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Invaluable Research Tool (invaluable + research_tool)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Recent Insights into Carotid Baroreflex Function in Humans Using the Variable Pressure Neck Chamber

EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 6 2003
Paul J. Fadel
The variable pressure neck chamber has provided an invaluable research tool for the non-invasive assessment of carotid baroreflex (CBR) function in human investigations. The ability to construct complete stimulus-response curves and define specific parameters of the reflex function curve permits statistical comparisons of baroreflex function between different experimental conditions, such as rest and exercise. Results have convincingly indicated that the CBR stimulus-response curve is reset during exercise in an intensity-dependent manner to functionally operate around the prevailing pressure elicited by the exercise workload. Furthermore, both at rest and during exercise, alterations in stroke volume do not contribute importantly to the maintenance of arterial blood pressure by the carotid baroreceptors, and therefore, any reflex-induced changes in cardiac output (Q) are the result of CBR-mediated changes in heart rate. However, more importantly, the CBR-induced changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) are primarily mediated by alterations in vascular conductance with only minimal contributions from Q to the initial reflex MAP response. Thus, the capacity of the CBR to regulate blood pressure depends critically on its ability to alter vascular tone both at rest and during exercise. This review will emphasize the utility of the variable pressure neck chamber to assess CBR function in human experimental investigations and the mechanisms by which the CBR responds to alterations in arterial blood pressure both at rest and during exercise. [source]

The Christian Religion in Modern European and World History: A Review of The Cambridge History of Christianity, 1815,2000

HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2008
David Lindenfeld
Volumes 8 and 9 of the Cambridge History, representing the work of 72 scholars, reflect two major recent historiographical trends: 1) the increased attention paid to religion in modern European history, and 2) the increasing importance of Christianity in as a topic in world history. While these volumes serve to summarize the work already done in the first field, with articles on a wide variety of European countries, they should significantly move the second field forward by bringing together the work of specialists on many different parts of the world in a single place. Volume 8 summarizes scholarship on the Western religious revivals of the nineteenth century, both Catholic and Protestant. By integrating religion and politics, it also presents a more complex picture of the formation of European national identities than Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities suggests. One third of the volume is devoted to the spread of Christianity to the non-Western world. In Volume 9, the European and world history perspectives are more evenly interspersed. Major themes include the papacy, ecumenism, colonialism, Pentecostalism, and the independent churches of Africa and Asia. The 1960s emerge as a turning point, if for different reasons in different parts of the world. This was the decisive period of secularization in Europe, and the final section documents the social and cultural impact of that shift, particularly on the arts. Although there are inevitable gaps in coverage, these volumes will serve as an invaluable research tool for years to come. [source]

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Female Sexual Response: Overview of Techniques, Results, and Future Directions

THE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 7 2008
Kenneth R. Maravilla
ABSTRACT Introduction., Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is becoming a frequently used tool in the study of sexual physiology and neurophysiology. Aim., This report reviews various MRI methods used to study the female sexual arousal response. Methods., Retrospective review of pertinent literature. Results., Dynamic genital MRI studies enable the visualization of the physiologic arousal response that provides the direct observation of the time course and magnitude of this response, along with the variability that appears to occur in women with sexual arousal disorder. Functional brain MR studies are described and summarized along with an overview of what we have learned. Finally, the speculation on how we may be able to use MRI technology to better understand the female sexual response and to help in validating new drug treatments or in devising new treatment strategies for sexual dysfunction is also presented. Conclusions., Neuroimaging has already been proven as an invaluable research tool to study the sexual response in women both in the pelvis as well as within the brain. Using these techniques, major inroads are being made to improve the understanding of the sexual arousal process in women. Maravilla KR, and Yang CC. Magnetic resonance imaging and the female sexual response: Overview of techniques, results, and future directions. J Sex Med 2008;5:1559,1571. [source]

Comparative and developmental study of the immune system in Xenopus

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 6 2009
Jacques Robert
Abstract Xenopus laevis is the model of choice for evolutionary, comparative, and developmental studies of immunity, and invaluable research tools including MHC-defined clones, inbred strains, cell lines, and monoclonal antibodies are available for these studies. Recent efforts to use Silurana (Xenopus) tropicalis for genetic analyses have led to the sequencing of the whole genome. Ongoing genome mapping and mutagenesis studies will provide a new dimension to the study of immunity. Here we review what is known about the immune system of X. laevis integrated with available genomic information from S. tropicalis. This review provides compelling evidence for the high degree of similarity and evolutionary conservation between Xenopus and mammalian immune systems. We propose to build a powerful and innovative comparative biomedical model based on modern genetic technologies that takes take advantage of X. laevis and S. tropicalis, as well as the whole Xenopus genus. Developmental Dynamics 238:1249,1270, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]