Mitochondrial Gene Expression in Human Mononuclear Cells

MITOCHONDRIAL GENE EXPRESSION IN HUMAN MONONUCLEAR CELLS By Monika D. Ruchała, M.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014. Director: Dr. James P. Bennett Jr, M.D., Ph.D., Bemiss Professor Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Physiology and Biophysics Adult neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), have been intensively studied in recent years in pursuit of mechanisms responsible for origin and progression. One emerging theme is mitochondrial energetic deficiency as a mechanism of neuronal death. Recent descriptions of protocols to generate induced pluripotent stems cells (iPSCs) from living patients offer the potential to create unique disease models. This model can potentially lead to crucial advances in developing treatment options for a wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases. In this thesis, we attempt to induce iPSCs from mononuclear cells (MNC) in peripheral blood acquired from patients with ALS and healthy control (CTL) subjects, and analyze their mitochondrial genomes. The reprogramming of MNC to yield iPSC was done by nucleofection of an episomal plasmid pEB­ C5, expressing OriP sequences of the Epstein­Barr and five reprogramming transgenes Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c­Myc and Lin28. We investigated the expression of mitochondrial DNA genes, ND2, ND4, COXIII and 12s rRNA in the ALS and CTL MNC before and after their culturing. The results implicate deregulated mitochondrial bioenergetics as a characteristic of ALS. Future work will establish whether these abnormalities in mitochondrial bioenergetics persist in iPSC’s and iPSC-derived neurons from ALS subjec

The Effect of Ambient on Photoluminescence from GaN

The effect of ambient on photoluminescence (PL) from GaN was studied. We found that the PL intensity in vacuum was nearly four times higher than in air. The PL intensity also increased after etching the sample in Aqua Regia and BOE to remove the native oxide layer. After etching, the PL intensity was very stable in vacuum, but substantially degraded in air ambient. In HCl vapor (low pH), the PL intensity increased as compared to air ambient, while in NH3 vapor (high pH) it decreased. The quantum efficiency of the exciton and blue luminescence bands increased significantly with increasing excitation power density. This increase could not be explained by reduction of the depletion region width (field effect mechanism), but could be explained by changes in the nonradiative recombination rate at the surface (recombination mechanism). We therefore assume that in vacuum and acid vapor some surface species are desorbed or passivated, resulting in a decreased nonradiative recombination rate and increased PL intensity

Pricing and Trust

We experimentally examine the effects of flexible and fixed prices in markets for experience goods in which demand is driven by trust. With flexible prices, we observe low prices and high quality in competitive (oligopolistic) markets, and high prices coupled with low quality in non-competitive (monopolistic) markets. We then introduce a regulated intermediate price above the oligopoly price and below the monopoly price. The effect in monopolies is more or less in line with standard intuition. As price falls volume increases and so does quality, such that overall efficiency is raised by 50%. However, quite in contrast to standard intuition, we also observe an efficiency rise in response to regulation in oligopolies. Both, transaction volume and traded quality are, in fact, maximal in regulated oligopolies.markets; price competition; price regulation; reputation; trust; moral hazard; experience goods

Competition Fosters Trust

We study the effects of reputation and competition in a stylized market for experience goods. If interaction is anonymous, such markets perform poorly: sellers are not trustworthy, and buyers do not trust sellers. If sellers are identifiable and can, hence, build a reputation, efficiency quadruples but is still at only a third of the first best. Adding more information by granting buyers access to all sellers’ complete history has, somewhat surprisingly, no effect. On the other hand, we find that competition, coupled with some minimal information, eliminates the trust problem almost completely.experience goods; competition; reputation; trust; moral hazard; information conditions

Propagation of Several Native Ornamental Plants

Interest in growing native plants has been increasing in recent years. In an effort to better understand some valuable native plants for use in the Northeast, the propagation and taxonomy of several plants with potential as landscape plants were explored. In an effort to make more propagation information available to nursery growers and plant propagators, commercially feasible propagation methods were researched. Asarum canadense, Canadian wild ginger, seed is typically difficult to germinate; so warm stratification and gibberellic acid were tested to determine if this process would increase germination. Warm stratification mimics conditions to which the seed would typically be exposed in nature, and gibberellic acid is a plant hormone that can substitute for cold stratification and help increase gemination of seeds. After one, two, or three months in warm stratification; seed was soaked in gibberellic acid for 24 hours and placed in petri dishes. None of the seeds germinated, this could be the result of a double dormancy in the seed. Comptonia peregrina, sweet fern, is a native shrub often used in landscapes and erosion control. Because seed is difficult to germinate and stem cuttings are not successhl, root cuttings are the commonly used propagation method. Root cuttings were tested for their reaction to cold stratification length and temperature. The cuttings did respond to stratification length and temperature, with one month of cold stratification we achieved 100% rooting. In addition to rooting at higher percentages, cuttings treated with consistent temperatures of 3-4°C also rooted sooner, had more shoots per cell, and had longer shoots. , Two species of dogwood, Cornus alternifolia and C. rugosa, were tested for their reaction to different treatments of stem cuttings. C. alternifolia roots readily from softwood cuttings, but rooted cuttings have some difficulty overwintering. Extended photoperiods did not increase rooting percentages, suggesting that photoperiods do not effect rooting. C. rugosa is a relatively unknown in the nursery trade, so research was conducted to determine optimum propagation methods. Softwood cuttings were taken, but the leaves quickly turned brown and the cuttings died. Hardwood cuttings rooted at much higher percentages, with supplemental lighting actually being detrimental to rooting. Gaultheria procumbens, wintergreen, is a native woody plant with many potential uses in the landscape. Seed is typically hard to germinate, so seed was soaked for 24 hours in gibberellic acid to determine if germination percentages could be increased. Light conditions (ambient, extended, and dark) were also tested. Gibberellic acid did significantly increase percentages and ambient light conditions were found to be best for germination. Viburnum lantanoides and V. nudum var. cassinoides were tested for their reaction to treatments of softwood stem cuttings, rooting hormones, and extended photoperiods. K lantanoides rooted readily with 1000 ppm K-IBA treatment and ligh

Veblen\u27s placebo: another historical perspective on administrative evil

Thorstein Veblen was a turn of the 20th century American economist concerned with the implications of financial capitalists directing the means of production. Veblen proposed that the rationality of material science as practiced by the production engineers is fundamentally different from the rationality of market capitalism. If this claim is valid, our previous contentions regarding accounting, as a facilitating technology, for administrative evil warrant reconsideration. Veblen\u27s position provides a historical perspective on one dimension of administrative evil that is generally unquestionably accepted, especially within accounting. That is, technology, such as accounting and the related information systems, is amoral, and it is only through ideologically instigated applications that any moral value accrues. We discuss administrative evil and the role of instrumental rationality generally, and accounting specifically, in creating it. Veblen\u27s characterization of financial capitalism and production engineers and his arguments for the primacy of economic efficiency versus pecuniary gain provide a basis for evaluating the legitimating action. We consider how Veblen\u27s work relates to notions of instrumental rationality and then undertake a critical assessment of the ideas. Some of Veblen\u27s ideas, while utopian, might be seen as an elixir for the detrimental influences of financial capital; however, at best, they provide a placebo for the ills of administrative evil and, as such, do not provide an amoral basis for legitimating the associated accounting systems

Unexpected conversion from hypothyroidism to an euthyroid state due to Graves’ disease in a patient with an ectopic thyroid

A 15-year-old woman was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and unilateral ectopic thyroid. Levothyroxine treatment was introduced; however, the patient was non-compliant and took the medication irregularly. When she presented to an endocrinologist at the age of 30, she had not been using levothyroxine for at least 6 months. Surprisingly, she was clinically and biochemically euthyroid. Due to decreased echogenicity on ultrasound examination, enhanced vascularization on Color Doppler examination and increased concentration of anti-TSH receptor autoantibodies, she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease. Eventually, she underwent total thyroidectomy due to diagnosis of follicular neoplasm in fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the focal lesion found in the thyroid gland. To our knowledge, our patient is the first described with ectopic thyroid, presenting a nodular variant of Graves’ disease and no signs of orbitopathy, who was initially hypothyroid and became euthyroid in the course of autoimmune thyroid disease. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12020-013-0117-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users