In this paper, the effect of elliptical shape openings was numerically compared to the case when circular openings were used in the steel panel shear walls. At first, the finite element model in ABAQUS was calibrated by experimental results, obtained from previous studies. Then, three steel shear panels with different sizes of elliptical openings were analyzed under cyclic loads, and the result...

Bcl-2 family proteins regulate the release of proteins like cytochrome c from mitochondria during apoptosis. We used cell-free systems and ultimately a vesicular reconstitution from defined molecules to show that outer membrane permeabilization by Bcl-2 family proteins requires neither the mitochondrial matrix, the inner membrane, nor other proteins. Bid, or its BH3-domain peptide, activated mo...

Single sodium channel currents were analysed in cell attached patches from single ventricular cells of guinea pig hearts in the presence of a novel cardiotonic compound DPI 201-106. The mean single channel conductance of DPI-treated Na channels was not changed by DPI (20.8 +/- 4 pS, control, 3 patches; 21.3 +/- 1 pS with DPI, 5 mumol/1,3 patches). DPI voltage-dependently prolongs the cardiac so...

Large modern sports stadia are often multifunctional buildings that are not only used for sports purposes but also for other events such as concerts, conferences and festivities. Some of the stadia that have been built in recent years in north-western Europe are equipped with a semi-transparent roof that can be opened and closed, depending on the weather conditions and on the type of event. Whe...

We present an efficient and powerful algorithm for detecting openings. Openings indicate the existence of a new path for the robot. The reliable detection of new openings is of great relevance for the domain of moving objects [2] as a robot typically needs to detect openings for itself to navigate through. It is also especially relevant to the domain of Navigation Among Movable Obstacles in kno...