Post microtextures accelerate cell proliferation and osteogenesis

AbstractThe influence of surface microtexture on osteogenesis was investigated in vitro by examining the proliferation and differentiation characteristics of a class of adult stem cells and their progeny, collectively known as connective tissue progenitor cells (CTPs). Human bone marrow-derived CTPs were cultured for up to 60days on smooth polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces and on PDMS with post microtextures that were 10μm in diameter and 6μm in height, with 10μm separation. DNA quantification revealed that the numbers of CTPs initially attached to both substrates were similar. However, cells on microtextured PDMS transitioned from lag phase after 4days of culture, in contrast to 6days for cells on smooth surfaces. By day 9 cells on the smooth surfaces exhibited arbitrary flattened shapes and migrated without any preferred orientation. In contrast, cells on the microtextured PDMS grew along the array of posts in an orthogonal manner. By days 30 and 60 cells grew and covered all surfaces with extracellular matrix. Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of integrin α5 was greater on the microtextured PDMS compared with smooth surfaces. Real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that gene expression of alkaline phosphatase had decreased by days 30 and 60, compared with that on day 9, for both substrates. Gene expression of collagen I and osteocalcin was consistently greater on post microtextures relative to smooth surfaces at all time points

Epitaxy: Programmable Atom Equivalents

The programmability of DNA makes it an attractive structure-directing ligand for the assembly of nanoparticle (NP) superlattices in a manner that mimics many aspects of atomic crystallization. However, the synthesis of multilayer single crystals of defined size remains a challenge. Though previous studies considered lattice mismatch as the major limiting factor for multilayer assembly, thin film growth depends on many interlinked variables. Here, a more comprehensive approach is taken to study fundamental elements, such as the growth temperature and the thermodynamics of interfacial energetics, to achieve epitaxial growth of NP thin films. Both surface morphology and internal thin film structure are examined to provide an understanding of particle attachment and reorganization during growth. Under equilibrium conditions, single crystalline, multilayer thin films can be synthesized over 500 × 500 μm² areas on lithographically patterned templates, whereas deposition under kinetic conditions leads to the rapid growth of glassy films. Importantly, these superlattices follow the same patterns of crystal growth demonstrated in atomic thin film deposition, allowing these processes to be understood in the context of well-studied atomic epitaxy and enabling a nanoscale model to study fundamental crystallization processes. Through understanding the role of epitaxy as a driving force for NP assembly, we are able to realize 3D architectures of arbitrary domain geometry and size.United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR FA9550-11-1-0275)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-12-1-0280)United States. Department of Defense (N00014-15-1-0043)United States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-SC0000989-0002)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award DMR-1121262

The Structure of Titan's Atmosphere from Cassini Radio Occultations

We present results from the two radio occultations of the Cassini spacecraft by Titan in 2006, which probed mid-southern latitudes. Three of the ingress and egress soundings occurred within a narrow latitude range, 31.34 deg S near the surface, and the fourth at 52.8 deg S. Temperature - altitude profiles for all four occultation soundings are presented, and compared with the results of the Voyager 1 radio occultation (Lindal et al., 1983), the HASI instrument on the Huygens descent probe (Fulchignoni et al., 2005), and Cassini CIRS results (Flasar et al., 2005; Achterberg et al., 2008b). Sources of error in the retrieved temperature - altitude profiles are also discussed, and a major contribution is from spacecraft velocity errors in the reconstructed ephemeris. These can be reduced by using CIRS data at 300 km to make along-track adjustments of the spacecraft timing. The occultation soundings indicate that the temperatures just above the surface at 31-34 deg S are about 93 K, while that at 53 deg S is about 1 K colder. At the tropopause, the temperatures at the lower latitudes are all about 70 K, while the 53 deg S profile is again 1 K colder. The temperature lapse rate in the lowest 2 km for the two ingress (dawn) profiles at 31 and 33 deg S lie along a dry adiabat except within approximately 200m of the surface, where a small stable inversion occurs. This could be explained by turbulent mixing with low viscosity near the surface. The egress profile near 34 deg S shows a more complex structure in the lowest 2 km, while the egress profile at 53 deg S is more stable

Midlatitude and high‐latitude electron density profiles in the ionosphere of Saturn obtained by Cassini radio occultation observations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95024/1/jgra19781.pd

Menstrual cycle phase does not predict political conservatism

Recent authors have reported a relationship between women's fertility status, as indexed by menstrual cycle phase, and conservatism in moral, social and political values. We conducted a survey to test for the existence of a relationship between menstrual cycle day and conservatism. 2213 women reporting regular menstrual cycles provided data about their political views. Of these women, 2208 provided information about their cycle date, 1260 provided additional evidence of reliability in self-reported cycle date, and of these, 750 also indicated an absence of hormonal disruptors such as recent hormonal contraception use, breastfeeding or pregnancy. Cycle day was used to estimate day-specific fertility rate (probability of conception); political conservatism was measured via direct self-report and via responses to the "Moral Foundations” questionnaire. We also recorded relationship status, which has been reported to interact with menstrual cycle phase in determining political preferences. We found no evidence of a relationship between estimated cyclical fertility changes and conservatism, and no evidence of an interaction between relationship status and cyclical fertility in determining political attitudes. Our findings were robust to multiple inclusion/exclusion criteria and to different methods of estimating fertility and measuring conservatism. In summary, the relationship between cycle-linked reproductive parameters and conservatism may be weaker or less reliable than previously thought

Should Research Ethics Encourage the Production of Cost-Effective Interventions?

This project considers whether and how research ethics can contribute to the provision of cost-effective medical interventions. Clinical research ethics represents an underexplored context for the promotion of cost-effectiveness. In particular, although scholars have recently argued that research on less-expensive, less-effective interventions can be ethical, there has been little or no discussion of whether ethical considerations justify curtailing research on more expensive, more effective interventions. Yet considering cost-effectiveness at the research stage can help ensure that scarce resources such as tissue samples or limited subject popula- tions are employed where they do the most good; can support parallel efforts by providers and insurers to promote cost-effectiveness; and can ensure that research has social value and benefits subjects. I discuss and rebut potential objections to the consideration of cost-effectiveness in research, including the difficulty of predicting effectiveness and cost at the research stage, concerns about limitations in cost-effectiveness analysis, and worries about overly limiting researchers’ freedom. I then consider the advantages and disadvantages of having certain participants in the research enterprise, including IRBs, advisory committees, sponsors, investigators, and subjects, consider cost-effectiveness. The project concludes by qualifiedly endorsing the consideration of cost-effectiveness at the research stage. While incorporating cost-effectiveness considerations into the ethical evaluation of human subjects research will not on its own ensure that the health care system realizes cost-effectiveness goals, doing so nonetheless represents an important part of a broader effort to control rising medical costs