ROCK signalling induced gene expression changes in mouse pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells

The RhoA and RhoC GTPases act via the ROCK1 and ROCK2 kinases to promote actomyosin contraction, resulting in directly induced changes in cytoskeleton structures and altered gene transcription via several possible indirect routes. Elevated activation of the Rho/ROCK pathway has been reported in several diseases and pathological conditions, including disorders of the central nervous system, cardiovascular dysfunctions and cancer. To determine how increased ROCK signalling affected gene expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, we transduced mouse PDAC cell lines with retroviral constructs encoding fusion proteins that enable conditional activation of ROCK1 or ROCK2, and subsequently performed RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) using the Illumina NextSeq 500 platform. We describe how gene expression datasets were generated and validated by comparing data obtained by RNA-Seq with RT-qPCR results. Activation of ROCK1 or ROCK2 signalling induced significant changes in gene expression that could be used to determine how actomyosin contractility influences gene transcription in pancreatic cancer

Bear Lake It\u27s Fish and Fishing

Bear Lake is an old lake. The lake basin was form ed during the growth of the surround ing mountains; since that time, a lake has been present whenever the climate has been wet enough, but it has probably completely dried up during very dry periods

Transcriptomic profiling of human breast and melanoma cells selected by migration through narrow constraints

The metastatic spread of cancer cells is a step-wise process that starts with dissociation from primary tumours and local invasion of adjacent tissues. The ability to invade local tissues is the product of several processes, including degradation of extracellular matrices (ECM) and movement of tumour cells through physically-restricting gaps. To identify properties contributing to tumour cells squeezing through narrow gaps, invasive MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer and MDA-MB-435 human melanoma cells were subjected to three successive rounds of selection using cell culture inserts with highly constraining 3 μm pores. For comparison purposes, flow cytometry was also employed to enrich for small diameter MDA-MB-231 cells. RNA-Sequencing (RNA-seq) using the Illumina NextSeq 500 platform was undertaken to characterize how gene expression differed between parental, invasive pore selected or small diameter cells. Gene expression results obtained by RNA-seq were validated by comparing with RT-qPCR. Transcriptomic data generated could be used to determine how alterations that enable cell passage through narrow spaces contribute to local invasion and metastasis

The Theory-Ladenness of Data: An Experimental Demonstration

Most philosophers of science now believe that scientific data are theory laden, i.e., the evaluation of data is influenced by prior theoretical beliefs. Although there is historical and psychological evidence that is consistent with the theory-laden position, experimental evidence is needed to directly test whether prior beliefs influence the evaluation of scientific data. In a fully counterbalanced design, one group of subjects received evidence that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, and another group of subjects received evidence that dinosaurs were warm-blooded. The subjects reported a strong belief in whichever theory they had read about. Then subjects were presented with a piece of data that supported one theory and contradicted the other theory. The identical piece of data was rated as more believable when it was consistent with the subject's theory than when it was inconsistent. These results provide clear support for the position that scientific data are theory laden

Direct Democracy, State Governments, and the Re-energized GMO Debate : Implications of California's Proposition 37

It is often convenient to divide the world into those countries that have been generally accepting of agricultural biotechnology and those that are not. While the debate over biotechnology continues to rage where biotechnology has not been accepted, in adopting countries the debate is often seen as being over. This has been the case for the United States. In fact, the debate over agricultural biotechnology has continued but has not had a high profile. The debate in the United States has been re-energized due to California's 2012 Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of GM-foods in the state. Given the importance of California in both the national food system and national politics, Proposition 37 had national and international ramifications. While Proposition 37 was rejected by a narrow margin, it has spurred other state- and municipal-level initiatives regarding the regulation of biotechnology. This article examines the political dynamics underlying Proposition 37 and the economic implications of similar regulatory initiatives becoming law in the future. The article argues that proposed measures can have a major influence on attempts to regulate in other jurisdictions

Software Engineering for Real-Time NoSQL Systems-centric Big Data Analytics

Recent advances in Big Data Analytics (BDA) have stimulated widespread interest to integrate BDA capabilities into all aspects of a business. Before these advances, companies have spent time optimizing the software development process and best practices associated with application development. These processes include project management structures and how to deliver new features of an application to its customers efficiently. While these processes are significant for application development, they cannot be utilized effectively for the software development of Big Data Analytics. Instead, some practices and technologies enable automation and monitoring across the full lifecycle of productivity from design to deployment and operations of Analytics. This paper builds on those practices and technologies and introduces a highly scalable framework for Big Data Analytics development operations. This framework builds on top of the best-known processes associated with DevOps. These best practices are then shown using a NoSQL cloud-based platform that consumes and processes structured and unstructured real-time data. As a result, the framework produces scalable, timely, and accurate analytics in real-time, which can be easily adjusted or enhanced to meet the needs of a business and its customers

A critical evaluation of the relative visual effiency, the relative costs of installation, and the relative costs of operation of classroom artificial lighting systems in selected elementary school buildings in Massachusetts.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit