Cardiac Specific Gene Expression Changes in Long Term Culture of Murine Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Murine MSCs are a readily available source of adult stem cells enabling extensive in vitro study of this cell population. MSCs have been described as multipotent, and have been proven capable of differentiation into several connective tissue types. Furthermore some studies have suggested an ability to differentiate into non-connective tissue cell types such as the cardiomyocyte. The aim of this study was to differentiate murine MSCs toward cardiac lineage with the commonly used method of culture with 5’ Azacytidine. Critically, baseline analysis of gene expression of passage four MSCs demonstrated expression of key cardiac markers including cardiac troponin T and I, and the ryanodine receptor. Furthermore, expression analysis of these genes changed with time in culture and passage number. However, there was no significant alteration when cells were subjected to a differentiation protocol. This study therefore highlights the importance of analyzing baseline cells extensively, and indicates the limitations in extrapolating data for comparison between species. Furthermore this data brings into question the efficacy of cardiac differentiation using MSCs

Barrel medics for Eastern wheatbelt pastures

There is a big potential for the use of barrel medic in wheatbelt pastures, and prospects have been further improved by the advent of the early-maturing Cyprus strain. In this article Merredin Agricultural Adviser D. B. Argyle gives some hints on establishment and management of barrel medic pastures in the eastern wheatbelt. Much of what he says also applies to other areas; contact your local adviser for further information

Pruning citrus trees. 2. Pruning the mature tree

EXAMINATION of a mature tree in full production will show the natural pattern of growth already explained. It will be seen that over the years the frame has developed by a system of layers with new growth, stimulated by sunlight, constantly appearing on the top side of the older wood. Eventually the terminal portions of the older layers are weakened by lack of light, they become unproductive and in turn adversely affect the general fruitfulness of the rest of the tree by shading and crowding

Miscue Analysis for Classroom Use

During oral reading, students often say something other than what is actually printed in the book. Such miscues can be used to help teachers make decisions about upcoming reading instruction. Deviations from text during oral reading are not simply random mistakes (Goodman, 1969), but form patterns that reveal useful information about children\u27s reading abilities. A relaxed version of miscue analysis can take as little as ten minutes to administer and score. This kind of information provides a profile of the reader\u27s strengths and weaknesses which in turn gives important clues as to the range of strategies students use during reading

Pruning citrus trees

PRUNING is one of the less important operations in citrus culture but if properly carried out it can contribute to the economy of production and the general wellbeing of the orchard

Establishing wheatbelt pastures? Don\u27t use a cover crop

One of the factors which influence the establishment of improved pasture in the West Australian wheatbelt is whether the pasture legume is sown with a cover crop or not. Mediocre establishment can follow when a cover crop is used and it is recommended that, for rapid establishment, any pasture legume should be sown without a cover crop

Locating the ‘radical’ in 'Shoot the Messenger'

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below, copyright 2013 @ Edinburgh University Press.The 2006 BBC drama Shoot the Messenger is based on the psychological journey of a Black schoolteacher, Joe Pascale, accused of assaulting a Black male pupil. The allegation triggers Joe's mental breakdown which is articulated, through Joe's first-person narration, as a vindictive loathing of Black people. In turn, a range of common stereotypical characterisations and discourses based on a Black culture of hypocrisy, blame and entitlement is presented. The text is therefore laid wide open to a critique of its neo-conservatism and hegemonic narratives of Black Britishness. However, the drama's presentation of Black mental illness suggests that Shoot the Messenger may also be interpreted as a critique of social inequality and the destabilising effects of living with ethnicised social categories. Through an analysis of issues of representation, the article reclaims this controversial text as a radical drama and examines its implications for and within a critical cultural politics of ‘race’ and representation

Statistical properties of giant pulses from the Crab pulsar

We have studied the statistics of giant pulses from the Crab pulsar for the first time with particular reference to their widths. We have analyzed data collected during 3.5 hours of observations conducted with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope operated in a tied-array mode at a frequency of 1200 MHz. The PuMa pulsar backend provided voltage recording of X and Y linear polarization states in two conjugate 10 MHz bands. We restricted the time resolution to 4 microseconds to match the scattering on the interstellar inhomogeneities. In total about 18000 giant pulses (GP) were detected in full intensity with a threshold level of 6 sigma. Cumulative probability distributions (CPD) of giant pulse energies were analyzed for groups of GPs with different effective widths in the range 4 to 65 microseconds. The CPDs were found to manifest notable differences for the different GP width groups. The slope of a power-law fit to the high-energy portion of the CPDs evolves from -1.7 to -3.2 when going from the shortest to the longest GPs. There are breaks in the CPD power-law fits indicating flattening at low energies with indices varying from -1.0 to -1.9 for the short and long GPs respectively. The GPs with a stronger peak flux density were found to be of shorter duration. We compare our results with previously published data and discuss the importance of these peculiarities in the statistical properties of GPs for the heoretical understanding of the emission mechanism responsible for GP generation.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic