This article introduces a new and unobtrusive wearable monitoring device based on electrodermal activity (EDA) to be used in health-related computing systems. This paper introduces the description of ...the wearable device capable of acquiring the EDA of a subject in order to detect his/her calm/distress condition from the acquired physiological signals. The lightweight wearable device is placed in the wrist of the subject to allow continuous physiological measurements. With the aim of validating the correct operation of the wearable EDA device, pictures from the International Affective Picture System are used in a control experiment involving fifty participants. The collected signals are processed, features are extracted and a statistical analysis is performed on the calm/distress condition classification. The results show that the wearable device solely based on EDA signal processing reports around 89% accuracy when distinguishing calm condition from distress condition.
The paper reports an investigation focusing on the transient evolution of diesel sprays. In order to understand the relationship between fuel–air mixing and spray penetration, a one-dimensional spray ...model is developed, which is capable of predicting the spray behaviour under transient conditions. The main assumptions of the model are the mixing-controlled hypothesis and the validity of self-similarity for conservative properties. Validation of such concepts is achieved by comparing model predictions with both CFD gas jet simulations and experimental diesel spray measurements. Results show that a reasonable estimation of the spray evolution can be obtained for both non-vaporising and vaporising conditions.
The capacity to release genetic material into the extracellular medium has been reported in cultures of numerous species of bacteria, archaea, and fungi, and also in the context of multicellular ...microbial communities such as biofilms. Moreover, extracellular DNA (eDNA) of microbial origin is widespread in natural aquatic and terrestrial environments. Different specific mechanisms are involved in eDNA release, such as autolysis and active secretion, as well as through its association with membrane vesicles. It is noteworthy that in microorganisms, in which DNA release has been studied in detail, the production of eDNA is coordinated by the population when it reaches a certain cell density, and is induced in a subpopulation in response to the accumulation of quorum sensing signals. Interestingly, in several bacteria there is also a relationship between eDNA release and the development of natural competence (the ability to take up DNA from the environment), which is also controlled by quorum sensing. Then, what is the biological function of eDNA? A common biological role has not been proposed, since different functions have been reported depending on the microorganism. However, it seems to be important in biofilm formation, can be used as a nutrient source, and could be involved in DNA damage repair and gene transfer. This review covers several aspects of eDNA research: (i) its occurrence and distribution in natural environments, (ii) the mechanisms and regulation of its release in cultured microorganisms, and (iii) its biological roles. In addition, we propose that eDNA release could be considered a social behavior, based on its quorum sensing-dependent regulation and on the described functions of eDNA in the context of microbial communities.
Basement membranes (BMs) are resilient polymer structures that surround organs in all animals. Tissues, however, undergo extensive morphological changes during development. It is not known whether ...the assembly of BM components plays an active morphogenetic role. To study in vivo the biogenesis and assembly of Collagen IV, the main constituent of BMs, we used a GFP-based RNAi method (iGFPi) designed to knock down any GFP-trapped protein in Drosophila. We found with this method that Collagen IV is synthesized by the fat body, secreted to the hemolymph (insect blood), and continuously incorporated into the BMs of the larva. We also show that incorporation of Collagen IV determines organ shape, first by mechanically constricting cells and second through recruitment of Perlecan, which counters constriction by Collagen IV. Our results uncover incorporation of Collagen IV and Perlecan into BMs as a major determinant of organ shape and animal form.
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► In vivo GFP RNA interference (iGFPi) can be used to knock down GFP-trapped proteins ► Fat body-secreted Collagen IV is incorporated to larval basement membranes (BMs) ► Collagen IV shapes cells and organs by exerting a mechanical constricting tension ► Perlecan, recruited into BMs by Collagen IV, counters Collagen IV constriction
Summary
Microorganisms that thrive in acidic environments are endowed with specialized molecular mechanisms to survive under this extremely harsh condition. In this work, we performed functional ...screening of six metagenomic libraries from planktonic and rhizosphere microbial communities of the Tinto River, an extremely acidic environment, to identify genes involved in acid resistance. This approach has revealed 15 different genes conferring acid resistance to Escherichia coli, most of which encoding putative proteins of unknown function or previously described proteins not known to be related to acid resistance. Moreover, we were able to assign function to one unknown and three hypothetical proteins. Among the recovered genes were the ClpXP protease, the transcriptional repressor LexA and nucleic acid‐binding proteins such as an RNA‐binding protein, HU and Dps. Furthermore, nine of the retrieved genes were cloned and expressed in Pseudomonas putida and Bacillus subtilis and, remarkably, most of them were able to expand the capability of these bacteria to survive under severe acid stress. From this set of genes, four presented a broad‐host range as they enhance the acid resistance of the three different organisms tested. These results expand our knowledge about the different strategies used by microorganisms to survive under extremely acid conditions.
Abstract
A social behavior named cannibalism has been described during the early stages of sporulation of the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis. This phenomenon is based on the heterogeneity of ...sporulating populations, constituted by at least two cell types: (1) sporulating cells, in which the master regulator of sporulation Spo0A is active, and (2) nonsporulating cells, in which Spo0A is inactive. Sporulating cells produce two toxins that act cooperatively to kill the nonsporulating sister cells. The nutrients released by the dead cells into the starved medium are used for growth by the sporulating cells that are not yet fully committed to sporulate, and as a result, sporulation is arrested. This review outlines the molecular mechanisms of the killing and immunity to the toxins, the regulation of their production and other examples of killing of siblings in microorganisms. The biological significance of this behavior is discussed.
•One criterium based on radiation images has been defined to quantify sooting/non-sooting cycles.•Lift-off length variation has been found as the main reason of strong cycle-to-cycle soot ...variations.•DBI and Two-color method have been applied simultaneously under such sooting/non-sooting critical conditions.•The advantages and limitations of both techniques have been compared.
Because of the challenge of meeting stringent emissions regulations for internal combustion engines, some advanced low temperature combustion modes have been raised in recent decades to improve combustion efficiency. Therefore, detailed understanding and capability for accurate prediction of in-flame soot processes under such low sooting conditions are becoming necessary. Nowadays, a lot of investigations have been carried out to quantify in-flame soot in Diesel sprays under high sooting conditions by means of different optical techniques. However, no information of soot quantification can be found for sooting/non-sooting critical conditions. In current study, the instantaneous soot production in a two-stroke optical engine under low sooting conditions has been measured by means of a Diffused back-illumination extinction technique (DBI) and two-color method (2C) simultaneously. The fuels used were n-dodecane and n-heptane, which have been injected separately though two different injectors equipped with single-hole nozzles. A large cycle-to-cycle variation on soot production can be observed under such operating conditions, however the in-cylinder heat release traces were quite repeatable. It is the same with the well-known trends of soot amount to operating conditions that the probability of sooting cycles increases with higher ambient temperature, higher ambient density and lower injection pressure. Both techniques present a pretty good agreement on soot amount when the peak of KL value is close to 1. However, the KL value of two-color method becomes bigger than that of DBI and the difference increases with lower sooting conditions.
Salivary cortisol, α-amylase (sAA), secretory IgA (sIgA), testosterone, and soluble fraction of receptor II of TNFα (sTNFαRII) could serve as objective pain measures, but the normal variability of ...these potential biomarkers is unknown.
Saliva was collected with the passive secretion method from 34, pain-free subjects in two single samples at least 24 hours apart. Biomarker variation and intersession reliability were assessed with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Also, we calculated the within-subject standard deviation (Sw) and the reproducibility (2.77 × Sw) of intersession measures.
Salivary cortisol, sAA, sIgA, testosterone, and sTNFαRII yielded the following ICCs: 0.53, 0.003, 0.88, 0.42 and 0.83, respectively. We found no statistically significant systematic differences between sessions in any biomarker except for testosterone, which showed a decrease on the second day (p<0.001). The reproducibility for salivary cortisol, sAA, sIgA, testosterone, and sTNFαRII were 0.46 ng/ml, 12.88 U/ml, 11.7 μg/ml, 14.54 pg/ml and 18.29 pg/ml, respectively. Cortisol, testosterone and TNFαRII measurement variability showed a positive correlation with the magnitude (p<0.002), but no relationship was found for sAA and sIgA.
Salivary sIgA and sTNFαRII show a remarkable good reproducibility and, therefore, could be useful as pain biomarkers. When using the passive secretion method, intersession variations in salivary sIgA of more than 11.7 μg/ml may reflect true biomarker change. In the case of sTNFαRII this will depend of the magnitude. The estimates herein provided should help investigators and clinicians differentiate actual biomarker modification from measurement variability.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We examined the phylogenetic history of Linaria with special emphasis on the Mediterranean sect. Supinae (44 species). We revealed extensive highly supported incongruence among two nuclear (ITS, ...AGT1) and two plastid regions (rpl32-trnL(UAG), trnS-trnG). Coalescent simulations, a hybrid detection test and species tree inference in *BEAST revealed that incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization may both be responsible for the incongruent pattern observed. Additionally, we present a multilabelled *BEAST species tree as an alternative approach that allows the possibility of observing multiple placements in the species tree for the same taxa. That permitted the incorporation of processes such as hybridization within the tree while not violating the assumptions of the *BEAST model. This methodology is presented as a functional tool to disclose the evolutionary history of species complexes that have experienced both hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting. The drastic climatic events that have occurred in the Mediterranean since the late Miocene, including the Quaternary-type climatic oscillations, may have made both processes highly recurrent in the Mediterranean flora.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The evolution of basement membranes (BMs) played an essential role in the organization of animal cells into tissues and diversification of body plans. The archetypal BM is a compact extracellular ...matrix polymer containing laminin, nidogen, collagen IV and perlecan (LNCP matrix) tightly packed into a homogenously thin planar layer. Contrasting this clear-cut morphological and compositional definition, there are numerous examples of LNCP matrices with unusual characteristics that deviate from this planar organization. Furthermore, BM components are found in non-planar matrices that are difficult to categorize as BMs at all. In this Review, I discuss examples of atypical BM organization. First, I highlight atypical BM structures in human tissues before describing the functional dissection of a plethora of BMs and BM-related structures in their tissue contexts in the fruit fly
To conclude, I summarize our incipient understanding of the mechanisms that provide morphological, compositional and functional diversity to BMs. It is becoming increasingly clear that atypical BMs are quite prevalent, and that even typical planar BMs harbor a lot of diversity that we do not yet comprehend.
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