The sodium-activated potassium channels Slick (Slo2.1, KCNT2) and Slack (Slo2.2, KCNT1) are high-conductance potassium channels of the Slo family. In neurons, Slick and Slack channels are involved in the generation of slow afterhyperpolarization, in the regulation of firing patterns, and in setting and stabilizing the resting membrane potential. The distribution and subcellular localization of ...

The primate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a site of convergence from primary taste, olfactory, and somatosensory cortical areas. We describe the responses of a population of single neurons in the OFC that respond to orally applied fat (e.g., safflower oil) and to substances with a similar texture but different chemical composition, such as mineral oil (hydrocarbon) and silicone oil [(Si(CH3)2O)...

The measurement of oil slick thickness, although at an early stage, has immense applications in determining the extent and quantity crude accidentally discharged oceans. In this work, we present design, development sensors switching circuit that were integrated to form a novel microwave spill sensor for determination thickness. We used four ultra-wideband polydimethylsiloxane encapsulated anten...

We propose a new approach based on the Marangoni theory, particularly a dampening of the wave spectra energy. The observation is decomposed into multiscale analysis using a pseudo morphological pyramid, named here as a alternating contextual filter, to improve the detection of local variations of the wave spectrum. The morphological thick gradient contrast is first performed with a varying stru...

Potassium channels activated by intracellular Na(+) ions (K(Na)) play several distinct roles in regulating the firing patterns of neurons, and, at the single channel level, their properties are quite diverse. Two known genes, Slick and Slack, encode K(Na) channels. We have now found that Slick and Slack subunits coassemble to form heteromeric channels that differ from the homomers in their unit...

An oil spill occurred off Goa, west coast of India, on 23 March 2005 due to collision of two vessels. In general, fair weather with weak winds prevails along the west coast of India during March. In that case, the spill would have moved slowly and reached the coast. However, in 2005 when this event occurred, relatively stronger winds prevailed, and these winds forced the spill to move away from...

The support activities within the European Commission (EC) DG Joint Research Centre (JRC) following the oil pollution along the Lebanese coast are described. The activities primarily focused on the use of satellite imagery to provide information on the extent and possible direction of movement of the slick. The employed data were mainly Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. The possible use of...