Tumor necrosis factor-α increases angiopoietin-like protein 2 gene expression by activating Foxo1 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (Angptl2) is a key adipocyte-derived inflammatory mediator linking obesity to systemic insulin resistance, which is overexpressed in obesity and related metabolic diseases. However, its regulatory mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we showed that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α treatment increased the expression of Angptl2 gene in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Sensory innervation of the external genital tract of female guinea pigs and mice.

Introduction: The structural and neurochemical characterization of the sensory innervation of the external genitalia of females is poorly known.

Aims:   To immunohistochemically map the sensory innervation of external genitalia and surrounding structures of female guinea pigs and mice.

Methods: Large-diameter sensory fibers, presumably mechanoreceptors, were identified by their immunoreactivity to neuron-specific enolase (NSE) or vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGluT1).

Sacro-lumbar intersegmental spinal reflex in autonomic pathways mediating female sexual function.

Introduction: Autonomic neurons in paracervical ganglia mediating vasodilation in the female reproductive tract receive inputs from both midlumbar and sacral spinal levels. However, it is not known how the lumbar pathways are activated.

Aim: This study tested whether stimulation of pudendal sensory nerve could activate lumbar spinal outflows to paracervical ganglia via a spinal reflex pathway.

Congestion control for ATM multiplexers using neural networks: multiple sources/single buffer scenario.

A new neural network based method for solving the problem of congestion control arising at the user network interface (UNI) of ATM networks is proposed in this paper. Unlike the previous methods where the coding rate for all traffic sources as controller output signals is tuned in a body, the proposed method adjusts the coding rate for only a part of the traffic sources while the remainder sources send the cells in the previous coding rate in case of occurrence of congestion. The controller output signals include the source coding rate and the percentage of the sources that send cells at the corresponding coding rate.