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Structural Morphology (structural + morphology)
Selected AbstractsDesigning Superhydrophobic Porous Nanostructures with Tunable Water AdhesionADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 37 2009Yuekun Lai Basic principles of capillary-induced adhesion and roughness-enhanced hydrophobicity are utilized to design three superhydrophobic porous-nanostructure models whose adhesion forces ranged from strong to weak. The design idea is well-supported by experimental results, which indicated that adhesive forces may be tailored by modifying structural morphologies to manipulate solid,liquid contact behavior and air-pocket composition in open or sealed systems. [source] The influence of electrospinning parameters on the structural morphology and diameter of electrospun nanofibersJOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 5 2010Valencia Jacobs Abstract Electrospinning is a simple method of producing nanofibers by introducing electric field into the polymer solutions. We report an experimental investigation on the influence of processing parameters and solution properties on the structural morphology and average fiber diameter of electrospun poly ethylene oxide (PEO) polymer solution. Experimental trials have been conducted to investigate the effect of solution parameters, such as concentration, molecular weight, addition of polyelectrolyte in PEO solution, solvent effect, as well as governing parameter, such as applied voltage. The concentration of the aqueous PEO solution has shown noteworthy influence on the fiber diameter and structural morphology of electrospun nanofibers. At lower concentrations of PEO polymer solution, the fibers showed irregular morphology with large variations in fiber diameter, whereas at higher concentrations, the nanofibers with regular morphology and on average uniform fiber diameter were obtained. We find that the addition of polyelectrolytes, such as sodium salt of Poly acrylic acid (PAA) and Poly allylamine hydrochloride (PAH), increases the conductivity of PEO solutions and thereby decreases the bead formation in electrospun nanofibers. The increase in applied voltage has been found to affect the structural morphology of nanofiber while the addition of ethanol in PEO solution diminishes the bead defects. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010 [source] Regulated interactions of the norepineprhine transporter by the actin and microtubule cytoskeletonsJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 5 2008Alexis M. Jeannotte Abstract One role of the actin cytoskeleton is to maintain the structural morphology and activity of the pre-synaptic terminal. We sought to determine if the actin cytoskeleton plays a role in regulating interactions between the norepinephrine transporter (NET) and alpha-Synuclein (,-Syn), two proteins expressed in the pre-synaptic terminal. In cells transfected with either 0.5 ,g/mL or 3 ,g/mL of ,-Syn and 1 ,g/mL of NET DNA, treatment with cytochalasin D, an actin depolymerizing agent, caused a dose-dependent decrease and increase, respectively, in [3H]-NE uptake. Protein interactions between NET, ,-actin, and ,-Syn were modified, along with levels of surface transporters. Treatment of primary brainstem neurons and frontal cortex synaptosomes with cytochalasin D caused a 115% and 28% increase, respectively, in NET activity. Depolymerization of both actin and microtubules did not alter NET activity in cells with 0.5 ,g/mL ,-Syn, but caused an increase in [3H]-NE uptake in cells transfected with 3 ,g/mL of ,-Syn and primary neurons. This is the first direct demonstration of NET activity being regulated via actin and modulated by interactions with ,-Syn. [source] Probing the Effects of Hydrophilic Branch Size, Distribution, and Connectivity in Amphiphilic PolyethyleneMACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS, Issue 15 2008Erik B. Berda Abstract Acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization/hydrogenation methodology was used to synthesize a family of amphiphilic polyethylenes (PEs) with precisely placed poly(ethylene glycol) branches. Four structural parameters are varied in this report: size of the hydrophilic pendant group, manner in which the pendant group is connected to the backbone, distance between the pendant moieties along the backbone, and saturation of the polyolefin backbone. Varying the branch size with other parameters held constant results in negligible effects on thermal behavior. However, when either the distribution of branches or manner of connection of the branches is altered, changes in the thermal behavior become clear. These slight structural changes allow tunability of the structural morphology from fully amorphous to semicrystalline materials melting over a range of temperatures above 60,°C. [source] Protein kinase C activity in mouse eggs regulates gamete membrane interaction,MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 11 2007Hiroto Akabane Abstract Gamete membrane interaction is critical to initiate the development of a new organism. The signaling pathways governing this event, however, are poorly understood. In this report, we provide the first evidence that protein kinase C activity in mouse eggs plays a crucial role in the regulation of this process. Stimulating PKC activity in mouse eggs by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) drastically inhibited the egg's membrane ability to bind and fuse with sperm. Surprisingly, this significant reduction of gamete membrane interaction was also observed in eggs treated with the PKC inhibitors staurosporine and calphostin c. In further analysis, we found that while no change of egg actin cytoskeleton was detected after either PMA or calphostin c treatment, the structural morphology of egg surface microvilli was severely altered in the PMA-treated eggs, but not in the calphostin c-treated eggs. Moreover, sperm, which bound but did not fuse with the eggs treated with the anti-CD9 antibody KMC8, were liberated from the egg membrane after PMA, but not calphostin c, treatment. Taken together, these results suggest that egg PKC may be precisely balanced to regulate gamete membrane interaction in a biphasic mode, and this biphasic regulation is executed through two different mechanisms. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 74: 1465,1472, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Do mandibular cross-sectional properties and dental microwear give similar dietary signals?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Jason M. Organ Abstract Previous animal experimental work evaluating the effects of dietary consistency on mastication was generally limited to studies of either mandibular structure or rates and types of tooth wear. Control groups fed hard diets (HD) consistently exhibited increased cortical remodeling and/or bone strength when compared to groups fed soft diets (SD). Results of tooth-wear studies showed faster rates of tooth wear in HD animals. This study evaluates the effects of dietary differences on both mandibular structural morphology and postcanine dental microwear in the same animals. We examined mandibles and dentitions from eight miniature swine, raised from 4 weeks to 9 months of age on HD and SD (n = 4, each group). Mandibular structural properties were calculated from peripheral quantitative computed tomography slices at the dp3,dp4 and dp4,M1 junctions. Dental microwear analysis was performed on mandibular lingual crushing facets of dp4 and M1, using photomicrographs of high-resolution casts taken at 500× magnification in a scanning electron microscope. Our results suggest that between the dp3,dp4 contact, HD animals have mandibles that are stronger and more rigid mediolaterally than SD animals. At the dp4,M1 contact, HD animals have mandibles that are stronger and more rigid mediolaterally, dorsoventrally, and in torsion than SD animals. Dental microwear results indicate that SD pigs have higher incidences of pitting and more overall microwear features on their premolars than do HD pigs, yet there are no significant differences in molar microwear morphology between the dietary groups. Near-significant correlations exist between pit size and dorsoventral bending strength, but only for HD pigs. These results suggest that dietary consistency significantly affects both mandibular structure and dental microwear, yet direct correlations between the two are complicated by a number of factors Am J Phys Anthropol, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||