transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (tens) is an analgesia inducing method with increasing applications in clinical procedures. in this study we tried to evaluate the role of the adrenergic system and its different adrenoceptor subtypes in tens-induced analgesia. two types of low and high frequency electrical stimuli were used in rats through needle electrodes, inserted at the base of t...

Cardiac α1-adrenoceptor stimulation elicits a positive inotropic effect because of myofilament Ca2+ sensitization with a small increase in Ca2+ transients predominantly mediated by α1B-adrenoceptors via the intracellular alkalinization and potential myosin light chain 2 phosphorylation. However, the α1-adrenoceptor– mediated inotropy exhibits a wide range of species-dependent variation. In addi...

The potential role of dimerization in controlling the expression and pharmacological properties of alpha1-adrenoceptor subtypes was examined using coimmunoprecipitation of epitope-tagged receptors. Human alpha1-adrenoceptor subtypes (alpha1A, alpha1B, alpha1D) were tagged at their amino-termini with Flag or hemagglutinin epitopes and transfected into human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Homodimeri...

ß -carotene is a human nutrient found in plants or animals. It is also can be synthesized chemically. It is lipid-soluble, and is yellow, orange or red in color. ß-Carotene can be cleaved into vitamin A in vivo. The most abundant form of ß-carotene in human serum is trans isomer; cis isomers such as 9-cis ß-carotene, 13-cis ß-carotene, and 15-cis ß-carotene are only present in trace amounts. ß-...

.............................................................................6 ORIGINAL PAPERS....................................................................7 ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................8 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................9 The structure of a pancreatic islet................................

Although many endo-ß-1,4-glucanases have been isolated in invertebrates, their cellulolytic systems are not fully understood. In particular, gastropod feeding on seaweed is considered an excellent model system for production of bioethanol and renewable bioenergy from third-generation feedstocks (microalgae and seaweeds). In this study, enzymes involved in the conversion of cellulose and other p...

Studies on mechanisms of desipramine (DMI) induced desensitization of the norepinephrine (NE) receptor coupled adenylate cyclase system in brain have shown that the endogenous agonist NE plays a pivotal role for both the development of subsensitivity and the down-regulation of beta adrenoceptors [l-4]. Moreover, an intact serotonergic neuronal input is co-required for the down-regulation of cen...

This paper examines an infinite family of proximity drawings of graphs called open and closed ß-drawings, first defined by Kirkpatrick and Radke [15, 21] in the context of computational morphology. Such proximity drawings include as special cases the well-known Gabriel, relative neighborhood and strip drawings. Complete characterizations of those trees that admit open /^-drawings for 0 < ß < iz...

Wound healing is a complex process that relies on proper levels of cytokines and growth factors to successfully repair the tissue. Of particular interest are the members of the transforming growth factor family. There are three TGF-ß isoforms-TGF- ß 1, 2, and 3, each isoform showing a unique expression pattern, suggesting that they each play a distinct function during development and repair. Pr...

Microdialysis sampling of lipophilic molecules in human tissues is challenging because protein binding and adhesion to the membrane limit recovery. Hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HP-ß-CD) forms complexes with hydrophobic molecules thereby improving microdialysis recovery of lipophilic molecules in vitro and in rodents. We tested the approach in human subjects. First, we determined HP-ß-CD influe...