The development of a natural plankton population in an outdoor tank with nutrient-poor sea water. II. Changes in dissolved carbohydrates and amino acids

terrelations between plankton communities and dissolved carbohydrates and amino acids were investigated under near-natural conditions in sea water enclosed in plastic tanks. In summer 1972 the development of a natural plankton population was followed in a 3-m3 plastic tank for 28 d. In the course of this experiment, concentrations of dissolved neutral carbohydrates and free amino acids were determined. Results are in the range of published data for the open sea with respect to concentrations (0.2-2.5 pnoles dm-3 total sugar; 0.2-3.1 pnoles dm3 total amino acids) and qualitative composition. A plankton succession was observed during the experiment; this was accompanied by distinct alterations in the concentrations of dissolved amino acids and carbohydrates. Glucose and lysine occurred in highest concentrations. Maximum rate of increase was 29 nmoles dm3 h-' for glucose, and 25 nmoles dm3 h-' for lysine. The rates of decrease are in the same range as bacterial uptake rates determined by various authors employing tracer methods. Numerous positive, highly significant correlations suggest heteropoly- saccharides as one source of individual carbohydrates. Relations between certain species within the plankton succession and occurrence of dissolved organic substances were observed. Significant positive correlations existed between glucose and diatoms as well as between glucose, galactose, mannose, arabinose and ribose and phytoplankton biomass. There were also several significant positive correlations of amino acids, especially of valine, leucine and isoleucine with other biological parameters

Explicit lower and upper bounds on the entangled value of multiplayer XOR games

XOR games are the simplest model in which the nonlocal properties of entanglement manifest themselves. When there are two players, it is well known that the bias --- the maximum advantage over random play --- of entangled players can be at most a constant times greater than that of classical players. Recently, P\'{e}rez-Garc\'{i}a et al. [Comm. Math. Phys. 279 (2), 2008] showed that no such bound holds when there are three or more players: the advantage of entangled players over classical players can become unbounded, and scale with the number of questions in the game. Their proof relies on non-trivial results from operator space theory, and gives a non-explicit existence proof, leading to a game with a very large number of questions and only a loose control over the local dimension of the players' shared entanglement. We give a new, simple and explicit (though still probabilistic) construction of a family of three-player XOR games which achieve a large quantum-classical gap (QC-gap). This QC-gap is exponentially larger than the one given by P\'{e}rez-Garc\'{i}a et. al. in terms of the size of the game, achieving a QC-gap of order $\sqrt{N}$ with $N^2$ questions per player. In terms of the dimension of the entangled state required, we achieve the same (optimal) QC-gap of $\sqrt{N}$ for a state of local dimension $N$ per player. Moreover, the optimal entangled strategy is very simple, involving observables defined by tensor products of the Pauli matrices. Additionally, we give the first upper bound on the maximal QC-gap in terms of the number of questions per player, showing that our construction is only quadratically off in that respect. Our results rely on probabilistic estimates on the norm of random matrices and higher-order tensors which may be of independent interest.Comment: Major improvements in presentation; results identica

Gray and white matter astrocytes differ in basal metabolism but respond similarly to neuronal activity

Astrocytes are a heterogeneous population of glial cells in the brain, which adapt their properties to the requirements of the local environment. Two major groups of astrocytes are protoplasmic astrocytes residing in gray matter as well as fibrous astrocytes of white matter. Here, we compared the energy metabolism of astrocytes in the cortex and corpus callosum as representative gray matter and white matter regions, in acute brain slices taking advantage of genetically encoded fluorescent nanosensors for the NADH/NAD+ redox ratio and for ATP. Astrocytes of the corpus callosum presented a more reduced basal NADH/NAD+ redox ratio, and a lower cytosolic concentration of ATP compared to cortical astrocytes. In cortical astrocytes, the neurotransmitter glutamate and increased extracellular concentrations of K+, typical correlates of neuronal activity, induced a more reduced NADH/NAD+ redox ratio. While application of glutamate decreased [ATP], K+ as well as the combination of glutamate and K+ resulted in an increase of ATP levels. Strikingly, a very similar regulation of metabolism by K+ and glutamate was observed in astrocytes in the corpus callosum. Finally, strong intrinsic neuronal activity provoked by application of bicuculline and withdrawal of Mg2+ caused a shift of the NADH/NAD+ redox ratio to a more reduced state as well as a slight reduction of [ATP] in gray and white matter astrocytes. In summary, the metabolism of astrocytes in cortex and corpus callosum shows distinct basal properties, but qualitatively similar responses to neuronal activity, probably reflecting the different environment and requirements of these brain regions

Особенности и закономерности изменения восстановлености углей башкирского яруса Западного Донбасса

В статье приведена детальная петрографическая характеристика углей башкирского яруса Западного Донбасса. Проведена классификация по восстановлености в соответствии с петрографическими типами. Установлены стратиграфические и площадные закономерности изменения степени восстановлености.У статті наведена детальна петрографічна характеристика вугілля башкирського ярусу Західного Донбасу. Проведена класифікація відновленості, згідно з петрографічними типами. Встановлені стратиграфічні та просторові закономірності зміни ступеню відновленості.The article gives detailed petrographic characteristics of coal of Bashkirian formation of Western Donbas. The classifications for recovery in accordance with petrographic types are given. The stratigraphic and areal patterns of change in the degree of recovery are established

Совершенствование технологий обработки призабойной зоны нефтедобывающих скважин на нефтяном месторождении "Белый Тигр" (Вьетнам)

Объектом исследования являются методы интенсификации притока на нефтяном месторождении "Белый Тигр", расположенном в Кыулонгской впадине на шельфе Вьетнама. Цель работы – рассматривание основных методов воздействия на призабойную зону скважины и анализ технологии и техники обработки призабойной зоны скважин на конкретной скважине месторождения "Белый Тигр". Область применения: месторождения с трудноизвлекаемыми запасами нефти и низкопроницаемыми коллекторами. Экономическая эффективность значимость работы: интенсификация притока продукции на разрабатываемых месторождениях методом обработки ПЗП нефтекислотной эмульсией является экономически выгодным.The object of the study are methods of intensifying the inflow of the "White Tiger" oil field, located in the Kyulong depression on the Vietnamese shelf. The aim of the work is to examine the main methods of impact on the bottomhole well zone and to analyze the technology and techniques for treating the bottomhole well zone at a particular well of the White Tiger field. Field of application: deposits with hard-to-recover oil reserves and low-permeability reservoirs Economic significance of the work: intensification of the inflow of products at the developed fields by the method of processing PZP with an oil-acid emulsion is economically profitable

Different tissue reaction of oesophagus and diaphragm after mesh hiatoplasty. Results of an animal study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Laparoscopic mesh-reinforcement of the hiatal region in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and paraesophageal hernia (PEH) reduces the risk of recurrence. However, there are still controversies about the technique of mesh placement, shape, structure and material. We therefore compared tissue integration and scar formation after implantation of two different polypropylene-meshes in a rabbit model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 20 female chinchilla rabbits were included in this study. Two different meshes (Polypropylene PP, Polyglecaprone 25 Composite PP-PG) were implanted on the abdominal diaphragm around the oesophagus. After 3 months the implanted meshes were excised en-bloc. Histological and morphological analyses were carried out accordingly proliferation rate, apoptosis and collagen type I/III ratio.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Regarding proliferation rate of oesophagus PP (9.31 ± 3.4%) and PP-PG (13.26 ± 2.54%) differ in a significant (p = 0.0097) way. In the diaphragm we found a significant (p = 0.00066) difference between PP (9.43 ± 1.45%) and PP-PG (18.73 ± 5.92%) respectively. Comparing oesophagus and diaphragm we could prove a significant difference within PP-PG-group (p = 0.0195). Within PP-group the difference reached no statistical significance (p = 0.88). We found analogous results regarding apoptosis.</p> <p>Furthermore, there is a significant (p = 0.00013) difference of collagen type I/III ratio in PP-PG (12.28 ± 0.8) compared to PP (8.44 ± 1,63) in case of oesophageal tissue. Concerning diaphragm we found a significant difference (p = 0.000099) between PP-PG (8.85 ± 0.81) and PP (6.32 ± 1.07) as well.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The histologic and morphologic characteristics after prosthetic enforcement of the hiatus in this animal model show a more distinct tissue integration using PP-PG compared to PP. Additionally, different wound healing and remodelling capability influence tissue integration of the mesh in diaphragm and oesophagus.</p

Efficient Synthesis of Novel Plasticizers by Direct Palladium-Catalyzed Di- or Multi-carbonylations

Diesters are of fundamental importance in the chemical industry and are used for many applications, e.g. as plasticizers, surfactants, emulsifiers, and lubricants. Herein, we present a straightforward and efficient method for the selective synthesis of diesters via palladium-catalyzed direct carbonylation of di- or polyols with readily available alkenes. Key-to-success is the use of a specific palladium catalyst with the “built-in-base” ligand L16 providing esterification of all alcohols and a high n/iso ratio. The synthesized diesters were evaluated as potential plasticizers in PVC films by measuring the glass transition temperature (Tg) via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

Gentamicin supplemented polyvinylidenfluoride mesh materials enhance tissue integration due to a transcriptionally reduced MMP-2 protein expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A beneficial effect of gentamicin supplemented mesh material on tissue integration is known. To further elucidate the interaction of collagen and MMP-2 in chronic foreign body reaction and to determine the significance of the MMP-2-specific regulatory element (RE-1) that is known to mediate 80% of the MMP-2 promoter activity, the spatial and temporal transcriptional regulation of the MMP-2 gene was analyzed at the cellular level.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A PVDF mesh material was surface modified by plasma-induced graft polymerization of acrylic acid (PVDF+PAAc). Three different gentamicin concentrations were bound to the provided active sites of the grafted mesh surfaces (2, 5 and 8 μg/mg). 75 male transgenic MMP-2/LacZ mice harbouring the LacZ reporter gene under control of MMP-2 regulatory sequence -1241/+423, excluding the RE-1 were randomized to five groups. Bilateral of the abdominal midline one of the five different meshes was implanted subcutaneously in each animal. MMP-2 gene transcription (anti-ß-galactosidase staining) and MMP-2 protein expression (anti-MMP-2 staining) were analyzed semiquantitatively by immunohistochemistry 7, 21 and 90 days after mesh implantation. The collagen type I/III ratio was analyzed by cross polarization microscopy to determine the quality of mesh integration.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The perifilamentary ß-galactosidase expression as well as the collagen type I/III ratio increased up to the 90^thday for all mesh modifications, whereas no significant changes could be observed for MMP-2 protein expression between days 21 and 90. Both the 5 and 8 μg/mg gentamicin group showed significantly reduced levels of ß-galactosidase expression and MMP-2 positive stained cells when compared to the PVDF group on day 7, 21 and 90 respectively (5 μg/mg: p < 0.05 each; 8 μg/mg: p < 0.05 each). Though the type I/III collagen ratio increased over time for all mesh modifications significant differences to the PVDF mesh were only detected for the 8 μg/mg group at all 3 time points (p < 0.05 each).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our current data indicate that lack of RE-1 is correlated with increased mesh induced MMP-2-gene expression for coated as well as for non-coated mesh materials. Gentamicin coating reduced MMP-2 transcription and protein expression. For the 8 μg/mg group this effect is associated with an increased type I/III collagen ratio. These findings suggest that gentamicin is beneficial for tissue integration after mesh implantation, which possibly is mediated via RE-1.</p