Inhibitory activity of ginger rhizome on airway and uterine smooth muscle preparations

In this study, we describe the tracheal-relaxant and tocolytic activities of the methanol (ME) and aqueous (AQ) crude extracts of ginger (rhizome of Zingiber officinale) in an attempt to rationalize its traditional use in disorders of airways and uterine hyperactivity. Both of the ginger extracts dose-dependently relaxed K⁺ (80 mM) and carbachol (CCh, 1 μM)-induced contractions with more potency against K⁺, similar to that elicited by verapamil, a Ca²⁺ channel blocker. In isolated uterine preparations, the extracts suppressed the K⁺-induced contractions with respective EC₅₀ values of 0.03 mg/ml (0.02–0.05, 95% CI) and 0.05 mg/ml (0.04–0.06). Activity-directed fractionation of AQ yielded an organic and an aqueous fraction with the activities concentrated in the former. Both the crude extracts were found safe in mice up to the oral dose of 5 g/kg when tested for acute toxicity for 24 h. The study shows that ginger possesses tracheal and uterine smooth muscle relaxant activity, possibility mediated via Ca²⁺ channel blockade, justifying its use in disorders such as asthma, cough as well as in dysmenorrhoea and uterine and menstrual spasms and congestion.     

Observation and Analysis of Gypsum Particleboard using SEM

The microstructures of gypsum board and gypsum particleboard were observed by SEM. The effects of retarder and waterproof agent on the shape and the average dimension of the gypsum crystal were discussed. The mechanism was investigated as well. Four typical instances, i e, the gypsum crystal shape, the gypsum combined with particles on the particles surface, the gypsum combined with particles on the wood cross section and the gypsum combined with particles inside the wood cell cavity were selected and observed. Furthermore, the agglomeration and cementation mechanism between gypsum and particle were studied.     

A heuristic for the label printing problem

Label printing finds many applications in industry. However, this task is still labor intensive in many printing factories. Since each template can only accommodate a fixed number of labels, an important task is to work out the compositions of templates by allocating suitable labels to each template in order to fulfill the order requirements effectively. The template design could be rather arbitrary, which usually ends up with a lot of excessive printed labels. Enhancing the template design will significantly improve the efficiency of the printing process, and, at the same time, reduce the waste of resources. This motivates the study of more automatic design methods. In this paper, the problem is first formulated as a nonlinear integer programming problem. The main variables in the formulation are the compositions and the printing frequencies of templates. For practical purpose, each type of label is confined to one template only which allows automated packing and handling. The structure of the problems is carefully analyzed and a new algorithm is proposed. Numerical results show that the proposed method is a simple but effective way of generating good template designs.     

An analytical model for I-V and small-signalcharacteristics of planar-doped HEMTs

An analytical current-voltage (I-V) model for planar-doped HEMTs is developed. This compact model covers the complete range of I-V characteristics, including the current saturation region and parasitic conduction in the electron-supplying layer. Analytical expressions for the small-signal parameters and current-gain cutoff frequency are derived from the I-V model. Modeling results for a 0.1-μm-gate planar-doped AlInAs-GaInAs HEMT show excellent agreement with measured characteristics. Threshold voltages and parasitic conduction in planar-doped and uniformly doped HEMTs are also compared and discussed     

Stabilisation of protein and oil in fish silage for use as a ruminant feed supplement

Fish silage was prepared from 96.5% offal obtained from Atlantic cod fillet processing and 3.5% (by wt) formic acid. The fish silage became an homogeneous liquid of low viscosity in 36–58 h at 20°C; however, the oil and protein components continued to be hydrolysed for several months. Addition of formaldehyde to fish silage (0.25 or 0.39% by wt) after liquefaction was complete, served to prevent continued protein hydrolysis and oxidative rancidity of the oil. It also decreased the development of ‘off-odours’, and the formation of total volatile bases. Fish silage was readily absorbed by hay at a ratio of 1.5 parts silage to 1.0 parts hay by weight; the product is referred to as ‘haylage’. Voluntary intake by wethers of ‘haylage’ prepared from de-oiled, formaldehyde-treated fish silage was better than for ‘haylage’ prepared from untreated fish silage. The crude protein content of ‘haylage’ rations was more than satisfactory for fattening lambs, although the energy content of ‘haylage’ rations may be a limiting factor. Retention of fish oil in the silage to increase the energy content of rations was unsuccessful because voluntary feed intake was depressed. The addition of formaldehyde to fish silage is advantageous when the product is to be fed to ruminant livestock since protein and lipid degradation in the feed, and also possibly in the rumen, are minimised and voluntary intake of ‘haylage’ by sheep is increased.     

Improved Complexometric Determination of Calcium in Cheese

Accuracy and repeatability of complexometric methods for measuring calcium in cheese are limited by titration endpoints that are difficult to recognize. Much of this difficulty results from turbidity during titration. An alternative procedure is described in which 2 to 3 g of cheese are ashed, dissolved in dilute acid, and added calcium chloride is back titrated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid using hydroxy naphthol blue as indicator. Samples remain free of turbidity, and the titration endpoint is recognized easily.Recovery of calcium from solutions containing magnesium and phosphate was 100.9 ± .3%, indicating that a portion of sample magnesium (about 12%) also was measured. Error caused by magnesium recovery represented less than 1% of true calcium content.Analyses of 10 Cheddar cheese samples by the proposed method and by atomic emission differed by an average of .010% calcium. Mean values of the 10 samples did not differ significantly (P>.05) between methods. Duplicate analyses of 67 Cheddar cheese samples differed by an average of .008 ± .006% calcium. Similar repeatability was achieved by several inexperienced analysts. The method is applied readily to other dairy products.     

Phosphine-induced sterility in Ephestia cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The present study was conducted to explore the sterilizing effect of phosphine on Ephestia cautella. Three to four-day old pupae were exposed to 0, 0.007, 0.014, 0.021, 0.028, 0.035, 0.042 and 0.049 mg/l of phosphine for 24 h at room temperature. The normally developed adults of each treatment were pair mated and several physiological and genetical parameters were investigated. The results showed gradual increases with dose in pupal mortality and adult malformation. The crossing results showed no changes in adult longevity and mating frequency. However, consistent reduction was noted in the fecundity and fertility of normally emerged adults. Preliminary data indicated similar levels of inherited sterility in the F₁ adults raised from the above mentioned crosses.     

On the use of elliptical side branches to thick-walled cylinders

The boundary integral equation (boundary element) method of numerical stress analysis is used to compute stress concentration factors at the intersections between side branches and thick-walled tubes or pressure vessels. Cases of both circular and elliptical side branch cross sections are considered, the effect of the latter being to significantly reduce the maximum stresses generated under internal pressure. For the typical geometries considered, reductions of more than 20% are obtained at optimum ellipse aspect ratios of about 0·8.     

Qualitative aspects of the Bradford distribution

A study was performed to determine whether the quality of journal articles declines as one moves through successively less productive Bradford zones. Two measures of qualityrate of citation and expert judgement-were used. It was found that articles in the least productive zone were cited significantly less than those in the most productive zone. However, experts did not judge them to be of lesser quality.