Screening of biomarkers in rat urine using LC/electrospray ionization-MS and two-way data analysis

Biofluids, like urine, form very complex matrixes containing a large number of potential biomarkers, that is, changes of endogenous metabolites in response to xenobiotic exposure. This paper describes a fast and sensitive method of screening biomarkers in rat urine. Biomarkers for phospholipidosis, induced by an antidepressant drug, were studied. Urine samples from rats exposed to citalopram were analyzed using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis detecting negative ions. A fast iterative method, called Gentle, was used for the automatic curve resolution, and metabolic fingerprints were obtained. After peak alignment principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for pattern recognition, PCA loadings were studied as a means of discovering potential biomarkers. In this study a number of potential biomarkers of phospholipidosis in rats are discussed. They are reported by their retention time and base peak, as their identification is not within the scope of the study. In addition to the fact that it was possible to differentiate control samples from dosed samples, the data were very easy to interpret, and signals from xenobiotic-related substances were easily removed without affecting the endogenous compounds. The proposed method is a complement or an alternative to NMR for metabolomic applications.     

Nitrous oxide emission as affected by liming an acidic mineral soil used for arable agriculture

The effect of liming an acidic mineral soil (Dystric Nitosol from southern China), used for arable agriculture, on N₂O emission was studied in an incubation experiment. After the soil pH had been raised from pH 4.4 to 5.2, 6.7 and 8.1, soil samples were either amended with NH₄ ⁺ and incubated aerobically, favoring nitrification or, after application of NO₃ ^–, the incubation took place under anaerobic conditions, favoring denitrification. Gas sampling for N₂O determination and soil analyses were performed at regular intervals up to 13 days. Under nitrification conditions only small N₂O emission rates were observed (max. 6 g N kg^–1 d^–1) with significant differences between high and low pH values during the first 2 days of incubation. The nitrifying activity was low, even with high pH, and this, together with good aeration conditions, could partly explain the small N₂O evolution. During denitrification, however, cumulative N₂O emissions reached much higher values (1600 g N kg^–1 in comparison to 40 g N kg^–1 under nitrification conditions). N₂O emission during denitrification was significantly enhanced by increasing soil pH. Under alkaline conditions (pH 8.1) a large nitrite accumulation occurred, which was in line with the highest nitrate reductase activity determined in this treatment. The limited availability of organic carbon is probably the main reason for the absence of further reduction of NO₂ ^– to N₂O or N₂. At pH 6.7 the total N₂O emission was slightly higher than at pH 8.1, although the start of pronounced emissions was retarded and only small amounts of NO₂ ^– accumulated. Acid soil conditions caused either negligible (pH 4.4) or only small (pH 5.2) N₂O emissions. It can be concluded that these kinds of soil, used alternatively for production of upland crops or paddy rice, are prone to high N₂O emissions after flooding, particularly under neutral to alkaline conditions. In order to avoid major N₂O evolution and accumulation of nitrite, which can be leached into groundwater, the pH should not be raised to values above 5.5–6.     

Process conditions in X-ray lithography for the fabrication of devices with sub-micron feature sizes

This article describes the fabrication of polymer structures with lateral dimensions in the sub-micron regime using hard X-rays (λ_c ≈ 0.4 nm) from the electron storage ring ANKA. Spincoated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) grades have been analyzed with respect to development rates and contrast. The contrast has been determined to be constant over a wide dose regime but rapidly decreases for dose values below 1 kJ/cm³. Films with a thickness from 2 to 11 μm have been patterned using a high resolution X-ray mask consisting of 2 μm thick gold absorbers on a suspended 1 μm thick silicon nitride membrane. The fabrication of sub-micron X-ray lithography structures with feature sizes down to 400 nm is confined by the mechanical parameters of the resist material and the process conditions. Surface tension after development limits the achievable aspect ratio of isolated pillars and walls, depending on the actual resist height. PMMA structures have been successfully used as template for electroplating of 1 μm thick gold to demonstrate the fabrication capability of sub-micron scale metal parts.     

Experimental Modelling using Low Melting Point Metallic Melts: Relevance for Metallurgical Engineering

This paper describes model experiments with liquid metals of low melting point as an important tool to investigate the flow structure and related transport processes in melt flows being relevant for metallurgical applications. Three examples have been selected to demonstrate the benefit of such experiments, namely the electromagnetic stirring of a metallic melt in a pool, the directional solidification of Al‐Si alloys under the influence of an electromagnetically driven flow and the behaviour of a liquid metal bubble plume if a vertically travelling field is applied. Results of flow measurements are presented and the relevance for metallurgical processes is discussed.     

Citizens’ Adoption Behavior of Mobile Government (mGov): A Cross-Cultural Study

This study aims to address the paradigms of consumers’ adoption behavior for mobile government, posits the factors which pursue citizens’ intention to adopt mobile government services, and reveals the impact of cultural dimensions in perceiving driving factors of mobile government adoption. The mobile government adoption model was developed and tested among users of three different countries, namely Bangladesh, Canada, and Germany. The finding suggests the rationale that cross-cultural differences impact consumers’ perception of mobile government adoption behavior.     

Potential Energetic Plasticizers on the Basis of 2,2‐Dinitropropane‐1,3‐diol and 2,2‐Bis(azidomethyl)propane‐1,3‐diol

Different carboxylic acid derivatives of 2,2‐dinitropropane‐1,3‐diol (DNPD) and 2,2‐bis(azidomethyl)propane‐1,3‐diol (BAMP) were synthesized to investigate their suitability as energetic plasticizers. The syntheses were carried out using acyl chlorides of acetic, propionic, and butyric acid. The obtained products were characterized by elemental analysis, NMR, and IR spectroscopy. The energetic properties of the synthesized compounds were calculated on the basis of the computed heats of formation at the CBS‐4M level of theory using the EXPLO5 version 6.02 computer code. Investigations of physical stabilities were carried out using BAM drop hammer and friction tester. Low and high temperature behavior was determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The energetic and physical properties of the synthesized compounds were compared to the literature known energetic plasticizers N‐butyl nitratoethylnitramine (BuNENA) and diethylene glycol bis(azidoacetate) ester (DEGBAA). For analyzing the plasticizing abilities, mixtures of glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) and poly(3‐nitratomethyl‐3‐methyloxetan) (polyNIMMO) were prepared with both propionyl based compounds in different ratios and investigated regarding their glass transition temperatures and viscosity. Both compounds showed plasticizing effects in the range of BuNENA.     

Sediment flux from Lesser Zab River in Dokan Reservoir: Implications for the sustainability of long‐term water resources in Iraq

Prudent management of Iraqi water resources under climate change conditions requires plans to be based on actual figures of the storage capacity of existing reservoirs. With the absence of sediment flushing measures, the actual storage capacity of Dokan Reservoir (operated since 1959) has been affected by the amount of sediment delivered during its operational life leading to an undetermined reduction in its storage capacity. In consequence, there has not been an update on the dam's operational storage capacity curves. In this research, new operational curves were established for the reservoir based on a recent bathymetric survey undertaken in 2014. The reduction in reservoir capacity during the period between 1959 and 2014 was calculated by the mean of the difference between the designed storage capacity and the storage capacity which was concluded from the 2014 bathymetric survey. Moreover, the rate of sediment transported to the reservoir was calculated based on the overall quantities of accumulated sediment and the water discharge of the Lesser Zab River into the reservoir. The results indicate that the dam capacity is reduced by 25% due to sedimentation of an estimated volume of 367 million cubic metres at water level 480 m.a.s.l. The annual sedimentation rate was about 6.6 million cubic metres, and the sediment yield was estimated to be 701.2 t?km^?3?year.     

The passage of homopolymeric RNA through small solid-state nanopores

Solid-state nanopores are widely acknowledged as tools with which to study local structure in biological molecules. Individual molecules are forced through a nanopore, causing a characteristic change in an ionic current that depends on the molecules' local diameter and charge distribution. Here, the translocation measurements of long (~5-30 kilobases) single-stranded poly(U) and poly(A) molecules through nanopores ranging from 1.5 to 8 nm in diameter are presented. Individual molecules are found to be able to cause multiple levels of conductance blockade upon traversing the pore. By analyzing these conductance blockades and their relative incidence as a function of nanopore diameter, it is concluded that the smallest conductance blockades likely correspond to molecules that translocate through the pore in predominantly head-to-tail fashion. The larger conductance blockades are likely caused by molecules that arrive at the nanopore entrance with many strands simultaneously. These measurements constitute the first demonstration that single-stranded RNA can be captured in solid-state nanopores that are smaller than the diameter of double-stranded RNA. These results further the understanding of the conductance blockades caused by nucleic acids in solid-state nanopores, relevant for future applications, such as the direct determination of RNA secondary structure.     

Incremental model-based estimation using geometric constraints

We present a model-based framework for incremental, adaptive object shape estimation and tracking in monocular image sequences. Parametric structure and motion estimation methods usually assume a fixed class of shape representation (splines, deformable superquadrics, etc.) that is initialized prior to tracking. Since the model shape coverage is fixed a priori, the incremental recovery of structure is decoupled from tracking, thereby limiting both processes in their scope and robustness. In this work, we describe a model-based framework that supports the automatic detection and integration of low-level geometric primitives (lines) incrementally. Such primitives are not explicitly captured in the initial model, but are moving consistently with its image motion. The consistency tests used to identify new structure are based on trinocular constraints between geometric primitives. The method allows not only an increase in the model scope, but also improves tracking accuracy by including the newly recovered features in its state estimation. The formulation is a step toward automatic model building, since it allows both weaker assumptions on the availability of a prior shape representation and on the number of features that would otherwise be necessary for entirely bottom-up reconstruction. We demonstrate the proposed approach on two separate image-based tracking domains, each involving complex 3D object structure and motion.     

Anforderungen an die Wärmedämmung der Gebäudehülle: ein Vergleich zwischen EnEV 2009 und EnEV 2007

Im Hinblick auf die Anforderungen an die Dämmung der Gebäudehülle hat sich ein Wechsel der Bezugsgrößen und Abhängigkeiten von der Energieeinsparverordnung (EnEV) 2007 zur EnEV 2009 vollzogen. Deshalb ist ein direkter Vergleich der beiden Vorschriften, zumindest bei Neubauten, nicht ohne weiteres möglich. Im folgenden Artikel wird die Möglichkeit eines allgemein gültigen Vergleichs der beiden Anforderungsniveaus untersucht. Daraus lassen sich für den Planer Schlüsse im Hinblick auf die Einhaltung der Anforderungen und deren Auswirkung auf den Entwurf und die Konstruktion ziehen. Abschnitt 1 behandelt dabei den Neubau von Wohngebäuden, Abschnitt 2 den Neubau von Nichtwohngebäuden und Abschnitt 3 die Bestandsgebäude. Comparison of the heat insulation requirements for building envelopes between EnEV 2007 and EnEV 2009. The heat insulation requirements for building envelopes depending on reference values and various conditions have been changed from EnEV 2007 (German Building Energy Conservation Ordinance) to EnEV 2009. Therefore, a direct comparison of both regulations is not possible, especially for new buildings. In this article the possibility of a generally valid comparison of both requirement levels is examined. Conclusions for the design of residential buildings, commercial buildings and refirbishment of existing buildings are given.