Antineoplastic activity of idazoxan hydrochloride

Idazoxan hydrochloride (IDA) is a 241 molecular weight imidazoline and adrenoreceptor ligand. It binds to mitochondrial membranes and promotes apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells. Since IDA has not been tested against tumor cells, the purpose of our study was to determine if IDA has antineoplastic activity. We used the conversion of a soluble tetrazolium salt to an insoluble formazan precipitate and differential staining cytotoxicity assays to determine if IDA was cytotoxic to cell lines of murine lung cancer and human prostate cancer, as well as to a variety of fresh human tumor samples. We used flow cytometry to analyze cell death and calreticulin expression. IDA is cytotoxic to both cell lines and against aliquots of specimens of breast, gastric, lung, ovarian and prostate cancers as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It produces apoptotic cell death and promotes calreticulin expression, suggesting that IDA might be immunomodulatory in vivo. We anticipate that IDA will be clinically useful in cancer treatment

Visualising rave music in Virtual Reality: symbolic and interactive approaches

In 2019 the virtual reality experience Cyberdream VR was presented at various events including the Event Two exhibition of computer art held at the Royal College of Art. This short demo for Oculus Gear VR provided a c.5 minute sonic journey, in which the user moves through a series of symbolic environments based on the futuristic techno-utopian or dystopian imagery of 90s rave fliers. These environments accompanied an original soundtrack of rave music and vaporwave, allowing users to enjoy the music whilst feeling as though they are inside synaesthetic virtual spaces related to the symbolic imagery of rave culture. This paper will discuss the subsequent development of this project, which is now being adapted for the Oculus Quest VR headset. Rajmil Fischman’s concept of ‘Music in the Holodeck’; the fictional ’holophonor’ instrument from the TV series Futurama; or the video game Rez Infinite, are among those that suggest paradigms for performing sound and visuals in VR. Drawing upon these ideas, the current iteration of Cyberdream allows the user to trigger ‘sound instruments’ with the Oculus Quest Touch controllers. This is conceived as a means through which the user can ‘paint with sound’ in 3D space, improvising with the music, whilst also generating synaesthetic imagery. The design of these sound instruments presents interesting challenges, in order for sound to be generated in correspondence with visual imagery, where these materials may complement both the music and spatial environments. Drawing on the author’s VJ work, at the macro level of compositional structure, the latest version of the project also seeks ways to provide a more continuous experience analogous to a DJ or VJ set, through blending of music tracks between scenes. This paper will discuss on-going work on this project, advancing the discourse regarding the visualisation of hardcore rave music in virtual reality

Combined Tevatron upper limit on gg->H->W+W- and constraints on the Higgs boson mass in fourth-generation fermion models

Report number: FERMILAB-PUB-10-125-EWe combine results from searches by the CDF and D0 collaborations for a standard model Higgs boson (H) in the process gg->H->W+W- in p=pbar collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV. With 4.8 fb-1 of integrated luminosity analyzed at CDF and 5.4 fb-1 at D0, the 95% Confidence Level upper limit on \sigma(gg->H) x B(H->W+W-) is 1.75 pb at m_H=120 GeV, 0.38 pb at m_H=165 GeV, and 0.83 pb at m_H=200 GeV. Assuming the presence of a fourth sequential generation of fermions with large masses, we exclude at the 95% Confidence Level a standard-model-like Higgs boson with a mass between 131 and 204 GeV.We combine results from searches by the CDF and D0 collaborations for a standard model Higgs boson (H) in the process gg→H→W+W- in pp̅ collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at √s=1.96  TeV. With 4.8  fb-1 of integrated luminosity analyzed at CDF and 5.4  fb-1 at D0, the 95% confidence level upper limit on σ(gg→H)×B(H→W+W-) is 1.75 pb at mH=120  GeV, 0.38 pb at mH=165  GeV, and 0.83 pb at mH=200  GeV. Assuming the presence of a fourth sequential generation of fermions with large masses, we exclude at the 95% confidence level a standard-model-like Higgs boson with a mass between 131 and 204 GeV.Peer reviewe