The kinetics of activation and inactivation in the phototransduction pathway of developing Xenopus rods were studied. The gain of the activation steps in transduction (amplification) increased and photoresponses became more rapid as the rods matured from the larval to the adult stage. The time to peak was significantly shorter in adults (1.3 s) than tadpoles (2 s). Moreover, adult rods recovere...

The selectivity for Ca(2+) over Na(+), PCa/PNa, is higher in cGMP-gated (CNG) ion channels of retinal cone photoreceptors than in those of rods. To ascertain the physiological significance of this fact, we determined the fraction of the cyclic nucleotide-gated current specifically carried by Ca(2+) in intact rods and cones. We activated CNG channels by suddenly (<5 ms) increasing free 8Br-cGMP ...

BACKGROUND Silicone rod is a commonly used synthetic suspension material in frontalis suspension surgery to correct blepharoptosis. The most challenging problem and a decisive drawback of the use of silicone rod is a considerable rate of ptosis recurrence after surgery. We examined patients with recurred ptosis and assessed the physical and micromorphological properties of implanted silicone ro...

Trabecular plates play an important role in determining elastic moduli of trabecular bone. However, the relative contribution of trabecular plates and rods to strength behavior is still not clear. In this study, individual trabeculae segmentation (ITS) and nonlinear finite element (FE) analyses were used to evaluate the roles of trabecular types and orientations in the failure initiation and pr...

The diversity of bacterial isolates from soil in response to different plants (control, Brachiaria ruziziensis and Cajanus cajan), fertilization (control, simple superphosphate and rock phosphate) and liming (with and without lime) was evaluated. Phenotypic and physiological characteristics of the isolates were recorded and organized in a file to identify the bacteria. Among the isolates, 95% w...

BACKGROUND The examination of depth perception with three-rods test, in addition to visual acuity testing, is required to obtain motor vehicle license to drive taxies and trucks, according to the Road Traffic Act in Japan. The aim of this study was to examine whether the results of the three-rods test would correlate with the results of static stereopsis tests, used in ophthalmic practice. ME...

We report a numerical study of linear ion trap that has segmented blades and biasing rods. Our system consists radio frequency (rf) blades, dc with ten separate electrodes, two rods for compensating the ions’ micromotion. After calculating optical access ions, we find rf voltages result in stable trapping configuration $$^{171}$$ Yb $$^{+}$$ ions. also explore micromotion compensation rods, cal...

This articles is comprised of two parts: a) an experimental investigation on the behavior of an acrylic gel under DC electric field and b) a physico - mathematical description.a) Gel rods made of poly [acrylamide-co-bisacrylamide] were partially hydrolyzed to different extents at pH 12 by teteramethylethylene diamine. Equlibrium properties of the resulting gels rods (water content,...

Interbody fusion with posterior instrumentation is a common method for treating lumbar degenerative disc diseases. However, the high rigidity of the fusion construct may produce abnormal stresses at the adjacent segment and lead to adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). As such, biodegradable implants are becoming more popular for use in orthopaedic surgery. These implants offer sufficient stabil...

Using tools of nonequilibirum mechanics, we study a model of self-propelled hard rods on a substrate in two dimensions to quantify the interplay of self-propulsion and excluded-volume effects. We derive of a Smoluchowski equation for the configurational probability density of self-propelled rods that contains several modifications as compared to the familiar Smoluchowski equation for thermal ro...