The results of toxicity tests can be used to calculate the potentially affected fraction (PAF) of species in an ecosystem at a given pollutant concentration using statistical extrapolation methods. The PAF curve indicates the fraction of species from the original community that may become inhibited at each elevated pollutant concentration and is a measure of the ecotoxicological risk. Pollution...

In the UV-sensitive photoreceptors of the median ocellus (UV cells), prolonged depolarizing afterpotentials are seen following a bright UV stimulus. These afterpotentials are abolished by long-wavelength light. During a bright UV stimulus, long-wavelength light elicits a sustained negative-going response. These responses to long-wavelength light are called repolarizing responses. The spectral s...

reaching an electricity system which is both economically efficient and environmentally friendly is motivating countries to design and execute different types of tou demand response programs. but there are certain deficiencies which prevent these programs to effectively modify the load shape. smart grid as a means could help the electricity system to reach the highest demand side management ...

National treatment guidelines for invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections recommend targeting a vancomycin 24-h area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-24)-to-MIC ratio of >400. The range of vancomycin trough concentrations that best predicts an AUC0-24 of >400 in neonates is not known. This understanding would help clarify target trough concentrations in ne...

Background: Lymphocyte-dicentric assay is the most generally accepted method for biological dosimetry of overexposed individuals. In this study, the frequency of unstable chromosome aberration in blood lymphocytes was used to estimate radiation dose received by individuals. Evaluation of dose using a calibration curve produced elsewhere may have a significant uncertainty therefore, experiments ...

Collagen activates platelets by transducing signals through glycoprotein VI (GPVI). It is not clear whether collagen can directly activate fibrinogen receptors on the adherent platelets without a role for positive feedback agonists. We investigated the contribution of secondary G protein signaling to the mechanism of GPVI-stimulated platelet aggregation using the GPVI-selective agonists, convul...

The insecticide imidacloprid and structurally related neonicotinoids act selectively on insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). To investigate the mechanism of neonicotinoid selectivity, we have examined the effects of mutations to basic amino acid residues in loop D of the nAChR acetylcholine (ACh) binding site on the interactions with imidacloprid. The receptors investigated are th...