even skipped is required to produce a trans-acting signal for larval neuroblast proliferation that can be mimicked by ecdysone

Development of a multicellular organism requires precise coordination of cell division and cell type determination. The selector homeoprotein Even skipped (Eve) plays a very specific role in determining cell identity in the Drosophila embryo, both during segmentation and in neuronal development. However, studies of gene expression in eve mutant embryos suggest that eve regulates the embryonic expression of the vast majority of genes. We present here genetic interaction and phenotypic analysis showing that eve functions in the trol pathway to regulate the onset of neuroblast division in the larval CNS. Surprisingly, Eve is not detected in the regulated neuroblasts, and culture experiments reveal that Eve is required in the body, not the CNS. Furthermore, the effect of an eve mutation can be rescued both in vivo and in culture by the hormone ecdysone. These results suggest that eve is required to produce a trans-acting factor that stimulates cell division in the larval brain

The Drosophila Perlecan gene trol regulates multiple signaling pathways in different developmental contexts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Heparan sulfate proteoglycans modulate signaling by a variety of growth factors. The mammalian proteoglycan Perlecan binds and regulates signaling by Sonic Hedgehog, Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF), among others, in contexts ranging from angiogenesis and cardiovascular development to cancer progression. The <it>Drosophila </it>Perlecan homolog <it>trol </it>has been shown to regulate the activity of Hedgehog and Branchless (an FGF homolog) to control the onset of stem cell proliferation in the developing brain during first instar. Here we extend analysis of <it>trol </it>mutant phenotypes to show that <it>trol </it>is required for a variety of developmental events and modulates signaling by multiple growth factors in different situations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Different mutations in <it>trol </it>allow developmental progression to varying extents, suggesting that <it>trol </it>is involved in multiple cell-fate and patterning decisions. Analysis of the initiation of neuroblast proliferation at second instar demonstrated that <it>trol </it>regulates this event by modulating signaling by Hedgehog and Branchless, as it does during first instar. Trol protein is distributed over the surface of the larval brain, near the regulated neuroblasts that reside on the cortical surface. Mutations in <it>trol </it>also decrease the number of circulating plasmatocytes. This is likely to be due to decreased expression of <it>pointed</it>, the response gene for VEGF/PDGF signaling that is required for plasmatocyte proliferation. Trol is found on plasmatocytes, where it could regulate VEGF/PDGF signaling. Finally, we show that in second instar brains but not third instar brain lobes and eye discs, mutations in <it>trol </it>affect signaling by Decapentaplegic (a Transforming Growth Factor family member), Wingless (a Wnt growth factor) and Hedgehog.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These studies extend the known functions of the <it>Drosophila </it>Perlecan homolog <it>trol </it>in both developmental and signaling contexts. These studies also highlight the fact that Trol function is not dedicated to a single molecular mechanism, but is capable of regulating different growth factor pathways depending on the cell-type and event underway.</p

Cyclic AMP Suppresses Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 Expression through Inhibition of MAPK and GSK-3β

Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) is stimulated by diverse stimuli and is likely to be regulated by many signaling pathways. cAMP is known to act as a second messenger for various extracellular stimuli and to be involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammation. Here, we investigated the effect of cAMP on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced MMP-1 expression and the molecular events involved in the processes in human skin fibroblasts. We showed that cAMP suppresses TNF-α-induced MMP-1 expression via protein kinase A (PKA) pathway. cAMP inhibited TNF-α-stimulated ERK and JNK activation, which was shown to have an important role in MMP-1 expression. However, MMP-1 expression could also be inhibited by cAMP even when ERK and JNK activities were unaffected, indicating that there might be other target(s) that mediate cAMP-mediated suppression of MMP-1 expression. Further studies revealed that glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β can be inactivated by cAMP/PKA pathway and has important roles in MMP-1 expression, and showed that inactivation of GSK-3β is critical for suppression of MMP-1 expression by cAMP elevation after TNF-α treatment. Taken together, our results suggest that cAMP/PKA pathway can suppress MMP-1 expression through inhibition of multiple signaling pathways, including MAPK and GSK-3β

Shape-dependent adhesion and friction of Au nanoparticles probed with atomic force microscopy

The relation between surface structure and friction and adhesion is a long-standing question in tribology. Tuning the surface structure of the exposed facets of metal nanoparticles is enabled by shape control. We investigated the effect of the shape of Au nanoparticles on friction and adhesion. Two nanoparticle systems, cubic nanoparticles with a low-index (100) surface and hexoctahedral nanoparticles with a high-index (321) surface, were used as model nanoparticle surfaces. Atomic force microscopy was used to probe the nanoscale friction and adhesion on the nanoparticle surface. Before removing the capping layers, the friction results include contributions from both the geometric factor and the presence of capping layers. After removing the capping layers, we can see the exclusive effect of the surface atomic structure while the geometric effect is maintained. We found that after removing the capping layer, the cubic Au nanoparticles exhibited higher adhesion and friction, compared with cubes capped with layers covering 25% and 70%, respectively. On the other hand, the adhesion and friction of hexoctahedral Au nanoparticles decreased after removing the capping layers, compared with nanoparticles with capping layers. The difference in adhesion and friction forces between the bare Au surfaces and Au nanoparticles with capping layers cannot be explained by geometric factors, such as the slope of the nanoparticle surfaces. The higher adhesion and friction forces on cubic nanoparticles after removing the capping layers is associated with the atomic structure of (100) and (321) (i.e., the flat (100) surfaces of the cubic nanoparticles have a larger contact area, compared with the rough (321) surfaces of the hexoctahedral nanoparticles). This study implies an intrinsic relation between atomic structure and nanomechanical properties, with potential applications for controlling nanoscale friction and adhesion via colloid chemistry. © 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd1331sciescopu

Acute Adrenal Insufficiency Associated with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Acute adrenal insufficiency (AAI) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients is rare and may be frequently underestimated as simple ACS, since symptoms of AAI are nonspecific. Physicians should be fully aware of the possibility of occult AAI combined with ACS, if clinical suspicion is high. Herein, we report a rare case of a 67-year-old female patient with concomitant AAI and drug eluting stent fracture-induced ACS. To our knowledge, there have been no case reports of AAI associated with ACS in Korea

Pattern Recognition Using Feature Based Die-Map Clustering in the Semiconductor Manufacturing Process

Depending on the big data analysis becomes important, yield prediction using data from the semiconductor process is essential. In general, yield prediction and analysis of the causes of the failure are closely related. The purpose of this study is to analyze pattern affects the final test results using a die map based clustering. Many researches have been conducted using die data from the semiconductor test process. However, analysis has limitation as the test data is less directly related to the final test results. Therefore, this study proposes a framework for analysis through clustering using more detailed data than existing die data. This study consists of three phases. In the first phase, die map is created through fail bit data in each sub-area of die. In the second phase, clustering using map data is performed. And the third stage is to find patterns that affect final test result. Finally, the proposed three steps are applied to actual industrial data and experimental results showed the potential field application

A Spatial Point Pattern Analysis to Recognize Fail Bit Patterns in Semiconductor Manufacturing

The yield management system is very important to produce high-quality semiconductor chips in the semiconductor manufacturing process. In order to improve quality of semiconductors, various tests are conducted in the post fabrication (FAB) process. During the test process, large amount of data are collected and the data includes a lot of information about defect. In general, the defect on the wafer is the main causes of yield loss. Therefore, analyzing the defect data is necessary to improve performance of yield prediction. The wafer bin map (WBM) is one of the data collected in the test process and includes defect information such as the fail bit patterns. The fail bit has characteristics of spatial point patterns. Therefore, this paper proposes the feature extraction method using the spatial point pattern analysis. Actual data obtained from the semiconductor process is used for experiments and the experimental result shows that the proposed method is more accurately recognize the fail bit patterns

Alteration of Microbiome Profile by D-Allulose in Amelioration of High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice

Recently, there has been a global shift in diet towards an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in sugars. D-allulose has received attention as a sugar substitute and has been reported as one of the anti-obesity food components; however, its correlation with the intestinal microbial community is not yet completely understood. Thirty-six C57BL/6J mice were divided in to four dietary groups and fed a normal diet (ND), a high-fat diet (HFD, 20% fat, 1% cholesterol, w/w), and a HFD with 5% erythritol (ERY) and D-allulose (ALL) supplement for 16 weeks. A pair-feeding approach was used so that all groups receiving the high-fat diet would have the same calorie intake. As a result, body weight and body fat mass in the ALL group were significantly decreased toward the level of the normal group with a simultaneous decrease in plasma leptin and resistin. Fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production analysis revealed that ALL induced elevated total SCFA production compared to the other groups. Also, ALL supplement induced the change in the microbial community that could be responsible for improving the obesity based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, and ALL significantly increased the energy expenditure in Day(6a.m to 6pm). Taken together, our findings suggest that 5% dietary ALL led to an improvement in HFD-induced obesity by altering the microbiome community