The aim of the present study is to enhance performance a microbial fuel cell (MFC) design by making simple interventions. Specifically, terracotta “t” and mullite “m” ceramics are tested as membranes while carbon veil cloth used electrodes. In case cylinders different dimensions examined (m: ID 30 mm x height 11.5 mm; sm: 18 mm). units operated continuously with urine feedstock. best performing...

The effect of bassianolide (BASS), a cyclodepsipeptide, was investigated on mechanical response, membrane potential, intracellular Na and K contents and 45Ca uptake in response to acetylcholine (ACh) in guinea-pig taenia coli. BASS (10(-5) M) as well as verapamil (5 X 10(-7) M) and papaverine (3 X 10(-5) M) selectively inhibited the tonic component of the contraction induced by ACh (10(-5) M), ...

We developed a constant-flow perfusion system to measure vascular responses to vasoactive agents applied intraluminally or extraluminally. The intraluminal and extraluminal sides of a cylindrical section of rabbit basilar artery were isolated completely. By loading with 0.75 g of tension, the resting condition of each preparation was made constant. The intraluminal side was perfused at a consta...

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) can cause syncope that is difficult to treat. We have found that 473 mL (16 oz) of water can increase systolic blood pressure (SBP) by > 30 mm Hg in many OH patients (the gastropressor response). OH patients are routinely advised to increase their sodium intake to augment their blood volume. We tested the hypothesis that the ingestion of salt with water would increa...

Rat hepatocytes in primary culture can be stimulated to repli cate under the influence of rat serum and sparse plating condi tions. Higher replication rates are induced by serum from twothirds partially hepatectomized rats (Michalopoulos, G., Cianciulli, H. D., Novotny, A. R., Kligerman, A. D., Strom, S. C., and Jirtle, R. L. Cancer Res., 42: 4673-4682,1982). The effects of carcin ogens and non...

The spores of several Bacillus species, including Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 and B. safensis FO-36b, which were isolated from the spacecraft assembly facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, are unusually resistant to UV radiation and hydrogen peroxide. In order to identify candidate genes that might be associated with these resistances, the whole genome of B. pumilus SAFR-032, and the draf...

Methods Preparation – 12 mice (6 wild-type (WT) and 6 KO) were perfused and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde solution. Acquisition – Ex vivo experiments were performed at 7.0T on a Bruker Avance III console with 600 mT/m maximum gradient strength using a volume/surface cross RF coil. Anatomical T2 weighted images were first acquired as a pilot image to place 7 slices of 0.7 mm in the coronal plane ...

The effect of acetylation on the DNA binding properties of the rigidly conserved histone H4 amino-terminal tail has been studied in detail using the technique of thermal denaturation. The quantitative DNA-binding parameters for both the non- and fully acetylated H4 amino terminus have been determined from thermal denaturation data for complexes of the peptides bound to mixed sequence 146-base p...

The effects of pharmacological agents on the T-type Ca2+ current were studied in dissociated spermatogenic cells from the mouse. Ca2+ currents were elicited by depolarization in 10 mM Ca2+ and recorded in the whole-cell configuration of the patch clamp technique. The T-type current was inhibited by the following compounds: PN200-110 (IC50 = 4 x 10(-8) M) > nifedipine (IC50 = 4 x 10(-7) M) > pim...