Effects of sodium valproate on synaptic plasticity in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus.

Sodium valproate (VPA) is currently one of the major anticonvulsant drug in clinical use and has a wide spectrum of antiepileptic activity. Previous studies have reported that VPA impairs long-term potentiation (LTP). In the present study, we used two forms of synaptic plasticity, LTP and long-term depression (LTD) of field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) to investigate the effects of VPA on synaptic plasticity in rat hippocampal slices.

[Genetic susceptibility to intermediate myasthenia syndrome following organophosphate insecticides poisoning].

Objective: To explore the association of gene polymorphism of organophosphate insecticides (OPs) metabolic enzymes with intermediate myasthenia syndrome (IMS) following acute OPs poisoning.

Methods: Thirty six of 147 acute OPs poisoning patients developed IMS one to four days after poisoning. Peripheral blood samples were collected from all the patients and whole blood cholinesterase (ChE) activity was determined by DTNB spectrometry.

Facile synthesis and X-ray structure of alkoxy-functionalized dibenzo[fg,op]naphthacenes.

[structure: see text] 1,3-Bis(2-bromophenyl)-2,5-diphenylbenzenes are readily available by the condensation of phenylacetates with the corresponding pyrylium salts and undergo a palladium-catalyzed dehydrohalogenation to give functionalized dibenzo[fg,op]naphthacenes.

Cyclin D1 gene polymorphism and susceptibility to lung cancer in a Chinese population.

The objective was to study the relationship between cyclin D1 gene (CCND1) polymorphism and lung cancer in the Chinese population. Blood samples of 182 cases and 185 controls were collected from a hospital based case-control study. PCR-SSCP was used to examine the G/A polymorphism in exon 4 of CCND1.

Venous dilator effect of apelin, an endogenous peptide ligand for the orphan APJ receptor, in conscious rats.

Apelin is an endogenous depressor peptide for the G protein-coupled APJ receptor. Our hypothesis is that apelin is a venodilator, and it reduces mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP; index of venous tone). Dose-response curves of apelin (10, 20 and 40 nmol/kg) or vehicle (0.

Differential hypersensitivity to DNase I in the regulatory region of human hsp90 beta gene in heat shock and constitutive expression.

DNase I hypersensitivity analysis is a useful tool to investigate impact of structure changes in chromatin on the expression of a gene. In order to unravel chromatin regulation on human hsp90 beta gene, differential sensitivity to DNase I in non-treated and heat-shocked Jurkat cells are examined. Four major hypersensitive sites at -120/-20 bp (HS1), +360 bp (HS2), +630/+780 bp (HS4) and around +1020 bp (HS5) with respect to the transcription start site of hsp90 beta gene have been identified.

New liquid crystalline phases with layerlike organization.

Novel lamellar mesophases which are quite distinct from conventional smectic mesophases were obtained with a bolaamphiphilic triblock molecule composed of a rigid biphenyl core, two polar 2,3-dihydroxypropoxy groups in the terminal 4- and 4'-positions, and a semiperfluorinated chain [O(CH2)6C10F21] in the lateral 3-position. The competitive combination of microsegregation and rigidity in this molecule leads to layer structures in which the bolaamphiphilic cores segregate from the lateral chains into distinct sublayers. In these sublayers the biphenyl cores are aligned parallel to the layer planes.

Universal standardization of forearm bone densitometry.

As part of an effort to quantify device-dependent differences in forearm bone density, 101 women, aged 20-80 years (approximately 16 women in each age decade), were scanned on six forearm bone densitometers: the Aloka DCS-600EX, the Hologic QDR-4500A, the Lunar PIXI, the Norland pDEXA, the Osteometer DTX-200, and the Pronosco X-posure System. Regression statistics are reported for all similar regions of interest (ROIs). However, comparisons were confounded because of large differences in the ROI size and placement.