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4-Trimethylammonium antipyrine: a quaternary ammonium nonradionuclide marker for blood-brain barrier integrity during in vivo microdialysis.

The well-controlled microdialysis (MD) study of substance permeation into brain extracellular fluid (ECF) and cerebrospinal fluid requires consideration of blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, which might be compromised by microdialysis probe implantation. Others have assessed BBB integrity with radionuclide markers. A nonradionuclide marker may be desirable in many studies. A charged antipyrine analogue may be useful to determine BBB integrity with concomitant antipyrine characterization of probe efficiency (Yokel et al., 1992, J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods 27:135-142), and may not require another analytical technique. We synthesized, validated, and evaluated 4-trimethylammonium antipyrine (4TMA-AP) as a BBB integrity marker. BBB permeation was determined by calculation of a BBB integrity percentage (Pi) from brain/blood concentrations. The PiS of Evan's blue, which does not permeate the intact BBB, and 4TMA-AP were not significantly different in rats without known BBB disruption, suggesting a lack of 4TMA-AP permeation through the intact BBB. When MD probes were slowly implanted into the frontal cortex, 4TMA-AP PiS were usually zero. Intracarotid oleic acid injection to open the BBB significantly increased 4TMA-AP PiS, suggesting that 4TMA-AP entered brain ECF when the BBB was compromised. Rapid probe implantation produced increased 4TMA-AP PiS, suggesting BBB disruption. The predicted appearance of 4TMA-AP in brain ECF suggests that it is a BBB integrity marker.

Animals↗

Effect of different procedures of ejaculate collection, extenders and packages on DNA integrity of boar spermatozoa following freezing-thawing.

Whole ejaculate or sperm-rich fraction, collected from four sexually mature boars, was frozen in an extender containing lactose-hen egg yolk with glycerol (lactose-HEY-G) or extender containing lactose, lyophilized lipoprotein fractions isolated from ostrich egg yolk and glycerol (lactose-LPFo-G), and Orvus Es Paste, respectively. The sperm samples were also frozen in a standard boar semen extender (Kortowo-3), without the addition of cryoprotective substances. Sperm DNA integrity was assessed using a modified neutral comet assay. Sperm characteristics such as motility, plasma membrane integrity (SYBR-14/PI), mitochondrial function (rhodamine 123) and acrosome integrity were monitored. Freezing-thawing caused a significant increase (P<0.05) in sperm DNA fragmentation, irrespective of the procedures of ejaculate collection and extender type. Sperm DNA fragmentation was significantly lower (P<0.05) in the whole ejaculate compared with the sperm-rich fraction, indicating that spermatozoa maintained in the whole seminal plasma prior to its removal for freezing-thawing procedure were less vulnerable to cryo-induced DNA fragmentation. Furthermore, spermatozoa frozen in lactose-HEY-G or lactose-LPFo-G extender exhibited lower (P<0.05) DNA fragmentation than those frozen in the absence of cryoprotective substances. The levels of sperm DNA damage, as expressed by comet tail length and tail moment values, were significantly higher (P<0.05) in sperm samples frozen in the absence of cryoprotective substances. The deterioration in post-thaw sperm DNA integrity was concurrent with reduced sperm characteristics. It can be suggested that evaluation of DNA integrity, coupled with different sperm characteristics such as motility, plasma membrane integrity and mitochondrial function, may aid in determining the quality of frozen-thawed boar semen.

Animals↗

Reduction, integration and emergence in biochemical networks.

Most studies of molecular cell biology are based upon a process of decomposition of complex biological systems into their components, followed by the study of these components. The aim of the present paper is to discuss, on a physical basis, the internal logic of this process of reduction. The analysis is performed on simple biological systems, namely protein and metabolic networks. A multi-sited protein that binds two ligands x and y can be considered the simplest possible biochemical network. The organization of this network can be described through a comparison of three systems, i.e. XY, X and Y. X and Y are component sub-systems that collect states x(i) and y(j), respectively, i.e. protein states that have bound either i molecules of x (whether or not these states have also bound y), or j molecules of y (whether or not these states have bound x). XY is a system made up of the specific association of X and Y that collects states x(i)y(j). One can define mean self-informations per node of the network, , and . Reduction of the system XY into its components is possible if, and only if, ,is equal to the sum of and . If is smaller than the sum of and , the system is integrated, for it has less self-information than the set of its components X and Y. It can also occur that , be larger than the sum of and . Hence, the system XY displays negative integration and emergence of self-information relative to its components X and Y. Such a system is defined as complex. Positive or negative integration of the system implies it cannot be reduced to its components. The degree of integration can be measured by a function , called mutual information of integration. In the case of enzyme networks, emergence of self-information is associated with emergence of catalytic activity. Moreover, if the enzyme reaction is part of a metabolic sequence, its mutual information of integration can be increased by an effect of context of this sequence.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗

Frontopolar cortex mediates abstract integration in analogy.

Integration of abstractly similar relations during analogical reasoning was investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Activation elicited by an analogical reasoning task that required both complex working memory and integration of abstractly similar relations was compared to activation elicited by a non-analogical task that required complex working memory in the absence of abstract relational integration. A left-sided region of the frontal pole of the brain (BA 9/10) was selectively active for the abstract relational integration component of analogical reasoning. Analogical reasoning also engaged a left-sided network of parieto-frontal regions. Activity in this network during analogical reasoning is hypothesized to reflect categorical alignment of individual component terms that make up analogies. This parieto-frontal network was also engaged by the complex control task, which involved explicit categorization, but not by a simpler control task, which did not involve categorization. We hypothesize that frontopolar cortex mediates abstract relational integration in complex reasoning while parieto-frontal regions mediate working memory processes, including manipulation of terms for the purpose of categorical alignment, that facilitate this integration.

Adult↗

Choosing EMG parameters: comparison of different onset determination algorithms and EMG integrals in a joint stability study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to test various algorithms for onset determination and compare onset repeatability to that from integrals of the EMG signal. The information contained in both parameters is discussed. DESIGN: Onset times were calculated using six different algorithms. The integral of the EMG signal was calculated for seven intervals: from tilt start and from each of the resulting onsets to 200 ms after tilt start. BACKGROUND: EMG onset times are often utilised, especially regarding co-ordination patterns or joint stability. There are almost as many different procedures for onset determination as authors dealing with it. Results in the literature are contradictory. The determination and usage of onset times remains controversial. METHODS: EMG signals from six muscles of the lower leg of 23 subjects were recorded during three consecutive, expected and unexpected sudden inversion and eversion trials while standing on a tilting platform. RESULTS: In most cases the repeatability of the onset times was considerably lower than that of the integrals of the EMG for all studied algorithms. In some cases earlier onset times corresponded to lower integral values and constant onsets to variable integrals. CONCLUSIONS: In many cases onset times alone are not sufficient for describing onset phenomena. The additional calculation of the integrated EMG might provide relevant information regarding the quality of early activation.

Adult↗

Semantic integration and syntactic planning in language production.

Five experiments, using a subject-verb agreement error elicitation procedure, investigated syntactic planning processes in production. The experiments examined the influence of semantic integration--the degree to which phrases are tightly linked at the conceptual level--and contrasted two accounts of planning: serial stack-based systems and parallel activation-based systems. Serial stack-based systems rely on memory-shifting processes to coordinate ongoing planning. Memory-shifting should be easier for more integrated phrases, resulting in fewer errors. Parallel, activation-based systems, on the other hand, maintain multiple representations simultaneously in memory. More integrated phrases will be more likely to be processed together, resulting in increased interference and more errors. Participants completed stimuli like The drawing of/with the flower(s), which varied local noun number (flower(s)) and the relationship between the head (drawing) and local noun. In some constructions, the nouns were tightly integrated (e.g., of), whereas in others the relationship was looser (e.g., with, specifying accompaniment). In addition to the well-established local noun mismatch effect (more errors for plural than for singular local nouns), all experiments revealed larger mismatch error effects following tightly integrated stimuli. These results are compatible with parallel activation-based accounts and cannot be explained by serial, memory-shift-based accounts. The experiments and three meta-analyses also ruled out alternative accounts based on plausibility, argumenthood, conceptual number, clause packaging, or hierarchical feature-passing, reinforcing the general finding that error rates increase with degree of semantic integration.

Humans↗

Audiovisual integration of speech falters under high attention demands.

One of the most commonly cited examples of human multisensory integration occurs during exposure to natural speech, when the vocal and the visual aspects of the signal are integrated in a unitary percept. Audiovisual association of facial gestures and vocal sounds has been demonstrated in nonhuman primates and in prelinguistic children, arguing for a general basis for this capacity. One critical question, however, concerns the role of attention in such multisensory integration. Although both behavioral and neurophysiological studies have converged on a preattentive conceptualization of audiovisual speech integration, this mechanism has rarely been measured under conditions of high attentional load, when the observers' attention resources are depleted. We tested the extent to which audiovisual integration was modulated by the amount of available attentional resources by measuring the observers' susceptibility to the classic McGurk illusion in a dual-task paradigm. The proportion of visually influenced responses was severely, and selectively, reduced if participants were concurrently performing an unrelated visual or auditory task. In contrast with the assumption that crossmodal speech integration is automatic, our results suggest that these multisensory binding processes are subject to attentional demands.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Split marker transformation increases homologous integration frequency in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Gene disruption in Cryptococcus neoformans can be problematic due to high frequencies of ectopic integration and telomerization. To improve the frequency of homologous integration, a transformation strategy was employed called split marker, which utilizes a mixture of DNAs comprised of overlapping truncations of the selectable marker. Five genes were compared for homologous integration frequencies using various constructs. Homologous integration was highest when the split marker approach was used, with rates as high as 60% depending on target gene. A second factor that contributed to an increased homologous integration frequency was strain background, which was highest when a double auxotroph was used as a host. The split marker strategy was combined with an ura-blaster construct, which has been used in other fungi to recycle ura5 or ura3 mutations. When a hisG-URA5-hisG cassette was successfully integrated at the target locus, the URA5 gene could be easily evicted by plating onto 5-FOA agar. The cassette was then successfully used for a second cycle of transformation-eviction. The effectiveness of the split marker disruption strategy suggests that continued investigation and modification of traditional molecular techniques could increase the efficiency of C. neoformans molecular manipulation.

Cryptococcus neoformans↗

Integrated salivary proteomic and metabolomic analyses reveal molecular characterization and novel biomarker panels of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory disorder characterized by chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic dysregulation. The lack of convenient and easily-accessible non-invasive diagnostic approaches remains a major clinical challenge. This study applied an integrated saliva-based proteomic and untargeted metabolomic strategy to identify potential biomarkers for COPD classification. Comprehensive multi-omics analyses identified 225 differentially abundant proteins and 60 differentially abundant metabolites between patients with COPD and healthy controls, including 24 biologically relevant endogenous metabolites. Functional enrichment analyses revealed pronounced dysregulation of mitochondrial energy metabolism, redox homeostasis, lipid remodeling, and inflammatory-related pathways in COPD. By integrating salivary proteomic and metabolomic biomarkers, a stepwise feature selection combined with LASSO logistic regression was used to construct diagnostic models, yielding an optimized biomarker panel consisting of 11 proteins and 2 endogenous metabolites. This integrated model achieved excellent diagnostic performance, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.96. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that integrated salivary proteomic and metabolomic profiling provides a robust, non-invasive approach for COPD classification and offers a promising foundation for the development of biosensor-based diagnostic platforms and early disease detection. SIGNIFICANCE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a major global health burden. Current diagnostic approaches rely largely on spirometry and clinical assessment, which are limited in sensitivity for early-stage disease and unsuitable for large-scale screening. This study employs an integrated saliva-based proteomic and metabolomic strategy to identify non-invasive biomarkers for COPD classification. Our findings reveal coordinated dysregulation of mitochondrial energy metabolism, redox homeostasis, and lipid remodeling in COPD, highlighting the interconnected roles of metabolic reprogramming, oxidative stress, and inflammation in disease pathophysiology. Notably, a robust diagnostic panel comprising 11 proteins and 2 endogenous metabolites was established, achieving excellent classification performance (AUC of 0.96). To our knowledge, the integrated application of salivary proteomics and metabolomics for COPD diagnosis remains largely unexplored, underscoring the significance and translational potential of our findings.

Humans↗

Integration of form and motion within a generative model of visual cortex.

One of the challenges faced by the visual system is integrating cues within and across processing streams for inferring scene properties and structure. This is particularly apparent in the inference of object motion, where psychophysical experiments have shown that integration of motion signals, distributed across space, must also be integrated with form cues. This has led several to conclude that there exist mechanisms which enable form cues to 'veto' or completely suppress ambiguous motion signals. We describe a probabilistic approach which uses a generative network model for integrating form and motion cues using the machinery of belief propagation and Bayesian inference. We show, using computer simulations, that motion integration can be mediated via a local, probabilistic representation of contour ownership, which we have previously termed 'direction of figure'. The uncertainty of this inferred form cue is used to modulate the covariance matrix of network nodes representing local motion estimates in the motion stream. We show with results for two sets of stimuli that the model does not completely suppress ambiguous cues, but instead integrates them in a way that is a function of their underlying uncertainty. The result is that the model can account for the continuum of bias seen for motion coherence and perceived object motion in psychophysical experiments.

Bayes Theorem↗

Integrity of lateral and feedbackward connections in visual processing in children with pervasive developmental disorder.

Enhanced visual detail processing in subjects with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) has been related to impairments in feature integration. The functional integrity of two types of neuronal connections involved in visual feature integration, namely horizontal and feedbackward connections, were tested. Sixteen children with PDD and 17 age- and IQ-matched control children (mean age 13.3 years) were included. In a texture segregation task the difference in ERP response to homogeneous and checkered visual stimuli was determined. Additionally, in a contour integration task subjects had to point out a contour consisting of colinearly aligned Gabor signals in backgrounds increasing in noise. Children with PDD showed a normal performance on the contour integration task, suggesting that neurons in the primary visual cortex of children with PDD can effectively integrate the activity of local detectors that process different aspects of the same object information by making use of long-range lateral connections. The amplitude of ERP activity related to texture segregation was also not different between the PDD and control groups, indicating functional visual feedback mechanisms between V1 and higher order areas in subjects with PDD. However, a difference in latency of texture-segmentation related activity between the groups was noted. This effect did not reach significance, which could be due to the small N of the study. Therefore, the data need replication in a study with larger samples before more definitive conclusions can be drawn.

Adolescent↗

Difficulty of perceptual spatiotemporal integration modulates the neural activity of left inferior parietal cortex.

The integration of spatial and temporal information is a prerequisite for skilled movements. Likewise, spatial and temporal information must be integrated to predict the potential collision (or otherwise) of two moving objects. In a previous blocked functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study [Neuroimage 20 (2003) S82] we showed that collision judgments (relative to size judgments) provoked a significant increase in neural activity in the left inferior parietal cortex (supramarginal gyrus). This result suggests that this region is involved in the integration of perceptual spatiotemporal information in addition to its known involvement in programming skilled actions. To further investigate the impact of the integration of temporal and spatial information on the left parietal cortex we conducted an event-related fMRI study in which we varied the difficulty of the collision (and the size) judgment tasks parametrically. Reaction times and error rates were used as behavioral measures of increasing task demands. There was a significant linear increase in reaction times and error rates during the collision and the size tasks over the four levels of task difficulty. A linear increase of the blood oxygen level-dependent signal in the left inferior parietal cortex was found only for the collision, not for the size, conditions. Neural activation in the left inferior parietal cortex thus paralleled the increasing demands on spatiotemporal integration. This result confirms that the left supramarginal gyrus integrates spatial and temporal information irrespective of motor demands.

Adult↗

Treatment of cartilage with beta-aminopropionitrile accelerates subsequent collagen maturation and modulates integrative repair.

Integrative repair of cartilage was previously found to depend on collagen synthesis and maturation. beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) treatment, which irreversibly blocks lysyl oxidase, inhibited the formation of collagen crosslinks, prevented development of adhesive strength, and caused a buildup of GuHCl-extractable collagen crosslink precursors. This buildup of crosslink precursor in the tissue may be useful for enhancing integrative repair. We tested in vitro the hypothesis that pre-treatment of cartilage with BAPN, followed by washout before implantation, could be a useful therapeutic strategy to accelerate subsequent collagen maturation. In individual cartilage disks, collagen processing was reversibly blocked by BAPN treatment (0.1 mM) as indicated by a BAPN-induced increase in the total and proportion of incorporated radiolabel that was extractable by 4M guanidine-HCl, followed by a decrease, within 3-4 days of BAPN washout, in the proportion of extractable radiolabel to control levels. With a similar pattern, integration between pairs of apposed cartilage blocks was reversibly blocked by BAPN treatment, and followed by an enhancement of integration after BAPN washout. The low and high levels of integration were associated with enrichment in [(3)H]proline in a form that was susceptible and resistant, respectively, to extraction. With increasing duration up to 7 days after BAPN pre-treatment, the levels of [(3)H]proline extraction decreased, and the development of adhesive strength increased. Thus, BAPN can be used to modulate integrative cartilage repair.

Aminopropionitrile↗

Mycoplasma arthritidis bacteriophage MAV1 prophage integration, deletions, and strain-related polymorphisms.

Temperate bacteriophage MAV1 is found in certain highly virulent strains of Mycoplasma arthritidis. Integration sites, portions of the right and left prophage ends, and flanking DNA from eight prophages in seven M. arthritidis strains were characterized in this study. attb and attp sites conformed for the most part to the consensus sequence TATTTTT, although minor polymorphisms were noted. Prophages were integrated into similar sites in four strains, suggesting that these strains may have had a common ancestor. Two strains had three prophage copies each, and integration sites were identical. Two strains had two copies each. One of these shared two of the integration sites occupied in the three-copy strains, while the other shared one of these sites and harbored a second prophage in a unique site. Integration sites in the two strains with one prophage each were unique. Four MAV1 copies contained extensive substitutions within a region encoding a putative structural protein and the putative repressor protein. A 3-kb fragment was deleted from the right side of two of these copies. It is proposed that polymorphisms within MAV1 prophage integration sites and within the prophages themselves may help to identify phylogenetic relationships among virulent M. arthritidis strains.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Integrated treatment ameliorates negative symptoms in first episode psychosis--results from the Danish OPUS trial.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of integrated treatment on negative, psychotic and disorganised symptoms in patients with first episode psychosis. METHOD: A RCT comparing integrated treatment (IT) with standard treatment (ST) was conducted, including 547 patients, aged 18-45, diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. All patients were assessed with SCAN, SAPS and SANS at entry and after 1 and 2 years. The IT consisted of assertive community treatment, multifamily groups, psycho-education and social skills training, and the caseload was 1:10 compared with 1:25 in ST. Since attrition was considerable, a mixed model analysis with repeated measurements was used to examine the possible effects of IT statistically. RESULTS: IT reduced both negative and positive symptoms significantly better than ST. Most marked were the results from the negative dimension, where all five global scores from SANS had a significantly better reduction in IT. Sub-analyses did not single out any one element in the integrated treatment that could explain this result. CONCLUSION: Integrated treatment significantly reduced both negative and psychotic symptoms, assumably due to the different psychosocial treatment elements that were provided in the IT. The results indicate that the integrated approach is crucial, since, most likely, many aspects of the integrated treatment have contributed to the reduction of symptoms.

Adolescent↗

Overt and covert barriers to the integration of primary and specialist mental health care.

This paper is concerned with the historical attempt over the last 20 years to improve integration between primary and specialist mental health care. Semi-structured interviews were carried out during the period December 2000-March 2001 with primary care workers, specialist medical and nursing staff, managers and other key informants in one large group model Health Maintenance Organization in the USA. Both overt (financial) and covert (attitudinal and conceptual) barriers to the integration of mental health and primary care were identified and the impact of these barriers on organizational development is discussed with reference to Activity Theory. The nature and quality of interprofessional conversation in an organization may be important mediating factors in addressing covert barriers to integration between primary and specialist mental health services. There may be insufficient actual contact between different groups of workers in primary and specialist care to enable these professionals to share ideas, challenge mutual assumptions and understand each others' viewpoints about the nature of their work, the covert barriers to integration. Workers may differ in the conceptual models of mental health care they utilize, their views about access to services, and the amount of information they require. In order to integrate services effectively, these issues will require discussion. Financial pressures in the system may lead to failure on the part of management to sanction and encourage opportunities for interprofessional conversation and the geographical distance between places of work may also limit opportunities for contact. However, an alternative explanation might be that attitudinal and other covert barriers to integration effectively prevent, in the first place, the development of such a shared space in which these covert barriers might actually be addressed.

Cooperative Behavior↗

A new site-specific integration system for mycobacteria.

Site-specific integration into the mycobacterial chromosome can produce stable transformants useful for understanding pathogenesis. However, gene expression can be problematic at certain sites of integration. We have used the Streptomyces phiC31 integration system to integrate vector DNA into Mycobacterium smegmatis, M. bovis BCG, and M. tuberculosis through site-specific recombination. A single dominant insertion site was found in M. smegmatis, as previously reported. Three different insertion sites were found in M. bovis BCG. In M. smegmatis, integrated vectors appear to be far more stable than episomal plasmids during unselected passage in vitro, although excision products are detectable. Plasmids based on the phiC31 integration system could make useful tools for the study of mycobacterial genetics.

BCG Vaccine↗

Hierarchical integration of individual motions in locally paired-dot stimuli.

Recent psychophysical studies suggest that there are two types of motion integration processes in human visual system, i.e., the local and the global integration process. The existence of the local integration process is suggested by the vector-average perception in locally paired-dot (LPD) stimuli. Here, we investigated the relationship between the two motion integration processes by measuring the signal detection thresholds in three corresponding stimuli: (1) standard random-dot kinematograms (RDKs), (2) LPD stimuli the individual dot motions of which were identical to those of RDKs, and (3) pairwise-averaged stimuli the individual dot motions of which corresponded to the vector-averages of locally paired motions in LPD stimuli. We found that the thresholds in LPD stimuli were similar to those in pairwise-averaged stimuli rather than in RDKs. In addition, when dots were paired appropriately, observers could detect coherent motions in LPD stimuli even if the proportions of signal dots were less than the detection thresholds in corresponding RDKs. These results suggest that the local and global integrations of individual motions are carried out hierarchically, and that the global motion perception in LPD stimuli does not depend on individual dot motions directly, but depends on locally integrated motions.

Discrimination, Psychological↗