Dose- and strain-dependent effects of dermorphin and [D-Ala–2-D-Leu–5]enkephalin on passive avoidance behavior in mice.

Dermorphin and dextro-ala–2-dextro-leu–5-enkephalin, administered intracerebroventricularly (icv) immediately after training in a passive avoidance test, exerted dose- and strain-dependent effects in DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice. The peptides impaired, at a low dose (5 ng), the retention performances of both strains; a higher dose (50 ng) impaired retention in DBA/2 mice but improved it in C57BL/6 mice. A dose of naloxone (0.3 μg, icv), which was ineffective when administered alone, antagonized the effects observed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NEWER: A system for NEuro-fuzzy WEb Recommendation

In the era of the Web, there is urgent need for developing systems able to personalize the online experience of Web users on the basis of their needs. Web recommendation is a promising technology that attempts to predict the interests of Web users, by providing them with information and/or services that they need without explicitly asking for them. In this paper we propose NEWER, a usage-based Web recommendation system that exploits the potential of Computational Intelligence techniques to dynamically suggest interesting pages to users according to their preferences. NEWER employs a neuro-fuzzy approach in order to determine categories of users sharing similar interests and to discover a recommendation model as a set of fuzzy rules expressing the associations between user categories and relevances of pages. The discovered model is used by a online recommendation module to determine the list of links judged relevant for users. The results obtained on both synthetic and real-world data show that NEWER is effective for recommendation, leading to a quality of the generated recommendations comparable and often significantly better than those of other approaches employed for the comparison.     

Metallic species in atmospheric particulate matter in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

In this work, we quantified the total, water-soluble and insoluble fractions of 12 metallic species (Na, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb and Mn) present in total suspended particulates (TSP) in an urban area with heavy traffic (about 80 000 vehicles/day) of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). Experimental measurements were made from July to December 2003 on a total of 42 samples (7 per month). Particulate matter (TSP) was collected in fiber filters and high volume samplers. PM₁₀ levels were estimated assuming the PM₁₀ fraction is about 70% of all TSP. Total fractions was determined gravimetrically. Water-soluble fraction was extracted by sonication. Concentrations of metallic elements were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Temporal changes in the concentrations of the target elements were examined and a multivariate approach used to identify the primary sources for each species. Mean value for TSP is 71.92 μg/m³. The water-soluble fraction consisted mainly of Na, Ca, Mg, and K. The insoluble fraction contained higher concentrations of all elements than the soluble except Na. In the water-soluble fraction, Na, K, Ca and Mg were found to come mainly from natural sources; Cr, Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn and Cu from anthropogenic sources.     

Inhibition of Lysine 63 Ubiquitination Prevents the Progression of Renal Fibrosis in Diabetic DBA/2J Mice

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease. Tubulointerstitial accumulation of lysine 63 (K63)-ubiquitinated (Ub) proteins is involved in the progression of DN fibrosis and correlates with urinary miR-27b-3p downregulation. We explored the renoprotective effect of an inhibitor of K63-Ub (NSC697923), alone or in combination with the ACE-inhibitor ramipril, in vitro and in vivo. Proximal tubular epithelial cells and diabetic DBA/2J mice were treated with NSC697923 and/or ramipril. K63-Ub protein accumulation along with α-SMA, collagen I and III, FSP-1, vimentin, p16^INK4A expression, SA-α Gal staining, Sirius Red, and PAS staining were measured. Finally, we measured the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (uACR), and urinary miR-27b-3p expression in mice. NSC697923, both alone and in association with ramipril, in vitro and in vivo inhibited hyperglycemia-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition by significantly reducing K63-Ub proteins, α-SMA, collagen I, vimentin, FSP-1 expression, and collagen III along with tubulointerstitial and glomerular fibrosis. Treated mice also showed recovery of urinary miR-27b-3p and restored expression of p16^INK4A. Moreover, NSC697923 in combination with ramipril demonstrated a trend in the reduction of uACR. In conclusion, we suggest that selective inhibition of K63-Ub, when combined with the conventional treatment with ACE inhibitors, might represent a novel treatment strategy to prevent the progression of fibrosis and proteinuria in diabetic nephropathy and we propose miR-27b-3p as a biomarker of treatment efficacy.     

Tumor Extracellular Matrix Stiffness Promptly Modulates the Phenotype and Gene Expression of Infiltrating T Lymphocytes

The immune system is a fine modulator of the tumor biology supporting or inhibiting its progression, growth, invasion and conveys the pharmacological treatment effect. Tumors, on their side, have developed escaping mechanisms from the immune system action ranging from the direct secretion of biochemical signals to an indirect reaction, in which the cellular actors of the tumor microenvironment (TME) collaborate to mechanically condition the extracellular matrix (ECM) making it inhospitable to immune cells. TME is composed of several cell lines besides cancer cells, including tumor-associated macrophages, cancer-associated fibroblasts, CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ lymphocytes, and innate immunity cells. These populations interface with each other to prepare a conservative response, capable of evading the defense mechanisms implemented by the host’s immune system. The presence or absence, in particular, of cytotoxic CD8⁺ cells in the vicinity of the main tumor mass, is able to predict, respectively, the success or failure of drug therapy. Among various mechanisms of immunescaping, in this study, we characterized the modulation of the phenotypic profile of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cells in resting and activated states, in response to the mechanical pressure exerted by a three-dimensional in vitro system, able to recapitulate the rheological and stiffness properties of the tumor ECM.     

Correction to: RECODE: revision control for digital images

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The author regrets that the acknowledgment of the original publication contains an error. The correct acknowledgement is written below:     

1.6 Composition and stress state of thin films deposited by ion beam sputtering

The ion beam sputtering technique offers several advantages over conventional sputtering systems. This technique operates at a lower pressure and substrate temperature than conventional sputtering. In addition, the angle of deposition which is easily varied with ion beam sputtering is essentially fixed in dc and rf diode sputtering. As a result of these advantages, many of the parameters which effect film stress, resistivity, and grain size can be varied independently.Several properties of ion beam sputtered Ni, Al, Ni₃Al and Au thin films have been evaluated as a function of ion beam current density, target material, and the angle and distance of the substrate from the target.The grain size and stress were found to vary with the angle of deposition. There is an apparent correlation between electrical resistivity and the oxygen content in the films. Both properties depend upon the grain size. The stress levels of the films are shown to be influenced by the oxygen content. These experimental results are discussed in light of models proposed to explain the origin of stress in thin films.