This paper describes an analog chat network in Bandung, Indonesia known as ‘interkom.’ Interkom is a network that links together the homes, food stalls and farms of a segment of Bandung’s urban and peri-urban underclass. Interkom is interesting because it provides the occasion for users to reflect upon and manipulate the material and ideological conditions that shape experiences of self, talk a...

A novel human G protein-coupled receptor named AXOR12, exhibiting 81% homology to the rat orphan receptor GPR54, was cloned from a human brain cDNA library. Heterologous expression of AXOR12 in mammalian cells permitted the identification of three surrogate agonist peptides, all with a common C-terminal amidated motif. High potency agonism, indicative of a cognate ligand, was evident from pepti...

The temperature dependence of Ca(2+)-triggered exocytosis was studied using carbon fiber amperometry to record the release of norepinephrine from PC12 cells. Single-vesicle fusion events were examined at temperatures varying from 12 to 28 degrees C, and with release elicited by depolarization. Measurements were made of the initial and maximum frequencies of exocytotic events, of fusion pore lif...

The extent to which a "kiss-and-run" mode of endocytosis contributes to synaptic-vesicle recycling remains controversial. The only genetic evidence for kiss-and-run at the synapse comes from mutations in the genes encoding synaptojanin and endophilin, proteins that together function to uncoat vesicles in classical clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Here we have characterized the endocytosis that pe...

The Golgi apparatus (GA) is the main station along the secretory pathway. Mechanisms of intra-Golgi transport remain unresolved. Three models compete with each other for the right to be defined as the paradigm. The vesicular model cannot explain the following: (1) lipid droplets and aggregates of procollagen that are larger than coatomer I (COPI)-dependent vesicles are transported across the GA...

This study investigated the effect of social skills on the facial movement asymmetry in facial expressions. Threedimensional facial landmark data of facial expressions (neutral, happy, and angry) were obtained from Japanese participants (n = 62). After the facial expression task, each participant completed KiSS-18 (Kikuchi’s Scale of Social Skills; Kikuchi, 2007). Through a generalized Procrust...

Exocytotic release of neuropeptides and hormones is generally believed to involve the complete merger of the secretory vesicle with the plasma membrane. However, recent data have suggested that "kiss-and-run" mechanisms may also play a role. Here, we have examined the dynamics of exocytosis in pancreatic MIN6 beta cells by imaging lumen- (neuropeptide Y/pH-insensitive yellow fluorescent protein...

CubeSats are excellent platforms to rapidly perform simple space experiments. Several hundreds of CubeSats have already been successfully launched in the past few years and the number of announced launches grows every year. These platforms provide an easy access to space for universities and organizations which otherwise could not afford it. However, these spacecraft still rely on RF communicat...

Accumulating evidence suggests that the kinetics of release from single secretory vesicles can be regulated and that quantal size can be modified during fast kiss-and-run fusion. Multiple pathways for vesicle retrieval have been identified involving clathrin and dynamin. It has been unclear whether dynamin could participate in a fast kiss-and-run process to reclose a transient fusion pore and t...

he story of how children learn to seems at f i rs t be a simple one: At a very early age they begin by scribbling with any available marker on any available surface. At first the children’s drawings are simple, clumsy and unrealistic; gradually they become more technically skilled and realistic. But the development of drawing is not quite so simple and straightforward. In fact, the story turns ...