Urban Edibles: Ornamentals

Who says the only place for city dwellers to pick up their daily dose of vegetables is the local farmers market or grocer? Much of the produce you need and enjoy is available to you in your own backyard and, better yet, is free of cost! Urban foraging is the art of finding, identifying and collecting wild edibles in everyday urban settings. From delicious fruits to weeds you would never in your wildest dreams think to eat, cities are full of handpicked eating opportunities

Funktionelle Charakterisierung neuer Genkandidaten exosomaler Proteine im Prostatakarzinom

Ungeachtet der hohen Relevanz des Prostatakarzinoms bezüglich Morbidität und Mortalität von männlichen Patienten sind einerseits die bislang etablierten Screening- und Verlaufsparameter störanfällig, andererseits die Mechanismen der Tumorprogression nur unzureichend bekannt. Zudem fehlen Marker, die eine differenzierte Risikostratifizierung des einzelnen Prostatakarzinoms und somit die Entwicklung individualisierter Therapiekonzepte ermöglichen. Vielversprechendes Potential zur Lösung dieser Herausforderungen bieten Exosome. Diese, mit organischem Material der Ursprungszelle beladenen extrazellulären Vesikel werden vermehrt von Tumorzellen ausgestoßen und stehen u.a. im Verdacht in die frühen Schritte der komplexen Metastasierungskaskade verwickelt zu sein. Exosome können aus nahezu allen Körperflüssigkeiten extrahiert werden, um ein hochaktuelles komplettes Bild der biologischen Potenz des Tumors zu erstellen. Die in silico Validierungen massenspektrometrisch gewonnener Proteinexpressionsprofilen von PCa Exosomen führten zur Identifizierung von fünf, im Prostatakarzinom überexprimierten Genen. Die nachfolgende Untersuchung einer Kohorte mit Prostatakarzinompatienten bestätigte die Überexpression von EEF1A2, FABP5, GNAI1, MPP6 und SMPDL3B in PCa Gewebe. Eine dezidierte Evaluation der Ergebnisse zeigte zudem die stadienabhängige Genexpression von EEF1A2, MPP6 und SMPDL3B im PCa-Gewebe. Diese Ergebnisse geben erste Anhaltspunkte für einen möglichen Einsatz oben genannter exosomenassoziierten Gene sowohl im Rahmen der Karzinomsubtypisierung als auch in der Risikostratifizierung des PCa. Nachfolgend schlossen sich funktionelle Analysen im Hinblick auf, im Rahmen der Metastasierung relevante Prozesse an. Hier konnten proliferationsfördernde Eigenschaften von MPP6 sowie ein positiver Einfluss von EEF1A2, MPP6 und SMPDL3B auf die Migration von Tumorzellen nachgewiesen werden. Weitere Validierungs- und Charakterisierungsarbeiten zu den PCa-Exosomen vorausgesetzt, könnten EEF1A2, MPP6 und SMPDL3B in Zukunft im Rahmen multifaktorieller Modelle eine Rolle bei der individuellen Charakterisierung des Prostatakarzinoms im Hinblick auf Risikostratifizierung und möglicherweise als Therapieansatzpunkt in einer individualisierten Karzinomtherapie spielen

Reuse: Creating a Next Life For Common Items

If you are looking for ways to save money and add creative flair to your daily life, reusing everyday items you are likely to throw away could be the answer! We produce an average of 4.4 pounds each of trash a day in the U.S., which amounts to 1,600 pounds per person each year (Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). This yearly waste produced by each one of us is more than the typical weight of a Bison, America’s largest land animal! Often overshadowed by recycling, reusing is a zero-impact technique for waste prevention. By using a product or item in its original form more than once, you save energy, transportation time, and fuel needed for both recycling and waste management

Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting, or worm composting as it is more commonly known, is the process of using worms to break down discarded food and other organic wastes and convert them into compost and liquid fertilizers. Not only will this process save you money, but it will also downscale your environmental footprint. Vermicompost systems can be purchased online or assembled cheaply by up-cycling materials found around the house or at a local thrift store

Butte High School Storm Water Rehabilitation

Objective: Improve the storm drainage system around Butte High School

The EEF1A2 gene expression as risk predictor in localized prostate cancer

Background: Besides clinical stage and Gleason score, risk-stratification of prostate cancer in the pretherapeutic setting mainly relies on the serum PSA level. Yet, this is associated with many uncertainties. With regard to therapy decision-making, additional markers are needed to allow an exact risk prediction. Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 2 (EEF1A2) was previously suggested as driver of tumor progression and potential biomarker. In the present study its functional and prognostic relevance in prostate cancer was investigated. Methods: EEF1A2 expression was analyzed in two cohorts of patients (n = 40 and n = 59) with localized PCa. Additionally data from two large expression dataset (MSKCC, Cell, 2010 with n = 131 localized, n = 19 metastatic PCa and TCGA provisional data, n = 499) of PCa patients were reanalyzed. The expression of EEF1A2 was correlated with histopathology features and biochemical recurrence (BCR). To evaluate the influence of EEF1A2 on proliferation and migration of metastatic PC3 cells, siRNA interference was used. Statistical significance was tested with t-test, Mann-Whitney-test, Pearson correlation and log-rank test. Results: qRT-PCR revealed EEF1A2 to be significantly overexpressed in PCa tissue, with an increase according to tumor stage in one cohort (p = 0.0443). In silico analyses in the MSKCC cohort confirmed the overexpression of EEF1A2 in localized PCa with high Gleason score (p = 0.0142) and in metastatic lesions (p = 0.0038). Patients with EEF1A2 overexpression had a significantly shorter BCR-free survival (p = 0.0028). EEF1A2 expression was not correlated with serum PSA levels. Similar results were seen in the TCGA cohort, where EEF1A2 overexpression only occurred in tumors with Gleason 7 or higher. Patients with elevated EEF1A2 expression had a significantly shorter BCR-free survival (p = 0.043). EEF1A2 knockdown significantly impaired the migration, but not the proliferation of metastatic PC3 cells. Conclusion: The overexpression of EEF1A2 is a frequent event in localized PCa and is associated with histopathology features and a shorter biochemical recurrence-free survival. Due to its independence from serum PSA levels, EEF1A2 could serve as valuable biomarker in risk-stratification of localized PCa

Exploring Psilocybe spp. mycelium and fruiting body chemistry for potential therapeutic compounds

Psilocybe mushrooms, otherwise known as “magic” mushrooms, owe their psychedelic effect to psilocin, a serotonin subtype 2A (5-HT2A) receptor agonist and metabolite of psilocybin, the primary indole alkaloid found in Psilocybe species. Metabolomics is an advanced fingerprinting tool that can be utilized to identify the differences among fungal life stages that may otherwise be unaccounted for. In this study, by using targeted and untargeted (metabolomic) multivariate analysis, we demonstrate that the chemical composition of Psilocybe differs among mycelia, grain mycelia, and fruiting bodies. The preferential accumulation of psilocybin, baeocystin, tryptophan, ergothioneine, and phenylethylamine in fruiting bodies differentiated them from mycelia; however, the levels of alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (α-GPC), N-acetylglucosamine, and trimethylglycine were found to be proportionally higher in mycelia than in fruiting bodies based on Pareto-scaled data. Considering the wealth of compounds with therapeutic potential that have been isolated from various fungal genera, it would be pertinent to study the compounds found in Psilocybe mycelia as potential naturally derived therapeutic targets

Regulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein synthesis and secretion in human retinal pigment epithelial cells

Cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) secrete insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs), a family of polypeptides which modulate the actions of the insulin-like growth factors. RPE cells secrete two IGFBPs with Mr estimates of 34,000 and 46,000, respectively. Treatment of RPE cells with IGF-I markedly stimulated the secretion of the 46,000 Mr form. This stimulation occurred via an IGF-I receptor independent mechanism because both [QAYL]IGF-I (an IGF-I analogue with decreased affinity for the IGFBPs but normal affinity for the IGF-I receptor) and Α-IR 3 (a blocking monoclonal antibody against the IGF-I receptor) had no effect on IGF-I stimulated increases in IGFBPs. Additionally, [QAYL]IGF-I enhanced RPE cell proliferation to the same magnitude as IGF-I. Treatment with IGF-I, [QAYL]IGF-I, or Α-IR 3 had no effect on steady-state levels of the 2.5 kb IGFBP-3 or the 1.3 kb IGFBP-6 mRNA transcripts as measured by Northern blotting and quantitative autoradiography. Forskolin and a group of candidate growth factors, including platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and acidic and basic fibroblast growth factor, modestly increased IGFBP secretion when compared to untreated cells, but these effects were small when compared to IGF-I treatment. Fetal calf serum enhanced the presence of the 2.5 kb IGFBP-3 mRNA transcript in a dose-dependent fashion but had no effect on the 1.3 kb IGFBP-6 mRNA transcript. IGF-I, forskolin, and the candidate growth factors had no effect on either IGFBP-3 or IGFBP-6 mRNA. These data suggest that the production of IGFBPs in human RPE cells is regulated by distinct mechanisms which include (1) an IGF-I receptor independent interaction of IGF-I with secreted IGFBPs and (2) de novo synthesis of IGFBPs by serum-containing factors. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49887/1/1041580124_ftp.pd