Cu-catalyzed Si-NWS grown on “carbon paper” as anodes for Li-ion cells

The very high theoretical capacity of the silicon (4200mAh/g more than 10 times larger than graphite), environmental-friendly, abundant and low-cost, makes it a potential candidate to replace graphite in high energy density Li-ion batteries. As a drawback, silicon suffers from huge volume changes (300%) on alloying and dealloying with Li, leading a structural deformation that induces disruption. The use of nanostructured silicon materials has been shown to be an effective way to avoid this mechanical degradation of the active material. In this paper the synthesis of silicon nanowires, grown on a highly porous 3D-like carbon paper substrate by CVD using Cu as the catalyst, is presented. The use of carbon paper allows to achieve remarkable loadings of active material (2-5 mg/cm2) and, consequently, high capacity densities. The silicon electrode was investigated both morphologically and electrochemically. To improve the electrochemical performance various strategies have been carried out. It was observed that a very slow first cycle (C/40), which helps the formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase on the silicon surface, improves the performance of the cells; nevertheless, their cycle life has been found not fully satisfactory. Morphological analysis of the Si-NWs electrodes before and after cycling showed the presence of a dense silicon layer below the nanowires which could reduce the electrical contact between the active material and the substrate

reliable and inexpensive solar irradiance measurement system design

Abstract In this work, we present an innovative low cost sensor and algorithm for the monitoring and measurement of solar irradiance. This parameter is usually estimated using pyranometers, often based on thermopile. They are quite expensive, also because need additional hardware for data acquisition and manipulation as well as non-negligible installation costs. The system architecture and novel algorithm here proposed employ small PhotoVoltaic (PV) cells and a digital sensor interface. Moreover, the logic section permits to tilt the sensor allowing to track the sun with improved accuracy

Mammary cistern size during the dry period in healthy dairy cows: A preliminary study for an ultrasonographic evaluation

We evaluated the udder cistern (UC) size during the dry period using ultrasound. Forty healthy quarters were evaluated in both the longitudinal and cross-section of the UC. Quarters were evaluated at the drying-off (T0) and 24 h later (T1), then regularly until the end of the dry period (T7–T58), during the colostrum production phase (TCPP) and at 7 days in milking (T7PP). The Spearman test was applied to find the correlation between the ultrasonographic UC size (UUCS) assessment and time. The Friedman test and Dunn’s test for multiple comparisons as a post-hoc test were performed to compare the forequarter and hindquarter cross-sections (FQCSs and HQCSs, respectively) and the forequarter and hindquarter longitudinal sections (FQLSs and HQLSs, respectively) at T0 vs. T58 vs. TCPP vs. T7PP. A total of 440 images were evaluated. A negative linear correlation between time and FQCS and FQLS (r = −0.95; p < 0.0004) and between time and HQCS and HQLS (r = −0.90; p < 0.002) was found. The UUCS decreased throughout the dry period, starting to increase at the beginning of the next lactation. Measuring the UUCS provides useful information for monitoring the dry period

Genetic profiling of chromosome 1 in breast cancer: mapping of regions of gains and losses and identification of candidate genes on 1q

Chromosome 1 is involved in quantitative anomalies in 50–60% of breast tumours. However, the structure of these anomalies and the identity of the affected genes remain to be determined. To characterise these anomalies and define their consequences on gene expression, we undertook a study combining array-CGH analysis and expression profiling using specialised arrays. Array-CGH data showed that 1p was predominantly involved in losses and 1q almost exclusively in gains. Noticeably, high magnitude amplification was infrequent. In an attempt to fine map regions of copy number changes, we defined 19 shortest regions of overlap (SROs) for gains (one at 1p and 18 at 1q) and of 20 SROs for losses (all at 1p). These SROs, whose sizes ranged from 170 kb to 3.2 Mb, represented the smallest genomic intervals possible based on the resolution of our array. The elevated incidence of gains at 1q, added to the well-established concordance between DNA copy increase and augmented RNA expression, made us focus on gene expression changes at this chromosomal arm. To identify candidate oncogenes, we studied the RNA expression profiles of 307 genes located at 1q using a home-made built cDNA array. We identified 30 candidate genes showing significant overexpression correlated to copy number increase. In order to substantiate their involvement, RNA expression levels of these candidate genes were measured by quantitative (Q)-RT–PCR in a panel of 25 breast cancer cell lines previously typed by array-CGH. Q–PCR showed that 11 genes were significantly overexpressed in the presence of a genomic gain in these cell lines, and 20 overexpressed when compared to normal breast

Gene Expression Studies in Major Depression

The dramatic technical advances in methods to measure gene expression on a genome-wide level thus far have not been paralleled by breakthrough discoveries in psychiatric disorders—including major depression (MD)—using these hypothesis-free approaches. In this review, we first describe the methodologic advances made in gene expression analysis, from quantitative polymerase chain reaction to next-generation sequencing. We then discuss issues in gene expression experiments specific to MD, ranging from the choice of target tissues to the characterization of the case group. We provide a synopsis of the gene expression studies published thus far for MD, with a focus on studies using mRNA microarray methods. Finally, we discuss possible new strategies for the gene expression studies in MD that circumvent some of the addressed issues

Modifying Ligand-Induced and Constitutive Signaling of the Human 5-HT4 Receptor

G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) signal through a limited number of G-protein pathways and play crucial roles in many biological processes. Studies of their in vivo functions have been hampered by the molecular and functional diversity of GPCRs and the paucity of ligands with specific signaling effects. To better compare the effects of activating different G-protein signaling pathways through ligand-induced or constitutive signaling, we developed a new series of RASSLs (receptors activated solely by synthetic ligands) that activate different G-protein signaling pathways. These RASSLs are based on the human 5-HT4b receptor, a GPCR with high constitutive Gs signaling and strong ligand-induced G-protein activation of the Gs and Gs/q pathways. The first receptor in this series, 5-HT4-D100A or Rs1 (RASSL serotonin 1), is not activated by its endogenous agonist, serotonin, but is selectively activated by the small synthetic molecules GR113808, GR125487, and RO110-0235. All agonists potently induced Gs signaling, but only a few (e.g., zacopride) also induced signaling via the Gq pathway. Zacopride-induced Gq signaling was enhanced by replacing the C-terminus of Rs1 with the C-terminus of the human 5-HT2C receptor. Additional point mutations (D66A and D66N) blocked constitutive Gs signaling and lowered ligand-induced Gq signaling. Replacing the third intracellular loop of Rs1 with that of human 5-HT1A conferred ligand-mediated Gi signaling. This Gi-coupled RASSL, Rs1.3, exhibited no measurable signaling to the Gs or Gq pathway. These findings show that the signaling repertoire of Rs1 can be expanded and controlled by receptor engineering and drug selection

Deletion of Glutamate Delta-1 Receptor in Mouse Leads to Aberrant Emotional and Social Behaviors

The delta family of ionotropic glutamate receptors consists of glutamate δ1 (GluD1) and glutamate δ2 (GluD2) receptors. While the role of GluD2 in the regulation of cerebellar physiology is well understood, the function of GluD1 in the central nervous system remains elusive. We demonstrate for the first time that deletion of GluD1 leads to abnormal emotional and social behaviors. We found that GluD1 knockout mice (GluD1 KO) were hyperactive, manifested lower anxiety-like behavior, depression-like behavior in a forced swim test and robust aggression in the resident-intruder test. Chronic lithium rescued the depression-like behavior in GluD1 KO. GluD1 KO mice also manifested deficits in social interaction. In the sociability test, GluD1 KO mice spent more time interacting with an inanimate object compared to a conspecific mouse. D-Cycloserine (DCS) administration was able to rescue social interaction deficits observed in GluD1 KO mice. At a molecular level synaptoneurosome preparations revealed lower GluA1 and GluA2 subunit expression in the prefrontal cortex and higher GluA1, GluK2 and PSD95 expression in the amygdala of GluD1 KO. Moreover, DCS normalized the lower GluA1 expression in prefrontal cortex of GluD1 KO. We propose that deletion of GluD1 leads to aberrant circuitry in prefrontal cortex and amygdala owing to its potential role in presynaptic differentiation and synapse formation. Furthermore, these findings are in agreement with the human genetic studies suggesting a strong association of GRID1 gene with several neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorders and major depressive disorder

Amplified Loci on Chromosomes 8 and 17 Predict Early Relapse in ER-Positive Breast Cancers

Adjuvant hormonal therapy is administered to all early stage ER+ breast cancers, and has led to significantly improved survival. Unfortunately, a subset of ER+ breast cancers suffer early relapse despite hormonal therapy. To identify molecular markers associated with early relapse in ER+ breast cancer, an outlier analysis method was applied to a published gene expression dataset of 268 ER+ early-stage breast cancers treated with tamoxifen alone. Increased expression of sets of genes that clustered in chromosomal locations consistent with the presence of amplicons at 8q24.3, 8p11.2, 17q12 (HER2 locus) and 17q21.33-q25.1 were each found to be independent markers for early disease recurrence. Distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) after 10 years for cases with any amplicon (DMFS  = 56.1%, 95% CI  = 48.3–63.9%) was significantly lower (P  = 0.0016) than cases without any of the amplicons (DMFS  = 87%, 95% CI  = 76.3% –97.7%). The association between presence of chromosomal amplifications in these regions and poor outcome in ER+ breast cancers was independent of histologic grade and was confirmed in independent clinical datasets. A separate validation using a FISH-based assay to detect the amplicons at 8q24.3, 8p11.2, and 17q21.33-q25.1 in a set of 36 early stage ER+/HER2- breast cancers treated with tamoxifen suggests that the presence of these amplicons are indeed predictive of early recurrence. We conclude that these amplicons may serve as prognostic markers of early relapse in ER+ breast cancer, and may identify novel therapeutic targets for poor prognosis ER+ breast cancers