One of the important issues in producing composite materials with natural fibres is the modification of the surface of the fibres to enhance adhesion and interfacial bonding with polymer matrix. In this report, the effect of alkalization on the mechanical properties, thermal stability and surface morphology of banana stem fibres is examined. The results show that treatment with sodium hydroxide...

In the mammalian auditory nerve physiological recordings revealed that the spontaneous discharge rate of single auditory fibres correlates with the diversity of input-output functions which may be important for intensity discrimination (e.g., Sachs and Abbas, 1974, Liberman, 1978; Winter et al., 1990). In this study we determined if the spontaneous discharge rate of auditory nerve fibres in the...

Investigation of the mechanisms of muscle adaptation requires independent control of the regulating factors. The aim of the present study was to develop a serum-free medium to culture mature single muscle fibres of Xenopus laevis. As an example, we used the culture system to study adaptation of twitch and tetanic force characteristics, number of sarcomeres in series and fibre cross-section. Fib...

This study concerns the retinotopic organization of the ganglion cell fibres in the visual system of the frog Xenopus laevis. HRP was used to trace the pathways taken by fibres from discrete retinal positions as they pass from the retina, along the optic nerve and into the chiasma. The ganglion cell fibres in the retina are arranged in fascicles which correspond with their circumferential posit...

Using the filamentous actin marker, FITC-conjugated phalloidin, the major muscle systems of adult male and female schistosomes have been examined. The body wall musculature comprises an outer sheath of circular fibres, within which there is a compact layer of short, spindle-shaped longitudinal fibres and a lattice-like arrangement of inner diagonal fibres. Within the oral sucker and acetabulum ...

1. The photonic-crystal fibres In conventional optical fibres, electromagnetic modes are guided by a phenomenon of total internal reflection on a core-cladding border. The core refractive index is higher than the refractive index of a cladding which is achieved by adequate doping of a central part of the based material [1]. After over 20 years of intense researches on optical fibres, including ...

Although fabrication technologies of Microstructured Optical Fibres (MOFs) fibres have matured at an impressive rate over the past ten years, these fibres are widely perceived as “challenging” and some key issues are still outstanding in order to improve their manufacturability. One such issue revolves around methods to improve structural control during the fibre draw. Structural control is of ...

A dilute solution of procaine in glucose solution was injected by slow drip into the lumbar theca of patients to cause a differential block. Vasodilatation of the skin vessels of the lower limbs always occurred before any change in sensibility. The first changes in sensibility were inability to fell painful stimuli and warm stimuli; these two forms of sensibility were usually coextensive and oc...

In the crayfish and lobster opener neuromuscular preparations of the walking legs and claws, there are regional differences in synaptic transmission even though the entire muscle is innervated by a single excitatory tonic motor neuron. The innervation of the proximal fibres produced larger excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) than those of the central fibres. The amplitudes of the EPSPs i...

Soleus muscle of adult rat is revascularized 5-8 days after sectioning the supplying blood vessels. The temporary ischaemia thus produced results in the rapid concomitant degeneration of extra- and intrafusal muscle fibres along with their nerve terminals and supplying axons. The basal lamina of all muscle fibres usually remains intact throughout the degenerative phase. Necrotic sarcoplasm is r...