CXCR4 hyperactivation cooperates with TCL1 in CLL development and aggressiveness

Aberrant CXCR4 activity has been implicated in lymphoma pathogenesis, disease progression, and resistance to therapies. Using a mouse model with a gain-of-function CXCR4 mutation (CXCR4(C1013G)) that hyperactivates CXCR4 signaling, we identified CXCR4 as a crucial activator of multiple key oncogenic pathways. CXCR4 hyperactivation resulted in an expansion of transitional B1 lymphocytes, which represent the precursors of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Indeed, CXCR4 hyperactivation led to a significant acceleration of disease onset and a more aggressive phenotype in the murine Eµ-TCL1 CLL model. Hyperactivated CXCR4 signaling cooperated with TCL1 to cause a distinct oncogenic transcriptional program in B cells, characterized by PLK1/FOXM1-associated pathways. In accordance, Eµ-TCL1;CXCR4(C1013G) B cells enriched a transcriptional signature from patients with Richter’s syndrome, an aggressive transformation of CLL. Notably, MYC activation in aggressive lymphoma was associated with increased CXCR4 expression. In line with this finding, additional hyperactive CXCR4 signaling in the Eµ-Myc mouse, a model of aggressive B-cell cancer, did not impact survival. In summary, we here identify CXCR4 hyperactivation as a co-driver of an aggressive lymphoma phenotype

Special Libraries, April 1933

Volume 24, Issue 3https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1933/1002/thumbnail.jp

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.Peer reviewe

The social gradient in cultural consumption and the information-processing hypothesis

Patterns of cultural consumption have a strong social gradient which is primarily driven by education, but what explains these educational differences in cultural preferences remains unclear. Explanations based on information processing capacity have gained widespread currency; the perceived cognitive ‘difficulty’ of both appreciating high culture, and of maintaining broad, omnivorous tastes. If, on average, high culture is more complex than low culture then a higher level of information processing capacity may be required to derive enjoyment from it. In contrast, socialization theories suggest that exposure to ‘high’ culture, may explain this gradient, particularly among university graduates with degrees in the Arts or Humanities. To test these two theories we use the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion survey (n = 1,079) and estimate the association between degree type and measures of cultural preference and consumption, including: film directors, artists, and cultural participation. Compared to non-graduates, arts, humanities, and social science graduates are more likely to enjoy highbrow directors and artists, and are more likely to be cultural omnivores; while graduates from other subjects are not clearly distinct from non-graduates in their cultural preferences. These findings suggest that information processing plays a minor role in shaping the social gradient in cultural consumption

Using terahertz spectroscopy for observing the kinetics of recrystallisation of polybutene-1

This paper deals with the use of terahertz spectroscopy for observing the kinetics of recrystallisation of polybutene-1 as a suitable material for manufacturing optical elements in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These materials were studied from the perspective of their optical properties - the refractive index and the absorption coefficient. The time dependencies of the refractive index and the absorption coefficient were measured, because polybutene-1 is a material which recrystallises for a number of days from the date of its manufacture. The coefficients describing the recrystallisation process were calculated from the fitting function derived from the Avrami equation. In this paper, the measurement results are presented and the possibilities of the use of the studied materials are discussed

Development of a quantification model for the cost of loss of image with customer complaints

Despite the difficulty in measuring hidden quality costs, we must be aware not only of their existence, but also of their importance. Not surprisingly, they have been the causative factor in the closure of many companies because they are doubly dangerous. One the one hand, they represent very significant quantities of money and, on the other, they remain hidden, like the submerged portion of an iceberg [Campanella, J. (1999). Principles of Quality Costs: Principles, Implementation and Use. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press]. Possibly one of the most harmful hidden quality costs, and most difficult to quantify, is the cost of loss of image (CLI) a company suffers because of faults detected by its customers. This paper develops an original tool that, with the use of fuzzy logic as an alternative to probabilistic theory, is capable of facilitating the quantification of the CLI in any company from the observation of its customer complaints. Once the theoretical model is presented, we proceed with its experimentation, making use of a case study as research methodology