Identification of stromal cells in spleen which support myelopoiesis

Stromal cells in spleen organize tissue into red pulp, white pulp and marginal zone, and also interact with hematopoietic cells to regulate immune responses. This study has used phenotypic information of a previously described spleen stromal cell line called 5G3, which supports restricted hematopoiesis in vitro, to identify an equivalent stromal cell subset in vivo and to test its capacity to support hematopoiesis. Using stromal cell fractionation, phenotypic analysis, as well as cell growth and hematopoietic support assays, the Sca-1+gp38+Thy1.2+CD29+CD51+ fraction of spleen stroma has been identified as an equivalent stromal subset resembling the 5G3 cell counterpart. While heterogeneity may still exist within that subset, it has been shown to have superior hematopoietic support capacity compared with the 5G3 cell line, and all other spleen stromal cell fractions tested.This work was supported by project grants to HO from the Australian Research Council (#DP130101703) and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (#585443). HL was supported by an Australian National University Postgraduate Scholarship

An Analysis of Profit Cycles In the Airline Industry

The objective of this paper is to understand the financial dynamics of the airline industry by identifying profit cycle periods of the industry and their driving factors. Assuming that the industry profit cycles could be modeled as an undamped second-order system, the fundamental cycle period was identified to be 11.3 years for the U.S. airlines and 10.5 years for the world airlines. Analyses of industry profits reveal that such cycle period is endogenous, neither deregulation nor September 11 have significantly changed it. Parametric models were developed under the hypothesis that phase lag in the system caused profit oscillations; and two hypotheses, lag in capacity response and lag in cost adjustment were studied. A parametric model was developed by hypothesizing the delay in capacity response caused profit oscillations. For this model, the system stability depends on the delay between aircraft orders and deliveries and the aggressiveness in airplane ordering. Assuming industry profits correlated to capacity shortfall, the delay and gain were calculated and the results were consistent with the observed delay between world aircraft deliveries and net profits. Since the gain in the model has lumped impacts of exogenous factors, exaggerated capacity response was observed in simulation. This indicates capacity shortfall alone cannot fully explain the industry dynamics. The model also indicates reduced delay may help to mitigate system oscillations. Similarly, a parametric model was developed by hypothesizing the delay in cost adjustment caused profit oscillations, and simulation results were consistent with industry profits. A coupled model was developed to study the joint effects of capacity and cost. Simulations indicated that the coupled model explained industry dynamics better than the individual capacity or cost models, indicating that the system behavior is driven by the joint effects of capacity response and cost adjustment. A more sophisticated model including load factor and short-term capacity effects is proposed for future work in an effort to better understand the industry dynamics. This document is based on the thesis of Helen Hong Jiang submitted to the Departmen

Adenoviral oncoprotein E1B55K mediates colocalization of SSBP2 and PML in response to stress

Transient expression of adenoviral oncoprotein E1B55K in normal cells induces aggresome formation and sequestration of critical host proteins in aggresomes. Our previous studies reported that Sequence Specific Binding Protein 2 (SSBP2), a candidate tumor suppressor is recruited to aggresomes in adenovirally transformed human embryonal kidney 293 (HEK293) cells. To understand the extent and significance of the E1B55K-SSBP2 interactions in these cells, we have examined SSBP2 localization under conditions of stress in HEK293 cells. SSBP2 localizes to PML- Nuclear Bodies (PML-NBs) in response to inhibition of nuclear export, treatment with etoposide, hydroxyurea or gamma irradiation only in HEK293 cells. Furthermore, the PML-NBs grow in size and number in response to radiation over a 24 hour period in HEK293 cells analogous to previous findings for other cell types. Nonetheless, we conclude that E1B55K subverts SSBP2 function in HEK293 cells. These findings demonstrate the limitations in using HEK293 cells to study DNA damage response and other cellular processes since SSBP2 and similar regulatory proteins are aberrantly localized due to constitutive E1B55K expression

Listening through seeing: Using design methods to learn about the health perceptions of Garden on the Go® customers

The goal of this project is to apply an innovative approach to gathering beliefs and attitudes of an inner city population in a more valid and reliable way than traditional data collection methods. This community based research study will focus on dietary risk factors for obesity, diabetes type 2, and cardiovascular disease in underserved communities. Our study assesses what health means to the underserved Garden on the Go® clients and how they define a healthy diet. Garden on the Go®, a signature obesity prevention effort, is Indiana University Health’s year-round mobile produce delivery program providing fresh, affordable produce to Marion County neighborhoods in need. We build upon previous research conducted with Garden on the Go® to enhance the effectiveness of this intervention and provide valuable information that other groups may use to improve the impact of their efforts in meeting the health needs of similar communities

The cold adapted and temperature sensitive influenza A/Ann Arbor/6/60 virus, the master donor virus for live attenuated influenza vaccines, has multiple defects in replication at the restrictive temperature

AbstractWe have previously determined that the temperature sensitive (ts) and attenuated (att) phenotypes of the cold adapted influenza A/Ann Arbor/6/60 strain (MDV-A), the master donor virus for the live attenuated influenza A vaccines (FluMist®), are specified by the five amino acids in the PB1, PB2 and NP gene segments. To understand how these loci control the ts phenotype of MDV-A, replication of MDV-A at the non-permissive temperature (39 °C) was compared with recombinant wild-type A/Ann Arbor/6/60 (rWt). The mRNA and protein synthesis of MDV-A in the infected MDCK cells were not significantly reduced at 39 °C during a single-step replication, however, vRNA synthesis was reduced and the nuclear–cytoplasmic export of viral RNP (vRNP) was blocked. In addition, the virions released from MDV-A infected cells at 39 °C exhibited irregular morphology and had a greatly reduced amount of the M1 protein incorporated. The reduced M1 protein incorporation and vRNP export blockage correlated well with the virus ts phenotype because these defects could be partially alleviated by removing the three ts loci from the PB1 gene. The virions and vRNPs isolated from the MDV-A infected cells contained a higher level of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) than those of rWt, however, whether Hsp70 is involved in thermal inhibition of MDV-A replication remains to be determined. Our studies demonstrate that restrictive replication of MDV-A at the non-permissive temperature occurs in multiple steps of the virus replication cycle