Houses of the Spirit

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gatta
Keyword(s):  
Nathaniel Hawthorne ◽  
Willa Cather ◽  
Harriet Beecher Stowe ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Marilynne Robinson ◽  
Ernest Gaines

Domiciles ordinarily represent the first space that humans occupy, structures through which they begin to realize their own being and relation to the larger world. It is also in and through houses that humans may first experience themselves as souls, gaining sacramental intimations of a spirituality mediated through yet also beyond the materiality of their primal shelter. This chapter reflects on the diverse ways in which house structures, even as they are stationed in space, play a critical role in the spiritual journeying of writers such as Henry Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. With reference to fictional works by Willa Cather, Marilynne Robinson, and Ernest Gaines, this chapter also reflects on the problematic complications of humankind’s relation to home places—that is, on what it means to be displaced and the existential consequence of encountering former houses that are no longer homes.

Dexamethasone Effect on Embryonic Chick Respiratory Epithelium

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 248-249
Author(s):  
M.R. Richter ◽  
R.V. Blystone
Keyword(s):  
Lung Development ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Respiratory Epithelium ◽  
Chick Embryos ◽  
Embryonic Chick ◽  
White Leghorn ◽  
Lung Maturation ◽  
Synthetic Analogs ◽  
Lung Physiology ◽  
Avian Lung

Dexamethasone and other synthetic analogs of corticosteroids have been employed clinically as enhancers of lung development. The mechanism(s) by which this steroid induction of later lung maturation operates is not clear. This study reports the effect on lung epithelia of dexamethasone administered at different intervals during development. White Leghorn chick embryos were used so as to remove possible maternal and placental influences on the exogenously applied steroid. Avian lung architecture does vary from mammals; however, respiratory surfactant produced by the lung epithelia serves an equally critical role in avian lung physiology.

An atomic resolution study of a carbide phase in platinum

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-21
Author(s):  
M.J. Witcomb ◽  
M.A. O'Keefe ◽  
CJ. Echer ◽  
C. Nelson ◽  
J.H. Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solid Solution ◽  
Carbon Atom ◽  
Carbide Phase ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Alloy System ◽  
Atomic Resolution ◽  
Excess Carbon ◽  
Interstitial Carbon ◽  
Resolution Study

Under normal circumstances, Pt dissolves only a very small amount of interstitial carbon in solid solution. Even so, an appropriate quench/age treatment leads to the formation of stable Pt2C {100} plate precipitates. Excess (quenched-in) vacancies play a critical role in the process by accommodating the volume and structural changes that accompany the transformation. This alloy system exhibits other interesting properties. Due to a large vacancy/carbon atom binding energy, Pt can absorb excess carbon at high temperatures in a carburizing atmosphere. In regions rich in carbon and vacancies, another carbide phase, Pt7C which undergoes an order-disorder reaction was formed. The present study of Pt carburized at 1160°C and aged at 515°C shows that other carbides in the PtxC series can be produced.

Quantitative Model-Based Image Analysis of NuMa Distribution Links Nuclear Organization with Cell Phenotype

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 578-579
Author(s):  
David W. Knowles ◽  
Sophie A. Lelièvre ◽  
Carlos Ortiz de Solόrzano ◽  
Stephen J. Lockett ◽  
Mina J. Bissell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Mammary Epithelial Cells ◽  
Nuclear Organization ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Quantitative Model ◽  
Mammary Epithelial ◽  
Cell Phenotype ◽  
Proliferating Cells ◽  
Mitotic Apparatus ◽  
Model Based

The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role in directing cell behaviour and morphogenesis by regulating gene expression and nuclear organization. Using non-malignant (S1) human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs), it was previously shown that ECM-induced morphogenesis is accompanied by the redistribution of nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA) protein from a diffuse pattern in proliferating cells, to a multi-focal pattern as HMECs growth arrested and completed morphogenesis . A process taking 10 to 14 days.To further investigate the link between NuMA distribution and the growth stage of HMECs, we have investigated the distribution of NuMA in non-malignant S1 cells and their malignant, T4, counter-part using a novel model-based image analysis technique. This technique, based on a multi-scale Gaussian blur analysis (Figure 1), quantifies the size of punctate features in an image. Cells were cultured in the presence and absence of a reconstituted basement membrane (rBM) and imaged in 3D using confocal microscopy, for fluorescently labeled monoclonal antibodies to NuMA (fαNuMA) and fluorescently labeled total DNA.

Crystal structures of Magnaporthe oryzae trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (MoTps1) suggest a model for catalytic process of Tps1

2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (21) ◽  
pp. 3227-3240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Wang ◽  
Yanxiang Zhao ◽  
Long Yi ◽  
Minghe Shen ◽  
Chao Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structures ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Magnaporthe Oryzae ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Catalytic Process ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Salt Bridges ◽  
Terminal Domain

Trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) synthase (Tps1) catalyzes the formation of T6P from UDP-glucose (UDPG) (or GDPG, etc.) and glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), and structural basis of this process has not been well studied. MoTps1 (Magnaporthe oryzae Tps1) plays a critical role in carbon and nitrogen metabolism, but its structural information is unknown. Here we present the crystal structures of MoTps1 apo, binary (with UDPG) and ternary (with UDPG/G6P or UDP/T6P) complexes. MoTps1 consists of two modified Rossmann-fold domains and a catalytic center in-between. Unlike Escherichia coli OtsA (EcOtsA, the Tps1 of E. coli), MoTps1 exists as a mixture of monomer, dimer, and oligomer in solution. Inter-chain salt bridges, which are not fully conserved in EcOtsA, play primary roles in MoTps1 oligomerization. Binding of UDPG by MoTps1 C-terminal domain modifies the substrate pocket of MoTps1. In the MoTps1 ternary complex structure, UDP and T6P, the products of UDPG and G6P, are detected, and substantial conformational rearrangements of N-terminal domain, including structural reshuffling (β3–β4 loop to α0 helix) and movement of a ‘shift region' towards the catalytic centre, are observed. These conformational changes render MoTps1 to a ‘closed' state compared with its ‘open' state in apo or UDPG complex structures. By solving the EcOtsA apo structure, we confirmed that similar ligand binding induced conformational changes also exist in EcOtsA, although no structural reshuffling involved. Based on our research and previous studies, we present a model for the catalytic process of Tps1. Our research provides novel information on MoTps1, Tps1 family, and structure-based antifungal drug design.

Elevated level of circulatory sTLT1 induces inflammation through SYK/MEK/ERK signalling in coronary artery disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (22) ◽  
pp. 2283-2299
Author(s):  
Apabrita Ayan Das ◽  
Devasmita Chakravarty ◽  
Debmalya Bhunia ◽  
Surajit Ghosh ◽  
Prakash C. Mandal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Coronary Artery Disease ◽  
Coronary Artery ◽  
Chronic Inflammation ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
Artery Disease

Abstract The role of inflammation in all phases of atherosclerotic process is well established and soluble TREM-like transcript 1 (sTLT1) is reported to be associated with chronic inflammation. Yet, no information is available about the involvement of sTLT1 in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Present study was undertaken to determine the pathophysiological significance of sTLT1 in atherosclerosis by employing an observational study on human subjects (n=117) followed by experiments in human macrophages and atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E (apoE)−/− mice. Plasma level of sTLT1 was found to be significantly (P<0.05) higher in clinical (2342 ± 184 pg/ml) and subclinical cases (1773 ± 118 pg/ml) than healthy controls (461 ± 57 pg/ml). Moreover, statistical analyses further indicated that sTLT1 was not only associated with common risk factors for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in both clinical and subclinical groups but also strongly correlated with disease severity. Ex vivo studies on macrophages showed that sTLT1 interacts with Fcɣ receptor I (FcɣRI) to activate spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK)-mediated downstream MAP kinase signalling cascade to activate nuclear factor-κ B (NF-kB). Activation of NF-kB induces secretion of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) from macrophage cells that plays pivotal role in governing the persistence of chronic inflammation. Atherosclerotic apoE−/− mice also showed high levels of sTLT1 and TNF-α in nearly occluded aortic stage indicating the contribution of sTLT1 in inflammation. Our results clearly demonstrate that sTLT1 is clinically related to the risk factors of CAD. We also showed that binding of sTLT1 with macrophage membrane receptor, FcɣR1 initiates inflammatory signals in macrophages suggesting its critical role in thrombus development and atherosclerosis.

Coaching Care Partners Who Support Loved Ones With MCI

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Mills ◽  
Jennifer Brush
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Educational Program ◽  
Social Withdrawal ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Care Partners ◽  
Provide Quality Care ◽  
Solution Focused

Speech-language pathologists can play a critical role in providing education and intervention to prevent social withdrawal, prevent premature disability, and maximize cognitive functioning in persons with MCI. The purpose of this article is to describe positive, solution-focused educational program that speech-language pathologists can implement with family care partners to improve relationships and provide quality care for someone living with MCI.

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