Mitogenic effect of erythropoietin on cultured aortic myocytes

The administration of recombinant erythropoietin (rHuEpo) to anemic chronic renal failure patients may be associated with an increase in blood pressure, possibly by direct effects on peripheral blood vessels. In the present study, experiments were designed to explore the hypothesis that rHuEpo could enhance vascular resistance through mitogenic effect on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and that preexisting hypertension might be a predisposing condition. Cultured VSMCs from the thoracic aortae of spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were studied for DNA synthesis, phospholipase C activity, and cell growth related proto-oncogene expression in the presence of rHuEpo. In cells from both strains, rHuEpo dose-dependently increased DNA synthesis and stimulated phospholipase C activity, as indicated by 3H-thymidine incorporation and 3H-inositol phosphate formation, respectively (EC50 approximately 4 U/ml). Exposure of VSMCs to rHuEpo for various times gradually increased the levels of c-myc and junB and transiently induced c-fos expression, as determined by Northern analysis. rHuEpo-induced DNA synthesis was markedly enhanced in VSMCs from SHR compared to those from WKY. In contrast, rHuEpo-induced phospholipase C activity and proto-oncogene expression did not differ between the two strains. Taken together, these results suggest that rHuEpo may function as a vascular smooth muscle cell growth promoting factor through activation of the phospholipase C cascade and modulation of proto-oncogene expression. It could thereby contribute to vascular hypertrophy and arterial hypertension.     

Increasing testing productivity and software quality: A comparison of software testing methodologies within NASA

Pressure to compress the development life cycle and reduce the duration and resources committed to testing lead to experimentation in testing at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centerís Software Engineering Laboratory. This study investigates the trend to reduce developer testing and increasingly rely upon inspection techniques and independent functional testing to shorten the development life cycle, improve testing productivity, and improve software quality.An approach is developed to conduct this comparison. In particular, the problem faced by software researchers, having a comprehensive characterization of software projects so similar types may be identified for comparative studies, is addressed using expert opinion.     

Computation of nonlinear functionals in particle methods

We consider the numerical computation of nonlinear functionals of distribution functions approximated by point measures. Two methods are described and estimates for the speed of convergence as the number of points tends to infinity are given. Moreover, numerical results for the entropy functional are presented.     

Analysis of ink flow in a mimeograph printer based on the mechanics of fluid-filled poroelastic solids

Summary To understand some main ink flow mechanisms in a mimeograph printer, the continuum mechanics theory of fluid-saturated porous solids is applied to analyze the ink flow through screens and a printing master, which are modeled by a fluid-filled poroelastic single layer. The layer is assumed to be pressed by a press roller from below and to be subjected from above to the hydrodynamic lubrication pressure induced between a printing drum and an ink roller. Nonlinear elasticity of the layer and dependence of the permeability on its deformation are taken into account. The numerical results show some important results: e.g., squeezing-out of the ink from the layer by the layer compaction by the press roller plays an important role, especially for the case where the compression duration is small in comparison with the characteristic time of the ink-filled poroelastic layer.     

The Valve Metal Character of Zirconium as inferred from anode potential measurements in mineral acid solutions

A study on the value metal character of Zr in 0.1 M solutions of H₂SO₄, HNO₃, and H₃PO₄ has been performed using the anode potential as the primary variable in galvanostatic, potentiostatic, and capacity measurements. A method of surface pre-treatment, which suppresses both O₂ evolution and metal dissolution, has been described. Kinetic parameters of oxide growth have been calculated. The results indicate that:

• (i) the high field approximation is applicable following an exponential law, and
• (ii) the height and activation distance of the energy barrier for ion transport through the oxide phase (Verwey model) are the same three acids.

Measurements have been also made on the dielectric breakdown of oxide, and this occurs at potentials above 200 V. Direct capacity measurements give similar results as those based on reciprocal capacity calculated from galvanostatic experiments. It is concluded that the dominant anodic oxide species is ZrO₂ having a dielectric constant of 25. Open circuit potential measurements show that Zr is spontaneously oxidized in the three acids.     

Randomized function evaluation on a ring

LetR be a unidirectional asynchronous ring ofn identical processors each with a single input bit. Letf be any cyclic nonconstant function ofn boolean variables. Moran and Warmuth (1986) prove that anydeterministic algorithm that evaluatesf onR has communication complexity (n logn) bits. They also construct a family of cyclic nonconstant boolean functions that can be evaluated inO(n logn) bits by a deterministic algorithm.This contrasts with the following new results:

A route to chaos in a nonlinear oscillator with delay

Summary The paper presents an analysis of the transition from regular to chaotic motion in a Van der Pol-Duffing's oscillator with delay after a Hopf bifurcation. The conditions for the occurrence of the Hopf bifurcation have been determined by means of the approximate method. For the parameters near the bifurcation point a computer simulation of the vibrating system had been performed and the evolution of the system from regular motion to chaos has been analysed at the decrease of the value of the dimensionless damping coefficient.With 2 Figures     

Investigation of the flow in the impeller-side space of rotary pumps with superimposed throughflow for the determination of axial force and frictional torque

Summary The subject of the present theoretical and experimental work is laminar flow processes in the gap between a rotating disc and a stationary wall. A report is given of the creation of suitable computational methods for determining the pressure gradient and velocity field in the impeller-side space of specifically slow-working rotary pumps in the process of conveying very viscous media with Newton properties, given temperature-dependent viscosity. The exposition is based on the abstract model conception of parallel radial gaps, the resultant frictional torques and the axial forces being determined for the case of a superimposed throughflow. On the one hand, the basis of the computations is an implicit difference method, and on the other an asymptotic computational method which leads to success via disturbance estimates in conjunction with similarity transformations, and approaches the difference method in accuracy while being relatively simple to handle and requiring little expenditure of time. On the basis of the computational results, experiments are conducted using a suitable experimental set-up, which answer the question concerning the efficiency and area of validity of the computational model.Notation c _p specific heat capacity - f _ax axial force - m moment of rotation - p pressure - q throughflow parameter - r radius - r, ,z coordinates - s gap width - u, v, w velocities - volume flow - angular velocity - viscosity - thermal conductivity - density - material parameter - a external - i internal - w wall With 7 Figures     

The incorporation of yield surface distortion into a unified constitutive model,part 2: Predictive capabilities

Summary The MATMOD-4V-DISTORTION model has been derived [1] with the intent of improving the MATMOD-4V model by adding the capability to predict distortions of small strain offset yield surfaces. This model is compared against a variety of experimental data to verify its behavior. Model simulations are compared with experimental data for proportional and nonproportional prestress histories and the effect of yield definition is also investigated. Finally, the same model which predicts a flattening of the yield surface in space is used to predict a rotation of the yield surface in ₁-₂ coordinates.With 9 Figures     

Thermal gradient effects on the vibration of prestressed rectangular plates

Summary The effect of a thermal gradient on the transverse vibration of a prestressed rectangular plate is investigated by the method of matched asymptotic expansions. This class of heated plate is characterised by changing its Young's modulus with temperature. Analytical results for the eigenvalues are presented for fully-clamped and fully-hinged rectangular plates when the bending rigidity is small compared to the in-plane loading. To leading order in (where ² denotes the normalized bending rigidity), the eigenvalues of an ideal membrane are obtained, independent of thermal effects.Thermal gradient effects occur in the first order correction of eigenvalues for a clamped plate while the eigenvalues of a hinged plate are affected by thermal gradient only to second order. In particular, Schneider's results are recovered when thermal gradient effects are absent.Nomenclature W' bending deflection - D(x) flexural rigidity - D ₀ reference flexural rigidity - x',y' rectangular co-ordinate - E modulus of elasticity - E ₁ reference modulus of elasticity - t' time - h' height of plate - a' length of plate - b' width of plate - T temperature - T ₀ reference temperature - slope of variation ofE withT - parameter - L characteristic length - N ₀ characteristic in-plane force - m mass per unit area - characteristic frequency - outer solution - inner solution - small parameter