Computerized Inventory of Data on Texas Salt Domes

Based on our preliminary investigations, we have developed a computerized spreadsheet that compiles relevant information for storing chemical wastes in salt domes in Texas. This inventory serves as a convenient source of dome-related data, including location, physical dimensions, dome structure, surrounding strata, resources, and groundwater information. The database is particularly valuable for organizing data, generating lists, and creating tables to compare different domes and their potential uses and resources. DATABASE The inventory is stored using System 2000 (S2K), providing users with robust tools for managing the database. With S2K, users can define new databases, modify existing definitions, retrieve and update values, and maintain archival copies with an audit trail of changes. The structure of the database is hierarchical, comprising data elements and repeating groups. Data elements store numeric or text values, while repeating groups organize related sets of data elements, linking different levels of the database. Output in the form of tables and reports is generated using the "Report Writer" tool.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Fungal β-(1→6)-Glucan in Macrophages

Over the last 40-yr, the majority of research on glucans has focused on β-(1→3)-glucans. Recent studies indicate that β-(1→6)-glucans may be even more potent immune modulators than β-(1→3)-glucans. Mechanisms by which β-(1→6)-glucans are recognized and modulate immunity are unknown. In this study, we examined the interaction of purified water-soluble β-(1→6)-glucans with macrophage cell lines and primary peritoneal macrophages and the cellular and molecular consequences of this interaction. Our results indicate the existence of a specific β-(1→6)-glucan receptor that internalizes the glucan ligand via a clathrin-dependent mechanism. We show that the known β-(1→3)-glucans receptors are not responsible for β-(1→6)-glucan recognition and interaction. The receptor-ligand uptake/interaction has an apparent dissociation constant (KD) of ∼4-μM, and was associated with phosphorylation of ERK and JNK but not Iκ-α or p38. Our results indicate that macrophage interaction with β-(1→6)-glucans may lead to modulation of genes associated with anti-fungal immunity and recruitment/activation of neutrophils. In summary, we show that macrophages specifically bind and internalize β-(1→6)-glucans followed by activation of intracellular signaling and modulation of anti-fungal immune response-related gene regulation. Thus, we conclude that the interaction between innate immunity and β-(1→6)-glucans may play an important role in shaping the anti-fungal immune response

Scavenger Receptor Class A Plays a Central Role in Mediating Mortality and the Development of the Pro-Inflammatory Phenotype in Polymicrobial Sepsis

Sepsis is a frequent complication in critical illness. The mechanisms that are involved in initiation and propagation of the disease are not well understood. Scavenger receptor A (SRA) is a membrane receptor that binds multiple polyanions such as oxidized LDL and endotoxin. Recent studies suggest that SRA acts as a pattern recognition receptor in the innate immune response. The goal of the present study was to determine the role of SRA in polymicrobial sepsis. SRA deficient (SRA-/-) and C57BL/6JB/6J (WT) male mice were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) to induce polymicrobial sepsis. NFκB activity, myeloperoxidase activity, and co-association of SRA with toll like receptor (TLR) 4 and TLR2 was analyzed in the lungs. Spleens were analyzed for apoptosis. Serum cytokines and chemokines were assayed. Blood and peritoneal fluid were cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacterial burdens. Long term survival was significantly increased in SRA-/- septic mice (53.6% vs. 3.6%, p\u3c0.05) when compared to WT mice. NFκB activity was 45.5% lower in the lungs of SRA-/- septic mice versus WT septic mice (p\u3c0.05). Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-5, IL-6, IL-10 and monocyte chemoattractant protein -1 were significantly lower in septic SRA-/- mice when compared to septic WT mice (p\u3c0.05). We found that SRA immuno-precipitated with TLR4, but not TLR2, in the lungs of WT septic mice. We also found that septic SRA-/- mice had lower bacterial burdens than WT septic mice. SRA deficiency had no effect on pulmonary neutrophil infiltration or splenocyte apoptosis during sepsis. We conclude that SRA plays a pivotal, and previously unknown, role in mediating the pathophysiology of sepsis/septic shock in a murine model of polymicrobial sepsis. Mechanistically, SRA interacts with TLR4 to enhance the development of the pro-inflammatory phenotype and mediate the morbidity and mortality of sepsis/septic shock

Activation of Myocardial Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase p110α Ameliorates Cardiac Dysfunction and Improves Survival in Polymicrobial Sepsis

Phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt dependent signaling has been shown to improve outcome in sepsis/septic shock. There is also ample evidence that PI3K/Akt dependent signaling plays a crucial role in maintaining normal cardiac function. We hypothesized that PI3K/Akt signaling may ameliorate septic shock by attenuating sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction. Cardiac function and survival were evaluated in transgenic mice with cardiac myocyte specific expression of constitutively active PI3K isoform, p110α (caPI3K Tg). caPI3K Tg and wild type (WT) mice were subjected to cecal ligation/puncture (CLP) induced sepsis. Wild type CLP mice showed dramatic cardiac dysfunction at 6 hrs. Septic cardiomyopathy was significantly attenuated in caPI3K CLP mice. The time to 100% mortality was 46 hrs in WT CLP mice. In contrast, 80% of the caPI3K mice survived at 46 hrs after CLP (p30 days (

The Color of Childhood: The Role of the Child/Human Binary in the Production of Anti-Black Racism

The binary between the figure of the child and the fully human being is invoked with regularity in analyses of race, yet its centrality to the conception of race has never been fully explored. For most commentators, the figure of the child operates as a metaphoric or rhetorical trope, a non-essential strategic tool in the perpetuation of White supremacy. As I show in the following, the child/human binary does not present a contingent or merely rhetorical construction but, rather, a central feature of racialization. Where Black peoples are situated as objects of violence it is often precisely because Blackness has been identified with childhood and childhood is historically identified as the archetypal site of naturalized violence and servitude. I proceed by offering a historical account of how Black peoples came to inherit the subordination and dehumanization of European childhood and how White youth were subsequently spared through their partial categorization as adults

Novel Role of Endothelial Derived Exosomal HSPA12B in Regulating Macrophage Inflammatory Responses in Polymicrobial Sepsis

Endothelial cell dysfunction contributes to sepsis induced initiate immune response and the infiltration of immune cells into organs, resulting in organ injury. Heat shock protein A12B (HSPA12B) is predominantly expressed in endothelial cells. The present study investigated whether endothelial HSPA12B could regulate macrophage pro-inflammatory response during sepsis. Wild type (WT) and endothelial cell-specific HSPA12B deficient (HSPA12B–/–) mice were subjected to CLP sepsis. Mortality and cardiac function were monitored. Higher mortality, worsened cardiac dysfunction, and greater infiltrated macrophages in the myocardium and spleen were observed in HSPA12B–/– septic mice compared with the WT septic mice. The serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1β were higher and the levels of IL-10 were lower in HSPA12B–/– septic mice than in WT septic mice. Importantly, endothelial exosomes contain HSPA12B which can be uptaken by macrophages. Interestingly, endothelial exosomal HSPA12B significantly increases IL-10 levels and decreases TNF-α and IL-1β production in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Mechanistic studies show that endothelial exosomal HSPA12B downregulates NF-κB activation and nuclear translocation in LPS stimulated macrophages. These data suggest that endothelial HSPA12B plays a novel role in the regulation of macrophage pro-inflammatory response via exosomes during sepsis and that sepsis induced cardiomyopathy and mortality are associated with endothelial cell deficiency of HSPA12B

Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Functions in the Intestinal Caco-2/15 Cell Line

Although mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are central mechanisms in various pathological conditions, they have not been extensively studied in the gastrointestinal tract, which is known to be constantly exposed to luminal oxidants from ingested foods. Key among these is the simultaneous consumption of iron salts and ascorbic acid, which can cause oxidative damage to biomolecules.The objective of the present work was to evaluate how iron-ascorbate (FE/ASC)-mediated lipid peroxidation affects mitochondrion functioning in Caco-2/15 cells. Our results show that treatment of Caco-2/15 cells with FE/ASC (0.2 mM/2 mM) (1) increased malondialdehyde levels assessed by HPLC; (2) reduced ATP production noted by luminescence assay; (3) provoked dysregulation of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis as evidenced by confocal fluorescence microscopy; (4) upregulated the protein expression of cytochrome C and apoptotic inducing factor, indicating exaggerated apoptosis; (5) affected mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I, II, III and IV; (6) elicited mtDNA lesions as illustrated by the raised levels of 8-OHdG; (7) lowered DNA glycosylase, one of the first lines of defense against 8-OHdG mutagenicity; and (8) altered the gene expression and protein mass of mitochondrial transcription factors (mtTFA, mtTFB1, mtTFB2) without any effects on RNA Polymerase. The presence of the powerful antioxidant BHT (50 microM) prevented the occurrence of oxidative stress and most of the mitochondrial abnormalities.Collectively, our findings indicate that acute exposure of Caco-2/15 cells to FE/ASC-catalyzed peroxidation produces harmful effects on mitochondrial functions and DNA integrity, which are abrogated by the powerful exogenous BHT antioxidant. Functional derangements of mitochondria may have implications in oxidative stress-related disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases

Dectin-1: a role in antifungal defense and consequences of genetic polymorphisms in humans

The clinical relevance of fungal infections has increased dramatically in recent decades as a consequence of the rise of immunocompromised populations, and efforts to understand the underlying mechanisms of protective immunity have attracted renewed interest. Here we review Dectin-1, a pattern recognition receptor involved in antifungal immunity, and discuss recent discoveries of polymorphisms in the gene encoding this receptor which result in human disease

Social change and the family: Comparative perspectives from the west, China, and South Asia

This paper examines the influence of social and economic change on family structure and relationships: How do such economic and social transformations as industrialization, urbanization, demographic change, the expansion of education, and the long-term growth of income influence the family? We take a comparative and historical approach, reviewing the experiences of three major sociocultural regions: the West, China, and South Asia. Many of the changes that have occurred in family life have been remarkably similar in the three settings—the separation of the workplace from the home, increased training of children in nonfamilial institutions, the development of living arrangements outside the family household, increased access of children to financial and other productive resources, and increased participation by children in the selection of a mate. While the similarities of family change in diverse cultural settings are striking, specific aspects of change have varied across settings because of significant pre-existing differences in family structure, residential patterns of marriage, autonomy of children, and the role of marriage within kinship systems.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45661/1/11206_2005_Article_BF01124383.pd