Nicotinic Acid Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Plays a Critical Role in Naive and Effector Murine T Cells but Not Natural Regulatory T Cells

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP), the most potent Ca²⁺ mobilizing second messenger discovered to date, has been implicated in Ca²⁺ signaling in some lymphomas and T cell clones. In contrast, the role of NAADP in Ca²⁺ signaling or the identity of the Ca²⁺ stores targeted by NAADP in conventional naive T cells is less clear. In the current study, we demonstrate the importance of NAADP in the generation of Ca²⁺ signals in murine naive T cells. Combining live-cell imaging methods and a pharmacological approach using the NAADP antagonist Ned-19, we addressed the involvement of NAADP in the generation of Ca²⁺ signals evoked by TCR stimulation and the role of this signal in downstream physiological end points such as proliferation, cytokine production, and other responses to stimulation. We demonstrated that acidic compartments in addition to the endoplasmic reticulum were the Ca²⁺ stores that were sensitive to NAADP in naive T cells. NAADP was shown to evoke functionally relevant Ca²⁺ signals in both naive CD4 and naive CD8 T cells. Furthermore, we examined the role of this signal in the activation, proliferation, and secretion of effector cytokines by Th1, Th2, Th17, and CD8 effector T cells. Overall, NAADP exhibited a similar profile in mediating Ca²⁺ release in effector T cells as in their counterpart naive T cells and seemed to be equally important for the function of these different subsets of effector T cells. This profile was not observed for natural T regulatory cells.     

Theoretical Analysis of On-Chip Vertical Hybrid Plasmonic Nanograting

Plasmonics - A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible photonic-plasmonic waveguide with nanoscale dimensions and better optical confinement has been proposed for the infrared...     

Microwave initiated synthesis and application of polyacrylic acid grafted carboxymethyl cellulose

An environmentally benign and efficient route of synthesis of polyacrylic acid grafted carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-g-PAA) is developed using microwave radiation alone to initiate the grafting reaction. The synthesis is optimized in terms of percentage grafting and intrinsic viscosity, by varying the microwave irradiation time and monomer (acrylic acid) concentration. The grafted product has been characterized by various physicochemical characterization techniques (intrinsic viscosity measurement, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM morphology study and elemental analysis). FTIR spectroscopy confirmed that free radicals are formed on polysaccharide backbone by cleavage of 1°-OH bond, indicating microwave effect and not thermal decomposition as the cause of free radical generation. The application of the grafted product as flocculant for river water clarification, towards augmentation of drinking water supply has been investigated.     

Microbial healing of cracks in concrete: a review

Concrete is the most widely used construction material of the world and maintaining concrete structures from premature deterioration is proving to be a great challenge. Early age formation of micro-cracking in concrete structure severely affects the serviceability leading to high cost of maintenance. Apart from conventional methods of repairing cracks with sealants or treating the concrete with adhesive chemicals to prevent the cracks from widening, a microbial crack-healing approach has shown promising results. The unique feature of the microbial system is that it enables self-healing of concrete. The effectiveness of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICCP) in improving durability of cementitious building materials, restoration of stone monuments and soil bioclogging is discussed. Main emphasis has been laid on the potential of bacteria-based crack repair in concrete structure and the applications of different bacterial treatments to self-healing cracks. Furthermore, recommendations to employ the MICCP technology at commercial scale and reduction in the cost of application are provided in this review.