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Fibrinogen Accumulation, Oxidative Stress, and Apoptosis in the Fetal Brain Induced by Maternal Influenza A Virus Infection
No full textMaternal influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy is a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in offspring. Oxidative stress, triggered by an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defenses, is a key mechanism in NDD pathogenesis. Fibrinogen, a plasma protein known for its role in coagulation, has also been associated with neurodegenerative inflammation and oxidative responses after breaching the blood-brain barrier. However, its presence and potential contribution to oxidative stress and apoptosis in the fetal brain following IAV-induced maternal immune activation (MIA) is unknown. We hypothesize that compromised vascular integrity following maternal IAV infection contributes to microglial response and subsequent neuronal loss in the developing fetal brain. Pregnant C57BL/6NTac mice were intranasally inoculated with IAV (10⁴ TCID₅₀) or saline at gestational day (GD) 9.5. Fetal brains were collected at GD16.5 to assess apoptosis in Sox2⁺ and NeuN⁺ cells via cleaved caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation (ApopTag Red). To examine microglial ROS production and potential stimulation by fibrinogen, phosphorylated p47phox—a cytosolic subunit of NADPH oxidase—will be measured in P2RY12⁺ microglia alongside fibrinogen labeling. Our findings show increased fibrinogen accumulation in neurogenic regions of fetal brains exposed to maternal IAV, which positively correlates with Iba1 immunofluorescence. Preliminary data indicate region-specific apoptosis in subventricular zones and elevated ROS production in the meninges and cortex. Ongoing experiments will determine whether this region specificity contributes to long term disruptions in neuronal differentiation and circuit wiring. These results suggest that maternal IAV infection increases fetal blood-brain barrier permeability, as evidenced by fibrinogen accumulation in neurogenic regions. This extravasation of fibrinogen may stimulate microglial/macrophage oxidative responses and contribute to apoptotic cell death, highlighting a potential mechanistic link between MIA, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, and disrupted fetal brain development
Evaluating fetal neocortical development in germ-free mice in response to maternal IL-17A administration
No full textMaternal inflammation during pregnancy has been identified as an environmental factor that can trigger the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in offspring. The mechanisms behind this trigger are still not fully understood. However, previous research in mice has shown that interleukin-17 (IL-17) is potentially a key mediator in this phenomenon. A commonly used physiological marker of proper neurological development is the patterning of the cerebral cortex. Abnormalities in the somatosensory cortex are correlated with behavioral phenotypes in mice that resemble those of NDDs. Notably, the gut microbiota is key for the differentiation and expansion of T helper 17 cell that produce IL-17, and some studies have shown that maternal microbial composition dictates the ability of IL-17 to influence offspring neurodevelopment and behavior. Our study aims to determine if IL-17A is sufficient to cause NDD-like malformations in the fetal brain in the total absence of maternal microbes. We used pregnant germ-free (GF) mice and administered either 1 µg recombinant IL-17A or 0.1 mL sterile saline (vehicle) intraperitoneally once daily from gestational day (GD) 10.5 through GD15.5. Fetal brains were collected on GD 16.5 and postfixed in 10% formalin before being sectioned coronally and immunohistochemically (IHC) stained for TBR1, a marker for excitatory neurons, and DAPI. Counts of TBR1+ cells and TBR1 fluorescence intensity were measured to determine layer patterns across the cortical plate. DAPI staining was used to measure layer thickness and total cortical plate thickness. Additionally, Spatial Light Interference Microscopy (SLIM), a label-free imaging technology, was used to quantify layer thickness. This technique, which for the first time is used in prenatal samples, allows researchers to overcome limitations of traditional IHC. Our preliminary findings indicate that IL-17A does not trigger the emergence of malformations as measured by TBR1 patterning and overall cortical thickness, suggesting that IL-17A alone may not be sufficient for triggering fetal neurodevelopmental abnormalities in the absence of maternal microbes
Inclusive Metadata in Digital Libraries: A Qualitative Study of Practices at R1 Academic Institutions
No full textA qualitative, multi-institutional study investigating how academic libraries in the United States integrate inclusive and reparative description principles and practices into their digital collections. This paper draws on a series of interviews with metadata professionals from eight R1 institutions to assess how they approach the remediation of legacy metadata in their digital collections. The findings demonstrate that, while inclusive metadata is widely recognized as important, its implementation remains underutilized and unevenly applied
Spatial and Temporal Load Distribution in Steel Bridge Superstructures (Vol. I): Agency Survey and Preliminary Numerical Modeling of Skewed Steel I-Girder Bridges for Field Instrumentation
No full textHighly skewed steel I-girder bridges are used commonly across the US, especially in congested areas, despite complications in their analysis, design, and construction. Systematic investigation of skewed steel I-girder superstructure response, load distribution, and deformation through field monitoring and numerical simulation is needed, including analysis of bridges under construction, short-term live load, and long-term thermal and traffic loads. AASHTO’s load and resistance factor design specification allows for line girder analysis with defined live load distribution factors (considering effects of skew between 30° and 60°) when designing non-curved steel bridges. When considering lateral behavior of skewed bridges, AASHTO provides suggestions for design values of flange lateral bending stress in addition to line girder analysis when bridge skew exceeds 20° for certain cross-frame layouts. This skew limit is 45° in Illinois Department of Transportation’s “Bridge Design Manual.” When designing bridges for lateral bending during deck placement, AASHTO suggests equations to conservatively estimate flange lateral bending moments caused by eccentric loading from an overhang acting on an exterior girder top flange, in the absence of a refined analysis. Efficiency of the simplified design approaches and skew consideration in current standard design practice needs to be further evaluated through field monitoring and companion numerical studies. The research project partially described in this report was initiated in Illinois to investigate demands, load distribution, and static and dynamic responses of composite steel skewed I-girder bridge superstructures during construction and after bridges are in service. Two skewed steel I-girder bridges (41° and 45°), with stub and integral abutments, respectively, were studied through field monitoring and numerical simulations. This report documents the initial phases of the research: a survey to understand practices used and challenges faced by state transportation agencies when designing and constructing skewed steel I-girder bridges, information about and field instrumentation of the two monitored bridges, methods for 3D finite element analysis, and preliminary analysis conducted to guide field instrumentation planning of the bridges.IDOT-R27-19
HINDER: Holistic Integration of Navigational Dynamics for Erosion Reduction
No full textThe Holistic Integration of Navigational Dynamics for Erosion Reduction (HINDER) is a systems-level architecture proposed to mitigate Plume-Surface Interaction (PSI) risks during lunar descent. By identifying landing sites with high regolith bulk density, HINDER reduces surface erosion and ejecta impacts. The system is built around a multi-phase strategy: Phase 0 utilizes existing orbital radar data for pre-launch site selection, while subsequent phases use onboard radar for real-time hazard-relative navigation and soil density identification. Lander-agnostic and cost-effective, HINDER integrates into existing precision landing systems to enhance safety for Artemis and CLPS missions at unprepared landing sites
Understanding Our Students: Reflecting on the Academic Library’s Role in Meeting the Needs of Evolving Student Populations
No full textNontraditional students in higher education can be considered as today’s “traditional” student, accounting for 74% of the undergraduate population. What does this mean for academic libraries in regard to our support services? This column discusses the necessity of understanding the changing landscape of students, and how their experiences impact the ways they engage with the library. Students in higher education are very diverse in a multitude of ways, so to be truly inclusive, librarians need to understand the complexities and layers of the students we work with and how we can better serve and support them
Hegel’s Sophistic Interlude
No full textThe question with which Hegel puts science in question, viz., “With what must science begin?” is rhetorical in a way that is seldom explored in Hegel studies. Hegel discovered in the sophistics of Gorgias a mode of immediate knowledge that is at once a “dialectic…of a quite objective kind” and a rhetorical stratagem with speculative implications for how to begin logical science, i.e., science of the logos. Gorgias’ discourse on the aporetics of being and non-being is equally an aporetic discourse on knowing which is doubly advantageous for Hegel’s speculative ends in that it is sourced from Gorgias’ immediate knowing of immediate indeterminacy unmediated by the universals of the philosophers. In short, logical science (qua science of the logos) begins with the ancient semiotic science of the logos – sophistical rhetoric.
Fo the 2016 Biennial Hegel Society of America Conference, Montreal, Canad
Three new species and a new genus of soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) from Baltic amber
No full textIn the present paper a new fossil and extinct genus and three new species of soldier beetles (Family Cantharidae) from Baltic amber are described: gen. et sp. nov.; (. .) sp. nov.; (. .) sp. nov. It is the second with some abdominal cuticular vesicles extruded. The new taxa are also compared with all fossil species
