Previously derived expressions for the characteristic function of work performed on a quantum system by a classical external force are generalized to arbitrary initial states of the considered system and to Hamiltonians with degenerate spectra. In the particular case ∗Corresponding author, tel: +49 821 598 3233, fax:+49 821 598 3222, email: [email protected]

BACKGROUND/AIMS To analyze the effects of pomegranate juice (PJ) and punicalagin on macrophage triglyceride metabolism. METHODS Triglyceride metabolism was analyzed in PJ- or punicalagin-treated J774A.1 macrophages or in mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPM) harvested from C57BL/6 mice or from paraoxonase 2 (PON2)-deficient mice. RESULTS PJ (0-50 μM) significantly and dose-dependently decrease...

Background Cigarette smoke (CS) induces an oxidative stress, DNA damage, and lung cancer. Pomegranate juice (PJ) possess potent antioxidant activity attributed to its polyphenols. We investigated whether PJ supplementation would prevent the formation of lung nodules, attenuate mitotic activity, and reduce hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression secondary to CS exposure in an animal mode...

Pomegranate juice (PJ), which is a rich source of potent flavonoid antioxidants, was tested for its capacity to protect nitric oxide (NO) against oxidative destruction and enhance the biological actions of NO. Employing chemiluminescence headspace analysis, PJ was found to be a potent inhibitor of superoxide anion-mediated disappearance of NO. PJ was much more potent than Concord grape juice, b...

The echo of a chirp of ultrasonic energy from an object contains information about the geometry of that object: relative depth of surfaces and approximate area of those surfaces. A human face has complex geometry that produces a distinctive echo. In this paper, we report initial research into whether there is sufficient information in the echo to recognize a still face. Potential features for c...

Peyman Hessari,1,* Younghae Do,2,† Ying-Cheng Lai,3,4 Junseok Chae,3 Cheol Woo Park,1 and GyuWon Lee5 1School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 702-701, Korea 2Department of Mathematics, KNU-center for Nonlinear Dynamics, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 702-701, Korea 3School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ...

We prove the following let α,β,a > 0, and b > 0 be real numbers, and let wj ( j = 1, . . . ,n; n≥2) be positive real numbers withw1+···+wn=1. The inequalities α ∑n j=1wj/(1−pj )≤ ∑n j=1wj/(1− pj) ∑n j=1wj/(1+ pj) ≤ β ∑n j=1wj/(1− pj ) hold for all real numbers pj ∈ [0,1) ( j = 1, . . . ,n) if and only if α ≤min(1,a/2) and β ≥max(1,(1−min1≤ j≤nwj/2)b). Furthermore, we provide a matrix version. T...

BACKGROUND allergic disease caused by Parietaria judaica (Pj) has been widely documented in Mediterranean area. Profilins have been identified as widely distributed allergenic proteins. The role of Pj profilin in specific immune response in Pj-sensitized patients is unknown. METHODS skin prick test and determination of specific and total IgE levels in serum were performed in all patients (n =...

Recently, a number of interesting algorithmic problems have arisen from the emergence, in a number of countries, of kidney exchange schemes, whereby live donors are matched with recipients according to compatibility and other considerations. One such problem can be modeled by a variant of the well-known stable roommates problem in which blocking cycles, as well as the normal blocking pairs, are...