BACKGROUND Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) convey chemical information into the brain, producing internal representations of odors detected in the periphery. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular and neural mechanisms of odor detection and processing requires complete maps of odorant receptor (Or) expression and ORN connectivity, preferably at single-cell resolution. RESULTS We hav...

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) must select-from a large repertoire-which odor receptors to express. In Drosophila, most ORNs express one of 60 Or genes, and most Or genes are expressed in a single ORN class in a process that produces a stereotyped receptor-to-neuron map. The construction of this map poses a problem of receptor gene regulation that is remarkable in its dimension and about whi...

Individual olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) selectively express one or a small number of odor receptors from among a large receptor repertoire. The expression of an odor receptor dictates the odor response spectrum of the ORN. The process of receptor gene choice relies in part on a combinatorial code of transcription factors. In Drosophila, the POU domain transcription factor Acj6 is one eleme...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate renal function in renal cancer patients undergoing radical nephrectomy (RN) or partial nephrectomy (PN) (open or laparoscopic - ORN, OPN, LRN or LPN) and to identify risk factors contributing to renal function loss. METHODS We analysed 228 consecutive renal cancer patients admitted for OPN, LPN, ORN or LRN. The variables analysed were age, gender, weight, type of surgery...

Objective: To compare the clinical safety of laparoscopic (LRN) and open radical nephrectomy (ORN) surgery for large renal tumors (>7 cm). Methods: The clinical data of the 80 patients with renal tumors more than 7 cm who underwent radical nephrectomy during June 2010 to march 2014 were collected and analyzed. LRN (observation group) were performed in 29 patients, and ORN (control group) were p...

We investigated the catabolism of putrescine (Put) in a non-transgenic (NT) and a transgenic cell line of poplar (Populus nigra x maximowiczii) expressing a mouse (Mus musculus) ornithine (Orn) decarboxylase (odc) cDNA. The transgenic cells produce 3- to 4-fold higher amounts of Put than the NT cells. The rate of loss of Put from the cells and the initial half-life of cellular Put were determin...

In the vertebrate nose, increasing air speed tends to increase the magnitude of odor-evoked activity in olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), given constant odor concentration and duration. It is often assumed that the same is true of insect olfactory organs, but this has not been directly tested. In this study, we examined the effect of air speed on ORN responses in Drosophila melanogaster. We co...

I wish to offer comments on “RadiationInduced Xerostomia: How Dry Is Your Patient?” by Susan D. Bruce, RN, BSN, OCN (Vol. 8, pp. 61–67). 1. The author cites dysphasia (multiple times) as an effect of xerostomia. Indeed, difficulty with speech can be a problem. However, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) is never mentioned in the article. Dysphagia is an almost universal early and late effect of ...

Previous studies from our laboratory suggest that apolipoprotein (apoE), a lipid transporting protein, facilitates olfactory nerve regeneration. We have shown that apoE is enriched in the olfactory nerve and around the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb (OB). The studies reported herein were undertaken to identify possible sources of apoE in the olfactory epithelium (OE). Immunoblotting results re...