3,366 research outputs found
Changes in intracellular ion activities induced by adrenaline in human and rat skeletal muscle
To study the stimulating effect of adrenaline (ADR) on active Na+/K+ transport we used double-barrelled ion-sensitive micro-electrodes to measure the activities of extracellular K+ (aKe) and intracellular Na+ (aNai) in isolated preparations of rat soleus muscle, normal human intercostal muscle and one case of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (h.p.p.). In these preparations bath-application of ADR (10−6 M) resulted in a membrane hyperpolarization and transient decreasesaKe andaNai which could be blocked by ouabain (3×10−4 M). In the h.p.p. muslce a continuous rise ofaNai induced by elevation ofaKe to 5.2 mM could be stopped by ADR. In addition, the intracellular K+ activity (aKi), the free intracellular Ca2+ concentration (pCai) and intracellular pH (pHi) were monitored in rat soleus muscle. During ADRaKi increased, pHi remained constant and intracellular Ca2+ apparently decreased. In conclusion, our data show that ADR primarily stimulates the Na+/K+ pump in mammalian skeletal muscle. This stimulating action is not impaired in the h.p.p. muscle
Absolute dimensions of eclipsing binaries. XXVIII. BK Pegasi and other F-type binaries: Prospects for calibration of convective core overshoot
We present a detailed study of the F-type detached eclipsing binary BK Peg,
based on new photometric and spectroscopic observations. The two components,
which have evolved to the upper half of the main-sequence band, are quite
different with masses and radii of (1.414 +/- 0.007 Msun, 1.988 +/- 0.008 Rsun)
and (1.257 +/- 0.005 Msun, 1.474 +/- 0.017 Rsun), respectively. The 5.49 day
period orbit of BK Peg is slightly eccentric (e = 0.053). The measured
rotational velocities are 16.6 +/- 0.2 (primary) and 13.4 +/- 0.2 (secondary)
km/s. For the secondary component this corresponds to (pseudo)synchronous
rotation, whereas the primary component seems to rotate at a slightly lower
rate. We derive an iron abundance of [Fe/H] =-0.12 +/- 0.07 and similar
abundances for Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr and Ni. Yonsei-Yale and Victoria-Regina
evolutionary models for the observed metal abundance reproduce BK Peg at ages
of 2.75 and 2.50 Gyr, respectively, but tend to predict a lower age for the
more massive primary component than for the secondary. We find the same age
trend for three other upper main-sequence systems in a sample of well studied
eclipsing binaries with components in the 1.15-1.70 Msun range, where
convective core overshoot is gradually ramped up in the models. We also find
that the Yonsei-Yale models systematically predict higher ages than the
Victoria-Regina models. The sample includes BW Aqr, and as a supplement we have
determined a [Fe/H] abundance of -0.07 +/- 0.11 for this late F-type binary. We
propose to use BK Peg, BW Aqr, and other well-studied 1.15-1.70 Msun eclipsing
binaries to fine-tune convective core overshoot, diffusion, and possibly other
ingredients of modern theoretical evolutionary models.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Response to ''Comment on 'Enhanced Jc's of YBa2Cu3O7 - x-Ag ex situ annealed coevaporated films on LaAlO3 (100) substrates''' (Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 3650 (1995))
Generation of arbitrary quantum states of traveling fields
We show that any single-mode quantum state can be generated from the vacuum
by alternate application of the coherent displacement operator and the creation
operator. We propose an experimental implementation of the scheme for traveling
optical fields, which is based on field mixings and conditional measurements in
a beam splitter array, and calculate the probability of state generation.Comment: 1 Table and 2 Postscript figures, using Latex; modifications and
changes in Figure 2, Table 1 and Eqs. 11-13,17,18,2
Dragging a polymer chain into a nanotube and subsequent release
We present a scaling theory and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation results for a
flexible polymer chain slowly dragged by one end into a nanotube. We also
describe the situation when the completely confined chain is released and
gradually leaves the tube. MC simulations were performed for a self-avoiding
lattice model with a biased chain growth algorithm, the pruned-enriched
Rosenbluth method. The nanotube is a long channel opened at one end and its
diameter is much smaller than the size of the polymer coil in solution. We
analyze the following characteristics as functions of the chain end position
inside the tube: the free energy of confinement, the average end-to-end
distance, the average number of imprisoned monomers, and the average stretching
of the confined part of the chain for various values of and for the number
of monomers in the chain, . We show that when the chain end is dragged by a
certain critical distance into the tube, the polymer undergoes a
first-order phase transition whereby the remaining free tail is abruptly sucked
into the tube. This is accompanied by jumps in the average size, the number of
imprisoned segments, and in the average stretching parameter. The critical
distance scales as . The transition takes place when
approximately 3/4 of the chain units are dragged into the tube. The theory
presented is based on constructing the Landau free energy as a function of an
order parameter that provides a complete description of equilibrium and
metastable states. We argue that if the trapped chain is released with all
monomers allowed to fluctuate, the reverse process in which the chain leaves
the confinement occurs smoothly without any jumps. Finally, we apply the theory
to estimate the lifetime of confined DNA in metastable states in nanotubes.Comment: 13pages, 14figure
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