Influence of flupirtine on a G-protein coupled inwardly rectifying potassium current in hippocampal neurones

Zinc deficiency has been associated with growth deficits, reduced dietary intake and appetite, and has been hypothesized to result in reduced activity. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined whether 10 mg of oral zinc as zinc sulfate, given daily for up to 7 mo, affected activity patterns of 85 Guatemalan infants recruited at 6-9 mo of age. Infant activity was assessed by time sampling-observation method at 10-min intervals during a 12-h data collection period, at base line, 3 and 7 mo follow-up. Motor development and the percentage of time infants were observed in various positions (being carried, lying down, sitting, crawling, standing or walking) and engaged in various activities (eating, sleeping, resting, crying/whining or playing) were compared by treatment group. No differences in motor development were observed by treatment group. However, at follow-up 2 (after 7 mo of supplementation), zinc-supplemented infants were significantly more frequently observed sitting up compared with lying down, and were playing during 4.18 +/- 1.95% (P < 0.05) more observations than unsupplemented infants. They were also somewhat less likely to be observed crying or whining (P < 0.10) compared with those receiving the placebo. These effects are independent of other factors including infant age, motor development, sex, maternal education, family socioeconomic status and nutritional status at base line. Further research must be conducted to determine the long-term developmental importance of these differences in activity patterns associated with zinc supplementation in this setting.     

pH and salt responsive poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) cylindrical brushes and their quaternized derivatives

We present the synthesis and characterization of poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) cylindrical brushes, their pH responsiveness, and the corresponding quaternized analog, poly{[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium iodide} (PMETAI) brushes. PDMAEMA brushes were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using the grafting-from strategy. Initiating efficiencies of the ATRP processes were determined by cleaving the side-chains and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis. Due to the slow initiation and steric hindrance, the initiating efficiency is only around 50%. The PDMAEMA brushes show worm-like structures and pH responsiveness, as proven by dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) measurements. Strong cationic polyelectrolyte PMETAI brushes were produced by quaternization of the PDMAEMA brushes. AFM and cryo-TEM images showed similar worm-like morphologies for the PMETAI brushes. The PMETAI brushes collapsed in solution with high concentration of monovalent salt, as proven by DLS and AFM results.     

Modelling asymmetry in the peripheral auditory system of the lizard

The ears of lizards are highly directional. The directionality is generated by strong acoustical coupling of the eardrums. A simple lumped-parameter model of the ear followed by binaural comparisons has been shown to perform successful phonotaxis in robot implementations. However, such a model will produce localization errors in the form of response bias if the ears are asymmetrical. We have evaluated how large errors are generated by asymmetry using simulations of the ear model in Mathematica 5.2. The study shows that the effect of asymmetry is minimal around the most directional frequency of the ear, but that biases reduce the useful bandwidth of localization. This work was presented in part at the First European Workshop on Artificial Life and Robotics, Vienna, Austria, July 12–13, 2007     

Durability of polymeric glazing materials for solar applications

The economic viability of solar collector systems for domestic hot water (DHW) generation is strongly linked to the cost of such systems. Installation and hardware costs must be reduced by 50% to allow significant market penetration. An attractive approach to cost reduction is to replace glass and metal parts with less expensive, lighter weight polymeric components. Weight reduction decreases the cost of shipping, handling, and installation. The use of polymeric materials also allows the benefits and cost savings associated with well established manufacturing processes, along with savings associated with improved fastening, reduced part count, and overall assembly refinements. A key challenge is to maintain adequate system performance and assure requisite durability for extended lifetimes. Results of preliminary and ongoing screening tests for a large number of candidate polymeric glazing materials are presented. Based on these results, two specific glazings with moderate and poor weathering stability are selected to demonstrate how a service lifetime methodology can be applied to accurately predict the optical performance of these materials during in-service use. A summary is given for data obtained by outdoor exposure and indoor testing of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and high temperature modified polycarbonate copolymer (coPC) materials, and an initial risk analysis is given for the two materials. Screening tests and analyses for service lifetime prediction are discussed. A methodology that provides a way to derive correlations between degradation experienced by materials exposed to controlled accelerated laboratory exposure conditions and materials exposed to in-service conditions is given, and a validation is presented for the methodology based upon durability test results for PVC and coPC.     

Mapping surface temperature in large lakes with MODIS data

Satellite sensor MODIS on two platforms can produce Sea Surface Temperature over certain regions about three to four times per day. Our objective was to test if the MODIS SST product can be applied for lakes whose surface areas are large enough to be observed at the MODIS spatial resolution and to compare the satellite-derived lake surface temperatures with in situ measurements. Surface temperatures for Lakes Vänern and Vättern in Sweden, two of the largest European lakes, are extracted from the MODIS/Terra images for period 2001-2003. The results are analyzed on different quality levels, as all MODIS L2 products are equipped with an additional quality flag. We present temperature development over 2001-2003, and show the capability of the MODIS SST product to couple the known thermodynamical features in the lakes under study, where temperature varies greatly with space and time. These results can complement lake monitoring programs anywhere.     

Optimal Control of Solar Sludge Dryers

Optimal control (OC) methodology is used to develop a control policy for a batch-operated solar sludge dryer with ventilation as the dominant control. Batch performance criteria and instantaneous optimization criteria are developed for two economic environments: quota limited and capital limited. The general formulation, as well as simplifications resulting from the multiplicative form of the evaporation (drying) rate model, are presented. The multiplicative form results in a single constant number, called here “control intensity,” which is used to guide the on-line control decisions. These decisions turn out to be independent of the dry solids content (DSC) of the sludge. Further simplification, by assuming a strictly constant weather, is used to demonstrate the general effects of the economic and physical (weather) environment on the solution.

The OC approach is used to address, via simulation under realistic weather conditions, several design, operation, and pricing problems. In particular, the following have been considered: sizing of the ventilation fans, determination of a fair fee for sludge disposal, finding the best final DSC, and evaluating the effect of the price of electricity. Regarding the particular location represented by the data, it has been shown that the installed capacity of the ventilation fans should be increased and that there seems to be sufficient economic incentive for solar drying.     

SAP NetWeaver: Slicing the fridge

Zusammenfassung Das Schlagwort NetWeaver ist seit einiger Zeit in unserer Branche en vogue. Wie so oft, ist es nicht leicht, Marketingaspekte vom informatischen Wesensgehalt zu unterscheiden. Dieser Beitrag m?chte hier helfen.     

Process development and accurate low‐cost characterization for OLED sealants by using a calcium test

Abstract— A calcium measurement setup was built for testing encapsulation especially for OLED applications. This setup is able to measure both reflective and transmissive cells. For the characterization of sealants, a method to compare them with other sealing products will be described. This includes the use of spacers, a homogeneous surface energy, and the geometry of the sealant line. The effects of different geometries will be discussed. The setup was designed to achieve good accuracy at a very reasonable component cost, which will allow other facilities to replicate this setup. Therefore, the construction plan as well as the list of components can be downloaded from our website (Ref. 3).     

Local mobility within villin 14T probed via heteronuclear relaxation measurements and a reduced spectral density mapping

Villin 14T, a representative domain from the actin severing and bundling protein villin, binds calcium ions and actin monomers. To begin to understand the contributions of mobility to the villin-calcium and villin-actin interactions, relaxation rates for magnetization involving the amide nitrogens and protons have been measured for 15N-labeled villin 14T in solution. Although we have measured the complete set of rates required for a full spectral density map, difficulties in the accurate measurement of relaxation rates for antiphase coherence and two-spin order led us to consider a reduced mapping formalism. From the reduced spectral density map, a model-free analysis, or directly from the measured Nx,y relaxation rates, local variations in mobility along the backbone of villin 14T have been revealed. Fast motions are evident not only at the amino and carboxyl termini but also in the turn between strands beta 4 and beta 5 of the central beta-sheet and in the turn between helix alpha 3 and strand beta 7. Slower motions are suggested for the turn between strands beta 2 and beta 3. Motions on the microsecond to millisecond time scale have been probed directly by examining the dependence of the proton transverse relaxation rate on the spin-locking field strength. Leu11 shows a strong dependence on field strength, implying conformational exchange with a time constant of 125 +/- 69 microseconds. The backbone at the actin-binding interface appears to be rather rigid.