An experimental superconducting magnetic system with an adjustable winding inductance and a 5 MJ energy capacity

An experimental superconducting magnetic system (MS) with an energy capacity of 5 MJ and an output power of no less than 130 MW is described. The MS winding is sectioned in the axial and radial directions. Owing to sectioning in radial direction, the MS may be used as an adjustable inductance enabling the stabilization of the amperage. The adjustable inductance may also be used as an efficient instrument for leveling the ratio of the active and reactive power in electric mains intended for different purposes (transport, energy industry, and emergency systems).     

Multi-vane expander performance: Breathing characteristics

The throttling of the working fluid flow at the inlet and exhaust port openings of multi-vane expanders leads to power losses. Therefore, a mathematical model has been developed to analyse their breathing characteristics. In particular two existing designs of multi-vane expanders, using refrigerant 113 as the working fluid, were considered. The results obtained indicate that multi-vane expanders exhibit easy-breathing behaviours. Improved breathing characteristics can be achieved by the wise selection of operating conditions for any existing design or by optimising the design parameters for a specific application.     

Instabilities induced in a laminar jet by acoustic hot-wires

Controlled and local excitation of a laminar flow is achieved by means of hot-wires heated periodically by Joule effect and generating acoustic waves. Some preliminary results are presented for the case of a laminar round jet.     

A direct plate count method for detecting E. coli in frozen food by detecting indole in colonies

A medium giving maximum indole production colonies of Escherichia coli has been defined and includes diethylaminoethylcellulose which restricts the spread of indole through the agar medium. A reagent based on p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde has been developed to give optimum indication of indole production. A simple method which will identify E. coli in cultures obtained from selective media is described and an extension, including a resuscitation stage, devised for rapid and direct quantitation of E. coli from frozen foods.     

The determinants of heat-shock element-directed lacZ expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Heat-shock induction of heat-shock protein genes is due to a specific promoter element (the heat-shock element, HSE). This study used lacZ under HSE control (HSE-lacZ) to characterize HSE activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells of different physiological states and differing genetic backgrounds. In batch fermentations HSE-lacZ induction by heat shock was maximal in exponential growth, and showed marked decline with the approach to stationary phase. Expression in the absence of heat shock was unaffected by growth phase, indicating that the growth-dependent expression of many yeast heat-shock genes uses promoter elements in addition to the HSE. Heat-induced expression was strongly influenced by the temperature at which cultures were grown. While basal, uninduced expression was constant during growth at different temperatures to 30 degrees C, induction by transfer to 39 degrees C was reduced by increases in growth temperature as low as 18-24 degrees C. Maximal HSE-lacZ induction (30- to 50-fold) was in cultures grown at low temperatures (18-24 degrees C), then heat shocked at 39 degrees C. Ethanol was a poor inducer. Mutations having little effect on HSE-lacZ expression included a respiratory petite; ubi4 (which inactivates the poly-ubiquitin gene); also ubc4 and ubc5 (which each inactivate one of the ubiquitin ligases involved in degradation of aberrant protein). pep4-3 increased both basal and induced beta-galactosidase about two-fold, probably because of slower turnover of this enzyme in pep4-3 strains.     

Intracerebral oxytocin is important for the onset of maternal behavior in inexperienced ewes delivered under peridural anesthesia.

Measurement of cerebrospinal concentrations of oxytocin (OT) in intact and peridural-anesthetized ewes showed that central release of OT during parturition is inhibited by this anesthesia. Also, observations of maternal behavior and attraction to amniotic fluid (AF) in inexperienced peridural-anesthetized parturient ewes after intracerebroventricular injections of either OT (2?×?10 μg) or saline showed that OT infusions increased the proportion of maternal females (2/17 vs 10/20; p?=?.01) and attraction to AF. This study confirms that in sheep vaginocervical stimulation activates the oxytocinergic system, which induces the onset of maternal behavior, and that this action is not limited to maternally experienced females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)