Metallomacrocycles with metalmetal bonds: synthesis, characterization and electrochemistry of [(P)SnRe(CO)5]BF4 and [{(P)Sn}2Re(CO)4]BF4 derivatives…

1996

Abstract The synthesis and characterization of bimetallic and trimetallic porphyrins of the type [(P)SnRe(CO) 5 ]BF 4 and [{(P)Sn} 2 Re(CO) 4 ]BF 4 are reported where P is the dianion of tetra- p -tolyporphyrin (TpTP) or tetra- m -tolyporphyrin (TmTP). These metal-metal bonded complexes were synthesized by reaction of Re 2 (CO) 10 with the corresponding (P)SnCl 2 derivatives in 1,2-dichlorobenzene followed by a reaction with NaBF 4 or TBABF 4 in toluene to give the BF − 4 salt. Each compound was characterized by a variety of spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques while the structures were assigned on the basis of FAB mass spectral data and by comparison of their physicochemical proper…

First observation of β decay ofNb108toMo108

1996

The \ensuremath{\beta}-delayed \ensuremath{\gamma} decay of $^{108}\mathrm{Nb}$ has been studied using the on-line mass-separator technique. The measured \ensuremath{\beta}-decay half-life 0.20\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03 s agrees with the previous measurement based on \ensuremath{\beta}-delayed neutron detection. The lifetime of the first ${2}^{+}$ state in $^{108}\mathrm{Mo}$ was measured to be 0.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3 ns, which is consistent with a deformation \ensuremath{\beta}\ensuremath{\approxeq}0.4. Spin and parity of ${2}^{+}$ are suggested for the ground state of $^{108}\mathrm{Nb}$. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Comparison of intra- and inter-pool crosses in faba beans (Vicia faba L.). I. Hybrid performance and heterosis in Mediterranean and German environmen…

1996

Two recently detected, promising CMS systems in faba bean have opened up new possibilities in hybrid breeding. This study was conducted to determine hybrid performance and heterosis of 33 intra-pool and 66 inter-pool crosses from a factorial of six European small-seeded (Minor), six European large-seeded (Major), and eight Mediterranean faba bean lines. The parent lines and F 1 crosses were evaluated at two German and seven Mediterranean environments for anthesis, maturity, yield, yield components and plant height. Yield in the Mediterranean environments was 60% of that in the German environments. European Minor lines and their intra-pool crosses were unadapted to Mediterranean environments…

Paternity, copulation disturbance and female choice in lekking black grouse

1996

Female copulation behaviour in the black grouse, Tetrao tetrix, was studied by detailed observations of individually marked birds together with DNA fingerprinting analyses for paternity assessment. For each breeding occasion females typically mated only once with one male, and did not mate outside the lek arena. They re-mated with the same or another male usually only if the initial copulation was disturbed and was probably unsuccessful in sperm transfer. The willingness of females to copulate only once with one male suggests that multiple mating with several males incurs a cost that more than outweighs any possible fertility or sperm competition benefits. Attempts by neighbouring males to …

Influence of correlations between stresses on calculated fatigue life of machine elements

1996

The correlation between components of the random stress tensor and its influence on the calculated fatigue life of machine elements were analysed. Three covariance matrices of components of biaxial stress state were considered. They were determined from measurements of strains in an element of a vibrating screen for aggregate, in the back wall of a bus, and in a welded element of excavator fittings. Calculations were made according to four criteria of multiaxial random fatigue. Cycles were counted with the rainflow method, and damage was cumulated with the Palmgren-Miner hypothesis. It was found that convariances of random stress state components strongly influence the calculated fatigue li…

Photodynamic therapy within edematous brain tissue: Considerations on sensitizer dose and time point of laser irradiation

1996

Photosensitizer is known to spread with vasogenic edema fluid arising from a cerebral lesion (Neurosurg 33:1075-1082, 1993), which may be essential for sensitizing malignant cells outside the main tumor mass. The present experiments seek to elucidate whether resultant necrosis of perifocal brain tissue after laser irradiation follows a corresponding time pattern and whether damage depends on the photosensitizer dose. Male Wistar rats were anaesthetized with chloralhydrate for venous cannulation, craniotomy and focal cold lesion in order to induce vasogenic edema. Simultaneously, Photofrin II (PF II) was administered at a dose of 5 mg kg-1. The animals were re-anaesthetized after either 4, 1…

Aging effects in glassy polymers: a Monte Carlo study

1996

Abstract By means of dynamic Monte Carlo simulation the physical aging of a glassy polymer melt is studied. The melt is simulated by a coarse-grained lattice model, the bond-fluctuation model, on a simple cubic lattice. In order to generate glassy freezing an energy is associated with long bonds, which leads to a competition between the energetically favored bond stretching and the local density of the melt at low temperatures. The development of this competition during the cooling process strongly slows down the structural relaxation and makes the melt freeze in an amorphous structure as soon as the internal relaxation time matches the time scale of the cooling rate. Therefore the model ex…

Stereoselective Metabolic Activation of Dibenzo[a,l]Pyrene in the Human Mammary Carcinoma Cell Line MCF-7 Results in Formation of (-)-antiand (+)-syn…

1996

Abstract Dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P) is an important polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon because of possible human exposure and its exceptionally high carcinogenicity in rodents. We examined the metabolism of DB[a,l]P and the formation of DB[a,l]P-DNA adducts in the human mammary carcinoma cell line (MCF-7). Analysis of the DNA adducts by 33P-postlabeling, immobilized boronate chromatography, HPLC and TLC demonstrated that DB[a,l]P is stereoselectively metabolized to specific optical isomers of DB[a,l]P-11,12-diol-13,14-epoxide (DB[a,l]PDE). The major anti-DB[a,l]PDE adduct formed in DB[a,l]P-treated MCF-7 cells resulted from reaction of (-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE with DNA whereas the two major syn-…

TAP-polymorphisms in juvenile onset psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

1996

Abstract Juvenile onset psoriasis is strongly associated with the HLA-class I genes Cw6 and B57 whereas patients with psoriatic arthritis show an increased frequency of HLA-B27. It is unclear whether additional major histocompatibility genes also increase disease susceptibility. The TAP genes (transporter associated with antigen processing) encode two membrane-spanning proteins that translocate antigenic peptides from the cytoplasm into the endoplasmic reticulum. Comparison of 60 patients with juvenile onset psoriasis, 63 psoriatic arthritis patients, and 101 caucasoid controls revealed an increase of the TAP1 ∗ 0101 allele in the psoriasis group, that could not be explained by linkage to o…

Numerical methods for nonlinear inverse problems

1996

AbstractInverse problems of distributed parameter systems with applications to optimal control and identification are considered. Numerical methods and their numerical analysis for solving this kind of inverse problems are presented, main emphasis being on the estimates of the rate of convergence for various schemes. Finally, based on the given error estimates, a two-grid method and related algorithms are introduced, which can be used to solve nonlinear inverse problems effectively.

Cercospora beticola toxins. Part XVII. The role of the beticolin/Mg2+ complexes in their biological activity Study of plasma membrane H+-ATPase, vacu…

1996

Beticolin-1 and beticolin-2, yellow toxins produced by the phytopathogenic fungus Cercospora beticola, inhibit the plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase. Firstly, since beticolins are able to form complexes with Mg2+, the role of the beticolin/Mg2+ complexes in the inhibition of the plasma membrane proton pump has been investigated. Calculations indicate that beticolins could exist under several forms, in the H(+)-ATPase assay mixture, both free or complexed with Mg2+. However, the percentage inhibition of the H(+)-ATPase activity is correlated to the concentration of one single form of beticolin, the dimeric neutral complex Mg2H2B2, which appears to be the active form involved in the H(+)-ATPase inh…

A comparison of various calibration techniques applied to the ninhydrin-cefoxitin determination

1996

Abstract This report deals with spectrophotometric determination of cefoxitin from intact antibiotics or from its acid induced degradation product by means of their reaction with ninhydrin in a strong sulphuric acid medium. To obtain the calibration graphs four methods were used: absorbance of reacted cefoxitin against a reagent blank as an analytical signal, first-derivative signal of absorbance against a water blank as an analytical signal, first-derivative signal of absorbance against a reagent blank as an analytical signal and the H-Point Standard Additions Method (HPSAM) by using absorbance increment values as analytical signals. The HPSAM is applied to the determination of cefoxitin i…

Randomized trial of intravenous immunoglobulins versus prednisolone in Graves' ophthalmopathy.

1996

Abstract Glucocorticoids are usually given for management of Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), but they may cause side effects. By comparison, intravenous administration of immunoglobulins resulted in clinical improvement and decreased antibody titres in a large number of autoimmune diseases. Therefore, a randomized trial was done, in which 19 patients with active GO were treated with a 20-week course of oral prednisolone (P, starting dose 100 mg/day), and 21 received 1 g immunoglobulin/kg body weight for 2 consecutive days every 3 weeks. The immunoglobulin course was repeated six times. Before and at the end (20 weeks) of immunomodulating therapy, ophthalmological investigation and quantitative…

Electrodynamics in complex systems

1996

This paper discusses recent theoretical efforts to develop a general and flexible method for the calculation of the field distributions around and inside complex optical systems involving both dielectric and metallic materials. Starting from the usual light-matter coupling Hamiltonian, we derive a self-consistent equation for the optical field in arbitrary optical systems composed of N different subdomains. We show that an appropriate solving procedure based on the real-space discretization of each subdomain raises the present approach to the rank of an accurate predictive numerical scheme. In order to illustrate its applicability, we use this formalism to address challenging problems relat…

Induction of the alkyltransferase (MGMT) gene by DNA damaging agents and the glucocorticoid dexamethasone and comparison with the response of base ex…

1996

Repair of alkylated bases in DNA is performed by O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) and a set of enzymes of the base excision repair pathway involving N-methylpurine-DNA glycosylase (MPG), apurinic endonuclease (APE), DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta) and DNA ligase. The level of expression of these enzymes may exert a profound effect on resistance of cells towards alkylating drugs. We have comparatively analyzed the expression of MGMT and the different base excision repair genes in rat hepatoma cells (line H4IIE) after exposure to alkylating agents, X-rays and the glucocorticoid hormone dexamethasone. Furthermore, the effect of these agents on the activity of the cloned human MGMT …

Cycloaddition reactions of 2H-benzo[b]thiete and conjugated cyclic dienes

1996

2H-Benzo[b]thiete 1 reacts with cyclopentadiene 3 in consecutive [8π + 2π]cycloadditions yielding the condensed heterocycles 6–8. Tetracyclone 9 on the other hand gives only the monoadduct 10. An [8π + 8π]cycloaddition can be observed for 1 and diphenylisobenzofuran 11. The related π system 13 shows again consecutive [477π + 27π]processes (1 + 13 ← 14, 15).

Mechanism of Anionic Polymerization of (Meth)acrylates in the Presence of Aluminium Alkyls IV. Formation of a Co-ordinative Polymer Network via the L…

1996

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of aluminium alkyls in toluene deviates from conventional kinetics. This results predominantly from the formation and precipitation of a co-ordinative polymer gel or network. Due to the lower reactivity and accessibility of the living chains in the gel, they are regarded as ’dormant’ and thus the concentration of active species decreases during polymerization. The network formation occurs via co-ordination of the living aluminate chain end group with in-chain ester carbonyl groups. Part of the chains are deactivated by a termination process but they are free of cyclic β-ketoesters which would result from the common ’back-biting’ reac…

Distribution of Δ5-olefinic acids in the triacylglycerols fromPinus koraiensisandPinus pinasterseed oils

1996

Purified triacylglycerols (TAG) fromPinus koraiensis andP. pinaster seed oils, which are interesting and commercially available sources of Δ5-olefinic acids (i.e.,cis-5,cis-9,cis-12 18:3 andcis-5,cis-11,cis-14 20:3 acids) were fractionated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and each fraction was examined by capillary gas-liquid chromatography for its fatty acid composition. A structure could be assigned to more than 92% of TAG from both oils. In both instances, ca. 48% of the TAG were shown to contain at least one δ5-olefinic acid. In the great majority of TAG, our data showed that there is only one molecule of δ5-olefinic acid per molecule of TAG. This is compatible …

Regulation of motility of cells from marine sponges by calcium ions

1996

Sponges are known not to contain muscle and nerve cells. Since sponge cells are characterized by high motility we determined the effect of intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) on their motility. Addition of the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin to dissociated cells from the marine sponge Suberites domuncula caused in Ca(2+)-containing artificial seawater (ASW) an increase in motility from 0.2 micron/min (absence of the ionophore) to 3.7 microns/min (presence of ionomycin). When the experiments were performed in Ca(2+)-free medium, no effect of ionomycin could be observed. In parallel experiments the changes of [Ca2+]i using the dye Fura-2 were measured. The experiments revealed that ion…

RATIONALE FOR THE USE OF ANTIOXIDANT VITAMINS IN CLINICAL ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION

1996

A singular case of near-haploid stemline karyotype in a renal oncocytoma.

1996

Cytogenetic analysis of a human renal oncocytoma revealed a near-haploid chromosome number of 36 with the loss of chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 21, and 22. Review of the literature disclosed that this cytogenetic configuration is extremely rare in solid human tumors and that no renal oncocytomas with near-haploid stemline karyotype have been described. These results are compared with the other published cases of oncocytoma.

Infrastructures and Productivity in the Spanish Regions

1996

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of public capital, the types of infrastructures in which it is invested, and their territorial distribution in the gains in productivity of the private sector in the Spanish regions in the period 1964-1991 using panel data techniques to control for unobserved state-specific characteristics. The results obtained show how the infrastructures most directly linked to the productive process present a significant and positive effect on productivity. They also show the importance of the network effect of the infrastructures of a productive nature as well as a decrease in the elasticity associated with such infrastructures as development progresses. El p…

Study of supramolecular structures released from the cell wall of Candida albicans by ethylenediamine treatment

1996

Candida albicans cell wall components were analyzed by ethylenediamine (EDA) treatment. Based on their different solubility properties, the cell wall components produced three fractions (A, B, and C). Fractions B (EDA-soluble, water-insoluble) and C (EDA-insoluble) contained glucan, chitin, and protein in different proportions. After zymolyase (mainly a beta-glucanase complex) or chitinase treatment of fractions B and C, more polysaccharides and proteins were solubilized by a second EDA treatment, suggesting that the solubility of the polymers in EDA depends on the degree of polymer interactions. Western blot analysis using two monoclonal antibodies (1B12 and 4C12) revealed electrophoretic …

Distribution of origin of nitric oxide synthase-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the rat epididymis.

1996

Abstract Distribution of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-immunoreactive (nNOS-IR) nerve fibers and somata in the rat epididymis and major pelvic ganglia was studied by immunohistochemical methods. In the epididymis, the supply of nNOS-IR fibers was highest in the cauda and became progressively fewer toward the caput. In the cauda and corpus, nNOS-IR fibers were distributed throughout the subepithelial tissues and around the epithelium. The pattern of distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)- and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-immunoreactive fibers in the epididymis was similar but the latter was generally more numerous in a given region as compared to that of nNOS-IR fibers. A popu…

Long-Term Results of Internal Urethrotomy

1996

AbstractPurpose: A retrospective analysis was done of long-term results of internal urethrotomy to evaluate risk factors of stricture recurrence.Materials and Methods: Followup studies were performed of 937 patients with urethral strictures treated with internal urethrotomy. Of the patients 357 were treated at Mainz University between 1977 and 1989 (mean followup 4.6 years) and 580 were treated at Bonn University between 1974 and 1986 (mean followup 3.2 years).Results: Strictures recurred in 96 of 357 (26.9 percent) and 260 of 580 (44.8 percent) patients, respectively. Risk factors for recurrence were etiology (post-transurethral resection and inflammation), stricture longer than 1 cm. and …

<title>Multifeature image and video content-based storage and retrieval</title>

1996

In this paper we present most recent evolution of JACOB, a system we developed for image and video content-based storage and retrieval. The system is based on two separate archives: a 'features DB' and a 'raw-data DB'. When a user puts a query, a search is done in the 'features DB'; the selected items are taken form the 'raw-data DB' and shown to the user. Two kinds of sessions are allowed: 'database population' and 'database querying'. During a 'database population' session the user inserts new data into the archive. The input data can consist of digital images or videos. Videos are split into shots and for each shot one or more representative frames are automatically extracted. Shots and …

A randomized, double-blind comparison of a rapidly escalating dose of venlafaxine and imipramine in inpatients with major depression and melancholia.

1996

A double-blind, randomized, parallel study in 167 hospitalized patients with major depression and melancholia was conducted to determine if rapidly escalated doses of venlafaxine produced an earlier response, compared with rapidly escalated doses of imipramine. The daily dose of venlafaxine was rapidly increased to 375 mg/day over a five-day period, was maintained at this level for 10 days, and then was reduced to 150 mg/day for the remainder of the study. The imipramine dose was rapidly increased to 200 mg/day over five days and was maintained at this level to the end of the study. The primary efficacy variables were time to response and time to sustained response on the HAM-D and MADRS. N…

Quantitative ultrasonography of muscle: Detection of adaptations to training in elderly women

1996

Abstract Objective: To develop quantitative ultrasonography in studying the adaptation of quadriceps muscle mass and composition to short-term physical training and rehabilitation in elderly women. Design: Randomized control trial. Setting: Measurements in a research laboratory and training in a fitness center and sports hall. Participants: Forty-two women, aged 76 to 78 years, with no indications against intensive physical exercise, randomly assigned to strength ( n = 16), endurance ( n = 15), and control ( n = 11) groups. Twelve subjects from the strength, 12 from the endurance, and 11 from the control group completed the study. Intervention: Supervised physical training 3 times a week fo…

DNA damage by peroxynitrite characterized with DNA repair enzymes.

1996

The DNA damage induced by peroxynitrite in isolated bacteriophage PM2 DNA was characterized by means of several repair enzymes with defined substrate specificities. Similar results were obtained with peroxynitrite itself and with 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), a compound generating the precursors of peroxynitrite, nitric oxide and superoxide. A high number of base modifications sensitive to Fpg protein which, according to HPLC analysis, were mostly 8-hydroxyguanine residues, and half as many single-strand breaks were observed, while the numbers of oxidized pyrimidines (sensitive to endonuclease III) and of sites of base loss (sensitive to exonuclease III or T4 endonuclease V) were relativ…

The dissociation channels of silver clusters Agn+, 3 ≤ n ≤ 20

1996

Abstract The low energy dissociation channels of silver cluster ions Agn+, 3 ≤ n ≤ 20 are determined by collision-induced dissociation (CID) in a Penning trap. While for most cluster sizes the first fragment cluster ion is produced by monomer evaporation, the fragment ion of small odd-sized clusters has two atoms less than their precursors indicating an evaporation of dimers. The results are compared to similar CID studies on gold cluster ions, photofragmentation patterns, abundance spectra for various silver-cluster production techniques and calculated binding energies.

Transition structures for hydride transfer reactions in vacuo and their role in enzyme catalysis

1996

A general discussion as to the role of in vacuo transition structure in enzyme catalysis is presented. Quantum mechanical aspects are emphasized. The transition structures defined as saddle points ...

New approach to characterisation of electric alloys under rotating magnetic flux density

1996

The computation of electrical machines using the characterisation of electric alloys proposed by several authors gives performances not verified by experiments on actual machines. By means of finite-element-method software, the authors show that the electromagnetic context where electrical alloys are built into rotating electrical machines is completely different from the actual characterisation system. A new testing device is proposed to take into account the phenomena highlighted.

The [Fe(etz)6](BF4)2 Spin-Crossover System—Part One: High-Spin ⇌ Low-Spin Transition in Two Lattice Sites

1996

The [Fe(etz),](BF,), spin-cross-over system (etz = 1-ethyl-1 H-tetrazole) crystallizes in space group P1, with the following lattice constants at 298 K: a 10.419(3), b=15.709(1), c = 18.890(2) A = = 71.223(9), =77.986(10), and = 84.62(1)° V = 2862.0(9) A3 and Z = 3. Two nonequivalent lattice sites, one without (site A) and one with (site B) inversion symmetry, are observed. The population of the two sites nA:nB is 2:l. Iron(II) on site A undergoes a thermal low-spin (LS) high-spin (HS) transition with T1/2I, = 105 K. whereas that on site B remains in the high-spin state down to cryogenic temperatures. Application of external pressure of up to 1200 bar between 200 and 60 K does not cause for…

Erratum to “electron transport chain in aerobically cultivatedZymomonas mobilis” [FEMS microbiol. lett. 143 (1996) 185–189]

1996

Is sperm motility maturation affected by static magnetic fields?

1996

Kinematic parameters were evaluated in mouse epididymal extracts to monitor maturation of sperm movement in animals exposed to static magnetic fields using the Sperm-Class Analyzer computerized image analysis system. For this purpose, animals were exposed to a field of 0.7 T generated by a permanent magnet over 10 or 35 days for either 1 or 24 hr/day. The values of the motion endpoints were similar in animals used as controls and in those exposed to the nonionizing radiation, whatever the period of exposure or daily dosage. Changes in motility were observed in all groups: the percentage of total motile and progressive motile spermatozoa increased during passage through the epididymis, with …

Evidence for the neuronal origin of immunoreactive interleukin-1 beta released by rat hypothalamic explants.

1996

In this study, we have investigated the release of immunoreactive interleukin-1 beta (irIL-1 beta) from the rat hypothalamus in vitro. It was found that (1) tissue explants release sizable amounts of irIL-1 beta (ranging from 0.43 to 0.52 pg/mg of wet tissue) in 20 min incubations; (2) basal release in significantly increased by depolarization induced with 56 mM KCl; (3) K(+)-induced irIL-1 beta release is inhibited by the specific blocker of N-type calcium channels, omega-conotoxin, and by verapamil, but not by nifedipine; (4) K(+)-induced release is also inhibited by the Na+ channel blockers tetrodotoxin and lidocaine; (5) irIL-1 beta release is significantly increased by noradrenalin; su…