Growth cones are dynamic, actin-rich structures at the tips of developing axons that lead the axon to its correct target by responding to extracellular guidance cues. In general, attractive cues are thought to stimulate growth cone actin assembly, while repulsive cues induce actin depoly-merization. McConnell et al. fi nd, however , that Slit ligands repel dorsal root ganglion (DRG) axons by in...

For the “two-slit experiment”, determination of the slit traversed destroys interference. In our explicit quantum calculation such decoherence arises from entanglement, rather than from the uncertainty principle or phase randomization. Slit determination causes no transverse momentum transfer. We also show how some significant interactions (e.g., reflection) do not lead to entanglement.

Strong resonant transmission of microwave radiation through a very narrow (much less than the radiation wavelength) metallic slit is recorded. The results show that a set of resonant self-coupled surface plasmons are excited within the small gap, giving a Fabry-Pérot-like behavior in accord with analytical results published earlier [Y. Takakura, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5601 (2001)]. The metallic s...

BACKGROUND Both SCIT (subcutaneous immunotherapy) and SLIT (sublingual immunotherapy) have clinical and immunologic efficacy in children with rhinitis and asthma but comparative studies are scarce. OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical and immunological efficacy of mite-specific SLIT and SCIT in children with rhinitis and asthma. METHOD Thirty children monosensitized to house dust mite were...

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a guidelines-approved, disease-modifying treatment option for respiratory allergies, including allergic rhinitis (AR) induced by pollen. The various AIT regimens employed to date in pollen-induced AR can be classified as continuous (i.e. year-round) or discontinuous (i.e. pre-seasonal alone, co-seasonal alone or pre- and co-seasonal). Pre-and co-seasonal regimens...

The Slit proteins are a new family of secreted guidance cues involved in axon guidance and neuronal migration. Each mammalian Slit protein contains >1400 amino acid residues, with four leucine-rich regions (LRRs), nine epidermal growth factor repeats, a laminin G domain, and a C-terminal cysteine-rich domain. A receptor for Slit is the transmembrane protein Roundabout (Robo), whose extracellula...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) migrate from the olfactory epithelium towards the olfactory bulb during development. However, the guidance mechanism for OEC migration remains a mystery. Here we show that migrating OECs expressed the receptor of the repulsive guidance factor Slit-2. A gradient of Slit-2 in front of cultured OECs first caused the collapse of the leading front, then the reversa...