1,584 research outputs found
Segment-specific expression of 2P domain potassium channel genes in human nephron.
BackgroundThe 2P domain potassium (K2P) channels are a recently discovered ion channel superfamily. Structurally, K2P channels are distinguished by the presence of two pore forming loops within one channel subunit. Functionally, they are characterized by their ability to pass potassium across the physiologic voltage range. Thus, K2P channels are also called open rectifier, background, or leak potassium channels. Patch clamp studies of renal tubules have described several open rectifier potassium channels that have as yet eluded molecular identification. We sought to determine the segment-specific expression of transcripts for the 14 known K2P channel genes in human nephron to identify potential correlates of native leak channels.MethodsHuman kidney samples were obtained from surgical cases and specific nephron segments were dissected. RNA was extracted and used as template for the generation of cDNA libraries. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (TaqMan) was used to analyze gene expression.ResultsWe found significant (P < 0.05) expression of K2P10 in glomerulus, K2P5 in proximal tubule and K2P1 in cortical thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (cTAL) and in distal nephron segments. In addition, we repeatedly detected message for several other K2P channels with less abundance, including K2P3 and K2P6 in glomerulus, K2P10 in proximal tubule, K2P5 in thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, and K2P3, K2P5, and K2P13 in distal nephron segments.ConclusionK2P channels are expressed in specific segments of human kidney. These results provide a step toward assigning K2P channels to previously described native renal leaks
Understanding critical behavior in the framework of the extended equilibrium fluctuation theorem
Recently (arXiv:0910.2870), we have derived a fluctuation theorem for systems
in thermodynamic equilibrium compatible with anomalous response functions, e.g.
the existence of states with \textit{negative heat capacities} . In this
work, we show that the present approach of the fluctuation theory introduces
new insights in the understanding of \textit{critical phenomena}. Specifically,
the new theorem predicts that the environmental influence can radically affect
critical behavior of systems, e.g. to provoke a suppression of the divergence
of correlation length and some of its associated phenomena as spontaneous
symmetry breaking. Our analysis reveals that while response functions and state
equations are \emph{intrinsic properties} for a given system, critical
behaviors are always \emph{relative phenomena}, that is, their existence
crucially depend on the underlying environmental influence
Geometrical aspects and connections of the energy-temperature fluctuation relation
Recently, we have derived a generalization of the known canonical fluctuation
relation between heat capacity and
energy fluctuations, which can account for the existence of macrostates with
negative heat capacities . In this work, we presented a panoramic overview
of direct implications and connections of this fluctuation theorem with other
developments of statistical mechanics, such as the extension of canonical Monte
Carlo methods, the geometric formulations of fluctuation theory and the
relevance of a geometric extension of the Gibbs canonical ensemble that has
been recently proposed in the literature.Comment: Version accepted for publication in J. Phys. A: Math and The
Constraining the History of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy Using Observations of its Tidal Debris
We present a comparison of semi-analytic models of the phase-space structure
of tidal debris with observations of stars associated with the Sagittarius
dwarf galaxy (Sgr). We find that many features in the data can be explained by
these models. The properties of stars 10-15 degrees away from the center of Sgr
--- in particular, the orientation of material perpendicular to Sgr's orbit
(c.f. Alard 1996) and the kink in the velocity gradient (Ibata et al 1997) ---
are consistent with those expected for unbound material stripped during the
most recent pericentric passage ~50 Myrs ago. The break in the slope of the
surface density seen by Mateo, Olszewski & Morrison (1998) at ~ b=-35 can be
understood as marking the end of this material. However, the detections beyond
this point are unlikely to represent debris in a trailing streamer, torn from
Sgr during the immediately preceding passage ~0.7 Gyrs ago, but are more
plausibly explained by a leading streamer of material that was lost more that 1
Gyr ago and has wrapped all the way around the Galaxy. The observations
reported in Majewski et al (1999) also support this hypothesis. We determine
debris models with these properties on orbits that are consistent with the
currently known positions and velocities of Sgr in Galactic potentials with
halo components that have circular velocities v_circ=140-200 km/s. The best
match to the data is obtained in models where Sgr currently has a mass of ~10^9
M_sun and has orbited the Galaxy for at least the last 1 Gyr, during which time
it has reduced its mass by a factor of 2-3, or luminosity by an amount
equivalent to ~10% of the total luminosity of the Galactic halo. These numbers
suggest that Sgr is rapidly disrupting and unlikely to survive beyond a few
more pericentric passages.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Astronomical Journa
Disaster Resilience Education and Research Roadmap for Europe 2030 : ANDROID Report
A disaster resilience education and research roadmap for Europe 2030 has been launched. This roadmap represents an important output of the ANDROID disaster resilience network, bringing together existing literature in the field, as well as the results of various analysis and study projects undertaken by project partners.The roadmap sets out five key challenges and opportunities in moving from 2015 to 2030 and aimed at addressing the challenges of the recently announced Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This roadmap was developed as part of the ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network, led by Professor Richard Haigh of the Global Disaster Resilience Centre (www.hud.ac.uk/gdrc ) at the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield, UK. The ANDROID consortium of applied, human, social and natural scientists, supported by international organisations and a stakeholder board, worked together to map the field in disaster resilience education, pool their results and findings, develop interdisciplinary explanations, develop capacity, move forward innovative education agendas, discuss methods, and inform policy development. Further information on ANDROID Disaster Resilience network is available at: http://www.disaster-resilience.netAn ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network ReportANDROI
Universality in Blow-Up for Nonlinear Heat Equations
We consider the classical problem of the blowing-up of solutions of the
nonlinear heat equation. We show that there exist infinitely many profiles
around the blow-up point, and for each integer , we construct a set of
codimension in the space of initial data giving rise to solutions that
blow-up according to the given profile.Comment: 38 page
Alliance free and alliance cover sets
A \emph{defensive} (\emph{offensive}) -\emph{alliance} in
is a set such that every in (in the boundary of ) has
at least more neighbors in than it has in . A set
is \emph{defensive} (\emph{offensive}) -\emph{alliance free,}
if for all defensive (offensive) -alliance , ,
i.e., does not contain any defensive (offensive) -alliance as a subset.
A set is a \emph{defensive} (\emph{offensive})
-\emph{alliance cover}, if for all defensive (offensive) -alliance ,
, i.e., contains at least one vertex from each
defensive (offensive) -alliance of . In this paper we show several
mathematical properties of defensive (offensive) -alliance free sets and
defensive (offensive) -alliance cover sets, including tight bounds on the
cardinality of defensive (offensive) -alliance free (cover) sets
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