Ultrasonography monitoring with Superb Microvascular Imaging during cerebrovascular surgery.

Introduction: Ultrasonography (US) is used as a real-time dynamic imaging modality during neurosurgery. A novel Doppler US technique, Superb Microvascular Imaging (SMI), can be used to visualize low-velocity flow of small vessels at high resolution with high frame rates. We visualized vessel flow using this US SMI technique and contrast agent during cerebrovascular surgery.

Molecular Dynamics Study of the Changes in Conformation of Calmodulin with Calcium Binding and/or Target Recognition.

Calmodulin is a calcium binding protein with two lobes, N-lobe and C-lobe, which evolved from duplication and fusion of a single precursor lobe of a pair of EF-hand. These two lobes of calmodulin show subtle differences in calcium binding and target recognition; these are important for the functions of calmodulin. Since the structures, especially main chain conformations, of two EF-lobes in holo-form are quite similar; this is a good example to evaluate the effect of side chains for structural dynamics.

Implantable patch sensor for L-glutamate in hippocampal slices.

We describe an implantable patch sensor for monitoring L-glutamate in hippocampal slices in submerged and interface preparations. This patch sensor is prepared by excising the cell membrane in the CA3 region of a hippocampal slice in a submerged preparation, and then implanted in the target neuronal region (CA1) of mouse hippocampal slices. The lifetime of the sensor was 3-8 min for the interface slice and 40-50 min for the submerged slice.