Cell response to RGD density in cross-linked artificial extracellular matrix protein films

This study examines the adhesion, spreading, and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells on cross-linked films of artificial extracellular matrix (aECM) proteins. The aECM proteins described here were designed for application in small-diameter grafts and are composed of elastin-like structural repeats and fibronectin cell-binding domains. aECM-RGD contains the RGD sequence derived from fibronectin; the negative control protein aECM-RDG contains a scrambled cell-binding domain. The covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to aECM substrates reduced nonspecific cell adhesion to aECM-RDG-PEG but did not preclude sequence-specific adhesion of endothelial cells to aECM-RGD-PEG. Variation in ligand density was accomplished by the mixing of aECM-RGD-PEG and aECM-RDG-PEG prior to cross-linking. Increasing the density of RGD domains in cross-linked films resulted in more robust cell adhesion and spreading but did not affect cell migration speed. Control of cell-binding domain density in aECM proteins can thus be used to modulate cell adhesion and spreading and will serve as an important design tool as these materials are further developed for use in surgery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine

From \u3ci\u3eInwood\u3c/i\u3e to Internet and Beyond: Assessing the Web Host-User Relationship in Contributory Online Trademark Infringement

While courts have created a doctrine of contributory trademark infringement in response to the expansion of goods and services from brick-and-mortar to the Internet, the exact duties of web hosts under the rule are not yet clear. Despite judicial attempts to carve out new standards to define traditional requirements, the application of these standards remains inconsistent and has left unresolved ambiguities. The disparities between the standards may be balanced through an analysis of the affirmative duties imposed by the law on online service providers, as well as a closer look at the relationship between a service provider and user. This Article reexamines the meaning of contributory liability for web hosts in light of their active and passive roles in such relationships, and considers the factors of good (and bad) faith in the conduct of defendants, practicability of affirmative duties, and inherent differences between types of online service providers as potential deciding factors

Lighting the Torch of Human Rights: The Olympic Games as a Vehicle for Human Rights Reform

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games provides an opportunity to better China\u27s human rights record through the authority of the International Olympic Committee as a nongovernmental organization and through China\u27s own self-interest in embracing the international spotlight of the Games. The Beijing Games is a chance to utilize the prestige of hosting the Games to transform a nation\u27s human rights record and to set a precedent for human rights worldwide. The use of the Games as a vehicle for human rights reform can effectuate political and social change

Adhesive Elastomeric Proteins

Sutures and staples commonly used to close surgical wounds tend to be much stiffer than the surrounding tissue, often resulting in external tissue damage. Surgical adhesives provide a promising alternative to these sutures and staples. Ideal surgical adhesives are biocompatible, able to set well and remain sticky in moist conditions, possess strong adhesive and cohesive properties, and exhibit mechanical properties that mimic those of the surrounding tissue. Unfortunately, the adhesives available today are unable to satisfactorily meet all of these criteria. We are utilizing protein engineering techniques to design, create, and test a new surgical adhesive that combines the adhesive properties of mussels, which are able to strongly adhere to rocks in the ocean, with the mechanical properties of elastin, a protein that provides flexibility to soft tissues in the body. Thus far, a pre-adhesive protein was successfully designed and cloned into E. coli, where it was overexpressed in a fermentor to generate large enough quantities of our protein to be tested. The protein was then purified using immobilized metal affinity chromatography, and the pre-adhesive region of the protein was enzymatically converted to an adhesive region. The converted protein’s mechanical properties are being characterized using dynamic mechanical analysis of our protein in hydrogel form. We were able to use crosslinking chemistry to form hydrogels from a model protein and show that the gelation time and mechanical properties can be tuned by altering the crosslinker concentration and pH. Our preliminary results indicate that our protein does exhibit adhesive and mechanical properties that may be of interest in surgical applications, and we are continuing to further characterize its properties under varying conditions

A relational self model of gender role identity of young Taiwanese women within their cultural context (China)

This research aims both to investigate the gender role identity characteristics of young Taiwanese women who grew up in the post-Martial Law era and to develop a gender role identity model of young Taiwanese women. A grounded theory approach and in-depth interviews were employed. Open sampling, variational sampling, and discriminate sampling, along with open coding, axial coding, and selective coding were employed. Twenty-three young Taiwanese undergraduate women, aged nineteen to twenty one, were interviewed. Self-in-relation theory, female moral reasoning, women\u27s ways of knowing, characteristics of collectivist cultures, Chinese/Taiwanese cultural assumptions about women, and the impact of Taiwanese women\u27s participation in the labor force were used as sources to support the interpretation of data. The results indicate that the relational self is the main gender role identity characteristic of young Taiwanese women who grew up in the post-Martial Law era. Influenced by the Confucian paradigm, multiplicity, and freedom of expression in the post-Martial Law era, the young women in this research put people into different social categories and use different Confucian ethics to interact with each category They build a less feminine and trustful relationship with familiar peers, whereas they build a traditional feminine and distant relationship with unfamiliar peers. They are cold to strangers and familiar friends who have hurt them. They adopt a chameleon-like strategy to interact with elders/teachers. They build a caring and deferential relationship with parents. In their relationship with intimate male partners, they endeavor to negotiate equal power. Compared to the literature on Taiwanese women both during the Martial Law era and the Japanese Occupation, the relationship of young Taiwanese women to their intimate male partners has changed dramatically The results also indicate that the young women in this research see their future in tern-is of jobs, marriage, and financial independence. They also intend to go abroad to open their own eyes to other cultures. Taiwan is a patriarchal society and these results indicate that several patriarchal socialization requirements of young women are still prevalent. For example, young women are not allowed to go out at night and they retain a negative image of feminists. According to the findings of this research, a relational self model of young Taiwanese women within their cultural context is proposed. Since relational self is the major characteristic of gender role identity of young Taiwanese women in this research, the findings of this research support what self-in-relation theory proposes However, adopting different ethics to interact with people is not proposed in self-in-relation theory. Therefore, this research suggests that adopting different ethics to interact with people should be included when applying self-in-relation theory to young Taiwanese women. Implications for clinical social work practice, social work education, and future research are addressed

Encompassing tests for value at risk and expected shortfall multi-step forecasts based on inference on the boundary

We propose forecast encompassing tests for the Expected Shortfall (ES) jointly with the Value at Risk (VaR) based on flexible link (or combination) functions. Our setup allows testing encompassing for convex forecast combinations and for link functions which preclude crossings of the combined VaR and ES forecasts. As the tests based on these link functions involve parameters which are on the boundary of the parameter space under the null hypothesis, we derive and base our tests on nonstandard asymptotic theory on the boundary. Our simulation study shows that the encompassing tests based on our new link functions outperform tests based on unrestricted linear link functions for one-step and multi-step forecasts. We further illustrate the potential of the proposed tests in a real data analysis for forecasting VaR and ES of the S&P 500 index