Damage by ozone to the mechanical integrity of the protoplast plasmalemma

Summary Ozone acts on the plasmalemma as to weaken its mechanical properties. This results in the bursting of protoplasts.This work was carried ont with the help of a grant by the FCAC, Ministère de l'Education du Québec, Canada.     

Étude génétique de mutants Mal induits par la nitrosoguanidine chezEscherichia coli

Summary In the course of the present investigations, NG induced Mal mutants ofE. coli B were subjected to the following studies: 1. mutation rate for different genetical characters; 2. frequency of reversion to wild type; 3. classification of Mal UV^s mutants formalA ormalB; 4. genetical analysis of themalB UV^s mutants. It was found that approximately 40% of the Ma1 UV^s mutants mapped atmalA and 60% atmalB.

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Ce travail a été réalisé grâce au support financier du Conseil National des Recherches du Canada.     

Metallothionein promotes regenerative axonal sprouting of dorsal root ganglion neurons after physical axotomy

Prior studies have reported that metallothionein I/II (MT) promote regenerative axonal sprouting and neurite elongation of a variety of central nervous system neurons after injury. In this study, we evaluated whether MT is capable of modulating regenerative axon outgrowth of neurons from the peripheral nervous system. The effect of MT was firstly investigated in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) explants, where axons were scratch-injured in the presence or absence of exogenous MT. The application of MT led to a significant increase in regenerative sprouting of neurons 16 h after injury. We show that the pro-regenerative effect of MT involves an interaction with the low-density lipoprotein receptor megalin, which could be blocked using the competitive antagonist RAP. Pre-treatment with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor PD98059 also completely abrogated the effect of exogenous MT in promoting axonal outgrowth. Interestingly, we only observed megalin expression in neuronal soma and not axons in the DRG explants. To investigate this matter, an in vitro injury model was established using Campenot chambers, which allowed the application of MT selectively into either the axonal or cell body compartments after scratch injury was performed to axons. At 16 h after injury, regenerating axons were significantly longer only when exogenous MT was applied solely to the soma compartment, in accordance with the localized expression of megalin in neuronal cell bodies. This study provides a clear indication that MT promotes axonal regeneration of DRG neurons, via a megalin- and MAPK-dependent mechanism.     

PINK1 stimulates interleukin-1β-mediated inflammatory signaling via the positive regulation of TRAF6 and TAK1

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The cause of neuronal death in PD is largely unknown, but several genetic loci, including PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1), have been linked to early onset autosomal recessive forms of familial PD. PINK1 encodes a serine/threonine kinase, which phosphorylates several substrates and consequently leads to cell protection against apoptosis induced by various stresses. In addition, research has shown that inflammation largely contributes to the pathogenesis of PD, but the functional link between PINK1 and PD-linked neuroinflammation remains poorly understood. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the functional role of PINK1 in interleukin (IL)-1β-mediated inflammatory signaling. We show that PINK1 specifically binds to TRAF6 and TAK1, and facilitates the autodimerization and autoubiquitination of TRAF6. PINK1 also enhances the association between TRAF6 and TAK1, phosphorylates TAK1, and stimulates polyubiquitination of TAK1. Furthermore, PINK1 leads to the potentiation of IL-1β-mediated NF-κB activity and cytokine production. These findings suggest that PINK1 positively regulates two key molecules, TRAF6 and TAK1, in the IL-1β-mediated signaling pathway, consequently up-regulating their downstream inflammatory events.     

Key factors for efficiently implementing customized e-learning system in the service industry

In recent years,e-learning system has been adopted as a training tool in many firms,as it can help employees to complete training in a short time and at a low cost.Within this context,since 2003 the Industrial Development Bureau(IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs(MOEA) in Taiwan sponsored more than 50 enterprises each year to help them implement customized e-learning systems. Past research on e-learning mostly focused on one criterion and adopted regression approach,such as examining the relationsh...     

Function and regulation of Dyrk1A: towards understanding Down syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) is associated with a variety of symptoms, such as incapacitating mental retardation and neurodegeneration (i.e., Alzheimer’s disease), that prevent patients from leading fully independent lives. These phenotypes are a direct consequence of the overexpression of chromosome 21 genes, which are present in duplicate due to non-disjunction of chromosome 21. Accumulating data suggest that the chromosome 21 gene product, dual-specificity tyrosine-(Y)-phosphorylation regulated kinase 1A (Dyrk1A), participates in the pathogenic mechanisms underlying the mental and other physical symptoms of DS. In this review, we summarize the evidence supporting a role for Dyrk1A in DS, especially DS pathogenesis. Recently, several natural and synthetic compounds have been identified as Dyrk1A inhibitors. Understanding the function and regulation of Dyrk1A may lead to the development of novel therapeutic agents aimed at treating DS.     

聚甲基乙撑碳酸酯的交联

利用过氧化物过氧化二异丙苯（DCP）和多官能团化合物三烯丙基异氰尿酸酯（TAIC），对聚甲基乙撑碳酸酯（PPC）进行了交联研究。研究发现，DCP和TAIC的用量对PPC的交联均有较大影响，PPC交联后，其凝胶含量、机械性能、弹性模量、玻璃化转变温度均有所增加，1％的DCP和4％的TAIC用量可得到较理想的交联PPC材料。