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μ-Crystallin, encoded by the CRYM gene, binds the thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. Because T3 and T4 are potent regulators of metabolism and gene expression, and CRYM levels in human skeletal muscle can vary widely, we investigated the effects of overexpression of Crym. We generated transgenic mice, Crym tg, that expressed Crym protein specifically in skeletal muscle at levels 2.6–147.5 fold higher than in controls. Muscular functions, Ca2+ transients, contractile force, fatigue, running on treadmills or wheels, were not significantly altered, although T3 levels in tibialis anterior (TA) muscle were elevated ~190-fold and serum T4 was decreased 1.2-fold. Serum T3 and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were unaffected. Crym transgenic mice studied in metabolic chambers showed a significant decrease in the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) corresponding to a 13.7% increase in fat utilization as an energy source compared to controls. Female but not male Crym tg mice gained weight more rapidly than controls when fed high fat or high simple carbohydrate diets. Although labeling for myosin heavy chains showed no fiber type differences in TA or soleus muscles, application of machine learning algorithms revealed small but significant morphological differences between Crym tg and control soleus fibers. RNA-seq and gene ontology enrichment analysis showed a significant shift towards genes associated with slower muscle function and its metabolic correlate, β-oxidation. Protein expression showed a similar shift, though with little overlap. Our study shows that μ-crystallin plays an important role in determining substrate utilization in mammalian muscle and that high levels of μ-crystallin are associated with a shift toward greater fat metabolism., Graphical abstract Image, Highlights • μ-Crystallin (Crym) is expressed specifically in transgenic skeletal muscle at highly elevated levels. • T3 is increased ~190 fold in the Tibialis anterior muscle of Crym tg mice. • Small but significant changes in gene and protein expression in tg muscle towards a slow twitch, oxidative phenotype. • Metabolic studies show that Crym tg mice increase their use of fat as an energy source. • Female Crym tg mice gain weight faster on high fat or simple carbohydrate diets than controls.

Ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and nitric oxide (NO) donors have been reported to reduce the severity of muscular dystrophies in mice associated with the absence of dystrophin or α-sarcoglycan, but their effects on mice that are dystrophic due to the absence of dysferlin have not been examined. We have tested ibuprofen, as well as isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), a NO donor, to learn whether used alone or together they protect dysferlin-null muscle in A/J mice from large strain injury (LSI) induced by a series of high strain lengthening contractions. Mice were maintained on chow containing ibuprofen and ISDN for 4 weeks. They were then subjected to LSI and maintained on the drugs for 3 additional days. We measured loss of torque immediately following injury and at day 3 postinjury, fiber necrosis, and macrophage infiltration at day 3 postinjury, and serum levels of the drugs at the time of euthanasia. Loss of torque immediately after injury was not altered by the drugs. However, the torque on day 3 postinjury significantly decreased as a function of ibuprofen concentration in the serum (range, 0.67-8.2 µg/ml), independent of ISDN. The effects of ISDN on torque loss at day 3 postinjury were not significant. In long-term studies of dysferlinopathic BlAJ mice, lower doses of ibuprofen had no effects on muscle morphology, but reduced treadmill running by 40%. Our results indicate that ibuprofen can have deleterious effects on dysferlin-null muscle and suggest that its use at pharmacological doses should be avoided by individuals with dysferlinopathies.

B6.A-Dysfprmd /GeneJ (BLAJ) mice model human limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2B (LGMD2B), which is linked to mutations in the dysferlin (DYSF) gene. We tested the hypothesis that, the calcium ion (Ca2+ ) channel blocker diltiazem (DTZ), reduces contraction-induced skeletal muscle damage, in BLAJ mice. We randomly assigned mice (N = 12; 3-4 month old males) to one of two groups - DTZ (N = 6) or vehicle (VEH, distilled water, N = 6). We conditioned mice with either DTZ or VEH for 1 week, after which, their tibialis anterior (TA) muscles were tested for contractile torque and susceptibility to injury from forced eccentric contractions. We continued dosing with DTZ or VEH for 3 days following eccentric contractions, and then studied torque recovery and muscle damage. We analyzed contractile torque before eccentric contractions, immediately after eccentric contractions, and at 3 days after eccentric contractions; and counted damaged fibers in the injured and uninjured TA muscles. We found that DTZ improved contractile torque before and immediately after forced eccentric contractions, but did not reduce delayed-onset muscle damage that was observed at 3 days after eccentric contractions.

Serum samples from 954 Irish adults (604 males, 350 females) aged 18 to 65 years were analyzed within 24 hours of receipt for non-fasting total serum cholesterol levels. The subjects were volunteer blood donors (Blood Transfusion Service Board, Pelican House, Dublin) presenting from June 1990 to February 1991. Serum cholesterol increased significantly with age in both males and females. Mean serum cholesterol in males increased from 4.5 (+/- 0.9) mmol/l in those25 years, to 5.7 (+/- 1.0) mmol/l at age 55-64 years. In females, mean serum cholesterol increased from 4.3 (+/- 0.9) mmol/l less than 25 years to 6.2 (+/- 0.8) mmol/l at age 55-64 years. Options for reporting cholesterol ranges are discussed. The overall mean cholesterol concentration of 5.1 mmol/l seen in this study is lower than that reported for comparable studies of U.K. and American subjects, but higher than observed in Japanese individuals. Almost 48% of the studied population had a serum cholesterol value less than 5 mmol/l and over 56% had levels less than 5.2 mmol/l.

Electroconvulsive seizure therapy (ECS) is a clinically proven treatment for depression and is often effective even in patients resistant to chemical antidepressants. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic efficacy of ECS are not fully understood. One theory that has gained attention is that ECS and other antidepressants increase the expression of select neurotrophic factors that could reverse or block the atrophy and cell loss resulting from stress and depression. To further address this topic, we examined the expression of other neurotrophic-growth factors and related signaling pathways in the hippocampus in response to ECS using a custom growth factor microarray chip. We report the regulation of several genes that are involved in growth factor and angiogenic-endothelial signaling, including neuritin, stem cell factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VGF (nonacronymic), cyclooxygenase-2, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1. Some of these, as well as other growth factors identified, including VEGF, basic fibroblast growth factor, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, have roles in mediating neurogenesis and cell proliferation in the adult brain. We also examined gene expression in the choroid plexus and found several growth factors that are enriched in this vascular tissue as well as regulated by ECS. These data suggest that an amplification of growth factor signaling combined with angiogenic mechanisms could have an important role in the molecular action of ECS. This study demonstrates the applicability of custom-focused microarray technology in addressing hypothesis-driven questions regarding the action of antidepressants.

A high performance dielectric layer having a capacitance 100 nF/cm2 has been developed for thin film electroluminescent (EL) devices. Based on SrTiO3, this layer is ∼2m thick with 200, and can support 250 volts. When incorporated into an EL device, self-healing behaviour is observed, and steep B-V behaviour is obtained. Completed green and red emitting oxide phosphor EL devices on Corning 1737 glass substrates are described.

The release of aluminium, arsenic, boron, cobalt, copper, chromium, manganese, nickel, lead and zinc from pulverised fuel ash (PFA) and a standard Wellesbourne soil were studied by extraction with nitric acid and EDTA and by anaerobic incubation with grass meal. According to each of the criteria, only aluminium, arsenic, boron and copper were released in appreciably greater quantities from PFA than from soil. There were considerable variations in pH and the total content of soluble salts, mainly sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium sulphates, between samples of ash. pH varied from 4.6 to 9.3 and the conductivity declined from 4.75 × 10−3 to 3.2 × 10−3 ohm−1 cm−1 with increased pH. The pH of the ash also influenced the concentration of other ions in water in equilibrium with it. When the pH was low the concentrations of aluminium and copper were large but those of arsenic were small. By contrast, when pH was high, the concentrations of arsenic were substantial and those of aluminium and copper small. The concentrations of boron, though always substantial, declined with increase in pH. It is concluded that, in addition to sulphate and boron, aluminium, copper and arsenic are potential causes of phytotoxicity.

Experiments on a VUV xenon excimer laser working at medium pressure (3–7 atm) are reported. Xenon gas was excited by an intense electron beam (550 keV, 13 kA, 20 ns) from a 520 Apex machine (S3). Dielectric mirror dammage of intracell cavity and gaz pollution were studied. At 6 atm, we obtained typically 10 MW, 10 ns pulse, with 4 nm spectral width and 1% medium efficiency. This value obtained at 6 atm instead of 12 atm (Hughes) is in agreement with our calculations from kinetics.

Dissociation of the H2O molecule by collisions with metastable argon (3P2) was shown a few years ago to lead to the excitation of the first vibrational levels of A 2Σ+ excited state of OH. The present work consists of a detailed kinetic study of an e‐beam excited Ar–H2O mixture to evaluate the potential interest of that reaction scheme for laser applications. In this study, we have mainly shown that OH* (A 2Σ+) is populated by an Ar++H2O pathway too and we give an estimate for the OH* (A 2Σ+) and OH (X 2Π) formation branching ratios. We have also estimated that Ar*2+H2O is a minor OH* pathway. These results and measurements of main reaction rates permitted us to give a kinetic model where the predicted time dependence of population are in good agreement with the experimental result. The feasibility of a radical laser based on the collisional dissociation scheme of molecules is discussed.

A procedure for examining the distribution of ethirimol in soil is described. Soil samples containing ethirimol are initially freeze-dried at −5 to −10°C, impregnated with Araldite resin and hardeners under vacuum and then maintained for 16 h at room temperature followed by 24 h at 100°C, to complete curing. The impregnated soils may then be sectioned and the radiolabelled pesticide located by autoradiography. The distribution of ethirimol within the soil was found to be unaffected by either freeze-drying or impregnation. The method enables the distribution to be determined on a small scale directly in undisturbed soil sections from both the laboratory and the field. It was used to investigate the effects of soil type on the movement of ethirimol. Structural and textural factors appear to have an important influence on the redistribution of this fungicide and may override the effects of adsorption.

SummaryIn tubers of ten potato varieties the incidence of internal rust spot lesions increased and the calcium concentration decreased when the concentration of calcium chloride supplied to the plants fell from 9 to 1 mM. A simple linear model relating the probit transformation of internal rust spot incidence to tuber calcium concentration for each variety showed that there were substantial differences in varietal susceptibility to internal rust spot which were not related to tuber calcium concentration.

Laser action from neutral Xe transitions has been achieved in an Ar–Xe mixture at 1 atm and in a He–Xe, He–Ar–Xe mixture at 2.5 atm excited by a UV preionized short discharge (Δt?50 ns). In the best mixture, He–Ar–Xe (100–60–1), an overall conversion efficiency of 0.2% was obtained with a 10‐mJ output. These nonoptimized results may be improved by decreasing the input energy density and increasing the pressure.

The chlorogenic acid contents of 7 lettuce cultivars were measured at six stages of growth. At maturity, the cultivars were assessed for incidence of tipburn. At all stages of growth, chlorogenic acid content differed significantly between some cultivars, but not between others. With increasing plant size chlorogenic acid concentration decreased and at all growth stages tested, it was positively correlated with the incidence of tipburn at maturity.

We report an efficient high-power laser action in Ar-Xe mixtures at 1.4 atm, without an e-beam, using a simple UV preionized discharge. A "wall-plug" efficiency of 1.5 percent is obtained with an output energy of 48 mJ, and 70 percent of this energy is delivered on the 1.73 μm line. We describe the experimental optimization of the laser efficiency by varying the partial and total pressures of the gas mixtures, the deposited energy density, and the intensity of the UV preionization. The best performances are obtained for a relatively low energy density (about 10 J/l). This result was expected, due to the very strong ionization rate constant of the xenon excited states. We have also achieved interesting results in Kr-Xe, He-Xe, He-Kr, and He-Ar mixtures.

Dissociation of the CO2 molecule by collision with metastable argon (3P2) was shown a few years ago to lead to the excitation of the first vibrational levels of the metastable (a3π) state of CO and the aim of the present work is to investigate the possibility of using this transfer reaction to obtain population inversions of the a 3Π→X 1Σ transition of the CO molecule. Because of the low CO* fluorescence intensity level, we only performed an indirect kinetic study of e‐beam excited Ar–CO2 mixture. Using N2(c→B) (λ=337 nm) fluorescence emission as an Ar* population tracer in Ar–CO2–N2 mixture, we measured the kinetic constants relevant to Ar–CO2 mixture. It is shown that for certain Ar–CO2 mixtures, 50% of the initial excitation created by the electron gun is transferred to Ar* atoms and then disappears in Ar*+CO2 collisions. A comparative study of the instantaneous fluorescence intensity of CO* (a3π) in Ar–CO2 mixture with that of N2(C) in Ar*–N2 mixture showed that the branching ratio of the Ar*+CO2→CO* ...

Several new laser effects have been obtained by using electron beam pumped mixtures of a rare gas with another gas. Nevertheless, the laser action in those media appears to be very sensitive to the effect of a transient absorption which can be due to the rare gas itself. Also in this work we have made an experimental study of transient absorptions in the near UV (250–450 nm) for a high pressure of argon excited by relativistic electrons. Two different absorptions have been identified in the present work: (1) A ’’long time’’ absorption attributed to Ar2*(3Σu); the experimental value of its cross section has been found to be in satisfactory agreement with the theoretical one; (2) a ’’short time’’ absorption which exhibits a very broad spectral width, the origin of which is discussed.

A new pulsed x-ray source is studied and used to preionise the discharge of a high-pressure CO2 laser. A uniform linear x-ray beam (6 mm wide, 150 mm long, 20 keV mean energy) is obtained from runaway electrons generated in a 30 Pa pressure helium fast discharge ( approximately 20 ns FWHM) in overvoltage (60 kV) at high current (1.2 kA). Using a carbon-felt cathode and a tantalum anode with 6 mm spacing. x-ray production efficiency is 80% of that obtained in a vacuum. The electronic density measured in the ionisation chamber is 1013-1014 electron/m3. The laser output energy obtained in CO2:N2:He=1:1:8 mixture for V=35 kV at 500 kPa is 80 mJ with a 2% efficiency.

A layer model for predicting the leaching of unadsorbed anions from unstructured soils has been extended to enable forecasts of the effects of rainfall on the redistribution and losses of weakly adsorbed ions, such as borate, to be made. The model is based on easily measured parameters including field capacity and the initial water and borate contents of each of the soil layers and calculates the redistribution of borate from the excess rainfall over evaporation. The partitioning of borate between the adsorbed and solution phases during leaching is calculated using a modified Langmuir isotherm equation. An advantage of the model is that it requires no specially fitted parameters which must be derived from separate leaching experiments. The model was tested against the results of published experiments on the leaching of borate from soil columns. Agreement with the experimental data was good and only marginally inferior to the agreement obtained using a more sophisticated model which required more detailed input information. The model was also used to forecast the amount of rainfall needed to reduce the concentration of borate in a sample of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) to a non-toxic level. The results were consistent with the limited experimental data available. There was also reasonable agreement between the predictions of the model and the results of an experiment in which borate was leached from columns of PFA using a limited range of irrigation treatments.

The Ar+Xe fluorescence in an intense electron beam excited Ar-Xe mixture has been studied spectrally and temporally. Three emissions have been detected at 329, 345 and 349 nm. Rate coefficients of Ar+ (2P3/2)+Ar+Xe, Ar+(2P3/2)+2Xe, Ar+(2P1/2 or/and 2P3/2)+Xe, radiative lifetime and quenching by argon of Ar+(2P1/2)Xe have been measured. The authors determined the branching ratio of Ar+(2P1/2)+Ar+Xe to Ar+(2P1/2)Xe+Ar by calibration of the 329 nm fluorescence yield measurement. Comparison with other results is made.

Using a long‐duration transverse discharge (300 ns) preionized by a short‐pulse electron‐beam gun (10 ns), laser emission has been obtained in the second positive system of nitrogen at λ=3371 A in nitrogen alone and at λ=3577 A in a N2‐CF4 mixture. In the latter mixture, the laser emission lasts for 70 ns which is much longer than the radiative lifetime of the upper laser level C 3Πu(τF=40 ns). We think that the blottleneck of the terminal laser level is avoided thanks to the vibrational deactivation of the nitrogen B 3Πg state due to the irreversible transfer of vibrational energy of N2 to CF4 during collisions.

SummaryTubers produced by potato plants grown in vermiculite and supplied with either 0, 1 or 3 mM calcium chloride solution developed brown necrotic lesions of internal rust spot. Plants supplied with 9 and 27 mM calcium chloride solution did not show the symptoms and had a substantially greater concentration of calcium in the tuber dry matter. It is concluded that internal rust spot is a physiological disorder associated with a low concentration of calcium in the affected tubers.

The spectrophotometric determination of arsenic in solutions containing nitric acid necessitates the removal of nitrate ions without loss of arsenic. A convenient and effective method for its removal was achieved by treatment with formic acid.

Identification particulars were obtained for over 7000 men who were at some time between 1940 and 1974 exposed to vinyl chloride monomer in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride. Approximately 99% of these men have been traced and their mortality experience studied. The overall standardised mortality ratio, 75-4, shows a significant reduction compared with the national rates. Four cases of liver cancer were found. Two of these have been confirmed by a panel of liver pathologists as angiosarcoma and two as not angiosarcoma. There is no evidence to support the hypothesis that cancers other than those of the liver are associated with exposure to vinyl chloride monomer. The two cases of angiosarcoma were found in men who had been exposed to high concentrations of the monomer although the second man died only eight years after first exposure. The industry in Great Britain has expanded considerably since the second world war with over 50% of men having entered with the last decade. Conclusions drawn about the effect of vinyl chloride monomer on the mortality experience of men in this industry must consequently be tempered by the reservation that the full impact may not yet be in evidence.

Neutron scattering measurements revealed that even a seemingly perfect crystal of KNiCl3 at room temperature may segregate into two phases with different lattice distortions in the basal ab plane at temperatures below T≊270 K. In phase A, distortion leads to an increase of the unit cell size by a factor of 3, giving rise to nuclear Bragg peaks of type (h/3,h/3,l). In phase B the distortion gives rise to Bragg peaks at (3h/4,0,l), with integer h and l. Two different magnetic structures have been observed with TN=12.5 and 8.6 K in phases A and B, respectively. Magnetization measurements confirm the values of TN found by neutron scattering for the two magnetic structures.