The reduction of RE3+ in SrB6O10 prepared in air and the luminescence of SrB6O10 : RE2+ (RE=Eu, Sm, Tm)

The reduction of RE3+ to RE2+ (RE=Eu, Sm and Tm) in SrB6O10 prepared in air by high-temperature solid state reaction was observed. The luminescent properties of Eu2+ and Tm2+ show f-d transition and Sm2+ shows f-f transition at room temperature. Three crystallographic sites for Sm2+ in matrix are available. Vibronic transition of D-5(0)-F-7(0) of Sm2+ was studied. The coupled phonon energy about 108 cm(-1), was determined: from the vibronic transition. Due to the thermal population from D-5(0) level, (D1-FJ)-D-5-F-7 (J=0, 1, 2) transitions of Sm2+ were observed at room temperature. A charge compensation mechanism is proposed as a possible explanation.

Bond covalencies in R2BaCuO5 (R = Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho, Y, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu)

Bond covalencies in R2BaCuO5 (R = Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho, Y, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) were calculated by means of a semiempirical method. This method is the generalization of the dielectric description theory of Phillips-Van Vechten-Levine-Tanaka scheme. The present paper presents the formula concerning the decomposing of complex crystals which are usually anisotropic systems into the sum of binary crystals which are isotropic systems. It can be seen that although the bond covalency is related to many physical quantities, it is mainly influenced by bond valence or bond charge, and a higher bond valence will produce higher bond covalency.

The bond ionicity in RBa2Cu3O7 (R=Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Y, Ho, Er, Tm)

RBa2Cu3O7 (R = Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Y, Ho, Er, Tm) has been studied using complex chemical bond theory. The results indicated that with the decreasing of R radius, the ionicities for all considered types of bond decrease. This is in good agreement with the experimental fact that T-c decreases with the decreasing of R radius. PrBa2Cu3O7 with no Ba-site Pr in this calculation is also predicted to be a superconductor. This supports the conclusion obtained by Blackstead et al. The ionicity for each bond obeys the following order: Ba-O > R-O > Cu(2)-O(1) > Cu(2)-O(2,3) > Cu(1)-O(4) similar to Cu(1)-O(1).

LiMgAlF_6 : Tm~(3+) 的合成与光谱特性

采用高温固相反应法，ＬｉＦ／ＭｇＦ２／ＡｌＦ３＝１２０／１１０／１００，烧结温度为１００８Ｋ，烧结时间为４ｈ，在流动的高纯Ａｒ中合成了ＬｉＭｇＡｌＦ６：Ｔｍ３＋。对其结构和发光特性进行了研究。

Mossbauer spectra of Fe-57 in a thick film of YBa2(Cu0.97Fe0.03)(3)O7-x irradiated by a large dose of gamma-rays

Mossbauer spectra of Fe-57 in a thick film YBa2(Cu0.97Fe0.03)(3)O7-x irradiated by a large dose of gamma-rays from Co-60 have been measured. The variation of the relative intensities of some subspectra of Fe-57 in the. Mossbauer spectra of the thick film YBa2(Cu0.97Fe0.03)(3)O7-x after irradiation can be observed. This variation indicates that the change of the coordination environment around some Fe atoms in the lattice occurs due to irradiation. The relative intensity of subspectrum D1(Fe) at the Cu(1) site decreases and that of subspectrum D4(Fe) at the Cu(1) site increases. This may be because of the possible oxygen atom hopping between the coordination environments of D1(Fe) and D4(Fe) in the lattice caused by irradiation. The effect of irradiation on the coordination environment around the Fe atom at the Cu(2) site is not appreciable. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

YP_5O_(14):Er~(3+),Tm~(3+)晶体的合成

研究了水热法合成晶体,浓度配比、生长温度对晶体生长习性的影响.合成了一系列化学计量比的Y_(1-x-0.3)Er_(0.3)Tm_xP_5O_(14)(x=0.01～0.1)晶体,观察和分析了晶体的缺陷及成因,测定和讨论了晶体结构.

Trajectory Mapping ("TM''): A New Non-Metric Scaling Technique

Trajectory Mapping "TM'' is a new scaling technique designed to recover the parameterizations, axes, and paths used to traverse a feature space. Unlike Multidimensional Scaling (MDS), there is no assumption that the space is homogenous or metric. Although some metric ordering information is obtained with TM, the main output is the feature parameterizations that partition the given domain of object samples into different categories. Following an introductory example, the technique is further illustrated using first a set of colors and then a collection of textures taken from Brodatz (1966).

Keeping Secrets in Hardware: the Microsoft Xbox(TM) Case Study

This paper discusses the hardware foundations of the cryptosystem employed by the Xbox(TM) video game console from Microsoft. A secret boot block overlay is buried within a system ASIC. This secret boot block decrypts and verifies portions of an external FLASH-type ROM. The presence of the secret boot block is camouflaged by a decoy boot block in the external ROM. The code contained within the secret boot block is transferred to the CPU in the clear over a set of high-speed busses where it can be extracted using simple custom hardware. The paper concludes with recommendations for improving the Xbox security system. One lesson of this study is that the use of a high-performance bus alone is not a sufficient security measure, given the advent of inexpensive, fast rapid prototyping services and high-performance FPGAs.

Mapeamento e descrição do padráo de uso e cobertura da terra em municípios do sudoeste goiano a partir de imagens orbitais TM/Landsat-5.

A partir dos anos 1970, a ocupação pelo homem do espaço do centro-oeste brasileiro apresentou um elevado crescimento devido a políticas de expansão agrícola. Este fato ocorreu por meio do alto grau de mecanização agrícola e aplicação de fertilizantes, visando elevados níveis de produção em diversas localidades, como o sudoeste do Estado de Goiás. Tal predicado da alta produtividade mantém-se até os dias atuais, indicando a grande intensidade da dinâmica de uso e cobertura das terras nesta região. Desta forma, tornase necessário o conhecimento da dinâmica e distribuição espacial dos padrões de uso e cobertura da terra, podendo fornecer subsídios a ações de planejamento agrícola sobre o espaço em alguns municípios do sudoeste goiano. Para isto, imagens orbitais do satélite Landsat TM-5 foram adquiridas em diferentes períodos do ciclo agrícola ao longo de 2007. Informações complementares acerca do uso regional foram utilizadas para apoiar a interpretação e classificação, principalmente a partir dos dados obtidos em campo. Os mapas de uso e cobertura da terra para os municípios de Rio Verde, Acreúna, Santo Antônio da Barra, Santa Helena de Goiás, Montividiu e Paraúna foram obtidos utilizando ferramentas do programa Spring 4.3.3 como a segmentação de imagens, bem como o classificador semi-automático Bhattacharya Distance, sendo estabelecidas dez classes temáticas, com base na legenda proposta pelo IBGE e Corine. A análise multitemporal, assim como a segmentação mostraram-se eficientes na distinção das classes de uso e cobertura da terra da região. A classe de uso destinada ao plantio da soja apresentou o maior percentual da área, mudando para culturas safrinha, solo exposto ou pousio no inverno. Outras classes também merecem destaque como a Pastagem e a Cana-de-açúcar, que apresentaram distribuição espacial bastante concentrada. Este mapeamento fornece subsídios ao planejamento do uso e ocupação das terras na região, considerando os aspectos ambientais e sociais, assegurando maior produtividade agrícola, visando um manejo sustentável das terras e a qualidade de vida ao homem do campo.

Fármacos que têm por alvo o epigenoma

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Farmacêuticas

Practice links [Issue 57, April 2014]

Practice Links is a free e-publication for practitioners working in Irish social services, voluntary and nongovernmental sectors. Practice Links was created to enable practitioners to keep up-to-date with new publications, electronic resources and conference opportunities. Issue 57 includes listings for upcoming conferences, resources, recent policy reports as well as reviews of publications.

Botulinum toxin type A injections for the management of muscle tightness following total hip arthroplasty: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Development of hip adductor, tensor fascia lata, and rectus femoris muscle contractures following total hip arthroplasties are quite common, with some patients failing to improve despite treatment with a variety of non-operative modalities. The purpose of the present study was to describe the use of and patient outcomes of botulinum toxin injections as an adjunctive treatment for muscle tightness following total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: Ten patients (14 hips) who had hip adductor, abductor, and/or flexor muscle contractures following total arthroplasty and had been refractory to physical therapeutic efforts were treated with injection of botulinum toxin A. Eight limbs received injections into the adductor muscle, 8 limbs received injections into the tensor fascia lata muscle, and 2 limbs received injection into the rectus femoris muscle, followed by intensive physical therapy for 6 weeks. RESULTS: At a mean final follow-up of 20 months, all 14 hips had increased range in the affected arc of motion, with a mean improvement of 23 degrees (range, 10 to 45 degrees). Additionally all hips had an improvement in hip scores, with a significant increase in mean score from 74 points (range, 57 to 91 points) prior to injection to a mean of 96 points (range, 93 to 98) at final follow-up. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events. CONCLUSION: Botulinum toxin A injections combined with intensive physical therapy may be considered as a potential treatment modality, especially in difficult cases of muscle tightness that are refractory to standard therapy.

Structure and denaturation of 4-chlorobenzoyl coenzyme A dehalogenase from Arthrobacter sp. strain TM-1

The secondary structure of the trimeric protein 4-chlorobenzoyl coenzyme A dehalogenase from Arthrobacter sp. strain TM-1, the second of three enzymes involved in the dechlorination of 4-chlorobenzoate to form 4-hydroxybenzoate, has been examined. E(mM) for the enzyme was 12.59. Analysis by circular dichroism spectrometry in the far uv indicated that 4-chlorobenzoyl coenzyme A dehalogenase was composed mostly of alpha-helix (56%) with lesser amounts of random coil (21%), beta-turn (13%) and beta-sheet (9%). These data are in close agreement with a computational prediction of secondary structure from the primary amino acid sequence, which indicated 55.8% alpha-helix, 33.7% random coil and 10.5% beta-sheet; the enzyme is, therefore, similar to the 4-chlorobenzoyl coenzyme A dehalogenase from Pseudomonas sp. CBS-3. The three-dimensional structure, including that of the presumed active site, predicted by computational analysis, is also closely similar to that of the Pseudomonas dehalogenase. Study of the stability and physicochemical properties revealed that at room temperature, the enzyme was stable for 24 h but was completely inactivated by heating to 60 degrees C for 5 min; thereafter by cooling at 1 degrees C min(-1) to 45 degrees C, 20.6% of the activity could be recovered. Mildly acidic (pH 5.2) or alkaline (pH 10.1) conditions caused complete inactivation, but activity was fully recovered on returning the enzyme to pH 7.4. Circular dichroism studies also indicated that secondary structure was little altered by heating to 60 degrees C, or by changing the pH from 7.4 to 6.0 or 9.2. Complete, irreversible destruction of, and maximal decrease in the fluorescence yield of the protein at 330-350 nm were brought about by 4.5 M urea or 1.1 M guanidinium chloride. Evidence was obtained to support the hypothetical three-dimensional model, that residues W140 and W167 are buried in a non-polar environment, whereas W182 appears at or close to the surface of the protein. At least one of the enzymes of the dehalogenase system (the combined 4-chlorobenzoate:CoA ligase, the dehalogenase and 4-hydroxybenzoyl coenzyme A thioesterase) appears to be capable of association with the cell membrane.