Morphology of the Internal Reproductive System of the Male and Female European Corn Borer Ostrinia Nubilalis (Hubner)

The gross morphology of the internal reproductive organs of the adult male and female European corn borer is described. The adults were laboratory reared progeny and descended from wild specimens collected in the Rochester area, Western N.Y. The male system displayed 2 major variations in the paired vasa deferentia. In 8% of 75 recently emerged males, each of the ducts arising from the testis, had a single expansion before merging with the narrow portions of the ducts. These expansions have been referred to as the seminal vesicles or upper vasa deferentia. In 88% of the 75 males, the ducts showed 2 expansions; the single expansion immediately followed by a second, smaller expansion, shaped somewhat like a tear-drop. A stable, distinguishing characteristic of the male tract is the large flask-like or ampulliform extensions of the accessory glands. These bodies were found in all males upon dissection. The female reproductive tract showed fewer variations. However, this species on emergence shows a transparency of the spermathecal complex, the lateral oviducts, the common oviduct and the bursal duct. After insemination, only the bursal duct displays a transparency. The female emerges with unripe eggs and at this stage of development has the capacity to receive the spermatophore immediately after wing drying. The male was not observed to copulate until after the first or second day

A study of social service activity in relation to patients discharged against medical advice from the Boston Veterans Administration Hospital

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

A study to determine the possibility of using an imagery test as a means of revealing level of adjustment

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Factors Influencing Primary Care Residency Selection among Students at an Urban Private Medical School

This study investigated factors influencing primary care–focused students’ selection of a family medicine residency at a private urban medical school. Reasons for why or why not students chose family medicine as opposed to other primary care–focused residencies is discussed. A questionnaire was sent to all fourth-year students (N=157) selected for residency with a primary care focus (medicine and pediatrics (medicine/pediatrics), emergency medicine (EM), obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN), internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine) from 2006 to 2008. Sixty-three surveys were completed. Respondents reported the most influential factor in primary care selection was patient-care model, followed by patient population and mentor/role model. The factor reported as having the strongest positive and negative influence on residency choice was clerkship experience. Half of respondents (53%) reported being told or directly overhearing negative comments about their career interest in primary care frequently (5+ times) during clinical clerkships. The most frequently cited reasons for not pursuing family medicine as a residency choice were broad focus, lack of prestige, and stereotype of family medicine as a nonacademic field. The Department of Family Medicine is focusing on strategies to combat these perceptions and expose students to positive primary care experiences early in their medical education. Action must be taken to monitor and address family medicine’s negative stereotype, as it has a clear presence in medical education and may have a negative influence on residency selection.

Blimp-1 is required for maintenance of long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow

Long-lived plasma cells, residing primarily in the bone marrow, continuously secrete antibody and provide an important component of humoral memory. However, when such cells secrete autoantibodies or become transformed, they can be pathogenic. We have shown recently that the transcriptional repressor B lymphocyte–induced maturation protein 1 (Blimp-1) is required for the formation of plasma cells. To determine what role Blimp-1 might play in maintenance of plasma cells, we generated mice in which the gene encoding Blimp-1 could be deleted in an inducible manner. Deletion of Blimp-1 either in vitro or in vivo leads to loss of previously formed B220LOCD138HI plasma cells. Using BrdU incorporation, we confirmed that Blimp-1 is required for the maintenance of nondividing, long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow. Blimp-1 is also required for long-term maintenance of antigen-specific immunoglobulin in serum. Thus Blimp-1 is required not only for the formation but also for the maintenance of long-lived plasma cells. This finding provides the possibility of new drug design strategies for autoimmunity and multiple myeloma focused on blocking Blimp-1 expression or activity

Regulation of Class-Switch Recombination and Plasma Cell Differentiation by Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Signaling

SummaryClass-switch recombination (CSR) is essential for humoral immunity. However, the regulation of CSR is not completely understood. Here we demonstrate that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) actively suppressed the onset and frequency of CSR in primary B cells. Consistently, mice lacking the lipid phosphatase, PTEN, in B cells exhibited a hyper-IgM condition due to impaired CSR, which could be restored in vitro by specific inhibition of PI3Kδ. Inhibition of CSR by PI3K was partially dependent on the transcription factor, BLIMP1, linking plasma cell commitment and cessation of CSR. PI3K-dependent activation of the serine-threonine kinase, Akt, suppressed CSR, in part, through the inactivation of the Forkhead Box family (Foxo) of transcription factors. Reduced PI3K signaling enhanced the expression of AID (activation-induced cytidine deaminase) and accelerated CSR. However, ectopic expression of AID could not fully overcome inhibition of CSR by PI3K, suggesting that PI3K regulates both the expression and function of AID

J. Craig WheelerThe Nature and Consequences of Cosmological Halo Formation: Dark Matter and the Dark Ages

First, I am deeply indebted to my wife, Younga, who had an uneasy summer season due to her guilt of having an aging graduate student as her hubby. At this right moment my writing this acknowledgment, she may be preparing warm breakfast for two children. I am guilty of depriving her of all the summer fun. Younga, I met you only seven years ago, but I should have met you much earlier. When you are away, I think about you. When you are near, I see you. You are my heart, my soul, my canvas, my wine, my potato chip, my sun. I appreciate my Parents-in-law for accepting me as Son-in-law, and supporting me. I wish to thank Father and Mother, who have raised and guided me on this hostile planet Earth. Hatred and poverty caused by its own inhabitants is the most difficult thing I can bear. Without them, I could not have survived it. Their life was a grand symphony. Now, here is my humble rose to you. My lovely kids! How pretty (and noisy) you are! Please grow healthy

XBP1, Downstream of Blimp-1, Expands the Secretory Apparatus and Other Organelles, and Increases Protein Synthesis in Plasma Cell Differentiation

AbstractThe differentiation of B cells into immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells is controlled by two transcription factors, Blimp-1 and XBP1. By gene expression profiling, we defined a set of genes whose induction during mouse plasmacytic differentiation is dependent on Blimp-1 and/or XBP1. Blimp-1-deficient B cells failed to upregulate most plasma cell-specific genes, including xbp1. Differentiating xbp1-deficient B cells induced Blimp-1 normally but failed to upregulate genes encoding many secretory pathway components. Conversely, ectopic expression of XBP1 induced a wide spectrum of secretory pathway genes and physically expanded the endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, XBP1 increased cell size, lysosome content, mitochondrial mass and function, ribosome numbers, and total protein synthesis. Thus, XBP1 coordinates diverse changes in cellular structure and function resulting in the characteristic phenotype of professional secretory cells

Clinical Characteristics and Molecular Subtyping of Vibrio vulnificus Illnesses, Israel

The genetically distinct biotype 3 has penetrated Israeli freshwaters and is causing severe illness in persons who handle tilapia or carp

Parental knowledge of paediatric vaccination

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