High-resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of the v23 and v22 Vibrational Bands of Methyl Vinyl Ketone

The high-resolution Infrared spectrum of methyl vinyl ketone (C4H6O) has been acquired in the region containing the v22 and v23 bands near 987 cm-1 and 1001cm-1, respectively, using a quantum cascade laser-based spectrometer. All acquired spectra underwent frequency calibrations that will prove useful during future atmospheric measurements of methyl vinyl ketone. Anharmonic calculations were performed at the MP2/ccp-pVTZ level of theory to obtain the vibrational frequencies and the excited state rotational constants of cis-methyl vinyl ketone. These calculations supported the assignment of the Q-branch features at 1001.031 and 987.592 cm-1 to the v22 and v23 fundamental vibrations of the molecule. Additionally, the Q-branch feature at 998.98 cm-1 was assigned as a hot band of the v23 mode arising from the v26 mode. The calculated rotational constants were used as starting points to begin preliminary spectral simulations of the v22 and v23 bands

Exploring Processor and Memory Architectures for Multimedia

Multimedia has become one of the cornerstones of our 21st century society and, when combined with mobility, has enabled a tremendous evolution of our society. However, joining these two concepts introduces many technical challenges. These range from having sufficient performance for handling multimedia content to having the battery stamina for acceptable mobile usage. When taking a projection of where we are heading, we see these issues becoming ever more challenging by increased mobility as well as advancements in multimedia content, such as introduction of stereoscopic 3D and augmented reality. The increased performance needs for handling multimedia come not only from an ongoing step-up in resolution going from QVGA (320x240) to Full HD (1920x1080) a 27x increase in less than half a decade. On top of this, there is also codec evolution (MPEG-2 to H.264 AVC) that adds to the computational load increase. To meet these performance challenges there has been processing and memory architecture advances (SIMD, out-of-order superscalarity, multicore processing and heterogeneous multilevel memories) in the mobile domain, in conjunction with ever increasing operating frequencies (200MHz to 2GHz) and on-chip memory sizes (128KB to 2-3MB). At the same time there is an increase in requirements for mobility, placing higher demands on battery-powered systems despite the steady increase in battery capacity (500 to 2000mAh). This leaves negative net result in-terms of battery capacity versus performance advances. In order to make optimal use of these architectural advances and to meet the power limitations in mobile systems, there is a need for taking an overall approach on how to best utilize these systems. The right trade-off between performance and power is crucial. On top of these constraints, the flexibility aspects of the system need to be addressed. All this makes it very important to reach the right architectural balance in the system. The first goal for this thesis is to examine multimedia applications and propose a flexible solution that can meet the architectural requirements in a mobile system. Secondly, propose an automated methodology of optimally mapping multimedia data and instructions to a heterogeneous multilevel memory subsystem. The proposed methodology uses constraint programming for solving a multidimensional optimization problem. Results from this work indicate that using today’s most advanced mobile processor technology together with a multi-level heterogeneous on-chip memory subsystem can meet the performance requirements for handling multimedia. By utilizing the automated optimal memory mapping method presented in this thesis lower total power consumption can be achieved, whilst performance for multimedia applications is improved, by employing enhanced memory management. This is achieved through reduced external accesses and better reuse of memory objects. This automatic method shows high accuracy, up to 90%, for predicting multimedia memory accesses for a given architecture

Height, weight and limb bones length of the embryos of pregnant mice injected by sodium valproate

Background and aim: Valproic acid (and its salt, sodium valproate) is one of the drugs that has been widely used for treatment of epileptic patients during the recent decades. The aim of this study was to find the effects of the drug on the morphological characteristics (such as height and weight) and limb bones of mouse embryo. Methods: Case group consisted of 8 pregnant mice that on the ninth day of their gestation, sodium valproate (200 mg/kg) was intraperitonealy injected at three consecutive times (at 0, 6, 12 hours). Seven pregnant mice were injected by distilled water as the control group. On the 18th day of gestation, pregnant mice of both groups were killed by cervical dislocation and their embryos were removed. The embryos height and weight were measured. Then some of embryos were used for Alizarin red & Alciane blue staining. By this method of staining soft tissues would become clear, cartilages become blue and bones turn to red. In stained embryos, the lengths of limb bones were measured. Results: Height and weight of the case group was significantly less than those of the control group. Also, the length of femoral, tibial, fibular, humeral, radial and ulnar bones was significantly less in the case group. Conclusion: Administration of sodium valproate during pregnancy decreases the height and weight of embryos and could cause delay in growth of the limb bones, therefore should not be used during pregnancy.

Coadministration of calcium chloride with lead acetate can improve motility of cauda epididymal spermatozoa in Swiss white mice

Background: Lead is an industrial heavy metal that can decrease sperm motility. Objective: The aim was to investigate the protective effects of calcium against lead on motility of spermatozoa. Materials and Methods: In total 40 adult male Swiss white mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (control, lead of 1st wk, lead of 2nd wk, lead/calcium of 1stwk and lead/calcium of 2nd wk). The lead groups of mice were injected by a single dose of lead acetate (200 mg/kg) intraperitoneally. Lead/calcium groups of mice were injected by a single same dose of lead acetate along with three doses of 80 mg/kg calcium chloride. The control group of mice was injected only with same volume of distilled water through the same route. Mice of 1st and 2nd wk groups were sacrificed through cervical dislocation one and two weeks after injections respectively. Results: Mean of the progressive motile spermatozoa of cauda epididymis in lead/calcium group of the first week was higher than the lead group of the first week and this difference was significant. There was not any significant difference among weight of testes and epididymides of all groups. Conclusion: It can be concluded that calcium can decrease the effects of lead on sperm motility. © 2016, Research and Clinical Center for Infertitlity. All rights reserved

The effects of lead on motility, viability and DNA denaturation of cauda epididymal spermatozoa of mouse

زمینه و هدف: سرب یکی از آلوده کننده های محیطی است. در این مطالعه اثرات سرب بر تحرک، زنده ماندن و دناتوره شدن DNA اسپرم موش مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. هدف ما بررسی اثرات سرب بر این فاکتورها و نیز قابل بازگشت بودن یا نبودن این اثرات بود. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه تجربی 24 موش نر به عنوان گروه آزمایش و 24 موش نیز، گروه کنترل در نظرگرفته شدند. به موش های گروه آزمایش 200 میلی گرم بر کیلوگرم محلول استات سرب و به موش های گروه کنترل تنها آب مقطر به صورت داخل صفاقی تزریق گردید. پس از آن هر کدام از گروه ها به سه زیر گروه مساوی تقسیم شدند و موش های هر زیر گروه در هفته های اول، دوم و سوم پس از تزریق کشته و اپیدیدیم آن ها برداشته شد. در تمامی گروه ها درصد اسپرم های متحرک، درصد اسپرم های زنده و میزان دناتوره شدن اسپرم های ناحیه دم اپیدیدیم اندازه گیری شد. داده ها به کمک آزمون های آماری من ویتنی و کروسکال والیس تجزیه و تحلیل شد. یافته ها: سرب سبب کاهش میزان تحرک و زنده ماندن اسپرم ها در هفته اول پس از تزریق شد (05/0

The efficacy of resveratrol in controlling hypertension: study protocol for a randomized, crossover, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Hypertension is a global health concern for which novel treatment strategies are necessary. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of resveratrol (trans-3, 5, 4′-trihydroxystilbene, a polyphenol present in grapes) in controlling blood pressure in participants diagnosed with prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension. Methods/design: In a randomized, crossover, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, 50 participants with prehypertension (diastolic blood pressure and systolic blood pressure, 80–89 mmHg and 120–139 mmHg, respectively) and 50 participants with stage 1 hypertension (diastolic and systolic, 90–99 mmHg and 140–159 mmHg, respectively) will be assigned to receive resveratrol (99 % pure, from Biotivia Longevity Bioceuticals LLC Company, USA, in 500 mg capsules, twice daily for 4 weeks, orally) or placebo (500 mg neutral microcellulose capsules, twice daily for 4 weeks) in a 2 × 2 crossover design (4 weeks treatment—4 weeks washout—4 weeks treatment). The blood pressure of each participant will be recorded (a mean of two times within a 15-minute interval) every week during the study. The participants in the prehypertensive group will not receive any medication, while those in the stage 1 hypertensive group will continue to receive their routine medications during the study. Blood samples will be taken from all groups and examined for various biochemical parameters. Discussion: This trial will help to establish whether resveratrol is an effective antihypertensive agent in prehypertensive and stage 1-hypertensive patients. The trial outcome will provide novel insight into the clinical efficacy of resveratrol and provide valuable information for conducting future clinical studies with resveratrol. Trial registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT201407078129N7. Registered on 15 August 2014. Keywords: Resveratrol, Hypertension, Blood pressure, Polyphen