Negative Experiences in Television Programming : A View from the Other Side

Many professional archaeologists will engage with television. There seems to be little guidance- other than trial and error and personal communications - for navigating interactions with media production companies. Here, through a series of informal questions and answers, I present some issues with which one might be confronted in such engagements. I base my discussions on personal experience, literature, and conversations with experienced colleagues. A key point is that media production companies' agendas and priorities often differ from those of archaeologists. While the article draws on experiences from Europe and North America, it has relevance for archaeologists working with television everywhere.Peer reviewe

Natural Products Chemistry and Taxonomy of the Marine Cyanobacterium Blennothrix cantharidosmum

A Papua New Guinea field collection of the marine cyanobacterium Blennothrix cantharidosmum was investigated for its cytotoxic constituents. Bioassay-guided isolation defined the cytotoxic components as the known compounds lyngbyastatins 1 and 3. However, six new acyl proline derivatives, tumonoic acids D−I, plus the known tumonoic acid A were also isolated. Their planar structures were defined from NMR and MS data, while their stereostructures followed from a series of chiral chromatographies, degradation sequences, and synthetic approaches. The new compounds were tested in an array of assays, but showed only modest antimalarial and inhibition of quorum sensing activities. Nevertheless, these are the first natural products to be reported from this genus, and this inspired a detailed morphologic and 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic analysis of the producing organism

Stem cell‐derived enteroid cultures as a tool for dissecting host‐parasite interactions in the small intestinal epithelium.

Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium spp. can cause devastating pathological effects in humans and livestock, and in particular to young or immunocompromised individuals. The current treatment plans for these enteric parasites are limited due to long drug courses, severe side effects, or simply a lack of efficacy. The study of the early interactions between the parasites and the site of infection in the small intestinal epithelium has been thwarted by the lack of accessible, physiologically relevant, and species-specific models. Increasingly, 3D stem cell-derived enteroid models are being refined and developed into sophisticated models of infectious disease. In this review we shall illustrate the use of enteroids to spearhead research into enteric parasitic infections, bridging the gap between cell line cultures and in vivo experiments

The pathophysiological function of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ in lung-related diseases

Research into respiratory diseases has reached a critical stage and the introduction of novel therapies is essential in combating these debilitating conditions. With the discovery of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and its involvement in inflammatory responses of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, attention has turned to lung diseases and whether knowledge of this receptor can be applied to therapy of the human airways. In this article, we explore the prospect of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ as a marker and treatment focal point of lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, lung cancer and cystic fibrosis. It is anticipated that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ ligands will provide not only useful mechanistic pathway information but also a possible new wave of therapies for sufferers of chronic respiratory diseases

Summary of the DREAM8 Parameter Estimation Challenge: Toward Parameter Identification for Whole-Cell Models

Whole-cell models that explicitly represent all cellular components at the molecular level have the potential to predict phenotype from genotype. However, even for simple bacteria, whole-cell models will contain thousands of parameters, many of which are poorly characterized or unknown. New algorithms are needed to estimate these parameters and enable researchers to build increasingly comprehensive models. We organized the Dialogue for Reverse Engineering Assessments and Methods (DREAM) 8 Whole-Cell Parameter Estimation Challenge to develop new parameter estimation algorithms for whole-cell models. We asked participants to identify a subset of parameters of a whole-cell model given the model’s structure and in silico “experimental” data. Here we describe the challenge, the best performing methods, and new insights into the identifiability of whole-cell models. We also describe several valuable lessons we learned toward improving future challenges. Going forward, we believe that collaborative efforts supported by inexpensive cloud computing have the potential to solve whole-cell model parameter estimation

RESONANT PRESSURE SENSOR BASED ON PIEZOELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF FERROELECTRIC THICK-FILMS

The paper describes the design, implementation and performance of a resonant sensor for gas-pressure measurement realized with screen-printed and fired PZT-based layers on an alumina diaphragm. The piezoelectric properties of these layers have been exploited to excite (with low voltage signals) and detect oscillations of the diaphragm. The layer configurations and associated vibrational modes of the diaphragm have been designed and a phase-locked loop (PLL) technique implemented in electronic circuits able to keep the resonant condition, despite the change of resonance frequency due to variation of the applied differential pressure. It is shown that for an adequate choice of operating frequency (i.e. of the vibrational mode) a good sensitivity and thermal stability of the sensor can be obtained; in this device, operating at frequency around 57.8 kHz, corresponding to the third-mode frequency f0.3, a shift DELTA-f0.3 = 650 Hz is found by changing the pressure from 0 to 900 mmHg. We found also that f0.3 changes less than 6 x 10(-3) by changing the temperature from 23 to 100-degrees-C. Moreover the sensor allows long-term measurements of static pressures without significant hysteresis effects