To assess the potential effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on the expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2B and 3A isozymes in Baikal seal, the 5′-flanking regions of these CYP genes were isolated, and transactivation analysis was performed by in vitro reporter gene assay system. The 3.2 kbp of CYP2B and 2.2 kbp of CYP3A gene promoter/enhancer regions were cloned and sequenced from Ba...

The rotordynamic and leaking characteristics of two types of gas damper seals, honeycomb seal and pocket damper seal, were experimentally evaluated on a rotating test rig. The effect of supply pressure, preswirl, and seal eccentricity on seal dynamic performance was investigated in the tests. The pressurized working gas flowed through the seal and exhausted to atmospheric conditions. The maximu...

--Many watermarking methods for protecting the intellectual property right and authenticating multimedia data have been proposed in recent years. It is possible to guarantee the authenticity of data using readable and fragile watermarking. In this paper, we propose a visible watermarking technique using verifiable digital seal image that is based on the concept of fragile watermarking. Seal ima...

Since the introduction of mechanical seals in nuclear boiling water reactor (BWR) feed pumps operating with high drive ratings, keeping mechanical seal reliability high became a challenge. A problem also encountered in fossil feed pump applications using similar electrically low conductive feed water, referred to as Combined Water Treated (CWT) feed water operation. After a short number of oper...

The heat-seal strength and failure modes of laminated films with Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) as the sealant materials were investigated. Heat-seal strength increases with platen temperature for all samples. The maximum achievable heat-seal strength for laminated film using LDPE and LLDPE as sealant material is 0.598 N/mm and 4.02 N/mm, respectivel...

We have reinvestigated the effects of Ca++ and ATP on brush borders isolated from intestinal epithelial cells. At 37 degrees C, Ca++ (1 microM) and ATP cause a dramatic contraction of brush border terminal webs, not a retraction of microvilli as previously reported (M. S. Mooseker, 1976, J. Cell Biol. 71:417-433). Terminal web contraction, which occurs over the course of 1-5 min at 37 degrees C...

Background/Objective: The aim of this study was to perform a comparative evaluation of the yields of conventional brush cytology and brush cytology with negative pressure in the diagnosis of malignant biliary strictures. Methods: A total of 132 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic were identified. Of these, 88.0 had brush cytology after ERCP and 44 were Brush cytology with negative pressu...

Interactions between tethered layers composed of aggrecan (charged bottle-brush) macromolecules are responsible for the molecular origin of cartilage biomechanical behavior. To elucidate the role of the electrostatic forces in interaction between bottle-brush layers, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of charged and neutral bottle-brush macromolecules tethered to substrates. In th...