Showing papers by "Bulgarian Academy of Sciences published in 1997"

Experimental investigation of the distribution of residual strains in the artery wall

Abstract: Arterial wall stresses are thought to be a major determinant of vascular remodeling both during normal growth and throughout the development of occlusive vascular disease. A completely physiologic mechanical model of the arterial wall should account not only for its residual strains but also for its structural nonhomogeneity. It is known that each layer of the artery wall possesses different mechanical properties, but the distribution of residual strain among the different mechanical components, and thus the true zero stress state, remain unknown. In this study, two different sets of experiments were carried out in order to determine the distribution of residual strains in artery walls, and thus the true zero stress state. In the first, collagen and elastin were selectively eliminated by chemical methods and smooth muscle cells were destroyed by freezing. Dissolving elastin provoked a decrease in the opening angle, while dissolving collagen and destroying smooth muscle cells had no effect. In the second, different wall layers of bovine carotid arteries were removed from the exterior or luminal surfaces by lathing or drilling frozen specimens, and then allowing the frozen material to thaw before measuring residual strain. Lathing material away from the outer surface caused the opening angle of the remaining inner layers to increase. Drilling material from the inside caused the opening angle of the remaining outer layers to decrease. Mechanical nonhomogeneity, including the distribution of residual strains, should thus be considered as an important factor in determining the distribution of stress in the artery wall and the configuration of the true zero stress state.

Factors influencing home range and activity of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in a Mediterranean coastal area

Abstract: This paper analyses the temporal variation in the size of home range and activity of adult wild boar (Sus scrofa L.). Eighteen boar were radiotracked between 1991 and 1993 in the Maremma Natural Park (Central Italy). Variations of home-range size and activity were related to sex, winter food availability and population density. The hypotheses that home-range size was inversely related to food availability and population density, and that the amount of activity was directly related to population density and inversely related to food abundance, were tested. The size of the acorn crop was used as a measure of winter resource level. No differences were found in the size of ranges, core area, and activity between males and females. In 1991–92 home-range size was larger than in 1992–93; conversely, activity increased from 1991–92 to 1992–93. Winter food availability was high in 1991–92 and low in the following year. Population density increased greatly in spring 1992 but crashed in spring and summer 1993, when a high mortality of wild boar occurred due to starvation. The decrease in home-range size during the food shortage was explained as a possible strategy adopted by wild boar to cope with starvation. The difference in home-range size and amount of activity found between the first and the second year of study were probably influenced by differences in population density, although the individual effects of food availability and population density were not clearly separable.

Modulation of lipid phase behavior by kosmotropic and chaotropic solutes : Experiment and thermodynamic theory

Abstract: By means of differential scanning calorimetry and from a review of published data we demonstrate in this work that low-molecular weight kosmotropic substances (water-structure makers) of different chemical structure such as disaccharides, proline, and glycerol have identical effects on the phase behavior of several kinds of phospholipids and glycolipids. These substances favor formation of the high-temperature inverted hexagonal phase (HII) and the low-temperature lamellar crystalline (Lc) and gel (L β ) phases at the expense of the intermediate lamellar liquid-crystalline phase (L α ). The latter phase may completely disappear from the phase diagram at high enough solute concentration. By contrast, chaotropic substances (water-structure breakers) such as sodium thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride expand the existence range of L α at the expense of the adjacent L β and HII phases. Moreover, chaotropes are able to induce the appearance of missing intermediate liquid-crystalline phases in lipids displaying direct L β →HII transitions in pure water. In previous publications we have considered the influence of chaotropic and kosmotropic substances on the lipid phase behavior as a manifestation of their indirect (Hofmeister) interactions with the lipid aggregates. For a quantitative characterization of this effect, here we derive a general thermodynamic equation between lipid phase transition temperature and solute concentration, analogous to the Clapeyron-Clausius equation between transition temperature and pressure. It provides a clear description in physical quantities of the disparate effects of kosmotropic and chaotropic substances on the relative stability of the lipid-water phases. According to this equation, the magnitude of the solute effect is proportional to the hydration difference of the adjacent lipid phases and inversely proportional to the transition latent heat. The sign and magnitude of the transition shifts depend also on the degree of solute depletion (for kosmotropes) or enrichment (for chaotropes) at the interfaces, in comparison to the solute concentration in bulk water.

Acoustic analysis of pathological voices. A voice analysis system for the screening of laryngeal diseases

Abstract: The authors propose a software system for pathological voice analysis and screening of laryngeal diseases that has the following properties: a) The analysis is totally noninvasive-the microphone is about 30 cm from the patient's mouth, and contact microphones or laryngophones are not used. b) The system is built around a low-cost personal computer (PC). The additional hardware consists of a standard sound card such as "Sound Blaster" (Creative Technology Inc., Paris, France). The card also includes a microphone. Any other analog-to-digital converter board allowing a sampling rate higher than 16 kHz, with 16 bit resolution (Sound Blaster and OROS have been already tested), and a linear phase condenser or electret microphone can be used to minimize the distortions during capture of the signal. c) The software is graphics-driven and user-friendly, therefore no special training is needed in using the system. d) The system is electrically safe since there is no electrical link between patient and PC.

Nickel based ohmic contacts on SiC

Abstract: We have compared the chemical and structural properties of Ni/SiC and Ni2Si/SiC interfaces. In the case of Ni/SiC, the contact formation is initiated by the dissociation of SiC, due to the strong reactivity of nickel at 950 °C. Ni2Si is formed and carbon accumulates, both at the interface and throughout the metal layer. At the interface, many Kirkendall voids are observed by TEM. Despite this poor interface morphology, low contact resistances have been measured. But the presence of carbon in the contact layer and at the interface is a potential source of contact degradation at high temperature. In the case of Ni/Si multilayers evaporated on SiC instead of pure Ni, the contact formation is preceded by Ni and Si mutual diffusion in the deposited layer yielding Ni2Si. Therefore, a smaller amount of carbon is released from SiC. Low carbon segregation, abrupt interface and low contact resistance characterize this contact. The thermal stability of Ni2Si contacts is illustrated with ageing experiments carried out at 500 °C.

High-Intensity UV Laser Photolysis of DNA and Purine 2‘-Deoxyribonucleosides: Formation of 8-Oxopurine Damage and Oligonucleotide Strand Cleavage as Revealed by HPLC and Gel Electrophoresis Studies

Abstract: Emphasis was placed in this work on the measurement of purine oxidation products generated upon nano- and picosecond UV laser biphotonic photolysis of 2‘-deoxyadenosine, 2‘-deoxyguanosine, calf thy...

Model investigation of the Raman spectra of amorphous silicon

Abstract: A model for calculating the first-order Raman spectra of amorphous silicon (a-Si) without adjustable parameters is proposed. Calculations on the original 216-atom model of a-Si, generated by the algorithm of Wooten, Winer, and Weaire (WWW) are in very good agreement with experimental spectra and give further indication that the WWW cluster is a realistic model of moderately disordered a-Si. The TA-TO assignment of the low and high frequency bands is supported by direct numerical calculations of the phase quotient and the stretching character of the vibrational modes. The calculated participation ratios and correlation lengths of the vibrational modes indicate that the high-frequency TO-like modes are strongly localized on defects. The relative intensities of the TA-, LA-, and LO-like bands depend on the intermediate-range order, while that of the TO-like band mainly on the short-range order.

Neutron-proton correlations in an exactly solvable model

Abstract: We examine isovector and isoscalar neutron-proton correlations in an exactly solvable model based on the algebra SO(8). We look particularly closely at Gamow-Teller strength and double β decay, both to isolate the effects of the two kinds of pairing and to test two approximation schemes: the renormalized neutron-proton quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) and generalized BCS theory. When isoscalar pairing correlations become strong enough a phase transition occurs and the dependence of the Gamow-Teller β+ strength on isospin changes in a dramatic and unfamiliar way, actually increasing as neutrons are added to an N=Z core. Renormalization eliminates the well-known instabilities that plague the QRPA as the phase transition is approached, but only by unnaturally suppressing the isoscalar correlations. Generalized BCS theory, on the other hand, reproduces the Gamow-Teller strength more accurately in the isoscalar phase than in the usual isovector phase, even though its predictions for energies are equally good everywhere. It also mixes T=0 and T=1 pairing, but only on the isoscalar side of the phase transition.

Adhesion of Latex Spheres to Giant Phospholipid Vesicles: Statics and Dynamics

Abstract: We studied the sequence of phenomena which occur when a solid microsphere is brought in contact with an isolated giant lipid vesicle. We used Latex beads, a few microns in diameter, which were manipulated individually by means of a long-working-distance optical trap. The evolution of the bead/vesicle system was characterized in time, from ∼ 1 ms to ∼ 100 s. In this time range, we identified different steps, namely adhesion, ingestion, expulsion and re-capture. In the adhesion step the sphere moves quickly in direction to the vesicle interior and the surface of the particle becomes wetted by lipids. We propose a simple model, based on the counter-balance between adhesion and stretching of the lipid lamella, which explains the experimental equilibrium configuration. The bead/vesicle configuration after the adhesion step pertains to partial or complete wetting, depending on the initial vesicle state. Partial wetting can be followed by a second step, which we named particle ingestion, and which leads to complete (or nearly complete) wetting of the particle surface. Ingestion is characterized by a further penetration of the particle across the vesicle contour, in concomitance with a decrease of the vesicle size. The phenomenon is attributed to the occurrence of a dynamically stabilized pore across the membrane, which allows part of the water initially inside the vesicle to flow out. Ingestion can be followed by a back and forth movement (expulsion and re-capture) of the particle. In the ultimate configuration, the solid surface is totally wetted by lipids, however with a finite contact angle between the membrane and the solid surface.

The Riemannian Goldberg–Sachs Theorem

Abstract: The paper contains a description of compact Hermitian complex surfaces whose Riemannian Ricci tensor is of type (1,1). This in turn comes as a consequence of a Riemannian version of the well-known (generalized) Goldberg–Sachs theorem of the General Relativity. A complete proof of the Riemannian version is given in the framework of "classical" Hermitian geometry. The paper includes some more results also pertaining to "Riemannian Goldberg–Sachs theory", as well as a "dual theory" involving the Penrose operator.

Climate change, agriculture and wetlands in eastern europe: vulnerability, adaptation and policy

Abstract: Naturally-occurring wetlands perform such functions as flood control, pollution filtration, nutrient recycling, sediment accretion, groundwater recharge and water supply, erosion control, and plant and wildlife preservation. A large concentration of wetlands is located in Eastern Europe. A significant amount of Eastern European wetlands has been converted to agricultural use in the past, and remaining wetlands are subject to agricultural drainage. Drained wetlands are used as prime agriculture lands for a variety of food crops. Other agricultural uses of wetlands range from growing Phragmites australis (common reed) for thatch and livestock feed, to collecting peat for heating and cooking fuel. Altered hydrologic regimes due to global climate change could further exacerbate encroachment of agricultural land use into wetlands. The vulnerability and adaptation studies of the U.S. Country Studies Program are used to analyze where climate change impacts to agriculture may likewise impact wetland areas. Scenarios indicate higher temperatures and greater evapotranspiration altering the hydrologic regime such that freshwater wetlands are potentially vulnerable in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Russia, and that coastal wetlands are at risk in Estonia. Runoff is identified as a key hydrological parameter affecting wetland function. Since wetland losses may increase as a result of climate-change-induced impacts to agriculture, precautionary management options are reviewed, such as establishing buffer areas, promoting sustainable uses of wetlands, and restoration of farmed or mined wetland areas. These options may reduce the extent of negative agricultural impacts on wetlands due to global climate change.

Fiber-optic liquid-level sensor

Abstract: An intensity-based fiber-optic liquid-level sensor for point measurement is described. The sensing principle is based on the total internal reflection of light, which is disturbed by contact with a liquid. The main problems with this kind of level sensor are discussed. The performance of the sensor has been studied using four different shapes of the tips of the sensing elements: conical, rounded conical, second-order polynomial and third-order polynomial.

Analysis of phase-locking is informative for studying event-related eeg activity

Abstract: A new method is presented for quantitative evaluation of single-sweep phase and amplitude electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics that is a more informative approach in comparison with conventional signal averaging. In the averaged potential, phase-locking and amplitude effects of the EEG response cannot be separated. To overcome this problem, single-trial EEG sweeps are decomposed into separate presentations of their phase relationships and amplitude characteristics. The stability of the phase-coupling to stimulus is then evaluated independently by analyzing the single-sweep phase presentations. The method has the following advantages: information about stability of the phase-locking can be used to assess event-related oscillatory activity; the method permits evaluation of the timing of event-related phase-locking; and a global assessment and comparison of the phase-locking of ensembles of single sweeps elicited in different processing conditions is possible. The method was employed to study auditory alpha and theta responses in young and middle-aged adults. The results showed that whereas amplitudes of frequency responses tended to decrease, the phase-locking increased significantly with age. The synchronization with stimulus (phase-locking) was the only parameter reliably to differentiate the brain responses of the two age groups, as well as to reveal specific age-related changes in frontal evoked alpha activity. Thus, the present approach can be used to evaluate dynamic brain processes more precisely.

Structure and dynamics of high-current arc cathode spots in vacuum

Abstract: Experiments are reported on the number and displacement velocity of arc spots on CuCr and Cu cathodes in the current range 40 - 1500 A. The spot number was found to increase linearly with current. The average current per resolvable spot amounted to for CuCr and for Cu. For times after ignition random spot displacement R was observed, having mean square values of for Cu and for CuCr. The Cu spots showed brightness fluctuations with intervals of . Because of this obvious dynamics, the theoretical models of the spot plasma must be time-dependent. A self-consistent theoretical description of Cu and Cr plasmas is given, yielding the cathode temperature, plasma density, electric field strength, current density and plasma velocity in the time range 10 ns to 3 ms.