Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a cardiac hormone with pleiotropic cardiovascular and metabolic properties including vasodilation, natriuresis and suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone ...system. Moreover, ANP induces lipolysis, lipid oxidation, adipocyte browning and ameliorates insulin sensitivity. Studies on ANP genetic variants revealed that subjects with higher ANP plasma levels have lower cardio-metabolic risk. In vivo and in humans, augmenting the ANP pathway has been shown to exert cardiovascular therapeutic actions while ameliorating the metabolic profile. MANP is a novel designer ANP-based peptide with greater and more sustained biological actions than ANP in animal models. Recent studies also demonstrated that MANP lowers blood pressure and inhibits aldosterone in hypertensive subjects whereas cardiometabolic properties of MANP are currently tested in an on-going clinical study in hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Evidence from in vitro, in vivo and in human studies support the concept that ANP and related pathway represent an optimal target for a comprehensive approach to cardiometabolic disease.
This book is unique in the literature on spinors and Clifford algebras in that it is accessible to both students and researchers while maintaining a formal approach to these subjects. Besides ...thoroughly introducing several aspects of Clifford algebras, it provides the geometrical aspects underlying the Clifford algebras, as well as their applications, particularly in physics. Previous books on spinors and Clifford algebras have either required the reader to have some prior expertise in these subjects, and thus were difficult to access, or did not provide a deep approach. In contrast, although this book is mathematically complete and precise, it demands little in the way of prerequisites—indeed, a course in linear algebra is the sole prerequisite. This book shows how spinors and Clifford algebras have fuelled interest in the no man’s land between physics and mathematics, an interest resulting from the growing awareness of the importance of algebraic and geometric properties in many physical phenomena. There is much common ground between Clifford algebras, including the geometry arising from those algebras, the classical groups, and the so-called spinors and their three definitions, including pure spinors and twistors, with their main point of contact being the representations of Clifford algebras and the periodicity theorems. Clifford algebras constitute a highly intuitive formalism and have an intimate relationship with quantum field theory; thus, this book will be useful for physicists as well as for mathematicians.
In this contribution, the aspects of reptile and amphibian speciation that emerged from research performed over the past decade are reviewed. First, this study assesses how patterns and processes of ...speciation depend on knowing the taxonomy of the group in question, and discuss how integrative taxonomy has contributed to speciation research in these groups. This study then reviews the research on different aspects of speciation in reptiles and amphibians, including biogeography and climatic niches, ecological speciation, the relationship between speciation rates and phenotypic traits, and genetics and genomics. Further, several case studies of speciation in reptiles and amphibians that exemplify many of these themes are discussed. These include studies of integrative taxonomy and biogeography in South American lizards, ecological speciation in European salamanders, speciation and phenotypic evolution in frogs and lizards. The final case study combines genomics and biogeography in tortoises. The field of amphibian and reptile speciation research has steadily moved forward from the assessment of geographic and ecological aspects, to incorporating other dimensions of speciation, such as genetic mechanisms and evolutionary forces. A higher degree of integration among all these dimensions emerges as a goal for future research.
Scientists have a choice concerning what role they should play in political debates and policy formation, particularly in terms of how they present their research. This book is about understanding ...this choice, what considerations are important to think about when deciding, and the consequences of such choices for the individual scientist and the broader scientific enterprise. Rather than prescribing what course of action each scientist ought to take, the book aims to identify a range of options for individual scientists to consider in making their own judgments about how they would like to position themselves in relation to policy and politics. Using examples from a range of scientific controversies and thought-provoking analogies from other walks of life, The Honest Broker challenges us all - scientists, politicians and citizens - to think carefully about how best science can contribute to policy-making and a healthy democracy.
In the body, engineered nanoparticles (NPs) may be recognized and processed by immune cells, among which macrophages play a crucial role. We evaluated the effects of selected NPs NM-100 (TiO
), ...NM-110 (ZnO), NM-200 (SiO
), and NM-300 K (Ag) on THP-1 macrophage-like cells. The cells were exposed to subcytotoxic concentrations of NPs (1-25 µg/mL) and the expression of immunologically relevant genes (VCAM1, TNFA, CXCL8, ICAM1, CD86, CD192, and IL1B) was analyzed by RT-qPCR. The expression of selected cytokines, growth factors and surface molecules was assessed by flow cytometry or ELISA. Generation of reactive oxygen species and induction of DNA breaks were also analyzed. Exposure to diverse NPs caused substantially different molecular responses. No significant effects were detected for NM-100 treatment. NM-200 induced production of IL-8, a potent attractor and activator of neutrophils, growth factors (VEGF and IGF-1) and superoxide. NM-110 triggered a proinflammatory response, characterized by the activation of transcription factor NF-κB, an enhanced production of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α) and chemokines (IL-8). Furthermore, the expression of cell adhesion molecules VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), as well as superoxide production and DNA breaks, were affected. NM-300 K enhanced IL-8 production and induced DNA breaks, however, it decreased the expression of chemokine receptor (CCR2) and CD86 molecule, indicating potential immunosuppressive activity. The toxicity of ZnO and Ag NPs was probably caused by their intracellular dissolution, as indicated by transmission electron microscopy imaging. The observed effects in macrophages might further influence both innate and adaptive immune responses by promoting neutrophil recruitment via IL-8 release and enhancing the adhesion and stimulation of T cells by VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 expression.
This book is the first to explore the dramatic amplification of global warming underway in cities and the range of actions that individuals and governments can undertake to slow the pace of warming. ...A core thesis of the book is that the principal strategy currently advocated to mitigate climate change – the reduction of greenhouse gases – will not prove sufficient to measurably slow the rapid pace of warming in urban environments. Brian Stone explains the science of climate change in terms accessible to the non-scientist and with compelling anecdotes drawn from history and current events. The book is an ideal introduction to climate change and cities for students, policy makers and anyone who wishes to gain insight into an issue critical to the future of our cities and the people who live in them.
Basic research has provided a much better understanding of the genetic networks and regulatory hierarchies in plants. To meet the challenges of agriculture, we must be able to rapidly translate this ...knowledge into generating improved plants. Therefore, in this Review, we discuss advanced tools that are currently available for use in plant biotechnology to produce new products in plants and to generate plants with new functions. These tools include synthetic promoters, 'tunable' transcription factors, genome-editing tools and site-specific recombinases. We also review some tools with the potential to enable crop improvement, such as methods for the assembly and synthesis of large DNA molecules, plant transformation with linked multigenes and plant artificial chromosomes. These genetic technologies should be integrated to realize their potential for applications to pressing agricultural and environmental problems.
Clouds play a critical role in the Earth's climate, general atmospheric circulation, and global water balance. Clouds are essential elements in mesoscale meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, air ...pollution, atmosphericradiation, and weather forecasting, and thus must be understood by any student or researcher in the atmospheric sciences. Cloud Dynamics provides a skillful and comprehensive examination of the nature of clouds--what they look like and why, how scientists observe them, and the basic dynamics and physics that underlie them. The book describes the mechanics governing each type of cloud that occurs in Earth's atmosphere, and the organization of various types of clouds in larger weather systems such as fronts, thunderstorms, and hurricanes.This book is aimed specifically at graduate students, advanced undergraduates, practicing researchers either already in atmospheric science or moving in from a related scientific field, and operational meteorologists. Some prior knowledge of atmospheric dynamics and physics is helpful, but a thorough overview of the necessary prerequisites is supplied. Key Highlights of This Text Provides a complete treatment of clouds integrating the analysis of air motions with cloud structure, microphysics, and precipitation mechanics Describes and explains the basic types of clouds and cloud systems that occur in the atmosphere-fog, stratus, stratocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, cirrus, thunderstorms, tornadoes, waterspouts, orographically induced clouds, mesoscale convection complexes, hurricanes, fronts, and extratropical cyclones Presents a photographic guide, presented in the first chapter, linking the examination of each type of cloud with an image to enhance visual retention and understanding Summarizes the fundamentals, both observational and theoretical, of atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, cloud
microphysics, and radar meteorology, allowing each type of cloud to be examined in depth Integrates the latest field observations, numerical model simulations, and theory Supplies a theoretical treatment suitable for the advanced undergraduate or graduate level.
The biophysics and cell biology of lipid droplets Thiam, Abdou Rachid; Farese, Jr, Robert V; Walther, Tobias C
Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology,
12/2013, Letnik:
14, Številka:
12
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Lipid droplets are intracellular organelles that are found in most cells, where they have fundamental roles in metabolism. They function prominently in storing oil-based reserves of metabolic energy ...and components of membrane lipids. Lipid droplets are the dispersed phase of an oil-in-water emulsion in the aqueous cytosol of cells, and the importance of basic biophysical principles of emulsions for lipid droplet biology is now being appreciated. Because of their unique architecture, with an interface between the dispersed oil phase and the aqueous cytosol, specific mechanisms underlie their formation, growth and shrinkage. Such mechanisms enable cells to use emulsified oil when the demands for metabolic energy or membrane synthesis change. The regulation of the composition of the phospholipid surfactants at the surface of lipid droplets is crucial for lipid droplet homeostasis and protein targeting to their surfaces.
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