The skeletal muscle chloride channel CLC-1 and the ubiquitous volume-activated chloride channel CLC-2 belong to a large gene family whose members often show overlapping expression patterns. CLC-1 and CLC-2 are coexpressed in skeletal and smooth muscle and in the heart. By coexpressing CLC-1 and CLC-2 in Xenopus oocytes, we now show the formation of novel CLC-1/CLC-2 heterooligomers that yield t...

Semi-conserved exon boundaries in members of the CACNA1 gene family result in recurring pre-mRNA splicing patterns. The resulting variations in the encoded pore-forming subunit of the voltage-gated calcium channel affect functionally significant regions, such as the vicinity of the voltage-sensing S4 segments or the intracellular loops that are important for protein interaction. In addition to ...

The epithelial Ca2+ channels TRPV5 and TRPV6 are the most Ca2+-selective members of the TRP channel superfamily. These channels are the prime target for hormonal control of the active Ca2+ flux from the urine space or intestinal lumen to the blood compartment. Insight into their regulation is, therefore, pivotal in our understanding of the (patho)physiology of Ca2+ homeostasis. The recent eluci...

The cyclic nucleotide-regulated ion channels are a heterogeneous superfamily of different ion channels that share common membrane topology and pore structure and display a cyclic nucleotide-binding domain in their C-terminal region. Members of this superfamily include cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) cation channels, hyperpolarizationactivated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) cation channels and also...

This paper investigates the routing problem for information leakage reduction in multi-channel ad-hoc networks. In particular, we focus on two routing models: Trusted Group Multicast (TGM) and Confidential Unicast (CU). In TGM, a group member shares the information with all other group members; while in CU, a group member may only want to share the information with a few selected group members....

The family of voltage-gated sodium channels initiates action potentials in all types of excitable cells. Nine members of the voltage-gated sodium channel family have been characterized in mammals, and a 10th member has been recognized as a related protein. These distinct sodium channels have similar structural and functional properties, but they initiate action potentials in different cell type...

Familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis is an autosomal-dominant channelopathy characterized by episodic muscle weakness with hypokalemia. The respiratory and cardiac muscles typically remain unaffected, but we report an atypical case of a family with hypokalemic periodic paralysis in which the affected members presented with frequent respiratory insufficiency during severe attacks. Molecular a...

constructed conductance-voltage plots from macroscopic current or measured NPo from single channel recordings. Ethanol-induced potentiation of cbv1 currents turned into inhibition as Cai increased, with a crossover at ~20 mM Cai. In contrast, slo2 and slo3 channels remained resistant to 50 mM ethanol even when probed at a wide concentration range of activating ion: 10-140 mMNai (slo2) and 0.01-...

We examine the dissent voting record of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Contrary to findings in the FOMC literature (for example Havrilesky and Schweitzer, 1990; Chappell, Havrilesky, and McGregor, 1993), the effects of members’ career backgrounds and the political channel of appointment on voting behavior are negligible, reflecting the distinct institutional constraints an...

Serious illness puts pressure not only on individual family members but also on the family itself. The care of an acutely ill child requires the family to channel many of its resources toward a single member--an arrangement that can usually be sustained for a while but that cannot continue indefinitely while the other members do without. Illness disrupts ordinary familial functions and, if it i...