De novo reconstitution reveals the proteins required for skeletal muscle voltage-induced Ca2+ release

Skeletal muscle contraction is triggered by Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in response to plasma membrane (PM) excitation. In vertebrates, this depends on activation of the RyR1 Ca2+ pore in the SR, under control of conformational changes of CaV1.1, located ∼12 nm away in the PM. Over the last ∼30 y, gene knockouts have revealed that CaV1.1/RyR1 coupling requires additional proteins, but leave open the possibility that currently untested proteins are also necessary. Here, we demonstrate the reconstitution of conformational coupling in tsA201 cells by expression of CaV1.1, β1a, Stac3, RyR1, and junctophilin2. As in muscle, depolarization evokes Ca2+ transients independent of external Ca2+ entry and having amplitude with a saturating dependence on voltage. Moreover, freeze-fracture electron microscopy indicates that the five identified proteins are sufficient to establish physical links between CaV1.1 and RyR1. Thus, these proteins constitute the key elements essential for excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle microalterations in patients carrying Malignant Hyperthermia-related mutations of the e-c coupling machinery

We have compared the ultrastructure of skeletal muscle biopsies from patients that have survived a [Malignant Hyperthermia, MH] episode and siblings that test positive for MH susceptibility with those from siblings that tested negatives. The aim is to establish whether life long exposure to the MH-related mutation effects may result in subtle abnormalities even in the absence of active episodes and/or clinically detectable deficiencies. Although a specific ultrastructural signature for MH mutants cannot be demonstrated, an MH related pattern of minor alterations does exist. These include the tendency for micro damage to the contractile apparatus and a higher than normal level of mitochondrial abnormalities

A degrading Bouc\u2013Wen model for the hysteresis of reinforced concrete structural elements

This paper presents a smooth hysteresis model for reinforced concrete (RC) structural elements based on the differential equation of the Bouc?Wen model. Stiffness degradation and strength degradation are defined by introducing a damage index that includes both dissipated energy and maximum displacement. The pinching effect acts directly on the stiffness of the system and is controlled by an activation energy. The degrading functions are connected to the actual processes with which the damage occurs, thereby giving each parameter a physical meaning. The simple formulation of the model allows a straightforward identification of the best-fitting parameters and an easy interpretation of the results. Applications to the cyclic behaviour of RC structural elements demonstrate that the model is well capable of describing complex hysteretic behaviours involving degradation and pinching effects

Percutaneous Application of High Power Microwave Ablation With 150 W for the Treatment of Tumors in Lung, Liver, and Kidney: A Preliminary Experience

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and short-term effectiveness of a high-power (150 W) microwave ablation (MWA) device for tumor ablation in the lung, liver, and kidney. Methods: Between December 2021 and June 2022, patients underwent high-power MWA for liver, lung, and kidney tumors. A retrospective observational study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The MWA system utilized a 150-W, 2.45-GHz microwave generator (Emprint™ HP Ablation System, Medtronic). The study assessed technical success, safety, and effectiveness, considering pre- and post-treatment diameter and volume, lesion location, biopsy and/or cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) usage, MWA ablation time, MWA power, and dose-area product (DAP). Results: From December 2021 to June 2022, 16 patients were enrolled for high-power MWA. Treated lesions included hepatocellular carcinoma (10), liver metastasis from colon cancer (1), liver metastasis from pancreatic cancer (1), squamous cell lung carcinoma (2), renal cell carcinoma (1), and renal oncocytoma (1). Technical success rate was 100%. One grade 1 complication (6.25%) was reported according to CIRSE classification. Overall effectiveness was 92.8%. Pre- and post-treatment mean diameters for liver lesions were 19.9 mm and 37.5 mm, respectively; for kidney lesions, 34 mm and 35 mm; for lung lesions, 29.5 mm and 31.5 mm. Pre- and post-treatment mean volumes for liver lesions were 3.4 ml and 24 ml, respectively; for kidney lesions, 8.2 ml and 20.5 ml; for lung lesions, 10.2 ml and 32.7 ml. The mean ablation time was 48 minutes for liver, 42.5 minutes for lung, and 42.5 minutes for renal ablation. The mean DAP for all procedures was 40.83 Gcm2. Conclusion: This preliminary study demonstrates the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of the new 150 W MWA device. Additionally, it shows reduced ablation times for large lesions

Global Ban on Plastic and What Next? Are Consumers Ready to Replace Plastic with the Second-Generation Bioplastic? Results of the Snowball Sample Consumer Research in China, Western and Eastern Europe, North America and Brazil

Plastic can be used for many things and at the same time is the most versatile material in our modern world. However, the uncontrolled and unprecedented use of plastic comes to its end. The global ban on plastic brings significant changes in technology but even more so in civil perception—changes taking place before our eyes. The aim of this study was to find answers to the questions about the readiness of consumers for a global ban on plastic. Within the research, the differences in consumer acceptance in countries in Europe, South and North America and Asia and the expression of social readiness to change attitudes towards plastic food packaging were analyzed. This work sketches the legal framework related to limiting the use of one-use food packaging made of fossil raw materials at the level of the European Union, Poland and Portugal but also at the level of the two largest economies in the world, China and the United States, as well as lower-income countries, e.g., Ukraine and Brazil. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The performed study demonstrates that, in in all the surveyed countries, appropriate legal acts related to the reduction of plastic in everyday life are already in place. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the full understanding of plastic banning in all surveyed countries. Consumers are aware that every effort should be made to prevent the world from drowning in plastic waste. Society is, in general, open to the use of bioplastics produced from the second-generation resource if second-generation bioplastics contribute to environmental and pollution reduction targets

Global Ban on Plastic and What Next? Are Consumers Ready to Replace Plastic with the Second-Generation Bioplastic? Results of the Snowball Sample Consumer Research in China, Western and Eastern Europe, North America and Brazil

ABSTRACT: Plastic can be used for many things and at the same time is the most versatile material in our modern world. However, the uncontrolled and unprecedented use of plastic comes to its end. The global ban on plastic brings significant changes in technology but even more so in civil perception-changes taking place before our eyes. The aim of this study was to find answers to the questions about the readiness of consumers for a global ban on plastic. Within the research, the differences in consumer acceptance in countries in Europe, South and North America and Asia and the expression of social readiness to change attitudes towards plastic food packaging were analyzed. This work sketches the legal framework related to limiting the use of one-use food packaging made of fossil raw materials at the level of the European Union, Poland and Portugal but also at the level of the two largest economies in the world, China and the United States, as well as lower-income countries, e.g., Ukraine and Brazil. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The performed study demonstrates that, in in all the surveyed countries, appropriate legal acts related to the reduction of plastic in everyday life are already in place. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the full understanding of plastic banning in all surveyed countries. Consumers are aware that every effort should be made to prevent the world from drowning in plastic waste. Society is, in general, open to the use of bioplastics produced from the second-generation resource if second-generation bioplastics contribute to environmental and pollution reduction targets.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integral abutment bridges: Investigation of seismic soil-structure interaction effects by shaking table testing

In recent years there has been renewed interest on integral abutment bridges (IABs), mainly due to their low construction and maintenance cost. Owing to the monolithic connection between deck and abutments, there is strong soil-structure interaction between the bridge and the backfill under both thermal action and earthquake shaking. Although some of the regions where IABs are adopted qualify as highly seismic, there is limited knowledge as to their dynamic behaviour and vulnerability under strong ground shaking. To develop a better understanding on the seismic behaviour of IABs, an extensive experimental campaign involving over 75 shaking table tests and 4800 time histories of recorded data, was carried out at EQUALS Laboratory, University of Bristol, under the auspices of EU-sponsored SERA project (Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe). The tests were conducted on a 5 m long shear stack mounted on a 3 m × 3 m 6-DOF earthquake simulator, focusing on interaction effects between a scaled bridge model, abutments, foundation piles and backfill soil. The study aims at (a) developing new scaling procedures for physical modelling of IABs, (b) investigating experimentally the potential benefits of adding compressible inclusions (CIs) between the abutment and the backfill and (c) exploring the influence of different types of connection between the abutment and the pile foundation. Results indicate that the CI reduces the accelerations on the bridge deck and the settlements in the backfill, while disconnecting piles from the cap decreases bending near the pile head

Search for Scalar Leptons in e+e- collisions at \sqrt{s}=189 GeV

We report the result of a search for scalar leptons in e+e- collisions at 189 GeV centre-of-mass energy at LEP. No evidence for such particles is found in a data sample of 176 pb^{-1}. Improved upper limits are set on the production cross sections for these new particles. New exclusion contours in the parameter space of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model are derived, as well as new lower limits on the masses of these supersymmetric particles. Under the assumptions of common gaugino and scalar masses at the GUT scale, we set an absolute lower limit on the mass of the lightest scalar electron of 65.5 Ge