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The future of the university as an open knowledge institution that institutionalizes diversity and contributes to a common resource of knowledge: a manifesto. In this book, a diverse group of authors--including open access pioneers, science communicators, scholars, researchers, and university administrators--offer a bold proposition: universities should become open knowledge institutions, acting with principles of openness at their center and working across boundaries and with broad communities to generate shared knowledge resources for the benefit of humanity. Calling on universities to adopt transparent protocols for the creation, use, and governance of these resources, the authors draw on cutting-edge theoretical work, offer real-world case studies, and outline ways to assess universities' attempts to achieve openness. Digital technologies have already brought about dramatic changes in knowledge format and accessibility. The book describes further shifts that open knowledge institutions must make as they move away from closed processes for verifying expert knowledge and toward careful, mediated approaches to sharing it with wider publics. It examines these changes in terms of diversity, coordination, and communication; discusses policy principles that lay out paths for universities to become fully fledged open knowledge institutions; and suggests ways that openness can be introduced into existing rankings and metrics. Case studies--including Wikipedia, the Library Publishing Coalition, Creative Commons, and Open and Library Access--illustrate key processes.

There has been much attention given to the opportunity gap between white and minority students, especially African American children. Using research and years of experience "Cultivating the Genius of Black Children" is able to break down the cultural influences on learning style and provides a practical approach to helping Black children thrive in the classroom. For Black children, defined as those of African descent, there is a disconnect between learning preferences and learning environments that must be bridged before the achievement gap can be closed. This hands-on resource is filled with effective strategies and best practices to help early childhood educators expand their "toolbox" to include strategies and approaches specifically directed to supporting Black children. Increasing our cultural intelligence will allow us to work across many cultural differences in our classrooms. As our schools become more diverse, cultural competency will be an increasingly important skill for teacher efficacy and children's success. By cultivating the individual genius of each child and meeting them where they are today we can invigorate the education system and provide children high quality early education experiences.

This book is for secondary subject matter teachers and administrators who work with English language learners (ELLs) in subject matter classes. It is also for college professors who prepare pre-service teachers to work with those students. The book brings together insights from linguistic, socio-cultural, educational, cognitive, developmental perspectives of what it means for ELLs to learn both English and subject matter knowledge in English as a second language. It delineates unique challenges that ELLs experience, offers ELLs' learning stories, and suggests concrete strategies with classroom teaching examples across academic disciplines. The 2nd edition broadens the scope of the 1st edition in several aspects. Specifically, it includes two chapters about secondary ELLs' previous educational experiences in their home countries, a chapter on subject matter lesson planning with ELLs in mind with teacher collaborative strategies, and more principle-based and field-tested effective instructional and assessment strategies for working with ELLs.

What causes dyslexia, and how does it manifest across languages? As bilingualism becomes increasingly important globally, these questions have never been more critical--and this comprehensive volume from The Dyslexia Foundation explores them in unprecedented depth. Bringing together the best brain-based, genetics, and behavioral research in the field from more than 40 of today's most highly respected researchers, this landmark volume fully examines what we know about the identification, manifestations, and potential differences in dyslexia across languages and orthographies. International contributors share their groundbreaking studies, helping researchers and graduate-level students investigate key questions about dyslexia: (1) How does dyslexia vary in frequency and manifestation among speakers of various alphabetic and nonalphabetic languages?; (2) How might the characteristics of different languages affect reading acquisition and reading difficulties?; (3) How do genetic profiles interact with environment to influence how reading difficulties manifest?; (4) Are there unique neurobiological and/or behavioral characteristics that are universal to dyslexia?; (5) How can computational and statistical modeling contribute to a better understanding of reading difficulties in children and adults?; and (6) In what ways might bilingualism influence reading and reading difficulties? The editors also lay out a clear agenda for future research on reading, writing, and dyslexia across the world's languages and orthographies. These specific next steps will pave the way for more and better research and encourage stronger interdisciplinary collaborations among fields, such as cognitive science, neuroscience, genetics, and education. Reflecting 20 years of progress in our understanding of dyslexia, this foundational volume will lay the groundwork for tomorrow's practical resources--and help ensure that all children around the world have access to the best, most effective reading instruction. This book is divided into five parts. Part I, Looking Across Orthographies, contains the following: (1) Reading Processes and Reading Problems: Progress Toward a Universal Reading Science (Charles Perfetti); (2) Fundamentals of Chinese Reading Development and How They Might Impact Concepts of Dyslexia in Chinese (Catherine McBride-Chang & Phil D. Liu); (3) The Statistical Learning Perspective on Chinese Reading (Chia Ying Lee); (4) Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Highly Transparent Finnish (Ulla Richardson, Mikko Aro, & Heikki Lyytinen); (5) Reading Akshara: indianAlphasyllabary (Prakash Padakannaya & Nallur B. Ramachandra); and (6) Integrative Summary--Looking Across Orthographies (Ram Frost). Part II, Brain Studies: What They Show Across Orthographies, contains the following: (1) Reading as Neuronal Recycling: A Universal Brain Organization Underlying Reading Acquisition (Stanislas DeHaene); (2) Functional MRI Studies on Japanese Orthographies: Studies in Reading Development and Reading Difficulties (Ayumi Seki); (3) Brain Activation Measures in Predicting Reading Skills and Evaluating Intervention Effects in Children at Risk for Dyslexia (Tomi K. Guttorm, Leena Alho-Naveri, Ulla Richardson, & Heikki Lyytinen); and (4) Integrative Summary--Brain Studies: What They Show Across Orthographies (Kenneth R. Pugh). Part III, Additional Approaches to the Study of Dyslexia Across Languages: Modeling, contains the following: (1) Reading in Different Writing Systems: One Architecture, Multiple Solutions (Mark Seidenberg); (2) Understanding Developmental Dyslexia through Computational Modeling: An Individual Deficit-Based Simulation Approach (Johannes C. Ziegler); (3) Phonological Instability in Young Adult Poor Readers: Time-Course Measures and Computational Modeling (James S. Magnuson, Anuenue Kukona, David Braze, Clinton L. Johns, Julie A. Van Dyke, Whitney Tabor, W. Einar Mencl, Kenneth R. Pugh, & Donald Shankweiler); (4) Using Response to Intervention for Identification and Classification (Richard K. Wagner, Jessica Brown Waesche, Christopher Schatschneider, Jon Maner, & Yusra Ahmed); and (5) Integrative Summary--Reflections on Additional Approaches to the Study of Dyslexia (Brett Miller, Peggy McCardle, & Jun Ren Lee). Part IV, Genetics and Neurobiology, contains the following: (1) Neurogenetic Contribution to Developmental Reading Disorders (Albert M. Galaburda, Roslyn Holly Fitch, Joseph J. LoTurco, & Glenn D. Rosen); (2) Human Genetic Contributions to the Neurobiology of Dyslexia (Shelley D. Smith); and (3) Integrative Summary--Genetics and Reading Across Orthographies (Robert Plomin & Yulia Kovas). Part V, Bilingualism, Cognition, Reading, and Intervention, contains the following: (1) Cognitive Processes in Bilingual Reading (Debra Jared & Judith F. Kroll); (2) Language Representation and Cognitive Control in Bilinguals: Implications for Dyslexia (Gigi Luk & Ellen Bialystok); (3) Early Identification and Intervention to Reduce the Incidence of Reading Difficulties for English Language Learners and English First Language Students (Linda S. Siegel); (4) Developing Oral Proficiency in Second Language Learners in the Context of Literacy Instruction (Diane August); (5) Integrative Summary--Bilingualism and Second Language Learning: Implications for Reading and Dyslexia Research (Peggy McCardle & Brett Miller); and (6) Future Directions in Research on Dyslexia Across Languages and Orthographies (Peggy McCardle, Jun Ren Lee, Ovid J. L. Tzeng, & Brett Miller). An index is included.

Whether a center director or teacher aide, child care professionals share in the leadership process every day. This guide draws on the author's more than 23 years of experiences to help early childhood teachers at all levels make the most of their roles as leaders in the lives of children, families, and fellow educators. The guide combines accessible leadership theory and practice with important topics and issues such as human development, diversity, anti-bias, work with families, and social change. Each chapter is built around a combination of theories, examples, and reflection questionsall designed to prompt self-evaluation and personal leadership development. Chapter 1, "Leadership in Early Childhood Education," introduces some basic concepts around the definitions, roles, and challenges of leaders and leadership. This chapter also discusses various leadership functions and styles and how they look in the leadership process. Chapter 2, "Who, Me, a Leader?," provides teachers an opportunity to reflect on how they began developing leadership skills in the family environment and through the life experiences of parenting and teaching children. Also explored are the influences of individual experiences such as birth order, culture, and learning styles. Chapter 3, "Being an Effective Leader," examines the skills and qualities that make leaders effective, as well as the source of values and vision in leadership, and the role played as teachers make leadership decisions. Chapter 4, "It Takes a Village," looks at leadership at every level of the early childhood education field and how teachers can increase their collaboration and team-building skills through their work with families and communities. Chapter 5, "Empowerment, Followership, and Advocacy," looks at the kinds of environments that lead to empowerment and teachers' role in creating them; the strengths, skills, and responsibilities of followers; and the role of advocacy in changing the early childhood education profession. Each chapter concludes with a list of suggested readings. (HTH)

Recognizing the need to increase the number of people from ethnically defined populations serving as research scientists in the mental health field, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) created the Minority Access to Research Careers program in 1979. This program, now known as the Career Opportunities in Research Education and Training (COR), is intended to assist institutions of higher learning with a substantial enrollment of students from ethnically defined populations (African American, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian American) who are underrepresented in science fields relevant to mental health research in the training of a greater number of scientists and teachers. This collection is a compilation of papers from 22 research studies conducted through NIMH-COR programs around the country. The research reports are grouped into the following areas: (1) Mental Health and Cognition; (2) Biobehavioral Research; (3) Psychosocial Research; and (4) Culture and Anthropology. Most of the papers contain references. (SLD)

Without knowing the signal probability distribution and channel, novel blind source separation (BSS) of singular value decomposition (SVD) with adaptive minimizing mutual information is proposed to extract mixed signals. Adaptive natural gradient decent algorithm attains fast convergence speed and reliability. We focus on applying cost function BSS and SVD to achieve the solution of decomposition signals. The results indicate that the SVD combining minimizing mutual information can predict the extent of mixed signal and searching direction. The simulation illustrates that the method improves the performance, convergence and reliability. The different results can be attained by distinctive nonlinear function. The algorithm of adaptive changing de-mixed function is a better way to break through the limitation of nonlinear BSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents power disturbance recognition using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and probabilistic neural networks (PNN). The DWT is first used to extract the features of the power disturbances. The Parseval theory is utilized to calculate the energy of each level so that the number of coefficients can be reduced; then, the extracted results are used for recognition by the PNN. Further, the Matlab and LabVIEW are used to generate the power disturbance waveforms for testing. From testing results, the recognition rate is at least 86 %. It proves the feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a study on the use of mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and support vector machine (SVM) for text-dependent speaker verification. The MFCCs used in this paper are extracted from the voiced password spoken by the user. These MFCCs will be normalized and then can be used as the speaker features for training a claimed speaker model via SVM. Finally one could make use of the claimed speaker model to discriminate between the speaker and other impostors. Experiments were conducted on the Aurora-2 database with various orders of MFCCs. It follows from the experimental results that the proposed text-dependent speaker verification system based on the 22th-order MFCCs and SVM gives an equal error rate (EER) of 0.0% and average accuracy rate of 95.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the biofilm, the bacteria use cell-to-cell communication systems to pool their activities and act in a multicellular organized manner. One such activity is to launch their arsenal of virulence factors at the strategically right moment, and hence coordinate the progressive attack on the host. This process is termed quorum sensing (QS), whereby bacteria produce diffusible chemical signals (autoinducers) that interact with specific receptors on itself and on neighboring cells, which in turn regulate the expression of specific target genes. By integrating this with other environmental stimuli, bacteria are capable of exhibiting complex responses and take part in sophisticated interactions, allowing them to survive in most adverse environments. This chapter describes the molecular mechanisms of QS in Gram-negative and gram positive bacteria, and QS in a biofilm, leading to what is described in subsequent chapters that QS is a highly attractive target for therapy against biofilm chronic infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilm formation plays an important role in antimicrobial resistance, posing a global threat to the economy and public health. Hence, discovery of novel antagonists is critical. In this chapter, we introduce a class of compounds, brominated furanones, which have a broad spectrum of activities against bacterial multicellular behaviors, such as biofilm formation and quorum sensing. The application of these compounds and the mechanisms of inhibition are reviewed. This chapter also reviews inhibitors of quorum sensing in Gram-positive bacteria, especially those of staphylococci. The use of these inhibitors to prevent and treat biofilm diseases in humans and animals is shown in subsequent chapters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introductory chapter discusses the problem of drug resistance and persistent medical biofilm infections, emphasizing the need for alternative approaches to the prevention and treatment of biofilm infections. Such alternative approaches are described in subsequent chapters, culminating with clinical studies that describe treating otherwise untreatable wound infections with the aid of antibiofilm approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous applications require aerial surveillance. Civilian applications include monitoring forest fires, oil fields and pipelines, and tracking wildlife. Applications to homeland security include border patrol and monitoring the perimeter of nuclear power plants. Military applications are numerous. The current approach to these applications is to use a single manned vehicle for surveillance. However, manned vehicles are typically large and expensive. In addition, hazardous environments and operator fatigue can potentially threaten the life of the pilot. Therefore, there is a critical need for automating aerial surveillance using UAVs. This chapter describes a cooperative control strategy for aerial surveillance that has been successfully flight tested on small (48 inch wingspan) UAVs. The cooperative control strategy follows the design methodology described in Section 8.3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter applies the design scheme in Section 8.4.1 to deep space spacecraft formation flying. We propose a decentralized formation control scheme that is built on the combined strength of consensus algorithms and the virtual structure approach. By following a decentralized coordination architecture via the virtual structure approach, we introduce decentralized formation control strategies, which are appropriate when a large number of spacecraft are involved and/or stringent interspacecraft communication limitations are applied. In our decentralized scheme, each spacecraft in the formation instantiates a local copy of the state of the virtual structure, which is the coordination variable using the virtual structure framework. The local instantiation of the coordination variable in each spacecraft is then driven into consensus by communication with its neighbors following a bidirectional ring topology. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategies is demonstrated through simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this chapter is to explore the feasibility of using multiple low-altitude, short endurance (LASE) UAVs to monitor and track cooperatively the propagation of large forest fires. A real-time algorithm is described for tracking the perimeters of fires with an onboard infrared sensor. Using this algorithm, we apply the design scheme in Section 8.4.1 to develop a distributed multi-UAV approach to monitoring the perimeter of a fire. We propose a distributed load balancing algorithm that extends the discrete-time consensus algorithm in Chapter 2. The UAVs are assumed to have limited communication and sensing range. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated in simulation using a six degree-of-freedom dynamic model for the UAV and a numerical propagation model for the forest fire. Salient features of the approach include the ability to monitor a changing fire perimeter, the ability to add and remove UAVs systematically from the team, and the ability to supply time-critical information to firefighters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter, we apply the design scheme in Section 8.4.2 to formation maneuvers for a group of wheeled mobile robots. Complex formation maneuvers are decomposed into a sequence of maneuvers between formation patterns. We present three decentralized behavior-based formation control strategies. The first strategy uses relative position information configured in a bidirectional ring topology to maintain the formation. The second strategy injects interrobot damping via passivity techniques. The third strategy accounts for actuator saturation. Hardware results on differentially driven wheeled mobile robots demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter, we apply the consensus-based design scheme in Section 8.4.1 to formation control of multiple wheeled mobile robots with a virtual leader. We propose a unified, distributed formation control architecture that accommodates an arbitrary number of subgroup leaders and arbitrary information flow among the robots. The architecture requires only neighbor-to-neighbor information exchange. In particular, the consensus tracking algorithm introduced in Chapter 3 is applied on the group level to guarantee consensus on the time-varying group reference trajectory in a distributed manner. Based on the group-level consensus tracking algorithm, a consensus-based formation control strategy is then applied for vehicle level control. The proposed architecture is experimentally implemented and validated on a multirobot platform under neighbor-to-neighbor information exchange with both single and multiple subgroup leaders involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter extends the consensus algorithms for rigid body attitude dynamics in Chapter 6 in two ways. First, we propose algorithms to guarantee that multiple rigid bodies can maintain given relative attitudes and angular velocities during the transition. Both fixed and time-varying relative attitude maintenance are considered. Second, we propose algorithms to guarantee that multiple rigid bodies can track a given, time-varying, reference attitude when the reference attitude is available only to a subgroup of team members. Both cases where the attitudes are represented by Euler parameters and modified Rodriguez parameters are considered. Simulation results on reference attitude tracking are presented to validate our algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter, we apply the consensus-based design scheme in Section 8.4.1 to two applications, rendezvous and axial alignment. In the rendezvous application, multiple mobile robots simultaneously arrive at a common a priori unknown location determined through team negotiation. In the axial alignment application, multiple mobile robots collectively align their final positions along a line. The two applications rely on the consensus algorithms introduced in Chapter 2, and are experimentally implemented and validated on a mobile actuator and sensor network platform subject to directed, possibly switching interaction topologies to explore issues and challenges in cooperative control with communication constraints. The experimental results show the effectiveness and robustness of the consensus algorithms, even in the presence of physical platform limitations, packet loss, and information delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter introduces a few design methodologies for distributed multivehicle cooperative control based on consensus algorithms. Our approach to distributed multivehicle cooperative control problems can be summarized in four steps: (1) the definition of a cooperation constraint and cooperation objective; (2) the definition of a coordination variable as the minimal amount of information needed to effect cooperation; (3) the design of a centralized cooperation strategy; and (4) the use of consensus algorithms to transform the centralized strategy into a distributed strategy. In addition, we overview research in formation control and UAV cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter extends the consensus algorithms for double-integrator dynamics in Chapter 4 to a reference model. We first consider consensus algorithms that ensure that the derivatives of the information states follow a reference. Both strategies with and without coupling between neighbors' information state derivatives are addressed. We then consider consensus algorithms that ensure that the information states and their derivatives evolve according to a reference model. Three strategies, full access to the reference model, leader-following strategy, and partial access to the reference model, are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter considers consensus algorithms for rigid body attitude dynamics. We propose algorithms for attitude consensus among multiple rigid bodies for three different cases. In the first case, multiple rigid bodies align their attitudes with zero final angular velocities. In the second case, multiple rigid bodies converge to a constant reference attitude while aligning their attitudes during the transition with zero final angular velocities without the requirement for absolute and relative angular velocity measurements. In the third case, multiple rigid bodies converge to the same angular velocity while aligning their attitudes during the transition. Simulation results for attitude consensus among six rigid bodies demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter studies consensus tracking algorithms for single-integrator dynamics, where the information states of all vehicles approach a constant or time-varying consensus reference state. We first propose and analyze a consensus tracking algorithm with a constant consensus reference state. We then propose consensus tracking algorithms with a time-varying consensus reference state and show conditions under which consensus is reached on the time-varying consensus reference state in four cases, a directed fixed interaction topology, a directed switching interaction topology, bounded control inputs, and vehicle information feedback. The time-varying consensus reference state may be an exogenous signal or evolve according to a nonlinear model. These consensus tracking algorithms are also extended to achieve relative state deviations between vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter introduces consensus algorithms for double-integrator dynamics that take into account motions of the information states and their derivatives, extending the algorithms for single-integrator dynamics. We first propose a fundamental consensus algorithm and derive conditions under which consensus is reached over directed fixed and switching interaction topologies, respectively. Unlike the single-integrator case, we show that having a directed spanning tree is a necessary rather than a sufficient condition for consensus-seeking with double-integrator dynamics. We focus on a formal analysis of interaction topologies that permit consensus for double-integrator dynamics. Given its importance for the stability of the coordinated system, an analysis of the consensus term control gains is also presented, specifically the strength of the information states relative to their derivatives. We then propose two other consensus algorithms that, respectively, take into account bounded control effort and remove the requirement for measurements of relative information state derivatives. We derive conditions under which consensus is reached for these two algorithms over an undirected fixed interaction topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter introduces consensus algorithms for single-integrator dynamics. Both continuous-time and discrete-time consensus algorithms are analyzed under both fixed and dynamically changing interaction topologies. This chapter shows, respectively, that consensus under fixed interaction topologies can be achieved asymptotically if and only if the directed interaction topology has a directed spanning tree and consensus under dynamically changing interaction topologies can be achieved asymptotically if there exist infinitely many uniformly bounded, consecutive time intervals such that the union of the directed interaction topologies across each such interval has a directed spanning tree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter overviews consensus algorithms in cooperative control. The motivation for information consensus in cooperative control is given. A literature review on consensus algorithms is provided. Theoretical results regarding consensus-seeking under both time-invariant and dynamically changing communication topologies are summarized. A few specific applications of consensus algorithms to multivehicle cooperative control are described. The organization of the monograph is also introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in US. Early and accurate diagnosis of CVD is crucial to save many lives, especially for the patients suffering the heart attack. Accurate and fast quantification of cardiac muscle specific biomarkers in the blood enables accurate diagnosis and prognosis and timely treatment of the patients. A prototype of fiber-optic, multi-analyte, immuno-biosensing system integrated with an automatic flow control unit has been in development to quantify four important cardiac markers in blood plasma accurately, rapidly and simultaneously. The validity of the sensor was, however, challenged because the concentrations of two markers are only at tens of picomolar level. Here, plasmon rich nano-metallic particles and selected biocompatible solvents were developed for fluorescence enhancement to improve the sensitivity of our fluorophore mediated biosensing. By applying the nano-metal particle and the solvent, the sensitivity of single cardiac marker sensors were increased by 1.5 ∼ 3 times. By using the fluorescence enhancing nano-metallic particle reagents, simultaneous quantification of four cardiac markers in plasma is currently possible, using 3-cm-sensor within 10 minutes at an average signal-to-noise ratio of 20. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been the leading threat to human life. An effective way for sensitive and accurate CVD diagnosis is to measure the biochemical markers released from the damaged myocardial cells in the bloodstream. Here, a multi-analyte, fluorophore mediated, fiber-optic immuno-biosensing system is being developed to simultaneously and rapidly quantify four clinically important cardiac markers, myoglobin, C-reactive protein, cardiac troponin I, and B-type natriuretic peptide. To quantify these markers at a pico-molar level, novel nanoparticle reagents enhancing fluorescence were used and signal enhancement was obtained as high as ~230%. Micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) was integrated to this system to ensure a reliable and fully-automated sensing performance. A point-of-care, automatic microfluidic sensing system for four cardiac marker quantification was developed with the properties of 3 cm sensor size, 300 μL sample volume, 9-minute assay time, and an average signal-to-noise ratio of 35. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factor V Leiden (FVL) is an abnormality with a single amino acid mutation of Factor V (FV) and is the most common, hereditary blood coagulation disorder. FVL is currently diagnosed by DNA analysis, which takes a long assay time, high cost, and a specially trained person. We are developing a rapid, accurate, and cost-effective biosensing system to quantify both FV and FVL in blood plasma, to diagnose FVL and also to evaluate the seriousness of the disease status. This system is based on a sandwich immuno-reaction on an optical fiber. To produce the monoclonal antibody against only FV or only FVL without cross-reacting with the other molecule and with a higher probability, a 20 amino acid sequence (20-mer) of FV or FVL around the mutation region was injected into mice and then hybridoma cell lines specific to each 20-mer were selected. When these antibodies were tested with native FV or FVL molecules, they were found to be cross-reacting with the other molecules, but some with higher affinity to FV (FV preferred) and some to FVL (FVL preferred). Using these antibodies, two different sensors were developed: FV preferred and FVL preferred sensors. These two sensors allowed us to quantify FV and FVL in plasma with a maximum error of 4%. The plasma levels of both molecules provide us not only FVL diagnosis but also the level of the seriousness. The same principles may be used for developing diagnostic tools for other diseases with a single point mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence and properties of cirrus are not well captured by current global climate and chemistry models. At Lancaster, we have developed a strategy for modelling cirrus that incorporates recent advances in the theory of ice particle formation but is computationally efficient. We have successfully used this model (LACM) in recent tropical field campaigns (TroCCiNOx) and are now developing the model further and expanding its application to other parts of the globe, with a view to incorporating the model into a climate-chemistry model and so assessing the global radiative and chemical impact of cirrus. Assessing model performance in other regions will require detailed comparison of model results with satellite and airborne observations of cirrus, and interpretation of observations and model results using analysis and forecast fields supplied by Meteorological Agencies. Keywords Cirrus, tropopause transition layer, heterogeneous nucleation, tropospheric aerosols [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of exogenous DNA into mammalian cells represents a powerful approach for manipulating signal transduction. However, the currently available techniques have serious limits in terms of either low transduction efficiency or low cell viability. It is found that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can mediate molecule transportations via various mechanisms. We have reported a highly efficient molecular delivery technique, called nanotube spearing, based on the penetration of Ni-particle-embedded nanotubes into cell membranes by magnetic field driving. DNA was immobilized onto the nanotubes and subsequently speared into targeted cells. We have achieved a high transduction efficiency in Bal 17 B-lymphoma cell line, ex vivo B cells, and primary neurons with high viability. This technique may provide a powerful tool for highly efficient gene transfer in a variety of cells, especially, in the hard-to-transfect cells. However, CNTs have been associated with environmental and public health concerns which arose in the course of research on possible biomedical applications. The disturbances CNTs cause in the immune system have been met with particular interest because any ideal in vivo application of CNTs should not trigger any undesirable bodily responses. It is imperative to unravel the effects of CNTs on B cells, which represent the humoral component of acquired immunity, so that the potential risk of CNTs to public health can be thoroughly understood and advanced strategies can be employed to develop safe applications. We investigated the compatibility of the PECVD nanotubes and the nanospearing procedure in terms of cell viability, growth, and intracellular signal pathways by means of flow cytometry and biochemical analysis. No additional cell death was observed after the spearing treatment, nor had B cell activation been indicated by changes in cell size, growth, CD69 expression, and kinase phosphorylation. The post-spearing cells preserve the ability to respond to stimulation in as robust a manner as cells left untreated. Our study suggests the biocompatibility of the nanospearing procedure and PECVD nanotubes under the proposed spearing conditions with regard to the humoral component of the immune system, therefore, reducing concerns that surround in vivo applications of CNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stem cell therapy is a progressive approach to a pervasive clinical problem; cardiovascular disease is the number 1 killer in the USA and other developed countries, and aspects of it are amenable to stem cell therapy. Many types of stem cells have been used in treating the heart during myocardial infarction, and here, we describe our approach of direct myocardial injection of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the infarct of rats. We will also briefly introduce the methods we have used to inject neonatal cardiomyocytes into the aorta as a first step in attempting to produce an external cardiac pump. Proper surgical technique and postoperative care are as important as adequate injection of the cells and will greatly improve the survival of the animal after surgery. By carefully following the methods presented in this chapter, the reader will be able to perform direct myocardial and vascular injection of stem cells into rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteomics technology allows a comprehensive and efficient analysis of the proteome and has become an indispensable tool in biomedical research. Since the late 80s, advances on mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation and techniques have revolutionized the way proteins can be analyzed. Such analysis would only be possible with a proper sample preparation and separation ahead of the MS step. Different gel and nongel-based methods are available for protein separation. This chapter will focus on the use of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) in proteomics and its application to platelet research. 2-DE separates proteins according to their isoelectric point (pI) and size (molecular weight) and allows the detection of thousands of proteins at a time. Platelets are enucleated cells that play a critical function in the control of bleeding and wound healing. As platelets do not have a nucleus, proteomics offers a powerful alternative approach to provide data on protein expression in these cells, helping to address their biology. This chapter presents a protocol for an efficient sample preparation, protein separation by 2-DE, and protein digestion ahead of the MS analysis. The experimental approach, already successfully applied to the study of the platelet proteome, includes recommendations for an efficient platelet preparation for proteomics studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is the most common disease in Westernized countries in large part because of the rising prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. In addition, diabetes mellitus is an important risk factor for both heart failure and ischemic heart disease. As insulin resistance is known as an important pathophysiological feature in the cardiac diseases, understanding the mechanisms responsible for altered metabolism and insulin signaling in the diabetic heart may help identify novel targets in these conditions. Phosphatidylinositol (PI)-3 kinase (PI3K) and Akt are key signaling molecules in insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which induce multiple biological effects in the heart such as cell survival and hypertrophy. Here, we have shown several fundamental techniques to study the role of PI3K and Akt in heart diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced glycation end products are permanently modified protein derivatives formed in the presence of reducing sugars, such as glucose, fructose, hexose-phosphates, trioses, and triose-phosphates by non-enzymatic glycation and oxidation ("glycoxidation") reactions and further irreversible rearrangements. Numerous studies have revealed the pivotal role of protein glycoxidation in the pathogeneses of diabetes-related and age-related diseases. Protein glycoxidation is generally recognized both as a hallmark and as a promoter for progression of diabetes-related and age-related ailments, particularly in cardiovascular system such as increased vascular and myocardial stiffness, endothelial dysfunction, altered vascular injury responses, and atherosclerotic plaque formation. An appropriate surveillance on abnormal protein glycoxidation at an early stage of disease progression is of clinical and practical importance to handle diabetes-related and age-related cardiovascular complications especially those leading to ventricular dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are thought to contribute to pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis, restenosis, heart failure, and diabetic vascular complications. Some of these reactive oxygen species also play an important role in vascular signaling. In this chapter, we describe various techniques that we have successfully employed to reliably measure superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. Because reactive oxygen species are capable of rapidly inactivating nitric oxide and because endothelial function characterized by nitric oxide bioavailability is an important indicator of vascular health, we have also included novel techniques capable of directly measuring nitric oxide radical from vascular cells and tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]