Cosecretion of amylin and insulin from isolated rat pancreas

AbstractAmylin, a 37 amino acid C-terminal amidated peptide is an integral part of secretory granules of pancreatic β-cells. Utilizing a specific radioimmunoassay system we demonstrate in the present study a cosecretion of amylin and insulin from the isolated rat pancreas. The secretion pattern of both peptides during glucose or glucose plus arginine stimulation is identical. The molar ratio of amylin amounts to 10% of that of insulin. The biological significance of amylin is still unknown, but a paracrine/endocrine role in glucose homeostasis is speculated

Liquid Hydrogen Target Experience at SLAC

Liquid hydrogen targets have played a vital role in the physics program at SLAC for the past 40 years. These targets have ranged from small "beer can" targets to the 1.5 m long E158 target that was capable of absorbing up to 800 W without any significant density changes. Successful use of these targets has required the development of thin-wall designs, liquid hydrogen pumps, remote positioning and alignment systems, safety systems, control and data acquisition systems, cryogenic cooling circuits and heat exchangers. Detailed operating procedures have been created to ensure safety and operational reliability.This paper surveys the evolution of liquid hydrogen targets at SLAC and discusses advances in several of the enabling technologies that made these targets possible

Carbon K-shell Photo Ionization of CO: Molecular frame angular Distributions of normal and conjugate shakeup Satellites

We have measured the molecular frame angular distributions of photoelectrons emitted from the Carbon K shell of fixed-in-space CO molecules for the case of simultaneous excitation of the remaining molecular ion. Normal and conjugate shake up states are observed. Photo electrons belonging to normal \Sigma -satellite lines show an angular distribution resembling that observed for the main photoline at the same electron energy. Surprisingly a similar shape is found for conjugate shake up states with \Pi -symmetry. In our data we identify shake rather than electron scattering (PEVE) as the mechanism producing the conjugate lines. The angular distributions clearly show the presence of a \Sigma -shape resonance for all of the satellite lines.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Ariel - Volume 4 Number 6

Editors David A. Jacoby Eugenia Miller Tom Williams Associate Editors Paul Bialas Terry Burt Michael Leo Gail Tenikat Editor Emeritus and Business Manager Richard J. Bonnano Movie Editor Robert Breckenridge Staff Richard Blutstein Mary F. Buechler J.D. Kanofsky Rocket Weber David Maye

Pion-Production in Heavy-Ion Collisions at SIS energies

We investigate the production of pions in heavy-ion collisions in the energy range of $1$ - $2$ GeV/A. The dynamics of the nucleus-nucleus collisions is described by a set of coupled transport equations of the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck type for baryons and mesons. Besides the $N(938)$ and the $\Delta(1232)$ we also take into account nucleon resonances up to masses of $1.9 GeV/c^2$ as well as $\pi$-, $\eta$- and $\rho$-mesons. We study in detail the influence of the higher baryonic resonances and the $2\pi$-production channels ($NN\to NN \pi\pi$) on the pion spectra in comparison to $\pi^-$ data from $Ar + KCl$ collisions at $1.8$ GeV/A and $\pi^0$-data for $Au+Au$ at 1.0 GeV/A. We, furthermore, present a detailed comparison of differential pion angular distributions with the BEVALAC data for Ar + KCl at 1.8 GeV/A. The general agreement obtained indicates that the overall reactions dynamics is well described by our novel transport approach.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures (inlcuded), to appear in Z. Phys.

Development of an auditory implant manipulator for minimally invasive surgical insertion of implantable hearing devices

Abstract Objective: To present the auditory implant manipulator, a navigation-controlled mechanical and electronic system which enables minimally invasive (‘keyhole') transmastoid access to the tympanic cavity. Materials and methods: The auditory implant manipulator is a miniaturised robotic system with five axes of movement and an integrated drill. It can be mounted on the operating table. We evaluated the surgical work field provided by the system, and the work sequence involved, using an anatomical whole head specimen. Results: The work field provided by the auditory implant manipulator is considerably greater than required for conventional mastoidectomy. The work sequence for a keyhole procedure included pre-operative planning, arrangement of equipment, the procedure itself and post-operative analysis. Conclusion: Although system improvements are necessary, our preliminary results indicate that the auditory implant manipulator has the potential to perform keyhole insertion of implantable hearing device

Compact hyperbolic universe and singularities

Recently many people have discussed the possibility that the universe is hyperbolic and was in an inflationary phase in the early stage. Under these assumptions, it is shown that the universe cannot have compact hyperbolic time-slices. Though the universal covering space of the universe has a past Cauchy horizon and can be extended analytically beyond it, the extended region has densely many points which correspond to singularities of the compact universe. The result is essentially attributed to the ergodicity of the geodesic flow on a compact negatively curved manifold. Validity of the result is also discussed in the case of inhomogeneous universe. Relationship with the strong cosmic censorship conjecture is also discussed.Comment: 8 pages with 7 figure

TRIGA-SPEC: A setup for mass spectrometry and laser spectroscopy at the research reactor TRIGA Mainz

The research reactor TRIGA Mainz is an ideal facility to provide neutron-rich nuclides with production rates sufficiently large for mass spectrometric and laser spectroscopic studies. Within the TRIGA-SPEC project, a Penning trap as well as a beam line for collinear laser spectroscopy are being installed. Several new developments will ensure high sensitivity of the trap setup enabling mass measurements even on a single ion. Besides neutron-rich fission products produced in the reactor, also heavy nuclides such as 235-U or 252-Cf can be investigated for the first time with an off-line ion source. The data provided by the mass measurements will be of interest for astrophysical calculations on the rapid neutron-capture process as well as for tests of mass models in the heavy-mass region. The laser spectroscopic measurements will yield model-independent information on nuclear ground-state properties such as nuclear moments and charge radii of neutron-rich nuclei of refractory elements far from stability. This publication describes the experimental setup as well as its present status.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figure

Optical detection of single non-absorbing molecules using the surface plasmon of a gold nanorod

Current optical detection schemes for single molecules require light absorption, either to produce fluorescence or direct absorption signals. This severely limits the range of molecules that can be detected, because most molecules are purely refractive. Metal nanoparticles or dielectric resonators detect non-absorbing molecules by a resonance shift in response to a local perturbation of the refractive index, but neither has reached single-protein sensitivity. The most sensitive plasmon sensors to date detect single molecules only when the plasmon shift is amplified by a highly polarizable label or by a localized precipitation reaction on the particle's surface. Without amplification, the sensitivity only allows for the statistical detection of single molecules. Here we demonstrate plasmonic detection of single molecules in realtime, without the need for labeling or amplification. We monitor the plasmon resonance of a single gold nanorod with a sensitive photothermal assay and achieve a ~ 700-fold increase in sensitivity compared to state-of-the-art plasmon sensors. We find that the sensitivity of the sensor is intrinsically limited due to spectral diffusion of the SPR. We believe this is the first optical technique that detects single molecules purely by their refractive index, without any need for photon absorption by the molecule. The small size, bio-compatibility and straightforward surface chemistry of gold nanorods may open the way to the selective and local detection of purely refractive proteins in live cells