Signaling membranes

O. Venard. Eddy current tomography a bayesian approach with a compound weak membrane-beta prior model. In Advances in Signal Processing for Non Destructive Evaluation of Materials, 1997. 

Selectivity of Membranes Membrane potentials result from a chemical interaction between the analyte and active sites on the membrane s surface. Because the signal depends on a chemical process, most membranes are not selective toward... 

Most potentiometric electrodes are selective for only the free, uncomplexed analyte and do not respond to complexed forms of the analyte. Solution conditions, therefore, must be carefully controlled if the purpose of the analysis is to determine the analyte s total concentration. On the other hand, this selectivity provides a significant advantage over other quantitative methods of analysis when it is necessary to determine the concentration of free ions. For example, calcium is present in urine both as free Ca + ions and as protein-bound Ca + ions. If a urine sample is analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy, the signal is proportional to the total concentration of Ca +, since both free and bound calcium are atomized. Analysis with a Ca + ISE, however, gives a signal that is a function of only free Ca + ions since the protein-bound ions cannot interact with the electrode s membrane. 

Fig. 1. The GP Ib-IX-V complex. The complex consists of seven transmembrane polypeptides denoted GP Iba (mol wt 145,000), GP IbP (mol wt 24,000), GPIX (mol wt 17,000) and GP V (mol wt 82,000), in a stoichiometry of 2 2 2 1. The hatched region represents the plasma membrane. The area above the hatched region represents the extracellular space that below represents the cytoplasm. The complex is a major attachment site between the plasma membrane and the cytoskeleton. Two molecules associated with the cytoplasmic domain are depicted a 14-3-3 dimer, which may mediate intracellular signaling, and actin-binding protein, which connects the complex to the cortical cytoskeleton and fixes its position and influences its function.

Dmg receptors are chemical entities which are typically, but not exclusively, small molecules that interact with cellular components, frequently at the plasma membrane level (1,2). There are many types of receptors heat, light, immune, hormone, ion channel, toxin, and vims are but a few that can excite a cell. The receptor concept can be appHed generally to signal recognition processes where a chemical or physical signal is recognized. This recognition is translated into response (Fig. 3) and the process can be seen as a flow of information. 

Biochemically, most quaternary ammonium compounds function as receptor-specific mediators. Because of their hydrophilic nature, small molecule quaternaries caimot penetrate the alkyl region of bdayer membranes and must activate receptors located at the cell surface. Quaternary ammonium compounds also function biochemically as messengers, which are generated at the inner surface of a plasma membrane or in a cytoplasm in response to a signal. They may also be transferred through the membrane by an active transport system. 

The influx of Ca(Il) across the presynaptic membrane is essential for nerve signal transmission involving excitation by acetylcholine (26). Calcium is important in transducing regulatory signals across many membranes and is an important secondary messenger hormone. The increase in intracellular Ca(Il) levels can result from either active transport of Ca(Il) across the membrane via an import channel or by release of Ca(Il) from reticulum stores within the cell. More than 30 different proteins have been linked to regulation by the calcium complex with calmoduhn (27,28). 

The primary reference method used for measuring carbon monoxide in the United States is based on nondispersive infrared (NDIR) photometry (1, 2). The principle involved is the preferential absorption of infrared radiation by carbon monoxide. Figure 14-1 is a schematic representation of an NDIR analyzer. The analyzer has a hot filament source of infrared radiation, a chopper, a sample cell, reference cell, and a detector. The reference cell is filled with a non-infrared-absorbing gas, and the sample cell is continuously flushed with ambient air containing an unknown amount of CO. The detector cell is divided into two compartments by a flexible membrane, with each compartment filled with CO. Movement of the membrane causes a change in electrical capacitance in a control circuit whose signal is processed and fed to a recorder. 

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