Selective CO-oxidation over Ru-based catalysts in H2-rich gas for fuel cell applications

Topics in Catalysis - Ru-based catalysts supported on A zeolites and alumina were synthesised, characterised (XRD, SEM-EDS, TPR) and tested under realistic conditions for the preferential oxidation...     

Objektorientierung in der Informatikausbildung auf der Basis von Smalltalk

Zusammenfassung   Eine in der Informatikausbildung verwendete Programmiersprache sollte dazu geeignet sein, mit geringem Aufwand Konzepte moderner Softwareentwicklung und Abstraktionstechniken zu vermitteln. Wichtige Kriterien einer geeigneten Sprache sind u. a. Orthogonalit?t der Sprache, Sicherheit, geringer Lernaufwand und – aus Sicht praxisbezogener Ausbildung – hohe Verbreitung sowohl in der akademischen als auch der kommerziellen Welt. Smalltalk erfüllt diese Kriterien in hohem Ma?e. Als erste Programmiersprache eingesetzt, wird die objektorientierte Denkweise von Beginn des Studiums an vermittelt. Modellierungstechniken und Designfragen treten in den Vordergrund, w?hrend sprachtechnische Fragen an Bedeutung verlieren. Smalltalk kann durchg?ngig im gesamten Studium verwendet werden, was einerseits die Sprachvielfalt in der Ausbildung zu vermeiden hilft und andererseits Softwarekonzepte aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen wie Software-Engineering und KI nahtlos zu integrieren gestattet. Hierdurch wird ein Beitrag zur Straffung des Studiums geleistet, was angesichts einer als zunehmend wichtig erachteten st?rkeren Vermittlung von nicht-informatischer Kompetenz im Studium dringend notwendig erscheint. Eingegangen am 05.06.1997, in überarbeiteter Form am 22.10.1997     

Implicit and explicit memory for shape, body weight, and food-related words in patients with anorexia nervosa and nondieting controls.

Twelve patients with anorexia nervosa and 12 control participants watched a series of 64 words. There were 4 word types: anorexia related, positive, negative, and neutral. The last 3 types were anorexia unrelated. Anorexia-related words had the same affective valence as the neutral control words. Next, the participants completed an explicit memory test ( cued recall ) and an implicit memory test (word stem completion). Results showed a strong explicit memory bias for anorexia-related words for patients with anorexia nervosa but not for nondieting controls. There was no evidence for a similar bias in implicit memory. Results are discussed in the context of cognitive biases in psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antitumor efficacy of adenocarcinoma cells engineered to produce interleukin 12 (IL-12) or other cytokines compared with exogenous IL-12

BACKGROUND: Numerous animal model studies have examined the ability of genetically engineered tumor cells to release cytokines and to elicit an immune memory against the parental tumor. Often only a single cytokine is studied, and few comparative studies have been conducted. PURPOSE: We evaluated the antitumor efficacy of adenocarcinoma cells engineered to release interleukin (IL)-12 in a mouse model system. The efficacy of this cytokine was compared with that of other cytokines released by engineered adenocarcinoma cells and that of exogenous IL-12 administered both locally and intraperitoneally. METHODS: BALB/cAnCr mice were inoculated with syngeneic parental mammary adenocarcinoma (TSA) cells in quantities sufficient to lead to tumors in all inoculated mice. TSA cells engineered to release IL-12 (TSA-IL12) were also injected into normal and selectively immunosuppressed BALB/cAnCr mice. Tumor incidence, growth, and rejection patterns were evaluated by the measurement of neoplastic masses and by the study of the histologic and ultrastructural features of the tumor site. The effects of local or intraperitoneal administration of recombinant IL-12 (rIL-12) on tumor-bearing animals were also studied. RESULTS: Most mice rejected TSA-IL12 cells through a CD8-positive, T-lymphocyte-dependent reaction associated with macrophage infiltration, vessel damage, and necrosis. The systemic immunity of mice that had rejected TSA-IL12 cells to a subsequent challenge with parental TSA cells was less efficient than that elicited by TSA cells engineered to release IL-4 or IL-10 but equivalent to that elicited by TSA cells engineered to release IL-2, IL-7, and interferon alfa. Compared with TSA cells engineered to produce other cytokines, TSA-IL12 cells were the most efficient in curing mice with established TSA tumors; injection of 0.1 million proliferating cells contralaterally to the tumor growth area cured five of 15 mice bearing 1-day-old tumors; injection of the same dose of proliferating cells into the tumor growth area cured two of 20 tumor-bearing mice. However, two 5-day courses with a nontoxic dose (0.1 microgram) of rIL-12 given intraperitoneally cured a similar proportion of these animals (six of 20). Only two of 20 mice with 7-day-old TSA tumors were cured by vaccination with proliferating TSA-IL12 cells, whereas 24 of 30 mice with such tumors were cured by intraperitoneal administration of rIL-12. CONCLUSIONS: TSA cells engineered to release IL-12 are rejected by most mice; the ensuing immune memory for TSA parental cells, however, was less efficient than that elicited by proliferating TSA cells engineered to release other cytokines (e.g., IL-4, IL-10, and possibly interferon gamma). The immune reaction elicited by TSA-IL12 cells was the most efficient in curing mice with established TSA tumors; notably though, the same or a better cure rate was obtained with rIL-12 given intraperitoneally.     

A new sequential experimental design procedure for discriminating among rival models

A new procedure to be used in the sequential design of experiments for discriminating among rival models is presented. The procedure consists of a new design criterion and a model adequacy test based on statistical principles. The method is illustrated with examples and compared to previous methods.     

Substrate specificity of alcohol dehydrogenase from the yeast Hansenyls polymorpha CBS 4732 and Candida utilis CBS 621

The substrate specificity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Hansenula polymorpha and Candida utilis has been compared with that of the classical ADH from baker's yeast. Cell-free extracts of H. polymorpha and C. utilis exhibited a much higher ratio of butanol to ethanol oxidation than baker's yeast ADH. This was also observed with the purified enzymes. The ratio of activities with ethanol and butanol was pH-dependent. With the baker's yeast enzyme the activity strongly decreased with increasing chain length, whereas the enzymes form H. polymorpha and C. utilis showed a high reactivity with long-chain alcohols. In addition, the affinity constant for ethanol was more than tenfold lower than that of the baker's yeast enzyme. The purified preparation yielded several protein bands on polyacrylamide slab gels, each of which showed activity with both ethanol and butanol.     

Involvement of ovarian steroids in the opioid-mediated reduction of insulin secretion in hyperinsulinemic patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

To evaluate the possible involvement of ovarian steroids on the opioid-mediated disorders of insulin in patients affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), we studied 40 PCOS women. All patients underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT; 75 g) and basal hormone assay; based on the insulin response to OGTT, 26 women were classified as hyperinsulinemic and continued the study protocol. Patients were randomly divided into three groups characterized by different treatments: group A (nine patients) was treated with GnRH analog (one ampule every 28 days for 2 months), group B (eight patients) was treated with naltrexone (an oral opioid antagonist, 50 mg/day, orally) for 8 weeks, and group C (nine patients) was treated with GnRH analog plus naltrexone for 2 months. After continuation of treatment, all patients repeated the basal study in a second hospitalization. Naltrexone treatment significantly reduced the insulin response to OGTT, whereas GnRH analogue administration did not significantly change the insulin secretion after the glucose load. The GnRH analog/ naltrexone cotreatment was not able to influence the insulin secretory pattern; in fact, the insulin area under the curve was superimposable before and after therapy. These data could lead to the hypothesis that the opioidergic regulation of insulin secretion requires a normal steroidogenic pattern, thus suggesting that ovarian steroids modulate opioid activity also at peripheric districts.