Analysis of Band 4.1B in Integrin-Mediated Cell Adhesion and Signaling

Band 4.1B is a cytoskeletal adaptor protein that regulates various cellular behavior; however, the mechanisms by which Band 4.1B contributes to intracellular signaling are unclear. This project addresses in vivo and in vitro functions for Band 4.1B in integrin-mediated cell adhesion and signaling. Band 4.1B has been shown to bind to β8 integrin, although cooperative functions of these two proteins have not been determined. Here, functional links between β8 integrin and Band 4.1B were investigated using gene knockout strategies. Ablation of β8 integrin and Band 4.1B genes resulted in impaired cardiac morphogenesis, leading to embryonic lethality by E11.5. These embryos displayed malformation of the outflow tract that was likely linked to abnormal regulation of cardiac neural crest migration. These data indicate the importance of cooperative signaling between β8 integrin and Band 4.1B in cardiac development. The involvement of Band 4.1B in integrin-mediated cell adhesion and signaling was further demonstrated by studying its functional roles in vitro. Band 4.1B is highly expressed in the brain, but its signaling in astrocytes is not understood. Here, Band 4.1B was shown to promote cell spreading likely by interacting with β1 integrin via its band 4.1, ezrin, radixin, and moesin (FERM) domain in cell adhesions. In astrocytes, both Band 4.1B and β1 integrin were expressed in cell-ECM contact sites during early cell spreading. Exogenous expression of Band 4.1B, especially its FERM domain, enhanced cell spreading on fibronectin, an ECM ligand for β1 integrin. However, the increased cell spreading was prohibited by blocking β1 integrin. These findings suggest that Band 4.1B is crucial for early adhesion assembly and/or signaling that are mediated by β1 integrin. Collectively, this study was the first to establish Band 4.1B as a modulator of integrin-mediated adhesion and signaling

Spin-polarized transport in a quasi-1D wire with Rashba dots

A numerical study on spin-polarized transport properties in a quasi-one-dimensional wire with Rashba quantum dots is presented. The ballistic spin transmission probability and spin density profiles are obtained using the quantum transmitting boundary method. The Fano-Rashba effect on the spin transmission is analyzed as a function of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling strength for single dot and double dot systems. The spin density profiles show the localized states that contribute to the backscattering and spin-flip processes in the Rashba dots. The results enlighten us on the Fano-Rashba effect caused by local Rashba spin-orbit coupling and provide concrete ideas for modeling a system with spin-polarized transport for future applications

Artificial intelligence approach for tomato detection and mass estimation in precision agriculture

Funding: This study was carried out with the support of “Research Program for Agricultural Science & Technology Development” (Project No: PJ013891012020), National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.Application of computer vision and robotics in agriculture requires sufficient knowledge and understanding of the physical properties of the object of interest. Yield monitoring is an example where these properties affect the quantified estimation of yield mass. In this study, we propose an image-processing and artificial intelligence-based system using multi-class detection with instance-wise segmentation of fruits in an image that can further estimate dimensions and mass. We analyze a tomato image dataset with mass and dimension values collected using a calibrated vision system and accurate measuring devices. After successful detection and instance-wise segmentation, we extract the real-world dimensions of the fruit. Our characterization results exhibited a significantly high correlation between dimensions and mass, indicating that artificial intelligence algorithms can effectively capture this complex physical relation to estimate the final mass. We also compare different artificial intelligence algorithms to show that the computed mass agrees well with the actual mass. Detection and segmentation results show an average mask intersection over union of 96.05%, mean average precision of 92.28%, detection accuracy of 99.02%, and precision of 99.7%. The mean absolute percentage error for mass estimation was 7.09 for 77 test samples using a bagged ensemble tree regressor. This approach could be applied to other computer vision and robotic applications such as sizing and packaging systems and automated harvesting or to other measuring instruments.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Phenoconversion from probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder to mild cognitive impairment to dementia in a population-based sample

© 2017 The Authors Introduction Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is strongly associated with synucleinopathies. In 2012, we reported an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Parkinson disease (PD) in cognitively normal Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents, aged 70 to 89 years with probable RBD. Here, we examine their progression to dementia and other neurodegenerative phenotypes. Methods Fifteen participants with RBD who were diagnosed with either MCI or PD were longitudinally followed, and their subsequent clinical courses were reviewed. Results Over 6.4 ± 2.9 years, six of the 14 participants with MCI developed additional neurodegenerative signs, five of whom had Lewy body disease features. Four of them progressed to dementia at a mean age 84.8 ± 4.9 years, three of whom met the criteria for probable dementia with Lewy bodies. One subject with PD developed MCI, but not dementia. Discussion Our findings from the population-based sample of Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents suggest that a substantial number of RBD patients tend to develop overt synucleinopathy features over time, and RBD patients who develop MCI and subsequent dementia have clinical features most consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies

Investigation of electron irradiation-induced magnetism in layered MoS2 single crystals

By using higher acceleration energies than the displacement energy of Mo atoms, the electron irradiation on the layered MoS2 single crystals is found to be an effective and simple method to induce the diamagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition persisting up to room temperature. The easy axis can be controllable by regulating the electron dose and the acceleration energy. The ferromagnetic states are largely attributed to the strain around the vacancies.clos

Dataset on electro-optically tunable smart-supercapacitors based on oxygen-excess nanograin tungsten oxide thin film

The dataset presented here is related to the research article entitled ???Highly Efficient Electro-optically Tunable Smart-supercapacitors Using an Oxygen-excess Nanograin Tungsten Oxide Thin Film??? (Akbar et al., 2017) [9] where we have presented a nanograin WO3 film as a bifunctional electrode for smart supercapacitor devices. In this article we provide additional information concerning nanograin tungsten oxide thin films such as atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. Moreover, their electrochemical properties such as cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical supercapacitor properties, and electrochromic properties including coloration efficiency, optical modulation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are presented

Effect of Heat Treatments on Fatigue Properties of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Fabricated by EBM Additive Manufacturing

The powder bed fusion method using a heat source for 3D printing can be applied to fabricate the geometrical shapes of some parts, and enables rapid melting and cooling. 3D EBM additive manufacturing can supply a near-net-shape or net-shape and precise parts better than micro scale casting and precision casting. Casting parts have residual stress in the matrix and their microstructure, which can affect the dynamic properties, but if they are heat-treated under the optimal conditions, the residual stress can be reduced to enhance the dynamic-mechanical properties of 3D printed parts. In this study, Ti-6Al-4V bulk bars were fabricated by EBM additive manufacturing, and the microstructures, residual stress, and various interior defects of the specimens were analyzed. The residual stress and surface tension were measured and calculated in different specimens heat-treated at 850~950 ℃ . The relationship between the residual stress and surface tension was explained using the related equations and the influence on the high cycle fatigue properties was evaluated

Primary Progressive Aphasia and Apraxia of Speech

The College Chapel, stained glass window in the Antechapel; The College was founded in 1509 by a lawyer, Sir Richard Sutton, of Prestbury, Cheshire, and the Bishop of Lincoln, William Smyth. The main college site comprises three quads, the original Front Quad, the small second quad affectionately known as the Deer Park, and the large New Quad, as well as collection of smaller houses facing Radcliffe Square and the High Street. New Quad was designed by Jackson and finished in 1911, replacing a number of existing buildings. The current site was completed in 1961 with new buildings designed by the architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 7/8/2008