Cancer Stem Cell-Like Cells Derived from Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors

This study aims to examine whether or not cancer stem cells exist in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST). Cells of established lines, primary cultures and freshly dissected tumors were cultured in serum free conditions supplemented with epidermal and fibroblast growth factors. From one established human MPNST cell line, S462, cells meeting the criteria for cancer stem cells were isolated. Clonal spheres were obtained, which could be passaged multiple times. Enrichment of stem cell-like cells in these spheres was also supported by increased expression of stem cell markers such as CD133, Oct4, Nestin and NGFR, and decreased expression of mature cell markers such as CD90 and NCAM. Furthermore, cells of these clonal S462 spheres differentiated into Schwann cells, smooth muscle/fibroblast and neurons-like cells under specific differentiation-inducing cultural conditions. Finally, subcutaneous injection of the spheres into immunodeficient nude mice led to tumor formation at a higher rate compared to the parental adherent cells (66% versus 10% at 2.5×105). These results provide evidence for the existence of cancer stem cell-like cells in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors

Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks

37 pages, 15 figures, revised version, accepted by JINSTALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 micron in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurements, and the reconstructed tracks from cosmic rays and from proton-proton collisions. The main track-based alignment method uses the Millepede global approach. An iterative local method was developed and used as well. We present the results obtained for the ITS alignment using about 10^5 charged tracks from cosmic rays that have been collected during summer 2008, with the ALICE solenoidal magnet switched off.Peer reviewe

Design, optimization and optical performance study of tripod heliostat for solar power tower plant

Heliostats account for about 50% of the capital cost of power towers. In conventional heliostats with vertical pedestals and azimuth-elevation drives, the support structure contributes 40-50% of this cost due to heavy cantilever arms required by the large spanning structures. Additional costs are imposed by costly, difficult to maintain drive mechanisms. Here we show that a tripod heliostat can substantially address these shortcomings. We have presented the protocol and results of systematic structural analysis of heliostats with aperture areas of 62 and 100 m(2). We have included effects of shape on load reaction and structure cost. An in-house ray-tracing software is incorporated to estimate the performance penalties due to deformation under gravity and wind loads. The analysis shows that the additional energy collection by a less-stiff, larger heliostat more than offsets the spillage due to the greater deformation of the same. We have demonstrated that the economics of power towers are strongly governed by the structural cost of the heliostats rather than by their optical performance. We have brought down the cost of a tripod heliostat to $ 72/m(2) which is less than half that of the conventional systems and meets the target set by the US National Academy of Engineering. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Thermal hydraulics of natural circulation loop in beam-down solar power tower

There have been continuous efforts by researchers and power producing companies to reduce various costs involved in solar power tower (SPT) plants. Economically deploying conventional SPT plants for industries using thermal or thermo-chemical processes which need temperatures >1100 K could be challenging. Here, the overall economics of deployment of conventional SPT could go unfair as such design needs larger heliostat field, therefore costlier stiffer heliostats to reach high concentration ratio (CR). These challenges can be solved by beam-down SPT which uses secondary reflector mounted on tower top and receiver cum secondary concentrator on the ground could achieve desired CR, is one potential candidate to save on tower construction and pumping costs. Using beam-down SPT heat can be made available at the ground which opens an option of extracting the heat using natural circulation loop (NCL). The current paper explores the new proposed configuration of NCL in terms of understanding thermal hydraulics using 3-D CFD simulations. Further, it also incorporates optimization of the proposed design configuration using formulated heat transfer model. The optimized geometry is simulated using 3-D CFD simulation which gave the desired rating. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

SUMO wrestling with type 1 diabetes.

Post-translational modification of proteins by phosphorylation, methylation, acetylation, or ubiquitylation represent central mechanisms through which various biological processes are regulated. Reversible covalent modification (i.e. sumoylation) of proteins by the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) has also emerged as an important mechanism contributing to the dynamic regulation of protein function. Sumoylation has been linked to the pathogenesis of a variety of disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Advances in our understanding of the role of sumoylation suggested a novel regulatory mechanism for the regulation of immune responsive gene expression. In this review, we first update recent advances in the field of sumoylation, then specifically evaluate its regulatory role in several key signaling pathways for immune response and discuss its possible implication in T1D pathogenesis.Journal ArticleResearch Support, N.I.H. ExtramuralResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.Reviewinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe