Search

The ability to measure the biomechanical properties of the vocal fold in vivo is both an aid to diagnosis and enhances our knowledge of how the vocal folds operate. This paper details a new instrument that is capable of taking readings of the spring rate of the vocal fold in a repeatable manner. We also present three sets of readings taken from two volunteer patients. Patient 1 was suffering from polyp growth, and the data presented are taken from both the damaged vocal fold and the healthy vocal fold. The third set of readings was obtained from a similar volunteer and taken from a healthy vocal fold. It can be seen that the data obtained from the healthy vocal folds are similar and that the data obtained from the diseased vocal fold is at variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brownian motion of mesoscopic particles is ubiquitous and usually random. But in systems with periodic asymmetric barriers to movement, directed or 'rectified' motion can arise and may even modulate some biological processes. In man-made devices, brownian ratchets and variants based on optical or quantum effects have been exploited to induce directed motion, and the dependence of the amplitude of motion on particle size has led to the size-dependent separation of biomolecules. Here we demonstrate that the one-dimensional pores of a macroporous silicon membrane, etched to exhibit a periodic asymmetric variation in pore diameter, can act as massively parallel and multiply stacked brownian ratchets that are potentially suitable for large-scale particle separations. We show that applying a periodic pressure profile with a mean value of zero to a basin separated by such a membrane induces a periodic flow of water and suspended particles through the pores, resulting in a net motion of the particles from one side of the membrane to the other without moving the liquid itself. We find that the experimentally observed pressure dependence of the particle transport, including an inversion of the transport direction, agrees with calculations of the transport properties in the type of ratchet devices used here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effects of sour stimuli on taste cells in slices of vallate papilla from rat. Identification of a hyperpolarization-activated current that was enhanced by sour stimulation at the taste pore; Dose-dependent flattening of the activation of curve of cyclic-nucleotide-gated channels caused by lowering extracellular pH.

Identifies glutamic-acid-rich proteins (GARP) as multivalent proteins that interact with the key players of cGMP signalling, phosphodiesterase and guanylate cyclase, and with a retina-specific ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABCR).