Effect of Immobilization on Insoluble Collagen Concentration and Type I and Type III Collagen Isoforms of Rat Soleus Muscle

Immobilization is often associated with decreased muscle elasticity. This condition is known as muscle contracture; however, the mechanism remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanism governing muscle contracture in rat soleus muscle by identifying changes in ankle joint mobility, insoluble collagen concentration and type I and type III collagen isoforms following 1- and 3-week immobilizations. Following a 1-week immobilization, range of motion (ROM) of dorsiflexion declined to 90% of the control value; additionally, ROM dropped to 67.5% of the control value after a 3-week immobilization. This finding suggested that ankle joint mobility decreases in conjunction with extended periods of immobilization. Insoluble collagen concentration in soleus muscles, which was unchanged after 1 week of immobilization, increased 3 weeks after immobilization. These results may be indicative of collagen fibers with strong intermolecular cross-links contained in the muscle was made increased relatively by 3 weeks of immobilization. Therefore, the change in intermolecular cross-links may be significant in terms of progress of muscle contracture with longer periods of immobilization. On the other hand, the ratio of type III to type I collagen isoforms in muscular tissue increased following a 1-week immobilization; moreover, this ratio remained constant after 3 weeks of immobilization. These data suggested that muscle immobilization may induce type III collagen isoform expression. The increase in the ratio of type III to type I collagen isoforms do not change in parallel with the increase in the limitation in ROM; however, this phenomenon probably is not closely related to the progress of muscle contracture. The change of collagen isoform in immobilized muscle may be involved in the mechanism governing the progression of muscle fibrosis.     

Integrability of superharmonic functions, uniform domains, and Hölder domains

Let denote the space of all positive superharmonic functions on a domain . Lindqvist showed that is a bounded subset of . Using this, we give a characterization of finitely connected -dimensional uniform domains and remarks on Hölder domains.

     

Propagating beam analysis of fiber wavelength filters with a depressed-index section

A wavelength filter consisting of single-mode and few-mode fibers is investigated numerically. A simple finite-difference beam-propagation method, in which a transparent boundary condition can be imposed, is developed for circularly symmetric waveguides. After confirming the validity of the numerical method by the mode-mismatch loss, we calculate the propagating field in the fiber wavelength filter, in which interference between LP₀₁, and LP₀₂ modes occurs. To improve the filtering operation, a depressed-index fiber is employed for the few-mode fiber. The effects of the radius and refractive index of the depressed section on the transmission power are revealed and discussed. Power is suppressed to less than 0.1% at 1.3 μm, while maintaining power transmission of more than 85% at 1.55 μm. It is also found that the filtering operation shifts to higher wavelengths as the input power is increased when we choose a self-focusing nonlinear material in the depressed section.     

Preparation of Na+-selective electrodes by ion-implantation of lithium and silicon into single-crystal alumina wafer and its application to the production of ISFET

Summary Sodium ion-selective electrodes (Na⁺-ISE) were prepared by implanting Si⁺ and Li⁺ into alumina wafers and their characteristics were investigated. The alumina wafer had a thickness of 100 m and a diameter of 1.40 cm. The ionselective membrane was produced by ion-implanting of Li⁺ and Si⁺ on both sides of a single-crystal alumina wafer. The total doses of Li⁺ and Si⁺ were controlled to be the same, viz. 10¹³–10¹⁵ ions/cm². The ion-implanted alumina wafer with 10¹⁴ or 4×10¹⁴ ions/cm² of Li⁺ and Si⁺ showed better characteristics than the others.The response curves of the 10¹⁴ ions/cm² implanted alumina wafer had a slope of 42 mV/pNa in a concentration range from 1–10^–4mol/l. The full response achieved after about 1 min was reproducible. The proposed idea of producing Na⁺-ISE by ion-implantation technique was applied to functuate the gate surface of the field effect transitor to sodium ion. The sodium ion-sensitive FET (Na⁺-ISFET) prepared by implanting Li⁺ and Al⁺ at a dose of 5×10¹⁴ ions/cm² showed a slope of 30 mV/pNa in a concentration range from 1–10^–4mol/l.

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Herstellung Na⁺-ionenselektiver Elektroden durch Einbau von Lithium und Silicium in Einkristall-Alumniumoxidblättchen und Anwendung zur Erzeugung von ISFET

Zusammenfassung Na⁺-selektive Elektroden wurden durch Einbau von Si⁺ und Li⁺ in Aluminiumoxidblättchen hergestellt und ihre Charakteristiken untersucht. Die Blättchen hatten eine Dicke von 100 m und einen Durchmesser von 1,40 cm. Ebenso wurde die Membran für einen ISFET hergestellt. Die Gesamtmenge von Li⁺ und Si⁺ wurde auf 10¹³–10¹⁵ Ionen/cm² eingestellt, wobei sich bei 10¹⁴ oder 4×10¹⁴ Ionen/cm² die beste Charakteristik ergab.Die Responsekurven der mit 10¹⁴ Ionen/cm² versehenen Aluminiumoxidplättchen hatten eine Neigung von 42 mV/pNa in einem Konzentrationsbereich von 1–10^–4mol/l. Der nach 1 min erhaltene volle Response war reproduzierbar. Die vorgeschlagene Technik wurde zur Einstellung der Gate-Oberfläche des Feldeffekt-Transistors auf Natriumion benutzt. Der Na⁺-sensitive FET (Na⁺-ISFET), der durch Einbau von Li⁺ und Al⁺ mit 5×10¹⁴ Ionen/cm² hergestellt wurde, zeigte eine Neigung der Signalkurve von 30 mV/pNa in einem Bereich von 1–10^–4mol/l.

     

Carbon-13 NMR spectra of all-trans-N-retinylidene-n-butylamine as an analogue of the Schiff's base linkage-compound in visual pigment

Carbon-13 NMR spectra have been obtained for all-trans-N-retinylidene-n-butylamine as an analogue of the Schiff's base linkage compound in visual pigment. The chemical shift changes on going from all-trans-retinal₁ to all-trans-N-retinylidene-n-butylamine are observed. These changes indicate the collapse of the bond alternation in conjugated polyene carbons, whereas N-protonation in all-trans-N-retinylidene-n-butylamine does not affect the bond alternation.     

Microemulsion-based synthesis of titanium phosphate nanotubes via amine extraction system

The first titanium phosphate nanotubes with alternating interlayer spacings have been successfully prepared and characterized. The synthesis is accomplished in a reverse microemulsion formed in an amine extraction system. TEM data from samples made after different times of reaction suggest a scrolling-formation mechanism.     

Oxygen vacancy promoting catalytic dehydration of formic acid on TiO2(110) by in situ scanning tunneling microscopic observation

The catalytic dehydration reaction processes of formic acid on a TiO2(110) surface at 350 K have been studied to visualize reaction intermediates and their dynamic behaviors by scanning tunneling microscopy. Three types of configurations of adsorbed formates on the surface were identified by their shapes and positions in STM images. Successive STM observations revealed transformations among the three configurations, i.e., bridge formate on a 5-fold coordinated Ti4+ row, bridge formate on an oxygen vacancy site with an oxygen atom of formate and on a 5-fold coordinated Ti4+ ion and with the other formate oxygen atom, and a monodentate formate on an oxygen vacancy site with an oxygen atom of formate. The decomposition of the monodentate formate to carbon monoxide and hydroxyl was also imaged, which is a rate-determining step in the catalytic dehydration of formic acid. Combined with first-principle DFT calculations, the overall reaction processes of the catalytic dehydration of formic acid on the surface have been elucidated. Oxygen vacancies on the surface that can be produced by dehydration of two hydroxyls in situ under the catalytic reaction conditions are essential for the reaction.