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At least 1,423 records · Page 79Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Cerumen composition by flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the chemical composition of cerumen by flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. STUDY DESIGN: Collected earwax specimens were fractionated into residue and supernatant by means of deoxycholate. This natural bile acid produces significantly better disintegration of earwax in vitro than do presently available ceruminolytic preparations, and also has demonstrated excellent clinical results in vivo to date. PATIENTS: The sample for analysis was obtained from a patient with clinical earwax impaction. RESULTS: The supernatant is composed of simple aromatic hydrocarbons, C5-C17 straight-chain hydrocarbons, a complex mixture of compounds tentatively identified as diterpenoids, and steroids, in particular cholesterol. The residue, on the other hand, produced simple aromatic compounds (including benzenes, phenols, and benzonitriles), C5-C25 straight-chain hydrocarbons, greater relative quantities of nitrogen compounds and phenol, and lesser importance of the (tentatively identified) diterpenoids. CONCLUSIONS: Through the use of the detergent deoxycholate, squalene and a tentatively identified diterpenoid were revealed to be present in a free, unbound state, whereas some steroids and hydrocarbons appeared to be bound to a macromolecular structure by nitrogen linkages or other bonds. Additionally, this study reintroduces detergents as a viable method of earwax removal, specifically the bile acids.

Carbon↗
PubMed2005

Viral, nutritional, and bacterial safety of flash-heated and pretoria-pasteurized breast milk to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in resource-poor countries: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Heat-treated breast milk of HIV-positive mothers has potential to reduce vertical transmission. This study compared the impact of flash-heating (FH) and Pretoria pasteurization (PP) on HIV, nutrients, and antimicrobial properties in human milk. METHODS: Milk samples were spiked with 1 x 10 (8) copies/mL of clade C HIV-1 and treated with FH and PP. We measured HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) activity before and after heating (n = 5). Heat impact on vitamins A, B6, B12, and C; folate, riboflavin, thiamin, and antimicrobial proteins (lactoferrin and lysozyme) was assessed. Storage safety was evaluated by spiking with Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. RESULTS: Both methods inactivated > or = 3 logs of HIV-1. FH resulted in undetectable RT activity. Neither method caused significant decrease in any vitamin, although reductions in vitamins C and E were noted. Heat decreased immunoreactive lactoferrin (P < 0.05) but not the proportions of lactoferrin and lysozyme surviving digestion. FH seems to retain more antibacterial activity. Both treatments eliminated spiked bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: FH may be superior to PP in eliminating all viral activity; both methods retained nutrients and destroyed bacterial contamination. Heat-treated breast milk merits further study as a safe and practical infant feeding option for HIV-positive mothers in developing countries.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed2002

The challenge of predicting flash floods from thunderstorm rainfall.

A major characteristic of the hydrometeorology of semi-arid regions is the occurrence of intense thunderstorms that develop very rapidly and cause severe flooding. In summer, monsoon air mass is often of subtropical origin and is characterized by convective instability. The existing observational network has major deficiencies for those regions in providing information that is important to run-off generation. Further, because of the complex interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere, mesoscale atmospheric models are currently able to reproduce only general features of the initiation and development of convective systems. In our research, several interrelated components including the use of satellite data to monitor precipitation, data assimilation of a mesoscale regional atmospheric model, modification of the land component of the mesoscale model to better represent the semi-arid region surface processes that control run-off generation, and the use of ensemble forecasting techniques to improve forecasts of precipitation and run-off potential are investigated. This presentation discusses our ongoing research in this area; preliminary results including an investigation related to the unprecedented flash floods that occurred across the Las Vegas valley (Nevada, USA) in July of 1999 are discussed.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

Flashing ratchet model with high efficiency.

As a simple model of the Brownian motor, we consider hopping motion of a particle in a periodic asymmetric double-well potential which randomly switches between two states. The potential profiles of the states are identical but shifted by half a period. The current and the efficiency are explicitly calculated as functions of the parameters of the model, including also a load force. Such a flashing ratchet is shown to be particularly efficient, with the efficiency tending to unity when the highest peak of the potential is high enough to suppress the backward motion.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Deterministic directed transport of inertial particles in a flashing ratchet potential.

Deterministic directed transport of inertia particles in a periodically on-off ratchet potential is investigated. We find that the directed transport can be induced by a finite inertia; i.e., in the overdamped case, no directed motion of the system can be observed. It is shown that a critical threshold of the ratchet asymmetry is required for the system to achieve a net current. Directed transport can be greatly enhanced when the coupling strength of particles is increased. An appropriate match of the coupling, the flashing period, and the damping can give rise to the best efficiency of transport. The commensurate effect on the directed transport, which originates from the spatial competition between the period of the potential and the static length of the coupling, is analyzed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Two approaches toward a high-efficiency flashing ratchet.

For a flashing ratchet with periodic potentials fluctuating via random shifts of one-half period, a high efficiency is shown to result from two mechanisms. The previously reported one [Yu. A. Makhnovskii, Phys. Rev. E 69, 021102 (2004); V. M. Rozenbaum, JETP Lett. 79, 388 (2004)] is realized in the near-equilibrium region and implies, first, the presence of a high barrier V0 blocking the reverse movement of a Brownian particle and, second, identical, though energy-shifted, portions of the asymmetric flat potential profile on both half periods. We report another mechanism acting far from equilibrium, typical of strongly asymmetric potentials which are shaped identically on both half periods with a large energetic shift DeltaV . The two mechanisms exhibit radically different limiting behavior of the maximum possible efficiency: eta(m) approximately 1-exp (-beta V0 /2) for the former and eta(m) approximately 1-ln (2betaDeltaV) /betaDeltaV for the latter ( beta being the reciprocal temperature in energy units). The flux and the efficiency for a Brownian motor with a piecewise-linear potential are calculated using the transfer matrix method; an exact analytical solution can thus be obtained for an extremely asymmetric sawtooth potential, the simplest example of the second high-efficiency mechanism. As demonstrated, the mechanisms considered are also characteristic of a two-well periodic potential treated in terms of the kinetic approach.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

Mechanical coupling in flashing ratchets.

We consider the transport of rigid objects with internal structure in a flashing ratchet potential by investigating the overdamped behavior of a rodlike chain of evenly spaced point particles. In one dimension, analytical arguments show that the velocity can reverse direction multiple times in response to changing the size of the chain or the temperature of the heat bath. The physical reason is that the effective potential experienced by the mechanically coupled objects can have a different symmetry than that of individual objects. All analytical predictions are confirmed by Brownian dynamics simulations. These results may provide a route to simple, coarse-grained models of molecular motor transport that incorporate an object's size and rotational degrees of freedom into the mechanism of transport.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Threshold feedback control for a collective flashing ratchet: threshold dependence.

We study the threshold control protocol for a collective flashing ratchet. In particular, we analyze the dependence of the current on the values of the thresholds. We have found analytical expressions for the small threshold dependence both for the few and for the many particle cases. For few particles the current is a decreasing function of the thresholds, thus, the maximum current is reached for zero thresholds. In contrast, for many particles the optimal thresholds have a nonzero finite value. We have numerically checked the relation that allows to obtain the optimal thresholds for an infinite number of particles from the optimal period of the periodic protocol. These optimal thresholds for an infinite number of particles give good results for many particles. In addition, they also give good results for few particles due to the smooth dependence of the current up to these threshold values.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Dynamics, rectification, and fractionation for colloids on flashing substrates.

We show that a rich variety of dynamic phases can be realized for mono- and bidisperse mixtures of interacting colloids under the influence of a symmetric flashing periodic substrate. With the addition of dc or ac drives, phase locking, jamming, and new types of ratchet effects occur. In some regimes we find that the addition of a nonratcheting species increases the velocity of the ratcheting particles. We show that these effects occur due to the collective interactions of the colloids.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

High energy neutrino flashes from far-ultraviolet and x-ray flares in gamma-ray bursts.

The recent observations of bright optical and x-ray flares by the Swift satellite suggest these are produced by the late activities of the central engine. We study the neutrino emission from far-ultraviolet and x-ray flares under the late internal shock model. We show that the efficiency of pion production in the highest energy is comparable to or higher than the unity, and the contribution from such neutrino flashes to a diffuse very high energy neutrino background can be larger than that of prompt bursts if the total baryonic energy input into flares is comparable to the radiated energy of prompt bursts. These signals may be detected by IceCube and are very important because they have possibilities to probe the nature of flares (the baryon loading, the photon field, the magnetic field and so on).

Journal Article↗
PubMed1968

Developmental Physiology of Bean Leaf Plastids III. Tube Transformation and Protochlorophyll (ide) Photoconversion by a Flash Irradiation.

A light flash of about 1 millisecond duration elicits tube transformation in paracrystalline prolamellar bodies as well as maximal protochlorophyll(ide) photoconversion in etiolated bean leaves (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). These findings support a more detailed hypothesis on the linkage between tube transformation and protochlorophyll(ide) photoconversion than has been offered previously.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1981

Reaction of Mixed Valence State Cytochrome Oxidase with Oxygen in Plant Mitochondria: A STUDY BY LOW TEMPERATURE FLASH PHOTOLYSIS AND RAPID WAVELENGTH SCANNING OPTICAL SPECTROMETRY.

The reaction of mixed valence state cytochrome oxidase (Cu(A) (2+)a(3+) . Cu(B) (+)a(3) (2+)) with O(2) at 173 K has been investigated in purified potato mitochondria by low temperature flash photolysis and rad wavelength scanning optical spectrometry in the visible region. The kinetics of the reaction have been analyzed simultaneously at six wavelength pairs (586-630, 590-630, 594-630, 604-630, 607-630, and 610-630 nanometers) by nonlinear optimization techniques, and found to proceed by a two-species sequential mechanism. The "pure" difference spectra of the two species, I(M) and II(M), relative to unliganded mixed valence state cytochrome oxidase have been obtained. The difference spectrum of species I(M) is characterized by a peak at 591 nanometers, with a shoulder at 584 nanometers and a trough at 602 nanometers, and that of species II(M) by an alpha band split into a prominent peak at 607 nanometers and a small side peak at 594 nanometers. Evidence is presented to suggest that these two bands arise from O(2) (-) --> Cu(B) (2+) and O(2) (-) --> a(3) (2+) charge transfer transitions which would imply that O(2) (-) forms a bridging ligand between Cu(B) and the iron atom of cytochrome a(3) in species II(M). The kinetics of the reaction and the spectral characteristics of species I(M) and II(M) obtained with the potato mitochondrial system are compared and contrasted with data in the literature on the beef heart mitochondrial system.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Photoactivation of the Water-Oxidation System in Isolated Intact Chloroplasts Prepared from Wheat Leaves Grown under Intermittent Flash Illumination.

Photoactivation of the latent oxygen-evolving system in intact chloroplasts isolated from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) leaves grown under intermittent flash illumination was investigated, and the following results were obtained: (a) The water-oxidation activity generated on illuminating the isolated intact chloroplasts was as high as that generated in intact leaves, indicating that all the machinery necessary for the activity generation is assembled within intact chloroplasts. (b) The generation of water-oxidation activity was accompanied by enhancement of the activity of diphenylcarbazide-oxidation, and both processes share the same photochemical reaction but with respective rate-limiting dark reactions of different efficiencies. (c) A23187, an ionophore for divalent cations, strongly inhibited the generation of water-oxidation activity but did not affect the activity once generated, which suggested that Mn atoms in the chloroplasts are susceptible to the ionophore before photoactivation but turn immune after photoactivation. (d) The generation of water-oxidation activity was not affected by the inhibitors of ATP formation and CO(2) fixation, but was inhibited by nitrite, methylviologen and phenylmercuric acetate which suppress or inhibit the reduction of ferredoxin in intact chloroplasts. It was inferred that some factor(s) probably present in stroma to be reduced by PSI photoreaction is involved in the process of photoactivation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Changes in Protein Composition and Mn Abundance in Photosystem II Particles on Photoactivation of the Latent O(2)-Evolving System in Flash-Grown Wheat Leaves.

Protein composition and Mn abundance were compared between the two photosystem II (PSII) particle preparations obtained before and after photoactivation of the latent O(2)-evolving system in intermittently flashed wheat leaves. The following results have been obtained: (a) nonphotoactivated PSII particles were devoid of two extrinsic proteins which corresponded to the 24 and 16 kilodalton proteins in spinach particles, although the particles contained all the intrinsic proteins and the 33 kilodalton extrinsic protein. (b) The two extrinsic proteins absent in nonphotoactivated PSII particles were present in nonphotoactivated thylakoids, but were easily removed by a hypotonic shock followed by brief sonication. Such removal of the proteins did not occur in photoactivated thylakoids. (c) Nonphotoactivated PSII particles contained 1.5 Mn/400 chlorophyll, while photoactivated particles contained 8 Mn/400 chlorophyll. (d) Nonphotoactivated thylakoids contained 6 Mn/400 chlorophyll, but most of them were removed from thylakoids by a hypotonic shock in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetate. Such removal of Mn did not occur in photoactivated thylakoids.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Flash-Induced Delayed Light Emission Patterns of Red Kidney Bean Leaves: Evidence of a New Component Dependent upon Tissue Integrity.

Studies of flash-induced delayed light emission profiles of dark-adapted intact plant tissues revealed a previously unreported component of plant luminescence. Only partially evident in intact chloroplasts and totally absent in broken chloroplasts, this peak may reflect the interaction of one or more light-activated enzyme systems with photosynthetic electron transport.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Lipid Saturation Induced Microviscosity Increase Has No Effect on the Reducibility of Flash-Oxidized Cytochrome f in Pea Thylakoids.

Homogeneous catalytic hydrogenation was used to modify the level of fatty acid unsaturation of thylakoid membranes in the pea chloroplast. Fluidity alteration has been monitored simultaneously using the spin-label probe, 16-doxyl stearate. Even in the case of 30% hydrogenation, no change in the reduction rate of flash-oxidized cytochrome f was observed, in contrast to the fact that the same decrease in the double-bond content of the thylakoid membrane resulted in a pronounced inhibition in the full-chain electron transport. We conclude that the rate of lateral diffusion of reduced plastoquinone is unaffected by the lowering of the fluidity of the thylakoid lipid matrix.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Crystallization of Escherichia coli beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III and the use of a dry flash-cooling technique for data collection.

beta-Ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase III (FabH) is a condensing enzyme active in the fatty-acid biosynthesis pathway of bacteria. The enzymes of this pathway provide a set of targets for the discovery of previously unknown antibiotics. FabH from Escherichia coli has been crystallized in two crystal forms using the sitting-drop vapor-diffusion technique. The first form crystallized in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 63.1, b = 65.1, c = 166.5 A; the second form crystallized in the tetragonal space group P4(1)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 72.7, c = 99.8 A. A flash-cooling technique using no cryoprotectant was utilized in obtaining data from the second type of crystals.

3-Oxoacyl-(Acyl-Carrier-Protein) Synthase↗
PubMed2003

Flash-cooling of macromolecular crystals in a capillary to overcome increased mosaicity.

This paper describes the usefulness of flash-cooling in a capillary (FCC) for X-ray diffraction data collection from macromolecular crystals. FCC may be applied when conventional cooling using a cryoloop fails. This technique cools crystals in a capillary instead of in a cryoloop and thus cools crystals more slowly than conventional cooling. Measurements of cooling rates have shown that the time taken to reach the final temperature is two to eight times longer using FCC than using a cryoloop, depending on the volume of cryoprotectant solution around the crystal. Using this cooling technique, the crystal structures of isocitrate dehydrogenase and protein L-isoaspartate O-methyltransferase have been solved at 1.95 and at 2.50 A resolution, respectively. Both crystals could not be cooled by the conventional method using a cryoloop. Moreover, diffraction data from crystals of the hypothetical proteins PH-A and PH-B were also collected successfully using the FCC method. These results show that some crystals, especially larger ones, need to be cooled slowly.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗