Measurements of the composition of aerosol component of Venusian atmosphere with Vega 1 lander, preliminary data

Preliminary investigation of mass spectra of gaseous products of pyrolyzed Venusian cloud particles collected and analyzed by the complex device of mass-spectrometer and collector pyrolyzer on board Vega 1 lander revealed the presence of heavy particles in the upper cloud layer. Based on 64 amu peak (SO2+), an estimate of the lower limit of the sulfuric acid aerosol content at the 62 to 54 km heights of approximately 2.0 mg/cu m is obtained. A chlorine line (35 and 37 amu) is also present in the mass spectrum with a lower limit of the chlorine concentration of approximately 0.3 mg/ cu m

Distinct RNA profiles in subpopulations of extracellular vesicles: apoptotic bodies, microvesicles and exosomes

Introduction: In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of studies aiming to understand the biology of exosomes, as well as other extracellular vesicles. However, classification of membrane vesicles and the appropriate protocols for their isolation are still under intense discussion and investigation. When isolating vesicles, it is crucial to use systems that are able to separate them, to avoid cross-contamination. Method: EVs released from three different kinds of cell lines: HMC-1, TF-1 and BV-2 were isolated using two centrifugation-based protocols. In protocol 1, apoptotic bodies were collected at 2,000×g, followed by filtering the supernatant through 0.8 µm pores and pelleting of microvesicles at 12,200×g. In protocol 2, apoptotic bodies and microvesicles were collected together at 16,500×g, followed by filtering of the supernatant through 0.2 µm pores and pelleting of exosomes at 120,000×g. Extracellular vesicles were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry and the RNA profiles were investigated using a Bioanalyzer®. Results: RNA profiles showed that ribosomal RNA was primary detectable in apoptotic bodies and smaller RNAs without prominent ribosomal RNA peaks in exosomes. In contrast, microvesicles contained little or no RNA except for microvesicles collected from TF-1 cell cultures. The different vesicle pellets showed highly different distribution of size, shape and electron density with typical apoptotic body, microvesicle and exosome characteristics when analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Flow cytometry revealed the presence of CD63 and CD81 in all vesicles investigated, as well as CD9 except in the TF-1-derived vesicles, as these cells do not express CD9. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that centrifugation-based protocols are simple and fast systems to distinguish subpopulations of extracellular vesicles. Different vesicles show different RNA profiles and morphological characteristics, but they are indistinguishable using CD63-coated beads for flow cytometry analysis

Private trade and monopoly structures : the East India Companies and the commodity trade to Europe in the eighteenth century

Our research is about the trade in material goods from Asia to Europe over this period, and its impact on Europe’s consumer and industrial cultures. It entails a comparative study of Europe’s East India Companies and the private trade from Asia over the period. The commodities trade was heavily dependent on private trade. The historiography to date has left a blind spot in this area, concentrating instead on corruption and malfeasance. Taking a global history approach we investigate the trade in specific consumer goods in many qualities and varieties that linked merchant communities and stimulated information flows. We set out how private trade functioned alongside and in connection with the various European East India companies; we investigate how this changed over time, how it drew on the Company infrastructure, and how it took the risks and developed new and niche markets for specific Asian commodities that the Companies could not sustain

Rise and demise of the global silver standard

In the early modern period, the world economy gravitated around the expansion of long-distance commerce. Together with navigation improvements, silver was the prime commodity which moved the sails of such trade. The disparate availability and the particular demand for silver across the globe determined the participation of producers, consumers, and intermediaries in a growing global economy. American endowments of silver are a known feature of this process; however, the fact that the supply of silver was in the form of specie is a less known aspect of the integration of the global economy. This chapter surveys the production and export of silver specie out of Spanish America, its intermediation by Europeans, and the reexport to Asia. It describes how the sheer volume produced and the quality and consistency of the coin provided familiarity with, and reliability to, the Spanish American peso which made it current in most world markets. By the eighteenth century, it has become a currency standard for the international economy which grew together with the production and coinage of silver. Implications varied according to the institutional settings to deal with specie and foreign exchange in each intervening economy of that trade. Generalized warfare in late eighteenth-century Europe brought down governance in Spanish America and coinage fragmented along with the political fragmentation of the empire. The emergence of new sovereign republics and the end of minting as known meant the cessation of the silver standard that had contributed to the early modern globalization

Membrane vesicles, current state-of-the-art: emerging role of extracellular vesicles

Release of membrane vesicles, a process conserved in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, represents an evolutionary link, and suggests essential functions of a dynamic extracellular vesicular compartment (including exosomes, microparticles or microvesicles and apoptotic bodies). Compelling evidence supports the significance of this compartment in a broad range of physiological and pathological processes. However, classification of membrane vesicles, protocols of their isolation and detection, molecular details of vesicular release, clearance and biological functions are still under intense investigation. Here, we give a comprehensive overview of extracellular vesicles. After discussing the technical pitfalls and potential artifacts of the rapidly emerging field, we compare results from meta-analyses of published proteomic studies on membrane vesicles. We also summarize clinical implications of membrane vesicles. Lessons from this compartment challenge current paradigms concerning the mechanisms of intercellular communication and immune regulation. Furthermore, its clinical implementation may open new perspectives in translational medicine both in diagnostics and therapy

Hypoxic enhancement of exosome release by breast cancer cells

This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedBackground Exosomes are nanovesicles secreted by tumour cells which have roles in paracrine signalling during tumour progression, including tumour-stromal interactions, activation of proliferative pathways and bestowing immunosuppression. Hypoxia is an important feature of solid tumours which promotes tumour progression, angiogenesis and metastasis, potentially through exosome-mediated signalling. Methods Breast cancer cell lines were cultured under either moderate (1% O2) or severe (0.1% O2) hypoxia. Exosomes were isolated from conditioned media and quantitated by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and immunoblotting for the exosomal protein CD63 in order to assess the impact of hypoxia on exosome release. Hypoxic exosome fractions were assayed for miR-210 by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and normalised to exogenous and endogenous control genes. Statistical significance was determined using the Student T test with a P value of < 0.05 considered significant. Results Exposure of three different breast cancer cell lines to moderate (1% O2) and severe (0.1% O2) hypoxia resulted in significant increases in the number of exosomes present in the conditioned media as determined by NTA and CD63 immunoblotting. Activation of hypoxic signalling by dimethyloxalylglycine, a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) hydroxylase inhibitor, resulted in significant increase in exosome release. Transfection of cells with HIF-1α siRNA prior to hypoxic exposure prevented the enhancement of exosome release by hypoxia. The hypoxically regulated miR-210 was identified to be present at elevated levels in hypoxic exosome fractions. Conclusions These data provide evidence that hypoxia promotes the release of exosomes by breast cancer cells, and that this hypoxic response may be mediated by HIF-1α. Given an emerging role for tumour cell-derived exosomes in tumour progression, this has significant implications for understanding the hypoxic tumour phenotype, whereby hypoxic cancer cells may release more exosomes into their microenvironment to promote their own survival and invasion.HK was recipient of a Flinders University Unibooks Honours Scholarship and the work was funded by the Flinders Medical Centre Research Foundation, the Lyn Wrigley Breast Cancer Research and Development Fund, and the Flinders Medical Centre Clinicians Special Purpose Fund

Women and power: a theoretical approach using the example of copreneurial businesses

Despite the gradual recognition of strategic issues related to the integration of women into the economy, female entrepreneurship continues to receive little attention. Family business research attributes this situation to a lack of recognition given to the (decisive) role of women in these organizations. However, there is one type of family governance that formally acknowledges the man/woman combination: the copreneurial company. Copreneurs are couples who run a business together. This theoretical article highlights the role of women in the copreneurial context by distinguishing between formal and informal power- the latter being primarily held by women, but which is no less influential. The distribution of power reduces opposition costs between partners and the social costs of non-compliance, and improves the clarity of the entrepreneurial structure. Moreover, it increases satisfaction and a feeling of equality between the partners. These results can be generalized and shed light on the role of women in other entrepreneurial and social contexts. This article is published as part as part of a collection on the role of women in management and business

Impact of 10 Days of Intensive Exercise Period (mHealth Grand Tour) on Heart Rate Variability and Links with Glycaemic Excursions in Athletes with Type 1 Diabetes

Meeting Abstract P22Impact of 10 Days of Intensive Exercise Period (mHealth Grand Tour) on Heart Rate Variability and Links with Glycaemic Excursions in Athletes with Type 1 Diabete