Optimization of depth increment distribution in the ring-core method

1996

The integral equation method is the most suitable calculation procedure for the determination of non-uniform residual stresses by semi-destructive mechanical methods such as hole and ring-core drilling. However, the high sensitivity to strain measurement errors due to the ill-conditioning of the equation sets has prevented its practical use. Examination of the influence of the strain measurement error on the calculated stresses and its propagation has shown that, for given maximum groove depth and total steps number, the error sensitivity depends on the particular depth increment distribution used. By means of an alternative matrix formulation of the equation sets the depth increment distr…

A role for Rho in receptor- and G protein-stimulated phospholipase C Reduction in phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate by Clostridium difficile toxi…

1996

Receptors coupled to heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) activate phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P2)-hydrolyzing phospholipase C (PLC) enzymes by activated alpha of free beta gamma subunits of the relevant G proteins. To study whether low molecular weight G proteins of the Rho family are involved in receptor signaling to PLC, we examined the effect of Clostridium difficile toxin B, which glucosylates and thereby inactivates Rho proteins, on the regulation of PLC activity in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells stably expressing the m3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtype. Toxin B treatment of HEK cells did not affect basal PLC activi…

Incidence and lifetime prevalence of Bell's palsy in two Sicilian municipalities

1996

Introduction - In a door-to-door two-phase survey of common neurologic diseases conducted in two Sicilian municipalities, we investigated the incidence and the lifetime prevalence of Bell's palsy (BP). Material & methods - During phase 1, we administered a screening instrument for facial palsy to 11,901 adult persons. During phase 2, study neurologists using specified diagnostic criteria evaluated those subjects who screened positive. Results - We found 73 subjects who had experienced BP during their life. The lifetime prevalence as of November 1, 1987, was 642.8 cases per 100,000 population age 15 years and above. The prevalence increased with age and was similar in men and women. Eighteen…

Intersystem Crossing and Light-Induced Bistability in Iron(?) Spin-Crossover Compounds

1996

Abstract The dynamics of the high-spin→low-spin intersystem crossing process in iron(?) spin-crossover compounds are strongly influenced by cooperative effects of elastic origin which are due to the large difference in volume between high-spin and low-spin complexes. The deviation from first order kinetics is attributed to a build-up of an internal pressure as the relaxation proceeds, leading to a characteristic self-acceleration. The elastic interactions may lead to a light-induced bistability for systems which otherwise remain in the high-spin state down to cryogenic temperatures.

Case Control Study on Childhood Leukemia in Lower Saxony, Germany

1996

In two municipalities in Lower Saxony statistically valid clusters were observed, which attracted great public interest. Committees were set up to initiate a large variety of on-the-spot-investigations. Finally, it was decided to conduct a case control study throughout Lower Saxony to explore potential risk factors which might explain the observed clusters. A limited number of already established and currently discussed hypotheses was chosen for investigation. The study was based on patients registrated at the German Children's Cancer Registry (GCCR). For each child with leukemia diseased between 1988 and 1993 two population-based controls (local and state controls) and one tumour control w…

Cathepsin D, B and L circulating levels as prognostic markers of malignant progression

1996

Growing evidence indicates that lysosomal Cathepsins D (CD), B (CB) and L (CL) may promote carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Therefore, we evaluated their potential value as biochemical parameters of malignant progression in patients with benign diseases which may undergo malignant transformation, such as liver cirrhosis (LC) and chronic pancreatitis (CHP) as well as in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and pancreatic cancer (DPC). CD, CB and CL serum levels were determined by immunoenzymatic assays in LC, CHP, HCC or DPC patients and correlated with a number of biochemical and clinical parameters of these diseases. CD serum levels were increased in LC, CHP and HCC, but not in the DPC grou…

Ion transport in the fragile glass former3KNO3-2Ca(NO3)2

1996

The molten salt ${3\mathrm{K}\mathrm{N}\mathrm{O}}_{3}$-2Ca(${\mathrm{NO}}_{3}$${)}_{2}$ has been studied in the frequency range 5 mHz40 GHz and for temperatures 10 KT500 K using impedance spectroscopy. It is found that in the microwave regime the dynamic conductivity traces the primary response. In the radio- and audio-frequency ranges the mobile ion relaxation becomes increasingly decoupled and the time scale and stretching of the response as determined from electrical modulus spectra differ from those obtained by spectroscopies probing the structural response. For T\ensuremath{\gtrsim}360 K minima are detected in the dielectric loss that make possible a comparison with recent mode-coupli…

Effects of Terbuthylazine on Soil Fauna and Decomposition Processes

1996

Abstract Acute lethal and sublethal effects of terbuthylazine and the commercial herbicide preparation Gardoprim [terbuthylazine is the active ingredient (a.i.)] on soil organisms (microbes, oppioid mites, two gamasid mite species, enchytraeids, and nematodes) were studied. In the humus soil terbuthylazine had no toxic effects on soil animals tested. However, the herbicide preparation had acute toxic effects on enchytraeids [no-observed-effect level (NOEL) 1.0 g a.i./m 2 ] and both gamasid mites (NOEL 2.4 and 5.0 g a.i./m 2 ). According to filter paper test, the LC 50 value for oppioid mites was 14.5 g a.i./m 2 . In the humus soil the commercial preparation caused no dose-related mortality …

Quasifreeπ+production studied using theC12(γ, π+n)B11reaction in theΔ(1232)resonance region

1996

Results are presented from a coincidence study of the {sup 12}C({gamma},{pi}{sup +}{ital n}){sup 11}B quasifree pion production reaction made in the {Delta}-resonance region using tagged photons. Cross sections for reactions originating on 1{ital p}-shell protons are found to be significantly larger than predicted by calculations based on quasifree pion production. It is suggested that more sophisticated calculations, perhaps including medium effects, may be required to reproduce the data. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

Self-regulation mechanism of an ecosystem in a non-Gaussian fluctuation regime

1996

We study a dynamical model for an ecological network of many interacting species. We consider a Malthus-Verhulst type of self-regulation mechanism. In the framework of the mean field theory we study the nonlinear relaxation in three different cases: (a) towards the equilibrium state, (b) towards the absorbing barrier, (c) at the critical point. We obtain asymptotic behavior in all different cases for the time average of the process. The dynamical behavior of the system, in the limit of infinitely many interacting species, is investigated in the stability and instability conditions and theoretical results are compared with numerical simulations. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical So…

Diurnal Rhythm of the Muscular Performance of Elbow Flexors During Isometric Contractions

1996

The influence of time of day on elbow flexion torque was studied. Thirteen physical education students, 7 males and 6 females, made maximal and submaximal isometric contractions at 90 degrees of elbow flexors using a dynamometer. The torque developed was measured on each contraction. The myoelectric activity of the biceps muscle was also measured at the same time by surface electromyography (EMG) and quantified from the root mean square (RMS) activity. Torque and surface EMGs were measured at 6:00, 9:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00, and 24:00 h over the same day. Oral temperature before each test session was measured on each occasion after a 30-min rest period. We observed a diurnal rhythm i…

Nucleotide sequence of plasmid p4028, a cryptic plasmid from Leuconostoc oenos.

1996

Abstract TheLeuconostoc oenosplasmid p4028 was cloned in pBlueScript (SK+), and its complete nucleotide sequence was determined. The analysis of the nucleotide sequence revealed five open reading frames, all of them located on the same strand and grouped in two clusters separated by a short noncoding stretch. A similarity search against the other sequences deposited in the EMBL and GenBank databases showed that p4028 has no significant similarity with any of the sequences checked. Nevertheless, a putative ATP-binding motif was found in ORF2. A more detailed analysis of this ORF suggests that it could encode for a DNA-dependent ATPase.

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor trafficking in streptolysin O-permeabilized MDCK cells.

1996

We investigated the validity of streptolysin O (SLO)-permeabilized Madin-Darbin canine kidney (MDCK) cells which express muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) coupled to pertussis toxin-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) for the study of the molecular machinery that regulated mAChR internalization and recycling. Exposure of SLO-permeabilized cells to carbachol-reduced cell surface receptor number by up to 40% without changing total receptor number. The kinetics and maximal extent of receptor internalization as well as the potency of carbachol to induce receptor internalization were almost identical in SLO-permeabilized and non-permeabilized cells. Using this se…

Functionally Active T Cell Receptor/CD3 Complexes Are Present at the Surface of Cloned Cytotoxic T Cells without Fluorescence-Immunological Detectabi…

1996

The cytotoxic T cell clone 10BK.1 is activated in response to the ovalbumin peptide OVA257-264 in a major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted manner. Following activation 10BK.1 cells proliferate, secrete lymphokines, and kill syn- and allogeneic target cells. Using immunofluorescence analysis we detected CD8, LFA-1, and ICAM-1 on the surface of 10BK.1 cells, but no CD3 or T cell receptor (TCR). In contrast, the proliferative response of 10BK.1 cells to antigen was efficiently blocked by soluble antibodies directed at CD3 epsilon or TCR alpha beta, but not by antibodies directed at TCR gamma delta. In addition, lysis of target cells was blocked by F(ab')2 fragments of antibodies d…

Effect of solute association on the apparent adsorption isotherm. A model of the separation of non-racemic mixtures of enantiomers in achiral chromat…

1996

This article discusses the effect of solute association on the apparent adsorption isotherm and on the chromatographic peak profile. The modelling performed has shown that dimerization of a solute in a chromatographic system gives rise to an apparent adsorption isotherm of the non-linear type. This results first of all in peak broadening. Tailing or a fronting can be observed depending on the relative retention of the monomer and the dimer. Secondly, the retention of the solute depends on the amount of sample because of the non-linear character of the adsorption isotherm. As a result, an excess of one of two analytes with absolutely identical adsorption properties i.e. optical isomers, can …

CT-Angiographie versus intraarterielle DSA bei Bauchaortenaneurysmen

1996

PURPOSE To evaluate if CT angiography is able to image all features necessary for the preoperative planning of abdominal aortic aneurysms (accessory renal arteries, stenoses or occlusions of renal and iliac arteries, patency of inferior mesenteric artery). METHODS CT angiography and DSA were performed on 27 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms. CT angiography was performed using a protocol that covered the abdominal aorta and the pelvic arteries with a single spiral acquisition (contrast dose: 150 ml, collimation: 5 mm, table feed: 7.5 mm/s, increment of reconstruction: 2 mm). Maximum intensity projections (MIP) and axial scans were compared with the results of intraarterial DSA. RESULT…

Could selection tests detect the future performance of descriptive panellists ?

1996

Abstract This paper discusses the appropriateness of screening tests in explaining descriptive panellist performances. It is based on a case study aimed at forming a descriptive panel capable of flavour profiling Camembert cheeses. Eighteen subjects were selected using four sensory tasks evaluating smell sensitivities, olfactory knowledge, odour memory and descriptive ability. Three additional tests were proposed during the 45 hour training to evaluate the recognition memory for odours, the concentration and the verbal creativity abilities. Panellist performances were determined on repeatability and discrimination abilities, and on the complexity of the individual sensory space. Some signif…

Numerical investigation of one‐dimensional tunnel junction arrays at temperatures above the Coulomb blockade regime

1996

Arrays of tunnel junctions provide simple thermometric parameters in the limit where thermal excitations dominate over charging effects. We present numerical simulations for calculating the current versus voltage characteristics of an arbitrary one‐dimensional array at arbitrary temperatures on the premise of the ‘‘orthodox theory.’’ The purpose of the computer simulations is to investigate the suitability of tunnel junction arrays for thermometry at low temperatures when the analytical formulas do not hold and, specifically, to see the effect of background charges in this regime.

Tumour-growth inhibition by induced hyperglycaemia/hyperlactacidaemia and localized hyperthermia.

1996

The present study was undertaken to exploit pathophysiological properties of solid tumours for a tumour-specific therapy. Experiments were carried out on DS-sarcomas implanted s.c. in the hind foot dorsum of Sprague Dawley rats. Treatment strategies included tumour acidification, lactate accumulation and disturbance of the microcirculation by induced systemic hyperglycaemia/hyperlact-acidaemia (15-25/10 mmol/L; for 60 min) as well as localized hyperthermia (water-bath; 43 degrees C, 30 min.). A special infusion solution was developed for the systemic treatment containing glucose, lactic acid and organic buffer without inorganic ions. Growth kinetics of tumour volume and animal survival were…

Tortuous flow in porous media

1996

The concept of tortuosity of fluid flow in porous media is discussed. A lattice-gas cellular automaton method is applied to solve the flow of a Newtonian uncompressible fluid in a two-dimensional porous substance constructed by randomly placed rectangles of equal size and with unrestricted overlap. A clear correlation between the average tortuosity of the flow paths and the porosity of the substance has been found. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Surrogate data analysis of sleep electroencephalograms reveals evidence for nonlinearity

1996

We tested the hypothesis of whether sleep electroencephalographic (EEG) signals of different time windows (164 s, 82 s, 41 s and 20.5 s) are in accordance with linear stochastic models. For this purpose we analyzed the all-night sleep electroencephalogram of a healthy subject and corresponding Gaussian-rescaled phase randomized surrogates with a battery of five non-linear measures. The following nonlinear measures were implemented: largest Lyapunov exponent L1, correlation dimension D2, and the Green-Savit measures delta 2, delta 4 and delta 6. The hypothesis of linear stochastic data was rejected with high statistical significance. L1 and D2 yielded the most pronounced effects, while the G…

Anoxia in vitro does not induce neuronal swelling or death

1996

To improve the understanding of neuronal cell swelling in cerebral ischemia, cell volume regulation, viability, intracellular electrolytes, and lactate production of Neuro-2A neuroblastoma cells were studied using an in vitro model. The volume regulatory capacity of Neuro-2A cells was assessed after incubation in hypo- and hypertonic media. Anoxia was studied alone and together with inhibition of glycolysis by iodoacetate. Reducing the tonicity of the incubation medium to 250, 200, or 150 mosm/l caused immediate swelling followed by a regulatory volume decrease within 20 min, which, however, was not complete. The final cell volume after regulation depended on the tonicity of the medium and …

Influence of Endothelial Nitric Oxide on Adrenergic Contractile Responses of Human Cerebral Arteries

1996

The present study was designed to investigate the influence of the endothelium and that of the L-arginine pathway on the contractile responses of isolated human cerebral arteries to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and norepinephrine. Rings of human middle cerebral artery were obtained during autopsy of 19 patients who had died 3–8 h before. EFS (1–8 Hz) induced frequency-dependent contractions that were abolished by tetrodotoxin, prazosin, and guanethidine (all at 10-6 M). The increases in tension were of greater magnitude in arteries denuded of endothelium. NG-monomethyl L-arginine (L-NMMA 10-4 M) potentiated the contractile response to EFS in artery rings with endothelium but did not …

Toxic and enzymatic activities of Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 with respect to host specificity

1996

In this work, the enzymatic activities of selected strains of biotypes 1 and 2 of Vabrio vulnificus were analyzed by using conventional methods and the API ZYM system. The toxic activities of extracellular products (ECPs) were further evaluated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The ECPs of both biotypes (i) showed high-level hydrolytic activities, (ii) displayed cytotoxicity for fish cell lines, and (iii) were lethal for eels. Exotoxins seem to be proteinaceous since heat treatment of ECP samples destroyed their toxicity. Only biotype 2 strains were virulent for cels, suggesting that host specificity must be related to differences in cell surface properties. Infectivity trials with other…

Prey preparation by adult Great Tits Parus major feeding nestlings

1996

Some birds prepare food items before giving them to their nestlings. We studied the relationships between the degree of prey preparation and prey size, nestling age, brood size and time of season. We estimated the degree of preparation of 513 animal prey items, taken by using neck collars, brought to nestling Great Tits Parus major. Prey preparation increased with prey size and decreased as the nestlings grew older, as brood size increased and as the season progressed. Other factors, such as nutrient concentration (through removal of low-quality or deleterious parts) or palatability (considering scaly moth forewings unpalatable), seem also to be important in determining prey preparation. Ou…

Mean square radius of gyration and hydrodynamic radius of jointed star (dumbbell) and H-comb polymers

1996

Equations for the mean square radius of gyration and the hydrodynamic radius for jointed stars (dumbbells) and H-combs are derived, based on random flight statistics for each subchain. Comparision with literature data on computer simulations and experimental data for H-combs show good agreement for the g-value of the mean square radius of gyration even in good solvents. This suggests that for the mean square radius of gyration the relative dimension of a H-comb relative to the linear molecule of the same degree of polymerization is not altered significantly by long range interactions, as in the case of star polymers. For the hydrodynamic radius the situation is different. Fair agreement is …

Solitons and modulational instability

1996

We introduce the localized nonlinear waves called solitons which can occur in nature with different profiles such as kink, pulse, and envelope solitons. The envelope-soliton is important because without modulation the wave carry no information. It is a solution of the so-called nonlinear Schrodinger equation which describes the evolution of dispersive and weakly nonlinear waves. The generation of envelope soliton trains can result from the modulational instability phenomenon that leads to self induced modulations, with respect to small perturbations, such as noise, of input plane wave.

A New Possibility for Powder Diffraction: The Characterization of the Domain Microstructure in a Ferroelectric Material

1996

Topical Review: Functional Anatomy of Human Hippocampal Formation and Related Structures

1996

Data on the internal organization, and neuronal connections of the human hippocampal formation and related structures of the limbic system are briefly reviewed. In the healthy brain, somatosensory, visual, and auditory input proceeds through neocortical core and belt fields to a variety of association areas, and from here the data is transported via long cortico-cortical pathways to the extended prefrontal association cortex. Tracts generated from this highest organizational level of the brain guide the data via the frontal belt (premotor cortex) to the frontal core (primary motor area). The striatal and cerebellar loops provide the major routes for this data transfer. The main components o…

Are the Adverse Drug Reactions of Amoxycillin and Amoxycillin-Clavulanic Acid Similar?

1996

UNLABELLED In an attempt to assess the relative toxicity of amoxycillin and amoxycillin-clavulanic acid, we compared the adverse drug reactions reports collected using the spontaneous reporting system of a Regional Drug Surveillance Centre of Spain for both drugs between November 1986 and December 1992. During the 7-year period 1986-92, the 247 reports of amoxycillin-clavulanic acid represent twice the number of reports of amoxycillin alone, and the number of reports related with sales received concerning the association were higher than those concerning amoxycillin alone. The adverse effects classified as severe were quantitatively and qualitatively similar for both drugs and gastrointesti…

Spontaneous interleukin 2 release of bronchoalveolar lavage cells in sarcoidosis is a codeterminator of prognosis

1996

There is mounting evidence that activated interleukin 2 (IL-2)-releasing lymphocytes play a central role in the immunopathogenesis of sarcoidosis by directing inflammatory reactions and granuloma formation. In the context that a significant proportion of these cells accumulates in the lung and releases mediators, we hypothesized that different immunologically defined stages of sarcoidosis can be identified. A cohort of 89 sarcoidosis patients was allocated to four groups according to the following criteria: stage A, a low number of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) lymphocytes (20%) without IL-2 release (1 unit/ml in BAL cell culture supernatant); stage B, BAL lymphocytes20%, with IL-2 release (…

Order-disorder-and order-order-transitions in AB and ABC block copolymers: description by a simple model

1996

Based on the description of AB-block copolymers as micellar structures given by Semenov, the phase diagram of AB-diblock copolymers is calculated taking the homogeneously mixed system as a reference state. The predicted value (χN)c = 10.385 for a symmetric AB-diblock copolymer compares very well to the result of the original Random Phase Approximation theory (10.495). The simplicity of the model allows its extension to predict order-order transitions in ABC-triblock copolymers.

Cell wall protein and glycoprotein constituents of Aspergillus fumigatus that bind to polystyrene may be responsible for the cell surface hydrophobic…

1996

Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of Aspergillus fumigatus grown both in complex medium (yeast extract/peptone/dextrose; YPD) and minimal (Vogel's N) medium was monitored by assessing attachment of polystyrene microspheres to the cell surface. It was found that mature mycelium was hydrophobic. Treatment of intact mycelium with beta-mercaptoethanol (beta ME) abolished binding of the microspheres to hyphal elements, and coating of the microspheres with beta ME extracts from mycelium inhibited their attachment to intact mycelial cells. A. fumigatus mycelium was tagged in vivo with biotin and treated with beta ME. The beta ME extracts were analysed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting with both per…

Epidoxorubicin and double biochemical 5-fluorouracil modulation with folinic acid and human lymphoblastoid interferon in advanced gastric carcinoma: …

1996

In our previous randomized trial of advanced gastric cancer patients, the addition of epirubicin (EPI) to 5-fluorouracil (FU) with folinic acid (FA) resulted in an improved response rate and survival in the responder patients. Preclinical studies also showed an enhancement of FU and anthracyclines with interferon. To evaluate the possibility of human lymphoblastoid interferon (IFN) to enhance the therapeutic activity of the FA-FU + EPI combination regimen, 39 advanced gastric cancer patients received: FU at 375 mg/m2 i.v. immediately after FA (l-isomer form) at 100 mg/m2 i.v. for 5 consecutive days; EPI at 60 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, and IFN 3 MU s.c. for 7 consecutive days, starting 2 days bef…

Time trends of benign/malignant breast biopsy ratios a multicenter Italian study.

1996

Aims and background Although they have been decreasing over time due to improved specificity of diagnostic assessment, benign biopsies of the breast are still common. Benign biopsies should be regarded as negative events, due to their economical and psychological cost and their possible negative impact on cosmesis and on further diagnostic evaluation. Methods Retrospective data on benign/malignant breast biopsies ratio (B/M) were collected in 9 Italian centers for a period of 10-15 years. The time trend of B/M and its association to age or to single centers was evaluated. Results Overall 31,001 cases were considered. A strong association of B/M to age was evident (average B/M values were 5.…

Accumulation of Tetradifon in an Algae ( Nannochloris oculata ) and the Cladoceran, Daphnia magna

1996