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"Bahndwivici is an extinct genus of lizard known from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton discovered in rocks of the Green River Formation of Wyoming, United States. The skeleton is very similar to that of the modern Chinese crocodile lizard, Shinisaurus. Description Bahndwicivi is based on FMNH PR2260, a skeleton collected from the Thompson Ranch Locality of the Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation. It was described in 2006 by Jack Conrad. The type species is B. ammoskius. The genus name means "handsome in the water" in Shoshoni, a reference both to the animal's possible semiaquatic lifestyle and to the Shoshone people who once lived in the area. The specific name is a combination of the Ancient Greek words for sandy (ammos) and shade (skia), referring to its habitat. FMNH PR2260 is more or less complete, primarily lacking some bones from the rear of the skull. The skeleton is well-articulated, with numerous rows of osteoderms remaining in place beneath the tail, but is somewhat flattened. The animal appears to have been an adult when it died. It differs from Shinisaurus in a few details. For example, FMNH PR2260 had a proportionally longer snout and an additional tooth in the upper jaw, and its postorbital and postfrontal bones were not fused. Paleoecology Bahndwivici is one of several lizards known from the Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation. This rock unit represents part of Fossil Lake, the smallest and shortest-lived of three prehistoric lake systems that make up the Green River Formation. The lake sediments include a volcanic ash dating to 51.66 million years ago, during the Early Eocene. Fossils are abundant in the rocks of Fossil Lake, and illustrate a diverse assemblage of plants, bivalves, snails, crustaceans, insects, rays, bony fish, salamanders, turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodilians, birds, and mammals. References External links * Bahndwivici in the Paleobiology Database Category:Eocene reptiles of North America Category:Lizard genera Category:Eocene lizards Category:Eocene United States Category:Prehistoric reptile genera Category:Fossil taxa described in 2006 "
"Dermal fibroblasts are cells within the dermis layer of skin which are responsible for generating connective tissue and allowing the skin to recover from injury. Using organelles (particularly the rough endoplasmic reticulum), dermal fibroblasts generate and maintain the connective tissue which unites separate cell layers. Furthermore, these dermal fibroblasts produce the protein molecules including laminin and fibronectin which comprise the extracellular matrix. By creating the extracellular matrix between the dermis and epidermis, fibroblasts allow the epithelial cells of the epidermis to affix the matrix, thereby allowing the epidermal cells to effectively join together to form the top layer of the skin. Cell progenitors and analogs Dermal fibroblasts are derived from mesenchymal stem cells within the body. Like corneal fibroblasts, dermal fibroblast proliferation can be stimulated by the presence of fibroblast growth factor (FGF). Fibroblasts do not appear to be fully differentiated or specialized. After examining the CD markers of the fibroblast cells, researchers at BioMed Central discovered that these cell lack "distinctive markers" confirming that these cells can be further differentiated. One example of further differentiation of dermal fibroblasts is that upon injury, dermal fibroblasts can give rise to myofibroblasts, fibroblast cells with smooth muscle characteristics. Dermal cells differentiate into myofibroblasts by altering their actin gene expression (which is silenced in dermal fibroblasts). When dermal fibroblasts express actin, the cells can slowly contract. This contraction plays a critical role in wound healing and fibrosis. By pulling tissues closed differentiated myofibroblasts, seal the skin after an injury (thereby, preventing infection but inducing scar formation. Myofibroblasts can also be derived from non- fibroblast sources. Based on evidence of α-SMA expression from lung injuries, myofibroblasts can "arise de novo" directly from mesenchymal stem cells. Cell function and characteristics Unlike other fibroblast cell types, dermal fibroblasts are far less likely to change into other cell types. For example, when a dermal fibroblast and a corneal fibroblasts are placed in the same concentrations of fibroblast growth factor, dermal fibroblast will not differentiate or change. As noted by Dr. J. Lewis and Dr. A. Johnson authors of Microbiology of the Cell, "fibroblasts from the skin are different" and behave differently from other fibroblast cells to identical chemical stimuli. Furthermore, dermal fibroblasts are less likely to replicate in either in vivo and in vitro environments than are other fibroblast types. Dermal fibroblasts require far higher concentrations of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) in order to undergo cell replication. Dermal fibroblasts are responsible for creating the ECM which organizes the stratified squamous epithelial cells of the epidermis into a unified tissue. Furthermore, dermal fibroblasts create long fibrous bands of connective tissue which anchor the skin to the fascia of the body. Therefore, without dermal fibroblasts, the largest and heaviest organ would not tightly adhere to body's frame. Clinical Applications Since dermal fibroblasts play a critical role in wound healing, researchers are attempting to generate mature dermal fibroblasts to repair second and third degree burns. When the body sustains a third degree burn, the skin's dermal layer is completely destroyed by heat (and the all fibroblast cells within the wound site perish. Without fibroblasts, the wound site cannot regenerate extracellular matrix and epidermis skin cells cannot proliferate over the wound site. Therefore, without dermal fibroblasts the skin cannot properly recover from injury. Yet, by differentiating mesenchymal stem cells from other regions of the body and injecting them into the wound site, scientists can restore dermal fibroblasts to burned regions of the body. By restoring fibroblasts to the burned regions, the body can restore the ECM within the wound site and recover from the injury. As noted "The injured dermis is also repaired by the recruitment and proliferation of fibroblasts producing extracellular matrix and keratinocyte growth promoting factors." Similarly, FGF is being inserted into fibrin sealants to enhance the long term repair and sealing of tissue. FGF-1 has been experimentally shown to encourage the body’s own adhesive tissue to develop and effectively seal the wound (thereby stymieing infection and mitigating scar formation). Using FGF stimulate fibroblast activity is a more effective means of sealing tissue than current tissue sealants due to the robust nature of collagen which makes up connective tissue. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama examined the adhesive properties of fibrin tissue adhesives. The tests found that fibrin adhesives even at its intended medical concentration (29 mg/mL at the wound site) had shear strength of only 17.6 kiloPascals. Furthermore, another study performed at the University of California determined that the modulus (the stress/strain) of fibrin adhesives was on average 53.56 kPA. To seal together tissues the human body uses collagen and elastin to obtain superior shear strength. Type I collagen which includes collagen strands bundled into strong fibrils has a unique tri-helical structure which increases the proteins structural integrity. In fact, a study performed by the Department of Medicine in University College London experimentally determined that pure type I collagen has a modulus of 5 GPa to 11.5 GPa. Therefore, pure type I collagen has nearly one million times greater structural integrity than fibrin. Collagen is therefore much harder to deform than fibrin, and collagen fibers create much stronger bonds between tissues than strands of fibrin polymer. = Stem Cells = By generating adhesive proteins like fibronectin, fibroblasts are used within research laboratories to help to culture cells which typically demonstrate low survival rates in vitro. For example, fibroblasts have been utilized to increase the survival rate for human stem cells which easily undergo cell apoptosis. As noted by researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, dermal cell "human keratinocyte [stem cells] could be propagated in vitro when culture on fibroblast feeder cells." In addition to improving the culture and proliferation of stem cells, dermal fibroblasts can also become stem cells. Although dermal cells demonstrate less plasticity than other fibroblast cell types, researchers can still turn these cells into induced pluripotent cells (IPCs). As noted by researchers within the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, researchers obtained fibroblasts from a mouse with sickle cell anemia and, using a virus, "reprogrammed these cells into pluripotent [stem cells], corrected the genetic deficiency by homologous recombination, and redirected these pluripotent cells toward the hematopoietic lineages, and transplanted these engineered cells to a lethally irradiated mice." The animals which received the fibroblast stem cell treatment exhibited increased activity levels, indicating recovery from the disorder. See also *Fibroblasts *Corneal keratocyte *Stem Cells *Induced pluripotent stem cell *Cluster of differentiation *extracellular matrix *dermis *hypodermis References External links * Category:Skin anatomy "
"The Minnesota Correctional Facility - Red Wing is a state juvenile correctional facility located in Red Wing, Minnesota. As of July 2010, it housed 111 juvenile males, operating at about half of its licensed capacity. The prison also houses over 40 adult male prisoners in minimum-security, reentry housing. Built in 1889 as the Minnesota State Training School, the original Romanesque building was designed by Warren B. Dunnell, the architect of a number of historical public buildings in Minnesota, including the Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children, the Fergus Falls State Hospital Complex, the Minnesota Soldiers' Home Historic District, and the Pillsbury Academy Campus Historic District. American serial killer, rapist, arsonist, robber, and burglar Carl Panzram (June 28, 1892[1] – September 5, 1930) alleges that he was repeatedly beaten, tortured, and raped by Red Wing staff members while he was incarcerated here between the ages of 11 and 13. The institution served as the subject of "Walls of Red Wing", a folk and protest song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a Red Wing staff member was one of the first two confirmed cases of the virus in the Minnesota prison system. References External links *Minnesota Correctional Facility - Red Wing Category:Prisons in Minnesota Category:Buildings and structures in Goodhue County, Minnesota Category:Prisons on the National Register of Historic Places Category:Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Minnesota Category:Red Wing, Minnesota Category:1889 establishments in Minnesota "