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To investigate the influence of sulfonated polysulfone (sPSU) in membrane–electrode assemblies (MEAs), sPSU-based gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) and sPSU membranes were studied both as complete MEAs and as separate components in assembled MEAs at 60–120°C. The complete sPSU MEAs showed mass-transport limitations, irrespective of ion exchange capacity, compared to Nafion MEAs. Cyclic voltammetry a
We present a batch method for recovering Euclidian camera motion from sparse image data. The main purpose of the algorithm is to recover the motion parameters using as much of the available information and as few computational steps as possible. The algorithm thus places itself in the gap between factorisation schemes, which make use of all available information in the initial recovery step, and s
Tantalum spectra, emitted from a hollow cathode, have been recorded with a Fourier transform spectrometer in the region 2000–5000 Ů The observed hyperfine patterns of Ta II have been analyzed, yielding center-of-gravity wavelengths for 199 lines and hyperfine constants for 38 even and 97 odd levels of Ta II. Improved energy level values have been derived. The laboratory data have been used for a s
Muramic acid (Mur) is found in bacterial peptidoglycan ( PG) whereas 3-hydroxy fatty acids (3-OH FAs) are found in Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Thus Mur and 3-OH FAs serve as markers to assess bacterial levels in indoor air. An initial survey, in a school, demonstrated that the levels of dust, PG and LPS (pmol m(-3)) were each much higher in occupied rooms than in the same roo
OBJECTIVE: To develop an algorithm to detect the edges between lung tissue, perivascular interstitium, and microvessel using digital processing of in vivo microscopic images of lung surface. METHODS: A numerical technique was developed to identify three different regions (namely, pulmonary microvessel, perivascular interstitium, and lung tissue) based on their corresponding gray level distribution
Gaboxadol (THIP; 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-c]pyridin-3-ol) is an agonist at GABA(A) receptors. THIP concentrations (0.01-50 mM) were applied rapidly to Sf9 cells expressing the human alpha(1)beta(2)gamma(2S) GABA(A) receptors. The EC50 values for the peak current in THIP alone or THIP plus 1 muM diazepam were 154 and 53 muM, respectively. In supersaturating THIP (10-50 mM) the rate of curren
Objectives This study evaluated the role of pre-procedural clinical variables to predict procedural and clinical outcomes of catheter ablation in patients with long-lasting persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Background Catheter ablation of persistent AF remains a challenging task. Methods Catheter ablation was performed in 90 patients (76 men, age 57 +/- 11 years) with long-lasting persistent AF
Objectives This study examined the degree to which long workhours in combination with an extended workweek (12 hours/7 days) with permanent day shifts (0700-1900), as requested by the workers, influenced biomarkers for stress, metabolic processes, and diurnal rhythm. Methods Construction workers (N=50) working 84 hours a week, with alternate weeks off, were compared with construction workers (N=25
Pathogenic bacteria have developed complex and diverse virulence mechanisms that weaken or disable the host immune defense system. IdeS (IgG-degrading enzyme of Streptococcus pyogenes) is a secreted cysteine endopeptidase from the human pathogen S. pyogenes with an extraordinarily high degree of substrate specificity, catalyzing a single proteolytic cleavage at the lower hinge of human IgG. This p
The Drosophila melanogaster deoxyribonucleoside kinase (Dm-dNK) double mutant N45D/N64D was identified during a previous directed evolution study. This mutant enzyme had a decreased activity towards the natural substrates and decreased feedback inhibition with dTTP, whereas the activity with 3'-modified nucleoside analogs like 3'-azidothymidine (AZT) was nearly unchanged. Here, we identify the mut
Bilayer-forming lipids were shown to be ineffective in sustaining the enzymatic activity of violaxanthin de-epoxidase. On the other hand, non-bilayer-forming lipids, regard-less of their different chemical character, ensured high activity of violaxanthin de-epoxidase, resulting in conversion of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin. Our data indicates that the presence of lipids forming reversed hexagonal st
Background: Increased fucosylation of serum,glycoproteins has previously been reported in patients with liver disease. We analyzed alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP) fucosylation in serum samples from patients investigated for suspected liver disease to evaluate its value as a biochemical marker for liver cirrhosis. Methods: We used a novel lectin immunoassay adapted to the AutoDELFIA system to anal
New therapies, based on gene transfer and protein delivery, require a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of macromolecular membrane transport. We have studied cellular uptake of macromolecular polyanions, i.e. DNA and glycosaminoglycans, and a polybasic HIV-Tat derived peptide (GRKKRRQRRRPPQC), using fluorescence assisted cell sorting and confocal fluorescence microscopy. The Tat peptide
The influence of transverse relaxation on the resonance soliton (2 pi hyperbolic-secant pulse) in solids is considered. It is shown that memory effects can be considered in terms of generalized non-Markovian optical Bloch equations. The equations of self-induced transparency with a memory function are presented. Explicit forms for the first-order effects of this relaxation on the frequency shift a
We report the first measurements of z -dependent coherent optical transition radiation (COTR) due to electron-beam microbunching at high gains (>10(4) ) including saturation of a self-amplified spontaneous emission free-electron laser (FEL). In these experiments the fundamental wavelength was near 530 nm, and the COTR spectra exhibit the transition from simple spectra to complex spectra (5% spectr
ObjectiveTo investigate if caesarean section (CS) increases the risk for childhood asthma and gastroenteritis with reference made to children born with vaginal delivery (VD). MethodsRetrospective study of data from linked Swedish medical service registers - Medical Birth Registry (MBR) and Hospital Discharge Registry (HDR). Data were obtained from women without any background/perinatal morbidity
This chapter presents a case study from a global company developing a new generation of programmable controllers to replace several existing products. The system needs to incorporate support for a large number of I/O systems, network types, and communication protocols. To leverage its global development resources and the competency of different development centers, the company decided to adopt a c
