Close frequency pairs in Delta Scuti stars

The majority of the well-studied Delta Scuti stars show frequency pairs in the power spectra with frequency separations less than 0.06 c/d(0.7 microHz) as well as amplitude variability. We examine the interpretation in terms of separate excited stellar pulsation modes,single modes with variable amplitudes, and observational problems. The variable-phase technique, which examines the phase jumps near the times of minimum amplitude of an assumed single frequency, is applied to the extensive data of the star BI CMi, which shows some of the most extreme behavior. The following results are found for the 5 features in the power spectrum which could be explained as single modes with variable amplitudes or as double modes: for three features it can be shown that these are indeed pairs of separate pulsation modes beating with each other: at times of minimum amplitude the phase jumps are observed and both the observed amplitude and phase variations can be predicted correctly by assuming two separate modes of nearly equal frequencies. Artifacts caused by observational error,insufficient frequency resolution or variable amplitudes can be ruled out. A fourth pair has a probable origin in two excited modes, while a 5th case is inconclusive due to long time scales of variability and small amplitudes.The existence of close frequencies need to be taken into account in planning the lengths of earth-based as well as space campaigns so that sufficient frequency resolution is obtained. Possible reasons for the existence of close frequencies in Delta Scuti stars are considered.They include the dense frequency spacing caused by the presence of mixed modes, rotational splitting as well as near-coincidence of the frequencies of modes with different l values (the so-called Small Spacing).Comment: 9 Pages, 5 Figures, Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics; alternative Download from ftp://ftp.deltascuti.net/pub/CloseFrequencies.pd

Зміст та основні цілі стимулювання збуту на підприємстві

Стаття присвячена висвітленню сутності стимулювання підприємства, як важливої складової для забезпечення ефективного його функціонування, а також проаналізовано головні завдання, та основні переваги та недоліки заходів, які використовуються у системі стимулювання збуту. У статті розглянуто зміст стимулювання збуту продукції підприємства, його цілі та завдання. Виявлено, що стимулювання збуту ‒ це система короткострокових спонукальних заходів на тимчасовій або територіальній основі, що чинить вплив на трьох учасників ринку (споживачів, торгових посередників, торговий персонал), яка покликана стимулювати негайне здійснення покупки і прискорений збут продукції. Наведена характеристика сучасних засобів і прийомів стимулювання збуту. Розглянуто класифікацію стимулювання збуту продукції підприємства за виникненням і впливом на покупців. Дістали подальшого розвитку теоретичні положе ння стимулювання збуту, в тому числі визначення його основних напрямків.The article is devoted to highlighting the essence of stimulating the enterprise as an important component for ensuring its effective functioning, and also analyzed the main tasks and the main advantages and disadvantages of those used in the sales promotion system. The article deals with the content of sales’ promotion in the complex of product promotion, its goals and tasks. It is found that sales promotion is a system of short-term incentives on a temporary or territorial basis, affects three market part icipants (consumers, resellers, sales personnel), which is designed to stimulate immediate purchase and accelerated sales. The characteristic of modern means and methods of sales’ promotion is given. The classification of sales promotion in the work on occurrence and influence on buyers is described. The theoretical positions of sales’ promotion were furt her developed, the main directions of sales promotion were established

Transition state energy decomposition study of acetate-assisted and internal electrophilic substitution C−H bond activation by (acac-O,O)_2Ir(X) complexes (X = CH_3COO, OH)

Chelate-assisted and internal electrophilic substitution type transition states were studied using a DFT-based energy decomposition method. Interaction energies for benzene and methane C−H bond activation by (acac-O,O)_2Ir(X) complexes (X = CH_3COO and OH) were evaluated using the absolutely localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis (ALMO-EDA). A ratio of ~1.5:1 for forward to reverse charge-transfer between (acac-O,O)_2Ir(X) and benzene or methane transition state fragments confirms “ambiphilic” bonding, the result of an interplay between the electrophilic iridium center and the internal base component. This analysis also revealed that polarization effects account for a significant amount of transition state stabilization. The energy penalty to deform reactants into their transition state geometry, distortion energy, was also used to understand the large activation energy difference between six-membered and four-membered acetate-assisted transition states and help explain why these complexes do not activate the methane C−H bond

Are pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and CA 125 measurements after IVF-ET possible predictors of early pregnancy wastage?

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), a macromolecular glycoprotein of placental origin, was reported to be depressed in established ectopic pregnancies. CA 125 is a known marker for ovarian cancer found to be elevated during the first trimester of pregnancy and in women with pelvic inflammatory disease. The present study investigated the usefulness of these parameters to predict the outcome of pregnancy in asymptomatic patients with a positive pregnancy test after in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). Blood samples (n = 159) were obtained at different periods of time post-ET from 39 women, 21 of whom experienced a normal pregnancy, 12 had an intrauterine abortion and six had an ectopic pregnancy. PAPP-A and CA 125 were measured by radioimmunoassays. From day 30 onwards in normal pregnancies, PAPP-A was significantly increased over non-pregnant controls. In the spontaneous abortion group, the levels of PAPP-A were significantly lower than in normal pregnancy but higher than in non-pregnant controls. In ectopic pregnancy, PAPP-A remained at the level of non-pregnant controls throughout the entire observation period. CA 125 was significantly increased in all types of pregancy. However, in two cases of hyperstimulation followed by a normal pregancy and in four cases of ectopic pregnancy with signs of peritoneal irritation (hydrosalpinx, ruptured ectopic or salpingitis) the levels of CA 125 were 15-50 times higher than in normal pregnancies. PAPP-A levels < 10th percentile, measured after 30 days post-ET, were an excellent diagnostic parameter for ectopic pregnancy or intrauterine abortion with a sensitivity of 87.5% and a predictive value of disease of 100%. In contrast, CA 125 determinations had no diagnostic value and were only indicative of peritoneal inflammation in either normal or pathological pregnancies. It is concluded that PAPP-A is a good parameter by which to monitor post-implantation viability of embryos in IVF-ET patient

The para-substituent effect and pH-dependence of the organometallic Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of rhenium–carbon bonds

We studied the Baeyer–Villiger (BV) type oxidation of phenylrhenium trioxide (PTO) by H2O2 in the aqueous phase using Quantum Mechanics (density functional theory with the M06 functional) focusing on how the solution pH and the para-substituent affect the Gibbs free energy surfaces. For both PTO and MTO (methylrhenium trioxide) cases, we find that for pH > 1 the BV pathway having OH− as the leaving group is lower in energy than the one involving simultaneous protonation of hydroxide. We also find that during this organometallic BV oxidation, the migrating phenyl is a nucleophile so that substituting functional groups in the para-position of phenyl with increased electron-donating character lowers the migration barrier, just as in organic BV reactions. However, this substituent effect also pushes electron density to Re, impeding HOO− coordination and slowing down the reaction. This is in direct contrast to the organic analog, in which para-substitution has an insignificant influence on 1,2-addition of peracids. Due to the competition of the two opposing effects and the dependence of the resting state on pH and concentration, the reaction rate of the organometallic BV oxidation is surprisingly unaffected by para-substitution

Regulation of MMP-9 by p53 in first trimester cytotrophoblastic cells

BACKGROUND The matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family is known to play a key role in tissue remodelling during embryonic development and in pathological conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis and cancer metastasis. It has been shown previously that p53 regulates positively or negatively the expression of different MMPs. Because of p53 overexpression in trophoblastic cells, and its potential role in regulating MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in different cell lines, we hypothesized that the expression of MMP-9 could also be regulated by p53 in first trimester cytotrophoblasts (CTB). METHODS and RESULTS Transfection experiments in CTB demonstrated that wild-type p53 down-regulates the −670 (P < 0.001) but not the −531 and −90 human MMP-9 promoter/CAT reporter plasmid activity, whereas p53 mutants partially lost this repressive activity. However, endogenous p53 is not able to regulate MMP-9 expression in CTB. The presence of high molecular weight complexes of p53 in CTB suggests a potential mechanism of inactivation of p53 transcriptional activity towards MMPs in these cells. CONCLUSIONS Although p53 is mutated in trophoblast, it is functionally incompetent towards MMPs in these cell

Trophoblastic and decidual response to RU486: effects on human chorionic gonadotrophin, human placental lactogen, prolactin and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A production in vitro

RU486 [17β-hydroxy-11β-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-17α-(prop-1-ynyl)-oestra-4,9-dien-3-one] a potent progesterone antagonist, was shown to induce abortions in humans. Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) decreased after RU486 administration, but it was not clear whether these effects were due to RU486 or secondary to trophoblast damage. To answer this question we tested the in-vitro effects of RU486 on short-term cultures of trophoblastic and decidual explants. It was observed that RU486 induced a significant inhibition of the trophoblastic production rate of βHCG and PAPP-A but not human placental lactogen. This effect could be overcome by addition of progesterone (for PAPP-A and βHCG) or cortisol (for βHCG). Decidual prolactin (Prl) or PAPP-A secretions were also inhibited by RU486. Progesterone antagonized these effects, whereas cortisol was ineffective. These results suggest that PAPP-A is a progesterone-dependent protein and that the abortifacknt effect of RU486 in humans could at least partially be due to an inhibition of the production of HCG and/or PAPP-