Partial and full deletion of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α4 and β2 subunits reduces sensitivity to acute nicotine administration and development of tolerance following chronic nicotine administration.

The diversity of nicotinic cholinergic receptor (nAChR) subunits underlies the complex responses to nicotine. Mice differing in the expression of α4 and β2 subunits, which are most widely expressed in brain, were evaluated for the responses to acute nicotine administration on Y-maze crossings and rears, open-field locomotion and body temperature following chronic treatment with nicotine (0, 0.25, 1.

Comparison of a Novel Trainer to a Traditional Swine Model for Training Providers in Lateral Canthotomy and Cantholysis.

Research Objective: Military personnel are at greater risks of head and facial traumas and permanent blindness from orbital compartment syndrome in modern warfare. Rapid treatment must be implemented with a low-risk surgical remedy: lateral canthotomy and cantholysis (LCC). Traditional training of LCC is primarily performed using an animal tissue trainer (ATT); however, limitations to these types of trainers exist.

Surgery at Sea: The Effect of Simulated High Sea States on Surgical Performance.

Background: The US Navy initiated design concepts for a Medical Mission Module Support Container (M3SC), a mobile operating room capable of rapid installation aboard maneuverable ships within proximity of active combat units. The M3SC provides an alternative echelon of care in the current trauma system by decreasing the time between point of injury, arrival, and surgical intervention. The mobile ships used as M3SC platforms, however, are more susceptible to oceanic conditions that can induce detrimental physiologic motion sickness in medical personnel and patients aboard the vessels.

Impact of human D398N single nucleotide polymorphism on intracellular calcium response mediated by α3β4α5 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

The human CHRNA5 D398N polymorphism (rs16969968) causes an aspartic acid to asparagine change in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α5 subunit gene. The N398 variant of CHRNA5 is linked to increased risk for nicotine dependence. In this study, we explored the effect of the CHRNA5 D398N polymorphism on the properties of human α3β4* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells.