The vertical temperature structure of the mid-latitude troposphere : a simple model.

Thesis. 1977. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Meteorology.Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science.Bibliography : leaves 77-78.M.S

DNA target sequence and FNR-dependent gene expression.

FNR proteins are global transcription regulators that respond to fluctuations in environmental oxygen. They recognise a DNA target consisting of an inverted repeat, TTGATN(1)N(2)N(3)N(4)ATCAA (where N(1-4) represents a non-conserved tetrad, NCT). Analysis of 68 known and predicted FNR sites from the Escherichia coli K12 genome revealed a bias toward A or T at positions N(2) and N(3) of the NCT. The effect of the NCT sequence on FNR-dependent transcription in vivo was assessed using a series of class II and class I model promoters with different NCT sequences. Changing the NCT sequence did not affect basal activity but altered anaerobic induction by as much as an order of magnitude. Thus, the NCT sequence is a fundamental component in setting the dynamic range of the FNR switch

Room temperature negative differential resistance of a monolayer molecular rotor device

An electrically driven molecular rotor device comprised of a monolayer of redox-active ligated copper compounds sandwiched between a gold electrode and a highly doped P+Si substrate was fabricated. Current-voltage spectroscopy revealed a temperature-dependent negative differential resistance (NDR) associated with the device. Time-dependent density functional theory suggests the source of the observed NDR to be redox-induced ligand rotation around the copper metal center, an explanation consistent with the proposed energy diagram of the device. An observed temperature dependence of the NDR behavior further supports this hypothesis

Leadership on Trial: A Manifesto for Leadership Development

Recent books and articles have analyzed the causes of the global financial and economic crisis of 2007-09. Yet little attention has been paid to the quality of leadership in organizations that were at the epicentre of the storm, were victims of it, avoided it or even prospered from it. In the summer of 2009 a multi-disciplinary group of Ivey faculty decided to look at the leadership dimensions of the recent financial and economic crisis. We started by writing a working paper that laid out our preliminary views. We then engaged more than 300 business, public sector and not-for-profit leaders in small and large groups, as individuals and collectives, to get their reaction to this paper and, more generally, to discuss the role that organizational leadership played before, during and after the crisis. We examined leadership not just in the financial sector but also in many other public and private sector organizations that were affected by the crisis. In a sense, we were putting leadership on trial. Our aim in doing this was not to identify and assign blame. Rather, we examined leadership during this critical period in recent history to learn what we could, and use the learning to improve the practice of leadership today and the development of next generation leaders. As we analyzed the role of leadership in this crisis we were faced with one major question: “Would better leadership have made a difference?” Our answer is unequivocal: “Yes!” We recognize that many people could argue it is unfair to criticize leaders whose decisions were based on their knowledge of the situation at the time and which only eventually, with the aid of 20/20 hindsight, proved bad. We respect this view but we disagree with it. Some business and public sector leaders predicted better than others the bursting of the housing bubble and financial markets turmoil, positioned their organizations to avoid problems, and coped with them skillfully. Their organizations were not badly damaged by the crisis and some even prospered. Some governments and regulatory agencies’ control and monitoring systems were superior to those in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Spain, Iceland and other countries that had to bail out their banks and other industries. Our evidence supports the conclusion that these companies, these agencies, these governments and these countries had better leadership. Good leadership mattered then and good leadership will matter in the future. We are presenting our conclusions about what good leadership involves in the form of a public statement of principles—a manifesto that addresses what good leaders do, who they are, and how they can be developed in organizations

Activated lymphocyte recruitment into the tumor microenvironment following preoperative sipuleucel-T for localized prostate cancer.

BackgroundSipuleucel-T is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved immunotherapy for asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Its mechanism of action is not fully understood. This prospective trial evaluated the direct immune effects of systemically administered sipuleucel-T on prostatic cancer tissue in the preoperative setting.MethodsPatients with untreated localized prostate cancer were treated on an open-label Phase II study of sipuleucel-T prior to planned radical prostatectomy (RP). Immune infiltrates in RP specimens (posttreatment) and in paired pretreatment biopsies were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Correlations between circulating immune response and IHC were assessed using Spearman rank order.ResultsOf the 42 enrolled patients, 37 were evaluable. Adverse events were primarily transient, mild-to-moderate and infusion related. Patients developed T cell proliferation and interferon-γ responses detectable in the blood following treatment. Furthermore, a greater-than-three-fold increase in infiltrating CD3(+), CD4(+) FOXP3(-), and CD8(+) T cells was observed in the RP tissues compared with the pretreatment biopsy (binomial proportions: all P < .001). This level of T cell infiltration was observed at the tumor interface, and was not seen in a control group consisting of 12 concurrent patients who did not receive any neoadjuvant treatment prior to RP. The majority of infiltrating T cells were PD-1(+) and Ki-67(+), consistent with activated T cells. Importantly, the magnitude of the circulating immune response did not directly correlate with T cell infiltration within the prostate based upon Spearman's rank order correlation.ConclusionsThis study is the first to demonstrate a local immune effect from the administration of sipuleucel-T. Neoadjuvant sipuleucel-T elicits both a systemic antigen-specific T cell response and the recruitment of activated effector T cells into the prostate tumor microenvironment

Effect of a thermal care bundle on the prevention, detection and treatment of perioperative inadvertent hypothermia

Aims and Objectives: To improve the prevention, detection, and treatment of perioperative inadvertent hypothermia (PIH) in adult surgical patients by implementing a Thermal Care Bundle. Background: Keeping patients normothermic perioperatively prevents adverse surgical outcomes. Hypothermia leads to serious complications including increased risk of surgical bleeding, surgical site infections, and morbid cardiac events. The Thermal Care Bundle consists of three elements: 1) assess risk; 2) record temperature; and (3) actively warm. Design: A pre-post implementation study was conducted to determine the impact of the Thermal Care Bundle on the prevention, detection and treatment of PIH. Methods: The Thermal Care Bundle was implemented using an adapted version of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's Breakthrough Series Collaborative Model. Data were collected from auditing medical records. Results: Data from 729 patients (pre-implementation: n=351; post-implementation: n=378) at four sites were collected between December 2014 to January 2016. Improvements were recorded in the percentage of patients with a risk assessment; at least one documented temperature recording per perioperative stage; and appropriate active warming. Despite this, the overall incidence of PIH increased post-implementation. Conclusion: The Thermal Care Bundle facilitated improved management of PIH through increased risk assessment, temperature recording, and active warming but did not impact on PIH incidence. Increased temperature recording may have more accurately revealed the true extent of PIH in this population