The 3D Pattern of the Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Enterocytes and Intestinal Stem Cells

We previously showed that, according to the frequency and distribution of specific cell types, the rainbow trout (RT) intestinal mucosa can be divided in two regions that form a complex nonlinear three-dimensional (3D) pattern and have a different renewal rate. This work had two aims. First, we investigated whether the unusual distribution of cell populations reflects a similar distribution of functional activities. To this end, we determined the protein expression pattern of three well-defined enterocytes functional markers: peptide transporter 1 (PepT1), sodium–glucose/galactose transporter 1 (SGLT-1), and fatty-acid-binding protein 2 (Fabp2). Second, we characterized the structure of RT intestinal stem-cell (ISC) niche and determined whether the different proliferative is accompanied by a different organization and/or extension of the stem-cell population. We studied the expression and localization of well-characterized mammal ISC markers: LGR5, HOPX, SOX9, NOTCH1, DLL1, and WNT3A. Our results indicate that morphological similarity is associated with similar function only between the first portion of the mid-intestine and the apical part of the complex folds in the second portion. Mammal ISC markers are all expressed in RT, but their localization is completely different, suggesting also substantial functional differences. Lastly, higher renewal rates are supported by a more abundant ISC population.     

Geostatistical analyses of exfoliation and tectonic joint set spacing in alpine granites (Aar Valley,Switzerland)

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Joint set spacing is a fundamental parameter in the determination of rock mass quality and can be measured in situ by means of, e.g., scanline...     

Quality assessment of pellets and briquettes made from glued wood waste

European Journal of Wood and Wood Products - In accordance with sustainable economic and social development, Europe supports the use of energy from renewable sources to decrease the use of fossil...     

CFH Loss in Human RPE Cells Leads to Inflammation and Complement System Dysregulation via the NF-κB Pathway

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly, is a degenerative disease of the macula, where retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are damaged in the early stages of the disease, and chronic inflammatory processes may be involved. Besides aging and lifestyle factors as drivers of AMD, a strong genetic association to AMD is found in genes of the complement system, with a single polymorphism in the complement factor H gene (CFH), accounting for the majority of AMD risk. However, the exact mechanism of CFH dysregulation confers such a great risk for AMD and its role in RPE cell homeostasis is unclear. To explore the role of endogenous CFH locally in RPE cells, we silenced CFH in human hTERT-RPE1 cells. We demonstrate that endogenously expressed CFH in RPE cells modulates inflammatory cytokine production and complement regulation, independent of external complement sources, or stressors. We show that loss of the factor H protein (FH) results in increased levels of inflammatory mediators (e.g., IL-6, IL-8, GM-CSF) and altered levels of complement proteins (e.g., C3, CFB upregulation, and C5 downregulation) that are known to play a role in AMD. Moreover, our results identify the NF-κB pathway as the major pathway involved in regulating these inflammatory and complement factors. Our findings suggest that in RPE cells, FH and the NF-κB pathway work in synergy to maintain inflammatory and complement balance, and in case either one of them is dysregulated, the RPE microenvironment changes towards a proinflammatory AMD-like phenotype.     

Atrazine Inhalation Causes Neuroinflammation,Apoptosis and Accelerating Brain Aging

Background: exposure to environmental contaminants has been linked to an increased risk of neurological diseases and poor outcomes. Chemical name of Atrazine (ATR) is 6-chloro-N-ethyl-N′-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine, and it is the most commonly used broad-spectrum herbicide in agricultural crops. Several studies have demonstrated that ATR has the potential to be harmful to the brain’s neuronal circuits. Until today nobody has explored the effect of ATR inhalation on young and aged mice. Methods: young and aged mice were subject to 25 mg of ATR in a vehicle made with saline and 10% of Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) every day for 28 days. At the end of experiment different behavioral test were made and brain was collected. Results: exposure to ATR induced the same response in terms of behavioral alterations and motor and memory impairment in mice but in aged group was more marked. Additionally, in both young and aged mice ATR inhalations induced oxidative stress with impairment in physiological antioxidant response, lipid peroxidation, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (nf-κb) pathways activation with consequences of pro-inflammatory cytokines release and apoptosis. However, the older group was shown to be more sensitive to ATR inhalation. Conclusions: our results showed that aged mice were more susceptible compared to young mice to air pollutants exposure, put in place a minor physiologically response was seen when exposed to it.     

Optimized synthesis of AMPA receptor antagonist ZK 187638 and neurobehavioral activity in a mouse model of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

Previous structure-activity relationship studies in the search for a potent, noncompetitive alpha-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolyl)propionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist led to 2,3-dimethyl-6-phenyl-12H-[1,3]dioxolo[4,5-h]imidazo[1,2-c][2,3]benzodiazepine (ZK 187638). However, the first synthesis had some drawbacks regarding reagents, processes, and overall yield, which furthermore decreased when the synthesis was scaled up. Therefore, we now report a new synthetic route for this compound which requires fewer steps and is suited for large-scale production. This compound significantly relieved the symptoms of neuromuscular deficit in mnd mice, a model of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis with motor neuron dysfunction. After oral administration, the concentrations of the compound in the brain and spinal cord were about threefold higher than those in the plasma. In summary, this novel AMPA antagonist is accessible through an optimized synthetic route, has good neurobehavioral activity, oral bioavailability, and favorable brain penetration. This opens new possibilities for the treatment of devastating neurological diseases that are mediated by the AMPA receptor.     

Seawater desalination using PVDF-HFP membrane in DCMD process: assessment of operating condition by response surface method

Central composite design (CCD) was applied in this work to analyze the performance of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) flat sheet membrane in the seawater desalination using direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process. It is the most popular in response surface method (RSM). Development on Quadratic Regression model for membrane performance as a function of the operating conditions was studied. The ranges for each operating condition were selected as follows: feed temperature (T_f): 48–58?°C, feed flow rate (Q_f): 80–180?mL/min, permeate temperature (T_p):17–22?°C and permeate flow rate (Q_p): 80–180?mL/min. The model R-squared of 0.9759 (adjusted to degree-of-freedom), Lack-of-fit test (p?=?0.4764), predicted residual error sum of squared (PRESS) statistic of 10.3 suggest that the model is adequate to correlate the impact of operating conditions on permeates. ANOVA analysis showed that factors as feed flow rate, feed temperature, and permeate temperature have a valuable impact (p?≤?0.05) on the response variable. Additionally, the interaction among feed temperature-feed flow rate, feed flow rate-permeate flow rate, and the quadratic impact of feed temperature, permeate temperature, and permeate flow rate have shown an important impact (p?≤?0.05) on the permeate flux. Optimization of operating conditions to make the permeate flux and salt rejection high as possible was determined according to desirability function approach. A desirability of 0.969 was achieved at a feed temperature of 58?°C, feed flow rate of 180?mL/min, permeate temperature of 18.8?°C, and permeate flow rate of 145.3?mL/min in which a permeate flux of 12.56?kg/m²h and a salt rejection of 99.97% was obtained.     

Scalable System-level CTI Testing through Lightweight Coarse-grained Coordination

We propose a solution to the problem of system-level testing of functionally complex communication systems based on lightweight coordination. The enabling aspect is here the adoption of a coarse-grained approach to test design, which is central to the scalability of the overall testing environment. This induces an understandable modelling paradigm of system-wide test cases which is adequate for the needs and requirements of industrial test engineers. The approach is coarse-grained in the sense that it renounces a detailed model of the system functionality (which would be unfeasible in the considered industrial setting). The coordination is lightweight in the sense that it allows a programming-free definition of system-level behaviours (in this case complex test cases) based on the coarse models of the functionalities. These features enable test engineers to graphically design complex test cases, which, in addition, can even be automatically checked for their intended purposes via model checking.