Highly efficient photoinduced desorption of N2O and CO from porous silicon.

Photoinduced desorption (PID) of N(2)O and CO from porous silicon (PSi) samples is reported. Both adsorbates exhibit unusually large cross sections for PID at 193 nm, up to 10(-15) cm(2), 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than the literature values for similar processes on flat Si. Under this UV irradiation, N(2)O molecules undergo photodissociation (a competing process leading to surface oxidation) with a cross section that is 2 orders of magnitude smaller than photodesorption.

Effect of glass dissolution on the solution deposition of ZnO films and its exploitation for deposition of Zn silicates.

ZnO is probably the most studied material deposited as films by aqueous solution methods. Both neutral and alkaline solutions are commonly used, and deposition is often carried out in glass vessels. We show that for depositions carried out under alkaline conditions, slow dissolution of the glass by the solution often results in formation of zinc silicates together with the ZnO.

Dynamic beat-to-beat QT-RR relationship during physiotherapy effort in elderly patients without primary heart disease.

The ECGs from 18 patients hospitalized in a rehabilitation setting, following surgery for hip fracture, were examined to characterize the dynamic behavior of uncorrected QT interval in relation to changing RR interval during physiotherapy effort. ECG waveforms were analyzed to extract beat-to-beat QT and RR intervals using a computerized ECG Analyzer (CEA-1100). The method of defining the QT and RR intervals is based on performing multiple cross-correlations that enable rejection of artifacts from the analysis.

Calcium channel blockers inhibit retinal degeneration in the retinal-degeneration-B mutant of Drosophila.

Light accelerates degeneration of photoreceptor cells of the retinal degeneration B (rdgB) mutant of Drosophila. During early stages of degeneration, light stimuli evoke spikes from photoreceptors of the mutant fly; no spikes can be recorded from photoreceptors of the wild-type fly. Production of spike potentials from mutant photoreceptors was blocked by diltiazem, verapamil hydrochloride, and cadmium.

Phorbol ester induces photoreceptor-specific degeneration in a Drosophila mutant.

In the retinal degeneration B (rdgB) mutant of Drosophila, the major class of photoreceptors degenerate when the fly is raised in the light for several days; raising the fly in the dark largely prevents the degeneration. Thus, the rdgB is a conditional mutant that requires the operation of some stages of the phototransduction cascade to express its characteristic phenotype. We report here experiments that examine the ability of chemical agents to mimic light by causing photoreceptor-specific degeneration in the dark.