Reports of cholecystokinin (CCK) binding and expression of CCK receptors in neonatal rodent spinal cord suggest that CCK may influence neuronal excitability. In patch-clamp recordings from 19/21 ventral horn motoneurons in neonatal (PN 5-12 days) rat spinal cord slices, we noted a slowly rising and prolonged membrane depolarization induced by bath applied sulfated CCK octapeptide (CCK-8s; 1 μM)...

The current research aims to contribute to the debate on whether China competes with its neighbouring economies for inward foreign direct investment (FDI). Our results indicate that China has not diverted inward FDI from other Asian economies as a whole. If we view FDI inflows in the region as part of systemic globalization strategies adopted by transnational corporations, China may in fact hav...

Cardiomyocytes enzymatically isolated from rat and guinea pig ventricular tissue were investigated under conditions of intracellular perfusion and voltage clamp at 18-20 degrees C. Perfusion with 135 mmol/l Tris(HF), pH 7.2 was used to eliminate outward potassium currents. The dependence of inward current (elicited by depolarizing pulses from a holding potential level of--120 mV) on low externa...

Genetic hypertension results from numerous phenotypic expressions. We hypothesized that increased calcium current in vascular smooth muscle of genetically hypertensive animals is partly responsible for observed increases in agonist sensitivity, contractility, and calcium influx. Using adult, spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHRSP) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) controls from a...

We used voltage-clamp techniques to assess the effects of isoflurane anaesthesia in slices of sensorimotor cortex of guinea pigs and neonatal rats. Isoflurane (0.5-4%) depressed inward Ca(2+)-currents evoked by depolarizing commands from -50 mV. With additional blockade of K(+)-currents by internal Cs+, an early component of the sustained inward currents was a high voltage-activated current whe...

Ion and voltage dependencies of sodium-calcium exchange current were studied in giant membrane patches from guinea pig ventricular cells after deregulation of the exchanger with chymotrypsin. (a) Under zero-trans conditions, the half-maximum concentration (Kh) of cytoplasmic calcium (Cai) for activation of the isolated inward exchange current decreased as the extracellular sodium (Nao) concentr...

conclusions our results indicate that changes in muscle thickness and echo intensity are induced by different inward pressures of the transducer during us. when using a technique that involves a handheld transducer, the examiner should attempt to maintain consistent inward pressure of the transducer during us, to quantify the minimal change of the rf mass and composition. results muscle thickne...

The responses of pacemaker and nonpacemaker Aplysia neurons to voltage clamp commands of less than 200 msec duration are essentially identical. For moderate depolarizing commands there is an early inward transient current followed by a late outward current and an outward tail current when the membrane is clamped back to resting potential. On long (1-2 sec) commands in pacemakers there is a mark...

The whole-cell gigaseal voltage clamp technique has been used to investigate the timing of expression and type of voltage-dependent ionic currents in dissociated primary cultures of fetal rat (E17) diencephalic neurons grown in a serum-free defined medium. The expression of membrane currents varied among cells at any particular time in culture. Despite this variability, certain characteristics ...

Li, Gui-Rong, Haiying Sun, and Stanley Nattel. Characterization of a transient outward K1 current with inward rectification in canine ventricular myocytes. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Cell Physiol. 43): C577–C585, 1998.—The threshold potential for the classical depolarization-activated transient outward K1 current and Cl2 current is positive to 230 mV. With the whole cell patch technique, a transient ...