Cooperative Effects of Corticosteroids and Catecholamines upon Immune Deviation of the Type-1/Type-2 Cytokine Balance in Favor of Type-2 Expression in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

A growing number of studies show strong associations between stress and altered immune function. In vivo studies of chronic and acute stress have demonstrated that cognitive stressors are strongly correlated with high levels of catecholamines (CT) and corticosteroids (CS). Although both CS and CT individually can inhibit the production of T-helper 1 (TH1, type-1 like) cytokines and simultaneously promote the production of T-helper 2 (TH2, type-2 like) cytokines in antigen-specific and mitogen stimulated human leukocyte cultures in vitro, little attention has been focused on the effects of combination CT and CS in immune responses that may be more physiologically relevant. We therefore investigated the combined effects of in vitro CT and CS upon the type-1/type-2 cytokine balance of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as a model to study the immunomodulatory effects of superimposed acute and chronic stress. Results demonstrated a significant decrease in type-1 cytokine production (IFN-gamma) and a significant increase in type-2 cytokine production (IL-4, IL-10) in our CS+CT incubated cultures when compared to either CT or CS agents alone. Furthermore, variable enhancement of type-1/type-2 immune deviation occurred depending upon when the CT was added. The data suggest that CS can increase the sensitivity of PBMC to the immunomodulatory effects of CT and establishes an in vitro model to study the combined effects of in vivo type-1/type-2 cytokine alterations observed in acute and chronic stress

The Importance of Data Visualization: Incorporating Storytelling into the Scientific Presentation

From its inception in 2000, one of the primary tasks of the Biomedical Data Reduction Analysis (BDRA) group has been translation of large amounts of data into information that is relevant to the audience receiving it. BDRA helps translate data into an integrated model that supports both operational and research activities. This data integrated model and subsequent visual data presentations have contributed to BDRA's success in delivering the message (i.e., the story) that its customers have needed to communicate. This success has led to additional collaborations among groups that had previously not felt they had much in common until they worked together to develop solutions in an integrated fashion. As more emphasis is placed on working with "big data" and on showing how NASA's efforts contribute to the greater good of the American people and of the world, it becomes imperative to visualize the story of our data to communicate the greater message we need to share. METHODS To create and expand its data integrated model, BDRA has incorporated data from many different collaborating partner labs and other sources. Data are compiled from the repositories of the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health and the Life Sciences Data Archive, and from the individual laboratories at Johnson Space Center that support collection of data from medical testing, environmental monitoring, and countermeasures, as designated in the Medical Requirements Integration Documents. Ongoing communication with the participating collaborators is maintained to ensure that the message and story of the data are retained as data are translated into information and visual data presentations are delivered in different venues and to different audiences. RESULTS We will describe the importance of storytelling through an integrated model and of subsequent data visualizations in today's scientific presentations and discuss the collaborative methods used. We will illustrate the discussion with examples of graphs from BDRA's past work supporting operations and/or research efforts

ACES: Analysis of Conservation with an Extensive list of Species

MOTIVATION: An abundance of new reference genomes is becoming available through large-scale sequencing efforts. While the reference FASTA for each genome is available, there is currently no automated mechanism to query a specific sequence across all new reference genomes. RESULTS: We developed ACES (Analysis of Conservation with an Extensive list of Species) as a computational workflow to query specific sequences of interest (e.g., enhancers, promoters, exons) against reference genomes with an available reference FASTA. This automated workflow generates BLAST hits against each of the reference genomes, a multiple sequence alignment file, a graphical fragment assembly file, and a phylogenetic tree file. These data files can then be used by the researcher in several ways to provide key insights into conservation of the query sequence. AVAILABILITY: ACES is available at https://github.com/TNTurnerLab/ACES. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary Figure 1 is available online in Bioinformatics

Precise breakpoint detection in a patient with 9p- syndrome

We present a case of 9p- syndrome with a complex chromosomal event originally characterized by the classical karyotype approach as 46,XX,der(9)t(9;13)(p23;q13). We used advanced technologies (Bionano Genomics genome imaging and 10× Genomics sequencing) to characterize the location of the translocation and accompanying deletion on Chromosome 9 and duplication on Chromosome 13 with single-nucleotide breakpoint resolution. The translocation breakpoint was at Chr 9:190938 and Chr 13:50850492, the deletion at Chr 9:1-190938, and the duplication at Chr 13:50850492-114364328. We identified genes in the deletion and duplication regions that are known to be associated with this patient\u27s phenotype (e.g.

Angiosarcoma of the Right Atrium Presenting as Syncope and Hemorrhagic Pericardial Tamponade

Angiosarcoma of the heart is a rare malignancy that can present in many ways. It is an important diagnosis to consider in patients presenting with otherwise unexplained tamponade-type symptoms. Here we present a case of a young male who presented with hemorrhagic tamponade and underwent resection of a large angiosarcoma of the right atrium. In this case, we describe the rare presentation of angiosarcoma with its diagnostic approaches, hospital course, clinical management, and discussion

A Stress Model for Couples Parenting Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders and the Introduction of a Mindfulness Intervention: A Stress Model for Couples Parenting ASD

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at an increased risk for acute and chronic stress compared to parents of children with other developmental disabilities and parents of children without disabilities. It is plausible that the stressors of having a child with ASD affect the couple relationship; however, few researchers have focused on this dynamic within these families. In this article, we seek to develop a model for how stress operates in families with children with ASD. In developing this new stress model, we describe the characteristics of ASD, discuss stressors that are pronounced in families of children with ASD as supported by the literature, and highlight the limitations of Perry’s (2004) model in application to this population. Our expanded stress model includes the addition of parenting couple resources and parenting couple outcomes. Finally, we demonstrate how to apply the model using a mindfulness intervention to promote positive outcomes and strengthen the couple relationship

Spin observables of the reactions NN -> DeltaN and pd -> Delta (pp)(1S0) in collinear kinematics

A general formalism for double and triple spin-correlations of the reaction NN -> DeltaN is developed for the case of collinear kinematics. A complete polarization experiment allowing to reconstruct all of the four amplitudes describing this process is suggested. Furthermore, the spin observables of the inelastic charge-exchange reaction pd -> Delta^0(pp)(1S0) are analyzed in collinear kinematics within the single pN scattering mechanism involving the subprocess pn -> Delta^0p. The full set of spin observables related to the polarization of one or two initial particles and one final particle is obtained in terms of three invariant amplitudes of the reaction pd -> Delta (pp)(1S0) and the transition form factor d->(pp)(1S0). A complete polarization experiment for the reaction pd -> Delta^0(pp)(1S0) is suggested which allows one to determine three independent combinations of the four amplitudes of the elementary subprocess NN -> DeltaN.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

Morphological Instabilities in a growing Yeast Colony: Experiment and Theory

We study the growth of colonies of the yeast Pichia membranaefaciens on agarose film. The growth conditions are controlled in a setup where nutrients are supplied through an agarose film suspended over a solution of nutrients. As the thickness of the agarose film is varied, the morphology of the front of the colony changes. The growth of the front is modeled by coupling it to a diffusive field of inhibitory metabolites. Qualitative agreement with experiments suggests that such a coupling is responsible for the observed instability of the front.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages and 3 figure