Alien Registration- Fisher, Anna G. (Island Falls, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/34882/thumbnail.jp

Casimir interactions in Ising strips with boundary fields: exact results

An exact statistical mechanical derivation is given of the critical Casimir forces for Ising strips with arbitrary surface fields applied to edges. Our results show that the strength as well as the sign of the force can be controled by varying the temperature or the fields. An interpretation of the results is given in terms of a linked cluster expansion. This suggests a systematic approach for deriving the critical Casimir force which can be used in more general models.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Embryonic stem cell-derived hemangioblasts remain epigenetically plastic and require PRC1 to prevent neural gene expression.

Many lineage-specific developmental regulator genes are transcriptionally primed in embryonic stem (ES) cells; RNA Pol(II) is bound at their promoters but is prevented from productive elongation by the activity of polycomb repressive complexes (PRC) 1 and 2. This epigenetically poised state is thought to enable ES cells to rapidly execute multiple differentiation programs and is recognized by a simultaneous enrichment for trimethylation of lysine 4 and trimethylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (bivalent chromatin) across promoter regions. Here we show that the chromatin profile of this important cohort of genes is progressively modified as ES cells differentiate toward blood-forming precursors. Surprisingly however, neural specifying genes, such as Nkx2-2, Nkx2-9, and Sox1, remain bivalent and primed even in committed hemangioblasts, as conditional deletion of PRC1 results in overt and inappropriate expression of neural genes in hemangioblasts. These data reinforce the importance of PRC1 for normal hematopoietic differentiation and reveal an unexpected epigenetic plasticity of mesoderm-committed hemangioblasts

The impact of chromatin modifiers on the timing of locus replication in mouse embryonic stem cells

A panel of mutant embryonic stem (ES) cell lines lacking important chromatin modifiers was used to dissect the relationship between chromatin structure and replication timing, revealing the importance of several chromatin modifiers for maintaining correct replication of satellite sequences in pluripotent ES cells

The 'Antiretrovirals, Sexual Transmission Risk and Attitudes' (ASTRA) study. Design, methods and participant characteristics.

Life expectancy for people diagnosed with HIV has improved dramatically however the number of new infections in the UK remains high. Understanding patterns of sexual behaviour among people living with diagnosed HIV, and the factors associated with having condom-less sex, is important for informing HIV prevention strategies and clinical care. In addition, in view of the current interest in a policy of early antiretroviral treatment (ART) for all people diagnosed with HIV in the UK, it is of particular importance to assess whether ART use is associated with increased levels of condom-less sex. In this context the ASTRA study was designed to investigate current sexual activity, and attitudes to HIV transmission risk, in a large unselected sample of HIV-infected patients under care in the UK. The study also gathered background information on demographic, socio-economic, lifestyle and disease-related characteristics, and physical and psychological symptoms, in order to identify other key factors impacting on HIV patients and the behaviours which underpin transmission. In this paper we describe the study rationale, design, methods, response rate and the demographic characteristics of the participants. People diagnosed with HIV infection attending 8 UK HIV out-patient clinics in 2011-2012 were invited to participate in the study. Those who agreed to participate completed a confidential, self-administered pen-and-paper questionnaire, and their latest CD4 count and viral load test results were recorded. During the study period, 5112 eligible patients were invited to take part in the study and 3258 completed questionnaires were obtained, representing a response rate of 64% of eligible patients. The study includes 2248 men who have sex with men (MSM), 373 heterosexual men and 637 women. Future results from ASTRA will be a key resource for understanding HIV transmission within the UK, targeting prevention efforts, and informing clinical care of individuals living with HIV

Serum Phthalate and Triclosan Levels Have Opposing Associations With Risk Factors for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

Certain phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) have been associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in non-pregnant adults, but studies of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have reported conflicting results for phthalates and no associations with BPA. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between maternal serum levels of phthalate metabolites and phenols at 10-17 weeks of gestation and glucose homeostasis at 28 weeks of gestation. 232 women aged ≥16 years without type 1 or 2 diabetes with singleton male pregnancies were recruited from a single UK maternity centre between 2001 and 2009 as part of a prospective observational study (Cambridge Baby Growth Study). Serum levels of 16 phthalate metabolites and 9 phenols (including BPA) were measured using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Oral glucose tolerance tests were performed at 28 weeks. 47/232 (20.3%) women had GDM. First-trimester triclosan (TCS) was inversely associated with incident GDM (adjusted odds ratio per log increase in concentration 0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.86, p = 0.010). Amongst women without GDM, first-trimester mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and mono(carboxyisooctyl) phthalate levels were positively associated with 120-min plasma glucose (adjusted β 0.268 and 0.183, p = 0.0002 and 0.010, respectively) in mid-pregnancy. No other monotonic associations were detected between phthalate or phenol levels and fasting or stimulated plasma glucose, β-cell function, insulin resistance, or 60-min disposition index. Our results support a glycaemia-raising effect of phthalates during pregnancy, consistent with findings in non-pregnant populations and suggest a possible protective effect of exposure to TCS against GDM

2019: A Changing International Order? Implications for the Security Environment

KCIS2019 examined the implications of the changing international order for international security. It studied the hypercompetitive, multipolar environment in which we find ourselves, marked by a persistent struggle for influence and position within a “grey zone” of competition. This edited collection features contributions from academic and military experts who have examined the future of the liberal international order and what is at stake. These evidence-based examinations discuss the challenges to the order, and why it has been so difficult to articulate a compelling narrative to support the continuation of American leadership.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1922/thumbnail.jp

Placental syncytiotrophoblast constitutes a major barrier to vertical transmission of Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important cause of maternal-fetal infections and serves as a model organism to study these important but poorly understood events. L. monocytogenes can infect non-phagocytic cells by two means: direct invasion and cell-to-cell spread. The relative contribution of each method to placental infection is controversial, as is the anatomical site of invasion. Here, we report for the first time the use of first trimester placental organ cultures to quantitatively analyze L. monocytogenes infection of the human placenta. Contrary to previous reports, we found that the syncytiotrophoblast, which constitutes most of the placental surface and is bathed in maternal blood, was highly resistant to L. monocytogenes infection by either internalin-mediated invasion or cell-to-cell spread. Instead, extravillous cytotrophoblasts-which anchor the placenta in the decidua (uterine lining) and abundantly express E-cadherin-served as the primary portal of entry for L. monocytogenes from both extracellular and intracellular compartments. Subsequent bacterial dissemination to the villous stroma, where fetal capillaries are found, was hampered by further cellular and histological barriers. Our study suggests the placenta has evolved multiple mechanisms to resist pathogen infection, especially from maternal blood. These findings provide a novel explanation why almost all placental pathogens have intracellular life cycles: they may need maternal cells to reach the decidua and infect the placenta

Flukicidal effects of abietane diterpenoid derived analogues against the food borne pathogen Fasciola hepatica.

Control of liver fluke infections remains a significant challenge in the livestock sector due to widespread distribution of drug resistant parasite populations. In particular, increasing prevalence and economic losses due to infection with Fasciola hepatica is a direct result of drug resistance to the gold standard flukicide, triclabendazole. Sustainable control of this significant zoonotic pathogen, therefore, urgently requires the identification of new anthelmintics. Plants represent a source of molecules with potential flukicidal effects and, amongst their secondary metabolites, the diterpenoid abietic acids can be isolated in large quantities. In this study, nineteen (19) chemically modified abietic acid analogues (MC_X) were first evaluated for their anthelmintic activities against F. hepatica newly excysted juveniles (NEJs, from the laboratory-derived Italian strain); from this, 6 analogues were secondly evaluated for their anthelmintic activities against adult wild strain flukes. One analogue, MC010, was progressed further against 8-week immature- and 12-week mature Italian strain flukes. Here, MC010 demonstrated moderate activity against both of these intra-mammalian fluke stages (with an adult fluke EC50 = 12.97 µM at 72 h post culture). Overt mammalian cell toxicity of MC010 was inferred from the Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cell line (CC50 = 17.52 µM at 24 h post culture) and demonstrated that medicinal chemistry improvements are necessary before abietic acid analogues could be considered as potential anthelmintics against liver fluke pathogen