The soils affected by the spill of a pyrite mine were analysed in 100 sampling points at three depths (0-10, 10-30, and 30-50 cm) in 1998 (after the tailings were removed), 1999 (after the cleaning of the highly contaminated areas), and 2004 (after the tilling of the upper 20-25 cm). The comparative study reveals that the removal of the tailings left a heterogeneous distribution pattern of the ...

The cellular and synaptic mechanisms by which general anesthetics affect cell-cell communications in the nervous system remain poorly defined. In this study, we sought to determine how clinically relevant concentrations of sevoflurane affected inhibitory synaptic transmission between identified Lymnaea neurons in vitro. Inhibitory synapses were reconstructed in cell culture, between the somata ...

We have characterized, by intracellular recording and staining, a unique type of centrifugal neuron in the brain olfactory center of two heliothine moth species; one in Heliothis virescens and one in Helicoverpa armigera. This unilateral neuron, which is not previously described in any moth, has fine processes in the dorsomedial region of the protocerebrum and extensive neuronal branches with b...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the pathway of leaded dust from a lead-zinc-copper mine to houses of employees, and the impact on blood lead concentrations (PbB) of children. METHODS High precision lead isotope and lead concentration data were obtained on venous blood and environmental samples (vacuum cleaner dust, interior dustfall accumulation, water, paint) for eight children of six employees (and t...

The effect of serotonin (5-HT) on somatic and dendritic properties was analyzed in pyramidal neurons from the CA1 region in slices from the rat hippocampus. Bath-applied 5-HT (10 microM) hyperpolarized the soma and apical dendrites and caused a conductance increase at both locations. In the dendrites (200-300 microm from the soma) trains of antidromically activated, backpropagating action poten...

We examined how hippocamal CA1 neurons process complex time-varying inputs that dendrites are likely to receive in vivo. We propose a functional model of the dendrite-to-soma input/output relationship that combines temporal integration and static-gain control mechanisms. Using simultaneous dual whole-cell recordings, we injected fifty seconds of subthreshold and suprathreshold zero-mean white-n...

This study characterises the total As concentrations and As bioaccessibility in 109 soils from Devon Great Consols Mine, an abandoned Cu-As mine in Devon, SW England, UK and discusses the soil and mineralogical factors that influence the bioaccessibility of this element. These data provide the basis for developing more accurate exposure estimates for use in human health risk assessments. The me...

Interactions between the MinD and MinE proteins are required for proper placement of the Escherichia coli division septum. The site within MinE that is required for interaction with MinD was mapped by studying the effects of site-directed minE mutations on MinD-MinE interactions in yeast two-hybrid and three-hybrid experiments. This confirmed that the MinE N-terminal domain is responsible for t...

Mathematical solutions and numerical illustrations are presented for the steady-state distribution of membrane potential in an extensively branched neuron model, when steady electric current is injected into only one dendritic branch. Explicit expressions are obtained for input resistance at the branch input site and for voltage attenuation from the input site to the soma; expressions for AC st...

Propagation of a species requires periodic cell renewal to avoid clonal extinction. Sexual reproduction and the separation of germ cells from the soma provide a mechanism for such renewal, but are accompanied by an apparently mandatory ageing of the soma. Data obtained during the last decade suggest that a division of labour exists also between cells of vegetatively reproducing unicellular orga...