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Many neurodegenerative diseases including frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), Lewy body disease (LBD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), etc., show colocalized deposits of TDP-43 and α-synuclein (αS) aggregates. To understand whether these colocalizations are driven by specific molecular interactions between the two proteins, we previously showed that the prion-like C-terminal domain of TDP-43 (TDP-43PrLD) and αS synergistically interact to form neurotoxic heterotypic amyloids in homogeneous buffer conditions. However, it remains unclear if αS can modulate TDP-43 present within liquid droplets and biomolecular condensates called stress granules (SGs). Here, using cell culture and in vitro TDP-43PrLD – RNA liquid droplets as models along with microscopy, nanoscale AFM-IR spectroscopy, and biophysical analyses, we uncover the interactions of αS with phase-separated droplets. We learn that αS acts as a Pickering agent by forming clusters on the surface of TDP-43PrLD – RNA droplets. The aggregates of αS on these clusters emulsify the droplets by nucleating the formation of heterotypic TDP-43PrLD amyloid fibrils, structures of which are distinct from those derived from homogenous solutions. Together, these results reveal an intriguing property of αS to act as a Pickering agent while interacting with SGs and unmask the hitherto unknown role of αS in modulating TDP-43 proteinopathies. This article presents a hitherto unknown role of a-Synuclein protein to function as a Pickering agent for TDP-43-RNA biomolecular condensates to emulsify them towards heterotypic amyloid fibrils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vortex motion of a dust cloud was experimentally observed in unmagnetized cogenerated dusty plasma in different experimental parameters. Particle image velocimetry analysis demonstrated that several vortex zones exist in the dust cloud at relatively low pressures (0.06 mbar (or 6 Pa)–0.08 mbar (or 8 Pa)) and low discharge voltages (peak‐to‐peak voltage 540–560 V), whereas in relatively high pressure (0.4 mbar (or 40 Pa)–0.7 mbar (or 70 Pa)) and high discharge voltage (peak‐to‐peak voltage 690–740 V), dust vortices formed in dense dust cloud with background plasma fluctuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stature estimation from the skeletal remains bears immense importance in the forensic sciences. Along with the conventionally used long bones, the humerus, femur, tibia, etc.; the ulna also has been used for the said purpose since 1952. Though studies which had highlighted the stature estimation in Bengalee males were carried on earlier, in females, this has still not been uncovered. Objective: An attempt was made to formulate a linear regression equation for the estimation of the stature of living adult Bengalee females from the lengths of their ulna. Method: This study was conducted in the Burdwan Medical College Hospital on 300 subjects who were chosen from among the patients and their lady attendants in the Gynaecology OPD. The height was measured from the crown to the heel and the length of the ulna was measured from the tip of the olecranon process to the tip of the styloid process. The documented data was calculated by the standard statistical software. Result: The parameters were tabulated and statistically analyzed. The correlation coefficient (r) was found to be 0.82 (p=0.002) for the left ulna with stature and it was 0.67 (p=0.001) for the right ulna with stature. Supportive regression equations and scatter-plot diagrams could successfully interpret the height from the ulnar length in females. Conclusion: The ulna being almost a percutaneous bone, it can be used for the prediction of the height. The ulna length provides an accurate and reliable means in estimating the height of an individual. The regression formulae which were proposed in this study will be useful for clinicians, anatomists, archeologists, anthropologists and forensic scientists when such evidence provides the investigator the only opportunity to gauge that aspect of an individual's physical description. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]