TREK-1 and Best1 Channels Mediate Fast and Slow Glutamate Release in Astrocytes upon GPCR Activation

Woo, D.,Han, K.S.,Shim, J.,Yoon, B.E.,Kim, E.,Bae, J.,Oh, S.J.,Hwang, E.,Marmorstein, Alan D.,Bae, Y.,Park, J.Y.,Lee, C. Cell Press ; MIT Press 2012 Cell Vol.151 No.1

Astrocytes release glutamate upon activation of various GPCRs to exert important roles in synaptic functions. However, the molecular mechanism of release has been controversial. Here, we report two kinetically distinct modes of nonvesicular, channel-mediated glutamate release. The fast mode requires activation of G<SUB>αi</SUB>, dissociation of G<SUB>βγ</SUB>, and subsequent opening of glutamate-permeable, two-pore domain potassium channel TREK-1 through direct interaction between G<SUB>βγ</SUB> and N terminus of TREK-1. The slow mode is Ca<SUP>2+</SUP> dependent and requires G<SUB>αq</SUB> activation and opening of glutamate-permeable, Ca<SUP>2+</SUP>-activated anion channel Best1. Ultrastructural analyses demonstrate that TREK-1 is preferentially localized at cell body and processes, whereas Best1 is mostly found in microdomains of astrocytes near synapses. Diffusion modeling predicts that the fast mode can target neuronal mGluR with peak glutamate concentration of 100 μM, whereas slow mode targets neuronal NMDA receptors at around 1 μM. Our results reveal two distinct sources of astrocytic glutamate that can differentially influence neighboring neurons.

LIVING PLANTS TO IMPROVE INDOORAIR QUALITY

R.A. Wood,M.D.Burchett,R.L.Orwell 韓國植物 ㆍ人間 ㆍ環境學會 1998 인간식물환경학회지 Vol.1 No.1

몇몇 널리 퍼져있는 대기오염 물질들이 많은 사람들에게 심각한 건강문제를 계속해서 초래하고 있다. 사실 거의 모든 사람들이 위험에 노출되어 있다고 해도 과언이 아니다. 외부공기에서 발견되고있는 대부분의 오염물질들이 실내공기에서도 발견되있으나 외부공기보다 실내에서 더 집중되어 있다. 따라서 실내공기의 호흡이 인간의 많은 오염물질에 대한 조출에의 주된 결정요소라는 것이 인정되었다. (Krzyzanowski. 1995). 식물들이 그들의 일반적인 생리작용에 의해 많은 잠재적인 유독성의 환경화학물질들은 대사시킬수 있을 거라는 증거들이 증가하고 있다. (Sanderman. 1992, Dennis et at. 1997) 켄차야자를 실내식물구조의 모델로한 지금까지의 연구는 (Burchett et al. 1997, Wood et al. 1997) 식물이 실내공기속의 소실되기 쉬운 기관적 오염물질의 최대 노출 수준을 수차례 제거하는 능력을 가지고 있다는 사실을 보여주고 있다. Some widespread air pollutants continue to pose serious public health risks for many poeple, in fact nearly everyone is at risk. Many pollutants found in outdoor air are found in indoor air but at a higher concentration than outdoors, consequently it is acknowledged that inhalation of indoor airis the major determinant of human exposure to many pollutants (Krzyzanowski, 1995), There is increasing evidence that plants may be able to metabolize many potentially toxic environmental chemicals as part of their normal physiology (Sanderman 1992:Dennis et at, 1997). Work to date (Burchett et at, 1997, Wood et al, 1997), has shown that Kentia palm as a model for indoor plant system, has the capacity to remove several times the maximum occupational exposure levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air.

Summary of United Kingdom Trade Controls

Trevor Wood,이상모 한국안보통상학회 2007 안보통상연구 Vol.1 No.2

Trevor Wood is Chief Operating Officer of Interexport Management Systems (IMS) based in London, UK. IMS are involved in a range of export control training activities worldwide and support the US and UK governments in their work. IMS has also developed the Checker tools for the UK (see http://www.ecochecker.co.uk) and undertook and Impact Assessment Study for the European Commission on possible changes to the EU Dual Use Items Regulation 1334/200 (see http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/april/tradoc_127589.2.pdf). Trevor spent 9 years at the Export Control Organization in the UK, initially as a Technical Officer involved in developing the first EU Dual Use List and then as ‘Head of the Licensing Group’which involved managing all aspects of export licence processing in the UK. Trevor can be contacted at ‘twood@interexport.co.uk’ or at +44 20 8554 3435.

TOUGH LISTENING: A CROSS-CULTURAL EXPLORATION OF STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE LISTENING WHEN IT IS DIFFICULT

Charles M. Wood,Yuhui Gao,Nitin Joshi,Upinder Dhar,P Narayana Reddy,Santosh Dhar,Ashwini Sharma,Nicholas Wood,Xiaoning Liang,Adrien Bouchet,Jim Zboja,Theo Lynn,Graham Hunt 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2016 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2016 No.7

Well-developed listening skills are crucial to success in the marketing profession. Poor listening skills have been rated as the most important contributing factor to salesperson failure (Ingram et al., 1992). Listening errors can result in conflicts, missed business opportunities, alienated relationships, and a waste of time and money (Bergeron & Laroche, 2009). Recognizing the importance of effective listening, organizations such as Pfizer, Ford, IBM have introduced listening training programs for all their personnel (Shepherd et al., 1997). A number of definitions exist for “listening” (e.g., Bergeron & Laroche, 2009). From the marketing perspective, this paper adopts a well-accepted listening definition as “the cognitive process of actively sensing, interpreting, evaluating and responding to the verbal and nonverbal messages of present or potential customers” (Castleberry & Shepherd, 1993, p.36). Prior research has underscored the importance of “active listening” strategies such as active empathetic listening (Drollinger et al., 2006; Bodie, 2011); adaptive selling (Spiro & Weitz, 1990); and listening across cultures (Imhof & Janusik, 2006). However, despite its importance, neither marketing students nor professionals receive coaching or instruction for situations when listening is particularly difficult – i.e., when we are required to listen carefully to another person in the presence of hindrances to communication (distractions, inattention, poor delivery). Salespeople, students, journalists, counselors … are often faced with the task of “tough listening” - when they must listen carefully to a person that is not communicating in an interesting or engaging manner, when the environment is full of distractions, or when they as listeners are fatigued. The major hindrances to effective listening have been well documented, but extant research that addresses how people might overcome those hindrances is scant. The purpose of this paper is to explore the range of strategies that people use to improve their comprehension and empathy of others when they wish to listen carefully but find it difficult to do so. The practice of effective listening is perhaps one of the most human and fundamental components of community, commerce, and culture. Several academic disciplines such as marketing, education, communication, and psychology have closely examined the listening process in an effort to understand and improve it.

Intraovarian vascular enhancement via stromal injection of platelet-derived growth factors: Exploring subsequent oocyte chromosomal status and in vitro fertilization outcomes

Wood, Samuel H.,Sills, E. Scott The Korean Society for Reproductive Medicine 2020 Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine Vol.47 No.2

The inverse correlation between maternal age and pregnancy rate represents a major challenge for reproductive endocrinology. The high embryo ploidy error rate in failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles reflects genetic misfires accumulated by older oocytes over time. Despite the application of different follicular recruitment protocols during IVF, gonadotropin modifications are generally futile in addressing such damage. Even when additional oocytes are retrieved, quality is frequently poor. Older oocytes with serious cytoplasmic and/or chromosomal errors are often harvested from poorly perfused follicles, and ovarian vascularity and follicular oxygenation impact embryonic chromosomal competency. Because stimulation regimens exert their effects briefly and immediately before ovulation, gonadotropins alone are an ineffective antidote to long-term hypoxic pathology. In contrast, the tissue repair properties (and particularly the angiogenic effects) of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are well known, with applications in other clinical contexts. Injection of conventional PRP and/or its components (e.g., isolated platelet-derived growth factors as a cell-free substrate) into ovarian tissue prior to IVF has been reported to improve reproductive outcomes. Any derivative neovascularity may modulate oocyte competence by increasing cellular oxygenation and/or lowering concentrations of intraovarian reactive oxygen species. We propose a mechanism to support intrastromal angiogenesis, improved follicular perfusion, and, crucially, embryo ploidy rescue. This last effect may be explained by mRNA upregulation coordinated by PRP-associated molecular signaling, as in other tissue systems. Additionally, we outline an intraovarian injection technique for platelet-derived growth factors and present this method to help minimize reliance on donor oocytes and conventional hormone replacement therapy.

Skybridges: A History and a View to the Near Future

Wood, Antony,Safarik, Daniel Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat Korea 2019 International journal of high-rise buildings Vol.8 No.1

As many architects and visionaries have shown over a period spanning more than a century, the re-creation of the urban realm in the sky through connections between buildings at height has a vast potential for the enrichment of our cities. To many it seems nonsensical that, although the $20^{th}$ and now $21^{st}$ century, have clearly seen a push towards greater height and urban density in our major urban centers, the ground-pavement level remains almost exclusively the sole physical plane of connection. As the world rapidly urbanizes, greater thought needs to be expended on how horizontal space can be developed at height. This paper briefly describes the history, present classifications and uses, and potential future development potential of skybridges between tall buildings.

Liver disease : When Drugs May be the Cause

Wood, Laurie J.,Powell, Lawrie W. Medical Publications Korea 1979 Medical Progress Vol.6 No.5

Systematic control of heteroatoms in donor-acceptor copolymers and its effects on molecular conformation and photovoltaic performance

Wood, Sebastian,Kim, Ji-Hoon,Wade, Jessica,Park, Jong Baek,Hwang, Do-Hoon,Kim, Ji-Seon The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016 Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for o Vol.4 No.34

<P>Heteroatom substitutions are an effective means of tuning the optoelectronic, conformational, and molecular packing properties of donor-acceptor conjugated copolymers, with a view to efficient photovoltaic performance. We investigate the effects of systematic sulfur/selenium substitutions into thiophene (donor) and benzothiadiazole (acceptor) units using complementary Raman spectroscopy, density functional theory, and X-ray diffraction to characterise the resulting copolymers. We find that, in each case, the heavy atom substitution is detrimental to photovoltaic performance and undertake to understand this in terms of fundamental optoelectronic properties of the copolymers. Specifically, we find that, due to mesomeric effects, the selenium atom donates electron density into the donor unit (selenophene) more strongly than sulfur, but also withdraws electron density more strongly from the benzene ring in the acceptor unit (benzoselenadiazole). In both cases, the selenium substitution reduces the optical energy gap but is unfavourable for intermolecular packing in thin films and so results in poor charge carrier mobility. We identify a complex interplay between the electronic properties of the substituted donor and acceptor units relating to the frontier molecular orbital energy levels, molecular conformation, and intermolecular packing of the copolymers. In particular, we find that the pairing of a strong acceptor unit with a weak donor unit results in relatively low electron density on the conjugated backbone, leading to high inter-unit torsion and weak optical absorption in the visible range. The methods and insights developed here have broad applicability to the design of other donor-acceptor copolymers for optoelectronic device applications.</P>

Assessment on Recovery of Cesium, Strontium, and Barium From Eutectic LiCl-KCl Salt With Liquid Bismuth System

Woods, Michael E.,Phongikaroon, Supathorn Korean Radioactive Waste Society 2020 방사성폐기물학회지 Vol.18 No.4

This study provides an assessment on a proposed method for separation of cesium, strontium, and barium using electrochemical reduction at a liquid bismuth cathode in LiCl-KCl eutectic salt, investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). CV studies were performed at temperatures of 723-823 K and concentrations of the target species up to 4.0wt%. Redox reactions occurring during potential sweeps were observed. Concentration of BaCl2 in the salt did not seem to influence the diffusivity in the studied concentration range up to 4.0wt%. The presence of strontium in the system affected the redox reaction of lithium; however, there were no distinguishable redox peaks that could be measured. Impedance spectra obtained from EIS methods were used to calculate the exchange current densities of the electroactive active redox couple at the bismuth cathode. Results show the rate-controlling step in deposition to be the mass transport of Cs+ ions from the bulk salt to the cathode surface layer. Results from SEM-EDS suggest that Cs-Bi and Sr-Bi intermetallics from LiCl-KCl salt are not thermodynamically favorable.

Dense Downtown vs. Suburban Dispersed: A Pilot Study on Urban Sustainability

Wood, Antony,Du, Peng Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat Korea 2017 International journal of high-rise buildings Vol.6 No.2

This paper presents the initial findings of a ground-breaking two-year CTBUH-funded research project investigating the real environmental and social sustainability of people's lifestyles in a number of high-rise residential towers in downtown Chicago, and a comparable number of low rise homes in suburban Oak Park, Chicago - based on actual energy bills and other real data. The study is ground-breaking because, to date, similar studies have been mostly based on very large data sets of generalized data regarding whole-city energy consumption, or large-scale transport patterns, which often misses important nuances. This study has thus prioritized quality of real data (based on around 250 households in both high rise and low rise case studies), over quantity. In both urban and suburban cases, the following factors have been assessed: (i) home operational energy use, (ii) embodied energy of the dwelling, (iii) home water consumption, (iv) mobility and transport movements, (v) urban/suburban Infrastructure, and (vi) quality of life. The full results of this seminal study will be published in the form of a CTBUH Research Report publication in 2017. Presented below is an overview of the initial (and, currently, unverified) findings of the research, together with the limitations of the study that should be taken into account, as well as future plans for developing this important pilot study.