Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) induce ectopic bone formation in muscle tissue in vivo and convert myoblasts such that they differentiate into osteoblastic cells in vitro. We report here that constitutively active Smad1 induced osteoblastic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts in cooperation with Smad4 or Runx2. In floxed Smad4 mice-derived cells, Smad4 ablation partially suppressed BMP-4-induced osteoblast differentiation. In contrast, the BMP-4-induced inhibition of myogenesis was lost by Smad4 ablation and restored by Smad4 overexpression. A nuclear zinc finger protein, E4F1, was identified as a possible component of the Smad4 complex that suppresses myogenic differentiation in response to BMP signaling. In the presence of Smad4, E4F1 stimulated the expression of Ids. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Smad signaling pathway may play a dual role in the BMP-induced conversion of myoblasts to osteoblastic cells.
This study examined the effect of cosmetic therapy on frontal lobe activation as revealed by topographic near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). We evaluated emotional responses to a photograph of a face with/without makeup by 22 healthy female volunteers (mean age, 52 ± 10.5 years). The results of the first-round analysis showed a significant increase of oxy-Hb in the frontal lobe area when the subject looked at a photograph of herself made up as compared to not made up. In a later round of analysis, we divided the subjects into 2 groups having contrasting scores on the Profile of Mood States-Short Form Japanese version. One group was classed as "high vigor" (a common standard pattern) and the other as "low vigor" (depression-tendency pattern). The made-up/not made-up difference did not have any effect on the oxy-Hb level in the frontal lobe in the high vigor group. In contrast, makeup produced a significant increase in the oxy-Hb level over a wide frontal area in the low vigor group, which indicated widespread frontal lobe activation. This result indicates a beneficial effect of cosmetic therapy on the brain function of patients with depression and/ or dementia.
Aims:The purpose of the present study is to elucidate the type of learning obtained through the master's program by adult students with practical nursing experience and how adult students apply their learning at work.Methods: We conducted a focus group interview of 8 nurses who completed nursing graduate school A, and conducted a qualitative analysis of the data obtained by inductive approach.Results: We obtained 5 categories of "adult students' learning and awareness at school" and 6 categories of "adult students' application of learning and new awareness after returning to work as a nurse." The adult students acquired learning at school such as the "basics of the ability to think matters through" and after returning to work, they encouragedstaff members to search questions using the database, or in other words, they put into practice "establishing the habit of thinking matters through." On the other hand, owing to the actual time restrictions of their duties, they also experienced "challenges in applying the graduate school learning to clinical practice."Conclusion: Based on the learning of adult students at graduate school, it was suggested that recommending staff to practice nursing that uses scientific grounds improves the quality of nursing.
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