Macroscopic collectivity on microscopic base in living systems

The collective phenomena in living systems is discussed on the dynamic frustration basis. The frustrated connection is introduced on all the organising levels of the living phenomenon: · for water states (proton migration), · for proteins and protein-structures (metabolic charge transfer), · for cells (membrane states and ordering), · for tissues (social signals), · for organs and organism (overall transport problems). It is shown, that the cancer-genesis is tightly connected with the failure of the collectivity in the system. The relevant mechanisms of the collectivity is analised in details for the better understanding the malignant tumor development

Evaluation of laminated structures for sports mouthguards

Most of the past studies have concentrated on the properties of mouthguard materials rather than their ability to protect the underlying substructure. Previous work has indicated that the incorporation of a shook absorbing layer into the sports mouthguard reduces the likelihood of injury to the head, neck and oral cavity of the wearer, The purpose of this study is to develop an optimum laminated structure that protects an easily deformable structure during an impact. Dropweight impact tests were conducted on a series of moulded samples which were circularly clamped and force-time and displacement-time plots obtained, Single thickness specimens of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), 1-5mm thick were compared with laminated structures of EVA, incorporating 1mm thick layers of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and a silicone or synthetic rubber up to a thickness of 5mm. It was observed that the multi-layered structures exhibited less deformation thereby transmitting less of the harmful effects through the laminate. It was concluded that laminated systems for mouthguards using different materials appear to offer better protection to the wearer

Elucidation of in Vitro Chlorinated Tyrosine Adducts in Blood Plasma as Selective Biomarkers of Chlorine Exposure

[Image: see text] Chlorine is a widely available industrial chemical and involved in a substantial number of cases of poisoning. It has also been used as a chemical warfare agent in military conflicts. To enable forensic verification, the persistent biomarkers 3-chlorotyrosine and 3,5-dichlorotyrosine in biomedical samples could be detected. An important shortfall of these biomarkers, however, is the relatively high incidence of elevated levels of chlorinated tyrosine residues in individuals with inflammatory diseases who have not been exposed to chlorine. Therefore, more reliable biomarkers are necessary to distinguish between endogenous formation and exogeneous exposure. The present study aims to develop a novel diagnostic tool for identifying site-specific chlorinated peptides as a more unambiguous indicator of exogeneous chlorine exposure. Human blood plasma was exposed in vitro to various chlorine concentrations, and the plasma proteins were subsequently digested by pronase, trypsin, or pepsin. After sample preparation, the digests were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS/MS). In line with other studies, low levels of 3-chlorotyrosine and 3,5-dichlorotyrosine were found in blank plasma samples in this study. Therefore, 50 site-specific biomarkers were identified, which could be used as more unambiguous biomarkers for chlorine exposure. Chlorination of the peptides TY*ETTLEK, Y*KPGQTVK, Y*QQKPGQAPR, HY*EGSTVPEK, and Y*LY*EIAR could already be detected at moderate in vitro chlorine exposure levels. In addition, the latter two peptides were found to have dichlorinated fragments. Especially, Y*LY*EIAR, with a distinct chlorination pattern in the MS spectra, could potentially be used to differentiate exogeneous exposure from endogenous causes as other studies reported that this part of human serum albumin is nitrated rather than chlorinated under physiological conditions. In conclusion, trypsin digestion combined with high-resolution MS analysis of chlorinated peptides could constitute a valuable technique for the forensic verification of exposure to chlorine

Emission Lines in the Spectrum of the 3He Star 3 Cen A

Emission in the 4d - 4f transitions of MnII (multiplet 13, 6122-6132 Ang), in the 4f - 6g transitions of PII, and in 6149.5 Ang of HgII has been detected in the spectrum of the helium weak star 3 Centauri A (B5 III-IVp). Weaker emission from the same MnII multiplet is also seen in the hot, mild HgMn star 46 Aquila (B9 III).It is suggested that the emission is of photospheric origin and may be evidence for the stratification of manganese, phosphorus and mercury in the photosphere of 3 CenA, and of manganese in 46Aql.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Energiebesparing en teeltduurverkorting bij Spathiphyllum : fase 2

Team Onderzoek van DLV Plant en WUR Glastuinbouw hebben in samenwerking met de landelijke commissie Spathiphyllum van LTO Groeiser vice een onderzoek uitgevoerd met als doel inzicht te krijgen in de mogelijkheden om met 25 m3 gas Spathiphyllum te telen zonder kwaliteitsverlies en een teeltduurverkorting van 20% te behalen

Radiative transfer in moving media II. Solution of the radiative transfer equation in axial symmetry

A new method for the formal solution of the 2D radiative transfer equation in axial symmetry in the presence of arbitrary velocity fields is presented. The combination of long and short characteristics methods is used to solve the radiative transfer equation. We include the velocity field in detail using the Local Lorentz Transformation. This allows us to obtain a significantly better description of the photospheric region, where the gradient of the global velocity is too small for the Sobolev approximation to be valid. Sample test calculations for the case of a stellar wind and a rotating atmosphere are presented.Comment: 11 pages, 19 figures. accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic

Isolation and partial characterization of two porcine spleen ferritin fractions with different electrophoretic mobility

Ferritin isolated from porcine spleen could routinely be separated in two fractions on nondenaturating gradient gels. Both fractions could be isolated with a purity of 96% when applied to two serially linked columns, each 200 cm in length, packed respectively with Sepharose 4B and Sepharose 6B. Both fractions were similar as judged by electron microscopy. Assessed biochemically fractions were equal with respect to subunit composition, iron and phosphorus content, as well as amino acid composition (with the exception of N-acetylglucosamine). Carbohydrate analysis showed that the fraction with an apparent mass of 440 kDa (=FFL) contained 1.8% (w/w) glycans, whereas the fraction with an apparent mass of 670 kDa (=FFH) contained nearly five times as much (neutral) sugar residues (8.9%, w/w) and 10 times as much sialic acid. This difference in amount of carbohydrate side chains might explain the dissimilarity in electrophoretic mobility of the two fractions