The Dudley-Street Neighborhood : an exploratory study of employment issues

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1983.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Bibliography: leaf 37.by Marta G. Jaureguiberry.M.C.P

Cyclophosphamide and rituximab in frequently relapsing/steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome

BACKGROUND: Steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome is the most common form of nephrotic syndrome in childhood, defined by the response to treatment with glucocorticoids with consequent remission. While most children eventually experience spontaneous resolution of the disease, some have a difficult course with frequent relapses or steroid dependence nephrotic syndrome (FRSDNS). The consequent steroid toxicity often prompts administration of other immunosuppressive drugs, traditionally cyclophosphamide. Recently, rituximab has been reported as effective in this disorder, but long-term experience is lacking. METHODS: Retrospective note review of all children with FRSDNS treated with a first course of cyclophosphamide and/or rituximab in our center between December 2006 and April 2015. We reviewed time to first relapse after treatment, co-medications, and side effects. RESULTS: A total of 102 children were treated with cyclophosphamide (79) and/or rituximab (42). Of these, 34 received cyclophosphamide prior to rituximab. Median time to first relapse was 7 months after cyclophosphamide and 14 months after rituximab. Documented side effects of cyclophosphamide included neutropenia, hair loss, and hemorrhagic cystitis (1). Rituximab was associated with an allergic reaction at infusion in two patients. CONCLUSIONS: Rituximab was used in children with the most difficult to treat FRSDNS, yet was associated with longer remission time and less side effects than cyclophosphamide. A randomized controlled trial is needed to directly compare these drugs

Dealing with mobility: Understanding access anytime, anywhere

The rapid and accelerating move towards the adoption and use of mobile technologies has increasingly provided people and organisations with the ability to work away from the office and on the move. The new ways of working afforded by these technologies are often characterised in terms of access to information and people ‘anytime, anywhere’. This paper presents a study of mobile workers that highlights different facets of access to remote people and information, and different facets of anytime, anywhere. Four key factors in mobile work are identified from the study: the role of planning, working in ‘dead time’, accessing remote technological and informational resources, and monitoring the activities of remote colleagues. By reflecting on these issues, we can better understand the role of technology and artefact use in mobile work and identify the opportunities for the development of appropriate technological solutions to support mobile workers

Quantification of FAM20A in human milk and identification of calcium metabolism proteins

BACKGROUND: FAM20A, a recently discovered protein, is thought to have a fundamental role in inhibiting ectopic calcification. Several studies have demonstrated that variants of FAM20A are causative for the rare autosomal recessive disorder, enamel-renal syndrome (ERS). ERS is characterized by defective mineralization of dental enamel and nephrocalcinosis suggesting that FAM20A is an extracellular matrix protein, dysfunction of which causes calcification of the secretory epithelial tissues. FAM20A is a low-abundant protein that is difficult to detect in biofluids such as blood, saliva, and urine. Thus, we speculated the abundance of FAM20A to be high in human milk, since the secretory epithelium of lactating mammary tissue is involved in the secretion of highly concentrated calcium. Therefore, the primary aim of this research is to describe the processes/methodology taken to quantify FAM20A in human milk and identify other proteins involved in calcium metabolism. METHOD: This study used mass spectrometry-driven quantitative proteomics: (1) to quantify FAM20A in human milk of three women and (2) to identify proteins associated with calcium regulation by bioinformatic analyses on whole and milk fat globule membrane fractions. RESULTS: Shotgun MS/MS driven proteomics identified FAM20A in whole milk, and subsequent analysis using targeted proteomics also successfully quantified FAM20A in all samples. Combination of sample preparation, fractionation, and LC-MS/MS proteomics analysis generated 136 proteins previously undiscovered in human milk; 21 of these appear to be associated with calcium metabolism. CONCLUSION: Using mass spectrometry-driven proteomics, we successfully quantified FAM20A from transitional to mature milk and obtained a list of proteins involved in calcium metabolism. Furthermore, we show the value of using a combination of both shotgun and targeted driven proteomics for the identification of this low abundant protein in human milk

Role of plasma membrane lipid composition on cellular homeostasis: learning from cell line models expressing fatty acid desaturases

Experimental evidence has suggested that plasma membrane (PM)-associated signaling and hence cell metabolism and viability depend on lipid composition and organization. The aim of the present work is to develop a cell model to study the endogenous polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) effect on PM properties and analyze its influence on cholesterol (Chol) homeostasis. We have previously shown that by using a cell line over-expressing stearoyl-CoA-desaturase, membrane composition and organization coordinate cellular pathways involved in Chol efflux and cell viability by different mechanisms. Now, we expanded our studies to a cell model over-expressing both Δ5 and Δ6 desaturases, which resulted in a permanently higher PUFA content in PM. Furthermore, this cell line showed increased PM fluidity, Chol storage, and mitochondrial activity. In addition, human apolipoprotein A-I-mediated Chol removal was less efficient in these cells than in the corresponding control. Taken together, our results suggested that the cell functionality is preserved by regulating PM organization and Chol exportation and homeostasis.Fil: Jaureguiberry, María Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de la Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Tricerri, Maria Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de la Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Susana A.. University Of California At Irvine. Laboratory of Fluorescence Dynamics; Estados UnidosFil: Finarelli, Gabriela Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de la Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Montanaro, Mauro Aldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de la Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Prieto, Eduardo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de la Plata; ArgentinaFil: Rimoldi, Omar Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de la Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Association between progesterone concentration and endometrial gene expression in dairy cows

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between progesterone concentration on Days 4 and 9 of the estrus cycle and endometrial transcriptome at Day 9 in lactating grazing dairy cows. Blood samples were obtained on Days 0, 4, and 9 for progesterone measurement by chemiluminescence. Cows were assigned to one of the following groups (n = 3 per group): cows with low physiological progesterone on Day 4, cows in anestrous, cows with high physiological progesterone on Day 4, and superovulated cows. Endometrial biopsy samples were obtained on Day 9 for RNA sequencing. Quality control and determination of differentially expressed genes (false discovery rate <0.05) were determined using the edgeR package for R software. We identified 3,042 differentially expressed genes among the 4 groups. Cows having high physiological progesterone and superovulated cows showed high similarities and clustered apart from those in anestrus or having low physiological progesterone. Functional analysis using Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery revealed that endometrial genes upregulated by low progesterone concentration are enriched genes involved in the immune system and inflammatory response. Conversely, cows with high physiological progesterone concentration presented an endometrial transcriptome with similarities to cows with good genetic merit for fertility, showing upregulation of genes related to uterine relaxation–contraction, focal adhesion, GnRH signaling pathway, and epidermal growth factor–like related terms, suggesting a favorable embryo environment. In conclusion, our results support the concept that there is a threshold of progesterone concentration at the beginning of the luteal phase associated with endometrial expression of critical genes involved in the preparation of the uterine environment for embryo implantation.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Revisiting the relevance of economic theory to hotel revenue management education and practice in the era of Big Data

Abstract This paper explores the role of economics in hospitality education and industry practice, with a particular focus on revenue management, and puts forward an argument for a return to the inclusion of economic theory in UK hospitality education, not seen since the 1990s. Given the increasing amounts of pricing data available to both managers and customers and the consequent market complexities now seen, developing economic literacy is demonstrated to be a crucial skill required for future hospitality graduates, allowing them to make successful revenue decisions and sense-check with confidence the decisions made by automated revenue systems. Economic literacy is defined as a balanced understanding of economic theory that can be applied in real-life business scenarios, extending beyond simple consideration of supply and demand to a mixture of neoclassical and behavioural approaches to economics

Methyl-β-Cyclodextrins Preferentially Remove Cholesterol from the Liquid Disordered Phase in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Methyl-β-cyclodextrins (MβCDs) are molecules that are extensively used to remove and to load cholesterol (Chol) from artificial and natural membranes; however, the mechanism of Chol extraction by MβCD from pure lipids or from complex mixtures is not fully understood. One of the outstanding questions in this field is the capability of MβCD to remove Chol from lipid domains having different packing. Here, we investigated the specificity of MβCD to remove Chol from coexisting macrodomains with different lipid packing. We used giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) made of 1,2-dioleoylphosphatidylcholine:1,2-dipalmitoylphatidylcholine:free cholesterol, 1:1:1 molar ratio at 27°C. Under these conditions, individual GUVs present Chol distributed into lo and ld phases. The two phases can be distinguished and visualized using Laurdan generalized polarization and two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy. Our data indicate that MβCD removes Chol preferentially from the more disordered phase. The process of selective Chol removal is dependent on the MβCD concentration. At high concentrations, MβCD also removes phospholipids