Maximal and submaximal oxygen uptake during running: how should body mass be accounted for?

Oxygen uptake during running, i.e., the running economy, is an important factor in determining running performance in endurance events. The relation to performance is particularly strong when the aerobic running capacity is calculated, i.e., when running economy is related to the maximal oxygen uptake. There is considerable interindividual variation in running economy, and the reason for this is only partly understood. To some extent, this may be due to the way in which the oxygen uptake during running is usually expressed. This may expecially be true when subjects with different or changing body masses are compared. Several lines of evidence, including earlier animal studies as well as more recent human studies, favor the expression of submaximal and maximal oxygen uptake during running in terms of ml · kg^−0.75· min⁻¹ rather than as ml · kg⁻¹· min^−1.     

FEEDBACK CONTROL OF A HEAT DIFFUSION SYSTEM WITH TIME-DEPENDENT SPATIAL DOMAIN

The problem of controlling the temperature distribution in a solid cylinder whose length varies with time and with one end in contact with a constant temperature medium is considered. This problem is motivated from that of controlling the temperature and thermal gradient inside a crystal pulled from a melt by the Czochralski method. Boundary feedback controls are derived by considering the time rate of change of a cost functional involving the deviations of both the solid temperature and its gradient from their desired values. The derived feedback controls consist of spatially distributed proportional-plus-rate and lag compensators and a non-linear feedback control involving the temperature gradient at the cylinder surface and the velocity of the spatial domain boundary. The resulting feedback-controlled system has the property that the cost functional along any motion decreases monotonically to zero with time. A numerical scheme for solving the partial differential equation of the feedback-controlled system is proposed. Typical numerical results on the dynamic behaviour of the feedback-controlled system obtained by means of the proposed scheme are presented.     

Immunoreactivity of sinusoids in hepatoblastoma: an immunohistochemical study using lectin UEA-1 and antibodies against endothelium-associated antigens, including CD34

Sinusoids are found not only in the normal liver but also in certain liver tumours, including hepatoblastoma, the most common malignant liver tumour in childhood. In this study, sinusoids in 12 hepatoblastomas, of various subtypes, and in normal liver were investigated with UEA-1 and antibodies against von Willebrand's factor, CD31 and CD34 to detect differences of possible diagnostic significance. In the normal liver, staining of sinusoids was seen with all these markers, but it was focal and confined to a few sinusoids near the portal tracts. In hepatoblastoma, the endothelial markers reacted with the sinusoids to varying extents. UEA-1 and anti-CD34 usually stained the majority of these vessels, anti-CD34 staining greater numbers of sinusoids and with greater intensity. Immunostaining revealed that both number and spatial organization of sinusoids in hepatoblastoma are dependent on the subtype. In addition to staining of endothelium, one of the two small cell hepatoblastomas exhibited strong immunoreactivity of the tumour cells for CD34. These findings show that the marked difference in sinusoidal immunoreactivity for CD34 between normal liver and hepatoblastoma could be useful for discriminating between non-neoplastic liver tissue and highly differentiated fetal hepatoblastoma. Our findings also show that small cell hepatoblastoma, in addition to acute leukaemia, should be considered when immunoreactivity for CD34 is found in small round and blue cell tumours in childhood.     

Raf-1 kinase,epidermal growth factor receptors,and mutant ras proteins in colonic carcinomas

Epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) andras mutations are known to play a significant role in controlling cell growth and tumor promotion. Both of them transmit mitogenic signals to the nucleus by activation of Raf-1 kinase. In this study, the expression of EGFR and mutant Ras proteins, and, for the first time, the expression, phosphorylation and kinase activity of Raf-1 kinase have been determined in paired samples of colorectal cancer and mucosa. The tumor and mucosa samples did not differ significantly with regard to Raf-1 kinase content and activity. A major difference between tumors and mucosa was found, however, in the phosphorylation of Raf-1. Most of the mucosa samples (13/20), but only 1/20 of the cancer samples, contained hyperphosphorylated Raf-1. EGFR were significantly (p=0.0025) decreased in the tumors. The decreased phosphorylation of Raf-1 in colonic carcinomas could be the result of activation of Raf-1 phosphatases or inactivation of kinases phosphorylating Raf-1. New forms of treatment based on EGFR overexpression do not seem to be suitable for the majority of colonic cancers.This work was supported by the state of Baden-Württemberg (Verbundforschungsprojekt: Aufklärung von Mechanismen der Tumorentstehung und Tumorabwehr).     

C2H2-171 : A novel human cDNA representing a developmentally regulated poz domain/zinc finger protein preferentially expressed in brain

We describe a novel human zinc finger cNDA, C2H2-171. This cDNA represents an mRNA which encodes a protein of 484 amino acids and a calculated molecular weight of 54 kD. Four zinc finger-like domains are found in the C-terminal end of the protein. At the N-terminus, C2H2-171 contains a POZ/tramtrack-like domain similar to that found in the tumor associated zinc finger proteins LAZ-3/BCL-6 and PLZ-F, as well as in non-zinc finger proteins. C2H2-171 RNA is preferentially expressed in the brain, and increases during the course of murine development, with maximal expression in the adult. C2H2-171 RNA is differentially expressed in brain regions, with the highest level of expression in the cerebellum. C2H2-171 RNA was expressed at high levels in primary cerebellar granule cell neurons compared to astrocytes. The gene encoding C2H2-171 is highly conserved in vertebrates, and maps to the terminus of human chromosome 1 (1q44-ter). This chromosomal location is associated with a number of cytogenetic aberrations including those involving brain developmental anomalies and tumorigenesis. These data suggest that C2H2-171 may play an important role in vertebrate brain development and function.     

The growth of the second underpotentially deposited silver layer on Pt(100)

The electrodeposition of Ag on Pt(100)-(1 × 1) in perchlorate electrolyte was studied by means of time-resolved in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and cyclic voltammetry. One monolayer of Ag is deposited underpotentially (upd) ca. 500 mV positive of the Ag⁺/Ag equilibrium potential. Several millivolts positive of the equilibrium potential, a second well defined upd layer forms. Its growth was observed to proceed via island formation and coalescence. This process occurs in two separate stages that manifest themselves in voltammetric peaks as well as in the STM images.     

Role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor as adjunct therapy for septicemia in children with acute leukemia

The granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been shown to accelerate recovery from severe neutropenia and to decrease the incidence of documented infections after intensive chemotherapy in cancer patients. However, the routine prophylactic use of G-CSF is expensive. This study was conducted to determine the role of G-CSF as adjunct therapy for septicemia following neutropenia caused by chemotherapy in children with acute leukemia. Fifty consecutive episodes of septicemia were studied involving 34 episodes of Gram-negative, 7 episodes of Gram-positive, 5 episodes of polymicrobial bacterial septicemia, one episode of fungemia, and 3 episodes of disseminated fungal infection. In the first 25 episodes, G-CSF was not used (group A). For the next 16 episodes, G-CSF 200 μg per square meter per day subcutaneously was given immediately after the septicemia was documented until the absolute neutrophil count was maintained at more than 1,500 per cubic millimeter (group B). Thereafter, G-CSF at the same dose as that of group B was prophylactically used in all the children who received high-dose cytosine arablnc-side-containing regimens. Nine episodes of septicemia occurred (group C). The incidences of mortality per episode of septicemia in groups A, B, and C were 12.0% (3/25), 12.5% (2/16) and 0% (0/9), respectively. Statistically, there was no difference between the three groups overall and in pair-wise comparisons (all P > 0.5). The durations of G-CSF administration in group B ranged from 6 to 26 days with a median of 12 days and the durations of G-CSF administration in group C ranged from 10 to 23 days with a median of 19 days. With or without G-CSF, there may be no significant difference in the mortality of septicemia following neutropenia caused by chemotherapy in children with acute leukemia.     

磺化聚乙烯中空纤维膜渗透蒸发分离水／乙二醇混合物的研究

采用异相氯磺化的方法，使聚乙烯（ＰＥ）中空纤维膜进行氯磺化反应，并将反应产物进一步水解和离子交换，可获得具有离子交换功能的磺化聚乙烯（ＳＰＥ）中空纤维离子交换膜。应用渗透蒸发膜分离方法，研究磺化聚乙烯中空纤维离子交换膜对水／乙二醇混合物的分离效果。讨论了反离子的种类、渗透蒸发分离温度和水／乙二醇混合液的组成等对磺化聚乙烯中空纤维离子交换膜的分离效果的影响。