Differential effects of Latrunculin-A on myofibrils in cultures of skeletal muscle cells: insights into mechanisms of myofibrillogenesis. Cell Motil Cytoskeleton. 2005; 62:35–47. [PubMed: 16080205

To test different models of myofibrillogenesis, we followed live cells expressing Green Fluorescent Proteins ligated to either actin or alpha-actinin and analyzed stress fibers, premyofibrils, and myofibrils in quail myotube cultures. Actin filaments in the three types of fibers were compared by analyzing the effects of Latrunculin-A (Lat-A), a monomeric actin binding macrolide drug (M.W. ¼ 422 Daltons), on stress fibers in fibroblasts and on myofibrils in skeletal myotubes in the same culture. Lat-A, at low concentrations (0.2 mM), induced the loss of stress fibers in fibroblasts within a few hours and within 10 min when Lat-A was increased to 1.0 mM. The effect was reversible with reformation of the stress fibers when the drug was removed. In contrast to the Lat-A induced disassembly of stress fibers in fibroblasts, assembling myofibrils in the skeletal muscle cells were not affected by 1.0-mM concentrations of Lat-A. With increasing concentrations of Lat-A (up to 5 mM), and increasing incubation times, however, the drug induced premyofibrils, the precursors of mature myofibrils, to disassemble and the accumulation of mature myofibrils to be halted. Removal of the drug led to the reformation of premyofibrils and the resumption of myofibrillogenesis in the spreading edges of the myotubes. In contrast, the mature myofibrils in the central shaft of the myotubes were stable in doses of Lat-A as high as 50 mM. The newly assembled mature myofibrils located adjacent to the premyofibrils at the ends and sides of the myotube were intermediate in sensitivity to Lat-A, disassembling when exposed to 10 mM Lat-A for one hour. To determine how a change in the actin filaments during myofibrillogenesis might confer greater resistance to depolymerization by Lat-A, we stained the myotubes with an antibody directed against CapZ, a protein that blocks the release of monomer actin from the barbed ends of actin filaments. CapZ was absent from premyofibrils. It was distributed uniformly along nascent myofibrils where F-actin was unstriated, and was localized in a clearly striated Z-band pattern in the mature myofibrils where F-actin patterns were fully striated. These Lat-A and CapZ results are discussed in the context of various models of myofibrillogenesis. Cell Motil

THE PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES OF PROCYANIDINE ISOLATED FROM CRATAEGUS AZAROLUS (IRAQI ENDOGENOUS)

ABSTRACT Procyanidine was isolated and identified from fruit of Crataegus azarolus (Iraqi endogenous). In vitro and in vivo pharmacological actions of procyanidine were studied. Toxicological and histopathological studies of procyanidne on the mice indicated its safety. The LD 50 of procyanidine estimated to be about 100mg/kg. No antibacterial and antiinflammatory effects were seen with procyanidine. The antagonistic effect of procyanidine on the adenosine receptor was observed on the isolated jejunum of the rabbit. Procyanidine produced quite clear positive inotropic effect on the isolated, stimulated left atrium and papillary muscle of the rabbit, without any significant effects on the heart rate and blood pressure of experimental rats. Also procyanidine produced marked diuretic and natriuretic effects without any significant actions on the potassium excretion in the rat (16mg/kg I:V) and volunteers healthy subjects (50mg orally). The positive inotropic and diuretic actions of procynidine, most probably, are related to its antagonistic effects on the adenosine (Al) receptors. These dual (positive inotropic and diuretic) effects of procyanidine make it a good drug for the treatment of congestive heart failure

Has Borsa Istanbul been conceded Goals by Fenerbahҫe and Trabzonspor?

Abstract This study investigates match fixing accused 2011 Turkish football league's Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Trabzonspor football clubs matches and their share performance at Borsa Istanbul (BIS). If there is match fixing gossips, some investors could beat the market. If some club members throw a game, they also could beat the market. So we could claim there was insider trading. To undertake this assessment, daily data of the football clubs Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Trabzonspor shares closing prices and volumes were collected on the Borsa Istanbul (BIS) for the period from 03 January 2005 to 30 September 2011. To investigate differences between accusation and non-accusation periods, we calculated returns and applied descriptive statistics, and the Kolmogorov Smirnov, Kruskal-Wallis and logistic regression tests. Although this study cannot claim there was match fixing and insider trading for FB and TS, it can be said there was a suspicious. JEL classification numbers: G02, G14

Attention modulates generalization of visuomotor adaptation

Generalization represents the ability to transfer what has been learned in one context to another context beyond limited experience. Because acquired motor representations often have to be reinstated in a different or novel environment, generalization is a crucial part of visuomotor learning. In daily life, training for new motor skills often occurs in a complex environment, in which dividing attentional resources for multiple stimuli is required. However, it is unknown how dividing attention during learning affects the generalization of visuomotor learning. We examined how divided attention during training modulates the generalization of visuomotor rotational adaptation. Participants were trained to adapt to one direction with or without dividing attention to a simultaneously presented visual detection task. Then, they had to generalize rotational adaptation to other untrained directions. We show that visuomotor training with divided attention multiplicatively reduces the gain and sharpens the tuning of the generalization function. We suggest that limiting attention narrowly restricts an internal model, reducing the range and magnitude of transfer. This result suggests that attention modulates a selective subpopulation of neurons in motor areas, those with directional tuning values in or near the training direction

Clinical Study Immediate Beneficial Effects of Mental Rotation Using Foot Stimuli on Upright Postural Stability in Healthy Participants

The present study was designed to investigate whether an intervention during which participants were involved in mental rotation (MR) of a foot stimulus would have immediate beneficial effects on postural stability (Experiment 1) and to confirm whether it was the involvement of MR of the foot, rather than simply viewing foot stimuli, that could improve postural stability (Experiment 2). Two different groups of participants ( = 16 in each group) performed MR intervention of foot stimuli in each of the two experiments. Pre-and postmeasurements of postural stability during unipedal and bipedal standing were made using a force plate for the intervention. Consistently, postural sway values for unipedal standing, but not for bipedal standing, were decreased immediately after the MR intervention using the foot stimuli. Such beneficial effects were not observed after the MR intervention using car stimuli (Experiment 1) or when participants observed the same foot stimuli during a simple reaction task (Experiment 2). These findings suggest that the MR intervention using the foot stimuli could contribute to improving postural stability, at least when it was measured immediately after the intervention, under a challenging standing condition (i.e., unipedal standing)

Tango Kernel Status and Evolution

Abstract This paper has two different parts. After a brief introduction, the changes done within the Tango[1] kernel since the last Icalepcs conference will be described. The second part will focus on the foreseen evolution of the Tango kernel. Special emphasis on the the so-called Tango event system (asynchronous and event driven communication between client and server) will be given. Since its beginning, within Tango, this type of communication is implemented using a CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) notification service implementation called omniNotify. This will be replaced by a new system based either on a home made design or based on an implementation of the DDS (Data Distribution Service). The final choice is not done at the time of writing this paper

Association of Researchers in Construction Management

Over the years as women increasingly enter managerial roles that traditionally have been occupied by men, the study on women leadership continues to attract attention. Within the research on women leadership, there is a substantial body of opinion which holds that modern organizations require a non coercive leadership style based on teamwork and building relationships. Further it states, that this is the very style of leadership naturally employed by women. However within the construction industry women are not only under-represented, but also their vertical distribution throughout the industry is highly skewed. This study examines the literature relating to leadership in construction and the leadership generally exhibited by women in organizations in order to analyse the suitability of women in leadership positions in construction organizations. This study has been based on theoretical and practical knowledge obtained through comprehensive literature review. The research will serve to raise the status and value of women in the management of construction organizations

Ensuring sustainability of web services dependent processes Ensuring sustainability of web services dependent processes

Abstract: High dependence on web services and service-oriented architecture affects not only business solutions, but also scientific research. Web services may be delivered by third parties, and thus are candidates for outsourcing. However, they represent a source of risks, which can jeopardise the robustness of processes. Hence, there is a need for actions which can contribute to the mitigation of possible threats to the continuity of processes. In this paper, risk affecting processes are classified, followed by a discussion about particular changes stemming from web services. Three distinct approaches allowing improvements are described: a newly proposed web services monitoring framework supported by a software solution, the concept of resilient web services, which specifies new design requirements for web services, and digital preservation strategies, which apart from long-term benefits can support sustainability of currently running processes

Ramachandran S. Etiopathogenetic mechanisms of pulmonary hypertension in sleep-related breathing disorders. Pulm Med

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a common disorder with significant health consequences and is on the rise in consonance with the obesity pandemic. In view of the association between sleep-disordered breathing and pulmonary hypertension as depicted by multiple studies, current clinical practice guidelines categorize obstructive sleep apnea as a risk factor for pulmonary hypertension and recommend an assessment for sleep disordered breathing in evaluating patients with pulmonary hypertension. The dysregulatory mechanisms associated with hypoxemic episodes observed in sleep related breathing disorders contribute to the onset of pulmonary hypertension and identification of these potentially treatable factors might help in the reduction of overall cardiovascular mortality