Search results for "Signal"

2021

Primary cilia are sensory organelles vital for developmental and physiological processes. Their dysfunction causes a range of phenotypes including retinopathies. Although primary cilia have been described in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), little is known about their contribution to biological processes within this tissue. Ciliary proteins are increasingly being identified in non-ciliary locations and might carry out additional functions, disruption of which possibly contributes to pathology. The RPE is essential for maintaining photoreceptor cells and visual function. We demonstrate that upon loss of Bbs8, predominantly thought to be a ciliary gene, the RPE shows changes in gene and …

Interaction of the retinoic acid signaling pathway with spicule formation in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula through activation of bone morphog…

2011

Abstract Background The formation of the spicules in siliceous sponges involves the formation of cylinder-like structures in the extraspicular space, composed of the enzyme silicatein and the calcium-dependent lectin. Scope of review Molecular cloning of the cDNAs (carotene dioxygenase, retinal dehydrogenase, and BMB-1 [bone morphogenic protein-1]) from the demosponge Suberites domuncula was performed. These tools were used to understand the retinoid metabolism in the animal by qRT-PCR, immunoblotting and TEM. Major conclusions We demonstrate that silintaphin-2, a silicatein-interacting protein, is processed from a longer-sized 15-kDa precursor to a truncated, shorter-sized 13 kDa calcium-b…

Combination of Resveratrol with omega-3 fatty acids synergize to counteract VEGF-R pathway in sick retinal pigment epithelium cells mimicking AMD

2015

Purpose The aim of this work is to assess whether RSV (Resveratrol) can act synergistically with omega-3 fatty acids to modulate VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) signaling pathway in order to identify a new and more effective therapy for the treatment of AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration). Methods In this study, undifferentiated and differentiated human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) were used. The cells were treated with an omega-3/RSV preparation (Resvega®), or a RSV-free formulation or RSV alone for 24 h. The expression of key proteins in VEGF signaling pathway was evaluated by Western Blotting. Results We observed that the combination omega-3/RSV preparation (Re…

Nonnegative signal factorization with learnt instrument models for sound source separation in close-microphone recordings

2013

Close-microphone techniques are extensively employed in many live music recordings, allowing for interference rejection and reducing the amount of reverberation in the resulting instrument tracks. However, despite the use of directional microphones, the recorded tracks are not completely free from source interference, a problem which is commonly known as microphone leakage. While source separation methods are potentially a solution to this problem, few approaches take into account the huge amount of prior information available in this scenario. In fact, besides the special properties of close-microphone tracks, the knowledge on the number and type of instruments making up the mixture can al…

Frequency-Sliding Generalized Cross-Correlation: A Sub-Band Time Delay Estimation Approach

2020

The generalized cross correlation (GCC) is regarded as the most popular approach for estimating the time difference of arrival (TDOA) between the signals received at two sensors. Time delay estimates are obtained by maximizing the GCC output, where the direct-path delay is usually observed as a prominent peak. Moreover, GCCs play also an important role in steered response power (SRP) localization algorithms, where the SRP functional can be written as an accumulation of the GCCs computed from multiple sensor pairs. Unfortunately, the accuracy of TDOA estimates is affected by multiple factors, including noise, reverberation and signal bandwidth. In this paper, a sub-band approach for time del…

A modified moiré technique for three-dimensional surface topography

2002

In this paper we present an optical technique based on the shadow moire method which allows the measurement and digitization of three-dimensional surfaces. The technique was tested through experimental work and the results were compared with those obtained by a coordinate measuring machine. Moving from the conventional shadow moire method, new features were implemented enabling us to overcome the main shortcomings of the conventional moire method. These include the need to assign the fringe order, the incapability of discerning concavity or convexity, the poor resolution and the complexity in the signal processing. All these problems have been solved by adding an element to generate a carri…

Bacterial and viral infections and related inflammatory responses in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

2021

Abstract In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, bacterial and viral infections play a relevant role in worsening lung function and, therefore, favour disease progression. The inflammatory response to lung infections may become a specific indication of the bacterial and viral infections. We here review data on the bacterial–viral infections and related airways and lung parenchyma inflammation in stable and exacerbated COPD, focussing our attention on the prevalent molecular pathways in these different clinical conditions. The roles of macrophages, autophagy and NETosis are also briefly discussed in the context of lung infections in COPD. Controlling their combined response…

Pathogenesis and molecular mechanisms of anderson–fabry disease and possible new molecular addressed therapeutic strategies

2021

Anderson–Fabry disease (AFD) is a rare disease with an incidenceof approximately 1:117,000 male births. Lysosomal accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) is the element characterizing Fabry disease due to a hereditary deficiency α-galactosidase A (GLA) enzyme. The accumulation of Gb3 causes lysosomal dysfunction that compromises cell signaling pathways. Deposition of sphingolipids occurs in the autonomic nervous system, dorsal root ganglia, kidney epithelial cells, vascular system cells, and myocardial cells, resulting in organ failure. This manuscript will review the molecular pathogenetic pathways involved in Anderson–Fabry disease and in its organ damage. Some studies reported that i…

miR-29s: A family of epi-miRNAs with therapeutic implications in hematologic malignancies

2015

A wealth of studies has highlighted the biological complexity of hematologic malignancies and the role of dysregulated signal transduction pathways. Along with the crucial role of genetic abnormalities, epigenetic aberrations are nowadays emerging as relevant players in cancer development, and significant research efforts are currently focusing on mechanisms by which histone post-translational modifications, DNA methylation and noncoding RNAs contribute to the pathobiology of cancer. As a consequence, these studies have provided the rationale for the development of epigenetic drugs, such as histone deacetylase inhibitors and demethylating compounds, some of which are currently in advanced p…

On the signaling effect of reward-based crowdfunding: (When) do later stage venture capitalists rely more on the crowd than their peers?

2021

Abstract Venture capitalists (VCs) make only a small number of investments and are more likely to invest in ventures where other VCs have invested previously. As such, valuable opportunities may be forgone if they are not funded by VCs in the first place. We demonstrate how crowdfunding (CF) can remedy this concern. Using a sample of new technology-based ventures, we reveal that ventures initially funded through reward-based CF can be even more likely than those initially backed by VCs in attracting follow-up funds from VCs. This happens when ventures originally funded via reward-based CF complement the certification they derive from CF with patents and a founding team with a track record o…