The regulation of manganese superoxide dismutase and inducible nitric oxide synthase by nuclear factor-Kappa B and activator protein 1 in rat aortic endothelial cells

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) are two enzymes that influence reactive oxygen species within the cell. The promoter regions for the genes encoding these enzymes have two specific transcription factor elements in common, activator protein 1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor kappa b (NF-KB). This study was initiated to determine if either NF-KB or AP-1 regulates the transcription of both genes in endothelial cells. To test whether NF-KB or AP-1 binding sites in the MnSOD and iNOS promoter region were important for transcriptional regulation, we performed induction analysis using various deletion constructs of MnSOD and iNOS luciferase reporter plasmids expressed in rat aortic endothelial cells (SVAREC and PRAEC). We found that the basal and inducible regulation of MnSOD are dependent upon the NF-KB binding site. Deletion of this ten base pair sequence produced a 90% decrease in basal expression and a 99% decrease in expression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treated cells, also studies with the inhibitors parthenolide and A-Fos, supported the finding that NF-KB is critical for MnSOD transcription. The AP-1 site is not necessary for basal transcriptional regulation of MnSOD but does seem to be necessary for induction of MnSOD, since deletion ofthe AP-1 binding site reduces reporter expression of LPS treated cells down to basal levels. Taken together, these results together suggest that MnSOD expression is dependent upon NF-KB and AP-1 for induction of transcription, while only NF-KB is necessary for basal levels of MnSOD transcription. Serial deletions and inhibitor studies of iNOS suggested that the NF-KB site between -680 and -266 is important for iNOS transcription. All of this data suggests that MnSOD and iNOS are reliant upon the transcription factor NF-KB for induction of transcription

Advanced composite aileron for L-1011 transport aircraft: Aileron manufacture

The fabrication activities of the Advanced Composite Aileron (ACA) program are discussed. These activities included detail fabrication, manufacturing development, assembly, repair and quality assurance. Five ship sets of ailerons were manufactured. The detail fabrication effort of ribs, spar and covers was accomplished on male tools to a common cure cycle. Graphite epoxy tape and fabric and syntactic epoxy materials were utilized in the fabrication. The ribs and spar were net cured and required no post cure trim. Material inconsistencies resulted in manufacturing development of the front spar during the production effort. The assembly effort was accomplished in subassembly and assembly fixtures. The manual drilling system utilized a dagger type drill in a hydraulic feed control hand drill. Coupon testing for each detail was done

Distinctive Structural and Molecular Features of Myelinated Inhibitory Axons in Human Neocortex.

Numerous types of inhibitory neurons sculpt the performance of human neocortical circuits, with each type exhibiting a constellation of subcellular phenotypic features in support of its specialized functions. Axonal myelination has been absent among the characteristics used to distinguish inhibitory neuron types; in fact, very little is known about myelinated inhibitory axons in human neocortex. Here, using array tomography to analyze samples of neurosurgically excised human neocortex, we show that inhibitory myelinated axons originate predominantly from parvalbumin-containing interneurons. Compared to myelinated excitatory axons, they have higher neurofilament and lower microtubule content, shorter nodes of Ranvier, and more myelin basic protein (MBP) in their myelin sheath. Furthermore, these inhibitory axons have more mitochondria, likely to sustain the high energy demands of parvalbumin interneurons, as well as more 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP), a protein enriched in the myelin cytoplasmic channels that are thought to facilitate the delivery of nutrients from ensheathing oligodendrocytes. Our results demonstrate that myelinated axons of parvalbumin inhibitory interneurons exhibit distinctive features that may support the specialized functions of this neuron type in human neocortical circuits

The new Mobile Universal Lexicon Evaluation System (MULES): A test of rapid picture naming for concussion sized for the sidelines

© 2018 Objective: Measures of rapid automatized naming (RAN) have been used for over 50 years to capture vision-based aspects of cognition. The Mobile Universal Lexicon Evaluation System (MULES) is a test of rapid picture naming under investigation for detection of concussion and other neurological disorders. MULES was designed as a series of 54 grouped color photographs (fruits, random objects, animals) that integrates saccades, color perception and contextual object identification. Recent changes to the MULES test have been made to improve ease of use on the athletic sidelines. Originally an 11 × 17-inch single-sided paper, the test has been reduced to a laminated 8.5 × 11-inch double-sided version. We identified performance changes associated with transition to the new, MULES, now sized for the sidelines, and examined MULES on the sideline for sports-related concussion. Methods: We administered the new laminated MULES to a group of adult office volunteers as well as youth and collegiate athletes during pre-season baseline testing. Athletes with concussion underwent sideline testing after injury. Time scores for the new laminated MULES were compared to those for the larger version (big MULES). Results: Among 501 athletes and office volunteers (age 16 ± 7 years, range 6–59, 29% female), average test times at baseline were 44.4 ± 14.4 s for the new laminated MULES (n = 196) and 46.5 ± 16.3 s for big MULES (n = 248). Both versions were completed by 57 participants, with excellent agreement (p \u3c 0.001, linear regression, accounting for age). Age was a predictor of test times for both MULES versions, with longer times noted for younger participants (p \u3c 0.001). Among 6 athletes with concussion thus far during the fall sports season (median age 15 years, range 11–21) all showed worsening of MULES scores from pre-season baseline (median 4.0 s, range 2.1–16.4). Conclusion: The MULES test has been converted to an 11 × 8.5-inch laminated version, with excellent agreement between versions across age groups. Feasibly administered at pre-season and in an office setting, the MULES test shows preliminary evidence of capacity to identify athletes with sports-related concussion

Correction to: First results on survival from a large Phase 3 clinical trial of an autologous dendritic cell vaccine in newly diagnosed glioblastoma

© 2018 The Author(s). Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in the spelling of one of the author names. In this Correction the incorrect and correct author names are indicated and the author name has been updated in the original publication. The authors also reported an error in the Methods section of the original article. In this Correction the incorrect and correct versions of the affected sentence are indicated. The original article has not been updated with regards to the error in the Methods section

Classification of hyperbolic Dynkin diagrams, root lengths and Weyl group orbits

We give a criterion for a Dynkin diagram, equivalently a generalized Cartan matrix, to be symmetrizable. This criterion is easily checked on the Dynkin diagram. We obtain a simple proof that the maximal rank of a Dynkin diagram of compact hyperbolic type is 5, while the maximal rank of a symmetrizable Dynkin diagram of compact hyperbolic type is 4. Building on earlier classification results of Kac, Kobayashi-Morita, Li and Sa\c{c}lio\~{g}lu, we present the 238 hyperbolic Dynkin diagrams in ranks 3-10, 142 of which are symmetrizable. For each symmetrizable hyperbolic generalized Cartan matrix, we give a symmetrization and hence the distinct lengths of real roots in the corresponding root system. For each such hyperbolic root system we determine the disjoint orbits of the action of the Weyl group on real roots. It follows that the maximal number of disjoint Weyl group orbits on real roots in a hyperbolic root system is 4.Comment: J. Phys. A: Math. Theor (to appear

Human immunoglobulin G levels of viruses and associated glioma risk

Few consistent etiological factors have been identified for primary brain tumors. Inverse associations to asthma and low levels of varicella-zoster virus, immunoglobulin (Ig) levels in prevalent cases have indicted a role for the immune system in the development of glioma. Because samples from prevalent cases of glioma could be influenced by treatments such as steroids and chemotherapy, we investigated pre-diagnostic samples from three large Scandinavian cohorts. To test the hypothesis that immune response levels to these viruses are associated etiologically with glioma risk, we investigated pre-diagnostic immunoglobulin levels for cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), adenovirus (Ad), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) including the nuclear antigen (EBNA1) using plasma samples from 197 cases of adult glioma and 394 controls collected from population-based cohorts in Sweden and Denmark. Low VZV IgG levels were marginally significantly more common in glioma cases than the controls (odds ratio (OR) = 0.68, 95% CI 0.41–1.13) for the fourth compared with the first quartile (p = 0.06 for trend). These results were more prominent when analyzing cases with blood sampling at least 2 years before diagnosis (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.37–1.08) (p = 0.03). No association with glioma risk was observed for CMV, EBV, and adenovirus