Effects of vagal sensory input on the breathing rhythm of the carp

Electrical stimulation of an epibranchial vagal ganglion, which innervates the gill region, had a marked influence on the respiratory rhythm of the carp Cyprinus carpio. Vagal input could initiate ventilation in fish displaying intermittent respiration. In fish breathing steadily, vagal stimuli could reset the respiratory rhythm by modifying the existing breathing cycle. An increase of stimulus intensity evoked a cough-like movement, thus delaying the onset of following cycles. Rhythmic stimulation, at intervals not more than 10% longer or shorter than the breathing cycle period, could entrain the respiratory rhythm in a one-to-one ratio. Larger differences between the stimulation interval and the period of the breathing cycle resulted in either a cyclic modification of the respiratory cycle period or entrainment patterns with coupling ratios of 2:1 or 2:3. Coughing decreased in frequency or even stopped during rhythmic vagal stimulation

Entrainment of the Breathing Rhythm of the Carp by Imposed Oscillation of the Gill Arches

Artificial oscillation imposed onto the gill arches could modify the respiratory rhythm in the carp Cyprinus carpio. The degree of modification depended upon the frequency and amplitude of the applied movement. Oscillation at frequencies close to the spontaneous respiratory rhythm and at amplitudes in the range of 2-3 mm resulted in a cyclic pattern of lengthening and shortening of the breathing cycles. When the gill arches were maximally abducted artificially at the end of inspiration or early in expiration, the breathing cycle was shortened. A slight lengthening occurred when maximal gill arch abduction fell during the second half of expiration or during the first half of inspiration. An increase in oscillation amplitude led to entrainment of ventilation at a one-to-one ratio with the imposed movement. After oscillation stopped an aftereffect was seen. It is argued that gill arch proprioceptors contribute to the observed responses

Rethinking how external pressure can suppress dendrites in lithium metal batteries

We offer an explanation for how dendrite growth can be inhibited when Li metal pouch cells are subjected to external loads, even for cells using soft, thin separators. We develop a contact mechanics model for tracking Li surface and sub-surface stresses where electrodes have realistically (micron-scale) rough surfaces. Existing models examine a single, micron-scale Li metal protrusion under a fixed local current density that presses more or less conformally against a separator or stiff electrolyte. At the larger, sub-mm scales studied here, contact between the Li metal and the separator is heterogeneous and far from conformal for surfaces with realistic roughness: the load is carried at just the tallest asperities, where stresses reach tens of MPa, while most of the Li surface feels no force at all. Yet, dendrite growth is suppressed over the entire Li surface. To explain this dendrite suppression, our electrochemical/mechanics model suggests that Li avoids plating at the tips of growing Li dendrites if there is sufficient local stress; that local contact stresses there may be high enough to close separator pores so that incremental Li+ ions plate elsewhere; and that creep ensures that Li protrusions are gradually flattened. These mechanisms cannot be captured by single-dendrite-scale analyses

Thermal stability study of oxygen implanted AlGaAs/GaAs single quantum well structures using photoreflectance

The effects of interdiffusion on the band structure of two AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs single quantum well (SQW) structures were studied using room temperature photoreflectance. Rapid thermal annealing of the SQW structures at temperatures of 800°C, 900°C and 1000°C for times up to 180 seconds resulted in limited interdiffusion. Low dose (1014 cm-2) oxygen implantation reduced the thermal stability of these structures where the extent of the interdiffusion was found to be greater for the implanted samples for identical annealing conditions.published_or_final_versio