Complete small bowel obstruction caused by metastasis from primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma

We here report the first case in the literature on a surgical emergency of complete small bowel obstruction caused by metastasis from nasopharyngeal carcinoma nine months after the primary tumor was treated with concurrent chemoradiation. The patient achieved prolonged survival with prompt surgical treatment followed by systemic chemotherapy

Heat Transfer in Laser Tumor Excision

Cancer is an ongoing disease that is present in a majority of the population. Laser surgery provides minimally invasive techniques to excise tumors in humans. This method allows quicker recoveries and fewer complications. This study analyzes the effectiveness of excision of tumor tissue using a CO2 laser. By using computer aided design and finite element analysis, we model a cylindrical tumor tissue with 0.3cm in diameter and height. A flux of 282mmW from the laser and a convection coefficient of KmmW???26105 were applied when designing this model. Our results produced temperature contour plots at several time intervals, all showing precise laser excision with minimal inadvertent tissue damage (less than 0.006 mm in depth after excising approximately 0.15 mm of tissue in depth). Sensitivity analysis indicate that changes in material properties such as conductivity, convection, specific heat, density, and laser power have minimal affects on the temperature profile

Venture capital industry development in the Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta Region

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-64).Venture capital has been the initial source of capital for some of the most visible new firms in the United States for the past decades. The well-known multinational high-tech companies such as Intel, Apple Computer, and Microsoft, were all backed by venture capital funds at their inception. Thus, it is well recognized that venture capitalists play a crucial role in supporting many new high-tech firms to grow into successful, if not multinational, companies. Nowadays, other countries in Europe and Asia are also attempting to establish high technology industries of their own for the sake of restructuring their economic systems. As a result, venture capital has naturally become an issue of concern. In this thesis, I will use the Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta Region as a case study. I generalize the factors that are influencing venture-capital development and review the current development of venture-capital activities. I also investigate the investment profile, investment style, competition, and other important elements, of venture-capital firms in the region, especially in Hong Kong. This research was conducted through review of current literature and personal interviews with practitioners in the Hong Kong high-technology industry and venture capital industry development. The goal of this thesis is to draw a conclusion on the potential of the development of the venture-capital industry in the subject region.by Tak-Chuen Edwin Cheung.M.C.P

Structural properties of methoxy derivatives of benzyl bromide, determined from powder X-ray diffraction data

Structure determination of 3,5-dimethoxybenzyl bromide and 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzyl bromide has been carried out from laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data using the direct-space Genetic Algorithm technique for structure solution followed by Rietveld refinement. These two compounds are of interest for their potential use as building blocks for the synthesis of dendritic materials. Although the two molecules differ only in the presence/absence of the methoxy group at the 4-position of the aromatic ring, the structural properties of the two materials are significantly differen

Anopheles stephensi p38 MAPK signaling regulates innate immunity and bioenergetics during Plasmodium falciparum infection.

BackgroundFruit flies and mammals protect themselves against infection by mounting immune and metabolic responses that must be balanced against the metabolic needs of the pathogens. In this context, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent signaling is critical to regulating both innate immunity and metabolism during infection. Accordingly, we asked to what extent the Asian malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi utilizes p38 MAPK signaling during infection with the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.MethodsA. stephensi p38 MAPK (AsP38 MAPK) was identified and patterns of signaling in vitro and in vivo (midgut) were analyzed using phospho-specific antibodies and small molecule inhibitors. Functional effects of AsP38 MAPK inhibition were assessed using P. falciparum infection, quantitative real-time PCR, assays for reactive oxygen species and survivorship under oxidative stress, proteomics, and biochemical analyses.ResultsThe genome of A. stephensi encodes a single p38 MAPK that is activated in the midgut in response to parasite infection. Inhibition of AsP38 MAPK signaling significantly reduced P. falciparum sporogonic development. This phenotype was associated with AsP38 MAPK regulation of mitochondrial physiology and stress responses in the midgut epithelium, a tissue critical for parasite development. Specifically, inhibition of AsP38 MAPK resulted in reduction in mosquito protein synthesis machinery, a shift in glucose metabolism, reduced mitochondrial metabolism, enhanced production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, induction of an array of anti-parasite effector genes, and decreased resistance to oxidative stress-mediated damage. Hence, P. falciparum-induced activation of AsP38 MAPK in the midgut facilitates parasite infection through a combination of reduced anti-parasite immune defenses and enhanced host protein synthesis and bioenergetics to minimize the impact of infection on the host and to maximize parasite survival, and ultimately, transmission.ConclusionsThese observations suggest that, as in mammals, innate immunity and mitochondrial responses are integrated in mosquitoes and that AsP38 MAPK-dependent signaling facilitates mosquito survival during parasite infection, a fact that may attest to the relatively longer evolutionary relationship of these parasites with their invertebrate compared to their vertebrate hosts. On a practical level, improved understanding of the balances and trade-offs between resistance and metabolism could be leveraged to generate fit, resistant mosquitoes for malaria control

Cooperative interactions enable singular olfactory receptor expression in mouse olfactory neurons

The monogenic and monoallelic expression of only one out of >1000 mouse olfactory receptor (ORs) genes requires the formation of large heterochromatic chromatin domains that sequester the OR gene clusters. Within these domains, intergenic transcriptional enhancers evade heterochromatic silencing and converge into interchromosomal hubs that assemble over the transcriptionally active OR. The significance of this nuclear organization in OR choice remains elusive. Here, we show that transcription factors Lhx2 and Ebf specify OR enhancers by binding in a functionally cooperative fashion to stereotypically spaced motifs that defy heterochromatin. Specific displacement of Lhx2 and Ebf from OR enhancers resulted in pervasive, long-range, and trans downregulation of OR transcription, whereas pre-assembly of a multi-enhancer hub increased the frequency of OR choice in cis. Our data provide genetic support for the requirement and sufficiency of interchromosomal interactions in singular OR choice and generate general regulatory principles for stochastic, mutually exclusive gene expression programs

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the central domain of Drosophila Dribble, a protein that is essential for ribosome biogenesis. Addendum

An addition to the paper by Cheng et al. [(2010), Acta Cryst. F66, 546–548]

Framework for New Generation Web Form and Form Filling for Blind User

Blind users have very low vision to interact with the world. Information accessibility is always a problem to them. The traditional application form filling task can always be difficult for them to accomplish. In a lot of cases, they rely on Braille technology or assistant from a sighted people in order to fill the form. As the Internet gets popular with advancement in web technologies, web form has replaced a lot of the traditional printed form as a tool for information acquisition. Assistive technology has also been introduced to assist web form filling but there are still issues of web form that need to be solved in order to have a better experience in form filling. In this paper, an innovative framework to enable a better web form filling for blind user will be presented

CRISPR Knockout of the HuR Gene Causes a Xenograft Lethal Phenotype.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, whereas colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer. The RNA-binding protein HuR (ELAVL1) supports a pro-oncogenic network in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer cells through enhanced HuR expression. Using a publically available database, HuR expression levels were determined to be increased in primary PDA and colorectal cancer tumor cohorts as compared with normal pancreas and colon tissues, respectively. CRISPR/Cas9 technology was successfully used to delete the HuR gene in both PDA (MIA PaCa-2 and Hs 766T) and colorectal cancer (HCT116) cell lines. HuR deficiency has a mild phenotype