Watching gene expression in color.

A combination of two fluorescent proteins with different half-lives allows gene expression to be followed with improved time resolution

Conservation and Development Model of Mamaca in Pamekasan Madura

ABSTRACTMamaca traditional performing art is an essential intangible asset for the people of Madura and Indonesia. Mamaca in Madurese language means reading. Contextually, it means reading verses from particular texts. Its diversity and uniqueness are not only known by Indonesian, but also worldwide people. Its paramount role in the life of Mamaca-supporting community is undeniable as the songs and notations generated while performing is not only functioned as performing, but also efforts to establish Madurese moral values. Unfortunately, the local people, especially younger generation currently have started to abandon this traditional art. It leads to a worrisome position of Mamaca existing in Pamekasan Regency, Madura Island. Considering that this traditional performing art emphasizes the nobility of values and norms in its form and implementation and its capability of strengthening the Indonesian character and the harmony of social life, Mamaca is urgently required to be preserved and developed in accordance to the fervor of nowadays era. The performers take turns reading and singing the verses containing some epics of Mahabharata, Ramayana, stories of Islamic Prophets, and values of benevolence regarding wisdom teachings. This research is a model for the conservation and development of noble cultural values that involves active supporting elements of Mamaca, relevant government, academics, industries or sponsors, and the role of the media.ABSTRAKModel Konservasi dan Pengembangan Mamaca di Pamekasan Madura. Seni pertunjukan tradisi Mamaca merupakan aset non bendawi yang penting bagi masyarakat di Madura dan bangsa Indonesia. Mamaca dalam bahasa Madura berarti membaca. Dalam penelitian ini, Mamaca yang dimaksud adalah tradisi membaca syair-syair dari naskah tertentu. Keanekaragaman dan keunikannya tidak hanya dikenal oleh bangsa Indonesia sendiri, tetapi juga sudah secara luas. Peran pentingnya Mamaca di dalam kehidupan masyarakat penyelenggaranya tidak dapat terbantahkan karena lagu-lagu yang dilantunkan serta notasi yang dimainkan tidak hanya berfungsi sebagai hiburan, namun sebuah upaya untuk menanamkan nilai moral. Sayangnya, Mamaca kini mulai ditinggalkan, terutama oleh generasi muda setempat. Oleh karena itu, seni Mamaca yang hidup di wilayah Kabupaten Pamekasan Pulau Madura dipandang penting dilestarikan dan dikembangkan sesuai zamannya. Mengingat bahwa seni pertunjukan tradisi yang berdasarkan pada pemanfaatan musik internal ini mengutamakan keluhuran nilai dan norma di dalam wujud dan penyelenggaraannya, Mamaca dipandang mampu menguatkan karakter bangsa dan harmoni kehidupan sosial. Para pelakunya secara bergantian membaca dan melagukan syair-syair yang memuat sebagian wiracarita Mahabharata, Ramayana, dan kisah para Nabi dalam agama Islam serta menyampaikan norma dan nilai kebaikan mengenai ajaran kebijaksanaan. Kajian ini merupakan model pelestarian dan pengembangan nilai-nilai budaya adiluhur yang melibatkan unsur penyangga aktif Mamaca, pemerintah terkait, akademisi, pihak industri atau sponsor, dan peran media

Social preferences, accountability, and wage bargaining

We assess the extent of preferences for employment in a collective wage bargaining situation with heterogeneous workers. We vary the size of the union and introduce a treatment mechanism transforming the voting game into an individual allocation task. Our results show that highly productive workers do not take employment of low productive workers into account when making wage proposals, regardless of whether insiders determine the wage or all workers. The level of pro-social preferences is small in the voting game, while it increases as the game is transformed into an individual allocation task. We interpret this as an accountability effect

Le Forum, Vol. 43 #3

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/francoamericain_forum/1101/thumbnail.jp

Inhibition of the Integrin/FAK Signaling Axis and c-Myc Synergistically Disrupts Ovarian Cancer Malignancy

Integrins, a family of heterodimeric receptors for extracellular matrix, are promising therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer, particularly high-grade serous-type (HGSOC), as they drive tumor cell attachment, migration, proliferation and survival by activating focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-dependent signaling. Owing to the potential off-target effects of FAK inhibitors, disruption of the integrin signaling axis remains to be a challenge. Here, we tackled this barrier by screening for inhibitors being functionally cooperative with small-molecule VS-6063, a phase II FAK inhibitor. From this screening, JQ1, a potent inhibitor of Myc oncogenic network, emerged as the most robust collaborator. Treatment with a combination of VS-6063 and JQ1 synergistically caused an arrest of tumor cells at the G2/M phase and a decrease in the XIAP-linked cell survival. Our subsequent mechanistic analyses indicate that this functional cooperation was strongly associated with the concomitant disruption of activation or expression of FAK and c-Myc as well as their downstream signaling through the PI3K/Akt pathway. In line with these observations, we detected a strong co-amplification or upregulation at genomic or protein level for FAK and c-Myc in a large portion of primary tumors in the TCGA or a local HGSOC patient cohort. Taken together, our results suggest that the integrin–FAK signaling axis and c-Myc synergistically drive cell proliferation, survival and oncogenic potential in HGSOC. As such, our study provides key genetic, functional and signaling bases for the small-molecule-based co-targeting of these two distinct oncogenic drivers as a new line of targeted therapy against human ovarian cancer

HiCIRF: a high-fidelity HF channel simulation

A high-fidelity HF channel simulation has been developed that is suitable for Over-the-Horizon Radar (OTHR) and HF communication system design studies and test planning. The simulation capability is called HiCIRF, for High-frequency Channel Impulse Response Function. HiCIRF provides simulated HF signals corresponding to transmissions from individual transmitter array elements to individual receiver array elements for propagation through the naturally disturbed or undisturbed ionospheric channel. Both one-way link geometries and two-way radar geometries can be simulated. HiCIRF incorporates numerical ray tracing and stochastic signal structure computations to realistically simulate signal scatter by small-scale ionization structure. Stochastic signal generation is employed to generate signal realizations that can be used for OTHR array design and advanced signal processing studies.L.J. Nickisch, Gavin St. John, Sergey V. Fridman, Mark A. Hausman and C.J. Colema

HiCIRF: a high-fidelity HF channel simulation

A high-fidelity HF channel simulation has been developed that is suitable for Over-the-Horizon Radar (OTHR) and HF communication system design studies and test planning. The simulation capability is called HiCIRF, for High-frequency Channel Impulse Response Function. HiCIRF provides simulated HF signals corresponding to transmissions from individual transmitter array elements to individual receiver array elements for propagation through the naturally disturbed or undisturbed ionospheric channel. Both one-way link geometries and two-way radar geometries can be simulated. HiCIRF incorporates numerical ray tracing and stochastic signal structure computations to realistically simulate signal scatter by small-scale ionization structure. Stochastic signal generation is employed to generate signal realizations that can be used for OTHR array design and advanced signal processing studies.L.J. Nickisch, Gavin St. John, Sergey V. Fridman, Mark A. Hausman and C.J. Colema

Host Immune Response to Mosquito-Transmitted Chikungunya Virus Differs from That Elicited by Needle Inoculated Virus

Mosquito-borne diseases are a worldwide public health threat. Mosquitoes transmit viruses or parasites during feeding, along with salivary proteins that modulate host responses to facilitate both blood feeding and pathogen transmission. Understanding these earliest events in mosquito transmission of arboviruses by mosquitoes is essential for development and assessment of rational vaccine and treatment strategies. In this report, we compared host immune responses to chikungunya virus (CHIKV) transmission by (1) mosquito bite, or (2) by needle inoculation.Differential cytokine expression was measured using quantitative real-time RT-PCR, at sites of uninfected mosquito bites, CHIKV-infected mosquito bites, and needle-inoculated CHIKV. Both uninfected and CHIKV infected mosquitoes polarized host cytokine response to a TH2 profile. Compared to uninfected mosquito bites, expression of IL-4 induced by CHIKV-infected mosquitoes were 150 fold and 527.1 fold higher at 3 hours post feeding (hpf) and 6 hpf, respectively. A significant suppression of TH1 cytokines and TLR-3 was also observed. These significant differences may result from variation in the composition of uninfected and CHIKV-infected mosquito saliva. Needle injected CHIKV induced a robust interferon-gamma, no detectable IL-4, and a significant up-regulation of TLR-3.This report describes the first analysis of cutaneous cytokines in mice bitten by CHIKV-infected mosquitoes. Our data demonstrate contrasting immune activation in the response to CHIKV infection by mosquito bite or needle inoculation. The significant role of mosquito saliva in these earliest events of CHIKV transmission and infection are highlighted