BINA

Nephrons are the functional units of the kidney. During kidney development, cells from the cap mesenchyme – a transient kidney-specific progenitor state – undergo a mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) and subsequently differentiate into the various epithelial cell types that create the tubular structures of the nephron. Faults in this transition can lead to a pediatric malignancy of the kidney called Wilms’ tumor that mimics normal kidney development. While kidney development has been characterized at the gene expression level, a comprehensive characterization of alternative splicing is lacking. We therefore performed RNA sequencing on cell populations representing early, intermediate, and late developmental stages of the human fetal kidney, as well as three blastemal-predominant Wilms’ tumor patient-derived xenografts. We identified a set of transcripts that are alternatively spliced between the different developmental stages. Moreover, we found that cells from the earliest developmental stage have a mesenchymal splice-isoform profile that is similar to that of blastemal-predominant Wilms’ tumors. RNA binding motif enrichment analysis suggests that the mRNA binding proteins ESRP1, ESRP2, RBFOX2, and QKI regulate mRNA splice isoform switching during human kidney development. These findings illuminate new molecular mechanisms involved in kidney development and pediatric kidney tumors.HIGHLIGHTS During fetal kidney development, kidney progenitor cells undergo a mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) and subsequently differentiate into the various epithelial cell types that create the tubular structures of the …

We present novel optical approach based on statistical analysis of temporal laser speckle patterns for tissue in-depth flow characteristics. An ability to distinguish between Brownian motion of particles and laminar flow is well proved. The main steps in the post processing algorithm and the in-vivo and in-vitro experimental results are presented and demonstrated.

Usage of imaging in the optical regime in biological research established itself as a fundamental tool to reveal answers to critical scientific questions in that field. Specialized techniques such as Golgi’s method, the Nissl staining technique, and others led further to remarkable findings in the fields of brain imaging and neuroscience research. Pushing modern research to the next level requires spatial and temporal resolution capabilities which are better than the conventional limits of optical imaging. Hence, a fascinating new world of super-resolved imaging that achieves higher-resolving capabilities, while still using the same wavelengths, has emerged. This chapter will first cover the historical development of super-resolution microscopy, while relating it to applications and development in brain imaging and neuroscience research. Further, we cover many of the current promising super-resolution methods …

In this chapter, we present a summary of research that uses silicon to enhance the imaging resolution and to push it toward the region of nanoscopy. The silicon has a nonlinear effect called the plasma dispersion effect (PDE ), which can be used instead of the fluorescent dye in order to realize a stimulated emission depletion (STED) like microscopic imaging configuration. The silicon can be encapsulated into nanoparticles while the encapsulation may be biocompatible and yield the first step toward label-free bioimaging. The encapsulation may even be metallic to enhance the obtainable effect and to yield resolution enhancement at lower requirements from the pump beam . The silicon can even be used directly as a wafer but then the super-resolving imaging is mainly aimed at failure analysis of micro-electronic circuitry. When the silicon is encapsulated with metallic layer or when it is in the form of a …

Pancreatic β-cell membranes and presynaptic areas of neurons contain analogous protein complexes that control the secretion of bioactive molecules. These complexes include the neuroligins (NLs) and their binding partners, the neurexins (NXs). It has been recently reported that both insulin secretion and the proliferation rates of β-cells increase when cells are co-cultured with full-length NL-2 clusters. The pharmacological use of full-length protein is always problematic due to its unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties. Thus, NL-2-derived short peptide was conjugated to the surface of polyamidoamine-based (PAMAM) dendrimers. This nanoscale composite improved β-cell functions in terms of the rate of proliferation, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), and functional maturation. This functionalized dendrimer also protected β-cells under cellular stress conditions. In addition, various novel peptidomimetic …

8. Molecular modeling of multilayer cellular and tissue engineering structures based on a wireframe of carbon nanotubes and protein matrix for restoring the tissues of the heart and blood vessels

In this paper, we describe a technique for elasticity and depth measurement via both secondary speckle and time multiplexing interference approach. Using external stimulation of elastic medium (in example: human tissue) by infra-sonic vibration, photons from different depths of the elastic medium were separated. In addition, this work uses a modulated laser that incorporates at the same scanning time, a speckle pattern tracking method for sensing surface tilting and interferometer method for sensing z-axis movements. In this paper, we present preliminary experiments showing the ability to separate data of light coming from different layers in the elastic medium.

We experimentally demonstrate the first generation of dispersion-engineered periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguides. These waveguides achieve ultra-broadband second-harmonic generation (SHG) and multi-octave supercontinuum generation (SCG) with record-low pulse energies.

We introduce a model of chemically active particles of a multi-component fluid that can change their interactions with other particles depending on their state. Since such switching of interactions can only be maintained by the input of chemical energy, the system is inherently non-equilibrium. Focusing on a scenario where the equilibrium interactions would lead to condensation into a liquid droplet, and despite the relative simplicity of the interaction rules, these systems display a wealth of interesting and novel behaviors such as oscillations of droplet size and molecular sorting, and raise the possibility of spatio-temporal control of chemical reactions on the nanoscale.

Pickering emulsion is one of the principal methods for the formation of colloidosomes, offering a high level of control over their size and permeability. In this article, we describe the synthesis of chiral colloidosomes based on chiral silica nanoparticles produced in a sol‐gel process combining a chiral (S)‐N‐1‐phenylethyl‐N′‐triethoxysilylpropylurea precursor with tetraethyl orthosilicate. Chiral colloidosomes with a typical diameter of 1.7 μm were obtained from Pickering assembly of partially hydrophobized nanoparticles, as confirmed by electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The enantioselectivity of the silica colloidosomes was confirmed by enantioselective adsorption of racemic dichlorprop herbicide solutions onto the capsules, as proved by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Similar chiral colloidosomes could be synthesized in this facile and low‐cost method, which are expected to be of interest in various …

Finding renewable energy sources as alternatives to petroleum-based fuels is a current global challenge. One approach to address the energy shortage problem is through biofuels. A promising family of biofuels that has many of the needed fuel characteristics is terpenes. Herein we present a combined theoretical and statistical model for calculating inherent thermodynamic properties of several promising terpenes, which show high compatibility with many criteria of petroleum-based fuels. We use density functional theory and ab initio quantum chemistry methods to compute the enthalpy of combustion, enthalpy of vaporization, enthalpy of formation, cetane number, boiling point and vapor pressure for a range of terpenes with good accuracy. The current in silico study presents a promising strategy for finding suitable petroleum substitutes, while avoiding costly experimental trial and error approaches.

Rogue waves, which were first discovered in the ocean, constitute an important factor in the dynamics of many physical systems. However, while the ocean can be represented by a scalar field, many physical systems, specifically in optics, are situated on a vector field, and thus, there are several crucial differences which must be considered. For example, twin-peak rogue waves are rare events in the ocean but are commonly observed in optics. We developed a model presenting the differences between the scalar field and the vector field. We show that optical twin-peak rogue waves have peaks with orthogonal states of polarization and measured such rogue waves in fiber lasers showing an agreement between our model and the measured results. This model, which can also be applied to other equivalent systems, explains the formation of rogue wave patterns in a vector field and their dynamics as a function of time.

The synchronization of human networks is essential for our civilization and understanding the motivations, behavior, and basic parameters which govern the dynamics of human networks are important for many aspects of our lives. We studied complex human networks in different configurations with full control over the network connectivity, the coupling strength of each connection and the delay between coupled individuals. Our system is based on coupling violin players in different configurations and measuring the synchronization of their phase, period, frequency and volume. In our system, each player is connecting it's violin output to our computer system and has headphones for the input. We found that humans tend to find a non-trivial solution for frustration situations and spontaneously change the connectivity of the network in order to reach a stable solution. We also found that out-of-phase synchronized state is …