Loss of synchronized retinal phagocytosis and age-related blindness in mice lacking alphavbeta5 integrin.

Daily phagocytosis by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of spent photoreceptor outer segment fragments is critical for vision. In the retina, early morning circadian photoreceptor rod shedding precedes synchronized uptake of shed photoreceptor particles by RPE cells. In vitro, RPE cells use the integrin receptor alphavbeta5 for particle binding. Here, we tested RPE phagocytosis and retinal function in beta5 integrin--deficient mice, which specifically lack alphavbeta5 receptors. Retinal photoresponses severely declined with age in beta5-/- mice, whose RPE accumulated autofluorescent storage bodies that are hallmarks of human retinal aging and disease. beta5-/- RPE in culture failed to take up isolated photoreceptor particles. beta5-/- RPE in vivo retained basal uptake levels but lacked the burst of phagocytic activity that followed circadian photoreceptor shedding in wild-type RPE. Rhythmic activation of focal adhesion and Mer tyrosine kinases that mediate wild-type retinal phagocytosis was also completely absent in beta5-/- retina. These results demonstrate an essential role for alphavbeta5 integrin receptors and their downstream signaling pathways in synchronizing retinal phagocytosis. Furthermore, they identify the beta5-/- integrin mouse strain as a new animal model of age-related retinal dysfunction

IL-17A produced by αβ T cells drives airway hyper-responsiveness in mice and enhances mouse and human airway smooth muscle contraction.

Emerging evidence suggests that the T helper 17 (T(H)17) subset of αβ T cells contributes to the development of allergic asthma. In this study, we found that mice lacking the αvβ8 integrin on dendritic cells did not generate T(H)17 cells in the lung and were protected from airway hyper-responsiveness in response to house dust mite and ovalbumin sensitization and challenge. Because loss of T(H)17 cells inhibited airway narrowing without any obvious effects on airway inflammation or epithelial morphology, we examined the direct effects of T(H)17 cytokines on mouse and human airway smooth muscle function. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), but not IL-17F or IL-22, enhanced contractile force generation of airway smooth muscle through an IL-17 receptor A (IL-17RA)-IL-17RC, nuclear factor κ light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB)-ras homolog gene family, member A (RhoA)-Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) signaling cascade. Mice lacking integrin αvβ8 on dendritic cells showed impaired activation of this pathway after ovalbumin sensitization and challenge, and the diminished contraction of the tracheal rings in these mice was reversed by IL-17A. These data indicate that the IL-17A produced by T(H)17 cells contributes to allergen-induced airway hyper-responsiveness through direct effects on airway smooth muscle

Workshop: Guidelines for the safe manufacture of refrigerated wheat-flour noodles

Established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centre Progra

A multipopulation parallel genetic simulated annealing based QoS routing and wavelength assignment integration algorithm for multicast in optical networks

Copyright @ 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.In this paper, we propose an integrated Quality of Service (QoS) routing algorithm for optical networks. Given a QoS multicast request and the delay interval specified by users, the proposed algorithm can find a flexible-QoS-based cost suboptimal routing tree. The algorithm first constructs the multicast tree based on the multipopulation parallel genetic simulated annealing algorithm, and then assigns wavelengths to the tree based on the wavelength graph. In the algorithm, routing and wavelength assignment are integrated into a single process. For routing, the objective is to find a cost suboptimal multicast tree. For wavelength assignment, the objective is to minimize the delay of the multicast tree, which is achieved by minimizing the number of wavelength conversion. Thus both the cost of multicast tree and the user QoS satisfaction degree can approach the optimal. Our algorithm also considers load balance. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is feasible and effective. We also discuss the practical realization mechanisms of the algorithm.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/1, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant nos. 60673159 and 70671020, the National High-Tech Research and Development Plan of China under Grant no. 2006AA01Z214, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, and the Key Project of Chinese Ministry of Education under Grant no. 108040

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Experiences and protocols from the Department of Prosthodontics at the Wuhan University

Statement of problem: The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic, and many countries and regions are still currently in the midst of the outbreak. This pandemic has caused prosthodontics units to suspend their clinical and educational operations in academia. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to review the experiences from the Department of Prosthodontics, Wuhan University School and Hospital of Stomatology (DP-WHUSHS) during the COVID-19 outbreak and the protocols DP-WHUSHS utilized to resume clinical activities after the outbreak. Material and methods: The descriptive approach was used in this article to provide a chronological narrative of the experiences and protocols from the DP-WHUSHS during the COVID-19 outbreak and after the outbreak. Results: During the COVID-19 outbreak period, clinical care was provided for patients with dental emergencies using enhanced Grade 2 or Garde 3 personal protective equipment (PPE). Teledentistry was used to provide care for patients with non-emergency needs. Online webinars and lectures were provided for the predoctoral students, residents, and dentists to minimize the interruption in their education and engage the dental community amid the pandemic. Various factors were considered before clinical activities resumed after the outbreak subsided. Additional resources were allocated for facility preparation and management and employee training. New infection control and clinical operation protocols were developed to minimize the healthcare-associated infection of airborne transmission diseases. The psychological health and mental wellness of the employees were emphasized. Distance or online education is still under rapid development to provide students and dentists opportunities to advance their knowledge amid the pandemic. Conclusions: Within the limitation of this descriptive review, the following conclusions were drawn. Patient welfare and emergency needs should be considered amid the pandemic. Enhanced Grade 2 or Grade 3 PPE should be used during the outbreak. Multifactorial considerations for work resumption after the outbreak included facility preparation and management, training for employees, and clinical operation management. In-person psychological consultation and online mental wellness programs were available to employees to improve their mental wellness. Distance or online education was under rapid development to minimize the interruption in education for the students and to engage the dental community amid a pandemic

Honour Watch #002

The second issue of Honour Watch focuses on the Celebration of Student Scholarship hosted at Morehead in 2016, as well as including a study abroad featurette and a summary of the seniors graduating at the end of the 2015-16 academic year.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/msu_honors_publications/1001/thumbnail.jp

Mesoscopic theory for fluctuating active nematics

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The one-message-per-cell-cycle rule: A conserved minimum transcription level for essential genes

The inherent stochasticity of cellular processes leads to significant cell-to-cell variation in protein abundance. Although this noise has already been characterized and modeled, its broader implications and significance remain unclear. In this paper, we revisit the noise model and identify the number of messages transcribed per cell cycle as the critical determinant of noise. In yeast, we demonstrate that this quantity predicts the non-canonical scaling of noise with protein abundance, as well as quantitatively predicting its magnitude. We then hypothesize that growth robustness requires an upper ceiling on noise for the expression of essential genes, corresponding to a lower floor on the transcription level. We show that just such a floor exists: a minimum transcription level of one message per cell cycle is conserved between three model organisms: Escherichia coli, yeast, and human. Furthermore, all three organisms transcribe the same number of messages per gene, per cell cycle. This common transcriptional program reveals that robustness to noise plays a central role in determining the expression level of a large fraction of essential genes, and that this fundamental optimal strategy is conserved from E. coli to human cells.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure