Phosphodiesterase Inhibition as a Mechanism of Ion Channel Modulation by Celecoxib

The overall objective of this thesis work is to determine the mechanism by which celecoxib modulates Kv7 potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells. The central hypothesis of the project is that celecoxib modulates Kv7 potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells through inhibition of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4, which catalyzes the breakdown of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)), thereby activating a cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway. The aims of this thesis targeted different points in the cAMP/PKA pathway with pharmacological interventions using whole cell perforated patch clamp electrophysiology and biochemical methods. The data suggest multiple mechanisms by which celecoxib could be eliciting its Kv7 channel activation with better evidence suggesting requirement of a critical residue for channel activation than an indirect PDE4/cAMP/PKA-dependent pathway. Further work is needed to determine celecoxib’s exact mechanism of Kv7 channel activation

Early growth of Scots pine, European larch and common oak at the young age on post-fire area located in the Sława Śląska Forest District (SW Poland)

The long-term forecasts predict that global warming will increase frequency and area of forest fires. Apart from economic losses resulting from a reduction of wood volume and annual increments of trees, the post-fire areas requiring the reforestation are enlarging considerably.            The present study aimed at the comparison of growth parameters of Scots pine, European larch and common oak seedlings growing on post-fire forest area with those growing in the control forest site established after clear cutting which was not enveloped by fire. We hypothesized that differences in growth traits of seedlings growing on post-fire area or in the control would depend on the species-specific ecological requirements. Among three study species Scots pine was selected to be the most suitable for planting on burnt area taking into account its growth traits and reforestation success.            Scots pine and European larch seedlings showed a greater thickness at root collar and pine had also a greater height on burnt area than in the control. Common oak responded inversely, it grew better in the control conditions compared with the burnt area. The pine grade of slenderness was similar in both treatments. Larch and oak reduced their grade of slenderness growing on post-fire area.Our results supported the hypothesis that the responses of the study trees to the burnt area conditions were determined by the species-dependent traits. The post-fire environment was the most favourable for light-demanding, pioneer pine and larch, but it was disadvantageous for late-successional, more conservative oak. Scots pine together with European larch are recommended to be planted on the burnt area to restore relatively fast the forest ecosystem. At the beginning of reforestation these species can play a role of pioneer crop and later will be able to become the dominant species together with less flammable broadleaved trees in the converted stands

Minimally Invasive Repair of Elongated Chordae Tendineae in the Mitral Valve

In the United States, about 4 million people have been estimated to suffer from severe mitral valve regurgitation [5]. Due to the high risks involved, about half of those patients are ineligible for surgery to repair the valve, because of their poor health [6]. Elongation of the chordae tendineae has been found to be one of the significant causes of regurgitation. To address this, the team has developed a device called “Chord Fastener”, which will restore proper function to the valve via shortening of the chordae tendineae [1]. Via this shortening mechanism, the device will reduce mitral valve regurgitation and will be used in a minimally invasive cardiac procedure. Over the course of two academic semesters, the design and testing of the Chord Fastener was undertaken. The resulting prototype has demonstrated good promise that with refinement, it can function as intended and meet the project requirements

Investigation of an ultra wideband noise sensor for health monitoring

Quick on-scene assessment and early intervention is the key to reduce the mortality of stroke and trauma patients, and it is highly desirable to develop ambulance-based diagnostic and monitoring devices in order to provide additional support to the medical personnel. We developed a compact and low cost ultra wideband noise sensor for medical diagnostics and vital sign monitoring in pre-hospital settings. In this work, we demonstrated the functionality of the sensor for respiration and heartbeat monitoring. In the test, metronome was used to manipulate the breathing pattern and the heartbeat rate reference was obtained with a commercial electrocardiogram (ECG) device. With seventeen tests performed for respiration rate detection, sixteen of them were successfully detected. The results also show that it is possible to detect the heartbeat rate accurately with the developed sensor

Adaptation of seedling growth to the altitude: a case of the Norway spruce from the polish Sudety mountains

Seedlings of five Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] populations originating from different altitudes in the massif of Snieznik Klodzki in the Sudety Mountains (Poland) were grown in the greenhouse. Height, root length, and weight of root, shoot, needles and bud, as well as biomass allocation were studied. A good correlation of seedling traits and the altitude of mother stands was found. This indicates a rather good ecological adaptation of these, probably introduced populations. Some ecological and silvicultural aspects of the results are discussed.[fr] Les plantes de cinq populations de l'épicéa commun [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] provenant des différentes altitudes du massif de Snieznik Klodzki dans les Sudètes (une chaîne des montagnes en Pologne) ont été cultivées dans la serre. Leurs paramètres suivants ont été analysés: la hauteur, la longueur des racines, le poids frais et le poids sec des racines, des tiges, des aiguilles, des bourgeons et l'allocation de la biomasse. La haute corrélation a été notée entre les paramètres des plantes et l'altitude des stations des arbres ayant été les semenciers des graines. Ce résultat montre une plutôt bonne adaptation écologique de ces populations, probablement introduites dans le massif de Snieznik Klodzki. Les aspects écologiques et les conséquences de l'adaptation de l'épicéa commun aux conditions montagneuses pour la sylviculture sont discutés. [es] Plántulas de cinco poblaciones de abeto rojo [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] procedentes de diferente altitud en el macizo de Snieznik Klodzki, en los Montes Sudetes, (Polonia) se cultivaron en invernadero. Se han analizado los parámetros siguientes: altura y longitud de las raíces, pesos fresco y seco de raíces, tallos, hojas y yemas, así como la distribución de la biomasa. Como resultado se obtuvo una correlación alta entre los parámetros de las plántidas y la altitud de las estaciones donde se colectaron las semillas. Esto indica una adaptación relativamente buena de esas poblaciones, probablemente introducidas. Finalmente se discuten algunos aspectos ecológicos y de silvicultura

The use of drones during mass events

The concept of a mass event has been defined by the law on mass event security. The use of drones to monitor events involves numerous benefits. Surveillance provided by means of drones is particularly beneficial as far as large open areas are concerned. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) alert one to any issues in the crowd

AI-powered multimodal modeling of personalized hemodynamics in aortic stenosis

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart disease in developed countries. High-fidelity preclinical models can improve AS management by enabling therapeutic innovation, early diagnosis, and tailored treatment planning. However, their use is currently limited by complex workflows necessitating lengthy expert-driven manual operations. Here, we propose an AI-powered computational framework for accelerated and democratized patient-specific modeling of AS hemodynamics from computed tomography. First, we demonstrate that our automated meshing algorithms can generate task-ready geometries for both computational and benchtop simulations with higher accuracy and 100 times faster than existing approaches. Then, we show that our approach can be integrated with fluid-structure interaction and soft robotics models to accurately recapitulate a broad spectrum of clinical hemodynamic measurements of diverse AS patients. The efficiency and reliability of these algorithms make them an ideal complementary tool for personalized high-fidelity modeling of AS biomechanics, hemodynamics, and treatment planning.Comment: CO and DHP contributed equally to this work. JSD and ETR are corresponding author

Ex situ germination of European acorns: data from 93 batches of 12 Quercus species

Key message: We provide data on seedlot germination potential-a key trait related to regeneration-of 12 oak species. Germination was tested at the University of Granada following international protocols with 8985 acorns from 93 batches and 16 countries across Europe. Data on germination probability, acorn origin, mass, and moisture content measured on another 4544 acorns are available at https://doi.org/10.30827/Digibug.87318. Associated metadata are available at https://metadata-afs.nancy.inra.fr/geonetwork/srv/fre/catalog.search#/metadata/a742c6d8-bc37-4ca2-8b81-2447c5a8858d