Heparan sulfate proteoglycans: The sweet side of development turns sour in mucopolysaccharidoses

Abstract Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are complex carbohydrate-modified proteins ubiquitously expressed on cell surfaces, extracellular matrix and basement membrane of mammalian tissues. Beside to serve as structural constituents, they regulate multiple cellular activities. A critical involvement of HSPGs in development has been established, and perturbations of HSPG-dependent pathways are associated with many human diseases. Recent evidence suggest a role of HSPGs in the pathogenesis of mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) where the accumulation of undigested HS results in the loss of cellular functions, tissue damage and organ dysfunctions accounting for clinical manifestations which include central nervous system (CNS) involvement, degenerative joint disease and reduced bone growth. Current therapies are not curative but only ameliorate the disease symptoms. Here, we highlight the link between HSPG functions in the development of CNS and musculoskeletal structures and the etiology of some MPS phenotypes, suggesting that HSPGs may represent potential targets for the therapy of such incurable diseases

New frontiers in neuromarketing research:Benefit and potential applications of GRAIL

Recent years has seen an explosion in the application of neuroscience techniques to market research, known as neuromarketing. The aim of this paper is to contribute to both theoretical and practical aspects of neuromarketing research by presenting a new and innovative neuroscience tool for studying marketing-relevant behavior, namely GRAIL. GRAIL combines different devices (e.g. EEG, ET, facial EMG) into one single real-time device. It can help researchers and practitioners to measure physiological responses (external reflexes) and brain activity (internal reflexes) simultaneously. We argue that this new tool can improve neuromarketing research in several ways, namely in reducing the costs of neuromarketing research, improving the efficiency and accuracy of neuromarketing experiments, and recreating real-life purchase experiences using virtual reality and personalized scenarios

Serotonin transporter transgenic (SERTcre) mouse line reveals developmental targets of serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

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A Tailored BCI Controlled Soft Finger Exoskeleton for Patient's Needs: A Conceptual Design

Soft robotics refers to robotic systems made of materials similar in softness to human soft tissues. Recent medical soft robot designs, including rehabilitation, surgica

Congenital mirror movements in a new Italian family

Mirror movements (MMs) occur on the contralateral side of a limb being used intentionally. Because few families with congenital MMs and no other neurological signs have been reported, the underlying mechanisms of MMs are still not entirely clear. We report on the clinical, genetic, neurophysiological and neuroimaging findings of 10 of 26 living members of a novel four-generation family with congenital MMs. DCC and RAD51 were sequenced in affected members of the family. Five of the ten subjects with MMs underwent neurophysiological and neuroimaging evaluations. The neurophysiological evaluation consisted of electromyographic (EMG) mirror recordings, investigations of corticospinal excitability, and analysis of interhemispheric inhibition using transcranial magnetic stimulation techniques. The neuroimaging evaluation included functional MRI during finger movements. Eight (all females) of the ten members examined presented MMs of varying degrees at the clinical assessment. Transmission of MMs appears to have occurred according to an autosomal-dominant fashion with variable expression. No mutation in DCC or RAD51 was identified. EMG mirror activity was higher in MM subjects than in healthy controls. Short-latency interhemispheric inhibition was reduced in MM subjects. Ipsilateral motor-evoked potentials were detectable in the most severe case. The neuroimaging evaluation did not disclose any significant abnormalities in MM subjects. The variability of the clinical features of this family, and the lack of known genetic abnormalities, suggests that MMs are heterogeneous disorders. The pathophysiological mechanisms of MMs include abnormalities of transcallosal inhibition and corticospinal decussatio

Image convolution: a linear programming approach for filters design

AbstractImage analysis is a branch of signal analysis that focuses on the extraction of meaningful information from images through digital image processing techniques. Convolution is a technique used to enhance specific characteristics of an image, while deconvolution is its inverse process. In this work, we focus on the deconvolution process, defining a new approach to retrieve filters applied in the convolution phase. Given an image I and a filtered image $$I' = f(I)$$ I ′ = f ( I ) , we propose three mathematical formulations that, starting from I and $$I'$$ I ′ , are able to identify the filter $$f'$$ f ′ that minimizes the mean absolute error between $$I'$$ I ′ and $$f'(I)$$ f ′ ( I ) . Several tests were performed to investigate the applicability of our approaches in different scenarios. The results highlight that the proposed algorithms are able to identify the filter used in the convolution phase in several cases. Alternatively, the developed approaches can be used to verify whether a specific input image I can be transformed into a sample image $$I'$$ I ′ through a convolution filter while returning the desired filter as output

Expression of orexin B and its receptor 2 in rat testis

The peptides orexin A (OxA) and orexin B (OxB) deriving from a common precursor molecule, prepro-orexin, by proteolytic cleavage, bind the two G-coupled OX1 and OX2 receptors. While OX1 selectively binds OxA, OX2 shows similar affinity for both orexins. Firstly discovered in the hypothalamus, orexins and their receptors have been found in other brain regions as well as in peripheral tissues of mammals, thus resulting involved in the regulation of a broad variety of physiological functions. While the functional localization of OxA and OX1 in the mammalian genital tract has been already described, the expression of OxB and OX2 and their potential role in the reproductive functions remain to be explored. Here, we investigated the presence of OxB and OX2 in the rat testis by immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses. The results definitely demonstrated the localization of OxB and OX2 in pachytene and second spermatocytes as well as in spermatids at all stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. The expression of both OX2 mRNA and protein in the rat testis was also established by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The analysis of the molecular mechanism of action of OxB in the rat testis showed that OxB, in contrast with OxA, is unable to promote steroidogenesis. These results translate into the regulation of diverse biological actions by OxA and OxB in the male gonad