Kitchen-Sink Enlightenment: A Review of “Grace for Amateurs”

Excerpt: Here’s an honest admission: Several times while reading Lily Burana’s new book Grace for Amateurs: Field Notes on a Journey Back to Faith, I consulted the copyright page, confirming again that Grace for Amateurs was really published by Thomas Nelson, the notoriously evangelical (and, in my mind, notoriously traditional) press. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Thomas Nelson asked another writer to remove the word “vagina” from her book, well aware that Christian readers would balk at language so closely associated with women and S-E-X. Would this same publisher be willing to support a memoir as edgy and progressive as Burana’s

Chicago Studies 2009 (Volume 2) Preface

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4D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers: From Macro to Micro

A novel and versatile shape memory ink system allowing 4D printing with light at the macroscale as well as the microscale is presented. Digital light processing (DLP) and direct laser writing (DLW) are selected as suitable 3D printing technologies to cover both regimes. First, a system based on monofunctional isobornyl acrylate and two crosslinkers consisting of a soft and a hard diacrylate is identified and proven to be compatible with both printing techniques. Employing DLP, a large variety of structures exhibiting distinct complexity is printed. These structures range from simple frames to more demanding 3D geometries such as double platform structures, infinity rings, or cubic grids. The shape memory effect is demonstrated for all the 3D geometries. Excellent shape fixity as well as recovery and repeatability is shown. Furthermore, the formulation is adapted for fast 4D printing at the microscale using DLW. Importantly, the 4D printed microstructures display remarkable shape memory properties. The possibility of trapping and releasing microobjects, such as microspheres, is ultimately demonstrated by designing, smart box-like 4D microstructures that can be thermally actuated—evidencing the versatility and potential of the reported system

Biomarkers in melanoma

Biomarkers are tumour- or host-related factors that correlate with tumour biological behaviour and patient prognosis. High-throughput analytical techniques--DNA and RNA microarrays--have identified numerous possible biomarkers, but their relevance to melanoma progression, clinical outcome and the selection of optimal treatment strategies still needs to be established. The review discusses a possible molecular basis for predictive tissue biomarkers such as melanoma thickness, ulceration and mitotic activity, and provides a list of promising new biomarkers identified from tissue microarrays that needs confirmation by independent, prospectively collected clinical data sets. In addition, common predictive serum biomarkers--lactate dehydrogenase, S100B and melanoma-inhibiting activity--as well as selected investigational serum biomarkers such as TA90IC and YKL-40 are also reviewed. A more accurate, therapeutically predictive classification of human melanomas and selection of patient populations that would profit from therapeutic interventions are among the major challenges expected to be addressed in the futur

Biomarkers in melanoma

Biomarkers are tumour- or host-related factors that correlate with tumour biological behaviour and patient prognosis. High-throughput analytical techniques—DNA and RNA microarrays—have identified numerous possible biomarkers, but their relevance to melanoma progression, clinical outcome and the selection of optimal treatment strategies still needs to be established. The review discusses a possible molecular basis for predictive tissue biomarkers such as melanoma thickness, ulceration and mitotic activity, and provides a list of promising new biomarkers identified from tissue microarrays that needs confirmation by independent, prospectively collected clinical data sets. In addition, common predictive serum biomarkers—lactate dehydrogenase, S100B and melanoma-inhibiting activity—as well as selected investigational serum biomarkers such as TA90IC and YKL-40 are also reviewed. A more accurate, therapeutically predictive classification of human melanomas and selection of patient populations that would profit from therapeutic interventions are among the major challenges expected to be addressed in the future

Nafld epidemiology, emerging pharmacotherapy, liver transplantation implications and the trends in the United States

© 2020 Authors. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a hepatic mani-festation of metabolic syndrome. The spread of obesity worldwide in pandemic proportions has led to a rapid rise of NAFLD in developed and developing countries alike. There are no approved pharmacological agents to treat steatohepatitis or advanced fibrosis but obeticholic acid recently has shown some promise in phase III trial. Currently, NAFLD is the number one etiology for simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation in the USA, second most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) and projected to become number one very soon. LT for NAFLD poses unique challenges, as these patients are generally older, obese and more likely to have a number of metabolic risk factors. Bariatric surgery is an option and can be considered if a structured weight loss program does not achieve the sustained weight loss goal. Comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment and aggres-sive management of comorbid conditions are crucial in the LT evaluation process to improve post-transplant survival. Re-current nonalcoholic steatohepatitis after LT is not uncom-mon, and thus warrants primary and secondary prevention strategies through a multidisciplinary approach. Prevalence of NAFLD in a donor population is a unique and growing concern that limits the access to quality liver grafts

Sampling Local Fungal Diversity in an Undergraduate Laboratory using DNA Barcoding

Traditional methods for fungal species identification require diagnostic morphological characters and are often limited by the availability of fresh fruiting bodies and local identification resources. DNA barcoding offers an additional method of species identification and is rapidly developing as a critical tool in fungal taxonomy. As an exercise in an undergraduate biology course, we identified 9 specimens collected from the Hendrix College campus in Conway, Arkansas, USA to the genus or species level using morphology. We report that DNA barcoding targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region supported several of our taxonomic determinations and we were able to contribute 5 ITS sequences to GenBank that were supported by vouchered collection information. We suggest that small-scale barcoding projects are possible and that they have value for documenting fungal diversity

Amphiregulin-EGFR Signaling Mediates the Migration of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Progenitors toward PTH-Stimulated Osteoblasts and Osteocytes

Intermittent administration of parathyroid hormone (PTH) dramatically increases bone mass and currently is one of the most effective treatments for osteoporosis. However, the detailed mechanisms are still largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that conditioned media from PTH-treated osteoblastic and osteocytic cells contain soluble chemotactic factors for bone marrow mesenchymal progenitors, which express a low amount of PTH receptor (PTH1R) and do not respond to PTH stimulation by increasing cAMP production or migrating toward PTH alone. Conditioned media from PTH-treated osteoblasts elevated phosphorylated Akt and p38MAPK amounts in mesenchymal progenitors and inhibition of these pathways blocked the migration of these progenitors toward conditioned media. Our previous and current studies revealed that PTH stimulates the expression of amphiregulin, an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like ligand that signals through the EGF receptor (EGFR), in both osteoblasts and osteocytes. Interestingly, conditioned media from PTH-treated osteoblasts increased EGFR phosphorylation in mesenchymal progenitors. Using several different approaches, including inhibitor, neutralizing antibody, and siRNA, we demonstrate that PTH increases the release of amphiregulin from osteoblastic cells, which acts on the EGFRs expressed on mesenchymal progenitors to stimulate the Akt and p38MAPK pathways and subsequently promote their migration in vitro. Furthermore, inactivation of EGFR signaling specifically in osteoprogenitors/osteoblasts attenuated the anabolic actions of PTH on bone formation. Taken together, these results suggest a novel mechanism for the therapeutic effect of PTH on osteoporosis and an important role of EGFR signaling in mediating PTH's anabolic actions on bone

Nature and origin of mineral coatings on volcanic rocks of the Black Mountain, Stonewall Mountain and Kane Springs Wash volcanic centers, southern Nevada

Surface coatings on volcanic rock assemblages that occur at select tertiary volcanic centers in southern Nevada were investigated using LANDSAT 5 Thematic Mapper imagery. Three project sites comprise the subject of this study: the Kane Springs Wash, Black Mountain, and Stonewall Mountain volcanic centers. LANDSAT 5 TM work scenes selected for each area are outlined along with local area geology. The nature and composition of surface coatings on the rock types within the subproject areas are determined, along with the origin of the coatings and their genetic link to host rocks, geologic interpretations are related to remote sensing units discriminated on TM imagery. Image processing was done using an ESL VAX/IDIMS image processing system, field sampling, and observation. Aerial photographs were acquired to facilitate location on the ground and to aid stratigraphic differentiation

Integrin α_IIbβ₃ activation and clustering in minimal synthetic cells

Platelet adhesion and activation are mediated by integrin αIIbβ3 clustering, which is crucial for the hemostatic function of platelets. In an activated state, integrins provide the connection between the extracellular matrix and the actin cytoskeleton through a variety of cytoplasmic proteins, such as talin. Here, droplet-based microfluidics is applied to generate cell-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) with a defined molecular composition to quantify the adhesion of integrin αIIbβ3-containing protocells in relation to the number of integrin–talin head domain (THD) complexes. Furthermore, it is shown that THD induces integrin clustering in protocells adhering to fibrinogen. The formation of this molecular link, which has, so far, only been observed in vivo, is an essential step in synthetic cell design to recapitulate integrin-mediated bidirectional signaling across the membrane. These results pave the way for further quantitative investigations of protein–protein interactions between integrins and associated proteins and their assembly within such defined, but complex, synthetic cells. An essential future step to mimic the complex interaction between cells and their environment will be to combine synthetic approaches with peptide chemistry to guide the molecular mechanisms involved in integrin binding and activation