Post-transcriptional control during chronic inflammation and cancer: a focus on AU-rich elements

A considerable number of genes that code for AU-rich mRNAs including cytokines, growth factors, transcriptional factors, and certain receptors are involved in both chronic inflammation and cancer. Overexpression of these genes is affected by aberrations or by prolonged activation of several signaling pathways. AU-rich elements (ARE) are important cis-acting short sequences in the 3′UTR that mediate recognition of an array of RNA-binding proteins and affect mRNA stability and translation. This review addresses the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are common between inflammation and cancer and that also govern ARE-mediated post-transcriptional control. The first part examines the role of the ARE-genes in inflammation and cancer and sequence characteristics of AU-rich elements. The second part addresses the common signaling pathways in inflammation and cancer that regulate the ARE-mediated pathways and how their deregulations affect ARE-gene regulation and disease outcome

Inkjet printed metallic micropillars for bare die flip-chip bonding

Inkjet printed metal micropillars have been developed to help meet the demands for novel and highly adaptable microelectronics fabrication processes. The digitally printed silver pillar arrays in this study have been utilized in place of wafer-level solder bump processes or chip-level wire-bonded stud bumps. These three-dimensional silver pillars were printed with a drop-on-demand piezoelectric inkjet printer utilizing silver nanoparticle ink. The inkjet printed micropillars were found to have 22 μ m diameters and a height equivalent to approximately 3 μ m per droplet. In our study, we chose pillars for further use as stud bumps with 8, 10, 12 and 14 droplets, with heights of approximately 20.9 μ m, 25.9 μ m, 33.3 μ m and 35.9 μ m respectively. After printing on the bare dies the bumps were subsequently used to increase the contact reliability of flip-chip bonded samples. It was found that the bumped chips dramatically improved the reliability of the I/O connection as compared to unbumped samples. In fact nearly 88% of the bumped pads had a resistance less than 2.5 Ω/bump (no noticeable variation between bump heights) as compared to 17% for the unbumped bare dies. This study clearly demonstrates the fabrication of inkjet printed silver micropillars for use in uniform stud bump arrays. Furthermore, the feasibility of incorporating inkjet printed silver stud bumps for use in flip-chip fabrication methods was demonstrated.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Relações interfirmas e emprego na rede de empresas: a experiência de externalização de uma empresa no setor de telecomunicações<a name=volta1></a> Intercompany relations and employment in the businesses network: the experience of internalization of one company from the telecommunications industry

A reestruturação do setor de telecomunicações vem implicando a formação de estruturas empresariais na forma de rede. Neste artigo, examinam-se os padrões de relacionamento interfirmas e de emprego na rede de empresas liderada pela Companhia Riograndense de Telecomunicações (CRT). A análise abrange onze empresas, prestadoras de diferentes tipos de serviços (digitalização de centrais de comutação, cabeamento e instalação de terminais telefônicos) e localizadas em diversos níveis da rede ("empresas terceiras", "quartas", "quintas" e "sextas"). Conclui-se que existe grande diversidade no relacionamento interempresas (relacionadas à interação entre a estratégia competitiva da empresa central e os tipos de serviços prestados) e nas práticas de emprego (associadas às relações interfirmas e à posição das empresas nos níveis da rede).<br>Restructuring in the telecommunications industry has implied the construction of network business structures. In this article, patterns of relationship between companies and employment within the network led by CRT (Companhia Riograndense de Telecomunicações, the Telecommunications Company in the southern Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul) are examined. The analysis encompasses eleven companies providing different kinds of services (switch units digitalization, cables and phone lines installation) and located at several levels of the network ("third", "fourth", "fifth" and "sixth" companies). We come to the conclusion that there is a great variety within the relationship between companies (regarding the interaction between competitive strategy of the leading company and the kind of services provided) and in employment practices (associated to intercompany relationships and the position of each company at the network levels)

Visualization of IFNβ production by plasmacytoid versus conventional dendritic cells under specific stimulation conditions in vivo

Type I interferons, a protein family of multiple IFNαs and a single IFNβ, initially identified on the basis of their antiviral activities have recently been attributed important roles in bacterial and parasitic infections. To assess the cellular sources of IFNβ, the IFN produced first in most situations, we created an IFNβ reporter-knockin mouse, in which yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) is expressed from a bicistronic mRNA linked by an internal ribosomal entry site to the endogenous IFNβ mRNA. This YFP expression allows spatiotemporal tracking of the initiation of the type I IFN response on a single-cell level. In vitro bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMΦs) and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) show IFNβ production from distinct cell subpopulations in response to defined pathogen compounds. A subpopulation of GMCSF-derived BMDCs produced IFNβ after poly(I:C), 3′5′-cytidylylguanosine (CpG), or LPS treatment, whereas Flt3-L-cultured plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) responded mainly to CpG. After poly(I:C) injection in vivo, IFNβ-producing cells localize to the splenic marginal zone and the lymph node subcapsular sinus. Infection with murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) induces IFNβ/YFP expression exclusively in few activated pDCs at the T cell/B cell interface of the splenic white pulp. This IFNβ/YFP reporter mouse represents a reliable tool for the visualization and characterization of IFNβ-producing cells in vitro and in vivo