Laser irradiation of oligosiloxane copolymer thin films functionalized with side chain bulky carbosilane moieties

Linear oligosiloxanes functionalized with bulky side chain tris(trimethylsilyl)hexyl (TTSH) substituents were transformed into cross-linked materials by UV 193 nm excimer pulsed laser ablation. The process occurred without any catalyst, by reactions of radicals formed in UV laser induced photolysis of side tris(trimethylsilyl)hexyl groups. Chemical changes were monitored by FTIR, LC/UV, GC/MS and solubility tests.     

Oil yield and compressibility modeling during microscale expression: Criteria for linseed breeding

Seven linseed varieties were harvested at seven times before complete maturity. Microscale oilseed expressions were subsequently carried out on it. A pressure of 10 MPa was applied for 1 h under uniaxial stress. The results were characterized in terms of oil, water and mucilage content, harvest date and oil yield. The piston displacement versus time (creep curves) was described by a four‐Kelvin‐Voigt elements viscoelastic model. Parameters were derived from the model, such as the mechanical properties of seeds (compressibility moduli), showing that the viscoelastic model fits well the experimental data (R² ≈ 0.999). The modeling parameters were combined with some biochemical data in order to predict the kinetics of oil extraction.     

Balance-dendrogram. A new routine of CoDaPack

A statistical analysis of compositional data based on the Aitchison geometry of the simplex requires an appropriate basis for representing the data. A simple and intuitive way of building such a basis employs a sequential binary partition of the compositional vector. The partition, together with some statistical summaries of the coordinates, or balances, can be represented in a dendrogram-type graph. In this paper we introduce an implementation of this methodology inside CoDaPack, which is freeware. An example with real data illustrates the use of the Balance-Dendrogram routine.     

On the crystal structure and magnetic properties of the ternary rare earth compounds RETSb2 with RE rare earth and T Ni, Pd, Cu and Au

Novel compounds RETSb₂ have been prepared and characterized for T Cu (RE rare earth from La to Lu), Ni (RE La to Ho), Pd (RE La to Tb) and Au (RE La to Sm). From X-ray powder diffraction analyses all compounds were found to crystallize as the ZrCuSi₂ type. Magnetic susceptibilities were generally measured in the temperature range from 4 to 100 K. YCuSb₂ and LaTSb_z are temperature-independent paramagnets. RETSb₂ compounds are found to order antiferromagnetically below T = 20 K. PrPdSb₂ and TbPdSb₂ undergo metamagnetic transitions, whereas PrCuSb₂ and ErCuSb₂ are simple ferromagnets. The Sm-containing compounds are typical Van Vleck paramagnets owing to the closely spaced multiplets.     

Estimates by computer simulation of genetic distances from comparisons of RNAse A mismatch cleavage patterns

The RNAse A mismatch cleavage method was used to analyze genomic variability in RNA and DNA systems. However, there is no method which relates the digestion patterns observed to the extent of genetic variation. Here we report computer simulations which provide a simple estimator of genetic distances from the comparison of RNAse A digestion patterns. The results show that the number of non-shared fragments is proportional to the number of mutations between each pair of sequences compared. This prediction is supported by the comparison of the RNAse A mismatch patterns and the nucleotide sequences of a set of influenza A (H3N2) hemagglutinin genes. The procedure allows a quantitative and reliable use of the RNAse A mismatch cleavage method.     

Spontaneous mutation for a quantitative trait in Drosophila melanogaster. II. Distribution of mutant effects on the trait and fitness

Exposure of the Chinese hamster ovarian AuxB1 cell line in vitro to fractionated X-irradiation generated sublines designated DXR-10, which proved resistant to multiple drugs and overexpressed P-glycoprotein (Pgp), as judged by Western blotting using the C219 monoclonal antibody. Further characterization of these irradiated DXR-10 sublines has provided evidence for: (i) the expression of cross-resistance to gramacidin D, taxol, puromycin and Navelbine, but not to daunomycin or mitoxantrone; (ii) overexpression of the class I Pgp, as judged by Western blotting using the C494 monoclonal antibody; (iii) decreased accumulation of 3H-vincristine, which could be enhanced by verapamil addition; (iv) unaltered accumulation and subcellular distribution of adriamycin; (v) significantly increased rhodamine 123 accumulation in the presence of verapamil; (vi) plasma-membrane ultrastructural modifications resulting in a significantly increased surface area; (vii) numerous clonal karyotypic alterations, with abnormalities involving the long arm of chromosome 1 being consistently identified; (viii) a lack of overexpression of sorcin; (ix) increased total glutathione levels and overexpression of glutathione S-transferase pi. The fact that only certain of these features are considered characteristic of the 'classic' multidrug-resistant CHRC5 cell line supports our earlier proposal that exposure to fractionated X-irradiation results in the expression of a unique drug-resistance phenotype.