The Cracking of Al-Mg Alloys Welded by MIG and FSW under Slow Strain Rating.

Al-Mg alloys used in the shipbuilding industry were tested. The most commonly used alloy AW 5083 and alloy AW 5059 with higher strength properties were selected. Both native materials and their joints welded by the traditional MIG arc welding method and the friction stir welding (FSW) method were tested.

Dynamic NVH Numerical Analysis of Power Steering in the Presence of Lubricant in the System.

The ongoing shift towards hybrid and electric vehicles has a strong impact on noise and vibration engineering. New, complex dynamic phenomena are brought to vehicle user attention due to the absence of internal combustion engines and the significant role in vehicle and drive feel perception. This paper presents an FEM (Finite Element Method) dynamic simulation model of an automotive Electric Power Steering assembly.

The Referee as an Educator: Assessment of the Quality of Referee-Players Interactions in Competitive Youth Handball.

Sport does not automatically generate educational benefits for players. For a sports field to become a child-friendly educational environment, it is essential that all actors involved in the organization of youth sport take deliberate educational measures. Among these actors are referees, who should be taken into account during the research on the educational value of sport for the youngest.

Pedagogical Function of Referees in Youth Sport: Assessment of the Quality of Referee-Player Interactions in Youth Soccer.

We assume that all institutions and individuals involved in the organization of sport for children and young people should utilize the educational potential of sport. We assessed the quality of referee interactions with children during sports competitions in soccer. Based on the developmental theory and research suggesting that interactions between kids and adults are the primary mechanism of their development and learning, we focused on the quality of the referee-player interactions in terms of (1) emotional support, (2) game organization, and (3) instructional support.

Documenting archaeological thin sections in high-resolution: A comparison of methods and discussion of applications.

Optical thin section observations represent the core empirical basis for most micromorphological interpretations at archaeological sites. These observations, which often vary in size and shape, are usually documented through digital graphic representations such as photomicrographs, scans, or figures. Due to variability in documentation practices, however, visual thin section data can be captured with a range of methods and in many different formats and resolutions.

Perfusion CT - A novel quantitative and qualitative imaging biomarker in gastric cancer.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to examine whether Perfusion Computed Tomography (P-CT) can qualitatively and quantitatively help detect gastric cancer neoangiogenesis in vivo as well as treatment response evaluation. We attempted to explore which P-CT parameters are best used in neoangiogenesis and neoadjuvant therapy for most effective evaluation. We also tried to recognize a positive prediction value of P-CT in early responders and non-responders patients identification.

[The competence of physical education teachers in the health education program].

The Minister of National Education introduces relevant changes into the content and aims of health education in virtue of the resolution of 23 December 2008 that relates to the essential curricula of pre-school and general education in particular types of schools. Special responsibility for the realization of the health education programme in schools rests, according to the content of the above mentioned document, with the teachers of physical education. Placing physical education teachers in the role of the leading executor of the health education aims in schools induces a reflection on the degree of the teachers'preparation to fulfill such a role.

[Open versus percutaneous repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm].

Background: The mortality in aortic abdominal aneurysm surgery remains in the 2-7% range. The aim of the study was to compare the results and safety of surgical aneurysm resection with grafting under general anaesthesia, using percutaneous insertion of a stent under local anaesthesia and intravenous analgesic sedation.

Methods: The data from patients scheduled for elective subrenal abdominal aortic treatment was analysed retrospectively.

[Surfactant protein D as a biomarker for lung injury].

Respiratory distress and the need for mechanical ventilation, have been the most common reasons for ITU hospitalization. Pulmonary pathology is sometimes difficult to diagnose and differentiate; therefore we are on a continuous search for diagnostic tools and markers. It has been suggested that in patients intubated for acute lung injury, lower concentrations of surfactant proteins A and D in bronchoalveolar fluid and higher concentrations in the plasma are associated with more severe lung injury and worse clinical outcomes.

[Clinical usefulness of gastric tonometry in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine].

Gastric tonometry is relatively non-invasive technique to assess gastric perfusion and to monitor oxygen metabolism in visceral system. The technique utilizes the PCO2 of the gastric fluid to calculate intramucosal pH (pHi). The calculation is assessed by a modified Henderson-Hasselbalch equation.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene expression and release in cultured human dermal microvascular endothelial cells.

Endothelial dysfunctions in the microcirculation are a common finding in the course of inflammatory disorders. These are, at least in part, mediated by endogenous agonists, e.g.

Procalcitonin amplifies inducible nitric oxide synthase gene expression and nitric oxide production in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Objective: Elevated procalcitonin concentrations are found in the course of systemic inflammation caused by bacterial insults, for example, sepsis and septic shock. However, the source of procalcitonin and its role in the inflammatory process are still unknown. In clinical studies, procalcitonin concentrations reflected the severity of sepsis and were predictive of mortality, suggesting that an increased procalcitonin synthesis is detrimental for the host.

Effects of antithrombin III on tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1beta synthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells.

In the course of sepsis, severe coagulopathy and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) are common events. Therefore, substances known to interfere with the coagulation cascade have been studied in animal models of sepsis. Among them, antithrombin III (AT III) was reported to be a promising therapeutic tool because it exhibited anti-inflammatory properties in addition to its anticoagulative effects.

Nitric oxide-dependent apoptosis in ovarian carcinoma cell lines.

Objective: In a recent study, we found different profiles of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression in the ovarian carcinoma cell lines OVCAR-3, HOC-7, and 2774 following stimulation by proinflammatory cytokines. The present study was performed to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) synthesis correlates with programmed cell death in these cells.

Methods: NO-Dependent apoptosis was detected by DNA fragmentation analysis and fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis.

Antithrombin III enhances inducible nitric oxide synthase gene expression in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Evidence suggests that antithrombin III (ATIII) exerts anti-inflammatory properties in addition to its anti-coagulative mechanisms. In animal models of sepsis, ATIII affected cytokine plasma concentrations with a decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In addition to cytokines, excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) derived from inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) might represent another important mediator of the cytotoxic events during sepsis.

Partial purification and characterization of the first hydrogenase isolated from a thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium.

A soluble [NiFe] hydrogenase has been partially purified from the obligate thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium Thermodesulfobacterium mobile. A 17% purification yield was obtained after four chromatographic steps and the hydrogenase presents a purity index (A398 nm/A277 nm) equal to 0.21.

Purification and characterization of bisulfite reductase (desulfofuscidin) from Desulfovibrio thermophilus and its complexes with exogenous ligands.

A dissimilatory bisulfite reductase has been purified from a thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio thermophilus (DSM 1276) and studied by EPR and optical spectroscopic techniques. The visible spectrum of the purified bisulfite reductase exhibits absorption maxima at 578.5, 392.

On the active sites of the [NiFe] hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio gigas. Mössbauer and redox-titration studies.

The [NiFe] hydrogenase isolated from Desulfovibrio gigas was poised at different redox potentials and studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The data firmly establish that this hydrogenase contains four prosthetic groups: one nickel center, one [3Fe-xS], and two [4Fe-4S] clusters. In the native enzyme, both the nickel and the [3Fe-xS] cluster are EPR-active.

Putative signal peptide on the small subunit of the periplasmic hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris.

We sequenced the NH2 terminus of the large and small subunits of the periplasmic hydrogenase from the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough) and found that the small subunit lacks a region of 34 NH4-terminal amino acids coded by the gene for the small subunit (G. Voordouw and S. Brenner, Eur.

A reversible effect of low carbon monoxide concentrations on the EPR spectra of the periplasmic hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris.

The effect of low concentrations of CO (0.93 - 5.58 microM) on the EPR spectrum of the periplasmic non-heme iron hydrogenase from D.

Redox properties and activity studies on a nickel-containing hydrogenase isolated from a halophilic sulfate reducer Desulfovibrio salexigens.

A soluble hydrogenase from the halophilic sulfate reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio salexigens, strain British Guiana (NCIB 8403) has been purified to apparent homogeneity with a final specific activity of 760 mumoles H2 evolved/min/mg (an overall 180-fold purification with 20% recovery yield). The enzyme is composed of two non-identical subunits of molecular masses 62 and 36 kDa, respectively, and contains approximately 1 Ni, 12-15 Fe and 1 Se atoms/mole. The hydrogenase shows a visible absorption spectrum typical of an iron-sulfur containing protein (A400/A280 = 0.

The pH dependence of proton-deuterium exchange, hydrogen production and uptake catalyzed by hydrogenases from sulfate-reducing bacteria.

Different patterns have been found in the pH dependence of hydrogenase activity with enzymes purified from different species of Desulfovibrio. With the cytoplasmic hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio baculatus strain 9974, the pH optima in H2 production and uptake were respectively 4.0 and 7.

Low temperature magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy as a probe for the optical transitions of paramagnetic nickel in hydrogenase.

A partially-purified sample of hydrogenase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (delta H strain) has been investigated by optical absorption, magnetic circular dichroism and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Variable temperature magnetic circular dichroism studies reveal, for the first time, the optical transitions associated with the Ni(III) center in the oxidized enzyme. Low temperature magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy provides a new method of assessing both the coordination environment of Ni in hydrogenase and the appropriateness of inorganic model complexes.

A cytoplasmic nickel-iron hydrogenase with high specific activity from Desulfovibrio multispirans sp. N., a new species of sulfate reducing bacterium.

A hydrogenase from a new species of sulfate reducing bacterium has been isolated and characterized. In contrast to other hydrogenases isolated from Desulfovibrio, this enzyme is found in the cytoplasmic fraction rather than in the periplasm. The specific activity of the enzyme, as measured in the hydrogen evolution assay, is twice as high as the specific activity of the hydrogenase from D.