Transcriptional regulation of SPROUTY 2 by MYB influences myeloid cell proliferation and stem cell properties by enhancing responsiveness to IL-3.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), which overproduce blood cells in the bone marrow, have recently been linked with a genetically determined decrease in expression of the MYB transcription factor. Here, we use a mouse MYB knockdown model with an MPN-like phenotype to show how lower levels of MYB lead to stem cell characteristics in myeloid progenitors. The altered progenitor properties feature elevated cytokine responsiveness, especially to IL-3, which results from increased receptor expression and increased MAPK activity leading to enhanced phosphorylation of a key regulator of protein synthesis, ribosomal protein S6. MYB acts on MAPK signaling by directly regulating transcription of the gene encoding the negative modulator SPRY2. This mechanistic insight points to pathways that might be targeted therapeutically in MPN.Leukemia accepted article preview online, 17 October 2016. doi:10.1038/leu.2016.289

Strong Pinning in High Temperature Superconductors

Detailed measurements of the critical current density jc of YBa2Cu3O7 films grown by pulsed laser deposition reveal the increase of jc as function of the filmthickness. Both this thickness dependence and the field dependence of the critical current are consistently described using a generalization of the theory of strong pinning of Ovchinnikov and Ivlev [Phys. Rev. B 43, 8024 (1991)]. From the model, we deduce values of the defect density (10^21 m^-3) and the elementary pinning force, which are in good agreement with the generally accepted values for Y2O3-inclusions. In the absence of clear evidence that the critical current is determined by linear defects or modulations of the film thickness, our model provides an alternative explanation for the rather universal field dependence of the critical current density found in YBa2Cu3O7 films deposited by different methods.Comment: 11 pages; 8 Figures; Published Phys. Rev. B 66, 024523 (2002

Current density inhomogeneity throughout the thickness of superconducting films and its effect on their irreversible magnetic properties

We calculate the distribution of the current density $j$ in superconducting films along the direction of an external field applied perpendicular to the film plane. Our analysis reveals that in the presence of bulk pinning $j$ is inhomogeneous on a length scale of order the inter vortex distance. This inhomogeneity is significantly enhanced in the presence of surface pinning. We introduce new critical state model, which takes into account the current density variations throughout the film thickness, and show how these variations give rise to the experimentally observed thickness dependence of $$ and magnetic relaxation rate.Comment: RevTex, 9 PS figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Post-Partum Pituitary Insufficiency and Livedo Reticularis Presenting a Diagnostic Challenge in a Resource Limited Setting in Tanzania: A Case Report, Clinical Discussion and Brief Review of Existing Literature.

Pituitary disorders following pregnancy are an important yet under reported clinical entity in the developing world. Conversely, post partum panhypopituitarism has a more devastating impact on women in such settings due to high fertility rates, poor obstetric care and scarcity of diagnostic and therapeutic resources available. A 37 year old African female presented ten years post partum with features of multiple endocrine deficiencies including hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism, lactation failure and secondary amenorrhea. In addition she had clinical features of an underlying autoimmune condition. These included a history of post-partum thyroiditis, alopecia areata, livedo reticularis and deranged coagulation indices. A remarkable clinical response followed appropriate hormone replacement therapy including steroids. This constellation has never been reported before; we therefore present an interesting clinical discussion including a brief review of existing literature. Post partum pituitary insufficiency is an under-reported condition of immense clinical importance especially in the developing world. A high clinical index of suspicion is vital to ensure an early and correct diagnosis which will have a direct bearing on management and patient outcome

Temporal and between-site variation in helminth communities of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from N.E. Poland. 1. Regional fauna and component community levels

Helminth infections were studied in bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from 3 woodland sites in N.E. Poland in the late summers of 1999 and 2002, to assess the temporal stability of derived statistics describing the regional helminth fauna and component community structure, and spatial influence on the latter. Regional helminth fauna changed dramatically between the two years, primarily due to a fall in the abundance of Syphacia petrusewiczi but was partially compensated for by an increase in Mesocestoides lineatus and Cladotaenia globifera. It was dominated by nematodes overall, but more so in 1999 than in 2002 when larval cestodes were more frequent. Most derived parameters for component community structure varied considerably between sites and the two surveys, the hierarchical order for sites not being maintained between surveys. They were susceptible to the disproportionate influence of three relatively rare, unpredictable species with the greatest overall aggregated distribution among hosts. Jaccard’s similarity index was less influenced by the rare species, showing greater stability between sites and across years. In conclusion, temporal variation confounded any site-specific characteristics of the summary measures quantified in this study and their usefulness is therefore restricted to the years in which the surveys were conducted

The Prevalence of Latent Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection Based on an Interferon-γ Release Assay: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Urban Adults in Mwanza, Tanzania.

One third of the world's population is estimated to be latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI). Surveys of LTBI are rarely performed in resource poor TB high endemic countries like Tanzania although low-income countries harbor the largest burden of the worlds LTBI. The primary objective was to estimate the prevalence of LTBI in household contacts of pulmonary TB cases and a group of apparently healthy neighborhood controls in an urban setting of such a country. Secondly we assessed potential impact of LTBI on inflammation by quantitating circulating levels of an acute phase reactant: alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) in neighborhood controls. The study was nested within the framework of two nutrition studies among TB patients in Mwanza, Tanzania. Household contacts- and neighborhood controls were invited to participate. The study involved a questionnaire, BMI determination and blood samples to measure AGP, HIV testing and a Quantiferon Gold In tube (QFN-IT) test to detect signs of LTBI. 245 household contacts and 192 neighborhood controls had available QFN-IT data. Among household contacts, the proportion of QFT-IT positive was 59% compared to 41% in the neighborhood controls (p = 0.001). In a linear regression model adjusted for sex, age, CD4 and HIV, a QFT-IT positive test was associated with a 10% higher level of alpha-1-acid glycoprotein(AGP) (10(B) 1.10, 95% CI 1.01; 1.20, p = 0.03), compared to individuals with a QFT-IT negative test. LTBI is highly prevalent among apparently healthy urban Tanzanians even without known exposure to TB in the household. LTBI was found to be associated with elevated levels of AGP. The implications of this observation merit further studies

Temporal and between-site variation in helminth communities of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from N.E. Poland: 2. The infracommunity level

The relative importance of temporal and spatial effects was assessed in helminth communities of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in 3 woodland sites in N.E. Poland in the late summers of 1999 and 2002. Among common species the rank order of sites in relation to prevalence and abundance of infection was maintained between surveys. Site effects accounted for most of the deviance (in statistical models), and time was less important, so the exact location from which voles were sampled was of critical importance. The only exception was Syphacia petrusewiczi. In contrast, for derived measures such as species richness and diversity, most deviance was accounted for by host age, and the interaction between site and year was significant, implying that rank order of sites changed between years. Temporal effects on derived measures were generated primarily by a combination of relatively small changes in prevalence and abundance of the common, rather than the rare, species between the years of the study. In the medium-term, therefore, helminth communities of bank voles in N.E. Poland had a stable core, suggesting a substantial strong element of predictability

Community-based fish culture in seasonal floodplains and irrigation systems

The overall objective of the project was to enhance fish production from seasonally flooding areas and irrigation systems using a collective approach to fish culture. The project sought to examine the institutions necessary to support community-approaches to fish culture in a range of social, cultural and economic conditions, in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Vietnam and Mali. Technical designs for fish culture were also tested, building on successes achieved in earlier trials in Bangladesh, with an emphasis on adapting the model to develop locally appropriate culture systems. The project showed that the model is able to generate important benefits for communities in Bangladesh, China and Mali, and may have the potential to so in other countries. However, it was found that introducing fish culture into complex and dynamic institutional contexts, whereby open access waters lie over private property required a range of social, environmental and economic conditions to be in place for the adoption and continuance of the fish culture model

Predicate Encryption for Circuits from LWE

In predicate encryption, a ciphertext is associated with descriptive attribute values x in addition to a plaintext μ, and a secret key is associated with a predicate f. Decryption returns plaintext μ if and only if f(x)=1. Moreover, security of predicate encryption guarantees that an adversary learns nothing about the attribute x or the plaintext μ from a ciphertext, given arbitrary many secret keys that are not authorized to decrypt the ciphertext individually. We construct a leveled predicate encryption scheme for all circuits, assuming the hardness of the subexponential learning with errors (LWE) problem. That is, for any polynomial function d=d(λ), we construct a predicate encryption scheme for the class of all circuits with depth bounded by d(λ), where λ is the security parameter.Microsoft Corporation (PhD Fellowship)Northrop Grumman Cybersecurity Research ConsortiumUnited States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Grant FA8750-11-2-0225)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Awards CNS-1350619)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Awards CNS-1413920)Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Fellowship)Microsoft (Faculty Fellowship

Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML): Language Specification for Level 3 Version 2 Core Release 2

Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological functions, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that different software systems can exchange. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Release 2 of Version 2 of SBML Level 3 Core. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. Release 2 corrects some errors and clarifies some ambiguities discovered in Release 1. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project website at http://sbml.org/