Mouse estrous cycle regulation of vaginal versus uterine cytokines, chemokines, α-/β-defensins and TLRs

This study investigates the cyclic changes in innate immunity in the female reproductive tract (FRT) of mice during the estrous cycle. By examining uterine and vaginal tissues and secretions we show that innate immunity varies with the stage of the estrous cycle and site in the FRT. Secretions from the uterine lumen contained cytokines and chemokines that were significantly higher at proestrus and estrus relative to that measured at diestrus. In contrast, analysis of vaginal secretions indicated that only IL-1β and CXCL1/mouse KC changed during the cycle, with highest levels measured at diestrus and estrus. In contrast, vaginal α-defensin 2 and β-defensins 1-4 mRNA levels peaked at proestrus and estrus and are expressed 1-4 logs greater than that seen in the uterus. These studies further indicate that TLR5 and TLR12 in the uterus, and TLR1, TLR2, TLR5 and TLR13 in the vagina varies with stage of the estrous cycle, with some peaking at proestrus/estrus and others at diestrus. Overall, these studies indicate that innate immune parameters in the uterus and vagina are separate and discrete, and regulated precisely during the estrous cycle.

Targeting amino acid transport in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer : effects on cell cycle, cell growth, and tumor development

Background L-type amino acid transporters (LATs) uptake neutral amino acids including L-leucine into cells, stimulating mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling and protein synthesis. LAT1 and LAT3 are overexpressed at different stages of prostate cancer, and they are responsible for increasing nutrients and stimulating cell growth. Methods We examined LAT3 protein expression in human prostate cancer tissue microarrays. LAT function was inhibited using a leucine analog (BCH) in androgen-dependent and -independent environments, with gene expression analyzed by microarray. A PC-3 xenograft mouse model was used to study the effects of inhibiting LAT1 and LAT3 expression. Results were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U or Fisher exact tests. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results LAT3 protein was expressed at all stages of prostate cancer, with a statistically significant decrease in expression after 4–7 months of neoadjuvant hormone therapy (4–7 month mean = 1.571; 95% confidence interval = 1.155 to 1.987 vs 0 month = 2.098; 95% confidence interval = 1.962 to 2.235; P = .0187). Inhibition of LAT function led to activating transcription factor 4–mediated upregulation of amino acid transporters including ASCT1, ASCT2, and 4F2hc, all of which were also regulated via the androgen receptor. LAT inhibition suppressed M-phase cell cycle genes regulated by E2F family transcription factors including critical castration-resistant prostate cancer regulatory genes UBE2C, CDC20, and CDK1. In silico analysis of BCH-downregulated genes showed that 90.9% are statistically significantly upregulated in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Finally, LAT1 or LAT3 knockdown in xenografts inhibited tumor growth, cell cycle progression, and spontaneous metastasis in vivo. Conclusion Inhibition of LAT transporters may provide a novel therapeutic target in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, via suppression of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 activity and M-phase cell cycle genes.

ZnO nanocones with high-index {101̅1} facets for enhanced energy conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

ZnO is a promising photoanode material for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) due to its high bulk electron mobility and because different geometrical structures can easily be tailored. Although various strategies have been taken to improve ZnO-based DSC efficiencies, their performances are still far lower than TiO2 counterparts, mainly because low conductivity Zn2+–dye complexes form on the ZnO surfaces. Here, cone-shaped ZnO nanocrystals with exposed reactive O-terminated {101̅1} facets were synthesized and applied in DSC devices. The devices were compared with DSCs made from more commonly used rod-shaped ZnO nanocrystals where {101̅0} facets are predominantly exposed. When cone-shaped ZnO nanocrystals were used, DSCs sensitized with C218, N719, and D205 dyes universally displayed better power conversion efficiency, with the highest photoconversion efficiency of 4.36% observed with the C218 dye. First-principles calculations indicated that the enhanced DSCs performance with ZnO nanocone photoanodes could be attributed to the strength of binding between the dye molecules and reactive O-terminated {101̅1} ZnO facets and that more effective use of dye molecules occurred due to a significantly less dye aggregation on these ZnO surfaces compared to other ZnO facets.

Switching radical stability by pH-induced orbital conversion

In most radicals the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) is the highest-energy occupied molecular orbital (HOMO); however, in a small number of reported compounds this is not the case. In the present work we expand significantly the scope of this phenomenon, known as SOMO-HOMO energy-level conversion, by showing that it occurs in virtually any distonic radical anion that contains a sufficiently stabilized radical (aminoxyl, peroxyl, aminyl) non-pi-conjugated with a negative charge (carboxylate, phosphate, sulfate). Moreover, regular orbital order is restored on protonation of the anionic fragment, and hence the orbital configuration can be switched by pH. Most importantly, our theoretical and experimental results reveal a dramatically higher radical stability and proton acidity of such distonic radical anions. Changing radical stability by 3-4 orders of magnitude using pH-induced orbital conversion opens a variety of attractive industrial applications, including pH-switchable nitroxide-mediated polymerization, and it might be exploited in nature.

Robert Waddington's cycle of abuse stretches beyond 50 years

THE Church of England banished serial pedophile priest Robert Waddington to Australia, where he abused children across a decade, after suspicions were raised about him molesting choirboys in his London parish. In an alleged church cover-up spanning almost 60 years, Waddington was suddenly and unexpectedly sent to a small school in regional Queensland in 1956 amid claims he was molesting the son of an English politician. Last month the Church of England ordered an independent inquiry into the handling of allegations against Waddington, after a joint investigation by The Australian and The Times of London. But it can now be revealed that Waddington - who died in 2007, facing allegations he abused students in Australia in the 1960s and English choirboys in the 80s and 90s - was molesting children as soon as he joined the church in 1953. The latest allegations have been made by Ray Munn, 70, who was recruited by Waddington, then a curate at St John's church in Bethnal Green, East London, to sing in the choir in 1953. He was almost immediately groomed by the Cambridge University-educated clergyman, who took him on holidays in the English countryside, before he began molesting the then 11-year-old.

Multi-party computation with conversion of secret sharing

Classical results in unconditionally secure multi-party computation (MPC) protocols with a passive adversary indicate that every n-variate function can be computed by n participants, such that no set of size t < n/2 participants learns any additional information other than what they could derive from their private inputs and the output of the protocol. We study unconditionally secure MPC protocols in the presence of a passive adversary in the trusted setup (‘semi-ideal’) model, in which the participants are supplied with some auxiliary information (which is random and independent from the participant inputs) ahead of the protocol execution (such information can be purchased as a “commodity” well before a run of the protocol). We present a new MPC protocol in the trusted setup model, which allows the adversary to corrupt an arbitrary number t < n of participants. Our protocol makes use of a novel subprotocol for converting an additive secret sharing over a field to a multiplicative secret sharing, and can be used to securely evaluate any n-variate polynomial G over a field F, with inputs restricted to non-zero elements of F. The communication complexity of our protocol is O(ℓ · n 2) field elements, where ℓ is the number of non-linear monomials in G. Previous protocols in the trusted setup model require communication proportional to the number of multiplications in an arithmetic circuit for G; thus, our protocol may offer savings over previous protocols for functions with a small number of monomials but a large number of multiplications.

Framework of whole life cycle costing for Malaysian high rise residential property development

This project was an initial stage in formulating and management of the optimum budget allocation during the operational, maintenance and rehabilitation phases in high rise residential property development in Malaysia. The principal objective of this project is to develop a framework of Whole Life Cycle Costing for high rise residential property development that will enhance the quality and cost effectiveness of this building type in Malaysia. The researcher investigated 13 building components from 6 high rise residential property developments in Johor, Malaysia to determine the affect and economic impact of component initial cost and quality by applying them to a Whole Life Cycle Cost model approach. The results provide valuable data in respect to the overall cost of specific components over the whole life of a large high rise building. In addition, Dr. Mat Noor also determined the impact and satisfaction of quality of building components through WLCC.

Interstellar molecules : Conversion or C3O-. to C3O in the gas phase

Neutral C3O has been prepared by collision induced neutralisation of the precursor radical anion formed by the reaction C-=C-CO-OEt --> C3O-. +EtO. . The similar neutralisaaion reionisation (-NR+) and charge reversal (CR) spectra of C3O-. indicate that the potential surfaces of C3O and C3O+. show favourable vertical Franck-Condon overlap, This suggests that the bond connectivities of anion, neutral and cation C3O are the same. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interstellar molecules. Conversion or C3O-. to C3O in the gas phase

Neutral C3O has been prepared by collision induced neutralisation of the precursor radical anion formed by the reaction C-=C-CO-OEt --> C3O-. +EtO. The similar neutralisaaion reionisation (-NR+) and charge reversal (CR) spectra of C3O-. indicate that the potential surfaces of C3O and C3O+. show favourable vertical Franck-Condon overlap, This suggests that the bond connectivities of anion, neutral and cation C3O are the same. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conversion of neutral C2COC2 to C4CO. potential interstellar molecules

Both [C4CO]−· and [C2COC2]−· are formed in the ion source of a VG ZAB 2HF mass spectrometer by the respective processes HO− + Me3Si–CC–CC–CO–CMe3 → [C4CO]−· + Me3SiOH + Me3C·, and Me3Si–CC–CO–CC–SiMe3 + SF6 + e → [C2COC2]−· + 2Me3SiF + SF4. The second synthetic pathway involves a double desilylation reaction similar to that first reported by Squires. The two radical anion isomers produce different and characteristic charge reversal spectra upon collisional activation. In contrast, following collision induced charge stripping, both radical anions produce neutral C4CO as evidenced by the identical neutralisation reionisation (−NR+) spectra. The exclusive rearrangement of C213COC2 to C413CO indicates that 12C–O bond formation is not involved in the reaction. Ab initio calculations (at the RCCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-31G∗ level of theory) have been used to investigate the reaction coordinates on the potential surfaces for both singlet and triplet rearrangements of neutral C2COC2. Singlet C2COC2 is less stable than singlet C4CO by 78.8 kcal mol−1 and requires only 8.5 kcal mol−1 of additional energy to effect conversion to C4CO by a rearrangement sequence involving three C–C ring opening/cyclisation steps.

Methanesulfonic acid-catalyzed conversion of glucose and xylose mixtures to levulinic acid and furfural

Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) was compared with sulfuric acid for the conversion of glucose and xylose mixtures to produce levulinic acid and furfural. The interactions of glucose and xylose, the predominant sugars found in biomass, were found to influence product yields with furfural degradation reactions enhanced under higher reactant loadings. Fast heating rates allowed maximal yields (>60 mol%) of levulinic acid and furfural to be achieved under short reaction times. Under the range of conditions examined, sulfuric acid produced a slight increase in levulinic acid yield by 6% (P = 0.02), although there was no significant difference (P = 0.11) between MSA and sulfuric acid in levulinic acid formed from glucose alone. The amount and type of the solid residue is similar between MSA and sulfuric acid. As such, MSA is a suitable alternative because its use minimizes corrosion and disposal issues associated with mineral acid catalysts. The heating value of the residue was 22 MJ/kg implying that it is a suitable source of fuel. On the basis of these results, a two-stage processing strategy is proposed to target high levulinic acid and furfural yields, and other chemical products (e.g., lactic acid, xylitol, acetic acid and formic acid). This will result in full utilization of bagasse components.

The Credit Act Advisory System (CAAS) : conversion from an expert system prototype to a C++ commercial system

CAAS is a rule-based expert system, which provides advice on the Victorial Credit Act 1984. It is currently in commercial use, and has been developed in conjunction with a law firm. It uses an object-oriented hybrid reasoning approach. The system was initially prototyped using the expert system shell NExpert Object, and was then converted into the C++ language. In this paper we describe the advantages that this methodology has, for both commercial and research development.

Life cycle analysis for sustainability assessment of road projects

Road infrastructure has been considered as one of the most expensive and extensive infrastructure assets of the built environment globally. This asset also impacts the natural environment significantly during different phases of life e.g. construction, use, maintenance and end-of-life. The growing emphasis for sustainable development to meet the needs of future generations requires mitigation of the environmental impacts of road infrastructure during all phases of life e.g. construction, operation and end-of-life disposal (as required). Life-cycle analysis (LCA), a method of quantification of all stages of life, has recently been studied to explore all the environmental components of road projects due to limitations of generic environmental assessments. The LCA ensures collection and assessment of the inputs and outputs relating to any potential environmental factor of any system throughout its life. However, absence of a defined system boundary covering all potential environmental components restricts the findings of the current LCA studies. A review of the relevant published LCA studies has identified that environmental components such as rolling resistance of pavement, effect of solar radiation on pavement(albedo), traffic congestion during construction, and roadway lighting & signals are not considered by most of the studies. These components have potentially higher weightings for environment damage than several commonly considered components such as materials, transportation and equipment. This paper presents the findings of literature review, and suggests a system boundary model for LCA study of road infrastructure projects covering potential environmental components.

Conversion of linear to rhombic C-4 in the gas phase: A joint experimental and theoretical study

Charge reversal (CR) and neutralization reionization (NR) experiments carried out on a 4-sector mass spectrometer demonstrate that isotopically labeled, linear C-4 anion rearranges upon collisional oxidation. The cations and neutrals formed in these experiments exhibit differing degrees of isotopic scrambling in their fragmentation patterns, indicative of (at least) partial isomerization of both states. Theoretical studies, employing the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory, favor conversion to the rhombic C-4 isomer on both cationic and neutral potential-energy surfaces with the rhombic structures predicted to be slightly more stable than the linear forms in each case. The combination of experiment with theory indicates that the elusive rhombic C-4 is formed as a cation and as a neutral following charge stripping of linear C-4(-)

A dual inverter-based supercapacitor direct integration scheme for wind energy conversion systems

Interfacing converters used in connecting energy storage systems like supercapacitors and battery banks to wind power systems introduce additional cost and power losses. This paper therefore presents a direct integration scheme for supercapacitors used in mitigating short-term power fluctuations in wind power systems. This scheme uses a dual inverter topology for both grid connection and interfacing a supercapacitor bank. The main inverter of the dual inverter system is powered by the rectified output of a wind turbine-coupled permanent-magnet synchronous generator. The auxiliary inverter is directly connected to the supercapacitor bank. With this approach, an interfacing converter is not required, and there are no associated costs and power losses incurred. The operation of the proposed system is discussed in detail. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the efficacy of the proposed system in suppressing short-term wind power fluctuations.