Glucocorticoid Receptor Variants Modulate the Sensitivity to Cortisol

Synthetic glucocorticoids are used therapeutically for numerous indications. However, due to their broad physiological effects across many systems, side effects of GC therapy can be extensive and limit the clinical utility of GCs as a drug. One of the main urgent questions at this moment is to develop insights into the cause of the differences in the response between individuals to therapeutically applied GCs. Some patients respond to low doses, with or without side effects, while others do not respond at all. This thesis discusses a number of possible explanations for these differences in GC sensitivity and is focused on genetic, but also on transcriptional and translational aspects of the GR gene. Furthermore, it is also described how glucocorticoid sensitivity disorders can be characterized clinically and biochemically. An important tool in these studies has been a newly developed bioassay, measuring cellular GC sensitivity ex vivo, based on GR action at the transcriptional level by studying GC-regulated mRNA expression (chapter 2). Various polymorphism in the GR gene (N363S, ER22/23EK, and 9beta) are shown to affect GC sensitivity in vivo and in/ex vitro and result in a wide variety of phenotypic signs (chapters 3, 4, and 5). Furthermore, studies described in chapter 4, 5, 6, and 7 have demonstrated that also transcriptional and translational variants of the GR and the use of different promoters could modulate GC sensitivity. These factors modulating inter- individual sensitivity to GCs may have consequences for the use of GCs in a clinical setting. When treating patients with GCs, they need an individually determined optimal dose to obtain a balance between beneficial and adverse effects

GVSU Course Scheduler

The GVSU Course Scheduler\u27s objective was to develop a program capable of expediting and simplifying the course selection process in which all students partake. The program takes the form of a chrome extension webpage, gathering the required information from user authenticated requests to the GVSU\u27s student availability registration system. By programmatically generating course combinations and computing relevant schedule metrics from this data, students are able to easily compare the very best schedule options available. Metrics such as downtime, days with classes, average start time, average end time, and back-to-back courses are incredibly useful in deciding which of these schedules will lead to academic success. All in all, this program transforms the monotonous and overwhelming task of scheduling into a quick and simple task

Direct photons in d+Au and p+p collisions

Results are presented from an ongoing analysis of direct photon production with the STAR experiment at RHIC. The direct photon measurement in d+Au collisions and the neutral pion spectrum in p+p collisions are found to be in agreement with NLO pQCD calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of Quark Matter 200

Rol van de Kerk in Coronatijd

Masterthesis Systematische Theologi