Cytosolic ion exchange dynamics: insights into the mechanisms of component ion fluxes and their measurement

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dev T. Britto ◽  
Herbert J. Kronzucker

The quantification of cellular pool sizes of ions is essential for the understanding of the energetics of metabolic and membrane transport processes. No less important is the quantification of ion fluxes into, out of, and within cells. Of the variety of analytical methods available, only one, compartmental analysis by tracer efflux (CATE), can be used to simultaneously determine subcellular ion pool sizes and resolve ion fluxes. Thus, this methodology can be used to provide steady-state isotherms for major flux processes not amenable to direct measurement, such as effluxes or xylem fluxes, and to develop hypotheses about mechanisms underlying them. The exchange half-time for an ion in a cellular compartment emerges as a key CATE parameter that relates pool sizes with fluxes, and is a term that can be used to estimate errors in a wide range of findings in plant ion relations, and verify their plausibility. Case studies involving the flux and compartmentation of Ca2+, K+, and inorganic N are presented.

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio J. Bula ◽  
Muhammad M. Rahman ◽  
John E. Leland

Abstract Transient conjugate heat transfer process during axial free jet impingement on a solid disk of finite thickness was considered. As the fluid reached steady state, power was turned on and a uniform heat flux was imposed on the disk at its opposite surface. The numerical model considered both solid and fluid regions. Equations for conservation of mass, momentum, and energy were solved in the liquid region taking into account the transport processes at the inlet and exit boundaries, as well as at the solid-liquid and liquid-gas interfaces. Inside the solid, only the heat conduction equation was solved. The shape and location of the free surface (liquid-gas interface) was determined iteratively as a part of the solution process by satisfying the kinematic condition as well as the balance of normal and shear forces at this interface. A non-uniform grid distribution, captured from a systematic grid-independence study, was used to adequately accommodate large variations near the solid-fluid interface. Computed results include the simulation of six different substrate materials namely, aluminum, constantan, copper, diamond, silicon, and silver, and three different impinging liquids, FC - 77, Mil - 7808, and water. The solids and fluids selected covered a wide range of possibilities of conjugate heat transfer phenomena. The analysis performed showed that the thermal storage capacity, defined as density times specific heat, is an important factor defining which material will attain steady state faster during conjugate heat transfer process, like the thermal diffusivity does it for pure conduction heat transfer.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (3) ◽  
pp. G475-G487
Author(s):  
M. L. Fidelman ◽  
S. Mierson

A network thermodynamic model was developed to describe steady-state and transient ion flows (Na+, K+, and Cl-) and related electrical events in the rat lingual epithelium. The model, which uses only standard assumptions about topology and membrane ion transport processes from other tight epithelia, successfully simulates steady-state transepithelial electrical measurements seen in the in vitro rat dorsal lingual epithelium for a wide range (50-2,000 mM) of mucosal NaCl concentrations. It also simulates the intracellular depolarization and subsequent repolarization observed in situ in rat taste cells in response to a mucosal hyperosmotic NaCl stimulus. Because the intracellular potential has been identified with the receptor potential for gustation, the depolarization and repolarization may explain both the phasic and tonic components of taste nerve excitation in response to a salt stimulus. This study suggests that a better understanding of taste transduction may be gained by focusing more attention on the transport properties and mechanisms of lingual epithelia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 435-448
Author(s):  
Priyanka Biswas ◽  
Dillip K. Sahu ◽  
Kalyanasis Sahu ◽  
Rajat Banerjee

Background: Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases play an important role in catalyzing the first step in protein synthesis by attaching the appropriate amino acid to its cognate tRNA which then transported to the growing polypeptide chain. Asparaginyl-tRNA Synthetase (AsnRS) from Brugia malayi, Leishmania major, Thermus thermophilus, Trypanosoma brucei have been shown to play an important role in survival and pathogenesis. Entamoeba histolytica (Ehis) is an anaerobic eukaryotic pathogen that infects the large intestines of humans. It is a major cause of dysentery and has the potential to cause life-threatening abscesses in the liver and other organs making it the second leading cause of parasitic death after malaria. Ehis-AsnRS has not been studied in detail, except the crystal structure determined at 3 Å resolution showing that it is primarily α-helical and dimeric. It is a homodimer, with each 52 kDa monomer consisting of 451 amino acids. It has a relatively short N-terminal as compared to its human and yeast counterparts. Objective: Our study focusses to understand certain structural characteristics of Ehis-AsnRS using biophysical tools to decipher the thermodynamics of unfolding and its binding properties. Methods: Ehis-AsnRS was cloned and expressed in E. coli BL21DE3 cells. Protein purification was performed using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, following which the protein was used for biophysical studies. Various techniques such as steady-state fluorescence, quenching, circular dichroism, differential scanning fluorimetry, isothermal calorimetry and fluorescence lifetime studies were employed for the conformational characterization of Ehis-AsnRS. Protein concentration for far-UV and near-UV circular dichroism experiments was 8 µM and 20 µM respectively, while 4 µM protein was used for the rest of the experiments. Results: The present study revealed that Ehis-AsnRS undergoes unfolding when subjected to increasing concentration of GdnHCl and the process is reversible. With increasing temperature, it retains its structural compactness up to 45ºC before it unfolds. Steady-state fluorescence, circular dichroism and hydrophobic dye binding experiments cumulatively suggest that Ehis-AsnRS undergoes a two-state transition during unfolding. Shifting of the transition mid-point with increasing protein concentration further illustrate that dissociation and unfolding processes are coupled indicating the absence of any detectable folded monomer. Conclusion: This article indicates that GdnHCl induced denaturation of Ehis-AsnRS is a two – state process and does not involve any intermediate; unfolding occurs directly from native dimer to unfolded monomer. The solvent exposure of the tryptophan residues is biphasic, indicating selective quenching. Ehis-AsnRS also exhibits a structural as well as functional stability over a wide range of pH.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3854
Author(s):  
Salvatore Musumeci ◽  
Luigi Solimene ◽  
Carlo Stefano Ragusa

In this paper, we propose a method for the identification of the differential inductance of saturable ferrite inductors adopted in DC–DC converters, considering the influence of the operating temperature. The inductor temperature rise is caused mainly by its losses, neglecting the heating contribution by the other components forming the converter layout. When the ohmic losses caused by the average current represent the principal portion of the inductor power losses, the steady-state temperature of the component can be related to the average current value. Under this assumption, usual for saturable inductors in DC–DC converters, the presented experimental setup and characterization method allow identifying a DC thermal steady-state differential inductance profile of a ferrite inductor. The curve is obtained from experimental measurements of the inductor voltage and current waveforms, at different average current values, that lead the component to operate from the linear region of the magnetization curve up to the saturation. The obtained inductance profile can be adopted to simulate the current waveform of a saturable inductor in a DC–DC converter, providing accurate results under a wide range of switching frequency, input voltage, duty cycle, and output current values.


Author(s):  
Yan Chen ◽  
Ward Whitt

In order to understand queueing performance given only partial information about the model, we propose determining intervals of likely values of performance measures given that limited information. We illustrate this approach for the mean steady-state waiting time in the $GI/GI/K$ queue. We start by specifying the first two moments of the interarrival-time and service-time distributions, and then consider additional information about these underlying distributions, in particular, a third moment and a Laplace transform value. As a theoretical basis, we apply extremal models yielding tight upper and lower bounds on the asymptotic decay rate of the steady-state waiting-time tail probability. We illustrate by constructing the theoretically justified intervals of values for the decay rate and the associated heuristically determined interval of values for the mean waiting times. Without extra information, the extremal models involve two-point distributions, which yield a wide range for the mean. Adding constraints on the third moment and a transform value produces three-point extremal distributions, which significantly reduce the range, producing practical levels of accuracy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (4) ◽  
pp. 4605-4612
Author(s):  
T Giang Nguyen ◽  
Nicolas B Cowan ◽  
Agnibha Banerjee ◽  
John E Moores

ABSTRACT Transit searches have uncovered Earth-size planets orbiting so close to their host star that their surface should be molten, so-called lava planets. We present idealized simulations of the atmosphere of lava planet K2-141b and calculate the return flow of material via circulation in the magma ocean. We then compare how pure Na, SiO, or SiO2 atmospheres would impact future observations. The more volatile Na atmosphere is thickest followed by SiO and SiO2, as expected. Despite its low vapour pressure, we find that a SiO2 atmosphere is easier to observe via transit spectroscopy due to its greater scale height near the day–night terminator and the planetary radial velocity and acceleration are very high, facilitating high dispersion spectroscopy. The special geometry that arises from very small orbits allows for a wide range of limb observations for K2-141b. After determining the magma ocean depth, we infer that the ocean circulation required for SiO steady-state flow is only 10−4 m s−1, while the equivalent return flow for Na is several orders of magnitude greater. This suggests that a steady-state Na atmosphere cannot be sustained and that the surface will evolve over time.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Matthew Rosebraugh ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Melina Neenan ◽  
Maurizio F. Facheris

Background: Foslevodopa/foscarbidopa, formerly known as ABBV-951, is a formulation of levodopa/carbidopa prodrugs with solubility that allows for subcutaneous (SC) infusion and is in development for the treatment of motor complications for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (aPD). Objective: The current work characterizes the levodopa (LD) and carbidopa (CD) pharmacokinetics (PK) following SC infusions of foslevodopa/foscarbidopa delivered at four different infusion rates in PD patients. Methods: This was a Phase 1, single ascending dose, single-blind study conducted in 28 adult male and female subjects at seven sites in the United States. Foslevodopa/foscarbidopa was administered via abdominal SC infusion in PD patients over 72 hours. Patients were stratified in 4 groups and received a fixed dose of foslevodopa/foscarbidopa based on their oral daily LD intake. Serial plasma PK samples were collected to assay for LD and CD concentrations. Safety and tolerability were assessed throughout the study. Results: LD exposure quickly reached steady state and remained stable with minimal fluctuations. Foslevodopa/foscarbidopa infusion provides stable LD and CD exposures compared to oral LD/CD dosing with the average steady-state exposure ranging from 747-4660 ng/mL for the different groups. Conclusion: Foslevodopa/foscarbidopa was able to provide stable LD and CD exposures in PD patients over 72 hours via SC route of delivery with very low fluctuation in LD concentration level across a wide range of clinically relevant exposures. Foslevodopa/foscarbidopa had a favorable safety profile. The low PK fluctuation following foslevodopa/foscarbidopa infusion is expected to maintain LD exposure to treat aPD patients within a narrow therapeutic window.


Author(s):  
Bin Wang ◽  
Haocen Zhao ◽  
Ling Yu ◽  
Zhifeng Ye

It is usual that fuel system of an aero-engine operates within a wide range of temperatures. As a result, this can have effect on both the characteristics and precision of fuel metering unit (FMU), even on the performance and safety of the whole engine. This paper provides theoretical analysis of the effect that fluctuation of fuel temperature has on the controllability of FMU and clarifies the drawbacks of the pure mathematical models considering fuel temperature variation for FMU. Taking the electrohydraulic servovalve-controlled FMU as the numerical study, simulation in AMESim is carried out by thermal hydraulic model under the temperatures ranged from −10 to 60 °C to confirm the effectiveness and precision of the model on the basis of steady-state and dynamic characteristics of FMU. Meanwhile, the FMU testing workbench with temperature adjustment device employing the fuel cooler and heater is established to conduct an experiment of the fuel temperature characteristics. Results show that the experiment matches well with the simulation with a relative error no more than 5% and that 0–50 °C fuel temperature variation produces up to 5.2% decrease in fuel rate. In addition, step response increases with the fuel temperature. Fuel temperature has no virtual impact on the steady-state and dynamic characteristics of FMU under the testing condition in this paper, implying that FMU can operate normally in the given temperature range.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (18) ◽  
pp. 2989-3006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wlodzimierz Czyczula ◽  
Piotr Koziol ◽  
Dariusz Kudla ◽  
Sergiusz Lisowski

In the literature, typical analytical track response models are composed of beams (which represent the rail) on viscoelastic or elastic foundations. The load is usually considered as a single concentrated force (constant or varying in time) moving with constant speed. Concentrated or distributed loads or multilayer track models have rarely been considered. One can find some interesting results concerning analysis of distributed loads and multilayer track structures that include both analytical and numerical approaches. However, there is a noticeable lack of sufficient comparison between track responses under concentrated or distributed load and between one and multilayer track models. One of the unique features of the present paper is a comparison of data obtained for a series of concentrated and distributed loads, which takes into account a wide range of track parameters and train speeds. One of the fundamental questions associated with the multilayer track model is the level of coupling between the rail and the vibrations of the sleepers. In this paper, it is proved that sleepers are weakly coupled with the rail if the track is without significant imperfections, and the steady-state response is analyzed for this case. In other words, sleeper vibrations do not influence the rail vibrations significantly. Therefore the track is analyzed by means of a two-stage model. The first step of this model determines rail vibration under a moving load, and then the sleeper vibration is calculated from previously obtained kinematic excitation. The model is verified by comparison of the obtained results with experimental data. Techniques based on Fourier series are applied to the solution of the steady-state track response. Another important problem associated with track response under moving loads arises from the analysis of the effect of longitudinal forces in rails on vertical displacement. It is shown that, in the case of the steady-state response, longitudinal forces do not influence rail displacements significantly and this observation remains correct for a wide range of track parameters and train speeds. The paper also analyzes the legitimacy of the statement that additional rail deflection between sleepers, compared to the continuous rail support, can be considered as a track imperfection.


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