A newly developed aluminium-polymer-laminated steel reflector for use in solar concentrators was evaluated with respect to its optical properties, durability, and reflector performance in solar thermal and photovoltaic systems. The optical properties of the reflector material were investigated using spectrophotometer and scatterometry. The durability of the reflector was tested in a climatic test

Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma (SEF) is a recently described entity. It is a low-grade sarcoma that occurs primarily in the deep soft tissues of the extremities of adults. It may histologically simulate benign lesions such as fibroma and myxoma or malignancies such as sclerosing carcinoma and lymphoma, extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma, clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses, and syn

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The smoothness-constrained least-squares method is widely used for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) inversion of apparent resistivity data sets. The Gauss-Newton method that recalculates the Jacobian matrix of partial derivatives for all iterations is commonly used to solve the least-squares equation. The quasi-Newton method has also been used to reduce the computer time. In this me

The effects of a pesticide mixture (asulam, fluazinam, lambda-cyhalothrin, and metamitron) on aquatic ecosystems were investigated in 20 outdoor aquatic microcosms. Ten of the microcosms simulated mesotrophic aquatic ecosystems dominated by submerged macrophytes (Elodea). The others simulated eutrophic ecosystems with a high Lemna surface coverage (Lemna). This paper describes the fate of the chem

On the basis of text-internal evidence, the article supports the view that the soteriological doctrines of the Bhagavadgītā comprise a structured and progressive system in which partially conflicting elements derived from contemporary religious teachings have been deliberately arranged in hierarchical form, and touches on philological problems in connection with particular passages.

Load balancing is a very important and complex problem in computational grids. A computational grid differs from traditional high performance computing systems in the heterogeneity of the computing nodes and communication links, as well as background workloads that may be present in the computing nodes. There is a need to develop algorithms that could capture this complexity yet can be easily impl

We consider the “minor” and “homeomorphic” analogues of the maximum clique problem, i.e., the problems of determining the largest h such that the input graph (on n vertices) has a minor isomorphic to Kh or a subgraph homeomorphic to Kh, respectively, as well as the problem of finding the corresponding subgraphs. We term them as the maximum clique minor problem and the maximum homeomorphic clique p

We here demonstrate the presence of a plasma membrane-associated phospholipase A(2) (EC 3.1.1.4; PLA(2)) activity in spinach (Spinacia oleracea) leaves. The pH profile of the spinach plasma membrane PLA(2) activity revealed two peaks, one at pH 4.4 and one at pH 5.5. The activity at pH 5.5 had an absolute requirement of Ca2+, with full enzyme activity at 10mumol/L Ca2+. The Ca2+-dependent PLA(2) a

Results from a simulation of p-benzoquinone (PBQ) in water is presented. An explicit solvent representation is used together with a multiconfigurational ab initio quantum chemical method. The electronic n -> pi* transitions are studied in aqueous solution and the two such transitions are both blue-shifted but to different degree. Both non-equilibrium and many-body effects are found to have decisiv

Cerebral electric activity was surveilled with a Cerebral Function Monitor (CFM) technique in 87 newborn infants under neonatal intensive care. A total of 26 infants had electrographical signs of repeated seizure activity. Among these infants 14 had periods of one hour or more of silent seizures activity. Among these infants 14 had periods of one hour or more of silent seizures, i.e. typical patte

Background: Protein kinase C (PKC) is known to be involved in the pathophysiology of experimental cerebral ischemia. We have previously shown that after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, there is an upregulation of endothelin receptors in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery. The present study aimed to examine the effect of the PKC inhibitor Ro-32-0432 on endothelin receptor upregulati

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most widely used marker of prostate cancer. Assays for PSA are based on anti-PSA antibodies, and the characterization and selection of these antibodies is important for determining their optimum performance. In our study, we characterized the reactivity of 53 antibodies, submitted to the ISOBM TD-3 PSA Workshop, using free PSA, PSA complexed to alpha1-antichy

To assess easily monitored predictors for tuberculosis mortality. Risk factors for tuberculosis mortality were assessed during the 8-month treatment in 440 men and 269 women diagnosed with confirmed or presumed intrathoracic tuberculosis included prospectively in Guinea-Bissau from May 1996 to April 2001. A civil war occurred in the study area from June 1998 to May 1999. 12% were HIV-1 positive, 1

Optical region spectra of 31 HgMn stars have been studied for the abundance and isotope mixture of mercury. In the course of the investigation the lines Hg I lambda 4358 and Hg Ii lambda lambda3984,6149 have been studied, with abundances established for all three lines in several HgMn stars. The mercury isotope mixture has been determined from high resolution spectra of the lambda 3984 line.Possib