10,195 research outputs found
Different methods for administering 17β-estradiol to ovariectomized rats result in opposite effects on ischemic brain damage
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Numerous stroke studies have controversially shown estrogens to be either neuroprotective or neurodamaging. The discordant results observed in rat brain ischemia models may be a consequence of discrepancies in estrogen administration modes resulting in plasma concentration profiles far from those intended. To test this hypothesis we reproduced in detail and extended an earlier study from our lab using a different mode of 17β-estradiol administration; home-made silastic capsules instead of commercial slow-release 17β-estradiol pellets. Four groups of female rats (n = 12) were ovariectomized and administered 17β-estradiol or placebo via silastic capsules. All animals underwent MCAo fourteen days after ovariectomy and were sacrificed three days later.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In contrast to our earlier results using the commercial pellets, the group receiving 17β-estradiol during the entire experiment had significantly smaller lesions than the group receiving placebo (mean ± SEM: 3.85 ± 0.70% versus 7.15 ± 0.27% of total slice area, respectively; p = 0.015). No significant neuroprotection was found when the 17β-estradiol was administered only during the two weeks before or the three days immediately after MCAo.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results indicate that different estrogen treatment regimens result in diametrically different effects on cerebral ischemia. Thus the effects of estrogens on ischemic damage seem to be concentration-related, with a biphasic, or even more complex, dose-response relation. These findings have implications for the design of animal experiments and also have a bearing on the estrogen doses used for peri-menopausal hormone replacement therapy.</p
Effects of the background radiation on radio pulsar and supernova remnant searches and the birth rates of these objects
In different directions of the Galaxy the Galactic background radio radiation
and radiation of complex star formation regions which include large number of
OB associations have different influences on radio pulsar (PSR) and supernova
remnant (SNR) searches. In this work we analyse the effects of these background
radiations on the observations of PSRs at 1400 MHz and SNRs at 1000 MHz. In the
interval l=0 the PSRs with flux F0.2 mJy and the SNRs
with surface brightness WmHzsr are
observable for all values of l and b. All the SNRs with
WmHzsr can be observed in the
interval 60l. We have examined samples of PSRs and SNRs to
estimate the birth rates of these objects in the region up to 3.2 kpc from the
Sun and also in the Galaxy. The birth rate of PSRs is about one in 200 years
and the birth rate of SNRs is about one in 65 years in our galaxy.Comment: revised versio
Improved flux limits for neutrinos with energies above 10 eV from observations with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope
Particle cascades initiated by ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrinos in the lunar
regolith will emit an electromagnetic pulse with a time duration of the order
of nano seconds through a process known as the Askaryan effect. It has been
shown that in an observing window around 150 MHz there is a maximum chance for
detecting this radiation with radio telescopes commonly used in astronomy. In
50 hours of observation time with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope
array we have set a new limit on the flux of neutrinos, summed over all
flavors, with energies in excess of eV.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Radio Spectra of Giant Radio Galaxies from RATAN-600 Data
Measurements of the flux densities of the extended components of seven giant
radio galaxies obtained using the RATAN-600 radio telescope at wavelengths of
6.25 and 13 cm ar e presented. The spectra of components of these radio
galaxies are constructed using these new RA TAN-600 data together with data
from the WENSS, NVSS, and GB6 surveys. The spectral indices in the stu died
frequency range are calculated, and the need for detailed estimates of the
integrated contributi on of such objects to the background emission is
demonstrated.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 5 table
HST/NICMOS Imaging of Disks and Envelopes Around Very Young Stars
We present HST/NICMOS observations with 0.1" (15 AU) resolution of six young
stellar objects in the Taurus star-formation region. The targets of our survey
are three Class I IRAS sources (IRAS 04016+2610, IRAS 04248+2612, and IRAS
04302+2247) and three low-luminosity stars (DG Tau B, Haro 6-5B, and CoKu
Tau/1) associated with Herbig Haro jets. The broad-band images show that the
near-infrared radiation from these sources is dominated by light scattered from
dusty circumstellar material distributed in a region 10 - 15 times the size of
our solar system. Although the detailed morphologies of the individual objects
are unique, the observed young stellar objects share common features. All of
the circumstellar reflection nebulae are crossed by dark lanes from 500 - 900
AU in extent and from less than 50 to 350 AU in apparent thickness. The
absorption lanes extend perpendicular to known optical and millimeter outflows
in these sources. We interpret the dark lanes as optically thick circumstellar
disks seen in silhouette against bright reflection nebulosity. The bipolar
reflection nebulae extending perpendicular to the dust lanes appear to be
produced by scattering from the upper and lower surfaces of the disks and from
dusty material within or on the walls of the outflow cavities. Out of five
objects in which the central source is directly detected, two are found to be
subarcsecond binaries. This mini-survey is the highest resolution near-infrared
study to date of circumstellar environments around solar-type stars with age <=
1 Myr.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures; also available at
http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/brandner/topics/disks/disks.html ;
accepted for publication in AJ (March 1999 issue
The Discovery of an Anomalous X-ray Pulsar in the Supernova Remnant Kes 73
We report the discovery of pulsed X-ray emission from the compact source 1E
1841-045, using data obtained with the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and
Astrophysics. The X-ray source is located in the center of the small-diameter
supernova remnant (SNR) Kes 73 and is very likely to be the compact
stellar-remnant of the supernova which formed Kes 73. The X-rays are pulsed
with a period of ~ 11.8 s, and a sinusoidal modulation of roughly 30 %. We
interpret this modulation to be the rotation period of an embedded neutron
star, and as such would be the longest spin period for an isolated neutron star
to-date. This is especially remarkable since the surrounding SNR is very young,
at ~ 2000 yr old. We suggest that the observed characteristics of this object
are best understood within the framework of a neutron star with an enormous
dipolar magnetic field, B ~ 8x10^14 G
Mechanism of Iron-Catalyzed Oxidative α-Amination of Ketones with Sulfonamides
We report the mechanism of the iron-catalyzed oxidative α-amination of ketones with sulfonamides. Using linear free energy relationships, competition experiments, and identification of reaction intermediates, we have found that the mechanism of this reaction proceeds through rate-limiting electron transfer to 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) from an iron enolate in the process of forming an α-DDQ adduct. The adduct then serves as the electrophile for substitution with sulfonamide nucleophiles, accelerated by iron and additional DDQ. This mechanistic study rules out formation of an α-carbocation intermediate and purely radical mechanistic hypotheses
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