Glomerular and tubular function in glycogen storage disease

Urinary protein and calcium excretion were assessed in 77 patients with the hepatic glycogen storage diseases (GSD): 30 with GSD-I (median age 12.4 years, range 3.2-32.9 years), 25 with GSD-III (median age 10.5 years, range 4.2-31.3 years) and 22 with GSD-IX (median age 11.8 years, range 1.2-35.4 years). Inulin (Cinulin) and para-aminohippuric acid (CPAH) clearances were also measured in 33 of these patients. Those with GSD-I had significantly greater albumin (F = 15.07, P < 0.001), retinol-binding protein (RBP) (F = 14.66, P < 0.001), N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) (F = 9.41, P < 0.001) and calcium (F = 7.41, P = 0.001) excretion than those with GSD-III and GSD-IX. GSD-I patients (n = 18) also had significantly higher Cinulin (F = 5.57, P = 0.009), but CPAH did not differ (F = 0.77, NS). Renal function was normal in GSD-III and GSD-IX patients. In GSD-I, Cinulin (r = -0.51, P = 0.03) and NAG excretion (r = -0.40, P = 0.03) were inversely correlated with age, whereas albumin excretion was positively correlated with age (r = +0.41, P = 0.03). RBP and calcium excretion were generally high throughout all age groups. Hyperfiltration in GSD-I is associated with renal tubular proteinuria that occurs before the onset of significant albuminuria. Deficiency of glucose-6-phosphatase within the proximal renal tubule may primarily cause tubular dysfunction, glomerular hyperfiltration being a secondary phenomenon.     

Continuous stimulated emission at T=293 K from separate-confinement heterostructure diode lasers with one layer of InAs quantum dots grown on vicinal GaAs(bd001) surfaces misoriented in the [010] direction in the active region

The electroluminescence and stimulated emission of lasers with one layer of InAs quantum dots (QD’s) grown in a single molecular-beam epitaxial process on vicinal GaAs(001) surfaces misoriented in the direction [010] by 2, 4 and 6° are investigated. It is discovered that an increase in the misorientation angle leads to a blue shift and a decrease in the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the electroluminescence spectrum. This effect is attributed to a decrease in the size of the quantum dots and improvement in their size uniformity. A strong dependence of the threshold current density on the width of the spontaneous luminescence spectrum is discovered. The room-temperature threshold current density of the lasers with one layer of quantum dots and the spontaneous luminescence spectrum having the smallest FWHM (54 meV) equals 210 A/cm². Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 32, 1482–1486 (December 1998)     

Silver dissolution on copper-based alloys

Electrical resistivity measurements and scanning electron microscopy was used to study the dissolution of silver on Cu-Ag and Cu-Al-Ag alloys. The results seem to indicate that the dissolution temperature is affected by the addition of aluminium.     

Design of a robust controller for a supersonic aircraft using H∞ approach

In this paper an H_∞ optimal, robust flight control system design for a supersonic aircraft has been described. Separate controllers are designed for longitudinal and lateral motions. A general two-degrees-of-freedom controller is proposed, where feedback control is designed for robust performance augmentation, while a series compensator is used to ensure that requisite handling qualities. Three alternative methods to achieve performance robustness have been discussed. The results obtained are very encouraging. It is hoped that this will equip the flight control engineers with an alternative to the conventional methods.     

Frequency transfer function of an opto-pneumatic detector

An example of an opto-pneumatic detector's (OPD) frequency transfer function is presented for the development of an opto-pneumatic interface. The theoretical model is tested through experiments in the laboratory on a real OPD prototype. In this way many of the model's parameters are studied and evaluated, such as the dimensions of the gas chamber, the thickness of the absorbent body, and the load of the OPD. The results obtained are good and show the utility of the studies described here.     

Deformation of a rectangular plate half-embedded in an elastic base

We have investigated the deformation of a rectangular plate half-embedded in an elastic base and subjected to a mechanical load. Using the apparatus of generalized functions, the problem is reduced to a system of singular integral equations which is solved by the boundary element method. We present the results in the form of isolines of the components of the displacement vector.Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 3, pp. 72–77, March, 1996.     

Automated two-component laser doppler anemometer for measuring turbulence parameters in a gas stratification wind tunnel

A four-beam two-component laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) with a two-dimensional Raman-Nath ultrasonic cell and a spectral-type integral adaptive signal processor has been developed for measuring the components of the mean flow velocity, turbulence energy, and turbulent shear in a gas stratification wind tunnel. The operation of the system and the data reduction are controlled by running custom-made software on an IBM PC with a CAMAC interface. Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 6, pp. 40–46, June, 1996.