Understanding silica-supported metal catalysts: Pd/silica as a case study

Supported metal catalysts, particularly noble metals supported on SiO₂, have attracted considerable attention due to the importance of the silica–metal interface in heterogeneous catalysis and in electronic device fabrication. Several important issues, e.g., the stability of the metal–oxide interface at working temperatures and pressures, are not well-understood. In this review, the present status of our understanding of the metal–silica interface is reviewed. Recent results of model studies in our laboratories on Pd/SiO₂/Mo(1 1 2) using LEED, AES and STM are reported. In this work, epitaxial, ultrathin, well-ordered SiO₂ films were grown on a Mo(1 1 2) substrate to circumvent complications that frequently arise from the silica–silicon interface present in silica thin films grown on silicon.     

Adaptive antenna system design for multi-element combining with transient interrupted channels

This paper presents an analysis and design procedure for a buoyant cable array antenna used for satellite communications. The towed multi-element array is susceptible to washovers and fluctuations due to the ocean wave interaction with the floating hose where the elements are housed. A model of system performance for coherent multi-element combining is presented based on the dropouts and fades of the individual elements. The array design, including the number and spacing of elements, is shown to be highly dependent on the individual element exposure characteristics and the degree of correlation of the fades between channels. The joint statistics of the array are analyzed using a binary conditional element exposure model and a first-order Markov interelement correlation model. Using this analysis, a family of array designs meeting the communications requirements is produced.     

A real-time neural system for color constancy

A neural network approach to the problem of color constancy is presented. Various algorithms based on Land's retinex theory are discussed with respect to neurobiological parallels, computational efficiency, and suitability for VLSI implementation. The efficiency of one algorithm is improved by the application of resistive grids and is tested in computer simulations; the simulations make clear the strengths and weaknesses of the algorithm. A novel extension to the algorithm is developed to address its weaknesses. An electronic system that is based on the original algorithm and that operates at video rates was built using subthreshold analog CMOS VLSI resistive grids. The system displays color constancy abilities and qualitatively mimics aspects of human color perception.     

Phylogenetic scanning: a computer-assisted algorithm for mapping gene conversions and other recombinational events

An algorithm, 'phylogenetic scanning', is described for mapping gene conversion events where comparative DNA sequence data are available from different species. In this algorithm, sets of hypothetical phylogenetic trees are constructed that describe possible sequence relationships due to gene conversions in different species lineages; these trees are then evaluated by the principle of parsimony at intervals in the sequence alignment. When used to map gene conversion events that occurred between the pair of gamma-globin genes of higher primates, the algorithm gives results nearly identical to those obtained using a tedious manual approach. Suggestions are also provided for adaptation of this procedure to the analysis of other recombination events.     

Amplified primer extension assay for psoralen photoproducts provides a sensitive assay for a (CG)6TA(CG)2(TG)8 Z-DNA torsionally tuned probe: preferential psoralen photobinding to one strand of a B-Z junction

An amplified primer extension assay has been developed for quantitatively mapping the sites of psoralen photoaddition to DNA. This assay was applied to a torsionally tuned Z-DNA-probe that was specifically designed for the primer extension assay. The torsionally tuned Z-DNA forming sequence, (CG)6TA(CG)2(TG)8, forms Z-DNA in vitro at negative superhelical density: sigma = -0.05. The internal 5'-TA dinucleotide was reactive to psoralen when it existed as B-DNA. Upon the formation of Z-DNA, the internal 5'-TA no longer photobound psoralen. The torsionally tuned sequence was synthesized as an EcoRI fragment such that, when Z-DNA formed, the central 5'-AATT of the EcoRI sites was part of the B-Z junctions. The 5'-AATT sequence was not reactive with psoralen when it existed as B-DNA. When the 5'-AATT sequence existed as a B-Z junction, one strand of each junction became hyperreactive to psoralen. The TT directly 5' to the B-DNA-Z-DNA junction photobound psoralen in a strand-specific fashion. Quantitation of the relative rate of psoralen photobinding to the internal 5'-TA and the 5'-AATT at the B-Z junctions provides relationships that are characteristic of the level of supercoiling in DNA.     

Fetus-in-fetu with malignant recurrence

Fetus-in-fetu is an unusual condition in which a vertebrate fetus is enclosed within the abdomen of another fetus. These occurrences are usually benign. This report describes an instance of malignant recurrence after resection of a fetus-in-fetu.     

The carcinogenicity of environmental tobacco smoke

Male strain A/J mice were exposed for 6 h a day, 5 days a week to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) generated from Kentucky 1R4F reference cigarettes. Chamber concentrations were 87 mg/m3 of total suspended particulate matter (TSP), 246 p.p.m. of CO and 16 mg/m3 of nicotine. After 5 months, 33% of the ETS exposed and 11% of the control animals had one or several lung tumors; the difference was statistically not significant. A second group of animals exposed for 5 months to ETS was allowed to recover for another 4 months in filtered air. When they were killed, 85% of the ETS animals had lung tumors (average number per lung: 1.4 +/- 0.2), whereas in the control group 38% had lung tumors (average number of lung tumors in all animals 0.5 +/- 0.2). The differences in tumor incidence and multiplicity were statistically significant. More than 80% of all tumors were adenomas, the rest adenocarcinomas. When animals were pretreated with a carcinogen, lung tumor multiplicity was lower in the ETS exposed animals after 5 months compared with controls injected with a carcinogen and kept in air. However, after an additional 4 month recovery period in air, lung tumor multiplicities were the same in ETS plus carcinogen exposed mice as in carcinogen-treated air-exposed controls. Histopathologic and morphometric analysis of the lung tissue failed to reveal any differences between ETS exposed and control animals. However, immediately after ETS exposure, immunohistochemistry revealed increased staining for CYP1A1 in airway epithelia and lung parenchyma; following recovery in air, the staining disappeared again. Analysis of cell kinetics showed an initial burst of increased DNA synthesis in the epithelial cells of the airways and a smaller early positive response in the parenchyma. Feeding of butylated hydroxytoluene during ETS exposure did not modulate lung tumor development. It was concluded that ETS is a pulmonary carcinogen in strain A/J mice.     

Dopamine and the regulation of cell proliferation in gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) pyloric mucosa

The epithelium of the digestive system mucosa consists of a highly dynamic cell population. The conditions under which mitotic activity in the gastrointestinal epithelium is regulated is as yet poorly understood. Nevertheless, it is assumed that some biogenic amines might be involved. Having demonstrated that dopaminergic cells occur in the stomach of gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), in the present study we examined the influence of dopamine antagonist haloperidol on the proliferation of epithelial cells in the mucosa of the stomach. Proliferating cells were detected immunocytochemically and quantified after in-vivo labeling with 5-bromo-2'-desoxyuridine in both haloperidol- and saline-treated animals. The results show that acute doses of haloperidol significantly increases the proliferation rate in the pyloric mucosa, suggesting that dopamine plays a probable modulatory role in the regulation of mitotic activity. These findings are discussed with regard to the role of paraneurons in regulating epithelial mitosis.