185 research outputs found
Human multipotent adult progenitor cell-conditioned medium improves wound healing through modulating inflammation and angiogenesis in mice
Background: Stem cell therapies have been widely investigated for their healing effects. However, the translation of these therapies has been hampered by the requirement to deliver live allogeneic or autologous cells directly to the wound in a clinical setting. Multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCÂź cells) are a subpopulation of bone marrow-derived adherent stem cells that secrete a wide range of factors known to accelerate the wound healing process. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of MAPC cells secretome on healing outcomes without the presence of MAPC cells. Methods: The effect of MAPC-conditioned medium (MAPC-CM) on the capacity of keratinocytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells to migrate and proliferate was determined in vitro using scratch wound closure and WST1 assay, respectively. The effect of MAPC-CM on collagen deposition and angiogenesis was also assessed using in vitro methods. Additionally, two excisional wounds were created on the dorsal surface of mice (nâ=â8/group) and 100âÎŒL of 20Ă MAPC-CM were intradermally injected to the wound margins. Wound tissues were collected at 3, 7 and 14âdays post-wounding and stained with H&E for microscopic analysis. Immunohistochemistry was performed to investigate inflammation, angiogenesis and collagen deposition in the wounds. Results: Skin fibroblasts, keratinocytes and endothelial cells treated with MAPC-CM all showed improved rates of scratch closure and increased cellular proliferation. Moreover, fibroblasts treated with MAPC-CM deposited more collagens I and III and endothelial cells treated with MAPC-CM showed increased capillary tube formation. Murine excisional wounds intradermally injected with MAPC-CM showed a significant reduction in the wound area and an increase in the rate of reepithelialisation. The results also showed that inflammatory cell infiltration was decreased while an increase in angiogenesis, as well as collagens I and III expressions, was observed. Conclusion: These findings suggest that factors produced by MAPC cells can have an important effect on cutaneous wound healing by affecting skin cell proliferation and migration, balancing inflammation and improving the formation of extracellular matrix and angiogenesis. Development of stem cell-free therapy for the treatment of wounds may be a more clinically translatable approach for improving healing outcomes.Parinaz Ahangar, Stuart J. Mills, Louise E. Smith, Xanthe L. Strudwick, Anthony E. Ting, Bart Vaes, and Allison J. Cowi
Early Seizures Prematurely Unsilence Auditory Synapses to Disrupt Thalamocortical Critical Period Plasticity
Heightened neural excitability in infancy and childhood results in increased susceptibility to seizures. Such early-life seizures are associated with language deficits and autism that can result from aberrant development of the auditory cortex. Here, we show that early-life seizures disrupt a critical period (CP) for tonotopic map plasticity in primary auditory cortex (A1). We show that this CP is characterized by a prevalence of âsilent,â NMDA-receptor (NMDAR)-only, glutamate receptor synapses in auditory cortex that become âunsilencedâ due to activity-dependent AMPA receptor (AMPAR) insertion. Induction of seizures prior to this CP occludes tonotopic map plasticity by prematurely unsilencing NMDAR-only synapses. Further, brief treatment with the AMPAR antagonist NBQX following seizures, prior to the CP, pre
Spin relaxation: From 2D to 1D
In inversion asymmetric semiconductors, spin-orbit interactions give rise to
very effective relaxation mechanisms of the electron spin. Recent work, based
on the dimensionally constrained D'yakonov Perel' mechanism, describes
increasing electron-spin relaxation times for two-dimensional conducting layers
with decreasing channel width. The slow-down of the spin relaxation can be
understood as a precursor of the one-dimensional limit
Theory-Motivated Benchmark Models and Superpartners at the Tevatron
Recently published benchmark models have contained rather heavy
superpartners. To test the robustness of this result, several benchmark models
have been constructed based on theoretically well-motivated approaches,
particularly string-based ones. These include variations on anomaly and
gauge-mediated models, as well as gravity mediation. The resulting spectra
often have light gauginos that are produced in significant quantities at the
Tevatron collider, or will be at a 500 GeV linear collider. The signatures also
provide interesting challenges for the LHC. In addition, these models usually
account for electroweak symmetry breaking with relatively less fine-tuning than
previous benchmark models.Comment: 44 pages, 4 figures; some typos corrected. Revisions reflect
published versio
Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study
A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study
In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4
Ca isotope constraints on chemical weathering processes: evidence from headwater in the Changjiang River, China
This study aims to clarify the relationship between chemical weathering of rocks and the carbon budget of rivers and better understand the weathering mechanisms of plateau watersheds. We chose to study the Jinsha River, which originates from the Tibetan Plateau and also is in the upper reaches of the Changjiang River. Analysis of hydrochemistry, radiogenic strontium isotope and stable calcium isotopes were conducted of the Jinsha River water samples, which were collected along its mainstream and main tributaries in the summer. The results show that the water chemistry of the mainstream waters is dominated by evaporite weathering, which have low 87Sr/86Sr values (0.7098â0.7108) and wide range of Sr contents (2.70â9.35 ÎŒmol/L). In contrast, tributaries of the Jinsha River have higher 87Sr/86Sr (0.7090â0.7157) and lower Sr contents (âŒ1 ÎŒmol/L). Moreover, the Ca isotopic compositions in the mainstream (0.87â1.11â°) are heavier than the tributaries (0.68â0.88â°) and could not be fully explained by the conventional mixing of different sources. We suggest that secondary carbonate precipitation fractionates Ca isotopes in the Jinsha River, and fractionation factors are between 0.99935 and 0.99963. At least 66% of Ca was removed in the mainstream of the Jinsha River through secondary mineral precipitation, and the average value is âŒ35% in the tributaries. The results highlight that evaporite weathering results in more carbonate precipitation influencing Ca transportation and cycling in the riverine system constrained by stable Ca isotopic compositions and water chemistry
Comparative cellular analysis of motor cortex in human, marmoset and mouse
The primary motor cortex (M1) is essential for voluntary fine-motor control and is functionally conserved across mammals(1). Here, using high-throughput transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling of more than 450,000 single nuclei in humans, marmoset monkeys and mice, we demonstrate a broadly conserved cellular makeup of this region, with similarities that mirror evolutionary distance and are consistent between the transcriptome and epigenome. The core conserved molecular identities of neuronal and non-neuronal cell types allow us to generate a cross-species consensus classification of cell types, and to infer conserved properties of cell types across species. Despite the overall conservation, however, many species-dependent specializations are apparent, including differences in cell-type proportions, gene expression, DNA methylation and chromatin state. Few cell-type marker genes are conserved across species, revealing a short list of candidate genes and regulatory mechanisms that are responsible for conserved features of homologous cell types, such as the GABAergic chandelier cells. This consensus transcriptomic classification allows us to use patch-seq (a combination of whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, RNA sequencing and morphological characterization) to identify corticospinal Betz cells from layer 5 in non-human primates and humans, and to characterize their highly specialized physiology and anatomy. These findings highlight the robust molecular underpinnings of cell-type diversity in M1 across mammals, and point to the genes and regulatory pathways responsible for the functional identity of cell types and their species-specific adaptations.Cardiovascular Aspects of Radiolog
A pair of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright K-dwarf TOI-1064 characterized with CHEOPS
Stars and planetary system
Study of Z â llÎł decays at âs = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector
This paper presents a study of Z â llÎł decays
with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The
analysis uses a protonâproton data sample corresponding to
an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fbâ1 collected at a centre-ofmass energy âs = 8 TeV. Integrated fiducial cross-sections
together with normalised differential fiducial cross-sections,
sensitive to the kinematics of final-state QED radiation, are
obtained. The results are found to be in agreement with stateof-the-art predictions for final-state QED radiation. First
measurements of Z â llÎł Îł decays are also reported
- âŠ