The Role of AKT/mTOR Pathway in Stress Response to UV-Irradiation: Implication in Skin Carcinogenesis by Regulation of Apoptosis,Autophagy and Senescence

Induction of DNA damage by UVB and UVA radiation may generate mutations and genomic instability leading to carcinogenesis. Therefore, skin cells being repeatedly exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light have acquired multilayered protective mechanisms to avoid malignant transformation. Besides extensive DNA repair mechanisms, the damaged skin cells can be eliminated by induction of apoptosis, which is mediated through the action of tumor suppressor p53. In order to prevent the excessive loss of skin cells and to maintain the skin barrier function, apoptotic pathways are counteracted by anti-apoptotic signaling including the AKT/mTOR pathway. However, AKT/mTOR not only prevents cell death, but is also active in cell cycle transition and hyper-proliferation, thereby also counteracting p53. In turn, AKT/mTOR is tuned down by the negative regulators being controlled by the p53. This inhibition of AKT/mTOR, in combination with transactivation of damage-regulated autophagy modulators, guides the p53-mediated elimination of damaged cellular components by autophagic clearance. Alternatively, p53 irreversibly blocks cell cycle progression to prevent AKT/mTOR-driven proliferation, thereby inducing premature senescence. Conclusively, AKT/mTOR via an extensive cross talk with p53 influences the UV response in the skin with no black and white scenario deciding over death or survival.     

Cavitation erosion of electroplated nickel composite coatings

The cavitational wear resistance of electroplated nickel composite layers was tested following ASTM G32. Particles of different hardness (titania and silicon carbide) and different sizes from micro-scale to nano-scale were incorporated up to 30 vol.% into a nickel matrix. Martens hardness is improved by grain refinement via particle incorporation. Compared to pure electroplated nickel films the composite layers strengthened by submicro-scale silicon carbide particles exhibit a decreased mass loss of one order of magnitude after 8 h testing time. Remarkably, layers with nano-scaled titania particles show a similar performance.

Apart from particle adherence failures, reduced mass loss of the composite layers correlate with improved hardness of the composite due to grain refinement of the matrix and dispersion hardening effects.     

5-Fluorouracil Treatment of CT26 Colon Cancer Is Compromised by Combined Therapy with IMMODIN

Due to the physiological complexity of the tumour, a single drug therapeutic strategy may not be sufficient for effective treatment. Emerging evidence suggests that combination strategies may be important to achieve more efficient tumour responses. Different immunomodulators are frequently tested to reverse the situation for the purpose of improving immune response and minimizing chemotherapy side effects. Immodin (IM) represents an attractive alternative to complement chemotherapy, which can be used to enhance the immune system after disturbances resulting from the side effects of chemotherapy. In the presented study, a model of CT26 tumor-bearing mice was used to investigate the effect of single IM or its combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on colon cancer cells. Our results highlight that the beneficial role of IM claimed in previous studies cannot be generalised to all chemotherapeutic drugs, as 5-FU toxicity was not increased. On the contrary, the chemotherapeutic anti-cancer efficacy of 5-FU was greatly compromised when combined with IM. Indeed, the combined treatment was significantly less effective regarding the tumour growth and animal survival, most probably due to the increased number of tumour-associated macrophages, and increased 5-FU cytotoxic effect related to kidneys and the liver.     

GPU-accelerated level-set segmentation

The level-set method, a technique for the computation of evolving interfaces, is a solution commonly used to segment images and volumes in medical applications. GPUs have become a commodity hardware with hundreds of cores that can execute thousands of threads in parallel, and they are nowadays ideal platforms to execute computational intensive tasks, such as the 3D level-set-based segmentation, in real time. In this paper, we propose two GPU implementations of the level-set-based segmentation method called Fast Two-Cycle. Our proposals perform computations in independent domains called tiles and modify the structure of the original algorithm to better exploit the features of the GPU. The implementations were tested with real images of brain vessels and a synthetic MRI image of the brain. Results show that they execute faster than a CPU-sequential implementation of the same method, without any significant loss of the segmentation quality and without requiring distributed parallel computer infrastructures.     

How penultimate monomer unit effects and initiator influence ICAR ATRP of n‐butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate

The relevance of penultimate monomer unit (PMU) effects and the selection of the correct initiator species under typical reversible deactivation radical copolymerization conditions is illustrated, using matrix‐based kinetic Monte Carlo simulations allowing the visualization of all monomer sequences along individual chains. Initiators for continuous activator regeneration atom transfer radical polymerization (ICAR ATRP) is selected as illustrative polymerization technique with n‐butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate as comonomers, aiming at the synthesis of well‐defined gradient copolymers. Using literature based model parameters, in particular temperature dependent monomer and radical reactivity ratios, it is demonstrated that PMU effects on propagation and ATRP (de)activation cannot be ignored to identify the most suited ICAR ATRP reactants (e.g., tertiary ATRP initiator) and reaction conditions (e.g., feeding rates under fed‐batch conditions). The formulated insights highlight the need for further research on PMU effects on all reaction steps in radical polymerization. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2017     

Gewinnung von Antik?rpern gegen Sojaprotein aus Eiern immunisierter Legehennen

Zusammenfassung Die Autoren berichten über Erfahrungen mit der Immunisierung von Legehennen mit -, - und -Conglycinin aus Soja, und der Isolierung von spezifischen Antikörpern aus Eidottern. Die Aktivität und Spezifität der Immunglobuline wurde mittels Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) untersucht. Besonders in Hinblick auf Einfachheit der Tierhaltung und Ausbeuten an Antikörpern bewährte sich diese Art der Antikörper-Gewinnung ausgesprochen gut. Auf die Notwendigkeit spezifischer Antiseren für die quantitative immunologische Bestimmung wird hingewiesen.

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Isolation of specific antibodies against soybean protein from the eggs of immunized laying hens

Summary The authors report on their experiences with immunization of laying hens with alpha-, alpha-and beta-conglycinin, and on the isolation of specific antibodies from the yolks. Activity and specifity of the immunoglobulins were tested by an enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). This method of antibody production proved to be very convenient, especially in regard to the high yield of antibodies and the easy handling of the animals. The necessity of using specific antisera for quantitative immunoassays is pointed out.

     

Authenticity and Respect: Leading Creative Teams in the Performing Arts

Although leadership continues to play an important role in team effectiveness, how to lead teams of creative experts effectively remains a largely unanswered question. Within a performing arts context, this paper integrates the expert team and leadership literatures with the specific exigencies of the creative environment, particularly institutionalized theatre, and sheds new light on leadership and leadership behaviour in creative expert teams. The content analysis of semi‐structured narrative interviews from two theatre organizations in Austria and Germany reveals five leadership discourses not only on success and leadership, authenticity, respect, autonomy and freedom, but also on the dark side of leadership. The paper concludes by discussing findings and implications on leadership research with respect to the sensitivity of the creative context.