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BackgroundIsolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PsA) is associated with increased BAL (bronchoalveolar lavage) inflammation and lung allograft injury in lung transplant recipients (LTR). However, the effect of PsA on macrophage responses in this population is incompletely understood. We examined human alveolar macrophage (AM) responses to PsA and Pseudomonas dominant microbiome in healthy lung transplant recipients (LTR).MethodsWe stimulated THP-1 derived macrophages (THP-1M) and human AM from LTR with different bacteria and LTR BAL derived microbiome characterized as Pseudomonas-dominant. Macrophage responses were assessed by high dimensional flow cytometry, including their intracellular production of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, IL-10, IL-1RA, and TGF-β). Pharmacological inhibitors were utilized to evaluate the role of the inflammasome in PsA-macrophages interaction.ResultsWe observed upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β) following stimulation by PsA compared to other bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Prevotella melaninogenica, Streptococcus pneumoniae) in both THP-1 derived and LTR AM, predominated by IL-1β. IL-1β production from THP-1 was sustained after PsA stimulation for up to 96 hours and 48 hours in LTR AM. Treatment with the inflammasome inhibitor BAY11-7082 abrogated macrophage IL-1β and IL-18 production after PsA exposure. BAL Pseudomonas-dominant microbiota elicited an increased IL-1β, similar to PsA, an effect abrogated by the addition of antibiotics.ConclusionPsA and PsA-dominant lung microbiota induce sustained IL-1β production in LTR AM. Pharmacological targeting of the inflammasome reduces PsA-macrophage-IL1β responses, underscoring their use in lung transplant recipients.

Ordered organic materials and assemblies have great potential to be tailored to have desirable properties for optoelectronic applications, such as long exciton lifetime and high directional exciton mobility. Framework materials, such as twodimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D COFs), as well as their truncated macrocyclic analogues, are versatile platforms to organize functional aromatic systems into designed assemblies and robust materials. Here we investigate the exciton dynamics in a 2D COF, its corresponding hexagonal macrocycle, and extended nanotubes comprised of stacked macrocycles. The excitonic behavior of these three systems provide an understanding of excitonic processes that occur in the plane of the covalently bonded 2D macromolecules and between layers of the nanotubes and 2D COF. The nanotube and analogous 2D COF exhibit longer excited-state lifetimes (~100 ps) compared to the individual, solvated macrocycles (

SUMMARY Molecular- and cellular-based therapies have the potential to reduce obesity-associated disease. In response to cold, beige adipocytes form in subcutaneous white adipose tissue and convert energy stored in metabolic substrates to heat, making them an attractive therapeutic target. We developed a robust method to generate a renewable source of human beige adipocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Developmentally, these cells are derived from FOXF1+ mesoderm and progress through an expandable mural-like mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) to form mature beige adipocytes that display a thermogenically active profile. This includes expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) concomitant with increased uncoupled respiration. With this method, dysfunctional adipogenic precursors can be reprogrammed and differentiated into beige adipocytes with increased thermogenic function and anti-diabetic secretion potential. This resource can be used to (1) elucidate mechanisms that underlie the control of beige adipogenesis and (2) generate material for cellular-based therapies that target metabolic syndrome in humans., Graphical Abstract, In Brief Su et al. demonstrate a method for producing beige adipocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells in a stepwise manner through defined precursor lineages. This renewable resource provides a developmental framework to study human beige adipogenesis and can be used to develop treatments for obesity-related disorders.

Referencing a community mapping project that I facilitated in West Philadelphia, in this chapter I suggest that conventional perceptions of distressed neighborhood spaces are constructed largely through the skewed narratives of data produced by nonlocal research agencies.1 I argue that the policies and programs designed to alleviate local social problems rely on such narratives without regard for neighborhood residents’ experiential knowledge.2 As an alternative, I detail some of the ways that placemaking programs3 might elicit experiential knowledge from residents by leveraging participatory geospatial technologies (GST).4 Local knowledge that such programs produce can combine with conventional social and economic data sets to inform more effective and equitable5 community improvement policies.

Active Heave Compensating (AHC) technology is not new to the industry, but it is a technology not effectively disseminated from an operation's perspective. This paper will discuss migrating well proven AHC technology from cranes on various support vessels to knuckle- boom cranes onboard mobile offshore drilling units (MODU), highlighting present load handling on these units and future applications. A new 165 ton AHC knuckle boom crane will also be examined, as it begins its lifecycle on newbuild drillships of this recent build cycle.

Matt Duncan was a graduating senior at Yorktown High School in Arlington Virginia when he visited our university for a three-week for-credit internship. The goal was for him to learn about 3D graphic design and interaction design while helping us develop our Virtual Reality (VR) technology. The result was beneficial for everyone. He learned how to build virtual environments and to compare and refine VR navigation and selection techniques though collaboration with users. We got a virtual obstacle course for VR navigation training and a very intuitive interaction for VR navigation with the Gyromouse.