Digestive tract measurements and histological adaptation in broiler lines divergently selected for digestive efficiency.

Two lines of broilers divergently selected for a high (D+) or a low (D-) AME(n) on a wheat-based diet were studied for morphological and histological characteristics of the digestive tract. A total of 630 birds of both lines were slaughtered after a 23-d feeding period. Digestive tract morphology and intestinal histology were investigated on a total of 24 birds to describe the consequences of divergent selection.

EGF mediates calcium-activated chloride channel activation in the human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE14o-: involvement of tyrosine kinase p60c-src.

Particulate atmospheric pollutants interact with the human airway epithelium, which releases cytokines, chemokines, and EGF receptor (EGFR) ligands leading to proinflammatory responses. There is little information concerning the short-term effects of EGFR activation by extracellular ligands on ionic regulation of airway surface lining fluids. We identified in the membrane of human epithelial bronchial cells (16HBE14o(-) line) an endogenous calcium- and voltage-dependent, outwardly rectifying small-conductance chloride channel (CACC), and we examined the effects of EGF on CACC activity.

Automatic detection of microaneurysms in color fundus images.

This paper addresses the automatic detection of microaneurysms in color fundus images, which plays a key role in computer assisted diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, a serious and frequent eye disease. The algorithm can be divided into four steps. The first step consists in image enhancement, shade correction and image normalization of the green channel.

Oxidant stress stimulates Ca2+-activated chloride channels in the apical activated membrane of cultured nonciliated human nasal epithelial cells.

Respiratory tissues can be damaged by the exposure of airway epithelial cells to reactive oxygen species that generate oxidative stress. We studied the effects of the hydroxyl radical *OH, for which there is no natural intra- or extracellular scavenger, on a Ca(2+)-activated chloride channel (CACC) that participates in Cl(-) secretion in the apical membrane of airway epithelial cells. We identified and characterized CACC in cell-attached and in inside-out excised membrane patches from the apical membrane of cultured nonciliated human nasal epithelial cells.

Effects of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals on the cytosolic side of a non-selective cation channel in the cultured human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE14o-.

Respiratory tissues can be damaged by the exposure of airway epithelial cells to reactive oxygen species (ROS) that generate an oxidative stress. We studied the effects of the hydroxyl radical *OH, for which there is no natural intra- or extracellular scavenger, on a Ca2+-activated, non-selective cation channel (NSC(Ca)) which might participate in the transepithelial Na+ fluxes involved in the maintenance of the cytosolic [Na+] ([Na+]i). We identified and characterized NSC(Ca) in inside-out excised membrane patches from cells of the human bronchial cell line 16HBE14o- and exposed the cytoplasmic side of NSC(Ca) to H2O2 or *OH created in front of the patch pipette.