Modular space station mockup review and evaluation

The modular space station mockup is described in detail with emphasis on the interior arrangements of the crew living spaces, control center, and general purpose laboratory facilities. The results of three mockup reviews are also presented

Modular space station phase B extension preliminary system design. Volume 2: Operations and crew analyses

All analyses and tradeoffs conducted to establish the MSS operations and crew activities are discussed. The missions and subsystem integrated analyses that were completed to assure compatibility of program elements and consistency with program objectives are presented

HLA-Associated viral mutations are common in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 elite controllers

Elite controllers (EC) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HTV-1) maintain viremia below the limit of detection without antiretroviral treatment. Virus-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes are believed to play a crucial role in viral containment, but the degree of immune imprinting and compensatory mutations in EC is unclear. We obtained plasma gag, pol, and nef sequences from HLA-diverse subjects and found that 30 to 40% of the predefined HLA-associated polymorphic sites show evidence of immune selection pressure in EC., compared to approximately 50% of the sites in chronic progressors. These data indicate ongoing viral replication and escape from cytotoxic T lymphocytes are present even in strictly controlled HTV-1 infection

The effect of laser shock peening on hardness and microstructure in a welded marine steel

Residual stress is generally considered as the main criterion in laser shock peening for enhancement of fatigue life. However, changes in material hardness, microstructure and surface roughness can also affect component performance. These three aspects are investigated in this paper for welded marine steel samples subjected to laser peening. After laser peening an increase in hardness was seen across the weld and parent metal, with the local hardness dependent upon the initial hardness of the region before peening. The increase was relatively higher for the weld metal which had lower initial hardness. The local surface displacement profiles reflected the number of laser peening layers applied, and the peening also affected the distortion of the specimen after welding

Possible new Arkansas endemic plant revealed by DNA sequence analysis, A

Cardamine angustata var. ouachitana, a wildflower in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), was described by Smith in 1982 to include a form of Cardamine found only in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. This variety is morphologically very similar to typical Cardamine angustata. The major difference noted by Smith for the two varieties was the complete lack of leaf hairs (trichomes) in the new variety, whereas typical Cardamine angustata normally possesses trichomes. However, Al-Shehbaz rejected the variety ouachitana and reduced it to synonymy with the typical C. angustata. The recommendation of Al-Shehbaz has been followed and the taxon Cardamine angustata var. ouachitana is currently not accepted by most plant taxonomists. We performed a preliminary evaluation of the status of Cardamine angustata var. ouachitana by comparing ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region DNA sequences from specimens of Cardamine angustata var. ouachitana with sequences of Cardamine angustata from the main range of the species and other related species of Cardamine. Phylogenetic analyses of these data produced an unexpected result; specimens of C. angustata var. ouachitana were actually closely related to C. concatenata, rather than the expected close relationship with C. angustata. However, C. angustata var. ouachitana is morphologically distinct from C. concatenata. These results suggest that Cardamine angustata var. ouachitana is actually a new species found only in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas

Applications and challenges of marker-assisted selection in the Western Australian Wheat Breeding Program

Interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM) through integrin adhesion receptors provide cancer cells with physical and chemical cues that act together with growth factors to support survival and proliferation. Antagonists that target integrins containing the beta1 subunit inhibit tumor growth and sensitize cells to irradiation or cytotoxic chemotherapy in preclinical breast cancer models and are under clinical investigation. We found that the loss of beta1 integrins attenuated breast tumor growth but markedly enhanced tumor cell dissemination to the lungs. When cultured in three-dimensional ECM scaffolds, antibodies that blocked beta1 integrin function or knockdown of beta1 switched the migratory behavior of human and mouse E-cadherin-positive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells from collective to single cell movement. This switch involved activation of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) signaling network that led to a shift in the balance between miR-200 microRNAs and the transcription factor zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2), resulting in suppressed transcription of the gene encoding E-cadherin. Reducing the abundance of a TGFbeta receptor, restoring the ZEB/miR-200 balance, or increasing the abundance of E-cadherin reestablished cohesion in beta1 integrin-deficient cells and reduced dissemination to the lungs without affecting growth of the primary tumor. These findings reveal that beta1 integrins control a signaling network that promotes an epithelial phenotype and suppresses dissemination and indicate that targeting beta1 integrins may have undesirable effects in TNBC