Stochastic relaxed inertial forward-backward-forward splitting for monotone inclusions in Hilbert spaces

Computational Optimization and Applications - We develop a globalized Proximal Newton method for composite and possibly non-convex minimization problems in Hilbert spaces. Additionally, we impose...     

On Necessary Optimality Conditions with Higher-Order Complementarity Slackness for Set-Valued Optimization Problems

Set-Valued and Variational Analysis - We aim to establish Karush-Kuhn-Tucker multiplier rules involving higher-order complementarity slackness under Hölder metric subregularity. These rules...     

Investigation of the Effect of Artificial Internal Defects on the Tensile Behavior of Laser Powder Bed Fusion 17–4 Stainless Steel Samples: Simultaneous Tensile Testing and X-Ray Computed Tomography

Experimental Mechanics - Insufficient data are available to fully understand the effects of metal additive manufacturing (AM) defects for widespread adoption of the emerging technology....     

Electrical and magnetic properties of CoFeAlO thin films

Influences of oxygen-partial pressure and annealing on the electrical and magnetic properties of CoFeAlO thin films were systematically investigated by means of resistivity, permeability, magnetization and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements. It was found that, with increasing oxygen-partial pressure or under annealing, the electrical resistivity of the film increased and the magnetic softness decreased, which is attributed to the microstructural change of the film. Interestingly, an as-deposited Co_45.30Fe_20.65Al_19.34O_14.71 film was found to exhibit an inverted hysteresis loop with negative coercivity, and this peculiar phenomenon disappeared upon effects of oxygen-partial pressure and annealing. It was also found that the as-deposited films owned a narrow FMR line width that increased with increasing oxygen-partial pressure or under annealing.     

High-frequency characteristics of CoFeVAlONb thin films

High-frequency characteristics of CoFeVAlONb thin films were studied. A thin film of Co_43.47Fe_35.30V_1.54Al_5.55O_9.93Nb_4.21 is observed to exhibit excellent magnetic properties; magnetic coercivity of 1.24 Oe, uniaxial in-plane anisotropy field of 66.99 Oe, and saturation magnetization of 19.8 kG. The effective permeability of the film is as high as 1089 and is stable up to 1.8 GHz, and with ferromagnetic resonance over 3 GHz. This film also has very high electrical resistivity of about 628 μΩ cm. These superior properties make it ideal for high-frequency magnetic applications.     

The ALTO project at IPN-Orsay

The availability of both a tandem deuteron beam and a linac electron beam, the latter converted into Bremsstrahlung, at the new ALTO facility at IPN-Orsay offers a unique opportunity to compare the performance of a laser ion guide under different regimes. The ALTO accelerator has delivered its first electron beam at the end of 2005 and a design for a gas-cell prototype is being studied.     

New labdane-type diterpenoids from Leonurus heterophyllus SW

Five new natural labdane-type diterpenoids (5-9), designated leoheteronins A-E, together with four known diterpenoids (1-4), two phytosterols as a mixture of beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol, and the flavone genkwanin (10) were isolated from the aerial parts of Leonurus heterophyllus SW. (Lamiaceae) collected in northern Vietnam. Compound 1 was isolated for the first time from a Leonurus species, and 10 is considered to be a chemotaxonomic marker of the Leonurus genus. Their structures were determined using spectroscopic analyses.     

Determination of phosphate in hydroponic nutrient solutions using flow injection potentiometry and a cobalt-wire phosphate ion-selective electrode

The direct flow injection potentiometric (FIP) analysis of phosphate in hydroponic nutrient solution has been carried out using a cobalt-wire ion-selective electrode (ISE). Synthetic hydroponic nutrient solution, commercial hydroponic nutrient solution and working hydroponic farm nutrient solution were analysed for phosphate using the FIP technique. It is shown that FIP results compare favourably to standard methods of analysis such as spectrophotometry and indirect photometric ion-pair chromatography. Reproducible FIP response curves with a slope of −(47.57±0.03) mV per decade and intercept of −(169.7±0.1) mV were obtained for four separate calibrations in the concentration range 5.0×10⁻⁴–1.0×10⁻² M H₂PO₄⁻. Anion corrections for interferences by Cl⁻, NO₃⁻ and SO₄²⁻ were applied to all samples using the selectivity coefficients determined independently using a fixed interference method. Nevertheless, it was found that anion corrections were not necessary, as the deviations fell within the bounds of experimental error for the cobalt-wire ISE technique (i.e.±2–5% R.S.D.). The proposed FIP method enables the direct determination of phosphate in hydroponic nutrient solutions.     

Unprecedented hour-long residence time of a cation in a left-handed G-quadruplex

Cations are critical for the folding and assembly of nucleic acids. In G-quadruplex structures, cations can bind between stacked G-tetrads and coordinate with negatively charged guanine carbonyl oxygens. They usually exchange between binding sites and with the bulk in solution with time constants ranging from sub-millisecond to seconds. Here we report the first observation of extremely long-lived K⁺ and NH₄⁺ ions, with an exchange time constant on the order of an hour, when coordinated at the center of a left-handed G-quadruplex DNA. A single-base mutation, that switched one half of the structure from left- to right-handed conformation resulting in a right–left hybrid G-quadruplex, was shown to remove this long-lived behaviour of the central cation.

An extremely long-lived cation has been detected in left-handed G-quadruplexes.     

Decreased insulin binding to mononuclear leucocytes and erythrocytes from dogs after S-Nitroso-N-Acetypenicillamine administration

Background

Nitric oxide (NO) and oxygen free-radicals play an important part in the destruction of beta-cells in auto- immune diabetes although the precise mechanism of interaction is still not known. This study was designed to examine any possible diabetogenic effect of NO by investigating any differences in cellular binding of insulin to its receptor on the cell membranes of erythrocytes and mononuclear leucocytes of dogs treated with the NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) and controls treated with captopril.

Results

The result obtained showed decreased binding of insulin to its receptor on the cell membranes of erythrocytes and mononuclear leucocytes. Mononuclear leucocytes from SNAP-treated dogs had decreased ability to bind insulin (16.30 ± 1.24 %) when compared to mononuclear leucocytes from captopril-treated controls (20.30 ± 1.93 %). Similar results were obtained for erythrocytes from dogs treated with SNAP (27.20 ± 1.33 %) compared with dogs treated with captopril (34.70 ± 3.58 %). Scatchard analysis demonstrated that this decrease in insulin binding was accounted for by a decrease in insulin receptor sites per cell, with mononuclear leucocytes of SNAP-treated dogs having 55 % less insulin receptor sites per cell compared with those of captopril-treated controls (P < 0.05). Average affinity and kinetic analysis revealed a 35 % decrease in the average receptor affinity, with mononuclear leucocytes from captopril-treated controls having an empty site affinity of 12.36 ± 1.12 × 10^-8 M^-1 compared with 9.64 ± 0.11 × 10^-8 M^-1 in SNAP-treated dogs (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

These results suggest that acute alteration of the insulin receptor on the membranes of mononuclear leucocytes and erythrocytes occurred in dogs treated with S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine. These findings suggest the first evidence of the novel role of NO as a modulator of insulin binding and the involvement of NO in the aetiology of diabetes mellitus.