Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are enzymes that break down the phosphodiesteric bond of the cyclic nucleotides, cAMP and cGMP, second messengers that regulate many biological processes. PDEs participate in the regulation of signal transduction by means of a fine regulation of cyclic nucleotides so that the response to cell stimuli is both specific and activates the correct third messengers. Several ...

This work investigates plastic deformation around non-metallic inclusions in rolling contact fatigue applications. Subsurface stresses from Hertzian theory are applied form of far-field loading on an elasto-plastic micro-mechanical model isolated inclusion. Initial and cyclic micro-scale plasticity quantified, assuming linear kinematic hardening for the steel matrix elastic or perfectly behavio...

A wide diversity of perturbations of the central nervous system (CNS) result in structural damage to the neuroarchitecture and cellular defects, which in turn are accompanied by neurological dysfunction and abortive endogenous neurorepair. Altering intracellular signaling pathways involved in inflammation and immune regulation, neural cell death, axon plasticity and remyelination has shown ther...

The vertebral column is a conserved anatomical structure that defines the vertebrate phylum. The periodic or segmental pattern of the vertebral column is established early in development when the vertebral precursors, the somites, are rhythmically produced from presomitic mesoderm (PSM). This rhythmic activity is controlled by a segmentation clock that is associated with the periodic transcript...

Creep-cyclic plasticity and creep-fatigue damage interaction of a welded flange are studied considering both the thermo-mechanical load welding residual stress (WRS). The presence WRS was found to have minimal effect on shakedown ratcheting curves, though distribution changes considerably in WRS. is predominant for initial cycles after which it relaxes so that at steady state creep-cyclic respo...

There is a shift in ocular dominance of cells recorded in the visual cortex which occurs after closure of one eye during a critical period lasting from eye opening to puberty. Three criteria distinguish factors that are crucially related to ocular dominance plasticity: 1) the factor should be more concentrated or active at the peak of the critical period; 2) dark rearing, which makes the cortex...

BACKGROUND Activity of dopaminergic neurons is necessary and sufficient to evoke learning-related plasticity in neuronal networks that modulate learning. During olfactory classical conditioning, large subsets of dopaminergic neurons are activated, releasing dopamine across broad sets of postsynaptic neurons. It is unclear how such diffuse dopamine release generates the highly localized patterns...

This study determined the consequences of dopamine denervation of the striatum on synaptic plasticity and prevention of these changes with gene therapy using an adeno-associated viral vector (AAV) expressing glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). C57BL6/J mice were injected with the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine(MPTP); long-term depression (LTD) or potenti...

This work demonstrates numerically how microplasticity, i.e. the yielding behavior below conventional 0.2% plastic strain threshold, can lead to initiation of cracks at subsurface defects, in rolling contact applications operating under realistic loads. A 3D elasto-plastic finite element model is employed perform shakedown analysis bearing steel around a small spherical void with two different ...