PIXE analysis and fission track dating of obsidian from South American prehispanic cultures (Colombia, Ecuador)

In the present work we have coupled PIXE with fission track dating to characterise obsidian artefacts from about 40 archaeological sites of Colombia and Ecuador. PIXE analysis, carried out with the external beam line of the AGLAE tandem accelerator, yields the content in about 15 elements with Z > 8, whereas fission track dating is applied to ages in excess of about 10 000 years. About 120 artefacts were investigated by PIXE, of which 50 were dated by fission tracks. Ages and compositions were compared to those of obsidians from all known geological sources of the region. We show that this double characterisation allows us to determine the number of obsidian sources exploited in an ancient past and to give some insight into obsidian circulation.     

Growth inhibition of human colon carcinoma cells by combinations of anti-epidermal growth factor-related growth factor antisense oligonucleotides

To gain insight into the factors controlling the maintenance or loss of T cell self tolerance we produced beef insulin (BI)-transgenic BALB/c mice. Transgenic mice express BI under control of the human insulin promoter and secrete physiological amounts of beef insulin. Although these mice are tolerant to BI, as evidenced by the lack of insulin-specific IgG antibody production following intraperitoneal immunization, tolerance is not complete. Footpad immunization results in a weak antigen-specific T cell proliferative response, indicating the presence of self-reactive BI-specific T cell in the periphery. These T cells are functional in vivo, providing support for IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b BI-specific antibody production, but require higher higher concentrations of antigen than nontransgenic T cells (both in vivo and following recall responses in vitro) to become activated. In vitro, BI-specific T cell proliferation in BI-transgenic mice can be largely restored by addition of interleukin-2, indicating that a significant component of T cell tolerance is mediated by anergy. To characterize the autoreactive T cells that become activated when tolerance is broken, BI-specific T cell hybridomas were generated from transgenic mice and compared to a panel of hybridomas previously derived from nontransgenic BALB/c mice. The majority of BI-transgenic hybridomas recognized the immunodominant A1-14 beef insulin peptide but with lower avidity than BALB/c hybridomas. Consistent with this, none of the dominant T cell receptor rearrangements found in the BALB/c BI-specific T cell receptor repertoire were found in the transgenic hybridomas. These results indicate that, despite evidence for clonal inactivation of many BI-specific T cells in BI-transgenic mice, loss of tolerance results from activation of low-affinity antigen-specific T cells that appear to have escaped this process.     

The diastereofacial selectivity of the addition of various 1-metalated 1-heptynes to substituted cyclopentanecarbaldehydes. – The use of 1-titanated 1-heptyne for the construction of the alkyl side chain of Prostaglandins

A highly diastereoselective addition of 1-heptyne to substituted cyclopentanecarbaldehydes is one of the indispensable prerequisites to the construction of the (S)-3-hydroxy-1(E)-octenyl side chain of prostaglandins by palladium(II)-catalyzed [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of allylic acetates. It was found that 1-titanated 1-heptynes afford the Cram product at best with a diastereofacial selectivity of 92.5%. The corresponding lithium and magnesium compounds are less diastereoselective.     

PEAK-INSENSITIVE NON-PARAMETRIC SPECTRUM ESTIMATION

Abstract. We study the problem of non-parametric spectrum estimation of a stationary time series that might contain periodic components. In this case the periodogram ordinates have a significant amplitude at frequencies near the frequencies of the periodic components. These can be regarded as outliers in an asymptotically exponential sample. We develop a non-parametric estimator for the spectral density that is insensitive to these outliers in the frequency domain. This is done by robustifying the usual kernel estimator (smoothed periodogram) by means of M-estimation in the frequency domain. We propose to use data-tapered periodograms, which yield a drastic improvement of the procedure, typically for the contaminated situation. This is both shown theoretically and supported by means of simulation. We show consistency of the resulting estimator in the general case, and asymptotic normality in the special case of a Gaussian time series, whether contamination is present or not. Finally we illustrate the finite sample performance of the estimating procedure by some simulation results and by application to the Canadian lynx trappings data.     

Durability of recycled aggregates concrete: a safe way to sustainable development

Fine and coarse recycled aggregates recovered from demolished masonry and concrete structures were utilized in the manufacture of new concrete mixtures. Three properties of these new concretes were analyzed: water absorption, total pores volume, and carbonation. The recycled concrete families were created by replacing parts of the natural aggregates forming families of concrete with 0%, 20%, 50%, and 100% of aggregates from recycled sources. The usual comparison between mixtures by comparison between behaviors of concrete families. This research shows that the mix design nomogram (MDN) is a new and useful tool that allows the researchers to compare properties and behaviors of different concretes. The results show that the family concrete with the highest pore volume and with the same compressive strength of 20, 30, and 40 MPa (2900, 4350, and 5800 psi) did not always correspond to the concrete family with the highest degree of carbonation. This experiment also showed that some compositional characteristics of concrete could have more influence on the durability that the traditional physical aspects.     

Evaluation of dynamic modulus measurement for C/C-SiC composites at different temperatures

The determination of elastic properties at application temperature is fundamental for the design of fibre reinforced ceramic composite components. An attractive method to characterize the flexural modulus at room and high temperature under specific atmosphere is the nondestructive Resonant Frequency Damping Analysis (RFDA). The objective of this paper was to evaluate and validate the modulus measurement via RFDA for orthotropic C/C-SiC composites at the application temperature. At room temperature flexural moduli of C/C-SiC with 0/90° reinforcement were measured under quasi-static 4-point bending loads and compared with dynamic moduli measured via RFDA longitudinally to fibre direction. The dynamic modulus of C/C-SiC was then measured via RFDA up to 1250°C under flowing inert gas and showed an increase with temperature which fitted with literature values. The measured fundamental frequencies were finally compared to those resulting from numerical modal analyses. Dynamic and quasi-static flexural moduli are comparable and the numerical analyses proved that bending modes are correctly modeled by means of dynamic modulus measured via RFDA. The nondestructive RFDA as well as the numerical modeling approach are suitable for evaluation of C/C-SiC and may be transferred to other fibre reinforced ceramic composite materials.     

Methane generation from Miocene lacustrine coals and organic-rich sedimentary rocks containing different types of organic matter

Ten selected samples with varying types and amounts of organic matter from two Miocene lacustrine basins in northwestern Turkey were analyzed by programmed-temperature open-system pyrolysis to determine methane generation potential and reaction kinetics. Open-system pyrolysis was performed at heating rates 0.1, 0.7 and 5.0 K/min, where generated gases were measured using an on-line gas chromatograph. Frequency factors and activation energy distributions of reaction kinetics for methane generation from the investigated lacustrine coals and sedimentary rocks indicated that type of kerogen controls the sequential order of methane generation. Methane from Type-III kerogen is generated at lower temperatures, which will be followed by methane from Type-II and Type-I kerogen. Methane generation potentials in the range 14-35 mg CH₄/g TOC correlates also with type of organic matter. For Type-III kerogen up to 28% of the total hydrocarbon generation potential belongs to methane. The respective value is only 2% for a Type-I kerogen.     

Erste fernbediente,vollautomatisierte Verdichterstation für Ethylen in Deutschland

First remote-controlled, fully automated ethylene compressor plant in Germany . The Hoechst company has been operating an ethylene pipeline between Cologne and Frankfurt-am-Main since 1960. The capacity of this pipeline had to be increased from 250 000 t/a to 350 000 t/a, and this is why a remote-controlled fully automated ethylene intermediate compressor came into operation in 1978. The unmanned station was constructed as a grass roots project with ancillary and safety displays and is controlled and monitored from an 80-km distant control desk. Compression is by two piston compressors arranged in parallel, with each one accounting for 50% of the throughput capacity. Particular attention was paid to the safety concept of the station. All interlocking systems necessary and possible manual operations are permanently wired. The start-up and shut-down programs are located in a freely programmable control system. Such stations can be constructed from prefabricated units in inaccessible areas.     

Merging Allosteric and Active Site Binding Motifs: De novo Generation of Target Selectivity and Potency via Natural‐Product‐Derived Fragments

The de novo design of molecules from scratch with tailored biological activity is still the major intellectual challenge in chemical biology and drug discovery. Herein we validate natural‐product‐derived fragments (NPDFs) as excellent molecular seeds for the targeted de novo discovery of lead structures for the modulation of therapeutically relevant proteins. The application of this de novo approach delivered, in synergy with the combination of allosteric and active site binding motifs, highly selective and ligand‐efficient non‐zinc‐binding ( 3 : 4‐{[5‐(2‐{[(3‐methoxyphenyl)methyl]carbamoyl}eth‐1‐yn‐1‐yl)‐2,4‐dioxo‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydropyrimidin‐1‐yl]methyl}benzoic acid) as well as zinc‐binding ( 4 : 4‐({5‐[2‐({[3‐(3‐carboxypropoxy)phenyl]methyl}carbamoyl)eth‐1‐yn‐1‐yl]‐2,4‐dioxo‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydropyrimidin‐1‐yl}methyl)benzoic acid) uracil‐based MMP‐13 inhibitors presenting IC₅₀ values of 11 nM ( 3 : LE=0.35) and 6 nM ( 4 : LE=0.31).