GRO J1744-28, discovered by BATSE in December 95, is the second neutron star system known to produce frequent accretion powered bursts. The system has been regularly monitored with the RXTE PCA since the peak of the first outburst in January 96 at which time the observed persistent and bursting count rates were ∼ 25,000 ct/sec and ∼ 150,000 ct/sec, with corresponding instrumental deadtimes of ∼...

The 0.71 s X-ray pulsar SMC X-1 has some distinct features from other X-ray pulsars. It maintained a stable spin-up though in X-rays both low-and high-intensity states have been observed. An X-ray burst was discovered from SMC X-1, and was probably generated by an instability in the accretion flow. Using the modified magnetically threaded accretion disk theory, we have estimated the magnetic mo...

Abstract Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common urologic malignancies with highest mortality rates worldwide. However, relevant mouse models that recapitulated genetic alterations found in RCC have been lacking. In this study, we crossed Trp53 and Pten conditional knockout mice Ggt1-Cre to generate a Ggt1-Cre; Trp53LoxP/LoxP; PtenLoxP/LoxP; YFPLoxP/LoxP (GPPY) model, which resulte...

Aspergillus fumigatus is a mold that causes severe pulmonary infections. Our knowledge of how A. fumigatus growth is controlled in the respiratory tract is developing, but still limited. Alveolar macrophages, lung resident macrophages, and airway epithelial cells constitute the first lines of defense against inhaled A. fumigatus conidia. Subsequently, neutrophils and inflammatory CCR2+ monocyte...

Production of metastasis capable precursors begins within the primary tumor. Here, we define the bidirectional interactions with stromal cells involved in promoting these precursors within BRCA1-IRIS (hereafter IRIS) overexpressing (IRISOE) TNBC tumors. We define an aggressiveness niche, functionally defined as the necrotic/hypoxic core of the tumor, in which metabolically stressed, hypoxic, an...

BACKGROUND A recently published transcript set is suitable for gene expression-based discrimination of normal colonic and colorectal cancer (CRC) biopsy samples. Our aim was to test the discriminatory power of the CRC-specific transcript set on independent biopsies and on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples. METHODS Total RNA isolations were performed with the automated Ma...

Plac1 is an X-linked (Xq26) trophoblast gene expressed at high levels in the placenta, at low levels in the testis, but not in other normal somatic tissues. However, it is re-expressed in several malignancies, including breast, colon, lung, gastric, liver and endometrial cancers as well as in most human cancer cell lines. Plac1 contains HLA-A2-restricted epitopes capable of eliciting a cytotoxi...

Alveolar macrophages produce neutrophil chemoattractants; this cellular cross-talk contributes to neutrophilic airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We have investigated the chemotaxis cross-talk mechanisms between these cells using COPD alveolar macrophages. Using conditioned media from stimulated COPD alveolar macrophages, we investigated the relative contributi...

BACKGROUND Although most of cases of dengue infections are asymptomatic or mild symptomatic some individuals present warning signs progressing to severe dengue in which plasma leakage is a hallmark. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The present study used Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS®) which allows for electrical monitoring of cellular barrier function measuring changes in Tra...

Aside from its mechanical barrier function, bronchial epithelium plays an important role both in the host defense and in the pathogenesis of inflammatory airway disorders. To investigate its role in lung defense, the effect of a bacterial cell wall protein, the outer membrane protein A from Klebsiella pneumoniae (kpOmpA) on bronchial epithelial cells (BEC) was evaluated on adhesion molecule exp...