Relativistic two-body system in (1+1)-dimensions

The relativistic two-body system in (1+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics is studied. It is proved that the eigenvalue problem for the two-body Hamiltonian without the self-interaction terms reduces to the problem of solving an one-dimensional stationary Schr\"odinger type equation with an energy-dependent effective potential which includes the delta-functional and inverted oscillator parts. The conditions determining the metastable energy spectrum are derived, and the energies and widths of the metastable levels are estimated in the limit of large particle masses. The effects of the self-interaction are discussed.Comment: LATEX file, 21 pp., 4 figure

Physical and mechanical characteristics of Hisex Brown hen eggs from three different housing systems

The aim of this study was to compare physical and mechanical characteristics of Hisex hen eggs collected from three different housing systems: enriched cage housing, aviary housing, and free-range systems. The following physical and mechanical characteristics if eggs were compared: dimensions, surface area, volume, sphericity, shape index, shell thickness, weight, composition, yolk to albumen ratio, rupture force, specific deformation, absorbed energy, and firmness. The largest and heaviest eggs were collected from cage housing, followed by eggs from free-range systems and aviary housing. According to shape index, eggs from aviary housing can be described as round, while eggs from cage housing and free-range systems can be characterised as normal or standard. Eggs from free-range laying hens had the highest yolk percentage and yolk to albumen ratio (26.2% and 0.427). In comparison to eggs from aviary housing and free-range systems, eggs from enriched cage housing had the thickest shells and the highest shell strength, and required the highest force to rupture those eggs. The average force required to rupture Hisex Brown hen eggs from cage housing in all three axes was 44.14 N, which was 12.1% higher than the average force required to rupture eggs from a free-range system (39.37 N) and 17.1% higher than the average force required to rupture eggs from aviary housing (37.68 N). The highest forces required to rupture eggs from all three housing systems were determined on loading along the X-front axis and the lowest forces were determined along the Z-axis. The results obtained in this study can be useful to producers when selecting hen housing systems in order to reduce egg damage during storage and transport.Keywords: egg composition, egg weight, rupture force, shape index, shell thicknes

The calcium sensor Copine-6 regulates spine structural plasticity and learning and memory

Hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) represents the cellular response of excitatory synapses to specific patterns of high neuronal activity and is required for learning and memory. Here we identify a mechanism that requires the calcium-binding protein Copine-6 to translate the initial calcium signals into changes in spine structure. We show that Copine-6 is recruited from the cytosol of dendrites to postsynaptic spine membranes by calcium transients that precede LTP. Cpne6 knockout mice are deficient in hippocampal LTP, learning and memory. Hippocampal neurons from Cpne6 knockouts lack spine structural plasticity as do wild-type neurons that express a Copine-6 calcium mutant. The function of Copine-6 is based on its binding, activating and recruiting the Rho GTPase Rac1 to cell membranes. Consistent with this function, the LTP deficit of Cpne6 knockout mice is rescued by the actin stabilizer jasplakinolide. These data show that Copine-6 links activity-triggered calcium signals to spine structural plasticity necessary for learning and memory

Human Developmental Chondrogenesis as a Basis for Engineering Chondrocytes from Pluripotent Stem Cells

Joint injury and osteoarthritis affect millions of people worldwide, but attempts to generate articular cartilage using adult stem/progenitor cells have been unsuccessful. We hypothesized that recapitulation of the human developmental chondrogenic program using pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) may represent a superior approach for cartilage restoration. Using laser-capture microdissection followed by microarray analysis, we first defined a surface phenotype (CD166(low/neg)CD146(low/neg)CD73(+)CD44(low)BMPR1B(+)) distinguishing the earliest cartilage committed cells (prechondrocytes) at 5-6 weeks of development. Functional studies confirmed these cells are chondrocyte progenitors. From 12 weeks, only the superficial layers of articular cartilage were enriched in cells with this progenitor phenotype. Isolation of cells with a similar immunophenotype from differentiating human PSCs revealed a population of CD166(low/neg)BMPR1B(+) putative cartilage-committed progenitors. Taken as a whole, these data define a developmental approach for the generation of highly purified functional human chondrocytes from PSCs that could enable substantial progress in cartilage tissue engineering.Fil: Wu, Ling. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Bluguermann, Carolina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Kyupelyan, Levon. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Latour, Brooke. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Gonzalez, Stephanie. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Shah, Saumya. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Galic, Zoran. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Ge, Sundi. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Zhu, Yuhua. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Petrigliano, Frank A.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Nsair, Ali. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Miriuka, Santiago Gabriel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Li, Xinmin. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Lyons, Karen M.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Crooks, Gay M.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: McAllister, David R.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Van Handel, Ben. Novogenix Laboratories; Estados UnidosFil: Adams, John S.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Evseenko, Denis. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados Unido

The attitudes of European consumers toward innovation in bread; interest of the consumers toward selected quality attributes

16 pages, 7 tables, 4 figures.-- The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.comThe present survey is integrated in the European project entitled EU-FRESHBAKE. This three years project started in October 2006. It aims at developing innovative processes and innovative formulations for the Bake Off technology taking into consideration, energy demand of the process, nutrition parameters and overall quality of the bread. To help and to advise the project on the expectations of the European consumers toward innovation, a consumer survey has been carried out taking into consideration 1050 consumers from 5 countries (Belgium, Croatia, Spain, France and Poland). The global objectives are (i) to better understand the attitudes of the European innovations in bread and (ii) to understand the main determinants of it. Globally the key points that arose from the survey were the environmental concern and the concern regarding health; these two aspects seem to steer the attitudes of the consumer. Basically, two categories of consumers were observed; (i) frequent (daily) buyers with a focus on quality and pleasure and (ii) less frequent buyers (once a week) with a more pronounced interest in nutrition and energy (process). The first group was named the crust group and the second one the crumb group. The crumb family seems to be the one that is the most interested in the outcomes of the EU-FRESHBAKE project. This group is concerned by nutrition quality and would prefer a bread which has been done with a less energy demanding process. The “crust” group is schematically less interested in the nutrition, in the shelf life and in the energy demand of the process used to prepare the bread. The results from this survey should be handled with care due to the relative small size of the sample and to the fact that the average age of the sample was rather young.This study (report, paper, workshop…) has been carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, FP6, Thematic Area “Food quality and safety”, FOOD-2006-36302 EU-FRESH BAKE.Peer reviewe

Cameriere’s European formula for age estimation: A study on the children in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction: A method for age estimation, based on measurements of projections of open apices and heights of developing permanentteeth on orthopantomograms (OPTs), was presented by Cameriere in 2006 and adopted European formula was presented in 2007. Aim: This cross-sectional study tested the accuracy of Cameriere’s European formula on a sample from the City of Sarajevo, Bosniaand Herzegovina. Materials and methods: A final sample of 560 OPTs of 305 girls and 255 boys aged 8 to 14 years was obtained. The sample was collected at the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dental Medicine at the University of Sarajevo (SFUNSA). Dental age was compared to chronological age and mean absolute error (MAE) was calculated. Intra-rater and inter-rater agreement of the evaluated variables were calculated. Results: The dental age was underestimated when compared to chronological age, precisely, mean underestimation was -0.14 years ingirls and -0.17 years in boys. The values of MAE were 0.62 years in girls and 0.56 years in boys. The greatest error was found for the 14-year old group; DA was -1.04 years and -0.70 years in girls and boys respectively. Conclusion: Our results showed that Cameriere’s European formula might be a useful tool for age estimation in children from Bosnia and Herzegovina under the age of 14 years

Ghrelin-AMPK Signaling Mediates the Neuroprotective Effects of Calorie Restriction in Parkinson's Disease

Jacqeline Bayliss, Romana Stark, Moyra Lemus, Vanessa Santos, Aiysha Thompson, Daniel Rees, Sandra Galic, John Elsworth, Bruce Kemp, Jeffrey Davies, and Zane Andrew

Facile heterocyclic synthesis and antimicrobial activity of polysubstituted and condensed pyrazolopyranopyrimidine and pyrazolopyranotriazine derivatives

Reaction of 6-amino-3-methyl-4-(substituted phenyl)-1,4-dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole-5-carbonitrile (1) with triethylorthoformate followed by treatment with hydrazine hydrate, formic acid, acetic acid, phenylisocyanate, ammonium thiocyanate and formamide afforded the corresponding pyranopyrimidine derivatives 2–6. Cyclocondensation of 1 with cyclohexanone afforded pyrazolopyranoquinoline 7. One-pot process of diazotation and de-diazochlorination of 1 afforded pyrazolopyranotriazine derivative 8, which upon treatment with secondary amines afforded 9 and 10a-c. Condensation of 2 with aromatic aldehyde gave the corresponding Schiff bases 11a,b, the oxidative cyclization of the hydrazone with appropriate oxidant afforded 11-(4-fluorophenyl))-2-(4-substitutedphenyl)-10-methyl-8,11-dihydropyrazolo-[4\u27,3\u27:5,6]pyrano[3,2-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidines (12a,b). Structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by spectral data and elemental analysis. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for antibacterial and antifungal activities compared to norfloxacin and fluconazole as standard drugs. Compounds 9, 10c, 12a and 15 were found to be the most potent antibacterial agents, with activity equal to that of norfloxacin. On the other hand, compound 5 exhibited higher antifungal activity compared to fluconazole

The autophagy initiator ULK1 sensitizes AMPK to allosteric drugs

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a metabolic stress-sensing enzyme responsible for maintaining cellular energy homeostasis. Activation of AMPK by salicylate and the thienopyridone A-769662 is critically dependent on phosphorylation of Ser108 in the β1 regulatory subunit. Here, we show a possible role for Ser108 phosphorylation in cell cycle regulation and promotion of pro-survival pathways in response to energy stress. We identify the autophagy initiator Unc-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) as a β1-Ser108 kinase in cells. Cellular β1-Ser108 phosphorylation by ULK1 was dependent on AMPK β-subunit myristoylation, metabolic stress associated with elevated AMP/ATP ratio, and the intrinsic energy sensing capacity of AMPK; features consistent with an AMP-induced myristoyl switch mechanism. We further demonstrate cellular AMPK signaling independent of activation loop Thr172 phosphorylation, providing potential insight into physiological roles for Ser108 phosphorylation. These findings uncover new mechanisms by which AMPK could potentially maintain cellular energy homeostasis independently of Thr172 phosphorylation