Blastocysts don't go it alone. Extrinsic signals fine-tune the intrinsic developmental program of trophoblast cells

AbstractThe preimplantation embryo floats freely within the oviduct and is capable of developing into a blastocyst independently of the maternal reproductive tract. While establishment of the trophoblast lineage is dependent on expression of developmental regulatory genes, further differentiation leading to blastocyst implantation in the uterus requires external cues emanating from the microenvironment. Recent studies suggest that trophoblast differentiation requires intracellular signaling initiated by uterine-derived growth factors and integrin-binding components of the extracellular matrix. The progression of trophoblast development from the early blastocyst stage through the onset of implantation appears to be largely independent of new gene expression. Instead, extrinsic signals direct the sequential trafficking of cell surface receptors to orchestrate the developmental program that initiates blastocyst implantation. The dependence on external cues could coordinate embryonic activities with the developing uterine endometrium. Biochemical events that regulate trophoblast adhesion to fibronectin are presented to illustrate a developmental strategy employed by the peri-implantation blastocyst

EFEKTIVITAS PROGRAM PETANI MANDIRI (PPM) DALAM MENINGKATKAN KESEJAHTERAAN KELUARGA PETANI DI DESA BEJI KECAMATAN KEDEWAN KABUPATEN BOJONEGORO

The problems faced in the agricultural sector in Bojonegoro Regency are losses due to crop failure caused by seasons and pests and the difficulty of finding cheap fertilizers. With the Independent Farmer Program is expected to help farmers in overcoming these problems. However, many Beji villagers have not benefited from the Independent Farmer Program. From these problems, researchers want to examine the effectiveness of the PPM program in improving the welfare of farmer families. This study uses a descriptive model with a qualitative approach. This research is sourced from primary data and secondary data, namely by data collection techniques consisting of interviews, observations and documentation. The theory used in the study uses the theory of program effectiveness from six dimensions according to Sawir & Hafid (2020) namely formulation of purpose, activity of description, evaluation, organizational actors characteristics, worker characteristics, management policies and practice. Based on the results of the research on the Effectiveness of the Independent Farmer Program (PPM) in Improving the Welfare of Farmer Families in Beji Village, Kedewan District, Bojonegoro Regency, it can be said to be effective for those who get an independent farmer card because the benefits of the program greatly help reduce the burden on farmer families in terms of purchasing fertilizer and school children's fees. Based on the indicators of program effectiveness theory from Sawir and Hafid. However, there are indicators that are considered less effective due to the lack of employees in the HR and financing sector so that they do not know directly the complaints and inputs of farmers in each village in Bojonegoro Regency. By going directly to the field, the Department of Agriculture will minimize it, as in the case of Beji Village, where there are farmers in one RT who have not yet received access to the benefits of the Independent Farmer Program. From the results of this study, researchers expect increased coordination between all parties related to the PPM program so that the expected goals can be achieved immediately. Keywords: Program Effectiveness, Independent Farmer Program (PPM), Farmer Family WelfarePermasalahan yang dihadapi pada sektor pertanian di Kabupaten Bojonegoro adalah kerugian akibat gagal panen yang disebabkan Musim maupun hama serta sulitnya mencari pupuk dengan harga murah. Dengan adanya Program Petani Mandiri diharapkan dapat membantu petani dalam mengatasi permaasalahan tersebut. Tetapi banyak masyarakat desa Beji yang belum merasakan manfaat dari Program Petani Madiri. Dari permasalahan tersebut peneliti ingin meneliti tentang Efektivitas program PPM dalam meningkatkan kesejahteraan keluarga petani.Penelitian ini menggunakan model deskriptif dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Penelitian ini bersumber pada data primer dan data sekunder yakni dengan teknik pengumpulan data yang terdiri dari wawancara,observasi dan dokumentasi. Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian  menggunakan teori efektivitas program dari enam dimensi menurut Sawir & Hafid (2020) yaitu  formulation  of purpose, activity of  description, evaluation, organizational actors characteristics, worker charasteristics, management policies and practice. Berdasarkan Hasil penelitian Efektivitas Program Petani Mandiri (PPM) Dalam Meningkatkan Kesejahteraan Keluarga Petani di Desa Beji Kecamatan Kedewan Kabupaten Bojonegoro dapat dikatakan efektif untuk mereka yang mendapatkan Kartu petani mandiri karena manfaat program sangat membantu mengurangi beban keluarga petani dalam hal pembelian pupuk dan biaya anak sekolah. Berdasarkan indikator teori efektifitas program dari Sawir dan hafid. Namun, terdepat indikator yang dinilai kurang efektif dikarenakan kurangnya pegawai pada Bidang SDM dan pembiayaan sehingga mereka tidak mengetahui secara langsung keluhan dan masukan petani setiap desa di Kabupaten Bojonegoro. Dengan langsung terjun ke lapangan maka Dinas pertanian akan meminimalisir seperti kasus Di desa Beji yaitu terdapat petani satu RT yang belum mendapatkan akses manfaat Program  petani  mandiri. Dari hasil penelitian tersebut, peneliti mengharapkan peningkatan koordinasi antar semua pihak yant terkait dengan program PPM agar Tujuan yang diharapkan agar segera tercapai. Kata Kunci: Efektivitas Program, Program Petani Mandiri (PPM), Kesejahteraan Keluarga Petan

Minimizing the driving distance in ride sharing systems

Reducing the number of cars driving on roads is an important objective for smart sustainable cities, for reducing emissions and improving traffic flow. To assist with this aim, ride-sharing systems match intending drivers with prospective passengers. The matching problem becomes more complex when drivers can pick-up and drop-off several passengers, both drivers and passengers have to travel within a time-window and are willing to switch roles. We present a mixed integer programming model for this switching rider problem, with the objective of minimizing the total distance driven by the population. We exhibit how the potential saving in kilometres increases as the driver flexibility and the density of the distribution of participants increases. Further, we show how breaking symmetries among the switchers improves performance, gaining over an order of magnitude speed up in solving time, and allowing approximately 50% more participants to be handled in the same computation time

Integrin Signaling Regulates Blastocyst Adhesion to Fibronectin at Implantation: Intracellular Calcium Transients and Vesicle Trafficking in Primary Trophoblast Cells

AbstractAccumulating evidence indicates that the endometrial extracellular matrix (ECM) modulates trophoblast adhesion during mouse blastocyst implantation. In previous studies of adhesion-competent mouse blastocysts, we have demonstrated that integrin-mediated fibronectin (FN)-binding activity on the apical surface of trophoblast cells is initially low, but becomes strengthened after embryos are exposed to FN. In the present study, we have examined whether the ligand-induced upregulation of trophoblast adhesion to FN is mediated by integrin signaling. The strengthening of adhesion to FN required integrin ligation, which rapidly elevated cytoplasmic-free Ca2+. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+ using BAPTA-AM, or inhibition of the Ca2+-dependent proteins, protein kinase C or calmodulin, significantly attenuated the effect of FN on binding activity. Furthermore, direct elevation of cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels with ionomycin upregulated FN-binding activity, demonstrating that Ca2+ signaling is required and sufficient for strong adhesion to FN. Ca2+ signaling may induce protein trafficking, a known requirement for ligand-induced upregulation of FN-binding activity. Indeed, intracellular vesicles accumulated in adhesion-competent blastocysts, but were absent after exposure to either FN or ionomycin. These findings suggest that, during implantation, contact between peri-implantation blastocysts and FN elevates intracellular Ca2+, which strengthens trophoblast adhesion to ECM through protein redistribution

Maximising the number of participants in a ride-sharing scheme: MIP versus CP formulations

Ride sharing schemes aim to reduce the number of cars in congested cities, while providing the participants with a cheaper alternative to solo driving. To ensure a ride-sharing scheme thrives, it is important to maintain a high participation rate. This requires an adequate balance between drivers and riders. And thus ride matches should be proposed which maximize the number of participants. Different variants of the ride sharing problem have been solved using mixed integer programming. In this paper, we introduce a constraint programming formulation for the problem that uses cumulative constraints with dependencies between trip times. In experiments based on collected trip schedules from four different regions, the constraint model outperforms the MIP model. However, when we change the problem by assuming all drivers have flexible roles, the MIP model allows faster solution times than the CP model

SAKey: Scalable almost key discovery in RDF data

Exploiting identity links among RDF resources allows applications to efficiently integrate data. Keys can be very useful to discover these identity links. A set of properties is considered as a key when its values uniquely identify resources. However, these keys are usually not available. The approaches that attempt to automatically discover keys can easily be overwhelmed by the size of the data and require clean data. We present SAKey, an approach that discovers keys in RDF data in an efficient way. To prune the search space, SAKey exploits characteristics of the data that are dynamically detected during the process. Furthermore, our approach can discover keys in datasets where erroneous data or duplicates exist (i.e., almost keys). The approach has been evaluated on different synthetic and real datasets. The results show both the relevance of almost keys and the efficiency of discovering them

Whole transcriptome data analysis of zebrafish mutants affecting muscle development

Formation of the contractile myofibril of the skeletal muscle is a complex process which when perturbed leads to muscular dystrophy. Herein, we provide a mRNAseq dataset on three different zebrafish mutants affecting muscle organization during embryogenesis. These comprise the myosin folding chaperone unc45b (unc45b_/_), heat shock protein 90aa1.1 (hsp90aa1.1_/_) and the acetylcholine esterase (ache_/_) gene. The transcriptome analysis was performed in duplicate experiments at 72h post-fertilization (hpf) for all three mutants, with two additional times of development( 24hpf and 48 hpf) for unc45b_/_. A total of 20 samples were analyzed by hierarchical clustering for differential gene expression. The data from this study support the observation made in Etard et al. (2015) [1] (http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13059-015-0825-8) that a failure to fold myosin activates a unique transcriptional program in the skeletal muscles that isdifferent from that induced in stressed muscle cell

L'arteriopatia perifèrica i la seva relació amb paràmetres clínics nutricionals, el risc cardiovascular i la qualitat de vida, en una població amb factors de risc cardiovascular de l'atenció primària de l'àrea mediterrània

Objectiu. Prevalença Arteriopatia Perifèrica(AP) Silent en població amb FRCV. Relació amb nutrició i QVRS Disseny. Descriptiu Observacional Retrospectiu - Prospectiu, a l'atenció primàriaSubjectes. 350 pacients, sense malaltia cardiovascular i amb polsos presents.Mesuraments. variables: edat, sexe, FRCV paràmetres antropomètrics, analítica, ECG, taules predicció RCV, turmell/braç, enquestes dietètiques i valoració QVRS. Estadística descriptiva, proves Khi-quadrat, Fisher, t d'Student-Fisher; regressió múltiple ,IC 95 % i p Augmenten risc: Cintura/Maluc(OD:1,3) Cintura(OD:2,15), Cintura/Cuixa(OD:2,8), alta ingesta greixos Saturats(OD:1,67),baixa ingesta de greixos NO Saturats(OD:4,82), HTA(OD:1,225)Protectors: Normopès(OD:0,11), Grau Baix Pressió del Pols(OD:0,266) i microalbuminúria normal(OD:0,463). No relació amb QVRS.Conclusions. L'AP es presenta asimptomàtica amb prevalença elevada. Distribució greix abdominal i HTA factors més importants. Relació amb dany renal. Cap taula prediu l'AP. No relació amb QVRS.Objectivo. Prevalencia Arteriopatia Periférica(AP) Silente en población con FRCV. Relación con nutrición y QVRS Diseño. Descriptivo Observacional Retrospectivo -Prospectivo, en la atención primariaSujetos. 350 pacientes, sin enfermedad cardiovascular y con pulsos presentes.Medidas. variables: edad, sexo, FRCV parámetros antropométricos, analítica, ECG, tablas predicción RCV, tobillo/brazo, encuestas dietéticas y valoración QVRS. Estadística descriptiva, pruebas Chi-cuadrado, Fisher, t Student-Fisher; regresión múltiple ,IC 95 % y p Aumentan riesgo: Cintura/Cadera(OD:1,3) Cintura(OD:2,15), Cintura/Muslo(OD:2,8), alta ingesta grasas Saturadas(OD:1,67), baja ingesta de grasas NO Saturadas(OD:4,82), HTA(OD:1,225)Protectores: Normopeso(OD:0,11), Grado Bajo Presión del Pulso(OD:0,266) y microalbuminuria normal(OD:0,463). No relación con QVRS.Conclusiones. La AP se presenta asintomática con prevalencia elevada. Distribución grasa abdominal y HTA factores más importantes. Relación con daño renal. Ninguna tabla predice la AP. No relación con QVRS.Aim. Predominance Arteriopatia Periférica (AP) in population with FRCV. Relation with nutrition and QVRSDesigned. Descriptive Observacional Retrospectivo - Pilot, in the primary health careSubjects. 350 patients, without cardiovascular disease and present pulses.Measurements. age, sex, FRCV anthropometric parameters, analytical, ECG, stage prediction RCV, ankle / arm, dietetic surveys and evaluation QVRS. Descriptive statistics, you prove Chi-Square, Fisher, t Student-Fisher; multiple retrogression, IC 95 % and p Results. 350 patients, 62,45 years (30-74). 250 (71,4 %) men. 39,4%smoking, 82,3%HTA, 81,4%hypercholesterolemia, 42%diabetis. 26,3%AP. 44,57% Insufficiency , 55,43% Calcification They Increase risk: Waist / hip (OD:1,3) Waist (OD:2,15), Waist / thigh (OD:2,8), high ingestion Saturated fats (OD:1,67), low ingestion of not Saturated fats (OD:4,82), HTA (OD:1,225) Protective: normal-weight (OD:0,11), Grade Under Pressure of the Pulse (OD:0,266) and normal microalbuminuria (OD:0,463). Not relation with QVRS.Conclusions. The AP appears asymptomatic with high predominance. Abdominal greasy distribution and HTA more important factors. Relation with renal damage. The AP predicts no table. Not relation with QVR

A Glycosaminoglycan Based, Modular Tissue Scaffold System for Rapid Assembly of Perfusable, High Cell Density, Engineered Tissues

The limited ability to vascularize and perfuse thick, cell-laden tissue constructs has hindered efforts to engineer complex tissues and organs, including liver, heart and kidney. The emerging field of modular tissue engineering aims to address this limitation by fabricating constructs from the bottom up, with the objective of recreating native tissue architecture and promoting extensive vascularization. In this paper, we report the elements of a simple yet efficient method for fabricating vascularized tissue constructs by fusing biodegradable microcapsules with tunable interior environments. Parenchymal cells of various types, (i.e. trophoblasts, vascular smooth muscle cells, hepatocytes) were suspended in glycosaminoglycan (GAG) solutions (4%/1.5% chondroitin sulfate/carboxymethyl cellulose, or 1.5 wt% hyaluronan) and encapsulated by forming chitosan-GAG polyelectrolyte complex membranes around droplets of the cell suspension. The interior capsule environment could be further tuned by blending collagen with or suspending microcarriers in the GAG solution These capsule modules were seeded externally with vascular endothelial cells (VEC), and subsequently fused into tissue constructs possessing VEC-lined, inter-capsule channels. The microcapsules supported high density growth achieving clinically significant cell densities. Fusion of the endothelialized, capsules generated three dimensional constructs with an embedded network of interconnected channels that enabled long-term perfusion culture of the construct. A prototype, engineered liver tissue, formed by fusion of hepatocyte-containing capsules exhibited urea synthesis rates and albumin synthesis rates comparable to standard collagen sandwich hepatocyte cultures. The capsule based, modular approach described here has the potential to allow rapid assembly of tissue constructs with clinically significant cell densities, uniform cell distribution, and endothelialized, perfusable channels

Loss of function of myosin chaperones triggers Hsf1-mediated transcriptional response in skeletal muscle cells

Quality of sequences obtained with CASAVA 1.8.1 (Illumina) workflow. PF reads passing Illumina chastity filter. (XLSX 46 kb