Note on Moufang-Noether currents

The derivative Noether currents generated by continuous Moufang tranformations are constructed and their equal-time commutators are found. The corresponding charge algebra turns out to be a birepresentation of the tangent Mal'ltsev algebra of an analytic Moufang loop.Comment: LaTeX2e, 6 pages, no figures, presented on "The XVth International Colloquium on Integrable Systems and Quantum Symmetries, Prague, 15-17 June, 2006

Circadian Organization in Hemimetabolous Insects

The circadian system of hemimetabolous insects is reviewed in respect to the locus of the circadian clock and multioscillatory organization. Because of relatively easy access to the nervous system, the neuronal organization of the clock system in hemimetabolous insects has been studied, yielding identification of the compound eye as the major photoreceptor for entrainment and the optic lobe for the circadian clock locus. The clock site within the optic lobe is inconsistent among reported species; in cockroaches the lobula was previously thought to be a most likely clock locus but accessory medulla is recently stressed to be a clock center, while more distal part of the optic lobe including the lamina and the outer medulla area for the cricket. Identification of the clock cells needs further critical studies. Although each optic lobe clock seems functionally identical, in respect to photic entrainment and generation of the rhythm, the bilaterally paired clocks form a functional unit. They interact to produce a stable time structure within individual insects by exchanging photic and temporal information through neural pathways, in which serotonin and pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) are involved as chemical messengers. The mutual interaction also plays an important role in seasonal adaptation of the rhythm

Patterned expression of neurotrophic factors and receptors in human limbal and corneal regions

PURPOSE: To evaluate the expression patterns of neurotrophic factors (NTFs) and their receptors in the human cornea with the intention of exploring the role of NTFs in maintaining corneal epithelial stem cells in the limbus. METHODS: Fresh human corneoscleral tissues were prepared for frozen sections. Immunofluorescent staining was performed with primary antibodies against six members of three NTF families and their six receptors. To confirm the specificity of NTF primary antibodies, neutralization experiments with their corresponding peptides and western blot analysis were performed. RESULTS: Based on spatial and differential immuno-localization, three patterns of NTF expression were potentially involved in epithelial-mesenchymal interaction on the ocular surface: (1) the epithelial type: nerve growth factor (NGF) and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF); (2) the paracrine type: neurotrophin (NT)-3 and NT-4/5; and (3) the reciprocal type: brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The stem cell-enriched basal cells of the limbal epithelium expressed three unique staining patterns for NTFs: (1) exclusively positive for NGF, GDNF, and their corresponding receptors, TrkA and GDNF family receptor alpha (GFR)-1; (2) relatively high levels of BDNF; and (3) negative for NT-3 and NT-4. Additionally, the neurotrophin common low-affinity receptor, p75NTR, was mainly expressed by the basal layer of the entire corneal and limbal epithelia, and TrkB and TrkC were evenly expressed by the entire corneal and limbal epithelia. BDNF, p75NTR, TrkB, and TrkC are also abundantly expressed by limbal stroma cells. No specific immunoreactivity to ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and its receptor, CNTFR, was detected in cornea tissue in situ. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed patterned expression of NTFs and their receptors in the human ocular surface, suggesting that they may play a vital role in maintaining corneal epithelial stem cells in the limbus. NGF, GDNF, GFR-1, TrkA, and BDNF may serve as new limbal basal cell markers defining the corneal epithelial stem cell phenotype.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000250807800002&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyOphthalmologySCI(E)42ARTICLE217-191934-19411

Smooth Loops and Fiber Bundles: Theory of Principal Q-bundles

A nonassociative generalization of the principal fiber bundles with a smooth loop mapping on the fiber is presented. Our approach allows us to construct a new kind of gauge theories that involve higher ''nonassociative'' symmetries.Comment: 20 page

The Erotic and the Vulgar: Visual Culture and Organized Labor's Critique of U.S. Hegemony in Occupied Japan

This essay engages the colonial legacy of postwar Japan by arguing that the political cartoons produced as part of the postwar Japanese labor movement’s critique of U.S. cultural hegemony illustrate how gendered discourses underpinned, and sometimes undermined, the ideologies formally represented by visual artists and the organizations that funded them. A significant component of organized labor’s propaganda rested on a corpus of visual media that depicted women as icons of Japanese national culture. Japan’s most militant labor unions were propagating anti-imperialist discourses that invoked an engendered/endangered nation that accentuated the importance of union roles for men by subordinating, then eliminating, union roles for women

The Prognostic and Predictive Value of Melanoma-related MicroRNAs Using Tissue and Serum: A MicroRNA Expression Analysis

The overall 5-year survival for melanoma is 91%. However, if distant metastasis occurs (stage IV), cure rates are = 82%) when = 4 miRNAs were expressed. Moreover, the 'MELmiR-7' panel characterised overall survival of melanoma patients better than both serum LDH and S100B (delta log likelihood=11, p < 0.001). This panel was found to be superior to currently used serological markers for melanoma progression, recurrence, and survival; and would be ideally suited to monitor tumour progression in patients diagnosed with early metastatic disease (stages IIIa-c/IV M1a-b) to detect relapse following surgical or adjuvant treatment. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B. V

bantam Is Required for Optic Lobe Development and Glial Cell Proliferation

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small, conserved, non-coding RNAs that contribute to the control of many different cellular processes, including cell fate specification and growth control. Drosophila bantam, a conserved miRNA, is involved in several functions, such as stimulating proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis in the wing disc. Here, we reported the detailed expression pattern of bantam in the developing optic lobe, and demonstrated a new, essential role in promoting proliferation of mitotic cells in the optic lobe, including stem cells and differentiated glial cells. Changes in bantam levels autonomously affected glial cell number and distribution, and non-autonomously affected photoreceptor neuron axon projection patterns. Furthermore, we showed that bantam promotes the proliferation of mitotically active glial cells and affects their distribution, largely through down regulation of the T-box transcription factor, optomotor-blind (omb, Flybase, bifid). Expression of omb can rescue the bantam phenotype, and restore the normal glial cell number and proper glial cell positioning in most Drosophila brains. These results suggest that bantam is critical for maintaining the stem cell pools in the outer proliferation center and glial precursor cell regions of the optic lobe, and that its expression in glial cells is crucial for their proliferation and distribution

Disruption of TGF-β Signaling Improves Ocular Surface Epithelial Disease in Experimental Autoimmune Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca

TGF-β is a pleiotropic cytokine that can have pro- or anti-inflammatory effects depending on the context. Elevated levels of bioactive TGF-β1 in tears and elevated TGF-β1mRNA transcripts in conjunctiva and minor salivary glands of human Sjögren's Syndrome patients has also been reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the response to desiccating stress (DS), an experimental model of dry eye, in dominant-negative TGF-β type II receptor (CD4-DNTGFβRII) mice. These mice have a truncated TGF-β receptor in CD4(+) T cells, rendering them unresponsive to TGF-β.DS was induced by subcutaneous injection of scopolamine and exposure to a drafty low humidity environment in CD4-DNTGFβRII and wild-type (WT) mice, aged 14 weeks, for 5 days. Nonstressed (NS) mice served as controls. Parameters of ocular surface disease included corneal smoothness, corneal barrier function and conjunctival goblet cell density. NS CD4-DNTGFβRII at 14 weeks of age mice exhibited a spontaneous dry eye phenotype; however, DS improved their corneal barrier function and corneal surface irregularity, increased their number of PAS+ GC, and lowered CD4(+) T cell infiltration in conjunctiva. In contrast to WT, CD4-DNTGFβRII mice did not generate a Th-17 and Th-1 response, and they failed to upregulate MMP-9, IL-23, IL-17A, RORγT, IFN-γ and T-bet mRNA transcripts in conjunctiva. RAG1KO recipients of adoptively transferred CD4+T cells isolated from DS5 CD4-DNTGFβRII showed milder dry eye phenotype and less conjunctival inflammation than recipients of WT control.Our results showed that disruption of TGF-β signaling in CD4(+) T cells causes paradoxical improvement of dry eye disease in mice subjected to desiccating stress

Acupuncture for dry eye: a randomised controlled trial protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dry eye is usually managed by conventional medical interventions such as artificial tears, anti-inflammatory drugs and surgical treatment. However, since dry eye is one of the most frequent ophthalmologic disorders, safer and more effective methods for its treatment are necessary, especially for vulnerable patients. Acupuncture has been widely used to treat patients with dry eye. Our aim is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for this condition.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A randomised, patient-assessor blinded, sham (non-acupuncture point, shallow acupuncture) controlled study was established. Participants allocated to verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups will be treated three times weekly for three weeks for a total of nine sessions per participant. Seventeen points (GV23; bilateral BL2, GB4, TE23, Ex1 (Taiyang), ST1 and GB20; and left SP3, LU9, LU10 and HT8 for men, right for women) have been selected for the verum acupuncture; for the sham acupuncture, points have been selected that do not coincide with a classical acupuncture point and that are located close to the verum points, except in the case of the rim of the eye. Ocular surface disease index, tear film breakup time, the Schirmer I test, medication quantification scale and general assessment of improvement will be used as outcome variables for evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture. Safety will also be assessed at every visit. Primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed four weeks after screening. All statistical analyses will be performed using analysis of covariance.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The results of this trial will be used as a basis for clarifying the efficacy of acupuncture for dry eye.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00969280.</p