Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the Massachusetts Biotechnology Industry (2007)

Immigrant entrepreneurs are co-founders in 25.7 percent of Massachusetts Biotechnology firms. In 2006, these immigrant-founded biotechnology companies produced over $7.6 billion dollars in sales and employed over 4,000 workers. The foreign-born founders came from across the globe but in larger numbers from Europe, Canada or Asia. Their firms specialize in the most complex, risky, life science-intensive aspects of biotechnology to seek knowledge directly applicable to human health. Biotechnology is a crucial industry for Massachhusetts and the evidence strongly suggests that immigrants have been key contributors to this industry by establishing new businesses as well as bringing intellectual capital and thereby contributing significantly to the overall economic growth of the Commonwealth

The Importance of Transport in Business’ Location Decisions -Scoping Study (Final Report)

The aim of this project was to review current literature of issues considered by businesses in choosing where they locate / relocate and in particular, the significance and importance to which transport is a factor within that decision-making process. The review pulled together the evidence already available about the factors which influence these decisions, the extent to which transport is a consideration within these decisions and the impacts of these decisions on the travel patterns of customers and staff, as well as operational considerations. From this review, the current evidence base was mapped out, identifying and prioritising the needs for future research in this area. This scoping study was needed to consolidate the level of understanding of the impact of transport in businesses' locational decision-making processes and to assist the Department in developing meaningful, evidence-based areas for future research, minimising the burden of research surveys on business respondents

Thromboxane A2 receptor (TBXA2R) is a potent survival factor for triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs)

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is defined by the lack of ERα, PR expression and HER2 overexpression and is the breast cancer subtype with the poorest clinical outcomes. Our aim was to identify genes driving TNBC proliferation and/or survival which could represent novel therapeutic targets. We performed microarray profiling of primary TNBCs and generated differential genelists based on clinical outcomes following the chemotherapy regimen FEC (5-Fluorouracil/Epirubicin/Cyclophosphamide -‘good’ outcome no relapse > 3 years; ‘poor’ outcome relapse < 3 years). Elevated expression of thromboxane A2 receptor (TBXA2R) was observed in ‘good’ outcome TNBCs. TBXA2R expression was higher specifically in TNBC cell lines and TBXA2R knockdowns consistently showed dramatic cell killing in TNBC cells. TBXA2R mRNA and promoter activities were up-regulated following BRCA1 knockdown, with c-Myc being required for BRCA1-mediated transcriptional repression. We demonstrated that TBXA2R enhanced TNBC cell migration, invasion and activated Rho signalling, phenotypes which could be reversed using Rho-associated Kinase (ROCK) inhibitors. TBXA2R also protected TNBC cells from DNA damage by negatively regulating reactive oxygen species levels. In summary, TBXA2R is a novel breast cancer-associated gene required for the survival and migratory behaviour of a subset of TNBCs and could provide opportunities to develop novel, more effective treatments

Exploring the immune microenvironment in small bowel adenocarcinoma using digital image analysis.

BACKGROUND: Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare malignancy of the small intestine associated with late stage diagnosis and poor survival outcome. High expression of immune cells and immune checkpoint biomarkers especially programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) have been shown to significantly impact disease progression. We have analysed the expression of a subset of immune cell and immune checkpoint biomarkers in a cohort of SBA patients and assessed their impact on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). METHODS: 25 patient samples in the form of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue were obtained in tissue microarray (TMAs) format. Automated immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was performed using validated antibodies for CD3, CD4, CD8, CD68, PD-L1, ICOS, IDO1 and LAG3. Slides were scanned digitally and assessed in QuPath, an open source image analysis software, for biomarker density and percentage positivity. Survival analyses were carried out using the Kaplan Meier method. RESULTS: Varying expressions of biomarkers were recorded. High expressions of CD3, CD4 and IDO1 were significant for PFS (p = 0.043, 0.020 and 0.018 respectively). High expression of ICOS was significant for both PFS (p = 0.040) and OS (p = 0.041), while high PD-L1 expression in tumour cells was significant for OS (p = 0.033). High correlation was observed between PD-L1 and IDO1 expressions (Pearson correlation co-efficient = 1) and subsequently high IDO1 expression in tumour cells was found to be significant for PFS (p = 0.006) and OS (p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: High levels of immune cells and immune checkpoint proteins have a significant impact on patient survival in SBA. These data could provide an insight into the immunotherapeutic management of patients with SBA

Quantifying particle size and turbulent scale dependence of dust uplift in the Sahara using aircraft measurements

The first size-resolved airborne measurements of dust fluxes and the first dust flux measurements from the central Sahara are presented and compared with a parameterization by Kok (2011a). High-frequency measurements of dust size distribution were obtained from 0.16 to 300 µm diameter, and eddy covariance fluxes were derived. This is more than an order of magnitude larger size range than previous flux estimates. Links to surface emission are provided by analysis of particle drift velocities. Number flux is described by a −2 power law between 1 and 144 µm diameter, significantly larger than the 12 µm upper limit suggested by Kok (2011a). For small particles, the deviation from a power law varies with terrain type and the large size cutoff is correlated with atmospheric vertical turbulent kinetic energy, suggesting control by vertical transport rather than emission processes. The measured mass flux mode is in the range 30–100 µm. The turbulent scales important for dust flux are from 0.1 km to 1–10 km. The upper scale increases during the morning as boundary layer depth and eddy size increase. All locations where large dust fluxes were measured had large topographical variations. These features are often linked with highly erodible surface features, such as wadis or dunes. We also hypothesize that upslope flow and flow separation over such features enhance the dust flux by transporting large particles out of the saltation layer. The tendency to locate surface flux measurements in open, flat terrain means these favored dust sources have been neglected in previous studies

Algal photophysiology drives darkening and melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Blooms of Zygnematophycean “glacier algae” lower the bare ice albedo of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), amplifying summer energy absorption at the ice surface and enhancing meltwater runoff from the largest cryospheric contributor to contemporary sea-level rise. Here, we provide a step change in current understanding of algal-driven ice sheet darkening through quantification of the photophysiological mechanisms that allow glacier algae to thrive on and darken the bare ice surface. Significant secondary phenolic pigmentation (11 times the cellular content of chlorophyll a) enables glacier algae to tolerate extreme irradiance (up to ∼4,000 µmol photons⋅m−2⋅s−1) while simultaneously repurposing captured ultraviolet and short-wave radiation for melt generation. Total cellular energy absorption is increased 50-fold by phenolic pigmentation, while glacier algal chloroplasts positioned beneath shading pigments remain low-light–adapted (Ek ∼46 µmol photons⋅m−2⋅s−1) and dependent upon typical nonphotochemical quenching mechanisms for photoregulation. On the GrIS, glacier algae direct only ∼1 to 2.4% of incident energy to photochemistry versus 48 to 65% to ice surface melting, contributing an additional ∼1.86 cm water equivalent surface melt per day in patches of high algal abundance (∼104 cells⋅mL−1). At the regional scale, surface darkening is driven by the direct and indirect impacts of glacier algae on ice albedo, with a significant negative relationship between broadband albedo (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [MODIS]) and glacier algal biomass (R2 = 0.75, n = 149), indicating that up to 75% of the variability in albedo across the southwestern GrIS may be attributable to the presence of glacier algae

Trematode Infections inLittorina littoreaon the New Hampshire Coast

The prevalence of parasite infections in Littorina littorea (Common Periwinkle) was examined at 16 rocky intertidal sites along the New Hampshire coastline over three summers (2006 to 2008). We sampled over a relatively small spatial scale (21 km) and expected that the prevalence of infections in L. littorea would be similar between sites over this sampling area. In total, 1983 snails were collected from areas at mean low water during spring tides. Snail size (mm), gender, and type of parasitic infection were noted for all snails. Eleven percent of snails collected were infected with rediae and cercariae of the trematodes Cryptocotyle lingua or Cercaria parvicaudata; one snail had a double infection of both trematodes. The prevalence of infection at sites ranged from 1.9% to 30.1%. At all sites, female snails outnumbered male snails, and a greater proportion of females were infected than males. Large snails were more likely to be infected with trematodes at 3 sites, while a higher level of infection was found in small snails at 1 site. Snails at wave-protected sites were more likely to be infected than snails at wave-exposed sites. No relationship was found between the number of gulls at a site and the prevalence of infection. Although temporal variation in levels of prevalence in parasitic infections may explain some of our site-to-site differences, our data show large spatial variation of parasite prevalence in L. littorea over a minimum distance of 0.5 km and provide a foundation to test hypotheses concerning the susceptibility of female and immature (small) snails to infection

A summary of the results of a survey of unemployed workers in the Auckland Eastern Suburbs TTWA1.

This article considers the attitudes of a small sample of unemployed people towards the characteristics of potential jobs, how they search for jobs, and which of their own attributes they perceive may be relevant to getting a job