Development and evaluation of a new Eu/SmPd3 source for use with Gd Mössbauer spectroscopy

A ¹⁵⁵Eu/¹⁵⁴SmPd₃ (about 231 MBq) source for use with ¹⁵⁵Gd Mössbauer spectroscopy was developed by a novel method. In the novel method, the isotopically enriched ¹⁵⁴SmPd₃ compound was prepared by the conventional solid state reaction of ¹⁵⁴Sm(HCOO)₃ and PdH_x in a hydrogen atmosphere at 1273 K for 18 h, which is simpler than the previously reported method. In order to increase the reaction areas, palladium fine particles used to synthesize the PdH_x hydride were prepared by a chemical solution process. Performance of the newly developed source was evaluated by observing the ¹⁵⁵Gd Mössbauer spectra of known compounds, GdPd₃ and cubic Gd₂O₃ at 12 K. The obtained results indicated that the developed source is fine enough to investigate the structural characteristic of various materials containing gadolinium.     

利用超长寿命快堆嬗变亚锕元素的特性研究

对利用超长寿命快堆（ＵＬＬＦＢＲ）嬗变高放核废物亚锕元素（ＡＭｓ）的堆芯物理特性进行了初步分析,得出了在ＵＬＬＦＢＲ中适当布置ＡＭｓ,既可以嬗变ＭＡｓ,又可改善超长寿命反应堆的物理特性这一结论。     

Structural determination of subsidiary colors in commercial Food Green No. 3 (fast green FCF, FD & C Green No. 3).

HPLC analysis revealed that eight subsidiary colors existed in commercial Food Green No. 3 (fast green FCF, FD & C Green No. 3). Among them, four subsidiary colors C, F, G, and H were isolated by using preparative HPLC and their structures were determined by MS and NMR. They were the disodium salt of 2-[[4-[N-ethyl-N-(3- sulfophenylmethyl)amino]phenyl][4-[N-ethyl-N-(4- sulfophenylmethyl)amino]phenyl]methylio]-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid (abbreviated as m,p-G-3), the sodium salt of 2-[[(4-N-ethylamino)phenyl][4-[N-ethyl-N-(3- sulfophenylmethyl)amino]-phenyl]methylio]-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid [abbreviated as HSBA-(EA) (m-EBASA)], the sodium salt of 2-[[(4-N-diethylamino)phenyl][4-[N-ethyl-N-(3- sulfophenylmethyl)amino]phenyl]-methylio]-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid [abbreviated as HSBA-(di-EA) (m-EBASA)], and the sodium salt of 2-[[4-[N-ethyl-N-(phenylmethyl)amino]phenyl][4-[N-ethyl-N-(3- sulfophenylmethyl)-amino]phenyl]methylio]-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid [abbreviated as HSBA-(EBA)(m-EBASA)], respectively. HSBA-(di-EA) (m-EBASA) was a subsidiary color newly found in commercial Food Green No. 3.     

Impact of the gate-drain overlapped device (GOLD) for deepsubmicrometer VLSI

The gate-drain overlapped device (GOLD) structure is proposed to achieve high reliability and high performance in deep submicrometer MOSFETs. The GOLD device concept is different from that of drain-engineering methods such as the double-diffused drain (DDD) and lightly doped drain (LDD). GOLD eliminates the tradeoff between transconductance and breakdown voltage (hot-carrier, drain sustaining). The overlap effect of the GOLD devices is discussed using simulation and experiment. GOLD has a gate structure using a native oxide film (5-10 A) to obtain an overlapped fine structure. The process is also compatible with conventional LDD processes and is suitable for 0.3-0.5-μm-design-rule devices at 5-V operation, and 3-V operation     

Next-generation 10 GBaud module based on emerging SFP+ with host-based EDC [Topics in Optical Communications]

There has been an ongoing trend to require transceivers for use in datacom and telecom switches to be small and have low power dissipation to enable large port count switches. At speeds between 1 and 4 GBaud the SFP form factor is by far the most commonly used. Up to now 10 GBaud transceivers have used larger devices with larger power dissipations. This article describes the SFP+ module being specified by the SFF Committee (SFF 8431) that will enable the same port densities as the SFP module. The adaptive equalizers and high-speed transmission channels required in the switches to make the SFP+ module work successfully are also described     

Structure and Bonding in Some Gd（Ⅲ） Metal Complexes Studied by Three-Dimensional X-Ray Analysis and ^155Gd Mossbauer Spectroscopy

Some functional lanthanide metal complexes, such as acetylacetonato complexes, ethylenediaminetetraacetato complexes, were successfully applied for diagnostic technique. The authors are interested in investigating the structure and bonding in lanthanide and actinide metal complexes using 166Er, t55Gd, and 237Np Mtissbauer spectroscopies in connection with single-crystal and/or powder X-ray diffraction, making clear the differences on their structures as well as the differences in the participation of 4f and 5f orbitals in the chemical bonds. In this article, the crystal structures of two novel Gd（Ⅲ） acetylacetonato complexes, Gd（pta）3 · 2H2O （pta = 1,1,1 -trifluoro-5,5-dimethy 1-2,4-hexanedione） and Gd（bfa）3 · 2H2O （bfa = 1, 1, 1 -trifluoro-4-phenyl-2-4-butanedione） were reported. Though both of them were dihydrate and had distorted square antiprismatical structure, Gd（pta）3 · 2H2O crystallizes in the P 2 1/n （#14） monoclinic space group and its lattice parameters are a = 1.4141（6） nm, b = 1.0708（3） nm, c =2.2344（4） nm, β =952.4（2）°, and Gd（bfa）3· 2H2O crystallizes in P 212121 orthorhombic space group and its lattice parameters were a = 1.322 （1） nm, b = 2.295 （1） nm, c = 1. 0786（8） nm. In the meantime, the authors had finished a systematic investigation on the ^155Gd Mossbauer isomer shift （δ） of various Gd（Ⅲ） metal complexes having a different coordination number （C.N.） and different ratios coordinating oxygen to nitrogen. A tendency for the 6 value to decrease with an increase in the C.N, and the number of the nitrogen atom coordinating to Gd was confirmed. This indicated that the Gd-O and/or Gd-N bond in the investigated Gd（Ⅲ） metal complexes had a small covalent contribution, which was possible to be deduced from the O and/or N atoms of the lisands donating electrons to 6s, 5d, and 4f orbitals of Gd.     

Partial characterization of an immortalized human trophoblast cell-line, TCL-1, which possesses a CSF-1 autocrine loop

High doses of morphine produce a state of behavioural inactivity and muscular rigidity. This type of 'catalepsy' is clearly different from the state which is produced by the administration of neuroleptics, e.g. haloperidol. While haloperidol-induced catalepsy can easily be antagonised by NMDA receptor antagonists, there has been a report that the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d] cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK-801) potentiates morphine-induced catalepsy. The aim of this study was to further examine the role of glutamate receptors in the mediation of morphine-induced catalepsy. To this end we coadministered morphine (20, 40, 60 mg/kg i.p.) with MK-801 (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg i.p.), the competitive NMDA receptor antagonist DL-(E)-2-amino-4-methyl-5-phosphono-3-pentoic acid (CGP 37849) (2 and 6 mg/kg i.p.), or 1-(4-aminophenyl)-4-methyl-7,8-methylen-dioxy-5H-2,3- benzodiazepine (GYKI 52466) (2 and 4 mg/kg), an antagonist of the AMPA type of glutamate receptors, respectively. The degree of catalepsy was assessed using two different methods, the 'bar/podium/grid' test which is commonly used to measure neuroleptic-induced catalepsy, and a test for the presence or absence of righting reflexes after turning the animals into a supine position. It was found that in the 'bar/podium/grid' test coadministration of both NMDA receptor antagonists significantly and dose-dependently augmented morphine-induced catalepsy. The results using the AMPA receptor antagonist were less clear since the lower dose of GYKI 52466 tended to attenuate the morphine effect whereas the higher dose augmented morphine-induced catalepsy in some cases. While placing the animals on the bar and on the podium produced essentially the same results, the grid was found to be inapplicable for the measurement of morphine-induced catalepsy since the animals did not cling to the grid and fell off almost immediately after being released from the experimenter's hand. With respect to the righting reflexes it was found that the number of animals not showing these responses increased when MK-801 or CGP 37849 was coadministered with morphine. In contrast, most of the animals treated with GYKI 52466 and morphine displayed intact righting reflexes. It is concluded that glutamatergic transmission plays an important role in the mediation of morphine-induced catalepsy, though different to that of haloperidol-induced catalepsy, and that NMDA and AMPA receptors are differentially involved in different aspects of the associated behavioural state.     

Unilateral labyrinthectomy downregulates glutamate receptor delta-2 expression in the rat vestibulocerebellum

Subcortical damage in neonates often has more severe consequences than in adults. Unilateral electrolytic hippocampal lesions in adult rats typically result in transient memory deficits, whereas neonatal lesions cause lasting memory impairments. We hypothesized that unilateral lesions made at birth may affect synaptic physiology in the contralateral hippocampus. Consequently, the ability to sustain long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity believed to underlie certain forms of memory, was compared between slices from the remaining hippocampus of rats lesioned as newborns and as adults. Initial studies showed that a train of 10 stimulation bursts patterned after the hippocampal theta rhythm produced robust and stable LTP both in slices from controls and rats lesioned at birth. However, a theta burst pattern of stimulation closer to intrinsic physiology (five burst pairs separated by 30 s each), induced significantly less LTP in slices from rats lesioned at birth compared to those from controls and rats lesioned as adults. To investigate possible mechanisms underlying the deficit, the degree of paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) as well as the amount of depolarization occurring between two successive theta bursts were analyzed. The lesion did not detectably change PPF characteristics, suggesting that presynaptic mechanisms are normal. However, the extent to which a burst response was increased by a prior burst was significantly diminished in slices from rats lesioned at birth compared to those from controls and rats lesioned as adults, indicating that postsynaptic factors involved in the initial triggering events of LTP are affected by the lesion. Reduced ability to sustain LTP in the remaining hippocampus may contribute to impaired memory function after unilateral neonatal hippocampal lesion.     

Iodine-123-BMIPP myocardial washout and cardiac work during exercise in normal and ischemic hearts

Due to the changes in the frequency of penicillin-resistant strains of S. pneumoniae, it is necessary to perform surveillance studies of bacterial resistance. Isolates from the upper respiratory tract of asymptomatic children have been useful. There is no information about the difference between isolates from children with and without upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). The objective of the authors in this paper is to establish the prevalence of carrier-state, serotype and antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae isolates from children with and without acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in a rural area in Mexico. A cross-sectional comparative study was performed in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Children from one month 5 years of age were included. Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained. Identification was done by international microbiology standards. Serotyping was done by the capsular Quellung test. The susceptibility testing was performed by the agar dilution method. Four-hundred and fifty patients were included. S. pneumoniae was isolated in 134 children (29.7%). Frequency of carriers was greater in patients with URTI (107/323) than without URTI (27/127) (33.1% vs. 21.1% p = 0.012, OR 1.84, IC 95% 1.1-3.08). The six most frequent serotypes were: 6B (16.4%); 19F (11.9%); 19A (6.7%); 14, 23F, and 35 (5.2% each), with no difference among the groups. Only 3% of the strains had high level resistance to penicillin, and 12.6% had intermediate resistance, and for ampicillin 4%, amoxicillin 4%, amoxicillin-clavulanate 4%, ceftriaxone 3%, cefotaxime 1.5%, erythromycin 6%, miocamycin 3%, chloramphenicol 4%, and vancomycin 0%. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance was very high (42%). In conclusion, colonization is higher in children with URTI. Five of the most frequent serotypes identified in this study were the same as those identified in patients with S. pneumoniae invasive diseases in Mexico City. In Tlaxcala, Mexico, beta-lactams could be the drug of choice for the treatment of S. pneumoniae lower respiratory tract infections. It is necessary to perform clinical assays to evaluate the efficacy of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole due to the high resistance in vitro.