BACKGROUND Computational models of Achilles tendons can help understanding how healthy tendons are affected by repetitive loading and how the different tissue constituents contribute to the tendon's biomechanical response. However, available models of Achilles tendon are limited in their description of the hierarchical multi-structural composition of the tissue. This study hypothesised that a p...

The number of guided modes in optical fibres is an important aspect of their design and characterisation. Some optical fibres, such as microstructured fibres and Bragg fibres, have no strictly bound modes in the same sense as in conventional step and graded index fibres. All modes in these fibres are leaky so what exactly becomes regarded as a mode becomes important.. We propose a method for co...

In this review, evidence is marshalled for the hypothesis that nerve growth factor (NGF) regulates nociception in human health and disease. The data from humans complement the studies of NGF in animal inflammatory pain models described elsewhere in this issue. An attempt is made to unify the role of NGF in inflammatory and neuropathic hyperalgesia. Although largely speculative at this stage, hu...

BACKGROUND In dystrophic mdx skeletal muscle, aberrant Ca2+ homeostasis and fibre degeneration are found. The absence of dystrophin in models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has been connected to altered ion channel properties e.g. impaired L-type Ca2+ currents. In regenerating mdx muscle, 'revertant' fibres restore dystrophin expression. Their functionality involving DHPR-Ca2+-channels is...

In this research, several series of triarylmethane dyes containing one or more terminal methoxy substituents with a variable tertiary amino groups have been used. These dyes have been applied to different substrates by using various methods including transfer printing and then their fastness properties were measured. These dyes shows exceptionally high light fastness (6-7) on acid modified poly...

Silica fibres from the inflorescence bracts of the grass Phalaris canariensis L. cause dermatitis, and have been implicated in the aetiology of oesophageal cancer in northeastern Iran. Here we describe a method for labelling these fibres so that they can be located in mammalian tissue. Fluorescein was covalently linked to isolated, purified fibres with the silane coupling agent 3-aminopropyl tr...

1. The ionic dependence of action potentials evoked in giant smooth muscle fibres isolated by enzymatic digestion from the body wall of the marine invertebrate Beroe ovata (Ctenophora) has been investigated using conventional electrophysiological techniques. 2. Differences were observed in the two fibre types studied. The resting membrane potential was —60 ± 135 mV (JV = 25) in longitudinal mus...

white, red and superficial. In common with teleost fish, the different types are well segregated in the body. The white fibres make up the bulk of the body, the red fibres form a band along the lateral edge of the body and the single layer of superficial fibres is confined to a narrow band between the skin and the red fibres. Each fibre type has a distinct histological and biochemical profile w...

An efficient technology for preparing lotus fibres under microwave irradiation was developed. The lotus fibres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetry. Lotus fibres prepared are a kind of hollow fibres which are composed of a superfine fibre and an external shell. The effect of the treatment time with hy...