The rd mouse has been widely used as an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa. In this model, a mutation of rod-specific phosphodiesterase leads to a loss of rods during the early period of postnatal life. Morphological modifications at the level of the outer plexiform layer have been shown (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 97 (2000) 11020) in bipolar and horizontal cells. However, very little is known...

The retina offers a model system for investigating the mechanisms that control cell type determination and differentiation in the vertebrate central nervous system. Previously, rod photoreceptor development in vitro was found to require a diffusible activity released by retinal cells (D. Altshuler and C. Cepko, Development 114, 947-957, 1992). In this report, we show that retinal-cell-condition...

PURPOSE Because of their high cone/rod ratio, Xenopus laevis may be a useful system for examining rod-cone interactions during retinal degeneration and mechanisms that underlie secondary cone degeneration. The authors developed an inducible model of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in X. laevis to investigate these issues. METHODS The authors generated transgenic X. laevis that express a modified ca...

Background: Renal osteodystrophy (ROD) is a common bone and mineral metabolism disorder in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This study aimed to determinate the frequency of the subtypes of ROD and evaluate the diagnostic value of biochemical as the well as radiographic markers for the diagnosis of ROD among hemodialysis patients in Golestan province of Iran.  Materials and Methods...

Inverted pendulum control is a well-known and challenging problem, which is generally associated to attitude control of a rocket during take off. This system consists of one input generating the cart driving force, and two outputs (linear position of the cart and angular position of the rod). The objective of this experimental design is to swing up the pendulum rod using an appropriate open loo...

Visual perception across a broad range of light levels is shaped by interactions between rod- and cone-mediated signals. Because responses of retinal ganglion cells, the output cells of the retina, depend on signals from both rod and cone photoreceptors, interactions occurring in retinal circuits provide an opportunity to link the mechanistic operation of parallel pathways and perception. Here ...

Visual neurons adapt to increases in stimulus contrast by reducing their response sensitivity and decreasing their integration time, a collective process known as 'contrast gain control.' In retinal ganglion cells, gain control arises at two stages: an intrinsic mechanism related to spike generation, and a synaptic mechanism in retinal pathways. Here, we tested whether gain control is expressed...

In the current construction process of high-voltage transmission lines, installation spacer rods mainly adopts manual stepping on line and high-altitude operation flying vehicles. However, existing methods still have safety hazards are not efficient. installing rod, it is necessary to measure locate position rod. At present, measuring tape or ground theodolite used for measurement, which requir...