Activation of the P2Y2 receptor regulates bone cell function by enhancing ATP release

Bone cells constitutively release ATP into the extracellular environment where it acts locally via P2 receptors to regulate bone cell function. Whilst P2Y2 receptor stimulation regulates bone mineralisation, the functional effects of this receptor in osteoclasts remain unknown. This investigation used the P2Y2 receptor knockout (P2Y2R−/−) mouse model to investigate the role of this receptor in bone. MicroCT analysis of P2Y2R−/− mice demonstrated age-related increases in trabecular bone volume (≤48%), number (≤30%) and thickness (≤17%). In vitro P2Y2R−/− osteoblasts displayed a 3-fold increase in bone formation and alkaline phosphatase activity, whilst P2Y2R−/− osteoclasts exhibited a 65% reduction in resorptive activity. Serum cross-linked C-telopeptide levels (CTX, resorption marker) were also decreased (≤35%). The resorption defect in P2Y2R−/− osteoclasts was rescued by the addition of exogenous ATP, suggesting that an ATP deficit could be a key factor in the reduced function of these cells. In agreement, we found that basal ATP release was reduced up to 53% in P2Y2R−/− osteoclasts. The P2Y2 receptor agonists, UTP and 2-thioUTP, increased osteoclast activity and ATP release in wild-type but not in P2Y2R−/− cells. This indicates that the P2Y2 receptor may regulate osteoclast function indirectly by promoting ATP release. UTP and 2-thioUTP also stimulate ATP release from osteoblasts suggesting that the P2Y2 receptor exerts a similar function in these cells. Taken together, our findings are consistent with the notion that the primary action of P2Y2 receptor signalling in bone is to regulate extracellular ATP levels

Growth of mango (Mangifera indica L.) rootstocks as influenced by pre-sowing treatments

An experiment was carried out at Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari during 2014 to evaluate the effect of pre-sowing treatments on survival percentage and growth of mango rootstocks. Mango stones were soaked in aqueous solutions of GA3 (100 and 200 ppm), Beejamruth (2 % and 3 %) and Thiourea (1 % and 2 %) for 12 and 24 hours. The trial was evaluated in Completely Randomized Design based on factorial concept and the treatments were replicated thrice. Imposition of treatments led to significant differences at 5 % level of significance for all parameters chosen in this study. Mango stones when treated with Thiourea at 1 % had the maximum shoot length (49.93 cm), root length (34.38 cm), shoot dry weight (21.08 g) and total dry weight (26.36 g). The highest number of lateral roots (10.90) and survival percentage (64.17) was observed in mango stones dipped in 100 ppm GA3. Between the two soaking duration, soaking mango stones for 24 hours recorded higher values for shoot length (45.03 cm), root length (32.79 cm), number of lateral roots (9.83), survival percentage (62.72), shoot root fresh weight ratio (4.30), shoot dry weight (21.33 g), total dry weight (26.28 g) and shoot root dry weight ratio (4.32). Thus, survival percentage and growth of mango rootstocks can be substantially improved by soaking mango stones in aqueous solutions of 100 ppm GA3 or Thiourea at 1 % for 24 hours before sowing

Mars simulated exposure and the characteristic Raman biosignatures of amino acids and halophilic microbes

Though Raman bands of α-amino acids (AA) are well documented, often only the strongest intensity bands are quoted as identifiers (e.g. Jenkins et al., 2005; De Gelder et al., 2007; Zhu et al., 2011). Unknown regolith mixtures on Mars-sampling missions could obscure these bands. Here the case is made for determining, via a statistical method, sets of characteristic bands to be used as identifiers, independent of band intensity or number of bands (Rolfe et al., 2016). AA have upwards of 25 potentially identifying bands and this method defines sets of 10–19 bands per AA. Examination of AA-doped Mars-like basalt resulted in a maximum of eight bands being identified, as some characteristic bands were obscured by mineral bands, including the strongest intensity band in some cases. This proved the need for characteristic bands to be defined, enabling successful identification of AA. The ESA ExoMars Rover mission will crush and then pass the sample to the Raman Laser Spectrometer. We crushed a Mars-like basalt to a similar grain size expected to be created by the rover. Our samples were doped with 1 % (by weight) AA samples, resulting in no detection of AA, because of loss of original spatial context and spaces between the grains. We recommend that Raman spectroscopy on future missions should be conducted before the sample is crushed. Halite-entombed halophilic microbes, known to survive being entombed, were exposed to Mars-like surface (including temperature, pressure, atmospheric composition and UV) and freeze-thaw cycle (plus pressure and atmospheric composition) conditions. This test on the survival of the microbes showed that survival rates quickly deteriorated in surface conditions, but freeze-thaw cycle samples had well preserved Raman biosignatures, indicating that similar signatures could be detectable on Mars if similar life persists in evaporitic material or brines today

Static & Thermal Analysis of Piston for Single Cylinder Diesel Engine by Ansys : A Review

The main objective of this present research work is to investigate and analyze the stresses which are acting on the piston. The parameter which is used for analysis is temperature, operating pressure and properties of materials. Piston in internal combustion engine play most important role because it transfers the force which is produced during the combustion of fuel to crankshaft due to which it converts the pressure energy into mechanical energy. Piston fails due to thermal and mechanical stresses which are produced under the running condition of engine. The boundary conditions are applied for static and thermal analysis which includes pressure on piston head during working period and uneven temperature distributions occurs from head of piston to skirt of piston. The 3D-model will be created using SOLIDWORKS2018.the 3D model will be imported in the Ansys software for geometry and meshing purposes then the FEM Analysis will be done on ANSYS software. Analysis will help to change the existing design for reduce the weight. Finite Element Analysis is the best method for analyzing the stresses in piston

Inflammatory Mediators in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Aortic wall dilatation in abdominal aortic aneurysms is characterized by extracellular matrix degradation together with a loss of smooth muscle cells from the aortic media. This occurs in conjunction with a marked inflammatory cell infiltration. The inflammatory cell is characteristic of the second phase of aneurysmal development–progression. It is widely accepted that usually there are three phases involved in the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms: initiation, progression and rupture. In this chapter, we present an overview of the inflammatory mediators in abdominal aortic aneurysms and intraluminal thrombus, highlighting evidence from experimental models and human disease

Coexistence of high-bit-rate quantum key distribution and data on optical fiber

Quantum key distribution (QKD) uniquely allows distribution of cryptographic keys with security verified by quantum mechanical limits. Both protocol execution and subsequent applications require the assistance of classical data communication channels. While using separate fibers is one option, it is economically more viable if data and quantum signals are simultaneously transmitted through a single fiber. However, noise-photon contamination arising from the intense data signal has severely restricted both the QKD distances and secure key rates. Here, we exploit a novel temporal-filtering effect for noise-photon rejection. This allows high-bit-rate QKD over fibers up to 90 km in length and populated with error-free bidirectional Gb/s data communications. With high-bit rate and range sufficient for important information infrastructures, such as smart cities and 10 Gbit Ethernet, QKD is a significant step closer towards wide-scale deployment in fiber networks.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

The occipital lateral plate mesoderm is a novel source for vertebrate neck musculature

In vertebrates, body musculature originates from somites, whereas head muscles originate from the cranial mesoderm. Neck muscles are located in the transition between these regions. We show that the chick occipital lateral plate mesoderm has myogenic capacity and gives rise to large muscles located in the neck and thorax. We present molecular and genetic evidence to show that these muscles not only have a unique origin, but additionally display a distinct temporal development, forming later than any other muscle group described to date. We further report that these muscles, found in the body of the animal, develop like head musculature rather than deploying the programme used by the trunk muscles. Using mouse genetics we reveal that these muscles are formed in trunk muscle mutants but are absent in head muscle mutants. In concordance with this conclusion, their connective tissue is neural crest in origin. Finally, we provide evidence that the mechanism by which these neck muscles develop is conserved in vertebrates

Exploiting the efficacy of Tyro3 and folate receptors to enhance the delivery of gold nanoparticles into colorectal cancer cells in vitro

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common cancer in the world. Due to its asymptomatic nature, CRC is diagnosed at an advanced stage where the survival rate is <5%. Besides, CRC treatment using chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery often causes undesirable side-effects. As such, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are envisaged in the field for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC. GNPs have unique physical, chemical and electrical properties at the nanoscale which make them suitable for application in biomedicine. However, for GNPs to become clinically effective, their internalisation efficiency in cancer cells must be enhanced. Folate receptor-α (FR) is overexpressed in CRC cells wherein FR helps in the uptake of folic acid within the cells. Tyro3, a novel tyrosine kinase receptor, drives cell proliferation and its overexpression is correlated with poor prognosis in CRC. Their upregulated expression in CRC cells relative to normal cells makes them an ideal target for GNPs using active targeting. Therefore, in this study receptors FR and Tyro3 were simultaneously targeted using specific antibody-coated GNPs in order to enhance the uptake and internalisation of GNPs in CRC cells in vitro. Four different types of coated-GNPs were synthesised GNPs-PEG, GNPs-anti-FR, GNPs-anti-Tyro3 and GNPs-anti-(FR + Tyro3) and incubated (0–50 ng) with three CRC cell lines namely CRL1790, CRL2159 and HCT116. Simultaneous targeting of these receptors by GNPs-anti-(FR + Tyro3) was found to be the most effective in internalisation in CRC cells compared with GNPs targeted singly to FR or Tyro3 (p <0.05). Besides this, results show that Tyro3 mediated similar internalisation efficacy to FR (p <0.05) in CRC cells using ICP-OES

Potts Flux Tube Model at Nonzero Chemical Potential

We model the deconfinement phase transition in quantum chromodynamics at nonzero baryon number density and large quark mass by extending the flux tube model (three-state, three-dimensional Potts model) to nonzero chemical potential. In a direct numerical simulation we confirm mean-field-theory predictions that the deconfinement transition does not occur in a baryon-rich environment.Comment: 14 pp RevTeX, 10 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev D. (Corrected some typographical errors.