Einfluß von Futterfetten und -lecithinen auf Parameter der Infektionsabwehr beim Absatzferkel, 2. Mitteilung: Der Einfluß von Soja- oder Eilecithinen

Influence of dietary fats and lecithins on parameters of defence against infection in weaned pigs; 2^nd communication: Influence of soy- or egg lecithin An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different phospholipid profiles on parameters of defence against infection. 30 weaned piglets were fed for 41 days with experimental diets containing soy lecithin (6%), egg lecithin (6%) or isoenergetic 13.8% corn starch (control) in the diet. Parameters of defence against infection were tested on experimental days 0, 11, 18, 25, 41. In comparison to the control group 6% of soy lecithin and 6% of egg lecithin in the diet significantly increased Nitroblue Tetrazolium-reductive potential on days 18 and 41, lysozyme concentrations on day 18 and granulocyte numbers on day 18 (nonspecific immunity). Feeding 6% soy- or egg lecithin compared to 13.8% starch decreased IgG concentrations and lymphocyte numbers (specific immunity). Most piglets fed diet containing egg lecithin caused diarrhea up to day 16 compared to the other experimental groups.     

Nondestructive determination of water and protein in surimi by near-infrared spectroscopy

Nondestructive near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) between 400 and 1100 nm regions was employed directly on surimi using a surface interactance fibre optic accessory, to investigate the potential of NIRS as a fast method to determine water and protein contents. The reason why NIRS is well suited when assessing the presence of water or protein is due to the specificity of O–H and N–H bindings. At 980 nm only one broad peak in the original spectra can be seen due to the absorption of water since it contained nearly 80% of surimi. Predictive equations were developed using partial least squares (PLS) regression where excellent predictions for protein and water are noticed. Regression coefficients are higher than 0.98, errors are small and RPD value for protein is well over 8 and that for water is very close to it which can be used for any analytical purpose.     

Untersuchungen zum Einfluss der Holzfeuchte auf ausgewählte Eigenschaften von Spanplatten und MDF

On industrially produced particle boards and MDF, the influence of wood moisture on bending MOE, bending strength and shear modulus G_zx and G_zy was determined. The equilibrium moisture content and the differential swelling of thickness proved to be smaller for MDF than for particle boards. Tensile strength and tensile MOE, shear modulus and bending strength decrease likewise with increasing wood moisture content. Furthermore the Poisson ratio μ₁₂ decreases with increasing wood moisture content.     

A new active position sensing method for ropeless elevator

Traditional cable driven elevators perform poorly in high-rise buildings because the weight of the cable limits the payload, and its elasticity degrades control performance. Further, it is not mechanically possible to include several elevator cars in the same hoistway because of the cable. However such multi-car elevator systems are desirable since they reduce passenger waiting time and reduce the space requirements of the elevator system. A promising solution is to use long armature linear motors spanning the hoistway to directly drive elevator cages. In such applications, the mover position sensing method must be explicitly addressed since most active position sensing methods require traveling cables, which are also an obstacle for multi-car elevator systems.In this paper, the linear-motor active position sensing method is formally introduced and the principle of operation, design and real-time operation methods are presented. The proposed method is used to measure the position of the mover of a long armature permanent magnet linear synchronous motor requiring no active components on the mover, thus traveling cables are eliminated. The principle of operation is inspired by linear variable differential transformer: A magnetic shunt positioned at a fixed distance ahead of the mover deforms the magnetic field created by one of the armature coils. The deformation can be determined by measuring the induced voltages on the neighboring coils, and the position of the shunt, and thus the mover, can be calculated.A design method for the optimal dimensions of the shunt for a given armature to provide long measurement range and small maximum position error is presented, accompanied by a real-time measurement algorithm that will enable the motor to be driven using the method. Finally the method is verified by simulations and experimental results conducted on a full scale linear-motor elevator prototype that was constructed in the laboratory.     

Secret key rate proof of multicarrier continuous‐variable quantum key distribution

We prove the secret key rate formulas and derive security threshold parameters of multicarrier continuous‐variable quantum key distribution CVQKD. In a multicarrier CVQKD scenario, the Gaussian input quantum states of the legal parties are granulated into Gaussian subcarrier continuous variables (CVs). The multicarrier communication formulates Gaussian subchannels from the physical quantum channel, each dedicated to the transmission of a subcarrier CV. The Gaussian subcarriers are decoded by a unitary CV operation, which results in the recovered single‐carrier Gaussian CVs. We derive the formulas through the adaptive multicarrier quadrature division (AMQD) scheme, the singular value decomposition (SVD)–assisted AMQD, and the multiuser AMQD multiuser quadrature allocation (MQA). We prove that the multicarrier CVQKD leads to improved secret key rates and higher tolerable excess noise in comparison with single‐carrier CVQKD. We derive the private classical capacity of a Gaussian subchannel and the security parameters of an optimal Gaussian collective attack in the multicarrier setting. We reveal the secret key rate formulas for one‐way and two‐way multicarrier CVQKD protocols, assuming homodyne and heterodyne measurements and direct and reverse reconciliation. The results reveal the physical boundaries of physically allowed Gaussian attacks in a multicarrier CVQKD scenario and confirm that the improved transmission rates lead to enhanced secret key rates and security thresholds.     

Kinetic model of parallel self-poisoning in the catalytic hydrogenolysis of ethane on single-type surface sites

A kinetic model for parallel competitive self-poisoning in the catalytic hydrogenolysis of ethane has been developed. It is assumed that molecular hydrogen is the bond-splitting agent in the rate-determining step, and self-poisoning itself is reversible. In addition, all active surface sites are taken to be of the same kind. The model provides a satisfactory account of the experimentally observed kinetic behavior.     

Response of major depression and Tourette''s syndrome to ECT: a case report

There have been few published reports on the use of electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of Tourette's syndrome. We present a case of a woman with preexisting Tourette's syndrome, which had been latent for some years, that was exacerbated with the onset of a major depressive episode. Both the tics and the depressive symptoms completely remitted after eight sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. Possible mechanisms of this effect are discussed.     

Cytokine secretion and adhesion molecule expression by granuloma T lymphocytes in Mycobacterium avium infection

Mice experimentally infected with Mycobacterium avium develop a chronic disease characterized by widespread noncaseating granulomas. In this report, we describe the phenotype and cytokine secretion profile of these granuloma-infiltrating effector T lymphocytes. In response to specific antigen, granuloma T cells and, to a lesser extent, spleen cells secrete interferon-gamma, but no interleukin-4 or -5. The importance of this Th1-like response to the host was demonstrated by the massively increased bacterial load and lethal disease in interferon-gamma knockout mice. One function of localized cytokine secretion is to recruit inflammatory T cells bearing surface adhesion molecules complementary to counter-receptors on vascular endothelial cells. Granuloma T cells express high levels of these pro-inflammatory adhesion molecules but have down-regulated their expression of L-selectin (CD62L). The expression of these adhesion molecules on granuloma-infiltrating T lymphocytes would alter the migration pathway of these cells and is likely to be important in facilitating the traffic of effector T cells to the granulomatous inflammatory site. In addition, T cells from Schistosoma mansoni granulomas express the same set of adhesion molecules, showing that this phenotype is not specifically dependent upon the Th1 pattern of cytokine secretion.