Search results for "Patch"
showing 10 items of 337 documents
Seismic stratigraphy of upper Quaternary shallow-water contourite drifts in the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea, southern Italy)
2018
Abstract The occurrence of articulated seafloor morphology over continental shelf-upper slope environments, may result in a significant change in the patterns and intensity of basin-scale thermohaline circulation during eustatic sea-level fluctuations. These changes may cause, in turn, erosion, deposition and/or transport of sediments at the seafloor, to form shallow-water contourite drifts. Here we investigate this process in the NW sector of the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea) during and following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), by integrating multibeam bathymetric data, ultra-high resolution seismic-reflection data and gravity core data. Sea level fall caused subaerial exposure of the summi…
Properties and roles of BKCa channels in cultured cerebellar granule neuron: Experimental and simulation studies
2006
We studied the properties and roles of large-conductance calcium-sensitive potassium channels (BK"C"a) in cultured rat cerebellar granule neurons. In intact cells these channels had chord conductances of 130-200pS. The conductance, threshold for channel activation and the mean open time and open probability depend on the age of cells. In computer simulations the elimination of BK"C"a channel decreases the maximum and minimum peak values of an action potential, causes reduced hyperpolarization and increases firing frequency. The observed alterations may be linked to the complexity of granule neuron excitability during maturation and provide new insight into modeling the developmental changes…
Role of NO-synthases and cyclooxygenases in the hyperreactivity of male rabbit carotid artery to testosterone under experimental diabetes.
2009
Abstract Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients, which in turn is also associated with low levels of serum testosterone. The working hypothesis was that diabetes might modify the mechanisms involved in the vascular actions of testosterone in isolated rabbit carotid arteries. Testosterone (10 −8 –3 × 10 −4 M) induced a concentration-dependent relaxation of precontracted carotid arteries, which was higher in diabetic than in control rabbits. In control rabbits neither endothelium removal nor the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor N G -nitro- l -arginine ( l -NOArg, 10 −5 M) modified the relaxant action of testosterone, and the cyclooxyge…
Mechanisms involved in the relaxant action of testosterone in the renal artery from male normoglycemic and diabetic rabbits.
2009
Kidney disease is a frequent complication in diabetes, and significant differences have been reported between male and female patients. Our working hypothesis was that diabetes might modify the vascular actions of testosterone in isolated rabbit renal arteries and the mechanisms involved in these actions. Testosterone (10(-8) to 10(-4)M) induced relaxation of precontracted arteries, without significant differences between control and diabetic rabbits. Both in control and diabetic rabbits endothelium removal inhibited testosterone relaxant action. In arteries with endothelium, incubation with indomethacin (10(-5)M), N(G)-nitro-l-arginine (10(-5)M) or tetraethylammonium (10(-5)M) did not modi…
Transient BK outward current enhances motoneurone firing rates duringDrosophilalarval locomotion
2015
Key points We combine in situ electrophysiology with genetic manipulation in Drosophila larvae aiming to investigate the role of fast calcium-activated potassium currents for motoneurone firing patterns during locomotion. We first demonstrate that slowpoke channels underlie fast calcium-activated potassium currents in these motoneurones. By conducting recordings in semi-intact animals that produce crawling-like movements, we show that slowpoke channels are required specifically in motoneurones for maximum firing rates during locomotion. Such enhancement of maximum firing rates occurs because slowpoke channels prevent depolarization block by limiting the amplitude of motoneurone depolarizati…
Human T cells in silico: Modelling their electrophysiological behaviour in health and disease
2016
Although various types of ion channels are known to have an impact on human T cell effector functions, their exact mechanisms of influence are still poorly understood. The patch clamp technique is a well-established method for the investigation of ion channels in neurons and T cells. However, small cell sizes and limited selectivity of pharmacological blockers restrict the value of this experimental approach. Building a realistic T cell computer model therefore can help to overcome these kinds of limitations as well as reduce the overall experimental effort. The computer model introduced here was fed off ion channel parameters from literature and new experimental data. It is capable of simu…
Influence of compliance for an elastokinematic model of a proposed rear suspension
2014
The research is carried out to improve passenger’s comfort to increase the vehicles stability in dynamic conditions. The literature available in the automotive engineering considers different topics for studying suspensions. An example represents mechanisms structure and analysis (synthesis, kinematics, and dynamics) under various operating conditions. These aspects have been approached before analytically, numerical. The current paper studies the influence of the lateral force on the contact patch of the wheel and the corresponding variations of vehicle stability parameters, such as camber angle and wheel rear track. The study is performed for a newer innovative rear suspensions mechanism …
Neocortical Layer 6B as a Remnant of the Subplate - A Morphological Comparison.
2015
The fate of the subplate (SP) is still a matter of debate. The SP and layer 6 (which is ontogenetically the oldest and innermost neocortical lamina) develop coincidentally. Yet, the function of sublamina 6B is largely unknown. It has been suggested that it consists partly of neurons from the transient SP, however, experimental evidence for this hypothesis is still missing. To obtain first insights into the neuronal complement of layer 6B in the somatosensory rat barrel cortex, we used biocytin stainings of SP neurons (aged 0-4 postnatal days, PND) and layer 6B neurons (PND 11-35) obtained during in vitro whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Neurons were reconstructed for a quantitative charac…
Lineage-reprogramming of Pericyte-derived Cells of the Adult Human Brain into Induced Neurons
2014
Direct lineage-reprogramming of non-neuronal cells into induced neurons (iNs) may provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying neurogenesis and enable new strategies for in vitro modeling or repairing the diseased brain. Identifying brain-resident non-neuronal cell types amenable to direct conversion into iNs might allow for launching such an approach in situ, i.e. within the damaged brain tissue. Here we describe a protocol developed in the attempt of identifying cells derived from the adult human brain that fulfill this premise. This protocol involves: (1) the culturing of human cells from the cerebral cortex obtained from adult human brain biopsies; (2) the in vitro expansio…
Purkinje cell loss and motor coordination defects in profilin1 mutant mice.
2012
Profilin1 is an actin monomer-binding protein, essential for cytoskeletal dynamics. Based on its broad expression in the brain and the localization at excitatory synapses (hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse, cerebellar parallel fiber (PF)-Purkinje cell (PC) synapse), an important role for profilin1 in brain development and synapse physiology has been postulated. We recently showed normal physiology of hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses in the absence of profilin1, but impaired glial cell binding and radial migration of cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs). Consequently, brain-specific inactivation of profilin1 by exploiting conditional mutants and Nestin-mediated cre expression resulted in a cerebellar hyp…