Maximum and Actual Evapotranspiration for Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) through NOAA Satellite Images in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

1996

Abstract An easy-to-follow methodology is developed for the assessment of regional evapotranspiration in Castilla-La Mancha, a semi-arid region of Spain. The methodology is applied to barley crops to monitor the irrigation scheduling over the region, by using remote sensing techniques supplemented by ground measurements. The methodology can be based on either of two models. In the first one, established by Caselles and Delegido, 1 the reference evapotranspiration, ET o , derives from the expression ET o = AR g (T a ) m a x + BR g + C where A, B and C are empirical coefficients, depending on climatic parameters and determined for each region; R g is the daily global radiation; and ( T a ) m …

Exercise and recovery in frog muscle: metabolism of PCr, adenine nucleotides, and related compounds

1996

The effects of exercise (swimming), fatigue, and recovery on the intracellular pH (pHi), energy-rich phosphates, and related metabolites were studied in the gastrocnemius muscle of common frogs (Rana temporaria) at 20 degrees C. Exercise caused a rapid decrease in the content of phosphocreatine (PCr) and a corresponding increase in that of Pi. The ATP level remained virtually constant for 1 min; its precipitous decrease during the following minute was associated with a rise in the contents of inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) and NH4+, indicating a marked activation of AMP deaminase. Five minutes of swimming caused severe fatigue, which was correlated with decreases in muscle PCr (-85%), ATP …

Tolerance towards resident intestinal flora in mice is abrogated in experimental colitis and restored by treatment with interleukin-10 or antibodies …

1996

There is now increasing evidence that hyperresponsiveness towards intestinal flora is a crucial event in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In support of this hypothesis, we recently described in humans that tolerance exists towards indigenous intestinal flora but is broken in active IBD lesions. In the present study, we have attempted to transfer this model into mice from different genetic backgrounds (BALB/c, SJL/J, C3H/HeJ). We found that mononuclear cells from spleen, small bowel and large bowel of mice do not proliferate, i.e. are tolerant when exposed to bacterial sonicates derived from autologous intestine (BsA) but do proliferate, i.e. are immune when exposed to b…

A numerical model of the cloud-topped planetary boundary-layer: Radiation, turbulence and spectral microphysics in marine stratus

1996

A numerical model of the cloud-topped planetary boundary-layer is presented. The model is one-dimensional with special emphasis on a detailed description of cloud microphysical processes. Aerosols and cloud droplets are treated in a two-dimensional particle-distribution whereby the activation of aerosols is calculated explicitly by solving the droplet-growth equation at all relative humidities. Atmospheric radiation is determined with a δ-two-stream radiation scheme. Turbulent fluxes are parametrized as a function of the turbulent kinetic energy. Numerical results are presented which are obtained by utilizing measurements made over the North Sea. The interaction between radiation, turbulenc…

Relationship of curative surgery on natural killer cell activity in colorectal cancer.

1996

Aim of this study has been to evaluate natural killer (NK) activity in patients with colorectal tumors before and after curative surgery.Forty colorectal cancer patients without distant metastases were stratified according to American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union Against Cancer staging system into three categories: Stage I (n = 12), Stage II (n = 15), and Stage III (n = 13). All of them underwent curative resection, and there were no major postoperative complications. Venous blood samples were obtained preoperatively, at surgical wound closure, and on the 1st, 7th, and 21st postoperative days. Mononuclear cells were isolated over Ficoll-Hypaque (Lymphoprep, Nycomed Pharma A…

Two-loop electroweak corrections to the ρ parameter beyond the leading approximation

1996

We show that in the framework of the pinch technique the universal part of the $\rho$ parameter can be meaningfully defined, beyond one loop. The universal part so obtained satisfies the crucial requirements of gauge-independence, finiteness, and process-independence, even when subleading contributions of the top quark are included. The mechanism which enforces the aforementioned properties is explained in detail, and several subtle field theoretical issues are discussed. Explicit calculations of the sub-leading two-loop corrections of order $O(G_{\mu}^{2}m^{2}_{t}M_{Z}^{2})$ are carried out in the context of an $SU(2)$ model, with $M_{W}=M_{Z}$, and various intermediate and final results a…

Cracking Activity and Hydrothermal Stability of MCM-41 and Its Comparison with Amorphous Silica-Alumina and a USY Zeolite

1996

It has been found that the cracking activity of MCM-41 for a reaction catalyzed by strong acids site, such asn-heptane cracking, is much lower than that of a USY zeolite, and similar to that of amorphous silica-alumina. The higher activity of USY is due to the presence of stronger Bronsted acid sites in the zeolite. In the case of gas oil cracking, the greater accessibility of the large molecules to acid sites in MCM-41 relative to USY makes the difference in activity between these two catalysts much smaller than for the pure hydrocarbon. In the calcined state MCM-41 is more active and gives more gasoline and less gases and coke than amorphous silica-alumina. However, when the catalysts wer…

Molecular architecture of a toxin pore: a 15-residue sequence lines the transmembrane channel of staphylococcal alpha-toxin.

1996

Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin is a hydrophilic polypeptide of 293 amino acids that produces heptameric transmembrane pores. During assembly, the formation of a pre-pore precedes membrane permeabilization; the latter is linked to a conformational change in the oligomer. Here, 41 single-cysteine replacement toxin mutants were thiol-specifically labelled with the polarity-sensitive fluorescent probe acrylodan. After oligomerization on membranes, only the mutants with acrylodan attached to residues in the sequence 118-140 exhibited a marked blue shift in the fluorescence emission maximum, indicative of movement of the fluorophore to a hydrophobic environment. Within this region, two functio…

Simulated annealing with restrained molecular dynamics using a flexible restraint potential: Theory and evaluation with simulated NMR constraints

1996

A new functional representation of NMR-derived distance constraints, the flexible restraint potential, has been implemented in the program CONGEN (Bruccoleri RE, Karplus M, 1987, Biopolymers 26:137-168) for molecular structure generation. In addition, flat-bottomed restraint potentials for representing dihedral angle and vicinal scalar coupling constraints have been introduced into CONGEN. An effective simulated annealing (SA) protocol that combines both weight annealing and temperature annealing is described. Calculations have been performed using ideal simulated NMR constraints, in order to evaluate the use of restrained molecular dynamics (MD) with these target functions as implemented i…

Viscosity of the elbow flexor muscles during maximal eccentric and concentric actions.

1996

The aim of the present study was to estimate the damping coefficient (B factor) of the elbow flexor muscles during both eccentric and concentric muscle actions. We used a muscle model consisting of a viscous damper associated in parallel with a contractile component, both in series with an elastic component. The viscous damper allowed the concentric loss and the eccentric gain of force to be modelled. Eight volunteer subjects performed maximal eccentric and concentric elbow movements on an isokinetic dynamometer at angular velocities of 0.52, 1.04 and 2.09 rad*s(-1). Torques at an elbow joint angle of 90 degrees were recorded. Electromyogram (EMG) signals from the belly of the right elbow f…

Typical Aspects of the Microwave Noise Performance of HEMTs at Decreasing Temperatures

1996

In analog signal processing at microwave frequencies the noise performance of active devices is of fundamental importance for the accurate design of low-noise amplifiers. To this aim, the determination of the four noise parameters F O , Γ O (complex variable) and Rn has to be accomplished together with the usual scattering parameter measurements vs. frequency. In addition, the dependence of the device performance vs. temperature is of interest for circuit applications characterized by harsh environmental conditions. In this work the noise behavior of high electron mobility transistors has been investigated by means of measurements and modeling in the 2-18 GHz frequency range and as a functi…

Antigen-presenting function and B7 expression of murine sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells.

1996

Abstract BACKGROUND & AIMS: Inflammatory liver disease as well as rejection of liver allografts are thought to be mediated by resident antigen- presenting cells in the liver. At the same time, in vivo antigen presentation in the liver appears to be a more tolerogenic than systemic antigen challenge. The aim of this study was to show and characterize the antigen-presenting capability of sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells. METHODS: Purified murine sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells were studied for their ability to serve as accessory cells and antigen-presenting cells by proliferation assays. They were also studied for their expression of interleukin 1 and the B7 costi…

Preparation, Characterisation and Dielectric Properties of YBa2Cu3O7-δ/ Insulator-Heterostructures

1996

YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ /insulator/Au-heterostructures on SrTiO 3 or LaAlO 3 substrates were prepared to study the properties of the materials SrTiO 3 , BaTiO 3 and Ceo 2 . X-ray diffraction measurements in Bragg-Brentano geometry show c-axis-oriented growth for the superconductor and the insulators SrTiO 3 and CeO 2 . Typical values for the rocking curve width of the different insulating films are between 0.4° and 0.8°. The highest breakdown fields are measured for the insulator SrTiO 3 with +37.5 kV/mm and -8.8 kV/mm. The permittivity for CeO 2 is independent of applied field and only weakly temperature dependent. This is in contrast to the perovskite type insulators, where the permittivity depe…

Description of sub-barrier heavy ion fusion in a semiclassical quantum tunneling model

1996

In this paper we apply the semiclassical method based on the Feynman path integral formalism to sub-barrier fusion of heavy nuclei. Cross sections are calculated and compared to experimental data and to coupled-channel calculations for different mass systems: 32S124Mg, 58Ni164Ni, and 16O1208Pb. The semiclassical method and coupled-channel calculations give comparable results. It is found that the coupling produces a renormalization of the barrier that is responsible for the enhancement of sub-barrier fusion cross sections and a dissipative force along the classical tunneling path.

On the Measurement of Dead Time in Micellar Liquid Chromatography

1996

Abstract Modelling of the retention of solutes in micellar liquid chromatography allows the optimization of the resolution of a mixture of solutes and the determination of physico-chemical retention parameters. Both tasks imply the calculation of capacity factors, which are severely affected by the value of dead time. However, the determination of the dead time is not easy when a micellar mobile phase is used owing to the wide and variable perturbations that appear at the heads of the chromatograms. Four different criteria of determination of a reference time in the chromatograms are proposed and compared. The criteria are applied to mobile phases containing a varying concentration of surfa…

Control of glycolysis in vertebrate skeletal muscle during exercise

1996

The gastrocnemius muscle of the frog (Rana temporaria) has a high capacity for anaerobic glycolysis from glycogen. Glycolytic metabolites and effectors of phosphofructokinase, particularly the hexose bisphosphates, were followed in muscle during exercise (swimming between 5 s and 5 min), recovery (rest for up to 2 h after 5 min of swimming), and repeated exercise (swimming for up to 60 s after 2 h of recovery). Glycogen phosphorylase and phosphofructokinase were swiftly activated with exercise. The hexose bisphosphates followed markedly different time courses. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate was transiently increased in both exercise and repeated exercise. This appears to be an effect rather tha…

Unsaturated fatty acid bioconversion by apple pomace enzyme system. Factors influencing the production of aroma compounds

1996

Productions of volatile compounds (hexanal and 2,4-decadienal) obtained from polyunsaturated fatty acids by action of specific apple pomace enzyme system were quantitatively improved by increasing substrate and enzyme concentrations in the reaction medium. The importance of an exogenous supply of oxygen during bioconversion was also shown. Some physico-chemical factors involved in the pomace enzyme system expression were screened. A temperature of 25°C was favourable to the bioconversion. The control of alkaline or acidic conditions in the reaction medium may orientate the reaction preferentially to the production of one or other aldehyde.

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1996

Combined LC-polymers possess the structural properties of both LC main chain and LC side chain polymers. Beneath this structural speciality, their broad LC-phases and their polymorphism (different smectic phases and one nematic phase as a function of temperature) make them interesting. Crucial to an understanding of them is the fact that main chain and side chain mesogens orient parallel to each other and interact cooperatively to form the LC-phase. Due to this synergism the temperature range of the LC-phase is much broader than that of the corresponding LC main chain and LC side chain polymers. This interplay of main chain and side chain mesogens allows structures to be designed with prefe…

Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2, pathogenic for eels, is also an opportunistic pathogen for humans

1996

We report that the eel pathogen Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 is also an opportunistic pathogen for humans. Results from a detailed comparative study using reference strains of both biotypes revealed that the clinical strain ATCC 33817, originally isolated from a human leg wound and classified as V. vulnificus (no reference on its biotype is noted), belongs to biotype 2 of the species. As a biotype 2 strain, it is negative for indole and pathogenic for eels and mice, harbors two plasmids of high MrS, and belongs to serogroup E, recently proposed as characteristic of biotype 2 strains. In consequence, appropriate measures must be taken by consumers, particularly by those running a health risk,…

Estrogen content and metabolism in human breast tumor tissues and cells.

1996

Echo-Doppler left ventricular filling abnormalities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis without clinically evident cardiovascular disease

1996

Our investigation aimed at verifying diastolic abnormalities in rheumatoid patients, without clinically evident cardiovascular disease and other confounding complaints, by using pulsed Doppler examination of transmitral blood flow. We selected 40 patients fulfilling revised American Rheumatism Association (ARA) criteria for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis having no symptoms of cardiac disease or clinical findings of other extracardiac diseases. We also studied 40 rheumatoid-matched healthy volunteers as a control group. An echocardiographic examination was carried out on each subject. Left ventricular structural and functional measurements were obtained. Interventricular, septal thick…

From the fine arts to a cultural policy Dijon 1919 to 1995: The example of a regional capital in France

1996

(1996). From the fine arts to a cultural policy Dijon 1919 to 1995: The example of a regional capital in France. The European Journal of Cultural Policy: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 341-358.

The popularization of plate tectonics: presenting the concepts of dynamics and time

1996

There have been many attempts to describe and represent the theory of plate tectonics to laypeople. In the context of a study conducted at the request of a museum, we have tried to determine how the concepts of both geological time and the movements of the plates have been reformulated. After having systematically studied in detail publications aimed at more or less educated readers, we have selected a corpus of twelve articles from nine different magazines or journals. Among the different means of expression used by the popularizers, rhetorical figures constitute a significant resource. Procedures based on analogy (metaphor, comparison, analogical reasoning) were brought together in a sing…

Improved multilineage response of hematopoiesis in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes to a combination therapy with all-trans-retinoic acid, gra…

1996

Differentiation induction therapy is being tested in myelodysplastic syndromes to ameliorate maturation defects and to restore normal hematopoietic function. To this end, 17 patients (eight with refractory anemia, two with refractory anemia and ring sideroblasts, and seven with refractory anemia and excess of blast cells) were treated with a combination of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), erythropoietin (EPO), and alpha-tocopherol for durations of 8-16 weeks. Absolute neutrophil counts increased in all patients; platelet counts increased in five patients with discontinuation of transfusion needs in two of four transfusion-dependent patients. Sti…

El estatuto de la ética aplicada. Hermenéutica crítica de las actividades humanas

1996

Not available.<br><br>Durante algún tiempo el problema de la fundamentación de lo moral atrajo la atención de los éticos. Hoy en día, el «giro aplicado » sufrido por la filosofía afecta en primer término a la ética y le pide orientaciones, aunque mediatas como es propio de la filosofía, para organizar la vida en las distintas esferas de la vida social. Este cambio exige ante todo aclarar cuál debe ser el proceder de la ética aplicada (deductivo, inductivo, hermenéutico), si existen principios comunes a sus distintos ámbitos o constituyen reinos de taifas, cuáles son los principios, hábitos y valores que cada esfera exige para moralizarse, en el sentido de Ortega, qué métodos son…

Surface-induced ordering and disordering in face-centered-cubic alloys: A Monte Carlo study

1996

Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations we have studied phase transitions in a fcc model with antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor couplings $J$ in the presence of different free surfaces which lead either to surface-induced order or to surface-induced disorder. Our model is a prototype for CuAu-type ordering alloys and shows a strong first-order bulk transition at a temperature $\frac{k{T}_{\mathrm{cb}}}{|J|}=1.738005(50)$. For free (100) surfaces, we find a continuous surface transition at a temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{cs}}g{T}_{\mathrm{cb}}$ exhibiting critical exponents of the two-dimensional Ising model. Surface-induced ordering occurs as the temperature approaches ${T}_{\mathrm{cb}}$ and …

The sigma rectum pouch (Mainz pouch II)

1996

A low-pressure reservoir for urine is created by antimesenteric splitting and side-to-side anastomosis of the rectosigmoid, the expectation being to obtain better continence rates and better protection of the upper tract than are achievable by ureterosigmoidostomy. Between 1990 and August 1993 the procedure was performed in 73 patients (59 adults and 14 children) whose mean age was 43.5 years. The indications were malignancy (n = 55), bladder exstrophy/epispadias (n = 14), trauma (n = 3), and sinus urogenitalis (n = 1). Of the 73 patients, 69 were followed for a mean period of 127 (range, 1-34) months. In all, 5 early complications were encountered (6.8%). In addition, 8 late complications …

Background charge fluctuations in SET-transistors

1996

We have studied fluctuations of background charges in single electron tunnelling (SET) transistors. Changes in the charge distribution of the substrate and other dielectric materials near the transistor cause uncontrolled changes in its conductivity. We have observed big differences in the type and frequency of the conductivity fluctuations between different samples, but no systematic dependence on the substrate material has been found. To obtain information about the location of the source of the charge noise, we performed coincidence measurements on two separate SET transistors which were made very near to each other. The results suggest that the conductivity fluctuations are caused by ch…

Protection of rabbits against rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease with a vaccinia-RHDV recombinant virus

1996

In order to protect domestic and wild rabbits against RVHD, we constructed a recombinant vaccinia-RHDV virus, using the Copenhagen strain of the vaccinia virus. This recombinant virus expressed the RHDV capsid protein (VP60). Analysis of the expressed product showed that the recombinant protein, which is 60 kDa in size, was antigenic as revealed by its reactions in immunoprecipitation and indirect immunofluorescence with the antibodies raised against RHDV. The recombinant virus induced high level of RHDV specific antibodies in rabbits following immunization. Inoculations by both the intradermal and oral routes allow protection of animals against a challenge with virulent RHDV.

Long-Term Administration of High Dose Vitamin A to Rats Does Not Cause Fetal Malformations: Macroscopic, Skeletal and Physicochemical Finds

1996

A rat model was used to investigate whether high oral doses of vitamin A lead to fetal malformations and to what extent retinyl esters (RES) are transferred from the mother to the fetuses. Retinol and RES concentrations in plasma behave similarly in rats and humans. When high concentrations of vitamin A are administered, plasma retinol concentrations remain relatively constant, whereas plasma RES increased in parallel with the dose. To achieve an elevation from approximately 150 to > 1525 nmol x L(-1) in the experimental group before mating, female Ibm: RORO (spf) rats were fed a maintenance diet enriched with 15.2 x 10(3) retinol equivalents (RE) x kg(-1) at the start and increased stepwis…

Size-consistent single-reference methods for electronic correlation: a unified formulation through intermediate hamiltonian theory

1996

Using the intermediate hamiltonian theory as a unique conceptual frame and the technique of CI matrix dressing, a wide series of single-reference methods for the treatment of the ground state correlation are reviewed, compared, and sometimes improved. These methods range from independent excitation approximation (the very next step beyond MP2) to coupled cluster, going through the so-called electron pair approximations and the (SC)2CI formalism. A hierarchy of these methods can be established according to two criteria: These formulations in terms of diagonalizations of dressed CI matrices avoid convergence problems, but their main advantage is their flexibility, since they apply to multi-re…

Evidence of competitive inhibition for the intestinal absorption of baclofen by phenylalanine

1996

Abstract Previous studies showed that the absorption of the antispastic drug baclofen, in the rat middle intestine, is inhibited by β-alanine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and leucine. It was concluded that baclofen intestinal transport was mediated, at least in part, by the β-, γ- and α-amino acid carriers. We therefore focused our next studies on the analysis of the possible inhibition of drug absorption by an aromatic α-amino acid model compound, phenylalanine. An in situ study in the rat small intestine was undertaken in order to evaluate the effect of phenylalanine on baclofen absorption and to establish the inhibition model. Assays using isotonic perfusion solutions of 0.5 mM baclofen w…

Plasticizer extraction of Taxol infusion solution from various infusion devices.

1996

Taxol solution extracts the plasticizer DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate) from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials. In order to minimize patient exposure to DEHP, Taxol solutions should be prepared and administered in PVC-free materials. Particulate matter may form in Taxol infusion solution over time, so that in-line filtration with microporous membranes not greater than 0.22 microns is advisable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suitability of various administration- and in-line filter-sets for Taxol application. The extent of leached DEHP was determined using a Reversed Phase HPLC assay specific for DEHP. The four tested administration-sets, labeled as PVC-free, were all found…

Binding of human fibronectin to Aspergillus fumigatus conidia.

1996

Aspergillus fumigatus conidia exhibited the ability to bind purified human fibronectin, whereas mycelial forms did not bind the ligand, as detected by an indirect immunofluorescence assay with an antifibronectin polyclonal antibody after incubation of the cells with fibronectin. Flow cytometry confirmed that binding of the ligand to conidia was dose dependent and saturable. Pretreatment of the cells with trypsin markedly reduced binding, which suggested a protein nature for the binding sites present at the surface of conidia. Intact conidia were also able to adhere to fibronectin or antifibronectin antibodies, a significant reduction (from 88 to 92%) in the binding of conidia was noticed, t…

Pattern of brain destruction in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases

1996

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are the most common age-related degenerative disorders of the human brain. Both diseases involve multiple neuronal systems and are the consequences of cytoskeletal abnormalities which gradually develop in only a small number of neuronal types. In AD, susceptible neurons produce neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and neuropil threads (NTs), while in PD, they develop Lewy bodies (LBs) and Lewy neurites (LNs). The specific lesional pattern of both illnesses accrues slowly over time and remains remarkably consistent across cases. In AD, six developmental stages can be distinguished on account of the predictable manner in which the neurofibrillar…

Capturing Shock Reflections: An Improved Flux Formula

1996

Godunov type schemes, based on exact or approximate solutions to the Riemann problem, have proven to be an excellent tool to compute approximate solutions to hyperbolic systems of conservation laws. However, there are many instances in which a particular scheme produces inappropriate results. In this paper we consider several situations in which Roe's scheme gives incorrect results (or blows up all together) and we propose an alternative flux formula that produces numerical approximations in which the pathological behavior is either eliminated or reduced to computationally acceptable levels.