An experiment was carried out to investigate spatial brightness at photopic levels under lighting of different spectral power distributions. One aim was to replicate the experiment reported in 1990 ...by Berman et al. demonstrating that light with a higher scotopic / photopic (S/P) ratio would be perceived as brighter. In addition, a third SPD was included to investigate gamut area and two additional procedures were employed to provide concurrent validity of the findings. It was concluded that while lighting of higher S/P ratio was brighter, the S/P ratio alone was insufficient to predict spatial brightness. A metric for the chromatic contribution is also needed, this being provided by gamut area in the current work.
The spreading of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), intraneuronal aggregates of highly phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau, across the human brain is correlated with the cognitive severity ...of Alzheimer's disease (AD). To identify genes relevant to NFT expansion defined by the Braak stage, we conducted whole-genome exon array analysis with an exploratory sample set consisting of 213 human post-mortem brain tissue specimens from the entorinal, temporal and frontal cortices of 71 brain-donor subjects: Braak NFT stages 0 (N=13), I-II (N=20), III-IV (N=19) and V-VI (N=19). We identified eight genes, RELN, PTGS2, MYO5C, TRIL, DCHS2, GRB14, NPAS4 and PHYHD1, associated with the Braak stage. The expression levels of three genes, PHYHD1, MYO5C and GRB14, exhibited reproducible association on real-time quantitative PCR analysis. In another sample set, including control subjects (N=30), and in patients with late-onset AD (N=37), dementia with Lewy bodies (N=17) and Parkinson disease (N=36), the expression levels of two genes, PHYHD1 and MYO5C, were obviously associated with late-onset AD. Protein-protein interaction network analysis with a public database revealed that PHYHD1 interacts with MYO5C via POT1, and PHYHD1 directly interacts with amyloid beta-peptide 42. It is thus likely that functional failure of PHYHD1 and MYO5C could lead to AD development.
Insulin and the Brain Bilotta, F.; Lauretta, M. P.; Tewari, A. ...
Journal of Intensive Care Medicine,
01/2017, Letnik:
32, Številka:
1
Book Review, Journal Article
Recenzirano
Background:
Insulin receptors (IRs) in the brain have unique molecular features and a characteristic pattern of distribution. Their possible functions extend beyond glucose utilization. In this ...systematic review, we explore the interactions between insulin and the brain and its implications for anesthesiologists, critical care physicians, and other medical disciplines.
Methods:
A literature search of published preclinical and clinical studies between 1978 and 2014 was conducted, yielding 5996 articles. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 92 studies were selected for this systematic review.
Results:
The IRs have unique molecular features, pattern of distribution, and mechanism of action. It has effects on neuronal function, metabolism, and neurotransmission. The IRs are involved in neuronal apoptosis and neurodegenerative processes.
Conclusion:
In this systematic review, we present a close relationship between insulin and the brain, with discernible effects on memory, learning abilities, and motor functions. The potential therapeutic effects extend from acute brain insults such as traumatic brain injury, brain ischemia, and hemorrhage, to chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. An understanding of the wider effects of insulin conveyed in this review will prompt anaesthesiologists and critical care physicians to consider its therapeutic potential and guide future studies.
The present paper deals with stabilization of a steady state in a networked oscillator system that consists of oscillators coupled by a digital delayed connection. This connection is realized by a ...first-in, first-out queue. The semi-discretization technique allows us to obtain a simple characteristic equation for steady-state stability. This equation can be expressed by real polynomials whose coefficients depend on the network topology. The stability analysis based on the characteristic polynomials reveals that the digital delayed connection better facilitates the stabilization of the steady state compared to the well-known continuous-time delayed connection.
A simulation method to determine adaptation luminance is proposed for implementation of the CIE mesopic photometry system. The simulation takes four factors into account: luminance distribution, eye ...movement of observers, surrounding luminance effect and area of measurement. Each factor is modelled as a two-dimensional geometrical function. The method determines an adaptation luminance for the area of measurement through four calculation steps. The simulation method was applied to examples of luminance distributions of outdoor lit scenes and the results were compared with possible simple predictors of adaptation luminance. The comparisons suggest that the average luminance of the area of measurement can be considered as a good approximation in most of the cases. Exceptions are scenes for pedestrians in which there are many bright sources surrounding the area of measurement.
ABSTRACT
Although reports on a gene for 1‐amino‐cyclopropane‐1‐carboxylate (ACC) oxidase (ACO1) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) suggest that high levels of its transcript are associated with internode ...elongation of deep‐water rice during submergence, the role of ACO1 in rice development is largely unknown. The tissue‐specificity of ACO1 expression indicated that its transcript significantly accumulated in lower parts of elongating internodes at the heading stage. Histochemical analysis and in situ hybridization showed that the ACO1 expression was localized in the basal parts of leaf sheaths immediately above nodes or the lower parts of elongating internodes. To further examine the role of ACO1, ACO1‐deficient (aco1) and overexpressing (ACO1‐OX) mutants were characterized. The total length of the elongated internodes of aco1 mutants was slightly shorter than that of wild‐type plants and that of ACO1‐OX mutants was longer. Interestingly, expression of the ACC synthase gene ACS1 and ethylene signalling gene OsEIN2 was up‐regulated in the aco1 mutants. This study suggests that the ACO1 has a little effect on internode elongation at the heading stage, and that up‐regulation of the ACS1 and OsEIN2 expression may attenuate inhibition of internode elongation.
LPS (lipopolysaccharide) is one of the major factors that induce acute lung injury. Recently, it was reported that LPS induced disseminated endothelial apoptosis, preceding nonendothelial tissue ...damage. Caspases play important roles in apoptosis, including tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis, in several systems. We therefore investigated whether the injection of a caspase inhibitor prevents LPS-induced apoptosis and acute lung injury in mice. LPS (30 mg/kg) was administered intravenously to Institute for Cancer Research mice. Electron microscopic findings demonstrated characteristic features of apoptosis in endothelial cells and alveolar epithelial cells. The caspase-3 activity and the number of terminal dUTP nick-end labeling-positive cells in lung tissues were significantly increased after LPS administration. Benzyloxycarbonil-Val-Ala-Asp fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD.fmk), which is a broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, was injected before and after the administration of LPS. The injection of Z-VAD.fmk suppressed the caspase-3 activity in lung tissues, and significantly decreased the number of terminal dUTP nick-end labeling-positive cells. Furthermore, the survival rate of mice was prolonged significantly by the injection of Z-VAD.fmk. These results indicate that apoptosis may play an important role in acute lung injury, and thus that inhibition of caspase activity may constitute a new therapeutic approach for treatment of this disease.
An aerosol layer was found 1–2 km around the tropical cold point tropopause by observations using ground‐based lidar and balloon‐borne optical particle counters (OPC) over Biak, Indonesia, in January ...2011. The layer was observed throughout the survey period from 6 to 13 January. The backscattering coefficient of the layer was about 5 times larger than that of the background aerosols. The lidar‐observed depolarization ratio of the layer was very low, and the wavelength dependence of the backscattering coefficients of the layer was similar to that of stratospheric aerosols. A layer of the particles at the size of the accumulation mode was also observed by an OPC at ambient temperature, but the particles were volatile at 200°C. These properties indicate that the aerosol layer was composed of liquid phase aqueous sulfuric acid solution particles and probably originated from a volcanic eruption. It was observed by lidar that a thin cirrus cloud layer appeared within this aerosol layer. Backward trajectory analysis and satellite‐observed equivalent blackbody temperature indicate that the cirrus cloud layer probably formed in situ. The estimated upper limit of the number concentration of cloud particles was 105 m−3. The number concentration of the volatile aerosol particles (∼3 × 106 m−3) was 30 times larger than this upper limit. This upper limit, however, is comparable to the aerosol particle concentration observed by the OPC at 200°C. These results are consistent with the cirrus cloud formation with solid sulfate particles in tropical upper troposphere suggested by previous studies.
Key Points
Volcanic aerosol layer was observed at around tropical cold point tropopause
Cirrus cloud formation was observed within the volcanic aerosol layer
Cloud particle number is comparable to the number of nonvolatile aerosols
The current authors have demonstrated previously that epithelial cell apoptosis, induced by the Fas-Fas ligand pathway, might be involved in fibrosing lung diseases. Whereas lung epithelial cells are ...sensitive to the Fas-mediated apoptosis, lung fibroblasts may be resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis and replace damaged epithelial cells. The WI-38 lung fibroblast cell line and primary lung fibroblasts were used to examine the resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis and the association of anti-apoptotic proteins with this resistance. The administration of agonistic anti-Fas antibody (CH-11) or cycloheximide alone did not induce apoptosis, whereas the co-administration of CH-11 with cycloheximide induced apoptosis in WI-38 cells, in which caspase-8 and -3, but not -9, were activated, and X chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (ILP) and FLICE-like inhibitor protein (FLIP(L)), but not bcl-xL and bcl-2, were remarkably down regulated. Primary lung fibroblasts were also resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis, and ILP and FLIP appeared to be involved in this resistance. Furthermore, the results of immunohistochemistry demonstrated that fibroblasts expressed ILP and FLIP(L) proteins in lung tissues from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. These results suggest that anti-apoptotic proteins such as X chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis and FLICE-like inhibitor protein may play an important role in preventing Fas-mediated apoptosis in lung fibroblasts, and participate in the development of pulmonary fibrosis.
Radial-velocity fitting challenge Dumusque, X.; Borsa, F.; Damasso, M. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
02/2017, Letnik:
598
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Context. Radial-velocity (RV) signals arising from stellar photospheric phenomena are the main limitation for precise RV measurements. Those signals induce RV variations an order of magnitude larger ...than the signal created by the orbit of Earth-twins, thus preventing their detection. Aims. Different methods have been developed to mitigate the impact of stellar RV signals. The goal of this paper is to compare the efficiency of these different methods to recover extremely low-mass planets despite stellar RV signals. However, because observed RV variations at the meter-per-second precision level or below is a combination of signals induced by unresolved orbiting planets, by the star, and by the instrument, performing such a comparison using real data is extremely challenging. Methods. To circumvent this problem, we generated simulated RV measurements including realistic stellar and planetary signals. Different teams analyzed blindly those simulated RV measurements, using their own method to recover planetary signals despite stellar RV signals. By comparing the results obtained by the different teams with the planetary and stellar parameters used to generate the simulated RVs, it is therefore possible to compare the efficiency of these different methods. Results. The most efficient methods to recover planetary signals take into account the different activity indicators, use red-noise models to account for stellar RV signals and a Bayesian framework to provide model comparison in a robust statistical approach. Using the most efficient methodology, planets can be found down to \hbox{$K/N= K_{\mathrm{pl}}/\mathrm{RV}_{\mathrm{rms}}\times\sqrt{N_{\mathrm{obs}}}=5$}K/N=Kpl/RVrms×Nobs=5 with a threshold of K/N = 7.5 at the level of 80–90% recovery rate found for a number of methods. These recovery rates drop dramatically for K/N smaller than this threshold. In addition, for the best teams, no false positives with K/N > 7.5 were detected, while a non-negligible fraction of them appear for smaller K/N. A limit of K/N = 7.5 seems therefore a safe threshold to attest the veracity of planetary signals for RV measurements with similar properties to those of the different RV fitting challenge systems.
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