The further study on the accuracy of DEM terrain representation

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Kinesin-1 is involved in chondrocytes adhesion to extracellular matrix and motility

Intercalation movement of proliferative chondrocytes is crucial for their columnar organization which is essential for proper function of growth plate cartilage. The conventional motor protein kinesin‐1 directionally transporting various cargos along microtubules might be involved in this polarized cell movement. Kinesin‐1 is suggested to transport unknown cargo(s) modulating focal adhesion (FA) turnover which is a key step in cell movement. To investigate kinesin‐1’s role in chondrocytes intercalation, we generate kinesin‐1 heavy chain (Kif5b) knockout mouse. In the growth plate of KIF5B deficient mouse, we observed abnormal cell morphology and disrupted columnar structure. Isolated mutant chondrocytes show reduced motility and adhesion ability to ECM proteins. Vinculin, the key regulator of focal adhesions, is found as a potential protein associated with KIF5B in mouse chondrocytes. Further study will investigate whether KIF5B affects chondrocytes motility and adhesion via FAs modulation.postprin

Analysis of Kif5b Expression during Mouse Kidney Development

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Experimental and numerical studies of friction-induced vibration and noise and the effects of groove-textured surfaces

An experimental and numerical study of friction-induced vibration and noise of a system composed of an elastic ball sliding over a groove-textured surface was performed. The experimental results showed that the impact between the ball and the edges of the grooves may significantly suppress the generation of high frequency components of acceleration and reduce the friction noise. Groove-textured surfaces with a specific dimensional parameter showed a good potential in reducing squeal. To model and understand this noise phenomenon, both the complex eigenvalue and dynamic transient analysis were performed. The dynamic transient analysis for the cases of groove-textured surface with/without filleted edges validated the role of the impact between the ball and the groove edges. Furthermore, a self-excited vibration model with three degrees of freedom was proposed to capture the basic features of the friction system. A small contact angle between the ball and the groove edges, corresponding to the relatively small groove width used in this study, would not cause any instability of the system

Structural analysis and corrosion studies on an ISO 5832-9 biomedical alloy with TiO2 sol–gel layers

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between the structural and corrosion properties of an ISO 5832-9 biomedical alloy modified with titanium dioxide (TiO2) layers. These layers were obtained via the sol–gel method by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide in isopropanol solution. To obtain TiO2 layers with different structural properties, the coated samples were annealed at temperatures of 200, 300, 400, 450, 500, 600 and 800 C for 2 h. For all the prepared samples, accelerated corrosion measurements were performed in Tyrode’s physiological solution using electrochemical methods. The most important corrosion parameters were determined: corrosion potential, polarization resistance, corrosion rate, breakdown and repassivation potentials. Corrosion damage was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. Structural analysis was carried out for selected TiO2 coatings annealed at 200, 400, 600 and 800 C. In addition, the morphology, chemical composition, crystallinity, thickness and density of the deposited TiO2 layers were determined using suitable electron and X-ray measurement methods. It was shown that the structure and character of interactions between substrate and deposited TiO2 layers depended on annealing temperature. All the obtained TiO2 coatings exhibit anticorrosion properties, but these properties are related to the crystalline structure and character of substrate–layer interaction. From the point of view of corrosion, the best TiO2 sol–gel coatings for stainless steel intended for biomedical applications seem to be those obtained at 400 C.This study was supported by Grant No. N N507 501339 of the National Science Centre. The authors wish to express their thanks to J. Borowski (MEDGAL, Poland) for the Rex 734 alloy

Apparent non-canonical trans-splicing is generated by reverse transcriptase in vitro

Trans-splicing, the in vivo joining of two RNA molecules, is well characterized in several groups of simple organisms but was long thought absent from fungi, plants and mammals. However, recent bioinformatic analyses of expressed sequence tag (EST) databases suggested widespread trans-splicing in mammals^1-2^. Splicing, including the characterised trans-splicing systems, involves conserved sequences at the splice junctions. Our analysis of a yeast non-coding RNA revealed that around 30% of the products of reverse transcription lacked an internal region of 117 nt, suggesting that the RNA was spliced. The junction sequences lacked canonical splice-sites but were flanked by direct repeats, and further analyses indicated that the apparent splicing actually arose because reverse transcriptase can switch templates during transcription^3^. Many newly identified, apparently trans-spliced, RNAs lacked canonical splice sites but were flanked by short regions of homology, leading us to question their authenticity. Here we report that all reported categories of non-canonical splicing could be replicated using an in vitro reverse transcription system with highly purified RNA substrates. We observed the reproducible occurrence of ostensible trans-splicing, exon shuffling and sense-antisense fusions. The latter generate apparent antisense non-coding RNAs, which are also reported to be abundant in humans^4^. Different reverse transcriptases can generate different products of template switching, providing a simple diagnostic. Many reported examples of splicing in the absence of canonical splicing signals may be artefacts of cDNA preparation