Studies on the perfused rabbit ear artery preparation showed that withdrawal of Mg 2+ from extracellular fluid potentiated the responses to histamine and ATP but not to catecholamines. Similar results were obtained in [2xCa2+] Krebs solution. Increases in [Mg 2+] decreased responses to the three agonists to a similar extent. In subsequent experiments attempts were made to alter the availability of calcium for contraction induced by these agonists either by changing the [Ca 2+] of the Krebs solution or by using Ca 2+ influx inhibitors, ouabain and ryanodine. The effects of these agonists were compared to those observed when Mg2+ was altered. In general, the results obtained in perfused rabbit ear artery supported the hypothesis that changes in extracellular [Mg2+] affect the availability of calcium for contraction but were not consistent with the suggestion that Mg2+ alters Ca2+ influx. In a second type of preparation tension responses of superfused rings of ear artery were studied. Responses to changes in extracellular [Ca2+] and[ Mg2+] were found to differ slightly from those obtained in the perfused artery. A simultaneously perfused and superfused arterial preparation showed that responses to changes in [ Mg2+] and[Ca2+] were different if the agonist was administered to the adventitial surface of the vessel rather than via the intimal surface. The effects of alterations in extracellular [Mg 2+] were studied in mesenteric arteries from weight matched normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). No differences in response to NA or ATP when extracellular [Mg 2+ ] was either increased or reduced were observed in the SHR compared to the normotensive animal. However, a difference in calcium dependence was demonstrated between the two types of vessels to NA. In contrast to mesenteric arteries, experiments on aortae from normotensive rats and SHR showed no differences in the calcium dependence of NA responses between normotensive and SHR vessels, whereas, [4xMg2+ ] Krebs solution reduced the responses of normotensive aorta to NA more than SHR. These results in the rat were not consistent with the hypothesis that alteration in [Mg 2+] can be explained in terms of altered calcium availability. Attempts to increase intracellular cyclic AMP with theophylline showed that the response to ED50 NA in both mesenteric arteries and aortae from normotensive were reduced more than SHR. It is concluded that the effect of changes in extracellular [Mg2+] on the reactivity of vascular muscle varies depending on the type of vessel and species of animal from which the vessel is taken. In addition when all the experimental results are considered, it is not possible to explain all the actions of altered [ Mg2+ ] simply in terms of changed calcium availability.

No abstract provided. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Scope and contents: The probability of fission as a function of primary fragment velocities has been obtained by removing the neutron emission and instrumental dispersions from the velocities determined by Stein with time-of-flight techniques for the thermal neutron fission of u235. Each velocity was increased by 0.69% to make the average kinetic energy per fission agree with the calorimetric value of 167.1 Mev. Excitation energy distributions were obtained by using the primary fragment masses given by Cameron and assuming that the most probable charge distribution for a given mass ratio i s that which leads to the greatest energy release. Evaporation theory was used to determine the number of prompt neutrons emitted. When the excitation energy is divided equally between the fragments and a nuclear temperature of 0.59 Mev is used, the average number of neutrons emitted is 2.95 per fission.

This thesis describes the analytical study of a structural system under the combined action of noncirculatory or circulatory loading and oscillating base motion. The model is a double inverted pendulum composed of two rigid weightless bars of equal length with two concentrated masses at the ends of each bar, on an oscillating base. Noncirculatory or circulatory loading is applied at the free end. At the hinges restoring moments are produced by spring and damping forces. Damping coefficients are taken as positive, and gravitational effects are considered. The stability of the system under the combined action of the noncirculatory or circulatory loading and the parametric excitation can be investigated by Hsu's method. This method is applied to solve the coupled Mathieu equations by the given system and determine the unstable resonance, a nonlinear analysis is used to find the steady state response. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Impact resonance testing is a well-documented non-destructive testing method and its applications on asphalt concrete have also been implemented successfully. The test is carried out manually by inducing an impact in order to excite the test specimen and taking measurements of the vibrational response. In an effort to improve the manual procedure of impact resonance testing, an automated non-contact methodology is developed and its applicability with regards to low temperature behaviors of asphalt concrete is investigated. Results from this work show that repeatable fundamental resonance frequency measurements can be performed on a disc shaped specimen in an automated manner without the need to open the thermal chamber. The measurements obtained from the new method have been verified by taking similar resonance frequency measurements using an instrumented impact hammer. It has also been shown in this work that the proposed method is suitable to investigate the lone effects of cyclic thermal conditioning on asphalt concrete without any other possible biasing effects associated with contact in the conventional testing. A hysteretic behavior of stiffness modulus is obtained on three different asphalt concrete specimens subjected to repeated low temperature cyclic conditioning. Reduced modulus values at each temperature are obtained in all the tested specimens after a low temperature stepwise conditioning at temperatures from 0oC to -40 oC. This observed behavior shows that the dynamic modulus of the tested specimens is affected by low temperature conditioning. The norm of the complex modulus decreases and the phase angle or damping ratio increases after low temperature conditioning. Hence, valuable and practical low temperature characteristics of different asphalt concrete mixtures can possibly be obtained by using the proposed methodology.

Solar wind shocks and the intracluster medium comprise hot, low-density plasmas with few Coulomb collisions. Electrons there are not fluid and so gain and exchange energy by interaction with a variety of plasma waves. We explore two mechanisms for electron energization in such plasmas. In 2D kinetic simulations of solar wind shocks with low beta (magnetic pressure greater than thermal pressure), fast-mode / oblique-whistler waves accelerate electrons in bulk via proton-scale parallel electric fields; electrons’ bulk kinetic energy then converts to heat via magnetic field-aligned electrostatic wave scattering. We show and measure the heating for 2D shocks of varying magnetic obliquity and Mach number, and we qualitatively map the mechanism’s shock parameter regime. Next, consider the intracluster medium: a high-beta plasma (thermal pressure greater than magnetic pressure) in which Megaparsec-scale motions promptly trigger nanoparsec-scale plasma waves, which in turn can scatter 1–100 MeV cosmic ray electrons. Small-scale scattering combined with large-scale motion can heat electrons, and this process is called magnetic pumping. We use 1D simulations of plasma subjected to continuous bulk compression to measure the efficiency of magnetic pumping upon cosmic ray electrons. It is speculated that magnetic pumping may help re-accelerate MeV electrons to radio-emitting energies and so help explain the origin of diffuse, MHz–GHz radio halos enshrouding some clusters of galaxies.

As the most widely consumed drug around the globe, there is a vast array of contradicting research available on caffeine. One of the most debated and researched topics on caffeine is its effect on the brain. Meanwhile, the data on the neurological condition of migraine has information scattered throughout countless research articles and experiments. Although neither migraine or caffeine are completely understood by the medical world, this analysis attempts to give a more coherent understanding of the relationship between the two. This is done by first understanding the known and theorized mechanisms of caffeine as well as the pathologies of migraine. Discussions on channelopathies, current migraine medications, and case studies will be presented. After much background research, we hypothesized that caffeine could excite neurons at physiological concentrations to the point of activation. This was tested by targeting the transcription factor cFos using immunocytochemistry in vitro. The protein cFos was identified due to its rapid translation—just 15 minutes after stimuli—to indicate activation. In addition to a control culture, three different caffeine concentrations were tested on the neurons: 50 micromoles— average plasma level after 1-2 cups of coffee consumption, 100 micromoles—average plasma level after 5-6 cups of coffee also believed to be the therapeutic amount to defend against neurological diseases such as Alzheimers Disease, and 250 micromoles—the average plasma level considered to be toxic in humans. Indeed, we saw a 53.8% increase in cFos expression in the neurons as 100 micromolar of caffeine was added and exposed to the cell cultures for 24 hours. In order to ensure the results obtained in this study were physiologically relevant in vivo, known toxic levels were tested for in vitro neurotoxicity. It was found in vitro that at the non toxic plasma concentrations of 50 micromolar and 100 micromolar of caffeine did not display cellular death as tested by Trypan Blue viability testing, Crystal Violet morphologies, and fleurojade immunochemistry that tests for degeneration. Each of these experiments identified a significant death increase as the toxic level of 250 micromoles of caffeine were utilized. This allowed us to theorize that the activation of neurons found in these experiments due to caffeine exposure would apply the same effect in vivo.

Low-load blood flow restriction (LLBFR) training has been shown to elicit greater increases in muscle hypertrophy and strength compared to traditional low-load training, yet few studies have compared the effectiveness of different LLBFR protocols. To our knowledge, no previous study has compared the acute neuromuscular changes induced by two common LLBFR protocols: 30-15-15-15 repetitions (BFR-75) and four sets of repetitions performed to volitional failure (BFR-F). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to use surface electromyography (sEMG) to compare changes in muscle excitation and fatigue during BFR-75 and BFR-F protocols. Ten women (mean ± SD age = 22 ± 3.5 years) volunteered to participate in this investigation. Participants performed isokinetic, unilateral, concentric-eccentric, leg extension muscle actions at 30% maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque with BFR applied at 60% arterial occlusion pressure using a 12-centimeter-wide cuff. The sEMG amplitude and frequency values were measured from the rectus femoris muscle during the beginning and end of each set of exercise and analyzed using separate 2 [condition (BFR-75 and BFR-F)] x 8 [time (B1, E1, B2, E2, B3, E3, B4, E4)] repeated measures ANOVAs. For sEMG amplitude, there was no significant 2-way interaction (p = 0.486; ηₚ² = 0.118) or significant main effect for condition (p = 0.617; ηₚ² = 0.038), but there was a significant main effect for time (p < 0.001; ηₚ² = 0.520). SEMG amplitude increased across time during both protocols (B1 < E1, E2, B3, E3, B4, E4, p ≤ 0.001–0.049). For sEMG frequency, there was no significant 2-way interaction (p = 0.847; ηₚ² = 0.064) or significant main effect for condition (p = 0.825; ηₚ² = 0.007), but there was a significant main effect for time (p = 0.006; ηₚ² = 0.478). SEMG frequency decreased across time during both protocols (B1 > E1, B2, E2, B3, E3, B4, E4, p = 0.002–0.035). Thus, the implementation of the BFR-75 and BFR-F protocols elicited comparable neuromuscular responses that were consistent with fatiguing exercise, but investigators and clinicians may consider other factors such as participant/patient comfort, time, and rating of perceived exertion when determining which protocol to use.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.