Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic association between α‐actinin and β‐integrin regulates contraction of canine tracheal smooth muscle

The adhesion junctions of smooth muscle cells may be dynamically regulated during smooth muscle contraction, and this dynamic regulation may be important for the development of active tension. In the present study, the role of α‐actinin during smooth muscle contraction was evaluated in tracheal smooth muscle tissues and freshly dissociated cells. Stimulation with acetylcholine (ACh) increased the localization of α‐actinin at the membrane of freshly dissociated smooth muscle cells, and increased the amount of β1 integrin that coprecipitated with α‐actinin from muscle tissue homogenates. GFP‐α‐actinin fusion proteins were expressed in muscle tissues and visualized in live freshly dissociated cells. GFP‐α‐actinin translocated to the membrane within seconds of stimulation of the cells with ACh. Expression of the integrin‐binding rod domain of α‐actinin in smooth muscle tissues depressed active contraction in response to ACh. Expression of the α‐actinin rod domain also inhibited the translocation of endogenous α‐actinin to the membrane, and inhibited the association of endogenous α‐actinin with β1‐integrin in α‐actinin immunoprecipitates from tissue extracts. However, the expression of α‐actinin rod domain peptides did not inhibit increases in myosin light chain phosphorylation or actin polymerization in response to stimulation with ACh. Results suggest that contractile stimulation of smooth muscle causes the rapid recruitment of α‐actinin to β‐integrin complexes at the membrane, and that the recruitment of α‐actinin to integrin complexes is necessary for active tension development in smooth muscle.
The Role of behavior in evolution

These six original essays focus on a potentially important aspect of evolutionary biology, the possible causal role of phenotypic behavior in evolution. Balancing theory with actual or potential empiricism, they provide the first full examination of this topic.Plotkin's opening chapter outlines the "conceptual minefields" that the contributors attempt to negotiate: What is an adequate theory of evolution? What is behavior and is it possible to maintain a distinction between behavior and other attributes of the phenotype? is all, or only a special subset, of behavior both a cause and a consequence of evolution? And what do the theoretical issues mean in empirical terms? He concludes that any attempt to understand the causal role of behavior in evolution requires a more complicated theoretical structure than that of orthodox neoDarwinism, a conceptualization of behavior as a distinctive set of phenotypic attributes, and the accumulation of more data.David L. Hull (Northwestern University) provides an alternative account of the evolutionary process by developing a hierarchy of replicators-interactors-lineages to replace the traditional one of genes-organisms-species. Robert N. Brandon (Duke University) also posits hierarchy as an appropriate architecture for the theoretical complexity needed to support an examination of the role of behavior in evolution. F. J. Odling-Smee (Brunei University) outlines a theoretical structure to encompass the behavior of phenotypes, concentrating on the unrestricted definition of behavior (everything that an animal does). The remaining chapters are as much concerned with evidence as with theory. Plotkin concentrates on a restricted definition of behavior (behavior that is a product of choosing intelligence), reviewing our empirical knowledge of how learning might influence evolution. R.I. M. Dunbar (University College, London) uses empirical studies of vertebrate social behavior to deal with the question of how the social systems, especially of primates, might have a causal role in species evolution.Henry C. Plotkin is Lecturer at the University College, London. A Bradford Book.
Etude et caractérisation des gènes impliqués dans la tachycardie ventriculaire polymorphe catécholaminergique

La Tachycardie Ventriculaire Polymorphe Catecholaminergique (TVPC) est une pathologie rythmique hereditaire rare et severe, responsable de mort subite chez le sujet jeune. Les mutations des genes RYR2 et CASQ2 sont associees respectivement a une transmission autosomique dominante et recessive de la maladie. Le canal calcique RyR2 et la proteine chelatrice du calcium Casq2 sont situes dans le reticulum sarcoplasmique (RS) ou ils participent au complexe de relâchement calcique (CRC), essentiel a l'homeostasie calcique cardiaque. L'analyse de RYR2 et CASQ2 chez 214 probands ayant presente une TVPC nous a permis d'identifier respectivement des mutations chez 75 et 11 probands. Deux cas de mosaiques germinales et somatiques ont ete identifies dans le gene RYR2. Deux mutations d'epissage du gene CASQ2 ont ete validees a l'aide de minigenes. Chez 97 patients negatifs pour RYR2 et CASQ2, nous avons decide de rechercher des mutations de trois proteines du CRC (la triadine, la junctine et FKBP12.6) en sequencant les genes correspondants. Nous n'avons retrouve aucune mutation de la junctine, ni de FKBP12.6. En revanche, nous avons identifie trois mutations de la triadine: une micro-deletion et une mutation non-sens entrainant un codon stop premature, ainsi qu'une variation faux-sens, dont la caracterisation a l'aide de modele animal et cellulaire a montre qu'elle entrainait une degradation massive de la proteine. Les mutations du gene TRDN seraient associees a une absence de triadine entrainant une dysfonction du CRC, a l'origine des arythmies observees. En conclusion, nos resultats confirment que RYR2 est le gene majeur implique dans la TVPC, CASQ2 etant rarement implique; et nous rapportons, pour la premiere fois, des mutations du gene TRDN en pathologie humaine, associee a une forme autosomique rare de TVPC.
Critical Period of Weed Competition in Spring Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Weed-crop compelition was studied to determine the critical period in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) during spring seasons of 1996 and 1997 at the Research Farm of Indian Agricultural Research Instilute, New Delhi Heliotropium eichwaldi, Melilotus indica, Chenopodium album and Cyperus rotundus were the dominant weed species associated with the crop. H. eichwaldi was the most predominating weed. Seed yield loss increased with the increase in the duration of competition and maximum loss (25.7%) occurred due to full season competition. Seed yield of sunflower increased significantly with the increase in initial duration of weed-free condition. Critical period of weed competition was found to be 25 to 43 days after sowing.
Variation in Occurrence, Management, and Outcome of Colorectal Cancer in the Netherlands, on the Eve of Mass Screening

textabstractThe large bowel can be divided into the colon, the rectosigmoid, and the rectum. The colon starts where the small bowel ends and it is 1.5-1.8 metres long when stretched. The rectum forms the final 10-15 cm of the large bowel, opening to the outside at the anus. The rectosigmoid is the transitional zone between the colon and the rectum. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most frequent cancer (14%) among males, after prostate (22%) and lung cancer (16%), and it is the second most common tumour (13%) among females, after breast cancer (31%) in the Netherlands. In 2007, 11,823 patients were diagnosed with CRC and 4,828 patients died of the disease. The incidence in the Netherlands is relatively high compared to other European countries, and ranks in the top 10.3 Worldwide, CRC accounted for about 1 million of new cancer diagnoses in 2002, representing nearly 10% of all new cancers. It occurs more frequently in the industrialized world. The disease rarely occurs before age 40, and the risk of CRC becomes highest around age 70.1 It is expected that the absolute number of patients with CRC increases with three percent per year in the Netherlands, mainly due to the aging population. Based on this estimation, the incidence of CRC in the Netherlands increases to 14,000 patients in 2015. As a percentage of total mortality, the risk of dying from CRC in the Netherlands is highest around age 60 (about 5%), which is important because it can be seen as an important cause of death. Later in life other causes of death proportionally start to occur more often.
Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of Micro-Architectured 3D Scaffolds

ii DEDICATION . iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . v LIST OF TABLES . viii LIST OF FIGURES . ix CHAPTER 1 . 1 POROUS MATERIALS . 1 CHAPTER 2 . 8 REVIEW OF THERMODYNAMICS . 8 2.1 INTERNAL ENERGY . 8 2.2 ENTHALPY . 8 2. 3 ENTROPY . 15 2.4 EQUILIBRIUM . 18 CHAPTER 3 . 24 FREEZE CASTING . 24 3.1 CONSTITUTIONAL SUPERCOOLING . 26 3.2 PREMELTING . 29 3.3 FREEZING POINT DEPRESSION AT THE INTERFACE . 32 3.3.1 Freezing point depression due to external fields . 33 3.3 DOMINANT FORCES . 34 3.3.1 Repulsive Force . 35 3.3.2 Resistive forces . 37 3.5 PROCESSING CONDITIONS . 38 3.5. 1 Freezing properties . 38 3.5. 2 Colloidal properties . 40 CHAPTER 4 . 42 EXPERIMENTAL WORKS IN FREEZE CASTING . 42 4.1 SEGREGATED ICE LENSES VERSUS LAMELLAR MORPHOLOGY . 46 4.2 SOLUTE VERSUS PARTICLE CONSTITUTIONAL SUPERCOOLING . 47 4.3 INTERFACIAL INSTABILITY MODES . 52 4.3.1 The origin of interface instability . 54 4.4 MICROSTRUCTURAL ARCHITECTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES. 57 4.5 PROCESSING CONDITIONS . 58
Caracterización florística y estructural de tres fragmentos boscosos secundarios en Cartago, Costa Rica

Se realizaron observaciones sobre sucesion y composicion floristica en 25 parcelas de 10 m x 2 m en tres fragmentos boscosos secundarios, contiguos, del Jardin Botanico Lankester, Costa Rica. La intervencion humana fue positiva en la regeneracion de estos fragmentos por 1) proteccion de una antigua area de cultivo y pastoreo desde 1970, y 2) siembra y propagacion de especies vegetales. Se comprobo que el cultivo de plantas nativas e introducidas de crecimiento exitoso puede acelerar el proceso de regeneracion, impedir la dominancia de especies pioneras o invasoras y aumentar la diversidad de especies mas rapidamente que en procesos comunes de sucesion. La diversificacion natural se redujo a medida que la vegetacion natural de los alrededores de los fragmentos fue desapareciendo, con una consecuente disminucion o erradicacion de semillas y otros propagulos, tales como esporas y tallos. Especies introducidas se naturalizaron en estos bosques, se propagan facilmente y algunas son invasoras. Este estudio propone pautas generales para facilitar la regeneracion de bosques neotropicales al combinar regeneracion natural y cultivo de especies nativas.
The Adaptability of Company’s Strategy in Managing Its Life Cycle Stages

The aim of this study is to evaluate how companies adapt their strategy based on changing circumstance by measuring the frequencies of its life cycle phases. This study used sales growth as its variable. Quarterly data was collected from IPO date that happended before the year 2000. A total of 84 manufacturing firms from the 2015 Indonesia Capital Market Directory were sampled. Birth, growth, maturity, maturity survival and maturity revival phases of the companies were studied and it was found only 6% from the total were categorised as adaptable companies which tried to ensure steady sales. Few of them never experienced any changing phases. After the growth phase, their sales showed steady growth, even indicating increasing pattern.
Assembly of plant communities in fragmented landscapes : the role of dispersal

Voor veel plantensoorten zijn de leefgebieden teruggedrongen tot eilandjes van ecologische rijkdom in een zee van ongeschikt leefgebied. Voor de overleving van planten is transport van zaden tussen deze 'eilandjes' cruciaal. Wind, water, vogels en de vacht of mest van zoogdieren moeten doen wat planten zelf niet kunnen: zich verplaatsen. De effectiviteit van deze infrastructuur is in de twintigste eeuw sterk aangetast. Zo zijn in veel landschappen stromend water en rondtrekkende zoogdieren (zoals schaapskuddes met herder) weggevallen als transportmiddel. Het huidige natuurbeleid is onvoldoende in staat om deze effecten van landschapsversnippering tegen te gaan, concludeert ecoloog Wim Ozinga in zijn promotieonderzoek. Plantecologische diversiteit vraagt om meer dan de ecologische hoofdstructuur. Een versterking van de mobiele infrastructuur voor planten is nodig in aangrenzende landbouwgebieden, bijvoorbeeld via 'boeren voor natuur'The present research showed that dispersal problems in fragmented landscapes are as important for the understanding of plant diversity losses as the traditional explanation of deteriorating habitat quality. Efficient conservation and restoration of plant diversity requires a predictive ecology based on general principles of the assembly of plant communities.
Interferência de extratos da Baccharis dracunculifolia DC., Asteraceae, sobre a atividade de antibióticos usados na clínica

The objective of this study was to investigate the interference of the polar and apolar fraction as well the essential oil of Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. , Asteraceae, about the antibiotics effects used in the medic clinic. The essays were accomplished with twenty nine antibiotics in association with two extracts [one polar fraction (HA 50%) and one of apolar fraction (EA 25%)] and with essential oil. The method used was the diffusion one in solid mean using the antibiotic discs, which were acquired commercially. The results showed interference in the hoped action of the antibiotic when associated to the extract and to the B. dracunculifolia essential oil. In some cases there was no alteration of the antibiotic action, however, in most of the cases there was either a synergic or an antagonic interference of the antibiotic action. These outcomes have showed that the use of derived products or plants can interfere on the effectiveness of the antibiotic use in the clinic treatment, in some situations.
Reconstruction Of Regulatory And Metabolic Pathways In Metal-Reducing delta-Proteobacteria

Relatively little is known about the genetic basis for the unique physiology of metal-reducing genera in the delta subgroup of the proteobacteria. The recent availability of complete finished or draft-quality genome sequences for seven representatives allowed us to investigate the genetic and regulatory factors in a number of key pathways involved in the biosynthesis of building blocks and cofactors, metal-ion homeostasis, stress response, and energy metabolism using a combination of regulatory sequence detection and analysis of genomic context. In the genomes of delta-proteobacteria, we identified candidate binding sites for four regulators of known specificity (BirA, CooA, HrcA, sigma-32), four types of metabolite-binding riboswitches (RFN-, THI-, B12-elements and S-box), and new binding sites for the FUR, ModE, NikR, PerR, and ZUR transcription factors, as well as for the previously uncharacterized factors HcpR and LysX. After reconstruction of the corresponding metabolic pathways and regulatory interactions, we identified possible functions for a large number of previously uncharacterized genes covering a wide range of cellular functions. Phylogenetically diverse delta-proteobacteria appear to have homologous regulatory components. This study for the first time demonstrates the adaptability of the comparative genomic approach to de novo reconstruction of a regulatory network in a poorly studied taxonomic group of bacteria. Recent efforts in large-scale functional genomic characterization of Desulfovibrio species will provide a unique opportunity to test and expand our predictions.
The role of Hoxa2 gene in oligodendrocyte development

Although numerous transcription factors (TFs) are expressed by oligodendrocytes (OGs), the role(s) of most of these TFs in oligodendrogenesis remains to be elucidated. One such TF is Hoxa2, which was recently shown to be expressed by O4-positive () proOGs. Hence, the main objectives of this thesis were to determine the expression profile and function(s) of Hoxa2 during OG development. Immunocytochemical analysis of primary mixed glial cultures demonstrated that Hoxa2 is expressed throughout oligodendrogenesis, diminishing only with the acquisition of a myelinating phenotype. Subsequently, immunohistochemical analysis suggested that Hoxa2 is expressed by migratory oligodendroglial cells in the embryonic spinal cord. However, double immunofluorescent analysis of Hoxa2 transgenic knockout mice showed that OG specification and early maturation proceed normally in the absence of Hoxa2 in the spinal cord. As Hoxa2 is one of 39 murine Hox genes, which exhibit extensive overlapping expression profiles in the spinal cord, we decided to examine the expression of an additional Hox TF, Hoxb4, during OG development. Immunocytochemical analysis of primary mixed glial cultures demonstrated that Hoxb4 is also expressed throughout OG development. Furthermore, comparison of the expression profiles of Hoxb4 and Olig2 suggested that Hoxb4 is expressed by oligodendroglial cells in the spinal cord. Hence, Hoxb4, as well as other Hox TFs could compensate for Hoxa2 in the spinal cord in its absence. As the anterior boundary of most Hox genes has been found to be in the hindbrain or spinal cord, we decided to look at the telencephalon which would be less likely to have compensatory mechanisms. Our results showed that similar to the spinal cord, Hoxa2 is expressed by oligodendroglial cells in the telencephalon. Subsequently, it was found that over-expressing Hoxa2 in CG4 cells, an oligodendroglial cell line derived from the perinatal rat cerebral cortex, impairs their differentiation. In an attempt to determine the mechanism by which it accomplishes this, we examined the expression of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), which has been implicated in this process. Contrary to our expectations, however, it was found that over-expressing Hoxa2 in CG4 cells results in significantly fewer PSA-NCAM cells. Hence, the results
Avaliacáo da atividade antioxidante e antimicrobiana dos extratos e fracoes orgánicas de Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. (Mimosaceae)

The species Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. (Mimosaceae), popularly known as thrush and hind alive, is a tree found in Brazilian caaringa, widely used by the population in the form of infusions for the treatment of wounds, bronchitis and anti-inflammatory. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine the antioxidant and anti-microbial activity of ethanolic extracts from the leaves (EHM), trunks (EHL), trunk barks (EHC), roots (EHR) and fractions obtained from the leaves of M. caesalpiniifolia Benth. , used by the populations as popular medication as an anti-inflammatory medication and as a relief to respiratory problems. The antioxidant action was evaluated through the capturing the radical DPPH, while the antimicrobial action was evaluated through the method of micro-dilution in broth, on yeasts, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The antioxidant capacity has shown that the ethyl-acetate fraction (Fr-EtOAc) was directly proportional to the poly-phenol contents with an IC50 at 20.08 ± 0,10μg/per g of the extract. As regards the antimicrobial activity, the extracts and fractions showed a growth-inhibiting activity for the micro-organisms evaluated and in concentrations from 5 to 1000μg/mL. The Fr-EtOAc showed promising growth-inhibiting figures in the case of yeasts such as Candida glabrata (ATCC 90030) and Candida krusei (ATCC 6258), in 20 and 40μg/mL concentrations, respectively. These results are important as they are the first to be obtained with the M. Caesalpiniifolia species
ADUBAÇAO COM ZINCO NA FORMAÇAO DE MUDAS DE MAMOEIRO

The objectve of this work was to evaluate the effect of the zinc application to the substratum on papaya seedlings development, nutritional status and plant dry matter. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks with four treatments and three replications. The treatments consisted of the following zinc doses: 0; 2; 4 and 6 mg dm, that were added to the substratum of a Red Latosol (Oxisol). All seedlings also received doses of N, P, K and B of 300; 400; 150 and 0.5 mg dm respectively. The experiment was carried out in vases with 2.0 dm of substratum. Six seeds of papaya 'Havai' were sown per vase in April of 2003, keeping one seed per vase after thinning. At 88 days after plant germination, it was evaluated seedlings diameter and height. The papaya seedlings had positively answered to the zinc application. The greatest development of the seedlings was in the Zn dose of 2 mg dm . The equal or upper doses to 4 mg dm of Zn significantly reduced the growth of papaya seedlings.
Analysis of NK1r and NMDAr expression in dorsal root ganglia neurons in the presence of nerve growth factor (NGF) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)

The Anesthesiology Laboratory from The New York University, Langone Medical Center investigates the role of Substance P (SP) in regulating the NMDA-evoked increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt) present in primary sensory Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) neurons, as a possible mechanism by which DRG neurons may become hyperexcitable following injury. Preliminary studies showed that in tissue culture, DRG neurons require both nerve growth factor (NGF) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in order to get a NMDA-evoked increase in [Ca2+]cyt . Hence, my project consisted in investigating whether the ability of these neurons become NMDA responsive was due to an increase in NMDA receptors and/or due to neurokinin receptors. NGF and PGE2 have been previously shown to increase during injury and to contribute in neuronal sensitization. In order to evaluate changes in the expression of NMDA and Neurokinin receptors in cultured adult rat DRG neuron, we used two different methods: Immunostaining and Western Blotting. For the immunostaining: we prepared single cell cultures of DRG neurons exposed to three different treatments: the control, which is the culture media; the addition of PGE2 and NGF independently and simultaneously. We used specific primary antibodies against the Substance P (SP) receptor, the NK1r, and for the subunits NR1 and NR2B in N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. We found that treatment with both factors NGF+PGE2, showed a slight increase in the expression of the NK1r as compared to the control group. About NMDAr’s subunits, the NR1 does not show any significant increase in its expression under any of the treatments. The NR2B subunit shows an increase in expression in the medium size DRG neurons in all the treated groups compared to control. We used Western blots to measure levels of protein expression from the receptors presented in NK1r, and NMDAr NR2B subunit using as a source the whole protein from the cell culture. Western blot analysis did not showed any increase in the expression of NK1r or NR2B subunit in any of the treatments. Therefore, the observed increase in NMDA-responsiveness gotten in the laboratory does not reflect a change in the expression of NMDAr or in the neurokinin receptor.