Noise characteristics of an ideal shunted Josephson junction

Detailed computer simulations have been made of the effect of intrinsic noise current on the I-V characteristic and voltage noise spectral density S _v (f) of an ideal Josephson element shunted by a capacitor and resistor. The minimum value of the parameter _c at which hysteresis appears in the quasistatic I-V characteristic is greater than the noise-free value of 1. Moreover, as _c is increased, a region of large differential resistance R _d appears in the I-V characteristic that is associated with a large increase in S _V(0). In this regime the noise current is seen to cause random switching between the superconducting and nonzero voltage states. For all bias conditions, S _V(f) > R _d ²S_I(f) where S _I(f) is the spectral density of the intrinsic current noise. A comparison is made between these results and previous calculations. The implications for low-noise superconducting devices are discussed.     

Effect of beta-adrenergic blockade with alprenolol on ST-segment depression and circulatory dynamics during exercise in patients with effort angina

1. Nine subjects with severe coronary artery disease were studied during graded "sprint" and "steady-state" exercise before and after intravenous administration of the beta-receptor antagonist alprenolol. During "sprint" workload was increased every minute until maximum work capacity (Wmax) was reached. "Steady-state" exercise was performed at work rates of 0.250, 0.50, and 0.75 of each subject's sprint Wmax. Variables measured included ST-segment depression, changes in heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory gas exchange, and arterial blood composition. Cardiac output (indirect Fick) was measured during "steady-state" exercise. 2. Alprenolol did not alter Wmax during "sprint" but reduced the incidence of angina in both types of exercise. After the drug work capacity was limited by symptoms and signs suggestive of mild left ventricular failure. 3. The relationship between workload (normalized in terms of Wmax) and ST-segment depression was curvilinear. Under control conditions a given rate of work during "steady-state" exercise was assocaited with more marked ST-segment depression than during "sprint". Alprenolol displaced the work-ST-depression curve to the right in each type of exercise; now a given rate of work produced similar ST-depressing during "steady-state" and "sprint" exercise. 4. Alprenolol attentuated the exercise tachycardia during both types of exercise. Cardiac output was lower in "steady-state" exercise after the drug than under control conditions. Metabolic effects included significant reduction in body oxygen consumption after alpreprenolol at 0.25 Wmax and diminished arterial lactate at 0.75 Wmax. The beneficial effects of the drug thus appeared to involve not only cardiac but peripheral effects on beta receptors. 5. Before alprenolol cardiac output was relatively fixed at all workloads, but after the drug there was a work-related rise in output in five out of nine subjects. Comparison with data in normal subjects suggested that in anginal subjects cardiac output at low "steady-state" workloads was inappropriately high.     

Recombination dynamics of surface-related excitonic states in single ZnO nanowires

With decreasing diameter the influence of surface-related effects becomes increasingly important for an understanding of the optical properties of semiconductor nanowires. We present time integrated and time resolved photoluminescence studies of single zincoxide nanowires with different diameters. We analyze the changes in the optical spectra for wires with different surface-to-volume ratios, present optical spectra of single wires at different excitation densities, and study the time-resolved dynamics of the surface related and donor-bound exciton related emission lines for a single nanowire at low temperatures.     

Correlation dimension analysis of heart rate variability in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

A correlation dimension analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) was applied to a group of 55 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and 55 healthy subjects as controls. The 24-h RR time series for each subject was divided into segments of 10,000 beats to determine the correlation dimension (CD) per segment. A study of the influence of the time delay (lag) in the calculation of CD was performed. Good discrimination between both groups (p<0.005) was obtained with lag values of 5 or greater. CD values of DCM patients (8.4+/-1.9) were significantly lower than CD values for controls (9.5+/-1.9). An analysis of CD values of HRV showed that for healthy people, CD night values (10.6+/-1.8) were significant greater than CD day values (9.2+/-1.9), revealing a circadian rhythm. In DCM patients, this circadian rhythm was lost and there were no differences between CD values in day (8.8+/-2.4) and night (8.9+/-2.1).     

Die Verwendung von Klebern bei der Verarbeitung von Holzfaserplatten

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

T1rho-relaxation in articular cartilage: effects of enzymatic degradation

Spin-lattice relaxation in the rotating frame (T1rho) dispersion spectroscopy and imaging were used to study normal and enzymatically degraded bovine articular cartilage. Normal specimens demonstrate significant T1rho "dispersion" (approximately 60 to approximately 130 ms) in the 100 Hz to 9 kHz frequency range. Proteoglycan-degraded specimens have 33% greater T1rho values than collagen-degraded or normal samples. T1rho-weighted images reveal structure not found in conventional T1- or T2-weighted images. Our results suggest that T1rho measurements are selectively sensitive to proteoglycan content. The potential of this method in distinguishing the early degenerative changes in cartilage associated with osteoarthritis is discussed.     

In vitro expansion of hematopoietic progenitors and maintenance of stem cells: comparison between FLT3/FLK-2 ligand and KIT ligand

The effects of FLT3/FLK-2 ligand (FL) and KIT ligand (KL) on in vitro expansion of hematopoietic stem cells were studied using lineage-negative (Lin-)Sca-1-positive (Sca-1+) c-kit-positive (c-kit+) marrow cells from 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-treated mice. As single agents, neither FL nor KL could effectively support the proliferation of enriched cells in suspension culture. However, in combination with interleukin-11 (IL-11), both FL and KL enhanced the production of nucleated cells and progenitors. The kinetics of stimulation by FL was different from that by KL in that the maximal expansion by FL of the nucleated cell and progenitor pools required a longer incubation than with KL. We then tested the reconstituting abilities of cells cultured for 1, 2, and 3 weeks by transplanting the expanded Ly5.1 cells together with "compromised" marrow cells into lethally irradiated Ly5.2 mice. Cells that had been expanded with either cytokine combination were able to maintain the reconstituting ability of the original cells. Only cells that had been incubated with KL and IL-11 for 21 days had less reconstituting ability than fresh marrow cells. These results indicate that there can be significant expansion of progenitors in vitro without compromising the reconstituting ability of stem cells. Addition of IL-3 to permissive cytokine combinations significantly reduced the ability of cultured cells to reconstitute the hematopoiesis of irradiated hosts. These observations should provide a basis for a rational approach to designing cytokine combinations for in vitro expansion of hematopoietic stem cells.     

Minimum urine flow rate during water deprivation: importance of the nonurea versus total osmolality in the inner medulla

Antidiuretic hormone leads to an increase in the permeability for water and urea in the inner medullary collecting duct. Hence, urea may not be an "effective" osmole in the inner medulla during maximal renal water conservation. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether differences in the rate of urea excretion would influence maximum renal water conservation in humans. In water-deprived rats, the concentration of urea and total osmolality were somewhat higher in the urine exiting the inner medullary collecting duct than in interstitial fluid obtained from the entire papillary tip. Nevertheless, the "nonurea" (total osmolality minus urea in millimolar terms) osmolality was virtually identical in both locations. Chronically fasted human subjects that were water-deprived for 16 h had a lower rate of urea excretion (71 +/- 7 versus 225 +/- 14 mumol/min) and a somewhat lower urine osmolality (745 +/- 53 versus 918 +/- 20 mosmol/kg H2O). Nevertheless, they had identical urine flow rates (0.5 +/- 0.01 and 0.5 +/- 0.02 ml/min, respectively), and their nonurea osmolality also was similar (587 +/- 25 and 475 +/- 14 mosmol/kg H2O, respectively) to the water-deprived normal subjects. The composition of their urine differed in that the principal nonurea osmoles became NH4+ and beta-hydroxybutyrate rather than Na and C1. During water deprivation in normal subjects, the ingestion of urea caused a twofold rise in urine flow rate, a fall in the nonurea osmolality, and a rise in the rate of excretion of nonurea osmoles. The nonurea osmolality of the urine, and presumably the medullary interstitial fluid as well, was inversely related to the urea excretion rate. In chronic fasting, the nature, but not the quantity, of nonurea osmoles changed. The similar minimum urine volume was predictable from an analysis based on nonurea osmole considerations.