Mechanical milling assisted by electrical discharge

Mechanical milling is an effective technique for the preparation of fine metallic and ceramic powders and can also be used to drive a wide range of chemical reactions. Milling devices include planetary machines, attritors and vibrational mills; products include amorphous, nanocrystalline and quasicrystalline materials, supersaturated solid solutions, reduced minerals, high-surface-area catalysts and reactive chemicals. During milling, solid-solid, solid-liquid and solid-gas reactions are initiated through repeated deformation and fracture of powder particles. A separate materials synthesis and processing technique involves reacting a material in a gas atmosphere under an electrical discharge. Here we show that the application of low-current, high-voltage electrical impulses during milling can result in both faster reactions and new synthesis and processing routes. We demonstrate the effects of glow (cold) and spark (hot) discharge milling on particle fracture for brittle, low-conductivity materials and ductile metals. Glow discharge milling was found to promote solid-gas reactions whereas spark discharge milling promotes fast fracturing, recrystallization, mineral reduction and solid-solid reactions.     

Role of serotonin in the hepato-gastroIntestinal tract: an old molecule for new perspectives

Beside its role as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, serotonin appears to be a central physiologic mediator of many gastrointestinal (GI) functions and a mediator of the brain-gut connection. By acting directly and via modulation of the enteric nervous system, serotonin has numerous effects on the GI tract. The main gut disturbances in which serotonin is involved are acute chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, carcinoid syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome. Serotonin also has mitogenic properties. Platelet-derived serotonin is involved in liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. In diseased liver, serotonin may play a crucial role in the progression of hepatic fibrosis and the pathogenesis of steatohepatitis. Better understanding of the role of the serotonin receptor subtypes and serotonin mechanisms of action in the liver and gut may open new therapeutic strategies in hepato-gastrointestinal diseases. Received 15 August 2007; received after revision 1 November 2007; accepted 5 November 2007     

Genomic alterations in cultured human embryonic stem cells

Cultured human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines are an invaluable resource because they provide a uniform and stable genetic system for functional analyses and therapeutic applications. Nevertheless, these dividing cells, like other cells, probably undergo spontaneous mutation at a rate of 10(-9) per nucleotide. Because each mutant has only a few progeny, the overall biological properties of the cell culture are not altered unless a mutation provides a survival or growth advantage. Clonal evolution that leads to emergence of a dominant mutant genotype may potentially affect cellular phenotype as well. We assessed the genomic fidelity of paired early- and late-passage hESC lines in the course of tissue culture. Relative to early-passage lines, eight of nine late-passage hESC lines had one or more genomic alterations commonly observed in human cancers, including aberrations in copy number (45%), mitochondrial DNA sequence (22%) and gene promoter methylation (90%), although the latter was essentially restricted to 2 of 14 promoters examined. The observation that hESC lines maintained in vitro develop genetic and epigenetic alterations implies that periodic monitoring of these lines will be required before they are used in in vivo applications and that some late-passage hESC lines may be unusable for therapeutic purposes.