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Sample records for reveals irreversible inhibition

  1. Direct and irreversible inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1 by nitroaspirin (NCX 4016).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corazzi, Teresa; Leone, Mario; Maucci, Raffaella; Corazzi, Lanfranco; Gresele, Paolo

    2005-12-01

    Benzoic acid, 2-(acetyl-oxy)-3-[(nitrooxy)methyl]phenyl ester (NCX 4016), a new drug made by an aspirin molecule linked, through a spacer, to a nitric oxide (NO)-donating moiety, is now under clinical testing for the treatment of atherothrombotic conditions. Aspirin exerts its antithrombotic activity by irreversibly inactivating platelet cyclooxygenase (COX)-1. NCX 4016 in vivo undergoes metabolism into deacetylated and/or denitrated metabolites, and it is not known whether NCX 4016 needs to liberate aspirin to inhibit COX-1, or whether it can block it as a whole molecule. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of NCX 4016 and its analog or metabolites on platelet COX-1 and whole blood COX-2 and on purified ovine COX (oCOX)-1 and oCOX-2. In particular, we have compared the mechanism by which NCX 4016 inhibits purified oCOX enzymes with that of aspirin using a spectrophotometric assay. All the NCX 4016 derivatives containing acetylsalicylic acid inhibited the activity of oCOX-1 and oCOX-2, whereas the deacetylated metabolites and the nitric oxide-donating moiety were inactive. Dialysis experiments showed that oCOX-1 inhibition by NCX 4016, similar to aspirin, is irreversible. Reversible COX inhibitors (indomethacin) or salicylic acid incubated with the enzyme before NCX 4016 prevent the irreversible inhibition of oCOX-1 by NCX 4016 as well as by aspirin. In conclusion, our data show that NCX 4016 acts as a direct and irreversible inhibitor of COX-1 and that the presence of a spacer and NO-donating moiety in the molecule slows the kinetics of COX-1 inhibition by NCX 4016, compared with aspirin.

  2. Irreversible inhibition of RANK expression as a possible mechanism for IL-3 inhibition of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khapli, Shruti M.; Tomar, Geetanjali B.; Barhanpurkar, Amruta P.; Gupta, Navita; Yogesha, S.D.; Pote, Satish T. [National Center for Cell Science, University of Pune Campus, Pune 411 007 (India); Wani, Mohan R., E-mail: mohanwani@nccs.res.in [National Center for Cell Science, University of Pune Campus, Pune 411 007 (India)

    2010-09-03

    Research highlights: {yields} IL-3 inhibits receptor activator of NF-{kappa}B ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis. {yields} IL-3 inhibits RANKL-induced JNK activation. {yields} IL-3 down-regulates expression of c-Fos and NFATc1 transcription factors. {yields} IL-3 down-regulates RANK expression posttranscriptionally and irreversibly. {yields} IL-3 inhibits in vivo RANK expression. -- Abstract: IL-3, a cytokine secreted by activated T lymphocytes, stimulates the proliferation, differentiation and survival of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of inhibitory action of IL-3 on osteoclast differentiation. We show here that IL-3 significantly inhibits receptor activator of NF-{kappa}B (RANK) ligand (RANKL)-induced activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). IL-3 down-regulates expression of c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATc1) transcription factors. In addition, IL-3 down-regulates RANK expression posttranscriptionally in both purified osteoclast precursors and whole bone marrow cells. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of IL-3 on RANK expression was irreversible. Interestingly, IL-3 inhibits in vivo RANK expression in mice. Thus, we provide the first evidence that IL-3 irreversibly inhibits RANK expression that results in inhibition of important signaling molecules induced by RANKL.

  3. Irreversible inhibition of RANK expression as a possible mechanism for IL-3 inhibition of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khapli, Shruti M.; Tomar, Geetanjali B.; Barhanpurkar, Amruta P.; Gupta, Navita; Yogesha, S.D.; Pote, Satish T.; Wani, Mohan R.

    2010-01-01

    Research highlights: → IL-3 inhibits receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis. → IL-3 inhibits RANKL-induced JNK activation. → IL-3 down-regulates expression of c-Fos and NFATc1 transcription factors. → IL-3 down-regulates RANK expression posttranscriptionally and irreversibly. → IL-3 inhibits in vivo RANK expression. -- Abstract: IL-3, a cytokine secreted by activated T lymphocytes, stimulates the proliferation, differentiation and survival of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of inhibitory action of IL-3 on osteoclast differentiation. We show here that IL-3 significantly inhibits receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) ligand (RANKL)-induced activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). IL-3 down-regulates expression of c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATc1) transcription factors. In addition, IL-3 down-regulates RANK expression posttranscriptionally in both purified osteoclast precursors and whole bone marrow cells. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of IL-3 on RANK expression was irreversible. Interestingly, IL-3 inhibits in vivo RANK expression in mice. Thus, we provide the first evidence that IL-3 irreversibly inhibits RANK expression that results in inhibition of important signaling molecules induced by RANKL.

  4. Beta-lactam antibiotic-induced platelet dysfunction: Evidence for irreversible inhibition of platelet activation in vitro and in vivo after prolonged exposure to penicillin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burroughs, S.F.; Johnson, G.J.

    1990-01-01

    beta-Lactam antibiotics cause platelet dysfunction with bleeding complications. Previous in vitro studies documented reversible inhibition of agonist-receptor interaction. This mechanism is inadequate to explain the effect of beta-lactam antibiotics in vivo. Platelet function does not return to normal immediately after drug treatment, implying irreversible inhibition of platelet function. We report here evidence of irreversible platelet functional and biochemical abnormalities after in vitro and in vivo exposure to beta-lactam antibiotics. Irreversible binding of [14C]-penicillin (Pen) occurred in vitro. After 24 hours' in vitro incubation with 10 to 20 mmol/L Pen, or ex vivo after antibiotic treatment, irreversible functional impairment occurred; but no irreversible inhibition of alpha 2 adrenergic receptors, measured with [3H]-yohimbine, or high-affinity thromboxane A2/prostaglandin H2 (TXA2/PGH2) receptors, measured with agonist [3H]-U46619 and antagonist [3H]-SQ29548, occurred. However, low-affinity platelet TXA2/PGH2 receptors were decreased 40% after Pen exposure in vitro or in vivo, indicating irreversible membrane alteration. Two postreceptor biochemical events were irreversibly inhibited in platelets incubated with Pen for 24 hours in vitro or ex vivo after antibiotic treatment. Thromboxane synthesis was inhibited 28.3% to 81.7%. Agonist-induced rises in cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i) were inhibited 40.1% to 67.5% in vitro and 26.6% to 52.2% ex vivo. Therefore, Pen binds to platelets after prolonged exposure, resulting in irreversible dysfunction attributable to inhibition of TXA2 synthesis and impairment of the rise in [Ca2+]i. The loss of low-affinity TXA2/PGH2 receptors suggests that the primary site of action of these drugs is on the platelet membrane

  5. Effects of gamma irradiation on the plasma membrane of suspension-cultured apple cells. Rapid irreversible inhibition of H+-ATPase activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong, C.-Z.; Montillet, J.-L.; Triantaphylides, C.

    1994-01-01

    The effects of ionizing radiation, used in post-harvest treatment of fruit and vegetables. were investigated on cultured apple cells (Pyrus malus L. cv. Royal Red) on a short-term period. Irradiation (2 kGy) induced an increase of passive ion effluxes from cells and a decrease of cell capacity to regulate external pH. These alterations are likely due to effects on plasma membrane structure and function and were further investigated by studying the effects of irradiation on plasma membrane H + -ATPase activity. Plasma membrane-enriched vesicles were prepared and the H + -ATPase activity was characterized. Irradiation of the vesicles induced a dose dependent inhibition of H + -ATPase activity. The loss of enzyme activity was immediate, even at low doses (0.5 kGy), and was not reversed by the addition of 2mM dithiothreitol. This inhibition may be the result of an irreversible oxidation of enzyme sulfhydryl moieties and/or the result of changes induced within the lipid bilayer affecting the membrane-enzyme interactions. Further analysis of the H + -ATPase activity was carried out on vesicles obtained from irradiated cells confirming the previous results. In vivo recovery of activity was not observed within 5 h following the treatment, thus explaining the decrease of cell capacity to regulate external pH. This rapid irreversible inhibition of the plasma membrane H + -ATPase must be considered as one of the most important primary biochemical events occurring in irradiated plant material. (author)

  6. Benzylic oxidation of gemfibrozil-1-O-beta-glucuronide by P450 2C8 leads to heme alkylation and irreversible inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baer, Brian R; DeLisle, Robert Kirk; Allen, Andrew

    2009-07-01

    Gemfibrozil-1-O-beta-glucuronide (GEM-1-O-gluc), a major metabolite of the antihyperlipidemic drug gemfibrozil, is a mechanism-based inhibitor of P450 2C8 in vitro, and this irreversible inactivation may lead to clinical drug-drug interactions between gemfibrozil and other P450 2C8 substrates. In light of this in vitro finding and the observation that the glucuronide conjugate does not contain any obvious structural alerts, the current study was conducted to determine the potential site of GEM-1-O-gluc bioactivation and the subsequent mechanism of P450 2C8 inhibition (i.e., modification of apoprotein or heme). LC/MS analysis of a reaction mixture containing recombinant P450 2C8 and GEM-1-O-gluc revealed that the substrate was covalently linked to the heme prosthetic heme group during catalysis. A combination of mass spectrometry and deuterium isotope effects revealed that a benzylic carbon on the 2',5'-dimethylphenoxy group of GEM-1-O-gluc was covalently bound to the heme of P450 2C8. The regiospecificity of substrate addition to the heme group was not confirmed experimentally, but computational modeling experiments indicated that the gamma-meso position was the most likely site of modification. The metabolite profile, which consisted of two benzyl alcohol metabolites and a 4'-hydroxy-GEM-1-O-gluc metabolite, indicated that oxidation of GEM-1-O-gluc was limited to the 2',5'-dimethylphenoxy group. These results are consistent with an inactivation mechanism wherein GEM-1-O-gluc is oxidized to a benzyl radical intermediate, which evades oxygen rebound, and adds to the gamma-meso position of heme. Mechanism-based inhibition of P450 2C8 can be rationalized by the formation of the GEM-1-O-gluc-heme adduct and the consequential restriction of additional substrate access to the catalytic iron center.

  7. Time irreversibility and intrinsics revealing of series with complex network approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Hui; Shang, Pengjian; Xia, Jianan; Wang, Jing

    2018-06-01

    In this work, we analyze time series on the basis of the visibility graph algorithm that maps the original series into a graph. By taking into account the all-round information carried by the signals, the time irreversibility and fractal behavior of series are evaluated from a complex network perspective, and considered signals are further classified from different aspects. The reliability of the proposed analysis is supported by numerical simulations on synthesized uncorrelated random noise, short-term correlated chaotic systems and long-term correlated fractal processes, and by the empirical analysis on daily closing prices of eleven worldwide stock indices. Obtained results suggest that finite size has a significant effect on the evaluation, and that there might be no direct relation between the time irreversibility and long-range correlation of series. Similarity and dissimilarity between stock indices are also indicated from respective regional and global perspectives, showing the existence of multiple features of underlying systems.

  8. Irreversible social change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pols, A.J.K.; Romijn, H.A.; Collste, G.; Reuter, L.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we evaluate how irreversible social change should be evaluated from an ethical perspective. First; we analyse the notion of irreversibility in general terms. We define a general notion of what makes a change irreversible; drawing on discussions in ecology and economics. This notion is

  9. Ethacrynic acid improves the antitumor effects of irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bing; Huang, XinPing; Hu, YunLong; Chen, TingTing; Peng, BoYa; Gao, NingNing; Jin, ZhenChao; Jia, TieLiu; Zhang, Na; Wang, ZhuLin; Jin, GuangYi

    2016-09-06

    Prolonged treatment of breast cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) often results in acquired resistance and a narrow therapeutic index. One strategy to improve the therapeutic effects of EGFR TKIs is to combine them with drugs used for other clinical indications. Ethacrynic acid (EA) is an FDA approved drug that may have antitumor effects and may enhance the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents by binding to glutathione and inhibiting WNT signaling. While the α,β-unsaturated-keto structure of EA is similar to that of irreversible TKIs, the mechanism of action of EA when combined with irreversible EGFR TKIs in breast cancer remains unknown. We therefore investigated the combination of irreversible EGFR TKIs and EA. We found that irreversible EGFR TKIs and EA synergistically inhibit breast cancer both in vitro and in vivo. The combination of EGFR TKIs and EA induces necrosis and cell cycle arrest and represses WNT/β-catenin signaling as well as MAPK-ERK1/2 signaling. We conclude that EA synergistically enhances the antitumor effects of irreversible EGFR TKIs in breast cancer.

  10. Inhibition of Fatty Acid Synthase in Prostate Cancer by Olristat, a Novel Therapeutic

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-11-01

    is a natural antibiotic product of the fungus Cephalosporium ceruleans (Omura, 1976). Cerulenin irreversibly inhibits FAS by binding covalently to the...toxicity in normal tissues (Pizer et al, 2000). More recently, an activity-based proteomics strategy revealed in vitro and in vivo antitumour activity for

  11. Irreversible inactivation of snake venom l-amino acid oxidase by covalent modification during catalysis of l-propargylglycine☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitra, Jyotirmoy; Bhattacharyya, Debasish

    2013-01-01

    Snake venom l-amino acid oxidase (SV-LAAO, a flavor-enzyme) has attracted considerable attention due to its multifunctional nature, which is manifest in diverse clinical and biological effects such as inhibition of platelet aggregation, induction of cell apoptosis and cytotoxicity against various cells. The majority of these effects are mediated by H2O2 generated during the catalytic conversion of l-amino acids. The substrate analog l-propargylglycine (LPG) irreversibly inhibited the enzyme from Crotalus adamanteus and Crotalus atrox in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Inactivation was irreversible which was significantly protected by the substrate l-phenylalanine. A Kitz–Wilson replot of the inhibition kinetics suggested formation of reversible enzyme–LPG complex, which occurred prior to modification and inactivation of the enzyme. UV–visible and fluorescence spectra of the enzyme and the cofactor strongly suggested formation of covalent adduct between LPG and an active site residue of the enzyme. A molecular modeling study revealed that the FAD-binding, substrate-binding and the helical domains are conserved in SV-LAAOs and both His223 and Arg322 are the important active site residues that are likely to get modified by LPG. Chymotrypsin digest of the LPG inactivated enzyme followed by RP-HPLC and MALDI mass analysis identified His223 as the site of modification. The findings reported here contribute towards complete inactivation of SV-LAAO as a part of snake envenomation management. PMID:23772385

  12. Spectral line intensity irreversibility in circulatory plasma magnetization processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Z. Q.; Dun, G. T.

    2012-01-01

    Spectral line intensity variation is found to be irreversible in circulatory plasma magnetization process by experiments described in this paper, i.e., the curves illustrating spectral line photon fluxes irradiated from a light source immerged in a magnetic field by increasing the magnetic induction cannot be reproduced by decreasing the magnetic induction within the errors. There are two plasma magnetization patterns found. One shows that the intensities are greater at the same magnetic inductions during the magnetic induction decreasing process after the increasing, and the other gives the opposite effect. This reveals that the magneto-induced excitation and de-excitation process is irreversible like ferromagnetic magnetization. But the two irreversible processes are very different in many aspects stated in the text.

  13. Inhibition pathways of the potent organophosphate CBDP with cholinesterases revealed by X-ray crystallographic snapshots and mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carletti, Eugenie; Santoni, Gianluca; Colletier, Jacques-Philippe; Schopfer, Lawrence M.; Lockridge, Oksana; Masson, Patrick; Nachon, Florian; Weik, Martin

    2013-01-01

    Tri-o-cresyl-phosphate (TOCP) is a common additive in jet engine lubricants and hydraulic fluids suspected to have a role in aero-toxic syndrome in humans. TOCP is metabolized to cresyl saligenin phosphate (CBDP), a potent irreversible inhibitor of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a natural bio-scavenger present in the bloodstream, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the off-switch at cholinergic synapses. Mechanistic details of cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition have, however, remained elusive. Also, the inhibition of AChE by CBDP is unexpected, from a structural standpoint, i.e., considering the narrowness of AChE active site and the bulkiness of CBDP. In the following, we report on kinetic X-ray crystallography experiments that provided 2.7-3.3 Angstroms snapshots of the reaction of CBDP with mouse AChE and human BChE. The series of crystallographic snapshots reveals that AChE and BChE react with the opposite enantiomers and that an induced-fit rearrangement of Phe297 enlarges the active site of AChE upon CBDP binding. Mass spectrometry analysis of aging in either H 2 16 O or H 2 18 O furthermore allowed us to identify the inhibition steps, in which water molecules are involved, thus providing insights into the mechanistic details of inhibition. X-ray crystallography and mass spectrometry show the formation of an aged end product formed in both AChE and BChE that cannot be reactivated by current oxime-based therapeutics. Our study thus shows that only prophylactic and symptomatic treatments are viable to counter the inhibition of AChE and BChE by CBDP. (authors)

  14. Inhibition of polyphenoloxidase by sulfite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sayavedra-Soto, L.A.; Montgomery, M.W.

    1986-01-01

    When polyphenoloxidase (PPO) was exposed to sulfite prior to substrate addition, inhibition was irreversible. Trials to regenerate PPO activity, using extensive dialysis, column chromatography, and addition of copper salts were not successful. Increased concentrations of sulfite and pH levels less than 5 enhanced the inhibition of PPO by sulfite. At pH 4, concentrations greater than 0.04 mg/mL completely inhibited 1000 units of PPO activity almost instantaneously. This suggested that the HSO 3 - molecule was the main component in the sulfite system inhibiting PPO. Column chromatography, extensive dialysis, and gel electrophoresis did not demonstrate 35 SO 2 bound to purified pear PPO protein. Formation of extra protein bands of sulfite inhibited purified pear PPO fractions on gel electrophoresis was demonstrated. This and other evidence suggested that the major mode of direct irreversible inhibition of PPO was modification of the protein structure, with retention of its molecular unity

  15. Irreversible processes kinetic theory

    CERN Document Server

    Brush, Stephen G

    2013-01-01

    Kinetic Theory, Volume 2: Irreversible Processes deals with the kinetic theory of gases and the irreversible processes they undergo. It includes the two papers by James Clerk Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann in which the basic equations for transport processes in gases are formulated, together with the first derivation of Boltzmann's ""H-theorem"" and a discussion of this theorem, along with the problem of irreversibility.Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an introduction to the fundamental nature of heat and of gases, along with Boltzmann's work on the kinetic theory of gases and s

  16. Irreversibility and self-organization in spin glasses. 1. Origin of irreversibility in spin glasses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovrov, V.P.; Kurbatov, A.M.

    1989-05-01

    The origin of irreversibility in spin glasses is found out on the basis of the analytical study of the well-known TAP equations. Connection between irreversible jumpwise transitions and a positive feedback in spin glasses is discussed. (author). 7 refs, 4 figs

  17. AST1306, a novel irreversible inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor 1 and 2, exhibits antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Xie

    Full Text Available Despite the initial response to the reversible, ATP-competitive quinazoline inhibitors that target ErbB-family, such a subset of cancer patients almost invariably develop resistance. Recent studies have provided compelling evidence that irreversible ErbB inhibitors have the potential to override this resistance. Here, we found that AST1306, a novel anilino-quinazoline compound, inhibited the enzymatic activities of wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR and ErbB2 as well as EGFR resistant mutant in both cell-free and cell-based systems. Importantly, AST1306 functions as an irreversible inhibitor, most likely through covalent interaction with Cys797 and Cys805 in the catalytic domains of EGFR and ErbB2, respectively. Further studies showed that AST1306 inactivated pathways downstream of these receptors and thereby inhibited the proliferation of a panel of cancer cell lines. Although the activities of EGFR and ErbB2 were similarly sensitive to AST1306, ErbB2-overexpressing cell lines consistently exhibited more sensitivity to AST1306 antiproliferative effects. Consistent with this, knockdown of ErbB2, but not EGFR, decreased the sensitivity of SK-OV-3 cells to AST1306. In vivo, AST1306 potently suppressed tumor growth in ErbB2-overexpressing adenocarcinoma xenograft and FVB-2/N(neu transgenic breast cancer mouse models, but weakly inhibited the growth of EGFR-overexpressing tumor xenografts. Tumor growth inhibition induced by a single dose of AST1306 in the SK-OV-3 xenograft model was accompanied by a rapid (within 2 h and sustained (≥24 h inhibition of both EGFR and ErbB2, consistent with an irreversible inhibition mechanism. Taken together, these results establish AST1306 as a selective, irreversible ErbB2 and EGFR inhibitor whose growth-inhibitory effects are more potent in ErbB2-overexpressing cells.

  18. Linear irreversible thermodynamics and Onsager reciprocity for information-driven engines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Shumpei; Ito, Sosuke; Shiraishi, Naoto; Sagawa, Takahiro

    2016-11-01

    In the recent progress in nonequilibrium thermodynamics, information has been recognized as a kind of thermodynamic resource that can drive thermodynamic current without any direct energy injection. In this paper, we establish the framework of linear irreversible thermodynamics for a broad class of autonomous information processing. In particular, we prove that the Onsager reciprocity holds true with information: The linear response matrix is well-defined and is shown symmetric with both of the information affinity and the conventional thermodynamic affinity. As an application, we derive a universal bound for the efficiency at maximum power for information-driven engines in the linear regime. Our result reveals the fundamental role of information flow in linear irreversible thermodynamics.

  19. Examination of various postulates of irreversibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salmon, J [Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers (CNAM), 75 - Paris (France)

    1977-01-01

    Firstly, it is shown that it is necessary to break the reversible character of the B.B.G.K.Y. system of equations by means of a postulate of irreversibility to obtain a kinetic equation compatible with the second principle of thermodynamics. Next, three postulates of irreversibility are examined: that of molecular chaos, that of linear relaxation and, finally, that of superposition. Then the corresponding kinetic equations and the expressions for the viscosity coefficient to which they lead are determined. Comparison with experiment is made each time. Lastly, an attempt to obtain an irreversible kinetic equation without introducing a postulate of irreversibility in the B.B.G.K.Y. system is realized. This consists in adding a complementary irreversible term to the fundamental equation of the dynamics of a particle. The suggested term is of quantum origin and leads to a kinetic equation of the Fokker-Planck type.

  20. Inhibition of rat, mouse, and human glutathione S-transferase by eugenol and its oxidation products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rompelberg, C.J.M.; Ploemen, J.H.T.M.; Jespersen, S.; Greef, J. van der; Verhagen, H.; Bladeren, P.J. van

    1996-01-01

    The irreversible and reversible inhibition of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) by eugenol was studied in rat, mouse and man. Using liver cytosol of human, rat and mouse, species differences were found in the rate of irreversible inhibition of GSTs by eugenol in the presence of the enzyme

  1. Ecological optimization for generalized irreversible Carnot refrigerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Lingen; Zhu Xiaoqin; Sun Fengrui; Wu Chih

    2005-01-01

    The optimal ecological performance of a Newton's law generalized irreversible Carnot refrigerator with the losses of heat resistance, heat leakage and internal irreversibility is derived by taking an ecological optimization criterion as the objective, which consists of maximizing a function representing the best compromise between the exergy output rate and exergy loss rate (entropy production rate) of the refrigerator. Numerical examples are given to show the effects of heat leakage and internal irreversibility on the optimal performance of generalized irreversible refrigerators

  2. Inhibition of xyloglucanase from an alkalothermophilic Thermomonospora sp. by a peptidic aspartic protease inhibitor from Penicillium sp. VM24.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Vishnu; Rao, Mala

    2012-11-01

    A bifunctional inhibitor from Penicillium sp VM24 causing inactivation of xyloglucanase from Thermomonospora sp and an aspartic protease from Aspergillus saitoi was identified. Steady state kinetics studies of xyloglucanase and the inhibitor revealed an irreversible, non-competitive, two-step inhibition mechanism with IC(50) and K(i) values of 780 and 500nM respectively. The interaction of o-phthalaldehyde (OPTA)-labeled xyloglucanase with the inhibitor revealed that the inhibitor binds to the active site of the enzyme. Far- and near-UV spectrophotometric analysis suggests that the conformational changes induced in xyloglucanase by the inhibitor may be due to irreversible denaturation of enzyme. The bifunctional inhibitor may have potential as a biocontrol agent for the protection of plants against phytopathogenic fungi. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Different inhibition mechanisms of gentisic acid and cyaniding-3-O-glucoside on polyphenoloxidase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Lei; Xiong, Zhiqiang; Liu, Wei; Zou, Liqiang

    2017-11-01

    Gentisic acid and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside are important bioactive polyphenols which are widely distributed in many fruits and cereals. In this work, kinetic study, spectral analysis and computational simulation were used to compare the inhibitory effects and inhibition mechanisms of gentisic acid and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside on mushroom polyphenoloxidase (PPO). The inhibitory effect of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside on PPO was much stronger than that of gentisic acid. Gentisic acid inhibited PPO in a reversible mixed-type manner while cyanidin-3-O-glucoside was an irreversible inhibitor. Gentisic acid and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside made the thermal inactivation of PPO easier, and induced apparent conformational changes of PPO. Compared with gentisic acid, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside had stronger effects on the thermal inactivation and conformation of PPO. Molecular docking results revealed gentisic acid bound to the active site of PPO by hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking and van der Waals forces. However, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside might irreversibly interact with the Met or Cys in PPO by covalent bonds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Performance characteristics and parametric optimization of an irreversible magnetic Ericsson heat-pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Fang; Lin Guoxing; Chen Jincan; Brueck, Ekkes

    2011-01-01

    Taking into account the finite-rate heat transfer in the heat-transfer processes, heat leak between the two external heat reservoirs, regenerative loss, regeneration time, and internal irreversibility due to dissipation of the cycle working substance, an irreversible magnetic Ericsson heat-pump cycle is presented. On the basis of the thermodynamic properties of magnetic materials, the performance characteristics of the irreversible magnetic Ericsson heat-pump are investigated and the relationship between the optimal heating load and the coefficient of performance (COP) is derived. Moreover, the maximum heating load and the corresponding COP as well as the maximum COP and the corresponding heating load are obtained. Furthermore, the other optimal performance characteristics are discussed in detail. The results obtained here may provide some new information for the optimal parameter design and the development of real magnetic Ericsson heat-pumps. -- Research Highlights: →The effects of multi-irreversibilities on the performance of a magnetic heat-pump are revealed. →Mathematical expressions of the heating load and the COP are derived and the optimal performance and operating parameters are analyzed and discussed. →Several important performance bounds are determined.

  5. Ecological optimization for an irreversible magnetic Ericsson refrigeration cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Hao; Wu Guo-Xing

    2013-01-01

    An irreversible Ericsson refrigeration cycle model is established, in which multi-irreversibilities such as finite-rate heat transfer, regenerative loss, heat leakage, and the efficiency of the regenerator are taken into account. Expressions for several important performance parameters, such as the cooling rate, coefficient of performance (COP), power input, exergy output rate, entropy generation rate, and ecological function are derived. The influences of the heat leakage and the time of the regenerative processes on the ecological performance of the refrigerator are analyzed. The optimal regions of the ecological function, cooling rate, and COP are determined and evaluated. Furthermore, some important parameter relations of the refrigerator are revealed and discussed in detail. The results obtained here have general significance and will be helpful in gaining a deep understanding of the magnetic Ericsson refrigeration cycle. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  6. Entropy, Extropy and the Physical Driver of Irreversibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Attila Grandpierre

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available We point out that the fundamental irreversibility of Nature requires the introduction of a suitable measure for the distance from equilibrium. We show that entropy, which is widely held to be such a measure, suffers from the problem that it does not have a physical meaning, since it is introduced on the basis of mathematical arguments. As a consequence, the basic physics beyond irreversibility has remained obscure. We present here a simple but transparent physical approach for solving the problem of irreversibility. This approach shows that extropy, the fundamental thermodynamic variable introduced by Katalin Martinás, is the suitable measure for the distance from equilibrium, since it corresponds to the actual driver of irreversible processes. Since extropy explicitly contains in its definition all the general thermodynamic forces that drive irreversible processes, extropy is the suitable physical measure of irreversibility.

  7. Irreversible dynamics, Onsager-Casimir symmetry, and an application to turbulence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ottinger, Hans Christian

    2014-10-01

    Irreversible contributions to the dynamics of nonequilibrium systems can be formulated in terms of dissipative, or irreversible, brackets. We discuss the structure of such irreversible brackets in view of a degeneracy implied by energy conservation, where we consider different types of symmetries of the bracket corresponding to the Onsager and Casimir symmetries of linear irreversible thermodynamics. Slip and turbulence provide important examples of antisymmetric irreversible brackets and offer guidance for the more general modeling of irreversible dynamics without entropy production. Conversely, turbulence modeling could benefit from elucidating thermodynamic structure. The examples suggest constructing antisymmetric irreversible brackets in terms of completely antisymmetric functions of three indices. Irreversible brackets without well-defined symmetry properties can arise for rare events, causing big configurational changes.

  8. Hydraulically irreversible fouling on ceramic MF/UF membranes: comparison of fouling indices, foulant composition and irreversible pore narrowing

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Ran; Vuong, Francois; Hu, Jingyi; Li, Sheng; Kemperman, Antoine J.B.; Nijmeijer, Kitty; Cornelissen, Emile R.; Heijman, Sebastiaan G.J.; Rietveld, Luuk C.

    2015-01-01

    The application of ceramic membranes in water treatment is becoming increasing attractive because of their long life time and excellent chemical, mechanical and thermal stability. However, fouling of ceramic membranes, especially hydraulically irreversible fouling, is still a critical aspect affecting the operational cost and energy consumption in water treatment plants. In this study, four ceramic membranes with pore sizes or molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 0.20 μm, 0.14 μm, 300 kDa and 50 kDa were compared during natural surface water filtration with respect to hydraulically irreversible fouling index (HIFI), foulant composition and narrowing of pore size due to the irreversible fouling. Our results showed that the hydraulically irreversible fouling index (HIFI) was proportional to the membrane pore size (r2=0.89) when the same feed water was filtrated. The UF membranes showed lower HIFI values than the MF membranes. Pore narrowing (internal fouling) was found to be a main fouling pattern of the hydraulically irreversible fouling. The internal fouling was caused by monolayer adsorption of foulants with different sizes that is dependent on the size of the membrane pore.

  9. Hydraulically irreversible fouling on ceramic MF/UF membranes: comparison of fouling indices, foulant composition and irreversible pore narrowing

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Ran

    2015-05-06

    The application of ceramic membranes in water treatment is becoming increasing attractive because of their long life time and excellent chemical, mechanical and thermal stability. However, fouling of ceramic membranes, especially hydraulically irreversible fouling, is still a critical aspect affecting the operational cost and energy consumption in water treatment plants. In this study, four ceramic membranes with pore sizes or molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 0.20 μm, 0.14 μm, 300 kDa and 50 kDa were compared during natural surface water filtration with respect to hydraulically irreversible fouling index (HIFI), foulant composition and narrowing of pore size due to the irreversible fouling. Our results showed that the hydraulically irreversible fouling index (HIFI) was proportional to the membrane pore size (r2=0.89) when the same feed water was filtrated. The UF membranes showed lower HIFI values than the MF membranes. Pore narrowing (internal fouling) was found to be a main fouling pattern of the hydraulically irreversible fouling. The internal fouling was caused by monolayer adsorption of foulants with different sizes that is dependent on the size of the membrane pore.

  10. Quantum degeneracy effect on performance of irreversible Otto cycle with ideal Bose gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Feng; Chen Lingen; Sun Fengrui; Wu Chih; Guo Fangzhong; Li Qing

    2006-01-01

    An Otto cycle working with an ideal Bose gas is called a Bose Otto cycle. The internal irreversibility of the cycle is included in the factors of internal irreversibility degree. The quantum degeneracy effect on the performance of the cycle is investigated based on quantum statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. Variations of the maximum work output ratio R W and the efficiency ratio y with temperature ratio τ are examined, which reveal the influence of the quantum degeneracy of the working substance on the performance of a Bose Otto cycle. It is shown that the results obtained herein are valid under both classical and quantum ideal gas conditions

  11. Nitric oxide-related species-induced protein oxidation: reversible, irreversible, and protective effects on enzyme function of papain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Väänänen, Antti J; Kankuri, Esko; Rauhala, Pekka

    2005-04-15

    Protein oxidation, irreversible modification, and inactivation may play key roles in various neurodegenerative disorders. Therefore, we studied the effects of the potentially in vivo occurring nitric oxide-related species on two different markers of protein oxidation: protein carbonyl generation on bovine serum albumine (BSA) and loss of activity of a cysteine-dependent protease, papain, in vitro by using Angeli's salt, papanonoate, SIN-1, and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) as donors of nitroxyl, nitric oxide, peroxynitrite, and nitrosonium ions, respectively. Angeli's salt, SIN-1, and papanonoate (0-1000 microM) all generated a concentration-dependent increase in carbonyl formation on BSA (107, 60, and 45%, respectively). GSNO did not affect carbonyl formation. Papain was inhibited by Angeli's salt, SIN-1, papanonoate, and GSNO with IC50 values of 0.62, 2.3, 54, and 80 microM, respectively. Angeli's salt (3.16 microM)-induced papain inactivation was only partially reversible, while the effects of GSNO (316 microM) and papanonoate (316 microM) were reversible upon addition of excess DTT. The Angeli's salt-mediated DTT-irreversible inhibition of papain was prevented by GSNO or papanonoate pretreatment, hypothetically through mixed disulfide formation or S-nitrosylation of the catalytically critical thiol group of papain. These results, for the first time, compare the generation of carbonyls in proteins by Angeli's salt, papanonoate, and SIN-1. Furthermore, these results suggest that S-nitrosothiols may have a novel function in protecting critical thiols from irreversible oxidative damage.

  12. Irreversibility and dissipation in finite-state automata

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganesh, Natesh; Anderson, Neal G.

    2013-01-01

    Irreversibility and dissipation in finite-state automata (FSA) are considered from a physical-information-theoretic perspective. A quantitative measure for the computational irreversibility of finite automata is introduced, and a fundamental lower bound on the average energy dissipated per state transition is obtained and expressed in terms of FSA irreversibility. The irreversibility measure and energy bound are germane to any realization of a deterministic automaton that faithfully registers abstract FSA states in distinguishable states of a physical system coupled to a thermal environment, and that evolves via a sequence of interactions with an external system holding a physical instantiation of a random input string. The central result, which is shown to follow from quantum dynamics and entropic inequalities alone, can be regarded as a generalization of Landauer's Principle applicable to FSAs and tailorable to specified automata. Application to a simple FSA is illustrated.

  13. Extended Irreversible Thermodynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Jou, David

    2010-01-01

    This is the 4th edition of the highly acclaimed monograph on Extended Irreversible Thermodynamics, a theory that goes beyond the classical theory of irreversible processes. In contrast to the classical approach, the basic variables describing the system are complemented by non-equilibrium quantities. The claims made for extended thermodynamics are confirmed by the kinetic theory of gases and statistical mechanics. The book covers a wide spectrum of applications, and also contains a thorough discussion of the foundations and the scope of the current theories on non-equilibrium thermodynamics. For this new edition, the authors critically revised existing material while taking into account the most recent developments in fast moving fields such as heat transport in micro- and nanosystems or fast solidification fronts in materials sciences. Several fundamental chapters have been revisited emphasizing physics and applications over mathematical derivations. Also, fundamental questions on the definition of non-equil...

  14. Attribution of irreversible loss to anthropogenic climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huggel, Christian; Bresch, David; Hansen, Gerrit; James, Rachel; Mechler, Reinhard; Stone, Dáithí; Wallimann-Helmer, Ivo

    2016-04-01

    The Paris Agreement (2015) under the UNFCCC has anchored loss and damage in a separate article which specifies that understanding and support should be enhanced in areas addressing loss and damage such as early warning, preparedness, insurance and resilience. Irreversible loss is a special category under loss and damage but there is still missing clarity over what irreversible loss actually includes. Many negative impacts of climate change may be handled or mitigated by existing risk management, reduction and absorption approaches. Irreversible loss, however, is thought to be insufficiently addressed by risk management. Therefore, countries potentially or actually affected by irreversible loss are calling for other measures such as compensation, which however is highly contested in international climate policy. In Paris (2015) a decision was adopted that loss and damage as defined in the respective article of the agreement does not involve compensation and liability. Nevertheless, it is likely that some sort of mechanism will eventually need to come into play for irreversible loss due to anthropogenic climate change, which might involve compensation, other forms of non-monetary reparation, or transformation. Furthermore, climate litigation has increasingly been attempted to address negative effects of climate change. In this context, attribution is important to understand the drivers of change, what counts as irreversible loss due to climate change, and, possibly, who or what is responsible. Here we approach this issue by applying a detection and attribution perspective on irreversible loss. We first analyze detected climate change impacts as assessed in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. We distinguish between irreversible loss in physical, biological and human systems, and accordingly identify the following candidates of irreversible loss in these systems: loss of glaciers and ice sheets, loss of subsurface ice (permafrost) and related loss of lake systems; loss

  15. The anti-inflammatory effects of matrix metalloproteinase-3 on irreversible pulpitis of mature erupted teeth.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hisanori Eba

    Full Text Available Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs are involved in extracellular matrix degradation and the modulation of cell behavior. These proteinases have also been implicated in tissue repair and regeneration. Our previous studies have demonstrated that MMP-3 elicits stimulatory effects on the proliferation and the migration of endothelial cells as well as anti-apoptotic effects on these cells in vitro. In addition, we found that MMP-3 enhanced the regeneration of lost pulp tissue in a rat incisor pulp injury model. However, continuously erupting rodent incisors exhibit significantly different pulp organization compared with mature erupted teeth. Therefore, we have further extended these studies using a canine irreversible pulpitis model to investigate the effects of MMP-3. In this study, the crowns of the canine mature premolars were removed and the pulp tissues were amputated. The amputated pulp tissues remained exposed for 24 or 72 hours to induce mild or severe irreversible pulpitis, respectively, followed by sealing of the cavities. In both models, the whole pulp tissues became necrotic by day 14. In this mild pulpitis model, the regeneration of pulp tissue with vasculature and nerves was observed until 14 days after sealing with MMP-3, followed by extracellular matrix formation in the regenerated pulp tissues until day 28. The treatment with MMP-3 resulted in a decrease in the number of macrophage and antigen-presenting cells and a significant inhibition of IL-6 expression on day 3. The inhibition of MMP-3 activity abolished these anti-inflammatory effects. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that MMP-3 was involved in the modification of serum-derived hyaluronan-associated proteins and hyaluronan (SHAP-HA complexes possibly through the degradation of versican. These results demonstrate that MMP-3 can act as an anti-inflammatory agent and suggest that MMP-3 might represent a useful therapy for the treatment of mild irreversible pulpitis.

  16. The anti-inflammatory effects of matrix metalloproteinase-3 on irreversible pulpitis of mature erupted teeth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eba, Hisanori; Murasawa, Yusuke; Iohara, Koichiro; Isogai, Zenzo; Nakamura, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Hiroyuki; Nakashima, Misako

    2012-01-01

    Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in extracellular matrix degradation and the modulation of cell behavior. These proteinases have also been implicated in tissue repair and regeneration. Our previous studies have demonstrated that MMP-3 elicits stimulatory effects on the proliferation and the migration of endothelial cells as well as anti-apoptotic effects on these cells in vitro. In addition, we found that MMP-3 enhanced the regeneration of lost pulp tissue in a rat incisor pulp injury model. However, continuously erupting rodent incisors exhibit significantly different pulp organization compared with mature erupted teeth. Therefore, we have further extended these studies using a canine irreversible pulpitis model to investigate the effects of MMP-3. In this study, the crowns of the canine mature premolars were removed and the pulp tissues were amputated. The amputated pulp tissues remained exposed for 24 or 72 hours to induce mild or severe irreversible pulpitis, respectively, followed by sealing of the cavities. In both models, the whole pulp tissues became necrotic by day 14. In this mild pulpitis model, the regeneration of pulp tissue with vasculature and nerves was observed until 14 days after sealing with MMP-3, followed by extracellular matrix formation in the regenerated pulp tissues until day 28. The treatment with MMP-3 resulted in a decrease in the number of macrophage and antigen-presenting cells and a significant inhibition of IL-6 expression on day 3. The inhibition of MMP-3 activity abolished these anti-inflammatory effects. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that MMP-3 was involved in the modification of serum-derived hyaluronan-associated proteins and hyaluronan (SHAP-HA) complexes possibly through the degradation of versican. These results demonstrate that MMP-3 can act as an anti-inflammatory agent and suggest that MMP-3 might represent a useful therapy for the treatment of mild irreversible pulpitis.

  17. Generalized irreversible heat-engine experiencing a complex heat-transfer law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Lingen; Li Jun; Sun Fengrui

    2008-01-01

    The fundamental optimal relation between optimal power-output and efficiency of a generalized irreversible Carnot heat-engine is derived based on a generalized heat-transfer law, including a generalized convective heat-transfer law and a generalized radiative heat-transfer law, q ∝ (ΔT n ) m . The generalized irreversible Carnot-engine model incorporates several internal and external irreversibilities, such as heat resistance, bypass heat-leak, friction, turbulence and other undesirable irreversibility factors. The added irreversibilities, besides heat resistance, are characterized by a constant parameter and a constant coefficient. The effects of heat-transfer laws and various loss terms are analyzed. The results obtained corroborate those in the literature

  18. Absorption media for irreversibly gettering thionyl chloride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buffleben, George; Goods, Steven H.; Shepodd, Timothy; Wheeler, David R.; Whinnery, Jr., LeRoy

    2002-01-01

    Thionyl chloride is a hazardous and reactive chemical used as the liquid cathode in commercial primary batteries. Contrary to previous thinking, ASZM-TEDA.RTM. carbon (Calgon Corporation) reversibly absorbs thionyl chloride. Thus, several candidate materials were examined as irreversible getters for thionyl chloride. The capacity, rate and effect of temperature were also explored. A wide variety of likely materials were investigated through screening experiments focusing on the degree of heat generated by the reaction as well as the material absorption capacity and irreversibility, in order to help narrow the group of possible getter choices. More thorough, quantitative measurements were performed on promising materials. The best performing getter was a mixture of ZnO and ASZM-TEDA.RTM. carbon. In this example, the ZnO reacts with thionyl chloride to form ZnCl.sub.2 and SO.sub.2. The SO.sub.2 is then irreversibly gettered by ASZM-TEDA.RTM. carbon. This combination of ZnO and carbon has a high capacity, is irreversible and functions effectively above -20.degree. C.

  19. The Value of Fighting Irreversible Demise by Softening the Irreversible Cost

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Magis, P.; Sbuelz, A.

    2005-01-01

    We study a novel issue in the real-options-based technology innovation literature by means of double barrier contingent claims analysis.We show how much a ¯rm with the monopoly over a project is willing to spend in investment technology innovation that softens the irreversible cost of accessing the

  20. Irreversible work in a thermal medium with colored noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohkuma, Takahiro

    2009-01-01

    Irreversible work and its fluctuations in a classical system governed by non-Markovian stochastic dynamics are investigated. The production of irreversible work depends not only on the protocol of an operation but also on the details of the non-Markovian memory. We consider a generalized Langevin equation with a memory kernel and derive an expression for the irreversible work in the case of slow operations by carrying out an expansion of this memory kernel in the parameter representing the length of the memory. We apply our formulation to a harmonically trapped system and demonstrate the efficiency of a cycle by evaluating the irreversible work. It is found that a decrease in the irreversible work due to the memory effect can occur for an operation through which the trap is squeezed. The results for this harmonic system are verified exactly in the case that the memory kernel has exponential decay

  1. Irreversible work in a thermal medium with colored noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohkuma, Takahiro

    2009-10-01

    Irreversible work and its fluctuations in a classical system governed by non-Markovian stochastic dynamics are investigated. The production of irreversible work depends not only on the protocol of an operation but also on the details of the non-Markovian memory. We consider a generalized Langevin equation with a memory kernel and derive an expression for the irreversible work in the case of slow operations by carrying out an expansion of this memory kernel in the parameter representing the length of the memory. We apply our formulation to a harmonically trapped system and demonstrate the efficiency of a cycle by evaluating the irreversible work. It is found that a decrease in the irreversible work due to the memory effect can occur for an operation through which the trap is squeezed. The results for this harmonic system are verified exactly in the case that the memory kernel has exponential decay.

  2. Irreversible thermodynamic analysis and application for molecular heat engines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucia, Umberto; Açıkkalp, Emin

    2017-09-01

    Is there a link between the macroscopic approach to irreversibility and microscopic behaviour of the systems? Consumption of free energy keeps the system away from a stable equilibrium. Entropy generation results from the redistribution of energy, momentum, mass and charge. This concept represents the essence of the thermodynamic approach to irreversibility. Irreversibility is the result of the interaction between systems and their environment. The aim of this paper is to determine lost works in a molecular engine and compare results with macro (classical) heat engines. Firstly, irreversible thermodynamics are reviewed for macro and molecular cycles. Secondly, irreversible thermodynamics approaches are applied for a quantum heat engine with -1/2 spin system. Finally, lost works are determined for considered system and results show that macro and molecular heat engines obey same limitations. Moreover, a quantum thermodynamic approach is suggested in order to explain the results previously obtained from an atomic viewpoint.

  3. Exergetic efficiency optimization for an irreversible heat pump ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    side ... For irreversible cycle, the internal irreversibility, i.e., non-isentropic losses in the ... constant thermal capacitance rate (the product of mass flow rate and specific heat), .... reversed Brayton cycle is dependent on the external heat transfer ...

  4. The detection of local irreversibility in time series based on segmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teng, Yue; Shang, Pengjian

    2018-06-01

    We propose a strategy for the detection of local irreversibility in stationary time series based on multiple scale. The detection is beneficial to evaluate the displacement of irreversibility toward local skewness. By means of this method, we can availably discuss the local irreversible fluctuations of time series as the scale changes. The method was applied to simulated nonlinear signals generated by the ARFIMA process and logistic map to show how the irreversibility functions react to the increasing of the multiple scale. The method was applied also to series of financial markets i.e., American, Chinese and European markets. The local irreversibility for different markets demonstrate distinct characteristics. Simulations and real data support the need of exploring local irreversibility.

  5. Understanding Irreversible Degradation of Nb3Sn Wires with Fundamental Fracture Mechanics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhai, Yuhu [PPPL; Calzolaio, Ciro [Univ of Geneva; Senatore, Carmine [Univ of Geneva

    2014-08-01

    Irreversible performance degradation of advanced Nb3Sn superconducting wires subjected to transverse or axial mechanical loading is a critical issue for the design of large-scale fusion and accelerator magnets such as ITER and LHC. Recent SULTAN tests indicate that most cable-in-conduit conductors for ITER coils made of Nb3Sn wires processed by various fabrication techniques show similar performance degradation under cyclic loading. The irreversible degradation due to filament fracture and local strain accumulation in Nb3Sn wires cannot be described by the existing strand scaling law. Fracture mechanic modeling combined with X-ray diffraction imaging of filament micro-crack formation inside the wires under mechanical loading may reveal exciting insights to the wire degradation mechanisms. We apply fundamental fracture mechanics with a singularity approach to study influence of wire filament microstructure of initial void size and distribution to local stress concentration and potential crack propagation. We report impact of the scale and density of the void structure on stress concentration in the composite wire materials for crack initiation. These initial defects result in an irreversible degradation of the critical current beyond certain applied stress. We also discuss options to minimize stress concentration in the design of the material microstructure for enhanced wire performance for future applications.

  6. General thermodynamic performance of irreversible absorption heat pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Xiling; Fu Lin; Zhang Shigang

    2011-01-01

    The absorption heat pump (AHP) was studied with thermodynamics. A four reservoirs model of absorption heat pump was established considering the heat resistance, heat leak and the internal irreversibility. The reasonable working regions, the performance effects of irreversibility, heat leak and the correlation of four components were studied. When studying the effects of internal irreversibility, two internal irreversibility parameters (I he for generator-absorber assembly and I re for evaporator-condenser assembly) were introduced to distinguish the different effects. When studying the heat transfer relations of four components, a universal relationship between the main parameters were deduced. The results which have more realized meaning show that, the reduction of the friction, heat loss, and internal dissipations of the evaporator-condenser assembly are more important than its reduction of generator-absorber assembly, and lessening the heat leak of generator are more important than its reduction of other components to improve the AHP performance.

  7. Stochastic dynamics and irreversibility

    CERN Document Server

    Tomé, Tânia

    2015-01-01

    This textbook presents an exposition of stochastic dynamics and irreversibility. It comprises the principles of probability theory and the stochastic dynamics in continuous spaces, described by Langevin and Fokker-Planck equations, and in discrete spaces, described by Markov chains and master equations. Special concern is given to the study of irreversibility, both in systems that evolve to equilibrium and in nonequilibrium stationary states. Attention is also given to the study of models displaying phase transitions and critical phenomema both in thermodynamic equilibrium and out of equilibrium. These models include the linear Glauber model, the Glauber-Ising model, lattice models with absorbing states such as the contact process and those used in population dynamic and spreading of epidemic, probabilistic cellular automata, reaction-diffusion processes, random sequential adsorption and dynamic percolation. A stochastic approach to chemical reaction is also presented.The textbook is intended for students of ...

  8. Irreversible stochastic processes on lattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nord, R.S.

    1986-01-01

    Models for irreversible random or cooperative filling of lattices are required to describe many processes in chemistry and physics. Since the filling is assumed to be irreversible, even the stationary, saturation state is not in equilibrium. The kinetics and statistics of these processes are described by recasting the master equations in infinite hierarchical form. Solutions can be obtained by implementing various techniques: refinements in these solution techniques are presented. Programs considered include random dimer, trimer, and tetramer filling of 2D lattices, random dimer filling of a cubic lattice, competitive filling of two or more species, and the effect of a random distribution of inactive sites on the filling. Also considered is monomer filling of a linear lattice with nearest neighbor cooperative effects and solve for the exact cluster-size distribution for cluster sizes up to the asymptotic regime. Additionally, a technique is developed to directly determine the asymptotic properties of the cluster size distribution. Finally cluster growth is considered via irreversible aggregation involving random walkers. In particular, explicit results are provided for the large-lattice-size asymptotic behavior of trapping probabilities and average walk lengths for a single walker on a lattice with multiple traps. Procedures for exact calculation of these quantities on finite lattices are also developed

  9. Irreversibility analysis for optimization design of plate fin heat exchangers using a multi-objective cuckoo search algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zhe; Li, Yanzhong

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The first application of IMOCS for plate-fin heat exchanger design. • Irreversibility degrees of heat transfer and fluid friction are minimized. • Trade-off of efficiency, total cost and pumping power is achieved. • Both EGM and EDM methods have been compared in the optimization of PFHE. • This study has superiority over other single-objective optimization design. - Abstract: This paper introduces and applies an improved multi-objective cuckoo search (IMOCS) algorithm, a novel met-heuristic optimization algorithm based on cuckoo breeding behavior, for the multi-objective optimization design of plate-fin heat exchangers (PFHEs). A modified irreversibility degree of the PFHE is separated into heat transfer and fluid friction irreversibility degrees which are adopted as two initial objective functions to be minimized simultaneously for narrowing the search scope of the design. The maximization efficiency, minimization of pumping power, and total annual cost are considered final objective functions. Results obtained from a two dimensional normalized Pareto-optimal frontier clearly demonstrate the trade-off between heat transfer and fluid friction irreversibility. Moreover, a three dimensional Pareto-optimal frontier reveals a relationship between efficiency, total annual cost, and pumping power in the PFHE design. Three examples presented here further demonstrate that the presented method is able to obtain optimum solutions with higher accuracy, lower irreversibility, and fewer iterations as compared to the previous methods and single-objective design approaches

  10. Irreversible thermodynamics of Poisson processes with reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Méndez, V; Fort, J

    1999-11-01

    A kinetic model is derived to study the successive movements of particles, described by a Poisson process, as well as their generation. The irreversible thermodynamics of this system is also studied from the kinetic model. This makes it possible to evaluate the differences between thermodynamical quantities computed exactly and up to second-order. Such differences determine the range of validity of the second-order approximation to extended irreversible thermodynamics.

  11. Thermodynamic Analysis of an Irreversible Maisotsenko Reciprocating Brayton Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuli Zhu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available An irreversible Maisotsenko reciprocating Brayton cycle (MRBC model is established using the finite time thermodynamic (FTT theory and taking the heat transfer loss (HTL, piston friction loss (PFL, and internal irreversible losses (IILs into consideration in this paper. A calculation flowchart of the power output (P and efficiency (η of the cycle is provided, and the effects of the mass flow rate (MFR of the injection of water to the cycle and some other design parameters on the performance of cycle are analyzed by detailed numerical examples. Furthermore, the superiority of irreversible MRBC is verified as the cycle and is compared with the traditional irreversible reciprocating Brayton cycle (RBC. The results can provide certain theoretical guiding significance for the optimal design of practical Maisotsenko reciprocating gas turbine plants.

  12. Antibiotic use for irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agnihotry, Anirudha; Fedorowicz, Zbys; van Zuuren, Esther J; Farman, Allan G; Al-Langawi, Jassim Hasan

    2016-02-17

    Irreversible pulpitis, which is characterised by acute and intense pain, is one of the most frequent reasons that patients attend for emergency dental care. Apart from removal of the tooth, the customary way of relieving the pain of irreversible pulpitis is by drilling into the tooth, removing the inflamed pulp (nerve) and cleaning the root canal. However, a significant number of dentists continue to prescribe antibiotics to stop the pain of irreversible pulpitis.This review updates the previous version published in 2013. To assess the effects of systemic antibiotics for irreversible pulpitis. We searched the Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register (to 27 January 2016); the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2015, Issue 12); MEDLINE via Ovid (1946 to 27 January 2016); EMBASE via Ovid (1980 to 27 January 2016), ClinicalTrials.gov (to 27 January 2016) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (to 27 January 2016). There were no language restrictions in the searches of the electronic databases. Randomised controlled trials which compared pain relief with systemic antibiotics and analgesics, against placebo and analgesics in the acute preoperative phase of irreversible pulpitis. Two review authors screened studies and extracted data independently. We assessed the quality of the evidence of included studies using GRADEpro software. Pooling of data was not possible and a descriptive summary is presented. One trial assessed at low risk of bias, involving 40 participants was included in this update of the review. The quality of the body of evidence was rated low for the different outcomes. There was a close parallel distribution of the pain ratings in both the intervention and placebo groups over the seven-day study period. There was insufficient evidence to claim or refute a benefit for penicillin for pain intensity. There was no significant difference in the mean total number of ibuprofen tablets over the

  13. Optimization of an irreversible Stirling regenerative cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aragón-González, G; Cano-Bianco, M; León-Galicia, A; Rivera-Camacho, J M

    2015-01-01

    In this work a Stirling regenerative cycle with some irreversibilities is analyzed. The analyzed irreversibilities are located at the heat exchangers. They receive a finite amount of heat and heat leakage occurs between both reservoirs. Using this model, power and the efficiency at maximum power are obtained. Some optimal design parameters for the exchanger heat areas and thermal conductances are presented. The relation between the power, efficiency and the results obtained are shown graphically

  14. Reversible and irreversible heat engine and refrigerator cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leff, Harvey S.

    2018-05-01

    Although no reversible thermodynamic cycles exist in nature, nearly all cycles covered in textbooks are reversible. This is a review, clarification, and extension of results and concepts for quasistatic, reversible and irreversible processes and cycles, intended primarily for teachers and students. Distinctions between the latter process types are explained, with emphasis on clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) cycles. Specific examples of each are examined, including Carnot, Kelvin and Stirling cycles. For the Stirling cycle, potentially useful task-specific efficiency measures are proposed and illustrated. Whether a cycle behaves as a traditional refrigerator or heat engine can depend on whether it is reversible or irreversible. Reversible and irreversible-quasistatic CW cycles both satisfy Carnot's inequality for thermal efficiency, η ≤ η C a r n o t . Irreversible CCW cycles with two reservoirs satisfy the coefficient of performance inequality K ≤ K C a r n o t . However, an arbitrary reversible cycle satisfies K ≥ K C a r n o t when compared with a reversible Carnot cycle operating between its maximum and minimum temperatures, a potentially counterintuitive result.

  15. Formation of Irreversible H-bonds in Cellulose Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umesh P. Agarwal; Sally A. Ralph; Rick S. Reiner; Nicole M. Stark

    2015-01-01

    Understanding of formation of irreversible Hbonds in cellulose is important in a number of fields. For example, fields as diverse as pulp and paper and enzymatic saccharification of cellulose are affected. In the present investigation, the phenomenon of formation of irreversible H-bonds is studied in a variety of celluloses and under two different drying conditions....

  16. Preliminary study of steep pulse irreversible electroporation technology in human large cell lung cancer cell lines L9981

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Song Zuoqing

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Our aim was to validate the effectiveness of steep pulse irreversible electroporation technology in human large cell lung cancer cells and to screen the optimal treatment of parameters for human large cell lung cancer cells. Three different sets of steep pulse therapy parameters were applied on the lung cancer cell line L9981. The cell line L9981 inhibition rate and proliferation capacity were detected by Vi-Cell vitality analysis and MTT. Steep pulsed irreversible electroporation technology for large cell lung cancer L9981 presents killing effects with various therapy parameters. The optimal treatment parameters are at a voltage amplitude of 2000V/cm, pulse width of 100μs, pulse frequency of 1 Hz, pulse number 10. With this group of parameters, steep pulse could have the best tumor cell-killing effects.

  17. Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solomon, Susan; Plattner, Gian-Kasper; Knutti, Reto; Friedlingstein, Pierre

    2009-01-01

    The severity of damaging human-induced climate change depends not only on the magnitude of the change but also on the potential for irreversibility. This paper shows that the climate change that takes place due to increases in carbon dioxide concentration is largely irreversible for 1,000 years after emissions stop. Following cessation of emissions, removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide decreases radiative forcing, but is largely compensated by slower loss of heat to the ocean, so that atmospheric temperatures do not drop significantly for at least 1,000 years. Among illustrative irreversible impacts that should be expected if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase from current levels near 385 parts per million by volume (ppmv) to a peak of 450–600 ppmv over the coming century are irreversible dry-season rainfall reductions in several regions comparable to those of the “dust bowl” era and inexorable sea level rise. Thermal expansion of the warming ocean provides a conservative lower limit to irreversible global average sea level rise of at least 0.4–1.0 m if 21st century CO2 concentrations exceed 600 ppmv and 0.6–1.9 m for peak CO2 concentrations exceeding ≈1,000 ppmv. Additional contributions from glaciers and ice sheet contributions to future sea level rise are uncertain but may equal or exceed several meters over the next millennium or longer. PMID:19179281

  18. Intrinsic irreversibility in quantum theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prigogine, I.; Petrosky, T.Y.

    1987-01-01

    Quantum theory has a dual structure: while solutions of the Schroedinger equation evolve in a deterministic and time reversible way, measurement introduces irreversibility and stochasticity. This presents a contrast to Bohr-Sommerfeld-Einstein theory, in which transitions between quantum states are associated with spontaneous and induced transitions, defined in terms of stochastic processes. A new form of quantum theory is presented here, which contains an intrinsic form of irreversibility, independent of observation. This new form applies to situations corresponding to a continuous spectrum and to quantum states with finite life time. The usual non-commutative algebra associated to quantum theory is replaced by more general algebra, in which operators are also non-distributive. Our approach leads to a number of predictions, which hopefully may be verified or refuted in the next years. (orig.)

  19. Irreversibility and self-organization in spin glasses. 2. Irreversibility and the problem of configuration averaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovrov, V.P.; Kurbatov, A.M.

    1989-05-01

    The generalization of a configuration averaging to a system displaying irreversible effects is suggested. The properties of the ''pathological'' equilibrium state at low temperatures are determined and discussed. (author). 16 refs, 3 figs

  20. Irreversibility in room temperature current–voltage characteristics of NiFe_2O_4 nanoparticles: A signature of electrical memory effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dey, P.; Debnath, Rajesh; Singh, Swati; Mandal, S.K.; Roy, J.N.

    2017-01-01

    Room temperature I–V characteristics study, both in presence and absence of magnetic field (1800 Oe), has been performed on NiFe_2O_4 nanoparticles, having different particle size (φ~14, 21 and 31 nm). Our experiments on these nanoparticles provide evidences for: (1) electrical irreversibility or hysteretic behaviour; (2) positive magnetoresistance and (3) magnetic field dependent electrical irreversibility or hysteresis in the sample. “Hysteretic” nature of I–V curve reveals the existence of electrical memory effect in the sample. Significantly, such hysteresis has been found to be tuned by magnetic field. In order to explain the observed electrical irreversibility, we have proposed a phenomenological model on the light of induced polarization in the sample. Both the positive magnetoresistance and the observed magnetic field dependence of electrical irreversibility have been explained through magnetostriction phenomenon. Interestingly, such effects are found to get reduced with increasing particle size. For NiFe_2O_4 nanoparticles having φ=31 nm, we did not observe any irreversibility effect. This feature has been attributed to the enhanced grain surface effect that in turn gives rise to the residual polarization and hence electrical memory effect in NiFe_2O_4 nanoparticles, having small nanoscopic particle size. - Highlights: • I-V characteristics study of NiFe_2O_4 nanoparticles with varying particle sizes. • Experiments evident electrical hysteretic behaviour, i.e., electrical memory effect. • Magnetic field dependent electrical irreversibility is due to magnetostriction. • A phenomenological model has been proposed on the light of induced polarization. • Such electrical irreversibility decreases with increasing particle sizes.

  1. Optimization at different loads by minimization of irreversibilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, K.F.V.; Niu, Z.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports that the irreversibility of the power cycle was chosen as the objective function as this function can successfully measure both the quality and quantity of energy flow in the cycle. Minimization of the irreversibility ensures that the power cycle will operate more efficiently. One feature of the present work is that the boiler, turbine, condenser and heaters are treated as one system for the purpose of optimization. In the optimization model, nine regression formulae are used, which are obtained from the measured test data. From the results of the present work, it can be seen that the optimization model developed can represent the effect of operational parameters on the power plant first and second law efficiency. Some of the results can be used to provide guidance for the optimal operation of the power plant. When the power cycle works at full load, the main steam temperature and pressure should be at the upper limit for minimal irreversibility of the system. If the load is less than 65% of its design capacity, the steam temperature and pressure should be decreased for a lower irreversibility of the system

  2. GSK-3 Inhibition Sensitizes Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells to 1,25D-Mediated Differentiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Kalpana; Stefan, Tammy; Ignatz-Hoover, James; Moreton, Stephen; Parizher, Gary; Saunthararajah, Yogen; Wald, David N.

    2017-01-01

    1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D), the biologically active form of vitamin D, is widely considered a promising therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) based on its ability to drive differentiation of leukemic cells. However, clinical trials have been disappointing in part to dose-limiting hypercalcemia. Here we show how inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) can improve the differentiation response of AML cells to 1,25D-mediated differentiation. GSK3 inhibition in AML cells enhanced the differentiating effects of low concentrations of 1,25D. In addition, GSK3 inhibition augmented the ability of 1,25D to induce irreversible growth inhibition and slow the progression of AML in mouse models. Mechanistic studies revealed that GSK3 inhibition led to the hyperphosphorylation of the vitamin D receptor (VDR), enabling an interaction between VDR and the coactivator, SRC-3 (NCOA3), thereby increasing transcriptional activity. We also found that activation of JNK-mediated pathways in response to GSK3 inhibition contributed to the potentiation of 1,25D-induced differentiation. Taken together, our findings offer a preclinical rationale to explore the repositioning of GSK3 inhibitors to enhance differentiation-based therapy for AML treatment. PMID:26964622

  3. Alpha 2-adrenergic receptor turnover in adipose tissue and kidney: irreversible blockade of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors by benextramine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taouis, M.; Berlan, M.; Lafontan, M.

    1987-01-01

    The recovery of post- and extrasynaptic alpha 2-adrenergic receptor-binding sites was studied in vivo in male golden hamsters after treatment with an irreversible alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist benextramine, a tetramine disulfide that possesses a high affinity for alpha 2-binding sites. The kidney alpha 2-adrenergic receptor number was measured with [ 3 H]yohimbine, whereas [ 3 H]clonidine was used for fat cell and brain membrane alpha 2-binding site identification. Benextramine treatment of fat cell, kidney, and brain membranes reduced or completely suppressed, in an irreversible manner, [ 3 H] clonidine and [ 3 H]yohimbine binding without modifying adenosine (A1-receptor) and beta-adrenergic receptor sites. This irreversible binding was also found 1 and 2 hr after intraperitoneal administration of benextramine to the hamsters. Although it bound irreversibly to peripheral and central alpha 2-adrenergic receptors on isolated membranes, benextramine was unable to cross the blood-brain barrier of the hamster at the concentrations used (10-20 mg/kg). After the irreversible blockade, alpha 2-binding sites reappeared in kidney and adipose tissue following a monoexponential time course. Recovery of binding sites was more rapid in kidney than in adipose tissue; the half-lives of the receptor were 31 and 46 hr, respectively in the tissues. The rates of receptor production were 1.5 and 1.8 fmol/mg of protein/hr in kidney and adipose tissue. Reappearance of alpha 2-binding sites was associated with a rapid recovery of function (antilipolytic potencies of alpha 2-agonists) in fat cells inasmuch as occupancy of 15% of [ 3 H]clonidine-binding sites was sufficient to promote 40% inhibition of lipolysis. Benextramine is a useful tool to estimate turnover of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors under normal and pathological situations

  4. Substance P and CGRP expression in dental pulps with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattari, Mandana; Mozayeni, Mohammad Ali; Matloob, Arash; Mozayeni, Maryam; Javaheri, Homan H

    2010-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) expression in pulp tissue with clinically diagnosed symptomatic and asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Healthy pulps acted as controls. Five normal pulps and 40 with irreversible pulpitis (20 symptomatic and 20 asymptomatic) were obtained from 45 different patients. SP and CGRP expression was determined by competition binding assays using enzyme immunoassay. anova and Mann-Whitney tests were used to ascertain if there were statistically significant differences between the groups. The results showed that neuropeptides were found in all pulp samples. The highest and the lowest expressions for SP and CGRP were found in symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and healthy pulps groups, respectively. The differences between healthy pulps and the groups of pulps having irreversible pulpitis were significant (P pulpitis groups (P pulpitis groups were not significant. This study demonstrated that the expression of CGRP and SP is significantly higher in pulps with irreversible pulpitis compared with healthy pulps.

  5. Guinea pig ductus arteriosus. II - Irreversible closure after birth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fay, F. S.; Cooke, P. H.

    1972-01-01

    To investigate the mechanism underlying irreversibility of ductal closure after birth, studies were undertaken to determine the exact time course for the onset of irreversible closure of the guinea pig ductus arteriosus. Parallel studies of the reactivity of ductal smooth muscle to oxygen and studies of the postpartum cellular changes within the vessel were also carried out.

  6. Irreversible blockade of the high and low affinity (3H) naloxone binding sites by C-6 derivatives of morphinane-6-ones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krizsan, D.; Varga, E.; Benyhe, S.; Szucs, M.; Borsodi, A.; Hosztafi, S.

    1991-01-01

    C-6 derivatives-hydrazones, phenylhydrazones, dinitrophenylhydrazones, oximes and semicarbazones - of morphinane-6-ones were synthesized and their binding characteristics were studied on rat brain membranes. The dihydromorphinone and oxymorphone derivatives compete for the ( 3 H)naloxone binding sites with high affinity, while the dihydrocodeinone and oxycodone derivatives are less potent. The affinity of the new compounds is decreased for the delta sites as compared to the parent ligands. The ligands bearing bulky substituents also bind with low affinity to the kappa sites. The modification decreased the Na + -index of compounds indicating their mixed agonist-antagonist character. The dihydromorphinone derivatives are all capable to block irreversibly the high affinity binding site of ( 3 H)naloxone, whereas the dihydrocodeinone derivatives block irreversibly the low affinity site. A possible mechanism for the inhibition is suggested

  7. Multiscale time irreversibility of heart rate and blood pressure variability during orthostasis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chladekova, L; Czippelova, B; Turianikova, Z; Tonhajzerova, I; Calkovska, A; Javorka, M; Baumert, M

    2012-01-01

    Time irreversibility is a characteristic feature of non-equilibrium, complex systems such as the cardiovascular control mediated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Time irreversibility analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV) represents a new approach to assess cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms. The aim of this paper was to assess the changes in HRV and BPV irreversibility during the active orthostatic test (a balance of ANS shifted towards sympathetic predominance) in 28 healthy young subjects. We used three different time irreversibility indices—Porta’s, Guzik's and Ehler's indices (P%, G% and E, respectively) derived from data segments containing 1000 beat-to-beat intervals on four timescales. We observed an increase in the HRV and a decrease in the BPV irreversibility during standing compared to the supine position. The postural change in irreversibility was confirmed by surrogate data analysis. The differences were more evident in G% and E than P% and for higher scale factors. Statistical analysis showed a close relationship between G% and E. Contrary to this, the association between P% and G% and P% and E was not proven. We conclude that time irreversibility of beat-to-beat HRV and BPV is significantly altered during orthostasis, implicating involvement of the autonomous nervous system in its generation. (paper)

  8. Irreversibility and conditional probability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stuart, C.I.J.M.

    1989-01-01

    The mathematical entropy - unlike physical entropy - is simply a measure of uniformity for probability distributions in general. So understood, conditional entropies have the same logical structure as conditional probabilities. If, as is sometimes supposed, conditional probabilities are time-reversible, then so are conditional entropies and, paradoxically, both then share this symmetry with physical equations of motion. The paradox is, of course that probabilities yield a direction to time both in statistical mechanics and quantum mechanics, while the equations of motion do not. The supposed time-reversibility of both conditionals seems also to involve a form of retrocausality that is related to, but possibly not the same as, that described by Costa de Beaurgard. The retrocausality is paradoxically at odds with the generally presumed irreversibility of the quantum mechanical measurement process. Further paradox emerges if the supposed time-reversibility of the conditionals is linked with the idea that the thermodynamic entropy is the same thing as 'missing information' since this confounds the thermodynamic and mathematical entropies. However, it is shown that irreversibility is a formal consequence of conditional entropies and, hence, of conditional probabilities also. 8 refs. (Author)

  9. Performance Optimization of Irreversible Air Heat Pumps Considering Size Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bi, Yuehong; Chen, Lingen; Ding, Zemin; Sun, Fengrui

    2018-06-01

    Considering the size of an irreversible air heat pump (AHP), heating load density (HLD) is taken as thermodynamic optimization objective by using finite-time thermodynamics. Based on an irreversible AHP with infinite reservoir thermal-capacitance rate model, the expression of HLD of AHP is put forward. The HLD optimization processes are studied analytically and numerically, which consist of two aspects: (1) to choose pressure ratio; (2) to distribute heat-exchanger inventory. Heat reservoir temperatures, heat transfer performance of heat exchangers as well as irreversibility during compression and expansion processes are important factors influencing on the performance of an irreversible AHP, which are characterized with temperature ratio, heat exchanger inventory as well as isentropic efficiencies, respectively. Those impacts of parameters on the maximum HLD are thoroughly studied. The research results show that HLD optimization can make the size of the AHP system smaller and improve the compactness of system.

  10. Kinetic theory of nonequilibrium ensembles, irreversible thermodynamics, and generalized hydrodynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Eu, Byung Chan

    2016-01-01

    This book presents the fundamentals of irreversible thermodynamics for nonlinear transport processes in gases and liquids, as well as for generalized hydrodynamics extending the classical hydrodynamics of Navier, Stokes, Fourier, and Fick. Together with its companion volume on relativistic theories, it provides a comprehensive picture of the kinetic theory formulated from the viewpoint of nonequilibrium ensembles in both nonrelativistic and, in Vol. 2, relativistic contexts. Theories of macroscopic irreversible processes must strictly conform to the thermodynamic laws at every step and in all approximations that enter their derivation from the mechanical principles. Upholding this as the inviolable tenet, the author develops theories of irreversible transport processes in fluids (gases or liquids) on the basis of irreversible kinetic equations satisfying the H theorem. They apply regardless of whether the processes are near to or far removed from equilibrium, or whether they are linear or nonlinear with respe...

  11. Transition to Clean Capital, Irreversible Investment and Stranded Assets

    OpenAIRE

    Rozenberg, Julie; Vogt-Schilb, Adrien; Hallegatte, Stephane

    2014-01-01

    This paper uses a Ramsey model with two types of capital to analyze the optimal transition to clean capital when polluting investment is irreversible. The cost of climate mitigation decomposes as a technical cost of using clean instead of polluting capital and a transition cost from the irreversibility of pre-existing polluting capital. With a carbon price, the transition cost can be limit...

  12. Ecological optimization and parametric study of irreversible Stirling and Ericsson heat pumps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tyagi, S.K.; Kaushik, S.C.; Salohtra, R.

    2002-01-01

    This communication presents the ecological optimization and parametric study of irreversible Stirling and Ericsson heat pump cycles, in which the external irreversibility is due to finite temperature difference between working fluid and external reservoirs while the internal irreversibilities are due to regenerative heat loss and other entropy generations within the cycle. The ecological function is defined as the heating load minus the irreversibility (power loss) which is ambient temperature times the entropy generation. The ecological function is optimized with respect to working fluid temperatures, and the expressions for various parameters at the optimal operating condition are obtained. The effects of different operating parameters on the performance of these cycles have been studied. It is found that the effect of internal irreversibility parameter is more pronounced than the other parameters on the performance of these cycles. (author)

  13. Ictal time-irreversible intracranial EEG signals as markers of the epileptogenic zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schindler, Kaspar; Rummel, Christian; Andrzejak, Ralph G; Goodfellow, Marc; Zubler, Frédéric; Abela, Eugenio; Wiest, Roland; Pollo, Claudio; Steimer, Andreas; Gast, Heidemarie

    2016-09-01

    To show that time-irreversible EEG signals recorded with intracranial electrodes during seizures can serve as markers of the epileptogenic zone. We use the recently developed method of mapping time series into directed horizontal graphs (dHVG). Each node of the dHVG represents a time point in the original intracranial EEG (iEEG) signal. Statistically significant differences between the distributions of the nodes' number of input and output connections are used to detect time-irreversible iEEG signals. In 31 of 32 seizure recordings we found time-irreversible iEEG signals. The maximally time-irreversible signals always occurred during seizures, with highest probability in the middle of the first seizure half. These signals spanned a large range of frequencies and amplitudes but were all characterized by saw-tooth like shaped components. Brain regions removed from patients who became post-surgically seizure-free generated significantly larger time-irreversibilities than regions removed from patients who still had seizures after surgery. Our results corroborate that ictal time-irreversible iEEG signals can indeed serve as markers of the epileptogenic zone and can be efficiently detected and quantified in a time-resolved manner by dHVG based methods. Ictal time-irreversible EEG signals can help to improve pre-surgical evaluation in patients suffering from pharmaco-resistant epilepsies. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Irreversible properties of YBCO coated conductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vostner, A.

    2001-02-01

    Over the past few years substantial efforts were made to optimize the fabrication techniques of various high temperature superconductors for commercial applications. In addition to Bi-2223 tapes, Y-123 coated conductors have the potential for large-scale production and are considered as the second generation of superconducting 'wires' for high current applications. This work reports on magnetic and transport current investigations of Y-123 thick films deposited on either single crystalline substrates by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) or on metallic substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). At the beginning, a short introduction of the general idea of a coated conductor and of the different production techniques is presented, followed by a description of the different experimental set-ups and the evaluation methods. The main part starts with the results obtained from SQUID magnetometry and ac-susceptibility measurements including the transition temperatures T c , the field dependence of the magnetic critical current densities and the irreversibility lines. In addition, some issues concerning the granular structure and the inter- and intragranular current distribution of the superconducting films are discussed. The investigations by transport currents are focused on the behavior of the application relevant irreversible parameters. These are the angular and the field dependence of the critical transport current densities at 77 and 60 K, as well as the temperature dependence of the irreversibility fields up to 6 T. To gain more insight into the defect structure of the films, neutron irradiation studies were performed on some samples. The introduction of these artificial pinning centers causes large enhancements of the magnetic J c in LPE specimens for the field parallel to the c-axis (H//c) at higher temperatures and magnetic fields. The granular structure of the samples does not change up to the highest neutron fluences. However, the enhancements of the transport J c

  15. Irreversibility analysis in the process of solar distillation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chávez, S; Terres, H; Lizardi, A; López, R; Lara, A

    2017-01-01

    In this work an irreversibility analysis for the thermal process of solar distillation of three different substances is presented, for which it employs a solar still of a slope where three experimental tests with 5.5 L of brine, river water and MgCl 2 were performed. Temperature data principally in the glass cover, absorber plate, fluid, environment and the incident solar radiation on the device were obtained. With measurements of temperature, solar radiation and exergetic balance, irreversibilities are found on the device. The results show that the highest values of irreversibilities are concentrated in the absorber plate with an average of 321 W, 342 W and 276 W, followed by the cover glass with an average of 75.8 W, 80.4 W and 86.7 W and finally the fluid with 15.3 W, 15.9 W and 16 W, for 5.5 L of brine, river water and MgCl 2 . (paper)

  16. Performance of an irreversible quantum Ericsson cooler at low temperature limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Feng; Chen Lingen; Wu Shuang; Sun Fengrui

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of quantum properties of the working medium on the performance of an irreversible quantum Ericsson cooler with spin-1/2. The cooler is studied with the losses of heat resistance, heat leakage and internal irreversibility. The optimal relationship between the dimensionless cooling load R * versus the coefficient of performance ε for the irreversible quantum Ericsson cooler is derived. In particular, the performance characteristics of the cooler at the low temperature limit are discussed

  17. Reversible and Irreversible Binding of Nanoparticles to Polymeric Surfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang H. Binder

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Reversible and irreversible binding of CdSe-nanoparticles and nanorods to polymeric surfaces via a strong, multiple hydrogen bond (= Hamilton-receptor/barbituric acid is described. Based on ROMP-copolymers, the supramolecular interaction on a thin polymer film is controlled by living polymerization methods, attaching the Hamilton-receptor in various architectures, and concentrations. Strong binding is observed with CdSe-nanoparticles and CdSe-nanorods, whose surfaces are equipped with matching barbituric acid-moieties. Addition of polar solvents, able to break the hydrogen bonds leads to the detachment of the nanoparticles from the polymeric film. Irreversible binding is observed if an azide/alkine-“click”-reaction is conducted after supramolecular recognition of the nanoparticles on the polymeric surface. Thus reversible or irreversible attachment of the nanosized objects can be achieved.

  18. Unravelling the origin of irreversible capacity loss in NaNiO 2 for high voltage sodium ion batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Liguang; Wang, Jiajun; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Ren, Yang; Zuo, Pengjian; Yin, Geping; Wang, Jun

    2017-04-01

    Layered transition metal compounds have attracted much attention due to their high theoretical capacity and energy density for sodium ion batteries. However, this kind of material suffers from serious irreversible capacity decay during the charge and discharge process. Here, using synchrotron-based operando transmission X-ray microscopy and high-energy X-ray diffraction combined with electrochemical measurements, the visualization of the dissymmetric phase transformation and structure evolution mechanism of layered NaNiO2 material during initial charge and discharge cycles are clarified. Phase transformation and deformation of NaNiO2 during the voltage range of below 3.0 V and over 4.0 V are responsible for the irreversible capacity loss during the first cycling, which is also confirmed by the evolution of reaction kinetics behavior obtained by the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique. These findings reveal the origin of the irreversibility of NaNiO2 and offer valuable insight into the phase transformation mechanism, which will provide underlying guidance for further development of high-performance sodium ion batteries.

  19. Inhibition of serine palmitoyltransferase in vitro and long-chain base biosynthesis in intact Chinese hamster ovary cells by β-Cl-alanine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medlock, K.A.; Merrill, A.H. Jr.

    1987-01-01

    Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) is a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate dependent enzyme that catalyzes the first committed step of long-chain base (LCB) synthesis. Inhibition of SPT activity and de novo biosynthesis of sphinganine and sphingosine was observed in vitro and in intact Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO). In vitro studies revealed that inhibition was irreversible and concentration- and time-dependent, which are characteristics of suicide inhibition. Incubation of intact CHO cells with 5 mM β-Cl-alanine for 15 min completely inhibited SPT activity and LCB synthesis from [ 14 C]serine. The concentration dependences of inhibition of SPT activity and LCB formation were identical. There was no loss of viability of recovery of SPT activity over the 2 hour time course of these experiments. The synthesis of several other lipids was not affected by the same treatment. These results establish the association between the activity of SPT and the cellular rate of LCB formation and indicate that β-Cl-alanine can be used to study alterations in cellular LCB synthesis

  20. The thermomechanics of nonlinear irreversible behaviors an introduction

    CERN Document Server

    Maugin, Gérard A

    1999-01-01

    In this invaluable book, macroscopic irreversible thermodynamics is presented in its realm and its splendor by appealing to the notion of internal variables of state. This applies to both fluids and solids with or without microstructures of mechanical or electromagnetic origin. This unmatched richness of essentially nonlinear behaviors is the result of the use of modern mathematical techniques such as convex analysis in a clear-cut framework which allows one to put under the umbrella of "irreversible thermodynamics" behaviors which until now have been commonly considered either not easily cove

  1. Time in Science: Reversibility vs. Irreversibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pomeau, Yves

    To discuss properly the question of irreversibility one needs to make a careful distinction between reversibility of the equations of motion and the choice of the initial conditions. This is also relevant for the rather confuse philosophy of the wave packet reduction in quantum mechanics. The explanation of this reduction requires also to make precise assumptions on what initial data are accessible in our world. Finally I discuss how a given (and long) time record can be shown in an objective way to record an irreversible or reversible process. Or: can a direction of time be derived from its analysis? This leads quite naturally to examine if there is a possible spontaneous breaking of the time reversal symmetry in many body systems, a symmetry breaking that would be put in evidence objectively by looking at certain specific time correlations.

  2. Irreversibility in room temperature current–voltage characteristics of NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles: A signature of electrical memory effect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dey, P., E-mail: pujaiitkgp2007@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Kazi Nazrul University, Asansol, W.B. 713340 (India); Debnath, Rajesh; Singh, Swati; Mandal, S.K. [Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Tripura 799046 (India); Roy, J.N. [Department of Physics, Kazi Nazrul University, Asansol, W.B. 713340 (India); Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Tripura 799046 (India)

    2017-01-01

    Room temperature I–V characteristics study, both in presence and absence of magnetic field (1800 Oe), has been performed on NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles, having different particle size (φ~14, 21 and 31 nm). Our experiments on these nanoparticles provide evidences for: (1) electrical irreversibility or hysteretic behaviour; (2) positive magnetoresistance and (3) magnetic field dependent electrical irreversibility or hysteresis in the sample. “Hysteretic” nature of I–V curve reveals the existence of electrical memory effect in the sample. Significantly, such hysteresis has been found to be tuned by magnetic field. In order to explain the observed electrical irreversibility, we have proposed a phenomenological model on the light of induced polarization in the sample. Both the positive magnetoresistance and the observed magnetic field dependence of electrical irreversibility have been explained through magnetostriction phenomenon. Interestingly, such effects are found to get reduced with increasing particle size. For NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles having φ=31 nm, we did not observe any irreversibility effect. This feature has been attributed to the enhanced grain surface effect that in turn gives rise to the residual polarization and hence electrical memory effect in NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles, having small nanoscopic particle size. - Highlights: • I-V characteristics study of NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles with varying particle sizes. • Experiments evident electrical hysteretic behaviour, i.e., electrical memory effect. • Magnetic field dependent electrical irreversibility is due to magnetostriction. • A phenomenological model has been proposed on the light of induced polarization. • Such electrical irreversibility decreases with increasing particle sizes.

  3. Evaluation of radiolabeled ML04, a putative irreversible inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor, as a bioprobe for PET imaging of EGFR-overexpressing tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abourbeh, Galith; Dissoki, Samar; Jacobson, Orit; Litchi, Amir; Daniel, Revital Ben; Laki, Desirediu; Levitzki, Alexander; Mishani, Eyal

    2007-01-01

    Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been implicated in tumor development and malignancy. Evaluating the degree of EGFR expression in tumors could aid in identifying patients for EGFR-targeted therapies and in monitoring treatment. Nevertheless, no currently available assay can reliably quantify receptor content in tumors. Radiolabeled inhibitors of EGFR-TK could be developed as bioprobes for positron emission tomography imaging. Such imaging agents would not only provide a noninvasive quantitative measurement of EGFR content in tumors but also serve as radionuclide carriers for targeted radiotherapy. The potency, reversibility, selectivity and specific binding characteristics of ML04, an alleged irreversible inhibitor of EGFR, were established in vitro. The distribution of the F-18-labeled compound and the extent of EGFR-specific tumor uptake were evaluated in tumor-bearing mice. ML04 demonstrated potent, irreversible and selective inhibition of EGFR, combined with specific binding to the receptor in intact cells. In vivo distribution of the radiolabeled compound revealed tumor/blood and tumor/muscle activity uptake ratios of about 7 and 5, respectively, 3 h following administration of a radiotracer. Nevertheless, only minor EGFR-specific uptake of the compound was detected in these studies, using either EGFR-negative tumors or blocking studies as controls. To improve the in vivo performance of ML04, administration via prolonged intravenous infusion is proposed. Detailed pharmacokinetic characterization of this bioprobe could assist in the development of a kinetic model that would afford accurate measurement of EGFR content in tumors

  4. The Antibiotic CJ-15,801 is an Antimetabolite which Hijacks and then Inhibits CoA Biosynthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Westhuyzen, Renier; Hammons, Justin C.; Meier, Jordan L.; Dahesh, Samira; Moolman, Wessel J. A.; Pelly, Stephen C.; Nizet, Victor; Burkart, Michael D.; Strauss, Erick

    2012-01-01

    SUMMARY The natural product CJ-15,801 is an inhibitor of Staphylococcus aureus, but not other bacteria. Its close structural resemblance to pantothenic acid, the vitamin precursor of coenzyme A (CoA), and its Michael acceptor moiety suggest that it irreversibly inhibits an enzyme involved in CoA biosynthesis or utilization. However, its mode of action and the basis for its specificity have not been elucidated to date. We demonstrate that CJ-15,801 is transformed by the uniquely selective S. aureus pantothenate kinase, the first CoA biosynthetic enzyme, into a substrate for the next enzyme, phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase, which is inhibited through formation of a tight-binding structural mimic of its native reaction intermediate. These findings reveal CJ-15,801 as a vitamin biosynthetic pathway antimetabolite with a mechanism similar to that of the sulfonamide antibiotics, and highlight CoA biosynthesis as a viable antimicrobial drug target. PMID:22633408

  5. Irreversibility and Action of the Heat Conduction Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Chao Hua

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Irreversibility (that is, the “one-sidedness” of time of a physical process can be characterized by using Lyapunov functions in the modern theory of stability. In this theoretical framework, entropy and its production rate have been generally regarded as Lyapunov functions in order to measure the irreversibility of various physical processes. In fact, the Lyapunov function is not always unique. In the represent work, a rigorous proof is given that the entransy and its dissipation rate can also serve as Lyapunov functions associated with the irreversibility of the heat conduction process without the conversion between heat and work. In addition, the variation of the entransy dissipation rate can lead to Fourier’s heat conduction law, while the entropy production rate cannot. This shows that the entransy dissipation rate, rather than the entropy production rate, is the unique action for the heat conduction process, and can be used to establish the finite element method for the approximate solution of heat conduction problems and the optimization of heat transfer processes.

  6. Multiscale Analysis of Time Irreversibility Based on Phase-Space Reconstruction and Horizontal Visibility Graph Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yongping; Shang, Pengjian; Xiong, Hui; Xia, Jianan

    Time irreversibility is an important property of nonequilibrium dynamic systems. A visibility graph approach was recently proposed, and this approach is generally effective to measure time irreversibility of time series. However, its result may be unreliable when dealing with high-dimensional systems. In this work, we consider the joint concept of time irreversibility and adopt the phase-space reconstruction technique to improve this visibility graph approach. Compared with the previous approach, the improved approach gives a more accurate estimate for the irreversibility of time series, and is more effective to distinguish irreversible and reversible stochastic processes. We also use this approach to extract the multiscale irreversibility to account for the multiple inherent dynamics of time series. Finally, we apply the approach to detect the multiscale irreversibility of financial time series, and succeed to distinguish the time of financial crisis and the plateau. In addition, Asian stock indexes away from other indexes are clearly visible in higher time scales. Simulations and real data support the effectiveness of the improved approach when detecting time irreversibility.

  7. GlcNAc-1-P-transferase–tunicamycin complex structure reveals basis for inhibition of N-glycosylation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoo, Jiho; Mashalidis, Ellene H.; Kuk, Alvin C. Y.; Yamamoto, Kazuki; Kaeser, Benjamin; Ichikawa, Satoshi; Lee, Seok-Yong

    2018-02-19

    N-linked glycosylation is a predominant post-translational modification of protein in eukaryotes, and its dysregulation is the etiology of several human disorders. The enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosaminephosphotransferase (GlcNAc-1-P-transferase or GPT) catalyzes the first and committed step of N-linked glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, and it is the target of the natural product tunicamycin. Tunicamycin has potent antibacterial activity, inhibiting the bacterial cell wall synthesis enzyme MraY, but its usefulness as an antibiotic is limited by off-target inhibition of human GPT. Our understanding of how tunicamycin inhibits N-linked glycosylation and efforts to selectively target MraY are hampered by a lack of structural information. Here we present crystal structures of human GPT in complex with tunicamycin. In conclusion, structural and functional analyses reveal the difference between GPT and MraY in their mechanisms of inhibition by tunicamycin. We demonstrate that this difference could be exploited to design MraY-specific inhibitors as potential antibiotics.

  8. A kinetic equation for irreversible aggregation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zanette, D.H.

    1990-09-01

    We introduce a kinetic equation for describing irreversible aggregation in the ballistic regime, including velocity distributions. The associated evolution for the macroscopic quantities is studied, and the general solution for Maxwell interaction models is obtained in the Fourier representation. (author). 23 refs

  9. Anisotropic shift of the irreversibility line by neutron irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sauerzopf, F.M.; Wiesinger, H.P.; Weber, H.W.; Crabtree, G.W.; Frischherz, M.C.; Kirk, M.A.

    1991-09-01

    The irreversibility line of high-T c superconductors is shifted considerably by irradiating the material with fast neutrons. The anisotropic and non-monotonous shift is qualitatively explained by a simple model based on an interaction between three pinning mechanisms, the intrinsic pinning by the ab-planes, the weak pinning by the pre-irradiation defect structure, and strong pinning by neutron induced defect cascades. A correlation between the cascade density and the position of the irreversibility line is observed

  10. Measures of thermodynamic irreversibility in deterministic and stochastic dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, Ian J

    2015-01-01

    It is generally observed that if a dynamical system is sufficiently complex, then as time progresses it will share out energy and other properties amongst its component parts to eliminate any initial imbalances, retaining only fluctuations. This is known as energy dissipation and it is closely associated with the concept of thermodynamic irreversibility, measured by the increase in entropy according to the second law. It is of interest to quantify such behaviour from a dynamical rather than a thermodynamic perspective and to this end stochastic entropy production and the time-integrated dissipation function have been introduced as analogous measures of irreversibility, principally for stochastic and deterministic dynamics, respectively. We seek to compare these measures. First we modify the dissipation function to allow it to measure irreversibility in situations where the initial probability density function (pdf) of the system is asymmetric as well as symmetric in velocity. We propose that it tests for failure of what we call the obversibility of the system, to be contrasted with reversibility, the failure of which is assessed by stochastic entropy production. We note that the essential difference between stochastic entropy production and the time-integrated modified dissipation function lies in the sequence of procedures undertaken in the associated tests of irreversibility. We argue that an assumed symmetry of the initial pdf with respect to velocity inversion (within a framework of deterministic dynamics) can be incompatible with the Past Hypothesis, according to which there should be a statistical distinction between the behaviour of certain properties of an isolated system as it evolves into the far future and the remote past. Imposing symmetry on a velocity distribution is acceptable for many applications of statistical physics, but can introduce difficulties when discussing irreversible behaviour. (paper)

  11. Fundamental economic irreversibilities influence policies for enhancing international forest phytosanitary security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas P. Holmes; Will Allen; Robert G. Haight; E. Carina H. Keskitalo; Mariella Marzano; Maria Pettersson; Christopher P. Quine; E. R. Langer

    2017-01-01

    National and international efforts to manage forest biosecurity create tension between opposing sources of ecological and economic irreversibility. Phytosanitary policies designed to protect national borders from biological invasions incur sunk costs deriving from economic and political irreversibilities that incentivizes wait-and-see decision-making. However, the...

  12. The use of TiO2 nanoparticles to reduce refrigerator ir-reversibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Padmanabhan, Venkataramana Murthy V.; Palanisamy, Senthilkumar

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► COP of hydrocarbons mixture VCRSs increases less when compared to R134a. ► Compressor ir-reversibility of VCRSs decreases by 33% (R134a), 14% (R436A and R436B). ► Total ir-reversibility of selected VCRSs decreases. ► Exergy efficiency of R134a is exceptionally low at lower reference temperature. ► Exergy efficiency of selected VCRSs increases. - Abstract: The ir-reversibility at the process of a vapour-compression refrigeration system (VCRS) with nanoparticles in the working fluid was investigated experimentally. Mineral oil (MO) with 0.1 g L −1 TiO 2 nanoparticles mixture were used as the lubricant instead of Polyol-ester (POE) oil in the R134a, R436A (R290/R600a-56/44-wt.%) and R436B (R290/R600a-52/48-wt.%)VCRSs. The VCRS ir-reversibility at the process with the nanoparticles was investigated using second law of thermodynamics. The results indicate that R134a, R436A and R436B and MO with TiO 2 nanoparticles work normally and safely in the VCRS. The VCRSs total ir-reversibility (529, 588 and 570 W) at different process was better than the R134a, R436A and R436B and POE oil system (777, 697 and 683 W). The same tests with Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles showed that the different nanoparticles properties have little effect on the VCRS ir-reversibility. Thus, TiO 2 nanoparticles can be used in VCRS with reciprocating compressor to considerably reduce ir-reversibility at the process.

  13. Irreversible Local Markov Chains with Rapid Convergence towards Equilibrium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapfer, Sebastian C.; Krauth, Werner

    2017-12-01

    We study the continuous one-dimensional hard-sphere model and present irreversible local Markov chains that mix on faster time scales than the reversible heat bath or Metropolis algorithms. The mixing time scales appear to fall into two distinct universality classes, both faster than for reversible local Markov chains. The event-chain algorithm, the infinitesimal limit of one of these Markov chains, belongs to the class presenting the fastest decay. For the lattice-gas limit of the hard-sphere model, reversible local Markov chains correspond to the symmetric simple exclusion process (SEP) with periodic boundary conditions. The two universality classes for irreversible Markov chains are realized by the totally asymmetric SEP (TASEP), and by a faster variant (lifted TASEP) that we propose here. We discuss how our irreversible hard-sphere Markov chains generalize to arbitrary repulsive pair interactions and carry over to higher dimensions through the concept of lifted Markov chains and the recently introduced factorized Metropolis acceptance rule.

  14. A Fingerprint Encryption Scheme Based on Irreversible Function and Secure Authentication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yijun Yang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A fingerprint encryption scheme based on irreversible function has been designed in this paper. Since the fingerprint template includes almost the entire information of users’ fingerprints, the personal authentication can be determined only by the fingerprint features. This paper proposes an irreversible transforming function (using the improved SHA1 algorithm to transform the original minutiae which are extracted from the thinned fingerprint image. Then, Chinese remainder theorem is used to obtain the biokey from the integration of the transformed minutiae and the private key. The result shows that the scheme has better performance on security and efficiency comparing with other irreversible function schemes.

  15. Inhibition of lipases from Chromobacterium viscosum and Rhizopus oryzae by tetrahydrolipstatin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potthoff, A P; Haalck, L; Spener, F

    1998-01-15

    Tetrahydrolipstatin is known as an inhibitor for pancreatic lipase but not for microbial lipases. In this paper we demonstrate that in the presence of water-insoluble substrates like tributyrin or olive oil, tetrahydrolipstatin inhibits the lipases of Chromobacterium viscosum and Rhizopus oryzae, although with different potency. In contrast to porcine pancreatic lipase, which forms an irreversible and covalent enzyme-inhibitor complex with tetrahydrolipstatin, the inhibition of the microbial lipases is reversible as the inhibitor can be removed from the enzyme-inhibitor complex by solvent extraction. Moreover, after inhibition of Chromobacterium viscosum lipase tetrahydrolipstatin remains chemically unchanged.

  16. Optima and bounds for irreversible thermodynamic processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffmann, K.H.

    1990-01-01

    In this paper bounds and optima for irreversible thermodynamic processes and their application in different fields are discussed. The tools of finite time thermodynamics are presented and especially optimal control theory is introduced. These methods are applied to heat engines, including models of the Diesel engine and a light-driven engine. Further bounds for irreversible processes are introduced, discussing work deficiency and its relation to thermodynamic length. Moreover the problem of dissipation in systems composed of several subsystems is studied. Finally, the methods of finite time thermodynamics are applied to thermodynamic processes described on a more microscopic level. The process used as an example is simulated annealing. It is shown how optimal control theory is applied to find the optimal cooling schedule for this important stochastic optimization method

  17. Myc inhibition is effective against glioma and reveals a role for Myc in proficient mitosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annibali, Daniela; Whitfield, Jonathan R; Favuzzi, Emilia; Jauset, Toni; Serrano, Erika; Cuartas, Isabel; Redondo-Campos, Sara; Folch, Gerard; Gonzàlez-Juncà, Alba; Sodir, Nicole M; Massó-Vallés, Daniel; Beaulieu, Marie-Eve; Swigart, Lamorna B; Mc Gee, Margaret M; Somma, Maria Patrizia; Nasi, Sergio; Seoane, Joan; Evan, Gerard I; Soucek, Laura

    2014-08-18

    Gliomas are the most common primary tumours affecting the adult central nervous system and respond poorly to standard therapy. Myc is causally implicated in most human tumours and the majority of glioblastomas have elevated Myc levels. Using the Myc dominant negative Omomyc, we previously showed that Myc inhibition is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. Here, we preclinically validate Myc inhibition as a therapeutic strategy in mouse and human glioma, using a mouse model of spontaneous multifocal invasive astrocytoma and its derived neuroprogenitors, human glioblastoma cell lines, and patient-derived tumours both in vitro and in orthotopic xenografts. Across all these experimental models we find that Myc inhibition reduces proliferation, increases apoptosis and remarkably, elicits the formation of multinucleated cells that then arrest or die by mitotic catastrophe, revealing a new role for Myc in the proficient division of glioma cells.

  18. A minimal dissipation type-based classification in irreversible thermodynamics and microeconomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsirlin, A. M.; Kazakov, V.; Kolinko, N. A.

    2003-10-01

    We formulate the problem of finding classes of kinetic dependencies in irreversible thermodynamic and microeconomic systems for which minimal dissipation processes belong to the same type. We show that this problem is an inverse optimal control problem and solve it. The commonality of this problem in irreversible thermodynamics and microeconomics is emphasized.

  19. Optimization of the performance characteristics in an irreversible magnetic Brayton refrigeration cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Hao; Liu Sanqiu

    2008-01-01

    An irreversible cycle model of magnetic Brayton refrigerators is established, in which the thermal resistance and irreversibility in the two adiabatic processes are taken into account. Expressions for several important performance parameters, such as the coefficient of performance, cooling rate and power input are derived. Moreover, the optimal performance parameters are obtained at the maximum coefficient of performance. The optimization region (or criteria) for an irreversible magnetic Brayton refrigerator is obtained. The results obtained here have general significance and will be helpful to understand deeply the performance of a magnetic Brayton refrigeration cycle

  20. BNNT-mediated irreversible electroporatio: its potential on cancer cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vittoria Raffa, Cristina Riggio, Michael W. Smith, Kevin C. Jordan, Wei Cao, Alfred Cuschieri

    2012-10-01

    Tissue ablation, i.e., the destruction of undesirable tissues, has become an important minimally invasive technique alternative to resection surgery for the treatment of tumours. Several methods for tissue ablation are based on thermal techniques using cold, e.g. cryosurgery [1] or heat, e.g. radiofrequency [2] or high-intensity focused ultrasound [3] or nanoparticle-mediated irradiation [4]. Alternatively, irreversible electroporation (IRE) has been proposed as non thermal technique for minimally invasive tissue ablation based on the use of electrical pulses. When the electric field is applied to a cell, a change in transmembrane potential is induced, which can cause biochemical and physiological changes of the cell. When the threshold value of the transmembrane potential is exceeded, the cell membrane becomes permeable, thus allowing entrance of molecules that otherwise cannot cross the membrane [5]. A further increase in the electric field intensity may cause irreversible membrane permeabilization and cell death. These pulses create irreversible defects (pores) in the cell membrane lipid bilayer, causing cell death through loss of cell homeostasis [6]. This is desirable in tumour ablation in order to produce large cell death, without the use of cytostatic drugs. A study of Davalos, Mir and Rubinsky showed that IRE can ablate substantial volumes of tissue without inducing a thermal effect and therefore serve as an independent and new tissue ablation modality; this opened the way to the use of IRE in surgery [7]. Their finding was subsequently confirmed in studies on cells [8], small animal models [9] and in large animal models in the liver [10] and the heart [11]. The most important finding in these papers is that irreversible electroporation produces precisely delineated ablation zones with cell scale resolution between ablated and non-ablated areas, without zones in which the extent of damage changes gradually as during thermal ablation. Furthermore, it is

  1. Optimal thermoeconomic performance of an irreversible regenerative ferromagnetic Ericsson refrigeration cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Zhichao; Guo, Juncheng; Lin, Guoxing; Chen, Jincan

    2016-01-01

    On the basis of the Langevin theory of classical statistical mechanics, the magnetization, entropy, and iso-field heat capacity of ferromagnetic materials are analyzed and their mathematical expressions are derived. An irreversible regenerative Ericsson refrigeration cycle by using a ferromagnetic material as the working substance is established, in which finite heat capacity rates of low and high temperature reservoirs, non-perfect regenerative heat of the refrigeration cycle, additional regenerative heat loss, etc. are taken into account. Based on the regenerative refrigeration cycle model, a thermoeconomic function is introduced as one objective function and optimized with respect to the temperatures of the working substance in the two iso-thermal processes. By means of numerical calculation, the effects of the effective factor of the heat exchangers in high/low temperature reservoir sides, efficiency of the regenerator, heat capacity rate of the low temperature reservoir, and applied magnetic field on the optimal thermoeconomic function as well as the corresponding cooling rate and coefficient of performance are revealed. The results obtained in this paper can provide some theoretical guidance for the optimal design of actual regenerative magnetic refrigerator cycle. - Highlights: • Thermodynamic performance of ferromagnetic material is analyzed. • An irreversible regenerative ferromagnetic Ericsson refrigeration cycle is set up. • The thermoeconomic objective function is introduced and optimized. • Impacts of the thermoeconomic and other parameters are discussed.

  2. Fluctuation theorems in feedback-controlled open quantum systems: Quantum coherence and absolute irreversibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murashita, Yûto; Gong, Zongping; Ashida, Yuto; Ueda, Masahito

    2017-10-01

    The thermodynamics of quantum coherence has attracted growing attention recently, where the thermodynamic advantage of quantum superposition is characterized in terms of quantum thermodynamics. We investigate the thermodynamic effects of quantum coherent driving in the context of the fluctuation theorem. We adopt a quantum-trajectory approach to investigate open quantum systems under feedback control. In these systems, the measurement backaction in the forward process plays a key role, and therefore the corresponding time-reversed quantum measurement and postselection must be considered in the backward process, in sharp contrast to the classical case. The state reduction associated with quantum measurement, in general, creates a zero-probability region in the space of quantum trajectories of the forward process, which causes singularly strong irreversibility with divergent entropy production (i.e., absolute irreversibility) and hence makes the ordinary fluctuation theorem break down. In the classical case, the error-free measurement ordinarily leads to absolute irreversibility, because the measurement restricts classical paths to the region compatible with the measurement outcome. In contrast, in open quantum systems, absolute irreversibility is suppressed even in the presence of the projective measurement due to those quantum rare events that go through the classically forbidden region with the aid of quantum coherent driving. This suppression of absolute irreversibility exemplifies the thermodynamic advantage of quantum coherent driving. Absolute irreversibility is shown to emerge in the absence of coherent driving after the measurement, especially in systems under time-delayed feedback control. We show that absolute irreversibility is mitigated by increasing the duration of quantum coherent driving or decreasing the delay time of feedback control.

  3. Five-year results of vital pulp therapy in permanent molars with irreversible pulpitis: a non-inferiority multicenter randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asgary, Saeed; Eghbal, Mohammad Jafar; Fazlyab, Mahta; Baghban, Alireza Akbarzadeh; Ghoddusi, Jamileh

    2015-03-01

    Previous reported results of up to 12 months as well as 24-month follow-ups revealed superior and equivalent treatment outcomes for vital pulp therapy (VPT) using calcium-enriched mixture cement (CEM) in comparison with root canal therapy (RCT) for mature molars with established irreversible pulpitis, respectively. Present non-inferiority multicenter randomized clinical trial assesses the final long-term (5-year) results as well as the effects of patients' age/gender and the presence of preoperative periapical lesion on the treatment outcomes. A total number of 407 patients were blindly allocated into two treatment groups [group 1 (VPT/CEM, n = 205) and group 2 (RCT, n = 202)] treated in 23 health-care centers by calibrated dentists. The treatment outcomes were assessed after 60 months. The 5-year results revealed no significant differences in the successes of both study arms (P = 0.29); a total number of 271 patients were available (~33 % were lost to follow-up). The patients' age/gender did not affect the outcomes; the presence of preoperative periapical lesion also did not implement a significant effect in both groups (P > 0.05). As an alternative for RCT, VPT/CEM can be considered as a valid treatment for vital mature permanent molars clinically diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis. Considering the favorable outcomes of 6- to 60-month follow-ups, as an evidence-based/simple/affordable/effective/biologic approach in cases of irreversible pulpitis, VPT/CEM is highly recommended for universal clinical practice.

  4. Irreversible adsorption of phenolic compounds by activated carbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grant, T.M.; King, C.J.

    1988-12-01

    Studies were undertaken to determine the reasons why phenolic sorbates can be difficult to remove and recover from activated carbons. The chemical properties of the sorbate and the adsorbent surface, and the influences of changes in the adsorption and desorption conditions were investigated. Comparison of isotherms established after different contact times or at different temperatures indicated that phenolic compounds react on carbon surfaces. The reaction rate is a strong function of temperature. Regeneration of carbons by leaching with acetone recovered at least as much phenol as did regeneration with other solvents or with displacers. The physiochemical properties of adsorbents influences irreversible uptakes. Sorbates differed markedly in their tendencies to undergo irreversible adsorption. 64 refs., 47 figs., 32 tabs.

  5. Irreversible adsorption of phenolic compounds by activated carbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grant, T.M.; King, C.J.

    1988-12-01

    Studies were undertaken to determine the reasons why phenolic sorbates can be difficult to remove and recover from activated carbons. The chemical properties of the sorbate and the adsorbent surface, and the influences of changes in the adsorption and desorption conditions were investigated. Comparison of isotherms established after different contact times or at different temperatures indicated that phenolic compounds react on carbon surfaces. The reaction rate is a strong function of temperature. Regeneration of carbons by leaching with acetone recovered at least as much phenol as did regeneration with other solvents or with displacers. The physiochemical properties of adsorbents influences irreversible uptakes. Sorbates differed markedly in their tendencies to undergo irreversible adsorption. 64 refs., 47 figs., 32 tabs

  6. Synthesis, structural characterization, docking, lipophilicity and cytotoxicity of 1-[(1R)-1-(6-fluoro-1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)ethyl]-3-alkyl carbamates, novel acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase pseudo-irreversible inhibitors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pejchal, V.; Štěpánková, Š.; Pejchalová, M.; Královec, K.; Havelek, R.; Růžičková, Z.; Ajani, Haresh; Lo, Rabindranath; Lepšík, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 24, č. 7 (2016), s. 1560-1572 ISSN 0968-0896 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP208/12/G016 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : halogenated benzothiazole * carbamates * acetylcholinesterase * butyrylcholinesterase inhibition * pseudo-irreversible mechanism * covalent docking Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 2.930, year: 2016

  7. Study and characterization of the irreversible transformation of electrically stressed planar Ti/TiO{sub x}/Ti junctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guillaume, N.; Puyoo, E., E-mail: etienne.puyoo@insa-lyon.fr; Le Berre, M.; Albertini, D.; Baboux, N.; Chevalier, C.; Ayadi, K.; Grégoire, J.; Gautier, B.; Calmon, F. [Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon, Université de Lyon, INL UMR 5270, CNRS, INSA de Lyon, Villeurbanne F-69621 (France)

    2015-10-14

    We investigate the properties and characteristics of planar Ti/TiO{sub x}/Ti junctions, which consist of transverse TiO{sub x} lines drawn on Ti test patterns. Junctions are elaborated by means of local anodic oxidation using atomic force microscopy. An irreversible morphological transformation occurring in a reproducible manner is observed when these planar junctions are electrically stressed under ambient atmosphere. Structural and chemical analyses based on transmission electron microscopy techniques reveal the extension of the initial amorphous TiO{sub x} into a crystalline rutile phase. This irreversible transformation is proven to vanish completely if the electrical stress occurs under vacuum atmosphere. Finally, we carry out temperature dependent electrical measurements in order to elucidate their conduction mechanism: Schottky emission above an ultra-low potential barrier is assumed to dominate under vacuum atmosphere whereas ionic conduction seems to prevail in air.

  8. Hydrogenase activity in Azospirillum brasilense is inhibited by nitrite, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and acetylene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tibelius, K.H.; Knowles, R.

    1984-10-01

    Nitrite, NO, CO, and C/sub 2/H/sub 2/ inhibited O/sub 2/-dependent H/sub 2/ uptake (H/sup 3/H oxidation) in denitrifying Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 grown anaerobically on N/sub 2/O or NO/sub 3//sup -/. The apparent K/sub i/ values for inhibition of O/sub 2/-dependent H/sub 2/ uptake were 20 ..mu..M for NO/sub 2//sup -/, 0.4 ..mu..M for NO, 28 ..mu..M for CO, and 88 ..mu..M for C/sub 2/H/sub 2/. These inhibitors also affected methylene blue-dependent H/sub 2/ uptake, presumably by acting directly on the hydrogenase. Nitrite and NO inhibited H/sub 2/ uptake irreversibly, whereas inhibition due to CO was easily reversed by repeatedly evacuating and backfilling with N/sub 2/. The C/sub 2/H/sub 2/ inhibition was not readily reversed, partly due to difficulty in removing the last traces of this gas from solution. The NO/sub 2//sup -/ inhibition of malate-dependent respiration was readily reversed by repeatedly washing the cells, in contrast to the effect of NO/sub 2//sup -/ on H/sub 2/-dependent respiration. These results suggest that the low hydrogenase activities observed in NO/sub 3//sup -/-grown cultures of A. brasilense may be due to the irreversible inhibition of hydrogenase by NO/sub 2//sup -/ and NO produced by NO/sub 3//sup -/ reduction.

  9. Port contact systems for irreversible thermodynamical systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eberard, D.; Maschke, B.M.; Schaft, A.J. van der

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we propose a definition of control contact systems, generalizing input-output Hamiltonian systems, to cope with models arising from irreversible Thermodynamics. We exhibit a particular subclass of these systems, called conservative, that leaves invariant some Legendre submanifold (the

  10. Classical many-body theory with retarded interactions: Dynamical irreversibility and determinism without probabilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zakharov, A.Yu., E-mail: Anatoly.Zakharov@novsu.ru; Zakharov, M.A., E-mail: ma_zakharov@list.ru

    2016-01-28

    The exact equations of motion for microscopic density of classical many-body system with account of inter-particle retarded interactions is derived. It is shown that interactions retardation leads to irreversible behavior of many-body systems. - Highlights: • A new form of equation of motion of classical many-body system is proposed. • Interactions retardation as one of the mechanisms of many-body system irreversibility. • Irreversibility and determinism without probabilities. • The possible way to microscopic foundation of thermodynamics.

  11. β-characterization by irreversibility analysis: A thermoeconomic diagnosis method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaleta-Aguilar, Alejandro; Olivares-Arriaga, Abraham; Cano-Andrade, Sergio; Rodriguez-Alejandro, David A.

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a reconciliation methodology for the diagnosis of energy systems. The methodology is based on the characterization of irreversibilities in the components of an energy system. These irreversibilities can be attributed to malfunctions or dysfunctions. The characterization of irreversibilities as presented here makes possible to reconcile the Actual Operating Condition (AOC) versus the Reference Operating Condition (ROC) of the energy system in a real-time manner. The diagnosis methodology introduces a parameter β, which represents the total exergy or useful work of a component in terms of its inlet and output streams at either design (full-load) or off-design (partial-load) conditions. The methodology is applied to the diagnosis of an actual Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plant. Data for the model is obtained directly from the plant by monitoring its performance at every time; thus, a real-time thermodynamic diagnosis for the system is obtained. Results show that the methodology presented here is able to detect and quantify the deviations on the performance of the NGCC power plant during its real-time operation. Based on the detection and quantification of these deviations, the user is able to make recommendations to schedule maintenance on the components where the irreversibilities are present. - Highlights: • A new methodology for thermoeconomic diagnosis of energy systems is presented. • A parameter β is defined for characterization of the components of an energy system. • The β characterization methodology is tested in a real 420 MW NGCC power plant. • Results show that the complexity of a diagnosis analysis is reduced substantially.

  12. Variability of Irreversible Poleward Transport in the Lower Stratosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Mark; Douglass, Anne; Newman, Paul; Nash, Eric; Witte, Jacquelyn; Ziemke, Jerry

    2011-01-01

    The ascent and descent of the Brewer-Dobson circulation plays a large role in determining the distributions of many constituents in the extratropical lower stratosphere. However, relatively fast, quasi-horizontal transport out of the tropics and polar regions also significantly contribute to determining these distributions. The tropical tape recorder signal assures that there must be outflow from the tropics into the extratropical lower stratosphere. The phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) and state of the polar vortex are known to modulate the transport from the tropical and polar regions, respectively. In this study we examine multiple years of ozone distributions in the extratropical lower stratosphere observed by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and the Aura High Resolution Dynamic Limb Sounder (HIRDLS). The distributions are compared with analyses of irreversible, meridional isentropic transport. We show that there is considerable year-to-year seasonal variability in the amount of irreversible transport from the tropics, which is related to both the phase of the QBO and the state of the polar vortex. The reversibility of the transport is consistent with the number of observed breaking waves. The variability of the atmospheric index of refraction in the lower stratosphere is shown to be significantly correlated with the wave breaking and amount of irreversible transport. Finally, we will show that the seasonal extratropical stratosphere to troposphere transport of ozone can be substantially modulated by the amount of irreversible meridional transport in the lower stratosphere and we investigate how observable these differences are in data of tropospheric ozone.

  13. Quantum thermodynamics: Microscopic foundations of entropy and of entropy generation by irreversibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beretta, Gian Paolo

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available What is the physical significance of entropy? What is the physical origin of irreversibility? Do entropy and irreversibility exist only for complex and macroscopic systems? Most physicists still accept and teach that the rationalization of these fundamental questions is given by Statistical Mechanics. Indeed, for everyday laboratory physics, the mathematical formalism of Statistical Mechanics (canonical and grand-canonical, Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distributions allows a successful description of the thermodynamic equilibrium properties of matter, including entropy values. However, as already recognized by Schrodinger in 1936, Statistical Mechanics is impaired by conceptual ambiguities and logical inconsistencies, both in its explanation of the meaning of entropy and in its implications on the concept of state of a system. An alternative theory has been developed by Gyftopoulos, Hatsopoulos and the present author to eliminate these stumbling conceptual blocks while maintaining the mathematical formalism so successful in applications. To resolve both the problem of the meaning of entropy and that of the origin of irreversibility we have built entropy and irreversibility into the laws of microscopic physics. The result is a theory, that we call Quantum Thermodynamics, that has all the necessary features to combine Mechanics and Thermodynamics uniting all the successful results of both theories, eliminating the logical inconsistencies of Statistical Mechanics and the paradoxes on irreversibility, and providing an entirely new perspective on the microscopic origin of irreversibility, nonlinearity (therefore including chaotic behavior and maximal-entropy-generation nonequilibrium dynamics. In this paper we discuss the background and formalism of Quantum Thermodynamics including its nonlinear equation of motion and the main general results. Our objective is to show in a not-too-technical manner that this theory provides indeed a

  14. A new approach to irreversibility in deep inelastic collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nemes, M.C.

    1982-01-01

    We use concepts of statistical mechanics to discuss the irreversible character of the experimental data in deep inelastic collisions. A definition of irreversibility proposed by Ruch permits a unified overview on current theories which describe these reactions. An information theoretical analysis of the data leads to a Fokker-Planck equation for the collective variables (excitation energy, charge and mass). The concept of mixing distance can serve as a quantitative measure to characterize the 'approach to equilibrium'. We apply it to the brownian motion as an illustration and also to the phenomenological analysis of deep inelastic scattering data with interesting results. (orig.)

  15. Active site-targeted covalent irreversible inhibitors of USP7 impair the functions of Foxp3+ T-regulatory cells by promoting ubiquitination of Tip60.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Wang

    Full Text Available Accumulation of Foxp3+ T-regulatory (Treg cells in the tumor microenvironment is associated with tumor immune evasion and poor patient outcome in the case of many solid tumors. Current therapeutic strategies for blocking Treg functions are not Treg-specific, and display only modest and transient efficacy. Recent studies revealed that ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7 is essential for Treg functions by stabilizing expression of Tip60 and Foxp3, which together are central to the development and maintenance of the Treg cell lineage. Pharmacological inhibition of USP7 is therefore a promising strategy for suppressing Treg functions and promoting anti-tumor immunity. Previously, we reported the P5091 series of small molecule USP7 inhibitors and demonstrated their direct anti-tumor activity in vivo using xenograft models. However, the precise mechanism of action of these compounds was not well defined. In this study, we report the development and characterization of P217564, a second-generation USP7 inhibitor with improved potency and selectivity. P217564 selectively targets the catalytic cleft of USP7 and modifies its active site cysteine (C223 by forming a covalent adduct. Irreversible inhibition of USP7 results in durable downstream biological responses in cells, including down-regulation of Tip60 and consequent impairment of Treg suppressive function. In addition, we demonstrate that both USP7 and various USP7 substrates are subjected to Lys48-mediated ubiquitin modification, consistent with increased proteasomal degradation of these proteins because of USP7 inhibition.

  16. Imaging an optogenetic pH sensor reveals that protons mediate lateral inhibition in the retina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tzu-Ming; Holzhausen, Lars C; Kramer, Richard H

    2014-02-01

    The reciprocal synapse between photoreceptors and horizontal cells underlies lateral inhibition and establishes the antagonistic center-surround receptive fields of retinal neurons to enhance visual contrast. Despite decades of study, the signal mediating the negative feedback from horizontal cells to cones has remained under debate because the small, invaginated synaptic cleft has precluded measurement. Using zebrafish retinas, we show that light elicits a change in synaptic proton concentration with the correct magnitude, kinetics and spatial dependence to account for lateral inhibition. Light, which hyperpolarizes horizontal cells, causes synaptic alkalinization, whereas activating an exogenously expressed ligand-gated Na(+) channel, which depolarizes horizontal cells, causes synaptic acidification. Whereas acidification was prevented by blocking a proton pump, re-alkalinization was prevented by blocking proton-permeant ion channels, suggesting that distinct mechanisms underlie proton efflux and influx. These findings reveal that protons mediate lateral inhibition in the retina, raising the possibility that protons are unrecognized retrograde messengers elsewhere in the nervous system.

  17. Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES): Restricted Diffusion does not Necessarily Mean Irreversibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagih, Alaa; Mohsen, Laila; Rayan, Moustafa M; Hasan, Mo'men M; Al-Sherif, Ashraf H

    2015-01-01

    Restricted diffusion is the second most common atypical presentation of PRES. This has a very important implication, as lesions with cytotoxic edema may progress to infarction. Several studies suggested the role of DWI in the prediction of development of infarctions in these cases. Other studies, however, suggested that PRES is reversible even with cytotoxic patterns. Our aim was to evaluate whether every restricted diffusion in PRES is reversible and what factors affect this reversibility. Thirty-six patients with acute neurological symptoms suggestive of PRES were included in our study. Inclusion criteria comprised imaging features of atypical PRES where DWI images and ADC maps show restricted diffusion. Patients were imaged with 0.2-T and 1.5-T machines. FLAIR images were evaluated for the severity of the disease and a FLAIR/DWI score was used. ADC values were selectively recorded from the areas of diffusion restriction. A follow-up MRI study was carried out in all patients after 2 weeks. Patients were classified according to reversibility into: Group 1 (reversible PRES; 32 patients) and Group 2 (irreversible changes; 4 patients). The study was approved by the University's research ethics committee, which conforms to the declaration of Helsinki. The age and blood pressure did not vary significantly between both groups. The total number of regions involved and the FLAIR/DWI score did not vary significantly between both groups. Individual regions did not reveal any tendency for the development of irreversible lesions. Similarly, ADC values did not reveal any significant difference between both groups. PRES is completely reversible in the majority of patients, even with restricted diffusion. None of the variables under study could predict the reversibility of PRES lesions. It seems that this process is individual-dependent.

  18. Raman spectrum reveals Mesenchymal stem cells inhibiting HL60 cells growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Xin; Fang, Shaoyin; Zhang, Daosen; Zhang, Qinnan; Lu, Xiaoxu; Tian, Jindong; Fan, Jinping; Zhong, Liyun

    2017-04-01

    Though some research results reveals that Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability of inhibiting tumor cells proliferation, it remains controversial about the precise interaction mechanism during MSCs and tumor cells co-culture. In this study, combing Raman spectroscopic data and principle component analysis (PCA), the biochemical changes of MSCs or Human promyelocytic leukemia (HL60) cells during their co-culture were presented. The obtained results showed that some main Raman peaks of HL60 assigned to nucleic acids or proteins were greatly higher in intensity in the late stage of co-culture than those in the early stage of co-culture while they were still lower relative to the control group, implicating that the effect of MSCs inhibiting HL60 proliferation appeared in the early stage but gradually lost the inhibiting ability in the late stage of co-culture. Moreover, some other peaks of HL60 assigned to proteins were decreased in intensity in the early stage of co-culture relative to the control group but rebounded to the level similar to the control group in the late stage, showing that the content and structure changes of these proteins might be generated in the early stage but returned to the original state in the late stage of co-culture. As a result, in the early stage of MSCs-HL60 co-culture, along with the level of Akt phosphorylation of HL60 was lowered relative to its control group, the proliferation rate of HL60 cells was decreased. And in the late stage of co-culture, along with the level of Akt phosphorylation was rebounded, the reverse transfer of Raman peaks within 875-880 cm- 1 appeared, thus MSCs lost the ability to inhibit HL60 growth and HL60 proliferation was increased. In addition, it was observed that the peak at 811 cm- 1, which is a marker of RNA, was higher in intensity in the late stage than that in the control group, indicating that MSCs might be differentiated into myofibroblast-like MSCs. In addition, PCA results also exhibited

  19. Extremum principles for irreversible processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hillert, M.; Agren, J.

    2006-01-01

    Hamilton's extremum principle is a powerful mathematical tool in classical mechanics. Onsager's extremum principle may play a similar role in irreversible thermodynamics and may also become a valuable tool. His principle may formally be regarded as a principle of maximum rate of entropy production but does not have a clear physical interpretation. Prigogine's principle of minimum rate of entropy production has a physical interpretation when it applies, but is not strictly valid except for a very special case

  20. Effect of irreversible processes on the thermodynamic performance of open-cycle desiccant cooling cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La, Dong; Li, Yong; Dai, Yanjun; Ge, Tianshu; Wang, Ruzhu

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Effects of irreversible processes on the performance of desiccant cooling cycle are identified. ► The exergy destructions involved are classified by the properties of the individual processes. ► Appropriate indexes for thermodynamic evaluation are proposed based on thermodynamic analyses. - Abstract: Thermodynamic analyses of desiccant cooling cycle usually focus on the overall cycle performance in previous study. In this paper, the effects of the individual irreversible processes in each component on thermodynamic performance are analyzed in detail. The objective of this paper is to reveal the elemental features of the individual components, and to show their effects on the thermodynamic performance of the whole cycle in a fundamental way. Appropriate indexes for thermodynamic evaluation are derived based on the first and second law analyses. A generalized model independent of the connection of components is developed. The results indicate that as the effectiveness of the desiccant wheel increases, the cycle performance is increased principally due to the significant reduction in exergy carried out by exhaust air. The corresponding exergy destruction coefficient of the cycle with moderate performance desiccant wheel is decreased greatly to 3.9%, which is more than 50% lower than that of the cycle with low performance desiccant wheel. The effect of the heat source is similar. As the temperature of the heat source increases from 60 °C to 90 °C, the percentage of exergy destruction raised by exhaust air increases sharply from 5.3% to 21.8%. High heat exchanger effectiveness improves the cycle performance mainly by lowering the irreversibility of the heat exchanger, using less regeneration heat and pre-cooling the process air effectively

  1. Reversible and irreversible magnetization of the Chevrel-phase superconductor PbMo6S8

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, D.N.; Ramsbottom, H.D.; Hampshire, D.P.

    1995-01-01

    Magnetic measurements have been carried out on the hot-isostatically-pressed Chevrel-phase superconductor PbMo 6 S 8 at temperatures from 4.2 K to T c and for magnetic fields up to 12 T. The results show that for the PbMo 6 S 8 compound there is a wide magnetically reversible region, between the irreversibility field B irr and the upper critical field B c2 , on the isothermal magnetic hysteresis curves. The B irr (T) line, i.e., the irreversibility line, was found to obey a power-law expression: B irr =B * (1-T/T c ) α with α∼1.5. Magnetic relaxation measurements revealed that the flux-creep effect in the material studied is substantial and is greater than those observed in conventional metallic alloys, but smaller than in high-temperature superconductors. The existence of the irreversibility line and pronounced flux-creep effect in PbMo 6 S 8 is attributed to the short coherence length of the material. From the reversible magnetization data, the values of the penetration depth, the coherence length, and the critical fields are obtained together with the Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ. At 4.2 K, the critical current density J c is 10 9 A m -2 at zero field, and decreases to 2x10 8 A m -2 at 10 T. Pinning force curves measured at different temperatures obey a Kramer-scaling law of the form: F p (=J c xB)∝b 1/2 (1-b) 2 , which indicates that the J c is limited by one predominant flux-pinning mechanism

  2. Parametric analysis of an irreversible proton exchange membrane fuel cell/absorption refrigerator hybrid system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Puqing; Zhang, Houcheng

    2015-01-01

    A hybrid system mainly consisting of a PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) and an absorption refrigerator is proposed, where the PEMFC directly converts the chemical energy contained in the hydrogen into electrical and thermal energies, and the thermal energy is transferred to drive the bottoming absorption refrigerator for cooling purpose. By considering the existing irreversible losses in the hybrid system, the operating current density region of the PEMFC permits the absorption refrigerator to exert its function is determined and the analytical expressions for the equivalent power output and efficiency of the hybrid system under different operating conditions are specified. Numerical calculations show that the equivalent maximum power density and the corresponding efficiency of the hybrid system can be respectively increased by 5.3% and 6.8% compared to that of the stand-alone PEMFC. Comprehensive parametric analyses are conducted to reveal the effects of the internal irreversibility of the absorption refrigerator, operating current density, operating temperature and operating pressure of the PEMFC, and some integrated parameters related to the thermodynamic losses on the performance of the hybrid system. The model presented in the paper is more general than previous study, and the results for some special cases can be directly derived from this paper. - Highlights: • A CHP system composed of a PEMFC and an absorption refrigerator is proposed. • Current density region enables the absorption refrigerator to work is determined. • Multiple irreversible losses in the system are analytically characterized. • Maximum power density and corresponding efficiency can be increased by 5.3% and 6.8%. • Effects of some designing and operating parameters on the performance are discussed

  3. Irreversible performance of a quantum harmonic heat engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezek, Yair; Kosloff, Ronnie

    2006-05-01

    The unavoidable irreversible loss of power in a heat engine is found to be of quantum origin. Following thermodynamic tradition, a model quantum heat engine operating in an Otto cycle is analysed, where the working medium is composed of an ensemble of harmonic oscillators and changes in volume correspond to changes in the curvature of the potential well. Equations of motion for quantum observables are derived for the complete cycle of operation. These observables are sufficient to determine the state of the system and with it all thermodynamical variables. Once the external controls are set, the engine settles to a limit cycle. Conditions for optimal work, power and entropy production are derived. At high temperatures and quasistatic operating conditions, the efficiency at maximum power coincides with the endoreversible result \\eta_q=1-\\sqrt{{T_c}/{T_h}} . The optimal compression ratio varies from {\\cal C} =\\sqrt{T_h/T_c} in the quasistatic limit where the irreversibility is dominated by heat conductance to {\\cal C} =(T_h/T_c)^{1/4} in the sudden limit when the irreversibility is dominated by friction. When the engine deviates from adiabatic conditions, the performance is subject to friction. The origin of this friction can be traced to the noncommutability of the kinetic and potential energy of the working medium.

  4. Risk Aversion, Price Uncertainty and Irreversible Investments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Goorbergh, R.W.J.; Huisman, K.J.M.; Kort, P.M.

    2003-01-01

    This paper generalizes the theory of irreversible investment under uncertainty by allowing for risk averse investors in the absence of com-plete markets.Until now this theory has only been developed in the cases of risk neutrality, or risk aversion in combination with complete markets.Within a

  5. How to account for irreversibility in integrated assessment of climate change?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha Duong, M.

    1998-04-01

    How to account for irreversibility in integrated assessment of climate change? This Ph. D. thesis in Economics balances discounting, technical progress and the inertia of existing capital stock against uncertainty and the inertia of socio-economic systems to examine the issue of near term limitations of greenhouse gases emissions. After a general overview in chapter 2, and a more historical presentation of the debates in chapter 3, chapter 4 proceeds to review a large number of integrated assessment models. Chapter 5 introduces a Model on the Dynamics of Inertia and Adaptability of energy systems: DIAM, used to discuss how much previous studies might have overestimated the long term costs of CO 2 limitations and underestimated adjustment costs. It shows that, given a target date for atmospheric CO 2 concentration stabilisation, a higher inertia implies a lower optimal concentration trajectory. In a sequential decision framework, chapter 6 shows that current uncertainties about which CO 2 concentration ceiling would not present dangerous interference with the climate system justifies precautionary action. Finally, chapter 7 uses the irreversibility effect theory to define formally situations of decision under controversy and compare the irreversibility of CO 2 accumulation with the irreversibility of investments needed to moderate it. An option value for greenhouse gases emissions limitations is computed. (author)

  6. Canonical formalism, fundamental equation, and generalized thermomechanics for irreversible fluids with heat transfer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sieniutycz, S.; Berry, R.S.

    1993-01-01

    A Lagrangian with dissipative (e.g., Onsager's) potentials is constructed for the field description of irreversible heat-conducting fluids, off local equilibrium. Extremum conditions of action yield Clebsch representations of temperature, chemical potential, velocities, and generalized momenta, including a thermal momentum introduced recently [R. L. Selinger and F. R. S. Whitham, Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 302, 1 (1968); S. Sieniutycz and R. S. Berry, Phys. Rev. A 40, 348 (1989)]. The basic question asked is ''To what extent may irreversibility, represented by a given form of the entropy source, influence the analytical form of the conservation laws for the energy and momentum?'' Noether's energy for a fluid with heat flow is obtained, which leads to a fundamental equation and extended Hamiltonian dynamics obeying the second law of thermodynamics. While in the case of the Onsager potentials this energy coincides numerically with the classical energy E, it contains an extra term (vanishing along the path) still contributing to an irreversible evolution. Components of the energy-momentum tensor preserve all terms regarded standardly as ''irreversible'' (heat, tangential stresses, etc.) generalized to the case when thermodynamics includes the state gradients and the so-called thermal phase, which we introduce here. This variable, the Lagrange multiplier of the entropy generation balance, is crucial for consistent treatment of irreversible processes via an action formalism. We conclude with the hypothesis that embedding the first and second laws in the context of the extremal behavior of action under irreversible conditions may imply accretion of an additional term to the classical energy

  7. Health Technology Assessment of CEM Pulpotomy in Permanent Molars with Irreversible Pulpitis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yazdani, Shahram; Jadidfard, Mohammad-Pooyan; Tahani, Bahareh; Kazemian, Ali; Dianat, Omid; Alim Marvasti, Laleh

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: Teeth with irreversible pulpitis usually undergo root canal therapy (RCT). This treatment modality is often considered disadvantageous as it removes vital pulp tissue and weakens the tooth structure. A relatively new concept has risen which suggests vital pulp therapy (VPT) for irreversible pulpitis. VPT with calcium enriched mixture (VPT/CEM) has demonstrated favorable treatment outcomes when treating permanent molars with irreversible pulpitis. This study aims to compare patient related factors, safety and organizational consideration as parts of health technology assessment (HTA) of the new VPT/CEM biotechnology when compared with RCT. Materials and Methods: Patient related factors were assessed by looking at short- and long-term clinical success; safety related factors were evaluated by a specialist committee and discussion board involved in formulating healthcare policies. Organizational evaluation was performed and the social implications were assessed by estimating the costs, availability, accessibility and acceptability. The impact of VPT/CEM biotechnology was assessed by investigating the incidence of irreversible pulpitis and the effect of this treatment on reducing the burden of disease. Results: VPT/CEM biotechnology was deemed feasible and acceptable like RCT; however, it was more successful, accessible, affordable, available and also safer than RCT. Conclusion: When considering socioeconomic implications on oral health status and oral health-related quality of life of VPT/CEM, the novel biotechnology can be more effective and more efficient than RCT in mature permanent molars with irreversible pulpitis. PMID:24396372

  8. Onsager's reciprocity theorem in extended irreversible thermodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia-Colin, L.S.; Velasco, R.M.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper we shall discuss the Onsager relations for the transport coefficients in a dilute monatomic gas described by the extended irreversible thermodynamics. Our discussion is based on a 26 variables description of the system and its corresponding comparison with the kinetic reciprocity between coefficients is shown (Author)

  9. Lie-admissible invariant treatment of irreversibility for matter and antimatter at the classical and operator levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santilli, R.M.

    2006-01-01

    It was generally believed throughout the 20th century that irreversibility is a purely classical event without operator counterpart. however, a classical irreversible system cannot be consistently decomposed into a finite number of reversible quantum particles (and. vive versa), thus establishing that the origin of irreversibility is basically unknown at the dawn of the 21-st century. To resolve this problem. we adopt the historical analytical representation of irreversibility by Lagrange and Hamilton, that with external terms in their analytic equations; we show that, when properly written, the brackets of the time evolution characterize covering Lie-admissible algebras; we prove that the formalism has fully consistent operator counterpart given by the Lie-admissible branch of hadronic mechanics; we identify mathematical and physical inconsistencies when irreversible formulations are treated with the conventional mathematics used for reversible systems; we show that when the dynamical equations are treated with a novel irreversible mathematics, Lie-admissible formulations are fully consistent because invariant at both the classical and operator levels; and we complete our analysis with a number of explicit applications to irreversible processes in classical mechanics, particle physics and thermodynamics. The case of closed-isolated systems verifying conventional total conservation laws, yet possessing an irreversible structure, is treated via the simpler Lie-isotopic branch of hadronic mechanics. The analysis is conducted for both matter and antimatter at the classical and operator levels to prevent insidious inconsistencies occurring for the sole study of matter or, separately, antimatter

  10. Spectral deformation techniques applied to the study of quantum statistical irreversible processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Courbage, M.

    1978-01-01

    A procedure of analytic continuation of the resolvent of Liouville operators for quantum statistical systems is discussed. When applied to the theory of irreversible processes of the Brussels School, this method supports the idea that the restriction to a class of initial conditions is necessary to obtain an irreversible behaviour. The general results are tested on the Friedrichs model. (Auth.)

  11. Articaine for supplemental intraosseous anesthesia in patients with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigby, Jason; Reader, Al; Nusstein, John; Beck, Mike; Weaver, Joel

    2006-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the anesthetic efficacy and heart rate effect of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for supplemental intraosseous injection in mandibular posterior teeth diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis. Thirty-seven emergency patients, diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular posterior tooth, received an inferior alveolar nerve block and had moderate-to-severe pain upon endodontic access. The Stabident system was used to administer 1.8 ml of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. Success of the intraosseous injection was defined as none or mild pain upon endodontic access or initial instrumentation. The results demonstrated that anesthetic success was obtained in 86% (32 of 37) of the patients. Maximum mean heart rate was increased 32 beats/minute during the intraosseous injection. We can conclude that when the inferior alveolar nerve block fails to provide profound pulpal anesthesia, the intraosseous injection of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine would be successful 86% of the time in achieving pulpal anesthesia in mandibular posterior teeth of patients presenting with irreversible pulpitis.

  12. FINITE TIME THERMODYNAMIC MODELING AND ANALYSIS FOR AN IRREVERSIBLE ATKINSON CYCLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanlin Ge

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Performance of an air-standard Atkinson cycle is analyzed by using finite-time thermodynamics. The irreversible cycle model which is more close to practice is founded. In this model, the non-linear relation between the specific heats of working fluid and its temperature, the friction loss computed according to the mean velocity of the piston, the internal irreversibility described by using the compression and expansion efficiencies, and heat transfer loss are considered. The relations between the power output and the compression ratio, between the thermal efficiency and the compression ratio, as well as the optimal relation between power output and the efficiency of the cycle are derived by detailed numerical examples. Moreover, the effects of internal irreversibility, heat transfer loss and friction loss on the cycle performance are analyzed. The results obtained in this paper may provide guidelines for the design of practical internal combustion engines.

  13. Brands and Inhibition: A Go/No-Go Task Reveals the Power of Brand Influence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peatfield, Nicholas; Caulfield, Joanne; Parkinson, John; Intriligator, James

    2015-01-01

    Whether selecting a candy in a shop or picking a digital camera online, there are usually many options from which consumers may choose. With such abundance, consumers must use a variety of cognitive, emotional, and heuristic means to filter out and inhibit some of their responses. Here we use brand logos within a Go/No-Go task to probe inhibitory control during the presentation of familiar and unfamiliar logos. The results showed no differences in response times or in commission errors (CE) between familiar and unfamiliar logos. However, participants demonstrated a generally more cautious attitude of responding to the familiar brands: they were significantly slower and less accurate at responding to these brands in the Go trials. These findings suggest that inhibitory control can be exercised quite effectively for familiar brands, but that when such inhibition fails, the potent appetitive nature of brands is revealed.

  14. Ecological optimization and performance study of irreversible Stirling and Ericsson heat engines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tyagi, S K; Kaushik, S C; Salhotra, R

    2002-01-01

    The concept of finite time thermodynamics is used to determine the ecological function of irreversible Stirling and Ericsson heat engine cycles. The ecological function is defined as the power output minus power loss (irreversibility), which is the ambient temperature times, the entropy generation rate. The ecological function is maximized with respect to cycle temperature ratio and the expressions for the corresponding power output and thermal efficiency are derived at the optimal operating conditions. The effect of different operating parameters, the effectiveness on the hot, cold and the regenerative side heat exchangers, the cycle temperature ratio, heat capacitance ratio and the internal irreversibility parameter on the maximum ecological function are studied. It is found that the effect of regenerator effectiveness is more than the hot and cold side heat exchangers and the effect of the effectiveness on cold side heat exchanger is more than the effectiveness on the hot side heat exchanger on the maximum ecological function. It is also found that the effect of internal irreversibility parameter is more than the other parameters not only on the maximum ecological function but also on the corresponding power output and the thermal efficiency

  15. Ecological optimization and performance study of irreversible Stirling and Ericsson heat engines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyagi, S. K.; Kaushik, S. C.; Salhotra, R.

    2002-10-01

    The concept of finite time thermodynamics is used to determine the ecological function of irreversible Stirling and Ericsson heat engine cycles. The ecological function is defined as the power output minus power loss (irreversibility), which is the ambient temperature times, the entropy generation rate. The ecological function is maximized with respect to cycle temperature ratio and the expressions for the corresponding power output and thermal efficiency are derived at the optimal operating conditions. The effect of different operating parameters, the effectiveness on the hot, cold and the regenerative side heat exchangers, the cycle temperature ratio, heat capacitance ratio and the internal irreversibility parameter on the maximum ecological function are studied. It is found that the effect of regenerator effectiveness is more than the hot and cold side heat exchangers and the effect of the effectiveness on cold side heat exchanger is more than the effectiveness on the hot side heat exchanger on the maximum ecological function. It is also found that the effect of internal irreversibility parameter is more than the other parameters not only on the maximum ecological function but also on the corresponding power output and the thermal efficiency.

  16. Scaling and universality in binary fragmenting with inhibition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ploszajczak, M.; Botet, R.

    1994-01-01

    We investigate a new model of binary fragmentation with inhibition, driven by the white noise. In a broad range of fragmentation probabilities, the power-law spatio-temporal correlations ar found to arise due to self-organized criticality (SOC). We find in the SOC phase a non-trivial power spectrum of the temporal sequence of the fragmentation events. The 1/∫ behaviour is recovered in the irreversible, near-equilibrium part of this phase. (authors). 13 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  17. Scaling and universality in binary fragmenting with inhibition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ploszajczak, M [Grand Accelerateur National d` Ions Lourds (GANIL), 14 - Caen (France); Botet, R [Paris-11 Univ., 91 - Orsay (France). Lab. de Physique des Solides

    1994-12-31

    We investigate a new model of binary fragmentation with inhibition, driven by the white noise. In a broad range of fragmentation probabilities, the power-law spatio-temporal correlations ar found to arise due to self-organized criticality (SOC). We find in the SOC phase a non-trivial power spectrum of the temporal sequence of the fragmentation events. The 1/{integral} behaviour is recovered in the irreversible, near-equilibrium part of this phase. (authors). 13 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

  18. Screen for chemical modulators of autophagy reveals novel therapeutic inhibitors of mTORC1 signaling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aruna D Balgi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1 is a protein kinase that relays nutrient availability signals to control numerous cellular functions including autophagy, a process of cellular self-eating activated by nutrient depletion. Addressing the therapeutic potential of modulating mTORC1 signaling and autophagy in human disease requires active chemicals with pharmacologically desirable properties. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using an automated cell-based assay, we screened a collection of >3,500 chemicals and identified three approved drugs (perhexiline, niclosamide, amiodarone and one pharmacological reagent (rottlerin capable of rapidly increasing autophagosome content. Biochemical assays showed that the four compounds stimulate autophagy and inhibit mTORC1 signaling in cells maintained in nutrient-rich conditions. The compounds did not inhibit mTORC2, which also contains mTOR as a catalytic subunit, suggesting that they do not inhibit mTOR catalytic activity but rather inhibit signaling to mTORC1. mTORC1 inhibition and autophagosome accumulation induced by perhexiline, niclosamide or rottlerin were rapidly reversed upon drug withdrawal whereas amiodarone inhibited mTORC1 essentially irreversibly. TSC2, a negative regulator of mTORC1, was required for inhibition of mTORC1 signaling by rottlerin but not for mTORC1 inhibition by perhexiline, niclosamide and amiodarone. Transient exposure of immortalized mouse embryo fibroblasts to these drugs was not toxic in nutrient-rich conditions but led to rapid cell death by apoptosis in starvation conditions, by a mechanism determined in large part by the tuberous sclerosis complex protein TSC2, an upstream regulator of mTORC1. By contrast, transient exposure to the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin caused essentially irreversible mTORC1 inhibition, sustained inhibition of cell growth and no selective cell killing in starvation. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The observation that drugs already

  19. Ecological optimization of an irreversible quantum Carnot heat engine with spin-1/2 systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Xiaowei; Chen Lingen; Wu Feng; Sun Fengrui

    2010-01-01

    A model of a quantum heat engine with heat resistance, internal irreversibility and heat leakage and many non-interacting spin-1/2 systems is established in this paper. The quantum heat engine cycle is composed of two isothermal processes and two irreversible adiabatic processes and is referred to as a spin quantum Carnot heat engine. Based on the quantum master equation and the semi-group approach, equations of some important performance parameters, such as power output, efficiency, entropy generation rate and ecological function (a criterion representing the optimal compromise between exergy output rate and exergy loss rate), for the irreversible spin quantum Carnot heat engine are derived. The optimal ecological performance of the heat engine in the classical limit is analyzed with numerical examples. The effects of internal irreversibility and heat leakage on ecological performance are discussed in detail.

  20. Profit rate performance optimization for a generalized irreversible ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    fer law system generalized irreversible combined refrigeration cycle model with finite-rate heat ...... Chen L, Sun F, Wu C 2004b Optimum allocation of heat exchanger area for refrigeration and air conditioning plants. Appl. Energy 77(3): 339– ...

  1. Irreversible electroporation: state of the art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagstaff PGK

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Peter GK Wagstaff,1 Mara Buijs,1 Willemien van den Bos,1 Daniel M de Bruin,2 Patricia J Zondervan,1 Jean JMCH de la Rosette,1 M Pilar Laguna Pes1 1Department of Urology, 2Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Abstract: The field of focal ablative therapy for the treatment of cancer is characterized by abundance of thermal ablative techniques that provide a minimally invasive treatment option in selected tumors. However, the unselective destruction inflicted by thermal ablation modalities can result in damage to vital structures in the vicinity of the tumor. Furthermore, the efficacy of thermal ablation intensity can be impaired due to thermal sink caused by large blood vessels in the proximity of the tumor. Irreversible electroporation (IRE is a novel ablation modality based on the principle of electroporation or electropermeabilization, in which electric pulses are used to create nanoscale defects in the cell membrane. In theory, IRE has the potential of overcoming the aforementioned limitations of thermal ablation techniques. This review provides a description of the principle of IRE, combined with an overview of in vivo research performed to date in the liver, pancreas, kidney, and prostate. Keywords: irreversible electroporation, IRE, tumor, ablation, focal therapy, cancer

  2. The degree of irreversibility in deterministic finite automata

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Axelsen, Holger Bock; Holzer, Markus; Kutrib, Martin

    2016-01-01

    the language, and show that the degree induces a strict infinite hierarchy of languages. We examine how the degree of irreversibility behaves under the usual language operations union, intersection, complement, concatenation, and Kleene star, showing tight bounds (some asymptotically) on the degree....

  3. Exergetic efficiency optimization for an irreversible heat pump ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    This paper deals with the performance analysis and optimization for irreversible heat pumps working on reversed Brayton cycle with constant-temperature heat reservoirs by taking exergetic efficiency as the optimization objective combining exergy concept with finite-time thermodynamics (FTT). Exergetic efficiency is ...

  4. Peptide Drug Release Behavior from Biodegradable Temperature-Responsive Injectable Hydrogels Exhibiting Irreversible Gelation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazuyuki Takata

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the release behavior of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1 from a biodegradable injectable polymer (IP hydrogel. This hydrogel shows temperature-responsive irreversible gelation due to the covalent bond formation through a thiol-ene reaction. In vitro sustained release of GLP-1 from an irreversible IP formulation (F(P1/D+PA40 was observed compared with a reversible (physical gelation IP formulation (F(P1. Moreover, pharmaceutically active levels of GLP-1 were maintained in blood after subcutaneous injection of the irreversible IP formulation into rats. This system should be useful for the minimally invasive sustained drug release of peptide drugs and other water-soluble bioactive reagents.

  5. Irreversible denaturation of maltodextrin glucosidase studied by differential scanning calorimetry, circular dichroism, and turbidity measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Megha; Chaudhuri, Tapan K; Kuwajima, Kunihiro

    2014-01-01

    Thermal denaturation of Escherichia coli maltodextrin glucosidase was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, circular dichroism (230 nm), and UV-absorption measurements (340 nm), which were respectively used to monitor heat absorption, conformational unfolding, and the production of solution turbidity. The denaturation was irreversible, and the thermal transition recorded at scan rates of 0.5-1.5 K/min was significantly scan-rate dependent, indicating that the thermal denaturation was kinetically controlled. The absence of a protein-concentration effect on the thermal transition indicated that the denaturation was rate-limited by a mono-molecular process. From the analysis of the calorimetric thermograms, a one-step irreversible model well represented the thermal denaturation of the protein. The calorimetrically observed thermal transitions showed excellent coincidence with the turbidity transitions monitored by UV-absorption as well as with the unfolding transitions monitored by circular dichroism. The thermal denaturation of the protein was thus rate-limited by conformational unfolding, which was followed by a rapid irreversible formation of aggregates that produced the solution turbidity. It is thus important to note that the absence of the protein-concentration effect on the irreversible thermal denaturation does not necessarily means the absence of protein aggregation itself. The turbidity measurements together with differential scanning calorimetry in the irreversible thermal denaturation of the protein provided a very effective approach for understanding the mechanisms of the irreversible denaturation. The Arrhenius-equation parameters obtained from analysis of the thermal denaturation were compared with those of other proteins that have been reported to show the one-step irreversible thermal denaturation. Maltodextrin glucosidase had sufficiently high kinetic stability with a half-life of 68 days at a physiological temperature (37°C).

  6. Anesthetic Efficacy in Irreversible Pulpitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allegretti, Carlos E; Sampaio, Roberta M; Horliana, Anna C R T; Armonia, Paschoal L; Rocha, Rodney G; Tortamano, Isabel Peixoto

    2016-01-01

    Inferior alveolar nerve block has a high failure rate in the treatment of mandibular posterior teeth with irreversible pulpitis. The aim of this study was to compare the anesthetic efficacy of 4% articaine, 2% lidocaine and 2% mepivacaine, all in combination with 1:100,000 epinephrine, in patients with irreversible pulpitis of permanent mandibular molars during a pulpectomy procedure. Sixty-six volunteers from the Emergency Center of the School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, randomly received 3.6 mL of local anesthetic as a conventional inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB). The subjective signal of lip numbness, pulpal anesthesia and absence of pain during the pulpectomy procedure were evaluated respectively, by questioning the patient, stimulation using an electric pulp tester and a verbal analogue scale. All patients reported the subjective signal of lip numbness. Regarding pulpal anesthesia success as measured with the pulp tester, the success rate was respectively 68.2% for mepivacaine, 63.6% for articaine and 63.6% for lidocaine. Regarding patients who reported no pain or mild pain during the pulpectomy, the success rate was, respectively 72.7% for mepivacaine, 63.6% for articaine and 54.5% for lidocaine. These differences were not statistically significant. Neither of the solutions resulted in 100% anesthetic success in patients with irreversible pulpitis of mandibular molars.

  7. Ibrutinib Inhibits ERBB Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and HER2-Amplified Breast Cancer Cell Growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jun; Kinoshita, Taisei; Sukbuntherng, Juthamas; Chang, Betty Y; Elias, Laurence

    2016-12-01

    Ibrutinib is a potent, small-molecule Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor developed for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. Ibrutinib covalently binds to Cys481 in the ATP-binding domain of BTK. This cysteine residue is conserved among 9 other tyrosine kinases, including HER2 and EGFR, which can be targeted. Screening large panels of cell lines demonstrated that ibrutinib was growth inhibitory against some solid tumor cells, including those inhibited by other HER2/EGFR inhibitors. Among sensitive cell lines, breast cancer lines with HER2 overexpression were most potently inhibited by ibrutinib (ibrutinib coincided with downregulation of phosphorylation on HER2 and EGFR and their downstream targets, AKT and ERK. Irreversible inhibition of HER2 and EGFR in breast cancer cells was established after 30-minute incubation above 100 nmol/L or following 2-hour incubation at lower concentrations. Furthermore, ibrutinib inhibited recombinant HER2 and EGFR activity that was resistant to dialysis and rapid dilution, suggesting an irreversible interaction. The dual activity toward TEC family (BTK and ITK) and ERBB family kinases was unique to ibrutinib, as ERBB inhibitors do not inhibit or covalently bind BTK or ITK. Xenograft studies with HER2 + MDA-MB-453 and BT-474 cells in mice in conjunction with determination of pharmacokinetics demonstrated significant exposure-dependent inhibition of growth and key signaling molecules at levels that are clinically achievable. Ibrutinib's unique dual spectrum of activity against both TEC family and ERBB kinases suggests broader applications of ibrutinib in oncology. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(12); 2835-44. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

  8. Sample size effect on the determination of the irreversibility line of high-Tc superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Q.; Suenaga, M.; Li, Q.; Freltoft, T.

    1994-01-01

    The irreversibility lines of a high-J c superconducting Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O x /Ag tape were systematically measured upon a sequence of subdivisions of the sample. The irreversibility field H r (T) (parallel to the c axis) was found to change approximately as L 0.13 , where L is the effective dimension of the superconducting tape. Furthermore, it was found that the irreversibility line for a grain-aligned Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O x specimen can be approximately reproduced by the extrapolation of this relation down to a grain size of a few tens of micrometers. The observed size effect could significantly obscure the real physical meaning of the irreversibility lines. In addition, this finding surprisingly indicated that the Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 2 O x /Ag tape and grain-aligned specimen may have similar flux line pinning strength

  9. Irreversible absorption heat-pump and its optimal performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Lingen; Qin Xiaoyong; Sun Fengrui; Wu Chih

    2005-01-01

    On the basis of an endoreversible absorption heat-pump cycle, a generalized irreversible four-heat-reservoir absorption heat-pump cycle model is established by taking account of the heat resistances, heat leak and irreversibilities due to the internal dissipation of the working substance. The heat transfer between the heat reservoir and the working substance is assumed to obey the linear (Newtonian) heat-transfer law, and the overall heat-transfer surface area of the four heat-exchangers is assumed to be constant. The fundamental optimal relations between the coefficient of performance (COP) and the heating-load, the maximum COP and the corresponding heating-load, the maximum heating load and the corresponding COP, as well as the optimal temperatures of the working substance and the optimal heat-transfer surface areas of the four heat-exchangers are derived by using finite-time thermodynamics. Moreover, the effects of the cycle parameters on the characteristics of the cycle are studied by numerical examples

  10. Quantum mechanical irreversibility and measurement

    CERN Document Server

    Grigolini, P

    1993-01-01

    This book is intended as a tutorial approach to some of the techniques used to deal with quantum dissipation and irreversibility, with special focus on their applications to the theory of measurements. The main purpose is to provide readers without a deep expertise in quantum statistical mechanics with the basic tools to develop a critical judgement on whether the major achievements in this field have to be considered a satisfactory solution of quantum paradox, or rather this ambitious achievement has to be postponed to when a new physics, more general than quantum and classical physics, will

  11. The SAT Protein of Porcine Parvovirus Accelerates Viral Spreading through Induction of Irreversible Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mészáros, István; Tóth, Renáta; Olasz, Ferenc; Tijssen, Peter; Zádori, Zoltán

    2017-08-15

    The SAT protein (SATp) of porcine parvovirus (PPV) accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and SAT deletion induces the slow-spreading phenotype. The in vitro comparison of the wild-type Kresse strain and its SAT knockout (SAT - ) mutant revealed that prolonged cell integrity and late viral release are responsible for the slower spreading of the SAT - virus. During PPV infection, regardless of the presence or absence of SATp, the expression of downstream ER stress response proteins (Xbp1 and CHOP) was induced. However, in the absence of SATp, significant differences in the quantity and the localization of CHOP were detected, suggesting a role of SATp in the induction of irreversible ER stress in infected cells. The involvement of the induction of irreversible ER stress in porcine testis (PT) cell necrosis and viral egress was confirmed by treatment of infected cells by ER stress-inducing chemicals (MG132, dithiothreitol, and thapsigargin), which accelerated the egress and spreading of both the wild-type and the SAT - viruses. UV stress induction had no beneficial effect on PPV infection, underscoring the specificity of ER stress pathways in the process. However, induction of CHOP and its nuclear translocation cannot alone be responsible for the biological effect of SAT, since nuclear CHOP could not complement the lack of SAT in a coexpression experiment. IMPORTANCE SATp is encoded by an alternative open reading frame of the PPV genome. Earlier we showed that SATp of the attenuated PPV NADL-2 strain accumulates in the ER and accelerates virus release and spreading. Our present work revealed that slow spreading is a general feature of SAT - PPVs and is the consequence of prolonged cell integrity. PPV infection induced ER stress in infected cells regardless of the presence of SATp, as demonstrated by the morphological changes of the ER and expression of the stress response proteins Xbp1 and CHOP. However, the presence of SATp made the ER stress more severe and

  12. Reversing the irreversible: From limit cycles to emergent time symmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortês, Marina; Smolin, Lee

    2018-01-01

    In 1979 Penrose hypothesized that the arrows of time are explained by the hypothesis that the fundamental laws are time irreversible [R. Penrose, in General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey (1979)]. That is, our reversible laws, such as the standard model and general relativity are effective, and emerge from an underlying fundamental theory which is time irreversible. In [M. Cortês and L. Smolin, Phys. Rev. D 90, 084007 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevD.90.084007; 90, 044035 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevD.90.044035; 93, 084039 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.084039] we put forward a research program aiming at realizing just this. The aim is to find a fundamental description of physics above the Planck scale, based on irreversible laws, from which will emerge the apparently reversible dynamics we observe on intermediate scales. Here we continue that program and note that a class of discrete dynamical systems are known to exhibit this very property: they have an underlying discrete irreversible evolution, but in the long term exhibit the properties of a time reversible system, in the form of limit cycles. We connect this to our original model proposal in [M. Cortês and L. Smolin, Phys. Rev. D 90, 084007 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevD.90.084007], and show that the behaviors obtained there can be explained in terms of the same phenomenon: the attraction of the system to a basin of limit cycles, where the dynamics appears to be time reversible. Further than that, we show that our original models exhibit the very same feature: the emergence of quasiparticle excitations obtained in the earlier work in the space-time description is an expression of the system's convergence to limit cycles when seen in the causal set description.

  13. Nonequilibrium and irreversibility

    CERN Document Server

    Gallavotti, Giovanni

    2014-01-01

    This book concentrates on the properties of the stationary states in chaotic systems of particles or fluids, leaving aside the theory of the way they can be reached. The stationary states of particles or of fluids (understood as probability distributions on microscopic configurations or on the fields describing continua) have received important new ideas and data from numerical simulations and reviews are needed. The starting point is to find out which time invariant distributions come into play in physics. A special feature of this book is the historical approach. To identify the problems the author analyzes the papers of the founding fathers Boltzmann, Clausius and Maxwell including translations of the relevant (parts of ) historical documents. He also establishes a close link between treatment of irreversible phenomena in statistical mechanics and the theory of chaotic systems at and beyond the onset of turbulence as developed by Sinai, Ruelle, Bowen (SRB) and others: the author gives arguments intending t...

  14. Investment Irreversibility and Precautionary Savings in General Equilibrium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ejarque, João

    than irreversibility effects. If shocks are idiosyncratic and affect a cross section of agents over capital, an increase in their variance may induce an increase in aggregate investment even if all agents have an incentive to invest less, because zero investment is now an active lower bound for part...

  15. Study of the anesthetic efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve block using articaine in irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Zeeshan H; Ravikumar, H; Karale, Rupali; Preethanath, R S; Sukumaran, Anil

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the anesthetic efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) using 4% articaine and 2% lidocaine supplemented with buccal infiltration. Forty five patients, diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular posterior tooth were included in the study. The first group of 15 patients received 2% lidocaine with 1:200000 epinephrine, the second group 2% lidocaine with 1: 80,000 epinephrine and the third group of 15 subjects received 4% articaine with 1:100000 epinephrine. During the access cavity preparation those patients who complained of pain received an additional buccal infiltration. The percentage of subjects who got profound anesthesia and failure to achieve anesthesia were calculated and tabulated using a visual analog scale. The results revealed that 87% of subjects who received 4% Articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine got satisfactory anesthesia with inferior alveolar nerve block alone. Only 2 (13%) subjects received an additional buccal infiltration and none of the patients failed to obtain complete anesthesia with articaine. In comparison only 40% of subjects got complete anesthesia with 2% lidocaine with 1:200000 and 60% with 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000. It can be concluded that 4% articaine can be used effectively for obtaining profound anesthesia for endodontic procedures in patients with irreversible pulpitis.

  16. Proteomic analysis of MG132-treated germinating pollen reveals expression signatures associated with proteasome inhibition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Candida Vannini

    Full Text Available Chemical inhibition of the proteasome has been previously found to effectively impair pollen germination and tube growth in vitro. However, the mediators of these effects at the molecular level are unknown. By performing 2DE proteomic analysis, 24 differentially expressed protein spots, representing 14 unique candidate proteins, were identified in the pollen of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa germinated in the presence of the MG132 proteasome inhibitor. qPCR analysis revealed that 11 of these proteins are not up-regulated at the mRNA level, but are most likely stabilized by proteasome inhibition. These differentially expressed proteins are predicted to function in various pathways including energy and lipid metabolism, cell wall synthesis, protein synthesis/degradation and stress responses. In line with this evidence, the MG132-induced changes in the proteome were accompanied by an increase in ATP and ROS content and by an alteration in fatty acid composition.

  17. Mathematical models and equilibrium in irreversible microeconomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anatoly M. Tsirlin

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available A set of equilibrium states in a system consisting of economic agents, economic reservoirs, and firms is considered. Methods of irreversible microeconomics are used. We show that direct sale/purchase leads to an equilibrium state which depends upon the coefficients of supply/demand functions. To reach the unique equilibrium state it is necessary to add either monetary exchange or an intermediate firm.

  18. Anistropically varying conductivity in irreversible electroporation simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labarbera, Nicholas; Drapaca, Corina

    2017-11-01

    One recent area of cancer research is irreversible electroporation (IRE). Irreversible electroporation is a minimally invasive procedure where needle electrodes are inserted into the body to ablate tumor cells with electricity. The aim of this paper is to propose a mathematical model that incorporates a tissue's conductivity increasing more in the direction of the electrical field as this has been shown to occur in experiments. It was necessary to mathematically derive a valid form of the conductivity tensor such that it is dependent on the electrical field direction and can be easily implemented into numerical software. The derivation of a conductivity tensor that can take arbitrary functions for the conductivity in the directions tangent and normal to the electrical field is the main contribution of this paper. Numerical simulations were performed for isotropic-varying and anisotropic-varying conductivities to evaluate the importance of including the electrical field's direction in the formulation for conductivity. By starting from previously published experimental results, this paper derived a general formulation for an anistropic-varying tensor for implementation into irreversible electroporation modeling software. The anistropic-varying tensor formulation allows the conductivity to take into consideration both electrical field direction and magnitude, as opposed to previous published works that only took into account electrical field magnitude. The anisotropic formulation predicts roughly a five percent decrease in ablation size for the monopolar simulation and approximately a ten percent decrease in ablation size for the bipolar simulations. This is a positive result as previously reported results found the isotropic formulation to overpredict ablation size for both monopolar and bipolar simulations. Furthermore, it was also reported that the isotropic formulation overpredicts the ablation size more for the bipolar case than the monopolar case. Thus, our

  19. Kinetics of the inhibition of cotton seeds germination by lucerne saponins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchaim, U.; Birk, Y.; Dovrat, A.; Berman, T.

    1975-01-01

    The extent of inhibition of cotton-seed germination by lucerne saponins depends upon the period of pre-immersion in the saponin solution prior to germination. After 5 hr of pre-immersion in a 0.5% lucerne saponin solution, a 40% drop in germination was noted. The respiration rate decreased after 3hr of pre-immersion. The diffusion of oxygen through the membranes of seeds pre-immersed in saponins also decreased with an increasing pre-immersion time. Inhibition of germination was irreversible after pre-immersion in saponins for 6 hr or more. The effect of saponins does not appear to be biochemically specific because the germination and respiration rates of the cotton seeds which were immersed in aqueous solutions of anionic, nonionic or cationic commercial surfactants were similarly inhibited. (auth.)

  20. Detailed Modeling and Irreversible Transfer Process Analysis of a Multi-Element Thermoelectric Generator System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Heng; Gou, Xiaolong; Yang, Suwen

    2011-05-01

    Thermoelectric (TE) power generation technology, due to its several advantages, is becoming a noteworthy research direction. Many researchers conduct their performance analysis and optimization of TE devices and related applications based on the generalized thermoelectric energy balance equations. These generalized TE equations involve the internal irreversibility of Joule heating inside the thermoelectric device and heat leakage through the thermoelectric couple leg. However, it is assumed that the thermoelectric generator (TEG) is thermally isolated from the surroundings except for the heat flows at the cold and hot junctions. Since the thermoelectric generator is a multi-element device in practice, being composed of many fundamental TE couple legs, the effect of heat transfer between the TE couple leg and the ambient environment is not negligible. In this paper, based on basic theories of thermoelectric power generation and thermal science, detailed modeling of a thermoelectric generator taking account of the phenomenon of energy loss from the TE couple leg is reported. The revised generalized thermoelectric energy balance equations considering the effect of heat transfer between the TE couple leg and the ambient environment have been derived. Furthermore, characteristics of a multi-element thermoelectric generator with irreversibility have been investigated on the basis of the new derived TE equations. In the present investigation, second-law-based thermodynamic analysis (exergy analysis) has been applied to the irreversible heat transfer process in particular. It is found that the existence of the irreversible heat convection process causes a large loss of heat exergy in the TEG system, and using thermoelectric generators for low-grade waste heat recovery has promising potential. The results of irreversibility analysis, especially irreversible effects on generator system performance, based on the system model established in detail have guiding significance for

  1. Irreversible Sorption of Contaminants During Ferrihydrite Transformation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, H.L.; Arthur, S.E.; Brady, P.V.; Cygan, R.T.; Nagy, K.L.; Westrich, H.R.

    1999-01-01

    samples aged in 0.01 and 0.17 M KN03 after 68 and 90 h of aging, respectively. About 3% of the Ba2+ added was readsorbed from 90 to 3424 h of aging in 0.17 M KN03. The amount of Ba sorbed by ferrihydrite or adsorbed on goethite (oxalate-extractable) decreased from 70 to 40% of the Ba2+ added after 68 h in 0.01 M KNO3 and from 80 to 20% of the Ba2+ added after 400 h in 0.17 M KN03. The Ba occluded in goethite (HCl-extractable) in 0.01 M KN03 increased rapidly to 30% of the Ba2+ added in the first 0.4 h and then to 50% of the Ba2+ added after 68 h. In 0.17 M KN03, Ba occluded in goethite increased from 60% of the Ba2+ added by 68 h and to 75% of the Ba2+ added after 3424 h. After 68 h at 70C, ferrihydrite transformation was 99% compIete and was slightly inhibited with Sr present during the first few hours. Occlusion of Sr in ferrihydrite or Sr reversibly adsorbed decreased from 96 to 4o/0 after 86 h. Occlusion of Sr in hematite/goethite increased from 4 to 40% after 68 h. Resorption of Sr increased from 0.2 to 50% after 68 h. At least 90% of the Ba and 25% of the Sr added to the ferrihydrite suspensions were retained by the iron oxides during the aging periods in this study. At least 75% of the Ba and 15% of the Sr were irreversibly sorbed during ferrihydrite transfomnation to goethite and/or hematite

  2. Rhaponticum acaule (L) DC essential oil: chemical composition, in vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibition properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosbah, Habib; Chahdoura, Hassiba; Kammoun, Jannet; Hlila, Malek Besbes; Louati, Hanen; Hammami, Saoussen; Flamini, Guido; Achour, Lotfi; Selmi, Boulbaba

    2018-03-05

    α-glucosidase is a therapeutic target for diabetes mellitus (DM) and α-glucosidase inhibitors play a vital role in the treatments for the disease. Furthermore, xanthine oxidase (XO) is a key enzyme that catalyzes hypoxanthine and xanthine to uric acid which at high levels can lead to hyperuricemia which is an important cause of gout. Pancreatic lipase (PL) secreted into the duodenum plays a key role in the digestion and absorption of fats. For its importance in lipid digestion, PL represents an attractive target for obesity prevention. The flowers essential oil of Rhaponticum acaule (L) DC (R. acaule) was characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activities of R. acaule essential oil (RaEO) were also determined using 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), reducing power, phosphomolybdenum, and DNA nicking assays. The inhibitory power of RaEO against α-glucosidase, xanthine oxidase and pancreatic lipase was evaluated. Enzyme kinetic studies using Michaelis-Menten and the derived Lineweaver-Burk (LB) plots were performed to understand the possible mechanism of inhibition exercised by the components of this essential oil. The result revealed the presence of 26 compounds (97.4%). The main constituents include germacrene D (49.2%), methyl eugenol (8.3%), (E)-β-ionone (6.2%), β-caryophyllene (5.7%), (E,E)-α-farnesene (4.2%), bicyclogermacrene (4.1%) and (Z)-α-bisabolene (3.7%). The kinetic inhibition study showed that the essential oil demonstrated a strong α-glucosidase inhibiton and it was a mixed inhibitor. On the other hand, our results evidenced that this oil exhibited important xanthine oxidase inhibitory effect, behaving as a non-competitive inhibitor. The essential oil inhibited the turkey pancreatic lipase, with maximum inhibition of 80% achieved at 2 mg/mL. Furthermore, the inhibition of turkey pancreatic lipase by RaEO was an irreversible one. The results revealed that the RaEO is a new

  3. Irreversible JPEG 2000 compression of abdominal CT for primary interpretation: assessment of visually lossless threshold

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kyoung Ho; Kim, Young Hoon; Kim, Bo Hyoung; Kim, Kil Joong; Kim, Tae Jung; Kim, Hyuk Jung; Hahn, Seokyung

    2007-01-01

    To estimate the visually lossless threshold for Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) 2000 compression of contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) images, 100 images were compressed to four different levels: a reversible (as negative control) and irreversible 5:1, 10:1, and 15:1. By alternately displaying the original and the compressed image on the same monitor, six radiologists independently determined if the compressed image was distinguishable from the original image. For each reader, we compared the proportion of the compressed images being rated distinguishable from the original images between the reversible compression and each of the three irreversible compressions using the exact test for paired proportions. For each reader, the proportion was not significantly different between the reversible (0-1%, 0/100 to 1/100) and irreversible 5:1 compression (0-3%). However, the proportion significantly increased with the irreversible 10:1 (95-99%) and 15:1 compressions (100%) versus reversible compression in all readers (P < 0.001); 100 and 95% of the 5:1 compressed images were rated indistinguishable from the original images by at least five of the six readers and all readers, respectively. Irreversibly 5:1 compressed abdominal CT images are visually lossless and, therefore, potentially acceptable for primary interpretation. (orig.)

  4. Effects of oxymorphazone in frogs: long lasting antinociception in vivo, and apparently irreversible binding in vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benyhe, S.; Hoffman, G.; Varga, E.; Hosztafi, S.; Toth, G.; Borsodi, A.; Wollemann, M.

    1989-01-01

    Oxymorphazone was found to be a relatively weak antinociceptive drug in intact frog (Rana esculenta) when acetic acid was used as pain stimulus. Frogs remained analgesic for at least 48 hrs following oxymorphazone administration. The ligand increased the latency of wiping reflex in spinal frogs too. There effects were blocked by naloxone. In equilibrium binding studies (/sup 3/H)oxymorphazone had high affinity to the opioid receptors of frog brain and spinal cord as well. Kinetic experiments show that only 25% of the bound (/sup 3/H)oxymorphazone is readily dissociable. Preincubation of the membranes with labeled oxymorphazone results in a washing resistant inhibition of the opioid binding sites. At least 70% of the (/sup 3/H)oxymorphazone specific binding is apparently irreversible after reaction at 5 nM ligand concentration, and this can be enhanced by a higher concentration of tritiated ligand.

  5. Antimicrobial activity and properties of irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials incorporated with silver nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginjupalli, Kishore; Alla, Rama Krishna; Tellapragada, Chaitanya; Gupta, Lokendra; Upadhya Perampalli, Nagaraja

    2016-06-01

    Conventional spray and the immersion disinfection of irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials may lead to dimensional changes. The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity and properties of irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials incorporated with silver nanoparticles. The antimicrobial activity and properties of 2 commercially available irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials were evaluated after incorporating varying concentrations of silver nanoparticles. Antimicrobial activity was determined using the disk diffusion method. The gel strength, permanent deformation, flow, and gelation time were measured according to American Dental Association specification #18. Analysis of variance was used to identify the significant differences within and across the groups (α=.05). Adding silver nanoparticles to irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials resulted in superior antimicrobial activity without adversely affecting their properties. Adding silver nanoparticles to Zelgan significantly increased the gel strength compared with the control group, except at 5 wt%. However, the gel strength of Tropicalgin was unaffected except at 5 wt%. An increase in the permanent deformation was found with the incorporation of silver nanoparticles in both Zelgan and Tropicalgin. The flow of Zelgan increased with the incorporation of silver nanoparticles, whereas a decrease in the flow of Tropicalgin was observed at 1 wt% and 2 wt%. An increase in the gelation time of both Zelgan and Tropicalgin was observed with the incorporation of silver nanoparticles. Based on this in vitro study, silver nanoparticles can be incorporated into irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials as antimicrobial agents without adversely affecting their properties. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Evaluating the periapical status of teeth with irreversible pulpitis by using cone-beam computed tomography scanning and periapical radiographs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abella, Francesc; Patel, Shanon; Duran-Sindreu, Fernando; Mercadé, Montse; Bueno, Rufino; Roig, Miguel

    2012-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of apical periodontitis (AP) on individual roots of teeth with irreversible pulpitis viewed with periapical (PA) radiographs and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. PA radiographs and CBCT scans were taken of 138 teeth in 130 patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis (symptomatic and asymptomatic). Two calibrated examiners assessed the presence or absence of AP lesions by analyzing the PA and CBCT images. A consensus was reached in the event of any disagreement. The data were analyzed using the hypothesis test, and significance was set at P ≤ .05. Three hundred seven paired roots were assessed with both PA and CBCT images. A comparison of the 307 paired roots revealed that AP lesions were present in 10 (3.3%) and absent in 297 (96.7%) pairs of roots when assessed with PA radiography. When the same 307 sets of roots were assessed with CBCT scans, AP lesions were present in 42 (13.7%) and absent in 265 (86.3%) paired roots. The prevalence of AP lesions detected with CBCT was significantly higher in the symptomatic group compared with the asymptomatic group (P < .05). An additional 22 roots were identified with CBCT alone. The present study highlights the advantages of using CBCT for detecting AP lesions, especially in teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Prostaglandin E2 to diagnose between reversible and irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrini, M; Ferrante, M; Ciavarelli, L; Brunetti, L; Vacca, M; Spoto, G

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this work is to verify a correlation between the grade of inflammation and the concentration of PGE2 in human dental pulp. A total of 25 human dental pulps were examined by histological analysis and radioimmunologic dosage of PGE2. The pulps used in this experiment were from healthy and symptomatic teeth; the first ones were collected from teeth destined to be extracted for orthodontic reasons. An increase was observed of PGE2 in reversible pulpitis compared with healthy pulps and with the irreversible pulpitis and the clear decrease of these when NSAIDs are taken. This study demonstrates that PGE2 level is correlated to histological analysis thus allowing to distinguish symptomatic teeth in reversible and irreversible pulpitis.

  8. Sibling rivalry: competition between MHC class II family members inhibits immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denzin, Lisa K; Cresswell, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Peptide loading of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules in the endosomes and lysosomes of antigen-presenting cells is catalyzed by human leukocyte antigen-DM (HLA-DM) and modulated by HLA-DO. In a structural study in this issue, Guce et al. show that HLA-DO is an MHC class II mimic and functions as a competitive and essentially irreversible inhibitor of HLA-DM activity, thereby inhibiting MHC class II antigen presentation.

  9. On the existence of physiological age based on functional hierarchy: a formal definition related to time irreversibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauvet, Gilbert A

    2006-09-01

    The present approach of aging and time irreversibility is a consequence of the theory of functional organization that I have developed and presented over recent years (see e.g., Ref. 11). It is based on the effect of physically small and numerous perturbations known as fluctuations, of structural units on the dynamics of the biological system during its adult life. Being a highly regulated biological system, a simple realistic hypothesis, the time-optimum regulation between the levels of organization, leads to the existence of an internal age for the biological system, and time-irreversibility associated with aging. Thus, although specific genes are controlling aging, time-irreversibility of the system may be shown to be due to the degradation of physiological functions. In other words, I suggest that for a biological system, the nature of time is specific and is an expression of the highly regulated integration. An internal physiological age reflects the irreversible course of a living organism towards death because of the irreversible course of physiological functions towards dysfunction, due to the irreversible changes in the regulatory processes. Following the works of Prigogine and his colleagues in physics, and more generally in the field of non-integrable dynamical systems (theorem of Poincaré-Misra), I have stated this problem in terms of the relationship between the macroscopic irreversibility of the functional organization and the basic mechanisms of regulation at the lowest "microscopic" level, i.e., the molecular, lowest level of organization. The neuron-neuron elementary functional interaction is proposed as an illustration of the method to define aging in the nervous system.

  10. Pinning and irreversibility in superconducting bulk MgB{sub 2} with added nanodiamonds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, Anurag [Superconductivity and Cryogenics Division, National Physical Laboratory (CSIR), New Delhi-110012 (India); Narlikar, A V, E-mail: anurag@mail.nplindia.ernet.i [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, University Campus, Khandwa Road, Indore-452017, MP (India)

    2009-12-15

    Resistance, R(T), and magnetization, M(B), studies on superconducting bulk MgB{sub 2} samples containing nanodiamonds (ND) as additives (wt% of ND: x = 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 10%) were recently published in two articles (Vajpayee et al 2007 Supercond. Sci. Technol. 20 S155, Vajpayee et al 2008 J. Appl. Phys. 103 07C708). The main observations reported were significant improvements in the critical current density J{sub c}(B), irreversibility line B{sub irr}(T) and upper critical field B{sub c2}(T) with ND addition. However, a closer look shows that as regards the potential of this technologically important material at higher magnetic fields and temperatures, there is still a lot of room for improvement. With that in mind we revisit the R(T) and M(B) data and analyze them, in the present work. We show that, despite ND addition, J{sub c} depends strongly on B in the high field region and tends to vanish at irreversibility lines that lie deep, i.e. at around 0.3 B{sub c2}(T), in the B-T phase diagram. The irreversibility lines, determined by R(T){yields}0 in the presence of B, are found to lie at around 0.5 B{sub c2}(T) in the phase diagram. These results for pinning and irreversibility lines are discussed in the light of various models such as those of surface sheath superconductivity, magnetically introduced percolation in polycrystalline MgB{sub 2}, thermally assisted flux motion (TAFM) and a modified flux line shear mechanism. Our analysis hints at TAFM and weak pinning channels with distributed superconducting properties percolating in our samples determining the irreversibility and pinning properties.

  11. Antibacterial efficacy and effect of chlorhexidine mixed with irreversible hydrocolloid for dental impressions: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cubas, Glória; Valentini, Fernanda; Camacho, Guilherme Brião; Leite, Fábio; Cenci, Maximiliano Sérgio; Pereira-Cenci, Tatiana

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to evaluate whether chlorhexidine mixed with irreversible hydrocolloid powder decreases microbial contamination during impression taking without affecting the resulting casts. Twenty volunteers were randomly divided into two groups (n = 10) according to the liquid used for impression taking in conjunction with irreversible hydrocolloid: 0.12% chlorhexidine or water. Surface roughness and dimensional stability of the casts were evaluated. Chlorhexidine mixed with irreversible hydrocolloid decreased the percentage of microorganisms when compared with water (P impression quality.

  12. General performance characteristics of an irreversible ferromagnetic Stirling refrigeration cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, G.; Tegus, O.; Zhang, L.; Brueck, E.

    2004-01-01

    A new magnetic-refrigeration-cycle model using ferromagnetic materials as a cyclic working substance is set up, in which finite-rate heat transfer, heat leak and regeneration time are taken into account. On the basis of the thermodynamic properties of a ferromagnetic material, the general performance characteristics of the ferromagnetic Stirling refrigeration cycle are investigated and the effects of some key irreversibilities on the performance of the cycle are revealed. By using the optimal-control theory, the optimal relation between the coefficient of performance and the cooling rate is derived and some important performance bounds, e.g., the maximum cooling rate, the maximum coefficient of performance, are determined. Moreover, the optimal operating regions for cooling rate, coefficient of performance and the optimal operating temperatures of a cyclic working substance in the two heat-transfer processes are obtained. Furthermore, the influences of magnetization and magnetic field on the performance characteristics of the cycle are discussed. The results obtained here have general significance and can be deduced to the related ones of the Stirling refrigeration cycle using paramagnetic salt as a cyclic working substance

  13. Inequalities for trace anomalies, length of the RG flow, distance between the fixed points and irreversibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anselmi, Damiano

    2004-01-01

    I discuss several issues about the irreversibility of the RG flow and the trace anomalies c, a and a'. First I argue that in quantum field theory: (i) the scheme-invariant area Δ a' of the graph of the effective beta function between the fixed points defines the length of the RG flow; (ii) the minimum of Δ a' in the space of flows connecting the same UV and IR fixed points defines the (oriented) distance between the fixed points and (iii) in even dimensions, the distance between the fixed points is equal to Δ a = a UV - a IR . In even dimensions, these statements imply the inequalities 0 ≤ Δ a ≤ Δ a' and therefore the irreversibility of the RG flow. Another consequence is the inequality a ≤ c for free scalars and fermions (but not vectors), which can be checked explicitly. Secondly, I elaborate a more general axiomatic set-up where irreversibility is defined as the statement that there exist no pairs of non-trivial flows connecting interchanged UV and IR fixed points. The axioms, based on the notions of length of the flow, oriented distance between the fixed points and certain 'oriented-triangle inequalities', imply the irreversibility of the RG flow without a global a function. I conjecture that the RG flow is also irreversible in odd dimensions (without a global a function). In support of this, I check the axioms of irreversibility in a class of d = 3 theories where the RG flow is integrable at each order of the large N expansion

  14. Irreversible thermodynamics, parabolic law and self-similar state in grain growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rios, P.R.

    2004-01-01

    The formalism of the thermodynamic theory of irreversible processes is applied to grain growth to investigate the nature of the self-similar state and its corresponding parabolic law. Grain growth does not reach a steady state in the sense that the entropy production remains constant. However, the entropy production can be written as a product of two factors: a scale factor that tends to zero for long times and a scaled entropy production. It is suggested that the parabolic law and the self-similar state may be associated with the minimum of this scaled entropy production. This result implies that the parabolic law and the self-similar state have a sound irreversible thermodynamical basis

  15. The universal power and efficiency characteristics for irreversible reciprocating heat engine cycles

    CERN Document Server

    Qin Xiao Yong; Sun Feng Rui; Wu Chih

    2003-01-01

    The performance of irreversible reciprocating heat engine cycles with heat transfer loss and friction-like term loss is analysed using finite-time thermodynamics. The universal relations between the power output and the compression ratio, between the thermal efficiency and the compression ratio, and the optimal relation between power output and the efficiency of the cycles are derived. Moreover, analysis and optimization of the model were carried out in order to investigate the effect of cycle processes on the performance of the cycle using numerical examples. The results obtained herein include the performance characteristics of irreversible reciprocating Diesel, Otto, Atkinson and Brayton cycles.

  16. A general nonlinear evolution equation for irreversible conservative approach to stable equilibrium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beretta, G.P.

    1986-01-01

    This paper addresses a mathematical problem relevant to the question of nonequilibrium and irreversibility, namely, that of ''designing'' a general evolution equation capable of describing irreversible but conservative relaxtion towards equilibrium. The objective is to present an interesting mathematical solution to this design problem, namely, a new nonlinear evolution equation that satisfies a set of very stringent relevant requirements. Three different frameworks are defined from which the new equation could be adopted, with entirely different interpretations. Some useful well-known mathematics involving Gram determinants are presented and a nonlinear evolution equation is given which meets the stringent design specifications

  17. Gene expression profiling in equine polysaccharide storage myopathy revealed inflammation, glycogenesis inhibition, hypoxia and mitochondrial dysfunctions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benech Philippe

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Several cases of myopathies have been observed in the horse Norman Cob breed. Muscle histology examinations revealed that some families suffer from a polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM. It is assumed that a gene expression signature related to PSSM should be observed at the transcriptional level because the glycogen storage disease could also be linked to other dysfunctions in gene regulation. Thus, the functional genomic approach could be conducted in order to provide new knowledge about the metabolic disorders related to PSSM. We propose exploring the PSSM muscle fiber metabolic disorders by measuring gene expression in relationship with the histological phenotype. Results Genotypying analysis of GYS1 mutation revealed 2 homozygous (AA and 5 heterozygous (GA PSSM horses. In the PSSM muscles, histological data revealed PAS positive amylase resistant abnormal polysaccharides, inflammation, necrosis, and lipomatosis and active regeneration of fibers. Ultrastructural evaluation revealed a decrease of mitochondrial number and structural disorders. Extensive accumulation of an abnormal polysaccharide displaced and partially replaced mitochondria and myofibrils. The severity of the disease was higher in the two homozygous PSSM horses. Gene expression analysis revealed 129 genes significantly modulated (p Conclusion The main disorders observed in PSSM muscles could be related to mitochondrial dysfunctions, glycogenesis inhibition and the chronic hypoxia of the PSSM muscles.

  18. Irreversibility analysis for gravity driven non-Newtonian liquid film along an inclined isothermal plate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makinde, O.D.

    2005-10-01

    In this paper, the first and second law of thermodynamics are employed in order to study the inherent irreversibility for a gravity driven non-Newtonian Ostwald-de Waele power law liquid film along an inclined isothermal plate. Based on some simplified assumptions, the governing equations are obtained and solved analytically. Expressions for fluid velocity, temperature, volumetric entropy generation numbers, irreversibility distribution ratio and the Bejan number are also determined. (author)

  19. Treatise on irreversible and statistical thermodynamics an introduction to nonclassical thermodynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Yourgrau, Wolfgang; Raw, Gough

    2002-01-01

    Extensively revised edition of a much-respected work examines thermodynamics of irreversible processes, general principles of statistical thermodynamics, assemblies of noninteracting structureless particles, and statistical theory. 1966 edition.

  20. Influence of delayed pouring on irreversible hydrocolloid properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stéfani Becker Rodrigues

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical properties of irreversible hydrocolloid materials poured immediately and after different storage periods. Four alginates were tested: Color Change (Cavex; Hydrogum (Zhermack; Hydrogum 5 (Zhermack; and Hydro Print Premium (Coltene. Their physical properties, including the recovery from deformation (n = 3, compressive strength (n = 3, and detail reproduction and gypsum compatibility (n = 3, were analyzed according to ANSI/ADA specification no. 18. Specimens were stored at 23ºC and humidity and were then poured with gypsum immediately and after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days. The data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA and Tukey's test at p < 0.05. All of the alginate impression materials tested exhibited detail reproduction and gypsum compatibility at all times. Hydro Print Premium and Hydrogum 5 showed recovery from deformation, as established by ANSI/ADA specification no. 18, after 5 days of storage. As the storage time increased, the compressive strength values also increased. Considering the properties of compounds' recovery from deformation, compressive strength, and detail reproduction and gypsum compatibility, irreversible hydrocolloids should be poured immediately.

  1. Irreversible entropy model for damage diagnosis in resistors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cuadras, Angel, E-mail: angel.cuadras@upc.edu; Crisóstomo, Javier; Ovejas, Victoria J.; Quilez, Marcos [Instrumentation, Sensor and Interfaces Group, Electronic Engineering Department, Escola d' Enginyeria de Telecomunicació i Aeronàutica de Castelldefels EETAC, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona Tech (UPC), Castelldefels-Barcelona (Spain)

    2015-10-28

    We propose a method to characterize electrical resistor damage based on entropy measurements. Irreversible entropy and the rate at which it is generated are more convenient parameters than resistance for describing damage because they are essentially positive in virtue of the second law of thermodynamics, whereas resistance may increase or decrease depending on the degradation mechanism. Commercial resistors were tested in order to characterize the damage induced by power surges. Resistors were biased with constant and pulsed voltage signals, leading to power dissipation in the range of 4–8 W, which is well above the 0.25 W nominal power to initiate failure. Entropy was inferred from the added power and temperature evolution. A model is proposed to understand the relationship among resistance, entropy, and damage. The power surge dissipates into heat (Joule effect) and damages the resistor. The results show a correlation between entropy generation rate and resistor failure. We conclude that damage can be conveniently assessed from irreversible entropy generation. Our results for resistors can be easily extrapolated to other systems or machines that can be modeled based on their resistance.

  2. Irreversible entropy model for damage diagnosis in resistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cuadras, Angel; Crisóstomo, Javier; Ovejas, Victoria J.; Quilez, Marcos

    2015-01-01

    We propose a method to characterize electrical resistor damage based on entropy measurements. Irreversible entropy and the rate at which it is generated are more convenient parameters than resistance for describing damage because they are essentially positive in virtue of the second law of thermodynamics, whereas resistance may increase or decrease depending on the degradation mechanism. Commercial resistors were tested in order to characterize the damage induced by power surges. Resistors were biased with constant and pulsed voltage signals, leading to power dissipation in the range of 4–8 W, which is well above the 0.25 W nominal power to initiate failure. Entropy was inferred from the added power and temperature evolution. A model is proposed to understand the relationship among resistance, entropy, and damage. The power surge dissipates into heat (Joule effect) and damages the resistor. The results show a correlation between entropy generation rate and resistor failure. We conclude that damage can be conveniently assessed from irreversible entropy generation. Our results for resistors can be easily extrapolated to other systems or machines that can be modeled based on their resistance

  3. Advanced Caries Microbiota in Teeth with Irreversible Pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rôças, Isabela N; Lima, Kenio C; Assunção, Isauremi V; Gomes, Patrícia N; Bracks, Igor V; Siqueira, José F

    2015-09-01

    Bacterial taxa in the forefront of caries biofilms are candidate pathogens for irreversible pulpitis and are possibly the first ones to invade the pulp and initiate endodontic infection. This study examined the microbiota of the most advanced layers of dentinal caries in teeth with irreversible pulpitis. DNA extracted from samples taken from deep dentinal caries associated with pulp exposures was analyzed for the presence and relative levels of 33 oral bacterial taxa by using reverse-capture checkerboard hybridization assay. Quantification of total bacteria, streptococci, and lactobacilli was also performed by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Associations between the target bacterial taxa and clinical signs/symptoms were also evaluated. The most frequently detected taxa in the checkerboard assay were Atopobium genomospecies C1 (53%), Pseudoramibacter alactolyticus (37%), Streptococcus species (33%), Streptococcus mutans (33%), Parvimonas micra (13%), Fusobacterium nucleatum (13%), and Veillonella species (13%). Streptococcus species, Dialister invisus, and P. micra were significantly associated with throbbing pain, S. mutans with pain to percussion, and Lactobacillus with continuous pain (P pulpitis is suspected. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Inhibition of E. coli P-enolpyruvate carboxylase by P-enol-3-bromopyruvate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asem, K.; Smith, T.E.

    1986-01-01

    The generality of the mechanism based inhibition of P-enolpyruvate carboxylases (PEPCase) by P-enol-3-bromopyruvate (BrPEP) was tested by measuring its effects on the allosterically regulated enzyme from E. coli. In the presence of 1mM Mn 2+ , BrPEP appears to be a competitive inhibitor (K/sub i/ = 0.0087mM) of PEPCase. Incubation of 0.005mM PEPCase with 0.5mM (or 1.0mM)BrPEP along with H 14 CO 3 - and Mn 2+ , yielded, upon reduction with NaBH 4 , a protein containing radioactivity in an amount approximately proportional to that expected from the loss of catalytic activity. At both a 25- and a 50-fold excess (0.5mM and 1.0mM, respectively) of BrPEP to PEPCase subunits, first order loss of activity occurred with k values of 5.24 x 10 -3 min -1 and 1.03 x 10 -2 min -1 , respectively. At the lower concentration of BrPEP the inactivation process appeared to be reversible after 40 min with no further inhibition occurring even up to two hours of incubation. At the higher concentration of BrPEP, the rate of inhibition slowed dramatically after 50 min and appeared insignificant over the next hour. These data suggest that BrPEP irreversibly inactivates the E. coli PEP carboxylase, but that there may be considerable dissociation of the product, Br-oxaloacetate, before irreversible binding occurs, and that the reduced rate of inactivation may be due to depletion of BrPEP

  5. Is the Use of Dexamethasone Effective in Controlling Pain Associated with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis? A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nogueira, Brenna M L; Silva, Ludmylla G; Mesquita, Carla R M; Menezes, Sílvio A F; Menezes, Tatiany O A; Faria, Antônio G M; Porpino, Mariana T M

    2018-05-01

    Endodontic pain is a symptom of pulpal and/or periapical inflammation. One strategy for pain reduction is using medications, such as dexamethasone. A definitive protocol for preventing and controlling pain caused by irreversible pulpitis during endodontic treatment has not yet been established. This is a systematic review to answer the following question: is the use of dexamethasone effective in controlling pain associated with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis? This study was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42017058704), and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement recommendations were followed. MEDLINE, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were used in our research. No restrictions were applied to dates or language of publication. All records identified electronically were organized and evaluated by 2 independent authors, and, in case of doubt, a third author made the decision. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was used. The data were analyzed with RevMan 5 software (The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark), and data from eligible studies were dichotomous (with and without pain). A total of 4825 studies were identified. After screening, 523 studies were selected, and, after careful evaluation, only 5 articles remained. All meta-analyses revealed a global effect (P < .05, P < .05, and P < .05), which means that 4 mg dexamethasone helps relieve pain, sometimes for up to 8, 12, and 24 hours. The pain felt by patients diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis may be alleviated by administering 4 mg dexamethasone either by mouth or through intraligamentary and mainly supraperiosteal injections into the root canal for up to 24 hours. Copyright © 2018 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Microbiome of Deep Dentinal Caries Lesions in Teeth with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rôças, Isabela N; Alves, Flávio R F; Rachid, Caio T C C; Lima, Kenio C; Assunção, Isauremi V; Gomes, Patrícia N; Siqueira, José F

    2016-01-01

    This study used a next-generation sequencing approach to identify the bacterial taxa occurring in the advanced front of caries biofilms associated with pulp exposure and irreversible pulpitis. Samples were taken from the deepest layer of dentinal caries lesions associated with pulp exposure in 10 teeth diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. DNA was extracted and the microbiome was characterized on the basis of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene by using paired-end sequencing on Illumina MiSeq device. Bacterial taxa were mapped to 14 phyla and 101 genera composed by 706 different OTUs. Three phyla accounted for approximately 98% of the sequences: Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. These phyla were also the ones with most representatives at the species level. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum in 9/10 samples. As for genera, Lactobacillus accounted for 42.3% of the sequences, followed by Olsenella (13.7%), Pseudoramibacter (10.7%) and Streptococcus (5.5%). Half of the samples were heavily dominated by Lactobacillus, while in the other half lactobacilli were in very low abundance and the most dominant genera were Pseudoramibacter, Olsenella, Streptococcus, and Stenotrophomonas. High bacterial diversity occurred in deep dentinal caries lesions associated with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. The microbiome could be classified according to the relative abundance of Lactobacillus. Except for Lactobacillus species, most of the highly prevalent and abundant bacterial taxa identified in this study have been commonly detected in infected root canals. The detected taxa can be regarded as candidate pathogens for irreversible pulpitis and possibly the pioneers in pulp invasion to initiate endodontic infection.

  7. Microbiome of Deep Dentinal Caries Lesions in Teeth with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabela N Rôças

    Full Text Available This study used a next-generation sequencing approach to identify the bacterial taxa occurring in the advanced front of caries biofilms associated with pulp exposure and irreversible pulpitis. Samples were taken from the deepest layer of dentinal caries lesions associated with pulp exposure in 10 teeth diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. DNA was extracted and the microbiome was characterized on the basis of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene by using paired-end sequencing on Illumina MiSeq device. Bacterial taxa were mapped to 14 phyla and 101 genera composed by 706 different OTUs. Three phyla accounted for approximately 98% of the sequences: Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. These phyla were also the ones with most representatives at the species level. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum in 9/10 samples. As for genera, Lactobacillus accounted for 42.3% of the sequences, followed by Olsenella (13.7%, Pseudoramibacter (10.7% and Streptococcus (5.5%. Half of the samples were heavily dominated by Lactobacillus, while in the other half lactobacilli were in very low abundance and the most dominant genera were Pseudoramibacter, Olsenella, Streptococcus, and Stenotrophomonas. High bacterial diversity occurred in deep dentinal caries lesions associated with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. The microbiome could be classified according to the relative abundance of Lactobacillus. Except for Lactobacillus species, most of the highly prevalent and abundant bacterial taxa identified in this study have been commonly detected in infected root canals. The detected taxa can be regarded as candidate pathogens for irreversible pulpitis and possibly the pioneers in pulp invasion to initiate endodontic infection.

  8. Extended irreversible thermodynamics and the Jeffreys type constitutive equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serdyukov, S.I.

    2003-01-01

    A postulate of extended irreversible thermodynamics is considered, according to which the entropy density is a function of the internal energy, the specific volume, and their material time derivatives. On the basis of this postulate, entropy balance equations and phenomenological equations are obtained, which directly lead to the Jeffreys type constitutive equations

  9. Biochemistry and structural studies of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase reveal allosteric inhibition by Ro 61-8048.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jingjing; Yao, Licheng; Xia, Tingting; Liao, Xuebin; Zhu, Deyu; Xiang, Ye

    2018-04-01

    The human kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (hKMO) is a potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative and neurologic disorders. Inhibition of KMO by Ro 61-8048, a potent, selective, and the most widely used inhibitor of KMO, was shown effective in various models of neurodegenerative or neurologic disorders. However, the molecular basis of hKMO inhibition by Ro 61-8048 is not clearly understood. Here, we report biochemistry studies on hKMO and crystal structures of an hKMO homolog, pfKMO from Pseudomonas fluorescens, in complex with the substrate l-kynurenine and Ro 61-8048. We found that the C-terminal ∼110 aa are essential for the enzymatic activity of hKMO and the homologous C-terminal region of pfKMO folds into a distinct, all-α-helical domain, which associates with the N-terminal catalytic domain to form a unique tunnel in proximity to the substrate-binding pocket. The tunnel binds the Ro 61-8048 molecule, which fills most of the tunnel, and Ro 61-8048 is hydrogen bonded with several completely conserved residues, including an essential catalytic residue. Modification of Ro 61-8048 and biochemical studies of the modified Ro 61-8048 derivatives suggested that Ro 61-8048 inhibits the enzyme in an allosteric manner by affecting the conformation of the essential catalytic residue and by blocking entry of the substrate or product release. The unique binding sites distinguish Ro 61-8048 as a noncompetitive and highly selective inhibitor from other competitive inhibitors, which should facilitate further optimization of Ro 61-8048 and the development of new inhibitory drugs to hKMO.-Gao, J., Yao, L., Xia, T., Liao, X., Zhu, D., Xiang, Y. Biochemistry and structural studies of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase reveal allosteric inhibition by Ro 61-8048.

  10. Inhibition of biological activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) by apple juice and apple polyphenols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasooly, Reuven; Do, Paula M; Friedman, Mendel

    2010-05-12

    The foodborne pathogen Staphylococcus aureus produces the virulent staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA), a single-chain protein that consists of 233 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 27 078 Da. SEA is a superantigen that is reported to contribute to animal (mastitis) and human (emesis, diarrhea, atopic dermatitis, arthritis, and toxic shock) syndromes. Changes of the native structural integrity may inactivate the toxin by preventing molecular interaction with cell membrane receptor sites of their host cells. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of one commercial and two freshly prepared apple juices and a commercial apple polyphenol preparation (Apple Poly) to inhibit the biological activity of SEA. Dilutions of freshly prepared apple juices and Apple Poly inhibited the biological activity of SEA without any significant cytotoxic effect on the spleen cells. Additional studies with antibody-coated immunomagnetic beads bearing specific antibodies against the toxin revealed that SEA added to apple juice appears to be largely irreversibly bound to the juice constituents. The results suggest that food-compatible and safe anti-toxin phenolic compounds can be used to inactivate SEA in vitro and possibly also in vivo, even after induction of T-cell proliferation by long-term exposure to SEA. The significance of the results for microbial food safety and human health is discussed.

  11. Effects of irreversibility and economics on the performance of a heat engine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibrahim, O.M.; Klein, S.A.; Mitchell, J.W.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper, optimization of the power output of an internally irreversible heat engine is considered for finite capacitance rates of the external fluid streams. The method of Lagrange multipliers is used to solve for working fluid temperatures which yield maximum power. Analytical expressions for the maximum power and the cycle efficiency at miximum power are obtained. The effects of irreversibility and economics on the performance of a heat engine are investigated. A relationship between the maximum power point and economically optimum design is identified. It is demonstrated that, with certain reasonable economic assumptions, the maximum power point of a heat engine corresponds to a point of minimum life-cycle costs

  12. Positive Feedback of NDT80 Expression Ensures Irreversible Meiotic Commitment in Budding Yeast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuchiya, Dai; Yang, Yang; Lacefield, Soni

    2014-01-01

    In budding yeast, meiotic commitment is the irreversible continuation of the developmental path of meiosis. After reaching meiotic commitment, cells finish meiosis and gametogenesis, even in the absence of the meiosis-inducing signal. In contrast, if the meiosis-inducing signal is removed and the mitosis-inducing signal is provided prior to reaching meiotic commitment, cells exit meiosis and return to mitosis. Previous work has shown that cells commit to meiosis after prophase I but before entering the meiotic divisions. Since the Ndt80 transcription factor induces expression of middle meiosis genes necessary for the meiotic divisions, we examined the role of the NDT80 transcriptional network in meiotic commitment. Using a microfluidic approach to analyze single cells, we found that cells commit to meiosis in prometaphase I, after the induction of the Ndt80-dependent genes. Our results showed that high-level expression of NDT80 is important for the timing and irreversibility of meiotic commitment. A modest reduction in NDT80 levels delayed meiotic commitment based on meiotic stages, although the timing of each meiotic stage was similar to that of wildtype cells. A further reduction of NDT80 resulted in the surprising finding of inappropriately uncommitted cells: withdrawal of the meiosis-inducing signal and addition of the mitosis-inducing signal to cells at stages beyond metaphase I caused return to mitosis, leading to multi-nucleate cells. Since Ndt80 enhances its own transcription through positive feedback, we tested whether positive feedback ensured the irreversibility of meiotic commitment. Ablating positive feedback in NDT80 expression resulted in a complete loss of meiotic commitment. These findings suggest that irreversibility of meiotic commitment is a consequence of the NDT80 transcriptional positive feedback loop, which provides the high-level of Ndt80 required for the developmental switch of meiotic commitment. These results also illustrate the

  13. Dimensional Stability of Color-Changing Irreversible Hydrocolloids after Disinfection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaledi AAR

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Statement of Problem: Disinfection of dental impressions is a weak point in the dental hygiene chain. In addition, dental office personnel and dental technicians are endangered by cross-contamination. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the dimensional stability of two color-changing irreversible hydrocolloid materials (IH after disinfection with glutaraldehyde. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, impressions were made of a master maxillary arch containing three reference inserts on the occlucal surface of the left and right maxillary second molars and in the incisal surface of the maxillary central incisors. Two types of color-changing irreversible hydrocolloid (tetrachrom, cavex were used. Glutaraldehyde 2% was used in two methods of spraying and immersion to disinfect the impressions. The control group was not disinfected. Casts were made of type IV gypsum. The linear dimensional change of the stone casts was measured with a profile projector. For statistical analysis, Kruskall-Wallis and Mann-Witney tests were used (α=0.05. Results: By immersion method, the casts fabricated from tetrachrom were 0.36% larger in the anteroposterior (AP and 0.05% smaller in cross arch (CA dimensions; however, the casts prepared after spraying of tetrachrom were 0.44% larger in the AP and 0.10% smaller in CA dimensions. The casts made from Cavex were 0.05% smaller in the AP and 0.02% smaller in CA dimensions after spraying and 0.01% smaller in the AP and 0.003% smaller in CA dimensions after immersion. Generally there were not significant differences in AP and CA dimensions of the experimental groups compared to the control (p > 0.05. Conclusions: Disinfection of the tested color-changing irreversible hydrocolloids by glutaraldahyde 2% did not compromise the accuracy of the obtained casts.

  14. Behavior of the irreversibility line in the new superconductor La1.5+xBa1.5+x-yCayCu3Oz

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parra Vargas, C.A.; Pimentel, J.L.; Pureur, P.; Landínez Téllez, D.A.; Roa-Rojas, J.

    2012-01-01

    The irreversibility properties of high-T c superconductors are of major importance for technological applications. For example, a high irreversibility magnetic field is a more desirable quality for a superconductor . The irreversibility line in the H-T plane is constituted by experimental points, which divides the irreversible and reversible behavior of the magnetization. The irreversibility lines for series of La 1.5+x Ba 1.5+x-y Ca y Cu 3 O z polycrystalline samples with different doping were investigated. The samples were synthesized using the usual solid estate reaction method. Rietveld-type refinement of x-ray diffraction patterns permitted to determine the crystallization of material in a tetragonal structure. Curves of magnetization ZFC-FC for the system La 1.5+x Ba 1.5+x-y Ca y Cu 3 O z , were measured in magnetic fields of the 10-20,000 Oe, and allowed to obtain the values for the irreversibility and critical temperatures. The data of irreversibility temperature allowed demarcating the irreversibility line, T irr (H). Two main lines are used for the interpretation of the irreversibility line: one of those which suppose that the vortexes are activated thermally and the other proposes that associated to T irr a phase transition occurs. The irreversibility line is described by a power law. The obtained results allow concluding that in the system La 1.5+x Ba 1.5+x-y Ca y Cu 3 O z a characteristic bend of the Almeida-Thouless (AT) tendency is dominant for low fields and a bend Gabay-Toulouse (GT) behavior for high magnetic fields. This feature of the irreversibility line has been reported as a characteristic of granular superconductors and it corroborates the topological effects of vortexes mentioned by several authors .

  15. Optogenetic Inhibition Reveals Distinct Roles for Basolateral Amygdala Activity at Discrete Time Points during Risky Decision Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orsini, Caitlin A; Hernandez, Caesar M; Singhal, Sarthak; Kelly, Kyle B; Frazier, Charles J; Bizon, Jennifer L; Setlow, Barry

    2017-11-29

    in which inhibition occurs. BLA inhibition during a period of deliberation between small, safe and large, risky outcomes decreased risky choice. In contrast, BLA inhibition during receipt of the large, punished outcome increased risky choice. These findings highlight the importance of temporally targeted approaches to understand neural substrates underlying complex cognitive processes. More importantly, they reveal novel information about dynamic BLA modulation of risky choice. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/3711537-12$15.00/0.

  16. Magnetic irreversibility in granular superconductors: ac susceptibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, F.; Obradors, X.; Fontcuberta, J.; Vallet, M.; Gonzalez-Calbet, J.

    1991-01-01

    Ac susceptibility measurements of a ceramic weak-coupled superconductor in very low ac fields (2mG, 111Hz) are reported. We present evidence for the observation of the magnetic irreversibility following a ZFC-FC thermal cycling by means of ac susceptibilty measurements. It is shown that this technique also reflect local magnetic field effects in granular superconductors, as previously suggested in microwave surface resistance and I-V characteristics. (orig.)

  17. Effect of disinfection on irreversible hydrocolloid and alternative impression materials and the resultant gypsum casts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suprono, Montry S; Kattadiyil, Mathew T; Goodacre, Charles J; Winer, Myron S

    2012-10-01

    Many new products have been introduced and marketed as alternatives to traditional irreversible hydrocolloid materials. These alternative materials have the same structural formula as addition reaction silicone, also known as vinyl polysiloxane (VPS), impression materials. Currently, there is limited in vitro and in vivo research on these products, including on the effects of chemical disinfectants on the materials. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a spray disinfecting technique on a traditional irreversible hydrocolloid and 3 new alternative impression materials in vitro. The tests were performed in accordance with the American National Standards Institute/American Dental Association (ANSI/ADA) Specification Nos. 18 and 19. Under standardized conditions, 100 impressions were made of a ruled test block with an irreversible hydrocolloid and 3 alternative impression materials. Nondisinfected irreversible hydrocolloid was used as the control. The impressions were examined for surface detail reproduction before and after disinfection with a chloramine-T product. Type III and Type V dental stone casts were evaluated for linear dimensional change and gypsum compatibility. Comparisons of linear dimensional change were analyzed with 2-way ANOVA of mean ranks with the Scheffé post hoc comparisons (α=.05). Data for surface detail reproduction were analyzed with the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank procedure and gypsum compatibility with the Kruskal-Wallis Rank procedure (α=.05). The alternative impression materials demonstrated significantly better outcomes with all 3 parameters tested. Disinfection with chloroamine-T did not have any effect on the 3 alternative impression materials. The irreversible hydrocolloid groups produced the most variability in the measurements of linear dimensional change. All of the tested materials were within the ADA's acceptable limit of 1.0% for linear dimensional change, except for the disinfected irreversible hydrocolloid

  18. Irreversible dilation of NaCl contaminated lime-cement mortar due to crystallization cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lubelli, B.; Hees, R.P.J. van; Huinink, H.P.; Groot, C.J.W.P.

    2006-01-01

    The mechanism of damage occurring in NaCl contaminated materials has not been clarified yet. Apart from crystallization pressure, other hypotheses have been proposed to explain the cause of decay. Irreversible dilation has been observed in a few cases but has never been studied in a more systematic way. The aim of the research is to contribute to the modeling of this phenomenon. In the present paper the effect of NaCl on the hydric and hygric behavior of a lime-cement mortar is extensively studied. The results indicate that NaCl influences the hydric and hygric dilation behavior of the material. The material contaminated with NaCl shrinks during dissolution and dilates during crystallization of the salt. This dilation is irreversible and sufficient to damage the material after few dissolution/crystallization cycles. This behavior is not restricted to NaCl, but is observed in the presence of other salts as well (NaNO 3 and KCl). Outcomes of electron microscopy studies suggest that salts causing irreversible dilation tend to crystallize as layers on the pore wall

  19. Unifying principles of irreversibility minimization for efficiency maximization in steady-flow chemically-reactive engines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramakrishnan, Sankaran; Edwards, Christopher F.

    2014-01-01

    Systems research has led to the conception and development of various steady-flow, chemically-reactive, engine cycles for stationary power generation and propulsion. However, the question that remains unanswered is: What is the maximum-efficiency steady-flow chemically-reactive engine architecture permitted by physics? On the one hand the search for higher-efficiency cycles continues, often involving newer processes and devices (fuel cells, carbon separation, etc.); on the other hand the design parameters for existing cycles are continually optimized in response to improvements in device engineering. In this paper we establish that any variation in engine architecture—parametric change or process-sequence change—contributes to an efficiency increase via one of only two possible ways to minimize total irreversibility. These two principles help us unify our understanding from a large number of parametric analyses and cycle-optimization studies for any steady-flow chemically-reactive engine, and set a framework to systematically identify maximum-efficiency engine architectures. - Highlights: • A unified thermodynamic model to study chemically-reactive engine architectures is developed. • All parametric analyses of efficiency are unified by two irreversibility-minimization principles. • Variations in internal energy transfers yield a net work increase that is greater than engine irreversibility reduced. • Variations in external energy transfers yield a net work increase that is lesser than engine irreversibility reduced

  20. Antibacterial efficacy and effect of Morinda citrifolia L. mixed with irreversible hydrocolloid for dental impressions: A randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, A Shafath; Charles, P David; Cholan, R; Russia, M; Surya, R; Jailance, L

    2015-08-01

    This study aimed to evaluate whether the extract of Morinda citrifolia L. mixed with irreversible hydrocolloid powder decreases microbial contamination during impression making without affecting the resulting casts. Twenty volunteers were randomly divided into two groups (n = 10). Group A 30 ml extract of M. citrifolia L diluted in 30 ml of water was mixed to make the impression with irreversible hydrocolloid material. Group B 30 ml deionized water was mixed with irreversible hydrocolloid material to make the impressions following which the surface roughness and dimensional stability of casts were evaluated. Extract of M. citrifolia L. mixed with irreversible hydrocolloid decreased the percentage of microorganisms when compared with water (P impression quality.

  1. Phase control of light amplification with dynamically irreversible pathways of population transfer in a Λ system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Shi; Wu Jinhui; Gao Jinyue; Pan Chunliu

    2002-01-01

    We use the relative phase of two coherent fields for the control of light amplification with dynamically irreversible pathways of population transfer in a Λ system. The population inversion and gain with dynamically irreversible pathways of population transfer are shown as the relative phase is varied. We support our results by numerical calculation and analytical explanation

  2. Logic reversibility and thermodynamic irreversibility demonstrated by DNAzyme-based Toffoli and Fredkin logic gates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orbach, Ron; Remacle, Françoise; Levine, R D; Willner, Itamar

    2012-12-26

    The Toffoli and Fredkin gates were suggested as a means to exhibit logic reversibility and thereby reduce energy dissipation associated with logic operations in dense computing circuits. We present a construction of the logically reversible Toffoli and Fredkin gates by implementing a library of predesigned Mg(2+)-dependent DNAzymes and their respective substrates. Although the logical reversibility, for which each set of inputs uniquely correlates to a set of outputs, is demonstrated, the systems manifest thermodynamic irreversibility originating from two quite distinct and nonrelated phenomena. (i) The physical readout of the gates is by fluorescence that depletes the population of the final state of the machine. This irreversible, heat-releasing process is needed for the generation of the output. (ii) The DNAzyme-powered logic gates are made to operate at a finite rate by invoking downhill energy-releasing processes. Even though the three bits of Toffoli's and Fredkin's logically reversible gates manifest thermodynamic irreversibility, we suggest that these gates could have important practical implication in future nanomedicine.

  3. Extended irreversible thermodynamics and non-equilibrium temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Casas-Vazquez, Jose'

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available We briefly review the concept of non-equilibrium temperature from the perspectives of extended irreversible thermodynamics, fluctuation theory, and statistical mechanics. The relations between different proposals are explicitly examined in two especially simple systems: an ideal gas in steady shear flow and a forced harmonic oscillator in a thermal bath. We examine with special detail temperatures related to the average molecular kinetic energy along different spatial directions, to the average configurational energy, to the derivative of the entropy with respect to internal energy, to fluctuation-dissipation relation and discuss their measurement.

  4. Statistical mechanics out of equilibrium the irreversibility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarez Estrada, R. F.

    2001-01-01

    A Round Table about the issue of Irreversibility and related matters has taken place during the last (20th) Statistical Mechanics Conference, held in Paris (July 1998). This article tries to provide a view (necessarily limited, and hence, uncompleted) of some approaches to the subject: the one based upon deterministic chaos (which is currently giving rise to a very active research) and the classical interpretation due to Boltzmann. An attempt has been made to write this article in a self-contained way, and to avoid a technical presentation wherever possible. (Author) 29 refs

  5. Transition from reversible to irreversible magnetic exchange-spring processes in antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayer structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiguang; Guo Guanghua; Zhang Guangfu

    2011-01-01

    The demagnetization processes of antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayer structures have been studied based on the discrete one-dimensional atomic chain model and the linear partial domain-wall model. It is found that, when the magnetic anisotropy of soft layer is taken into account, the changes of the soft layer thickness and the interfacial exchange coupling strength may lead a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible magnetic exchange-spring process. For the trilayer structures with very thin soft layer, the demagnetization process exhibits typical reversible exchange-spring behavior. However, as the thickness of soft layer is increased, there is a crossover point t c , after which the process becomes irreversible. Similarly, there is also a critical interfacial exchange coupling constant A sh c , above which the exchange-spring process is reversible. When A sh sh c , the irreversible exchange-spring process is achieved. The phase diagram of reversible and irreversible exchange-spring processes is mapped in the plane of the interfacial exchange coupling A sh and soft layer thickness N s . - Research highlights: → A differing magnetic exchange-spring process is found in antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayers if the magnetic anisotropy of the soft layers is taken into account. → The change of the soft layer thickness may lead to a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible exchange-spring process. → The change of the soft-hard interfacial exchange coupling strength may lead a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible exchange-spring process. → The phase diagram of reversible and irreversible exchange-spring processes is mapped in the plane of the interfacial exchange coupling and soft layer thickness.

  6. Chemical inhibition of cell recovery after irradiation with sparsely and densely ionizing radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Evastratova, Ekaterina S.; Petin, Vladislav [A. Tsyb Medical Radiological Research Centre-branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Obninsk (Russian Federation); Kim, Jin Hong; Kim, Jin Kyu [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Advanced Radiation Technology Institute (ARTI), Jeongeup (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Youg Khi [Dept. of Radiological Science, Gachon University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-15

    The dependence of cell survival on exposure dose and the duration of the liquid holding recovery (LHR) was obtained for diploid yeast cells irradiated with ionizing radiation of different linear energy transfer (LET) and recovering from radiation damage without and with various concentrations of cisplatin - the most widely used anticancer drug. The ability of yeast cells to recover from radiation damage was less effective after cell exposure to high-LET radiation, when cells were irradiated without drug. The increase in cisplatin concentration resulted in the disappearance of this difference whereas the fraction of irreversible damage was permanently enlarged independently of radiation quality. The probability of cell recovery was shown to be constant for various conditions of irradiation and recovery. A new mechanism of cisplatin action was suggested according with which the inhibition of cell recovery after exposure to ionizing radiations was completely explained by the production of irreversible damage.

  7. Chemical inhibition of cell recovery after irradiation with sparsely and densely ionizing radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evastratova, Ekaterina S.; Petin, Vladislav; Kim, Jin Hong; Kim, Jin Kyu; Lim, Youg Khi

    2017-01-01

    The dependence of cell survival on exposure dose and the duration of the liquid holding recovery (LHR) was obtained for diploid yeast cells irradiated with ionizing radiation of different linear energy transfer (LET) and recovering from radiation damage without and with various concentrations of cisplatin - the most widely used anticancer drug. The ability of yeast cells to recover from radiation damage was less effective after cell exposure to high-LET radiation, when cells were irradiated without drug. The increase in cisplatin concentration resulted in the disappearance of this difference whereas the fraction of irreversible damage was permanently enlarged independently of radiation quality. The probability of cell recovery was shown to be constant for various conditions of irradiation and recovery. A new mechanism of cisplatin action was suggested according with which the inhibition of cell recovery after exposure to ionizing radiations was completely explained by the production of irreversible damage

  8. Inhibition of secretary PLA₂--VRV-PL-VIIIa of Russell's viper venom by standard aqueous stem bark extract of Mangifera indica L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhananjaya, B L; Sudarshan, S

    2015-03-01

    The aqueous extract of Mangifera indica is known to possess anti-snake venom activities. However, its inhibitory potency and mechanism of action on multi-toxic phospholipases A2s, which are the most toxic and lethal component of snake venom is still unknown. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the modulatory effect of standard aqueous bark extract of M. indica on VRV-PL-VIIIa of Indian Russells viper venom. Mangifera indica extract dose dependently inhibited the GIIB sPLA2 (VRV-PL-VIIIa) activity with an IC50 value of 6.8±0.3 μg/ml. M. indica extract effectively inhibited the indirect hemolytic activity up to 96% at ~40 μg/ml concentration. Further, M. indica extract at different concentrations (0-50 μg/ml) inhibited the edema formed in a dose dependent manner. It was found that there was no relieve of inhibitory effect of the extract when examined as a function of increased substrate and calcium concentration. The inhibition was irreversible as evident from binding studies. The in vitro inhibition is well correlated with in situ and in vivo edema inducing activities. As the inhibition is independent of substrate, calcium concentration and was irreversible, it can be concluded that M. indica extracts mode of inhibition could be due to direct interaction of components present in the extract with PLA2 enzyme. In conclusion, the aqueous extract of M. indica effectively inhibits svPLA2 (Snake venom phospholipase A2) enzymatic and its associated toxic activities, which substantiate its anti-snake venom properties. Further in-depth studies are interesting to known on the role and mechanism of the principal inhibitory constituents present in the extract, so as to develop them into potent anti-snake venom and as an anti-inflammatory agent.

  9. Determining the complex modulus of alginate irreversible hydrocolloid dental material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Shalinie; See, Howard; Thomas, Graham; Swain, Michael

    2008-11-01

    The aim of the study is to investigate the visco-elastic response of an alginate irreversible hydrocolloid dental impression material during setting. A novel squeeze film Micro-Fourier Rheometer (MFR, GBC Scientific Equipment, Australia) was used to determine the complex modulus of an alginate irreversible hydrocolloid dental impression material (Algident, ISO 1563 Class A Type 1, Dentalfarm Australia Pty. Ltd.) during setting after mixing. Data was collected every 30s for 10 min in one study and every 10 min for a total of 60 min in another study. A high level of repeatability was observed. The results indicate that the MFR is capable of recording the complex shear modulus of alginate irreversible hydrocolloid for 60 min from the start of mixing and to simultaneously report the changing visco-elastic parameters at all frequencies between 1 Hz and 100 Hz. The storage modulus shows a dramatic increase to 370% of its starting value after 6 min and then reduces to 55% after 60 min. The loss modulus increases to a maximum of 175% of its starting value after 10 min and then reduces to 94% after 60 min. The MFR enables the changes in the complex modulus through the complete setting process to be followed. It is anticipated this approach may provide a better method to compare the visco-elastic properties of impression materials and assist with identification of optimum types for different clinical requirements. The high stiffness of the instrument and the use of band-limited pseudo-random noise as the input signal are the main advantages of this technique over conventional rheometers for determining the changes in alginate visco-elasticity.

  10. Anesthetic efficacy of articaine for inferior alveolar nerve blocks in patients with symptomatic versus asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argueta-Figueroa, Liliana; Arzate-Sosa, Gabriel; Mendieta-Zeron, Hugo

    2012-01-01

    This study sought to determine the anesthetic efficacy of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis in mandibular posterior teeth and if individual patient factors, pulpal disease characteristics, and previous medication are correlated to local anesthetic success. A second objective was to determine the specificity and sensibility of a cold test for prediction of anesthetic success prior to endodontic treatment. Seventy patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular posterior teeth received 1.6 mL of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for an inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) using a metal guide. The anesthetic solution was injected with a computer-preprogrammed delivery system for local anesthesia. Endodontic access was begun 15 minutes after solution deposition; later, patients rated their discomfort using the visual analog scale (VAS). The success rate for the IA NB using articaine was 64.2% in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and 86.9% in patients with asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Cold test prior to root canal treatment had a specificity and sensibility of 12.5% and 87.1%, respectively. The anesthetic efficacy of articaine in irreversible pulpitis is moderately acceptable, and anesthetic success increases when the patient has been premedicated with NSAIDs. The cold test appears to be a favorable indicator for predicting anesthetic success.

  11. Lagrangian formulation of irreversible thermodynamics and the second law of thermodynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glavatskiy, K S

    2015-05-28

    We show that the equations which describe irreversible evolution of a system can be derived from a variational principle. We suggest a Lagrangian, which depends on the properties of the normal and the so-called "mirror-image" system. The Lagrangian is symmetric in time and therefore compatible with microscopic reversibility. The evolution equations in the normal and mirror-imaged systems are decoupled and describe therefore independent irreversible evolution of each of the systems. The second law of thermodynamics follows from a symmetry of the Lagrangian. Entropy increase in the normal system is balanced by the entropy decrease in the mirror-image system, such that there exists an "integral of evolution" which is a constant. The derivation relies on the property of local equilibrium, which states that the local relations between the thermodynamic quantities in non-equilibrium are the same as in equilibrium.

  12. The analysis of irreversibility, uncertainty and dynamic technical inefficiency on the investment decision in the Spanish olive sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lambarraa, Fatima; Stefanou, Spiro; Gil, José M.

    2016-01-01

    This study addresses irreversible investment decision-making in the context of uncertainty when allowing for inefficiency to be transmitted over time. Both irreversibility and persistence in technical inefficiency can lead to sluggish adjustment of quasi-fixed factors of production. The context

  13. Revisiting the Glansdorff–Prigogine criterion for stability within irreversible thermodynamics

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Maes, C.; Netočný, Karel

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 159, č. 6 (2015), s. 1286-1299 ISSN 0022-4715 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP204/12/0897 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : irreversible processes * thermodynamic stability * excess entropy production * nonequilibrium free energy * Clausius heat theorem Subject RIV: BE - Theoretical Physics Impact factor: 1.537, year: 2015

  14. Catalytic mechanism and inhibition of tRNA (Uracil-5-)methyltransferase: evidence for covalent catalysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santi, D.V.; Hardy, L.W.

    1987-01-01

    tRNA (Ura-5-) methyltransferase catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) to the 5-carbon of a specific Urd residue in tRNA. This results in stoichiometric release of tritium from [5- 3 H] Urd-labeled substrate tRNA isolated from methyltransferase-deficient Escherichia coli. The enzyme also catalyzes an AdoMet-independent exchange reaction between [5- 3 H]-Urd-labeled substrate tRNA and protons of water at a rate that is about 1% that of the normal methylation reaction, but with identical stoichiometry. S-Adenosylhomocysteine inhibits the rate of the exchange reaction by 2-3-fold, whereas an analog having the sulfur of AdoMet replaced by nitrogen accelerates the exchange reaction 9-fold. In the presence (but not absence) of AdoMet, 5-fluorouracil-substituted tRNA (FUra-tRNA) leads to the first-order inactivation of the enzyme. This is accompanied by the formation of a stable covalent complex containing the enzyme, FUra-tRNA, and the methyl group AdoMet. A mechanism for catalysis is proposed that explains both the 5-H exchange reaction and the inhibition by FUra-tRNA: the enzyme forms a covalent Michael adduct with substrate or inhibitor tRNA by attack of a nucleophilic group of the enzyme at carbon 6 of the pyrimidine residue to be modified. As a result, an anion equivalent is generated at carbon 5 that is sufficiently reactive to be methylated by AdoMet. Preliminary experiments and precedents suggest that the nucleophilic catalyst of the enzyme is a thiol group of cysteine. The potent irreversible inhibition by FUra-tRNA suggest that a mechanism for the RNA effects of FUra may also involve irreversible inhibition of RNA-modifying enzymes

  15. Evaluation of properties of irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials mixed with disinfectant liquids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arul Amalan

    2013-01-01

    Conclusion: Chlorhexidine solution can be used to mix irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials in regular dental practice as it did not significantly alter the properties. This may ensure effective disinfection of impressions.

  16. Insect-specific irreversible inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase in pests including the bed bug, the eastern yellowjacket, German and American cockroaches, and the confused flour beetle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polsinelli, Gregory A; Singh, Sanjay K; Mishra, Rajesh K; Suranyi, Robert; Ragsdale, David W; Pang, Yuan-Ping; Brimijoin, Stephen

    2010-09-06

    Insecticides directed against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) are facing increased resistance among target species as well as increasing concerns for human toxicity. The result has been a resurgence of disease vectors, insects destructive to agriculture, and residential pests. We previously reported a free cysteine (Cys) residue at the entrance to the AChE active site in some insects but not higher vertebrates. We also reported Cys-targeting methanethiosulfonate molecules (AMTSn), which, under conditions that spared human AChE, caused total irreversible inhibition of aphid AChE, 95% inhibition of AChE from the malaria vector mosquito (Anopheles gambia), and >80% inhibition of activity from the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and northern house mosquito (Culex pipiens). We now find the same compounds inhibit AChE from cockroaches (Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana), the flour beetle (Tribolium confusum), the multi-colored Asian ladybird beetle (Harmonia axyridis), the bed bug (Cimex lectularius), and a wasp (Vespula maculifrons), with IC(50) values of approximately 1-11muM. Our results support further study of Cys-targeting inhibitors as conceptually novel insecticides that may be free of resistance in a range of insect pests and disease vectors and, compared with current compounds, should demonstrate much lower toxicity to mammals, birds, and fish. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Biochemical and mass spectrometric characterization of human N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase inhibition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay M West

    Full Text Available The mechanism of inactivation of human enzyme N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase (hNAAA, with selected inhibitors identified in a novel fluorescent based assay developed for characterization of both reversible and irreversible inhibitors, was investigated kinetically and using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS. 1-Isothiocyanatopentadecane (AM9023 was found to be a potent, selective and reversible hNAAA inhibitor, while two others, 5-((biphenyl-4-ylmethyl-N,N-dimethyl-2H-tetrazole-2-carboxamide (AM6701 and N-Benzyloxycarbonyl-L-serine β-lactone (N-Cbz-serine β-lactone, inhibited hNAAA in a covalent and irreversible manner. MS analysis of the hNAAA/covalent inhibitor complexes identified modification only of the N-terminal cysteine (Cys126 of the β-subunit, confirming a suggested mechanism of hNAAA inactivation by the β-lactone containing inhibitors. These experiments provide direct evidence of the key role of Cys126 in hNAAA inactivation by different classes of covalent inhibitors, confirming the essential role of cysteine for catalysis and inhibition in this cysteine N-terminal nucleophile hydrolase enzyme. They also provide a methodology for the rapid screening and characterization of large libraries of compounds as potential inhibitors of NAAA, and subsequent characterization or their mechanism through MALDI-TOF MS based bottom up-proteomics.

  18. Model for an irreversible bias current in the superconducting qubit measurement process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hutchinson, G. D.; Williams, D. A.; Holmes, C. A.; Stace, T. M.; Spiller, T. P.; Barrett, S. D.; Milburn, G. J.; Hasko, D. G.

    2006-01-01

    The superconducting charge-phase ''quantronium'' qubit is considered in order to develop a model for the measurement process used in the experiment of Vion et al. [Science 296, 886 (2002)]. For this model we propose a method for including the bias current in the readout process in a fundamentally irreversible way, which to first order is approximated by the Josephson junction tilted-washboard potential phenomenology. The decohering bias current is introduced in the form of a Lindblad operator and the Wigner function for the current-biased readout Josephson junction is derived and analyzed. During the readout current pulse used in the quantronium experiment we find that the coherence of the qubit initially prepared in a symmetric superposition state is lost at a time of 0.2 ns after the bias current pulse has been applied, a time scale that is much shorter than the experimental readout time. Additionally we look at the effect of Johnson-Nyquist noise with zero mean from the current source during the qubit manipulation and show that the decoherence due to the irreversible bias current description is an order of magnitude smaller than that found through adding noise to the reversible tilted-washboard potential model. Our irreversible bias current model is also applicable to persistent-current-based qubits where the state is measured according to its flux via a small-inductance direct-current superconducting quantum interference device

  19. How Effective Is Supplemental Intraseptal Anesthesia in Patients with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Stephen; Drum, Melissa; Reader, Al; Fowler, Sara; Nusstein, John; Beck, Mike

    2016-10-01

    Previous studies have reported high levels of success with intraseptal injection for various dental procedures but provide limited information on the use of the injection during endodontic treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this prospective study was to determine the anesthetic efficacy of the supplemental intraseptal technique in mandibular posterior teeth diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis when the conventional inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block failed. One hundred patients with a diagnosis of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis in a mandibular posterior tooth were recruited. Following profound lip numbness after the administration of the conventional IAN block, endodontic treatment was initiated. Patients still experiencing moderate to severe pain during treatment were administered mesial and distal supplemental intraseptal injections using 0.7 mL 4% articaine with 1:000,000 epinephrine administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery unit. Success was defined as the ability to perform endodontic access and instrumentation with mild to no pain. Success with the IAN block was achieved in 25% of patients. Supplemental intraseptal injections provided success in 29% of patients. Supplemental intraseptal injections achieved profound pulpal anesthesia in 29% of patients when the IAN block failed. This low level of success would not provide predictable levels of anesthesia for patients requiring emergency endodontic treatment for symptomatic irreversible pulpitis in mandibular posterior teeth. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Synergetcs - a field beyond irreversible thermodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haken, H.

    1978-01-01

    This lecture introduces the reader to synergetics, a very young field of interdisciplinary research, which is devoted to the question of self-organization and, quite generally, to the birth of new qualities. After comparing the role of thermodynamics, irreversible thermodynamics and synergetics in the description of phenomena we give a few examples for self-oragnizing systems. Next we outline the mathematical approach and consider the generalized Ginzburg-Landau equations for non equilibrium phase transitions. We continue by applying these equations to the problem of morphogenesis in biology. We close our lecture by extending the formalism to spatially inhomogeneous or oscillating systems and arrive at order-parameter equations which are capable of describing new large classes of higher bifurcation schemes. (HJ)

  1. Allosteric Inhibition of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Revealed by Ibudilast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Y.; Crichlow, G; Vermeire, J; Leng, L; Du, X; Hodsdon, M; Bucala, R; Cappello, M; Gross, M; et al.

    2010-01-01

    AV411 (ibudilast; 3-isobutyryl-2-isopropylpyrazolo-[1,5-a]pyridine) is an antiinflammatory drug that was initially developed for the treatment of bronchial asthma but which also has been used for cerebrovascular and ocular indications. It is a nonselective inhibitor of various phosphodiesterases (PDEs) and has varied antiinflammatory activity. More recently, AV411 has been studied as a possible therapeutic for the treatment of neuropathic pain and opioid withdrawal through its actions on glial cells. As described herein, the PDE inhibitor AV411 and its PDE-inhibition-compromised analog AV1013 inhibit the catalytic and chemotactic functions of the proinflammatory protein, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). Enzymatic analysis indicates that these compounds are noncompetitive inhibitors of the p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate (HPP) tautomerase activity of MIF and an allosteric binding site of AV411 and AV1013 is detected by NMR. The allosteric inhibition mechanism is further elucidated by X-ray crystallography based on the MIF/AV1013 binary and MIF/AV1013/HPP ternary complexes. In addition, our antibody experiments directed against MIF receptors indicate that CXCR2 is the major receptor for MIF-mediated chemotaxis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

  2. Capital dissipation minimization for a class of complex irreversible resource exchange processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Shaojun; Chen, Lingen

    2017-05-01

    A model of a class of irreversible resource exchange processes (REPes) between a firm and a producer with commodity flow leakage from the producer to a competitive market is established in this paper. The REPes are assumed to obey the linear commodity transfer law (LCTL). Optimal price paths for capital dissipation minimization (CDM) (it can measure economic process irreversibility) are obtained. The averaged optimal control theory is used. The optimal REP strategy is also compared with other strategies, such as constant-firm-price operation and constant-commodity-flow operation, and effects of the amount of commodity transferred and the commodity flow leakage on the optimal REP strategy are also analyzed. The commodity prices of both the producer and the firm for the CDM of the REPes with commodity flow leakage change with the time exponentially.

  3. Irreversible thermodynamics of dark energy on the entropy-corrected apparent horizon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karami, K; Sahraei, N [Department of Physics, University of Kurdistan, Pasdaran Street, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Jamil, M, E-mail: KKarami@uok.ac.i, E-mail: mjamil@camp.nust.edu.p [Center for Advanced Mathematics and Physics (CAMP), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad (Pakistan)

    2010-10-15

    We study the irreversible (non-equilibrium) thermodynamics of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe containing only dark energy. Using the modified entropy-area relation that is motivated by loop quantum gravity, we calculate the entropy-corrected form of the apparent horizon of the FRW universe.

  4. Pulpitis irreversible como forma de presentación de un odontoma

    OpenAIRE

    Berástegui, Esther; Buenechea Imaz, Ramón

    1997-01-01

    Se presenta un caso de odontoma compuesto que provocó pulpitis irreversible en el incisivo central superior derecho (1,1) en una joven de 20 años. El tratamiento fue la biopulpectomía total y extirpación quirúrgica del tumor.

  5. Hydrogen gas inhalation inhibits progression to the "irreversible" stage of shock after severe hemorrhage in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuoka, Tadashi; Suzuki, Masaru; Sano, Motoaki; Hayashida, Kei; Tamura, Tomoyoshi; Homma, Koichiro; Fukuda, Keiichi; Sasaki, Junichi

    2017-09-01

    Mortality of hemorrhagic shock primarily depends on whether or not the patients can endure the loss of circulating volume until radical treatment is applied. We investigated whether hydrogen (H2) gas inhalation would influence the tolerance to hemorrhagic shock and improve survival. Hemorrhagic shock was achieved by withdrawing blood until the mean arterial blood pressure reached 30-35 mm Hg. After 60 minutes of shock, the rats were resuscitated with a volume of normal saline equal to four times the volume of shed blood. The rats were assigned to either the H2 gas (1.3% H2, 26% O2, 72.7% N2)-treated group or the control gas (26% O2, 74% N2)-treated group. Inhalation of the specified gas mixture began at the initiation of blood withdrawal and continued for 2 hours after fluid resuscitation. The survival rate at 6 hours after fluid resuscitation was 80% in H2 gas-treated rats and 30% in control gas-treated rats (p gas-treated rats than in the control rats. Despite losing more blood, the increase in serum potassium levels was suppressed in the H2 gas-treated rats after 60 minutes of shock. Fluid resuscitation completely restored blood pressure in the H2 gas-treated rats, whereas it failed to fully restore the blood pressure in the control gas-treated rats. At 2 hours after fluid resuscitation, blood pressure remained in the normal range and metabolic acidosis was well compensated in the H2 gas-treated rats, whereas we observed decreased blood pressure and uncompensated metabolic acidosis and hyperkalemia in the surviving control gas-treated rats. H2 gas inhalation delays the progression to irreversible shock. Clinically, H2 gas inhalation is expected to stabilize the subject until curative treatment can be performed, thereby increasing the probability of survival after hemorrhagic shock.

  6. Predicting the dynamics of bacterial growth inhibition by ribosome-targeting antibiotics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greulich, Philip; Doležal, Jakub; Scott, Matthew; Evans, Martin R.; Allen, Rosalind J.

    2017-12-01

    Understanding how antibiotics inhibit bacteria can help to reduce antibiotic use and hence avoid antimicrobial resistance—yet few theoretical models exist for bacterial growth inhibition by a clinically relevant antibiotic treatment regimen. In particular, in the clinic, antibiotic treatment is time-dependent. Here, we use a theoretical model, previously applied to steady-state bacterial growth, to predict the dynamical response of a bacterial cell to a time-dependent dose of ribosome-targeting antibiotic. Our results depend strongly on whether the antibiotic shows reversible transport and/or low-affinity ribosome binding (‘low-affinity antibiotic’) or, in contrast, irreversible transport and/or high affinity ribosome binding (‘high-affinity antibiotic’). For low-affinity antibiotics, our model predicts that growth inhibition depends on the duration of the antibiotic pulse, and can show a transient period of very fast growth following removal of the antibiotic. For high-affinity antibiotics, growth inhibition depends on peak dosage rather than dose duration, and the model predicts a pronounced post-antibiotic effect, due to hysteresis, in which growth can be suppressed for long times after the antibiotic dose has ended. These predictions are experimentally testable and may be of clinical significance.

  7. 4-Amidinoindan-1-one 2'-amidinohydrazone (CGP 48664A) exerts in vitro growth inhibitory effects that are not only related to S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMdc) inhibition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dorhout, B; Odink, MFG; deHoog, E; Kingma, AW; vanderVeer, E; Muskiet, FAJ

    1997-01-01

    The competitive S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMdc; EC 4.1.1.50) inhibitor 4-amidinoindan-1-one 2'-amidinohydrazone (CGP 48664A) inhibits growth more effectively than the irreversible SAMdc inhibitor 5'-{[(Z)-4-amino-2-butenyl]methylamino}-5'-deoxyadenosine (AbeAdo), while having similar

  8. The standard aqueous stem bark extract of Mangifera indica L. inhibits toxic PLA2 - NN-XIb-PLA2 of Indian cobra venom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhananjaya, Bhadrapura Lakkappa; Sudarshan, Shivalingaiah; Dongol, Yashad; More, Sunil S

    2016-05-01

    The aqueous extract of Mangifera indica is known to possess diverse medicinal properties, which also includes anti-snake venom activities. However, its inhibitory potency and mechanism of action on multi-toxic snake venom phospholipases A2s are still unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the modulatory effect of standard aqueous bark extract of M. indica on NN-XIb-PLA2 of Indian cobra venom. The in vitro sPLA2, in situ hemolytic and in vivo edema inhibition effect were carried out as described. Also the effect of substrate and calcium concentration was carried out. M. indica extract dose dependently inhibited the GIA sPLA2 (NN-XIb-PLA2) activity with an IC50 value of 7.6 μg/ml. M. indica extract effectively inhibited the indirect hemolytic activity up to 98% at ∼40 μg/ml concentration. Further, M. indica extract (0-50 μg/ml) inhibited the edema formed in a dose dependent manner. When examined as a function of increased substrate and calcium concentration, there was no relieve of inhibitory effect of M. indica extract on the NN-XIb-PLA2. Further, the inhibition was irreversible as evident from binding studies. The in vitro inhibition is well correlated with in situ and in vivo edema inhibiting activities of M. indica. As the inhibition is independent of substrate and calcium and was irreversible, it can be concluded that M. indica extract mode of inhibition could be due to direct interaction of components present in the extract with the PLA2 enzyme. The aqueous extract of M. indica effectively inhibits svPLA2 enzymatic and its associated toxic activities, which substantiate their anti-snake venom properties. Further in-depth studies on the role and mechanism of the principal constituents present in the extract, responsible for the anti-PLA2 activity will be interesting to develop them into potent antisnake component and also as an anti-inflammatory agent.

  9. Niclosamide inhibits lytic replication of Epstein-Barr virus by disrupting mTOR activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Lu; Yang, Mengtian; Yuan, Yan; Li, Xiaojuan; Kuang, Ersheng

    2017-02-01

    Infection with the oncogenic γ-herpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) cause several severe malignancies in humans. Inhibition of the lytic replication of EBV and KSHV eliminates the reservoir of persistent infection and transmission, consequently preventing the occurrence of diseases from the sources of infection. Antiviral drugs are limited in controlling these viral infectious diseases. Here, we demonstrate that niclosamide, an old anthelmintic drug, inhibits mTOR activation during EBV lytic replication. Consequently, niclosamide effectively suppresses EBV lytic gene expression, viral DNA lytic replication and virion production in EBV-infected lymphoma cells and epithelial cells. Niclosamide exhibits cytotoxicity toward lymphoma cells and induces irreversible cell cycle arrest in lytically EBV-infected cells. The ectopic overexpression of mTOR reverses the inhibition of niclosamide in EBV lytic replication. Similarly, niclosamide inhibits KSHV lytic replication. Thus, we conclude that niclosamide is a promising candidate for chemotherapy against the acute occurrence and transmission of infectious diseases of oncogenic γ-herpesviruses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Is thermodynamic irreversibility a consequence of the expansion of the Universe?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osváth, Szabolcs

    2018-02-01

    This paper explains thermodynamic irreversibility by applying the expansion of the Universe to thermodynamic systems. The effect of metric expansion is immeasurably small on shorter scales than intergalactic distances. Multi-particle systems, however, are chaotic, and amplify any small disturbance exponentially. Metric expansion gives rise to time-asymmetric behaviour in thermodynamic systems in a short time (few nanoseconds in air, few ten picoseconds in water). In contrast to existing publications, this paper explains without any additional assumptions the rise of thermodynamic irreversibility from the underlying reversible mechanics of particles. Calculations for the special case which assumes FLRW metric, slow motions (v ≪ c) and approximates space locally by Euclidean space show that metric expansion causes entropy increase in isolated systems. The rise of time-asymmetry, however, is not affected by these assumptions. Any influence of the expansion of the Universe on the local metric causes a coupling between local mechanics and evolution of the Universe.

  11. Correlation of irreversibility and vortex solid melting for Ti nBa 2Ca 2Cu 3O x (n = 1, 2) thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyun, O. B.; Suhara, H.; Nabatame, T.; Koike, S.; Hirabayashi, I.

    1995-08-01

    The transport measurements were performed for the Tl nBa 2Ca 2Cu 3O x (n = 1, 2) thin films in magnetic fields. The resistive state could be approximately described by the thermally activated form, ϱ ˜ exp[- {U(H,T)}/{k BT }] , where U(H,T) ∝ (const. + T)H -α with α ≈ 0.5 ˜ 0.6. This form, however, appreciably deviates from the data for low dissipation and high fields. As for the viscosity of the supercooled liquid, the divergence of U well described the behavior, particularly, of the low dissipation state for all fields, implying the presence of the vortex solid. The log(V) - log(I) characteristics revealed the curvature change, which defines the vortex solid (glass) - liquid melting temperature T m. Both the irreversibility line and the melting line showed approximately the same T dependence, H α ˜ T -1, which is from the thermally activated form. This correlation suggests that the irreversibility line appropriately figures the vortex solid (glass) - liquid melting line.

  12. Linear Dimensional Stability of Irreversible Hydrocolloid Materials Over Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrofé, Analía B; Ferrari, Beatriz A; Picca, Mariana; Kaplan, Andrea E

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the linear dimensional stability of different irreversible hydrocolloid materials over time. A metal mold was designed with custom trays made of thermoplastic sheets (Sabilex, sheets 0.125 mm thick). Perforations were made in order to improve retention of the material. Five impressions were taken with each of the following: Kromopan 100 (LASCOD) [AlKr], which has dimensional stability of 100 hours, and Phase Plus (ZHERMACK) [AlPh], which has dimensional stability of 48 hours. Standardized digital photographs were taken at different time intervals (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 120 minutes; 12, 24 and 96 hours), using an "ad-hoc" device. The images were analyzed with software (UTHSCSA Image Tool) by measuring the distance between intersection of the lines previously made at the top of the mold. The results were analyzed by ANOVA for repeated measures. Initial and final values were (mean and standard deviation): AlKr: 16.44 (0.22) and 16.34 (0.11), AlPh: 16.40 (0.06) and 16.18 (0.06). Statistical evaluation showed significant effect of material and time factors. Under the conditions in this study, time significantly affects the linear dimensional stability of irreversible hydrocolloid materials. Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Odontológica.

  13. Zinc-Triggered Hydrogelation of Self-assembled Small Molecules to Inhibit Bacterial Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Chao; Cai, Yanbin; Ren, Chunhua; Gao, Jie; Hao, Jihui

    2015-01-01

    There is a significant need to develop antibacterial materials that could be applied locally and directly to the places surrounded by large amount of bacteria, in order to address the problems of bacterial antibiotic-resistance or irreversible biofilm formation. Hydrogels are thought to be suitable candidates due to their versatile applications in biomedical field. Among them, small molecular hydrogels have been paid lots of attention because they are easy to design and fabricate and often sensitive to external stimuli. Meanwhile, the antibacterial activity of metal ions are attracting more and more attention because resistance to them are not yet found within bacteria. We therefore designed the zinc ion binding peptide of Nap-GFFYGGGHGRGD, who can self-assemble into hydrogels after binds Zn2+ and inhibit the growth of bacteria due to the excellent antibacterial activity of Zn2+. Upon the addition of zinc ions, solutions containing Nap-GFFYGGGHGRGD transformed into supramolecular hydrogels composed of network of long nano-fibers. Bacterial tests revealed an antibacterial effect of the zinc triggered hydrogels on E. coli. The studied small molecular hydrogel shows great potential in locally addressing bacterial infections.

  14. Irreversible membrane fouling abatement through pre-deposited layer of hierarchical porous carbons

    KAUST Repository

    Hamad, Juma; Dua, Rubal; Kurniasari, Novita; Kennedy, Maria Dolores; Wang, Peng; Amy, Gary L.

    2014-01-01

    In this work, dual-templated hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs), produced from a coupled ice-hard templating approach, are shown to be a highly effective solution to the commonly occurring problem of irreversible fouling of low-pressure membranes

  15. Anomalies, Unitarity and Quantum Irreversibility

    CERN Document Server

    Anselmi, D

    1999-01-01

    The trace anomaly in external gravity is the sum of three terms at criticality: the square of the Weyl tensor, the Euler density and Box R, with coefficients, properly normalized, called c, a and a', the latter being ambiguously defined by an additive constant. Unitarity and positivity properties of the induced actions allow us to show that the total RG flows of a and a' are equal and therefore the a'-ambiguity can be consistently removed through the identification a'=a. The picture that emerges clarifies several long-standing issues. The interplay between unitarity and renormalization implies that the flux of the renormalization group is irreversible. A monotonically decreasing a-function interpolating between the appropriate values is naturally provided by a'. The total a-flow is expressed non-perturbatively as the invariant (i.e. scheme-independent) area of the graph of the beta function between the fixed points. We test this prediction to the fourth loop order in perturbation theory, in QCD with Nf ~< ...

  16. Irreversible pulpitis and achieving profound anesthesia: Complexities and managements

    OpenAIRE

    Modaresi, Jalil; Davoudi, Amin; Badrian, Hamid; Sabzian, Roya

    2016-01-01

    Dental pain management is one of the most critical aspects of modern dentistry. Irreversible pulpitis and further root canal therapy might cause an untolerated pain to the patients. The improvements in anesthetic agents and techniques were one of the advantages of studying nerve biology and stimulation. This article tried to overview of the nerve activities in inflammatory environments or induced pain. Furthermore, the proper advises, and supplementary techniques were reviewed for better pain...

  17. Irreversibility and multiplicity: two criteria for the disposal of nuclear wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rochlin, G.

    1976-01-01

    Two criteria are suggested for comparing waste management methods: technical irreversibility and site multiplicity. These criteria can be used to reduce future risk in the face of inherent uncertainty and to provide for safe disposal without requiring guaranteed future ability to recognize, detect or repair areas of failure

  18. Exactly solvable irreversible processes on one-dimensional lattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolf, N.O.; Evans, J.W.; Hoffman, D.K.

    1984-01-01

    We consider the kinetics of a process where the sites of an infinite 1-D lattice are filled irreversibly and, in general, cooperatively by N-mers (taking N consecutive sites at a time). We extend the previously available exact solution for nearest neighbor cooperative effects to range N cooperative effects. Connection with the continuous ''cooperative car parking problem'' is indicated. Both uniform and periodic lattices, and empty and certain partially filled lattice initial conditions are considered. We also treat monomer ''filling in stages'' for certain highly autoinhibitory cooperative effects of arbitrary range

  19. Origin of the irreversibility line in thin YBa2Cu3O7-δ films with and without columnar defects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prozorov, R.; Konczykowski, M.; Schmidt, B.; Yeshurun, Y.; Shaulov, A.; Villard, C.; Koren, G.

    1996-01-01

    We report on measurements of the angular dependence of the irreversibility temperature T irr (θ) in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ thin films, defined by the onset of a third-harmonic signal and measured by a miniature Hall probe. From the functional form of T irr (θ) we conclude that the origin of the irreversibility line in unirradiated films is a dynamic crossover from an unpinned to a pinned vortex liquid. In irradiated films the irreversibility temperature is determined by the trapping angle. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  20. Irreversible colloidal agglomeration in presence of associative inhibitors: Computer simulation study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barcenas, Mariana; Duda, Yurko

    2007-01-01

    Monte Carlo simulation is employed to study the irreversible particle-cluster agglomeration of valence-limited colloids affected by associative inhibitors. The cluster size distribution and number of connections between colloids are analyzed as a function of density and inhibitor concentration. The influence of colloid functionality on its aggregation is discussed

  1. Irreversible muscle damage in bodybuilding due to long-term intramuscular oil injection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banke, I J; Prodinger, P M; Waldt, S; Weirich, G; Holzapfel, B M; Gradinger, R; Rechl, H

    2012-10-01

    Intramuscular oil injections generating slowly degrading oil-based depots represent a controversial subject in bodybuilding and fitness. However they seem to be commonly reported in a large number of non-medical reports, movies and application protocols for 'site-injections'. Surprisingly the impact of long-term (ab)use on the musculature as well as potential side-effects compromising health and sports ability are lacking in the medical literature. We present the case of a 40 year old male semi-professional bodybuilder with systemic infection and painful reddened swellings of the right upper arm forcing him to discontinue weightlifting. Over the last 8 years he daily self-injected sterilized sesame seed oil at numerous intramuscular locations for the purpose of massive muscle building. Whole body MRI showed more than 100 intramuscular rather than subcutaneous oil cysts and loss of normal muscle anatomy. 2-step septic surgery of the right upper arm revealed pus-filled cystic scar tissue with the near-complete absence of normal muscle. MRI 1 year later revealed the absence of relevant muscle regeneration. Persistent pain and inability to perform normal weight training were evident for at least 3 years post-surgery. This alarming finding indicating irreversible muscle mutilation may hopefully discourage people interested in bodybuilding and fitness from oil-injections. The impact of such chronic tissue stress on other diseases like malignancy remains to be determined. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  2. Coupled Reversible and Irreversible Bistable Switches Underlying TGFβ-induced Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Xiao-Jun; Zhang, Hang; Xing, Jianhua

    2013-01-01

    Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in embryonic development, tissue regeneration, and cancer metastasis. Whereas several feedback loops have been shown to regulate EMT, it remains elusive how they coordinately modulate EMT response to TGF-β treatment. We construct a mathematical model for the core regulatory network controlling TGF-β-induced EMT. Through deterministic analyses and stochastic simulations, we show that EMT is a sequential two-step program in which an epithelial cell first is converted to partial EMT then to the mesenchymal state, depending on the strength and duration of TGF-β stimulation. Mechanistically the system is governed by coupled reversible and irreversible bistable switches. The SNAIL1/miR-34 double-negative feedback loop is responsible for the reversible switch and regulates the initiation of EMT, whereas the ZEB/miR-200 feedback loop is accountable for the irreversible switch and controls the establishment of the mesenchymal state. Furthermore, an autocrine TGF-β/miR-200 feedback loop makes the second switch irreversible, modulating the maintenance of EMT. Such coupled bistable switches are robust to parameter variation and molecular noise. We provide a mechanistic explanation on multiple experimental observations. The model makes several explicit predictions on hysteretic dynamic behaviors, system response to pulsed stimulation, and various perturbations, which can be straightforwardly tested. PMID:23972859

  3. Model of the Evolution of Deformation Defects and Irreversible Strain at Thermal Cycling of Stressed TiNi Alloy Specimen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volkov Aleksandr E.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This microstructural model deals with simulation both of the reversible and irreversible deformation of a shape memory alloy (SMA. The martensitic transformation and the irreversible deformation due to the plastic accommodation of martensite are considered on the microscopic level. The irreversible deformation is described from the standpoint of the plastic flow theory. Isotropic hardening and kinematic hardening are taken into account and are related to the densities of scattered and oriented deformation defects. It is supposed that the phase transformation and the micro plastic deformation are caused by the generalized thermodynamic forces, which are the derivatives of the Gibbs’ potential of the two-phase body. In terms of these forces conditions for the phase transformation and for the micro plastic deformation on the micro level are formulated. The macro deformation of the representative volume of the polycrystal is calculated by averaging of the micro strains related to the evolution of the martensite Bain’s variants in each grain comprising this volume. The proposed model allowed simulating the evolution of the reversible and of the irreversible strains of a stressed SMA specimen under thermal cycles. The results show a good qualitative agreement with available experimental data. Specifically, it is shown that the model can describe a rather big irreversible strain in the first thermocycle and its fast decrease with the number of cycles.

  4. Dynamic features of apo and bound HIV-Nef protein reveal the anti-HIV dimerization inhibition mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moonsamy, Suri; Bhakat, Soumendranath; Soliman, Mahmoud E S

    2015-01-01

    The first account on the dynamic features of Nef or negative factor, a small myristoylated protein located in the cytoplasm believes to increase HIV-1 viral titer level, is reported herein. Due to its major role in HIV-1 pathogenicity, Nef protein is considered an emerging target in anti-HIV drug design and discovery process. In this study, comparative long-range all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were employed for apo and bound protein to unveil molecular mechanism of HIV-Nef dimerization and inhibition. Results clearly revealed that B9, a newly discovered Nef inhibitor, binds at the dimeric interface of Nef protein and caused significant separation between orthogonally opposed residues, namely Asp108, Leu112 and Gln104. Large differences in magnitudes were observed in the radius of gyration (∼1.5 Å), per-residue fluctuation (∼2 Å), C-alpha deviations (∼2 Å) which confirm a comparatively more flexible nature of apo conformation due to rapid dimeric association. Compared to the bound conformer, a more globally correlated motion in case of apo structure of HIV-Nef confirms the process of dimeric association. This clearly highlights the process of inhibition as a result of ligand binding. The difference in principal component analysis (PCA) scatter plot and per-residue mobility plot across first two normal modes further justifies the same findings. The in-depth dynamic analyses of Nef protein presented in this report would serve crucial in understanding its function and inhibition mechanisms. Information on inhibitor binding mode would also assist in designing of potential inhibitors against this important HIV target.

  5. Interferon-gamma improves impaired dentinogenic and immunosuppressive functions of irreversible pulpitis-derived human dental pulp stem cells

    OpenAIRE

    Soichiro Sonoda; Haruyoshi Yamaza; Lan Ma; Yosuke Tanaka; Erika Tomoda; Reona Aijima; Kazuaki Nonaka; Toshio Kukita; Songtao Shi; Fusanori Nishimura; Takayoshi Yamaza

    2016-01-01

    Clinically, irreversible pulpitis is treated by the complete removal of pulp tissue followed by replacement with artificial materials. There is considered to be a high potential for autologous transplantation of human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) in endodontic treatment. The usefulness of DPSCs isolated from healthy teeth is limited. However, DPSCs isolated from diseased teeth with irreversible pulpitis (IP-DPSCs) are considered to be suitable for dentin/pulp regeneration. In this study, we...

  6. Irreversible Electroporation in a Swine Lung Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dupuy, Damian E.; Aswad, Bassam; Ng, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the safety and tissue effects of IRE in a swine lung model. Methods: This study was approved by the institutional animal care committee. Nine anesthetized domestic swine underwent 15 percutaneous irreversible electroporation (IRE) lesion creations (6 with bipolar and 3 with 3–4 monopolar electrodes) under fluoroscopic guidance and with pancuronium neuromuscular blockade and EKG gating. IRE electrodes were placed into the central and middle third of the right mid and lower lobes in all animals. Postprocedure PA and lateral chest radiographs were obtained to evaluate for pneumothorax. Three animals were sacrificed at 2 weeks and six at 4 weeks. Animals underwent high-resolution CT scanning and PA and lateral radiographs 1 h before sacrifice. The treated lungs were removed en bloc, perfused with formalin, and sectioned. Gross pathologic and microscopic changes after standard hematoxylin and eosin staining were analyzed within the areas of IRE lesion creation. Results: No significant adverse events were identified. CT showed focal areas of spiculated high density ranging in greatest diameter from 1.1–2.2 cm. On gross inspection of the sectioned lung, focal areas of tan discoloration and increased density were palpated in the areas of IRE. Histological analysis revealed focal areas of diffuse alveolar damage with fibrosis and inflammatory infiltration that respected the boundaries of the interlobular septae. No pathological difference could be discerned between the 2- and 4-week time points. The bronchioles and blood vessels within the areas of IRE were intact and did not show signs of tissue injury. Conclusion: IRE creates focal areas of diffuse alveolar damage without creating damage to the bronchioles or blood vessels. Short-term safety in a swine model appears to be satisfactory.

  7. Irreversibility in physics stemming from unpredictable symbol-handling agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, John M.; Madjid, F. Hadi

    2016-05-01

    The basic equations of physics involve a time variable t and are invariant under the transformation t --> -t. This invariance at first sight appears to impose time reversibility as a principle of physics, in conflict with thermodynamics. But equations written on the blackboard are not the whole story in physics. In prior work we sharpened a distinction obscured in today's theoretical physics, the distinction between obtaining evidence from experiments on the laboratory bench and explaining that evidence in mathematical symbols on the blackboard. The sharp distinction rests on a proof within the mathematics of quantum theory that no amount of evidence, represented in quantum theory in terms of probabilities, can uniquely determine its explanation in terms of wave functions and linear operators. Building on the proof we show here a role in physics for unpredictable symbol-handling agents acting both at the blackboard and at the workbench, communicating back and forth by means of transmitted symbols. Because of their unpredictability, symbol-handling agents introduce a heretofore overlooked source of irreversibility into physics, even when the equations they write on the blackboard are invariant under t --> -t. Widening the scope of descriptions admissible to physics to include the agents and the symbols that link theory to experiments opens up a new source of time-irreversibility in physics.

  8. Irreversible barrier to the reprogramming of donor cells in cloning with mouse embryos and embryonic stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ono, Yukiko; Kono, Tomohiro

    2006-08-01

    Somatic cloning does not always result in ontogeny in mammals, and development is often associated with various abnormalities and embryo loss with a high frequency. This is considered to be due to aberrant gene expression resulting from epigenetic reprogramming errors. However, a fundamental question in this context is whether the developmental abnormalities reported to date are specific to somatic cloning. The aim of this study was to determine the stage of nuclear differentiation during development that leads to developmental abnormalities associated with embryo cloning. In order to address this issue, we reconstructed cloned embryos using four- and eight-cell embryos, morula embryos, inner cell mass (ICM) cells, and embryonic stem cells as donor nuclei and determined the occurrence of abnormalities such as developmental arrest and placentomegaly, which are common characteristics of all mouse somatic cell clones. The present analysis revealed that an acute decline in the full-term developmental competence of cloned embryos occurred with the use of four- and eight-cell donor nuclei (22.7% vs. 1.8%) in cases of standard embryo cloning and with morula and ICM donor nuclei (11.4% vs. 6.6%) in serial nuclear transfer. Histological observation showed abnormal differentiation and proliferation of trophoblastic giant cells in the placentae of cloned concepti derived from four-cell to ICM cell donor nuclei. Enlargement of placenta along with excessive proliferation of the spongiotrophoblast layer and glycogen cells was observed in the clones derived from morula embryos and ICM cells. These results revealed that irreversible epigenetic events had already started to occur at the four-cell stage. In addition, the expression of genes involved in placentomegaly is regulated at the blastocyst stage by irreversible epigenetic events, and it could not be reprogrammed by the fusion of nuclei with unfertilized oocytes. Hence, developmental abnormalities such as placentomegaly as

  9. Concerning the study of the irreversible magnetic behaviour of superconductivity; Contribution a l'etude du comportement magnetique irreversible des supraconducteurs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuhn, G [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Grenoble (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1965-03-01

    The influence of the presence of extended lattice defects on the magnetic behaviour has been studied for the case of type I superconductors, such as Re and Ta, and in a more quantitative manner for the type II superconductor niobium. In this case, measurements of the thermal conductivity have given an estimate of the relative concentration of lattice defects in each specimen. These measurements show that the larger the number of lattice defects, the more irreversible becomes the magnetization curve, and the larger becomes the values of the critical current, which is related by a simple model to the magnetization values. Finally, a study by transmission electron microscopy has confirmed on the one hand the diversity of the extended lattice defects and on the other hand has allowed the formulation of several hypothesis on their respective influence. [French] L'influence de la presence de defauts etendus sur le comportement magnetique a ete etudie pour des supraconducteurs de premiere espece, tels que le rhenium et le tantale, et plus quantitativement pour un supraconducteur de deuxieme espece, le niobium. Dans ce cas, des mesures de conductibilite thermique ont permis d'estimer la concentration relative des defauts du reseau dans chaque echantillon. Ces mesures montrent que plus les defauts du reseau sont nombreux, plus la courbe d'aimantation est irreversible, et plus les valeurs du courant critique, reliees par un modele simple aux valeurs de l'aimantation, sont elevees. Enfin une etude par microscopie electronique en transmission - a permis d'une part de constater la diversite des defauts etendus et d'autre part de formuler quelques hypotheses sur leurs influences respectives.

  10. Application of exergetic sustainability index to a nano-scale irreversible Brayton cycle operating with ideal Bose and Fermi gasses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Açıkkalp, Emin, E-mail: eacikkalp@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Bilecik S.E. University, Bilecik (Turkey); Caner, Necmettin [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir (Turkey)

    2015-09-25

    Highlights: • An irreversible Brayton cycle operating quantum gasses is considered. • Exergetic sustainability index is derived for nano-scale cycles. • Nano-scale effects are considered. • Calculation are conducted for irreversible cycles. • Numerical results are presented and discussed. - Abstract: In this study, a nano-scale irreversible Brayton cycle operating with quantum gasses including Bose and Fermi gasses is researched. Developments in the nano-technology cause searching the nano-scale machines including thermal systems to be unavoidable. Thermodynamic analysis of a nano-scale irreversible Brayton cycle operating with Bose and Fermi gasses was performed (especially using exergetic sustainability index). In addition, thermodynamic analysis involving classical evaluation parameters such as work output, exergy output, entropy generation, energy and exergy efficiencies were conducted. Results are submitted numerically and finally some useful recommendations were conducted. Some important results are: entropy generation and exergetic sustainability index are affected mostly for Bose gas and power output and exergy output are affected mostly for the Fermi gas by x. At the high temperature conditions, work output and entropy generation have high values comparing with other degeneracy conditions.

  11. Entransy analysis of irreversible heat pump using Newton and Dulong–Petit heat transfer laws and relations with its performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Açıkkalp, Emin

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Entransy analysis was made for irreversible heat pump. • Newton and Dulong–Petit heat transfer laws were used. • Entransy dissipations were defined and determined. • Relations between entransy and other thermodynamic parameters were determined. - Abstract: An irreversible heat pump was investigated via entransy analysis and performance criteria. In the analyses, two different convective heat transfer laws were applied to the considered system: the Newton and Dulong–Petit heat transfer laws. The irreversibilities in the system are the result of a finite heat transfer rate, a heat leak and internal irreversibilities, including friction, turbulence etc. In this study, a thermodynamic analysis was performed in detail, and the numerical solutions were used for the conducted analysis. The maximum entransy dissipation (critical points) ranges from 18436.7 kW K to 18855.3 kW K according to y for Newton’s law; however, there is no maximum point for the Dulon–Petit law. It can be concluded from this study that entransy should be used among the basic thermodynamic criteria

  12. Broad-spectrum non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles with a virucidal inhibition mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cagno, Valeria; Andreozzi, Patrizia; D'Alicarnasso, Marco; Jacob Silva, Paulo; Mueller, Marie; Galloux, Marie; Le Goffic, Ronan; Jones, Samuel T.; Vallino, Marta; Hodek, Jan; Weber, Jan; Sen, Soumyo; Janeček, Emma-Rose; Bekdemir, Ahmet; Sanavio, Barbara; Martinelli, Chiara; Donalisio, Manuela; Rameix Welti, Marie-Anne; Eleouet, Jean-Francois; Han, Yanxiao; Kaiser, Laurent; Vukovic, Lela; Tapparel, Caroline; Král, Petr; Krol, Silke; Lembo, David; Stellacci, Francesco

    2018-02-01

    Viral infections kill millions yearly. Available antiviral drugs are virus-specific and active against a limited panel of human pathogens. There are broad-spectrum substances that prevent the first step of virus-cell interaction by mimicking heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG), the highly conserved target of viral attachment ligands (VALs). The reversible binding mechanism prevents their use as a drug, because, upon dilution, the inhibition is lost. Known VALs are made of closely packed repeating units, but the aforementioned substances are able to bind only a few of them. We designed antiviral nanoparticles with long and flexible linkers mimicking HSPG, allowing for effective viral association with a binding that we simulate to be strong and multivalent to the VAL repeating units, generating forces (~190 pN) that eventually lead to irreversible viral deformation. Virucidal assays, electron microscopy images, and molecular dynamics simulations support the proposed mechanism. These particles show no cytotoxicity, and in vitro nanomolar irreversible activity against herpes simplex virus (HSV), human papilloma virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), dengue and lenti virus. They are active ex vivo in human cervicovaginal histocultures infected by HSV-2 and in vivo in mice infected with RSV.

  13. Proteinase 3 carries small unusual carbohydrates and associates with αlpha-defensins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zoega, Morten; Ravnsborg, Tina; Højrup, Peter

    2012-01-01

    with carbohydrates at Asn 102 and 147 carrying unusual small moieties indicating heavy processing. Mass spectrometric analysis and immuno blotting revealed strong association of highly purified PR3 with α-defensins and oligomers hereof. Irreversible inhibition of PR3 by α1-antitrypsin did not affect its association...

  14. Optimal allocation of thermodynamic irreversibility for the integrated design of propulsion and thermal management systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maser, Adam Charles

    work losses over the time history of the mission. The characterization of the thermodynamic irreversibility distribution helps give the propulsion systems designer an absolute and consistent view of the tradeoffs associated with the design of the entire integrated system. Consequently, this leads directly to the question of the proper allocation of irreversibility across each of the components. The process of searching for the most favorable allocation of this irreversibility is the central theme of the research and must take into account production cost and vehicle mission performance. The production cost element is accomplished by including an engine component weight and cost prediction capability within the system model. The vehicle mission performance is obtained by directly linking the propulsion and thermal management model to a vehicle performance model and flying it through a mission profile. A canonical propulsion and thermal management systems architecture is then presented to experimentally test each element of the methodology separately: first the integrated modeling and simulation, then the irreversibility, cost, and mission performance considerations, and then finally the proper technique to perform the optimal allocation. A goal of this research is the description of the optimal allocation of system irreversibility to enable an engine cycle design with improved performance and cost at the vehicle-level. To do this, a numerical optimization was first used to minimize system-level production and operating costs by fixing the performance requirements and identifying the best settings for all of the design variables. There are two major drawbacks to this approach: It does not allow the designer to directly trade off the performance requirements and it does not allow the individual component losses to directly factor into the optimization. An irreversibility allocation approach based on the economic concept of resource allocation is then compared to the

  15. New method for evaluating irreversible adsorption and stationary phase bleed in gas chromatographic capillary columns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Bob W; Wright, Cherylyn W

    2012-10-26

    A novel method is described for the evaluation of irreversible adsorption and column bleed in gas chromatographic (GC) columns using a tandem GC approach. This work specifically determined the degree of irreversible adsorption behavior of specific sulfur and phosphorous containing test probe compounds at levels ranging from approximately 50 picograms (pg) to 1 nanogram (ng) on selected gas chromatographic columns. This method does not replace existing evaluation methods that characterize reversible adsorption but provides an additional tool. The test compounds were selected due to their ease of adsorption and their importance in the specific trace analytical detection methodology being developed. Replicate chromatographic columns with 5% phenylmethylpolysiloxane (PMS), polyethylene glycol (wax), trifluoropropylpolysiloxane (TFP), or 78% cyanopropylpolysiloxane stationary phases from a variety of vendors were evaluated. As expected, the results demonstrate that the different chromatographic phases exhibit differing degrees of irreversible adsorption behavior. The results also indicate that all manufacturers do not produce equally inert columns nor are columns from a given manufacturer identical. The wax-coated columns for the test probes used were more inert as a group than 5% PMS coated columns, and they were more reproducibly manufactured. Both TFP and 78% cyanopropylpolysiloxane columns displayed superior inertness to the test compounds compared to either 5% PMS- or wax-coated columns. Irreversible adsorption behavior was characterized for a limited range of stationary phase film thicknesses. In addition, the method was shown effective for characterizing column bleed and methods to remove bleed components. This method is useful in screening columns for demanding applications and to obtain diagnostic information related to improved preparation methods. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Thermodynamic restrictions on linear reversible and irreversible thermo-electro-magneto-mechanical processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sushma Santapuri

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available A unified thermodynamic framework for the characterization of functional materials is developed. This framework encompasses linear reversible and irreversible processes with thermal, electrical, magnetic, and/or mechanical effects coupled. The comprehensive framework combines the principles of classical equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics with electrodynamics of continua in the infinitesimal strain regime.In the first part of this paper, linear Thermo-Electro-Magneto-Mechanical (TEMM quasistatic processes are characterized. Thermodynamic stability conditions are further imposed on the linear constitutive model and restrictions on the corresponding material constants are derived. The framework is then extended to irreversible transport phenomena including thermoelectric, thermomagnetic and the state-of-the-art spintronic and spin caloritronic effects. Using Onsager's reciprocity relationships and the dissipation inequality, restrictions on the kinetic coefficients corresponding to charge, heat and spin transport processes are derived. All the constitutive models are accompanied by multiphysics interaction diagrams that highlight the various processes that can be characterized using this framework. Keywords: Applied mathematics, Materials science, Thermodynamics

  17. Thermal mechanisms responsible for the irreversible degradation of superconductivity in commercial superconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanovskii, V. R.

    2017-08-01

    Conditions for the irreversible propagation of thermal instabilities in commercial superconductors subjected to intense and soft cooling have been formulated. An analysis has been conducted using two types of the superconductor's I-V characteristics, i.e., an ideal I-V characteristic, which assumes a step superconducting-to-normal transition, and a continuous I-V characteristic, which is described by a power law. The propagation rate of thermal instabilities along the superconducting composite has been determined. Calculations have been made for both subcritical and supercritical values of the current. It has been shown that they propagate along a commercial superconductor in the form of a switching wave. In rapidly cooled commercial superconductors, the steady-state rate of thermal instability propagation in the longitudinal direction can only be positive because there is no region of steady stabilization. It has been proved that, in the case of thermal instability irreversible propagation, the rise in the commercial superconductor temperature is similar to diffusion processes that occur in explosive chain reactions.

  18. The antimicrobial peptide, lactoferricin B, is cytotoxic to neuroblastoma cells in vitro and inhibits xenograft growth in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eliassen, Liv Tone; Berge, Gerd; Leknessund, Arild; Wikman, Mari; Lindin, Inger; Løkke, Cecilie; Ponthan, Frida; Johnsen, John Inge; Sveinbjørnsson, Baldur; Kogner, Per; Flaegstad, Trond; Rekdal, Øystein

    2006-08-01

    Antimicrobial peptides have been shown to exert cytotoxic activity towards cancer cells through their ability to interact with negatively charged cell membranes. In this study the cytotoxic effect of the antimicrobial peptide, LfcinB was tested in a panel of human neuroblastoma cell lines. LfcinB displayed a selective cytotoxic activity against both MYCN-amplified and non-MYCN-amplified cell lines. Non-transformed fibroblasts were not substantially affected by LfcinB. Treatment of neuroblastoma cells with LfcinB induced rapid destabilization of the cytoplasmic membrane and formation of membrane blebs. Depolarization of the mitochondria membranes and irreversible changes in the mitochondria morphology was also evident. Immuno- and fluorescence-labeled LfcinB revealed that the peptide co-localized with mitochondria. Furthermore, treatment of neuroblastoma cells with LfcinB induced cleavage of caspase-6, -7 and -9 followed by cell death. However, neither addition of the pan-caspase inhibitor, zVAD-fmk, or specific caspase inhibitors could reverse the cytotoxic effect induced by LfcinB. Treatment of established SH-SY-5Y neuroblastoma xenografts with repeated injections of LfcinB resulted in significant tumor growth inhibition. These results revealed a selective destabilizing effect of LfcinB on two important targets in the neuroblastoma cells, the cytoplasmic- and the mitochondria membrane. Copyright (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  19. Effect of preoperative alprazolam on the success of inferior alveolar nerve block for teeth with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khademi, Abbas Ali; Saatchi, Masoud; Minaiyan, Mohsen; Rostamizadeh, Nasim; Sharafi, Fatemeh

    2012-10-01

    Success of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block decreases in patients with irreversible pulpitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative administration of alprazolam on the success of the IAN block for teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Sixty patients with irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular molar were selected for this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The patients received identical capsules of either 0.5 mg of alprazolam or placebo 45 minutes before the administration of a conventional IAN block. Access cavity preparation was initiated 15 minutes after the IAN block injection. Lip numbness was recorded for all the patients. Success was defined as no or mild pain on the basis of visual analogue scale recordings during access cavity preparation and initial instrumentation. Data were analyzed by t test, Mann-Whitney, and χ(2) tests. The success rate was 53% for alprazolam group and 40% for placebo group, with no significant difference between the 2 groups (P = .301). Within the scope of the current study, preoperative oral administration of 0.5 mg of alprazolam did not improve the success of the IAN block in mandibular molars in patients with irreversible pulpitis, and the success rate was not adequate to ensure profound pulpal anesthesia. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Conducts of disinfection, pouring and storage of irreversible hydrocolloid impressions by undergraduate students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thalisson Saymo de Oliveira SILVA

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Obtaining dental models that accurately represent the molded oral tissue requires professional attention, especially when using irreversible hydrocolloid as a molding material. Objective To evaluate the conducts of undergraduate dental students at different internships for the disinfecting procedures, pouring, and storage of irreversible hydrocolloid impressions. Material and method This is an observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study with a census sample of 89 students enrolled in the supervised internships I, II, III and IV. Data collection was performed using a structured questionnaire containing eight questions. Data were analyzed at the 5% significance level. Result Most of the students (88.8% performed the disinfection procedure, for which the most widely used method (64.6% was the application of sodium hypochlorite 1% spray stored in a sealed container. The most common disinfection time was 10 minutes (86.1%. Students in the early internships performed better in regard to the proportion of water/plaster to be used compared with students in the final internships. At all internships, pouring and storage of the ensemble of mold and model were neglected during the setting reaction. There was a statistically significant association between the stage and the disinfection method, the ratio of water/powder and pouring of the model (p<0.05. Conclusion Students exhibited appropriate conduct of disinfection; however, they should be encouraged to use evidence-based clinical practices in order to improve the procedures of pouring and storage of irreversible hydrocolloid molds.

  1. Antibiotics are not useful to reduce pain associated with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoskin, Eileen; Veitz-Keenan, Analia

    2016-09-01

    Data sourcesCochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Clinical Trials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. There were no language restrictions.Study selectionRandomised controlled trials which compared the relief of pain with systemic antibiotics and analgesics against placebo and analgesics in the preoperative phase of irreversible pulpitis. The primary interest was pain control with an antibiotic or without one in the presence of analgesics. The secondary outcomes were type, dose and frequency of medication for pain relief and any adverse effects related to hypersensitivity or other reactions to either the antibiotic or analgesics.Data extraction and synthesisTwo authors independently assessed the results of the searches. Data extraction and risk bias assessment were also carried out independently. A third reviewer settled any disagreement on inclusion. Since only one study was included a meta-analysis could not be performed.ResultsOnly one double blind randomised clinical trial involving 40 participants with a diagnosis of irreversible pulpitis in one of their teeth was included in this review. This was a low risk, well-constructed double blind study. Half of the participants were treated with penicillin 500 mg, the other with a placebo every six hours over a seven- day period. In addition, all the participants were instructed to initially take one tablet of ibuprofen every 4-6 hours as needed and to take acetaminophen with codeine (two tablets every 4-6 hours) only if the ibuprofen did not relieve the pain.There was no significant difference in the mean total number of ibuprofen tablets over the study period; 9.2(standard deviation (SD) 6.02) in the penicillin group versus, 9.6 (SD 6.34) in the placebo group; mean difference -0.40 (95% CI -4.23 to 3.43); P value = 0.84.The mean total number of Tylenol tablets, 6.9 (SD 6.87), used in the penicillin group versus 4

  2. Electrochemical characterization of irreversibly adsorbed germanium on platinum stepped surfaces vicinal to Pt(1 0 0)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, P.; Herrero, E.; Solla-Gullon, J.; Vidal-Iglesias, F.J.; Aldaz, A.; Feliu, J.M.

    2005-01-01

    The electrochemical behavior of germanium irreversibly adsorbed at stepped surfaces vicinal to the Pt(1 0 0) pole is reported. The process taking part on the (1 0 0) terraces is evaluated from charge density measurements and calibration lines versus the terrace dimension are plotted. On the series Pt(2n - 1,1,1) having (1 1 1) monoatomic steps, the charge involved in the redox process undergone by the irreversibly adsorbed germanium is able to account for (n - 0.5) terrace atoms, thus suggesting some steric difficulties in the growth of the adlayer on the (1 0 0) terraces. Conversely, no steric problems are apparent in the series Pt(n,1,0) in which more open (1 0 0) steps are present on the (1 0 0) terraces. In this latter case the charge density under the germanium redox peaks is proportional to the number of terrace atoms. Some comparison is made with other stepped surfaces to understand the behavior and stability of germanium irreversibly adsorbed on the different platinum surface sites

  3. Application of a novel biological nanofluid in a liquid block heat sink for cooling of an electronic processor: Thermal performance and irreversibility considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahiraei, Mehdi; Heshmatian, Saeed

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Cooling of an electronic processor is performed by means of a biological nanofluid. • Heat transfer coefficient rises by raising either Reynolds number or concentration. • By increasing Reynolds number and concentration, temperature becomes more uniform. • Surface temperature reduces by augmenting either Reynolds number or concentration. • Irreversibility in heat sink reduces by raising concentration and Reynolds number. - Abstract: Hydrothermal characteristics and entropy generation of a biological nanofluid containing silver nanoparticles are evaluated in a liquid block heat sink for cooling of an electronic processor. The liquid block under study has 20 channels, and its bottom surface is placed on the processor. Nanoparticles synthesized through plant extract technique from green tea leaves are employed. The degree of improvement in cooling, pumping power, thermal performance and irreversibilities are examined for case of using the nanofluid instead of water. By increasing Reynolds number and particle concentration, temperature distribution becomes more uniform in processor surface and heat transfer coefficient also increases. Furthermore, the surface temperature decreases with increasing concentration and Reynolds number, such that it reduces by 2.21 °C in case of using the nanofluid with concentration of 1% instead of water at Reynolds number of 500. Moreover, maximum temperature of the processor surface decreases by increasing Reynolds number and concentration and therefore, the possibility of hot spot formation diminishes. Results show that at a constant work consumption, the nanofluid also presents better cooling compared to water. Entropy generation analysis reveals that irreversibility in the whole liquid block decreases with increasing either concentration or Reynolds number, which is a positive result based on second law of thermodynamics.

  4. IRREVERSIBILITY GENERATION IN SUGAR, ALCOHOL AND BIOGAS INTEGRATED PRODUCTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meilyn González Cortés

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work, the stages of losses and lower exergetic efficiency are determined when the sugar production process is integrated with others for the production of products such as biogas, torula yeast and electricity. The study is carried out in three scenarios of integrated processes for obtaining the indicated products. A sugar factory in which sugar and electricity are produced is considered as the base scenario and from this; a second scenario is inferred in which alcohol is produced from the molasses of the sugar process and biogas from the vinasse of the alcohol distillation process. Finally, a third scenario is exergetically evaluated in which sugar, electricity, biogas and alcohol are produced, but this last one from juices and molasses of the sugar process. For the exergetic analysis the integrated scheme was divided into 8 subsystems. From the analysis of results, the major subsystems that generate irreversibilities are: cogeneration (64.36-65.98%, juice extraction (8.85-9.85%, crystallization and cooking, (8.48 -9.02%, fermentation (4.12-4.94% and distillation (2.74-3.2%. Improvements are proposed to minimize irreversibilities, including the thermal integration of processes, technological modifications in the fermentation process and the introduction of more efficient equipment for the generation of electricity. The exergetic efficiency is between 78.95-81.10%, obtaining greater exergetic efficiency in the scheme of joint operation to produce sugar, alcohol and biogas.

  5. Thermomagnetic behaviour and compositional irreversibility on (Fe/Si)3 multilayer films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badía-Romano, L.; Rubín, J.; Magén, C.; Bartolomé, F.; Sesé, J.; Ibarra, M.R.; Bartolomé, J.

    2014-01-01

    This work presents the correlation between the morphology and magnetic properties of (Fe/Si) 3 multilayers with different Fe layer thicknesses and fixed Si spacer thickness in a broad temperature range (5 R /M S ratios and saturation fields are related to several types of interlayer exchange coupling. 90°-coupling and a superposition of 90° and antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling are found depending on the Fe layer thickness. Magnetization curves were investigated as a function of temperature by in situ annealing. They show an irreversible thermal process as temperature increases from 300 to 450 K that is correlated to the formation of a ferromagnetic silicide phase. At higher temperature this phase transforms into a paramagnetic Fe–Si phase. - Highlights: • A thermomagnetic study on (Fe/Si) 3 multilayers is performed by in situ annealing. • We assess on the Fe layer thickness dependence, while the Si spacer is fixed. • 90° and AF interlayer exchange couplings are found depending on the Fe thickness. • We report an irreversible thermal process, correlated to chemical transformations. • The integrity of these (Fe/Si) 3 films is conserved just till T≈410K

  6. A comparative study of ethylene growth response kinetics in eudicots and monocots reveals a role for gibberellin in growth inhibition and recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Joonyup; Wilson, Rebecca L; Case, J Brett; Binder, Brad M

    2012-11-01

    Time-lapse imaging of dark-grown Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) hypocotyls has revealed new aspects about ethylene signaling. This study expands upon these results by examining ethylene growth response kinetics of seedlings of several plant species. Although the response kinetics varied between the eudicots studied, all had prolonged growth inhibition for as long as ethylene was present. In contrast, with continued application of ethylene, white millet (Panicum miliaceum) seedlings had a rapid and transient growth inhibition response, rice (Oryza sativa 'Nipponbare') seedlings had a slow onset of growth stimulation, and barley (Hordeum vulgare) had a transient growth inhibition response followed, after a delay, by a prolonged inhibition response. Growth stimulation in rice correlated with a decrease in the levels of rice ETHYLENE INSENSTIVE3-LIKE2 (OsEIL2) and an increase in rice F-BOX DOMAIN AND LRR CONTAINING PROTEIN7 transcripts. The gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol caused millet seedlings to have a prolonged growth inhibition response when ethylene was applied. A transient ethylene growth inhibition response has previously been reported for Arabidopsis ethylene insensitive3-1 (ein3-1) eil1-1 double mutants. Paclobutrazol caused these mutants to have a prolonged response to ethylene, whereas constitutive GA signaling in this background eliminated ethylene responses. Sensitivity to paclobutrazol inversely correlated with the levels of EIN3 in Arabidopsis. Wild-type Arabidopsis seedlings treated with paclobutrazol and mutants deficient in GA levels or signaling had a delayed growth recovery after ethylene removal. It is interesting to note that ethylene caused alterations in gene expression that are predicted to increase GA levels in the ein3-1 eil1-1 seedlings. These results indicate that ethylene affects GA levels leading to modulation of ethylene growth inhibition kinetics.

  7. Which elements are involved in reversible and irreversible cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bay-Jensen, Anne-Christine; Hoegh-Madsen, Suzi; Dam, Erik

    2010-01-01

    -physiology of the joint and whether the joint damage is reversible or irreversible. In this review, we compile emerging data on cellular and pathological aspects of OA, and ask whether these data could give clue to when cartilage degradation is reversible and whether a point-of-no-return exists. We highlight different...

  8. Novel mode of inhibition by D-tagatose 6-phosphate through a Heyns rearrangement in the active site of transaldolase B variants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stellmacher, Lena; Sandalova, Tatyana; Schneider, Sarah; Schneider, Gunter; Sprenger, Georg A; Samland, Anne K

    2016-04-01

    Transaldolase B (TalB) and D-fructose-6-phosphate aldolase A (FSAA) from Escherichia coli are C-C bond-forming enzymes. Using kinetic inhibition studies and mass spectrometry, it is shown that enzyme variants of FSAA and TalB that exhibit D-fructose-6-phosphate aldolase activity are inhibited covalently and irreversibly by D-tagatose 6-phosphate (D-T6P), whereas no inhibition was observed for wild-type transaldolase B from E. coli. The crystal structure of the variant TalB(F178Y) with bound sugar phosphate was solved to a resolution of 1.46 Å and revealed a novel mode of covalent inhibition. The sugar is bound covalently via its C2 atom to the ℇ-NH2 group of the active-site residue Lys132. It is neither bound in the open-chain form nor as the closed-ring form of D-T6P, but has been converted to β-D-galactofuranose 6-phosphate (D-G6P), a five-membered ring structure. The furanose ring of the covalent adduct is formed via a Heyns rearrangement and subsequent hemiacetal formation. This reaction is facilitated by Tyr178, which is proposed to act as acid-base catalyst. The crystal structure of the inhibitor complex is compared with the structure of the Schiff-base intermediate of TalB(E96Q) formed with the substrate D-fructose 6-phosphate determined to a resolution of 2.20 Å. This comparison highlights the differences in stereochemistry at the C4 atom of the ligand as an essential determinant for the formation of the inhibitor adduct in the active site of the enzyme.

  9. Incidence of missed inferior alveolar nerve blocks in vital asymptomatic subjects and in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, Sara; Reader, Al; Beck, Mike

    2015-05-01

    The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence of missed inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) blocks by using a 1- or 2-cartridge volume of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine in vital asymptomatic teeth and in emergency patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. As part of 37 studies, 3169 subjects/patients were evaluated for missed IAN blocks. The study included 2450 asymptomatic subjects and 719 emergency patients presenting with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Each subject or patient received either a 1- or 2-cartridge volume of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. A missed block was defined as no lip numbness at 15-20 minutes after the IAN block. The effect of anesthetic volume on the incidence of missed blocks was assessed by using mixed models logistic regression with individual studies as a random effect. The incidence of missed blocks for asymptomatic subjects was 6.3% for the 1-cartridge volume and 3.8% for the 2-cartridge volume. For patients presenting with irreversible pulpitis, the incidence of missed blocks was 7.7% for the 1-cartridge volume and 2.3% for the 2-cartridge volume. In both asymptomatic subjects and patients with irreversible pulpitis, the 2-cartridge volume was significantly (P = .0395) better than the 1-cartridge volume. There were no significant effects for pulpal diagnosis (P = .7523) or the pulpal diagnosis and anesthetic volume interaction (P = .3973). Concerning missed IAN blocks, we concluded that administration of a 2-cartridge volume was significantly better (P = .0395) than a 1-cartridge volume in both asymptomatic subjects and emergency patients presenting with irreversible pulpitis. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Basic quantum irreversibility in neutron interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rauch, H

    2009-01-01

    The transition between the quantum and classical world is a topical problem in quantum physics, which can be investigated by neutron interferometric methods. Here we discuss unavoidable quantum losses as they appear in neutron phase-echo and spin rotation experiments and we show how entanglement effects in a single-particle system demonstrate quantum contextuality, i.e. an entanglement between external and internal degrees of freedom in single-particle systems. This contextuality phenomenon also shows that a quantum system carries much more information than usually extracted. In all cases of an interaction, parasitic beams are produced which cannot be recombined completely with the original beam. This means that a complete reconstruction of the original state is, in principle, impossible which causes a kind of intrinsic irreversibility. Even small interaction potentials can have huge effects when they are applied in quantum Zeno-like experiments. The path towards advanced neutron quantum optics will be discussed.

  11. A relation between irreversibility and unlinkability for biometric template protection algorithms

    OpenAIRE

    井沼, 学

    2014-01-01

    For biometric recognition systems, privacy protection of enrolled users’ biometric information, which are called biometric templates, is a critical problem. Recently, various template protection algorithms have been proposed and many related previous works have discussed security notions to evaluate the protection performance of these protection algorithms. Irreversibility and unlinkability are important security notions discussed in many related previous works. In this paper, we prove that u...

  12. Competing irreversible cooperative reactions on polymer chains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, J.W.; Hoffman, D.K.; Burgess, D.R.

    1984-01-01

    We analyze model processes involving competition between several irreversible reactions at the sites of a 1D, infinite, uniform polymer chain. These reactions can be cooperative, i.e., the corresponding rates depend on the state of the surrounding sites. An infinite hierarchy of rate equations is readily derived for the probabilities of various subconfigurations. By exploiting a shielding property of suitable blocks of unreacted sites, we show how exact hierarchy truncation and solution is sometimes possible. The behavior of solutions is illustrated in several cases by plotting families of ''reaction trajectories'' for varying ratios of reactant concentrations. As a specific application, we consider competition between coordination of ZnCl 2 to pairs of oxygen atoms and to single oxygen atoms in poly(propylene oxide). The observed glass transition temperature behavior is eludicated

  13. Recent Advances in Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Enzyme Inhibition for Clinical and Pharmaceutical Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Harrad, Loubna; Bourais, Ilhame; Mohammadi, Hasna; Amine, Aziz

    2018-01-09

    A large number of enzyme inhibitors are used as drugs to treat several diseases such as gout, diabetes, AIDS, depression, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Electrochemical biosensors based on enzyme inhibition are useful devices for an easy, fast and environment friendly monitoring of inhibitors like drugs. In the last decades, electrochemical biosensors have shown great potentials in the detection of different drugs like neostigmine, ketoconazole, donepezil, allopurinol and many others. They attracted increasing attention due to the advantage of being high sensitive and accurate analytical tools, able to reach low detection limits and the possibility to be performed on real samples. This review will spotlight the research conducted in the past 10 years (2007-2017) on inhibition based enzymatic electrochemical biosensors for the analysis of different drugs. New assays based on novel bio-devices will be debated. Moreover, the exploration of the recent graphical approach in diagnosis of reversible and irreversible inhibition mechanism will be discussed. The accurate and the fast diagnosis of inhibition type will help researchers in further drug design improvements and the identification of new molecules that will serve as new enzyme targets.

  14. Recent Advances in Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Enzyme Inhibition for Clinical and Pharmaceutical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loubna El Harrad

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A large number of enzyme inhibitors are used as drugs to treat several diseases such as gout, diabetes, AIDS, depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Electrochemical biosensors based on enzyme inhibition are useful devices for an easy, fast and environment friendly monitoring of inhibitors like drugs. In the last decades, electrochemical biosensors have shown great potentials in the detection of different drugs like neostigmine, ketoconazole, donepezil, allopurinol and many others. They attracted increasing attention due to the advantage of being high sensitive and accurate analytical tools, able to reach low detection limits and the possibility to be performed on real samples. This review will spotlight the research conducted in the past 10 years (2007–2017 on inhibition based enzymatic electrochemical biosensors for the analysis of different drugs. New assays based on novel bio-devices will be debated. Moreover, the exploration of the recent graphical approach in diagnosis of reversible and irreversible inhibition mechanism will be discussed. The accurate and the fast diagnosis of inhibition type will help researchers in further drug design improvements and the identification of new molecules that will serve as new enzyme targets.

  15. Magnetic resonance measurement of turbulent kinetic energy for the estimation of irreversible pressure loss in aortic stenosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyverfeldt, Petter; Hope, Michael D; Tseng, Elaine E; Saloner, David

    2013-01-01

    The authors sought to measure the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the ascending aorta of patients with aortic stenosis and to assess its relationship to irreversible pressure loss. Irreversible pressure loss caused by energy dissipation in post-stenotic flow is an important determinant of the hemodynamic significance of aortic stenosis. The simplified Bernoulli equation used to estimate pressure gradients often misclassifies the ventricular overload caused by aortic stenosis. The current gold standard for estimation of irreversible pressure loss is catheterization, but this method is rarely used due to its invasiveness. Post-stenotic pressure loss is largely caused by dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy into heat. Recent developments in magnetic resonance flow imaging permit noninvasive estimation of TKE. The study was approved by the local ethics review board and all subjects gave written informed consent. Three-dimensional cine magnetic resonance flow imaging was used to measure TKE in 18 subjects (4 normal volunteers, 14 patients with aortic stenosis with and without dilation). For each subject, the peak total TKE in the ascending aorta was compared with a pressure loss index. The pressure loss index was based on a previously validated theory relating pressure loss to measures obtainable by echocardiography. The total TKE did not appear to be related to global flow patterns visualized based on magnetic resonance-measured velocity fields. The TKE was significantly higher in patients with aortic stenosis than in normal volunteers (p < 0.001). The peak total TKE in the ascending aorta was strongly correlated to index pressure loss (R(2) = 0.91). Peak total TKE in the ascending aorta correlated strongly with irreversible pressure loss estimated by a well-established method. Direct measurement of TKE by magnetic resonance flow imaging may, with further validation, be used to estimate irreversible pressure loss in aortic stenosis. Copyright © 2013 American

  16. Voter model with arbitrary degree dependence: clout, confidence and irreversibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fotouhi, Babak; Rabbat, Michael G.

    2014-03-01

    The voter model is widely used to model opinion dynamics in society. In this paper, we propose three modifications to incorporate heterogeneity into the model. We address the corresponding oversimplifications of the conventional voter model which are unrealistic. We first consider the voter model with popularity bias. The influence of each node on its neighbors depends on its degree. We find the consensus probabilities and expected consensus times for each of the states. We also find the fixation probability, which is the probability that a single node whose state differs from every other node imposes its state on the entire system. In addition, we find the expected fixation time. Then two other extensions to the model are proposed and the motivations behind them are discussed. The first one is confidence, where in addition to the states of neighbors, nodes take their own state into account at each update. We repeat the calculations for the augmented model and investigate the effects of adding confidence to the model. The second proposed extension is irreversibility, where one of the states is given the property that once nodes adopt it, they cannot switch back. This is motivated by applications where, agents take an irreversible action such as seeing a movie, purchasing a music album online, or buying a new product. The dynamics of densities, fixation times and consensus times are obtained.

  17. Constructal theory through thermodynamics of irreversible processes framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tescari, S.; Mazet, N.; Neveu, P.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Point to area flow problem is solved through Thermodynamics of irreversible processes. → A new optimisation criterion is defined: the exergy or entropy impedance. → Optimisation is performed following two different routes, constructal or global. → Global optimisation is more efficient than constructal optimisation. → Global optimisation enhances the domain of construct benefits. - Abstract: Point to volume flow problem is revisited on a thermodynamics of irreversible processes (TIP) basis. The first step consists in evaluating the local entropy production of the system, and deducing from this expression the phenomenological laws. Then, the total entropy production can be simply evaluated. It is demonstrated that total entropy production can be written in a remarkable form: the product of the so-called entropy impedance with the square of the heat flux. As the heat flux is given, optimisation consists in minimising the entropy impedance. It is also shown that minimising entropy impedance minimises the maximum temperature difference. Applied to the elemental volume, this optimisation process leads to a shape factor close to the one already published. For the first construction, the equivalent system is defined as stated by Prigogine: when subjected to the same constraints, two systems are thermodynamically equivalent if their entropy production is equal. Two optimisation routes are then investigated: a global optimisation where all scales are taken into account and the constructal optimisation where the system is optimised scale by scale. In this second case, results are close to Ghodossi's work. When global optimisation is performed, it is demonstrated that conductive paths have to be spread uniformly in the active material (i.e. the number of elemental volumes must go to infinite). Comparing the two routes, global optimisation leads to better performance than constructal optimisation. Moreover, global optimisation enlarges the domain of

  18. Performance analysis of irreversible molten carbonate fuel cell – Braysson heat engine with ecological objective approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Açıkkalp, Emin

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • An irreversible MCFC - Braysson heat engine is considered. • Its performance is investigated with ecological approach. • A new ecological criteria are presented called as modified ecological function. • Result are obtained numerically and discussed. - Abstract: An irreversible hybrid molten carbonate fuel cell-Braysson heat engine is taken into account. Basic thermodynamics parameters including power output, efficiency and exergy destruction rate are considered. In addition ecological function and new criteria, which is based on ecological function, for heat engines called as modified ecological function is suggested. Optimum conditions for mentioned parameters above are determined. Numerical results are obtained and plotted. Finally, results are discussed.

  19. [Mineral trioxide aggragate pulpotomy for the treatment of immature permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis: a preliminary clinical study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Chufang; Zhao, Yuming; Yang, Yuan; Qin, Man

    2015-12-01

    To evaluate the preliminary clinical effect of mineral trioxide aggragate (MTA) pulpotomy on immature permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Twenty-six immature permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis were recuited from Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology. These teeth were treated with partial or full pulpotomy according to the condition of pulp bleeding. MTA was used as pulp capping material. Patients were recalled periodically after the treatment. Clinical and radiographic effects were evaluated. At one year follow-up, 20 teeth were evaluated as healed or healing, 2 teeth were evaluated as failure and 4 teeth were dropped out. The success rate was considered 91% (20/22). A dentinal bridge was radiographcally observed underneath the pulpotomy site in 13 teeth(65%, 13/20). MTA pulpotomy is an effective method for the treatment of immature permanent teeth with irreversible pulpitis. But further research with longer follow up period is required.

  20. Behavior of the irreversibility line in the new superconductor La{sub 1.5+x}Ba{sub 1.5+x-y}Ca{sub y}Cu{sub 3}O{sub z}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parra Vargas, C.A. [Grupo de Fisica de Materiales, Escuela de Fisica, Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia, Tunja (Colombia); Pimentel, J.L.; Pureur, P. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Landinez Tellez, D.A. [Grupo de Fisica de Nuevos Materiales, Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, AA 5997, Bogota DC (Colombia); Roa-Rojas, J., E-mail: carlos.parra@uptc.edu.co [Grupo de Fisica de Nuevos Materiales, Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, AA 5997, Bogota DC (Colombia)

    2012-08-15

    The irreversibility properties of high-T{sub c} superconductors are of major importance for technological applications. For example, a high irreversibility magnetic field is a more desirable quality for a superconductor . The irreversibility line in the H-T plane is constituted by experimental points, which divides the irreversible and reversible behavior of the magnetization. The irreversibility lines for series of La{sub 1.5+x}Ba{sub 1.5+x-y}Ca{sub y}Cu{sub 3}O{sub z} polycrystalline samples with different doping were investigated. The samples were synthesized using the usual solid estate reaction method. Rietveld-type refinement of x-ray diffraction patterns permitted to determine the crystallization of material in a tetragonal structure. Curves of magnetization ZFC-FC for the system La{sub 1.5+x}Ba{sub 1.5+x-y}Ca{sub y}Cu{sub 3}O{sub z}, were measured in magnetic fields of the 10-20,000 Oe, and allowed to obtain the values for the irreversibility and critical temperatures. The data of irreversibility temperature allowed demarcating the irreversibility line, T{sub irr}(H). Two main lines are used for the interpretation of the irreversibility line: one of those which suppose that the vortexes are activated thermally and the other proposes that associated to T{sub irr} a phase transition occurs. The irreversibility line is described by a power law. The obtained results allow concluding that in the system La{sub 1.5+x}Ba{sub 1.5+x-y}Ca{sub y}Cu{sub 3}O{sub z} a characteristic bend of the Almeida-Thouless (AT) tendency is dominant for low fields and a bend Gabay-Toulouse (GT) behavior for high magnetic fields. This feature of the irreversibility line has been reported as a characteristic of granular superconductors and it corroborates the topological effects of vortexes mentioned by several authors .

  1. Neratinib: an oral, irreversible dual EGFR/HER2 inhibitor for breast and non-small cell lung cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bose, Prithviraj; Ozer, Howard

    2009-11-01

    The revolutionary success of imatinib, a specific inhibitor of the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase (TK) in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia ushered in the era of targeted therapies in cancer. The erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog family of receptor TKs, to which EGFR (HER1) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu TKs belong, has been implicated in a variety of cancers, and several agents that inhibit these TKs are in clinical use, with many more in various stages of development. To summarize current knowledge about neratinib (HKI-272), an oral, irreversible dual inhibitor of EGFR and HER2 and to define its future clinical role, especially in the context of related agents that are either available or in the pipeline. A Medline search using Pubmed was conducted using the keywords neratinib, HKI-272, EGFR, HER2, lapatinib, trastuzumab, erlotinib, gefitinib, cetuximab and panitumumab. Relevant abstracts presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology and San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium meetings were also reviewed. Both preclinical and human studies have shown that neratinib has promising activity in both advanced breast cancer and NSCLC with an acceptable safety profile. The data support its continued clinical development.

  2. Irreversible adsorption of particles on heterogeneous surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamczyk, Zbigniew; Jaszczółt, Katarzyna; Michna, Aneta; Siwek, Barbara; Szyk-Warszyńska, Lilianna; Zembala, Maria

    2005-12-30

    Methods of theoretical and experimental evaluation of irreversible adsorption of particles, e.g., colloids and globular proteins at heterogeneous surfaces were reviewed. The theoretical models were based on the generalized random sequential adsorption (RSA) approach. Within the scope of these models, localized adsorption of particles occurring as a result of short-ranged attractive interactions with discrete adsorption sites was analyzed. Monte-Carlo type simulations performed according to this model enabled one to determine the initial flux, adsorption kinetics, jamming coverage and the structure of the particle monolayer as a function of the site coverage and the particle/site size ratio, denoted by lambda. It was revealed that the initial flux increased significantly with the site coverage theta(s) and the lambda parameter. This behavior was quantitatively interpreted in terms of the scaled particle theory. It also was demonstrated that particle adsorption kinetics and the jamming coverage increased significantly, at fixed site coverage, when the lambda parameter increased. Practically, for alpha = lambda2theta(s) > 1 the jamming coverage at the heterogeneous surfaces attained the value pertinent to continuous surfaces. The results obtained prove unequivocally that spherically shaped sites were more efficient in binding particles in comparison with disk-shaped sites. It also was predicted that for particle size ratio lambda charge. Particle deposition occurred under diffusion-controlled transport conditions and their coverage was evaluated by direct particle counting using the optical and electron microscopy. Adsorption kinetics was quantitatively interpreted in terms of numerical solutions of the governing diffusion equation with the non-linear boundary condition derived from Monte-Carlo simulations. It was proven that for site coverage as low as a few percent the initial flux at heterogeneous surfaces attained the maximum value pertinent to homogeneous

  3. Irreversibility of world-sheet renormalization group flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliynyk, T.; Suneeta, V.; Woolgar, E.

    2005-01-01

    We demonstrate the irreversibility of a wide class of world-sheet renormalization group (RG) flows to first order in α ' in string theory. Our techniques draw on the mathematics of Ricci flows, adapted to asymptotically flat target manifolds. In the case of somewhere-negative scalar curvature (of the target space), we give a proof by constructing an entropy that increases monotonically along the flow, based on Perelman's Ricci flow entropy. One consequence is the absence of periodic solutions, and we are able to give a second, direct proof of this. If the scalar curvature is everywhere positive, we instead construct a regularized volume to provide an entropy for the flow. Our results are, in a sense, the analogue of Zamolodchikov's c-theorem for world-sheet RG flows on noncompact spacetimes (though our entropy is not the Zamolodchikov C-function)

  4. Trigeminocardiac reflex during non-surgical root canal treatment of teeth with irreversible pulpitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James I.-Sheng Huang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Background/Purpose: Trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR is a unique clinical incident of acute change in hemodynamic balance, which may lead to hypotension, bradycardia, and even clinical crisis. Up to date, no study so far considers the impact of non-surgical root canal treatment (NSRCT of irreversible pulpitis teeth under either local infiltration or block anesthesia on hemodynamic change possibly related to TCR. Methods: This study enrolled 111 patients with 138 irreversible pulpitis teeth that were treated by two sessions of NSRCT. The first session involved mainly the removal of vital pulp tissue with the direct stimulation of the dental branches of the trigeminal nerve, and the second session included the root canal enlargement and debridement with minimal disturbance to the dental branches of the trigeminal nerve. Vital signs mainly the blood pressure were recorded during both NSRCT sessions. Results: The incidences of NSRCT patients with MABP decrease ≧10%, ≧15%, or ≧20% were all significantly higher in the first NSRCT session than in the second NSRCT session (all the P-values < 0.001. In the first NSRCT session, the incidence of patients with MABP decrease ≧10% was significantly associated with tooth type. For both upper and lower teeth, the patients with premolars treated by NSRCR had significantly higher incidences of MABP decrease ≧10% than those with either anterior or molar teeth treated by NSRCR (all the P-values < 0.05. Conclusion: We conclude that vital pulp extirpation may lead to a substantial drop in patient's blood pressure possibly related to TCR. Keywords: Trigeminocardiac reflex, Non-surgical root canal treatment, Irreversible pulpitis, Mean arterial blood pressure, Hypotension, Teeth

  5. Acute Toxicity of Organophosphorus Compounds in Guinea Pigs Is Sex- and Age-Dependent and Cannot Be Solely Accounted for by Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition

    OpenAIRE

    Fawcett, William P.; Aracava, Yasco; Adler, Michael; Pereira, Edna F. R.; Albuquerque, Edson X.

    2008-01-01

    This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the acute toxicity of the nerve agents S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl]-O-ethyl methylphosphonothioate (VX), O-pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate (soman), and O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (sarin) in guinea pigs is age- and sex-dependent and cannot be fully accounted for by the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The subcutaneous doses of nerve agents needed to decrease 24-h survival of guine...

  6. Buccal infiltration versus inferior alveolar nerve block in mandibular 2nd premolars with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, K; Tunga, U; Ozyurek, T

    2018-04-01

    The purpose of this study is to compare the success rates of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) and buccal infiltration anesthesia of mandibular second premolar with irreversible pulpitis and to evaluate the level of patient discomfort with these methods. Forty patients, who had irreversible pulpitis in the mandibular 2 nd premolar teeth, were included in the study. Patients were randomly distributed in two groups. In one group IANB, in the other group buccal infiltration anesthesia were performed. The efficacy of these two different anesthesia techniques on the related teeth was investigated with the Heft-Parker visual analog scale. In addition, with a pulse oximetry device, the changes in the patients' heart rates were compared between the groups. The obtained data were evaluated statistically. Both anesthesia techniques reduced the pain significantly in patients before the administration (P 0.05). Both of the anesthesia techniques increased the heart rate (P < 0.05). The increase in the heart rate of the patients was significantly higher in the buccal infiltration anesthesia group than the other anesthesia group (P < 0.05). Within the limitation of this in vivo study, there was no difference between the efficacies of the buccal infiltration anesthesia and IANB anesthesia in the mandibular 2 nd premolar teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Buccal infiltration anesthesia caused more discomfort in the patients compared with the IANB during the administration.

  7. Endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis in children with irreversible pulmonary hypertension due to congenital heart disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Çiftel, Murat; Şimşek, Ayse; Turan, Özlem; Kardelen, Firat; Akçurin, Gayaz; Ertuğ, Halil

    2012-01-01

    To assess endothelial dysfunction and the risk for coronary atherosclerosis in children with irreversible pulmonary hypertension due to congenital heart disease (CHD). The study included 18 cyanotic patients (the mean age was 12.28 ± 3.26 years) who developed irreversible pulmonary hypertension due to cyanotic and acyanotic CHDs, and 18 control patients (the mean age was 11.78 ± 3.00 years). Study groups were compared for flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and atherosclerotic risk factors. Compared to the control group, the mean FMD was significantly reduced in the cyanotic group (5.26 ± 2.42% and 9.48 ± 2.60%, respectively; P-value < 0.001). No significant difference was observed between the groups in CIMT (0.41 ± 0.08 mm and 0.39 ± 0.06 mm, respectively; P-value = 0.299). The levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein–cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein–cholesterol were statistically significantly lower compared tothe control group (P-value = 0.001, 0.006 and 0.014, respectively), whereas no statistically significant difference was found in the levels of high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol and triglycerides (P-value = 0.113 and 0.975, respectively). Systemic endothelial dysfunction in children with irreversible pulmonary hypertension due to CHD was noted but there was no increased risk for atherosclerosis

  8. Irreversible dilation of NaCl contaminated lime-cement mortar due to crystallization cycles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lubelli, B.; van Hees, R.P.J.; Huinink, H.P.; Groot, C.J.W.P.

    2006-01-01

    The mechanism of damage occurring in NaCl contaminated materials has not been clarified yet. Apart from crystn. pressure, other hypotheses have been proposed to explain the cause of decay. Irreversible dilation has been obsd. in a few cases but has never been studied in a more systematic way. The

  9. Combining chemical genomics screens in yeast to reveal spectrum of effects of chemical inhibition of sphingolipid biosynthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giaever Guri

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Single genome-wide screens for the effect of altered gene dosage on drug sensitivity in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae provide only a partial picture of the mechanism of action of a drug. Results Using the example of the tumor cell invasion inhibitor dihydromotuporamine C, we show that a more complete picture of drug action can be obtained by combining different chemical genomics approaches – analysis of the sensitivity of ρ0 cells lacking mitochondrial DNA, drug-induced haploinsufficiency, suppression of drug sensitivity by gene overexpression and chemical-genetic synthetic lethality screening using strains deleted of nonessential genes. Killing of yeast by this chemical requires a functional mitochondrial electron-transport chain and cytochrome c heme lyase function. However, we find that it does not require genes associated with programmed cell death in yeast. The chemical also inhibits endocytosis and intracellular vesicle trafficking and interferes with vacuolar acidification in yeast and in human cancer cells. These effects can all be ascribed to inhibition of sphingolipid biosynthesis by dihydromotuporamine C. Conclusion Despite their similar conceptual basis, namely altering drug sensitivity by modifying gene dosage, each of the screening approaches provided a distinct set of information that, when integrated, revealed a more complete picture of the mechanism of action of a drug on cells.

  10. X-tip intraosseous injection system as a primary anesthesia for irreversible pulpitis of posterior mandibular teeth: A randomized clinical trail

    OpenAIRE

    Razavian, Hamid; Kazemi, Shantia; Khazaei, Saber; Jahromi, Maryam Zare

    2013-01-01

    Background: Successful anesthesia during root canal therapy may be difficult to obtain. Intraosseous injection significantly improves anesthesia′s success as a supplemental pulpal anesthesia, particularly in cases of irreversible pulpitis. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection and inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block in primary anesthesia for mandibular posterior teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Materials and Methods: Forty emergency patients wi...

  11. 15-Deoxy-Δ{sup 12,14}-prostaglandin J{sub 2} inhibits IL-13 production in T cells via an NF-κB-dependent mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doyle, Marie-Christine; Tremblay, Sarah [Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke (QC), Canada J1K 2R1 (Canada); Dumais, Nancy, E-mail: nancy.dumais@usherbrooke.ca [Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke (QC), Canada J1K 2R1 (Canada)

    2013-02-15

    Highlights: ► 15d-PGJ{sub 2} decreased IL-13 mRNA transcription and secretion in activated T cells. ► IL-13 inhibition by 15d-PGJ{sub 2} is independent of PPAR-γ. ► The nuclear factor-κB mediates the 15d-PGJ{sub 2}-dependent down regulation of IL-13. -- Abstract: Interleukin (IL)-13 is a cytokine produced by activated CD4{sup +} T cells that plays a critical role in promoting allergic responses and tumor cell growth. The 15-deoxy-Δ{sup 12,14}-prostaglandin J{sub 2} (15d-PGJ{sub 2}) is a natural ligand for the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), a known regulator of anti-inflammatory activities. We determined the effects of 15d-PGJ{sub 2} on IL-13 expression in the Jurkat E6.1 T-cell line and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that treatment of activated T cells with 15d-PGJ{sub 2} significantly decreased IL-13 mRNA transcription and secretion, respectively. This inhibition by 15d-PGJ{sub 2} was independent of PPAR-γ since treatment with GW9662, an irreversible antagonist of the nuclear receptor, produced no effect. Our data also revealed the involvement of nuclear factor-κB in mediating 15d-PGJ{sub 2}-dependent down regulation of IL-13 expression. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential of 15d-PGJ{sub 2} in attenuating expression and production of IL-13 in activated T cells.

  12. Performance evaluation of an irreversible Miller cycle comparing FTT (finite-time thermodynamics) analysis and ANN (artificial neural network) prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mousapour, Ashkan; Hajipour, Alireza; Rashidi, Mohammad Mehdi; Freidoonimehr, Navid

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the first and second-laws efficiencies are applied to performance analysis of an irreversible Miller cycle. In the irreversible cycle, the linear relation between the specific heat of the working fluid and its temperature, the internal irreversibility described using the compression and expansion efficiencies, the friction loss computed according to the mean velocity of the piston and the heat-transfer loss are considered. The effects of various design parameters, such as the minimum and maximum temperatures of the working fluid and the compression ratio on the power output and the first and second-laws efficiencies of the cycle are discussed. In the following, a procedure named ANN is used for predicting the thermal efficiency values versus the compression ratio, and the minimum and maximum temperatures of the Miller cycle. Nowadays, Miller cycle is widely used in the automotive industry and the obtained results of this study will provide some significant theoretical grounds for the design optimization of the Miller cycle. - Highlights: • The performance of an irreversible Miller cycle is investigated using FFT. • The effects of design parameters on the performance of the cycle are investigated. • ANN is applied to predict the thermal efficiency and the power output values. • There is an excellent correlation between FTT and ANN data. • ANN can be applied to predict data where FTT analysis has not been performed.

  13. Irreversibility Curve on Y1–xLuxBa2Cu3O7–δ (x=0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) superconducting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grimaldos, J F Cepeda; Supelano G, I; Santos, A Sarmiento; Chiquillo, M V; Martínez B, D; Vargas, C A Parra

    2014-01-01

    The irreversibility line in the H–T plane divides the irreversible and reversible behaviour of the magnetization which is of importance for the characterization of high T c superconductors. In this work, we report the production of Y 1–X Lu X Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7–δ (X=0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) superconducting system using the usual solid state reaction method. The irreversibility line H–T plane for the Y 1–X Lu X Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7–δ polycrystalline sample was investigated. The curves of magnetization ZFC (cero field cooled)- FC (field cooled) were measured in magnetic fields between 100 Oe and 4000 Oe, and allowed to obtain the values for irreversibility and critical temperatures

  14. Treatment Outcomes of Full Pulpotomy as an Alternative to Tooth Extraction in Molars with Hyperplastic/Irreversible Pulpitis: A Case Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asgary, Saeed; Verma, Prashant; Nosrat, Ali

    2017-01-01

    Root canal therapy (RCT) is a common and successful treatment for irreversible pulpitis due to carious pulp exposure in mature permanent teeth. However, it is often an expensive procedure, may require multiple appointments, and requires a high level of training and clinical skill, specifically in molars. Uninsured patients, low-income patients, and patients with limited access to specialist care often elect for extraction of restorable teeth with irreversible pulpitis. There is a need for an alternative affordable treatment option to preserve their teeth and maintain chewing function. A case of pulpotomy using calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement in two maxillary molars (#14 and 15) in a healthy 36-year-old patient is presented. Both teeth were diagnosed with symptomatic hyperplastic/irreversible pulpitis. Patient did not have dental insurance, was unable to afford RCT, and refused to extract the teeth. CEM pulpotomy and amalgam build-ups were done as an alternative to extraction. At 2-year recall, both teeth were functional with no signs/symptoms of inflammation/infection. Periapical radiographs and 3D images showed normal PDL around all roots. Pulpotomy with CEM biomaterial might be a viable alternative to tooth extraction for mature permanent teeth with hyperplastic/irreversible pulpitis, and can result in long-term tooth retention and improved oral health. PMID:28512498

  15. Monopolistic pricing power for transgenic crops when technology adopters face irreversible benefits and costs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weaver, R.D.; Wesseler, J.H.H.

    2004-01-01

    Pricing of biotechnology innovation under a patent grant is reconsidered in a model with uncertain returns and irreversible costs and benefits. Past results oil restricted monopoly pricing in the presence of competing technologies showed that pricing power is reduced. The timing of adoption of an

  16. Chemical kinetics, stochastic processes, and irreversible thermodynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Santillán, Moisés

    2014-01-01

    This book brings theories in nonlinear dynamics, stochastic processes, irreversible thermodynamics, physical chemistry, and biochemistry together in an introductory but formal and comprehensive manner.  Coupled with examples, the theories are developed stepwise, starting with the simplest concepts and building upon them into a more general framework.  Furthermore, each new mathematical derivation is immediately applied to one or more biological systems.  The last chapters focus on applying mathematical and physical techniques to study systems such as: gene regulatory networks and ion channels. The target audience of this book are mainly final year undergraduate and graduate students with a solid mathematical background (physicists, mathematicians, and engineers), as well as with basic notions of biochemistry and cellular biology.  This book can also be useful to students with a biological background who are interested in mathematical modeling, and have a working knowledge of calculus, differential equatio...

  17. Comprehensive performance analyses and optimization of the irreversible thermodynamic cycle engines (TCE) under maximum power (MP) and maximum power density (MPD) conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonca, Guven; Sahin, Bahri; Ust, Yasin; Parlak, Adnan

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents comprehensive performance analyses and comparisons for air-standard irreversible thermodynamic cycle engines (TCE) based on the power output, power density, thermal efficiency, maximum dimensionless power output (MP), maximum dimensionless power density (MPD) and maximum thermal efficiency (MEF) criteria. Internal irreversibility of the cycles occurred during the irreversible-adiabatic processes is considered by using isentropic efficiencies of compression and expansion processes. The performances of the cycles are obtained by using engine design parameters such as isentropic temperature ratio of the compression process, pressure ratio, stroke ratio, cut-off ratio, Miller cycle ratio, exhaust temperature ratio, cycle temperature ratio and cycle pressure ratio. The effects of engine design parameters on the maximum and optimal performances are investigated. - Highlights: • Performance analyses are conducted for irreversible thermodynamic cycle engines. • Comprehensive computations are performed. • Maximum and optimum performances of the engines are shown. • The effects of design parameters on performance and power density are examined. • The results obtained may be guidelines to the engine designers

  18. Inhibition of pancreatic lipase and amylase by extracts of different spices and plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellami, Mohamed; Louati, Hanen; Kamoun, Jannet; Kchaou, Ali; Damak, Mohamed; Gargouri, Youssef

    2017-05-01

    The aim of this study is to search new anti-obesity and anti-diabetic agents from plant and spices crude extracts as alternative to synthetic drugs. The inhibitory effect of 72 extracts was evaluated, in vitro, on lipase and amylase activities. Aqueous extracts of cinnamon and black tea exhibited an appreciable inhibitory effect on pancreatic amylase with IC 50 values of 18 and 87 μg, respectively. Aqueous extracts of cinnamon and mint showed strong inhibitory effects against pancreatic lipase with IC 50 of 45 and 62 μg, respectively. The presence of bile salts and colipase or an excess of interface failed to restore the lipase activity. Therefore, the inhibition of pancreatic lipase, by extracts of spices and plants, belongs to an irreversible inhibition. Crude extract of cinnamon showed the strongest anti-lipase and anti-amylase activities which offer a prospective therapeutic approach for the management of diabetes and obesity.

  19. Bi-modified Pd/C catalyst via irreversible adsorption and its catalytic activity for ethanol oxidation in alkaline medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cai, Jindi; Huang, Yiyin; Guo, Yonglang

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Pd-Bi/C catalysts were easily prepared by irreversible adsorption of Bi on Pd/C surface. • The adsorption of Bi increases the oxygen-containing species obviously on Pd-Bi/C surface. • Only a little amount of Bi on Pd-Bi/C can play a significant role in ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). • Current density of EOR on Pd-Bi/C (20:1) is 2.4 times higher than that on Pd/C. • Anti-poisoning ability and durability of Pd-Bi/C (20:1) is greatly enhanced. -- Abstract: A facile approach to promote ethanol electro-oxidation on Pd-based catalysts is presented by the modification of Bi on Pd/C catalyst via irreversible adsorption. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements show that the modification of Bi has no significant effect on the Pd morphology and particle size distribution. Bi(III) and Pd(0) are the dominant forms in Pd-Bi/C catalyst. Electrochemical tests show that the modification of the appropriate amount of Bi on Pd/C catalyst can remarkably enhance activity toward ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) up to about 2.4 times higher compared to Pd/C catalyst. The Pd-Bi/C (20:1) catalyst exhibits excellent stability and enhances CO tolerance. The enhanced electrochemical performance of Pd-Bi/C catalyst is attributed to the electronic effect and the bifunctional mechanism. The high exchange current density and the low apparent activation energy on Pd-Bi/C (20:1) catalyst reveal its faster kinetics and higher intrinsic activity compared to Pd/C catalyst

  20. Putative Stem Cells in Human Dental Pulp with Irreversible Pulpitis-An Exploratory Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Z.; Pan, J.; Wright, JT; Bencharit, S.; Zhang, S.; Everett, ET; Teixeira, FB; Preisser, JS

    2010-01-01

    Introduction Although human dental pulp stem cells isolated from healthy teeth have been extensively characterized, it is unknown whether stem cells also exist in clinically compromised teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Here we explored whether cells retrieved from clinically compromised dental pulp have stem cell-like properties. Methods Pulp cells were isolated from healthy teeth (control group) and from teeth with clinically diagnosed irreversible pulpitis (diseased group). Cell proliferation, stem cell marker STRO-1 expression and cell odonto-osteo-genic differentiation competence were compared. Results Cells from the diseased group demonstrated decreased colony formation capacity and a slightly decreased cell proliferation rate but had similar STRO-1 expression, and exhibited a similar percentage of positive ex vivo osteogenic induction and dentin sialophosphoprotein expression from STRO-1-enriched pulp cells. Conclusion Our study provides preliminary evidence that clinically compromised dental pulp may contain putative cells with certain stem cell properties. Further characterization of these cells will provide insight regarding whether they could serve as a source of endogenous multipotent cells in tissue regeneration based dental pulp therapy. PMID:20416426

  1. Salinity-induced inhibition of growth in the aquatic pteridophyte Azolla microphylla primarily involves inhibition of photosynthetic components and signaling molecules as revealed by proteome analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thagela, Preeti; Yadav, Ravindra Kumar; Mishra, Vagish; Dahuja, Anil; Ahmad, Altaf; Singh, Pawan Kumar; Tiwari, Budhi Sagar; Abraham, Gerard

    2017-01-01

    Salinity stress causes adverse physiological and biochemical changes in the growth and productivity of a plant. Azolla, a symbiotic pteridophyte and potent candidate for biofertilizer due to its nitrogen fixation ability, shows reduced growth and nitrogen fixation during saline stress. To better understand regulatory components involved in salinity-induced physiological changes, in the present study, Azolla microphylla plants were exposed to NaCl (6.74 and 8.61 ds/m) and growth, photochemical reactions of photosynthesis, ion accumulation, and changes in cellular proteome were studied. Maximum dry weight was accumulated in control and untreated plant while a substantial decrease in dry weight was observed in the plants exposed to salinity. Exposure of the organism to different concentrations of salt in hydroponic conditions resulted in differential level of Na + and K + ion accumulation. Comparative analysis of salinity-induced proteome changes in A. microphylla revealed 58 salt responsive proteins which were differentially expressed during the salt exposure. Moreover, 42 % spots among differentially expressed proteins were involved in different signaling events. The identified proteins are involved in photosynthesis, energy metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, protein synthesis, and defense. Downregulation of these key metabolic proteins appears to inhibit the growth of A. microphylla in response to salinity. Altogether, the study revealed that in Azolla, increased salinity primarily affected signaling and photosynthesis that in turn leads to reduced biomass.

  2. Performance analysis of irreversible quantum Stirling cryogenic refrigeration cycles and their parametric optimum criteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin Bihong; Chen Jincan

    2006-01-01

    The influence of both the quantum degeneracy and the finite-rate heat transfer between the working substance and the heat reservoirs on the optimal performance of an irreversible Stirling cryogenic refrigeration cycle using an ideal Fermi or Bose gas as the working substance is investigated, based on the theory of statistical mechanics and thermodynamic properties of ideal quantum gases. The inherent regeneration losses of the cycle are analysed. Expressions for several important performance parameters such as the coefficient of performance, cooling rate and power input are derived. By using numerical solutions, the cooling rate of the cycle is optimized for a given power input. The maximum cooling rate and the corresponding parameters are calculated numerically. The optimal regions of the coefficient of performance and power input are determined. In particular, the optimal performance of the cycle in the strong and weak gas degeneracy cases and the high temperature limit are discussed in detail. The analytic expressions of some optimized parameters are derived. Some optimum criteria are given. The distinctions and connections between the Stirling refrigeration cycles working with the ideal quantum and classical gases are revealed

  3. Plasma Membrane ATPase Activity following Reversible and Irreversible Freezing Injury 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iswari, S.; Palta, Jiwan P.

    1989-01-01

    Plasma membrane ATPase has been proposed as a site of functional alteration during early stages of freezing injury. To test this, plasma membrane was purified from Solanum leaflets by a single step partitioning of microsomes in a dextran-polyethylene glycol two phase system. Addition of lysolecithin in the ATPase assay produced up to 10-fold increase in ATPase activity. ATPase activity was specific for ATP with a Km around 0.4 millimolar. Presence of the ATPase enzyme was identified by immunoblotting with oat ATPase antibodies. Using the phase partitioning method, plasma membrane was isolated from Solanum commersonii leaflets which had four different degrees of freezing damage, namely, slight (reversible), partial (partially reversible), substantial and total (irreversible). With slight (reversible) damage the plasma membrane ATPase specific activity increased 1.5- to 2-fold and its Km was decreased by about 3-fold, whereas the specific activity of cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome c oxidase in the microsomes were not different from the control. However, with substantial (lethal, irreversible) damage, there was a loss of membrane protein, decrease in plasma membrane ATPase specific activity and decrease in Km, while cytochrome c oxidase and cytochrome c reductase were unaffected. These results support the hypothesis that plasma membrane ATPase is altered by slight freeze-thaw stress. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 PMID:16666856

  4. A Comparison of Different Volumes of Articaine for Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block for Molar Teeth with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abazarpoor, Ramin; Parirokh, Masoud; Nakhaee, Nouzar; Abbott, Paul V

    2015-09-01

    Achieving anesthesia in mandibular molar teeth with irreversible pulpitis is very difficult. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of 1.8 mL and 3.6 mL articaine for an inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) when treating molars with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. In a randomized, double-blind clinical trial, 82 first mandibular molar teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis randomly received conventional IANB injection either with 1 (1.8 mL) or 2 cartridges (3.6 mL) of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. The patients recorded their pain before and during access cavity preparation as well as during root canal instrumentation using a Heft-Parker visual analog scale. No or mild pain was considered as successful anesthesia. Data were analyzed by t and chi-square tests. Eighty patients were eligible to participate in this study, which showed that 3.6 mL articaine provided a significantly higher success rate (77.5%) of IANBs compared with 1.8 mL of the same anesthetic solution (27.5%) although neither group had 100% successful anesthesia (P < .001). Increasing the volume of articaine provided a significantly higher success rate of IANBs in mandibular first molar teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, but it did not result in 100% anesthetic success. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Study suggests Arctic sea ice loss not irreversible

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balcerak, Ernie

    2011-10-01

    The Arctic has been losing sea ice as Earth's climate warms, and some studies have suggested that the Arctic could reach a tipping point, beyond which ice would not recover even if global temperatures cooled down again. However, a new study by Armour et al. that uses a state-of-the-art atmosphere-ocean global climate model found no evidence of such irreversibility. In their simulations, the researchers increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels until Arctic sea ice disappeared year-round and then watched what happened as global temperatures were then decreased. They found that sea ice steadily recovered as global temperatures dropped. An implication of this result is that future sea ice loss will occur only as long as global temperatures continue to rise. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2011GL048739, 2011)

  6. Mineral trioxide aggregate pulpotomy for permanent molars with clinical signs indicative of irreversible pulpitis: a preliminary study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qudeimat, M A; Alyahya, A; Hasan, A A

    2017-02-01

    To prospectively investigate the clinical and radiographic success rates of pulpotomy in permanent molars with clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of irreversible pulpitis using mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) as a pulp dressing agent. Sixteen patients with 23 restorable permanent molars exhibiting signs and symptoms indicative of irreversible pulpitis were enrolled. A standardized operative procedure was followed for all participants. All teeth were isolated with a dental dam and caries was removed, and then, pulpotomy performed with a sterile round and/or flame shape diamond burs. Haemostasis was achieved with 5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). A mixture of MTA was placed against the wound, and a moistened cotton pellet was placed over the MTA. Teeth were temporized with a glass-ionomer restoration. Three to ten days later, the interim restoration was removed and setting of MTA was evaluated. Teeth were restored with stainless steel crowns. Follow-up evaluations were scheduled at 3, 6, 12 months and annually thereafter. Descriptive statistics were used to assess outcomes. The age of patients at time of pulpotomy ranged between 7.6 and 13.6 years (mean = 10.7± 1.7 yrs). The majority of teeth (91%) had clinical signs and symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and symptomatic apical periodontitis (78%). The follow-up examination period ranged from 18.9 to 73.6 months. Clinically and radiographically, all pulpotomies were considered successful at the end of the follow-up period. Radiographically, a hard tissue barrier was noticed in 13 (57%) teeth. In children, MTA was associated with high clinical and radiographic success as a pulpotomy agent in permanent teeth with clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of irreversible pulpitis. © 2016 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. The Social Cost of Stochastic and Irreversible Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Y.; Judd, K. L.; Lontzek, T.

    2013-12-01

    Many scientists are worried about climate change triggering abrupt and irreversible events leading to significant and long-lasting damages. For example, a rapid release of methane from permafrost may lead to amplified global warming, and global warming may increase the frequency and severity of heavy rainfall or typhoon, destroying large cities and killing numerous people. Some elements of the climate system which might exhibit such a triggering effect are called tipping elements. There is great uncertainty about the impact of anthropogenic carbon and tipping elements on future economic wellbeing. Any rational policy choice must consider the great uncertainty about the magnitude and timing of global warming's impact on economic productivity. While the likelihood of tipping points may be a function of contemporaneous temperature, their effects are long lasting and might be independent of future temperatures. It is assumed that some of these tipping points might occur even in this century, but also that their duration and post-tipping impact are uncertain. A faithful representation of the possibility of tipping points for the calculation of social cost of carbon would require a fully stochastic formulation of irreversibility, and accounting for the deep layer of uncertainties regarding the duration of the tipping process and also its economic impact. We use DSICE, a DSGE extension of the DICE2007 model of William Nordhaus, which incorporates beliefs about the uncertain economic impact of possible climate tipping events and uses empirically plausible parameterizations of Epstein-Zin preferences to represent attitudes towards risk. We find that the uncertainty associated with anthropogenic climate change imply carbon taxes much higher than implied by deterministic models. This analysis indicates that the absence of uncertainty in DICE2007 and similar IAM models may result in substantial understatement of the potential benefits of policies to reduce GHG emissions.

  8. Irreversibility and higher-spin conformal field theory

    CERN Document Server

    Anselmi, D

    2000-01-01

    I discuss the idea that quantum irreversibility is a general principle of nature and a related "conformal hypothesis", stating that all fundamental quantum field theories should be renormalization-group (RG) interpolations between ultraviolet and infrared conformal fixed points. In particular, the Newton constant should be viewed as a low-energy effect of the RG scale. This approach leads naturally to consider higher-spin conformal field theories, which are here classified, as candidate high-energy theories. Bosonic conformal tensors have a positive-definite action, equal to the square of a field strength, and a higher-derivative gauge invariance. The central charges c and a are well defined and positive. I calculate their values and study the operator-product structure. Fermionic theories have no gauge invariance and can be coupled to Abelian and non-Abelian gauge fields in a renormalizable way. At the quantum level, they contribute to the one-loop beta function with the same sign as ordinary matter, admit a...

  9. Inducible Inhibition of Gβγ Reveals Localization-dependent Functions at the Plasma Membrane and Golgi*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klayman, Lauren M.; Wedegaertner, Philip B.

    2017-01-01

    Heterotrimeric G proteins signal at a variety of endomembrane locations, in addition to their canonical function at the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane (PM), where they are activated by cell surface G protein-coupled receptors. Here we focus on βγ signaling at the Golgi, where βγ activates a signaling cascade, ultimately resulting in vesicle fission from the trans-Golgi network (TGN). To develop a novel molecular tool for inhibiting endogenous βγ in a spatial-temporal manner, we take advantage of a lipid association mutant of the widely used βγ inhibitor GRK2ct (GRK2ct-KERE) and the FRB/FKBP heterodimerization system. We show that GRK2ct-KERE cannot inhibit βγ function when expressed in cells, but recruitment to a specific membrane location recovers the ability of GRK2ct-KERE to inhibit βγ signaling. PM-recruited GRK2ct-KERE inhibits lysophosphatidic acid-induced phosphorylation of Akt, whereas Golgi-recruited GRK2ct-KERE inhibits cargo transport from the TGN to the PM. Moreover, we show that Golgi-recruited GRK2ct-KERE inhibits model basolaterally targeted but not apically targeted cargo delivery, for both PM-destined and secretory cargo, providing the first evidence of selectivity in terms of cargo transport regulated by βγ. Last, we show that Golgi fragmentation induced by ilimaquinone and nocodazole is blocked by βγ inhibition, demonstrating that βγ is a key regulator of multiple pathways that impact Golgi morphology. Thus, we have developed a new molecular tool, recruitable GRK2ct-KERE, to modulate βγ signaling at specific subcellular locations, and we demonstrate novel cargo selectivity for βγ regulation of TGN to PM transport and a novel role for βγ in mediating Golgi fragmentation. PMID:27994056

  10. Inducible Inhibition of Gβγ Reveals Localization-dependent Functions at the Plasma Membrane and Golgi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klayman, Lauren M; Wedegaertner, Philip B

    2017-02-03

    Heterotrimeric G proteins signal at a variety of endomembrane locations, in addition to their canonical function at the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane (PM), where they are activated by cell surface G protein-coupled receptors. Here we focus on βγ signaling at the Golgi, where βγ activates a signaling cascade, ultimately resulting in vesicle fission from the trans-Golgi network (TGN). To develop a novel molecular tool for inhibiting endogenous βγ in a spatial-temporal manner, we take advantage of a lipid association mutant of the widely used βγ inhibitor GRK2ct (GRK2ct-KERE) and the FRB/FKBP heterodimerization system. We show that GRK2ct-KERE cannot inhibit βγ function when expressed in cells, but recruitment to a specific membrane location recovers the ability of GRK2ct-KERE to inhibit βγ signaling. PM-recruited GRK2ct-KERE inhibits lysophosphatidic acid-induced phosphorylation of Akt, whereas Golgi-recruited GRK2ct-KERE inhibits cargo transport from the TGN to the PM. Moreover, we show that Golgi-recruited GRK2ct-KERE inhibits model basolaterally targeted but not apically targeted cargo delivery, for both PM-destined and secretory cargo, providing the first evidence of selectivity in terms of cargo transport regulated by βγ. Last, we show that Golgi fragmentation induced by ilimaquinone and nocodazole is blocked by βγ inhibition, demonstrating that βγ is a key regulator of multiple pathways that impact Golgi morphology. Thus, we have developed a new molecular tool, recruitable GRK2ct-KERE, to modulate βγ signaling at specific subcellular locations, and we demonstrate novel cargo selectivity for βγ regulation of TGN to PM transport and a novel role for βγ in mediating Golgi fragmentation. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  11. Anderson localized state as a predissipative state: irreversible emission of thermalized quanta from a dynamically delocalized state.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Hiroaki; Ikeda, Kensuke S

    2002-04-01

    It was shown that localization in one-dimensional disordered (quantum) electronic system is destroyed against coherent harmonic perturbations and the delocalized electron exhibits an unlimited diffusive motion [Yamada and Ikeda, Phys. Rev. E 59, 5214 (1999)]. The appearance of diffusion implies that the system has potential for irreversibility and dissipation. In the present paper, we investigate dissipative property of the dynamically delocalized state, and we show that an irreversible quasistationary energy flow indeed appears in the form of a "heat" flow when we couple the system with another dynamical degree of freedom. In the concrete we numerically investigate dissipative properties of a one-dimensional tight-binding electronic system perturbed by time-dependent harmonic forces, by coupling it with a quantum harmonic oscillator or a quantum anharmonic oscillator. It is demonstrated that if the on-site potential is spatially irregular an irreversible energy transfer from the scattered electron to the test oscillator occurs. Moreover, the test oscillator promptly approaches a thermalized state characterized by a well-defined time-dependent temperature. On the contrary, such a relaxation process cannot be observed at all for periodic potential systems. Our system is one of the minimal quantum systems in which a distinct nonequilibrium statistical behavior is self-induced.

  12. Problems of saturation of the excitation and creation of irreversible changes in solid after laser irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakhnyuk, L.A.; Trokhimchuck, P.P.

    2009-01-01

    The problem of modeling of processes of the irreversible interaction light and solid is discussed. This problem is connected with the processes of the saturation the excitation of respective scattering centers. The possible cascades of these processes are analyzed. The correlation between nonequilibrium and irreversible phenomena are analyzed. Two-dimensional sphalerite lattice of InSb was used for the kinetic modeling of the hierarchic processes of saturation of the excitation respective chemical bonds. The cascade characteristics of these processes were estimated for the cylindrical form of 'zone of energy scattering' of photon. The comparative analyses these results with results, which were received with the help straight method and method the spherical form of 'zone of energy scattering' of photon, is represented too. The good concordance of experimental and theoretical data was received. (authors)

  13. Inhibition and Adsorption impact of Leave Extracts of Cnidoscolus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Corrosion inhibition in the presence of alokaloid and non alkaloid extracts of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius in 1M HCl was studied using the weight loss and hydrogen evolution techniques at 303, 313 and 333 K. The results obtained revealed that the inhibition efficiency decreased with increase in temperature. Inhibition ...

  14. Quality control of Photosystem II: reversible and irreversible protein aggregation decides the fate of Photosystem II under excessive illumination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasusi eYamamoto

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In response to excessive light, the thylakoid membranes of higher plant chloroplasts show dynamic changes including the degradation and reassembly of proteins, a change in the distribution of proteins, and large-scale structural changes such as unstacking of the grana. Here, we examined the aggregation of light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein complexes and Photosystem II core subunits of spinach thylakoid membranes under light stress with 77K chlorophyll fluorescence; aggregation of these proteins was found to proceed with increasing light intensity. Measurement of changes in the fluidity of thylakoid membranes with fluorescence polarization of diphenylhexatriene showed that membrane fluidity increased at a light intensity of 500–1,000 µmol photons m-2 s-1, and decreased at very high light intensity (1,500 µmol photons m-2 s-1. The aggregation of light-harvesting complexes at moderately high light intensity is known to be reversible, while that of Photosystem II core subunits at extremely high light intensity is irreversible. It is likely that the reversibility of protein aggregation is closely related to membrane fluidity: increases in fluidity should stimulate reversible protein aggregation, whereas irreversible protein aggregation might decrease membrane fluidity. When spinach leaves were pre-illuminated with moderately high light intensity, the qE component of non-photochemical quenching and the optimum quantum yield of Photosystem II increased, indicating that Photosystem II/ light-harvesting complexes rearranged in the thylakoid membranes to optimize Photosystem II activity. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the thylakoids underwent partial unstacking under these light stress conditions. Thus, protein aggregation is involved in thylakoid dynamics and regulates photochemical reactions, thereby deciding the fate of Photosystem II.

  15. Evaluation of the Gow-Gates and Vazirani-Akinosi techniques in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis: a prospective randomized study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Click, Vivian; Drum, Melissa; Reader, Al; Nusstein, John; Beck, Mike

    2015-01-01

    Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of the Gow-Gates and Vazirani-Akinosi techniques in patients presenting with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Therefore, the purpose of this prospective, randomized study was to evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of the Gow-Gates and Vazirani-Akinosi techniques using 3.6 mL 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine in mandibular posterior teeth in patients presenting with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. One hundred twenty-five emergency patients diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis randomly received either a Gow-Gates or Vazirani-Akinosi injection using 3.6 mL 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine to block the inferior alveolar nerve before endodontic access. Subjective lip numbness was recorded. Pulpal anesthetic success of the injection was defined as no pain or mild pain upon endodontic access and instrumentation as measured on a visual analog scale. Subjective lip numbness was obtained 92% of the time with the Gow-Gates technique and 63% of the time with the Vazirani-Akinosi technique. The difference was statistically significant (P = .0001). For the patients achieving lip numbness, successful pulpal anesthesia was obtained 35% of the time with the Gow-Gates technique and 16% of the time with the Vazirani-Akinosi technique. The difference was statistically significant (P = .0381). We concluded that for patients who achieved lip numbness neither the Gow-Gates technique nor the Vazirani-Akinosi technique provided adequate pulpal anesthesia for mandibular posterior teeth in patients presenting with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Both injections would require supplemental anesthesia. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Pairing transition, coherence transition, and the irreversibility line in granular GdBa2Cu3O7-δ

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roa-Rojas, J.; Menegotto Costa, R.; Pureur, P.; Prieto, P.

    2000-05-01

    We report on electrical magnetoconductivity experiments near the superconducting transition of a granular sample of GdBa2Cu3O7-δ. The measurements were performed in magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 500 Oe applied parallel to the current orientation. The results show that the transition proceeds in two steps. When the temperature is decreased we first observe the pairing transition, which stabilizes superconductivity within the grains at a temperature practically coincident with the bulk critical temperature Tc. Analysis of the fluctuation contributions to the conductivity shows that the universality class for this transition is that of the three dimensional (3D)-XY model in the ordered case, with dynamic critical exponent z=3/2. Close to the zero-resistance state, the measurements reveal the occurrence of a coherence transition, where the phases of the order parameter in individual grains become long-range ordered. The critical temperature Tco for this transition is close to the point where the resistivity vanishes. A strong enlargement of the fluctuation interval preceding the coherence transition is caused by the applied magnetic field. In this region, a 3D-Gaussian regime and an asymptotic critical regime were clearly identified. The critical conductivity behavior for the coherence transition is interpreted within a 3D-XY model where disorder and frustration are relevant. The irreversibility line is determined from magnetoconductivity measurements performed according to the zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled data collected on cooling (FCC) recipes. The locus of this line coincides with the upper temperature limit for the fluctuation region above the coherence transition. The irreversibility line is interpreted as an effect of the formation of small clusters with closed loops of Josephson-coupled grains.

  17. A Comparative Study of Ethylene Growth Response Kinetics in Eudicots and Monocots Reveals a Role for Gibberellin in Growth Inhibition and Recovery1[W][OA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Joonyup; Wilson, Rebecca L.; Case, J. Brett; Binder, Brad M.

    2012-01-01

    Time-lapse imaging of dark-grown Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) hypocotyls has revealed new aspects about ethylene signaling. This study expands upon these results by examining ethylene growth response kinetics of seedlings of several plant species. Although the response kinetics varied between the eudicots studied, all had prolonged growth inhibition for as long as ethylene was present. In contrast, with continued application of ethylene, white millet (Panicum miliaceum) seedlings had a rapid and transient growth inhibition response, rice (Oryza sativa ‘Nipponbare’) seedlings had a slow onset of growth stimulation, and barley (Hordeum vulgare) had a transient growth inhibition response followed, after a delay, by a prolonged inhibition response. Growth stimulation in rice correlated with a decrease in the levels of rice ETHYLENE INSENSTIVE3-LIKE2 (OsEIL2) and an increase in rice F-BOX DOMAIN AND LRR CONTAINING PROTEIN7 transcripts. The gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol caused millet seedlings to have a prolonged growth inhibition response when ethylene was applied. A transient ethylene growth inhibition response has previously been reported for Arabidopsis ethylene insensitive3-1 (ein3-1) eil1-1 double mutants. Paclobutrazol caused these mutants to have a prolonged response to ethylene, whereas constitutive GA signaling in this background eliminated ethylene responses. Sensitivity to paclobutrazol inversely correlated with the levels of EIN3 in Arabidopsis. Wild-type Arabidopsis seedlings treated with paclobutrazol and mutants deficient in GA levels or signaling had a delayed growth recovery after ethylene removal. It is interesting to note that ethylene caused alterations in gene expression that are predicted to increase GA levels in the ein3-1 eil1-1 seedlings. These results indicate that ethylene affects GA levels leading to modulation of ethylene growth inhibition kinetics. PMID:22977279

  18. A Derivation of a Microscopic Entropy and Time Irreversibility From the Discreteness of Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roland Riek

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The basic microsopic physical laws are time reversible. In contrast, the second law of thermodynamics, which is a macroscopic physical representation of the world, is able to describe irreversible processes in an isolated system through the change of entropy ΔS > 0. It is the attempt of the present manuscript to bridge the microscopic physical world with its macrosocpic one with an alternative approach than the statistical mechanics theory of Gibbs and Boltzmann. It is proposed that time is discrete with constant step size. Its consequence is the presence of time irreversibility at the microscopic level if the present force is of complex nature (F(r ≠ const. In order to compare this discrete time irreversible mechamics (for simplicity a “classical”, single particle in a one dimensional space is selected with its classical Newton analog, time reversibility is reintroduced by scaling the time steps for any given time step n by the variable sn leading to the Nosé-Hoover Lagrangian. The corresponding Nos´e-Hoover Hamiltonian comprises a term Ndf kB T ln sn (kB the Boltzmann constant, T the temperature, and Ndf the number of degrees of freedom which is defined as the microscopic entropy Sn at time point n multiplied by T. Upon ensemble averaging this microscopic entropy Sn in equilibrium for a system which does not have fast changing forces approximates its macroscopic counterpart known from thermodynamics. The presented derivation with the resulting analogy between the ensemble averaged microscopic entropy and its thermodynamic analog suggests that the original description of the entropy by Boltzmann and Gibbs is just an ensemble averaging of the time scaling variable sn which is in equilibrium close to 1, but that the entropy

  19. Irreversible Aspects of Continuum Mechanics and Transfer of Physical Characteristics in Moving Fluids : Symposia

    CERN Document Server

    Sedov, L

    1968-01-01

    At its meeting on April 23, 1965 in Paris the Bureau of IUTAM decided to have a Symposium on the Irreversible Aspects of Continaum Mechanics held in June 1966 in Vienna. In addition, a Symposium on the Transfer of Physical Characteristics in Moving Fluids which, orig­ inally, had been scheduled to take place in Stockholm was rescheduled to be held in Vienna immediately following the Symposium on the Irre­ versible Aspects of Continuum Mechanics. It was felt that the subjects of the two symposia were so closely related that participants should be given an opportunity to attend both. Both decisions were unanimously approved by the members of the General Assembly of IUTAM. Prof. H. PARKUS, Vienna, was appointed Chairman of the Symposium on the Irreversible Aspects, and Prof. L. I. SEDOV, Moscow, was appointed Chairman of the Symposium on the Transfer of Physical Characteristics, with Prof. P ARKUS being re­ sponsible for the local organization of both symposia. In accordance with the policy set forth by IUTAM...

  20. Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Docking Studies of Novel Bisquaternary Aldoxime Reactivators on Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibited by Paraoxon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamil Kuca

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Nerve agents and oxon forms of organophosphorus pesticides act as strong irreversible inhibitors of two cholinesterases in the human body: acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7 and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8, and are therefore highly toxic compounds. For the recovery of inhibited AChE, antidotes from the group of pyridinium or bispyridinium aldoxime reactivators (pralidoxime, obidoxime, HI-6 are used in combination with anticholinergics and anticonvulsives. Therapeutic efficacy of reactivators (called “oximes” depends on their chemical structure and also the type of organophosphorus inhibitor. Three novel oximes (K131, K142, K153 with an oxime group in position four of the pyridinium ring were designed and then tested for their potency to reactivate human (Homo sapiens sapiens AChE (HssACHE and BChE (HssBChE inhibited by the pesticide paraoxon (diethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate. According to the obtained results, none of the prepared oximes were able to satisfactorily reactivate paraoxon-inhibited cholinesterases. On the contrary, extraordinary activity of obidoxime in the case of paraoxon-inhibited HssAChE reactivation was confirmed. Additional docking studies pointed to possible explanations for these results.

  1. Irreversible Change of the Pore Structure of ZIF-8 in Carbon Dioxide Capture with Water Coexistence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Huang; Guo, Ping; Regueira Muñiz, Teresa

    2016-01-01

    The performance of zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8) for CO2 capture under three different conditions (wetted ZIF-8, ZIF-8/water slurry, and ZIF-8/water-glycol slurry) was systemically investigated. This investigation included the study of the pore structure stability of ZIF-8 by using X......-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman detection technologies. Our results show that the CO2 adsorption ability of ZIF-8 could be substantially increased under the existence of liquid water. However, the structure characterization of the recovered ZIF-8...... showed an irreversible change of its framework, which occurs during the CO2 capture process. It was found that there is an irreversible chemical reaction among ZIF-8, water, and CO2, which creates both zinc carbonate (or zinc carbonate hydroxides) and single 2-methylimidazole crystals, and therefore...

  2. Structural transition models for a class or irreversible aggregates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canessa, E.

    1995-02-01

    A progress report on two recent theoretical approaches proposed to understand the physics of irreversible fractal aggregates showing up a structural transition from a rather dense to a more multibranched growth is presented. In the first approach the transition is understood by solving the Poisson equation on a squared lattice. The second approach is based on the discretization of the Biharmonic equation. Within these models the transition appears when the growth velocity at the fractal surface presents a minimum. The effects of the surrounding medium and geometrical constraints for the seed particles are considered. By using the optical diffraction method, the structural transition is further characterized by a decrease in the fractal dimension for this peculiar class of aggregates. (author). 17 refs, 4 figs

  3. In vitro antimicrobial activity of irreversible hydrocolloid impressions against 12 oral microorganisms

    OpenAIRE

    Casemiro,Luciana Assirati; Pires-de-Souza,Fernanda de Carvalho Panzeri; Panzeri,Heitor; Martins,Carlos Henrique Gomes; Ito,Isabel Yoko

    2007-01-01

    This study evaluated in vitro the antimicrobial activity of irreversible hydrocolloids (one containing an antimicrobial agent) prepared with water or with a 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution against 12 strains of the oral microbiota. Twenty specimens (0.5 x 1.0 cm) for each group (1. Jeltrate mixed with water; 2. Jeltrate mixed with 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution; 3. Greengel mixed with water; 4. Greengel mixed with 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution) were prepared under s...

  4. Inhibition of thrombin by functionalized C60 nanoparticles revealed via in vitro assays and in silico studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yanyan; Fu, Jianjie; Pan, Wenxiao; Xue, Qiao; Liu, Xian; Zhang, Aiqian

    2018-01-01

    The studies on the human toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) are far behind the rapid development of engineered functionalized NPs. Fullerene has been widely used as drug carrier skeleton due to its reported low risk. However, different from other kinds of NPs, fullerene-based NPs (C 60 NPs) have been found to have an anticoagulation effect, although the potential target is still unknown. In the study, both experimental and computational methods were adopted to gain mechanistic insight into the modulation of thrombin activity by nine kinds of C 60 NPs with diverse surface chemistry properties. In vitro enzyme activity assays showed that all tested surface-modified C 60 NPs exhibited thrombin inhibition ability. Kinetic studies coupled with competitive testing using 3 known inhibitors indicated that six of the C 60 NPs, of greater hydrophobicity and hydrogen bond (HB) donor acidity or acceptor basicity, acted as competitive inhibitors of thrombin by directly interacting with the active site of thrombin. A simple quantitative nanostructure-activity relationship model relating the surface substituent properties to the inhibition potential was then established for the six competitive inhibitors. Molecular docking analysis revealed that the intermolecular HB interactions were important for the specific binding of C 60 NPs to the active site canyon, while the additional stability provided by the surface groups through van der Waals interaction also play a key role in the thrombin binding affinity of the NPs. Our results suggest that thrombin is a possible target of the surface-functionalized C 60 NPs relevant to their anticoagulation effect. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Selective effect of irreversible electroporation on parenchyma of the pancreas and its vascular structures - an in vivo experiment on a porcine model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roman Svatoň

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Irreversible electroporation is a local, non-thermal ablation method, where short electrical pulses of high voltage lead to changes in cell membrane permeability and cell death. Recent experimental studies have shown that it does not lead to damage of blood vessels, nerves, bile duct or ureters. The aim of our experimental study was to evaluate the negative effect of irreversible electroporation regarding damage to the vascular wall and porcine pancreatic tissue. Irreversible electroporation of the pancreas was performed in 6 pigs after medial laparotomy. Irreversible electroporation was applied to each pig to the splenic lobe of the pancreas in order to assess damage to the pancreatic tissue and to the duodenal lobe of the pancreas to assess damage to the vascular structure of the pancreatic tissue. Higher ablation electric intensity (minimum 500 V/cm – maximum 1,750 V/cm, step 250 V/cm in 90 μs pulses was utilized on each pig. After 7 days, macroscopic and microscopic evaluations of en bloc resected specimen (pancreas with duodenum were performed. During 7 post-ablation days, no deaths or clinical worsening occurred in any of the pigs. Necrotic changes in the pancreatic tissue were recorded at an electric intensity of 750 V/cm. Changes in the outer layers of the wall of the arteries and veins occurred at 1,000 V/cm. Transmural vascular wall damage was not recorded in any case. Irreversible electroporation allows for relatively efficient cell death in the target tissues. Our independent experimental work confirms the safety of this method towards vascular structures located in the ablation zone.

  6. Pain Reduction in Untreated Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis Using Liposomal Bupivacaine (Exparel): A Prospective, Randomized, Double-blind Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bultema, Kristy; Fowler, Sara; Drum, Melissa; Reader, Al; Nusstein, John; Beck, Mike

    2016-12-01

    In the treatment of patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, endodontic debridement is a predictable method to relieve pain. However, there are clinical situations in which emergency care cannot be provided immediately. An unexplored treatment option in these cases may be the use of a long-acting anesthetic to reduce pain in untreated irreversible pulpitis. Some medical studies have shown potential for infiltrations of liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel; Pacira Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA) to prolong pain relief and reduce opioid use postoperatively. The Food and Drug Administration has approved Exparel only for infiltrations; therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare an infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine versus bupivacaine for pain control in untreated, symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Ninety-five emergency patients received 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine via infiltration or an inferior alveolar nerve block to relieve their initial presenting pain. Patients then randomly received either 4 mL liposomal bupivacaine (13.3 mg/mL) or 4 mL 0.5% bupivacaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine by infiltration. Patients received a diary for the day of the appointment and 3 days postinjection to record soft tissue numbness, pain levels, and analgesic (non-narcotic and narcotic) use. No significant differences (P pulpitis. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Comparison of the anesthetic efficacy between bupivacaine and lidocaine in patients with irreversible pulpitis of mandibular molar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampaio, Roberta Moura; Carnaval, Talita Girio; Lanfredi, Camila Bernardeli; Horliana, Anna Carolina Ratto Tempestini; Rocha, Rodney Garcia; Tortamano, Isabel Peixoto

    2012-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the anesthetic efficacy of 0.5% bupivacaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine with that of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine during pulpectomy in patients with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular posterior teeth. Seventy volunteers, patients with irreversible pulpitis admitted to the Emergency Center of the School of Dentistry at the University of São Paulo, randomly received a conventional inferior alveolar nerve block containing 3.6 mL of either 0.5% bupivacaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine or 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. During the subsequent pulpectomy, we recorded the patients' subjective assessments of lip anesthesia, the absence/presence of pulpal anesthesia through electric pulp stimulation, and the absence/presence of pain through a verbal analog scale. All patients reported lip anesthesia after the application of either inferior alveolar nerve block. By measuring pulpal anesthesia success with the pulp tester, lidocaine had a higher success rate (42.9%) than bupivacaine (20%). For patients reporting none or mild pain during pulpectomy, the success rate of bupivacaine was 80% and lidocaine was 62.9%. There were only statistically significant differences to the success of pulpal anesthesia. Neither of the solutions resulted in an effective pain control during irreversible pulpitis treatments of mandibular molars. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Use of cadmium in solution in the EL 4 reactor moderator irreversible fixing of cadmium on the metallic surfaces; Utilisation du cadmium en solution dans le moderateur du reacteur EL 4 - fixation irreversible du cadmium sur les surfaces metalliques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Croix, O; Paoli, O; Lecomte, J; Dolle, L; Gallic, Y [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1964-07-01

    In the framework of research into the poisoning of the EL-4 reactor by cadmium sulphate, measurements have been made by two different methods of the residual amounts of cadmium liable to be fixed irreversibly on the surfaces in contact with the heavy water. A marked influence of the pH has been noticed. The mechanism of the irreversible fixing is compatible with the hypothesis of an ion-exchange in the surface oxide layer. In a sufficiently wide range of pH the cadmium thus fixed causes very little residual poisoning. The stability of the cadmium sulphate solutions is however rather low in the conditions of poisoning. (authors) [French] Dans le cadre des etudes sur l'empoisonnement du reacteur EL-4 par le sulfate de cadmium, les quantites residuelles de cadmium susceptibles de se fixer irreversiblement sur les parois que mouillerait l'eau lourde, ont ete mesurees experimentalement par deux methodes differentes. On observe une influence nette du pH. Le mecanisme de la fixation irreversible est compatible avec l'hypothese d'un echange d'ions dans la pellicule d'oxyde superficielle. Dans des limites suffisamment larges de pH, la cadmium ainsi fixe n'occasionne pas d'empoisonnement residuel important. La stabilite des solutions de sulfate de cadmium dans les conditions de l'empoisonnement est cependant mediocre. (auteurs)

  9. PENGUKURAN KADAR NATRIUM ALGINAT DARI ALGA COKELAT SPESIES Sargassum sp. SEBAGAI BAHAN DASAR PEMBUATAN BAHAN CETAK KEDOKTERAN GIGI (IRREVERSIBLE HYDROCOLLOID/DENTAL IMPRESSION MATERIAL)

    OpenAIRE

    MUTMAINNAH SUNAR, SITI

    2016-01-01

    2015 Pengukuran Kadar Natrium Alginate dari Alga Cokelat Spesies Sargassum sp. sebagai Bahan Dasar Pembuatan Bahan Cetak Kedokteran Gigi (Irreversible Hydrocolloid/Dental Impression Material) Siti Mutmainnah Sunar Abstrak Latar belakang : Irreversible hydrocolloid merupakan bahan cetak yang relatif sering digunakan di bidang kedokteran gigi. Namun, bahan baku dari bahan cetak ini masih diimpor dari luar negeri. Natrium alginate sebagai bahan baku masih menggunakan ekstraksi alga c...

  10. Anaesthetic efficacy of lidocaine/clonidine for inferior alveolar nerve block in patients with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shadmehr, E; Aminozarbian, M G; Akhavan, A; Mahdavian, P; Davoudi, A

    2017-06-01

    This prospective, randomized, double-blind study aimed to compare the efficacy of lidocaine with epinephrine versus lidocaine with clonidine for inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) and hemodynamic stability (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure) in patients with irreversible pulpitis. One hundred patients with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular molar teeth randomly received 1.8 mL of 2% lidocaine with clonidine (15 μg mL -1 ) or 1.8 mL of 2% lidocaine with epinephrine (12.5 μg mL -1 ), using a conventional IANB technique. Endodontic access cavities were prepared 15 min after solution deposition, and all patients were required to have profound lip numbness. Success was defined as no or mild pain (visual analog scale recording) upon endodontic access cavity preparation or initial canal instrumentation. The hemodynamic parameters were measured before, during and 5, 10 and 30 min after administration. Finally, the collected data were subjected to independent t-test, chi-square and Fisher's exact test using spss software ver.20 at a significant level of 0.05. The success rates for IANB using lidocaine with epinephrine and lidocaine with clonidine solutions were 29% and 59%, respectively. The clonidine group exhibited a significantly higher success rate (P < 0.05). Five minutes after drug administration, systolic blood pressure and heart rate significantly increased in the lidocaine with epinephrine group and insignificantly decreased in lidocaine with clonidine group. For mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis, addition of clonidine to lidocaine improved the success rate of IANB compared to a standard lidocaine/epinephrine solution. © 2016 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Angle-dependent reversible and irreversible magnetic torque in single-crystalline Y2Ba4Cu8O16

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zech, D.; Rossel, C.; Lesne, L.; Keller, H.; Lee, S.L.; Karpinski, J.

    1996-01-01

    A systematic study of the angle-dependent reversible and irreversible magnetic torque in single-crystalline Y 2 Ba 4 Cu 8 O 16 is presented. The high purity of the crystals allows us to show some intrinsic pinning properties of vortices due to the layered crystal structure. The irreversible component of the torque, which is unusually small, exhibits a peculiar angular dependence: It is minimal as the magnetic field B is applied along the ab plane and displays a pronounced maximum at finite angles, reminiscent of the open-quote open-quote fishtail close-quote close-quote effect. The unusual shape of the irreversible torque is attributed to the pinning of the vortex core, which becomes discontinuous below the two- to three-dimensional (2D-3D) crossover temperature. Another property shown by the angle-dependent torque is the lock-in of the vortex lines between the CuO 2 layers for B parallel to the ab plane. Applying the anisotropic 3D London model to fit the reversible torque data, we derive the in-plane London penetration depth λ ab =143 nm, the coherence length ξ ab =1.9 nm, and the effective mass anisotropy ratio γ=12.3 for Y 2 Ba 4 Cu 8 O 16 . copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  12. L-Chicoric acid inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integration in vivo and is a noncompetitive but reversible inhibitor of HIV-1 integrase in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reinke, Ryan A.; Lee, Deborah J.; McDougall, Brenda R.; King, Peter J.; Victoria, Joseph; Mao Yingqun; Lei Xiangyang; Reinecke, Manfred G.; Robinson, W. Edward

    2004-01-01

    The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) integrase (IN) must covalently join the viral cDNA into a host chromosome for productive HIV infection. L-Chicoric acid (L-CA) enters cells poorly but is a potent inhibitor of IN in vitro. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), L-CA inhibits integration at concentrations from 500 nM to 10 μM but also inhibits entry at concentrations above 1 μM. Using recombinant HIV IN, steady-state kinetic analyses with L-CA were consistent with a noncompetitive or irreversible mechanism of inhibition. IN, in the presence or absence of L-CA, was successively washed. Inhibition of IN diminished, demonstrating that L-CA was reversibly bound to the protein. These data demonstrate that L-CA is a noncompetitive but reversible inhibitor of IN in vitro and of HIV integration in vivo. Thus, L-CA likely interacts with amino acids other than those which bind substrate

  13. Irreversible energy flow in forced Vlasov dynamics

    KAUST Repository

    Plunk, Gabriel G.; Parker, Joseph T.

    2014-01-01

    © EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag. The recent paper of Plunk [G.G. Plunk, Phys. Plasmas 20, 032304 (2013)] considered the forced linear Vlasov equation as a model for the quasi-steady state of a single stable plasma wavenumber interacting with a bath of turbulent fluctuations. This approach gives some insight into possible energy flows without solving for nonlinear dynamics. The central result of the present work is that the forced linear Vlasov equation exhibits asymptotically zero (irreversible) dissipation to all orders under a detuning of the forcing frequency and the characteristic frequency associated with particle streaming. We first prove this by direct calculation, tracking energy flow in terms of certain exact conservation laws of the linear (collisionless) Vlasov equation. Then we analyze the steady-state solutions in detail using a weakly collisional Hermite-moment formulation, and compare with numerical solution. This leads to a detailed description of the Hermite energy spectrum, and a proof of no dissipation at all orders, complementing the collisionless Vlasov result.

  14. Irreversible energy flow in forced Vlasov dynamics

    KAUST Repository

    Plunk, Gabriel G.

    2014-10-01

    © EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag. The recent paper of Plunk [G.G. Plunk, Phys. Plasmas 20, 032304 (2013)] considered the forced linear Vlasov equation as a model for the quasi-steady state of a single stable plasma wavenumber interacting with a bath of turbulent fluctuations. This approach gives some insight into possible energy flows without solving for nonlinear dynamics. The central result of the present work is that the forced linear Vlasov equation exhibits asymptotically zero (irreversible) dissipation to all orders under a detuning of the forcing frequency and the characteristic frequency associated with particle streaming. We first prove this by direct calculation, tracking energy flow in terms of certain exact conservation laws of the linear (collisionless) Vlasov equation. Then we analyze the steady-state solutions in detail using a weakly collisional Hermite-moment formulation, and compare with numerical solution. This leads to a detailed description of the Hermite energy spectrum, and a proof of no dissipation at all orders, complementing the collisionless Vlasov result.

  15. Pressure-induced irreversible metallization accompanying the phase transitions in S b2S3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Lidong; Liu, Kaixiang; Li, Heping; Wu, Lei; Hu, Haiying; Zhuang, Yukai; Yang, Linfei; Pu, Chang; Liu, Pengfei

    2018-01-01

    We have revealed S b2S3 to have two phase transitions and to undergo metallization using a diamond anvil cell at around 5.0, 15.0, and 34.0 GPa, respectively. These results were obtained on the basis of high-pressure Raman spectroscopy, temperature-dependent conductivity measurements, atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and first-principles calculations. The first phase transition at ˜5.0 GPa is an isostructural phase transition, which is manifested in noticeable changes in five Raman-active modes and the slope of the conductivity because of a change in the electronic structure. The second pressure-induced phase transition was characterized by a discontinuous change in the slope of conductivity and a new low-intensity Raman mode at ˜15.0 GPa . Furthermore, a semiconductor-to-metal transition was found at ˜34.0 GPa , which was accompanied by irreversible metallization, and it could be attributed to the permanently plastic deformation of the interlayer spacing. This high-pressure behavior of S b2S3 will help us to understand the universal crystal structure evolution and electrical characteristics for A2B3 -type compounds, and to facilitate their application in electronic devices.

  16. Irreversible electroporation of the pancreas is feasible and safe in a porcine survival model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritz, Stefan; Sommer, Christof M; Vollherbst, Dominik; Wachter, Miguel F; Longerich, Thomas; Sachsenmeier, Milena; Knapp, Jürgen; Radeleff, Boris A; Werner, Jens

    2015-07-01

    Use of thermal tumor ablation in the pancreatic parenchyma is limited because of the risk of pancreatitis, pancreatic fistula, or hemorrhage. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in a porcine model. Ten pigs were divided into 2 study groups. In the first group, animals received IRE of the pancreatic tail and were killed after 60 minutes. In the second group, animals received IRE at the head of the pancreas and were followed up for 7 days. Clinical parameters, computed tomography imaging, laboratory results, and histology were obtained. All animals survived IRE ablation, and no cardiac adverse effects were noted. Sixty minutes after IRE, a hypodense lesion on computed tomography imaging indicated the ablation zone. None of the animals developed clinical signs of acute pancreatitis. Only small amounts of ascites fluid, with a transient increase in amylase and lipase levels, were observed, indicating that no pancreatic fistula occurred. This porcine model shows that IRE is feasible and safe in the pancreatic parenchyma. Computed tomography imaging reveals significant changes at 60 minutes after IRE and therefore might serve as an early indicator of therapeutic success. Clinical studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of IRE in pancreatic cancer.

  17. Cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase: Characterization, inhibition, and metabolic role in taurine formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weinstein, C.L.

    1988-01-01

    Cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase, an enzyme that plays a major role in the formation of taurine from cysteine, has been purified from rat liver to homogeneity and characterized. The physical properties of the enzyme were studied, along with its substrate specificity. Multiple forms of the enzyme were found in rat liver, kidney, and brain with isoelectric points ranging from pH 5.6 to 4.9. These multiple forms did not differ in their substrate specificity. It was found by using gel electrofocusing and polyclonal antibodies raised to the liver enzyme that the different forms of cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase are identical in the various rat tissues studied. Various inhibitors of the enzyme were tested both in vitro and in vivo in order to evaluate the role of cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase in taurine formation in mammalian tissues. In in vitro studies, cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase was irreversibly inhibited by β-ethylidene-DL-aspartate (Ki = 10 mM), and competitive inhibition was found using mercaptomethylsuccinate (Ki = 0.1 mM) and D-cysteinesulfinate (Ki = 0.32 mM) when L-cysteinesulfinate was used as a substrate. In order to be able to test these inhibitors in vivo, L-[1- 14 C]cysteinesulfonate was evaluated as a probe for the in vivo measurement of cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase activity. The metabolism of cysteinesulfonate and the product of its transamination, β-sulfopyruvate, was studied, and it was found that L-[1- 14 C]cysteinesulfonate is an accurate and convenient probe for cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase activity. Using L-[1- 14 C]cysteinesulfonate, it was found that D-cysteinesulfinate inhibits cysteinesulfinate decarboxylase activity by greater than 90% in the intact mouse and that inhibition lasts for up to fifteen hours

  18. The effect of growth temperature on the irreversibility line of MPMG YBCO bulk with Y2O3 layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurnaz, Sedat; Çakır, Bakiye; Aydıner, Alev

    2017-07-01

    In this study, three kinds of YBCO samples which are named Y1040, Y1050 and Y1060 were fabricated by Melt-Powder-Melt-Growth (MPMG) method without a seed crystal. Samples seem to be single crystal. The compacted powders were located on a crucible with a buffer layer of Y2O3 to avoid liquid to spread on the furnace plate and also to support crystal growth. YBCO samples were investigated by magnetoresistivity (ρ-T) and magnetization (M-T) measurements in dc magnetic fields (parallel to c-axis) up to 5 T. Irreversibility fields (Hirr) and upper critical fields (Hc2) were obtained using 10% and 90% criteria of the normal state resistivity value from ρ-T curves. M-T measurements were carried out using the zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) processes to get irreversible temperature (Tirr). Fitting of the irreversibility line results to giant flux creep and vortex glass models were discussed. The results were found to be consistent with the results of the samples fabricated using a seed crystal. At the fabrication of MPMG YBCO, optimized temperature for crystal growth was determined to be around 1050-1060 °C.

  19. Inhibition of human carboxylesterases hCE1 and hiCE by cholinesterase inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsurkan, Lyudmila G; Hatfield, M Jason; Edwards, Carol C; Hyatt, Janice L; Potter, Philip M

    2013-03-25

    Carboxylesterases (CEs) are ubiquitously expressed proteins that are responsible for the detoxification of xenobiotics. They tend to be expressed in tissues likely to be exposed to such agents (e.g., lung and gut epithelia, liver) and can hydrolyze numerous agents, including many clinically used drugs. Due to the considerable structural similarity between cholinesterases (ChE) and CEs, we have assessed the ability of a series of ChE inhibitors to modulate the activity of the human liver (hCE1) and the human intestinal CE (hiCE) isoforms. We observed inhibition of hCE1 and hiCE by carbamate-containing small molecules, including those used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. For example, rivastigmine resulted in greater than 95% inhibition of hiCE that was irreversible under the conditions used. Hence, the administration of esterified drugs, in combination with these carbamates, may inadvertently result in decreased hydrolysis of the former, thereby limiting their efficacy. Therefore drug:drug interactions should be carefully evaluated in individuals receiving ChE inhibitors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Inhibition by etomoxir of rat liver carnitine octanoyltransferase is produced through the co-ordinate interaction with two histidine residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morillas, M; Clotet, J; Rubí, B; Serra, D; Ariño, J; Hegardt, F G; Asins, G

    2000-10-15

    Rat peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase (COT), which facilitates the transport of medium-chain fatty acids through the peroxisomal membrane, is irreversibly inhibited by the hypoglycaemia-inducing drug etomoxir. To identify the molecular basis of this inhibition, cDNAs encoding full-length wild-type COT, two different variant point mutants and one variant double mutant from rat peroxisomal COT were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an organism devoid of endogenous COT activity. The recombinant mutated enzymes showed activity towards both carnitine and decanoyl-CoA in the same range as the wild type. Whereas the wild-type version expressed in yeast was inhibited by etomoxir in an identical manner to COT from rat liver peroxisomes, the activity of the enzyme containing the double mutation H131A/H340A was completely insensitive to etomoxir. Individual point mutations H131A and H340A also drastically reduced sensitivity to etomoxir. Taken together, these results indicate that the two histidine residues, H131 and H340, are the sites responsible for inhibition by etomoxir and that the full inhibitory properties of the drug will be shown only if both histidines are intact at the same time. Our data demonstrate that both etomoxir and malonyl-CoA inhibit COT by interacting with the same sites.

  1. The identification of irreversible rituximab-resistant lymphoma caused by CD20 gene mutations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishima, Y [Department of Clinical Chemotherapy, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan); Olympas Bio-Imaging Lab, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan); Terui, Y [Department of Clinical Chemotherapy, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan); Takeuchi, K [Division of Pathology, Cancer Institute, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan); Matsumoto-Mishima, Y; Matsusaka, S [Department of Clinical Chemotherapy, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan); Utsubo-Kuniyoshi, R [Department of Clinical Chemotherapy, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan); Olympas Bio-Imaging Lab, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan); Hatake, K [Department of Clinical Chemotherapy, Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo (Japan)

    2011-04-01

    C-terminal mutations of CD20 constitute part of the mechanisms that resist rituximab therapy. Most CD20 having a C-terminal mutation was not recognized by L26 antibody. As the exact epitope of L26 has not been determined, expression and localization of mutated CD20 have not been completely elucidated. In this study, we revealed that the binding site of L26 monoclonal antibody is located in the C-terminal cytoplasmic region of CD20 molecule, which was often lost in mutated CD20 molecules. This indicates that it is difficult to distinguish the mutation of CD20 from under expression of the CD20 protein. To detect comprehensive CD20 molecules including the resistant mutants, we developed a novel monoclonal antibody that recognizes the N-terminal cytoplasm region of CD20 molecule. We screened L26-negative cases with our antibody and found several mutations. A rituximab-binding analysis using the cryopreserved specimen that mutation was identified in CD20 molecules indicated that the C-terminal region of CD20 undertakes a critical role in presentation of the large loop in which the rituximab-binding site locates. Thus, combination of antibodies of two kinds of epitope permits the identification of C-terminal CD20 mutations associated with irreversible resistance to rituximab and may help the decision of the treatment strategy.

  2. Wall heat flux influence on the thermodynamic optimisation of irreversibilities of a circulating fluidised bed combustor

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Baloyi, J

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available . The irreversibilities generated were arrived at by computing the entropy generation rates due to the combustion and frictional pressure drop processes. For the combustor where the wall condition was changed from adiabatic to negative heat flux (that is heat leaving...

  3. fMRI reveals reciprocal inhibition between social and physical cognitive domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jack, Anthony I.; Dawson, Abigail; Begany, Katelyn; Leckie, Regina L.; Barry, Kevin; Ciccia, Angela; Snyder, Abraham

    2012-01-01

    Two lines of evidence indicate that there exists a reciprocal inhibitory relationship between opposed brain networks. First, most attention-demanding cognitive tasks activate a stereotypical set of brain areas, known as the task-positive network and simultaneously deactivate a different set of brain regions, commonly referred to as the task negative or default mode network. Second, functional connectivity analyses show that these same opposed networks are anti-correlated in the resting state. We hypothesize that these reciprocally inhibitory effects reflect two incompatible cognitive modes, each of which is directed towards understanding the external world. Thus, engaging one mode activates one set of regions and suppresses activity in the other. We test this hypothesis by identifying two types of problem-solving task which, on the basis of prior work, have been consistently associated with the task positive and task negative regions: tasks requiring social cognition, i.e., reasoning about the mental states of other persons, and tasks requiring physical cognition, i.e., reasoning about the causal/mechanical properties of inanimate objects. Social and mechanical reasoning tasks were presented to neurologically normal participants during fMRI. Each task type was presented using both text and video clips. Regardless of presentation modality, we observed clear evidence of reciprocal suppression: social tasks deactivated regions associated with mechanical reasoning and mechanical tasks deactivated regions associated with social reasoning. These findings are not explained by self-referential processes, task engagement, mental simulation, mental time travel or external vs. internal attention, all factors previously hypothesized to explain default mode network activity. Analyses of resting state data revealed a close match between the regions our tasks identified as reciprocally inhibitory and regions of maximal anti-correlation in the resting state. These results indicate

  4. fMRI reveals reciprocal inhibition between social and physical cognitive domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jack, Anthony I; Dawson, Abigail J; Begany, Katelyn L; Leckie, Regina L; Barry, Kevin P; Ciccia, Angela H; Snyder, Abraham Z

    2013-02-01

    Two lines of evidence indicate that there exists a reciprocal inhibitory relationship between opposed brain networks. First, most attention-demanding cognitive tasks activate a stereotypical set of brain areas, known as the task-positive network and simultaneously deactivate a different set of brain regions, commonly referred to as the task negative or default mode network. Second, functional connectivity analyses show that these same opposed networks are anti-correlated in the resting state. We hypothesize that these reciprocally inhibitory effects reflect two incompatible cognitive modes, each of which may be directed towards understanding the external world. Thus, engaging one mode activates one set of regions and suppresses activity in the other. We test this hypothesis by identifying two types of problem-solving task which, on the basis of prior work, have been consistently associated with the task positive and task negative regions: tasks requiring social cognition, i.e., reasoning about the mental states of other persons, and tasks requiring physical cognition, i.e., reasoning about the causal/mechanical properties of inanimate objects. Social and mechanical reasoning tasks were presented to neurologically normal participants during fMRI. Each task type was presented using both text and video clips. Regardless of presentation modality, we observed clear evidence of reciprocal suppression: social tasks deactivated regions associated with mechanical reasoning and mechanical tasks deactivated regions associated with social reasoning. These findings are not explained by self-referential processes, task engagement, mental simulation, mental time travel or external vs. internal attention, all factors previously hypothesized to explain default mode network activity. Analyses of resting state data revealed a close match between the regions our tasks identified as reciprocally inhibitory and regions of maximal anti-correlation in the resting state. These results

  5. Exergy analysis on the irreversibility of rotary air preheater in thermal power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Hongyue; Zhao Lingling; Zhou Qiangtai; Xu Zhigao; Kim, Hyung Taek

    2008-01-01

    Energy recovery devices can have a substantial impact on process efficiency and their relevance to the problem of conservation of energy resources is generally recognized to be beyond dispute. One type of such a device, which is commonly used in thermal power plants and air conditioning systems, is the rotary air preheater. A major disadvantage of the rotary air preheater is that there is an unavoidable leakage due to carry over and pressure difference. There are gas streams involved in the heat transfer and mixing processes. There are also irreversibilities, or exergy destruction, due to mixing, pressure losses and temperature gradients. Therefore, the purpose of this research paper is based from the second law of thermodynamics, which is to build up the relationship between the efficiency of the thermal power plant and the total process of irreversibility in the rotary air preheater using exergy analysis. For this, the effects of the variation of the principal design parameters on the rotary air preheater efficiency, the exergy efficiency, and the efficiency of the thermal power plant are examined by changing a number of parameters of rotary air preheater. Furthermore, some conclusions are reached and recommendations are made so as to give insight on designing some optimal parameters

  6. Relativistic thermodynamics of irreversible processes I. Heat conduction, diffusion, viscous flow and chemical reactions; formal part

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kluitenberg, G.A.; Groot, S.R. de; Mazur, P.

    1953-01-01

    The relativistic thermodynamics of irreversible processes is developed for an isotropic mixture in which heat conduction, diffusion, viscous flow, chemical reactions and their cross-phenomena may occur. The four-vectors, representing the relative flows of matter, are defined in such a way that, in

  7. Irreversible traps, their influence on the embrittlement of high strength steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mariano, I; Mansilla, G

    2012-01-01

    Hydrogen (H) can be trapped in lattice defects such as vacancies, dislocations, grain boundaries and interfaces between the matrix and precipitates. The effect on the mechanical properties depends on factors inherent in materials such as the activation energy of irreversible traps (H trapped in Network Places) and its sensitivity to embrittlement. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) allows the study of those processes in which enthalpy variation occurs. The purpose is to record the difference in enthalpy change that occurs in the sample as a function of temperature or time. This work represents a study of H embrittlement of high strength steel resulfurized

  8. A quantum analogy for the linear thermodynamics of irreversible processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibanez-Mengual, J.A.; Tejerina-Garcia, A.F.

    1981-01-01

    In this paper, a model for the transport through a liquid junction of two solutions of the same components, based on quantum-mechanical considerations, is established. A small energy difference, compared with the molecules' energy, among the molecules placed at both sides of the junction is assumed to exist. The liquid junction is assimilated to a potential barrier, getting the material flow from the transmission coefficient of the barrier, when the energy difference is caused by a temperature gradient, a concentration gradient, or both gradients acting together. In all cases, equations formally identical to those of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes are obtained. In the last case, the heat flow is also determined. (author)

  9. The usefulness of computed tomography in distinguishing between asthma with irreversible air-flow limitation and pulmonary emphysema

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taniguchi, Hiroyuki; Ogawa, Kenji; Nakajima, Yoko; Amano, Masao; Kondo, Yasuhiro; Matsumoto, Kohei; Yokoyama, Sigeki; Matsubara, Kazuhito

    1988-01-01

    Chronic asthma may develop irreversible air-flow limitation and in this circumstance, it is clinically difficult to distinguish between asthma and pulmonary emphysema. Recently, it has been reported that computed tomography (CT) may assist in detecting changes in the lung specific for emphysema. We examined patients who suffered from asthma before the age of 45 which led to irreversible air-flow limitation (BA group; n = 17, mean age = 65.9) and patients with pulmonary emphysema (CPE group; n = 19, mean age = 69.8). Pulmonary function testing and CT were performed on all patients. In assessment of CT, areas of low attenuation and vascular disruption were considered to be suggestive of emphysema, and the Emphysema Score (ES) was calculated according to the method of Bergin et al. There was no significant difference in FEV1.0, % FEV1.0, % FEV1.0/FVC, % RV and RV/TLC between the BA group and the CPE group. In contrast, there was a significant decrease in the % DLco in CPE group compared with that of the BA group (p < 0.001). The ES in total lung was 54.9 ± 18.6 % in the CPE group and 7.8 ± 11.0 % in BA group (p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the % DLco and the ES in the CPE group (p < 0.01). We conclude that the CT is useful in distinguishing between asthma with irreversible air-flow limitation and pulmonary emphysema. (author)

  10. Performance evaluation and optimization of fluidized bed boiler in ethanol plant using irreversibility analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nugroho Agung Pambudi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to evaluate the performance of a fluidized bed boiler in an ethanol production plant through exergy and irreversibility analysis. The study also includes the optimization of the pre-heater and the deaerator in order to improve the system efficiency. Operational data from the ethanol production plant was collected between 2015 and early 2016. The total exergy derived from the fuel was determined to be 7783 kJ/s, while the exergy efficiency of the system was found to be 26.19%, with 2214 kJ/s used in steam production, while 71.55% was lost to component irreversibility and waste heat from the pre-heater. The exergy efficiencies of individual components of the system such as the boiler, deaerator, and pre-heater were found to be 25.82%, 40.13%, and 2.617%, respectively, with the pre-heater having the lowest efficiency. Thus, the pre-heater has the highest potential to significantly improve the efficiency of the boiler system. The optimization of the pre-heater shows that a rise in temperature in the outlet of the pre-heater positively affects the exergy efficiency of the deaerator.

  11. Polysulfonate suramin inhibits Zika virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Chee Wah; Sam, I-Ching; Chong, Wei Lim; Lee, Vannajan Sanghiran; Chan, Yoke Fun

    2017-07-01

    Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus that causes newborn microcephaly and Guillian-Barré syndrome in adults. No therapeutics are available to treat ZIKV infection or other flaviviruses. In this study, we explored the inhibitory effect of glycosaminoglycans and analogues against ZIKV infection. Highly sulfated heparin, dextran sulfate and suramin significantly inhibited ZIKV infection in Vero cells. De-sulfated heparin analogues lose inhibitory effect, implying that sulfonate groups are critical for viral inhibition. Suramin, an FDA-approved anti-parasitic drug, inhibits ZIKV infection with 3-5 log 10  PFU viral reduction with IC 50 value of ∼2.5-5 μg/ml (1.93 μM-3.85 μM). A time-of-drug-addition study revealed that suramin remains potent even when administrated at 1-24 hpi. Suramin inhibits ZIKV infection by preventing viral adsorption, entry and replication. Molecular dynamics simulation revealed stronger interaction of suramin with ZIKV NS3 helicase than with the envelope protein. Suramin warrants further investigation as a potential antiviral candidate for ZIKV infection. Heparan sulfate (HS) is a cellular attachment receptor for multiple flaviviruses. However, no direct ZIKV-heparin interaction was observed in heparin-binding analysis, and downregulate or removal of cellular HS with sodium chlorate or heparinase I/III did not inhibit ZIKV infection. This indicates that cell surface HS is not utilized by ZIKV as an attachment receptor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Kinetics of irreversible thermal decomposition of dissociating nitrogen dioxide with nitrogen oxide or oxygen additions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gvozdev, A.A.

    1987-01-01

    The effect of NO or O 2 admixtures on kinetics of the irreversible thermal decomposition of nitrogen dioxide at temperatures 460-520 deg C and pressures 4-7 MPa has been studied. It follows from experimental data that the rate of N 2 O 4 formation reduces with the increase of partial pressure of oxygen or decrease of partial pressure of nitrogen oxide. The same regularity is seen for the rate of nitrogen formation. The rate constants of N 2 O formation in dissociating nitrogen tetroxide with oxygen or nitrogen oxide additions agree satisfactorily with previously published results, obtained in stoichiometric mixtures. The appreciable discrepancy at 520 deg C is bind with considerable degree of nitrogen oxide transformation which constitutes approximately 14%. It is determined that the kinetics of formation of the products of irreversible N 2 O and N 2 decomposition in stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric 2NO 2 ↔ 2NO+O 2 mixtures is described by identical 3NO → N 2 O+NO 2 and N 2 O+NO → N 2 +NO 2 reactions

  13. Sequential Events in the Irreversible Thermal Denaturation of Human Brain-Type Creatine Kinase by Spectroscopic Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan-Song Gao

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The non-cooperative or sequential events which occur during protein thermal denaturation are closely correlated with protein folding, stability, and physiological functions. In this research, the sequential events of human brain-type creatine kinase (hBBCK thermal denaturation were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, CD, and intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy. DSC experiments revealed that the thermal denaturation of hBBCK was calorimetrically irreversible. The existence of several endothermic peaks suggested that the denaturation involved stepwise conformational changes, which were further verified by the discrepancy in the transition curves obtained from various spectroscopic probes. During heating, the disruption of the active site structure occurred prior to the secondary and tertiary structural changes. The thermal unfolding and aggregation of hBBCK was found to occur through sequential events. This is quite different from that of muscle-type CK (MMCK. The results herein suggest that BBCK and MMCK undergo quite dissimilar thermal unfolding pathways, although they are highly conserved in the primary and tertiary structures. A minor difference in structure might endow the isoenzymes dissimilar local stabilities in structure, which further contribute to isoenzyme-specific thermal stabilities.

  14. The effect of pouring time on the dimensional accuracy of casts made from different irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Supneet Singh Wadhwa

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims and Objectives: To determine the time dependent accuracy of casts made from three different irreversible hydrocolloids. Materials and Methods: The effect of delayed pouring on the accuracy of three different irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials - Regular set CA 37(Cavex, The Netherlands, regular set chromatic (Jeltrate, Dentsply, and fast set (Hydrogum soft, Zhermack Clinical was investigated. A brass master die that contained two identical posts simulating two complete crown-tapered abutment preparations with reference grooves served as a standardized master model. A total of 120 impressions were made using specially prepared stock-perforated brass tray with 40 impressions of each material. The impressions were further sub-grouped according to four different storage time intervals: 0 min (immediately, 12 min, 30 min, and 1 h. The impressions were stored at room temperature in a zip-lock plastic bag. Interabutment and intraabutment distances were measured in the recovered stone dies (Type IV, Kalrock using a profile projector with an accuracy of 0.001 mm. The data so obtained was analyzed statistically. Results: Results of this study showed no statistically significant differences in the accuracy of casts obtained at different time intervals. Conclusion: Because it is not always possible to pour the impression immediately in routine clinical practice, all irreversible hydrocolloid materials studied could be stored in a zip-lock plastic bag for upto 1 h without any significant distortion.

  15. The isothiocyanate class of bioactive nutrients covalently inhibit the MEKK1 protein kinase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cross, Janet V; Foss, Frank W; Rady, Joshua M; Macdonald, Timothy L; Templeton, Dennis J

    2007-01-01

    Dietary isothiocyanates (ITCs) are electrophilic compounds that have diverse biological activities including induction of apoptosis and effects on cell cycle. They protect against experimental carcinogenesis in animals, an activity believed to result from the transcriptional induction of 'Phase 2' enzymes. The molecular mechanism of action of ITCs is unknown. Since ITCs are electrophiles capable of reacting with sulfhydryl groups on amino acids, we hypothesized that ITCs induce their biological effects through covalent modification of proteins, leading to changes in cell regulatory events. We previously demonstrated that stress-signaling kinase pathways are inhibited by other electrophilic compounds such as menadione. We therefore tested the effects of nutritional ITCs on MEKK1, an upstream regulator of the SAPK/JNK signal transduction pathway. The activity of MEKK1 expressed in cells was monitored using in vitro kinase assays to measure changes in catalytic activity. The activity of endogenous MEKK1, immunopurified from ITC treated and untreated LnCAP cells was also measured by in vitro kinase assay. A novel labeling and affinity reagent for detection of protein modification by ITCs was synthesized and used in competition assays to monitor direct modification of MEKK1 by ITC. Finally, immunoblots with phospho-specific antibodies were used to measure the activity of MAPK protein kinases. ITCs inhibited the MEKK1 protein kinase in a manner dependent on a specific cysteine residue in the ATP binding pocket. Inhibition of MEKK1 catalytic activity was due to direct, covalent and irreversible modification of the MEKK1 protein itself. In addition, ITCs inhibited the catalytic activity of endogenous MEKK1. This correlated with inhibition of the downstream target of MEKK1 activity, i.e. the SAPK/JNK kinase. This inhibition was specific to SAPK, as parallel MAPK pathways were unaffected. These results demonstrate that MEKK1 is directly modified and inhibited by

  16. Time-resolved single-shot terahertz time-domain spectroscopy for ultrafast irreversible processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhai, Zhao-Hui; Zhong, Sen-Cheng; Li, Jun; Zhu, Li-Guo; Meng, Kun; Li, Jiang; Liu, Qiao; Peng, Qi-Xian; Li, Ze-Ren; Zhao, Jian-Heng

    2016-09-01

    Pulsed terahertz spectroscopy is suitable for spectroscopic diagnostics of ultrafast events. However, the study of irreversible or single shot ultrafast events requires ability to record transient properties at multiple time delays, i.e., time resolved at single shot level, which is not available currently. Here by angular multiplexing use of femtosecond laser pulses, we developed and demonstrated a time resolved, transient terahertz time domain spectroscopy technique, where burst mode THz pulses were generated and then detected in a single shot measurement manner. The burst mode THz pulses contain 2 sub-THz pulses, and the time gap between them is adjustable up to 1 ns with picosecond accuracy, thus it can be used to probe the single shot event at two different time delays. The system can detect the sub-THz pulses at 0.1 THz-2.5 THz range with signal to noise ratio (SNR) of ˜400 and spectrum resolution of 0.05 THz. System design was described here, and optimizations of single shot measurement of THz pulses were discussed in detail. Methods to improve SNR were also discussed in detail. A system application was demonstrated where pulsed THz signals at different time delays of the ultrafast process were successfully acquired within single shot measurement. This time resolved transient terahertz time domain spectroscopy technique provides a new diagnostic tool for irreversible or single shot ultrafast events where dynamic information can be extracted at terahertz range within one-shot experiment.

  17. Activation of cathepsin L contributes to the irreversible depolarization induced by oxygen and glucose deprivation in rat hippocampal CA1 neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kikuta, Shogo; Murai, Yoshinaka; Tanaka, Eiichiro

    2017-01-01

    Oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) elicits a rapid and irreversible depolarization with a latency of ∼5min in intracellular recordings of hippocampal CA1 neurons in rat slice preparations. In the present study, we examined the role of cathepsin L in the OGD-induced depolarization. OGD-induced depolarizations were irreversible as no recovery of membrane potential was observed. The membrane potential reached 0mV when oxygen and glucose were reintroduced immediately after the onset of the OGD-induced rapid depolarization. The OGD-induced depolarizations became reversible when the slice preparations were pre-incubated with cathepsin L inhibitors (types I and IV at 0.3-2nM and 0.3-30nM, respectively). Moreover, pre-incubation with these cathepsin inhibitors prevented the morphological changes, including swelling of the cell soma and fragmentation of dendrites, observed in control neurons after OGD. These findings suggest that the activation of cathepsin L contributes to the irreversible depolarization produced by OGD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Cooperation for Better Inhibiting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novoa, Eva Maria; Ribas de Pouplana, Lluís

    2015-06-18

    Cladosporin is an antimalarial drug that acts as an ATP-mimetic to selectively inhibit Plasmodium lysyl-tRNA synthetase. Using multiple crystal structures, Fang et al. (2015) reveal in this issue of Chemistry & Biology the fascinating mechanism responsible for cladosporin selectivity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Blood pressure reduction in patients with irreversible pulpitis teeth treated by non-surgical root canal treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James I-Sheng Huang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background/purpose: The hypotension in patients during non-surgical root canal treatment (NSRCT has not yet investigated. This study aimed to assess the mean systolic blood pressure (MSBP, mean diastolic blood pressure (MDBP, and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP reduction percentages in patients with irreversible pulpitis teeth treated by NSRCT. Materials and methods: We prospectively recruited 111 patients with a total of 138 irreversible pulpitis teeth. All patients underwent two NSRCT sessions. The first NSRCT session involved mainly the removal of vital pulp tissue with the direct stimulation of the dental branches of the trigeminal nerve, and the second NSRCT session included the root canal debridement and enlargement with minimal disturbance to the dental nerves. The blood pressure of each patient was recorded before and during both NSRCT sessions. Results: There were significantly higher reduction percentages of MSBP, MDBP, and MABP in the first NSRCT session than in the second NSRCT session for all treated patients (all the P-values < 0.001. If the patients were divided into 2 or more groups according to the clinical variables including the patients' gender, age, tooth type, and anesthesia type, we also found significantly higher reduction percentages of MSBP, MDBP, and MABP in the first NSRCT session than in the second NSRCT session for all treated patients except for patients below 40 years of age and for patients with lower anterior teeth treated (all the P-values < 0.05. Conclusion: The decrease in blood pressure in patients receiving vital pulpal extirpation is a relatively common phenomenon. Keywords: hypotension, irreversible pulpitis teeth, non-surgical root canal treatment, blood pressure, parasympathetic effect, vital pulpal extirpation

  20. Irreversible Thermodynamics of the Universe: Constraints from Planck Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saha, Subhajit; Chakraborty, Subenoy; Biswas, Atreyee

    2014-01-01

    The present work deals with irreversible universal thermodynamics. The homogenous and isotropic flat model of the universe is chosen as open thermodynamical system and nonequilibrium thermodynamics comes into picture. For simplicity, entropy flow is considered only due to heat conduction. Further, due to Maxwell-Cattaneo modified Fourier law for nonequilibrium phenomenon, the temperature satisfies damped wave equation instead of heat conduction equation. Validity of generalized second law of thermodynamics (GSLT) has been investigated for universe bounded by apparent or event horizon with cosmic substratum as perfect fluid with constant or variable equation of state or interacting dark species. Finally, we have used three Planck data sets to constrain the thermal conductivity λ and the coupling parameter b 2 . These constraints must be satisfied in order for GSLT to hold for universe bounded by apparent or event horizons

  1. Advertising and Irreversible Opinion Spreading in Complex Social Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Candia, Julián

    Irreversible opinion spreading phenomena are studied on small-world and scale-free networks by means of the magnetic Eden model, a nonequilibrium kinetic model for the growth of binary mixtures in contact with a thermal bath. In this model, the opinion of an individual is affected by those of their acquaintances, but opinion changes (analogous to spin flips in an Ising-like model) are not allowed. We focus on the influence of advertising, which is represented by external magnetic fields. The interplay and competition between temperature and fields lead to order-disorder transitions, which are found to also depend on the link density and the topology of the complex network substrate. The effects of advertising campaigns with variable duration, as well as the best cost-effective strategies to achieve consensus within different scenarios, are also discussed.

  2. Edge-shape barrier irreversibility and decomposition of vortices in Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8

    Science.gov (United States)

    Indenbom, M. V.; D'Anna, G.; André, M.-O.; Kabanov, V. V.; Benoit, W.

    1994-12-01

    Magnetic flux dynamics is studied in Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8 single crystals by means of magneto-optical technique. It is clearly demonstrated that the magnetic irreversibility of these crystals in a magnetic field perpendicular to the basal plane at temperatures higher than approximately 35 K is governed by an edge-shape barrier and its disappearance determines the high temperature part of the magnetic irreversibility line which is commonly associated in the literature with vortex lattice melting. We argue that this barrier exists because of the non ellipsoidal shape of the samples and can disappear only when the flux lines lose their rigidity decomposing into pancakes, which is the only true magnetic phase transition on the B-T diagram for Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8.

  3. Species Differences in the Oxidative Desulfurization of a Thiouracil-Based Irreversible Myeloperoxidase Inactivator by Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase Enzymes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eng, Heather; Sharma, Raman; Wolford, Angela; Di, Li; Ruggeri, Roger B; Buckbinder, Leonard; Conn, Edward L; Dalvie, Deepak K; Kalgutkar, Amit S

    2016-08-01

    N1-Substituted-6-arylthiouracils, represented by compound 1 [6-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydropyrimidin-4(1H)-one], are a novel class of selective irreversible inhibitors of human myeloperoxidase. The present account is a summary of our in vitro studies on the facile oxidative desulfurization in compound 1 to a cyclic ether metabolite M1 [5-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-2,3-dihydro-7H-oxazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-7-one] in NADPH-supplemented rats (t1/2 [half-life = mean ± S.D.] = 8.6 ± 0.4 minutes) and dog liver microsomes (t1/2 = 11.2 ± 0.4 minutes), but not in human liver microsomes (t1/2 > 120 minutes). The in vitro metabolic instability also manifested in moderate-to-high plasma clearances of the parent compound in rats and dogs with significant concentrations of M1 detected in circulation. Mild heat deactivation of liver microsomes or coincubation with the flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) inhibitor imipramine significantly diminished M1 formation. In contrast, oxidative metabolism of compound 1 to M1 was not inhibited by the pan cytochrome P450 inactivator 1-aminobenzotriazole. Incubations with recombinant FMO isoforms (FMO1, FMO3, and FMO5) revealed that FMO1 principally catalyzed the conversion of compound 1 to M1. FMO1 is not expressed in adult human liver, which rationalizes the species difference in oxidative desulfurization. Oxidation by FMO1 followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with Michaelis-Menten constant, maximum rate of oxidative desulfurization, and intrinsic clearance values of 209 μM, 20.4 nmol/min/mg protein, and 82.7 μl/min/mg protein, respectively. Addition of excess glutathione essentially eliminated the conversion of compound 1 to M1 in NADPH-supplemented rat and dog liver microsomes, which suggests that the initial FMO1-mediated S-oxygenation of compound 1 yields a sulfenic acid intermediate capable of redox cycling to the parent compound in a glutathione-dependent fashion or undergoing further oxidation to a more

  4. Observer detection of image degradation caused by irreversible data compression processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ji; Flynn, Michael J.; Gross, Barry; Spizarny, David

    1991-05-01

    Irreversible data compression methods have been proposed to reduce the data storage and communication requirements of digital imaging systems. In general, the error produced by compression increases as an algorithm''s compression ratio is increased. We have studied the relationship between compression ratios and the detection of induced error using radiologic observers. The nature of the errors was characterized by calculating the power spectrum of the difference image. In contrast with studies designed to test whether detected errors alter diagnostic decisions, this study was designed to test whether observers could detect the induced error. A paired-film observer study was designed to test whether induced errors were detected. The study was conducted with chest radiographs selected and ranked for subtle evidence of interstitial disease, pulmonary nodules, or pneumothoraces. Images were digitized at 86 microns (4K X 5K) and 2K X 2K regions were extracted. A full-frame discrete cosine transform method was used to compress images at ratios varying between 6:1 and 60:1. The decompressed images were reprinted next to the original images in a randomized order with a laser film printer. The use of a film digitizer and a film printer which can reproduce all of the contrast and detail in the original radiograph makes the results of this study insensitive to instrument performance and primarily dependent on radiographic image quality. The results of this study define conditions for which errors associated with irreversible compression cannot be detected by radiologic observers. The results indicate that an observer can detect the errors introduced by this compression algorithm for compression ratios of 10:1 (1.2 bits/pixel) or higher.

  5. Psychologic adjustment to irreversible vision loss in adults: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senra, Hugo; Barbosa, Fernando; Ferreira, Patrícia; Vieira, Cristina R; Perrin, Paul B; Rogers, Heather; Rivera, Diego; Leal, Isabel

    2015-04-01

    To summarize relevant evidence investigating the psychologic adjustment to irreversible vision loss (IVL) in adults. Irreversible vision loss entails a challenging medical condition in which rehabilitation outcomes are strongly dependent on the patient's psychologic adjustment to illness and impairment. So far, no study has systematically reviewed the psychologic adjustment to IVL in adults. We reviewed all articles examining the psychologic adjustment to IVL in adults. We included articles published in English in peer-reviewed journals. We performed a keyword literature search using 4 databases (PubMed, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct) for all years through July 2014. We assessed risk of bias of selected studies using the RTI Item Bank for Assessing Risk of Bias and Confounding for Observational Studies of Interventions or Exposures and the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials. Of a total of 3948 citations retrieved, we selected 52 eligible studies published between 1946 and 2014. The majority of studies were observational and cross-sectional in nature. Our review suggests that high levels of depression occur during the adjustment to IVL. Better adjustment to IVL was associated with greater acceptance of vision loss and use of instrumental coping, good social support, positivity, and use of assistive aids. The overall findings indicate that IVL often has negative effects on patients' quality of life and mental health and that such effects tend to remain over time. Specific factors and variables associated with the adjustment to IVL need to be clarified through further in-depth and longitudinal research. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Irreversibility of entanglement distillation for a class of symmetric states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vollbrecht, Karl Gerd H.; Wolf, Michael M.; Werner, Reinhard F.

    2004-01-01

    We investigate the irreversibility of entanglement distillation for a symmetric (d+1)-parameter family of mixed bipartite quantum states acting on Hilbert spaces of arbitrary dimension dxd. We prove that in this family the entanglement cost is generically strictly larger than the distillable entanglement, so that the set of states for which the distillation process is asymptotically reversible is of measure zero. This remains true even if the distillation process is catalytically assisted by pure-state entanglement and every operation is allowed, which preserves the positivity of the partial transpose. It is shown that reversibility occurs only in cases where the state is a tagged mixture. The reversible cases are shown to be completely characterized by minimal uncertainty vectors for entropic uncertainty relations

  7. Optical properties versus temperature of Cr-doped γ- and α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}: Irreversible thermal sensors application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salek, G.; Devoti, A.; Lataste, E.; Demourgues, A.; Garcia, A.; Jubera, V., E-mail: veronique.jubera@u-bordeaux.fr; Gaudon, M.

    2016-11-15

    A thorough investigation by X-ray diffraction, UV–vis and luminescence spectroscopy is carried out to demonstrate how the chromium content of alumina matrices impacts the temperature of the γ→α irreversible phase transition. The Cr{sup 3+} contents influence slightly the phase transition temperature but control the brightness of the powders. Nice colorimetric contrasts from green to pink are observed between the two allotropic forms. Furthermore, drastic changes of the spectral distribution and of the intensity of luminescence are observed, thus allowing to use this pigment as a both thermochromic and luminescent thermal sensor. Additional measurements at low temperature revealed that the Cr{sup 3+} emission of the γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} matrix is constituted by a large band. A configurational diagram schematic approach suggested for the first time that this emission is due to spin-allowed {sup 4}T{sub 2}→{sup 4}A{sub 2} transition on this largely investigated γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} compound.

  8. Irreversibility in transformation behavior of equiatomic nickel-titanium alloy by electrical resistivity measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Hitoshi

    2004-01-01

    Measurements of the electrical resistivity were precisely performed on shape memory Ni 50 Ti 50 alloy in order to reveal the irreversible behavior of the thermoelastic martensitic transformation with thermal cycling. The hump in the electrical resistivity during cooling is enhanced with increasing the number of complete thermal cycles to result in a peak, although no peak in the electrical resistivity is observed on the reverse transformation during heating. The electrical resistivity in the low-temperature phase, of which the temperature dependence is linear, increases with increasing the number of complete thermal cycles. The temperature coefficient of the electrical resistivity in the temperature region of the high-temperature phase increases with elevating the temperature. The transformation is strongly influenced by incomplete thermal cycles to result in a peak in the resistivity even on the reverse transformation after incomplete thermal cycling. It is thought that the anomalous behavior such as enhancement of a resistivity-peak, the increase in the electrical resistivity of the low-temperature phase, and the nonlinear relation between the resistivity and the temperature in the high-temperature phase are attributable to the appearance of an intermediate phase stabilized by transformation-induced defects, the accumulation of the transformation-induced defects, and the electron scattering due to the softening of a phonon mode in the high-temperature phase, respectively. It proved useful to make more accurate measurements of the electrical resistivity in order to investigate the intrinsic behavior of the transformation in NiTi

  9. Global analysis of myocardial peptides containing cysteines with irreversible sulfinic and sulfonic Acid post-translational modifications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paulech, Jana; Liddy, Kiersten A; Engholm-Keller, Kasper

    2015-01-01

    ) and others (Cys sulfinic [Cys-SO2H] and sulfonic [Cys-SO3H] acids) that are considered "irreversible." We developed an enrichment method to isolate Cys-SO2H/SO3H-containing peptides from complex tissue lysates that is compatible with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The acidity of these post...

  10. The anti-inflammatory activity of standard aqueous stem bark extract of Mangifera indica L. as evident in inhibition of Group IA sPLA2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhananjaya, Bhadrapura Lakkappa; Shivalingaiah, Sudharshan

    2016-03-01

    The standard aqueous stem bark extract is consumed as herbal drink and used in the pharmaceutical formulations to treat patients suffering from various disease conditions in Cuba. This study was carried out to evaluate the modulatory effect of standard aqueous bark extract of M. indica on Group IA sPLA2. M. indica extract, dose dependently inhibited the GIA sPLA2 (NN-XIa-PLA2) activity with an IC50 value 8.1 µg/ml. M. indica extract effectively inhibited the indirect hemolytic activity up to 98% at ~40 µg/ml concentration and at various concentrations (0-50 µg/ml), it dose dependently inhibited the edema formation. When examined as a function of increased substrate and calcium concentration, there was no relieve of inhibitory effect on the GIA sPLA2. Furthermore, the inhibition was irreversible as evidenced from binding studies. It is observed that the aqueous extract ofM. indica effectively inhibits sPLA2 and it is associated inflammatory activities, which substantiate their anti-inflammatory properties. The mode of inhibition could be due to direct interaction of components present in the extract, with sPLA2 enzyme. Further studies on understanding the principal constituents, responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity would be interesting to develop this into potent anti-inflammatory agent.

  11. Anesthetic efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection using 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine in patients with irreversible pulpitis after inferior alveolar nerve block: A clinical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Pushpendra Kumar; Srivastava, Ruchi; Ramesh, Kumar M

    2013-03-01

    The inferior alveolar nerve block (IAN) is the most frequently used mandibular injection technique for achieving local anesthesia in endodontics. Supplemental injections are essential to overcome failure of IAN block in patients with irreversible pulpitis. To evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection (2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine) in patients with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular posterior teeth when conventional IAN block failed. Thirty emergency patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis in a mandibular posterior tooth received an IAN block and experienced moderate to severe pain on endodontic access or initial instrumentation. The X-tip system was used to administer 1.8 ml of 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine. The success of X-tip intraosseous injection was defined as none or mild pain (Heft-Parker visual analogue scale ratings intraosseous injection using 2% lignocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine has a statistically significant influence in achieving pulpal anesthesia in patients with irreversible pulpitis.

  12. Anesthetic efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection using 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine in patients with irreversible pulpitis after inferior alveolar nerve block: A clinical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Pushpendra Kumar; Srivastava, Ruchi; Ramesh, Kumar M

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: The inferior alveolar nerve block (IAN) is the most frequently used mandibular injection technique for achieving local anesthesia in endodontics. Supplemental injections are essential to overcome failure of IAN block in patients with irreversible pulpitis. Aim: To evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection (2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine) in patients with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular posterior teeth when conventional IAN block failed. Materials and Methods: Thirty emergency patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis in a mandibular posterior tooth received an IAN block and experienced moderate to severe pain on endodontic access or initial instrumentation. The X-tip system was used to administer 1.8 ml of 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine. The success of X-tip intraosseous injection was defined as none or mild pain (Heft-Parker visual analogue scale ratings intraosseous injection using 2% lignocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine has a statistically significant influence in achieving pulpal anesthesia in patients with irreversible pulpitis. PMID:23716971

  13. Ac irreversibility line of bismuth-based high temperature superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehdaoui, A.; Beille, J.; Berling, D.; Loegel, B.; Noudem, J.G.; Tournier, R.

    1997-01-01

    We discuss the magnetic properties of lead doped Bi-2223 bulk samples obtained through combined magnetic melt texturing and hot pressing (MMTHP). The ac complex susceptibility measurements are achieved over a broad ac field range (1 Oe ac <100 Oe) and show highly anisotropic properties. The intergranular coupling is improved in the direction perpendicular to the applied stress and magnetic field direction, and an intragranular loss peak is observed for the first time. A comparison is made with other bismuth-based compounds and it is shown that the MMTHP process shifts the ac irreversibility line (ac IL) toward higher fields. It is also shown that all the ac IL close-quote s for quasi 2D bismuth-based compounds show a nearly quadratic temperature dependence and deviate therefore strongly from the linear behavior observed in quasi 3D compounds and expected from a critical state model.copyright 1997 Materials Research Society

  14. Effect of nitrous oxide on the efficacy of the inferior alveolar nerve block in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, William; Drum, Melissa; Nusstein, John; Reader, Al; Beck, Mike

    2012-05-01

    The inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block does not always result in successful pulpal anesthesia. Anesthetic success rates might be affected by increased anxiety. Nitrous oxide has been shown to have both anxiolytic and analgesic properties. Therefore, the purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to determine the effect of nitrous oxide on the anesthetic success of the IAN block in patients experiencing symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. One hundred emergency patients diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular posterior tooth were enrolled in this study. Each patient was randomly assigned to receive an inhalation regimen of nitrous oxide/oxygen mix or room air/oxygen mix (placebo) 5 minutes before the administration of the IAN block. Endodontic access was begun 15 minutes after completion of the IAN block, and all patients had profound lip numbness. Success was defined as no or mild pain (visual analog scale recordings) on access or instrumentation. The success rate for the IAN block was 50% for the nitrous oxide group and 28% for the placebo group. There was a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (P = .024). For mandibular teeth diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, administration of 30%-50% nitrous oxide resulted in a statistically significant increase in the success of the IAN block compared with room air/oxygen. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. A master equation for force distributions in soft particle packings - Irreversible mechanical responses to isotropic compression and decompression

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Saitoh, K.; Magnanimo, Vanessa; Luding, Stefan

    2016-01-01

    Mechanical responses of soft particle packings to quasi-static deformations are determined by the microscopic restructuring of force-chain networks, where complex non-affine displacements of constituent particles cause the irreversible macroscopic behavior. Recently, we have proposed a master

  16. Cladribine and Fludarabine Nucleotides Induce Distinct Hexamers Defining a Common Mode of Reversible RNR Inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisitpitthaya, Somsinee; Zhao, Yi; Long, Marcus J C; Li, Minxing; Fletcher, Elaine A; Blessing, William A; Weiss, Robert S; Aye, Yimon

    2016-07-15

    The enzyme ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) is a major target of anticancer drugs. Until recently, suicide inactivation in which synthetic substrate analogs (nucleoside diphosphates) irreversibly inactivate the RNR-α2β2 heterodimeric complex was the only clinically proven inhibition pathway. For instance, this mechanism is deployed by the multifactorial anticancer agent gemcitabine diphosphate. Recently reversible targeting of RNR-α-alone coupled with ligand-induced RNR-α-persistent hexamerization has emerged to be of clinical significance. To date, clofarabine nucleotides are the only known example of this mechanism. Herein, chemoenzymatic syntheses of the active forms of two other drugs, phosphorylated cladribine (ClA) and fludarabine (FlU), allow us to establish that reversible inhibition is common to numerous drugs in clinical use. Enzyme inhibition and fluorescence anisotropy assays show that the di- and triphosphates of the two nucleosides function as reversible (i.e., nonmechanism-based) inhibitors of RNR and interact with the catalytic (C site) and the allosteric activity (A site) sites of RNR-α, respectively. Gel filtration, protease digestion, and FRET assays demonstrate that inhibition is coupled with formation of conformationally diverse hexamers. Studies in 293T cells capable of selectively inducing either wild-type or oligomerization-defective mutant RNR-α overexpression delineate the central role of RNR-α oligomerization in drug activity, and highlight a potential resistance mechanism to these drugs. These data set the stage for new interventions targeting RNR oligomeric regulation.

  17. Irreversible Markov chains in spin models: Topological excitations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Ze; Krauth, Werner

    2018-01-01

    We analyze the convergence of the irreversible event-chain Monte Carlo algorithm for continuous spin models in the presence of topological excitations. In the two-dimensional XY model, we show that the local nature of the Markov-chain dynamics leads to slow decay of vortex-antivortex correlations while spin waves decorrelate very quickly. Using a Fréchet description of the maximum vortex-antivortex distance, we quantify the contributions of topological excitations to the equilibrium correlations, and show that they vary from a dynamical critical exponent z∼ 2 at the critical temperature to z∼ 0 in the limit of zero temperature. We confirm the event-chain algorithm's fast relaxation (corresponding to z = 0) of spin waves in the harmonic approximation to the XY model. Mixing times (describing the approach towards equilibrium from the least favorable initial state) however remain much larger than equilibrium correlation times at low temperatures. We also describe the respective influence of topological monopole-antimonopole excitations and of spin waves on the event-chain dynamics in the three-dimensional Heisenberg model.

  18. Reversibility and irreversibility from an initial value formulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muriel, A.

    2013-01-01

    From a time evolution equation for the single particle distribution function derived from the N-particle distribution function (A. Muriel, M. Dresden, Physica D 101 (1997) 297), an exact solution for the 3D Navier–Stokes equation – an old problem – has been found (A. Muriel, Results Phys. 1 (2011) 2). In this Letter, a second exact conclusion from the above-mentioned work is presented. We analyze the time symmetry properties of a formal, exact solution for the single-particle distribution function contracted from the many-body Liouville equation. This analysis must be done because group theoretic results on time reversal symmetry of the full Liouville equation (E.C.G. Sudarshan, N. Mukunda, Classical Mechanics: A Modern Perspective, Wiley, 1974). no longer applies automatically to the single particle distribution function contracted from the formal solution of the N-body Liouville equation. We find the following result: if the initial momentum distribution is even in the momentum, the single particle distribution is reversible. If there is any asymmetry in the initial momentum distribution, no matter how small, the system is irreversible.

  19. Pre- and post-treatment effect of physostigmine on soman-inhibited human erythrocyte and muscle acetylcholinesterase in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herkert, N.M.; Schulz, S.; Wille, T.; Thiermann, H.; Hatz, R.A.; Worek, F.

    2011-01-01

    Standard treatment of organophosphorus (OP) poisoning includes administration of an antimuscarinic (e.g., atropine) and of an oxime-based reactivator. However, successful oxime treatment in soman poisoning is limited due to rapid aging of phosphylated acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Hence, the inability of standard treatment procedures to counteract the effects of soman poisoning resulted in the search for alternative strategies. Recently, results of an in vivo guinea pig study indicated a therapeutic effect of physostigmine given after soman. The present study was performed to investigate a possible pre- and post-treatment effect of physostigmine on soman-inhibited human AChE given at different time intervals before or after perfusion with soman by using a well-established dynamically working in vitro model for real-time analysis of erythrocyte and muscle AChE. The major findings were that prophylactic physostigmine prevented complete inhibition of AChE by soman and resulted in partial spontaneous recovery of the enzyme by decarbamylation. Physostigmine given as post-treatment resulted in a time-dependent reduction of the protection from soman inhibition and recovery of AChE. Hence, these date indicate that physostigmine given after soman does not protect AChE from irreversible inhibition by the OP and that the observed therapeutic effect of physostigmine in nerve agent poisoning in vivo is probably due to other factors.

  20. Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation of Unresectable Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma (Klatskin Tumor): A Case Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Melenhorst, Marleen C. A. M., E-mail: m.melenhorst@vumc.nl; Scheffer, Hester J., E-mail: hj.scheffer@vumc.nl; Vroomen, Laurien G. P. H., E-mail: la.vroomen@vumc.nl [VU University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (Netherlands); Kazemier, Geert, E-mail: g.kazemier@vumc.nl; Tol, M. Petrousjka van den, E-mail: mp.vandentol@vumc.nl [VU University Medical Center, Department of Surgery (Netherlands); Meijerink, Martijn R., E-mail: mr.meijerink@vumc.nl [VU University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (Netherlands)

    2016-01-15

    Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel image-guided ablation technique that is rapidly gaining popularity in the treatment of malignant tumors located near large vessels or bile ducts. The presence of metal objects in the ablation zone, such as Wallstents, is generally considered a contraindication for IRE, because tissue heating due to power conduction may lead to thermal complications. This report describes a 66-year-old female with a Bismuth–Corlette stage IV unresectable cholangiocarcinoma with a metallic Wallstent in the common bile duct, who was safely treated with percutaneous IRE with no signs for relapse 1 year after the procedure.

  1. Irreversible thermochromic response of RF sputtered nanocrystalline BaWO4 films for smart window applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Anil Kumar

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available We report irreversible thermochromic behaviour of BaWO4 (BWO films for the first time. BWO films have been deposited at different substrate temperatures (RT, 200, 400, 600 and 800 °C using RF magnetron sputtering in pure argon plasma. BWO films deposited at 800 °C exhibit crystalline nature. Also, BWO films deposited in the temperature range of 400 - 600 °C exhibit WO3 as a secondary phase and its weight percentage decreases with an increase in deposition temperature, whereas the films deposited at 800 °C exhibited pure tetragonal phase. FESEM images revealed that as the average particle sizes of the films are higher as compared with the thickness of the films and is explained based on Avrami type nucleation and growth. The transmittance of the films decreases with an increase in deposition temperature up to 600 °C and increases thereafter. Films deposited at 600 °C show ≤ 20% transmittance, looking at the films deposited at room temperature and 800 °C exhibits 90 and 70%, respectively. The refractive index and extinction coefficient of the films show profound dependence on crystallinity and packing density. The optical bandgap of BWO films increases significantly with an increase in O2% during the deposition. The optical bandgap of the BWO films deposited at different temperatures in pure argon plasma, are in the range of 3.7 to 3.94 eV whereas the films deposited at 600 °C under different O2 plasma are in the range of 3.6 - 4.5 eV. The formations of colour centres are associated with the oxygen vacancies, which are clearly seen from the optical bandgap studies. The observed irreversible thermochromic behaviour in BWO films is attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies that arises due to the electrons trapped at oxygen vacancies causing an inter valence charge transfer of W5+ to W6+ and is confirmed through the change in the optical density (ΔOD. Further, the Raman spectra are being used to quantify the presence

  2. Disinfection procedures: their efficacy and effect on dimensional accuracy and surface quality of an irreversible hydrocolloid impression material.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Rentzia, A

    2011-02-01

    This study investigated the antibacterial efficacy and effect of 0.55% ortho-phthalaldehyde (Cidex OPA(®)) and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) on the dimensional accuracy and surface quality of gypsum casts retrieved from an irreversible hydrocolloid impression material.

  3. Anesthetic efficacy of the supplemental X-tip intraosseous injection using 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline in patients with irreversible pulpitis: An in vivo study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhuyan, Atool Chandra; Latha, Satheesh Sasidharan; Jain, Shefali; Kataki, Rubi

    2014-11-01

    Pain management remains the utmost important qualifying criteria in minimizing patient agony and establishing a strong dentist-patient rapport. Symptomatic irreversible pulpitis is a painful condition necessitating immediate attention and supplemental anesthetic techniques are often resorted to in addition to conventional inferior alveolar nerve block. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, in mandibular posterior teeth, using 4% Articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline as local anesthetic, when the conventional inferior alveolar nerve block proved ineffective. X-tip system was used to administer 1.7 ml of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline in 30 patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis of mandibular posterior teeth with moderate to severe pain on endodontic access after administration of an inferior alveolar nerve block. The results of the study showed that 25 X-tip injections (83.33%) were successful and 5 X-tip injections (16.66%) were unsuccessful. When the inferior alveolar nerve block fails to provide adequate pulpal anesthesia, X-tip system using 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline was successful in achieving pulpal anesthesia in patients with irreversible pulpitis.

  4. Kindergarteners' self-reported social inhibition and observed social reticence: moderation by adult-reported social inhibition and social anxiety disorder symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiel, Elizabeth J; Buss, Kristin A; Molitor, Joseph G

    2015-04-01

    Prevention of later anxiety problems would best be accomplished by identifying at-risk children early in development. For example, children who develop Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) may show social withdrawal in the form of social inhibition (i.e., shyness with unfamiliar adults and peers) at school entry. Although the use of children's perceptions of their own social inhibition would provide insight into early risk, the utility of young children's self-reports remains unclear. The current study examined whether children deemed more extreme on social inhibition or social anxiety by adult report provided self-report of social inhibition that related to observed social reticence in the laboratory. Participants included 85 kindergarten children (36 female, 49 male), their parents, and their teachers. Moderation analyses revealed that children's self-reported social inhibition related significantly to observed social reticence under the conditions of high parent-reported social inhibition, high teacher-reported social inhibition, and high SAD symptoms. These results suggest that the most inhibited children are aware of their behavior and can report it in a meaningfully way as young as kindergarten age.

  5. How to account for irreversibility in integrated assessment of climate change?; Comment tenir compte de l'irreversibilite dans l'evaluation integree du changement climatique?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ha Duong, M

    1998-04-15

    How to account for irreversibility in integrated assessment of climate change? This Ph. D. thesis in Economics balances discounting, technical progress and the inertia of existing capital stock against uncertainty and the inertia of socio-economic systems to examine the issue of near term limitations of greenhouse gases emissions. After a general overview in chapter 2, and a more historical presentation of the debates in chapter 3, chapter 4 proceeds to review a large number of integrated assessment models. Chapter 5 introduces a Model on the Dynamics of Inertia and Adaptability of energy systems: DIAM, used to discuss how much previous studies might have overestimated the long term costs of CO{sub 2} limitations and underestimated adjustment costs. It shows that, given a target date for atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration stabilisation, a higher inertia implies a lower optimal concentration trajectory. In a sequential decision framework, chapter 6 shows that current uncertainties about which CO{sub 2} concentration ceiling would not present dangerous interference with the climate system justifies precautionary action. Finally, chapter 7 uses the irreversibility effect theory to define formally situations of decision under controversy and compare the irreversibility of CO{sub 2} accumulation with the irreversibility of investments needed to moderate it. An option value for greenhouse gases emissions limitations is computed. (author)

  6. Measurement of local blood flow and oxygen consumption in evolving irreversible cerebral infarction: an in vivo study in man

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baron, J.C.; Rougemont, D.; Lebrun-Grandie, P.; Bousser, M.G.; Cabanis, E.; Bories, J.; Comar, D.; Castaigne, P.

    1982-09-01

    Positron emission tomography (PET) allows in vivo measurement of local cerebral blood flow (1CBF), oxygen consumption rate (1CMRO 2 ) and glucose utilisation (1CMRG1c) in man. Although 1CMRG1c is accessible in animals, this is not the case for 1CMRO 2 , an excellent index of local functional state. PET imaging of the local interrelationship of CBF and metabolism in completed ischemic stroke has attracted considerable interest because of its potential to differentiate irreversibly damaged from viable tissue on the basis of the CBF- metabolism patterns. Several qualitative or semi-quantitative pioneering studies provided a limited insight into this question, while the single truly quantitative study was only briefly reported. We report here a detailed study of the local CBF-CMRO 2 quantitative patterns in irreversibly infarcted brain regions

  7. Multiscale analysis of heart rate dynamics: entropy and time irreversibility measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Madalena D; Peng, Chung-Kang; Goldberger, Ary L

    2008-06-01

    Cardiovascular signals are largely analyzed using traditional time and frequency domain measures. However, such measures fail to account for important properties related to multiscale organization and non-equilibrium dynamics. The complementary role of conventional signal analysis methods and emerging multiscale techniques, is, therefore, an important frontier area of investigation. The key finding of this presentation is that two recently developed multiscale computational tools--multiscale entropy and multiscale time irreversibility--are able to extract information from cardiac interbeat interval time series not contained in traditional methods based on mean, variance or Fourier spectrum (two-point correlation) techniques. These new methods, with careful attention to their limitations, may be useful in diagnostics, risk stratification and detection of toxicity of cardiac drugs.

  8. Reversible and irreversible deactivation of Cu-CHA NH3-SCR catalysts by SO2 and SO3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hammershøi, Peter S.; Jangjou, Yasser; Epling, William S.

    2018-01-01

    be divided into two parts: a reversible deactivation that is restored by the regeneration treatment, and an irreversible part. The irreversible deactivation does not affect the activation energy for NH3-SCR and display a 1:1 correlation with the S-content, consistent with deactivation by Cu-sulfate formation...... is always higher when exposed at 200 °C than at 550 °C, and in wet conditions, compared to a dry feed. The deactivation is predominantly reversible, making regeneration at 550 °C a realistic approach to handle S-poisoning in exhaust systems....

  9. Defect dependence of the irreversibility line in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lombardo, L. W.; Mitzi, D. B.; Kapitulnik, A.; Leone, A.

    1992-09-01

    The c-axis irreversibility line (IL) of pristine single-crystal Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 is shown to exhibit three regimes: For fields less than 0.1 T, it obeys a power law, Hirr=H0(1-Tirr/Tc)μ, where μ and H0 vary with Tc. For fields greater than 2 T, the IL becomes linear with a slope of 0.7 T/K. For intermediate fields, there is a crossover region, which corresponds to the onset of collective vortex behavior. Defects produced by proton irradiation shift the IL in all three regimes: The high-field regime moves to higher temperatures, the low-field regime moves to lower temperatures, and the crossover to collective behavior becomes obscured. A maximal increase in the irreversibility temperature in the high-field regime is found to occur at a defect density of nearly one defect per vortex core disk.

  10. Resolution of Loschmidt's paradox: The origin of irreversible behavior in reversible atomistic dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holian, B.L.; Hoover, W.G.; Posch, H.A.

    1987-01-01

    We show that Nosromane-bar mechanics provides a link between computer simulations of nonequilibrium processes and real-world experiments. Reversible Nose-bar equations of motion, when used to constrain non- equilibrium boundary regions, generate stable dissipative behavior within an adjoining bulk sample governed by Newton's equations of motion. Thus, irreversible behavior consistent with the second law of thermodynamics arises from completely reversible microscopic motion. Loschmidt's reversibility paradox is surmounted by this Nose-bar-Newton system, because the steady-state nonequilibrium probability density in the many-body phase space is confined to a zero-volume attractor

  11. Ac irreversibility line of bismuth-based high temperature superconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mehdaoui, A. [Laboratoire de Physique et de Spectroscopie Electronique, URA 1435 Faculte des Sciences, Universite de Haute Alsace 4, rue des Freres Lumiere, 68093 Mulhouse Cedex (France); Beille, J. [Laboratoire Louis Neel, CNRS, BP 166, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Berling, D.; Loegel, B. [Laboratoire de Physique et de Spectroscopie Electronique, URA 1435 Faculte des Sciences, Universite de Haute Alsace 4, rue des Freres Lumiere, 68093 Mulhouse Cedex (France); Noudem, J.G.; Tournier, R. [EPM-MATFORMAG, Laboratoire dElaboration par Procede Magnetique, CNRS, BP 166, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

    1997-09-01

    We discuss the magnetic properties of lead doped Bi-2223 bulk samples obtained through combined magnetic melt texturing and hot pressing (MMTHP). The ac complex susceptibility measurements are achieved over a broad ac field range (1 Oe{lt}h{sub ac}{lt}100 Oe) and show highly anisotropic properties. The intergranular coupling is improved in the direction perpendicular to the applied stress and magnetic field direction, and an intragranular loss peak is observed for the first time. A comparison is made with other bismuth-based compounds and it is shown that the MMTHP process shifts the ac irreversibility line (ac IL) toward higher fields. It is also shown that all the ac IL{close_quote}s for quasi 2D bismuth-based compounds show a nearly quadratic temperature dependence and deviate therefore strongly from the linear behavior observed in quasi 3D compounds and expected from a critical state model.{copyright} {ital 1997 Materials Research Society.}

  12. Terbinafine inhibits gap junctional intercellular communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Ju Yeun; Yoon, Sei Mee; Choi, Eun Ju; Lee, Jinu

    2016-01-01

    Terbinafine is an antifungal agent that selectively inhibits fungal sterol synthesis by blocking squalene epoxidase. We evaluated the effect of terbinafine on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC). Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and I-YFP GJIC assays revealed that terbinafine inhibits GJIC in a reversible and dose-dependent manner in FRT-Cx43 and LN215 cells. Treatment with terbinafine did not affect Cx43 phosphorylation status or intracellular Ca 2+ concentration, well-known action mechanisms of various GJIC blockers. While a structurally related chemical, naftifine, attenuated GJIC, epigallocatechin gallate, another potent squalene epoxidase inhibitor with a different structure, did not. These results suggest that terbinafine inhibits GJIC with a so far unknown mechanism of action. - Highlights: • In vitro pharmacological studies were performed on FRT-Cx43 and LN215 cells. • Terbinafine inhibits gap junctional intercellular communication in both cell lines. • The inhibitory effect of terbinafine is reversible and dose-dependent. • Treatment of terbinafine does not alter Cx43 phosphorylation or cytosolic Ca 2+ concentration. • Inhibition of squalene epoxidase is not involved in this new effect of terbinafine.

  13. Terbinafine inhibits gap junctional intercellular communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ju Yeun; Yoon, Sei Mee; Choi, Eun Ju; Lee, Jinu

    2016-09-15

    Terbinafine is an antifungal agent that selectively inhibits fungal sterol synthesis by blocking squalene epoxidase. We evaluated the effect of terbinafine on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC). Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and I-YFP GJIC assays revealed that terbinafine inhibits GJIC in a reversible and dose-dependent manner in FRT-Cx43 and LN215 cells. Treatment with terbinafine did not affect Cx43 phosphorylation status or intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, well-known action mechanisms of various GJIC blockers. While a structurally related chemical, naftifine, attenuated GJIC, epigallocatechin gallate, another potent squalene epoxidase inhibitor with a different structure, did not. These results suggest that terbinafine inhibits GJIC with a so far unknown mechanism of action. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Electro-Kinetic Pumping with Slip Irreversibility in Heat Exchange of CSP-Powered Bio-Digester Assemblies

    OpenAIRE

    Ogedengbe, Emmanuel; Rosen, Marc

    2012-01-01

    Parametric studies of the effects of slip irreversibility in concentrating solar power (CSP)-powered bio-digester assemblies are investigated. Complexities regarding the identification of the appropriate electro-kinetic phenomena for certain electrolyte phases are reviewed. The application of exergy analysis to the design of energy conversion devices, like solar thermal collectors, for the required heat of formation in a downdraft waste food bio-digester, is discussed. Thermal management in t...

  15. Features of alpha-synuclein that could explain the progression and irreversibility of Parkinson's disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scarlet eGallegos

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Alpha-synuclein is a presynaptic protein expressed throughout the central nervous system, and it is the main component of Lewy bodies, one of the histopathological features of Parkinson’s disease (PD which is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder. The conformational flexibility of α-synuclein allows it to adopt different conformations, i.e. bound to membranes or form aggregates, the oligomers are believed to be the more toxic species. In this review, we will focus on two major features of α-synuclein, transmission and toxicity that could help to understand the pathological characteristics of PD. One important feature of α-synuclein is its ability to be transmitted from neuron to neuron using mechanisms such as endocytosis, plasma membrane penetration or through exosomes, thus propagating the Lewy body pathology to different brain regions thereby contributing to the progressiveness of PD. The second feature of α-synuclein is that it confers cytotoxicity to recipient cells, principally when it is in an oligomeric state. This form causes mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress, proteasome impairment, disruption of plasma membrane and pore formation, and lead to apoptosis pathway activation and consequent cell death. The complexity of α-synuclein oligomerization and formation of toxic species could be a major factor for the irreversibility of PD and could also explain the lack of successful therapies to halt the disease.

  16. The isothiocyanate class of bioactive nutrients covalently inhibit the MEKK1 protein kinase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Macdonald Timothy L

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dietary isothiocyanates (ITCs are electrophilic compounds that have diverse biological activities including induction of apoptosis and effects on cell cycle. They protect against experimental carcinogenesis in animals, an activity believed to result from the transcriptional induction of "Phase 2" enzymes. The molecular mechanism of action of ITCs is unknown. Since ITCs are electrophiles capable of reacting with sulfhydryl groups on amino acids, we hypothesized that ITCs induce their biological effects through covalent modification of proteins, leading to changes in cell regulatory events. We previously demonstrated that stress-signaling kinase pathways are inhibited by other electrophilic compounds such as menadione. We therefore tested the effects of nutritional ITCs on MEKK1, an upstream regulator of the SAPK/JNK signal transduction pathway. Methods The activity of MEKK1 expressed in cells was monitored using in vitro kinase assays to measure changes in catalytic activity. The activity of endogenous MEKK1, immunopurified from ITC treated and untreated LnCAP cells was also measured by in vitro kinase assay. A novel labeling and affinity reagent for detection of protein modification by ITCs was synthesized and used in competition assays to monitor direct modification of MEKK1 by ITC. Finally, immunoblots with phospho-specific antibodies were used to measure the activity of MAPK protein kinases. Results ITCs inhibited the MEKK1 protein kinase in a manner dependent on a specific cysteine residue in the ATP binding pocket. Inhibition of MEKK1 catalytic activity was due to direct, covalent and irreversible modification of the MEKK1 protein itself. In addition, ITCs inhibited the catalytic activity of endogenous MEKK1. This correlated with inhibition of the downstream target of MEKK1 activity, i.e. the SAPK/JNK kinase. This inhibition was specific to SAPK, as parallel MAPK pathways were unaffected. Conclusion These results

  17. A dominant-negative mutant inhibits multiple prion variants through a common mechanism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fen Pei

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Prions adopt alternative, self-replicating protein conformations and thereby determine novel phenotypes that are often irreversible. Nevertheless, dominant-negative prion mutants can revert phenotypes associated with some conformations. These observations suggest that, while intervention is possible, distinct inhibitors must be developed to overcome the conformational plasticity of prions. To understand the basis of this specificity, we determined the impact of the G58D mutant of the Sup35 prion on three of its conformational variants, which form amyloids in S. cerevisiae. G58D had been previously proposed to have unique effects on these variants, but our studies suggest a common mechanism. All variants, including those reported to be resistant, are inhibited by G58D but at distinct doses. G58D lowers the kinetic stability of the associated amyloid, enhancing its fragmentation by molecular chaperones, promoting Sup35 resolubilization, and leading to amyloid clearance particularly in daughter cells. Reducing the availability or activity of the chaperone Hsp104, even transiently, reverses curing. Thus, the specificity of inhibition is determined by the sensitivity of variants to the mutant dosage rather than mode of action, challenging the view that a unique inhibitor must be developed to combat each variant.

  18. Inhibition of thioredoxin reductase but not of glutathione reductase by the major classes of alkylating and platinum-containing anticancer compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witte, Anne-Barbara; Anestål, Karin; Jerremalm, Elin; Ehrsson, Hans; Arnér, Elias S J

    2005-09-01

    Mammalian thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) is important for cell proliferation, antioxidant defense, and redox signaling. Together with glutathione reductase (GR) it is the main enzyme providing reducing equivalents to many cellular processes. GR and TrxR are flavoproteins of the same enzyme family, but only the latter is a selenoprotein. With the active site containing selenocysteine, TrxR may catalyze reduction of a wide range of substrates, but can at the same time easily be targeted by electrophilic compounds due to the extraordinarily high reactivity of a selenolate moiety. Here we addressed the inhibition of the enzyme by major anticancer alkylating agents and platinum-containing compounds and we compared it to that of GR. We confirmed prior studies suggesting that the nitrosourea carmustine can inhibit both GR and TrxR. We next found, however, that nitrogen mustards (chlorambucil and melphalan) and alkyl sulfonates (busulfan) efficiently inhibited TrxR while these compounds, surprisingly, did not inhibit GR. Inhibitions were concentration and time dependent and apparently irreversible. Anticancer anthracyclines (daunorubicin and doxorubicin) were, in contrast to the alkylating agents, not inhibitors but poor substrates of TrxR. We also found that TrxR, but not GR, was efficiently inhibited by both cisplatin, its monohydrated complex, and oxaliplatin. Carboplatin, in contrast, could not inhibit any of the two enzymes. These findings lead us to conclude that representative compounds of the major classes of clinically used anticancer alkylating agents and most platinum compounds may easily target TrxR, but not GR. The TrxR inhibition should thereby be considered as a factor that may contribute to the cytotoxicity seen upon clinical use of these drugs.

  19. X-tip intraosseous injection system as a primary anesthesia for irreversible pulpitis of posterior mandibular teeth: A randomized clinical trail.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razavian, Hamid; Kazemi, Shantia; Khazaei, Saber; Jahromi, Maryam Zare

    2013-03-01

    Successful anesthesia during root canal therapy may be difficult to obtain. Intraosseous injection significantly improves anesthesia's success as a supplemental pulpal anesthesia, particularly in cases of irreversible pulpitis. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection and inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block in primary anesthesia for mandibular posterior teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Forty emergency patients with an irreversible pulpitis of mandibular posterior teeth were randomly assigned to receive either intraosseous injection using the X-tip intraosseous injection system or IAN block as the primary injection method for pulpal anesthesia. Pulpal anesthesia was evaluated using an electric pulp tester and endo ice at 5-min intervals for 15 min. Anesthesia's success or failure rates were recorded and analyzed using SPSS version 12 statistical software. Success or failure rates were compared using a Fisher's exact test, and the time duration for the onset of anesthesia was compared using Mann-Whitney U test. P Intraosseous injection system resulted in successful anesthesia in 17 out of 20 patients (85%). Successful anesthesia was achieved with the IAN block in 14 out of 20 patients (70%). However, the difference (15%) was not statistically significant (P = 0.2). Considering the relatively expensive armamentarium, probability of penetrator separation, temporary tachycardia, and possibility of damage to root during drilling, the authors do not suggest intraosseous injection as a suitable primary technique.

  20. Anesthetic efficacy of the supplemental X-tip intraosseous injection using 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline in patients with irreversible pulpitis: An in vivo study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhuyan, Atool Chandra; Latha, Satheesh Sasidharan; Jain, Shefali; Kataki, Rubi

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: Pain management remains the utmost important qualifying criteria in minimizing patient agony and establishing a strong dentist–patient rapport. Symptomatic irreversible pulpitis is a painful condition necessitating immediate attention and supplemental anesthetic techniques are often resorted to in addition to conventional inferior alveolar nerve block. Aim: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, in mandibular posterior teeth, using 4% Articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline as local anesthetic, when the conventional inferior alveolar nerve block proved ineffective. Materials and Methods: X-tip system was used to administer 1.7 ml of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline in 30 patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis of mandibular posterior teeth with moderate to severe pain on endodontic access after administration of an inferior alveolar nerve block. Results: The results of the study showed that 25 X-tip injections (83.33%) were successful and 5 X-tip injections (16.66%) were unsuccessful. Conclusion: When the inferior alveolar nerve block fails to provide adequate pulpal anesthesia, X-tip system using 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline was successful in achieving pulpal anesthesia in patients with irreversible pulpitis. PMID:25506137

  1. Graphene: corrosion-inhibiting coating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasai, Dhiraj; Tuberquia, Juan Carlos; Harl, Robert R; Jennings, G Kane; Rogers, Bridget R; Bolotin, Kirill I

    2012-02-28

    We report the use of atomically thin layers of graphene as a protective coating that inhibits corrosion of underlying metals. Here, we employ electrochemical methods to study the corrosion inhibition of copper and nickel by either growing graphene on these metals, or by mechanically transferring multilayer graphene onto them. Cyclic voltammetry measurements reveal that the graphene coating effectively suppresses metal oxidation and oxygen reduction. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements suggest that while graphene itself is not damaged, the metal under it is corroded at cracks in the graphene film. Finally, we use Tafel analysis to quantify the corrosion rates of samples with and without graphene coatings. These results indicate that copper films coated with graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition are corroded 7 times slower in an aerated Na(2)SO(4) solution as compared to the corrosion rate of bare copper. Tafel analysis reveals that nickel with a multilayer graphene film grown on it corrodes 20 times slower while nickel surfaces coated with four layers of mechanically transferred graphene corrode 4 times slower than bare nickel. These findings establish graphene as the thinnest known corrosion-protecting coating.

  2. Kindergarteners’ Self-Reported Social Inhibition and Observed Social Reticence: Moderation by Adult-Reported Social Inhibition and Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.; Molitor, Joseph G.

    2014-01-01

    Prevention of later anxiety problems would best be accomplished by identifying at-risk children early in development. For example, children who develop Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) may show social withdrawal in the form of social inhibition (i.e., shyness with unfamiliar adults and peers) at school entry. Although the use of children’s perceptions of their own social inhibition would provide insight into early risk, the utility of young children’s self-reports remains unclear. The current study examined whether children deemed more extreme on social inhibition or social anxiety by adult report provided self-report of social inhibition that related to observed social reticence in the laboratory. Participants included 85 kindergarten children (36 female, 49 male), their parents, and their teachers. Moderation analyses revealed that children’s self-reported social inhibition related significantly to observed social reticence under the conditions of high parent-reported social inhibition, high teacher-reported social inhibition, and high SAD symptoms. These results suggest that the most inhibited children are aware of their behavior and can report it in a meaningfully way as young as kindergarten age. PMID:25113397

  3. Comparative study of irreversibilities in an aqua-ammonia absorption refrigeration system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ataer, O E [Gazi Univ., Ankara (TR). Mechanical Engineering Dept.; Gogus, Y [Middle East Technical Univ., Ankara (Turkey)

    1991-03-01

    Irreversibilities in components of an aqua-ammonia absorption refrigeration system (ARS) have been determined by second law analysis. The components of the ARS are as follows: condenser, evaporator, absorber, generator, pump, expansion valves, mixture heat exchanger and refrigerant heat exchanger. It is assumed that the ammonia concentration at the generator exit is, independent of the other parameters, equal to 0.999 and at the evaporator exit the gas is saturated vapour. Pressure losses between the generator and condenser, and the evaporator and absorber are taken into consideration. In the results the dimensionless exergy loss of each component, the exergetic coefficient of performance, the coefficient of performance and the circulation ratio are given graphically for each different generator, evaporator, condenser and absorber temperature. (author).

  4. Inhibition of AMPK catabolic action by GSK3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Tsukasa; Bridges, Dave; Nakada, Daisuke; Skiniotis, Georgios; Morrison, Sean J.; Lin, Jiandie; Saltiel, Alan R.; Inoki, Ken

    2013-01-01

    SUMMARY AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) regulates cellular energy homeostasis by inhibiting anabolic and activating catabolic processes. While AMPK activation has been extensively studied, mechanisms that inhibit AMPK remain elusive. Here we report that glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibits AMPK function. GSK3 forms a stable complex with AMPK through interactions with the AMPK β regulatory subunit and phosphorylates the AMPK α catalytic subunit. This phosphorylation enhances the accessibility of the activation loop of the α subunit to phosphatases, thereby inhibiting AMPK kinase activity. Surprisingly, PI3K-Akt signaling, which is a major anabolic signaling and normally inhibits GSK3 activity, promotes GSK3 phosphorylation and inhibition of AMPK, thus revealing how AMPK senses anabolic environments in addition to cellular energy levels. Consistently, disrupting GSK3 function within the AMPK complex sustains higher AMPK activity and cellular catabolic processes even under anabolic conditions, indicating that GSK3 acts as a critical sensor for anabolic signaling to regulate AMPK. PMID:23623684

  5. ESTIMATION OF IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGEABILITY AT FATIGUE OF CARBON STEEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. O. Vakulenko

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. Damageability estimation of carbon steel in the conditions of cyclic loading. Methodology. The steel fragments of railway wheel rim and rail head served as material for research with chemical composition 0.65 % С, 0.67 % Mn, 0.3 % Si, 0.027 % P, 0.028 % S и 0.7 % C, 0.82 % Mn, 0.56 % Si, 0.025 % P, 0.029 % S accordingly. The microstructure of tested steels corresponded to the state of metal after a hot plastic deformation. The fatigue research was conducted in the conditions of symmetric bend using the proof-of-concept machine of type «Saturn-10». Full Wohler diagrams and the lines corresponding to forming of sub-and micro cracks were constructed. The distribution analysis of internal stresses in the metal under cyclic loading was carried out using the microhardness tester of PMT-3 type.Findings. On the basis of fatigue curves for high-carbon steels analysis the positions of borders dividing the areas of convertible and irreversible damages were determined. The article shows that with the growth of carbon concentration in the steel at invariability of the structural state an increase of fatigue limit is observed. At the same time the acceleration of processes, which determine transition terms from the stage of forming of submicrocracks to the microcracks occurs. The research of microhardness distribution in the metal after destruction confirmed the nature of carbon amount influence on the carbon steel characteristics. Originality. Regardless on the stages of breakdown site forming the carbon steels behavior at a fatigue is determined by the ration between the processes of strengthening and softening. At a cyclic loading the heterogeneity of internal stresses distribution decreases with the increase of distance from the destruction surface. Analysis of metal internal restructuring processes at fatigue loading made it possible to determine that at the stages prior to incubation period in the metal microvolumes the cells are already

  6. Ibrutinib is an irreversible molecular inhibitor of ITK driving a Th1-selective pressure in T lymphocytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubovsky, Jason A.; Beckwith, Kyle A.; Natarajan, Gayathri; Woyach, Jennifer A.; Jaglowski, Samantha; Zhong, Yiming; Hessler, Joshua D.; Liu, Ta-Ming; Chang, Betty Y.; Larkin, Karilyn M.; Stefanovski, Matthew R.; Chappell, Danielle L.; Frissora, Frank W.; Smith, Lisa L.; Smucker, Kelly A.; Flynn, Joseph M.; Jones, Jeffrey A.; Andritsos, Leslie A.; Maddocks, Kami; Lehman, Amy M.; Furman, Richard; Sharman, Jeff; Mishra, Anjali; Caligiuri, Michael A.; Satoskar, Abhay R.; Buggy, Joseph J.; Muthusamy, Natarajan; Johnson, Amy J.

    2013-01-01

    Given its critical role in T-cell signaling, interleukin-2–inducible kinase (ITK) is an appealing therapeutic target that can contribute to the pathogenesis of certain infectious, autoimmune, and neoplastic diseases. Ablation of ITK subverts Th2 immunity, thereby potentiating Th1-based immune responses. While small-molecule ITK inhibitors have been identified, none have demonstrated clinical utility. Ibrutinib is a confirmed irreversible inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) with outstanding clinical activity and tolerability in B-cell malignancies. Significant homology between BTK and ITK alongside in silico docking studies support ibrutinib as an immunomodulatory inhibitor of both ITK and BTK. Our comprehensive molecular and phenotypic analysis confirms ITK as an irreversible T-cell target of ibrutinib. Using ibrutinib clinical trial samples along with well-characterized neoplastic (chronic lymphocytic leukemia), parasitic infection (Leishmania major), and infectious disease (Listeria monocytogenes) models, we establish ibrutinib as a clinically relevant and physiologically potent ITK inhibitor with broad therapeutic utility. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01105247 and #NCT01217749. PMID:23886836

  7. Ibrutinib is an irreversible molecular inhibitor of ITK driving a Th1-selective pressure in T lymphocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubovsky, Jason A; Beckwith, Kyle A; Natarajan, Gayathri; Woyach, Jennifer A; Jaglowski, Samantha; Zhong, Yiming; Hessler, Joshua D; Liu, Ta-Ming; Chang, Betty Y; Larkin, Karilyn M; Stefanovski, Matthew R; Chappell, Danielle L; Frissora, Frank W; Smith, Lisa L; Smucker, Kelly A; Flynn, Joseph M; Jones, Jeffrey A; Andritsos, Leslie A; Maddocks, Kami; Lehman, Amy M; Furman, Richard; Sharman, Jeff; Mishra, Anjali; Caligiuri, Michael A; Satoskar, Abhay R; Buggy, Joseph J; Muthusamy, Natarajan; Johnson, Amy J; Byrd, John C

    2013-10-10

    Given its critical role in T-cell signaling, interleukin-2-inducible kinase (ITK) is an appealing therapeutic target that can contribute to the pathogenesis of certain infectious, autoimmune, and neoplastic diseases. Ablation of ITK subverts Th2 immunity, thereby potentiating Th1-based immune responses. While small-molecule ITK inhibitors have been identified, none have demonstrated clinical utility. Ibrutinib is a confirmed irreversible inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) with outstanding clinical activity and tolerability in B-cell malignancies. Significant homology between BTK and ITK alongside in silico docking studies support ibrutinib as an immunomodulatory inhibitor of both ITK and BTK. Our comprehensive molecular and phenotypic analysis confirms ITK as an irreversible T-cell target of ibrutinib. Using ibrutinib clinical trial samples along with well-characterized neoplastic (chronic lymphocytic leukemia), parasitic infection (Leishmania major), and infectious disease (Listeria monocytogenes) models, we establish ibrutinib as a clinically relevant and physiologically potent ITK inhibitor with broad therapeutic utility. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01105247 and #NCT01217749.

  8. Corrosion inhibition by lithium zinc phosphate pigment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alibakhshi, E.; Ghasemi, E.; Mahdavian, M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Synthesis of lithium zinc phosphate (LZP) by chemical co-precipitation method. •Corrosion inhibition activity of pigments compare with zinc phosphate (ZP). •LZP showed superior corrosion inhibition effect in EIS measurements. •Evaluation of adhesion strength and dispersion stability. -- Abstract: Lithium zinc phosphate (LZP) has been synthesized through a co-precipitation process and characterized by XRD and IR spectroscopy. The inhibitive performances of this pigment for corrosion of mild steel have been discussed in comparison with the zinc phosphate (ZP) in the pigment extract solution by means of EIS and in the epoxy coating by means of salt spray. The EIS and salt spray results revealed the superior corrosion inhibitive effect of LZP compared to ZP. Moreover, adhesion strength and dispersion stability of the pigmented epoxy coating showed the advantage of LZP compared to ZP

  9. Transcriptome dynamics of the microRNA inhibition response

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wen, Jiayu; Leucci, Elenora; Vendramin, Roberto

    2015-01-01

    We report a high-resolution time series study of transcriptome dynamics following antimiR-mediated inhibition of miR-9 in a Hodgkin lymphoma cell-line-the first such dynamic study of the microRNA inhibition response-revealing both general and specific aspects of the physiological response. We show...... validate the key observations with independent time series qPCR and we experimentally validate key predicted miR-9 targets. Methodologically, we developed sensitive functional data analytic predictive methods to analyse the weak response inherent in microRNA inhibition experiments. The methods...... of this study will be applicable to similar high-resolution time series transcriptome analyses and provides the context for more accurate experimental design and interpretation of future microRNA inhibition studies....

  10. Characterization of Trypanosoma brucei brucei S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase and its inhibition by Berenil, pentamidine and methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitonti, A J; Dumont, J A; McCann, P P

    1986-01-01

    Trypanosoma brucei brucei S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) decarboxylase was found to be relatively insensitive to activation by putrescine as compared with the mammalian enzyme, being stimulated by only 50% over a 10,000-fold range of putrescine concentrations. The enzyme was not stimulated by up to 10 mM-Mg2+. The Km for AdoMet was 30 microM, similar to that of other eukaryotic AdoMet decarboxylases. T.b. brucei AdoMet decarboxylase activity was apparently irreversibly inhibited in vitro by Berenil and reversibly by pentamidine and methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone). Berenil also inhibited trypanosomal AdoMet decarboxylase by 70% within 4 h after administration to infected rats and markedly increased the concentration of putrescine in trypanosomes that were exposed to the drug in vivo. Spermidine and spermine blocked the curative effect of Berenil on model mouse T.b. brucei infections. This effect of the polyamines was probably not due to reversal of Berenil's inhibitory effects on the AdoMet decarboxylase. PMID:3800910

  11. Irreversible thermochromic response of RF sputtered nanocrystalline BaWO{sub 4} films for smart window applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anil Kumar, C.; Santhosh Kumar, T.; Pamu, D., E-mail: pamu@iitg.ernet.in [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati -781039 (India)

    2015-10-15

    We report irreversible thermochromic behaviour of BaWO{sub 4} (BWO) films for the first time. BWO films have been deposited at different substrate temperatures (RT, 200, 400, 600 and 800 °C) using RF magnetron sputtering in pure argon plasma. BWO films deposited at 800 °C exhibit crystalline nature. Also, BWO films deposited in the temperature range of 400 - 600 °C exhibit WO{sub 3} as a secondary phase and its weight percentage decreases with an increase in deposition temperature, whereas the films deposited at 800 °C exhibited pure tetragonal phase. FESEM images revealed that as the average particle sizes of the films are higher as compared with the thickness of the films and is explained based on Avrami type nucleation and growth. The transmittance of the films decreases with an increase in deposition temperature up to 600 °C and increases thereafter. Films deposited at 600 °C show ≤ 20% transmittance, looking at the films deposited at room temperature and 800 °C exhibits 90 and 70%, respectively. The refractive index and extinction coefficient of the films show profound dependence on crystallinity and packing density. The optical bandgap of BWO films increases significantly with an increase in O{sub 2}% during the deposition. The optical bandgap of the BWO films deposited at different temperatures in pure argon plasma, are in the range of 3.7 to 3.94 eV whereas the films deposited at 600 °C under different O{sub 2} plasma are in the range of 3.6 - 4.5 eV. The formations of colour centres are associated with the oxygen vacancies, which are clearly seen from the optical bandgap studies. The observed irreversible thermochromic behaviour in BWO films is attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies that arises due to the electrons trapped at oxygen vacancies causing an inter valence charge transfer of W{sup 5+} to W{sup 6+} and is confirmed through the change in the optical density (ΔOD). Further, the Raman spectra are being used to

  12. Corrosion Inhibition by Sodium Gluconate-Zn2+-DTPMP System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Manjula

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The inhibition efficiency of a phosphonic acid, Diethylene Triamine Pentamethylene Phosphonic acid (DTPMP in controlling corrosion of carbon steel immersed in an aqueous solution containing 60 ppm of Cl- has been evaluated by weight loss method in the absence and presence of Zn2+. The formulation consisting of DTPMP and Zn2+ has excellent inhibition efficiency (IE. A synergistic effect is noticed between Zn2+ and DTPMP. Addition of sodium gluconate (SG enhances the IE of Zn2+ and DTPMP system. The DTPMP-Zn2+-SG system function as a mixed inhibitor as revealed by polarization study. AC impedance spectrum, optical and atomic force micrographs reveal the formation of a protective film on the metal surface. FTIR spectra reveal that the protective film consists of Fe2+-DTPMP complex, Fe2+-SG complex and Zn(OH2.

  13. Allosteric Inhibition of Factor XIIIa. Non-Saccharide Glycosaminoglycan Mimetics, but Not Glycosaminoglycans, Exhibit Promising Inhibition Profile.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rami A Al-Horani

    Full Text Available Factor XIIIa (FXIIIa is a transglutaminase that catalyzes the last step in the coagulation process. Orthostery is the only approach that has been exploited to design FXIIIa inhibitors. Yet, allosteric inhibition of FXIIIa is a paradigm that may offer a key advantage of controlled inhibition over orthosteric inhibition. Such an approach is likely to lead to novel FXIIIa inhibitors that do not carry bleeding risks. We reasoned that targeting a collection of basic amino acid residues distant from FXIIIa's active site by using sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs or non-saccharide GAG mimetics (NSGMs would lead to the discovery of the first allosteric FXIIIa inhibitors. We tested a library of 22 variably sulfated GAGs and NSGMs against human FXIIIa to discover promising hits. Interestingly, although some GAGs bound to FXIIIa better than NSGMs, no GAG displayed any inhibition. An undecasulfated quercetin analog was found to inhibit FXIIIa with reasonable potency (efficacy of 98%. Michaelis-Menten kinetic studies revealed an allosteric mechanism of inhibition. Fluorescence studies confirmed close correspondence between binding affinity and inhibition potency, as expected for an allosteric process. The inhibitor was reversible and at least 9-fold- and 26-fold selective over two GAG-binding proteins factor Xa (efficacy of 71% and thrombin, respectively, and at least 27-fold selective over a cysteine protease papain. The inhibitor also inhibited the FXIIIa-mediated polymerization of fibrin in vitro. Overall, our work presents the proof-of-principle that FXIIIa can be allosterically modulated by sulfated non-saccharide agents much smaller than GAGs, which should enable the design of selective and safe anticoagulants.

  14. Preparation of 24 ternary thin film materials libraries on a single substrate in one experiment for irreversible high-throughput studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buenconsejo, Pio John S; Siegel, Alexander; Savan, Alan; Thienhaus, Sigurd; Ludwig, Alfred

    2012-01-09

    For different areas of combinatorial materials science, it is desirable to have multiple materials libraries: especially for irreversible high-throughput studies, like, for example, corrosion resistance testing in different media or annealing of complete materials libraries at different temperatures. Therefore a new combinatorial sputter-deposition process was developed which yields 24 materials libraries in one experiment on a single substrate. It is discussed with the example of 24 Ti-Ni-Ag materials libraries. They are divided based on the composition coverage and orientation of composition gradient into two sets of 12 nearly identical materials libraries. Each materials library covers at least 30-40% of the complete ternary composition range. An acid etch test in buffered-HF solution was performed, illustrating the feasibility of our approach for destructive materials characterization. The results revealed that within the composition range of Ni < 30 at.%, the films were severely etched. The composition range which shows reversible martensitic transformations was confirmed to be outside this region. The high output of the present method makes it attractive for combinatorial studies requiring multiple materials libraries.

  15. A randomized placebo-blind study of the effect of low power laser on pain caused by irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramalho, Karen Müller; de Souza, Lárissa Marcondes Paladini; Tortamano, Isabel Peixoto; Adde, Carlos Alberto; Rocha, Rodney Garcia; de Paula Eduardo, Carlos

    2016-12-01

    This randomized placebo-blind study aimed to evaluate the effect of laser phototherapy (LPT) on pain caused by symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (SIP). Sixty patients diagnosed with SIP were randomly assigned to treatment groups (n = 15): G1 (control), G2 (laser placebo-sham irradiation), G3 (laser irradiation at 780 nm, 40 mW, 4 J/cm 2 ), and G4 (laser irradiation at 780 nm, 40 mW, 40 J/cm 2 ). Spontaneous pain was recorded using a VAS score before (T0), immediately after (T1), and 15 min after treatment (T2). Local anesthetics failure during emergency endodontic treatment was also assessed. There was no pain difference in T1 and T2 between the experimental laser groups (G3 and G4) and the placebo group (G2). The 4-J/cm 2 (G3) irradiation resulted in significant increase in the local anesthetics failure in lower jar teeth. This effect could be suggested as consequence of the LPT improvement in local circulation and vasodilatation that would result in the increase of local anesthetic agent absorption. The application of 780-nm diode laser irradiation, at 4 and 40 J/cm 2 , showed no effect in reducing the pain in SIP in comparison to the placebo group. The fluence of 4 J/cm 2 showed a negative effect in local anesthetics, resulting in significant increase of complimentary local anesthesia during emergency endodontic treatment. This work provides evidence of the consequence of LPT application on teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. LPT should be avoided in teeth with pain due to irreversible pulpitis.

  16. Changes in cerebro-cerebellar interaction during response inhibition after performance improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirose, Satoshi; Jimura, Koji; Kunimatsu, Akira; Abe, Osamu; Ohtomo, Kuni; Miyashita, Yasushi; Konishi, Seiki

    2014-10-01

    It has been demonstrated that motor learning is supported by the cerebellum and the cerebro-cerebellar interaction. Response inhibition involves motor responses and the higher-order inhibition that controls the motor responses. In this functional MRI study, we measured the cerebro-cerebellar interaction during response inhibition in two separate days of task performance, and detected the changes in the interaction following performance improvement. Behaviorally, performance improved in the second day, compared to the first day. The psycho-physiological interaction (PPI) analysis revealed the interaction decrease from the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) to the cerebellum (lobule VII or VI). It was also revealed that the interaction increased from the same cerebellar region to the primary motor area. These results suggest the involvement of the cerebellum in response inhibition, and raise the possibility that the performance improvement was supported by the changes in the cerebro-cerebellar interaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Terbinafine inhibits gap junctional intercellular communication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Ju Yeun, E-mail: whitewndus@naver.com [College of Pharmacy, Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yonsei University, 85 Songdogwahak-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21983 (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Sei Mee, E-mail: sei_mee@naver.com [College of Pharmacy, Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yonsei University, 85 Songdogwahak-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21983 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Integrated OMICS for Biomedical Sciences, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Eun Ju, E-mail: yureas@naver.com [College of Pharmacy, Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yonsei University, 85 Songdogwahak-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21983 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jinu, E-mail: jinulee@yonsei.ac.kr [College of Pharmacy, Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yonsei University, 85 Songdogwahak-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21983 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-09-15

    Terbinafine is an antifungal agent that selectively inhibits fungal sterol synthesis by blocking squalene epoxidase. We evaluated the effect of terbinafine on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC). Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and I-YFP GJIC assays revealed that terbinafine inhibits GJIC in a reversible and dose-dependent manner in FRT-Cx43 and LN215 cells. Treatment with terbinafine did not affect Cx43 phosphorylation status or intracellular Ca{sup 2+} concentration, well-known action mechanisms of various GJIC blockers. While a structurally related chemical, naftifine, attenuated GJIC, epigallocatechin gallate, another potent squalene epoxidase inhibitor with a different structure, did not. These results suggest that terbinafine inhibits GJIC with a so far unknown mechanism of action. - Highlights: • In vitro pharmacological studies were performed on FRT-Cx43 and LN215 cells. • Terbinafine inhibits gap junctional intercellular communication in both cell lines. • The inhibitory effect of terbinafine is reversible and dose-dependent. • Treatment of terbinafine does not alter Cx43 phosphorylation or cytosolic Ca{sup 2+} concentration. • Inhibition of squalene epoxidase is not involved in this new effect of terbinafine.

  18. The effects of isoprene and NOx on secondary organic aerosols formed through reversible and irreversible uptake to aerosol water

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Sayed, Marwa M. H.; Ortiz-Montalvo, Diana L.; Hennigan, Christopher J.

    2018-01-01

    Isoprene oxidation produces water-soluble organic gases capable of partitioning to aerosol liquid water. The formation of secondary organic aerosols through such aqueous pathways (aqSOA) can take place either reversibly or irreversibly; however, the split between these fractions in the atmosphere is highly uncertain. The aim of this study was to characterize the reversibility of aqSOA formed from isoprene at a location in the eastern United States under substantial influence from both anthropogenic and biogenic emissions. The reversible and irreversible uptake of water-soluble organic gases to aerosol water was characterized in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, using measurements of particulate water-soluble organic carbon (WSOCp) in alternating dry and ambient configurations. WSOCp evaporation with drying was observed systematically throughout the late spring and summer, indicating reversible aqSOA formation during these times. We show through time lag analyses that WSOCp concentrations, including the WSOCp that evaporates with drying, peak 6 to 11 h after isoprene concentrations, with maxima at a time lag of 9 h. The absolute reversible aqSOA concentrations, as well as the relative amount of reversible aqSOA, increased with decreasing NOx / isoprene ratios, suggesting that isoprene epoxydiol (IEPOX) or other low-NOx oxidation products may be responsible for these effects. The observed relationships with NOx and isoprene suggest that this process occurs widely in the atmosphere, and is likely more important in other locations characterized by higher isoprene and/or lower NOx levels. This work underscores the importance of accounting for both reversible and irreversible uptake of isoprene oxidation products to aqueous particles.

  19. Thermodynamic Optimality criteria for biological systems in linear irreversible thermodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chimal, J C; Sánchez, N; Ramírez, PR

    2017-01-01

    In this paper the methodology of the so-called Linear Irreversible Thermodynamics (LIT) is applied; although traditionally used locally to study general systems in non-equilibrium states in which it is consider both internal and external contributions to the entropy increments in order to analyze the efficiency of two coupled processes with generalized fluxes J 1 , J 2 and their corresponding forces X 1 , X 2 . We extend the former analysis to takes into account two different operating regimes namely: Omega Function and Efficient Power criterion, respectively. Results show analogies in the optimal performance between and we can say that there exist a criteria of optimization which can be used specially for biological systems where a good design of the biological parameters made by nature at maximum efficient power conditions lead to more efficient engines than those at the maximum power conditions or ecological conditions. (paper)

  20. Insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of antibiotics for irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Roy

    2014-03-01

    The Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, Embase and the US National Institutes of Health Trials Register. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) which compared pain relief with systemic antibiotics and analgesics, against placebo and analgesics in the acute preoperative phase of irreversible pulpitis. Study selection, risk of bias assessment and data extraction were carried out independently by two reviewers. Pooling of data was not possible and a descriptive summary is presented. One trial assessed at low risk of bias, involving 40 participants, was included in this update of the review. The quality of the body of evidence was rated low for the different outcomes. There was a close parallel distribution of the pain ratings in both the intervention and placebo groups over the seven-day study period.There was insufficient evidence to claim or refute a benefit for penicillin for pain intensity. There was no significant difference in the mean total number of ibuprofen tablets taken over the study period: 9.2 (standard deviation (SD) 6.02) in the penicillin group versus 9.6 (SD 6.34) in the placebo group; mean difference -0.40 (95% confidence interval (CI) -4.23 to 3.43; P value = 0.84). This applied equally for the mean total number of Tylenol tablets: 6.9 (SD 6.87) used in the penicillin group versus 4.45 (SD 4.82) in the placebo group; mean difference 2.45 (95% CI -1.23 to 6.13; P value = 0.19). Our secondary outcome on reporting of adverse events was not addressed in this study. This systematic, review which was based on one low-powered small sample trial assessed as a low risk of bias, illustrates that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether antibiotics reduce pain or not compared to not having antibiotics. The results of this review confirm the necessity for further larger sample and methodologically sound trials that can provide additional evidence as to whether antibiotics

  1. How to account for irreversibility in integrated assessment of climate change?; Comment tenir compte de l'irreversibilite dans l'evaluation integree du changement climatique?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ha Duong, M

    1998-04-15

    How to account for irreversibility in integrated assessment of climate change? This Ph. D. thesis in Economics balances discounting, technical progress and the inertia of existing capital stock against uncertainty and the inertia of socio-economic systems to examine the issue of near term limitations of greenhouse gases emissions. After a general overview in chapter 2, and a more historical presentation of the debates in chapter 3, chapter 4 proceeds to review a large number of integrated assessment models. Chapter 5 introduces a Model on the Dynamics of Inertia and Adaptability of energy systems: DIAM, used to discuss how much previous studies might have overestimated the long term costs of CO{sub 2} limitations and underestimated adjustment costs. It shows that, given a target date for atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration stabilisation, a higher inertia implies a lower optimal concentration trajectory. In a sequential decision framework, chapter 6 shows that current uncertainties about which CO{sub 2} concentration ceiling would not present dangerous interference with the climate system justifies precautionary action. Finally, chapter 7 uses the irreversibility effect theory to define formally situations of decision under controversy and compare the irreversibility of CO{sub 2} accumulation with the irreversibility of investments needed to moderate it. An option value for greenhouse gases emissions limitations is computed. (author)

  2. Is the Supraspinatus Muscle Atrophy Truly Irreversible after Surgical Repair of Rotator Cuff Tears?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Seok Won; Kim, Sae Hoon; Tae, Suk-Kee; Yoon, Jong Pil; Choi, Jung-Ah

    2013-01-01

    Background Atrophy of rotator cuff muscles has been considered an irreversible phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether atrophy is truly irreversible after rotator cuff repair. Methods We measured supraspinatus muscle atrophy of 191 patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging and postoperative multidetector computed tomography images, taken at least 1 year after operation. The occupation ratio was calculated using Photoshop CS3 software. We compared the change between pre- and postoperative occupation ratios after modifying the preoperative occupation ratio. In addition, possible relationship between various clinical factors and the change of atrophy, and between the change of atrophy and cuff integrity after surgical repair were evaluated. Results The mean occupation ratio was significantly increased postoperatively from 0.44 ± 0.17 to 0.52 ± 0.17 (p < 0.001). Among 191 patients, 81 (42.4%) showed improvement of atrophy (more than a 10% increase in occupation ratio) and 33 (17.3%) worsening (more than a 10% decrease). Various clinical factors such as age tear size, or initial degree of atrophy did not affect the change of atrophy. However, the change of atrophy was related to repair integrity: cuff healing failure rate of 48.5% (16 of 33) in worsened atrophy; and 22.2% (18 of 81) in improved atrophy (p = 0.007). Conclusions The supraspinatus muscle atrophy as measured by occupation ratio could be improved postoperatively in case of successful cuff repair. PMID:23467404

  3. The Effect of Acupuncture on the Success of Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block for Teeth with Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis: A Triple-blind Randomized Clinical Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalali, Shahrzad; Moradi Majd, Nima; Torabi, Samane; Habibi, Mohammad; Homayouni, Hamed; Mohammadi, Navid

    2015-09-01

    An inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) does not always provide satisfactory anesthesia for patients with irreversible pulpitis. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of preoperative acupuncture on the success rate of IANBs for teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. In a randomized triple-blinded clinical trial, 40 patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis were divided into 2 groups: the acupuncture and control groups. In the acupuncture group, a disposable needle was inserted at LI4 (Hegu) acupoint, and after 15 minutes, for patients who had reported the De qi sensation, an IANB was administered. In the control group, 15 minutes before the administration of an IANB, the practitioner simply imitated the acupuncture procedure but did not actually insert the needle. Endodontic treatments were conducted for the patients who reported lip numbness 15 minutes after the injection of the IANB. If the patients felt intolerable pain (>20 mm on a visual analog scale of 100 mm) during the procedure, a supplementary injection was administered. In those situations, the IANB was considered an unsuccessful injection. Data were evaluated by the chi-square, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, and t tests. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The overall success rates of IANB for the acupuncture and control groups were 60% and 20%, respectively (P < .05). The application of acupuncture before the endodontic treatment increased the effectiveness of IANBs for mandibular molars with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Efficacy of supplementary buccal infiltrations and intraligamentary injections to inferior alveolar nerve blocks in mandibular first molars with asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parirokh, M; Sadr, S; Nakhaee, N; Abbott, P V; Askarifard, S

    2014-10-01

    This randomized double-blinded controlled trial was performed to compare the efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) injection for mandibular first molar teeth with irreversible pulpitis with or without supplementary buccal infiltration and intraligamentary injection. Eighty-two patients with asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis received either a combination of intraligamentary injection + buccal infiltration+ IANB or with traditional IANB injection in mandibular first molar teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Each patient recorded their pain score on a Heft-Parker visual analogue scale before commencing treatment, in response to a cold test 15 min after the designated anaesthetic injection, during access cavity preparation and during root canal instrumentation. No or mild pain at any stage was considered a success. Data were analysed by chi-square test. At the final stage of treatment, 69 of the 82 patients were eligible to be included in the study. No significant difference was found between age (P = 0.569) and gender (P = 0.570) amongst the patients in the two groups. The success rate of anaesthesia in the IANB and the combination groups were 22% and 58%, respectively. The success rate of anaesthesia in the combination group was significantly higher than the traditional IANB injection (P = 0.003). A combination of anaesthetic techniques can improve the success rate of anaesthesia for mandibular first molar teeth with irreversible pulpitis. © 2013 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. X-tip intraosseous injection system as a primary anesthesia for irreversible pulpitis of posterior mandibular teeth: A randomized clinical trail

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Razavian

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Successful anesthesia during root canal therapy may be difficult to obtain. Intraosseous injection significantly improves anesthesia′s success as a supplemental pulpal anesthesia, particularly in cases of irreversible pulpitis. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of X-tip intraosseous injection and inferior alveolar nerve (IAN block in primary anesthesia for mandibular posterior teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Materials and Methods: Forty emergency patients with an irreversible pulpitis of mandibular posterior teeth were randomly assigned to receive either intraosseous injection using the X-tip intraosseous injection system or IAN block as the primary injection method for pulpal anesthesia. Pulpal anesthesia was evaluated using an electric pulp tester and endo ice at 5-min intervals for 15 min. Anesthesia′s success or failure rates were recorded and analyzed using SPSS version 12 statistical software. Success or failure rates were compared using a Fisher′s exact test, and the time duration for the onset of anesthesia was compared using Mann-Whitney U test. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Intraosseous injection system resulted in successful anesthesia in 17 out of 20 patients (85%. Successful anesthesia was achieved with the IAN block in 14 out of 20 patients (70%. However, the difference (15% was not statistically significant ( P = 0.2. Conclusion: Considering the relatively expensive armamentarium, probability of penetrator separation, temporary tachycardia, and possibility of damage to root during drilling, the authors do not suggest intraosseous injection as a suitable primary technique.

  6. Performance analysis for minimally nonlinear irreversible refrigerators at finite cooling power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Rui; Liu, Zhichun; Liu, Wei

    2018-04-01

    The coefficient of performance (COP) for general refrigerators at finite cooling power have been systematically researched through the minimally nonlinear irreversible model, and its lower and upper bounds in different operating regions have been proposed. Under the tight coupling conditions, we have calculated the universal COP bounds under the χ figure of merit in different operating regions. When the refrigerator operates in the region with lower external flux, we obtained the general bounds (0 present large values, compared to a relative small loss from the maximum cooling power. If the cooling power is the main objective, it is desirable to operate the refrigerator at a slightly lower cooling power than at the maximum one, where a small loss in the cooling power induces a much larger COP enhancement.

  7. Differential inhibition of calmodulin-sensitive phosphodiesterase and Ca++-adenosine triphosphatase by chlorpromazine-linked calmodulin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prozialeck, W.C.; Wallace, T.L.; Weiss, B.

    1987-01-01

    Upon irradiation with UV light, chlorpromazine binds irreversibly to calmodulin and inactivates it. To determine whether this chlorpromazine-calmodulin (CPZ-CaM) complex can inhibit the actions of native calmodulin, we examined its effects on the activity of calmodulin-sensitive cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from rat brain and on the Ca++-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) of human erythrocyte membranes. The CPZ-CaM complex was prepared by irradiating purified bovine brain calmodulin in the presence of chlorpromazine and Ca++. The sample was then dialyzed extensively to remove reversibly bound chlorpromazine and then assayed for its ability to activate calmodulin-sensitive phosphodiesterase and Ca++-ATPase, and for its ability to block the stimulatory effects of native calmodulin on these enzymes. The CPZ-CaM complex had no effect on the basal activity of either enzyme; it neither activated nor inhibited the enzymes when assayed in the absence of calmodulin. However, it affected differentially the activation of the two enzymes by native calmodulin. The CPZ-CaM complex totally inhibited calmodulin-stimulated phosphodiesterase but had no effect on the activation of the ATPase by calmodulin. Other studies showed that CPZ-CaM increased the activation constant (Ka) for the interaction of calmodulin with phosphodiesterase but did not affect the maximal activation (Vmax) of the enzyme by calmodulin. Neither calmodulin nor CPZ-CaM altered the Km for the interaction between phosphodiesterase and cyclic AMP. These results suggest that CPZ-CaM inhibits the calmodulin-induced activation of phosphodiesterase by competing with calmodulin for regulatory sites on the enzyme and not by interacting with calmodulin itself or by blocking the interaction of cyclic AMP with the enzyme

  8. Anesthetic Efficacy of Articaine and Ketamine for Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block in Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis: A Prospective Randomized Double-Blind Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakhaeimanesh, Vahid; Khazaei, Saber; Kaviani, Naser; Saatchi, Masoud; Shafiei, Maryam; Khademi, Abbasali

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to investigate the effect of articaine combined with ketamine on the success rate of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) in posterior mandible teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Forty two adult patients with diagnosis of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular posterior tooth were selected. The patients received two cartridges of either containing 3.2 mL 4% articaine with epinephrine 1:200000 and 0.4 mL 50 mg/mL ketamine hydrochloride (A-ketamine group) or 3.2 mL 4% articaine with epinephrine 1:200000 and 0.4 mL normal saline (A-saline group) using conventional IANB injections. Access cavity preparation started 15 min after injection. Lip numbness was required for all the patients. Success was considered as no or mild pain on the basis of Heft-Parker visual analog scale recordings upon access cavity preparation or initial instrumentation. Data were analyzed by independent student t , Mann-Whitney and Chi -square tests. The success rates were 55% and 42.9% for A-ketamine and A-saline group, respectively, with no significant differences between the two groups ( P =0.437) . Adding 0.4 mL 50 mg/mL ketamine hydrochloride to the articaine local anesthetic did not increase the efficacy of IANB for posterior mandibular teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

  9. Anesthetic Efficacy of Articaine and Ketamine for Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block in Symptomatic Irreversible Pulpitis: A Prospective Randomized Double-Blind Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakhaeimanesh, Vahid; Khazaei, Saber; Kaviani, Naser; Saatchi, Masoud; Shafiei, Maryam; Khademi, Abbasali

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: The aim of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to investigate the effect of articaine combined with ketamine on the success rate of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) in posterior mandible teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Methods and Materials: Forty two adult patients with diagnosis of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular posterior tooth were selected. The patients received two cartridges of either containing 3.2 mL 4% articaine with epinephrine 1:200000 and 0.4 mL 50 mg/mL ketamine hydrochloride (A-ketamine group) or 3.2 mL 4% articaine with epinephrine 1:200000 and 0.4 mL normal saline (A-saline group) using conventional IANB injections. Access cavity preparation started 15 min after injection. Lip numbness was required for all the patients. Success was considered as no or mild pain on the basis of Heft-Parker visual analog scale recordings upon access cavity preparation or initial instrumentation. Data were analyzed by independent student t, Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests. Results: The success rates were 55% and 42.9% for A-ketamine and A-saline group, respectively, with no significant differences between the two groups (P=0.437). Conclusion: Adding 0.4 mL 50 mg/mL ketamine hydrochloride to the articaine local anesthetic did not increase the efficacy of IANB for posterior mandibular teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. PMID:29225640

  10. Na,K-ATPase structure/function relationships probed by the denaturant urea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esmann, Mikael; Fedosova, Natalya U; Olesen, Claus

    2015-05-01

    Urea interacts with the Na,K-ATPase, leading to reversible as well as irreversible inhibition of the hydrolytic activity. The enzyme purified from shark rectal glands is more sensitive to urea than Na,K-ATPase purified from pig kidney. An immediate and reversible inhibition under steady-state conditions of hydrolytic activity at 37°C is demonstrated for the three reactions studied: the overall Na,K-ATPase activity, the Na-ATPase activity observed in the absence of K+ as well as the K+-dependent phosphatase reaction (K-pNPPase) seen in the absence of Na+. Half-maximal inhibition is seen with about 1M urea for shark enzyme and about 2M urea for pig enzyme. In the presence of substrates there is also an irreversible inhibition in addition to the reversible process, and we show that ATP protects against the irreversible inhibition for both the Na,K-ATPase and Na-ATPase reaction, whereas the substrate paranitrophenylphosphate leads to a slight increase in the rate of irreversible inhibition of the K-pNPPase. The rate of the irreversible inactivation in the absence of substrates is much more rapid for shark enzyme than for pig enzyme. The larger number of potentially urea-sensitive hydrogen bonds in shark enzyme compared to pig enzyme suggests that interference with the extensive hydrogen bonding network might account for the higher urea sensitivity of shark enzyme. The reversible inactivation is interpreted in terms of domain interactions and domain accessibilities using as templates the available crystal structures of Na,K-ATPase. It is suggested that a few interdomain hydrogen bonds are those mainly affected by urea during reversible inactivation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Scaling Law for Irreversible Entropy Production in Critical Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoang, Danh-Tai; Prasanna Venkatesh, B; Han, Seungju; Jo, Junghyo; Watanabe, Gentaro; Choi, Mahn-Soo

    2016-06-09

    We examine the Jarzynski equality for a quenching process across the critical point of second-order phase transitions, where absolute irreversibility and the effect of finite-sampling of the initial equilibrium distribution arise in a single setup with equal significance. We consider the Ising model as a prototypical example for spontaneous symmetry breaking and take into account the finite sampling issue by introducing a tolerance parameter. The initially ordered spins become disordered by quenching the ferromagnetic coupling constant. For a sudden quench, the deviation from the Jarzynski equality evaluated from the ideal ensemble average could, in principle, depend on the reduced coupling constant ε0 of the initial state and the system size L. We find that, instead of depending on ε0 and L separately, this deviation exhibits a scaling behavior through a universal combination of ε0 and L for a given tolerance parameter, inherited from the critical scaling laws of second-order phase transitions. A similar scaling law can be obtained for the finite-speed quench as well within the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.

  12. Comparative evaluation of effect of preoperative alprazolam and diclofenac potassium on the success of inferior alveolar, Vazirani-Akinosi, and Gow-Gates techniques for teeth with irreversible pulpitis: Randomized controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shetkar, Pratibha; Jadhav, Ganesh Ranganath; Mittal, Priya; Surapaneni, Saikalyan; Kalra, Dheeraj; Sakri, Mohan; Basavaprabhu, A

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: In teeth with irreversible pulpitis, successful local anesthesia is hard to achieve irrespective of the amount of local anesthesia and technique used. Such cases can be managed by concoction of pre-medications like anxiolytics, analgesics and effective local anesthesia. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study was planned to evaluate the effect of oral administration of alprazolam and diclofenac potassium on the success rate of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB), Gow-Gates (GG) and Vazirani-Akinosi (VA) techniques for the root canal treatment of mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis. Method: 198 emergency patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis were randomly divided into three groups as – A, B and C receiving IANB, GG or V-A respectively using 2% lidocaine with 1: 100,000 epinephrine. These groups were sub-divided into sub-groups I and II as control and pre-medication groups. Patients who did not react to the stimulus made by an explorer between the canine and first premolar and showing subjective lip and tongue numbness were included in the study. Result: All sub-groups showed statistically significant reduction in VAS score. However sub-groups V and VI (that is GG with and without pre-medication respectively) showed best improvement in initial severe pain in mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis. Moreover, all pre-medication sub-groups showed better pain control compared to respective control groups. Conclusion: It was concluded that use of pre-medications in the form of combination of anxiolytics and analgesics improves the success rate of local anesthesia in teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Use of anxiolytics eases the patient in endodontic emergencies. Also use of GG along with pre-medication is the best method for effective pain management of acute pain in irreversible pulpitis. PMID:27656053

  13. Effect of tensile stress on the 3D reversible and irreversible differential magnetic susceptibilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao, Weihua; Atherton, David L.

    2001-01-01

    Magnetic hysteresis loops in three orthogonal directions are measured for a line pipe steel sample while the external magnetic field is applied in a direction perpendicular to the tensile stress direction. The total magnetization vector is calculated. This tends to the stress direction when tensile stress is applied. The reversible and irreversible differential magnetic susceptibilities are derived. It is found that the susceptibilities in all three directions are enhanced with increasing tensile stress, although the increase in the stress direction is much larger than in the other directions. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

  14. In planta assays involving epigenetically silenced genes reveal inhibition of cytosine methylation by genistein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arase Sachiko

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cytosine methylation is involved in epigenetic control of gene expression in a wide range of organisms. An increasing number of examples indicate that changing the frequency of cytosine methylation in the genome is a feasible tool to engineer novel traits in plants. Although demethylating effects of compounds have been analyzed in human cultured cells in terms of suppressing cancer, their effect in plant cells has not been analyzed extensively. Here, we developed in planta assay systems to detect inhibition of cytosine methylation using plants that contain a transgene transcriptionally silenced by an epigenetic mechanism. Results Seeds of two transgenic plants were used: a petunia line that has been identified as a revertant of the co-suppression of the chalcone synthase-A (CHS-A gene and contains CHS-A transgenes whose transcription is repressed; Nicotiana benthamiana plants that contain the green fluorescent protein (GFP reporter gene whose transcription is repressed through virus-induced transcriptional gene silencing. Seeds of these plants were sown on a medium that contained a demethylating agent, either 5-azacytidine or trichostatin A, and the restoration of the transcriptionally active state of the transgene was detected in seedlings. Using these systems, we found that genistein, a major isoflavonoid compound, inhibits cytosine methylation, thus restoring transgene transcription. Genistein also restored the transcription of an epigenetically silenced endogenous gene in Arabidopsis plants. Conclusions Our assay systems allowed us to assess the inhibition of cytosine methylation, in particular of maintenance of methylation, by compounds in plant cells. These results suggest a novel role of flavonoids in plant cells and that genistein is useful for modifying the epigenetic state of plant genomes.

  15. Dose-dependent interaction between gemfibrozil and repaglinide in humans: strong inhibition of CYP2C8 with subtherapeutic gemfibrozil doses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honkalammi, Johanna; Niemi, Mikko; Neuvonen, Pertti J; Backman, Janne T

    2011-10-01

    Gemfibrozil 1-O-β-glucuronide inactivates CYP2C8 irreversibly. We investigated the effect of gemfibrozil dose on CYP2C8 activity in humans using repaglinide as a probe drug. In a randomized, five-phase crossover study, 10 healthy volunteers ingested 0.25 mg of repaglinide 1 h after different doses of gemfibrozil or placebo. Concentrations of plasma repaglinide, gemfibrozil, their metabolites, and blood glucose were measured. A single gemfibrozil dose of 30, 100, 300, and 900 mg increased the area under the concentration-time curve of repaglinide 1.8-, 4.5-, 6.7-, and 8.3-fold (P Gemfibrozil pharmacokinetics was characterized by a slightly more than dose-proportional increase in the area under the curve of gemfibrozil and its glucuronide. The gemfibrozil-repaglinide interaction could be mainly explained by gemfibrozil 1-O-β-glucuronide concentration-dependent, mechanism-based inhibition of CYP2C8, with a minor contribution by competitive inhibition of organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1B1 at the highest gemfibrozil dose. The findings are consistent with ∼50% inhibition of CYP2C8 already with a single 30-mg dose of gemfibrozil and >95% inhibition with 900 mg. In clinical drug-drug interaction studies, a single 900-mg dose of gemfibrozil can be used to achieve nearly complete inactivation of CYP2C8.

  16. Fluoxetine-induced inhibition of synaptosomal [3H]5-HT release: Possible Ca2+-channel inhibition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stauderman, K.A.; Gandhi, V.C.; Jones, D.J.

    1992-01-01

    Fluoxetine, a selective 5-Ht uptake inhibitor, inhibited 15 mM K + -induced [ 3 H]5-HT release from rat spinal cord and cortical synaptosomes at concentrations > 0.5 uM. This effect reflected a property shared by another selective 5-HT uptake inhibitor paroxetine but not by less selective uptake inhibitors such as amitriptyline, desipramine, imipramine or nortriptyline. Inhibition of release by fluoxetine was inversely related to both the concentration of K + used to depolarize the synaptosomes and the concentration of external Ca 2+ . Experiments aimed at determining a mechanism of action revealed that fluoxetine did not inhibit voltage-independent release of [ 3 H]5-HT release induced by the Ca 2+ -ionophore A 23187 or Ca 2+ -independent release induced by fenfluramine. Moreover the 5-HT autoreceptor antagonist methiothepin did not reverse the inhibitory actions of fluoxetine on K + -induced release. Further studies examined the effects of fluoxetine on voltage-dependent Ca 2+ channels and Ca 2+ entry

  17. Performance optimum analysis of an irreversible molten carbonate fuel cell–Stirling heat engine hybrid system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Liwei; Zhang, Houcheng; Gao, Songhua; Yan, Huixian

    2014-01-01

    A new hybrid system mainly consists of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) and a Stirling heat engine is established, where the Stirling heat engine is driven by the high-quality waste heat generated in the MCFC. Based on the electrochemistry and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, analytical expressions for the efficiency and power output of the hybrid system are derived by taking various irreversible losses into account. It shows that the performance of the MCFC can be greatly enhanced by coupling a Stirling heat engine to further convert the waste heat for power generation. By employing numerical calculations, not only the influences of multiple irreversible losses on the performance of the hybrid system are analyzed, but also the impacts of some operating conditions such as the operating temperature, input gas compositions and operating pressure on the performance of the hybrid system are also discussed. The investigation method in the present paper is feasible for some other similar energy conversion systems as well. - Highlights: • A model of MCFC–Stirling heat engine hybrid system is established. • Analytical expressions for the efficiency and power output are derived. • MCFC performance can be greatly enhanced by coupling a Stirling heat engine. • Effects of some operating conditions on the performance are discussed. • Optimum operation regions are subdivided by multi-objective optimization method

  18. Block selective redaction for minimizing loss during de-identification of burned in text in irreversibly compressed JPEG medical images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clunie, David A; Gebow, Dan

    2015-01-01

    Deidentification of medical images requires attention to both header information as well as the pixel data itself, in which burned-in text may be present. If the pixel data to be deidentified is stored in a compressed form, traditionally it is decompressed, identifying text is redacted, and if necessary, pixel data are recompressed. Decompression without recompression may result in images of excessive or intractable size. Recompression with an irreversible scheme is undesirable because it may cause additional loss in the diagnostically relevant regions of the images. The irreversible (lossy) JPEG compression scheme works on small blocks of the image independently, hence, redaction can selectively be confined only to those blocks containing identifying text, leaving all other blocks unchanged. An open source implementation of selective redaction and a demonstration of its applicability to multiframe color ultrasound images is described. The process can be applied either to standalone JPEG images or JPEG bit streams encapsulated in other formats, which in the case of medical images, is usually DICOM.

  19. Lauric acid and myristic acid from Allium sativum inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra: in silico analysis reveals possible binding to protein kinase B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muniyan, Rajiniraja; Gurunathan, Jayaraman

    2016-12-01

    The bulb of Allium sativum Linn (Alliaceae) has numerous medicinal values. Though the petroleum ether extract of the bulb has shown to exhibit antimycobacterial activity, the phytochemical(s) responsible for this inhibitory activity is not known. To characterize the bioactive compounds in the petroleum ether extract of Allium sativum (garlic) that inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra. Bioactivity-guided fractionation was employed to isolate the bioactive compounds. Antimycobacterial activity was evaluated by well-diffusion method and microplate alamar blue assay (MABA). Infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to characterize the bioactive compounds. Autodock was used to obtain information on molecular recognition, and molecular dynamics simulation was performed using GROMACS. The bioactive compounds that inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis H37Ra were found to be lauric acid (LA) and myristic acid (MA). The minimal inhibitory concentration of LA and MA was found to be 22.2 and 66.7 μg/mL, respectively. In silico analysis revealed that these fatty acids could bind at the cleft between the N-terminal and C-terminal lobes of the cytosolic domain of serine/threonine protein kinase B (PknB). The inhibition activity was dependent on the alkyl chain length of the fatty acid, and the amino acid residues involved in binding to fatty acid was found to be conserved across the Pkn family of proteins. The study indicates the possibility of using fatty acid derivatives, involving Pkn family of proteins, to inhibit the signal transduction processes in M. tuberculosis.

  20. Studies on thermal reactions and sintering behaviour of red clays by irreversible dilatometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anil, Asha; Misra, S. N.; Misra, N. M.

    2018-05-01

    Thermal behavior of clays strongly influences that of ceramic bodies made thereof and hence, its study is must for assessing its utility in ceramic products as well as to set the body composition. Irreversible dilatometry is an effective thermal analysis tool for evaluating thermal reactions as well as sintering behavior of clays or clay based ceramic bodies. In this study, irreversible dilatometry of four red clay samples (S, M, R and G) of Gujarat region, which vary in their chemical and mineralogical compositions was carried out using a Dilatometer and compared. Chemical analysis and XRD of red clays were carried out. XRD showed that major clay minerals in S, M and R clays are kaolinite. However, clay marked R and G showed presence of both kaolinite and illite and /muscovite. Presence of non-clay minerals such as hematite, quartz, anatase were also observed in all clays. XRD results were in agreement with chemical analyses results. Rational analyses showed variation in amount of clay and non-clay minerals in red clay samples. Evaluation of dilatometric curves showed that clay marked as S, M and R exhibit patterns typical for kaolinitic clays. Variation in linear expansion (up to 550°C) and shrinkage (above 550°C) between these three clays was found to be related to difference in amount of quartz and kaolinite respectively. However, dilatometric curve of G exhibit a pattern similar to that for an illitic clay. This study confirmed that sintering of investigated kaolinitic and illitic and / muscovitic red clays initiates at above 1060°C and 860°C respectively and this behaviour strongly depends upon type and amount of minerals and their chemical compositions.

  1. The Gouy-Stodola Theorem in Bioenergetic Analysis of Living Systems (Irreversibility in Bioenergetics of Living Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umberto Lucia

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Thermodynamics studies the transformations of energy occurring in open systems. Living systems, with particular reference to cells, are complex systems in which energy transformations occur. Thermo-electro-chemical processes and transports occur across their border, the cells membranes. These processes take place with important differences between healthy and diseased states. In particular, different thermal and biochemical behaviours can be highlighted between these two states and they can be related to the energy transformations inside the living systems, in particular the metabolic behaviour. Moreover, living systems waste heat. This heat is the consequence of the internal irreversibility. Irreversibility is effectively studied by using the Gouy-Stodola theorem. Consequently, this approach can be introduced in the analysis of the states of living systems, in order to obtain a unifying approach to study them. Indeed, this approach allows us to consider living systems as black boxes and analyze only the inflows and outflows and their changes in relation to the modification of the environment, so information on the systems can be obtained by analyzing their behaviour in relation to the modification of external perturbations. This paper presents a review of the recent results obtained in the thermodynamics analysis of cell systems.

  2. Optimum performance analysis of an irreversible Diesel heat engine affected by variable heat capacities of working fluid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Yingru; Chen, Jincan

    2007-01-01

    An irreversible cycle model of the Diesel heat engine is established in which the temperature dependent heat capacities of the working fluid, the irreversibilities resulting from non-isentropic compression and expansion processes and heat leak losses through the cylinder wall are taken into account. The adiabatic equation of ideal gases with temperature dependent heat capacity is strictly deduced without using the additional approximation condition in the relevant literature and is used to analyze the performance of the Diesel heat engine. Expressions for the work output and efficiency of the cycle are derived by introducing the pressure ratio and the compression and expansion efficiencies. The performance characteristic curves of the Diesel heat engine are presented for a set of given parameters. The optimum criteria of some important parameters such as the work output, efficiency, pressure ratio and temperatures of the working fluid are obtained. Moreover, the influence of the compression and expansion efficiencies, variable heat capacities, heat leak and other parameters on the performance of the cycle is discussed in detail. The results obtained may provide a theoretical basis for both optimal design and operation of real Diesel heat engines

  3. Diffusion imaging of reversible and irreversible microstructural changes within the corticospinal tract in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kouhei Kamiya

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The symptoms of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH can be improved by shunt surgery, but prediction of treatment outcome is not established. We investigated changes of the corticospinal tract (CST in iNPH before and after shunt surgery by using diffusion microstructural imaging, which infers more specific tissue properties than conventional diffusion tensor imaging. Two biophysical models were used: neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI and white matter tract integrity (WMTI. In both methods, the orientational coherence within the CSTs was higher in patients than in controls, and some normalization occurred after the surgery in patients, indicating axon stretching and recovery. The estimated axon density was lower in patients than in controls but remained unchanged after the surgery, suggesting its potential as a marker for irreversible neuronal damage. In a Monte-Carlo simulation that represented model axons as undulating cylinders, both NODDI and WMTI separated the effects of axon density and undulation. Thus, diffusion MRI may distinguish between reversible and irreversible microstructural changes in iNPH. Our findings constitute a step towards a quantitative image biomarker that reflects pathological process and treatment outcomes of iNPH.

  4. Road deicing salt irreversibly disrupts osmoregulation of salamander egg clutches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karraker, Nancy E.; Gibbs, James P.

    2011-01-01

    It has been postulated that road deicing salts are sufficiently diluted by spring rains to ameliorate any physiological impacts to amphibians breeding in wetlands near roads. We tested this conjecture by exposing clutches of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) to three chloride concentrations (1 mg/L, 145 mg/L, 945 mg/L) for nine days, then transferred clutches to control water for nine days, and measured change in mass at three-day intervals. We measured mass change because water uptake by clutches reduces risks to embryos associated with freezing, predation, and disease. Clutches in controls sequestered water asymptotically. Those in the moderate concentrations lost 18% mass initially and regained 14% after transfer to control water. Clutches in high concentration lost 33% mass and then lost an additional 8% after transfer. Our results suggest that spring rains do not ameliorate the effects of deicing salts in wetlands with extremely high chloride concentrations. - Road deicing salts irreversibly disrupts osmoregulation of salamander egg clutches.

  5. Road deicing salt irreversibly disrupts osmoregulation of salamander egg clutches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karraker, Nancy E., E-mail: karraker@hku.hk [Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210 (United States); Gibbs, James P [Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210 (United States)

    2011-03-15

    It has been postulated that road deicing salts are sufficiently diluted by spring rains to ameliorate any physiological impacts to amphibians breeding in wetlands near roads. We tested this conjecture by exposing clutches of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) to three chloride concentrations (1 mg/L, 145 mg/L, 945 mg/L) for nine days, then transferred clutches to control water for nine days, and measured change in mass at three-day intervals. We measured mass change because water uptake by clutches reduces risks to embryos associated with freezing, predation, and disease. Clutches in controls sequestered water asymptotically. Those in the moderate concentrations lost 18% mass initially and regained 14% after transfer to control water. Clutches in high concentration lost 33% mass and then lost an additional 8% after transfer. Our results suggest that spring rains do not ameliorate the effects of deicing salts in wetlands with extremely high chloride concentrations. - Road deicing salts irreversibly disrupts osmoregulation of salamander egg clutches.

  6. Strain induced irreversible critical current degradation in highly dense Bi-2212 round wire

    CERN Document Server

    Bjoerstad, R; Rikel, M.O.; Ballarino, A; Bottura, L; Jiang, J; Matras, M; Sugano, M; Hudspeth, J; Di Michiel, M

    2015-01-01

    The strain induced critical current degradation of overpressure processed straight Bi 2212/Ag wires has been studied at 77 K in self-field. For the first time superconducting properties, lattice distortions, composite wire stress and strain have been measured simultaneously in a high energy synchrotron beamline. A permanent Ic degradation of 5% occurs when the wire strain exceeds 0.60%. At a wire strain of about 0.65% a drastic n value and Ic reduction occur, and the composite stress and the Bi-2212 lattice parameter reach a plateau, indicating Bi-2212 filament fracturing. The XRD measurements show that Bi-2212 exhibits linear elastic behaviour up to the irreversible strain limit.

  7. Inhibition of urinary calculi -- a spectroscopic study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manciu, Felicia; Govani, Jayesh; Durrer, William; Reza, Layra; Pinales, Luis

    2008-10-01

    Although a considerable number of investigations have already been undertaken and many causes such as life habits, metabolic disorders, and genetic factors have been noted as sources that accelerate calculi depositions and aggregations, there are still plenty of unanswered questions regarding efficient inhibition and treatment mechanisms. Thus, in an attempt to acquire more insights, we propose here a detailed scientific study of kidney stone formation and growth inhibition based on a traditional medicine approach with Rotula Aquatica Lour (RAL) herbal extracts. A simplified single diffusion gel growth technique was used for synthesizing the samples for the present study. The unexpected Zn presence in the sample with RAL inhibitor, as revealed by XPS measurements, explains the inhibition process and the dramatic reflectance of the incident light observed in the infrared transmission studies. Raman data demonstrate potential binding of the inhibitor with the oxygen of the kidney stone. Photoluminescence results corroborate to provide additional evidence of Zn-related inhibition.

  8. Evf2 lncRNA/BRG1/DLX1 interactions reveal RNA-dependent inhibition of chromatin remodeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cajigas, Ivelisse; Leib, David E; Cochrane, Jesse; Luo, Hao; Swyter, Kelsey R; Chen, Sean; Clark, Brian S; Thompson, James; Yates, John R; Kingston, Robert E; Kohtz, Jhumku D

    2015-08-01

    Transcription-regulating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have the potential to control the site-specific expression of thousands of target genes. Previously, we showed that Evf2, the first described ultraconserved lncRNA, increases the association of transcriptional activators (DLX homeodomain proteins) with key DNA enhancers but represses gene expression. In this report, mass spectrometry shows that the Evf2-DLX1 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) contains the SWI/SNF-related chromatin remodelers Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1, SMARCA4) and Brahma-associated factor (BAF170, SMARCC2) in the developing mouse forebrain. Evf2 RNA colocalizes with BRG1 in nuclear clouds and increases BRG1 association with key DNA regulatory enhancers in the developing forebrain. While BRG1 directly interacts with DLX1 and Evf2 through distinct binding sites, Evf2 directly inhibits BRG1 ATPase and chromatin remodeling activities. In vitro studies show that both RNA-BRG1 binding and RNA inhibition of BRG1 ATPase/remodeling activity are promiscuous, suggesting that context is a crucial factor in RNA-dependent chromatin remodeling inhibition. Together, these experiments support a model in which RNAs convert an active enhancer to a repressed enhancer by directly inhibiting chromatin remodeling activity, and address the apparent paradox of RNA-mediated stabilization of transcriptional activators at enhancers with a repressive outcome. The importance of BRG1/RNA and BRG1/homeodomain interactions in neurodevelopmental disorders is underscored by the finding that mutations in Coffin-Siris syndrome, a human intellectual disability disorder, localize to the BRG1 RNA-binding and DLX1-binding domains. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  9. Comparison of anesthetic efficacy between lidocaine with and without magnesium sulfate USP 50% for inferior alveolar nerve blocks in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shetty, Krishna Prasad; Satish, Sarvepalli Venkata; Kilaru, Krishna Rao; Sardar, Poonam; Luke, Alexander M

    2015-04-01

    The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to compare the anesthetic efficacy between lidocaine with and without magnesium sulfate USP 50% for inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) blocks in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. One hundred patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis of mandibular posterior teeth were selected for the study. The patients received 1 mL magnesium sulfate USP 50% or distilled water (placebo) 1 hour before administration of conventional IAN block. Endodontic access cavity preparation was initiated 15 minutes after the IAN block injection. Lip numbness was recorded for all the patients. Success of IAN block was defined as no or mild pain on the visual analogue scale during access cavity preparation and initial instrumentation. The success rate for the IAN block was 58% for magnesium sulfate group and 32% for the placebo group, with statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (P = .016). In mandibular posterior teeth diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis, preoperative administration of 1 mL magnesium sulfate USP 50% resulted in statistically significant increase in success of IAN block compared with placebo. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Irreversible altering of crystalline phase of phase-change Ge-Sb thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krusin-Elbaum, L.; Shakhvorostov, D.; Cabral, C. Jr.; Raoux, S.; Jordan-Sweet, J. L.

    2010-01-01

    The stability of the crystalline phase of binary phase-change Ge x Sb 1-x films is investigated over a wide range of Ge content. From Raman spectroscopy we find the Ge-Sb crystalline structure irreversibly altered after exposure to a laser beam. We show that with increasing beam intensity/temperature Ge agglomerates and precipitates out in the amount growing with x. A simple empirical relation links Ge precipitation temperature T Ge p to the rate of change dT cryst /dx of crystallization, with the precipitation easiest on the mid-range x plateau, where T cryst is nearly constant. Our findings point to a preferable 15% < or approx. x < 50% window, that may achieve the desired cycling/archival properties of a phase-change cell.

  11. Efficacy of preoperative ibuprofen and meloxicam on the success rate of inferior alveolar nerve block for teeth with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shantiaee, Yazdan; Javaheri, Sahar; Movahhedian, Amir; Eslami, Sarah; Dianat, Omid

    2017-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether premedication with ibuprofen or meloxicam increases the success rate of anaesthesia in teeth with irreversible pulpitis. In this parallel, double-blind clinical trial, 92 patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis were randomly divided into four groups of 23 patients. The first group (the no-premedication group) received no premedication, the second group (the meloxicam group) received 7.5 mg of meloxicam, the third group (the ibuprofen group) received 600 mg of ibuprofen, and the fourth group (the placebo group) received placebo 1 hour before intervention. Before taking the medication, electrical pulp testing (EPT) and the Heft-Parker visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to evaluate sensitivity and pain at baseline. Then, local anaesthesia was injected, and after 15 minutes, EPT was used again to evaluate tooth sensitivity. The pain during access preparation was also recorded using the Heft-Parker VAS. Ninety-two patients were analysed. The success rates of local anaesthesia were 21.7%, 34.8%, 78.3% and 73.9% in the no-premedication, placebo, ibuprofen and meloxicam groups, respectively, according to the EPT values. Considering the Heft-Parker VAS values, no premedication gave a 21.7% success rate, placebo gave a 34.8% success rate, ibuprofen gave an 82.6% success rate and meloxicam gave a 65.2% success rate. The ibuprofen and meloxicam groups showed significantly better results than the placebo and no-premedication groups (P inferior alveolar nerve block anaesthesia for teeth with irreversible pulpitis; however, neither drug provided profound anaesthesia. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

  12. A facile route for irreversible bonding of plastic-PDMS hybrid microdevices at room temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Linzhi; Lee, Nae Yoon

    2010-05-21

    Plastic materials do not generally form irreversible bonds with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) regardless of oxygen plasma treatment and a subsequent thermal process. In this paper, we perform plastic-PDMS bonding at room temperature, mediated by the formation of a chemically robust amine-epoxy bond at the interfaces. Various plastic materials, such as poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide (PI), and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) were adopted as choices for plastic materials. Irrespective of the plastic materials used, the surfaces were successfully modified with amine and epoxy functionalities, confirmed by the surface characterizations such as water contact angle measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and chemically robust and irreversible bonding was successfully achieved within 1 h at room temperature. The bonding strengths of PDMS with PMMA and PC sheets were measured to be 180 and 178 kPa, respectively, and their assemblies containing microchannel structures endured up to 74 and 84 psi (510 and 579 kPa) of introduced compressed air, respectively, without destroying the microdevices, representing a robust and highly stable interfacial bonding. In addition to microchannel-molded PDMS bonded with flat plastic substrates, microchannel-embossed plastics were also bonded with a flat PDMS sheet, and both types of bonded assemblies displayed sufficiently robust bonding, tolerating an intense influx of liquid whose per-minute injection volume was nearly 1000 to 2000 times higher than the total internal volume of the microchannel used. In addition to observing the bonding performance, we also investigated the potential of surface amine and epoxy functionalities as durable chemical adhesives by observing their storage-time-dependent bonding performances.

  13. Pharmacologic inhibition of small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels by NS8593 reveals atrial antiarrhythmic potential in horses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haugaard, Maria Mathilde; Hesselkilde, Eva Zander; Pehrson, Steen Michael

    2015-01-01

    and ventricular cardiomyocytes and contribute to atrial repolarization. Inhibition by NS8593 terminates pacing-induced AF of short duration and decreases AF duration and vulnerability without affecting ventricular conduction and repolarization. Thus, inhibition by NS8593 demonstrates clear atrial antiarrhythmic...

  14. Aedes aegypti D7 Saliva Protein Inhibits Dengue Virus Infection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J Conway

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of several medically relevant arboviruses including dengue virus (DENV types 1-4. Ae. aegypti transmits DENV by inoculating virus-infected saliva into host skin during probing and feeding. Ae. aegypti saliva contains over one hundred unique proteins and these proteins have diverse functions, including facilitating blood feeding. Previously, we showed that Ae. aegypti salivary gland extracts (SGEs enhanced dissemination of DENV to draining lymph nodes. In contrast, HPLC-fractionation revealed that some SGE components inhibited infection. Here, we show that D7 proteins are enriched in HPLC fractions that are inhibitory to DENV infection, and that recombinant D7 protein can inhibit DENV infection in vitro and in vivo. Further, binding assays indicate that D7 protein can directly interact with DENV virions and recombinant DENV envelope protein. These data reveal a novel role for D7 proteins, which inhibits arbovirus transmission to vertebrates through a direct interaction with virions.

  15. Performance analysis of air-standard Diesel cycle using an alternative irreversible heat transfer approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Hinti, I.; Akash, B.; Abu-Nada, E.; Al-Sarkhi, A.

    2008-01-01

    This study presents the investigation of air-standard Diesel cycle under irreversible heat transfer conditions. The effects of various engine parameters are presented. An alternative approach is used to evaluate net power output and cycle thermal efficiency from more realistic parameters such as air-fuel ratio, fuel mass flow rate, intake temperature, engine design parameters, etc. It is shown that for a given fuel flow rate, thermal efficiency and maximum power output increase with decreasing air-fuel ratio. Also, for a given air-fuel ratio, the maximum power output increases with increasing fuel rate. However, the effect of the thermal efficiency is limited

  16. Cancelable ECG biometrics using GLRT and performance improvement using guided filter with irreversible guide signal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hanvit; Minh Phuong Nguyen; Se Young Chun

    2017-07-01

    Biometrics such as ECG provides a convenient and powerful security tool to verify or identify an individual. However, one important drawback of biometrics is that it is irrevocable. In other words, biometrics cannot be re-used practically once it is compromised. Cancelable biometrics has been investigated to overcome this drawback. In this paper, we propose a cancelable ECG biometrics by deriving a generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detector from a composite hypothesis testing in randomly projected domain. Since it is common to observe performance degradation for cancelable biometrics, we also propose a guided filtering (GF) with irreversible guide signal that is a non-invertibly transformed signal of ECG authentication template. We evaluated our proposed method using ECG-ID database with 89 subjects. Conventional Euclidean detector with original ECG template yielded 93.9% PD1 (detection probability at 1% FAR) while Euclidean detector with 10% compressed ECG (1/10 of the original data size) yielded 90.8% PD1. Our proposed GLRT detector with 10% compressed ECG yielded 91.4%, which is better than Euclidean with the same compressed ECG. GF with our proposed irreversible ECG template further improved the performance of our GLRT with 10% compressed ECG up to 94.3%, which is higher than Euclidean detector with original ECG. Lastly, we showed that our proposed cancelable ECG biometrics practically met cancelable biometrics criteria such as efficiency, re-usability, diversity and non-invertibility.

  17. Analysis of a compartmental model of amyloid beta production, irreversible loss and exchange in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elbert, Donald L; Patterson, Bruce W; Bateman, Randall J

    2015-03-01

    Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides, and in particular Aβ42, are found in senile plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. A compartmental model of Aβ production, exchange and irreversible loss was recently developed to explain the kinetics of isotope-labeling of Aβ peptides collected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) following infusion of stable isotope-labeled leucine in humans. The compartmental model allowed calculation of the rates of production, irreversible loss (or turnover) and short-term exchange of Aβ peptides. Exchange of Aβ42 was particularly pronounced in amyloid plaque-bearing participants. In the current work, we describe in much greater detail the characteristics of the compartmental model to two distinct audiences: physician-scientists and biokineticists. For physician-scientists, we describe through examples the types of questions the model can and cannot answer, as well as correct some misunderstandings of previous kinetic analyses applied to this type of isotope labeling data. For biokineticists, we perform a system identifiability analysis and a sensitivity analysis of the kinetic model to explore the global and local properties of the model. Combined, these analyses motivate simplifications from a more comprehensive physiological model to the final model that was previously presented. The analyses clearly demonstrate that the current dataset and compartmental model allow determination with confidence a single 'turnover' parameter, a single 'exchange' parameter and a single 'delay' parameter. When combined with CSF concentration data for the Aβ peptides, production rates may also be obtained. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. MicroRNA expression profile and functional analysis reveal their roles in contact inhibition and its disruption switch of rat vascular smooth muscle cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Ye-Ying; Qin, Shan-Shan; Cheng, Yun-Hui; Wang, Chao-Yun; Liu, Xiao-Jun; Liu, Ying; Zhang, Xiu-Li; Zhang, Wendy; Zhan, Jia-Xin; Shao, Shuai; Bian, Wei-Hua; Luo, Bi-Hui; Lu, Dong-Feng; Yang, Jian; Wang, Chun-Hua; Zhang, Chun-Xiang

    2018-05-01

    Contact inhibition and its disruption of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are important cellular events in vascular diseases. But the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. In this study we investigated the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the contact inhibition and its disruption of VSMCs and the molecular mechanisms involved. Rat VSMCs were seeded at 30% or 90% confluence. MiRNA expression profiles in contact-inhibited confluent VSMCs (90% confluence) and non-contact-inhibited low-density VSMCs (30% confluence) were determined. We found that multiple miRNAs were differentially expressed between the two groups. Among them, miR-145 was significantly increased in contact-inhibited VSMCs. Serum could disrupt the contact inhibition as shown by the elicited proliferation of confluent VSMCs. The contact inhibition disruption accompanied with a down-regulation of miR-145. Serum-induced contact inhibition disruption of VSMCs was blocked by overexpression of miR-145. Moreover, downregulation of miR-145 was sufficient to disrupt the contact inhibition of VSMCs. The downregulation of miR-145 in serum-induced contact inhibition disruption was related to the activation PI3-kinase/Akt pathway, which was blocked by the PI3-kinase inhibitor LY294002. KLF5, a target gene of miR-145, was identified to be involved in miR-145-mediated effect on VSMC contact inhibition disruption, as it could be inhibited by knockdown of KLF5. In summary, our results show that multiple miRNAs are differentially expressed in contact-inhibited VSMCs and in non-contact-inhibited VSMCs. Among them, miR-145 is a critical gene in contact inhibition and its disruption of VSMCs. PI3-kinase/Akt/miR-145/KLF5 is a critical signaling pathway in serum-induced contact inhibition disruption. Targeting of miRNAs related to the contact inhibition of VSMCs may represent a novel therapeutic approach for vascular diseases.

  19. Celastrol inhibits TGF-β1-induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition by inhibiting Snail and regulating E-cadherin expression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Hyereen; Lee, Minjae [Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 138-736 (Korea, Republic of); Jang, Sung-Wuk, E-mail: swjang@amc.seoul.kr [Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 138-736 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 138-736 (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-08-09

    Highlights: •We investigated the effects of celastrol on TGF-β1-induced EMT in epithelial cells. •Celastrol regulates TGF-β1-induced morphological changes and E-cadherin expression. •Celastrol inhibits TGF-β1-induced Snail expression. •Celastrol strongly suppresses TGF-β1-induced invasion in MDCK and A549 cells. -- Abstract: The epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a pivotal event in the invasive and metastatic potentials of cancer progression. Celastrol inhibits the proliferation of a variety of tumor cells including leukemia, glioma, prostate, and breast cancer; however, the possible role of celastrol in the EMT is unclear. We investigated the effect of celastrol on the EMT. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) induced EMT-like morphologic changes and upregulation of Snail expression. The downregulation of E-cadherin expression and upregulation of Snail in Madin–Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) and A549 cell lines show that TGF-β1-mediated the EMT in epithelial cells; however, celastrol markedly inhibited TGF-β1-induced morphologic changes, Snail upregulation, and E-cadherin expression. Migration and invasion assays revealed that celastrol completely inhibited TGF-β1-mediated cellular migration in both cell lines. These findings indicate that celastrol downregulates Snail expression, thereby inhibiting TGF-β1-induced EMT in MDCK and A549 cells. Thus, our findings provide new evidence that celastrol suppresses lung cancer invasion and migration by inhibiting TGF-β1-induced EMT.

  20. Inhibition of chrysin on xanthine oxidase activity and its inhibition mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Suyun; Zhang, Guowen; Liao, Yijing; Pan, Junhui

    2015-11-01

    Chrysin, a bioactive flavonoid, was investigated for its potential to inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase (XO), a key enzyme catalyzing xanthine to uric acid and finally causing gout. The kinetic analysis showed that chrysin possessed a strong inhibition on XO ability in a reversible competitive manner with IC50 value of (1.26±0.04)×10(-6)molL(-1). The results of fluorescence titrations indicated that chrysin bound to XO with high affinity, and the interaction was predominately driven by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces. Analysis of circular dichroism demonstrated that chrysin induced the conformational change of XO with increases in α-helix and β-sheet and reductions in β-turn and random coil structures. Molecular simulation revealed that chrysin interacted with the amino acid residues Leu648, Phe649, Glu802, Leu873, Ser876, Glu879, Arg880, Phe1009, Thr1010, Val1011 and Phe1013 located within the active cavity of XO. The mechanism of chrysin on XO activity may be the insertion of chrysin into the active site occupying the catalytic center of XO to avoid the entrance of xanthine and causing conformational changes in XO. Furthermore, the interaction assays indicated that chrysin and its structural analog apigenin exhibited an additive effect on inhibition of XO. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Biosynthesis of Antibiotic Leucinostatins in Bio-control Fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum and Their Inhibition on Phytophthora Revealed by Genome Mining.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gang Wang

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpureocillium lilacinum of Ophiocordycipitaceae is one of the most promising and commercialized agents for controlling plant parasitic nematodes, as well as other insects and plant pathogens. However, how the fungus functions at the molecular level remains unknown. Here, we sequenced two isolates (PLBJ-1 and PLFJ-1 of P. lilacinum from different places Beijing and Fujian. Genomic analysis showed high synteny of the two isolates, and the phylogenetic analysis indicated they were most related to the insect pathogen Tolypocladium inflatum. A comparison with other species revealed that this fungus was enriched in carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes, proteases and pathogenesis related genes. Whole genome search revealed a rich repertoire of secondary metabolites (SMs encoding genes. The non-ribosomal peptide synthetase LcsA, which is comprised of ten C-A-PCP modules, was identified as the core biosynthetic gene of lipopeptide leucinostatins, which was specific to P. lilacinum and T. ophioglossoides, as confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. Furthermore, gene expression level was analyzed when PLBJ-1 was grown in leucinostatin-inducing and non-inducing medium, and 20 genes involved in the biosynthesis of leucionostatins were identified. Disruption mutants allowed us to propose a putative biosynthetic pathway of leucinostatin A. Moreover, overexpression of the transcription factor lcsF increased the production (1.5-fold of leucinostatins A and B compared to wild type. Bioassays explored a new bioactivity of leucinostatins and P. lilacinum: inhibiting the growth of Phytophthora infestans and P. capsici. These results contribute to our understanding of the biosynthetic mechanism of leucinostatins and may allow us to utilize P. lilacinum better as bio-control agent.

  2. Competitive inhibition of [3H]dexamethasone binding to mammary glucocorticoid receptor by leupeptin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh, L.C.C.; Su, C.; Markland, F.S. Jr.

    1987-01-01

    The inhibitory effect of leupeptin on [ 3 H]dexamethasone binding to the glucocorticoid receptor from lactating goat mammary cytosol has been studied. Leupeptin (10 mM) caused a significant (about 35%) inhibition of [ 3 H]dexamethasone binding to glucocorticoid receptor. Binding inhibition is further increased following filtration of unlabeled cytosolic receptor through a Bio-Gel A 0.5-m column. Binding inhibition was partially reversed by monothioglycerol at 10 mM concentration. A double reciprocal plot revealed that leupeptin appears to be a competitive inhibitor of [ 3 H]dexamethasone binding to the glucocorticoid receptor. Low salt sucrose density gradient centrifugation revealed that the leupeptin-treated sample formed a slightly larger (approximately 9 S) receptor complex (leupeptin-free complex sediments at 8 S)

  3. Irreversibility and higher-spin conformal field theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anselmi, Damiano

    2000-08-01

    I discuss the properties of the central charges c and a for higher-derivative and higher-spin theories (spin 2 included). Ordinary gravity does not admit a straightforward identification of c and a in the trace anomaly, because it is not conformal. On the other hand, higher-derivative theories can be conformal, but have negative c and a. A third possibility is to consider higher-spin conformal field theories. They are not unitary, but have a variety of interesting properties. Bosonic conformal tensors have a positive-definite action, equal to the square of a field strength, and a higher-derivative gauge invariance. There exists a conserved spin-2 current (not the canonical stress tensor) defining positive central charges c and a. I calculate the values of c and a and study the operator-product structure. Higher-spin conformal spinors have no gauge invariance, admit a standard definition of c and a and can be coupled to Abelian and non-Abelian gauge fields in a renormalizable way. At the quantum level, they contribute to the one-loop beta function with the same sign as ordinary matter, admit a conformal window and non-trivial interacting fixed points. There are composite operators of high spin and low dimension, which violate the Ferrara-Gatto-Grillo theorem. Finally, other theories, such as conformal antisymmetric tensors, exhibit more severe internal problems. This research is motivated by the idea that fundamental quantum field theories should be renormalization-group (RG) interpolations between ultraviolet and infrared conformal fixed points, and quantum irreversibility should be a general principle of nature.

  4. Careful treatment planning enables safe ablation of liver tumors adjacent to major blood vessels by percutaneous irreversible electroporation (IRE).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kos, Bor; Voigt, Peter; Miklavcic, Damijan; Moche, Michael

    2015-09-01

    Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a tissue ablation method, which relies on the phenomenon of electroporation. When cells are exposed to a sufficiently electric field, the plasma membrane is disrupted and cells undergo an apoptotic or necrotic cell death. Although heating effects are known IRE is considered as non-thermal ablation technique and is currently applied to treat tumors in locations where thermal ablation techniques are contraindicated. The manufacturer of the only commercially available pulse generator for IRE recommends a voltage-to-distance ratio of 1500 to 1700 V/cm for treating tumors in the liver. However, major blood vessels can influence the electric field distribution. We present a method for treatment planning of IRE which takes the influence of blood vessels on the electric field into account; this is illustrated on a treatment of 48-year-old patient with a metastasis near the remaining hepatic vein after a right side hemi-hepatectomy. Output of the numerical treatment planning method shows that a 19.9 cm3 irreversible electroporation lesion was generated and the whole tumor was covered with at least 900 V/cm. This compares well with the volume of the hypodense lesion seen in contrast enhanced CT images taken after the IRE treatment. A significant temperature raise occurs near the electrodes. However, the hepatic vein remains open after the treatment without evidence of tumor recurrence after 6 months. Treatment planning using accurate computer models was recognized as important for electrochemotherapy and irreversible electroporation. An important finding of this study was, that the surface of the electrodes heat up significantly. Therefore the clinical user should generally avoid placing the electrodes less than 4 mm away from risk structures when following recommendations of the manufacturer.

  5. Two-year results of vital pulp therapy in permanent molars with irreversible pulpitis: an ongoing multicenter randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asgary, Saeed; Eghbal, Mohammad Jafar; Ghoddusi, Jamileh

    2014-01-01

    Oral healthcare expenses are increasing rapidly as a result of the growth of high-cost health technologies worldwide. In many developing/developed countries, low-cost tooth extraction is the alternative treatment option for a high-cost root canal therapy (RCT) for management of human molars with irreversible pulpitis. Vital pulp therapy with calcium-enriched mixture cement (VPT/CEM) as a new alternative treatment option has demonstrated excellent treatment outcomes up to 1 year; if 2-year radiographic/clinical effectiveness as well as cost-effectiveness of the VPT/CEM is also non-inferior compared with RCT, it can serve as a viable treatment for mature molars with irreversible pulpitis. In this prospective, multicenter (n = 23), non-inferiority clinical trial, 407 patients were randomized to either one-visit RCT (n = 202) or VPT/CEM (n = 205) for 27 months. In this part of study, the primary outcome measure was the 2-year clinical and radiographic treatment outcomes. Cost-effectiveness was also analyzed. Mean follow-up times were 24.62 ± 0.72 and 24.61 ± 0.69 months in RCT (n = 166) and VPT/CEM (n = 166) arms, respectively. Clinical success rates in the two study arms were equal (98.19%); however, radiographic success rates were 79.5 and 86.7% in RCT and VPT/CEM arms, respectively, with no statistical difference (P = 0.053). The treatment time span mean was approximately three times greater in the RCT than in the VPT/CEM arm (94.07 vs. 31.09 min; P pulpitis. Vital pulp therapy with CEM is a cost-effective and reliable biological technique for endodontic treatment of permanent molar teeth with irreversible pulpitis and can be recommended for general clinical practice.

  6. Corrosion inhibition of mild steel in acidic media using newly synthesized heterocyclic organic molecules: Correlation between inhibition efficiency and chemical structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ouici, H. B., E-mail: ouici.houari@yahoo.fr; Guendouzi, A., E-mail: guendouzzi@yahoo.fr [Departement of Chimistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Saïda (Algeria); Benali, O. [Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Saida (Algeria)

    2015-03-30

    The corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 5% HCl solutions by some new synthesized organic compounds namely 3-(2-methoxyphenyl) 5-mercapto-1. 2. 4-triazole (2-MMT), 3-(3-methoxyphenyl) 5-mercapto-1. 2. 4-triazole (3-MMT) and 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl) 5-mercapto-1. 2. 4-triazole (2-HMT) was investigated using weight loss and potentiostatic polarization techniques. These measurements reveal that the inhibition efficiency obtained by these compounds increased by increasing their concentration. The inhibition efficiency follows the order 2-MMT >3-MMT >2-HMT. Polarization studies show that these compounds are of the mixed type but dominantly act as a cathodic inhibitors for mild steel in 5% HCl solutions. These inhibitors function through adsorption following Langmuir isotherm. Activation energy and Gibbs free energy for adsorption of inhibitors are calculated. Molecular modeling has been conducted to correlate the corrosion inhibition properties with the calculated quantum chemical parameters.

  7. Comparative evaluation of platelet-rich fibrin, mineral trioxide aggregate, and calcium hydroxide as pulpotomy agents in permanent molars with irreversible pulpitis: A randomized controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Varun; Juneja, Ruchi; Duhan, Jigyasa; Sangwan, Pankaj; Tewari, Sanjay

    2016-01-01

    Background: Pulpotomy has been proposed as an alternative for the management of irreversible pulpitis in permanent molars with closed apices. Aim: To compare the performances of calcium hydroxide (CH), mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) as pulpotomy agents in mature permanent molars with irreversible pulpitis. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four permanent mandibular molars with carious exposure and symptoms of irreversible pulpitis were randomly allocated to three groups, and full pulpotomy was performed using CH, MTA, or PRF as pulpotomy agents. Pain intensity was recorded using numeric rating scale score at baseline, 24 h, 7 days, 6 months, and 1 year. Clinical and radiographic assessments were done at 6 months and 1 year. Statistical Analysis: Kruskal–Wallis test and Friedman test were used for intergroup and intragroup comparison of pain scores, respectively. The radiographic outcomes between the three study arms were compared using Chi-square test. Results: Clinical success rate was 94.4% at 7 days, which dropped to 85.4% at 12 months. All three agents were equally effective in providing pain relief at all the intervals tested, with no significant difference between them (P > 0.05 at all intervals). However, at 6 months and 12 months, 26.2% and 52.4% teeth depicted slight widening of periodontal ligament space. No significant difference was observed between the radiographic success rates observed with the three groups (P = 0.135 at 6 months, 0.717 at 12 months). Conclusion: Pulpotomy exhibited a high clinical success rate in mature molars with irreversible pulpitis and selection of biomaterial did not affect its outcome. PMID:27994420

  8. Physiological markers of motor inhibition during human behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duque, Julie; Greenhouse, Ian; Labruna, Ludovica; Ivry, Richard B.

    2017-01-01

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies in humans have shown that many behaviors engage processes that suppress excitability within the corticospinal tract. Inhibition of the motor output pathway has been extensively studied in the context of action stopping, where a planned movement needs to be abruptly aborted. Recent TMS work has also revealed markers of motor inhibition during the preparation of movement. Here, we review the evidence for motor inhibition during action stopping and action preparation, focusing on studies that have used TMS to monitor changes in the excitability of the corticospinal pathway. We discuss how these physiological results have motivated theoretical models of how the brain selects actions, regulates movement initiation and execution, and switches from one state to another. PMID:28341235

  9. Advanced Glycation End Products Inhibit the Proliferation of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells by Inhibiting Cathepsin D

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Li

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available We aimed to investigate the effect of advanced glycation end products (AGEs on the proliferation and migration ability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs. Cell proliferation was detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT assay, real-time cell analyzer and 5-Ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU staining. Cell migration was detected by wound-healing and transwell assay. AGEs significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of HUVECs in a time-and dose-dependent way. Western blotting revealed that AGEs dramatically increased the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3 II/I and p62. Immunofluorescence of p62 and acridine orange staining revealed that AGEs significantly increased the expression of p62 and the accumulation of autophagic vacuoles, respectively. Chloroquine (CQ could further promote the expression of LC3 II/I and p62, increase the accumulation of autophagic vacuoles and promote cell injury induced by AGEs. In addition, AGEs reduced cathepsin D (CTSD expression in a time-dependent way. Overexpression of wild-type CTSD significantly decreased the ratio of LC 3 II/I as well as p62 accumulation induced by AGEs, but overexpression of catalytically inactive mutant CTSD had no such effects. Only overexpression of wild-type CTSD could restore the proliferation of HUVECs inhibited by AGEs. However, overexpression of both wild-type CTSD and catalytically inactive mutant CTSD could promote the migration of HUVECs inhibited by AGEs. Collectively, our study found that AGEs inhibited the proliferation and migration in HUVECs and promoted autophagic flux, which in turn played a protective role against AGEs-induced cell injury. CTSD, in need of its catalytic activity, may promote proliferation in AGEs-treated HUVECs independent of the autophagy-lysosome pathway. Meanwhile, CTSD could improve the migration of AGEs-treated HUVECs regardless of its enzymatic activity.

  10. Advanced Glycation End Products Inhibit the Proliferation of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells by Inhibiting Cathepsin D.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuan; Chang, Ye; Ye, Ning; Dai, Dongxue; Chen, Yintao; Zhang, Naijin; Sun, Guozhe; Sun, Yingxian

    2017-02-17

    We aimed to investigate the effect of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on the proliferation and migration ability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Cell proliferation was detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, real-time cell analyzer and 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining. Cell migration was detected by wound-healing and transwell assay. AGEs significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of HUVECs in a time-and dose-dependent way. Western blotting revealed that AGEs dramatically increased the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) II/I and p62. Immunofluorescence of p62 and acridine orange staining revealed that AGEs significantly increased the expression of p62 and the accumulation of autophagic vacuoles, respectively. Chloroquine (CQ) could further promote the expression of LC3 II/I and p62, increase the accumulation of autophagic vacuoles and promote cell injury induced by AGEs. In addition, AGEs reduced cathepsin D (CTSD) expression in a time-dependent way. Overexpression of wild-type CTSD significantly decreased the ratio of LC 3 II/I as well as p62 accumulation induced by AGEs, but overexpression of catalytically inactive mutant CTSD had no such effects. Only overexpression of wild-type CTSD could restore the proliferation of HUVECs inhibited by AGEs. However, overexpression of both wild-type CTSD and catalytically inactive mutant CTSD could promote the migration of HUVECs inhibited by AGEs. Collectively, our study found that AGEs inhibited the proliferation and migration in HUVECs and promoted autophagic flux, which in turn played a protective role against AGEs-induced cell injury. CTSD, in need of its catalytic activity, may promote proliferation in AGEs-treated HUVECs independent of the autophagy-lysosome pathway. Meanwhile, CTSD could improve the migration of AGEs-treated HUVECs regardless of its enzymatic activity.

  11. Evaluation of alpha- amylase inhibition by Urtica dioica and Juglans regia extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahimzadeh, Mahsa; Jahanshahi, Samaneh; Moein, Soheila; Moein, Mahmood Reza

    2014-06-01

    One strategy for the treatment of diabetes is inhibition of pancreatic α- amylase. Plants contains different chemical constituents with potential for inhibition of α-amylase and hence maybe used as therapeutic. Urtica dioica and Juglans regia Linn were tested for α-amylase inhibition. Different concentrations of leaf aqueous extracts were incubated with enzyme substrate solution and the activity of enzyme was measured. For determination of the type of inhibition, Dixon plot was depicted. Acarbose was used as the standard inhibitor. Both plant extracts showed time and concentration dependent inhibition of α-amylase. 60% inhibition was seen with 2 mg/ml of U. dioica and 0.4 mg/ml of J. regia aqueous extract. Dixon plots revealed the type of α-amylase inhibition by these two extracts as competitive inhibition. Determination of the type of α-amylase inhibition by these plant extracts could provide by successful use of plant chemicals as drug targets.

  12. Evaluation of alpha- amylase inhibition by Urtica dioica and Juglans regia extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahsa Rahimzadeh

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective(s:One strategy for the treatment of diabetes is inhibition of pancreatic α- amylase. Plants contains different chemical constituents with potential for inhibition of α-amylase and hence maybe used as therapeutic. Materials and Methods: Urtica dioica and Juglans regia Linn were tested for α-amylase inhibition. Different concentrations of leaf aqueous extracts were incubated with enzyme substrate solution and the activity of enzyme was measured. For determination of the type of inhibition, Dixon plot was depicted. Acarbose was used as the standard inhibitor. Results: Both plant extracts showed time and concentration dependent inhibition of α-amylase. 60% inhibition was seen with 2 mg/ml of U. dioica and0.4 mg/ml of J. regia aqueous extract. Dixon plots revealed the type of α-amylase inhibition by these two extracts as competitive inhibition. Conclusion: Determination of the type of α-amylase inhibition by these plant extracts could provide by successful use of plant chemicals as drug targets.

  13. Photoaffinity labeling of steroid 5 alpha-reductase of rat liver and prostate microsomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, T.; Cheung, A.H.; Reynolds, G.F.; Rasmusson, G.H.

    1985-01-01

    21-Diazo-4-methyl-4-aza-5 alpha-pregnane-3,20-dione (Diazo-MAPD) inhibits steroid 5 alpha-reductase in liver microsomes of female rats with a K/sub i/ value of 8.7 +/- 1.7 nM, and the inhibition is competitive with testosterone. It also inhibits the binding of a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, [ 3 H] 17 beta-N,N-diethylcarbamoyl-4-methyl-4-aza-5 alpha-androstan-3-one ([ 3 H]4-MA), to the enzyme in liver microsomes. The inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase activity and of inhibitor binding activity by diazo-MAPD becomes irreversible upon UV irradiation. [1,2- 3 H]Diazo-MAPD binds to a single high affinity site in liver microsomes of female rats, and this binding requires NADPH. Without UV irradiation, this binding is reversible, and it becomes irreversible upon UV irradiation. Both the initial reversible binding and the subsequent irreversible conjugation after UV irradiation are inhibited by inhibitors (diazo-MAPD and 4-MA) and substrates (progesterone and testosterone) of 5 alpha-reductase, but they are not inhibited by 5 alpha-reduced steroids. Photoaffinity labeled liver microsomes of female rats were solubilized and fractionated by high performance gel filtration. The radioactive conjugate eluted in one major peak at Mr 50,000

  14. A hydroxylated flavonol, fisetin inhibits the formation of a carcinogenic estrogen metabolite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xin; Sun, Hui; Yang, Lianrong; Yin, Rui; Qi, Lehui

    2017-03-01

    Fisetin can be found in a wide variety of plants and possesses strong efficacy against many cancers. 17β-Estradiol (E2) is hydrolyzed to 4-hydroxy-E2 (4-OHE2) via cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1B1 in vivo. In estrogen target tissues including the mammary gland, ovaries, and uterus, CYP1B1 is highly expressed, and 4-OHE2 is predominantly formed in cancerous tissues. Herein, we investigated the inhibitory activity of fisetin and flavone against CYP1B1 using estrogen E2 as substrate in vitro to reveal structure-activity relationship between structure of flavonoids and inhibition. The results showed that fisetin possessed inhibitory effect on CYP1B1 activity. Compared with flavone, the inhibition of fisetin was stronger. The V max and K i values were 1.950±0.157pmol/μgprotein/min and 4.925±0.689nM for fisetin and 2.277±0.231pmol/μgprotein/min and 9.148±2.150nM for flavone, respectively. By kinetic analyses, both fisetin and flavone displayed mixed inhibition. Taken together the data suggested that fisetin is able to inhibit the formation of carcinogenic 4-OHE2 from E2, which reveals one of its anti-cancer mechanisms and helps to reveal the relationship between the structure of flavonoids and the inhibition CYP1B1 for discovering new drugs in cancer therapy and prevention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. First and Second-Law Efficiency Analysis and ANN Prediction of a Diesel Cycle with Internal Irreversibility, Variable Specific Heats, Heat Loss, and Friction Considerations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. M. Rashidi

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The variability of specific heats, internal irreversibility, heat and frictional losses are neglected in air-standard analysis for different internal combustion engine cycles. In this paper, the performance of an air-standard Diesel cycle with considerations of internal irreversibility described by using the compression and expansion efficiencies, variable specific heats, and losses due to heat transfer and friction is investigated by using finite-time thermodynamics. Artificial neural network (ANN is proposed for predicting the thermal efficiency and power output values versus the minimum and the maximum temperatures of the cycle and also the compression ratio. Results show that the first-law efficiency and the output power reach their maximum at a critical compression ratio for specific fixed parameters. The first-law efficiency increases as the heat leakage decreases; however the heat leakage has no direct effect on the output power. The results also show that irreversibilities have depressing effects on the performance of the cycle. Finally, a comparison between the results of the thermodynamic analysis and the ANN prediction shows a maximum difference of 0.181% and 0.194% in estimating the thermal efficiency and the output power. The obtained results in this paper can be useful for evaluating and improving the performance of practical Diesel engines.

  16. Short- and Mid-term Effects of Irreversible Electroporation on Normal Renal Tissue: An Animal Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wendler, J. J., E-mail: johann.wendler@med.ovgu.de; Porsch, M.; Huehne, S.; Baumunk, D. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Urology (Germany); Buhtz, P. [Institute of Pathology, University of Magdeburg (Germany); Fischbach, F.; Pech, M. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Radiology (Germany); Mahnkopf, D. [Institute of Medical Technology and Research (Germany); Kropf, S. [Institute of Biometry, University of Magdeburg (Germany); Roessner, A. [Institute of Pathology, University of Magdeburg (Germany); Ricke, J. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Radiology (Germany); Schostak, M.; Liehr, U.-B. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Urology (Germany)

    2013-04-15

    Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel nonthermal tissue ablation technique by high current application leading to apoptosis without affecting extracellular matrix. Previous results of renal IRE shall be supplemented by functional MRI and differentiated histological analysis of renal parenchyma in a chronic treatment setting. Three swine were treated with two to three multifocal percutaneous IRE of the right kidney. MRI was performed before, 30 min (immediate-term), 7 days (short-term), and 28 days (mid-term) after IRE. A statistical analysis of the lesion surrounded renal parenchyma intensities was made to analyze functional differences depending on renal part, side and posttreatment time. Histological follow-up of cortex and medulla was performed after 28 days. A total of eight ablations were created. MRI showed no collateral damage of surrounded tissue. The highest visual contrast between lesions and normal parenchyma was obtained by T2-HR-SPIR-TSE-w sequence of DCE-MRI. Ablation zones showed inhomogeneous necroses with small perifocal edema in the short-term and sharp delimitable scars in the mid-term. MRI showed no significant differences between adjoined renal parenchyma around ablations and parenchyma of untreated kidney. Histological analysis demonstrated complete destruction of cortical glomeruli and tubules, while collecting ducts, renal calyxes, and pelvis of medulla were preserved. Adjoined kidney parenchyma around IRE lesions showed no qualitative differences to normal parenchyma of untreated kidney. This porcine IRE study reveals a multifocal renal ablation, while protecting surrounded renal parenchyma and collecting system over a mid-term period. That offers prevention of renal function ablating centrally located or multifocal renal masses.

  17. Short- and Mid-term Effects of Irreversible Electroporation on Normal Renal Tissue: An Animal Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wendler, J. J.; Porsch, M.; Hühne, S.; Baumunk, D.; Buhtz, P.; Fischbach, F.; Pech, M.; Mahnkopf, D.; Kropf, S.; Roessner, A.; Ricke, J.; Schostak, M.; Liehr, U.-B.

    2013-01-01

    Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel nonthermal tissue ablation technique by high current application leading to apoptosis without affecting extracellular matrix. Previous results of renal IRE shall be supplemented by functional MRI and differentiated histological analysis of renal parenchyma in a chronic treatment setting. Three swine were treated with two to three multifocal percutaneous IRE of the right kidney. MRI was performed before, 30 min (immediate-term), 7 days (short-term), and 28 days (mid-term) after IRE. A statistical analysis of the lesion surrounded renal parenchyma intensities was made to analyze functional differences depending on renal part, side and posttreatment time. Histological follow-up of cortex and medulla was performed after 28 days. A total of eight ablations were created. MRI showed no collateral damage of surrounded tissue. The highest visual contrast between lesions and normal parenchyma was obtained by T2-HR-SPIR-TSE-w sequence of DCE-MRI. Ablation zones showed inhomogeneous necroses with small perifocal edema in the short-term and sharp delimitable scars in the mid-term. MRI showed no significant differences between adjoined renal parenchyma around ablations and parenchyma of untreated kidney. Histological analysis demonstrated complete destruction of cortical glomeruli and tubules, while collecting ducts, renal calyxes, and pelvis of medulla were preserved. Adjoined kidney parenchyma around IRE lesions showed no qualitative differences to normal parenchyma of untreated kidney. This porcine IRE study reveals a multifocal renal ablation, while protecting surrounded renal parenchyma and collecting system over a mid-term period. That offers prevention of renal function ablating centrally located or multifocal renal masses.

  18. Curcumin inhibits activation of TRPM2 channels in rat hepatocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Kheradpezhouh

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Oxidative stress is a hallmark of many liver diseases including viral and drug-induced hepatitis, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. One of the consequences of oxidative stress in the liver is deregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis, resulting in a sustained elevation of the free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c in hepatocytes, which leads to irreversible cellular damage. Recently it has been shown that liver damage induced by paracetamol and subsequent oxidative stress is, in large part, mediated by Ca2+ entry through Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 2 (TRPM2 channels. Involvement of TRPM2 channels in hepatocellular damage induced by oxidative stress makes TRPM2 a potential therapeutic target for treatment of a range of oxidative stress-related liver diseases. We report here the identification of curcumin ((1E,6E-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione, a natural plant-derived polyphenol in turmeric spice, as a novel inhibitor of TRPM2 channel. Presence of 5 µM curcumin in the incubation medium prevented the H2O2- and paracetamol-induced [Ca2+]c rise in rat hepatocytes. Furthermore, in patch clamping experiments incubation of hepatocytes with curcumin inhibited activation of TRPM2 current by intracellular ADPR with IC50 of approximately 50 nM. These findings enhance understanding of the actions of curcumin and suggest that the known hepatoprotective properties of curcumin are, at least in part, mediated through inhibition of TRPM2 channels.

  19. Pharmacological Inhibition of the Protein Kinase MRK/ZAK Radiosensitizes Medulloblastoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markowitz, Daniel; Powell, Caitlin; Tran, Nhan L; Berens, Michael E; Ryken, Timothy C; Vanan, Magimairajan; Rosen, Lisa; He, Mingzu; Sun, Shan; Symons, Marc; Al-Abed, Yousef; Ruggieri, Rosamaria

    2016-08-01

    Medulloblastoma is a cerebellar tumor and the most common pediatric brain malignancy. Radiotherapy is part of the standard care for this tumor, but its effectiveness is accompanied by significant neurocognitive sequelae due to the deleterious effects of radiation on the developing brain. We have previously shown that the protein kinase MRK/ZAK protects tumor cells from radiation-induced cell death by regulating cell-cycle arrest after ionizing radiation. Here, we show that siRNA-mediated MRK depletion sensitizes medulloblastoma primary cells to radiation. We have, therefore, designed and tested a specific small molecule inhibitor of MRK, M443, which binds to MRK in an irreversible fashion and inhibits its activity. We found that M443 strongly radiosensitizes UW228 medulloblastoma cells as well as UI226 patient-derived primary cells, whereas it does not affect the response to radiation of normal brain cells. M443 also inhibits radiation-induced activation of both p38 and Chk2, two proteins that act downstream of MRK and are involved in DNA damage-induced cell-cycle arrest. Importantly, in an animal model of medulloblastoma that employs orthotopic implantation of primary patient-derived UI226 cells in nude mice, M443 in combination with radiation achieved a synergistic increase in survival. We hypothesize that combining radiotherapy with M443 will allow us to lower the radiation dose while maintaining therapeutic efficacy, thereby minimizing radiation-induced side effects. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(8); 1799-808. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

  20. Anaesthetic efficacy of 4% articaine mandibular buccal infiltration compared to 2% lignocaine inferior alveolar nerve block in children with irreversible pulpitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arali, Veena; P, Mytri

    2015-04-01

    Lidocaine is the gold standard anaesthetic solution that has been used since its inception into dentistry till date. Around 80% of failures have been reported when lignocaine has been used for inferior alveolar nerve block in children and adults with irreversible pulpitis. There is a need to use newer drugs which are available which have been reported to be effective like lignocaine, such as articaine. Although articaine has been used in adults, literature supporting its use in children is sparse. The purpose of this study is to compare the anaesthetic efficacy of 4% articaine buccal infiltration and 2% lignocaine inferior alveolar nerve block in children with irreversible pulpitis. It also aims to assess the need for supplemental intrapulpal injections. This study was designed as a randomized double-blind cross over trial comparing the anaesthetic effectiveness of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine in buccal infiltration and 2% lignocaine IAN block anaesthesia. The study subject and the pediatric dentist performing the pulpectomy procedures were blinded to the study. A sample size of 40 subjects in the age group of 5-8 y was included in the study. The onset of anaesthesia with 4% articaine was faster as compared to 2% lignocaine. The duration of anaesthesia with articaine infiltration was shorter. The need for supplemental injection in the articaine group was less. Four percent articaine infiltration can be used in children with irreversible pulpitis. It can be used to replace the IAN block in children thereby reducing the post anaesthetic complications like lip biting.

  1. Reversible and irreversible impacts of greenhouse gas emissions in multi-century projections with the NCAR global coupled carbon cycle-climate model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Froelicher, Thomas L.; Joos, Fortunat [University of Bern, Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, Bern (Switzerland); University of Bern, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Bern (Switzerland)

    2010-12-15

    The legacy of historical and the long-term impacts of 21st century greenhouse gas emissions on climate, ocean acidification, and carbon-climate feedbacks are investigated with a coupled carbon cycle-climate model. Emission commitment scenarios with zero emissions after year 2100 and 21st century emissions of 1,800, 900, and 0 gigatons of carbon are run up to year 2500. The reversibility and irreversibility of impacts is quantified by comparing anthropogenically-forced regional changes with internal, unforced climate variability. We show that the influence of historical emissions and of non-CO{sub 2} agents is largely reversible on the regional scale. Forced changes in surface temperature and precipitation become smaller than internal variability for most land and ocean grid cells in the absence of future carbon emissions. In contrast, continued carbon emissions over the 21st century cause irreversible climate change on centennial to millennial timescales in most regions and impacts related to ocean acidification and sea level rise continue to aggravate for centuries even if emissions are stopped in year 2100. Undersaturation of the Arctic surface ocean with respect to aragonite, a mineral form of calcium carbonate secreted by marine organisms, is imminent and remains widespread. The volume of supersaturated water providing habitat to calcifying organisms is reduced from preindustrial 40 to 25% in 2100 and to 10% in 2300 for the high emission case. We conclude that emission trading schemes, related to the Kyoto Process, should not permit trading between emissions of relatively short-lived agents and CO{sub 2} given the irreversible impacts of anthropogenic carbon emissions. (orig.)

  2. One-year results of vital pulp therapy in permanent molars with irreversible pulpitis: an ongoing multicenter, randomized, non-inferiority clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asgary, Saeed; Eghbal, Mohammad Jafar; Ghoddusi, Jamileh; Yazdani, Shahram

    2013-03-01

    Root canal therapy (RCT) and tooth extraction have been conventional treatment options for management of human mature teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Excellent short-term treatment outcomes of vital pulp therapy with calcium-enriched mixture cement (VPT/CEM), as a new treatment option, on postoperative pain relief was demonstrated; if intermediate- and long-term treatment outcomes of the new treatment are also non-inferior compared to RCT, then VPT/CEM may become a viable treatment option for management of mature teeth with irreversible pulpitis. In 23 healthcare centers, 407 9- to 65-year-old patients were randomly allocated into two study arms including one-visit RCT (reference treatment; n = 202) and VPT/CEM (alternative treatment; n = 205). Six- and twelve-month clinical and radiographic successes were assessed. Mean follow-up times at 6- and 12-month follow-ups were "6.70 ± 0.68 and 6.72 ± 0.71 months" and "12.96 ± 0.67 and 12.90 ± 0.66 months" in the available cases of RCT and VPT/CEM arms, respectively. Favorable clinical success rates in the two study arms did not show statistical difference; however, the radiographic success rate in the VPT/CEM was significantly greater than RCT arm at the two follow-ups (P pulpitis. The performance of biomaterials such CEM cement may assist in the shift towards more biologic treatments. VPT/CEM may be a realistic alternative treatment for human mature molar teeth with symptoms of irreversible pulpitis; the use of VPT/CEM is highly beneficial for patients as well as general dentists.

  3. Irreversible electroporation of locally advanced solid pseudopapillary carcinoma of the pancreas: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciano Tarantino

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Solid pseudopapillary Carcinoma (SPC is a rare pancreatic Tumor with variable, usually low, malignancy potential. Howewer, several SPC are associated with aggressive behavior, local vascular infiltration, organ invasion, distant metastasis, and can be unresectable. Irreversible Electroporation (IRE is an emerging non-thermal ablation technique for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma. We report the results of four year disease-free follow-up in a case of locally advanced unresectable SPC treated with IRE. Presentation of case: A 24-year female patient with SPC of the pancreas underwent IRE during laparotomy under general anesthesia with intubation. Computed Tomography (CT showed complete tumor thrombosis of splenic vein, encasement of celiac artery and mesenteric vein. Six insertions of 3–4 electrodes per insertion were performed. One month-CT-control showed shrinkage of the tumor. 6 months-post-treatment imaging showed complete regression of the mass, patent Splenic/mesenteric veins, absence of local recurrence or distant metastasis. Post treatment CTs at 12-18-24-30-36-42-48 months follow-up confirmed absence of local or distant recurrence. Discussion: Surgery is the first choice curative treatment of SPC. Howewer aggressive surgery (duodeno-pancreasectomy in unresectable cases, may have a high risk of recurrences, morbidities and death, and bring concerns about endocrine and exocrine insufficiency in a young patient. In these cases, IRE could be a safe and effective alternative treatment and could realize, in selected cases, the condition for a radical surgery, and a bridge to R-0 resection. Conclusions: IRE could represent an effective alternative therapy to surgery in local advanced, unresectable SPC. Keywords: Pancreatic neoplasm, Solid papillary carcinoma, Intraoperative ultrasound, Irreversible electroporation, Case report

  4. Efficacy of preoperative ibuprofen on the success of inferior alveolar nerve block in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis: a randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noguera-Gonzalez, D; Cerda-Cristerna, B I; Chavarria-Bolaños, D; Flores-Reyes, H; Pozos-Guillen, A

    2013-11-01

    To evaluate the effect of preoperative oral ibuprofen (IBU) on the success of inferior alveolar nerve blocks (IANBs) with mepivacaine containing 1 : 100 000 epinephrine for patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (SIP). The present study was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The study included two study groups each consisting of 25 patients who exhibited symptomatic irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular posterior tooth. The patients presented prolonged moderate or severe pain (>10 s) after cold testing and indicated their pain scores on a Heft-Parker visual analogue scale. The patients received identically appearing capsules containing either 600 mg IBU (IBUg) or gelatin (placebo, PLAg) 1 h before administration of IANB with 2% mepivacaine containing 1 : 100 000 epinephrine. After 15 min, the anaesthetic blockade was assessed by a three-step examination (lip numbness, positive/negative response to cold testing and clinical discomfort during endodontic access). IANB success was defined as the absence of pain during any of these evaluations. The data were analysed using the chi-squared test. All of the patients reported moderate or severe pain before the preoperative procedure. Statistically significant differences were observed between the IBUg and PLAg (P < 0.05); the success rates for the IANB were 72% (IBUg) and 36% (PLAg). Preoperative oral administration of IBU significantly improved the efficacy of IANB in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. © 2013 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Selective inhibition of plant serine hydrolases by agrochemicals revealed by competitive ABPP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaschani, Farnusch; Nickel, Sabrina; Pandey, Bikram; Cravatt, Benjamin F; Kaiser, Markus; van der Hoorn, Renier A L

    2012-01-15

    Organophosphate and -phosphonates and their thio derivatives are often used in agroindustry as herbicides and insecticides, but their potential off-targets in the plant are poorly investigated. Here, we use competitive activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) of serine hydrolases (SHs) to detect targets of these agrochemicals and other compounds in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using broad-range and specific probes, and by overexpression of various SHs in planta, we are able to confirm eight SH-compound interactions, including selective inhibition of carboxylesterase CXE12, prolyloligopeptidase, methylesterase MES2 and tripeptidyl peptidase TPP2. These observations can be used for the design of novel probes and selective inhibitors and may help to assess physiological effects of agrochemicals on crop plants. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Mutations in fam20b and xylt1 reveal that cartilage matrix controls timing of endochondral ossification by inhibiting chondrocyte maturation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B Frank Eames

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Differentiating cells interact with their extracellular environment over time. Chondrocytes embed themselves in a proteoglycan (PG-rich matrix, then undergo a developmental transition, termed "maturation," when they express ihh to induce bone in the overlying tissue, the perichondrium. Here, we ask whether PGs regulate interactions between chondrocytes and perichondrium, using zebrafish mutants to reveal that cartilage PGs inhibit chondrocyte maturation, which ultimately dictates the timing of perichondral bone development. In a mutagenesis screen, we isolated a class of mutants with decreased cartilage matrix and increased perichondral bone. Positional cloning identified lesions in two genes, fam20b and xylosyltransferase1 (xylt1, both of which encode PG synthesis enzymes. Mutants failed to produce wild-type levels of chondroitin sulfate PGs, which are normally abundant in cartilage matrix, and initiated perichondral bone formation earlier than their wild-type siblings. Primary chondrocyte defects might induce the bone phenotype secondarily, because mutant chondrocytes precociously initiated maturation, showing increased and early expression of such markers as runx2b, collagen type 10a1, and ihh co-orthologs, and ihha mutation suppressed early perichondral bone in PG mutants. Ultrastructural analyses demonstrated aberrant matrix organization and also early cellular features of chondrocyte hypertrophy in mutants. Refining previous in vitro reports, which demonstrated that fam20b and xylt1 were involved in PG synthesis, our in vivo analyses reveal that these genes function in cartilage matrix production and ultimately regulate the timing of skeletal development.

  7. The Role of Subtropical Irreversible PV Mixing in the Zonal Mean Circulation Response to Global Warming-like Thermal Forcing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Jian [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Sun, Lantao [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Wu, Yutian [New York Univ. (NYU), NY (United States); Chen, Gang [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)

    2013-11-21

    The atmospheric circulation response to the global warming-like tropical upper tropospheric heating is revisited using a dry atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) in light of a new diagnostics based on the concept of finite-amplitude wave activity (FAWA) on equivalent latitude. For a given tropical heating profile, the linear Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) wave refraction analysis sometimes gives a very different and even opposite prediction of the eddy momentum flux response to that of the actual full model simulation, exposing the limitation of the traditional linear approach in understanding the full dynamics of the atmospheric response under global warming. The implementation of the FAWA diagnostics reveals that in response to the upper tropospheric heating, effective diffusivity, a measure of the mixing efficiency, increases and advances upward and poleward in the subtropics and the resultant enhancement and the poleward encroachment of eddy potential vorticity mixing leads to a poleward displaced potential vorticity (PV) gradient peak in the upper troposphere. The anomalous eddy PV flux, in balance with the PV dissipation, gives rise to a poleward shift in the eddy-driven jet and eddy-driven mean meridional circulation. Sensitivity experiments show that these irreversible dissipation processes in the upper troposphere are robust, regardless of the width of the tropical heating.

  8. Chemical modeling of irreversible reactions in nuclear waste-water-rock systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolery, T.J.

    1981-02-01

    Chemical models of aqueous geochemical systems are usually built on the concept of thermodynamic equilibrium. Though many elementary reactions in a geochemical system may be close to equilibrium, others may not be. Chemical models of aqueous fluids should take into account that many aqueous redox reactions are among the latter. The behavior of redox reactions may critically affect migration of certain radionuclides, especially the actinides. In addition, the progress of reaction in geochemical systems requires thermodynamic driving forces associated with elementary reactions not at equilibrium, which are termed irreversible reactions. Both static chemical models of fluids and dynamic models of reacting systems have been applied to a wide spectrum of problems in water-rock interactions. Potential applications in nuclear waste disposal range from problems in geochemical aspects of site evaluation to those of waste-water-rock interactions. However, much further work in the laboratory and the field will be required to develop and verify such applications of chemical modeling

  9. Acute toxicity of organophosphorus compounds in guinea pigs is sex- and age-dependent and cannot be solely accounted for by acetylcholinesterase inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fawcett, William P; Aracava, Yasco; Adler, Michael; Pereira, Edna F R; Albuquerque, Edson X

    2009-02-01

    This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the acute toxicity of the nerve agents S-[2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl]-O-ethyl methylphosphonothioate (VX), O-pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate (soman), and O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (sarin) in guinea pigs is age- and sex-dependent and cannot be fully accounted for by the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The subcutaneous doses of nerve agents needed to decrease 24-h survival of guinea pigs by 50% (LD(50) values) were estimated by probit analysis. In all animal groups, the rank order of LD(50) values was sarin > soman > VX. The LD(50) value of soman was not influenced by sex or age of the animals. In contrast, the LD(50) values of VX and sarin were lower in adult male than in age-matched female or younger guinea pigs. A colorimetric assay was used to determine the concentrations of nerve agents that inhibit in vitro 50% of AChE activity (IC(50) values) in guinea pig brain extracts, plasma, red blood cells, and whole blood. A positive correlation between LD(50) values and IC(50) values for AChE inhibition would support the hypothesis that AChE inhibition is a major determinant of the acute toxicity of the nerve agents. However, such a positive correlation was found only between LD(50) values and IC(50) values for AChE inhibition in brain extracts from neonatal and prepubertal guinea pigs. These results demonstrate for the first time that the lethal potencies of some nerve agents in guinea pigs are age- and sex-dependent. They also support the contention that mechanisms other than AChE inhibition contribute to the lethality of nerve agents.

  10. Inhibition of serine palmitoyltransferase in vitro and long-chain base biosynthesis in intact Chinese hamster ovary cells by β-chloroalanine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medlock, K.A.; Merrill, A.H. Jr.

    1988-01-01

    The effects of β-chloroalanine (β-Cl-alanine) on the serine palmitoyltransferase activity and the de novo biosynthesis of sphinganine and sphingenine were investigated in vitro with rat liver microsomes and in vivo with intact Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The inhibition in vitro was rapid, irreversible, and concentration and time dependent and apparently involved the active site because inactivation only occurred with β-Cl-L-alanine and was blocked by L-serine. These are characteristics of mechanism-based (suicide) inhibition. Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) was also inhibited when intact CHO cells were incubated with β-Cl-alanine and this treatment inhibited [ 14 C]serine incorporation into long-chain bases by intact cells. The concentration dependence of the loss of SPT activity and of long-chain base synthesis was identical. The effects of β-Cl-alanine appeared to occur with little perturbation of other cell functions: the cells exhibited no loss in cell viability, [ 14 C]serine uptake was not blocked, total lipid biosynthesis from [ 14 C]acetic acid was not decreased (nor was the appearance of radiolabel in cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine), and [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation into DNA was not affected. There appeared to be little effect on protein synthesis based on the incorporation of [ 3 H]leucine, which was only decreased by 14%. Although β-Cl-L-alanine is known to inhibit other pyridoxal 5'-phosphate dependent enzymes, alanine and aspartate transaminases were not inhibited under these conditions. These results establish the close association between the activity of serine palmitoyltransferase and the cellular rate of long-chain base formation and indicate that β-Cl-alanine and other mechanism-based inhibitors might be useful to study alterations in cellular long-chain base synthesis

  11. A prospective randomized trial of different supplementary local anesthetic techniques after failure of inferior alveolar nerve block in patients with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular teeth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanaa, Mohammad D; Whitworth, John M; Meechan, John Gerard

    2012-04-01

    The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of supplementary repeat inferior alveolar nerve block with 2% lidocaine and epinephrine, buccal infiltration with 4% articaine with epinephrine, intraligamentary injection, or intraosseous injection (both with 2% lidocaine with epinephrine) after failed inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) for securing pain-free treatment in patients experiencing irreversible pulpitis in mandibular permanent teeth. This randomized clinical trial included 182 patients diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular teeth. Patients received 2.0 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine as an IANB injection. Patients who did not experience pain-free treatment received randomly 1 of 4 supplementary techniques, namely repeat lidocaine IANB (rIANB), articaine buccal infiltration (ABI), lidocaine intraligamentary injection (PDL), or lidocaine intraosseous injection (IO). Successful pulp anesthesia was considered to have occurred when no response was obtained to the maximum stimulation (80 reading) of the pulp tester, at which time treatment commenced. Treatment was regarded as being successfully completed when it was associated with no pain. Data were analyzed by χ(2) and Fisher exact tests. Of the 182 patients, 122 achieved successful pulpal anesthesia within 10 minutes after initial IANB injection; 82 experienced pain-free treatment. ABI and IO allowed more successful (pain-free) treatment (84% and 68%, respectively) than rIANB or PDL supplementary techniques (32% and 48%, respectively); this was statistically significant (P = .001). IANB injection alone does not always allow pain-free treatment for mandibular teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Supplementary buccal infiltration with 4% articaine with epinephrine and intraosseous injection with 2% lidocaine with epinephrine are more likely to allow pain-free treatment than intraligamentary and repeat IANB injections with 2% lidocaine with epinephrine for patients experiencing

  12. Pirfenidone inhibits the proliferation of fibroblasts from patients with active Crohn's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadir, Sara-Irini; Wenzel Kragstrup, Tue; Dige, Anders; Kok Jensen, Simon; Dahlerup, Jens Frederik; Kelsen, Jens

    2016-11-01

    One-third of Crohn's disease (CD) patients develop intestinal strictures that require repeated surgical intervention. Current anti-inflammatory therapies have limited effect on stricture development, which necessitates the exploration of new pharmacological approaches. Pirfenidone (PFD), a novel anti-fibrotic agent, was recently approved in Europe for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We hypothesized that observations in IPF could be transferable to intestinal fibrosis and that PFD inhibits the proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover of gut-derived fibroblasts from CD patients. Fibroblasts were isolated from biopsies of inflamed (n = 8) and non-inflamed (n = 5) colonic mucosa. Expression of CD90 and alpha-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) expression was determined by flow cytometry. The fibroblasts were cultured with PFD (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/ml). Proliferation was evaluated with CellTiter 96(®) AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay. Production of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) and collagen were assessed using ELISA and calorimetric assays, respectively. The majority of the fibroblasts were αSMA-positive myofibroblasts. PFD inhibited fibroblast proliferation [0.94 (PFD 0.5 mg/ml); 0.76 (1.0 mg/ml); 0.58 (2.0 mg/ml)] and production of MMP-3 [0.85 (0.5 mg/ml); 0.74 (1.0 mg/ml); 0.63 (2.0 mg/ml)] dose-dependently (both p = 0.0001). The anti-proliferative effect of PFD was reversible (p = 0.0001), indicating that PFD does not act by an irreversible cytotoxic mechanism. PFD did not influence neither TIMP-1 nor collagen production. PFD inhibited the proliferation and the production of MMP-3 dose-dependently in gut-derived fibroblast from CD patients. Our observations support further studies on PFD in stricturing CD.

  13. To the problem on formation kinetics of absorption and polylayer films in anodic oxidation of cadmium in alkali hydroxides. Kinetics of irreversible absorption of oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grachev, D.K.

    1978-01-01

    An attempt is made to substantiate the formation of adsorption and polylayer films on cadmium electrode during its oxidation in KOH diluted solutions based on the interpretation of data from methods of the potential control. Using relaxation methods (voltammetry and chronoammetry) the conditions were determined at which irreversible abd sorption kinetics of the passivating oxide turns out to dominate the anodic dissolution process in the KOH 1-0.1 N solutions. Parts of monolayer and polylayer surface filling are shown. Kinetics of monolayer oxide growth is interpreted based on the Temkin-Zeldovich type equation for irreversible adsorption process. Ways of the kinetic equation precision are discussed for its full correspondence with the experiment obtained

  14. Fuel starvation. Irreversible degradation mechanisms in PEM fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rangel, Carmen M.; Silva, R.A.; Travassos, M.A.; Paiva, T.I.; Fernandes, V.R. [LNEG, National Laboratory for Energy and Geology, Lisboa (Portugal). UPCH Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Unit

    2010-07-01

    PEM fuel cell operates under very aggressive conditions in both anode and cathode. Failure modes and mechanism in PEM fuel cells include those related to thermal, chemical or mechanical issues that may constrain stability, power and lifetime. In this work, the case of fuel starvation is examined. The anode potential may rise to levels compatible with the oxidization of water. If water is not available, oxidation of the carbon support will accelerate catalyst sintering. Diagnostics methods used for in-situ and ex-situ analysis of PEM fuel cells are selected in order to better categorize irreversible changes of the cell. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is found instrumental in the identification of fuel cell flooding conditions and membrane dehydration associated to mass transport limitations / reactant starvation and protonic conductivity decrease, respectively. Furthermore, it indicates that water electrolysis might happen at the anode. Cross sections of the membrane catalyst and gas diffusion layers examined by scanning electron microscopy indicate electrode thickness reduction as a result of reactions taking place during hydrogen starvation. Catalyst particles are found to migrate outwards and located on carbon backings. Membrane degradation in fuel cell environment is analyzed in terms of the mechanism for fluoride release which is considered an early predictor of membrane degradation. (orig.)

  15. The immediate effects of acoustic trauma on excitation and inhibition in the inferior colliculus : A Wiener-kernel analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heeringa, Amarins Nieske; van Dijk, Pim

    Noise-induced tinnitus and hyperacusis are thought to correspond to a disrupted balance between excitation and inhibition in the central auditory system. Excitation and inhibition are often studied using pure tones; however, these responses do not reveal inhibition within the excitatory pass band.

  16. Age is not a good predictor of irreversibility of pulmonary hypertension in congenital cardiac malformations with left-to-right shunt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseinpour, Amir-Reza; Perez, Marie-Hélène; Longchamp, David; Cotting, Jacques; Sekarski, Nicole; Hurni, Michel; Prêtre, René; Di Bernardo, Stefano

    2018-03-01

    Congenital cardiac malformations with high pulmonary blood flow and pressure due to left-to-right shunts are usually repaired in early infancy for both the benefits of early relief of heart failure and the fear that the concomitant pulmonary hypertension may become irreversible unless these defects are corrected at an early age. Age, however, has been a poor predictor of irreversibility of pulmonary hypertension in our experience, which is presented here. A retrospective observational study. We defined "late" as age ≥2 years. We examined clinical, echocardiographic, and hemodynamic data from all patients aged ≥2 years with such malformations referred to us from 2004 untill 2015. Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital of Vaud, Lausanne, Switzerland. There were 39 patients, aged 2-35 years (median: 5 years), without chromosomal abnormalities. All had malformations amenable to biventricular repair, and all had high systolic right ventricular pressures by echocardiography prior to referral. All patients underwent catheterization for assessment of pulmonary hypertension. If this was reversible, surgical correction was offered. (1) Operability based on reversibility of pulmonary hypertension. (2) When surgery was offered, mortality and evidence of persisting postoperative pulmonary hypertension were examined. Eighteen patients had no pulmonary hypertension, 5 of variable ages were inoperable due to irreversible pulmonary hypertension, and 16 had reversible pulmonary hypertension. Therefore, 34 patients underwent corrective surgery, with no immediate or late mortality. Pulmonary arterial and right ventricular pressures decreased noticeably in all operated patients. This is sustained to date; they are all asymptomatic with no echocardiographic evidence of pulmonary hypertension at a median follow-up of 7 years (range 2-13 years). Pulmonary hypertension may still be reversible in many surprisingly old patients with left

  17. [Dynamics of Irreversible Evaporation of a Water-Protein Droplet and a Problem of Structural and Dynamical Experiments with Single Molecules].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaitan, K V; Armeev, G A; Shaytan, A K

    2016-01-01

    We discuss the effect of isothermal and adiabatic evaporation of water on the state of a water-protein droplet. The discussed problem is of current importance due to development of techniques to perform single molecule experiments using free electron lasers. In such structure-dynamic experiments the delivery of a sample into the X-ray beam is performed using the microdroplet injector. The time between the injection and delivery is in the order of microseconds. In this paper we developed a specialized variant of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations for the study of irreversible isothermal evaporation of the droplet. Using in silico experiments we determined the parameters of isothermal evaporation of the water-protein droplet with the sodium and chloride ions in the concentration range of 0.3 M at different temperatures. The energy of irreversible evaporation determined from in silico experiments at the initial stages of evaporation virtually coincides with the specific heat of evaporation for water. For the kinetics of irreversible adiabatic evaporation an exact analytical solution was obtained in the limit of high thermal conductivity of the droplet (or up to the droplet size of -100 Å). This analytical solution incorporates parameters that are determined using in silico. experiments on isothermal droplet evaporation. We show that the kinetics of adiabatic evaporation and cooling of the droplet scales with the droplet size. Our estimates of the water-protemi droplet. freezing rate in the adiabatic regime in a vacuum chamber show that additional techniques for stabilizing the temperature inside the droplet should be used in order to study the conformational transitions of the protein in single molecules. Isothermal and quasi-isothermal conditions are most suitable for studying the conformational transitions upon object functioning. However, in this case it is necessary to take into account the effects of dehydration and rapid increase of ionic strength in an

  18. MR and CT imaging characteristics and ablation zone volumetry of locally advanced pancreatic cancer treated with irreversible electroporation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vroomen, Laurien G.P.H.; Scheffer, Hester J.; Melenhorst, Marleen C.A.M.; Jong, Marcus C. de; Bergh, Janneke E. van den; Kuijk, Cornelis van; Meijerink, Martijn R. [VU University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Delft, Foke van [VU University Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Kazemier, Geert [VU University Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2017-06-15

    To assess specific imaging characteristics after irreversible electroporation (IRE) for locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma (LAPC) with contrast-enhanced (ce)MRI and ceCT, and to explore the correlation of these characteristics with the development of recurrence. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of imaging data were performed on 25 patients treated with percutaneous IRE for LAPC. Imaging characteristics of the ablation zone on ceCT and ceMRI were assessed over a 6-month follow-up period. Contrast ratio scores between pre- and post-treatment were compared. To detect early imaging markers for treatment failure, attenuation characteristics at 6 weeks were linked to the area of recurrence within 6 months. Post-IRE, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-b800 signal intensities decreased in all cases (p < 0.05). Both ceMRI and ceCT revealed absent or decreased contrast enhancement, with a hyperintense rim on ceMRI. Ablation zone volume increase was noted on both modalities in the first 6 weeks, followed by a decrease (p < 0.05). In the patients developing tumour recurrence (5/25), a focal DWI-b800 hyperintense spot at 6 weeks predated unequivocal recurrence on CT. The most remarkable signal alterations after pancreatic IRE were shown by DWI-b800 and ceMRI. These early imaging characteristics may be useful to establish technical success and predict treatment outcome. (orig.)

  19. Dacomitinib, an irreversible Pan-ErbB inhibitor significantly abrogates growth in head and neck cancer models that exhibit low response to cetuximab.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferdows Ather

    Full Text Available Aberrant epidermal growth factor (EGF signaling is associated with tumor growth in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in humans (HNSCC, and is a major focus of targeted therapy. Cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody against EGFR, has been successful at prolonging survival but has only a 10% tumor shrinkage response rate in a clinical setting. The goal of this study was to compare dacomitinib (PF-00299804, a next generation small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that irreversibly blocks multiple HER family receptors (HER-1 (EGFR, HER-2 and HER-4 tyrosine kinases, to cetuximab, the current FDA approved anti-EGFR medication for HNSCC and erlotinib, an EGFR specific small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Dacomitinib, erlotinib and cetuximab were tested in a panel of 27 HNSCC cell lines. Treatment with 100 ug/ml of cetuximab or 1 uM of erlotinib inhibited growth by at least 50% in 7/27 cell lines, while treatment with 1 uM of dacomitinib had similar growth inhibition in 17/27 lines. Cell lines representing three levels of sensitivity to dacomitinib were further examined using Western blots, cell cycle and apoptosis analysis. Treatment with 100 nM of dacomitinib reduced EGFR activity and downstream AKT and ERK pathways more effectively than treatment with 100 ug/ml of cetuximab in all ten tested lines. Although both compounds induced apoptosis at similar levels, dacomitinib caused greater G0/G1 arrest. Sensitivity to EGFR blockade was associated with levels of EGFR and ERK and was not associated with common oncogenic mutations and copy number variations. Phosphorylated and total EGFR and ERK levels correlate with sensitivity to both cetuximab and dacomitinib. Three of the four lines in the exquisitely sensitive group had the highest levels of phosphorylated and total EGFR and ERK among the ten lines selected, while the three resistant lines collectively had the lowest levels. Neither pAKT nor tAKT was associated with sensitivity.

  20. Class I HDAC inhibition is a novel pathway for regulating astrocytic apoE secretion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dresselhaus, Erica; Duerr, James M; Vincent, Fabien; Sylvain, Emily K; Beyna, Mercedes; Lanyon, Lorraine F; LaChapelle, Erik; Pettersson, Martin; Bales, Kelly R; Ramaswamy, Gayathri

    2018-01-01

    Despite the important role of apolipoprotein E (apoE) secretion from astrocytes in brain lipid metabolism and the strong association of apoE4, one of the human apoE isoforms, with sporadic and late onset forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) little is known about the regulation of astrocytic apoE. Utilizing annotated chemical libraries and a phenotypic screening strategy that measured apoE secretion from a human astrocytoma cell line, inhibition of pan class I histone deacetylases (HDACs) was identified as a mechanism to increase apoE secretion. Knocking down select HDAC family members alone or in combination revealed that inhibition of the class I HDAC family was responsible for enhancing apoE secretion. Knocking down LXRα and LXRβ genes revealed that the increase in astrocytic apoE in response to HDAC inhibition occurred via an LXR-independent pathway. Collectively, these data suggest that pan class I HDAC inhibition is a novel pathway for regulating astrocytic apoE secretion.