各种引气剂以及抑泡剂对混凝土经时变化状态等的影响

众所周知,采用粉煤灰制备混凝土,因粉煤灰成分中含有未燃炭等微粒子,容易造成阴离子型引气剂吸附在这些微粒子上,导致含气量经时损失.同时在混凝土的制备、运输过程中,因受采用的材料、拌和状态等物理因素影响,还会发生含气量经时增加的现象.所以在制备、管理混凝土时,如何保证出机初期一定的含气量、缓解含气量的经时损失或经时增加,是一项极其关键的技术.本文将就采用能改善上述状态的引气剂、抑泡剂拌和混凝土,对混凝土的经时变化以及抗冻融性等特征产生的影响进行论述.     

一种高精度超声测距方法的研究

本文介绍了一种基于超声波循环反射测量原理的高精度超声测距方法 ,并给出了以单片机为核心的测距系统的组成 .本测量法克服了多次反射法中对回波脉冲个数的限制 ,经温度补偿后测量精度得到了明显改善 .     

Stoichiometrically bound beta-carotene in the cytochrome b6f complex of oxygenic photosynthesis protects against oxygen damage

The cytochrome b6f complex of oxygenic photosynthesis carries out "dark reactions" of electron transfer that link the light-driven reactions of the reaction centers, and coupled proton transfer that generates part of the electrochemical potential utilized for ATP synthesis. In contrast to the bc1 complex of the respiratory chain, with which there are many structural and functional homologies, the b6f complex contains bound pigment molecules. Along with the specifically bound chlorophyll a previously found to be bound stoichiometrically in the dimeric b6f complex, it was found in the present study that beta-carotene is also present in the b6f complex at stoichiometric levels or nearly so. Chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments were quantitatively extracted from b6f complex purified from (i) the thermophilic cyanobacterium, Mastigocladus laminosus, (ii) spinach chloroplasts, and (iii) the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Visible and mass spectra showed the carotenoid to be a beta-carotene of molecular weight = 536, with a stoichiometry of 1. 0:1 relative to cytochrome f in the highly active M. laminosus complex but somewhat lower stoichiometries, 0.77 and 0.55, in the b6f complex obtained from spinach chloroplasts and C. reinhardtii. A photoprotective function for the beta-carotene was inferred from the findings that the rate of photobleaching of the chlorophyll a bound in the complex was found to vary inversely with beta-carotene content and to decrease markedly in the presence of ambient N2 instead of air. The presence of beta-carotene in the b6f complex, and not in the related bc1 complexes of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and photosynthetic bacteria, suggests that an additional function is to protect the protein complexes in oxygenic photosynthetic membranes against toxic effects of intramembrane singlet O2.     

Solution structure of the sodium channel inactivation gate

The sodium channel initiates action potentials by opening in response to membrane depolarization. Fast channel inactivation, which is required for proper physiological function, is mediated by a cytoplasmic loop proposed to occlude the ion pore via a hinged lid mechanism with the triad IFM serving as a hydrophobic "latch". The NMR solution structure of the isolated inactivation gate reveals a stably folded core comprised of an alpha-helix capped by an N-terminal turn, supporting a model in which the tightly folded core containing the latch motif pivots on a more flexible hinge region to occlude the pore during inactivation. The structure, in combination with substituted cysteine mutagenesis experiments, indicates that the IFM triad and adjacent Thr are essential components of the latch and suggests differing roles for the residues of the IFMT motif in fast inactivation.     

The t(5;17) variant of acute promyelocytic leukemia expresses a nucleophosmin-retinoic acid receptor fusion

The classical action of the hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD) is the regulation of calcium metabolism. In contrast, the peptide hormone atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is one of the few known nonclassical VD responding genes. We screened the promoter of the rat ANF gene and identified a typical VD receptor (VDR) binding site formed by a direct repeat of two hexameric core binding motifs spaced by three nucleotides, between positions -907 and -891. Like most of the DR3-type VD response elements this sequence is bound with high affinity (Kd = 0.53 nM) by a heterodimer formed by VDR and retinoid X receptor. In a heterologous promoter context one copy of this sequence mediated an about fourfold gene activation by VD and a half-maximal activation (EC50) value of 0.48 nM VD. This characterizes the identified sequence as one of the most potent VD response elements.     

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the protective activity of valproate and diphenylhydantoin against maximal electroshock-induced seizures in mice--an interaction

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the clinical implications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as a complication of a urological condition. METHODS: Herein we describe a patient who presented with acute pyelonephritis due to ureteropelvic juntion stenosis, and a superimposed activation of SLE that had not been previously detected. RESULTS: This form of presentation led to a delay in making the diagnosis since it was focused urologically. The diagnosis of SLE was based on the clinical features, determination of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and a decrease in serum complement. CONCLUSION: When a patient consults with fever arising from a urological condition that is refractory to conventional therapy, it is mandatory to make the differential diagnosis from other disease entities, as shown in this case.     

Fibromyalgia syndrome

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a more common a condition than previously estimated. The most recent estimates are that 3 to 6 million patients have been diagnosed with FMS. The ACR criteria, established in 1990, provide the primary care provider with definitive subjective and objective findings that have shown to be 88% accurate in their ability to diagnose patients with the syndrome. There is no cure for FMS. It is a chronic condition, but patients quality of life can be improved when fatigue and pain are reduced. The institution of a plan that is developed collaboratively by the patient and the provider is the essence of successful symptom management. The hallmarks of the management plan include: improving the quality of sleep through the judicious use of medications that boost the body's level of serotonin (therefore reducing fatigue), and reducing pain through complimentary modalities such as exercise, physical therapy, relaxation techniques, massage, and biofeedback.     

Flt-3 ligand increases microchimerism but can prevent the therapeutic effect of donor bone marrow in transiently immunosuppressed cardiac allograft recipients

C3H (H2k) mice received 50 x 10(6) B10 (H2b) bone marrow (BM) cells either alone or with flt-3 ligand (FL) (10 microg/day), tacrolimus (2 mg/kg/day), or both agents for 7 days. Donor MHC class II+ (IAb+) cells were quantitated in spleens by immunohistochemical analysis, and donor class II DNA detected in BM by PCR. Donor cells were rare in the BM alone and BM + FL groups, whereas there was a substantial increase in chimerism in the BM + tacrolimus group. Addition of FL to BM + tacrolimus led to a further eightfold increase in donor cells and enhanced donor DNA compared with the BM + tacrolimus group. This increase in donor cells was almost 500-fold compared with BM alone. C3H recipients of B10 heart allografts given perioperative B10 BM and tacrolimus (days 0-13) exhibited a markedly extended median graft survival time (MST, 42 days) compared with those given tacrolimus alone (MST, 22 days). Addition of FL (10 microg/day; 7 days) to BM + tacrolimus prevented the beneficial effect of donor BM (MST, 18 days). BM alone or BM + FL resulted in uniform early heart graft failure (MST < 8 days). Functional studies revealed maximal antidonor MLR and CTL activities in the BM- and BM + FL-treated groups, with minimal activity in the tacrolimus-treated groups. Thus, dramatic growth factor-induced increases in chimerism achieved under cover of immunosuppression may result in augmented antidonor T cell reactivity and reduced graft survival after immunosuppressive drug withdrawal. With FL, this may reflect striking augmentation of immunostimulatory dendritic cells.