Comprehensive characterization of commercially available canine training aids.

Effective and reliable training aids for victim recovery canine teams is essential for law enforcement and investigative purposes. Without adequate training aids, the rate of recovery for sub surface or surface human remains deposition using canine teams may be adversely affected and result in confusing information. The composition of three commercially available canine training aids that purportedly generate volatile components responsible for the odor of human decomposition is relatively simple and not closely related to those compounds experimentally determined to be present at the site of surface or sub-surface human remains.

Optimizing the Temporal Resolution of Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry.

Electrochemical detection with carbon-fiber microelectrodes has become an established method to monitor directly the release of dopamine from neurons and its uptake by the dopamine transporter. With constant potential amperometry (CPA) the measured current provides a real time view of the rapid concentration changes, but the method lacks chemical identification of the monitored species and markedly increases the difficulty of signal calibration. Monitoring with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) allows species identification and concentration measurements, but often exhibits a delayed response time due to the time-dependent adsorption/desorption of electroactive species at the electrode.

Synapsins differentially control dopamine and serotonin release.

Synapsins are a family of synaptic vesicle proteins that are important for neurotransmitter release. Here we have used triple knock-out (TKO) mice lacking all three synapsin genes to determine the roles of synapsins in the release of two monoamine neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. Serotonin release evoked by electrical stimulation was identical in substantia nigra pars reticulata slices prepared from TKO and wild-type mice.

Neuropeptide Release is Impaired in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Mental Retardation Syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), an inherited disorder characterized by mental retardation and autismlike behaviors, is caused by the failure to transcribe the gene for fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), a translational regulator and transporter of select mRNAs. FXS model mice (Fmr1 KO mice) exhibit impaired neuropeptide release. Release of biogenic amines does not differ between wild-type (WT) and Fmr1 KO mice.

In vivo voltammetric monitoring of norepinephrine release in the rat ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and anteroventral thalamic nucleus.

The role and contribution of the dense noradrenergic innervation in the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBNST) and anteroventral thalamic nucleus (AV) to biological function and animal behaviors is poorly understood due to the small size of these nuclei. The aim of this study was to compare norepinephrine release and uptake in the vBNST with that in the AV of anesthetized rats. Measurements were made in vivo with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry following electrical stimulation of noradrenergic projection pathways, either the dorsal noradrenergic bundle (DNB) or the ventral noradrenergic bundle (VNB).

In vivo measurement of somatodendritic release of dopamine in the ventral tegmental area.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA), the locus of mesolimbic dopamine cell bodies, contains dopamine. Experiments in brain slices have demonstrated that VTA dopamine can be released by local electrical stimulation. Measurements with both push-pull cannula and microdialysis in intact animals have also obtained evidence for releasable dopamine.

Electroosmotic flow and its contribution to iontophoretic delivery.

Iontophoresis is the movement of charged molecules in solution under applied current using pulled multibarrel glass capillaries drawn to a sharp tip. The technique is generally nonquantitative, and to address this, we have characterized the ejection of charged and neutral species using carbon-fiber electrodes attached to iontophoretic barrels. Our results show that observed ejections are due to the sum of iontophoretic and electroosmotic forces.