Platinum-Centered Oligoynes Capped by Boron Difluoride Formazanate Dyes and Their Thin-Film Properties.

Since the Nobel prize winning discovery that polyacetylene could act as a semiconductor, there has been tremendous efforts dedicated to understanding and harnessing the unusual properties of π-conjugated polymers. Much of this research has focused on the preparation of oligoynes and polyynes with well-defined numbers of repeating alkyne units as models for carbyne. These studies are usually hampered by a structure-property relationship where the stability of the resulting materials decrease with the incorporation of additional alkyne units.

From repeating routes to planning novel routes: the impact of landmarks and ageing on route integration and cognitive mapping.

The integration of intersecting routes is an important process for the formation of cognitive maps and thus successful navigation. Here we present a novel task to study route integration and the effects that landmark information and cognitive ageing have on this process. We created two virtual environments, each comprising five places and one central intersection but with different landmark settings: in the Identical Landmark environment, the intersection contained visually monotonic features whereas the intersection contained visually distinctive features in the Different Landmarks environment.

Burst Detection Methods.

'Bursting', defined as periods of high-frequency firing of a neuron separated by periods of quiescence, has been observed in various neuronal systems, both in vitro and in vivo. It has been associated with a range of neuronal processes, including efficient information transfer and the formation of functional networks during development, and has been shown to be sensitive to genetic and pharmacological manipulations. Accurate detection of periods of bursting activity is thus an important aspect of characterising both spontaneous and evoked neuronal network activity.

meaRtools: An R package for the analysis of neuronal networks recorded on microelectrode arrays.

Here we present an open-source R package 'meaRtools' that provides a platform for analyzing neuronal networks recorded on Microelectrode Arrays (MEAs). Cultured neuronal networks monitored with MEAs are now being widely used to characterize in vitro models of neurological disorders and to evaluate pharmaceutical compounds. meaRtools provides core algorithms for MEA spike train analysis, feature extraction, statistical analysis and plotting of multiple MEA recordings with multiple genotypes and treatments.

Characterization of Early Cortical Neural Network Development in Multiwell Microelectrode Array Plates.

We examined neural network ontogeny using microelectrode array (MEA) recordings made in multiwell MEA (mwMEA) plates over the first 12 days in vitro (DIV). In primary cortical cultures, action potential spiking activity developed rapidly between DIV 5 and 12. Spiking was sporadic and unorganized at early DIV, and became progressively more organized with time, with bursting parameters, synchrony, and network bursting increasing between DIV 5 and 12.

Quantitative differences in developmental profiles of spontaneous activity in cortical and hippocampal cultures.

Background: Neural circuits can spontaneously generate complex spatiotemporal firing patterns during development. This spontaneous activity is thought to help guide development of the nervous system. In this study, we had two aims.

Markers of increased cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women: focus on oxidized-LDL and HDL subpopulations.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of gender and menopause in cardiovascular risk (CVR) in a healthy population based on both classical and nontraditional markers.

Methods: 56 men and 68 women (48 pre- and 20 postmenopause) were enrolled in the study. The following markers were analyzed: blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), glucose, total cholesterol (total-c), triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), oxidized-LDL (Ox-LDL), HDL-c and subpopulations, paraoxonase-1 activity, hsCRP, uric acid, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α ), adiponectin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and intercellular adhesion molecular 1 (ICAM1).

ET-receptor subtypes: roles in regional renal vascular actions of exogenous and endogenous endothelins in anesthetized rabbits.

The roles of endothelin (ET)-receptor subtypes, in the regional renal vascular effects of exogenous and endogenous ETs, were examined in pentobarbitone-anesthetized rabbits. The effects of renal arterial infusion of ET-1 (0.05-12.

Renal haemodynamic effects of endothelin-1 and the ETA/ETB antagonist TAK-044 in anaesthetized rabbits.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the effects of exogenous endothelin-1 (ET-1) on regional kidney blood flow and renal function, and the renal haemodynamic effects of endogenous ET, in anaesthetized rabbits.

Methods: ET-1 was infused into the left renal artery at 2 ng/kg/min for 30 min, then at 1 ng/kg/min. Cumulative doses of TAK-044 (0.

Muscimol suppression of the dorsal cochlear nucleus impairs frequency discrimination in rats.

The cochlear nucleus is composed of three sub-nuclei: the dorsal (DCN), anteroventral (AVCN) and posteroventral cochlear nucleus (PVCN). In addition to connections between these sub-nuclei, each nucleus receives frequency specific tonotopically organised input from the cochlea. Evidence suggests that connections from the DCN to the AVCN are inhibitory and organised tonotopically but the functional significance of this pathway has yet to be elucidated.

Muscimol suppression of the dorsal cochlear nucleus modifies frequency tuning in rats.

The cochlear nucleus is composed of three sub-nuclei: the dorsal (DCN), anteroventral (AVCN) and posteroventral cochlear nucleus (PVCN). Intrinsic connections from the DCN to the AVCN are inhibitory and organised tonotopically. In this investigation, this pathway and its possible role in frequency tuning was examined using in vivo extracellular recordings.