Characterization of Lead Scandium Tantalate Ceramics Prepared by Precipitation Method

Precipitation and coating techniques that proved successful for lead scandium niobate were tried with lead scandium tantalate. The Ta₂O₅ did not prove to be a useful substrate for the precipitating carbonates, but the resulting fine-particle-size powder lowered the sintering temperature to 1375° with only 0.4 wt% PbO loss. Annealed samples showed shifts in the dielectric response and sharpening of infrared and X-ray diffraction patterns, but little development of super lattice.     

Determining soil physical properties by multi-sensor technique

Plant growth and crop yield can be significantly impeded by a number of soil physical parameters including soil water content, mechanical strength and soil electrical conductivity (EC). Therefore, to simultaneously measure these physical parameters along vertical depths in the field, it has been desired for many years. This study focused on developing a multi-sensor system, which contained a cell with three sensors for measuring soil water content, mechanical strength and EC. Additionally a Hall-current sensor was proposed to measure the operating current of a dc-motor, which generated the penetrating force during operating process. Based on the theoretical analysis of the transformation from electrical to mechanical energy, it was feasible to evaluate the soil mechanical strength from the operating current of the dc-motor. In order to verify the performance of the designed system and the theoretical analysis addressed, relevant calibrations and tests were conducted. The results demonstrate that the multi-sensor system could be beneficial and practical for field surveys.     

Aktuelle Fragen des Lebensmittelrechts und der Ern?hrungswirtschaft in internationaler Sicht

Zusammenfassung Innerhalb der weltweiten Bemühungen, technische Schranken des Lebensmittelverkehrs abzubauen, wird auf das Codex-Alimentarius-Projekt der FAO/WHO besonders hingewiesen. Außerdem werden Möglichkeiten und Grenzen lebensmittelrechtlicher Harmonisierungsmaßnahmen sowie wirtschaftspolitische Probleme für die Weiterentwicklung des Welthandels mit Lebensmitteln diskutiert.

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Present problems of international food legislation and nutrition II. International harmonization of laws for foodstuff trade

Summary World wide activities in removing unintended obstacles to international foodstuff trade are presented, especially the Codex Alimentarius project of FAO/WHO. Furthermore possibilities and boundries of harmonization of food law as well as economical and political problems of international development of foodstuff trade are being discussed.

     

“Technically Unavoidable” in Terms of Genetically Modified Organisms – an Approach for Food Control

In case of findings of authorized genetically modified (gm) plant ingredients below the 0.9 per cent threshold, exceptions from labelling requirements according to regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 can only be made, “provided that this presence is adventitious or technically unavoidable”. The authors describe factors that should be considered regarding contaminations by gm plant ingredients as technically unavoidable or not. A practical approach for interpretation, taking into account quality control measures and documentation as well as present findings in comparable products is proposed. Received: February 23, 2007     

The vertebrate linker histones H1 zero, H5, and H1M are descendants of invertebrate "orphon" histone H1 genes

We investigated the evolutionary history of the divergent vertebrate linker histones H1 zero, H5, and H1M. We observed that the sequence of the central conserved domain of these vertebrate proteins shares characteristic features with histone H1 proteins of plants and invertebrate animals which otherwise never appear in any vertebrate histone H1 protein. A quantitative analysis of 58 linker histone sequences also reveals that these proteins are more similar to invertebrate and plant histone H1 than to histone H1 of vertebrates. A phylogenetic tree deduced from an alignment of the central domain of all known linker histones places H1 zero, H5, and H1M in close vicinity to invertebrate sperm histone H1 proteins and to invertebrate histone H1 proteins encoded by polyadenylated mRNAs. We therefore conclude that the ancestors of the vertebrate linker histones H1 zero, H5, and H1M diverged from the main group of histone H1 proteins before the vertebrate type of histone H1 was established in evolution. We discuss this observation in the general context of linker histone evolution.     

Single-center randomized trial comparing tacrolimus (FK506) and cyclosporine in the prevention of acute myocardial rejection

BACKGROUND: To compare the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus and cyclosporine in heart transplantation, this single-center, prospective, randomized, open-label clinical trial was undertaken. METHODS: Seventy-three adult patients were randomly assigned at the time of transplantation to receive either tacrolimus (n=43) or cyclosporine (n=30) as the primary immunosuppressant. Ten of the 43 patients in the tacrolimus group received the drug intravenously in the perioperative period; all other patients received only oral tacrolimus. RESULTS: With a mean follow-up of 27 months, patient survival rates (tacrolimus 83%, cyclosporine 81%) were similar. Fewer patients experienced acute rejection in the tacrolimus group (79%) than in the cyclosporine group (100%), but the difference was not statistically significant. The number of infections and dialysis and insulin requirements were similar for the 2 treatment groups, but the proportion of patients requiring multidrug antihypertensive regimens was lower in the tacrolimus group (12.5% vs 50.0% at month 6; p=.025). The interpatient variance in pharmacokinetic parameters in a subset of 10 patients was much higher after the first oral dose of tacrolimus than at steady-state (eg, first-dose time at which maximal concentration is reached (t(max)): 3.5+/-2.5h, steady-state t(max): 2.0+/-0.7h), and patients treated with intravenous tacrolimus (n=13) rather than oral tacrolimus (n=30) reached target concentrations faster and with less interpatient variability (eg, at day 0: 9.72+/-10.9 ng/mL intravenously vs 3.31+/-8.1 orally). CONCLUSIONS: Tacrolimus was associated with similar efficacy and safety profiles compared with cyclosporine. The higher interpatient variance in absorption associated with oral tacrolimus during the first few days after transplantation would suggest that intravenous tacrolimus should be used during the perioperative period.