The role of inhibitory G proteins and regulators of G protein signaling in the in vivo control of heart rate and predisposition to cardiac arrhythmias

Inhibitory heterotrimeric G proteins and the control of heart rate. The activation of cell signaling pathways involving inhibitory heterotrimeric G proteins acts to slow the heart rate via modulation of ion channels. A large number of Regulators of G protein signalings (RGSs) can act as GTPase accelerating proteins to inhibitory G proteins and thus it is important to understand the network of RGS\G-protein interaction. We will review our recent findings on in vivo heart rate control in mice with global genetic deletion of various inhibitory G protein alpha subunits. We will discuss potential central and peripheral contributions to the phenotype and the controversies in the literature

Who eats away the money? The dilemma of urban water and sanitation services in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is experiencing rapid urbanization in recent decades. Nearly one-third population of the country lives in the urban areas with a high growth rate. The number of urban centres has increased by over five times from 108 in 1974 to 557 in 2013. The unregulated increase of urban centres demands institutional reform, capacity building and resources to make the service agencies responsive and able to cater the increasing demand. Unfortunately, development programmes and the resource allocation scenario over the past years shows a great neglect towards the small and medium towns with over 80% of the total allocation goes to the big cities to maintain the existing infrastructure. As a result, the country has seen a declining urban WASH coverage trend over the past decade. This significantly affects the well-being of the low income people living in the urban areas

Superconducting Gap and Pseudogap in Bi-2212

We present results of Raman scattering experiments in differently doped Bi-2212 single crystals. Below Tc the spectra show pair-breaking features in the whole doping range. The low frequency power laws confirm the existence of a $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave order parameter. In the normal state between Tc and T* = 200K we find evidence for a pseudogap in B2g symmetry. Upon doping its effect on the spectra decreases while its energy scale appears to be unchanged.Comment: 2 pages, 1 EPS figure; LT22 Proceedings to appear in Physica