A C-terminal region of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor ADR1 plays an important role in the regulation of peroxisome proliferation by fatty acids

We examined the hypoxic tolerance phenomenon in vitro. Brief exposure to hypoxia induced the production of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) mRNA and protein in rat cortical neurons and protected them from hypoxic injury. Cortical neurons were cultured from 18th-day rat embryos in a serum-free medium and subjected to brief (4 h) and/or prolonged (24 h) hypoxia. Neuronal damage was assessed by quantifying lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in the medium. After brief hypoxia, LDH release was identical to that of the controls, whereas prolonged hypoxia caused a significant increase in LDH release, indicating neuronal death. However, if brief hypoxia was applied 2 days prior to the prolonged hypoxia, no increase in LDH release was observed. The bFGF mRNA expression was assessed with Northern blot and protein immunoreactivity with Western blot analysis. The brief period of hypoxia caused a 2.5-fold increase in bFGF mRNA and considerable bFGF protein expression 1 day later, but prolonged hypoxia caused increase in the expression of bFGF mRNA at 2 days and no protein expression until 3 days after the start of the hypoxia. When cells were subjected to prolonged hypoxia 2 days after brief hypoxia, however, no increase in bFGF mRNA was observed, while bFGF protein was expressed continuously. We also observed that exogenously applied bFGF reduced neuronal injury produced by prolonged hypoxia. The results obtained with this model suggest that brief hypoxia induces bFGF protein and thus tolerance to subsequent lethal hypoxia. Basic FGF might play a role as a tolerance-associated factor in this process. Thus, an in vitro model is useful for assessing the response of cortical neurons to hypoxic stress and for researching new factors related to ischemic tolerance.     

Carrier transfer and capture into quantum wire arrays grown on V-groove substrates

The mechanisms of carrier transfer from barrier regions (superlattices, side-wall and vertical quantum wells) into arrays of quantum wires are investigated by time-resolved photoluminescence. The wires are grown by different techniques on V-groove substrates. The transfer times range from 25 to 900 ps, depending on the details of the whole structure. The fast carrier transfer is modeled by a diffusion equation which allows one to estimate the quantum mechanical capture time from a two-dimensional vertical QW into a one-dimensional QWR to be <2 ps.     

EcoTRADE – A multi-player network game of a tradable permit market for biodiversity credits

EcoTRADE is a multi-player network game of a virtual biodiversity credit market. Each player controls the land use of a certain amount of parcels on a virtual landscape. The biodiversity credits of a particular parcel depend on neighboring parcels, which may be owned by other players. The game can be used to study the strategies of players in experiments or classroom games and as a communication tool for stakeholders participating in credit markets that include spatially interdependent credits.     

德国迪林根ROGESA钢铁公司2号烧结机EFA(R)烟气处理系统及其运转情况

多年来,环境保护一直是烧结行业的一个重要课题.由于政府部门提出了更加严格的要求,烧结厂废气的进一步净化已经变得很有必要.一套新开发的、工业化的EFA(曳流吸收塔)烟气处理系统于2006年年中在ROGESA钢铁公司投入运行.本文就该系统的工艺流程、特点及运行情况作一介绍.     

Predicting the function and subcellular location of Caenorhabditis elegans proteins similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae beta-oxidation enzymes

The role of peroxisomal processes in the maintenance of neurons has not been thoroughly investigated. We propose using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for studying the molecular basis underlying neurodegeneration in certain human peroxisomal disorders, e.g. Zellweger syndrome, since the nematode neural network is well characterized and relatively simple in function. Here we have identified C. elegans PEX-5 (C34C6.6) representing the receptor for peroxisomal targeting signal type 1 (PTS1), defective in patients with such disorders. PEX-5 interacted strongly in a two-hybrid assay with Gal4p-SKL, and a screen using PEX-5 identified interaction partners that were predominantly terminated with PTS1 or its variants. A list of C. elegans proteins with similarities to well-characterized yeast beta-oxidation enzymes was compiled by homology probing. The possible subcellular localization of these orthologues was predicted using an algorithm based on trafficking signals. Examining the C termini of selected nematode proteins for PTS1 function substantiated predictions made regarding the proteins' peroxisomal location. It is concluded that the eukaryotic PEX5-dependent route for importing PTS1-containing proteins into peroxisomes is conserved in nematodes. C. elegans might emerge as an attractive model system for studying the importance of peroxisomes and affiliated processes in neurodegeneration, and also for studying a beta-oxidation process that is potentially compartmentalized in both mitochondria and peroxisomes.     

A 3-mW 74-dB SNR 2-MHz continuous-time delta-sigma ADC with a tracking ADC quantizer in 0.13-/spl mu/m CMOS

A third-order continuous-time multibit (4 bit) /spl Delta//spl Sigma/ ADC for wireless applications is implemented in a 0.13-/spl mu/m CMOS process. It is shown that the power consumption can be considerably reduced by using a tracking ADC composed of three comparators with interpolation instead of using a 4-bit flash quantizer. Moreover, the usage of a tracking ADC opens the door to a new forward-looking dynamic element matching (DEM) technique, which helps to reduce the loop delay time and consequently improves the loop stability. The SNR is 74 dB over a bandwidth of 2 MHz. The ADC consumes 3 mW from a 1.5-V supply when clocked at 104 MHz. The active area is 0.3 mm/sup 2/.