Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor – An Angiostatic Factor with a Broader Function in Melanoma

Capítulo 8: Open Access.Supported by grants Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia SAF2007-62292 and SAF2010-19256 to BJ. AFB has been supported by a CSIC-JAE fellowship and JLO by a SAF2007-62292 contract.Peer Reviewe

Activation and inhibition of bimanual movements in school-aged children

The development of motor activation and inhibition was compared in 6-to-12 year-olds. Children had to initiate or stop the externally paced movements of one hand, while maintaining that of the other hand. The time needed to perform the switching task (RT) and the spatio-temporal variables show different agerelated evolutions depending on the coordination pattern (inor anti-phase) and the type of transition (activation, selective inhibition, non selective inhibition) required. In the anti-phase mode, activation perturbs the younger subjects' responses while temporal and spatial stabilities transiently decrease around 9 years when activating in the in-phase mode. Aged-related changes differed between inhibition and activation in the antiphase mode, suggesting either the involvement of distinct neural networks or the existence of a single network that is reorganized. In contrast, stopping or adding one hand in the in-phase mode shows similar aged-related improvement. We suggest that selectively stopping or activating one arm during symmetrical coordination rely on the two faces of a common processing in which activation could be the release of inhibitio

Non-uniqueness of ergodic measures with full Hausdorff dimension on a Gatzouras-Lalley carpet

In this note, we show that on certain Gatzouras-Lalley carpet, there exist more than one ergodic measures with full Hausdorff dimension. This gives a negative answer to a conjecture of Gatzouras and Peres

Generic Multifractality in Exponentials of Long Memory Processes

We find that multifractal scaling is a robust property of a large class of continuous stochastic processes, constructed as exponentials of long-memory processes. The long memory is characterized by a power law kernel with tail exponent $\phi+1/2$, where $\phi >0$. This generalizes previous studies performed only with $\phi=0$ (with a truncation at an integral scale), by showing that multifractality holds over a remarkably large range of dimensionless scales for $\phi>0$. The intermittency multifractal coefficient can be tuned continuously as a function of the deviation $\phi$ from 1/2 and of another parameter $\sigma^2$ embodying information on the short-range amplitude of the memory kernel, the ultra-violet cut-off (``viscous'') scale and the variance of the white-noise innovations. In these processes, both a viscous scale and an integral scale naturally appear, bracketing the ``inertial'' scaling regime. We exhibit a surprisingly good collapse of the multifractal spectra $\zeta(q)$ on a universal scaling function, which enables us to derive high-order multifractal exponents from the small-order values and also obtain a given multifractal spectrum $\zeta(q)$ by different combinations of $\phi$ and $\sigma^2$.Comment: 10 pages + 9 figure

Movement-Related Cortical Potential Amplitude Reduction after Cycling Exercise Relates to the Extent of Neuromuscular Fatigue.

Exercise-induced fatigue affects the motor control and the ability to generate a given force or power. Surface electroencephalography allows researchers to investigate movement-related cortical potentials (MRCP), which reflect preparatory brain activity 1.5 s before movement onset. Although the MRCP amplitude appears to increase after repetitive single-joint contractions, the effects of large-muscle group dynamic exercise on such pre-motor potential remain to be described. Sixteen volunteers exercised 30 min at 60% of the maximal aerobic power on a cycle ergometer, followed by a 10-km all-out time trial. Before and after each of these tasks, knee extensor neuromuscular function was investigated using maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) combined with electrical stimulations of the femoral nerve. MRCP was recorded during 60 knee extensions after each neuromuscular sequence. The exercise resulted in a significant decrease in the knee extensor MVC force after the 30-min exercise (-10 ± 8%) and the time trial (-21 ± 9%). The voluntary activation level (VAL; -6 ± 8 and -12 ± 10%), peak twitch (Pt; -21 ± 16 and -32 ± 17%), and paired stimuli (P100 Hz; -7 ± 11 and -12 ± 13%) were also significantly reduced after the 30-min exercise and the time trial. The first exercise was followed by a decrease in the MRCP, mainly above the mean activity measured at electrodes FC1-FC2, whereas the reduction observed after the time trial was related to the FC1-FC2 and C2 electrodes. After both exercises, the reduction in the late MRCP component above FC1-FC2 was significantly correlated with the reduction in P100 Hz (r = 0.61), and the reduction in the same component above C2 was significantly correlated with the reduction in VAL (r = 0.64). In conclusion, large-muscle group exercise induced a reduction in pre-motor potential, which was related to muscle alterations and resulted in the inability to produce a maximal voluntary contraction

Severe Plasmodium vivax malaria exhibits marked inflammatory imbalance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite clinical descriptions of severe vivax malaria cases having been reported, data regarding immunological and inflammatory patterns are scarce. In this report, the inflammatory and immunological status of both mild and severe vivax malaria cases are compared in order to explore immunopathological events in this disease.</p> <p>Methods and Results</p> <p>Active and passive malaria case detections were performed during 2007 in Buritis, Rondônia, in the Brazilian Amazon. A total of 219 participants enrolled the study. Study individuals were classified according to the presence of <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>infection within four groups: non-infected (n = 90), asymptomatic (n = 60), mild (n = 50) and severe vivax infection (n = 19). A diagnosis of malaria was made by microscopy and molecular assays. Since at present no clear criteria define severe vivax malaria, this study adapted the consensual criteria from falciparum malaria. Patients with severe <it>P. vivax </it>infection were younger, had lived for shorter time in the endemic area, and recalled having experienced less previous malaria episodes than individuals with no malaria infection and with mild or asymptomatic infection. Strong linear trends were identified regarding increasing plasma levels of C reactive protein (CRP), serum creatinine, bilirubins and the graduation of disease severity. Plasma levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interferon-gamma(IFN-gamma) and also IFN-gamma/interleukin-10 ratios were increased and exhibited a linear trend with gradual augmentation of disease severity. Both laboratory parameters of organ dysfunction and inflammatory cytokines were reduced during anti-parasite therapy in those patients with severe disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Different clinical presentations of vivax malaria infection present strong association with activation of pro-inflammatory responses and cytokine imbalance. These findings are of utmost importance to improve current knowledge about physiopathological concepts of this serious widespread disease.</p

Distribution and Origin of Iron Oxides in Soils over Limestone

[Resumen] Se pretende conocer la distribuci6n y el origen de los compuestos de hierro en suelos formados sobre calizas en Galicia. Predominan las formas minerales de hierro, encontrando en la fracción arena magnetita, goethita y/o hematites y excepcionalmente ilmenita, que se consideran heredadas del material de partida. En lámina delgada se observaron goethita y hematites como granos aislados, constituyendo nódulos e integrados en fragmentos de caliza. En la arcilla, trazas de goethita están presentes en casi todos los perfiles; s610 en uno de ellos la hematites es el único 6xido de hierro. La goethita puede haberse formado tanto por neoformaci6n como por microdivisi6n a partir de las fracciones gruesas, siendo este último fen6meno el que ha originado la hematites de la fracci6n arcilla. En dos perfiles la goethita va acompañada de magnetita y se discute la posible existencía y formaci6n de maghemita.[Abstract] Iron distribution in soils formed over limestone of Galicia is studied an the origin of the different iron forms is established. Organic iron is very scarce and mineral iron components dominate. Magnetite, goethite and / or hematite, less cornmonly ilmenite, are found in the sand fraction; they are considered as interited from the parent material. In polished sections goethite an hematite appear as single grains, nodules and il1corporated into limestone fragments. In the clay fraction, traces of goethite are present in aH except one of the profiles where only traces of hematite are indentified. Neoformation and microdivision from coarse fractions can act in the genesis of goethite; only microdivision is considered as the origin of hematite. Magnetite accompanies goethite in two profiles; the possible presence of maghemite and its origin is also discusse

Particle-based model of cellular morphogenesis in budding yeast

We apply Lagrangian particle method combined with the level-set method to model morphogenesis of budding yeast on the subcellular level. We model the biochemical reactions, anisotropic diffusion, membrane-cytoplasmic transport of proteins and introduction of new membrane material (exocytosis) that occur on the plasma membrane. Exocytosis results in protrusion of the membrane surface. Hence, to model these phenomena we need to solve a system of reaction-diffusion-advection equations on the evolving surface

Lognormal scale invariant random measures

In this article, we consider the continuous analog of the celebrated Mandelbrot star equation with lognormal weights. Mandelbrot introduced this equation to characterize the law of multiplicative cascades. We show existence and uniqueness of measures satisfying the aforementioned continuous equation; these measures fall under the scope of the Gaussian multiplicative chaos theory developed by J.P. Kahane in 1985 (or possibly extensions of this theory). As a by product, we also obtain an explicit characterization of the covariance structure of these measures. We also prove that qualitative properties such as long-range independence or isotropy can be read off the equation.Comment: 31 pages; Probability Theory and Related Fields (2012) electronic versio