Differential scanning calorimetry study of glycerinated rabbit psoas muscle fibres in intermediate state of ATP hydrolysis

Background  

Thermal denaturation experiments were extended to study the thermal behaviour of the main motor proteins (actin and myosin) in their native environment in striated muscle fibres. The interaction of actin with myosin in the highly organized muscle structure is affected by internal forces; therefore their altered conformation and interaction may differ from those obtained in solution. The energetics of long functioning intermediate states of ATP hydrolysis cycle was studied in muscle fibres by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).     

Identification and expression profile of a putative basement membrane protein gene in the midgut of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicoverpa armigera</Emphasis>

Background  

The midgut undergoes histolysis and remodeling during the larval to adult transition in holometabolous insects, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this process are not well understood.     

Prevalence of abnormal findings on brain magnetic resonance (MR) examinations in adult participants of brain docking

Background  

To determine the prevalence of abnormal findings on brain magnetic resonance (MR) examinations in adult participants of brain docking in order to assess its usefulness.     

Chromatin remodeling agent trichostatin A: a key-factor in the hepatic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells derived of adult bone marrow

Background  

The capability of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) derived of adult bone marrow to undergo in vitro hepatic differentiation was investigated.     

Gene expression following induction of regeneration in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> wing imaginal discs. Expression profile of regenerating wing discs

Background  

Regeneration is the ability of an organism to rebuild a body part that has been damaged or amputated, and can be studied at the molecular level using model organisms. Drosophila imaginal discs, which are the larval primordia of adult cuticular structures, are capable of undergoing regenerative growth after transplantation and in vivo culture into the adult abdomen.     

An excess vessel in the posterior part of the human cerebral arterial circle (CAC): a case series

Background  

As a continuation of the previous findings in human fetuses, accidental finding of an accessory vascular component in the posterior part of CAC of human adult cadavers inspired the authors to present and compare its posterior part configuration.     

Temporal activation of anti- and pro-apoptotic factors in human gingival fibroblasts infected with the periodontal pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis: potential role of bacterial proteases in host signalling

Background  

Porphyromonas gingivalis is the foremost oral pathogen of adult periodontitis in humans. However, the mechanisms of bacterial invasion and the resultant destruction of the gingival tissue remain largely undefined.     

Comparison of Attenuation of Striated Muscle between Postmortem and Antemortem Computed Tomography: Results of a Longitudinal Study

Objective

We evaluated the postmortem changes of striated muscle by comparing computed tomography (CT) images obtained postmortem and antemortem in the same patients.

Materials and Methods

We studied 33 consecutive patients who underwent antemortem CT, postmortem CT, and pathological autopsy in our tertiary care hospital between April 2009 and December 2010. Postmortem CT was performed within 20 h after death and was followed by pathological autopsy. Pathological autopsy confirmed the absence of muscular diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, myositis, and myasthenia, in all of the patients. The CT attenuation values of four cardiac muscle sites (anterior wall of the left ventricle, left ventricular free wall, posterior wall of the left ventricle, and the ventricular septum) and two skeletal muscle sites (the pectoralis major muscle and the erector spinae muscle) were compared between antemortem and postmortem CT using paired t test.

Results

Striated muscle had significantly greater attenuation on postmortem CT than on antemortem CT (P<0.001) in all six tissue sites. No significant association was found between postmortem change in the CT attenuation of striated muscle and gender, age, or elapsed time since death.

Conclusion

This is the first longitudinal study to show hyperattenuation of striated muscle on postmortem CT images compared with antemortem CT images in the same patients.     

Global transcriptional response of pig brain and lung to natural infection by Pseudorabies virus

Background  

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an alphaherpesviruses whose native host is pig. PRV infection mainly causes signs of central nervous system disorder in young pigs, and respiratory system diseases in the adult.     

Viscoelastic behaviour of human mesenchymal stem cells

Background  

In this study, we have investigated the viscoelastic behaviour of individual human adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and the role of F-actin filaments in maintaining these properties, using micropipette aspiration technique together with a standard linear viscoelastic solid model.     

Associations between duration of first trimester intrauterine exposure to genocide against the Tutsi and health outcomes in adulthood

Objectives

Hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were conceived during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, including thousands conceived by genocidal rape. We explore whether the duration of first trimester exposure to the genocide is associated with variation in adult mental health outcomes in individuals exposed to varying degrees of genocide-related stress in utero.

Materials and Methods

We recruited 30 Rwandans conceived via genocidal rape, 31 Rwandans conceived by genocide survivors not raped, and 30 individuals of Rwandan-descent who were conceived outside of Rwanda at the time of the genocide (control group). Individuals were age- and sex-matched across groups. Adult mental health was assessed through standardized questionnaires for vitality, anxiety, and depression.

Results

Among the genocide only group, a longer duration of first trimester prenatal exposure was associated with higher anxiety scores and lower vitality (both p < 0.010), and higher depression scores (p = 0.051). Duration of first trimester exposure was not associated with any measures of mental health among the genocidal rape or control group.

Discussion

Duration of exposure to genocide in the first trimester of gestation was associated with variation in adult mental health among the genocide only group. The lack of association between duration of first trimester exposure to genocide and adult mental health in the genocidal rape group may reflect the fact that stress associated with conception through rape persisted beyond the genocide period itself, encompassing all of gestation and likely beyond. Geopolitical and community interventions are needed in the context of extreme events during pregnancy to mitigate adverse intergenerational outcomes.     

Developmental cues and persistent neurogenic potential within an <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> neural niche

Background  

Neurogenesis, the production of neural cell-types from neural stem cells (NSCs), occurs during development as well as within select regions of the adult brain. NSCs in the adult subependymal zone (SEZ) exist in a well-categorized niche microenvironment established by surrounding cells and their molecular products. The components of this niche maintain the NSCs and their definitive properties, including the ability to self-renew and multipotency (neuronal and glial differentiation).     

Functional conservation between rodents and chicken of regulatory sequences driving skeletal muscle gene expression in transgenic chickens

Background  

Regulatory elements that control expression of specific genes during development have been shown in many cases to contain functionally-conserved modules that can be transferred between species and direct gene expression in a comparable developmental pattern. An example of such a module has been identified at the rat myosin light chain (MLC) 1/3 locus, which has been well characterised in transgenic mouse studies. This locus contains two promoters encoding two alternatively spliced isoforms of alkali myosin light chain. These promoters are differentially regulated during development through the activity of two enhancer elements. The MLC3 promoter alone has been shown to confer expression of a reporter gene in skeletal and cardiac muscle in transgenic mice and the addition of the downstream MLC enhancer increased expression levels in skeletal muscle. We asked whether this regulatory module, sufficient for striated muscle gene expression in the mouse, would drive expression in similar domains in the chicken.     

Disruption of vitellogenin gene function in adult honeybees by intra-abdominal injection of double-stranded RNA

Background  

The ability to manipulate the genetic networks underlying the physiological and behavioural repertoires of the adult honeybee worker (Apis mellifera) is likely to deepen our understanding of issues such as learning and memory generation, ageing, and the regulatory anatomy of social systems in proximate as well as evolutionary terms. Here we assess two methods for probing gene function by RNA interference (RNAi) in adult honeybees.     

NOGO-A induction and localization during chick brain development indicate a role disparate from neurite outgrowth inhibition

Background  

Nogo-A, a myelin-associated protein, inhibits neurite outgrowth and abates regeneration in the adult vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) and may play a role in maintaining neural pathways once established. However, the presence of Nogo-A during early CNS development is counterintuitive and hints at an additional role for Nogo-A beyond neurite inhibition.     

Astroglial expression of the P-glycoprotein is controlled by intracellular CNTF

Background  

The P-glycoprotein (P-gp), an ATP binding cassette transmembrane transporter, is expressed by astrocytes in the adult brain, and is positively modulated during astrogliosis. In a search for factors involved in this modulation, P-gp overexpression was studied in long-term in vitro astroglial cultures.     

Induced metamorphosis in crustacean y-larvae: Towards a solution to a 100-year-old riddle

Background  

The y-larva, a crustacean larval type first identified more than 100 years ago, has been found in marine plankton samples collected in the arctic, temperate and tropical regions of all oceans. The great species diversity found among y-larvae (we have identified more than 40 species at our study site alone) indicates that the adult organism may play a significant ecological role. However, despite intense efforts, the adult y-organism has never been identified, and nothing is therefore known about its biology.     

Cloning of a novel inhibin alpha cDNA from rhesus monkey testis

Background  

Inhibins are dimeric gonadal protein hormones that negatively regulate pituitary FSH synthesis and secretion. Inhibin B is produced by testicular Sertoli cells and is the primary circulating form of inhibin in most adult male mammals. Inhibin B is comprised of the inhibin alpha subunit disulfide-linked to the inhibin/activin betaB subunit. Here we describe the cloning of the cDNAs encoding these subunits from adult rhesus monkey testis RNA.