317 research outputs found
MODIFICATIONS OF CELLULAR THIOLS DURING GROWTH AND SQUAMOUS DIFFERENTIATION OF CULTURED HUMAN BRONCHIAL EPITHELIAL-CELLS
No full textThiol modifications during growth and differentiation of cultured normal human bronchial epithelial cells was studied by analysis of their content and redox state of low-molecular-weight thiols and protein thiols. Subculture of the cells with trypsin decreased the cellular content of the major low-molecular-weight thiol, i.e., reduced glutathione, although the glutathione content had returned to levels comparable to those before subculture already after 4 h in conjunction with cell attachment. During subsequent culture, increases in the cellular contents of glutathione, total cysteine equivalents, and total protein thiols occurred. These modifications in the amounts and redox balance of thiols were transient and preceded the major growth phase. Exposure of cells at clonal density to either diethylmaleate, a thiol-depleting agent, or buthionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis, decreased the proliferative ability of the cells as demonstrated by a markedly decreased colony forming efficiency. Moreover, in mass cultures exposed to buthionine sulfoximine, a marked depletion of the glutathione content was again accompanied by inhibition of growth. Exposure of the cells to agents known to induce growth arrest and terminal squamous differentiation, i.e., fetal bovine serum, Ca2+, or transforming growth factor-beta 1, resulted in increased levels of reduced glutathione. No consistent alteration in the contents of the other thiols was noted. Overall, the results demonstrate consistent variations in the amounts and redox state of cellular thiols, particularly reduced glutathione, supporting a role of thiols in regulation of growth and squamous differentiation of human bronchial epithelial cells. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc
The Effect of Marshallian and Jacobian Knowledge Spillovers on Jobs in the Solar, Wind and Energy Efficiency Sector
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to establish if Marshallian and Jacobian knowledge spillovers affect job creation in the green energy sector. Whether these two effects exist is important for the number of jobs created in related fields and jobs pushed away in other sectors. In the analysis, the production efficiency, in terms of jobs and job spillovers, from inventions in solar, wind and energy efficiency, is explored through data envelopment analysis (DEA), based on the Malmquist productivity index, and tobit regression. A panel dataset of American and European firms over the period of 2002–2017 is used. The contribution to the literature is to show the role of the spillovers from the same technology sector (Marshallian externalities), and of the spillovers from more diversified activity (Jacobian externalities). Since previous empirical evidence concerning the innovation effects on the production efficiency is yet weak, the paper attempts to bridge this gap. The empirical findings suggest negative Marshallian externalities, while Jacobian externalities have no statistical impact on the job creation process. The findings are of strategic importance for governments who are developing industrial strategies for renewable energy
Toward the Replacement of Animal Experiments through the Bioinformatics-driven Analysis of 'Omics' Data from Human Cell Cultures.
No full textThis paper outlines the work for which Roland Grafstrom and Pekka Kohonen were awarded the 2014 Lush Science Prize. The research activities of the Grafstrom laboratory have, for many years, covered cancer biology studies, as well as the development and application of toxicity-predictive in vitro models to determine chemical safety. Through the integration of in silico analyses of diverse types of genomics data (transcriptomic and proteomic), their efforts have proved to fit well into the recently-developed Adverse Outcome Pathway paradigm. Genomics analysis within state-of-the-art cancer biology research and Toxicology in the 21st Century concepts share many technological tools. A key category within the Three Rs paradigm is the Replacement of animals in toxicity testing with alternative methods, such as bioinformatics-driven analyses of data obtained from human cell cultures exposed to diverse toxicants. This work was recently expanded within the pan-European SEURAT-1 project (Safety Evaluation Ultimately Replacing Animal Testing), to replace repeat-dose toxicity testing with data-rich analyses of sophisticated cell culture models. The aims and objectives of the SEURAT project have been to guide the application, analysis, interpretation and storage of 'omics' technology-derived data within the service-oriented sub-project, ToxBank. Particularly addressing the Lush Science Prize focus on the relevance of toxicity pathways, a 'data warehouse' that is under continuous expansion, coupled with the development of novel data storage and management methods for toxicology, serve to address data integration across multiple 'omics' technologies. The prize winners' guiding principles and concepts for modern knowledge management of toxicological data are summarised. The translation of basic discovery results ranged from chemical-testing and material-testing data, to information relevant to human health and environmental safety
Technological Change in Service of the Environment [Elektronisk resurs]
No full textJonas Grafstrom provides an outline of how technological change in the renewable energy field can contribute to mitigate climate issues. Such knowledge enables policy makers (e.g., at the EU level) to make better and more informed decisions.</p
Haiku and Creative Writing in the English Language Learning Classroom
No full textThis paper describes a creative writing exercise referred as “One-line Provided" and its perceived benefits to English language learners. Students did this exercise as part of a contentbased English class that combined learning about Japanese literature and creative writing, namely haiku composition. Educators have extolled the benefits of creative writing in the classroom for decades. Gardner (1983) and Armstrong (1994) both praise the use of creative writing as a regular class activity that can and should be performed in all classes, regardless of subject content, for the benefit of students' overall individual learning experience. In recent years, foreign language education programs and applied linguistics programs throughout the world have been (re-) examimng the effects of creative writing activities with respect to L2 learning environments (Zhao, 2011 ). Such programs and researchers credit creative-writing with allowing L2 learners to find their own voice, display their own autonomy as learners, and become more active in producing language.
With the goal of teaching English through creative writing, the author began teaching a university seminar course titled "journey to the Interior" to English language students. Throughout the semester, students read the master haiku-poet Matsuo Basho’s Oku no hosomichi in English translation.The book is a work of pre-modem Japanese prose travelwriting interspersed with haiku. Aside from the assigned reading and discussions about various aspects of the book, students also performed a series of poetry writing exercises using English, and gradually began to compose their own English haiku. The following is a description of a writing exercise called “One-line Provided" that the students performed, followed by examples of students’original writing resultiong from this exercise
Haiku and Creative Writing in the English Language Learning Classroom
No full textThis paper describes a creative writing exercise referred as “One-line Provided" and its perceived benefits to English language learners. Students did this exercise as part of a contentbased English class that combined learning about Japanese literature and creative writing, namely haiku composition. Educators have extolled the benefits of creative writing in the classroom for decades. Gardner (1983) and Armstrong (1994) both praise the use of creative writing as a regular class activity that can and should be performed in all classes, regardless of subject content, for the benefit of students' overall individual learning experience. In recent years, foreign language education programs and applied linguistics programs throughout the world have been (re-) examimng the effects of creative writing activities with respect to L2 learning environments (Zhao, 2011 ). Such programs and researchers credit creative-writing with allowing L2 learners to find their own voice, display their own autonomy as learners, and become more active in producing language.
With the goal of teaching English through creative writing, the author began teaching a university seminar course titled "journey to the Interior" to English language students. Throughout the semester, students read the master haiku-poet Matsuo Basho’s Oku no hosomichi in English translation.The book is a work of pre-modem Japanese prose travelwriting interspersed with haiku. Aside from the assigned reading and discussions about various aspects of the book, students also performed a series of poetry writing exercises using English, and gradually began to compose their own English haiku. The following is a description of a writing exercise called “One-line Provided" that the students performed, followed by examples of students’original writing resultiong from this exercise
Luminosity determination in pp collisions at √s=7TeV using the ATLAS detector at the LHC
No full textMeasurements of luminosity obtained using the ATLAS detector during early running of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at √s=7 TeV are presented. The luminosity is independently determined using several detectors and multiple algorithms, each having different acceptances, systematic uncertainties and sensitivity to background. The ratios of the luminosities obtained from these methods are monitored as a function of time and of μ, the average number of inelastic interactions per bunch crossing. Residual time- and μ-dependence between the methods is less than 2% for 0<μ<2.5. Absolute luminosity calibrations, performed using beam separation scans, have a common systematic uncertainty of ±11%, dominated by the measurement of the LHC beam currents. After calibration, the luminosities obtained from the different methods differ by at most ±2%. The visible cross sections measured using the beam scans are compared to predictions obtained with the PYTHIA and PHOJET event generators and the ATLAS detector simulation
Modeling of multi-step oral carcinogenesis in vitro : assessment of growth, differentiation and apoptosis markers
No full textHuman oral mucosa, especially the buccal epithelium, is worldwide a common site for cancer. Cancer development frequently results in inactivation of tumor suppressor p53, a central regulator of growth and programmed cell death, and deregulated expression of structural elements like cytokeratins. The overall aim of this study was to investigate if the multi-step process of carcinogenesis can be modeled and studied from a mechanistic stand point utilizing cultured normal (NOK), immortalized (SVpgC2a) and malignant (SqCC/Y1) human buccal keratinocytes.Organotypic epithelia of the respective cell lines, as derived from serum-free culture on a collagen gel containing oral fibroblasts, showed morphological features ranging from normal tissue to carcinoma in situ. The respective epithelia showed sharp differences in immunochemical expression of keratins. NOK expressed many of the same keratins as buccal mucosa, whereas loss of keratins in SVpgC2a and their retention in SqCC/Y1 showed similarities to oral dysplasia and well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Assessment of tissue homeostatic functions demonstrated that NOK exhibited a terminal squamous differentiation (TSD) and apoptosis- capable phenotype, that responded to fibroblast-mediated proliferation with increased apoptosis and to elevation of Ca 2+ by induction of TSD. In contrast, SVpgC2a and SqCC/Y1 exhibited hyper- proliferative, TSD-deficient and hyperapoptotic phenotypes that failed to respond to the above stimuli. Immunochemical expression of tumor suppressor p53 was scattered in NOK, heterogeneous in SVpgC2a and negative in SqCC/Y1. Exclusively for NOK, p53 expression increased with proliferation and decreased with TSD, moreover, expression of Bax, a gene associated to apoptosis in many cell types, correlated with TSD.Further evaluation of NOK and SVpgC2a in various conditions for up to 17 days consistently showed several-fold higher proliferation and apoptosis rates in SVpgC2a. Micro-array analysis of NOK and SVpgC2a in monolayer culture confirmed the respective keratin protein profiles to the mRNA level, and indicated expression of keratins not previously reported for buccal epithelium. Under sparse or confluent culture, SVpgC2a exhibited relatively higher cloning ability and growth rate as well as lower responsiveness to contact inhibition than NOK. Apoptosis and TSD were regulated in NOK in response to increasing cell density whereas SVpgC2a showed resistance. Cultures of NOK showed obligatory dependence for the growth supplement, pituitary extract, whereas SVpgC2a showed independence, and thus, SVpgC2a could be cultured at chemically defined conditions. Immunochemical assessments in NOK showed increased Bax expression under conditions that increase TSD and decrease apoptosis, providing ftirther evidence for the dissociation of Bax expression from apoptosis in keratinocytes.A composite in vitro model for malignant transformation of oral epithelium is described. Characterization of NOK, SVpgC2a and SqCC/Y1 demonstrated that the multi-step process of malignant transformation of buccal keratinocytes clearly associates with alterations in basic cellular functions and mechanisms that regulate tissue homeostasis and build-up of the cytoskeleton. Overall, standardized, highly defined culture conditions, different cell densities and co-culture models provide useful means of investigating mechanisms underlying oral cancer development.List of scientific papersI. Hansson A, Bloor BK, Haig Y, Morgan PR, Ekstrand J, Grafstrom RC (2001). Expression of keratins in normal, immortalized and malignant oral epithelia in organotypic culture. Oral Oncol. 37(5): 419-30. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11377230II. Hansson A, Bloor BK, Sarang Z, Haig Y, Morgan PR, Stark HJ, Fusenig NE, Ekstrand J, Grafstrom RC (2003). Analysis of proliferation, apoptosis and keratin expression in cultured normal and immortalized human buccal keratinocytes. Eur J Oral Sci. 111(1): 34-41. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12558806III. Hansson A, Zheng X, Haig Y, Bloor BK, Morgan PR, Stark HJ, Fusenig NE, Elfwing A, Grafstrom RC (2003). Growth, programmed cell death and gene expression related to p53 function in epithelia regenerated with cultured normal, immortalized and malignant human buccal keratinocytes. [Manuscript]IV. Haig Y, Hansson A, Zheng X, Bloor BK, Morgan PR, Elfwing A, Grafstrom RC (2003). Growth, programmed cell death and gene expression related to p53 function in normal and SVT40T antigen-immortalized human buccal keratinocytes. [Manuscript]</p
Pollen morphology of the Goodeniaceae and comparisons with related families
No full textPalynological data obtained by LM, SEM and TEM support a division of the Goodeniaceae into three groups. The Lechenaultia group has rhomboidal tetrads with pores, interconnected columellae, and lacks a foot layer. The Anthotium-Dampiera group has tricolpo</p
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