Brain fog in neuropathic postural tachycardia syndrome may be associated with autonomic hyperarousal and improves after water drinking.

Brain fog is a common and highly disturbing symptom for patients with neuropathic postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Cognitive deficits have been measured exclusively in the upright body position and mainly comprised impairments of higher cognitive functions. The cause of brain fog is still unclear today. This study aimed to investigate whether increased autonomic activation might be an underlying mechanism for the occurrence of brain fog in neuropathic POTS. We therefore investigated cognitive function in patients with neuropathic POTS and a healthy control group depending on body position and in relation to catecholamine release as a sensitive indicator of acute stress. The second aim was to test the effect of water intake on cardiovascular regulation, orthostatic symptoms, cognitive function and catecholamine release. Thirteen patients with neuropathic POTS and 15 healthy control subjects were included. All participants completed a total of four rounds of cognitive testing: two before and two after the intake of 500 ml still water, each first in the supine position and then during head-up tilt. At the end of each cognitive test, a blood sample was collected for determination of plasma catecholamines. After each head-up tilt phase participants were asked to rate their current symptoms on a visual analogue scale. Working memory performance in the upright body position was impaired in patients, which was associated with self-reported symptom severity. Patients had elevated plasma norepinephrine independent of body position and water intake that increased excessively in the upright body position. The excessive increase of plasma norepinephrine was related to heart rate and symptom severity. Water intake in patients decreased norepinephrine concentrations and heart rate, and improved symptoms as well as cognitive performance. Brain fog and symptom severity in neuropathic POTS are paralleled by an excessive norepinephrine secretion. Bolus water drinking down-regulates norepinephrine secretion and improves general symptom severity including brain fog

Simulations of the adsorption of ionic species at polarisable liquid liquid interfaces

The adsorption of ions at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) is primarily controlled by the potential distribution across the interface, which in turn is influenced by the adsorption process. In the present paper, we simulate the effect of the adsorption of charged species on the charge distribution at the ITIES based on the classical description of the interface employing the Gouy–Chapman model. The inner layer is considered as a charged plane, where the ionic adsorption takes place. The potential at this plane is determined by the electro-neutrality condition. Various adsorption isotherms are considered, including potential dependent isotherms based on the Langmuir and Frumkin adsorption models. The potential distribution and the charge density profile are derived by solving the Poisson–Boltzman equation numerically. We show that the charge distribution in the interfacial region is significantly affected by the adsorption of ionic species. Under certain conditions, the adsorption results in a non-monotonic potential distribution with a potential trap at the interface

Quality control of CarboEurope flux data ? Part II: Inter-comparison of eddy-covariance software

International audienceAs part of the quality assurance and quality control activities within the CarboEurope-IP network, a comparison of eddy-covariance software was conducted. For four five-day datasets, CO2 flux estimates were calculated by seven commonly used software packages to assess the uncertainty of CO2 flux estimates due to differences in post-processing. The datasets originated from different sites representing different commonly applied instrumentation and different canopy structures to cover a wide range of realistic conditions. Data preparation, coordinate rotation and the implementation of the correction for high frequency spectral losses were identified as crucial processing steps leading to significant discrepancies in the CO2 flux results. The overall comparison indicated a good although not yet perfect agreement among the different software within 5?10% difference for 30-min CO2 flux values. Conceptually different ideas about the selection and application of processing steps were a main reason for the differences in the CO2 flux estimates observed. A balance should be aspired between scientific freedom on the one hand, in order to advance methodical issues, and standardisation of procedures on the other hand, in order to obtain comparable fluxes for multi-site synthesis studies

High precision and continuous field measurements of δ 13C and δ 18O in carbon dioxide with a cryogen-free QCLAS

The present paper describes a compact and cryogen-free, quantum cascade laser based absorption spectrometer (QCLAS) designed for in situ, continuous and high precision isotope ratio measurements of atmospheric CO2. The mobile instrument incorporates several new features including a novel astigmatic multi-pass cell assembly, a quasi-room temperature quantum cascade laser, thermoelectrically cooled detectors as well as a new retrieval approach. The combination of these features now makes it possible to measure isotope ratios of ambient CO2 with a precision of 0.03 and 0.05‰ for δ13C and δ18O, respectively, using a 100s integration time. A robust and optimized calibration procedure was developed to bring the retrieved isotope ratios on an absolute scale. This assures an accuracy better than 0.1‰ under laboratory conditions. The instrument performance was also assessed in a field campaign in which the spectrometer operated autonomously and provided mixing ratio values for the main three CO2 isotopologues at one second time resolution. An accuracy of 0.2‰ was routinely obtained for both isotope ratios during the entire period. The results were in excellent agreement with the standard laboratory-based isotope ratio mass spectrometer measurements made on field-collected flask samples. A few illustrative examples are used to depict the potential of this optical method in atmosphere-biosphere researc

Reactivity of Monolayer-Protected Gold Nanoclusters at Dye-Sensitized Liquid/Liquid Interfaces

Hexanethiolate monolayer-protected gold nanoclusters (MPCs) were used as redox quenchers at the polarizable water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface. Photocurrent responses originating from the heterogeneous quenching of photoexcited water soluble porphyrin complexes by MPCs dissolved in the DCE phase were observed. As MPCs can function as both electron acceptors and donors, the photocurrent results from the superposition of two simultaneous processes, which correspond to the oxidation and reduction of MPCs. The magnitude of the net photocurrent is essentially determined by the balance of the kinetics of these two processes, which can be controlled by tuning the Galvani potential difference between the two phases. We show that, within the available potential window, the apparent electron-transfer rate constants follow classical Butler−Volmer dependence on the applied potential difference

CdSe Sensitized Thin Aqueous Films: Probing the Potential Distribution Inside Multilayer Assemblies

Ultrathin polypeptide multilayer films are assembled by the sequential electrostatic adsorption of monolayers of poly-L-lysine and poly-L-glutamic acid onto carboxylic acid terminated alkanethiol-modified gold surfaces. The polypeptide multilayer films are hydrophilic, can incorporate electroactive species such as ferri/ferrocyanide, and are stable when immersed in organic solvents such as 1,2-dichloroethane. Cadmium selenide quantum dots stabilized by negatively charged citrate groups are electrostatically attached to the multilayer film assembly in order to act as photoactive species. Photocurrent responses originating from the CdSe sensitized ultrathin multilayer film are investigated as functions of the applied potential, the thickness of the film and the presence of quenchers in the organic phase. A theoretical model is proposed in order to analyze the kinetics of the photoinduced electron-transfer reactions and to probe the potential distribution within the film

Coulomb Drag Between Parallel Ballistic Quantum Wires

The Coulomb drag between parallel, {\it ballistic} quantum wires is studied theoretically in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field B. The transresistance R_D shows peaks as a function of the Fermi level and splitting energy between the 1D subbands of the wires. The sharpest peaks appear when the Fermi level crosses the subband extrema so that the Fermi momenta are small. Two other kinds of peaks appear when either {\it intra}- or {\it inter}-subband transitions of electrons have maximum probability; the {\it intra}-subband transitions correspond to a small splitting energy. R_D depends on the field B in a nonmonotonic fashion: it decreases with B, as a result of the suppression of backscattering, and increases sharply when the Fermi level approaches the subband bottoms and the suppression is outbalanced by the increase of the Coulomb matrix elements and of the density of states.Comment: Text 14 pages in Latex/Revtex format, 4 Postscript figures. Phys. Rev. B,in pres

Inelastic Coulomb scattering rates due to acoustic and optical plasmon modes in coupled quantum wires

We report a theoretical study on the inelastic Coulomb scattering rate of an injected electron in two coupled quantum wires in quasi-one-dimensional doped semiconductors. Two peaks appear in the scattering spectrum due to the optical and the acoustic plasmon scattering in the system. We find that the scattering rate due to the optical plasmon mode is similar to that in a single wire but the acoustic plasmon scattering depends crucially on its dispersion relation at small $q$. Furthermore, the effects of tunneling between the two wires are studied on the inelastic Coulomb scattering rate. We show that a weak tunneling can strongly affect the acoustic plasmon scattering.Comment: 6 Postscript figure

Quantification of serotonin and eight of its metabolites in plasma of healthy volunteers by mass spectrometry.

Serotonin is transformed into melatonin under the control of the light/dark cycle, representing a cornerstone of circadian rhythmicity. Serotonin also undergoes extensive metabolism to produce 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), a biomarker for the diagnosis and monitoring of serotonin secreting neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). While serotonin, melatonin and their metabolites are part of an integrated comprehensive system, human observations about their respective plasma concentrations are still limited. We report here for the first time a multiplex UHPLC-MS/MS assay for the quantification of serotonin, 5-HIAA, 5-hydroxytryptophol (5-HTPL), N-acetyl-serotonin (NAS), Mel, 6-OH-Mel, 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MT), 5-methoxytryptophol (5-MTPL), and 5-methoxyindoleacetic acid (5-MIAA) in human plasma. Analytes were extracted by protein precipitation and solid phase extraction. Plasma concentrations for these analytes were determined in 102 healthy volunteers. The LLOQ of the assay ranges from 2.2 nM for serotonin to 1.0 pM for 6-OH-Mel. This sensitivity enables the quantification of circulating serotonin, 5-HIAA, NAS, Mel, and 5-MIAA, even at their lowest diurnal concentrations. This assay will enable specific, precise and accurate measurement of serotonin, Mel and their metabolites to draw a detailed picture of this complex pineal metabolism, allowing a dynamic understanding of these pathways and providing promising biomarkers and a metabolic signature for serotonin-secreting NETs