Regulation and consequences of differential gene expression in diabetic kidney disease

DIN (diabetic nephropathy) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide and develops in 25-40% of patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Elevated blood glucose over long periods together with glomerular hypertension leads to progressive glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis in susceptible individuals. Central to the pathology of DIN are cytokines and growth factors such as TGF-beta (transforming growth factor beta) superfamily members, including BMPs (bone morphogenetic protein) and TGF-beta 1, which play key roles in fibrogenic responses of the kidney, including podocyte loss, mesangial cell hypertrophy, matrix accumulation and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Many of these responses can be mimicked in in vitro models of cells cultured in high glucose. We have applied differential gene expression technologies to identify novel genes expressed in in vitro and in vivo models of DN and, importantly, in human renal tissue. By mining these datasets and probing the regulation of expression and actions of specific molecules, we have identified novel roles for molecules such as Gremlin, IHG-1 (induced in high glucose-1) and CTGF (connective tissue growth factor) in DIN and potential regulators of their bioactions.

Le général de Gaulle vu par André Malraux - héros national ou européen ?

A partir du portrait de Charles de Gaulle brossé par André Malraux dans Les Chênes qu’on abat (1971), l’article cherche à analyser et à évaluer le statut de ce héros national français afin de déterminer dans quelle mesure le général peut être considéré comme un grand homme de l’Europe. Le statut et le destin du général étant étroitement liés à ceux de la France, l’article tente de caractériser la place de ce grand homme ainsi que celle de la France dans l’Europe d’après la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. Les deux perspectives temporelles de la durée, d’une part, et des événements, de l’autre, contribuent ici à nuancer le portrait de ce grand homme à la fois profondément engagé dans l’histoire de son temps et pourtant représentant d’une continuité historique. Mots-clé: de Gaulle, Malraux, France, Europe, héros, nation

Spin-Based Diagnostic of Nanostructure in Copper Phthalocyanine-C-60 Solar Cell Blends

Nanostructure and molecular orientation play a crucial role in determining the functionality of organic thin films. In practical devices, such as organic solar cells consisting of donor-acceptor mixtures, crystallinity is poor and these qualities cannot be readily determined by conventional diffraction techniques, while common microscopy only reveals surface morphology. Using a simple nondestructive technique, namely, continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, which exploits the well-understood angular dependence of the g-factor and hyperfine tensors, we show that in the solar cell blend of C-60 and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)-for which X-ray diffraction gives no information-the CuPc, and by implication the C-60, molecules form nanoclusters, with the planes of the CuPc molecules oriented perpendicular to the film surface. This information demonstrates that the current nanostructure in CuPc:C-60 solar cells is far from optimal and suggests that their efficiency could be considerably increased by alternative film growth algorithms.

Orientation effects in copper phthalocyanine films studied by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

The metallo-phthalocyanines (MPcs) are an interesting group of organic semiconductor materials for applications such as large area solar cells due to their optoelectronic properties coupled with the possibility of easily and cheaply fabricating thin films of MPcs [1, 2]. As for organic semiconductors in general, many of the interesting properties of the MPcs such as magnetism, light absorption and charge transport, are highly anisotropic [2, 3]. To maximise the efficiency of a device based on these materials it is therefore important to study their molecular orientation in films and to assess the influence of different growth conditions and substrate treatments.
X-ray diffraction is a well established and powerful technique for studying texture (and hence molecular orientation) in crystalline materials, but it cannot provide any information about amorphous or nanocrystalline films. In electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy the signal comes from the spin of unpaired electrons in the material. This technique therefore does not require the sample to be crystalline. It works for any sample with paramagnetic centres such as the MPcs where the unpaired electrons are contributed by the metal. In this paper we present a continuous-wave X-band EPR study using the anisotropy of the EPR spectrum of CuPc [4] to determine the orientation effects in different types of CuPc films. From these measurements we gain insight into the molecular arrangement of films with different spin concentrations, and apply our technique to the study of molecular orientation in photovoltaic cells.

Orientation effects in copper phthalocyanine films studied by EPR

Organic semiconductors have already found commercial applications in for example displays with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and great advances are also being made in other areas, such as organic field-effect transistors and organic solar cells. [1] The organic semicondutor group of materials known as metal phthalocyanines (MPc’s) is interesting for applications such as large area solar cells due to their optoelectronic properties coupled with the possibility of easily and cheaply fabricating thin films of MPc’s. [1, 2]

Many of the properties of organic semiconductors, such as magnetism, light absorption and charge transport, show orientational anisotropy. [2, 3] To maximise the efficiency of a device based on these materials it is therefore important to study the molecular orientation in films and to assess the influence of different growth conditions and substrate treatments. X-ray diffraction is a well established and powerful technique for studying texture (and hence molecular orientation)_in crystalline materials, but cannot provide any information about amorphous or nanocrystalline films. In this paper we present a continuous wave X-band EPR study using the anisotropy of the CuPc EPR spectrum [4] to determine the orientation effects in different types of CuPc films. From these measurements we also gain insight into the molecular arrangement of films of CuPc mixed with the isomorphous H2Pc and with C60 in films typical of real solar cell systems.

Using CAD parameter sensitivities for stack-up tolerance allocation

Tolerance allocation is an important step in the design process. It is necessary to produce high quality components cost-effectively. However, the process of allocating tolerances can be time consuming and difficult, especially for complex models. This work demonstrates a novel CAD based approach, where the sensitivities of product dimensions to changes in the values of the feature parameters in the CAD model are computed. These are used to automatically establish the assembly response function for the product. This information has been used to automatically allocate tolerances to individual part dimensions to achieve specified tolerances on the assembly dimensions, even for tolerance allocation in more than one direction simultaneously. It is also shown how pre-existing constraints on some of the part dimensions can be represented and how situations can be identified where the required tolerance allocation is not achievable. A methodology is also presented that uses the same information to model a component with different amounts of dimensional variation to simulate the effects of tolerance stack-up. © 2014 Springer-Verlag France.

Distribution of terminal nerve entry points to the flexor and extensor groups of forearm muscles:An anatomical study

The motor points of the skeletal muscles, mainly of interest to anatomists and physiologists, have recently attracted much attention from researchers in the field of functional electrical stimulation. The muscle motor point has been defined as the entry point of the motor nerve branch into the epimysium of the muscle belly. Anatomists have pointed out that many muscles in the limbs have multiple motor points. Knowledge of the location of nerve branches and terminal nerve entry points facilitates the exact insertion and the suitable selection of the number of electrodes required for each muscle for functional electrical stimulation. The present work therefore aimed to describe the number, location, and distribution of motor points in the human forearm muscles to obtain optimal hand function in many clinical situations. Twenty three adult human cadaveric forearms were dissected. The numbers of primary nerves and motor points for each muscle were tabulated. The mean numbers and the standard deviation were calculated and grouped in tables. Data analyses were performed with the use of a statistical analysis package (SPSS 13.0). The proximal third of the muscle was the usual part of the muscle that received the motor points. Most of the forearm muscles were innervated from the lateral side and deep surface of the muscle. The information in this study may also be usefully applied in selective denervation procedures to balance muscles in spastic upper limbs. Copyright © 2007 Via Medica.

Chan ceist duit a bhás go bráth: 'An Lon Dubh Báite'

This article discusses an enigmatic poem by the 18th century Gaelic poet Séamas Mac Cuarta, and three subsequent translations into English. The poem is written in the 'Trí Rann agus Amhrán' form, reminiscent of the English sonnet.