51 research outputs found
Radical Surgery in the Treatment of Localized Carcinoma of the Prostate
New methods of early detection combined with recent advances in surgical techniques have resulted in more patients undergoing radical surgery for treatment of localized carcinoma of the prostate. Over 350 radical prostatectomies have been performed by our group since January 1987. We review the role of radical prostatectomy in the treatment of prostate cancer and our experience with 100 patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy since the advent of nerve-sparing techniques to preserve potency
VAChT overexpression increases acetylcholine at the synaptic cleft and accelerates aging of neuromuscular junctions
Background: Cholinergic dysfunction occurs during aging and in a variety of diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, it remains unknown whether changes in cholinergic transmission contributes to age-and disease-related degeneration of the motor system. Here we investigated the effect of moderately increasing levels of synaptic acetylcholine (ACh) on the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), muscle fibers, and motor neurons during development and aging and in a mouse model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Chat-ChR2-EYFP (VAChTHyp) mice containing multiple copies of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1G93A), and Chat-IRES-Cre and tdTomato transgenic mice were used in this study. NMJs, muscle fibers, and a-motor neurons\u27 somata and their axons were examined using a light microscope. Transcripts for select genes in muscles and spinal cords were assessed using real-time quantitative PCR. Motor function tests were carried out using an inverted wire mesh and a rotarod. Electrophysiological recordings were collected to examine miniature endplate potentials (MEPP) in muscles. Results: We show that VAChT is elevated in the spinal cord and at NMJs of VAChTHyp mice. We also show that the amplitude of MEPPs is significantly higher in VAChTHyp muscles, indicating that more ACh is loaded into synaptic vesicles and released into the synaptic cleft at NMJs of VAChTHyp mice compared to control mice. While the development of NMJs was not affected in VAChTHyp mice, NMJs prematurely acquired age-related structural alterations in adult VAChTHyp mice. These structural changes at NMJs were accompanied by motor deficits in VAChTHyp mice. However, cellular features of muscle fibers and levels of molecules with critical functions at the NMJ and in muscle fibers were largely unchanged in VAChTHyp mice. In the SOD1G93A mouse model for ALS, increasing synaptic ACh accelerated degeneration of NMJs caused motor deficits and resulted in premature death specifically in male mice. Conclusions: The data presented in this manuscript demonstrate that increasing levels of ACh at the synaptic cleft promote degeneration of adult NMJs, contributing to age-and disease-related motor deficits. We thus propose that maintaining normal cholinergic signaling in muscles will slow degeneration of NMJs and attenuate loss of motor function caused by aging and neuromuscular diseases
TOI-150: A transiting hot Jupiter in the TESS southern CVZ
We report the detection of a hot Jupiter ($M_{p}=1.75_{-0.17}^{+0.14}\
M_{J}R_{p}=1.38\pm0.04\ R_{J}\log
g=4.152^{+0.030}_{-0.043}\beta=-79.59^{\circ}$). We confirm the
planetary nature of the candidate TOI-150.01 using radial velocity observations
from the APOGEE-2 South spectrograph and the Carnegie Planet Finder
Spectrograph, ground-based photometric observations from the robotic
Three-hundred MilliMeter Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, and Gaia
distance estimates. Large-scale spectroscopic surveys, such as APOGEE/APOGEE-2,
now have sufficient radial velocity precision to directly confirm the signature
of giant exoplanets, making such data sets valuable tools in the TESS era.
Continual monitoring of TOI-150 by TESS can reveal additional planets and
subsequent observations can provide insights into planetary system
architectures involving a hot Jupiter around a star about halfway through its
main-sequence life.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted to ApJ
Kepler-730: A hot Jupiter system with a close-in, transiting, Earth-sized planet
Kepler-730 is a planetary system hosting a statistically validated hot
Jupiter in a 6.49-day orbit and an additional transiting candidate in a
2.85-day orbit. We use spectroscopic radial velocities from the APOGEE-2N
instrument, Robo-AO contrast curves, and Gaia distance estimates to
statistically validate the planetary nature of the additional Earth-sized
candidate. We perform astrophysical false positive probability calculations for
the candidate using the available Kepler data and bolster the statistical
validation by using radial velocity data to exclude a family of possible binary
star solutions. Using a radius estimate for the primary star derived from
stellar models, we compute radii of and
() for Kepler-730b and
Kepler-730c, respectively. Kepler-730 is only the second compact system hosting
a hot Jupiter with an inner, transiting planet.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, published in ApJ
Characterization of low-mass companions to objects of interest observed with APOGEE-N
We report the characterization of 28 low-mass
() companions
to objects of interest (KOIs), eight of which were previously
designated confirmed planets. These objects were detected as transiting
companions to Sun-like stars (G and F dwarfs) by the mission
and are confirmed as single-lined spectroscopic binaries in the current work
using the northern multiplexed Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution
Experiment near-infrared spectrograph (APOGEE-N) as part of the third and
fourth Sloan Digital Sky Surveys. We have observed hundreds of KOIs using
APOGEE-N and collected a total of 43,175 spectra with a median of 19 visits and
a median baseline of years per target. We jointly model the
photometry and APOGEE-N radial velocities to derive
fundamental parameters for this subset of 28 transiting companions. The radii
for most of these low-mass companions are over-inflated (by ) when
compared to theoretical models. Tidally locked M dwarfs on short period orbits
show the largest amount of inflation, but inflation is also evident for
companions that are well separated from the host star. We demonstrate that
APOGEE-N data provides reliable radial velocities when compared to precise
high-resolution spectrographs that enable detailed characterization of
individual systems and the inference of orbital elements for faint ()
KOIs. The data from the entire APOGEE-KOI program is public and presents an
opportunity to characterize an extensive subset of the binary population
observed by .Comment: 98 pages (include 56 for the figure sets), 10 tables, 7 figures, 2
figure sets, accepted for publication in ApJ
Kepler-503b: An Object at the Hydrogen Burning Mass Limit Orbiting a Subgiant Star
Using spectroscopic radial velocities with the APOGEE instrument and Gaia
distance estimates, we demonstrate that Kepler-503b, currently considered a
validated Kepler planet, is in fact a brown-dwarf/low-mass star in a nearly
circular 7.2-day orbit around a subgiant star. Using a mass estimate for the
primary star derived from stellar models, we derive a companion mass and radius
of () and
(),
respectively. Assuming the system is coeval, the evolutionary state of the
primary indicates the age is Gyr. Kepler-503b sits right at the
hydrogen burning mass limit, straddling the boundary between brown dwarfs and
very low-mass stars. More precise radial velocities and secondary eclipse
spectroscopy with James Webb Space Telescope will provide improved measurements
of the physical parameters and age of this important system to better constrain
and understand the physics of these objects and their spectra. This system
emphasizes the value of radial velocity observations to distinguish a genuine
planet from astrophysical false positives, and is the first result from the
SDSS-IV monitoring of Kepler planet candidates with the multi-object APOGEE
instrument.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL, 12 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in
operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from
this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release
Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first
two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14
is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all
data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14
is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the
Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2),
including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine
learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes
from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous
release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of
the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the
important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both
targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS
website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to
data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is
planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be
followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14
happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov
2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections
only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected
The When and Why: Student Entrepreneurial Aspirations
Although connections between university enterprise courses and entrepreneurial activity have been examined, less work has investigated the intended timing of future entrepreneurial activities. Using data from a survey of U.K. business students, it is found that those intending to enter entrepreneurship right away place less emphasis on avoiding stress and responsibility, seeing themselves as natural leaders. They were also more confident of succeeding, but not because of superior knowledge. A greater emphasis on entrepreneurial activities in all institutional environments, including the corporate, may help balance the need to harness enthusiasm while it
lasts with the need to acquire relevant experience
PRMT1-dependent regulation of RNA metabolism and DNA damage response sustains pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer that has remained clinically challenging to manage. Here we employ an RNAi-based in vivo functional genomics platform to determine epigenetic vulnerabilities across a panel of patient-derived PDAC models. Through this, we identify protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) as a critical dependency required for PDAC maintenance. Genetic and pharmacological studies validate the role of PRMT1 in maintaining PDAC growth. Mechanistically, using proteomic and transcriptomic analyses, we demonstrate that global inhibition of asymmetric arginine methylation impairs RNA metabolism, which includes RNA splicing, alternative polyadenylation, and transcription termination. This triggers a robust downregulation of multiple pathways involved in the DNA damage response, thereby promoting genomic instability and inhibiting tumor growth. Taken together, our data support PRMT1 as a compelling target in PDAC and informs a mechanism-based translational strategy for future therapeutic development.
Statement of significance
PDAC is a highly lethal cancer with limited therapeutic options. This study identified and characterized PRMT1-dependent regulation of RNA metabolism and coordination of key cellular processes required for PDAC tumor growth, defining a mechanism-based translational hypothesis for PRMT1 inhibitors
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