717 research outputs found
Strict in Theory, Not Fatal in Fact: An Analysis of Federal Affirmative Action Programs in the Wake of Adarand v. Pena
Strict in Theory, Not Fatal in Fact: An Analysis of Federal Affirmative Action Programs in the Wake of Adarand v. Pena
A survey of the status of the male physical education teachers in Indiana for the year of 1947-1948
Not available.Charles M. BerberichNot ListedNot ListedMaster of ScienceDepartment Not ListedCunningham Memorial Library, Terre Haute, Indiana State University.isua-thesis-1948-berberichMastersTitle from document title page. Document formatted into pages: contains 65p.: ill. Includes appendix and bibliography
Follicular regulatory T cells control humoral autoimmunity via NFAT2-regulated CXCR5 expression
Maturation of high-affinity B lymphocytes is precisely controlled during the germinal center reaction. This is dependent on CD4(+)CXCR5(+) follicular helper T cells (TFH) and inhibited by CD4(+)CXCR5(+)Foxp3(+) follicular regulatory T cells (TFR). Because NFAT2 was found to be highly expressed and activated in follicular T cells, we addressed its function herein. Unexpectedly, ablation of NFAT2 in T cells caused an augmented GC reaction upon immunization. Consistently, however, TFR cells were clearly reduced in the follicular T cell population due to impaired homing to B cell follicles. This was TFR-intrinsic because only in these cells NFAT2 was essential to up-regulate CXCR5. The physiological relevance for humoral (auto-)immunity was corroborated by exacerbated lupuslike disease in the presence of NFAT2-deficient TFR cells
Degassing rhythms and fluctuations of geogenic gases in a red wood-ant nest and in soil in the Neuwied Basin (East Eifel Volcanic Field, Germany)
Geochemical tracers of crustal fluids (CO2, He, Rn) provide a useful tool for the identification of buried fault structures. We acquired geochemical data during 7-months of continual sampling to identify causal processes underlying correlations between ambient air and degassing patterns of three gases (CO2, He, Rn) in a nest of red wood ants (Formica polyctena; âRWAâ) and the soil at Goloring in the Neuwied Basin, a part of the East Eifel Volcanic Field (EEVF). We explored whether temporal relations and degassing rhythms in soil and nest gas concentrations could be indicators of hidden faults through which the gases migrate to the surface from depth. In nest gas, the coupled system of CO2-He and He concentrations exceeding atmospheric standards 2-3 fold suggested that RWA nests may be biological indicators of hidden degassing faults and fractures at small scales. Equivalently periodic degassing infradian rhythms in the RWA nest, soil, and three nearby minerals springs suggested NW-SE and NE-SW tectonic linkages. Because volcanic activity in the EEVF is dormant, more detailed information on the EEVFâs tectonic, magmatic, and degassing systems and its active tectonic fault zones are needed. Such data could provide additional insights into earthquake processes that are related to magmatic processes at the lower crust
Flavopiridol Protects Against Inflammation by Attenuating Leukocyte-Endothelial Interaction via Inhibition of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 9
Objective: The cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor flavopiridol is currently being tested in clinical trials as anticancer drug. Beyond its cell deathâinducing action, we hypothesized that flavopiridol affects inflammatory processes. Therefore, we elucidated the action of flavopiridol on leukocyteâendothelial cell interaction and endothelial activation in vivo and in vitro and studied the underlying molecular mechanisms.
Methods and Results: Flavopiridol suppressed concanavalin Aâinduced hepatitis and neutrophil infiltration into liver tissue. Flavopiridol also inhibited tumor necrosis factor-αâinduced leukocyteâ endothelial cell interaction in the mouse cremaster muscle. Endothelial cells were found to be the major target of flavopiridol, which blocked the expression of endothelial cell adhesion molecules (intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin), as well as NF-ÎșB-dependent transcription. Flavopiridol did not affect inhibitor of ÎșB (IÎșB) kinase, the degradation and phosphorylation of IÎșBα, nuclear translocation of p65, or nuclear factor-ÎșB (NF-ÎșB) DNA-binding activity. By performing a cellular kinome array and a kinase activity panel, we found LIM domain kinase-1 (LIMK1), casein kinase 2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), protein kinase CΞ (PKCΞ), CDK4, CDK6, CDK8, and CDK9 to be influenced by flavopiridol. Using specific inhibitors, as well as RNA interference (RNAi), we revealed that only CDK9 is responsible for the action of flavopiridol.
Conclusion: Our study highlights flavopiridol as a promising antiinflammatory compound and inhibition of CDK9 as a novel approach for the treatment of inflammation-associated diseases
Can a Red Wood-Ant Nest Be Associated with Fault-Related CH4 Micro-Seepage? A Case Study from Continuous Short-Term In-Situ Sampling
Simple Summary Methane (CH4) is common on Earth but its natural sources are not well-characterized. We investigated concentrations of CH4 and its stable carbon isotope (ÎŽ13C-CH4) within a red wood-ant (RWA; Formica polyctena) nest in the Neuwied Basin, a part of the East Eifel Volcanic Field (EEVF), and tested for associations between methane concentration and RWA activity patterns, earthquakes, and earth tides. Methane degassing was not synchronized with earth tides, nor was it influenced by a micro-earthquake or RWA activity. Elevated CH4 concentrations in nest gas appear to result from a combination of microbial activity and fault-related emissions. The latter could result from micro-seepage of methane derived from low-temperature gas-water-rock reactions that subsequently moves via fault networks through the RWA nest or from overlapping micro-seepage of magmatic CH4 from the Eifel plume. Given the abundance of RWA nests on the landscape, their role as sources of microbial CH4 and biological indicators for abiotically-derived CH4 should be included in estimations of methane emissions that are contributing to climatic change. Abstract We measured methane (CH4) and stable carbon isotope of methane (ÎŽ13C-CH4) concentrations in ambient air and within a red wood-ant (RWA; Formica polyctena) nest in the Neuwied Basin (Germany) using high-resolution in-situ sampling to detect microbial, thermogenic, and abiotic fault-related micro-seepage of CH4. Methane degassing from RWA nests was not synchronized with earth tides, nor was it influenced by micro-earthquake degassing or concomitantly measured RWA activity. Two ÎŽ13C-CH4 signatures were identified in nest gas: â69â° and â37â°. The lower peak was attributed to microbial decomposition of organic matter within the RWA nest, in line with previous observations that RWA nests are hot-spots of microbial CH4. The higher peak has not been reported in previous studies. We attribute this peak to fault-related CH4 emissions moving via fault networks into the RWA nest, which could originate either from thermogenic or abiotic CH4 formation. Sources of these micro-seepages could be Devonian schists, iron-bearing âKlerf Schichtenâ, or overlapping micro-seepage of magmatic CH4 from the Eifel plume. Given the abundance of RWA nests on the landscape, their role as sources of microbial CH4 and biological indicators for abiotically-derived CH4 should be included in estimation of methane emissions that are contributing to climatic change
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Detection probabilities for sessile organisms
Estimation of population sizes and species ranges are central to population and conservation biology. It is widely appreciated that imperfect detection of mobile animals must be accounted for when estimating population size from presence-absence data. Sessile organisms also are imperfectly detected, but correction for detection probability in estimating their population sizes is rare. We illustrate challenges of detection probability and population estimation of sessile organisms using censuses of red wood ant (Formica rufa-group) nests as a case study. These ants, widespread in the northern hemisphere, can make large (up to 2-m tall), highly visible nests. Using data from a mapping campaign by eight observers with varying experience of sixteen 3600-m2 plots in the Black Forest region of southwest Germany, we compared three different statistical approaches (a nest-level data-augmentation patch-occupancy model with event-specific covariates; a plot-level Bayesian and maximum likelihood model; non-parametric Chao-type estimators) for quantifying detection probability of sessile organisms. Detection probabilities by individual observers of red wood ant nests ranged from 0.31 â 0.64 for small nests, depending on observer experience and nest size (detection rates were approximately 0.17 higher for large nests), but not on habitat characteristics (forest type, local vegetation). Robust estimation of population density of sessile organisms â even highly apparent ones such as red wood ant nests â thus requires estimation of detection probability, just as it does when estimating population density of rare or cryptic species. Our models additionally provide approaches to calculate the number of observers needed for a required level of accuracy. Estimating detection probability is vital not only when censuses are conducted by experts, but also when citizenscientists are engaged in mapping and monitoring of both common and rare species.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog
Answering Twitter Questions: a Model for Recommending Answerers through Social Collaboration
International audienceIn this paper, we specifically consider the challenging task of solving a question posted on Twitter. The latter generally remains unanswered and most of the replies, if any, are only from members of the questioner's neighborhood. As outlined in previous work related to community Q&A, we believe that question-answering is a collaborative process and that the relevant answer to a question post is an aggregation of answer nuggets posted by a group of relevant users. Thus, the problem of identifying the relevant answer turns into the problem of identifying the right group of users who would provide useful answers and would possibly be willing to collaborate together in the long-term. Accordingly, we present a novel method, called CRAQ, that is built on the collaboration paradigm and formulated as a group entropy optimization problem. To optimize the quality of the group, an information gain measure is used to select the most likely " informative " users according to topical and collaboration likelihood predictive features. Crowd-based experiments performed on two crisis-related Twitter datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our collaborative-based answering approach
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