The translocase of the inner mitochondrial membrane 22-2 is required for mitochondrial membrane function during Arabidopsis seed development.

The carrier translocase (also known as translocase of the inner membrane 22; TIM22 complex) is an important component of the mitochondrial protein import apparatus. However, the biological functions of AtTIM22-2 in Arabidopsis remain poorly defined. Here, we report studies on two tim22-2 mutants that exhibit defects in embryo and endosperm development, leading to seed abortion.

Virus-like Particles as Nanocarriers for Intracellular Delivery of Biomolecules and Compounds.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nanostructures assemble from viral proteins. Besides widely used for vaccine development, VLPs have also been explored as nanocarriers for cargo delivery as they combine the key advantages of viral and non-viral vectors. While it protects cargo molecules from degradation, the VLP has good cell penetrating property to mediate cargo passing the cell membrane and released into cells, making the VLP an ideal tool for intracellular delivery of biomolecules and drugs.

Functional Connectivity Is Altered in Concussed Adolescent Athletes Despite Medical Clearance to Return to Play: A Preliminary Report.

Recovery following sports-related concussion (SRC) is slower and often more complicated in young adolescent athletes than in collegiate players. Further, the clinical decision to return to play is currently based on symptoms and cognitive performance without direct knowledge of brain function. We tested the hypothesis that brain functional connectivity (FC) would be aberrant in recently concussed, asymptomatic athletes who had been cleared to return to play.

Chronic Effects of Blast-Related TBI on Subcortical Functional Connectivity in Veterans.

Objectives: Blast explosions are the most frequent mechanism of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in recent wars, but little is known about their long-term effects.

Methods: Functional connectivity (FC) was measured in 17 veterans an average of 5.46 years after their most serious blast related TBI, and in 15 demographically similar veterans without TBI or blast exposure.

The suppression of brain activation in post-deployment military personnel with posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Previous research using cognitive paradigms has found task-related activation that includes prefrontal brain structures and that is attenuated in association with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The present investigation used a cognitive control paradigm, the Arrows Task, to study subjects who had not sustained a traumatic brain injury during deployment and who had a wide range of scores on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL). During the Arrows Task there was no significant activation within the full sample of 15 subjects, but deactivation was found within areas that are likely to be involved in cognitive control, including the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus and parietal cortex.

How functional connectivity between emotion regulation structures can be disrupted: preliminary evidence from adolescents with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

Outcome of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) includes impaired emotion regulation. Emotion regulation has been associated with amygdala and rostral anterior cingulate (rACC). However, functional connectivity between the two structures after injury has not been reported.

Altered brain activation in military personnel with one or more traumatic brain injuries following blast.

Explosive blast is a frequent cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among personnel deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with an event-related stimulus-response compatibility task was used to compare 15 subjects with mild, chronic blast-related TBI with 15 subjects who had not experienced a TBI or blast exposure during deployment. Six TBI subjects reported multiple injuries.

The relationship of resting cerebral blood flow and brain activation during a social cognition task in adolescents with chronic moderate to severe traumatic brain injury: a preliminary investigation.

Alterations in cerebrovascular function are evident acutely in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), although less is known about their chronic effects. Adolescent and adult patients with moderate to severe TBI have been reported to demonstrate diffuse activation throughout the brain during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Because fMRI is a measure related to blood flow, it is possible that any deficits in blood flow may alter activation.

Brain activation during a social attribution task in adolescents with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

The ability to make accurate judgments about the mental states of others, sometimes referred to as theory of mind (ToM), is often impaired following traumatic brain injury (TBI), and this deficit may contribute to problems with interpersonal relationships. The present study used an animated social attribution task (SAT) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine structures mediating ToM in adolescents with moderate to severe TBI. The study design also included a comparison group of matched, typically developing (TD) adolescents.

Brain activation while thinking about the self from another person's perspective after traumatic brain injury in adolescents.

Deficits in self awareness and taking the perspective of others are often observed following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nine adolescents (ages 12-19 years) who had sustained moderate to severe TBI after an average interval of 2.6 years and nine typically developing (TD) adolescents underwent functional MRI (fMRI) while performing a perspective taking task (D'Argembeau et al.

Effects of traumatic brain injury on working memory-related brain activation in adolescents.

Eight adolescents (ages 13-18 years) who sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI) and eight gender- and age-matched typically developing (TD) adolescents underwent event-related functional MRI (fMRI) while performing a Sternberg letter recognition task. Encoding, maintenance, and retrieval were examined with memory loads of one or four items during imaging. Both groups performed above a 70% accuracy criterion and did not differ in performance.

Phenotypic characterization of Bbs4 null mice reveals age-dependent penetrance and variable expressivity.

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare oligogenic disorder exhibiting both clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Although the BBS phenotype is variable both between and within families, the syndrome is characterized by the hallmarks of developmental and learning difficulties, post-axial polydactylia, obesity, hypogenitalism, renal abnormalities, retinal dystrophy, and several less frequently observed features. Eleven genes mutated in BBS patients have been identified, and more are expected to exist, since about 20-30% of all families cannot be explained by the known loci.

Seizure-induced plasticity of h channels in entorhinal cortical layer III pyramidal neurons.

The entorhinal cortex (EC) provides the predominant excitatory drive to the hippocampal CA1 and subicular neurons in chronic epilepsy. Discerning the mechanisms underlying signal integration within EC neurons is essential for understanding network excitability alterations involving the hippocampus during epilepsy. Twenty-four hours following a single seizure episode when there were no behavioral or electrographic seizures, we found enhanced spontaneous activity still present in the rat EC in vivo and in vitro.