Characterization of preclones by matrix collections

Preclones are described as the closed classes of the Galois connection induced by a preservation relation between operations and matrix collections. The Galois closed classes of matrix collections are also described by explicit closure conditions.Comment: 11 page

Plaque quantitiation through protein measurement

PKThis study was undertaken to establish whether the quantitation of dental plaque protein by a dye-binding method (Coomassie G-250) may be used as an index of the amount of dental plaque sampled. Ten sites were sampled in 34 children on 5 occasions at 4 month intervals. The mean protein concentration in 1391 plaque samples was 6.9 +/- 4.1 micrograms (micrograms) (mean +/- standard deviation). A three-way analysis of variance showed that the plaque protein concentration was similar at the different sampling sites in the same child (p = 0.14), but statistically significant differences were observed with respect to time of sampling (F = 36.24; p = 0.0001) and individual sampled (F = 5.69; p = 0.0001). These observations indicate that plaque bacterial counts may be expressed as units of protein concentration and this method may be useful to relate the number of viable bacteria to an estimate of the amount of plaque collected. This ratio allows standardisation for any variation in the amount of plaque collected

Gyrotropic impact upon negatively refracting surfaces

Surface wave propagation at the interface between different types of gyrotropic materials and an isotropic negatively refracting medium, in which the relative permittivity and relative permeability are, simultaneously, negative is investigated. A general approach is taken that embraces both gyroelectric and gyromagnetic materials, permitting the possibility of operating in either the low GHz, THz or the optical frequency regimes. The classical transverse Voigt configuration is adopted and a complete analysis of non-reciprocal surface wave dispersion is presented. The impact of the surface polariton modes upon the reflection of both plane waves and beams is discussed in terms of resonances and an example of the influence upon the Goos–Hänchen shift is given

RNA-Sequencing Reveals Direct Targets of Tumor Suppressor miR-203 in Human Mammary Epithelial Cells

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide. Since a significant portion of cases present with or progress to metastatic disease, furthering our understanding of metastasis is critical to develop better treatments. Epithelial cells maintain contact with the extracellular matrix (ECM) predominantly via integrin engagement, a process required for tissue integrity and barrier function. In non-transformed cells, loss of ECM adhesion promotes a specialized form of programmed cell death, anoikis. In order for efficient metastasis to occur, breast tumor cells must evade anoikis. miR-203, known to be down-regulated in several cancers, was found by our lab to be induced ten-fold 24 hours following detachment in breast epithelial cells, but not invasive triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, suggesting that miR-203 may participate in promoting anoikis. Interestingly, more invasive breast cancer cell lines have been shown to express miR-203 at significantly lower levels than those of less invasive lines. Objectives: Since restoration of miR-203 expression ectopically is not feasible in a clinical setting, we sought to identify and characterize miR-203 target genes in order to provide a pharmaceutical platform for restoration of anoikis sensitivity in metastatic breast cancer. Methods: We performed traditional RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) coupled with immunoprecipitation of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC; Ago2 RIP-Seq) in MCF-10A, an immortalized, but non-transformed breast epithelial cell line, overexpressing precursor miR-203 or an empty vector control. MDA-MB-231, triple negative ductal carcinoma cells, were used as our invasive comparison cell line. Results: Here we show that miR-203 induction in detached MCF-10A cells is due to loss of integrin signaling. Our coupled RNA-Seq and Ago2 RIP-Seq approach revealed 72 potential candidates, 42 of which were predicted miR-203 targets based on the TargetScan algorithm. We subjected the candidates to stringent characterization and found 9 bona-fide miR-203 targets that promote cell death when inhibited. Among these, WDR69, PRKAB1, PRPS2, and HBEGF were significantly elevated in TNBC tumor samples, as determined by RNA-Seq analysis in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Conclusion: Understanding the mechanisms by which cells evade anoikis during tumor dissemination is crucial to developing more effective therapies in breast cancer. miR-203, which is expressed at very low levels in more invasive breast cancers, is a positive regulator of anoikis that is upregulated in response to loss of contact with the ECM. Our combined RNA-sequencing screen revealed 42 direct miR-203 targets. Inhibition of 9 bona-fide targets promoted cell death, suggesting that they are negative regulators of anoikis. WDR69, PRKAB1, PRPS2, and HBEGF were all significantly elevated in TNBC tumor samples relative to less invasive samples, likely a consequence of low miR-203 expression. The identified genes represent potential pharmaceutical targets for novel breast cancer therapies

Nonlinear interfaces: intrinsically nonparaxial regimes and effects

The behaviour of optical solitons at planar nonlinear boundaries is a problem rich in intrinsically nonparaxial regimes that cannot be fully addressed by theories based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. For instance, large propagation angles are typically involved in external refraction at interfaces. Using a recently proposed generalized Snell's law for Helmholtz solitons, we analyse two such effects: nonlinear external refraction and total internal reflection at interfaces where internal and external refraction, respectively, would be found in the absence of nonlinearity. The solutions obtained from the full numerical integration of the nonlinear Helmholtz equation show excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions

Evidence: Biofilter performance and operation as related to commercial composting

This report provides a critical review of available evidence as to how effectively the various categories and configurations of biofilter reduce bioaerosol and odour emissions from composting facilities

Multiple Measures of Fixation on Social Content in Infancy:Evidence for a Single Social Cognitive Construct?

The preference of infants to fixate on social information in a stimulus is well known. We examine how this preference manifests across a series of free‐viewing tasks using different stimulus types. Participants were thirty typically developing infants. We measured eye movements when viewing isolated faces, faces alongside objects in a grid, and faces naturally presented in photographed scenes. In each task, infants fixated social content for longer than nonsocial content. Social preference scores representing distribution of fixation to social versus general image content were highly correlated and thus combined into a single composite measure, which was independent of demographic and behavioral measures. We infer that multiple eye‐tracking tasks can be used to generate a composite measure of social preference in infancy. This approach may prove useful in the early characterization of developmental disabilities

The homotopy theory of simplicial props

The category of (colored) props is an enhancement of the category of colored operads, and thus of the category of small categories. In this paper, the second in a series on "higher props," we show that the category of all small colored simplicial props admits a cofibrantly generated model category structure. With this model structure, the forgetful functor from props to operads is a right Quillen functor.Comment: Final version, to appear in Israel J. Mat