Cooperation of Notch and Ras/MAPK signaling pathways in human breast carcinogenesis

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Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from the Prairie Vole

The vast majority of animals mate more or less promiscuously. A few mammals, including humans, utilize more restrained mating strategies that entail a longer term affiliation with a single mating partner. Such pair bonding mating strategies have been resistant to genetic analysis because of a lack of suitable model organisms. Prairie voles are small mouse-like rodents that form enduring pair bonds in the wild as well as in the laboratory, and consequently they have been used widely to study social bonding behavior. The lack of targeted genetic approaches in this species however has restricted the study of the molecular and neural circuit basis of pair bonds. As a first step in rendering the prairie vole amenable to reverse genetics, we have generated induced pluripotent stem cell (IPSC) lines from prairie vole fibroblasts using retroviral transduction of reprogramming factors. These IPSC lines display the cellular and molecular hallmarks of IPSC cells from other organisms, including mice and humans. Moreover, the prairie vole IPSC lines have pluripotent differentiation potential since they can give rise to all three germ layers in tissue culture and in vivo. These IPSC lines can now be used to develop conditions that facilitate homologous recombination and eventually the generation of prairie voles bearing targeted genetic modifications to study the molecular and neural basis of pair bond formation

Valorizing the 'Irulas' traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in the Kodiakkarai Reserve Forest, India

A mounting body of critical research is raising the credibility of Traditional Knowledge (TK) in scientific studies. These studies have gained credibility because their claims are supported by methods that are repeatable and provide data for quantitative analyses that can be used to assess confidence in the results. The theoretical importance of our study is to test consensus (reliability/replicable) of TK within one ancient culture; the Irulas of the Kodiakkarai Reserve Forest (KRF), India. We calculated relative frequency (RF) and consensus factor (Fic) of TK from 120 Irulas informants knowledgeable of medicinal plants. Our research indicates a high consensus of the Irulas TK concerning medicinal plants. The Irulas revealed a diversity of plants that have medicinal and nutritional utility in their culture and specific ethnotaxa used to treat a variety of illnesses and promote general good health in their communities. Throughout history aboriginal people have been the custodians of bio-diversity and have sustained healthy life-styles in an environmentally sustainable manner. However this knowledge has not been transferred to modern society. We suggest this may be due to the asymmetry between scientific and TK, which demands a new approach that considers the assemblage of TK and scientific knowledge. A greater understanding of TK is beginning to emerge based on our research with both the Irulas and Malasars; they believe that a healthy lifestyle is founded on a healthy environment. These aboriginal groups chose to share this knowledge with society-at-large in order to promote a global lifestyle of health and environmental sustainability

Microbial evaluation of plaque on 3M ESPE and kids stainless steel crown in primary molars

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the oral hygiene and microbial adhesion on the 3M stainless steel crown (SSC) and Kids crown in primary molars. Materials and Methods: Seven children aged 4-8 years were selected from the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry. Children included in the study had lower right or left both first and second primary molars that required SSC. The tooth was restored with 3M crown and Kids crown. The swabs were collected before and immediately after the cementation of crowns and after 1 week. Oral hygiene index (OHI) was also evaluated. The swabs were incubated in mitis salivarius bacitracin agar, and the total number of Streptococcus mutans was counted and expressed in colony forming units. Results: There was no statistically significant difference seen in the microbial count and OHI-simplified between the 3M and Kids crown and natural teeth. Conclusion: The microbial adhesion of plaque and S. mutans was seen higher on the Kids crown. However, there was no significant difference between 3M ESPE and Kids crown

Cuprous Sulfide@Carbon nanostructures based counter electrodes with cadmium sulfide/titania photoanode for liquid junction solar cells

The counter electrode (CE) is an integral component of a quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC), for it catalyzes the electrolyte reduction during cell operation. CEs: copper sulfide (Cu2S), Cu2S@graphene oxide (GO), Cu2S@reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and Cu2S@functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (F-MWCNTs) except C-fabric are prepared. The five CEs are used in QDSSCs with a TiO2/CdS/ZnS film as the photoanode. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the cells are: Cu2S (4%), Cu2S@GO (5.69%), Cu2S@RGO (2.62%), Cu2S@F-MWCNTs (6.34%) and C-fabric (3.86%). Among these, the Cu2S@F-MWCNTs CE based QDSSC exhibits the highest PCE due to the high conductivity and high surface area of F-MWCNTs and the catalytic activity of Cu2S for sulfide reduction, which promotes electron transfer to the electrolyte. The Cu2S@F-MWCNTs CE shows a lower charge transfer resistance (Rct) for the oxidized sulfide species reduction, a better exchange current density and a higher current density for the electrolyte reduction at the CE/electrolyte interface compared to other CEs. F-MWCNTs also have a suitably poised Fermi level for accepting electrons with ease from the current collector. The same electrode also shows a higher catalytic activity and a greater flat band potential for hydrogen evolution reaction relative to the other electrodes. This study furnishes insights on how Cu2S@carbon nanostructures based electrodes are extremely effective as CEs for QDSSCs

A poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene)/carbon micro-sphere-bismuth nanoflake composite and multifunctional Co-doped graphene for a benchmark photo-supercapacitor

Efficient storage of sunlight in the form of charge is accomplished by designing and implementing a photo-supercapacitor (PSC) with a novel, cost-effective architecture. Sulfur (S)- and nitrogen (N)-doped graphene particles (SNGPs) are incorporated in a TiO2/CdS photoanode. The beneficial effects of SNGPs such as the high electrical conductance promoting fast electron transfer to TiO2, a suitably positioned conduction band that maximizes charge separation, and its' ability to absorb red photons translate into a power conversion efficiency of 9.4%, for the champion cell. A new composite of poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene)/carbon micro-sphere-bismuth nanoflakes (PProDOT/CMS-BiNF) is integrated with the photoanode to yield the PSC. The photocurrent produced under 1 sun irradiance is directed to the supercapacitor, wherein, the synergy between the faradaic and electrical double layer charge accumulation mechanisms of PProDOT and CMS-BiNF bestows storage parameters of an areal capacitance of 104.6 mF cm-2, and energy and power densities of 9 μW h cm-2 and 0.026 mW cm-2. An overall photo-conversion and storage efficiency of 6.8% and an energy storage efficiency of 72% exhibited by the PSC are much superior to those delivered by a majority of the PSCs reported in the literature on the otherwise highly efficient perovskite solar cell or the expensive Ru dye based solar cells

Gold nanoparticle decorated bismuth sulfide nanorods for enhanced photoelectrochemical hydrogen production

The design of photo-electrodes with good light absorption, effective photo-generated charge carrier separation and fast charge transportation are key parameters for photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen generation. The development of efficient plasmonic metal–semiconductor hetero-nanostructures has been receiving great attention to obtain the best PEC performance. In this work, we report the synthesis of gold nanoparticles supported on bismuth sulfide nanorods (AuNPs/Bi2S3NRs) as photo-electrodes via hydrothermal and drop-casting methods. The resulting AuNP/Bi2S3NR composites exhibited superior PEC performance for hydrogen production due to their suitable optical/electronic properties. Impressively, the AuNPs/Bi2S3NR photoanode achieved a high photocurrent density of 9.61 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V versus RHE, corresponding to a solar to hydrogen efficiency (STH) of 5.78%, which is about three times higher than that of the pristine Bi2S3 photoanode. Furthermore, the AuNP/Bi2S3NR photoanodes also exhibited a high transient photocurrent response and less charge transfer resistance than the pristine Bi2S3. This enhancement is possibly due to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the AuNPs, which improves the light absorption and the charge transfer and minimizes the back transfer and contributes to the overall PEC activity

Plasmonic nanometal decorated photoanodes for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Plasmonic metal nanoparticles containing photoanodes are known to exhibit stable photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance due to their optical and electronic properties. In this work, we report the application of plasmonic Bi nanoparticles supported over a g-C3N4/Bi2S3 photoanode for PEC water splitting. Typical results indicated that g-C3N4/Bi2S3/BiNPs ternary composite photoanode showed a high photo-current density of 7.11 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V under solar irradiation, which was ∼ 5 and 10 times higher than g-C3N4/Bi2S3 and g-C3N4 photoanodes, respectively. Further, the composite electrode also demonstrated superior solar to hydrogen efficiency and long-term stability. It was concluded that Bi nanoparticles play a major role in enhancing the PEC performance for hydrogen evolution reaction. Thus, g-C3N4/Bi2S3/BiNPs has superior PEC performance and proved to work as an alternative to noble metal based photo-electrodes for solar-water splitting reactions

Regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal and mesenchymal-epithelial transitions by microRNAs.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the reverse process, mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), are essential during development and in the regulation of stem cell pluripotency, yet these processes are also activated in pathological contexts, such as in fibrosis and cancer progression. In EMT and MET, diverse signaling pathways cooperate in the initiation and progression of the EMT and MET programs, through regulation at transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational levels. MicroRNAs recently emerged as potent regulators of EMT and MET, with their abilities to target multiple components involved in epithelial integrity or mesenchymal traits. By affecting EMT and MET processes, microRNAs are involved in the regulation of stem cell pluripotency and the control of tumor progression