Sex differences in endothelial function in porcine coronary arteries: a role for H2O2and gap junctions?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cardiovascular risk is higher in men and postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women. This may be due to sex differences in endothelial function. Here, sex differences in endothelial function of porcine coronary arteries (PCAs) were investigated. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Distal PCAs were studied under myographic conditions and after precontraction with U46619. Concentration-response curves to bradykinin were constructed in the presence of a range of inhibitors. KEY RESULTS: In male and female PCAs, bradykinin produced comparable vasorelaxant responses. Inhibition of NO and prostanoid synthesis produced greater inhibition in males compared with females. Removing H2O2 with PEG-catalase reduced the maximum relaxation in the absence, but not the presence of L-NAME and indomethacin in females, and had no effect in males. Blocking gap junctions with 100 muM carbenoxolone or 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid further inhibited the endothelium-derived hyperpolarization (EDH-mediated response in females but not in males. In female PCAs, the maximum EDH-mediated response was reduced by inhibiting SKCa with apamin and by inhibiting IKCa with TRAM-34, or with both. In male PCAs, at maximum bradykinin concentration, the EDH-mediated response was reduced in the presence of apamin but not TRAM-34. Western blot did not detect any differences in connexins 40 or 43 or in IKCa expression between male and female PCAs. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: H2O2 mediated some part of endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in female PCAs and EDH was more important in females, with differences in the contribution of gap junctions and IKCa channels. These findings may contribute to understanding vascular protection in premenopausal women

Springs of Florida

bulletin which documented the major and important springs in the state (Ferguson et al., 1947). This publication was revised in 1977, with many previously undocumented springs and many new water-quality analyses being added (Rosenau et al., 1977). The Florida Geological Survey's report on first magnitude springs (Scott et al., 2002) was the initial step in once again updating and revising the Springs of Florida bulletin. The new bulletin includes the spring descriptions and water-quality analyses from Scott et al. (2002). Nearly 300 springs were described in 1977. As of 2004, more than 700 springs have been recognized in the state and more are reported each year. To date, 33 first magnitude springs (with a flow greater than 100 cubic feet per second or approximately 64.6 million gallons of water per day) have been recognized in Florida, more than any other state or country (Rosenau et al., 1977). Our springs are a unique and invaluable natural resource. A comprehensive understanding of the spring systems will provide the basis for their protection and wise use. (Document pdf contains 677 pages

Quasi-Two-Body Decays of Nonstrange Baryons

We examine the decays of nonstrange baryons to the final states $\Delta\pi$, $N\rho$, $N\eta$, $N\eta^\prime$, $N\omega$, $N1/2^+(1440)\pi$, and $\Delta3/2^+(1600)\pi$, in a relativized pair-creation($^3P_0$) model which has been developed in a previous study of the $N\pi$ decays of the same baryon states. As it is our goal to provide a guide for the possible discovery of new baryon states at CEBAF and elsewhere, we examine the decays of resonances which have already been seen in the partial-wave analyses, along with those of states which are predicted by the quark model but which remain undiscovered. The level of agreement between our calculation and the available widths from the partial-wave analyses is encouraging.Comment: 41 pages, CEBAF-TH-93-1

Electrocortical therapy for motion sickness

Given a sufficiently provocative stimulus, almost everyone can be made motion sick, with approximately one-third experiencing significant symptoms on long bus trips, on ships, or in light aircraft.1–4 Current countermeasures are either behavioral or pharmacologic. Behavioral measures include habituation/desensitization treatment protocols5 as well as positioning the head in alignment with the direction of the gravito-inertial force and maintaining a stable horizontal reference frame.5 Pharmacologic measures include antimuscarinics, H1 antihistamines, and sympathomimetics, which all detrimentally impact upon cognitive function, rendering them inappropriate for occupational use.5 All current therapies are only partially effective

Microscopic theory of atom-molecule oscillations in a Bose-Einstein condensate

In a recent experiment at JILA [E.A. Donley et al., Nature (London) 417, 529 (2002)] an initially pure condensate of Rb-85 atoms was exposed to a specially designed time dependent magnetic field pulse in the vicinity of a Feshbach resonance. The production of new components of the gas as well as their oscillatory behavior have been reported. We apply a microscopic theory of the gas to identify these components and determine their physical properties. Our time dependent studies allow us to explain the observed dynamic evolution of all fractions, and to identify the physical relevance of the pulse shape. Based on ab initio predictions, our theory strongly supports the view that the experiments have produced a molecular condensate.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figure

A model for interacting instabilities and texture dynamics of patterns

A simple model to study interacting instabilities and textures of resulting patterns for thermal convection is presented. The model consisting of twelve-mode dynamical system derived for periodic square lattice describes convective patterns in the form of stripes and patchwork quilt. The interaction between stationary zig-zag stripes and standing patchwork quilt pattern leads to spatiotemporal patterns of twisted patchwork quilt. Textures of these patterns, which depend strongly on Prandtl number, are investigated numerically using the model. The model also shows an interesting possibility of a multicritical point, where stability boundaries of four different structures meet.Comment: 4 pages including 4 figures, page width revise

Functional neuroimaging of visuo-vestibular interaction

The brain combines visual, vestibular and proprioceptive information to distinguish between self- and world motion. Often these signals are complementary and indicate that the individual is moving or stationary with respect to the surroundings. However, conflicting visual motion and vestibular cues can lead to ambiguous or false sensations of motion. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore human brain activation when visual and vestibular cues were either complementary or in conflict. We combined a horizontally moving optokinetic stimulus with caloric irrigation of the right ear to produce conditions where the vestibular activation and visual motion indicated the same (congruent) or opposite directions of self-motion (incongruent). Visuo-vestibular conflict was associated with increased activation in a network of brain regions including posterior insular and transverse temporal areas, cerebellar tonsil, cingulate and medial frontal gyri. In the congruent condition, there was increased activation in primary and secondary visual cortex. These findings suggest that when sensory information regarding self-motion is contradictory, there is preferential activation of multisensory vestibular areas to resolve this ambiguity. When cues are congruent, there is a bias towards visual cortical activation. The data support the view that a network of brain areas including the posterior insular cortex may play an important role in integrating and disambiguating visual and vestibular cues

Universal Equation for Efimov States

Efimov states are a sequence of shallow 3-body bound states that arise when the 2-body scattering length is large. Efimov showed that the binding energies of these states can be calculated in terms of the scattering length and a 3-body parameter by solving a transcendental equation involving a universal function of one variable. We calculate this universal function using effective field theory and use it to describe the three-body system of 4He atoms. We also extend Efimov's theory to include the effects of deep 2-body bound states, which give widths to the Efimov states.Comment: 8 pages, revtex4, 2 ps figures, table with numerical values of universal function adde

Evidence for the fourth P11 resonance predicted by the constituent quark model

It is pointed out that the third of five low-lying P11 states predicted by a constituent quark model can be identified with the third of four states in a solution from a three-channel analysis by the Zagreb group. This is one of the so-called ``missing'' resonances, predicted at 1880 MeV. The fit of the Zagreb group to the pi N -> eta N data is the crucial element in finding this fourth resonance in the P11 partial wave.Comment: 8 pages, revtex; expanded acknowledgement