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Article
Open AccessZinc drives vasorelaxation by acting in sensory nerves, endothelium and smooth muscle
Zinc, an abundant transition metal, serves as a signalling molecule in several biological systems. Zinc transporters are genetically associated with cardiovascular diseases but the function of zinc in vascular...
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Article
PACAP38-Mediated Bladder Afferent Nerve Activity Hyperexcitability and Ca2+ Activity in Urothelial Cells from Mice
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP; Adcyap1) and its cognate PAC1 receptor (Adcyap1r1) have tissue-specific distributions in the lower urinary tract (LUT). The afferent limb of the micturit...
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Article
Open AccessTRPV4 and KRAS and FGFR1 gain-of-function mutations drive giant cell lesions of the jaw
Giant cell lesions of the jaw (GCLJ) are debilitating tumors of unknown origin with limited available therapies. Here, we analyze 58 sporadic samples using next generation or targeted sequencing and report som...
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Article
Capillary K+-sensing initiates retrograde hyperpolarization to increase local cerebral blood flow
Longden et al. demonstrate that brain capillaries function as a vast sensory web, monitoring neuronal activity by sensing K+ and translating this into a KIR-channel-mediated regenerative retrograde hyperpolarizin...
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Article
Open AccessPharmacological inhibitors of TRPV4 channels reduce cytokine production, restore endothelial function and increase survival in septic mice
Sepsis is characterized by systemic inflammation, edema formation and hypo-perfusion leading to organ dysfunction and ultimately death. Activation of the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) c...
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Article
What the Utilitarian Cannot Think
I argue that utilitarianism cannot accommodate a basic sort of moral judgment that many people want to make. I raise a real-life example of shockingly bad behavior and ask what can the utilitarian say about it...
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Article
Open AccessElementary Ca2+signals through endothelial TRPV4 channels regulate vascular function
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Article
Deletion of Cx43 from Osteocytes Results in Defective Bone Material Properties but Does Not Decrease Extrinsic Strength in Cortical Bone
Deletion of connexin (Cx) 43 from osteoblasts and osteocytes (OCN-Cre;Cx43fl/− mice) or from osteocytes only (DMP1-8kb-Cre;Cx43fl/fl mice) results in increased cortical, but not cancellous, osteocyte apoptosis an...
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Article
Open AccessHyper-contractility and impaired cGMP signaling in the BKCa channel deletion model of erectile dysfunction
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Article
Local potassium signaling couples neuronal activity to vasodilation in the brain
The mechanisms by which active neurons, via astrocytes, rapidly signal intracerebral arterioles to dilate remain obscure. Here we show that modest elevation of extracellular potassium (K+) activated inward rectif...
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Article
Who Needs Valid Moral Arguments? (Dedicated to the Memory of R.M. Chisholm, 1916–1999)
Why have so many philosophers agonised over the possibility of valid arguments from factual premises to moral conclusions? I suggest that they have done so, because of worries over a sceptical argument that ha...
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Chapter
Ca2+ Sparks and KCa Channels: Novel Mechanisms to Relax Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle
The urinary bladder is a unique organ that must able to relax while filling with urine and contract forcefully to expel urine during micturition. Micturition is under voluntary control, and involves the synchr...
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Article
Protecting the heart
Abnormal enlargement of the heart muscle can be life-threatening. Unexpected insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms has come from investigating a gene that regulates cardiac calcium levels.
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Chapter
Regulation of Cerebral Artery Diameter by Potassium Channels
One remarkable feature of the cerebral circulation is the maintenance of near-constant blood flow to the brain, even under the most extreme circumstances. Diameter regulation of cerebral resistance arteries to...
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Article
Vasoregulation by the β1 subunit of the calcium-activated potassium channel
Small arteries exhibit tone, a partially contracted state that is an important determinant of blood pressure. In arterial smooth muscle cells, intracellular calcium paradoxically controls both contraction and ...
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Chapter and Conference Paper
Potential Cardioprotective Effects of Estrogen Involving Ion Channels, Endothelium, and Coronary Artery Reactivity
The protective effects of estrogen have been studied extensively in the cardiovascular system, where reproductive hormones are known to have major influence on morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological data ind...
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Chapter
Calcium permeant ion channels in smooth muscle
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Article
Who are the best judges of theistic arguments?
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Article
Is it always fallacious to derive values from facts?
Since the time of David Hume, many philosophers have held that there is a logical ‘Is/Ought gap.’ According to the doctrine of the Is/Ought gap, there are no valid (i.e., non-fallacious) arguments from purely ...
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Chapter
Ion Channels in Cerebral Arteries
Ion channels form ion selective pores in cell membranes, which, when open, allow movement of ions down their electrochemical potential gradient. A channel may be selective for a particular ion, for example, po...
