Xanthine oxidase inactivation attenuates postocclusion shock after descending thoracic aorta occlusion and reperfusion in rabbits

Abstract“Declamping shock” is observed after aortic crossclamping, with hypovolemia, hypotension, and metabolic acidemia invariably present. We hypothesized that oxidants derived from xanthine oxidase influence the resuscitative interventions required to maintain baseline hemodynamic and acid-base status after aortic occlusion and reperfusion in rabbits. We also hypothesized that inactivation of xanthine oxidase with sodium tungstate could reduce systemic injury as assessed by the release of lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase. To test these hypotheses, we established aortic occlusion in rabbits (n = 10, standard diet; n = 8, tungstate diet) for 40 minutes by inflation of a 4F Fogarty catheter in the descending thoracic aorta followed by 2 hours of reperfusion. Sham-operated rabbits (n = 10, standard diet; n = 9, tungstate diet) served as controls. Tungstate-pretreated rabbits required significantly less Ringer's solution (28%), phenylephrine (68%), and sodium bicarbonate (30%) during reperfusion (p < 0.005). Lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase release during reperfusion was significantly attenuated by tungstate pretreatment (p < 0.05). Tungstate pretreatment resulted in plasma xanthine oxidase activities significantly lower than those in the sham group administered a standard diet (p = 0.007). Resuscitation requirements and systemic injury were reduced by inactivation of xanthine oxidase in a rabbit model that simulates the situation of human thoracic aorta operations. (J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1995;110-22

Simultaneous 160 Gb/s Add-Drop Multiplexing in a Non-Linear Optical Loop Mirror

We report on a demonstration of error-free simultaneous add-drop multiplexing of 160 Gb/s data in a non-linear optical loop mirror composed of 100 m highly non-linear fibre.</p

The Sirius Passet Lagerstätte of North Greenland—A geochemical window on early Cambrian low‐oxygen environments and ecosystems

The early Cambrian Sirius Passet fauna of northernmost Greenland (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3) contains exceptionally preserved soft tissues that provide an important window to early animal evolution, while the surrounding sediment holds critical data on the palaeodepositional water‐column chemistry. The present study combines palaeontological data with a multiproxy geochemical approach based on samples collected in situ at high stratigraphic resolution from Sirius Passet. After careful consideration of chemical alterations during burial, our results demonstrate that fossil preservation and biodiversity show significant correlation with iron enrichments (FeHR/FeT), trace metal behaviour (V/Al), and changes in nitrogen cycling (δ15N). These data, together with Mo/Al and the preservation of organic carbon (TOC), are consistent with a water column that was transiently low in oxygen concentration, or even intermittently anoxic. When compared with the biogeochemical characteristics of modern oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), geochemical and palaeontological data collectively suggest that oxygen concentrations as low as 0.2–0.4 ml/L restricted bioturbation but not the development of a largely nektobenthic community of predators and scavengers. We envisage for the Sirius Passet biota a depositional setting where anoxic water column conditions developed and passed over the depositional site, possibly in association with sea‐level change, and where this early Cambrian biota was established in conditions with very low oxygen

Experimental investigation on continuous reinforced SCC deep beams and Comparisons with Code provisions and models

YesThe test results on eight two-span deep beams made of self-compacting concrete (SCC) are presented and discussed in this paper. The main parameters investigated were the shear span-to-depth ratio, and the amount and configuration of steel reinforcement. All beams failed due to a major diagonal crack formed between the applied mid-span load and the intermediate support separating the beam into two blocks: the first one rotated around the end support leaving the other block resting on the other two supports. Both concrete compressive strength and web reinforcement had a major effect in controlling the shear capacity of the beams tested. For the shear span-to-depth ratio considered, the vertical web reinforcement had more influence on the shear capacity of the specimens than the horizontal web reinforcement. The shear provisions of the ACI 318M-11 are unconservative for most of the beams tested. Comparisons of test results with the strut-and-tie model (STM) suggested by ACI 318M-11, EC2 and CSA23.4-04 showed that the predictions are reasonable for continuous deep beams made with low and medium compressive strength. Although the equation suggested by ACI 318M-11 is very simple, its prediction is more accurate than the STM suggested by different design codes.This research investigation was funded by the Higher Education Ministry in The Libyan Government

First-principles study of lattice instabilities in the ferromagnetic martensite Ni2_2MnGa

The phonon dispersion relations and elastic constants for ferromagnetic Ni$_2$MnGa in the cubic and tetragonally distorted Heusler structures are computed using density-functional and density-functional perturbation theory within the spin-polarized generalized-gradient approximation. For $0.9<c/a<1.06$, the TA$_2$ tranverse acoustic branch along $[110]$ and symmetry-related directions displays a dynamical instability at a wavevector that depends on $c/a$. Through examination of the Fermi-surface nesting and electron-phonon coupling, this is identified as a Kohn anomaly. In the parent cubic phase the computed tetragonal shear elastic constant, C$^\prime$=(C$_{11}-$C$_{12}$)/2, is close to zero, indicating a marginal elastic instability towards a uniform tetragonal distortion. We conclude that the cubic Heusler structure is unstable against a family of energy-lowering distortions produced by the coupling between a uniform tetragonal distortion and the corresponding $[110]$ modulation. The computed relation between the $c/a$ ratio and the modulation wavevector is in excellent agreement with structural data on the premartensitic ($c/a$ = 1) and martensitic ($c/a$ = 0.94) phases of Ni$_2$MnGa.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

No evidence for a volcanic trigger for late Cambrian carbon-cycle perturbations

The early Paleozoic was marked by several carbon-cycle perturbations and associated carbon-isotope excursions (CIEs). Whether these CIEs are connected to significant (external) triggers, as is commonly considered to be the case for CIEs in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, or result from small carbon-cycle imbalances that became amplified through lack of efficient silicate weathering or other feedbacks remains unclear. We present concentration and isotope data for sedimentary mercury (Hg) and osmium (Os) to assess the impact of subaerial and submarine volcanism and weathering during the late Cambrian and early Ordovician. Data from the Alum Shale Formation (Sweden) cover the Steptoean positive carbon-isotope excursion (SPICE; ca. 497–494 Ma), a period marked by marine anoxia and biotic overturning, and several smaller CIEs extending into the early Ordovician. Our Hg and Os data offer no strong evidence that the CIEs present in our record were driven by (globally) elevated volcanism or continental weathering. Organic-carbon and Hg concentrations covary cyclically, providing further evidence of an unperturbed Hg cycle. Mesozoic and Cenozoic CIEs are commonly linked to enhanced volcanic activity and weathering, but similar late Cambrian–early Ordovician events cannot easily be connected to such external triggers. Our results are more consistent with reduced early Paleozoic carbon-cycle resilience that allowed small imbalances to develop into large CIEs

Scaling limit of virtual states of triatomic systems

For a system with three identical atoms, the dependence of the $s-$wave virtual state energy on the weakly bound dimer and trimer binding energies is calculated in a form of a universal scaling function. The scaling function is obtained from a renormalizable three-body model with a pairwise Dirac-delta interaction. It was also discussed the threshold condition for the appearance of the trimer virtual state.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Statistical distribution of quantum entanglement for a random bipartite state

We compute analytically the statistics of the Renyi and von Neumann entropies (standard measures of entanglement), for a random pure state in a large bipartite quantum system. The full probability distribution is computed by first mapping the problem to a random matrix model and then using a Coulomb gas method. We identify three different regimes in the entropy distribution, which correspond to two phase transitions in the associated Coulomb gas. The two critical points correspond to sudden changes in the shape of the Coulomb charge density: the appearance of an integrable singularity at the origin for the first critical point, and the detachement of the rightmost charge (largest eigenvalue) from the sea of the other charges at the second critical point. Analytical results are verified by Monte Carlo numerical simulations. A short account of some of these results appeared recently in Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 104}, 110501 (2010).Comment: 7 figure

Soft Photons in Hadron-Hadron Collisions: Synchrotron Radiation from the QCD Vacuum?

We discuss the production of soft photons in high energy hadron-hadron collisions. We present a model where quarks and antiquarks in the hadrons emit ``synchrotron light'' when being deflected by the chromomagnetic fields of the QCD vacuum, which we assume to have a nonperturbative structure. This gives a source of prompt soft photons with frequencies $\omega <= 300 MeV$ in the c.m. system of the collision in addition to hadronic bremsstrahlung. In comparing the frequency spectrum and rate of ``synchrotron'' photons to experimental results we find some supporting evidence for their existence. We make an exclusive--inclusive connection argument to deduce from the ``synchrotron'' effect a behaviour of the neutron electric formfactor $G_E^n(Q^2)$ proportional to $(Q^2)^{1/6}$ for $Q^2 < 20 fm^{-2}$. We find this to be consistent with available data. In our view, soft photon production in high energy hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions as well as the behaviour of electromagnetic hadron formfactors for low $Q^2$ are thus sensitive probes of the nonperturbative structure of the QCD vacuum.Comment: Heidelberg preprint HD-THEP-94-36, 31 pages, LaTeX + ZJCITE.sty (included), 12 figures appended as uuencoded compressed ps-fil