The behaviour of thin deuterated-polyethylene targets enclosed in gold layers

Deuterated-polyethylene targets with thicknesses of 0.5 mg cm⁻² were bombarded with 1 MeV deuterons in order to estimate the deuterium deterioration. The (CD₂)_n foils enclosed in gold layers were shown to be suitable targets for the d + d reaction experiments in the low energy region.     

From neurocomputation to immunocomputation - a model and algorithmfor fluctuation-induced instability and phase transition in biologicalsystems

Explores bioinformatics-based modeling of immunological instabilities. We develop an algorithm for analyzing stability-instability properties of complex systems and use the developed technique to induce transitions in physical, biological and engineering systems. As a case study, we analyze the phenomena of tumor destabilization or spontaneous biological regression of a malignant focus-lymphocyte interactive system. Using stochastic noise analysis, we model high-dimensional collective oscillations of nonlinear elements and study nonautonomous systems with oscillation-induced phase transitions between lowand high-dimensional states. The associated nonlinear immunodynamical phenomenon of nonequilibrial destabilization of a malignant tumor is analyzed in terms of the Prigogine-Glansdorff (1971) stability theorem of dynamical systems theory     

Spectrophotometric method for determining the pigment content of ground paprika

A rapid and reliable method has been developed for determining the red, yellow and total pigment contents of ground paprika.     

Multiple shooting for distributed systems with applications in hydro electricity production

The aim of this paper is to introduce a new method for the solution of optimal control problems for which the system is composed by many subsystems whose dynamics are coupled through input-ouput connections. The proposed approach can be regarded as a generalization of the direct multiple shooting method and exploits the structure of the problem to achieve a highly parallelizable algorithm. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the new method is applied to the control of a hydro power plant composed of several connected reaches.     

Load‐carrying capacity of lubricated and dry sliding elements

The factors influencing the load‐carrying capacity of tribological contacts are reviewed. The load‐carrying capacity depends in part on the lubrication regime, and hydrodynamic, hydrostatic, and elastohydrodynamic lubrication are discussed. In some circumstances, lubrication is not possible. The parameters of dry rubbing are described, and approaches to the design and operation of dry bearings are discussed, particularly the choice of suitable non‐metallic materials for use in the wear couple.     

Hydrophilic trans‐Cyclooctenylated Noncanonical Amino Acids for Fast Intracellular Protein Labeling

Introduction of bioorthogonal functionalities (e.g., trans‐cyclooctene‐TCO) into a protein of interest by site‐specific genetic encoding of non‐canonical amino acids (ncAAs) creates uniquely targetable platforms for fluorescent labeling schemes in combination with tetrazine‐functionalized dyes. However, fluorescent labeling of an intracellular protein is usually compromised by high background, arising from the hydrophobicity of ncAAs; this is typically compensated for by hours‐long washout to remove excess ncAAs from the cellular interior. To overcome these problems, we designed, synthesized, and tested new, hydrophilic TCO‐ncAAs. One derivative, DOTCO‐lysine was genetically incorporated into proteins with good yield. The increased hydrophilicity shortened the excess ncAA washout time from hours to minutes, thus permitting rapid labeling and subsequent fluorescence microscopy.     

Cerebral Pericytes and Endothelial Cells Communicate through Inflammasome-Dependent Signals

By upregulation of cell adhesion molecules and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, cells of the neurovascular unit, including pericytes and endothelial cells, actively participate in neuroinflammatory reactions. As previously shown, both cell types can activate inflammasomes, cerebral endothelial cells (CECs) through the canonical pathway, while pericytes only through the noncanonical pathway. Using complex in vitro models, we demonstrate here that the noncanonical inflammasome pathway can be induced in CECs as well, leading to a further increase in the secretion of active interleukin-1β over that observed in response to activation of the canonical pathway. In parallel, a more pronounced disruption of tight junctions takes place. We also show that CECs respond to inflammatory stimuli coming from both the apical/blood and the basolateral/brain directions. As a result, CECs can detect factors secreted by pericytes in which the noncanonical inflammasome pathway is activated and respond with inflammatory activation and impairment of the barrier properties. In addition, upon sensing inflammatory signals, CECs release inflammatory factors toward both the blood and the brain sides. Consequently, CECs activate pericytes by upregulating their expression of NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3), an inflammasome-forming pattern recognition receptor. In conclusion, cerebral pericytes and endothelial cells mutually activate each other in inflammation.     

Änderung verschiedener Eigenschaften von Fetten während der Desodorierung

Change in Some Properties of Fats During Deodorisation The influence of deodorisation on some of the properties of fats was studied. Temperatures above 200°C were the deciding factors influencing the consistency and the compositions of triglycerides. The changes due to temperature play an important role in the preparation of fats for use in margarine manufacture. The results reported here were confirmed by DTA.     

The effect of surface roughness on contact and stress states of spur gears

The contact characteristics of spur gears are analysed, taking into consideration real surface micro-geometry, and using numerical algorithms. The contact pressure distribution, contact area, and rigid body rotation of the gears have been calculated for different types of gear surface according to machining: shaping, grinding, or milling. Finally, the sub-surface stress state is evaluated for different pressure distributions, by finite element method.     

The ras signaling pathway mimics insulin action on glucose transporter translocation

Recent observations suggest that insulin increases cellular levels of activated, GTP-bound Ras protein. We tested whether the acute actions of insulin on hexose uptake and glucose-transporter redistribution to the cell surface are mimicked by activated Ras. 3T3-L1 fibroblasts expressing an activated mutant (Lys-61) N-Ras protein exhibited a 3-fold increase in 2-deoxyglucose uptake rates compared with non-transfected cells. Insulin stimulated hexose uptake by approximately 2-fold in parental fibroblasts but did not stimulate hexose uptake in the N-Ras61K-expressing fibroblasts. Overexpression of N-Ras61K also mimicked the large effect of insulin on 2-deoxyglucose transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and again the effects of the two agents were not additive. Total glucose transporter protein (GLUT) 1 was similar between parental and N-Ras61K-expressing 3T3-L1 fibroblasts or adipocytes, whereas total GLUT-4 protein was actually lower in the N-Ras61K-expressing compared with parental adipocytes. However, expression of N-Ras61K in 3T3-L1 adipocytes markedly elevated both GLUT-1 and GLUT-4 in plasma membranes relative to intracellular membranes, and insulin had no further effect. These modulations of glucose transporters by N-Ras61K expression are not due to upstream regulation of insulin receptors because receptor tyrosine phosphorylation and association of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase with tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were unaffected. These results show that activated Ras mimics the actions of insulin on membrane trafficking of glucose transporters, consistent with the concept that Ras proteins function as intermediates in this insulin signaling pathway.