Cardiac protective techniques in left breast radiotherapy: rapid selection criteria for routine clinical decision making.

Objective: In left breast radiotherapy (RT) desired heart doses may be achieved without heart-sparing RT techniques in some patients. We aimed to examine the existence of predictive factors and cutoff points to determine which patients are the main candidates for heart-sparing RT techniques.

Material And Method: Dosimetric data for left breast cancer was examined.

Life science-based neuroscience education at large Western Public Universities.

The last 40 years have seen a remarkable increase in the teaching of neuroscience at the undergraduate level. From its origins as a component of anatomy or physiology departments to its current status as an independent interdisciplinary field, neuroscience has become the chosen field of study for many undergraduate students, particularly for those interested in medical school or graduate school in neuroscience or related fields. We examined how life science-based neuroscience education is offered at large public universities in the Western United States.

Studying the pathophysiologic connection between cardiovascular and nervous systems using stem cells.

The cardiovascular and nervous systems are deeply connected during development, health, and disease. Both systems affect and regulate the development of each other during embryogenesis and the early postnatal period. Specialized neural crest cells contribute to cardiac structures, and a number of growth factors released from the cardiac tissue (e.

Green tea polyphenols require the mitochondrial iron transporter, mitoferrin, for lifespan extension in Drosophila melanogaster.

Green tea has been found to increase the lifespan of various experimental animal models including the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. High in polyphenolic content, green tea has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in part by its ability to bind free iron, a micronutrient that is both essential for and toxic to all living organisms. Due to green tea's iron-binding properties, we questioned whether green tea acts to increase the lifespan of the fruit fly by modulating iron regulators, specifically, mitoferrin, a mitochondrial iron transporter, and transferrin, found in the hemolymph of flies.

Extension of Drosophila Lifespan by Rhodiola rosea Depends on Dietary Carbohydrate and Caloric Content in a Simplified Diet.

The root and rhizome extract of Rhodiola rosea has been extensively used in traditional medicine to improve physical and mental performance and to protect against stress. We, and others, have reported that R. rosea can extend lifespan in flies, worms, and yeast.

The impact of green tea polyphenols on development and reproduction in .

Although, green tea has numerous health benefits, adverse effects with excessive consumption have been reported. Using , a decrease in male fertility with green tea was evidenced. Here, the extent of green tea toxicity on development and reproduction was investigated.

The Survey on Near Field Communication.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging short-range wireless communication technology that offers great and varied promise in services such as payment, ticketing, gaming, crowd sourcing, voting, navigation, and many others. NFC technology enables the integration of services from a wide range of applications into one single smartphone. NFC technology has emerged recently, and consequently not much academic data are available yet, although the number of academic research studies carried out in the past two years has already surpassed the total number of the prior works combined.

Single-cell transcriptome analyses reveal signals to activate dormant neural stem cells.

The scarcity of tissue-specific stem cells and the complexity of their surrounding environment have made molecular characterization of these cells particularly challenging. Through single-cell transcriptome and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we uncovered molecular properties of CD133(+)/GFAP(-) ependymal (E) cells in the adult mouse forebrain neurogenic zone. Surprisingly, prominent hub genes of the gene network unique to ependymal CD133(+)/GFAP(-) quiescent cells were enriched for immune-responsive genes, as well as genes encoding receptors for angiogenic factors.

NFC internal: an indoor navigation system.

Indoor navigation systems have recently become a popular research field due to the lack of GPS signals indoors. Several indoors navigation systems have already been proposed in order to eliminate deficiencies; however each of them has several technical and usability limitations. In this study, we propose NFC Internal, a Near Field Communication (NFC)-based indoor navigation system, which enables users to navigate through a building or a complex by enabling a simple location update, simply by touching NFC tags those are spread around and orient users to the destination.

Spatiotemporally different origins of NG2 progenitors produce cortical interneurons versus glia in the mammalian forebrain.

The studies on the exact lineage composition of NG2 expressing progenitors in the forebrain have been controversial. A number of studies have revealed the heterogeneous nature of postnatal NG2 cells. However, NG2 cells found in embryonic dates are far less understood.

Epigenetic regulation of stem cells differentiating along the neural lineage.

Many lineage-specific genes are poised and silenced in stem cells. Upon differentiation, genes that are related to self-renewal and alternative lineages are stably silenced. CpG methylation at proximal promoters and PRC2-mediated H3K27me3 play a role in silencing genes temporarily or permanently, with or without coexistence of active epigenetic marks, respectively.

Dnmt3a-dependent nonpromoter DNA methylation facilitates transcription of neurogenic genes.

DNA methylation at proximal promoters facilitates lineage restriction by silencing cell type-specific genes. However, euchromatic DNA methylation frequently occurs in regions outside promoters. The functions of such nonproximal promoter DNA methylation are unclear.

Transcriptional regulation of neuronal differentiation: the epigenetic layer of complexity.

The transcriptional programs of neural progenitor cells change dynamically during neurogenesis, a process regulated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Although many of the transcription factors required for neuronal differentiation have long been identified, we are only at the brink of understanding how epigenetic mechanisms influence transcriptional activity and the accessibility of transcription factors to bind consensus cis-elements. Herein, we delineate the chief epigenetic modifications and the machinery responsible for these alterations.

Relocating Sensor Nodes to Maximize Cumulative Connected Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks.

In order to extend the availability of the wireless sensor network and to extract maximum possible information from the surveillance area, proper usage of the power capacity of the sensor nodes is important. Our work describes a dynamic relocation algorithm called MaxNetLife, which is mainly based on utilizing the remaining power of individual sensor nodes as well as properly relocating sensor nodes so that all sensor nodes can transmit the data they sense to the sink. Hence, the algorithm maximizes total collected information from the surveillance area before the possible death of the sensor network by increasing cumulative connected coverage parameter of the network.

CD133+ neural stem cells in the ependyma of mammalian postnatal forebrain.

The postnatal forebrain subventricular zone (SVZ) harbors stem cells that give rise to olfactory bulb interneurons throughout life. The identity of stem cells in the adult SVZ has been extensively debated. Although, ependymal cells were once suggested to have stem cell characteristics, subsequent studies have challenged the initial report and postulated that subependymal GFAP(+) cells were the stem cells.

Neurons or glia? Can SHP2 know it all?

Normal development of the nervous system relies on the spatially and temporally well-controlled differentiation of neurons and glia. Here, we discuss the intra- and extracellular molecular mechanisms that underlie the sequential genesis of neurons and glia, emphasizing recent studies describing the role of a signaling molecule, the tyrosine phosphatase SHP2, in normal brain development. Activation of SHP2 simultaneously enhances downstream activation of the MEK-ERK pathway, which subsequently promotes neurogenesis, while inhibiting the JAK-STAT pathway, which is critical for astroglial differentiation.

Subventricular zone neuronal progenitors undergo multiple divisions and retract their processes prior to each cytokinesis.

Mitotically active progenitor cells from the anterior portion of the forebrain subventricular zone (SVZa), which give rise throughout life to olfactory bulb interneurons, bear processes and express neuronal markers. To understand how rodent SVZa neuronal progenitors coordinate division and process formation, we used time-lapse videomicroscopy to analyse the proliferative behavior of SVZa progenitors in dissociated cell culture continuously for up to five generations. The cell cycle time of these cultured SVZa cells assessed videomicroscopically (cytokinesis to cytokinesis) was similar to the cell cycle time along the rostral migratory stream in vivo (14-17 h).

Coupling of cell migration with neurogenesis by proneural bHLH factors.

After cell birth, almost all neurons in the mammalian central nervous system migrate. It is unclear whether and how cell migration is coupled with neurogenesis. Here we report that proneural basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors not only initiate neuronal differentiation but also potentiate cell migration.

A positive autoregulatory loop of Jak-STAT signaling controls the onset of astrogliogenesis.

During development of the CNS, neurons and glia are generated in a sequential manner. The mechanism underlying the later onset of gliogenesis is poorly understood, although the cytokine-induced Jak-STAT pathway has been postulated to regulate astrogliogenesis. Here, we report that the overall activity of Jak-STAT signaling is dynamically regulated in mouse cortical germinal zone during development.

Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of cells in the rodent rostral migratory stream.

An overriding principle of development is that neurons become permanently postmitotic once they initiate differentiation. Work in our laboratory, however, has provided evidence for a population of progenitor cells in mammalian forebrain that express properties of differentiated neurons, even though they continue to divide. These neuronal progenitor cells are situated in the rostral migratory stream (RMS), which extends from a specialized portion of the subventricular zone surrounding the anterior tip of the lateral ventricle, referred to as the SVZa, to the middle of the olfactory bulb.

The progenitor cells of the embryonic telencephalon and the neonatal anterior subventricular zone differentially regulate their cell cycle.

For the last 10 years our laboratory has been studying the proliferation, migration and differentiation of neuronal progenitor cells located in the anterior part of the postnatal forebrain subventricular zone (SVZa). SVZa-derived cells possess a number of proliferative characteristics that distinguish them from the other progenitor cells in the central nervous system. This review summarizes our recent findings, in which we compared the pattern of cell cycle inhibitory proteins expressed by the neonatal SVZa to that of telencephalic ventricular zone cells.

The expression pattern of the cell cycle inhibitor p19(INK4d) by progenitor cells of the rat embryonic telencephalon and neonatal anterior subventricular zone.

In this study we investigated whether the pattern of expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p19(INK4d) by the unique progenitor cells of the neonatal anterior subventricular zone (SVZa) can account for their ability to divide even though they express phenotypic characteristics of differentiated neurons. p19(INK4d) was chosen for analysis because it usually acts to block permanently the cell cycle at the G(1) phase. p19(INK4d) immunoreactivity and the incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) by SVZa cells were compared with that of the more typical progenitor cells of the prenatal telencephalic ventricular zone.

Retroviral manipulation of the expression of bone morphogenetic protein receptor Ia by SVZa progenitor cells leads to changes in their p19(INK4d) expression but not in their neuronal commitment.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), a group of cytokines in the TGF-beta superfamily, have complex regulatory roles in the control of neural proliferation and cell fate decision. In this study, we analyzed the potential role(s) of BMP signaling on the regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of the unique progenitor cells of the neonatal anterior subventricular zone (SVZa). Unlike other progenitor cells of the brain, SVZa progenitor cells have the capacity to divide even though they express a neuronal phenotype.

Characterization and distribution of a new cell surface marker of neuronal precursors.

In a screen for novel cell surface markers of neuronal progenitors, we recently identified mAb 2F7 that recognizes an epitope present on both progenitor cells and postmitotic neurons, in the developing CNS and PNS. In the embryonic rat telencephalon, the mAb 2F7 epitope is expressed by migratory and postmigratory neurons in the developing cerebral cortex, as well as by presumptive neuronal progenitor cells of the ventricular zone. In the neonatal forebrain mAb 2F7 labels postmitotic neurons, including those of the developing cerebral cortex and olfactory bulb, as well as the axons of the corpus callosum.

Long-term behavioral effects of repetitive pain in neonatal rat pups.

Human preterm neonates are subjected to repetitive pain during neonatal intensive care. We hypothesized that exposure to repetitive neonatal pain may cause permanent or long-term changes because of the developmental plasticity of the immature brain. Neonatal rat pups were stimulated one, two, or four times each day from P0 to P7 with either needle prick (noxious groups N1, N2, N4) or cotton tip rub (tactile groups T1, T2, T4).