The influence of skeletal muscle incubation medium on fatigue of neuromuscular preparation and on transmitter release at neuromuscular junctions in the frog

The effect of frog skeletal muscle incubate on fatigue was studied in frog sciatic nerve, sartorius muscle preparation. Fatigue was produced by prolonged repetitive (1 s-1) stimulation of motor nerve or of curarized muscle. The incubate partially restored isometric contraction amplitudes of muscle fatigued by nerve stimulation. This effect of partial recovery from fatigue (PRF effect) was exerted mainly by a relatively low-molecular fraction (LMF; < 10 kDa) of the incubate. The incubate and its fractions failed to produce the PRF effect in experiments with directly stimulated muscle. The action of LMF on synaptic transmission in unfatigued cutaneous-pectoris muscle was examined using binomial analysis of quantal transmitter release. LMF produced an increase in the end-plate potential quantal content (m) at synapses with low initial m values. In contrast, it produced a decrease i n m at synapses with higher m values. Both effects were due to respective changes in binomial parameter n. It is assumed that the stimulatory presynaptic action of the incubate on synapses the effectiveness of which was lowered during fatigue, could account for the PRF effect. A possible contribution of low- and high-molecular components of the incubate is discussed.     

Evaluating the solar resource: a review of problems resulting from temporal, spatial and angular variations

Accurate assessment of the availability of solar energy at the Earth's surface is hampered by difficulties associated with the variability of solar radiation in space and time and with the angular position in the sky hemisphere. This paper assesses each of these problem areas by highlighting the difficulties and the attempts to offset them. Major emphasis is placed on extrapolation and interpolation procedures, the sensitivity of inclined surfaces to variations in the solar input, numerical models for calculating the irradiance of inclined surfaces and the time scales for which these computations are valid.Finally, the reader is urged to consider the significance of these difficulties in light of both radiation measurement errors and the sensitivity of the application to imprecise determinations of the radiation environment.     

The prevalence of preferential nasal breathing in adults

The prevalence of preferential nasal breathing was studied in an awake adult population. One hundred and ninety-four people consented to gentle manual compression of the nostrils. They were advised to 'breathe in and out', but no further information regarding breathing was given to avoid influencing the patient. One hundred and eighty patients (92.8%) commenced immediate regular relaxed breathing. Fourteen patients (7.2%) had difficulty with oral breathing which ranged from irregular mouth breathing associated with distress to no spontaneous respiration. The prevalence of preferential nasal breathing was strongly associated with increasing age (chi 2 for trend, P = 0.007). In addition, a weakly significant association was demonstrated between a history of asthma and this phenomenon (P = 0.047). These findings suggest a tendency for the elderly person to revert to the infant pattern of obligate nasal breathing. Physicians should be aware of this possibility in the elderly patient, especially prior to any procedure which may induce nasal obstruction.