“46 YEARS REMOVED, 400 YEARS BEHIND: THE MISCONCEIVED EFFECTS OF INTEGRATION 2000 ON THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLLEGIATE”

“The university system, supposedly committed to diverse ideals and higher consciousness, has in reality become a white-centralized institution of exclusion.

The future of high-energy physics in the United States: Statement for the 1994 HEPAP subpanel

The United States has a superb capability for forefront research in elementary particle physics for the next decade-but it can be realized only if there is sufficient funding to make efficient use of our existing world-class facilities. Throughout most of the past half century, the US has led the world in making contributions to our growing understanding of elementary particle physics. We are no longer the dominant force in the field, but we are still one of the leaders. The termination of the SSC is an enormous blow, but it need not end our participation in the field. We must first take advantage of what we have -- and that is considerable -- and then use it as the basis for a successful strategy for the first few decades in the next century. The US can make many important contributions to our field for the rest of this decade and for part of the next. But, after that, we will not long remain among the world`s leaders unless we have the foresight to preserve and strengthen our capability to construct and operate world-class facilities

The future of high energy physics in the United States statement for the science subcommittee of the house science, space and technology committee

This report discusses the procedures the United States are taking to stay among the world leader in research of high energy physics

Airline Deregulation and Industry Wage Levels

This study uses data from 1977 and 1984 March Current Population Surveys to explore changes in airline wage premiums after deregulation. The findings show that for 1977 and 1984 high levels of work force unionization and industry concentration contributed to the above average national wage position in airlines. However, in 1984, unlike the situation in 1977, airline employees received wage rates similar to their counterparts in highly unionized and concentrated industries. The wage findings are indicative of the increasingly competitive airline industry, the lack of industrywide labor contracts in this industry, and the less lenient view of the federal government toward airline strikes.

Acute Effects of Nicotine Amplify Accumbal Neural Responses during Nicotine-Taking Behavior and Nicotine-Paired Environmental Cues

Nicotine self-administration (SA) is maintained by several variables, including the reinforcing properties of nicotine-paired cues and the nicotine-induced amplification of those cue properties. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is implicated in mediating the influence of these variables, though the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are not yet understood. In the present study, Long-Evans rats were trained to self-administer nicotine. During SA sessions each press of a lever was followed by an intravenous infusion of nicotine (30 µg/kg) paired with a combined light-tone cue. Extracellular recordings of single-neuron activity showed that 20% of neurons exhibited a phasic change in firing during the nicotine-directed operant, the light-tone cue, or both. The phasic change in firing for 98% of neurons was an increase. Sixty-two percent of NAc neurons additionally or alternatively showed a sustained decrease in average firing during the SA session relative to a presession baseline period. These session decreases in firing were significantly less prevalent in a group of neurons that were activated during either the operant or the cue than in a group of neurons that were nonresponsive during those events (referred to as task-activated and task-nonactivated neurons, respectively). Moreover, the session decrease in firing was dose-dependent for only the task-nonactivated neurons. The data of the present investigation provide supportive correlational evidence for two hypotheses: (1) excitatory neurophysiological mechanisms mediate the NAc role in cue-maintenance of nicotine SA, and (2) a differential nicotine-induced inhibition of task-activated and task-nonactivated neurons mediates the NAc role in nicotine-induced amplification of cue effects on nicotine SA

Engineered artificial antigen presenting cells facilitate direct and efficient expansion of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Development of a standardized platform for the rapid expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) with anti-tumor function from patients with limited TIL numbers or tumor tissues challenges their clinical application.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To facilitate adoptive immunotherapy, we applied genetically-engineered K562 cell-based artificial antigen presenting cells (aAPCs) for the direct and rapid expansion of TILs isolated from primary cancer specimens.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>TILs outgrown in IL-2 undergo rapid, CD28-independent expansion in response to aAPC stimulation that requires provision of exogenous IL-2 cytokine support. aAPCs induce numerical expansion of TILs that is statistically similar to an established rapid expansion method at a 100-fold lower feeder cell to TIL ratio, and greater than those achievable using anti-CD3/CD28 activation beads or extended IL-2 culture. aAPC-expanded TILs undergo numerical expansion of tumor antigen-specific cells, remain amenable to secondary aAPC-based expansion, and have low CD4/CD8 ratios and FOXP3+ CD4+ cell frequencies. TILs can also be expanded directly from fresh enzyme-digested tumor specimens when pulsed with aAPCs. These "young" TILs are tumor-reactive, positively skewed in CD8+ lymphocyte composition, CD28 and CD27 expression, and contain fewer FOXP3+ T cells compared to parallel IL-2 cultures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Genetically-enhanced aAPCs represent a standardized, "off-the-shelf" platform for the direct ex vivo expansion of TILs of suitable number, phenotype and function for use in adoptive immunotherapy.</p

Principles of flow field diagnostics by laser-induced biacetyl phosphorescence

A new method for measuring the density, temperature and velocity of N2 gas flow by laser induced biacetyl phosphorescence is proposed. The characteristics of the laser induced phosphorescence of biacetyl mixed with N2 are investigated both in static gas and in one-dimensional flow along a pipe with constant cross section. The theoretical and experimental investigations show that the temperature and density of N2 gas flow could be measured by observing the phosphorescence lifetime and initial intensity of biacetyl triplet (3Au) respectively. The velocity could be measured by observing the time-of-flight of the phosphorescent gas after pulsed laser excitation. The prospect of this method is also discussed

The Fifth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

This paper describes the Fifth Data Release (DR5) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). DR5 includes all survey quality data taken through June 2005 and represents the completion of the SDSS-I project (whose successor, SDSS-II will continue through mid-2008). It includes five-band photometric data for 217 million objects selected over 8000 square degrees, and 1,048,960 spectra of galaxies, quasars, and stars selected from 5713 square degrees of that imaging data. These numbers represent a roughly 20% increment over those of the Fourth Data Release; all the data from previous data releases are included in the present release. In addition to "standard" SDSS observations, DR5 includes repeat scans of the southern equatorial stripe, imaging scans across M31 and the core of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, and the first spectroscopic data from SEGUE, a survey to explore the kinematics and chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The catalog database incorporates several new features, including photometric redshifts of galaxies, tables of matched objects in overlap regions of the imaging survey, and tools that allow precise computations of survey geometry for statistical investigations.Comment: ApJ Supp, in press, October 2007. This paper describes DR5. The SDSS Sixth Data Release (DR6) is now public, available from http://www.sdss.or

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes that recognize decameric peptide sequences of retinoblastoma binding protein 1 (RBP-1) associated with human breast cancer

Retinoblastoma binding protein 1 (RBP-1) is a 143-kDa nuclear phosphoprotein that promotes cell growth by inhibiting the product of retinoblastoma tumour suppressor gene (pRB). We recently found that RBP-1 contains KASIFLK, a heptameric peptide (250–256) recognized by human antibodies and overexpressed by breast cancer cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that human T-cells stimulated with RBP-1 decameric peptides containing KASIFLK can kill human breast cancer cells. These decamers, GLQKASIFLK (247–256) and KASIFLKTRV (250–259), have anchor motifs for both HLA-A2 and HLA-A3. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from 41 normal donors were stimulated by these peptides in culture media containing 15 IU ml−1 interleukin-2, 25 IU ml−1 interleukin-7 and 500 IU ml−1 granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Cytotoxic activity of the T-cells was assessed against autologous B lymphoblastoid cells pulsed with each peptide. Stimulation by GLQKASIFLK generated specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) lines from HLA-A2, A3 donors, HLA-A2 donors and HLA-A3 donors. Stimulation with KASIFLKTRV generated specific CTL lines from HLA-A2 donors. No HLA-A2−, A3− CTL line showed specific cytotoxicity against these target cells. These CTL lines were also cytotoxic against HLA-A2 and HLA-A3 breast cancer cells but not against normal fibroblastoid cell lines, normal epidermal cell lines, or a melanoma cell line. RBP-1 peptide antigens may be of clinical significance as a potential peptide vaccine against human breast cancer. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig