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Experimental studies indicate the capacity of Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) receptor antagonists to act as therapeutic agents for curing rheumatoid arthritis induced by collagen. The receptor antagonist of LTB4, CP-105, 696, prevents linkage between neutrophil membranes and LTB4 and chemotaxis of these cells. This inhibition, however, does not proceed through suppression of the humoral immuno response to collagen.

Elastic full waveform inversion (EFWI) aims to reduce the misfit between recorded and modelled multicomponent seismic data for deducing a detailed model of elastic parameters in the subsurface. Because the explicit computation and inversion of the Hessian matrix is extremely resource intensive, a gradient-based (rather than Hessian-based) minimization is generally applied for large-scale applications. However, the multiparameter trade-off effects cause cross-talks in the computed gradients and thus severely affect the convergence and the quality of the inverted model. Recently, preconditioning the gradients based on elastic wave mode decomposition has been suggested for mitigating the parameter trade-offs in the EFWI process. In this paper, we propose a mode decomposition (MD)-based EFWI approach in which the preconditioned gradients are obtained through the cross-correlation of the forward and decomposed adjoint wavefields in the time domain. Based on the decomposed Frechéet derivatives, we explain the mechanism of this approach through analyses of Hessian and resolution matrices and comparison with the Gauss--Newton gradients. Numerical examples of a simple fluid-saturated model and the Marmousi-II model demonstrate that the MD-based preconditioned conjugate-gradient approach can mitigate the trade-off between the P- and S-wave velocities and achieve fast convergence without any Hessian-involved calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma transferred arc cladding process was used to fabricate (NiCoFeCrCu)95B5 multielement alloy coating. The microstructure and electrochemical behaviours of the coating were investigated. Results show that the precipitation of intermetallic compounds in the coating is effectively inhibited by the rapid solidification process. The coating has simple ordered body centred cubic and face centred cubic solid solution phases. The as prepared coating has excellent corrosion resistance in hydrochloric acid solution. The corresponding corrosion current and corrosion rates are effectively reduced, and the electrochemical impedance is significantly improved referenced to those of the 304 stainless steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of rumen-protected γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on performance and nutrient digestibility in heat-stressed dairy cows. Sixty Holstein dairy cows (141 ± 15 d in milk, 35.9 ± 4.3 kg of milk/d, and parity 2.0 ± 1.1) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments according to a completely randomized block design. Treatments consisted of 0 (control), 40, 80, or 120 mg of true GABA/kg of dry matter (DM). The trial lasted 10 wk. The average temperature-humidity indices at 0700, 1400, and 2200 h were 78.4, 80.2, and 78.7, respectively. Rectal temperatures decreased linearly at 0700, 1400, and 2200 h with increasing GABA concentration. Supplementation of GABA had no effect on respiration rates at any time point. Dry matter intake, energy-corrected milk, 4% fat-corrected milk, and milk fat yield tended to increase linearly with increasing GABA concentration. Supplementation of GABA affected, in a quadratic manner, milk protein and lactose concentrations, and milk protein yield, and the peak values were reached at a dose of 40 mg of GABA/kg. Milk urea nitrogen concentration responded quadratically. Total solids content increased linearly with increasing GABA concentration. Supplementation of GABA had no effect on milk yield, lactose production, total solids, milk fat concentration, somatic cell score, or feed efficiency. Apparent total-tract digestibilities of DM, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber were similar among treatments. These results indicate that rumen-protected GABA supplementation to dairy cows can alleviate heat stress by reducing rectal temperature, increase DM intake and milk production, and improve milk composition. The appropriate supplemental GABA level for heat-stressed dairy cows is 40 mg/kg of DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactoferrin (LF) concentrations in the milk with different levels of the somatic cell count score were examined using an ELISA to determine whether milk LF concentration is influenced by parity of the cow, stage of lactation, and the somatic cell count. The study animals were 198 Chinese Holstein cows randomly chosen from more than 1,600 cows in 4 dairy farms in the Beijing area. The cows had shown no sign of mastitis for 2 mo. Daily milk production was recorded, and milk samples were taken from individual cow samples. The LF concentration varied between 31.78 and 485.63 µg/mL in milk from normal animals. Lactoferrin was significantly associated with stage of lactation (r = 0.557) and daily milk production (r = -0.472). Nevertheless, there was no significant relationship with parity. Moreover, milk LF concentration tended to be correlated with the somatic cell count score (r = 0.375). This finding suggests that milk LF may be helpful as an indicator for intramammary infection in dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to control the shape and distribution of hard phases in a surfacing deposit, a longitudinal DC magnetic field was applied during plasma arc surfacing of low carbonsted with two iron based alloys (Fe 5 and Fe 3). Hardness and wear testing as well as microstructural X-ray diffraction analyses and microstructure of two surfacing deposits were investigated. The results show that the surfacing deposit subjected to a magnetic field exhibits higher hardness and better wear resistance than that produced without the application of magnetic field. When the magnetic field current is 3 A, properties of the surfacing deposit are optimal. Under this processing condition, both α and γ solid solutions are sufficiently refined and such hard phases as Cr7C3 and CrB can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous lanthanum aluminate (LAO) gate dielectric has been grown on silicon substrates by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The structure, morphology, thermal stability, bandgap, and electrical properties have been characterized by various techniques. The LAO films exhibit excellent thermal stability and keep noncrystalline structure even after 900°C rapid thermal anneal. The smooth surface and larger bandgap are also confirmed. By optimizing the processing, the minimume value of equivalent oxide thickness around 0.9 nm of LAO/Si has been achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–ferroelectric–insulator–semiconductor structures using LaAlO3 (LAO) layers as an insulating barrier have been investigated. LAO films were deposited on n-Si substrates by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) films were prepared as ferroelectric layers at a low processing temperature of 650 °C by a metalorganic decomposition method. The MOCVD-derived LAO buffer layer shows an amorphous structure, relatively high dielectric constant, and good electrical properties. Au/SBT/LAO/n-Si exhibits a larger counterclockwise C–V memory window of 3.7 V and a lower leakage-current density of 2.5×10-8 A/cm2 at an applied voltage of 10 V. It has been confirmed that the hysteresis loop is caused by ferroelectricity. The Auger electron spectrometry depth profile indicates that the introduction of the LAO buffer layer prevents the interfacial diffusion between SBT and the Si substrate effectively and improves the interface quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]