Integrin-mediated membrane blebbing is dependent on the NHE1 and NCX1 activities.

Integrin-mediated signal transduction and membrane blebbing have been well studied to modulate cell adhesion, spreading and migration^1-6^. However, the relationship between membrane blebbing and integrin signaling has not been explored. Here we show that integrin-ligand interaction induces membrane blebbing and membrane permeability change. We found that sodium-proton exchanger 1 (NHE1) and sodium-calcium exchanger 1 (NCX1) are located in the membrane blebbing sites and inhibition of NHE1 disrupts membrane blebbing and decreases membrane permeability change. However, inhibition of NCX1 enhances cell blebbing to cause cell swelling which is correlated with an intracellular sodium accumulation induced by NHE17. These data suggest that sodium influx induced by NHE1 is a driving force for membrane blebbing growth, while sodium efflux induced by NCX1 in a reverse mode causes membrane blebbing retraction. Together, these data reveal a novel function of NHE1 and NCX1 in membrane permeability change and blebbing and provide the link for integrin signaling and membrane blebbing

Location-Aware Visual Question Generation with Lightweight Models

This work introduces a novel task, location-aware visual question generation (LocaVQG), which aims to generate engaging questions from data relevant to a particular geographical location. Specifically, we represent such location-aware information with surrounding images and a GPS coordinate. To tackle this task, we present a dataset generation pipeline that leverages GPT-4 to produce diverse and sophisticated questions. Then, we aim to learn a lightweight model that can address the LocaVQG task and fit on an edge device, such as a mobile phone. To this end, we propose a method which can reliably generate engaging questions from location-aware information. Our proposed method outperforms baselines regarding human evaluation (e.g., engagement, grounding, coherence) and automatic evaluation metrics (e.g., BERTScore, ROUGE-2). Moreover, we conduct extensive ablation studies to justify our proposed techniques for both generating the dataset and solving the task.Comment: EMNLP 202

Levels and values of circulating endothelial progenitor cells, soluble angiogenic factors, and mononuclear cell apoptosis in liver cirrhosis patients

BACKGROUND: The roles of circulating endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) and mononuclear cell apoptosis (MCA) in liver cirrhosis (LC) patients are unknown. Moreover, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α are powerful endogenous substances enhancing EPC migration into circulation. We assessed the level and function of EPCs [CD31/CD34 (E(1)), KDR/CD34 (E(2)), CXCR4/CD34 (E(3))], levels of MCA, VEGF and SDF-1α in circulation of LC patients. METHODS: Blood sample was prospectively collected once for assessing EPC level and function, MCA, and plasma levels of VEGF and SDF-1α using flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively, in 78 LC patients and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: Number of EPCs (E(1), E(2), E(3)) was lower (all p < 0.0001), whereas SDF-1α level and MCA were higher (p < 0.001) in study patients compared with healthy controls. Number of EPCs (E(2), E(3)) was higher but MCA was lower (all p < 0.05) in Child's class A compared with Child's class B and C patients, although no difference in VEGF and SDF-1α levels were noted among these patients. Chronic hepatitis B and esophageal varices bleeding were independently, whereas chronic hepatitis C, elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and decompensated LC were inversely and independently correlated with circulating EPC level (all p < 0.03). Additionally, angiogenesis and transwell migratory ability of EPCs were reduced in LC patients than in controls (all p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that level, angiogenic capacity, and function of circulating EPCs were significantly reduced, whereas plasma levels of SDF-1α and circulating MCA were substantially enhanced in cirrhotic patients

Specific Dioscorea

Dioscorea tuber phytoextracts can confer immunomodulatory activities ex vivo and improve regeneration of bone marrow cells in vivo. In present study, we evaluated specific Dioscorea phytoextracts for use ex vivo as a bone-marrow-derived dendritic cell- (DC-) based vaccine adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy. Fractionated Dioscorea extracts (DsII) were assayed for their effect on maturation and functions of DC ex vivo and antimelanoma activity of DC-based vaccine in vivo. The phytoextract from 50–75% ethanol-precipitated fraction of Dioscorea alata var. purpurea Tainung no. 5 tuber, designated as DsII-TN5, showed a strong augmentation of tumor cell lysate- (TCL-) loaded DC-mediated activation of T-cell proliferation. DsII-TN5 stimulated the expression of CD40, CD80, CD86, and IL-1β in TCL-loaded DCs and downregulated the expression of TGF-β1. DC vaccines prepared by a specific schema (TCL (2 h) + LPS (22 h)) showed the strongest antitumor activity. DsII-TN5 as a DC vaccine adjuvant showed strong antimelanoma activity and reduced myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) population in tested mice. DsII-TN5 can also activate DCs to enhance Th1- and Th17-related cytokine expressions. Biochemical analysis showed that DsII-TN5 consists mainly of polysaccharides containing a high level (53%) of mannose residues. We suggest that DsII-TN5 may have potential for future application as a potent, cost-effective adjuvant for DC-based cancer vaccines

不同灌溉水溫對番茄苗生育之影響

本研究以'花蓮亞蔬五號'番茄為材料，調查不同水溫、植株部位、冷水灌溉時間對番茄苗矮化效果及其品質之影響，其目的為建立冷水灌溉矮化番茄苗之系統，以作為種苗產業之應用的參考依據，並作為深入研究矮化苗之基礎資訊。試驗結果顯示當灌溉水溫較室溫水愈低(5°C)或愈高(65°C)均可抑制番茄苗莖伸長，以冷水處理(5°C)能獲得較高莖硬度(g/mm)及壯苗指數(seedhng index;地上部乾物重/株高比值)之番茄苗。冷水處理主要抑制番茄苗之部位為第一節間莖長。冷水灌溉時間於每日清晨(8:00)進行較中午(13:00)及下午(16:00)能夠獲得更矮之植株;每日植株最大生長速率為夜晚至清晨期間。冷水處理四週後，矮化植株的效果最佳，且冷水處理之溫度愈低或處理持續時間愈長，矮化植株效果愈明顯。冷水澆施至栽培介質內，介質土溫能夠在60-90秒內降至最低點，土溫回復至正常溫度約需60分鐘;葉溫鞍上溫變化程度大且葉片回溫時間較介質為短。綜合上述結果顯示5°C冷水灌溉能夠有效的矮化番茄苗及提升種苗品質，可作為種苗產業之參考及應用。In this study,‘Hwalien Yasu No.5'tomato was used to study the effects of different temperatures of irrigation water, parts of plant, timing of irrigation on the shortening and quality of plg-seedling. The purposes of this study were to establish the cold-water irrigation system for plug-seedlings production, and to provide the basic knowledge of shortening seedling for advanced study. The results indicated that shortest seedling was found in the seeding irrigated with the lowest (5∘C) or highest (65∘C) water temperature.However, highest stem strength and seedling index was only found in the seedling irrigated with the 5∘C water. Decrease in the length of first internode was primary responsible for the shortening seedling by cold-water irrigation.Irrigation of cold water at the morning (8:00) or evening (16:00) showed the best results in shortening seedling. After the cold water irrigation, the soil temperature drop to minimum within 60 to 90 sec, and recovered to the room temperature after 60 min. Longer period of cold-water irrigation and lower the cold-water temperature resulted shorter the seedlings. In conclusion, cold-water irrigation system for plug-seedlings production could apply in the commercial usages

TRABAJOS DE MÉTODO ARQUEOLÓGICO [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 201