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Making of date-palm jaggery (popularly known as khejur gur) with its characteristic aroma and flavor is very popular all over India for making various sweet dishes and confectionery products. It is available only for a short duration between middle of November and end of January. The production of solid jaggery includes sap collection (juice) by tapping, filtration, concentration by boiling, cooling of concentrated juice followed by moulding, drying, and storage. Making date-palm jaggery from the raw juice is an art and requires some skill to get the characteristic aroma bearing product with optimum stickiness and colour. Solid jaggery deteriorates rapidly and becomes liquid within 1 or 2 weeks due to its moisture content, invert sugar, and hygroscopic nature. Granular jaggery having low moisture content (1 - 2%d.b) is very popular, tenders several advantages, such as extended shelf-life, easy handling and distribution, high demand for domestic and international markets. It could be made from either solid jaggery or concentrated juice. Therefore, a manually-powered operated granulator (20 kg capacity) was designed, developed, and tested with 5 levels of moisture content (8.4 to 16.25 %db) and 5 levels of rotational speed (48 - 132 rpm) of blades for the production of desired size of jaggery granules. The mass mean diameter of the particles varied linearly with the moisture content of the feed, yielding particles having an average size of 656 µm (Dp) for feed containing 8.4 (%db) moisture. The mean particle size was as low as 700 µm when the machine was operated at 132 rpm with feed moisture content of 12 (%db). The average particle size of 1000 µm is obtained at feed moisture content of 9.0 (%db) and the agitator rotational speed of 76 rpm.

Developments in endourology, percutaneous nephrostolithotomy and nephrostomy with newer advances in radiological imaging of the pelvicaliceal system have rekindled interest in the axial anatomy of the collecting system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the placement of the posterior calyx in relation to the coronal plane of the body viz., the corporo-caliceal angle. A simple, but less cumbersome measurement was utilized than the previously defined methods to assess the relationship of the posterior calices in relation to the frontal plane of the body. Data from 32 right kidneys and 31 left kidneys from 41 patients who underwent delayed CT pyelogram in supine or prone position was examined over a year. The angles subtended by the posterior calices in supine and prone position for the right and left kidneys were 61 and 63 degrees and 52 and 64.3 degrees, respectively. The variations in the orientation of the posterior calices on either side (p< 0.05) and in supine or prone position (p < 0.05) were statistically not significant. The calices were seen to vary considerably in position, shape and number with only a few falling into the classical Brodel and Hodson's type. There was no significant change in the intrarenal anatomy with change in position. Hence, the data obtained from a supine study can be extrapolated to a procedure done in prone position., Introduction Choice of an ideal end-on posterior interpolar calyx located along the avascular plane of the Brodel is essential to safely perform endourological procedures. Until now, the information available on [...]

Developments in endourology, percutaneous nephrostolithotomy and nephrostomy with newer advances in radiological imaging of the pelvicaliceal system have rekindled interest in the axial anatomy of the collecting system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the placement of the posterior calyx in relation to the coronal plane of the body viz., the corporocaliceal angle. A simple, but less cumbersome measurement was utilized than the previously defined methods to assess the relationship of the posterior calices in relation to the frontal plane of the body. Data from 32 right kidneys and 31 left kidneys from 41 patients who underwent delayed CT pyelogram in supine or prone position was examined over a year. The angles subtended by the posterior calices in supine and prone position for the right and left kidneys were 61 and 63 degrees and 52 and 64.3 degrees, respectively. The variations in the orientation of the posterior calices on either side (p< 0.05) and in supine or prone position (p < 0.05) were statistically not significant. The calices were seen to vary considerably in position, shape and number with only a few falling into the classical Brodel and Hodson's type. There was no significant change in the intrarenal anatomy with change in position. Hence, the data obtained from a supine study can be extrapolated to a procedure done in prone position., Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Material and Methods Results Discussion Conclusion References Introduction Choice of an ideal end-on posterior interpolar calyx located along the avascular plane of the Brodel is [...]

We present results from molecular dynamics simulations for the non-equilibrium evolution of a binary fluid in the presence of a wetting surface. We study the pattern dynamics which results when a homogeneous fluid mixture is quenched to temperatures both above and below the critical temperature. Our extensive computer simulation results are in agreement with arguments based on Ginzburg-Landau theory.

Refractory aggregates were synthesised from beneficiated fly ash by reaction sintering with calcined alumina at 1600°C, and 83% mullite yield was achieved. The aggregates had low porosity, low thermal expansion and good refractoriness. To study compatibility in castable refractories, the aggregates were used in high alumina cement based low cement castables and their thermomechanical behaviour was studied. Microstructural characterisation revealed that the emergence of new bond phases such as mullite and calcium hexa-aluminate had a beneficial effect on the hot modulus of rupture and creep resistance of castables. An attempt was made to establish a structure–property relationship.

One of the primary aims of the ongoing nuclear collisions at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies is to create a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). The Heavy Quarks (HQ) constitutes a unique probe of the QGP properties. Both at RHIC and LHC energies a puzzling relation between the nuclear modification factor RAA(pT) and the elliptic flow v2(pT) related to heavy quark has been observed which challenged all the existing models.

•Coupled continuum scale dislocation evolution model with Monte Carlo simulation.•Predictions of static recrystallization kinetics and microstructure evolution.•Study of effects of strain, temperature and strain rate on the microstructure.•Computations successfully validated with the experimental data for Mo-TRIP steel.

Conditionally replication competent adenoviruses (Ads) that selectively replicate in cancer cells and simultaneously express a therapeutic cytokine, such as melanoma differentiation associated gene- 7/Interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24), a Cancer Terminator Virus (CTV-M7), hold potential for treating human cancers. To enhance the efficacy of the CTV-M7, we generated a chimeric Ad.5 and Ad.3 modified fiber bipartite CTV (Ad.5/3-CTV-M7) that can infect tumor cells in a Coxsackie Adenovirus receptor (CAR) independent manner, while retaining high infectivity in cancer cells containing high CAR. Although mda-7/IL-24 displays broad-spectrum anticancer properties, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells display an intrinsic resistance to mda-7/IL-24-mediated killing due to an mda-7/IL-24 mRNA translational block. However, using a chemoprevention gene therapy (CGT) approach with perillyl alcohol (POH) and a replication incompetent Ad to deliver mda-7/IL-24 (Ad.mda-7) there is enhanced conversion of mda-7/IL-24 mRNA into protein resulting in pancreatic cancer cell death in vitro and in vivo in nude mice containing human PDAC xenografts. This combination synergistically induces mda-7/IL-24-mediated cancer-specific apoptosis by inhibiting anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 protein expression and inducing an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response through induction of BiP/GRP-78, which is most evident in chimeric-modified non-replicating Ad.5/3- mda-7- and CTV-M7-infected PDAC cells. Moreover, Ad.5/3-CTV-M7 in combination with POH sensitizes therapy-resistant MIA PaCa-2 cell lines over-expressing either Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL to mda-7/IL-24-mediated apoptosis. Ad.5/3-CTV-M7 plus POH also exerts a significant antitumor ‘bystander’ effect in vivo suppressing both primary and distant site tumor growth, confirming therapeutic utility of Ad.5/3-CTV-M7 plus POH in PDAC treatment, where all other current treatment strategies in clinical settings show minimal efficacy.

AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel was cold rolled to 90% with and no inter-pass cooling to produced 89% and 43% of deformation induced martensite respectively. The cold rolled specimens were annealed by isothermal and cyclic thermal process. The microstructures of the cold rolled and annealed specimens were studied by the electron microscope. The observed microstructural changes were correlated with the reversion mechanism of martensite to austenite and strain heterogeneity of the microstructure. The results indicated possibility of ultrafine austenite grain formation by cyclic thermal process for austenitic stainless steels those do not readily undergo deformation induced martensite. Keywords: Austenitic stainless steel, Grain refinement, Cyclic thermal process, Ultrafine grain

This paper investigates if periodic compensation can provide superior robustness to an unstable (discrete-time) LTI plant having non-minimum-phase zeros by virtue of its zero placement capability. A 2-periodic controller is proposed and a systematic 2-stage algorithm for placing not only the closed loop poles but also the loop-zeros at desired locations is presented. A comparison of this controller with an LTI one in respect of dead-beat control is also made.

TiO2 nanoparticles (anatase) with diameters between 2 and 4 nm were synthesized by controlled hydrolysis of a solution of titanium(IV)isopropoxide to which 44Ti in 4M HCl was added. Inactive nanoparticles were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), the active ones were analyzed by measuring the nuclear quadrupole interaction (NQI) of the I = 1 state in 44Sc using time differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC). Rather broad distributions were obtained. We also synthesized nanowires with typical diameters of 2 nm and 100 nm length using shape controllers. They were analyzed by HRTEM and XRD. The material turned out to be TiO2(B). The 44Ti was added by impregnation and diffusion at 180°C for two hours. Two well-defined NQI signals were observed which we tentatively assigned to the volume fraction and the “surface” fraction, i.e. Ti probes with OH-termination. In addition, we studied AMT-100 (anatase, uncoated, 6 nm) from Tayca, Eusolex T-2000 (rutile, Al2O3-coated, 20×20×100 nm3, simethicone additive) and P25 (mainly anatase, uncoated, 20 nm diameter) using the impregnation and diffusion method. P25 and the isolated rutile fraction from P25 yield spectra which correspond to anatase and rutile volume signals plus their surface signals, respectively. TDPAC thus proved very useful in characterizing the nanomaterials, especially their disorder, by measuring the NQI. In addition, information on surface properties is obtained. The relatively narrow surface signals indicate a lower degree of disorder and are possibly also a result of partial motional averaging of Ti-signals with OH-bonds due to mobile H-atoms.

No well-designed longitudinal study on Parkinson disease (PD) has been conducted in India. Therefore, we planned to determine the prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates of PD in the city of Kolkata, India, on a stratified random sample through a door-to-door survey.

This article deals with the two incidents of ammonia leakage in industries situated in West Bengal, India, and the probable causes of the accident and the ensuing sequence of events. Emergency procedures are also discussed. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2007

AbstractSchizophrenia is a major psychotic disorder with a strong genetic component and molecular etiology remains enigmatic. They form a heterogeneous and poorly understood collection of disorders of which Paranoid Schizophrenia is the best diagnosed and least severe clinical subtype of Schizophrenia. Involvement of biological factors has been suspected for long. In the present investigation, the incidence of HLA Class-I antigens has been studied to understand the role of HLA genes in the patients with paranoid schizophrenia with the objectives to explore a possible immunogenetical etiology of paranoid schizophrenia. A case-control study design was performed. Psychiatric reference data were available for total number of 30,000 cases attended between 1998 and 2004. A total number of 120 patients with paranoid schizophrenia belonging to the India born Bengalee population were initially enrolled for the study and DSM-IV criteria was used for the diagnosis of the patients. Upon longitudinal follow up 70 patients turned out to be the cases of other psychotic conditions and PCR-based molecular typing (PCR-SSP) method was applied to 50 genuine cases of Paranoid Schizophrenia. A total numbers of 100 healthy donors belonging to the same ethnic background were considered as controls. The present investigation shows that some of the HLA antigens are associated with paranoid schizophrenia and especially significant increases are found for HLA-A*03 gene which may influence susceptibility to paranoid schizophrenia. The study reveals important interactions between HLA genes and paranoid schizophrenia. This preliminary observation may help to understand the etiological basis of this disorder.

Mixing of ingredients is an important operation in processing of food for obtaining the better quality product. A laboratory set‐up capable of modulating both frequency and amplitude of vibration of the grain bed was used to determine the mixing indices of paddy grains under varied experimental conditions. the mixing indices of three different types of paddy grain for three different grain bed depths were determined. the parameters varied were the vibration amplitude, frequency and the mixing time, respectively from 2 to 10 mm, 10 to 50 Hz and 5 to 120 s. Three varieties of paddy (short bold, medium slender and long slender) were used in the experiments with different length‐breadth ratio (slenderness ratio, μ, of 5.77, 4.48 and 2.70). Response surface methodology was adopted to optimize the amplitude and frequency of vibration of the mixing device. the results revealed that, the optimum frequency and amplitude of vibration for the medium slender (μ= 4.48) variety of paddy were 20–22 Hz and 8–9 mm, respectively for all the three grain bed depths of 25, 12 and 6 mm. Irrespective of grain bed depth, all the three different types of paddy showed maximum mixing indices value after 1 min of mixing. Extending the mixing time did not have any effect on mixing indices. the effect of bed depth was found to be insignificant for short bold variety of paddy.

Abstract:: Full finite-range macroscopic calculations in the distorted-wave Born approximation have been performed using the molecular and Michel α-nucleus potentials to analyze the angular distributions of cross-sections of the 27Al(α, d)29Si reaction, at 26.5 and 27.2 MeV incident energies, leading to seven transitions up to the excitation energy E X = 4.08 MeV of the final nucleus. The parameters of the two types of the α-nucleus potentials are determined from the elastic-scattering data. Both the molecular and Michel potentials, without any adjustment to the parameters needed to fit the elastic-scattering data, are able in most cases to reproduce, simultaneously, the absolute cross-sections particularly at large angles, where the previous calculations failed to reproduce by orders of magnitude, and the gross pattern of angular distributions of the reaction. The deuteron-cluster spectroscopic factors for most of the seven transitions, deduced using the two α-27Al potentials, differ from those obtained in earlier works. The spectroscopic factor for the ground-state transition, deduced in the present work for the 25.8 MeV data, agrees well with the shell model prediction.

Although botulinum toxin A (BTX) has been licensed in Canada for treatment of various movement disorders since 1990, few clinical studies regarding its long‐term efficacy and side effects have been reported. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 235 patients who received BTX from our movement disorders clinic over a 10‐year period (January 1990 to December 1999). A total of 2,616 treatment cycles (multiple injections) were administered to 235 patients with cervical dystonia (CD), hemifacial spasm (HS), blepharospasm (BP), and other movement disorders. Substantial benefit at 5 years was seen in most patients (90% in BP, 88% in HS, 63% in CD, 100% in jaw closing and lower limb dystonia, and 56% in writer's cramp). Benefit was maintained for up to 10 years in CD, HS, and BP data, with a 75.8% benefit reported. Twenty‐eight percent of patients discontinued treatment during the follow‐up period due to a variety of reasons. Of these, 9.1% of patients developed primary resistance, and 7.5% of patients secondary resistance. Adverse effects, mostly minor, developed in 27% of patients at any one time, occurring over 4.5% of treatment cycles. These were most frequently reported in blepharospasm (22 of 36 patients in 40 cycles), followed by hemifacial spasm (21 of 70 patients in 46 cycles), and cervical dystonia (17 of 106 in 28 cycles). Only 1.3% of patients discontinued therapy due intolerable adverse effects. The results show that BTX is a safe and effective treatment of various types of movement disorders, and most side effects are well tolerated. Discontinuation for any reason was also low after 5 years. Efficacy was maintained after long periods of treatment with high degree of patient satisfaction. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society

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ObjectiveAs crystals may contribute to inflammation in osteoarthritis (OA), it is hypothesized that colchicine may have symptom/disease modifying effects in OA. The objective of this study was to evaluate the symptomatic benefit of addition of colchicine to a regimen of intraarticular steroids and piroxicam in patients with knee OA with inflammation.

Abstract:: Effects of three different α-nucleus potentials, the normal Woods-Saxon (WS), the squared WS and the molecular, have been studied using the differential cross-section data of inelastically scattered α-particles on 24Mg and 28Si at 54 and 26 MeV incident energies, respectively. The angular distributions of inelastic scattering to the first 2+ and 4+ states of the two nuclei have been analyzed in terms of a coupled-channel formalism. The macroscopic rotational model using both the squared WS and the molecular potentials can produce satisfactorily a simultaneous description of the elastic data and the inelastic-scattering data of the 2+ and 4+ states for both the targets. The normal WS potential fails to describe the elastic and inelastic data, simultaneously. The effects of second-order deformed potential are also investigated. Microscopic coupled-channel calculations, using the 0+-2+ coupling and the Gaussian α-nucleon interaction in the form-factor, have also been performed for the 28Si target using both the squared WS and molecular potentials, the latter one giving a reasonable description of the data.

The efficacy of immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae(biomatrix) for the sorption of different metal ions and its potential applications in nuclear waste treatment were investigated. The sorption of radionuclides such as 233U, 241Am, 144Ce, 137Cs and 90Sr was studied under different experimental conditions. More than 95% sorption of UO22+, Pu4+, Am3+and Ce3+could be obtained in the pH range 1 to 2 of the aqueous solutions. However the sorption of Cs+and Sr2+were negligible under the similar experimental conditions. The infrared spectra and scanning electron microscopic images of the control and uranium-bearing biomatrix were studied to understand the chemistry of metal uptake by this biomatrix.

In bacteria, the regulation of gene expression in response to changes in cell density is called quorum sensing. The autoinducer-2 production protein LuxS, is involved in a novel quorum-sensing system and is thought to catalyse the degradation of S-ribosylhomocysteine to homocysteine and the autoinducer molecule 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentadione. The crystal structure of Bacillus subtilisLuxS has been determined at 1.2 Å resolution, together with the binary complexes of LuxS with S-ribosylhomocysteine and homocysteine to 2.2 and 2.3 Å resolution, respectively. These structures show that LuxS is a homodimer with an apparently novel fold based on an eight-stranded β-barrel, flanked by six α-helices. Each active site contains a zinc ion coordinated by the conserved residues His54, His58 and Cys126, and includes residues from both subunits. S-ribosylhomocysteine binds in a deep pocket with the ribose moiety adjacent to the enzyme-bound zinc ion. Access to the active site appears to be restricted and possibly requires conformational changes in the protein involving the movement of residues 125–129 and those at the N terminus. The structure contains an oxidised cysteine residue in the active site whose role in the biological process of LuxS has not been determined. The autoinducer-2 signalling pathway has been linked to aspects of bacterial virulence and pathogenicity. The structural data on LuxS will provide opportunities for targeting this enzyme for the rational design of new antibiotics.

The multifunctional cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is presumed to participate in preparing the uterus for blastocyst implantation. Increased production of LIF is positively correlated with termination of embryonic diapause and preparation for implantation in the spotted skunk. This study examined changes in the expression, localization, and hormonal regulation of LIF receptor (LIFRβ) gene expression in the uterus of the skunk. Changes in the uterine concentration of LIFRβ mRNA during pregnancy or in response to hormones after ovariectomy were determined by Northern hybridization analysis and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The skunk uterus produces two LIFRβ transcripts, the levels of which increase in concentration when the blastocysts resume their development but then decline somewhat during the latter stage of blastocyst activation. Ovariectomy significantly reduced uterine LIFRβ expression. Estradiol and/or progesterone failed to significantly elevate LIFRβ mRNA levels in ovariectomized animals. Prolactin significantly increased uterine concentrations of LIFRβ mRNA to greater than those of ovariectomized controls, but these levels were not comparable to those observed during preimplantation. The LIFRβ mRNA was predominately localized to stromal cells surrounding the uterine glands and in yolk sac endoderm, syncytiotrophoblast, and cytotrophoblast of postimplantation embryos.

The present paper describes studies of the reduction and sintering behaviour, followed by examination of the structural changes taking place, during direct reduction of fluxed composite (ore plus coal) pellets. The kinetics and morphological aspects of the direct reduction of fluxed composite pellets are compared with those for the gaseous reduction of fluxed ore pellets without carbon addition. It is shown that the chemical reaction is the rate limiting factor for fluxed composite pellets, and the mass transport of reactant gas through the reaction product iron layer governs the overall reduction process in the case of fluxed ore pellets. Microscopic analysis of the fluxed composite pellets has indicated no tendency to form a reduction inhibition iron shell towards the end of the reduction, as found in the case of gaseous reduction of fluxed ore pellets under identical reduction process conditions. The effects of basicity, Fe/C, temperature, and other variables on morphological and microstructural changes in the directly reduced fluxed composite pellets have been experimentally investigated in the present work.

Successful implantation is the result of an intimate ‘cross-talk’ between the blastocyst and uterus in a temporal and cell-specific manner. Thus, both the uterine and embryonic events must be examined to better understand this process. Although various aspects and molecules associated with these events have been explored, a comprehensive understanding of the implantation process is still very limited. In this review, we have highlighted the importance of the blastocyst’s activity state and the receptive state of the uterus in determining the ‘window’ of implantation. In this context, we provide a testable scheme that signifies the important roles of various key molecules in embryo–uterine interactions during implantation.

We propose a framework for quality‐of‐service (QoS) provisioning for multimedia services in next generation wireless access networks. This framework aims at providing a differentiated treatment to multimedia traffic flows at the link layer, which can be broadly classified as real‐time (or delay‐sensitive) and non‐real‐time (or delay‐tolerant). Various novel schemes are proposed to support the differential treatment and guarantee QoS. These schemes include bandwidth compaction, channel reservation and degradation, with the help of which a call admission and control algorithm is developed. The performance of the proposed framework is captured through analytical modeling and simulation experiments. Analytically, the average carried traffic and the worst case buffer requirements for real‐time and non‐real‐time calls are estimated. Simulation results show up to 21% improvement in the admission probability of real‐time calls and up to 17% improvement in the admission probability of non‐real‐time calls, when various call control techniques like bandwidth compaction are employed. Using our channel reservation technique, we observe a 12% improvement in the call admission probability compared to another scheme proposed in the literature.

Abstract:: The time differential as well as time integral perturbed angular correlations of the 486-134 keV cascade in 131Cs have been studied in a polycrystalline BaSO4 powder source using a HPGe-BaF2 detector system. The fundamental quadrupole frequency for the 134 keV level has been found to be ω0= (4.4 ± 0.4) × 107 rad/s. From a comparison of the quadrupole frequencies of this level and that of the 81 keV level in 133Cs, measured earlier in the same crystalline environment of the source, the absolute value of the quadrupole moment of the 134 keV level in 131Cs has been found to be 0.022 ± 0.002 b. This value of the quadrupole moment is reported for the first time and compared with the value predicted theoretically within the unified nuclear model with intermediate coupling.

Abstract4-Acetyl phenyl methacrylate containing a polymerizable vinyl group was prepared by reacting 4-hydroxyacetophenone with methacryloyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine in methyl ethyl ketone. The vinyl monomer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The polyurethanes obtained from castor oil, tolune-2-4-diisocyanate, and hexamethylene diisocyanate, with a varying NCO/OH ratio, were reacted with the new vinyl monomer 4-acetyl phenyl methacrylate to give interpenetrating polymer networks using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker and benzoyl peroxide as initiator. The resulting interpenetrating networks were characterized for thermal behavior, and kinetic parameters were evaluated.

An experimental arrangement was developed to determine the static and dynamic coefficients of friction of sunflower seed and its kernel. These friction coefficients were determined on six different surfaces at five moisture contents between 4 and 20% d.b. The nature of the surface and moisture content of the samples gave rise to significant variations in static and dynamic coefficients of friction. At any moisture level and for a particular surface both the friction coefficients were greater for sunflower kernel than for seed. Among the surfaces tested, rubber exhibited the highest coefficient of friction for both sunflower seed and kernel which was followed by plywood, mild steel, galvanized iron, aluminium and stainless steel. Considering the entire range of moisture content of the sample, the static coefficient of friction of seed varied from 0·351 to 0·472 and 0·514 to 0·651 for stainless steel and rubber, respectively, while that of kernel varied from 0·372 to 0·601 and 0·532 to 0·781. Corresponding values of dynamic coefficient of friction were found to vary from 0·304 to 0·441 and 0·447 to 0·593 for seed, and from 0·324 to 0·557 and 0·476 to 0·734 for kernel. Surface velocity between 0·09 and 0·29 m/s had only a small effect on the dynamic coefficient of friction for both seed and kernel when tested against stainless steel at a moisture content of 4·5% d.b.

Arachidonoylethanolamide (anandamide) is an endogenous ligand for cannabinoid receptors. We demonstrated previously that the periimplantation mouse uterus has high levels of anandamide and can synthesize and hydrolyse anandamide. In the present investigation, we examined the expression of the recently identified fatty-acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) gene, which is involved in hydrolyzing anandamide to arachidonic acid and ethanolamine, in the periimplantation mouse embryo and uterus. As previously reported, Northern blot hybridization detected a transcript of ~2.5 kilobases of FAAH mRNA in whole uterine poly(A)+RNA samples. The levels of this mRNA were higher in the liver and brain than in the uterus. In the uterus, higher accumulation of FAAH mRNA occurred on Days 1–4 followed by declines on later days (Days 5–8) of pregnancy. In situ hybridization detected this mRNA primarily in uterine luminal and glandular epithelial cells on Days 1–4 of pregnancy. With the progression of implantation (Days 5–8), accumulation of this mRNA was retained in the luminal and glandular epithelia. In addition, implanting blastocysts showed accumulation of this mRNA. FAAH mRNA accumulation was absent or minimal in the myometrium during this period. Western blotting detected an ~60-kDa protein in uterine membrane preparations. In preimplantation embryos, FAAH mRNA was present in one-cell and two-cell embryos but was absent in embryos at the eight-cell/morula stage. However, this mRNA was again detected in Day 4 blastocysts. The presence of FAAH mRNA in one- and two-cell embryos reflects accumulation of maternal message, while its presence in blastocysts reflects embryonic gene activation. Collectively, our present and previous results provide evidence that FAAH is expressed in the mouse uterus and embryo during early pregnancy to modulate local levels of anandamide that could be important for embryo development and implantation.

Embryonic development in the western spotted skunk is arrested after blastocyst formation for about 200 days. This developmental arrest is believed to be due to insufficiency of uterine conditions to support continuous development. Implantation and decidualization are defective in cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox2)-, but not Cox1-, deficient mice. We therefore used Northern and in situ hybridization to investigate changes in uterine expression of Cox1and Cox2genes during various stages of pregnancy in the spotted skunk. Cox1was constitutively expressed at all stages of pregnancy examined, but it did exhibit localized up-regulation in the trophoblast and necks of uterine glands at early implantation sites. Cox2expression was highly regulated with little or no expression during delayed implantation. Cox2expression was first detected in the uterus and trophoblast prior to blastocyst attachment and remained detectable for 5–6 days after blastocyst attachment. Cox2expression was also localized in the luminal and glandular epithelia of uterine segments located between implantation chambers. Changes in Coxexpression were not correlated with the abrupt increase in uterine weight that occurs simultaneously with renewed embryonic development but was correlated with an influx of serum proteins into the uterus observed in a previous study.

Mutation of the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) gene results in reproductive failure in LIF −/−mice due to an inability to implant their blastocysts. This condition is reversed by infusion of LIF or by transferral of embryos to pseudopregnant, wild-type mice. This led us to hypothesize that embryonic diapause in the spotted skunk is due to insufficient uterine expression of LIF whereas resumption of development and implantation are associated with increased LIF expression. We also investigated the hormonal control of LIF expression. Uterine concentrations of LIF mRNA were determined by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Changes in cell-specific localization of LIF mRNA and protein were determined by in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry. LIF mRNA was detected but was not abundant during embryonic diapause; it then increased when blastocysts resumed development and remained elevated prior to implantation. LIF mRNA and protein could not be localized in the uterus during embryonic diapause but were quite apparent in luminal and glandular epithelium during blastocyst activation. Prolactin, progesterone, and estradiol failed to increase uterine concentrations of LIF mRNA above those in ovariectomized controls. These data are consistent with the initial hypothesis and suggest that LIF may somehow be involved in preparing the uterus for implantation in the spotted skunk.

PROBLEM: Phase II clinical trials with the heterospecies dimer of βhCG and α‐subunit of ovine luteinizing hormone (HSD)‐human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) vaccine showed that pregnancy was prevented at and above 50 ng/ml titers, whereas conceptions occurred below 35 ng/ml of hCG bioneutralization capacity. The effect of below‐protective threshold anti‐hCG antibodies on the progression of pregnancy and the normality of progeny was studied.

In the mouse, the process of implantation is initiated by the attachment reaction between the blastocyst trophectoderm and uterine luminal epithelium that occurs at 2200–2300 h on day 4 (day 1 = vaginal plug) of pregnancy. Several members of the EGF family are considered important in embryo–uterine interactions during implantation. This investigation demonstrates that the expression of two additions to the family, betacellulin and epiregulin, are exquisitely restricted to the mouse uterine luminal epithelium and underlying stroma adjacent to the implanting blastocyst. These genes are not expressed during progesterone-maintained delayed implantation, but are rapidly switched on in the uterus surrounding the implanting blastocyst following termination of the delay by estrogen. These results provide evidence that expression of betacellulin and epiregulin in the uterus requires the presence of an active blastocyst and suggest an involvement of these growth factors in the process of implantation.

Failure analysis of a leaf spring which failed prematurely during service was carried out using optical and scanning electron microscopy, hardness and tensile testing, and residual stress evaluation by X-ray diffraction. Quench cracks, which are aligned normal to the length of the leaf, have been identified in shot peened and polished surfaces. These cracks have been attributed to an improper quenching process. It is established by theoretical analysis that the leaf thickness is smaller than the critical plate thickness required for this composition of steel, and that leads to an increase in quench severity. It appears that some of these quench cracks have propagated by a fatigue mode which is confirmed by the presence of beach marks on the fractures surface. Observation of intergranular cracking and the presence of FeS inclusions at the prior austenite rain boundaries implies that some sort of grain boundary embrittlement might have facilitated crack growth and led to failure. It has been suggested that quenching should be carried out by recommended procedures guided by the thickness of the component and chemical composition of the steel. Careful inspection of the surface after quenching must also be carried out to maintain quality assurance in order to avoid premature failure.

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