Paf-acether in human skin

Paf is a phospholipid mediator present in human skin which induces inflammatory events such as neutrophil infiltration and increased vascular permeability. Recent data suggest that cutaneous cells, such as fibroblasts and keratinocytes, produce paf and that paf is released during allergic cutaneous reactions. It is tempting to speculate that paf may contribute to the development of various skin disorders with acute and chronic skin inflammation. Paf antagonists may help in bringing answers to this hypothesis and may offer new prospects for the treatment of cutaneous inflammatory diseases. Based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Alkyl Ether Lipids, Tokyo, Japan, May 1989.     

Fractal Characteristics of Fracture Surfaces

Quantitative fractography is often used to study material failure mechanisms. During calculation of surface or profile roughness parameters, the magnification used in obtaining fractographic data is found to influence the value of the parameters. Fractal geometry has been developed into a tool capable of defining surface and profile topography without sensitivity to magnification, and several studies have related fractal dimension ( D _F) to other physical or mechanical properties. In this study, we obtained the fractal dimension of profiled fracture surfaces of one glass and three proprietary dental porcelains. The fracture toughness ( K _1c) of these materials was also measured using the indentation-strength method. Results show the surfaces to be fractal. No quantitative relationship between fractal dimension and toughness was found. Differences in K _1c were demonstrated between some materials. It is postulated that the size range within which fractal dimension can be defined as constant is dependent on the toughening mechanism, and that the relationship between K _Ic and D _F cannot be identical for all materials.     

Large-scale in vivo synthesis of the carbohydrate moieties of gangliosides GM1 and GM2 by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli

Two metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strains have been constructed to produce the carbohydrate moieties of gangliosides GM2 (GalNAcbeta-4(NeuAcalpha-3)Galbeta-4Glc; Gal = galactose, Glc = glucose, Ac = acetyl) and GM1 (Galbeta-3GalNAcbeta-4(NeuAcalpha-3)Galbeta-4Glc. The GM2 oligosaccharide-producing strain TA02 was devoid of both beta-galactosidase and sialic acid aldolase activities and overexpressed the genes for CMP-NeuAc synthase (CMP = cytidine monophosphate), alpha-2,3-sialyltransferase, UDP-GlcNAc (UDP = uridine diphosphate) C4 epimerase, and beta-1,4-GalNAc transferase. When this strain was cultivated on glycerol, exogenously added lactose and sialic acid were shown to be actively internalized into the cytoplasm and converted into GM2 oligosaccharide. The in vivo synthesis of GM1 oligosaccharide was achieved by taking a similar approach but using strain TA05, which additionally overexpressed the gene for beta-1,3-galactosyltransferase. In high-cell-density cultures, the production yields for the GM2 and GM1 oligosaccharides were 1.25 g L(-1) and 0.89 g L(-1), respectively.     

Modelling of the Nonlinear Behavior of Compatibilized Polyethylene/Polyamide Blends in Shear and Extensional Flows

We have studied the effect of the amount Φ_c of a reactive compatibilizer on the rheological properties of a polyethylene/polyamide blend, under steady shear and transient extensional flows. Here, we propose to describe the viscosity η(γ) and the first normal stress coefficient γ₁(γ) using a Carreau‐type power‐law model, which is a three‐parameter model. A single model is sufficient to express the behavior of γ₁(γ) On the other hand, the complete η(γ) curve is described by the superposition of two Carreau models, in relation to the presence of two relaxation mechanisms. Moreover, the extentional viscosity η_E(?), estimated using the end pressure drop observed in capillary flow experiments, is expressed by a two‐parameter power‐law model.     

Experimental and theoretical analysis of the operation of a natural gas cogeneration system using a polymer exchange membrane fuel cell

This paper reports experimental and numerical results of an investigation of five identical cogeneration systems using PEM (Polymer Exchange Membrane) fuel cells and running on natural gas. The natural gas is reformed locally to produce hydrogen. The accuracy of numerical results is validated by comparison with experimental data and the system performances are analysed in terms of electrical, thermal and total efficiencies. It appears that the energetic performances are low, particularly at low current. Simple solutions for enhancing the system electrical performances by modifying control laws are proposed.     

Powerful Parallel and Symmetric 3D Thinning Schemes Based on Critical Kernels

The main contribution of the present article consists of new 3D parallel and symmetric thinning schemes which have the following qualities:

They are effective and sound, in the sense that they are guaranteed to preserve topology. This guarantee is obtained thanks to a theorem on critical kernels;

They are powerful, in the sense that they remove more points, in one iteration, than any other symmetric parallel thinning scheme;

They are versatile, as conditions for the preservation of geometrical features (e.g., curve extremities or surface borders) are independent of those accounting for topology preservation;

They are efficient: we provide in this article a small set of masks, acting in the grid ?³, that is sufficient, in addition to the classical simple point test, to straightforwardly implement them.

     

In situ visualization of drop deformation,erosion, and breakup in high viscosity ratio polymeric systems under high shearing stress conditions

In this paper, deformation and breakup under simple shear of single molten polymer drops in a polymer matrix were investigated. Flow visualization was carried out in a Couette‐Flow apparatus under relatively high shear rates and temperatures up to 230°C. Drop/Matrix combinations were composed of polystyrene drops of 0.5–0.6 mm in diameter in polyethylene matrix, and ethylene–propylene copolymer drops of approximately the same size in polypropylene matrix. The deformation and breakup processes were studied under steady state and time‐dependent shearing conditions. Either for steady state or time‐dependant shearing conditions, drop elasticity generated at relatively high shear rates helped the drops to align perpendicular to the flow direction, i.e., parallel to vorticity axis. Also, the most striking non‐Newtonian effects for the high viscosity ratio systems were the surface erosion and the drop splitting mechanisms. The particles eroded off the main droplet surface were very fine, in the range of 10–50 μm, and led to a significant reduction in main drop size before its final breakup. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 2582–2591, 2006     

NH3-NO/NO2 SCR for diesel exhausts after treatment: mechanism and modelling of a catalytic converter

We review herein the key mechanistic and kinetic features of the reactions involved in the NH₃-NO/NO₂ SCR system investigated by dynamic reactive experiments over a V-based commercial powdered catalyst, eventually leading to the proposal of an original redox scheme which accounts for stoichiometry, selectivity and intrinsic kinetics of the global SCR process.     

Surface-active properties of antifungal lipopeptides produced byBacillus subtilis

The interfacial behavior of antifungal lipopetides of the iturinic group was studied in comparison with that of surfactin, an anionic lipopeptide. All these lipopeptides were isolated from various strains ofBacillus subtilis; each strain produced surfactin and one antifungal compound. The iturinic compounds differ from surfactin by their lower surfactant properties. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) values were dependent on the nature of the peptide moiety in the iturinic compounds. The highest values were observed for anionic antibiotics. The arrangement of lipopeptides at the air-water interface was largely dependent on the size of the lipid moiety; surfactin, which has a C₁₄ or C₁₅ β-hydroxy fatty acid, iturins A, C, and bacillomycins D, L, which have a C₁₄ or C₁₅ β-amino fatty acid, occupied a smaller area than mycosubtilin and bacillomycin F, which have a C₁₆ or C₁₇ β-amino fatty acid. These data can be related to bioactivity of these lipopeptides.     

Impedance of a porous electrode with an axial gradient of concentration

When the impedance is measured on a battery, an inductive impedance is often observed in a high frequency range. This inductance is frequently related to the cell geometry and electrical leads. However, certain authors claimed that this inductance is due to the concentration distribution of reacting species through the pores of battery electrodes. Their argument is based on a paper in which a fundamental error was committed. Hence, the impedance is re-calculated on the basis of the same principle. The model shows that though the diffusion process plays an outstanding role, the overall reaction rate is never completely limited by this process. The faradaic impedance due to the concentration distribution is capacitive. Therefore, the inductive impedance observed on battery systems cannot be, by any means, attributed to the concentration distribution inside the pores. Little frequency distribution is found and the impedance is close to a semi-circle. Therefore depressed impedance diagrams in porous electrodes without forced convection cannot be ascribed to either a Warburg nor a Warburg-de Levie behaviour.Nomenclature A D¦C¦ (mole cm s^–1) - B j+K¦C¦ (mole cm s^–1) - b Tafel coefficient (V^–1) - C(x) Concentration ofS in a pore at depthx (mole cm^–3) - C ₀ Concentration ofS in the solution bulk (mole cm^–3) - C C(x) change under a voltage perturbation (mole cm^–3) - ¦C¦ Amplitude of C (mole cm^–3) - D Diffusion coefficient (cm² s^–1) - E Electrode potential (V) - E Small perturbation inE namely a sine-wave signal (V) - ¦E¦ Amplitude of E(V) - F Faraday constant (96500 A s mol^–1) - F(x) Space separate variable forC - f Frequency in Hz (s^–1) - g(x) KC(x)¦E¦(mole cm s^–1) - I Apparent current density (A cm^–2) - I _st Steady-state current per unit surface of pore aperture (A cm^–2) - j Imaginary unit [(–1)^1/2] - K Pseudo-homogeneous rate constant (s^–1) - K Potential derivative ofK, dK/dE (s^–1 V^–1) - K ^* Heterogeneous reaction rate constant (cm s^–1) - L Pore depth (cm) - n Reaction order - P Reaction product - p Parameter forF(x), see Equation 13 - q Parameter forF(x), see Equation 13 - R _e Electrolyte resistance (ohm cm) - R _p Polarization resistance per unit surface of pore aperture (ohm cm²) - R _t Charge transfer resistance per unit surface of pore aperture (ohm cm²) - S Reacting species - S _a Total surface of pore apertures (cm²) - S ₀ Geometrical surface area - S _p Developed surface area of porous electrode per unit volume (cm² cm^–3) - s Concentration gradient (mole cm^–3 cm^–1) - t Time - U Ohmic drop - x Distance from pore aperture (cm) - Z Faradaic impedance per unit surface of pore aperture (ohm cm²) - Z _x Local impedance per unit pore length (ohm cm³) - z Charge transfer number - Porosity - Thickness of Nernst diffusion layer - Penetration depth of reacting species (cm) - Penetration depth of a.c. signal determined by the potential distribution (cm) - Electrolyte (solution) resistivity (ohm cm) - ₀ Flow of S at the pore aperture (mole cm² s^–1) - Angular freqeuncy of a.c. signal, 2f(s^–1) - Integration constant