A Report on an Internship at the National Performance Network (NPN)

The objective of this paper is to report on an internship with the National Performance Network (NPN), a non-profit arts organization based in New Orleans, to describe its mission and structure, and to provide positive recommendations to further enhance NPN\u27s operation in the future. This report is based on a 480 hour internship at NPN, with some additional volunteer time, which occurred from August to December 2013, under the supervision of NPN\u27s Operating Chief and Staff. The paper demonstrates working knowledge of the organization and offers reflections on its practices and ideas for its future

A Report on an Internship at the National Performance Network (NPN)

The objective of this paper is to report on an internship with the National Performance Network (NPN), a non-profit arts organization based in New Orleans, to describe its mission and structure, and to provide positive recommendations to further enhance NPN\u27s operation in the future. This report is based on a 480 hour internship at NPN, with some additional volunteer time, which occurred from August to December 2013, under the supervision of NPN\u27s Operating Chief and Staff. The paper demonstrates working knowledge of the organization and offers reflections on its practices and ideas for its future

Theory of topological quantum phase transitions in 3D noncentrosymmetric systems

We have constructed a general theory describing the topological quantum phase transitions in 3D systems with broken inversion symmetry. While the consideration of the system's codimension generally predicts the appearance of a stable metallic phase between the normal and topological insulators, it is shown that a direct topological phase transition between two insulators is also possible when an accidental band crossing (ABC) occurs along directions with high crystalline symmetry. At the quantum critical point (QCP), the energy dispersion becomes quadratic along one direction while the dispersions along the other two orthogonal directions are linear, which manifests the zero chirality of the band touching point (BTP). Due to the anisotropic dispersion at QCP, various thermodynamic and transport properties show unusual temperature dependence and anisotropic behaviors.Comment: 5+6 pages, 3+5 figures, 1 tabl

Alpha-tocopherol exerts protective function against the mucotoxicity of particulate matter in amphibian and human goblet cells

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) in ambient air is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders and mortality. The cytotoxicity of PM is mainly due to the abnormal increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage cellular components such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. The correlation between PM exposure and human disorders, including mortality, is based on long-term exposure. In this study we have investigated acute responses of mucus-secreting goblet cells upon exposure to PM derived from a heavy diesel engine. To this end, we employed the mucociliary epithelium of amphibian embryos and human Calu-3 cells to examine PM mucotoxicity. Our data suggest that acute exposure to PM significantly impairs mucus secretion and results in the accumulation of mucus vesicles in the cytoplasm of goblet cells. RNA-seq analysis revealed that acute responses to PM exposure significantly altered gene expression patterns; however, known regulators of mucus production and the secretory pathway were not significantly altered. Interestingly, pretreatment with alpha-tocopherol nearly recovered the hyposecretion of mucus from both amphibian and human goblet cells. We believe this study demonstrates the mucotoxicity of PM and the protective function of alpha-tocopherol on mucotoxicity caused by acute PM exposure from heavy diesel engines

Seasonal variability of multiple leaf traits captured by leaf spectroscopy at two temperate deciduous forests

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Remote Sensing of Environment 179 (2016): 1-12, doi:10.1016/j.rse.2016.03.026.Understanding the temporal patterns of leaf traits is critical in determining the seasonality and magnitude of terrestrial carbon and water fluxes. However, robust and efficient ways to monitor the temporal dynamics of leaf traits are lacking. Here we assessed the potential of using leaf spectroscopy to predict leaf traits across their entire life cycle, forest sites, and light environments (sunlit vs. shaded) using a weekly sampled dataset across the entire growing season at two temperate deciduous forests. The dataset includes field measured leaf-level directional-hemispherical reflectance/transmittance together with seven important leaf traits [total chlorophyll (chlorophyll a and b), carotenoids, mass-based nitrogen concentration (Nmass), mass-based carbon concentration (Cmass), and leaf mass per area (LMA)]. All leaf properties, including leaf traits and spectra, varied significantly throughout the growing season, and displayed trait-specific temporal patterns. We used a Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) analysis to estimate leaf traits from spectra, and found a significant capability of PLSR to capture the variability across time, sites, and light environment of all leaf traits investigated (R2=0.6~0.8 for temporal variability; R2=0.3~0.7 for cross-site variability; R2=0.4~0.8 for variability from light environments). We also tested alternative field sampling designs and found that for most leaf traits, biweekly leaf sampling throughout the growing season enabled accurate characterization of the leaf trait seasonal patterns. Increasing the sampling frequency improved in the estimation of Nmass, Cmass and LMA comparing with foliar pigments. Our results, based on the comprehensive analysis of spectra-trait relationships across time, sites and light environments, highlight the capacity and potential limitations to use leaf spectra to estimate leaf traits with strong seasonal variability, as an alternative to time-consuming traditional wet lab approaches.This research was supported by the Brown University–Marine Biological Laboratory graduate program in Biological and Environmental Sciences, and Marine Biological Laboratory start-up funding for JT. JT was also partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research grant DE-SC0006951 and the National Science Foundation grants DBI-959333 and AGS-1005663. SPS was supported in part by the U.S. DOE contract No. DE-SC00112704 to Brookhaven National Laboratory. JW was supported by the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF2014)

Evaluation of protective effect of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase-treated Gastrodia elata Blume extract on ultraviolet B-induced premature skin aging

Purpose: To investigate the protective effect of Gastrodia elata Blume (G. elata, GE) and cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) enzyme-treated G. elata extract (EGE) against premature skin aging using ultraviolet B (UVB)-exposed normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs).Methods: The extract was characterized by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC–QToF–MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The expression of matrix  metalloproteinases (MMP-1,3), interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor (TGF-β1) and procollagen type I was assayed using ELISA kits. Safety evaluation of EGE’s dietary administration and topical application was performed by in vivo acute oral toxicity and local lymph node tests.Results: Lower MMP-1 and IL-6 and higher procollagen type I and TGF-β1 levels were observed after treatment with EGE than with GE, indicating that EGE was more effective than GE in treating UVBinduced photoaging. With respect to phenolic composition, EGE had lower 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (4- HBA) level and higher α-gastrodin level than GE. In UVB-irradiated NHDFs, α-gastrodin exhibited higher anti-aging activity than 4-HBA and β-gastrodin based on the expression of MMP-1, MMP-3, and procollagen type I. The in vivo data indicate that EGE was safe at concentrations of up to 2000 mg/kg for dietary administration and 0.1 % for topical application.Conclusion: EGE protects UVB-induced photoaged human skin better than GE owing to its higher α- gastrodin content. Thus, EGE may be potentially useful agent in anti-aging cosmetic products.Keywords: Gastrodia elata, α-Gastrodin, Anti-aging, CGTase, Ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation, Matrix metalloproteinase, Procollagen, Normal human dermal fibroblast

The Nuclear Matrix Protein, NRP/B, Acts as a Transcriptional Repressor of E2F-mediated Transcriptional Activity

Background: NRP/B, a family member of the BTB/Kelch repeat proteins, is implicated in neuronal and cancer development, as well as the regulation of oxidative stress responses in breast and brain cancer. Our previous studies indicate that the NRP/B-BTB/POZ domain is involved in the dimerization of NRP/B and in a complex formation with the tumor suppressor, retinoblastoma protein. Although much evidence supports the potential role of NRP/B as a tumor suppressor, the molecular mechanisms of NRP/B action on E2F transcription factors have not been elucidated. Methods: Three-dimensional modeling of NRP/B was used to generate point mutations in the BTB/Kelch domains. Tet-on inducible NRP/B expression was established. The NRP/B deficient breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, was generated using lentiviral shNRP/B to evaluate the effect of NRP/B on cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Immunoprecipitation was performed to verify the interaction of NRP/B with E2F and histone deacetylase (HDAC-1), and the expression level of NRP/B protein was analyzed by Western blot analysis. Changes in cell cycle were determined by flow cytometry. Transcriptional activities of E2F transcription factors were measured by chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity. Results: Ectopic overexpression of NRP/B demonstrated that the NRP/B-BTB/POZ domain plays a critical role in E2F-mediated transcriptional activity. Point mutations within the BTB/POZ domain restored E2-promoter activity inhibited by NRP/B. Loss of NRP/B enhanced the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells. Endogenous NRP/B interacted with E2F and HDAC1. Treatement with an HDAC inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA), abolished the NRP/B-mediated suppression of E2-promoter activity. Gain or loss of NRP/B in HeLa cells confirmed the transcriptional repressive capability of NRP/B on the E2F target genes, Cyclin E and HsORC (Homo sapiens Origin Recognition Complex). Conclusions: The present study shows that NRP/B acts as a transcriptional repressor by interacting with the co-repressors, HDAC1, providing new insight into the molecular mechanisms of NRP/B on tumor suppression