Benzimidazolones and renzapride facilitate acetylcholine release from guinea-pig myenteric plexus via 5-HT4 receptors

The effects of the 5-HT4 receptor agonists BIMU 8, BIMU 1, renzapride and of the 5-HT1p receptor agonist 5-hydroxyindalpine on basal and electrically evoked outflow of tritium were studied in guinea-pig longitudinal muscle myenteric plexus preparations preincubated with [3H]choline. Muscle contractions were recorded simultaneously. BIMU 8 caused a calcium dependent and tetrodotoxin sensitive increase in basal [3H]outflow that was assumed to represent release of [3H]acetylcholine. In addition, BIMU 8 enhanced the release of [3H]acetylcholine and twitch contractions evoked by submaximal electrical stimulation. Ondansetron (1 μmol/l) did not change the effects of BIMU 8, but DAU 6285 and tropi…

Retention of alkali ions by hydrated low-pH cements: Mechanism and Na+/K+ selectivity

Low-pH cements, also referred to as low-alkalinity cements, can be designed by replacing significant amounts of Portland cement by pozzolanic materials. Their pore solution is characterized by a pH near 11, and an alkali concentration much lower than that of Portland cement. This work investigates the retention of sodium and potassium by a hydrated low-pH cement comprising 60% Portland cement and 40% silica fume. It is shown that sorption of potassium is higher than that of sodium and mainly results from counterion charge balancing of the C-S-H negative surface charge. To explain the greater retention of potassium compared to sodium, it is postulated that potassium, unlike sodium, may enter…

The Effect of Tiotropium/Olodaterol versus Salmeterol/Fluticasone on Left Ventricular Function and Lung Hyperinflation in Patients with COPD

First Antiprotons in an Ion Trap

Measurements of the antiproton mass[2,3,4,5] are represented in Fig. 1. All of these are deduced from measurements of the energy of x-rays radiated from highly excited exotic atoms. For example, if an antiproton is captured in a Pb atom, it can make radiative transitions from its n = 20 to n = 19 state. The antiproton is still well outside the nucleus in this case, so that nuclear effects can be neglected. The measured transition energy is essentially proportional to the reduced mass of the nucleus and hence the antiproton mass can be deduced by comparing the measured values with theoretical values, corrected for QED effects. The most accurate quoted uncertainty is 5 × 10-5 and is consisten…

Kurzzeitmessung der Herzfrequenzvariabilität bei Postinfarktpatienten -

Hintergrund: In der Risikostratifizierung fur einen PHT bzw. das Auftreten eines arrhythmogenen Ereignisses nach AMI wurden bisher eine hohe Spezifitat und ein hoher negativ pradiktiver Wert durch Kombination mehrerer Methoden erreicht. Sensitivitat und positive Pradiktion sind jedoch weiterhin nicht ausreichend. Eine dieser Methoden ist die Messung der HRV, die als unabhangiger Pradiktor eines solchen Ereignisses gilt. Sie wird genutzt, um einen schnellen Uberblick uber den Zustand des autonomen Nervensystems zu bekommen, wird jedoch insbesondere in der Kardiologie bisher nur aus dem 24-Stunden-Langzeit-EKG bestimmt.¶   Studienziel: Die Kurzzeitmessung der HRV bei Postinfarktpatienten als …

Barkas effect with use of antiprotons and protons.

The difference in the range of protons and antiprotons in matter, an example of the Barkas effect, is observed in a simple time-of-flight apparatus. The ranges of 5.9-MeV antiprotons and protons differ by about 6% in a degrader made predominantly of aluminum.

Measurement of thett¯production cross section inpp¯collisions ats=1.96  TeVusing soft electronb-tagging

The authors present a measurement of the t{bar t} production cross section using events with one charged lepton and jets from p{bar p} collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. A b-tagging algorithm based on the probability of displaced tracks coming from the event interaction vertex is applied to identify b quarks from top decay. Using 318 pb{sup -1} of data collected with the CDF II detector, they measure the t{bar t} production cross section in events with at least one restrictive (tight) b-tagged jet and obtain 8.9{sub -1.0}{sup +1.0}(stat.){sub -1.0}{sup +1.1}(syst.) pb. The cross section value assumes a top quark mass of m{sub t} is presented in the paper. This result is cons…

Thousandfold improvement in the measured antiproton mass

Comparisons of antiproton and proton cyclotron frequencies yield the ratio of inertial masses M(p¯)/M(p)=0.999 999 977 ±0.000 000 042. The fractional uncertainty of 4×10−8 is 1000 times more accurate than previous measurements of this ratio using exotic atoms and is the most precise test of CPT invariance with baryons. Independent comparisons to electrons yield the mass ratios M(p¯)/M(e−)=1836.152 660±0.000 083 and M(p)/M(e−) =1836.152 680±0.000 088. Cryogenic antiprotons (near 4 K) stored in a Penning trap for 2 months establish directly a lifetime greater than 3.4 months.

Cooling and slowing of trapped antiprotons below 100 meV

Electron cooling of trapped antiprotons allows their storage at energies 10 million times lower than is available in any antiproton storage ring. More than 60 000 antiprotons with energies from 0 to 3000 eV are stored in an ion trap from a single pulse of 5.9-MeV antiprotons from LEAR. Trapped antiprotons maintain their initial energy distribution over a storage lifetime exceeding 50 h unless allowed to collide with a cold buffer gas of trapped electrons, where- upon they cool dramatically to 1 eV in tens of seconds. The cooled antiprotons can be stacked into a harmonic potential well suited for long-term storage and precision measurements.

First Capture of Antiprotons in a Penning Trap: A Kiloelectronvolt Source

Antiprotons from the Low Energy Antiproton Ring of CERN are slowed from 21 MeV to below 3 keV by being passed through 3 mm of material, mostly Be. While still in flight, the kiloelectronvolt antiprotons are captured in a Penning trap created by the sudden application of a 3-kV potential. Antiprotons are held for 100 s and more. Prospects are now excellent for much longer trapping times under better vacuum conditions. This demonstrates the feasibility of a greatly improved measurement of the inertial mass of the antiproton and opens the way to other intriguing experiments.

Low angle neutron scattering of ferritin studied by contrast variation.

Ferritins containing different amounts of iron have been studied by neutron small angle scattering in H 2 O/D 2 O mixtures. Apoferritin has also been studied in solutions of small organic molecules. There is a larger contrast variation in the solutions of small organic molecules than in the corresponding H 2 O/D 2 O experiments from which it may be calculated that I g of apoferritin contains 0·3 g of H 2 O. The solvent composition at zero contrast varies regularly with the iron content of the protein: there is evidence for polydispersity in the iron content of the ferritin used. From analysis of the scattering curves it is concluded that the iron is probably not homogeneously distributed in…

First Capture of Antiprotons in an Ion Trap: Progress Toward a Precision Mass Measurement and Antihydrogen

Antiprotons from the Low Energy Antiproton Ring of CERN are slowed from 21 MeV to below 3 keV by being passed through 3 mm of material, mostly Be. While still in flight, the kilo-electron volt antiprotons are captured in a Penning trap created by the sudden application of a 3-kV potential. Antiprotons are held for 100 s and more. Prospects are now excellent for much longer trapping times under better vacuum conditions. This demonstrates the feasibility of a greatly improved measurement of the inertial mass of the antiproton and opens the way to other intriguing experiments. The possibility of producing antihydrogen by merging cold, trapped plasmas of positrons and antiprotons is discussed.