Neurites of neurons under acute or chronic stress form bundles of filaments (rods) containing 1∶1 cofilin∶actin, which impair transport and synaptic function. Rods contain disulfide cross-linked cofilin and are induced by treatments resulting in oxidative stress. Rods form rapidly (5-30 min) in >80% of cultured hippocampal or cortical neurons treated with excitotoxic levels of glutamate or ener...

The dynamics of a set of rods bouncing on a vertically vibrated plate is investigated using experiments, simulations, and theoretical analysis. The experiments and simulations are performed within an annulus to impose periodic boundary conditions. Rods tilted with respect to the vertical are observed to spontaneously develop a horizontal velocity depending on the acceleration of the plate. For ...

With use of sodium aspartate, the late receptor potential of the excised, perfused bullfrog retina was isolated. By means of a two-flash technique, rapid dark adaptation of rods was monitored. As in cones, barium ions were found to delay the onset of rapid dark adaptation of rods, but the rate of recovery, once begun, was virtually unaffected. The effect of barium on the amplitude-intensity rel...

Trimetallic catalytic microrotors were fabricated by electrodeposition of cylindrical Au-Ru rods in the pores of anodic alumina membranes, dissolution of the template membrane, and then sequential vapor deposition of Cr, SiO(2), Cr, Au, and Pt on one side of each rod. This design provides two force vectors for the catalytic motor, including one perpendicular to the rod axis. The rods rotated ra...

Retinal horizontal cells (HCs) provide negative feedback to cones, but, largely because annular illumination fails to evoke a depolarizing response in rods, it is widely believed that there is no feedback from HCs to rods. However, feedback from HCs to cones involves small changes in the calcium current (I(Ca)) that do not always generate detectable depolarizing responses. We therefore recorded...

Intranuclear rods are aggregates consisting of actin and cofilin that are formed in the nucleus in consequence of chemical or mechanical stress conditions. The formation of rods is implicated in a variety of pathological conditions, such as certain myopathies and some neurological disorders. It is still not well understood what exactly triggers the formation of intranuclear rods, whether other ...

Intradermal delivery of antigens for vaccination is a very attractive approach since the skin provides a rich network of antigen presenting cells, which aid in stimulating an immune response. Numerous intradermal techniques have been developed to enhance penetration across the skin. However, these methods are invasive and/or affect the skin integrity. Hence, our group has devised zinc oxide (Zn...

Bacterial vaginosis is the most prevalent disease of the female genital tract. In spite of various effective antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, its high relapse rate is a common problem. Bacterial species causing bacterial vaginosis are generally unable to be cultured by conventional methods. It is impractical and inadequate to use culture methods to guide initial treatment. G...

Introduction: Surgical treatments for early onset scoliosis typically require multiple operations and many complications. A more fl exible growing rod construct might result in a more fl exible spine with fewer complications. Polymer rods (polyetheretherketone, PEEK) are relatively fl exible in bending, and therefore might allow for greater range of motion (ROM) during treatment. The purpose of...

PURPOSE Rods and cones differ in their photoresponse characteristics, morphology, and susceptibilities to certain diseases. To contribute to the studies at the molecular level of these differences, we tried to identify genes expressed preferentially in rods or cones. METHODS From purified carp rods and cones, we extracted their RNA and obtained corresponding cDNA pools (rod cDNA and cone cDNA...