Design and Verification of a Novel Perfusion Bioreactor to Evaluate the Performance of a Self-Expanding Stent for Peripheral Artery Applications

International audienceNandan et al. Bioreactor for Peripheral Stent Applications 3D in vitro testbed to evaluate stent performance in presence of hemodynamic flow conditions found in native peripheral arteries and could help to bridge the gap between the current capabilities of 2D in vitro cell culture models and expensive pre-clinical in vivo models

Experimental observation of the effect of astigmatic aperture lens on the spectral switches of polychromatic Gaussian beam

Experimental results of a study, conducted to investigate the effect of an astigmatic aperture lens on the spectral switches observed with spatially coherent polychromatic light, are reported. It is found that the spectrum at the observation plane exhibits anomalous behavior after passing through the astigmatic aperture lens. It is shown that at a particular position of the aperture, the spectrum splits into two halves, while at other positions the spectrum either shifts towards lower frequencies (red shift) or shifts towards higher frequencies (blue shift). These spectral changes take place in the vicinity of the dark region of the diffraction pattern. Experimental observations show that the behavior of the spectral switch is affected by the astigmatism of the lens. It is found that the spectral minimum value and the transition height of the spectral switch change as the astigmatism of the lens changes. Moreover, the critical position of the aperture where spectral switch occurs also changes with the astigmatism of the lens. The results are consistent with the theoretical predictions

The intertwining of Zn-finger motifs and abiotic stress tolerance in plants: Current status and future prospects

Environmental stresses such as drought, high salinity, and low temperature can adversely modulate the field crop’s ability by altering the morphological, physiological, and biochemical processes of the plants. It is estimated that about 50% + of the productivity of several crops is limited due to various types of abiotic stresses either presence alone or in combination (s). However, there are two ways plants can survive against these abiotic stresses; a) through management practices and b) through adaptive mechanisms to tolerate plants. These adaptive mechanisms of tolerant plants are mostly linked to their signalling transduction pathway, triggering the action of plant transcription factors and controlling the expression of various stress-regulated genes. In recent times, several studies found that Zn-finger motifs have a significant function during abiotic stress response in plants. In the first report, a wide range of Zn-binding motifs has been recognized and termed Zn-fingers. Since the zinc finger motifs regulate the function of stress-responsive genes. The Zn-finger was first reported as a repeated Zn-binding motif, comprising conserved cysteine (Cys) and histidine (His) ligands, in Xenopus laevis oocytes as a transcription factor (TF) IIIA (or TFIIIA). In the proteins where Zn2+ is mainly attached to amino acid residues and thus espousing a tetrahedral coordination geometry. The physical nature of Zn-proteins, defining the attraction of Zn-proteins for Zn2+, is crucial for having an in-depth knowledge of how a Zn2+ facilitates their characteristic function and how proteins control its mobility (intra and intercellular) as well as cellular availability. The current review summarized the concept, importance and mechanisms of Zn-finger motifs during abiotic stress response in plants