Protecting the children -a virtual reality experiment on consumers' risk perceptions of household chemicals.

Warnings on the labels of hazardous household chemicals (e.g. warning pictograms and use instructions) should create risk awareness and thus encourage safe storage, handling and disposal.

Honeycomb micro-textures for light trapping in multi-crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells.

The liquid phase crystallization (LPC) of silicon is an emerging technology for fabricating 10 - 20 µm thin multi-crystalline silicon layers on glass. LPC silicon solar cells exhibit similar electronic performance to multi-crystalline wafer-based devices. Due to the reduced absorber thickness, however, effective measures for light trapping have to be taken.

On accurate simulations of thin-film solar cells with a thick glass superstrate.

The optical response of periodically nanotextured layer stacks with dimensions comparable to the wavelength of the incident light can be computed with rigorous Maxwell solvers, such as the finite element method (FEM). Experimentally, such layer stacks are often prepared on glass superstrates with a thickness, which is orders of magnitude larger than the wavelength. For many applications, light in these thick superstrates can be treated incoherently.

Combining tailor-made textures for light in-coupling and light trapping in liquid phase crystallized silicon thin-film solar cells.

We present tailor-made imprinted nanostructures for light management in liquid phase crystallized silicon thin-film solar cells providing both, increased jsc by enhanced absorption and excellent electronic material-quality with Voc-values >640mV. All superstrate textures successfully enhance light in-coupling in 10-20µm thick liquid phase crystallized silicon thin-films. Moreover, the effect of combining imprinted textures at the front side with individually optimized light trapping schemes at the rear side of the absorber layers on the optical properties is analyzed.

Smooth anti-reflective three-dimensional textures for liquid phase crystallized silicon thin-film solar cells on glass.

Recently, liquid phase crystallization of thin silicon films has emerged as a candidate for thin-film photovoltaics. On 10 μm thin absorbers, wafer-equivalent morphologies and open-circuit voltages were reached, leading to 13.2% record efficiency.

Sinusoidal nanotextures for light management in silicon thin-film solar cells.

Recent progresses in liquid phase crystallization enabled the fabrication of thin wafer quality crystalline silicon layers on low-cost glass substrates enabling conversion efficiencies up to 12.1%. Because of its indirect band gap, a thin silicon absorber layer demands for efficient measures for light management.

Clavulanic acid: a competitive inhibitor of beta-lactamases with novel anxiolytic-like activity and minimal side effects.

Clavulanic acid is a member of the beta lactam family of antibiotics with little or no intrinsic antibacterial activity of its own; instead, it is used to enhance the activity of antibiotics by blocking bacterial beta-lactamases. Because clavulanic acid by itself is very safe, orally active and shows good brain penetrance, we sought to determine if it had any potential as a psychotherapeutic. Clavulanic acid was a tested across three mammalian species, hamsters, rats and cotton-top tamarin monkeys in a series of behavioral assays designed to screen for anxiolytic activity.

Vasopressin antagonists as anxiolytics and antidepressants: recent developments.

A compelling case for the potential utility of vasopressin (AVP) antagonists as a novel therapeutic class for the treatment of stress-related affective illness has emerged based on observations in depressed individuals, findings in animal models of anxiety and depression, and an understanding of changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation under chronic stress. The scientific bases for vasopressin antagonists as a pharmacotherapy for anxiety and depression include: 1) the neuroadaptation and dysregulation of HPA function that accompanies chronic stress in affected humans and in animal models of anxiety and depression, 2) recognition that AVP, not corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF), drives HPA function associated with chronic psychological stress, 3) the CNS localization of vasopressin V1a and V1b receptors in limbic system regions involved in HPA regulation and control of social behaviors, and 4) preclinical data showing efficacy in animal models employed as screens for anxiolytic and antidepressant activity. The public health need for new pharmaceutical treatments for stress-related affective illness is well documented.

Azetidinones as vasopressin V1a antagonists.

The azetidinone LY307174 (1) was identified as a screening lead for the vasopressin V1a receptor (IC50 45 nM at the human V1a receptor) based on molecular similarity to ketoconazole (2), a known antagonist of the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone receptor. Structure-activity relationships for the series were explored to optimize receptor affinity and pharmacokinetic properties, resulting in compounds with Ki values <1nM and brain levels after oral dosing approximately 100-fold higher than receptor affinities.

Orally active vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist, SRX251, selectively blocks aggressive behavior.

Arginine vasopressin functions as a neurochemical signal in the brain to affect social behavior. There is an expanding literature from animal and human studies showing that vasopressin, through the vasopressin 1A receptor (V1A), can stimulate aggressive behavior. Using a novel monocylic beta lactam platform, a series of orally active vasopressin V1a antagonists was developed with high affinity for the human receptor.

Vasopressin-dependent flank marking in golden hamsters is suppressed by drugs used in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Alterations in arginine vasopressin regulation and secretion have been proposed as one possible biochemical abnormality in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. In golden hamsters, arginine vasopressin microinjections into the anterior hypothalamus trigger robust grooming and flank marking, a stereotyped scent marking behaviors. The intensity and repetition of the behaviors induced by arginine vasopressin is somewhat reminiscent of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in humans.

[Motivation and psychological suitability for work in a pediatric intensive care unit].

During interviews with physicians and nurses on the general pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of the University of Heidelberg Children's Hospital personnel reported on various aspects of their work. One complex of questions dealt with the motivation to work in intensive medicine. Physicians and nurses showed different patterns of motivation.

LY320135, a novel cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist, unmasks coupling of the CB1 receptor to stimulation of cAMP accumulation.

LY320135 is a selective antagonist for the brain CB1 receptor, having greater than 70-fold higher affinity for the CB1 than the peripheral CB2 receptor. The Ki values for LY320135 at the CB1 and CB2 receptors, transfected and stably expressed in cell lines, were 224 nM and > 10 microM, respectively. Similar Ki values were measured in binding studies performed on cerebellum and spleen membrane preparations endogenously expressing the CB1 (203 nM) and CB2 (> 10 microM) receptors, respectively.

[Consequences of the ambivalence about openness and transparency].

Personnel at the general intensive care unit at the University of Heidelberg Children's Hospital aim for a maximum of openness and transparency for parents regarding everything relevant to their own child. In this context ward nurses were interviewed about diverse aspects of their work. Aside from technical-medical activities, nurses regarded the relationship to the parents to be a central point in their work.

Vasopressin/serotonin interactions in the anterior hypothalamus control aggressive behavior in golden hamsters.

Studies in several species of rodents show that arginine vasopressin (AVP) acting through a V1A receptor facilitates offensive aggression, i.e., the initiation of attacks and bites, whereas serotonin (5-HT) acting through a 5-HT1B receptor inhibits aggressive responding.

Isolation and measurement of the endogenous cannabinoid receptor agonist, anandamide, in brain and peripheral tissues of human and rat.

Anandamide (arachidonylethanolamide) is a novel lipid neurotransmitter first isolated from porcine brain which has been shown to be a functional agonist for the cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors. Anandamide has never been isolated from human brain or peripheral tissues and its role in human physiology has not been examined. Anandamide was measured by LC/MS/MS and was found in human and rat hippocampus (and human parahippocampal cortex), striatum, and cerebellum, brain areas known to express high levels of CB1 cannabinoid receptors.

A novel class of 5-HT2A receptor antagonists: aryl aminoguanidines.

Local delivery of serotonin (5-HT) produces a rapid edematous response in soft tissues via increased fluid extravasation which is prevented by 5-HT2 antagonists such as ketanserin or mianserin. Here we report the effects of a new class of aminoguanidine 5-HT2 antagonists, with relative selectivity for 5-HT2A receptors which are potent inhibitors of 5-HT-induced paw edema in the rat. Radioligand binding studies with 125I DOI on human 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors and with 3H-5-HT on human 5-HT2B receptors demonstrated that, LY314228, and LY320954 displayed some selectivity for the 5-HT2A receptor.

Use of peptide combinatorial libraries in drug design: the identification of a potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor derived from a tripeptide cassette library.

Background: Medicinal chemistry traditionally requires the identification of biologically active molecules by synthesizing and screening each purified substrate. Further progress in drug discovery then requires definition of the structure-activity relationship of the lead compound. More recently, combinatorial chemistry has emerged as a way to examine structure-activity relationships by screening a large mixture of compounds synthesized in a predictably random manner, without the labor-intensive costs of molecular isolation and purification.

Chemoimmunoconjugate development for ovarian carcinoma therapy: preclinical studies with vinca alkaloid-monoclonal antibody constructs.

Preclinical efficacy studies are presented in a human ovarian carcinoma model utilizing several novel conjugation strategies with the KS1/4 monoclonal antibody and derivatives of the vinca alkaloid desacetylvinblastine hydrazide. The chemoimmunoconjugates KS1/4-beta-alanine-methylenemalonic acid ethyl ester-4-decacetylvinblastine 23-hydrazide (KS1/4-BAMME-DAVLB-HY), KS1/4-beta-alanine-5-formylpyrrole-2-carboxylic acid-4-desacetylvinblastine 23-hydrazide (KS1/4-BAP-DAVLB-HY), and KS1/4-4-desacetylvinblastine 23-hydrazide were explored in the OVCAR-3 human ovarian carcinoma xenograft model. These conjugates, constructed with variable linker stability between the vinca alkaloid and the antibody, were studied by comparing the route of administration and the treatment schedule.

Long-term growth suppression of human glioma xenografts by chemoimmunoconjugates of 4-desacetylvinblastine-3-carboxyhydrazide and monoclonal antibody 9.2.27.

A conjugate of 4-desacetylvinblastine-3-carboxyhydrazide (DAVLBHY) and the glioma-reactive monoclonal antibody (mAb) 9.2.27 induced long-term suppression of tumor growth in athymic nude mice engrafted with U87MG human glioma cells.

Effect of myeloma IgE injections on passive and active cutaneous anaphylaxis in rats.

The ability of injected rat IgE myeloma protein IR162 to inhibit passive and active cutaneous anaphylaxis in Lewis rats was investigated. IgE injected i.p.

Synthetic Fc peptide-mediated regulation of the immune response. I. Characterization of the immunomodulating properties of a synthetic 23-amino acid peptide derived from the sequence of the CH3 domain of human IgG1.

A synthetic 23-amino acid peptide derived from the CH3 domain of human IgG1 was found to be a potent adjuvant as well as a polyclonal activator. The Fc peptide was found to enhance human and murine humoral, and T cell-mediated immune responses. Moreover, in vivo administration of Fc peptide enhanced murine natural killer cell activity.

Isolation of three separate anaphylatoxins from complement-activated human serum.

Recent methodologies used in preparing anaphylatoxins from complement-activated serum are described. Activation of the alternative pathway generates C3a and C5a; however, activation of the classical pathway is required to generate the anaphylatoxin from C4. This article describes an activation scheme that simultaneously generates all three of the anaphylatoxins (e.

Schultz-Dale reaction in mouse trachea.

A method was developed to induce contraction of immunologically sensitized mouse trachea by antigen (Schultz-Dale reaction). The response was mediated by immunoglobulin (Ig) E antibody directed against either the hapten DNP, the hapten carrier conjugate DNP-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), or the unmodified carrier KLH. Tracheal contractions were elicited by DNP-KLH, KLH, or DNP-bovine serum albumin (BSA) but not by DNP or BSA alone.