Effect of Energy Metabolism on NF-kB activity in Ovarian Cancer

NF-kB is a transcription factor involved in cancer cell growth and survival. The activation of NF-kB can be assessed by monitoring phosphorylation of RelA p65 at Ser-536, which is a surrogate of the NF-kB transcription factor activation. The objective of this study was to determine if the loss of ATP leads to NF-kB deficiency and thus, apoptotic cell death of “bad” cells in ovarian cancer cells. The independent variables were metformin (Met), an anti-diabetic medicine, another compound MinB functionally similar to Met and a glucose transporter inhibitor BAY-876. The dependent variables were the resulting effect of Met and MinB on phosphorylated AMPK at Thr-172 (marker of ATP loss) and RelA p65 at Ser-536 (marker of NF-kB activation). In each experiment, AMPK and RelA phosphorylation were tested by treatment of ovarian cancer cell lines with Met, MinB, BAY-876, Met+BAY-876, MinB+BAY-876. Western blotting was performed to determine the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RelA p65. For two gels, the process was repeated. In each gel, Met or MinB treatment leads to thicker bands of AMPK-p, indicating decrease in cellular ATP levels following treatments. The effect of Met, MinB, or BAY-876 on RelA p65 was limited. However, co-treatment of Met or MinB with BAY-876 caused strong inhibition of NF-kB, as reflected by reduction in RelA p65-p. These results suggested that ATP deficiency together with inhibition of glucose transport cause inactivation of NK-kB. Future research will be conducted to study the effects of these compounds or their combinations on ovarian cancer cell growth and survival against from apoptosis.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1267/thumbnail.jp

Category-specific enhancement of retrieval due to field perspective

Two memory perspectives have been distinguished: A field perspective where events are re-experienced in the first person, and an observer perspective where events are witnessed in the third person. Two experiments examined the influence of memory perspective on objective memory performance. In both experiments participants were presented with a series of verbal passages, each of which contained several different categories of information. For four of these categories (pertaining to affective reactions, physical sensations, psychological states, and associated ideas), recall was significantly higher when a field perspective was adopted than when an observer perspective was adopted, but for the five other categories (pertaining to physical actions, personal appearance, fine details, spatial relations, and peripheral details) there was no significant effect of perspective upon recall. The study is examined in the context of mental models and imagined episodic events

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe thermodynamic and electrochemical properties of rare earth chlorides in molten salt solutions are of interest from the standpoint of both pyrochemical processing of spent nuclear fuel and for the development of Generation IV nuclear reactors. Knowledge of key properties like activity coefficients, phase diagrams and reliable waste disposal methods will accelerate the development of safe reliable carbon free energy. In this work, three conduits of research have been pursued and reported within the larger theme of minimization of waste in spent fuel reprocessing and associated technology development. First a novel process for the disposal of chloride salts using H-Y zeolite has been studied. In this process, a protonated Y zeolite is used to occlude the LiCl-KCl eutectic salt. In the process, the proton and the chloride ions react to evolve HCl gas that can be easily captured and neutralized. Hence the final waste form will be lighter compared to the baseline process. Results indicate that the proton and chloride react to form HCl gas which was captured and neutralized. Up to 50% of theoretical ion exchange was achieved based on the total HCl evolution. The activity of four rare earth chlorides was determined electrochemically in LiCl-KCl eutectic salt. These rare earth chlorides are: LaCl3, NdCl3, GdCl3, and CeCl3. The activity was determined using two distinct experimental set-ups: using a Ag/AgCl reference electrode and an analyte reference electrode. Broadly it is noted that the activity coefficient of the rare earth chlorides changes with concentration of the analyte in solution. From the data of all of the four rare earth chlorides it was concluded that as the ionic size of the rare earth reduces, the species shows a larger negative deviation from ideal solution behavior. The presence of large concentrations of CsCl seems to influence the activity of some of the rare earths. The solidus and liquidus temperatures for quaternary LiCl-KCl-CsCl-RECl 3 systems were determined using a differential scanning calorimetry. It is observed that the presence of CsCl depresses the melting temperature for all of the rare earth chlorides tested. The LiCl-KCl-CsCl-LaCl3 system departs from eutectic behavior and manifests peritectic behavior. The LiCl-KCl-CsCl-GdCl3 system shows peritectic behavior at only low GdCl 3 and high CsCl concentrations. The LiCl-KCl-CsCl-NdCl3 system continues to exhibit purely eutectic behavior for all of the concentration windows tested for this work

A Proposed Frequency Synthesis Approach to Accurately Measure the Angular Position of a Spacecraft

This article describes an approach for measuring the angular position of a spacecraft with reference to a nearby calibration source (quasar) with an accuracy of a few tenths of a nanoradian using a very long baseline interferometer of two antennas that measures the interferometer phase with a modest accuracy. It employs (1) radio frequency phase to determine the spacecraft position with high precision and (2) multiple delay measurements using either frequency tones or telemetry signals at different frequency spacings to resolve ambiguity of the location of the fringe (cycle) containing the direction of the spacecraft

Good looks and good practice: the attitudes of career practitioners to attractiveness and appearance

Empirical evidence attests the impact that career image has on objective career success, yet little is known of how career practitioners conceptualise and operationalise this information. This article presents the quantitative findings of an online survey of career practitioners (n = 399, 74% female, 89% white and 75% from the U.K.) exploring their attitudes and practices towards issues of appearance and attractiveness. Career practitioners who participated in this survey acknowledged that beauty, self-presentation and interpersonal skills influence career success, and 96% of them considered conversations about career image as part of their professional remit. The career practitioners felt relatively comfortable and well informed in their discussions in this arena, but would welcome further guidance and training to inform their practice. Ethical and practical implications for the profession are considered

Remembering emotional central and peripheral information: how different memory tasks and individual differences influence eyewitness testimony

Few researchers have explored how individuals remember details of criminal events in the context of eyewitness testimony. With more detailed information, jurors, for example, could deduce psychological causality and attribute responsibility more accurately. Memory research reveals that remembering specific details is dependent on the type of task used. When using recall, individuals have difficulty remembering emotional details that could provide insight into the intentions of the criminal. However, recognition favors memory for emotional details, providing greater depth of knowledge. Differences in personality, such as emotional intelligence, can influence memory as well. We explored these factors by testing memory of a fictional rape scene using three categories of information: emotional, central and peripheral. For recall and recognition, there were significant differences between emotional, central and peripheral details. Recognition favored emotional details; recall favored central and peripheral details. In addition, we found advantageous processing of in-formation for emotionally intelligent individuals. Our research reveals how individuals possess a range of knowledge about criminal events, which provides valuable information to jurors for deducing psychological causality. We show how individual differences and the type of memory task used can impact remembering, which has implications for the cognitive interview

Environmental orientation and ecotourism awareness among pilgrims, adventure tourists, and leisure tourists

For the sustainable development of tourism in destination areas, it is important to have responsible visitors with high pro-environmental orientation and a critical minimum knowledge of ecotourism. Most of the pilgrimage, adventurous, and leisure destinations of India are in ecologically sensitive locations with bountiful environmental resources. Thus, understanding tourists’ environmental orientation is critical for destination management. In this context, the present study investigates the environmental orientation and ecotourism awareness of tourists visiting some of the key environmental hotspots of northern India. A comparative analysis of the environmental orientations of pilgrims, adventurists, and leisure tourists is also carried out. The findings generally reveal that there exist significant differences among these categories in terms of environmental orientation and awareness about ecotourism. Pilgrims and adventurists exhibit superior environmental orientation compared to leisure tourists. Yet, when it comes to the awareness of ecotourism, none of the groups under study show great awareness, except that adventurists stand better compared to the other two groups

Diagnostic Utility of GeneXpert (CB-NAAT) and BACTEC (960) and Socio-clinical Profile of Children with Tuberculous Meningitis

Introduction: Tuberculosis has always remained puzzling to diagnose. Many children with tuberculous meningitis are diagnosed late due to non-availability of rapid and sensitive diagnostic tests. This study examines the diagnostic utility of GeneXpert test and BACTEC (960) and compares of the sensitivity and specificity of these newer tests. Material and methods: This hospital-based prospective study was conducted in the Dept. of Pediatrics, Sir Padampat Mother and Child Health Institute, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, Rajasthan. Seventy children of >6 month and <18 years age, presenting with fever of >2 weeks duration, headache, signs of meningeal irritation, altered consciousness level and focal neurological deficits were included in the study. Results: Out of 14 patients detected positive by GeneXpert, BACTEC (960) was detected positive in only 4 patients. Out of 56 negative patients detected by GeneXpert, 2 patients were detected positive by BACTEC (960). The sensitivity was 66.67%, specificity was 84.38%, positive predictive value was 28.57%, negative predictive value was 96.63% and accuracy was 82.86%. Conclusions: The GeneXpert has higher sensitivity compared to other currently available diagnostic modalities including liquid culture BACTEC

Ethno-medicinal plants used by Jadh Bhotiya Community of District Uttarakashi, Uttarakhand, India

In the present study, our aim was to document the traditional knowledge regarding ethno-medicinal plants used by the Jadh-Bhotiya community in the Uttarakashi district (Uttarakhand, India). A total of 54 taxa, belonging to 49 genera and 31 families, were recorded with medicinal properties. Lamiaceae, Liliaceae and Orchidaceae were the dominant families (in terms of number of species), while the top genera included Berberis, Habenaria, Malaxis and Polygonatum. Herbs constituted the dominant life form (82%), followed by shrubs and trees (9% each). Roots (20%) and the whole plant (13%) showed a higher proportion of use for medication. Powder (33%) and paste (20%) were the most frequently used drug preparation methods. Regional conservation assessment analysis revealed that 76% of the species were recorded under the 'Least Concern' (LC) category, followed by 'Vulnerable' (VU) with 13% of the species, and 11% of the species were recorded under the 'Near Threatened' (NT) category. Aconitum heterophyllum, Arnebia benthamii, Nardostachys jatamansi, Rheum australe, Saussurea obvallata and Taxus wallichiana were recorded under the ‘Near Threatened’ (NT) category. Angelica glauca, Carduus edelbergii, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Ephedra gerardiana, Lilium polyphyllum, Malaxis acuminata, and Malaxis muscifera were recorded under the ‘Vulnerable’ (VU) category, while the remaining species were recorded under the ‘Least Concern’ (LC) category. The knowledge about therapeutic information concerning plants in the study area and elsewhere is diminishing day by day. Regional-level conservation status of plant species can be helpful in the global conservation status assessment. It is recommended that conservation measures be applied for the betterment of those species falling under various conservation categories, especially the threatened ones. Additionally, more ethno-medicinal studies are recommended in such remote regions to further enhance our understanding of traditional medicinal practices and contribute to the conservation of indigenous plant knowledge