107 research outputs found
Rhodamine-RCA in vivo labeling guided laser capture microdissection of cancer functional angiogenic vessels in a murine squamous cell carcinoma mouse model
BACKGROUND: Cancer growth, invasion and metastasis are highly related to tumor-associated neovasculature. The presence and progression of endothelial cells in cancer is chaotic, unorganized, and angiogenic vessels are less functional. Therefore, not all markers appearing on the chaotic endothelial cells are accessible if a drug is given through the vascular route. Identifying endothelial cell markers from functional cancer angiogenic vessels will indicate the accessibility and potential efficacy of vascular targeted therapies. RESULTS: In order to quickly and effectively identify endothelial cell markers on the functional and accessible tumor vessels, we developed a novel technique by which tumor angiogenic vessels are labeled in vivo followed by Laser Capture Microdissection of microscopically isolated endothelial cells for genomic screening. Female C3H mice (N = 5) with established SCCVII tumors were treated with Rhodamine-RCA lectin by tail vein injection, and after fluorescence microscopy showed a successful vasculature staining, LCM was then performed on frozen section tissue using the PixCell II instrument with CapSure HS caps under the Rhodamine filter. By this approach, the fluorescent angiogenic endothelial cells were successfully picked up. As a result, the total RNA concentration increased from an average of 33.4 ng/ul +/- 24.3 (mean +/- S.D.) to 1913.4 ng/ul +/- 164. Relatively pure RNA was retrieved from both endothelial and epithelial cells as indicated by the 260/280 ratios (range 2.22â2.47). RT-PCR and gene electrophoresis successfully detected CD31 and Beta-Actin molecules with minimal Keratin 19 expression, which served as the negative control. CONCLUSION: Our present study demonstrates that in vivo Rhodamine RCA angiogenic vessel labeling provided a practical approach to effectively guide functional endothelial cell isolation by laser capture microdissection with fluorescent microscopy, resulting in high quality RNA and pure samples of endothelial cells pooled for detecting genomic expression
The Distribution Of Heavy Elements In Spiral And Elliptical Galaxies
This review recaps significant results as they apply to non-dwarf galaxies,
including the Milky Way, spiral disks and bulges, and elliptical and lenticular
galaxies. Conclusions that span the galaxy types treated here are as follows.
All galaxies, on average, have heavy element abundances (metallicities) that
systematically decrease outward from their galactic centers while their global
metallicities increase with galaxy mass. Abundance gradients are steepest in
normal spirals and are seen to be progressively flatter going in order from
barred spirals, lenticulars, and ellipticals. For spiral galaxies, local
metallicity appears to be correlated with total (disk plus bulge) surface
density. Observed abundance patterns indicate that N production is dominated by
primary processes at low metallicity and secondary processes at high
metallicity; C production increases with increasing metallicity; and O, Ne, S,
and Ar are produced in lockstep independent of metallicity. In elliptical
galaxies, nuclear abundances are in the range [Z/H] = 0.0 to 0.4, but the
element mixture is not scaled-solar. In large elliptical galaxies [Mg/Fe] is in
the range 0.3 to 0.5, decreasing to ~0 in smaller elliptical galaxies. Other
light elements track the Mg enhancement, but the heavier Ca tracks Fe. Velocity
dispersion appears to be a key parameter in the modulation of [Mg/Fe], but the
cause of the connection is unclear.Comment: 55-page manuscript plus 16 figures. Invited review to appear in the
Publications Of The Astronomical Society Of The Pacifi
Origin of the Biologically Important Elements
The chemical elements most widely distributed in terrestrial living creatures are the ones (apart from inert helium and neon) that are commonest in the Universe--hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. A chemically different Universe would clearly have different biology, if any. We explore here the nuclear processes in stars, the early Universe, and elsewhere that have produced these common elements, and, while we are at it, also encounter the production of lithium, gold, uranium, and other elements of sociological, if not biological, importance. The relevant processes are, for the most part, well understood. Much less well understood is the overall history of chemical evolution of the Galaxy, from pure hydrogen and helium to the mix of elements we see today. One implication is that we cannot do a very good job of estimating how many stars and which ones might be orbited by habitable planets
Parallaxes and proper motions for 20 open clusters as based on the new Hipparcos catalogue
A new reduction of the astrometric data as produced by the Hipparcos mission
has been published, claiming that the accuracies for nearly all stars brighter
than magnitude are improved, by up to a factor 4, compared to
the original catalogue. As correlations between the underlying abscissa
residuals have also been reduced by more than an order of magnitude to an
insignificant level, our ability to determine reliable parallaxes and proper
motions for open clusters should be improved. The new Hipparcos astrometric
catalogue is used to derive mean parallax and proper motion estimates for 20
open clusters. The HR-diagrams of the nearest clusters are compared and
combined to provide future input to sets of observational isochrones. The
positions of the cluster HR diagrams are consistent within different groups of
clusters shown for example by the near-perfect alignment of the sequences for
the Hyades and Praesepe, for Coma Ber and UMa, and for the Pleiades, NGC 2516,
and Blanco 1. The groups are mutually consistent when systematic differences in
are taken into account, where the effect of these differences on
the absolute magnitudes has been calibrated using field-star observations.Comment: 34 pages, 36 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication by A&
Synaptic-like Microvesicles of Neuroendocrine Cells Originate from a Novel Compartment That Is Continuous with the Plasma Membrane and Devoid of Transferrin Receptor
A review of elliptical and disc galaxy structure, and modern scaling laws
A century ago, in 1911 and 1913, Plummer and then Reynolds introduced their
models to describe the radial distribution of stars in `nebulae'. This article
reviews the progress since then, providing both an historical perspective and a
contemporary review of the stellar structure of bulges, discs and elliptical
galaxies. The quantification of galaxy nuclei, such as central mass deficits
and excess nuclear light, plus the structure of dark matter halos and cD galaxy
envelopes, are discussed. Issues pertaining to spiral galaxies including dust,
bulge-to-disc ratios, bulgeless galaxies, bars and the identification of
pseudobulges are also reviewed. An array of modern scaling relations involving
sizes, luminosities, surface brightnesses and stellar concentrations are
presented, many of which are shown to be curved. These 'redshift zero'
relations not only quantify the behavior and nature of galaxies in the Universe
today, but are the modern benchmark for evolutionary studies of galaxies,
whether based on observations, N-body-simulations or semi-analytical modelling.
For example, it is shown that some of the recently discovered compact
elliptical galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 may be the bulges of modern disc galaxies.Comment: Condensed version (due to Contract) of an invited review article to
appear in "Planets, Stars and Stellar
Systems"(www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-90-481-8818-5). 500+ references
incl. many somewhat forgotten, pioneer papers. Original submission to
Springer: 07-June-201
Nonerosive Reflux Disease (NERD) - An Update
Recognizing nonerosive reflux disease (NERD) as a distinct presentation of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was one of the most important developments in the field of GERD in the last decade. Whilst the definition of NERD has not changed significantly over the years, the disorder accounts for the majority of the GERD patients and those who failed proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment. Recent developments in NERD focused primarily on understanding the pathophysiology and natural history. The introduction of esophageal impedance + pH has led to the assessment of other forms of gastroesophageal reflux in causing NERD. Therapeutic modalities still focus on acid suppression, but there is growing recognition that other therapeutic strategies should be considered in NERD
The evolution of mating systems in bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae and Platypodidae)
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72492/1/j.1096-3642.1983.tb00858.x.pd
Gravitational-wave research as an emerging field in the Max Planck Society. The long roots of GEO600 and of the Albert Einstein Institute
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary since the beginning of the search for
gravitational waves at the Max Planck Society, and in coincidence with the 25th
anniversary of the foundation of the Albert Einstein Institute, we explore the
interplay between the renaissance of general relativity and the advent of
relativistic astrophysics following the German early involvement in
gravitational-wave research, to the point when gravitational-wave detection
became established by the appearance of full-scale detectors and international
collaborations. On the background of the spectacular astrophysical discoveries
of the 1960s and the growing role of relativistic astrophysics, Ludwig Biermann
and his collaborators at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich
became deeply involved in research related to such new horizons. At the end of
the 1960s, Joseph Weber's announcements claiming detection of gravitational
waves sparked the decisive entry of this group into the field, in parallel with
the appointment of the renowned relativist Juergen Ehlers. The Munich area
group of Max Planck institutes provided the fertile ground for acquiring a
leading position in the 1970s, facilitating the experimental transition from
resonant bars towards laser interferometry and its innovation at increasingly
large scales, eventually moving to a dedicated site in Hannover in the early
1990s. The Hannover group emphasized perfecting experimental systems at pilot
scales, and never developed a full-sized detector, rather joining the LIGO
Scientific Collaboration at the end of the century. In parallel, the Max Planck
Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) had been
founded in Potsdam, and both sites, in Hannover and Potsdam, became a unified
entity in the early 2000s and were central contributors to the first detection
of gravitational waves in 2015.Comment: 94 pages. Enlarged version including new results from further
archival research. A previous version appears as a chapter in the volume The
Renaissance of General Relativity in Context, edited by A. Blum, R. Lalli and
J. Renn (Boston: Birkhauser, 2020
Visualization of the Dynamics of Synaptic Vesicle and Plasma Membrane Proteins in Living Axons
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