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- Fenstermacher, M.E., et al.
(författare)
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DIII-D research advancing the physics basis for optimizing the tokamak approach to fusion energy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 62:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- DIII-D physics research addresses critical challenges for the operation of ITER and the next generation of fusion energy devices. This is done through a focus on innovations to provide solutions for high performance long pulse operation, coupled with fundamental plasma physics understanding and model validation, to drive scenario development by integrating high performance core and boundary plasmas. Substantial increases in off-axis current drive efficiency from an innovative top launch system for EC power, and in pressure broadening for Alfven eigenmode control from a co-/counter-I p steerable off-axis neutral beam, all improve the prospects for optimization of future long pulse/steady state high performance tokamak operation. Fundamental studies into the modes that drive the evolution of the pedestal pressure profile and electron vs ion heat flux validate predictive models of pedestal recovery after ELMs. Understanding the physics mechanisms of ELM control and density pumpout by 3D magnetic perturbation fields leads to confident predictions for ITER and future devices. Validated modeling of high-Z shattered pellet injection for disruption mitigation, runaway electron dissipation, and techniques for disruption prediction and avoidance including machine learning, give confidence in handling disruptivity for future devices. For the non-nuclear phase of ITER, two actuators are identified to lower the L-H threshold power in hydrogen plasmas. With this physics understanding and suite of capabilities, a high poloidal beta optimized-core scenario with an internal transport barrier that projects nearly to Q = 10 in ITER at ∼8 MA was coupled to a detached divertor, and a near super H-mode optimized-pedestal scenario with co-I p beam injection was coupled to a radiative divertor. The hybrid core scenario was achieved directly, without the need for anomalous current diffusion, using off-axis current drive actuators. Also, a controller to assess proximity to stability limits and regulate β N in the ITER baseline scenario, based on plasma response to probing 3D fields, was demonstrated. Finally, innovative tokamak operation using a negative triangularity shape showed many attractive features for future pilot plant operation.
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- Bass, Joseph J., et al.
(författare)
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Overexpression of the vitamin D receptor (VIM) induces skeletal muscle hypertrophy
- 2020
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Ingår i: Molecular Metabolism. - : Elsevier. - 2212-8778. ; 42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The Vitamin D receptor (VDR) has been positively associated with skeletal muscle mass, function and regeneration. Mechanistic studies have focused on the loss of the receptor, with in vivo whole-body knockout models demonstrating reduced myofibre size and function and impaired muscle development. To understand the mechanistic role upregulation of the VDR elicits in muscle mass/health, we studied the impact of VDR over-expression (OE) in vivo before exploring the importance of VDR expression upon muscle hypertrophy in humans.Methods: Wistar rats underwent in vivo electrotransfer (IVE) to overexpress the VDR in the Tibialis anterior (TA) muscle for 10 days, before comprehensive physiological and metabolic profiling to characterise the influence of VDR-OE on muscle protein synthesis (MPS), anabolic signalling and satellite cell activity. Stable isotope tracer (D2O) techniques were used to assess sub-fraction protein synthesis, alongside RNA-Seq analysis. Finally, human participants underwent 20 wks of resistance exercise training, with body composition and transcriptomic analysis.Results: Muscle VDR-OE yielded total protein and RNA accretion, manifesting in increased myofibre area, i.e., hypertrophy. The observed increases in MPS were associated with enhanced anabolic signalling, reflecting translational efficiency (e.g., mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR-signalling), with no effects upon protein breakdown markers being observed. Additionally, RNA-Seq illustrated marked extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling, while satellite cell content, markers of proliferation and associated cell-cycled related gene-sets were upregulated. Finally, induction of VDR mRNA correlated with muscle hypertrophy in humans following long-term resistance exercise type training.Conclusion: VDR-OE stimulates muscle hypertrophy ostensibly via heightened protein synthesis, translational efficiency, ribosomal expansion and upregulation of ECM remodelling-related gene-sets. Furthermore, VDR expression is a robust marker of the hypertrophic response to resistance exercise in humans. The VDR is a viable target of muscle maintenance through testable Vitamin D molecules, as active molecules and analogues. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH.
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| 4. |
- Bass, Joseph J., et al.
(författare)
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The mechanisms of skeletal muscle atrophy in response to transient knockdown of the vitamin D receptor in vivo
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Physiology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-3751 .- 1469-7793. ; 599:3, s. 963-979
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- KEY POINTS:Reduced vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression prompts skeletal muscle atrophy.Atrophy occurs through catabolic processes, namely the induction of autophagy, while anabolism remains unchanged.In response to VDR-KD mitochondrial function and related gene-set expression is impaired.In vitro VDR knockdown induces myogenic dysregulation occurring through impaired differentiation.These results highlight the autonomous role the VDR has within skeletal muscle mass regulation.Objective: Vitamin-D deficiency is estimated to affect ∼40% of the world's population and has been associated with impaired muscle maintenance. Vitamin-D exerts its actions through the Vitamin-D-receptor (VDR), the expression of which was recently confirmed in skeletal muscle, and its down-regulation is linked to reduced muscle mass and functional decline. To identify potential mechanisms underlying muscle atrophy, we studied the impact of VDR knockdown (KD) on mature skeletal muscle in vivo, and myogenic regulation in vitro in C2C12 cells.Methods: Male Wistar rats underwent in vivo electrotransfer (IVE) to knock down the VDR in hind-limb tibialis anterior (TA) muscle for 10 days. Comprehensive metabolic and physiological analysis was undertaken to define the influence loss of the VDR on muscle fibre composition, protein synthesis, anabolic and catabolic signalling, mitochondrial phenotype, and gene expression. Finally, in vitro lentiviral transfection was used to induce sustained VDR-KD in C2C12 cells to analyse myogenic regulation.Results: Muscle VDR-KD elicited atrophy through a reduction in total protein content, resulting in lower myofibre area. Activation of autophagic processes was observed, with no effect upon muscle protein synthesis or anabolic signalling. Furthermore, RNA-Seq analysis identified systematic down-regulation of multiple mitochondrial respiration related protein and genesets. Finally, in vitro VDR-knockdown impaired myogenesis (cell cycling, differentiation and myotube formation).Conclusion: Taken together, these data indicate a fundamental regulatory role of the VDR in the regulation of myogenesis and muscle mass; whereby it acts to maintain muscle mitochondrial function and limit autophagy.
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- DeWitt, Douglas S., et al.
(författare)
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Pre-clinical testing of therapies for traumatic brain injury
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Neurotrauma. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 0897-7151 .- 1557-9042. ; 35:23, s. 2737-2754
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite the large number of promising neuroprotective agents identified in experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) studies, none has yet shown meaningful improvements in long-term outcome in clinical trials. To develop recommendations and guidelines for pre-clinical testing of pharmacological or biological therapies for TBI, the Moody Project for Translational Traumatic Brain Injury Research hosted a symposium attended by investigators with extensive experience in pre-clinical TBI testing. The symposium participants discussed issues related to pre-clinical TBI testing including experimental models, therapy and outcome selection, study design, data analysis, and dissemination. Consensus recommendations included the creation of a manual of standard operating procedures with sufficiently detailed descriptions of modeling and outcome measurement procedures to permit replication. The importance of the selection of clinically relevant outcome variables, especially related to behavior testing, was noted. Considering the heterogeneous nature of human TBI, evidence of therapeutic efficacy in multiple, diverse (e.g., diffuse vs. focused) rodent models and a species with a gyrencephalic brain prior to clinical testing was encouraged. Basing drug doses, times, and routes of administration on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data in the test species was recommended. Symposium participants agreed that the publication of negative results would reduce costly and unnecessary duplication of unsuccessful experiments. Although some of the recommendations are more relevant to multi-center, multi-investigator collaborations, most are applicable to pre-clinical therapy testing in general. The goal of these consensus guidelines is to increase the likelihood that therapies that improve outcomes in pre-clinical studies will also improve outcomes in TBI patients.
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| 6. |
- Levine, Daniel C., et al.
(författare)
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NAD+ Controls Circadian Reprogramming through PER2 Nuclear Translocation to Counter Aging
- 2020
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Ingår i: Molecular Cell. - : Elsevier BV. - 1097-2765 .- 1097-4164. ; 78:5, s. 835-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disrupted sleep-wake and molecular circadian rhythms are a feature of aging associated with metabolic disease and reduced levels of NAD(+), yet whether changes in nucleotide metabolism control circadian behavioral and genomic rhythms remains unknown. Here, we reveal that supplementation with the NAD(+) precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) markedly reprograms metabolic and stress-response pathways that decline with aging through inhibition of the clock repressor PER2. NR enhances BMAL1 chromatin binding genome-wide through PER2K680 deacetylation, which in turn primes PER2 phosphorylation within a domain that controls nuclear transport and stability and that is mutated in human advanced sleep phase syndrome. In old mice, dampened BMAL1 chromatin binding, transcriptional oscillations, mitochondrial respiration rhythms, and late evening activity are restored by NAD(+) repletion to youthful levels with NR. These results reveal effects of NAD(+) on metabolism and the circadian system with aging through the spatiotemporal control of the molecular clock.
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| 7. |
- Peek, Clara Bien, et al.
(författare)
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Circadian Clock Interaction with HIF1α Mediates Oxygenic Metabolism and Anaerobic Glycolysis in Skeletal Muscle.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Cell Metabolism. - : Elsevier BV. - 1550-4131 .- 1932-7420. ; 25:1, s. 86-92
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Circadian clocks are encoded by a transcription-translation feedback loop that aligns energetic processes with the solar cycle. We show that genetic disruption of the clock activator BMAL1 in skeletal myotubes and fibroblasts increased levels of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) under hypoxic conditions. Bmal1(-/-) myotubes displayed reduced anaerobic glycolysis, mitochondrial respiration with glycolytic fuel, and transcription of HIF1α targets Phd3, Vegfa, Mct4, Pk-m, and Ldha, whereas abrogation of the clock repressors CRY1/2 stabilized HIF1α in response to hypoxia. HIF1α bound directly to core clock gene promoters, and, when co-expressed with BMAL1, led to transactivation of PER2-LUC and HRE-LUC reporters. Further, genetic stabilization of HIF1α in Vhl(-/-) cells altered circadian transcription. Finally, induction of clock and HIF1α target genes in response to strenuous exercise varied according to the time of day in wild-type mice. Collectively, our results reveal bidirectional interactions between circadian and HIF pathways that influence metabolic adaptation to hypoxia.
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