Kinetics of mobilization of neutrophils and their marrow pool in protein-calorie deficiency

Migration of marrow neutrophils under basal conditions and their mobilization, following subcutaneous implantation of cover slips, were investigated in groups of protein-deficient rats, using 3HTdR with sequential autoradiography of the peripheral blood smears. Animals fed a protein-rich diet served as controls. The pattern of appearance of labeled neutrophils in the blood was identical in the two groups under basal conditions. However, a higher percentag of labeled neutrophils appeared earlier in the blood following cover slip implantation in the deficient rats as compared to controls. The inflammatory exudate on the cover slips was low throughout the period of observation in deficient animals, with a delay in the appearance of monocytes. A pool of mature neutrophils resides in the bone marrow. It is proposed that in PCM there is atrophy of all neutrophil compartments, including that of the marrow pool, associated with a proportionate reduction in the efflux of cells from one compartment to another. This proportionate reduction in efflux would explain the normal kinetics of migration of neutrophils under basal conditions in the deficient rats in spite of a reduction in the marrow pool. On the other hand, in cover slip-implanted deficient rats, appearance of larger numbers of labeled neutrophils in the blood is attributed to a reduction in size of the marrow pool. This hypothesis is substantiated by the experiments in protein-deficient monkeys in which estimation of the marrow pool of neutrophils revealed a marked reduction in the deficient animals. It is further proposed that a diminuation of the marrow pool of neutrophils and retarded mobilization of cells at the site of inflammation are important mechanism responsible for the increased susceptibility of the malnourished host to infections

Persistent currents in coupled mesoscopic rings

We have analysed the nature of persistent currents in open coupled mesoscopic rings. Our system is comprised of two ideal loops connected to an electron reservoir. We have obtained analytical expressions for the persistent current densities in two rings in the presence of a magnetic field. We show that the known even-odd parity effects in isolated single loops have to be generalised for the case of coupled rings. We also show that when the two rings have unequal circumferences, it is possible to observe opposite currents (diamagnetic or paramagnetic) in the two rings for a given Fermi level.Comment: Submitted to PRB. 9 figures availabel on reques

Influence of protein deficiency on 19S antibody-forming cells in rats and mice

Influence of protein deficiency on immune response to sheep red blood cells was investigated in rats and mice with Jerne's plaque-forming cell technique. Protein deficiency resulted in a reduction in the number of antibody-producing cells consequent upon a prolongation of cell generation time in rats. Injection of syngeneic thymocytes brings about better improvement in the immune response of the X-radiated protein-deficient mice as compared to the controls. It is suggested that depressed immunity in malnutrition may be partly due to a disturbance in thymic function

Pathophysiology of Himalayan endemic goiter

Goiter prevalence and iodine metabolism were studied in areas of endemic goiter in the Himalayas in India and Nepal. Similar studies were also made in Ceylon. The results are compatible with the hypothesis that severe environmental deficiency of iodide is the primary factor responsible for endemic goiter in these areas. The endemicity was less severe in Ceylon than in India and Nepal. The thyroid glands of persons living in endemic areas show an interesting adaptive response to maintain internal homeostasis in the face of severe iodine deficiency. The mechanism of this adaptation was studied in thyroids of goats raised in endemic and nonendemic areas. Thyroids of goats living in an area of severe iodine deficiency showed higher MIT/DIT and T3/T4 ratios than glands of those in an area of iodine abundance. There was a higher incorporation of 131I in 27S iodoproteins in the iodide-deficient glands. A decrease in iodine concentration of the thyroid and an increase in circulating TSH levels are possibly involved in mediating this response but of the two, the former mechanism seems more likely than the latter

Anemia in experimental protein deficiency in the rhesus monkey with special reference to iron metabolism

1. This investigation deals with a study of the anemia of protein deficiency in Rhesus monkeys. 2. Protein deficiency was induced in 17 rhesus monkeys. Seven animals, given a protein-rich diet, served as controls. The diets of both the groups were identical in all respects, except protein. All animals were tube-fed to ensure adequate caloric intake. Hematocrit, hemoglobin, erythroctye count, serum iron, serum iron binding capacity, plasma iron tolerance curves, and iron absorption using the Fe59 fecal recovery method were studied before and at intervals of the experiment in both deficient and control groups. Protein-deficient monkeys consistently developed normocytic normochromic anemia of moderate severity. A striking fall in serum iron binding capacity, total proteins and albumin with a rise in gamma globulin was observed in all deficient animals. A significant and comparable fall in serum iron was also observed. The Fe59 absorption was depressed and there was flattening of plasma iron tolerance curves. Two deficient animals, refed a high protein diet, showed reversal of all these changes. The control animals did not show any of these changes. The mechanism of anemia and decreased iron absorption observed in the protein-deficient animals and the relevance of these findings to those in Kwashiorkor are discussed

Persistent Currents in the Presence of a Transport Current

We have considered a system of a metallic ring coupled to two electron reservoirs. We show that in the presence of a transport current, the persistent current can flow in a ring, even in the absence of magnetic field. This is purely a quantum effect and is related to the current magnification in the loop. These persistent currents can be observed if one tunes the Fermi energy near the antiresonances of the total transmission coefficient or the two port conductance.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. B. Three figures available on reques

Friedel phases and phases of transmission amplitudes in quantum scattering systems

We illustrate the relation between the scattering phase appearing in the Friedel sum rule and the phase of the transmission amplitude for quantum scatterers connected to two one-dimensional leads. Transmission zero points cause abrupt phase changes $\pm\pi$ of the phase of the transmission amplitude. In contrast the Friedel phase is a continuous function of energy. We investigate these scattering phases for simple scattering problems and illustrate the behavior of these models by following the path of the transmission amplitude in the complex plane as a function of energy. We verify the Friedel sum rule for these models by direct calculation of the scattering phases and by direct calculation of the density of states.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Vortex phase diagram for mesoscopic superconducting disks

Solving numerically the 3D non linear Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equations, we study equilibrium and nonequilibrium phase transitions between different superconducting states of mesoscopic disks which are thinner than the coherence length and the penetration depth. We have found a smooth transition from a multi-vortex superconducting state to a giant vortex state with increasing both the disk thickness and the magnetic field. A vortex phase diagram is obtained which shows, as function of the magnetic field, a re-entrant behavior between the multi-vortex and the giant vortex state.Comment: 5 figures (post script files) include

Heat Capacity of Mesoscopic Superconducting Disks

We study the heat capacity of isolated giant vortex states, which are good angular momentum ($L$) states, in a mesoscopic superconducting disk using the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory. At small magnetic fields the $L$=0 state qualitatively behaves like the bulk sample characterized by a discontinuity in heat capacity at $T_c$. As the field is increased the discontinuity slowly turns into a continuous change which is a finite size effect. The higher $L$ states show a continuous change in heat capacity at $T_c$ at all fields. We also show that for these higher $L$ states, the behavior of the peak position with change in field is related to the paramagnetic Meissner effect (irreversible) and can lead to an unambiguous observation of positive magnetization in mesoscopic superconductors.Comment: Final versio