Inhibitory activity of ginger rhizome on airway and uterine smooth muscle preparations

In this study, we describe the tracheal-relaxant and tocolytic activities of the methanol (ME) and aqueous (AQ) crude extracts of ginger (rhizome of Zingiber officinale) in an attempt to rationalize its traditional use in disorders of airways and uterine hyperactivity. Both of the ginger extracts dose-dependently relaxed K⁺ (80 mM) and carbachol (CCh, 1 μM)-induced contractions with more potency against K⁺, similar to that elicited by verapamil, a Ca²⁺ channel blocker. In isolated uterine preparations, the extracts suppressed the K⁺-induced contractions with respective EC₅₀ values of 0.03 mg/ml (0.02–0.05, 95% CI) and 0.05 mg/ml (0.04–0.06). Activity-directed fractionation of AQ yielded an organic and an aqueous fraction with the activities concentrated in the former. Both the crude extracts were found safe in mice up to the oral dose of 5 g/kg when tested for acute toxicity for 24 h. The study shows that ginger possesses tracheal and uterine smooth muscle relaxant activity, possibility mediated via Ca²⁺ channel blockade, justifying its use in disorders such as asthma, cough as well as in dysmenorrhoea and uterine and menstrual spasms and congestion.     

An orthogonal basis for the hyperbolic hybrid polynomial space

Motivated by the wide usage of the Tchebyshev basis and Legendre basis in the algebra polynomial space, we construct an orthogonal basis with the properties of the H-Bézier basis in the hyperbolic hybrid polynomial space, which is similar to the Legendre basis and holds remarkable properties. Moreover, we derive the transformation matrices that map the H-Bézier basis and the orthogonal basis forms into each other. An example for approximating the degree reduction of the H- Bézier curves is sketched to illustrate the utility of the orthogonal basis.     

An ideal topology type convergent theorem on scale effect algebras

The famous Antosik-Mikusinski convergent theorem on the Abel topological groups has very extensive applications in measure theory, summation theory and other analysis fields. In this paper, we establish the theorem on a class of effect algebras equipped with the ideal topology. This paper shows also that the ideal topology of effect algebras is a useful topology in studying the quantum logic the- ory.     

Application of Code Approach for Emergency Evacuation in a Rail Station

This paper presents an emergency evacuation analysis during a mid-platform train fire in an underground rail station. A time-based evacuation scenario is developed taking into account the stairway inaccessibility due to smoke blockage. The calculation approach in NFPA 130 is then applied to a parametric study of this time-based scenario and its reliability is examined using a micro-simulation model. Both methods give consistent predictions of the exiting times. The results demonstrate that with the division of the station into two zones, the exiting time could not meet the code requirements, whereas it does meet the required exiting time without the division. Such division is due to smoke blockage and creates an uneven ratio of the occupant load to the available exiting capacity. This shows that appropriate consideration of the fire and smoke effects is important for station egress evaluation. Other issues such as the fire growth rate and the pre-evacuation time are also discussed.     

Motion patterns of Nabesna Glacier (Alaska) revealed by interferometric SAR techniques

Nabesna Glacier is one of the longest land-terminus mountain glaciers in North America. However, its flow has never been studied. We derived detailed motion patterns of Nabesna Glacier in winter and spring 1994–1996 from the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by the European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2) using interferometric SAR (InSAR) techniques. Special effort was made to assess the accuracy of the motion estimates, and remove data points with high uncertainty from the motion profiles, enabling us to obtain reliable glacier flow patterns along the highly curved main course of Nabesna Glacier. The results, covering 80 km of the 87 km main course of the glacier, were used to delineate four distinctive sections in terms of spatial and temporal variability of the glacier speed: (1) the upper section where glacier flow was apparently random both temporally and spatially presumably due to development of crevasses; (2) the upper-middle section with relatively steady flow around 0.27 to 0.4 m/day; (3) the middle section with a stable pattern of acceleration from 0.27–0.3 m/day to the maximum about 0.67–0.73 m/day, followed by a general deceleration to 0.17–0.33 m/day before reaching (4) the lower section where the glacier motion was generally slow yet highly variable although uncertainty in the estimation is high. Occurrence of the flow maximum, as well as many local maxima and minima at consistent locations over different periods suggests that the valley geometry affect the overall flow pattern. On top of this general trend, many small-scale temporal/spatial variations in the glacier flow patterns were observed along the glacier, especially in the lower sections. On average, the flow speeds were in the range of 0.3 to 0.7 m/day; however this lacks any measurements of summer flow speeds which are expected to be significantly higher.     

Residual Stress Simulation of Injection Molding

In this study, distribution and history of residual stresses in plaque-like geometries are simulated based on linear thermoviscoelastic model, which helps to understand the mechanics and evolution of the residual stresses in the injection molding process. The numerical calculation of direction, combined with the specified boundary conditions. Results show that the stress variation across the thickness exhibits a high surface tensile value changing to a compressive peak value close to the surface, with the core region experiencing a parabolic tensile peak. Residual stress distribution throughout the thickness is almost same along the flowpath and the final residual stresses value near the gate is lower than the value near the end of flowpath.     

Theoretical Investigation of Time Suboptimal Control of Industrial Manipulators Along Specified Paths

A method for the time suboptimal control of an industrial manipulator from an initial position and orientation to a final position and orientation as it moves along a specified path is proposed. Nonlinear system equations that describe the manipulator motion are linearized at each time step along the path. A method which gives the control inputs (joint angular velocities) for time suboptimal control of the manipulator is developed. In the formulation, joint angular velocity and acceleration limitations are also taken into consideration. A six degree of freedom elbow type manipulator is used in numerical examples to verify the method developed.     

Behavioral and subjective effects of D-amphetamine and modafinil in healthy adults.

Modafinil is indicated for the management of excessive daytime sleepiness; however, recent studies have examined a broad range of potential uses. Given that clinical uses of modafinil may be expanding, this study compared modafinil and d-amphetamine effects on subjective and performance measures. Across 11 sessions, 11 healthy adults were tested after oral doses of placebo (5 sessions), modafinil (1.75 mg/kg, 3.50 mg/kg, or 7.00 mg/kg), and d-amphetamine (0.035 mg/kg, 0.070 mg/kg, 0.140 mg/kg) under double-blind, randomized conditions. Assessments of cognitive performance and subjective effects were completed before drug administration, 30 min after drug administration, and at hourly intervals after drug administration for 5 hr. Modafinil increased ratings on the Amphetamine and Morphine Benzedrine Group scales of the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI) and increased ratings on the Vigor and Total Positive scales of the Profile of Mood States. d-Amphetamine increased visual analog ratings of feeling stimulated and liking the drug and increased ratings on the Morphine Benzedrine Group scale of the ARCI. Both medications significantly reduced visual analog scale ratings of feeling sleepy, and modafinil decreased ratings on the ARCI Pentobarbital-Chlorpromazine-Alcohol Group scale. Both medications sustained performance that deteriorated across time on the Sternberg Number Recognition Test. Modafinil also enhanced performance rate on the Digit-Symbol Substitution Task above baseline levels and increased response rate on the Repeated Acquisition of Response Sequences Task. These results suggest that modafinil engenders alerting effects and increases performance in healthy non-sleep-deprived individuals comparable with that of d-amphetamine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mechanical properties of iron processed by severe plastic deformation

In the present study, the mechanical properties of Fe processed via severe plastic deformation (equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP)) at room temperature were investigated for the first time. The grain size of annealed Fe, with an initial grain size of about 200 μm, was reduced drastically during ECAP. After eight passes, the grain size reaches 200 to 400 nm, as documented by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The value of microhardness during pressing increases 3 times over that of the starting material after the first pass and increases slightly during subsequent pressing for higher-purity Fe. Examination of the value of microhardness after eight passes as a function of post-ECAP annealing temperature shows a transition from recovery to recrystallization, an observation that resembles the behavior reported for heavily deformed metals and alloys. The tensile and compression behaviors were examined. In tension, a drop in the engineering stress-engineering strain curve beyond maximum load was observed both in the annealed Fe and the ECAP Fe. This drop is related to the neck deformation. The fracture surface, examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), shows vein patterns, which is different from the dimples found on the fracture surface of annealed Fe. In compression, an initial strain-hardening region followed by a no-strain-hardening region was observed in the ECAP Fe. The yield strength in tension of the ECAP Fe was observed to be higher than that in compression. The strengthening mechanisms and softening behavior are discussed.