Real time imaging of two-dimensional iron oxide spherulite nanostructure formation

The formation of complex hierarchical nanostructures has attracted a lot of attention from both the fundamental science and potential applications point of view. Spherulite structures with radial fibrillar branches have been found in various solids; however, their growth mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we report real time imaging of the formation of two-dimensional (2D) iron oxide spherulite nanostructures in a liquid cell using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). By tracking the growth trajectories, we show the characteristics of the reaction front and growth kinetics. Our observations reveal that the tip of a growing branch splits as the width exceeds certain sizes (5.5–8.5 nm). The radius of a spherulite nanostructure increases linearly with time at the early stage, transitioning to nonlinear growth at the later stage. Furthermore, a thin layer of solid is accumulated at the tip and nanoparticles from secondary nucleation also appear at the growing front which later develop into fibrillar branches. The spherulite nanostructure is polycrystalline with the co-existence of ferrihydrite and Fe3O4 through-out the growth. A growth model is further established, which provides rational explanations on the linear growth at the early stage and the nonlinearity at the later stage of growth. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Jejunal gene expression patterns correlate with severity of systemic infection in chicken

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Not much is known about the effect of <it>Salmonella enteritidis</it> on changes in the developmental processes occurring in the intestine of young chicken. Therefore we investigated the correlation of intestinal gene expression patterns with the severity of systemic Salmonella infections.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The number of Salmonella colony forming units (CFUs) in the liver of infected chicken were plotted against the average intestinal expression profiles of previously identified gene expression clusters. The functional properties of all the genes taken together present in 3 clusters exhibiting positive correlation at early time-points were compared with the functional properties of the genes displaying antagonistic correlations in 1 cluster. The top 5 ranking functional groups were analysed in further detail.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three clusters showed gene expression profiles which were positively correlated with the severity of systemic disease as measured by the number of Salmonella colony forming units in the liver. In these clusters, genes involved in morphological processes were predominantly present. One cluster had a profile that was negatively correlated with the severity of systemic disease, as measured by numbers of CFUs in the liver. The genes in the latter cluster were mostly involved in cell turn-over and metabolism.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In the developing jejunum of young chicken, both stimulatory and inhibitory gene expression mechanisms are correlated with the severity of systemic Salmonella infections.</p

Thyroid Hormone Promotes Remodeling of Coronary Resistance Vessels

Low thyroid hormone (TH) function has been linked to impaired coronary blood flow, reduced density of small arterioles, and heart failure. Nonetheless, little is known about the mechanisms by which THs regulate coronary microvascular remodeling. The current study examined the initial cellular events associated with coronary remodeling induced by triiodothyronine (T3) in hypothyroid rats. Rats with established hypothyroidism, eight weeks after surgical thyroidectomy (TX), were treated with T3 for 36 or 72 hours. The early effects of T3 treatment on coronary microvasculature were examined morphometrically. Gene expression changes in the heart were assessed by quantitative PCR Array. Hypothyroidism resulted in arteriolar atrophy in the left ventricle. T3 treatment rapidly induced small arteriolar muscularization and, within 72 hours, restored arteriolar density to control levels. Total length of the capillary network was not affected by TX or T3 treatment. T3 treatment resulted in the coordinate regulation of Angiopoietin 1 and 2 expression. The response of Angiopoietins was consistent with vessel enlargement. In addition to the well known effects of THs on vasoreactivity, these results suggest that THs may affect function of small resistance arteries by phenotypic remodeling of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC)

Cellular Mechanisms Underlying the Laxative Effect of Flavonol Naringenin on Rat Constipation Model

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Symptoms of constipation are extremely common, especially in the elderly. The present study aim to identify an efficacious treatment strategy for constipation by evaluating the secretion-promoting and laxative effect of a herbal compound, naringenin, on intestinal epithelial anion secretion and a rat constipation model, respectively. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In isolated rat colonic crypts, mucosal addition of naringenin (100 microM) elicited a concentration-dependent and sustained increase in the short-circuit current (I(SC)), which could be inhibited in Cl- free solution or by bumetanide and DPC (diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid), but not by DIDS (4, 4'- diisothiocyanatostilbene-2, 2'-disulfonic acid). Naringenin could increase intracellular cAMP content and PKA activity, consisted with that MDL-12330A (N-(Cis-2-phenyl-cyclopentyl) azacyclotridecan-2-imine-hydrochloride) pretreatment reduced the naringenin-induced I(SC). In addition, significant inhibition of the naringenin-induced I(SC) by quinidine indicated that basolateral K+ channels were involved in maintaining this cAMP-dependent Cl- secretion. Naringenin-evoked whole cell current which exhibited a linear I-V relationship and time-and voltage- independent characteristics was inhibited by DPC, indicating that the cAMP activated Cl- conductance most likely CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) was involved. In rat constipation model, administration of naringenin restored the level of fecal output, water content and mucus secretion compared to loperamide-administrated group. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our data suggest that naringenin could stimulate Cl- secretion in colonic epithelium via a signaling pathway involving cAMP and PKA, hence provide an osmotic force for subsequent colonic fluid secretion by which the laxative effect observed in the rat constipation model. Naringenin appears to be a novel alternative treatment strategy for constipation

Empirical investigation to explore potential gains from the amalgamation of Phase Changing Materials (PCMs) and wood shavings

The reduction of gained heat, heat peak shifting and the mitigation of air temperature fluctuations are some desirable properties that are sought after in any thermal insulation system. It cannot be overstated that these factors, in addition to others, govern the performance of such systems thus their effect on indoor ambient conditions. The effect of such systems extends also to Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) systems that are set up to operate optimally in certain conditions. Where literature shows that PCMs and natural materials such as wood-shavings can provide efficient passive insulation for buildings, it is evident that such approaches utilise methods that are of a degree of intricacy which requires specialist knowledge and complex techniques, such as micro-encapsulation for instance. With technical and economic aspects in mind, an amalgam of PCM and wood-shavings has been created for the purpose of being utilised as a feasible thermal insulation. The amalgamation was performed in the simplest of methods, through submerging the wood shavings in PCM. An experimental procedure was devised to test the thermal performance of the amalgam and compare this to the performance of the same un-amalgamated materials. Comparative analysis revealed that no significant thermal gains would be expected from such amalgamation. However, significant reduction in the total weight of the insulation system would be achieved that, in this case, shown to be up to 20.94%. Thus, further reducing possible strains on structural elements due to the application of insulation on buildings. This can be especially beneficial in vernacular architectural approaches where considerably large amounts and thicknesses of insulations are used. In addition, cost reduction could be attained as wood shavings are significantly cheaper compared to the cost of PCMs

Inhibition of Proliferation and Induction of Apoptosis in Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines by CD137 Ligand Signaling

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of terminally-differentiated plasma cells, and the second most prevalent blood cancer. At present there is no cure for MM, and the average prognosis is only three to five years. Current treatments such as chemotherapy are able to prolong a patient's life but rarely prevent relapse of the disease. Even hematopoietic stem cell transplants and novel drug combinations are often not curative, underscoring the need for a continued search for novel therapeutics. CD137 and its ligand are members of the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) receptor and TNF superfamilies, respectively. Since CD137 ligand cross-linking enhances proliferation and survival of healthy B cells we hypothesized that it would also act as a growth stimulus for B cell cancers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Proliferation and survival of B cell lymphoma cell lines were not affected or slightly enhanced by CD137 ligand agonists in vitro. But surprisingly, they had the opposite effects on MM cells, where CD137 ligand signals inhibited proliferation and induced cell death by apoptosis. Furthermore, secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and IL-8 were also enhanced in MM but not in non-MM cell lines in response to CD137 ligand agonists. The secretion of these cytokines in response to CD137 ligand signaling was consistent with the observed activation of the classical NF-kappaB pathway. We hypothesize that the induction of this pathway results in activation-induced cell death, and that this is the underlying mechanism of CD137-induced MM cell death and growth arrest. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data point to a hitherto unrecognized role of CD137 and CD137 ligand in MM cell biology. The selective inhibition of proliferation and induction of cell death in MM cells by CD137 ligand agonists may also warrant a closer evaluation of their therapeutic potential

Hydrothermally Grown ZnO Micro/Nanotube Arrays and Their Properties

We reported the optical and wettability properties of aligned zinc oxide micro/nanotube arrays, which were synthesized on zinc foil via a simple hydrothermal method. As-synthesized ZnO micro/nanotubes have uniform growth directions along the [0001] orientations with diameters in the range of 100–700 nm. These micro/nanotubes showed a strong emission peak at 387 nm and two weak emission peaks at 422 and 485 nm, respectively, and have the hydrophobic properties with a contact angle of 121°. Single ZnO micro/nanotube-based field-effect transistor was also fabricated, which shows typical n-type semiconducting behavior

Purinergic Receptor Stimulation Reduces Cytotoxic Edema and Brain Infarcts in Mouse Induced by Photothrombosis by Energizing Glial Mitochondria

Treatments to improve the neurological outcome of edema and cerebral ischemic stroke are severely limited. Here, we present the first in vivo single cell images of cortical mouse astrocytes documenting the impact of single vessel photothrombosis on cytotoxic edema and cerebral infarcts. The volume of astrocytes expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) increased by over 600% within 3 hours of ischemia. The subsequent growth of cerebral infarcts was easily followed as the loss of GFP fluorescence as astrocytes lysed. Cytotoxic edema and the magnitude of ischemic lesions were significantly reduced by treatment with the purinergic ligand 2-methylthioladenosine 5′ diphosphate (2-MeSADP), an agonist with high specificity for the purinergic receptor type 1 isoform (P2Y1R). At 24 hours, cytotoxic edema in astrocytes was still apparent at the penumbra and preceded the cell lysis that defined the infarct. Delayed 2MeSADP treatment, 24 hours after the initial thrombosis, also significantly reduced cytotoxic edema and the continued growth of the brain infarction. Pharmacological and genetic evidence are presented indicating that 2MeSADP protection is mediated by enhanced astrocyte mitochondrial metabolism via increased inositol trisphosphate (IP3)-dependent Ca2+ release. We suggest that mitochondria play a critical role in astrocyte energy metabolism in the penumbra of ischemic lesions, where low ATP levels are widely accepted to be responsible for cytotoxic edema. Enhancement of this energy source could have similar protective benefits for a wide range of brain injuries

Bioactivity and anthocyanin content of microwave-assisted subcritical water extracts of Manipur black rice (Chakhao) bran and straw

Chakhao, the Geographical Indication (GI) tagged aromatic black rice of Manipur, India, is a rich source of bioactive compounds such as anthocyanins. However, there is limited work available on Chakhao and research has focused on its grain. No reports on the anthocyanin, antioxidant properties or in vitro bioactivities of its straw are available. Anthocyanins content of its different fractions displayed a positive correlation with their antioxidant potentials (r = 0.90). In this study, microwave-assisted sub-critical water extraction, at 90 °C for 5 min, from the straw gave an anthocyanins extraction efficiency of 85.8%. Furthermore, this microwave extract displayed higher antioxidant activity than an equivalent conventional methanol extract. In vitro studies on the microwave extracts of both straw and bran showed no apparent cytotoxicity on Jurkat cells and dose-dependent inhibition of colony growth in colorectal cancer cells. Black rice bran and straw are valuable by-products of the food industry that are rich in phytochemicals. This study reports the extraction of anthocyanins from black rice straw and presents evidence that the straw, in addition to the bran, contains important bioactive compounds; the extracts of which could further be explored as a natural antioxidant and/or functional ingredients