Inhibition of tyrosine kinase activity decreases expression of surfactant protein A in a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line independent of epidermal growth factor receptor

AbstractEpidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances fetal lung development in vivo and in vitro. Ligand binding to the EGF receptor stimulates an intrinsic receptor tyrosine kinase initiating a signal transduction cascade. We hypothesized that blocking EGF receptor function with tyrosine kinase inhibitors would decrease the expression of surfactant protein A in human pulmonary epithelial cells. Human pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells (NCI-H441) were exposed to genistein (a broad range inhibitor of tyrosine kinases) and tyrphostin AG1478 (a specific inhibitor of EGF receptor tyrosine kinase). Genistein significantly decreased surfactant protein A (SP-A) and SP-A mRNA levels in H441 cells without affecting cell viability. The inhibitory effect of genistein on SP-A content was reversible. In contrast, tyrphostin AG1478 had no effect on SP-A levels despite a greater inhibitory effect than genistein on EGF receptor tyrosine autophosphorylation. Furthermore, treatment of H441 cells with exogenous EGF did not increase SP-A content or mRNA levels beyond baseline. We conclude that inhibition of tyrosine kinase activity other than the EGF receptor decreases the expression of surfactant protein A at a pretranslational level in human pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells. These results suggest the importance of tyrosine kinases in modulating human SP-A synthesis

Creating Intentional Paths to Citizenship: An Analysis of Participation in Student Organizations

This study examines undergraduate students’ that graduated from a Midwestern university in May 2013 through December 2015 and their perception of their development of core competencies identified by Bok (2006), related to their participation in student organizations. The results indicated that students who participate in student organizations are significantly more likely to develop citizenship and other related skills and abilities. Furthermore, their degree of involvement, measured by the number of organizations they participate in, their level of involvement and the role students have within the organization can impact their development of competencies.

A theory of criticality for quantum ferroelectric metals

A variety of compounds, for example doped paraelectrics and polar metals, exhibit both ferroelectricity and strongly correlated electron physics such as low-density superconductivity and anomalous transport. Characterizing such properties is tied to understanding the quantum dynamics of inversion symmetry breaking in the presence of itinerant electrons. We present a comprehensive analysis of the normal state properties of a metal near a quantum critical transition to a ferroelectric state, in both two and three dimensions. Starting from a minimal model of electrons coupled to a transverse polar phonon via a Rashba-type spin-orbital interaction, we compute the system dynamical response and find that the system can evince both Fermi and non-Fermi liquid phases, as well as enhanced pairing with both s-wave and p-wave instabilities. Furthermore, we systematically compute corrections to one-loop theory and find a tendency to quantum order-by-disorder, leading to a phase diagram that can include second order, first order, and finite-momentum phase transitions. Finally, we show that the entire phase diagram can be controlled via application of external strain, either compressive or volume-preserving. Our results provide a map of the dynamical and thermodynamical phase space of quantum ferroelectic metals, which can serve in characterizing existing materials and in seeking applications for quantum technologies

Kaluza-Klein Dark Matter

We propose that cold dark matter is made of Kaluza-Klein particles and explore avenues for its detection. The lightest Kaluza-Klein state is an excellent dark matter candidate if standard model particles propagate in extra dimensions and Kaluza-Klein parity is conserved. We consider Kaluza-Klein gauge bosons. In sharp contrast to the case of supersymmetric dark matter, these annihilate to hard positrons, neutrinos and photons with unsuppressed rates. Direct detection signals are also promising. These conclusions are generic to bosonic dark matter candidates.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, discussion of spin-independent cross section clarified, references added, published versio

Does observed vs expected lung head ratio correlate with neonatal survival in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernias?

To investigate whether observed vs expected (O/E) lung–to–head ratio (LHR) correlates with neonatal survival in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Secondary goal was to correlate O/E LHR with Oxygenation index (OI) in the first 12 hours of life

Real-time motion analytics during brain MRI improve data quality and reduce costs

Head motion systematically distorts clinical and research MRI data. Motion artifacts have biased findings from many structural and functional brain MRI studies. An effective way to remove motion artifacts is to exclude MRI data frames affected by head motion. However, such post-hoc frame censoring can lead to data loss rates of 50% or more in our pediatric patient cohorts. Hence, many scanner operators collect additional 'buffer data', an expensive practice that, by itself, does not guarantee sufficient high-quality MRI data for a given participant. Therefore, we developed an easy-to-setup, easy-to-use Framewise Integrated Real-time MRI Monitoring (FIRMM) software suite that provides scanner operators with head motion analytics in real-time, allowing them to scan each subject until the desired amount of low-movement data has been collected. Our analyses show that using FIRMM to identify the ideal scan time for each person can reduce total brain MRI scan times and associated costs by 50% or more