Role of the Interaction of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors 1 and 2 in Bone-Related Cells

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a pleiotropic cytokine expressed by macrophages, monocytes, and T cells, and its expression is triggered by the immune system in response to pathogens and their products, such as endotoxins. TNF-α plays an important role in host defense by inducing inflammatory reactions such as phagocytes and cytocidal systems activation. TNF-α also plays an important role in bone metabolism and is associated with inflammatory bone diseases. TNF-α binds to two cell surface receptors, the 55kDa TNF receptor-1 (TNFR1) and the 75kDa TNF receptor-2 (TNFR2). Bone is in a constant state of turnover; it is continuously degraded and built via the process of bone remodeling, which results from the regulated balance between bone-resorbing osteoclasts, bone-forming osteoblasts, and the mechanosensory cell type osteocytes. Precise interactions between these cells maintain skeletal homeostasis. Studies have shown that TNF-α affects bone-related cells via TNFRs. Signaling through either receptor results in different outcomes in different cell types as well as in the same cell type. This review summarizes and discusses current research on the TNF-α and TNFR interaction and its role in bone-related cells.     

Confocal microscope—A valuable tool for examining wood-coating interface

The suitability of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) in examining a wood-coating interface was evaluated using a clear coating system. A comparison of the images of the wood-clear coating interface obtained using CLSM and light microscopy (LM) showed a marked superiority of CLSM in revealing the details of the physical nature of the interaction between the clear coating and the wood cell walls in the surface layer. The most distinct advantage of CLSM was in its ability to clearly resolve penetration of the coating into very fine cracks in cell walls, details not obtainable with LM. The information presented here demonstrates that CLSM has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of the physical aspects of an interaction between the wood and coating at the interface.     

A stress wave propagation technique for bone repair study

The diagnosis of bone fracture and its rate of healing still remains a problem among orthopedic surgeons. An acoustic technique based on stress-wave propagation is developed. The technique is used on laboratory experimental in vitro bones, as well as on in vivo (human) bones, to diagnose a fracture. The rate of healing of the fracture is also studied. The technique developed is quick, economical, reliable, portable, and safe for both the patient and the operator.     

Microscopic assessment of the effect of saw-texturedPinus radiata plywood surface on the distribution of a film-forming acrylic stain

The micro-morphology of the wood-coating interface of saw-texturedPinus radiata plywood panels, which had been coated with a film-forming stain, was examined using a range of microscopic techniques. The surface appearance and tissue deformation characteristics of saw-textured plywood and the pattern of distribution of the applied coating were observed by combined light, confocal, and scanning electron microscopy. The saw-textured surface was highly irregular, with surface tissues greatly distorted, being bent, twisted, and occasionally detached, and showing extensive cell wall cracking. The applied coating conformed closely to the contours of the saw-textured surface, resulting in a highly variable film thickness. The film was thickest in the grooves and thinnest over the ridges, and in places discontinuous, particularly where wood cells protruded out of the wood surface. These and other salient features of the surface of saw-textured plywood are discussed in relation to the pattern of the applied acrylic stain topcoat.     

Fixed-outline floorplanning: enabling hierarchical design

Classical floorplanning minimizes a linear combination of area and wirelength. When simulated annealing is used, e.g., with the sequence pair representation, the typical choice of moves is fairly straightforward. In this paper, we study the fixed-outline floorplan formulation that is more relevant to hierarchical design style and is justified for very large ASICs and SoCs. We empirically show that instances of the fixed-outline floorplan problem are significantly harder than related instances of classical floorplan problems. We suggest new objective functions to drive simulated annealing and new types of moves that better guide local search in the new context. Wirelength improvements and optimization of aspect ratios of soft blocks are explicitly addressed by these techniques. Our proposed moves are based on the notion of floorplan slack. The proposed slack computation can be implemented with all existing algorithms to evaluate sequence pairs, of which we use the simplest, yet semantically indistinguishable from the fastest reported . A similar slack computation is possible with many other floorplan representations. In all cases the computation time approximately doubles. Our empirical evaluation is based on a new floorplanner implementation Parquet-1 that can operate in both outline-free and fixed-outline modes. We use Parquet-1 to floorplan a design, with approximately 32000 cells, in 37 min using a top-down, hierarchical paradigm.     

Enhancing exterior performance of clear coatings through photostabilization of wooden surfaces. Part 1: Treatment and characterization

The aim of this work was to produce a less photodegradation-prone substrate for clear coating by partially delignifying the surface cells of Pinus radiata boards to a depth of 2–3 mm while maintaining the integrity of the wood surface tissues in the delignified zone. To achieve this, several surface oxidative delignification treatments were trialled in the method development process and peracetic acid was chosen as the method for refinement and deployment. The treatment method was optimized to yield a significant degree of delignification compatible with the aim of producing a photostabilized yet intact wooden surface. A preweathering technique was also used as a second delignification method for producing photostabilized boards. Microscopic and chemical techniques were used to characterize the effects of chemical and preweathering treatments, which produced delignified surface envelopes 2–3 mm and 100 μm deep, respectively. Acetyl bromide lignin analyses, infrared spectroscopic analyses, and density changes of 30-μm-thick sections of peracetic-acid-treated samples, as a function of depth from the wood surface, suggested that a partial delignification had occurred that diminished with depth. Light and transmission electron microscopy provided evidence of delignification at the cellular level. In the surface layers of peracetic-acid-treated boards, all cell wall regions were delignified, with the middle lamella being the most severely affected. Lignin appeared to be completely removed from the cell corner middle lamella regions, but tracheids were still joined in other parts of the middle lamella. The S₁, S₂, and S₃ walls were also delignified. In subsurface layers, cell walls were only partially delignified and the tissues held their integrity. In contrast, in the preweathered boards, cell walls in the outermost layers were completely separated at the middle lamella from photodegradation. Preferential lignin removal over that of hemicelluloses was achieved via oxidative treatment of solid wood. The outcome of this was the successful fulfillment of our aim to produce partially delignified wooden surfaces that retained sufficient strength and aesthetic appearance and were suitable for application in wooden structures, provided that the necessary protection measures were carried out. Due to the narrow surface zone produced, machining of such surfaces would not be recommended as the most delignified zone would be removed first. In Part 2 of this series, the photostability of treated boards, which had been clear coated and weathered, will be considered.     

Complex formation in molten salts - IV: Association constants of silver-bromo complexes in molten KNO3Ba(NO3)2 eutectic as solvent

Potentiometric measurements on the molten salt concentration cell: Ag/AgNO₃, KNO₃Ba(NO₃)₂//AgNO₃, KBr, KNO₃Ba(NO₃)₂/Ag were carried out over a wide range of solute concentration and at temperatures in the range 350–410°C to study the association equilibria in dilute solutions of Ag⁺ and Br^? in molten KNO₃Ba(NO₃)₂(89:11 mole %). The results indicated formation of the species AgBr, AgBr^?₂; Ag₂Br⁺ was not formed under the experimental conditions employed. The temperature-dependence of the association constants were, within limits of experimental precision, predictable from the quasi-lattice model.     

Fibrotic Phenotype of Peritumour Mesenteric Adipose Tissue in Human Colon Cancer: A Potential Hallmark of Metastatic Properties

The impact of tumour associated stroma on cancer metastasis is an emerging field. However, cancer associated genes in peritumoral adipose tissue (pAT) in human colon cancer have not been explored. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with cancer pathways in mesenteric pAT compared with adjacent adipose tissue. In total, nine patients with colon cancer pathological stage T2/T4 were employed in this study. DEGs were identified in 6 patients employing Nanostring PanCancer Pathway Panel and pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Differential expression of the 5 most up-regulated and 2 down regulated genes was validated with qRT-PCR. Results showed collagen type I alpha 1 chain (COL1A1) p = 0.007; secreted frizzled related protein (SFRP2) p = 0.057; fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7) not significant (ns); phospholipase A2, group IIA (PLA2G2A) ns; nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) ns; lymphoid enhancer binding factor 1 (LEF1) p = 0.03; cadherin 1, Type 1, E-cadherin (epithelial) (CDH1) 0.09. Results have highlighted down-regulation of the Wingless/Integrated (Wnt) pathway in mesenteric pAT compared to distal adipose tissue. Highly upregulated genes in mesenteric pAT were involved in extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interactions and focal adhesion. Highly down regulated genes were involved in the cell cycle. Immunohistochemistry revealed differential distribution of COL1A1 showing maximum levels in tumour tissue and gradually decreasing in distant adipose tissue. COL1A1 and down regulation of Wnt pathway may have a role in local invasion and distant metastasis. COL1A1 may represent a stromal prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in colon cancer.