Inhibition of type I interferon induction and signalling by mosquito-borne flaviviruses

The Flavivirus genus (Flaviviridae family) contains a number of important human pathogens, including dengue and Zika viruses, which have the potential to cause severe disease. In order to efficiently establish a productive infection in mammalian cells, flaviviruses have developed key strategies to counteract host immune defences, including the type I interferon response. They employ different mechanisms to control interferon signal transduction and effector pathways, and key research generated over the past couple of decades has uncovered new insights into their abilities to actively decrease interferon antiviral activity. Given the lack of antivirals or prophylactic treatments for many flaviviral infections, it is important to fully understand how these viruses affect cellular processes to influence pathogenesis and disease outcome. This review will discuss the strategies mosquito-borne flaviviruses have evolved to antagonise type I interferon mediated immune responses

A Survey Of The Guidance Programs In North Carolina Junior Colleges

The purpose of this writer was to study and describe the current guidance practices in the junior colleges of North Carolina in order to provide information concerning theses practices for: (1) junior college administrators; (2) students interested in junior college personnel work; (3) faculties involved in the training of these students; and, (4) any other interested parties

Nilotinib, an approved leukemia drug, inhibits smoothened signaling in Hedgehog-dependent medulloblastoma.

Dysregulation of the seven-transmembrane (7TM) receptor Smoothened (SMO) and other components of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway contributes to the development of cancers including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and medulloblastoma (MB). However, SMO-specific antagonists produced mixed results in clinical trials, marked by limited efficacy and high rate of acquired resistance in tumors. Here we discovered that Nilotinib, an approved inhibitor of several kinases, possesses an anti-Hh activity, at clinically achievable concentrations, due to direct binding to SMO and inhibition of SMO signaling. Nilotinib was more efficacious than the SMO-specific antagonist Vismodegib in inhibiting growth of two Hh-dependent MB cell lines. It also reduced tumor growth in subcutaneous MB mouse xenograft model. These results indicate that in addition to its known activity against several tyrosine-kinase-mediated proliferative pathways, Nilotinib is a direct inhibitor of the Hh pathway. The newly discovered extension of Nilotinib's target profile holds promise for the treatment of Hh-dependent cancers

Aircraft Cabin Noise Minimization Via Neural Network Inverse Model

This paper describes research to investigate an artificial neural network (ANN) approach to minimize aircraft cabin noise in flight. The ANN approach is shown to be able to accurately model the non-linear relationships between engine unbalance, airframe vibration, and cabin noise to overcome limitations associated with traditional linear influence coefficient methods. ANN system inverse models are developed using engine test-stand vibration data and on-airplane vibration and noise data supplemented with influence coefficient empirical data. The inverse models are able to determine balance solutions that satisfy cabin noise specifications. The accuracy of the ANN model with respect to the real system is determined by the quantity and quality of test stand and operational aircraft data. This data-driven approach is particularly appealing for implementation on future systems that include continuous monitoring processes able to capture data while in operation

Effect of Temperature Gradient on Thick Film Selective Emitter Emittance

A temperature gradient across a thick (greater than or equal to .1 mm) film selective emitter will produce a significant reduction in the spectral emittance from the no temperature gradient case. Thick film selective emitters of rare earth doped host materials such as yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) are examples where temperature gradient effects are important. In this paper a model is developed for the spectral emittance assuming a linear temperature gradient across the film. Results of the model indicate that temperature gradients will result in reductions the order of 20% or more in the spectral emittance

A Model for Conducting Research with Learning Disabled Adolescents and Young Adults

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.Issues from the field of learning disabilities and the field of education in general which impact the learning disabled individual are discussed as they relate to research with learning disabled adolescents and young adults . Based on this knowledge of the context in which the LD adolescent is required to function, a research model that allows a commitment to programmatic research leading to the validation of interventions as well as the generation and investigation of new research questions is presented. Critical questions within the three research areas of the Institute epidemiology, intervention, and generalization-- are discussed as they relate to this research model

An Epidemiological Study of Learning Disabled Adolescents in Secondary Schools: Achievement and Ability, Socioeconomic Status, and School Experiences

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.In recent years, professionals in the field of learning disabilities have begun to address the impact of learning disabilities on adolescents and young adults. Although substantial attention has been directed to the manifestations of learning disabilities in elementary school age populations, the significantly different and increasingly complex demands on adolescents both in and out of school necessitate the development of systematic research on this population. The University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities has collected a broad array of data to form an epidemiological data base on LD adolescents and young adults. Data have been collected from learning disabled, low-achieving, and normal-achieving adolescents as well as from their parents and teachers. In addition, information from the environmental setting of the LD adolescents which pertains to interventions applied on behalf of the student, relationships with others, conditions under which he/she operates and support systems available for his/her use has also been collected. These data have been considered in relation to data on specific learner characteristics to gain a more complete profile of the older LD individual. Research results presented in Research Reports 12 through 20 detail findings from this comprehensive epidemiology study conducted during 1979-80 by the Institute. It is important for the reader to study and view each of these individual reports in relation to this overall line of research. An understanding of the complex nature of the learning disability condition only begins to emerge when each specific topic or finding is seen as a partial, but important, piece of a larger whole

Error Monitoring: A Learning Strategy for Improving Academic Performance of LD Adolescents

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.Error monitoring, a learning strategy for detecting and correcting errors in written products, was taught to nine learning disabled adolescents. Students could detect and correct more errors after they received training than they had detected prior to training. Error rate in self-generated products was especially low (close to zero) after training