Block of Na/Ca exchange (NCX) has potential therapeutic applications, in particular, if a mode-selective block could be achieved, but also carries serious risks for disturbing the normal Ca balance maintained by NCX. We have examined the effects of partial inhibition of NCX by SEA-0400 (1 or 0.3 mol/L) in left ventricular myocytes from healthy pigs or mice and from mice with heart failure (MLP ...

The mechanism of rectification of the inwardly rectifying potassium channel was examined with single-channel recording techniques in isolated ventricular myocytes from adult guinea pig heart. Inward, or anomalous, rectification describes the property that potassium (K) current can enter the cell at potentials negative to the potassium equilibrium potential, EK, more readily than it can leave th...

But the Commission is now finalising the latest phase of its funding plans – Framework 6 – which will come into action later this year with radical plans to beef-up the scale and scope of its support of projects that can be seen to be fostering world-class collaborative research. Many universities may need to reassess the scale and scope of their research efforts if they are to win a share of t...

Shock/boundary layer interaction (SBLI) is an undesirable phenomenon, occurring in high-speed propulsion systems. The conventional method to manipulate and control SBLI is using a bleed system that involves the removal of a certain amount of mass of the inlet flow to control boundary layer separation. However, the system requires a larger nacelle to compensate the mass loss, larger nacelles con...

Studies of individual neurons in area MT have traditionally investigated their sensitivity to constant speeds. We investigated acceleration sensitivity in MT neurons by comparing their responses to constant steps and linear ramps in stimulus speed. Speed ramps constituted constant accelerations and decelerations between 0 and 240 degrees /s. Our results suggest that MT neurons do not have expli...

The Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR) plays a role in calcium homeostasis by sensing minute changes in serum Ca(2+) and modulating secretion of calciotropic hormones. It has been shown in transfected cells that accessory proteins known as Receptor Activity Modifying Proteins (RAMPs), specifically RAMPs 1 and 3, are required for cell-surface trafficking of the CaSR. These effects have only been de...