Host-Parasite Interactions and Purifying Selection in a Microsporidian Parasite of Honey Bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Qiang; Chen, Yan Ping; Wang, Rui Wu; Cheng, Shang; Evans, Jay D

2016-01-01

To clarify the mechanisms of Nosema ceranae parasitism, we deep-sequenced both honey bee host and parasite mRNAs throughout a complete 6-day infection cycle. By time-series analysis, 1122 parasite genes were significantly differently expressed during the reproduction cycle, clustering into 4 expression patterns. We found reactive mitochondrial oxygen species modulator 1 of the host to be significantly down regulated during the entire infection period. Our data support the hypothesis that apoptosis of honey bee cells was suppressed during infection. We further analyzed genome-wide genetic diversity of this parasite by comparing samples collected from the same site in 2007 and 2013. The number of SNP positions per gene and the proportion of non-synonymous substitutions per gene were significantly reduced over this time period, suggesting purifying selection on the parasite genome and supporting the hypothesis that a subset of N. ceranae strains might be dominating infection.

Purifying Nanomaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Ching-Cheh (Inventor); Hurst, Janet (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A method of purifying a nanomaterial and the resultant purified nanomaterial in which a salt, such as ferric chloride, at or near its liquid phase temperature, is used to penetrate and wet the internal surfaces of a nanomaterial to dissolve impurities that may be present, for example, from processes used in the manufacture of the nanomaterial.

Host-Parasite Interactions and Purifying Selection in a Microsporidian Parasite of Honey Bees.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiang Huang

Full Text Available To clarify the mechanisms of Nosema ceranae parasitism, we deep-sequenced both honey bee host and parasite mRNAs throughout a complete 6-day infection cycle. By time-series analysis, 1122 parasite genes were significantly differently expressed during the reproduction cycle, clustering into 4 expression patterns. We found reactive mitochondrial oxygen species modulator 1 of the host to be significantly down regulated during the entire infection period. Our data support the hypothesis that apoptosis of honey bee cells was suppressed during infection. We further analyzed genome-wide genetic diversity of this parasite by comparing samples collected from the same site in 2007 and 2013. The number of SNP positions per gene and the proportion of non-synonymous substitutions per gene were significantly reduced over this time period, suggesting purifying selection on the parasite genome and supporting the hypothesis that a subset of N. ceranae strains might be dominating infection.

MtDNA genomes reveal a relaxation of selective constraints in low-BMI individuals in a Uyghur population.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Hong-Xiang; Li, Lei; Jiang, Xiao-Yan; Yan, Shi; Qin, Zhendong; Wang, Xiaofeng; Jin, Li

2017-10-01

Considerable attention has been focused on the effect of deleterious mutations caused by the recent relaxation of selective constraints on human health, including the prevalence of obesity, which might represent an adaptive response of energy-conserving metabolism under the conditions of modern society. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encoding 13 core subunits of oxidative phosphorylation plays an important role in metabolism. Therefore, we hypothesized that a relaxation of selection constraints on mtDNA and an increase in the proportion of deleterious mutations have played a role in obesity prevalence. In this study, we collected and sequenced the mtDNA genomes of 722 Uyghurs, a typical population with a high prevalence of obesity. We identified the variants that occurred in the Uyghur population for each sample and found that the number of nonsynonymous mutations carried by Uyghur individuals declined with elevation of their BMI (P = 0.015). We further calculated the nonsynonymous and synonymous ratio (N/S) of the high-BMI and low-BMI haplogroups, and the results showed that a significantly higher N/S occurred in the whole mtDNA genomes of the low-BMI haplogroups (0.64) than in that of the high-BMI haplogroups (0.35, P = 0.030) and ancestor haplotypes (0.41, P = 0.032); these findings indicated that low-BMI individuals showed a recent relaxation of selective constraints. In addition, we investigated six clinical characteristics and found that fasting plasma glucose might be correlated with the N/S and selective pressures. We hypothesized that a higher proportion of deleterious mutations led to mild mitochondrial dysfunction, which helps to drive glucose consumption and thereby prevents obesity. Our results provide new insights into the relationship between obesity predisposition and mitochondrial genome evolution.

Positive and purifying selection influence the evolution of doublesex in the Anastrepha fraterculus species group.

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Iderval S Sobrinho

Full Text Available The gene doublesex (dsx is considered to be under strong selective constraint along its evolutionary history because of its central role in somatic sex differentiation in insects. However, previous studies of dsx used global estimates of evolutionary rates to investigate its molecular evolution, which potentially miss signals of adaptive changes in generally conserved genes. In this work, we investigated the molecular evolution of dsx in the Anastrepha fraterculus species group (Diptera, Tephritidae, and test the hypothesis that this gene evolved solely by purifying selection using divergence-based and population-based methods. In the first approach, we compared sequences from Anastrepha and other Tephritidae with other Muscomorpha species, analyzed variation in nonsynonymous to synonymous rate ratios (dN/dS in the Tephritidae, and investigated radical and conservative changes in amino acid physicochemical properties. We show a general selective constraint on dsx, but with signs of positive selection mainly in the common region. Such changes were localized in alpha-helices previously reported to be involved in dimer formation in the OD2 domain and near the C-terminal of the OD1 domain. In the population-based approach, we amplified a region of 540 bp that spanned almost all of the region common to both sexes from 32 different sites in Brazil. We investigated patterns of selection using neutrality tests based on the frequency spectrum and locations of synonymous and nonsynonymous mutations in a haplotype network. As in the divergence-based approach, these analyses showed that dsx has evolved under an overall selective constraint, but with some events of positive selection. In contrast to previous studies, our analyses indicate that even though dsx has indeed evolved as a conserved gene, the common region of dsx has also experienced bouts of positive selection, perhaps driven by sexual selection, during its evolution.

Predicting the effect of relaxation during frequency-selective adiabatic pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Pfaff, Annalise R.; McKee, Cailyn E.; Woelk, Klaus

2017-11-01

Adiabatic half and full passages are invaluable for achieving uniform, B1-insensitive excitation or inversion of macroscopic magnetization across a well-defined range of NMR frequencies. To accomplish narrow frequency ranges with adiabatic pulses (computer-calculated data with experimental results demonstrates that, in non-viscous, small-molecule fluids, it is possible to model magnetization and relaxation by considering standard T1 and T2 relaxation in the traditional rotating frame. The proposed model is aimed at performance optimizations of applications in which these pulses are employed. It differs from previous reports which focused on short high-power adiabatic pulses and relaxation that is governed by dipole-dipole interactions, cross polarization, or chemical exchange.

Vibrational energy transfer in selectively excited diatomic molecules. [Relaxation rates, self-relaxation, upper limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dasch, C.J.

1978-09-01

Single rovibrational states of HCl(v=2), HBr(v=2), DCl(v=2), and CO(v=2) were excited with a pulsed optical parametric oscillator (OPO). Total vibrational relaxation rates near - resonance quenchers were measured at 295/sup 0/K using time resolved infrared fluorescence. These rates are attributed primarily to V - V energy transfer, and they generally conform to a simple energy gap law. A small deviation was found for the CO(v) + DCl(v') relaxation rates. Upper limits for the self relaxation by V - R,T of HCl(v=2) and HBr(v=2) and for the two quantum exchange between HCl and HBr were determined. The HF dimer was detected at 295/sup 0/K and 30 torr HF pressure with an optoacoustic spectrometer using the OPO. Pulsed and chopped, resonant and non-resonant spectrophones are analyzed in detail. From experiments and first order perturbation theory, these V - V exchange rates appear to behave as a first order perturbation in the vibrational coordinates. The rotational dynamics are known to be complicated however, and the coupled rotational - vibrational dynamics were investigated theoreticaly in infinite order by the Dillon and Stephenson and the first Magnus approximations. Large ..delta..J transitions appear to be important, but these calculations differ by orders of magnitude on specific rovibrational transition rates. Integration of the time dependent semiclassical equations by a modified Gordon method and a rotationally distorted wave approximation are discussed as methods which would treat the rotational motion more accurately. 225 references.

Effects of Ginger and Its Constituents on Airway Smooth Muscle Relaxation and Calcium Regulation

Science.gov (United States)

Siviski, Matthew E.; Zhang, Yi; Xu, Carrie; Hoonjan, Bhupinder; Emala, Charles W.

2013-01-01

The prevalence of asthma has increased in recent years, and is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. Many patients report using alternative therapies to self-treat asthma symptoms as adjuncts to short-acting and long-acting β-agonists and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). As many as 40% of patients with asthma use herbal therapies to manage asthma symptoms, often without proven efficacy or known mechanisms of action. Therefore, investigations of both the therapeutic and possible detrimental effects of isolated components of herbal treatments on the airway are important. We hypothesized that ginger and its active components induce bronchodilation by modulating intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) in airway smooth muscle (ASM). In isolated human ASM, ginger caused significant and rapid relaxation. Four purified constituents of ginger were subsequently tested for ASM relaxant properties in both guinea pig and human tracheas: [6]-gingerol, [8]-gingerol, and [6]-shogaol induced rapid relaxation of precontracted ASM (100–300 μM), whereas [10]-gingerol failed to induce relaxation. In human ASM cells, exposure to [6]-gingerol, [8]-gingerol, and [6]-shogaol, but not [10]-gingerol (100 μM), blunted subsequent Ca2+ responses to bradykinin (10 μM) and S-(−)-Bay K 8644 (10 μM). In A/J mice, the nebulization of [8]-gingerol (100 μM), 15 minutes before methacholine challenge, significantly attenuated airway resistance, compared with vehicle. Taken together, these novel data show that ginger and its isolated active components, [6]-gingerol, [8]-gingerol, and [6]-shogaol, relax ASM, and [8]-gingerol attenuates airway hyperresponsiveness, in part by altering [Ca2+]i regulation. These purified compounds may provide a therapeutic option alone or in combination with accepted therapeutics, including β2-agonists, in airway diseases such as asthma. PMID:23065130

High level of microsynteny and purifying selection affect the evolution of WRKY family in Gramineae.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Jing; Kong, Jingjing; Qiu, Jianle; Zhu, Huasheng; Peng, Yuancheng; Jiang, Haiyang

2016-01-01

The WRKY gene family, which encodes proteins in the regulation processes of diverse developmental stages, is one of the largest families of transcription factors in higher plants. In this study, by searching for interspecies gene colinearity (microsynteny) and dating the age distributions of duplicated genes, we found 35 chromosomal segments of subgroup I genes of WRKY family (WRKY I) in four Gramineae species (Brachypodium, rice, sorghum, and maize) formed eight orthologous groups. After a stepwise gene-by-gene reciprocal comparison of all the protein sequences in the WRKY I gene flanking areas, highly conserved regions of microsynteny were found in the four Gramineae species. Most gene pairs showed conserved orientation within syntenic genome regions. Furthermore, tandem duplication events played the leading role in gene expansion. Eventually, environmental selection pressure analysis indicated strong purifying selection for the WRKY I genes in Gramineae, which may have been followed by gene loss and rearrangement. The results presented in this study provide basic information of Gramineae WRKY I genes and form the foundation for future functional studies of these genes. High level of microsynteny in the four grass species provides further evidence that a large-scale genome duplication event predated speciation.

Music preference and relaxation in Taiwanese elderly people.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Hui-Ling

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify individual musical preferences, investigate the relationship between an individual's musical preferences and demographic variables, and examine the effects of the selected music on relaxation. Fifty healthy subjects (mean age 65.7; SD = 5.2) from the community participated in the study. Musical preference interviews and relaxed responses to selected music were administered to the study participants individually in the investigator's office. Participants' heart rates, respiratory rates, and finger temperature were measured before they listened to the introductory tape and again after they listened to the selected music for 20 minutes. The participants were asked to judge how much they liked the 6 types of soothing music and were asked to rate it on a scale. The results indicated that Chinese orchestral music was the preferred choice, followed by harp, piano, synthesizer, orchestral, and finally slow jazz. There were no differences among types of music on relaxation, and no significant differences between musical preference and any demographic variables. The heart rates and respiratory rates of the participants were significantly lower (t = 21.24, P music. These findings suggest that soothing music selections have beneficial effects on relaxation in community-residing elderly people.

Endurance Pump Test with MIL-PRF-83282 Hydraulic Fluid, Purified with Malabar Purifier

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sharma, Shashi

2004-01-01

.... Endurance aircraft hydraulic pump tests under carefully controlled conditions were previously conducted using hydraulic fluid purified with a rotating-disk and vacuum type purifier, the portable...

Mechanism of resveratrol-induced relaxation of the guinea pig fundus.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Ching-Chung; Tey, Shu-Leei; Lee, Ming-Che; Liu, Ching-Wen; Su, Yu-Tsun; Huang, Shih-Che

2018-04-01

Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound that can be isolated from plants and also is a constituent of red wine. Resveratrol induces relaxation of vascular smooth muscle and may prevent cardiovascular diseases. Impaired gastric accommodation plays an important role in functional dyspepsia and fundic relaxation and is a therapeutic target of functional dyspepsia. Although drugs for fundic relaxation have been developed, these types of drugs are still rare. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relaxant effects of resveratrol in the guinea pig fundus. We studied the relaxant effects of resveratrol in the guinea pig fundus. In addition, we investigated the mechanism of resveratrol-induced relaxation on the guinea pig fundus by using tetraethylammonium (a non-selective potassium channel blocker), apamine (a selective inhibitor of the small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel), iberiotoxin (an inhibitor of large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels), glibenclamide (an ATP-sensitive potassium channel blocker), KT 5720 (a cAMP-dependent protein kinase A inhibitor), KT 5823 (a cGMP-dependent protein kinase G inhibitor), NG-nitro-L-arginine (a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase), tetrodotoxin (a selective neuronal Na + channel blocker), ω-conotoxin GVIA (a selective neuronal Ca 2+ channel blocker) and G-15 (a G-protein coupled estrogen receptor antagonist). The results of this study showed that resveratrol has potent and dose-dependent relaxant effects on the guinea pig fundic muscle. In addition, the results showed that resveratrol-induced relaxation of the guinea pig fundus occurs through nitric oxide and ATP-sensitive potassium channels. This study provides the first evidence concerning the relaxant effects of resveratrol in the guinea pig fundic muscle strips. Furthermore, resveratrol may be a potential drug to relieve gastrointestinal dyspepsia. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Handbook of purified gases

CERN Document Server

Schoen, Helmut

2015-01-01

Technical gases are used in almost every field of industry, science and medicine and also as a means of control by government authorities and institutions and are regarded as indispensable means of assistance. In this complete handbook of purified gases the physical foundations of purified gases and mixtures as well as their manufacturing, purification, analysis, storage, handling and transport are presented in a comprehensive way. This important reference work is accompanied with a large number of Data Sheets dedicated to the most important purified gases.  

Nuclear magnetic relaxation induced by exchange-mediated orientational randomization: longitudinal relaxation dispersion for a dipole-coupled spin-1/2 pair.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Zhiwei; Halle, Bertil

2013-10-14

In complex biological or colloidal samples, magnetic relaxation dispersion (MRD) experiments using the field-cycling technique can characterize molecular motions on time scales ranging from nanoseconds to microseconds, provided that a rigorous theory of nuclear spin relaxation is available. In gels, cross-linked proteins, and biological tissues, where an immobilized macromolecular component coexists with a mobile solvent phase, nuclear spins residing in solvent (or cosolvent) species relax predominantly via exchange-mediated orientational randomization (EMOR) of anisotropic nuclear (electric quadrupole or magnetic dipole) couplings. The physical or chemical exchange processes that dominate the MRD typically occur on a time scale of microseconds or longer, where the conventional perturbation theory of spin relaxation breaks down. There is thus a need for a more general relaxation theory. Such a theory, based on the stochastic Liouville equation (SLE) for the EMOR mechanism, is available for a single quadrupolar spin I = 1. Here, we present the corresponding theory for a dipole-coupled spin-1/2 pair. To our knowledge, this is the first treatment of dipolar MRD outside the motional-narrowing regime. Based on an analytical solution of the spatial part of the SLE, we show how the integral longitudinal relaxation rate can be computed efficiently. Both like and unlike spins, with selective or non-selective excitation, are treated. For the experimentally important dilute regime, where only a small fraction of the spin pairs are immobilized, we obtain simple analytical expressions for the auto-relaxation and cross-relaxation rates which generalize the well-known Solomon equations. These generalized results will be useful in biophysical studies, e.g., of intermittent protein dynamics. In addition, they represent a first step towards a rigorous theory of water (1)H relaxation in biological tissues, which is a prerequisite for unravelling the molecular basis of soft

STRESS RELAXATION CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED GLASSES

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Chocholoušek J.

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a quantitative method of stress relaxation measurement in prismatic glass samples during two different time-temperature regimes using the Sénarmont compensator. Four types of glass (Barium crystal glass, Eutal, Simax, and Container glass were subjected to observation in an assembled measuring device. Results will be used for parameterization of the Tool-Narayanaswamy-Mazurin model and consequently implemented in a finite element method code.

Life history trade-offs and relaxed selection can decrease bacterial virulence in environmental reservoirs.

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Lauri Mikonranta

Full Text Available Pathogen virulence is usually thought to evolve in reciprocal selection with the host. While this might be true for obligate pathogens, the life histories of opportunistic pathogens typically alternate between within-host and outside-host environments during the infection-transmission cycle. As a result, opportunistic pathogens are likely to experience conflicting selection pressures across different environments, and this could affect their virulence through life-history trait correlations. We studied these correlations experimentally by exposing an opportunistic bacterial pathogen Serratia marcescens to its natural protist predator Tetrahymena thermophila for 13 weeks, after which we measured changes in bacterial traits related to both anti-predator defence and virulence. We found that anti-predator adaptation (producing predator-resistant biofilm caused a correlative attenuation in virulence. Even though the direct mechanism was not found, reduction in virulence was most clearly connected to a predator-driven loss of a red bacterial pigment, prodigiosin. Moreover, life-history trait evolution was more divergent among replicate populations in the absence of predation, leading also to lowered virulence in some of the 'predator absent' selection lines. Together these findings suggest that the virulence of non-obligatory, opportunistic bacterial pathogens can decrease in environmental reservoirs through life history trade-offs, or random accumulation of mutations that impair virulence traits under relaxed selection.

Azemiopsin, a Selective Peptide Antagonist of Muscle Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor: Preclinical Evaluation as a Local Muscle Relaxant

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Irina V. Shelukhina

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Azemiopsin (Az, a linear peptide from the Azemiops feae viper venom, contains no disulfide bonds, is a high-affinity and selective inhibitor of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR of muscle type and may be considered as potentially applicable nondepolarizing muscle relaxant. In this study, we investigated its preclinical profile in regard to in vitro and in vivo efficacy, acute and chronic toxicity, pharmacokinetics, allergenic capacity, immunotoxicity and mutagenic potency. The peptide effectively inhibited (IC50 ~ 19 nM calcium response of muscle nAChR evoked by 30 μM (EC100 acetylcholine but was less potent (IC50 ~ 3 μM at α7 nAChR activated by 10 μM (EC50 acetylcholine and had a low affinity to α4β2 and α3-containing nAChR, as well as to GABAA or 5HT3 receptors. Its muscle relaxant effect was demonstrated at intramuscular injection to mice at doses of 30–300 µg/kg, 30 µg/kg being the initial effective dose and 90 µg/kg—the average effective dose. The maximal muscle relaxant effect of Az was achieved in 10 min after the administration and elimination half-life of Az in mice was calculated as 20–40 min. The longest period of Az action observed at a dose of 300 µg/kg was 55 min. The highest acute toxicity (LD50 510 μg/kg was observed at intravenous injection of Az, at intramuscular or intraperitoneal administration it was less toxic. The peptide showed practically no immunotoxic, allergenic or mutagenic capacity. Overall, the results demonstrate that Az has good drug-like properties for the application as local muscle relaxant and in its parameters, is not inferior to the relaxants currently used. However, some Az modification might be effective to extend its narrow therapeutic window, a typical characteristic and a weak point of all nondepolarizing myorelaxants.

Nicotine impairs cyclooxygenase-2-dependent kinin-receptor-mediated murine airway relaxations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Yuan; Cardell, Lars-Olaf

2014-01-01

Introduction: Cigarette smoke induces local inflammation and airway hyperreactivity. In asthmatics, it worsens the symptoms and increases the risk for exacerbation. The present study investigates the effects of nicotine on airway relaxations in isolated murine tracheal segments. Methods: Segments were cultured for 24 h in the presence of vehicle, nicotine (10 μM) and/or dexamethasone (1 μM). Airway relaxations were assessed in myographs after pre-contraction with carbachol (1 μM). Kinin receptors, cyclooxygenase (COX) and inflammatory mediator expressions were assessed by real-time PCR and confocal-microscopy-based immunohistochemistry. Results: The organ culture procedure markedly increased bradykinin- (selective B 2 receptor agonist) and des-Arg 9 -bradykinin- (selective B 1 receptor agonist) induced relaxations, and slightly increased relaxation induced by isoprenaline, but not that induced by PGE 2 . The kinin receptor mediated relaxations were epithelium-, COX-2- and EP2-receptor-dependent and accompanied by drastically enhanced mRNA levels of kinin receptors, as well as inflammatory mediators MCP-1 and iNOS. Increase in COX-2 and mPGES-1 was verified both at mRNA and protein levels. Nicotine selectively suppressed the organ-culture-enhanced relaxations induced by des-Arg 9 -bradykinin and bradykinin, at the same time reducing mPGES-1 mRNA and protein expressions. α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor inhibitors α-bungarotoxin and MG624 both blocked the nicotine effects on kinin B 2 receptors, but not those on B 1 . Dexamethasone completely abolished kinin-induced relaxations. Conclusion: It is tempting to conclude that a local inflammatory process per se could have a bronchoprotective component by increasing COX-2 mediated airway relaxations and that nicotine could impede this safety mechanism. Dexamethasone further reduced airway inflammation together with relaxations. This might contribute to the steroid resistance seen in some patients with asthma

Nicotine impairs cyclooxygenase-2-dependent kinin-receptor-mediated murine airway relaxations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Yuan, E-mail: yuan.xu@ki.se; Cardell, Lars-Olaf

2014-02-15

Introduction: Cigarette smoke induces local inflammation and airway hyperreactivity. In asthmatics, it worsens the symptoms and increases the risk for exacerbation. The present study investigates the effects of nicotine on airway relaxations in isolated murine tracheal segments. Methods: Segments were cultured for 24 h in the presence of vehicle, nicotine (10 μM) and/or dexamethasone (1 μM). Airway relaxations were assessed in myographs after pre-contraction with carbachol (1 μM). Kinin receptors, cyclooxygenase (COX) and inflammatory mediator expressions were assessed by real-time PCR and confocal-microscopy-based immunohistochemistry. Results: The organ culture procedure markedly increased bradykinin- (selective B{sub 2} receptor agonist) and des-Arg{sup 9}-bradykinin- (selective B{sub 1} receptor agonist) induced relaxations, and slightly increased relaxation induced by isoprenaline, but not that induced by PGE{sub 2}. The kinin receptor mediated relaxations were epithelium-, COX-2- and EP2-receptor-dependent and accompanied by drastically enhanced mRNA levels of kinin receptors, as well as inflammatory mediators MCP-1 and iNOS. Increase in COX-2 and mPGES-1 was verified both at mRNA and protein levels. Nicotine selectively suppressed the organ-culture-enhanced relaxations induced by des-Arg{sup 9}-bradykinin and bradykinin, at the same time reducing mPGES-1 mRNA and protein expressions. α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor inhibitors α-bungarotoxin and MG624 both blocked the nicotine effects on kinin B{sub 2} receptors, but not those on B{sub 1}. Dexamethasone completely abolished kinin-induced relaxations. Conclusion: It is tempting to conclude that a local inflammatory process per se could have a bronchoprotective component by increasing COX-2 mediated airway relaxations and that nicotine could impede this safety mechanism. Dexamethasone further reduced airway inflammation together with relaxations. This might contribute to the steroid resistance seen in

Purifying hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunstan, A E

1918-06-03

Ligroin, kerosene, and other distillates from petroleum and shale oil, are purified by treatment with a solution of a hypochlorite containing an excess of alkali. The hydrocarbon may be poured into brine, the mixture stirred, and an electric current passed through. Heat may be applied.

Pentacene field-effect transistors by in situ and real time electrical characterization: Comparison between purified and non-purified thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Shun-Wei; Wen, Je-Min; Lee, Chih-Chien; Su, Wei-Cheng; Wang, Wei-Lun; Chen, Ho-Chien; Lin, Chun-Feng

2013-01-01

We present an electrical characterization of the organic field-effect transistor with purified and non-purified pentacene by using in situ and real time measurements. The field-effect phenomenon was observed at the thickness of 1.5 nm (approximately one monolayer of pentacene) for purified pentacene, as compared to 3.0 nm for the non-purified counterpart. Moreover, the hole mobility is improved from 0.13 to 0.23 cm 2 /V s after the sublimation process to purify the pentacene. With atomic force microscopic measurements, the purified pentacene thin film exhibits a larger grain size and film coverage, resulting in better crystallinity of the thin film structure due to the absence of the impurities. This is further confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns, which show higher intensities for the purified pentacene. - Highlights: • We present in-situ characterization for pentacene field-effect transistors. • The hole mobility is improved after the sublimation process to purify the pentacene. • Purified pentacene thin film exhibits a larger grain size and film coverage. • Hole mobility of pentacene is improved from 0.13 to 0.23 cm 2 /V s. • The discontinuity of grain boundary may cause the shift of threshold voltage

Pentacene field-effect transistors by in situ and real time electrical characterization: Comparison between purified and non-purified thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Shun-Wei, E-mail: swliu@mail.mcut.edu.tw [Department of Electronic Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan, ROC (China); Wen, Je-Min; Lee, Chih-Chien; Su, Wei-Cheng; Wang, Wei-Lun; Chen, Ho-Chien [Department of Electronic Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, 10607 Taiwan, ROC (China); Lin, Chun-Feng [Department of Electronic Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan, ROC (China)

2013-05-01

We present an electrical characterization of the organic field-effect transistor with purified and non-purified pentacene by using in situ and real time measurements. The field-effect phenomenon was observed at the thickness of 1.5 nm (approximately one monolayer of pentacene) for purified pentacene, as compared to 3.0 nm for the non-purified counterpart. Moreover, the hole mobility is improved from 0.13 to 0.23 cm{sup 2}/V s after the sublimation process to purify the pentacene. With atomic force microscopic measurements, the purified pentacene thin film exhibits a larger grain size and film coverage, resulting in better crystallinity of the thin film structure due to the absence of the impurities. This is further confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns, which show higher intensities for the purified pentacene. - Highlights: • We present in-situ characterization for pentacene field-effect transistors. • The hole mobility is improved after the sublimation process to purify the pentacene. • Purified pentacene thin film exhibits a larger grain size and film coverage. • Hole mobility of pentacene is improved from 0.13 to 0.23 cm{sup 2}/V s. • The discontinuity of grain boundary may cause the shift of threshold voltage.

Multi-species sequence comparison reveals dynamic evolution of the elastin gene that has involved purifying selection and lineage-specific insertions/deletions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Green Eric D

2004-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The elastin gene (ELN is implicated as a factor in both supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS and Williams Beuren Syndrome (WBS, two diseases involving pronounced complications in mental or physical development. Although the complete spectrum of functional roles of the processed gene product remains to be established, these roles are inferred to be analogous in human and mouse. This view is supported by genomic sequence comparison, in which there are no large-scale differences in the ~1.8 Mb sequence block encompassing the common region deleted in WBS, with the exception of an overall reversed physical orientation between human and mouse. Results Conserved synteny around ELN does not translate to a high level of conservation in the gene itself. In fact, ELN orthologs in mammals show more sequence divergence than expected for a gene with a critical role in development. The pattern of divergence is non-conventional due to an unusually high ratio of gaps to substitutions. Specifically, multi-sequence alignments of eight mammalian sequences reveal numerous non-aligning regions caused by species-specific insertions and deletions, in spite of the fact that the vast majority of aligning sites appear to be conserved and undergoing purifying selection. Conclusions The pattern of lineage-specific, in-frame insertions/deletions in the coding exons of ELN orthologous genes is unusual and has led to unique features of the gene in each lineage. These differences may indicate that the gene has a slightly different functional mechanism in mammalian lineages, or that the corresponding regions are functionally inert. Identified regions that undergo purifying selection reflect a functional importance associated with evolutionary pressure to retain those features.

STAR FORMATION AND RELAXATION IN 379 NEARBY GALAXY CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, Seth A.; Hickox, Ryan C.; Wegner, Gary A.

2015-01-01

We investigate the relationship between star formation (SF) and level of relaxation in a sample of 379 galaxy clusters at z < 0.2. We use data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to measure cluster membership and level of relaxation, and to select star-forming galaxies based on mid-infrared emission detected with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer. For galaxies with absolute magnitudes M r < −19.5, we find an inverse correlation between SF fraction and cluster relaxation: as a cluster becomes less relaxed, its SF fraction increases. Furthermore, in general, the subtracted SF fraction in all unrelaxed clusters (0.117 ± 0.003) is higher than that in all relaxed clusters (0.097 ± 0.005). We verify the validity of our SF calculation methods and membership criteria through analysis of previous work. Our results agree with previous findings that a weak correlation exists between cluster SF and dynamical state, possibly because unrelaxed clusters are less evolved relative to relaxed clusters

Purifying Selection and Birth-and-Death Evolution in the Class II Hydrophobin Gene Families of the Ascomycete Trichoderma/Hypocrea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

kubicek, Christian P.; Baker, Scott E.; Gamauf, Christian; Kenerley, Chuck; Druzhinina, Irina S.

2008-01-10

Hydrophobins are proteins containing eight conserved cysteine residues that occur uniquely in mycelial fungi, where their main function is to confer hydrophobicity to fungal surfaces in contact with air and during attachment of hyphae to hydrophobic surfaces of hosts, symbiotic partners or of themselves resulting in morphogenetic signals. Based on their hydropathy patterns and their solubility characteristics, they are classified in class I and class II hydrophobins, the latter being found only in ascomycetes. Here we have investigated the mechanisms driving the evolution of the class II hydrophobins in nine species of the mycoparasitic ascomycetous genus Trichoderma/Hypocrea, using three fully sequenced genomes (H. jecorina=T. reesei, H. atroviridis=T. atroviride; H. virens=T. virens) and a total of 14.000 ESTs of six others (T. asperellum, H. lixii=T. harzianum, T. aggressivum var. europeae, T. longibrachiatum, T. cf. viride). The former three contained six, ten and nine members, which is the highest number found in any other ascomycete so far. They all showed the conserved four beta-strands/one helix structure, which is stabilized by four disulfide bonds. In addition, a small number of these HFBs contained an extended N-terminus rich in either praline and aspartate, or glycine-asparagine. Phylogenetic analysis reveals a mosaic of terminal clades contain duplicated genes and shows only three reasonably supported clades. Calculation of the ratio of differences in synonymous vs. non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions provides evidence for strong purifying selection (KS/Ka >> 1). A genome database search for class II HFBs from other ascomycetes retrieved a much smaller number of hydrophobins (2-4) from each species, and most of them were from Pyrenomycetes. A combined phylogeny of these sequences with those of Trichoderma showed that the Trichoderma HFBs mostly formed their own clades, whereas those of other pyrenomycetes occured in shared clades. Our study shows

Variational formulation of relaxed and multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Dewar, R. L.; Yoshida, Z.; Bhattacharjee, A.; Hudson, S. R.

2015-12-01

> Ideal magnetohydrodynamics (IMHD) is strongly constrained by an infinite number of microscopic constraints expressing mass, entropy and magnetic flux conservation in each infinitesimal fluid element, the latter preventing magnetic reconnection. By contrast, in the Taylor relaxation model for formation of macroscopically self-organized plasma equilibrium states, all these constraints are relaxed save for the global magnetic fluxes and helicity. A Lagrangian variational principle is presented that leads to a new, fully dynamical, relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (RxMHD), such that all static solutions are Taylor states but also allows state with flow. By postulating that some long-lived macroscopic current sheets can act as barriers to relaxation, separating the plasma into multiple relaxation regions, a further generalization, multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRxMHD) is developed.

Methods for Purifying Enzymes for Mycoremediation

Science.gov (United States)

Cullings, Kenneth W. (Inventor); DeSimone, Julia C. (Inventor); Paavola, Chad D. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A process for purifying laccase from an ectomycorrhizal fruiting body is disclosed. The process includes steps of homogenization, sonication, centrifugation, filtration, affinity chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. Purified laccase can also be separated into isomers.

Global patterns of diversity and selection in human tyrosinase gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudjashov, Georgi; Villems, Richard; Kivisild, Toomas

2013-01-01

Global variation in skin pigmentation is one of the most striking examples of environmental adaptation in humans. More than two hundred loci have been identified as candidate genes in model organisms and a few tens of these have been found to be significantly associated with human skin pigmentation in genome-wide association studies. However, the evolutionary history of different pigmentation genes is rather complex: some loci have been subjected to strong positive selection, while others evolved under the relaxation of functional constraints in low UV environment. Here we report the results of a global study of the human tyrosinase gene, which is one of the key enzymes in melanin production, to assess the role of its variation in the evolution of skin pigmentation differences among human populations. We observe a higher rate of non-synonymous polymorphisms in the European sample consistent with the relaxation of selective constraints. A similar pattern was previously observed in the MC1R gene and concurs with UV radiation-driven model of skin color evolution by which mutations leading to lower melanin levels and decreased photoprotection are subject to purifying selection at low latitudes while being tolerated or even favored at higher latitudes because they facilitate UV-dependent vitamin D production. Our coalescent date estimates suggest that the non-synonymous variants, which are frequent in Europe and North Africa, are recent and have emerged after the separation of East and West Eurasian populations.

The NS3 proteins of global strains of bluetongue virus evolve into regional topotypes through negative (purifying) selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Balasuriya, U B R; Nadler, S A; Wilson, W C; Pritchard, L I; Smythe, A B; Savini, G; Monaco, F; De Santis, P; Zhang, N; Tabachnick, W J; Maclachlan, N J

2008-01-01

Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the genes (S10) encoding the NS3 protein of 137 strains of bluetongue virus (BTV) from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and the Mediterranean Basin showed limited variation. Common to all NS3 sequences were potential glycosylation sites at amino acid residues 63 and 150 and a cysteine at residue 137, whereas a cysteine at residue 181 was not conserved. The PPXY and PS/TAP late-domain motifs were conserved in all but three of the viruses. Phylogenetic analyses of these same sequences yielded two principal clades that grouped the viruses irrespective of their serotype or year of isolation (1900-2003). All viruses from Asia and Australia were grouped in one clade, whereas those from the other regions were present in both clades. Each clade segregated into distinct subclades that included viruses from single or multiple regions, and the S10 genes of some field viruses were identical to those of live-attenuated BTV vaccines. There was no evidence of positive selection on the S10 gene as assessed by reconstruction of ancestral codon states on the phylogeny, rather the functional constraints of the NS3 protein are expressed through substantial negative (purifying) selection.

Magnetic-relaxation method of analysis of inorganic substances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popel', A.A.

1978-01-01

The magnetic-relaxation method is considered of the quantitative analysis of inorganic substances based on time dependence of magnetic nuclei relaxation on the quantity of paramagnetic centres in a solution. The characteristic is given of some methods of measuring nuclear magnetic relaxation times: method of weak oscillation generator and pulse methods. The effect of temperature, general solution viscosity, diamagnetic salt concentration, medium acidity on nuclear relaxation velocity is described. The determination sensitivity is estimated and the means of its increase definable concentration intervals and method selectivity are considered. The method application when studying complexing in the solution is described. A particular attention is given to the investigation of heteroligand homocentre, heterocentre and protonated complexes as well as to the problems of particle exchange of the first coordination sphere with particles from the mass of solution. The equations for equilibrium constant calculation in different systems are given. Possibilities of determining diamagnetic ions by the magnetic-relaxation method using paramagnetic indicators are confirmed by the quantitative analysis of indium, gallium, thorium and scandium in their salt solutions

Hydrogen purifier module with membrane support

Science.gov (United States)

A hydrogen purifier utilizing a hydrogen-permeable membrane to purify hydrogen from mixed gases containing hydrogen is disclosed. Improved mechanical support for the permeable membrane is described, enabling forward or reverse differential pressurization of the membrane, which further stabilizes the membrane from wrinkling upon hydrogen uptake.

2012-07-24

A hydrogen purifier utilizing a hydrogen-permeable membrane to purify hydrogen from mixed gases containing hydrogen is disclosed. Improved mechanical support for the permeable membrane is described, enabling forward or reverse differential pressurization of the membrane, which further stabilizes the membrane from wrinkling upon hydrogen uptake.

In-reactor stress relaxation of selected metals and alloys at low temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Causey, A.R.; Carpenter, G.J.C.; MacEwen, S.R.

1980-01-01

Stress relaxation of bent beam specimens under fast neutron irradiation at 340 and 570 K has been studied for a range of materials, as follows: several stainless steels, a maraged steel, AISI-4140, Ni, Inconel X-750, Ti, Zircaloy-2, Zr-2.5% Nb and Zr 3 Al. All specimens were in the annealed or solution-treated condition. Where comparisons were possible, the creep coefficients derived from the stress relaxation tests were found to be consistent with other studies of irradiation-induced creep. The steels showed the lowest rates of stress relaxation; the largest rates were observed with Zr-Nb, Ti and Ni. For most materials, the creep coefficient at 340 K was equal to or greater than that at 570 K. Such weak temperature dependence is not easily reconciled with existing models of irradiation creep based on dislocation climb, such as SIPA or climb-induced glide. Rate theory calculations indicate that because the vacancy mobility becomes very low at the lower temperature, recombination should dominate point defect annealing, resulting in a very low creep rate compared to that at the higher temperature. It is shown that the weak temperature dependence observed experimentally cannot be accounted for by the inclusion of more mobile divacancies in the calculation. (orig.)

In-reactor stress relaxation of selected metals and alloys at low temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Causey, A.R.; Carpenter, G.J.C.; MacEwen, S.R.

1980-01-01

Stress relaxation of bent beam specimens under fast neutron irradiation at 340 and 570 K has been studied for a range of materials, as follows: several stainless steels, a maraged steel, AISI-4140, Ni, Inconel X-750, Ti, Zircaloy-2, Zr-2.5% Nb and Zr 3 A1. All specimens were in the annealed or solution-treated condition. Where comparisons were possible, the creep coefficients derived from the stress relaxation tests were found to be consistent with other studies of irradiation-induced creep. The steels showed the lowest rates of stress relaxation; the largest rates were observed with Zr-Nb, Ti and Ni. For most materials, the creep coefficient at 340 K was equal to or greater than that at 570 K. Such weak temperature dependence is not easily reconciled with existing models of irradiation creep based on dislocation climb, such as SIPA or climb-induced glide. Rate theory calculations indicate that because the vacancy mobility becomes very low at the lower temperature, recombination should dominate point defect annealing, resulting in a very low creep rate compared to that at the higher temperature. It is shown that the weak temperature dependence observed experimentally cannot be accounted for by the inclusion of more mobile divacancies in the calculation. (author)

MR pulse sequences for selective relaxation time measurements: a phantom study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, C; Jensen, K E; Jensen, M

1990-01-01

a Siemens Magnetom wholebody magnetic resonance scanner operating at 1.5 Tesla was used. For comparison six imaging pulse sequences for relaxation time measurements were tested on the same phantom. The spectroscopic pulse sequences all had an accuracy better than 10% of the reference values....

Pharmacological identification of β-adrenoceptor subtypes mediating isoprenaline-induced relaxation of guinea pig colonic longitudinal smooth muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Chino, Daisuke; Sone, Tomoyo; Yamazaki, Kumi; Tsuruoka, Yuri; Yamagishi, Risa; Shiina, Shunsuke; Obara, Keisuke; Yamaki, Fumiko; Higai, Koji; Tanaka, Yoshio

2018-01-01

Object We aimed to identify the β-adrenoceptor (β-AR) subtypes involved in isoprenaline-induced relaxation of guinea pig colonic longitudinal smooth muscle using pharmacological and biochemical approaches. Methods Longitudinal smooth muscle was prepared from the male guinea pig ascending colon and contracted with histamine prior to comparing the relaxant responses to three catecholamines (isoprenaline, adrenaline, and noradrenaline). The inhibitory effects of subtype-selective β-AR antagonists on isoprenaline-induced relaxation were then investigated. Results The relaxant potencies of the catecholamines were ranked as: isoprenaline > noradrenaline ≈ adrenaline, whereas the rank order was isoprenaline > noradrenaline > adrenaline in the presence of propranolol (a non-selective β-AR antagonist; 3 × 10 -7 M). Atenolol (a selective β 1 -AR antagonist; 3 × 10 -7 -10 -6  M) acted as a competitive antagonist of isoprenaline-induced relaxation, and the pA 2 value was calculated to be 6.49 (95% confidence interval: 6.34-6.83). The relaxation to isoprenaline was not affected by ICI-118,551 (a selective β 2 -AR antagonist) at 10 -9 -10 -8  M, but was competitively antagonized by 10 -7 -3 × 10 -7  M, with a pA 2 value of 7.41 (95% confidence interval: 7.18-8.02). In the presence of propranolol (3 × 10 -7 M), the relaxant effect of isoprenaline was competitively antagonized by bupranolol (a non-selective β-AR antagonist), with a pA 2 value of 5.90 (95% confidence interval: 5.73-6.35). Conclusion These findings indicated that the β-AR subtypes involved in isoprenaline-induced relaxation of colonic longitudinal guinea pig muscles are β 1 -AR and β 3 -AR.

21 CFR 880.6710 - Medical ultraviolet water purifier.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Medical ultraviolet water purifier. 880.6710... Miscellaneous Devices § 880.6710 Medical ultraviolet water purifier. (a) Identification. A medical ultraviolet water purifier is a device intended for medical purposes that is used to destroy bacteria in water by...

Paramagnetic relaxation effects in perturbed angular correlations for arbitrary electronic relaxation time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chopin, C.; Spanjaard, D.; Hartmann-Boutron, F.

1975-01-01

Previous perturbation treatments of paramagnetic relaxation effects in γγ PAC were limited to the case of very short electronic relaxation times. This limitation is circumvented by invoking a new perturbation theory recently elaborated by Hirst and others for handling relaxation effects in Moessbauer spectra. Under the assumption of spherical electronic relaxation the perturbation factors are computed as functions of certain relaxation parameters which are directly related to the microscopic relaxation Hamiltonian. The results are compared to those of the stochastic theory of Scherer and Blume [fr

Divergent evolution and purifying selection of the H (FUT1 gene in New World monkeys (Primates, Platyrrhini

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bárbara do Nascimento Borges

2004-01-01

Full Text Available In the present study, the coding region of the H gene was sequenced and analyzed in fourteen genera of New World primates (Alouatta, Aotus, Ateles, Brachyteles, Cacajao, Callicebus, Callithrix, Cebus, Chiropotes, Lagothrix, Leontopithecus, Pithecia, Saguinus, and Saimiri, in order to investigate the evolution of the gene. The analyses revealed that this coding region contains 1,101 nucleotides, with the exception of Brachyteles, the callitrichines (Callithrix, Leontopithecus, and Saguinus and one species of Callicebus (moloch, in which one codon was deleted. In the primates studied, the high GC content (63%, the nonrandom distribution of codons and the low evolution rate of the gene (0.513 substitutions/site/MA in the order Primates suggest the action of a purifying type of selective pressure, confirmed by the Z-test. Our analyses did not identify mutations equivalent to those responsible for the H-deficient phenotypes found in humans, nor any other alteration that might explain the lack of expression of the gene in the erythrocytes of Neotropical monkeys. The phylogenetic trees obtained for the H gene and the distance matrix data suggest the occurrence of divergent evolution in the primates.

Somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations in cancer escape purifying selection and high pathogenicity mutations lead to the oncocytic phenotype: pathogenicity analysis of reported somatic mtDNA mutations in tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, Luísa; Soares, Pedro; Máximo, Valdemar; Samuels, David C

2012-01-01

The presence of somatic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in cancer cells has been interpreted in controversial ways, ranging from random neutral accumulation of mutations, to positive selection for high pathogenicity, or conversely to purifying selection against high pathogenicity variants as occurs at the population level. Here we evaluated the predicted pathogenicity of somatic mtDNA mutations described in cancer and compare these to the distribution of variations observed in the global human population and all possible protein variations that could occur in human mtDNA. We focus on oncocytic tumors, which are clearly associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. The protein variant pathogenicity was predicted using two computational methods, MutPred and SNPs&GO. The pathogenicity score of the somatic mtDNA variants were significantly higher in oncocytic tumors compared to non-oncocytic tumors. Variations in subunits of Complex I of the electron transfer chain were significantly more common in tumors with the oncocytic phenotype, while variations in Complex V subunits were significantly more common in non-oncocytic tumors. Our results show that the somatic mtDNA mutations reported over all tumors are indistinguishable from a random selection from the set of all possible amino acid variations, and have therefore escaped the effects of purifying selection that act strongly at the population level. We show that the pathogenicity of somatic mtDNA mutations is a determining factor for the oncocytic phenotype. The opposite associations of the Complex I and Complex V variants with the oncocytic and non-oncocytic tumors implies that low mitochondrial membrane potential may play an important role in determining the oncocytic phenotype

Respirators: Air Purifying, Self-Study, Course 40723

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chochoms, Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-12-21

Respirators: Air Purifying Self-Study (COURSE 40723) is designed for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) workers, support services subcontractors, and other LANL subcontractors who work under the LANL Respiratory Protection Program (RPP). This course also meets the air-purifying respirators (APRs) retraining requirement.

Purifying selection acts on coding and non-coding sequences of paralogous genes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Robert D; Palmgren, Michael

2016-06-13

Whole-genome duplications in the ancestors of many diverse species provided the genetic material for evolutionary novelty. Several models explain the retention of paralogous genes. However, how these models are reflected in the evolution of coding and non-coding sequences of paralogous genes is unknown. Here, we analyzed the coding and non-coding sequences of paralogous genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and compared these sequences with those of orthologous genes in Arabidopsis lyrata. Paralogs with lower expression than their duplicate had more nonsynonymous substitutions, were more likely to fractionate, and exhibited less similar expression patterns with their orthologs in the other species. Also, lower-expressed genes had greater tissue specificity. Orthologous conserved non-coding sequences in the promoters, introns, and 3' untranslated regions were less abundant at lower-expressed genes compared to their higher-expressed paralogs. A gene ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis showed that paralogs with similar expression levels were enriched in GO terms related to ribosomes, whereas paralogs with different expression levels were enriched in terms associated with stress responses. Loss of conserved non-coding sequences in one gene of a paralogous gene pair correlates with reduced expression levels that are more tissue specific. Together with increased mutation rates in the coding sequences, this suggests that similar forces of purifying selection act on coding and non-coding sequences. We propose that coding and non-coding sequences evolve concurrently following gene duplication.

Cation gating and selectivity in a purified, reconstituted, voltage-dependent sodium channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barchi, R.L.; Tanaka, J.C.

1984-01-01

In excitable membranes, the voltage-dependent sodium channel controls the primary membrane conductance change necessary for the generation of an action potential. Over the past four decades, the time- and voltage-dependent sodium currents gated by this channel have been thoroughly documented with increasingly sophisticated voltage-clamp techniques. Recent advances in the biochemistry of membrane proteins have led to the solubilization and purification of this channel protein from nerve (6) and from muscle (4) or muscle-derived (1) membranes, and have provided an approach to the correlation of the channel's molecular structure with its functional properties. Each of these sodium channel preparations appears to contain a large glycoprotein either as its sole component (2) or in association with several small subunits (6, 3). Evidence that these purified proteins represent the excitable membrane sodium channel is presented. 8 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

Relaxation characteristics of hastelloy X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Kazuhiko

1980-02-01

Relaxation diagrams of Hastelloy X (relaxation curves, relaxation design diagrams, etc.) were generated from the creep constitutive equation of Hastelloy X, using inelastic stress analysis code TEPICC-J. These data are in good agreement with experimental relaxation data of ORNL-5479. Three typical inelastic stress analyses were performed for various relaxation behaviors of the high-temperature structures. An attempt was also made to predict these relaxation behaviors by the relaxation curves. (author)

Corroborative evidences of TV γ -scaling of the α-relaxation originating from the primitive relaxation/JG β relaxation

Science.gov (United States)

Ngai, K. L.; Paluch, M.

2017-12-01

Successful thermodynamic scaling of the structural alpha-relaxation time or transport coefficients of glass-forming liquids determined at various temperatures T and pressures P means the data conform to a single function of the product variable TVgamma, where V is the specific volume and gamma is a material specific constant. In the past two decades we have witnessed successful TVgamma-scaling in many molecular, polymeric, and even metallic glass-formers, and gamma is related to the slope of the repulsive part of the intermolecular potential. The advances made indicate TVgamma-scaling is an important aspect of the dynamic and thermodynamic properties of glass-formers. In this paper we show the origin of TVgamma-scaling is not from the structural alpha-relaxation time. Instead it comes from its precursor, the Johari-Goldstein beta-relaxation or the primitive relaxation of the Coupling Model and their relaxation times or tau_0 respectively. It is remarkable that all relaxation times are functions of TVgamma with the same gama, as well as the fractional exponent of the Kohlrausch correlation function of the structural alpha-relaxation. We arrive at this conclusion convincingly based on corroborative evidences from a number of experiments and molecular dynamics simulations performed on a wide variety of glass-formers and in conjunction with consistency with the predictions of the Coupling Model.

Selective Biological Responses of Phagocytes and Lungs to Purified Histones.

Science.gov (United States)

Fattahi, Fatemeh; Grailer, Jamison J; Lu, Hope; Dick, Rachel S; Parlett, Michella; Zetoune, Firas S; Nuñez, Gabriel; Ward, Peter A

2017-01-01

Histones invoke strong proinflammatory responses in many different organs and cells. We assessed biological responses to purified or recombinant histones, using human and murine phagocytes and mouse lungs. H1 had the strongest ability in vitro to induce cell swelling independent of requirements for toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2 or 4. These responses were also associated with lactate dehydrogenase release. H3 and H2B were the strongest inducers of [Ca2+]i elevations in phagocytes. Cytokine and chemokine release from mouse and human phagocytes was predominately a function of H2A and H2B. Double TLR2 and TLR4 knockout (KO) mice had dramatically reduced cytokine release induced in macrophages exposed to individual histones. In contrast, macrophages from single TLR-KO mice showed few inhibitory effects on cytokine production. Using the NLRP3 inflammasome protocol, release of mature IL-1β was predominantly a feature of H1. Acute lung injury following the airway delivery of histones suggested that H1, H2A, and H2B were linked to alveolar leak of albumin and the buildup of polymorphonuclear neutrophils as well as the release of chemokines and cytokines into bronchoalveolar fluids. These results demonstrate distinct biological roles for individual histones in the context of inflammation biology and the requirement of both TLR2 and TLR4. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Endothelium-dependent relaxant responses to selective 5-HT(1B/1D) receptor agonists in the isolated middle cerebral artery of the rat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen-Schwartz, Jacob; Løvland Hoel, Natalie; Nilsson, Elisabeth

2003-01-01

perfused. Luminally added 5- hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), sumatriptan and rizatriptan induced maximal dilatations of 22 +/- 4, 10 +/- 2 and 13 +/- 5%, respectively, compared to the resting diameter. The relaxant effect of sumatriptan was blocked by the 5- HT(1B/1D) receptor selective antagonist GR 55562 (10......The vasomotor effects of triptans in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) of rats were studied using the pressurised arteriography method and in vitro vessel baths. Using the arteriograph, MCAs from Sprague-Dawley rats were mounted on two glass micropipettes, pressurised to 85 mm Hg and luminally...... response to 5-HT and triptans. Using the vessel bath technique, MCA segments were mounted on two metal wires. The relaxant responses to sumatriptan could not be reproduced using this model; instead, weak contractile responses (6 +/- 3% of submaximal contractile capacity) were observed. The difference...

Capturing molecular multimode relaxation processes in excitable gases based on decomposition of acoustic relaxation spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ming; Liu, Tingting; Wang, Shu; Zhang, Kesheng

2017-08-01

Existing two-frequency reconstructive methods can only capture primary (single) molecular relaxation processes in excitable gases. In this paper, we present a reconstructive method based on the novel decomposition of frequency-dependent acoustic relaxation spectra to capture the entire molecular multimode relaxation process. This decomposition of acoustic relaxation spectra is developed from the frequency-dependent effective specific heat, indicating that a multi-relaxation process is the sum of the interior single-relaxation processes. Based on this decomposition, we can reconstruct the entire multi-relaxation process by capturing the relaxation times and relaxation strengths of N interior single-relaxation processes, using the measurements of acoustic absorption and sound speed at 2N frequencies. Experimental data for the gas mixtures CO2-N2 and CO2-O2 validate our decomposition and reconstruction approach.

Study of hot corrosion of flakes of non purified graphite and of purified graphite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boule, Michel

1967-01-01

The author reports the study of hot corrosion of the Ticonderoga graphite. He reports the study of the defects of graphite flakes (structure defects due to impurities), the dosing of these impurities, and then their removal by purification. Flakes have then been oxidised by means of a specially designed apparatus. Based on photographs taken by optical and electronic microscopy, the author compares the oxidation features obtained in dry air and in humid air, between purified and non purified flakes. He also reports the study of the evolution of oxidation with respect to the initial rate of impurities, and the study of the evolution of oxidation features in humid air during oxidation. All these comparisons are made while taking the oxidation rate into account [fr

Pharmacological characterization of the relaxant effect induced by adrenomedullin in rat cavernosal smooth muscle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leite, L.N. [Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brazil); Laboratório de Farmacologia, Departamento de Enfermagem Psiquiátrica e Ciências Humanas, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brazil); Gonzaga, N.A. [Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmacologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brazil); Tirapelli, D.P.C.; Tirapelli, L.F. [Departamento de Cirurgia e Anatomia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brazil); Tirapelli, C.R. [Laboratório de Farmacologia, Departamento de Enfermagem Psiquiátrica e Ciências Humanas, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brazil)

2014-08-15

The aim of the present study was to determine the mechanisms underlying the relaxant effect of adrenomedullin (AM) in rat cavernosal smooth muscle (CSM) and the expression of AM system components in this tissue. Functional assays using standard muscle bath procedures were performed in CSM isolated from male Wistar rats. Protein and mRNA levels of pre-pro-AM, calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), and Subtypes 1, 2 and 3 of the receptor activity-modifying protein (RAMP) family were assessed by Western immunoblotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Nitrate and 6-keto-prostaglandin F{sub 1α} (6-keto-PGF{sub 1α}; a stable product of prostacyclin) levels were determined using commercially available kits. Protein and mRNA of AM, CRLR, and RAMP 1, -2, and -3 were detected in rat CSM. Immunohistochemical assays demonstrated that AM and CRLR were expressed in rat CSM. AM relaxed CSM strips in a concentration-dependent manner. AM{sub 22-52}, a selective antagonist for AM receptors, reduced the relaxation induced by AM. Conversely, CGRP{sub 8-37}, a selective antagonist for calcitonin gene-related peptide receptors, did not affect AM-induced relaxation. Preincubation of CSM strips with N{sup G}-nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (L-NAME, nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), 1H-(1,2,4)oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ, quanylyl cyclase inhibitor), Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS (cGMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor), SC560 [5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-trifluoromethyl pyrazole, selective cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitor], and 4-aminopyridine (voltage-dependent K{sup +} channel blocker) reduced AM-induced relaxation. On the other hand, 7-nitroindazole (selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), wortmannin (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor), H89 (protein kinase A inhibitor), SQ22536 [9-(tetrahydro-2-furanyl)-9H-purin-6-amine, adenylate cyclase inhibitor], glibenclamide (selective blocker of ATP-sensitive K{sup +} channels), and

Pharmacological characterization of the relaxant effect induced by adrenomedullin in rat cavernosal smooth muscle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leite, L.N.; Gonzaga, N.A.; Tirapelli, D.P.C.; Tirapelli, L.F.; Tirapelli, C.R.

2014-01-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the mechanisms underlying the relaxant effect of adrenomedullin (AM) in rat cavernosal smooth muscle (CSM) and the expression of AM system components in this tissue. Functional assays using standard muscle bath procedures were performed in CSM isolated from male Wistar rats. Protein and mRNA levels of pre-pro-AM, calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), and Subtypes 1, 2 and 3 of the receptor activity-modifying protein (RAMP) family were assessed by Western immunoblotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Nitrate and 6-keto-prostaglandin F 1α (6-keto-PGF 1α ; a stable product of prostacyclin) levels were determined using commercially available kits. Protein and mRNA of AM, CRLR, and RAMP 1, -2, and -3 were detected in rat CSM. Immunohistochemical assays demonstrated that AM and CRLR were expressed in rat CSM. AM relaxed CSM strips in a concentration-dependent manner. AM 22-52 , a selective antagonist for AM receptors, reduced the relaxation induced by AM. Conversely, CGRP 8-37 , a selective antagonist for calcitonin gene-related peptide receptors, did not affect AM-induced relaxation. Preincubation of CSM strips with N G -nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (L-NAME, nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), 1H-(1,2,4)oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ, quanylyl cyclase inhibitor), Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS (cGMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor), SC560 [5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-trifluoromethyl pyrazole, selective cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitor], and 4-aminopyridine (voltage-dependent K + channel blocker) reduced AM-induced relaxation. On the other hand, 7-nitroindazole (selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), wortmannin (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor), H89 (protein kinase A inhibitor), SQ22536 [9-(tetrahydro-2-furanyl)-9H-purin-6-amine, adenylate cyclase inhibitor], glibenclamide (selective blocker of ATP-sensitive K + channels), and apamin (Ca 2+ -activated

Light aging of reactive fuels purified by various methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khodzhaeva, M G; Burtyshev, N Ya; Molodozhenyuk, T B; Ryabovda, N D

1976-01-01

A study of the effect of uv-radiation on aging of Fergana fuel TS-1 has been extended to the uv-effect on alkali-purified fuels (e.g., Krasnovodsk, Omsk, and Orsk TS-1), on hydro-purified (Syzran T-8, Syzran T-7, and Novokuybyshev T-7) and on adsorption-purified Fergana TS-1. The PRK-4 lamp was employed. Aging criteria were formation of insoluble gums, soluble gums separable on silicagel, acidity, and optical density. Fuels purified in the same manner aged practically identically; after 6 months storage the greatest gum formation was seen in the fuels Orsk TS-1 and Syzran T-8. 3 references, 1 figure, 1 table.

Acrolein relaxes mouse isolated tracheal smooth muscle via a TRPA1-dependent mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheah, Esther Y; Burcham, Philip C; Mann, Tracy S; Henry, Peter J

2014-05-01

Airway sensory C-fibres express TRPA1 channels which have recently been identified as a key chemosensory receptor for acrolein, a toxic and highly prevalent component of smoke. TRPA1 likely plays an intermediary role in eliciting a range of effects induced by acrolein including cough and neurogenic inflammation. Currently, it is not known whether acrolein-induced activation of TRPA1 produces other airway effects including relaxation of mouse airway smooth muscle. The aims of this study were to examine the effects of acrolein on airway smooth muscle tone in mouse isolated trachea, and to characterise the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning the effects of acrolein. Isometric tension recording studies were conducted on mouse isolated tracheal segments to characterise acrolein-induced relaxation responses. Release of the relaxant PGE₂ was measured by EIA to examine its role in the response. Use of selective antagonists/inhibitors permitted pharmacological characterisation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this relaxation response. Acrolein induced dose-dependent relaxation responses in mouse isolated tracheal segments. Importantly, these relaxation responses were significantly inhibited by the TRPA1 antagonists AP-18 and HC-030031, an NK₁ receptor antagonist RP-67580, and the EP₂ receptor antagonist PF-04418948, whilst completely abolished by the non-selective COX inhibitor indomethacin. Acrolein also caused rapid PGE₂ release which was suppressed by HC-030031. In summary, acrolein induced a novel bronchodilator response in mouse airways. Pharmacologic studies indicate that acrolein-induced relaxation likely involves interplay between TRPA1-expressing airway sensory C-fibres, NK₁ receptor-expressing epithelial cells, and EP₂-receptor expressing airway smooth muscle cells. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mozart versus new age music: relaxation states, stress, and ABC relaxation theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jonathan C; Joyce, Carol A

2004-01-01

Smith's (2001) Attentional Behavioral Cognitive (ABC) relaxation theory proposes that all approaches to relaxation (including music) have the potential for evoking one or more of 15 factor-analytically derived relaxation states, or "R-States" (Sleepiness, Disengagement, Rested / Refreshed, Energized, Physical Relaxation, At Ease/Peace, Joy, Mental Quiet, Childlike Innocence, Thankfulness and Love, Mystery, Awe and Wonder, Prayerfulness, Timeless/Boundless/Infinite, and Aware). The present study investigated R-States and stress symptom-patterns associated with listening to Mozart versus New Age music. Students (N = 63) were divided into three relaxation groups based on previously determined preferences. Fourteen listened to a 28-minute tape recording of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and 14 listened to a 28-minute tape of Steven Halpern's New Age Serenity Suite. Others (n = 35) did not want music and instead chose a set of popular recreational magazines. Participants engaged in their relaxation activity at home for three consecutive days for 28 minutes a session. Before and after each session, each person completed the Smith Relaxation States Inventory (Smith, 2001), a comprehensive questionnaire tapping 15 R-States as well as the stress states of somatic stress, worry, and negative emotion. Results revealed no differences at Session 1. At Session 2, those who listened to Mozart reported higher levels of At Ease/Peace and lower levels of Negative Emotion. Pronounced differences emerged at Session 3. Mozart listeners uniquely reported substantially higher levels of Mental Quiet, Awe and Wonder, and Mystery. Mozart listeners reported higher levels, and New Age listeners slightly elevated levels, of At Ease/Peace and Rested/Refreshed. Both Mozart and New Age listeners reported higher levels of Thankfulness and Love. In summary, those who listened to Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik reported more psychological relaxation and less stress than either those who listened to

Isoforms of purified methyltransferase from human blood platelets ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... purification from normal human blood platelets have not been investigated, hence, the aim of this study was to purify, characterise the enzyme from human blood platelets and determine its possible role in phospholipid transmethylation. The plasma membranes were purified by velocity and sucrose gradient centrifugation ...

Mechanical relaxation in glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiki, Y.

2004-01-01

The basic properties of glasses and the characteristics of mechanical relaxation in glasses were briefly reviewed, and then our studies concerned were presented. Experimental methods adopted were viscosity, internal friction, ultrasonic attenuation, and Brillouin scattering measurements. The specimens used were several kinds of inorganic, organic, and metallic glasses. The measurements were mainly carried out from the room temperature up to the glass transition temperature, and the relaxation time was determined as a function of temperature. The 'double relaxation' composed of two Arrhenius-type relaxations was observed in many materials. In both relaxations, the 'compensation effect' showing a correlation of the pre-exponential factor and the activation energy was observed. These results were explained by considering the 'complex relaxation' due to cooperative motions of atoms or group of atoms. Values of activation energy near the glass transition determined by the various experimental methods were compared with each other

Reproducible in vitro regeneration system for purifying sugarcane ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This procedure may be considered as one of the best ever published report on regeneration from in vitro grown plants to purify clones without subjecting the plants to field conditions and harvesting the mature cane. This technique was used to purify transgenic sugarcane plants carrying Bacillus thuringiensis gene.

A nuclear magnetic relaxation study on internal motion of polyelectrolytes in solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schriever, J.

1977-01-01

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the significance and the amount of information which can be extracted from the study of frequency dependence of magnetic relaxation rates in solutions of a synthetic macromolecule. Solutions of poly(methacrylic acid), PMA, in water were chosen as the object of the present work. A short survey of nuclear magnetic relaxation in solutions of simple macromolecules is presented. Results obtained by continuous wave experiments on PMA solutions are shown (viz. the information about the transverse relaxation from line width analysis of 60 MHz proton spectra). Water enriched in 17 O is used in magnetic relaxation studies; the results of the determination of hydrogen lifetimes in aqueous solutions of acetic acid and poly(methacrylic acid) are given. The possibility of obtaining information about the dynamics of deuterons in the acid side groups of weak polyacids by measuring deuteron relaxation in heavy water solutions of those acids is considered. The use of deuteron relaxation rate experiments on solutions of selectively methylene deuterated poly(methacrylic acid), [-CD 2 -CCH 3 COOH-]n, is demonstrated and the backbone methylene C-atom motion is charachterized. The magne-tic relaxation of nuclei in the side groups of methylene deuterated PMA, viz. protons in the methyland deuterons in the acid side groups is presented

Purifying hydrocarbon oils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rostin, H

1938-08-11

A process is described for continuously purifying hydrocarbon oils consisting in conducting the vapors of the same at a temperature of 300 to 400/sup 0/C over the oelitic ore minette together with reducing gases in presence of steam the proportion of the reducing gases and steam being such that the sulfur of the hydrocarbons escapes from the reaction chamber in the form of sulfuretted hydrogen without permanent sulfide of iron being formed.

Nuclear magnetic relaxation studies of semiconductor nanocrystals and solids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sachleben, Joseph Robert [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States); California Univ., Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

1993-09-01

Semiconductor nanocrystals, small biomolecules, and ¹³C enriched solids were studied through the relaxation in NMR spectra. Surface structure of semiconductor nanocrystals (CdS) was deduced from high resolution ¹H and ¹³C liquid state spectra of thiophenol ligands on the nanocrystal surfaces. The surface coverage by thiophenol was found to be low, being 5.6 and 26% for nanocrystal radii of 11.8 and 19.2 Å. Internal motion is estimated to be slow with a correlation time > 10^-8 s^-1. The surface thiophenol ligands react to form a dithiophenol when the nanocrystals were subjected to O₂ and ultraviolet. A method for measuring ¹⁴N-¹H J-couplings is demonstrated on pyridine and the peptide oxytocin; selective 2D T₁ and T₂ experiments are presented for measuring relaxation times in crowded spectra with overlapping peaks in 1D, but relaxation effects interfere. Possibility of carbon-carbon cross relaxation in ¹³C enriched solids is demonstrated by experiments on zinc acetate and L-alanine.

Breathing and Relaxation

Science.gov (United States)

... Find a Doctor Relaxation is the absence of tension in muscle groups and a minimum or absence ... Drill Meditation Progressive Muscle Relaxation Minimizing Shortness of Breath Visualization This information has been approved by Shelby ...

Sleep, Stress & Relaxation: Rejuvenate Body & Mind

Science.gov (United States)

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Method and device for feeding purified water to a pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirato, Miharu.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To prevent thermal wear at the junction of feedwater pipes and purified water pipes, as well as maintain the function of the purified water feeding system by stopping the introduction of purified water to the heated water feeding system and introducing purified water to the recycling water system upon transient operation or start-up. Constitution: Since a feedwater heater does not function well during transient operation or upon start-up, the temperature of heated water flowing through the feedwater pipe is reduced to produce a temperature difference relative to the set temperature for the purified water feeding system. The temperature difference is detected by a temperature sensor and, when it arrives at a predetermined difference, an operation valve is switched to interrupt the feed of the purified water to the heated water feeding system and it is sent to a water recycling system. Then, the purified water is sent from the water recycling system by way of the discharge portion to the inside of a pressure vessel. Thus, since only the heated water flows to the junction between the cleaned water pipes and the heated water pipes, neither shocks are generated nor the performance of the purified water feeding system is impaired. (Moriyama, K.)

Assay of partially purified glutamate dehydrogenase isolated from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Glutamate dehydrogenase (E C 1.4.1.1) isolated from the seeds of asparagus beans was partially purified to a factor of 22 by dialysis after fractional precipitation with solid ammonium sulphate at 40 and 60% saturation. A specific activity of 11.78μmol min-1 mg-1 protein was calculated for the partially purified enzyme when ...

Partially purified polygalacturonase from Aspergillus niger (SA6 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Polygalacturonase (PG) was isolated from Aspergillus niger (A. niger) (SA6), partially purified and characterized. The PG showed two bands on SDS-PAGE suggesting an “endo and exo PG with apparent molecular weights of 35 and 40 KDa, respectively. It was purified 9-fold with a yield of 0.18% and specific activity of 246 ...

The effects of progressive muscle relaxation and autogenic relaxation on young soccer players' mood states.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Hairul Anuar; Hanafi Ahmad Yusof, Hazwani

2011-06-01

This study was designed to compare the effects of two different relaxation techniques, namely progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and autogenic relaxation (AGR) on moods of young soccer players. sixteen adolescent athletes (mean age: 14.1 ± 1.3) received either PMR or AGR training. Using Profile of Mood States- Adolescents, their mood states were measured one week before relaxation training, before the first relaxation session, and after the twelfth relaxation session. Mixed ANOVA revealed no significant interaction effects and no significant main effects in any of the subscales. However, significant main effects for testing sessions were found for confusion, depression, fatigue, and tension subscales. Post hoc tests revealed post-intervention reductions in the confusion, depression, fatigue, and tension subscale scores. These two relaxation techniques induce equivalent mood responses and may be used to regulate young soccer players' mood states.

Use of ion exchange during preparation of raw materials for production of molybdenum and tungsten of high purify

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blokhin, A.A.; Rumyantsev, V.K.; Taushkanov, V.P.; Maksimkov, S.M.; Majorov, D.Yu.; Pak, V.I.

1988-01-01

The data on the application of selective ionites for the steep purification of ammonium molybdate and tungstate solutions, are given. It is shown that to purify molybdenum and ammonium tungstate solutions from the impuerities of alkali earth and two- and threevalent transition metals, iminodiacetate ampholites of the ANKB-35 type are the most effective sorbents. To purify from phosphorus, silicon and arsenic impurities composition ionites on the base of hydrated oxides of multivalent metals introduced in the granules of porous cationites should be used. To extract phosphorus, silicon, arsenic impurities from ammonium molybdate and tungstate solutions and tungsten from ammonium molybdate solutions the method of their coprecipitation with iron (3) hydroxide can also be used. The best results on the purification of ammonium molybdate from tungstate provides for the application of structural organomineral ionites as well as weak-basicity anionites of the AN-31 type and its different modifications containing hydroxyl groups along with aminogroups. To purity ammonium tungstate solutions from molybdate a method is developed which transforms molybdenum in the form of thiocomplexes and the following selective sorption by strong-basicity anionites. The data on the quality of molybdenum monocrystals which are taken from the raw material purified using ionites, are given

The Effects of Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Autogenic Relaxation on Young Soccer Players’ Mood States

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Hairul Anuar; Hanafi@Ahmad Yusof, Hazwani

2011-01-01

Purpose This study was designed to compare the effects of two different relaxation techniques, namely progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and autogenic relaxation (AGR) on moods of young soccer players. Methods Sixteen adolescent athletes (mean age: 14.1 ± 1.3) received either PMR or AGR training. Using Profile of Mood States- Adolescents, their mood states were measured one week before relaxation training, before the first relaxation session, and after the twelfth relaxation session. Results Mixed ANOVA revealed no significant interaction effects and no significant main effects in any of the subscales. However, significant main effects for testing sessions were found for confusion, depression, fatigue, and tension subscales. Post hoc tests revealed post-intervention reductions in the confusion, depression, fatigue, and tension subscale scores. Conclusion These two relaxation techniques induce equivalent mood responses and may be used to regulate young soccer players’ mood states. PMID:22375225

Purifying hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Demoulins, H D; Garner, F H

1923-02-07

Hydrocarbon distillates, including natural gases and vapors produced by cracking hydrocarbon oils, are desulfurized etc. by treating the vapor with an aqueous alkaline solution of an oxidizing agent. The hydrocarbons may be previously purified by sulfuric acid. In examples aqueous solutions of sodium or calcium hydrochlorite containing 1.5 to 5.0 grams per liter of available chlorine and sufficient alkali to give an excess of 0.1 percent in the spent reagent are preheated to the temperature of the vapor, and either sprayed or atomized into the vapors near the outlet of the dephlegmator or fractionating tower, or passed in countercurrent to the vapors through one or a series of scrubbers.

Nonmaxwell relaxation in disordered media: Physical mechanisms and fractional relaxation equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arkhincheev, V.E.

2004-12-01

The problem of charge relaxation in disordered systems has been solved. It is shown, that due to the inhomogeneity of the medium the charge relaxation has a non-Maxwell character. The two physical mechanisms of a such behavior have been founded. The first one is connected with the 'fractality' of conducting ways. The second mechanism of nonexponential non-Maxwell behavior is connected with the frequency dispersion of effective conductivity of heterogeneous medium, initially consisting of conducting phases without dispersion. The new generalized relaxation equations in the form of fractional temporal integro-differential equations are deduced. (author)

Selective excitation, relaxation, and energy channeling in molecular systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rhodes, W.C.

1993-08-01

Research involves theoretical studies of response, relaxation, and correlated motion in time-dependent behavior of large molecular systems ranging from polyatomic molecules to protein molecules in their natural environment. Underlying theme is subsystem modulation dynamics. Main idea is that quantum mechanical correlations between components of a system develop with time, playing a major role in determining the balance between coherent and dissipative forces. Central theme is interplay of coherence and dissipation in determining the nature of dynamic structuring and energy flow in molecular transformation mechanisms. Subsystem equations of motion are being developed to show how nonlinear, dissipative dynamics of a particular subsystem arise from correlated interactions with the rest of the system (substituent groups, solvent, lattice modes, etc.); one consequence is resonance structures and networks. Quantum dynamics and thermodynamics are being applied to understand control and energy transfer mechanisms in biological functions of protein molecules; these mechanisms are both global and local. Besides the above theory, the research deals with phenomenological aspects of molecular systems

Photovoltaic performance of TiO2 electrode adsorbed with gardenia yellow purified by nonionic polymeric sorbent in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Oh Oun; Kim, Eui Jin; Lee, Jae Hyeok; Kim, Tae Young; Park, Kyung Hee; Kim, Sang Yook; Suh, Hwa Jin; Lee, Hyo Jung; Lee, Jae Wook

2015-02-05

To improve the photovoltaic conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), TiO2 electrode adsorbed with gardenia yellow purified by nonionic polymeric sorbent was successfully formulated on nanoporous TiO2 surface. Adsorption and desorption properties of crude gardenia yellow solution on a macroporous resin, XAD-1600, were investigated to purify gardenia yellow because of its strong adsorption and desorption abilities as well as high selectivity. To this end, adsorption equilibrium and kinetic data were measured and fitted using adsorption isotherms and kinetic models. Adsorption and desorption breakthrough curves in a column packed with XAD-1600 resin was obtained to optimize the separation process of gardenia yellow. The photovoltaic performance of the photo-electrode adsorbed with the crude and purified gardenia yellow in DSSCs was compared from current-voltage measurements. The results showed that the photovoltaic conversion efficiency was highly dependent on how to separate and purify gardenia yellow as a photosensitizer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relaxation of selective constraints causes independent selenoprotein extinction in insect genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles E Chapple

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Selenoproteins are a diverse family of proteins notable for the presence of the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine. Until very recently, all metazoan genomes investigated encoded selenoproteins, and these proteins had therefore been believed to be essential for animal life. Challenging this assumption, recent comparative analyses of insect genomes have revealed that some insect genomes appear to have lost selenoprotein genes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this paper we investigate in detail the fate of selenoproteins, and that of selenoprotein factors, in all available arthropod genomes. We use a variety of in silico comparative genomics approaches to look for known selenoprotein genes and factors involved in selenoprotein biosynthesis. We have found that five insect species have completely lost the ability to encode selenoproteins and that selenoprotein loss in these species, although so far confined to the Endopterygota infraclass, cannot be attributed to a single evolutionary event, but rather to multiple, independent events. Loss of selenoproteins and selenoprotein factors is usually coupled to the deletion of the entire no-longer functional genomic region, rather than to sequence degradation and consequent pseudogenisation. Such dynamics of gene extinction are consistent with the high rate of genome rearrangements observed in Drosophila. We have also found that, while many selenoprotein factors are concomitantly lost with the selenoproteins, others are present and conserved in all investigated genomes, irrespective of whether they code for selenoproteins or not, suggesting that they are involved in additional, non-selenoprotein related functions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Selenoproteins have been independently lost in several insect species, possibly as a consequence of the relaxation in insects of the selective constraints acting across metazoans to maintain selenoproteins. The dispensability of selenoproteins in insects may

An Experiment with Air Purifiers in Delhi during Winter 2015-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Vyas, Sangita; Srivastav, Nikhil; Spears, Dean

2016-01-01

Particulate pollution has important consequences for human health, and is an issue of global concern. Outdoor air pollution has become a cause for alarm in India in particular because recent data suggest that ambient pollution levels in Indian cities are some of the highest in the world. We study the number of particles between 0.5μm and 2.5μm indoors while using affordable air purifiers in the highly polluted city of Delhi. Though substantial reductions in indoor number concentrations are observed during air purifier use, indoor air quality while using an air purifier is frequently worse than in cities with moderate pollution, and often worse than levels observed even in polluted cities. When outdoor pollution levels are higher, on average, indoor pollution levels while using an air purifier are also higher. Moreover, the ratio of indoor air quality during air purifier use to two comparison measures of air quality without an air purifier are also positively correlated with outdoor pollution levels, suggesting that as ambient air quality worsens there are diminishing returns to improvements in indoor air quality during air purifier use. The findings of this study indicate that although the most affordable air purifiers currently available are associated with significant improvements in the indoor environment, they are not a replacement for public action in regions like Delhi. Although private solutions may serve as a stopgap, reducing ambient air pollution must be a public health and policy priority in any region where air pollution is as high as Delhi's during the winter.

TEACHING NEUROMUSCULAR RELAXATION.

Science.gov (United States)

NORRIS, JEANNE E.; STEINHAUS, ARTHUR H.

THIS STUDY ATTEMPTED TO FIND OUT WHETHER (1) THE METHODS FOR ATTAINING NEUROMUSCULAR RELAXATION THAT HAVE PROVED FRUITFUL IN THE ONE-TO-ONE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CLINIC CAN BE SUCCESSFULLY ADAPTED TO THE TEACHER-CLASS RELATIONSHIP OF THE CLASSROOM AND GYMNASIUM, AND (2) NEUROMUSCULAR RELAXATION CAN BE TAUGHT SUCCESSFULLY BY AN APPROPRIATELY TRAINED…

The Effect of Relaxation and Positive Self-Talk on Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimiyaee Asadi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background Premenstrual syndrome (PMS is characterized by recurrent, moderate-to-severe affective, physical, and behavioral symptoms that develop during the luteal menstrual cycle and disappear within a few days of menstruation. Objectives This article aims to identify the effects of relaxation, positive self-talk, and a combination of relaxation and positive self-talk on premenstrual syndrome. Methods In this quasi-experimental study, 80 women with PMS disorder were selected using a simple random sampling method, in Hamadan, west of Iran. They were randomly divided into four groups. The first and second groups underwent positive self-talk and relaxation, respectively. The third group experienced positive self-talk and relaxation at the same time. The fourth group did not receive any treatment. The duration of treatment was 8 one-hour sessions. Data were collected using a PMS symptom severity questionnaire. All groups were followed up for six months after the intervention. Finally, data analysis was performed using SPSS version 18 for ANCOVA and Bonferroni tests. Results The results showed that compared to the control group, relaxation (23.2 and positive self-talk (21.25 treatment methods alone can reduce PMS (P < 0.001. On the other hand, a combined (relaxation + positive self-talk treatment method (13.75 was more effective in reducing PMS compared to relaxation or positive self-talk alone. Conclusions It seems that psychological therapy based on relaxation and positive self-talk can be significantly effective in reducing PMS.

Highly selective water channel activity measured by voltage clamp: analysis of planar lipid bilayers reconstituted with purified AqpZ.

Science.gov (United States)

Pohl, P; Saparov, S M; Borgnia, M J; Agre, P

2001-08-14

Aquaporins are membrane channels selectively permeated by water or water plus glycerol. Conflicting reports have described ion conductance associated with some water channels, raising the question of whether ion conductance is a general property of the aquaporin family. To clarify this question, a defined system was developed to simultaneously measure water permeability and ion conductance. The Escherichia coli water channel aquaporin-Z (AqpZ) was studied, because it is a highly stable tetramer. Planar lipid bilayers were formed from unilamellar vesicles containing purified AqpZ. The hydraulic conductivity of bilayers made from the total extract of E. coli lipids increased 3-fold if reconstituted with AqpZ, but electric conductance was unchanged. No channel activity was detected under voltage-clamp conditions, indicating that less than one in 10(9) transport events is electrogenic. Microelectrode measurements were simultaneously undertaken adjacent to the membrane. Changes in sodium concentration profiles accompanying transmembrane water flow permitted calculation of the activation energies: 14 kcal/mol for protein-free lipid bilayers and 4 kcal/mol for lipid bilayers containing AqpZ. Neither the water permeability nor the electric conductivity exhibited voltage dependence. This sensitive system demonstrated that AqpZ is permeated by water but not charged ions and should permit direct analyses of putative electrogenic properties of other aquaporins.

The Effects of Progressive Relaxation and Music on Attention, Relaxation, and Stress Responses: An Investigation of the Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Relaxation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Scheufele, Peter

1999-01-01

...) suggested that stress management techniques have specific effects A compromise position suggests that the specific effects of relaxation techniques are superimposed upon a general relaxation response...

Neuropeptide Y binding sites in rat brain identified with purified neuropeptide Y-I125

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, M.W.; Miller, R.J.

1986-01-01

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a widely distributed neuronally localized peptide with 36 amino acids, 5 of which are tyrosines. The authors wished to investigate the properties of specific receptors for NPY. They therefore labeled the tyrosines with I125 using chloramine T and then purified the peptide using HPLC. A single mono-iodinated species of NPY which yielded > 85% specific binding in rat forebrain synaptosomes was selected as the ligand for all subsequent experiments. A time course of binding showed that equilibrium conditions were reached in 60 minutes at 21 0 C. Scatchard plots revealed a single class of binding sites with a Kd and a Bmax of 3 x 10-10 M and 28 pmol/mg, respectively. Competition binding with unlabeled NPY showed 50% displacement of bound ligand at 1 x 10-10 M NPY. Competition binding with rat pancreatic polypeptide (RPP), a homologous peptide possessing little NPY-like activity, showed 50% displacement of bound ligand at 2 x 10 -7 M RPP. No binding was observed on F-11 or PC12 neuronal cell lines, or on HSWP fibroblast cells. They conclude that NPY-I125 purified to homogeneity with HPLC is a highly selective ligand for NPY receptor sites. They are currently investigating such sites in brain, gut, and other tissues

Fast treatment plan modification with an over-relaxed Cimmino algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Chuan; Jeraj, Robert; Lu Weiguo; Mackie, Thomas R.

2004-01-01

A method to quickly modify a treatment plan in adaptive radiotherapy was proposed and studied. The method is based on a Cimmino-type algorithm in linear programming. The fast convergence speed is achieved by over-relaxing the algorithm relaxation parameter from its sufficient convergence range of (0, 2) to (0, ∞). The algorithm parameters are selected so that the over-relaxed Cimmino (ORC) algorithm can effectively approximate an unconstrained re-optimization process in adaptive radiotherapy. To demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed method in adaptive radiotherapy, two scenarios with different organ motion/deformation of one nasopharyngeal case were presented with comparisons made between this method and the re-optimization method. In both scenarios, the ORC algorithm modified treatment plans have dose distributions that are similar to those given by the re-optimized treatment plans. It takes us using the ORC algorithm to finish a treatment plan modification at least three times faster than the re-optimization procedure compared

Off-resonance rotating-frame relaxation dispersion experiment for 13C in aromatic side chains using L-optimized TROSY-selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weininger, Ulrich; Brath, Ulrika; Modig, Kristofer

2014-01-01

Protein dynamics on the microsecond-millisecond time scales often play a critical role in biological function. NMR relaxation dispersion experiments are powerful approaches for investigating biologically relevant dynamics with site-specific resolution, as shown by a growing number of publications...... on enzyme catalysis, protein folding, ligand binding, and allostery. To date, the majority of studies has probed the backbone amides or side-chain methyl groups, while experiments targeting other sites have been used more sparingly. Aromatic side chains are useful probes of protein dynamics, because...... they are over-represented in protein binding interfaces, have important catalytic roles in enzymes, and form a sizable part of the protein interior. Here we present an off-resonance R 1ρ experiment for measuring microsecond to millisecond conformational exchange of aromatic side chains in selectively (13)C...

Magnetic relaxation in anisotropic magnets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindgård, Per-Anker

1971-01-01

The line shape and the kinematic and thermodynamic slowing down of the critical and paramagnetic relaxation in axially anisotropic materials are discussed. Kinematic slowing down occurs only in the longitudinal relaxation function. The thermodynamic slowing down occurs in either the transverse...... or longitudinal relaxation function depending on the sign of the axial anisotropy....

Steroidogenesis in amlodipine treated purified Leydig cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Latif, Rabia, E-mail: rabialatif08@hotmail.com [Department of Physiology, Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan); Lodhi, Ghulam Mustafa, E-mail: drmustafa786@gmail.com [Department of Physiology, Wah Medical College, Wah (Pakistan); Hameed, Waqas, E-mail: waqham@hotmail.com [Department of Physiology, Rehman Medical College, Peshawar (Pakistan); Aslam, Muhammad, E-mail: professormaslam@yahoo.com [Department of Physiology, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad (Pakistan)

2012-01-01

Drugs have been shown to adversely affect male fertility and recently anti-hypertensive drugs were added to the list. The anti-fertility effects of amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker, are well-illustrated in in vivo experiments but lack an in vitro proof. The present study was designed to experimentally elucidate the effects of amlodipine on Leydig cell steroidogenesis and intracellular calcium in vitro. Leydig cells of Sprague–Dawley rats were isolated and purified by Percoll. Cells were incubated for 3 h with/without amlodipine in the presence/absence of LH, dbcAMP, Pregnenolone and 25-Hydroxycholesterol. Cytosolic calcium was measured in purified Leydig cells by fluorometric technique. The results showed significantly reduced (P < 0.05) steroidogenesis and intracellular calcium in amlodipine exposed rats. The site of amlodipine induced steroidogenic inhibition seems to be prior to the formation of Pregnenolone at the level of StAR protein. -- Highlights: ► Inhibition of steroidogenesis in isolated and purified Leydig cells by amlodipine. ► Site of inhibition was before Pregnenolone formation, at the level of StAR protein. ► Inhibition of LH stimulated rise in cytosolic calcium by amlodipine.

Cross relaxation in nitroxide spin labels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marsh, Derek

2016-01-01

Cross relaxation, and mI-dependence of the intrinsic electron spin-lattice relaxation rate We, are incorporated explicitly into the rate equations for the electron-spin population differences that govern the saturation behaviour of 14N- and 15N-nitroxide spin labels. Both prove important in spin......-label EPR and ELDOR, particularly for saturation recovery studies. Neither for saturation recovery, nor for CW-saturation EPR and CW-ELDOR, can cross relaxation be described simply by increasing the value of We, the intrinsic spin-lattice relaxation rate. Independence of the saturation recovery rates from...... the hyperfine line pumped or observed follows directly from solution of the rate equations including cross relaxation, even when the intrinsic spin-lattice relaxation rate We is mI-dependent....

Studies on the Catalytic Properties of Partially Purified Alkaline Proteases from Some Selected Microorganisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Titilayo Olufunke Femi-Ola

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Aims: The research was done to study the conditions enhancing catalytic activities of alkaline proteases from Vibro sp., Lactobacillus brevis, Zymomonas sp., Athrobacter sp., Corynebacterium sp. and Bacillus subtilis.Methodology and Results: The proteolytic enzymes were purified in 2-step procedures involving ammonium sulphate precipitation and sephadex G-150 gel permeation chromatography. The upper and lower limits for the specific activities of proteases from the selected microorganisms were estimated at 20.63 and 47.51 units/mg protein with Zymomonas protease having the highest specific activity towards casein as its substrate and purification fold of 3.46, while that ofLactobacillus brevis protease was 8.06. The native molecular weights of these active proteins ranged from 30.4 to 45.7 kDa with Athrobacter sp. protease having the highest weight for its subunits. The proteolytic enzymes had optimum pH range of 8 to 10 and temperature range of 50 to 62 ºC accounting for the percentage relative activity range of 75 to 94% and 71 to 84 % respectively. The activities of Lactobacillus brevis and Bacillus subtilis proteases were maximum at pH 9 and 10 respectively. Lactobacillus brevis protease activity was maximum at temperature of 62 ºC, while beyond this value, a general thermal instability of these active proteins was observed. At above 70 ºC, the catalytic activities of Corynebacterium sp., Vibrio sp., Zymomonas sp. and Arthrobacter sp. proteases were progressively reduced over a period of 120 min of incubation, while Bacillus subtlis and Lactobacillus brevis proteases were relatively stable. Effect of metal ions was investigated on the catalytic activity of protease from the microorganisms. Lactobacillus brevis,Zymomonas sp., Arthrobacter sp., Corynebacterium sp. and Bacillus subtilis protease activities were strongly activated by metal ions such as Ca+2 and Mg+2. Enzyme activities were inhibited strongly by Cu2+ and Hg2+ but were not

Development of a biogas purifier for rural areas in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kimura, Y.; Hinata, T. [Hokkaido Central Agricultural Experiment Station, Hokkaido (Japan); Yasui, S. [Zukosha Co. Ltd., Obihiro, Hokkaido (Japan); Noguchi, N. [Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan); Tsukamoto, T. [IHI Shibaura. Co. Ltd., Obihiro, Hokkaido (Japan); Imai, T. [Green Plan Co. Ltd., Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan); Kanai, M. [Air Water Co. Ltd, Sakai, Osaka (Japan); Matsuda, Z. [Hokuren Agricultural Research Center, Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan)

2010-07-01

Although the biogas that is currently produced for dairy farms in Japan is a carbon-neutral energy, its use is restricted to farming areas only because there is no effective method of transporting unused biogas. There is a need for establishing practical methods for biogas removal from operating systems. In this study, a gas separation membrane was used in order to modify biogas to city gas 12A specifications, and to develop a biogas purifier equipped with a device to fill high pressure purified gas into cylinders to be taken outside the farming area. The objective was to expand the use of biogas produced from stand-alone gas plants. The amount of purified gas produced at a newly created refining-compression-filling (RCF) facility was approximately 97.0 Nm{sup 3}/day, for a raw material amount of about 216.0 Nm{sup 3}/day. The heat quantity of the purified gas was 38.9 MJ/Nm{sup 3}, which was within city gas 12A specifications. A total of 14.3 cylinders were filled each day with the manufactured purified gas. Test calculations along with a simulation exercise revealed that it would be possible to provide purified gas to approximately 6 per cent of common residences in a town in northern Japan. It was concluded that the newly created RCF facility allowed the modification of carbon-neutral biogas to conform to city gas 12A specifications, and allowed the transport of this gas out of the farming area.

Method for purifying bidentate organophosphorus compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulz, W.W.

1977-01-01

Bidentate organophosphorus compounds useful for extracting actinide elements from acidic nuclear waste solutions are purified of undesirable acidic impurities by contacting the compounds with ethylene glycol which preferentially extracts the impurities found in technical grade bidentate compounds

Electron-Phonon Coupling and Resonant Relaxation from 1D and 1P States in PbS Quantum Dots.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennehan, Eric R; Doucette, Grayson S; Marshall, Ashley R; Grieco, Christopher; Munson, Kyle T; Beard, Matthew C; Asbury, John B

2018-05-31

Observations of the hot-phonon bottleneck, which is predicted to slow the rate of hot carrier cooling in quantum confined nanocrystals, have been limited to date for reasons that are not fully understood. We used time-resolved infrared spectroscopy to directly measure higher energy intraband transitions in PbS colloidal quantum dots. Direct measurements of these intraband transitions permitted detailed analysis of the electronic overlap of the quantum confined states that may influence their relaxation processes. In smaller PbS nanocrystals, where the hot-phonon bottleneck is expected to be most pronounced, we found that relaxation of parity selection rules combined with stronger electron-phonon coupling led to greater spectral overlap of transitions among the quantum confined states. This created pathways for fast energy transfer and relaxation that may bypass the predicted hot-phonon bottleneck. In contrast, larger, but still quantum confined nanocrystals did not exhibit such relaxation of the parity selection rules and possessed narrower intraband states. These observations were consistent with slower relaxation dynamics that have been measured in larger quantum confined systems. These findings indicated that, at small radii, electron-phonon interactions overcome the advantageous increase in energetic separation of the electronic states for PbS quantum dots. Selection of appropriately sized quantum dots, which minimize spectral broadening due to electron-phonon interactions while maximizing electronic state separation, is necessary to observe the hot-phonon bottleneck. Such optimization may provide a framework for achieving efficient hot carrier collection and multiple exciton generation.

Process for purifying zirconium sponge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abodishish, H.A.M.; Kimball, L.S.

1992-01-01

This patent describes a Kroll reduction process wherein a zirconium sponge contaminated with unreacted magnesium and by-product magnesium chloride is produced as a regulus, a process for purifying the zirconium sponge. It comprises: distilling magnesium and magnesium chloride from: a regulus containing a zirconium sponge and magnesium and magnesium chloride at a temperature above about 800 degrees C and at an absolute pressure less than about 10 mmHg in a distillation vessel to purify the zirconium sponge; condensing the magnesium and the magnesium chloride distilled from the zirconium sponge in a condenser; and then backfilling the vessel containing the zirconium sponge and the condenser containing the magnesium and the magnesium chloride with a gas; recirculating the gas between the vessel and the condenser to cool the zirconium sponge from above about 800 degrees C to below about 300 degrees C; and cooling the recirculating gas in the condenser containing the condensed magnesium and the condensed magnesium chloride as the gas cools the zirconium sponge to below about 300 degrees C

Measurement of Ozone Emission and Particle Removal Rates from Portable Air Purifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Mang, Stephen A.; Walser, Maggie L.; Nizkorodov, Sergey A.; Laux, John M.

2009-01-01

Portable air purifiers are popular consumer items, especially in areas with poor air quality. Unfortunately, most users of these air purifiers have minimal understanding of the factors affecting their efficiency in typical indoor settings. Emission of the air pollutant ozone (O[subscript 3]) by certain air purifiers is of particular concern. In an…

Purifying hydrocarbons in the gaseous stage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1937-02-01

Gaseous tar oils are subjected, at temperatures of 320 to 380/sup 0/C, to the action of a mixture of activated carbon mixed with powdered metal which removes the sulfur contamination from the substance to be purified.

Purified water quality study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spinka, H.; Jackowski, P.

2000-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory (HEP) is examining the use of purified water for the detection medium in cosmic ray sensors. These sensors are to be deployed in a remote location in Argentina. The purpose of this study is to provide information and preliminary analysis of available water treatment options and associated costs. This information, along with the technical requirements of the sensors, will allow the project team to determine the required water quality to meet the overall project goals

Purification of carbon nanotubes via selective heating

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, John A.; Wilson, William L.; Jin, Sung Hun; Dunham, Simon N.; Xie, Xu; Islam, Ahmad; Du, Frank; Huang, Yonggang; Song, Jizhou

2017-11-21

The present invention provides methods for purifying a layer of carbon nanotubes comprising providing a precursor layer of substantially aligned carbon nanotubes supported by a substrate, wherein the precursor layer comprises a mixture of first carbon nanotubes and second carbon nanotubes; selectively heating the first carbon nanotubes; and separating the first carbon nanotubes from the second carbon nanotubes, thereby generating a purified layer of carbon nanotubes. Devices benefiting from enhanced electrical properties enabled by the purified layer of carbon nanotubes are also described.

Relaxation System

Science.gov (United States)

1987-01-01

Environ Corporation's relaxation system is built around a body lounge, a kind of super easy chair that incorporates sensory devices. Computer controlled enclosure provides filtered ionized air to create a feeling of invigoration, enhanced by mood changing aromas. Occupant is also surrounded by multidimensional audio and the lighting is programmed to change colors, patterns, and intensity periodically. These and other sensory stimulators are designed to provide an environment in which the learning process is stimulated, because research has proven that while an individual is in a deep state of relaxation, the mind is more receptive to new information.

Purifying oils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1930-04-15

Gasoline, lamp oils, and lubricating or other mineral or shale oils are refined by contacting the vapor with a hot aqueous solution of salts of zinc, cadmium, or mercury, or mixtures thereof which may contain 0-5-3-0 percent of oxide or hydroxide in solution or suspension. Chlorides, bromides, iodides, sulfates, nitrates, and sulfonates of benzol, toluol, xylol, and petroleum are specified. Washing with a solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide or carbonate of calcium hydroxide may follow. The oil may first be purified by sulfuric acid or other known agent, or afterwards caustic alkali and sulfuric acid. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) describes also the use of salts of copper, iron, chromium, manganese, aluminum, nickel, or cobalt, with or without their oxides or hydroxides. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.

Cross-relaxation solid state lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antipenko, B.M.

1989-01-01

Cross-relaxation functional diagrams provide a high quantum efficiency for pumping bands of solid state laser media and a low waste heat. A large number of the cross-relaxation mechanisms for decay rare earth excited states in crystals have been investigated. These investigations have been a starting-point for development of the cross-relaxation solid state lasers. For example, the cross-relaxation interactions, have been used for the laser action development of LiYF 4 :Gd-Tb. These interactions are important elements of the functional diagrams of the 2 μm Ho-doped media sensitized with Er and Tm and the 3 μm Er-doped media. Recently, new efficient 2 μm laser media with cross-relaxation pumping diagrams have been developed. Physical aspects of these media are the subject of this paper. A new concept of the Er-doped medium, sensitized with Yb, is illustrated

TOMROP: a sequence for determining the longitudinal relaxation time T1 in NMR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graumann, R.; Barfuss, H.; Fischer, H.; Hentschel, D.; Oppelt, A.

1987-01-01

We developed the pulse sequence TOMROP (T One by Multiple Read Out Pulses) for determining precisely the spatial distribution of the longitudinal relaxation time T 1 in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR): a series of small-angle selection pulses is used to read out longitudinal magnetization from its initial state till thermal equilibrium. Hence, one measurement will produce several images with different T 1 weightings whose pixel brilliance depends exponentially from read-out time. T 1 can be determined from these independent of initial magnetization and selection pulse angle. The measuring time corresponds to the time needed in multi-echo imaging for the determination of the transversal relaxation time T 2 . We demonstrate this new method using head images of volunteers produced with a 0.23 T test facility. (orig./HP) [de

Prostatic relaxation induced by agmatine is decreased in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Liang-Ming; Tsai, Tsung-Chin; Chung, Hsien-Hui; Tong, Yat-Ching; Cheng, Juei-Tang

2012-09-01

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Neurotransmitters are known to control prostate contractility. Agmatine is one of them and induces relaxation through imidazoline receptors. The paper shows that the action of agmatine is reduced in hypertensive rats, and that this change is related to the decrease of ATP-sensitive potassium channels in the prostate. The findings can increase our understanding of the possible underlying mechanism for the development of clinical benign prostatic hyperplasia. To compare agmatine-induced prostatic relaxation in hypertensive and control rats. To investigate the responsible mechanism(s) and the role of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel. Prostate strips were isolated from male spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats and normal Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats for measurement of isometric tension. The strips were precontracted with 1 µmol/L phenylephrine or 50 mmol/L KCl. Dose-dependent relaxation of the prostatic strips was studied by cumulative administration of agmatine, 1 to 100 µmol/L, into the organ bath. Effects of specific antagonists on agmatine-induced relaxation were studied. Western blotting analysis was used to measure the gene expression of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel in the rat prostate. Prostatic relaxation induced by agmatine was markedly reduced in SH rats compared with WKY rats. The relaxation caused by agmatine was abolished by BU224, a selective imidazoline I(2)-receptor antagonist, but was not modified by efaroxan at a dose sufficient to block imidazoline I(1)-receptors. The relaxation induced by diazoxide at a concentration sufficient to activate ATP-sensitive potassium channels was markedly reduced in the SH rat prostate. Expressions of ATP-sensitive potassium channel sulphonylurea receptor and inwardly rectifying potassium channel (Kir) 6.2 subunits were both decreased in the prostate of SH rats. The decrease of agmatine-induced prostatic relaxation in SH rats is related to the change in

The relaxation time approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gairola, R.P.; Indu, B.D.

1991-01-01

A plausible approximation has been made to estimate the relaxation time from a knowledge of the transition probability of phonons from one state (r vector, q vector) to other state (r' vector, q' vector), as a result of collision. The relaxation time, thus obtained, shows a strong dependence on temperature and weak dependence on the wave vector. In view of this dependence, relaxation time has been expressed in terms of a temperature Taylor's series in the first Brillouin zone. Consequently, a simple model for estimating the thermal conductivity is suggested. the calculations become much easier than the Callaway model. (author). 14 refs

Impossibility criterion for obtaining pure entangled states from mixed states by purifying protocols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Pingxing; Liang Linmei; Li Chengzu; Huang Mingqiu

2002-01-01

Purifying noisy entanglement is a protocol that can increase the entanglement of a mixed state (as a source) at the expense of the entanglement of others (such as an ancilla) by collective measurement. A protocol with which one can get a pure entangled state from a mixed state is defined as purifying mixed states. We address a basic question: can one get a pure entangled state from a mixed state? We give a necessary and sufficient condition of purifying a mixed state by fit local operations and classical communication and show that for a class of source states and ancilla states in arbitrary bipartite systems purifying mixed states is impossible by finite rounds of purifying protocols. For 2x2 systems, it is proved that arbitrary states cannot be purified by individual measurement. The possible application and meaning of the conclusion are discussed

PDE1A inhibition elicits cGMP-dependent relaxation of rat mesenteric arteries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khammy, Makhala Michell; Dalsgaard, Thomas; Larsen, Peter Hjorringgaard

2017-01-01

(EC50 = 32 nM). Inhibition of NOS with L-NAME, soluble GC with ODQ, or PKG with Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMP all attenuated PDE1 inhibition-induced relaxation, whereas PKA inhibition with H89 had no effect. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Pde1a was the dominant PDE1 isoform present in VSMC and relaxation mediated...... by PDE1A-inhibition was predominantly driven by enhanced cGMP signalling. These results imply that isoform-selective PDE1 inhibitors are powerful investigative tools allowing examination of physiological and pathological roles of PDE1 isoforms....

Stress relaxation of bi-disperse polystyrene melts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hengeller, Ludovica; Huang, Qian; Dorokhin, Andriy

2016-01-01

We present start-up of uniaxial extension followed by stress relaxation experiments of a bi-disperse 50 % by weight blend of 95k and 545k molecular weight polystyrene. We also show, for comparison, stress relaxation measurements of the polystyrene melts with molecular weight 95k and 545k, which...... are the components of the bi-disperse melt. The measurements show three separated relaxation regimes: a fast regime, a transition regime, and a slow regime. In the fast regime, the orientation of the long chains is frozen and the stress relaxation is due to stretch relaxation of the short chains primarily....... Conversely in the slow regime, the long chains have retracted and undergo relaxation of orientation in fully relaxed short chains....

Plasmon-mediated energy relaxation in graphene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferry, D. K. [School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-5706 (United States); Somphonsane, R. [Department of Physics, King Mongkut' s Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520 (Thailand); Ramamoorthy, H.; Bird, J. P. [Department of Electrical Engineering, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260-1500 (United States)

2015-12-28

Energy relaxation of hot carriers in graphene is studied at low temperatures, where the loss rate may differ significantly from that predicted for electron-phonon interactions. We show here that plasmons, important in the relaxation of energetic carriers in bulk semiconductors, can also provide a pathway for energy relaxation in transport experiments in graphene. We obtain a total loss rate to plasmons that results in energy relaxation times whose dependence on temperature and density closely matches that found experimentally.

Idiosyncratic reality claims, relaxation dispositions, and ABC relaxation theory: happiness, literal christianity, miraculous powers, metaphysics, and the paranormal.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jonathan C; Karmin, Aaron D

2002-12-01

This study examined idiosyncratic reality claims, that is, irrational or paranormal beliefs often claimed to enhance relaxation and happiness and reduce stress. The Smith Idiosyncratic Reality Claims Inventory and the Smith Relaxation Dispositions Inventory (which measures relaxation and stress dispositions, or enduring states of mind frequently associated with relaxation or stress) were given to 310 junior college student volunteers. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation identified five idiosyncratic reality claim factors: belief in Literal Christianity; Magic; Space Aliens: After Death experiences; and Miraculous Powers of Meditation, Prayer, and Belief. No factor correlated with increased relaxation dispositions Peace, Energy, or Joy, or reduced dispositional somatic stress, worry, or negative emotion on the Smith Relaxation Dispositions Inventory. It was concluded that idiosyncratic reality claims may not be associated with reported relaxation, happiness, or stress. In contrast, previous research strongly supported self-affirming beliefs with few paranormal assumptions display such an association.

Anomalous enthalpy relaxation in vitreous silica

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yue, Yuanzheng

2015-01-01

scans. It is known that the liquid fragility (i.e., the speed of the viscous slow-down of a supercooled liquid at its Tg during cooling) has impact on enthalpy relaxation in glass. Here, we find that vitreous silica (as a strong system) exhibits striking anomalies in both glass transition and enthalpy...... relaxation compared to fragile oxide systems. The anomalous enthalpy relaxation of vitreous silica is discovered by performing the hyperquenching-annealing-calorimetry experiments. We argue that the strong systems like vitreous silica and vitreous Germania relax in a structurally cooperative manner, whereas...... the fragile ones do in a structurally independent fashion. We discuss the origin of the anomalous enthalpy relaxation in the HQ vitreous silica....

Cultured rat and purified human Pneumocystis carinii stimulate intra- but not extracellular free radical production in human neutrophils

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, T; Aliouat, E M; Lundgren, B

1998-01-01

The production of free radicals in human neutrophils was studied in both Pneumocystis carinii derived from cultures of L2 rat lung epithelial-like cells and Pneumocystis carinii purified from human lung. Using the cytochrome C technique, which selectively measured extracellular superoxide...... generation, hardly any free radical production was observed after stimulation with cultured rat-derived P. carinii. A chemiluminescence technique, which separately measured intra- and extracellular free radical production, was subsequently employed to differentiate the free radical generation....... It was established that 1) P. carinii stimulated intra- but not extracellular free radical production in human neutrophils, 2) opsonized cultured rat-derived P. carinii stimulated human neutrophils to a strong intracellular response of superoxide production, and 3) opsonized P. carinii, purified from human lung also...

Dynamics of the α-relaxation in glass-forming polymers. Study by neutron scattering and relaxation techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Colmenero, J.

1993-12-01

The dynamics of the α-relaxation in three different polymeric systems, poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(bisphenol A, 2-hydroxypropylether) (PH) has been studied by means of relaxation techniques and quasielastic neutron scattering (backscattering spectrometers IN10 and IN13 at the ILL-Grenoble). By using these techniques we have covered a wide time scale ranging from mesoscopic to macroscopic times (10 -10 -10 1 s). For analyzing the experimental data we have developed a phenomenological procedure in the frequency domain based on the Havriliak-Negami relaxation function, which in fact implies a Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts relaxation function in the time domain. The results obtained indicate that the dynamics of the α-relaxation in a wide time scale shows a clear non-Debye behaviour. The shape of the relaxation functions is found to be similar for the different techniques used and independent of temperature and momentum transfer ( Q). Moreover, the characteristic relaxation times deduced from the fitting of the experimental data can also be described using only one Vogel-Fulcher functional form. Besides we found that the Q-dependence of the relaxation times obtained by QENS is given by a power law, τ( Q) ∞ Q- n ( n>2), n being dependent on the system, and that the Q-behaviour and the non-Debye behaviour are directly correlated. In the case of PVC, time of flight (TOF) neutron scattering experiments confirm these results in a shorter time scale (2×10 -11 -2× 10 -12 s). Moreover, TOF results also suggest the possibility of interpreting the “fast process” usually detected in glass-forming systems as a Debye-like short regime of the α-relaxation.

The relationships between suggestibility, influenceability, and relaxability.

Science.gov (United States)

Polczyk, Romuald; Frey, Olga; Szpitalak, Malwina

2013-01-01

This research explores the relationships between relaxability and various aspects of suggestibility and influenceability. The Jacobson Progressive Muscle Relaxation procedure was used to induce relaxation. Tests of direct suggestibility, relating to the susceptibility of overt suggestions, and indirect suggestibility, referring to indirect hidden influence, as well as self-description questionnaires on suggestibility and the tendency to comply were used. Thayer's Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List, measuring various kinds of activation and used as a pre- and posttest, determined the efficacy of the relaxation procedure. Indirect, direct, and self-measured suggestibility proved to be positively related to the ability to relax, measured by Thayer's subscales relating to emotions. Compliance was not related to relaxability. The results are discussed in terms of the aspects of relaxation training connected with suggestibility.

Relaxation of Anisotropic Glasses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deubener, Joachim; Martin, Birgit; Wondraczek, Lothar

2004-01-01

. When the load was removed at room temperature a permanent optical anisotropy (birefringence) was observed only perpendicular to cylinder axis and the pressure direction indicating complete elimination of thermal stresses. Relaxation of structural anisotropy was studied from reheating experiments using...... the energy release, thermo-mechanical and optical relaxation behaviour are drawn....

Stress relaxation in viscous soft spheres.

Science.gov (United States)

Boschan, Julia; Vasudevan, Siddarth A; Boukany, Pouyan E; Somfai, Ellák; Tighe, Brian P

2017-10-04

We report the results of molecular dynamics simulations of stress relaxation tests in athermal viscous soft sphere packings close to their unjamming transition. By systematically and simultaneously varying both the amplitude of the applied strain step and the pressure of the initial condition, we access both linear and nonlinear response regimes and control the distance to jamming. Stress relaxation in viscoelastic solids is characterized by a relaxation time τ* that separates short time scales, where viscous loss is substantial, from long time scales, where elastic storage dominates and the response is essentially quasistatic. We identify two distinct plateaus in the strain dependence of the relaxation time, one each in the linear and nonlinear regimes. The height of both plateaus scales as an inverse power law with the distance to jamming. By probing the time evolution of particle velocities during relaxation, we further identify a correlation between mechanical relaxation in the bulk and the degree of non-affinity in the particle velocities on the micro scale.

Relaxation techniques for stress

Science.gov (United States)

... raise your heart rate. This is called the stress response. Relaxation techniques can help your body relax and lower your blood pressure ... also many other types of breathing techniques you can learn. In many cases, you do not need much ... including those that cause stress. Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years, ...

Magneto-dependent stress relaxation of magnetorheological gels

KAUST Repository

Xu, Yangguang; Liu, Taixiang; Liao, G J; Lubineau, Gilles

2017-01-01

The stress relaxation behaviors of magnetorheological (MR) gels under stepwise shear loading are systematically investigated. The particle-enhanced effect, the magneto-induced effect, and the temperature-enhanced effect on the stress relaxation of MR gels are discussed. For further analysis of the magneto-induced stress relaxation mechanism in MR gels, a phenomenological model is established to describe the stress relaxation behavior of the matrix and the magnetic particle chains. All characteristic parameters introduced in the model, i.e. relaxation time, instantaneous modulus, and stable modulus, have well-defined physical meanings and are fitted based on the experimental results. The influence of each parameter on the macroscopic response is discussed and it is found that the relaxation stress induced by the magneto-mechanical coupling effect plays an important role in the stress relaxation process of MR gels.

Magneto-dependent stress relaxation of magnetorheological gels

KAUST Repository

Xu, Yangguang

2017-09-01

The stress relaxation behaviors of magnetorheological (MR) gels under stepwise shear loading are systematically investigated. The particle-enhanced effect, the magneto-induced effect, and the temperature-enhanced effect on the stress relaxation of MR gels are discussed. For further analysis of the magneto-induced stress relaxation mechanism in MR gels, a phenomenological model is established to describe the stress relaxation behavior of the matrix and the magnetic particle chains. All characteristic parameters introduced in the model, i.e. relaxation time, instantaneous modulus, and stable modulus, have well-defined physical meanings and are fitted based on the experimental results. The influence of each parameter on the macroscopic response is discussed and it is found that the relaxation stress induced by the magneto-mechanical coupling effect plays an important role in the stress relaxation process of MR gels.

Accelerated evolution of innate immunity proteins in social insects: adaptive evolution or relaxed constraint?

Science.gov (United States)

Harpur, Brock A; Zayed, Amro

2013-07-01

The genomes of eusocial insects have a reduced complement of immune genes-an unusual finding considering that sociality provides ideal conditions for disease transmission. The following three hypotheses have been invoked to explain this finding: 1) social insects are attacked by fewer pathogens, 2) social insects have effective behavioral or 3) novel molecular mechanisms for combating pathogens. At the molecular level, these hypotheses predict that canonical innate immune pathways experience a relaxation of selective constraint. A recent study of several innate immune genes in ants and bees showed a pattern of accelerated amino acid evolution, which is consistent with either positive selection or a relaxation of constraint. We studied the population genetics of innate immune genes in the honey bee Apis mellifera by partially sequencing 13 genes from the bee's Toll pathway (∼10.5 kb) and 20 randomly chosen genes (∼16.5 kb) sequenced in 43 diploid workers. Relative to the random gene set, Toll pathway genes had significantly higher levels of amino acid replacement mutations segregating within A. mellifera and fixed between A. mellifera and A. cerana. However, levels of diversity and divergence at synonymous sites did not differ between the two gene sets. Although we detect strong signs of balancing selection on the pathogen recognition gene pgrp-sa, many of the genes in the Toll pathway show signatures of relaxed selective constraint. These results are consistent with the reduced complement of innate immune genes found in social insects and support the hypothesis that some aspect of eusociality renders canonical innate immunity superfluous.

A Comparison of Selective Pressures in Plant X-Linked and Autosomal Genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Krasovec, Marc; Nevado, Bruno; Filatov, Dmitry A

2018-05-03

Selection is expected to work differently in autosomal and X-linked genes because of their ploidy difference and the exposure of recessive X-linked mutations to haploid selection in males. However, it is not clear whether these expectations apply to recently evolved sex chromosomes, where many genes retain functional X- and Y-linked gametologs. We took advantage of the recently evolved sex chromosomes in the plant Silene latifolia and its closely related species to compare the selective pressures between hemizygous and non-hemizygous X-linked genes as well as between X-linked genes and autosomal genes. Our analysis, based on over 1000 genes, demonstrated that, similar to animals, X-linked genes in Silene evolve significantly faster than autosomal genes—the so-called faster-X effect. Contrary to expectations, faster-X divergence was detectable only for non-hemizygous X-linked genes. Our phylogeny-based analyses of selection revealed no evidence for faster adaptation in X-linked genes compared to autosomal genes. On the other hand, partial relaxation of purifying selection was apparent on the X-chromosome compared to the autosomes, consistent with a smaller genetic diversity in S. latifolia X-linked genes (π x = 0.016; π aut = 0.023). Thus, the faster-X divergence in S. latifolia appears to be a consequence of the smaller effective population size rather than of a faster adaptive evolution on the X-chromosome. We argue that this may be a general feature of “young” sex chromosomes, where the majority of X-linked genes are not hemizygous, preventing haploid selection in heterogametic sex.

Effects of purified zearalenone on selected immunological measurements of blood in post-weaning gilts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lijie Yang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Zearalenone (ZEA, an estrogenic mycotoxin, is produced mainly by Fusarium fungi. Previous studies have indicated that acute ZEA exposure induced various damages in different species; however, its transparent hematotoxicity in female piglets at dietary levels of 1.1 to 3.2 mg/kg has not been shown. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary ZEA (1.1–3.2 mg/kg on hematology, T lymphocyte subset, immunoglobulin, antibody titer, lymphocyte proliferation rate (LPR, and interleukin-2 (IL-2 in peripheral blood of post-weaning gilts. A total of 20 female piglets (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc, weaned at 42 d with an average body weight of 10.36 ± 1.21 kg were used in the study. Female piglets were kept in a temperature controlled room, divided into four treatments, and fed a diet based on corn-soybean meal-fishmeal-whey, with an addition of 0, 1.1, 2.0, or 3.2 mg/kg purified ZEA for 18 d ad libitum. Feed intake and refusal were measured daily and individual pigs were weighed weekly. Blood and serum samples were collected for selected immunological measurements. Female piglets fed different levels of dietary ZEA grew similarly with no difference in feed intake. Hematological values including leukocytes, platelets, lymphocytes, hematocrit, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH decreased linearly (P < 0.05 as dietary ZEA increased. Female piglets fed diets containing 2.0 mg/kg ZEA or greater showed significantly decreased CD4+CD8+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ in comparison to the control (P < 0.05, whereas CD8+ was significantly increased (P = 0.026 in the gilts which were fed the diet containing 3.2 mg/kg ZEA. Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG and the antibody titer on d 18 were reduced linearly as dietary ZEA levels increased (P < 0.001. Linear decrease in LPR was observed (P < 0.05. Female piglets fed diets containing 2.0 mg/kg ZEA or more showed significantly decreased IL-2 in comparison to the control (P < 0

Home drinking-water purifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pizzichini, Massimo; Pozio, Alfonso; Russo, Claudio

2005-01-01

To salve the widespread problem of contaminated drinking water, home purifiers are now sold in Italy as well as other countries. This article describes how these devices work, how safe they are to use and how safe the water they produce, in the broad context of regulations on drinking water and mineral water. A new device being developed by ENEA to treat municipal water and ground water could provide greater chemical and bacteriological safety. However, the appearance of these new systems makes it necessary to update existing regulations [it

Sandpile model for relaxation in complex systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vazquez, A.; Sotolongo-Costa, O.; Brouers, F.

1997-10-01

The relaxation in complex systems is, in general, nonexponential. After an initial rapid decay the system relaxes slowly following a long time tail. In the present paper a sandpile moderation of the relaxation in complex systems is analysed. Complexity is introduced by a process of avalanches in the Bethe lattice and a feedback mechanism which leads to slower decay with increasing time. In this way, some features of relaxation in complex systems: long time tails relaxation, aging, and fractal distribution of characteristic times, are obtained by simple computer simulations. (author)

Extracting protein dynamics information from overlapped NMR signals using relaxation dispersion difference NMR spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Konuma, Tsuyoshi; Harada, Erisa; Sugase, Kenji

2015-12-01

Protein dynamics plays important roles in many biological events, such as ligand binding and enzyme reactions. NMR is mostly used for investigating such protein dynamics in a site-specific manner. Recently, NMR has been actively applied to large proteins and intrinsically disordered proteins, which are attractive research targets. However, signal overlap, which is often observed for such proteins, hampers accurate analysis of NMR data. In this study, we have developed a new methodology called relaxation dispersion difference that can extract conformational exchange parameters from overlapped NMR signals measured using relaxation dispersion spectroscopy. In relaxation dispersion measurements, the signal intensities of fluctuating residues vary according to the Carr-Purcell-Meiboon-Gill pulsing interval, whereas those of non-fluctuating residues are constant. Therefore, subtraction of each relaxation dispersion spectrum from that with the highest signal intensities, measured at the shortest pulsing interval, leaves only the signals of the fluctuating residues. This is the principle of the relaxation dispersion difference method. This new method enabled us to extract exchange parameters from overlapped signals of heme oxygenase-1, which is a relatively large protein. The results indicate that the structural flexibility of a kink in the heme-binding site is important for efficient heme binding. Relaxation dispersion difference requires neither selectively labeled samples nor modification of pulse programs; thus it will have wide applications in protein dynamics analysis.

Extracting protein dynamics information from overlapped NMR signals using relaxation dispersion difference NMR spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Konuma, Tsuyoshi [Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Structural and Chemical Biology (United States); Harada, Erisa [Suntory Foundation for Life Sciences, Bioorganic Research Institute (Japan); Sugase, Kenji, E-mail: sugase@sunbor.or.jp, E-mail: sugase@moleng.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Kyoto University, Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering (Japan)

2015-12-15

Protein dynamics plays important roles in many biological events, such as ligand binding and enzyme reactions. NMR is mostly used for investigating such protein dynamics in a site-specific manner. Recently, NMR has been actively applied to large proteins and intrinsically disordered proteins, which are attractive research targets. However, signal overlap, which is often observed for such proteins, hampers accurate analysis of NMR data. In this study, we have developed a new methodology called relaxation dispersion difference that can extract conformational exchange parameters from overlapped NMR signals measured using relaxation dispersion spectroscopy. In relaxation dispersion measurements, the signal intensities of fluctuating residues vary according to the Carr-Purcell-Meiboon-Gill pulsing interval, whereas those of non-fluctuating residues are constant. Therefore, subtraction of each relaxation dispersion spectrum from that with the highest signal intensities, measured at the shortest pulsing interval, leaves only the signals of the fluctuating residues. This is the principle of the relaxation dispersion difference method. This new method enabled us to extract exchange parameters from overlapped signals of heme oxygenase-1, which is a relatively large protein. The results indicate that the structural flexibility of a kink in the heme-binding site is important for efficient heme binding. Relaxation dispersion difference requires neither selectively labeled samples nor modification of pulse programs; thus it will have wide applications in protein dynamics analysis.

Genome-wide analysis suggests high level of microsynteny and purifying selection affect the evolution of EIN3/EIL family in Rosaceae.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yunpeng; Han, Yahui; Meng, Dandan; Li, Dahui; Jin, Qing; Lin, Yi; Cai, Yongping

2017-01-01

The ethylene-insensitive3/ethylene-insensitive3-like ( EIN3/EIL ) proteins are a type of nuclear-localized protein with DNA-binding activity in plants. Although the EIN3/EIL gene family has been studied in several plant species, little is known about comprehensive study of the EIN3/EIL gene family in Rosaceae. In this study, ten, five, four, and five EIN3/EIL genes were identified in the genomes of pear ( Pyrus bretschneideri ), mei ( Prunus mume ), peach ( Prunus persica ) and strawberry ( Fragaria vesca ), respectively. Twenty-eight chromosomal segments of EIL/EIN3 gene family were found in four Rosaceae species, and these segments could form seven orthologous or paralogous groups based on interspecies or intraspecies gene colinearity (microsynteny) analysis. Moreover, the highly conserved regions of microsynteny were found in four Rosaceae species. Subsequently it was found that both whole genome duplication and tandem duplication events significantly contributed to the EIL/EIN3 gene family expansion. Gene expression analysis of the EIL/EIN3 genes in the pear revealed subfunctionalization for several PbEIL genes derived from whole genome duplication. It is noteworthy that according to environmental selection pressure analysis, the strong purifying selection should dominate the maintenance of the EIL/EIN3 gene family in four Rosaceae species. These results provided useful information on Rosaceae EIL/EIN3 genes, as well as insights into the evolution of this gene family in four Rosaceae species. Furthermore, high level of microsynteny in the four Rosaceae plants suggested that a large-scale genome duplication event in the EIL/EIN3 gene family was predated to speciation.

Genome-wide analysis suggests high level of microsynteny and purifying selection affect the evolution of EIN3/EIL family in Rosaceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunpeng Cao

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The ethylene-insensitive3/ethylene-insensitive3-like (EIN3/EIL proteins are a type of nuclear-localized protein with DNA-binding activity in plants. Although the EIN3/EIL gene family has been studied in several plant species, little is known about comprehensive study of the EIN3/EIL gene family in Rosaceae. In this study, ten, five, four, and five EIN3/EIL genes were identified in the genomes of pear (Pyrus bretschneideri, mei (Prunus mume, peach (Prunus persica and strawberry (Fragaria vesca, respectively. Twenty-eight chromosomal segments of EIL/EIN3 gene family were found in four Rosaceae species, and these segments could form seven orthologous or paralogous groups based on interspecies or intraspecies gene colinearity (microsynteny analysis. Moreover, the highly conserved regions of microsynteny were found in four Rosaceae species. Subsequently it was found that both whole genome duplication and tandem duplication events significantly contributed to the EIL/EIN3 gene family expansion. Gene expression analysis of the EIL/EIN3 genes in the pear revealed subfunctionalization for several PbEIL genes derived from whole genome duplication. It is noteworthy that according to environmental selection pressure analysis, the strong purifying selection should dominate the maintenance of the EIL/EIN3 gene family in four Rosaceae species. These results provided useful information on Rosaceae EIL/EIN3 genes, as well as insights into the evolution of this gene family in four Rosaceae species. Furthermore, high level of microsynteny in the four Rosaceae plants suggested that a large-scale genome duplication event in the EIL/EIN3 gene family was predated to speciation.

Relaxation Time of High-Density Amorphous Ice

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Handle, Philip H.; Seidl, Markus; Loerting, Thomas

2012-06-01

Amorphous water plays a fundamental role in astrophysics, cryoelectron microscopy, hydration of matter, and our understanding of anomalous liquid water properties. Yet, the characteristics of the relaxation processes taking place in high-density amorphous ice (HDA) are unknown. We here reveal that the relaxation processes in HDA at 110-135 K at 0.1-0.2 GPa are of collective and global nature, resembling the alpha relaxation in glassy material. Measured relaxation times suggest liquid-like relaxation characteristics in the vicinity of the crystallization temperature at 145 K. By carefully relaxing pressurized HDA for several hours at 135 K, we produce a state that is closer to the ideal glass state than all HDA states discussed so far in literature.

Improved labeling strategy for 13C relaxation measurements of methyl groups in proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Andrew L.; Urbauer, Jeffrey L.; Wand, A. Joshua

1997-01-01

Selective incorporation of 13 C into the methyl groups of protein side chains is described as a means for simplifying the measurement and interpretation of 13 C relaxation parameters.High incorporation (>90%) is accomplished by using pyruvate(3- 13 C, 99%) as the sole carbon source in the growth media for protein overexpression in E. coli. This improved labeling scheme increases the sensitivity of the relaxation experiments by approximately fivefold when compared to randomly fractionally 13 C-labeled protein, allowing high-quality measurements on relatively dilute (<1 mM)protein samples at a relatively low cost

Hyperhomocysteinemia potentiates diabetes-impaired EDHF-induced vascular relaxation: Role of insufficient hydrogen sulfide

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Zhongjian Cheng

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Insufficient hydrogen sulfide (H2S has been implicated in Type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy-related cardiovascular complications. We investigated the role of H2S in T2DM and HHcy-induced endothelial dysfunction in small mesenteric artery (SMA of db/db mice fed a high methionine (HM diet. HM diet (8 weeks induced HHcy in both T2DM db/db mice and non-diabetic db/+ mice (total plasma Hcy: 48.4 and 31.3 µM, respectively, and aggravated the impaired endothelium-derived hyperpolarization factor (EDHF-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh, determined by the presence of eNOS inhibitor N(ω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME and prostacyclin (PGI2 inhibitor indomethacin (INDO, in SMA from db/db mice but not that from db/+ mice. A non-selective Ca2+-active potassium channel (KCa opener NS309 rescued T2DM/HHcy-impaired EDHF-mediated vascular relaxation to ACh. EDHF-induced relaxation to ACh was inhibited by a non-selective KCa blocker TEA and intermediate-conductance KCa blocker (IKCa Tram-34, but not by small-conductance KCa (SKCa blocker Apamin. HHcy potentiated the reduction of free sulfide, H2S and cystathionine γ-lyase protein, which converts L-cysteine to H2S, in SMA of db/db mice. Importantly, a stable H2S donor DATS diminished the enhanced O2- production in SMAs and lung endothelial cells of T2DM/HHcy mice. Antioxidant PEG-SOD and DATS improved T2DM/HHcy impaired relaxation to ACh. Moreover, HHcy increased hyperglycemia-induced IKCa tyrosine nitration in human micro-vascular endothelial cells. EDHF-induced vascular relaxation to L-cysteine was not altered, whereas such relaxation to NaHS was potentiated by HHcy in SMA of db/db mice which was abolished by ATP-sensitive potassium channel blocker Glycolamide but not by KCa blockers. Conclusions: Intermediate HHcy potentiated H2S reduction via CSE-downregulation in microvasculature of T2DM mice. H2S is justified as an EDHF. Insufficient H2S

Relaxation in x-space magnetic particle imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Croft, Laura R; Goodwill, Patrick W; Conolly, Steven M

2012-12-01

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is a new imaging modality that noninvasively images the spatial distribution of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs). MPI has demonstrated high contrast and zero attenuation with depth, and MPI promises superior safety compared to current angiography methods, X-ray, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging angiography. Nanoparticle relaxation can delay the SPIO magnetization, and in this work we investigate the open problem of the role relaxation plays in MPI scanning and its effect on the image. We begin by amending the x-space theory of MPI to include nanoparticle relaxation effects. We then validate the amended theory with experiments from a Berkeley x-space relaxometer and a Berkeley x-space projection MPI scanner. Our theory and experimental data indicate that relaxation reduces SNR and asymmetrically blurs the image in the scanning direction. While relaxation effects can have deleterious effects on the MPI scan, we show theoretically and experimentally that x-space reconstruction remains robust in the presence of relaxation. Furthermore, the role of relaxation in x-space theory provides guidance as we develop methods to minimize relaxation-induced blurring. This will be an important future area of research for the MPI community.

Hair Dye and Hair Relaxers

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... For Consumers Consumer Information by Audience For Women Hair Dye and Hair Relaxers Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing ... products. If you have a bad reaction to hair dyes and relaxers, you should: Stop using the ...

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and information theory: basic concepts and relaxing dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Altaner, Bernhard

2017-11-01

Thermodynamics is based on the notions of energy and entropy. While energy is the elementary quantity governing physical dynamics, entropy is the fundamental concept in information theory. In this work, starting from first principles, we give a detailed didactic account on the relations between energy and entropy and thus physics and information theory. We show that thermodynamic process inequalities, like the second law, are equivalent to the requirement that an effective description for physical dynamics is strongly relaxing. From the perspective of information theory, strongly relaxing dynamics govern the irreversible convergence of a statistical ensemble towards the maximally non-commital probability distribution that is compatible with thermodynamic equilibrium parameters. In particular, Markov processes that converge to a thermodynamic equilibrium state are strongly relaxing. Our framework generalizes previous results to arbitrary open and driven systems, yielding novel thermodynamic bounds for idealized and real processes. , which features invited work from the best early-career researchers working within the scope of J. Phys. A. This project is part of the Journal of Physics series’ 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017. Bernhard Altaner was selected by the Editorial Board of J. Phys. A as an Emerging Talent.

Robust sparse image reconstruction of radio interferometric observations with PURIFY

Science.gov (United States)

Pratley, Luke; McEwen, Jason D.; d'Avezac, Mayeul; Carrillo, Rafael E.; Onose, Alexandru; Wiaux, Yves

2018-01-01

Next-generation radio interferometers, such as the Square Kilometre Array, will revolutionize our understanding of the Universe through their unprecedented sensitivity and resolution. However, to realize these goals significant challenges in image and data processing need to be overcome. The standard methods in radio interferometry for reconstructing images, such as CLEAN, have served the community well over the last few decades and have survived largely because they are pragmatic. However, they produce reconstructed interferometric images that are limited in quality and scalability for big data. In this work, we apply and evaluate alternative interferometric reconstruction methods that make use of state-of-the-art sparse image reconstruction algorithms motivated by compressive sensing, which have been implemented in the PURIFY software package. In particular, we implement and apply the proximal alternating direction method of multipliers algorithm presented in a recent article. First, we assess the impact of the interpolation kernel used to perform gridding and degridding on sparse image reconstruction. We find that the Kaiser-Bessel interpolation kernel performs as well as prolate spheroidal wave functions while providing a computational saving and an analytic form. Secondly, we apply PURIFY to real interferometric observations from the Very Large Array and the Australia Telescope Compact Array and find that images recovered by PURIFY are of higher quality than those recovered by CLEAN. Thirdly, we discuss how PURIFY reconstructions exhibit additional advantages over those recovered by CLEAN. The latest version of PURIFY, with developments presented in this work, is made publicly available.

Natural Selection Reduced Diversity on Human Y Chromosomes

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson Sayres, Melissa A.; Lohmueller, Kirk E.; Nielsen, Rasmus

2014-01-01

The human Y chromosome exhibits surprisingly low levels of genetic diversity. This could result from neutral processes if the effective population size of males is reduced relative to females due to a higher variance in the number of offspring from males than from females. Alternatively, selection acting on new mutations, and affecting linked neutral sites, could reduce variability on the Y chromosome. Here, using genome-wide analyses of X, Y, autosomal and mitochondrial DNA, in combination with extensive population genetic simulations, we show that low observed Y chromosome variability is not consistent with a purely neutral model. Instead, we show that models of purifying selection are consistent with observed Y diversity. Further, the number of sites estimated to be under purifying selection greatly exceeds the number of Y-linked coding sites, suggesting the importance of the highly repetitive ampliconic regions. While we show that purifying selection removing deleterious mutations can explain the low diversity on the Y chromosome, we cannot exclude the possibility that positive selection acting on beneficial mutations could have also reduced diversity in linked neutral regions, and may have contributed to lowering human Y chromosome diversity. Because the functional significance of the ampliconic regions is poorly understood, our findings should motivate future research in this area. PMID:24415951

Relaxation of synchronization on complex networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Seung-Woo; Jeong, Hawoong; Hong, Hyunsuk

2008-07-01

We study collective synchronization in a large number of coupled oscillators on various complex networks. In particular, we focus on the relaxation dynamics of the synchronization, which is important from the viewpoint of information transfer or the dynamics of system recovery from a perturbation. We measure the relaxation time tau that is required to establish global synchronization by varying the structural properties of the networks. It is found that the relaxation time in a strong-coupling regime (K>Kc) logarithmically increases with network size N , which is attributed to the initial random phase fluctuation given by O(N-1/2) . After elimination of the initial-phase fluctuation, the relaxation time is found to be independent of the system size; this implies that the local interaction that depends on the structural connectivity is irrelevant in the relaxation dynamics of the synchronization in the strong-coupling regime. The relaxation dynamics is analytically derived in a form independent of the system size, and it exhibits good consistency with numerical simulations. As an application, we also explore the recovery dynamics of the oscillators when perturbations enter the system.

Evolving fuzzy rules for relaxed-criteria negotiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sim, Kwang Mong

2008-12-01

In the literature on automated negotiation, very few negotiation agents are designed with the flexibility to slightly relax their negotiation criteria to reach a consensus more rapidly and with more certainty. Furthermore, these relaxed-criteria negotiation agents were not equipped with the ability to enhance their performance by learning and evolving their relaxed-criteria negotiation rules. The impetus of this work is designing market-driven negotiation agents (MDAs) that not only have the flexibility of relaxing bargaining criteria using fuzzy rules, but can also evolve their structures by learning new relaxed-criteria fuzzy rules to improve their negotiation outcomes as they participate in negotiations in more e-markets. To this end, an evolutionary algorithm for adapting and evolving relaxed-criteria fuzzy rules was developed. Implementing the idea in a testbed, two kinds of experiments for evaluating and comparing EvEMDAs (MDAs with relaxed-criteria rules that are evolved using the evolutionary algorithm) and EMDAs (MDAs with relaxed-criteria rules that are manually constructed) were carried out through stochastic simulations. Empirical results show that: 1) EvEMDAs generally outperformed EMDAs in different types of e-markets and 2) the negotiation outcomes of EvEMDAs generally improved as they negotiated in more e-markets.

Stress relaxation under cyclic electron irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bystrov, L.N.; Reznitskij, M.E.

1990-01-01

The kinetics of deformation process in a relaxating sample under 2 MeV electron cyclic irradiation was studied experimentally. The Al-Mg alloys with controllable and different (in dislocation density precipitate presence and their character) structure were used in experiments. It was established that after the beam was switched on the deformation rate increased sharply and then, during prolonged irradiation, in a gradual manner. After the switching-off the relaxation rate decreases by jumps up to values close to extrapolated rates of pre-radiation relaxation. The exhibition of these effects with radiation switching-off and switchin-on is dependent on the initial rate of thermal relaxation, the test temperature, the preliminary cold deformation and the dominating deformation dislocation mechanism. The preliminary cold deformation and test temperature elevation slightly decrease the effect of instantaneous relaxation acceleration with the irradiation switch-on. 17 refs., 5 figs

Selection on start codons in prokaryotes and potential compensatory nucleotide substitutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Belinky, Frida; Rogozin, Igor B; Koonin, Eugene V

2017-09-29

Reconstruction of the evolution of start codons in 36 groups of closely related bacterial and archaeal genomes reveals purifying selection affecting AUG codons. The AUG starts are replaced by GUG and especially UUG significantly less frequently than expected under the neutral expectation derived from the frequencies of the respective nucleotide triplet substitutions in non-coding regions and in 4-fold degenerate sites. Thus, AUG is the optimal start codon that is actively maintained by purifying selection. However, purifying selection on start codons is significantly weaker than the selection on the same codons in coding sequences, although the switches between the codons result in conservative amino acid substitutions. The only exception is the AUG to UUG switch that is strongly selected against among start codons. Selection on start codons is most pronounced in evolutionarily conserved, highly expressed genes. Mutation of the start codon to a sub-optimal form (GUG or UUG) tends to be compensated by mutations in the Shine-Dalgarno sequence towards a stronger translation initiation signal. Together, all these findings indicate that in prokaryotes, translation start signals are subject to weak but significant selection for maximization of initiation rate and, consequently, protein production.

Process for purifying graphite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clausius, R.A.

1985-01-01

A process for purifying graphite comprising: comminuting graphite containing mineral matter to liberate at least a portion of the graphite particles from the mineral matter; mixing the comminuted graphite particles containing mineral matter with water and hydrocarbon oil to form a fluid slurry; separating a water phase containing mineral matter and a hydrocarbon oil phase containing grahite particles; and separating the graphite particles from the hydrocarbon oil to obtain graphite particles reduced in mineral matter. Depending upon the purity of the graphite desired, steps of the process can be repeated one or more times to provide a progressively purer graphite

Home Air Purifiers Eradicate Harmful Pathogens

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Marshall Space Flight Center funded the University of Madison-Wisconsin to develop ethylene scrubbers to keep produce fresh in space. Akida Holdings of Jacksonville, Florida, licensed the technology and developed Airocide, an air purifier that can kill airborne pathogens. Previously designed for industrial spaces, there is now a specially designed unit for home use.

Application of aqueous biphasic systems as strategy to purify tannase from Aspergillus tamarii URM 7115.

Science.gov (United States)

de Sena, Amanda Reges; Barros Oliveira, Flávio Manoel; Campos Leite, Tonny Cley; Evaristo da Silva Nascimento, Talita Camila; Moreira, Keila Aparecida; de Assis, Sandra Aparecida

2017-10-21

The aims of the current study are to assess the influence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration, molar mass, pH, and citrate concentrations on aqueous biphasic systems based on 2 4 factorial designs, as well as to check their capacity to purify tannase secreted by Aspergillus tamarii URM 7115. Tannase was produced through submerged fermentation at 26°C for 67 h in Czapeck-Dox modified broth and added with yeast extract and tannic acid. The factorial design was followed to assess the influence of PEG molar mass (M PEG 600; 4,000 and 8,000 g/ mol), and PEG (C PEG 20.0; 22.0 and 24.0% w/w) and citrate concentrations (C CIT 15.0, 17.5, and 20.0%, w/w), as well as of pH (6.0, 7.0, and 8.0) on the response variables; moreover, partition coefficient (K), yield (Y), and purification factor (PF) were analyzed. The most suitable parameters to purify tannase secreted by A. tamarii URM 7115 through a biphasic system were 600 (g/mol) M PEG , 24% (w/w) C PEG , 15% (w/w) C CIT at pH 6.0 and they resulted in 6.33 enzyme partition, 131.25% yield, 19.80 purification factor and 195.08 selectivity. Tannase secreted by A. tamarii URM 7115 purified through aqueous biphasic systems composed of PEG/citrate can be used for industrial purposes, since it presents suitable purification factor and yield.

Momentum constraint relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marronetti, Pedro

2006-01-01

Full relativistic simulations in three dimensions invariably develop runaway modes that grow exponentially and are accompanied by violations of the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints. Recently, we introduced a numerical method (Hamiltonian relaxation) that greatly reduces the Hamiltonian constraint violation and helps improve the quality of the numerical model. We present here a method that controls the violation of the momentum constraint. The method is based on the addition of a longitudinal component to the traceless extrinsic curvature A ij -tilde, generated by a vector potential w i , as outlined by York. The components of w i are relaxed to solve approximately the momentum constraint equations, slowly pushing the evolution towards the space of solutions of the constraint equations. We test this method with simulations of binary neutron stars in circular orbits and show that it effectively controls the growth of the aforementioned violations. We also show that a full numerical enforcement of the constraints, as opposed to the gentle correction of the momentum relaxation scheme, results in the development of instabilities that stop the runs shortly

Thermodynamic scaling of α-relaxation time and viscosity stems from the Johari-Goldstein β-relaxation or the primitive relaxation of the coupling model.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngai, K L; Habasaki, J; Prevosto, D; Capaccioli, S; Paluch, Marian

2012-07-21

By now it is well established that the structural α-relaxation time, τ(α), of non-associated small molecular and polymeric glass-formers obey thermodynamic scaling. In other words, τ(α) is a function Φ of the product variable, ρ(γ)/T, where ρ is the density and T the temperature. The constant γ as well as the function, τ(α) = Φ(ρ(γ)/T), is material dependent. Actually this dependence of τ(α) on ρ(γ)/T originates from the dependence on the same product variable of the Johari-Goldstein β-relaxation time, τ(β), or the primitive relaxation time, τ(0), of the coupling model. To support this assertion, we give evidences from various sources itemized as follows. (1) The invariance of the relation between τ(α) and τ(β) or τ(0) to widely different combinations of pressure and temperature. (2) Experimental dielectric and viscosity data of glass-forming van der Waals liquids and polymer. (3) Molecular dynamics simulations of binary Lennard-Jones (LJ) models, the Lewis-Wahnström model of ortho-terphenyl, 1,4 polybutadiene, a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate, and a molten salt 2Ca(NO(3))(2)·3KNO(3) (CKN). (4) Both diffusivity and structural relaxation time, as well as the breakdown of Stokes-Einstein relation in CKN obey thermodynamic scaling by ρ(γ)/T with the same γ. (5) In polymers, the chain normal mode relaxation time, τ(N), is another function of ρ(γ)/T with the same γ as segmental relaxation time τ(α). (6) While the data of τ(α) from simulations for the full LJ binary mixture obey very well the thermodynamic scaling, it is strongly violated when the LJ interaction potential is truncated beyond typical inter-particle distance, although in both cases the repulsive pair potentials coincide for some distances.

Comparison of sensory modes of biofeedback in relaxation training of frontalis muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, W

1981-12-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of various sensory modes of EMG biofeedback to relaxation training of the frontalis muscle. 19 male and 29 female subjects were randomly selected from a pool of college volunteers. They were then randomly assigned 12 each to audiofeedback, visual feedback, audiovisual feedback, and no feedback groups. There were 11 20-min. sessions per subject. Subjects in the biofeedback groups were trained to reduce muscle tension voluntarily by utilizing Cyborg J33 EMG portable trainers. The subjects in the three feedback groups exhibited significantly lower muscle tension than did the subjects in the no-feedback control group. There were no significant differences in relaxation among the three feedback groups.

Relaxed states with plasma flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avinash, K.; Taylor, J.B.

1991-01-01

In the theory of relaxation, a turbulent plasma reaches a state of minimum energy subject to constant magnetic helicity. In this state the plasma velocity is zero. Attempts have been made by introducing a number of different constraints, to obtain relaxed states with plasma flow. It is shown that these alternative constraints depend on two self-helicities, one for ions, and one for electrons. However, whereas there are strong arguments for the effective invariance of the original magnetic-helicity, these arguments do not apply to the self-helicities. Consequently the existence of relaxed states with flow remains in doubt. (author)

Guanine nucleotide regulatory protein co-purifies with the D2-dopamine receptor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senogles, S.E.; Caron, M.G.

1986-01-01

The D 2 -dopamine receptor from bovine anterior pituitary was purified ∼1000 fold by affinity chromatography on CMOS-Sepharose. Reconstitution of the affinity-purified receptor into phospholipid vesicles revealed the presence of high and low affinity agonist sites as detected by N-n-propylnorapomorphine (NPA) competition experiments with 3 H-spiperone. High affinity agonist binding could be converted to the low affinity form by guanine nucleotides, indicating the presence of an endogenous guanine nucleotide binding protein (N protein) in the affinity-purified D 2 receptor preparations. Furthermore, this preparation contained an agonist-sensitive GTPase activity which was stimulated 2-3 fold over basal by 10 μM NPA. 35 S-GTPγS binding to these preparations revealed a stoichiometry of 0.4-0.7 mole N protein/mole receptor, suggesting the N protein may be specifically coupled with the purified D 2 -dopamine receptor and not present as a contaminant. Pertussis toxin treatment of the affinity purified receptor preparations prevented high affinity agonist binding, as well as agonist stimulation of the GTPase activity, presumably by inactivating the associated N protein. Pertussis toxin lead to the ADP-ribosylation of a protein of 39-40K on SDS-PAGE. These findings indicate that an endogenous N protein, N/sub i/ or N/sub o/, co-purifies with the D 2 -dopamine receptor which may reflect a precoupling of this receptor with an N protein within the membranes

Automated NMR relaxation dispersion data analysis using NESSY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gooley Paul R

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Proteins are dynamic molecules with motions ranging from picoseconds to longer than seconds. Many protein functions, however, appear to occur on the micro to millisecond timescale and therefore there has been intense research of the importance of these motions in catalysis and molecular interactions. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR relaxation dispersion experiments are used to measure motion of discrete nuclei within the micro to millisecond timescale. Information about conformational/chemical exchange, populations of exchanging states and chemical shift differences are extracted from these experiments. To ensure these parameters are correctly extracted, accurate and careful analysis of these experiments is necessary. Results The software introduced in this article is designed for the automatic analysis of relaxation dispersion data and the extraction of the parameters mentioned above. It is written in Python for multi platform use and highest performance. Experimental data can be fitted to different models using the Levenberg-Marquardt minimization algorithm and different statistical tests can be used to select the best model. To demonstrate the functionality of this program, synthetic data as well as NMR data were analyzed. Analysis of these data including the generation of plots and color coded structures can be performed with minimal user intervention and using standard procedures that are included in the program. Conclusions NESSY is easy to use open source software to analyze NMR relaxation data. The robustness and standard procedures are demonstrated in this article.

Mine water purify from radium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebecka, J.

1996-01-01

The article describes purification of radium containing water in coal mines. Author concludes that water purification is relatively simple and effective way to decrease environmental pollution caused by coal mining. The amount of radium disposed with type A radium water has been significantly decreased. The results of investigations show that it will be soon possible to purify also type B radium water. Article compares the amounts of radium disposed by coal mines in 1990, 1995 and forecast for 2000

Simultaneous purifying of Hg0, SO2, and NOx from flue gas by Fe3+/H2O2: the performance and purifying mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Yi; Li, Liuliu; Lu, Pei; Cui, Jiansheng; Li, Qianli; Yan, Bojun; Jiang, Bo; Wang, Mengsi

2018-03-01

Hg 0 , SO 2 , and NOx result in heavily global environmental pollution and serious health hazards. Up to now, how to efficiently remove mercury with SO 2 and NOx from flue gas is still a tough task. In this study, series of high oxidizing Fenton systems were employed to purify the pollutants. The experimental results showed that Fe 3+ /H 2 O 2 was more suitable to purify Hg 0 than Fe 2+ /H 2 O 2 and Cu 2+ /H 2 O 2. The optimal condition includes Fe 3+ concentration of 0.008 mol/L, Hg 0 inlet concentration of 40 μg/m 3 , solution temperature of 50 °C, pH of 3, H 2 O 2 concentration of 0.7 mol/L, and O 2 percentage of 6%. When SO 2 and NOx were taken into account under the optimal condition, Hg 0 removal efficiency could be enhanced to 91.11% while the removal efficiency of both NOx and SO 2 was slightly declined, which was consistent to the analysis of purifying mechanism. The removal efficiency of Hg 0 was stimulated by accelerating the conversion of Fe 2+ to Fe 3+ , which resulted from the existence of SO 2 and NOx. The results of this study suggested that simultaneously purifying Hg 0 , SO 2 , and NOx from flue gas is feasible.

Refining processes of selected copper alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Rzadkosz

2009-04-01

Full Text Available The analysis of the refining effectiveness of the liquid copper and selected copper alloys by various micro additions and special refiningsubstances – was performed. Examinations of an influence of purifying, modifying and deoxidation operations performed in a metal bath on the properties of certain selected alloys based on copper matrix - were made. Refining substances, protecting-purifying slag, deoxidation and modifying substances containing micro additions of such elements as: zirconium, boron, phosphor, sodium, lithium, or their compounds introduced in order to change micro structures and properties of alloys, were applied in examinations. A special attention was directed to macro and micro structures of alloys, their tensile and elongation strength and hot-cracks sensitivity. Refining effects were estimated by comparing the effectiveness of micro structure changes with property changes of copper and its selected alloys from the group of tin bronzes.

Reflexogenic relaxation gastroduodenography by the acupuncture method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabkin, I.Kh.; Tsibulyak, V.N.; Mnatsakyan, K.A.; Kondorskaya, I.L.; Galkina, T.V.

The communication is based upon the results of x-ray examination of the stomach and duodenum in 63 patients with stenoses of the pyloroduodenal zone, cicatrical deformities of the duodenal bulb, bulbar ulcer, duodenal organic lesions, and functional stenosis of the loop. First a routine X-ray examination of the stomach and duodenum was performed using barium-water mixture, then followed acupuncture aimed at hypotension in the definite points of the floor of the auricle where branches of the vagus innervating the stomach and duodenum are located. As distinct from pharmacological relaxation this method produces a purpose-oriented selective effect.

Reflexogenic relaxation gastroduodenography by the acupuncture method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabkin, I.Kh.; Tsibulyak, V.N.; Mnatsakyan, K.A.; Kondorskaya, I.L.; Galkina, T.V.

1985-01-01

The communication is based upon the results of x-ray examination of the stomach and duodenum in 63 patients with stenoses of the pyloroduodenal zone, cicatrical deformities of the duodenal bulb, bulbar ulcer, duodenal organic lesions, and functional stenosis of the loop. First a routine X-ray examination of the stomach and duodenum was performed using barium-water mixture, than followed acupuncture aimed at hypotension in the definite points of the floor of the auricle where branches of the vagus innervating the stomach and duodenum are located. As distinct from pharmacological relaxation this method produces a purpose-oriented selective effect

On aggregation of relaxed T-indistinguishability operators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuster-Parra, P.

2017-07-01

The notion of T -indistinguishability operator was introduced by E. Trillas in [7] with the aim of fuzzifying the classical (crisp) notion of equivalence relation. Relaxed metrics and indistinguishability operators are closely related. Indeed, in [1] it has been stated that the logical counterpart for relaxed metrics is, in some sense, a generalized indistinguishability operator (relaxed T -indistinguishability operator). Notice that the notion of T -indistinguishability operator is retrieved as a particular case of relaxed T -indistinguishability operator whenever the relaxed T - indistinguishability operator satisfies also the reflexivity. In fact, a relaxed indistinguishability operator is a indistinguishability operator if and only if it holds the reflexivity. The same occurs when we consider T -indistinguishability operator that separates points. Several authors have studied the aggregation of some classes of fuzzy relations (see [3, 4, 5, 6]), where it is stated that transitivity is one of the most important properties of a fuzzy relation. In [5] a study of aggregation of T-indistinguishability operators is presented, motivated by this work the aim of this study is to analyze the case of aggregating relaxed T-indistinguishability operators. (Author)

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in carbon nanostructures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panich, A.M., E-mail: pan@bgu.ac.i [Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva 84105 (Israel); Sergeev, N.A. [Institute of Physics, University of Szczecin, 70-451 Szczecin (Poland)

2010-04-15

Interpretation of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation data in the carbon nanostructures is usually based on the analysis of fluctuations of dipole-dipole interactions of nuclear spins and anisotropic electron-nuclear interactions responsible for chemical shielding, which are caused by molecular dynamics. However, many nanocarbon systems such as fullerene and nanotube derivatives, nanodiamonds and carbon onions reveal noticeable amount of paramagnetic defects with unpaired electrons originating from dangling bonds. The interaction between nuclear and electron spins strongly influences the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation, but usually is not taken into account, thus the relaxation data are not correctly interpreted. Here we report on the temperature dependent NMR spectra and spin-lattice relaxation measurements of intercalated fullerenes C{sub 60}(MF{sub 6}){sub 2} (M=As and Sb), where nuclear relaxation is caused by both molecular rotation and interaction between nuclei and unpaired electron spins. We present a detailed theoretical analysis of the spin-lattice relaxation data taking into account both these contributions. Good agreement between the experimental data and calculations is obtained. The developed approach would be useful in interpreting the NMR relaxation data in different nanostructures and their intercalation compounds.

Selective optical switching of interface-coupled relaxation dynamics in carbon nanotube-Si heterojunctions

KAUST Repository

Ponzoni, Stefano

2014-10-16

By properly tuning the photon energy of a femtosecond laser pump, we disentangle, in carbon nanotube-Si (CNT/Si) heterojunctions, the fast relaxation dynamics occurring in CNT from the slow repopulation dynamics due to hole charge transfer at the junction. In this way we are able to track the transfer of the photogenerated holes from the Si depletion layer to the CNT layer, under the action of the built-in heterojunction potential. This also clarifies that CNT play an active role in the junction and do not act only as channels for charge collection and transport.

Selective optical switching of interface-coupled relaxation dynamics in carbon nanotube-Si heterojunctions

KAUST Repository

Ponzoni, Stefano; Galimberti, Gianluca; Sangaletti, L.; Castrucci, Paola; Del Gobbo, Silvano; Morbidoni, Maurizio; Scarselli, Manuela A.; Pagliara, Stefania

2014-01-01

By properly tuning the photon energy of a femtosecond laser pump, we disentangle, in carbon nanotube-Si (CNT/Si) heterojunctions, the fast relaxation dynamics occurring in CNT from the slow repopulation dynamics due to hole charge transfer at the junction. In this way we are able to track the transfer of the photogenerated holes from the Si depletion layer to the CNT layer, under the action of the built-in heterojunction potential. This also clarifies that CNT play an active role in the junction and do not act only as channels for charge collection and transport.

Selective modification of NMR relaxation time in human colorectal carcinoma by using gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid conjugated with monoclonal antibody 19-9.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtet, C; Tellier, C; Bohy, J; Conti, M L; Saccavini, J C; Thedrez, P; Douillard, J Y; Chatal, J F; Koprowski, H

1986-01-01

Monoclonal antibody 19-9 (mAb 19-9) against human colon adenocarcinoma was conjugated with gadolinium X diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd X DTPA) and used as a contrast agent in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in an effort to improve tumor target selectivity in nude mice. The data indicate that Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 in solution decreased the T1 relaxation of water protons at 90 MHz in direct proportion to the gadolinium concentration, and this effect was greater than in Gd X DTPA solutions. T1 relaxation time at 90 MHz, measured in tumors removed from nude mice 24 hr after injection of Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 (Gd, 20 mumol/kg; 16 DTPA molecules per mAb molecule), was significantly decreased (by 15%) as compared with the control group. Similar results were obtained in tumors from mice injected with Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 solutions in which Gd was used at 2, 6, or 10 mumol/kg (16 DTPA molecules per mAb molecule). These doses are lower than those commonly used for Gd X DTPA (10-100 mumol/kg) as contrast agent. Tumor localization by the Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 complex containing radioactive Gd (0.3 microCi/microgram of 153Gd) to confirm scintigraphy revealed significant concentrations of the complex (5% of the injected dose per gram of tissue) in the tumor. Scan images recorded in planar scintigraphy at day 5 showed good visualization of tumors. Images PMID:3459174

Studies on a novel peptide isolated and purified from rat insulinoma tissue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Akhras, G N

1987-01-01

Rat insulinoma peptide (RIP) which appears to be either a fragment of, or an altered rat C-peptide was isolated and purified by dialysis. The purity of this peptide was investigated using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulfate, isoelectric focusing, and high performance liquid chromatography. RIP may contain two peptides similar to each other but differing in their isoelectric points. The molecular weight of RIP was found to be 1982 daltons by fast atoms bombardment mass spectrometry giving a chain length of approximately 22 amino acid residues. From information obtained using radioimmunoassay employing antiserum R901, RIP appears to share a common C-terminus with rat C-peptide. A radioimmunoassay for RIP was developed using the purified RIP as immunogen and for standards and tracers. An indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rat insulinoma peptide was developed using purified RIP for immunogen and semi-purified RIP as a standard.

Heteronuclear relaxation in time-dependent spin systems: 15N-T1ρ dispersion during adiabatic fast passage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konrat, Robert; Tollinger, Martin

1999-01-01

A novel NMR experiment comprising adiabatic fast passage techniques for the measurement of heteronuclear self-relaxation rates in fully 15N-enriched proteins is described. Heteronuclear self-relaxation is monitored by performing adiabatic fast passage (AFP) experiments at variable adiabaticity (e.g., variation of RF spin-lock field intensity). The experiment encompasses gradient- selection and sensitivity-enhancement. It is shown that transverse relaxation rates derived with this method are in good agreement with the ones measured by the classical Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequences. An application of this method to the study of the carboxyl-terminal LIM domain of quail cysteine and glycine-rich protein qCRP2(LIM2) is presented

[A study on Korean concepts of relaxation].

Science.gov (United States)

Park, J S

1992-01-01

Relaxation technique is an independent nursing intervention used in various stressful situations. The concept of relaxation must be explored for the meaning given by the people in their traditional thought and philosophy. Korean relaxation technique, wanting to become culturally acceptable and effective, is learning to recognize and develop Korean concepts, experiences, and musics of relaxation. This study was aimed at discovering Korean concepts, experiences and musics of relaxation and contributing the development of the relaxation technique for Korean people. The subjects were 59 nursing students, 39 hospitalized patients, 61 housewives, 21 rural residents and 16 researchers. Data were collected from September 4th to October 24th, 1991 by interviews or questionnaires. The data analysis was done by qualitative research method, and validity assured by conformation of the concept and category by 2 nursing scientists who had written a Master's thesis on the relaxation technique. The results of the study were summarized as follows; 1. The meaning of the relaxation concept; From 298 statements, 107 concepts were extracted and then 5 categories "Physical domain", "Psychological domain", "Complex domain", "Situation", and "environment" were organized. 'Don't have discomforts, 'don't have muscle tension', 'don't have energy (him in Korean)', 'don't have activities' subcategories were included in "Physical domain". 'Don't have anxiety', 'feel good', 'emotional stability', 'don't have wordly thoughts', 'feel one's brain muddled', 'loss of desire' subcategories were included in "physical domain" 'Comfort body and mind', 'don't have tension of body and mind', 'be sagged' 'liveliness of thoughts' subcategories were included in "Complex domain". 'Rest', 'sleep', 'others' subcategories were included in "Situation domain". And 'quite environment' & 'comfortable environment' subcategories were included in "Environmental domain". 2. The experiences of the relaxation; From 151

Kaempferol enhances endothelium-dependent relaxation in the porcine coronary artery through activation of large-conductance Ca(2+) -activated K(+) channels.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Y C; Leung, S W S; Leung, G P H; Man, R Y K

2015-06-01

Kaempferol, a plant flavonoid present in normal human diet, can modulate vasomotor tone. The present study aimed to elucidate the signalling pathway through which this flavonoid enhanced relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. The effect of kaempferol on the relaxation of porcine coronary arteries to endothelium-dependent (bradykinin) and -independent (sodium nitroprusside) relaxing agents was studied in an in vitro organ chamber setup. The whole-cell patch-clamp technique was used to determine the effect of kaempferol on potassium channels in porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cells (PCASMCs). At a concentration without direct effect on vascular tone, kaempferol (3 × 10(-6) M) enhanced relaxations produced by bradykinin and sodium nitroprusside. The potentiation by kaempferol of the bradykinin-induced relaxation was not affected by N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, an inhibitor of NO synthase (10(-4) M) or TRAM-34 plus UCL 1684, inhibitors of intermediate- and small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, respectively (10(-6) M each), but was abolished by tetraethylammonium chloride, a non-selective inhibitor of calcium-activated potassium channels (10(-3) M), and iberiotoxin, a selective inhibitor of large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (KCa 1.1; 10(-7) M). Iberiotoxin also inhibited the potentiation by kaempferol of sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxations. Kaempferol stimulated an outward-rectifying current in PCASMCs, which was abolished by iberiotoxin. The present results suggest that, in smooth muscle cells of the porcine coronary artery, kaempferol enhanced relaxations caused by endothelium-derived and exogenous NO as well as those due to endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization. This vascular effect of kaempferol involved the activation of KCa 1.1 channels. © 2015 The British Pharmacological Society.

Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting with short relaxation intervals.

Science.gov (United States)

Amthor, Thomas; Doneva, Mariya; Koken, Peter; Sommer, Karsten; Meineke, Jakob; Börnert, Peter

2017-09-01

The aim of this study was to investigate a technique for improving the performance of Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) in repetitive sampling schemes, in particular for 3D MRF acquisition, by shortening relaxation intervals between MRF pulse train repetitions. A calculation method for MRF dictionaries adapted to short relaxation intervals and non-relaxed initial spin states is presented, based on the concept of stationary fingerprints. The method is applicable to many different k-space sampling schemes in 2D and 3D. For accuracy analysis, T 1 and T 2 values of a phantom are determined by single-slice Cartesian MRF for different relaxation intervals and are compared with quantitative reference measurements. The relevance of slice profile effects is also investigated in this case. To further illustrate the capabilities of the method, an application to in-vivo spiral 3D MRF measurements is demonstrated. The proposed computation method enables accurate parameter estimation even for the shortest relaxation intervals, as investigated for different sampling patterns in 2D and 3D. In 2D Cartesian measurements, we achieved a scan acceleration of more than a factor of two, while maintaining acceptable accuracy: The largest T 1 values of a sample set deviated from their reference values by 0.3% (longest relaxation interval) and 2.4% (shortest relaxation interval). The largest T 2 values showed systematic deviations of up to 10% for all relaxation intervals, which is discussed. The influence of slice profile effects for multislice acquisition is shown to become increasingly relevant for short relaxation intervals. In 3D spiral measurements, a scan time reduction of 36% was achieved, maintaining the quality of in-vivo T1 and T2 maps. Reducing the relaxation interval between MRF sequence repetitions using stationary fingerprint dictionaries is a feasible method to improve the scan efficiency of MRF sequences. The method enables fast implementations of 3D spatially

The Role of Relaxation Training to Pregnant Mothers on Health Index of Infants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SA Mosaviasl

2009-07-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Introduction & Objective: Investigations have shown that the emotional stress during the pregnancy period could have sustainable effects on the embryo. Different factors such as family members, spouse, supporting friends could relive these effects, but coping skills especially relaxation could be more effective on stress. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of relaxation training to pregnant mothers on health index such as Apgar index, weight, height, and cowlick grade in infants. Materials & Methods: This is a clinical trail in which 100 pregnant women who referred to health center of Yasuj (2006-2008 were selected using simple sampling method and assigned randomly to case and control groups. The relaxation was taught to the case group whereas nothing was taught to control groups. At the time of delivery the above mentioned indices were assessed. The gathered data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The results showed a significant difference between two groups in weight, height, cephalic index, and colic grade (with better situation in case group. There was no significant difference between two groups in Apgar scores. Conclusion: Considering the results of this study, it seems that teaching of relaxation to pregnant women could be effective in health index of children especially in the time of delivery. Therefore attention should be paid to different methods for reducing the stress in this group of mothers. Keywords: relaxation, pregnant women, infants, Apgar scores

Cooling performance of R510A in domestic water purifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Ki Jung; Lee, Yo Han; Jung, Dong Soo

2010-01-01

Cooling performance of R510A is examined both numerically and experimentally in an effort to replace HFC134a in the refrigeration system of domestic water purifiers. Although the use of HFC134a is currently dominant, it is being phased out in Europe and most developed countries due to its high potential contribution to global warming. To solve this problem, cycle simulation and experimental measurements are conducted with a new refrigerant mixture of 88%RE170/12%R600a using actual domestic water purifiers. This mixture has been recently numbered and listed as R510A by ASHRAE. Test results show that, due to the small internal volume of the refrigeration system of the domestic water purifiers, system performance with R510A is greatly influenced by the amount of charge. With the optimum charge amount of 20 to 21 g, approximately 50% that of HFC134a, the energy consumption of R510A is 22.3% lower than that of HFC134a. The compressor discharge temperature of R510A is 3.7 .deg. C lower than that of HFC134a at the optimum charge. Overall, R510A, a new, long term, and environmentally safe refrigerant, is a good alternative for HFC134a. Furthermore, it requires only minor changes in the refrigeration system of the domestic water purifiers

Use of relaxation skills in differentially skilled athletes.

OpenAIRE

Kudlackova, K.; Eccles, D. W.; Dieffenbach, K.

2013-01-01

Objectives: To examine the use of relaxation skills by differentially skilled athletes in relation to the deliberate practice framework. Design: Differentially skilled athletes completed a survey about their use of relaxation skills. Method: 150 athletes representing three skill levels (recreational, college, and professional) completed the deliberate relaxation for sport survey, which assessed relaxation on three deliberate practice dimensions (relevancy, concentration, and ...

Hyperfine relaxation of an optically pumped cesium vapor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tornos, J.; Amare, J.C.

1986-01-01

The relaxation of hyperfine orientation indirectly induced by optical pumping with a σ-polarized D 1 -light in a cesium vapor in the presence of Ar is experimentally studied. The detection technique ensures the absence of quadrupole relaxation contributions in the relaxation signals. The results from the dependences of the hyperfine relaxation rate on the temperature and argon pressure are: diffusion coefficient of Cs in Ar, D 0 = 0.101 +- 0.010 cm 2 s -1 at 0 0 C and 760 Torr; relaxation cross section by Cs-Ar collisions, σ/sub c/ = (104 +- 5) x 10 -23 cm 2 ; relaxation cross section by Cs-Cs (spin exchange) collisions, σ/sub e//sub x/ = (1.63 +- 0.13) x 10 -14 cm 2

Relaxation dynamics following transition of solvated electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnett, R.B.; Landman, U.; Nitzan, A.

1989-01-01

Relaxation dynamics following an electronic transition of an excess solvated electron in clusters and in bulk water is studied using an adiabatic simulation method. In this method the solvent evolves classically and the electron is constrained to a specified state. The coupling between the solvent and the excess electron is evaluated via the quantum expectation value of the electron--water molecule interaction potential. The relaxation following excitation (or deexcitation) is characterized by two time scales: (i) a very fast (/similar to/20--30 fs) one associated with molecular rotations in the first solvation shell about the electron, and (ii) a slower stage (/similar to/200 fs), which is of the order of the longitudinal dielectric relaxation time. The fast relaxation stage exhibits an isotope effect. The spectroscopical consequences of the relaxation dynamics are discussed

Relaxation and Distraction in Experimental Desensitization.

Science.gov (United States)

Weir, R. O.; Marshall, W. L.

1980-01-01

Compared experimental desensitization with a procedure that replaced relaxation with a distraction task and with an approach that combined both relaxation and distraction. Desensitization generally was more effective than the other two procedures. (Author)

Relaxation training after stroke: potential to reduce anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Kneebone, Ian; Walker-Samuel, Natalie; Swanston, Jennifer; Otto, Elisabeth

2014-01-01

To consider the feasibility of setting up a relaxation group to treat symptoms of post stroke anxiety in an in-patient post-acute setting; and to explore the effectiveness of relaxation training in reducing self-reported tension. A relaxation group protocol was developed in consultation with a multidisciplinary team and a user group. Over a period of 24 months, 55 stroke patients attended group autogenic relaxation training on a rehabilitation ward. Attendance ranged between one and eleven sessions. Self-reported tension was assessed pre and post relaxation training using the Tension Rating Circles (TRCs). The TRCs identified a significant reduction in self-reported tension from pre to post training, irrespective of the number of sessions attended; z = -3.656, p training. The TRCs proved acceptable to group members, but should be validated against standard anxiety measures. Further exploration of the application of relaxation techniques in clinical practice is desirable. Implications for Rehabilitation Anxiety is prevalent after stroke and likely affects rehabilitation outcomes. Relaxation training is a well proven treatment for anxiety in the non-stroke population. A significant within session reduction in tension, a hallmark symptom of anxiety, was evidenced via group relaxation training delivered in a post-acute, in-patient stroke unit setting. Relaxation training a shows promise as a treatment for anxiety after stroke.

Relaxation properties in classical diamagnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Carati, A.; Benfenati, F.; Galgani, L.

2011-06-01

It is an old result of Bohr that, according to classical statistical mechanics, at equilibrium a system of electrons in a static magnetic field presents no magnetization. Thus a magnetization can occur only in an out of equilibrium state, such as that produced through the Foucault currents when a magnetic field is switched on. It was suggested by Bohr that, after the establishment of such a nonequilibrium state, the system of electrons would quickly relax back to equilibrium. In the present paper, we study numerically the relaxation to equilibrium in a modified Bohr model, which is mathematically equivalent to a billiard with obstacles, immersed in a magnetic field that is adiabatically switched on. We show that it is not guaranteed that equilibrium is attained within the typical time scales of microscopic dynamics. Depending on the values of the parameters, one has a relaxation either to equilibrium or to a diamagnetic (presumably metastable) state. The analogy with the relaxation properties in the Fermi Pasta Ulam problem is also pointed out.

Relaxation Techniques to Manage IBS Symptoms

Science.gov (United States)

... for 15–20 seconds and then begin again. Progressive Muscle Relaxation This method of relaxation focuses on ... helpful, please consider supporting IFFGD with a small tax- deductible donation. Make Donation Adapted from IFFGD Publication # ...

Characterization and treatment of cyanide in MGP purifier wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Theis, T.L. [Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

1995-12-31

Purifier wastes were generated from the clean-up gaseous impurities, principally hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen cyanide, contained in raw gas from MGP operations through retention by iron oxide solids. These materials were generated at a rate of about 10-20 kg/1000 m{sup 3} of gas produced, and although regeneration was sometimes practised, eventual disposal as fill material, usually on site, was eventually necessary. The remediation of MGP sites generally requires that the disposition of these waste solids be addressed. The effective treatment of purifier wastes presents special problems due to the acid-base properties of the material, its elevated sulfur content, and the significant quantities of carbon both added as wood shavings and present as compounds generated as a result of gas manufacture. In broad terms, treatment approaches can be divided into two classes, those aimed at destroying the cyanide and objectionable carbon compounds and otherwise disposing of the residual, and those which attempt to isolate the waste from its surroundings. The latter approach attempts to take advantage of the natural insolubility of most of the constituents of concern found in purifier wastes, while destructive technologies limit potential liability. 9 refs.

Vibrational and Rotational Energy Relaxation in Liquids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Jakob

Vibrational and rotational energy relaxation in liquids are studied by means of computer simulations. As a precursor for studying vibrational energy relaxation of a solute molecule subsequent to the formation of a chemical bond, the validity of the classical Bersohn-Zewail model for describing......, the vibrational energy relaxation of I2 subsequent to photodissociation and recombination in CCl4 is studied using classical Molecular Dynamics simulations. The vibrational relaxation times and the time-dependent I-I pair distribution function are compared to new experimental results, and a qualitative agreement...... is found in both cases. Furthermore, the rotational energy relaxation of H2O in liquid water is studied via simulations and a power-and-work analysis. The mechanism of the energy transfer from the rotationally excited H2O molecule to its water neighbors is elucidated, i.e. the energy-accepting degrees...

Development of a water purifier for radioactive cesium removal from contaminated natural water by radiation-induced graft polymerization

Science.gov (United States)

Seko, Noriaki; Hoshina, Hiroyuki; Kasai, Noboru; Shibata, Takuya; Saiki, Seiichi; Ueki, Yuji

2018-02-01

Six years after the Fukushima-nuclear accident, the dissolved radioactive cesium (Cs) is now hardly detected in environmental natural waters. These natural waters are directly used as source of drinking and domestic waters in disaster-stricken areas in Fukushima. However, the possibility that some radioactive Cs adsorbed on soil or leaves will contaminate these natural waters during heavy rains or typhoon is always present. In order for the returning residents to live with peace of mind, it is important to demonstrate the safety of the domestic waters that they will use for their daily life. For this purpose, we have synthesized a material for selective removal of radioactive Cs by introducing ammonium 12-molybdophosphate (AMP) onto polyethylene nonwoven fabric through radiation-induced emulsion graft polymerization technique. Water purifiers filled with the grafted Cs adsorbent were installed in selected houses in Fukushima. The capability of the grafted adsorbent to remove Cs from domestic waters was evaluated for a whole year. The results showed that the tap water filtered through the developed water purifier contained no radioactive Cs, signifying the very effective adsorption performance of the developed grafted adsorbent. From several demonstrations, we have commercialized the water purifier named "KranCsair®". Furthermore, we have also developed a method for the mass production of the grafted nonwoven fabric. Using a 30 L grafting reactor, it was possible to produce the grafted nonwoven fabric with a suitable range of degree of grafting. When an irradiated roll of nonwoven trunk fabric with a length of 10 m and a width of 30 cm was set in the reactor filled with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), AMP, Tween 80 monomer emulsion solution at 40 °C for 1 h, the difference of Dgs in the length and the width on roll of fabrics was negligible.

Interstitial relaxations due to hydrostatic stress in niobium--oxygen alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tewari, S.N.

1974-01-01

Experimental investigations of the anelastic relaxation induced by hydrostatic stress in the range from ambient to 81 ksi were made for niobium--oxygen alloys. The anelastic responses, both for the pressurization and the pressure release experiments, were followed by measuring the relative length change between the oxygenated niobium sample and a pure niobium frame with a precision of about 2 A. The relaxation spectrum observed was shown to be made up of three distinct relaxations with unique relaxation times and strengths. The pressure dependence of the relaxation times gave the apparent activation volume for these relaxations of the order of 4 cm 3 /mole. The relaxations were observed to have relaxation strengths of the order of 10 -4 which were found to be independent of pressure up to 81 ksi. The relaxation times for these relaxations were found to occur in the same general temperature range as those for the Snoek relaxations of oxygen clusters in niobium. The temperature dependence of the relaxation times, however, gave activation energies of about 11 to 15 kcal/mole, as compared with roughly 27 to 29 kcal/mole for the Snoek relaxation of oxygen clusters in niobium. Several possible models for these relaxations were developed, however, none could predict the observed temperature dependence. The best interpretation of the data is that due to some anomalous competing relaxation the actual temperature dependence of these relaxations could not be observed. A completely self-consistent analysis is found which is based upon this assumption. (U.S.)

Relaxed Bell inequalities and Kochen-Specker theorems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, Michael J. W. [Theoretical Physics, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

2011-08-15

The combination of various physically plausible properties, such as no signaling, determinism, and experimental free will, is known to be incompatible with quantum correlations. Hence, these properties must be individually or jointly relaxed in any model of such correlations. The necessary degrees of relaxation are quantified here via natural distance and information-theoretic measures. This allows quantitative comparisons between different models in terms of the resources, such as the number of bits of randomness, communication, and/or correlation, that they require. For example, measurement dependence is a relatively strong resource for modeling singlet-state correlations, with only 1/15 of one bit of correlation required between measurement settings and the underlying variable. It is shown how various ''relaxed'' Bell inequalities may be obtained, which precisely specify the complementary degrees of relaxation required to model any given violation of a standard Bell inequality. The robustness of a class of Kochen-Specker theorems, to relaxation of measurement independence, is also investigated. It is shown that a theorem of Mermin remains valid unless measurement independence is relaxed by 1/3. The Conway-Kochen ''free will'' theorem and a result of Hardy are less robust, failing if measurement independence is relaxed by only 6.5% and 4.5%, respectively. An appendix shows that existence of an outcome-independent model is equivalent to existence of a deterministic model.

F-center mechanism of long-term relaxation in lead zirconate-titanate-based piezoelectric ceramics. 1. After-heating relaxation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. M. Ishchuk

2015-12-01

The oxygen vacancies-based model for description of the long-time relaxation processes is suggested. The model takes into account oxygen vacancies on the sample’s surface ends, their conversion into F+- and F0-centers under external effects (due to the liberation of the pyroelectric charge and subsequent relaxation of these centers into the simple oxygen vacancies after the actions termination. The initial sample’s state is electroneutrality one. F-center formation leads to the violation of the original sample’s electroneutrality, and generates DC electric field into the sample. Relaxation of F-centers is accompanied by decreasing of electric field, induced by them, and dielectric constant relaxation as consequent effect.

Full scale demonstration of air-purifying pavement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ballari, M.; Brouwers, H.J.H.

2013-01-01

Experiments concerning a full-scale demonstration of air purifying pavement in Hengelo, The Netherlands, are reported. The full width of the street was provided with concrete pavement containing TiO2 over a length of 150 m ("DeNOx street"). Another part of the street, about 100 m, was paved with

The effect of preferred music genre selection versus preferred song selection on experimentally induced anxiety levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Walworth, Darcy DeLoach

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of experimentally induced anxiety levels reached by subjects listening to no music (n = 30), subjects listening to music selected by the experimenter from the subject's preferred genre or artist listed as relaxing (n = 30), and subjects listening to a specific song they listed as relaxing (n = 30). Subjects consisted of 90 individuals, male and female, randomly assigned to one of the three groups mentioned above. Subjects in either music group filled out a questionnaire prior to participating in the study indicating their preference of music used for relaxation purposes. Subjects in Experimental Group 1 marked their preferred genres and/or artists, and Experimental Group 2 marked specific songs used for relaxation purposes. While the experimenter hypothesized subjects in Experimental Group 2 would show less anxiety than both the control group and Experimental Group 1, there were no significant differences found between the 2 music groups in anxiety levels reached. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the no music control group and both music groups in the anxiety level reached by subjects. Subjects listening to music, both songs chosen by the experimenter and subject selected songs, showed significantly less anxiety than subjects not listening to music.

Cross-relaxation in multiple pulse NQR spin-locking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beltjukov, P. A.; Kibrik, G. E. [Perm State University, Physics Department (Russian Federation); Furman, G. B., E-mail: gregoryf@bgu.ac.il; Goren, S. D. [Ben Gurion University, Physics Department (Israel)

2008-01-15

The experimental and theoretical NQR multiple-pulse spin locking study of cross-relaxation process in solids containing nuclei of two different sorts I > 1/2 and S = 1/2 coupled by the dipole-dipole interactions and influenced by an external magnetic field. Two coupled equations for the inverse spin temperatures of the both spin systems describing the mutual spin lattice relaxation and the cross-relaxation were obtained using the method of the nonequilibrium state operator. It is shown that the relaxation process is realized with non-exponential time dependence describing by a sum of two exponents. The cross relaxation time is calculated as a function of the multiple-pulse field parameters which agree with the experimental data. The calculated magnetization cross relaxation time vs the strength of the applied magnetic field agrees well with the obtained experimental data.

Collisional relaxation of electron tail distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamagiwa, Mitsuru; Okamoto, Masao.

1985-05-01

Relaxation due to the Coulomb collisions of the electron velocity distribution function with a high energy tail is investigated in detail. In the course of the relaxation, a 'saddle' point can be created in velocity space owing to upsilon -3 dependence of the deflection rate and a positive slope or a 'dip' appears in the tail direction. The time evolution of the electron tail is studied analytically. A comparison is made with numerical results by using a Fokker-Planck code. Also discussed is the kinetic instability concerned with the positive slope during the relaxation. (author)

Kaempferol enhances endothelium-dependent relaxation in the porcine coronary artery through activation of large-conductance a2+-activated K+ channels

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Y C; Leung, S W S; Leung, G P H; Man, R Y K

2015-01-01

Background and Purpose Kaempferol, a plant flavonoid present in normal human diet, can modulate vasomotor tone. The present study aimed to elucidate the signalling pathway through which this flavonoid enhanced relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. Experimental Approach The effect of kaempferol on the relaxation of porcine coronary arteries to endothelium-dependent (bradykinin) and -independent (sodium nitroprusside) relaxing agents was studied in an in vitro organ chamber setup. The whole-cell patch-clamp technique was used to determine the effect of kaempferol on potassium channels in porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cells (PCASMCs). Key Results At a concentration without direct effect on vascular tone, kaempferol (3 × 10−6 M) enhanced relaxations produced by bradykinin and sodium nitroprusside. The potentiation by kaempferol of the bradykinin-induced relaxation was not affected by Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, an inhibitor of NO synthase (10−4 M) or TRAM-34 plus UCL 1684, inhibitors of intermediate- and small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, respectively (10−6 M each), but was abolished by tetraethylammonium chloride, a non-selective inhibitor of calcium-activated potassium channels (10−3 M), and iberiotoxin, a selective inhibitor of large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (KCa1.1; 10−7 M). Iberiotoxin also inhibited the potentiation by kaempferol of sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxations. Kaempferol stimulated an outward-rectifying current in PCASMCs, which was abolished by iberiotoxin. Conclusions and Implications The present results suggest that, in smooth muscle cells of the porcine coronary artery, kaempferol enhanced relaxations caused by endothelium-derived and exogenous NO as well as those due to endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization. This vascular effect of kaempferol involved the activation of KCa1.1 channels. PMID:25652142

DO FOOT REFLEXOLOGY AND RELAXATION TRAINING DECREASE PREMENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS IN ADOLESCENT FEMALES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marwa A. Mohamed

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Premenstrual syndrome is a current condition characterized by troublesome symptoms as tension, irritability, depression, headache, anxiety and loss of self-control, so the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foot reflexology augmented with relaxation training on premenstrual syndrome in adolescent females. Methods: A sample of 50 volunteers, virgin females diagnosed as premenstrual syndrome was selected from the students of Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University. Their age was ranged between 19 to 23 years with mean value of (21.53±2.27 yrs and BMI was ≤28 Kg/m² with mean value of (24.04±2.41 Kg/m².A detailed medical history was obtained to screen other pathological conditions that may affect the results. Females were randomly assigned into two equal groups. Group (A consisted of 25 subjects who received foot reflexology in addition to relaxation training techniques twice a week for 8 weeks. Group (B consisted of 25 patients, who received relaxation training techniques only twice a week for 8 weeks. Assessment of all subjects in both groups was carried out before and after the treatment program through heart rate, respiratory rate in addition to plasma cortisol level and daily symptoms report chart. Results: Showed a statistical highly significant decrease (p<0.001 in heart rate, respiratory rate, plasma cortisol level as well as daily symptoms report score in group (A while there was a statistical significant decrease (p<0.05 in all variables in group (B. Conclusions: Adding foot reflexology to relaxation training had a great positive effect on premenstrual syndrome in adolescent females than relaxation training only.

[Studies on the process of Herba Clinopodii saponins purified with macroporous adsorption resin].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yi; Yan, Dan; Han, Yumei

2005-10-01

To study the technological parameters of the purification process of saponins with macroporous adsorption resin. The adsorptive characteristics and elutive parameters of the process were studied by taking the elutive and purified ratio of saponins as markers. 11.4 ml of the extraction of Herba Clinopodii (crude drugs 0.2 g/ml) was purified with a column of macroporous adsorption resin (phi15 mm x H90 mm, dry weight 2.5 g) and washed with 3BV of distilled water, then eluted with 3BV of 30% ethanol and 3BV of 70% ethanol. Most of saponins were collected in the 70% ethanol. With macroporous adsorption resin adsorbing and purifying,the elutive ratio of saponins is 86.8% and the purity reaches 153.2%. So this process of applying macroporous adsorption resin to adsorb and purify Saponins is feasible.

Multi-region relaxed Hall magnetohydrodynamics with flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lingam, Manasvi, E-mail: mlingam@princeton.edu [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 (United States); Abdelhamid, Hamdi M., E-mail: hamdi@ppl.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8561 (Japan); Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516 (Egypt); Hudson, Stuart R., E-mail: shudson@pppl.gov [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)

2016-08-15

The recent formulations of multi-region relaxed magnetohydrodynamics (MRxMHD) have generalized the famous Woltjer-Taylor states by incorporating a collection of “ideal barriers” that prevent global relaxation and flow. In this paper, we generalize MRxMHD with flow to include Hall effects, and thereby obtain the partially relaxed counterparts of the famous double Beltrami states as a special subset. The physical and mathematical consequences arising from the introduction of the Hall term are also presented. We demonstrate that our results (in the ideal MHD limit) constitute an important subset of ideal MHD equilibria, and we compare our approach against other variational principles proposed for deriving the partially relaxed states.

Dielectric Relaxation of Water: Theory and Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adhikari, Narayan Prasad; Paudyal, Harihar; Johri, Manoj

2010-06-01

We have studied the hydrogen bond dynamics and methods for evaluation of probability and relaxation time for hydrogen bond network. Further, dielectric relaxation time has been calculated by using a diagonalization procedure by obtaining eigen values (inverse of relaxation time) of a master equation framed on the basis of Fokker-Planck equations. Microwave cavity spectrometer has been described to make measurements of relaxation time. Slater's perturbation equations are given for the analysis of the data. A comparison of theoretical and experimental data shows that there is a need for improvements in the theoretical model and experimental techniques to provide exact information about structural properties of water. (author)

76 FR 29191 - Purified Carboxymethylcellulose From Finland and the Netherlands: Continuation of Antidumping...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-20

... Carboxymethylcellulose From Finland and the Netherlands: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Orders AGENCY: Import... antidumping duty orders on purified carboxymethylcellulose from Finland and the Netherlands would likely lead...) from Finland and the Netherlands. See Notice of Antidumping Duty Orders: Purified...

78 FR 9884 - Purified Carboxymethylcellulose From the Netherlands: Final Results of Antidumping Duty...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-12

... Carboxymethylcellulose From the Netherlands: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final No... carboxymethylcellulose (purified CMC) from the Netherlands.\\1\\ This review covers two respondents, Akzo Nobel Functional... Review'' section of this notice. \\1\\ See Purified Carboxymethylcellulose From the Netherlands...

Composition and Potency Characterization of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis Purified Protein Derivatives.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Randal T Capsel

Full Text Available Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP purified protein derivatives (PPDs are immunologic reagents prepared from cultured filtrates of the type strain. Traditional production consists of floating culture incubation at 37°C, organism inactivation by autoclaving, coarse filtration, and protein precipitation. Three traditional production PPDs were used in this study including lot 9801, which served as a reference and has been used in the field for decades. Alternative production PPDs (0902A and 0902B, in which the autoclaving step was removed, were also analyzed in this study. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed protein smearing in traditional PPDs, but distinct bands were observed in the alternative PPD preparations. Antibody bound distinct protein bands in the alternative PPDs by immunoblot analysis, whereas an immunoreactive smear was observed with the traditional PPDs. Mass spectrometry identified 194 proteins among three PPD lots representing the two different production methods, ten of which were present in all PPDs examined. Selected proteins identified by mass spectrometry were recombinantly expressed and purified from E. coli and evaluated by the guinea pig potency test. Seven recombinant proteins showed greater erythema as compared to the reference PPD lot 9801 in paired guinea pigs and were able to stimulate interferon-gamma production in blood from Johne's positive animals. These results suggest that autoclaving culture suspensions is not a necessary step in PPD production and specific proteins could supplant the PPD antigen for intradermal skin testing procedures and for use as in-vitro assay reagents.

Charge carrier relaxation model in disordered organic semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Nianduan; Li, Ling; Sun, Pengxiao; Liu, Ming

2013-01-01

The relaxation phenomena of charge carrier in disordered organic semiconductors have been demonstrated and investigated theoretically. An analytical model describing the charge carrier relaxation is proposed based on the pure hopping transport theory. The relation between the material disorder, electric field and temperature and the relaxation phenomena has been discussed in detail, respectively. The calculated results reveal that the increase of electric field and temperature can promote the relaxation effect in disordered organic semiconductors, while the increase of material disorder will weaken the relaxation. The proposed model can explain well the stretched-exponential law by adopting the appropriate parameters. The calculation shows a good agreement with the experimental data for organic semiconductors

Effects of distribution function nonequilibrium tails on relaxation and transfer processes in rarefied gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grigoryev, Yu.N.; Mikhalitsyn, A.N.; Yanenko, N.N.

1984-01-01

Quantitative characteristics of the nonmonotone relaxation process are studied in a gas of pseudo-Maxwell molecules. Basic results are obtained by a direct numerical integration of the nonlinear Boltzmann equation. The evolution of initial distributions being finite or having exponential asymptotics of tails was researched. In particular, initial data obtained by selective excitation (absorption) against the Maxwell background encountered in laser physics problems have been considered. It is shown that under conditions of a developed effect of nonmonotone relaxation the overpopulation in the velocity range 4 <= upsilon <= 10 exceeds on the average 2-3 times the equilibrium value. For the given particles energy the excitation is preserved during t = 5/6 and the total relaxation time of the overpopulation wave reaches t asymptotically equals 20. The amplitudes and the relaxation time of overpopulation in the ''cupola'' region of distribution are substantially lower than in the case of a developed effect in the tail. The influence of the effect on the kinetics of threshold chemical reaction is studied. From the results it follows that in the process of nonmonotone relaxation the mean rates of binary threshold reactions can exceed more than twice the equilibrium values. This estimate is valid for all power like intermolecular repulsive potentials from the pseudo-Maxwell model up to rigid spheres. Time intervals over which the mean reaction rate exceeds considerably the equilibrium one make from 5 to 15 mean free path times increasing with the decrease in the potential ''rigidity''. (author)

Universal relaxation times for electron and nucleon gases

OpenAIRE

Pelc, M.; Marciak-Kozlowska, J.; Kozlowski, M.

2007-01-01

In this paper we calculate the universal relaxation times for electron and nucleon fermionic gases. We argue that the universal relaxation time tau(i) is equal tau(i)=h/m square v(i) where v(i)=alpha(i)c and alpha(1)=0.15 for nucleon gas and alpha(2)=1/137 for electron gas, c=light velocity. With the universal relaxation time we formulate the thermal Proca equation for fermionic gases. Key words: universal relaxation time, thermal universal Proca equation.

Anomalous relaxation and self-organization in nonequilibrium processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fatkullin, Ibrahim; Kladko, Konstantin; Mitkov, Igor; Bishop, A. R.

2001-01-01

We study thermal relaxation in ordered arrays of coupled nonlinear elements with external driving. We find that our model exhibits dynamic self-organization manifested in a universal stretched-exponential form of relaxation. We identify two types of self-organization, cooperative and anticooperative, which lead to fast and slow relaxation, respectively. We give a qualitative explanation for the behavior of the stretched exponent in different parameter ranges. We emphasize that this is a system exhibiting stretched-exponential relaxation without explicit disorder or frustration

Spin relaxation of iron in mixed state hemoproteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wajnberg, E.; Kalinowski, H.J.; Bemski, G.; Helman, J.S.

1984-01-01

In pure states hemoproteins the relaxation of iron depends on its spin state. It is found that in both mixed state met-hemoglobin and met-myoglobin, the low and high spin states relax through an Orbach-like process. Also, very short (approx. 1 ns) and temperature independent transverse relaxation times T 2 were estimated. This peculiar behaviour of the relaxation may result from the unusual electronic structure of mixed state hemoproteins that allows thermal equilibrium and interconversion of the spin states. (Author) [pt

Superparamagnetic relaxation of weakly interacting particles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mørup, Steen; Tronc, Elisabeth

1994-01-01

The influence of particle interactions on the superparamagnetic relaxation time has been studied by Mossbauer spectroscopy in samples of maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) particles with different particle sizes and particle separations. It is found that the relaxation time decreases with decreasing particl...

Effect of an Ethanol Extract of Scutellaria baicalensis on Relaxation in Corpus Cavernosum Smooth Muscle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiang Li

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Aims of study. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether an ethanol extract of Scutellaria baicalensis (ESB relaxes penile corpus cavernosum muscle in organ bath experiments. Materials and methods. Changes in tension of cavernous smooth muscle strips were determined by penile strip chamber model and in penile perfusion model. Isolated endothelium-intact rabbit corpus cavernosum was precontracted with phenylephrine (PE and then treated with ESB. Results. ESB relaxed penile smooth muscle in a dose-dependent manner, and this was inhibited by pre-treatment with NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, a nitric oxide (NO synthase inhibitor, and 1H-[1, 2, 4]-oxadiazolo-[4,3-α]-quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ, a soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC inhibitor. ESB-induced relaxation was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with tetraethylammonium (TEA, a nonselective K+ channel blocker, and charybdotoxin, a selective Ca2+-dependent K+ channel inhibitor. ESB increased the cGMP levels of rabbit corpus cavernosum in a concentration-dependent manner without changes in cAMP levels. In a perfusion model of penile tissue, ESB also relaxed penile corpus cavernosum smooth muscle in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion. Taken together, these results suggest that ESB relaxed rabbit cavernous smooth muscle via the NO/cGMP system and Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels in the corpus cavernosum.

Stress Relaxation in Entangled Polymer Melts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hou, Ji-Xuan; Svaneborg, Carsten; Everaers, Ralf

2010-01-01

We present an extensive set of simulation results for the stress relaxation in equilibrium and step-strained bead-spring polymer melts. The data allow us to explore the chain dynamics and the shear relaxation modulus, G(t), into the plateau regime for chains with Z=40 entanglements...... and into the terminal relaxation regime for Z=10. Using the known (Rouse) mobility of unentangled chains and the melt entanglement length determined via the primitive path analysis of the microscopic topological state of our systems, we have performed parameter-free tests of several different tube models. We find...

Proteomic analysis of purified coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus particles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu Dingming

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV is the coronavirus of domestic chickens causing major economic losses to the poultry industry. Because of the complexity of the IBV life cycle and the small number of viral structural proteins, important virus-host relationships likely remain to be discovered. Toward this goal, we performed two-dimensional gel electrophoresis fractionation coupled to mass spectrometry identification approaches to perform a comprehensive proteomic analysis of purified IBV particles. Results Apart from the virus-encoded structural proteins, we detected 60 host proteins in the purified virions which can be grouped into several functional categories including intracellular trafficking proteins (20%, molecular chaperone (18%, macromolcular biosynthesis proteins (17%, cytoskeletal proteins (15%, signal transport proteins (15%, protein degradation (8%, chromosome associated proteins (2%, ribosomal proteins (2%, and other function proteins (3%. Interestingly, 21 of the total host proteins have not been reported to be present in virions of other virus families, such as major vault protein, TENP protein, ovalbumin, and scavenger receptor protein. Following identification of the host proteins by proteomic methods, the presence of 4 proteins in the purified IBV preparation was verified by western blotting and immunogold labeling detection. Conclusions The results present the first standard proteomic profile of IBV and may facilitate the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms.

Relaxation processes during amorphous metal alloys heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malinochka, E.Ya.; Durachenko, A.M.; Borisov, V.T.

1982-01-01

Behaviour of Te+15 at.%Ge and Fe+13 at.%P+7 at.%C amorphous metal alloys during heating has been studied using the method of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as the most convenient one for determination of the value of heat effects, activation energies, temperature ranges of relaxation processes. Thermal effects corresponding to high-temperature relaxation processes taking place during amorphous metal alloys (AMA) heating are detected. The change of ratio of relaxation peaks values on DSC curves as a result of AMA heat treatment can be explained by the presence of a number of levels of inner energy in amorphous system, separated with potential barriers, the heights of which correspond to certain activation energies of relaxation processes

Improved memristor-based relaxation oscillator

KAUST Repository

Mosad, Ahmed G.

2013-09-01

This paper presents an improved memristor-based relaxation oscillator which offers higher frequency and wider tunning range than the existing reactance-less oscillators. It also has the capability of operating on two positive supplies or alternatively a positive and negative supply. Furthermore, it has the advantage that it can be fully integrated on-chip providing an area-efficient solution. On the other hand, The oscillation concept is discussed then a complete mathematical analysis of the proposed oscillator is introduced. Furthermore, the power consumption of the new relaxation circuit is discussed and validated by the PSPICE circuit simulations showing an excellent agreement. MATLAB results are also introduced to demonstrate the resistance range and the corresponding frequency range which can be obtained from the proposed relaxation oscillator. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Relaxation processes in optically excites metal clusters; Relaxationsprozesse in optisch angeregten Metallclustern

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stanzel, J.

2007-08-10

The present work is concerned with the dynamics of optically excited metal clusters in the gas phase. Small mass-selected gold and tungsten cluster anions (Au{sup -}{sub n}, n=5-8, 14, 20 and W{sup -}{sub n}, n=3-14) are studied using femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Depending on the electronic structure in the valence region as well as on the optical excitation energy fundamentally different relaxation processes are observed. In small gold cluster anions excited with 1.56 eV an isolated electronically excited state is populated. The time-dependent measurements are strongly sizedependent and open insights into photoinduced geometry changes of the nuclear framework. Oscillatory vibrational wavepacket motion in Au{sup -}{sub 5}, an extremely longlived ({tau} >90 ns) electronically excited state in Au{sup -}{sub 6} as well as photoinduced melting in Au{sup -}{sub 7} and Au{sup -}{sub 8} is monitored in real time. By increasing the OPTICAL excitation energy to 3.12 eV a completely different scenario is observed. A multitude of electronically excited states can be reached upon optical excitation and as a consequence electronic relaxation processes that take place on a time scale of 1 ps are dominating. This is shown for Au{sup -}{sub 7}, Au{sup -}{sub 14} and Au{sup -}{sub 20}. Compared to gold clusters, tungsten clusters are characterized by a significantly higher electronic density of states in the valence region. Therefore electronic relaxation processes are much more likely and take place on a significantly faster time scale. The fast electronic relaxation processes are distinguished from pure vibrational relaxation. It is shown that already in the four atomic tungsten cluster W{sup -}{sub 4} electronic relaxation processes take place on a time scale of 30 fs. In all investigated tungsten cluster anions (W{sup -}{sub n}, n=3-14) an equilibrium between electronic and vibrational system is reached within around 1 ps after optical excitation which

Parameterization of NMR relaxation curves in terms of logarithmic moments of the relaxation time distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrov, Oleg V; Stapf, Siegfried

2017-06-01

This work addresses the problem of a compact and easily comparable representation of multi-exponential relaxation data. It is often convenient to describe such data in a few parameters, all being of physical significance and easy to interpret, and in such a way that enables a model-free comparison between different groups of samples. Logarithmic moments (LMs) of the relaxation time constitute a set of parameters which are related to the characteristic relaxation time on the log-scale, the width and the asymmetry of an underlying distribution of exponentials. On the other hand, the calculation of LMs does not require knowing the actual distribution function and is reduced to a numerical integration of original data. The performance of this method has been tested on both synthetic and experimental NMR relaxation data which differ in a signal-to-noise ratio, the sampling range and the sampling rate. The calculation of two lower-order LMs, the log-mean time and the log-variance, has proved robust against deficiencies of the experiment such as scattered data point and incomplete sampling. One may consider using them as such to monitor formation of a heterogeneous structure, e.g., in phase separation, vitrification, polymerization, hydration, aging, contrast agent propagation processes. It may also assist in interpreting frequency and temperature dependences of relaxation, revealing a crossover from slow to fast exchange between populations. The third LM was found to be a less reliable quantity due to its susceptibility to the noise and must be used with caution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parameterization of NMR relaxation curves in terms of logarithmic moments of the relaxation time distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Petrov, Oleg V.; Stapf, Siegfried

2017-06-01

This work addresses the problem of a compact and easily comparable representation of multi-exponential relaxation data. It is often convenient to describe such data in a few parameters, all being of physical significance and easy to interpret, and in such a way that enables a model-free comparison between different groups of samples. Logarithmic moments (LMs) of the relaxation time constitute a set of parameters which are related to the characteristic relaxation time on the log-scale, the width and the asymmetry of an underlying distribution of exponentials. On the other hand, the calculation of LMs does not require knowing the actual distribution function and is reduced to a numerical integration of original data. The performance of this method has been tested on both synthetic and experimental NMR relaxation data which differ in a signal-to-noise ratio, the sampling range and the sampling rate. The calculation of two lower-order LMs, the log-mean time and the log-variance, has proved robust against deficiencies of the experiment such as scattered data point and incomplete sampling. One may consider using them as such to monitor formation of a heterogeneous structure, e.g., in phase separation, vitrification, polymerization, hydration, aging, contrast agent propagation processes. It may also assist in interpreting frequency and temperature dependences of relaxation, revealing a crossover from slow to fast exchange between populations. The third LM was found to be a less reliable quantity due to its susceptibility to the noise and must be used with caution.

Vibrational-rotational relaxation of the simplest hydrogen-containing molecules (review)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molevich, N.E.; Oraevskii, A.N.

1987-01-01

In connection with the development of chemical lasers much attention is now devoted to the study of kinetic processes is gaseous mixtures containing the hydrogen halides. Vibrational relaxation of molecules if primarily studied without specifying its relation to the rational levels. Rotational relaxation is regarded a priori as faster than vibrational relaxation, so that the population of the rotational levels is assumed to be in equilibrium. This approach to the relaxation of hydrogen halide molecules (and other diatomic hydrogen-containing molecules), however, is unable to explain satisfactorily the results of the papers discussed below. An analysis of the data obtained in these papers leads to the conclusion that the general picture of relaxation in diatomic hydrogen-containing molecules must be viewed as a unified process of vibrational and rotational relaxation. It is shown that those effects observed during vibrational relaxation of such molecules which are unusual from the standpoint of the theory of vibrational-translational relaxation are well explained in terms of intermolecular vibrational-rotational relaxation together with pure rotational relaxation

Simulation study of stepwise relaxation in a spheromak plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horiuchi, Ritoku; Uchida, Masaya; Sato, Tetsuya.

1991-10-01

The energy relaxation process of a spheromak plasma in a flux conserver is investigated by means of a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation. The resistive decay of an initial force-free profile brings the spheromak plasma to an m = 1/n = 2 ideal kink unstable region. It is found that the energy relaxation takes place in two steps; namely, the relaxation consists of two physically distinguished phases, and there exists an intermediate phase in between, during which the relaxation becomes inactive temporarily. The first relaxation corresponds to the transition from an axially symmetric force-free state to a helically symmetric one with an n = 2 crescent magnetic island structure via the helical kink instability. The n = 2 helical structure is nonlinearly sustained in the intermediate phase. The helical twisting of the flux tube creates a reconnection current in the vicinity of the geometrical axis. The second relaxation is triggered by the rapid growth of the n = 1 mode when the reconnection current exceeds a critical value. The helical twisting relaxes through magnetic reconnection toward an axially symmetric force-free state. It is also found that the poloidal flux reduces during the helical twisting in the first relaxation and the generation of the toroidal flux occurs through the magnetic reconnection process in the second relaxation. (author)

Superparamagnetic relaxation in alpha-Fe particles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Franz; Mørup, Steen; Pedersen, Michael Stanley

1998-01-01

The superparamagnetic relaxation time of carbon-supported alpha-Fe particles with an average size of 3.0 Mm has been studied over a large temperature range by the use of Mossbauer spectroscopy combined with AC and DC magnetization measurements. It is found that the relaxation time varies...

The Efficacy of Relaxation Training in Treating Anxiety

Science.gov (United States)

Francesco, Pagnini; Mauro, Manzoni Gian; Gianluca, Castelnuovo; Enrico, Molinari

2009-01-01

This paper provides a review of scientific literature about relaxation training and its effects on anxiety. Research investigating progressive relaxation, meditation, applied relaxation and autogenic training were considered. All these methods proved to be effective in reducing anxiety in all kind of samples, affected or not by physical or…

Magnetic relaxation in analytical, coordination and bioinorganic chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikhajlov, O.

1982-01-01

Nuclear magnetic relaxation is a special type of nuclear magnetic resonance in which the rate is measured of energy transfer between the excited nuclei and their molecular medium (spin-lattice relaxation) or the whole nuclear spin system (spin-spin relaxation). Nuclear magnetic relaxation relates to nuclei with a spin of 1/2, primarily H 1 1 , and is mainly measured in water solutions. It is suitable for (1) analytical chemistry because the relaxation time rapidly reduces in the presence of paramagnetic ions, (2) the study of complex compounds, (3) the study of biochemical reactions in the presence of different metal ions. It is also suitable for testing the composition of a flowing liquid. Its disadvantage is that it requires complex and expensive equipment. (Ha)

Structural relaxation in annealed hyperquenched basaltic glasses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Xiaoju; Mauro, John C.; Potuzak, M.

2012-01-01

The enthalpy relaxation behavior of hyperquenched (HQ) and annealed hyperquenched (AHQ) basaltic glass is investigated through calorimetric measurements. The results reveal a common onset temperature of the glass transition for all the HQ and AHQ glasses under study, indicating that the primary...... relaxation is activated at the same temperature regardless of the initial departure from equilibrium. The analysis of secondary relaxation at different annealing temperatures provides insights into the enthalpy recovery of HQ glasses....

Relaxed states of tokamak plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucinski, M.Y.; Okano, V.

1993-01-01

The relaxed states of tokamak plasmas are studied. It is assumed that the plasma relaxes to a quasi-steady state which is characterized by a minimum entropy production rate, compatible with a number of prescribed conditions and pressure balance. A poloidal current arises naturally due to the anisotropic resistivity. The minimum entropy production theory is applied, assuming the pressure equilibrium as fundamental constraint on the final state. (L.C.J.A.)

Negative magnetic relaxation in superconductors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krasnoperov E.P.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available It was observed that the trapped magnetic moment of HTS tablets or annuli increases in time (negative relaxation if they are not completely magnetized by a pulsed magnetic field. It is shown, in the framework of the Bean critical-state model, that the radial temperature gradient appearing in tablets or annuli during a pulsed field magnetization can explain the negative magnetic relaxation in the superconductor.

Relaxation effects in ferrous complexes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicolini, C.; Mathieu, J.P.; Chappert, J.

1976-01-01

The slow relaxation mechanism of the Fe 2+ ion in the tri-fluorinated TF(acac) and hexafluorinated HF(acac) complexes of Fe(II) acetylacetonate was investigated. The 300K and 77K Moessbauer spectra for TF(acac) consist in a slightly asymmetric quadrupole doublet. On the contrary, at 4.2K the higher energy line is strongly widened; that is typical of a slowing down in the electron relaxation frequency [fr

21 CFR 880.6500 - Medical ultraviolet air purifier.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Medical ultraviolet air purifier. 880.6500 Section 880.6500 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... to ultraviolet radiation. (b) Classification. Class II (performance standards). ...

Ultrasonic-resonator-combined apparatus for purifying nuclear aerosol particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hou, Suxia; Zhang, Quanhu; Li, Sufen; Chen, Chen; Su, Xianghua [Xi' an Hi-Tech Institute, Xi' an (China)

2017-12-15

The radiation hazards of radionuclides in the air arising from the storage room of nuclear devices to the operators cannot be ignored. A new ultrasonic-resonator-combined method for purifying nuclear aerosol particles is introduced. To remove particles with diameters smaller than 0.3 μm, an ultrasonic chamber is induced to agglomerate these submicron particles. An apparatus which is used to purify the nuclear aerosol particles is described in the article. The apparatus consists of four main parts: two filtering systems, an ultrasonic chamber and a high-pressure electrostatic precipitator system. Finally, experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the implementation of the ultrasonic resonators. The feasibility of the method is proven by its application to the data analysis of the experiments.

Spin transport and relaxation in graphene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han Wei; McCreary, K.M.; Pi, K.; Wang, W.H.; Li Yan; Wen, H.; Chen, J.R.; Kawakami, R.K.

2012-01-01

We review our recent work on spin injection, transport and relaxation in graphene. The spin injection and transport in single layer graphene (SLG) were investigated using nonlocal magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. Spin injection was performed using either transparent contacts (Co/SLG) or tunneling contacts (Co/MgO/SLG). With tunneling contacts, the nonlocal MR was increased by a factor of ∼1000 and the spin injection/detection efficiency was greatly enhanced from ∼1% (transparent contacts) to ∼30%. Spin relaxation was investigated on graphene spin valves using nonlocal Hanle measurements. For transparent contacts, the spin lifetime was in the range of 50-100 ps. The effects of surface chemical doping showed that for spin lifetimes in the order of 100 ps, charged impurity scattering (Au) was not the dominant mechanism for spin relaxation. While using tunneling contacts to suppress the contact-induced spin relaxation, we observed the spin lifetimes as long as 771 ps at room temperature, 1.2 ns at 4 K in SLG, and 6.2 ns at 20 K in bilayer graphene (BLG). Furthermore, contrasting spin relaxation behaviors were observed in SLG and BLG. We found that Elliot-Yafet spin relaxation dominated in SLG at low temperatures whereas Dyakonov-Perel spin relaxation dominated in BLG at low temperatures. Gate tunable spin transport was studied using the SLG property of gate tunable conductivity and incorporating different types of contacts (transparent and tunneling contacts). Consistent with theoretical predictions, the nonlocal MR was proportional to the SLG conductivity for transparent contacts and varied inversely with the SLG conductivity for tunneling contacts. Finally, bipolar spin transport in SLG was studied and an electron-hole asymmetry was observed for SLG spin valves with transparent contacts, in which nonlocal MR was roughly independent of DC bias current for electrons, but varied significantly with DC bias current for holes. These results are very important for

Effect of streamer plasma air purifier on sbs symptoms and performance of office work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, X.J.; Fang, Lei; Wargocki, Pawel

2011-01-01

Subjective experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of a streamer plasma air purifier on perceived air quality, SBS symptoms and performance of office work during 5-hour exposure of 32 recruited subjects in field laboratory in which real materials were used to establishing a realistic...... level of air pollution. Intensity of SBS symptoms were indicated using visual-analogue scales. Subjects’ performance was evaluated with several computer tasks. The results show that operation of the air purifiers improved perceived air quality and reduced the odor intensity of indoor air. Eye dryness...... symptom was found significantly improved when the air purifiers were used but no other SBS symptoms or performance of office work were improved when the air purifiers were in operation compared to the condition when they were off....

Gut Microbiota Co-microevolution with Selection for Host Humoral Immunity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lingyu Yang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available To explore coevolution between the gut microbiota and the humoral immune system of the host, we used chickens as the model organism. The host populations were two lines (HAS and LAS developed from a common founder that had undergone 40 generations of divergent selection for antibody titers to sheep red blood cells (SRBC and two relaxed sublines (HAR and LAR. Analysis revealed that microevolution of host humoral immunity contributed to the composition of gut microbiota at the taxa level. Relaxing selection enriched some microorganisms whose functions were opposite to host immunity. Particularly, Ruminococcaceae and Oscillospira enriched in high antibody relaxed (HAR and contributed to reduction in antibody response, while Lactobacillus increased in low antibody relaxed (LAR and elevated the antibody response. Microbial functional analysis showed that alterations were involved in pathways relating to the immune system and infectious diseases. Our findings demonstrated co-microevolution relationships of host-microbiota and that gut microorganisms influenced host immunity.

Structural relaxation and thermal conductivity coefficient of liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdurasulov, A.

1992-01-01

Present article is devoted to structural relaxation and thermal conductivity coefficient of liquids. The thermoelastic properties of liquids were studied taking into account the contribution of translational and structural relaxation. The results of determination of dynamic coefficient of thermal conductivity of liquids taking into account the contribution of translational and structural relaxation are presented.

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in nitroxide spin-label EPR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marsh, Derek

2016-01-01

that the definition of nitrogen nuclear relaxation rate Wn commonly used in the CW-EPR literature for 14N-nitroxyl spin labels is inconsistent with that currently adopted in time-resolved EPR measurements of saturation recovery. Redefinition of the normalised 14N spin-lattice relaxation rate, b = Wn/(2We), preserves...... of spin-lattice relaxation in this three-level system. Expressions for CW-saturation EPR with the revised definitions are summarised. Data on nitrogen nuclear spin-lattice relaxation times are compiled according to the three-level scheme for 14N-relaxation: T1 n = 1/Wn. Results are compared and contrasted...

Beta2-adrenoceptor-mediated tracheal relaxation induced by higenamine from Nandina domestica Thunberg.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsukiyama, Muneo; Ueki, Takuro; Yasuda, Yoichi; Kikuchi, Hiroko; Akaishi, Tatsuhiro; Okumura, Hidenobu; Abe, Kazuho

2009-10-01

The fruit of Nandina domestica Thunberg (ND, Berberidaceae) has been used to improve cough and breathing difficulties in Japan for many years, but very little is known about the constituent of ND responsible for this effect. We have recently reported that the crude extract from ND (NDE) inhibits histamine- and serotonin-induced contraction of isolated guinea pig trachea, and the inhibitory activity was not explained by nantenine, a well-known alkaloid isolated from ND. To explore other constituent(s) of NDE with tracheal smooth muscle relaxant activity, we fractionated NDE and assessed the pharmacological effects of the fractions using isolated guinea pig tracheal ring preparations. NDE was introduced into a polyaromatic absorbent resin column and stepwise eluted to yield five fractions, among which only the 40 % methanol fraction was active in relaxing tracheal smooth muscle precontracted with histamine. Further separation of the 40 % methanol fraction with high-performance liquid chromatography yielded multiple subfractions, one of which was remarkably active in relaxing histamine-precontracted trachea. Chemical analysis with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer identified the constituent of the most active subfraction as higenamine, a benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid. The potency and efficacy of the active constituent from NDE in relaxing trachea were almost equivalent to synthetic higenamine. In addition, the effect of the active constituent from NDE was competitively inhibited by the selective beta (2)-adrenoceptor antagonist ICI 118,551. These results indicate that the major constituent responsible for the effect of NDE is higenamine, which probably causes the tracheal relaxation through stimulation of beta (2) adrenoceptors. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart-New York.

Comparison of single-step and two-step purified coagulants from Moringa oleifera seed for turbidity and DOC removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Martín, J; Ghebremichael, K; Beltrán-Heredia, J

2010-08-01

The coagulant proteins from Moringa oleifera purified with single-step and two-step ion-exchange processes were used for the coagulation of surface water from Meuse river in The Netherlands. The performances of the two purified coagulants and the crude extract were assessed in terms of turbidity and DOC removal. The results indicated that the optimum dosage of the single-step purified coagulant was more than two times higher compared to the two-step purified coagulant in terms of turbidity removal. And the residual DOC in the two-step purified coagulant was lower than in single-step purified coagulant or crude extract. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Picosecond absorption relaxation measured with nanosecond laser photoacoustics.

Science.gov (United States)

Danielli, Amos; Favazza, Christopher P; Maslov, Konstantin; Wang, Lihong V

2010-10-18

Picosecond absorption relaxation-central to many disciplines-is typically measured by ultrafast (femtosecond or picosecond) pump-probe techniques, which however are restricted to optically thin and weakly scattering materials or require artificial sample preparation. Here, we developed a reflection-mode relaxation photoacoustic microscope based on a nanosecond laser and measured picosecond absorption relaxation times. The relaxation times of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin molecules, both possessing extremely low fluorescence quantum yields, were measured at 576 nm. The added advantages in dispersion susceptibility, laser-wavelength availability, reflection sensing, and expense foster the study of natural-including strongly scattering and nonfluorescent-materials.

Calorimetric and relaxation properties of xylitol-water mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Elamin, Khalid; Sjöström, Johan; Jansson, Helén; Swenson, Jan

2012-03-01

We present the first broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and differential scanning calorimetry study of supercooled xylitol-water mixtures in the whole concentration range and in wide frequency (10-2-106 Hz) and temperature (120-365 K) ranges. The calorimetric glass transition, Tg, decreases from 247 K for pure xylitol to about 181 K at a water concentration of approximately 37 wt. %. At water concentrations in the range 29-35 wt. % a plentiful calorimetric behaviour is observed. In addition to the glass transition, almost simultaneous crystallization and melting events occurring around 230-240 K. At higher water concentrations ice is formed during cooling and the glass transition temperature increases to a steady value of about 200 K for all higher water concentrations. This Tg corresponds to an unfrozen xylitol-water solution containing 20 wt. % water. In addition to the true glass transition we also observed a glass transition-like feature at 220 K for all the ice containing samples. However, this feature is more likely due to ice dissolution [A. Inaba and O. Andersson, Thermochim. Acta, 461, 44 (2007)]. In the case of the BDS measurements the presence of water clearly has an effect on both the cooperative α-relaxation and the secondary β-relaxation. The α-relaxation shows a non-Arrhenius temperature dependence and becomes faster with increasing concentration of water. The fragility of the solutions, determined by the temperature dependence of the α-relaxation close to the dynamic glass transition, decreases with increasing water content up to about 26 wt. % water, where ice starts to form. This decrease in fragility with increasing water content is most likely caused by the increasing density of hydrogen bonds, forming a network-like structure in the deeply supercooled regime. The intensity of the secondary β-relaxation of xylitol decreases noticeably already at a water content of 2 wt. %, and at a water content above 5 wt. % it has been replaced by a

Stress relaxation and hillock growth in thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, M.S.; Li, C.Y.

1978-01-01

The relaxation of thermal stress in a thin film adhering to a substrate of differing expansion coefficient is discussed. Good agreement is found between literature data on relaxation during isothermal anneals of Pb films at up to 350 0 K and model calculations based on a state variable description of plastic flow. The stress system during relaxation is explored, and the absence of diffusional creep is explained. The plasticity-dominated relaxation process suggested by this analysis is shown to be in good qualitative agreement with data on rapid relaxation over the course of a cycle between room and cryogenic temperatures. The implications of this for long-range material transport in the film are discussed. It is shown that hillock volume should increase over the course of a temperature cycle. Finally, a mechanism for hillock nucleation based on grain boundary sliding is suggested

Effect of yoga relaxation techniques on performance of digit-letter substitution task by teenagers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pradhan Balaram

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims : Memory and selective attention are important skills for academic and professional performance. Techniques to improve these skills are not taught either in education or company training courses. Any system which can systematically improve these skills will be of value in schools, universities, and workplaces. Aims:To investigate possible improvements in memory and selective attention, as measured by the Digit-Letter Substitution Task (DLST, due to practice of Cyclic Meditation (CM, a yoga relaxation technique, as compared to Supine Rest (SR. Materials and Methods : Subjects consisted of 253 school students, 156 boys, 97 girls, in the age range 13-16 years, who were attending a 10-day yoga training course during summer vacation. The selected subjects had English as their medium of instruction in school and they acted as their own controls. They were allocated to two groups, and tested on the DLST, immediately before and after 22.5 minutes practice of CM on one day, and immediately before and after an equal period of SR on the other day. The first group performed CM on day 9 and SR on day 10. For the second group, the order was reversed. Results : Within each group pre-post test differences were significant for both the relaxation techniques. The magnitude of net score improvement was greater after SR (7.85% compared to CM (3.95%. Significance levels were P < 0.4 x 10 -9 for SR and P < 0.1 x 10 -3 for CM. The number of wrong attempts also increased significantly on both interventions, even after removing two outlier data points on day 1 in the SR group. Conclusions: Both CM and SR lead to improvement in performance on the DLST. However, these relaxation techniques lead to more wrong cancellation errors.

Relaxing music counters heightened consolidation of emotional memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Rickard, Nikki S; Wong, Wendy Wing; Velik, Lauren

2012-02-01

Emotional events tend to be retained more strongly than other everyday occurrences, a phenomenon partially regulated by the neuromodulatory effects of arousal. Two experiments demonstrated the use of relaxing music as a means of reducing arousal levels, thereby challenging heightened long-term recall of an emotional story. In Experiment 1, participants (N=84) viewed a slideshow, during which they listened to either an emotional or neutral narration, and were exposed to relaxing or no music. Retention was tested 1 week later via a forced choice recognition test. Retention for both the emotional content (Phase 2 of the story) and material presented immediately after the emotional content (Phase 3) was enhanced, when compared with retention for the neutral story. Relaxing music prevented the enhancement for material presented after the emotional content (Phase 3). Experiment 2 (N=159) provided further support to the neuromodulatory effect of music by post-event presentation of both relaxing music and non-relaxing auditory stimuli (arousing music/background sound). Free recall of the story was assessed immediately afterwards and 1 week later. Relaxing music significantly reduced recall of the emotional story (Phase 2). The findings provide further insight into the capacity of relaxing music to attenuate the strength of emotional memory, offering support for the therapeutic use of music for such purposes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relaxation as a Factor in Semantic Desensitization

Science.gov (United States)

Bechtel, James E.; McNamara, J. Regis

1975-01-01

Relaxation and semantic desensitization were used to alleviate the fear of phobic females. Results showed that semantic desensitization, alone or in combination with relaxation, failed to modify the evaluative meanings evoked by the feared object. (SE)

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in nitroxide spin-label EPR.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Derek

2016-11-01

Nuclear relaxation is a sensitive monitor of rotational dynamics in spin-label EPR. It also contributes competing saturation transfer pathways in T 1 -exchange spectroscopy, and the determination of paramagnetic relaxation enhancement in site-directed spin labelling. A survey shows that the definition of nitrogen nuclear relaxation rate W n commonly used in the CW-EPR literature for 14 N-nitroxyl spin labels is inconsistent with that currently adopted in time-resolved EPR measurements of saturation recovery. Redefinition of the normalised 14 N spin-lattice relaxation rate, b=W n /(2W e ), preserves the expressions used for CW-EPR, whilst rendering them consistent with expressions for saturation recovery rates in pulsed EPR. Furthermore, values routinely quoted for nuclear relaxation times that are deduced from EPR spectral diffusion rates in 14 N-nitroxyl spin labels do not accord with conventional analysis of spin-lattice relaxation in this three-level system. Expressions for CW-saturation EPR with the revised definitions are summarised. Data on nitrogen nuclear spin-lattice relaxation times are compiled according to the three-level scheme for 14 N-relaxation: T 1 n =1/W n . Results are compared and contrasted with those for the two-level 15 N-nitroxide system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Muscle relaxation for individuals having tattoos removed through laser treatment: possible effects regarding anxiety and pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Faye; Chou, Wen-Jiun; Chen, Tien-Hsing; Chen, Ching; Hsieh, Yu-Lian; Chong, Mian-Yoon; Hung, Chi-Fa; Lin, Shu-Ching; Tsai, Hsiu-Huang; Wang, Liang-Jen

2016-08-01

Effectively managing pain is vital for the well-being and satisfaction of patients undergoing dermatologic treatments involving lasers. This study investigates the potential outcome of using muscle relaxation techniques to reduce pain among people having their tattoos removed with laser treatment. This study consists of 56 participants (mean age 18.1 ± 2.1 years) that had tattoos removed using the principle of selective photothermolysis. These participants underwent muscle relaxation before receiving the laser treatment. Their peripheral skin temperatures (PST) were measured both at the beginning and the end of the muscle relaxation period. Then, the Beck Anxiety Inventory was applied to evaluate anxiety levels. Once the laser treatment was completed, pain levels were measured using a visual analogue scale. A total of 125 person-sessions of laser treatment and psychometric assessments were performed in this study. The muscle relaxation method significantly increased the PST of the participants while reducing the levels of anxiety and pain throughout the course of the laser treatment procedure. The PST, anxiety scores, and pain scores all showed significant correlations with one another. According to the results obtained, this study proposes that muscle relaxation techniques be considered possibly auxiliary treatment options for individuals having tattoos removed through laser treatment. Additional studies with a comparison group and a larger sample size are required in the future to confirm the effectiveness of such intervention.

Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsson, H B; Barker, G J; MacKay, A

1998-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The theory of relaxation processes and their measurements are described. An overview is presented of the literature on relaxation time measurements in the normal and the developing brain, in experimental diseases in animals, and in patients with multiple sclerosis. RESULTS...... AND CONCLUSION: Relaxation time measurements provide insight into development of multiple sclerosis plaques, especially the occurrence of oedema, demyelination, and gliosis. There is also evidence that normal appearing white matter in patients with multiple sclerosis is affected. What is now needed are fast...

Repeatability and reliability of muscle relaxation properties induced by motor cortical stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Molenaar, Joery P; Voermans, Nicol C; de Jong, Lysanne A; Stegeman, Dick F; Doorduin, Jonne; van Engelen, Baziel G

2018-03-15

Impaired muscle relaxation is a feature of many neuromuscular disorders. However, there are few tests available to quantify muscle relaxation. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex can induce muscle relaxation by abruptly inhibiting corticospinal drive. The aim of our study is to investigate if repeatability and reliability of TMS-induced relaxation is greater than voluntary relaxation. Furthermore, effects of sex, cooling and fatigue on muscle relaxation properties were studied. Muscle relaxation of deep finger flexors was assessed in twenty-five healthy subjects (14 M and 11 F, aged 39.1{plus minus}12.7 and 45.3{plus minus}8.7 years old, respectively) using handgrip dynamometry. All outcome measures showed greater repeatability and reliability in TMS-induced relaxation compared to voluntary relaxation. The within-subject coefficient of variability of normalized peak relaxation rate was lower in TMS-induced relaxation than in voluntary relaxation (3.0 vs 19.7% in men, and 6.1 vs 14.3% in women). The repeatability coefficient was lower (1.3 vs 6.1 s -1 in men and 2.3 vs 3.1 s -1 in women), and the intraclass correlation coefficient was higher (0.95 vs 0.53 in men and 0.78 vs 0.69 in women), for TMS-induced relaxation compared to voluntary relaxation. TMS enabled to demonstrate slowing effects of sex, muscle cooling, and muscle fatigue on relaxation properties that voluntary relaxation could not. In conclusion, repeatability and reliability of TMS-induced muscle relaxation was greater compared to voluntary muscle relaxation. TMS-induced muscle relaxation has the potential to be used in clinical practice for diagnostic purposes and therapy effect monitoring in patients with impaired muscle relaxation.

The use of (double) relaxation oscillation SQUIDs as a sensor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Duuren, M.J.; Brons, G.C.S.; Kattouw, H.; Flokstra, Jakob; Rogalla, Horst

1997-01-01

Relaxation Oscillation SQUIDs (ROSs) and Double Relaxation Oscillation SQUIDs (DROSs) are based on relaxation oscillations that are induced in hysteretic dc SQUIDs by an external L-R shunt. The relaxation frequency of a ROS varies with the applied flux Φ, whereas the output of a DROS is a dc

Relaxation strain measurements in cellular dislocation structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, C.Y.; Quesnel, D.J.

1984-01-01

The conventional picture of what happens during a stress relaxation usually involves imagining the response of a single dislocation to a steadily decreasing stress. The velocity of this dislocation decreases with decreasing stress in such a way that we can measure the stress dependence of the dislocation velocity. Analysis of the data from a different viewpoint enables us to calculate the apparent activation volume for the motion of the dislocation under the assumption of thermally activated glie. Conventional thinking about stress relaxation, however, does not consider the eventual fate of this dislocation. If the stress relaxes to a low enough level, it is clear that the dislocation must stop. This is consistent with the idea that we can determine the stress dependence of the dislocation velocity from relaxation data only for those cases where the dislocation's velocity is allowed to approach zero asymptotically, in short, for those cases where the dislocation never stops. This conflict poses a dilemma for the experimentalist. In real crystals, however, obstacles impede the dislocation's progress so that those dislocations which are stopped at a given stress will probably never resume motion under the influence of the steadily declining stress present during relaxation. Thus one could envision stress relaxation as a process of exhaustion of mobile dislocations, rather than a process of decreasing dislocation velocity. Clearly both points of view have merit and in reality both mechanisms contribute to the phenomena

Effect of partially purified angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study evaluated the effect of partially-purified angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory proteins obtained from the leaves of Moringa oleifera on blood glucose, serum ACE activity and lipid profile of alloxaninduced diabetic rats. Twenty-five apparently healthy male albino rats were divided into five groups of five ...

Vibrational Energy Relaxation in Water-Acetonitrile Mixtures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cringus, Dan; Yeremenko, Sergey; Pshenichnikov, Maxim S.; Wiersma, Douwe A.; Kobayashi, Takayoshi; Kobayashi, Tetsuro; Nelson, Keith A.; Okada, Tadashi; Silvestri, Sandro De

2004-01-01

IR pump-probe spectroscopy is used to study the effect of hydrogen bonding on the vibrational energy relaxation pathways. Hydrogen bonding accelerates the population relaxation from 12ps in diluted acetonitrile solution to 700fs in bulk water.

F19 relaxation in non-magnetic hexafluorides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rigny, P.

1969-01-01

The interesting properties of the fluorine magnetic resonance in the hexafluorides of molybdenum, tungsten and uranium, are very much due to large anisotropies of the chemical shift tensors. In the solid phases these anisotropies, the values of which are deduced from line shape studies, allow one to show that the molecules undergo hindered rotations about the metal atom. The temperature and frequency dependence of the fluorine longitudinal relaxation times shows that the relaxation is due to the molecular motion. The dynamical parameters of this motion are then deduced from the complete study of the fluorine relaxation in the rotating frame. In the liquid phases, the existence of anisotropies allows an estimation of the different contributions to the relaxation. In particular, the frequency and temperature dependence of the relaxation shows it to be dominated by the spin-rotation interaction. We have shown that the strength of this interaction can be deduced from the chemical shifts, and the angle through which the molecule rotates quasi-freely can be determined. In the hexafluorides, this angle is roughly one radian at 70 C, and with the help of this value, the friction coefficients which describe the intermolecular interactions are discussed. (author) [fr

Electron spin relaxation in cryptochrome-based magnetoreception

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kattnig, Daniel R; Solov'yov, Ilia A; Hore, P J

2016-01-01

The magnetic compass sense of migratory birds is thought to rely on magnetically sensitive radical pairs formed photochemically in cryptochrome proteins in the retina. An important requirement of this hypothesis is that electron spin relaxation is slow enough for the Earth's magnetic field to have...... this question for a structurally characterized model cryptochrome expected to share many properties with the putative avian receptor protein. To this end we combine all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, Bloch-Redfield relaxation theory and spin dynamics calculations to assess the effects of spin relaxation...... on the performance of the protein as a compass sensor. Both flavin-tryptophan and flavin-Z˙ radical pairs are studied (Z˙ is a radical with no hyperfine interactions). Relaxation is considered to arise from modulation of hyperfine interactions by librational motions of the radicals and fluctuations in certain...

Relaxation-phenomena in LiAl/FeS-cells

Science.gov (United States)

Borger, W.; Kappus, W.; Panesar, H. S.

A theoretical model of the capacity of strongly relaxing electrochemical systems is applied to the LiAl/FeS system. Relaxation phenomena in LiAl and FeS electrodes can be described by this model. Experimental relaxation data indicate that lithium transport through the alpha-LiAl layer to the particle surface is the capacity limiting process at high discharge current density in the LiAl electrode in LiCl-KCl and LiF-LiCl-LiBr mixtures. Strong relaxation is observed in the FeS electrode with LiCl-KCl electrolyte caused by lithium concentration gradients and precipitation of KCl in the pores.

Relaxation of polarized nuclei in superconducting rhodium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knuuttila, T.A.; Tuoriniemi, J.T.; Lefmann, K.

2000-01-01

Nuclear spin lattice relaxation rates were measured in normal and superconducting (sc) rhodium with nuclear polarizations up to p = 0.55. This was sufficient to influence the sc state of Rh, whose T, and B-c, are exceptionally low. Because B-c ... is unchanged, the nuclear spin entropy was fully sustained across the sc transition. The relaxation in the sc state was slower at all temperatures without the coherence enhancement close to T-c. Nonzero nuclear polarization strongly reduced the difference between the relaxation rates in the sc and normal...

Spin relaxation in nanowires by hyperfine coupling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Echeverria-Arrondo, C.; Sherman, E.Ya.

2012-01-01

Hyperfine interactions establish limits on spin dynamics and relaxation rates in ensembles of semiconductor quantum dots. It is the confinement of electrons which determines nonzero hyperfine coupling and leads to the spin relaxation. As a result, in nanowires one would expect the vanishing of this effect due to extended electron states. However, even for relatively clean wires, disorder plays a crucial role and makes electron localization sufficient to cause spin relaxation on the time scale of the order of 10 ns. (copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

STUDY TO COMPARE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STATIC STRETCH AND HOLD RELAX TECHNIQUE OVER HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanthi C

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Numerous studies have documented on flexibility of muscles. Flexibility is defined as the ability of the muscles to lengthen allowing one joint or more than one joint in a series to move through a range of motion .Flexibility allows tissue to accommodate more easily to stress thus minimizing or preventing muscle injury. But this study sought to identify the study to compare the effectiveness of Static stretch and Hold relax technique over the hamstring flexibility. Methods: 30 healthy male adults with Hamstring tightness aged 21 to 35 years selected from general population through simple randomized technique. Samples are divided into two groups, static stretch Group-I(no.15 and Group-II Hold relax (no.=15.The outcome was measured with help of sit & reach test to see the Hamstring flexibility. Results: Comparison of the post test values of the group I and group II shows a significant difference between the outcomes of two groups with a “t” calculated value of 0.738 (unpaired “t” test. Conclusion: Both static stretch and hold relax Technique can cause very highly significant result in Hamstring Flexibility, further comparison shows very high significant difference between two groups and concludes that hold relax is better than static stretch in Hamstring Flexibility.

A smart magnetic resonance contrast agent for selective copper sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Que, Emily L; Chang, Christopher J

2006-12-20

We describe the synthesis and properties of Copper-Gad-1 (CG1), a new type of smart magnetic resonance (MR) sensor for selective detection of copper. CG1 is composed of a gadolinium contrast agent core tethered to copper-selective recognition motif. Cu2+-induced modulation of inner-sphere water access to the Gd3+ center provides a sensing mechanism for reporting Cu2+ levels by reading out changes in longitudinal proton relaxivity values. CG1 features good selectivity for Cu2+ over abundant biological cations and a 41% increase in relaxivity upon Cu2+ binding and is capable of detecting micromolar changes in Cu2+ concentrations in aqueous media.

Escape time, relaxation, and sticky states of a softened Henon-Heiles model: Low-frequency vibrational mode effects and glass relaxation

Science.gov (United States)

Toledo-Marín, J. Quetzalcóatl; Naumis, Gerardo G.

2018-04-01

Here we study the relaxation of a chain consisting of three masses joined by nonlinear springs and periodic conditions when the stiffness is weakened. This system, when expressed in their normal coordinates, yields a softened Henon-Heiles system. By reducing the stiffness of one low-frequency vibrational mode, a faster relaxation is enabled. This is due to a reduction of the energy barrier heights along the softened normal mode as well as for a widening of the opening channels of the energy landscape in configurational space. The relaxation is for the most part exponential, and can be explained by a simple flux equation. Yet, for some initial conditions the relaxation follows as a power law, and in many cases there is a regime change from exponential to power-law decay. We pinpoint the initial conditions for the power-law decay, finding two regions of sticky states. For such states, quasiperiodic orbits are found since almost for all components of the initial momentum orientation, the system is trapped inside two pockets of configurational space. The softened Henon-Heiles model presented here is intended as the simplest model in order to understand the interplay of rigidity, nonlinear interactions and relaxation for nonequilibrium systems such as glass-forming melts or soft matter. Our softened system can be applied to model β relaxation in glasses and suggest that local reorientational jumps can have an exponential and a nonexponential contribution for relaxation, the latter due to asymmetric molecules sticking in cages for certain orientations.

Picosecond absorption relaxation measured with nanosecond laser photoacoustics

OpenAIRE

Danielli, Amos; Favazza, Christopher P.; Maslov, Konstantin; Wang, Lihong V.

2010-01-01

Picosecond absorption relaxation—central to many disciplines—is typically measured by ultrafast (femtosecond or picosecond) pump-probe techniques, which however are restricted to optically thin and weakly scattering materials or require artificial sample preparation. Here, we developed a reflection-mode relaxation photoacoustic microscope based on a nanosecond laser and measured picosecond absorption relaxation times. The relaxation times of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin molecules, b...

Milrinone relaxes pulmonary veins in guinea pigs and humans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annette D Rieg

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: The phosphodiesterase-III inhibitor milrinone improves ventricular contractility, relaxes pulmonary arteries and reduces right ventricular afterload. Thus, it is used to treat heart failure and pulmonary hypertension (PH. However, its action on pulmonary veins (PVs is not defined, although particularly PH due to left heart disease primarily affects the pulmonary venous bed. We examined milrinone-induced relaxation in PVs from guinea pigs (GPs and humans. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Precision-cut lung slices (PCLS were prepared from GPs or from patients undergoing lobectomy. Milrinone-induced relaxation was studied by videomicroscopy in naïve PVs and in PVs pre-constricted with the ETA-receptor agonist BP0104. Baseline luminal area was defined as 100%. Intracellular cAMP was measured by ELISA and milrinone-induced changes of segmental vascular resistances were studied in the GP isolated perfused lung (IPL. RESULTS: In the IPL (GP, milrinone (10 µM lowered the postcapillary resistance of pre-constricted vessels. In PCLS (GP, milrinone relaxed naïve and pre-constricted PVs (120% and this relaxation was attenuated by inhibition of protein kinase G (KT 5823, adenyl cyclase (SQ 22536 and protein kinase A (KT 5720, but not by inhibition of NO-synthesis (L-NAME. In addition, milrinone-induced relaxation was dependent on the activation of K ATP-, BK Ca (2+- and Kv-channels. Human PVs also relaxed to milrinone (121%, however only if pre-constricted. DISCUSSION: Milrinone relaxes PVs from GPs and humans. In GPs, milrinone-induced relaxation is based on K ATP-, BK Ca (2+- and Kv-channel-activation and on cAMP/PKA/PKG. The relaxant properties of milrinone on PVs lead to reduced postcapillary resistance and hydrostatic pressures. Hence they alleviate pulmonary edema and suggest beneficial effects of milrinone in PH due to left heart disease.

Milrinone relaxes pulmonary veins in guinea pigs and humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Rieg, Annette D; Suleiman, Said; Perez-Bouza, Alberto; Braunschweig, Till; Spillner, Jan W; Schröder, Thomas; Verjans, Eva; Schälte, Gereon; Rossaint, Rolf; Uhlig, Stefan; Martin, Christian

2014-01-01

The phosphodiesterase-III inhibitor milrinone improves ventricular contractility, relaxes pulmonary arteries and reduces right ventricular afterload. Thus, it is used to treat heart failure and pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, its action on pulmonary veins (PVs) is not defined, although particularly PH due to left heart disease primarily affects the pulmonary venous bed. We examined milrinone-induced relaxation in PVs from guinea pigs (GPs) and humans. Precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) were prepared from GPs or from patients undergoing lobectomy. Milrinone-induced relaxation was studied by videomicroscopy in naïve PVs and in PVs pre-constricted with the ETA-receptor agonist BP0104. Baseline luminal area was defined as 100%. Intracellular cAMP was measured by ELISA and milrinone-induced changes of segmental vascular resistances were studied in the GP isolated perfused lung (IPL). In the IPL (GP), milrinone (10 µM) lowered the postcapillary resistance of pre-constricted vessels. In PCLS (GP), milrinone relaxed naïve and pre-constricted PVs (120%) and this relaxation was attenuated by inhibition of protein kinase G (KT 5823), adenyl cyclase (SQ 22536) and protein kinase A (KT 5720), but not by inhibition of NO-synthesis (L-NAME). In addition, milrinone-induced relaxation was dependent on the activation of K ATP-, BK Ca (2+)- and Kv-channels. Human PVs also relaxed to milrinone (121%), however only if pre-constricted. Milrinone relaxes PVs from GPs and humans. In GPs, milrinone-induced relaxation is based on K ATP-, BK Ca (2+)- and Kv-channel-activation and on cAMP/PKA/PKG. The relaxant properties of milrinone on PVs lead to reduced postcapillary resistance and hydrostatic pressures. Hence they alleviate pulmonary edema and suggest beneficial effects of milrinone in PH due to left heart disease.

Can a photocatalytic air purifier be used to improve the perceived air quality indoors?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolarik, Jakub; Wargocki, Pawel

2010-01-01

The effect of a photocatalytic air purifier on perceived air quality(PAQ) was examined in rooms polluted by typical sources of indoor pollution.The rooms were ventilated at three different outdoor air supply rates. The air quality was assessed by a sensory panel when the purifier was in operation...... as well as when it was off. Operation of the purifier significantly improved PAQ in the rooms polluted by building materials (used carpet, old linoleum, and old chip-board), and a used ventilation filter as well as a mixture of building materials, used ventilation filter and cathode-ray tube computer...... monitors. The effect cor-responded to approximately doubling the outdoor air supply rate. Operation of the purifier significantly worsened the PAQ in rooms with human bioeffluents, probably due to incomplete oxidation of alcohols which are one of the main pollutants emitted by humans. Present results show...

Using Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy to Characterize the Glass Transition Time of Polydextrose.

Science.gov (United States)

Buehler, Martin G; Kindle, Michael L; Carter, Brady P

2015-06-01

Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy was used to characterize the glass transition time, tg , of polydextrose, where the glass transition temperature, Tg , and water activity, aw (relative humidity), were held constant during polydextrose relaxation. The tg was determined from a shift in the peak frequency of the imaginary capacitance spectrum with time. It was found that when the peak frequency reaches 30 mHz, polydextrose undergoes glass transition. Glass transition time, tg , is the time for polydextrose to undergo glass transition at a specific Tg and aw . Results lead to a modified state diagram, where Tg is depressed with increasing aw . This curve forms a boundary: (a) below the boundary, polydextrose does not undergo glass transition and (b) above the boundary, polydextrose rapidly undergoes glass transition. As the boundary curve is specified by a tg value, it can assist in the selection of storage conditions. An important point on the boundary curve is at aw = 0, where Tg0 = 115 °C. The methodology can also be used to calculate the stress-relaxation viscosity of polydextrose as a function of Tg and aw , which is important when characterizing the flow properties of polydextrose initially in powder form. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

Relaxation Therapy with Guided Imagery for Postoperative Pain Management: An Integrative Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Felix, Márcia Marques Dos Santos; Ferreira, Maria Beatriz Guimarães; da Cruz, Luciana Falcão; Barbosa, Maria Helena

2017-12-14

To identify the evidence in the literature about relaxation therapy with guided imagery for postoperative pain management. Integrative review. PubMed, Lilacs, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and Cinahl, between August 2006 and December 2016. Descriptors: Postoperative Pain, Imagery (Psychotherapy) and Guided Imagery. original studies published in English, Spanish and Portuguese. 291 studies were identified and eight were selected. Descriptive data analysis, presented in detail, with a summary of the knowledge produced in each study. In the primary studies included, the use of guided imagery associated with other complementary therapies was highlighted: hand and foot "M" technique, education on postoperative pain management with analgesic drugs, relaxation exercises, respiration exercises, meditation, soothing biorhythmic music combined with positive and encouraging assertions and music with nature sounds. The knowledge synthesis resulting from this study indicates that evidence could be identified on the use of guided imagery associated with relaxation therapy as a complementary approach to drug analgesia in postoperative pain control strengthens its indication for nursing practice. This evidence, however, demonstrates that the quality of the use of this therapy is limited, and it is necessary to carry out new randomized clinical studies to fill the existing gaps in this topic. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relaxed Poisson cure rate models.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Josemar; Cordeiro, Gauss M; Cancho, Vicente G; Balakrishnan, N

2016-03-01

The purpose of this article is to make the standard promotion cure rate model (Yakovlev and Tsodikov, ) more flexible by assuming that the number of lesions or altered cells after a treatment follows a fractional Poisson distribution (Laskin, ). It is proved that the well-known Mittag-Leffler relaxation function (Berberan-Santos, ) is a simple way to obtain a new cure rate model that is a compromise between the promotion and geometric cure rate models allowing for superdispersion. So, the relaxed cure rate model developed here can be considered as a natural and less restrictive extension of the popular Poisson cure rate model at the cost of an additional parameter, but a competitor to negative-binomial cure rate models (Rodrigues et al., ). Some mathematical properties of a proper relaxed Poisson density are explored. A simulation study and an illustration of the proposed cure rate model from the Bayesian point of view are finally presented. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Peeling mode relaxation ELM model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gimblett, C. G.

2006-01-01

This paper discusses an approach to modelling Edge Localised Modes (ELMs) in which toroidal peeling modes are envisaged to initiate a constrained relaxation of the tokamak outer region plasma. Relaxation produces both a flattened edge current profile (which tends to further destabilise a peeling mode), and a plasma-vacuum negative current sheet which has a counteracting stabilising influence; the balance that is struck between these two effects determines the radial extent (rE) of the ELM relaxed region. The model is sensitive to the precise position of the mode rational surfaces to the plasma surface and hence there is a 'deterministic scatter' in the results that has an accord with experimental data. The toroidal peeling stability criterion involves the edge pressure, and using this in conjunction with predictions of rE allows us to evaluate the ELM energy losses and compare with experiment. Predictions of trends with the edge safety factor and collisionality are also made

Comparative analysis the binding affinity of mycophenolic sodium and meprednisone with human serum albumin: Insight by NMR relaxation data and docking simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiaoli; He, Jiawei; Yan, Jin; Wang, Qing; Li, Hui

2016-03-25

Mycophenolic sodium is an immunosuppressive agent that is always combined administration with corticosteroid in clinical practice. Considering the distribution and side-effect of the drug may change when co-administrated drug exist, this paper comparatively analyzed the binding ability of mycophenolic sodium and meprednisone toward human serum albumin by nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation data and docking simulation. The nuclear magnetic resonance approach was based on the analysis of proton selective and non-selective relaxation rate enhancement of the ligand in the absence and presence of macromolecules. The contribution of the bound ligand fraction to the observed relaxation rate in relation to protein concentration allowed the calculation of the affinity index. This approach allowed the comparison of the binding affinity of mycophenolic sodium and meprednisone. Molecular modeling was operated to simulate the binding model of ligand and albumin through Autodock 4.2.5. Competitive binding of mycophenolic sodium and meprednisone was further conducted through fluorescence spectroscopy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Baryogenesis via Elementary Goldstone Higgs Relaxation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gertov, Helene; Pearce, Lauren; Sannino, Francesco

2016-01-01

We extend the relaxation mechanism to the Elementary Goldstone Higgs framework. Besides studying the allowed parameter space of the theory we add the minimal ingredients needed for the framework to be phenomenologically viable. The very nature of the extended Higgs sector allows to consider very ...... but radiatively generated, it is possible to generate the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry via the relaxation mechanism....

The effects of music relaxation and muscle relaxation techniques on sleep quality and emotional measures among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iris Haimov

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD, an anxiety disorder with lifetime prevalence of 7.8%, is characterized by symptoms that develop following exposure to traumatic life events and that cause an immediate experience of intense fear, helplessness or horror. PTSD is marked by recurrent nightmares typified by the recall of intrusive experiences and by extended disturbance throughout sleep. Individuals with PTSD respond poorly to drug treatments for insomnia. The disadvantages of drug treatment for insomnia underline the importance of non-pharmacological alternatives. Thus, the present study had three aims: first, to compare the efficiency of two relaxation techniques (muscular relaxation and progressive music relaxation in alleviating insomnia among individuals with PTSD using both objective and subjective measures of sleep quality; second, to examine whether these two techniques have different effects on psychological indicators of PTSD, such as depression and anxiety; and finally, to examine how initial PTSD symptom severity and baseline emotional measures are related to the efficiency of these two relaxation methods. Thirteen PTSD patients with no other major psychiatric or neurological disorders participated in the study. The study comprised one seven-day running-in, no-treatment period, followed by two seven-day experimental periods. The treatments constituted either music relaxation or muscle relaxation techniques at desired bedtime. These treatments were randomly assigned. During each of these three experimental periods, subjects’ sleep was continuously monitored with a wrist actigraph (Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc., and subjects were asked to fill out several questionnaires concerned with a wide spectrum of issues, such as sleep, depression, and anxiety. Analyses revealed a significant increase in objective and subjective sleep efficiency and a significant reduction in depression level following music relaxation. Moreover, following music

Nuclear magnetic relaxation of methyl group in liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blicharska, B.

1986-01-01

The theoretical description of the relaxation process of methyl group in liquids and some results of the measurements of relaxation function and relaxation times for cryoprotective solutions are presented. Starting from the application of the operator formalism the general equation for spin operators e.g. components of the nuclear spin and magnetization is founded. Next, the spin Hamiltonian is presented as contraction of the symmetry adapted spherical tensors as well as the correlation functions and spectral densities. On the basis of extended and modified Woessner model of motion the correlation functions and spectral densities are calculated for methyl group in liquids. Using these functions the relaxation matrix elements, the spin-spin and spin-lattice relaxation times can be expressed. The prediction of the theory agrees with author's previous experiments on cryoprotective solutions. The observed dependence on temperature, frequency and isotopic dilution in methanol-water, methanol-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and DMSO-water solutions is in a satisfactory agreement with theoretical equations. 34 refs. (author)

Relaxations in spin glasses: Similarities and differences from ordinary glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngai, K.L.; Rajagopal, A.K.; Huang, C.Y.

1984-01-01

Relaxation phenomena have become a major concern in the physics of spin glasses. There are certain resemblances of these relaxation properties to those of ordinary glasses. In this work, we compare the relaxation properties of spin glasses near the freezing temperature with those of glasses near the glass transition temperature. There are similarities between the two types of glasses. Moreover, the relaxation properties of many glasses and spin glasses are in conformity with two coupled ''universality'' relations predicted by a recent model of relaxations in condensed matter

The relaxation of plasmas with dust particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chutov, Yu.I.; Kravchenko, A.Yu.; Schram, P.P.J.M.

1997-01-01

Various parameters of relaxing plasmas with dust particles including the electron and ion energy distributions function are numerically simulated at various parameters of the dust particles using the PIC method and taking into account the dynamics of the dust particle charge without the assumption about the equilibrium of electrons and ions. Coulomb collisions are taken into account in the framework of the method of stochastic differential equations. The relaxation of bounded plasma clouds expanding into a vacuum as well as the relaxation of a uniform plasma, in which dust particles appear at some initial time, are investigated. The obtained results show that the relaxation of plasmas can be accompanied by a deviation of the ion distribution function from equilibrium as well as a change of the mean energy of electrons and ions because of the dependence of the collection of electrons and ions by dust particles on their energy. (author)

The modified relaxation time function: A novel analysis technique for relaxation processes. Application to high-temperature molybdenum internal friction peaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matteo, C.L.; Lambri, O.A.; Zelada-Lambri, G.I.; Sorichetti, P.A.; Garcia, J.A.

2008-01-01

The modified relaxation time (MRT) function, which is based on a general linear viscoelastic formalism, has several important mathematical properties that greatly simplify the analysis of relaxation processes. In this work, the MRT is applied to the study of the relaxation damping peaks in deformed molybdenum at high temperatures. The dependence of experimental data from these relaxation processes with temperature are adequately described by a Havriliak-Negami (HN) function, and the MRT makes it possible to find a relation between the parameters of the HN function and the activation energy of the process. The analysis reveals that for the relaxation peak appearing at temperatures below 900 K, the physical mechanism is related to a vacancy-diffusion-controlled movement of dislocations. In contrast, when the peak appears at temperatures higher than 900 K, the damping is controlled by a mechanism of diffusion in the low-temperature tail of the peak, and in the high-temperature tail of the peak the creation plus diffusion of vacancies at the dislocation line occurs

Relationship between Structural and Stress Relaxation in a Block-Copolymer Melt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patel, Amish J.; Narayanan, Suresh; Sandy, Alec; Mochrie, Simon G. J.; Garetz, Bruce A.; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Balsara, Nitash P.

2006-01-01

The relationship between structural relaxation on molecular length scales and macroscopic stress relaxation was explored in a disordered block-copolymer melt. Experiments show that the structural relaxation time, measured by x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy is larger than the terminal stress relaxation time, measured by rheology, by factors as large as 100. We demonstrate that the structural relaxation data are dominated by the diffusion of intact micelles while the stress relaxation data are dominated by contributions due to disordered concentration fluctuations

Dielectric relaxation studies of dilute solutions of amides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malathi, M.; Sabesan, R.; Krishnan, S

2003-11-15

The dielectric constants and dielectric losses of formamide, acetamide, N-methyl acetamide, acetanilide and N,N-dimethyl acetamide in dilute solutions of 1,4-dioxan/benzene have been measured at 308 K using 9.37 GHz, dielectric relaxation set up. The relaxation time for the over all rotation {tau}{sub (1)} and that for the group rotation {tau}{sub (2)} of (the molecules were determined using Higasi's method. The activation energies for the processes of dielectric relaxation and viscous flow were determined by using Eyring's rate theory. From relaxation time behaviour of amides in non-polar solvent, solute-solvent and solute-solute type of molecular association is proposed.

Relaxation of coupled nuclear spin systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koenigsberger, E.

1985-05-01

The subject of the present work is the relaxation behaviour of scalarly coupled spin-1/2 systems. In the theoretical part the semiclassical Redfield equations are used. Dipolar (D), Chemical Shift Anisotropy (CSA) and Random Field (RF) interactions are considered as relaxation mechanisms. Cross correlations of dipolar interactions of different nuclei pairs and those between the D and the CSA mechanisms are important. The model of anisotropic molecular rotational relaxation and the extreme narrowing approximation are used to obtain the spectral density functions. The longitudinal relaxation data are analyzed into normal modes following Werbelow and Grant. The time evolution of normal modes is derived for the AX system with D-CSA cross terms. In the experimental part the hypothesis of dimerization in the cinnamic acid and the methyl cinnamate - AMX systems with DD cross terms - is corroborated by T 1 -time measurements and a calculation of the diffusion constants. In pentachlorobenzene - an AX system - taking into account of D-CSA cross terms enables the complete determination of movements anosotropy and the determination of the sign of the indirect coupling constant 1 Jsub(CH). (G.Q.)

Experiments in paramagnetic relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lijphart, E.E.

1976-01-01

This thesis presents two attempts to improve the resolving power of the relaxation measurement technique. The first attempt reconsiders the old technique of steady state saturation. When used in conjunction with the pulse technique, it offers the possibility of obtaining additional information about the system in which all-time derivatives are zero; in addition, non-linear effects may be distinguished from each other. The second attempt involved a systematic study of only one system: Cu in the Tutton salts (K and Rb). The systematic approach, the high accuracy of the measurement and the sheer amount of experimental data for varying temperature, magnetic field and concentration made it possible in this case to separate the prevailing relaxation mechanisms reliably

Effect of Amphiphilic Alkyl Chain Length Upon Purified LATEX Stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amira Amir Hassan; Amir Hashim Mohd Yatim

2015-01-01

Rubber particles in purified latex (PL) are stabilized by a film of protein and fatty acid soap (surfactant). Saturated straight-chain fatty acid soaps can assist an enhancement of latex stability. However, whether the alkyl chain length plays an important role in increasing the stability is still an issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of alkyl chain length of anionic surfactant on the stability of purified latex. The fatty acid soap of decanoate (9), laurate (11), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) (12) and palmitate (15) were used. The numbers in parentheses indicating the number of carbon present in alkyl chain of the soap. The results showed that the impact of alkyl chain length on the stability of latex is in the order of laurate > decanoate > SDS > palmitate > purified latex accordingly. The alkyl chain length does giving a significant effect on latex stability after longer stirring time. The particle size of latex with the presence of surfactant is greater compare to a single particle itself due to extension of particles diameter. Thus suitable interaction of the nonpolar tail of surfactant with the hydrophobic regions of latex surface played a major role in maintaining a stable latex system. (author)

Universal Mechanism of Spin Relaxation in Solids

Science.gov (United States)

Chudnovsky, Eugene

2006-03-01

Conventional elastic theory ignores internal local twists and torques. Meantime, spin-lattice relaxation is inherently coupled with local elastic twists through conservation of the total angular momentum (spin + lattice). This coupling gives universal lower bound (free of fitting parameters) on the relaxation of the atomic or molecular spin in a solid [1] and on the relaxation of the electron spin in a quantum dot [2]. [1] E. M. Chudnovsky, D. A. Garanin, and R. Schilling, Phys. Rev. B 72, 094426 (2005). [2] C. Calero, E. M. Chudnovsky, and D. A. Garanin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 166603 (2005).

Le Chatelier's principle with multiple relaxation channels

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, R.; Levine, R. D.

1986-05-01

Le Chatelier's principle is discussed within the constrained variational approach to thermodynamics. The formulation is general enough to encompass systems not in thermal (or chemical) equilibrium. Particular attention is given to systems with multiple constraints which can be relaxed. The moderation of the initial perturbation increases as additional constraints are removed. This result is studied in particular when the (coupled) relaxation channels have widely different time scales. A series of inequalities is derived which describes the successive moderation as each successive relaxation channel opens up. These inequalities are interpreted within the metric-geometry representation of thermodynamics.

Slow relaxation in weakly open rational polygons.

Science.gov (United States)

Kokshenev, Valery B; Vicentini, Eduardo

2003-07-01

The interplay between the regular (piecewise-linear) and irregular (vertex-angle) boundary effects in nonintegrable rational polygonal billiards (of m equal sides) is discussed. Decay dynamics in polygons (of perimeter P(m) and small opening Delta) is analyzed through the late-time survival probability S(m) approximately equal t(-delta). Two distinct slow relaxation channels are established. The primary universal channel exhibits relaxation of regular sliding orbits, with delta=1. The secondary channel is given by delta>1 and becomes open when m>P(m)/Delta. It originates from vertex order-disorder dual effects and is due to relaxation of chaoticlike excitations.

Ghost lines in Moessbauer relaxation spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, D.C.

1985-01-01

The appearance in Moessbauer relaxation spectra of 'ghost' lines, which are narrow lines that do not correspond to transitions between real hyperfine energy levels of the resonant system, is examined. It is shown that in many cases of interest, the appearance of these 'ghost' lines can be interpreted in terms of the relaxational averaging of one or more of the static interactions of the ion. (orig.)

Simulation of Cavity Flow by the Lattice Boltzmann Method using Multiple-Relaxation-Time scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryu, Seung Yeob; Kang, Ha Nok; Seo, Jae Kwang; Yun, Ju Hyeon; Zee, Sung Quun

2006-01-01

Recently, the lattice Boltzmann method(LBM) has gained much attention for its ability to simulate fluid flows, and for its potential advantages over conventional CFD method. The key advantages of LBM are, (1) suitability for parallel computations, (2) absence of the need to solve the time-consuming Poisson equation for pressure, and (3) ease with multiphase flows, complex geometries and interfacial dynamics may be treated. The LBM using relaxation technique was introduced by Higuerea and Jimenez to overcome some drawbacks of lattice gas automata(LGA) such as large statistical noise, limited range of physical parameters, non- Galilean invariance, and implementation difficulty in three-dimensional problem. The simplest LBM is the lattice Bhatnager-Gross-Krook(LBGK) equation, which based on a single-relaxation-time(SRT) approximation. Due to its extreme simplicity, the lattice BGK(LBGK) equation has become the most popular lattice Boltzmann model in spite of its well-known deficiencies, for example, in simulating high-Reynolds numbers flow. The Multiple-Relaxation-Time(MRT) LBM was originally developed by D'Humieres. Lallemand and Luo suggests that the use of a Multiple-Relaxation-Time(MRT) models are much more stable than LBGK, because the different relaxation times can be individually tuned to achieve 'optimal' stability. A lid-driven cavity flow is selected as the test problem because it has geometrically singular points in the flow, but geometrically simple. Results are compared with those using SRT, MRT model in the LBGK method and previous simulation data using Navier-Stokes equations for the same flow conditions. In summary, LBM using MRT model introduces much less spatial oscillations near geometrical singular points, which is important for the successful simulation of higher Reynolds number flows

Momentum and mass relaxation in heavy-ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gregoire, C.; Scheuter, F.; Remaud, B.; Sebille, F.

1984-01-01

The momentum and mass relaxation are shown to be described by transport equations. The momentum relaxation, which can be studied in the intermediate energy regime by the particle emissions, refers to a microscopic slowing down and diffusion process in the momentum space. The mass relaxation refers to the coupling of the collective mass asymmetry degree of freedom and the intrinsic system. It can be illustrated by the fast fission of light and very heavy systems

Communication: Relaxation-limited electronic currents in extended reservoir simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Gruss, Daniel; Smolyanitsky, Alex; Zwolak, Michael

2017-10-01

Open-system approaches are gaining traction in the simulation of charge transport in nanoscale and molecular electronic devices. In particular, "extended reservoir" simulations, where explicit reservoir degrees of freedom are present, allow for the computation of both real-time and steady-state properties but require relaxation of the extended reservoirs. The strength of this relaxation, γ, influences the conductance, giving rise to a "turnover" behavior analogous to Kramers turnover in chemical reaction rates. We derive explicit, general expressions for the weak and strong relaxation limits. For weak relaxation, the conductance increases linearly with γ and every electronic state of the total explicit system contributes to the electronic current according to its "reduced" weight in the two extended reservoir regions. Essentially, this represents two conductors in series—one at each interface with the implicit reservoirs that provide the relaxation. For strong relaxation, a "dual" expression-one with the same functional form-results, except now proportional to 1/γ and dependent on the system of interest's electronic states, reflecting that the strong relaxation is localizing electrons in the extended reservoirs. Higher order behavior (e.g., γ2 or 1/γ2) can occur when there is a gap in the frequency spectrum. Moreover, inhomogeneity in the frequency spacing can give rise to a pseudo-plateau regime. These findings yield a physically motivated approach to diagnosing numerical simulations and understanding the influence of relaxation, and we examine their occurrence in both simple models and a realistic, fluctuating graphene nanoribbon.

Correlation of carrier localization with relaxation time distribution and electrical conductivity relaxation in silver-nanoparticle-embedded moderately doped polypyrrole nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Biswas, Swarup; Dutta, Bula; Bhattacharya, Subhratanu

2014-02-01

The electrical conductivity relaxation in moderately doped polypyrrole and its nanocomposites reinforced with different proportion of silver nanoparticles was investigated in both frequency and time domain. An analytical distribution function of relaxation times is constructed from the results obtained in the frequency domain formalism and is used to evaluate the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) type decay function in the time domain. The thermal evolution of different relaxation parameters was analyzed. The temperature-dependent dc electrical conductivity, estimated from the average conductivity relaxation time is observed to depend strongly on the nanoparticle loading and follows Mott three-dimensional variable range hopping (VRH) conduction mechanism. The extent of charge carrier localization calculated from the VRH mechanism is well correlated to the evidences obtained from the structural characterizations of different nanostructured samples.

Musculoskeletal MRI at 3.0 T and 7.0 T: a comparison of relaxation times and image contrast.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Caroline D; Saranathan, Manojkumar; Bangerter, Neal K; Hargreaves, Brian A; Gold, Garry E

2013-05-01

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the relaxation times of musculoskeletal tissues at 3.0 T and 7.0 T, and to use these measurements to select appropriate parameters for musculoskeletal protocols at 7.0 T. We measured the T₁ and T₂ relaxation times of cartilage, muscle, synovial fluid, bone marrow and subcutaneous fat at both 3.0 T and 7.0 T in the knees of five healthy volunteers. The T₁ relaxation times were measured using a spin-echo inversion recovery sequence with six inversion times. The T₂ relaxation times were measured using a spin-echo sequence with seven echo times. The accuracy of both the T₁ and T₂ measurement techniques was verified in phantoms at both magnetic field strengths. We used the measured relaxation times to help design 7.0 T musculoskeletal protocols that preserve the favorable contrast characteristics of our 3.0 T protocols, while achieving significantly higher resolution at higher SNR efficiency. The T₁ relaxation times in all tissues at 7.0 T were consistently higher than those measured at 3.0 T, while the T₂ relaxation times at 7.0 T were consistently lower than those measured at 3.0 T. The measured relaxation times were used to help develop high resolution 7.0 T protocols that had similar fluid-to-cartilage contrast to that of the standard clinical 3.0 T protocols for the following sequences: proton-density-weighted fast spin-echo (FSE), T₂-weighted FSE, and 3D-FSE-Cube. The T₁ and T₂ changes were within the expected ranges. Parameters for musculoskeletal protocols at 7.0 T can be optimized based on these values, yielding improved resolution in musculoskeletal imaging with similar contrast to that of standard 3.0 T clinical protocols. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Musculoskeletal MRI at 3.0 T and 7.0 T: A comparison of relaxation times and image contrast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jordan, Caroline D.; Saranathan, Manojkumar; Bangerter, Neal K.; Hargreaves, Brian A.; Gold, Garry E.

2013-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the relaxation times of musculoskeletal tissues at 3.0 T and 7.0 T, and to use these measurements to select appropriate parameters for musculoskeletal protocols at 7.0 T. Materials and methods: We measured the T 1 and T 2 relaxation times of cartilage, muscle, synovial fluid, bone marrow and subcutaneous fat at both 3.0 T and 7.0 T in the knees of five healthy volunteers. The T 1 relaxation times were measured using a spin-echo inversion recovery sequence with six inversion times. The T 2 relaxation times were measured using a spin-echo sequence with seven echo times. The accuracy of both the T 1 and T 2 measurement techniques was verified in phantoms at both magnetic field strengths. We used the measured relaxation times to help design 7.0 T musculoskeletal protocols that preserve the favorable contrast characteristics of our 3.0 T protocols, while achieving significantly higher resolution at higher SNR efficiency. Results: The T 1 relaxation times in all tissues at 7.0 T were consistently higher than those measured at 3.0 T, while the T 2 relaxation times at 7.0 T were consistently lower than those measured at 3.0 T. The measured relaxation times were used to help develop high resolution 7.0 T protocols that had similar fluid-to-cartilage contrast to that of the standard clinical 3.0 T protocols for the following sequences: proton-density-weighted fast spin-echo (FSE), T 2 -weighted FSE, and 3D-FSE-Cube. Conclusion: The T 1 and T 2 changes were within the expected ranges. Parameters for musculoskeletal protocols at 7.0 T can be optimized based on these values, yielding improved resolution in musculoskeletal imaging with similar contrast to that of standard 3.0 T clinical protocols

Lifshitz quasinormal modes and relaxation from holography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sybesma, Watse|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/369283074; Vandoren, Stefan|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304830739

2015-01-01

We obtain relaxation times for field theories with Lifshitz scaling and with holographic duals Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton gravity theories. This is done by computing quasinormal modes of a bulk scalar field in the presence of Lifshitz black branes. We determine the relation between relaxation time and

Extraction and characterization of highly purified collagen from bovine pericardium for potential bioengineering applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Maria Helena; Silva, Rafael M.; Dumont, Vitor C.; Neves, Juliana S.; Mansur, Herman S.; Heneine, Luiz Guilherme D.

2013-01-01

Bovine pericardium is widely used as a raw material in bioengineering as a source of collagen, a fundamental structural molecule. The physical, chemical, and biocompatibility characteristics of these natural fibers enable their broad use in several areas of the health sciences. For these applications, it is important to obtain collagen of the highest possible purity. The lack of a method to produce these pure biocompatible materials using simple and economically feasible techniques presents a major challenge to their production on an industrial scale. This study aimed to extract, purify, and characterize the type I collagen protein originating from bovine pericardium, considered to be an abundant tissue resource. The pericardium tissue was collected from male animals at slaughter age. Pieces of bovine pericardium were enzymatically digested, followed by a novel protocol developed for protein purification using ion-exchange chromatography. The material was extensively characterized by electrophoresis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. The results showed a purified material with morphological properties and chemical functionalities compatible with type I collagen and similar to a highly purified commercial collagen. Thus, an innovative and relatively simple processing method was developed to extract and purify type I collagen from bovine tissue with potential applications as a biomaterial for regenerative tissue engineering. - Highlights: ► Type I collagen was obtained from bovine pericardium, an abundant tissue resource. ► A simple and feasible processing technique was developed to purify bovine collagen. ► The appropriate process may be performed on industrial scale. ► The pure collagen presented appropriate morphological and molecular characteristics. ► The purify collagen has shown potential use as a biomaterial in tissue engineering.

Studying the fate of non-volatile organic compounds in a commercial plasma air purifier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmid, Stefan [ETH Zürich, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, CH-8093 Zürich (Switzerland); Seiler, Cornelia; Gerecke, Andreas C. [Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology (EMPA), CH-8600 Dübendorf (Switzerland); Hächler, Herbert [University of Zürich, Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, National Centre for Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Listeria (NENT), CH-8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Hilbi, Hubert [Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Max von Pettenkofer-Institut, D-80336 München (Germany); Frey, Joachim [University of Bern, Institute for Veterinary Bacteriology, CH-3001 Bern (Switzerland); Weidmann, Simon; Meier, Lukas; Berchtold, Christian [ETH Zürich, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, CH-8093 Zürich (Switzerland); Zenobi, Renato, E-mail: zenobi@org.chem.ethz.ch [ETH Zürich, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, CH-8093 Zürich (Switzerland)

2013-07-15

Highlights: • Degradation of environmental toxins, a protein, and bioparticles were studied. • A commercial air purifier based on a cold plasma was used. • Passage through the device reduced the concentration of the compounds/particles. • Deposition inside the plasma air purifier was the main removal process. -- Abstract: Degradation of non-volatile organic compounds–environmental toxins (methyltriclosane and phenanthrene), bovine serum albumin, as well as bioparticles (Legionella pneumophila, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus anthracis)–in a commercially available plasma air purifier based on a cold plasma was studied in detail, focusing on its efficiency and on the resulting degradation products. This system is capable of handling air flow velocities of up to 3.0 m s{sup −1} (3200 L min{sup −1}), much higher than other plasma-based reactors described in the literature, which generally are limited to air flow rates below 10 L min{sup −1}. Mass balance studies consistently indicated a reduction in concentration of the compounds/particles after passage through the plasma air purifier, 31% for phenanthrene, 17% for methyltriclosane, and 80% for bovine serum albumin. L. pneumophila did not survive passage through the plasma air purifier, and cell counts of aerosolized spores of B. subtilis and B. anthracis were reduced by 26- and 15-fold, depending on whether it was run at 10 Hz or 50 Hz, respectively. However rather than chemical degradation, deposition on the inner surfaces of the plasma air purifier occured. Our interpretation is that putative “degradation” efficiencies were largely due to electrostatic precipitation rather than to decomposition into smaller molecules.

Biological properties of purified recombinant HCV particles with an epitope-tagged envelope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, Hitoshi; Akazawa, Daisuke [Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo (Japan); Toray Industries, Inc., Kanagawa (Japan); Kato, Takanobu; Date, Tomoko [Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo (Japan); Shirakura, Masayuki [Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo (Japan); Toray Industries, Inc., Kanagawa (Japan); Nakamura, Noriko; Mochizuki, Hidenori [Toray Industries, Inc., Kanagawa (Japan); Tanaka-Kaneko, Keiko; Sata, Tetsutaro [Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo (Japan); Tanaka, Yasuhito [Department of Clinical Molecular Informative Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya (Japan); Mizokami, Masashi [Research Center for Hepatitis and Immunology, Kohnodai Hospital, International Medical Center of Japan, Chiba (Japan); Suzuki, Tetsuro [Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo (Japan); Wakita, Takaji, E-mail: wakita@nih.go.jp [Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo (Japan)

2010-05-14

To establish a simple system for purification of recombinant infectious hepatitis C virus (HCV) particles, we designed a chimeric J6/JFH-1 virus with a FLAG (FL)-epitope-tagged sequence at the N-terminal region of the E2 hypervariable region-1 (HVR1) gene (J6/JFH-1/1FL). We found that introduction of an adaptive mutation at the potential N-glycosylation site (E2N151K) leads to efficient production of the chimeric virus. This finding suggests the involvement of glycosylation at Asn within the envelope protein(s) in HCV morphogenesis. To further analyze the biological properties of the purified recombinant HCV particles, we developed a strategy for large-scale production and purification of recombinant J6/JFH-1/1FL/E2N151K. Infectious particles were purified from the culture medium of J6/JFH-1/1FL/E2N151K-infected Huh-7 cells using anti-FLAG affinity chromatography in combination with ultrafiltration. Electron microscopy of the purified particles using negative staining showed spherical particle structures with a diameter of 40-60 nm and spike-like projections. Purified HCV particle-immunization induced both an anti-E2 and an anti-FLAG antibody response in immunized mice. This strategy may contribute to future detailed analysis of HCV particle structure and to HCV vaccine development.

Biological properties of purified recombinant HCV particles with an epitope-tagged envelope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Hitoshi; Akazawa, Daisuke; Kato, Takanobu; Date, Tomoko; Shirakura, Masayuki; Nakamura, Noriko; Mochizuki, Hidenori; Tanaka-Kaneko, Keiko; Sata, Tetsutaro; Tanaka, Yasuhito; Mizokami, Masashi; Suzuki, Tetsuro; Wakita, Takaji

2010-01-01

To establish a simple system for purification of recombinant infectious hepatitis C virus (HCV) particles, we designed a chimeric J6/JFH-1 virus with a FLAG (FL)-epitope-tagged sequence at the N-terminal region of the E2 hypervariable region-1 (HVR1) gene (J6/JFH-1/1FL). We found that introduction of an adaptive mutation at the potential N-glycosylation site (E2N151K) leads to efficient production of the chimeric virus. This finding suggests the involvement of glycosylation at Asn within the envelope protein(s) in HCV morphogenesis. To further analyze the biological properties of the purified recombinant HCV particles, we developed a strategy for large-scale production and purification of recombinant J6/JFH-1/1FL/E2N151K. Infectious particles were purified from the culture medium of J6/JFH-1/1FL/E2N151K-infected Huh-7 cells using anti-FLAG affinity chromatography in combination with ultrafiltration. Electron microscopy of the purified particles using negative staining showed spherical particle structures with a diameter of 40-60 nm and spike-like projections. Purified HCV particle-immunization induced both an anti-E2 and an anti-FLAG antibody response in immunized mice. This strategy may contribute to future detailed analysis of HCV particle structure and to HCV vaccine development.

Effectiveness of relaxation techniques before diagnostic screening of cancer patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Montserrat Aiger

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Psychophysiological arousal was observed in cancer patients during the application of relaxation techniques prior to a diagnostic scan (PET-CT. The aim of the study is twofold: firstly, it is sought to establish whether such techniques can minimize patient arousal before diagnostic screening begins, and secondly to measure which of them are most effective. The dependent variable is electrodermal activity, recording the attentional level and emotional response, and the independent variable comprises the relaxation techniques used, namely Jacobson, breathing and visualization. The 39 patients were split into experimental groups to whom the relaxation techniques (Jacobson, breathing exercises, and visualization were applied before they went for the PET-CT. An activity-module procedure was applied to track electrodermal activity during the relaxation sessions, consisting of instructions, timeout; wait, task; relaxation and end of the recording session. The control group received no relaxation techniques before the PET-CT. Session-end results show that patients who perform relaxation techniques achieve greater attentional focus using Jacobson's technique (M = .212 and enhanced emotional containment using visualization (M = .206. It is concluded that relaxation techniques minimize the state of activation during the waiting period before a diagnostic scan.

State resolved vibrational relaxation modeling for strongly nonequilibrium flows

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Iain D.; Josyula, Eswar

2011-05-01

Vibrational relaxation is an important physical process in hypersonic flows. Activation of the vibrational mode affects the fundamental thermodynamic properties and finite rate relaxation can reduce the degree of dissociation of a gas. Low fidelity models of vibrational activation employ a relaxation time to capture the process at a macroscopic level. High fidelity, state-resolved models have been developed for use in continuum gas dynamics simulations based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). By comparison, such models are not as common for use with the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. In this study, a high fidelity, state-resolved vibrational relaxation model is developed for the DSMC technique. The model is based on the forced harmonic oscillator approach in which multi-quantum transitions may become dominant at high temperature. Results obtained for integrated rate coefficients from the DSMC model are consistent with the corresponding CFD model. Comparison of relaxation results obtained with the high-fidelity DSMC model shows significantly less excitation of upper vibrational levels in comparison to the standard, lower fidelity DSMC vibrational relaxation model. Application of the new DSMC model to a Mach 7 normal shock wave in carbon monoxide provides better agreement with experimental measurements than the standard DSMC relaxation model.

On the Volterra integral equation relating creep and relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderssen, R S; De Hoog, F R; Davies, A R

2008-01-01

The evolving stress–strain response of a material to an applied deformation is causal. If the current response depends on the earlier history of the stress–strain dynamics of the material (i.e. the material has memory), then Volterra integral equations become the natural framework within which to model the response. For viscoelastic materials, when the response is linear, the dual linear Boltzmann causal integral equations are the appropriate model. The choice of one rather than the other depends on whether the applied deformation is a stress or a strain, and the associated response is, respectively, a creep or a relaxation. The duality between creep and relaxation is known explicitly and is referred to as the 'interconversion equation'. Rheologically, its importance relates to the fact that it allows the creep to be determined from knowledge of the relaxation and vice versa. Computationally, it has been known for some time that the recovery of the relaxation from the creep is more problematic than the creep from the relaxation. Recent research, using discrete models for the creep and relaxation, has confirmed that this is an essential feature of interconversion. In this paper, the corresponding result is generalized for continuous models of the creep and relaxation

Investigating the characteristic strength of flocs formed from crude and purified Hibiscus extracts in water treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Alfred Ndahi; Bridgeman, John

2016-10-15

The growth, breakage and re-growth of flocs formed using crude and purified seed extracts of Okra (OK), Sabdariffa (SB) and Kenaf (KE) as coagulants and coagulant aids was assessed. The results showed floc size increased from 300 μm when aluminium sulphate (AS) was used as a coagulant to between 696 μm and 722 μm with the addition of 50 mg/l of OK, KE and SB crude samples as coagulant aids. Similarly, an increase in floc size was observed when each of the purified proteins was used as coagulant aid at doses of between 0.123 and 0.74 mg/l. The largest floc sizes of 741 μm, 460 μm and 571 μm were obtained with a 0.123 mg/l dose of purified Okra protein (POP), purified Sabdariffa (PSP) and purified Kenaf (PKP) respectively. Further coagulant aid addition from 0.123 to 0.74 mg/l resulted in a decrease in floc size and strength in POP and PSP. However, an increase in floc strength and reduced d50 size was observed in PKP at a dose of 0.74 mg/l. Flocs produced when using purified and crude extract samples as coagulant aids exhibited high recovery factors and strength. However, flocs exhibited greater recovery post-breakage when the extracts were used as a primary coagulant. It was observed that the combination of purified proteins and AS improved floc size, strength and recovery factors. Therefore, the applications of Hibiscus seeds in either crude or purified form increases floc growth, strength, recoverability and can also reduce the cost associated with the import of AS in developing countries. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Axisymmetric force-free states and relaxation of a spheroidal spheromak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Throumoulopoulos, G.N.; Pantis, G.

1990-01-01

Axisymmetric force-free equilibrium eigenstates for a prolate as well as an oblate spheroidal Spheromak with arbitrary elongation are obtained. In the framework of the Woltjer-Taylor relaxation theory the relaxed states are also identified. A simple hypothesis for the relaxation process is introduced, which implies that the plasma relaxes from multitoroidal formations to a singly toroidal configuration, in qualitative agreement with experimental results. (author)

Axisymmetric force-free states and relaxation of a spheroidal spheromak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Throumoulopoulos, G.N.; Pantis, G.

1990-01-01

Axisymmetric force-free equilibrium eigenstates for a prolate as well as an oblate spheroidal spheromak with arbitrary elongation are obtained. In the framework of the Woltjer-Taylor relaxation theory the relaxed states are also identified. A simple hypothesis for the relaxation process is introduced which implies that the plasma relaxes from multitoroidal formations to a singly toroidal configuration in qualitative agreement with experimental results. (Author)

Repeated sugammadex reversal of muscle relaxation during lumbar spine surgery with intraoperative neurophysiological multimodal monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Errando, C L; Blanco, T; Díaz-Cambronero, Ó

2016-11-01

Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring during spine surgery is usually acomplished avoiding muscle relaxants. A case of intraoperative sugammadex partial reversal of the neuromuscular blockade allowing adequate monitoring during spine surgery is presented. A 38 year-old man was scheduled for discectomy and vertebral arthrodesis throughout anterior and posterior approaches. Anesthesia consisted of total intravenous anesthesia plus rocuronium. Intraoperatively monitoring was needed, and the muscle relaxant reverted twice with low dose sugammadex in order to obtain adequate responses. The doses of sugammadex used were conservatively selected (0.1mg/kg boluses increases, total dose needed 0.4mg/kg). Both motor evoqued potentials, and electromyographic responses were deemed adequate by the neurophysiologist. If muscle relaxation was needed in the context described, this approach could be useful to prevent neurological sequelae. This is the first study using very low dose sugammadex to reverse rocuronium intraoperatively and to re-establish the neuromuscular blockade. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Relaxation resistance of heat resisting alloys with cobalt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borzdyka, A.M.

1977-01-01

Relaxation resistance of refractory nickel-chromium alloys containing 5 to 14 % cobalt is under study. The tests involve the use of circular samples at 800 deg to 850 deg C. It is shown that an alloy containing 14% cobalt possesses the best relaxation resistance exceeding that of nickel-chromium alloys without any cobalt by a factor of 1.5 to 2. The relaxation resistance of an alloy with 5% cobalt can be increased by hardening at repeated loading

Multilayer Relaxation and Surface Energies of Metallic Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Bozzolo, Guillermo; Rodriguez, Agustin M.; Ferrante, John

1994-01-01

The perpendicular and parallel multilayer relaxations of fcc (210) surfaces are studied using equivalent crystal theory (ECT). A comparison with experimental and theoretical results is made for AI(210). The effect of uncertainties in the input parameters on the magnitudes and ordering of surface relaxations for this semiempirical method is estimated. A new measure of surface roughness is proposed. Predictions for the multilayer relaxations and surface energies of the (210) face of Cu and Ni are also included.

Transport and relaxation properties of superfluid 3He. I. Kinetic equation and Bogoliubov quasiparticle relaxation rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Einzel, D.; Woelfle, P.

1978-01-01

The kinetic equation for Bogoliubov quasiparticles for both the A and B phases of superfluid 3 He is derived from the general matrix kinetic equation. A condensed expression for the exact spin-symmetric collision integral is given. The quasiparticle relaxation rate is calculated for the BW state using the s--p approximation for the quasiparticle scattering amplitude. By using the results for the quasiparticle relaxation rate, the mean free path of Bogoliubov quasiparticles is calculated for all temperatures

Relaxation cracking in the process industry, an underestimated problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wortel, J.C. van [TNO Institute of Industrial Technology, Apeldoorn (Netherlands)

1999-12-31

Austenitic components, operating between 500 and 750 deg C, can fail within 1 year service while the ordinary mechanical properties after failure are still within the code requirements. The intergranular brittle failures are situated in the welded or cold deformed areas. This type of cracking has many names, showing the uncertainty concerning the mechanism for the (catastrophical) failures. A just finished investigation showed that it is a relaxation crack problem, introduced by manufacturing processes, especially welding and cold rolling. Cracking/failures can be expected after only 0.1- 0.2 % relaxation strain. These low strain values can already be generated during relaxation of the welding stresses. Especially coarse grained `age hardening` materials are susceptible. Stabilising and Postweld Heat Treatments are very effective to avoid relaxation crack problems during operation. After these heat treatments the components can withstand more than 2 % relaxation strain. At temperatures between 500 and 750 deg C relaxation cracking is the predominant factor for the safety and lifetime of welded austenitic components. (orig.) 12 refs.

Relaxation cracking in the process industry, an underestimated problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wortel, J.C. van [TNO Institute of Industrial Technology, Apeldoorn (Netherlands)

1998-12-31

Austenitic components, operating between 500 and 750 deg C, can fail within 1 year service while the ordinary mechanical properties after failure are still within the code requirements. The intergranular brittle failures are situated in the welded or cold deformed areas. This type of cracking has many names, showing the uncertainty concerning the mechanism for the (catastrophical) failures. A just finished investigation showed that it is a relaxation crack problem, introduced by manufacturing processes, especially welding and cold rolling. Cracking/failures can be expected after only 0.1- 0.2 % relaxation strain. These low strain values can already be generated during relaxation of the welding stresses. Especially coarse grained `age hardening` materials are susceptible. Stabilising and Postweld Heat Treatments are very effective to avoid relaxation crack problems during operation. After these heat treatments the components can withstand more than 2 % relaxation strain. At temperatures between 500 and 750 deg C relaxation cracking is the predominant factor for the safety and lifetime of welded austenitic components. (orig.) 12 refs.

Mechanical performance of HMA-2 modified with purified and unpurified carbon nanotubes and nanofibers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Rodrigo Rubio

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The present study evaluates the mechanical performance of a Hot Mix Asphalt – Type II (HMA-2 modified with carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers (CNTF. CNTF were made by means the Catalytic Vapor Deposition (CVD technique at 700° C using a Nickel, Copper and Aluminum (NiCuAl catalyst with a Cu/Ni molar relation of 0,33. In order to properly assess HMA-2 performance, three different mixtures were analyzed: 1 HMA-2 modified with purified CNTF; 2 HMA-2 modified with non-purified CNTF and, 3 a Conventional HMA-2 (control. Samples manufactured in accordance with the Marshall Mix Design were tested in the laboratory to study rutting, resilient modulus (Mr and fatigue. In addition to the aforementioned dynamic characterization, the effect of CNTF purification on the asphalt mixture’s mechanical properties was analyzed. In short, a comparative study was designed to determine whether or not CNTF should be purified before introduction into the HMA-2. This investigation responds to the growing demand for economical materials capable of withstanding traffic loads while simultaneously enhancing pavement durability and mechanical properties. Although purified CNTF increased HMA-2 stiffness and elastic modulus, non-purified CNTF increased the asphalt mixture’s elastic modulus without considerable increases in stiffness. Thus, the latter modification is deemed to help address fatiguerelated issues and improve the long-term durability of flexible pavements.

Vibrational relaxation in OCS mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simpson, C.J.S.M.; Gait, P.D.; Simmie, J.M.

1976-01-01

Experimental measurements are reported of vibrational relaxation times which may be used to show whether there is near resonant vibration-rotation energy transfer between OCS and H 2 , D 2 or HD. Vibrational relaxation times have been measured in OCS and OCS mixtures over the temperature range 360 to 1000 K using a shock tube and a laser schlieren system. The effectiveness of the additives in reducing the relaxation time of OCS is in the order 4 He 3 He 2 2 and HD. Along this series the effect of an increase in temperature changes from the case of speeding up the rate with 4 He to retarding it with D 2 , HD and H 2 . There is no measurable difference in the effectiveness of n-D 2 and o-D 2 and little, or no, difference between n-H 2 and p-H 2 . Thus the experimental results do not give clear evidence for rotational-vibration energy transfer between hydrogen and OCS. This contrasts with the situation for CO 2 + H 2 mixtures. (author)

Relaxation dispersion in MRI induced by fictitious magnetic fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Liimatainen, Timo; Mangia, Silvia; Ling, Wen; Ellermann, Jutta; Sorce, Dennis J; Garwood, Michael; Michaeli, Shalom

2011-04-01

A new method entitled Relaxation Along a Fictitious Field (RAFF) was recently introduced for investigating relaxations in rotating frames of rank ≥ 2. RAFF generates a fictitious field (E) by applying frequency-swept pulses with sine and cosine amplitude and frequency modulation operating in a sub-adiabatic regime. In the present work, MRI contrast is created by varying the orientation of E, i.e. the angle ε between E and the z″ axis of the second rotating frame. When ε > 45°, the amplitude of the fictitious field E generated during RAFF is significantly larger than the RF field amplitude used for transmitting the sine/cosine pulses. Relaxation during RAFF was investigated using an invariant-trajectory approach and the Bloch-McConnell formalism. Dipole-dipole interactions between identical (like) spins and anisochronous exchange (e.g., exchange between spins with different chemical shifts) in the fast exchange regime were considered. Experimental verifications were performed in vivo in human and mouse brain. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrated that changes in ε induced a dispersion of the relaxation rate constants. The fastest relaxation was achieved at ε ≈ 56°, where the averaged contributions from transverse components during the pulse are maximal and the contribution from longitudinal components are minimal. RAFF relaxation dispersion was compared with the relaxation dispersion achieved with off-resonance spin lock T(₁ρ) experiments. As compared with the off-resonance spin lock T(₁ρ) method, a slower rotating frame relaxation rate was observed with RAFF, which under certain experimental conditions is desirable. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular organization and phylogenetic analysis of 5S rDNA in crustaceans of the genus Pollicipes reveal birth-and-death evolution and strong purifying selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Perina, Alejandra; Seoane, David; González-Tizón, Ana M; Rodríguez-Fariña, Fernanda; Martínez-Lage, Andrés

2011-10-17

The 5S ribosomal DNA (5S rDNA) is organized in tandem arrays with repeat units that consist of a transcribing region (5S) and a variable nontranscribed spacer (NTS), in higher eukaryotes. Until recently the 5S rDNA was thought to be subject to concerted evolution, however, in several taxa, sequence divergence levels between the 5S and the NTS were found higher than expected under this model. So, many studies have shown that birth-and-death processes and selection can drive the evolution of 5S rDNA. In analyses of 5S rDNA evolution is found several 5S rDNA types in the genome, with low levels of nucleotide variation in the 5S and a spacer region highly divergent. Molecular organization and nucleotide sequence of the 5S ribosomal DNA multigene family (5S rDNA) were investigated in three Pollicipes species in an evolutionary context. The nucleotide sequence variation revealed that several 5S rDNA variants occur in Pollicipes genomes. They are clustered in up to seven different types based on differences in their nontranscribed spacers (NTS). Five different units of 5S rDNA were characterized in P. pollicipes and two different units in P. elegans and P. polymerus. Analysis of these sequences showed that identical types were shared among species and that two pseudogenes were present. We predicted the secondary structure and characterized the upstream and downstream conserved elements. Phylogenetic analysis showed an among-species clustering pattern of 5S rDNA types. These results suggest that the evolution of Pollicipes 5S rDNA is driven by birth-and-death processes with strong purifying selection.

Models of Flux Tubes from Constrained Relaxation

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

tribpo

J. Astrophys. Astr. (2000) 21, 299 302. Models of Flux Tubes from Constrained Relaxation. Α. Mangalam* & V. Krishan†, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Koramangala,. Bangalore 560 034, India. *e mail: mangalam @ iiap. ernet. in. † e mail: vinod@iiap.ernet.in. Abstract. We study the relaxation of a compressible plasma to ...

Relaxation effect of abacavir on rat basilar arteries.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Wai Sum Li

Full Text Available The use of abacavir has been linked with increased cardiovascular risk in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection; however, the mechanism involved remains unclear. We hypothesize that abacavir may impair endothelial function. In addition, based on the structural similarity between abacavir and adenosine, we propose that abacavir may affect vascular contractility through endogenous adenosine release or adenosine receptors in blood vessels.The relaxation effect of abacavir on rat basilar arteries was studied using the myograph technique. Cyclic GMP and AMP levels were measured by immunoassay. The effects of abacavir on nucleoside transporters were studied using radiolabeled nucleoside uptake experiments. Ecto-5' nucleotidase activity was determined by measuring the generation of inorganic phosphate using adenosine monophosphate as the substrate.Abacavir induced the relaxation of rat basilar arteries in a concentration-dependent manner. This relaxation was abolished when endothelium was removed. In addition, the relaxation was diminished by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-NAME, the guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, ODQ, and the protein kinase G inhibitor, KT5820. Abacavir also increased the cGMP level in rat basilar arteries. Abacavir-induced relaxation was also abolished by adenosine A2 receptor blockers. However, abacavir had no effect on ecto-5' nucleotidase and nucleoside transporters. Short-term and long-term treatment of abacavir did not affect acetylcholine-induced relaxation in rat basilar arteries.Abacavir induces acute endothelium-dependent relaxation of rat basilar arteries, probably through the activation of adenosine A2 receptors in endothelial cells, which subsequently leads to the release of nitric oxide, resulting in activation of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate/protein kinase G-dependent pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells. It is speculated that abacavir-induced cardiovascular risk may not be related to

Irradiation creep, stress relaxation and a mechanical equation of state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, J.P.

1976-01-01

Irradiation creep and stress relaxation data are available from the United Kingdom for 20 percent CW M316, 20 percent CW FV 548 and FHT PE16 using pure torsion in the absence of swelling at 300 0 C. Irradiation creep models were used to calculate the relaxation and permanent deflection of the stress relaxation tests. Two relationships between irradiation creep and stress relaxation were assessed by comparing the measured and calculated stress relaxation and permanent deflection. The results show that for M316 and FV548, the stress relaxation and deflection may be calculated using irradiation creep models when the stress rate term arising from the irradiation creep model is set equal to zero. In the case of PE16, the inability to calculate the stress relaxation and permanent deflection from the irradiation creep data was attributed to differences in creep behavior arising from lot-to-lot variations in alloying elements and impurity content. A modification of the FV548 and PE16 irradiation creep coefficients was necessary in order to calculate the stress relaxation and deflection. The modifications in FV548 and PE16 irradiation creep properties reduces the large variation in the transient or incubation parameter predicted by irradiation creep tests for M316, FV548 and PE16

Dielectric relaxation in Yb-doped SrZrO3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamishima, O; Abe, Y; Ishii, T; Kawamura, J; Hattori, T

2004-01-01

The dielectric constant of the proton conductor SrZr 1-x Yb x O 3 (x 0-0.1) was measured as a function of temperature and frequency. Two well-defined relaxation peaks were observed in SrZrO 3 doped with more than 1 mol% of Yb. The assignment of the two dielectric relaxations is discussed in terms of IR spectra and by free energy calculation for a miscibility of dopant Yb ions. The Yb concentration dependence of the relaxation strength of the two dielectric relaxations is in agreement with the results calculated from the free energy. The two relaxations can be assigned to a reorientation of a single Yb-OH dipole and of Yb-OH dipoles associated with Yb-clusters. The attractive energy for Yb-clustering in SrZrO 3 is evaluated at about -85 meV

Mechanism of nuclear cross-relaxation in magnetically ordered media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buishvili, L L; Volzhan, E B; Giorgadze, N P [AN Gruzinskoj SSR, Tbilisi. Inst. Fiziki

1975-09-01

A mechanism of two-step nuclear relaxation in magnetic ordered dielectrics is proposed. The case is considered where the energy conservation in the cross relaxation (CR) process is ensured by the lattice itself without spin-spin interactions. Expressions have been obtained describing the temperature dependence of the CR rate. For a nonuniform broadened NMR line it has been shown that the spin-lattice relaxation time for a spin packet taken out from the equilibrium may be determined by the CR time owing to the mechanism suggested. When the quantization axes for electron and nuclear spins coincide, the spin-lattice relaxation is due to the three-magnon mechanism. The cross-relaxation stage has been shown to play a significant role in the range of low temperatures (T<10 deg K) and to become negligible with a temperature increase.

Anisotropic temperature relaxation of plasmas in an external magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, M.H.A.

1977-01-01

The magnetized kinetic equation derived in an earlier paper (Hassan and Watson, 1977) is used to study the problem of relaxation of anisotropic electron and ion temperatures in a magnetized plasma. In the case of anisotropic electron temperature relaxation, it is shown that for small anisotropies the exchange of energy within the electrons between the components parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field direction determine the relaxation rate. For anisotropic ion temperature relaxation it is shown that the essential mechanism for relaxation is provided by energy transfer between ions and electrons, and that the expression for the relaxation rate perpendicular to the magnetic field contains a significant term proportional to ln eta 0 ln (msub(e)/msub(i)) (where eta 0 = Ωsub(e)/ksub(D)Vsub(e perpendicular to)), in addition to the term proportional to the Coulomb logarithm. (author)

Extraction and characterization of highly purified collagen from bovine pericardium for potential bioengineering applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, Maria Helena, E-mail: mariahelena.santos@gmail.com [Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri-UFVJM, Diamantina/MG 39100-000 (Brazil); Center for Assessment and Development of Biomaterials-BioMat, Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri-UFVJM, Diamantina/MG 39100-000 (Brazil); Silva, Rafael M.; Dumont, Vitor C. [Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri-UFVJM, Diamantina/MG 39100-000 (Brazil); Center for Assessment and Development of Biomaterials-BioMat, Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri-UFVJM, Diamantina/MG 39100-000 (Brazil); Neves, Juliana S. [Center for Assessment and Development of Biomaterials-BioMat, Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri-UFVJM, Diamantina/MG 39100-000 (Brazil); Mansur, Herman S. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais-UFMG, Belo Horizonte/MG 31270-901 (Brazil); Heneine, Luiz Guilherme D. [Department of Health Science, Ezequiel Dias Foundation-FUNED, Belo Horizonte/MG 30510-010 (Brazil)

2013-03-01

Bovine pericardium is widely used as a raw material in bioengineering as a source of collagen, a fundamental structural molecule. The physical, chemical, and biocompatibility characteristics of these natural fibers enable their broad use in several areas of the health sciences. For these applications, it is important to obtain collagen of the highest possible purity. The lack of a method to produce these pure biocompatible materials using simple and economically feasible techniques presents a major challenge to their production on an industrial scale. This study aimed to extract, purify, and characterize the type I collagen protein originating from bovine pericardium, considered to be an abundant tissue resource. The pericardium tissue was collected from male animals at slaughter age. Pieces of bovine pericardium were enzymatically digested, followed by a novel protocol developed for protein purification using ion-exchange chromatography. The material was extensively characterized by electrophoresis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. The results showed a purified material with morphological properties and chemical functionalities compatible with type I collagen and similar to a highly purified commercial collagen. Thus, an innovative and relatively simple processing method was developed to extract and purify type I collagen from bovine tissue with potential applications as a biomaterial for regenerative tissue engineering. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Type I collagen was obtained from bovine pericardium, an abundant tissue resource. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A simple and feasible processing technique was developed to purify bovine collagen. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The appropriate process may be performed on industrial scale. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The pure collagen presented appropriate morphological and molecular characteristics. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The purify

Regularities of intermediate adsorption complex relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manukova, L.A.

1982-01-01

The experimental data, characterizing the regularities of intermediate adsorption complex relaxation in the polycrystalline Mo-N 2 system at 77 K are given. The method of molecular beam has been used in the investigation. The analytical expressions of change regularity in the relaxation process of full and specific rates - of transition from intermediate state into ''non-reversible'', of desorption into the gas phase and accumUlation of the particles in the intermediate state are obtained

Dependence of Brownian and Néel relaxation times on magnetic field strength

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deissler, Robert J.; Wu, Yong; Martens, Michael A.

2014-01-01

Purpose: In magnetic particle imaging (MPI) and magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) the relaxation time of the magnetization in response to externally applied magnetic fields is determined by the Brownian and Néel relaxation mechanisms. Here the authors investigate the dependence of the relaxation times on the magnetic field strength and the implications for MPI and MPS. Methods: The Fokker–Planck equation with Brownian relaxation and the Fokker–Planck equation with Néel relaxation are solved numerically for a time-varying externally applied magnetic field, including a step-function, a sinusoidally varying, and a linearly ramped magnetic field. For magnetic fields that are applied as a step function, an eigenvalue approach is used to directly calculate both the Brownian and Néel relaxation times for a range of magnetic field strengths. For Néel relaxation, the eigenvalue calculations are compared to Brown's high-barrier approximation formula. Results: The relaxation times due to the Brownian or Néel mechanisms depend on the magnitude of the applied magnetic field. In particular, the Néel relaxation time is sensitive to the magnetic field strength, and varies by many orders of magnitude for nanoparticle properties and magnetic field strengths relevant for MPI and MPS. Therefore, the well-known zero-field relaxation times underestimate the actual relaxation times and, in particular, can underestimate the Néel relaxation time by many orders of magnitude. When only Néel relaxation is present—if the particles are embedded in a solid for instance—the authors found that there can be a strong magnetization response to a sinusoidal driving field, even if the period is much less than the zero-field relaxation time. For a ferrofluid in which both Brownian and Néel relaxation are present, only one relaxation mechanism may dominate depending on the magnetic field strength, the driving frequency (or ramp time), and the phase of the magnetization relative to the

Relaxed plasma-vacuum systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spies, G.O.; Lortz, D.; Kaiser, R.

2001-01-01

Taylor's theory of relaxed toroidal plasmas (states of lowest energy with fixed total magnetic helicity) is extended to include a vacuum between the plasma and the wall. In the extended variational problem, one prescribes, in addition to the helicity and the magnetic fluxes whose conservation follows from the perfect conductivity of the wall, the fluxes whose conservation follows from the assumption that the plasma-vacuum interface is also perfectly conducting (if the wall is a magnetic surface, then one has the toroidal and the poloidal flux in the vacuum). Vanishing of the first energy variation implies a pressureless free-boundary magnetohydrostatic equilibrium with a Beltrami magnetic field in the plasma, and in general with a surface current in the interface. Positivity of the second variation implies that the equilibrium is stable according to ideal magnetohydrodynamics, that it is a relaxed state according to Taylor's theory if the interface is replaced by a wall, and that the surface current is nonzero (at least if there are no closed magnetic field lines in the interface). The plane slab, with suitable boundary conditions to simulate a genuine torus, is investigated in detail. The relaxed state has the same double symmetry as the vessel if, and only if, the prescribed helicity is in an interval that depends on the prescribed fluxes. This interval is determined in the limit of a thin slab

Super-Relaxed ( -Proximal Point Algorithms, Relaxed ( -Proximal Point Algorithms, Linear Convergence Analysis, and Nonlinear Variational Inclusions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agarwal RaviP

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We glance at recent advances to the general theory of maximal (set-valued monotone mappings and their role demonstrated to examine the convex programming and closely related field of nonlinear variational inequalities. We focus mostly on applications of the super-relaxed ( -proximal point algorithm to the context of solving a class of nonlinear variational inclusion problems, based on the notion of maximal ( -monotonicity. Investigations highlighted in this communication are greatly influenced by the celebrated work of Rockafellar (1976, while others have played a significant part as well in generalizing the proximal point algorithm considered by Rockafellar (1976 to the case of the relaxed proximal point algorithm by Eckstein and Bertsekas (1992. Even for the linear convergence analysis for the overrelaxed (or super-relaxed ( -proximal point algorithm, the fundamental model for Rockafellar's case does the job. Furthermore, we attempt to explore possibilities of generalizing the Yosida regularization/approximation in light of maximal ( -monotonicity, and then applying to first-order evolution equations/inclusions.

Purified phenolics from hydrothermal treatments of biomass: ability to protect sunflower bulk oil and model food emulsions from oxidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Conde, Enma; Moure, Andrés; Domínguez, Herminia; Gordon, Michael H; Parajó, Juan Carlos

2011-09-14

The phenolic fractions released during hydrothermal treatment of selected feedstocks (corn cobs, eucalypt wood chips, almond shells, chestnut burs, and white grape pomace) were selectively recovered by extraction with ethyl acetate and washed with ethanol/water solutions. The crude extracts were purified by a relatively simple adsorption technique using a commercial polymeric, nonionic resin. Utilization of 96% ethanol as eluting agent resulted in 47.0-72.6% phenolic desorption, yielding refined products containing 49-60% w/w phenolics (corresponding to 30-58% enrichment with respect to the crude extracts). The refined extracts produced from grape pomace and from chestnut burs were suitable for protecting bulk oil and oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions. A synergistic action with bovine serum albumin in the emulsions was observed.

Process for purifying molybdenum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheresnowsky, J.

1989-01-01

This patent describes a process for purifying molybdenum containing arsenic and phosphorus. The process comprising: adding to an acidic slurry of molybdenum trioxide, a source of magnesium ions in a solid form, with the amount of magnesium and the magnesium ion concentration in the subsequently formed ammonium molybdate solution being sufficient to subsequently form insoluble compounds containing greater than about 80% by weight of the arsenic and greater than about 80% by weight of the phosphorus, and ammonia in an amount sufficient to subsequently dissolve the molybdenum and subsequently form the insoluble compounds, with the source of magnesium ions being added prior to the addition of the ammonia; digesting the resulting ammoniated slurry at a temperature sufficient to dissolve the molybdenum and form an ammonium molybdate solution while the pH is maintained at from bout 9 to about 10 to form a solid containing the insoluble compounds; and separating the solid from the ammonium molybdate solution

Relaxation property of the fractional Brownian particle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Litan; Lung, C.W.

1988-08-01

Dynamic susceptibility of a diffusion system associated with the fractional Brownian motion (fBm) was examined for the fractal property of the Non-Debye relaxation process. The comparisons between fBm and other approaches were made. Anomalous diffusion and the Non-Debye relaxation processes were discussed with this approach. (author). 8 refs, 1 fig

The effect of control of diabetes mellitus on plasma T4, T3, rT3 levels and half muscle relaxation period

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ismail, A.A.; Hafiez, A.A.; Sayed, S.N.; Abbas, E.Z.; Halawa, F.A.; Youssef, M.M.

1984-01-01

25 diabetics of the maturity onset type who showed no clinical evidence of either peripheral neruropathy or diabetic amyotrophy were selected for this study. All patients were subjected to the following investigations: estimation of half muscle relaxation period of the quadriceps muscle knee-jerk, measurement of plasma levels of thyroxine (T 4 ), triiodothyronine (T 3 ) and reverse triiodothronine (rT 3 ), determination of fasting and two hours postprandial blood sugar levels. The quadriceps muscle relaxation period in uncontrolled diabetics was significantly longer than in normals. Control of diabetes by glibenclamide or gliclazide did not cause a significant change in muscle relaxation period. There was also no significant difference between the effects of the two drugs. (author)

Method of purifying phosphoric acid after solvent extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kouloheris, A.P.; Lefever, J.A.

1979-01-01

A method of purifying phosphoric acid after solvent extraction is described. The phosphoric acid is contacted with a sorbent which sorbs or takes up the residual amount of organic carrier and the phosphoric acid separated from the organic carrier-laden sorbent. The method is especially suitable for removing residual organic carrier from phosphoric acid after solvent extraction uranium recovery. (author)

A new method for studying the structure relaxation of amorphous matters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Xiaowen

1989-11-01

A new method for studying the structure relaxation of amorphous matters by Hall effect is proposed. The structure relaxation of the metal-type amorphous InSb has been experimentally studied. The experimental results show that this method is highly sensitive to the structure relaxation, and the mechanism of structure relaxation can be observed

Structural relaxation dynamics and annealing effects of sodium silicate glass.

Science.gov (United States)

Naji, Mohamed; Piazza, Francesco; Guimbretière, Guillaume; Canizarès, Aurélien; Vaills, Yann

2013-05-09

Here we report high-precision measurements of structural relaxation dynamics in the glass transition range at the intermediate and short length scale for a strong sodium silicate glass during long annealing times. We evidence for the first time the heterogeneous dynamics at the intermediate range order by probing the acoustic longitudinal frequency in the GHz region by Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. Or, from in-situ Raman measurements, we show that relaxation is indeed homogeneous at the interatomic length scale. Our results show that the dynamics at the intermediate range order contains two distinct relaxation time scales, a fast and a slow component, differing by about a 10-fold factor below Tg and approaching to one another past the glass transition. The slow relaxation time agrees with the shear relaxation time, proving that Si-O bond breaking constitutes the primary control of structural relaxation at the intermediate range order.

Accurate determination of rates from non-uniformly sampled relaxation data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stetz, Matthew A.; Wand, A. Joshua, E-mail: wand@upenn.edu [University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Johnson Research Foundation and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics (United States)

2016-08-15

The application of non-uniform sampling (NUS) to relaxation experiments traditionally used to characterize the fast internal motion of proteins is quantitatively examined. Experimentally acquired Poisson-gap sampled data reconstructed with iterative soft thresholding are compared to regular sequentially sampled (RSS) data. Using ubiquitin as a model system, it is shown that 25 % sampling is sufficient for the determination of quantitatively accurate relaxation rates. When the sampling density is fixed at 25 %, the accuracy of rates is shown to increase sharply with the total number of sampled points until eventually converging near the inherent reproducibility of the experiment. Perhaps contrary to some expectations, it is found that accurate peak height reconstruction is not required for the determination of accurate rates. Instead, inaccuracies in rates arise from inconsistencies in reconstruction across the relaxation series that primarily manifest as a non-linearity in the recovered peak height. This indicates that the performance of an NUS relaxation experiment cannot be predicted from comparison of peak heights using a single RSS reference spectrum. The generality of these findings was assessed using three alternative reconstruction algorithms, eight different relaxation measurements, and three additional proteins that exhibit varying degrees of spectral complexity. From these data, it is revealed that non-linearity in peak height reconstruction across the relaxation series is strongly correlated with errors in NUS-derived relaxation rates. Importantly, it is shown that this correlation can be exploited to reliably predict the performance of an NUS-relaxation experiment by using three or more RSS reference planes from the relaxation series. The RSS reference time points can also serve to provide estimates of the uncertainty of the sampled intensity, which for a typical relaxation times series incurs no penalty in total acquisition time.

Growth and relaxation processes in Ge nanocrystals on free-standing Si(001) nanopillars.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozlowski, G; Zaumseil, P; Schubert, M A; Yamamoto, Y; Bauer, J; Schülli, T U; Tillack, B; Schroeder, T

2012-03-23

We study the growth and relaxation processes of Ge crystals selectively grown by chemical vapour deposition on free-standing 90 nm wide Si(001) nanopillars. Epi-Ge with thickness ranging from 4 to 80 nm was characterized by synchrotron based x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. We found that the strain in Ge nanostructures is plastically released by nucleation of misfit dislocations, leading to degrees of relaxation ranging from 50 to 100%. The growth of Ge nanocrystals follows the equilibrium crystal shape terminated by low surface energy (001) and {113} facets. Although the volumes of Ge nanocrystals are homogeneous, their shape is not uniform and the crystal quality is limited by volume defects on {111} planes. This is not the case for the Ge/Si nanostructures subjected to thermal treatment. Here, improved structure quality together with high levels of uniformity of the size and shape is observed.

78 FR 69361 - Development of Inward Leakage Standards for Half-Mask Air-Purifying Particulate Respirators

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-19

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 42 CFR Part 84 [Docket No. CDC-2013-0017; NIOSH-250] Development of Inward Leakage Standards for Half-Mask Air- Purifying Particulate Respirators AGENCY: Centers... regarding the development of inward leakage performance standards for half-mask air- purifying particulate...

Muon spin relaxation in ferromagnets. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lovesey, S.W.; Karlsson, E.B.

1991-04-01

Expressions for the dipolar and hyperfine contributions to the relaxation rate of muons implanted in a ferromagnet are presented and analysed using the Heisenberg model of spin-waves including dipolar and Zeeman energies. Calculations for EuO indicate that relaxation is likely to be dominated by the hyperfine mechanism, even if the ratio of the hyperfine and dipolar coupling constants is small. The hyperfine mechanism is sensitive to the dipolar energy of the atomic spins, whereas the dipolar mechanisms depend essentially on the exchange energy. For both mechanisms there is an almost quadratic dependence on temperature, throughout much of the ordered magnetic phase, which reflects two-spin-wave difference events from the Raman-type relaxation processes. (author)

Characterization of a purified nicotinic receptor from rat brain by using idiotypic and anti-idiotypic antibodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abood, L.G.; Langone, J.J.; Bjercke, R.; Lu, X.; Banerjee, S.

1987-01-01

The availability of an anti-nicotine monoclonal antibody has made it possible to further establish the nature of the nicotine recognition proteins purified from rat brain by affinity chromatography and to provide a highly sensitive assay for determining [ 3 H]nicotine binding to the purified material. An enantiomeric analogue of nicotine. (-)-6-hydroxymethylnicotine, was used to prepare the affinity column. In addition, with the use of an anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody, it was confirmed that the recognition site for nicotine resides on a protein complex composed of two components with molecular masses of 62 and 57 kDa. It was also demonstrated that the same two proteins could be purified by immunoaffinity chromatography with the use of an anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody. With the use of the anti-nicotine antibody to measure [ 3 H]nicotine binding, the purified material was shown to bind 250 pmol/mg of protein. By utilizing a procedure in which the purified receptor protein was conjugated to membranes by disulfide bonds, a binding activity of 80 pmol/mg was obtained. With the availability of sterospecific monoclonal antibodies to (-)-nicotine as well as monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies derived when the anti-nicotine antibodies were used as immunogens, additional procedures became available for the further characterization of the purified nicotine receptor and examining its (-)-[ 3 H]nicotine-binding characteristics

Effects of asymmetric nuclear introgression, introgressive mitochondrial sweep, and purifying selection on phylogenetic reconstruction and divergence estimates in the Pacific clade of Locustella warblers.

Science.gov (United States)

Drovetski, Sergei V; Semenov, Georgy; Red'kin, Yaroslav A; Sotnikov, Vladimir N; Fadeev, Igor V; Koblik, Evgeniy A

2015-01-01

When isolated but reproductively compatible populations expand geographically and meet, simulations predict asymmetric introgression of neutral loci from a local to invading taxon. Genetic introgression may affect phylogenetic reconstruction by obscuring topology and divergence estimates. We combined phylogenetic analysis of sequences from one mtDNA and 12 nuDNA loci with analysis of gene flow among 5 species of Pacific Locustella warblers to test for presence of genetic introgression and its effects on tree topology and divergence estimates. Our data showed that nuDNA introgression was substantial and asymmetrical among all members of superspecies groups whereas mtDNA showed no introgression except a single species pair where the invader's mtDNA was swept by mtDNA of the local species. This introgressive sweep of mtDNA had the opposite direction of the nuDNA introgression and resulted in the paraphyly of the local species' mtDNA haplotypes with respect to those of the invader. Тhe multilocus nuDNA species tree resolved all inter- and intraspecific relationships despite substantial introgression. However, the node ages on the species tree may be underestimated as suggested by the differences in node age estimates based on non-introgressing mtDNA and introgressing nuDNA. In turn, the introgressive sweep and strong purifying selection appear to elongate internal branches in the mtDNA gene tree.

Relaxation of Isolated Ventricular Cardiomyocytes by a Voltage-Dependent Process

Science.gov (United States)

Bridge, John H. B.; Spitzer, Kenneth W.; Ershler, Philip R.

1988-08-01

Cell contraction and relaxation were measured in single voltage-clamped guinea pig cardiomyocytes to investigate the contribution of sarcolemmal Na+-Ca2+ exchange to mechanical relaxation. Cells clamped from -80 to 0 millivolts displayed initial phasic and subsequent tonic contractions; caffeine reduced or abolished the phasic and enlarged the tonic contraction. The rate of relaxation from tonic contractions was steeply voltage-dependent and was significantly slowed in the absence of a sarcolemmal Na+ gradient. Tonic contractions elicited in the absence of a Na+ gradient promptly relaxed when external Na+ was applied, reflecting activation of Na+-Ca2+ exchange. It appears that a voltage-dependent Na+-Ca2+ exchange can rapidly mechanically relax mammalian heart muscle.

Holographic grating relaxation technique for soft matter science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lesnichii, Vasilii, E-mail: vasilii.lesnichii@physchem.uni-freiburg.de [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Albertstraße 21, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, Albert-Ludwigs Universität, Freiburg im Breisgau 79104 (Germany); ITMO University, Kronverksky prospekt 49, Saint-Petersburg 197101 (Russian Federation); Kiessling, Andy [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Albertstraße 21, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, Albert-Ludwigs Universität, Freiburg im Breisgau 79104 (Germany); Current address: Illinois Institute of Technology, 10 West 33rd Street, Chicago,IL60616 (United States); Bartsch, Eckhard [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Albertstraße 21, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, Albert-Ludwigs Universität, Freiburg im Breisgau 79104 (Germany); Veniaminov, Andrey, E-mail: veniaminov@phoi.ifmo.ru [ITMO University, Kronverksky prospekt 49, Saint-Petersburg 197101 (Russian Federation)

2016-06-17

The holographic grating relaxation technique also known as forced Rayleigh scattering consists basically in writing a holographic grating in the specimen of interest and monitoring its diffraction efficiency as a function of time, from which valuable information on mass or heat transfer and photoinduced transformations can be extracted. In a more detailed view, the shape of the relaxation curve and the relaxation rate as a function of the grating period were found to be affected by the architecture of diffusing species (molecular probes) that constitute the grating, as well as that of the environment they diffuse in, thus making it possible to access and study spatial heterogeneity of materials and different modes of e.g., polymer motion. Minimum displacements and spatial domains approachable by the technique are in nanometer range, well below spatial periods of holographic gratings. In the present paper, several cases of holographic relaxation in heterogeneous media and complex motions are exemplified. Nano- to micro-structures or inhomogeneities comparable in spatial scale with holographic gratings manifest themselves in relaxation experiments via non-exponential decay (stepwise or stretched), spatial-period-dependent apparent diffusion coefficient, or unusual dependence of diffusion coefficient on molecular volume of diffusing probes.

Abrupt relaxation in high-spin molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, C.-R.; Cheng, T.C.

2000-01-01

Mean-field model suggests that the rate of resonant quantum tunneling in high-spin molecules is not only field-dependent but also time-dependent. The relaxation-assisted resonant tunneling in high-spin molecules produces an abrupt magnetization change during relaxation. When the applied field is very close to the resonant field, a time-dependent interaction field gradually shifts the energies of different collective spin states, and magnetization tunneling is observed as two energies of the spin states coincide

Stress relaxation behavior and mechanism of AEREX350 and Waspaloy superalloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yuzhou; Dong, Jianxin; Zhang, Maicang; Yao, Zhihao

2016-12-15

The relaxation properties of AEREX350 and Waspaloy were studied contrastively at temperatures ranging from 600 °C to 800 °C with the same initial stress 510 MPa. The relationship between the microstructure and relaxation properties was elucidated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques. It was found that the relaxation limit and relaxation stability of the two alloys decreased obviously with the increase of temperature, but the relaxation stability of AEREX350 decreased more slowly compared with Waspaloy. Further investigations show that the relaxation behavior is mainly depended on both precipitate characteristics and its interaction with dislocations. The complex precipitates evolution of AEREX350 alloy leads to a higher relaxation limit at high temperature 800 °C, but more quantity of γ′ in Waspaloy results in a higher relaxation limit at the low temperature of 600 °C. Thus it is suggested that as fastener alloys, Waspaloy is more suitable for low temperature service while AEREX350 is the preferred choice for high temperature service.

Excited-state relaxation of some aminoquinolines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The absorption and fluorescence spectra, fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes, and fluorescence rate constants ( k f of 2-amino-3-( 2 ′ -benzoxazolylquinoline (I, 2-amino-3-( 2 ′ -benzothiazolylquinoline (II, 2-amino-3-( 2 ′ -methoxybenzothiazolyl-quinoline (III, 2-amino-3-( 2 ′ -benzothiazolylbenzoquinoline (IV at different temperatures have been measured. The shortwavelength shift of fluorescence spectra of compounds studied (23–49 nm in ethanol as the temperature decreases (the solvent viscosity increases points out that the excited-state relaxation process takes place. The rate of this process depends essentially on the solvent viscosity, but not the solvent polarity. The essential increasing of fluorescence rate constant k f (up to about 7 times as the solvent viscosity increases proves the existence of excited-state structural relaxation consisting in the mutual internal rotation of molecular fragments of aminoquinolines studied, followed by the solvent orientational relaxation.

Relaxation and Diffusion in Complex Systems

CERN Document Server

Ngai, K L

2011-01-01

Relaxation and Diffusion in Complex Systems comprehensively presents a variety of experimental evidences of universal relaxation and diffusion properties in complex materials and systems. The materials discussed include liquids, glasses, colloids, polymers, rubbers, plastic crystals and aqueous mixtures, as well as carbohydrates, biomolecules, bioprotectants and pharmaceuticals. Due to the abundance of experimental data, emphasis is placed on glass-formers and the glass transition problem, a still unsolved problem in condensed matter physics and chemistry. The evidence for universal properties of relaxation and diffusion dynamics suggests that a fundamental physical law is at work. The origin of the universal properties is traced to the many-body effects of the interaction, rigorous theory of which does not exist at the present time. However, using solutions of simplified models as guides, key quantities have been identified and predictions of the universal properties generated. These predictions from Ngai’...

Electron spin-lattice relaxation in fractals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrivastava, K.N.

1986-08-01

We have developed the theory of the spin-fracton interaction for paramagnetic ions in fractal structures. The interaction is exponentially damped by the self-similarity length of the fractal and by the range dimensionality d Φ . The relaxation time of the spin due to the absorption and emission of the fracton has been calculated for a general dimensionality called the Raman dimensionality d R , which for the fractons differs from the Hausdorff (fractal) dimensionality, D, as well as from the Euclidean dimensionality, d. The exponent of the energy level separation in the relaxation rate varies with d R d Φ /D. We have calculated the spin relaxation rate due to a new type of Raman process in which one fracton is absorbed to affect a spin transition from one electronic level to another and later another fracton is emitted along with a spin transition such that the difference in the energies of the two fractons is equal to the electronic energy level separation. The temperature and the dimensionality dependence of such a process has been found in several approximations. In one of the approximations where the van Vleck relaxation rate for a spin in a crystal is known to vary with temperature as T 9 , our calculated variation for fractals turns out to be T 6.6 , whereas the experimental value for Fe 3+ in frozen solutions of myoglobin azide is T 6.3 . Since we used d R =4/3 and the fracton range dimensionality d Φ =D/1.8, we expect to measure the dimensionalities of the problem by measuring the temperature dependence of the relaxation times. We have also calculated the shift of the paramagnetic resonance transition for a spin in a fractal for general dimensionalities. (author)

Dynamics and relaxation in confined medium. Application to 129Xe magnetic relaxation in Vycor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasquier, Virginie

1995-01-01

Porous media morphology and topology drive the exploration of pore space by fluid. So, analysis of transport process, associated with relaxation mechanism, allows indirect study of pore geometry. The purpose of this work is to understand better the relation between geometry and transport. This study involves two parts: a modelization and prediction step is followed by an experimental application of magnetic relaxation. Numerical simulations and analytical models allow to quantify the influence on the solid interface of the dynamical behavior of confined gas in disordered porous media (granular structure and porous network) or in common geometry (cylindrical and lamellar interfaces). The formalism of diffusion propagator is a powerful tool to quantify the influence of the pore geometry on the diffusion of confined gas. The propagator holds all dynamical information on the system; it also predicts the temporal evolution of the autocorrelation functions of the Hamiltonian describing local coupling. In an intermediate time scale, magnetic relaxation shows complex diffusional regime: the autocorrelation functions decrease in a power law with a exponent smaller than d/2 (where d is the Euclidian dimension of the system). This behavior is analogous to dynamic in low-dimensional space, but here arises from surface correlations of the porous media. The long-time behavior of the autocorrelation functions retrieves the asymptotic decrease t -d/2 . Moreover, atypical behavior is observed for the Knudsen diffusion between infinite planes. It turns out that 129 Xe NMR is a appropriate technique to characterize organization and diffusion of gas confined in Vycor. Systematic studies of temperature and pressure effect on the 129 Xe chemical shift allow to specify the Xe/solid interaction. The analysis of the relaxation measurements, thanks to the numerical development, confirms conclusions arising from the study of diffusion propagator. (author) [fr

Composition effect of potassium-borate glasses on their relaxation properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lomovskoj, V.A.; Bartenev, G.M.

1995-01-01

Relaxation processes in potassium-borate glasses have been investigated in detail for the first time. It is shown that low-temperature β-process of relaxation relating to rotational mobility of the B-O bond is the same for all potassium-borate glasses and B 2 O 3 . The process of β k -relaxation related to diffusion mobility of potassium ions depends on the composition of the glasses in the same way as α-relaxation (glass formation).12 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs

Evaluation of creep and relaxation data for hastelloy alloy x sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booker, M.K.

1979-02-01

Hastelloy alloy X has been a successful high-temperature structural material for more than two decades. Recently, Hastelloy alloy X sheet has been selected as a prime structural material for the proposed Brayton Isotope Power System (BIPS). The material also sees extensive application in the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR). Design of these systems requires a detailed consideration of the high-temperature creep properties of this material. Therefore, available creep, creep-rupture, and relaxation data for Hastelloy alloy X were collected and analyzed to yield mathematical representations of the behavior for design use

Dynamical relaxation in 2HDM models

Science.gov (United States)

Lalak, Zygmunt; Markiewicz, Adam

2018-03-01

Dynamical relaxation provides an interesting solution to the hierarchy problem in face of the missing signatures of any new physics in recent experiments. Through a dynamical process taking place in the inflationary phase of the Universe it manages to achieve a small electroweak scale without introducing new states observable in current experiments. Appropriate approximation makes it possible to derive an explicit formula for the final vevs in the double-scanning scenario extended to a model with two Higgs doublets (2HDM). Analysis of the relaxation in the 2HDM confirms that in a general case it is impossible to keep vevs of both scalars small, unless fine-tuning is present or additional symmetries are cast upon the Lagrangian. Within the slightly constrained variant of the 2HDM, where odd powers of the fields’ expectation values are not present (which can be easily enforced by requiring that the doublets have different gauge transformations or by imposing a global symmetry) it is shown that the difference between the vevs of two scalars tends to be proportional to the cutoff. The analysis of the relaxation in 2HDM indicates that in a general case the relaxation would be stopped by the first doublet that gains a vev, with the other one remaining vevless with a mass of the order of the cutoff. This happens to conform with the inert doublet model.

Arresting relaxation in Pickering Emulsions

Science.gov (United States)

Atherton, Tim; Burke, Chris

2015-03-01

Pickering emulsions consist of droplets of one fluid dispersed in a host fluid and stabilized by colloidal particles absorbed at the fluid-fluid interface. Everyday materials such as crude oil and food products like salad dressing are examples of these materials. Particles can stabilize non spherical droplet shapes in these emulsions through the following sequence: first, an isolated droplet is deformed, e.g. by an electric field, increasing the surface area above the equilibrium value; additional particles are then adsorbed to the interface reducing the surface tension. The droplet is then allowed to relax toward a sphere. If more particles were adsorbed than can be accommodated by the surface area of the spherical ground state, relaxation of the droplet is arrested at some non-spherical shape. Because the energetic cost of removing adsorbed colloids exceeds the interfacial driving force, these configurations can remain stable over long timescales. In this presentation, we present a computational study of the ordering present in anisotropic droplets produced through the mechanism of arrested relaxation and discuss the interplay between the geometry of the droplet, the dynamical process that produced it, and the structure of the defects observed.

Thermally induced magnetic relaxation in square artificial spin ice

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson, M. S.; Pappas, S. D.; Stopfel, H.; Östman, E.; Stein, A.; Nordblad, P.; Mathieu, R.; Hjörvarsson, B.; Kapaklis, V.

2016-11-01

The properties of natural and artificial assemblies of interacting elements, ranging from Quarks to Galaxies, are at the heart of Physics. The collective response and dynamics of such assemblies are dictated by the intrinsic dynamical properties of the building blocks, the nature of their interactions and topological constraints. Here we report on the relaxation dynamics of the magnetization of artificial assemblies of mesoscopic spins. In our model nano-magnetic system - square artificial spin ice - we are able to control the geometrical arrangement and interaction strength between the magnetically interacting building blocks by means of nano-lithography. Using time resolved magnetometry we show that the relaxation process can be described using the Kohlrausch law and that the extracted temperature dependent relaxation times of the assemblies follow the Vogel-Fulcher law. The results provide insight into the relaxation dynamics of mesoscopic nano-magnetic model systems, with adjustable energy and time scales, and demonstrates that these can serve as an ideal playground for the studies of collective dynamics and relaxations.

Immersed Boundary-Lattice Boltzmann Method Using Two Relaxation Times

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kosuke Hayashi

2012-06-01

Full Text Available An immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM using a two-relaxation time model (TRT is proposed. The collision operator in the lattice Boltzmann equation is modeled using two relaxation times. One of them is used to set the fluid viscosity and the other is for numerical stability and accuracy. A direct-forcing method is utilized for treatment of immersed boundary. A multi-direct forcing method is also implemented to precisely satisfy the boundary conditions at the immersed boundary. Circular Couette flows between a stationary cylinder and a rotating cylinder are simulated for validation of the proposed method. The method is also validated through simulations of circular and spherical falling particles. Effects of the functional forms of the direct-forcing term and the smoothed-delta function, which interpolates the fluid velocity to the immersed boundary and distributes the forcing term to fixed Eulerian grid points, are also examined. As a result, the following conclusions are obtained: (1 the proposed method does not cause non-physical velocity distribution in circular Couette flows even at high relaxation times, whereas the single-relaxation time (SRT model causes a large non-physical velocity distortion at a high relaxation time, (2 the multi-direct forcing reduces the errors in the velocity profile of a circular Couette flow at a high relaxation time, (3 the two-point delta function is better than the four-point delta function at low relaxation times, but worse at high relaxation times, (4 the functional form of the direct-forcing term does not affect predictions, and (5 circular and spherical particles falling in liquids are well predicted by using the proposed method both for two-dimensional and three-dimensional cases.

Resonant tunneling measurements of size-induced strain relaxation

Science.gov (United States)

Akyuz, Can Deniz

Lattice mismatch strain available in such semiconductor heterostructures as Si/SiGe or GaAs/AlGaAs can be employed to alter the electronic and optoelectronic properties of semiconductor structures and devices. When deep submicron structures are fabricated from strained material, strained layers relax by sidewall expansion giving rise to size- and geometry-dependent strain gradients throughout the structure. This thesis describes a novel experimental technique to probe the size-induced strain relaxation by studying the tunneling current characteristics of strained p-type Si/SiGe resonant tunneling diodes. Our current-voltage measurements on submicron strained p-Si/SiGe double- and triple-barrier resonant tunneling structures as a function of device diameter, D, provide experimental access to both the average strain relaxation (which leads to relative shifts in the tunneling current peak positions) and strain gradients (which give rise to a fine structure in the current peaks due to inhomogeneous strain-induced lateral quantization). We find that strain relaxation is significant, with a large fraction of the strain energy relaxed on average in D ≤ 0.25 m m devices. Further, the in-plane potentials that arise from inhomogeneous strain gradients are large. In the D ˜ 0.2 m m devices, the corresponding lateral potentials are approximately parabolic exceeding ˜ 25 meV near the perimeter. These potentials create discrete hole states in double-barrier structures (single well), and coupled hole states in triple-barrier structures (two wells). Our results are in excellent agreement with finite-element strain calculations in which the strained layers are permitted to relax to a state of minimum energy by sidewall expansion. Size-induced strain relaxation will undoubtedly become a serious technological issue once strained devices are scaled down to the deep submicron regime. Interestingly, our calculations predict and our measurements are consistent with the appearance of

Vogel-Fulcher dependence of relaxation rates in a nematic monomer and elastomer

Science.gov (United States)

Shenoy, D.; Filippov, S.; Aliev, F.; Keller, P.; Thomsen, D.; Ratna, B.

2000-12-01

Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy is used to study the relaxation processes in a nematic monomer and the corresponding cross-linked polymer nematic liquid crystal (elastomer). In the frequency window 10 mHz to 2 GHz the monomer liquid crystal shows a single relaxation whereas the polymer exhibits three relaxation processes, two of which are quantitatively analyzed. The temperature dependence of relaxation times in both the monomer and polymer follows a Vogel-Fulcher behavior. The relaxation processes are identified with specific molecular motions and activation energies are calculated in a linear approximation for comparison with literature data.

Structural relaxation of Ni-Si-B amorphous ribbon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jurikova, A.; Csach, K.; Miskuf, J.; Ocelik, V.

The structural relaxation of the Ni-Si-B amorphous ribbon was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry and thermomechanical analysis. It was shown that considerable length changes associated with reversible structural relaxation were revealed after a previous creep applied at higher

Improved detection of a staphylococcal infection by monomeric and protein A-purified polyclonal human immunoglobulin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calame, W.

1993-01-01

The present study was undertaken to compare the technetium-99m labelled non-specific polyclonal human immunoglobulin (Ig) with 99m Tc-labelled monomeric human immunoglobulin (m-Ig), 99m Tc-labelled, protein A-purified, human immunoglobulin (A-IG) and 99m Tc-labelled monomeric, protein A-purified, human immunoglobulin (mA-Ig) as tracer agents for the detection of a thigh infection with Staphylococcus aureus. In vitro the binding of the various tracer agents to bacteria at various intervals was determined. For the in vivo evaluation, mice were infected and received one of the various labelled proteins. Scintigrams were made 0.25, 1, 4 and 24 h later. All 99m Tc-labelled Igs bound to bacteria in vitro: The percentages of binding for the m-Ig (from 1 h onwards) and A-Ig and mA-Ig (from 3 h onwards) were significantly higher than that for Ig. The in vivo target-to-non-target (T/NT) ratios were significantly higher from 4 h onwards for all purified Igs than for Ig. Protein A-purified Ig yielded higher T/NT ratios than m-Ig. Furthermore, the amount of activity in the liver was significantly lower 24 h after administration of m-Ig, A-Ig and mA-Ig than after administration of Ig. It is concluded that in this experimental infection 99m Tc-labelled monomeric Ig localizes a staphylococcal thigh infection better and faster than 99m Tc-labelled unpurified Ig. However, the accumulation obtained with protein A-purified Ig or protein A-purified monomeric Ig was the highest of all tracer agents tested. (orig.)

Relaxation training for anxiety: a ten-years systematic review with meta-analysis

OpenAIRE

Castelnuovo Gianluca; Pagnini Francesco; Manzoni Gian; Molinari Enrico

2008-01-01

Abstract Background Relaxation training is a common treatment for anxiety problems. Lacking is a recent quantitative meta-analysis that enhances understanding of the variability and clinical significance of anxiety reduction outcomes after relaxation treatment. Methods All studies (1997–2007), both RCT, observational and without control group, evaluating the efficacy of relaxation training (Jacobson's progressive relaxation, autogenic training, applied relaxation and meditation) for anxiety p...

Mutation Accumulation, Soft Selection and the Middle-Class Neighborhood

Science.gov (United States)

Moorad, Jacob A.; Hall, David W.

2009-01-01

The “middle-class neighborhood” is a breeding design intended to allow new mutations to accumulate by lessening the effects of purifying selection through the elimination of among-line fitness variation. We show that this design effectively applies soft selection to the experimental population, potentially causing biased estimates of mutational effects if social effects contribute to fitness. PMID:19448272

Strain relaxation of germanium-tin (GeSn) fins

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Yuye; Huang, Yi-Chiau; Lee, Kwang Hong; Bao, Shuyu; Wang, Wei; Lei, Dian; Masudy-Panah, Saeid; Dong, Yuan; Wu, Ying; Xu, Shengqiang; Tan, Chuan Seng; Gong, Xiao; Yeo, Yee-Chia

2018-02-01

Strain relaxation of biaxially strained Ge1-xSnx layer when it is patterned into Ge1-xSnx fin structures is studied. Ge1-xSnx-on-insulator (GeSnOI) substrate was realized using a direct wafer bonding (DWB) technique and Ge1-xSnx fin structures were formed by electron beam lithography (EBL) patterning and dry etching. The strain in the Ge1-xSnx fins having fin widths (WFin) ranging from 1 μm down to 80 nm was characterized using micro-Raman spectroscopy. Raman measurements show that the strain relaxation increases with decreasing WFin. Finite element (FE) simulation shows that the strain component in the transverse direction relaxes with decreasing WFin, while the strain component along the fin direction remains unchanged. For various Ge1-xSnx fin widths, transverse strain relaxation was further extracted using micro-Raman spectroscopy, which is consistent with the simulation results.

Asymptotic representation of relaxation oscillations in lasers

CERN Document Server

Grigorieva, Elena V

2017-01-01

In this book we analyze relaxation oscillations in models of lasers with nonlinear elements controlling light dynamics. The models are based on rate equations taking into account periodic modulation of parameters, optoelectronic delayed feedback, mutual coupling between lasers, intermodal interaction and other factors. With the aim to study relaxation oscillations we present the special asymptotic method of integration for ordinary differential equations and differential-difference equations. As a result, they are reduced to discrete maps. Analyzing the maps we describe analytically such nonlinear phenomena in lasers as multistability of large-amplitude relaxation cycles, bifurcations of cycles, controlled switching of regimes, phase synchronization in an ensemble of coupled systems and others. The book can be fruitful for students and technicians in nonlinear laser dynamics and in differential equations.

Caspase inhibitors of the P35 family are more active when purified from yeast than bacteria.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingo L Brand

Full Text Available Many insect viruses express caspase inhibitors of the P35 superfamily, which prevent defensive host apoptosis to enable viral propagation. The prototypical P35 family member, AcP35 from Autographa californica M nucleopolyhedrovirus, has been extensively studied. Bacterially purified AcP35 has been previously shown to inhibit caspases from insect, mammalian and nematode species. This inhibition occurs via a pseudosubstrate mechanism involving caspase-mediated cleavage of a "reactive site loop" within the P35 protein, which ultimately leaves cleaved P35 covalently bound to the caspase's active site. We observed that AcP35 purifed from Saccharomyces cerevisae inhibited caspase activity more efficiently than AcP35 purified from Escherichia coli. This differential potency was more dramatic for another P35 family member, MaviP35, which inhibited human caspase 3 almost 300-fold more potently when purified from yeast than bacteria. Biophysical assays revealed that MaviP35 proteins produced in bacteria and yeast had similar primary and secondary structures. However, bacterially produced MaviP35 possessed greater thermal stability and propensity to form higher order oligomers than its counterpart purified from yeast. Caspase 3 could process yeast-purified MaviP35, but failed to detectably cleave bacterially purified MaviP35. These data suggest that bacterially produced P35 proteins adopt subtly different conformations from their yeast-expressed counterparts, which hinder caspase access to the reactive site loop to reduce the potency of caspase inhibition, and promote aggregation. These data highlight the differential caspase inhibition by recombinant P35 proteins purified from different sources, and caution that analyses of bacterially produced P35 family members (and perhaps other types of proteins may underestimate their activity.

Slowing hot-carrier relaxation in graphene using a magnetic field

Science.gov (United States)

Plochocka, P.; Kossacki, P.; Golnik, A.; Kazimierczuk, T.; Berger, C.; de Heer, W. A.; Potemski, M.

2009-12-01

A degenerate pump-probe technique is used to investigate the nonequilibrium carrier dynamics in multilayer graphene. Two distinctly different dynamics of the carrier relaxation are observed. A fast relaxation (˜50fs) of the carriers after the initial effect of phase-space filling followed by a slower relaxation (˜4ps) due to thermalization. Both relaxation processes are less efficient when a magnetic field is applied at low temperatures which is attributed to the suppression of the electron-electron Auger scattering due to the nonequidistant Landau-level spacing of the Dirac fermions in graphene.

Aspartic acid racemisation in purified elastin from arteries as basis for age estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobberstein, R C; Tung, S-M; Ritz-Timme, S

2010-07-01

Aspartic acid racemisation (AAR) results in an age-dependent accumulation of D: -aspartic acid in durable human proteins and can be used as a basis for age estimation. Routinely, age estimation based on AAR is performed by analysis of dentine. However, in forensic practise, teeth are not always available. Non-dental tissues for age estimation may be suitable for age estimation based on AAR if they contain durable proteins that can be purified and analysed. Elastin is such a durable protein. To clarify if purified elastin from arteries is a suitable sample for biochemical age estimation, AAR was determined in purified elastin from arteries from individuals of known age (n = 68 individuals, including n = 15 putrefied corpses), considering the influence of different stages of atherosclerosis and putrefaction on the AAR values. AAR was found to increase with age. The relationship between AAR and age was good enough to serve as basis for age estimation, but worse than known from dentinal proteins. Intravital and post-mortem degradation of elastin may have a moderate effect on the AAR values. Age estimation based on AAR in purified elastin from arteries may be a valuable additional tool in the identification of unidentified cadavers, especially in cases where other methods cannot be applied (e.g., no available teeth and body parts).

Anomalous relaxation and self-organization in non-equilibrium processes

OpenAIRE

Fatkullin, Ibrahim; Kladko, Konstantin; Mitkov, Igor; Bishop, A. R.

2000-01-01

We study thermal relaxation in ordered arrays of coupled nonlinear elements with external driving. We find, that our model exhibits dynamic self-organization manifested in a universal stretched-exponential form of relaxation. We identify two types of self-organization, cooperative and anti-cooperative, which lead to fast and slow relaxation, respectively. We give a qualitative explanation for the behavior of the stretched exponent in different parameter ranges. We emphasize that this is a sys...

Synthesis and characterization of highly purified nanosilica from pyrophyllite ores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuad, Abdulloh, E-mail: abdulloh.fuad.fmipa@um.ac.id; Mufti, Nandang; Diantoro, Markus; Subakti,; Septa Kurniawati, S. [Jurusan Fisika FMIPA Universitas Negeri Malang. Jl. Semarang No. 5 Malang, east Java (Indonesia)

2016-03-11

A simple method based on alkaline extraction followed by acid precipitation and acid dissolution has been developed to produce highly purified nanosilica from pyrophyllite materials. The reaction parameters such as molar ratio NaOH/SiO{sub 2}, reaction time and reaction temperature are varied for obtaining maximum nanosilica convertion. About 99,45% highly purified precipitated nanosilica measure with ICP, 259 m{sup 2}/gr measure with BET surface area, 97% whiteness and 3 ml/gr oil absorbtion from pyrophyllite materials has been achieved in closed system at 150°C within 180 min. The physicals and chemical properties (such as X-Ray Diffraction from PANalytical, X-Ray Fluorescence Minipal4 from PANanalytical, BET surface area, Forier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy from Hitachi, and SEM-EDS Inspect-S50 from FEI Company) of the highly purity nanosilica were studied.

Accelerating convergence of molecular dynamics-based structural relaxation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Asbjørn

2005-01-01

We describe strategies to accelerate the terminal stage of molecular dynamics (MD)based relaxation algorithms, where a large fraction of the computational resources are used. First, we analyze the qualitative and quantitative behavior of the QuickMin family of MD relaxation algorithms and explore...

COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RELAXATION CHARACTERISTICS OF SUNFLOWER AND RAPESEED LECITHIN

OpenAIRE

Lisovaya E. V.; Victorova E. P.; Agafonov O. S.; Kornen N. N.; Shahray T. A.

2015-01-01

The article presents a comparative assessment and peculiarities of nuclear magnetic relaxation characteristics of rapeseed and sunflower lecithin. It was established, that lecithin’s nuclear magnetic relaxation characteristics, namely, protons’ spin-spin relaxation time and amplitudes of nuclear magnetic relaxation signals of lecithin components, depend on content of oil’s fat acids and phospholipids, contained in the lecithin. Comparative assessment of protons’ spin-spin relaxation time of r...

F{sup 19} relaxation in non-magnetic hexafluorides; Contribution a l'etude de la relaxation des fluors dans les hexafluorures non magnetiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rigny, P [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1967-12-01

The interesting properties of the fluorine magnetic resonance in the hexafluorides of molybdenum, tungsten and uranium, are very much due to large anisotropies of the chemical shift tensors. In the solid phases these anisotropies, the values of which are deduced from line shape studies, allow one to show that the molecules undergo hindered rotations about the metal atom. The temperature and frequency dependence of the fluorine longitudinal relaxation times shows that the relaxation is due to the molecular motion. The dynamical parameters of this motion are then deduced from the complete study of the fluorine relaxation in the rotating frame. In the liquid phases, the existence of anisotropies allows an estimation of the different contributions to the relaxation. In particular, the frequency and temperature dependence of the relaxation shows it to be dominated by the spin-rotation interaction. We have shown that the strength of this interaction can be deduced from the chemical shifts, and the angle through which the molecule rotates quasi-freely can be determined. In the hexafluorides, this angle is roughly one radian at 70 C, and with the help of this value, the friction coefficients which describe the intermolecular interactions are discussed. (author) [French] Les proprietes de la resonance magnetique des fluors dans les hexafluorures de molybdene, tungstene et uranium sont influencees par l'existence de deplacements chimiques tres anisotropes. Dans les phases solides, la valeur de cette anisotropie peut etre determinee par l'analyse des formes de raies et son existence permet de montrer que les molecules sont en rotation empechee autour de leur atome central. L'etude du temps de relaxation longitudinal en fonction de la temperature et de la frequence montre que la relaxation est due aux mouvements moleculaires, aux plus hautes temperatures. Les proprietes dynamiques du mouvement sont obtenues par l'etude complete de la relaxation spin-reseau dans le referentiel

Affinity-purified human interleukin I is cytotoxic to isolated islets of Langerhans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mandrup-Poulsen, T; Bendtzen, K; Nerup, J

1986-01-01

Addition of highly purified human Interleukin-1 to the culture medium of isolated rat islets of Langerhans for 6 days led to 88% inhibition of glucose-induced insulin-release, reduction of islet contents of insulin and glucagon to 31% and 8% respectively, and disintegration of the islets. These e......Addition of highly purified human Interleukin-1 to the culture medium of isolated rat islets of Langerhans for 6 days led to 88% inhibition of glucose-induced insulin-release, reduction of islet contents of insulin and glucagon to 31% and 8% respectively, and disintegration of the islets...

Effects of relaxation on psychobiological wellbeing during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Urech, Corinne; Fink, Nadine S; Hoesli, Irène; Wilhelm, Frank H; Bitzer, Johannes; Alder, Judith

2010-10-01

Prenatal maternal stress is associated with adverse birth outcomes and may be reduced by relaxation exercises. The aim of the present study was to compare the immediate effects of two active and one passive 10-min relaxation technique on perceived and physiological indicators of relaxation. 39 healthy pregnant women recruited at the outpatient department of the University Women's Hospital Basel participated in a randomized controlled trial with an experimental repeated measure design. Participants were assigned to one of two active relaxation techniques, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) or guided imagery (GI), or a passive relaxation control condition. Self-reported relaxation on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and state anxiety (STAI-S), endocrine parameters indicating hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (cortisol and ACTH) and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system activity (norepinephrine and epinephrine), as well as cardiovascular responses (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) were measured at four time points before and after the relaxation exercise. Between group differences showed, that compared to the PMR and control conditions, GI was significantly more effective in enhancing levels of relaxation and together with PMR, GI was associated with a significant decrease in heart rate. Within the groups, passive as well as active relaxation procedures were associated with a decline in endocrine measures except epinephrine. Taken together, these data indicate that different types of relaxation had differential effects on various psychological and biological stress systems. GI was especially effective in inducing self-reported relaxation in pregnant women while at the same time reducing cardiovascular activity. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on properties of stress relaxation for NiTiNb shape memory alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Xuchang; Mo Huaqiang; Zeng Guangting; Shen Baoluo; Huo Yongzhong

2002-01-01

Stress relaxation tests at high temperature are performed for NiTiNb shape memory alloy to obtain the properties of stress relaxation. The relaxation curve fitted with the expression, which is deduced based on the relation between the relaxation and the creep. With the aid of experimental data, relaxation characteristic coefficient and remaining stress ratio are obtained, which characterize the relaxation behavior. The results of the study show that stress relaxation would be more evident with the higher temperature and/or greater initial stress. NiTiNb alloy has good relaxation resistance in the temperature range 300-400 degree C and the initial stress range 260-360 MPa. NiTiNb has better properties to resist relaxation than NiTiFe, therefore it is more applicable to work at high temperature

Low temperature dielectric relaxation and charged defects in ferroelectric thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Artemenko

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We report a dielectric relaxation in BaTiO3-based ferroelectric thin films of different composition and with several growth modes: sputtering (with and without magnetron and sol-gel. The relaxation was observed at cryogenic temperatures (T < 100 K for frequencies from 100 Hz up to 10 MHz. This relaxation activation energy is always lower than 200 meV and is very similar to the relaxation that we reported in the parent bulk perovskites. Based on our Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR investigation, we ascribe this dielectric relaxation to the hopping of electrons among Ti3+-V(O charged defects. Being dependent on the growth process and on the amount of oxygen vacancies, this relaxation can be a useful probe of defects in actual integrated capacitors with no need for specific shaping.

Green--Kubo formula for collisional relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Visscher, P.B.

1988-01-01

In this paper we generalize the Green--Kubo method (usually used for obtaining formulas for transport coefficients involving conserved densities) to relaxation processes occurring during collisions, such as the transfer of energy from vibrational to translational modes in a molecular fluid. We show that the relaxation rate can be calculated without evaluating time correlation functions over long times, and can in fact be written as a sum over collisions which makes the relation between the Green--Kubo method and approximate independent-collision models much clearer

Relaxation Dynamics of Nanoparticle-Tethered Polymer Chains

KAUST Repository

Kim, Sung A

2015-09-08

© 2015 American Chemical Society. Relaxation dynamics of nanoparticle-tethered cis-1,4-polyisoprene (PI) are investigated using dielectric spectroscopy and rheometry. A model system composed of polymer chains densely grafted to spherical SiO2 nanoparticles to form self-suspended suspensions facilitates detailed studies of slow global chain and fast segmental mode dynamics under surface and geometrical confinement-from experiments performed in bulk materials. We report that unentangled polymer molecules tethered to nanoparticles relax far more slowly than their tethered entangled counterparts. Specifically, at fixed grafting density we find, counterintuitively, that increasing the tethered polymer molecular weight up to values close to the entanglement molecular weight speeds up chain relaxation dynamics. Decreasing the polymer grafting density for a fixed molecular weight has the opposite effect: it dramatically slows down chain relaxation, increases interchain coupling, and leads to a transition in rheological response from simple fluid behavior to viscoelastic fluid behavior for tethered PI chains that are unentangled by conventional measures. Increasing the measurement temperature produces an even stronger elastic response and speeds up molecular relaxation at a rate that decreases with grafting density and molecular weight. These observations are discussed in terms of chain confinement driven by crowding between particles and by the existence of an entropic attractive force produced by the space-filling constraint on individual chains in a self-suspended material. Our results indicate that the entropic force between densely grafted polymer molecules couples motions of individual chains in an analogous manner to reversible cross-links in associating polymers.

Spectroscopic Studies of the Super Relaxed State of Skeletal Muscle.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Nogara

Full Text Available In the super-relaxed state of myosin, ATPase activity is strongly inhibited by binding of the myosin heads to the core of the thick filament in a structure known as the interacting-heads motif. In the disordered relaxed state myosin heads are not bound to the core of the thick filament and have an ATPase rate that is 10 fold greater. In the interacting-heads motif the two regulatory light chains appear to bind to each other. We have made single cysteine mutants of the regulatory light chain, placed both paramagnetic and fluorescent probes on them, and exchanged them into skinned skeletal muscle fibers. Many of the labeled light chains tended to disrupt the stability of the super-relaxed state, and showed spectral changes in the transition from the disordered relaxed state to the super-relaxed state. These data support the putative interface between the two regulatory light chains identified by cryo electron microscopy and show that both the divalent cation bound to the regulatory light chain and the N-terminus of the regulatory light chain play a role in the stability of the super-relaxed state. One probe showed a shift to shorter wavelengths in the super-relaxed state such that a ratio of intensities at 440nm to that at 520nm provided a measure of the population of the super-relaxed state amenable for high throughput screens for finding potential pharmaceuticals. The results provide a proof of concept that small molecules that bind to this region can destabilize the super-relaxed state and provide a method to search for small molecules that do so leading to a potentially effective treatment for Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Immunomodulatory activity of purified arabinoxylans from finger millet (Eleusine coracana, v. Indaf 15) bran.

Science.gov (United States)

Savitha Prashanth, M R; Shruthi, R R; Muralikrishna, G

2015-09-01

Biological activities of alkali extracted (Barium hydroxide: BE-480 kDa, Potassium hydroxide: KE1-1080 and KE2-40 kDa), purified arabinoxylans (AX) from the finger millet bran varying in their molecular weight, phenolic acid content, arabinose to xylose ratios were evaluated for their immune-stimulatory activities using murine lymphocytes and peritoneal exudate macrophages. All three purified AX displayed significant (p 2 fold) and macrophage phagocytosis than KE1 and KE2. The above results clearly documented that the immunostimulatory activity of arabinoxylans is directly proportional to the amount of ferulic acid content (0.11 mg/100 g), whereas molecular weight as well as arabinose/xylose ratio, did not have any bearing. Purified AX from the finger millet bran can be explored as a potent natural immunomodulator.

RESEARCH ARTICLE Analysis of polymorphisms and selective ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2017-01-27

Jan 27, 2017 ... The presence of purifying selection and low nucleotide diversity indicated that ... protein in Plasmodium spp., and they are mainly due to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ... This study was approved by Medical Research & Ethics Committee of the Ministry of. Health ..... X. Asembo Bay Cohort Project.

Topology Synthesis of Structures Using Parameter Relaxation and Geometric Refinement

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, P. V.; Tinker, M. L.

2007-01-01

Typically, structural topology optimization problems undergo relaxation of certain design parameters to allow the existence of intermediate variable optimum topologies. Relaxation permits the use of a variety of gradient-based search techniques and has been shown to guarantee the existence of optimal solutions and eliminate mesh dependencies. This Technical Publication (TP) will demonstrate the application of relaxation to a control point discretization of the design workspace for the structural topology optimization process. The control point parameterization with subdivision has been offered as an alternative to the traditional method of discretized finite element design domain. The principle of relaxation demonstrates the increased utility of the control point parameterization. One of the significant results of the relaxation process offered in this TP is that direct manufacturability of the optimized design will be maintained without the need for designer intervention or translation. In addition, it will be shown that relaxation of certain parameters may extend the range of problems that can be addressed; e.g., in permitting limited out-of-plane motion to be included in a path generation problem.

Interrelation of creep and relaxation: a modeling approach for ligaments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lakes, R S; Vanderby, R

1999-12-01

Experimental data (Thornton et al., 1997) show that relaxation proceeds more rapidly (a greater slope on a log-log scale) than creep in ligament, a fact not explained by linear viscoelasticity. An interrelation between creep and relaxation is therefore developed for ligaments based on a single-integral nonlinear superposition model. This interrelation differs from the convolution relation obtained by Laplace transforms for linear materials. We demonstrate via continuum concepts of nonlinear viscoelasticity that such a difference in rate between creep and relaxation phenomenologically occurs when the nonlinearity is of a strain-stiffening type, i.e., the stress-strain curve is concave up as observed in ligament. We also show that it is inconsistent to assume a Fung-type constitutive law (Fung, 1972) for both creep and relaxation. Using the published data of Thornton et al. (1997), the nonlinear interrelation developed herein predicts creep behavior from relaxation data well (R > or = 0.998). Although data are limited and the causal mechanisms associated with viscoelastic tissue behavior are complex, continuum concepts demonstrated here appear capable of interrelating creep and relaxation with fidelity.

Practical screening of purified cellobiohydrolases and endoglucanases with α-cellulose and specification of hydrodynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jäger Gernot

2010-08-01

shows in detail, for the first time, the adsorption of purified cellulases onto α-cellulose, the effect of hydrodynamics on cellulase adsorption and the correlation between the adsorption and the activity of cellulases at different hydrodynamic conditions. Complete suspension of the substrate has to be ensured in order to optimize the cellulase attack. In the future, screenings should be conducted with α-cellulose so that proper cellulases are selected to best hydrolyze the real alkaline-pretreated biomass used in biorefineries.

Electron spin relaxation in a transition-metal dichalcogenide quantum dot

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Alexander J.; Burkard, Guido

2017-06-01

We study the relaxation of a single electron spin in a circular quantum dot in a transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayer defined by electrostatic gating. Transition-metal dichalcogenides provide an interesting and promising arena for quantum dot nano-structures due to the combination of a band gap, spin-valley physics and strong spin-orbit coupling. First we will discuss which bound state solutions in different B-field regimes can be used as the basis for qubits states. We find that at low B-fields combined spin-valley Kramers qubits to be suitable, while at large magnetic fields pure spin or valley qubits can be envisioned. Then we present a discussion of the relaxation of a single electron spin mediated by electron-phonon interaction via various different relaxation channels. In the low B-field regime we consider the spin-valley Kramers qubits and include impurity mediated valley mixing which will arise in disordered quantum dots. Rashba spin-orbit admixture mechanisms allow for relaxation by in-plane phonons either via the deformation potential or by piezoelectric coupling, additionally direct spin-phonon mechanisms involving out-of-plane phonons give rise to relaxation. We find that the relaxation rates scale as \\propto B 6 for both in-plane phonons coupling via deformation potential and the piezoelectric effect, while relaxation due to the direct spin-phonon coupling scales independant to B-field to lowest order but depends strongly on device mechanical tension. We will also discuss the relaxation mechanisms for pure spin or valley qubits formed in the large B-field regime.

Relaxation of the magnetization in magnetic molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Carretta, S.; Bianchi, A.; Liviotti, E.; Santini, P.; Amoretti, G.

2006-04-01

Several mechanisms characterize the relaxation dynamics in magnetic molecules. We investigate two of them, spin-lattice coupling and incoherent quantum tunneling. The effect of the phonon heat bath is studied by analyzing the exponential time decay of the autocorrelation of the magnetization. We show that in ferromagnetic (Cu6) and antiferromagnetic (Fe6) molecular rings this decay is characterized by a single characteristic time. At very low temperature, relaxation through incoherent quantum tunneling may occur in nanomagnets such as Fe8 or Ni4. The mixing between levels with different values of the total spin (S mixing) greatly influences this mechanism. In particular, we demonstrate that a fourth-order anisotropy term O44, required to interpret experimental electron paramagnetic resonance and relaxation data in Ni4, naturally arises when S mixing is considered in calculations.

Local NMR relaxation rates T1-1 and T2-1 depending on the d -vector symmetry in the vortex state of chiral and helical p -wave superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Kenta K.; Ichioka, Masanori; Onari, Seiichiro

2018-04-01

Local NMR relaxation rates in the vortex state of chiral and helical p -wave superconductors are investigated by the quasiclassical Eilenberger theory. We calculate the spatial and resonance frequency dependences of the local NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate T1-1 and spin-spin relaxation rate T2-1. Depending on the relation between the NMR relaxation direction and the d -vector symmetry, the local T1-1 and T2-1 in the vortex core region show different behaviors. When the NMR relaxation direction is parallel to the d -vector component, the local NMR relaxation rate is anomalously suppressed by the negative coherence effect due to the spin dependence of the odd-frequency s -wave spin-triplet Cooper pairs. The difference between the local T1-1 and T2-1 in the site-selective NMR measurement is expected to be a method to examine the d -vector symmetry of candidate materials for spin-triplet superconductors.

A computational study of inviscid hypersonic flows using energy relaxation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagdewe, Suryakant; Kim, H. D.; Shevare, G. R.

2008-01-01

Reasonable analysis of hypersonic flows requires a thermodynamic non-equilibrium model to properly simulate strong shock waves or high pressure and temperature states in the flow field. The energy relaxation method (ERM) has been used to model such a non-equilibrium effect which is generally expressed as a hyperbolic system of equations with a stiff relaxation source term. Relaxation time that is multiplied with source terms is responsible for nonequilibrium in the system. In the present study, a numerical analysis has been carried out with varying values of relaxation time for several hypersonic flows with AUSM (advection upstream splitting method) as a numerical scheme. Vibration modes of thermodynamic nonequilibrium effects are considered. The results obtained showed that, as the relaxation time reduces to zero, the solution marches toward equilibrium, while it shows non-equilibrium effects, as the relaxation time increases. The present computations predicted the experiment results of hypersonic flows with good accuracy. The work carried out suggests that the present energy relaxation method can be robust for analysis of hypersonic flows

Dielectric Relaxation Studies of Alkyl Methacrylate–Phenol Mixtures ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Kirkwood correlation factor and the excess inverse relaxation time were determined and they yield information on the molecular interactions occurring in the systems. The values of the static permittivity and the relaxation time increase with an increase in the percentage of phenol in the mixtures. KEYWORDS: Dielectric ...

Plasma relaxation of cold electrons and hot ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potapenko, I.F.; Sakanaka, P.H.

1996-01-01

The relaxation process of a space uniform plasma composed of cold electrons and one species of hot ions studied numerically. Special attention has been paid to the deviation of relaxation from the classical picture which is characterized by a weakly non-isothermic situation. (author). 6 refs., 2 figs

Suppression of Raman electron spin relaxation of radicals in crystals. Comparison of Cu2+ and free radical relaxation in triglycine sulfate and Tutton salt single crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, S K; Goslar, J; Lijewski, S

2011-08-31

Electron spin-lattice relaxation was measured by the electron spin echo method in a broad temperature range above 4.2 K for Cu(2+) ions and free radicals produced by ionizing radiation in triglycine sulfate (TGS) and Tutton salt (NH4)(2)Zn(SO4)2 ⋅ 6H2O crystals. Localization of the paramagnetic centres in the crystal unit cells was determined from continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance spectra. Various spin relaxation processes and mechanisms are outlined. Cu(2+) ions relax fast via two-phonon Raman processes in both crystals involving the whole phonon spectrum of the host lattice. This relaxation is slightly slower for TGS where Cu(2+) ions are in the interstitial position. The ordinary Raman processes do not contribute to the radical relaxation which relaxes via the local phonon mode. The local mode lies within the acoustic phonon band for radicals in TGS but within the optical phonon range in (NH4)(2)Zn(SO4)2 ⋅ 6H2O. In the latter the cross-relaxation was considered. A lack of phonons around the radical molecules suggested a local crystal amorphisation produced by x- or γ-rays.

Relaxed plasmas in external magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spies, G.O.; Li, J.

1991-08-01

The well-known theory of relaxed plasmas (Taylor states) is extended to external magnetic fields whose field lines intersect the conducting toroidal boundary. Application to an axially symmetric, large-aspect-ratio torus with circular cross section shows that the maximum pinch ratio, and hence the phenomenon of current saturation, is independent of the external field. The relaxed state is explicitly given for an external octupole field. In this case, field reversal is inhibited near parts of the boundary if the octupole generates magnetic x-points within the plasma. (orig.)

Activation of purified calcium channels by stoichiometric protein phosphorylation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nunoki, K.; Florio, V.; Catterall, W.A. (Univ. of Washington, Seattle (USA))

1989-09-01

Purified dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels from rabbit skeletal muscle were reconstituted into phosphatidylcholine vesicles to evaluate the effect of phosphorylation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PK-A) on their function. Both the rate and extent of {sup 45}Ca{sup 2+} uptake into vesicles containing reconstituted calcium channels were increased severalfold after incubation with ATP and PK-A. The degree of stimulation of {sup 45}Ca{sup 2+} uptake was linearly proportional to the extent of phosphorylation of the alpha 1 and beta subunits of the calcium channel up to a stoichiometry of approximately 1 mol of phosphate incorporated into each subunit. The calcium channels activated by phosphorylation were determined to be incorporated into the reconstituted vesicles in the inside-out orientation and were completely inhibited by low concentrations of dihydropyridines, phenylalkylamines, Cd{sup 2+}, Ni{sup 2+}, and Mg{sup 2+}. The results demonstrate a direct relationship between PK-A-catalyzed phosphorylation of the alpha 1 and beta subunits of the purified calcium channel and activation of the ion conductance activity of the dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels.

Activation of purified calcium channels by stoichiometric protein phosphorylation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunoki, K.; Florio, V.; Catterall, W.A.

1989-01-01

Purified dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels from rabbit skeletal muscle were reconstituted into phosphatidylcholine vesicles to evaluate the effect of phosphorylation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PK-A) on their function. Both the rate and extent of 45 Ca 2+ uptake into vesicles containing reconstituted calcium channels were increased severalfold after incubation with ATP and PK-A. The degree of stimulation of 45 Ca 2+ uptake was linearly proportional to the extent of phosphorylation of the alpha 1 and beta subunits of the calcium channel up to a stoichiometry of approximately 1 mol of phosphate incorporated into each subunit. The calcium channels activated by phosphorylation were determined to be incorporated into the reconstituted vesicles in the inside-out orientation and were completely inhibited by low concentrations of dihydropyridines, phenylalkylamines, Cd 2+ , Ni 2+ , and Mg 2+ . The results demonstrate a direct relationship between PK-A-catalyzed phosphorylation of the alpha 1 and beta subunits of the purified calcium channel and activation of the ion conductance activity of the dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels

Influence of a highly purified senna extract on colonic epithelium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Gorkom, B A; Karrenbeld, A; van Der Sluis, T; Koudstaal, J; de Vries, E G; Kleibeuker, J H

2000-01-01

BACKGROUND: Chronic use of sennoside laxatives often causes pseudomelanosis coli. A recent study suggested that pseudomelanosis coli is associated with an increased colorectal cancer risk. A single high dose of highly purified senna extract increased proliferation rate and reduced crypt length in

Characterization of structural relaxation in inorganic glasses using length dilatometry

Science.gov (United States)

Koontz, Erick

The processes that govern how a glass relaxes towards its thermodynamic quasi-equilibrium state are major factors in understanding glass behavior near the glass transition region, as characterized by the glass transition temperature (Tg). Intrinsic glass properties such as specific volume, enthalpy, entropy, density, etc. are used to map the behavior of the glass network below in and near the transition region. The question of whether a true thermodynamic second order phase transition takes place in the glass transition region is another pending question. Linking viscosity behavior to entropy, or viewing the glass configuration as an energy landscape are just a couple of the most prevalent methods used for attempting to understand the glass transition. The structural relaxation behavior of inorganic glasses is important for more than scientific reasons, many commercial glass processing operations including glass melting and certain forms of optical fabrication include significant time spent in the glass transition region. For this reason knowledge of structural relaxation processes can, at a minimum, provide information for annealing duration of melt-quenched glasses. The development of a predictive model for annealing time prescription has the potential to save glass manufacturers significant time and money as well as increasing volume throughput. In optical hot forming processes such as precision glass molding, molded optical components can significantly change in shape upon cooling through the glass transition. This change in shape is not scientifically predictable as of yet though manufacturers typically use empirical rules developed in house. The classification of glass behavior in the glass transition region would allow molds to be accurately designed and save money for the producers. The work discussed in this dissertation is comprised of the development of a dilatometric measurement and characterization method of structural relaxation. The measurement and

Longitudinal relaxation of initially straight flexible and stiff polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitrakopoulos, Panagiotis; Dissanayake, Inuka

2004-11-01

The present talk considers the relaxation of a single flexible or stiff polymer chain from an initial straight configuration in a viscous solvent. This problem commonly arises when strong flows are turned off in both industrial and biological applications. The problem is also motivated by recent experiments with single biopolymer molecules relaxing after being fully extended by applied forces as well as by the recent development of micro-devices involving stretched tethered biopolymers. Our results are applicable to a wide array of synthetic polymers such as polyacrylamides, Kevlar and polyesters as well as biopolymers such as DNA, actin filaments, microtubules and MTV. In this talk we discuss the mechanism of the polymer relaxation as was revealed through Brownian Dynamics simulations covering a broad range of time scales and chain stiffness. After the short-time free diffusion, the chain's longitudinal reduction at early intermediate times is shown to constitute a universal behavior for any chain stiffness caused by a quasi-steady relaxation of tensions associated with the deforming action of the Brownian forces. Stiff chains are shown to exhibit a late intermediate-time longitudinal reduction associated with a relaxation of tensions affected by the deforming Brownian and the restoring bending forces. The longitudinal and transverse relaxations are shown to obey different laws, i.e. the chain relaxation is anisotropic at all times. In the talk, we show how from the knowledge of the relaxation mechanism, we can predict and explain the polymer properties including the polymer stress and the solution birefringence. In addition, a generalized stress-optic law is derived valid for any time and chain stiffness. All polymer properties which depend on the polymer length are shown to exhibit two intermediate-time behaviors with the early one to constitute a universal behavior for any chain stiffness. This work was supported in part by the Minta Martin Research Fund. The

Stress relaxation characteristics of type 304 stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manjoine, M.J.

1975-01-01

The stress relaxation of type 304 stainless steel below 900 0 F (482 0 C) is practically time independent after 100 h and has a maximum of about 18 per cent. The per cent relaxation decreases with increasing degree of cold work and with decreasing stress. Above 900 0 F the per cent relaxation increases with time, temperature, and cold work. The initial stress can also be increased for cold work materials so that the remaining stress can be maintained at a higher value even up to 1200 0 F (649 0 C). Time-temperature parameters are practical to correlate and extrapolate the data in the higher temperature range. (author)

Low-frequency spatial wave manipulation via phononic crystals with relaxed cell symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celli, Paolo; Gonella, Stefano

2014-01-01

Phononic crystals enjoy unique wave manipulation capabilities enabled by their periodic topologies. On one hand, they feature frequency-dependent directivity, which allows directional propagation of selected modes even at low frequencies. However, the stellar nature of the propagation patterns and the inability to induce single-beam focusing represent significant limitations of this functionality. On the other hand, one can realize waveguides by defecting the periodic structure of a crystal operating in bandgap mode along some desired path. Waveguides of this type are only activated in the relatively high and narrow frequency bands corresponding to total bandgaps, which limits their potential technological applications. In this work, we introduce a class of phononic crystals with relaxed cell symmetry and we exploit symmetry relaxation of a population of auxiliary microstructural elements to achieve spatial manipulation of elastic waves at very low frequencies, in the range of existence of the acoustic modes. By this approach, we achieve focusing without modifying the default static properties of the medium and by invoking mechanisms that are well suited to envision adaptive configurations for semi-active wave control

Ultrafast relaxation dynamics of electrons in Au clusters capped with dodecanethiol molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamanaka, Y.; Fukagawa, K.; Tai, Y.; Murakami, J.; Nakamura, A.

2006-01-01

We have investigated electron relaxation dynamics of size-selected Au clusters capped by dodecanethiol molecules in the cluster sizes of 28-142 atoms using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. Absorption spectra of 28-71-atom clusters show discrete peaks due to the optical transitions between quantized states, while an absorption band due to the surface plasmon is observed in 142-atom clusters. In the differential absorption spectra measured by the pump-probe experiments, a large redshift of 140 meV lasting over 10 ps and absorption bleaching decaying within 2 ps are observed at the absorption peaks of 28-atom clusters. The redshift is ascribed to a charge transfer between Au clusters and dodecanethiol molecules adsorbed on the cluster surface, and the bleaching is due to blocking of the optical transitions between the ground state and the occupied electronic states due to the Pauli's-exclusion principle. Such behavior is in contrast to the 142-atom clusters, where the cooling of hot electrons generated by photo-excitation determines the relaxation dynamics. These results indicate molecular properties of the 28-atom Au cluster-dodecanethiol system

Models for multiple relaxation processes in collagen fiber

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

... originate from stress strain induced changes in hydrogen bond network whereas the other seems to be more strongly coupled to salt like bridges and electrostatic interactions. Urea alters the activation energy for one relaxation step while pH and solvent dielectric constant alter the relaxation behavior one set of processes.

relaxGUI: a new software for fast and simple NMR relaxation data analysis and calculation of ps-ns and μs motion of proteins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bieri, Michael; D’Auvergne, Edward J.; Gooley, Paul R.

2011-01-01

Investigation of protein dynamics on the ps-ns and μs-ms timeframes provides detailed insight into the mechanisms of enzymes and the binding properties of proteins. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an excellent tool for studying protein dynamics at atomic resolution. Analysis of relaxation data using model-free analysis can be a tedious and time consuming process, which requires good knowledge of scripting procedures. The software relaxGUI was developed for fast and simple model-free analysis and is fully integrated into the software package relax. It is written in Python and uses wxPython to build the graphical user interface (GUI) for maximum performance and multi-platform use. This software allows the analysis of NMR relaxation data with ease and the generation of publication quality graphs as well as color coded images of molecular structures. The interface is designed for simple data analysis and management. The software was tested and validated against the command line version of relax.

relaxGUI: a new software for fast and simple NMR relaxation data analysis and calculation of ps-ns and μs motion of proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Bieri, Michael; d'Auvergne, Edward J; Gooley, Paul R

2011-06-01

Investigation of protein dynamics on the ps-ns and μs-ms timeframes provides detailed insight into the mechanisms of enzymes and the binding properties of proteins. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an excellent tool for studying protein dynamics at atomic resolution. Analysis of relaxation data using model-free analysis can be a tedious and time consuming process, which requires good knowledge of scripting procedures. The software relaxGUI was developed for fast and simple model-free analysis and is fully integrated into the software package relax. It is written in Python and uses wxPython to build the graphical user interface (GUI) for maximum performance and multi-platform use. This software allows the analysis of NMR relaxation data with ease and the generation of publication quality graphs as well as color coded images of molecular structures. The interface is designed for simple data analysis and management. The software was tested and validated against the command line version of relax.

On the relaxation of cold electrons and hot ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potapenko, I.F.; Bobylev, A.V.; Azevedo, C.A. de; Sakanaka, P.H.; Assis, A.S. de

1998-01-01

The relaxation process of a space uniform plasma composed of cold electrons and one species of hot ions is studied numerically using one- and two-dimensional Landau - Fokker - Planck codes. Relaxation of a monoenergetic ion beam is considered in possibly extreme temperature regimes. Special attention is paid to the deviation of the relaxation process from the classical picture, which is characterized by the close initial temperatures T e >(m e /m i ) 1/3 T i . The present results give quite a clear idea of the relaxation picture for any initial temperatures also in extreme temperature regimes. A difference scheme, preserving the number of particles and the energy, gives the possibility of solving the problem numerically without error accumulation, except for machine errors. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

¹²⁹ Xe NMR Relaxation-Based Macromolecular Sensing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomes, Muller D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Dao, Phuong [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Jeong, Keunhong [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Slack, Clancy C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Vassiliou, Christophoros C. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Finbloom, Joel A. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Francis, Matthew B. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Wemmer, David E. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Biosciences Division; Pines, Alexander [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

2016-07-29

A ¹²⁹Xe NMR relaxation-based sensing approach is reported on that exploits changes in the bulk xenon relaxation rate induced by slowed tumbling of a cryptophane-based sensor upon target binding. The amplification afforded by detection of the bulk dissolved xenon allows sensitive detection of targets. The sensor comprises a xenon-binding cryptophane cage, a target interaction element, and a metal chelating agent. Xenon associated with the target-bound cryptophane cage is rapidly relaxed and then detected after exchange with the bulk. Here we show that large macromolecular targets increase the rotational correlation time of xenon, increasing its relaxation rate. Upon binding of a biotin-containing sensor to avidin at 1.5 μM concentration, the free xenon T₂ is reduced by a factor of 4.

Examination of the selective pressures on a live PRRS vaccine virus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Storgaard, Torben; Oleksiewicz, M.; Bøtner, Anette

1999-01-01

of the selective pressure this attenuated virus had experienced during reversion. An analysis of nucleotide mutations showed a similar rate of mutations in the two genes (ORF5 and 7). However, non-synonymous mutations in ORF7 were eliminated by purifying selection. In contrast, non-synonymous mutations in ORF5...

Characterization of product RNAs synthesized in vitro by poliovirus RNA polymerase purified by chromatography on hydroxylapatite or poly(U) Sepharose.

OpenAIRE

Young, D C; Tobin, G J; Flanegan, J B

1987-01-01

The size of the product RNA synthesized by the poliovirus RNA polymerase and host factor was significantly affected by the type of column chromatography used to purify the polymerase. Dimer length product RNA was synthesized by the polymerase purified by chromatography on hydroxylapatite. This contrasted with the monomer length product RNA synthesized by the polymerase purified by chromatography on poly(U) Sepharose. The poly(U) Sepharose-purified polymerase was shown to contain oligo(U) that...

Nuclear magnetic relaxation by the dipolar EMOR mechanism: Multi-spin systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Zhiwei; Halle, Bertil

2017-08-01

In aqueous systems with immobilized macromolecules, including biological tissues, the longitudinal spin relaxation of water protons is primarily induced by exchange-mediated orientational randomization (EMOR) of intra- and intermolecular magnetic dipole-dipole couplings. Starting from the stochastic Liouville equation, we have previously developed a rigorous EMOR relaxation theory for dipole-coupled two-spin and three-spin systems. Here, we extend the stochastic Liouville theory to four-spin systems and use these exact results as a guide for constructing an approximate multi-spin theory, valid for spin systems of arbitrary size. This so-called generalized stochastic Redfield equation (GSRE) theory includes the effects of longitudinal-transverse cross-mode relaxation, which gives rise to an inverted step in the relaxation dispersion profile, and coherent spin mode transfer among solid-like spins, which may be regarded as generalized spin diffusion. The GSRE theory is compared to an existing theory, based on the extended Solomon equations, which does not incorporate these phenomena. Relaxation dispersion profiles are computed from the GSRE theory for systems of up to 16 protons, taken from protein crystal structures. These profiles span the range from the motional narrowing limit, where the coherent mode transfer plays a major role, to the ultra-slow motion limit, where the zero-field rate is closely related to the strong-collision limit of the dipolar relaxation rate. Although a quantitative analysis of experimental data is beyond the scope of this work, it is clear from the magnitude of the predicted relaxation rate and the shape of the relaxation dispersion profile that the dipolar EMOR mechanism is the principal cause of water-1H low-field longitudinal relaxation in aqueous systems of immobilized macromolecules, including soft biological tissues. The relaxation theory developed here therefore provides a basis for molecular-level interpretation of endogenous soft

Relaxed Binaural LCMV Beamforming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koutrouvelis, A.; Hendriks, R.C.; Heusdens, R.; Jensen, Jesper Rindom

2017-01-01

In this paper, we propose a new binaural beamforming technique, which can be seen as a relaxation of the linearly constrained minimum variance (LCMV) framework. The proposed method can achieve simultaneous noise reduction and exact binaural cue preservation of the target source, similar to the

Charge Relaxation Dynamics of an Electrolytic Nanocapacitor

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Understanding ion relaxation dynamics in overlapping electric double layers (EDLs) is critical for the development of efficient nanotechnology-based electrochemical energy storage, electrochemomechanical energy conversion, and bioelectrochemical sensing devices as well as the controlled synthesis of nanostructured materials. Here, a lattice Boltzmann (LB) method is employed to simulate an electrolytic nanocapacitor subjected to a step potential at t = 0 for various degrees of EDL overlap, solvent viscosities, ratios of cation-to-anion diffusivity, and electrode separations. The use of a novel continuously varying and Galilean-invariant molecular-speed-dependent relaxation time (MSDRT) with the LB equation recovers a correct microscopic description of the molecular-collision phenomena and enhances the stability of the LB algorithm. Results for large EDL overlaps indicated oscillatory behavior for the ionic current density, in contrast to monotonic relaxation to equilibrium for low EDL overlaps. Further, at low solvent viscosities and large EDL overlaps, anomalous plasmalike spatial oscillations of the electric field were observed that appeared to be purely an effect of nanoscale confinement. Employing MSDRT in our simulations enabled modeling of the fundamental physics of the transient charge relaxation dynamics in electrochemical systems operating away from equilibrium wherein Nernst–Einstein relation is known to be violated. PMID:25678941

Stretched Exponential relaxation in pure Se glass

Science.gov (United States)

Dash, S.; Ravindren, S.; Boolchand, P.

A universal feature of glasses is the stretched exponential relaxation, f (t) = exp[ - t / τ ] β . The model of diffusion of excitations to randomly distributed traps in a glass by Phillips1 yields the stretched exponent β = d[d +2] where d, the effective dimensionality. We have measured the enthalpy of relaxation ΔHnr (tw) at Tg of Se glass in modulated DSC experiments as glasses age at 300K and find β = 0.43(2) for tw in the 0 relaxation is a narrowing of the glass transition width from 7.1°C to 1.4°C, and the ΔHnr term increasing from 0.21 cal/gm to 0.92 cal/gm. In bulk GexSe100-x glasses as x increases to 20%, the length of the polymeric Sen chains between the Ge-crosslinks decreases to n = 2. and the striking relaxation effects nearly vanish. J.C. Phillips, Rep.Prog.Phys. 59 , 1133 (1996). Supported by NSF Grant DMR 08-53957.

Vibrational relaxation of matrix-isolated CH3F and HCl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, L.

1981-08-01

Kinetic and spectroscopic studies have been performed on CH 3 F and HCl as a function of host matrix and temperature. Temporally and spectrally resolved infrared fluorescence was used to monitor the populations of both the initially excited state and the lower lying levels which participate in the relaxation process. For CH 3 F, relaxation from any of the levels near 3.5 μ, i.e. the CH stretching fundamentals or bend overtones, occurs via rapid ( 3 with subsequent relaxation of the ν 3 (CF stretch) manifold. Lifetimes of 2ν 3 and ν 3 were determined through overtone, ΔV = 2, and fundamental fluorescence. These lifetimes show a dramatic dependence on host lattice, an increase of two orders of magnitude in going from Xe and Ar matrices. Lifetimes depend only weakly on temperature. The relaxation of 2ν 3 and ν 3 is consistent with a model in which production of a highly rotationally excited guest via collisions with the repulsive wall of the host is the rate limiting step. For HCl, lifetimes of v = 1,2,3 have been determined. In all hosts, the relaxation is non-radiative. For a given vibrational state, v, the relaxation rate increases in the series k(Ar) < k(Kr) < k(Xe). The dependence of the relaxation rate; on v is superlinear in all matrices, the deviation from linearity increasng in the order Ar < Kr < Xe. The relaxation rates become more strongly temperature dependent with increasing vibrational excitation. The results are consistent with a mechanism in which complex formation introduces the anisotropy necessary to induce a near resonant V → R transition in the rate limiting step

Tension and relaxation in the individual.

Science.gov (United States)

Newbury, C R

1979-06-01

Increasing materialism in society is resulting in more wide spread nervous tension in all age groups. While some degree of nervous tension is necessary in everyday living, its adverse effects require that we must learn to bring it under control. Total tension is shown to have two components: a controllable element arising from factors in the environment and the inbuilt uncontrollable residue which is basic in the individual temperament. The effects of excessive or uncontrolled stress can be classified as 1) emotional reactions such as neurotic behaviour (anxiety hypochondria, hysteria, phobia, depression obsessions and compulsions) or psychotic behaviour and 2) psychosomatic reactions (nervous asthma, headache, insomnia, heart attack). Nervous energy can be wastefully expended by such factors as loss of temper, wrong attitudes to work, job frustration and marital strains. Relaxation is the only positive way to control undesirable nervous tension and its techniques require to be learned. A number of techniques (progressive relaxation, differential relaxation, hypnosis, the use of biofeedback, Yoga and Transcendental Meditation) are described and their application to dental practice is discussed.

Evaluation of long-term relaxation for high-strength bolted connections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nah, H. S.; Lee, H. J.; Kim, K. S.

2010-01-01

It is general that the clamping forces of high-strength bolts diminish within a certain time period after the initial clamping force. In case that special treatments are applied on a faying surface, the clamping force is relaxed severely. Tests were conducted for slip critical joints subjected to various faying surface parameters. The candidates for bolt were two kinds: Korean Standard and American Standard. Relaxation occurred for slip resistant joints with an uncoated surface that had been shot-blasted, cleaned, milled or rusted. In case of ASTM hexagon bolts, the initial clamping force dropped from 7.9% to 13.6% after 1, 000 hours while relaxation ratio was the range from 8.7% to 15.4% for KS bolts. For ASTM hexagon bolt joints with a 5 mil thick zinc coating, the clamping force of the bolts decreased 15.0%, while relaxation ratio was 12.85% for KS bolts. For 4.9 mil thick red lead painted treatment, the relaxation ratio was 18.7% for ASTM hexagon bolt, 34.9% for KS bolts. Regardless of faying surface treatments, the first week charged at least 86% of total relaxation from this test. (authors)

Thermal relaxation of molecular oxygen in collisions with nitrogen atoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrienko, Daniil A., E-mail: daniila@umich.edu; Boyd, Iain D. [Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, 1320 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 (United States)

2016-07-07

Investigation of O{sub 2}–N collisions is performed by means of the quasi-classical trajectory method on the two lowest ab initio potential energy surfaces at temperatures relevant to hypersonic flows. A complete set of bound–bound and bound–free transition rates is obtained for each precollisional rovibrational state. Special attention is paid to the vibrational and rotational relaxations of oxygen as a result of chemically non-reactive interaction with nitrogen atoms. The vibrational relaxation of oxygen partially occurs via the formation of an intermediate NO{sub 2} complex. The efficient energy randomization results in rapid vibrational relaxation at low temperatures, compared to other molecular systems with a purely repulsive potential. The vibrational relaxation time, computed by means of master equation studies, is nearly an order of magnitude lower than the relaxation time in N{sub 2}–O collisions. The rotational nonequilibrium starts to play a significant effect at translational temperatures above 8000 K. The present work provides convenient relations for the vibrational and rotational relaxation times as well as for the quasi-steady dissociation rate coefficient and thus fills a gap in data due to a lack of experimental measurements for this system.

Optimal and Suboptimal Finger Selection Algorithms for MMSE Rake Receivers in Impulse Radio Ultra-Wideband Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiang Mung

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The problem of choosing the optimal multipath components to be employed at a minimum mean square error (MMSE selective Rake receiver is considered for an impulse radio ultra-wideband system. First, the optimal finger selection problem is formulated as an integer programming problem with a nonconvex objective function. Then, the objective function is approximated by a convex function and the integer programming problem is solved by means of constraint relaxation techniques. The proposed algorithms are suboptimal due to the approximate objective function and the constraint relaxation steps. However, they perform better than the conventional finger selection algorithm, which is suboptimal since it ignores the correlation between multipath components, and they can get quite close to the optimal scheme that cannot be implemented in practice due to its complexity. In addition to the convex relaxation techniques, a genetic-algorithm- (GA- based approach is proposed, which does not need any approximations or integer relaxations. This iterative algorithm is based on the direct evaluation of the objective function, and can achieve near-optimal performance with a reasonable number of iterations. Simulation results are presented to compare the performance of the proposed finger selection algorithms with that of the conventional and the optimal schemes.

Commercial Milk Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Kit Reactivities to Purified Milk Proteins and Milk-Derived Ingredients.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivens, Katherine O; Baumert, Joseph L; Taylor, Steve L

2016-07-01

Numerous commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits exist to quantitatively detect bovine milk residues in foods. Milk contains many proteins that can serve as ELISA targets including caseins (α-, β-, or κ-casein) and whey proteins (α-lactalbumin or β-lactoglobulin). Nine commercially-available milk ELISA kits were selected to compare the specificity and sensitivity with 5 purified milk proteins and 3 milk-derived ingredients. All of the milk kits were capable of quantifying nonfat dry milk (NFDM), but did not necessarily detect all individual protein fractions. While milk-derived ingredients were detected by the kits, their quantitation may be inaccurate due to the use of different calibrators, reference materials, and antibodies in kit development. The establishment of a standard reference material for the calibration of milk ELISA kits is increasingly important. The appropriate selection and understanding of milk ELISA kits for food analysis is critical to accurate quantification of milk residues and informed risk management decisions. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

Generalized extended Navier-Stokes theory: multiscale spin relaxation in molecular fluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, J S

2013-09-01

This paper studies the relaxation of the molecular spin angular velocity in the framework of generalized extended Navier-Stokes theory. Using molecular dynamics simulations, it is shown that for uncharged diatomic molecules the relaxation time decreases with increasing molecular moment of inertia per unit mass. In the regime of large moment of inertia the fast relaxation is wave-vector independent and dominated by the coupling between spin and the fluid streaming velocity, whereas for small inertia the relaxation is slow and spin diffusion plays a significant role. The fast wave-vector-independent relaxation is also observed for highly packed systems. The transverse and longitudinal spin modes have, to a good approximation, identical relaxation, indicating that the longitudinal and transverse spin viscosities have same value. The relaxation is also shown to be isomorphic invariant. Finally, the effect of the coupling in the zero frequency and wave-vector limit is quantified by a characteristic length scale; if the system dimension is comparable to this length the coupling must be included into the fluid dynamical description. It is found that the length scale is independent of moment of inertia but dependent on the state point.

Relaxation of quadrupole orientation in an optically pumped alkali vapour

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernabeu, E; Tornos, J

1985-04-01

The relaxation of quadrupole orientation (alignment) in an optically pumped alkali vapour is theoretically studied by taking into account the relaxation processes by alkali-buffer gas, alkali-alkali with spin exchange and alkali-cell wall (diffusion process) collisions. The relaxation transients of the quadrupole orientation are obtained by introducing a first-order weak-pumping approximation (intermediate pumping) less restrictive than the usually considered (zeroth order) one.

Dielectric relaxation phenomena of rigid polar liquid molecules ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The probability of showing double relaxation is ... liquids can, however, be inferred from the measured relaxation time τ by Cole–Cole [3], ... A graphical method [13] was, soon employed from Fr¨ohlich's distribution function [14] to ...... tive to choose a few data for some systems for which chi-square values were adjusted to.

Oxidative Stability of Dispersions Prepared from Purified Marine Phospholipid and the Role of α-Tocopherol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lu, Henna Fung Sieng; Nielsen, Nina Skall; Baron, Caroline P.

2012-01-01

, respectively, during 32 days of storage at 2 °C. Nonenzymatic browning was investigated through measurement of Strecker aldehydes, color changes, and pyrrole content. Dispersions containing α-tocopherol or higher levels of purified marine PL showed a lower increment of volatiles after 32 days storage......The objective of this study was to investigate the oxidative stability of dispersions prepared from different levels of purified marine phospholipid (PL) obtained by acetone precipitation, with particular focus on the interaction between α-tocopherol and PL in dispersions. This also included...... the investigation of nonenzymatic browning in purified marine PL dispersions. Dispersions were prepared by high-pressure homogenizer. The oxidative and hydrolytic stabilities of dispersions were investigated by determination of hydroperoxides, secondary volatile oxidation products, and free fatty acids...

BREATHING EXERCISE RELAXATION INCREASE PHSYCOLOGICAL RESPONSE PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuni Sufyanti Arief

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Being hospitalize will be made the children become stress. Hospitalization response of the child particularly is afraid sense regard to painfull procedure and increase to attack the invasive procedure. The aimed of this study was to describe the influence of breathing exercise relaxation technique regarded to phsycological receiving responses in the preeliminary school chidren while they were receiving invasive procedure. Method: A quasy experimental purposive sampling design was used in this study. There were 20 respondents who met to the inclusion criteria. The independent variable was the breathing exercise relaxation technique and the dependent variable was phsycological receiving responses. Data for phsylogical response were collected by using observation form then analyzed by using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Mann Whitney U Test with significance level α≤0.05. Result :  The result showed that breathing exercise relaxation technique had significance influence to phsycological response (p=0.000. Discussion: It,s can be concluded that breathing exercise relaxation technique has an effect to increase pshycological response in preeliminary school children who received invasive procedure.

Biexciton relaxation associated with dissociation into a surface polariton pair in semiconductor films

Science.gov (United States)

Mitsumori, Yasuyoshi; Matsuura, Shimpei; Uchiyama, Shoichi; Saito, Kentarao; Edamatsu, Keiichi; Nakayama, Masaaki; Ajiki, Hiroshi

2018-04-01

We study the biexciton relaxation process in CuCl films ranging from 6 to 200 nm. The relaxation time is measured as the dephasing time and the lifetime. We observe a unique thickness dependence of the biexciton relaxation time and also obtain an ultrafast relaxation time with a timescale as short as 100 fs, while the exciton lifetime monotonically decreases with increasing thickness. By analyzing the exciton-photon coupling energy for a surface polariton, we theoretically calculate the biexciton relaxation time as a function of the thickness. The calculated dependence qualitatively reproduces the observed relaxation time, indicating that the biexciton dissociation into a surface polariton pair is one of the major biexciton relaxation processes.

Theory of vibrational relaxation in mixtures of ortho- and para-hydrogen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moise, A.; Pritchard, H.O.

1981-01-01

A numerical study of the vibrational relaxation at 500 K of a mixture of ortho-H 2 and para-H 2 is described. The required state-to-state rate constants were calculated and missing pieces of data were estimated by interpolation. It is concluded that only one relaxation time will be observed in any mixture of orth-H 2 and para-H 2 and that (except at very high dilutions in a third inert gas) the relaxation rate constant will be close to the mean of the individual rate constants for relaxation, weighted according to the respective mole fractions of ortho-H 2 and para-H 2 present in the mixture. The relaxation process can be modelled as an electrical RC network, whose time constants can be written down as sums of the appropriate microscopic rate constants. By using this model the conditions required for a mixture of two gases to exhibit two distinct vibrational relaxation times can be explored

Multi-Phonon Relaxation of H^- Local Modes in CaF_2

Science.gov (United States)

Davison, C. P.; Happek, U.; Campbell, J. A.; Engholm, J. R.; Schwettman, H. A.

1998-03-01

Local modes play an important role in the relaxation of vibrational modes of small molecules in solids (J.R. Engholm, C.W. Rella, H.A. Schwettman, and U. Happek; Phys. Rev. Lett. 77), 1302 (1996)., but only few attempts have been reported to study the relaxation of these local modes. Here we report on experiments to investigate the non-radiative relaxation of H^- local modes in CaF_2. Using a pump-probe technique, saturation experiments on the H^- local modes, both interstitial and substitutional, were performed at the Stanford Free Electron Laser Center. At low temperature we find a relaxation time T1 of 45 psec for the substitutional H^- local mode, and a more rapid relaxation for the interstitial H^- local modes next to La^3+ and Lu^3+ impurities. Information on the decay channels of the local modes are obtained from the characteristic temperature dependence of the relaxation rates. This work is supported in part by the ONR, Grant No. N00014-94-1024.

Hydrogels with tunable stress relaxation regulate stem cell fate and activity

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhuri, Ovijit; Gu, Luo; Klumpers, Darinka; Darnell, Max; Bencherif, Sidi A.; Weaver, James C.; Huebsch, Nathaniel; Lee, Hong-Pyo; Lippens, Evi; Duda, Georg N.; Mooney, David J.

2016-03-01

Natural extracellular matrices (ECMs) are viscoelastic and exhibit stress relaxation. However, hydrogels used as synthetic ECMs for three-dimensional (3D) culture are typically elastic. Here, we report a materials approach to tune the rate of stress relaxation of hydrogels for 3D culture, independently of the hydrogel's initial elastic modulus, degradation, and cell-adhesion-ligand density. We find that cell spreading, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are all enhanced in cells cultured in gels with faster relaxation. Strikingly, MSCs form a mineralized, collagen-1-rich matrix similar to bone in rapidly relaxing hydrogels with an initial elastic modulus of 17 kPa. We also show that the effects of stress relaxation are mediated by adhesion-ligand binding, actomyosin contractility and mechanical clustering of adhesion ligands. Our findings highlight stress relaxation as a key characteristic of cell-ECM interactions and as an important design parameter of biomaterials for cell culture.

Functional investigation of β-adrenoceptors in human isolated detrusor focusing on the novel selective β3-adrenoceptor agonist KUC-7322

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Igawa, Yasuhiko; Schneider, Tim; Yamazaki, Yoshinobu; Tatemichi, Satoshi; Homma, Yukio; Nishizawa, Osamu; Michel, Martin C.

2012-01-01

This study aimed to characterize the β-adrenoceptor (β-AR) subtype mediating relaxation of isolated human bladder strips and to explore relaxation by the novel β3-AR-selective agonist KUC-7322 for its relaxant effect on the human isolated detrusor and for its effect on the carbachol (CCh)-induced

Air purification by cementitious materials: Evaluation of air purifying properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hüsken, G.; Brouwers, H.J.H.; Al-Mattarneh, H.; Mustapha, K.N.; Nuruddin, M.F.

2008-01-01

This paper addresses the evaluation of the photocatalytic properties of concrete containing titanium dioxide (TiO2). Here, the assessment of the air purifying abilities of the hardened concrete regarding the degradation of nitric oxide (NO) is of major interest. A setup for measuring the performance

Air purification by cementitious materials : Evaluation of air purifying properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hüsken, G.; Brouwers, H.J.H.; Al-Mattarneh, H.; Mustapha, K.N.; Nuruddin, M.F.

2008-01-01

This paper addresses the evaluation of the photocatalytic properties of concrete containing titanium dioxide (TiO2). Here, the assessment of the air purifying abilities of the hardened concrete regarding the degradation of nitric oxide (NO) is of major interest. A setup for measuring the performance

5 Things To Know About Relaxation Techniques for Stress

Science.gov (United States)

... Techniques for Stress Share: When you’re under stress, your body reacts by releasing hormones that produce the “fight- ... relaxation techniques could counteract the negative effects of stress. ... the body's natural relaxation response, characterized by slower breathing, lower ...

Exploiting Sparsity in SDP Relaxation for Sensor Network Localization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Kim (Sunyoung); M. Kojima; H. Waki (Hayato)

2008-01-01

htmlabstract A sensor network localization problem can be formulated as a quadratic optimization problem (QOP). For quadratic optimization problems, semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation by Lasserre with relaxation order 1 for general polynomial optimization problems (POPs) is known to be

Exploiting Sparsity in SDP Relaxation for Sensor Network Localization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Kim (Sunyoung); M. Kojima; H. Waki (Hayato)

2009-01-01

htmlabstract A sensor network localization problem can be formulated as a quadratic optimization problem (QOP). For quadratic optimization problems, semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation by Lasserre with relaxation order 1 for general polynomial optimization problems (POPs) is known to be

Exciton-relaxation dynamics in lead halides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwanaga, Masanobu; Hayashi, Tetsusuke

2003-01-01

We survey recent comprehensive studies of exciton relaxation in the crystals of lead halides. The luminescence and electron-spin-resonance studies have revealed that excitons in lead bromide spontaneously dissociate and both electrons and holes get self-trapped individually. Similar relaxation has been also clarified in lead chloride. The electron-hole separation is ascribed to repulsive correlation via acoustic phonons. Besides, on the basis of the temperature profiles of self-trapped states, we discuss the origin of luminescence components which are mainly induced under one-photon excitation into the exciton band in lead fluoride, lead chloride, and lead bromide

Stretched exponential relaxation in molecular and electronic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, J.C.

1996-01-01

Stretched exponential relaxation, exp[-(t/τ) β ], fits many relaxation processes in disordered and quenched electronic and molecular systems, but it is widely believed that this function has no microscopic basis, especially in the case of molecular relaxation. For electronic relaxation the appearance of the stretched exponential is often described in the context of dispersive transport, where β is treated as an adjustable parameter, but in almost all cases it is generally assumed that no microscopic meaning can be assigned to 0 g , a glass transition temperature. We show that for molecular relaxation β(T g ) can be understood, providing that one separates extrinsic and intrinsic effects, and that the intrinsic effects are dominated by two magic numbers, β SR =3/5 for short-range forces, and β K =3/7 for long-range Coulomb forces, as originally observed by Kohlrausch for the decay of residual charge on a Leyden jar. Our mathematical model treats relaxation kinetics using the Lifshitz-Kac-Luttinger diffusion to traps depletion model in a configuration space of effective dimensionality, the latter being determined using axiomatic set theory and Phillips-Thorpe constraint theory. The experiments discussed include ns neutron scattering experiments, particularly those based on neutron spin echoes which measure S(Q, t) directly, and the traditional linear response measurements which span the range from μs to s, as collected and analysed phenomenologically by Angell, Ngai, Boehmer and others. The electronic materials discussed include a-Si:H, granular C 60 , semiconductor nanocrystallites, charge density waves in TaS 3 , spin glasses, and vortex glasses in high-temperature semiconductors. The molecular materials discussed include polymers, network glasses, electrolytes and alcohols, Van der Waals supercooled liquids and glasses, orientational glasses, water, fused salts, and heme proteins. In the intrinsic cases the theory of β(T g ) is often accurate to 2%, which

Universal binding energy relation for cleaved and structurally relaxed surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Srirangarajan, Aarti; Datta, Aditi; Gandi, Appala Naidu; Ramamurty, U; Waghmare, U V

2014-02-05

The universal binding energy relation (UBER), derived earlier to describe the cohesion between two rigid atomic planes, does not accurately capture the cohesive properties when the cleaved surfaces are allowed to relax. We suggest a modified functional form of UBER that is analytical and at the same time accurately models the properties of surfaces relaxed during cleavage. We demonstrate the generality as well as the validity of this modified UBER through first-principles density functional theory calculations of cleavage in a number of crystal systems. Our results show that the total energies of all the relaxed surfaces lie on a single (universal) energy surface, that is given by the proposed functional form which contains an additional length-scale associated with structural relaxation. This functional form could be used in modelling the cohesive zones in crack growth simulation studies. We find that the cohesive law (stress-displacement relation) differs significantly in the case where cracked surfaces are allowed to relax, with lower peak stresses occurring at higher displacements.

Relaxed evolution in the tyrosine aminotransferase gene tat in old world fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Bin; Fang, Tao; Yang, Tianxiao; Jones, Gareth; Irwin, David M; Zhang, Shuyi

2014-01-01

Frugivorous and nectarivorous bats fuel their metabolism mostly by using carbohydrates and allocate the restricted amounts of ingested proteins mainly for anabolic protein syntheses rather than for catabolic energy production. Thus, it is possible that genes involved in protein (amino acid) catabolism may have undergone relaxed evolution in these fruit- and nectar-eating bats. The tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT, encoded by the Tat gene) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the tyrosine catabolic pathway. To test whether the Tat gene has undergone relaxed evolution in the fruit- and nectar-eating bats, we obtained the Tat coding region from 20 bat species including four Old World fruit bats (Pteropodidae) and two New World fruit bats (Phyllostomidae). Phylogenetic reconstructions revealed a gene tree in which all echolocating bats (including the New World fruit bats) formed a monophyletic group. The phylogenetic conflict appears to stem from accelerated TAT protein sequence evolution in the Old World fruit bats. Our molecular evolutionary analyses confirmed a change in the selection pressure acting on Tat, which was likely caused by a relaxation of the evolutionary constraints on the Tat gene in the Old World fruit bats. Hepatic TAT activity assays showed that TAT activities in species of the Old World fruit bats are significantly lower than those of insectivorous bats and omnivorous mice, which was not caused by a change in TAT protein levels in the liver. Our study provides unambiguous evidence that the Tat gene has undergone relaxed evolution in the Old World fruit bats in response to changes in their metabolism due to the evolution of their special diet.

Training-induced improvement of response selection and error detection in aging assessed by task switching: Effects of cognitive, physical and relaxation training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Darius Gajewski

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Cognitive control functions decline with increasing age. One of them is response selection that forms the link between the goals and the motor system and is therefore crucial for performance outcomes in cognitive tasks. The present study examines if different types of group-based and trainer-guided training effectively enhance performance of older adults in a task switching task, and how this expected enhancement is reflected in electrophysiological brain activity, as measured in event-related potentials (ERPs. 141 healthy participants aged 65 years and older were randomly assigned to one of four groups: physical training (combined aerobic and strength-training, cognitive training (paper-pencil and computer-aided, relaxation and wellness (social control group and a no-contact control group that did not receive any intervention. Training sessions took place twice a week for 90 minutes for a period of 4 months.The results showed a greater improvement of performance for attendants of the cognitive training group compared to the other groups. This improvement was evident in a reduction of mixing costs in accuracy and intraindividual variability of speed, indexing improved maintenance of multiple task-sets in working memory and an enhanced coherence of neuronal processing. These findings were supported by event-related brain potentials (ERP which showed higher amplitudes in a number of potentials associated with response selection (N2, allocation of cognitive resources (P3b and error detection (Ne.Taken together, our findings suggest neurocognitive plasticity of aging brains which can be stimulated by broad and multilayered cognitive training and assessed in detail by electrophysiological methods.

Earth's magnetic field enabled scalar coupling relaxation of 13C nuclei bound to fast-relaxing quadrupolar 14N in amide groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiavazza, Enrico; Kubala, Eugen; Gringeri, Concetta V; Düwel, Stephan; Durst, Markus; Schulte, Rolf F; Menzel, Marion I

2013-02-01

Scalar coupling relaxation, which is usually only associated with closely resonant nuclei (e.g., (79)Br-(13)C), can be a very effective relaxation mechanism. While working on hyperpolarized [5-(13)C]glutamine, fast liquid-state polarization decay during transfer to the MRI scanner was observed. This behavior could hypothetically be explained by substantial T(1) shortening due to a scalar coupling contribution (type II) to the relaxation caused by the fast-relaxing quadrupolar (14)N adjacent to the (13)C nucleus in the amide group. This contribution is only effective in low magnetic fields (i.e., less than 800 μT) and prevents the use of molecules bearing the (13)C-amide group as hyperpolarized MRS/MRI probes. In the present work, this hypothesis is explored both theoretically and experimentally. The results show that high hyperpolarization levels can be retained using either a (15)N-labeled amide or by applying a magnetic field during transfer of the sample from the polarizer to the MRI scanner. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relaxation and hypnosis in pediatric dental patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Peretz, B

1996-01-01

Relaxation and hypnosis are methods which, may solve the problem of extreme dental anxiety, when all other methods, behavioral or pharmacological may not be used. A simple definition of hypnosis is suggestion and repetition. Suggestion is the process whereby an individual accepts a proposition put to him by another, without having the slightest logical reason for doing so. Relaxation is one method of inducing hypnosis. A case of using hypnosis on an 11-year-old boy is described.

Dynamics of helicity transport and Taylor relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, P.H.; Malkov, M.

2003-01-01

A simple model of the dynamics of Taylor relaxation is derived using symmetry principles alone. No statistical closure approximations are invoked or detailed plasma model properties assumed. Notably, the model predicts several classes of nondiffusive helicity transport phenomena, including traveling nonlinear waves and superdiffusive turbulent pulses. A universal expression for the scaling of the effective magnetic Reynolds number of a system undergoing Taylor relaxation is derived. Some basic properties of intermittency in helicity transport are examined

Relaxation of Thick-Walled Cylinders and Spheres

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saabye Ottosen, N.

1982-01-01

Using the nonlinear creep law proposed by Soderberg, (1936) closed-form solutions are derived for the relaxation of incompressible thick-walled spheres and cylinders in plane strain. These solutions involve series expressions which, however, converge very quickly. By simply ignoring these series...... expressions, extremely simple approximate solutions are obtained. Despite their simplicity these approximations possess an accuracy that is superior to approximations currently in use. Finally, several physical aspects related to the relaxation of cylinders and spheres are discussed...

Relaxation oscillation logic in Josephson junction circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fulton, T.A.

1981-01-01

A dc powered, self-resetting Josephson junction logic circuit relying on relaxation oscillations is described. A pair of Josephson junction gates are connected in series, a first shunt is connected in parallel with one of the gates, and a second shunt is connected in parallel with the series combination of gates. The resistance of the shunts and the dc bias current bias the gates so that they are capable of undergoing relaxation oscillations. The first shunt forms an output line whereas the second shunt forms a control loop. The bias current is applied to the gates so that, in the quiescent state, the gate in parallel with the second shunt is at V O, and the other gate is undergoing relaxation oscillations. By controlling the state of the first gate with the current in the output loop of another identical circuit, the invert function is performed

Electron relaxation properties of Ar magnetron plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Xinjing, CAI; Xinxin, WANG; Xiaobing, ZOU

2018-03-01

An understanding of electron relaxation properties in plasmas is of importance in the application of magnetrons. An improved multi-term approximation of the Boltzmann equation is employed to study electron transport and relaxation properties in plasmas. Elastic, inelastic and nonconservative collisions between electrons and neutral particles are considered. The expressions for the transport coefficients are obtained using the expansion coefficients and the collision operator term. Numerical solutions of the matrix equations for the expansion coefficients are also investigated. Benchmark calculations of the Reid model are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the improved multi-term approximation. It is shown that the two-term approximation is generally not accurate enough and the magnetic fields can reduce the anisotropy of the velocity distribution function. The electron relaxation properties of Ar plasmas in magnetrons for various magnetic fields are studied. It is demonstrated that the energy parameters change more slowly than the momentum parameters.

Regularized Label Relaxation Linear Regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Xiaozhao; Xu, Yong; Li, Xuelong; Lai, Zhihui; Wong, Wai Keung; Fang, Bingwu

2018-04-01

Linear regression (LR) and some of its variants have been widely used for classification problems. Most of these methods assume that during the learning phase, the training samples can be exactly transformed into a strict binary label matrix, which has too little freedom to fit the labels adequately. To address this problem, in this paper, we propose a novel regularized label relaxation LR method, which has the following notable characteristics. First, the proposed method relaxes the strict binary label matrix into a slack variable matrix by introducing a nonnegative label relaxation matrix into LR, which provides more freedom to fit the labels and simultaneously enlarges the margins between different classes as much as possible. Second, the proposed method constructs the class compactness graph based on manifold learning and uses it as the regularization item to avoid the problem of overfitting. The class compactness graph is used to ensure that the samples sharing the same labels can be kept close after they are transformed. Two different algorithms, which are, respectively, based on -norm and -norm loss functions are devised. These two algorithms have compact closed-form solutions in each iteration so that they are easily implemented. Extensive experiments show that these two algorithms outperform the state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of the classification accuracy and running time.

The relaxational behaviour of poly-(vinylidene fluoride) before and after gamma-irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callens, A.

The main purpose of this work was to investigate how molecular chain reorganization may affect the physical property of polymers. This may be done by the analysis of the as received and post-irradiation relaxation spectra of the semi-crystalline linear chain polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), which has been gamma-irradiated up to doses of 1 grad. The effects of the irradiation on the material are primarly main chain cross-linking production of unsaturated bonds and crystallite degradation. To reach a complete interpretation of the relaxation spectra, it is necessary to incorporate a third phase into the analysis besides the amorphous viscoelastic region (AVR) and the crystalline viscoelastic region (CVR), the intermediate phase. The amorphous phase (AVR) is at the origin of the relaxation effects occurring in the temperature region below room temperature. The saturation like behaviour of the cross-linking in the amorphous phase is at the origin of the intensity decrease, temperature shift and peak broadening of the beta relaxation. There is a large amount of evidence that in the neighbourhood of the beta relaxation, relaxation effects are created through irradiation, as mainly revealed by TSD-spectra (thermalloy stimulated depolarisation). The intensity of the gamma relaxation, gradually increases with dose, which has been attributed to the production of disordered chain from the debris of radiation enhanced crystallite destruction. The relaxation effect, occuring at the temperatures between AVR and CVR, is assigned to the long amorphous chain segments attached partly to the crystallites, mainly from the consideration of the similarity of the dose enhanced decrease in intensity of both beta and βsub(μ)-effects. The increase with dose of the intensity of the α1 relaxation, which has been classified within CVR, confirms the grainboundary hypothesis. The second component of CVR (α2 relaxation) is due to relaxation effects of molecular chains belonging to the

Essential role of conformational selection in ligand binding.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogt, Austin D; Pozzi, Nicola; Chen, Zhiwei; Di Cera, Enrico

2014-02-01

Two competing and mutually exclusive mechanisms of ligand recognition - conformational selection and induced fit - have dominated our interpretation of ligand binding in biological macromolecules for almost six decades. Conformational selection posits the pre-existence of multiple conformations of the macromolecule from which the ligand selects the optimal one. Induced fit, on the other hand, postulates the existence of conformational rearrangements of the original conformation into an optimal one that are induced by binding of the ligand. In the former case, conformational transitions precede the binding event; in the latter, conformational changes follow the binding step. Kineticists have used a facile criterion to distinguish between the two mechanisms based on the dependence of the rate of relaxation to equilibrium, kobs, on the ligand concentration, [L]. A value of kobs decreasing hyperbolically with [L] has been seen as diagnostic of conformational selection, while a value of kobs increasing hyperbolically with [L] has been considered diagnostic of induced fit. However, this simple conclusion is only valid under the rather unrealistic assumption of conformational transitions being much slower than binding and dissociation events. In general, induced fit only produces values of kobs that increase with [L] but conformational selection is more versatile and is associated with values of kobs that increase with, decrease with or are independent of [L]. The richer repertoire of kinetic properties of conformational selection applies to kinetic mechanisms with single or multiple saturable relaxations and explains the behavior of nearly all experimental systems reported in the literature thus far. Conformational selection is always sufficient and often necessary to account for the relaxation kinetics of ligand binding to a biological macromolecule and is therefore an essential component of any binding mechanism. On the other hand, induced fit is never necessary and

On integral representation, relaxation and homogenization for unbounded functionals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carbone, L.; De Arcangelis, R.

1997-01-01

A theory of integral representation, relaxation and homogenization for some types of variational functionals taking extended real values and possibly being not finite also on large classes of regular functions is presented. Some applications to gradient constrained relaxation and homogenization problems are given

Internal structures of self-organized relaxed states and self-similar decay phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondoh, Yoshiomi

1992-03-01

A thought analysis on relaxation due to nonlinear processes is presented to lead to a set of general thoughts applicable to general nonlinear dynamical systems for finding out internal structures of the self-organized relaxed state without using 'invariant'. Three applications of the set of general thoughts to energy relaxations in resistive MHD plasmas, incompressible viscous fluids, and incompressible viscous MHD fluids are shown to lead to the internal structures of the self-organized relaxed states. It is shown that all of the relaxed states in these three dynamical systems are followed by self-similar decay phase without significant change of the spatial structure. The well known relaxed state of ∇ x B = ±λ B is shown to be derived generally in the low β plasma limit. (author)

Analysis of polymorphisms and selective pressures on ama1 gene ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Chuen Yang Chua

2017-09-05

Sep 5, 2017 ... The presence of purifying selection and low nucleotide diversity ... (2000) studied the gene substitution of ama1 ... in the gene coding for AMA-1 protein in Plasmodium ... Health Malaysia. ...... X. Asembo Bay Cohort Project.

High-level water purifying technology. Kodo josui shori gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsugura, H; Tsukiashi, K [Meidensha Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

1993-07-01

Research and development have been carried out on a high-level water purifying system using ozone and activated charcoals to supply drinking water free of carcinogenic matters and odors. This system comprises a system to utilize ozone by using silent discharge and oxygen enriching device, and a living organism/activated charcoal treatment system. The latter system utilizes living organisms deposited on activated charcoal surfaces to remove polluting substances including ammonia. The treatment experimenting equipment comprises an ozone generating system, an ozone treating column, an activated charcoal treating column, an ozone/activated charcoal control device, and a water amount and quality measuring system. An experiment was carried out using an experimental plant with a capacity of 20 m[sup 3]/day on water taken from the sedimentation process at an actual water purifying plant. As a result, trihalomethane formation potential was removed at about 40% in the ozone treatment, and at 70% in the whole treatment combining the ozone and living organism/activated charcoal treatments. For parameterization of palatability of water, a method is being studied that utilizes nuclear magnetic resonance to investigate degrees of water cluster. The method is regarded promising. 1 ref., 4 figs.

CdZnTe quantum dots study: energy and phase relaxation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viale, Yannick

2004-01-01

We present a study of the electron-hole pair energy and phase relaxation processes in a CdTe/ZnTe heterostructure, in which quantum dots are embedded. CdZnTe quantum wells with a high Zinc concentration, separated by ZnTe barriers, contain islands with a high cadmium concentration. In photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy experiments, we evidence two types of electron hole pair relaxation processes. After being excited in the CdZnTe quantum well, the pairs relax their energy by emitting a cascade of longitudinal optical phonons until they are trapped in the quantum dots. Before their radiative recombination follows an intra-dot relaxation, which is attributed to a lattice polarization mechanism of the quantum dots. It is related to the coupling between the electronic and the vibrational states. Both relaxation mechanisms are reinforced by the strong polar character of the chemical bond in II-VI compounds. Time resolved measurements of transmission variations in a pump-probe configuration allowed us to investigate the population dynamics of the electron-hole pairs during the relaxation process. We observe a relaxation time of about 2 ps for the longitudinal phonon emission cascade in the quantum well before a saturation of the quantum dot transition. We also measured an intra-box relaxation time of 25 ps. The comparison of various cascades allows us to estimate the emission time of a longitudinal optical phonon in the quantum well to be about 100 fs. In four waves mixing experiments, we observe oscillations that we attribute to quantum beats between excitonic and bi-excitonic transitions. The dephasing times that we measure as function of the density of photons shows that excitons are strongly localized in the quantum dots. The excitonic dephasing time is much shorter than the radiative lifetime and is thus controlled by the intra-dot relaxation time. (author) [fr

Biological and Histological Studies of Purified Product from Streptomyces janthinus M7 Metabolites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tawfik Zahira S.

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Fifteen clinical samples were taken out from patients suffering cancer, these patients being under the treatment with radio- and/or chemotherapy. The samples were used for the isolation of bacterial cells surrounding tumor; the samples were collected from Center of Cancer Therapy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. The clinical bacterial isolates were purified and identified according to Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology ninth edition (1994. The bacterial isolates were found to be Klebsiella oxytoca m1; Enterobacter cancerogenus m2; P. aeruginosa m3; Citrobacter diversus m4; Enterobacter agglomerans m5; Klebsiella oxytoca m6; Enterobacter dissolvens m7; Serratia fonticola m8; Escherichia coli m9; Citrobacter freundii m10; Staphylococcus aureus m11; Escherichia coli m12; P. aeruginosa m13; Staphylococcus aureus m14; and Bacillus cereus m15. In the present study both primary and secondary screening methods were used to screen the antibacterial activity of St. janthinus M7 against fifteen clinical bacterial isolates. The St. janthinus M7 showed an increase in antibacterial activity against all the tested human bacterial pathogens. In this study Gamma irradiation at dose levels (0.5 and 1.5 kGy was used for the enhancement of the antibacterial activity of Streptomyces strain against the clinical isolates. Several commercial antibiotic discs (Doxorubicin, Augmentin, Norfloxacin, Ofloxacin, Oxacillin, and Cefazolin were used for comparing their antimicrobial activity with purified product. The results declared a significant increase in the antibacterial activity in most cases. The physiochemical properties of the purified product were carried out for determination of Rf, empirical formula, M.W, and chemical structure of product and then analyzed by thin layer chromatography, elemental analysis, UV, Mass, and NMR. The result exhibited brown color, one spot, Rf (0.76, M.W (473, while it recorded 270 nm in UV region and the calculated

The shear and bulk relaxation times from the general correlation functions

Science.gov (United States)

Czajka, Alina; Jeon, Sangyong

2017-11-01

In this paper we present two quantum field theoretical analyses on the shear and bulk relaxation times. First, we discuss how to find Kubo formulas for the shear and the bulk relaxation times. Next, we provide results on the shear viscosity relaxation time obtained within the diagrammatic approach for the massless λϕ4 theory.

Glass transition and relaxation dynamics of propylene glycol-water solutions confined in clay

Science.gov (United States)

Elamin, Khalid; Björklund, Jimmy; Nyhlén, Fredrik; Yttergren, Madeleine; Mârtensson, Lena; Swenson, Jan

2014-07-01

The molecular dynamics of aqueous solutions of propylene glycol (PG) and propylene glycol methylether (PGME) confined in a two-dimensional layer-structured Na-vermiculite clay has been studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. As typical for liquids in confined geometries the intensity of the cooperative α-relaxation becomes considerably more suppressed than the more local β-like relaxation processes. In fact, at high water contents the calorimetric glass transition and related structural α-relaxation cannot even be observed, due to the confinement. Thus, the intensity of the viscosity related α-relaxation is dramatically reduced, but its time scale as well as the related glass transition temperature Tg are for both systems only weakly influenced by the confinement. In the case of the PGME-water solutions it is an important finding since in the corresponding bulk system a pronounced non-monotonic concentration dependence of the glass transition related dynamics has been observed due to the growth of hydrogen bonded relaxing entities of water bridging between PGME molecules [J. Sjöström, J. Mattsson, R. Bergman, and J. Swenson, Phys. Chem. B 115, 10013 (2011)]. The present results suggest that the same type of structural entities are formed in the quasi-two-dimensional space between the clay platelets. It is also observed that the main water relaxation cannot be distinguished from the β-relaxation of PG or PGME in the concentration range up to intermediate water contents. This suggests that these two processes are coupled and that the water molecules affect the time scale of the β-relaxation. However, this is most likely true also for the corresponding bulk solutions, which exhibit similar time scales of this combined relaxation process below Tg. Finally, it is found that at higher water contents the water relaxation does not merge with, or follow, the α-relaxation above Tg, but instead crosses the α-relaxation

Direct simulation Monte Carlo modeling of relaxation processes in polyatomic gases

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeiffer, M.; Nizenkov, P.; Mirza, A.; Fasoulas, S.

2016-02-01

Relaxation processes of polyatomic molecules are modeled and implemented in an in-house Direct Simulation Monte Carlo code in order to enable the simulation of atmospheric entry maneuvers at Mars and Saturn's Titan. The description of rotational and vibrational relaxation processes is derived from basic quantum-mechanics using a rigid rotator and a simple harmonic oscillator, respectively. Strategies regarding the vibrational relaxation process are investigated, where good agreement for the relaxation time according to the Landau-Teller expression is found for both methods, the established prohibiting double relaxation method and the new proposed multi-mode relaxation. Differences and applications areas of these two methods are discussed. Consequently, two numerical methods used for sampling of energy values from multi-dimensional distribution functions are compared. The proposed random-walk Metropolis algorithm enables the efficient treatment of multiple vibrational modes within a time step with reasonable computational effort. The implemented model is verified and validated by means of simple reservoir simulations and the comparison to experimental measurements of a hypersonic, carbon-dioxide flow around a flat-faced cylinder.

Direct simulation Monte Carlo modeling of relaxation processes in polyatomic gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfeiffer, M.; Nizenkov, P.; Mirza, A.; Fasoulas, S.

2016-01-01

Relaxation processes of polyatomic molecules are modeled and implemented in an in-house Direct Simulation Monte Carlo code in order to enable the simulation of atmospheric entry maneuvers at Mars and Saturn’s Titan. The description of rotational and vibrational relaxation processes is derived from basic quantum-mechanics using a rigid rotator and a simple harmonic oscillator, respectively. Strategies regarding the vibrational relaxation process are investigated, where good agreement for the relaxation time according to the Landau-Teller expression is found for both methods, the established prohibiting double relaxation method and the new proposed multi-mode relaxation. Differences and applications areas of these two methods are discussed. Consequently, two numerical methods used for sampling of energy values from multi-dimensional distribution functions are compared. The proposed random-walk Metropolis algorithm enables the efficient treatment of multiple vibrational modes within a time step with reasonable computational effort. The implemented model is verified and validated by means of simple reservoir simulations and the comparison to experimental measurements of a hypersonic, carbon-dioxide flow around a flat-faced cylinder

Direct simulation Monte Carlo modeling of relaxation processes in polyatomic gases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pfeiffer, M., E-mail: mpfeiffer@irs.uni-stuttgart.de; Nizenkov, P., E-mail: nizenkov@irs.uni-stuttgart.de; Mirza, A., E-mail: mirza@irs.uni-stuttgart.de; Fasoulas, S., E-mail: fasoulas@irs.uni-stuttgart.de [Institute of Space Systems, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 29, D-70569 Stuttgart (Germany)

2016-02-15

Relaxation processes of polyatomic molecules are modeled and implemented in an in-house Direct Simulation Monte Carlo code in order to enable the simulation of atmospheric entry maneuvers at Mars and Saturn’s Titan. The description of rotational and vibrational relaxation processes is derived from basic quantum-mechanics using a rigid rotator and a simple harmonic oscillator, respectively. Strategies regarding the vibrational relaxation process are investigated, where good agreement for the relaxation time according to the Landau-Teller expression is found for both methods, the established prohibiting double relaxation method and the new proposed multi-mode relaxation. Differences and applications areas of these two methods are discussed. Consequently, two numerical methods used for sampling of energy values from multi-dimensional distribution functions are compared. The proposed random-walk Metropolis algorithm enables the efficient treatment of multiple vibrational modes within a time step with reasonable computational effort. The implemented model is verified and validated by means of simple reservoir simulations and the comparison to experimental measurements of a hypersonic, carbon-dioxide flow around a flat-faced cylinder.

Mechanical torques generated by optically pumped atomic spin relaxation at surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herman, R.M.

1982-01-01

It is argued that a valuable method of observing certain types of surface-atom interactions may lie in mechanical torques generated through the spin-orbit relaxation of valence electronic spins of optically pumped atoms at surfaces. The unusual feature of this phenomenon is that the less probable spin-orbit relaxation becomes highly visible as compared with the much more rapid paramagnetic relaxation, because of an enhancement, typically by as much as a factor 10 9 , in the torques delivered to mechanical structures, by virtue of a very large effective moment arm. Spin-orbit relaxation operates through an exchange of translational momentum which, in turn, can be identified with the delivery of a gigantic angular momentum (in units of h) relative to a distant axis about which mechanical motion is referred. The spin-orbit relaxation strongly depends upon the atomic number of the surface atoms and the strength of interaction with the optically pumped atoms. Being dominated by high-atomic-number surface atoms, spin-orbit relaxation rates may not be too strongly influenced by minor surface contamination of lighter-weight optically active atoms

Mechanical torques generated by optically pumped atomic spin relaxation at surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, R. M.

1982-03-01

It is argued that a valuable method of observing certain types of surface-atom interactions may lie in mechanical torques generated through the spin-orbit relaxation of valence electronic spins of optically pumped atoms at surfaces. The unusual feature of this phenomenon is that the less probable spin-orbit relaxation becomes highly visible as compared with the much more rapid paramagnetic relaxation, because of an enhancement, typically by as much as a factor 109, in the torques delivered to mechanical structures, by virtue of a very large effective moment arm. Spin-orbit relaxation operates through an exchange of translational momentum which, in turn, can be identified with the delivery of a gigantic angular momentum (in units of ℏ) relative to a distant axis about which mechanical motion is referred. The spin-orbit relaxation strongly depends upon the atomic number of the surface atoms and the strength of interaction with the optically pumped atoms. Being dominated by high-atomic-number surface atoms, spin-orbit-relaxation rates may not be too strongly influenced by minor surface contamination of lighter-weight optically active atoms.

Non-monotonic behaviour in relaxation dynamics of image restoration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozeki, Tomoko; Okada, Masato

2003-01-01

We have investigated the relaxation dynamics of image restoration through a Bayesian approach. The relaxation dynamics is much faster at zero temperature than at the Nishimori temperature where the pixel-wise error rate is minimized in equilibrium. At low temperature, we observed non-monotonic development of the overlap. We suggest that the optimal performance is realized through premature termination in the relaxation processes in the case of the infinite-range model. We also performed Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations to clarify the underlying mechanism of non-trivial behaviour at low temperature by checking the local field distributions of each pixel

Relaxation towards phase-locked dynamics in long Josephson junctions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salerno, M.; Grønbech-Jensen, Niels; Samuelsen, Mogens Rugholm

1995-01-01

We study the relaxation phenomenon towards phase-locked dynamics in long Josephson junctions. In particular the dependence of the relaxation frequency for the equal time of flight solution on the junction parameters is derived. The analysis is based on a phase-locked map and is compared with direct...... numerical experiments performed both on the map and on the perturbed sine-Gordon equation. As an interesting result we find that very close to a bifurcation the relaxation frequency is exactly equal to the half of the step frequency, i.e., the frequency characterizing the period-one solution....

Isochronous relaxation curves for type 304 stainless steel after monotonic and cyclic strain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swindeman, R.W.

1978-01-01

Relaxation tests to 100 hr were performed on type 304 stainless steel in the temperature range 480 to 650 0 C and were used to develop isochronous relaxation curves. Behavior after monotonic and cyclic strain was compared. Relaxation differed only slightly as a consequence of the type of previous strain, provided that plastic flow preceded the relaxation period. We observed that the short-time relaxation behavior did not manifest strong heat-to-heat variation in creep strength

Relaxation training for anxiety: a ten-years systematic review with meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Manzoni, Gian Mauro; Pagnini, Francesco; Castelnuovo, Gianluca; Molinari, Enrico

2008-06-02

Relaxation training is a common treatment for anxiety problems. Lacking is a recent quantitative meta-analysis that enhances understanding of the variability and clinical significance of anxiety reduction outcomes after relaxation treatment. All studies (1997-2007), both RCT, observational and without control group, evaluating the efficacy of relaxation training (Jacobson's progressive relaxation, autogenic training, applied relaxation and meditation) for anxiety problems and disorders were identified by comprehensive electronic searches with Pubmed, Psychinfo and Cochrane Registers, by checking references of relevant studies and of other reviews. Our primary outcome was anxiety measured with psychometric questionnaires. Meta-analysis was undertaken synthesizing the data from all trials, distinguishing within and between effect sizes. 27 studies qualified for the inclusion in the meta-analysis. As hypothesized, relaxation training showed a medium-large effect size in the treatment of anxiety. Cohen's d was .57 (95% CI: .52 to .68) in the within analysis and .51 (95% CI: .46 to .634) in the between group analysis. Efficacy was higher for meditation, among volunteers and for longer treatments. Implications and limitations are discussed. The results show consistent and significant efficacy of relaxation training in reducing anxiety. This meta-analysis extends the existing literature through facilitation of a better understanding of the variability and clinical significance of anxiety improvement subsequent to relaxation training.

Levitation force relaxation under reloading in a HTS Maglev system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Qingyong; Wang Jiasu; Wang Suyu; Wang Jiansi; Dong Hao; Wang Yuxin; Shao Senhao

2009-01-01

The loading capacity of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) Maglev vehicle is an important parameter in the practical application. It is closely related to the levitation force of the HTS bulk. Many papers reported that the levitation force showed the relaxation characteristic. Because different loads cause different levitation gaps and different applied magnetic fields, the levitation force relaxations under the different loads are not the same. In terms of cylindrical YBCO bulk levitated over the permanent magnetic guideway, the relationship between the levitation force relaxation and the reloading is investigated experimentally in this paper. The decrement, the decrement rate and the relaxation rate of the levitation force are calculated, respectively. This work might be helpful for studying the loading capacity of the HTS Maglev vehicle

Levitation force relaxation under reloading in a HTS Maglev system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He Qingyong [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory, M/S 152, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China)], E-mail: hedoubling@gmail.com; Wang Jiasu; Wang Suyu; Wang Jiansi; Dong Hao; Wang Yuxin; Shao Senhao [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory, M/S 152, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China)

2009-02-01

The loading capacity of the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) Maglev vehicle is an important parameter in the practical application. It is closely related to the levitation force of the HTS bulk. Many papers reported that the levitation force showed the relaxation characteristic. Because different loads cause different levitation gaps and different applied magnetic fields, the levitation force relaxations under the different loads are not the same. In terms of cylindrical YBCO bulk levitated over the permanent magnetic guideway, the relationship between the levitation force relaxation and the reloading is investigated experimentally in this paper. The decrement, the decrement rate and the relaxation rate of the levitation force are calculated, respectively. This work might be helpful for studying the loading capacity of the HTS Maglev vehicle.

Selective decay in a helicity-injected spheromak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MartInez, P L Garcia; Farengo, R

2009-01-01

The non-linear evolution of several unstable equilibria, representative of helicity-injected spheromak configurations inside a cylindrical flux conserver, is studied by means of three dimensional resistive MHD simulations. These equilibria are force-free (∇ x B = λ(ψ)B) but do not correspond to minimum energy states, having linear λ(ψ) profiles with negative slope. Several aspects of this process are studied (magnetic energy relaxation, selective helicity decay, relaxed profiles) for different initial A slopes. The stability threshold predicted by linear theory is recovered. The results show that complete plasma relaxation leading to a uniform A, is achieved only if the initial profile is hollow enough. The evolution for cases just above the stability threshold is more gentle and does not end in a Taylor state. The final state in these cases has a linear λ(ψ) profile, as the initial condition, but with a smaller slope.

Point defect relaxation volumes for copper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, K.M.

1979-11-01

The methods used for the determination of point defect relaxation volumes are discussed and it is shown that a previous interatomic potential derived for copper is inaccurate and results obtained using it are invalid. A new interatomic potential has been produced for copper and a computer simulation of point and planar defects carried out. A vacancy relaxation volume of -0.33 atomic volumes has been found with interstitial values in the range 1.7 to 2.0 atomic volumes. It is shown that these values in current theories of irradiation induced swelling lead to an anomalously high value for dislocation bias compared with that determined experimentally. (author)

76 FR 3159 - Purified Carboxymethylcellulose From Finland, Mexico, Netherlands, and Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-19

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 731-TA-1084-1087 (Review)] Purified Carboxymethylcellulose From Finland, Mexico, Netherlands, and Sweden AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Revised schedule for the subject reviews. DATES: Effective Date: January 7, 2011. FOR FURTHER...

Dielectric and mechanical relaxation in isooctylcyanobiphenyl (8*OCB)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pawlus, S; Mierzwa, M; Paluch, M; Rzoska, S J [Institute of Physics, University of Silesia, Uniwersytecka 4, 40-007 Katowice (Poland); Roland, C M, E-mail: michal.mierzwa@us.edu.p [Chemistry Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6120, Washington, DC 20375-5342 (United States)

2010-06-16

The dynamics of isooctylcyanobiphenyl (8*OCB) was characterized using dielectric and mechanical spectroscopies. This isomer of the liquid crystalline octylcyanobiphenyl (8OCB) vitrifies during cooling or on application of pressure, exhibiting the typical features of glass-forming liquids: non-Debye relaxation function, non-Arrhenius temperature dependence of the relaxation times, {tau}{sub {alpha}}, a dynamic crossover at T {approx} 1.6T{sub g}. This crossover is evidenced by changes in the behavior of both the peak shape and the temperature dependence of {tau}{sub {alpha}}. The primary relaxation time at the crossover, 2 ns at ambient pressure, is the smallest value reported to date for any molecular liquid or polymer. Interestingly, at all temperatures below this crossover, {tau}{sub {alpha}}and the dc conductivity remain coupled (i.e., conform to the Debye-Stokes-Einstein relation). Two secondary relaxations are observed in the glassy state, one of which is identified as the Johari-Goldstein process. Unlike the case for 8OCB, no liquid crystalline phase could be attained for 8*OCB, demonstrating that relatively small differences in chemical structure can effect substantial changes in the intermolecular potential.

Relaxation model of radiation-induced conductivity in polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Zhutayeva, Yu. R.; Khatipov, S. A.

1999-05-01

The paper suggests a relaxation model of radiation-induced conductivity (RIC) in polymers. According to the model, the transfer of charges generated in the polymer volume by ionizing radiation takes place with the participation of molecular relaxation processes. The mechanism of electron transport consists in the transfer of the charge directly between traps when they draw close to one another due to the rotation of macromolecule segments. The numerical solutions of the corresponding kinetic equations for different distribution functions Q( τ) of the times of molecular relaxation and for different functions of the probability P( τ, τ') of charge transfer in the `overlapping' regions of the diffusion spheres of the segments are analyzed. The relaxation model provides an explanation of the non-Arrhenius behavior of the RIC temperature dependence, the power dependence of RIC on the dose rate with a power index in the interval 0.5-1.0, the appearance of maxima in the curves of the RIC temporal dependence and their irreversible character in the region of large dose rates (more than 1 Gy/s). The model can be used for interpreting polymer RIC in conditions of kinetic mobility of macromolecules.

Optimal relaxed causal sampler using sampled-date system theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shekhawat, Hanumant; Meinsma, Gjerrit

This paper studies the design of an optimal relaxed causal sampler using sampled data system theory. A lifted frequency domain approach is used to obtain the existence conditions and the optimal sampler. A state space formulation of the results is also provided. The resulting optimal relaxed causal

Noninteracting control of nonlinear systems based on relaxed control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jayawardhana, B.

2010-01-01

In this paper, we propose methodology to solve noninteracting control problem for general nonlinear systems based on the relaxed control technique proposed by Artstein. For a class of nonlinear systems which cannot be stabilized by smooth feedback, a state-feedback relaxed control can be designed to

Model and prediction of stress relaxation of polyurethane fiber

Science.gov (United States)

You, Gexin; Wang, Chunyan; Mei, Shuqin; Yang, Bo; Zhou, Xiuwen

2018-03-01

In this study, the effect of small strain (less than 10%) on hydrogen bond (H-bond) and crystallinity of dry-spun polyurethane fiber was investigated with fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffractometer, respectively. The results showed that the H-bond of hard segments hardly broke and its degree of crystallinity scarcely varied below strain of 10%. The fiber stress relaxation behavior at 25 °C under small strain was researched using dynamic mechanical analyzer. The stress relaxation modulus constitutive equation was obtained by transforming the non-linear relationship between stress and time into the linear relationship between stress and strain. The stress relaxation modulus master curve at 25 °C was established in terms of short-term stress relaxation tests at elevated temperatures (35 °C, 45 °C, 65 °C and 75 °C) according to time-temperature superposition principle (TTS) to predict long-term behavior within 353 year.

[Neurophysiologic and respiratory changes during the practice of relaxation technics].

Science.gov (United States)

Gallois, P

1984-01-01

A polygraphic study, of 40 minutes duration, among 10 subjects who practiced autogenic training (TA) and 10 subjects who practiced transcendental meditation (MT), compared to 10 control subjects, gave the following results: rarity of the number of sleeping episodes during relaxation, cardiac rhythm, significantly decreased in the TM group, increased stability of the E.D.G. during and after relaxation, respiratory rate decreased to a value of 33% of the initial rate, respiratory suspensions were frequent in the TM group, reaching a maximal duration of 50 seconds. The absence of compensatory hypercapnia and hyperpnea is an argument in favor of their central origin, lastly, the simple reaction time after relaxation is slightly decreased, whereas it is increased in the controls, this aerobic hypometabolic state, the stability of the autonomic nervous system and the maintenance of the vigilance, induced by deep relaxation, seems to be the opposite of the state which is induced by stress; therefore deep relaxation may play a role in a psycho-somatic approach to treating a variety of disease states.

Spin-relaxation time in the impurity band of wurtzite semiconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Tamborenea, Pablo I.; Wellens, Thomas; Weinmann, Dietmar; Jalabert, Rodolfo A.

2017-09-01

The spin-relaxation time for electrons in the impurity band of semiconductors with wurtzite crystal structure is determined. The effective Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction Hamiltonian is taken as the source of the spin relaxation at low temperature and for doping densities corresponding to the metallic side of the metal-insulator transition. The spin-flip hopping matrix elements between impurity states are calculated and used to set up a tight-binding Hamiltonian that incorporates the symmetries of wurtzite semiconductors. The spin-relaxation time is obtained from a semiclassical model of spin diffusion, as well as from a microscopic self-consistent diagrammatic theory of spin and charge diffusion in doped semiconductors. Estimates are provided for particularly important materials. The theoretical spin-relaxation times compare favorably with the corresponding low-temperature measurements in GaN and ZnO. For InN and AlN we predict that tuning of the spin-orbit coupling constant induced by an external potential leads to a potentially dramatic increase of the spin-relaxation time related to the mechanism under study.

Universal binding energy relation for cleaved and structurally relaxed surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srirangarajan, Aarti; Datta, Aditi; Gandi, Appala Naidu; Ramamurty, U; Waghmare, U V

2014-01-01

The universal binding energy relation (UBER), derived earlier to describe the cohesion between two rigid atomic planes, does not accurately capture the cohesive properties when the cleaved surfaces are allowed to relax. We suggest a modified functional form of UBER that is analytical and at the same time accurately models the properties of surfaces relaxed during cleavage. We demonstrate the generality as well as the validity of this modified UBER through first-principles density functional theory calculations of cleavage in a number of crystal systems. Our results show that the total energies of all the relaxed surfaces lie on a single (universal) energy surface, that is given by the proposed functional form which contains an additional length-scale associated with structural relaxation. This functional form could be used in modelling the cohesive zones in crack growth simulation studies. We find that the cohesive law (stress–displacement relation) differs significantly in the case where cracked surfaces are allowed to relax, with lower peak stresses occurring at higher displacements. (paper)

Stress relaxation experiments on a lamellar polystyrene-polyisoprene diblock copolymer melt

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmqvist, P.; Castelletto, V.; Hamley, I.W.

2001-01-01

The non-linear rheology of the lamellar phase of a polystyrene-polyisoprene diblock copolymer is studied by oscillatory shear experiments. The relaxation of the shear modulus, G(t, gamma) is studied as a function of strain amplitude, gamma, up to large amplitude strains, gamma = 100%. The decay...... of G(t, gamma) is analysed using the model-independent CONTIN inverse Laplace transform algorithm to obtain a series of relaxation times, which reveals multiple relaxation processes. The timescale for the fastest relaxation processes is compared to those previously observed for diblock copolymer melts...... via dynamic light scattering experiments. The slowest relaxation process may be related to the shear-induced orientation of the lamellae. It is shown that time-strain separability G(t, gamma)= G(t)h(gamma) can be applied, and the damping function h(gamma) is consistent with a strongly strain...

Fetal responses to induced maternal relaxation during pregnancy

OpenAIRE

DiPietro, Janet A.; Costigan, Kathleen A.; Nelson, Priscilla; Gurewitsch, Edith D.; Laudenslager, Mark L.

2007-01-01

Fetal responses to induced maternal relaxation during the 32nd week of pregnancy were recorded in 100 maternal-fetal pairs using a digitized data collection system. The 18-minute guided imagery relaxation manipulation generated significant changes in maternal heart rate, skin conductance, respiration period, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Significant alterations in fetal neurobehavior were observed, including decreased fetal heart rate (FHR), increased FHR variability, suppression of fetal...

Nonlocal and collective relaxation in stellar systems

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, Martin D.

1993-01-01

The modal response of stellar systems to fluctuations at large scales is presently investigated by means of analytic theory and n-body simulation; the stochastic excitation of these modes is shown to increase the relaxation rate even for a system which is moderately far from instability. The n-body simulations, when designed to suppress relaxation at small scales, clearly show the effects of large-scale fluctuations. It is predicted that large-scale fluctuations will be largest for such marginally bound systems as forming star clusters and associations.

Molecular Evolution of the CYP2D Subfamily in Primates: Purifying Selection on Substrate Recognition Sites without the Frequent or Long-Tract Gene Conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Yasukochi, Yoshiki; Satta, Yoko

2015-01-01

The human cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 gene is a member of the CYP2D gene subfamily, along with the CYP2D7P and CYP2D8P pseudogenes. Although the CYP2D6 enzyme has been studied extensively because of its clinical importance, the evolution of the CYP2D subfamily has not yet been fully understood. Therefore, the goal of this study was to reveal the evolutionary process of the human drug metabolic system. Here, we investigate molecular evolution of the CYP2D subfamily in primates by comparing 14 CYP2D sequences from humans to New World monkey genomes. Window analysis and statistical tests revealed that entire genomic sequences of paralogous genes were extensively homogenized by gene conversion during molecular evolution of CYP2D genes in primates. A neighbor-joining tree based on genomic sequences at the nonsubstrate recognition sites showed that CYP2D6 and CYP2D8 genes were clustered together due to gene conversion. In contrast, a phylogenetic tree using amino acid sequences at substrate recognition sites did not cluster the CYP2D6 and CYP2D8 genes, suggesting that the functional constraint on substrate specificity is one of the causes for purifying selection at the substrate recognition sites. Our results suggest that the CYP2D gene subfamily in primates has evolved to maintain the regioselectivity for a substrate hydroxylation activity between individual enzymes, even though extensive gene conversion has occurred across CYP2D coding sequences. PMID:25808902

Adaptive under relaxation factor of MATRA code for the efficient whole core analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Hyuk; Kim, S. J.; Seo, K. W.; Hwang, D. H.

2013-01-01

Such nonlinearities are handled in MATRA code using outer iteration with Picard scheme. The Picard scheme involves successive updating of the coefficient matrix based on the previously calculated values. The scheme is a simple and effective method for the nonlinear problem but the effectiveness greatly depends on the under-relaxing capability. Accuracy and speed of calculation are very sensitively dependent on the under-relaxation factor in outer-iteration updating the axial mass flow using the continuity equation. The under-relaxation factor in MATRA is generally utilized with a fixed value that is empirically determined. Adapting the under-relaxation factor to the outer iteration is expected to improve the calculation effectiveness of MATRA code rather than calculation with the fixed under-relaxation factor. The present study describes the implementation of adaptive under-relaxation within the subchannel code MATRA. Picard iterations with adaptive under-relaxation can accelerate the convergence for mass conservation in subchannel code MATRA. The most efficient approach for adaptive under relaxation appears to be very problem dependent

Fetal response to abbreviated relaxation techniques. A randomized controlled study.

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Fink, Nadine S; Urech, Corinne; Isabel, Fornaro; Meyer, Andrea; Hoesli, Irène; Bitzer, Johannes; Alder, Judith

2011-02-01

stress during pregnancy can have adverse effects on the course of pregnancy and on fetal development. There are few studies investigating the outcome of stress reduction interventions on maternal well-being and obstetric outcome. this study aims (1) to obtain fetal behavioral states (quiet/active sleep, quiet/active wakefulness), (2) to investigate the effects of maternal relaxation on fetal behavior as well as on uterine activity, and (3) to investigate maternal physiological and endocrine parameters as potential underlying mechanisms for maternal-fetal relaxation-transferral. the behavior of 33 fetuses was analyzed during laboratory relaxation/quiet rest (control group, CG) and controlled for baseline fetal behavior. Potential associations between relaxation/quiet rest and fetal behavior (fetal heart rate (FHR), FHR variation, FHR acceleration, and body movements) and uterine activity were studied, using a computerized cardiotocogram (CTG) system. Maternal heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol, and norepinephrine were measured. intervention (progressive muscle relaxation, PMR, and guided imagery, GI) showed changes in fetal behavior. The intervention groups had higher long-term variation during and after relaxation compared to the CG (p=.039). CG fetuses had more FHR acceleration, especially during and after quiet rest (p=.027). Women in the PMR group had significantly more uterine activity than women in the GI group (p=.011) and than CG women. Maternal heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones were not associated with fetal behavior. this study indicates that the fetus might participate in maternal relaxation and suggests that GI is superior to PMR. This could especially be true for women who tend to direct their attention to body sensations such as abdominal activity. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Curie-type paramagnetic NMR relaxation in the aqueous solution of Ni(II).

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Mareš, Jiří; Hanni, Matti; Lantto, Perttu; Lounila, Juhani; Vaara, Juha

2014-04-21

Ni(2+)(aq) has been used for many decades as a model system for paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance (pNMR) relaxation studies. More recently, its magnetic properties and also nuclear magnetic relaxation rates have been studied computationally. We have calculated electron paramagnetic resonance and NMR parameters using quantum-mechanical (QM) computation of molecular dynamics snapshots, obtained using a polarizable empirical force field. Statistical averages of hyperfine coupling, g- and zero-field splitting tensors, as well as the pNMR shielding terms, are compared to the available experimental and computational data. In accordance with our previous work, the isotropic hyperfine coupling as well as nuclear shielding values agree well with experimental measurements for the (17)O nuclei of water molecules in the first solvation shell of the nickel ion, whereas larger deviations are found for (1)H centers. We report, for the first time, the Curie-type contribution to the pNMR relaxation rate using QM calculations together with Redfield relaxation theory. The Curie relaxation mechanism is analogous to chemical shift anisotropy relaxation, well-known in diamagnetic NMR. Due to the predominance of other types of paramagnetic relaxation mechanisms for this system, it is possible to extract the Curie term only computationally. The Curie mechanism alone would result in around 16 and 20 s(-1) of relaxation rates (R1 and R2 respectively) for the (1)H nuclei of water molecules bonded to the Ni(2+) center, in a magnetic field of 11.7 T. The corresponding (17)O relaxation rates are around 33 and 38 s(-1). We also report the Curie contribution to the relaxation rate for molecules beyond the first solvation shell in a 1 M solution of Ni(2+) in water.