Effect of the Interfacial Tension on the Stability of Silica Stabilized Pickering Emulsions near the Lower Critical Solution Temperature of 2,6-Lutidine - Water Mixtures.

In this paper, the kinetic stability of Pickering emulsions stabilized by spherical silica particles (100 nm in diameter) was examined in the water - 2,6-lutidine mixture. In the close vicinity of the lower critical solution temperature, Pickering emulsions were unstable due to the ultra-low liquid-liquid interfacial tension but increased their stability with increasing the temperature. In this system, the interfacial tension obeys universal scale law and can be tuned by temperature without adding any surface-active agents.

Cytoplasmic and molecular reconstruction of Xenopus embryos: synergy of dorsalizing and endo-mesodermalizing determinants drives early axial patterning.

Ablation of vegetal cytoplasm from newly fertilized Xenopus eggs results in the development of permanent blastula-type embryos (PBEs). PBEs cleave normally and develop into a very simple tissue consisting only of atypical epidermis. We tried to restore complete embryonic development in PBEs by cytoplasmic transplantation or by mRNA injection.

Anteroposterior patterning in Xenopus embryos: egg fragment assay system reveals a synergy of dorsalizing and posteriorizing embryonic domains.

Two distinct types of axis lacking embryos resulted from partial deletion of the vegetal part of early one-cell-stage embryos. When the deleted volume was 20-40% (relative surface area), the embryos underwent ventral-type gastrulation and formed ventral mesodermal tissues. When the deleted volume was more than 60%, the embryo did not gastrulate nor make mesodermal structures (M.