VRLA Ultrabattery for high-rate partial-state-of-charge operation

The objective of this study is to produce and test the hybrid valve-regulated Ultrabattery designed specifically for hybrid-electric vehicle duty, i.e., high-rate partial-state-of-charge operation. The Ultrabattery developed by CSIRO Energy Technology is a hybrid energy-storage device, which combines an asymmetric supercapacitor, and a lead-acid battery in one unit cells, taking the best from both technologies without the need for extra, expensive electronic controls. The capacitor will enhance the power and lifespan of the lead-acid battery as it acts as a buffer during high-rate discharging and charging. Consequently, this hybrid technology is able to provide and absorb charge rapidly during vehicle acceleration and braking. The work programme of this study is divided into two main parts, namely, field trial of prototype Ultrabatteries in a Honda Insight HEV and laboratory tests of prototype batteries. In this paper, the performance of prototype Ultrabatteries under different laboratory tests is reported.     

Analyzing the effect of the phase-jitter in the operation of second order phase-locked loops

Phase-locked loops (PLLs) are designed to extract timing signals in telecommunication networks. Noise, cross-talk, inter-symbol interference, quantization noise, and signal distortion are responsible for oscillations in the time between two successive transitions of the clock or data signal. It appears as an accidental phase modulation superposed to the original signal. This phenomenon is called timing jitter and affects the integrity of the data recovering process and, as a consequence, the error bit rate is increased. This problem has been studied by treating the jitter as a band limited noise process and tolerance masks for the jitter amplitude and frequency are recommended for several network architectures. Here, we develop a simple model with the continuous phase deviations of the clock signals considered as periodic signals in the band of the real disturbances. Comparisons with the stochastic approach are presented.     

Consequences of radiation effects on pure-silica-core optical fibers used for Raman-scattering-based temperature measurements

Two types of pure-silica-core fibers (one low-OH, Al-jacketed, one medium-OH, polyimide jacketed) suitable for use as sensing fibers for Raman-scattering-based temperature measurements in nuclear environments have been subjected to gamma and fission reactor irradiation tests. Spectral attenuation measurements were performed between 500 and 1500 nm with samples kept at room temperature, 80 and 300/spl deg/C. The Al-jacketed fiber was developed for use under ionizing radiation and showed lower loss compared with the polyimide-jacketed fiber at room temperature under gamma irradiation. Both fiber types showed similar spectra at room temperature with the main part of the loss originating from a band tail extending from the ultraviolet. Thermal bleaching of the radiation-induced defects was found to be effective in both fiber types. At 80/spl deg/C the loss in both fibers was compounded of a band at 625 nm together with the band tail from the ultraviolet, which now had a strength several times lower compared with room-temperature irradiations. At 300/spl deg/C, both fibers exhibited similar low-loss spectra, except for the band at 625 nm which reached levels of approximately /spl sim/2000 dB/km at an accumulated dose of 2.8/spl times/10/sup 4/ Gy(SiO/sub 2/). In light of the experimental spectral findings, selection of suitable Raman-distributed temperature sensors for nuclear plants can be made.     

Wnt signaling from the dorsal neural tube is required for the formation of the medial dermomyotome

Signals originating from tissues surrounding somites are involved in mediolateral and dorsoventral patterning of somites and in the differentiation of the myotome. Wnt-1 and Wnt-3a, which encode members of the Wnt family of cystein-rich secreted signaling molecules, are coexpressed at the dorsal midline of the developing neural tube, an area adjacent to the dorsomedial portion of the somite. Several lines of evidence indicate that Wnt-1 and Wnt-3a have the ability to induce the development of the medial and dorsal portion of somites, as well as to induce myogenesis. To address whether these Wnt signalings are really essential for the development of somites during normal embryogenesis, we investigated the development of somites in mouse embryos lacking both Wnt-1 and Wnt-3a. Here we demonstrate that the medial compartment of the dermomyotome is not formed and the expression of a lateral dermomyotome marker gene, Sim-1, is expanded more medially in the absence of these Wnt signalings. In addition, the expression of a myogenic gene, Myf-5, is decreased at 9.5 days post coitum whereas the level of expression of a number of myogenic genes in the later stage appeared normal. These results indicate that Wnt-1 and Wnt-3a signalings actually regulate the formation of the medial compartment of the dermomyotome and the early part of myogenesis.     

The role of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography during ventricular septation

PURPOSE: To determine whether teaching medical students has concurrent economic effects on physicians and their practices. METHOD: The authors reviewed 869 patient-encounter forms completed in April 1994 and July 1995 by four family medicine physicians who were clinical faculty at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse. The authors compared those forms that were completed when a third-year medical student was present for the patient encounter with those completed when a student was not present. The authors looked for differences in the distributions of billing codes and in the frequencies of in-office procedures performed and diagnostic tests ordered. RESULTS: The presence or absence of a third-year medical student had no significant effect on the variables studied. CONCLUSION: In the clinical settings studied, concurrent medical student teaching did not appear to affect the distribution of billing codes or the frequency of in-office procedures performed or diagnostic tests ordered.     

Diagnostic cytology for detection of early cancer

Cytologic methods for detection of early cancers of the uterine cervix, lung and various other organs are discussed. The scraping smear method using a spatula is more effective than the cotton swab or vaginal pool smear method for detection of preinvasive intraepithelial lesions, such as, carcinoma in situ and dysplasias of various degrees of the uterine cervix. The use of sputum specimens pooled for three to five days is recommended for cytologic examination in population screening of lung cancer. Good cytopreparatory techniques, suitable screening and cytodiagnostic classifications of malignancy are also described and emphasized, especially, the importance of properly fixed cytologic material for correct cytopathological diagnosis.     

Epstein-Barr virus contributes to the malignant phenotype and to apoptosis resistance in Burkitt's lymphoma cell line Akata

In the present study, we established an in vitro system representing the Burkitt's lymphoma (BL)-type Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection which is characterized by expression of EBV-determined nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) and absence of EBNA-2 and latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) expression. EBV-negative cell clones isolated from the EBV-positive BL line Akata were infected with an EBV recombinant carrying a selectable marker, and the following selection culture easily yielded EBV-infected clones. EBV-reinfected clones showed BL-type EBV expression and restored the capacity for growth on soft agar and tumorigenicity in SCID mice that were originally retained in parental EBV-positive Akata cells and lost in EBV-negative subclones. Moreover, it was found that EBV-positive cells were more resistant to apoptosis than were EBV-negative cells. EBV-infected cells expressed the bcl-2 protein, through which cells might become resistant to apoptosis, at a higher level than did uninfected cells. This is the first report that BL-type EBV infection confers apoptosis resistance even in the absence of expression of LMP1 and BHRF1, both of which are known to have an antiapoptotic function. Surprisingly, transfection of the EBNA-1 gene into EBV-negative Akata clones could not restore malignant phenotypes and apoptosis resistance, thus suggesting that EBNA-1 alone was not sufficient for conferring them. Our results suggest that the persistence of EBV in BL cells is required for the cells to be more malignant and apoptosis resistant, which underlines the oncogenic role of EBV in BL genesis.     

Clonidine reduces dopamine and increases GABA in the nucleus accumbens: an in vivo microdialysis study

The spectrum of infectious disease (ID) emergencies in hospitalized patients was assessed in a prospective study of 3,626 inpatient ID consultations in a 1,350-bed teaching hospital. ID emergencies, defined by a need or anticipated need for advanced life support or by irreversible organ damage leading to permanent functional loss, were encountered in 175 patients. Infections of the central nervous system (26.3%), cardiovascular system (14.9%), alimentary system (13.1%), and lower respiratory tract (7.4%) and adverse reactions to antimicrobial agents (7.4%) were most common. In 18.9% of the cases, the referring clinicians were unaware of the emergency at the time of referral. Drug reactions (46.1%), severe alimentary and peritoneal infections (32.0%), upper respiratory tract infections (28.6%), and skin and soft-tissue infections (27.3%) were most frequently missed. The emergency ID conditions were not recognized because they had an atypical presentation (51.5%), were not commonly seen in the referring specialty (24.2%), were due to rare organisms (15.2%), or had unusual anatomical sites of involvement (9.1%). A close liaison between clinicians and the ID team is crucial for recognition of ID emergencies at their early stages so that appropriate investigations and management can be instituted expediently, before the occurrence of irreversible damage.     

Anti-atherosclerotic effect of E5324, an inhibitor of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase, in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits

E5324, n-butyl-N'-[2-[3-(5-ethyl-4-phenyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)propoxy]-6- methylphenyl]urea, a novel and potent inhibitor of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT), was evaluated for its anti-atherosclerotic and lipid-lowering effects in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits. At 3 months of age, 40 male WHHL rabbits were divided into 4 groups. The rabbits were fed a standard rabbit chow (control group), or standard rabbit chow containing E5324 (0.1% or 0.02%) or 1% probucol for 16 weeks. Even the high dose of E5324 did not lower the plasma total cholesterol levels throughout the experiment. Probucol slightly reduced the plasma cholesterol levels, and showed anti-atherosclerotic activity, i.e., reductions of atherosclerotic plaque formation and cholesterol content in the aorta. Although E5324 did not lower plasma cholesterol, atherosclerotic plaque formation in the aortic arch and thoracic aorta was reduced (by about 34% and 41%, respectively, at the high dose; P < 0.05). Cholesterol content in the aortic arch and thoracic aorta was also reduced (by about 59% and 62% at the high dose, respectively) compared with the control. These results suggest that E5324 acts directly on the arterial wall through ACAT inhibition, and prevents the progression of atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits.