Phase Controlled Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of Wafer-Scale Molybdenum Ditelluride.

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has become a pivotal technique for developing wafer-scale transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) 2D materials. This study investigates the impact of MOCVD growth conditions on achieving uniform and selective polymorph phase control of MoTe over large wafers. We demonstrated the controlled and uniform growth of few-layer MoTe in pure 2H, 1T', and mixed phases at various temperatures on up to 4 in.

Analysis of phosphofructokinase-1 activity as affected by pH and ATP concentration.

A key player in energy metabolism is phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK1) whose activity and behavior strongly influence glycolysis and thus have implications in many areas. In this research, PFK1 assays were performed to convert F6P and ATP into F-1,6-P and ADP for varied pH and ATP concentrations. PFK1 activity was assessed by evaluating F-1,6-P generation velocity in two ways: (1) directly calculating the time slope from the first two or more datapoints of measured product concentration (the initial-velocity method), and (2) by fitting all the datapoints with a differential equation explicitly representing the effects of ATP and pH (the modeling method).

Inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase accelerates anaerobic glycolysis under postmortem simulating conditions.

This research aimed to explore the potential influence of mitochondria on the rate of anaerobic glycolysis. We hypothesized that mitochondria could reduce the rate of anaerobic glycolysis and pH decline by metabolizing a portion of glycolytic pyruvate. We utilized an in vitro model and incorporated CPI-613 and Avidin to inhibit pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and pyruvate carboxylase (PC), respectively.

Muscle proteolysis is differentially influenced by mitochondrial intactness.

This study examined the potential influence of mitochondrial calcium sequestering ability on calpain-1 autolysis and proteolysis in vitro. We first tested whether mitochondria can sequester calcium in an in vitro setting. Isolated bovine mitochondria (0, 0.

Deep learning techniques and mathematical modeling allow 3D analysis of mitotic spindle dynamics.

Time-lapse microscopy movies have transformed the study of subcellular dynamics. However, manual analysis of movies can introduce bias and variability, obscuring important insights. While automation can overcome such limitations, spatial and temporal discontinuities in time-lapse movies render methods such as 3D object segmentation and tracking difficult.

Spectro 1-A Potential Spectrophotometer for Measuring Color and Myoglobin Forms in Beef.

The objective of this study was to compare the Color Muse Spectro 1 sensor to the HunterLab MiniScan XE Plus spectrophotometer for evaluating beef color. Color coordinates (lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), chroma (C*), and hue (h*)), myoglobin redox forms (metmyoglobin (MMb), deoxymyoglobin (DMb), and oxymyoglobin (OMb)), and metmyoglobin reducing ability (MRA) were measured on beef steaks over a 5-days storage period. The results indicated that L*, b*, C*, MMb%, OMb%, and MRA% values obtained with Spectro 1 were comparable to those of MiniScan.

Crystallization Behavior and Quality of Frozen Meat.

Preservation of meat through freezing entails the use of low temperatures to extend a product's shelf-life, mainly by reducing the rate of microbial spoilage and deterioration reactions. Characteristics of meat that are important to be preserve include tenderness, water holding capacity, color, and flavor. In general, freezing improves meat tenderness, but negatively impacts other quality attributes.

Ultrasonication of beef improves calpain-1 autolysis and caspase-3 activity by elevating cytosolic calcium and inducing mitochondrial dysfunction.

The objective of this study was to investigate if ultrasonication of bovine longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) steaks increases calpain-1 and caspase-3 activities, and if so, to explore the underlying mechanisms that trigger their activation. Post-rigor bovine LTL steaks were subjected to ultrasonication at 40 kHz and 12 W/cm for 40 min and subsequently aged for 14 d at 4 °C. Ultrasonication improved beef tenderness (P < 0.

Injection of iodoacetic acid into pre-rigor bovine muscle simulates dark cutting conditions.

The purpose of this study was to develop an in situ model for dark cutting beef. Iodoacetic acid (IAA) was injected at different concentrations (0, 0.625, 1.

Myosin heavy chain isoform and metabolic profile differ in beef steaks varying in tenderness.

Our objective was to investigate possible differences in muscle fiber characteristics of beef longissimus lumborum (LL) steaks varying in tenderness (very tender vs. intermediate tender). Therefore, the relative abundance of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms and activity/abundance of several glycolytic and oxidative enzymes were compared between the two steak groups.

MARK2/Par1b kinase present at centrosomes and retraction fibres corrects spindle off-centring induced by actin disassembly.

Tissue maintenance and development requires a directed plane of cell division. While it is clear that the division plane can be determined by retraction fibres that guide spindle movements, the precise molecular components of retraction fibres that control spindle movements remain unclear. We report MARK2/Par1b kinase as a novel component of actin-rich retraction fibres.

Interdisciplinary bodyweight management program for persons with SCI.

Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a higher prevalence of being overweight than the general population, which is thought to be due to a variety of metabolic, physiologic and psychological changes. The quality improvement project described in this work was designed to help overweight persons with SCI lose bodyweight through nutrition, exercise, and behavioral management strategies. Eighteen persons with SCI who were overweight were enrolled in a 12-week interdisciplinary weight management program.

Spindle rotation in human cells is reliant on a MARK2-mediated equatorial spindle-centering mechanism.

The plane of cell division is defined by the final position of the mitotic spindle. The spindle is pulled and rotated to the correct position by cortical dynein. However, it is unclear how the spindle's rotational center is maintained and what the consequences of an equatorially off centered spindle are in human cells.

How to recognize and treat childhood leukemia.

Acute leukemia may be difficult to diagnose in children because of the lack of specific findings. The key is to recognize unexplained symptoms and consider leukemia as a differential. Prompt treatment improves outcomes.

Using proximal hamstring tendons as a landmark for ultrasound- and CT-guided injections of ischiofemoral impingement.

Ischiofemoral impingement has been reported in a number of cases as an association between hip pain and quadratus femoris MRI signal abnormality, with concurrent narrowing of the ischiofemoral space. While the literature has included much emphasis on the imaging characteristics useful in the diagnosis of this entity, information on treatment has been scant, with few case reports of surgical resection of the lesser trochanter and incomplete descriptions of steroid injection techniques. We report a case of ultrasound- and CT-guided steroid injection into the ischiofemoral space via the proximal hamstring tendons in a 57-year-old female who had imaging and clinical characteristics of ischiofemoral impingement.

Unique case of solitary osteochondroma of left lamina of C2 presenting with neurologic deficits.

Osteochondroma is the most common benign tumor of bone, and the majority arise in the appendicular skeleton. Spinal osteochondromas are uncommon, with 50% occurring in the cervical spine. Only 0.

Cigarette smoking reprograms apical junctional complex molecular architecture in the human airway epithelium in vivo.

The apical junctional complex (AJC), composed of tight and adherens junctions, maintains epithelial barrier function. Since cigarette smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the major smoking-induced disease, are associated with increased lung epithelial permeability, we hypothesized that smoking alters the transcriptional program regulating airway epithelial AJC integrity. Transcriptome analysis revealed global down-regulation of physiological AJC gene expression in the airway epithelium of healthy smokers (n = 59) compared to nonsmokers (n = 53) in association with changes in canonical epithelial differentiation pathways such as PTEN signaling accompanied by induction of cancer-related AJC components.

Trachea epithelium as a "canary" for cigarette smoking-induced biologic phenotype of the small airway epithelium.

The initial site of smoking-induced lung disease is the small airway epithelium, which is difficult and time consuming to sample by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. We developed a rapid, office-based procedure to obtain trachea epithelium without conscious sedation from healthy nonsmokers (n= 26) and healthy smokers (n= 19, 27 +/- 15 pack-year). Gene expression differences (fold change >1.

Differential requirement of the epidermal growth factor receptor for G protein-mediated activation of transcription factors by lysophosphatidic acid.

Background: The role of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and other receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) in provoking biological actions of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has been one of the most disputed subjects in the field of GPCR signal transduction. The purpose of the current study is to identify EGFR-mediated mechanisms involved in activation of G protein cascades and the downstream transcription factors by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA).

Results: In ovarian cancer cells highly responsive to LPA, activation of AP-1 by LPA was suppressed by inhibition of EGFR, an effect that could be reversed by co-stimulation of another receptor tyrosine kinase c-Met with hepatocyte growth factor, indicating that LPA-mediated activation of AP-1 requires activity of a RTK, not necessarily EGFR.

Quality control in microarray assessment of gene expression in human airway epithelium.

Background: Microarray technology provides a powerful tool for defining gene expression profiles of airway epithelium that lend insight into the pathogenesis of human airway disorders. The focus of this study was to establish rigorous quality control parameters to ensure that microarray assessment of the airway epithelium is not confounded by experimental artifact. Samples (total n = 223) of trachea, large and small airway epithelium were collected by fiberoptic bronchoscopy of 144 individuals and hybridized to Affymetrix microarrays.

Primary aortic myxofibrosarcoma mimicking thrombus: findings on CT, MRI, and angiography.

Aortic sarcoma is a rare vascular malignancy. We report a case of primary aortic myxofibrosarcoma mimicking thrombus. This neoplasm demonstrated no contrast enhancement on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging and was clinically suspected to represent a large thrombus, although aortic primary neoplasm was considered in the differential diagnosis on the basis of imaging.