Native and modified alumina, titania and zirconia in normal and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

1996

Chromatographic properties of silica, alumina, titania and zirconia have been investigated in normal phase mode in the separation of test mixtures of basic, neutral and acidic compounds. In contrast to silica the chromatographic behaviour revealed the basic properties of the alumina, titania and zirconia surfaces. Therefore, separation of basic compounds on these packings seems very promising. Lypophilic packings have been synthesized by modification of titania, zirconia and alumina with organosilanes and polymers and tested for the separation of basic compounds and proteins. High hydrolytic stability of the modified packings was observed during separations with strong alkali and acidic elu…

Rolle's Theorem Fails in l2

1996

Staphylococcal alpha-toxin, streptolysin-O, and Escherichia coli hemolysin: prototypes of pore-forming bacterial cytolysins.

1996

Staphylococcal alpha-toxin, streptolysin-O, and Escherichia coli hemolysin are well-studied prototypes of pore-forming bacterial cytotoxins. Each is produced as a water-soluble single-chain polypeptide that inserts into target membranes to form aqueous transmembrane pores. This review will compare properties of the three toxin prototypes, highlighting the similarities and also the differences in their structure, mode of binding, mechanism of pore formation, and the responses they elicit in target cells. Pore-forming toxins represent the most potent and versatile weapons with which invading microbes damage the host macroorganism.

Response ofBacillus subtilis spores to dehydration and UV irradiation at extremely low temperatures

1996

Spores of Bacillus subtilis have been exposed to the conditions of extreme dehydration (argon/silica gel; simulated space vacuum) for up to 12 weeks at 298 K and 80 K in the dark. The inactivation has been correlated with the production of DNA-double strand-breaks. The temperature-dependence of the rate constants for inactivation or production of DNA-double strand-breaks is surprisingly low. Controls kept in the frozen state at 250 K for the same period of time showed no sign of deterioration. In another series of experiments the spores have been UV irradiated (253.7 nm) at 298 K, 200 K and 80 K after exposure to dehydrating conditions for 3 days. Fluence-effect relationships for inactivati…

An alternative view of relationship marketing: a framework for ethical analysis

1996

At present, a continuing widespread debate on the moral nature of business is widely recognized. However, it seems that the ethical evaluation of business practices is not very common in the area of relationship marketing. Analyses relationship marketing from the viewpoint of ethical theories. The theories applied are deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and emotivism. Reviews and analyses studies on relationship marketing issues in order to construct a framework for the ethical analysis of relationship marketing principles. Finally presents a framework for ethical analysis in the form of a constructive solution. Includes a model or code of business ethics for relationship marketers. …

IV-Curves of tunnel junction arrays at lowered temperature by numerical simulation

1996

We have numerically investigated the effect of lowered T on the performance of the Coulomb blockade thermometer, which has been demostrated to yield primary thermometry in the high T limit where thermal excitations compete with the Coulomb blockade. The thermometer is formed by an array of tunnel junctions whose differentiated IV—curve is used to determine the temperature. The IV—curves were calculated by computer simulations and we have obtained corrections to the analytic high T behaviour due to the lowered temperature.

Immunochromatographic Assay for Quantitation of Milk Progesterone.

1996

We describe a rapid immunochromatographic method for the quantitation of progesterone in bovine milk. The method is based on a 'competitive' assay format using the monoclonal antibody to progesterone and a progesterone-protein conjugate labelled with colloidal gold particles. The monoclonal antibody to progesterone is immobilized as a narrow detection zone on a porous membrane. The sample is mixed with colloidal gold particles coated with progesterone-protein conjugate, and the mixture is allowed to migrate past the detection zone. Migration is facilitated by capillary forces. The amount of labelled progesterone-protein conjugate bound to the detection zone, as detected by photometric scann…

DELAYED ELECTRON EMISSION OF NEGATIVELY CHARGED TUNGSTEN CLUSTERS

1996

The delayed electron emission of negatively charged tungsten clusters has been investigated on a time scale from 1 to 500 ms. After being stored in a Penning trap clusters ions [Formula: see text] were heated via multiphoton absorption (hν=1.81 eV). In contrast to alkali and coinage metals no photofragmentation could be detected. Instead, for all cluster sizes studied so far only a decrease in the initial ion intensity as a function of time after excitation was observed. This decrease is not caused by ion loss from the trap, but has to be attributed to neutralization via delayed electron emission. The presented results strongly suggest that this process can be viewed as “thermionic emissio…

The Transversus and Rectus Abdominis Musculoperitoneal (TRAMP) Composite Flap for Vulvovaginal Reconstruction

1996

The transversus and rectus abdominis musculoperitoneal (TRAMP) flap, a novel composite flap supplied by the deep inferior epigastric vessels, was used successfully for partial vulvovaginal reconstruction following anterior and posterior exenteration. The full potential of the TRAMP flap in vulvovaginal reconstruction is being investigated further.

Strain induced renormalization of transport properties in UPt3 thin films

1996

The growth of sputter deposited UPt3 thin films on Al2O3 (1012), LaAlO3 (111) and SrTiO3 (111) was investigated. We found strongly 0001-textured growth of UPt3 in a small compositional range of 23–25% uranium content. For Al2O3-and LaAlO3-substrates no in-plane order could be observed whereas epitaxial growth was initiated on SrTiO3 (111): The growth can be identified as Vollmer-Weber like resulting in the formation of large lateral strain as a consequence of the growth mode and a lattice misfit of −4.3% between UPt3 (0001) and SrTiO3 (111). Strong deviations from the typical heavy-fermion characteristics in electronic transport properties like resistivity, magnetoresitivity and Hall-effect…

Glucocorticoid-sensitive hereditary inclusion body myositis.

1996

We report a hereditary muscle disorder with features of inclusion body myositis (IBM) in two adult sisters with slowly progressive asymmetrical muscle weakness. The findings of light microscopic and ultrastructural investigations of muscle biopsy specimens were consistent with a diagnosis of IBM. Both patients improved and stabilized on immunosuppressive treatment with corticosteroids and azathioprine. This differentiates our patients from other sporadic and familial cases of IBM. Clinical and histological features are described and compared with those of other previously reported families with IBM.

Computer-assisted interpretation of flow cytometry data in hematology.

1996

A computer program has been developed for computer-assisted diagnosis (including subclassification) of flow cytometry data of acute leukaemias and non-Hodgkin lymphomas by means of artificial intelligence. The knowledge base for the system has been formulatedas semantic networks that describe physiological hematopoiesisas well as the pathological situation (eg., aberrant antigen expression) of hematological disorders. The semantic networks reflect the hierarchy of cells and their occurrence in diseases, the normal and pathological antigen expression patterns of cells, cell maturation, and the frequency of cell populations in normal blood and bone marrow. Using these semantic networks, the d…

Changes in pulmonary calcitonin gene-related peptide and protein gene product 9.5 innervation in rats infected with Mycoplasma pulmonis.

1996

Changes in the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and polyneural protein gene product 9.5 (PGP) in hilar peribronchial innervation was investigated by immunohistochemistry in specific pathogen-free rats chronically infected with Mycoplasma pulmonis. Image analysis of immunostained sections revealed a reduction of approximately 62% in the amount of CGRP- and PGP-immunoreactive innervation of the peribronchial area in the infected animals. The portion of the total bronchial perimeter occupied by bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue was increased six-fold. The decrease in the CGRP-immunoreactive area could be the result either of an enhanced CGRP release or of a loss of nerve …

A new reverse dorsal metacarpal flap for the thumb

1996

Experiences with the integration of protocol software tools

1996

An analysis of a number of protocol software tools that are widely used in the development of communication protocols in the Finnish telecommunications industry is presented. To analyse the integrated use of these tools, a non-trivial application layer protocol with ACSE, ROSE and a simple presentation layer has been designed and implemented with the help of these software tools. Particular attention has been paid to compose a complete protocol implementation from the fragments produced with separate tools. Our observations clearly indicate that this integration is a major problem with the current practices.

Increased plasma concentration of fibrin monomer in acute myocardial infarction with early reperfusion.

1996

OBJECTIVE To assess whether plasma fibrin monomer (FM) concentration, a marker of thrombin activity, is increased in the first hours after acute coronary occlusion and whether there are differences between patients with and without early reperfusion. DESIGN Thirty-five consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and early coronary angiography were studied prospectively. METHODS Plasma FM samples taken on admission (< 6 h after onset of chest pain) and 6-14 h after onset of chest pain were analysed using a specific enzyme immunoassay. All of the patients were anticoagulated with heparin intravenously. RESULTS Of the 35 patients, 28 had angiographically documented reperfusion …

Characterization of alpha sources by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

1996

Radioactive sources for alpha spectrometry are usually prepared by electrodeposition onto stainless steel backings (and sometimes heated). In earlier work, using the conventional method with passivated implanted planar silicon detectors for the measurements, several sources had been characterized in terms of various parameters by fitting the data of each spectrum to a certain mathematical function. In the present work, the Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) technique with a 1.6 MeV He+ beam was used to study the influence of those factors on the surface distribution and depth profiles of the thin radionuclide layers. Simulations of the measurements using the RUMP computer code wer…

Temperature dependence of single chain properties in a binary polymer blend

1996

The temperature dependence of the correlation length of composition fluctuations and single chain statics and dynamics is studied in a symmetric, binary polymer blend. Our Monte Carlo simulation reveals a pronounced shrinking of the chain in the minority phase at low temperatures. However, only a weak temperature dependence of the single chain properties is found above criticality. Especially there is only a weak coupling between the correlation length of composition fluctuations and the relaxation of the internal chain structure. The coherent dynamic structure factor does not show any signs of a spatial restricted motion for our chain length N = 16, which is far below the entanglement leng…

Fascinating electronic games in iron complexes

1996

Coordination compounds of transition metal ions with open-shell electron configurations may exhibit dynamic electronic-structure phenomena, depending on the nature of the coordinating ligand sphere. The change of spin state with temperature («thermal spin-crossover»), light-induced electron transfer processes leading to long-lived metastable charge and spin states (e.g., «LIESST» effect), are some of the fascinating electronic games encountered in transition metal compounds, which are presently under extensive study by chemists and physicists. Mossbauer spectroscopy plays a dominant role in the investigation of such phenomena in iron compounds, as will be demonstrated in this paper. This wo…

Asymptomatic vaginal herpes simplex virus infections in mice: virology and pathohistology

1996

One of the causes of genital tract infections in humans are herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2). Although primary and recurrent infections can be clinically apparent and in part very serious, many infections are asymptomatic and result only in temporary genital shedding of virus (recurrences). During our investigations of vaginitis, strain IES of HSV-1 produced an asymptomatic infection. Replication in the murine vaginal (vag.) epithelium as well as antibody formation after vag. infection was comparable to those of survivors after infection with highly virulent strains. Titration of liver, spleen, ovaries, adrenal glands spinal cord, or brain after vag. IES infection revealed …

Moderne im Dialog mit der Postmoderne. Zu Liisa Saariluomas Buch Der postindividualistische Roman

1996

Meta-analyses of studies on the association between electromagnetic fields and childhood cancer.

1996

During the last 15 years several studies have investigated a possible relationship between exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and childhood cancer. There is considerable variation between these studies with respect to methods of exposure assessment and reported results. Methods of exposure assessment range from simple visual criteria to costly and time consuming measurements or estimations of electric flux density. Additional individual refinements further hinder the comparability of results. We carried out several meta-analyses of data published so far taking into account the heterogeneity between studies as far as possible. Our particular interest was to investigate a potential dose…

Effects of yohimbine on sexual experiences and nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity in erectile dysfunction.

1996

The therapeutic effect of the alpha 2-antagonist yohimbine in erectile dysfunction was studied in a double-blind placebo-controlled design. Thirty-one male patients underwent extensive clinical, urological, and psychiatric diagnosis and were dichotomically classified into an organic and a nonorganic subgroup. Following a 1-week placebo run-in period, patients were randomly assigned to a placebo or a verum group (yohimbine 15 mg daily) for a treatment period of 7 weeks. The Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale was used as the primary efficacy parameter. Additionally, nocturnal penile tumescence and rigidity (NPTR) were measured. Global assessment of erectile function applying the CGI scale…

Electrophysiological brainstem investigations in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

1996

Phasic inspiratory genioglossus activity prevents pharyngeal airway collapse in healthy subjects during sleep and is diminished or absent in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS), thus leading to pharyngeal obstruction. Case reports of OSAS after pontomedullary lesions indicate that impaired inspiratory genioglossal activity may result from brainstem lesions. We therefore investigated brainstem functions in 18 awake patients with OSAS using brainstem auditory evoked potentials, blink reflex, masseter reflex, masseter inhibitory reflex (in 11 of 18 patients), magnetic evoked potentials of the tongue and electrooculography with vestibular testing. Fifteen of 18 patients showed no electroph…

Atomic Decomposition of Weighted Besov Spaces

1996

We find the atomic decomposition of functions in the weighted Besov spaces under certain factorization conditions on the weight. Introduction. After achieving the atomic decomposition of Hardy spaces (see [8,22, 33]), many of the function saces have been shown to admit similar decompositions. Let us mention the decomposition of B.M.O. (see [32, 25]), Bergman spaces (see [9, 23]), the predual of Bloch space (see [ 11]), Besov spaces (see [15, 4, 10]), Lipschitz spaces (see [18]), Triebel-Lizorkin spaces (see [16, 31]),... They are obtained by quite different methods, but there is a unified and beautiful approach to get the decomposition for most of the spaces. This is the use of a formula du…

Phenolic Compounds as a Tool of Bioindication for Novel Forest Decline at Numerous Spruce Tree Sites in Germany

1996

Abstract Within a project that applied biochemical criteria to the diagnosis of damage to Norway spruce, 43 sites in western and eastern Germany showing only moderate tree damage were screened for the amounts of methanol soluble phenolic compounds in spruce needles. The concentrations of most of the main compounds-especially catechin-positively correlated with needle loss and the altitude of the site. It was also found that it is necessary to differenti­ate between trees younger and older than 60 years of age. The correlations between the increase of the phenolic compounds studied and the needle loss or the damage class are stronger in the younger trees, possibly implicating differences in …

Bis(stilbenyl)squaraines — Novel pigments with extended conjugation

1996

Abstract We report on the synthesis of a novel type of squaraines ( 11a-f, 17c ) in which the conjugation of the chromophore is extended by stilbene units. These pigments exhibit absorption bands which have their maxima at the end on the Vis region and reach partly into the NIR.

KNOTS WITH UNKNOTTING NUMBER ONE AND GENERALISED CASSON INVARIANT

1996

We extend the classical notion of unknotting operation to include operations on rational tangles. We recall the “classical” conditions (on the signature, linking form etc.) for a knot to have integral (respectively rational) unknotting number one. We show that the generalised Casson invariant of the twofold branched cover of the knot gives a further necessary condition. We apply these results to some Montesinos knots and to knots with less than nine crossings.

Wood-derived estrogens: studies in vitro with breast cancer cell lines and in vivo in trout.

1996

The wood-derived compound, beta-sitosterol (purity > 90%), was shown to be estrogenic in fish. It induced the expression of the vitellogenin gene in the liver of juvenile and methyltestosterone-treated rainbow trout. Structural similarities to beta-sitosterol notwithstanding, cholesterol, citrostadienol, beta-sitostanol, and 5-androstene-3 beta,17 beta-diol, an estrogenic member of the androstenic steroid group, were inactive. An abietic acid mixture (37% abietic acid, 6% dehydroabietic acid, and a remainder of unknown compounds) showed slight hormonal activity in feed, but it was completely inactive when given intraperitoneally in implants. The estrogenic component of the abietic acid prep…

Self-assessment: a study of progress in Europe's leading organizations in quality management practices

1996

Reports a European study on the use of quality management self‐assessment. Data have been obtained from 117 organizations who, in general, have some experiences of self‐assessment methods. Among the main findings were the identification of the steps which are considered to be a key influence on the success of the self‐assessment process and what have been the main learning points. Points out that organizations are using self‐assessment mainly to identify strengths and weaknesses and also to facilitate internal and external learning in terms of transfer of best practice and ideas.

Resonant Rayleigh scattering in quantum well structures

1996

Abstract We report continuous wave experiments on resonant Rayleigh scattering (RRS) performed on high quality GaAs AlGaAs quantum well structures. The simultaneous measurement of the resonant Rayleigh scattering and of the photoluminescence excitation (PLE) allows us to resolve very small differences between the two spectra. We show that, even in very good samples, there is a small but detectable Stokes shift of the RRS profile with respect to the PLE. It is also found that the RRS profile has a smaller linewidth and is sensitive to bound exciton transitions which are not detectable in the PLE. We compare our data with previous findings and discuss possible origins of the Stokes shift.

Nearest-neighbor Ising antiferromagnet on the fcc lattice: Evidence for multicritical behavior.

1996

The phase behavior of the Ising model with nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions on the fcc lattice in a homogeneous magnetic field is studied by means of large-scale Monte Carlo simulations. In accordance with the most recent of the previous investigations, but with significantly higher accuracy, it is found that the ``triple'' point at which the disordered phase coexists with both the AB phase as well as with the ${\mathit{A}}_{3}$B phase (corresponding to the model's lattice gas interpretation as a binary alloy ${\mathit{A}}_{\mathit{xB}1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$ such as ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Au}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$) occurs at a nonz…

Morphometrics and Cladistics: Measuring Phylogeny in the Sea Urchin Echinocardium

1996

A phylogenetic approach to the study of evolutionary patterns is based on taxic homologies (synapomorphies). In contrast, the recognition of evolutionary processes (namely heterochronies) involves analysis of the entire morphology. Recent developments in geometric morphometry permit analysis of morphological similarities grounded in operational homologies. Such morphometric techniques are explored (1) at the level of evolutionary processes, and (2) as a complement in exploration of phylogenetic relationships. To examplify this, we perform a two-part study of the ontogeny and phylogeny of the spatangoid sea urchin Echinocardium. First, a phylogenetic analysis of ten Recent species in the gen…

Review : Compounds involved in the flavor of surface mold-ripened cheeses : Origins and properties

1996

Abstract Cheese flavor is obtained through a series of chemical changes that occur in the curd during the early stages of ripening. Lipid hydrolysis leads to FFA, which serve as substrates for further reactions. Peptides and amino acids, which results from proteolysis, also lead to aroma compounds through enzymic and chemical reactions. This paper is a review of the current knowledge about the compounds that contribute to flavor in mold-ripened cheeses, especially Camembert-type cheese. Discussed are the pathway of formation, the sensory properties (odorous notes and perception thresholds), and the quantities of the main volatile compounds encountered in these types of cheeses.

A combined theoretical and experimental determination of the electronic spectrum of acetone

1996

A combined ab initio and experimental investigation has been performed of the main features of the electronic spectrum of acetone. Vertical transition energies have been calculated from the ground to the ny→π∗, π→π∗, σ→π∗, and the n=3 Rydberg states. In addition, the 1A1 energy surfaces have been studied as functions of the CO bond length. The 1A1 3p and 3d states were found to be heavily perturbed by the π→π∗ state. Resonant multiphoton ionization and polarization‐selected photoacoustic spectra of acetone have been measured and observed transitions were assigned on internal criteria. The calculated vertical transition energies to the ny→π∗ and all Rydberg states were found to be in agreeme…

Inhibition of Receptor Signaling to Phospholipase D by Clostridium difficile Toxin B

1996

Rho proteins have been reported to activate phospholipase D (PLD) in in vitro preparations. To examine the role of Rho proteins in receptor signaling to PLD, we studied the effect of Clostridium difficile toxin B, which glucosylates Rho proteins, on the regulation of PLD activity in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells stably expressing the m3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR). Toxin B treatment of HEK cells potently and efficiently blocked mAChR-stimulated PLD. In contrast, basal and phorbol ester-stimulated PLD activities were not or only slightly reduced. Cytochalasin B and Clostridium botulinum C2 toxin, mimicking the effect of toxin B on the actin cytoskeleton but without involvi…