Blocking of tumor necrosis factor activity promotes natural repair of osteochondral defects in rabbit knee

Background and purpose Osteochondral defects have a limited capacity for repair. We therefore investigated the effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signal blockade by etanercept (human recombinant soluble TNF receptor) on the repair of osteochondral defects in rabbit knees

The Effectiveness of RNAi in Caenorhabditis elegans Is Maintained during Spaceflight

PublishedJournal ArticleResearch Support, N.I.H., ExtramuralResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tThis is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: Overcoming spaceflight-induced (patho)physiologic adaptations is a major challenge preventing long-term deep space exploration. RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a promising therapeutic for combating diseases on Earth; however the efficacy of RNAi in space is currently unknown. METHODS: Caenorhabditis elegans were prepared in liquid media on Earth using standard techniques and treated acutely with RNAi or a vector control upon arrival in Low Earth Orbit. After culturing during 4 and 8 d spaceflight, experiments were stopped by freezing at -80°C until analysis by mRNA and microRNA array chips, microscopy and Western blot on return to Earth. Ground controls (GC) on Earth were simultaneously grown under identical conditions. RESULTS: After 8 d spaceflight, mRNA expression levels of components of the RNAi machinery were not different from that in GC (e.g., Dicer, Argonaute, Piwi; P>0.05). The expression of 228 microRNAs, of the 232 analysed, were also unaffected during 4 and 8 d spaceflight (P>0.05). In spaceflight, RNAi against green fluorescent protein (gfp) reduced chromosomal gfp expression in gonad tissue, which was not different from GC. RNAi against rbx-1 also induced abnormal chromosome segregation in the gonad during spaceflight as on Earth. Finally, culture in RNAi against lysosomal cathepsins prevented degradation of the muscle-specific α-actin protein in both spaceflight and GC conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with RNAi works as effectively in the space environment as on Earth within multiple tissues, suggesting RNAi may provide an effective tool for combating spaceflight-induced pathologies aboard future long-duration space missions. Furthermore, this is the first demonstration that RNAi can be utilised to block muscle protein degradation, both on Earth and in space.This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and “Ground-Based Research Announcement for Space Utilization” promoted by the Japan Space Forum. TE was supported by the Medical Research Council UK (G0801271). NJS was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH NIAMS ARO54342). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Negative Geotactic Behavior of Paramecium Caudatum is Completely Described by the Mechanism of Buoyancy-Oriented Upward Swimming

This paper presents evidence that the negative geotactic behavior of Paramecium caudatum takes place by the mechanism of buoyancy-oriented upward swimming. Photographs of swimming pathways of the organisms were completely described by two dynamic equations for the translational motion of the center of gravity of the organism's body and for the rotational motion of the organism's body about its center of gravity, where the rotational torque is induced by a slight difference in position between the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy. It now seems unlikely that complicated mechanisms such as the statocyst mechanism and the gravity-propulsion mechanism, which have been proposed by many investigators, need be considered for other protozoa since preliminary observation and analysis of other ciliates such as Paramecium multimicronucleatum, Paramecium tetraurelia, and Tetrahymena pyriformis also strongly suggested that their negative geotaxis is due to buoyancy-oriented upward swimming

Preparation of free-standing hybrid colloidal membranes via assembly of liponanocapsules

<p>We intended to create a free-standing and organic–inorganic hybrid colloidal membrane. The colloidal membrane was assembled from polymeric capsules, which were prepared by coating of polymer layers over a liposome (liponanocapsules). In this study, two approaches were employed for mineralization over the membrane with calcium phosphate (CaP) to control its mechanical robustness and biodegradability (hybrid bioscaffold). One approach was based on CaP deposition over the liponanocapsules and their assembly into the hybrid membrane. CaP deposition was conducted via the counter-diffusion of phosphate ions and calcium ions across the capsule wall to obtain hybrid nanocapsules. Then, free-standing hybrid membrane was obtained by utilizing hybrid nanocapsules as building blocks for drying-mediated assembly. The obtained hybrid membrane was degraded into individual nanocapsules and degradation could be tuned by the crystal structure of CaP. In another approach, the free-standing membrane was assembled from DNA-coated liponanocapsules and then the counter-diffusion of ions was carried out across each assembled nanocapsule for CaP mineralization. The mechanical robustness of the membrane was significantly improved and its degradation was suppressed by CaP mineralization. This is probably because mineral cross-linkages were formed in the interspace between each nanocapsule. Fluorescent substances could be incorporated in each nanocapsule of the membrane and their release could be tuned by the control in crystal properties of CaP.</p

Synthesis of indium tin oxide powder by solid-phase reaction with microwave heating

Indium tin oxide (ITO) powder was synthesized from indium oxide and tin oxide powders by a solid-phase method using microwave heating and conventional heating methods. Microwave heating could reduce the treatment time necessary for the completion of the solid-phase reaction by 1/30. This decrease was attributed to an increase in the diffusion rate of Sn at the local heat spot in the indium oxide formed by microwave irradiation. However, microwave heating also decreased the amount of ITO produced, since the powder layer of the raw material was heated unevenly and had an uneven temperature distribution. Therefore, a microwave heating method including a mixing process was proposed in order to diminish the uneven progress of the ITO synthesis reaction in the powder layer. This revised method could increase the conversion to ITO, which is higher than that obtained by using the conventional heating method. Hence, the electric conductivity of the powder layer obtained by the proposed method was higher than that of the commercially supplied ITO powder layer