Serum response factor (SRF), a member of the MCM1, agamous, deficiens, SRF (MADS) family of transcriptional activators, has been implicated in the transcriptional control of a number of cardiac muscle genes, including cardiac alpha-actin, skeletal alpha-actin, alpha-myosin heavy chain (alpha-MHC), and beta-MHC. To better understand the in vivo role of SRF in regulating genes responsible for mai...

Few analytic results exist for the firing-rate dynamics of spatially extended neuron models driven by distributed synaptic input. Using an upcrossing approximation firing rate, statistics spatiotemporal voltage are derived and show that minimal dendritic exhibit unexpectedly sustained high-frequency response.

Purkinje neurons can spike very rapidly for sustained periods. We examined the cycle of sodium channel gating during high-frequency firing of Purkinje neurons, focusing on the kinetics of sodium channel inactivation and recovery during and after spikes. To analyze sodium channel availability during spiking, we recorded the firing patterns of acutely dissociated Purkinje neurons in current clamp...

Fast synchronous neurotransmitter release at the presynaptic active zone is triggered by local Ca(2+) signals, which are confined in their spatiotemporal extent by endogenous Ca(2+) buffers. However, it remains elusive how rapid and reliable Ca(2+) signaling can be sustained during repetitive release. Here, we established quantitative two-photon Ca(2+) imaging in cerebellar mossy fiber boutons,...

BACKGROUND To compare scleral buckling (SB) and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) using a wide angle viewing system (WAVS) for uncomplicated phakic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). METHODS The medical records of patients with uncomplicated phakic RRD were retrospectively reviewed. Eyes with pseudophakic or attached fovea were excluded. Patients treated with SB were classified as group B, an...

Neuronal oscillators can function as bistable toggle switches, flipping between quiescence and rhythmic firing in response to an input stimulus. In theory, such switching should be sensitive to small noisy inputs if the bistable states are in close proximity, which we test here using a perfused squid axon preparation. We find that small noisy stimulus currents induce a multitude of paths betwee...

Many critically ill patients in intensive care units suffer from an infection-induced whole body inflammatory state known as sepsis, which causes severe weakness in patients who survive. The mechanisms by which sepsis triggers intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICUAW) remain unclear. Currently, research into ICUAW is focused on dysfunction of the peripheral nervous system. During electromyo...