Quantification of Dehydroepiandrosterone, 17β-Estradiol, Testosterone, and Their Sulfates in Mouse Tissues by LC-MS/MS.

We report a high-performance, liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) assay to quantify without derivatizaton dehyroepiandrosterone (DHEA), 17β-estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), and their sulfates in serum and tissues. This assay functions well with multiple adipose depots, a previously unattained analysis. To delipidate and facilitate recovery, tissues were homogenized in acetonitrile, and the homogenate was frozen. The supernatant was evaporated, resuspended in an aqueous acetate buffer, and extracted with hexane to separate free (unconjugated) from sulfated steroids. Sulfated steroids in the aqueous medium were then hydrolyzed with sulfatase and extracted with hexane. Each extract was analyzed separately. HPLC resolution combined with the sensitivity and specificity of MS/MS allowed quantification of DHEA, E2, and T with 10, 10, and 5 fmol lower limits of quantification and linear ranges to 1 pmol. Application of the method to mouse serum and tissues reveals ranges of DHEA, E2, and T and their sulfates, and tissue-specific differences in steroid profile, especially white versus brown adipose. In addition, marginal decreases of T in all tissues and considerable increases in DHEA in male iWAT and eWAT in response to a high-fat diet further strengthen the inference regarding the role of steroid metabolism in adipogenesis. This assay permits detailed studies of interactions between adiposity and sex steroids in serum and tissues, including adipose

Sharing Tacit Knowledge Among Expert Teaching Professors and Mentees: Considerations for Career and Technical Education Teacher Educators

This case study provides viewpoints of knowledge sharing by expert teaching professors and their mentees. Professors who were recognized as expert teachers with an annual award at a mid-western USA university were the units of analysis of this study. Expert teaching professors had difficulty articulating much of their teaching expertise. The difficulty was rooted in three characteristics of teaching expertise. Sharing tacit knowledge was also noted as a difficult task because the nature of tacit knowledge prevented it from being articulated. Methods of sharing tacit knowledge were categorized in two ways: observation and “bringing it to surface.” Recommendations for additional study include examining knowledge sharing among expert and novice professors in career and technical education teacher education programs

Chaotic universe in the z=2 Hovava-Lifshitz gravity

The deformed z=2 Horava-Lifshitz gravity with coupling constant w leads to a nonrelativistic "mixmaster" cosmological model. The potential of theory is given by the sum of IR and UV potentials in the ADM Hamiltonian formalism. It turns out that adding the UV-potential cannot suppress chaotic behaviors existing in the IR-potential.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, version to appear in PR

CONDOR: Long endurance high altitude vehicle, volume 5

The results of a design study resulting in the proposed CONDOR aircraft are presented. The basic requirements are for the aircraft to maintain continuous altitude at or above 45,000 feet for at least a 3-day mission, be able to comfortably support a two-man crew during this period with their field of vision not obstructed to a significant degree, carry a payload of 200 pounds, and provide a power supply to the payload of 2000 watts. The take-off and landing distances must be below 5000. feet, and time to reach cruise altitude must not exceed 3 hours. The subjects discussed are configuration selection, structural analysis, stability and control, crew and payload accomodations, and economic estimates

Longevity of 68 Species of Drosophila

Author Institution: Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State UniversityAdult longevity of Drosophila is dependent upon many factors. In this study the differences in longevity caused by species, strain, sex, and mating status were examined for 68 species (89 strains) belonging to the D. obscura, melanogaster, and willistoni species groups. Both inter- and intra-specific differences in adult longevity were observed. In most species studied, females lived longer than males. In general, the longevity of unmated females exceeded that of mated ones, while the longevity of mated males was greater than that of unmated ones

B-Meson Observables in the Maximally CP-Violating MSSM with Minimal Flavour Violation

Additional sources of CP violation in the MSSM may affect B-meson mixings and decays, even in scenarios with minimal flavour violation (MFV). We formulate the maximally CP-violating and minimally flavour-violating (MCPMFV) variant of the MSSM, which has 19 parameters, including 6 phases that violate CP. We then develop a manifestly flavour-covariant effective Lagrangian formalism for calculating Higgs-mediated FCNC observables in the MSSM at large tan(beta), and analyze within the MCPMFV framework FCNC and other processes involving B mesons. We include a new class of dominant subleading contributions due to non-decoupling effects of the third-generation quarks. We present illustrative numerical results that include effects of the CP-odd MCPMFV parameters on Higgs and sparticle masses, the B_s and B_d mass differences, and on the decays B_s --> mu+ mu-, B_u --> tau nu and b --> s gamma. We use these results to derive illustrative constraints on the MCPMFV parameters imposed by D0, CDF, BELLE and BABAR measurements of B mesons, demonstrating how a potentially observable contribution to the CP asymmetry in the b --> s gamma decay may arise in the MSSM with MCPMFV.Comment: 47 pages, 8 eps figures, comments and references added, accepted for publication in Physical Review D, Eq.(3.2) correcte

Review of pyronaridine anti-malarial properties and product characteristics.

Pyronaridine was synthesized in 1970 at the Institute of Chinese Parasitic Disease and has been used in China for over 30 years for the treatment of malaria. Pyronaridine has high potency against Plasmodium falciparum, including chloroquine-resistant strains. Studies in various animal models have shown pyronaridine to be effective against strains resistant to other anti-malarials, including chloroquine. Resistance to pyronaridine appears to emerge slowly and is further retarded when pyronaridine is used in combination with other anti-malarials, in particular, artesunate. Pyronaridine toxicity is generally less than that of chloroquine, though evidence of embryotoxicity in rodents suggests use with caution in pregnancy. Clinical pharmacokinetic data for pyronaridine indicates an elimination T1/2 of 13.2 and 9.6 days, respectively, in adults and children with acute uncomplicated falciparum and vivax malaria in artemisinin-combination therapy. Clinical data for mono or combined pyronaridine therapy show excellent anti-malarial effects against P. falciparum and studies of combination therapy also show promise against Plasmodium vivax. Pyronaridine has been developed as a fixed dose combination therapy, in a 3:1 ratio, with artesunate for the treatment of acute uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria and blood stage P. vivax malaria with the name of Pyramax® and has received Positive Opinion by European Medicines Agency under the Article 58 procedure

The Rich Mid-Infrared Environments of Two Highly-Obscured X-ray Binaries: Spitzer Observations of IGR J16318-4848 and GX 301-2

We present the results of Spitzer mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of two highly-obscured massive X-ray binaries: IGR J16318-4848 and GX301-2. Our observations reveal for the first time the extremely rich mid-infrared environments of this type of source, including multiple continuum emission components (a hot component with T > 700 K and a warm component with T ~ 180 K) with apparent silicate absorption features, numerous HI recombination lines, many forbidden ionic lines of low ionization potentials, and pure rotational H2 lines. This indicates that both sources have hot and warm circumstellar dust, ionized stellar winds, extended low-density ionized regions, and photo-dissociated regions. It appears difficult to attribute the total optical extinction of both sources to the hot and warm dust components, which suggests that there could be an otherwise observable colder dust component responsible for the most of the optical extinction and silicate absorption features. The observed mid-infrared spectra are similar to those from Luminous Blue Variables, indicating that the highly-obscured massive X-ray binaries may represent a previously unknown evolutionary phase of X-ray binaries with early-type optical companions. Our results highlight the importance and utility of mid-infrared spectroscopy to investigate highly-obscured X-ray binaries.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letter

Transcriptional Co-repressor Function of the Hippo Pathway Transducers YAP and TAZ

SummaryYAP (yes-associated protein) and TAZ are oncogenic transcriptional co-activators downstream of the Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway. However, whether YAP and/or TAZ (YAP/TAZ) engage in transcriptional co-repression remains relatively unexplored. Here, we directly demonstrated that YAP/TAZ represses numerous target genes, including tumor-suppressor genes such as DDIT4 (DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4) and Trail (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand). Mechanistically, the repressor function of YAP/TAZ requires TEAD (TEA domain) transcription factors. A YAP/TAZ-TEAD complex recruits the NuRD complex to deacetylate histones and alters nucleosome occupancy at target genes. Functionally, repression of DDIT4 and Trail by YAP/TAZ is required for mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1) activation and cell survival, respectively. Our demonstration of the transcriptional co-repressor activity of YAP/TAZ opens a new avenue for understanding the Hippo signaling pathway

Noise generation by shock-turbulence interaction

October 1970Includes bibliographical references (leaf 10)The noise produced by convection of turbulence through an oblique shock wave has been measured and compared to theoretical predictions by Ribner and Kerrebrock. There is excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction that, for a fixed turbulent input, the downstream noise pressure (divided by the mean pressure), should first increase very rapidly, and then decrease as the normal Mach number of the shock is increased from unity to values of the order of 1.5. This behavior implies that a part of the noise from supersonic jets should behave similarly, with a sharp increase, then a decrease as the nozzle pressure ratio is raised from unity.This Research Carried Out in the Gas Turbine Laboratory, M.I.T., in Cooperation with Lewis Research Center, NASA, under Grant NGL 22-009-38