Current observational data of exoplanets are providing increasing detail of their 3D atmospheric structures. As characterisation efforts expand in scope, the need to develop consistent 3D ...radiative-transfer methods becomes more pertinent as the complex atmospheric properties of exoplanets are required to be modelled together consistently. We aim to compare the transmission and emission spectra results of a 3D Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer (MCRT) model to contemporary radiative-transfer suites. We perform several benchmarking tests of a MCRT code, Cloudy Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer (CMCRT), to transmission and emission spectra model output. We add flexibility to the model through the use of k-distribution tables as input opacities. We present a hybrid MCRT and ray tracing methodology for the calculation of transmission spectra with a multiple scattering component. CMCRT compares well to the transmission spectra benchmarks at the 10s of ppm level. Emission spectra benchmarks are consistent to within 10% of the 1D models. We suggest that differences in the benchmark results are likely caused by geometric effects between plane-parallel and spherical models. In a practical application, we post-process a cloudy 3DHD 189733b GCM model and compare to available observational data. Our results suggest the core methodology and algorithms of CMCRT produce consistent results to contemporary radiative transfer suites. 3D MCRT methods are highly suitable for detailed post-processing of cloudy and non-cloudy 1D and 3D exoplanet atmosphere simulations in instances where atmospheric inhomogeneities, significant limb effects/geometry or multiple scattering components are important considerations.
Proteins from a laboratory-made oak mistletoe extract and from the commercial mistletoe preparation Iscador Quercus were cytotoxic for leukemia Molt 4 cells in culture. A 50% growth inhibition was ...obtained with 0.1 microgram/ml proteins for the mistletoe extract and 0.025 microgram/ml for Iscador. On cation exchange chromatography, cytotoxic proteins from the mistletoe extract were mainly eluted at the same positions as purified lectins, while those of Iscador were eluted at the positions of viscotoxins. The data are discussed in relation to the pharmacological activities of the mistletoe protein complexes described in the literature.
The feasibility of measuring pulmonary blood flow (PAQ) continuously using a removable, extraluminal 20 MHz pulsed Doppler probe, which has been used successfully to measure aortic blood flow, was ...assessed in seven anesthetized mongrel dogs. Simultaneous recordings were made from the Doppler probe (range-gated 5-6 mm from the anterior wall of the main pulmonary artery) and an electromagnetic flow probe (encircling the aorta) over cardiac outputs (CO) ranging from 0.2 to 5.5 L/min. Assuming a flat velocity profile and a fixed cross-sectional area, PAQ was initially calculated as the product of area and mean velocity. Regression analyses (PAQ = a + b X CO) indicated good intraanimal linear correlations in six animals (r greater than or equal to 0.84) and no correlation in one animal (r = 0.003); however, PAQ was consistently higher than CO and interanimal variability was marked, as suggested by large deviations in mean intercept and slope values (a = 1.67 +/- 1.09 L/min and b = 0.70 +/- 0.33). Results improved (r greater than or equal to 0.79 in all animals, a = 0.47 +/- 0.52 L/min, and b = 0.77 +/- 0.21) when the method to estimate PAQ was altered to assume that the starting cross-sectional area was the area that would make baseline PAQ and CO agree, and that the area during each subsequent CO level changed as a function of pulmonary artery pressure and an estimate of pulmonary artery compliance. Results of this study imply that it will be more difficult to use this Doppler probe to monitor CO from the pulmonary artery than it was from the aorta due to the elliptical, more compliant pulmonary vessel walls and the irregular pulmonary artery velocity profile.
Bacterially fermented mistletoe preparations (BFMP) were tested on rat hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cells and human leukemia Molt 4 cells. A dose-dependent inhibition of the growth rate of the cells ...was observed. For both cell lines, cytostatic concentrations, expressed in weight of fresh plant, were 0.5 mg/ml culture medium for oak BFMP and 1 mg/ml for apple tree BFMP. However, the action of the two preparations was markedly different on each cell line. Non-viable HTC cells were not stained by trypan blue while non-viable Molt 4 cells were fully colored by this reagent. A lysis of cellular membranes of HTC cells was observed by electron microscopy. Furthermore, oak BFMP inhibited the growth of virus transformed 3T3-SV40 cells more than that of non-transformed 3T3 cells. In contrast to BFMP, non-fermented extracts and a purified mistletoe lectin showed a greater inhibition of the growth of Molt 4 cells than of HTC cells. Samples withdrawn at different times during fermentation gradually lost their inhibitory effect on the growth of Molt 4 cells while their action on HTC cells increased up to the 4th day of fermentation. These results are discussed in relation to the cytotoxic substances of mistletoe already characterized.
