Neuronal recovery after peripheral traumatic lesions of the facial motor nerve

The present work summarizes recent data on the responses in the facial nucleus to experimental lesion on the extratemporal part of the facial nerve. It includes a description of all so far reported reactions to axotomy in motoneurons, microglia and astroglia at cellular and molecular level, together with an attempt for a comprehensible interpretation of their importance. The brief review on the experimental and clinical results of the reinnervation is followed by some original results from our experience to improve neuronal regeneration with peroral administration of the calcium antagonist nimodipine.Biomedical Reviews 1994; 3: 39-53

Abstract syntax as interlingua: Scaling up the grammatical framework from controlled languages to robust pipelines

Syntax is an interlingual representation used in compilers. Grammatical Framework (GF) applies the abstract syntax idea to natural languages. The development of GF started in 1998, first as a tool for controlled language implementations, where it has gained an established position in both academic and commercial projects. GF provides grammar resources for over 40 languages, enabling accurate generation and translation, as well as grammar engineering tools and components for mobile and Web applications. On the research side, the focus in the last ten years has been on scaling up GF to wide-coverage language processing. The concept of abstract syntax offers a unified view on many other approaches: Universal Dependencies, WordNets, FrameNets, Construction Grammars, and Abstract Meaning Representations. This makes it possible for GF to utilize data from the other approaches and to build robust pipelines. In return, GF can contribute to data-driven approaches by methods to transfer resources from one language to others, to augment data by rule-based generation, to check the consistency of hand-annotated corpora, and to pipe analyses into high-precision semantic back ends. This article gives an overview of the use of abstract syntax as interlingua through both established and emerging NLP applications involving GF

Experimental and theoretical studies of sequence effects on the fluctuation and melting of short DNA molecules

Understanding the melting of short DNA sequences probes DNA at the scale of the genetic code and raises questions which are very different from those posed by very long sequences, which have been extensively studied. We investigate this problem by combining experiments and theory. A new experimental method allows us to make a mapping of the opening of the guanines along the sequence as a function of temperature. The results indicate that non-local effects may be important in DNA because an AT-rich region is able to influence the opening of a base pair which is about 10 base pairs away. An earlier mesoscopic model of DNA is modified to correctly describe the time scales associated to the opening of individual base pairs well below melting, and to properly take into account the sequence. Using this model to analyze some characteristic sequences for which detailed experimental data on the melting is available [Montrichok et al. 2003 Europhys. Lett. {\bf 62} 452], we show that we have to introduce non-local effects of AT-rich regions to get acceptable results. This brings a second indication that the influence of these highly fluctuating regions of DNA on their neighborhood can extend to some distance.Comment: To be published in J. Phys. Condensed Matte

Hypoglossal-Facial Nerve Reconstruction Using a Y-Tube-Conduit Reduces Aberrant Synkinetic Movements of the Orbicularis Oculi and Vibrissal Muscles in Rats

The facial nerve is the most frequently damaged nerve in head and neck trauma. Patients undergoing facial nerve reconstruction often complain about disturbing abnormal synkinetic movements of the facial muscles (mass movements, synkinesis) which are thought to result from misguided collateral branching of regenerating motor axons and reinnervation of inappropriate muscles. Here, we examined whether use of an aorta Y-tube conduit during reconstructive surgery after facial nerve injury reduces synkinesis of orbicularis oris (blink reflex) and vibrissal (whisking) musculature. The abdominal aorta plus its bifurcation was harvested (N = 12) for Y-tube conduits. Animal groups comprised intact animals (Group 1), those receiving hypoglossal-facial nerve end-to-end coaptation alone (HFA; Group 2), and those receiving hypoglossal-facial nerve reconstruction using a Y-tube (HFA-Y-tube, Group 3). Videotape motion analysis at 4 months showed that HFA-Y-tube group showed a reduced synkinesis of eyelid and whisker movements compared to HFA alone

Laserska izravna dvofotonska fotoliza guanina u DNK

Nanosecond laser-induced oxidative lesions at guanines within DNA were investigated using sequencing gel electrophoresis analysis. Strong sequence-specific lesions on guanines were revealed by either Fpg or piperidine treatments and assigned to 8-oxoG and oxazolone, respectively. It was shown that both the biphotonic ionization process and the chemical reactivity of the radical cation (G+) are dependent on the DNA sequence. The former were explained by the occurrence of energy and charge migration phenomena, while the latter in terms of local DNA hydration peculiarities.Istraživali smo lomove DNK izazvane nanosekundnim laserskim impulsima primjenom gel elektroforeze za određivanje nizova. Otkrili smo snažne nizovno specifične lomove kod guanina djelovanjem sa Fpg ili piperidinom i oni se pripisuju 8-oxoG odnosno oxazolonu. Pokazali smo da su i dvofotonski ionizacijski proces i kemijska reaktivnost radikala kationa (G+) nizovno ovisni. Prvi se objašnjava selenjem energije i naboja, a drugi kao posebnosti lokalnog hidriranja DNK

Laserska izravna dvofotonska fotoliza guanina u DNK

Nanosecond laser-induced oxidative lesions at guanines within DNA were investigated using sequencing gel electrophoresis analysis. Strong sequence-specific lesions on guanines were revealed by either Fpg or piperidine treatments and assigned to 8-oxoG and oxazolone, respectively. It was shown that both the biphotonic ionization process and the chemical reactivity of the radical cation (G+) are dependent on the DNA sequence. The former were explained by the occurrence of energy and charge migration phenomena, while the latter in terms of local DNA hydration peculiarities.Istraživali smo lomove DNK izazvane nanosekundnim laserskim impulsima primjenom gel elektroforeze za određivanje nizova. Otkrili smo snažne nizovno specifične lomove kod guanina djelovanjem sa Fpg ili piperidinom i oni se pripisuju 8-oxoG odnosno oxazolonu. Pokazali smo da su i dvofotonski ionizacijski proces i kemijska reaktivnost radikala kationa (G+) nizovno ovisni. Prvi se objašnjava selenjem energije i naboja, a drugi kao posebnosti lokalnog hidriranja DNK

Lack of Disease Specificity Limits the Usefulness of In Vitro Costimulation in HIV- and HCV-Infected Patients

Measurements of antigen-specific T cell responses in chronic diseases are limited by low frequencies of antigen-specific cells in the peripheral blood. Therefore, attempts have been made to add costimulatory molecules such as anti-CD28 or IL-7/IL-15 to ELISPOT assays to increase sensitivity. While this approach has been successful under certain circumstances, results are often inconsistent. To date, there are no comprehensive studies directly comparing the in vitro effects of multiple costimulatory molecules in different disease settings. Therefore, in the present study we tested the effects of IL-7/IL-15, IFN-α, anti-ICOS, and anti-CD28 on antigen-specific T cell responses in patients infected with HCV or HIV versus healthy individuals. Our data show that none of the aforementioned molecules could significantly increase ELISPOT sensitivity, neither in HCV nor in HIV. Moreover, all of them caused false-positive responses to HCV and HIV antigens in healthy individuals. Our results question the broad use of in vitro costimulation