Black Bars Research Articles

Visual Perception Appears Heightened in Autism

Visual Perception Appears Heightened in Autism

Correction: Quantifying Collective Attention from Tweet Stream

There was an error in the funding statement. The correct funding information is: This research is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through the “Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST Program),” initiated by the Council for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The legends for the Supporting Information figures were omitted. The full titles and legends for the Supporting Information Figures are as follows: Fig. S1. Annual variation in daily tweet activity. Mean tweet probability distribution in 2010 (P) and 2011 (Q). JS(P, Q)=0.0009. Fig. S2. Collective attention related to multiple events. Tweet probability distribution, and the rankings of the popularity and the enhancement of key terms in Japanese tweets on Jun 13, 2010. Each black bar in the figure denotes the time range during which tweets were considered for calculating term frequency. The red text in the tables denotes terms related to (A) an earthquake and (B) Hayabusa's return to the Earth. (C) in the figure is related to Twitter outage. The text in parentheses denotes the English translation. Fig. S3. Collective attention related to new year holidays. Tweet probability distribution, and the rankings of the popularity and the enhancement of key terms in Japanese tweets on January 1, 2011. The black bar in the figure represents the time range during which tweets were considered for calculating term frequency. The red text in the table represent terms related to new year holidays, and the text in parentheses denotes the English translation.

Object tracking in motion-blind flies

Different visual features of an object, such as its position and direction of motion, are important elements for animal orientation, but the neural circuits extracting them are generally not well understood. We analyzed this problem in Drosophila, focusing on two well-studied behaviors known as optomotor response and fixation response. In the neural circuit controlling the optomotor response, columnar T4 and T5 cells are thought to be crucial. We found that blocking T4 and T5 cells resulted in a complete loss of the optomotor response. Nevertheless, these flies were still able to fixate a black bar, although at a reduced performance level. Further analysis revealed that flies in which T4 and T5 cells were blocked possess an intact position circuit that is implemented in parallel to the motion circuit; the optomotor response is exclusively controlled by the motion circuit, whereas the fixation response is supported by both the position and the motion circuit.

Corrigendum

CorrigendumCorrigendumPublished Online:15 Apr 2013https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.zh0-7226.corr.2013Original articleMoreSectionsPDF (1 MB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailWeChat Volume 304, April 2013Volume 73, April 2013Chhunchha B, Fatma N, Kubo E, Rai P, Singh SP, Singh DP. Curcumin abates hypoxia-induced oxidative stress based-ER stress-mediated cell death in mouse hippocampal cells (HT22) by controlling Prdx6 and NF-κB regulation. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 304: , 2013. First published January 30, 2013; doi:https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00345.2012 (http://ajpcell.physiology.org/content/304/7/C636.full).—In results, the histogram in Fig. 3D has an error. The correct histogram (Fig. 3D) is shown below.Fig. 3.Curcumin treatment of HT22 cells attenuated apoptosis and released cell cycle arrest during hypoxic stress. A: photomicrograph of HT22 exposed to 1% O2 with or without curcumin treatment. Curcumin (2 μM) or DMSO vehicle-treated cells were placed inside hypoxic chamber to expose to 1% O2. Forty-eight hours later, photomicrographs were taken. Arrows denote rounded white and rounded dead cells (a: control; b: 1% O2; c: Cur + 1% O2). B: photomicrograph of HT22 exposed to CoCl2 with or without curcumin treatment. Curcumin (2 μM) or DMSO vehicle-treated cells were exposed to 100 or 200 μM of CoCl2. Forty-eight hours later, photomicrographs were taken. Arrows denote rounded white dead cells (a: control; b: Cur only; c: 100 μM CoCl2; d: Cur + 100 μM CoCl2; e: 200 μM CoCl2; f: Cur + 200 μM CoCl2). C: curcumin negatively regulated the vulnerability of HT22 cells to CoCl2-evoked apoptotic cell death. Cells untreated (a: vehicle control), treated with different concentration of CoCl2 alone (c: 100 μM; e: 200 μM) or pretreated with curcumin (b: 2 μM curcumin) followed by CoCl2 treatment (d: 100 μM; f: 200 μM). After 48 h of treatment, apoptosis was evaluated using annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) staining followed by flow cytometry. Top: representative plots showing annexin V-FITC/PI staining of HT22 cells. The proportion of late or apoptotic cells is shown. Bottom: histogram showing a significant increase of apoptotic cells (compare gray vs. black bars). Data represent means ± SD of 3 independent experiments. **P < 0.001. D: curcumin released CoCl2-induced S-phase and G2-M-phase cell cycle arrest in HT22 cells. Cells were cultured in 100-mm plates and treated with curcumin or DMSO (vehicle) for 12 h and then subjected to different concentrations of CoCl2. Cells were harvested and hypotonically lysed in a PI solution to stain the DNA. Nuclei were analyzed for DNA content by flow cytometry. a–f: same as in C. Percentage of cell population at the G1, S, and G2 phases is shown in histogram.Download figureDownload PowerPointThis article has no references to display. Download PDF Previous Back to Top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedInformationRelated ArticlesCurcumin abates hypoxia-induced oxidative stress based-ER stress-mediated cell death in mouse hippocampal cells (HT22) by controlling Prdx6 and NF-κB regulation 01 Apr 2013American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology More from this issue > Volume 304Issue 8April 2013Pages C808-C809 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2013 the American Physiological Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.zh0-7226.corr.2013History Published online 15 April 2013 Published in print 15 April 2013 Metrics

Sexually dimorphic melanin-based colour polymorphism, feather melanin content, and wing feather structure in the barn owl (Tyto alba)

Feathers confer protection against biophysical agents and determine flying ability. The geometry and arrangement of the barbs, together with the keratin and pigments deposited in the feathers, determine the mechanical stability of the vane, and its stiffness and resistance to abrasive agents. In colour-polymorphic species, individuals display alternative colour morphs, which can be associated with different foraging strategies. Each morph may therefore require specific flying abilities, and their feathers may be exposed to different abrasive agents. Feathers of differently coloured individuals may thus have a specific structure, and colour pigments may help resist abrasive agents and improve stiffness. We examined these predictions in the barn owl (Tyto alba), a species for which the ventral body side varies from white to dark reddish pheomelanic, and in the number and size of black spots located at the tip of the feathers. White and reddish birds show different foraging strategies, and the size of black feather spots is associated with several phenotypic attributes. We found that birds displaying a darker reddish coloration on the ventral body side deposit more melanin pigments in their remiges, which also have fewer barbs. This suggests that wear resistance increases with darkness, whereas feathers of lighter coloured birds may bend less easily. Accordingly, individuals displaying a lighter reddish coloration on the ventral body side, and those displaying larger black spots, displayed more black transverse bars on their remiges: as larger-spotted individuals are heavier and longer-winged birds also have more transverse bars, these bars may reduce feather bending when flying. We conclude that differently coloured individuals produce wing feathers of different strengths to adopt alternative behavioural and life history strategies. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 109, 562‐573.

Mapping of the Receptive Fields in the Optic Tectum of Chicken (Gallus gallus) Using Sparse Noise

The optic tectum plays a key role in visual processing in birds. While the input from the retina is topographic in the superficial layers, the deep layers project to the thalamic nucleus rotundus in a functional topographical manner. Although the receptive fields of tectal neurons in birds have been mapped before, a high resolution description of the white and black subfields of the receptive fields of tectal neurons is not available. We measured the receptive fields of neurons in the different layers of the tectum of anesthetized chickens with black and white stimuli that were flashed on a grey background in fast progression. Our results show that neurons in the deep layers of the optic tectum tend to respond stronger to black stimuli compared to white stimuli. In addition, the receptive field sizes are larger when measured using black stimuli than with white stimuli. While the black subfield was significantly larger than the white subfield for the intermediate and deep layers, no significant effects were found for the superficial layers. Finally, we investigated the optimal stimulus size in a subset of the neurons and found that these cells respond best to small white stimuli and to large black stimuli. In the majority of the cases the response was stronger to a large black bar than to a small white bar. We propose that such a stronger response to black stimuli might be advantageous for the detection of darker objects against the brighter sky.

Erratum: Global CNS gene delivery and evasion of anti-AAV-neutralizing antibodies by intrathecal AAV administration in non-human primates

Correction to: Gene Therapy (2013) 20, 450–459; doi:10.1038/gt.2012.101; published online 10 January 2013 Since the online publication of this article, the following errors have been identified. In Figure 2b, the black bars indicate AAV9 (101-IC and 102-IC) and the white bars indicate AAV2.5 (103-ICand 104-IC).

Polymorphic LEDGF/p75 variants support efficient HIV-1 infection ex vivo

HIV-1 replication relies on interactions with numerous cellular factors [1], and genetic polymorphisms in the human population can significantly effect progression to AIDS [2, 3]. Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF)/p75 is a crucial co-factor that directs HIV-1 integration to active genes [4]. N-terminal elements that include a PWWP domain confer constitutive binding to chromatin, whereas the downstream IN-binding domain (IBD; residues 347–429) binds lentiviral IN protein [5, 6]. IBD or PWWP domain point mutations can render LEDGF/p75 nonfunctional in ex vivo models of HIV-1 infection [7–9]. A recent study identified polymorphisms in PSIP1, the gene that encodes LEDGF/p75, which trended with reduced viral loads among Black South Africans [10]. Most of these were intronic though one mutation, Q472L, mapped nearby the IBD (Fig. 1a). A subsequent study identified two mutations in the same region, I436S and T473I, among Caucasoid Spanish long-term nonprogressors, though the relatively small size of the study group precluded disease association analysis [11]. The Q472L mutation did not affect IN binding in vitro or co-factor function in cells depleted for LEDGF/p75 content by RNA interference (RNAi) [10]. Initial RNAi-based studies notably failed to reveal a role for LEDGF/p75 in HIV-1 infection despite achieving potent reductions in steady-state protein levels [12]. Subsequent “deep knockdown” [7] and Psip1 knockout [8, 13] studies revealed approximate 10 to 30-fold reductions in viral titer, indicating that residual levels of LEDGF/p75 can support efficient HIV-1 infection [7, 14]. We have therefore tested the affects of the I436S, Q472L, and T473I mutations on HIV-1 infection using cells derived from Psip1 knockout mice that lack the ability to synthesize LEDGF/p75 [8]. Fig. 1 Ex vivo activities of polymorphic LEDGF/p75 variants Two different mouse embryo fibroblast (MEF) cell lines, E6(−/−) and E2(−/−) [8, 9], were utilized to assess generalized responses. The pIRES2-eGFP-LEDGF-HA vector that co-expresses human LEDGF/p75 fused to a hemagglutinin (HA) tag and green fluorescent protein (GFP) was mutagenized by PCR, and resulting plasmids were verified by sequencing [8]. Transfected cells (4 × 106) were plated for 24 h prior to fluorescent-activated cell sorting to select GFP-positive cells. Sorted cells (2 × 104) were infected with HIV-Luc, a single-round reporter virus that carries a deletion in the env gene and the gene for firefly luciferase in nef; HIV-Luc was pseudotyped with the vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein to afford entry, reverse transcription, and integration in mouse cells [8]. Cells infected in duplicate were lysed after 48 h, and resulting levels of luciferase activity, expressed as relative light units (RLU), was normalized to total protein as determined by Bradford assay (Bio-Rad). As expected, E2(−/−) cells expressing wild-type (WT) LEDGF/p75 supported about 10-fold greater levels of HIV-Luc infection than cells transfected with the empty pIRES2-eGFP vector [8, 9] (Fig. 1b). Cells transfected with each of the mutant LEDGF/p75 vectors supported infection at levels that were indistinguishable from WT LEDGF/p75; subtracting baseline LEDGF/p75-independent values and re-plotting mutant activity as percent WT function revealed marginally lower activity for the Q472L variant (Fig. 1c) that failed to attain statistical significance as determined by one-tailed Student's t-test (P = 0.32). Asp366 in the IBD makes critical contacts with the IN polypeptide backbone [15], and E6(−/−) cells were additionally transfected with the LEDGF/p75 mutant D366N vector as a positive control. As expected, despite its efficient expression (Fig. 1f), D366N supported HIV-Luc infection at a level that was indistinguishable from the negative control (Fig. 1d, e) [8]. The multiplicity of infection in this experiment was moreover varied to determine if a lower level of input virus might uncover defects in polymorphic mutant behavior. Each of the mutant proteins supported HIV-Luc infection at a level that was equal to or exceeded that of WT LEDGF/p75 (Fig. 1d–f). We conclude that human polymorphic variants I436S, Q472L, and T473I support efficient HIV-1 infection and integration under these conditions. Because two of the identified mutations abut one another in the primary sequence, and Q472L was previously shown to trend with lower viral loads [10], it is tempting to speculate that the changes nevertheless influence disease progression in ways that are not evident by bulk infectivity measure. Because initial RNAi knockdowns that failed to affect virus titer nonetheless altered the specificity of HIV-1 integration [16], the mutations may subtly alter integration specificity such that overall virus titer is unaffected ex vivo. The mutations moreover coincide with two predicted helix-turn-helix motifs that marginally reduce transcriptional co-activator activity in vitro [17] (Fig. 1a), suggesting that subtle affects on viral and/or host gene expression might potentially affect disease progression in vivo.

Astronomical Implications of Maya Hieroglyphic Notations at Xultun

IntroductionRecently, we' reported on the existence of a group of numerically related texts painted on the walls of a room in an early ninth-century A.D. residential house (structure 10K-2) in the Classic Maya city of Xultun, Guatemala. The texts, carefully executed in fine black line over colourful underlying murals pertaining to royal rituals, with which they appear to have no apparent connection, consist of a 162-lunar synodic month semester table and a group of four relatively large day tallies, ranging in length between 935 and 6704 tropical years, used to calculate commensurations among important calendrical and astronomical cycles. Though executed in a different medium, the numbers resemble those found in the codices, or bark paper books, dated to the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries; therefore the major significance of the discovery is that it pushes back by several centuries the archaeological evidentiary baseline for sophisticated Maya astronomical computations.Here we analyse the aforementioned inscriptions in detail not permitted, for want of space, in our original report. We also describe and interpret additional texts discovered since the submission of that report. We refer to three text areas: Area A, near the middle of the East Wall of Structure 10K-2; Area B, immediately to the left of Area A; and Area C, on the northeast corner of the north wall2 (Figure 1).Area A: A Lunar Semester TableA neatly composed, but badly eroded, 5 cm wide by 48 cm long text located in the middle of the east wall, about 40 cm above the level of the raised floor, consists of 27 columns of black dot and bar numerals. Each column is topped by one of three alternating forms of a glyph (Glyph C) identifiable with that used on monumental inscriptions to record moon positions in a semester cycle.3 It has long been known from studies of the monumental inscriptions that the Maya grouped lunar synodic months in semesters, or lunar half-years, consisting of six lunar synodic months made up of combinations of 29 and 30 days, totaling 177 (or 178) days.As first recognized by one of the authors (Stuart), the readable portion of the text below each of the glyphs leaves little doubt of its lunar function. The last two (the 26th and 27th) columns read 4606 (12.14.6) and 4784 (13.5.4), respectively, the difference between the two being 178 days. Moreover, subtracting 177 (178) from the 26th entry, one arrives at 4429 (4428) or 12.5.9 (12.5.8), which is consistent with the readable portion, 12.5.(7), of entry 25. Fragments of the remainder of the text are consistent with its being a table of 27 lunar semesters, 22 consisting of 177 days and five (including the 26th) of 177, totaling 4784 days,4 or 162 lunar synodic months. The implied average value of the lunar synodic month is 4784 days, or 29d.530864. This is a remarkable 0d.000278 short of the value ofthat period for epoch 800 A.D. (29d.530586).5 Absent the five days added in the 178-day entry columns, the time averaged synodic period would have produced a much less accurate, though nevertheless still impressive, lunar synodic period of 29?500000, 0d.030586 short of the epoch 800 A.D. value.The restored version of the Xultun Lunar Semester Table (hereinafter LST) is given in Figure 2. This text, the only one of its kind, surely functioned as an instrument to calculate, either backward or forward, the position of a particular moon in a Lunar Series statement. Such statements are found on numerous monumental inscriptions. They consist (usually) of the name of the semester in a trimester system, Jaguar Lord Semester (columns A, D, G, ... of Figure 1), Death Skull Semester (columns B, E, H, . . .), and Female Moon semester (columns C, F, I, . . .), followed by the numbered moon (1-6) in that particular semester, along with the age (phase) ofthat particular moon, usually measured from new moon = 0d; e.g. in Column B: Skull semester, fourth moon, day 2 (a thin waxing crescent, visible low in the west after sunset). …

Streptococcus suisand Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, Vietnam

<i>Streptococcus suis</i>and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, Vietnam

Finland is following the trend-sperm quality in Finnish men.

Finnish men have had a reputation for good semen quality. This was based on semen studies comparing Finnish men with other Europeans. However, those studies also showed that sperm concentrations of young men from the general population were only two-thirds of those of fertile men. Longitudinal follow-up of semen quality in young Finnish men showed a significant decline during 1998–2006, suggesting that Finland is following the global trend of impaired male reproductive health. In 1992, Carlsen et al.1 reported that mean sperm concentrations had decreased from 113×106 to 66×106 ml−1 between the years 1940 and 1990 (Figure 1). That systematic review included 61 studies from different countries,1 including one study from Finland.2 In the analysis, only studies of men with known fertility or studies of unselected men were included. The results of declining sperm concentrations were supported by a reanalysis of the studies (56 studies included) by Swan et al.3 and by an extended analysis by Swan et al.,4 which included altogether 101 studies published between the years 1934 and 1996. In these two latter analyses, a decline in sperm concentration in the United States/North America and in Europe was found, but not in non-western countries, where too few studies were available for a robust analysis. Significant inter- and intraregional differences in sperm concentrations were also observed.3 The World Health Organization-defined lower limit for normal sperm concentration has recently declined from 20 to 15 million ml−1,5 while in the past limit was 60 million ml−1.6 The aim of this paper is to present an updated review on possible temporal changes in sperm concentrations in Finland. Figure 1 Mean sperm concentration: world trend (according to Carlsen et al. 1992:1 black bars), Finnish studies on fertile men or normal men with unknown fertility (dark grey bars) and on unselected 19-year-old young men (light grey bars). Study periods in parenthesis. ...

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Traccatichthys tuberculum, a new species of nemacheiline loach from Guangdong Province, South China (Pisces: Balitoridae)

Traccatichthys tuberculum, new species, is herein described from the Jian-Jiang, a coastal river in Guangdong Province,South China. Photo by Bosco P.L. Chan. This new species differs from all other Chinese congeners (i.e., T. pulcher and T.zispi) in interorbital width, caudal-peduncle length, and pectoral-fin length. It, together with T. zispi, lacks the colorpatterns of the dorsal and anal fins in T. pulcher, and differs from T. zispi in preanal length. Traccatichthys tuberculum,together with all other Chinese congeners, is distinct from the Vietnamese species, T. taeniatus, in the shape of the black bar on the caudal-fin base, and the color pattern of the anal fin.

Schistura maejotigrina, a new stream loach (Pisces: Nemacheilidae) from northern Thailand

Schistura maejotigrina, new species, is described from Maechaem River, a tributary of Ping River, in the upper Chao Phra-ya River drainage, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. It is distinguished from all other species of Schistura in having 21–24dark tiger-stripe black bars on the side of the body and 6½–7½ branched dorsal soft rays. The species is medium-sized,reaching 53.0 mm SL (69.6 mm TL), and is known only from the Maechaem River system, Ping River drainage, northernChao Phraya River basin, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. It lives in fast running, clear water over a substrate of mixed gravel, small stone and sand.

A Role for Dopamine-Mediated Learning in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

Dopamine contributes to corticostriatal plasticity and motor learning. Dopamine denervation profoundly alters motor performance, as in Parkinson's disease (PD); however, the extent to which these symptoms reflect impaired motor learning is unknown. Here, we demonstrate a D2 receptor blockade-induced aberrant learning that impedes future motor performance when dopamine signaling is restored, an effect diminished by coadministration of adenosine antagonists during blockade. We hypothesize that an inappropriate corticostriatal potentiation in striatopallidal cells of the indirect pathway underlies aberrant learning. We demonstrate synaptic potentiation in striatopallidal neurons induced by D2 blockade and diminished by application of an adenosine antagonist, consistent with behavioral observations. A neurocomputational model of the basal ganglia recapitulates the behavioral pattern and further links aberrant learning to plasticity in the indirect pathway. Thus, D2-mediated aberrant learning may contribute to motor deficits in PD, suggesting new avenues for the development of therapeutics.

Betta mahachaiensis, a new species of bubble-nesting fighting fish (Teleostei: Osphronemidae) from Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand

Betta mahachaiensis, a new species of fighting fish belonging to the Betta splendens group, is described. The fish inhabitsspecifically sites with brackish water and nipa palms in the Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. It is distinguishable from othermembers of the B. splendens group in having an iridescent green/bluish-green appearance on the brown-to-black bodybackground. The opercular membrane has brown-to-black colour without red streaks or patches. The opercle has two paralleliridescent green or bluish-green vertical bars. Its dorsal, caudal, and anal fin rays are brown to black, contrasting with theiridescent green or bluish-green of the interradial membrane. Black transverse bars are present on at least the proximal two-thirds of the dorsal fin, but not on the caudal fin. The colour of the pelvic fins is brown to black with an iridescent green/ bluish-green front margin and a white tip. Females possess similar characters but are less colourful than males.

Corrigendum

CorrigendumCorrigendumPublished Online:15 Oct 2012https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.zh0-7089-corr.2012Original articleMoreSectionsPDF (1 MB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInWeChat Volume 303, September 2012Volume 72, September 2012Calve S, Isaac J, Gumucio JP, Mendias CL. Hyaluronic acid, HAS1, and HAS2 are significantly upregulated during muscle hypertrophy. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 303: , 2012. First published July 11, 2012; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00057.2012 (http://ajpcell.physiology.org/content/303/5/C577).—In results, Figs. 8 and 9 were presented incorrectly. The corrected Figs. 8 and 9 appear below. In addition, in the section entitled “Differential expression of MMPs,” the first sentence should read as “The expression pattern of MMP-2 suggests that it plays a role during hypertrophic growth (Fig. 9).”Fig. 8.HAS1–HAS3 and the hyaluronidases are differentially expressed in response to hypertrophic overload. A and B: HAS1 and HAS2 were significantly upregulated in response to tenectomy with HAS1 displaying an additional effect of time. C–E: HAS3 and Hyal2 in overloaded muscles did not vary from controls at any time point, whereas Hyal1 was slightly, but significantly, increased in response to tenectomy. F: two-way ANOVA was performed on overloaded and control muscles within each primer set to determine the effect of time and tenectomy on gene expression. Bonferroni's post hoc test was utilized to assess significant differences in relative copy number between control and tenectomy and time after tenectomy (*P < 0.05). Data from overloaded plantaris were normalized to age-matched controls and, for each time point after tenectomy, control values were plotted on the left and overloaded on the right (black bars). Values are presented as means ± SD; n ≥ 3 mice.Download figureDownload PowerPointFig. 9.MMPs and their regulators TIMP1 and TIMP2 are differentially expressed in response to hypertrophic overload. A: MMP2 expression was initially suppressed at 2 days and then increased by 14 days with a 5.8-fold upregulation compared with controls. B: in contrast, MMP9 showed the greatest upregulation at 2 days and decreased to control values at 7 and 14 days. C: similar to MMP2, MMP14 expression was enhanced 1.2- to 11.3-fold between 2–14 days. D and E: 2 MMP regulators, TIMP1 and TIMP2 displayed reverse trends in expression where TIMP1 was greatly upregulated at 2 days and significantly decreased from 98- to 41-fold upregulation and TIMP2 was more modestly expressed, increasing from baseline values to 2.6-fold over controls by 14 days. F: two-way ANOVA was performed on overloaded and control muscles within each primer set to determine the effect of time and tenectomy on gene expression. Bonferroni's post hoc test was utilized to assess significant differences in relative copy number between control and tenectomy and time after tenectomy (*P < 0.05). Data from overloaded plantaris were normalized to age-matched controls and, for each time point after tenectomy, control values were plotted on the left and overloaded on the right (black bars). Values are presented as means ± SD; n ≥ 3 mice.Download figureDownload PowerPointThis article has no references to display. Download PDF Previous Back to Top FiguresReferencesRelatedInformationRelated ArticlesHyaluronic acid, HAS1, and HAS2 are significantly upregulated during muscle hypertrophy 01 Sep 2012American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology More from this issue > Volume 303Issue 8October 2012Pages C895-C896 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2012 the American Physiological Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.zh0-7089-corr.2012History Published online 15 October 2012 Published in print 15 October 2012 Metrics

Phylogenetic diagnosis and expanded description of the genus Mazarunia Kullander, 1990 (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the upper Mazaruni River, Guyana, with description of two new species

We expand the description of the genus Mazarunia Kullander, 1990, explore morphological diagnostic characters for the genus and for its sister-group relationship with Guianacara Kullander &amp; Nijssen, 1989 in a phylogenetic context, expand the description of M. mazarunii and describe two new species. Mazarunia can be diagnosed by the combination of numerous anatomical traits, including the unique loss of infraorbital 6, the configuration of the first epibranchial in two of the species, a well-developed posteroventral lateral expansion of the palatine that is largely contiguous with the ectopterygoid, the absence of a suture between the hyomandibular and the metapterygoid, the absence of an interarcual cartilage, fourth ceratobranchial with 2 or 3 tooth plates, a caudally scaled interoperculum, equal-sized scales in the ventral and lateral chest regions, a simple, disjunct pattern of lateral line squamation, and smooth preopercle, supracleithrum and extrascapula. Species of Mazarunia can be further distinguished from species of their sister-genus Guianacara by their distinct color patterns. Mazarunia charadrica, new species, can be distinguished from other species of Mazarunia, among other characters, by approximately equal uncinate process and anterior arm and reduced anteroventral expansion of epibranchial 1 (vs. uncinate process narrower and complete anteroventral expansion in the other two species), a dorso-ventrally flattened maxillary process of the palatine (vs. cylindrical in the other two species), cycloid (vs. ctenoid) scales in the opercular, postorbital, lateral chest and anal-genital regions, the absence of a mid-lateral spot, and a diffuse dark area covering the dorsal portion of the head giving the impression of a "black cap". Mazarunia charadrica has a unique juvenile pattern of seven vertical dark bars partially preserved in adults. Bars 3-6 in antero-caudal direction are most visible in juveniles and medium-sized specimens but become fainter and almost disappear in adults. Many specimens show only bar number 3 (midlateral bar). Mazarunia mazarunii can be distinguished from all other species of Mazarunia by the presence of two foramina (vs. one) on the lateral face of the ascending process of the premaxilla, a lachrymal bone that is longer than deep (vs. deeper than long), an infraorbital 3 that is contiguous but not overlapping with the lachrymal (vs. overlapping), ctenoid scales (vs. cycloid) on the subopercle, interopercle and chest, and by its unique coloration, including complete suborbital and supraorbital stripes, and being the only species of Mazarunia with a discernible lateral band formed by the mid-line blotching pattern associated with lateral bars. In large adults, M. mazarunii has a black or dark bar behind the head that produces the impression of a collar. Mazarunia pala, new species, can be distinguished from its congeners by the absence of a parhypurapophysis, the presence of a dorsal-fin scaly pad with ctenoid scales (vs. no scaly pad in M. charadrica and M. mazarunii), a small suborbital stripe limited to the preopercle, the absence of clearly discernible lateral bars on the body, and by its general pinkish coloration with midlateral spot as the only melanic marking. All known species of Mazarunia are restricted to the upper reaches of the Mazaruni River basin in Guyana.

Correction: Functional Characterization of EngAMS, a P-Loop GTPase of Mycobacterium smegmatis

The legends for Supporting Information Figures S1, S2, and S3 were incorrectly switched. The correct legends for Supporting Information Figures S1, S2, and S3 are: '''Figure S1. Comparative analysis of engA locus organizations in different mycobacterial species.''' Organizations of genes in engA locus of different mycobacterial species were analyzed by genome region comparison” tool of CMR database (http://cmr.jcvi.orghttp://cmr.jcvi.org/>). [^] Analysis of engA locus in different mycobacterial species indicates a conserved occurrence of genes preceding engA, which encode cytidylate kinase (cmk), ribosomal large subunit pseudouridine synthase B (rluB), segregation and condensation protein B (scpB), and segregation and condensation protein A (scpA), respectively. '''Figure S2. Phylogenetic tree analysis of microbial EngA proteins.''' An unrooted Phylogenetic tree was constructed from an alignment of MSMEG_3738 with the orthologous sequences as listed in Table 1, by using neighbor joining method [27]. The numbers in the parenthesis next to each organism represent the calculated distance values that reflect the degree of divergence between all pairs of sequences analyzed. '''Figure S3. Alignment of MSMEG_3738 with EngA protein sequences of other mycobacterial species.''' Homologues of MSMEG_3738 were identified by blastp homology searches in different mycobacterial species that include M. abscessus (Mab), M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis K-10 (Map K-10), M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis S397 (Map S-397), M. gilvum (Mgi), M. intracellulare (Min), M. kansasii (Mka), M. leprae (Mle), M. marinum (Mma), M. parascrofulaceum (Mpa), M. tuberculosis EAS054 (Mtu EAS054), M. tuberculosis H37Rv (Mtu H37Rv), M. ulcerans (Mul), M. vanbaalenii (Mva), Mycobacterium Sp. JDM601and Mycobacterium Sp. MCS, and aligned using AlignX program of Vector NTI software as described in materials and methods section. The number in parentheses before each sequence represents the position of amino acid residue of EngA protein sequence in the alignment. The numbers at the top of the alignment are the positions of the multiple sequence alignment. Color codes for amino acid residues at a given position are as follows: 1) red on yellow: identical residues; 2) black on green: block of similar residues; 3) blue on cyan: conserved residues; 4) green on white: residues weakly similar to consensus residue; 5) black on white: non-similar residues. Positions of the conserved motifs in corresponding G-domains, D1 and D2 are mentioned below the aligned sequences, as represented by black bars. Sequences in the box represent switch regions in each of the two G-domains.

Ciguatoxins activate specific cold pain pathways to elicit burning pain from cooling

Ciguatoxins are sodium channel activator toxins that cause ciguatera, the most common form of ichthyosarcotoxism, which presents with peripheral sensory disturbances, including the pathognomonic symptom of cold allodynia which is characterized by intense stabbing and burning pain in response to mild cooling. We show that intraplantar injection of P-CTX-1 elicits cold allodynia in mice by targeting specific unmyelinated and myelinated primary sensory neurons. These include both tetrodotoxin-resistant, TRPA1-expressing peptidergic C-fibres and tetrodotoxin-sensitive A-fibres. P-CTX-1 does not directly open heterologously expressed TRPA1, but when co-expressed with Na(v) channels, sodium channel activation by P-CTX-1 is sufficient to drive TRPA1-dependent calcium influx that is responsible for the development of cold allodynia, as evidenced by a large reduction of excitatory effect of P-CTX-1 on TRPA1-deficient nociceptive C-fibres and of ciguatoxin-induced cold allodynia in TRPA1-null mutant mice. Functional MRI studies revealed that ciguatoxin-induced cold allodynia enhanced the BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) signal, an effect that was blunted in TRPA1-deficient mice, confirming an important role for TRPA1 in the pathogenesis of cold allodynia.