The adhering junction dynamics in the testis are regulated by an interplay of beta 1-integrin, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and the focal adhesion complex (FAC)-associated proteins

published_or_final_versio

Secretome Analysis of Skeletal Myogenesis Using SILAC and Shotgun Proteomics

Myogenesis, the formation of skeletal muscle, is a multistep event that commences with myoblast proliferation, followed by cell-cycle arrest, and finally the formation of multinucleated myotubes via fusion of mononucleated myoblasts. Each step is orchestrated by well-documented intracellular factors, such as cytoplasmic signalling molecules and nuclear transcription factors. Regardless, the key step in getting a more comprehensive understanding of the regulation of myogenesis is to explore the extracellular factors that are capable of eliciting the downstream intracellular factors. This could further provide valuable insight into the acute cellular response to extrinsic cues in maintaining normal muscle development. In this paper, we survey the intracellular factors that respond to extracellular cues that are responsible for the cascades of events during myogenesis: myoblast proliferation, cell-cycle arrest of myoblasts, and differentiation of myoblasts into myotubes. This focus on extracellular perspective of muscle development illustrates our mass spectrometry-based proteomic approaches to identify differentially expressed secreted factors during skeletal myogenesis

Knockdown of piRNA pathway proteins results in enhanced Semliki forest virus production in mosquito cells

The exogenous siRNA pathway is important in restricting arbovirus infection in mosquitoes. Less is known about the role of the PIWI-interacting RNA pathway, or piRNA pathway, in antiviral responses. Viral piRNA-like molecules have recently been described following infection of mosquitoes and derived cell lines with several arboviruses. The piRNA pathway has thus been suggested to function as an additional small RNA-mediated antiviral response to the known infection-induced siRNA response. Here we show that piRNA-like molecules are produced following infection with the naturally mosquito-borne Semliki Forest virus in mosquito cell lines. We show that knockdown of piRNA pathway proteins enhances the replication of this arbovirus and defines the contribution of piRNA pathway effectors, thus characterizing the antiviral properties of the piRNA pathway. In conclusion, arbovirus infection can trigger the piRNA pathway in mosquito cells, and knockdown of piRNA proteins enhances virus production

Low cost high efficiency GaAs monolithic RF module for SARSAT distress beacons

Low cost high performance (5 Watts output) 406 MHz beacons are urgently needed to realize the maximum utilization of the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system spearheaded in the U.S. by NASA. Although current technology can produce beacons meeting the output power requirement, power consumption is high due to the low efficiency of available transmitters. Field performance is currently unsatisfactory due to the lack of safe and reliable high density batteries capable of operation at -40 C. Low cost production is also a crucial but elusive requirement for the ultimate wide scale utilization of this system. Microwave Monolithics Incorporated (MMInc.) has proposed to make both the technical and cost goals for the SARSAT beacon attainable by developing a monolithic GaAs chip set for the RF module. This chip set consists of a high efficiency power amplifier and a bi-phase modulator. In addition to implementing the RF module in Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) form to minimize ultimate production costs, the power amplifier has a power-added efficiency nearly twice that attained with current commercial technology. A distress beacon built using this RF module chip set will be significantly smaller in size and lighter in weight due to a smaller battery requirement, since the 406 MHz signal source and the digital controller have far lower power consumption compared to the 5 watt power amplifier. All the program tasks have been successfully completed. The GaAs MMIC RF module chip set has been designed to be compatible with the present 406 MHz signal source and digital controller. A complete high performance low cost SARSAT beacon can be realized with only additional minor iteration and systems integration

Transient sensitivity of sectorial split-drain magnetic field-effect transistor

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Computer simulations of electrorheological fluids in the dipole-induced dipole model

We have employed the multiple image method to compute the interparticle force for a polydisperse electrorheological (ER) fluid in which the suspended particles can have various sizes and different permittivites. The point-dipole (PD) approximation being routinely adopted in computer simulation of ER fluids is shown to err considerably when the particles approach and finally touch due to multipolar interactions. The PD approximation becomes even worse when the dielectric contrast between the particles and the host medium is large. From the results, we show that the dipole-induced-dipole (DID) model yields very good agreements with the multiple image results for a wide range of dielectric contrasts and polydispersity. As an illustration, we have employed the DID model to simulate the athermal aggregation of particles in ER fluids both in uniaxial and rotating fields. We find that the aggregation time is significantly reduced. The DID model accounts for multipolar interaction partially and is simple to use in computer simulation of ER fluids.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Cell-cell junction dynamics at the blood-testis barrier (BTB) are regulated by α2-macroglobulin (α2-MG) via the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway

published_or_final_versio

A Strength-based Inventory for Assessing the Needs for Academic Advising of University Students in Hong Kong

Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This study aims to develop and validate a strength-based instrument for assessing the academic advising needs of university students in Hong Kong using the Appreciative Advising Inventory (AAI) as a blueprint. We reviewed the content validity and cultural relevance of the AAI and developed a 37-item AAI Hong Kong Version (AAI-HK). We conducted Rasch analysis and principal component analysis. The AAI-HK has four stable and reliable factors (social competence and support; positive identity and participation; positive values; and commitment to learning and study), which represent key strengths of university students. Four AAI-HK subscales demonstrate good reliability. We found significant differences in AAI-HK scores between students who are under academic probation or not and between students who are local or nonlocal