The determination of left-right body asymmetry in mouse embryos depends on the interplay of molecules in a highly sensitive structure, the node. Here, we show that the localization of Cerl2 protein does not correlate to its mRNA expression pattern, from 3-somite stage onwards. Instead, Cerl2 protein displays a nodal flow-dependent dynamic behavior that controls the activity of Nodal in the node...

A 74-year-old woman with extensive lichen planus mucosae (LPM) developed stenotic esophagitis that was refractory to intravenous glucocorticosteroids. Esophageal dilatations to 14 mm width were repeatedly performed without any lasting effect. After introducing oral apremilast, she experienced complete clinical remission within the first 4 weeks of treatment. Control esophagoscopy confirmed a ma...

In this paper, foveated vision for scene exploration is implemented. The peripheral and central vision are the basic capabilities of foveated vision. The informations obtained from the peripheral vision are used to determine the next gaze point. Due to the low resolution of the periphery, however, the determination is not always appropriate. To solve this problem, we propose to evaluate the tar...

The quantitative assessment of enzyme activities in situ in single muscle fibres is essential for understanding the functions of skeketal muscles. The function of the lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) is not fully understood because it is a deeply located masticatory muscle and cannot be dissected in an intact configuration. Here we report how to measure the activities of mitochondrial succinate d...

OBJECTIVE Short-term administration of estradiol (E2) improves insulin-stimulated glucose disposal rate in early postmenopausal (EPM) women compared with a reduction in late postmenopausal (LPM) women. The underlying mechanisms by which E2 action on glucose disposal rate reversed from beneficial early to harmful late in menopause is unknown, but might include adverse changes in estrogen recepto...

Live poultry markets (LPMs) are crucial places for human infection of influenza A (H7N9 virus). In Yangtze River Delta, LPMs were closed after the outbreak of human infection with avian influenza A (H7N9) virus, and then reopened when no case was found. Our purpose was to quantify the effect of LPMs' operations in this region on the transmission of influenza A (H7N9) virus. We obtained informat...

Lanthanide (Ln) binding to humic acid (HA) has been investigated by combining ultrafiltration and ICP-MS techniques. A Langmuir-sorption-isotherm metal-complexation model was used in conjunction with a linear programming method (LPM) to fit experimental data representing various experimental conditions both in HA/Ln ratio (varying between 5 and 20) and in pH range (from 2 to 10) with an ionic s...

Tight and adhering junctions are important in maintaining the integrity of the epididymal epithelium and formation of the blood epididymal barrier, which are crucial for sperm maturation and storage. The composition of the catenin-adhering junctional family of proteins and their relationship with tight junctions remain to be established in the epididymis. In the normal adult rat epididymis, imm...

The number of murine MB6A lymphosarcoma cells that infiltrated rat hepatocyte cultures was found to be diminished after treatment of the lymphosarcoma cells with univalent antibodies raised against these tumour cells (anti-MB6A Fab), and also after treatment of the hepatocyte cultures with univalent antibodies directed against rat liver plasma membranes (anti-LPM Fab). The inhibition of infiltr...

Traditionally, the cartilaginous viscerocranium of vertebrates is considered as neural crest (NC)-derived. Morphological work carried out on amphibian embryos in the first half of the XX century suggested potentially mesodermal origin for some hyobranchial elements. Since then, the embryonic sources of the hyobranchial apparatus in amphibians has not been investigated due to lack of an appropri...