Impairment of Skeletal Muscle Contraction by Inhibitors of GABA Transporters.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) has a significant impact on the functioning of not only the central but also the peripheral part of the nervous system. Recently, various elements of the GABAergic signaling system have been discovered in the area of the neuromuscular junction of mammals. At the same time, the functional activity of membrane-bound GABA transporters (GATs) and their role in neuromuscular transmission have not been identified.

Protective properties of melanin from lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) HOFFM. In models of oxidative stress in skeletal muscle.

Melanin is a dark pigment from the group of phenolic or indole polymers with inherent biocompatibility and antioxidant capacity. In extremophilic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria, melanin is responsible for protective properties against hostile environments. Herein, the ability of melanin extracted from L.

Forecast the Habitat Sustainability of L. (Cyperaceae) in the Southern Urals under Climate Change.

An analysis of the current potential range of the Pleistocene relict plant species and modeling of changes in its future range under moderate (RCP4.5) and strong (RCP8.5) climate change in the middle and second half of the 21st century were carried out.

β2-Adrenergic Regulation of the Neuromuscular Transmission and Its Lipid-Dependent Switch.

β2-Adrenoceptors (β2-ARs) are the most abundant subtype of adrenergic receptors in skeletal muscles. Their activation via a stabilization of postsynaptic architecture has beneficial effects in certain models of neuromuscular disorders. However, the ability of β2-ARs to regulate neuromuscular transmission at the presynaptic level is poorly understood.

Analysis of the Potential Range of Mountain Pine-Broadleaf Ecotone Forests and Its Changes under Moderate and Strong Climate Change in the 21st Century.

Climatic changes have a significant impact on the composition and distribution of forests, especially on ecotone ones. In the Southern Ural, pine-broadleaf ecotone forests were widespread during the early Holocene time, but now have persisted as relic plant communities. This study aimed to analyze the current potential range and to model changes in habitat suitability of relic pine-broadleaf ecotone forests of the suballiance under scenarios of moderate (RCP4.

Effects of cholesterol oxidase on neurotransmission and acetylcholine levels at the mice neuromuscular junctions.

Membrane cholesterol oxidation is a hallmark of redox and metabolic imbalance, and it may accompany neurodegenerative disorders. Using microelectrode recordings of postsynaptic responses as well as fluorescent dyes for monitoring synaptic vesicle cycling and membrane properties, the action of enzymatic cholesterol oxidation on neuromuscular transmission was studied in the mice diaphragms. Cholesterol oxidase (ChO) at low concentration disturbed lipid-ordering specifically in the synaptic membranes, but it did not change markedly spontaneous exocytosis and evoked release in response to single stimuli.

Activation of TRPV1 Channels Inhibits the Release of Acetylcholine and Improves Muscle Contractility in Mice.

TRPV1 represents a non-selective transient receptor potential cation channel found not only in sensory neurons, but also in motor nerve endings and in skeletal muscle fibers. However, the role of TRPV1 in the functioning of the neuromuscular junction has not yet been fully established. In this study, the Levator Auris Longus muscle preparations were used to assess the effect of pharmacological activation of TRPV1 channels on neuromuscular transmission.

A METHOD FOR IMPROVING THE PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY OF PERSONS DRIVING HIGH-SPEED VEHICLES.

Recently, due to the emergence of a variety of modifications of air, land, water vehicles and an increase in their speed and maneuverability, the number of people with severe manifestations of motion sickness has also increased. The relevance of this problem is dictated by the fact that, despite significant achievements in the field of preventive medicine, a significant number of people prone to motion sickness have been observed to date. Thus, among persons using land modes of transport, the percentage of sick people reaches 15.

Sphingomyelinase modulates synaptic vesicle mobilization at the mice neuromuscular junctions.

Aims: Sphingomyelin is an abundant component of the presynaptic membrane and an organizer of lipid rafts. In several pathological conditions, sphingomyelin is hydrolyzed due to an upregulation and release of secretory sphingomyelinases (SMases). Herein, the effects of SMase on exocytotic neurotransmitter release were studied in the diaphragm neuromuscular junctions of mice.

Decay Kinetics of GdAlGaO:Ce Luminescence under Dense Laser Irradiation.

The decay kinetics of GdAlGaO:Ce single crystal luminescence were studied under dense laser excitation. It was shown that the decay times as well as the intensity of Ce luminescence depend on the excitation density. The observed effects were ascribed to the interaction between excitons as well as to the features of energy transfer from the excitons to Ce.

Analysis of the Potential Range of L. (Kunth) and Its Changes under Moderate Climate Change in the 21st Century.

The study shows the analysis of the current potential range and the modeling of its changes in the hemiboreal species . The models show the habitat suitability for under moderate climatic changes (RCP4.5) in the middle and second half of the 21st century.

Prediction of habitat suitability for Patrinia sibirica Juss. in the Southern Urals.

The paper presents the results of predictions of the habitat persistence for rare relict of the Pleistocene floristic complex Patrinia sibirica (L.) Juss. in the Southern Urals under various forecasted climate change scenarios.

Asymmetric excitable phase triggering in an optically injected semiconductor laser.

One of the defining characteristics of excitability is the existence of an excitable threshold: the minimum perturbation amplitude necessary to produce an excitable response. We analyze an optically injected dual state quantum dot laser, previously shown to display a dual state stochastic excitable dynamic. We show that deterministic triggering of this dynamic can be achieved via optical phase perturbations.

Aurore: A platform for ultrafast sciences.

We present the Aurore platform for ultrafast sciences. This platform is based on a unique 20 W, 1 kHz, 26 fs Ti:sapphire laser system designed for reliable operation and high intensity temporal contrast. The specific design ensures the high stability in terms of pulse duration, energy, and beam pointing necessary for extended experimental campaigns.

On an EUV Atmospheric Simulation Chamber to Study the Photochemical Processes of Titan's Atmosphere.

The in situ exploration of Titan's atmosphere requires the development of laboratory experiments to understand the molecular growth pathways initiated by photochemistry in the upper layers of the atmosphere. Key species and dominant reaction pathways are used to feed chemical network models that reproduce the chemical and physical processes of this complex environment. Energetic UV photons initiate highly efficient chemistry by forming reactive species in the ionospheres of the satellite.

Efficiency of a cubic NaI(Tl) detector with rectangular cavity using standard radioactive point sources placed at non-axial position.

Low cost scintillation detectors as compared with HPGe detectors are considered to be one of most important radiation detection tools. Therefore, these detectors can be manufactured in different shapes and work at room temperature without any cooling systems, which added an extra advantage to it. This work presents a study of a cubic detector with a rectangular cavity in different experimental setup geometries, using standard point-like gamma-ray sources, where the efficiency of the detector in these geometries was the target to be studied.

Personalized medicine: Vinpocetine to reverse effects of GABRB3 mutation.

Objective: To screen a library of potential therapeutic compounds for a woman with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome due to a Y302C GABRB3 (c.905A>G) mutation.

Methods: We compared the electrophysiological properties of cells with wild-type or the pathogenic GABRB3 mutation.

Excitable interplay between lasing quantum dot states.

The optically injected semiconductor laser system has proven to be an excellent source of experimental nonlinear dynamics, particularly regarding the generation of excitable pulses. Typically for low-injection strengths, these pulses are the result of a small above-threshold perturbation of a stable steady state, the underlying physics is well described by the Adler phase equation, and each laser intensity pulse is accompanied by a 2π phase rotation. In this article, we show how, with a dual-state quantum dot laser, a variation of type I excitability is possible that cannot be described by the Adler model.

Wavelength scaling of terahertz pulse energies delivered by two-color air plasmas.

We address the long-standing problem of anomalous growth observed in the terahertz (THz) energy yield from air plasmas created by two-color laser pulses, as the fundamental wavelength λ is increased. Using two distinct optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs), we report THz energies scaling like λ0α with large exponents 5.6≤α≤14.

Gamma-ray imaging with a time-modulated random coded aperture.

In this article, we present a new industrial gamma-ray imaging system. This system takes advantage of a time-modulated random coded aperture (TMRCA). The gamma-ray detector coupled to the TMRCA can be position-sensitive or non-position-sensitive.

Two-color bursting oscillations.

Neurons communicate by brief bursts of spikes separated by silent phases and information may be encoded into the burst duration or through the structure of the interspike intervals. Inspired by the importance of bursting activities in neuronal computation, we have investigated the bursting oscillations of an optically injected quantum dot laser. We find experimentally that the laser periodically switches between two distinct operating states with distinct optical frequencies exhibiting either fast oscillatory or nearly steady state evolutions (two-color bursting oscillations).

High-Throughput Patch Clamp Screening in Human α6-Containing Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors.

Nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco products, is an agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brain. The subtypes of nAChR are defined by their α- and β-subunit composition. The α6β2β3 nAChR subtype is expressed in terminals of dopaminergic neurons that project to the nucleus accumbens and striatum and modulate dopamine release in brain regions involved in nicotine addiction.

Electrophysiology-Based Assays to Detect Subtype-Selective Modulation of Human Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-31) gave the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the responsibility for regulating tobacco products. Nicotine is the primary addictive component of tobacco and its effects can be modulated by additional ingredients in manufactured products. Nicotine acts by mimicking the neurotransmitter acetylcholine on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which function as ion channels in cholinergic modulation of neurotransmission.

Injection-induced, tunable all-optical gating in a two-state quantum dot laser.

We demonstrate a tunable all-optical gating phenomenon in a single-section quantum dot laser. The free-running operation of the device is emission from the excited state. Optical injection into the ground state of the material can induce a switch to emission from the ground state with complete suppression of the excited state.