. The effects of ring orientation, earlywood to latewood (E/L) ratio, and ring density were...

Leading order finite size effects with spins for inspiralling compact binaries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levi, Michele [Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris VI, CNRS-UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Sorbonne Universités, Institut Lagrange de Paris, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Steinhoff, Jan [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics - Albert-Einstein-Institute,Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm (Germany); Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofisica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa,Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)

2015-06-10

The leading order finite size effects due to spin, namely that of the cubic and quartic in spin interactions, are derived for the first time for generic compact binaries via the effective field theory for gravitating spinning objects. These corrections enter at the third and a half and fourth post-Newtonian orders, respectively, for rapidly rotating compact objects. Hence, we complete the leading order finite size effects with spin up to the fourth post-Newtonian accuracy. We arrive at this by augmenting the point particle effective action with new higher dimensional nonminimal coupling worldline operators, involving higher-order derivatives of the gravitational field, and introducing new Wilson coefficients, corresponding to constants, which describe the octupole and hexadecapole deformations of the object due to spin. These Wilson coefficients are fixed to unity in the black hole case. The nonminimal coupling worldline operators enter the action with the electric and magnetic components of the Weyl tensor of even and odd parity, coupled to even and odd worldline spin tensors, respectively. Moreover, the non relativistic gravitational field decomposition, which we employ, demonstrates a coupling hierarchy of the gravito-magnetic vector and the Newtonian scalar, to the odd and even in spin operators, respectively, which extends that of minimal coupling. This observation is useful for the construction of the Feynman diagrams, and provides an instructive analogy between the leading order spin-orbit and cubic in spin interactions, and between the leading order quadratic and quartic in spin interactions.

Forward-Looking Betas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Peter; Jacobs, Kris; Vainberg, Gregory

Few issues are more important for finance practice than the computation of market betas. Existing approaches compute market betas using historical data. While these approaches differ in terms of statistical sophistication and the modeling of the time-variation in the betas, they are all backward......-looking. This paper introduces a radically different approach to estimating market betas. Using the tools in Bakshi and Madan (2000) and Bakshi, Kapadia and Madan (2003) we employ the information embedded in the prices of individual stock options and index options to compute our forward-looking market beta...

Conditional Relationship Between Beta and Return in the US Stock Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bing XIAO

2016-04-01

Full Text Available According to the CAPM, risk is measured by the beta, and the relation between required expected return and beta is linear. This paper examines the conditional relationship between beta and return in the US stock market. The conditional covariances and variances used to estimate beta are modeled as an ARCH process. The beta return relationship is tested upon the sign of the excess market return. The implication of the sign of the excess market return follows Morelli (2011. This study shows the importance of recognizing the sign of the excess market return when testing the beta-return relationship. The approach also allows us to distinguish the size effect and the effect of economic cycles.

The effect of cryo-storage on the beta 2-adrenoceptor density and responsiveness in intact human lymphocytes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahlquist, P; Johansen, Torben; Friis, U G

1994-01-01

This study evaluates the effect of cryo-storage on beta 2-adrenoceptor number and formation of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) in intact human lymphocytes as a measure of the beta 2-adrenoceptor responsiveness. Cryo-storage at -196 degrees C up to 12 months caused no significant......), but changed significantly after long-term storage (3-12 months). We can conclude that lymphocytes can be stored for months for later determination of beta-adrenoceptors. The cryo-storage method described in this paper are, however, only useful for measurements of very large changes in cAMP formation, and our...... results indicate that the method should be further modified in order to preserve the lymphocyte responsiveness after cryo-storage....

Combined effects of moderately elevated blood glucose and locally produced TGF-beta1 on glomerular morphology and renal collagen production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krag, Søren; Nyengaard, Jens R; Wogensen, Lise

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: There is a correlation between renal graft rejection and blood glucose (BG) levels. Furthermore, diabetic patients may develop non-diabetic renal diseases, which in some circumstances progress rapidly. Since transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta) levels are elevated in many renal...... diseases, the accelerated progression may be due to interactions between glucose and locally produced TGF-beta1. Therefore, we investigated the effect of mild hyperglycaemia on glomerular morphology and collagen production in TGF-beta1 transgenic mice. METHODS: To achieve BG concentrations of approximately...... 15 mmol/l in TGF-beta1 transgenic and non-transgenic mice, we used multiple streptozotocin (STZ) injections, and after 8 weeks, we measured the changes in glomerular morphology and total collagen content. We also analysed extracellular matrix (ECM) and protease mRNA levels using real-time polymerase...

Excited-state quantum phase transitions in systems with two degrees of freedom: II. Finite-size effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stránský, Pavel [Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, 18000 Prague (Czech Republic); Macek, Michal [Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, 18000 Prague (Czech Republic); Center for Theoretical Physics, Sloane Physics Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8120 (United States); Leviatan, Amiram [Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, 91904 Jerusalem (Israel); Cejnar, Pavel, E-mail: pavel.cejnar@mff.cuni.cz [Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, 18000 Prague (Czech Republic)

2015-05-15

This article extends our previous analysis Stránský et al. (2014) of Excited-State Quantum Phase Transitions (ESQPTs) in systems of dimension two. We focus on the oscillatory component of the quantum state density in connection with ESQPT structures accompanying a first-order ground-state transition. It is shown that a separable (integrable) system can develop rather strong finite-size precursors of ESQPT expressed as singularities in the oscillatory component of the state density. The singularities originate in effectively 1-dimensional dynamics and in some cases appear in multiple replicas with increasing excitation energy. Using a specific model example, we demonstrate that these precursors are rather resistant to proliferation of chaotic dynamics. - Highlights: • Oscillatory components of state density and spectral flow studied near ESQPTs. • Enhanced finite-size precursors of ESQPT caused by fully/partly separable dynamics. • These precursors appear due to criticality of a subsystem with lower dimension. • Separability-induced finite-size effects disappear in case of fully chaotic dynamics.

Effectiveness of interferon-beta and temozolomide combination therapy against temozolomide-refractory recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arai Hajime

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Malignant gliomas recur even after extensive surgery and chemo-radiotherapy. Although a relatively novel chemotherapeutic agent, temozolomide (TMZ, has demonstrated promising activity against recurrent glioma, the effects last only a few months and drug resistance develops thereafter in most cases. Induction of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT in tumors is considered to be responsible for resistance to TMZ. Interferon-beta has been reported to suppress MGMT in an experimental glioma model. Here we report a patient with TMZ-refractory anaplastic astrocytoma (AA who was treated successfully with a combination of interferon-beta and TMZ. Case presentation A patient with recurrent AA after radiation-chemotherapy and stereotactic radiotherapy was treated with TMZ. After 6 cycles, the tumor became refractory to TMZ, and the patient was treated with interferon-beta at 3 × 106 international units/body, followed by 5 consecutive days of 200 mg/m2 TMZ in cycles of 28 days. After the second cycle the tumor decreased in size by 50% (PR. The tumor showed further shrinkage after 8 months and the patient's KPS improved from 70% to 100%. The immunohistochemical study of the initial tumor specimen confirmed positive MGMT protein expression. Conclusion It is considered that interferon-beta pre-administration increased the TMZ sensitivity of the glioma, which had been refractory to TMZ monotherapy.

Finite-orbit-width effect and the radial electric field in neoclassical transport phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satake, S.; Okamoto, M.; Nakajima, N.; Sugama, H.; Yokoyama, M.; Beidler, C.D.

2005-01-01

Modeling and detailed simulation of neoclassical transport phenomena both in 2D and 3D toroidal configurations are shown. The emphasis is put on the effect of finiteness of the drift-orbit width, which brings a non-local nature to neoclassical transport phenomena. Evolution of the self-consistent radial electric field in the framework of neoclassical transport is also investigated. The combination of Monte-Carlo calculation for ion transport and numerical solver of ripple-averaged kinetic equation for electrons makes it possible to calculate neoclassical fluxes and the time evolution of the radial electric field in the whole plasma region, including the finite-orbit-width (FOW) effects and global evolution of geodesic acoustic mode (GAM). The simulation results show that the heat conductivity around the magnetic axis is smaller than that obtained from standard neoclassical theory and that the evolution of GAM oscillation on each flux surface is coupled with other surfaces if the FOW effect is significant. A global simulation of radial electric field evolution in a non-axisymmetric plasma is also shown. (author)

Effect of {beta}{sub 1} adrenergic receptor blockade on myocardial blood flow and vasodilatory capacity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boettcher, M.; Czernin, J.; Sun, K. [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)] [and others

1997-03-01

The {beta}{sub 1} receptor blockade reduces cardiac work and may thereby lower myocardial blood flow (MBF) at rest. The effect of {beta}{sub 1} receptor blockade on hyperemic MBF is unknown. To evaluate the effect of selective {beta}{sub 1} receptor blockade on MBF at rest and during dipyridamole induced hyperemia, 10 healthy volunteers (8 men, 2 women, mean age 24 {+-} 5 yr) were studied using {sup 13}N-ammonia PET (two-compartment model) under control conditions and again during metoprolol (50 mg orally 12 hr and 1 hr before the study). The resting rate pressure product (6628 {+-} 504 versus 5225 {+-} 807) and heart rate (63 {+-} 6-54 {plus_minus} 5 bpm) declined during metoprolol (p < 0.05). Similarly, heart rate and rate pressure product declined from the baseline dipyridamole study to dipyridamole plus metoprolol (p < 0.05). Resting MBF declined in proportion to cardiac work by approximately 20% from 0.61 {+-} 0.09-0.51 {+-} 0.10 ml/g/min (p < 0.05). In contrast, hyperemic MBF increased when metoprolol was added to dipyridamole (1.86 {plus_minus} 0.27 {+-} 0.45 ml/g/min; p<0.05). The decrease in resting MBF together with the increase in hyperemic MBF resulted in a significant increase in the myocardial flow reserve during metoprolol (3.14 {+-} 0.80-4.61 {+-} 0.68; p<0.01). The {beta}{sub 1} receptor blockade increases coronary vasodilatory capacity and myocardial flow reserve. However, the mechanisms accounting for this finding remain uncertain. 32 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.

MINIMUM VARIANCE BETA ESTIMATION WITH DYNAMIC CONSTRAINTS,

Science.gov (United States)

developed (at AFETR ) and is being used to isolate the primary error sources in the beta estimation task. This computer program is additionally used to...determine what success in beta estimation can be achieved with foreseeable instrumentation accuracies. Results are included that illustrate the effects on

Enantioselective synthesis of alpha,beta-disubstituted-beta-amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Sibi, Mukund P; Prabagaran, Narayanasamy; Ghorpade, Sandeep G; Jasperse, Craig P

2003-10-01

Highly diastereoselective and enantioselective addition of N-benzylhydroxylamine to imides 17 and 20-30 produces alpha,beta-trans-disubstituted N-benzylisoxazolidinones 19 and 31-41. These reactions proceed in 60-96% ee with 93-99% de's using 5 mol % of Mg(NTf2)2 and ligand 18. The product isoxazolidinones can be hydrogenolyzed directly to provide alpha,beta-disubstituted-beta-amino acids.

Effect of finite Coulomb interaction on full counting statistics of electronic transport through single-molecule magnet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xue Haibin, E-mail: xhb98326110@163.co [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006 (China); Nie, Y.-H., E-mail: nieyh@sxu.edu.c [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006 (China); Li, Z.-J.; Liang, J.-Q. [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006 (China)

2011-01-17

We study the full counting statistics (FCS) in a single-molecule magnet (SMM) with finite Coulomb interaction U. For finite U the FCS, differing from U{yields}{infinity}, shows a symmetric gate-voltage-dependence when the coupling strengths with two electrodes are interchanged, which can be observed experimentally just by reversing the bias-voltage. Moreover, we find that the effect of finite U on shot noise depends on the internal level structure of the SMM and the coupling asymmetry of the SMM with two electrodes as well. When the coupling of the SMM with the incident-electrode is stronger than that with the outgoing-electrode, the super-Poissonian shot noise in the sequential tunneling regime appears under relatively small gate-voltage and relatively large finite U, and dose not for U{yields}{infinity}; while it occurs at relatively large gate-voltage for the opposite coupling case. The formation mechanism of super-Poissonian shot noise can be qualitatively attributed to the competition between fast and slow transport channels.

Effect of finite Coulomb interaction on full counting statistics of electronic transport through single-molecule magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xue Haibin; Nie, Y.-H.; Li, Z.-J.; Liang, J.-Q.

2011-01-01

We study the full counting statistics (FCS) in a single-molecule magnet (SMM) with finite Coulomb interaction U. For finite U the FCS, differing from U→∞, shows a symmetric gate-voltage-dependence when the coupling strengths with two electrodes are interchanged, which can be observed experimentally just by reversing the bias-voltage. Moreover, we find that the effect of finite U on shot noise depends on the internal level structure of the SMM and the coupling asymmetry of the SMM with two electrodes as well. When the coupling of the SMM with the incident-electrode is stronger than that with the outgoing-electrode, the super-Poissonian shot noise in the sequential tunneling regime appears under relatively small gate-voltage and relatively large finite U, and dose not for U→∞; while it occurs at relatively large gate-voltage for the opposite coupling case. The formation mechanism of super-Poissonian shot noise can be qualitatively attributed to the competition between fast and slow transport channels.

Irradiation effect on {alpha}- and {beta}-caseins of milk and Queso Blanco cheese determined by capillary electrophoresis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ham, J.S.; Jeong, S.G.; Lee, S.G.; Han, G.S.; Chae, H.S.; Yoo, Y.M.; Kim, D.H. [Animal Food Processing Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Suwon 441-706 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, W.K. [College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763 (Korea, Republic of); Jo, C. [Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: cheorun@cnu.ac.kr

2009-02-15

Milk and Queso Blanco cheese were exposed to irradiation with doses of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 kGy to investigate the irradiation effect on {alpha}- and {beta}-casein using a capillary electrophoresis. {alpha}{sub S1}-Casein to total protein ratio in raw milk was decreased from 19.63% to 8.64% by 10 kGy of gamma irradiation. The ratio of {alpha}{sub S1}- to {alpha}{sub S0}-casein was also decreased from 1.38 to 0.53, which showed {alpha}{sub S1}-casein is more susceptible to gamma irradiation than {alpha}{sub S0}-casein. Similarly, {alpha}{sub S1}-casein to total protein ratio in Queso Blanco cheese was decreased from 17.48% to 7.82% and the ratio of {alpha}{sub S1}- to {alpha}{sub S0}-casein was decreased from 1.16 to 0.43 by 10 kGy of gamma irradiation. Dose-dependent reduction of {beta}{sub A1}-casein was also found. {beta}{sub A1}-Casein to total protein ratios in raw milk and Queso Blanco cheese were decreased from 22.00% to 14.16% and from 21.96% to 13.89% after 10 kGy, respectively. The ratios of {beta}{sub A1}- to {beta}{sub A2}-casein were from 1.10 to 0.64 and 0.93 to 0.57 in milk and Queso Blanco cheese, respectively. However, {alpha}{sub S0}-, {beta}{sub B}-, and {beta}{sub A3}-casein increased by irradiation at 10 kGy. The results suggest that {alpha}{sub S1}-casein and {beta}{sub A1}-casein were more susceptible to gamma irradiation, and may be related to the reduction of milk allergenicity caused by gamma irradiation.

The effect of aging on network structure

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Han; Wang, Xin-Ran; Zhu, Jian-Yang

2003-01-01

In network evolution, the effect of aging is universal: in scientific collaboration network, scientists have a finite time span of being active; in movie actors network, once popular stars are retiring from stage; devices on the Internet may become outmoded with techniques developing so rapidly. Here we find in citation networks that this effect can be represented by an exponential decay factor, $e^{-\\beta \\tau}$, where $\\tau $ is the node age, while other evolving networks (the Internet for ...

Chiral crossover transition in a finite volume

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Chao; Jia, Wenbao; Sun, An; Zhang, Liping; Zong, Hongshi

2018-02-01

Finite volume effects on the chiral crossover transition of strong interactions at finite temperature are studied by solving the quark gap equation within a cubic volume of finite size L. With the anti-periodic boundary condition, our calculation shows the chiral quark condensate, which characterizes the strength of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, decreases as L decreases below 2.5 fm. We further study the finite volume effects on the pseudo-transition temperature {T}{{c}} of the crossover, showing a significant decrease in {T}{{c}} as L decreases below 3 fm. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11475085, 11535005, 11690030, 51405027), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (020414380074), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016M591808) and Open Research Foundation of State Key Lab. of Digital Manufacturing Equipment & Technology in Huazhong University of Science & Technology (DMETKF2015015)

Fluctuations, Finite-Size Effects and the Thermodynamic Limit in Computer Simulations: Revisiting the Spatial Block Analysis Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maziar Heidari

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The spatial block analysis (SBA method has been introduced to efficiently extrapolate thermodynamic quantities from finite-size computer simulations of a large variety of physical systems. In the particular case of simple liquids and liquid mixtures, by subdividing the simulation box into blocks of increasing size and calculating volume-dependent fluctuations of the number of particles, it is possible to extrapolate the bulk isothermal compressibility and Kirkwood–Buff integrals in the thermodynamic limit. Only by explicitly including finite-size effects, ubiquitous in computer simulations, into the SBA method, the extrapolation to the thermodynamic limit can be achieved. In this review, we discuss two of these finite-size effects in the context of the SBA method due to (i the statistical ensemble and (ii the finite integration domains used in computer simulations. To illustrate the method, we consider prototypical liquids and liquid mixtures described by truncated and shifted Lennard–Jones (TSLJ potentials. Furthermore, we show some of the most recent developments of the SBA method, in particular its use to calculate chemical potentials of liquids in a wide range of density/concentration conditions.

In-trap decay spectroscopy for {beta}{beta} decays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunner, Thomas

2011-01-18

The presented work describes the implementation of a new technique to measure electron-capture (EC) branching ratios (BRs) of intermediate nuclei in {beta}{beta} decays. This technique has been developed at TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada. It facilitates one of TRIUMF's Ion Traps for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN), the Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) that is used as a spectroscopy Penning trap. Radioactive ions, produced at the radioactive isotope facility ISAC, are injected and stored in the spectroscopy Penning trap while their decays are observed. A key feature of this technique is the use of a strong magnetic field, required for trapping. It radially confines electrons from {beta} decays along the trap axis while X-rays, following an EC, are emitted isotropically. This provides spatial separation of X-ray and {beta} detection with almost no {beta}-induced background at the X-ray detector, allowing weak EC branches to be measured. Furthermore, the combination of several traps allows one to isobarically clean the sample prior to the in-trap decay spectroscopy measurement. This technique has been developed to measure ECBRs of transition nuclei in {beta}{beta} decays. Detailed knowledge of these electron capture branches is crucial for a better understanding of the underlying nuclear physics in {beta}{beta} decays. These branches are typically of the order of 10{sup -5} and therefore difficult to measure. Conventional measurements suffer from isobaric contamination and a dominating {beta} background at theX-ray detector. Additionally, X-rays are attenuated by the material where the radioactive sample is implanted. To overcome these limitations, the technique of in-trap decay spectroscopy has been developed. In this work, the EBIT was connected to the TITAN beam line and has been commissioned. Using the developed beam diagnostics, ions were injected into the Penning trap and systematic studies on injection and storage optimization were performed. Furthermore, Ge

Effect of sterilization on the properties of CDHA-OCP-beta-TCP biomaterial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loreley Morejón-Alonso

2007-03-01

Full Text Available The effect of the method of sterilization on the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of a new bone repairing material was studied. The material was obtained by thermal hydrolysis of beta-tricalcium phosphate/orthophosphoric acid cement and was composed of calcium deficient hydroxyapatite, octacalcium phosphate (OCP, and beta-tricalcium phosphate. Partial decomposition of the OCP was observed after sterilization for the three methods. Decomposition increased to the following sequence of sterilization methods: ethylene oxide; autoclaving; dry oven. On the other hand, mechanical strength decreased with regard to non sterilized material in the sterilization sequence: ethylene oxide; dry oven; autoclaving. The compressive strength was 8.5 ± 1.0; 9.0 ± 1.2; 8.2 ± 0.8 and 6.5 ± 1.0 MPa, whereas diametral tensile strength was 2.1 ± 0.3; 2.5 ± 0.1; 1.9 ± 0.9 and 1.6 ± 0.3 for the material sterilized by ethylene oxide, dry oven, and autoclaving, respectively. Several compositional and microstuctural changes were detected after dry heat and autoclave sterilization. Ethylene oxide sterilization had lesser effect on the chemical composition and strength than dry heat and autoclaving.

Effects of beta-hydroxybutyrate and isoproterenol on lipolysis in isolated adipocytes from periparturient dairy cows and cows with clinical ketosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Drift, S. G. A.; Everts, R. R.; Houweling, M.; van Leengoed, L. A. M. G.; Stegeman, J. A.; Tielens, A. G. M.; Jorritsma, R.

An in vitro model was used to investigate effects of beta-hydroxybutyrate and isoproterenol (beta-adrenergic receptor agonist) on lipolysis in isolated adipocytes from late pregnant and recently calved dairy cows (n = 5) and cows with clinical ketosis (n =3). Incubation with 3.0 mmol/L

Analysis of interleukin (IL)-1 beta and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta-induced signal transduction pathways in IL-2 and TGF-beta secretion and proliferation in the thymoma cell line EL4.NOB-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Siese, A; Jaros, P P; Willig, A

1999-02-01

In the present study we investigated the interleukin (IL)-1beta and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1)-mediated proliferation, and production of IL-2 and TGF-beta, in the murine T-cell line, EL4.NOB-1. This cell line is resistant to TGF-beta concerning growth arrest but not autoinduction or suppression of IL-1-induced IL-2 production. When cocultured with IL-1beta, TGF-beta showed growth-promoting activity that could be antagonized by adding the phosphatidyl choline-dependent phospholipase C (PC-PLC) inhibitor, D609. Using specific enzyme inhibitors of protein kinases (PK) C and A, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), phosphatidylinositol-dependent (PI)-PLC and PC-PLC, we showed that IL-1beta-induced IL-2 synthesis was dependent on all investigated kinases and phospholipases, except PC-PLC. TGF-beta1 was able to inhibit IL-2 synthesis by the activation of PKA and MAPK. The same kinases are involved in TGF-beta autoinduction that is accompanied by a secretion of the active but not the latent growth factor and is antagonized by IL-1beta. Addition of the PI-PLC inhibitor, ET 18OCH3, or the PLA2 inhibitor (quinacrine) alone, resulted in secretion of latent TGF-beta and, in the case of ET 18OCH3, active TGF-beta. These data implicate a role for PI-PLC and PLA2 in the control of latency and secretion. Analysis of specific tyrosine activity and c-Fos expression showed synergistic but no antagonistic effects. These events are therefore not involved in IL- and TGF-beta-regulated IL-2 and TGF-beta production, but might participate in IL-1/TGF-beta-induced growth promotion.

PGC-1alpha and PGC-1beta have both similar and distinct effects on myofiber switching toward an oxidative phenotype

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Ole Hartvig; Frandsen, Lis; Schjerling, Peter

2006-01-01

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1alpha and -1beta (PGC-1alpha and PGC-1beta) were overexpressed by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer in cultures of primary rat skeletal muscle cells derived from neonatal myoblasts. Effects on muscle fiber type transition and metabolism...... an increase in the mRNA expression of TRB3, a negative regulator of insulin signaling. These results show that both PGC-1alpha and PGC-1beta are involved in the regulation of skeletal muscle fiber transition and metabolism and that they have both overlapping and differing effects....... were studied from days 5 to 22 of culture. PGC-1alpha and PGC-1beta overexpression caused a three- to fourfold increase in mRNA level, a doubling of enzymatic activity of citrate synthase, a slight increase in short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase mRNA, a doubling of the mRNA level, and a 30-50% increase...

Finite thickness effect of a zone plate on focusing hard x-rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, W.B.; Chrzas, J.; Viccaro, P.J.

1992-01-01

Spatial resolution and focusing efficiency are two important properties of a zone plate in x-ray focusing applications. A general expression of the zone plate equation describing its zone registration is derived from the interference of spherical waves emited from two mutually coherent point sources. An analytical expression of the focusing efficiency in terms of the zone plate thickness and x-ray refractive indices of the zones is also derived. Validity condition for using this expression is considered. Thickness required for obtaining adequate focusing efficiency is calculated as a function of x-ray energy for several representative materials. The spatial resolution of a finite thickness zone plate is worse than that of an infinetly thin zone plate. which is approximately equal to the smallest zone width of the zone plate. The effect of the finite thickness on the spatial resolution is considered

BetaTPred: prediction of beta-TURNS in a protein using statistical algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Harpreet; Raghava, G P S

2002-03-01

beta-turns play an important role from a structural and functional point of view. beta-turns are the most common type of non-repetitive structures in proteins and comprise on average, 25% of the residues. In the past numerous methods have been developed to predict beta-turns in a protein. Most of these prediction methods are based on statistical approaches. In order to utilize the full potential of these methods, there is a need to develop a web server. This paper describes a web server called BetaTPred, developed for predicting beta-TURNS in a protein from its amino acid sequence. BetaTPred allows the user to predict turns in a protein using existing statistical algorithms. It also allows to predict different types of beta-TURNS e.g. type I, I', II, II', VI, VIII and non-specific. This server assists the users in predicting the consensus beta-TURNS in a protein. The server is accessible from http://imtech.res.in/raghava/betatpred/

Long-acting beta(2)-agonists in management of childhood asthma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bisgaard, H

2000-01-01

This review assesses the evidence regarding the use of long-acting beta(2)-agonists in the management of pediatric asthma. Thirty double-blind, randomized, controlled trials on the effects of formoterol and salmeterol on lung function in asthmatic children were identified. Single doses of inhaled......, long-acting beta(2)-agonists provide effective bronchodilatation and bronchoprotection when used as intermittent, single-dose treatment of asthma in children, but not when used as regular treatment. Future studies should examine the positioning of long-acting beta(2)-agonists as an "as needed" rescue...... medication instead of short-acting beta(2)-agonists for pediatric asthma management....

Effect of early treatment with ivabradine combined with beta-blockers versus beta-blockers alone in patients hospitalised with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (ETHIC-AHF): A randomised study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hidalgo, Francisco J; Anguita, Manuel; Castillo, Juan C; Rodríguez, Sara; Pardo, Laura; Durán, Enrique; Sánchez, José J; Ferreiro, Carlos; Pan, Manuel; Mesa, Dolores; Delgado, Mónica; Ruiz, Martín

2016-08-15

To analyse the effect of the early coadministration of ivabradine and beta-blockers (intervention group) versus beta-blockers alone (control group) in patients hospitalised with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF). A comparative, randomised study was performed to compare the treatment strategies of beta-blockers alone versus ivabradine and beta-blockers starting 24hours after hospital admission, for acute HF in patients with an left ventricular ejection fraction (EF)70bpm. A total of 71 patients were examined, 33 in the intervention group and 38 in the control group. No differences were observed with respect to their baseline characteristics or standard treatment at discharge. HR at 28days (64.3±7.5 vs. 70.3±9.3bpm, p=0.01) and at 4months (60.6±7.5 vs. 67.8±8bpm, p=0.004) after discharge were significantly lower in the intervention group. Significant differences were found with respect to the EF and brain natriuretic peptide levels at 4months. No differences in clinical events (rehospitalisation/death) were reported at 4months. No severe side effects attributable to the early administration of ivabradine were observed. The early coadministration of ivabradine and beta-blockers during hospital admission for acute HFrEF is feasible and safe, and it produces a significant decrease in HR at 28days and at 4months after hospital discharge. It also seemed to improve systolic function and functional and clinical parameters of HF patients at short-term. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nuclear dynamics with the (finite range) Gogny force: flow effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sebille, F.; Royer, G.; Schuck, P.; Gregoire, C.

1988-01-01

We introduce for the first time the effective finite range interaction of Gogny in the semi-classical description of heavy ion reactions based on the Landau-Vlasov equation. The characteristics of the flow for heavy ion collisions are studied as functions of the incident energy, the impact parameter and the mass number. The momentum dependence in the mean field together with the non linearities in the collision kernel decrease the flow in contradiction with other calculations; the origins of this discrepancy are studied in details

Finite Larmor radius stabilization of ballooning modes in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsang, K.T.

1980-07-01

A ballooning mode equation that includes full finite Larmor radius effects has been derived from the Vlasov equation for a circular tokamak equilibrium. Numerical solution of this equation shows that finite Larmor radius effects are stabilizing

Finite temperature effects on monopole and dipole excitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niu, Y F; Paar, N; Vretenar, D; Meng, J

2011-01-01

The relativistic random phase approximation based on effective Lagrangian with density dependent meson-nucleon couplings has been extended to finite temperature and employed in studies of multipole excitations within the temperature range T = 1 - 2 MeV. The model calculations showed that isoscalar giant monopole and isovector giant dipole resonances are only slightly modified with temperature, but additional transition strength appears at low energies because of thermal unblocking of single-particle orbitals close to the Fermi level. The analysis of low-lying states shows that isoscalar monopole response in 132 Sn results from single particle transitions, while the isovector dipole strength for 60 Ni, located around 10 MeV, is composed of several single particle transitions, accumulating a small degree of collectivity.

Gene expression analysis of interferon-beta treatment in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sellebjerg, F.; Datta, P.; Larsen, J.

2008-01-01

by treatment with IFN-beta. We use DNA microarrays to study gene expression in 10 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who began de novo treatment with IFN-beta. After the first injection of IFN-beta, the expression of 74 out of 3428 genes changed at least two-fold and statistically significantly (after Bonferroni......Treatment with interferon-beta (IFN-beta) induces the expression of hundreds of genes in blood mononuclear cells, and the expression of several genes has been proposed as a marker of the effect of treatment with IFN-beta. However, to date no molecules have been identified that are stably induced...

Re-entering fast ion effects on NBI heating power in high-beta plasmas of the Large Helical Device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seki, Ryosuke; Watanabe, Kiyomasa; Funaba, Hisamichi; Suzuki, Yasuhiro; Sakakibara, Satoru; Ohdachi, Satoshi; Matsumoto, Yutaka; Hamamatsu, Kiyotaka

2011-10-01

We calculate the heating power of the neutral beam injection (NBI) in the = 4.8% high-beta discharge achieved in the Large Helical Device (LHD). We investigate the difference of the heating efficiency and the heating power profile between with and without the re-entering fast ion effects. When the re-entering fast ion effects are taken into account, the heating efficiency in the co injection of the NBI (co-NBI case) is improved and it is about 1.8 times larger than that without the re-entering effects. In contrast, the heating efficiency with the re-entering effects in the counter injection of the NBI (ctr-NBI case) rarely differs from that without the re-entering ones. We also study the re-entering fast ion effects on the transport properties in the LHD high beta discharges. It is found that the tendency of the thermal conductivities on the beta value is not so much sensitive with and without the re-entering effects. In addition, we investigate the difference in the re-entering fast ion effects caused by the field strength and the magnetic configuration. In the co-NBI case, the re-entering fast ion effects on the heating efficiency increases with the decrease of the field strength. In the contrast, the re-entering fast ion effects in the ctr-NBI case rarely differs by changing the field strength. (author)

Roughing up Beta

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bollerslev, Tim; Li, Sophia Zhengzi; Todorov, Viktor

-section. An investment strategy that goes long stocks with high jump betas and short stocks with low jump betas produces significant average excess returns. These higher risk premiums for the discontinuous and overnight market betas remain significant after controlling for a long list of other firm characteristics......Motivated by the implications from a stylized equilibrium pricing framework, we investigate empirically how individual equity prices respond to continuous, or \\smooth," and jumpy, or \\rough," market price moves, and how these different market price risks, or betas, are priced in the cross......-section of expected returns. Based on a novel highfrequency dataset of almost one-thousand individual stocks over two decades, we find that the two rough betas associated with intraday discontinuous and overnight returns entail significant risk premiums, while the intraday continuous beta is not priced in the cross...

Star formation through thermal instability of radiative plasma with finite electron inertia and finite Larmor radius corrections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaothekar, Sachin, E-mail: sackaothekar@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Mahakal Institute of Technology, Ujjain-456664, Madhya Pradesh (India)

2016-08-15

I have studied the effects of finite electron inertia, finite ion Larmor radius (FLR) corrections, and radiative heat-loss function on the thermal instability of an infinite homogeneous, viscous plasma incorporating the effect of thermal conductivity for star formation in interstellar medium (ISM). A general dispersion relation is derived using the normal mode analysis method with the help of relevant linearized perturbation equations of the problem. The wave propagation is discussed for longitudinal and transverse directions to the external magnetic field and the conditions of modified thermal instabilities and stabilities are discussed in different cases. We find that the thermal instability criterion is get modified into radiative instability criterion by inclusion of radiative heat-loss functions with thermal conductivity. The viscosity of medium removes the effect of FLR corrections from the condition of radiative instability. Numerical calculation shows stabilizing effect of heat-loss function, viscosity and FLR corrections, and destabilizing effect of finite electron inertia on the thermal instability. Results carried out in this paper shows that stars are formed in interstellar medium mainly due to thermal instability.

Star formation through thermal instability of radiative plasma with finite electron inertia and finite Larmor radius corrections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sachin Kaothekar

2016-08-01

Full Text Available I have studied the effects of finite electron inertia, finite ion Larmor radius (FLR corrections, and radiative heat-loss function on the thermal instability of an infinite homogeneous, viscous plasma incorporating the effect of thermal conductivity for star formation in interstellar medium (ISM. A general dispersion relation is derived using the normal mode analysis method with the help of relevant linearized perturbation equations of the problem. The wave propagation is discussed for longitudinal and transverse directions to the external magnetic field and the conditions of modified thermal instabilities and stabilities are discussed in different cases. We find that the thermal instability criterion is get modified into radiative instability criterion by inclusion of radiative heat-loss functions with thermal conductivity. The viscosity of medium removes the effect of FLR corrections from the condition of radiative instability. Numerical calculation shows stabilizing effect of heat-loss function, viscosity and FLR corrections, and destabilizing effect of finite electron inertia on the thermal instability. Results carried out in this paper shows that stars are formed in interstellar medium mainly due to thermal instability.

Finite-size effects on current correlation functions

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shunda; Zhang, Yong; Wang, Jiao; Zhao, Hong

2014-02-01

We study why the calculation of current correlation functions (CCFs) still suffers from finite-size effects even when the periodic boundary condition is taken. Two important one-dimensional, momentum-conserving systems are investigated as examples. Intriguingly, it is found that the state of a system recurs in the sense of microcanonical ensemble average, and such recurrence may result in oscillations in CCFs. Meanwhile, we find that the sound mode collisions induce an extra time decay in a current so that its correlation function decays faster (slower) in a smaller (larger) system. Based on these two unveiled mechanisms, a procedure for correctly evaluating the decay rate of a CCF is proposed, with which our analysis suggests that the global energy CCF decays as ˜t-2/3 in the diatomic hard-core gas model and in a manner close to ˜t-1/2 in the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-β model.

Finite temperature field theory

CERN Document Server

Das, Ashok

1997-01-01

This book discusses all three formalisms used in the study of finite temperature field theory, namely the imaginary time formalism, the closed time formalism and thermofield dynamics. Applications of the formalisms are worked out in detail. Gauge field theories and symmetry restoration at finite temperature are among the practical examples discussed in depth. The question of gauge dependence of the effective potential and the Nielsen identities are explained. The nonrestoration of some symmetries at high temperature (such as supersymmetry) and theories on nonsimply connected space-times are al

Expression and functional importance of collagen-binding integrins, alpha 1 beta 1 and alpha 2 beta 1, on virus-activated T cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Susanne Ø; Thomsen, Allan R; Koteliansky, Victor E

2003-01-01

decreased responses were seen upon transfer of alpha(1)-deficient activated/memory T cells. Thus, expression of alpha(1)beta(1) and alpha(2)beta(1) integrins on activated T cells is directly functionally important for generation of inflammatory responses within tissues. Finally, the inhibitory effect......Adhesive interactions are crucial to cell migration into inflammatory sites. Using murine lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus as an Ag model system, we have investigated expression and function of collagen-binding integrins, alpha(1)beta(1) and alpha(2)beta(1), on activated and memory T cells. Using...... this system and MHC tetramers to define Ag-specific T cells, we demonstrate that contrary to being VLAs, expression of alpha(1)beta(1) and alpha(2)beta(1) can be rapidly induced on acutely activated T cells, that expression of alpha(1)beta(1) remains elevated on memory T cells, and that expression of alpha(1...

The acute effects of alpha and beta irradiation of mouse skin and the factors affecting the response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Needham, S.G.; Coggle, J.E.

1991-01-01

Several problems regarding acute effects of alpha and beta irradiation were investigated in order to clarify protection problems of localised doses to the skin. A study into the acute biological effects of different energy beta emitters and the effects of energy and area on the response showed direct relationships between these criteria for a range of different acute responses with different time courses. Three different types of acute response were found and these are described as 'moist desquamation', 'acute ulceration' and 'acute epidermal necrosis'. An unexpected finding was that the lower energy beta emitter 170 Tm was as efficient at inducing scab formation as the higher energy 90 Sr sources for the same area of exposure. Experiments using 2x4 cm 2 exposures to 224 Cm alpha particles showed that the response to this poorly penetrating radiation was minimal after doses as high as 180 Gy measured at 10 μm into the skin. In comparison, large area exposure to 170 Tm produced areas of prolonged scabbing after doses up to 100 Gy. However, the intensity of the reaction varied between strains. (author)

beta-adrenergic effects on carbohydrate metabolism in the unweighted rat soleus muscle

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, Christopher R.; Tischler, Marc E.

1990-01-01

The effect of unweighting on the response of the soleus-muscle carbohydrate metabolism to a beta-adrenergic agonist (isoproterenol) was investigated in rats that were subjected to three days of tail-cast suspension. It was found that isoproterenol promoted glycogen degradation in soleus from suspended rats to a higher degree than in weighted soleus from control rats, and had no effect in unweighted digitorum longus. However, isoproterenol did not have a greater inhibitory effect on the net uptake of tritium-labeled 2-deoxy-glucose by the unweighted soleus and that isoproterenol inhibited hexose phosphorylation less in the unweighted than in the control muscle.

Natalizumab plus interferon beta-1a for relapsing multiple sclerosis.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rudick, R.A.; Stuart, W.H.; Calabresi, P.A.; Confavreux, C.; Galetta, S.L.; Radue, E.W.; Lublin, F.D.; Weinstock-Guttman, B.; Wynn, D.R.; Lynn, F.; Panzara, M.A.; Sandrock, A.W.

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND: Interferon beta is used to modify the course of relapsing multiple sclerosis. Despite interferon beta therapy, many patients have relapses. Natalizumab, an alpha4 integrin antagonist, appeared to be safe and effective alone and when added to interferon beta-1a in preliminary studies.

The effects of beta alanine plus creatine administration on performance during repeated bouts of supramaximal exercise in sedentary men.

Science.gov (United States)

Okudan, N; Belviranli, M; Pepe, H; Gökbel, H

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of beta alanine and/or creatine supplementation on performance during repeated bouts of supramaximal exercise in sedentary men. Forty-four untrained healthy men (aged 20-22 years, weight: 68-72 kg, height: 174-178 cm) participated in the present study. After performing the Wingate Test (WAnT) for three times in the baseline exercise session, the subjects were assigned to one of four treatment groups randomly: 1) placebo (P; 10 g maltodextrose); 2) creatine (Cr; 5 g creatine plus 5 g maltodextrose); 3) beta-alanine (β-ALA; 1,6 g beta alanine plus 8,4 g maltodextrose); and 4) beta-alanine plus creatine (β-ALA+Cr; 1,6 g beta alanine plus 5 g creatine plus 3,4 g maltodextrose). Participants were given the supplements orally twice a day for 22 consecutive days, then four times a day for the following 6 days. After 28 days, the second exercise session was applied during which peak power (PP) and mean power (MP) were measured and fatigue index (FI) was calculated. PP and MP decreased and FI increased in all groups during exercise before and after the treatment. During the postsupplementation session PP2 and PP3 increased in creatine supplemented group (from 642.7±148.6 to 825.1±205.2 in PP2 and from 522.9±117.5 to 683.0±148.0 in PP3, respectively). However, MP increased in β-ALA+Cr during the postsupplementation compared to presupplementation in all exercise sessions (from 586.2±55.4 to 620.6±49.6 in MP1, from 418.1±37.2 to 478.3±30.3 in MP2 and from 362.0±41.3 to 399.1±3 in MP3, respectively). FI did not change with beta alanine and beta alanine plus creatine supplementation during the postsupplementation exercise session. Beta-alanine and beta alanine plus creatine supplementations have strong performance enhancing effect by increasing mean power and delaying fatigue Index during the repeated WAnT.

Slow cortical potential and theta/beta neurofeedback training in adults: effects on attentional processes, and motor system excitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra eStuder

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Neurofeedback (NF is being successfully applied, among others, in children with ADHD and as a peak performance training in healthy subjects. However, the neuronal mechanisms mediating a successful NF training have not yet been sufficiently uncovered for both theta/beta (T/B, and slow cortical potential (SCP training, two protocols established in NF in ADHD. In the present randomized controlled investigation in adults without a clinical diagnosis (n = 59, the specificity of the effects of these two NF protocols on attentional processes, and motor system excitability were to be examined, focusing on the underlying neuronal mechanisms. NF training consisted of 10 double sessions, and self-regulation skills were analyzed. Pre- and post-training assessments encompassed performance and event-related potential measures during an attention task, and motor system excitability assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Some NF protocol specific effects have been obtained. However, due to the limited sample size medium effects didn’t reach the level of significance. Self-regulation abilities during negativity trials of the SCP training were associated with increased contingent negative variation amplitudes, indicating improved resource allocation during cognitive preparation. Theta/beta training was associated with increased response speed and decreased target-P3 amplitudes after successful theta/beta regulation suggested reduced attentional resources necessary for stimulus evaluation. Motor system excitability effects after theta/beta training paralleled the effects of methylphenidate. Overall, our results are limited by the non-sufficiently acquired self-regulation skills, but some specific effects between good and poor learners could be described. Future studies with larger sample sizes and sufficient acquisition of self-regulation skills are needed to further evaluate the protocol specific effects on attention and motor system excitability

Effect of fluorine and of beta-indolacetic acid on the respiration of root tissue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pilet, P E

1964-01-01

The auxin, beta-indolacetic acid, (BIAA) inhibited the elongation of Lens culinaris roots at all concentrations. At high concentrations fluoride had an inhibitor effect, but it had a stimulatory effect on root growth at low concentrations. BIAA mildly stimulated respiration at low concentrations and inhibited oxygen absorption at high concentrations. At concentrations stimulating respiration fluoride was found to reduce these stimulating effects caused by BIAA. Therefore, fluoride and BIAA acted as antagonists in their effect on respiration.

Effects of composite casein and beta-lactoglobulin genotypes on renneting properties and composition of bovine milk by assuming an animal model

OpenAIRE

T. IKONEN; M. OJALA; E.-L. SYVÄOJA

2008-01-01

The effects of kappa-beta-casein genotypes and b-lactoglobulin genotypes on the renneting properties and composition of milk were estimated for 174 and 155 milk samples of 59 Finnish Ayrshire and 55 Finnish Friesian cows, respectively. As well as the random additive genetic and permanent environmental effects of a cow, the model included the fixed effects for parity, lactation stage, season, kappa-beta-casein genotypes and b-lactoglobulin genotypes. Favourable renneting properties were associ...

Optimization of powered Stirling heat engine with finite speed thermodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmadi, Mohammad H.; Ahmadi, Mohammad Ali; Pourfayaz, Fathollah; Bidi, Mokhtar; Hosseinzade, Hadi; Feidt, Michel

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Based on finite speed method and direct method, the optimal performance is investigated. • The effects of major parameters on the optimal performance are investigated. • The accuracy of the results was compared with previous works. - Abstract: Popular thermodynamic analyses including finite time thermodynamic analysis was lately developed based upon external irreversibilities while internal irreversibilities such as friction, pressure drop and entropy generation were not considered. The aforementioned disadvantage reduces the reliability of the finite time thermodynamic analysis in the design of an accurate Stirling engine model. Consequently, the finite time thermodynamic analysis could not sufficiently satisfy researchers for implementing in design and optimization issues. In this study, finite speed thermodynamic analysis was employed instead of finite time thermodynamic analysis for studying Stirling heat engine. The finite speed thermodynamic analysis approach is based on the first law of thermodynamics for a closed system with finite speed and the direct method. The effects of heat source temperature, regenerating effectiveness, volumetric ratio, piston stroke as well as rotational speed are included in the analysis. Moreover, maximum output power in optimal rotational speed was calculated while pressure losses in the Stirling engine were systematically considered. The result reveals the accuracy and the reliability of the finite speed thermodynamic method in thermodynamic analysis of Stirling heat engine. The outcomes can help researchers in the design of an appropriate and efficient Stirling engine.

Effect on pancreatic beta cells and nerve cells by low let x-ray

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Kwang Hun [Dept. of Nuclear Medicine, Kyungbuk National University Hospital, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kgu Hwan [Dept. of Radiological Technology, Daegu health College, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

2014-03-15

Cultured pancreatic beta cells and nerve cells, it is given normal condition of 10% FBS (fetal bovine serum), 11.1 mM glucose and hyperglycemia condition of 1% FBS, 30 mM glucose. For low LET X-ray irradiated with 0.5 Gy/hr dose-rate(total dose: 0.5 to 5 Gy). Survival rates were measured by MTT assay. When non irradiated, differentiated in the pancreatic beta cells experiment is hyperglycemia conditions survival rate compared to normal conditions survival rate seemed a small reduction. However increasing the total dose of X-ray, the survival rate of normal conditions decreased slightly compared to the survival rate of hyperglycemia conditions, the synergistic effect was drastically reduced. When non irradiated, undifferentiated in the nerve cells experiment is hyperglycemia conditions survival rate compared to normal conditions survival rate seemed a large reduction. As the cumulative dose of X-ray normal conditions and hyperglycemia were all relatively rapid cell death. But the rate of decreased survivals by almost parallel to the reduction proceed and it didn't show synergistic effect.

Plasma beta-endorphin, beta-lipotropin and corticotropin in polycystic ovarian disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Laatikainen, T; Salminen, K; Virtanen, T; Apter, D

1987-04-01

In 9 women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) and in 11 control subjects at the follicular phase of the normal cycle, blood samples were collected at 15-min intervals during a 2 h period of bed rest for the assay of beta-endorphin, beta-lipotropin, corticotropin, cortisol and prolactin. During the study period, the plasma levels of these hormones decreased more significantly in the PCOD than in the control group, suggesting that the PCOD patients had a more significant stress response to the puncture of the vein than the control subjects. The second hour of the study period was considered to represent resting levels of hormones. The mean resting levels (+/- S.E.) of the hormones between the PCOD and control groups, respectively, were as follows: beta-E, 2.0 +/- 0.4 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.1 pmol/l, p less than 0.05; beta-LPH, 3.4 +/- 0.6 vs. 2.1 +/- 0.5 pmol/l, N.S.; corticotropin, 2.0 +/- 0.3 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.5 pmol/l, p less than 0.05; cortisol, 176 +/- 24 vs. 128 +/- 16, N.S.; and prolactin; 3.9 +/- 0.6 vs. 5.6 +/- 1.2 ng/ml, N.S. These results confirm the previous findings on increased circulating levels of beta-E in PCOD. A concomitant increase of the plasma level of corticotropin suggests that the basal secretion of both beta-E and corticotropin from the anterior pituitary gland is increased in women with PCOD.

An application of Brookhaven National Laboratory's hot particle methodology for determining the most effective beta particle energy in causing skin ulcers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaefer, C.

1994-11-01

The purpose of this project was to compare the effectiveness of hot particles with different energy betas in producing ulcers on skin. The sources were man-made hot particles similar in size and activity to those found in the commercial nuclear power industry. Four different particle types were used. These were thulium (Tm-170) with a 0.97 MeV maximum energy beta, ytterbium (Yb-175) with a maximum beta energy of 0.47 MeV, scandium (Sc-46) with a 0.36 MeV beta, which was used as a surrogate for cobalt-60 (0.31 MeV beta) and uranium (in the carbide form) with an average maximum beta energy of about 2.5 MeV. Since higher energy beta particles penetrate further in skin, they will affect a higher number and different populations of target cells. The experiments were designed as threshold studies such that the dose needed to produce ulcers ten percent of the time (ED 10%) for each particle type could be compared against each other

Newmark-Beta-FDTD method for super-resolution analysis of time reversal waves

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Sheng-Bing; Shao, Wei; Ma, Jing; Jin, Congjun; Wang, Xiao-Hua

2017-09-01

In this work, a new unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method with the split-field perfectly matched layer (PML) is proposed for the analysis of time reversal (TR) waves. The proposed method is very suitable for multiscale problems involving microstructures. The spatial and temporal derivatives in this method are discretized by the central difference technique and Newmark-Beta algorithm, respectively, and the derivation results in the calculation of a banded-sparse matrix equation. Since the coefficient matrix keeps unchanged during the whole simulation process, the lower-upper (LU) decomposition of the matrix needs to be performed only once at the beginning of the calculation. Moreover, the reverse Cuthill-Mckee (RCM) technique, an effective preprocessing technique in bandwidth compression of sparse matrices, is used to improve computational efficiency. The super-resolution focusing of TR wave propagation in two- and three-dimensional spaces is included to validate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.

Transition to chaos for ballooning modes stabilized by finite Larmor radius effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiland, J; Wilhelmsson, H [Chalmers Tekniska Hoegskola, Goeteborg (Sweden). Institutionen foer Elektromagnetisk Faeltteori

1983-08-01

The nonlinear dynamics of interacting ballooning modes, stabilized by finite Larmor radius effects is analyzed in terms of a set of equations, which exhibit stochastic properties. These are explicitly shown to depend on the balance between shear and driving pressure force. The onset of bifurcations and chaotic behaviour are directly identified with certain values of parameters characterizing the physical system.