Drive system employing frictionless bearings including superconducting matter

A device employing frictionless bearings including a mass of superconductor material having a superconducting temperature Tc above about 77° K, magnet having an axis of symmetry being levitated from said mass of superconductor material so as to be rotatable about its axis of symmetry, and a support member attached to the magnet. The support member is driven so as to cause the magnet to rotate about its axis of symmetry. It also includes a frictionless commutator where a signal beam is intermittently interrupted by a member attached to the magnet, the support member being driven so as to cause the magnet to rotate about its axis of symmetry

Effect of Ar(3p\u3csup\u3e5\u3c/sup\u3e4p; 2p)+M -\u3e Ar(3p\u3csup\u3e5\u3c/sup\u3e4s; 1s)+M branching ratio on optically pumped rare gas laser performance

Optically pumped rare gas laser performance is analyzed as a function of the Ar(3p54p; 2p) + M → Ar(3p54s; 1s) + M branching ratios. Due to the uncertainty in the branching ratios, a sensitivity study is performed to determine the effect on output and absorbed pump laser intensities. The analysis is performed using a radio frequency dielectric barrier discharge as the source of metastable production for a variety of Argon in Helium mixtures over pressures ranging from 200 to 500 Torr. Peak output laser intensities show a factor of 7 increase as the branching ratio is increased from 0.25 to 1.00. The collection of Ar* in Ar(1s4) is inversely proportional to the branching ratio and decreases output laser intensity by reducing the density of species directly involved with lasing

Regulation of gene expression in ovarian cancer cells by luteinizing hormone receptor expression and activation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since a substantial percentage of ovarian cancers express gonadotropin receptors and are responsive to the relatively high concentrations of pituitary gonadotropins during the postmenopausal years, it has been suggested that receptor activation may contribute to the etiology and/or progression of the neoplasm. The goal of the present study was to develop a cell model to determine the impact of luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor (LHR) expression and LH-mediated LHR activation on gene expression and thus obtain insights into the mechanism of gonadotropin action on ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) carcinoma cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The human ovarian cancer cell line, SKOV-3, was stably transfected to express functional LHR and incubated with LH for various periods of time (0-20 hours). Transcriptomic profiling was performed on these cells to identify LHR expression/activation-dependent changes in gene expression levels and pathways by microarray and qRT-PCR analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Through comparative analysis on the LHR-transfected SKOV-3 cells exposed to LH, we observed the differential expression of 1,783 genes in response to LH treatment, among which five significant families were enriched, including those of growth factors, translation regulators, transporters, G-protein coupled receptors, and ligand-dependent nuclear receptors. The most highly induced early and intermediate responses were found to occupy a network impacting transcriptional regulation, cell growth, apoptosis, and multiple signaling transductions, giving indications of LH-induced apoptosis and cell growth inhibition through the significant changes in, for example, tumor necrosis factor, Jun and many others, supportive of the observed cell growth reduction in <it>in vitro </it>assays. However, other observations, e.g. the substantial up-regulation of the genes encoding the endothelin-1 subtype A receptor, stromal cell-derived factor 1, and insulin-like growth factor II, all of which are potential therapeutic targets, may reflect a positive mediation of ovarian cancer growth.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, the present study elucidates the extensive transcriptomic changes of ovarian cancer cells in response to LH receptor activation, which provides a comprehensive and objective assessment for determining new cancer therapies and potential serum markers, of which over 100 are suggested.</p