Proteomic identification of PKC-mediated expression of 20E-induced protein in Drosophila melanogaster

Ecdysone receptor (EcR) and its heterodimeric partner, ultraspiracle protein (USP), are nuclear receptors that mediate the action of the insect molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). There is evidence that the activity of both receptors is affected by phosphorylation. Using a proteomic approach, we have shown that protein kinase C (PKC) activity is necessary for mediating 20E-induced expression of 14 specific proteins, including three previously reported 20E responsive proteins, and is also responsible for the intracellular localization of EcR and USP in larval salivary glands of Drosophila melanogaster. The 20E-dependent expression of the proteins was verified using real-time PCR and/or Western blot analysis. For some genes, inhibition of PKC activity reduced 20E-dependent transcriptional activity rapidly, raising the possibility that these are direct gene targets of EcR and USP. The data further indicate that PKC-mediated phosphorylation is also required for genes regulated indirectly by 20E-induced changes in the larval salivary gland

Carbonaceous material fractions in sediments and their effect on the sorption and persistence of organic pollutants in small urban watersheds

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

Validation of the Chinese version 10-item Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions scale in patients with osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the 10-item Perceived Efficacy in Patient–Physician Interaction (PEPPI-10) scale in hospitalized patients with severe knee osteoarthritis in the People’s Republic of China. METHODS: Between January and March 2015, the Chinese versions of PEPPI, self-efficacy for exercise scale, osteoporosis self-efficacy scale, and modified fall efficacy scale were applied to assess 110 severe knee osteoarthritis patients who were hospitalized in the second ward of the department of arthroplasty surgery of Tianjin Hospital. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the PEPPI-10 scale had a high coefficient of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α coefficient, 0.907). The score of the Chinese version of PEPPI was weakly correlated with the scores of the Chinese versions of self-efficacy for exercise scale, osteoporosis self-efficacy scale, and modified fall efficacy scale. CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of the PEPPI-10 scale exhibits sufficient internal consistency and convergent validity in hospitalized patients with severe knee osteoarthritis in the People’s Republic of China

p73 is required for appropriate BMP-induced mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition during somatic cell reprogramming

The generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by somatic cell reprogramming holds great potential for modeling human diseases. However, the reprogramming process remains very inefficient and a better understanding of its basic biology is required. The mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) has been recognized as a crucial step for the successful reprogramming of fibroblasts into iPSCs. It has been reported that the p53 tumor suppressor gene acts as a barrier of this process, while its homolog p63 acts as an enabling factor. In this regard, the information concerning the role of the third homolog, p73, during cell reprogramming is limited. Here, we derive total Trp73 knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts, with or without Trp53, and examine their reprogramming capacity. We show that p73 is required for effective reprogramming by the Yamanaka factors, even in the absence of p53. Lack of p73 affects the early stages of reprogramming, impairing the MET and resulting in altered maturation and stabilization phases. Accordingly, the obtained p73-deficient iPSCs have a defective epithelial phenotype and alterations in the expression of pluripotency markers. We demonstrate that p73 deficiency impairs the MET, at least in part, by hindering BMP pathway activation. We report that p73 is a positive modulator of the BMP circuit, enhancing its activation by DNp73 repression of the Smad6 promoter. Collectively, these findings provide mechanistic insight into the MET process, proposing p73 as an enhancer of MET during cellular reprogramming.Peer reviewe

6G Vision, Value, Use Cases and Technologies from European 6G Flagship Project Hexa-X

While 5G is being deployed and the economy and society begin to reap the associated benefits, the research and development community starts to focus on the next, 6th Generation (6G) of wireless communications. Although there are papers available in the literature on visions, requirements and technical enablers for 6G from various academic perspectives, there is a lack of joint industry and academic work towards 6G. In this paper a consolidated view on vision, values, use cases and key enabling technologies from leading industry stakeholders and academia is presented. The authors represent the mobile communications ecosystem with competences spanning hardware, link layer and networking aspects, as well as standardization and regulation. The second contribution of the paper is revisiting and analyzing the key concurrent initiatives on 6G. A third contribution of the paper is the identification and justification of six key 6G research challenges: (i) “connecting”, in the sense of empowering, exploiting and governing, intelligence; (ii) realizing a network of networks, i.e., leveraging on existing networks and investments, while reinventing roles and protocols where needed; (iii) delivering extreme experiences, when/where needed; (iv) (environmental, economic, social) sustainability to address the major challenges of current societies; (v) trustworthiness as an ingrained fundamental design principle; (vi) supporting cost-effective global service coverage. A fourth contribution is a comprehensive specification of a concrete first-set of industry and academia jointly defined use cases for 6G, e.g., massive twinning, cooperative robots, immersive telepresence, and others. Finally, the anticipated evolutions in the radio, network and management/orchestration domains are discussed