Functional Perturbation of Classical Natural Killer and Innate Lymphoid Cells in the Oral Mucosa during SIV Infection

Despite the fact that the majority of human pathogens are transmitted across mucosal surfaces, including the oral mucosae, oral immunity is poorly understood. Furthermore, because the normal flora of the oral cavity is vast and significantly diverse, host immunity must balance a complex system of tolerance and pathogen recognition. Due to the rapid recognition and response to pathogens, the innate immune system, including natural killer (NK) cells, likely plays a critical role in mediating this balance. Because logistical and ethical restraints limit access to significant quantities of human mucosal tissues, non-human primate models offer one of the best opportunities to study mucosal NK cells. In this study we have identified both classical NK cells, as well as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in tonsillar and buccal tissues and oral-draining lymph nodes. Identified by mutually exclusive expression of NKG2A and NKp44, NK cells, and ILCs in the oral mucosa are generally phenotypically and functionally analogous to their gut counterparts. $NKG2A^+$ NK cells were more cytotoxic while $NKp44^+$ ILCs produced copious amounts of IL-17 and TNF-α. However, in contrast to gut, oral NK cells and ILCs both produced large quantities of IFN-γ and the beta-chemokine, MIP-1β. Also in contrast to what we have previously found in gut tissues of SIV-infected macaques, we found no reduction in NK cells during chronic SIV infection, but rather an expansion of ILCs in oral-draining lymph nodes and tonsils. These data suggest that the lentivirus-induced depletion of the NK cell/ILC compartment in the gut may be absent in the oral mucosa, but the inherent differences and SIV-induced alterations are likely to have significant impact on preventing oral opportunistic infections in lentiviral disease. Furthermore, these data extend our understanding of the oral innate immune system in general and could aid future studies evaluating the regulation of both normal oral flora and limiting transmission of oral mucosal pathogens

Application of Advanced Early Warning Systems with Adaptive Protection

This project developed and field-tested two methods of Adaptive Protection systems utilizing synchrophasor data. One method detects conditions of system stress that can lead to unintended relay operation, and initiates a supervisory signal to modify relay response in real time to avoid false trips. The second method detects the possibility of false trips of impedance relays as stable system swings “encroach” on the relays’ impedance zones, and produces an early warning so that relay engineers can re-evaluate relay settings. In addition, real-time synchrophasor data produced by this project was used to develop advanced visualization techniques for display of synchrophasor data to utility operators and engineers

Morphological Integration of Soft-Tissue Facial Morphology in Down Syndrome and Siblings

Down syndrome (DS), resulting from trisomy of chromosome 21, is the most common live-born human aneuploidy. The phenotypic expression of trisomy 21 produces variable, though characteristic, facial morphology. Although certain facial features have been documented quantitatively and qualitatively as characteristic of DS (e.g., epicanthic folds, macroglossia, and hypertelorism), all of these traits occur in other craniofacial conditions with an underlying genetic cause. We hypothesize that the typical DS face is integrated differently than the face of non-DS siblings, and that the pattern of morphological integration unique to individuals with DS will yield information about underlying developmental associations between facial regions. We statistically compared morphological integration patterns of immature DS faces (N = 53) with those of non-DS siblings (N = 54), aged 6–12 years using 31 distances estimated from 3D coordinate data representing 17 anthropometric landmarks recorded on 3D digital photographic images. Facial features are affected differentially in DS, as evidenced by statistically significant differences in integration both within and between facial regions. Our results suggest a differential affect of trisomy on facial prominences during craniofacial development

Adult Education Adrift in a Net: Making Waves or Clutching a Lifering?

The Internet and World Wide Web exemplify values advanced by heroic adult education theorists such as Ivan Illich. They have also triggered a deluge of hyperbole and surfeit of false dichotomies (e.g. online versus face-to-face education). But, in the chorus of critics and advocates, adult educators have been noticeably silent. This symposium is designed to rectify this situation by interrogating Internet and Web learning and education from an adult education perspective

Tumor suppressor in lung cancer 1 (TSLC1) alters tumorigenic growth properties and gene expression

BACKGROUND: Introduction of cDNA or genomic clones of the tumor suppressor in lung cancer 1 (TSLC1) gene into the non-small cell lung cancer line, A549, reverses tumorigenic growth properties of these cells. These results and the observation that TSLC1 is down-regulated in a number of tumors suggest that TSLC1 functions as a critical switch mediating repression of tumorigenesis. RESULTS: To investigate this mechanism, we compared growth properties of A549 with the TSLC1-containing derivative. We found a G1/S phase transition delay in 12.2. Subtractive hybridization, quantitative PCR, and TranSignal Protein/DNA arrays were used to identify genes whose expression changed when TSLC1 was up-regulated. Members of common G1/S phase regulatory pathways such as TP53, MYC, RB1 and HRAS were not differentially expressed, indicating that TSLC1 may function through an alternative pathway(s). A number of genes involved in cell proliferation and tumorigenesis were differentially expressed, notably genes in the Ras-induced senescence pathway. We examined expression of several of these key genes in human tumors and normal lung tissue, and found similar changes in expression, validating the physiological relevance of the A549 and 12.2 cell lines. CONCLUSION: Gene expression and cell cycle differences provide insights into potential downstream pathways of TSLC1 that mediate the suppression of tumor properties in A549 cells

A survey of weather information possessed by thirty-two pupils randomly selected from sixth and eleventh grades and from special classes

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Hydroxyurea Improves Spatial Memory and Cognitive Plasticity in Mice and Has a Mild Effect on These Parameters in a Down Syndrome Mouse Model

Down syndrome (DS), a genetic disorder caused by partial or complete triplication of chromosome 21, is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. DS mouse models and cell lines display defects in cellular adaptive stress responses including autophagy, unfolded protein response, and mitochondrial bioenergetics. We tested the ability of hydroxyurea (HU), an FDA-approved pharmacological agent that activates adaptive cellular stress response pathways, to improve the cognitive function of Ts65Dn mice. The chronic HU treatment started at a stage when early mild cognitive deficits are present in this model (∼3 months of age) and continued until a stage of advanced cognitive deficits in untreated mice (∼5–6 months of age). The HU effects on cognitive performance were analyzed using a battery of water maze tasks designed to detect changes in different types of memory with sensitivity wide enough to detect deficits as well as improvements in spatial memory. The most common characteristic of cognitive deficits observed in trisomic mice at 5–6 months of age was their inability to rapidly acquire new information for long-term storage, a feature akin to episodic-like memory. On the background of severe cognitive impairments in untreated trisomic mice, HU-treatment produced mild but significant benefits in Ts65Dn by improving memory acquisition and short-term retention of spatial information. In control mice, HU treatment facilitated memory retention in constant (reference memory) as well as time-variant conditions (episodic-like memory) implicating a robust nootropic effect. This was the first proof-of-concept study of HU treatment in a DS model, and indicates that further studies are warranted to assess a window to optimize timing and dosage of the treatment in this pre-clinical phase. Findings of this study indicate that HU has potential for improving memory retention and cognitive flexibility that can be harnessed for the amelioration of cognitive deficits in normal aging and in cognitive decline (dementia) related to DS and other neurodegenerative diseases

Influence of FK209 Cobalt Doped Electron Transport Layer in Cesium Based Perovskite Solar Cells

The efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) depend not only on the perovskite film quality, but they are also influenced by the charge carriers of both the electron and hole transport layers (ETL and HTL). Doping of the carrier transport layers is considered one of effective technique applied to enhance the efficiency and performance of the PSCs. FK209 cobalt TFSI and lithium TFSI salt were investigated as dopants for mesoporous TiO2 (M-TiO2) in the ETL. Herein, FK209 cobalt doping offers improved conductivity, reproducibility and stability compared to other doping or undoped M-TiO2 control device. It has been found that an optimum concentration of 2.5 mg FK209 cobalt in the M-TiO2 has resulted in an efficiency of 15.6% on 0.36 cm2 active device area, whereas, the undoped M-TiO2 yielded an average efficiency of 10.8%. The enhanced efficiency is due to the improved conductivity of the ETL while maintaining high transparency and low surface roughness with FK209 doping. The M-TiO2 doped with FK209 has a transparency of the 90% over the visible range and its measured energy gap was 3.59 eV. Perovskite films deposited on the M-TiO2 doped with FK209 has also a lower PL intensity indicating faster charge extraction. The measured lifetime of the perovskite films deposited on the optimised M-TiO2 film was 115.8 ns