Invasion

As humans start to spend more time in collaborative virtual environment (CVE), coordinating the interaction between the humans in these environments is becoming increasingly important. We have been investigating one aspect of such coordination, namely the issue of an avatar’s “personal space”. Intuitively it can be expected that CVE users might decrease their task performance when their avatar personal space is invaded since this socially unacceptable act tends to cause anxiety. To investigate the effect of personal space invasion on a user’s task performance, we have conducted a controlled experiment measuring the effect of personal space invasion on a user’s task performance. The results of the experiment suggest that a user whose personal space is invaded performs more slowly than a user whose avatar’s personal space is not invaded

ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ & ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Putin attaches great importance to rebuilding Russia as a world power, including relations with Africa. But while the Soviet Union used to advocate socialist modernization in Africa, Moscow no longer offers socialist ideologies. Instead, it focuses on access to African elites, particularly authoritarian leaders. It also seeks to sway elections in its favour, particularly in fragile but resource-rich states. The Kremlin says it wants to avoid competing directly with other powers active in Africa. Instead, it wants to focus on countries where neither the West nor China dominates. There it expects to be able to work more effectively. But Russia, like China, is challenging Western norms, undermining US and EU sanctions. In addition, both strategic partners support non-interference in the internal affairs of states. In addition, Russia's relations with Africa have been motivated significantly by its interest in African resources and security markets. Russia's resurgence in Africa benefits not least from Islamist terrorism, for example, in the Sahel and Mozambique. It uses fragile states and ongoing conflicts to secure lucrative arms deals and mining concessions. Moscow signed military cooperation agreements with 21 African governments, including negotiations on establishing military bases. It uses paramilitary contractors to manipulate the course of local conflicts in its favour. Since 2015, Russian-African trade has doubled to around USD 20 billion per year. Russia exported $14 billion worth of goods and services and imported about $5 billion worth of African products. In return, Moscow can count on the support of African leaders in foreign policy. Thus, Eritrea voted against a UN General Assembly resolution strongly condemning Russia's war in Ukraine. 18 other African countries abstained, including Mali, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa. ________________________________________________________________________________________ RÉSUMÉ : Poutine attache une grande importance à la reconstruction de la Russie en tant que puissance mondiale, y compris les relations avec l'Afrique. Mais alors que l'Union soviétique prônait la modernisation socialiste en Afrique, Moscou ne propose plus d'idéologies socialistes. Au lieu de cela, il se concentre sur l'accès aux élites africaines, en particulier les dirigeants autoritaires. Il cherche également à influencer les élections en sa faveur, en particulier dans les États fragiles mais riches en ressources. Le Kremlin dit vouloir éviter de concurrencer directement les autres puissances actives en Afrique. Au contraire, il veut se concentrer sur les pays où ni l'Occident ni la Chine ne dominent. Là, il s'attend à pouvoir travailler plus efficacement. Mais la Russie, comme la Chine, défie les normes occidentales, sapant les sanctions américaines et européennes. En outre, les deux partenaires stratégiques soutiennent la non-ingérence dans les affaires intérieures des États. En plus, les relations de la Russie avec l'Afrique sont fortement influencées par son intérêt pour les ressources africaines et les marchés de la sécurité. La résurgence de la Russie en Afrique profite notamment du terrorisme islamiste, par exemple au Sahel et au Mozambique. Il utilise les États fragiles et les conflits en cours pour obtenir des contrats d'armement lucratifs et des concessions minières. Moscou a signé des accords de coopération militaire avec 21 gouvernements africains, y compris des négociations sur l'établissement de bases militaires. Il utilise des sous-traitants paramilitaires pour manipuler le cours des conflits locaux en sa faveur. En retour, Moscou peut compter sur le soutien des dirigeants africains en matière de politique étrangère. Ainsi, l'Érythrée a voté contre une résolution de l'Assemblée générale des Nations unies condamnant fermement la guerre de la Russie en Ukraine. 18 autres pays africains se sont abstenus, dont le Mali, le Mozambique, l'Angola et l'Afrique du Sud. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ZUSAMMENFASSUNG : Putin misst dem Wiederaufbau Russlands als Weltmacht große Bedeutung bei, einschließlich der Beziehungen zu Afrika. Doch während die Sowjetunion früher die sozialistische Modernisierung in Afrika propagierte, bietet Moskau keine sozialistischen Ideologien mehr an. Stattdessen konzentriert es sich auf den Zugang zu afrikanischen Eliten, insbesondere zu autoritären Führern. Außerdem versucht es, Wahlen zu seinen Gunsten zu beeinflussen, insbesondere in fragilen, aber rohstoffreichen Staaten. Damit will der Kreml nach eigenen Angaben vermeiden, direkt mit anderen in Afrika aktiven Mächten zu konkurrieren. Vielmehr will er sich auf Länder konzentrieren, in denen weder der Westen noch China dominieren. Dort erwartet er, effektiver arbeiten zu können. Doch Russland stellt ebenso wie China westliche Normen in Frage und untergräbt damit die US- und EU-Sanktionen. Darüber hinaus unterstützen beide strategischen Partner die Politik der Nichteinmischung in innere Angelegenheiten der Staaten. Zudem werden Russlands Beziehungen zu Afrika maßgeblich durch sein Interesse an afrikanischen Ressourcen und Sicherheitsmärkten beeinflusst. Russlands Wiedererstarken in Afrika profitiert nicht zuletzt vom islamistischen Terrorismus, etwa in der Sahelzone und in Mosambik. Dabei nutzt es fragile Staaten und andauernde Konflikte, um sich lukrative Waffengeschäfte und Bergbaukonzessionen zu sichern. Moskau unterzeichnete militärische Kooperationsabkommen mit 21 afrikanischen Regierungen, einschließlich Verhandlungen über die Errichtung von Militärstützpunkten. Es nutzt paramilitärische Auftragnehmer, um den Verlauf lokaler Konflikte zu seinen Gunsten zu manipulieren. Im Gegenzug kann Moskau auf die Unterstützung afrikanischer Führer in der Außenpolitik zählen. So stimmte Eritrea gegen eine Resolution der UN General Versammlung, in welcher Russlands Krieg in der Ukraine scharf verurteilt wurde. 18 weitere afrikanische Länder enthielten sich der Stimme, darunter Mali, Mosambik, Angola und Südafrika.

Mikania micrantha is a serious invasive weed in Nepal. The worst effects of weed have been seen in Chitwan National Park which is a research area. Actually in the national park 37 plant species  including  8 tree species, 9 shrub species, 13 herb species, 2 fern species and 5 climber species were found to be invaded by the weed in Baghmara Community Forest, Kumrose Community Forest and Eastern Sector . Many of them were found to be killed by invasion. During research starting from 1st July-15th November, 2011 each of blocks were divided into various quadrates of 20*25m  representing 0.25% sampling intensity. However no biological efforts have been made to bring this weed under control in Nepal before this research. Laboratory studies undertaken in laboratory of Papua New Guinea 9PNG demonstrated that Mikania plants infected by rust Puccinia spegazzinii grew more slowly than uninfected Control plants. By 8th week following infection, rust infected branches length extension through growth slowed to under 0.9cm/week, compared to 8.1cm/week in control plants. This fungus can be an effective biological control agent for weed M. micrantha so it should be considered for introduction in Governmental level and released into Nepal.
Key Words: Mikania, Nepal, Invasion, Puccinia.

Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, which function as critical posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression by promoting mRNA degradation and translational inhibition. Placenta expresses many ubiquitous as well as specific miRNAs. These miRNAs regulate trophoblast cell differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, invasion/migration, and angiogenesis, suggesting that miRNAs play important roles during placental development. Aberrant miRNAs expression has been linked to pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia. Recent research of placental miRNAs focuses on identifying placental miRNA species, examining differential expression of miRNAs between placentas from normal and compromised pregnancies, and uncovering the function of miRNAs in the placenta. More studies are required to further understand the functional significance of miRNAs in placental development and to explore the possibility of using miRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for pregnancy-re...

Additional file 5. Analysis of NaVβ4 expression in CeCa biopsies and normal cervical tissue. Representative immunohistochemical images of cervical cancer biopsies and normal cervix tissues showing the absence of NaVβ4 in CeCa biopsies and the moderate expression of the protein in normal cervix.

L’actine est impliquee dans de nombreuses fonctions cellulaires physiologiques et pathologiques. Au cours de ma these j'ai analyse le role de l'actine i) lors de l’invasion tumorale et ii) dans la formation des fenetres des cellules endotheliales sinusoidales hepatiques. i) Les cellules tumorales forment des structures d’actine permettant la degradation de la matrice extracellulaire (MEC) nommes invadosomes. Mes travaux ont permis de demontrer que la RhoGTPase Cdc42 regule la formation de la structure d’actine qu’est l’invadosome, tandis que la proteine d’echafaudage Tks5 est requise pour l’activite de degradation aboutissant a un invadosome fonctionnel. Ces deux molecules constituent la signature moleculaire minimale des invadosomes. Nous avons etabli que le collagene de type I qui est surexprime dans le microenvironnement tumoral induit la formation d’invadosomes lineaires (Lis). Nous avons identifie le recepteur a domaine discoidine 1 (DDR1) comme specifiquement responsab...

Complaints about a biting pest led to the recognition of invasive Aedes (Finlaya) japonicus japonicus (Theobald) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Central Europe. Larval collections from cemetery vases revealed a colonized area of approximately 1400 km2 in northern Switzerland spreading into bordering Germany, suggesting that the mosquito has been established in this region for several years. Within this range, larvae of Ae. japonicus were recovered from more containers than the most common resident culicid species Culex pipiens. Possible introduction sites (used tyre yards and international airports) revealed few or no larvae, and the mode of introduction remains unclear. Given the vector potential of this species for arboviruses, implementation of surveillance and control measures should be considered.

Successful microbial invasions are determined by a species' ability to occupy a niche in the new habitat whilst resisting competitive exclusion by the resident community. Despite the recognised importance of biotic factors in determining the invasiveness of microbial communities, the success and impact of multiple concurrent invaders on the resident community has not been examined. Simultaneous invasions might have synergistic effects, for example if resident species need to exhibit divergent phenotypes to compete with the invasive populations. We used three phylogenetically diverse bacterial species to invade two compositionally distinct communities in a controlled, naturalised in vitro system. By initiating the invader introductions at different stages of succession, we could disentangle the relative importance of resident community structure, invader diversity and time pre-invasion. Our results indicate that multiple invaders increase overall invasion success, but do not alte...

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a plastic and reversible process, essential for development and tissue homeostasis. Under pathological conditions, EMT causes induction of tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis. According to its reversible nature, the EMT program is associated with vast epigenetic changes. Targeting the epigenetic network that controls the EMT pathway in disease progression is a novel promising strategy to fight cancer metastasis. The impact of alterations in histone methylation in cancer has led to the identification of histone methyltransferases and demethylases as promising novel targets for therapy. Specifically, the lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1, also known as KDM1A) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of EMT. Here we present an overview of the causative role of LSD1 in the EMT process, summarizing recent findings on its emerging functions in cell migration and invasion in breast cancer.

Role of metalloproteases and adhesion molecules has been studied in cancer and metastases; tyrosine kinase receptors (TKRs) and mucins are related to their expression. Objective: To investigate the effects of MUC1/c-Met, and their participation in metastatic mechanism in head and neck carcinoma cell lines. Materials and methods: Lines Cal27 and A253 from squamous cell carcinoma and submaxillary gland carcinoma were treated with SU11274 (c-Met inhibitor) and GO-201 (MUC1 inhibitor) and evaluated by western blot and immunocytochemistry with anti-claudin 1, 3, and 9, integrin-αVβ1, E-cadherin, MMP2, MMP9, TIMP1 and TIMP2 after inhibition. MMPs' activity was assessed by zymography. Results: Claudins were atypically located in the cytoplasm and nucleus and their expression is differentially modified. Migration and invasion rate were affected by inhibition. MMP9 activity was affected. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the role of regulating MUC1 and c-Met is related to invasion mechanisms by dysregulation of claudins and MMPs activity.

Workshops are an important part of the IFPA annual meeting as they allow for discussion of specialised topics. At IFPA meeting 2016 there were twelve themed workshops, four of which are summarized in this report. These workshops related to various aspects of placental biology but collectively covered areas of decidual-trophoblast interaction, regulation of trophoblast invasion, immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface, and placental inflammation.

Invasive species can reach high abundances and dominate native environments. One of the most impressive examples of ecological invasions is the spread of the African sub-species of the honey bee throughout the Americas, starting from its introduction in a single locality in Brazil. The invasive honey bee is expected to more negatively impact bee community abundance and diversity than native dominant species, but this has not been tested previously. We developed a comprehensive and systematic bee sampling scheme, using a protocol deploying 11,520 pan traps across regions and crops for three years in Brazil. We found that invasive honey bees are now the single most dominant bee species. Such dominance has not only negative consequences for abundance and species richness of native bees but also for overall bee abundance (i.e., strong "numerical" effects of honey bees). Contrary to expectations, honey bees did not have stronger negative impacts than other native bees achieving similar levels of dominance (i.e., lack of negative "identity" effects of honey bees). These effects were remarkably consistent across crop species, seasons and years, and were independent from land-use effects. Dominance could be a proxy of bee community degradation and more generally of the severity of ecological invasions.

Although HOX genes are best known for acting in the regulation of important events during embryogenesis, including proliferation, differentiation and migration, alterations in their expression patterns have been frequently described in cancers. In previous studies we analyzed the expression profile of the members of the HOX family of homeobox genes in oral samples of normal mucosa and squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and identified differently expressed genes such as HOXA10. The present study aimed to validate the increased expression of HOXA10 in OSCCs, and to investigate the effects arising from its knockdown in OSCC cells. The levels of HOXA10 mRNA were determined in human OSCC samples and cell lines by quantitative PCR, and HOXA10-mediated effects on proliferation , apoptosis, adhesion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration and invasion were studied in HSC-3 tongue carcinoma cells by using retrovirus-mediated RNA interference. Higher expression of HOXA10 mRNA was obse...

Nicosia is a city designed to be divided across many false lines. The rich history of the city reveals the remnants of foreign intervention that imprinted a multicultural background on Nicosia, which – at the same time – erected some artificial lines of segregation. Britain’s colonial rule was crucial in fostering the most contemporary lines of division. A given constitution in 1960 made these lines look inevitable, and by 1964 Nicosia (like many other towns in Cyprus) was already divided on the ground. Turkey’s military invasion in 1974 imposed an even deeper line of division across Nicosia (and Cyprus) that engendered some novel problems which are visible up until today. EU accession stimulated some hope for overcoming division, which is relatively elusive.

These 2 cell lines showed enhanced tumorigenicity, as measured by a decreased latent period, and rapid growth as compared with the parental cell line. Moreover, orthotopic implantation of these cell lines resulted in metastasis to the lungs. These in vivo-selected, metastatic ...

The concept of Indo-Aryan group of peoples and their invasion has played a prominent role in explaining the cultural history of the Indian sub-continent. It was propounded that the Aryans, living somewhere outside India, invaded the Indian sub-continent around 1500 B.C. and after supplanting the indigenous powers and cultures settled in India. The Aryans were held responsible for the destruction of the earlier populations (esp. Indus valley civilization) and building of new cultures in the areas they invaded. The subject of this paper is to examine the physical anthropological dimensions of the "Aryan problem", which are two fold: a. "foreign phenotypic element" in the later phases of Harappan culture, and b. the "massacre evidence" at Mohenjo-Daro. Findings of the restudies of Harappan skeletal series and implications thereof for evaluating the 'Aryan Invasion Theory' have been discussed. The findings strongly indicates that the hypothesis of identification of "foreign phenotypic element" or unceremonious slaughter of native Harappans is not supplemented by bone evidence.

The expressive number of deaths and confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 call for an urgent demand of effective and available drugs for COVID-19 treatment. CD147, a receptor on host cells, is a novel route for SARS-CoV-2 invasion. Thus, drugs that interfere in the spike protein/CD147 interaction or CD147 expression may inhibit viral invasion and dissemination among other cells, including in progenitor/stem cells. Studies suggest beneficial effects of azithromycin in reducing viral load of hospitalized patients, possibly interfering with ligand/CD147 receptor interactions; however, its possible effects on SARS-CoV-2 invasion has not yet been evaluated. In addition to the possible effect in invasion, azithromycin decreases the expression of some metalloproteinases (downstream to CD147), induces anti-viral responses in primary human bronchial epithelial infected with rhinovirus, decreasing viral replication and release. Moreover, resident lung progenitor/stem are extensively differentiated in myofibroblasts during pulmonary fibrosis, a complication observed in COVID-19 patients. This process, and the possible direct viral invasion of progenitor/stem cells via CD147 or ACE2, could result in the decline of these cellular stocks and failing lung repair. Clinical tests with allogeneic MSCs from healthy individuals are underway to enhance endogenous lung repair and suppress inflammation.

The researches carried during more than a century and half period from plants’ introduction in Adjara Black Sea Coastline shows, that great part of thousands of exotic experienced tree plants and bushes are growing successfully, without special agro-technical measures and they create various cenotic links.
Introduction of foreign plants in Adjara coastline has started for a long time ago. Introduction of exotic plants in seaside Adjara started in 80s of XIX Century. Primarily, at the initial stage of introduction, practical direction of it was expressed mostly, which was made by volunteers interested in importing foreign plants unreasonably.  For the end of nineteenth century and the beginning of twentieth century the foundation is laid down for construction of Batumi Botanical Garden and introduction of foreign plants. For the end of XX century, they were represented by more than 2000 woody taxon.