Microencapsulation of DNA Within alginate microspheres and crosslinked chitosan membranes for in vivo application

Calf thymus DNA was microencapsulated within crosslinked chitosan membranes, or immobilized within chitosan-coated alginate microspheres. Microcapsules were prepared by interfacial polymerization of chitosan, and alginate microspheres formed by emulsification/ internal gelation. Diameters ranged from 20 to 500 Μm, depending on the formulation conditions. Encapsulated DNA was quantifiedin situ by direct spectrophotometry (260 nm) and ethidium bromide fluorimetry, and compared to DNA measurements on the fractions following disruption and dissolution of the microspheres. Approximately 84% of the DNA was released upon core dissolution and membrane disruption, with 12% membrane bound. The yield of encapsulation was 96%. Leakage of DNA from intact microspheres/capsules was not observed. DNA microcapsules and microspheres were recovered intact from rat feces following gavage and gastrointestinal transit. Higher recoveries (60%) and reduced shrinkage during transit were obtained with the alginate microspheres. DNA was recovered and purified from the microcapsules and microspheres by chromatography and differential precipitation with ethanol. This is the first report of microcapsules or microspheres containing biologically active material (DNA) being passed through the gastrointestinal tract, with the potential for substantial recovery.     

Thickness and temperature dependence of subsidiary absorption thresholds in yttrium-iron-garnet thin films

The microwave subsidiary absorption threshold in tangentially magnetized yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) films was measured as a function of the static magnetic field, film thickness and decrease in the 0.3–3 μm range is observed. The effect is explained quantitatively by using modified Damon-Eshbach dispersion relations which take into account exchange interactions.

The effect of temperature on h_crit, the smallest threshold field amplitude, in the 250<T< 450 K temperature range can be expressed by an empirical relationship h_crit M_s(T)^-1.6 where M_s is the saturation magnetization. This h_crit vs M_s relationship is similar to that obtained for the magnetization dependence of parallel pump thresholds in Li-Ti ferrite compounds.     

The anomalous 3-boson couplings as an implication of the Higgs sector

We discuss the possible new electroweak interactions which may be generated by the Higgs sector at the scale of theZ mass. For this purpose, we give a set ofSU(2)×U(1) gauge invariant operators constructed in terms ofW, Z, γ and Higgs fields which in the unitary gauge describe all possible γWW andZWW anomalous couplings. The dimension of these operators varies from 6 to 12. This fact allows us to consider various scenaria for the manifestations of the New Physics. We conclude that the underlying dynamics induced by the Higgs sector can be tested through a model-independent amplitude analysis of gauge boson pair production at LEP2 and future colliders.     

Chemiluminescence upon isomerization of dimethyldioxirane in the gas phase and on a sorbent surface

Chemiluminescence (CL) was found upon the isomerization of dimethyldioxirane in the gas phase under argon atmosphere. The intensity of CL increases as temperature increases and decreases with time at constant temperature. If Silipor is placed in a cell containing the dimethyldioxirane vapor in argon, the intensity of CL sharply increases (more than 10 times) and then decreases following the exponential law. In all cases tripletly excited methyl acetate is the emitter of chemiluminescence.[/ p]Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2582–2583, October 1996.     

Real-time airborne radiation analysis and collection (RTARAC) searching for airborne species characteristic to nuclear proliferation

An effective means of detecting airborne radioactive aerosol plumes has been developed and tested on aircraft platforms. The Real-Time Airborne Radiation Analysis and Collection (RTARAC) system was mounted in the wing pod of a Navy P-3 where it sampled 20 cubic meters of air per minute on each of eleven sequentially advanced filters. A 140% intrinsic gemanium detector counted radioactive particles collected on the 15 cm circular filters in real-time. Gamma-energy spectrum and near real-time analysis of the sample were displayed on a laptop computer.     

Semi-parametric estimation of covariate effects using the positive stable frailty model

Many biological and medical studies have as a response of interest the time to occurrence of some event, such as the occurrence of a particular symptom or disease, remission, relapse, death due to some specific disease, or simply death. In this paper we study the problem of assessing the effect of potential risk factors on the outcome event of interest through a parametric or semi-parametric frailty model where the lifetimes have a reason to be considered dependent. This dependence may arise because of multiple endpoints within the same individual or because, when studying a single endpoint, there are natural groupings between study subjects. The objective of this paper is to extend both parametric and semi-parametric approaches to regression analysis in which the lifetimes of individuals in a group are effected by the same random frailty which follows a positive stable distribution. Some comparisons of the properties of this frailty distribution with other frailty distributions are made and an example which assesses the effect of a treatment in a litter-matched tumorigenesis study is presented.     

Observation of ionic thermocurrents in zirconia-based solid electrolytes

In ionic conductors, long range-migrating charges are a main cause of polarization processes. This has complicated, up to date, the study of ionic thermocurrents (ITC) in solid electrolytes. However, the method is appealing, as it probes directly charge-formation phenomena that are important both from a scientific point of view and for applications. This work reports on the observation of ITC in solid electrolytes. Under appropriate experimental conditions, the ITC response of a zirconia sample electroded with platinum is a reproducible one, thus opening the way to a new characterization method that may complement other well established methods, such as Impedance Spectroscopy and a number of electrochemical techniques. The general trends of the response, which is composed of two well resolved ITC peaks, is discussed. One of them, taking place at higher temperatures, conforms to the standard shape of a first order kinetics depolarization process. Paper presented at the 2nd Euroconference on Solid State Ionics, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, Sept. 10–16, 1995