The Wonder of Colors and the Principle of Ariadne

The Principle of Ariadne, formulated in 1988 ago by Walter Carnielli and Carlos Di Prisco and later published in 1993, is an infinitary principle that is independent of the Axiom of Choice in ZF, although it can be consistently added to the remaining ZF axioms. The present paper surveys, and motivates, the foundational importance of the Principle of Ariadne and proposes the Ariadne Game, showing that the Principle of Ariadne, corresponds precisely to a winning strategy for the Ariadne Game. Some relations to other alternative. set-theoretical principles are also briefly discussed

Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors activate burst firing in rat midbrain dopaminergic neurons

We have investigated the changes in the spontaneous firing pattern induced by DHPG ((S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine) and NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartic acid) on rat dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) using sharp microelectrode recordings in in vitro conditions. Twenty-five out of 33 cells modified the regular single-pacemaker activity in burst firing when exposed to the Group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist DHPG (30 muM) and d-tubocurarine (500 muM) (d-TC), whereas they all fired in bursts during NMDA (20 muM) plus d-TC application. The blockade of SK-channels by d-TC and apamin was essential for the production of both types of bursts. Although the two drugs induced a similar number of action potentials per burst, the DHPG-induced bursts had a lower frequency, a longer duration and a longer plateau period without spikes. In addition, the DHPG-induced bursting had a longer wash-out, could be reduced or blocked by the mGluR I selective, non-competitive antagonist CPCCOEt (7-cyclopropan[b]chromen-1a-carboxylic acid ethyl ester) (100 muM) while it was not affected by the mGluR 5 selective antagonist MPEP (2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (10 muM). These results suggest that both the activation of glutamate metabotropic type I and NMDA ionotropic receptors induce burst firing in the dopaminergic cells of the ventral midbrain when the activity of the SK-channels is reduced. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Optimal Colored Threshold Visual Cryptography Schemes

Visual cryptography schemes allow the encoding of a secret image into n shares which are distributed to the participants. The shares are such that only qualified subsets of participants can visually recover the secret image. Usually the secret image consist of black and white pixels. In colored threshold visual cryptography schemes the secret image is composed of pixels taken from a given set of c colors. The pixels expansion and the contrast of a scheme are two measures of the goodness of the scheme. In this paper, we study c-color (k,n)-threshold visual cryptography schemes and provide a characterization of contrast-optimal schemes. More specifically we prove that there exists a contrast-optimal scheme that is a member of a special set of schemes, which we call canonical schemes, and that satisfy strong symmetry properties. Then we use canonical schemes to provide a constructive proof of optimality, with respect to the pixel expansion, of c-color (n,n)-threshold visual cryptography schemes. Finally, we provide constructions of c-color (2,n)-threshold schemes whose pixels expansion improves on previously proposed schemes

Amlexanox Enhances Premature Termination Codon Read-Through in COL7A1 and Expression of Full Length Type VII Collagen: Potential Therapy for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a rare monogenic blistering disorder caused by the lack of functional type VII collagen, leading to skin fragility and subsequent trauma-induced separation of the epidermis from the underlying dermis. A total of 46% of patients with RDEB harbor at least one premature termination codon (PTC) mutation in COL7A1, and previous studies have shown that aminoglycosides are able to overcome RDEB PTC mutations by inducing read-through and incorporation of an amino acid at the PTC site. However, aminoglycoside toxicity will likely prevent widespread clinical application. Here the FDA-approved drug amlexanox was tested for its ability to read-through PTC mutations in cells derived from patients with RDEB. Eight of 12 different PTC alleles responded to treatment and produced full length protein, in some cases more than 50% relative to normal controls. Read-through type VII collagen was readily detectable in cell culture media and also localized to the dermal-epidermal junction in organotypic skin culture. Amlexanox increased COL7A1 transcript and the phosphorylation of UPF-1, an RNA helicase associated with nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, suggesting that amlexanox inhibits nonsense-mediated mRNA decay in cells from patients with RDEB that respond to read-through treatment. This preclinical study demonstrates the potential of repurposing amlexanox for the treatment of patients with RDEB harboring PTC mutation in COL7A1

Curcumin Modulates Nitrosative Stress, Inflammation, and DNA Damage and Protects against Ochratoxin A-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity in Rats.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a fungal toxin of critical concern for food safety both for human health and several animal species, also representing a cancer threat to humans. Curcumin (CURC) is a natural polyphenol that has anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytoprotective effect of CURC against OTA-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity through the study of the nitrosative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage. Sprague Dawley rats were daily treated with CURC (100 mg/kg b.w.), OTA (0.5 mg/kg b.w), or CURC with OTA by oral gavage for 14 days. Our results demonstrated that OTA exposure was associated with significant increase of pro-inflammatory and DNA oxidative-damage biomarkers. Moreover, OTA induced the inducible nitric oxide synthase, (iNOS) resulting in increased nitric oxide (NO) levels both in kidney and liver. The co-treatment OTA + CURC counteracted the harmful effects of chronic OTA treatment by regulating inflammation, reducing NO levels and oxidative DNA damage in kidney and liver tissues. Histology revealed that OTA + CURC treatment determinates mainly an Iba1+ macrophagic infiltration with fewer CD3+ T-lymphocytes in the tissues. In conclusion, we evidenced that CURC exerted cytoprotective and antioxidant activities against OTA-induced toxicity in rats

Efeitos do estresse salino na germinação, emergência e estabelecimento da plântula de cajueiro anão precoce.

Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar os efeitos da salinidade em três estádios de desenvolvimento (ED) da plântula de cajueiro anão-precoce, a saber, germinação, emergência e estabelecimento da plântula, tentando estabelecer uma relação entre o desenvolvimento e o acúmulo de íons nos tecidos da plântula. Para isso, castanhas do clone CCP-06 de cajueiro anão precoce foram semeadas em bandejas de plástico contendo vermiculita umedecida com água destilada (0,0 dS m-1) ou soluções de NaCl com condutividades elétricas variando entre 3,0 e 18,0 dS m-1 e mantidas em casa de vegetação. Determinaram-se a percentagem de plântulas que alcançaram os ED estudados e o tempo e a velocidade com que isso ocorreu, assim como a matéria seca dos cotilédones e eixo embrionário e os teores de Na+, K+ e Cl- do eixo embrionário. A salinidade retardou o desenvolvimento das plântulas nos ED correspondentes à emergência e estabelecimento, entretanto apenas neste último ED é que a percentagem final de plântulas foi reduzida, acompanhada pela inibição da depleção das reservas cotiledonares e decréscimo da massa seca do eixo embrionário. Em todos os ED, os teores de Na+ e Cl- aumentaram com a salinidade, mas isso foi mais pronunciado nas plântulas estabelecidas, nas quais houve redução dos teores de K+. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que as plântulas de cajueiro anão precoce são mais sensíveis à salinidade durante a etapa de estabelecimento e que os efeitos deletérios desse estresse são mediados, pelo menos em parte, pelo acúmulo excessivo de íons Na+ e Cl- na plântula