Preparation, Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of the Electrochromic Thin Films

A new multilayer electrochromic device has been constructed according to the following pattern: glass1/ITO/WO3/gel electrolyte/BP/ITO/glass2, where ITO is a transparent conducting film made of indium and tin oxide and with the surface resistance equal 8–10 Ω/cm2 . The electrochromic devices obtained in the research are characterized by great (considerable) transmittance variation between coloration and bleaching state (25–40% at applied voltage of 1.5 to 3 V), and also high coloration efficiency (above 100 cm2 /C). Selfconsistent energy bands, dielectric permittivity and optical parameters are calculated using a full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital method. The numerical solution of the Debye-Smoluchowski equations is developed for simulating recombination probability of Li+ ions in amorphous electrolyte

Experimental evidence for an intermediate phase in the multiferroic YMnO3

We have studied YMnO$_{3}$ by high-temperature synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, and have carried out differential thermal analysis and dilatometry on a single crystal sample. These experiments show two phase transitions at about 1100K and 1350K, respectively. This demonstrates the existence of an intermediate phase between the room temperature ferroelectric and the high temperature centrosymmetric phase. This study identifies for the first time the different high-temperature phase transitions in YMnO$_{3}$.Comment: 10 pages 5 figures. New version, Additional data, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, in Pres

Identification of miRNA signatures associated with radiation-induced late lung injury in mice.

Acute radiation exposure of the thorax can lead to late serious, and even life-threatening, pulmonary and cardiac damage. Sporadic in nature, late complications tend to be difficult to predict, which prompted this investigation into identifying non-invasive, tissue-specific biomarkers for the early detection of late radiation injury. Levels of circulating microRNA (miRNA) were measured in C3H and C57Bl/6 mice after whole thorax irradiation at doses yielding approximately 70% mortality in 120 or 180 days, respectively (LD70/120 or 180). Within the first two weeks after exposure, weight gain slowed compared to sham treated mice along with a temporary drop in white blood cell counts. 52% of C3H (33 of 64) and 72% of C57Bl/6 (46 of 64) irradiated mice died due to late radiation injury. Lung and heart damage, as assessed by computed tomography (CT) and histology at 150 (C3H mice) and 180 (C57Bl/6 mice) days, correlated well with the appearance of a local, miRNA signature in the lung and heart tissue of irradiated animals, consistent with inherent differences in the C3H and C57Bl/6 strains in their propensity for developing radiation-induced pneumonitis or fibrosis, respectively. Radiation-induced changes in the circulating miRNA profile were most prominent within the first 30 days after exposure and included miRNA known to regulate inflammation and fibrosis. Importantly, early changes in plasma miRNA expression predicted survival with reasonable accuracy (88-92%). The miRNA signature that predicted survival in C3H mice, including miR-34a-5p, -100-5p, and -150-5p, were associated with pro-inflammatory NF-κB-mediated signaling pathways, whereas the signature identified in C57Bl/6 mice (miR-34b-3p, -96-5p, and -802-5p) was associated with TGF-β/SMAD signaling. This study supports the hypothesis that plasma miRNA profiles could be used to identify individuals at high risk of organ-specific late radiation damage, with applications for radiation oncology clinical practice or in the context of a radiological incident

A Default Logic Patch for Default Logic

International audienceThis paper is about the fusion of multiple information sources represented using default logic. More precisely, the focus is on solving the problem that occurs when the standard-logic knowledge parts of the sources are contradictory, as default theories trivialize in this case. To overcome this problem, it is shown that replacing each formula belonging to Minimally Unsatisfiable Subformulas by a corresponding supernormal default allows appealing features. Moreover, it is investigated how these additional defaults interact with the initial defaults of the theory. Interestingly, this approach allows us to handle the problem of default theories containing inconsistent standard-logic knowledge, using the default logic framework itself

Cyclin D1 promotes neurogenesis in the developing spinal cord in a cell cycle-independent manner

Neural stem and progenitor cells undergo an important transition from proliferation to differentiation in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. The mechanisms coordinating this transition are incompletely understood. Cyclin D proteins promote proliferation in G1 and typically are down-regulated before differentiation. Here we show that motoneuron progenitors in the embryonic spinal cord persistently express Cyclin D1 during the initial phase of differentiation, while down-regulating Cyclin D2. Loss-of-function and gain-offunction experiments indicate that Cyclin D1 (but not D2) promotes neurogenesis in vivo, a role that can be dissociated from its cell cycle function. Moreover, reexpression of Cyclin D1 can restore neurogenic capacity to D2-expressing glial-restricted progenitors. The neurogenic function of Cyclin D1 appears to be mediated, directly or indirectly, by Hes6, a proneurogenic basic helic-loop-helix transcription factor. These data identify a cell cycle-independent function for Cyclin D1 in promoting neuronal differentiation, along with a potential genetic pathway through which this function is exerted

Bone-Induced Expression of Integrin β3 Enables Targeted Nanotherapy of Breast Cancer Metastases

Bone metastases occur in approximately 70% of metastatic breast cancer patients, often leading to skeletal injuries. Current treatments are mainly palliative and underscore the unmet clinical need for improved therapies. In this study, we provide preclinical evidence for an antimetastatic therapy based on targeting integrin β3 (β3), which is selectively induced on breast cancer cells in bone by the local bone microenvironment. In a preclinical model of breast cancer, β3 was strongly expressed on bone metastatic cancer cells, but not primary mammary tumors or visceral metastases. In tumor tissue from breast cancer patients, β3 was significantly elevated on bone metastases relative to primary tumors from the same patient (n = 42). Mechanistic investigations revealed that TGFβ signaling through SMAD2/SMAD3 was necessary for breast cancer induction of β3 within the bone. Using a micelle-based nanoparticle therapy that recognizes integrin αvβ3 (αvβ3-MPs of ∼12.5 nm), we demonstrated specific localization to breast cancer bone metastases in mice. Using this system for targeted delivery of the chemotherapeutic docetaxel, we showed that bone tumor burden could be reduced significantly with less bone destruction and less hepatotoxicity compared with equimolar doses of free docetaxel. Furthermore, mice treated with αvβ3-MP-docetaxel exhibited a significant decrease in bone-residing tumor cell proliferation compared with free docetaxel. Taken together, our results offer preclinical proof of concept for a method to enhance delivery of chemotherapeutics to breast cancer cells within the bone by exploiting their selective expression of integrin αvβ3 at that metastatic site

The Recombinases Rad51 and Dmc1 Play Distinct Roles in DNA Break Repair and Recombination Partner Choice in the Meiosis of Tetrahymena

Repair of programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by meiotic recombination relies on the generation of flanking 3′ single-stranded DNA overhangs and their interaction with a homologous double-stranded DNA template. In various common model organisms, the ubiquitous strand exchange protein Rad51 and its meiosis-specific homologue Dmc1 have been implicated in the joint promotion of DNA–strand exchange at meiotic recombination sites. However, the division of labor between these two recombinases is still a puzzle. Using RNAi and gene-disruption experiments, we have studied their roles in meiotic recombination and chromosome pairing in the ciliated protist Tetrahymena as an evolutionarily distant meiotic model. Cytological and electrophoresis-based assays for DSBs revealed that, without Rad51p, DSBs were not repaired. However, in the absence of Dmc1p, efficient Rad51p-dependent repair took place, but crossing over was suppressed. Immunostaining and protein tagging demonstrated that only Dmc1p formed strong DSB–dependent foci on meiotic chromatin, whereas the distribution of Rad51p was diffuse within nuclei. This suggests that meiotic nucleoprotein filaments consist primarily of Dmc1p. Moreover, a proximity ligation assay confirmed that little if any Rad51p forms mixed nucleoprotein filaments with Dmc1p. Dmc1p focus formation was independent of the presence of Rad51p. The absence of Dmc1p did not result in compensatory assembly of Rad51p repair foci, and even artificial DNA damage by UV failed to induce Rad51p foci in meiotic nuclei, while it did so in somatic nuclei within one and the same cell. The observed interhomologue repair deficit in dmc1Δ meiosis is consistent with a requirement for Dmc1p in promoting the homologue as the preferred recombination partner. We propose that relatively short and/or transient Rad51p nucleoprotein filaments are sufficient for intrachromosomal recombination, whereas long nucleoprotein filaments consisting primarily of Dmc1p are required for interhomolog recombination

1Identification of genes differentially expressed in the embryonic pig cerebral cortex before and after appearance of gyration

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mammalian evolution is characterized by a progressive expansion of the surface area of the cerebral cortex, an increase that is accompanied by gyration of the cortical surface. The mechanisms controlling this gyration process are not well characterized but mutational analyses indicate that genes involved in neuronal migration play an important function. Due to the lack of gyration of the rodent brain it is important to establish alternative models to examine brain development during the gyration process. The pig brain is gyrated and accordingly is a candidate alternative model.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>In this study we have identified genes differentially expressed in the pig cerebral cortex before and after appearance of gyration. Pig cortical tissue from two time points in development representing a non-folded, lissencephalic, brain (embryonic day 60) and primary-folded, gyrencephalic, brain (embryonic day 80) were examined by whole genome expression microarray studies. 91 differentially expressed transcripts (fold change >3) were identified. 84 transcripts were annotated and encoding proteins involved in for example neuronal migration, calcium binding, and cytoskeletal structuring. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to confirm the regulation of a subset of the identified genes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study provides identification of genes which are differentially expressed in the pig cerebral cortex before and after appearance of brain gyration. The identified genes include novel candidate genes which could have functional importance for brain development.</p

Cytoarchitecture of mouse and human subventricular zone in developing cerebral neocortex

During cerebral neocortical development, excitatory neurons are generated from radial glial cells in the ventricular zone (VZ) or from secondary progenitor cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ); these neurons then migrate toward the pial surface. We have observed that post-mitotic neurons generated directly in the VZ accumulated just above the VZ with a multipolar morphology, while secondary progenitor cells having a long ascending process left the VZ faster than the post-mitotic neurons. Recent observations of human developing neocortex have revealed the existence of radial glia-like progenitors (oRG cells) in the SVZ. This type of progenitor was first thought to be human specific; however, similar cells have also been found in mouse neocortex, and the morphology of these cells resembled that of some of the secondary progenitor cells that we had previously observed, suggesting the existence of a common architecture for the developing neocortex among mammals. In this review, we discuss the nature of the SVZ and its similarities and differences between humans and mice