Differential Expression of Alpha 4 Integrins on Effector Memory T Helper Cells during Bordetella Infections. Delayed Responses in Bordetella pertussis

Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) is the causative agent of whooping cough, a respiratory disease that is reemerging worldwide. Mechanisms of selective lymphocyte trafficking to the airways are likely to be critical in the immune response to this pathogen. We compared murine infection by B. pertussis, B. parapertussis, and a pertussis toxin-deleted B. pertussis mutant (BpΔPTX) to test the hypothesis that effector memory T-helper cells (emTh) display an altered pattern of trafficking receptor expression in B. pertussis infection due to a defect in imprinting. Increased cell recruitment to the lungs at 5 days post infection (p.i.) with B. parapertussis, and to a lesser extent with BpΔPTX, coincided with an increased frequency of circulating emTh cells expressing the mucosal-associated trafficking receptors α4β7 and α4β1 while a reduced population of these cells was observed in B. pertussis infection. These cells were highly evident in the blood and lungs in B. pertussis infection only at 25 days p.i. when B. parapertussis and BpΔPTX infections were resolved. Although at 5 days p.i., an equally high percentage of lung dendritic cells (DCs) from all infections expressed maturation markers, this expression persisted only in B. pertussis infection at 25 days p.i. Furthermore, at 5 days p.i with B. pertussis, lung DCs migration to draining lymph nodes may be compromised as evidenced by decreased frequency of CCR7+ DCs, inhibited CCR7-mediated in vitro migration, and fewer DCs in lung draining lymph nodes. Lastly, a reduced frequency of allogeneic CD4+ cells expressing α4β1 was detected following co-culture with lung DCs from B. pertussis-infected mice, suggesting a defect in DC imprinting in comparison to the other infection groups. The findings in this study suggest that B. pertussis may interfere with imprinting of lung-associated trafficking receptors on T lymphocytes leading to extended survival in the host and a prolonged course of disease

Small-Scale Desalination (Semester Unknown) EnPRO 354

Freshwater is one of Earth’s most precious resources and is now increasing in scarcity. Global warming induced climate change is now changing rain patterns and causing record drought, growing global populations are increasing demand, and the individual demand per person is increasing and human populations urbanize and adopt modern plumbing. The biggest contributor to increasing demand for water is mismanagement and pollution. However for this project we will be focusing on water quantity rather than quality.Deliverable

Small-Scale Desalination (Semester Unknown) EnPRO 354: Small-ScaleDesalinationEnPRO354FinalPresentationtSp10

Freshwater is one of Earth’s most precious resources and is now increasing in scarcity. Global warming induced climate change is now changing rain patterns and causing record drought, growing global populations are increasing demand, and the individual demand per person is increasing and human populations urbanize and adopt modern plumbing. The biggest contributor to increasing demand for water is mismanagement and pollution. However for this project we will be focusing on water quantity rather than quality.Deliverable

Small-Scale Desalination (Semester Unknown) EnPRO 354: Small-ScaleDesalinationEnPRO354BrochureSp10

Freshwater is one of Earth’s most precious resources and is now increasing in scarcity. Global warming induced climate change is now changing rain patterns and causing record drought, growing global populations are increasing demand, and the individual demand per person is increasing and human populations urbanize and adopt modern plumbing. The biggest contributor to increasing demand for water is mismanagement and pollution. However for this project we will be focusing on water quantity rather than quality.Deliverable

Small-Scale Desalination (Semester Unknown) EnPRO 354: Small-ScaleDesalinationEnPRO354FinalReportSp10

Freshwater is one of Earth’s most precious resources and is now increasing in scarcity. Global warming induced climate change is now changing rain patterns and causing record drought, growing global populations are increasing demand, and the individual demand per person is increasing and human populations urbanize and adopt modern plumbing. The biggest contributor to increasing demand for water is mismanagement and pollution. However for this project we will be focusing on water quantity rather than quality.Deliverable

Small-Scale Desalination (Semester Unknown) EnPRO 354: Small-ScaleDesalinationEnPRO354PosterSp10

Freshwater is one of Earth’s most precious resources and is now increasing in scarcity. Global warming induced climate change is now changing rain patterns and causing record drought, growing global populations are increasing demand, and the individual demand per person is increasing and human populations urbanize and adopt modern plumbing. The biggest contributor to increasing demand for water is mismanagement and pollution. However for this project we will be focusing on water quantity rather than quality.Deliverable

Small-Scale Desalination (Semester Unknown) EnPRO 354: Small-ScaleDesalinationEnPRO354ProjectPlanSp10_redacted

Freshwater is one of Earth’s most precious resources and is now increasing in scarcity. Global warming induced climate change is now changing rain patterns and causing record drought, growing global populations are increasing demand, and the individual demand per person is increasing and human populations urbanize and adopt modern plumbing. The biggest contributor to increasing demand for water is mismanagement and pollution. However for this project we will be focusing on water quantity rather than quality.Deliverable

Discovery of novel cathepsin S inhibitors by pharmacophore-based virtual high-throughput screening

The cysteine protease cathepsin S (CatS) is involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders, atherosclerosis, and obesity. Therefore, it represents a promising pharmacological target for drug development. We generated ligand-based and structure-based pharmacophore models for noncovalent and covalent CatS inhibitors to perform virtual high-throughput screening of chemical databases in order to discover novel scaffolds for CatS inhibitors. An in vitro evaluation of the resulting 15 structures revealed seven CatS inhibitors with kinetic constants in the low micromolar range. These compounds can be subjected to further chemical modifications to obtain drugs for the treatment of autoimmune disorders and atherosclerosis

Impacts of Sulfur Capture Technology in Coal Power Plants (sequence unknown), IPRO 302 - Deliverables: IPRO 302 Poster F09

The IPRO team was investigating the net impact of sulfur capture technologies used in current and next generation power plants in the United States. It planned to use this knowledge to determine which sulfur capture technologies produce the greatest benefit for industry and society and to find the marketability of the sulfur byproducts created in these power plants.Sponsorship: Sargent & Lundy, LLCThese are the deliverables for IPRO 302: Impacts of Sulfur Capture Technology in Coal Power Plants from the Fall 2009 semester