Abstract, "En face examination of rat aortas reveals high levels of phospho-Smad1/5 in ECs of the straight segment of thoracic aorta and the inner, but not the outer, curvature of aortic arch" should instead appear as "En face examination of rat aortas reveals high levels of phospho-Smad1/5 in ECs of the inner, but not the outer, curvature of aortic arch, nor the straight segment of thoracic aorta."www.pnas.org/cgi

The stabilities of salt-finger and plume convection, two major flows characterizing the fluid dynamics of NH4Cl solutions cooling from below, are investigated by theoretical and experimental approaches. A linear stability analysis is implemented to study theoretically the onset of salt-finger convection. Special emphasis is placed on the competition between different instability modes. It is found that in most of the cases considered, the neutral curve consists of two separated monotonic branches with a Hopf bifurcation branch in between; the right-hand monotonic branch corresponding to the boundary-layer-mode convection is more unstable than the left-hand monotonic branch corresponding to the mushy-layer mode. We also conducted a series of experiments covering wide ranges of bulk fluid concentration C∞ and bottom temperature TB to study the stability characteristics of plume convection. From the measurement of both temperature and concentration of the interstitial fluid in the mushy layer, we verify that during the progress of solidification the melt in the mush is in a thermodynamic equilibrium state except at the melt/mush interface where most of the solidification occurs. The critical Rayleigh number of the onset of plume convection is found to be Rccm = 1.1 × 107Π* (see (22)), where Π* is the permeability of the mush. This relation is believed to be valid up to supereutectic NH4Cl solutions.

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Chitin-based materials and their derivatives are receiving increased attention in tissue engineering because of their unique and appealing biological properties. In this review, we summarize the biomedical potential of chitin-based materials, specifically focusing on chitosan, in tissue engineering approaches for epithelial and soft tissues. Both types of tissues play an important role in supporting anatomical structures and physiological functions. Because of the attractive features of chitin-based materials, many characteristics beneficial to tissue regeneration including the preservation of cellular phenotype, binding and enhancement of bioactive factors, control of gene expression, and synthesis and deposition of tissue-specific extracellular matrix are well-regulated by chitin-based scaffolds. These scaffolds can be used in repairing body surface linings, reconstructing tissue structures, regenerating connective tissue, and supporting nerve and vascular growth and connection. The novel use of these scaffolds in promoting the regeneration of various tissues originating from the epithelium and soft tissue demonstrates that these chitin-based materials have versatile properties and functionality and serve as promising substrates for a great number of future applications.