Wnt signaling exerts an antiproliferative effect on adult cardiac progenitor cells through IGFBP3.

RATIONALE: Recent work in animal models and humans has demonstrated the presence of organ-specific progenitor cells required for the regenerative capacity of the adult heart. In response to tissue injury, progenitor cells differentiate into specialized cells, while their numbers are maintained through mechanisms of self-renewal. The molecular cues that dictate the self-renewal of adult progenitor cells in the heart, however, remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: We investigate the role of canonical Wnt signaling on adult cardiac side population (CSP) cells under physiological and disease conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: CSP cells isolated from C57BL/6J mice were used to study the effects of canonical Wnt signaling on their proliferative capacity. The proliferative capacity of CSP cells was also tested after injection of recombinant Wnt3a protein (r-Wnt3a) in the left ventricular free wall. Wnt signaling was found to decrease the proliferation of adult CSP cells, both in vitro and in vivo, through suppression of cell cycle progression. Wnt stimulation exerted its antiproliferative effects through a previously unappreciated activation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3), which requires intact IGF binding site for its action. Moreover, injection of r-Wnt3a after myocardial infarction in mice showed that Wnt signaling limits CSP cell renewal, blocks endogenous cardiac regeneration and impairs cardiac performance, highlighting the importance of progenitor cells in maintaining tissue function after injury. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identifies canonical Wnt signaling and the novel downstream mediator, IGFBP3, as key regulators of adult cardiac progenitor self-renewal in physiological and pathological states

Industry's Effort on Waste Minimization and Recycling

[Title page and panel members' biographies only

Modelling soil organic carbon 2. Changes under a range of cropping and grazing farming systems in eastern Australia

The level of soil organic carbon (SOC) that is attained under agriculture largely depends upon rates of carbon input and its decomposition under various agronomic practises such as stubble (crop residue) management and fertiliser application. In this study, we used the APSIM-Wheat and APSIM-Agpasture models to simulate changes in SOC in a range of crop and pasture management systems across nine locations in eastern Australia. We explored the extent to which various crop and pasture management options affect changes in SOC from a sub-tropical to a temperate environment. Specifically, we examined how nitrogen fertilisation, stubble management and stocking rate affect SOC and what strategies might be employed by farmers to increase SOC sequestration across eastern Australia. We modelled a continuous cropping regime, a continuously grazed pasture and a mixed cropping and pasture rotation. Under continuous cropping higher nitrogen application and higher amounts of stubble incorporation increased the SOC levels at all locations. At Roma, the northern-most site, there was little additional gain in SOC from increasing N above 70kgNha whereas most other sites showed benefits above 70kgNha. The biggest factor in boosting SOC under cropping was the level of stubble incorporation. At all but one site, continuously grazed pasture generally resulted in SOC increases over the 60years. However, increasing stocking rate decreased the rates of SOC changes at all sites. Crop-pasture rotations show that the impacts of even 4years of pasture is likely to be significant in reducing declining SOC at low nitrogen application during cropping phases. N fertilisation and stubble incorporation reduced the impact of stocking rate by reducing the decline in SOC. The difference in SOC changes between nine sites across eastern Australia was largely described by mean temperature and rainfall but high temperature strongly interacted with management practises (stocking rate, N application and residue incorporation) to reduce the sequestration of C despite favourable rainfall. Our results indicate that a mean annual temperature higher than about 20°C can switch a soil from net sink into a net source of atmospheric CO if other factors affecting soil carbon changes such as stubble incorporation, stocking rate and site rainfall are constant

Modelling soil organic carbon 1. Performance of APSIM crop and pasture modules against long-term experimental data

We used the APSIM model to explore the ability to simulate soil organic carbon (SOC) from three long term agricultural experiments (LTAE) over 24-44years in eastern Australia (Hamilton Victoria, Wagga Wagga New South Wales and Warwick Queensland). The model was initialized for each location soil type using a 20-year spin-up period to reach stable SOC fractions. The model was not tuned to any of the data at each site. The cropping systems model simulated reasonably well the calculated changes in SOC over the 24-44-year period at the three different sites under various agronomic management practices. At Hamilton calculated SOC did not change significantly over 32years and the APSIM-Agpasture model represented this satisfactorily. Root mean square error was 4.9tCha (0-30cm) (5.2%) ranging from 1.5 to 10.9tCha (1.7 to 11.8%) over time. Similarly, over twenty-four years of continuous cropping at Wagga Wagga under a Wheat-Lupin crop rotation using APSIM-Wheat and APSIM-Lupin under stubble retention and zero tillage showed a largely neutral trend over time with RMSE of 3.4tCha (0-30cm) (9.5%) ranging from 1.4 to 7.8tCha (4 to 21%) over time. The SOC was much lower at Wagga Wagga compared to that at Hamilton. Forty-four years of continuous cropping at the Queensland site resulted in significant declines in SOC irrespective of the farming practices applied. However, the rates of decline were different with the least decline achieved from high N application with stubble retention. The modelled changes, using APSIM-Wheat and APSIM-Barley, in SOC matched reasonably well the calculated behaviour with the greatest decline under zero N application with overall RMSE of 4.1tCha (0-30cm) (4.5%) ranging from 1.4 to 8.7tCha (2 to 7%) over time. The biophysical simulation model exemplified by the APSIM model explained well the observed changes in SOC at the various locations without specifically fitting the model to the observed data, despite large variation in the calculated data. This indicates that the SOC model was robust over the moderate to long term period. As such the model is suitable to extrapolate a simulated response beyond these locations under various treatment combinations that should predict realistic SOC stocks within the expected mean error of less than 10% (3 to 6tCha 0-30cm)

DO MULTI-GRIP HANDS INCREASE FUNCTION AND PATIENT SATISFACTION WHEN COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL MYOELECTRIC HANDS?

INTRODUCTION Myoelectric hands progressed from single grip hands (traditional myoelectric devices (TH)) to be multi-grip hands (MGH) which are hypothesized to bring more degrees of freedom, greater range of motion and improved grasping capabilities1,2. Their impact on patients’ lives has been documented in only a few case studies. The Strategic Consortium for Upper Limb Prosthetic Technologies (SCULPT) aims to assess the potential benefits MGH with respect to function and  patient satisfaction compared to TH systems. Abstract PDF  Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/32049/24463 How to cite: Popovic I, Cutti A, Ryan T, Schaefer M, Andres E, Wuestefeld D, Winkler C, Baun K, Bischof B, Braatz F, Miguelez J, Conyers D, Hahn A. DO MULTI-GRIP HANDS INCREASE FUNCTION AND PATIENT SATISFACTION WHEN COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL MYOELECTRIC HANDS? CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA’S 101ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32049 Abstracts were Peer-reviewed by the AOPA 2018 National Assembly Scientific Committee

DO MULTI-GRIP HANDS INCREASE FUNCTION AND PATIENT SATISFACTION WHEN COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL MYOELECTRIC HANDS?

INTRODUCTION Myoelectric hands progressed from single grip hands (traditional myoelectric devices (TH)) to be multi-grip hands (MGH) which are hypothesized to bring more degrees of freedom, greater range of motion and improved grasping capabilities1,2. Their impact on patients’ lives has been documented in only a few case studies. The Strategic Consortium for Upper Limb Prosthetic Technologies (SCULPT) aims to assess the potential benefits MGH with respect to function and  patient satisfaction compared to TH systems. Abstract PDF  Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/32049/24463 How to cite: Popovic I, Cutti A, Ryan T, Schaefer M, Andres E, Wuestefeld D, Winkler C, Baun K, Bischof B, Braatz F, Miguelez J, Conyers D, Hahn A. DO MULTI-GRIP HANDS INCREASE FUNCTION AND PATIENT SATISFACTION WHEN COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL MYOELECTRIC HANDS? CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, POSTER PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA’S 101ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32049 Abstracts were Peer-reviewed by the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA) 101st National Assembly Scientific Committee.  http://www.aopanet.org