Sleep-Deprivation Regulates α-2 Adrenergic Responses of Rat Hypocretin/Orexin Neurons

We recently demonstrated, in rat brain slices, that the usual excitation by noradrenaline (NA) of hypocretin/orexin (hcrt/orx) neurons was changed to an inhibition following sleep deprivation (SD). Here we describe that in control condition (CC), i.e. following 2 hours of natural sleep in the morning, the α2-adrenergic receptor (α2-AR) agonist, clonidine, had no effect on hcrt/orx neurons, whereas following 2 hours of SD (SDC), it hyperpolarized the neurons by activating G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels. Since concentrations of clonidine up to a thousand times (100 µM) higher than those effective in SDC (100 nM), were completely ineffective in CC, a change in the availability of G-proteins is unlikely to explain the difference between the two conditions. To test whether the absence of effect of clonidine in CC could be due to a down-regulation of GIRK channels, we applied baclofen, a GABAB agonist known to also activate GIRK channels, and found that it hyperpolarized hcrt/orx neurons in that condition. Moreover, baclofen occluded the response to clonidine in SDC, indicating that absence of effect of clonidine in CC could not be attributed to down-regulation of GIRK channels. We finally tested whether α2-ARs were still available at the membrane in CC and found that clonidine could reduce calcium currents, indicating that α2-ARs associated with calcium channels remain available in that condition. Taken together, these results suggest that a pool of α2-ARs associated with GIRK channels is normally down-regulated (or desensitized) in hcrt/orx neurons to only become available for their inhibition following sleep deprivation

Plasma-chemical synthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles for doping of high-temperature superconductors

Abstract Ferrite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) have been produced by the direct low-pressure plasma-chemical synthesis. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), vibration magnetometry (VSM), and Mössbauer spectroscopy (NGR) were used for measurements, showing that the produced nanoparticles have an average size of 9.4 nm, a crystalline phase of magnetite, possess a property of superparamagnetism at room temperature, and have a blocking temperature of 89 K. The peculiarities of nanoparticle behavior in the magnetic field, related to a large specific surface area, are discussed

Plasma-chemical synthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles for doping of high-temperature superconductors

Abstract Ferrite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) have been produced by the direct low-pressure plasma-chemical synthesis. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), vibration magnetometry (VSM), and Mössbauer spectroscopy (NGR) were used for measurements, showing that the produced nanoparticles have an average size of 9.4 nm, a crystalline phase of magnetite, possess a property of superparamagnetism at room temperature, and have a blocking temperature of 89 K. The peculiarities of nanoparticle behavior in the magnetic field, related to a large specific surface area, are discussed

The median preoptic nucleus: Front and centre for the regulation of body fluid, sodium, temperature, sleep and cardiovascular homeostasis

Located in the midline anterior wall of the third cerebral ventricle (i.e. the lamina terminalis), the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) receives a unique set of afferent neural inputs from fore-, mid- and hindbrain. These afferent connections enable it to receive neural signals related to several important aspects of homeostasis. Included in these afferent projections are (i) neural inputs from two adjacent circumventricular organs, the subfornical organ and organum vasculosum laminae terminalis, that respond to hypertonicity, circulating angiotensin II or other humoural factors, (ii) signals from cutaneous warm and cold receptors that are relayed to MnPO, respectively, via different subnuclei in the lateral parabrachial nucleus and (iii) input from the medulla associated with baroreceptor and vagal afferents. These afferent signals reach appropriate neurones within the MnPO that enable relevant neural outputs, both excitatory and inhibitory, to be activated or inhibited. The efferent neural pathways that proceed from the MnPO terminate on (i) neuroendocrine cells in the hypothalamic supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei to regulate vasopressin release, while polysynaptic pathways from MnPO to cortical sites may drive thirst and water intake, (ii) thermoregulatory pathways to the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus and medullary raph\ue9 to regulate shivering, brown adipose tissue and skin vasoconstriction, (iii) parvocellular neurones in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus that drive autonomic pathways influencing cardiovascular function. As well, (iv) other efferent pathways from the MnPO to sites in the ventrolateral pre-optic nucleus, perifornical region of the lateral hypothalamic area and midbrain influence sleep mechanisms

The morphological and structural features of ferrite compositions (1-x) MeFe2O4 xP2O5 prepared by plasma spraying

Текст статьи не публикуется в открытом доступе в соответствии с политикой журнала.Structural features of spinel ferrites formed by rapid quenched from the liquid state, has been studied. It was found that higher quenching rates cause sequential disorder of the spinel structure. Process starts with statistically uniform redistribution of cations at lattice points, then collapse of the anionic frame leads to the topological disorder. This process results in formation of the thermodynamically unstable cluster state and heating of these hardened ferrites leads to a stepwise release of energy. Therefore the described process improves activity of ferrite powders in solid-phase and catalytic reaction