Retinal drug delivery: rethinking outcomes for the efficient replication of retinal behavior

The retina is a highly organized structure that is considered to be "an approachable part of the brain." It is attracting the interest of development scientists, as it provides a model neurovascular system. Over the last few years, we have been witnessing significant development in the knowledge of the mechanisms that induce the shape of the retinal vascular system, as well as knowledge of disease processes that lead to retina degeneration. Knowledge and understanding of how our vision works are crucial to creating a hardware-adaptive computational model that can replicate retinal behavior. The neuronal system is nonlinear and very intricate. It is thus instrumental to have a clear view of the neurophysiological and neuroanatomic processes and to take into account the underlying principles that govern the process of hardware transformation to produce an appropriate model that can be mapped to a physical device. The mechanistic and integrated computational models have enormous potential toward helping to understand disease mechanisms and to explain the associations identified in large model-free data sets. The approach used is modulated and based on different models of drug administration, including the geometry of the eye. This work aimed to review the recently used mathematical models to map a directed retinal network.The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and the European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) for the project UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. The authors also acknowledge FAPESP – São Paulo Research Foundation, for the financial support for the publication of the article.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Control of Disease in Aquaculture: Proceedings of the Nineteenth U.S.-Japan Meeting on Aquaculture, Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan, 29-30 October 1990, Satellite Symposium: 2 November

The United States and Japanese counterpart panels on aquaculture were formed in 1969 under the United States-Japan Cooperative Program in Natural Resources (UJNR). The panels currently include specialists drawn from the federal departments most concerned with aquaculture. Charged with exploring and developing bilateral cooperation, the panels have focused their efforts on exchanging information related to aquaculture which could be of benefit to both countries. The UJNR was begun during the Third Cabinet-Level Meeting of the Joint United States-Japan Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs in January 1964, In addition to aquaculture, current subjects in the program include desalination of seawater, toxic microorganisms, air pollution, energy, forage crops, national park management, mycoplasmosis, wind and seismic effects, protein resources, forestry, and several joint panels and committees in marine resources research, development, and utilization. Accomplishments include increased communication and cooperation among technical specialists; exchanges of information, data, and research findings; annual meetings of the panels, a policy-coordinative body; administrative staff meetings; exchanges of equipment, materials, and samples; several major technical conferences; and beneficial effects on international relations. (PDF file contains 150 pages.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 128, May 1974

This special bibliography lists 282 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in April 1974

Marine Ranching: Proceedings of the Eighteenth U.S.-Japan Meeting on Aquaculture Port Ludlow, Washington, 18-19 September 1989

Female reproduction in penaeid shrimp is carefully regulated by several different endocrine factors. Their precise modes of action have not yet been fully elucidated. Three endocrine factors, each representing a different chemical class of hormones, have been investigated in the penaeid shrimp Sicyonia ingentis in our laboratory: ecdysteroids, vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone (VIH) , and methyl farnesoate (MF). Ecdysteroids (the steroid molting hormones of arthropods; predominantly 20-hydroxyecdysone), are initially present in low levels (<10 ng/mg) in shrimp embryos. As development of the embryos nears time of hatch, the ecdysteroid levels increase to approximately 150 ng/ mg, indicating that they may be of embryonic origin and involved in embryonic development. An assay was developed for shrimp VIH, which presumably is a protein. Delay of onset of the next reproductive cycle was observed following injection of sinus gland extracts into shrimp that had previously had their eyestalks removed. A photoaffinity analog was synthesized for the putative shrimp reproductive hormone MF-a terpenoid. This analog, farnesyl diazomethyl ketone (FDK) , was used to demonstrate the presence of specific binding proteins for MF in shrimp hemolymph. (PDF file contains 136 pages.

Homeostasis in Immunity-Related Pupal Tissues of the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae and its regulation by the NF-kappaB-like Factor Rel2

Die Haut ist eine oft übersehene Komponente des angeborenen Immunsystems der Mücken. Die Haut der Mücke bildet eine physische Barriere, die die mikrobielle Homöostase aufrechterhält, das Eindringen von Toxinen wie Insektiziden verhindert und das Austrocknen verhindert. Die am meisten untersuchten Akteure des Immunsystems von Stechmücken sind das Fettgewebe und die Blutzellen, aber die Hauttalg-Fabriken, die Oenozyten, werden in Studien nur selten berücksichtigt. Mückenpuppen haben aktiv funktionierende immunitätsbezogene Organe, einschließlich derjenigen, die Hautbarrieren produzieren. Ihre biologische Rolle in diesem Entwicklungsstadium ist kaum bekannt, aber der Übergang von der Puppen- zur Erwachsenenhaut und die Auffälligkeit der talgproduzierenden Zellen machen dieses Stadium zu einem vielversprechenden Entwicklungsstadium für die Untersuchung der Hautbildung. Mit Hilfe der Transkriptomanalyse beschreiben wir die Rolle der Blutzellen bei der Entwicklung des chitinösen Teils der Insektenhaut, die Beteiligung des Fettkörpers an der Immunität und bestätigen die Rolle der talgproduzierenden Zellen im Lipidstoffwechsel. Darüber hinaus beschreiben wir talgsezernierende Zellen als einen bedeutenden Wirkungsort des NF-kappaB-ähnlichen IMD-Rel2-Pathway, in dem der Transkriptionsfaktor Rel2 die Retinoid-Homöostase reguliert. Schließlich bestätigen wir eine 100 Jahre alte Beobachtung, wonach sebumsezernierende Zellen der Stechmücke ihren Zellinhalt in einem Netzwerk von Vesikeln absondern. Wir beschreiben extrazelluläres Chromatin als Fracht in diesem Vesikelnetzwerk und sein antimikrobielles Potenzial.The skin is an often overlooked component of the mosquito's innate immune system. The mosquito skin provides a physical barrier that maintains microbial homeostasis, prevents the entry of toxins like insecticides, and avoids desiccation. The most studied players in the immune system of mosquitoes are the adipose tissue and blood cells, but studies rarely consider the skin sebum factories, oenocytes. Mosquito pupae have actively functional immunity-related organs, including those producing skin barriers. Their biological roles at this developmental stage are poorly understood, but the pupae-to-adult metamorphic skin transition and the conspicuity of sebum-secreting cells make it a promising developmental stage to study skin formation. We use transcriptomics to describe the role of blood cells in the development of the chitinous section of the insect skin, the involvement of the fat body in immunity, and confirm the lipid metabolism role of sebum-secreting cells. Furthermore, we describe sebum-secreting cells as a significant action site of the NF-kappaB-like IMD-Rel2 pathway where the transcription factor Rel2 regulates retinoid homeostasis. Finally, we confirm a 100-year-old observation of how mosquito sebum-secreting cells secrete their cellular contents in a network of vesicles. We describe extracellular chromatin as cargo inside this vesicle network and its antimicrobial potential

State-of-Art in Innate Immunity

The innate immune system is the first line of defense against bacterial and viral infections and sterile inflammation through the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs) resulting in the production of proinflammatory and antiviral cytokines and chemokines. Several damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), which were released by passive or active mechanisms under sterile conditions, are additionally recognized by PRRs and can cause or even aggravate the inflammatory response. In this special issue many aspects of innate immunity are summarized. Mechanisms of different DAMPs to induce pro- and anti-inflammatory activities, functions of different immune cells, as well as the crosstalk between coagulation and innate immunity were described. Furthermore, aspects of autoinflammatory diseases, types of programmed cell death pathways, and insect immunity are covered. Finally, therapeutic options for the treatment of diseases related to autoimmunity or infections are suggested. Overall, this special issue presents a broad overview of activities related to sterile inflammation and defense mechanisms of innate immunity

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 337)

This bibliography lists 400 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during May 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

PHARMACEUTICALS AND ILLICIT DRUGS AS NEW ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS: ECOTOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND NEW DEPURATION METHODOLOGIES

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and illicit drugs are now widely considered emerging aquatic contaminants because of their high usage worldwide and their consequent presence in surface water with concentrations ranging from ng/L to \u3bcg/L. In fact, once hired, these substances are eliminated by urine and faeces in their unaltered form or as metabolites and poured in sewage system. However, the traditional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not able to eliminate these compounds from wastewaters, consequently spilled placed in the aquatic environment. Thus, this research project suggests a natural process based on the natural bivalve filtration as a complementary method to traditional wastewater treatment, seeking thereby to remove the abovementioned contaminants from the aqueous matrix. In detail, we chose the invasive freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha to study this possible alternative depuration method. For this purpose, we built a pilot-plant within the Milano-Nosedo WWTP in which twenty removal Plexiglas\uae panels were placed. Moreover, we placed about 40,000 D. polymorpha specimens on these substrates appointed to the wastewater filtration. During the experiment we tested the abatement of 13 pharmaceutical compounds (atenolol, carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, dehydro-erythromycin, diclofenac, furosemide, ibuprofen, hydrochlorothiazide, ketoprofen, naproxen, paracetamol and ofloxacin), 4 illicit drugs (cocaine, benzoylecgonine, methamphetamine and methadone) and 7 heavy metals (Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb) after D. polymorpha exposition. Because of the well-known presence of PPCPs and illicit drugs in the environment, the second part of this project was devoted to the assessment of their ecotoxicological effects. We decided to evaluate the potential chronic toxicity of these chemicals on the same model organism used in the bio-filtration process since D. polymorpha is particularly representative of the aquatic ecosystem and, at the same time, sensitive to environmental changes. The illicit drugs and PPCPs assayed at environmental concentrations in this study were the following: morphine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), tonalide and galaxolide. Furthermore, because in the environment such substances form complex mixtures, we also tested the toxicity of an illicit drugs\u2019 mixture composed by cocaine, benzoylecgonine, morphine, MDMA and amphetamine administered at environmental concentrations. The chronic toxicity of these substances was investigated by a biomarker battery: cytotoxicity was evaluated by the Neutral Red Retention Assay (NRRA) while, we assessed the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) for monitoring the raise of oxidative stress, the phase II detoxifying enzyme glutathione-Stransferase (GST), as well as the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and protein carbonylation content (PCC) in order to highlight eventual oxidative damage. The potential injury at the genetic level induced by PPCPs and illicit drugs was assessed on D. polymorpha haemocytes by Comet Test, Micronucleus Test (MN test), percentage of apoptotic frequencies (DNA Diffusion Assay) and DNA fragmentation (DNA Precipitation Assay). Finally, the filtration rate of D. polymorpha has been tested as a physiological biomarker. Data obtained on the D. polymorpha removal ability due to the bio-filtration process are very encouraged. The bivalve activity has shown a great capacity in the concentration reduction of various PPCPs, illicit drugs and mainly heavy metals. The ecological importance of these results is high, taking into account the ecotoxicological effects of these substances on the aquatic communities. The main results for the evaluation of ecotoxicological effects of some emerging environmental contaminants highlighted that morphine and MDMA seem to induce a significant increase of oxidative stress in the bivalve, but not followed to genetic fixed damage; these results were partially confirmed by the exposure to the illicit drugs\u2019 mixture that showed a significant increase in antioxidant enzyme activity and in protein carbonylation content. Finally, the exposure to the musks galaxolide and tonalide caused a significant increase in the DNA fragmentation percentage on bivalve haemocytes. Therefore, the results obtained during this research project contributed to point out the importance of new wastewater depuration methods allowing the removal of emerging contaminants whose ecotoxicological effects must not be underestimated, as they may ultimately affect the higher biological levels. Moreover, the use of an invasive species such as D. polymorpha in the depuration context may also have interesting implications for the economic sector and initiate an exploitation processes of alien species, that, being difficult to remove, constitute a serious problem for ecosystems. Despite the good results obtained, further studies are necessary to clarify both the bio-filtration treatment and toxic effects of illicit drugs and PPCPs on aquatic communities

Nanoscale synaptic plasticity of aspiny interneuron dendrites with respect to characteristic fine structures

Long term plastic changes in synaptic function have been reported in GABAergic inhibitory interneurons in the mammalian hippocampus but structural changes associated with plasticity at the predominantly aspiny dendrites is not known. Aspiny dendrites are known to exhibit two distinct morphological types, smooth and varicose. Because of their rarity in neuropil we reimaged tissue in which long-term potentiation (LTP) had been induced by theta-burst stimulation (TBS) in acute hippocampal slices from mature rat using the tSEM method to obtain sufficiently large fields and measured the response of aspiny synapses. We report significant changes in synapse size after potentiation induction in the slice that is influenced by the type of fine structure on which it occurs. We developed quantitative methods to distinguish smooth from varicose aspiny dendrites and within varicose dendrites we found that the varicose and inter-varicose regions could respond differently to TBS. After potentiation induction in the slice synapse ultrastructure and mitochondria distribution changed in different directions in our two experiments but the relationship of synapse change and mitochondrial redistribution was consistent. In both experiments inter-varicose synapses significantly enlarged and were more likely to occur near mitochondria. In one experiment varicose synapses enlarged and were associated with more mitochondria. In the other synapses did not change but were less likely to associate with mitochondria. In smooth type synapses both experiments showed lower association with mitochondria and synapses either did not change or significantly decreased. Our findings of divergent ultrastructural changes among different aspiny dendrite regions may help to reconcile some of the disparate findings showing that similar stimulation protocols can lead to depressed or potentiated responses from inhibitory interneurons.Neuroscienc