Neural circuits exploit numerous strategies for encoding information. Although the functional significance of individual coding mechanisms has been investigated, ways in which multiple mechanisms interact and integrate are not well understood. The locust olfactory system, in which dense, transiently synchronized spike trains across ensembles of antenna lobe (AL) neurons are transformed into a s...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs), hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and Kupffer cells (KCs) are involved in the development of liver fibrosis and represent a potential therapeutic target. The therapeutic effects on liver fibrosis of sorafenib, a multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and gadolinium chloride (GdCl3), which depletes KCs, were evaluated in rats. METHODS Liver f...

Senile lentigo (SL) is a common hyperpigmented disorder that typically develops in chronically sun-exposed skin. It already known the accumulation of melanosomes keratinocytes (KCs) caused by activated melanocytes and delayed turnover accompanied aberrant epidermal differentiation. Some histological analyses show hyperplasia composed pigmented KCs SL. However, these mechanisms SL have been poor...

AIM To investigate the effect of mild steatotic liver on ischemia-reperfusion injury by focusing on Kupffer cells (KCs) and platelets. METHODS Wistar rats were divided into a normal liver group (N group) and a mild steatotic liver group (S group) induced by feeding a choline-deficient diet for 2 wk. Both groups were subjected to 20 min of warm ischemia followed by 120 min of reperfusion. The ...

24 High fructose feeding impairs copper status and leads to low copper availability, which is 25 a novel mechanism in obesity related fatty liver. Copper deficiency associated hepatic 26 iron overload likely plays an important role in fructose-induced liver injury. Excess iron 27 in the liver is distributed throughout hepatocytes and Kupffer cells (KCs). The aim of this 28 study was to examine ...

PURPOSE To describe, apply, and test a new ocular grading system for assessing keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) using lissamine green and fluorescein. DESIGN Prospective, observational, multicenter cohort study. METHODS The National Institutes of Health-funded Sjögren's Syndrome International Registry (called Sjögren's International Collaborative Clinical Alliance [SICCA]) is developing sta...

Restoration of epidermal barrier (epithelialization), is a major component of cutaneous response to stress imposed by wounding. Learning physiologic regulation of epithelialization may lead to novel treatments of chronic wounds. The non-canonical ligands of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors SLURP (secreted mammalian Ly-6/urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor-related proteins)-1 and -2 a...

Noisy or spontaneous activity is common in neural systems and poses a challenge to detecting and discriminating signals. Here we use the locust to answer fundamental questions about noise in the olfactory system: Where does spontaneous activity originate? How is this activity propagated or reduced throughout multiple stages of neural processing? What mechanisms favor the detection of signals de...

Severe heat stroke (HS) consists of extreme hyperthermia with thermoregulatory failure, leading to high morbidity and mortality. Liver injury is a complication of HS that is associated with inflammatory responses and Kupffer cells (KCs), which are resident macrophages in the liver that serve as a major source of inflammatory cytokines; however, the association and the underlying mechanisms of K...

BACKGROUND Drosophila olfactory aversive conditioning produces two components of intermediate-term memory: anesthesia-sensitive memory (ASM) and anesthesia-resistant memory (ARM). Recently, the anterior paired lateral (APL) neuron innervating the whole mushroom body (MB) has been shown to modulate ASM via gap-junctional communication in olfactory conditioning. Octopamine (OA), an invertebrate a...