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Glomalin is an abundant soil glycoprotein that could sequester substantial amounts of C and N on a global scale. Nevertheless, major controls over the distribution of this compound in ecosystems are little understood. We reviewed shifts in the production, decomposition, and standing stocks of soil glomalin in response to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) communities, plant dynamics, inorganic resources (e.g., N, P, and atmospheric CO2), and land use regimes. We also conducted a literature survey of glomalin concentrations from 22 ecosystems to test for relationships between standing stocks of glomalin and net primary productivity (NPP) and AM abundance. Globally, glomalin stocks were positively correlated with NPP but not with AM abundance. Rates of NPP may impose an upper bound for C available to AM fungi for glomalin construction. Availability of C to AM fungi appears to consistently influence glomalin dynamics in individual studies as well. Glomalin stocks are often greater where AM host plants are more abundant or are more effective hosts for the fungi (implying that more C is allocated to the fungi). In addition, elevated CO2 frequently increases glomalin concentrations in soil. Other inorganic resources and land use change produce inconsistent effects on glomalin stocks. Overall, glomalin dynamics appear to be linked to C dynamics, and this relationship may allow us to better predict the contribution of glomalin to ecosystem feedbacks on global change.

The newly purified extracellular polysaccharides (exopolysaccharides) from Parachlorella kessleri (PCEPS) were evaluated on their antitumor and immunomodulatory effects in cell culture and mouse colon carcinoma peritoneal dissemination model. In two-dimensional cell culture, the PCEPS treatment inhibited cell growth of both murine and human colon carcinoma cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In contrast, the growth of mouse splenocytes (SPLs) and bone marrow cells (BMCs) were stimulated by the treatment with PCEPS. The treatment with PCEPS also increased specific subpopulations of the cells in BMCs: antigen presenting cells (CD19+ B cells, 33D1+ dendritic cells and CD68+ macrophage) and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. In three-dimensional spheroid culture, spheroid growth of CT26 cells co-cultured with HL-60 human neutrophilic promyeloblasts and Jurkat cells (human lymphoblasts), but not THP-1 human monocyte/macrophage was significantly attenuated by PCEPS treatment. In a mouse CT26 colon carcinoma peritoneal dissemination model, intraperitoneal injection of PCEPS (10 mg/kg, twice per week) significantly attenuated the growth of CT26 colon carcinoma in syngeneic mice. The present study suggests that PCEPS inhibits colon carcinoma growth via direct cell growth inhibition and a stimulation of the host antitumor immune responses. Taken together, the current study suggests that exopolysaccharides derived from Parachlorella kessleri contain significant bioactive materials that inhibit colon carcinoma growth.

Purpose To determine aerosol administration capability and therapeutic efficacy of the new formulation of hyaluronan cisplatin conjugates, HylaPlat™ (HA-Pt), for lung cancer treatment. Methods In vitro formulation stability test, 2D and 3D spheroid cell culture and in vivo efficacy studies using mouse orthotopic allograft models were conducted. Results The HA-Pt effectively attenuated cell growth in 2D and 3D cultures with IC 50 of 2.62 and 5.36 μM, respectively, which were comparable to those with unconjugated control cisplatin-dependent growth inhibition (IC 50 1.64 and 4.63 μM, respectively). A single dose of either 7.5 or 15 mg/kg HA-Pt (cisplatin equivalent) by intratracheal aerosol spray 7 days after Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cell inoculation markedly inhibited growth of LLC allografts in mouse lungs and resulted in a 90 or 94% reduction of tumor nodule numbers, respectively, as compared to those from the PBS control. Cancer stem cells and cisplatin resistant cells marker, CD44 expression decreased in the tumor nodules of the HA-Pt but not in those of cisplatin treated groups. Conclusions The current study suggests that an intratracheal aerosol administration of the HA-Pt nanoparticles offers an effective strategy for lung cancer treatment and this treatment may induce only limited cisplatin resistance.

Animal studies have discovered that noise, even at levels that produce no permanent threshold shift, may cause cochlear damage and selective nerve degeneration. A hallmark of such damage, or synaptopathy, is recovered threshold but reduced suprathreshold amplitude for the auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I. The objective of the present study is to evaluate whether the ABR wave I amplitude or slope can be used to diagnose tinnitus in humans. A total of 43 human subjects, consisting of 21 with tinnitus and 22 without tinnitus, participated in the study. The subjects were on average 44 ± 24 (standard deviation) years old and 16 were female; a subgroup of 19 were young adults with normal audiograms from 125 to 8000 Hz. The ABR was measured using ear canal recording tiptrodes for clicks, 1000, 4000 and 8000 Hz tone bursts at 30, 50, and 70 dB nHL. Compared with control subjects, tinnitus subjects did not show reduced ABR wave I amplitude or slope in either the entire group of 21 tinnitus subjects or a subset of tinnitus subjects with normal audiograms. Despite the small sample size and diverse tinnitus population, the present result suggests that low signal-to-noise ratios in non-invasive measurement of the ABR limit its clinical utility in diagnosing tinnitus in humans.

Neonatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) can alter the structure of the testicular excurrent ducts in rats. We characterized these changes according to dose and time posttreatment and established whether potent estrogens (ethinyl estradiol), environmental estrogens (genistein, octylphenol, bisphenol A, parabens), and tamoxifen induce such changes. Rats were administered these compounds neonatally and assessed at several time points during (day 10, or day 18 for some treatments) and after (days 18, 25, 35, and 75) the treatment period to detect any changes in testis weight, distension of the rete testis and efferent ducts, epithelial cell height in the efferent ducts, and immunoexpression of the water channel aquaporin-1 (AQP-1). Treatment with DES (10, 1, or 0.1 μg/injection; equivalent to 0.37, 0.037, or 0.0037 mg/kg/day, respectively) induced dose-dependent changes in testis weight and all parameters. These effects were most pronounced at days 18 and 25 and appeared to lessen with time, although some persisted into adulthood. Neonatal treatment with ethinyl estradiol (10 μg/injection; equivalent to 0.37 mg/kg/day) caused changes broadly similar to those induced by 10 μg DES. Administration of tamoxifen (2 mg/kg/day) caused changes at 18 days that were similar to those induced by 1 μg DES. Treatment with genistein (4 mg/kg/day), octylphenol (2 mg/injection; equivalent to 150 mg/kg/day), or bisphenol A (0.5 mg/injection; equivalent to 37 mg/kg/day) caused minor but significant (p<0.05) decreases in epithelial cell height of the efferent ducts at days 18 and/or 25. In animals that were followed through to 35 days and/or adulthood, these changes were no longer obvious; other parameters were either unaffected or were affected only marginally and transiently. Administration of parabens (2 mg/kg/day) had no detectable effect on any parameter at day 18. To establish whether these effects of estrogens were direct or indirect (i.e., resulting from reduced follicle-stimulating hormone/luteinizing hormone secretion), the above end points were assessed in animals in which gonadotropin secretion was suppressed neonatally by administration of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist. This treatment permanently reduced testis weight, but did not affect any of the other end points, apart from a minor transient reduction in efferent duct epithelial cell height at 18 days. This study suggests that structural and functional (expression of AQP-1) development of the excurrent ducts is susceptible to impairment by neonatal estrogen exposure, probably as a consequence of direct effects. The magnitude and duration of adverse changes induced by treatment with a range of estrogenic compounds was broadly comparable to their estrogenic potencies reported from in vitro assays.

Implementation of a Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) has proven to be a ‘big hairy audacious goal’ within the literature and applied settings. Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) has utilized a similar framework and was represented under the MTSS umbrella. If implemented with fidelity, both MTSS and PBIS have been shown to have positive outcomes for learners, staff members, and school systems. To implement one component of PBIS, a coaching procedure which consisted of instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback was provided for three middle school teachers. Two Tier 1 PBIS classroom management practices were the focus of the coaching intervention—opportunities to respond and encouragement of appropriate behavior through positive points of contact. This study utilized a mixed methods approach which incorporated a single-subject design, specifically a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants, to assess the effects of the coaching intervention on the implementation of the two classroom management practices, student on-task behavior, and the social validity of the intervention. Findings indicated an increase in both practices as well as an increase in student on-task behavior, from baseline to intervention phases of the study. Additionally, all participants reported high levels of social validity of the coaching intervention. The discussion was focused on triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data, which indicated these findings were complementary. Connections of the findings to the research literature, implications for future practice and research, limitations, and conclusions have been provided.

Joseph Fiennes plays Clavius, a well-respected Roman Tribune tasked with ensuring Jesus' death by crucifixion and, three days later, with recovering Jesus' body when it appears to be missing. When members of the Sanhedrin enter the tomb, they breach purity laws unique to the Temple priesthood (Lev. 21:11 prohibits priests from entering an enclosure with a dead body). From then on the movie becomes more akin to an antique detective drama, albeit one with evangelical aims, than a standard Biblical epic.

The activity of the maize (Zea mays) florigen geneZEA CENTRORADIALIS8(ZCN8) is associated with the floral transition in both day-neutral temperate maize and short-day (SD)-requiring tropical maize. We analyzed transcription and chromatin modifications at theZCN8locus and its nearly identical paralogZCN7during the floral transition. This analysis was performed with day-neutral maize (Zea maysssp.mays), where flowering is promoted almost exclusively via the autonomous pathway through the activity of the regulatory geneindeterminate1(id1), and tropical teosinte (Zea maysssp.parviglumis) under floral inductive and noninductive photoperiods. Comparison ofZCN7/ZCN8histone modification profiles in immature leaves of nonfloweringid1mutants and teosinte grown under floral inhibitory photoperiods reveals that bothid1floral inductive activity and SD-mediated induction result in histone modification patterns that are compatible with the formation of transcriptionally competent chromatin environments. Specific histone modifications are maintained during leaf development and may represent a chromatin signature that favors the production of processedZCN7/ZCN8messenger RNA in florigen-producing mature leaf. However, whereasid1function promotes histone H3 hyperacetylation, SD induction is associated with increased histone H3 dimethylation and trimethylation at lysine-4. In addition,id1and SD differently affect the production ofZCN7/ZCN8antisense transcript. These observations suggest that distinct mechanisms distinguish florigen regulation in response to autonomous and photoperiod pathways. Finally, the identical expression and histone modification profiles ofZCN7andZCN8in response to floral induction suggest thatZCN7may represent a second maize florigen.

This article presents empirical findings about the distinctiveness of smaller voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) involved in welfare service provision, based on in-depth, qualitative case study research. We identify a series of organisational features and practices which can mean that smaller VSOs are distinctive from larger organisations. These include how they are governed and managed, their approach to their work, and their position relative to other providers. To explain our findings, we draw on the concept of stakeholder ambiguity. This idea was posited by Billis and Glennerster (1998) and is commonly cited in relation to distinctiveness. We identified several manifestations of stakeholder ambiguity and confirm the concept’s explanatory importance, although we argue that our understanding of distinctiveness is enhanced when stakeholder ambiguity is considered alongside other closely related features, such as being embedded in a local geographic community and informal familial care-based organisational cultures. Our findings also highlight the fragility of smaller VSOs. We argue that this combination of distinctiveness and fragility creates a tension for social policy makers, many of whom recognise the value of smaller VSOs and the risks that they face but must weigh this against a requirement to allocate resources for statutory services as effectively as possible.