Filtering high quality text for display on raster scan devices

Recently several investigators have studied the problem of displaying text characters on grey level raster scan displays. Despite arguments suggesting that grey level displays are equivalent to very high resolution bitmaps, the performance of grey level displays has been disappointing. this paper will show that much of the problem can be traced to inappropriate antialiasing procedures. Instead of the classical (sin x)/x filter, the situation calls for a filter with characteristics matched both to the nature of display on CRTs and to the human visual system. We give examples to illustrate the problems of the existing methods and the advantages of the new methods. Although the techniques are described in terms of text, the results have application to the general antialiasing problem--at least in theory if not practice

Spontaneous jumping, bouncing and trampolining of hydrogel drops on a heated plate

Drops of liquid on a hot surface can exhibit fascinating behaviour such as the Leidenfrost effect in which drops hover on a vapour layer. Here Pham et al. show that when hydrogel drops are placed on a rapidly heated plate they bounce to increasing heights even if they were initially at rest

An Object Oriented Architecture

We propose a new machine architecture for high performance execution of late binding object oriented languages The two principal mechanisms for attaining this goal are a fast context allocation/access scheme and an instruction translation lookaside buffer New ideas in this paper include the concept and implementation of abstract instructions, using floating point addresses to solve the small object problem, and a novel context allocation/access mechanis

Submicron Systems Architecture: Semiannual Technical Report

No abstract available

Microbe-Dependent Exacerbated Alveolar Bone Destruction in Heterozygous Cherubism Mice

Cherubism (OMIM#118400) is a craniofacial disorder characterized by destructive jaw expansion. Gain‐of‐function mutations in SH3‐domain binding protein 2 (SH3BP2) are responsible for this rare disorder. We have previously shown that homozygous knock‐in (KI) mice (Sh3bp2 KI/KI) recapitulate human cherubism by developing inflammatory lesions in the jaw. However, it remains unknown why heterozygous KI mice (Sh3bp2 KI/+) do not recapitulate the excessive jawbone destruction in human cherubism, even though all mutations are heterozygous in humans. We hypothesized that Sh3bp2 KI/+ mice need to be challenged for developing exacerbated jawbone destruction and that bacterial stimulation in the oral cavity may be involved in the mechanism. In this study, we applied a ligature‐induced periodontitis model to Sh3bp2 KI/+ mice to induce inflammatory alveolar bone destruction. Ligature placement induced alveolar bone resorption with gingival inflammation. Quantification of alveolar bone volume revealed that Sh3bp2 KI/+ mice developed more severe bone loss (male: 43.0% ± 10.6%, female: 42.6% ± 10.4%) compared with Sh3bp2 +/+ mice (male: 25.8% ± 4.0%, female: 30.9% ± 6.5%). Measurement of bone loss by the cement‐enamel junction–alveolar bone crest distance showed no difference between Sh3bp2 KI/+ and Sh3bp2 +/+ mice. The number of osteoclasts on the alveolar bone surface was higher in male Sh3bp2 KI/+ mice, but not in females, compared with Sh3bp2 +/+ mice. In contrast, inflammatory cytokine levels in gingiva were comparable between Sh3bp2 KI/+ and Sh3bp2 +/+ mice with ligatures. Genetic deletion of the spleen tyrosine kinase in myeloid cells and antibiotic treatment suppressed alveolar bone loss in Sh3bp2 KI/+ mice, suggesting that increased osteoclast differentiation and function mediated by SYK and accumulation of oral bacteria are responsible for the increased alveolar bone loss in Sh3bp2 KI/+ mice with ligature‐induced periodontitis. High amounts of oral bacterial load caused by insufficient oral hygiene could be a trigger for the initiation of jawbone destruction in human cherubism

Alveolar bone protection by targeting the SH3BP2-SYK axis in osteoclasts

Periodontitis is a bacterially induced chronic inflammatory condition of the oral cavity where tooth-supporting tissues including alveolar bone are destructed. Previously, we have shown that the adaptor protein SH3-domain binding protein 2 (SH3BP2) plays a critical role in inflammatory response and osteoclastogenesis of myeloid lineage cells through spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK). In this study, we show that SH3BP2 is a novel regulator for alveolar bone resorption in periodontitis. Micro-CT analysis of SH3BP2-deficient (Sh3bp2 -/- ) mice challenged with ligature-induced periodontitis revealed that Sh3bp2 -/- mice develop decreased alveolar bone loss (male 14.9% ± 10.2%; female 19.0% ± 6.0%) compared with wild-type control mice (male 25.3% ± 5.8%; female 30.8% ± 5.8%). Lack of SH3BP2 did not change the inflammatory cytokine expression and osteoclast induction. Conditional knockout of SH3BP2 and SYK in myeloid lineage cells with LysM-Cre mice recapitulated the reduced bone loss without affecting both inflammatory cytokine expression and osteoclast induction, suggesting that the SH3BP2-SYK axis plays a key role in regulating alveolar bone loss by mechanisms that regulate the bone-resorbing function of osteoclasts rather than differentiation. Administration of a new SYK inhibitor GS-9973 before or after periodontitis induction reduced bone resorption without affecting inflammatory reaction in gingival tissues. In vitro, GS-9973 treatment of bone marrow-derived M-CSF-dependent macrophages suppressed tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive osteoclast formation with decreased mineral resorption capacity even when GS-9973 was added after RANKL stimulation. Thus, the data suggest that SH3BP2-SYK is a novel signaling axis for regulating alveolar bone loss in periodontitis and that SYK can be a potential therapeutic target to suppress alveolar bone resorption in periodontal diseases

Staphylococcal phenotypes induced by naturally occurring and synthetic membrane-interactive polyphenolic β-lactam resistance modifiers.

Galloyl catechins, in particular (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECg), have the capacity to abrogate β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); they also prevent biofilm formation, reduce the secretion of a large proportion of the exoproteome and induce profound changes to cell morphology. Current evidence suggests that these reversible phenotypic traits result from their intercalation into the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. We have endeavoured to potentiate the capacity of ECg to modify the MRSA phenotype by stepwise removal of hydroxyl groups from the B-ring pharmacophore and the A:C fused ring system of the naturally occurring molecule. ECg binds rapidly to the membrane, inducing up-regulation of genes responsible for protection against cell wall stress and maintenance of membrane integrity and function. Studies with artificial membranes modelled on the lipid composition of the staphylococcal bilayer indicated that ECg adopts a position deep within the lipid palisade, eliciting major alterations in the thermotropic behaviour of the bilayer. The non-galloylated homolog (-)-epicatechin enhanced ECg-mediated effects by facilitating entry of ECg molecules into the membrane. ECg analogs with unnatural B-ring hydroxylation patterns induced higher levels of gene expression and more profound changes to MRSA membrane fluidity than ECg but adopted a more superficial location within the bilayer. ECg possessed a high affinity for the positively charged staphylococcal membrane and induced changes to the biophysical properties of the bilayer that are likely to account for its capacity to disperse the cell wall biosynthetic machinery responsible for β-lactam resistance. The ability to enhance these properties by chemical modification of ECg raises the possibility that more potent analogs could be developed for clinical evaluation

Elevated expression of VEGFR-3 in lymphatic endothelial cells from lymphangiomas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lymphangiomas are neoplasias of childhood. Their etiology is unknown and a causal therapy does not exist. The recent discovery of highly specific markers for lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) has permitted their isolation and characterization, but expression levels and stability of molecular markers on LECs from healthy and lymphangioma tissues have not been studied yet. We addressed this problem by profiling LECs from normal dermis and two children suffering from lymphangioma, and also compared them with blood endothelial cells (BECs) from umbilical vein, aorta and myometrial microvessels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Lymphangioma tissue samples were obtained from two young patients suffering from lymphangioma in the axillary and upper arm region. Initially isolated with anti-CD31 (PECAM-1) antibodies, the cells were separated by FACS sorting and magnetic beads using anti-podoplanin and/or LYVE-1 antibodies. Characterization was performed by FACS analysis, immunofluorescence staining, ELISA and micro-array gene analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>LECs from foreskin and lymphangioma had an almost identical pattern of lymphendothelial markers such as podoplanin, Prox1, reelin, cMaf and integrin-α1 and -α9. However, LYVE-1 was down-regulated and VEGFR-2 and R-3 were up-regulated in lymphangiomas. Prox1 was constantly expressed in LECs but not in any of the BECs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>LECs from different sources express slightly variable molecular markers, but can always be distinguished from BECs by their Prox1 expression. High levels of VEGFR-3 and -2 seem to contribute to the etiology of lymphangiomas.</p

A novel method of sampling gingival crevicular fluid from a mouse model of periodontitis

Using a mouse model of silk ligature-induced periodontal disease (PD), we report a novel method of sampling mouse gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) to evaluate the time-dependent secretion patterns of bone resorption-related cytokines. GCF is a serum transudate containing host-derived biomarkers which can represent cellular response in the periodontium. As such, human clinical evaluations of PD status rely on sampling this critical secretion. At the same time, a method of sampling GCF from mice is absent, hindering the translational value of mouse models of PD. Therefore, we herein report a novel method of sampling GCF from a mouse model of periodontitis, involving a series of easy steps. First, the original ligature used for induction of PD was removed, and a fresh ligature for sampling GCF was placed in the gingival crevice for ten minutes. Immediately afterwards, the volume of GCF collected in the sampling ligature was measured using a high precision weighing balance. The sampling ligature containing GCF was then immersed in a solution of PBS-Tween 20 and subjected to ELISA. This enabled us to monitor the volume of GCF and detect time-dependent changes in the expression of such cytokines as IL-1b, TNF-α, IL-6, RANKL, and OPG associated with the levels of alveolar bone loss, as reflected in GCF collected from a mouse model of PD. Therefore, this novel GCF sampling method can be used to measure various cytokines in GCF relative to the dynamic changes in periodontal bone loss induced in a mouse model of PD. Correspondence: Toshihisa Kawai, DDS, PhD, Department of Immunology and Infectious diseases, The Forsyth Institute, 245 First Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, Tel: 617-892-8317, Fax: 617-892-8437, [email protected]. # Contributed equally to this work HHS Public Access Author manuscript J Immunol Methods. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 November 01. Published in final edited form as: J Immunol Methods. 2016 November ; 438: 21–25. doi:10.1016/j.jim.2016.08.008. Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Autho