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Selected AbstractsHigh-frequency behavior of power inductor windings using an accurate multiconductor transmission line model: input impedance evaluationEUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 5 2008J. A. Brandão Faria Abstract This research and tutorial paper is the second part of a work dedicated to the analysis and computation of the electromagnetic behavior of inductor windings operating at high-frequency regimes,a critical issue for very fast transient overvoltage studies. The inductor winding, wound around a ferromagnetic core, containing a total number of N dielectric coated cylindrical turns, is modeled by using a multiconductor transmission line (MTL) approach (proximity effects being accounted) whose constitution and characterization was presented in a former paper. In the present work, we make use of the R, G, L, and C constitutive matrices of the structure in order to develop a modal analysis technique-based formulation aimed at the evaluation of the winding's input impedance in the frequency-domain. Results obtained show that the input impedance critically depends not only on the number of layers of the winding but also, and, more importantly, on the frequency, where resonance phenomena play a key role. Frequency-domain analysis is complemented with simulation results in the time-domain that clearly illustrate how critical and sensitive the system response can be under minute changes of the winding's excitation current. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Consumption of psychotropic medication in the elderly: a re-evaluation of its effect on cognitive performanceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 10 2003Jacques Allard Abstract Background There have been few general population studies of the effects of psychotropic treatment on cognitive functioning in the elderly. Current evidence based on studies with numerous procedural shortenings supports the notion of the detrimental effect. Objectives To examine changes in a wide range of specific cognitive abilities across time in a general population sample in order to establish a relationship between psychotropic drug use and cognitive performance, and to estimate to what extent such cognitive changes may be attributable to psychotropic use or other factors, notably age and co-morbidity. Method We analysed the data from the Eugeria longitudinal study of cerebral ageing. Three hundred and seventy two subjects (263 female and 109 male) were visited at their place of residence and given a computerized cognitive examination. Depressive symptomatology and depressive episodes were defined according to ICD-9 criterias and medication use were established. Four categories of psychotropic consumers was differentiated. Using a logistic regression model, comparisons were made between consumers and non-consumers. Results A significant positive effect in chronic consumers was found on tests of secondary memory (delayed verbal recall: Odds Ratio (OR),=,1.22; 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) [1.04,1.43]; p,=,0.013) and this effect is principally attributable to antidepressants with significant effects being shown for both verbal (OR,=,1.59; 95%CI [1.18,2.14]; p,=,0.002) and visual recall (OR,=,1.51; 95%CI [1.05,2.16]; p,=,0.025). No effect is found for benzodiazepines. Conclusions Contrary to the common belief that psychotropic drug use has a detrimental effect on cognitive function of elderly people, even long term use is seen to be benign. We attest to the positive effects of antidepressant therapy on secondary memory. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Function and therapeutic potential of host defence peptides,JOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE, Issue 11 2005Joseph B. Mcphee Abstract Cationic host defence (antimicrobial) peptides are an important component of the innate immune systems of a wide variety of plants, animals, and bacteria. Although most of these compounds have direct antimicrobial activities under specific conditions, a greater appreciation for the diversity of functions of these molecules is beginning to develop in the field. In addition to their directly antimicrobial activities, they also have a broad spectrum of activity on the host immune system, with both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects being invoked. Increasingly sophisticated approaches to understand the role of host defence peptides in modulating innate immunity are already serving to guide the development of novel therapeutics. Copyright © 2005 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The roles of prostaglandin E receptor subtypes in the cytoprotective action of prostaglandin E2 in rat stomachALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 2000H. Araki Summary Aim: To investigate the EP receptor subtype involved in the gastroprotective action of prostaglandin (PG) E2 using various EP receptor agonists in rats, and using knockout mice lacking EP1 or EP3 receptors. Methods: Male SD rats and C57BL/6 mice were used after an 18-h fast. Gastric lesions were induced by oral administration of HCl/ethanol (150 m m HCl in 60% ethanol). Rats were given various EP agonists i.v. 10 min before HCl/ethanol: PGE2, sulprostone (EP1/EP3 agonist), butaprost (EP2 agonist), 17-phenyl-,-trinorPGE2 (17-phenylPGE2: EP1 agonist), ONO-NT012 (EP3 agonist) and 11-deoxyPGE1 (EP3/EP4 agonist). In a separate study, the effect of PGE2 on HCl/ethanol lesions was examined in EP1 - and EP3 -receptor knockout mice. Results: Gastric lesions induced by HCl/ethanol were dose dependently prevented by PGE2; this effect was mimicked by sulprostone and 17-phenylPGE2 and was significantly antagonized by ONO-AE-829, an EP1 antagonist. Neither butaprost, ONO-NT012 nor 11-deoxyPGE1 exhibited any protective activity against HCl/ethanol-induced gastric lesions. PGE2 caused an inhibition of gastric motility as well as an increase of mucosal blood flow and mucus secretion, the effects being mimicked by prostanoids activating EP1 receptors, EP2/EP3/EP4 receptors and EP4 receptors, respectively. On the other hand, although HCl/ethanol caused similar damage in both wild-type mice and knockout mice lacking EP1 or EP3 receptors, the cytoprotective action of PGE2 observed in wild-type and EP3 -receptor knockout mice totally disappeared in mice lacking EP1 receptors. Conclusion: The gastric cytoprotective action of PGE2 is mediated by activation of EP1 receptors. This effect may be functionally associated with inhibition of gastric motility but not with increased mucosal blood flow or mucus secretion. [source] Combined Effects of Hot Curing Conditions and Reaction Heat on Rubber Vulcanization Efficiency and Vulcanizate UniformityMACROMOLECULAR THEORY AND SIMULATIONS, Issue 4-5 2009Xiaoxia Wang Abstract A mathematical model of the chemical kinetics of silicone rubber vulcanization is developed, with the thermal effects being computed using the increment method, and the hot vulcanization process estimated with the finite element method. The results show that the reaction heat of rubber vulcanization is important for energy saving, and that a proper curing medium temperature is important when considering both vulcanization efficiency and vulcanizate uniformity. The results also indicate that increases in the forced convective heat transfer coefficient have no significant effect above a certain level. The validity of the numerical model is indirectly proven by comparison with existing data. [source] Enemy-mediated apparent competition: empirical patterns and the evidenceOIKOS, Issue 2 2000Enrique J. Chaneton Apparent competition arises when two victim species negatively affect each other (,,,,) by enhancing the equilibrium density or changing the foraging behaviour of a shared natural enemy. Shared enemies can also mediate non-reciprocal (,,,0) indirect effects, i.e. indirect amensalism, whenever one prey species is not affected by the presence of alternative prey. We review 34 studies on terrestrial and freshwater systems to evaluate the extent to which apparent competition has been perceived as a reciprocal (,,,,) or non-reciprocal (,,,0) interaction. We found only three studies showing reciprocal effects between apparent competitors. Indirect amensalism was documented in 10 studies and could be inferred for 16 other cases (76% in total). The remaining five studies provided insufficient data to determine the form of indirect interaction. The apparent prevalence of non-reciprocal enemy-mediated interactions resembles that observed for resource-based interspecific competition. Amensal indirect effects via shared predation may result from differences in population size, nutritional value, susceptibility to attack, or asynchronous dynamics of alternative prey, or the predator's feeding preferences. Moreover, experimental protocols may confound the actual form of apparent competition through short-term observations, incomplete designs, or biased consideration of conspicuous interactions, leading to reciprocal effects being overlooked. We conclude that, at present, it is still difficult to determine the relative role of apparent competition vs indirect amensalism in natural food webs because most published studies have failed to document in full interactions via shared enemies. [source] N-terminal extension changes the folding mechanism of the FK506-binding proteinPROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 9 2001Alla Korepanova Abstract Many of the protein fusion systems used to enhance the yield of recombinant proteins result in the addition of a small number of amino acid residues onto the desired protein. Here, we investigate the effect of short (three amino acid) N-terminal extensions on the equilibrium denaturation and kinetic folding and unfolding reactions of the FK506-binding protein (FKBP) and compare the results obtained with data collected on an FKBP variant lacking this extension. Isothermal equilibrium denaturation experiments demonstrated that the N-terminal extension had a slight destabilizing effect. NMR investigations showed that the N-terminal extension slightly perturbed the protein structure near the site of the extension, with lesser effects being propagated into the single ,-helix of FKBP. These structural perturbations probably account for the differential stability. In contrast to the relatively minor equilibrium effects, the N-terminal extension generated a kinetic-folding intermediate that is not observed in the shorter construct. Kinetic experiments performed on a construct with a different amino acid sequence in the extension showed that the length and the sequence of the extension both contribute to the observed equilibrium and kinetic effects. These results point to an important role for the N terminus in the folding of FKBP and suggest that a biological consequence of N-terminal methionine removal observed in many eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteins is to increase the folding efficiency of the polypeptide chain. [source] Biochemical and structural characterization of residue 96 mutants of Plasmodium falciparum triosephosphate isomerase: active-site loop conformation, hydration and identification of a dimer-interface ligand-binding siteACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 8 2009P. Gayathri Plasmodium falciparum TIM (PfTIM) is unique in possessing a Phe residue at position 96 in place of the conserved Ser that is found in TIMs from the majority of other organisms. In order to probe the role of residue 96, three PfTIM mutants, F96S, F96H and F96W, have been biochemically and structurally characterized. The three mutants exhibited reduced catalytic efficiency and a decrease in substrate-binding affinity, with the most pronounced effects being observed for F96S and F96H. The kcat values and Km values are (2.54 ± 0.19) × 105,min,1 and 0.39 ± 0.049,mM, respectively, for the wild type; (3.72 ± 0.28) × 103,min,1 and 2.18 ± 0.028,mM, respectively, for the F96S mutant; (1.11 ± 0.03) × 104,min,1 and 2.62 ± 0.042,mM, respectively, for the F96H mutant; and (1.48 ± 0.05) × 105,min,1 and 1.20 ± 0.056,mM, respectively, for the F96W mutant. Unliganded and 3-phosphoglycerate (3PG) complexed structures are reported for the wild-type enzyme and the mutants. The ligand binds to the active sites of the wild-type enzyme (wtPfTIM) and the F96W mutant, with a loop-open state in the former and both open and closed states in the latter. In contrast, no density for the ligand could be detected at the active sites of the F96S and F96H mutants under identical conditions. The decrease in ligand affinity could be a consequence of differences in the water network connecting residue 96 to Ser73 in the vicinity of the active site. Soaking of crystals of wtPfTIM and the F96S and F96H mutants resulted in the binding of 3PG at a dimer-interface site. In addition, loop closure at the liganded active site was observed for wtPfTIM. The dimer-interface site in PfTIM shows strong electrostatic anchoring of the phosphate group involving the Arg98 and Lys112 residues of PfTIM. [source] Inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme protects endothelial cell against hypoxia/reoxygenation injuryBIOFACTORS, Issue 4 2000Noriko Fujita Abstract Cardiovascular tissue injury in ischemia/reperfusion has been shown to be prevented by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. However, the mechanism on endothelial cells has not been assessed in detail. Cultured human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) were exposed to hypoxia with or without reoxygenation. Hypoxia enhanced apoptosis along with the activation of caspase-3. Reoxygenation increased lactate dehydrogenase release time-dependently, along with an increase of intracellular oxygen radicals. ACE inhibitor quinaprilat and bradykinin significantly lessened apoptosis and lactate dehydrogenase release with these effects being diminished by a kinin B2 receptor antagonist and a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. In conclusion, hypoxia activated the suicide pathway leading to apoptosis of HAEC by enhancing caspase-3 activity, while subsequent reoxygenation induced necrosis by enhancing oxygen radical production. Quinaprilat could ameliorate both apoptosis and necrosis through the upregulation of constitutive endothelial nitric oxide synthase via an increase of bradykinin, with the resulting increase of nitric oxide. [source] | ||||||||||||||||