Extracellular matrix assembly stress initiates Drosophila central nervous system morphogenesis.

Forces controlling tissue morphogenesis are attributed to cellular-driven activities, and any role for extracellular matrix (ECM) is assumed to be passive. However, all polymer networks, including ECM, can develop autonomous stresses during their assembly. Here, we examine the morphogenetic function of an ECM before reaching homeostatic equilibrium by analyzing de novo ECM assembly during Drosophila ventral nerve cord (VNC) condensation.

Optimization of the radiation dosimetry protocol in Lutetium-177-PSMA therapy: toward clinical implementation.

Background: Dosimetry in [Lu]Lu-PSMA therapy is a valuable tool to assess treatment efficacy and toxicity. This study aims to develop a clinically implementable protocol to determine the absorbed dose in organs and tumor lesions after [Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 therapy, by reducing the imaging time points and utilizing population-based kinetics with a single scan, with evaluation of its influence on the uncertainty in absorbed dose.

Methods: Ten patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer received two cycles of [Lu]Lu-PSMA-617.

Young People's Experiences and Perceptions of YouTuber-Produced Health Content: Implications for Health Promotion.

The growing diversity and uptake of social media has increased the sources of health information available to young people. YouTube is one of the most popular social media platforms for young people in the United Kingdom, and YouTubers are the most important influencers on the platform producing diverse health content. They are increasingly recognized by popular media and public health organizations as a potentially influential source of health information for young people.

Type IV Collagen Is Essential for Proper Function of Integrin-Mediated Adhesion in Muscle Fibers.

Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD), a subgroup of myopathies is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of inherited muscle disorders and is characterized by progressive muscle weakness, fiber size variability, fibrosis, clustered necrotic fibers, and central myonuclei present in regenerating muscle. Type IV collagen () mutations have recently been identified in patients with intracerebral, vascular, renal, ophthalmologic pathologies and congenital muscular dystrophy, consistent with diagnoses of Walker-Warburg Syndrome or Muscle-Eye-Brain disease. Morphological characteristics of muscular dystrophy have also been demonstrated mutant mice.

4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal Alkylated and Peroxynitrite Nitrated Proteins Localize to the Fused Mitochondria in Malpighian Epithelial Cells of Type IV Collagen Mutants.

. Human type IV collagenopathy is associated with mutations within the and to a less extent the genes. The proteins encoded by these genes form heterotrimers and are the highest molar ratio components of the ubiquitous basement membrane.

Octreotide for the treatment of intentional insulin aspart overdose in a non-diabetic patient.

Intentional insulin overdose may lead to severe and refractory hypoglycemia. Exogenous dextrose administration is the mainstay of therapy for these patients and is effective in most cases. However, in patients with a functional pancreas, exogenous dextrose administration may precipitate endogenous insulin release leading to rebound hypoglycemia.

Independence of long-term contextual memory and short-term perceptual hypotheses: Evidence from contextual cueing of interrupted search.

Observers are able to resume an interrupted search trial faster relative to responding to a new, unseen display. This finding of rapid resumption is attributed to short-term perceptual hypotheses generated on the current look and confirmed upon subsequent looks at the same display. It has been suggested that the contents of perceptual hypotheses are similar to those of other forms of memory acquired long-term through repeated exposure to the same search displays over the course of several trials, that is, the memory supporting "contextual cueing.

Altered stress fibers and integrin expression in the Malpighian epithelium of Drosophila type IV collagen mutants.

Basement membranes (BMs) are highly specialized extracellular matrices (ECMs) that provide support and polarization cues for epithelial cells. Proper adhesion to the BM is pivotal in epithelial cell function and survival. Type IV collagens are the predominant components of all types of BMs, that form an irregular, polygonal lattice and serve as a scaffold for numerous other BM components and BM-associated cells.

Drosophila type IV collagen mutation associates with immune system activation and intestinal dysfunction.

The basal lamina (BM) contains numerous components with a predominance of type IV collagens. Clinical manifestations associated with mutations of the human COL4A1 gene include perinatal cerebral hemorrhage and porencephaly, hereditary angiopathy, nephropathy, aneurysms and muscle cramps (HANAC), ocular dysgenesis, myopathy, Walker–Warburg syndrome and systemic tissue degeneration. In Drosophila, the phenotype associated with dominant temperature sensitive mutations of col4a1 include severe myopathy resulting from massive degradation of striated muscle fibers, and in the gut, degeneration of circular visceral muscle cells and epithelial cells following detachment from the BM.

Searching for targets in visual working memory: investigating a dimensional feature bundle (DFB) model.

The human visual working memory (WM) system enables us to store a limited amount of task-relevant visual information temporally in mind. One actively debated issue in cognitive neuroscience centers around the question of how this WM information is maintained. The currently dominant views advocated by prominent WM models hold that the units of memory are configured either as independent feature representations, integrated bound objects, or a combination of both.

MicroRNA-146 function in the innate immune transcriptome response of zebrafish embryos to Salmonella typhimurium infection.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been shown to play important roles in development of the immune system and in fine-tuning of immune responses. Human miR-146 family members are known as inflammation-inducible miRNAs involved in negative feedback regulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling. Dysregulation of the miR-146 family has often been linked to inflammatory diseases and malignancies.

Subthalamic nucleus versus globus pallidus bilateral deep brain stimulation for advanced Parkinson's disease (NSTAPS study): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Patients with advanced Parkinson's disease often have rapid swings between mobility and immobility, and many respond unsatisfactorily to adjustments in pharmacological treatment. We assessed whether globus pallidus pars interna (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS) gives greater functional improvement than does subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS.

Methods: We recruited patients from five centres in the Netherlands who were aged 18 years or older, had idiopathic Parkinson's disease, and had, despite optimum pharmacological treatment, at least one of the following symptoms: severe response fluctuations, dyskinesias, painful dystonias, or bradykinesia.

Probing the topological exciton condensate via Coulomb drag.

The onset of exciton condensation in a topological insulator thin film was recently predicted. We calculate the critical temperature for this transition, taking into account screening effects. Furthermore, we show that the proximity to this transition can be probed by measuring the Coulomb drag resistivity between the surfaces of the thin film as a function of temperature.

Thrombolysis or anticoagulation for cerebral venous thrombosis: rationale and design of the TO-ACT trial.

Rationale: Endovascular thrombolysis, with or without mechanical clot removal, may be beneficial for a subgroup of patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVT) who have a poor prognosis despite treatment with heparin. Published experience with endovascular thrombolysis is promising but only based on case series and not on controlled trials.

Aim: The objective of the Thrombolysis or Anticoagulation for Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (TO-ACT) trial is to determine if endovascular thrombolysis improves the functional outcome of patients with a severe form of CVT.

Drosophila basement membrane collagen col4a1 mutations cause severe myopathy.

Recent data from clinical and mammalian genetic studies indicate that COL4A1 mutations manifest with basement membrane defects that result in muscle weakness, cramps, contractures, dystrophy and atrophy. In-depth studies of mutant COL4A1-associated muscle phenotype, however, are lacking and significant details of the muscle-specific pathomechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we have used a comprehensive set of Drosophila col4a1 and col4a2 mutants and a series of genetic and mutational analyses, gene, protein expression, and immunohistochemistry experiments in order to establish a Drosophila model and address some of these questions.

Deep sequencing of the innate immune transcriptomic response of zebrafish embryos to Salmonella infection.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) bacteria cause an inflammatory and lethal infection in zebrafish embryos. To characterize the embryonic innate host response at the transcriptome level, we have extended and validated previous microarray data by Illumina next-generation sequencing analysis.

A novel fibrotic disorder associated with increased dermal fibroblast proliferation and downregulation of genes of the microfibrillar network.

Clinical evaluation of a young woman with subcutaneous fibrotic nodules, progressive distal joint contractures and marfanoid stature revealed a previously unrecognized fibrotic disorder characterized by several unique phenotypic features and some features overlapping with known disorders. Mutational analysis of the FBN1 and FBN2 genes excluded Marfan syndrome and congenital contractural arachnodactyly. MMP2 gene sequence analysis excluded multicentric osteolysis, nodulosis and arthropathy.

Nutritional imbalance endorsed by televised food advertisements.

The ubiquity of television in American culture makes it a potential contributor to the obesogenic (obesity-causing) environment. Televised food advertisements, which encourage viewers to eat the foods promoted for sale, constitute a de facto set of dietary endorsements. The purpose of this study was to compare the nutritional content of food choices endorsed on television to nutritional guidelines.

Deep sequencing of the zebrafish transcriptome response to mycobacterium infection.

Novel high-throughput deep sequencing technology has dramatically changed the way that the functional complexity of transcriptomes can be studied. Here we report on the first use of this technology to gain insight into the wide range of transcriptional responses that are associated with an infectious disease process. Using Solexa/Illumina's digital gene expression (DGE) system, a tag-based transcriptome sequencing method, we investigated mycobacterium-induced transcriptome changes in a model vertebrate species, the zebrafish.

The human orthologue of murine Mpzl3 with predicted adhesive and immune functions is a potential candidate gene for immune-related hereditary hair loss.

We have recently reported a mutation within the conserved immunoglobulin V-type domain of the predicted adhesion protein Mpzl3 (MIM 611707) in rough coat (rc) mice with severe skin abnormalities and progressive cyclic hair loss. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the human orthologue MPZL3 on chromosome 11q23.3 is a candidate for similar symptoms in humans.

The afterbirth of the clinic: a Foucauldian perspective on "House M.D." and American medicine in the 21st century.

Mirroring Michel Foucault's The Birth of the Clinic (1963), which describes the philosophical shift in medical discourse in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Fox television series House M.D. illustrates the shift in medical discourse emerging today.

Early alcohol use, rural residence, and adult employment.

Objective: Rural residence was once perceived as protective regarding youthful alcohol use and its effects. Our study examined whether the relationship between alcohol use in youth and early adulthood and subsequent employment outcomes differed for rural and urban youth.

Method: Data from a 20-year panel survey, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, were used to address the association between alcohol use between the ages of 17 and 26 and employment outcomes during adulthood.