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Thanawala, Monica

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Thanawala

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Monica

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Thanawala, Monica
Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.c47ded72-2754-4457-a3b2-987523fb1e06

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    Template-Dependent Morphogenesis of Oriented Calcite Crystals in the Presence of Magnesium Ions
    (Wiley, 2005) Han, Yong-Jin; Wysocki, Laura M.; Thanawala, Monica; Siegrist, Theo; Aizenberg, Joanna
    This paper presents a study of the morphogenesis of oriented crystals caused by solution growth modifiers. Self-assembled monolayers of HS-(CH2)15-CO2H, HS-(CH2)10-CO2H, HS- (CH2)11-SO3H, HS-(CH2)11-OH supported on gold that induce the oriented nucleation of calcite from the (013), (113), (106)+(1.0.12) and (104) planes respectively, were used as templates for calcite crystallization from solutions containing Mg ions (Mg/Ca = 0-4). We show that when crystal growth in the presence of an additive is coupled with the control over the nucleation process, the formation of crystal arrays with extremely uniform size, shape, facets and orientation is achieved. This study for the first time demonstrates that crystal morphogenesis depends on the orientation of the crystals on the surface, such that crystals grown on different substrates exhibit uniform, but template-specific characteristics. The possible mechanisms of this new phenomenon – an additive-induced morphogenesis of differently oriented crystals – are discussed. We believe that this approach can be used as a potent crystallization strategy that would allow the synthesis of homogeneous crystals with finely-tailored morphologies.
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    Control of Neurotransmitter Release Properties by Presynaptic Calcium
    (2014-06-06) Thanawala, Monica; Regehr, Wade G.; Yellen, Gary; Chen, Chinfei; Turrigiano, Gina
    Presynaptic terminals of neurons are optimized for neurotransmitter release, which is tightly controlled by presynaptic calcium. Here, we evaluate the role of calcium influx through voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in regulating the initial vesicular release probability (p) and the number of vesicles available for release by action potentials (effective RRP) at the calyx of Held synapse in mice. Two established methods of estimating effective RRP size and p reveal that both are calcium dependent. Reducing calcium influx by blocking R-type (VGCCs) or P/Q-type VGCCs also reduces EPSC amplitude via p and effective RRP size. Furthermore, activation of gamma-aminobutryic acid class B (GABAB) receptors, which reduces presynaptic calcium by regulating VGCCs without other significant effects on release, also reduces the effective RRP size and p. These findings suggest that the calcium dependence of RRP size may influence the manner in which certain neuromodulators affect neurotransmitter release.