148 research outputs found
Mechanisms Underlying Neuroprotection by the NSAID Mefenamic Acid in an Experimental Model of Stroke
Stroke is a devastating neurological event with limited treatment opportunities. Recent advances in understanding the underlying pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia support the involvement of multiple biochemical pathways in the development of the ischemic damage. Fenamates are classical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs but they are also highly subunit-selective modulators of GABAA receptors, activators of IKS potassium channels and antagonists of non-selective cation channels and the NLRP3 inflammosome. In the present study we investigated the effect of mefenamic acid (MFA) in a rodent model of ischemic stroke and then addressed the underlying pharmacological mechanisms in vitro for its actions in vivo. The efficacy of MFA in reducing ischemic damage was evaluated in adult male Wistar rats subjected to a 2-h middle cerebral artery occlusion. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of MFA (0.5 or 1 mg/kg) for 24 h, significantly reduced the infarct volume and the total ischemic brain damage. In vitro, the fenamates, MFA, meclofenamic acid, niflumic acid, and flufenamic acid each reduced glutamate-evoked excitotoxicity in cultured embryonic rat hippocampal neurons supporting the idea that this is a drug class action. In contrast the non-fenamate NSAIDs, ibuprofen and indomethacin did not reduce excitotoxicity in vitro indicating that neuroprotection by MFA was not dependent upon anti-inflammatory actions. Co-application of MFA (100 μM) with either of the GABAA antagonists picrotoxin (100 μM) or bicuculline (10 μM) or the potassium channel blocker tetraethylammonium (30 mM) did not prevent neuroprotection with MFA, suggesting that the actions of MFA also do not depend on GABAA receptor modulation or potassium channel activation. These new findings indicate that fenamates may be valuable in the adjunctive treatment of ischemic stroke
An Electrophysiological and Pharmacological Study of the Properties of Human iPSC-Derived Neurons for Drug Discovery
Human stem cell-derived neurons are increasingly considered powerful models in drug discovery and disease modeling, despite limited characterization of their molecular properties. Here, we have conducted a detailed study of the properties of a commercial human induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)-derived neuron line, iCell [GABA] neurons, maintained for up to 3 months in vitro. We confirmed that iCell neurons display neurite outgrowth within 24 h of plating and label for the pan-neuronal marker, βIII tubulin within the first week. Our multi-electrode array (MEA) recordings clearly showed neurons generated spontaneous, spike-like activity within 2 days of plating, which peaked at one week, and rapidly decreased over the second week to remain at low levels up to one month. Extracellularly recorded spikes were reversibly inhibited by tetrodotoxin. Patch-clamp experiments showed that iCell neurons generated spontaneous action potentials and expressed voltage-gated Na and K channels with membrane capacitances, resistances and membrane potentials that are consistent with native neurons. Our single neuron recordings revealed that reduced spiking observed in the MEA after the first week results from development of a dominant inhibitory tone from GABAergic neuron circuit maturation. GABA evoked concentration-dependent currents that were inhibited by the convulsants, bicuculline and picrotoxin, and potentiated by the positive allosteric modulators, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, phenobarbital, allopregnanolone and mefenamic acid, consistent with native neuronal GABAA receptors. We also show that glycine evoked robust concentration-dependent currents that were inhibited by the neurotoxin, strychnine. Glutamate, AMPA, Kainate and NMDA each evoked concentration-dependent currents in iCell neurons that were blocked by their selective antagonists, consistent with the expression of ionotropic glutamate receptors. The NMDA currents required the presence of the co-agonist glycine and were blocked in a highly voltage-dependent manner by Mg2+ consistent with the properties of native neuronal NMDA receptors. Together, our data suggest that such human iPSC-derived neurons may have significant value in drug discovery and development and may eventually largely replace the need for animal tissues in human biomedical research
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Isolation, purification, serology and nature of rose mosaic virus
Mechanisms Underlying Neuroprotection by the NSAID Mefenamic Acid in an Experimental Model of Stroke
Stroke is a devastating neurological event with limited treatment opportunities. Recent advances in understanding the underlying pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia support the involvement of multiple biochemical pathways in the development of the ischemic damage. Fenamates are classical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs but they are also highly subunit-selective modulators of GABAA receptors, activators of IKS potassium channels and antagonists of non-selective cation channels and the NLRP3 inflammosome. In the present study we investigated the effect of mefenamic acid (MFA) in a rodent model of ischemic stroke and then addressed the underlying pharmacological mechanisms in vitro for its actions in vivo. The efficacy of MFA in reducing ischemic damage was evaluated in adult male Wistar rats subjected to a 2-h middle cerebral artery occlusion. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of MFA (0.5 or 1 mg/kg) for 24 h, significantly reduced the infarct volume and the total ischemic brain damage. In vitro, the fenamates, MFA, meclofenamic acid, niflumic acid, and flufenamic acid each reduced glutamate-evoked excitotoxicity in cultured embryonic rat hippocampal neurons supporting the idea that this is a drug class action. In contrast the non-fenamate NSAIDs, ibuprofen and indomethacin did not reduce excitotoxicity in vitro indicating that neuroprotection by MFA was not dependent upon anti-inflammatory actions. Co-application of MFA (100 μM) with either of the GABAA antagonists picrotoxin (100 μM) or bicuculline (10 μM) or the potassium channel blocker tetraethylammonium (30 mM) did not prevent neuroprotection with MFA, suggesting that the actions of MFA also do not depend on GABAA receptor modulation or potassium channel activation. These new findings indicate that fenamates may be valuable in the adjunctive treatment of ischemic stroke
A time-dependent perturbative analysis for a quantum particle in a cloud chamber
We consider a simple model of a cloud chamber consisting of a test particle
(the alpha-particle) interacting with two other particles (the atoms of the
vapour) subject to attractive potentials centered in . At time zero the alpha-particle is described by an outgoing
spherical wave centered in the origin and the atoms are in their ground state.
We show that, under suitable assumptions on the physical parameters of the
system and up to second order in perturbation theory, the probability that both
atoms are ionized is negligible unless lies on the line joining the
origin with . The work is a fully time-dependent version of the original
analysis proposed by Mott in 1929.Comment: 23 page
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Winter 1970
A Closer Look at Watering by Holman M. Griffin (page 3) Sulphur in Turfgrass Fertilization by J.D. Beaton (5) Those Extras on a Golf Course by Jack Fairhurst (9) Turf Bulletin\u27s Photo Quiz by Fred Cheney (9) Progress in Research on Live Oak Decline by E.P. Van Arsdel and Robert S. Halliwell (10) Editorial (15) The Perfermance Characteristics of Kentucky Bluegrass Mixtures by F.V. Juska and A.A. Hanson (16) Moss (23
CODE-1 : moored array and large-scale data report
The Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment
(CODE) was undertaken to identify and study
the important dynamical processes which
govern the wind-driven motion of coastal
water over the continental shelf. The
initial effort in this multi-year, multi-institutional
research program was to obtain
high-quality data sets of all the
relevant physical variables needed to construct
accurate kinematic and dynamic descriptions
of the response of shelf water
to strong wind forcing in the 2 to 10 day
band. A series of two small-scale, densely-instrumented
field experiments of approximately
four months duration (called CODE-1
and CODE-2) were designed to explore and
to determine the kinematics and momentum
and heat balances of the local wind-driven
flow over a region of the northern California shelf which is characterized by both
relatively simple bottom topography and
large wind stress events in both winter
and summer. A more lightly instrumented,
long-term, large-scale component was designed
to help separate the local wind-driven
response in the region of the small-scale
experiments from motions generated either offshore by the California Current
system or in some distant region along the
coast, and also to help determine the seasonal
cycles of the atmospheric forcing,
water structure, and coastal currents over
the northern California shelf.
The first small-scale experiment
(CODE-1) was conducted between April and
August, 1981 as a pilot study in which
primary emphasis was placed on characterizing
the wind-driven "signal" and the
"noise" from which this signal must be
extracted. In particular, CODE-1 was
designed to identify the key features of
the circulation and its variability over
the northern California shelf and to
determine the important time and length
scales of the wind-driven response. This
report presents a basic description of the
moored array data and some other Eulerian
data collected during CODE-1. A brief
description of the CODE-1 field program is
presented first, followed by a description
of the common data analysis procedures used
to produce the various data sets presented
here. Then basic descriptions of the following
data sets are presented: (a) the
coastal and moored meteorological measurements,
(b) the moored current measurements,
(c) the moored temperature and conductivity
observations, (d) the bottom pressure measurements,
and (e) the wind and adjusted
coastal sea level observations obtained as
part of the CODE-1 large-scale component.Prepared for the National Science
Foundation under Grant OCE 80-14941
CODE-2 : moored array and large-scale data report
The Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment
(CODE) was undertaken to identify and study
the important dynamical processes which
govern the wind-driven motion of coastal
water over the continental shelf. The
initial effort in this multi-year, multi-institutional
research program was to obtain
high-quality data sets of all the
relevant physical variables needed to construct
accurate kinematic and dynamic descriptions
of the response of shelf water
to strong wind forcing in the 2 to 10 day
band. A series of two small-scale, densely-
instrumented field experiments of approximately
four months duration (called CODE-1
and CODE-2) were designed to explore and
to determine the kinematics and momentum
and heat balances of the local wind-driven
flow over a region of the northern California
shelf which is characterized by both
relatively simple bottom topography and
large wind stress events in both winter
and summer. A more lightly instrumented,
long -term, large-scale component was
designed to help separate the local wind-driven
response in the region of the small-scale
experiments from motions generated
either offshore by the California Current
system or in some distant region along the
coast, and also to help determine the seasonal
cycles of the atmospheric forcing,
water structure, and coastal currents over
the northern California shelf.
The first small-scale experiment
(CODE-1) was conducted between April and
August, 1981 as a pilot study in "which
primary emphasis was placed on characterizing
the wind-driven "signal" and the
"noise" from which this signal must be
extracted. In particular, CODE-1 was
designed to identify the key features of
the circulation and its variability over
the northern California shelf and to
determine the important time and length
scales of the wind-driven response. The
second small-scale experiment (CODE-2) was
conducted between April and August, 1982
and was designed to sample more carefully
the mesoscale horizonta1 variability
observed in CODE-1. This report presents a
basic description of the moored array data
and some other Eulerian data collected
during CODE-2. A brief description of the
CODE-2 field program is presented first,
followed by a description of the common
data analysis procedures used to produce
the various data sets presented here. Then
basic descriptions of the following data
sets are presented: (a) the coastal and
moored meteorological measurements, (b)
the moored current measurements, (c) array
plots of the surface wind stress and near-surface
current measurements, (d) the
moored temperature and conductivity observations,
(e) the bottom pressure measurements,
and (f) the wind and adjusted
coastal sea level observations obtained as
part of the CODE-2 large-scale component.This work has
been supported by the National Science
Foundation
Spontaneous decompactification
Positive vacuum energy together with extra dimensions of space imply that our
four-dimensional Universe is unstable, generically to decompactification of the
extra dimensions. Either quantum tunneling or thermal fluctuations carry one
past a barrier into the decompactifying regime. We give an overview of this
process, and examine the subsequent expansion into the higher- dimensional
geometry. This is governed by certain fixed-point solutions of the evolution
equations, which are studied for both positive and negative spatial curvature.
In the case where there is a higher-dimensional cosmological constant, we also
outline a possible mechanism for compactification to a four-dimensional de
Sitter cosmology.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, harvmac. v2: refs added, minor notation change
Applications of a New Proposal for Solving the "Problem of Time" to Some Simple Quantum Cosmological Models
We apply a recent proposal for defining states and observables in quantum
gravity to simple models. First, we consider a Klein-Gordon particle in an ex-
ternal potential in Minkowski space and compare our proposal to the theory ob-
tained by deparametrizing with respect to a time slicing prior to quantiza-
tion. We show explicitly that the dynamics of the deparametrization approach
depends on the time slicing. Our proposal yields a dynamics independent of the
choice of time slicing at intermediate times but after the potential is turned
off, the dynamics does not return to the free particle dynamics. Next we apply
our proposal to the closed Robertson-Walker quantum cosmology with a massless
scalar field with the size of the universe as our time variable, so the only
dynamical variable is the scalar field. We show that the resulting theory has
the semi-classical behavior up to the classical turning point from expansion to
contraction, i.e., given a classical solution which expands for much longer
than the Planck time, there is a quantum state whose dynamical evolution
closely approximates this classical solution during the expansion. However,
when the "time" gets larger than the classical maximum, the scalar field be-
comes "frozen" at its value at the maximum expansion. We also obtain similar
results in the Taub model. In an Appendix we derive the form of the Wheeler-
DeWitt equation for the Bianchi models by performing a proper quantum reduc-
tion of the momentum constraints; this equation differs from the usual one ob-
tained by solving the momentum constraints classically, prior to quantization.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX 3 figures (postscript file or hard copy) available
upon request, BUTP-94/1
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