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Simultaneous Interaction (simultaneous + interaction)
Selected AbstractsEvaluating the Effectiveness of Distance Learning: A Comparison Using Meta-AnalysisJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2004Mike Allen This article uses meta-analysis to summarize the quantitative literature comparing the performance of students in distance education versus traditional classes. The average effect (average r= .048, k= 39, N= 71,731) demonstrates that distance education course students slightly outperformed traditional students on exams and course grades. The average effect was heterogeneous, and the examination of several moderating features (presence or absence of simultaneous interaction, type of channel used in distance education, and course substance) failed to produce a homogeneous solution. The results demonstrate, however, no clear decline in educational effectiveness when using distance education technology. [source] The polybasic sequence in the C2B domain of rabphilin is required for the vesicle docking step in PC12 cellsJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2007Takashi Tsuboi Abstract Rabphilin is generally thought to be involved in the regulation of secretory vesicle exocytosis in neurons and neuroendocrine cells, and it has recently been hypothesized that the C2B domain of rabphilin promotes the docking of dense-core vesicles to the plasma membrane through simultaneous interaction with a vesicle protein, Rab3A/27A, and a plasma membrane protein, SNAP-25 (synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa). However, the physiological significance of the rabphilin,SNAP-25 interaction in the vesicle-docking step has never been elucidated. In this study we demonstrated by a mutation analysis that the polybasic sequence (587 KKAKHKTQIKKK 598) in the C2B domain of rabphilin is required for SNAP-25 binding, and that the Asp residues in the Ca2+ -binding loop 3 (D628 and D630) of the C2B domain are not required. We also investigated the effect of Lys,Gln (KQ) mutations in the polybasic sequence of the C2B domain on vesicle dynamics by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy in individual PC12 cells. A rabphilin(KQ) mutant that completely lacks SNAP-25-binding activity significantly decreased the number of plasma-membrane-docked vesicles and strongly inhibited high-KCl-induced dense-core vesicle exocytosis. These results indicate that the polybasic sequence in the C2B domain functions as an effector domain for SNAP-25 and controls the number of ,releasable' vesicles docked to the plasma membrane. [source] Fungal endophytes in a 400-million-yr-old land plant: infection pathways, spatial distribution, and host responsesNEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 3 2007Michael Krings Summary ,,The Early Devonian Rhynie chert has been critical in documenting early land plant,fungal interactions. However, complex associations involving several fungi that enter into qualitatively different relationships with a single host plant and even interact with one another have not yet been detailed. ,,Here, we studied petrographic thin sections of the Rhynie chert plant Nothia aphylla. ,,Three fungal endophytes (co)occur in prostrate axes of this plant: narrow hyphae producing clusters of small spores; large spherical spores/zoosporangia; and wide aseptate hyphae that form intercellular vesicles in the cortex. Host responses on attack include bulging of infected rhizoids, formation of encasement layers around intracellular hyphae, and separation of infected from uninfected tissues by secondarily thickened cell walls. ,,A complex simultaneous interaction of N. aphylla with three endophytic fungi was discovered. The host responses indicate that some of the mechanisms causing host responses in extant plants were in place 400 million yr ago. Anatomical and life history features of N. aphylla suggest that this plant may have been particularly susceptible to colonization by fungi. [source] Vitamin D Receptor: Key Roles in Bone Mineral Pathophysiology, Molecular Mechanism of Action, and Novel Nutritional Ligands,JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue S2 2007Peter W Jurutka Abstract The vitamin D hormone, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], binds with high affinity to the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR), which recruits its retinoid X receptor (RXR) heterodimeric partner to recognize vitamin D responsive elements (VDREs) in target genes. 1,25(OH)2D3 is known primarily as a regulator of calcium, but it also controls phosphate (re)absorption at the intestine and kidney. Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a phosphaturic hormone produced in osteoblasts that, like PTH, lowers serum phosphate by inhibiting renal reabsorption through Npt2a/Npt2c. Real-time PCR and reporter gene transfection assays were used to probe VDR-mediated transcriptional control by 1,25(OH)2D3. Reporter gene and mammalian two-hybrid transfections, plus competitive receptor binding assays, were used to discover novel VDR ligands. 1,25(OH)2D3 induces FGF23 78-fold in osteoblasts, and because FGF23 in turn represses 1,25(OH)2D3 synthesis, a reciprocal relationship is established, with FGF23 indirectly curtailing 1,25(OH)2D3 -mediated intestinal absorption and counterbalancing renal reabsorption of phosphate, thereby reversing hyperphosphatemia and preventing ectopic calcification. Therefore, a 1,25(OH)2D3,FGF23 axis regulating phosphate is comparable in importance to the 1,25(OH)2D3,PTH axis that regulates calcium. 1,25(OH)2D3 also elicits regulation of LRP5, Runx2, PHEX, TRPV6, and Npt2c, all anabolic toward bone, and RANKL, which is catabolic. Regulation of mouse RANKL by 1,25(OH)2D3 supports a cloverleaf model, whereby VDR-RXR heterodimers bound to multiple VDREs are juxtapositioned through chromatin looping to form a supercomplex, potentially allowing simultaneous interactions with multiple co-modulators and chromatin remodeling enzymes. VDR also selectively binds certain ,3/,6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) with low affinity, leading to transcriptionally active VDR-RXR complexes. Moreover, the turmeric-derived polyphenol, curcumin, activates transcription of a VDRE reporter construct in human colon cancer cells. Activation of VDR by PUFAs and curcumin may elicit unique, 1,25(OH)2D3 -independent signaling pathways to orchestrate the bioeffects of these lipids in intestine, bone, skin/hair follicle, and other VDR-containing tissues. [source] | ||||||||||