Characterization of Mixed Neodymium Lanthanum Heptamolybdate Crystals Grown by Gel Encapsulation Technique

Crystals of mixed NdLa heptamolybdates (max. size0.75×0.75×0.75 mm3) grown by silica gel technique were characterized using EDAX, IR, optical and scanning electron micrscopies.X-ray as well as electrn diffraction. The composition of the crystals was determined as (Nd1/2 La1/2 )2 Mo7O24·35H2O.The crystals exhibit varied morpholgies including square and octagonal platelets, cuboids, multifaceted crystal in coalesced and aggregated forms and spherulites.The XRD results indicate crystallinity of the grown material. Electron diffraction results suggest thermal instability of the material. IR results show the presence of peaks due to water and metal-oxygen bonds     

Non-functional variants of yeast mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit 8 that assemble into the complex

Myocardial and pulmonary beta-adrenoceptors can be imaged with 2-(S)-(-)-(9H-carbazol-4-yl-oxy)-3-[1-(fluoromethyl)ethyl]amino-2- propanol (S-1'-[18F]fluorocarazolol, I). Quantification of unmodified fluorocarazolol in plasma is necessary for analysis of PET images in terms of receptor densities. We have determined I and its radioactive metabolites in rat, sheep and human plasma, using (1) solid-phase extraction (C18) followed by reversed-phase HPLC and (2) direct injection of untreated plasma samples on an internal-surface reversed-phase (ISRP) column. The two methods were in good agreement. Unmodified I decreased from over 99% initially to less than 5%, 5-10% and 20% at 60 min post-injection in rats, sheep and human volunteers, respectively. Protein binding in sheep and human plasma was determined by ultrafiltration. The fraction of total plasma radioactivity bound to protein and the fraction representing unmodified radioligand were linearly correlated, suggesting that fluorocarazolol was more than 70% protein-bound, whereas its metabolites showed negligible protein binding. Direct injection of plasma on an ISRP column seems a convenient method for quantification of lipophilic radioligands such as fluorocarazolol.     

Analysis of molecular determinants in native AMPA receptors

For this study, 194 respondents completed a biographical data sheet, the Templer (1970) Death Anxiety Scale and the Constantinople (1973) Inventory of Psychosocial Development to help assess the relationship among death anxiety, age, and psychosocial maturity. Findings showed that psychosocial maturity was a better predictor of death anxiety than age was. However, both variables were significantly negatively correlated with death anxiety, revealing that as psychosocial maturity and age increase, death anxiety decreases.     

Cell culture and orthopedic surgery. II. Medical applications. Diagnosis, biomaterials evaluation, therapy

Currently, cell cultures are used for 3 kinds of applications in orthopaedics: diagnosis: they can help to diagnose hereditary diseases like Marfan syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, or some osteochondrodysplasia. biomaterial evaluation: cell cultures bring information to ensure safety and efficacy of medical devices following the European Community's directive concerning medical devices. Results of in vitro biomaterial evaluation must be related to cell types (osteoblasts or fibroblasts), cell species (human or rat) and methods used (primary cell line or immortalised cell line). therapy: first clinical applications of cell cultures have been published recently. They concern cultured autologous chondrocytes reimplantation. Bone cells cultured on biomaterials have been tested in animal reimplantation experiments. Animal cells mediated gene therapy experiments are now developed on muscle cells. Cell cultures allow also to determine the best therapeutic way to cure bone tumors. For the moment, these applications are still limited but in the next years, they could develop considerably. Therefore, orthopaedic surgeons must keep interest in this new field.     

Fast optical switching in Sm/sup 3+/-doped fibers

We report an experimental investigation of the fast optical switching in a Sm/sup 3+/-doped fiber. We discovered that this fiber can effect a fast switching speed less than 5 ns. However, the required switching power is 472 W with pulsewidth 10 ns.     

The constant modulus array for cochannel signal copy and directionfinding

The constant modulus (CM) array is a blind adaptive beamformer capable of recovering a narrowband signal among several cochannel sources without using a pilot or training signal. It is a conventional weight-and-sum adaptive beamformer whose weights are updated by the constant modulus algorithm. An adaptive signal canceller follows the beamformer to remove the captured signal from the array input and to provide an estimate of its direction vector. Based on a Wiener model, we investigate the steady-state properties of the CM array and the signal canceller. For mutually uncorrelated sources and noise, it is shown that the signal canceller exactly removes the source captured by the array. Thus, identical stages of the CM array and signal canceller may be used in a multistage system to recover several cochannel sources. Computer simulations are presented to verify the analytical results and to illustrate the transient behavior of the system     

Effect of pressure gradient on MHD boundary layer over a flat plate

Summary The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow over a flat plate is examined here for two cases, viz. a uniform free-stream velocity and a uniform hydrostatic pressure. The nonlinear boundary layer equations are solved using a reliable finite-difference method. The boundary layer physical parameters such as skin-friction coefficient, displacement, momentum and energy thicknesses of the boundary layer are determined. It is found that the normal surface velocity gradient decreases with the local magnetic interaction parameter for the cases of a uniform hydrostatic pressure, whereas in the case of a uniform free-stream volocity it increases with the interaction parameter.     

Multiterminal light-emitting logic device electricallyreprogrammable between OR and NAND functions

A monolithic multiterminal logic device that functions both optically and electrically as an ORNAND gate, is demonstrated for the first time. The device, based on the real-space transfer of hot electrons into a complementary collector layer, has been implemented in an InGaAs/InAlAs/InGaAs heterostructure grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Excellent performance is obtained at room temperature. The collector current and the optical output power both exhibit the OR and the NAND functions of any two of the three input terminals, these functions being interchangeable by the voltage on the third terminal