Human and murine PTX1/Ptx1 gene maps to the region for Treacher Collins Syndrome.

Ptx1 belongs to an expanding family of bicoid-related vertebrate homeobox genes. These genes, like their Drosophila homolog, seem to play a role in the development of anterior structures and, in particular, the brain and facies. We report the chromosomal localization of mouse Ptx1, and the cloning, sequencing, and chromosomal localization of the human homolog PTX1. The putative encoded proteins share 100% homology in the homeodomain and are 88% and 97% conserved in the N- and C-termini respectively. Intron/exon boundaries are also conserved. Murine Ptx1 was localized, by interspecific backcrossing, to Chr 13 within 2.6 cM of Caml. The gene resides centrally on Chromosome (Chr) 13 in a region syntenic with human Chr 5q. Subsequent analysis by fluorescent in situ hybridization places the human gene, PTX1, on 5q31, a region associated with Treacher Collins Franceschetti Syndrome. Taken together with the craniofacial expression pattern of Ptx1 during early development, the localization of the gene in this chromosomal area is consistent with an involvement in Treacher Collins Franceschetti Syndrome

Invitation to grief in the family context

Grief is a family affair, yet it is commonly viewed as an individual phenomenon. As an international, interdisciplinary team, we explore grief within a family context across theoretical, research, practice, and educational domains. Families are complex and working with this complexity is challenging but necessary for a holistic view of grief. We therefore encourage an increased focus on theorizing, researching, practicing, and educating using innovative approaches to address the complexities of grief within the context of families. Learnings from within each domain will affirm and enhance the development of family-level thinking and approaches

A tool kit for rapid cloning and expression of recombinant antibodies

Over the last four decades, molecular cloning has evolved tremendously. Efficient products allowing assembly of multiple DNA fragments have become available. However, cost-effective tools for engineering antibodies of different specificities, isotypes and species are still needed for many research and clinical applications in academia. Here, we report a method for one-step assembly of antibody heavy- and light-chain DNAs into a single mammalian expression vector, starting from DNAs encoding the desired variable and constant regions, which allows antibodies of different isotypes and specificity to be rapidly generated. As a proof of principle we have cloned, expressed and characterized functional recombinant tumor-associated antigen-specific chimeric IgE/κ and IgG(1)/κ, as well as recombinant grass pollen allergen Phl p 7 specific fully human IgE/λ and IgG(4)/λ antibodies. This method utilizing the antibody expression vectors, available at Addgene, has many applications, including the potential to support simultaneous processing of antibody panels, to facilitate mechanistic studies of antigen-antibody interactions and to conduct early evaluations of antibody functions

An Economist's Guide to U.S. v. Microsoft

W hile most antitrust cases proceed in obscurity, the case brought againstMicrosoft by federal and state antitrust authorities was front-page news.Much of the drama and media hype centered on the struggle between the titan of high technology, personified in Bill Gates, and the titan of government, personified in U.S. Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein. For economists and policymakers, however, the case was about the appropriate role of competition policy in the new economy. Antitrust critics claim that the nineteenth century Sherman Act is ill-suited for the high-technology markets of the twenty-first century. Others argue that the Sherman Act provides a broad constitution for antitrust enforcement that is flexible enough to protect both the interests of consumers and the ability of firms to compete in high-technology markets. In the Microsoft case, the government (by which we mean the U.S. Department of Justice, 19 state attorneys general, and the Attorney General of the District of Columbia that brought the case) asserted that Microsoft engaged in anticompeti-tive conduct designed to maintain its operating system monopoly to the detriment of consumers. According to the government, antitrust enforcement would rein in the Microsoft monopoly and result in more competition and innovation in the software industry. In its defense, Microsoft contended that the company is a vigorous competitor that benefited consumers by supplying high quality, innovative products. According to Microsoft, antitrust action against it would dampen incen-tives for competition and slow software innovation. In this paper, we analyze the central economic issues raised by the Microsof

KELT-6b: A P~7.9 d Hot Saturn Transiting a Metal-Poor Star with a Long-Period Companion

We report the discovery of KELT-6b, a mildly-inflated Saturn-mass planet transiting a metal-poor host. The initial transit signal was identified in KELT-North survey data, and the planetary nature of the occulter was established using a combination of follow-up photometry, high-resolution imaging, high-resolution spectroscopy, and precise radial velocity measurements. The fiducial model from a global analysis including constraints from isochrones indicates that the V=10.38 host star (BD+31 2447) is a mildly evolved, late-F star with T_eff=6102 \pm 43 K, log(g_*)=4.07_{-0.07}^{+0.04} and [Fe/H]=-0.28 \pm 0.04, with an inferred mass M_*=1.09 \pm 0.04 M_sun and radius R_star=1.58_{-0.09}^{+0.16} R_sun. The planetary companion has mass M_P=0.43 \pm 0.05 M_J, radius R_P=1.19_{-0.08}^{+0.13} R_J, surface gravity log(g_P)=2.86_{-0.08}^{+0.06}, and density rho_P=0.31_{-0.08}^{+0.07} g~cm^{-3}. The planet is on an orbit with semimajor axis a=0.079 \pm 0.001 AU and eccentricity e=0.22_{-0.10}^{+0.12}, which is roughly consistent with circular, and has ephemeris of T_c(BJD_TDB)=2456347.79679 \pm 0.00036 and P=7.845631 \pm 0.000046 d. Equally plausible fits that employ empirical constraints on the host star parameters rather than isochrones yield a larger planet mass and radius by ~4-7%. KELT-6b has surface gravity and incident flux similar to HD209458b, but orbits a host that is more metal poor than HD209458 by ~0.3 dex. Thus, the KELT-6 system offers an opportunity to perform a comparative measurement of two similar planets in similar environments around stars of very different metallicities. The precise radial velocity data also reveal an acceleration indicative of a longer-period third body in the system, although the companion is not detected in Keck adaptive optics images.Comment: Published in AJ, 17 pages, 15 figures, 6 table

The Steady State Fluctuation Relation for the Dissipation Function

We give a proof of transient fluctuation relations for the entropy production (dissipation function) in nonequilibrium systems, which is valid for most time reversible dynamics. We then consider the conditions under which a transient fluctuation relation yields a steady state fluctuation relation for driven nonequilibrium systems whose transients relax, producing a unique nonequilibrium steady state. Although the necessary and sufficient conditions for the production of a unique nonequilibrium steady state are unknown, if such a steady state exists, the generation of the steady state fluctuation relation from the transient relation is shown to be very general. It is essentially a consequence of time reversibility and of a form of decay of correlations in the dissipation, which is needed also for, e.g., the existence of transport coefficients. Because of this generality the resulting steady state fluctuation relation has the same degree of robustness as do equilibrium thermodynamic equalities. The steady state fluctuation relation for the dissipation stands in contrast with the one for the phase space compression factor, whose convergence is problematic, for systems close to equilibrium. We examine some model dynamics that have been considered previously, and show how they are described in the context of this work.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figur

Kepler-16: A Transiting Circumbinary Planet

We report the detection of a planet whose orbit surrounds a pair of low-mass stars. Data from the Kepler spacecraft reveal transits of the planet across both stars, in addition to the mutual eclipses of the stars, giving precise constraints on the absolute dimensions of all three bodies. The planet is comparable to Saturn in mass and size, and is on a nearly circular 229-day orbit around its two parent stars. The eclipsing stars are 20% and 69% as massive as the sun, and have an eccentric 41-day orbit. The motions of all three bodies are confined to within 0.5 degree of a single plane, suggesting that the planet formed within a circumbinary disk.Comment: Science, in press; for supplemental material see http://www.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2011/09/14/333.6049.1602.DC1/1210923.Doyle.SOM.pd

Pharmacokinetic evaluation of the PNC disassembler metarrestin in wild-type and Pdx1-Cre;LSL-KrasG12D/+;Tp53R172H/+ (KPC) mice, a genetically engineered model of pancreatic cancer

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Purpose Metarrestin is a first-in-class small molecule clinical candidate capable of disrupting the perinucleolar compartment, a subnuclear structure unique to metastatic cancer cells. This study aims to define the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of metarrestin and the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship of metarrestin-regulated markers. Methods PK studies included the administration of single or multiple dose of metarrestin at 3, 10, or 25 mg/kg via intravenous (IV) injection, gavage (PO) or with chow to wild-type C57BL/6 mice and KPC mice bearing autochthonous pancreatic tumors. Metarrestin concentrations were analyzed by UPLC–MS/MS. Pharmacodynamic assays included mRNA expression profiling by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR for KPC mice. Results Metarrestin had a moderate plasma clearance of 48 mL/min/kg and a large volume of distribution of 17 L/kg at 3 mg/kg IV in C57BL/6 mice. The oral bioavailability after single-dose (SD) treatment was > 80%. In KPC mice treated with SD 25 mg/kg PO, plasma AUC0–∞ of 14400 ng h/mL, Cmax of 810 ng/mL and half-life (t1/2) of 8.5 h were observed. At 24 h after SD of 25 mg/kg PO, the intratumor concentration of metarrestin was high with a mean value of 6.2 µg/g tissue (or 13 µM), well above the cell-based IC50 of 0.4 µM. At multiple dose (MD) 25 mg/kg/day PO in KPC mice, mean tissue/plasma AUC0–24h ratio for tumor, spleen and liver was 37, 30 and 31, respectively. There was a good linear relationship of dosage to AUC0–24h and C24h. AUC0–24h MD to AUC0–24h SD ratios ranged from two for liver to five for tumor indicating additional accumulation in tumors. Dose-dependent normalization of FOXA1 and FOXO6 mRNA expression was observed in KPC tumors. Conclusions Metarrestin is an effective therapeutic candidate with a favorable PK profile achieving excellent intratumor tissue levels in a disease with known poor drug delivery.Intramural Research Program (IRP) of the NIHNational Cancer InstituteCenter for Cancer Research (ZIA BC 011267