3,704 research outputs found
Physiological Recordings of High and Low Output NMJs on the Crayfish Leg Extensor Muscle
We explain in detail how to expose and conduct electrophysiological recordings of synaptic responses for high (phasic) and low (tonic) output motor neurons innervating the extensor muscle in the walking leg of a crayfish. Distinct differences are present in the physiology and morphology of the phasic and tonic nerve terminals. The tonic axon contains many more mitochondria, enabling it to take a vital stain more intensely than the phasic axon. The tonic terminals have varicosities, and the phasic terminal is filiform. The tonic terminals are low in synaptic efficacy but show dramatic facilitated responses. In contrast, the phasic terminals are high in quantal efficacy but show synaptic depression with high frequency stimulation. The quantal output is measured with a focal macropatch electrode placed directly over the visualized nerve terminals. Both phasic and tonic terminals innervate the same muscle fibers, which suggests that inherent differences in the neurons, rather than differential retrograde feedback from the muscle, account for the morphological and physiological differentiation
Serotonin and Synaptic Transmission at Invertebrate Neuromuscular Junctions
The serotonergic system in vertebrates and invertebrates has been a focus for over 50 years and will likely continue in the future. Recently, genomic analysis and discovery of alternative splicing and differential expression in tissues have increased the knowledge of serotonin (5-HT) receptor types. Comparative studies can provide useful insights to the wide variety of mechanistic actions of 5-HT responsible for behaviors regulated or modified by 5-HT. To determine cellular responses and influences on neural systems as well as the efferent control of behaviors by the motor units, preparations amenable to detailed studies of synapses are beneficial as working models. The invertebrate neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) offer some unique advantages for such investigations; action of 5-HT at crustacean NMJs has been widely studied, and leech and Aplysia continue to be key organisms. However, there are few studies in insects likely due to the focus in modulation within the CNS and lack of evidence of substantial action of 5-HT at the Drosophila NMJs. There are only a few reports in gastropods and annelids as well as other invertebrates. In this review we highlight some of the key findings of 5-HT actions and receptor types associated at NMJs in a variety of invertebrate preparations in hopes that future studies will build on this knowledge base
Physical Activity Behavior, Dietary Patterns, and Nutrition Knowledge of Third- and Fourth-Grade Students in Western Massachusetts
Our Extension project assessed physical activity patterns and nutrition behavior and knowledge in elementary school students in a low-income community. Dietary patterns were similar to many large-scale studies, which have shown a trend of lower fat consumption; however, these children were unfamiliar with certain nutrient terms and categories. Most physical activities were performed in PE classes; however, community organizations and family played important roles. This survey provides a basis of children\u27s nutrition knowledge and physical activity behavior. From this project we plan to develop appropriate nutrition and physical activity programs for children of similar age and socioeconomic status
Deficiency of RgpG causes major defects in cell division and biofilm formation, and deficiency of LytR-CpsAPsr family proteins leads to accumulation of cell wall antigens in culture medium by Streptococcus mutans
ABSTRACT
Streptococcus mutans
is known to possess rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide (RGP), a major cell wall antigen.
S. mutans
strains deficient in
rgpG
, encoding the first enzyme of the RGP biosynthesis pathway, were constructed by allelic exchange. The
rgpG
deficiency had no effect on growth rate but caused major defects in cell division and altered cell morphology. Unlike the coccoid wild type, the
rgpG
mutant existed primarily in chains of swollen, “squarish” dividing cells. Deficiency of
rgpG
also causes significant reduction in biofilm formation (
P
< 0.01). Double and triple mutants with deficiency in
brpA
and/or
psr
, genes coding for the LytR-CpsA-Psr family proteins BrpA and Psr, which were previously shown to play important roles in cell envelope biogenesis, were constructed using the
rgpG
mutant. There were no major differences in growth rates between the wild-type strain and the
rgpG brpA
and
rgpG psr
double mutants, but the growth rate of the
rgpG brpA psr
triple mutant was reduced drastically (
P
< 0.001). Under transmission electron microscopy, both double mutants resembled the
rgpG
mutant, while the triple mutant existed as giant cells with multiple asymmetric septa. When analyzed by immunoblotting, the
rgpG
mutant displayed major reductions in cell wall antigens compared to the wild type, while little or no signal was detected with the double and triple mutants and the
brpA
and
psr
single mutants. These results suggest that RgpG in
S. mutans
plays a critical role in cell division and biofilm formation and that BrpA and Psr may be responsible for attachment of cell wall antigens to the cell envelope.
IMPORTANCE
Streptococcus mutans
, a major etiological agent of human dental caries, produces rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide (RGP) as the major cell wall antigen. This study provides direct evidence that deficiency of RgpG, the first enzyme of the RGP biosynthesis pathway, caused major defects in cell division and morphology and reduced biofilm formation by
S. mutans
, indicative of a significant role of RGP in cell division and biofilm formation in
S. mutans
. These results are novel not only in
S. mutans
, but also other streptococci that produce RGP. This study also shows that the LytR-CpsA-Psr family proteins BrpA and Psr in
S. mutans
are involved in attachment of RGP and probably other cell wall glycopolymers to the peptidoglycan. In addition, the results also suggest that BrpA and Psr may play a direct role in cell division and biofilm formation in
S. mutans
. This study reveals new potential targets to develop anticaries therapeutics.
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Evidence for Two Gaps and Breakdown of the Uemura Plot in BaKFeAs Single Crystals
We report a detailed investigation on the lower critical field of
the superconducting BaKFeAs (FeAs-122) single crystals.
A pronounced kink is observed on the curve, which is attributed to
the existence of two superconducting gaps. By fitting the data to
the two-gap BCS model in full temperature region, a small gap of
meV and a large gap of meV
are obtained. The in-plane penetration depth is estimated to
be 105 nm corresponding to a rather large superfluid density, which points to
the breakdown of the Uemura plot in FeAs-122 superconductors.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Relativistic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory with Density Dependent Meson-Nucleon Couplings
Relativistic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (RHFB) theory with density-dependent
meson-nucleon couplings is presented. The integro-differential RHFB equations
are solved by expanding the different components of the quasi-particle spinors
in the complete set of eigen-solutions of the Dirac equations with Woods-Saxon
potentials. Using the finite-range Gogny force D1S as an effective interaction
in the pairing channel, systematic RHFB calculations are performed for Sn
isotopes and N=82 isotones. It is demonstrated that an appropriate description
of both mean field and pairing effects can be obtained within RHFB theory with
finite range Gogny pairing forces. Better systematics are also found in the
regions from the stable to the neutron-rich side with the inclusion of Fock
terms, especially in the presence of -tensor couplings.Comment: 11 pages, 2 tables and 4 figure
Orthography Shapes Semantic and Phonological Activation in Reading
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt:This study will investigate whether Chinese orthography differs from English orthography in terms of the relative activation of semantic versus phonological information. Do Chinese characters evoke greater activation of semantic information compared to phonological information? Do they trigger greater activation of semantic information than English orthography? Moreover, few studies have examined Chinese reading and alphabetic reading with the same experimental design. The present study fills these gaps in the literature by examining a previously unstudied phenomenon: semantic substitutions that occur during reading outloud tasks
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GPER-induced signaling is essential for the survival of breast cancer stem cells.
G protein-coupled estrogen receptor-1 (GPER), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, mediates estrogen-induced proliferation of normal and malignant breast epithelial cells. However, its role in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) remains unclear. Here we showed greater expression of GPER in BCSCs than non-BCSCs of three patient-derived xenografts of ER- /PR+ breast cancers. GPER silencing reduced stemness features of BCSCs as reflected by reduced mammosphere forming capacity in vitro, and tumor growth in vivo with decreased BCSC populations. Comparative phosphoproteomics revealed greater GPER-mediated PKA/BAD signaling in BCSCs. Activation of GPER by its ligands, including tamoxifen (TMX), induced phosphorylation of PKA and BAD-Ser118 to sustain BCSC characteristics. Transfection with a dominant-negative mutant BAD (Ser118Ala) led to reduced cell survival. Taken together, GPER and its downstream signaling play a key role in maintaining the stemness of BCSCs, suggesting that GPER is a potential therapeutic target for eradicating BCSCs
Analysis of electrophysiological activation of the uterus during human labor contractions
This cohort study uses electromyometrial imaging to examine the underlying electrophysiological origins of human labor at the myometrium level
Spurious Shell Closures in the Relativistic Mean Field Model
Following a systematic theoretical study of the ground-state properties of
over 7000 nuclei from the proton drip line to the neutron drip line in the
relativistic mean field model [Prog. Theor. Phys. 113 (2005) 785], which is in
fair agreement with existing experimental data, we observe a few spurious shell
closures, i.e. proton shell closures at Z=58 and Z=92. These spurious shell
closures are found to persist in all the effective forces of the relativistic
mean field model, e.g. TMA, NL3, PKDD and DD-ME2.Comment: 3 pages, to appear in Chinese Physics Letter
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