Ultra-Short Pulses Laser Heating of Dielectrics: A Semi-Classical Analytical Model.

Femtosecond laser pulses are currently regarded as an emerging and promising tool for processing wide bandgap dielectric materials across a variety of high-end applications, although the associated physical phenomena are not yet fully understood. To address these challenges, we propose an original, fully analytical model combined with Two Temperatures Model (TTM) formalism. The model is applied to describe the interaction of fs laser pulses with a typical dielectric target (e.

Prethrombin-1 as a Drug Substance Promoting Hemostasis with Reduced Risk of Thrombosis.

Introduction:  Prethrombin-1 is a Gla-domain lacking enzymatically inactive split product that results from the cleavage of fragment 1 from prothrombin by thrombin in a feedback reaction.

Methods:  A prethrombin-1 preparation derived from human plasma was tested for its hemostatic and thrombogenic properties. Animal models of nail clipping (for rabbits) and tail clipping (for mice) were developed to measure blood loss in FVIII-inhibitor or rivaroxaban anticoagulated rabbits and mice, respectively.

On the Thermal Behavior during Spatial Anisotropic Femtoseconds Laser-DNA Interaction: The Crucial Role of Hermite Polynomials.

A novel analytical formalism based on the quantum heat transport equation is proposed for the interaction of fs-laser pulses with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strands. The formalism has the intensity of the laser beam and the interaction time between the laser and the DNA as input parameters. To this end, the thermal distribution generated in the irradiated DNA strands was introduced by splitting the laser beam into transverse Hermite-Gauss modes.

Carbon-Nanowall Microporous Layers for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell.

The cathode microporous layer (MPL), as one of the key components of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC), requires specialized carbon materials to ensure the two-phase flow and interfacial effects. In this respect, we designed a novel MPL based on highly hydrophobic carbon nanowalls (CNW). Employing plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition techniques directly on carbon paper, we produced high-quality microporous layers at a competitive yield-to-cost ratio with distinctive MPL properties: high porosity, good stability, considerable durability, high hydrophobicity, and substantial conductivity.

Hybrid Proton-Exchange Membrane Based on Perfluorosulfonated Polymers and Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Hydrogel.

Organic resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) hydrogels were introduced into a hybrid cation-exchange membrane in order to enhance its following properties: water uptake, thermal stability, and ionic conductivity. This study was aimed to investigate the modifications induced by the RF organic clusters that form a uniform distributed network within the perflourosulfonated acid (PFSA) matrix. RF concentration was controlled by resorcinol and formaldehyde impregnation time using water or ethanol solvents.

A microscale method of protein extraction from bacteria: Interaction of Escherichia coli with cationic microparticles.

We developed a simple, highly selective, efficient method for extracting recombinant proteins from Escherichia coli. Our recombinant protein yield was equivalent to those obtained with high pressure homogenization, and did not require exposure to harsh thermal, chemical, or other potentially denaturing factors. We first ground conventional resin, designed for the exchange of small anions, into microparticles about 1μm in size.

[Features of adhesion of anaerobic periodontopathogenic bacteria and Candida albicans fungi to experimental samples of basis dental plastic depending on surface roughness and polishing method].

Aim: Study the main surface parameters of milled polyacrylic materials using atomic force microscopy and primary microbial adhesion of periodontopathogenic group bacteria and Candida albicans fungi taking into consideration the method of sample polishing.

Materials And Methods: Studied samples: mill-treated without polishing (control); ergobox polished; polished in dental laboratory conditions; polished by a rubber brush in dentists' office. Microbial strains belonging to periodontopathogenic species (clinical isolates) that had been isolated from periodontal pockets of periodontitis patients: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Streptococcus sanguis, C.

Prediction of inclusion body solubilization from shaken to stirred reactors.

Inclusion bodies (IBs) were solubilized in a µ-scale system using shaking microtiter plates or a stirred tank reactor in a laboratory setting. Characteristic dimensionless numbers for mixing, the Phase number Ph and Reynolds number Re did not correlate with the kinetics and equilibrium of protein solubilization. The solubilization kinetics was independent of the mixing system, stirring or shaking rate, shaking diameter, and energy input.

[Biofilm formation on temporary dentures: correlation of primary adhesion, coaggregation and colonization].

Forty-six patients (20 male and 26 female, age 45-76) with temporary dental prosthesis were followed-up both clinically and microbiologically. The results of quantitative and qualitative assessment proved biofilm formed on acrylic resin to be potentially more aggressive because of high incidence and significant number of virulent germs as well as yeast-like Candida fungal. Laboratory polished polyurethane samples showed much lower colonization by virulent germs and Candida fungal.

Matrix-assisted refolding of autoprotease fusion proteins on an ion exchange column.

Refolding of proteins must be performed under very dilute conditions to overcome the competing aggregation reaction, which has a high reaction order. Refolding on a chromatography column partially prevents formation of the intermediate form prone to aggregation. A chromatographic refolding procedure was developed using an autoprotease fusion protein with the mutant EDDIE from the N(pro) autoprotease of pestivirus.

Consequences of group fission for the patterns of relatedness among rhesus macaques.

When mammalian social groups exceed their optimal size, they often tend to split. In view of the potential evolutionary benefits, it should be more advantageous for animals to stay with kin, rather than nonkin, during such fission events. In the present study, the spontaneous fission of two social groups, R and S, of rhesus macaques living on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, provided the opportunity to compare the kinship structure of the corresponding parent and daughter groups, using information on both maternal and paternal relatedness.

Male reproductive timing in Rhesus macaques is influenced by the 5HTTLPR promoter polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene.

The 5HTTLPR polymorphism in the promoter region of the human serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) gene is known to be associated with various stress-related psychological and psychiatric phenomena. We observed that a similar diallelic polymorphism in the orthologous gene of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was related to the reproductive life history of 580 males residing in the free-ranging colony of Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, between 1985 and 1998. At first glance, the polymorphism appeared to be selectively neutral because no difference in total reproductive output was noted between males of different 5HTTLPR genotypes.

[Participation of the inhibitory mechanisms in the gastric hypersecretion caused by overproduction of glucocorticoids].

Semichronic experiments on rats with gastric fistula discovered that subcutaneous glucocorticoid prednisolone attenuates adrenergic (adrenalin) and M-cholinoreceptor (gastrocepin) inhibition of basal gastric secretion. This enhances the secretion in the course of the inhibitory process.

[Effect of prednisolone on the inhibition of basal gastric secretion in laboratory rats induced by fats or blockade of H2-receptors].

Experiments on rats with gastric fistulae for the first time have shown that glucocorticosteroid prednisolone causes weakening of the fat and H2-receptor inhibition of basal gastric secretion.

A longitudinal study of age-specific reproductive output and body condition among male rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta.

In many mammalian species, male reproductive success appears to climb sharply at young adulthood, form a brief plateau during prime ages, and decline among older animals, a pattern often attributed to reduced physical condition with ageing. However, solid evidence to either substantiate or refute this profile among nonhuman primates is lacking. Here, we combine a decade of genetic analysis of paternity among free-ranging rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, with information about body condition in order to evaluate how changes in morphology might govern age-specific reproduction among males.

Kink nucleation in the two-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova model.

A computer simulation of thermofluctuation nucleation of kinks on dislocations and their dynamics is carried out in the framework of the two-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova model. It is shown that at relatively low temperatures and applied stresses the kinks can appear as a result of developing instability of phonon modes localized in the vicinity of the dislocation. The transition from this mechanism to the ordinary thermofluctuation kink nucleation with temperature increase can reveal itself in the peculiarities of yield stress temperature dependence.

[Microbiological validation of the choice of basic plastic for removable dentures].

Adhesion of obligate and facultative anaerobic bacteria, favoring the development of oral inflammatory diseases, including the cariesogenic and periodontogenic bacteria and Candida albicans fungi, isolated from patients with periodontitis, to 13 basic materials used in removable denture making, was studied. The adhesion of all bacteria (Streptococcus sanguis, Prevotella melangogenica, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Corynebacterium xerosis) and fungi to hot polymerization basic materials was the maximum. The most perspective basic plastic for clinical use (preserving intact oral microbiocenosis and preventing stomatitis induced by denture wearing) are cold polymerization materials, such as Redont-03, Dentoplast Breden, Leocryl, and UHF polymerization materials Acron GC, AKR-MV, and Etakril-02.

[Effect of prednisolone on the basal gastric secretion in laboratory rats depending on functional state of the stomach adrenoreceptors].

Activation of the stomach adrenoreceptors with adrenaline resulting in inhibition of fundal glands promotes stimulating effect of prednisolone glucocorticosteroid action on basal gastric secretion.

[Clinical and laboratory studies of bacterial adhesion to validate the choice of material for making provisional dentures for patients with periodontal diseases].

Adhesion of bacteria favoring the development of oral inflammations, including cariesogenic and periodontopathogenic (Actinobacillus actinomycetemcommitans, Streptococcus sanguis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Staphylococcus warneri) and yeast fungi (Candida albicans), to 13 materials used for making provisional dentures was studied. Adhesion of all the studied bacteria and fungi to Russian material Esterfil Foto was the minimum. Clinical use of this material in patients with chronic generalized periodontitis showed that it was well tolerated and the treatment led to improvement of oral microbiocenosis.

Multiple sirehood in free-ranging twin rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

Rhesus macaque females regularly copulate with a number of partners, and produce a single offspring per reproductive cycle in over 99% of cases. We used genotyping of 10 STR markers to determine paternity in the Cayo Santiago population of rhesus macaques. About 1,500 monkeys have been analyzed to date, with their marker genotypes entered into a computerized database.

Increased reproductive success of MHC class II heterozygous males among free-ranging rhesus macaques.

Gene conversion and balancing selection have been invoked to explain the ubiquitous diversity of the antigen-presenting proteins encoded in the vertebrate major histocompatibility complex (MHC). In the present study, direct evidence for over-dominant selection promoting MHC diversity in primates is provided by the observation that, in a large free-ranging population of rhesus macaques, males heterozygous at MHC class II locus Mamu-DQB1 sired significantly more offspring than homozygotes (the male-specific selection coefficient s equals 0.34).

Natal dispersal in rhesus macaques is related to serotonin transporter gene promoter variation.

A VNTR polymorphism previously characterized in the promoter region of the human serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) gene was also found to segregate two major alleles (l and s) among the free-ranging rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. When VNTR genotypes were related to age at male natal dispersal on Cayo Santiago, ss homozygotes (43 of 532 males tested) were found to have left their natal groups significantly earlier (age 57.1 +/- 2.

DNA sequence polymorphisms in genes involved in the regulation of dopamine and serotonin metabolism in rhesus macaques.

A systematic search was performed for DNA sequence variation in genes regulating neurotransmitter metabolism in rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). These genes included dopamine and serotonin receptors and transporters, and tyrosine hydroxylase. A total of 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms in five different genes were identified, namely: DRD1 (-244T->G), q = 0.

[Effect of prednisolone on the gastric juice basal secretion during blockade of M-cholinoreceptors by gastrozepin in rats].

A moderate depression of the stomach M-cholinic receptors was found to facilitate the prednisolone glucocorticoid stimulating effect on basal gastric secretion.