Tuft-cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic mediators of norovirus tropism regulate viral immunity

Murine norovirus (MNoV) is a model for human norovirus and for interrogating mechanisms of viral tropism and persistence. We previously demonstrated that the persistent strain MNo

Rapid Turnover of Cortical NCAM1 Regulates Synaptic Reorganization after Peripheral Nerve Injury

Peripheral nerve injury can induce pathological conditions that lead to persistent sensitized nociception. Although there is evidence that plastic changes in the cortex contribute to this process, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. Here, we find that activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) induced by peripheral nerve injury increases the turnover of specific synaptic proteins in a persistent manner. We demonstrate that neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) is one of the molecules involved and show that it mediates spine reorganization and contributes to the behavioral sensitization. We show striking parallels in the underlying mechanism with the maintenance of NMDA-receptor- and protein-synthesis-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in the ACC. Our results, therefore, demonstrate a synaptic mechanism for cortical reorganization and suggest potential avenues for neuropathic pain treatment

Protective effects of protocatechuic acid against cisplatin-induced renal damage in rats

The protective effects of an extract from bitter melon (. Momordica charantia, Cucurbitaceae) against oxidative stress was previously reported and found that protocatechuic acid (PCA) was one of the major phenolic constituents in the extract. The renoprotective effect of PCA from bitter melon was investigated in the present study. In the LLC-PK1 cellular model, the decline in cells viabilities induced by oxidative stress, such as that induced by sodium nitroprusside, pyrogallol, and SIN-1, was significantly and dose-dependently inhibited by PCA. In the in vivo model, the cisplatin-treated rats showed increased plasma levels of creatinine, decreased creatinine clearance, and increased urine protein levels. However, these parameters related to renal dysfunction were markedly attenuated by PCA treatment. Administration of PCA resulted in remarkable improvement in the histological appearance and reduction in tubular cell damage in the cisplatin-treated rat kidneys. Moreover, the elevated levels of pro-caspase-3 induced by cisplatin in rat kidneys were down-regulated by PCA co-treatment. These results suggest that PCA has protective activity against anticancer drug-induced oxidative nephrotoxicity

The Optimum Monitoring Location of Pressure in Water Distribution System

This study proposes two methods for the determination of optimum monitoring locations of pressure changes in a water distribution system. A sensitivity analysis method is used to calculate the pressure change in a junction due to the change in demand at other junctions. A pressure contribution analysis method is used to calculate the summation of pressure contribution of a junction due to the change in demand at another junction. These methods are applied to a small sample pipe network, pilot plant, and small distribution system for verification. Furthermore, unsteady analysis of the sample pipe network and an experiment in the pilot plant are conducted to verify the availability and accuracy of the proposed methods. To verify the methods, leakage at J-55 was artificially produced at the pilot plant. The pressure change was measured at five different combination groups of sensor locations. From the results, it was found that the top ranked group of sensor locations, J-116, J-140, J-22, and J-68, had the highest pressure contributions and sensitivity. The results of the newly developed methods for the determination of monitoring locations are in good agreement with the results of the unsteady analysis. Finally, the proposed methods are applied to a real distribution system of a small city as a test bed. It is found that the proposed methods for determining the monitoring locations of pressure changes in the water distribution system are useful and effective

Droplet jumping by electrowetting and its application to the three-dimensional digital microfluidics

We introduce droplet jumping by electrowetting (DJE), which stretches droplets to store energy for jumping by electrowetting. The capillarity-driven droplet jumping is effective to overcome the energy barrier, where the threshold for jumping is less than 100 V. We studied the detailed jumping mechanisms with regard to the jumping height and the energy conversion and demonstrated the transport of sessile droplets to upper surfaces under diverse electrode configurations. While the droplet jumping on the superhydrophobic surface is the primary focus of our research, DJE is also found to be possible on conventional Teflon surfaces, envisioning the three-dimensional droplet-based digital microfluidics. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3688487]open112227sciescopu

Bouncing of a Droplet on Superhydrophobic Surface in AC Electrowetting

The movie shows a droplet jumping from the superhydrophobic surface under an alternating electrical actuation close to the resonance of the droplet vibration, which enables a sessile droplet to accumulate sufficient energy at the droplet surface to overcome the adhesion and the gravity. After jumping, the droplet bounces on the superhydrophobic surface, where the minimized adhesion and hysteresis make the decay of the bouncing height considerably slow. The resonant electrical actuation is the key for the droplet to accumulate sufficient energy for jumping; thereby the deformation and the jumping of a droplet are substantially affected by applied frequencies. Superhydrophobic surfaces are preferable in maximizing the jumping height because of the effective energy conversion from the surface energy to the kinetic energy. In addition, the stability and the reproducibility of the droplet jumping can be ameliorated because of the minimized adhesion superhydrophobic surfaces provide. The stability and the reproducibility of commercially available superhydrophobic surfaces used in this demonstration are fairly acceptable for the controlled jumping of a droplet on demand (CJDD), which is expected to play a key role in realizing three-dimensional droplet manipulations in digital microfluidics. The increasing demand for the three-dimensional configuration in microfluidics is also applicable to the digital microfluidics to manipulate droplets in three-dimensions. The three-dimensional droplet manipulation could be the radical solution to the difficult problems in current digital microfluidics such as the cross-contamination and the degradation of electrodes, and it will significantly broaden the scope of applications in digital microfluidics due to the expanded degree-of-freedom in z-direction. The controlled droplet jumping made by the resonant AC electrowetting shown in this movie could be a historical milestone in digital microfluidics, as suggesting a potential way to realize three-dimensional digital microfluidics by simply transporting droplets in z-direction based on current single plate EWOD configurations.This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD, Basic Research Promotion Fund) (KRF-2006-331-D00058

Analytical investigation of multi-layered rollable displays considering nonlinear elastic adhesive interfaces.

To design the multilayered structures of reliable rollable displays, finite element method (FEM) investigations are conducted at various rolling conditions. Given that the optically clear adhesive (OCA) is the only flexible component and interfacial layer that plays an important role in allowing flexibility in rollable displays, we investigated its nonlinear elastic properties in detail. Hereto, FEM of rollable displays have been limited and inaccurate because OCA has been assumed to be a linear elastic material. In addition, despite the fact that rolling deformation exhibits complex bending characteristics, unlike folding, the mechanical behaviors over the entire area of rollable displays at all positions have not yet been addressed. In this study, we describe the dynamic and mechanical characteristics of rollable displays at all positions considering the hyperelastic and viscoelastic properties of OCA. The maximum normal strain of the rollable displays was applied about 0.98%, and the maximum shear strain of the OCA was shown to be around 720%. To assess the stability of the rollable displays, normal and yield strains were compared to each layer and investigated. Consequently, mechanical modeling of the rollable displays was conducted and stable rolling behaviors that did not cause permanent deformation were investigated.11Nsciescopu