AIMS To compare non-gated vs. electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated 64-detector-row computed tomography (MDCT) of the left atrium (LA) for integrated electroanatomic mapping (EAM) in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS Twenty-nine consecutive patients with paroxysmal AF underwent MDCT prior to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). All patients were in sinus rhythm both du...

The horizontal cell is a second-order retinal neuron that is depolarized in the dark and responds to light with graded potential changes. In such a nonspiking neuron, not only the voltage-gated ionic conductances but also Ca(2+) regulation mechanisms, e.g., the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchange and the Ca(2+) pump, are considered to play important roles in generating the voltage responses. To elucidate how...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate predictor variables at the moment of normal stress-rest myocardial perfusion gated SPECT for indication of a second gated SPECT. MATERIAL AND METHODS A prospective, single center cohort study was conducted. We evaluated 2326 consecutive patients (age 63.6 ± 13 years, 57.3% females) without perfusion defects and with normal left ventricu...

Ionic channel activity is involved in fundamental cellular behaviour and participates in cancerous features such as proliferation, migration and invasion which in turn contribute to the metastatic process. In this study, we investigated the expression and role of voltage-gated sodium channels in non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines. Functional voltage-gated sodium channels expression was inves...

Prokaryotic channels, such as Erwinia chrysanthemi ligand-gated ion channel (ELIC) and Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel, give key structural information for the pentameric ligand-gated ion channel family, which includes nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. ELIC, a cationic channel from E. chrysanthemi, is particularly suitable for single-channel recording because of its high conduct...

We developed an in situ model to investigate the hypothesis that AMPA/kainate (AMPA/KA) receptor activation contributes to hypoxic-ischemic white matter injury in the adult brain. Acute coronal brain slices, including corpus callosum, were prepared from adult mice. After exposure to transient oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD), white matter injury was assessed by electrophysiology and immunof...

Several human diseases, including hypokalemic periodic paralysis and Timothy syndrome, are caused by mutations in voltage-gated calcium channels. The effects of these mutations are not always well understood, partially because of difficulties in expressing these channels in heterologous systems. The use of Caenorhabditis elegans could be an alternative approach to determine the effects of mutat...

•Guanosine quadruplex hydrogels were modified with ligand 1 enabling Eu(III) binding •Two of the gels both exceptionally stable and partially self-healable •Eu(III)-centered circularly polarized luminescence was observed for one hydrogel •The helical nature guanosine quadruplexes influenced Eu(III)-centered CPL The formation bio-inspired healable lanthanide luminescent is detailed. These materi...

A forward genetic screen of mice treated with the mutagen ENU identified a mutant mouse with chronic motor incoordination. This mutant, named Pingu (Pgu), carries a missense mutation, an I402T substitution in the S6 segment of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kcna2. The gene Kcna2 encodes the voltage-gated potassium channel α-subunit Kv1.2, which is abundantly expressed in the large axon ter...

Neuropeptides released from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons play essential roles in the neurotransmission of sensory inputs, including those underlying nociception and pathological pain. Neuropeptides are released from intracellular vesicles through two modes: a partial release mode called "kiss-and-run" (KAR) and a full release mode called "full fusion-like" (FFL). Using total internal refl...