Effect of time and storing conditions on iron forms in ferrous gluconate and Ascofer

Antianemic medicament Ascofer and ferrous gluconate, its basic iron bearing ingredient, were studied with the use of Mossbauer spectroscopy. Room temperature spectra gave a clear evidence that two phases of iron were present viz. ferrous (Fe2+) as a major one with a contribution of 85+-5%, and ferric (Fe3+) whose contribution was found to be 15+-5%. However, the actual values of the contributions of the two kind of the iron ions in Ascofer depend on sample's age: the abundance of Fe2+ ions increases with time by 10% after 51 months, while that of Fe3+ decreases by the same amount. This means that an internal reduction of Fe3+ ions takes place. Ferrous ions were shown to occupy at least two different sites. In Ascofer, the relative abundance of the two sites does not depend on the age of sample, while in the gluconate the population of site 1 increases and that of site 2 decreases with the age of the sample.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure

Rumen simulation technique study on the interactions of dietary lauric and myristic acid supplementation in suppressing ruminal methanogenesis

The interactions of lauric (C12) and myristic acid (C14) in suppressing ruminal methanogenesis and methanogens were investigated with the rumen simulation technique (Rusitec) using bovine ruminal fluid. The fatty acids were added to basal substrates (grass hay:concentrate, 1:1.5) at a level of 48 g/kg DM, provided in C12:C14 ratios of 5:0, 4:1, 3:2, 2·5:2.5, 2:3, 1:4 and 0:5. Additionally, an unsupplemented control consisting of the basal substrates only was employed. Incubation periods lasted for 15 (n 4) and 25 (n 2) d. CH4 formation was depressed by any fatty acid mixture containing at least 40 % C12, and effects persisted over the complete incubation periods. The greatest depression (70 % relative to control) occurred with a C12:C14 ratio of 4:1, whereas the second most effective treatment in suppressing CH4 production (60 % relative to control) was found with a ratio of 3:2. Total methanogenic counts were decreased by those mixtures of C12 and C14 also successful in suppressing methanogenesis, the 4:1 treatment being most efficient (60 % decline). With this treatment in particular, the composition of the methanogenic population was altered in such a way that the proportion of Methanococcales increased and Methanobacteriales decreased. Initially, CH4 suppression was associated with a decreased fibre degradation, which, however, was reversed after 10 d of incubation. The present study demonstrated a clear synergistic effect of mixtures of C12 and C14 in suppressing methanogenesis, mediated probably by direct inhibitory effects of the fatty acids on the methanogen

Evidence for Different Freeze-Out Radii of High- and Low-Energy Pions Emitted in Au+Au Collisions at 1 GeV/nucleon

Double differential production cross sections of negative and positive pions and the number of participating protons have been measured in central Au+Au collisions at 1 GeV per nucleon incident energy. At low pion energies the pi^- yield is strongly enhanced over the pi^+ yield. The energy dependence of the pi^-/pi^+ ratio is assigned to the Coulomb interaction of the charged pions with the protons in the reaction zone. The deduced Coulomb potential increases with increasing pion c.m. energy. This behavior indicates different freeze-out radii for different pion energies in the c.m.~frame.Comment: IKDA is the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Darmstadt/German

Dynamic Response Characteristics in Variable Stiffness Soft Inflatable Links

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. In soft robotics, there is the fundamental need to develop devices that are flexible and can change stiffness in order to work safely in the vicinity of humans. Moreover, these structures must be rigid enough to withstand the force application and accuracy in motion. To solve these issues, previous research proposed to add a compliance element between motor and load – Series Elastic Actuators (SEAs). This approach benefits from improved force control and shock tolerance due to the elasticity introduced at joint level. However, series compliance at the joint level comes at the cost of inferior position controllability and additional mechanical complexity. In this research, we move the elastic compliance to the link, and evaluate the characteristics of variable stiffness soft inflatable links. The detailed investigation of the dynamic behaviour of inflatable link takes into consideration different internal pressures and applied loads. Our results demonstrate that the use of soft inflatable links leads to good weight lifting capability whilst preserving compliance which is beneficial for safety critical applications

Adenosine A2A receptors in Parkinson’s disease treatment

Latest results on the action of adenosine A2A receptor antagonists indicate their potential therapeutic usefulness in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Basal ganglia possess high levels of adenosine A2A receptors, mainly on the external surfaces of neurons located at the indirect tracts between the striatum, globus pallidus, and substantia nigra. Experiments with animal models of Parkinson’s disease indicate that adenosine A2A receptors are strongly involved in the regulation of the central nervous system. Co-localization of adenosine A2A and dopaminergic D2 receptors in striatum creates a milieu for antagonistic interaction between adenosine and dopamine. The experimental data prove that the best improvement of mobility in patients with Parkinson’s disease could be achieved with simultaneous activation of dopaminergic D2 receptors and inhibition of adenosine A2A receptors. In animal models of Parkinson’s disease, the use of selective antagonists of adenosine A2A receptors, such as istradefylline, led to the reversibility of movement dysfunction. These compounds might improve mobility during both monotherapy and co-administration with L-DOPA and dopamine receptor agonists. The use of adenosine A2A receptor antagonists in combination therapy enables the reduction of the L-DOPA doses, as well as a reduction of side effects. In combination therapy, the adenosine A2A receptor antagonists might be used in both moderate and advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. The long-lasting administration of adenosine A2A receptor antagonists does not decrease the patient response and does not cause side effects typical of L-DOPA therapy. It was demonstrated in various animal models that inhibition of adenosine A2A receptors not only decreases the movement disturbance, but also reveals a neuroprotective activity, which might impede or stop the progression of the disease. Recently, clinical trials were completed on the use of istradefylline (KW-6002), an inhibitor of adenosine A2A receptors, as an anti-Parkinson drug

Observation of enhanced subthreshold K+ production in central collisions between heavy nuclei

In the very heavy collision system 197Au+197Au the K+ production process was studied as a function of impact parameter at 1 GeV/nucleon, a beam energy well below the free N-N threshold. The K+ multiplicity increases more than linearly with the number of participant nucleons and the K+/ pi + ratio rises significantly when going from peripheral to central collisions. The measured K+ double differential cross section is enhanced by a factor of 6 compared to microscopic transport calculations if secondary processes (Delta N-->K Lambda N and Delta Delta -->K Lambda N) are ignored