Syntheses and evaluation of antioxidant activity of sydnonyl substituted thiazolidinone and thiazoline derivatives.

3-Aryl-4-formylsydnone 4'-phenylthiosemicarbazones (3a-d) and 3-aryl-4-formylsydnone thiosemicarbazones (3e-h), which are precursors of 3-aryl-4-heterocyclic sydnones, are prepared by the condensation of 3-aryl-4-formylsydnones (1a-d) with 4'-phenylthiosemicarbazide (2a) and thiosemicarbazide (2b), respectively. The thiosemicarbazones 3 reacted with cyclic reagents such as ethyl chloroacetate (4a), ethyl 2-chloroacetoacetate (4b) and 2-bromoacetophenone (4c) to produce heterocyclic substituted sydnone derivatives 5-7 that possess 4-oxo-thiazolidine and thiazoline groups. The antioxidant activity of synthesized compounds 5a-7h was evaluated.

Fuzzy logic automatic control of the Phoenix-7 total artificial heart.

Automatic physiological control of the pneumatic Phoenix-7 total artificial heart (TAH) occupies a pivotal position for clinical application of the device. We developed a fuzzy logic automatic control algorithm for the Phoenix-7. The object of the automatic control system is to regulate the cardiac output at a level desirable for the given preload.

Lifting strengths in different exertion heights conditioned on extended legs.

This study recruited seven height-matched healthy males to examine their maximum isometric lifting strengths across 13 exertion heights, ranging from 25 cm to 133 cm in increment of 9 cm. The results showed a nonlinear (increasing-decreasing-increasing) strength-height relationship for all subjects. The subjects' lifting strength was strongest (mean 1253.

Human pulling strengths in different conditions of exertion.

This study tested 29 young Taiwanese men and 31 young Taiwanese women to examine the effects of pulling type (one-handed and two-handed) and height (48 cm, 84 cm, 120 cm, and 156 cm) on maximum horizontal isometric pulling strengths. Analysis showed differences in pulling strength between one-handed and two-handed efforts were surprisingly small for free pulling postures. The pulling strength decreased significantly with pulling height.

Molecular solutions for the subset-sum problem on DNA-based supercomputing.

In this paper our main purpose is to give molecular solutions for the subset-sum problem. In order to achieve this, we propose a DNA-based algorithm of an n-bit parallel adder and a DNA-based algorithm of an n-bit parallel comparator to formally verify our designed molecular solutions for the subset-sum problem.

Amauromyces farinaceous, rare known species and new record from Taiwan.

Amauromyces farinaceous is investigated. The species is a rare corticiaceous Homobasidiomycete recently collected in Taiwan. The unique basidial morphology, cell walls and septal pores of the hyphae are studied by transmission electron microscopy.

Solving the set cover problem and the problem of exact cover by 3-sets in the Adleman-Lipton model.

Adleman wrote the first paper in which it is shown that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strands could be employed towards calculating solutions to an instance of the NP-complete Hamiltonian path problem (HPP). Lipton also demonstrated that Adleman's techniques could be used to solve the NP-complete satisfiability (SAT) problem (the first NP-complete problem). In this paper, it is proved how the DNA operations presented by Adleman and Lipton can be used for developing DNA algorithms to resolving the set cover problem and the problem of exact cover by 3-sets.

Flow study on a newly developed impeller for a left ventricular assist device.

Nowadays, left ventricular assist devices are usually designed as high-speed, electric, rotary blood pumps. The pump drains blood from the left ventricular apex via an inlet cannula and ejects into the aortic root via an outlet conduit. To develop a high-performance pump, the present study utilizes partial differential equations to generate a surface representation of the impeller of the blood pump.

Minimal acceptable handling time intervals for lifting and lowering tasks.

A laboratory study was conducted to determine the minimal acceptable handling time interval (MAHTI) for 4 h of endurance manual materials handling tasks using a psychophysical approach. Nine experienced male subjects were recruited to perform manual materials handling tasks with three load weights (10, 15, and 20 kg) and six ranges (floor to knuckle, FK; knuckle to floor, KF; knuckle to shoulder, KS; shoulder to knuckle, SK; floor to shoulder, FS; shoulder to floor, SF). Subjects were asked to adjust the handling time interval to the minimum that they could perform without becoming strained, uncomfortable, tired, weakened, overheated, or out-of-breath for 4 h of the endurance handling period.

Maximum acceptable weight of lift for asymmetric lifting.

10 undergraduate men were tested to determine the effects of lifting mode and frequency on psychophysically established maximum acceptable weight of lift for 4 hr. of work. The heart rate and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) of the individuals while lifting the maximum acceptable weight of lift were measured.

Lipase-catalyzed enantioselective esterification of (S)-naproxen hydroxyalkyl ester in organic media.

A lipase-catalyzed, enantioselective esterification process in organic solvents was developed for the synthesis of (S)-naproxen hydroxyalkyl ester. With the selection of lipase (Candida rugosa lipase) and reaction medium (isooctane and cyclohexane), a high enantiomeric ratio of > 100 for the enzyme was obtained. 1,4-Butanediol was the best acyl acceptor.

Differences of lumbosacral kinematics between degenerative and induced spondylolisthetic spine.

Objective: To investigate the differences of lumbosacral kinematics between degenerative and induced spondylolisthetic subjects.

Design: Translations and angulations of spondylolisthetic spine from L1-L2 to L5-S1 were documented by taking X-ray films at flexion, standing and extension positions.

Background: The unstable mechanism of spondylolisthesis leads to lower back pain.

Extraction of immunoglobulin-G from colostral whey by reverse micelles.

Separation of immunoglobulin G (IgG) from the other colostral whey proteins was carried out by reversed micellar extraction. The colostral whey was diluted to 5 times its original volume with 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 6.35 containing 100 mM of sodium chloride.

An investigation of stability limits while holding a load.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of load height and foot placement on the functional base of support (FBOS) limits and the postures that participants used when they reached their FBOS limits. Twelve young male participants were tested while holding a 12-kg load at reach (above their heads), at shoulder and knuckle height, and unladen under both wide and narrow foot placements. The FBOS limits and the centre of pressure (COP) excursion length were calculated based on data from a force platform.

Effect of catalyst preparation conditions on the hydrodesulfurization of thiophene over Co-Mo/gamma-Al2O3.

The purpose of this research was to study the effects of preparation conditions on the catalytic properties of the Co-Mo/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. The work included catalyst preparations and reactions. In the preparations, cobalt-impregnated Mo/gamma-Al2O3 (designated as IcIM) was found to have a promoting effect on the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene.

Heterorepetobasidium, a new genus in the Auriculariales.

A new genus, Heterorepetobasidium, is proposed to accommodate two new species, H. subglobosum and H. ellipsoideum, recently collected in Taiwan.

EFFECT OF CATALYST PREPARATION CONDITIONS ON THE HYDRODESULFURIZATION OF THIOPHENE OVER Co-Mo/γ-AlO.

The purpose of this research was to study the effects of preparation conditions on the catalytic properties of the Co-Mo/γ-AlO catalyst. The work included catalyst preparations and reactions. In the preparations, cobalt-impregnated Mo/γ-AlO (designated as IcIM) was found to have a promoting effect on the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene.

Controlled Growth of Gold Nanoparticles in AOT/C(12)E(4)/Isooctane Mixed Reverse Micelles.

Stable anisotropic gold nanoparticles were prepared by the reduction of a relatively high concentration of tetrachloroauric acid with hydrazine in mixed reverse micelles formed with anionic surfactant AOT and nonionic surfactant tetraethylene glycol dodecyl ether (C(12)E(4)) in isooctane. It was found that the C(12)E(4) serves not only as a structure modifier but also as a stabilizer for Au particles, to prevent their further growth and precipitation. By the analyses of a high-resolution electron microscope, electron diffraction patterns, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), the resultant particles have been found to be pure gold of face-centered cubic structure.

Effects of a single session of prolonged muscle stretch on spastic muscle of stroke patients.

The control of spasticity is often a significant problem in the management of patients with spasticity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single session of prolonged muscle stretch (PMS) on the spastic muscle. Seventeen patients with spastic hemiplegia were selected to receive treatment.

Controlled Growth of Gold Nanoparticles in Aerosol-OT/Sorbitan Monooleate/Isooctane Mixed Reverse Micelles.

Stable anisotropic gold nanoparticles were prepared by the reduction of tetrachloroauric acid with hydrazine in mixed reverse micelles formed with anionic surfactant Aerosol-OT and nonionic surfactant sorbitan monooleate (Span80) in isooctane. It was found that the Span80 serves not only as a structure modifier but also as a stabilizer for Au particles, to prevent their further growth and precipitation. The control of particle size, shape, and degree of dispersion was achieved by varying the process variables, such as molar ratio of reduction agent to metal salt, size of water droplets (omega(o)), concentration of metal salt, and sequence of addition of metal salt into the mixed reverse micelles.