Urinary excretion of vanilmandelic acid in the glossalgia syndrome

Under observation there were 78 patients aged 41 to 70 years suffering from the glossalgia syndrome, as well as 25 clinically healthy subjects. An activation of the sympathoadrenal system was revealed in the patients. This was ascertained on the basis of the data on vanillylmandelic acid excretion with the urine. The excretion of that acid is known to be dependent on the intensity of the paraesthesias, the duration of the ailment and the character of concurrent visceral diseases. The results obtained are regarded as evidences of the participation of the vegetative nervous system in the mechanism of the glossalgia syndrome development.     

A Jordan control canonical form for singular systems

A canonical form for controllable singular systems modulo restricted system equivalence is presented. The canonical form respects the decomposition of the singular system into a regular and an impulsive part. The construction is based on Popov's control canonical form and on the Jordan canonical form recently developed by Hinrichsen and Prätzel-Wolters. Continuity properties are analysed and the cellular partition of the orbit space induced by the canonical form is briefly discussed.     

A SAXS study of the structure of gels formed by mixtures of polyoxyalkylene triblock copolymers

Small‐angle X‐ray scattering was used to characterise aqueous micellar gels of triblock copolymers E₁₃₇S₁₈E₁₃₇, E₈₂S₉E₈₂, E₇₆S₅E₇₆, E₆₂P₃₉E₆₂, and of two mixtures: E₁₃₇S₁₈E₁₃₇ and E₆₂P₃₉E₆₂ (Mix 1) and E₈₂S₉E₈₂ and E₆₂P₃₉E₆₂ (Mix 2), each 50/50 wt%. E = oxyethylene, CH₂CH₂O; S = oxyphenylethylene, OCH₂CH(C₆H₅); and P = oxypropylene, OCH₂CH(CH₃). Within the concentration and temperature ranges investigated (30–40 wt% copolymer, 20–80 °C), spherical micelles of copolymers E₁₃₇S₁₈E₁₃₇, E₈₂S₉E₈₂ and E₆₂P₃₉E₆₂ packed into body‐centred cubic (BCC) structures. Gels of E₇₆S₅E₇₆ were stable only at high concentrations and low temperatures, and a 70 wt% copolymer solution at T = 30 °C formed a hexagonal gel consistent with cylindrical micelles. It is likely that the mixed copolymers would form two distributions of micelles, and more complex structures were expected. However, gels of Mix 2 had well‐ordered BCC structures, while the less ordered gels of Mix 1 were also best characterised as BCC. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

The mannose receptor mediates uptake of pathogenic and nonpathogenic mycobacteria and bypasses bactericidal responses in human macrophages

The mannose receptor (MR) is involved in the phagocytosis of pathogenic microorganisms. Here we investigated its role in the bactericidal functions of human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), using (i) trimannoside-bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated latex beads and zymosan as particulate ligands of the MR, and (ii) mannan and mannose-BSA as soluble ligands. We show that phagocytosis of mannosylated latex beads did not elicit the production of O2-. Zymosan, which is composed of alpha-mannan and beta-glucan, was internalized by the MR and a beta-glucan receptor, but the production of O2- was triggered only by phagocytosis through the beta-glucan receptor. Activation and translocation of Hck, a Src family tyrosine kinase located on lysosomes, has previously been used as a marker of fusion between lysosomes and phagosomes in human neutrophils. In MDMs, Hck was activated and recruited to phagosomes containing zymosan later than LAMP-1 and CD63. Phagosomes containing mannosylated latex beads fused with LAMP-1 and CD63 vesicles but not with the Hck compartment, and the kinase was not activated. We also demonstrate that the MR was unable to distinguish between nonpathogenic and pathogenic mycobacteria, as they were internalized at similar rates by this receptor, indicating that this route of entry cannot be considered as a differential determinant of the intracellular fate of mycobacteria. In conclusion, MR-dependent phagocytosis is coupled neither to the activation of NADPH oxidase nor to the maturation of phagosomes until fusion with the Hck compartment and therefore constitutes a safe portal of entry for microorganisms.     

都汶高速公路庙子坪岷江特大桥震后5号主墩加固技术

都汶高速公路是成都通往汶川的重要的交通枢纽,为国道213和317合线。都汶高速公路庙子坪岷江特大桥(又名紫坪铺大桥)直接跨越紫坪铺水库和岷江,都江堰端接著名的董家山高瓦斯隧道,汶川端接龙洞子隧道。5.12汶川大地震对庙子坪岷江特大桥产生了不少震害,地震后大桥的加固时间紧、工作量大、技术复杂,这在中国乃至世界桥梁史上前所未有;特别是5号主墩加固异常复杂和艰难,从桥面防撞护栏顶面到5号主墩地面承台顶面之间总体落差114.488 m,5号主墩地面承台顶面到水面水深达65 m。通过对5号主墩承台顶面以上14 m加固区间(全部位于深水区域)的潜水堵孔和钢沉箱工艺进行深入细致的研究,制定了系列相应措施。     

基于SPH消力池内陡坡水跃的数值模拟

为了满足明渠水流入流的边界条件,扩展SPH方法在明渠恒定流模拟中的应用,本文建立SPH方法的出入流模型,通过设置相应的出入流边界条件,研究不同坡度下消力池内陡坡水跃特性。针对两种不同流量,对斜坡坡角θ分别在20°、30°、45°条件下的陡坡水跃进行数值模拟。模拟结果与文献中的实验结果进行对比分析,结果表明:出入流模型能为陡坡水跃的数值模拟提供稳定的水流。各陡坡不同流量下水面线的变化趋势基本相同,误差均在±10%内;相同坡角时,单宽流量为0.063 m~2/s的消能效果均大于单宽流量为0.105 m~2/s的消能效果。该方法处理出入流边界简单,合理准确,能够较好地模拟不同坡度下消力池内陡坡水跃,得到陡坡水跃特性,具有一定的可行性和可靠性。