Criteria for strong and weak random attractors

The theory of random attractors has different notions of attraction, amongst them pullback attraction and weak attraction. We investigate necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of pullback attractors as well as of weak attractors

Human fucosyltransferase 6 enables prostate cancer metastasis to bone

Background: The interaction between human prostate cancer (PCa) cells and bone marrow (BM) endothelium follows a rolling-and-adhesion cascade mediated by E-selectin ligand (ESL): E-selectin. This adhesion is enabled by elevated expression of α-1,3-fucosyltransferases (FTs), enzymes responsible for ESL-mediated bone metastasis in humans. In contrast, the incidence of bone metastasis in mice is rare. Methods: FT 3, 6 and 7 were overexpressed in mouse PCa cells. The rolling cell number, cell-rolling velocity and transendothelial migration were characterised in vitro. Fucosyltransferases-transduced mouse PCa cells expressing luciferase were inoculated into mice via left ventricle to compare the capability of bone metastasis. Mass spectrometry and immunoprecipitation were utilised for identification of ESLs. Results: Overexpression of FT3, FT6 or FT7 restored ESLs and enabled mouse PCa cells to roll and adhere in E-selectin-functionalised microtubes, similar to trafficking of circulating PCa cells in BM vessels. Following intracardiac inoculation, FT6-transduced cells induced robust bone metastasis in mice. Inhibition of FT6 by a fucose mimetic significantly reduced bone metastasis. Importantly, comparison of FT3, FT6 and FT7 gene expression in existing clinical samples showed significant upregulation of FT6 in PCa-distant metastases. Conclusion: FT6 is a key mediator of PCa cells trafficking to the BM. It may serve as a viable drug target in preclinical tests of therapeutics for reduction of PCa bone metastasis

Uniform shrinking and expansion under isotropic Brownian flows

We study some finite time transport properties of isotropic Brownian flows. Under a certain nondegeneracy condition on the potential spectral measure, we prove that uniform shrinking or expansion of balls under the flow over some bounded time interval can happen with positive probability. We also provide a control theorem for isotropic Brownian flows with drift. Finally, we apply the above results to show that under the nondegeneracy condition the length of a rectifiable curve evolving in an isotropic Brownian flow with strictly negative top Lyapunov exponent converges to zero as $t\to \infty$ with positive probability

UNRAVELING CHRIST'S PASSION:ARCHBISHOP DALMAU DE MUR, PATRON AND COLLECTOR, AND FRANCO-FLEMISH TAPESTRIES IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SPAIN

This dissertation considers the artistic patronage of Dalmau de Mur i de Cervelló (1376-1456), a high-ranking Catalan prelate little known outside Spain. As Bishop of Girona (1416-1419), Archbishop of Tarragona (1419-1431) and Archbishop of Zaragoza (1431-1456), Dalmau de Mur commissioned and acquired of works of art, including illuminated manuscripts, panel paintings, sculpted altarpieces, metalwork and tapestries. Many of these objects survive, including two remarkable tapestries depicting the Passion of Christ that he bequeathed to Zaragoza Cathedral upon his death in 1456. Surviving primary documents, particularly Dalmau de Mur's testament and the Cathedral inventory of 1521, show that his collection was still more significant. A major part of the dissertation is a study of the style and iconography of the Passion of Christ tapestries at Zaragoza Cathedral. They were woven in the French northern counties of Flanders or Artois in the early fifteenth century. Technically, they are among the earliest surviving examples of tapestry that comprise silk, silver and gold threads. Furthermore, they are the only surviving Franco-Flemish tapestries to have been imported into an ecclesiastical collection in Spain. Dalmau de Mur's acquisition marks the beginning of an important phase of the artistic exchange between northern and southern Europe that would culminate in the patronage of the "Catholic Kings" later in the fifteenth century.The Zaragoza tapestries are also the oldest extant tapestries that represent the Passion of Christ. Consequently, they provide a rare insight into the treatment of Passion iconography in the rich and expensive medium of luxury tapestry during the early fifteenth century. An extensive iconographic survey reveals that the designers of the Zaragoza Passion tapestries were influenced by a select group of objects owned by the leading patrons of art in France—King Charles V and his brothers, the Dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Anjou. Stylistic criteria confirm that the designers of the Zaragoza tapestries were French or Flemish artists who either worked for the French royal court or knew the objects produced by French court artists

From blank canvas to masterwork: Creating a professional practice model at a Magnet hospital

Session presented on Saturday, November 7, 2015: Purpose: Professional practice models (PPMs) are significant to the foundation of our nursing practice, roles, positive outcomes, and excellence in care delivery across the continuum of health. The ANCC Magnet Standards of Excellence and expectations provide a framework for professional nursing practice and healthy work environments, and were the driving forces behind this project. Often, PPMs are imposed by standard models or casually generated. The purpose of this study was to engage nurses in the creation of a professional practice model. The research question was: How do registered nurses (RNs) in an acute care hospital conceptualize their professional practice? Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework used in this study was The ANCC Magnet Standards of Excellence (2014). Methods: The research method for this study was qualitative inquiry utilizing descriptive qualitative. Twelve (nine initial and four verification) focus groups were conducted to explore and allow for deep understanding of the RNs values and beliefs about their professional practice. Data Analysis: Data were analyzed using constant-comparative analysis to code the data, and identify categories, domains, and sub-domains. Results: The 92 participants represented diverse roles and practice settings. Four domains were identified including: caring, knowing, navigating, and leading. The nurses were able to articulate the results with examples of the domains in their current practice. Conclusion: Caring, knowing, navigating, and leading clearly described how RNs conceptualized their professional practice. Caring was defined as the essence of nursing through an affective (emotional) demonstration of commitment to patients and families. Caring included sub-domains of a holistic approach, affirmation, connection, time, and trust. Knowing was the art and science of nursing, an essential attribute to the success of nurses and the safe delivery of patient care. Knowing was the translation of embodied knowledge into evidence-based clinical decisions, actions, and scholarship. Knowing included sub-domains of big picture , competence, critical thinking, intuition, lifelong-learning, and nursing as a profession. Navigating characterized the nurse\u27s role on the team, guiding patients and team members through the complexities of the health care experience. It was the nurse having the ultimate responsibility and accountability for establishing the link between all health care team members to navigate on behalf of patients. Navigating sub-domains included advocacy, communication, hub, making a difference , master of all trades , support, teamwork, and time. Leading was organizing people and processes. Organizational and community leadership was charting new directions and having a vast sphere of influence on patients, families, and the nursing profession. Leading included sub-domains of affirmation, global vision, making a difference, nurses as professionals, respect, and support. In this study, the nurses told us who they were, their identity, what they did, their roles, and how they envisioned nursing should be practiced in their institution. The results of this study were aligned with the internationally recognized ANCC Magnet Model, ANA Standards, Future of Nursing Initiative, and institution\u27s mission, vision, and values. Application of rigorous research methods to create a PPM constituted an innovative strategy to advance the science of nursing and give a voice to the nurses at our institution. The future direction of this project includes the evaluation of the integration of the PPM into daily practice and its impact on outcomes

Calpain inhibition mediates autophagy-dependent protection against polyglutamine toxicity.

Over recent years, accumulated evidence suggests that autophagy induction is protective in animal models of a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Intense research in the field has elucidated different pathways through which autophagy can be upregulated and it is important to establish how modulation of these pathways impacts upon disease progression in vivo and therefore which, if any, may have further therapeutic relevance. In addition, it is important to understand how alterations in these target pathways may affect normal physiology when constitutively modulated over a long time period, as would be required for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Here we evaluate the potential protective effect of downregulation of calpains. We demonstrate, in Drosophila, that calpain knockdown protects against the aggregation and toxicity of proteins, like mutant huntingtin, in an autophagy-dependent fashion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, overexpression of the calpain inhibitor, calpastatin, increases autophagosome levels and is protective in a mouse model of Huntington's disease, improving motor signs and delaying the onset of tremors. Importantly, long-term inhibition of calpains did not result in any overt deleterious phenotypes in mice. Thus, calpain inhibition, or activation of autophagy pathways downstream of calpains, may be suitable therapeutic targets for diseases like Huntington's disease.This is the published version of the manuscript. It is available online from NPG in Cell Death and Differentiaiton here: http://www.nature.com/cdd/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/cdd2014151a.html

Barley grain (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content:effects of transcript and sequence variation in genes encoding the corresponding synthase and endohydrolase enzymes

The composition of plant cell walls is important in determining cereal end uses. Unlike other widely consumed cereal grains barley is comparatively rich in (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan, a source of dietary fibre. Previous work showed Cellulose synthase-like genes synthesise (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan in several tissues. HvCslF6 encodes a grain (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan synthase, whereas the function of HvCslF9 is unknown. Here, the relationship between mRNA levels of HvCslF6, HvCslF9, HvGlbI (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan endohydrolase, and (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content was studied in developing grains of four barley cultivars. HvCslF6 was differentially expressed during mid (8-15 DPA) and late (38 DPA) grain development stages while HvCslF9 transcript was only clearly detected at 8-10 DPA. A peak of HvGlbI expression was detected at 15 DPA. Differences in transcript abundance across the three genes could partially explain variation in grain (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content in these genotypes. Remarkably narrow sequence variation was found within the HvCslF6 promoter and coding sequence and does not explain variation in (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content. Our data emphasise the genotype-dependent accumulation of (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan during barley grain development and a role for the balance between hydrolysis and synthesis in determining (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan content, and suggests that other regulatory sequences or proteins are likely to be involved in this trait in developing grain.Guillermo Garcia-Gimenez, Joanne Russell, Matthew K. Aubert, Geoffrey B. Fincher, Rachel A. Burton, Robbie Waugh, Matthew R. Tucker, Kelly Housto

Instability in the environment and children’s in-school self-regulatory behaviors

Introduction: Experiences of chronic and/or extreme stress early in childhood are associated with altered self-regulatory behaviors. However, there is a range of variability in children’s behavioral outcomes after experiences of stress. Understanding what contributes to this variability in children’s responses to stress can aid in the development of more effective programs aimed at supporting children’s self-regulatory processes. The current study examined relationships between indices of environmental stability and changes in children’s self-regulatory behaviors. Methods: Ratings of children’s self-regulatory behavior were collected in collaboration with a school program once a month over the course of the academic year. Measures of environmental stability were collected for each child. Results: Children demonstrated increases in self-regulatory behaviors over the course of the study. Additionally, children in home environments characterized by high levels of environmental instability demonstrated greater positive behavior change during the program. Discussion: This study suggests that there are important individual differences in children’s patterns of self-regulatory behavior changes, and points to complex interactions between children’s home environment, implementation of a more positive and stable environment, and changes in behavior.</p

Glycan characterization of pregnancy-specific glycoprotein 1 and its identification as a novel Galectin-1 ligand

Pregnancy-specific beta 1 glycoprotein (PSG1) is secreted from trophoblast cells of the human placenta in increasing concentrations as pregnancy progresses, becoming one of the most abundant proteins in maternal serum in the third trimester. PSG1 has seven potential N-linked glycosylation sites across its four domains. We carried out glycomic and glycoproteomic studies to characterize the glycan composition of PSG1 purified from serum of pregnant women and identified the presence of complex N-glycans containing poly LacNAc epitopes with α2,3 sialyation at four sites. Using different techniques, we explored whether PSG1 can bind to galectin-1 (Gal-1) as these two proteins were previously shown to participate in processes required for a successful pregnancy. We confirmed that PSG1 binds to Gal-1 in a carbohydrate-dependent manner with an affinity of the interaction of 0.13 μM. In addition, we determined that out of the three N-glycosylation-carrying domains, only the N and A2 domains of recombinant PSG1 interact with Gal-1. Lastly, we observed that the interaction between PSG1 and Gal-1 protects this lectin from oxidative inactivation and that PSG1 competes the ability of Gal-1 to bind to some but not all of its glycoprotein ligands

Inflammation and endothelial activation in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer

PURPOSE: Emerging insights underline a link among chronic inflammation and endothelial activation with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa). We aim to investigate whether specific plasma markers of inflammation and endothelial activation allow to discriminate BPH and PCa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients affected by BPH, 15 by PCa and 15 controls, were enrolled. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), CD40 ligand (CD40L), endothelial-selectin (E-selectin), platelet-selectin (P-selectin), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were measured. RESULTS: In systemic blood samples, IL-6 has been found increased in patients affected by BPH (4.25 ± 0. pg/mL) and PCa (5.08 ± 0.24) respect to controls (2.62 ± 0.34; p < 0.05). CD40L was higher in BPH (4.25 ± 0.65 ng/mL; p < 0.05) than in control (2.31 ± 0.20) and PCa group (2.60 ± 0.56). E-selectin, P-selectin and VCAM-1 did not show any significant difference. Higher levels of ICAM-1 were detected in patients with PCa (573.04 ± 52.23) and BPH (564.40 ± 74.67) than in the controls (215.30 ± 11.53 ng/mL; p < 0.05). In local blood samples, IL-6 has been found significantly increased in PCa in comparison with patients with BPH; there was no difference in CD40L, E-selectin, P-selectin, VCAM-1 ed ICAM-1. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in inflammation and endothelial activation markers may be not considered to be of value in discriminating BPH and PCa