Efficient temporal compression of coherent nanosecond pulses in acompact SBS generator-amplifier setup

A pulse compressor based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in liquids is experimentally and theoretically investigated. It allows for the compression of Fourier-transform limited nanosecond pulses of several hundreds of millijoules of energy with both high conversion efficiency and a high temporal compression factor. The two-cell generator-amplifier arrangement is of a compact design not requiring external attenuation of the generator cell input energy. Pulses from an injection-seeded, frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser of 300-mJ energy were compressed by a factor variable between 6 and 21 at up to 75% reflectivity. Deviation from unity SBS reflectivity is predominantly determined by optical component losses. The generation of 270-ps pulses with high beam quality was achieved in liquid methanol. These powerful pulses of variable duration are difficult to produce with common laser systems and are highly suited for the generation of high-harmonics in gases     

Epoxidationen mit Peressigsäure V: Zur Kenntnis epoxidierter technischer Monoglyceride

Epoxidation with Peracetic Acid V: Epoxidised Technical Monoglycerides For the direct epoxidation of the technical monoglycerides with differently prepared peracetic acid, which is described for the first time, a number of monoglycerides as well as mixtures of linseed oil, esterified with different polybasic alcohols, were used. In all the cases, where a preprepared peracetic acid in acetic acid or especially in acetic acid ester was used, epoxide yields ranging from 84% to nearly 95% were obtained. Linseed oil monoglyceride, when treated by in-situ procedure with DOWEX-50 resin as an acidic catalyst also gave 84% yield of epoxides. The comparison of different epoxidations and the contents of the secondary products at the maximum level of epoxides, showed, that the reaction takes the most favourable course in homogeneous phase. Free glycerin had no effect on the yield of epoxides from glycerin monooleate.     

Raf-1 independent stimulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase by leukemia inhibitory factor in 3T3-L1 cells

We show here that treatment of 3T3-L1 cells with leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) stimulated Raf-1 activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Although phorbol ester failed to activate Raf-1 directly, a protein kinase C-stimulated signal was found to be necessary, but not sufficient, for LIF-mediated activation of Raf-1. Elevation of intracellular cAMP levels completely blocked Raf-1 activation by LIF, but was without effect on the magnitude of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) stimulation by the cytokine, suggesting the presence of a Raf-1-independent, cAMP-insensitive MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK) pathway in 3T3-L1 cells. Mono Q-fractionation of LIF-stimulated 3T3-L1 extracts identified a single peak of MAPKKK activity that was largely insensitive to elevated intracellular levels of cAMP, and that failed to correlate with stimulation of either Raf-1 or MEKK1 protein kinases. Our results demonstrate that LIF-mediated activation of the MAP kinase cascade in 3T3-L1 cells proceeds through both Raf-1-dependent and -independent pathways which differ in their sensitivity to inhibition by intracellular cAMP.     

Binding of insulin analogs to partially purified insulin receptor from rat liver membrane (author's transl)

The insulin binding fraction was solubilized from rat liver membrane vesicles by triton and partially purified up to the specific binding activity of 2.1 pmol/mg. A further characteristic of the partially purified soluble receptor is a decrease in irreversible binding to 0.36% (+/- 0.28) with regard to total iodine insulin and to (+/- 1.8) in comparison to reversible binding. From Scatchard plots a high affinity binding site (KD = 5 X 10(-10)M) with low capacity (5 pmol/mg) and a low affinity binding site (KD = 3 X 10(-8) M) with high capacity (30 pmol/mg) can be seen. With carefully prepared liver membrane vesicles, the dissociation constant of the high affinity binding site from Scatchard plot is only 2 X 10(-9)M. With liver membrane vesicles, isolated for preparative purification procedure, the high affinity binding site could not be demonstrated. Displacement studies with insulin analogs were performed with [A1-D-alanine] insulin, [A1-L-alanine] insulin, [des-Gly-A1, NB1, NB29-(Msc)2]-insulin, proinsulin and [desoctapeptid B23-B30]-insulin. Results of binding measurements are presented in half-maximal iodo-insulin binding, in determination of inhibitor- and dissociation constants from Dixon-, Scatchard- and Lineweaver-Burk plots. There are equal relative binding potencies of analogs, observed with crude membrane vesicles and partially purified soluble receptor, although there is a 50-fold difference in specific binding activity. Biologically active insulins are characterized by strong binding to the high affinity binding site. The binding to the low affinity binding site is not correlated to the biological activity of the insulin analog. With insulin and biologically responsive analogs a non-linear curve in the double-reciprocal Lineweaver-Burk plot can be observed. Analogs with low biological activity show a linear dependency. Functional interactions of insulin with the receptor can be demonstrated in a high affinity binding with the first binding site of the Scatchard plot and in a non-linear hyperbolic Lineweaver-Burk plot.     

Epoxydationen mit Peressigsäure I: Zur Kenntnis der Peressigsäure und vergleichende Epoxydationen von Sojabohnenöl

Epoxidations with Peracetic Acid I: The Peracetic Acid and Related Epoxidations of Soybean Oil Progressive formation of peracetic acid by the action of hydrogen peroxide on acetic acid was studied. In the presence of ethyl acetate and by employing acetic anhydride, water free peracetic acid was obtained. In the epoxidation of soybean oil the maximum epoxide content of the same is dependent on the reaction conditions, especially on the degree of homogeneity of the reaction partners and the acidic catalyst.     

A new bifunctional topography and current probe for scanning force microscope testing of integrated circuits

A new probe for scanning force microscope testing of ntegrated ircuits (IC) was developed enabling both investigation of topography and contactless current detection in conducting lines via evaluation of the magnetic field due to the currents by means of an anisotropic agneto- esistive (AMR) sensor. First measurements of the topography and the current detection down to 10 μA with a frequency of 1 kHz are shown on a test structure containing 15 μm and 4 μm wide conducting lines. These promising results point out an application for advanced function and failure analysis of integrated circuits in the near future.     

Energieeffizienzsteigerung in der Prozesswasseraufbereitung – Untersuchungen zu Bildungsmechanismen von Silikatbelägen

Investigations on the formation mechanisms of silicate films on reverse osmosis membranes and their morphological characteristics are presented. Relevant influencing factors on the formation of coatings are considered and the individual mechanisms are described. Furthermore, the essential characterization characteristics for the investigation of silicate coatings are determined, the applied analysis methods are described and an overview of the sample preparation is given.     

An inverse estimation scheme to measure steady-state tool–chip interface temperatures using an infrared camera

A new technique is developed to estimate the average steady-state chip–tool interface temperature during turning. An infrared (IR) video camera attached on the carriage of the lathe measures the transient cooling behavior on the rake surface of an insert after the feed motion is halted. This allows the zero heat flux boundary condition, where the transient Laplace heat conduction problem can be solved numerically to obtain the temporal and spatial temperature distribution. With the experimentally determined transient temperature distribution, the one-dimensional ellipsoidal model is used to estimate the average steady-state chip–tool interface temperature during machining. The results on turning gray cast iron (GCI) and AISI 1045 steels with various coated and uncoated K313 carbide inserts are presented.     

Expression and enzymic activity of ecto 5''-nucleotidase in the human male genital tract

The factor structure of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (Millon, 1994; MCMI-III) was assessed among 444 African American inpatient substance abusers and constitutes the first factor analysis of the MCMI-III. We found 3 main factors: General Maladjustment, Paranoid Behavior/Thinking With Detached Emotionality, and Antisocial Acting Out. These factors were essentially similar to previous findings of factor studies with the MCMI and MCMI-II across diverse populations. This factor invariance should lend credibility to the revised test and spur additional research into its psychometric properties.