Evaluation of triple quantum-filtered 23Na NMR spectroscopy in the in situ rat liver

Expression of intermediate filaments (IFs) has been suggested to be a reliable marker for differentiating epithelial and non-epithelial tumors. Moreover, the c-erbB-2 and p53 genes are considered to be involved relatively early in the process of human carcinogenesis. In order to elucidate the origin of uterine carcinosarcomas, we analyzed IF, c-erbB-2 and p53 expression in and the ultrastructural characteristics of clones derived from a human uterine-carcinosarcoma cell line, EMTOKA. The expression of IFs and other proteins in the EMTOKA clones was identical to that in the EMTOKA cell line. It and its 7 clones all expressed cytokeratins 8, 17, 18 and 19, vimentin, epithelial membrane antigen, S-100, myoglobin, type-II collagen, alpha-smooth-muscle actin, placental alkaline phosphatase and epidermal-growth-factor receptor. The c-erbB-2 and p53 expression levels of all the cell types of the EMTOKA cell line and its clones were the same. Interestingly, an ultrastructural study showed that the EMTOKA cell line and its clones at early and late passages possessed the characteristics of epithelial cell types without either transitional forms between the epithelial and stromal components or differentiation into sarcomatous components. The results of this study lend particular support to the combination tumor hypothesis that a precursor (stem) cell gives rise both to epithelial and to mesenchymal components during the histogenesis of uterine carcinosarcoma, the epithelial component of which appears to be dominant, suggesting that the established cell lines derived from a common stem cell.     

COMAR [IEEE Committee on Man Radiation]

The author reports the activities of the IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR). COMAR critically examines and interprets the literature on biological effects. Its findings are usually reported in the form of Technical Information Statements (TISs). While the Committee holds several regular meetings every year, most of the technical work is done offline, and discussed via e-mail. It should be pointed out that COMAR does not establish safety standards, but it has an interest in the standards activity within its scope     

Creating gold nanoprisms directly on quartz crystal microbalance electrodes for mercury vapor sensing

A novel electrochemical route is used to form highly {111}-oriented and size-controlled Au nanoprisms directly onto the electrodes of quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) which are subsequently used as mercury vapor sensors. The Au nanoprism loaded QCM sensors exhibited excellent response-concentration linearity with a response enhancement of up to ～ 800% over a non-modified sensor at an operating temperature of 28?°C. The increased surface area and atomic-scale features (step/defect sites) introduced during the growth of nanoprisms are thought to play a significant role in enhancing the sensing properties of the Au nanoprisms toward Hg vapor. The sensors are shown to have excellent Hg sensing capabilities in the concentration range of 0.123-1.27 ppm(v) (1.02-10.55 mg m(-3)), with a detection limit of 2.4 ppb(v) (0.02 mg m(-3)) toward Hg vapor when operating at 28?°C, and 17 ppb(v) (0.15 mg m(-3)) at 89?°C, making them potentially useful for air monitoring applications or for monitoring the efficiency of Hg emission control systems in industries such as mining and waste incineration. The developed sensors exhibited excellent reversible behavior (sensor recovery) within 1 h periods, and crucially were also observed to have high selectivity toward Hg vapor in the presence of ethanol, ammonia and humidity, and excellent long-term stability over a 33 day operating period.     

On the boundary conditions applicable in the analysis of a matrix air heater

A dimensionless analysis of matrix air heaters has been developed to study the effect of different boundary conditions on its performance. The theoretical results have been compared with measurements of an experiment performed with one type of matrix solar air heater. For the fourth set of boundary conditions, the theoretical results agree fairly well with experimental data, thus providing confidence in particular boundary conditions. For this particular set of boundary conditions, the thermal performance of the system has been studied for different mass flow rates of air and as a function of other physical parameters.     

Experimental investigations on solar chimney for room ventilation

Experimental investigations on a small size solar chimney show that the rate of ventilation increases with increase of the ratio between height of absorber and gap between glass and absorber. This finding is in agreement with results of the steady-state mathematical model developed for analysis of such systems. Nine different combination of absorber height and air gap have been investigated on the experimental set-up. Highest rate of ventilation induced with the help of solar energy was found to be 5.6 air change per hour in a room of 27 m³, at solar radiation 700 W/m² on vertical surface with the stack height-air gap ratio of 2.83 for a 1 m high chimney.     

Kinetic modelling and microbial community assessment of anaerobic biphasic fixed film bioreactor treating distillery spent wash

Anaerobic digestion, microbial community structure and kinetics were studied in a biphasic continuously fed, upflow anaerobic fixed film reactor treating high strength distillery wastewater. Treatment efficiency of the bioreactor was investigated at different hydraulic retention times (HRT) and organic loading rates (OLR 5-20 kg COD m⁻³ d⁻¹). Applying the modified Stover-Kincannon model to the reactor, the maximum removal rate constant (U_max) and saturation value constant (K_B) were found to be 2 kg m⁻³ d⁻¹ and 1.69 kg m⁻³ d⁻¹ respectively. Bacterial community structures of acidogenic and methanogenic reactors were assessed using culture-independent analyses. Sequencing of 16S rRNA genes exhibited a total of 123 distinct operational taxonomic units (OTUs) comprising 49 from acidogenic reactor and 74 (28 of eubacteria and 46 of archaea) from methanogenic reactor. The findings reveal the role of Lactobacillus sp. (Firmicutes) as dominant acid producing organisms in acidogenic reactor and Methanoculleus sp. (Euryarchaeotes) as foremost methanogens in methanogenic reactor.     

Towed antennas for US submarine communications: a historical perspective

The evolution of the submarine and the development of radio communication are interrelated. From the earliest days, the effectiveness of a submarine as a war-fighting vessel was linked to its ability to receive orders via the then new medium of radio. This paper traces the earliest work that linked the two together - particularly from the viewpoint of the antenna as the ship's electronic "ears" - to the present, where work is being done to provide the "silent service" with the communications sensors needed to participate fully in the battle space of the future.     

Non-Clairvoyant Scheduling for Minimizing Mean Slowdown

We consider the problem of scheduling dynamically arriving jobs in a non-clairvoyant setting, that is, when the size of a job in remains unknown until the job finishes execution. Our focus is on minimizing the mean slowdown, where the slowdown (also known as stretch) of a job is defined as the ratio of the flow time to the size of the job. We use resource augmentation in terms of allowing a faster processor to the online algorithm to make up for its lack of knowledge of job sizes. Our main result is that the Shortest Elapsed Time First (SETF) algorithm, a close variant of which is used in the Windows NT and Unix operating system scheduling policies, is a $(1+\epsilon)$-speed, $O((1/\epsilon)^5 \log^2 B)$-competitive algorithm for minimizing mean slowdown non-clairvoyantly, when $B$ is the ratio between the largest and smallest job sizes. In a sense, this provides a theoretical justification of the effectiveness of an algorithm widely used in practice. On the other hand, we also show that any $O(1)$-speed algorithm, deterministic or randomized, is $\Omega(\min(n,\log B))$-competitive. The motivation for resource augmentation is supported by an $\Omega(\min(n,B))$ lower bound on the competitive ratio without any speedup. For the static case, i.e., when all jobs arrive at time 0, we show that SETF is $O(\log{B})$ competitive without any resource augmentation and also give a matching $\Omega(\log{B})$ lower bound on the competitiveness.     

Cutting to the chase [microwave car stopper]

This article presents a microwave device that could spell the end of hair-raising car chases. A prototype has been commissioned by law enforcement agencies and police forces in the United States and Britain have ordered tests of the new system. This car zapper is designed to fit in the trunk of a police car with a directive antenna mounted on the roof. At the touch of a button, a police officer can direct a jolt of microwave energy at a speeding car. The electromagnetic impulse induces high transient currents in the wires leading to the microprocessor of the suspect's car and disables the ignition.