4,675 research outputs found
Conversion of brain cytosol profile from fetal to adult type during the perinatal period: Taurine-NAA exchange
Mammals face drastic environmental changes at birth. Appropriate adjustments of various systems must take place rapidly to accommodate this once in a life time event. The brain undergoes significant adjustments as well, the most obvious of which is in its need to meet the drastic increase in energy consumption at the neuronal cell membrane due to the explosive increase in neural activities after birth. Actual changes were found to be taken place in two systems, namely, acid base balance control and cytosolic energy transport. The adjustments are accomplished by converting cytosol microenvironment from a taurine rich fetal type environment to an N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) rich adult type environment during the post-natal period. High concentrations of taurine are necessary to provide effective buffering in the fetal brain, because the fetus cannot utilize the adult type of pCO2 dependent acidābase balance control system, namely respiration driven pCO2 changes. To accommodate the significantly higher demand of energy consumption at the membrane due to the increased neuronal activities, taurine has to be replaced by NAA, since the latter facilitates HEP transport from mitochondria to the membrane by passive diffusion
Intestinal neuromuscular function after preservation and transplantation
While it is well known that prolonged preservation of the intestinal graft causes severe mucosal damage after transplantation, little is known about the effect on neuromuscular function. The entire small intestine of adult hound dogs was flushed and preserved with cold lactated Ringer's solution and autotransplanted either immediately (n = 6) or after 24 hr (n = 6). Animals undergoing sham operation (n = 4) were used as a control. Fasting motility and the response of the intestinal smooth muscle and enteric nerves to bethanechol (100 Ī¼g/kg/0.5 hr, iv) and cisapride (0.5 mg/kg, iv) were determined by a multiple strain gauge method on Postoperative Days 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Compared to the control, immediately transplanted grafts and those preserved for 24 hr developed delayed reappearance of migrating myoelectric complexes (MMC), hypercontractile activity, and reduced response to bethanechol and cisapride administration. Animals in the preservation group developed more abnormal fasting motility after transplantation, but responses to bethanechol and cisapride stimulation were not markedly different from those of the immediate group. The reappearance of MMC occurred 3 weeks postoperatively in the preservation group compared to 2 days in the immediate group. The results of our study indicate that intestinal dysmotility is augmented in prolonged-preservation grafts compared to those with brief preservation. The dysmotility was transient and normalized 3 to 4 weeks after surgery. Preservation and reperfusion injury to the neuromuscular system of intestinal grafts are reversible and are attenuated by simple hypothermia
An AKARI Search for Intracluster Dust of Globular Clusters
We report the observations of 12 globular clusters with the AKARI/FIS. Our
goal is to search for emission from the cold dust within clusters. We detect
diffuse emissions toward NGC 6402 and 2808, but the IRAS 100-micron maps show
the presence of strong background radiation. They are likely emitted from the
galactic cirrus, while we cannot rule out the possible association of a bump of
emission with the cluster in the case of NGC 6402. We also detect 28 point-like
sources mainly in the WIDE-S images (90 micron). At least several of them are
not associated with the clusters but background galaxies based on some external
catalogs. We present the SEDs by combining the near-and-mid infrared data
obtained with the IRC if possible. The SEDs suggest that most of the point
sources are background galaxies. We find one candidate of the intracluster dust
which has no mid-infrared counterpart unlike the other point-like sources,
although some features such as its point-like appearance should be explained
before we conclude its intracluster origin. For most of the other clusters, we
have confirmed the lack of the intracluster dust. We evaluate upper limits of
the intracluster dust mass to be between 1.0E-05 and 1.0E-03 solar mass
depending on the dust temperature. The lifetime of the intracluster dust
inferred from the upper limits is shorter than 5 Myr (T=70K) or 50 Myr (35K).
Such short lifetime indicates some mechanism(s) are at work to remove the
intracluster dust. We also discuss its impact on the chemical evolution of
globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ AKARI special issue. 14 pages, 11
figure
Parity Dependence of Nuclear Level Densities
A simple formula for the ratio of the number of odd- and even-parity states
as a function of temperature is derived. This formula is used to calculate the
ratio of level densities of opposite parities as a function of excitation
energy. We test the formula with quantum Monte Carlo shell model calculations
in the -shell. The formula describes well the transition from low
excitation energies where a single parity dominates to high excitations where
the two densities are equal.Comment: 14 pages, 4 eps figures included, RevTe
AKARI Near- to Mid-Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopic Observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud. I. Bright Point Source List
We carried out a near- to mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations
of the patchy areas in the Small Magellanic Cloud using the Infrared Camera on
board AKARI. Two 100 arcmin2 areas were imaged in 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24
um and also spectroscopically observed in the wavelength range continuously
from 2.5 to 13.4 um. The spectral resolving power (lambda/Delta lambda) is
about 20, 50, and 50 at 3.5, 6.6 and 10.6 um, respectively. Other than the two
100 arcmin2 areas, some patchy areas were imaged and/or spectroscopically
observed as well. In this paper, we overview the observations and present a
list of near- to mid-infrared photometric results, which lists ~ 12,000
near-infrared and ~ 1,800 mid-infrared bright point sources detected in the
observed areas. The 10 sigma limits are 16.50, 16.12, 13.28, 11.26, 9.62, and
8.76 in Vega magnitudes at 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24 um bands, respectively.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ. Full
resolution version is available at
http://www-irc.mtk.nao.ac.jp/%7Eyita/smc20100112.pd
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