Characterization of ovomucoid-specific T-cell lines and clones from egg-allergic subjects

Three-dimensional gel culture systems represent conditions that mimic the differentiated state of mesenchymal cells in vivo. We examined gel contraction, cell growth, and phenotypic modulation of rabbit arterial SMC in three-dimensional gel culture. The gel contraction rate was dependent on the collagen type; that is, the contraction by freshly isolated SMC was faster and more pronounced in type I collagen than in type III collagen. In contrast, the phenotypic modulation of SMC was independent of collagen type. The major portion of cells in both type I and III collagens with growth factors underwent transition from a contractile (G0 phase) to a synthetic phenotype (G1B phase), but this transition was clearly delayed compared with that on collagens. The cells had hardly begun DNA synthesis in either collagen type and failed to proliferate even after 10 days of culture. These results indicate that collagen type is important in gel contraction by vascular SMC, while the organization of collagen fibrils (two-dimensional vs three-dimensional) is more critical in the phenotypic transition and proliferation of these cells. However, the more specific organization of extracellular matrix than the collagen gel culture system may be necessary to maintain the contractile phenotype of SMC.     

Residual Stress State of Brazed Ceramic/Metal Compounds, Determined by Analytical Methods and X-ray Residual Stress Measurements

The residual stress state of brazed ceramic/metal compounds is described by means of X-ray residual stress determinations and analytical calculations using a model of three elastic infinite plates. It is shown that the residual stress state of the soldered compound depends on the materials combination and on the geometrical conditions. The combination of X-ray residual stress measurements and analytical calculations allows decisions on whether the assumption of a linear elastic model, based on elementary bending theory, is valid for the particular compounds.     

Performance analysis pf parallelizing compilers on the PerfectBenchmarks programs

The speedups of the Perfect Benchmarks codes that result from automatic parallelization are reported. The performance gains caused by individual restructuring techniques have also been measured. Specific reasons for the successes and failures of the transformations are discussed, and potential improvements that result in measurably better program performance are analyzed. The most important findings are that available restructurers often cause insignificant performance gains in real programs and that only few restructuring techniques contribute to this gain. However, it can be shown that there is potential for advancing compiler technology so that many of the most important loops in these programs can be parallelized     

Röntgenographische Untersuchung von Spannungszuständen in Werkstoffen

X-Ray Investigation of Stress States in Materials X-ray stress analyses on crystalline or partially crystalline materials are based on the determination of elastic lattice strains which are converted to stresses by means of theory of elasticity. The development of the sin² ψ-method of X-ray stress analysis and of diffractometers substituting film chambers during the 1960s initiated an enormous progress in X-ray stress analysis during the following three decades both in respect of the knowledge of the underlying principles and in respect of the practical application. This report sketches the historical development of X-ray stress analyses and describes the actual state of the art of this important tool for materials science and engineering. Besides some important elements of X-ray physics and theory of elasticity, experimental aspects of practical applications are outlined. Standard measuring procedures and special measuring problems are described, and hints for practical solutions are given. In particular, examples of destructive and non-destructive depth profiling of residual stresses, of residual stress analysis in thin coatings, in multilayer structures of thin coatings and in chemically graded coatings, of residual stress analyses in presence of textures, of residual and loading stress analyses in heterogeneous materials, in coarse grained, and in single crystalline materials are presented. The methods established up to now are explained and possible future developments are pointed out.     

Parallel Programming and Performance Evaluation with the URSA Tool Family

This paper contributes to the solution of several open problems with parallel programming tools and their integration with performance evaluation environments. First, we propose interactive compilation scenarios instead of the usual black-box-oriented use of compiler tools. In such scenarios, information gathered by the compiler and the compiler's reasoning are presented to the user in meaningful ways and on-demand. Second, a tight integration of compilation and performance analysis tools is advocated. M any of the existing, advanced instruments for gathering performance results are being used in the presented environment and their results are combined in integrated views with compiler information and data from other tools. Initial instruments that assist users in data mining this information are presented and the need for much stronger facilities is explained. The URSA Family provides two tools addressing these issues. URSA MINOR supports a group of users at a specific site, such as a research or development project. URSA MAJOR complements this tool by making available the gathered results to the user community at large via the World-wide Web. This paper presents objectives, functionality, experience, and next development steps of the URSA tool family. Two case studies are presented that illustrate the use of the tools for developing and studying parallel applications and for evaluating parallelizing compilers.     

Selective reduction of NO by NH3 over manganese–cerium mixed oxides: Relation between adsorption, redox and catalytic behavior

Manganese–cerium mixed oxide catalysts with different molar ratio Mn/(Mn + Ce) (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) were prepared by citric acid method and investigated concerning their adsorption behavior, redox properties and behavior in the selective catalytic reduction of NO_x by NH₃. The studies based on pulse thermal analysis combined with mass spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy uncovered a clear correlation between the dependence of these properties and the mixed oxide composition. Highest activity to nitrogen formation was found for catalysts with a molar ratio Mn/(Mn + Ce) of 0.25, whereas the activity was much lower for the pure constituent oxides. Measurements of adsorption uptake of reactants, NO_x (NO, NO₂) and NH₃, and reducibility showed similar dependence on the mixed oxide composition indicating a clear correlation of these properties with catalytic activity. The adsorption studies indicated that NO_x and NH₃ are adsorbed on separate sites. Consecutive adsorption measurements of the reactants showed similar uptakes as separate measurements indicating that there was no interference between adsorbed reactants. Mechanistic investigations by changing the sequence of admittance of reactants (NO_x, NH₃) indicated that at 100–150 °C nitrogen formation follows an Eley–Rideal type mechanism, where adsorbed ammonia reacts with NO_x in the gas phase, whereas adsorbed NO_x showed no significant reactivity under conditions used.     

Severe anaphylaxis to a new disinfectant: polyhexanide, a chlorhexidine polymer

We describe the cases of an 18-year-old female and a 15-year-old male who developed severe anaphylaxis following contact of surgical wounds with the disinfectant Lavasept, containing polyhexanide, a polymerised form of chlorhexidine, during orthopaedic interventions. According to the manufacturer, this product is the only polyhexanide containing medical disinfectant, has recently been commercialised and is only available in Switzerland. One of the patients denied previous contact with this compound but both patients were previously exposed to chlorhexidine. Immediate-type hypersensitivity to polyhexanide was suggested by positive skin prick tests in the two patients and by negative skin tests in control individuals. Skin tests with chlorhexidine in the patients remained negative. We conclude that contact with the new disinfectant Lavasept can trigger anaphylactic reactions, even in the absence of previous history of exposure to this compound. It remains to be established whether this new disinfectant is a frequent anaphylactogen.