A MEANS TO REDUCE FORMATION OF PRECURSORS OF 2-TRANS-NONENAL IN BREWING*

A method is described whereby the precursors of 2-trans-nonenal may be estimated in worts and beers. Treatment of malt grist or malt with a variety of polar substances is shown to reduce or eliminate the production of nonenal precursors during mashing. Beers made from worts so treated have enhanced flavour stability over those made conventionally.     

Analysis and reduction of acoustic noise from a brushless DC drive

It has been found that stator excitation in brushless DC motor drives can excite mechanical resonances in the motor and, thus, produce acoustic noise in a similar way to switched reluctance drives. A technique has been developed to alter the commutation pattern of a brushless DC motor to avoid exciting and reinforcing these mechanical resonances producing a significant reduction in pure tone acoustic noise which is emitted during mechanical resonance. The origin of the vibration and acoustic noise is explained and the theory of discrete frequency noise reduction described in this paper. The method proposed for quieter control of the brushless DC motor could be achieved at a very low cost     

Toward the DSM-V: The Withdrawal-Gate Model versus the DSM-IV in the diagnosis of alcohol abuse and dependence.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) classifies as dependent many cases of mild alcohol problems. DSM-IV diagnoses have modest relationships with predictive and some concurrent validators and often improperly sequence the onset of abuse vs dependence, perhaps due to insufficient emphasis on physiological features. Testing reliability, syndrome prevalence, syndrome sequencing, and concurrent and predictive validity, this study contrasted the DSM-IV with the Withdrawal-Gate Model (WGM), in which alcohol withdrawal is necessary and sufficient for the dependence diagnosis. Clinical samples of adults (baseline n?=?318) and adolescents (baselinen?=?214) meeting abuse or dependence were assessed for DSM-IV alcohol symptoms and external measures of problem severity and reinterviewed at 6 (adults) and 12 mo (adults and adolescents). Among DSM-IV dependent cases, the WGM shifted 32% of adults and 80% of adolescents to the abuse category, making both categories more symptomatically severe, but had a negligible effect on prevalence of total alcohol diagnoses. The WGM was more reliable than the DSM-IV and temporally sequenced abuse before dependence in a greater number of cases. The WGM was superior to the DSM-IV in concurrent and predictive validity on most measures. Future diagnostic systems may be more reliable and valid if they require evidence of withdrawal for substance dependence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A novel surgical method of repair for Stahl's ear: a case report and review of current treatment modalities

Stahl's ear is a congenital malformation of the auricle, which is uncommon in non-Oriental societies. A number of different treatment modalities have been suggested, many of which yield unpredictable results. We review current treatment modalities from the English literature and describe a novel, simple surgical method of repair. First, a helical rim incision is made to expose the abnormal third crus and upper pole of the ear. The third crus is excised as a narrow wedge of cartilage and posterior skin, and the defect is closed primarily. The free third crus cartilage is then grafted onto the scaphal cartilage in an anatomically correct position to form a superior crus. The anterior skin flap is redraped and bolstered over this graft. Only a very small scar on the helical rim remains visible anteriorly.     

Femtosecond laser machining of cooling holes in thermal barrier coated CMSX4 superalloy

Machining of cooling holes on thermal barrier coated superalloy components using a nanosecond (ns) laser generates considerable collateral damage such as recast layer, spatter and delamination of the ceramic coating. However, recent studies have suggested that these damages can be virtually eliminated by machining with femtosecond (fs) lasers. A detailed study on the microstructural characteristics of fs laser machined holes with diameters of 300 μm and 600 μm, generated on thermal barrier coated superalloy CMSX4 under various processing conditions has been conducted. Features examined include the shape, size and the surface finish of the hole wall. Femtosecond laser machined holes with a surface roughness of less than 2 μm and no major collateral damage could be generated in coated samples up to a thickness of 1.5 mm. The machining was found to cause minor ablative material removal from the top ceramic layer within 100 μm of the outer edge of the hole. The presence of machined holes did not affect the thermal cycling life at 1100 °C of the coated samples.     

Crosstalk degradation caused by optical amplification in amultichannel FSK heterodyne system

The crosstalk degradation caused by an optical amplifier in a four-channel FSK (frequency-shift-keyed) heterodyne communication system is measured. A bit error rate (BER) floor of 3×10^-4 is observed when the channels are spaced by 200 MHz, FSK modulation at 45 Mb/s, and when the optical input signal is large enough such that the gain is compressed by 2 dB relative to its small-signal value. The receiver is substantially improved by reducing the optical power amplifier input. However, the sensitivity increases only to a maximum value beyond which it degrades as the optical power of the demodulated channel becomes small relative to the noise of the optical amplifier. The combined effect of the crosstalk and the amplifier noise yields an optimum sensitivity of 250 photons/b for BER=10^-9. This result is 5 dB poorer than the sensitivity obtained in the absence of an optical amplifier     

Disaster relief work: nurses and others in bushfire territory

This paper describes one aspect of a study into the experiences in long-term healing of a community following the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfire. Forty participants were interviewed, of whom 26 were residents and 14 disaster relief workers. The paper concentrates on the experiences of the latter, describing how they came to understand the bushfire affected the community and how they managed disaster work. For novices it was a profoundly difficult experience, for which they received little help and had to manage with whatever skill they drew on in their 'normal' working lives, mixed with a good deal of intuition. The paper suggests that health workers in vulnerable areas require preparation for a likely disaster; that 'outsiders' need to deal through existing community groups and individuals to gain access to those in need of their skills, and that they also require preparation for helping 'insiders' who are themselves victims of the catastrophe.     

Effects of protein kinase C activators on phorbol ester-sensitive and -resistant EL4 thymoma cells

Phorbol ester-sensitive EL4 murine thymoma cells respond to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate with activation of ERK mitogen-activated protein kinases, synthesis of interleukin-2, and death, whereas phorbol ester-resistant variants of this cell line do not exhibit these responses. Additional aspects of the resistant phenotype were examined, using a newly-established resistant cell line. Phorbol ester induced morphological changes, ERK activation, calcium-dependent activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), interleukin-2 synthesis, and growth inhibition in sensitive but not resistant cells. A series of protein kinase C activators caused membrane translocation of protein kinase C's (PKCs) alpha, eta, and theta in both cell lines. While PKC eta was expressed at higher levels in sensitive than in resistant cells, overexpression of PKC eta did not restore phorbol ester-induced ERK activation to resistant cells. In sensitive cells, PKC activators had similar effects on cell viability and ERK activation, but differed in their abilities to induce JNK activation and interleukin-2 synthesis. PD 098059, an inhibitor of the mitogen activated protein (MAP)/ERK kinase kinase MEK, partially inhibited ERK activation and completely blocked phorbol ester-induced cell death in sensitive cells. Thus MEK and/or ERK activation, but not JNK activation or interleukin-2 synthesis, appears to be required for phorbol ester-induced toxicity. Alterations in phorbol ester response pathways, rather than altered expression of PKC isoforms, appear to confer phorbol ester resistance to EL4 cells.     

Cytoplasmic creatine kinases from giant pandas

The muscle and brain creatine kinases of giant panda have been isolated and purified. The purified muscle and brain enzymes (MM and BB) are homogeneous on both the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of SDS. Both enzymes are dimers, consisting of two identical subunits each with a molecular weight of 42,000 daltons. The characteristics of muscle and brain enzymes have been studied, respectively. The hybridized enzyme, MB, was prepared by hybridization of MM and BB. The kinetic parameters of MM, BB and MB were determined, respectively. The results from modification of SH groups show that the SH groups of panda creatine kinases are essential for their activity and among the all SH groups in the enzyme only one per subunit is essential for enzymatic activity.