Interview with Donald Gallion, August 6, 2008

Donald Gallion was interviewed on August 6, 2008 by Michael Birkner about his time serving in the United States army during WWII and his return to Gettysburg College and after the war. Collection Note: This oral history was selected from the Oral History Collection maintained by Special Collections & College Archives. Transcripts are available for browsing in the Special Collections Reading Room, 4th floor, Musselman Library. GettDigital contains the complete listing of oral histories done from 1978 to the present. To view this list and to access selected digital versions please visit -- http://gettysburg.cdmhost.com/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16274coll

Integrating a QPSK Quantum Key Distribution Link

We present the integration of the optical and electronic subsystems of a BB84-QKD fiber link. A highspeed FPGA MODEM generates the random QPSK sequences for a fiber-optic delayed self-homodyne scheme using APD detectors.Comment: 2 pages, 4 figures, European Conference on Optical Communication 200

Attitudes Toward Breast Cancer Genetic Testing in Five Special Population Groups

Purpose: This study examined interest in and attitudes toward genetic testing in 5 different population groups. Methods: The survey included African American, Asian American, Latina, Native American, and Appalachian women with varying familial histories of breast cancer. A total of 49 women were interviewed in person. Descriptive and nonparametric statistical techniques were used to assess ethnic group differences. Results: Overall, interest in testing was high. All groups endorsed more benefits than risks. There were group differences regarding endorsement of specific benefits and risks: testing to “follow doctor recommendations” (p=0.017), “concern for effects on family” (p=0.044), “distrust of modern medicine” (p=0.036), “cost” (p=0.025), and “concerns about communication of results to others” (p=0.032). There was a significant inverse relationship between interest and genetic testing cost (p Conclusion: Cost may be an important barrier to obtaining genetic testing services, and participants would benefit by genetic counseling that incorporates the unique cultural values and beliefs of each group to create an individualized, culturally competent program. Further research about attitudes toward genetic testing is needed among Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Appalachians for whom data are severely lacking. Future study of the different Latina perceptions toward genetic testing are encouraged

Die Computertomographie bei der Bildgebung von Kindern mit kongenitalen Herzvitien

Zusammenfassung: Kongenitale Herzfehler sind die häufigsten kongenitalen Fehlbildungen. Echokardiographie und Katheterangiographie gelten allgemein als Goldstandard zur Abklärung angeborener Herzerkrankungen. Die Magnetresonanztomographie ist aufgrund ihrer Fähigkeit, Herzvitien morphologisch und funktionell zu charakterisieren, als ein wichtiges ergänzendes Verfahren anzusehen. Durch mehr und mehr dosissparende Untersuchungsprotokolle der neuesten Gerätegenerationen und eine gleichzeitig bessere zeitliche und räumliche Auflösung findet die Computertomographie zunehmend Eingang in die Abklärung kongenitaler Herzfehler. In der präoperativen Planung und der postoperativen Kontrolle erlaubt sie eine übersichtliche Darstellung komplexer Fehlbildung nicht nur des Herzens, sondern auch der pulmonalvenösen und -arteriellen Zirkulation sowie des systemischen Kreislaufs. Dieser Beitrag gibt eine Übersicht über die technischen Aspekte der kardialen CT und die Anpassung des Untersuchungsprotokolls an die zu erwartende Pathologie und das Alter des Kindes. Zudem werden die Möglichkeiten und Limitationen der unterschiedlichen dosissparenden Protokolle erläuter

Forensic Investigations in Complex Pollution Cases Involving PCBs, Dioxins and Furans: Potential Pitfalls and Tips

Providing a wide range of up to date topics on the advancement and refinement of environmental forensic techniques, this book ensures the reader gets a good understanding of the scope of environmental forensics

Evolutionary action and structural basis of the allosteric switch controlling β(2)AR functional selectivity

Functional selectivity of G-protein-coupled receptors is believed to originate from ligand-specific conformations that activate only subsets of signaling effectors. In this study, to identify molecular motifs playing important roles in transducing ligand binding into distinct signaling responses, we combined in silico evolutionary lineage analysis and structure-guided site-directed mutagenesis with large-scale functional signaling characterization and non-negative matrix factorization clustering of signaling profiles. Clustering based on the signaling profiles of 28 variants of the β(2)-adrenergic receptor reveals three clearly distinct phenotypical clusters, showing selective impairments of either the Gi or βarrestin/endocytosis pathways with no effect on Gs activation. Robustness of the results is confirmed using simulation-based error propagation. The structural changes resulting from functionally biasing mutations centered around the DRY, NPxxY, and PIF motifs, selectively linking these micro-switches to unique signaling profiles. Our data identify different receptor regions that are important for the stabilization of distinct conformations underlying functional selectivity

Utilizing Patient-Derived Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Tumor Organoids to Predict Carboplatin Resistance

The development of patient-derived tumor organoids (TOs) from an epithelial ovarian cancer tumor obtained at the time of primary or interval debulking surgery has the potential to play an important role in precision medicine. Here, we utilized TOs to test front-line chemotherapy sensitivity and to investigate genomic drivers of carboplatin resistance. We developed six high-grade, serous epithelial ovarian cancer tumor organoid lines from tissue obtained during debulking surgery (two neoadjuvant-carboplatin-exposed and four chemo-naïve). Each organoid line was screened for sensitivity to carboplatin at four different doses (100, 10, 1, and 0.1 µM). Cell viability curves and resultant EC50 values were determined. One organoid line, UK1254, was predicted to be resistant to carboplatin based on its EC50 value (50.2 µM) being above clinically achievable Cmax. UK1254 had a significantly shorter PFS than the rest of the subjects (p = 0.0253) and was treated as a platinum-resistant recurrence. Subsequent gene expression analysis revealed extensively interconnected, differentially expressed pathways related to NF-kB, cellular differentiation (PRDM6 activation), and the linkage of B-cell receptor signaling to the PI3K–Akt signaling pathway (PI3KAP1 activation). This study demonstrates that patient-derived tumor organoids can be developed from patients at the time of primary or interval debulking surgery and may be used to predict clinical platinum sensitivity status or to investigate drivers of carboplatin resistance