The plastid-localized methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway synthesizes the isoprenoid precursors for the production of essential photosynthesis-related compounds and hormones. We have identified an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant, rif1, in which posttranscriptional upregulation of MEP pathway enzyme levels is caused by the loss of function of At3g47450, a gene originally reported to encode a mi...

BACKGROUND In this study, we analyzed maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) values in a stable COPD population compared with normal subjects. We evaluated the possible correlation between functional maximal respiratory static pressures and functional and anthropometric parameters at different stages of COPD. Furthermore, we considered the possible correlation ...

Eustachian tube maintains middle ear pressure equal to that of atmospheric pressure and its functions is deranged due to various nasal, nasopharyngeal and palatal causes. Nasal polypi cause post nasal drip which is considered to cause Eustachian tube dysfunction. The present cross sectional study comprises of a total of 39 patients of Antrochoanal polyp with the aim to see the effect of antroch...

After fatigue, motor evoked potentials (MEP) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation and cervicomedullary evoked potentials elicited by stimulation of the corticospinal tract are depressed. These reductions in corticomotor excitability and corticospinal transmission are accompanied by voluntary activation failure, but this may not reflect a causal relationship. Our purpose was to determin...

OBJECTIVE To review the experience at a single institution with motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring during intracranial aneurysm surgery to determine the incidence of unacceptable movement. METHODS Neurophysiology event logs and anesthetic records from 220 craniotomies for aneurysm clipping were reviewed for unacceptable patient movement or reason for cessation of MEPs. Muscle relaxants w...

The biosynthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate, the two building blocks for isoprenoid biosynthesis, occurs by two independent pathways in plants. The mevalonic pathway operates in the cytoplasm, and the methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway operates in plastids. Plastidic isoprenoids play essential roles in plant growth and development. Plants must regulate t...

20 Paired associative stimulation (PAS) of the motor cortex leads to increased motor evoked potential 21 (MEP) amplitudes in the stimulated hand muscles. We hypothesized that evoking GABA A receptor-22 mediated short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) simultaneously with excitatory PAS would depress 23 long-term potentiation plasticity in motor cortex. Four different PAS paradigms were te...

OBJECTIVE To compare MIP and MEP determined in healthy subjects with those predicted using the equations proposed in another study, and, if necessary, to suggest new equations for MIP and MEP to be used in the Brazilian population. METHODS The study sample comprised 60 healthy males and 60 healthy females, 20-80 years of age (20 subjects per ten-year age bracket). Maximal respiratory pressure...

Increased excitability of the spinal motor system has been observed after loud and unexpected acoustic stimuli (AS) preceding H-reflexes. The paradigm has been proposed as an electrophysiological marker of reticulospinal tract activity in humans. The brainstem reticular formation also maintains dense anatomical interconnections with the cortical motor system. When a startling AS is delivered, p...

While task-dependent changes in motor cortical outputs have been previously reported, the issue of whether such changes are specific for complex hand tasks remains unresolved. The aim of the present study was to determine whether cortical inhibitory tone and cortical output were greater during precision grip and power grip. Motor cortex excitability was undertaken by using the transcranial magn...