Antidiuretic effects of oxytocin in the Brattleboro rat

Summary The antidiuretic activity of oxytocin (OT) was measured in Brattleboro rats with congenital diabetes insipidus. A dose dependent antidiuretic response was found in animals receiving chronic infusions of 0.1 g/h, 1.0 g/h, and 5 g/h of OT. OT infused at the rate of 5 g/h over a 7-day period completely reversed the symptoms of diabetes insipidus. The results support the concept that OT serves as a weak agonist of vasopressin at the level of the kidney and at pharmacological levels exhibits antidiuretic activity.     

AnAnolis skin melanophore assay suitable for photoaffinity labeling studies with α-MSH

Summary Visual determination of MSH-induced pigment migration in melanophores of small pieces ofAnolis carolinensis skin is standardized by first measuring photoelectrometrically the change in reflection/transmission of the whole dorsal skin in response to different hormone concentrations. This method allows the rapid and precise recording of time-response curves after photoaffinity labeling of MSH receptors or of dose-response curves of large series of synthetic compounds.Acknowledgments. We wish to thank Ms V. Jäggin, Ms C. Schulthess and Ms G. van Hees for excellent technical assistance, Dr. R. Andreatta, Ciba-Geigy AG, Basel, for his generous gift of -MSH and Prof. A Pletscher for his continuous interest. This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.     

Bicuculline and picrotoxin block γ-aminobutryic acid-gated Cl− conductance by different mechanisms

Summary Using isolated, internally perfused bullfrog dorsal root ganglion cells we have studied the dose-response curves for -aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the presence of internally or externally applied GABA antagonists. With external application of antagonists the inhibition of the GABA current by bicuculline was competitive and that by picrotoxin was noncompetitive. Picrotoxin but not bicuculline blocked when internally perfused.To whom reprint requests should be addressed.Acknowledgments. We thank Drs S. Minakami and S. Yasui for helpful discussions and comments.     

Discovery of Jupiter's 'gossamer' ring

Jupiter's ring system has previously been described as being composed of a 'bright' narrow ring and an interior, vertically-extended halo. The one image which reveals this morphology most clearly is Voyager 2's parting shot of the Jupiter system, a wide-angle (WA) view of the ring ansa in forward-scattered light (FDS 20693.02). The bright ring is plainly visible, and the halo appears after slight contrast enhancement. By further enhancement of this image we have discovered an additional ring, which is far fainter than either of the (already faint) components previously identified, extending to a radius of 210,000 km.     

Differential effects of prostaglandins and isoproterenol on cAMP content and Na,K pump activity in rat submandibular acini

Summary The -adrenergic agonist isoproterenol and prostaglandins E₁ and E₂ (but not F₂) increased the cAMP content of rat submandibular acini in vitro, but only isoproterenol enhanced ouabain-sensitive⁸⁶Rb (K) uptake. These findings suggest that cAMP is not involved in the activation of the Na, K pump in salivary cells.     

An enzyme immunoassay for mouse epidermal growth factor utilizing a liquid phase double-antibody system

Summary An enzyme immunoassay for mouse epidermal growth factor (EGF) involving a liquid phase double-antibody system was developed. The EGF--galactosidase conjugate prepared was stable for at least 8 months. By this method, EGF was detectable at a concentration as low as 20 pg per tube. The concentrations of EGF in various tissues of mice are also presented.This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.     

负荷度对盾构隧道管片火灾下力学性能影响

针对不同边界条件下的地铁管片建立了热力耦合数值模型,采用顺序耦合热-应力分析方法对不同负荷度下衬砌管片在高温下的变形及内力进行了分析,并基于火灾试验数据进行了验证。研究表明,负荷度是影响管片在火灾高温下变形特性的关键因素。负荷度越大,管片跨中位移在升温阶段发展越充分,下缘混凝土的极限压应力越小。支座边界条件不同时,衬砌管片变形受高温影响的程度也不相同。当衬砌管片两端的水平位移被约束时,由于在升温过程中衬砌管片产生不可忽略的变形,支座反力先增大后减小,最后持续增大直至升温结束。     

基于降维观测器与多胞体方法的执行器故障检测

针对具有执行器故障且状态方程和输出方程同时受到外部扰动影响的离散系统,研究了降维观测器设计方法和基于多胞体理论的区间估计方法,并在此基础上提出了基于区间估计的执行器故障检测方法。首先,通过适当的状态等价变换,将原系统分解成2个降维子系统,使得一个子系统可以直接解耦干扰。然后,在无执行器故障发生的前提下,基于对干扰解耦的子系统,提出了一种降维观测器设计方法,实现了原系统状态的渐近收敛估计。其次,针对具有干扰的子系统,设计了Luenberger型观测器,并结合多胞体理论,提出了一种对可测输出的区间估计方法。之后,基于可测输出的区间估计,提出了一种残差的构造方法,以此提出了一种执行器故障检测新方法。最后,给出了仿真设计和分析,验证了方法的有效性。     

考虑水-力耦合和不同应力路径的砂岩卸荷力学特性试验

为研究不同渗透压力条件下的岩石卸荷力学特性,选取砂岩为研究对象,开展了不同渗透压力和不同应力路径下的三轴卸荷试验,并与常规三轴试验进行对比,比较了不同应力路径下的岩石强度特性,分析了渗透压力对岩石变形和强度参数的影响。试验结果表明：渗透压力的增大会弱化岩石强度,岩石的峰值强度随渗透压力的增大而降低,而轴向变形随渗透压力增大而增加,渗透压力越大,岩石的压密段特征越明显;针对两种不同的卸荷应力路径,恒轴压卸围压路径条件下,岩石的黏聚力不断降低,内摩擦角不断增加,而加轴压卸围压路径条件下,岩石的黏聚力不断增加,内摩擦角逐渐降低。     

土坯力学性能及受压本构模型研究

为获取传统土坯受压应力-应变特性,确定其数学表达式,针对湿制法和干打法制作的土坯开展了单轴抗压试验和三点抗折试验。分别从抗压、抗折强度、破坏机理以及应力-应变关系等方面分析了两类土坯的力学性能。结果表明,普通砌墙砖的抗压及抗折试验方法均适用于传统土坯,干打土坯的抗压强度为湿制土坯的3倍,抗折强度为湿制土坯的1.3倍,但湿制土坯的断裂能为干打土坯的2.5倍。受压初期,干打土坯的应力-应变曲线存在因土料压密而导致的下凹段,而湿制土坯未表现出该特性。基于两类土坯单轴受压状态下的应力-应变曲线特征,提出了土坯单轴受压本构模型,该本构模型与试验数据吻合较好,可用于土坯砌体结构的数值模拟研究。