AXL receptor tyrosine kinase modulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor signaling.

Background: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptors are essential for reproduction and are expressed in numerous urogenital, reproductive, and non-reproductive cancers. In addition to canonical G protein-coupled receptor signaling, GnRH receptors functionally interact with several receptor tyrosine kinases. AXL is a receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in numerous tissues as well as multiple tumors.

AXL/Gas6 signaling mechanisms in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

AXL is a receptor tyrosine kinase commonly associated with a variety of human cancers. Along with its ligand Gas6 (growth arrest-specific protein 6), AXL is emerging as an important regulator of neuroendocrine development and function. AXL signaling in response to Gas6 binding impacts neuroendocrine structure and function at the level of the brain, pituitary, and gonads.

Vibration sorting of small droplets on hydrophilic surface by asymmetric contact-line friction.

Droplet spreading and transport phenomenon is ubiquitous and has been studied by engineered surfaces with a variety of topographic features. To obtain a directional bias in dynamic wetting, hydrophobic surfaces with a geometrical asymmetry are generally used, attributing the directionality to one-sided pinning. Although the pinning may be useful for directional wetting, it usually limits the droplet mobility, especially for small volumes and over wettable surfaces.

Droplet Impact on Asymmetric Hydrophobic Microstructures.

Textured hydrophobic surfaces that repel liquid droplets unidirectionally are found in nature such as butterfly wings and ryegrass leaves and are also essential in technological processes such as self-cleaning and anti-icing. In many occasions, surface textures are oriented to direct rebounding droplets. Surface macrostructures (>100 μm) have often been explored to induce directional rebound.

Detailed modelling of contact line motion in oscillatory wetting.

The experimental results of Xia and Steen for the contact line dynamics of a drop placed on a vertically oscillating surface are analyzed by numerical phase field simulations. The concept of contact line mobility or friction is discussed, and an angle-dependent model is formulated. The results of numerical simulations based on this model are compared to the detailed experimental results of Xia and Steen with good general agreement.

Droplet Impact on Surfaces with Asymmetric Microscopic Features.

The impact of liquid drops on a rigid surface is central in cleaning, cooling, and coating processes in both nature and industrial applications. However, it is not clear how details of pores, roughness, and texture on the solid surface influence the initial stages of the impact dynamics. Here, we experimentally study drops impacting at low velocities onto surfaces textured with asymmetric (tilted) ridges.

Characterization of the A-type potassium current in murine gastric fundus smooth muscles.

Transient outward, or "A-type," currents are rapidly inactivating voltage-gated potassium currents that operate at negative membrane potentials. A-type currents have not been reported in the gastric fundus, a tonic smooth muscle. We used whole cell voltage clamp to identify and characterize A-type currents in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) isolated from murine fundus.

Angiotensin-II Modulates GABAergic Neurotransmission in the Mouse Substantia Nigra.

GABAergic projections neurons of the substantia nigra reticulata (SNr), through an extensive network of dendritic arbors and axon collaterals, provide robust inhibitory input to neighboring dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra compacta (SNc). Angiotensin-II (Ang-II) receptor signaling increases SNc dopaminergic neuronal sensitivity to insult, thus rendering these cells susceptible to dysfunction and destruction. However, the mechanisms by which Ang-II regulates SNc dopaminergic neuronal activity are unclear.

Reactive Oxygen Species Modulate Activity-Dependent AMPA Receptor Transport in .

The AMPA subtype of synaptic glutamate receptors (AMPARs) plays an essential role in cognition. Their function, numbers, and change at synapses during synaptic plasticity are tightly regulated by neuronal activity. Although we know that long-distance transport of AMPARs is essential for this regulation, we do not understand the associated regulatory mechanisms of it.

Droplet leaping governs microstructured surface wetting.

Microstructured surfaces that control the direction of liquid transport are not only ubiquitous in nature, but they are also central to technological processes such as fog/water harvesting, oil-water separation, and surface lubrication. However, a fundamental understanding of the initial wetting dynamics of liquids spreading on such surfaces is lacking. Here, we show that three regimes govern microstructured surface wetting on short time scales: spread, stick, and contact line leaping.

Revealing How Topography of Surface Microstructures Alters Capillary Spreading.

Wetting phenomena, i.e. the spreading of a liquid over a dry solid surface, are important for understanding how plants and insects imbibe water and moisture and for miniaturization in chemistry and biotechnology, among other examples.

Subplasmalemmal hydrogen peroxide triggers calcium influx in gonadotropes.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation of its eponymous receptor on the surface of endocrine anterior pituitary gonadotrope cells (gonadotropes) initiates multiple signaling cascades that culminate in the secretion of luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones, which have critical roles in fertility and reproduction. Enhanced luteinizing hormone biosynthesis, a necessary event for ovulation, requires a signaling pathway characterized by calcium influx through L-type calcium channels and subsequent activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). We previously reported that highly localized subplasmalemmal calcium microdomains produced by L-type calcium channels (calcium sparklets) play an essential part in GnRH-dependent ERK activation.

Early Onset of Nucleate Boiling on Gas-covered Biphilic Surfaces.

For phase-change cooling schemes for electronics, quick activation of nucleate boiling helps safeguard the electronics components from thermal shocks associated with undesired surface superheating at boiling incipience, which is of great importance to the long-term system stability and reliability. Previous experimental studies show that bubble nucleation can occur surprisingly early on mixed-wettability surfaces. In this paper, we report unambiguous evidence that such unusual bubble generation at extremely low temperatures-even below the boiling point-is induced by a significant presence of incondensable gas retained by the hydrophobic surface, which exhibits exceptional stability even surviving extensive boiling deaeration.

Electrostatic cloaking of surface structure for dynamic wetting.

Dynamic wetting problems are fundamental to understanding the interaction between liquids and solids. Even in a superficially simple experimental situation, such as a droplet spreading over a dry surface, the result may depend not only on the liquid properties but also strongly on the substrate-surface properties; even for macroscopically smooth surfaces, the microscopic geometrical roughness can be important. In addition, because surfaces may often be naturally charged or electric fields are used to manipulate fluids, electric effects are crucial components that influence wetting phenomena.

Diffuse interface method for a compressible binary fluid.

Multicomponent, multiphase, compressible flows are very important in real life, as well as in scientific research, while their modeling is in an early stage. In this paper, we propose a diffuse interface model for compressible binary mixtures, based on the balance of mass, momentum, energy, and the second law of thermodynamics. We show both analytically and numerically that this model is able to describe the phase equilibrium for a real binary mixture (CO_{2} + ethanol is considered in this paper) very well by adjusting the parameter which measures the attraction force between molecules of the two components in the model.

Dynamin Is Required for GnRH Signaling to L-Type Calcium Channels and Activation of ERK.

We have shown that GnRH-mediated engagement of the cytoskeleton induces cell movement and is necessary for ERK activation. It also has previously been established that a dominant negative form of the mechano-GTPase dynamin (K44A) attenuates GnRH activation of ERK. At present, it is not clear at what level these cellular events might be linked.

Thermohydrodynamics of boiling in binary compressible fluids.

We numerically study the thermohydrodynamics of boiling for a CO(2) + ethanol mixture on lyophilic and lyophobic surfaces in both closed and open systems, based on a diffuse interface model for a two-component system. The corresponding wetting boundary conditions for an isothermal system are proposed and verified in this paper. New phenomena due to the addition of another component, mainly the preferential evaporation of the more volatile component, are observed.

Dynamic wetting of viscoelastic droplets.

We conduct numerical experiments on spreading of viscoelastic droplets on a flat surface. Our work considers a Giesekus fluid characterized by a shear-thinning viscosity and an Oldroyd-B fluid, which is close to a Boger fluid with constant viscosity. Our results qualitatively agree with experimental observations in that both shear thinning and elasticity enhances contact line motion, and that the contact line motion of the Boger fluid obeys the Tanner-Voinov-Hoffman relation.

Arterial Smooth Muscle Mitochondria Amplify Hydrogen Peroxide Microdomains Functionally Coupled to L-Type Calcium Channels.

Rationale: Mitochondria are key integrators of convergent intracellular signaling pathways. Two important second messengers modulated by mitochondria are calcium and reactive oxygen species. To date, coherent mechanisms describing mitochondrial integration of calcium and oxidative signaling in arterial smooth muscle are incomplete.

Multirelaxation-time lattice Boltzmann model for droplet heating and evaporation under forced convection.

We investigate the evaporation of a droplet surrounded by superheated vapor with relative motion between phases. The evaporating droplet is a challenging process, as one must take into account the transport of mass, momentum, and heat. Here a lattice Boltzmann method is employed where phase change is controlled by a nonideal equation of state.

GnRH evokes localized subplasmalemmal calcium signaling in gonadotropes.

The binding of GnRH to its receptor initiates signaling cascades in gonadotropes, which result in enhanced LH and FSH biosynthesis and secretion. This process is necessary for follicular maturation and ovulation. Calcium influx activates MAPKs, which lead to increased transcription of LH and FSH genes.

Simulation of finite-size fibers in turbulent channel flows.

The dynamical behavior of almost neutrally buoyant finite-size rigid fibers or rods in turbulent channel flow is studied by direct numerical simulations. The time evolution of the fiber orientation and translational and rotational motions in a statistically steady channel flow is obtained for three different fiber lengths. The turbulent flow is modeled by an entropy lattice Boltzmann method, and the interaction between fibers and carrier fluid is modeled through an external boundary force method.

Dynamic wetting at the nanoscale.

Although the capillary spreading of a drop on a dry substrate is well studied, understanding and describing the physical mechanisms that govern the dynamics remain challenging. Here we study the dynamics of spreading of partially wetting nanodroplets by combining molecular dynamics simulations and continuum phase field simulations. The phase field simulations account for all the relevant hydrodynamics, i.