Developmental Programming of Fetal Skeletal Muscle and Adipose Tissue Development

All important developmental milestones are accomplished during the fetal stage, and nutrient fluctuation during this stage produces lasting effects on offspring health, so called fetal programming or developmental programming. The fetal stage is critical for skeletal muscle development, as well as adipose and connective tissue development. Maternal under-nutrition at this stage affects the proliferation of myogenic precursor cells and reduces the number of muscle fibers formed. Maternal over-nutrition results in impaired myogenesis and elevated adipogenesis. Because myocytes, adipocytes and fibrocytes are all derived from mesenchymal stem cells, molecular events which regulate the commitment of stem cells to different lineages directly impact fetal muscle and adipose tissue development. Recent studies indicate that microRNA is intensively involved in myogenic and adipogenic differentiation from mesenchymal stem cells, and epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation are expected to alter cell lineage commitment during fetal muscle and adipose tissue development

Low thermal conductivity in A-site high entropy perovskite relaxor ferroelectric

An A-site disordered high entropy perovskite (Pb1/6Ba1/6Sr1/6Ca1/6Na1/6Bi1/6)TiO3 (PBSCNBi) ceramic was prepared by a solid-state reaction method. XRD and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x ray confirmed a single-phase tetragonal solid solution. Dielectric and hysteresis loop measurements showed relaxor ferroelectricity at room temperature; Curie Weiss fitting gives a Burns temperature (Tb) of 123 °C, and Vogel-Fulcher fitting gives a freezing temperature (Tf) of -67.24 °C, which confirms the room-temperature relaxor ferroelectricity of PBSCNBi. This is attributed to local chemical inhomogeneities in the high entropy ceramics. PBSCNBi also has a low thermal conductivity (1.15 W m-1 K-1 at room temperature) compared to all of its constituent simple perovskites (e.g., BaTiO3, PbTiO3, SrTiO3 CaTiO3, and Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 in the range of 25-100 °C), which is attributed to the enhanced phonon scattering by both polar nanoregions and the mass contrast effect in the multi-element perovskite. This work demonstrates the great potential of making A-site high entropy ceramics with relaxor ferroelectric properties

Differential Dependence on Cysteine from Transsulfuration versus Transport During T Cell Activation

The synthesis of glutathione, a major cellular antioxidant with a critical role in T cell proliferation, is limited by cysteine. In this study, we evaluated the contributions of the xC- cystine transporter and the transsulfuration pathway to cysteine provision for glutathione synthesis and antioxidant defense in naive versus activated T cells and in the immortalized T lymphocyte cell line, Jurkat. We show that the xC- transporter, although absent in naive T cells, is induced after activation, releasing T cells from their cysteine dependence on antigen-presenting cells. We also demonstrate the existence of an intact transsulfuration pathway in naive and activated T cells and in Jurkat cells. The flux through the transsulfuration pathway increases in primary but not in transformed T cells in response to oxidative challenge by peroxide. Inhibition of the transsulfuration pathway in both primary and transformed T cells decreases cell viability under oxidative-stress conditions. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 15, 39-47.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90472/1/ars-2E2010-2E3496.pd

Preparation and Properties of MCT Ceramics for RF and THz Applications

The authors would like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK for financial support under Grant EP/I014845, and, Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology of China for financial support under Grant No. 2013H6020

Elucidating the Limit of Li Insertion into the Spinel Li4Ti5O12

In this work, we show that the well-known lithium-ion anode material, Li4Ti5O12, exhibits exceptionally high initial capacity of 310 mAh g-1 when it is discharged to 0.01 V. It maintains a reversible capacity of 230 mAh g-1, far exceeding the "theoretical" capacity of 175 mAh g-1 when this anode is lithiated to the composition Li7Ti5O12. Neutron diffraction analyses identify that additional Li reversibly enters into the Li7Ti5O12 to form Li8Ti5O12. density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the average potentials of the Li4Ti5O12 to Li7Ti5O12 step and the Li7Ti5O12 to Li8Ti5O12 step are 1.57 and 0.19 V, respectively, which are in excellent agreement with experimental results. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies confirm that the irreversible capacity of Li4Ti5O12 during its first cycle originates from the formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer. This work clarifies the fundamental lithiation mechanism of the Li4Ti5O12, when lithiated to 0.01 V vs Li

Giant energy storage density in PVDF with internal stress engineered polar nanostructures

High power dielectric capacitors with high energy density are needed in order to develop modern electronic and electrical systems, including hybrid vehicles, telecommunication infrastructures and portable electronic devices. Relaxor ferroelectric polymers (RFP) are considered to be the most promising candidates for the next generation of capacitors owing to their relatively high energy storage density. However, the commercialization of RFP capacitors in power systems is hindered by their high cost and low dielectric breakdown strength. In this study, inexpensive, free-standing nano-crystalline (~3.3 nm) poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films with high β phase content (~98%), “relaxor-like” ferroelectric behaviour and high breakdown strength (880 kV/mm) were fabricated using the facile Press & Folding (P&F) technique. An internal stress dominated polarization switching model is proposed to explain the origin of the relaxor-like ferroelectric behaviour. The internal stress generated during pressing alters the intermolecular chain distance of the (200) plane of β-PVDF from 4.24 Å in internal stress free films to 4.54 Å in P&F films, corresponding to a tensile strain and residual stress of 7.11% and 142 MPa, respectively. The internal stress acts to partially reverse the polarization on reversal of the applied electric field. This, combined with preferred in-plane orientation of the crystallites, results in a polar nanostructure with high polarization reversibility at high electric fields. A giant discharged energy storage density of 39.8 J/cm3 at 880 kV/mm was achieved for P&F films, which surpasses all previously reported polymer-based materials

Preparation of Ni–YSZ thin and thick films on metallic interconnects as cell supports. Applications as anode for SOFC

In this work, we propose the preparation of a duplex anodic layer composed of both a thin (100 nm) and a thick film (10 lm) with Ni–YSZ material. The support of this anode is a metallic substrate, which is the interconnect of the SOFC unit cell. The metallic support limits the temperature of thermal treatment at 800 C to keep a good interconnect mechanical behaviour and to reduce corrosion. We have chosen to elaborate anodic coatings by sol–gel route coupled with dip-coating process, which are low cost techniques and allow working with moderate temperatures. Thin films are obtained by dipping interconnect substrate into a sol, and thick films into an optimized slurry. After thermal treatment at only 800 C, anodic coatings are adherent and homogeneous. Thin films have compact microstructures that confer ceramic protective barrier on metal surface. Further coatings of 10 lm thick are porous and constitute the active anodic material

Application of next generation sequencing to CEPH cell lines to discover variants associated with FDA approved chemotherapeutics

After publication of this work [1], it has come to our attention that there is an error in the author list of the initial version of this manuscript; rather than Ernest J Lam, the second author of the manuscript should be listed as Ernest T Lam

Impact of Phenanthrene on Organic Acids Secretion and Accumulation by Perennial Ryegrass, Lolium perenne L., Root

A solution culture experiment was performed to investigate the impact of phenanthrene (PHE) on organic acids secretion and accumulation by Lolium perenne L. root. Data showed that, oxalic acid was the dominant composition of organic acids in root and root exudates. In root exudates, increased levels of PHE resulted in higher oxalic acid and its secrete proportion; oxalic acid arranged from 3.00 to 4.72 mg/g FW under spiked PHE treatments, in control, it was 2.33 mg/g FW. In root, oxalic acid rose to 25.61 mg/g FW at 1 mg/L PHE treatment, while the PHE concentration was continuously increasing, organic acids in root decreased