Attachment of Motile Bacterial Cells to Prealigned Holed Microarrays

Construction of biomotors is an exciting area of scientific research that holds great promise for the development of new technologies with broad potential applications in areas such as the energy industry and medicine. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of prealigned microarrays of motile Escherichia coli bacterial cells on SiOx substrates. To prepare these arrays, holed surfaces with a gold layer on the bottom of the holes were utilized. The attachment of bacteria to the holes was achieved via nonspecific interactions using poly-l-lysine hydrobromide (PLL). Our data suggest that a single motile bacterial cell can be selectively attached to an individual hole on a surface and bacterial cell binding can be controlled by altering the pH, with the greatest occupancy occurring at pH 7.8. Cells attached to hole arrays remained motile for at least 4 h. These data indicate that holed surface structures provide a promising footprint for the attachment of motile bacterial cells to form high-density site-specific functional bacterial microarrays

Subject preferences of fifth-grade children.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University N.B.:Pages 155 and 309 are missing from original thesis

In utero ultrafine particulate matter exposure causes offspring pulmonary immunosuppression.

Early life exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) in air is associated with infant respiratory disease and childhood asthma, but limited epidemiological data exist concerning the impacts of ultrafine particles (UFPs) on the etiology of childhood respiratory disease. Specifically, the role of UFPs in amplifying Th2- and/or Th17-driven inflammation (asthma promotion) or suppressing effector T cells (increased susceptibility to respiratory infection) remains unclear. Using a mouse model of in utero UFP exposure, we determined early immunological responses to house dust mite (HDM) allergen in offspring challenged from 0 to 4 wk of age. Two mice strains were exposed throughout gestation: C57BL/6 (sensitive to oxidative stress) and BALB/C (sensitive to allergen exposure). Offspring exposed to UFPs in utero exhibited reduced inflammatory response to HDM. Compared with filtered air (FA)-exposed/HDM-challenged mice, UFP-exposed offspring had lower white blood cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and less pronounced peribronchiolar inflammation in both strains, albeit more apparent in C57BL/6 mice. In the C57BL/6 strain, offspring exposed in utero to FA and challenged with HDM exhibited a robust response in inflammatory cytokines IL-13 and Il-17. In contrast, this response was lost in offspring exposed in utero to UFPs. Circulating IL-10 was significantly up-regulated in C57BL/6 offspring exposed to UFPs, suggesting increased regulatory T cell expression and suppressed Th2/Th17 response. Our results reveal that in utero UFP exposure at a level close to the WHO recommended PM guideline suppresses an early immune response to HDM allergen, likely predisposing neonates to respiratory infection and altering long-term pulmonary health

SkyMapper Southern Survey: First Data Release (DR1)

We present the first data release (DR1) of the SkyMapper Southern Survey, a hemispheric survey carried out with the SkyMapper Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Here, we present the survey strategy, data processing, catalogue construction and database schema. The DR1 dataset includes over 66,000 images from the Shallow Survey component, covering an area of 17,200 deg$^2$ in all six SkyMapper passbands $uvgriz$, while the full area covered by any passband exceeds 20,000 deg$^2$. The catalogues contain over 285 million unique astrophysical objects, complete to roughly 18 mag in all bands. We compare our $griz$ point-source photometry with PanSTARRS1 DR1 and note an RMS scatter of 2%. The internal reproducibility of SkyMapper photometry is on the order of 1%. Astrometric precision is better than 0.2 arcsec based on comparison with Gaia DR1. We describe the end-user database, through which data are presented to the world community, and provide some illustrative science queries.Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures, 10 tables, PASA, accepte

Intracameral dexamethasone reduces inflammation on the first postoperative day after cataract surgery in eyes with and without glaucoma

Purpose: To evaluate whether dexamethasone injected intracamerally at the conclusion of surgery can safely and effectively reduce postoperative inflammation and improve surgical outcomes in eyes with and without glaucoma. Methods: Retrospective chart review of 176 consecutive eyes from 146 patients receiving uncomplicated phacoemulsification (PE) (n = 118 total, 82 with glaucoma), glaucoma drainage device (GDD) (n = 35), combined PE/GDD (n = 11) and combined PE/endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (n = 12). Ninety-one eyes from 76 patients were injected with 0.4 mg dexamethasone intracamerally at the conclusion of surgery. All eyes received standard postoperative prednisolone and ketorolac eyedrops. Outcomes were measured for four to eight weeks by subjective complaints, visual acuity (VA), slit-lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure (IOP) and postoperative complications. Results: Dexamethasone significantly reduced the odds of having an increased anterior chamber (AC) cell score after PE (p = 0.0013). Mean AC cell score ± SD in nonglaucomatous eyes was 1.3 ± 0.8 in control and 0.8 ± 0.7 with dexamethasone; scores in glaucomatous eyes were 1.3 ± 0.7 in control and 0.9 ± 0.8 with dexamethasone. Treated nonglaucomatous eyes had significantly fewer subjective complaints after PE (22.2% vs 64.7% in control; p = 0.0083). Dexamethasone had no significant effects on VA, corneal changes, IOP one day and one month after surgery, or long-term complications. Conclusions: Intracameral dexamethasone given at the end of cataract surgery significantly reduces postoperative AC cells in eyes with and without glaucoma, and improves subjective reports of recovery in nonglaucomatous eyes. There were no statistically significant risks of IOP elevation or other complications in glaucomatous eyes. © 2009 Chang et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd

Updated resonance photo-decay amplitudes to 2 GeV

We present the results of an energy-dependent and set of single-energy partial-wave analyses of single-pion photoproduction data. These analyses extend from threshold to 2 GeV in the laboratory photon energy, and update our previous analyses to 1.8 GeV. Photo-decay amplitudes are extracted for the baryon resonances within this energy range. We consider two photoproduction sum rules and the contributions of two additional resonance candidates found in our most recent analysis of $\pi N$ elastic scattering data. Comparisons are made with previous analyses.Comment: Revtex, 26 pages, 3 figures. Postscript figures available from ftp://clsaid.phys.vt.edu/pub/pr or indirectly from http://clsaid.phys.vt.edu/~CAPS

A Robust Determination of the Time Delay in 0957+561A,B and a Measurement of the Global Value of Hubble's Constant

Photometric monitoring of the gravitational lens system 0957+561A,B in the g and r bands with the Apache Point Observatory (APO) 3.5 m telescope during 1996 shows a sharp g band event in the trailing (B) image light curve at the precise time predicted from the observation of an event during 1995 in the leading (A) image with a delay of 415 days. This success confirms the "short delay," and the lack of any feature at a delay near 540 days rejects the "long delay" for this system, resolving a long-standing controversy. A series of statistical analyses of our light curve data yield a best fit delay of 417 +/- 3 days (95% confidence interval). Recent improvements in the modeling of the lens system (consisting of a galaxy and cluster) allow us to derive a value of the global (at z = 0.36) value of Hubble's constant H_0 using Refsdal's method, a simple and direct distance determination based on securely understood physics and geometry. The result is H_0 = 63 +/- 12 km/s/Mpc (for Omega = 1) where this 95% confidence interval is dominated by remaining lens model uncertainties.Comment: accepted by ApJ, AASTeX 4.0 preprint, 4 PostScript figure

Relation of cardiovascular risk factors in women approaching menopause to menstrual cycle characteristics and reproductive hormones in the follicular and luteal phases

CONTEXT: Menstrual cycle characteristics may be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the relationships between menstrual cycle characteristics and daily reproductive hormone measures with CVD risk factors in middle-aged women. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional associations were examined between CVD risk factors and urinary LH, FSH, estrone conjugates, and pregnanediol glucuronide (Pdg) measured across one menstrual cycle or 50 d. PARTICIPANTS: Menstruating women (n = 500) who were free from diabetes or past stroke or heart attack enrolled in the Daily Hormone Study-Study of Women\u27s Health across the Nation were studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, hemostatic, and metabolic factors were measured. RESULTS: Few differences existed in risk factors between women with evidence of luteal activity and those with no evidence of luteal activity. Associations between elevated CVD risk factors and long cycle length were reduced substantially by age and BMI adjustments. Those with lower estrone conjugate and PdG averaged across the follicular phase had higher waist circumference, triglycerides, insulin, plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1, tissue type plasminogen activator-antigen, and factor VIIc levels in age- and BMI-adjusted analyses (P \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In midlife menstruating women, a longer cycle length was related to CVD risk factors, in large part through their common association with BMI. More favorable levels of metabolic and hemostatic factors were associated with higher levels of follicular-phase estrogen, a pattern consistent with a more competent ovary, and higher levels of follicular-phase PdG, perhaps of adrenal origin. Metabolic and hemostatic factors may be sensitive to hormonal variation during the early perimenopausal transition

Study on NNˉN\bar{N} SS-wave Elastic Cross Section and Possible Bound States Within a Constituent Quark Model

In the framework of a chiral constituent quark model, considering the contributions of $\pi$ annihilation and one-gluon annihilation, the proton-antiproton $S$-wave elastic scattering cross section experimental data can be reproduced by adjusting properly one-gluon annihilation coupling constant. Meanwhile, using the fixed model parameter, we do a dynamical calculation for all possible $S$-wave nucleon-antinucleon states, the results show that, there is no $S$-wave bound state as indicated by a strong enhancement at threshold of $p\bar{p}$ in $J/\psi$ and $B$ decays.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure