Search results for "PLASMA"

The inhibitory neural circuitry as target of antiepileptic drugs.

2001

Impairments and defects in the inhibitory neurotransmission in the CNS can contribute to various seizure disorders, i.e., gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine as the main inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain play a crucial role in some forms of epilepsy. Recent advances in deciphering the molecular basis of the GABAergic and glycinergic systems has been achieved by means of cloning techniques and gene targeting strategies in animals, contributing to the understanding of drug action. As well, several anticonvulsive substances emerged which target key molecules of the inhibitory systems. Employment of recombinant expression systems, including, but not restricted to the inhibitory c…

GABA transporters control GABAergic neurotransmission in the mouse subplate.

2015

The subplate is a transient layer between the cortical plate and intermediate zone in the developing cortex. Thalamo-cortical axons form temporary synapses on subplate neurons (SPns) before invading the cortical plate. Neuronal activity within the subplate is of critical importance for the development of neocortical circuits and architecture. Although both glutamatergic and GABAergic inputs on SPns were reported, short-term plasticity of GABAergic transmission has not been investigated yet. GABAergic postsynaptic currents (GPSCs) were recorded from SPns in coronal neocortical slices prepared from postnatal day 3-4 mice using whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Evoked GPSCs (eGPSCs) elicited b…

Effects of GABA-transporter (GAT) inhibitors on rat behaviour in open-field and elevated plus-maze.

1999

The behavioural consequences of inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake were studied. Two GABA uptake inhibitors, tiagabine and SKF 89976-A, were administered to rats, and behaviour was analysed 30 min later in a standard open field, an enriched open field, and an elevated plus-maze. Eight groups of animals received either saline (0.9%), tiagabine, or SKF 89976-A. At a dose of 18.5 mg/kg, tiagabine, an established antiseizure drug, impaired motor coordination, enhanced exploratory activity and reduced anxiety related behaviour. SKF 89976-A exhibited minimal effects over the dose range tested. These results indicate that inhibition of GABA uptake might be a pharmacological strate…

STRATEGIE PER IL MIGLIORAMENTO DELLA PRODUZIONE E LO SVILUPPO DI MOLECOLE AD ATTIVITÀ ANTIBIOTICA DI ORIGINE NATURALE O DI SINTESI CHIMICA

The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains is an urgent problem derived from the widespread and uncontrolled use of antibiotics. Therefore, new arrays of lead compounds exerting antimicrobial activity are necessary to contrast the spreading of MDR pathogens. Between 1980 and 2003, the interest in scientific research programs aimed to the new drug discovery by large pharmaceutical companies progressively decreased due to increasing costs in the respect of i) the low discovery rate of new leads, ii) the small amounts of product recovery needing process optimization and, finally, iii) regulatory obstacles associated with long-lasting pre-clinical and clinical trials for ther…

A study of capillary discharge lamps in Ar–Hg and Xe–Hg mixtures

2011

Low-pressure capillary discharge lamps in Ar–Hg and Xe–Hg mixtures are studied. The discharge size is 0.5 mm (500 µm) in radius. According to the literature, such types of plasma sources are classified as microplasmas. The studies include spectrally resolved optical measurements, tomographic reconstructions and numerical simulations using the collisional–radiative model for an Ar–Hg plasma. We discuss the problems of theoretical modelling and experimental diagnostics of microplasma sources. It is shown that the conventional collisional–radiative model, based on the assumption that transportation of atoms in the highly excited states can be neglected, has limitations in modelling a capillary…

The role of red yeast rice (RYR) supplementation in plasma cholesterol control: A review and expert opinion.

2019

1. Preamble : Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) [1]. Increased levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and many clinical trials have shown that reducing LDL-C levels significantly reduced the CHD and CVD risk [[2], [3], [4], [5]]. Thus LDL-C-lowering is the main approach for the management of cardiovascular disease. Current guidelines suggest LDL-C levels targets based on the individual CV risk; such targets can be achieved by several means, which include both lifestyle changes and pharmacological approaches [6], with statins being the cornerstone …

Prophylaxis In Congenital Factor VII Deficiency, Indications, Efficacy and Safety: Results of the STER

2010

Abstract Abstract 665 Introduction Prophylaxis is considered a difficult endeavour in FVII deficiency, especially because of the very short FVII zymogen and FVIIa half-lives, mainly in childhood. The Seven Treatment Evaluation Registry (STER, www.targetseven.org) is a prospective observational, multi-centre, web-based registry concerned with the evaluation of treatments for spontaneous bleeding episodes, surgery and prophylaxis in patients with FVII deficiency. As regards prophylaxis, STER provides the frame for a structured and detailed data capture aiming at: a) identifying patients in whom prophylaxis is advisable, b) defining clinical settings in which prophylaxis is necessary and c) de…

Teleportation of squeezing: optimization using non-Gaussian resources

2010

We study the continuous-variable quantum teleportation of states, statistical moments of observables, and scale parameters such as squeezing. We investigate the problem both in ideal and imperfect Vaidman-Braunstein-Kimble protocol setups. We show how the teleportation fidelity is maximized and the difference between output and input variances is minimized by using suitably optimized entangled resources. Specifically, we consider the teleportation of coherent squeezed states, exploiting squeezed Bell states as entangled resources. This class of non-Gaussian states includes photon-added and photon-subtracted squeezed states as special cases. At variance with the case of entangled Gaussian re…

Size characterisation of Au nanoparticles by ICP-MS coupling techniques

2006

In modern nanotechnology the properties of nanoparticles (NPs) in different application fields is mainly dependent on their size and their size distribution. This paper aims to develop a reliable method for the size characterisation of Au NPs. Basing on the combination of two different separation techniques (liquid chromatography and gel electrophoresis), coupled on-line to inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), we study the separation of Au NP standards. Separations by liquid chromatography show size dependent retention behaviour with good reproducibility (RSD < 1%). The results are compared with complementary methods like dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission ele…

On-line coupling of gel electrophoresis and inductively coupled plasma-sector field-mass spectrometry for the determination of dsDNA fragments.

2005

The on-line coupling of gel electrophoresis (GE) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS) is described for the first time. The new method combines the separation power of GE for large biomolecules and the high sensitivity and elemental selectivity of ICPMS. This coupling has been achieved by means of gels housed in glass tubes (length 2.5-20 cm; i.d. 0.5-5 mm). The gel is fixed by glass frits permeable for the analytes. After the electrophoretic separation at voltages up to 500 V, the analytes are transferred to the nebulizer of the ICPMS by an eluent stream, which is separated from the electrode chamber by a membrane. This filter blocks molecules with molecular masses large…