Brain levels of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-acylethanolamine phospholipids in mice during pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure

The N-acylethanolamine phospholipids (NAPE) are precursors for N-acylethanolamines (NAE), including anandamide (20∶4-NAE), which is a ligand for the cannabinoid receptors. Previously, NAPE were believed to be found only in injured tissue, e.g., after neurodegenerative insults. Neuronal injury may occur in response to seizure activity. Therefore, we investigated the effect of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures in PTZ-kindled mice on the level of NAPE in the brain. Male NMRI mice were kindled with PTZ injections 3 times/wk, thereby developing clonic seizures in response to PTZ. Mice were killed within 30 min after the clonic seizure on the test day (12th injection) and the brains were collected. Eight species of NAPE were analyzed as the glycerophospho-N-acylethanolamines by high-performance liquid chromatography-coupled electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. No effect of the PTZ kindling on the NAPE levels in murine brains was observed. Total NAPE in control mice cortex (n=4) was 16.4±3.0 μmol/g wet weight of which 20∶4-NAPE accounted for 3.6 mol%, and the major species was 16∶0-NAPE, accounting for 52.1 mol%. Determination of the activity of NAPE-hydrolyzing phospholipase D and of N-acyltransferase in brain membrane preparations from adult and 3-d-old mice revealed an enzyme pattern in the adult mice that was favorable for NAE accumulation as opposed to NAPE accumulation. Thus, there was no difference in NAPE levels; at present, however, this does not exclude that NAE may accumulate during seizure.     

Structural Superplasticity at High Strain Rates of Super Duplex Stainless Steel Fe‐25Cr‐7Ni‐3Mo‐0.3N

The fine‐grained super duplex stainless steel Fe‐25Cr‐7Ni‐3Mo‐0.3N consisting of two phases (δ‐ferrite/austenite) exhibits structural super‐plasticity at higher strain rates of ? ≈ 10^?2s^?1 in the temperature range between 975 and 1100°C. The equiaxed microstructure with an average grain size of was produced by thermomechanical processing. Maximum strain‐rate‐sensitivity exponents of m ≈ 0.5 and elongations to failure of more than 500% were achieved. From thermal activation analysis an activation energy for superplastic flow of Q = 310 ± 20 kJ/mole was derived. The superplastic behaviour at higher strain rates is quantitatively described by a deformation model where grain or interphase boundary sliding is accommodated by sequential steps of dislocation glide and climb. The high strain‐rate‐sensitivity exponent and the observed dislocation density indicate that dislocation climb in the slightly solid solution strengthened austenite is the rate controlling step for superplastic flow. The deformation mechanism reveals that the investigated super duplex stainless steel exhibits superplastic behaviour that is typical for class II solid solution alloys.     

Clusterwise pricing in stores of a retail chain

Clusterwise pricing is characterized by prices of each brand of a category being equal in stores belonging to the same cluster. Expected sales necessary to compute profits are estimated using coefficients of a multilayer perceptron which performs better than several parametric models. Store-specific coefficients of sales response models are estimated by a MCMC method. Both assignment of stores to clusters and prices of each cluster are determined by means of improving hit-and-run, a stochastic optimization method. The objective function to be optimized includes both profits and adherence to the usual price level at individual stores. Based on empirical data on sales, prices and marginal costs of a retail chain it is demonstrated that for a moderate level of risk aversion clusterwise pricing leads to higher expected utility than micromarketing pricing with different prices of each brand across individual stores. Clusterwise pricing attains a high percentage of the profits generated by micromarketing pricing and entails lower menu costs than micromarketing pricing. H. Hruschka thanks two anonymous reviewers for their interest and their detailed helpful comments.     

Frequency-Offset PLL for Synchronous Optical Sampling of OTDM Signals

We demonstrate a novel synchronization scheme for optical sampling which is based on a nonstandard phase-locked loop (PLL). Phase comparison is performed at a 10-GHz optical time-division-multiplexing (OTDM) base rate, thus avoiding ultrafast detectors and electronics. The employed frequency-offset PLL allows synchronous sampling of OTDM signals (or any other signals with bit rates given by integer multiples of the base rate), which would be impossible using a standard PLL. This provides a higher degree of flexibility for problem-specific sweeping than asynchronous sampling     

A 1.8-V 91-dB DR second-order ΣΔ modulator in 0.18-μm CMOS technology

This paper deals with the implementation of a second-order ΣΔ modulator in 0.18-μm CMOS technology. The analog-to-digital converter structure combines a 1-bit approach along with a high oversampling ratio (OSR). A silicon circuit prototype, including the modulator itself, a current reference, and the clock signals generator, was designed to operate with a 1.8-V supply, fabricated and tested. Measured values of 87 dB and 91 dB were obtained for the signal-to-noise-plus-distortion ratio (SNDR) and the dynamic range (DR), respectively, for a clock frequency of 8 MHz and an OSR of 256. The effective number of bits (ENOB) was above 14. The experimental performance of the ΣΔ modulator maintains a good level over a modulator clock range higher than 16 MHz, featuring an ENOB equal to 13 at 16 MHz.     

Excessive cross-linking of caseins by microbial transglutaminase and its impact on physical properties of acidified milk gels

By varying cross-linking intensity, the effect of microbial transglutaminase on acid gels made from casein solution and raw milk was studied. To avoid any impact of heating, N-ethylmaleimide was used for enzyme inactivation after appropriately checking its efficiency. Up to a specific degree of oligomerisation gel stiffness and firmness increased and tan δ, time at gelation onset and syneresis decreased. Above approximately 70% and 25% of cross-linked protein in casein solution and raw milk, respectively, these parameters showed an opposite behaviour, and weak gels with high syneresis were obtained. Substrate differences, such as preferred cross-linking of adjoining κ-caseins on the surface of the micelle enhanced the effect of steric hindrance in raw milk and impaired proper rearrangements upon acidification at a much lower level of oligomerised protein. It is mainly dimeric and trimeric casein that successfully contributed to the enhanced properties of milk protein gels.