80 research outputs found
Elastic medium confined in a column versus the Janssen experiment
We compute the stresses in an elastic medium confined in a vertical column,
when the material is at the Coulomb threshold everywhere at the walls.
Simulations are performed in 2 dimensions using a spring lattice, and in 3
dimensions, using Finite Element Method. The results are compared to the
Janssen model and to experimental results for a granular material. The
necessity to consider elastic anisotropy to render qualitatively the
experimental findings is discussed
No self-similar aggregates with sedimentation
Two-dimensional cluster-cluster aggregation is studied when clusters move
both diffusively and sediment with a size dependent velocity. Sedimentation
breaks the rotational symmetry and the ensuing clusters are not self-similar
fractals: the mean cluster width perpendicular to the field direction grows
faster than the height. The mean width exhibits power-law scaling with respect
to the cluster size, ~ s^{l_x}, l_x = 0.61 +- 0.01, but the mean height
does not. The clusters tend to become elongated in the sedimentation direction
and the ratio of the single particle sedimentation velocity to single particle
diffusivity controls the degree of orientation. These results are obtained
using a simulation method, which becomes the more efficient the larger the
moving clusters are.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
The Gp1ba-Cre transgenic mouse::A new model to delineate platelet and leukocyte functions
Conditional knockout (KO) mouse models are invaluable for elucidating the physiological roles of platelets. The Platelet factor 4-Cre recombinase (Pf4-Cre) transgenic mouse is the current model of choice for generating megakaryocyte/platelet-specific KO mice. Platelets and leukocytes work closely together in a wide range of disease settings, yet the specific contribution of platelets to these processes remains unclear. This is partially a result of the Pf4-Cre transgene being expressed in a variety of leukocyte populations. To overcome this issue, we developed a Gp1ba-Cre transgenic mouse strain in which Cre expression is driven by the endogenous Gp1ba locus. By crossing Gp1ba-Cre and Pf4-Cre mice to the mT/mG dual-fluorescence reporter mouse and performing a head-to-head comparison, we demonstrate more stringent megakaryocyte lineage-specific expression of the Gp1ba-Cre transgene. Broader tissue expression was observed with the Pf4-Cre transgene, leading to recombination in many hematopoietic lineages, including monocytes, macrophages, granulocytes, and dendritic and B and T cells. Direct comparison of phenotypes of Csk, Shp1, or CD148 conditional KO mice generated using either the Gp1ba-Cre or Pf4-Cre strains revealed similar platelet phenotypes. However, additional inflammatory and immunological anomalies were observed in Pf4-Cre-generated KO mice as a result of nonspecific deletion in other hematopoietic lineages. By excluding leukocyte contributions to phenotypes, the Gp1ba-Cre mouse will advance our understanding of the role of platelets in inflammation and other pathophysiological processes in which platelet-leukocyte interactions are involved
Phase Transition in Perovskite Manganites with Orbital Degree of Freedom
Roles of orbital degree of freedom of Mn ions in phase transition as a
function of temperature and hole concentration in perovskite manganites are
studied. It is shown that the orbital order-disorder transition is of the first
order in the wide region of hole concentration and the Nel
temperature for the anisotropic spin ordering, such as the layer-type
antiferromagnetic one, is lower than the orbital ordering temperature due to
the anisotropy in the orbital space. The calculated results of the temperature
dependence of the spin and orbital order parameters explain a variety of the
experiments observed in manganites.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Strain effect on electronic transport and ferromagnetic transition temperature in LaSrMnO thin films
We report on a systematic study of strain effects on the transport properties
and the ferromagnetic transition temperature of high-quality
LaSrMnO thin films epitaxially grown on (100) SrTiO
substrates. Both the magnetization and the resistivity are critically dependent
on the film thickness. is enhanced with decreasing the film thickness
due to the compressive stain produced by lattice mismatch. The resistivity
above 165 K of the films with various thicknesses is consistent with small
polaronic hopping conductivity. The polaronic formation energy is
reduced with the decrease of film thickness. We found that the strain
dependence of mainly results from the strain-induced electron-phonon
coupling. The strain effect on is in good agreement with the
theoretical predictions.Comment: 6 pages and 5 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
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Regulation of early steps of GPVI signal transduction by phosphatases: a systems biology approach
We present a data-driven mathematical model of a key initiating step in platelet activation, a central process in the prevention of bleeding following Injury. In vascular disease, this process is activated inappropriately and causes thrombosis, heart attacks and stroke. The collagen receptor GPVI is the primary trigger for platelet activation at sites of injury. Understanding the complex molecular mechanisms initiated by this receptor is important for development of more effective antithrombotic medicines. In this work we developed a series of nonlinear ordinary differential equation models that are direct representations of biological hypotheses surrounding the initial steps in GPVI-stimulated signal transduction. At each stage model simulations were compared to our own quantitative, high-temporal experimental data that guides further experimental design, data collection and model refinement. Much is known about the linear forward reactions within platelet signalling pathways but knowledge of the roles of putative reverse reactions are poorly understood. An initial model, that includes a simple constitutively active phosphatase, was unable to explain experimental data. Model revisions, incorporating a complex pathway of interactions (and specifically the phosphatase TULA-2), provided a good description of the experimental data both based on observations of phosphorylation in samples from one donor and in those of a wider population. Our model was used to investigate the levels of proteins involved in regulating the pathway and the effect of low GPVI levels that have been associated with disease. Results indicate a clear separation in healthy and GPVI deficient states in respect of the signalling cascade dynamics associated with Syk tyrosine phosphorylation and activation. Our approach reveals the central importance of this negative feedback pathway that results in the temporal regulation of a specific class of protein tyrosine phosphatases in controlling the rate, and therefore extent, of GPVI-stimulated platelet activation
Congenital macrothrombocytopenia with focal myelofibrosis due to mutations in human G6b-B is rescued in humanized mice.
Unlike primary myelofibrosis (PMF) in adults, myelofibrosis in children is rare. Congenital (inherited) forms of myelofibrosis (cMF) have been described, but the underlying genetic mechanisms remain elusive. Here we describe 4 families with autosomal recessive inherited macrothrombocytopenia with focal myelofibrosis due to germ line loss-of-function mutations in the megakaryocyte-specific immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM)-containing receptor G6b-B (G6b, C6orf25, or MPIG6B). Patients presented with a mild-to-moderate bleeding diathesis, macrothrombocytopenia, anemia, leukocytosis and atypical megakaryocytes associated with a distinctive, focal, perimegakaryocytic pattern of bone marrow fibrosis. In addition to identifying the responsible gene, the description of G6b-B as the mutated protein potentially implicates aberrant G6b-B megakaryocytic signaling and activation in the pathogenesis of myelofibrosis. Targeted insertion of human G6b in mice rescued the knockout phenotype and a copy number effect of human G6b-B expression was observed. Homozygous knockin mice expressed 25% of human G6b-B and exhibited a marginal reduction in platelet count and mild alterations in platelet function; these phenotypes were more severe in heterozygous mice that expressed only 12% of human G6b-B. This study establishes G6b-B as a critical regulator of platelet homeostasis in humans and mice. In addition, the humanized G6b mouse will provide an invaluable tool for further investigating the physiological functions of human G6b-B as well as testing the efficacy of drugs targeting this receptor
Uncoupling ITIM receptor G6b-B from tyrosine phosphatases Shp1 and Shp2 disrupts murine platelet homeostasis
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Minimal regulation of platelet activity by PECAM-1
PECAM-1 is a member of the superfamily of immunoglobulins (Ig) and is expressed on platelets at moderate level. PECAM-1 has been reported to have contrasting effects on platelet activation by the collagen receptor GPVI and the integrin, αIIbÎČ3, even though both receptors signal through Src-kinase regulation of PLCÎł2. The present study compares the role of PECAM-1 on platelet activation by these two receptors and by the lectin receptor, CLEC-2, which also signals via PLCÎł2. Studies using PECAM-1 knockout-mice and cross-linking of PECAM-1 using specific antibodies demonstrated a minor inhibitory role on platelet responses to the above three receptors and also under some conditions to the G-protein agonist thrombin. The degree of inhibition was considerably less than that produced by PGI2, which elevates cAMP. There was no significant difference in thrombus formation on collagen in PECAM-1-/- platelets relative to litter-matched controls. The very weak inhibitory effect of PECAM-1 on platelet activation relative to that of PGI2 indicate that the Ig-receptor is not a major regulator of platelet activation. PECAM-1 has been reported to have contrasting effects on platelet activation. The present study demonstrates a very mild or negligible effect on platelet activation in response to stimulation by a variety of agonists, thereby questioning the physiological role of the immunoglobulin receptor as a major regulator of platelet activation
A modular toolbox for gRNA-Cas9 genome engineering in plants based on the GoldenBraid standard
[EN] Background: The efficiency, versatility and multiplexing capacity of RNA-guided genome engineering using the
CRISPR/Cas9 technology enables a variety of applications in plants, ranging from gene editing to the construction
of transcriptional gene circuits, many of which depend on the technical ability to compose and transfer complex
synthetic instructions into the plant cell. The engineering principles of standardization and modularity applied to DNA
cloning are impacting plant genetic engineering, by increasing multigene assembly efficiency and by fostering the
exchange of well-defined physical DNA parts with precise functional information.
Results: Here we describe the adaptation of the RNA-guided Cas9 system to GoldenBraid (GB), a modular DNA conÂż
struction framework being increasingly used in Plant Synthetic Biology. In this work, the genetic elements required
for CRISPRs-based editing and transcriptional regulation were adapted to GB, and a workflow for gRNAs construction
was designed and optimized. New software tools specific for CRISPRs assembly were created and incorporated to the
public GB resources site.
Conclusions: The functionality and the efficiency of gRNAÂżCas9 GB tools were demonstrated in Nicotiana benthamiana
using transient expression assays both for gene targeted mutations and for transcriptional regulation. The
availability of gRNAÂżCas9 GB toolbox will facilitate the application of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to plant genome
engineeringThis work has been funded by Grant BIO2013-42193-R from Plan Nacional I + D of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Vazquez-Vilar M. is a recipient of a Junta de Ampliacion de Estudios fellowship. Bernabe-Orts J.M. is a recipient of a FPI fellowship. We want to thank Nicola J. Patron and Mark Youles for kindly providing humanCas9 and U6-26 clones. We also want to thank Eugenio Gomez for providing Arabidopsis thaliana genomic DNA and Concha Domingo for providing rice genomic DNA. We also want to thank the COST Action FA1006 for the support in the development of the software tools.VĂĄzquez-Vilar, M.; BernabĂ©-Orts, JM.; FernĂĄndez Del Carmen, MA.; Ziarsolo Areitioaurtena, P.; Blanca Postigo, JM.; Granell Richart, A.; OrzĂĄez Calatayud, DV. (2016). A modular toolbox for gRNA-Cas9 genome engineering in plants based on the GoldenBraid standard. Plant Methods. 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-016-0101-2S12Ran FA, Hsu PD, Wright J, Agarwala V, Scott DA, Zhang F. 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