Freshwater fish as a dietary source of vitamin A in Cambodia

Vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem among children and women. Common Cambodian fish species were sampled and screened for vitamin A content. Contents of vitamin A-active compounds (all-trans retinol, all-trans dehydroretinol, 13-cis retinol, 13-cis dehydroretinol and β-carotene) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography in samples of raw, whole fish from 29 fish species and in raw, edible parts from 24 species. Replicate samples were analysed in seven selected species. Two species, Parachela siamensis and Rasbora tornieri had very high vitamin A contents >1500 RAE/100 g raw, whole fish, and six species (Barbodes altus, Barbodes gonionatus, Dermogenys pusilla, Puntioplites proctozysron and Thynnichthys thynnoides) had high contents of 500–1500 RAE/100 g raw, whole fish. Two species, Puntioplites proctozysron and Thynnichthys thynnoides had high vitamin A contents in raw, edible parts, after employing traditional cleaning practices. (RAE: The amount of vitamin A active compounds in food is expressed as retinol activity equivalents (RAE), defined as the bioefficacy relative to all-trans-retinol [ West, C. E., & Eilander, A. (2002). Consequences of revised estimates of carotenoid bioefficacy for the control of vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. Journal of Nutrition, 132, 2920S–2926S]. Dehydroretinoids (vitamin A₂) are not converted to all-trans-retinol but have similar metabolic functions. In this paper, RAE refers to the functional bioefficacy as defined by Brouwer et al. [ Brouwer, I. A., Dusseldorp, M. V., West, C. E., & Steegers-Theunissen, R. P. M. (2001). Bioavailability and bioefficacy of folate and folic acid in man. Nutrition Research Review, 14, 267–293]).     

Numerical simulation and analytical description of thermallyinduced birefringence in laser rods

The results of numerical simulations based on finite-element methods for thermally induced birefringence in Nd:YAG crystal rods are compared with measurements and analytical solutions. A novel analytical solution for inhomogeneous pumping is presented. It is shown that the behavior of thermally induced birefringence is very sensitive to the pump geometry     

Untersuchungen zum Einfluß der Probendicke auf das Verformungs- und Bruchverhalten bauteilähnlicher Großzugproben

Influence of specimen thickness on the deformation and fracture behaviour of wide plates The influence of specimen thickness on the deformation behaviour and the load bearing capacity has been investigated with large scale double-edge-notched-tension-specimens (DENT). The difference of the state of stress can be modelled by simplifications (plain strain, plain stress). Equations for the calculation of plastic limit loads taking into account the defect ratio a/W have been derived based on analytical, numerical and experimental investigations. Already existing equations may lead to unsafe prediction in special situations. The difference between plastic limit and maximum load is smaller for the thicker specimens due to higher toughness requirements. The toughness requirements have been quantified for the DENT-specimens using the J-integral analysis. The requirements mainly depend on the overall dimensions (W, B), the thickness ratio (B/W) and the defect ratio (a/W).     

On “lower bound crack resistance curves” as material law for the safety assessment of components

Experimental fracture-mechanics investigations were carried out on large scale specimens. The specimen geometries and the crack depth ratio, a / W, in a parameter field were varied. Three materials of different toughness were chosen for the specimens. Their load—deformation behaviour, crack resistance curves, stretched zones Δa; and crack inititiation values J_i were determined and compared with the results from CT25 specimens. Numerical finite-element calculations were made to determine the state of stress in the specimens and the size of the plastic zones.     

Cyclic and transient thermal loading of the HDR reactor pressure vessel with respect to crack initiation and crack propagation

In a series of thermal loading tests at the HDR reactor pressure vessel – thermal stratification, cyclic thermal shock and pressurized thermal shock – the methods applied in safety analysis had to become qualified by a continuous intercomparison of calculated results and experimental data. Above all the complex boundary conditions of the HDR-tests offer a close approximation to the original components, so that they provide a real assessment of the transferability.The results of the thermal mixing tests indicated that during cold water inflow into the RPV longitudinal strains build up in the cylindrical wall which dominate over that in circumferential direction.During the cyclic thermal fatigue tests incipient crack formation in the cladding as well as the behaviour of crack propagation in the cladding and in the base material was analyzed.In the pressurized thermal shock tests, the nozzle region and the cylinder wall in the incipient crack condition were loaded by long cooling streaks. Even in the aggravated loading condition as the result of a routed cold water streak no remarkable indications of crack growth were noticed.In both cases, cyclic and pressurized thermal shock loading, the expected crack propagation was overpredicted by the fracture mechanical methods used.The non-destructive examination methods used were able to locate all of the cracks but they mostly overpredicted the actual crack depth.     

Metal-ion-induced formation and stabilization of protein cages based on the cowpea chlorotic mottle virus

The cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) is a versatile building block for the construction of nanoreactors and functional materials. Upon RNA removal, the capsid can be reversibly assembled and disassembed by adjusting the pH. At pH 5.0 the capsid is in the native assembled conformation, while at pH 7.5 it disassembles into 90 capsid protein dimers. This special property enables the encapsulation of various molecules, such as protein and enzymes, but only at low pH. It is possible to stabilize the capsid at pH 7.5 by addition of negatively charged polyelectrolytes or negatively charged particles, but these methods all fill the interior of the capsid, leaving little or no space for other cargo molecules. This pH restriction therefore severely limits the range of enzymes that can be encapsulated, and hampers the investigation of the CCMV capsid as a nanoreactor for the study of enzymes in confined spaces. Herein, the interaction of N-terminal histidine-tag-modified capsid proteins with several metal ions is reported. Depending on the conditions used, nanometer-sized protein particles or capsidlike architectures are formed that are stable at pH 7.5. This metal-mediated stabilization methodology is employed to form stable capsids containing multiple proteins at pH 7.5, thereby greatly expanding the scope of the CCMV capsid as a nanoreactor.     

Particle size analysis of dioctyl phthalate aerosols using the stöber aerosol spectrometer

Particle size distributions of nearly monodisperse dioctyl phthalate aerosols (dia. between 0–5 and 1–4 μm) have been determined using the Stöber aerosol spectrometer. The particle size distributions can be approximated very well by bimodal distribution functions. From a statistical analysis it turned out that the accuracy of the approximation is limited in case of small particles (dia. ～ 0·5 μm). This is due to evaporation of the particles during the analysis.The mean of the particle size distribution determined with the Stöber aerosol spectrometer was in fair agreement with the particle diameter determined with the higher order Tyndall spectrometer.     

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