in partnership with New York State Senator Kevin Parker and the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA hosted a “Swim 1922” Dry Clinic as part of National Healthy Kids Day - a free family-friendly event aimed at promoting life-saving water safety education and celebrating the YMCA's annual initiative focused on youth wellness.  the event sought to raise awareness about drowning prevention and equip families with essential water safety knowledge as summer approaches a signature initiative of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority addresses the racial disparities in swimming ability and drowning rates Statistics from USA Swimming show that 64% of African Americans lack requisite swimming skills and Black youth are more likely to experience drowning with rates nearly five times higher than their white peers.  Hosting this clinic in partnership with the YMCA and Senator Kevin Parker aims to provide communities of color with culturally relevant and accessible water safety education The dry clinic offered a unique experience to help participants gain confidence and better prepare for safe swimming practices during the summer months.  who has been a consistent advocate for public health and youth development expressed his continued support for the program: “Equipping our children and families with the tools they need to stay safe in and around water is not just a seasonal concern— it’s a year-round responsibility I’m proud to partner once again with Sigma Gamma Rho and the YMCA to bring these life-saving resources to the heart of our community.” Senator Parker’s dedication to water safety is personal as he learned to swim as an adult at the YMCA and understands firsthand the importance of aquatics education This event is part of the YMCA’s National Healthy Kids Day an annual initiative encouraging kids and families to stay active Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn district comprising sections of Flatbush he is the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and sits on the Senate Finance; Rules; Banks; Internet and Technology; and Budget and Revenue today revealed that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in March 2025 is 1.7 million The EV market grew by 29% in March 2025 compared to March 2024 and increased by 40% compared to February 2025.  has seen a strong rate of growth globally for the EV market had a record-breaking March as drivers continue to go electric The removal of subsidies in France has had a shrinking effect on sales which are down 18% forecasts are struggling to keep up with the rate of policy announcements under the current White House administration What is sure is that the electric vehicle market is already struggling to compete with ICE on cost so reductions in subsidies and hefty tariffs for a very international supply chain are guaranteed to have a cooling effect on the industry.”  Snapshot electric vehicle sales in Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024 The European EV market has grown at 22% YTD BEV sales in several countries are growing fast YTD The UK had a record number of EV sales in March 2025 with over 100,000 units sold for the first time A large volume of vehicle sales is expected in March (and September) in the UK due to the new registration plates the UK market still grew by 41% in March 2025 vs March 2024 The French market remains down YTD at -18% a direct result of the reduction in available incentives with BEVs down -5% and PHEVs by -47%.  President Trump announced a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and then in March a 25% tariff on all countries’ imports of automobiles and certain automobile parts with importers of automobiles under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) able to certify their US Content and systems so that the tariff will only apply to the value of their non-US content.   around three-fifths of EVs sold in the USA were domestically produced most of the remaining EV sales are manufactured in Japan OEMS may be able to absorb some of the tariff the levy will likely lead to a rise in price for US consumers in both the ICE and EV markets The landscape for the total passenger car market will change as a direct result of the tariffs especially from automakers in Korea and Japan as well as US automakers operating in Mexico that export a significant number of affordable models to the US market each year.  The Chinese market increased by 36% in Q1 2025 EV sales almost reach one million in March 2025 The ongoing tariffs between China and the US will have a limited impact on EV sales due to the small number of EV sales between the two countries The Model S and Model X from Tesla are exported from the US to China the price would almost double for these Tesla vehicles ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ was founded in 2018 by Managing Director Adam Panayi and is now the leading global research house for actionable intelligence into electric vehicle and battery markets associated technologies including motors and systems battery recycling and the wider energy and renewables markets.  In June 2024 Rho Motion merged with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence the world’s fastest-growing business at scale for lithium critical minerals and the energy transition.  Benchmark and Rho Motion form the world’s biggest platform for prices data and market intelligence dedicated to the full breadth of critical mineral and energy transition supply chains Find out more about Rho Motion and their upcoming events at: rhomotion.com the Hellcat going to the great dirt track in the sky The company made sure it was more powerful than the Ford Raptor's The T-Rex was a ridiculous truck but not at all practical for most truck things Stellantis’ brands have come out of the “Hellcat everything” stage and are now a little more mature I liked the ridiculous “How much engine can we stuff into a vehicle” approach Dodge It was fun to imagine boardrooms featuring trays of white powder and wide-pupiled execs eagerly signing off on anything that had the words “Hellcat” or “Demon” in it But eventually reality has to rear its ugly head and the party has to end At least the replacement for the ridiculousness of the TRX is an actual pickup truck that just happens to be able to go fast Off-road gear in the Ram RHO is usefully impressive There are 13 inches of suspension travel in front and 14 at the rear (33 and 35.5 cm) Ground clearance is very close to 12 inches (30.5 cm) Those numbers come thanks to 35-inch tires and a lot of suspension changes and a sport-tuned exhaust system finish the equipment list and equipped with enough plastic cladding to star in a Marvel movie and so much leather that even Rob Halford would blush The RHO also has the latest Uconnect infotainment interface and it’s a good step forward from what was already an industry-leading system The greatest differences between the TRX and the RHO is felt on the road The RHO is much more civilized and a lot less .. The RHO performs like a standard full-sized pickup truck in regular daily driving and it jumps from the light faster than a standard 1500 might But the RHO is a lot of fun and delivers the same kind of real-world off-road capability that the TRX did With less of the death-trap feeling the big T-Rex sometimes imparted The 2025 Ram 1500 RHO is a study of evolving maturity Product page: 2025 Ram 1500 RHO This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience Learn more about our use of your data by reading our Privacy Policy the Lake Forest College chapter of Nu Rho Psi hosted "Demure Perspectives on Social Media"—an interactive educational event exploring the nuanced relationship between the brain and social media Kapoor and Imomdodova crafted a detailed grant proposal mapping out the event's focus on educating students and faculty on the neuroscience behind social media addiction Henne advised the students throughout the grant proposal process and the students gained valuable insight into grant processes.  Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Hannah Carlson agreed to give a lecture on the neurobiology of addiction and social media use. The event also included a screening of the 2020 documentary The Social Dilemma which explores the psychological manipulation techniques used by social media and technology companies to create an addiction for social media users.  “We strongly believe that through projects and events like these we can raise awareness about the effects of social media among our peers,” Kapoor and Imomdodova said in a joint statement. “Our goal is not to discourage its use but rather to promote mindful usage that brings value and benefit it's essential to understand both the advantages and potential harms of social media Just as we manage our eating habits for better health we must also learn to manage our media consumption for our well-being.” The event highlighted the interdisciplinary importance of neuroscience and mental wellness in today’s digital world “One of the most valuable parts of this kind of event is getting students from a variety of different disciplines to engage with one another about these different topics in neuroethics,” Henne said “Interdisciplinary engagement is critical to events like this at the College.” Illinois 60045 847-234-3100 Admissions: 847-735-5000 “It was impactful to see how we each put our strengths to use in our situation-based training which later translated to actually dealing with real-life situations.” The arrival of January brings with it New Year’s resolutions for Washington and Lee’s sorority recruitment counselors the opportunity to welcome first-year women into the formal recruitment process for the six Panhellenic/Panhellenic-Associate sororities represented on W&L’s campus are representatives on W&L’s Panhellenic Association who have no contact with their own chapters during formal recruitment and are available to answer questions and guide participants through the recruitment process Ella Wallace ’26 served as this year’s vice president of recruitment counselors a key role in Panhellenic tasked with hiring and training the Rho Gammas organizing and overseeing the Rho Gamma program’s execution and serving as a Rho Gamma for sophomores going through recruitment an Atlanta native majoring in engineering integrated with biology and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma said her recruitment experience inspired her to pursue the role “I felt supported during my entire recruitment process by my Rho Gammas and it transformed a typically stressful experience into a manageable and even fun one,” Wallace said W&L has six Panhellenic/Panhellenic-Associate member organizations that conduct their formal recruitment in early January: Alpha Delta Pi The Tau Zeta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and the Tau Omega Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) which governs nine historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities collectively known as the “Divine Nine”; these organizations hold membership intake processes at different times throughout the academic year  Greek life remains a strong component of W&L’s campus life experience with approximately 72% percent of female students on campus participating in sorority life on campus and 66% of males joining a fraternity director of leadership development and student engagement oversees recruiting and training Rho Gammas during the Spring and Fall Terms and said this year’s cohort was extremely passionate about appropriately guiding and supporting students who planned to participate in the 2025 Panhellenic Formal Recruitment “Rho Gammas are incredibly instrumental in successfully executing a Panhellenic Formal Recruitment,” Beard said “Not only are Rho Gammas supporting participating students through the process which can be an extremely stressful process for some assisting Panhellenic’s Executive Committee with lining up the students in alphabetical order caring for certain students who may have individual needs and are assisting students at the end of each day of recruitment with their ranking process; all while also answering questions from their participating students throughout the day and collaborating closely with the members of Panhellenic Exec.” a business administration major from Washington said she was inspired to become a Rho Gam to serve as another friendly resource for first-year students “so I wanted to put my counseling experience to good use.” Boatwright said the training Rho Gams received before entering the recruitment process was invaluable Rho Gammas receive extensive training to carry out the responsibilities of their roles including review of the Panhellenic recruitment rules and other National Panhellenic Conference policies and unanimous agreements review of the NPHC council and organizations which later translated to actually dealing with real-life situations,” Boatwright said a Chi Omega from San Diego majoring in cognitive and behavioral science and double minoring in data science and poverty and human capability studies said her favorite Rho Gamma moment was handing out bids on the final day of recruitment Students who match with a Panhellenic/Panhellenic-Associate organization at the end of the process receive a bid from that same organization inviting them to become a member “Watching the girls tear open the envelopes and screaming with excitement was so rewarding,” Hackman said I express sincere gratitude to the students who serve as Rho Gammas,” Beard said it also requires a great deal of time and energy I find personal reward in seeing Rho Gammas continue to offer support to students even well after the formal recruitment process has concluded I especially appreciate hearing the positive impacts that Rho Gammas can have on the participating students and how their care and guidance made all the difference.” The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. and Impact is delighted to welcome Sooah Rho as our new Associate Director Sooah brings a wealth of experience in social impact consulting and education that will help advance the Program's ambition to establish a leading platform for social impact insights and innovation at Yale and beyond where she worked on the impact advisory and investment teams crafting strategies to drive change in workforce development and education She has previously built collaborative coalitions among 80+ NYC nonprofits through the Student Success Network advocated for policies supporting working and middle-class families with CT Voices for Children and founded the Elevating Youth Voice program to promote community-centered decision-making Sooah taught 10th-grade English at Oakland Unity High School and was recognized as Teacher of the Year by the Office of Oakland Charter Schools in 2016 Sooah holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and earned a Bachelor’s degree from USC’s Annenberg and Cinematic Arts programs where she collaborated with BBC correspondents to report on North and South Korean relations with an emphasis on humanitarian aid and social support for North Korean defectors Her leadership has been further recognized through her appointments to Teach for America’s Alumni Board Leaders for Educational Equity’s Emerging Policy Leaders and Princeton’s Emerging Leaders in Nonprofit one of the Brand’s authorized traders in Europe will present the new Ram 1500 RHO to the European public for the first time at the Brussels Motor Show Redefining off-road adventures for European customers the RHO model offers exceptional performance The Brand will also showcase the Ram 1500 Laramie Night Edition distinguished by its sleek black aesthetics and refined interior the five-link rear coil suspension improves handling and ride comfort offering 40% more articulation than traditional leaf springs to maintain control over rough surfaces a 5-cm ride height increase over the standard Ram 1500 lineup the RHO effortlessly navigates challenging obstacles A BorgWarner full-time active transfer case and a Dana 60 rear axle with an electronic locking differential provide the strength and stability needed for rugged terrains the Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive performance shocks coupled with Ram's Active Terrain Dynamics system deliver a smooth ride and precise handling a towing capacity at the maximum level in Europe — giving customers the possibility to tow up to 3.5 tons — and up to 81 cm of water fording and an hourglass body shape enhance the truck’s rugged appeal and integrated skid plates are designed to optimize performance while reinforcing its commanding presence with 12-way power leather front seats including memory settings a new massage function and embroidered logos Attention to details takes one step further with available hand-wrapped instrument panels a custom center console badge with vehicle-specific VIN and an RHO badge on the passenger’s side instrument panel Designed to be the most technologically advanced pickup ever the Ram 1500 RHO offers an array of innovative features combined with the fifth generation of the Uconnect system which is five times faster than the previous generation The RHO boasts over 50 inches of combined available digital display screens This includes a 14.5-inch central touchscreen with split-screen capability and a class-exclusive 10.25-inch passenger screen with functions of co-pilot entertainment and view of the exterior vehicle cameras It also features a full-color Head Up Display (HUD) with a highly customizable interface while the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster shows nearly two dozen different menus In-cabin technology is further elevated with class-exclusive dual wireless phone charging and a premium 900-watt Harman Kardon sound system with 19 speakers and a 10-inch subwoofer for an immersive sound experience The Ram 1500 RHO will be available in European dealerships from early 2025 The Laramie Night Edition offers a premium interior equipped with the Laramie Level 2 Equipment Group featuring the Uconnect 5 system with a 14.4-inch touchscreen a 10.2-inch front passenger screen and a 19-speaker Harman Kardon premium sound system Comfort is elevated with heated and ventilated front seats a heated steering wheel and a dual-pane sunroof the Laramie Night Edition stands out with its timeless Diamond Black Crystal exterior Sport Performance Hood and body-color bumpers badges and dual exhaust tips create a striking The 22-inch black-painted aluminum wheels with all-season tires and black side steps add a bold The model is completed with a Power Tailgate In celebration of Klintberg & Way's 50th anniversary a Special Laramie Night Edition will be exclusively unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show The RAM 1500 Laramie Night KW 50th Anniversary features custom body stripes branded floor mats and two versatile accessories designed for both work and leisure: the Backflip tonneau cover and the innovative Swing Case storage boxes These features make the model ideal for everyday use This special edition will be available in Belgium starting early 2025 with an exclusive Brussels Motor Show offer for professionals The discount applies to customers with a VAT or company number with prices starting at €70,400 (VAT excluded) The Ram connectivity system includes real-time vehicle localization enabling drivers to track their vehicle’s location at any time The system also offers geofencing capabilities allowing owners to set virtual boundaries and receive alerts when their vehicle enters or exits designated areas Ram connectivity provides automatic theft alerts and facilitates direct communication with law enforcement It also offers 24/7 emergency assistance and notifications for critical driving behaviors such as speeding Additional features include accident notifications valet parking mode and fuel/battery level monitoring The EV industry has experienced remarkable growth far beyond what many envisioned a decade ago. In 2024, total EV sales surpassed 17 million units worldwide, marking a 25% year-on-year increase new EV companies emerged and rapidly scaled into multibillion-dollar enterprises a closer look at their financials reveals that while a select few have reached operational profitability In this article Rho Motion has examined the operating income ratio (operating income/revenue) This figure is a reflection of the core profitability of automakers operations as it indicates how efficiently each company turns revenue into operating profit after covering production and overhead costs only two other EV brands have reached operational profitability Li Auto and Seres Group (based on Q1-Q3 financials 2024) the latter encompassing sub-brands such as Seres Li Auto and Seres Group are the first non-vertically integrated EV companies to reach profitability Which companies are still yet to reach profitability many well-established pure EV brands including Zeekr many pure EV brands continue to operate at significant losses as they scale Lucid recorded a -374% operating margin in 2024 though this marks an improvement from over -500% in 2023 Lucid benefits from substantial backing by the Saudi Public Investment Fund which enables it to sustain such large negative margins Rivian and Polestar rely on significant external funding to operate with substantial negative operating income ratios When will the EV market reach widespread profitability A clear trend is emerging profitability is approaching for EV makers with Seres Group achieving profitability for the first time The key driver of these improvements is scale Every company with a negative operating margin in 2024 experienced higher sales compared to 2023 and Xpeng are likely to reach profitability in the near future If you want to find out more about financing the energy transition, see our monthly report here, or to find out more about EV OEMs see our reports here Alternatively, get in touch the leading electric vehicle (EV) research house today revealed that following the fourth successive global monthly record of passenger car and light-duty EV sales December 2024 resulted in over 1.9 million EV units sold a growth of 5% on the previous month’s record and all major regions grew monthly and yearly in December 2024 global EV sales grew by 25% in 2024 compared to 2023 The European market ended the year down -3% compared to 2023 as the EU & EEA market enters a testing year in 2025 due to emission standards coming into effect The US and Canada market grew by 9% in 2024 helped by the vehicle tax credits that incoming President Trump has announced he plans to cut EV sales have grown by 40% in 2024 compared to 2023 with another monthly record for EV sales reached in December 2024 with over 1.3 million units sold Snapshot electric vehicle sales in 2024 vs 2023 commented: “After the record-breaking year in 2023 for EV sales we entered 2024 with some optimism about the market despite headwinds While overall the global market has boomed Europe’s market has shrunk 3% and China’s grown by 40%.” “What is clear is that Government carrots and sticks are working the 9% growth can mostly be attributed to consumer subsidies and over in the UK the ZEV mandate has highly incentivised manufacturers to push their low emission cars Meanwhile the removal of subsidies in Germany had a devastating impact on the whole European market The EU & EFTA & UK market finished 2024 down by 3% after selling over 300,000 EV units in December 2024 the European market increased by 12% month-on-month and by 1% year-on-year The UK market had the most battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales with over 400,000 units sold surpassing Germany’s YTD sales towards the end of the year The German EV market was down in 2024 vs 2023 following the removal of subsides at the end of 2023 ultimately having a negative impact on sales Norway continues to have the highest penetration rate in the world and reached over 90% passenger car and light-duty EV sales monthly penetration towards the end of 2024 The Chinese market grew by 2% month-on-month in December 2024 and by 36% year-on-year A huge part of growth in China came from PHEVs in 2024 The rise in demand for range-extender electric vehicles (REEVs) has played a significant role in the growth of PHEVs in China a technology that has yet to come to Western markets in mass The Chinese market benefited from its car trade-in scheme BYD’s sales kept growing throughout the year with the major manufacturer easily selling the most EVs in China in 2024 as just over one-third of new EVs sold are BYD models BYD has over 40 unique models in China across four EV brands BYD is also planning to start production at its facility in Hungary in 2025 as it looks to gain market share in the European EV market The US & Canada market ended the year on a high with record EV sales in December 2024 of over 185,000 units sold The North American market has consistently grown by ~10% throughout the year and finishes with a total of 1.8 million units sold in 2024 The EV market in the US will be tested in 2025 with the threat of the EPA emission standards or EV tax credit potentially being reversed both of which are essential drivers of EV adoption in the US Despite this risk to EV adoption in the US there are still many facilities being built across the supply chain for EVs and EV batteries with some being funded from the US Department of Energy (DoE) most recently being Rivian’s USD6.6 billion conditional loan from the DoE’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ today revealed that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in February 2025 is 1.2 million The EV market grew by almost 50% compared to February 2024 “It’s been a solid start to the year for EV sales globally with a 50% bump in February compared to the previous year Much of the growth continues to come from China which are seeing a pure electric renaissance this year compared to the hybrid love affair of 2024 shows no signs of slowing down their home and international expansion.  battery electric cars are flavour of the month with a leap of 29% year-to-date France’s weight tax on plug-in hybrids has had a big impact on those vehicle sales which are down almost 50% so far this year Manufacturers might be relieved that the EU has introduced flexibility into the emissions standards but they will still need to put their foot to the pedal to avoid large fines.  the region is seeing steady growth of 20% so far this year American drivers bought 30% more electric vehicles than they had by this time last year making use of the final months of IRA tax breaks before the incentives are expected to be pulled later this year.” Snapshot electric vehicle sales in Jan-Feb 2025 vs Jan-Feb 2024 The European EV market continues to grow at 20% YTD The Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) market takes the lion’s share of this growth at 29% YTD with Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) modestly growing at 2% YTD with the exception of France which remains down due to the introduction of a weight tax on PHEVs which began in January 2025 which has led to a decrease in PHEVs by 48% YTD The German and UK BEV market continues strong sales with both over 40% YTD The EU Commission has proposed flexibility for car and van manufacturers meeting CO2 standards The flexibility would allow these manufacturers to meet these targets by averaging performance over three years helping prevent large fines that several car manufacturers were expected to face.  The Chinese market increased by 76% in February 2025 compared to the same month last year Chinese New Year was in the middle of February last year compared to this year where it was at the beginning of the month that still show the Chinese market up by 35% so far this year in China BEV sales have grown by 46% and PHEVs by 22% BYD have already sold over 130,000 EVs overseas as it continues its global expansion the tariffs have yet to deter BYD as monthly sales figures continue to rise with the Mexican market more than doubling due to the rise in Chinese EV imports that started in bulk last year The US saw a 28% growth in battery electric vehicle sales growth so far this year While the US Clean Vehicle Tax Credit is yet to be removed the first Bill has been introduced to remove the tax credit The Eliminating Lavish Incentives to Electric (ELITE) Vehicles Act (S 541) repeals the credits for new and used EVs removes the ‘leasing loophole’ and eliminates the EV charging station tax credit It is expected that it would take several months to remove the tax credit and consumers are likely to try to take advantage of it before it goes has had a rocky start to the year with January’s sales showing struggles in Europe (down –47%) and China (-15%) This compares to those same BEV markets seeing a growth of 33% and 16% respectively the UK and Belgium were particularly badly hit seeing a 63% dip Rho Motion, the leading electric vehicle (EV) research house, are today revealing its headline forecasts for the 2025 EV market in its ‘What to Watch’ webinar Analysts predict the global market will see another year of growth (+18%) with over 20 million electric vehicles sold.  Snapshot electric vehicle sales 2025 predictions vs 2024:  commented: “If 2024 was the year of elections The EU is seeing emission targets come into place Trump’s presidency promises change for the US and China continues the popular trade-in scheme we anticipate a steady year of growth across all regions “China’s grip on the global market isn’t going anywhere this year with several new plants set to open around the world Car manufacturer bosses in the EU will be experiencing some sleepless nights in 2025 as long-anticipated emissions targets come into effect this year and few are adequately prepared with billions of euros of fines on the line President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda is in full swing and though the removal of EV tax credits is going to impact the long-term market little change will be seen this year as the electrification of vehicles is here to stay.” While 2024 was a rocky year for the European market which ended the year down -3% compared to 2023 Rho Motion experts anticipate a bounce back in 2025 thanks to the new emissions standards taking effect Analysts foresee a 15% growth compared to 2024 or 13% increase compared to 2023 many car manufacturers are set to launch new smaller and cheaper EV models to boost uptake cornering the sub €25,000 market car manufacturers are still predicted to miss this year’s EU targets in quite some way and could face up to €10 billion in fines between them Chinese manufacturers will tighten their grip on the global EV market as they open new overseas production facilities and continue their expansion into overseas markets Brazil will see EV production facilities from both BYD and Great Wall Motors start operation BYD is also set to begin production in Hungary in 2025 the continuation of the trade-in scheme will provide consistently high growth The next stage for the mature EV market in China is for more consolidation of manufacturers and beyond this year we can expect the country to tip over the 50% market saturation of EVs vs ICE (internal combustion engines).  which experienced a boost to the EV market in late 2024 is bracing itself for a wildly different legislative background under the Trump presidency manufacturers’ plans are already underway for the year the impact of new legislation will be minimal this year the electrification of the car market will continue.  battery recycling and the wider energy and renewables markets.   critical minerals and the energy transition.   data and market intelligence dedicated to the full breadth of critical mineral and energy transition supply chains.  Find out more about Rho Motion and their upcoming events at: rhomotion.com  China is the undisputed global powerhouse of the EV industry, leading both in domestic sales and overall production. As the global EV market has expanded, in 2024 over 17 million units were sold Chinese manufacturers have aggressively pursued international opportunities offering affordable vehicles that often undercut local competitors Europe, by contrast, has been more open to Chinese EVs but remains cautious about protecting its domestic automotive industry. In 2024, following an anti-subsidy investigation, the EU introduced variable BEV import tariffs on specific Chinese automakers of up to an additional 35.3% in countries without a strong domestic auto industry Chinese EVs have rapidly gained market share This is especially evident in neighbouring Asian countries and in South & Central America where Chinese manufacturers are expanding aggressively by beginning to buildout production capacity and capitalising on the demand for affordable electric vehicles This data is taken from our EV Sales Quarterly Outlook. To find out more, and to request a demo of the report, click here Energy storage installations surpassed expectations in 2024 with over 200GWh of capacity installed worldwide This marks yet another record year for the industry growing 53% year on year The majority of this growth was driven by utility scale installations Senior BESS analyst at Rho Motion commented “Once again China led the way with new deployments in 2024 accounting for over 108GWh of new grid-scale capacity Across the total market China’s capacity accounted for 59% of total BESS deployed.” Europe and North America also saw strong growth in grid scale installations growing 110% and 66% respectively Historically growth in Europe has been small new markets showed signs of opening up boosting deployments in the country Growth in North America remained heavily localised with California alone accounting for half of the total 40GWh installed in the region both commercial & industrial (C&I) and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) These markets remained spread globally with China and Europe accounting for just under 30% of the total market respectively in Europe growth in this market showed signs of stagnation subsidies supported strong growth in Europe’s market but a combination of stable electricity pricing and reduced subsidies has led to this slowdown in growth LFP’s dominance grew throughout 2024 accounting for 87% of total energy storage installations other technologies such as flow batteries and sodium-based systems also grew in deployments “Low LFP prices remain a barrier to sodium-ion uptake however several product launches planned for 2025 will likely result in a stronger year.” The global storage market remains in the early stages of development After strong growth in 2023 and 2024 this trend is expected to continue into 2025 with new and existing countries developing strong pipelines for the year In Rho Motion’s pipeline for the 2025 there are over 400GWh worth of planned BESS deployments however due to cancellations and delays not all of these projects will reach completion.  For more information on the storage market see our research or get in touch The talented design team at Mopar has created an exclusive limited-edition and collectible vehicle for enthusiasts who want to set bold new performance limits for off-roading machines in 2025.   The Mopar '25 Package for the Ram 1500 RHO continues the annual factory-vehicle customization program for the performance and service brand of Stellantis.   "The inspiration for the new Mopar '25 flows directly from the concept truck we showed at the SEMA Show last November which generated strong positive feedback on how well the Ram 1500 RHO was 'Moparized' by our design team," said Darren Bradshaw Stellantis Parts and Services – North America "We're proud to continue our annual Mopar customization program with innovations and exclusive appearance features that our enthusiast customers and collectors crave."   Using the latest addition to the Ram sport truck lineup as a canvas custom Mopar Blue and Grey bodyside graphics provide a bold contrast to the Diamond Black Crystal Pearl Coat exterior color Detailed within the graphics is a graduated repeat pattern of the Mopar Omega M logo.   Off-road ready 35-inch tires mounted to 18-by-9-inch beadlock-capable wheels help set an aggressive stance below the hourglass body design with the widest fender flares in the current production Ram 1500 lineup.  Mopar exterior accessories include a fully integrated off-road style running boards and Mopar Blue tow hooks front and rear The truck-bed surface is protected by a black a multi-function instrument panel accessory rail holds various mobile devices securely in place A custom Mopar Blue serialized badge is affixed to the lockable center console.   Additional interior highlights from the standard RHO Level 1 Equipment Group include:   Uncompromising Power and Performance  The Mopar '25 Ram 1500 RHO is powered by the all-new 3.0-liter Hurricane High Output Straight-Six Turbo (SST) engine The 3.0-liter Hurricane High Output engine is rated at 540 horsepower and 521 lb.-ft delivering enhanced fuel economy and fewer emissions while generating more horsepower and torque than other naturally aspirated V-8 and boosted six-cylinder engines in the light-duty segment.  lighter than the previous performance model and features a more balanced weight distribution for enhanced agility and faster reflexes An independent front suspension system with active performance damping uses high-strength aluminum to maintain overall strength and durability substantially sized front upper and lower control arms are designed with a focus on additional wheel travel and axle track width This suspension system features retuned spring rates jounce bumper and damping control to provide enhanced performance and endurance.  Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive performance shocks use precision-machined single-piece construction comprised of rigid aluminum to reduce and dissipate heat and continuously adjust damping forces for optimal body control and terrain isolation.   The Mopar '25 Ram 1500 RHO features a standard rear suspension system that is innovative Adaptive damping and a five-link coil system create comfortable ride characteristics no matter the road surface The frame's hard points differ when compared to a standard-issue Ram 1500 allowing for rear axle travel of up to 14 inches The Ram 1500 RHO offers more than 40% additional rear wheel travel when compared to the rest of the Ram 1500 lineup.  Ground clearance of 11.8 inches is due in part to a two-inch ride height increase when compared with the rest of the Ram 1500 lineup This combination enables the RHO to clear surface obstacles easily and at high speeds.  Latest Mopar Special Limited Edition  All 250 units of the Mopar '25 Ram 1500 RHO will be built to the same unique specifications for the U.S market and 25 units for Canada.   manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the exclusive Mopar '25 Package is $6,500 MSRP for the Mopar '25 Ram 1500 RHO is $88,730 which breaks down to $71,990 (including destination) plus $245 (Diamond Black Crystal Pearl Coat) plus $6,500 (Mopar '25 Package).       Vehicles are expected to arrive in select Ram dealerships beginning this spring.   Exclusive Mopar '25 Owner Kit and More Each buyer will receive a Mopar '25 owner kit that features a personalized certificate of authenticity with serialized vehicle-build number a special rendering of the vehicle by the Mopar design team and more.    Buyers also receive an 83-piece tool kit and a USB cable kit featuring four charging cables for a variety of mobile phones.   Mopar Customization History The Mopar '25 Ram 1500 RHO joins an exclusive club as the latest limited-edition Mopar-modified vehicle delivered straight from the factory.  Mopar produced the first of an ongoing series of limited-edition vehicles factory-produced Mopar rides have followed:  MoparMopar is the global name for Stellantis genuine parts and authentic accessories A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products Mopar has evolved over more than 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use Mopar  expanded to include technical service and customer support parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide All-new Dodge Charger Daytona will make its first official race appearance at 41st running of the Tire Rack One Lap of America introduces new Start Defender theft-deterrent system for 2018 to 2023 model-year Dodge Charger.. Automotive Transportation, Trucking & Railroad Do not sell or share my personal information: NY – New York State Senator Kevin Parker was honored with a Community Service Award by the Eta Nu Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority at their annual Youth Symposium on March 8th The prestigious award recognizes Senator Parker’s unwavering commitment to empowering youth and championing social causes that resonate with the Sorority’s core values Senator Parker’s support extends beyond his personal involvement He presented a Resolution on behalf of the New York State Senate formally recognizing the contributions and impact of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority’s programs where thought leaders engage in crucial discussions on social justice The resolution underscored the Sorority’s role in shaping policies and influencing positive change within the state of New York Senator Parker has been a dedicated ally and advocate for Sigma Gamma Rho's programs demonstrating a profound impact on the Sorority's initiatives His longstanding support spans several key programs including the Sorority's Swim 1922 initiative which promotes water safety and encourages youth Senator Parker has been instrumental in helping to secure funding for such programs that continue to empower future generations his involvement in the Sorority's Youth Symposium an annual event aimed at addressing issues that affect young people in the community and community leaders each year to discuss youth development Senator Parker has been a driving force behind this vital initiative Senator Parker was joined by several distinguished guests including Senator Roxanne Persaud and Councilmember Darlene Mealy who expressed their gratitude and admiration for the Sorority’s dedication to the community and Senator Parker's continued support The Eta Nu Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority thanked Senator Parker for his outstanding leadership and partnership in uplifting the youth and broader community His presence and continued support made the Youth Symposium which has become a hallmark event for the Sorority "I am deeply honored to receive the Community Service Award from Sigma Gamma Rho an organization that has long been at the forefront of empowering and uplifting communities I have proudly supported their initiatives for years,” said Senator Kevin Parker “These programs are a testament to the Sorority's unwavering commitment to education It is a privilege to continue working alongside Sigma Gamma Rho as we build stronger more inclusive communities for future generations." Senator Parker is Senior Assistant Majority Leader for the NYS Senate Democratic Majority Chairman of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and is a member of the following standing Senate Committees: Finance; Rules; Judiciary; Select Majority Task Force on Diversity in the Judiciary; Banks; Health; Civil Service and Pensions; Internet and Technology; Select Majority Task Force on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises VALDOSTA – The Kappa Psi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority is set to host their Swim 1922 Dry Safety Clinic The Kappa Psi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority The initiative will be a dry day clinic for children ages 6 and up The goal of Swim 1922 is to raise awareness and knowledge about water safety andlearning to swim The event hopes to increase participation and reduce drowning anddeath rates in our communities Studies and statistics show that the number one cause of death for children ages 1 to 4years old Drowning is the leading cause of children and adults with Autism drowning is the second leading cause of death 78% of AfricanAmerican children are at risk for drowning and 62% of Hispanic children are at risk ofdrowning from not knowing how to swim The goals of Sigma Gamma Sorority and Swim 1922 are to increase access and exposureto water safety and swimming the childrenwithin our communities can be safe and decrease the drowning rates among minorities.For more information contact Redia Thomas at redia.thoma1998@icloud.com or call(229)563-7392 today revealed that the number of electric vehicles sold globally in January 2025 is 1.3 million While it was down over a third from December’s record-breaking month the global market has grown 18% compared to January 2024 “With emission standards coming into force for European manufacturers this year all eyes are on the opening month for the region which shows encouraging growth at 21% compared to the same time last year shrunk 43% from the previous month as drivers tend to go all in at the end of the year before the Chinese New Year public holidays fall in January and February The US & Canada market hasn’t yet been impacted by the new occupant of the White House and is showing a consistent year-on-year increase of 22% an uncontroversial start to the year for the EV market globally though this is not going to remain that way for long.” Snapshot electric vehicle sales in Jan 2025 vs Jan 2024 (m-o-m vs Dec ‘24) The EU & EFTA & UK EV market started 2025 up by 21% after selling over 250,000 EV units in January 2025 The European market started strong and must continue to do so to meet the emission standards for 2025 otherwise manufacturers will face tough fines including Germany where EV sales grew by over 40% y-o-y and BEV sales grew by over 50% y-o-y the French market fell by -52% m-o-m and by -15% y-o-y This was due to the introduction of a weight tax on PHEVs which began in January 2025 which led to significant prebuying in PHEVs in December 2024 before the introduction of the tax The Chinese market grew by 12% in January 2025 compared to the same period last year with continued momentum from the extension of the national car trade-in scheme Chinese EV sales fell by 43% month-on-month in January 2025 the opening two months of the year are typically the weakest due to the Chinese New Year As the Chinese holiday falls mostly in February this year we expect February EV (and total vehicle) sales to also be low The US & Canada EV market started the year with 22% growth in EV sales y-o-y The Federal Tax Credit of up to USD7,500 is still available for many BEVs and one PHEV despite fears it would be eliminated following Trump’s inauguration narrowed in 2025 as there is a stricter percent of the value of critical materials in EV batteries that must be sourced or processed in the US or a US trading partner Several EV models lost their eligibility as a result which is expected to squeeze the market for the rest of the year Don't have an account? Subscribe “Our goal is to help stakeholders understand the future of mobility.” Home › News › Rho Motion: BYD and Chery turn to PHEVs to bolster EU growth Heavy tariffs on Chinese-made BEVs are pushing the country’s automakers to focus on PHEVs instead Chinese automakers BYD and Chery are increasing their focus on plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) in the EU to navigate high tariffs on their battery-electric (BEV) models as new data from research firm Rho Motion reveals Sign up now and gain unlimited access to our news Subscribe Let us help you understand the future of mobility Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" and trends shaping the future of electric mobility Tickets for this in-person event are limited and trends shaping the future of the software-defined vehicle and trends shaping the future of autonomous mobility The yearly factory-vehicle customization program moves on to the impressive Ram 1500 RHO pickup truck Justin BannerWriterManufacturerPhotographerMar 10 That’s why it’s the perfect canvas for a 2025 Mopar edition vehicle This special-edition truck was teased during the 2024 SEMA Show as a concept and looks like it’s going to be very close to that as a production truck When you see the Mopar RHO in person, you’ll notice that the SEMA version wore unique paint that the production version lacks The prototype was shot with a custom satin black finish for that stealthy matte look it will shine with a glossy Diamond Black Pearl Coat which will be great news for owners considering how difficult satin and matte finishes are when it comes to retaining their non-luster finish including a full-sized spare mounted in the truck bed These tires also really set off the fender flare fitment which are the widest on any production 1500 in the lineup The 2025 Mopar Ram 1500 RHO is available to order now with delivery expected to start this Spring with a price of $78,590—a $6,500 premium over the standard RHO. You’ll need to order it fast as only 250 units will be available in total with only 225 allocated for the U.S. and 25 for Canada. Subscribe to our newsletters to get the latest in car news and have editor curated stories sent directly to your inbox January 2025 proved the strongest first month of the year on record for the storage market Over 13GWh of storage entered operation in the grid market across 81 projects This marked a year-on-year increase of 94% “After a record-breaking month in December year on year growth in the global storage market remained strong at the start of 2025 The vast majority of this new capacity deployed in January was in China which is once again set to drive global BESS deployments in the coming year.” Rho Motion’s February BESS database saw the number of tracked projects increase to 6,500 with the global project pipeline for the next two years reaching 748GWh China topped the table with 9.3GWh deployed the largest project of which was a 1.2GWh storage project in Hebei Province the largest project in January was a 2GWh BESS project in Saudi Arabia are building out impressive pipelines of BESS projects Three separate non-lithium-ion projects were tracked all of which were vanadium flow batteries located in China A similar resource split occurred in January 2025 as in the entirety of 2024 Standalone grid paired projects made up the majority of projects while solar paired was the next most popular Of the 81 projects to enter operation in January one 7.3-hour lithium-ion project entered operation in China and a 5-hour duration project began operation in Chile This data is taken from Rho Motion’s Battery Energy Stationary Storage Monthly Assessment. To request a copy of the full report, click here the leading EV research-house has today revealed that over 1.7 million EVs were sold over the month of October overtaking the previous record The Chinese EV market has once again set another monthly record with 1.2 million units sold growing by 6% compared to the previous month and by over 50% compared to October 2023 Year-to-date the Chinese EV market has grown by 38% and the global market at 24% Snapshot electric vehicle sales in January – October 2024 vs Jan-Oct 2023 commented: “The global EV market is now picking back up again hitting record sales for the second month in a row Most of the growth is coming from China and Western manufacturers are clearly feeling threatened by this The US market remains buoyant in part thanks to IRA funding for consumers switching to electric which may be at risk with the start of the Trump presidency.” Just over 260,000 EVs were sold in the EU & EFTA & UK in October 2024 growing by 1% year-on-year but falling by 14% month-on-month The drop on a monthly basis is mostly due to falling automotive sales in the UK following high seasonal sales in September because of new registration plates The German market has grown by 12% month-on-month and by 3% year-on-year year-to-date (YTD) the EV market is still down by 18% the Portuguese market by 11% and the Danish market by 31% Europe’s largest automaker announced its intentions to close three German plants to cut costs coming against the backdrop of VW scaling back its cell production plans Svolt announced it will abandon plans to build two factories in Europe and will also shut down its European operations entirely by January 2025 describing it as a strategic decision driven by the underperformance of the European EV market Other Chinese OEMs are still planning to build out EV production in Europe There was record monthly sales for both BEVs and PHEVs in China in October 2024.  BYD had another record month reporting over 500,000 total sales in October 2024 owing mostly to the growth in its PHEV sales BYD’s export figures remain similar to the previous three months with just over 30,000 units sold The Chinese EV market shows no signs of slowing down as it enters the final two strong automotive sales months of the year The US & Canada market continues to grow at a steady pace of 9% YTD General Motor’s has now produced over 120,000 units of the Equinox EV The US Department of the Treasury also announced that consumers have saved more than USD2 billion in upfront costs on purchases of more than 300,000 clean vehicles since 1 January 2024 Jude to raise survival rates for children with diseases such as cancer and sickle cell disease With over 25 years of experience across women's empowerment Harris will lead the organization and its fundraising efforts for St is proud to further support the incredible work of St It is with immense pride in service to this cause that we make this commitment to help advance global survival rates for children everywhere with catastrophic diseases,” said Harris Jude has made for sickle cell patients is inspiring and we look forward to helping continue those advances Greater Progress,” for children everywhere Its internationally impactful work is deeply meaningful to us and our sorors who aim to help women and their families reach their full potential.” “I am profoundly grateful for the unwavering dedication of our partner, Sigma Gamma Rho, which made history last year as the first sorority in the National Pan-Hellenic Council to raise $1 million for the kids of St. Jude and has now committed to doubling that impact in the years ahead,” said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC the fundraising and awareness organization for St “The outstanding leaders and members of Sigma Gamma Rho are helping save the lives of children across the globe I look forward to all we can achieve together as we strive toward a world in which no child dies in the dawn of life.” understanding and improving standards of care for people with cancer sickle cell and other life-threatening diseases Support from organizations like Sigma Gamma Rho helps ensure that families never receive a bill from St housing or food – so they can focus on helping their child live  Learn how you can help Sigma Gamma Rho support St. Jude. About Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc 1922 on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis by seven African-American women educators Incorporated has welcomed more than 100,000 collegiate and professional women from every profession The sorority has more than 500 chapters in the United States The organization also has active affiliate groups devoted to empowering women at different stages in life Rhoer Club (teenage girls) and Philo Club Affiliates (friends of the sorority) also assist chapters with various service efforts and programs Sigma Gamma Rho’s commitment to service is expressed in its slogan Greater Progress.” The sorority has a proud history of providing positive and proactive community outreach nationally and internationally and sponsorships represent Sigma Gamma Rho’s commitment to promoting the greater good in education Media Contact Ryanne Tejeda (213) 215-2679 ryanne.tejeda@alsac.stjude.org Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Christina Kanu (703) 992-3758 info@christinakanu.com Thank you for signing up to receive updates from St. Jude. You may manage your subscriptions at the St. Jude E-mail Management Center .hide-breadcrumb div.breadcrumb { display: none; } VALDOSTA – The Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority is offering an annual scholarship opportunity in 9 South Georgia counties The Kappa Psi Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority is offering its annual scholarship opportunities to nine high school seniors in nine South Georgiacounties the chapter aims to further the education of future leaders the sorority has proudly been able to support the youth with the community’s help Each applicant must have a 3.0 GPA or higher provide a letter of acceptance from a college or university and also provide community service activities performed in their community The deadline for scholarship application submissions is Apri1 18 Contact your local school guidance counselor or Ms A record-breaking 1.7 million EVs were sold globally over the month of September September overtook the previous record set in December 2023 by 150,000 The Chinese market beat their previous record set in August by 90,000 vehicles to reach 1.1 million units sold in September 2024 11.5 million EVs have been sold globally so far this year Snapshot electric vehicle sales in January – September 2024 vs Jan-Sept 2023 commented: “This record-breaking month of EV sales brings new hope to the industry While the electrification of transport seems inevitable the recent slowdown of sales in many parts of the world has sewn seeds of doubt which can now start to be swept aside with China alone accounting for well over half the global total meanwhile Europe’s numbers are shrinking and the US and Canada are steadily growing.” Just Over 300,00 EVs were sold in EU & EFTA & UK in September 2024 reaching a total of 2.2 million units sold for the year Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales increased year-on-year by 12% Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) sales are down year-on-year by 12% (comparing September 2024 sales vs September 2023) Vehicle sales in the UK are typically strong in September due to new registration plates with September 2024 EV sales being no exception as EV sales more than tripled from the previous month The Norwegian market continues to have extremely high EV penetration rates but the market in terms of volumes is still down by 4% YTD The German market grew y-o-y by 7% but YTD sales are still down by 20% After surpassing 1 million EV sales for the first time in August 2024 this feat was achieved once again in September 2024 with 1.1 million units sold Chinese manufacturers continue to grow their presence abroad with strong EV exports to other Asian countries and Latin America BEV exports from China to the EU will now face tariffs agreed on 4 October 2024 and set to come into force in November 2024 for five years many manufacturers will be able to absorb some of the cost and manufacturers are also looking to establish EV facilities within Europe The US & Canada market continues to grow at a steady pace of 10% YTD GM sold almost 10,000 Chevrolet Equinox in Q3 2024 and has produced over 40,000 in the opening 8 months of the year GM also started sales of the Sierra EV and Volvo started sales of the EX30 Toyota pushed back the start date of its facility in the US Find out more about Rho Motion and their upcoming events at: rhomotion.com Metrics details osteoblasts need to accurately migrate to specific sites guided by various biochemical and mechanical cues fluctuations in extracellular osmolarity may arise from shifts in the surrounding fluid environment as a main regulator of cell morphology and function whether the extracellular osmolarity change may affect osteoblast migration remains unclear we provide evidence showing that changes in extracellular osmolarity significantly impact osteoblast migration with a hypotonic environment enhancing it while a hypertonic environment inhibiting it our findings reveal that a hypotonic treatment increases intracellular pressure activating the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel This activation of TRPV4 modulates stress fibers and cell polarity through the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway Our findings provide valuable insights into the significant influence of extracellular osmolarity on osteoblast migration which has potential implications for enhancing our understanding of bone remodeling the impact of extracellular osmolarity on the morphology and migration of osteoblasts in bone has not yet been fully investigated and remains uncertain to investigate the influence of extracellular osmolarity on osteoblast migration Our research findings present compelling evidence for the significant involvement of extracellular osmolarity in governing osteoblast migration We specifically demonstrated that osteoblasts perceive alterations in extracellular osmolarity through the TRPV4 channel and cell polarity by regulating the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway leading to a direct impact on osteoblast migration b Trajectories (a) and statistical migration speed (b) of MC3T3-E1 cells in media with different osmolarities over 12 h (n > 60) d Screenshot of wound-healing assay at 0 and 24 h (c) and statistical analysis of wound-healing speed (d) in media with different osmolarities (n = 3) f Representative images of transwell experiments (e) and statistical results of migration cell numbers of MC3T3-E1 cells (f) in media with different osmolarities over 12 h (n = 6) ****P < 0.0001 as assessed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (b f) and two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (d) All data were reported as the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) a–c Immunofluorescence staining of MC3T3-E1 cells in media with different osmolarities d Aspect ratios of MC3T3-E1 cells in media with different osmolarities (n > 30) e Schematic illustrating the method of measuring stress fiber orientation exhibit fiber orientation measurements that deviate from the long axis of the cell f–h The wind rose diagrams of stress fiber direction in cells cultured in media with different osmolarities (Stress fibers included in the analysis were obtained from five different cells in each group) ***P < 0.001 as assessed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (d) these findings indicate that extracellular osmolarity plays a significant role in the formation of FAs a Measured intracellular pressure of MC3T3-E1 cells in media with different osmolarities (n > 20) b–d Screenshots illustrating the variation in calcium ion fluorescence intensity upon hypotonic shock (b) and upon hypotonic shock with TRPV4 inhibition (d) e) Relative fluorescence intensity of calcium ion corresponding to experiments (b–d) The measured areas are indicated with color boxes (f) Statistical results of maximum relative calcium fluorescence intensity upon hypotonic shock with or without TRPV4 inhibition (n > 20) The relative calcium fluorescence intensity was calculated by normalizing the fluorescence intensity to the value of 0 s ****P < 0.0001 as assessed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (a) and unpaired t-test (f) Data in (f) are presented as the mean ± SEM these results support that osteoblasts primarily respond to changes in extracellular osmolarity through the TRPV4 channel a–c Evaluation of the osteoblast migration based on live cell tracking over 12 h (n > 60) (a) wound healing experiment over 24 h (n = 3) (b) and transwell experiments spanning 12 h (n = 6) (c) e Immunofluorescence staining of MC3T3-E1 cells in media with different osmolarities and HC067047 or GSK1016790A f Cell aspect ratios in media with different osmolarities and HC067047 or GSK1016790A (n > 30) h The wind rose diagrams of stress fiber direction in cells cultured in media with different osmolarities and HC067047 or GSK1016790A (Stress fibers included in the analysis were obtained from five different cells) and ****P < 0.0001 as assessed using an unpaired t-test (a and one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (f) Data in (a–c) and (f) are represented as the mean ± SEM a Migration speed of osteoblast in the hypotonic medium under treatment of different inhibitors (n > 60) b Statistical results of wound healing experiments in hypotonic medium with different inhibitors (n = 3) c Aspect ratios of cells treated with different inhibitors (n > 30) d–f The wind rose diagrams of stress fiber direction in cells treated with ML141 or Y27632 (Stress fibers included in the analysis were obtained from five different cells in each group) ****P < 0.0001 as assessed using a one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (a c) and two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (b) b Evaluation of TRPV4 protein expression based on Western blot analysis (n = 3) c Evaluation of TRPV4 gene expression through qRT-PCR (n = 3) GAPDH was used as a control for equal loading e QRT-PCR analyzed gene expression levels of the CDC42 and RAC1 in MC3T3-E1 cells under conditions labeled on the horizontal axis (d and ***P < 0.001 as assessed using a one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test the results indicate a regulatory relationship where extracellular osmolarity influences the expression of TRPV4 TRPV4 appears to function as an upstream regulator for the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway we specifically investigated the impact of extracellular osmolarity on osteoblast migration We propose a mechanism in which extracellular osmolarity influences osteoblast migration by regulating cytoskeletal dynamics These pathways collectively coordinate cell behavior and impact the migratory capacity of osteoblasts Unraveling these mechanisms could provide valuable insights into the role of extracellular osmolarity in maintaining bone homeostasis and facilitating regeneration fluctuations in extracellular osmolarity are inevitable during osteoblast migration we investigated the precise effects of extracellular osmolarity on osteoblast migration and demonstrated that a hypotonic environment can promote their migration This intriguing finding enhances our understanding of the complex factors that regulate osteoblast migration and underscores the importance of the liquid environment in bone tissue we confirmed that the TRPV4 channel can detect changes in extracellular osmolarity and trigger significant changes in osteoblasts ultimately regulating osteoblast migration our findings demonstrate that extracellular osmolarity regulates TRPV4 expression uncovering a positive feedback loop whereby hypotonic treatment elevates TRPV4 levels TRPV4 enhances osteoblast sensitivity to fluctuations in extracellular osmolarity ultimately facilitating the establishment of osteoblast polarity and promoting migration These findings suggest that the mechanism revealed in our study holds significant importance the involvement of extracellular osmolarity indicates that this mechanism may have widespread implications in various physiological and pathological processes including organogenesis and cancer metastasis this study delved into the intriguing realm of extracellular osmolarity and its impact on osteoblasts Our findings shed light on the fascinating role of extracellular osmolarity in promoting the migration of osteoblasts The pivotal players in this phenomenon are the TRPV4 channels responding to alterations in extracellular osmolarity thereby impacting the behavior of osteoblast migration By elucidating the intricate connection between extracellular osmolarity our results offer profound insights into the mechanisms underlying bone formation The potency of regulating extracellular osmolarity to enhance osteoblast migration holds significant implications for therapeutic approaches aimed at promoting bone regeneration as it provides an avenue for targeting the migration aspect of osteoblasts calcium signaling is central to the mechanisms explored in this study it is important to note that calcium signaling impacts many cell functions through a multitude of pathways and signaling molecules which could also influence osteoblast behavior These key proteins were not examined in this study Future research will be required to delve further into these aspects to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the signaling dynamics involved in osteoblast migration and bone biology We obtained MC3T3-E1 from the Central Laboratory of Peking University Third Hospital cultured in DMEM-high glutamine medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco The cells were subcultured to ~75–90% confluency for most experiments Alexa Fluor 594 - conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG Alexa Fluor 488- conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG To obtain media with different osmolarities sucrose solutions were prepared at concentrations of 180 DMEM culture medium was supplied with 20% FBS to obtain a complete medium with an osmolarity of about 300 mOsm Then the complete medium was mixed with the sucrose solutions to obtain media with osmolarities of 240 mOsm (hypotonic medium) Intracellular pressure measurements were conducted using the 900 A micropressure system (WPI America) with the servo-null method according to the manufacturer’s instructions Microelectrodes were fabricated from a glass capillary with dimensions of 0.75 mm inner diameter and 1.0 mm outer diameter using a micropipette puller (PC-100 Japan) in one-stage pull mode with settings of Heat 55 V and Weights: 250 g the microelectrodes were calibrated with a 1 M NaCl solution while the calibration chamber contained a 0.1 M NaCl solution using a provided calibration chamber and a pressure source The calibrated microelectrodes were then mounted on a piezo-driven xyz micromanipulator (SN-PCZ-50R America) within the MAWORDE workstation (Longfubiotech Pressure signals were recorded using a four-channel AD converter The measurement of intracellular pressure of osteoblasts was conducted 15 min after introducing media with different osmolarities and stopped after 15 min of measurement Interphase osteoblasts were chosen as the target cells and caution should be taken to avoid inserting the tip into the nucleus the microelectrode tip was inserted into the cells at a 45-degree angle and then gently retracted to alleviate compression on the cells This position was maintained for at least 5 s during which the intracellular pressure was determined by calculating the average pressure To track single-cell migration trajectories MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded in a well plate and cultured overnight to reach a confluence of ~30–40% The cells were then stained with Hoechst 33342 and placed in a MAWORDE workstation (Longfubiotech China) equipped with an EVOS FL Auto imaging system (Invitrogen and the resulting image series were imported into ImageJ The Manual Tracking plugin in ImageJ was utilized to obtain the single-cell trajectories MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded at a density of (2–4) × 105 cells/well per group grown to confluence in 96-well plates (Corning Cells were scored using a 96-well scribe and washed twice with phosphate buffer (Gibco medium containing 10% serum for different groups was added and the cell migration process was recorded by real-time microphotography using the Incucyte Live Cell Analysis System IncuCyte S3 (Sartorius Germany) to count the relative healing rate of the cells About (1–2) × 104 osteoblasts were resuspended in 100 μL of DMEM medium with 10% FBS and were placed in the upper well of 8-μm pore-size transwell 24-insert plates (NEST 500 μL of culture medium of different groups was added to the lower chambers the cells were fixed with 4% Paraformaldehyde for 30 min and the cells remaining on the top of the transwell membranes were removed with cotton swabs the cells migrating through the pores to the lower surface were stained with crystal violet (Beyotime Four to five fields of view were randomly selected and the cells in each image were counted using ImageJ Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit (KeyGEN BioTECH China) was used to detect the apoptosis rate of MC3T3-E1 cells under the manufacturer’s guidelines The MC3T3-E1 cells were cultivated in 6-well plates (4 × 105 cells/well) for a 24-h period after which they were subjected to different osmolarity solutions for a further 24 h The cells were then harvested by trypsinization Cells were resuspended in 500 µL of binding buffer and mixed with 5 µL of Annexin V-FITC and 5 µL of propidium iodide (PI) The cells were then immediately analyzed using a flow cytometer (Beckman CytExpert software was employed for the quantification of cell apoptosis All experiments were conducted in triplicate and repeated at least three times MC3T3-E1 cells were inoculated in each group at a density of (1–2) × 105 cells/well on glass-bottomed Petri dishes (NEST fixed for 15 min in 4% histiocyte fixative (Solarbio the cells were then treated with Immunostaining Permeabilization Buffer with Saponin (Beyotime Cells were blocked with goat serum (ZSGB-BIO stained with Anti-Paxillin antibody (1:250 and stained with Alexa Fluor 594 - Conjugated Goat anti-Mouse IgG (1:300 China) was incubated avoiding light for 1 h the microfilament red fluorescent probe Actin-Tracker Red-Rhodamine (1:100 China) was added and incubated for 1 h at RT away from light and then the nuclei were stained by adding DAPI staining solution (Beyotime and incubated for 10 min at RT away from light The cells were stored at 4 °C and imaged using a confocal laser scanning microscope (Zeiss The line connecting the most distant two points on the cell is identified as the cell’s long axis Stress fibers longer than 20 μm were selected and the angles between these stress fibers and the long axis were measured using ImageJ The experiment employed the Fluo-4 AMcalcium ion fluorescent probe to monitor dynamic changes in intracellular free calcium ion concentration dilute Fluo-4 AM in PBS buffer to a working concentration of 2 μM remove the cell culture medium and wash the cells three times with prewarmed PBS buffer Add enough Fluo-4 AM working solution to completely cover the cell layer and incubate the cells at 37 °C with 5% CO2 for 20 min wash the cells three additional times with PBS buffer and observe the fluorescence using a fluorescence microscope China) and Protease inhibitor cocktail (APPLYGEN China) in the ratio of 100:1 were added according to the number of cells and centrifuged at 12,000 r/min at 4 °C for 15 min The supernatant was collected and the total protein was quantified using the BCA Protein Assay Kit (APPLYGEN 5× SDS-PAGE protein Loading Buffer (Yeasen and the protein was denatured sufficiently by the metal bath at 100 °C for 5 min The protein samples were transferred from 8 to 12% gel to PVDF membrane The membrane was washed three times with TBST (APPLYGEN After washing the membrane three times with TBST China) was added to the membrane and the intensity of the bands was detected using Tanon 5200 Multi (Tanon Protein expression was quantified using ImageJ software Total mRNA was extracted using TRNzol Universal Reagent (TIANGEN China) according to the manufacturer’s protocol and the concentration and purity of RNA were determined using NanoDrop OneC (Thermo Fisher 2 μg of RNA was converted into complementary DNA using the Hifair II 1st Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Yeasen and Hieff qPCR SYBR Green Master Mix were added to the amplification system and the qRT-PCR reaction was performed on Quantstudio 5 (Thermo Fisher Relative gene expression was calculated using a 2-ΔΔCt method by normalization with GAPDH Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27 Statistical significance was assessed by unpaired t-test or two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test where appropriate Sample sizes were determined based on prior protocols and ensured statistical significance Migration speed was analyzed in over 60 cells and PCR assays had at least three replicates and FA number were measured in at least 20 cells per condition Stress fiber orientation was assessed in five cells per group Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article The source data underlying the graphs presented in this paper are available in Supplementary Data. Uncropped and unedited blot images are displayed in Supplementary Fig. 5 All additional data were included within the figures and Supplementary Figs The role of osteoblasts in energy homeostasis Energy metabolism of the osteoblast: implications for osteoporosis Su, P. et al. Mesenchymal stem cell migration during bone formation and bone diseases therapy. Int. J. Mol. 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USA https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021135118 (2021) Inhibition of TRPV4 remodels single cell polarity and suppresses the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma Download references This work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China These authors contributed equally: Yijie Li State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Engineered Construction and Mechanobiology All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript The authors declare no competing interests Communications Biology thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work Primary Handling Editors: Martina Rauner and Joao Valente Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07946-8 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Phi Sigma Rho has grown from an idea to a national organization for women engineers that stands on the pillars of friendship scholarship and encouragement – and it all began with a conversation on the sixth floor of Shreve Hall in the fall of 1983.  she had heard stories from her father and grandfather about how their membership in Triangle Fraternity had helped them make friends and persevere through their engineering classes at Purdue Schwartz wanted a similar experience – and while there were organizations for women engineers on campus there simply wasn’t one that allowed women to adequately balance their social lives with rigorous academic studies she went down the hall to talk to her friend “It turned out that one of the first formal recruitment nights for sororities was the same night as a physics test,” Abby said “I was frustrated about why they make it so hard for women in engineering to join a sorority I came down to Rashmi’s room and I was lamenting about why we don’t have something like that – and the rest is history.”   Drummond wasn’t planning to join a sorority because she didn’t think it would allow her the balance she needed to pursue her degree – but she also wanted to socialize Schwartz was back in Drummond’s room with the idea that became Phi Sigma Rho.  “We were commiserating about how silly it was that we didn’t have access to a support network like the men in Triangle did,” Drummond recalled “I thought we were venting and that was it I got a glimpse of Abby’s determination because the next day she knocked on my door again and said she’d gone to the Dean of Students and figured out how we could start our own organization That’s how we started.”   Creating a sorority from scratch required persistence Selecting a name was one of the first orders of business sifted through a paper directory of all the fraternities and sororities in the US and referenced a Greek dictionary to learn words and letters that represented the values that would become the pillars of the sorority it took a year for the two to determine rules and create all the documentation necessary to formalize the founding of the sorority.   Drummond and Schwartz wrote advertisements for a callout on whiteboards and shared their ideas with women in other engineering organizations in hopes of attracting their first members.   “We showed up to that first callout and we really didn’t know if anyone else would be there – and they were!” Drummond said “I don’t remember how many showed up to the call out It was so validating that other people thought this was a good idea.”   From that meeting came the Alpha class of Phi Sigma Rho Then came the next challenges – growing and sustaining the organization refining rules and creating the rituals and traditions that give a sorority its unique identity.   “It’s things you don’t think about,” explained Drummond “How do you turn an organization into a sisterhood That’s where we did a lot of soul searching and realized it’s the rituals We were not a 100-year-old organization that could fall back on our history for rituals We wanted to be more than an organization and have more of a bonding and support system.”   the women developed the bonds of sisterhood they craved While Phi Sigma Rho didn’t have their own house many of the women rented apartments or homes together and the social structure of the sorority created opportunities to celebrate their successes or find understanding support to persevere through challenges.    “We’d walk into our classes and we might be the only women in the room but we could come back where we had support,” Drummond said “We’d cry on each other’s shoulders when we got a seven out of a hundred on an exam – and that’s a real We were there to lift each other up or commiserate about the difficulty of the curriculum and not having a lot of other women around us It was that encouragement that really gave us our community.”  Momentum and validation of the community being built in Phi Sigma Rho spread quickly It wasn’t long before a group of women at Ohio State University approached the sorority about forming their own chapter Drummond and their sisters then got to work to further define aspects of sorority culture rules and more that would be applicable at a national level and which aspects of sorority life would be left up to individual chapters.   Professionals in engineering industries also began to take note of the sorority Many sisters began returning from their summer internships with donations to support the organization fraternal organizations began to include the sorority in organizational and social functions Some milestones marked the way – the first social event with a fraternity recognition by the Purdue Panhellenic Association setting up a table to meet with students on Slayter Hill and more.   “We always wanted to be real,” Schwartz said “We always wanted to be taken seriously and have people understand that we weren’t just making something up.”  The momentum has continued to build to the present day Forty years after the founding of Phi Sigma Rho the sorority boasts 51 chapters around the nation and more than 11,000 alumnae Purdue’s Alpha Chapter has the highest membership of any chapter typically ranging from 120 – 150 members following recruitment Boilermakers of the Alpha Chapter benefit from the same values and community that Schwartz and Drummond worked to instill in the organization while the sorority continues evolve.   A new experience afforded to today’s sisters is the opportunity to live together in a dedicated sorority house The Alpha Chapter is one of the only Phi Sigma Rho chapters to own a house For current Alpha Chapter president Olivia Vassios living in the house is a significant benefit of membership.   “It’s an unreal experience having 60-plus of your best friends living under the same roof,” Vassios said “Going into recruitment freshman year I was a little worried about living in a house with so many people – but it’s so much fun There’s always someone around to support me Knowing I have all of these people to fall back on when I need it has been really awesome and special.”  Phi Sigma Rho pairs older sorority sisters (bigs) with younger members (littles) to share support and guidance and strengthen the bonds of sisterhood The tradition of big/little reveals and the ensuing bonds formed in those relationships are a core aspect of the Phi Sigma Rho experience Vassios says she was inspired to pursue her leadership position by her big the former president of the chapter.   “I saw the big impact she had on our chapter and I wanted to do the same thing,” Vassios said “My little is amazing too- she’s one of our new member educators I think that connection you have with your big and little is so special I just have a younger brother at home and I come from a big extended family I’d never had that sister bond with someone so getting that here is really special.”   the sisters of Phi Sigma Rho support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in their philanthropic endeavors was diagnosed with leukemia during her time at Purdue and died after a battle with the disease in 1995 Today’s sisters carry forth her memory by supporting the society with fundraising events such as Phi Rho Phloats Additional traditional chapter events include a fall semi-formal and spring formal In addition to the impact still being created on campus and among sisters within a chapter alumnae from across the nation ensure a supportive network that lasts a lifetime A national Facebook group is active with daily posts ranging from job opportunities and advice on how to work with a difficult boss to recommendations on the best steel-toed boots for work These connections are perhaps best felt at national conferences which Drummond and Schwartz make a point to attend regularly Schwartz has also served as an alumni advisor to the Alpha Chapter executive board in the past and the founding members make it a point to stop by the house when they’re on campus.   Schwartz and Drummond feel a tremendous sense of pride in what they’ve started – particularly when they meet fellow Phi Sigma Rhos They take particular pride in the fact that the sorority is home for women of such diverse backgrounds.   “When we walked into the 25th anniversary the room was full of women of all backgrounds,” Schwartz said “This celebration was a beautiful rainbow of people and that has always been one of the things I’ve been most proud of friendship and encouragement and that’s what we emphasize.”    founders and sisters of all ages look forward to continuing to grow membership at the house and national level Members emphasize a need to continue to build the sorority’s reputation among companies and expand the alumni base from 11,000 to 100,000 and beyond The Alpha Chapter’s house provides additional opportunities to host women from chapters at other universities to further strengthen regional and national bonds The Alpha Chapter hosted women from the University of Illinois-Champaign chapter during their Homecoming and 40th anniversary event.   No matter what giant leaps Phi Sigma Rho may take in the future connections and values can all be traced back to the initial small step of a conversation in Shreve Hall as well as the determination of its two founding members and ensuing generations of sisters Contact Vice Provost for Student Life at studentlifemarketing@purdue.edu for accessibility issues with this page | Accessibility Resources | Contact Us | DOE Degree Scorecards MD as the new section chief of Child Neurology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Rho comes to YSM from the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and the Departments of Neurosciences Pediatrics and Pharmacology at the University of California San Diego Rho completed his undergraduate degree in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry at Yale University before receiving his MD at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine He then completed residencies in Adult Neurology and Pediatric Neurology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles He’s received numerous awards and recognition from the Departments of Neurology at the University of Washington (Seattle) and the Barrow Neurological Institute at St Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center in Phoenix the John Freeman Award from the Scientific and Organizing Committees at the 6th Global Symposium on Ketogenic Therapies for Neurological Disorders in Jeju and was named a Physician of Exceptional Excellence by the 2022 Top Doctors Awards from San Diego Magazine He’s also been elected and inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences elected as an inaugural fellow of the American Epilepsy Society and nominated to the Sigma Xi Scientific Honor Society Rho has worked and conducted basic-translational research in the field of developmental neurosciences initially with a focus on the basic mechanisms of anti-seizure medication action and later followed by investigations into metabolism-based treatments for neurological disorders (i.e. ketogenic diet or KD) with a focus on brain mitochondria human surgically-resected hypothalamic hamartomas His contributions to this burgeoning area of investigation can be divided into two broad domains: (1) collaborative basic-translational research; and (2) leadership in the field of neurometabolism and neurological disorders through a combination of administrative and organizational roles in international societies Rho’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health [NINDS] and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research He frequently serves on scientific advisory boards organizes international workshops/symposia and sits on National Institutes of Health [NINDS] and Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant review panels he will be continuing his research in these areas and recruiting additional investigators to establish a program in translational neurometabolism Rho will lead a group of faculty members in our mission of delivering the highest quality care to patients and their families at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital and will be responsible for sustaining and expanding robust programs in clinical care This includes growing programs in epilepsy/epilepsy surgery “I am thrilled to be returning to Yale to lead the section of child neurology” said Dr “My goal is to make Yale Child Neurology the leading pediatric neuroscience program in the region and one of the top programs in the nation.” for her time as interim section chief prior to Dr Please join us in welcoming and congratulating Dr Metrics details Pterygium is an ocular disease in which the conjunctival tissue invades the cornea When the pterygium tissue reaches the pupillary region the visual function of the patient is affected surgical removal is the only effective treatment the recurrence rate of pterygium after surgery can be high Pterygium is also a health disparity issue since it is more prevalent in the Hispanic and Latino American population we determined if the Rho kinase inhibitor can be used to prevent pterygium recurrence since its anti-fibrosis effects have been reported in other cell and tissue types We cultured primary pterygium cells from pterygium tissues from Hispanic and Latino American We found that the Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 decreased cell viability as well as the expression of extracellular matrix and myofibroblast markers in cultured pterygium cells We believe that Rho kinase inhibitors are a potential post-surgical treatment to prevent pterygium recurrence it is important to develop an effective medicine to prevent pterygium recurrence whether Y27632 inhibits fibrosis in human pterygium cells under “natural”/unstimulated conditions is unclear since the study conducted by Xie and colleagues used samples from the Chinese population it is not clear whether such inhibition exists in non-East Asian populations while health disparity is an emerging issue we conducted this study to answer these questions Primary human pterygium cells were grown on a 96-well cell culture plate and treated with either DMSO as a control or 10 µM Y27632 for 3–5 h the cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 30 min at 4 °C and treated with 0.5% Triton X-100 for 10 min The cells were then incubated with Phalloidin-Alexa 488 (Thermo Fisher Scientific MA) at 3.3 pM overnight (~ 16 h) at 4 °C and counter stained with DAPI The cells were imaged using the Nikon Ti2 inverted microscope and the Qi2 digital camera (Nikon Instruments Inc the cells that were used in this study were mainly fibroblast cells (Supplemental Fig Primary human pterygium cells were seeded on a 96-well cell culture plate (2000 cells/well) the cells were treated with either DMSO as a control or mitomycin C or Y27632 at different concentrations for 48 h and then used for MTT (Sigma-Aldrich Saint Louis MO) 5 mg/ml in PBS or XTT assays (Thermo Fisher Scientific) following manufacturer’s instructions Absorbance was measured using Synergy H1 Hybrid Multi-Mode plate reader (BioTek Instruments Y27632 was purchased from Tocris Bioscience (Minneapolis Mitomycin C was purchased from Sigma (Catalog #: M4287) Both compounds were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to prepare a stock solution at the concentration of 10 mM Primary pterygium cells were seeded in 12-well to 24-well culture plates at a density of 2 × 105/cm2 a scratch was made using a 1 ml pipette tip in each well and the detached cells were removed using PBS wash the cells were treated with either 0.1% DMSO or 10µM Y27632 Some cells cultured in 12-well plates were scratched using a 5.7 mm wide plastic spatula The cells were treated with DMSO or Y27632 Some cells were initially treated with Y27632 for 3 days followed by Y27632 removal Images showing the area of the scratch were taken at different time points using the Nikon Ti2 inverted microscope with the Nikon Advanced Modulation Contrast The images were analyzed using the ImageJ software (National Institute of Health After the scale was set (“Analyze” → “Set scale”) the area of scratch was outlined using the “Free hand selection” tool and then measured using the “Measure” function (“Analyze” → “Measure”) The area of the initial scratch (A0) was set at 100% and the area in the following days (A) was compared to that of the initial scratch (A/A0%) The pterygium tissues obtained from the patient were cut into 3 equal pieces Each piece was further cut into 2 halves and seeded in the 12 well cell culture plate (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and incubated with Opti-MEM supplemented with FBS and antibiotics One half was treated with DMSO as a control while the other half was treated with 10µM of Y27632 Medium and treatment were carefully changed every other day The cells started to migrate onto the plate in 3–7 days Images of the tissues were taken using the Nikon Ti2 inverted microscope (Nikon Instrument The area of the cells that migrated and proliferated from the tissue explant was measured using the ImageJ software Human pterygium cells were seeded in a 12 well glass bottomed plate (1 × 10^5 cells/well) Cells were incubated overnight before they were treated with DMSO as a control or 10 µM Y27632 for 4 days the cells were fixed with 100% methanol (Thermo Fisher Scientific) for 20 min at -20 °C Fixed cells were washed with PBS and blocked using the Superblock TW blocking buffer (Thermo Fisher Scientific) in PBS for 60 min at room temperature The cells were then incubated with the primary antibody mouse anti-ɑ-Smooth muscle actin (1:200; catalog#: F3777; Sigma-Aldrich MO) or rabbit anti-fibronectin antibody (1:200; catalog#: ab1945; Sigma-Aldrich) or rabbit anti-collagen-1 antibody (1:200; catalog#: ab215969; Abcam the cells were incubated with the secondary antibody (goat anti-mouse/-rabbit Alexa 488 or 568; 1:200; Thermo Fisher Scientific) for 2 h at room temperature The nuclei were counter stained with DAPI (Thermo Fisher Scientific) The cells were visualized under Nikon Eclipse Ti2 inverted microscope (Nikon) The data were analyzed using Prism Graphpad 9.5.1 (GraphPad Prism Software Inc. CA) for one-way ANOVA and posthoc tests or Student’s t-tests P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant the compound should be able to decrease cell viability but not cause excessive cell damage which may be toxic to other ocular surface tissues we determined the effect of Y27632 on pterygium cell viability The Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 dose-dependently decreased pterygium cell viability Primary pterygium cells were treated with 0.1% DMSO or mitomycin C (MMC) or Y27632 at indicated concentrations for 2 days before they were used for MTT or XTT assays Columns and error bars: means and standard deviations One-way ANOVA and posthoc tests were used for statistical analysis The Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 decreased pterygium cell viability in multiple cell strains Four different primary pterygium cell strains (A–D) were treated with 0.1% DMSO or 10µM Y27632 for 2 days before they were used for MTT or XTT assays Student’s t-test was used for statistical analysis Sample sizes (N) are indicated in each panel To further determine the effect of Y27632 on wound healing we conducted scratch assays using primary pterygium cells Pterygium cells with passage numbers less than 4 were seeded onto multi-well culture plates. When the cells were confluent, scratches were made using 1 ml tips. The acellular area created by scratch was imaged and measured. The scratch assay showed a decrease in cell coverage by 10µM Y27632 compared to 0.1% DMSO, and 4 representative strains are shown in Fig. 3A-D. The Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 inhibited wound healing Four different primary pterygium cell strains (A–D) were used for scratch assays After uniform scratches were created in confluent cell cultures the cells were treated with 0.1% DMSO (Blue) or 10µM Y27632 (Red) and the cells were treated with DMSO (blue) or Y27632 for 3 days followed by Y27632 withdrawal (green) Scratch areas (the area of the acellular region) were measured and means and standard deviations (error bars) were plotted over time Student’s t-test was used for statistical analysis for individual time points We found that Y27632 significantly delayed wound healing (days 1–3; p < 0.05) once Y27632 was removed (Y27632 withdrawal) the scratches in these cells were smaller than Y27632 treated cells (Y27632 treatment) but larger than DMSO treated cells (DMSO) on day 5 Our data suggest that (1) the inhibition of wound healing by Y27632 is reversible; and (2) the “residual” effect of Y27632 can last for at least 2 days We determined if Y27632 was able to inhibit cell migration from pterygium tissues since this process is the key to pterygium recurrence The Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 decreased cell migration Pterygium tissues from two different donors (A and B) were collected from pterygium surgeries Each piece of tissue was further cut into two halves and both halves were placed onto culture dishes One half tissue was treated with 0.1% DMSO (Blue) while the other half was treated with 10µM Y27632 (Red) Cellular areas (the area that the migrating pterygium cells covered) were measured Student’s t-test was used for statistical analysis for individual time point The Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 inhibited actin polymerization in primary pterygium cells. Primary pterygium cells were treated with 0.1% DMSO (A) or 10µM Y27632 (B), fixed and stained with phalloidin-Alexa 488 for F-actin (green) and counterstained with DAPI (blue) for nuclei. The Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 inhibited fibronectin collagen I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in primary pterygium cells Primary pterygium cells were treated with indicated agents and used for immunostaining Three different strains were used and representative images of one strain are shown The major challenge of pterygium surgery is recurrence Our data suggested that the Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 can decrease cell proliferation and migration and extracellular matrix accumulation in unstimulated pterygium cells from non-East Asian donors which are pro-fibrotic and/or pro-cell migration We believe that these seemingly contradictory effects are likely to be cell/tissue type dependent there have been no post-surgical treatment available for the prevention of pterygium recurrence (mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil are used during surgery) Our studies showed that the Rho kinase inhibitor Y27632 is a promising treatment if they can be used for pterygium recurrence prevention clinically ophthalmologists may have the opportunity to use it “off-label” once more supporting data are available Compared to mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil which have high cellular toxicity and are both mutagens Topical Rho kinase inhibitors can be self-administrated by the patient there are still some key questions and potential issues that need to be addressed before Rho kinase inhibitors can be used clinically: The effect of Rho kinase inhibitors in vivo Our current data are all based on cell cultures The results that we observed in vitro do not necessarily guarantee the same effect in vivo such as using rodent pterygium research models are needed with the clinically approved Rho kinase inhibitors It is generally believed that hyperemia may promote fibrosis by providing nutrition and proinflammatory factors to the wound area the anti-fibrotic effect of Rho kinase inhibitors may be counteracted or even surpassed by hyperemia and therefore cannot be used to address this possibility this question can only be answered by using in vivo models The other side effects of Rho kinase inhibitors are unlikely to promote fibrosis and are therefore not discussed here we found that Rho kinase inhibitors may be a potential post-surgical treatment to minimize pterygium recurrence Bianchi, E. et al. 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Funct. 37, 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbf.3382 (2019) Download references This study was supported by the National Institute of Health/National Eye Institute Award Numbers R01EY026962 (WM) and a challenge grant from Research to Prevent Blindness (Department of Ophthalmology The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology SL and WM conceived the idea and designed the experiments; SL provided clinical samples JMD and WM wrote and revised the manuscript Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-81659-6 Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology November marked another record-breaking month for EV sales with 1.8 million units sold globally announced EV research-house November overtook the previous record set in October 2024 by 100,000.   The Chinese market once again beat its previous record set last month (October) by over 50,000 vehicles to reach almost 1.3 million units sold in November 2024 15.2 million EVs have been sold globally so far this year Snapshot electric vehicle sales in January – November 2024 vs Jan-Nov 2023   commented: “This quarter has picked up significantly for EV sales globally as we see record-breaking month after record-breaking month the regional picture is somewhat uneven with Europe shrinking 3% this year so far and once more China accounts for over two thirds of the electric vehicles sold in November.”  The EU & EFTA & UK EV market remains down year-on-year by -3% after selling 280,000 units in November 2024 The UK market has had a strong second half of 2024 There has been increased intensity over the past month most recently from the European People’s Party Group (EPP) after they released a position paper calling for a revision of the EU emission targets – including changing the 2035 ban on internal combustion engines (ICE) and an assessment of the fines expected from the 2025 emission targets.   China continues to reach new heights with 1.3 million units sold in November 2024 with record monthly BEV sales and flat PHEV sales on a month-on-month basis The growth in EV sales in month-on-month in November 2024 has almost entirely come from BEV sales Most of this growth resulted from monthly increases in sales from Geely whereas BEV sales in China have grown by 18% year-to-date.   We expect continued strong growth towards the end of the year reported aim to get rid of the Biden tax credit We expect this would bring forward purchases from consumers in order to take advantage of the tax credit VinFast began deliveries of its’ second EV in USA and deliveries of the Tesla Cybertruck started in Canada.  BYD has unveiled its “Super e-Platform” capable of reaching charging speeds of 1,000 kW (1 MW) making it the fastest charging platform on the market The platform also has a max voltage capacity of 1,000V higher than the current 400V and 800V platforms currently used This technology sets a new benchmark for charging in the passenger vehicle market and points the direct in which the market is moving Charging speeds have been getting faster each year. Rho Motion’s Charging Monthly Database shows that the sales weighted average charging speed has increased 63% over the last 5 years as manufacturers each year have released vehicles that have faster peak DC charging speeds in China there are eight models that offer charging speeds of 500 kW and above the fastest being Zeekr’s 009 offering a max power of 560 kW BYD’s new platform surpasses this and is set to go into BYD’s new models the Han L and Tang L slated for release in April 2025 Read: Are battery swapping EVs heading towards mass adoption in China? Although BYD has jumped ahead of many other manufacturers considering the market movements it was only a matter of time before the 1 MW milestone was reached in passenger cars Rho Motion’s Charging Database shows that in 2024 ~90% of all the vehicles sold in China had max DC charging speeds of under 200 kW the majority of China’s charging infrastructure reflects this meaning when the Han L and Tang L are released there will be no megawatt chargers available for these vehicles to use BYD has said it plans to build more than 4,000 charging stations capable of 1 MW charging for its new platform It has also said that it will integrate energy storage systems with these facilities to allow 1 MW in locations that have limited power capacity Read: What is the outlook for the US charging industry post NEVI? Megawatt charging is increasingly being deployed across the bus and truck sectors enabling faster and more efficient charging for heavy-duty electric vehicles As this technology gains traction in commercial transport it will move towards the passenger vehicle market With one passenger vehicle manufacturer now offering megawatt charging capabilities it is expected other automakers will also follow suit however the pace at which this will happen remains to be seen For more information about the charging industry see our research or get in touch. Rho Labs is delighted to announce that Rho Protocol, the first institutional-grade market for crypto interest rates, will be publicly launched on March 31. After a successful period in private beta mode, Rho’s crypto funding rate and staking rate futures will be open for trading. Built on Arbitrum, Rho has transformed crypto interest rates into a liquid, tradeable asset class, giving hedge funds, trading firms, DAOs, and institutional investors capital efficient tools for hedging and deploying profitable rate strategies. With nearly $10B in notional volume traded just during the beta stage, Rho has already established itself as the go-to-venue for trading crypto rates. Rho’s launch represents a milestone in the maturation of the crypto ecosystem. As the functioning of the crypto market starts to represent traditional markets more and more closely, rates, as the single largest asset class in traditional global financial markets, will play an increasingly important role in the functioning of the ecosystem. Below is a summary of the products available on the platform at launch: Rho’s Perpetual Funding Rate Futures market enables users to trade the opportunities presented by funding rate fluctuations as well as hedge against unpredictable funding rate changes, ensuring more consistent portfolio returns and improved Sharpe ratios. Users can take positions on the funding rate of BTC or ETH perpetual swaps on a number of centralized and decentralized exchanges, including Binance, OKX and Bybit to hedge or profit from funding rate fluctuations. Rho incentivizes liquidity providers to supply capital to vAMMs (virtual automated market makers) on the platform. Rho’s virtual Automated Market Maker (vAMM) is a next-generation rate market-making mechanism. Unlike traditional AMMs, which rely on continuous liquidity pools, Rho’s vAMM introduces a capital-efficient model optimized for trading rate derivatives. Passive returns in on-chain rate markets can be generated with the Rho Liquidity Vault, which functions on a market-neutral liquidity strategy, providing market-making functions to Rho Protocol’s vAMMs.  Users deposit into the vault to provide liquidity and in return receive a portion of the trading fees that the vault earns. Furthermore, the vault provides liquidity for liquidations. Additional fees can be earned when liquidations are actioned. Rho recently completed a $4m seed funding round, backed by Coinfund, Flow Traders, Auros and Speedinvest. With the new funding, Rho Labs plans to enhance liquidity, onboard institutional participants, and develop non-custodial trading solutions. On the announcement of the seed funding, Alex Felix, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of CoinFund commented: “We are thrilled to support Rho Labs as they fill a critical gap in the crypto ecosystem with a marketplace of perpetual products to normalize funding and forward rates between CeFi and DeFi. Rho Labs is built by capital markets professionals to serve the budding credit opportunity. We strongly believe in Alex and his team as sophisticated institutional players to deliver the future of rate derivatives in crypto.” And receive exclusive articles on securities markets This bridges TradFi and DeFi by increasing the utility of real world assets on-chain. The proposed KDX will be a fully regulated platform dedicated to tokenizing real-world assets. Wholesale payment infrastructures can be interoperable via new technologies for FX transactions. This brings more equities, fixed income and asset allocation funds on-chain. Verifying identity on-chain lowers one of the barriers to entry to DeFi for traditional institutions. Volume 8 - 2014 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2014.00314 The Rho family of GTPases belongs to the Ras superfamily of low molecular weight (∼21 kDa) guanine nucleotide binding proteins The most extensively studied members are RhoA studies have demonstrated that Rho family GTPases are important regulatory molecules that link surface receptors to the organization of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons Rho GTPases mediate many diverse critical cellular processes Rho GTPases also play an essential role in regulating neuronal morphology Rho GTPases regulate dendritic arborization more recent efforts have underscored an important function for Rho GTPases in regulating neuronal survival and death Rho GTPases can exert either a pro-survival or pro-death signal in neurons depending upon both the cell type and neurotoxic insult involved This review summarizes key findings delineating the involvement of Rho GTPases and their effectors in the regulation of neuronal survival and death these results suggest that dysregulation of Rho family GTPases may potentially underscore the etiology of some forms of neurodegenerative disease such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis More recent studies have elucidated ubiquitin-dependent proteasomal degradation of Rho family GTPases as a novel mechanism controlling their signaling output Guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) catalyze the conversion of GDP to GTP to enhance Rho GTPase activation GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) inactivate Rho GTPases by stimulating the ability of Rho GTPases to hydrolyze GTP to GDP guanine dissociation inhibitors (GDI) regulate Rho GTPase activation by sequestering Rho GTPases in a GDP-bound state in the cytosol Rho family GTPases are essential regulators of neuronal morphology These data demonstrate the critical importance of maintaining precise spatio-temporal regulation of Rho family GTPases Similar to the opposing functions exerted between members of the Rho GTPase family in the maintenance of neurite outgrowth and growth cone formation, Rac activation typically promotes neuronal survival while Rho activation often elicits neuronal death (Luo, 2000; Linseman and Loucks, 2008) we focus on the involvement of Rac GTPase and Rho GTPase in regulating neuronal survival We first discuss the critical functions of Rho family GTPases in mediating neuronal survival in vitro we review the essential role that Rho GTPases play in proper nervous system development we examine evidence supporting dysregulation of Rho family GTPases as a causative factor in various neurodegenerative diseases Rho GTPase signaling pathways regulating neuronal survival Rho activates a downstream ROCK/PTEN pathway that indirectly inactivates the pro-survival protein Akt to suppress neuronal survival Rho can also function to provoke apoptosis via activation of either p38- or JNK-dependent signaling pathways which elicit apoptosis through activation of pro-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins Rac signals through PI3K to activate Akt to enhance neuronal survival Rac can also promote neuronal survival via activation of PAK and enhanced ERK-dependent stimulation of pro-survival members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins Maintaining a balance between these Rac dependent pro-survival signals and Rho-dependent pro-apoptotic signals is essential to the survival of many types of neurons including cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) and spinal motor neurons More recent studies performed in vitro in diverse neuronal cell types have clarified that while Rac GTPase typically promotes neuronal survival Rho GTPase generally provokes neuronal apoptosis These finding demonstrate an essential role for Rac1 in regulating pro-apoptotic members of the BH3-only subfamily of Bcl-2 proteins these data indicate that aberrant activation of RhoA and/or RhoB may contribute to neuronal apoptosis in a variety of in vitro models of neurodegeneration the above findings indicate that Rho/ROCK signaling often acts in opposition to Rac pro-survival signaling to promote neuronal apoptosis While these apparent discrepancies in Rho family GTPase functions may reflect differences in either organism specific- or cell type-specific regulation of neuronal morphology they also further underscore the importance of tight regulation of Rho GTPase activation in order for proper nervous system development we will briefly review the involvement of Rac and Rho in neuronal development we will focus on the function of Rac1 and Rac3 in regulating neuronal development Future work will be required to further elucidate the involvement of Rac1 in mediating neural progenitor proliferation during nervous system development evidence suggests that both Rac1 and Rac3 are important for proper CNS development The involvement of RhoA during development has been further elucidated through tissue-specific deletion of RhoA in the CNS it is likely that RhoA exerts cell type-specific functions during development of the nervous system recent studies have uncovered RhoA as an important regulator of neuronal survival and neural stem cell proliferation unlike the role of Rac1 in regulating neuronal migration limited evidence suggests that RhoA may not be required for migration in neurons but instead directs migration through its effects on the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton in radial glia cells recent studies have highlighted functions for both RhoA and RhoB in proper nervous system development Dysregulated Rho family GTPase signaling in neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a devastating neuromuscular disorder characterized by loss of motor neurons of the motor cortex Approximately 10% of ALS cases appear to be caused by a genetic component while the remaining 90% are considered sporadic in nature the glycine to alanine substitution at position 93 in Cu Zn- superoxide dismutase (SOD1) was one of eleven mutations initially identified to be causative in familial ALS Although the G93A SOD1 mutation remains the best characterized to date mutations in additional genes such as Alsin (ALS2) and fused in sarcoma (FUS) have also been linked to other familial forms of ALS Recent evidence suggests that dysregulation of Rho GTPases may be a factor underlying both genetic and sporadic ALS These studies highlight that a loss of Rac activity may underlie the progression of early onset forms of ALS Future studies should be aimed at determining whether expression of mutant forms of SOD1 similarly decrease Rac1 activation in motor neurons in particular In addition to mutations that code for alsin and SOD1, recent evidence also suggests that ARHGEF16, a GEF for Rac GTPase, is hypermethylated and downregulated in postmortem sporadic ALS spinal cord samples when compared to samples from neurologically normal controls (Figueroa-Romero et al., 2012) dysregulation of Rac GTPase may be a common factor underlying both familial and sporadic forms of ALS While accumulating evidence has highlighted a critical function for Rac GTPase in maintaining neuronal survival the involvement of Rac in the etiology of ALS has only been examined recently and the exact mechanism by which disruptions in Rac activity may induce neuronal apoptosis remains poorly understood alterations in Rac activity in motor neurons and mouse models of ALS warrants further investigation In primary microglia cells isolated from G93A mSOD1 mice stimulation of the P2X7 receptor by its agonist 2′-3′-O-(benzoyl–benzoyl) ATP enhanced Nox2 activation and the production of ROS in a Rac1-dependent manner when compared to microglia derived from non-transgenic animals recent experimental evidence suggests that G93A mSOD1 may stimulate Rac1 GTPase activation in a P2X7-dependent manner to enhance the release of toxic ROS from microglia While the above studies indicate that a gain of Rho GTPase activity may underlie the progression of ALS new studies will need to be carried out to determine the precise mechanism by which unopposed activation of Rho GTPase may contribute to the motor neuronal death observed in ALS Accumulating evidence suggests that dysregulated Rho family GTPase activity may correlate with Aβ production and thereby contribute to the loss of actin polymerization and dendritic spines Rac1 GTPase may function in a positive feedback loop with APP and/or Aβ fragments to regulate the expression and activities of one another dysregulation of PAK signaling may underlie some synaptic defects observed in AD these data suggest that reduced Kalirin-7 levels may contribute to the pathogenesis of AD through enhanced activity of iNOS Future studies will be critical in determining whether reduced levels of Kalirin-7 contribute to diminished Rac GTPase activity during early stages of AD progression aberrant activation of Rho GTPase may contribute to AD pathology through enhanced neurite retraction increased production of toxic Aβ fragments Huntington’s disease (HD) is a progressive and fatal autosomal dominant disorder characterized by loss of cells in the striatum and cortex resulting in involuntary body movements (chorea) HD is caused by a mutation in the Huntingtin gene which results in expansion of a CAG nucleotide repeat Mutant huntington (Htt) forms toxic gain-of-function aggregates that underlie the etiology of HD Although relatively few studies have examined the involvement of Rho GTPases in the progression of HD recent efforts have linked dysregulated Rho family GTPase signaling to both the production of toxic ROS and mutant Htt aggregation in the degenerating CNS enhanced Rac1 activation may contribute to the pathogenesis of HD through either activation of NADPH oxidase in microglia or direct binding to mutant Htt in susceptible neuronal populations Rac and its interacting proteins may underlie the neurotoxicity and aggregation of mutant Htt in HD These data indicate that enhanced activation of Rho/ROCK signaling may also contribute to the pathogenesis of HD Although several genetic mutations have been identified in PD exposure to environmental toxins has also been strongly associated with development of PD mutations in LRRK2 may induce neurite retraction and cell death in dopaminergic neurons principally through diminished Rac1 GTPase activity These data indicate that aberrant activation of Rac in microglia may contribute to enhanced production of ROS and underlie the death of neighboring dopaminergic neurons in PD However, the involvement of Rac in mediating neuronal survival may be much more complex in PD progression as it has also been demonstrated that hippocampal and dopaminergic neurons exposed to rotenone showed decreased active Rac1-GTP and enhanced RhoA-GTP (Sanchez et al., 2008) in a manner similar to the antagonistic relationship between Rac and Rho in regulating the survival of motor neurons diminished Rac activity and enhanced Rho activity may contribute to neuronal death during the progression of some forms of PD particularly those forms that are linked to environmental toxin exposure Rac1 may contribute to PD disease progression in a cell type-specific manner where loss of Rac GTPase activity may contribute to the death of neurons while increased Rac-GTP activity in microglia may contribute to the formation of toxic ROS These data indicate that dysregulation of Rho family GTPases may underlie both genetic and environmental cases of PD The spinal cord connects the CNS to the PNS to control sensory and motor functions this connection can be disrupted to elicit neurological deficits due to impaired transmission between the CNS and PNS The symptoms of SCI vary widely dependent upon the location and severity of injury but neurological defects can range from pain to paralysis Given the extensive involvement of Rho GTPases in regulating axonal outgrowth and pathfinding it is not surprising that members of the Rho GTPase family have emerged as key modulators of axonal regeneration following SCI these studies strongly suggest that enhanced Rho/ROCK signaling impedes axonal growth and regeneration following SCI injury although the exact mechanism is presently unclear these studies indicate that the disrupted balance between Rac and Rho GTPases is a critical determinant of axonal regeneration following traumatic nerve injury although the consequences of enhanced Rac1 activation are presently unclear dysregulated Rac1 activity occurs in several models of I/R extensive data indicate that aberrant activation of the Rho/ROCK pathway underlies neuronal death in I/R The essential functions of Rho family GTPases in regulating neuronal growth cone dynamics and neuronal development suggest that Rho GTPases have an important and conserved function in mediating neuronal survival and death although neurodegenerative diseases are complex and multifaceted dysregulated activity of Rho family GTPases has emerged as a common feature underlying the etiology of diverse degenerative disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems Future research will be aimed at further elucidating the signaling pathways that are aberrantly activated or disrupted downstream of Rho GTPases in neurodegenerative diseases Many studies suggest that targeting Rho GTPases may have beneficial therapeutic effects for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest Differential effects of Rho GTPases on axonal and dendritic development in hippocampal neurones Rotenone destroys dopaminergic neurons and induces parkinsonian symptoms in rats CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Spatio-temporal regulation of Rac1 and Cdc42 during nerve growth factor-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells The NADPH oxidase pathway is dysregulated by the P2X7 receptor in the SOD1-G93A microglia model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Control of axon elongation via an SDF-1α/Rho/mDia pathway in cultured cerebellar granule neurons Altered apoptotic responses in neurons lacking RhoB GTPase ROCK/Cdc42-mediated microglial motility and gliapse formation lead to phagocytosis of degenerating dopaminergic neurons in vivo Chronic systemic pesticide exposure reproduces features of Parkinson’s disease Amyloid-β and tau: the trigger and bullet in Alzheimer disease pathogenesis CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar C3 peptide enhances recovery from spinal cord injury by improved regenerative growth of descending fiber tracts Differential distribution of Rac1 and Rac3 GTPases in the developing mouse brain: implications for a role of Rac3 in Purkinje cell differentiation Rac1 changes the substrate specificity of γ-secretase between amyloid precursor protein and Notch1 The development of a rat in vitro model of spinal cord injury demonstrating the additive effects of Rho and ROCK inhibitors on neurite outgrowth and myelination Effect of focal cerebral infarctions on lesional RhoA and RhoB expression The role of local actin instability in axon formation Molecular signatures of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease progression in hind and forelimb muscles of an SOD1G93A mouse model A radial glia-specific role of RhoA in double cortex formation Rac1 protein rescues neurite retraction caused by G2019S leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) Identification of a negative regulatory region for the exchange activity and characterization of T332I mutant of Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 10 (ARHGEF10) Rac1 controls the formation of midline commissures and the competency of tangential migration in ventral telencephalic neurons The protective effect of Rho-associated kinase inhibitor on aluminum-induced neurotoxicity in rat cortical neurons Increased expression of Myosin binding protein H in the skeletal muscle of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients Generation and characterization of Rac3 knockout mice Essential role of Rac1 and Rac3 GTPases in neuronal development a novel ras-related family of proteins that are botulinum toxin substrates Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor is an NFL mRNA destabilizing factor that forms cytoplasmic inclusions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Rho-associated kinase II (ROCKII) limits axonal growth after trauma within the adult mouse spinal cord Immunohistochemical analysis of protein expression after middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice α Pix enhances mutant huntingtin aggregation Figueroa-Romero Identification of epigenetically altered genes in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Rho kinase inhibition enhances axonal regeneration in the injured CNS Stage-specific control of neural crest cell proliferation by the small rho GTPases Cdc42 and Rac1 Inhibition of the Rho/ROCK pathway prevents neuronal degeneration in vitro and in vivo following methylmercury exposure Methylmercury exposure downregulates the expression of Racl and leads to neuritic degeneration and ultimately apoptosis in cerebrocortical neurons Distinct role for microglia in rotenone-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons Critical role for microglial NADPH oxidase in rotenone-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons Lovastatin induces apoptosis of spontaneously immortalized rat brain neuroblasts: involvement of nonsterol isoprenoid biosynthesis inhibition Molecular and cellular function of ALS2/alsin: implication of membrane dynamics in neuronal development and degeneration Neuronal Rac1 is required for learning-evoked neurogenesis Rac function and regulation during Drosophila development CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar SOD1 mutations disrupt redox-sensitive Rac regulation of NADPH oxidase in a familial ALS model Mammalian Rho GTPases: new insights into their functions from in vivo studies The small GTPase RhoA is required to maintain spinal cord neuroepithelium organization and the neural stem cell pool and CDC42Hs regulate transcriptional activation by SRF Protein kinase and protein phosphatase expression in the central nervous system of G93A mSOD over-expressing mice Altered distribution of RhoA in Alzheimer’s disease and AβPP overexpressing mice a selective inhibitor of Rho kinase activity in the secondary injury associated with the experimental model of spinal cord trauma Alsin/Rac1 signaling controls survival and growth of spinal motoneurons Rac1 mediates collapsin-1-induced growth cone collapse Rac1 activity changes are associated with neuronal pathology and spatial memory long-term recovery after global cerebral ischemia p21-Activated kinase-1 is necessary for depolarization-mediated neuronal survival Actin polymerization is essential for myelin sheath fragmentation during Wallerian degeneration A Rac1/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt3 anti-apoptotic pathway antagonizes Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) mutant-induced motoneuronal cell death Loss of RhoA in neural progenitor cells causes the disruption of adherens junctions and hyperproliferation Co-aggregation of RNA binding proteins in ALS spinal motor neurons: evidence of a common pathogenic mechanism Involvement of RhoA and possible neuroprotective effect of fasudil in NMDA-induced neurotoxicity in the rat retina Rho family GTPases and neuronal growth cone remodelling: relationship between increased complexity induced by Cdc42Hs and acetylcholine and collapse induced by RhoA and lysophosphatidic acid A novel FERM domain including guanine nucleotide exchange factor is involved in Rac signaling and regulates neurite remodeling HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor induces a transient activation of high affinity nerve growth factor receptor and morphological differentiation with fatal outcome in PC12 cells Evidence for the involvement of Tiam1 in axon formation Excitotoxicity and stroke: identifying novel targets for neuroprotection Inhibition of Rac GTPase triggers a c-Jun- and Bim-dependent mitochondrial apoptotic cascade in cerebellar granule neurons The rho GTPase Rac1 is required for proliferation and survival of progenitors in the developing forebrain Y-27632 improves rotarod performance and reduces huntingtin levels in R6/2 mice Neuroprotective potential of fasudil mesylate in brain ischemia-reperfusion injury of rats Rac1 and Cdc42 but not RhoA or Rho kinase activities are required for neurite outgrowth induced by the Netrin-1 receptor DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) in N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells An essential role for Rac/Cdc42 GTPases in cerebellar granule neuron survival Diverse roles of Rho family GTPases in neuronal development Rac1 selective activation improves retina ganglion cell survival and regeneration Rho family GTPase inhibition reveals opposing effects of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling cascades on neuronal survival p21-activated kinase 1 promotes soluble mutant huntingtin self-interaction and enhances toxicity p21-activated kinase-aberrant activation and translocation in Alzheimer disease pathogenesis The familial Parkinsonism gene LRRK2 regulates neurite process morphology Redox modifier genes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in mice Statins induce differentiation and cell death in neurons and astroglia A role for RhoB in synaptic plasticity and the regulation of neuronal morphology Mendoza-Naranjo Fibrillar amyloid-β1-42 modifies actin organization affecting the cofilin phosphorylation state: a role for Rac1/cdc42 effector proteins and the slingshot phosphatase Mendoza-Naranjo Aβ1-42 stimulates actin polymerization in hippocampal neurons through Rac1 and Cdc42 Rho GTPases Blockade of HMG-CoA reductase activity causes changes in microtubule-stabilizing protein tau via suppression of geranylgeranylpyrophosphate formation: implications for Alzheimer’s disease CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Niederöst Nogo-A and myelin-associated glycoprotein mediate neurite growth inhibition by antagonistic regulation of RhoA and Rac1 Critical involvement of Rho GTPase activity in the efficient transplantation of neural stem cells into the injured spinal cord and Cdc42 GTPases in cell cycle progression through G1 CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Rho GTPase function in development: how in vivo models change our view Spatio-temporal Rho GTPase signaling – where are we now Mitochondrial redox signalling by p66Shc mediates ALS-like disease through Rac1 inactivation The β-amyloid protein of Alzheimer’s disease increases neuronal CRMP-2 phosphorylation by a Rho-GTP mechanism Oral treatment with the NADPH oxidase antagonist apocynin mitigates clinical and pathological features of parkinsonism in the MPTP marmoset model Role of Rac1 GTPase in NADPH oxidase activation and cognitive impairment following cerebral ischemia in the rat Inhibition of Rho kinase (ROCK) leads to increased cerebral blood flow and stroke protection GEF means go: turning on RHO GTPases with guanine nucleotide-exchange factors Rotenone-induced toxicity is mediated by Rho-GTPases in hippocampal neurons Control of postnatal apoptosis in the neocortex by RhoA-subfamily GTPases determines neuronal density Wide therapeutic time window for fasudil neuroprotection against ischemia-induced delayed neuronal death in gerbils Schürmann p21-activated kinase 1 phosphorylates the death agonist bad and protects cells from apoptosis Rho mediates calcium-dependent activation of p38α and subsequent excitotoxic cell death Phosphorylation of profilin by ROCK1 regulates polyglutamine aggregation Cystamine prevents ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting polyamination of RhoA Signal transducer and activator of transcription-5 mediates neuronal apoptosis induced by inhibition of Rac GTPase activity Rac1 is required for the formation of three germ layers during gastrulation Rac1 regulates neuronal polarization through the WAVE complex limits motor neuron loss in experimental models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a critical compound for rat primary cultured cortical neurons to protect the cell death induced by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition Regulation of dendritic growth and remodeling by Rho Tönges Inhibition of rho kinase enhances survival of dopaminergic neurons and attenuates axonal loss in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease Tönges Rho kinase inhibition modulates microglia activation and improves survival in a model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Alsin is a Rab5 and Rac1 guanine nucleotide exchange factor A large scale Huntingtin protein interaction network implicates Rho GTPase signaling pathways in Huntington disease GTPase RhoB: an early predictor of neuronal death after transient focal ischemia in mice ALS2/Alsin regulates Rac-PAK signaling and neurite outgrowth State-specific functions of the small Rho GTPases Cdc42 and Rac1 for adult hippocampal neurogenesis Elevated NADPH oxidase activity contributes to oxidative stress and cell death in Huntington’s disease Sema3A-induced growth-cone collapse is mediated by Rac1 amino acids 17–32 Slowed conduction and thin myelination of peripheral nerves associated with mutant rho Guanine-nucleotide exchange factor 10 Rac1 inhibition negatively regulates transcriptional activity of the amyloid precursor protein gene Fasudil hydrochloride protects neurons in rat hippocampal CA1 region through inhibiting GluR6-MLK3-JNKs signal pathway Targeting a dominant negative rho kinase to neurons promotes axonal outgrowth and partial functional recovery after rat rubrospinal tract lesion The inflammatory NADPH oxidase enzyme modulates motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mice Unstable mutants in the peripheral endosomal membrane component ALS2 cause early-onset motor neuron disease protects against ischemic neuronal damage in vitro and in vivo by acting directly on neurons Kalirin is under-expressed in Alzheimer’s disease hippocampus Google Scholar Signalling and crosstalk of Rho GTPases in mediating axon guidance Serine phosphorylation of death agonist BAD in response to survival factor results in binding to 14-3-3 not BCL-X(L) Ischemic preconditioning negatively regulates plenty of SH3s-mixed lineage kinase 3-Rac1 complex and c-Jun N-terminal kinase 3 signaling via activation of Akt Role of Rac1 GTPase in JNK signaling and delayed neuronal cell death following global cerebral ischemia Phenylalanine activates the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis through the RhoA/Rho-associated kinase pathway in cortical neurons Brain-derived neurotrophic factor inhibits phenylalanine-induced neuronal apoptosis by preventing RhoA pathway activation Role of p21-activated kinase pathway defects in the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer disease Rotenone activates phagocyte NADPH oxidase by binding to its membrane subunit gp91phox Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can lower amyloidogenic ASS42 by inhibiting Rho Citation: Stankiewicz TR and Linseman DA (2014) Rho family GTPases: key players in neuronal development, neuronal survival, and neurodegeneration. Front. Cell. Neurosci. 8:314. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2014.00314 Copyright © 2014 Stankiewicz and Linseman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish China currently dominates global grid deployments of BESS but in coming years other markets will grow significantly fuelled by low-cost lithium-ion cells and renewable energy capacity build out China accounts for approximately two thirds of the installed capacity of grid scale BESS worldwide It is followed by the US which accounts for roughly 25% of the total installed market the UK has by far the largest installed capacity with 7.5 GWh Other notable markets include Australia and Chile which in recent years have built out significant capacity pipelines Elsewhere the industry remains in relative nascency with market maturity yet to be fully realised Read: Global BESS deployments surpass expectations in 2024 According to Rho Motion’s BESS database as of February 2025 by 2027 the top 20 countries’ deployed BESS grid capacity will have grown by at least 289% compared to 2024 there will be significant regional disparities with some markets growing faster than others Canada is expected to be the fastest growing market to 2027 with its cumulative project pipeline reaching 18.3GWh – a notable increase from its current capacity of 0.3GWh Saudi Arabia’s capacity could increase 24-fold reaching 32.4GWh The next three market leaders in growth are Australia This capacity development is largely driven by renewables buildout the need for grid flexibility and strong revenue potential for asset owners and investors Read: What does Africa’s BESS landscape look like? and Australia have the largest total project pipelines primarily because their BESS landscapes are more advanced with stronger investment signals and greater revenue potential Their early-mover advantage positions their markets closer to maturity allowing for faster project deployment and greater investor confidence China will remain the dominant player in 2027 but its share of the total market is set to decline to just over 50% of the world’s total market based on the current pipeline Although the BESS market is growing the world over there are still challenges that face the industry including grid connection queues and development of revenue streams in nascent markets This data comes from Rho Motion’s BESS Database, to find out more click here The word Tesla has been synonymous with EVs for the past 15 years with the company’s sales being a key driver to industry growth worldwide after years of positive growth Tesla reported a 1% drop in its EV sales from 2023 to 2024 the emerging picture of Tesla in 2025 remains muddied with some negative signs Tesla’s January 2025 sales figures contracted almost across the board while the region’s total BEV market was up ~33% Within Europe some of its historic largest markets including France the UK and Belgium were down by up to ~63% In China its sales were down ~15% compared to the total BEV market being up ~16% While in North America Tesla’s sales increased ~11% this is markedly slower growth rate compared to the total BEV market which increased ~34% Tesla monthly sales dropped 41% compared to the Canadia BEV market which increased ~14% When Trump won the election in November 2024 there was excitement on financial markets as to what Musk’s position in the Trump Administration may do for Tesla as a company much of this excitement has waned and Telsa’s share price has dropped 34% making it the second worst performer on the S&P500 YTD (January to March) In total Tesla saw an 11% drop in sales in January 2025 compared to 2024. Considering average regional prices of a Tesla this equates to over USD582 million of potential lost pre-tax earnings. Although in many recent earnings calls Musk has stated that Tesla is much more than an EV brand the majority of Tesla’s earnings still come though car sales If the trend of falling sales continues it threatens overall profits for the year substantially Many have pointed the finger at CEO Musk for the reason of falling Tesla sales His place in Trump’s Administration as head of DOGE is a divisive one many now see him as polarising character that is doing damage to the Tesla brand An example seen recently was the city of Toronto scrapping its EV incentives specifically for new Tesla taxis and no other automaker it is early to suggest that Musk is the primary driving factor for falling sales the Tesla brand and Musk are closely intertwined it will certainly play a significant role in 2025 This information comes from Rho Motion’s EV and Battery database click here for more details For more information about the EV and batteries markets see our research or get in touch Rho Labs is building an interest rate derivatives market which is initially for crypto markets but has a long-term vision of traditional markets moving onchain The developer of the Rho protocol said it is the first crypto-native interest rates venue told Markets Markets that the initial goal is to become the preeminent provider and the most recognized player in the market for interest rates derivatives which are relevant to crypto traders He said that since the firm launched in 2022 there has been an evolution of crypto markets with rates especially perpetual futures funding and staking becoming a critical component of crypto traders’ portfolio returns as they look to hedge their positions and ensure predictability of their cashflow Perpetual futures do not have an expiry date and allow traders to speculate on the underlying asset prices indefinitely Onchain margin payments can be near real-time volatile crypto funding rates can significantly impact the profitability of trading especially as funding trades can turn negative Rho Labs’ futures for perpetual funding rates can help traders hedge this risk Crypto staking is the practice of locking digital tokens to a blockchain network in order to earn rewards which is usually a percentage of the tokens staked Staking has caught the attention of institutional investors in the first quarter of 2024 Fidelity filed with the SEC for a spot ether ETF with a staking component Interest rates are the largest single asset class in traditional financial markets with a total value of open contracts exceeding $500 trillion according to Rho Labs The firm has facilitated over $7bn of notional volume since its beta launch in June 2024 global head of digital assets at Flow Traders said in a statement: “Our investment reflects our commitment to advancing financial technology that enhances market efficiency and liquidity Rho is scaling  at the perfect time to lead the evolution of on-chain interest rate derivatives.” Market maker Flow Traders took part in Rho Labs’ $4m seed funding round in February 2025 with participation from market maker Auros and other existing investors including Speedinvest The majority of funds will be used for developing products that Rho Labs plans to roll out in the next three to six months Ryvkin argued that as tokenization of real world assets takes off there will be continued to be more issuances of digital bonds onchain and bond market trading takes place onchain he said more traders will also want to manage interest rate risk onchain Capital efficiency is critical for institutional participants in traditIonal interest rate trading said it provided capital efficiencies for its customers of $20bn per day in its interest rates futures and options complex in 2024 Ryvkin said capital efficiency is also important for crypto market participants and Rho enables perpetual futures funding Rho argued it has turned perpetual funding which is the most important  family of rates in crypto opening up new trading opportunities for leveraged trading said in a statement that interest rate volatility is one of the greatest hurdles to deploying risk due to the unpredictable cost of capital and inadequate hedging mechanisms He said: “Rho is developing a solution to these hurdles that will accelerate market adoption on increasingly robust foundations.” Capital is extremely fragmented in the crypto ecosystem with collateral sitting at many different venues together with a lack of full-service prime brokers according to Ryvkin “We are not  trying not to create another pocket where participants have to keep collateral,” he added “We are trying to skip the  custodial exchange model Ryvkin was formerly the chief product officer of Copper.co This network enables institutional clients to trade on multiple digital asset exchanges while keeping funds in secure custody with Copper Rho Labs is looking to work with Copper and other custodians as the venue will not hold collateral “For the type of institutions that we want to have as clients they should be able to use the normal mechanism of keeping collateral at a custodian and performing periodic settlements,” he added Another aspect of capital efficiency that will be relevant to traditional finance institutions is interest-bearing stablecoins Stablecoins have been used in digital finance to transfer value and liquidity 24/7/365 seamlessly around the globe in contrast to a fiat currency such as the US dollar that is used in traditional banking They are backed by collateral to maintain a stable price over time by pegging value to a reference asset such as a fiat currency or a commodity “There is no term structure for interest bearing stablecoins and we can help create that term structure,” said Ryvkin In February 2025 Figure Markets said it had launched YLDS the first interest-bearing stablecoin native to a public blockchain that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission YLDS offers holders the ability to earn interest said in a statement that exchange collateral is one of the possible uses for YLDS A Senior Writer at Markets Media who became a financial journalist in 2000 after working in banking for over a decade... This enhances the ability of investors to access this asset class in a regulated and trusted market structure Financial Regulatory Working Group will support responsible growth of digital assets Cboe is building an ecosystem for more efficient access to bitcoin exposure and risk management There is growing institutional demand for bitcoin yield