256 research outputs found
Preliminary Characterization of the Transcriptional Response of the Porcine Intestinal Cell Line IPEC-J2 to Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli, and E. coli Lipopolysaccharide
IPEC-J2, a promising in vitro model system, is not well characterized especially on the transcriptional level, in contrast to human counterparts. The aim of this study was to characterize the gene expression in IPEC-J2 cells when coincubated with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), nonpathogenic E. coli, and E. coli endotoxin. Apical infection of polarized IPEC-J2 monolayers caused a time-dependent decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). Microarray analysis showed up-regulation of interleukins when IPEC-J2 were cocultured with E. coli strains this has so far never been measured in this cell line. Highest IL8 expression was found with the ETEC strain possessing the F4 fimbrium, suggesting IPEC-J2 cells to be F4 receptor positive, confirmed in a brush border membrane adhesion assay. It is concluded that the innate immune responses to pathogens and LPS makes the IPEC-J2 cell line a suitable model for research on intestinal host pathogen interaction
An exploration of the challenges facing developers of affordable dwellings following low carbon and ecological principles, in rural locations in Wales
This paper discusses the challenges in developing ecological, low carbon and affordable dwellings
in rural areas of Wales; since much of the funding in the UK is often focused on urban
development. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) is committed to the aim that the
construction of new homes moves towards zero carbon as soon as possible. There is a need to
ensure that this strategy recognises that one size does not fit all; and understanding and
addressing these issues will be fundamental if WAG objectives are too achieved in rural areas.
This paper discusses a three year research project, which commenced in autumn 2010 in
collaboration with the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) and Pembrokeshire Housing
Association (PHA), a registered social landlord and developer of affordable dwellings; to create a
development model for affordable, low carbon, ecological rural dwellings to achieve WAG targets.
This paper will be of use to rural developers, designers and architects
Two approaches to developing low carbon dwellings in west Wales
In October 2010 Pembrokeshire Housing Association (PHA) completed a development
of six residential units, in Pembroke Dock, in west Wales, as part of a Welsh
Government pilot project to promote the development of low carbon housing in Wales
based on the Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH). In the same year, in the same town,
a small scale developer undertook the design and construction of two houses based on
ecological principles using strawbale construction. The houses built by this developer
were designed and built outside of the requirements of the CfSH and utilised passive
design approaches along with local and natural materials to reduce operational and
embodied energy. Researchers from the Ecological Built Environment Research and
Enterprise group, at Cardiff Metropolitan University, are working in collaboration with
PHA to develop a best practice model for low carbon housing in rural areas of Wales and
these two projects provide an opportunity for the researchers to investigate and compare
two distinct approaches to low carbon design each with the aim to deliver sustainable,
affordable dwellings. To evaluate these two schemes structured interviews were held
with the design team of the pilot project and the designer/builder of the eco-house to
understand their respective approaches; the influences and obstacles that affected the
development of the schemes; and how they considered user behaviour. The paper
concludes by considering the lessons that registered social landlords might learn from
small scale ecological developers for the design and construction of low and zero energy
housing in rural areas
Gain of 20q11.21 in human pluripotent stem cells impairs TGF-β-dependent neuroectodermal commitment
Gain of 20q11.21 is one of the most common recurrent genomic aberrations in human pluripotent stem cells. Although it is known that overexpression of the antiapoptotic gene Bcl-xL confers a survival advantage to the abnormal cells, their differentiation capacity has not been fully investigated. RNA sequencing of mutant and control hESC lines, and a line transgenically overexpressing Bcl-xL, shows that overexpression of Bcl-xL is sufficient to cause most transcriptional changes induced by the gain of 20q11.21. Moreover, the differentially expressed genes in mutant and Bcl-xL overexpressing lines are enriched for genes involved in TGF-beta- and SMAD-mediated signaling, and neuron differentiation. Finally, we show that this altered signaling has a dramatic negative effect on neuroectodermal differentiation, while the cells maintain their ability to differentiate to mesendoderm derivatives. These findings stress the importance of thorough genetic testing of the lines before their use in research or the clinic
Exploration of Gate Trench Module for Vertical GaN devices
The aim of this work is to present the optimization of the gate trench module
for use in vertical GaN devices in terms of cleaning process of the etched
surface of the gate trench, thickness of gate dielectric and magnesium
concentration of the p-GaN layer. The analysis was carried out by comparing the
main DC parameters of devices that differ in surface cleaning process of the
gate trench, gate dielectric thickness, and body layer doping. . On the basis
of experimental results, we report that: (i) a good cleaning process of the
etched GaN surface of the gate trench is a key factor to enhance the device
performance, (ii) a gate dielectric >35-nm SiO2 results in a narrow
distribution for DC characteristics, (iii) lowering the p-doping in the body
layer improves the ON-resistance (RON). Gate capacitance measurements are
performed to further confirm the results. Hypotheses on dielectric
trapping/detrapping mechanisms under positive and negative gate bias are
reported.Comment: 5 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Microelectronics Reliability
(Special Issue: 31st European Symposium on Reliability of Electron Devices,
Failure Physics and Analysis, ESREF 2020
A LRRK2-Dependent EndophilinA Phosphoswitch Is Critical for Macroautophagy at Presynaptic Terminals.
Synapses are often far from the soma and independently cope with proteopathic stress induced by intense neuronal activity. However, how presynaptic compartments turn over proteins is poorly understood. We show that the synapse-enriched protein EndophilinA, thus far studied for its role in endocytosis, induces macroautophagy at presynaptic terminals. We find that EndophilinA executes this unexpected function at least partly independent of its role in synaptic vesicle endocytosis. EndophilinA-induced macroautophagy is activated when the kinase LRRK2 phosphorylates the EndophilinA-BAR domain and is blocked in animals where EndophilinA cannot be phosphorylated. EndophilinA-phosphorylation promotes the formation of highly curved membranes, and reconstitution experiments show these curved membranes serve as docking stations for autophagic factors, including Atg3. Functionally, deregulation of the EndophilinA phosphorylation state accelerates activity-induced neurodegeneration. Given that EndophilinA is connected to at least three Parkinson's disease genes (LRRK2, Parkin and Synaptojanin), dysfunction of EndophilinA-dependent synaptic macroautophagy may be common in this disorder
Triplet Exciton Generation in Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells based on Endohedral Fullerenes
Organic bulk-heterojunctions (BHJ) and solar cells containing the trimetallic
nitride endohedral fullerene 1-[3-(2-ethyl)hexoxy
carbonyl]propyl-1-phenyl-Lu3N@C80 (Lu3N@C80-PCBEH) show an open circuit voltage
(VOC) 0.3 V higher than similar devices with [6,6]-phenyl-C[61]-butyric acid
methyl ester (PC61BM). To fully exploit the potential of this acceptor molecule
with respect to the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells, the short
circuit current (JSC) should be improved to become competitive with the state
of the art solar cells. Here, we address factors influencing the JSC in blends
containing the high voltage absorber Lu3N@C80-PCBEH in view of both
photogeneration but also transport and extraction of charge carriers. We apply
optical, charge carrier extraction, morphology, and spin-sensitive techniques.
In blends containing Lu3N@C80-PCBEH, we found 2 times weaker photoluminescence
quenching, remainders of interchain excitons, and, most remarkably, triplet
excitons formed on the polymer chain, which were absent in the reference
P3HT:PC61BM blends. We show that electron back transfer to the triplet state
along with the lower exciton dissociation yield due to intramolecular charge
transfer in Lu3N@C80-PCBEH are responsible for the reduced photocurrent
Деформационное упрочнение начально-изотропных металлов при деформировании по траекториям малой кривизны
На примере стали мартенситного класса исследованы закономерности деформационного
упрочнения при нагружении по траекториям, имеющим вид двухзвенных ломаных, которым
соответствуют траектории деформирования малой кривизны. Показано, что поверхность
нагружения, разделяющая области упругого и упругопластического деформирования, смещается
в направлении вектора, который соединяет центр поверхности нагружения и изображающую
точку на траектории нагружения, при этом не изменяется форма ее фронтальной
части. Зависимость величины смещения центра поверхности нагружения от
интенсивности накопленных пластических деформаций описывается кривой, инвариантной
к виду траектории нагружения.На прикладі сталі мартенситного класу досліджено закономірності деформаційного
зміцнення при навантаженні по траєкторіях, що мають вигляд
дволанкових ламаних, яким відповідають траєкторії деформування малої
кривини. Показано, що поверхня навантаження, яка розділяє області пружного
та пружнопластичного деформування, зміщується у напрямку вектора,
який з ’єднує центр поверхні навантаження та відображуючу точку на траєкторії
навантаження, при цьому форма фронтальної частини не змінюється.
Залежність величини зміщення центра поверхні навантаження від інтенсивності
накопичених пластичних деформацій описується кривою, яка є інваріантною
відносно траєкторії навантаження.By the example of martensitic steel we study
regularities of strain hardening under loading
along two-section broken lines corresponding
to slightly curved strain paths. It is shown that
the loading surface separating domains of elastic
and elastoplastic strains (yield surface) is
displaced in the direction of a vector connecting
the surface center with the loading trajectory
image point, while the shape of its frontal
part remains unchanged. The yield surface center
displacement versus the intensity of accumulated
plastic strains is described by a curve
invariant to the loading trajectory
Bisphenol A shapes children’s brain and behavior: towards an integrated neurotoxicity assessment including human data
The authors gratefully acknowledge editorial assistance provided by Richard
Davies. VM is under contract within the Human Biomonitoring for Europe
Project (European Union Commission H2020-EJP-HBM4EU). The authors acknowledge the funding received from the Biomedical Research Networking
Center-CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), and the Instituto
de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (FIS-PI16/01820 and FIS-PI16/01812). The funders
had no role in the study design, data.Concerns about the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on human brain and behavior are not novel; however, Grohs and
colleagues have contributed groundbreaking data on this topic in a recent issue of Environmental Health. For the first time,
associations were reported between prenatal BPA exposure and differences in children’s brain microstructure, which
appeared to mediate the association between this exposure and children’s behavioral symptoms. Findings in numerous
previous mother-child cohorts have pointed in a similar worrying direction, linking higher BPA exposure during pregnancy
to more behavioral problems throughout childhood as assessed by neuropsychological questionnaires. Notwithstanding, this
body of work has not been adequately considered in risk assessment. From a toxicological perspective, results are now
available from the CLARITY-BPA consortium, designed to reconcile academic and regulatory toxicology findings. In fact, the
brain has consistently emerged as one of the most sensitive organs disrupted by BPA, even at doses below those
considered safe by regulatory agencies such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In this Commentary, we
contextualize the results of Grohs et al. within the setting of previous epidemiologic and CLARITY-BPA data and express our
disquiet about the “all-or-nothing” criterion adopted to select human data in a recent EFSA report on the appraisal
methodology for their upcoming BPA risk assessment. We discuss the most relevant human studies, identify emerging
patterns, and highlight the need for adequate assessment and interpretation of the increasing epidemiologic literature in this
field in order to support decision-making. With the aim of avoiding a myopic or biased selection of a few studies in
traditional risk assessment procedures, we propose a future reevaluation of BPA focused on neurotoxicity and based on a
systematic and comprehensive integration of available mechanistic, animal, and human data. Taken together, the
experimental and epidemiologic evidence converge in the same direction: BPA is a probable developmental neurotoxicant
at low doses. Accordingly, the precautionary principle should be followed, progressively implementing stringent preventive
policies worldwide, including the banning of BPA in food contact materials and thermal receipts, with a focus on the
utilization of safer substitutes.European Union (EU): H2020-EJP-HBM4EUBiomedical Research Networking Center-CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (CIBERESP)Instituto de Salud Carlos III
FIS-PI16/01820
FIS-PI16/0181
Non-Breeding Song Rate Reflects Nutritional Condition Rather than Body Condition
Numerous studies have focused on song in songbirds as a signal involved in mate choice and intrasexual competition. It is expected that song traits such as song rate reflect individual quality by being dependent on energetic state or condition. While seasonal variation in bird song (i.e., breeding versus non-breeding song) and its neural substrate have received a fair amount of attention, the function and information content of song outside the breeding season is generally much less understood. Furthermore, typically only measures of condition involving body mass are examined with respect to song rate. Studies investigating a potential relationship between song rate and other indicators of condition, such as physiological measures of nutritional condition, are scant. In this study, we examined whether non-breeding song rate in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) reflects plasma metabolite levels (high-density lipoproteins (HDL), albumin, triglycerides and cholesterol) and/or body mass. Song rate was significantly positively related to a principal component representing primarily HDL, albumin and cholesterol (and to a lesser degree plasma triglyceride levels). There was only a trend toward a significant positive correlation between song rate and body mass, and no significant correlation between body mass and the abovementioned principal component. Therefore, our results indicate that nutritional condition and body mass represent different aspects of condition, and that song rate reflects nutritional rather than body condition. Additionally, we also found that intra-individual song rate consistency (though not song rate itself) was significantly positively related to lutein levels, but not to body mass or nutritional condition. Together our results suggest that the relation between physiological measures of nutritional condition and song rate, as well as other signals, may present an interesting line of future research, both inside and outside the breeding season
- …