This special volume of Security Challenges contains contributions from leading experts and Pacific scholars that reflect on progress and prospects in the “Pacific arc”. This Introduction begins by identifying common themes that emerge from the contributions regarding the way in which Australia relates to the arc, and how the arc responds to Australia. It then summarises the contributors’ conclu...

An external transverse-alternating magnetic field with sinusoidal and triangular alternating currents was applied to a combined plasma arc to create a plasma arc for expanding the cross section of arc column and flatting the distributions of arc temperature. Two mathematical models were developed to describe the heat flux density distributions of the combined plasma arc driven by a transverse-a...

The selective and neuronal activity-dependent degradation of synaptic proteins appears to be crucial for long-term synaptic plasticity. One such protein is activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc), which regulates the synaptic content of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPAR), excitatory synapse strength and dendritic spine morphology. The levels ...

BACKGROUND Apoptosis repressor with caspase recruitment domain (ARC) is abundantly expressed in cardiomyocytes. Protein kinase CK2 can phosphorylate ARC at threonine-149, thereby enabling ARC to antagonize apoptosis. ARC phosphorylation occurs in a constitutive manner. Nevertheless, cardiomyocytes still undergo apoptosis that is related to cardiac diseases such as myocardial infarction and hear...

Arc/Arg3.1 is an immediate-early gene whose mRNA is rapidly transcribed and targeted to dendrites of neurons as they engage in information processing and storage. Moreover, Arc/Arg3.1 is known to be required for durable forms of synaptic plasticity and learning. Despite these intriguing links to plasticity, Arc/Arg3.1's molecular function remains enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that Arc/Arg3.1 ...

Coulometry has been established as an important and reliable method for the determination of acidic compounds. The analytical method and simple apparatus described here arc applied to the precise and accurate determination of sulfur dioxide in nitrogen, specifically in compressed gas cylinders at nominal concentrations of 50 and 100 µmol/mol (ppm). This method is constant current coulometry whe...

We have imaged the spatial distribution of macular carotenoid pigments (MPs) in the human retina, employing Raman spectroscopy. Using excised human eyecups as initial test samples and resonant excitation of the pigment molecules with narrow-bandwidth blue light from a mercury arc lamp, we record Raman images originating from the carbon-carbon double-bond stretch vibrations of the molecules. Pre...

Initial experience with a new arc-radius design of stereotactic frame that interfaced with the existing components of the Brown-Roberts-Wells instrument is reported. Over a 6-month period, 32 procedures were performed on 23 males and nine female patients (mean age 32 years); these included 27 stereotactic biopsy procedures, two stereotactic implantations of cyst catheter reservoirs, two ventric...

Three-dimensional welding is investigated as a rapid prototyping technique for the production of real Inetallic parts using gas metal arc welding principles. A high speed machine vision system is used to study the correlation between droplet transfer parameters and resultant weld penetration characteristics. Experimental work is conducted to determine how droplet transfer frequency, droplet siz...