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Control of nutrient homeostasis plays a central role in cell proliferation/survival during embryonic development and tumor growth. Activation of the Notch signaling pathway, a major contributor to cell–cell interactions, is a potential mechanism for cell adaptation to nutrient‐poor conditions. Our previous study also demonstrated that during embryogenesis when nutrients such as glutamine and growth factors are potentially maintained at lower levels, Notch signaling suppresses mRNA expression of hexokinase 2 (hk2), which is a glycolysis‐associated gene, in the central nervous system. However, whether and how the genetic regulation of HK2 via Notch signaling contributes to cellular adaptability to nutrient‐poor environments remains unknown. In this study, we performed gene expression analysis using a U87‐MG human glioma cell line and revealed that under conditions where both glutamine and serum were absent, Notch signaling was activated and HK2 expression was downregulated by Notch signaling. We also found that Notch‐mediated HK2 suppression was triggered in a Notch ligand‐selective manner. Furthermore, HK2 was shown to inhibit cell proliferation of U87‐MG gliomas, which might depend on Notch signaling activity. Together, our findings suggest the involvement of Notch‐mediated HK2 suppression in an adaptive mechanism of U87‐MG glioma cells to nutrient‐poor conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, confined swirling flows of an aqueous surfactant solution due to a rotating disk in a cylindrical casing were investigated using a sectional flow visualization technique and a two-component laser Doppler velocimetry system. The concentrations of aqueous surfactant solutions ([C.sub.14]TASal) are 0.4 wt %, 0.8 wt %, and 1.2 wt %. Rheological properties such as shear viscosity and first normal stress difference of the surfactant solution were measured with a rheometer. The patterns of secondary flow were classified using the Reynolds and elasticity numbers. We revealed that the projection formed near the center of the rotating disk moved up and down at a constant frequency for [C.sub.14]TASal 0.8 wt % and 1.2 wt %, which has not been reported as far as we know. The effects of the Reynolds number, elasticity number, and aspect ratio on the velocity profiles were clarified. It was also found that the region of rigid body rotation existed at the higher Reynolds number tested for [C.sub.14]TASal 0.4 wt %. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2956593] Keywords: confined swirling flow, surfactant solution, secondary flow, flow visualization, LDV measurement

The swirling flow of a viscoelastic fluid in a cylindrical casing is investigated experimentally, using aqueous solutions of 0.05-1.0 wt. % polyacrylamide as the working fluid. The velocity measurements are made using laser Doppler anemometer. The aspect ratios H/R (H: axial length of cylindrical casing; R: radius of rotating disk) investigated are 2.0, 1.0, and 0.3. The Reynolds numbers [Re.sub.0] based on the zero shear viscosity and the disk-tip velocity are between 0.36 and 50. The velocity measurements are mainly conducted for the circumferential velocity component. The experimental velocity data are compared to the velocity profiles obtained by numerical simulations using Giesekus model and power-law model. It is revealed that at any aspect ratios tested the dimensionless circumferential velocity component [V.sub'0] decreases with increasing Weissenberg number We. Both the Giesekus and power-law models could predict the retardation of circumferential velocity fairly well at small We. The extent of the inverse flow region, where the fluid rotates in the direction opposite to the rotating disk, is clarified in detail. Keywords: viscoelastic fluid, rotating disk, flow visualization, LDV, power-law model, Giesekus model

Author(s): Cheol-Hee Kim [1]; Takaya Oda [2]; Motoyuki Itoh [1]; Di Jiang [1]; Kristin Bruk Artinger [3]; Settara C. Chandrasekharappa [2]; Wolfgang Driever [4]; Ajay B. Chitnis (corresponding author) [1] [...]

We identified a zebrafish homologue of Dickkopf-1 (Dkk1), which was previously identified in Xenopus as a Wnt inhibitor with potent head-inducing activity. Zebrafish dkk1 is expressed in the dorsal marginal blastoderm and also in the dorsal yolk syncytial layer after mid-blastula transition. At later blastula stages, the expression expands to the entire blastoderm margin. During gastrulation, dkk1-expressing cells are confined to the embryonic shield and later to the anterior axial mesendoderm, prospective prechordal plate. Embryos, in which dkk1 was ectopically expressed, exhibited enlarged forebrain, eyes, and axial rnesendoderm such as prechordal plate and notochord, dkk1 expression in the dorso.anterior mesendoderm during gastrulation was prominently reduced in zebrafish mutants bozozok (boz), squint (sqt), and one-eyed pinhead (oep), which all display abnormalities in the formation and function of the Spemann organizer and axial mesendoderm, dkk1 expression was normal in these embryos during the blastula period, indicating that zygotic functions of these genes are required for maintenance but not establishment of dkk1 expression. Overexpression of dkk1 suppressed defects in the development of forebrain, eyes, and notochord in boz mutants. Overexpression of dkk1 promoted anterior neuroectoderm development in the embryos injected with antivin RNA, which lack most of the mesoderm and endoderm, suggesting that Dkk1 can affect regionalization of neuroectoderm independently of dorso-anterior mesendoderm. These data indicate that Dkk1, expressed in dorsal mesendoderm, functions in the formation of both the anterior nervous system and the axial mesendoderm in zebrafish.