Analysis of diffusional broadening of vesicular packets of catecholamines released from biological cells during exocytosis.

Secretion of catecholamines is observed as a series of current spikes when measured at the surface of a bovine adrenal medullary cell in culture with a carbon-fiber microelectrode operated in the amperometric mode. Prior work has shown that these spikes are due to detection of concentrated packets of catecholamines which are released from individual vesicles after their fusion with the cell membrane, a process known as exocytosis. The shape of the individual current spikes, detected with a 5-microns spacing between the hemispherical cell and the electrode, has been compared to the shape generated by a theoretical model. The model consists of an instantaneous point source of material on a surface which subsequently diffuses to a disk that consumes the emitted material. The pertinent diffusion conditions have been evaluated with finite difference and random walk digital simulations. The two methods give identical results when the point source is located on a plane. The more realistic simulation geometry, emission from a hemispherical surface, was evaluated with the random walk method. The simulations allow a set of criteria to be established to evaluate diffusion-controlled broadening of spike shape. The broad range of spike widths observed experimentally and their individual shapes measured with 5-microns cell-electrode spacing are consistent with diffusion from point sources randomly distributed across a hemispherical surface. The data can be described with the diffusion coefficient for catecholamines in free solution. The model enables evaluation of signal-to-noise losses and correction for diffusional losses which are dependent on electrode radius.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Hydrocarbon-soluble alkylaniline/formaldehyde oligomers as corrosion inhibitors

Hydrocarbon-soluble oligomers were prepared by the acid-catalyzed condensation of alkylanilines with formaldehyde. Highest molecular weight oligomers (MW ～ 6000) were obtained from alkylanilines prepared by the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of aniline with α-olefins. By NMR, it was shown that the oligomers contain structures corresponding to methylene-linked aromatic rings and methylene linked to both an aromatic ring and a nitrogen atom. The oligomers exhibit very good initial inhibition of metal corrosion in aqueous environment; and the inhibition is more persistent than that observed with monomeric analogs.     

Structural studies of EcoRII methylase: exploring similarities among methylases

EcoRII methyltransferase (M.EcoRII) is a cytosine-C5 DNA methylating enzyme. A model of its three-dimensional structure is proposed on the basis of homology modeling. Crystal structures of two members of the same family of enzymes, HaeIII and HhaI methyltransferases (M.HaeIII and M.HhaI respectively), were used as template molecules. Molecular dynamics was used to ensure sampling of conformationally stable structures. The final model has good geometry. The DNA and cofactor binding residues are in expected positions and form proper interactions. M.EcoRII is 147 amino acids longer than the template molecules, and hence the model contains several loops that are significantly longer than those in M.HaeIII and M.HhaI. The model provides a framework for interpretation and designing site-directed mutants that have a potential to improve crystallization experiments of this enzyme, and possibly other similar enzymes.      

Managing the Public Sphere: Journalistic Construction of the Great Globalization Debate

There is little consensus on what constitutes open, deliberative media discourse. We offer a simple, measurable, and comparative model based on 3 aspects of source and issue construction in news accounts: access, recognition, and responsiveness. The model is applied to coverage of 2001–2003 World Economic Forum (WEF) meetings and protests against the organization's role in global economic policies. Both demonstrators and WEF participants were granted news access, but WEF actors were recognized more formally and given greater input in news content, including ownership claims to many activist issue positions. Journalistic deference to the WEF communication agenda limited mutual responsiveness. The journalistic process systematically managed the debate about globalization on terms that favored elites over citizen-activists.     

Dimensions of personality disorder and their relationships to the Big Five dimensions of personality.

Researchers have suggested that personality disorders (PDs) could be better understood with a dimensional model than with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised (DSM-III—R) categorical system. The authors conceptualized PDs as extreme expressions of personality functioning. Dimensional measures of aspects of PD were developed for the present study on the basis of previous factor-analytic investigations. The authors examined the convergence of these measures with P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae's (1990) "Big Five" factors in a sample of 300 general-population Ss. Principal-components analysis yielded an interpretable 5-factor solution; 4 of these were defined by a Big Five factor. Multiple regression analyses indicated substantial relationships between the Big Five factors and many PD scales. The Neuroticism factor demonstrated the strongest relationships, whereas Openness to Experience showed only modest relationships. The more behavioral aspects of PD were not strongly related to the Big Five factors. Results suggest substantial similarity between the 5 factors and PD measures, although the latter cannot be entirely subsumed by the Big Five model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Silica-coated dual-tube zirconia induction furnace for high-strength optical-fibre production

The dual-wall zirconia induction furnace consists of an inner susceptor tube and an outer insulation tube. The centre piece of the inner tube is coated with a thin silica film. The performance of the newly designed furnace was evaluated in terms of the strength of drawn fibres. The proof test of 47 km length of fibre demonstrated superb strength results, yielding the average survival length at 1·4 GN/m2 (200 klb in?2) to be ~8 km.     

Pulse repetition rate multiplication in fibre laser using higher-order passive modelocking

A simple technique that allows for the repetition rate multiplication of optical pulse trains generated in passively modelocked fibre lasers is experimentally demonstrated. This is achieved by initiating higher-order passive modelocking by using both a dual-channel fibre Bragg grating and a Fabry-Perot filter inside the fibre cavity. Continuous dark pulse trains with a repetition rate of 60-GHz were generated, which is a four-fold multiplication of the Fabry-Perot free spectral range.