Human neural stem cell-derived cultures in three- dimensional substrates form spontaneously functional neuronal networks

Differentiated human neural stem cells were cultured in an inert three-dimensional (3D) scaffold and, unlike two-dimensional (2D) but otherwise comparable monolayer cultures, formed spontaneously active, functional neuronal networks that responded reproducibly and predictably to conventional pharmacological treatments to reveal functional, glutamatergic synapses. Immunocytochemical and electron microscopy analysis revealed a neuronal and glial population, where markers of neuronal maturity were observed in the former. Oligonucleotide microarray analysis revealed substantial differences in gene expression conferred by culturing in a 3D vs a 2D environment. Notable and numerous differences were seen in genes coding for neuronal function, the extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton. In addition to producing functional networks, differentiated human neural stem cells grown in inert scaffolds offer several significant advantages over conventional 2D monolayers. These advantages include cost savings and improved physiological relevance, which make them better suited for use in the pharmacological and toxicological assays required for development of stem cell-based treatments and the reduction of animal use in medical research.

Fast magnetic reconnection and energetic particle acceleration

Our numerical simulations show that the reconnection of magnetic field becomes fast in the presence of weak turbulence in the way consistent with the Lazarian and Vishniac (1999) model of fast reconnection. We trace particles within our numerical simulations and show that the particles can be efficiently accelerated via the first order Fermi acceleration. We discuss the acceleration arising from reconnection as a possible origin of the anomalous cosmic rays measured by Voyagers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of zirconium nitride-like films prepared on Si(100) substrates by ion beam assisted deposition

Thin zirconium nitride films were prepared on Si(l 00) substrates at room temperature by ion beam assisted deposition with a 2 keV nitrogen ion beam. Arrival rate ratios ARR(N/Zr) used were 0.19, 0.39, 0.92, and 1.86. The chemical composition and bonding structure of the films were analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Deconvolution results for Zr 3d, Zr 3p(3/2), N 1s, O 1s, and C 1s XPS spectra indicated self-consistently the presence of metal Zr-0, nitride ZrN, oxide ZrO2, oxymnide Zr2N2O, and carbide ZrC phases, and the amounts of these compounds were influenced by ARR(N/Zr). The chemical composition ratio N/Zr in the film increased with increasing ARR(N/Zr) until ARR(N/Zr) reached 0.92, reflecting the high reactivity of nitrogen in the ion beam, and stayed almost constant for ARR(N/Zr) >= 1, the excess nitrogen being rejected from the growing film. A considerable incorporation of contaminant oxygen and carbon into the depositing film was attributed to the getter effect of zirconium. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Goethite (alpha-FeOOH) Nanorods as Suitable Antiferromagnetic Substrates

We propose goethite nanorods as suitable anti-ferromagnetic substrates. The great advantage of using these inorganic nanostructures as building blocks comes from the fact that it permits the design and fabrication of colloidal and supracolloidal assemblies knowing first their magnetic characteristics. As a proof of concept, we have developed mix multifunctional systems, driving on the surface of these AFM substrates, cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (the study of bimagnetic systems opens new degrees of freedom to tailor the overall properties and offers the Meiklejohn-Bean paradigm, but inverted), a silica shell (protection purposes, but also as a tailored spacer that permits controlling magnetic interactions), and metallic gold clusters (seeds that can favor the acquisition of optical or catalytic properties).

Preparation and characterization of Cd(2)Nb(2)O(7) thin films on Si substrates

Thin Cd(2)Nb(2)O(7) films were grown on single-crystal p-type SiO(2)/Si substrates by the metallo-organic decomposition (MOD) technique. The films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy, and showed a single phase (cubic pyrochlore), a crack-free spherical grain structure, and nanoparticles with a mean size of about 68 nm. A Cauchy model was also used in order to obtain the thickness and index of refraction of the stack layers (transparent layer/SiO(2)/Si) by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The dielectric constant (K) of the films was calculated to be about 25 from the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A rapid and reliable bonding process for microchip electrophoresis fabricated in glass substrates

In this report, we describe a rapid and reliable process to bond channels fabricated in glass substrates. Glass channels were fabricated by photolithography and wet chemical etching. The resulting channels were bonded against another glass plate containing a 50-mu m thick PDMS layer. This same PDMS layer was also used to provide the electrical insulation of planar electrodes to carry out capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection. The analytical performance of the proposed device was shown by using both LIF and capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection systems. Efficiency around 47 000 plates/m was achieved with good chip-to-chip repeatability and satisfactory long-term stability of EOF. The RSD for the EOF measured in three different devices was ca. 7%. For a chip-to-chip comparison, the RSD values for migration time, electrophoretic current and peak area were below 10%. With the proposed approach, a single chip can be fabricated in less than 30 min including patterning, etching and sealing steps. This fabrication process is faster and easier than the thermal bonding process. Besides, the proposed method does not require high temperatures and provides excellent day-to-day and device-to-device repeatability.

Novel Application of 2D and 3D-Similarity Searches To Identify Substrates among Cytochrome P450 2C9, 2D6, and 3A4

Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) is a class of enzymes where the substrate identification is particularly important to know. It would help medicinal chemists to design drugs with lower side effects due to drug-drug interactions and to extensive genetic polymorphism. Herein, we discuss the application of the 2D and 3D-similarity searches in identifying reference Structures with higher capacity to retrieve Substrates of three important CYP enzymes (CYP2C9, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4). On the basis of the complementarities of multiple reference structures selected by different similarity search methods, we proposed the fusion of their individual Tanimoto scores into a consensus Tanimoto score (T(consensus)). Using this new score, true positive rates of 63% (CYP2C9) and 81% (CYP2D6) were achieved with false positive rates of 4% for the CYP2C9-CYP2D6 data Set. Extended similarity searches were carried out oil a validation data set, and the results showed that by using the T(consensus) score, not only the area of a ROC graph increased, but also more substrates were recovered at the beginning of a ranked list.

Printing colour hard proofs using EFI Colorproof XF v. 3.1 and Photoshop CS3, and production substrates.

EFI Colorproof XF was found to be more convenient from a user’s aspect, and had features which are covered in the ISO 12647-7 standard (e.g. the ability to simulate screening and print margin information), which Photoshop CS3 lacked. None of the proofing systems distinguished itself in a clear way from the other; sometimes, on certain substrates, Photoshop CS3 produced most accurate colours, sometimes EFI Colorproof XF did. Further investigations need to be carried out to tell more exactly which system produce most accurate colours. Only 6 out of 34 simulation-combinations had colours within the tolerances in the standard. The result also shows that the production substrates should not be used as proofing substrates. Instead the proofing papers especially made for ink jet should be used to obtain more colour-accurate prints.

Final report on heat pump developments in WP 4 - MacSheep Deliverable 4.4 : MacSheep -New Materials and Control for a next generation of compact combined Solar and heat pump systems with boosted energetic and exergetic performance

FP7- MacSheep

Growth performance and energetic metabolism of pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887), fed diets supplemented with ammonium metavanadate

Vanadium compounds mimic most of the metabolic effects of insulin, suggesting that it might be useful to improve utilization of dietary carbohydrate. This work evaluated the effect of dietary ammonium metavanadate (H(4)NO(3)V) on the growth performance and energy metabolism of pacu, an omnivorous South America characin. Two hundred and eighty-eight fish were distributed into four blocks according to the body weight (21.8 +/- 1.7, 28.5 +/- 2.0, 28.4 +/- 1.9, 35.7 +/- 1.9 g), stocked in 24 plastic tanks and fed twice daily with isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets containing six levels of H(4)NO(3)V (0, 10, 50, 100, 300 and 1000 mg kg(-1)) for 60 days. Increasing levels of dietary ammonium metavanadate did not improve growth (P > 0.05), and the highest level of inclusion (1000 mg kg(-1)) reduced performance (P < 0.05). Blood glucose levels decreased (P < 0.05) in fish fed 300 and 1000 mg kg(-1) H(4)NO(3)V, but no differences were observed in other blood metabolites. A slight increase in muscle lipid content was observed in fish fed a diet containing 300 mg kg(-1) H(4)NO(3)V. Based on the results of this study, there is no benefit in supplementing pacu diets with metavanadate.

Quali/quantitative characterization of biogas produced in batch digesters supplied with six distinct substrates

Com a finalidade de se analisar quali/quantitativamente o biogás produzido por 6 tipos de substratos, efetuou-se a presente pesquisa no DER/FCAV/UNESP- SP, Brasil. Os substratos utilizados na digestão anaeróbia foram caracterizados como: 1- Esterco de aves de postura (EAP); 2- Esterco de aves de postura triturado (EAPT); 3- Esterco de aves de corte com cama de maravalha (EACM); 4- Esterco de aves de corte com cama de maravalha triturado (EACMT); 5- Esterco de aves de corte com cama de casca de amendoim (EACA), e 6- Esterco de aves de corte com cama de casca de amendoim triturado (EACAT). Dos resultados obtidos, concluiu-se que, em relação à produção acumulada de biogás, o substrato EAPT foi superior aos demais, enquanto EACM apresentou produção acumulada inferior. em geral, os substratos triturados apresentaram maior quantidade de biogás acumulado em relação aos não triturados, exceto o EACAT, com 20,9 m³ inferior ao EACA. O período de produção máxima de biogás teve início entre 45 e 60 dias, começando a decair a partir dos 120 dias. Aos 57 dias após o enchimento dos biodigestores, o gás produzido possuía teores de CH4 superiores a 53%, e a partir dos 99 dias, todos produziram biogás com teores de CH4 superiores a 70%. Os substratos EAP e EAPT apresentaram maiores concentrações de metano no biogás.