Polymer aqyeous solutions as quenching media. I. Polyvinylpyrrolidone

The cooling power of aqueous solutions of polyvinylpyrrolidone are studied with a silver standard sample by using two apparatuses quench with injection and quench with agitation. The dependences of the cooling rates at each temperature on polymer concentration and solution viscosity are established and empirical laws of variation are given.     

Etude Critique de Deux Rejets Méthodologiques Chez B. F. Skinner.

Acritical discussion of Skinner's rejection of hypothetico-deductive methods, which he considers as inadequate, and of psychophysical explanations, interesting in his view, but only as a parallel to the study of behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Design of monomode quadruple-clad fibres

The design of quadruple-clad profiles, leading to (truly) monomode fibres is described: an explicit set of parameters is proposed. Experimental results are presented, concerning a fibre with a dispersion smaller than ±0.5 ps/km nm and an attenuation around 0.3 dB/km, over the 1.5?1.65 ?m wavelength interval.     

Aluminum Fluidity in Casting

The understanding and control of fluidity is, and has been, a major aspect of foundry technology development. This paper reviews the progress made in this area over the years as it applies to aluminum castings. As a result of this development, thin-wall, high-integrity aluminum castings which were previously not thought possible have been produced. Further work in this area is expected to allow metal-matrix composites to fulfill their technical and economic promise.     

Exposure of biological preparations to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields under low gravity

There is interest as to whether the electromagnetic fields used in mobile radiotelephony might affect biological processes. Other weak fields such as gravity intervene in a number of physical and biological processes. Under appropriate in vitro conditions, the macroscopic self-organization of microtubules, a major cellular component, is triggered by gravity. We wished to investigate whether self-organization might also be affected by radiotelephone electromagnetic fields. Detecting a possible effect requires removing the obscuring effects triggered by gravity. A simple manner of doing this is by rotating the sample about the horizontal. However, if the external field does not also rotate with the sample, its possible effect might also be averaged down by rotation. Here, we describe an apparatus in which both the sample and an applied radiofrequency electromagnetic field (1.8 GHz) are stationary with respect to one another while undergoing horizontal rotation. The electromagnetic field profile within the apparatus has been measured and the apparatus tested by reproducing the in vitro behavior of microtubule preparations under conditions of weightlessness. Specific adsorption rates of electromagnetic energy within a sample are measured from the initial temperature rise the incident field causes. The apparatus can be readily adapted to expose samples to various other external fields and factors under conditions of weightlessness.     

Anforderungen an Stahl‐ und Verbundknoten bei Stützenausfall in einem Rahmentragwerk

Eine lokale Schädigung innerhalb der Tragstruktur (z. B. Stützenausfall durch Anprall oder Explosion) kann zu einem Versagen der Gesamtstruktur und damit zum Einsturz des Gebäudes führen. Um solch ein globales Versagen durch lokale Schädigung zu vermeiden, muss innerhalb der Tragstruktur eine Umlagerung der Schnittgrößen ermöglicht werden, d. h., es müssen sich alternative Lastpfade ausbilden können. Solch eine Umlagerung, z. B. von einem reinen Biegezustand in einen gemischten Biege‐/Membranspannungszustand, bedingt unter Umständen sehr große Verformungen, die zu großen Deformationen der Anschlüsse führen. Im Rahmen eines europäischen RFCS‐Forschungsprojektes wurde versucht, mit Hilfe sehr duktiler Anschlussausbildungen die Robustheit von Stahl‐ und Verbundrahmentragwerken zu verbessern. Hauptaugenmerk bei der Konzeption der Anschlüsse war dabei, den Material‐ und Fertigungsaufwand der Anschlüsse so gering wie möglich zu halten und die Umlagerungsmöglichkeiten für außergewöhnliche Bemessungssituationen vornehmlich über das Vorhalten hoher Verformungskapazitäten der Anschlüsse zu aktivieren. Aus diesem Grund wurden hier nachgiebige teiltragfähige Anschlüsse gewählt. Als außergewöhnliche Bemessungssituation wurde in diesem Projekt schwerpunktmäßig der Stützenausfall in einem Rahmentragwerk betrachtet. (RFCS Research Fund for Coal and Steel) Requirements on steel‐ and composite joints for the load case column removal. Local failure in a structure (e. g. sudden column loss due to impact or explosion) may lead to progressive collapse propagation of the global structural system resulting in a total collapse. To avoid progressive collapse initiated by local damage a redistribution of force from the damaged part of the structure has to be enabled by alternate load paths. Activation of alternate load paths by change of the bearing mechanism from pure bending state to more or less pure membrane state is a measure that is only possible by allowing large deformations resulting in high deformation requirements for the joints. In the course of an European RFCS research project ductile joint solutions have been developed to improve the robustness as characteristic of the structure. Main focus of the joint design was to obtain the required deformation capacity for accidental design situations mainly from ductile joint and cause at the same time only few additional material and fabrication costs for the joints. As a result semi‐rigid and partial‐strength joint solutions have been chosen. Objectives within the project were to determine requirements of the joints concerning deformation capacity as well as M‐N‐resistance to enable the activation of catenary action for the load case notional column removal.     

Oxadiazole Derivatives as Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonists: Synthesis,Structure–Activity Relationships,and Sleep-Promoting Properties in Rats

The orexin system plays an important role in the regulation of wakefulness. Suvorexant, a dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) is approved for the treatment of primary insomnia. Herein, we outline our optimization efforts toward a novel DORA. We started our investigation with rac-[3-(5-chloro-benzooxazol-2-ylamino)piperidin-1-yl]-(5-methyl-2-[1,2,3]triazol-2-ylphenyl)methanone ( 3 ), a structural hybrid of suvorexant and a piperidine-containing DORA. During the optimization, we resolved liabilities such as chemical instability, CYP3A4 inhibition, and low brain penetration potential. Furthermore, structural modification of the piperidine scaffold was essential to improve potency at the orexin 2 receptor. This work led to the identification of (5-methoxy-4-methyl-2-[1,2,3]triazol-2-ylphenyl)-{(S)-2-[5-(2-trifluoromethoxyphenyl)-[1,2,4]oxadiazol-3-yl]pyrrolidin-1-yl}methanone ( 51 ), a potent, brain-penetrating DORA with in vivo efficacy similar to that of suvorexant in rats.     

Long-Term Measures of Dyslipidemia,Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress in Rats Fed a High-Fat/High-Fructose Diet

Inflammation and oxidative stress are thought to be involved in, or associated with, the development of obesity, dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. This work was designed to determine the evolution of inflammation and oxidative stress during onset and progression of hepatic steatosis and glucose intolerance. Seventy-five male Wistar rats were divided to control and high-fat high-fructose (HFHFr) groups. A subgroup of each group was sacrificed at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 weeks. HFHFr-fed rats exhibited overweight, glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis with increased contents of hepatic diacylglycerols and ceramides. The HFHFr diet increased hepatic interleukin 6 (IL-6) protein and adipose tissue CCL5 gene expression and hepatic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity but not mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. The HFHFr diet decreased plasma and liver levels of isoprostanoid metabolites as well as plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) levels. Hepatic glutathione content was decreased with a moderate decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) with the HFHFr diet. Overall, HFHFr diet led to hepatic lipid accumulation and glucose intolerance, which were accompanied by only moderate inflammation and oxidative stress. Most of these changes occurred at the same time and as early as 8 or 12 weeks of diet treatment. This implies that oxidative stress may be the result, not the cause, of these metabolic alterations, and suggests that marked hepatic oxidative stress should probably occur at the end of the steatotic stage to result in frank insulin resistance and steatohepatitis. These findings need to be further evaluated in other animal species as well as in human studies.     

Evaluation of two current approaches for the measurement of carbon dioxide diffusive fluxes from lentic ecosystems

The dry ice sowing experiment (DISE) consisted in adding dry ice to a lake and monitoring the subsequent evasion of carbon dioxide (CO2). DISE allowed us to evaluate two approaches commonly used for measuring aquatic CO2 diffusive fluxes: the boundary layer equation (BLE) from Cole and Caraco (1998) and a particular model of static chamber (SC). CO2 evasion measurements with both approaches were compared to CO2 mass budgets as a relative reference to define their recovery coefficients (p). p for the BLE and the SC over the whole measurement period were 101 +/- 14% and 115 +/- 56%, respectively. Results from discrete sampling intervals revealed that the BLE generally provided estimations in good agreement (80-130%) with the mass budgets during both daytime and nighttime. Variations in p for the BLE were related to wind speed and, consequently, piston velocity (k600). The SC overestimated CO2 evasion during daytime (149 +/- 39%), and underestimated it during nighttime (57 +/- 18%). Variations in p for the SC were related to k600, stemming mainly from the alteration of the air/ water temperature gradient.