Repetitively pulsed Nd-glass slab lasers

The possibility of obtaining high laser output energies at a 1.32-μm wavelength using thin LiNdLa phosphate glass slabs with a high Nd³⁺ concentration is discussed. In the experiments, 3×14×125-mm slabs were prepared from LiNdLa phosphate glass with a Nd-concentration of 1.2×10²¹ cm^-3. The facets of the slabs were not antireflection-coated. They were tested in a silver-coated quartz tube reflector of 25-mm diameter and pumped by 450-μs pulses from a flash lamp with a 120-mm arc length. In this construction the light, which passes through the slab, returns to it after reflection from the tube surface. Most of the radiation falls on the wider side of the slab at large angles of incidence, thus maximizing its path inside the slab. The quartz reflector was water cooled. The 150-mm laser resonator was formed by two flat mirrors. At 1.32-μm lasing wavelength an output mirror of r=95% reflectivity was used with less than 10% reflectivity at 1.32 μm     

Effect of black pepper and piperine on bile secretion and composition in rats

The influence of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and its active principle, piperine on the secretion and composition of bile was investigated in the rat. They were administered by gavage (black pepper at 250 or 500 mg and piperine at 12.5 or 25 mg/kg body wt.) or fed in the diet for 4 weeks (black pepper at 0.2 and 0.4%, piperine at 0.01 and 0.02%). The lower dose by gavage of black pepper caused an increase in bile solids while with other treatments bile secretion or dry matter in bile was not changed. Dietary feeding of black pepper caused an increase in bile flow with a concomitant decrease in bile solids -- a hydrocholagoguic effect. Cholesterol and bile acid output were not affected by black pepper or piperine at either level irrespective of the mode of administration; in contrast, the secretion of uronic acids in bile was enhanced by both levels of pepper as also of piperine indicating possible excretion of some of the components of black pepper or of piperine as glucuronides.     

Formal program construction by transformations-computer-aided,intuition-guided programming

Formal program construction by transformations is a method of software development in which a program is derived from a formal problem specification by manageable, controlled transformation steps which guarantee that the final product meets the initial specification. This methodology has been investigated in the Munich project CIP (computer-aided intuition-guided programming). The research includes the design of a wide-spectrum language specifically tailored to the needs of transformational programming, the construction of a transformation system to support the methodology, and the study of transformation rules and other methodological issues. Particular emphasis has been laid on developing a sound theoretical basis for the overall approach     

Intensification of mass-exchange processes by an electric field in a capillary porous solid-liquid system

An experimental study is performed of mass-exchange processes during extraction in a capillary porous solid-liquid system in an electric field. The experimental data are generalized to a critical function.Translated from Inzhererno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 109–113, January, 1986.     

Contingent suppression of tolerance to the "anorexigenic" effect of haloperidol.

Whether tolerance develops to the "anorexia" induced by haloperidol (HAL) was determined. Rats were given HAL (2.5 or 5 mg/kg) either before or after access to milk for 53 days. Controls were given injections of saline. On Day 54, when all groups received pretest injections of the drug, only rats previously given posttest injections of HAL were tolerant. The absence of tolerance in rats previously given pretest injections suggests that tolerance is suppressed when rats are given access to food in the drugged state. It is concluded that tolerance develops to HAL as a result of pharmacological exposure but is suppressed by the "anhedonic" effect of the drug. The relevance of these findings to the role of reinforcement in behavioral tolerance is briefly discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An automated enzymic micromethod for the measurement of fat in human milk

Most (98%) of the fat in human milk is present as triglycerides. This paper describes the use of a clarification procedure that enables the level of human milk fat to be determined by measurement of glycerol released by enzymic hydrolysis of triglycerides. The method requires only 10-50 microliters milk, thus presenting a possible technique for work with small mammals, and is suitable for use with autoanalysers, permitting rapid sample throughput.     

Agrobiodiversität und Pflanzenschutz – ein ambivalentes Verhältnis

No Abstract. .      

STATISTICAL MODELS FOR FAILURE OF APPLE TISSUE UNDER CONSTANT-STRAIN-RATE LOADING1

The normal, two-parameter Weibull, and three-parameter Weibull probability models were proposed for the strength of apple tissue drawing on previous theoretical work on fiber-reinforced composite materials. To test the models, failure stress data were determined for 800 cylindrical specimens of apple tissue subjected to low strain rate compressive loading in an Instron Universal Testing Machine. The data were fitted to the probability models and the corresponding Kolmogorov-Smirnov D-statistics were calculated and compared to tabulated critical values. The statistical tests indicated that the failure stress data fitted the three-parameter Weibull distribution, but did not fit either the normal or the two-parameter Weibull distribution.