Optimal Surface Drainage Inlets Positioning Using Stochastic Pluvial Flooding Analysis

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive

Chiral Oligothiophenes with Remarkable Circularly Polarized Luminescence and Electroluminescence in Thin Films

We report circular polarized electroluminescence (CPEL) in thin films of self-organized oligothiophenes. Four new 1,4-phenylene and 9H-carbazole-based oligothiophenes were ad hoc designed to ensure efficient spontaneous formation of chiral supramolecular order. They were easily synthetized and their chiroptical properties in thin films were measured. Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) spectra revealed glum in the order of 10-2 on a wide wavelengths range, originating from their self-organized chiral supramolecular organization. These molecules have reasonable properties as organic semiconductors and for this reason they can constitute the active layer of circularlypolarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs). Thus, we could investigate directly their electroluminescence (EL) and CPEL, without resorting to blends, but rather in a simple multilayer device with basic architecture. This is the first example of a CP-OLED with active layer made only of a small organic compound

Utility of post mortem computed tomography in clivus fracture diagnosis. Case illustration and literature review

Clivus fractures are usually associated with head blunt trauma due to traffic accident and falls. A 23–year-old man died immediately after a smash-up while he was stopping on his motorcycle. Post-mortem Computed tomography (PMCT), performed before autopsy, revealed a complex basilar skull base fractures associated with brainstem and cranio-vertebral junction injuries, improving the diagnostic performance of conventional autopsy. Imaging data were re-assessable and PMCT offers the possibility to perform multiplanar and volume rendered reconstructions, increasing forensic medicine knowledge related to traumatic injuries

Calcineurin controls expression of EAAT1/GLAST in mouse and human cultured astrocytes through dynamic regulation of protein synthesis and degradation

Alterations in the expression of glutamate/aspartate transporter (GLAST) have been associated with several neuropathological conditions including Alzheimer\u2019s disease and epilepsy. However, the mechanisms by which GLAST expression is altered are poorly understood. Here we used a combination of pharmacological and genetic approaches coupled with quantitative PCR and Western blot to investigate the mechanism of the regulation of GLAST expression by a Ca2+ /calmodulin-activated phosphatase calcineurin (CaN). We show that treatment of cultured hippocampal mouse and fetal human astrocytes with a CaN inhibitor FK506 resulted in a dynamic modulation of GLAST protein expression, being downregulated after 24\u201348 h, but upregulated after 7 days of continuous FK506 (200 nM) treatment. Protein synthesis, as assessed by puromycin incorporation in neo-synthesized polypeptides, was inhibited already after 1 h of FK506 treatment, while the use of a proteasome inhibitor MG132 (1 \ub5M) shows that GLAST protein degradation was only suppressed after 7 days of FK506 treatment. In astrocytes with constitutive genetic ablation of CaN both protein synthesis and degradation were significantly inhibited. Taken together, our data suggest that, in cultured astrocytes, CaN controls GLAST expression at a posttranscriptional level through regulation of GLAST protein synthesis and degradation

Curcumin reduces development of seizurelike events in the hippocampal-entorhinal cortex slice culture model for epileptogenesis

OBJECTIVE Inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway could be antiepileptogenic in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), possibly via anti-inflammatory actions. We studied effects of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin and the anti-inflammatory compound curcumin-also reported to inhibit the mTOR pathway-on epileptogenesis and inflammation in an in vitro organotypic hippocampal-entorhinal cortex slice culture model. METHODS Brain slices containing hippocampus and entorhinal cortex were obtained from 6-day-old rat pups and maintained in culture for up to 3 weeks. Rapamycin or curcumin was added to the culture medium from day 2 in vitro onward. Electrophysiological recordings revealed epileptiformlike activity that developed over 3 weeks. RESULTS In week 3, spontaneous seizurelike events (SLEs) could be detected using whole cell recordings from CA1 principal neurons. The percentage of recorded CA1 neurons displaying SLEs was lower in curcumin-treated slice cultures compared to vehicle-treated slices (25.8% vs 72.5%), whereas rapamycin did not reduce SLE occurrence significantly (52%). Western blot for phosphorylated-S6 (pS6) and phosphorylated S6K confirmed that rapamycin inhibited the mTOR pathway, whereas curcumin only lowered pS6 expression at one phosphorylation site. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction results indicated a trend toward lower expression of inflammatory markers IL-1β and IL-6 and transforming growth factor β after 3 weeks of treatment with rapamycin and curcumin compared to vehicle. SIGNIFICANCE Our results show that curcumin suppresses SLEs in the combined hippocampal-entorhinal cortex slice culture model and suggest that its antiepileptogenic effects should be further investigated in experimental models of TLE

CONVERGENCE OF SIGNALING BY INTERLEUKIN-3, GRANULOCYTE-MACROPHAGE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR, AND MAST CELL GROWTH FACTOR ON JAK2 TYROSINE KINASE

Mast cell growth factor (MGF) (also called stem cell factor) synergizes with several lymphokines, including interleukin-3 (IL-3) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), to promote proliferation and differentiation of certain hemopoietic progenitor cells. Although similar patterns of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins characterize cells stimulated by MGF, IL-3, and GM-CSF, only the MGF receptor is a tyrosine kinase, and the heterodimeric receptors for IL-3 and GM-CSF share a common beta subunit that is devoid of enzymatic activity. Here we show that signaling pathways utilized by all three cytokines include the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase JAK2. Analysis of several factor-dependent myeloid cell lines indicated that JAK2 is physically associated with the common beta subunit and with MGF receptor (c-Kit) even prior to ligand binding. However, each of the ligands induced elevated tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK2 and a consequent increase in its catalytic activity. These results demonstrate for the first time the convergence within the same myeloid cells of signaling pathways originating in two distinct lymphokine receptors and a tyrosine kinase receptor on activation of a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase

Calibration and validation of high frequency coastal radar waves exploiting in-situ observations and modelled data in the south-west Sicily

This paper describes a calibration procedure for a non-optimally configured High Frequency Radar (HFR) for the period 1 April 2021, to 31 March 2022, to assess sea waves characteristics. The HFR system, a 16.5 MHz WEllen RAdar (WERA), is part of an innovative network for monitoring the state of the sea. The system is installed in the western part of Sicily (Italy) where a wave buoy is positioned. HFR data underestimate the spectral significant wave heights (Hm0), in particular for Hm0 > 2 m, highlighting the need for calibration of the HFR system to ensure its optimal performance for operational purposes. The calibration was performed with both in-situ and modelled data provided by the Copernicus Marine Service. The best results were obtained when the buoy data were used as reference. Encouraging results were achieved as demonstrated by the improvement of the quantitative metrics after the calibration. Indeed, the RMSE decreased from 0.60 to 0.36 m; the correlation R increased slightly from 0.86 to 0.88, the slope from 0.48 to 0.8; whereas intercept from 0.11 to 0.31 m. Moreover, waves higher than > 2 m are well reproduced by the calibrated HFR time series with the RMSE decreasing from 1.3 to 0.53 m