Search results for "clam"
showing 10 items of 454 documents
Sulle tracce di Ovidio epico? Contese tra padri e figli in Ps. Quint. decl. 258
2018
In the Minor Declamation 258 it is possible to notice some echoes of the Armorum iudicium of Ov. met. xiii 1-383, an episode whose success in Greece and Rome dates back to the Cyclic poems. Porcius Latro, the famous rhetorician and teacher of Ovid, chose this subject for one of his declamations and provided his pupil with a model: in fact, as showed by Sen. contr. ii 2, 8, the poet borrowed from the rhetor some literal expressions. We can also remember Sen. contr. x and Calp. decl. 21, two of the most important texts where the motifs of family disputes and reward for viri fortes are re-elaborated, in different ages. Therefore, the Minor declamation 258 is one of these interesting adaptation…
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Phenanthrene and Retene Modify the Action Potential via Multiple Ion Currents in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss C…
2019
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous contaminants in aqueous environments. They affect cardiovascular development and function in fishes. The 3-ring PAH phenanthrene has recently been shown to impair cardiac excitation-contraction coupling by inhibiting Ca2+ and K+ currents in marine warm-water scombrid fishes. To see if similar events take place in a boreal freshwater fish, we studied whether the PAHs phenanthrene and retene (an alkylated phenanthrene) modify the action potential (AP) via effects on Na+ (INa ), Ca2+ (ICaL ), or K+ (IKr , IK1 ) currents in the ventricular myocytes of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) heart. Electrophysiological characteristics of myo…
A molecular approach to remove lead from drinking water
2005
Abstract Corrosion of lead-containing plumbings is responsible for significant contamination of tap water, which can reach several hundreds of micrograms per liter. According to a decision of the European Council applicable in 2013, the maximal lead level in tap water should not exceed 10 μg l −1 . A new concept has been explored that relies on solid-phase extraction by covalent attachment of a lead-selective macrocyclic sequestering agent onto the surface of silica gel. An N -carbamoylmethyl substituted 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (cyclam) derivative was shown to exhibit favorable protonation properties together with an almost 10 6 -fold selectivity for lead over calcium. Structural …
Capsaicin differentially modulates voltage-activated calcium channel currents in dorsal root ganglion neurones of rats
2005
It is discussed whether capsaicin, an agonist of the pain mediating TRPV1 receptor, decreases or increases voltage-activated calcium channel (VACC) currents (ICa(V)). ICa(V) were isolated in cultured dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurones of rats using the whole cell patch clamp method and Ba 2+ as charge carrier. In large diameter neurones (>35Am), a concentration of 50AM was needed to reduce ICa(V) (activated by depolarizations to 0 mV) by 80%, while in small diameter neurones (30Am), the IC50 was 0.36 AM. This effect was concentration dependent with a threshold below 0.025 AM and maximal blockade (>80%) at 5AM. The current–voltage relation was shifted to the hyperpolarized direction with an…
Alterations in membrane and firing properties of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons following focal laser lesions in rat visual cortex.
2013
Focal cortical injuries are well known to cause changes in function and excitability of the surviving cortical areas but the cellular correlates of these physiological alterations are not fully understood. In the present study we employed a well established ex vivo-in vitro model of focal laser lesions in the rat visual cortex and we studied membrane and firing properties of the surviving layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons. Patch-clamp recordings, performed in the first week post-injury, revealed an increased input resistance, a depolarized spike threshold as well as alterations in the firing pattern of neurons in the cortex ipsilateral to the lesion. Notably, the reported lesion-induced alteratio…
Modelling the spatial and temporal constrains of the GABAergic influence on neuronal excitability
2021
GABA (γ-amino butyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult brain that can mediate depolarizing responses during development or after neuropathological insults. Under which conditions GABAergic membrane depolarizations are sufficient to impose excitatory effects is hard to predict, as shunting inhibition and GABAergic effects on spatiotemporal filtering of excitatory inputs must be considered. To evaluate at which reversal potential a net excitatory effect was imposed by GABA (EGABAThr), we performed a detailed in-silico study using simple neuronal topologies and distinct spatiotemporal relations between GABAergic and glutamatergic inputs. These simulations revealed for GABAe…
GABA-A Receptors Regulate Neocortical Neuronal Migration In Vitro and In Vivo
2006
The cortical migration process depends on a number of trophic factors and on the activation of different voltage- and ligand-gated channels. We investigated the role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptors in the neuronal migration process of the newborn rat parietal cortex in vivo and in vitro. Local in vivo application of the GABA-A antagonist bicuculline methiodide (BMI) or the agonist muscimol via cortical surface Elvax implants induced prominent alterations in the cortical architecture when compared with untreated or sham-operated controls. BMI- and muscimol-treated animals revealed heterotopic cell clusters in the upper layers and a complete loss of the cortical lamination …
Postsynaptic NO/cGMP Increases NMDA Receptor Currents via Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels in the Hippocampus
2013
The nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signaling cascade participates in the modulation of synaptic transmission. The effects of NO are mediated by the NO-sensitive cGMP-forming guanylyl cyclases (NO-GCs), which exist in 2 isoforms with indistinguishable regulatory properties. The lack of long-term potentiation (LTP) in knock-out (KO) mice deficient in either one of the NO-GC isoforms indicates the contribution of both NO-GCs to LTP. Recently, we showed that the NO-GC1 isoform is located presynaptically in glutamatergic neurons and increases the glutamate release via hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide (HCN)-gated channels in the hippocampus. Electrophysiologi…
Synaptopodin regulates denervation-induced homeostatic synaptic plasticity
2013
Synaptopodin (SP) is a marker and essential component of the spine apparatus (SA), an enigmatic cellular organelle composed of stacked smooth endoplasmic reticulum that has been linked to synaptic plasticity. However, SP/SA-mediated synaptic plasticity remains incompletely understood. To study the role of SP/SA in homeostatic synaptic plasticity we here used denervation-induced synaptic scaling of mouse dentate granule cells as a model system. This form of plasticity is of considerable interest in the context of neurological diseases that are associated with the loss of neurons and subsequent denervation of connected brain regions. In entorhino-hippocampal slice cultures prepared from SP-de…
The expression level of the orphan nuclear receptor GCNF (germ cell nuclear factor) is critical for neuronal differentiation.
2004
The germ cell nuclear factor (GCNF) is essential for normal embryonic development and gametogenesis. To test the prediction that GCNF is additionally required for neuronal differentiation, we used the mouse embryonal carcinoma cell line PCC7-Mz1, which represents an advantageous model to study neuronal cells from the stage of fate choice until the acquirement of functional competence. We generated stable transfectants that express gcnf sense or antisense RNA under the control of a tetracycline-regulated promoter. After retinoic acid-induced withdrawal from the cell cycle, sense clones developed a neuron network with changed properties, and the time course of neuron maturation was shortened.…