Mechanical stretch regulates macropinocytosis in Hydra vulgaris

Cells rely on a diverse array of engulfment processes to sense, exploit, and adapt to their environments. Macropinocytosis is a versatile example of such a process, allowing for the indiscriminate and rapid uptake of large volumes of fluid and membrane. Much of the molecular machinery essential for macropinocytosis has been well established. However, most of these studies relied on tissue culture models, leaving the regulation of this process within the context of organs and organisms unresolved. Here, we report that large-scale macropinocytosis occurs in the outer epithelial layer of the cnidarian Hydra vulgaris. Exploiting Hydra’s relatively simple body plan, we developed approaches to visualize macropinocytosis over extended periods of time in living tissue, revealing constitutive engulfment across the entire body axis. Using pharmacological perturbations, we establish a role for stretch-activated channels, including Piezo, and downstream calcium influx in inhibiting this process. Finally, we show that the direct application of planar stretch leads to calcium influx and a corresponding inhibition of macropinocytosis. Together, our approaches provide a platform for the mechanistic dissection of constitutive macropinocytosis in physiological contexts and reveal a role for macropinocytosis in responding to membrane tension.

Designing Stress Relieving Game Associated to Virtual and Augmented Reality for Bus Drivers

Stress is a phenomenal problem that affects a large number of worker, regardless of the financial or social status, age and profession, a person exposed to stress may develop health problems that can interfere with work and his quality of life. Problems about stress should not be taken for granted as it may lead to health problems that causes sickness absenteeism. In this scenario it is important to have strategies that helps to deal with such problem. Nowadays technology has been used in different areas not only to help our day to day transactions easy but also provide assistance in coping with psychological problems like stress thru computer games, mainly those based upon Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) techniques because it offers players some experiences like: relaxation, sense of control, challenges, learning opportunities and immersion and so these characteristics can contribute to the control process of stress. In this paper, it aimed to describe a design intervention though virtual reality game controlled by breathing and simple body movements to relieve stress.

ESIDE: A computationally intelligent method to identify earthworm species (E. fetida) from digital images: Application in taxonomy

Earthworms (Crassiclitellata) being ecosystem engineers significantly affect the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil by recycling organic material, increasing nutrient availability, and improving soil structure. The efficiency of earthworms in ecology varies along with species. Therefore, the role of taxonomy in earthworm study is significant. The taxonomy of earthworms cannot reliably be established through morphological characteristics because the small and simple body plan of the earthworm does not have anatomical complex and highly specialized structures. Recently, molecular techniques have been adopted to accurately classify the earthworm species but these techniques are time-consuming and costly. To combat this issue, in this study, we propose a machine learning-based earthworm species identification model that uses digital images of earthworms. We performed a stringent performance evaluation not only through 10-fold cross-validation and on an external validation dataset but also in real settings by involving an experienced taxonomist. In all the evaluation settings, our proposed model has given state-of-the-art performance and justified its use to aid earthworm taxonomy studies. We made this model openly accessible through a cloud-based webserver and python code available at https://sites.google.com/view/wajidarshad/software and https://github.com/wajidarshad/ESIDE.

Spatial Cognition in Teleost Fish: Strategies and Mechanisms

Teleost fish have been traditionally considered primitive vertebrates compared to mammals and birds in regard to brain complexity and behavioral functions. However, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that teleosts show advanced cognitive capabilities including spatial navigation skills that parallel those of land vertebrates. Teleost fish rely on a multiplicity of sensory cues and can use a variety of spatial strategies for navigation, ranging from relatively simple body-centered orientation responses to allocentric or “external world-centered” navigation, likely based on map-like relational memory representations of the environment. These distinct spatial strategies are based on separate brain mechanisms. For example, a crucial brain center for egocentric orientation in teleost fish is the optic tectum, which can be considered an essential hub in a wider brain network responsible for the generation of egocentrically referenced actions in space. In contrast, other brain centers, such as the dorsolateral telencephalic pallium of teleost fish, considered homologue to the hippocampal pallium of land vertebrates, seem to be crucial for allocentric navigation based on map-like spatial memory. Such hypothetical relational memory representations endow fish’s spatial behavior with considerable navigational flexibility, allowing them, for example, to perform shortcuts and detours.

Automated imaging of duckweed growth and development

Duckweeds are some of the smallest angiosperms, possessing a simple body architecture and high rates of biomass accumulation. They can grow near-exponentially via clonal propagation. Understanding their reproductive biology, growth, and development is essential to unlock their potential for phytoremediation, carbon capture, and nutrition. However, there is a lack of non-laborious and convenient methods for spatially and temporally imaging an array of duckweed plants and growth conditions in the same experiment. We developed an automated microscopy approach to record time-lapse images of duckweed plants growing in 12-well cell culture plates. As a proof-of-concept experiment, we grew duckweed on semi-solid media with and without sucrose and monitored its effect on their growth over 3 days. Using the PlantCV toolkit, we quantified the thallus area of individual plantlets over time, and showed that L. minor grown on sucrose had an average growth rate four times higher than without sucrose. This method will serve as a blueprint to perform automated high-throughput growth assays for studying the development patterns of duckweeds from different species, genotypes, and conditions.

Why are SNAREpins rod-shaped?

SNARE proteins are the core components of the cellular machineries that fuse membranes for neurotransmitter or hormone release and other fundamental processes. Fusion is accomplished when SNARE proteins hosted by apposing membranes form SNARE complexes called SNAREpins, but the mechanism of fusion remains unclear. Computational simulations of SNARE-mediated membrane fusion are challenging due to the millisecond timescales of physiological membrane fusion. Here we used ultra-coarse-grained (UCG) simulations to investigate the minimal requirements for a molecular intracellular fusogen, and to elucidate the mechanisms of SNARE-mediated fusion. We find fusion by simple body forces that push vesicles together is highly inefficient. Inter-vesicle fusogens with different aspect ratios can fuse vesicles only if they are rodlike, of sufficient length to clear the fusogens from the fusion site by entropic forces. Simulations with rod-shaped SNAREpin-like fusogens fused 50-nm vesicles on ms timescales, driven by entropic forces along a reproducible fusion pathway. SNARE-SNARE and SNARE-membrane entropic forces cleared the fusion site and pressed the vesicles into an extended contact zone (ECZ), drove stalk nucleation at the high curvature ECZ boundary, and expanded the stalk into a long-lived hemifusion diaphragm in which a simple pore completed fusion. Our results provide strong support for the entropic hypothesis of SNARE-mediated membrane fusion, and implicate the rodlike structure of the SNAREpin complex as a necessity for entropic force production and fusion.

3D Reconstruction Human Body From Anthropometric Measurements Using Diversity Control Oriented Genetic Algorithm

3D digitalization of the human body has been studied extensively for various applications in anthropology, ergonomics, healthcare, entertainment and fashion industries. There are different methods and approaches to reconstruct the 3D body model namely using RGB cameras, depth cameras, scanning systems or anthropometric measurements of the human body. Generally, most of existing approaches have to tackle issues relating to security of personal data, the impact of the surrounding environment, cost of 3D scanning systems and complication of anthropometric measurements. This study proposes a method using simple body measurements and given body shapes to digitalize the human body. The effectiveness of proposed method is evaluated and demonstrated based on two datasets: a synthetic dataset generated from a parametric model and a real dataset on Vietnamese collected by Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Vietnam).

Meningkatkan Pengetahuan Cara Senam Otak Untuk Konsentrasi Dan Daya Ingat Pada Anak Usia 5-12 Tahun

ABSTRAKSenam otak atau brain gym adalah serangkaian latihan gerakan tubuh yang sederhana. Gerakan itu dibuat untuk merangsang otak kiri dan kanan (dimensi lateralis), meringankan atau merelaksasikan belakang otak dan bagian depan otak (dimensi pemfokuskan), merangsang sistem yang terkait dengan perasaan/emosional, yakni otak tengah (limbik), serta otak besar (dimensi pemusatan) dan bermanfaat menigkatkan kemampuan berbahasa, konsentrasi, daya ingat meningkat, menjadi lebih bersemangat, lebih kreatif dan efesien, serta merasa lebih sehat. Dengan latihan senam otak, maka sangat berguna untuk meningkatkan keseimbangan dinamis selain itu juga dapat meningkatkan koordinasi dan konsentrasi yang baik. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui bagaimanakah pengaruh senam otak terhadap konsentrasi dan daya ingat pada anak. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode presentasi powerpoint dan video senam otak pada klien dan keluarga. Hasil dari presentasi dan demonstrasi yang dilakukan adalah sebanyak 75 % peserta mengetahui dan dapat melakukan senam otak dan akan mempraktekkan pada eluarganya dirumah.Kata kunci : Senam Otak, KonsentrasiABSTRACTA brain gym or brain gym is a series of simple body exercises. The movement is made to stimulate the left and right brain (lateral dimension), lighten or relax the back of the brain and the front part of the brain (the focal dimension), stimulate systems related to feelings/emotions, namely the midbrain (limbic), and the cerebrum (concentration dimension ) and is useful for increasing language skills, concentration, increased memory, being more enthusiastic, more creative and efficient, and feeling healthier. With brain exercise exercises, it is very useful to improve dynamic balance besides that it can also improve good coordination and concentration. The purpose of this study was to determine how the influence of brain exercise on concentration and memory in children. This study uses a PowerPoint presentation method and video brain exercise for clients and families. The results of the presentations and demonstrations carried out were that as many as 75% of the participants knew and were able to do brain exercises and would practice them in their families at home. Keywords: Brain Exercise, Concentration

The myxozoan minicollagen gene repertoire was not simplified by the parasitic lifestyle: computational identification of a novel myxozoan minicollagen gene

Background Lineage-specific gene expansions represent one of the driving forces in the evolutionary dynamics of unique phylum traits. Myxozoa, a cnidarian subphylum of obligate parasites, are evolutionarily altered and highly reduced organisms with a simple body plan including cnidarian-specific organelles and polar capsules (a type of nematocyst). Minicollagens, a group of structural proteins, are prominent constituents of nematocysts linking Myxozoa and Cnidaria. Despite recent advances in the identification of minicollagens in Myxozoa, the evolutionary history and diversity of minicollagens in Myxozoa and Cnidaria remain elusive. Results We generated new transcriptomes of two myxozoan species using a novel pipeline for filtering of closely related contaminant species in RNA-seq data. Mining of our transcriptomes and published omics data confirmed the existence of myxozoan Ncol-4, reported only once previously, and revealed a novel noncanonical minicollagen, Ncol-5, which is exclusive to Myxozoa. Phylogenetic analyses support a close relationship between myxozoan Ncol-1–3 with minicollagens of Polypodium hydriforme, but suggest independent evolution in the case of the myxozoan minicollagens Ncol-4 and Ncol-5. Additional genome- and transcriptome-wide searches of cnidarian minicollagens expanded the dataset to better clarify the evolutionary trajectories of minicollagen. Conclusions The development of a new approach for the handling of next-generation data contaminated by closely related species represents a useful tool for future applications beyond the field of myxozoan research. This data processing pipeline allowed us to expand the dataset and study the evolution and diversity of minicollagen genes in Myxozoa and Cnidaria. We identified a novel type of minicollagen in Myxozoa (Ncol-5). We suggest that the large number of minicollagen paralogs in some cnidarians is a result of several recent large gene multiplication events. We revealed close juxtaposition of minicollagens Ncol-1 and Ncol-4 in myxozoan genomes, suggesting their common evolutionary history. The unique gene structure of myxozoan Ncol-5 suggests a specific function in the myxozoan polar capsule or tubule. Despite the fact that myxozoans possess only one type of nematocyst, their gene repertoire is similar to those of other cnidarians.