Synapses are composed of a presynaptic active zone in the signaling cell and a postsynaptic terminal in the target cell. In the case of chemical synapses, messages are carried by neurotransmitters released from presynaptic terminals and received by receptors on postsynaptic cells. Our previous research in Caenorhabditis elegans has shown that VSM-1 negatively regulates exocytosis. Additionally,...

Ca sensitization of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) contraction involves Rho-dependent and Rho-kinase– dependent suppression of myosin phosphatase activity. We previously demonstrated that excitatory agonists in fact induce activation of RhoA in VSM. In this study, we demonstrate a novel Ca -dependent mechanism for activating RhoA in rabbit aortic VSM. High KCl-induced membrane depolarization as w...

PURPOSE To introduce a new method of deriving a virtual source model (VSM) of a linear accelerator photon beam from a phase space file (PSF) for Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculation. MATERIALS AND METHODS A PSF of a 6 MV photon beam was generated by simulating the interactions of primary electrons with the relevant geometries of a Synergy linear accelerator (Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden) and rec...

Monitoring task performance is crucial in team work in order to ensure equal participation of all team members. However, it may be difficult to implement due to team dynamism. One of the approaches that can be adopted when monitoring group work relies on measuring efficiency of each task performed by the team members. Thus, this paper aims to demonstrate application of Value Stream Mapping (VSM...

Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is associated with increased plasma levels of the adipose-derived hormone leptin. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) express leptin receptors (LepR); however, their physiological role is unclear. We hypothesized that leptin, at levels to mimic morbid obesity, impairs vascular relaxation. To test this, we used control and VSM-LepR knockout...

Ca 2 is a major determinant of many biochemical processes in various cell types, from the beginning of new life and egg fertilization to the end of life and cell death.1 In vascular smooth muscle (VSM), physiological resting levels of intracellular free Ca concentration ([Ca ]i) in the nanomolar range are necessary to maintain basal vascular tone.2–4 VSM activation is associated with an increas...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine utility of appending International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes from Vital Statistics Mortality (VSM) data to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), and compare occupational event characteristics based on ICD external cause and BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) event...

Endothelin is a potent mammalian vasoconstrictive peptide with structural homology to cation channel-binding insect toxins. We tested the proposal that this peptide directly activates dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels in cultured vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells. First, we found that cell Ca2+ can be altered in VSM by activation of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels. KCl-induced depolarizat...

In vascular smooth muscle (VSM) of Squalus acanthias, endothelin-1 (ET-1) signals via the ET(B) receptor. In both shark and mammalian VSM, ET-1 induces a rise in cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) via activation of the inositol trisphosphate (IP(3)) receptor (IP(3)R) and subsequent release of Ca(2+) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). IP(3)R-mediated release of SR Ca(2+) causes calc...