Privacy and Curiosity in Mobile Interactions with Public Displays.

Personal multimedia devices like mobile phones create new needs for larger displays distributed at specific points in the environment to look up information about the current place, playing games or exchanging multimedia data. The technical prerequisites are covered; however, using public displays always exposing information. In this paper we look at these issues from the privacy as well as from the curiosity perspective with several studies showing and confirming users’ reservations against public interactions. Interactive advertisements can exploit this best using specific types of interaction techniques

The decrease in growth hormone (GH) response after repeated stimulation with GH-Releasing hormone is partly caused by an elevation of somatostatin tonus.

Repeated injection of GHRH leads to a decrease in the GH response in normal subjects. Arginine (Arg) stimulates GH secretion by suppression of hypothalamic somatostatin. To confirm these findings, eight normal men were examined in a series of five settings: test 1 (GHRH/GHRH-TRH), 100 micrograms GHRH injected iv, followed by 100 micrograms GHRH, iv, after 120 min and 200 micrograms TRH, iv, after 150 min; test 2 (GHRH/Arg-TRH), like test 1, but instead of the second GHRH injection, a 30 g Arg infusion over 30 min; test 3 (GHRH/GHRH-Arg-TRH), like test 1, but additionally a 30 g Arg infusion after 120 min; test 4 (GHRH-Arg-TRH), iv GHRH and Arg infusion initially, followed by iv TRH after 30 min; and test 5 (TRH), 200 micrograms TRH, iv, at 0 min. For statistical evaluation, the area under the GH curve (AUC) from 0-120 min was compared with the AUC from 120-240 min. The GH response to the second administration of GHRH was significantly lower (P < 0.02) than the first increase [AUC, 0.5 +/- 0.01 min.mg/L (mean +/- SE) vs. 1.2 +/- 0.3]. No significant differences were found between the GH responses to either GHRH or Arg alone (AUC, 0.9 +/- 0.2 min.mg/L vs. 0.9 +/- 0.2). A larger GH increase (P < 0.02) was seen after GHRH-Arg compared to GHRH alone (AUC, 1.9 +/- 0.4 min.mg/L vs. 1.2 +/- 0.3). The GH response (P < 0.02) to GHRH-Arg stimulation was lower after previous GHRH injection than after GHRH-Arg stimulation alone (AUC, 1.9 +/- 0.4 min.mg/L vs. 3.5 +/- 0.9). There was a statistically significant difference between the TRH-stimulated TSH response in test 4 compared to that in test 5. We could show that decreasing GH responses to repeated GHRH can be avoided by a combined stimulation with GHRH/Arg. These findings suggest that the decreased GH response to a second GHRH bolus may be partly due to an elevated hypothalamic somatostatin secretion, which can be suppressed by Arg. The lower GH response to GHRH-Arg stimulation after a previous GHRH bolus suggests, furthermore, that the readily available GH pool in the human pituitary may be limited

Growth Hormone (GH)-Releasing Peptide Stimulation of GH Release from Human Somatotroph Adenoma Cells: Interaction with GH-Releasing Hormone, Thyrotropin- Releasing Hormone, and Octreotide.

The synthetic hexapeptide GH-releasing peptide (GHRP; His-D-Trp-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH2) specifically stimulates GH secretion in humans in vivo and in animals in vitro and in vivo via a still unknown receptor and mechanism. To determine the effect of GHRP on human somatotroph cells in vitro, we stimulated cell cultures derived from 12 different human somatotroph adenomas with GHRP alone and in combination with GH-releasing hormone (GHRH), TRH, and the somatostatin analog octreotide. GH secretion of all 12 adenoma cultures could be stimulated with GHRP, whereas GHRH was active only in 6 adenoma cultures. In GHRH-responsive cell cultures, simultaneous application of GHRH and GHRP had an additive effect on GH secretion. TRH stimulated GH release in 4 of 7 adenoma cultures; in TRH-responsive cell cultures there was also an additive effect of GHRP and TRH on GH secretion. In 5 of 9 adenoma cultures investigated, octreotide inhibited basal GH secretion. In these cell cultures, GHRP-induced GH release was suppressed by octreotide. In 5 of 5 cases, the protein kinase-C inhibitor phloretin partly inhibited GHRP-stimulated GH release, but not basal GH secretion. In summary, GH secretion was stimulated by GHRP in all somatotroph adenomas investigated, indicating that its unknown receptor and signaling pathway are expressed more consistently in somatotroph adenoma cells than those for GHRH, TRH, and somatostatin. Our data give further evidence that GHRP-stimulated GH secretion is mediated by a receptor different from that for GHRH or TRH, respectively, and that protein kinase-C is involved in the signal transduction pathway. Because human somatotroph adenoma cell cultures respond differently to various neuropeptides (GHRH, TRH, somatostatin, and others), they provide a model for further investigation of the mechanism of action of GHRP-induced GH secretion

The carcinogenic effect of various multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) after intraperitoneal injection in rats

Background: Biological effects of tailor-made multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) without functionalization were investigated in vivo in a two-year carcinogenicity study. In the past, intraperitoneal carcinogenicity studies in rats using biopersistent granular dusts had always been negative, whereas a number of such studies with different asbestos fibers had shown tumor induction. The aim of this study was to identify possible carcinogenic effects of MWCNTs. We compared induced tumors with asbestos-induced mesotheliomas and evaluated their relevance for humans by immunohistochemical methods. Methods: A total of 500 male Wistar rats (50 per group) were treated once by intraperitoneal injection with 109 or 5 � 109 WHO carbon nanotubes of one of four different MWCNTs suspended in artificial lung medium, which was also used as negative control. Amosite asbestos (108 WHO fibers) served as positive control. Morbid rats were sacrificed and necropsy comprising all organs was performed. Histopathological classification of tumors and, additionally, immunohistochemistry were conducted for podoplanin, pan-cytokeratin, and vimentin to compare induced tumors with malignant mesotheliomas occurring in humans. Results: Treatments induced tumors in all dose groups, but incidences and times to tumor differed between groups. Most tumors were histologically and immunohistochemically classified as malignant mesotheliomas, revealing a predominantly superficial spread on the serosal surface of the abdominal cavity. Furthermore, most tumors showed invasion of peritoneal organs, especially the diaphragm. All tested MWCNT types caused mesotheliomas. We observed highest frequencies and earliest appearances after treatment with the rather straight MWCNT types A and B. In the MWCNT C groups, first appearances of morbid mesothelioma-bearing rats were only slightly later. Later during the two-year study, we found mesotheliomas also in rats treated with MWCNT D - the most curved type of nanotubes. Malignant mesotheliomas induced by intraperitoneal injection of different MWCNTs and of asbestos were histopathologically and immunohistochemically similar, also compared with mesotheliomas in man, suggesting similar pathogenesis. Conclusion: We showed a carcinogenic effect for all tested MWCNTs. Besides aspect ratio, curvature seems to be an important parameter influencing the carcinogenicity of MWCNTs

Impaired evoked and resting-state brain oscillations in patients with liver cirrhosis as revealed by magnetoencephalography

AbstractA number of studies suggest that the clinical manifestation of neurological deficits in hepatic encephalopathy results from pathologically synchronized neuronal oscillations and altered oscillatory coupling. In the present study spontaneous and evoked oscillatory brain activities were analyzed jointly with established behavioral measures of altered visual oscillatory processing. Critical flicker and fusion frequencies (CFF, FUF) were measured in 25 patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and 30 healthy controls. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) data were collected at rest and during a visual task employing repetitive stimulation. Resting MEG and evoked fields were analyzed. CFF and FUF were found to be reduced in patients, providing behavioral evidence for deficits in visual oscillatory processing. These alterations were found to be related to resting brain activity in patients, namely that the lower the dominant MEG frequency at rest, the lower the CFF and FUF. An analysis of evoked fields at sensor level indicated that in comparison to normal controls, patients were not able to dynamically adapt to flickering visual stimulation. Evoked activity was also analyzed based on independent components (ICs) derived by independent component analysis. The similarity between the shape of each IC and an artificial sine function representing the stimulation frequency was tested via magnitude squared coherence. In controls, we observed a small number of components that correlated strongly with the sine function and a high number of ICs that did not correlate with the sine function. Interestingly, patient data were characterized by a high number of moderately correlating components. Taken together, these results indicate a fundamental divergence of the cerebral resonance activity in cirrhotic patients

Molecular analysis of the interaction between cardosin A and phospholipase Dα

Cardosin A is an RGD-containing aspartic proteinase from the stigmatic papillae of Cynara cardunculus L. A putative cardosin A-binding protein has previously been isolated from pollen suggesting its potential involvement in pollen2013pistil interaction [Faro C, Ramalho-Santos M, Vieira M, Mendes A, Simões I, Andrade R, Verissimo P, Lin X, Tang J & Pires E (1999) J Biol Chem274, 28724201328729]. Here we report the identification of phospholipase D03B1 as a cardosin A-binding protein. The interaction was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation studies and pull-down assays. To investigate the structural and molecular determinants involved in the interaction, pull-down assays with cardosin A and various glutathione S-transferase-fused phospholipase D03B1 constructs were performed. Results revealed that the C2 domain of phospholipase D03B1 contains the cardosin A-binding activity. Further assays with mutated recombinant forms of cardosin A showed that the RGD motif as well as the unprecedented KGE motif, which is structurally and charge-wise very similar to RGD, are indispensable for the interaction. Taken together our results indicate that the C2 domain of plant phospholipase D03B1 can act as a cardosin A-binding domain and suggest that plant C2 domains may have an additional role as RGD/KGE-recognition domains

Functional characterization of polysaccharide utilization loci in the marine Bacteroidetes 'Gramella forsetii' KT0803

Members of the phylum Bacteroidetes are abundant in many marine ecosystems and are known to have a pivotal role in the mineralization of complex organic substrates such as polysaccharides and proteins. We studied the decomposition of the algal glycans laminarin and alginate by 'Gramella forsetii' KT0803, a bacteroidetal isolate from North Sea surface waters. A combined application of isotope labeling, subcellular protein fractionation and quantitative proteomics revealed two large polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) that were specifically induced, one by alginate and the other by laminarin. These regulons comprised genes of surface-exposed proteins such as oligomer transporters, substrate-binding proteins, carbohydrate-active enzymes and hypothetical proteins. Besides, several glycan-specific TonB-dependent receptors and SusD-like substrate-binding proteins were expressed also in the absence of polysaccharide substrates, suggesting an anticipatory sensing function. Genes for the utilization of the beta-1,3-glucan laminarin were found to be co-regulated with genes for glucose and alpha-1,4-glucan utilization, which was not the case for the non-glucan alginate. Strong syntenies of the PULs of 'G. forsetii' with similar loci in other Bacteroidetes indicate that the specific response mechanisms of 'G. forsetii' to changes in polysaccharide availability likely apply to other Bacteroidetes. Our results can thus contribute to an improved understanding of the ecological niches of marine Bacteroidetes and their roles in the polysaccharide decomposition part of carbon cycling in marine ecosystems