Nanotechnologies for the detection and treatment of endometriosis

Endometriosis is an incurable gynecologic disease characterized by endometrial-like tissue growth outside of the uterine cavity. It affects approximately 10% of reproductive age women, who endure pelvic pain during periods and/or sexual intercourse and who suffer from reduced fertility and diminished quality of life due to the side effects of current treatments. To improve the management and prognosis of endometriosis patients, researchers have recently begun to develop nanoparticle-based diagnostics and treatments that are more effective and less invasive than existing approaches. This review discusses the current state of the field and highlights considerations for the continued development of nanotechnologies for the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis

Moon Trek: An Interactive Web Portal for Current and Future Lunar Missions

NASA's Moon Trek (https://moontrek.jpl.nasa.gov) is the successor to and replacement for NASA's Lunar Mapping and Modeling Portal (LMMP). Released in 2017, Moon Trek features a new interface with improved ways to access, visualize, and analyze data. Moon Trek provides a web-based Portal and a suite of interactive visualization and analysis tools to enable mission planners, lunar scientists, and engineers to access mapped lunar data products from past and current lunar missions

Molecularly-Targeted Gold-Based Nanoparticles for Cancer Imaging and Near-Infrared Photothermal Therapy

This thesis advances the use of nanopartic1es as multifunctional agents for molecularly-targeted cancer imaging and photothermal therapy. Cancer mortality has remained relatively unchanged for several decades, indicating a significant need for improvements in care. Researchers are evaluating strategies incorporating nanopartic1es as exogenous energy absorbers to deliver heat capable of inducing cell death selectively to tumors, sparing normal tissue. Molecular targeting of nanopartic1es is predicted to improve photothermal therapy by enhancing tumor retention. This hypothesis is evaluated with two types of nanopartic1es. The nanopartic1es utilized, silica-gold nanoshells and gold-gold sulfide nanopartic1es, can convert light energy into heat to damage cancerous cells. For in vivo applications nanopartic1es are usually coated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to increase blood circulation time. Here, heterobifunctional PEG links nanopartic1es to targeting agents (antibodies and growth factors) to provide cell-specific binding. This approach is evaluated through a series of experiments. In vitro, antibody-coated nanopartic1es can bind breast carcinoma cells expressing the targeted receptor and act as contrast agents for multiphoton microscopy prior to inducing cell death via photoablation. Furthermore, antibody-coated nanopartic1es can bind tissue ex vivo at levels corresponding to receptor expression, suggesting they should bind their target even in the complex biological milieu. This is evaluated by comparing the accumulation of antibody-coated and PEG-coated nanoparticles in subcutaneous glioma tumors in mice. Contrary to expectations, antibody targeting did not yield more nanoparticles within tumors. Nevertheless, these studies established the sensitivity of glioma to photothermal therapy; mice treated with PEG-coated nanoshells experienced 57% complete tumor regression versus no regression in control mice. Subsequent experiments employed intracranial tumors to better mimic the clinical setting. These tumors are highly vascularized, so nanoparticles were addressed toward receptors abundantly expressed on tumor vessels using growth factors as a novel targeting strategy. Photothermal therapy with these vascular-targeted nanoparticles disrupted tumor vessels, leading to a 2.2-fold prolongation of median survival versus control mice. This work confirms that nanoparticle surface coating can affect biodistribution and therapeutic efficacy. With continued optimization of molecular targeting strategies, imaging and photothermal therapy mediated by nanoshells and gold-gold sulfide nanoparticles may offer an effective alternative to conventional cancer management

Soil Property Effects on Willamette Daisy (Erigeron decumbens) within William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge

Plant species diversity plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem function and the services that ecosystems provide. Diversity is threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, and global climate change. Willamette Daisy (Erigeron decumbens), an endangered species, has been reintroduced at two different sites (Field 29 and 8N) within William L. Finely Wildlife refuge, but it grows better at one site (Field 29) than the other (Field 8N). The purpose of the study was to determine if the differences in growth at the two sites could be caused by differences in soil properties, and determine soil conditions conducive for growth. We grew E. decumbens in soil collected from each field in a greenhouse with sterile and unsterilized treatments and performed a soil analysis on samples from each field. Soil sterilization had a significantly negative effect on plant survivorship, suggesting soil biota improves establishment of E. decumbens. Field 29 had significantly higher TN, TC, and pH than Field 8N, which may be contributing to the observed differences. Results from this study suggest that these soil properties could benefit E. decumbens growth in the wild, and information on soil conditions could improve reintroduction site selection and recovery of this endangered species

Investigating the role of Hedgehog/GLI1 signaling in glioblastoma cell response to temozolomide.

Resistance to chemotherapy substantially hinders successful glioblastoma (GBM) treatment, contributing to an almost 100% mortality rate. Resistance to the frontline chemotherapy, temozolomide (TMZ), arises from numerous signaling pathways that are deregulated in GBM, including Hedgehog (Hh) signaling. Here, we investigate suppression of Hh signaling as an adjuvant to TMZ using U87-MG and T98G cell lines as in vitro models of GBM. We found that silencing GLI1 with siRNA reduces cell metabolic activity by up to 30% in combination with TMZ and reduces multidrug efflux activity by 2.5-fold. Additionally, pharmacological GLI inhibition modulates nuclear p53 levels and decreases MGMT expression in combination with TMZ. While we surprisingly found that silencing GLI1 does not induce apoptosis in the absence of TMZ co-treatment, we discovered silencing GLI1 without TMZ co-treatment induces senescence as evidenced by a significant 2.3-fold increase in senescence associated β-galactosidase staining, and this occurs in a loss of PTEN-dependent manner. Finally, we show that GLI inhibition increases apoptosis in glioma stem-like cells by up to 6.8-fold in combination with TMZ, and this reduces the size and number of neurospheres grown from glioma stem-like cells. In aggregate, our data warrant the continued investigation of Hh pathway inhibitors as adjuvants to TMZ chemotherapy and highlight the importance of identifying signaling pathways that determine whether co-treatment will be successful