Nanocomposite-based dual enzyme system for broad-spectrum scavenging of reactive oxygen species.

A broad-spectrum reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging hybrid material (CASCADE) was developed by sequential adsorption of heparin (HEP) and poly(L-lysine) (PLL) polyelectrolytes together with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) antioxidant enzymes on layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoclay support. The synthetic conditions were optimized so that CASCADE possessed remarkable structural (no enzyme leakage) and colloidal (excellent resistance against salt-induced aggregation) stability. The obtained composite was active in decomposition of both superoxide radical anions and hydrogen peroxide in biochemical assays revealing that the strong electrostatic interaction with the functionalized support led to high enzyme loadings, nevertheless, it did not interfere with the native enzyme conformation.

TRPM2-mediated extracellular Ca entry promotes acinar cell necrosis in biliary acute pancreatitis.

Key Points: Acute biliary pancreatitis is a significant clinical challenge as currently no specific pharmaceutical treatment exists. Intracellular Ca overload, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial damage and intra-acinar digestive enzyme activation caused by bile acids are hallmarks of acute biliary pancreatitis. Transient receptor potential melastatin 2 (TRPM2) is a non-selective cation channel that has recently emerged as an important contributor to oxidative-stress-induced cellular Ca overload across different diseases.

Power-spectra and cross-frequency coupling changes in visual and Audio-visual acquired equivalence learning.

The three phases of the applied acquired equivalence learning test, i.e. acquisition, retrieval and generalization, investigate the capabilities of humans in associative learning, working memory load and rule-transfer, respectively.

Cortical Power-Density Changes of Different Frequency Bands in Visually Guided Associative Learning: A Human EEG-Study.

The computer-based Rutgers Acquired Equivalence test (RAET) is a widely used paradigm to test the function of subcortical structures in visual associative learning. The test consists of an acquisition (pair learning) and a test (rule transfer) phase, associated with the function of the basal ganglia and the hippocampi, respectively. Obviously, such a complex task also requires cortical involvement.

Background activity and visual responsiveness of caudate nucleus neurons in halothane anesthetized and in awake, behaving cats.

This study focuses on the important question whether brain activity recorded from anesthetized, paralyzed animals is comparable to that recorded from awake, behaving ones. We compared neuronal activity recorded from the caudate nucleus (CN) of two halothane-anesthetized, paralyzed and two awake, behaving cats. In both models, extracellular recordings were made from the CN during static and dynamic visual stimulation.