EC System Research Articles

Effect of chronic ethanol exposure and its withdrawal on the endocannabinoid system

The present study investigated the effect of ethanol (EtOH) exposure and its withdrawal on the central endocannabinoid system utilizing an EtOH vapor inhalation model, which is known to produce functional tolerance and dependence to EtOH. Swiss Webster mice ( n = 24) were exposed to EtOH vapors for 72 h. Mice were sacrificed after 72 h following EtOH exposure ( n = 12) and 24 h after its withdrawal ( n = 12). Radioligand binding assays were performed to measure the density of CB 1 receptor and CB 1 receptor agonist-stimulated [ 35S]GTPγS binding in crude synaptic membranes isolated from the cortex, hippocampus, striatum and cerebellum. The density of CB 1 receptor was significantly decreased (31–39%) in all the brain regions when compared to the control group. The CB 1 receptor-stimulated G i/o protein activation was also found to be decreased (29–40%) in these brain regions of EtOH exposed mice. Recovery of the CB 1 receptor density, in addition to, the CB 1 receptor-mediated G-protein activation was observed after 24 h withdrawal from EtOH. The levels of cortical anandamide, which was significantly increased (147%) by EtOH exposure, returned to basal levels after 24 h of withdrawal from EtOH exposure. A significant reduction (21%) in the activity of fatty acid amide hydrolase was found in the cortex of EtOH administered mice. Taken together, the neuroadaptation in the EC system may have a potential role in development of tolerance and dependence to EtOH.

Year-round soil and ecosystem respiration in a temperate broad-leaved Korean Pine forest

As part of ChinaFlux program, forest soil and ecosystem respiration were measured using two sets of eddy covariance systems in a 300-year-old mixed forest in northeast China in 2003, and soil respiration was also measured in situ by chamber method. The forest showed a clear old-age effect, i.e. high assimilation and respiration rates. The estimates of annual gross carbon gain and loss at the forest were 1511 and 1327 gC m −2. The annual soil respiration was 1017 gC m −2, which accounted for 76% of the total ecosystem respiration. The forest showed a reasonable positive carbon uptake during growing season, but even during the coldest winter month, it still acted as a sink for a few hours around noon. The annual net carbon sequestration was 184.4 gC m −2. Close relations were found between 5 cm depth soil temperature and soil respiration, as well as ecosystem respiration, both can be well explained by first-order exponential equations. A more reasonable method to calculate Q 10 values of soil based on weighted mean respiratory contribution rates of temperature in each layer was suggested. There was moderate correlation between soil respiration rates and volumetric soil water content. Very dry or very wet soil generally depressed the soil respiration. However, when soil temperature increased, the wet forest soil ( W s > 0.35 m 3 m −3) had greater respiratory potential. When the atmosphere was regularly mixed by turbulence, soil respiration measured by EC was in good agreement with the chamber data. On a daily basis, the soil respiration data obtained from below-canopy EC system is quite acceptable.

The upgrade of the DIII–D EC system using 120 GHz ITER gyrotrons

The planned growth in the EC system on DIII–D over the next few years requires the installation of two depressed collector gyrotrons, a high voltage power supply, two low loss transmission lines, and the required support equipment. This new DIII–D EC equipment could be made identical to the ITER EC system requirements. By building the DIII–D hardware to the ITER specifications, it will allow ITER to gain beneficial prototyping experience on a working tokamak, prior to committing to building the hardware for delivery to ITER.

A mediator-free screen-printed amperometric biosensor for screening of organophosphorus pesticides with flow-injection analysis (FIA) system

A mediator-free amperometric biosensor for screening organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) in flow-injection analysis (FIA) system based on anticholinesterase activity of OPs to immobilized acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE) has been developed. The enzyme biosensor is prepared by entrapping AChE in Al 2O 3 sol–gel matrix screen-printed on an integrated 3-electrode plastic chip. This strategy is found not only increase the stability of the embedded AChE, but also effectively catalyze the oxidative reaction of thiocholine, making the Al 2O 3–AChE biosensor detects the substrate at 0.25 V (versus Ag/AgCl), hundreds mini-volt lower than other reported mediator-free ones. The Al 2O 3–AChE biosensor is thus coupled to FIA system to build up a simple and low-cost FIA–EC system for screening OPs in real samples. A wide linear inhibition response for dichlorvos, typical OP, is observed in the range of 0.1–80 μM, corresponding to 7.91–84.94% inhibition for AChE. The detection limit for dichlorvos is achieved at 10 nM in the simulated seawater for 15 min inhibiting time, which allows the biosensor quantitatively detects the ecotoxicological effect of the real samples from the seaports in eastern China, where the OPs pollution is confirmed by GC–MS.

The development of the globally harmonized system (GHS) of classification and labelling of hazardous chemicals

The hazards of chemicals can be classified using classification criteria that are based on physical, chemical and ecotoxicological endpoints. These criteria may be developed be iteratively, based on scientific or regulatory processes. A number of national and international schemes have been developed over the past 50 years, and some, such as the UN Dangerous Goods system or the EC system for hazardous substances, are in widespread use. However, the unnecessarily complicated multiplicity of existing hazard classifications created much unnecessary confusion at the user level, and a recommendation was made at the 1992 Rio Earth summit to develop a globally harmonized chemical hazard classification and compatible labelling system, including material safety data sheets and easily understandable symbols, that could be used for manufacture, transport, use and disposal of chemical substances. This became the globally harmonized system for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The developmental phase of the GHS is largely complete. Consistent criteria for categorising chemicals according to their toxic, physical, chemical and ecological hazards are now available. Consistent hazard communication tools such as labelling and material safety data sheets are also close to finalisation. The next phase is implementation of the GHS. The Intergovernmental Forum for Chemical Safety recommends that all countries implement the GHS as soon as possible with a view to have the system fully operational by 2008. When the GHS is in place, the world will finally have one system for classification of chemical hazards.

Advanced Control Techniques and High Performance Discharges on DIII-D

The advancement of plasma control techniques has enabled significant progress to be made toward the scientific understanding and realization of Advanced Tokamak operation on DIII–D. The Advanced Tokamak features fully noninductive current drive, operation at high plasma pressure and high energy confinement time. These features require efficient current drive systems, simultaneous control of plasma current and pressure profiles, and active feedback control of plasma instabilities. A number of key systems on DIII-D have been developed to provide this control capability. A versatile electron cyclotron heating and current drive system is routinely providing in excess of 2 MW of power for pulse lengths from 2 to 5 s. This system has been used to provide offaxis current drive, direct electron heating and pressure profile modification, and stabilization of the Neoclassical Tearing Mode instability. A combination of control of magnetic error fields, neutral beam induced plasma rotation, and active feedback stabilization using both external and internal nonaxisymmetric coil systems has been used to stabilize the Resistive Wall Mode at high values of plasma pressure. Control of the ELM instability has recently been demonstrated using the newly installed internal coil system. The higher speed and expanded realtime diagnostic capability of our recently upgraded plasma control system permits these various control techniques to be simultaneously integrated to achieve our high performance discharges. This has resulted in fully noninductively driven plasmas with βN = 3.5 and βT = 3.6% sustained for up to 1 s. Upgrades and facility modifications to further enhance our control and scientific capabilities including rotation of a neutral beamline, expanded EC system power, and installation of a new lower divertor are discussed.

The Use of DIII-D as a Testbed for ITER ECH Transmission Line Components

The operational experience of present day high power EC systems is nominally only for a few seconds. This is a long way away from the thousands of seconds required for ITER. It would be beneficial to the ITER program that EC system components be tested to full parameters prior to committing to producing the full set of components. The planned growth in the EC system on DIII-D over the next few years provides the opportunity to assemble a test stand for ITER EC components. By building the DIII-D hardware to the ITER specifications it will allow ITER to gain beneficial prototyping experience on a working tokamak, prior to committing to building the hardware for delivery to ITER.

The Combination of the Investigative and Prosecutorial Function and the Adjudicative Function in EC Antitrust Enforcement: A Legal and Economic Analysis

In the current system of EC antitrust enforcement, the European Commission combines the investigative and prosecutorial function with the adjudicative or decision-making function. The purpose of this article is to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of this system, in comparison with a system in which the adjudicative function is separated from the investigative and prosecutorial function, such as the US system in which the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission (under the pre-merger notification programme) investigates and prosecutes before a federal court. The first chapter of the article contains a description of the current EC system, a comparative description of the US system, an overview of the legal debate on the compatibility of the current EC system with Article 6 ECHR and on the scope for change under the current EC Treaty, and an introduction to the wider policy debate. The second chapter deals with accuracy, in particular the question whether there is a risk of prosecutorial bias in a system in which the investigative and prosecutorial function is combined with the adjudicative function. The third chapter deals with administrative cost, in particular the question whether a system in which the European Commission would prosecute before the Community Courts would be more expensive or slower than the current system. The fourth and last chapter contains a summary and conclusion.

The EC System of Legal Remedies and Effective Judicial Protection: Does the System Really Need Reform?

The EC System of Legal Remedies and Effective Judicial Protection: Does the System Really Need Reform?

Some Comments on Procedure and Remedies under EC Merger Control Rules: Something Rotten in the Kingdom of the EC Merger Control?

This article surveys the law and policy of the Commission’s approach to remedies in Merger Control to date. Underlying much recent criticism have been two problematic procedural characteristics of the EC system. The first is practical: the stringency of deadlines in the Merger procedure, while constituting one of its great benefits, can also mean that there is insufficient time for full and adequate discussion of remedies at each stage in the process. This problem of lack of time has been exacerbated by the Commission’s increasing demands for broader, more severe, and more detailed remedies (such as identification of an “up-front” buyer), which in turn are more time-consuming to formulate. The second problem is structural: the Merger procedure in its present form is insufficiently transparent and offers inadequate procedural safeguards to notifying parties. This criticism is founded in the often competitor-driven nature of the review process, the “judge and jury” syndrome of the Merger Task Force, and the difficulty in obtaining effective judicial review of merger decisions. While developments such as the new Draft Merger Regulation and recent judgments of the Court of First Instance go some way towards alleviating these concerns, they are no panacea for the present difficulties.

Kicking the ball into the Member States’ field: the Court's response to Jégo-Quéré (Case C-50/00 P Unión de Pequeños Agricultores, Judgment of 25 July 2002)

On 25 July 2002, the Court rejected the proposals of AG Jacobs and the CFI to reconsider its traditional case law on private applicants’ standing to challenge generally applicable EC acts according to Article 230 para. 4 EC. This rejection hardly came as a surprise. However, the Court's motivation for the ‘restauration’ of its traditional approach is interesting. In substance, the Court held that the Member States are responsible for both the existence and the elimination of lacunae in the EC system of judicial remedies.

분산환경하에서 해운 전자상거래 에이전트 설계 및 구현

이 본문은 선박중개시스템으로써 분산객체기술을 이용한 CORBA환경하에서 설계되고 구현되었다. 최근 각광 받고 있는 웹에서의 전자상거래 시스템이 방대해 짐에 따라 호스트 중심의 중앙 집중식 방식이 한계를 가지게 되었다. 또한 시스템의 성능 향상도 크게 요구되어졌으며, 이러한 문제들을 해결하기 위해 이종 시스템간에 프로그램을 분산시켜 부하를 줄임으로써 시스템의 성능 저하와 네트워크 병목형상을 해결하고 있다. 본 연구는 에이전트 통신언어(ACL)를 이용하여 분산된 데이터베이스에fi의 에이전트 기반 모형을 제시한다. 또한 분산된 서로 다른 운영체제, 분산된 이종의 데이터베이스에서의 정보 공유와 교환이 가능한 CORBA를 이용한 지능형 선박검색 에이전트의 모형을 구현한다. In this thesis a shipping broker agent system, which can be executed by a CORBA-based environment using the distributed object technique, CORBA is designed and implemented Nowadays, while the EC system is extensive on the web, legacy host systems have limitations and its capacity-upgrade os required. In order to solve these problems the method that distributes programs into several computer systems can reduce their loads, set low system capacity and minimize network bottleneck. In this thesis using Agent Communication Language(ACL), we propose an agent based prototype and implement an intelligent agent prototype for ships search using CORBA, which can exchange and shiare data between different systems.

BRENDA, enzyme data and metabolic information.

BRENDA is a comprehensive relational database on functional and molecular information of enzymes, based on primary literature. The database contains information extracted and evaluated from approximately 46 000 references, holding data of at least 40 000 different enzymes from more than 6900 different organisms, classified in approximately 3900 EC numbers. BRENDA is an important tool for biochemical and medical research covering information on properties of all classified enzymes, including data on the occurrence, catalyzed reaction, kinetics, substrates/products, inhibitors, cofactors, activators, structure and stability. All data are connected to literature references which in turn are linked to PubMed. The data and information provide a fundamental tool for research of enzyme mechanisms, metabolic pathways, the evolution of metabolism and, furthermore, for medicinal diagnostics and pharmaceutical research. The database is a resource for data of enzymes, classified according to the EC system of the IUBMB Enzyme Nomenclature Committee, and the entries are cross-referenced to other databases, i.e. organism classification, protein sequence, protein structure and literature references. BRENDA provides an academic web access at http://www.brenda.uni-koeln.de.

Reduction of Lapachones in Aqueous Media at a Glassy Carbon Electrode

The electrochemical reduction of -lapachone, -lapachone, -lapachone-sulfonic acid and 3-bromo--lapachone was studied by cyclic voltammetry, square-wave and differential pulse voltammetry in mixed ethanolic (20%) aqueous buffered media (pH 4.5) using a glassy carbon electrode. The reduction showed, for the ortho-quinones, well-defined pH-dependent reversible peaks corresponding to a mechanism involving the same number of electrons and protons, typical of quinones. For the para-quinone, at pH 4.5, an irreversible pair of peaks is evident, corresponding probably to an EC system. Disproportionation of the radical together with a coupled chemical reaction after the first electron transfer seems to occur. The chemical reaction is probably a dihydropyran ring cleavage, leading to intermediates, that are oxidized in its more stable forms, one of them very similar to the one presented by -lapachone. The hydrogenbonding-aided stabilization of the radicals generated during -lapachone and derivatives reduction, after electron and proton capture confers more stability to the reduced ortho-lapachones in comparison to their reduced para-isomers. At pH 7.0, the reduction of -lapachone is quasi-reversible. In all cases, the ortho-quinones are reduced easier than the para-isomers. The electrochemical method enables the study of the stability of these quinones after reduction, and allows their detection and quantification which confers to this methodology an extra advantage. For the soluble sulfonic acid the detection limit is 1.7 10 6 M.

The Transporter Classification (TC) System, 2002

The Transporter Classification (TC) system is a functional/phylogenetic system designed for the classification of all transmembrane transport proteins found in living organisms on Earth. It parallels but differs from the strictly functional EC system developed decades ago by the Enzyme Commission of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) for the classification of enzymes. Recently, the TC system has been adopted by the IUBMB as the internationally acclaimed system for the classification of transporters. Here we present the characteristics of the nearly 400 families of transport systems included in the TC system and provide statistical analyses of these families and their constituent proteins. Specifically, we analyze the transporter types for size and topological differences and analyze the families for the numbers and organismal sources of their constituent members. We show that channels and carriers exhibit distinctive structural and topological features. Bacterial-specific families outnumber eukaryotic-specific families about 2 to 1, while ubiquitous families, found in all three domains of life, are about half as numerous as eukaryotic-specific families. The results argue against appreciable horizontal transfer of genes encoding transporters between the three domains of life over the last 2 billion years.

構成国国会の審査制度によるEC立法過程の民主的統制

As the EC integration progresses, more EC laws including laws originated from EC laws are applied in the Member States. This has diminished the roles of Member States' parliaments as legislative and controlling authorities.The so-called ‘democratic deficit’ is the problem of degree of incorporation of the representative democracy into the EC system. In this article, the national parliaments' scrutiny systems are focused as ways to control the EC legislative process and to reduce the ‘democratic deficit.’ The national parliaments are ‘closer to the citizen’ and they play important roles in the representative democracy in the EC, complementary to the European Parliament's role.After the Single European Act entered into force in 1987, the number of EC laws increased dramatically. The national parliaments have amended internal procedures and established scrutiny systems to control their own governments' positions in the Council. In the 1990s, to make their scrutiny more effective, the French Senate, the British House of Commons, the Danish Folketing and the Finnish Eduskunta have established representative offices in the building of the European Parliament in Brussels. This enhanced relationships among European and national parliaments.First of all, the scrutiny systems of these four parliaments are studied as examples. Problems are that the governments do not always provide the parliaments all the information, that they do not provide it promptly, that the EC legislative proposals are sometimes adopted by the Council before their scrutiny is exhausted and that governments do not always take into account the parliaments' views (except in Denmark and Finland). For the purpose of the scrutiny, it is important that the parliaments can express their views before the EC legislative proposals under scrutiny are adopted in the Council. In this regard, ‘scrutiny reserve’ has been introduced. It can be said that the continued interaction between the governments and the parliaments through the scrutiny systems has contributed to make the scrutiny systems more effective and the governments to take into more account of the parliaments' views.At the EC/EU level, the protocol on the role of national parliaments in the European Union annexed to the Amsterdam Treaty provides measures, although limited, to enhance national parliaments' ability to express their views on EC legislation. The European Parliament encourages the reinforcement of the national parliaments' scrutiny in its resolution A4-0179/97. To make the democratic control of the EC legislative process more effective, the European and national parliaments can jointly influence the EC legislative process by taking similar attitudes in the areas where their interests converge.Through their scrutiny systems, the national parliaments can be said to have incorporated to a certain extent the representative democracy into the EC legislative process.

Design status of EC system in ITER — design of reliable RF beam launching system

The design of two types of EC-launchers which fulfil many functions requested to EC system, is described. One with toroidal RF beam steering is mainly used for main plasma heating and current drive. The other with poloidal RF beam steering is mainly used for neoclassical tearing mode stabilization. The RF beam is deflected by a steerable mirror. In this design, one mirror, steerable in a single direction, is assigned to one row of waveguides. A reliable RF beam launching system can be constructed by using a spiral pipe for cooling water and a simple push/pull shaft for mirror rotation without a cam and link. The design includes a mirror composed of a high melting temperature material plate and a SS pipe.

The Future of the EC Merger Regulation

In September 2000 a celebratory meeting was jointly organised in Brussels by the EC Directorate General for Competition (the former DGIV) and the International Bar Association, to mark the tenth anniversary of the implementation of Regulation 4064/89 which set up the EC system of merger control. As is usually the case at birthday parties, the emphasis was on the success already achieved by the celebrant rather than on any of its possible shortcomings! Much was said about the sound foundations laid in the years immediately before the Regulation was adopted, when a range of opinion was sought from all around the Community on how its procedures should be set up, drawing on the experience of officials and lawyers in many Member States as well as the USA. Tribute was also rightly paid at the celebrations to the proactive role of Commission officials in the Merger Task Force especially during its early years, when its traditions of a user-friendly approach and the positive use of the pre-notification period were established.

The Future of the EC Merger Regulation

In September 2000 a celebratory meeting was jointly organised in Brussels by the EC Directorate General for Competition (the former DGIV) and the International Bar Association, to mark the tenth anniversary of the implementation of Regulation 4064/89 which set up the EC system of merger control. As is usually the case at birthday parties, the emphasis was on the success already achieved by the celebrant rather than on any of its possible shortcomings! Much was said about the sound foundations laid in the years immediately before the Regulation was adopted, when a range of opinion was sought from all around the Community on how its procedures should be set up, drawing on the experience of officials and lawyers in many Member States as well as the USA. Tribute was also rightly paid at the celebrations to the proactive role of Commission officials in the Merger Task Force especially during its early years, when its traditions of a user-friendly approach and the positive use of the pre-notification period were established.

The organization of influence on the EC's common agriculturalpolicy: A network approach

Abstract The common agricultural policy of the EC with its market regulations is decided at EC level by a multilevel system of government, in which the Commission and the parliamentary parties of the European Parliament play the supranational role and the national ministries of agriculture act as parts of the intergovernmental system of the Council of Ministers. National interest groups have thereby three major access routes to the EC system, first through their national governments, or second indirectly, transmitted by their European peak organizations, or third directly to the supranational EC actors. The network approach is applied to study empirically the densities of access through these various routes. The links between actors in the agricultural policy domain are conceptualized as links for the exchange of resources, the most important resource of a policy domain being the final control of policy decisions. The political actors of the governance system originally hold full control of this valuable resource which they exchange for influence resources possessed by the interest groups, as public support or expert knowledge. Empirically, answers to the network questions depend on the type of resource and the viewpoint of the interviewed actors. An index is developed which indicates the resource flows between actors and the distribution of equilibrium control of policy decisions. It is shown that the national ministers of agriculture depend very much on the support and expertise of their national farmers’ lobby, whereas the Commission relies more on contacts within the political sector itself. Multilevel systems need a lot of political coordination, so that the political actors within such systems, especially at the supranational level, seem to deal first of all with each other and not so much with the demand side of politics, compared to the national ministers of agriculture.