Mi Pueblo Food Center

This case describes a current growth opportunity for Mi Pueblo Food Center, a Hispanic grocery chain with locations throughout the Bay Area, California. The CEO of Mi Pueblo is contemplating opening a new store location in East Palo Alto, CA, which has been without a local, full-service grocery store for over 20 years. Case objectives are for students to develop an understanding of how the grocery industry operates, the risks and opportunities associated with opening a new grocery store location, and the impact on social, environmental, and economic sustainability. The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) framework is used to analyze whether or not it is feasible for Mi Pueblo to open a new location in East Palo Alto. This case may be used with students in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses

Natural and Nature-Derived Products Targeting Human Coronaviruses

The ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 human coronavirus (HCoV), has brought the international scientific community before a state of emergency that needs to be addressed with intensive research for the discovery of pharmacological agents with antiviral activity. Potential antiviral natural products (NPs) have been discovered from plants of the global biodiversity, including extracts, compounds and categories of compounds with activity against several viruses of the respiratory tract such as HCoVs. However, the scarcity of natural products (NPs) and small-molecules (SMs) used as antiviral agents, especially for HCoVs, is notable. This is a review of 203 publications, which were selected using PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, evaluates the available literature since the discovery of the first human coronavirus in the 1960s; it summarizes important aspects of structure, function, and therapeutic targeting of HCoVs as well as NPs (19 total plant extracts and 204 isolated or semi-synthesized pure compounds) with anti-HCoV activity targeting viral and non-viral proteins, while focusing on the advances on the discovery of NPs with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, and providing a critical perspective

Comprehensive assessment of a peer mentor program for first-year students

College students who engage in first-year programs such as peer mentorship are correlated with higher achievement. Peer mentorship can also have a significant impact on students\u27 feelings of belonging to their campus community. This mixed-methods study will provide a comprehensive assessment of a Class Leader (CL) program. Data will include first-semester outcomes (i.e., first-term GPA; retention) for all students (N ~ 1850) and first-generation students as compared to non-participants, survey responses (n ~ 471) about students\u27 experiences with CLs and perceptions related to the program, and focus group data from students, CLs, and instructors at the end of the semester

Conceptual Design of the Coronagraphic High Angular Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (CHARIS) for the Subaru Telescope

Recent developments in high-contrast imaging techniques now make possible both imaging and spectroscopy of planets around nearby stars. We present the conceptual design of the Coronagraphic High Angular Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (CHARIS), a lenslet-based, cryogenic integral field spectrograph (IFS) for imaging exoplanets on the Subaru telescope. The IFS will provide spectral information for 140x140 spatial elements over a 1.75 arcsecs x 1.75 arcsecs field of view (FOV). CHARIS will operate in the near infrared (lambda = 0.9 - 2.5 microns) and provide a spectral resolution of R = 14, 33, and 65 in three separate observing modes. Taking advantage of the adaptive optics systems and advanced coronagraphs (AO188 and SCExAO) on the Subaru telescope, CHARIS will provide sufficient contrast to obtain spectra of young self-luminous Jupiter-mass exoplanets. CHARIS is in the early design phases and is projected to have first light by the end of 2015. We report here on the current conceptual design of CHARIS and the design challenges

Transcript and protein expression profile of PF11_0394, a Plasmodium falciparum protein expressed in salivary gland sporozoites

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria is a significant problem around the world today, thus there is still a need for new control methods to be developed. Because the sporozoite displays dual infectivity for both the mosquito salivary glands and vertebrate host tissue, it is a good target for vaccine development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The <it>P. falciparum </it>gene, <it>PF11_0394</it>, was chosen as a candidate for study due to its potential role in the invasion of host tissues. This gene, which was selected using a data mining approach from PlasmoDB, is expressed both at the transcriptional and protein levels in sporozoites and likely encodes a putative surface protein. Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-trafficking studies, a transcript and protein expression profile of PF11_0394 was determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The PF11_0394 protein has orthologs in other <it>Plasmodium </it>species and Apicomplexans, but none outside of the group Apicomplexa. <it>PF11_0394 </it>transcript was found to be present during both the sporozoite and erythrocytic stages of the parasite life cycle, but no transcript was detected during axenic exoerythrocytic stages. Despite the presence of transcript throughout several life cycle stages, the PF11_0394 protein was only detected in salivary gland sporozoites.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PF11_0394 appears to be a protein uniquely detected in salivary gland sporozoites. Even though a specific function of PF11_0394 has not been determined in <it>P. falciparum </it>biology, it could be another candidate for a new vaccine.</p

Induction of Long-Term Hyperexcitability by Memory-Related cAMP Signaling in Isolated Nociceptor Cell Bodies

Persistent hyperactivity of nociceptors is known to contribute significantly to long-lasting sensitization and ongoing pain in many clinical conditions. It is often assumed that nociceptor hyperactivity is mainly driven by continuing stimulation from inflammatory mediators. We have tested an additional possibility: that persistent increases in excitability promoting hyperactivity can be induced by a prototypical cellular signaling pathway long known to induce late-phase long-term potentiation (LTP) of synapses in brain regions involved in memory formation. This cAMP-PKA-CREB-gene transcription-protein synthesis pathway was tested using whole-cell current clamp methods on small dissociated sensory neurons (primarily nociceptors) from dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) excised from previously uninjured ( naïve ) male rats. Six-hour treatment with the specific Gαs-coupled 5-HT4 receptor agonist, prucalopride, or with the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin induced long-term hyperexcitability (LTH) in DRG neurons that manifested 12-24 h later as action potential (AP) discharge (ongoing activity, OA) during artificial depolarization to -45 mV, a membrane potential that is normally subthreshold for AP generation. Prucalopride treatment also induced significant long-lasting depolarization of resting membrane potential (from -69 to -66 mV), enhanced depolarizing spontaneous fluctuations (DSFs) of membrane potential, and produced trends for reduced AP threshold and rheobase. LTH was prevented by co-treatment of prucalopride with inhibitors of PKA, CREB, gene transcription, or protein synthesis. As in the induction of synaptic memory, many other cellular signals are likely to be involved. However, the discovery that this prototypical memory induction pathway can induce nociceptor LTH, along with reports that cAMP signaling and CREB activity in DRGs can induce hyperalgesic priming, suggest that early, temporary, cAMP-induced transcriptional and translational mechanisms can induce nociceptor LTH that might last for long periods. The present results also raise the question of whether reactivation of primed signaling mechanisms by re-exposure to inflammatory mediators linked to cAMP synthesis during subsequent challenges to bodily integrity can reconsolidate nociceptor memory, extending the duration of persistent hyperexcitability

Local lung hypoxia determines epithelial fate decisions during alveolar regeneration.

After influenza infection, lineage-negative epithelial progenitors (LNEPs) exhibit a binary response to reconstitute epithelial barriers: activating a Notch-dependent ΔNp63/cytokeratin 5 (Krt5) remodelling program or differentiating into alveolar type II cells (AEC2s). Here we show that local lung hypoxia, through hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF1α), drives Notch signalling and Krt5pos basal-like cell expansion. Single-cell transcriptional profiling of human AEC2s from fibrotic lungs revealed a hypoxic subpopulation with activated Notch, suppressed surfactant protein C (SPC), and transdifferentiation toward a Krt5pos basal-like state. Activated murine Krt5pos LNEPs and diseased human AEC2s upregulate strikingly similar core pathways underlying migration and squamous metaplasia. While robust, HIF1α-driven metaplasia is ultimately inferior to AEC2 reconstitution in restoring normal lung function. HIF1α deletion or enhanced Wnt/β-catenin activity in Sox2pos LNEPs blocks Notch and Krt5 activation, instead promoting rapid AEC2 differentiation and migration and improving the quality of alveolar repair

Multi-Institutional Outcomes of Minimally Invasive Harvest of Rectal Mucosa Graft for Anterior Urethral Reconstruction.

PurposeWe report multi-institutional outcomes in patients who underwent urethroplasty with a rectal mucosa graft.Materials and methodsWe used the TURNS (Trauma and Urologic Reconstructive Network of Surgeons) database to identify patients who underwent urethral reconstruction with transanal harvest of a rectal mucosa graft. We reviewed preoperative demographics, stricture etiology, previous management and patient outcomes.ResultsWe identified 13 patients from April 2013 to June 2017. Median age at surgery was 54 years. The stricture etiology was lichen sclerosus in 6 of 13 patients (46%), idiopathic in 2 (15%), hypospadias in 1 (7%), prior gender confirming surgery in 3 (23%) and rectourethral fistula after radiation for prostate cancer in 1 (7%). Prior procedures included failed urethroplasty with a buccal mucosa graft in 9 of 13 patients (69%), direct vision internal urethrotomy in 2 (15%) and none in 2 (15%). Median stricture length was 13 cm. Stricture location in the 9 cisgender patients was panurethral in 5 (56%), bulbopendulous in 2 (22%) and bulbar in 2 (22%). It was located at the junction of the fixed urethra extending into the neophallus in all 3 patients (100%) who underwent prior gender confirming surgery. Mean rectal mucosa graft length for urethroplasty was 10.6 cm (range 3 to 16). Repair types included dorsal or ventral onlay, or 2-stage repair. Stricture recurred at a median followup of 13.5 months in 2 of 13 patients (15%). Postoperative complications included glans dehiscence, urethrocutaneous fistula and compartment syndrome in 1 patient each (7%). No rectal or bowel related complications were reported.ConclusionsUrethral reconstruction with a transanal harvested rectal mucosa graft is a safe technique when a buccal mucosa graft is unavailable or not indicated