Analysis of Band 4.1B in Integrin-Mediated Cell Adhesion and Signaling

Band 4.1B is a cytoskeletal adaptor protein that regulates various cellular behavior; however, the mechanisms by which Band 4.1B contributes to intracellular signaling are unclear. This project addresses in vivo and in vitro functions for Band 4.1B in integrin-mediated cell adhesion and signaling. Band 4.1B has been shown to bind to β8 integrin, although cooperative functions of these two proteins have not been determined. Here, functional links between β8 integrin and Band 4.1B were investigated using gene knockout strategies. Ablation of β8 integrin and Band 4.1B genes resulted in impaired cardiac morphogenesis, leading to embryonic lethality by E11.5. These embryos displayed malformation of the outflow tract that was likely linked to abnormal regulation of cardiac neural crest migration. These data indicate the importance of cooperative signaling between β8 integrin and Band 4.1B in cardiac development. The involvement of Band 4.1B in integrin-mediated cell adhesion and signaling was further demonstrated by studying its functional roles in vitro. Band 4.1B is highly expressed in the brain, but its signaling in astrocytes is not understood. Here, Band 4.1B was shown to promote cell spreading likely by interacting with β1 integrin via its band 4.1, ezrin, radixin, and moesin (FERM) domain in cell adhesions. In astrocytes, both Band 4.1B and β1 integrin were expressed in cell-ECM contact sites during early cell spreading. Exogenous expression of Band 4.1B, especially its FERM domain, enhanced cell spreading on fibronectin, an ECM ligand for β1 integrin. However, the increased cell spreading was prohibited by blocking β1 integrin. These findings suggest that Band 4.1B is crucial for early adhesion assembly and/or signaling that are mediated by β1 integrin. Collectively, this study was the first to establish Band 4.1B as a modulator of integrin-mediated adhesion and signaling

Phenoconversion from probable rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder to mild cognitive impairment to dementia in a population-based sample

© 2017 The Authors Introduction Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is strongly associated with synucleinopathies. In 2012, we reported an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Parkinson disease (PD) in cognitively normal Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents, aged 70 to 89 years with probable RBD. Here, we examine their progression to dementia and other neurodegenerative phenotypes. Methods Fifteen participants with RBD who were diagnosed with either MCI or PD were longitudinally followed, and their subsequent clinical courses were reviewed. Results Over 6.4 ± 2.9 years, six of the 14 participants with MCI developed additional neurodegenerative signs, five of whom had Lewy body disease features. Four of them progressed to dementia at a mean age 84.8 ± 4.9 years, three of whom met the criteria for probable dementia with Lewy bodies. One subject with PD developed MCI, but not dementia. Discussion Our findings from the population-based sample of Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents suggest that a substantial number of RBD patients tend to develop overt synucleinopathy features over time, and RBD patients who develop MCI and subsequent dementia have clinical features most consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies

Primary Progressive Aphasia and Apraxia of Speech

The College Chapel, stained glass window in the Antechapel; The College was founded in 1509 by a lawyer, Sir Richard Sutton, of Prestbury, Cheshire, and the Bishop of Lincoln, William Smyth. The main college site comprises three quads, the original Front Quad, the small second quad affectionately known as the Deer Park, and the large New Quad, as well as collection of smaller houses facing Radcliffe Square and the High Street. New Quad was designed by Jackson and finished in 1911, replacing a number of existing buildings. The current site was completed in 1961 with new buildings designed by the architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 7/8/2008

Electronic structure of the Au-intercalated graphene/Ni(111) surface

We report the electronic structure of the Au-intercalated graphene/Ni(111) surface using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction. The graphene/Ni(111) shows no Dirac cone near the Fermi level and a relatively broad C is core level spectrum probably due to the broken sublattice symmetry in the graphene on the Ni(111) substrate. When Au atoms are intercalated between them, the characteristic Dirac cone is completely recovered near the Fermi level and the C 1s spectrum becomes sharper with the appearance of a 10 x 10 superstructure. The fully Au-intercalated graphene/Ni(111) surface shows a p-type character with a hole pocket of similar to 0.034 angstrom(-1) diameter at the Fermi level. When the surface is doped with Na and K, a clear energy gap of similar to 0.4 eV is visible irrespective of alkali metal

Synthesis and enhanced electrochemical supercapacitive properties of manganese oxide nanoflake electrodes

MnO2+?? (Manganese oxide) nanoflakes were synthesized for use as electrode material in electrochemical supercapacitors. The nanoflakes were produced via RF-magnetron sputtering with various excess oxygen contents (??), and the electrochemical supercapacitive properties of the MnO2+?? nanoflakes were investigated as a function of ?? with the use of a Na2SO4 electrolyte. The excess oxygen (??) induces the MnO2+?? nanoflakes to form a thin open structure, and ??-Raman measurements revealed that the MnO2+?? nanoflakes formed a birnessite phase with a layered structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to obtain quantitative information on both the oxidation state and the chemical composition of the nanoflake electrodes. The crystallinity of the nanoflakes improved when the oxygen partial pressure increased during sputtering. At an optimal ??~0.6, the electrochemical stability and the capacity retention significantly improved, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that easy access of Na+ ions into the nanoflakes at an optimal ?? value resulted in a low diffusion resistance, playing a key role in determining the improvement in the supercapacitor characteristics. © 2015 Elsevier Ltdclose0

A 13.56MHz time-interleaved resonant-voltage-mode wireless-power receiver with isolated resonator and quasi-resonant boost converter for implantable systems

Wireless power transfer (WPT) has been widely adopted in various applications, such as biomedical implants and wireless sensors. A conventional voltage-mode receiver (VM-RX) uses a rectifier or a doubler for AC-DC conversion [1,2]. This requires a sufficiently large input power (P,N) inducing a large voltage (VAC) in the LC tank of the receiver (RX) due to the limited voltage conversion efficiency. A subordinate DC-DC converter is also required for voltage regulation or battery charging, which reduces the overall power-conversion efficiency (PCE) due to the 2-stage structure. To overcome these limitations, the resonant current-mode receiver (RCM-RX) has been proposed for direct battery charging [3] and voltage regulation [4,5]. The RCM-RX has two operation phases: a resonance phase (PHre) that accumulates energy in the LC tank during optimal resonant cycles (NOPT) to track the maximum efficiency [3], and a charging phase (PHch) that delivers the energy of the LC tank to the output, when the resonant current (IAC) is at its peak. However, the RCM-RX typically operates at low resonant frequency fRESO (50kHz to 1MHz) because it is challenging to accurately detect the peak timing of IAC due to the intrinsic delay and offset of the comparator used in the peak timing detector. Operating at low fRESO causes the coil size to increase, making a burden on a size-constrained implant. In addition, the RCM-RX has a LC-tank resonance-loss interval PHch, which hinders optimal power transfer from the transmitter (TX) to the RX because the reactive impedance is not cancelled out but appears on the TX side. Because the LC tank and the output are not isolated during PHch, the power-transfer efficiency (PTE) can also be affected by load variation, such as the battery-voltage (VBAT) variation. These problems become worse as NOPT is reduced to lower number. ?? 2018 IEEE

Unveiling the origin of n-type doping of natural MoS2: carbon

Abstract MoS2 has attracted intense interest in many applications. Natural MoS2 and field-effect transistors made of it generally exhibit n-type characteristics, but its origin is unknown. Herein, we show that C is the origin of the universal n-type doping of natural MoS2. Photoemission spectroscopies reveal that while many MoS2 samples with C detected are n-type, some without C exhibit p-type characteristics. The C-free, p-type MoS2 changes to n-type over time with the concurrent appearance of C that is out-diffused from bulk, indicating that C induces the n-type doping. The C-origin is verified by C-deposition and supported by theoretical calculations. This carbon appears as nanometer-scale defects frequently observed in scanning tunneling microscopy. In addition, we propose, based on the calculations, that S vacancies are responsible for the p-type characteristics, which contrasts with the widespread belief. This work provides new perspectives on MoS2 doping and presents a new direction for fabricating reliable MoS2 devices

Synthesis and Properties of Monolayer Graphene (MLG)-Covered Fe(111)

Fe undergoes a corrosion process under aerobic conditions. Oxidized forms of Fe lose malleability, durability, and other critical physical properties. For spintronic applications, alloy forms or capping layers are used to modulate the properties of Fe. Observing the Fe(111) spin structure is critical for practical applications. We suggest a method of coating Fe to retain its original magnetic properties. Thanks to monolayer graphene (MLG) growth, the properties of the Fe spin structure do not change, even under ambient conditions. Through angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) measurements, we also found that interfacial band structures are modulated due to the presence of MLG